The Advocate 09-06-2025

Residentseye Smitty’s Supply cleanup

An orange containment boom and whiteabsorbentboom snakeinparallel on Wednesday across theTangipahoa River at Lees Landing as contractorsinanairboat head into the nearbymarina. The landing’s marina is next to anow-closed public boat launchonthe lowerend of the river near JoyceWildlife Management Area. Boomshavebeen stretched on dozens of miles of the river from La. 10 to itsmouth, and oily contaminants from the Smitty’sSupply Inc. fire started on Aug. 22 have made it close to thewildlife area in southernTangipahoa.

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

The swirling blackoil andthe overpowering smell of asphalt began appearing behind ScottSilva’shouse on the lower Tangipahoa River the night of Aug. 25, threedays after Smitty’s Supply Inc. exploded andbegan burning for days.

Blobs of blackoil collecting in the river’scurve by his home have been anear-dailyoccurrence since then Contaminants fromthe burning motor oiland lubricants planthave flowed down nearly the length of the riverand past part of the sensitive Joyce Wildlife Management Area, despite miles of containment and absorbent boom.

Silva said he and his wife bought the home in therelatively out-of-theway spot east of Ponchatoula21years ago to enjoy the water and nature, but the contaminants that have followed Smitty’sexplosion have clouded that vision of life.

“Wegot kayaks.Igot twoboats, you know.Wegot fish, and now how

with

long’sitgoing to be until we can use this?”the 53-year-old asked during an interview at his home Wednesday as faint oil blobs occasionally floated by “That basically just threwmyplan

out the window.” Thecause of thecatastrophicfire near Roseland, miles north of the

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Gov. Jeff Landrywill pay$900 to settle charges that he brokestate ethicslawsby failing to disclose free private flights he accepted while he wasattorney general. The chargesbrought against Landry by the Louisiana Board of Ethics stem from flights Landry took in 2021 to Hawaii fora conference held by the Attorney General Alliance. He traveled there free of charge on aplane owned by Greg Mosing, apolitical donor State ethics laws require public officials to report to theEthicsBoardcomplimentary admission,lodgingand transportation they

Hyundaielectricvehicle site

and KIMTONG-HYUNG

BYRUSS BYNUM

Associated Press

ELLABELL, Ga Immigrationauthorities said Fridaythey detained 475 people,most of them South Korean nationals, when hundreds of federal agents raided the sprawlingmanufacturingsiteinGeorgia where Korean automaker Hyundai makes electric vehicles. Steven Schrank, the lead Georgia agent of Homeland Security Investigations, said during anews conference Friday that the raid resulted from amonthslong investigation

CBS won’t edit ‘Face

the Nation’ interviews

Days after complaints over the handling of an interview with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on “Face the Nation,” CBS News said Friday it would no longer allow editing of its guests’ words on the Sunday morning public affairs show.

Noem charged that CBS had “shamefully edited the interview to whitewash the truth” about Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whose mistaken deportation to El Salvador made him a symbol of controversies about President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Her interview had been taped in advance.

Going forward, CBS said it would only broadcast live or live-to-tape interviews on the show meaning guests’ statements could not be edited. CBS said the change was made “in response to audience feedback.”

Shortly before Paramount Global’s sale to Skydance was given federal approval, Paramount paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit from Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

CBS said it had edited four minutes out of its Noem interview for time. On social media, Noem focused on an excised clip where she made a series of unproven accusations about Abrego Garcia, which she said emphasize “the threat he poses to American public safety.”

CBS News noted that the unedited interview was posted on its website and on YouTube, but that didn’t stop the complaints

Hurricane Kiko surges on way toward Hawaii

MIAMI Hurricane Kiko regained intensity to a Category 4 system on a path toward Hawaii over the next several days as post-tropical cyclone Lorena soaked Mexico’s Baja California peninsula with heavy rain, forecasters said Friday Kiko had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, said the National Hurricane Center

The major hurricane was about 1,195 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, but forecasters said Kiko could have impacts on the state next week. Some Hawaiian islands could experience swells that cause life-threatening surf and rip currents as soon as the end of the weekend

Lorena was expected to weaken further and dissipate on Sunday, the weather agency said, but it could still bring isolated rainfall amounts up to 12 inches to parts of the Mexican states of Baja California Sur, Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa. In Arizona and New Mexico, heavy rainfall of up to 4 inches was still possible and could lead to isolated flash flooding into Saturday, the weather agency said Calif. man found living secretly in crawl space

A California man was found living secretly in the crawl space of a condominium in Oregon, according to officials.

Lights dangled from overhead, a fan was placed at one end of the room, and a television was also found hanging on a beam when Clackamas County Sheriff deputies made the discovery Wednesday, according to an official statement.

The man, Benjamin Bucur, 40, had allegedly run an extension cord through a vent to provide lighting and power for his electronic devices.

Deputies discovered the makeshift living space in an unincorporated area near Portland.

Deputies were contacted by a witness who told deputies they had spotted a man parking his car and walking behind a building. The witness said they did not believe the man lived in the complex. The resident followed Bucur and found a door to a crawl space open, and light coming from inside. Then someone closed the door

Deputies breached the locked door and found Bucur inside, along with a bed, lights, chargers, TV and other electronic equipment.

A former resident of Patterson, Calif., Bucur was convicted in May 2010 on charges of burglary and auto theft, according to a statement from the Stanislaus County district attorney’s office

Judge blocks end to TPS status

Administration trying to revoke protections for Haitians, Venezuelans

BY JANIE HAR Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO

A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections that have granted more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela the right to live and work in the United States.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen of San Francisco for the plaintiffs means 600,000 Venezuelans whose temporary protections expired in April or whose protections were about to expire Sept 10 have status to stay and work in the United States. It also keeps protections for about 500,000 Haitians.

Chen scolded Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for revoking protections for Venezuelans and Haitians that the judge said would send them “back to conditions that are so dangerous that even the State Department advises against travel

to their home countries.”

He said Noem’s actions were arbitrary and capricious, and she exceeded her authority in ending protections that were extended by the Biden administration.

Presidential administrations have executed the law for 35 years based on the best available information and in consultation with other agencies, “a process that involves careful study and analysis. Until now,” Chen wrote.

Plaintiffs and their attorneys welcomed the news Friday, although it’s unclear if it would help people who have already been deported.

“In recent months, people have suffered unspeakable harm — including deportation and family separation due to the Supreme Court greenlighting Secretary Noem’s discriminatory and harmful agenda,” said Emi Maclean, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California.

“That must end now.”

A DHS spokesperson said in an email that the program has been “abused, exploited, and politicized as a de facto amnesty program” and that “unelected activist judges” cannot stop the American people’s desire for a secure country

“While this order delays justice, Secretary Noem will use every legal option at the Department’s disposal to end this chaos and prioritize the safety of Americans,” the email read.

Temporary Protected Status is a designation that can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary to people in the United States, if conditions in their homelands are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster political instability or other dangerous conditions.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled political unrest, mass unemployment and hunger The country is mired in a prolonged crisis

Texas laws signed after deadly flooding at camps

BY SEAN MURPHY Associated Press

In the days and weeks following the death of his 9-year-old daughter, Lila, at Camp Mystic in the Texas Hill Country, Blake Bonner found himself wondering whether the tragedy was simply an unstoppable act of God, or if something could have been done to prevent it

Lila was one of 27 Camp Mystic campers and counselors swept to their deaths when fast-rising floodwaters of the Guadalupe River roared through the girls’ summer camp. All told, the destructive flooding in Texas on the Fourth of July killed at least 136 people and washed away homes and vehicles.

“It just became clear to me that this incident was 100% preventable,” Bonner said, and for a lot of reasons, I was going to do everything in my power, and I was hoping the other parents would as well, to make sure that our girls’ legacy wasn’t in vain.”

Bonner and many other parents and family members of the girls who died at Camp Mystic were in the Texas House and Senate gallery this week during a special session to see lawmakers give final approval to a series of bills aimed at preventing similar tragedies. Many of

them shared hugs, handshakes and tears after they passed.

Gov Greg Abbott, who was flanked by family members as he signed several of the bills into law Friday, recalled the grieving parents visiting with him and his wife and urging swift action before the start of the special legislative session.

“They pleaded that their daughters did not die in vain. They wanted laws to be passed so that other parents would not experience the hell that they had been through,” Abbott said. “The Legislature understood that mission they tapped into empathy and they delivered laws that will be in effect when camps open this next summer, laws that make youth camps safer.”

The measures aim to improve the safety of children’s camps by prohibiting cabins in dangerous parts of flood zones and requiring camp operators to develop detailed emergency plans, to train workers and to install and maintain emergency warning systems. One allocates $240 million from the state’s rainy day fund for disaster relief, along with money for warning sirens and improved weather forecasting.

“All the key tenets that we were looking for were addressed in these bills,” Bonner said.

Neurosurgeon says there are ‘rays of hope’ for girl injured in Minn. shooting

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — There are “rays of hope” for a 12-year-old girl critically injured in last week’s deadly shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, though her neurosurgeon cautioned Friday it is still hard to predict whether she will survive.

Sophia Forchas was the most seriously wounded child among those who survived after a shooter opened fire at the Church of the Annunciation on Aug. 27. Two students were killed, and 21 people were injured. The shooter died by suicide, police said.

Sophia remains in intensive care at Hennepin Healthcare Her neurosurgeon, Dr. Walt Galicich, said at a news conference that a bullet, which remains lodged in her brain, caused severe damage, including

to a major blood vessel. Surgeons had to remove the left half of her skull to relieve the pressure inside her head.

“If you had told me at this juncture, 10 days later, that we’d be standing here with any ray of hope, I would have said it would take a miracle,” Galicich told reporters. He said they are banking on the ability of young brains to heal and make up for the damage.

Sophia is still being kept in a medically induced coma most of the time to control the swelling, Galicich said. She is opening her eyes and showing some level of awareness of her surroundings, and has some slight movement in her right leg, but she’s still not responding to commands, he said.

“It’s day by day and I can’t tell you how this is going to end,” the doctor said. “I know she’s had a stroke from that injury to that blood vessel. I don’t know what her permanent deficits are going to be But we’re a little bit more optimistic that she’s going to survive.”

brought on by years of hyperinflation, political corruption, economic mismanagement and an ineffectual government.

Haiti was first designated for TPS in 2010 after a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake killed and wounded hundreds of thousands of people, and left more than 1 million homeless Haitians face widespread hunger and gang violence. Their designations were to expire in September but later extended until February, due to a separate court order out of New York. Noem said that conditions in both Haiti and Venezuela had improved and that it was not in the national interest to allow migrants from the countries to stay on for what is a temporary program. Attorneys for the government have said the secretary’s clear and broad authority to make determinations related to the TPS program are not subject to judicial review

Ga. is eighth state to send troops to D.C.

BY JEFF AMY Associated Press

ATLANTA Georgia Gov

Brian Kemp announced Friday that he’s sending 316 members of the state’s National Guard to Washington, D.C., later this month in the latest indication that President Donald Trump’s law enforcement operation in the nation’s capital will drag on.

The Republican Kemp said he will mobilize the roughly 300 troops in midSeptember to take part in Trump’s D.C. operation to relieve soldiers from elsewhere who deployed earlier

“Georgia is proud to stand with the Trump administration in its mission to ensure the security and beauty of our nation’s capital,” Kemp said in a statement.

Trump initially called up 800 members of the District of Columbia National Guard to assist federal law enforcement in his bid to crack down on crime, homelessness and illegal immigration. Since then, seven other Republican-

led states have sent troops — Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Kemp said Georgia’s soldiers may be armed and will support law enforcement.

Trump last month took over the district’s local police department and deployed the National Guard in what he said was meant to fight crime. Earlier this week, members of the D.C. National Guard had their orders extended through December The District of Columbia on Thursday challenged President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in Washington asking a federal court to intervene even as he plans to send troops to other cities in the name of driving down crime.

Brian Schwalb, the district’s elected attorney general, said in a lawsuit that the deployment, which now involves more than 1,000 troops, is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.

Trump order rebrands ‘Department of War’

Department of Defense received name in 1947 by act of Congress

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN, SEUNG MIN KIM and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday aiming to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War — a long-telegraphed move aimed at projecting American military toughness around the globe.

“It’s a much more appropriate name, especially in light of where the world is right now,” Trump said He said the previous name was “woke.”

The order comes as some of Trump’s closest supporters on Capitol Hill proposed legislation that would codify the new name into law, with Congress having the sole power to establish, shutter and rename federal departments. Absent a change in law, Trump will authorize the Pentagon to use secondary titles.

“From 1789 until the end of World War II, the United States military fought under the banner of the Department of War,” Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube, an Army veteran, said in a statement. “It is only fitting that we pay tribute to their eternal example and renowned commitment to lethality by restoring the name of the ‘Department of War’ to our Armed Forces.”

Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are introducing companion leg-

Trump: U.S. will host G-20 at his golf club

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. will host next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club in southern Florida.

In his first term, Trump tried to host a separate global summit at the club, located in Doral, but backed down after criticism from his own party about the propriety of doing so.

“Well, I think everybody wants it there,” Trump said Friday when asked if the global summit would be at his golf club and spa. He had previously announced that it would be in the city of Miami.

Trump said organizers had requested the summit be at his personal club

islation in the Senate.

The Department of War was created in 1789, then renamed and reorganized through legislation signed by President Harry Truman in 1947, two years after the end of World War II. The Department of Defense incorporated the Department of War, which oversaw the Army, plus the Department of the Navy and the newly created independent Air Force.

“We decided to go woke and change the name to Department of Defense,” he said. “So we’re going Department of War.”

Pentagon leader Pete Hegseth, who spoke alongside Trump, said, “We haven’t won a major war since” the name was changed. He said, “We’re going to go on offense, not just on defense.”

Trump has said he wants to change the name back to the Department of War because it “just sounded better.”

In August, Trump told reporters that “everybody likes that we had an unbelievable history of victory when it was Department of War. Then we changed it to

Department of Defense.”

When confronted with the possibility that making the name change would require an act of Congress, Trump told reporters that “we’re just going to do it.”

“I’m sure Congress will go along,” he said, “if we need that.”

Trump and Hegseth have been on a name-changing spree at the Pentagon as they uproot what they describe as “woke” ideology, sometimes by sidestepping legal requirements.

For example, they wanted to restore the names of nine military bases that once honored Confederate leaders, which were changed in 2023 following a congressionally mandated review

Because the original names were no longer allowed under law, Hegseth ordered the bases to be named after new people with similar names. For example, Fort Bragg now honors Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II paratrooper and Silver Star recipient from Maine, instead of Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia is ineligible for asylum, administration says

BY BEN FINLEY Associated Press

The Trump administration is fighting Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s bid to apply for asylum in the United States, arguing that he’s ineligible as a member of the MS-13 gang The Department of Homeland Security on Friday released immigration court documents that outline its arguments against Abrego Garcia applying for asylum or receiving it.

A primary argument is that Abrego Garcia is a member of a designated foreign terrorist organization, MS-13, an allegation that Abrego Garcia denies and for which he hasn’t been charged.

Abrego Garcia, 30, became a flashpoint over President Donald Trump’s immigration policies when he was wrongfully deported to his native country of El Salvador in March. The U.S. returned him in June, but only to face federal human smuggling in Tennessee, which his lawyers have called preposterous and vindictive. He has pleaded not guilty

Abrego Garcia had fled threats of gang violence in his native El Salvador around 2011 to join his brother in Maryland. And while his first asylum request was denied, he was granted protection from deportation to El Salvador because he had established a well-founded fear of gang violence there. Abrego Garcia was released in 2019 under federal supervision and continued to live with his American wife and children.

Immigration experts have said that Abrego Garcia’s new asylum application could lead to a green card and a path to citizenship. But by reopening his 2019 case, he also risks being sent back to El Salvador The Trump administration stated in court documents this week that it would pursue returning him to his native country if he successfully reopens his previous immigration case.

“Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s lawyers are playing with fire,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Friday It

added: “As a member of a designated foreign terrorist organization, MS-13, he is no longer eligible for his previous immigration relief.”

Abrego Garcia had arrived outside a Home Depot in Maryland in 2019 in search of work as a day laborer, according to court documents.

Authorities had been told by a confidential informant that Abrego Garcia and other men outside the store could be identified as members of MS-13 because of their clothing and tattoos.

Abrego Garcia was never charged He was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and subsequently applied for asylum and ultimately received protection from being deported to El Salvador In February, the Trump administration designated MS13 to be a foreign terrorist organization and wrongfully deported Abrego Garcia to a notorious El Salvador prison, where he claims he was beaten and psychologically tortured. El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, has denied those allegations.

Silvas’ home remains under investigation.Containment and cleanup efforts continue in the meantime, and questions remain about the lasting environmental impact on the river and its wildlife.

No one was injured in the fire, though it forced a1-mile evacuation,dropped black soot on miles of homes and fields and has already triggered personal injury lawsuits and one planned citizen lawsuitbya Louisianaenvironmental group.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff and contractorshave been monitoring the air,layingout in selected spots along 45 miles of river acombined 4.1 miles of containment boom and conducting oil skimming operations since afew days after the Aug. 22 fire.

EPAmaps from late last month show boom and contaminationextendfrom Smitty’stothe northern tip of Joyce, though contaminationhas not reachedLake Pontchartrain,where the Tangipahoa empties

Though state, local and company officials haven’t reported publicly what was at theplantatthe timeofthe fire, it housed 20 tank farms withthe capacity to hold 8.7 million gallons of flammable liquids, like motor oil,and chemicals.

An EPAinteragency report on the spill from late Augustsaid some chemicals on-siteatthe time of the fire included naphthalene, xylene, ethylene glycol and phosphoric acid in addition to firefighting foam containing PFAS, or so-called forever chemicals. The report does not say which, if any, of the chemicals escaped Smitty’ssite.

‘Doing what they cando’ At Lees Landing, amarina and public boat launchon the lower Tangipahoa and near Joyce, contractors were busy keeping the skimming operations running late Wednesday morning.

AMarco skimmer arrived at thepubliclaunch and, once at dock, ES&H workers connected vacuum hoseslinked to atanker and collected theoil held in the hull. Thehose jerked back and forth with the rhythm of its pump as the workers took a break whilestill keepinganeye on it.

EPAofficials on scenesaid theskimmers are making two to three trips per day and each can return with 20 to 25 barrelsofoil pertrip Tomi Cox,64, who lives at themarinaand helps manage it, said she had watched thecrews work daily for approaching two weeks.

“I mean,they’re doing what they can do,” Cox said.

“They’rehere at 5:30-6 in the morning and theyleave 6-6:30 inthe evening. They work all day long.”

EPAofficials said their operations have collected 2.7million gallons of material so far,enoughtofill four Olympicswimming pools. But EPAand state officials haven’tsaidwhenthe collection operations will stop, what exactly they arecollecting, what escaped from thesmoldering plant or what kind of wildlife impact has occurred,ifany

EPAofficials have said tests on the contaminants found in the river are pending. Withoutthat dataand information on materials that were at Smitty’sbefore the fire,one environmental advocate said, thespill’simpact remains unclear

“It’sreally hard for me to say because Idon’t have information on theconstituentsthat were leaked into thewater,” saidKristi Trail, executive directorofthe Pontchartrain Conservancy

EPAalsohasn’t shared information about possible wildlife impacts,including whetherany animals have been oiled along the 45 to 50 miles of affected river. The agency referredwildlife questions to thestate.

Astate wildlife spokesman said Friday that aboom hasbeenplacedupstream of Lees Landing to protect Joyce’snearly 42,300acres of marsh and swamp.

StateDepartment of Wildlifeand Fisheries officials are “coordinating with state and federal agencies for impacted wildlife reports” and urged residentstoreport affected wildlife at (337) 7358677, the spokesman said. One deceased turtle has been collected so far

Trail, whose group advocates forthe health of Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas and the regional waterways that feed them, said she’s“frustrated by the lack of information”about theriver Cox, the Lees Landing manager,saidshe sawoil flowingdown theriverfor afew days before the boom was in place, but hasn’tseen anyfishkills norheardof anyfrom the fishermen who frequent the marina.

Trail speculated the wildlife impacts could end up beingminimal because the contaminantsare likely to evaporate in the heat.

On Thursday, the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, an environmental group, issued arequired 60day notice that it plans to sue Smitty’s under theClean Water Actover the discharges into theriver

Saying the suit is aresponse to residents’ concerns, LEAN accused Smitty’s of violating its own plans to control spills and stormwaterrunoff as well as federal law

LEAN officials said the suit is designed to give residents “a seat at the table” when decisions are made on

response and cleanup.

“A citizen suit has nothing to do with recovering money for individual residents whowere harmed or put at increasedriskfromthe contamination,” the group added in astatement.

In response,Smitty’sofficials said they’ve been working closely with local, state and federal agencies, including the EPA, “to support a safe, efficient andthorough response” andare committed to continuing that work.

“Throughoutour 55 years in business in Tangipahoa Parish, we have always strived to go about our daily worksafely and according to all state and federal regulations,”the companystatementsaid.

The EPAdeclined to commentonthe lawsuit notice.

Over the long term, Tangipahoa Parish and Southeastern Louisiana University have agreed to have the Hammond-based university monitor the river along with local firmELOS,according to aparish spokeswoman.

‘Whatare we goingtodo?’

Silva, who owns the riverside home, took daily videos of the blobs thatpassed his house and wonders about the effects.

The videos include one from Mondaywhere awater snake slithers through floating oily muckand another one fromAug. 26 where a turtle pokes its pointy nose above the waterline but just out of reach of an oil blob.

Silva said he wonders if it’s safe to hunt in Joyce or eat the catfish and perch that he had been feeding behind his house forfouryears—species, he said, that are otherwise “good-eating” fish.

“I mean, look howbeautiful this is, and whatare we going to do with that?” he said.

Silva said Wednesday was the first day that the oil blobs had eased some.

Often in major oil and other disasters, the “potentially responsible” company is directed to handle the cleanup andits costunder government supervision, but the EPAhas taken the lead in

this case. The interagency EPAreport said the agency had $6 millionset aside for the work and, in taking the lead, had transitioned away from the potentially responsible partybecause of “financial solvency issues.” The EPAisusing Superfund dollars available under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for emergency response, an agency spokeswomansaid. Underthe law, EPAcan seek to recover its costs later from “potentially responsible parties.”A Smitty’s spokesman didn’tdirectly answer aquestion about whether the company would pay forthe work.

“Weremain focused on workingwith theU.S.EPA and all other federal, state and local agencies on completing the cleanup safely and efficiently,” the company said in astatement.

Despite layoffs and apparent“solvency” issues, Smitty’s plans to rebuildand has hired the former DEQhead, Chuck Carr Brown, as its recovery consultant.

Brown, who has yearsof private sector experience in industrial environmental management, was the DEQ secretaryunderGov.John Bel Edwards for morethan seven years.Now asenior vice president at Gulf Engineers and Consultants, he oversaw the agency during aperiodwhenSmitty’shad aseriesofspills intolocal ditches and ponds.

Edwards’ DEQ reached two settlements costing Smitty’s$285,000, one reached underBrown, but thelargest reachedinthe last weeks of Edwards’ second term after Brown had left.Thatseconddeal was notformally completeduntil Gov. Jeff Landry took office, however

“Dr. Brown’sexperience andexpertise in environmental health and safety will be invaluable as the response and cleanup effort continues in the coming days and weeks,” Smitty’s officials said in astatement.

into allegationsofillegal hiring at thesite and was the “largest single site enforcement operation” in the agency’s two-decadehistory

The Thursday raid targeted one of Georgia’slargest and most high-profile manufacturing sites, where Hyundai Motor Group ayear ago began manufacturing electric vehicles at a$7.6 billion plant. The site employs about 1,200 people in an area about 25 mileswestofSavannah, where bedroom communities bleedinto farms.Gov BrianKemp and other officials have touted it as the state’slargest economic development project.

Agents focused their operation on an adjacent plant that is still under construction at which Hyundai has partnered with LG Energy Solution to produce batteries that power EVs.

Court records filed this week indicated that prosecutors do not know who hired what it called “hundredsof illegal aliens.” Theidentity of the“actualcompany or contractor hiring the illegal aliens is currently unknown,” the U.S.Attorney’s Office wroteina Thursday court filing.

The South Korean government expressed “concern and regret” over the operation targeting its citizens Koreans are rarely caught up in immigration enforcement compared with other nationalities. Only 46 Koreans were deported during the

LANDRY

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receive as part of their work. Thelegality of the flights themselves was never an issue in the case.

The settlement document also lists five other private flights Landry took and did not disclose in 2022 and 2023 for official business as attorney general, including trips to Washington and ahelicopter ride to the governor’s mansion.

Landry also disclosed 13 trips he took while governor that were paid for by someone else.

At its monthly meeting Friday,the Ethics Board voted without opposition to adopt the settlement and dismiss the charges. Attorneys representing Landry and the Ethics Board are expected to ask ajudge to sign off on the agreement at an Oct. 13 hearing.

“The Governor is pleased the ethics board agreedto clarify who needs to file paperwork related to official travel,” Stephen Gelé,anattorney representingLandry in the case, said in astatement. “He is gladtobring an end to this matter and continuetosave the taxpayers money,ashewas already doing.” Ethics Board Chair Jason Amato declined to comment after Friday’smeeting.

Theagreement

The settlement agreement

12-month periodthatended Sept. 30, 2024, out of more than270,000 removalsfor all nationalities, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement

“The business activitiesof our investorsand therights of ournationals must not be unjustly infringed in the process of U.S. law enforcement,” South KoreanForeign Ministry spokespersonLee Jaewoong said in atelevised statement from Seoul Leesaid theministryisdispatchingdiplomatsfromits embassy in Washingtonand consulate in Atlantatothe site,and planning to forman on-site responseteam

Immigration attorney CharlesKucksaidtwo of his clients who were detained hadarrived from South Korea under avisa waiver program that enablesthem to travelfor tourism or business for stays of90daysor less without obtaining avisa.

One of his clients,he said, hasbeen in the U.S. for a coupleofweeks, while the other has been inthe country for about 45 days. He did notprovidedetails about the kind of work they were doing, but said they had been planning to go home soon

Schrank told reporters in Savannah thatwhile some of the detained workers illegally crossed the U.S. border,others had entered the country legally but had expired visas or had entered on avisa waiver that prohibited them from working. He said some of those detained worked for the battery manufacturer,while others were employed by contractors and subcontractors at

between theEthics Board and Landry,known as a consent opinion, acknowledges Landry violated state disclosurelaws by notfiling reports of the flights.

“In this particular situation, it is the conclusion of the Board that the interest of thepublic wouldbe served by,and the parties have agreedtoresolving this matteramicably through the publication of this Consent Opinion with theimposition of a$900 civil penalty against Jeffrey M. Landry,” the documentstates.

The consent opinion also notes that, had the matter been allowedto go to trial, ajudge couldhave ordered Landry to payupto$10,000 for each violation Boardclarifies rules

The board on Friday also adopted aformal advisory opinion saying the Louisiana governor is required to file adisclosure formdesigned forpublic officials to report to the Ethics Board complimentary travel or lodging they receiveinthe course of official duties.

Under state ethics law,the headofanagencymustapprove any complimentary travel provided to an employee and certify thatit either benefits the agency or the professional skill set of theofficial, whomust then file that approval with theboardwithin 60 days of travel.

Landry’sattorneyslast yearasked for clarification on the applicability ofthese

theconstruction site.

Schrank said he didn’t knowprecisely how many of the 475 detained wereKorean nationals, but that they made up amajority.Noone has yet been charged with anycrimes, he said, but the investigation is ongoing.

“This was not an immigration operation whereagents wentinto the premises, rounded up folks, and put them on buses,”Schrank said. “This has been amultimonth criminal investigation wherewehavedeveloped evidence and conducted interviews, gathered documents andpresented that evidence to the court in order to obtain ajudicial search warrant.”

He said mostofthe detainees weretaken to an immigrationdetention center in Folkston,Georgia, near the Florida state line.

Sweeping ICEoperations

President Donald Trump’s administration hasundertaken sweeping ICE operations as partofamassdeportation agenda. Immigration officers have raided farms, construction sites, restaurantsand autorepair shops.

ThePew Research Center, citing preliminary Census Bureau data, says theU.S. labor force lost morethan 1.2 million immigrants from Januarythrough July.That includespeople whoare in thecountry illegally as well as legal residents.

The Democratic Party of Georgia on Fridaycondemned the raid, with its chair, Charlie Bailey,calling the raids, “politically-motivatedfear tactics designed to terrorize people who work

rules to thegovernor,arguing “it is implicit” that an agency head who accepts complimentary travel under state ethics laws is certifying such benefit either to the agency or to his professional development

The board’sadvisory opinion saidthat,because of the way the law is written it can’t simply assume the travel is certified andapproved, and Landrymust file the disclosure,signing offtwice as both theofficial accepting the free travel andthe agency head approving it.

“Governor Landry is requiredtofile Form 413 with the Board within sixty days of his receipt of complimentaryadmission, lodging, and transportation received in connection withhis duties as Governor of the State of Louisiana,” the advisory opinion states.

Landry molded board

Since he became governorin2024, Landry and the Legislaturehave worked to make majorchanges to the Ethics Board.

That year,hesigned abill expanding the boardfrom 11 to 15 membersand did away with an appointment protocol meant to insulate the board from political influence.

Previously, anominating committee made up of private university presidents put forward aslate of five candidates from which the governor selected an appointment. Now,the governor can appoint anyone of

president with the company’sdecision to create more American jobs by building an EV factory in Georgia.

“Our decision to invest in Savannah, Georgia, creating more than 8,500 American jobs,was initiatedduring my meeting with President TrumpinSeoul in 2019,” Chung said at the March event.

Batteryplant to open

hard for aliving, power our economy andcontribute to the communities across Georgia that they have made their homes.”

Kemp andother Georgia Republican officials, who hadcourted Hyundaiand celebrated theEVplant’s opening, issuedstatements Friday saying all employers in the state wereexpected to follow the law

The Hyundai site sits on 3,000 acres in alargely rural area of BryanCounty, drawing in workers from several surrounding counties and communities including Savannah.

SammieRentz opened the Viet Huong Supermarket less than 3miles from the Hyundai sitesix months ago

The store sells both American and Asianproducts, he said, but he mostly relies on Hyundai workers seeking foods imported from Korea.

“Koreans keep this store running,” said Rentz, who worriesbusiness may not bounce back afterfalling off sharplysincethe raid.

his choosing tothe board.

Landry also signed into law ameasure granting him the authority to name the chairs of nearly150 state boards and commissions, including the BoardofEthics

This yearheappointed five newmemberstoethics panel, and he quickly named Amato to the chair position as one of the new appointees. He also recentlybacked an overhaul of laws that gov-

“I’m concerned. Koreans are very proud people, andI bet they’re not appreciating whatjust happened. I’m worried about them cutting and running,orstarting an exit strategy.”

Ellabell resident Tanya Cox, who lives less than amile from theHyundai site, said shehad no ill feelingstoward Korean nationals or other immigrant workers at the site. But few neighbors were employed there, and she felt like more construction jobs at thebattery plant should have gone to local residents.

“I don’tsee how it’sbrought alot of jobs to our community or nearby communities,” Cox said. “Where we used to hear birds chirping and animallife around here, now we hear the plant when it’sfully going at night.”

Hyundai began producing electric vehiclesatthe site last September.Afew monthslater,Hyundai Motor Group Executive ChairmanEuisun Chung, during aWhite House appearance with Trump, creditedthe

ern how the board handles investigations into public officials over alleged misconduct. The new lawscreated additional hurdles the board must clear before it can launch an investigation as well as other protocolsit must follow duringaninvestigation.

Supporters said the new investigation rules will ensure officials under investigation receive due process,

The battery plant operated by HL-GABattery Co., ajoint venture by Hyundai andLGEnergy Solution, is slated to open next year In asearch warrant and relatedaffidavits, agents said they wanted employment recordsfor current and former workers; personnel files; payroll information; bank account information; timecards; video and photos of workers; and immigration documents. Social Security cards, visas, passportsand birth certificates also were targeted. Theagents also sought records about the ownership and management of multiple construction companies and contractors named in the search warrant materials. The documentsincluded the names and photos of four people identified as “target persons” to be searched, without further information about them In astatement to The Associated Press, LG said it was “closely monitoringthe situation andgathering all relevant details.” It saidit couldn’timmediately confirm howmanyofits employees or Hyundai workers had been detained.

but detractors said the rules will limit theeffectiveness of aboard that is supposed to ensure public officials are acting in the best interest of those they serve.

Gelé,Landry’sattorney for the ethics charges, played a centralrole in crafting the new ethics investigation procedures. Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse pfeil@theadvocate.com.

95 La.NationalGuard troops to help ICE

Immigration crackdown intensifies

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

TheLouisianaNational Guard has mobilized 95 troops to support ICE operations in the state, another step Gov.Jeff Landry has taken to support President Donald Trump’simmigration crackdown.

The soldiers were mobilized Aug. 25 and sent to various locations across the state to assist with “administrative, clerical, and logistical tasks,” according to a releasefromthe Louisiana National Guard.

Lt. Col. Noel Collins,a spokespersonfor the agency,said the Department of Homeland Security requested the troops. She could not provide further details about where they were stationed, she said.

The troops were mobilized under Title 32 status, according to the release. That means they remain under

Landry’scontrolbut that the federalgovernmentpays for the mobilization

“When the State of Louisiana andthe United States of Americaneedsus, we act. TheSoldiers and Airmen of theLouisiana National Guard are trained professionals who embody the values of our military and understand what it means to protect the homeland,” Maj. Gen.ThomasFriloux,the adjutant general of Louisianaand head ofthe guard, said in astatement.

It’s thesecondtimeina month the state has mobilized the National Guardat theTrump administration’s request.Two weeks ago, Louisiana sent 135 soldiers to bolsterTrump’scontroversial intervention on crimeand illegal immigration in Washington, D.C.

There are now 140 Louisiana troops deployed there, accordingtoCollins. They join over 2,000 other National Guard membersfrom other states andthe District of Columbia.

Trump saystheir presence is necessary to get crime undercontrol in the capital. Crit-

STAFF PHOTO BY HILARY SCHEINUK

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, center,speaks Wednesday outsideofCamp 57 at Louisiana State PenitentiaryinAngola. With him, from left, are AttorneyGeneral PamBondi,ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan and U.S. Homeland Security SecretaryKristi Noem

ics have described Trump’s actions, which face local pushback, as authoritarian.

Official data puts violent crime in Washington, D.C., at a30-year low The news also comes days after Landry and top Trump administration officials un-

Ziziansmemberpleadsnot guilty in Border Patrol agent’sdeath

BY HOLLYRAMER and AMANDASWINHART Associated Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. Amember of the cultlike Zizians group accused of killing a U.S. Border Patrol agent pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges Friday in her first court appearance since prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty against her Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Seattle, is among agroup of radicalcomputer scientists focusedonveganism, gender identity and artificial intelligence who have been linked to six killings in three states. She is accused of fatally shooting agent David Maland in Vermont on Jan. 20, the same day President Donald Trump was inaugurated and signed asweeping executive order lifting the moratorium on federal executions.

Youngblut initiallywas charged with using adeadly weapon against law enforcement and discharging afirearm during an assault with

adeadlyweapon, crimes that were not punishable by the death penalty. Butthe Trump administrationsignaled early on that more serious charges were coming as partofits push formore federal executions, and a new indictment released last monthcharged herwith murderofafederal lawenforcement agent,assaulting other agents with adeadly weapon and related firearms offenses.

Youngblut’sparents watched herenterthe courtroom, withher hair in braided pigtails and wearing baggy khaki pants, an oversized sweatshirt andamask. At the time of the shooting, authorities had been watchingYoungblut andher companion, Felix Bauckholt, for several days after aVermont hotel employee reported seeingthem carrying guns and wearing black tactical gear She is accused of opening fire on border agents who pulled thecar over on Interstate 91. An agent fired back, killing Bauckholt andwounding Youngblut.

The pair were amongthe followersofJack LaSota, atransgenderwoman also known as Ziz whoseonline writing attracted young, highly intelligent computer scientistswho shared anarchist beliefs. Members of the group have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord in 2022 thelandlord’ssubsequent killingearlier this year, andthe deaths of oneofthe members’ parents in Pennsylvania.

LaSota and two othersface weaponsand drug charges in Maryland, where they were arrested in February, while LaSota faces additional federal charges of being an armed fugitive. Another member of the group whois charged withkilling thelandlordinCalifornia hadapplied fora marriage license with Youngblut. Michelle Zajko, whoseparents werekilled in Pennsylvania,was arrested withLaSotainMaryland, andhas been chargedwith providingweapons to Youngblut in Vermont.

Judgetells Newsmaxtorefilelawsuit

BY MEG JAMES Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Afederal judge has rejectedNewsmax’s lawsuit alleging Fox News violated U.S.antitrust laws by squeezing out rival conservative news networks.

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon said she would give Newsmax ado-over The Boca Raton, Fla.-based network has until Thursday to refile itslawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’smedia company and toprated cable newsnetworktocomply with judicial style.

In her two-page ruling on Friday,Cannon said Newsmax’slawyers inappropriately tried to build their case by stringing together allegations to compound their effect.

“Weunderstand this is just atechnical matter and our law firm is refiling,”Newsmaxsaid in astatement.

Newsmax sued Fox Newsand its parent FoxCorp. on Wednesday,accusingMur-

veileda newICE detention center on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. They said thefacility, referred to as both Camp57and the Louisiana Lockup, will hold “the worst of the worst.” Eventually,Camp 57 will

be abletoholdupto416 detainees, according to officials. Louisiana already has multiple ICE detention centers which, altogether, house about 7,000 immigrants, according to Bill Quigley,the formerdirector of the Law Clinic and the Gillis Long

Poverty LawCenteratLoyola

University in NewOrleans. Both Landry and Trump have described immigration enforcement as key to protecting the country from violent crime. Critics of thecrackdown sayICE is detaining people withno criminal records, sometimes without due process.

About 70% of those in ICE lockup have no criminal convictions, The Associated Press reported in July.Half of them have no pending criminal charges, according to the report.

This summer,Congress passed legislation expanding ICE’sbudget by tenfold —anincreaseof$76.5 billion. The agency aimstohire 10,000 new deportation officers; it previously had 6,500. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.

doch’stelevision company of anticompetitivebehavior to maintain its “unlawful monopolization of the right-leaning pay TV news market.”

Lawyers for Newsmax allegedFox used itsmarket clouttodiscourage pay-TV distributors from carrying or promoting Newsmaxand other rival conservative news outlets. Newsmax claimed Fox News resorts to intimidation campaigns, including by pressuring guests not to appear on Newsmax. Fox News scoffed at the allegations “Newsmax cannot sue their way out of their own competitive failures in the marketplace to chaseheadlines simplybecause theycan’t attract viewers,” thecompany said.

The Trump-appointed judge wrote that Newsmax’slawsuit was structured as a “shotgun pleading” —acomplaint thatcontains“multiple counts whereeach count adopts the allegations of all preceding counts.” Should Newsmax try again, it must untangleits arguments.

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Gunman at ballgame gets 48 years

1 killed, 1 injured at Port Allen-Brusly match in 2023

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

In a perfect world, Ja’Kobe Queen would be weeks into his senior year of high school and on the cusp of embarking on a new chapter in his life.

But his life was cut short two

years ago when the Brusly teen was struck by bullets at a high school football game in West Baton Rouge. A fight that broke out at the annual grudge match between Port Allen and Brusly in September 2023 turned deadly when Jarrettin Ranaud Jackson pulled out a

Glock outfitted with a “switch” mechanism. The modified pistol fired three rounds, and two of them struck Queen in the face and neck, killing the 16-year-old, who was not involved in the scuffle. Brasia Davis, another bystander was also struck by a bullet during the incident.

During a hearing Thursday morning at the West Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse in Port Allen, District Judge Tonya Lurry sentenced Jackson to 48 years in prison.

Principal on paid leave amid investigation

Scotlandville High student fight recorded

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

In an unusual move, the principal of Scotlandville High School in Baton Rouge has been placed on paid leave while district leaders conduct an inquiry into a fight at the school last week.

The fight, which involved several female students beating up another female student, was captured on a video that has been circulating around the campus at 9870 Scotland Ave. and in the surrounding Scotlandville community Taylor Gast, a spokesperson for the East Baton Rouge Parish school system, confirmed that Principal Paul Jackson was placed on leave earlier this week awaiting the outcome of the investigation. Gast would not say what prompted the move, describing it as a personnel matter It is unusual for the school district to launch its own inquiry into a student fight. Typically, the principal handles such matters.

Jackson, a 1989 graduate of the school, became principal of Scotlandville High in summer 2021 after he was promoted from assistant principal at the school. The high school is home to almost 700 students.

LSU police report fraternity hazing incident

A fraternity on LSU’s campus was the site for an alleged hazing incident during the university’s “rush week.” The incident happened at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house on Aug. 21, according to a report from university police. Other details are slim.

ä See PRINCIPAL, page 2B CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

LSU was the site of the death of freshman Max Gruver from alcohol poisoning in 2017 during a hazing ritual to pledge the Phi Delta Theta fraternity Earlier this year, a sophomore student at Southern University seized and died after being punched repeatedly in the chest during a ritual to pledge the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

A criminal hazing statute written into state law following Gruver’s death — which allows for a felony charge in certain cases was used when charging the three Omega Psi Phi brothers considered suspects in Wilson’s death. Omega Psi Phi has since been removed from Southern’s campus permanently, including its fraternity plot.

Police: BR toddler dies after accidental shooting

A 3-year-old died from a gunshot Friday morning after finding a handgun at a residence on Sumrall Drive,

ä See BLOTTER, page 2B

“This is so shocking to the conscience that something like this can happen here.” Jackson, now 19, was tried in May for second-degree murder and attempted murder, along with a slate of other charges stemming from the Sept. 1, 2023, incident. A jury convicted him on lesser

ä See GUNMAN, page 2B

“A high school football game is something so deeply rooted in our community and something people should be able to go to without fear without having to worry about being harmed,” the judge said just before imposing the prison time.

ALONG THE LINES

Game day security a dance of its own

Mitigating gridlock also a vital law enforcement task

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

An underrated hallmark of college football is the muscular state trooper, visible in the camera shot of every hurried, on-field interview As he towers over the coach, the brim of his campaign hat is usually tilted low, masking the eyes of an expressionless, unyielding face — a projection of stern, American authority

“We have a service to do: Keep people off players, keep people off coaches,” said Bryan Madden, a former LSU offensive tackle who served in the coveted role throughout the coaching tenures of Les Miles and Ed Orgeron. “You walk into Ole Miss, Alabama, they’re not friendly.” However, Madden said the job is often more about shielding coaches from overzealous Tiger fans than handling any serious hostility

“I’ve had to keep a lot of hands off of Coach Miles’ behind from little old ladies,” Madden said. “With Coach O, it was two things: Protect him from the craziness, and protect the craziness from Coach O.”

But much of what goes into college game day security isn’t as visible as Madden’s 6-foot-4, 300-pound frame. By kickoff, LSU’s campus can swell into one of Louisiana’s largest cities, holding up to 200,000 people for high-profile matchups. That means months of planning for traffic, parking and controlled chaos.

“Once the season is wrapped up, we’re already starting ahead for next year,” said Marshall Walters, who once worked alongside Madden and now serves as LSU’s chief of police. “You have to be adaptable, you have to be flexible. Our base security plan is as good as anyone’s in the country.”

LSU’s force of about 60 officers grows to nearly 400 on game days through partnerships, mainly with Baton Rouge police, Louisiana State Police and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. More than 200 posts are manned across town, stretching from

River Road downtown all the way to Siegen Lane off Interstate 10. Baton Rouge police largely control traffic, while state troopers and sheriff’s deputies handle stadium security

The result is a massive choreography of crowd control. Ahead of the Tigers’ first home game of the season on Saturday, LSU and Baton Rouge officials are reminding fans of the policies that make their jobs easier

Here are some of the basics: Most parking and tailgate policies remain unchanged, but note these updates:

n Old Front Line Lot: Now $50 parking (first come, first served; previously free).

n RV parking: Touchdown Village RVs have moved to the Alex Box lot.

n Permits required: Most lots need permits; free first-come parking still available at Hayfield, Gourrier South, Levee South and the LSU Golf Course driving range. Road closures (starting around 7 a.m.):

n Perimeter: Nicholson, Fieldhouse, South and North Stadium drives.

n May Street off Dalrymple Drive remains closed due to the LSU Lakes project. Bag and water policies:

n Only clear bags smaller than 12 by 6 by 12 inches are allowed inside Tiger Stadium.

n One sealed water bottle per fan now per-

mitted;

charges of manslaughter and aggravated battery for shooting Queen and Davis. Thejuryfound himguilty as charged of carryinga firearm on school property, illegalpossession of amachine gun and obstruction of justice.

Judge Lurry sentenced Jackson to the 40-year maximum for manslaughter and 10 years apiece for aggravated battery and obstruction of justice, running those sentences concurrently,meaningJackson will serve histimefor the three offenses simultaneously.She tacked on another eight years for theillegal handling of amachine gun conviction and gave Jackson five years for carrying aweapon illegallyonschool grounds. He will do his time on the two weapons charges concurrently after first serving the 40-year term for manslaughter

Jasmaine Rogers, Queen’s sister,said she was standing afew feet from him when the fateful shots were fired and witnessed him take his last breath. Rogers told the judge she and Queen’sother loved ones weren’tsatisfied with the manslaughter conviction at trial and felt Jackson should havebeen found guilty of murder

“Wefeel the current charges do notprovide justice for our family,” she said during Thursday’shearing.

“How do you murder an innocent,16-year-old bystander and get (convicted) of manslaughter whenthe

SECURITY

Continued from page1B

Officials account for that by using atechnique known as contraflow: Once fans start leaving, barricades and signals forceall traffic to flow directly away from campus. Johnson says it is ahard pill for some to swallow.Those parked on the south or west side are usually funneled to Nicholson or River Road. North or east, it is Highland Road. Getting caught on the wrong side can mean sitting in the car for hours before accessing an interstatetoreach an area across campus.

“If you buy aticket on the 401 lot on the south side, well then don’ttry to go to Baker. Trytobuy aticket on the other side of campus,” he said. “Wehave to account forthe masses.”

He has also urged businesses like casinos to adjust shift changes to occur during games, so employees avoid gettingcaught in postgame mayhem.

Butastraffic hasincreased, so has the technology capability of alleviating it.

Though officials now have to worry about cracking down on fans using drones, they can also use the tech to make instantaneous adjustments to traffic flow

“Weused to fly over games

evidence clearly shows otherwise? We are now forced to relive this horrific moment all over allover again …only for theshooter’s senseless actions, pathetic behavior and complete disregard forhuman life to be minimized.”

The shooting happened during halftime of the 52nd annual SugarCaneClassic, aseason-openingfootball clash between the rival schools. Afightbrokeout near afence just offthe football field and gunfire erupted, sending hundreds of people in thestands scrambling to flee the stadium in amad dash.

Duringhis murder trial, Jackson testified that he had been shot and threatened, stalked and attacked on several occasions, andhis house wasshotupatleast once. He traced all that to a feudheand his friends had with agroup of Brusly teens foryearsleading up to the shooting. He said Zakiylan Paul Williams ledagroup of adversaries that antagonizedhim and his friends during the game, hurling threatsand insults at them that night.Williams andJailynSmith,one of Jackson’s friends, began fighting following abrief exchange of words.

Jackson was armed with aGlock equipped witha switch device that converts small-caliberpistols into fully automatic firearms capableofspraying bullets in rapid-firefashion with a single squeeze of the trigger On thefinal day of his trial, Jackson testified that he raised the gun in self-defense when he noticedtwo of the teens with Williams

rushing toward himasWilliams and Smith fought. He claimed he never intended to fire the gun and was only trying to scare his would-be attackers, butthe weapon accidentally discharged after someone bumped his hand.

At leasttwo eyewitnesses, includingthe surviving victim,testifiedthat no one hit Jackson’shand or the gun and told jurors no one was rushingathim before the shooting. Prosecutors presented cellphone video footage thatshowedJackson in a shooter’sstance, taking aim split seconds before he fired the shots. No one couldbe seen reaching for the gun in the video, but Jackson said theblurry footage didn’t capture the exact moment his weapon discharged.

During Thursday’shearing, Jacksonapologized to the victims’ families and maintained that he never intended to harm anyone.

“The pain I’ve caused can never be undone,” he said. “If only it was possible to turn back the hands of time and undo what happened, I would.”

Williams, 18, and Smith, 20, were both charged as adults withprincipal to commit manslaughter,attempted manslaughter,inciting to riotand disturbing the peace. West Baton Rouge court records show Smith pleaded guiltytoa reduced count of manslaughter on July 9and thestate dismissed his fourremaining charges. Lurrysentenced him to five years, records show Williams has yet to be tried or sentenced.

Sandra James Page, one of

the BatonRouge attorneys whodefendedJackson at trial, echoed Jackson’sclaims of self-defense following Thursday’ssentencing.

“JarrettinJackson Jr.is agood kid that was put in a compromising situation— asituation that could have been prevented had the state andlocal policeproperly investigated the shootingofhis home the month priorand another shooting that hadhim injuredwhen he was 15 by the same gang of boys,” she said in astatement. “Hewas hunted for 3 years and nobody did anything to stopit, although policewereinformed and reports were made. We weren’t allowed to bring that into the jury though. My client wasn’t agang member or rogue shooter …hewas akid being bullied at school and at work. He was only trying to defend himself thatday.”

Tony Clayton, district attorneyfor the18thJudicial District Court,which encompasses West Baton Rouge, reflected on the case as a“tragedy” that cost Queen his life and will see Jacksonspendmuchofthe next 50 years in prison —if he surviveshis termofincarceration.

“These arethe consequences of violent actions, Claytonsaid in astatement. “Young people need to learn how to handle their disputes withoutguns. Abad decision made in afew seconds has ruined lives. Theseshootings and killings have got to stop. We have said repeatedly we will prosecute these gun cases hard —young people need to knowthey will forfeit their right to be free.”

PRINCIPAL

Continued from page1B

In astatement about the fight, the school system said “violenceofany kind has no place in our schools, andwestrongly condemn theactionsthat took place” and“students involved in the incident” arebeing disciplinedin accordance withdistrict rules.

“Werecognize that this incident has drawn public scrutiny; however,itis notrepresentative of the incredible students, dedicated educators, and supportive staff who make up the Scotlandville High School community,” according to thestatement. “This incident does not define our school, and we remain committed to fostering asafe, respectful, and academically enriching environment for all.”

BLOTTER

Continued from page1B

aspokesperson forthe BatonRougePolice Department confirmed.

Theweapon wasloaded at the timethe boy found it, and police say he died from an accidental discharge of thefirearm

The investigation is ongoing andmoredetails are expected to follow,a spokesperson for BRPD told The Advocate.

Three arrested in human trafficking

Threesuspectswerearrested in Livingston Parish on counts of human trafficking afterdeputies say they allegedly planned to move undocumented immigrants across states for money

Kelly Hernandez, 38, and Enrique Gonzales, 27, both of Alabama, werearrested on threecounts each of humantrafficking. Omar Gon-

zales, 28,ofMexico, was arrested on three counts of human trafficking and one count of unlawful entry or reentry into Louisiana by an illegal alien.

The investigation began when the Denham Springs Police Department contacted the Livingston Parish Sheriff’sOffice in August about apotentialkidnapping at aPilot gas station. After arrivingonscene and questioning suspects, law enforcement learned thethree mentraveled fromAlabama to Texas with aplan to transport three undocumented immigrantsinthe United States back to Alabamafor money,according to the Sheriff’sOffice.

All three suspects are being held in the Livingston Parish Detention Center.Enrique Gonzales and OmarGonzales bothhave holds from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The incident is still under investigation, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

with ahelicopter,” Johnson said.“It’s made things alot safer andalot more efficient.”

Officials can then call a city engineer who remotely adjusts signals, like on major I-10 offramps, to avoid interstate buildups before games,thenextendoutbound greens after.LSU has commissioned at least adozen traffic studies and leaned on years of city consulting, but easing game day congestion

remainsSisyphean. Without majornew infrastructure, frustrationisinevitable.

“Everybody hastheir opiniononhow it should be done,” said Johnson, whose biggest gripe is amissing westbound release valve.“Theyput the Mississippi Riverinthe wrong place …itiswhatit is.”

Step aside…‘We’rewalking’ Despite LSU’sfan base having areputation as one

of the rowdiestinthe country, Walters said the number of game day arrests hovers around the middle of the pack forthe SEC.

“People would be surprisedatthe lack of arrests we make out here,”hesaid “All the horrorstories you readabout on social media of rowdy fans, certainly,we have some, but Ithink some of them getblown out of proportion.

Official countsweren’t im-

mediately available, but he figured anywhere between two and 15 people get tossed or arrested during agame, withthe numbers positively correlatedtothe amount of pre-kickoffdaylight availabletoimbibe. Occasionally alcohol leadstoabare body sprinting across turf before asea of purple andgold.

“If youstreak, you will be arrested,” said Walters. “Every nowand then,one of them is surprised by that.”

Storming the field is another unpredictable variable. This season, the SEC raised fines for schools to $500,000 each time theirfan base stormsthe field, regardless of howmanytimes it has occurred. For conference games, the offender’s athleticdepartmentmust paythe opposing team’s. In theNIL era, it is nothardto imaginethe policy helpinga rivalteam poach apotential recruit

“We’reLSU. We should be in aposition where winning big games is aproud moment,but notafield-rush moment,”saidMichael Bonnette, LSU Athletics’ communications director.“Fans need to understand the significance of thefine.”

For Madden, years on the job helped him sense when it was time to find the most direct routetoshepherd acoach back to the locker room

“After doing it forsolong,

we know when it’sgoing to happen,” he said.“If you’ve neverbeen around it,you don’t know what’scoming fromwhatdirection There’salot of intensity when you’re in afieldrush.” During frenzied moments with media and fans, Madden’strademark call as a state trooperwas “we’re walking,” delivered, he said, in his “outdoor voice.” It wasacue everyone soon learned meant to quickly step aside “It took two home games for people to understand what it means,” he said. The command is aremindertofans —whether stuck bumper-to-bumperor pressed againstanend zone wall —thatdespiteits headaches, it is probably wiseto fall in linewith the machinery of game daysecurity

“We’re excited too, but we have to bring ourselves down to get peopleout and move safely,” Madden said. “When you hear the ‘move,’ you move. And when you hear the‘no,’ it’s no.”

Butler, Brenda Rock Zion BaptistChurch at 11 a.m.

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St.Josephthe Worker Catholic

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Ransom,August Hall Davisand Sons FuneralHome, 9348 Scenic Highway,at10a.m

Richard, John St.GeorgeCatholicChurch,7808 St George Drive, at 11 a.m.

Rogers,Larry Days Chapel A.M.E.

Tucker,Linda Mount OliveBaptistChurch,27320 Highway 405 in Caddoville,at11a.m

Upkins,Julia Promised Land BaptistChurch,7234 PlankRoad, at 10 a.m.

Obituaries

Favret Jr., Lionel J. 'Tiger'

Lionel J. "Tiger" Favret,

Jr., aloving husband and father and New Orleans general contractor whose work included the restoration of St. Louis Cathedral in 1976, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025,in Metairie. He was 82. Tiger married his college sweetheart, Lynda Hannie Favret of Baton Rouge. The couple shared aspecial love and devotion for each other for 61 years. He was the father of Lionel J. Favret, III, Julie Catherine Favret Calhoun (Patrick) and Jill Alene Favret Thaller (Keith), and aloving daughter-in-law, Anne Marie Fradella Favret. Tiger was the proud grandfather of Lionel Joseph Favret, IV, Patrick Calhoun, Jr., and GeorgeWilliams Calhoun. Tiger was born Sept. 6, 1942, in New Orleans to the late Lionel J. Favret, Sr., and Marjorie Ferguson Favret. He was preceded in death by his brother, Robert F. Favret, Sr., andis

survivedbyhis sister, Marjorie FavretCaliri (Frank) of Kailus Kona, Hawaii, and brother, GregoryJ.Favret of Metairie

Aproud graduate of Holy Cross,Tiger went on to earnhis Bachelor of Science degreefrom SoutheasternLouisiana College. As president of Lionel J. Favret Construction Company, Tigerbecame thethird generation of hisfamily to renovatethe Cathedral in anticipation of the United States Bicentennial. He was acharter memberand president of the Associated Buildersand Contractors New Orleans chapterand was named Memberofthe Year in 1974 and 1976

An active figure in the community,Tiger was a memberofthe Krewe of Argus from 1973 to 1978. He was parade marshall from 1975 to 1978 and was instrumentalinstarting the krewe's tradition of honoringcelebrity Empresses. Tiger also servedasa Bank of Louisiana board member, Harbor Masterofthe New Orleans Big Game Fishing Club, Bucktown Harbor commissioner,Jefferson CommunityAppearance Board member, and trusteefor the T. Lafon Estate.

He attended St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and was amemberofthe Knights of Columbus Council 8546.Healsobelonged to the New Orleans Athletic Club and the Court Jesters of the Court of Two Sisters.

Tiger's family wishes to give aheartfelt thank you to the Tulane and East Jeffersondoctors, and to the nurses and aides on the third floor of LCMC.

Amemorialhonoring Tiger'slifeisplannedfor what wouldhavebeenhis 83rd birthday on Saturday, September 6, 2025, atLake LawnMetairieFuneral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Boulevard in NewOrleans. Pallbearerswill be his nephews, brothers Gregory, David, John,and Thomas Favret Visitationwilltake place from 8:30 to 10 a.m., followed by Mass at 10 a.m. celebrated by the Rev. Patrick Carr in the Lake Lawnchapel. After Mass has concluded, he will be laid to rest in Metairie Cemetery. To view and sign the family guestbook, please visitlakelawnmetairie.com

Lee, TimothyWayne TimothyWayneLee,age 64 of Montgomery, Al died unexpectedlyonAugust 28,2025. Native of Baton Rouge, he graduated BelaireHighand Faulkner University andbuilt a37yearsuccessfulcareer as MajorAccount Executive forDeltaCom. Survived by hiswifeof40years, Sharon Lee, daughtersPriscilla Montiel(Diego) of Birmingham,AL; SabrinaCauthen (Shelby) of Denver,COand son, Tabor Lee, Mont-

gomeryAL; grandchildren Xaviand Leo' Montiel. Also survived by sistersPam Hemingway (Robert)ofIllinois, BrendaCrump (Dan) of Tennessee and brother Larry LeeofBaton Rouge as well as nieces and nephews. Preceded in deathbyparents, Leopold (Leo)and Evelyn(Winstead)Lee. Visitationwill be heldMonday, September 8from9-11followedby service at 11:00 am Landmark Church of Christ, Montgomery, AL wherehe wasafaithfulmember. Services will also be streamed onlineatLandmark Church of Christ (Facebook).GEAUX TIGERS!!

Norton, Rev. KennethD. 'Reverend Kenneth'

Reverend Kenneth D. Norton, 87, of Bossier City, Louisiana, passed away peacefully on September 3, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.

BornonSeptember 1, 1938, to thelateWilliam B. Norton and MaggieS.Norton, Kennethdedicated his life to faith,family,and community. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Kenanne Dooley and threesiblings. He is survivedbyhis devotedwife,Marilyn Rech Norton; and former wife Ann Norton Ogden of BatonRouge;his children, Russell Norton, TomDooley, and Shawn Cranford; and hisbeloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren,who brought him endless joy.

Kenneth served as a minister for theUnited Methodist Church, where his charisma, humor, and compassiontouched countless lives. He was also adedicated Al-Anonfacilitator, aproud member of theBossier City Lions Club, and aformermemberofthe Baton Rouge JC's. Aregularatthe Friday coffee group at Rhino Coffee Shop, Kenneth treasured friendshipand connectioninevery setting. Beyond his service, Kennethwas aman of many passions. He lovedcheering on LSUfootballand baseball,traveling,and sharing laughter and stories wherever he went Known affectionately as Santa to his grandchildren and hischurch community, he brought magic and joy to thosearound him. He was especially fond of "viddles,"witha special love forLee's pecan pie and shrimp in any form.

Kenneth was charismatic, quick-witted, and endlessly kind-hearted.He never met astranger and was always thebrightest light in theroom, ensuring that by theend of the evening, he knew everyone personally.

Amemorial service will be held on Saturday,

September 6, 2025, at 2:00

p.m. at theFirst United Methodist Church of Bossier City. Officiating: Rev. MilesHolladay and Rev. Donnie Wilkinson. The family wouldliketo extend theirheartfelt thankstothe doctorsand nurses at Willis-Knighton, the compassionate team at Bristol Hospice, and the staff and residentsatThe Bloom fortheir care and kindness He willbedeeply missed and forever in our hearts.

Ricker, BonnieJean

Mrs. BonnieJeanRicker, 80, entered intoeternal rest on Tuesday, September2,2025, at home under thelovingcare of herhusband, WilliamRickerand hospice care.

Bonniewas bornonDecember 18, 1944, in Portland, Oregon. She was the oldest daughter of Harold Rogers and Doris Jean Rogers and was sisterto David Rogers and Sally Rogers. Bonnieissurvived by her devotedhusband of 62 years WilliamRicker, whom she met at Encina HighSchool in Sacramento and thetwo havebeenloving husband and wife ever since. Bonnieloved to travel,mostly to spend time with all of hercherished grandchildrenand greatgrandchildren. She willalways be remembered as a caring, wonderfulwoman who was beloved as the

matriarch of ourfamily andwas always there when we needed her. She will be deeply missed. Sheissurvivedbyher four sons, MatthewRicker (Stephany), Drew Ricker (Sherry), Christopher Ricker (Renee) andJason Ricker (Roxanne)and her grandchildren, Jessica Ricker,Billy Ricker,SamanthaRickson, Amber Ricker, Wesley Ricker,Holden Ricker,Lane Ricker,Harper Ricker andPreston Ricker andher great grandchildren,Isabel Ricker,Benji Ricker,Hazel Rickson,Joy Rickson, Lilah Bahn-Ricker, Maxx Bahn-Ricker,Ivy Ames, AuroraRicker and Aeviana Ricker TheRite of Christian burialwillbeheld at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church,Garden of Peace on Saturday, September 13 at 10am.

Wallace, Henry Hamilton

HenryHamilton Wallace passedaway on Sunday, August 31, 2025. He was 89. Henry wasbornon February 23, 1936 in Stockdale, Texas andmoved to Louisiana as achild.Heattended Louisiana Tech University andthenentered theUnited States Coast Guard wherehewas stationed in Brownsville, Texas. He marriedPatricia Roshto and afterhis honorable discharge from the service,theymoved to Houston, Texas andeventually returned home to Baton Rouge wherehe

workedasa buildinginspector for theCityParish He later became aConstruction Superintendent andspent themajority of hisworkingyearsatJim Best Construction andEllis Electric.Hewas alongtime memberand deacon at Parkview Baptist Church whereheservedfaithfully with humility and integrity. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Pat Roshto Wallace; daughter, WendyWallaceTerHaar andher husband, Brian; and grandchildren Abigail Kathryn TerHaar andJack Shaffer TerHaar. He wasprecededin death by his parents,Raymond Hamilton Wallace andDella ShafferWallace; sister,AlmaWallaceFluker;brother,CharlesRaymond Wallaceand sisterin-law,NonaDay Wallace. Henryloved to work with hishands andfor yearshevolunteered with the"Tuesday Crew" at Judson Baptist Retreat Center He wasa quietman who lovedthe Lordand hisfamily. He washumble, patient, andtender-hearted Visitation willbeat Parkview Baptist Church on Monday, September8 from 9:00AM untilthe funeralservice at 11AM.A private burialwillfollow at ResthavenGardens of Memory.

BRIEFS

FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Raising Cane’s to open locations in the U.K. Chicken fingers and Texas toast are making their way to across the pond.

Raising Cane’s plans to open several restaurants in the United Kingdom over the next year, creating 700 jobs. The plan is to start off with restaurants in London areas such as Piccadilly Circus, Paddington, South Bank and off of the Strand and Oxford Circus, eventually expanding throughout England and the rest of the UK

Todd Graves, co-founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s, said the anticipated U.K. location was in high demand. Graves said he began searching for ideal locations in London and the rest of the U.K. a few years ago.

“It has always been a dream of mine to bring Cane’s to the U.K and I’m excited to officially kick off this growth with the opening of our U.K. flagship next year,” he said in a news release. “London is one of my favorite places, and I’ve always enjoyed visiting with my family.”

Raising Cane’s will build a regional support office in London, and the company is recruiting a president of the U.K. business and other executive leaders to helm operations.

Google hit with $3.5B fine in antitrust case

European Union regulators on Friday hit Google with a $3.5 billion fine for breaching the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services, but the bloc’s latest move to crack down on Big Tech companies drew outrage from President Donald Trump. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, also ordered the U.S. tech giant to end its “self-preferencing practices” and stop “conflicts of interest” along the advertising technology supply chain.

It’s the fourth time Brussels has sanctioned Google with a multibillion-euro fine in an antitrust case, in a wider battle with regulators that dates back to 2017.

Trump said the EU fine was “effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs.”

“Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!” he said in a post on Truth Social.

The commission said its investigation found that Google “abused its power” by favoring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competitors, online advertisers and publishers.

Anthropic to settle suit over chatbot training NEW YORK Artificial intelligence company Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by book authors who say the company took pirated copies of their works to train its chatbot.

The landmark settlement, if approved by a judge as soon as Monday, could mark a turning point in legal battles between AI companies and the writers, visual artists and other creative professionals who accuse them of copyright infringement.

The company has agreed to pay authors or publishers about $3,000 for each of an estimated 500,000 books covered by the settlement.

A trio of authors — thriller novelist Andrea Bartz and nonfiction writers Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson — sued last year and now represent a broader group of writers and publishers whose books Anthropic downloaded to train its chatbot Claude.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco dealt the case a mixed ruling in June, finding that training AI chatbots on copyrighted books wasn’t illegal but that Anthropic wrongfully acquired millions of books through pirate websites.

Books are known

tant

Wall Street wobbles on job report

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. stocks wobbled lower on Friday as Wall Street questioned whether the U.S. job market has slowed by just enough to get the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to help the economy, or by so much that a downturn may be on the way

After rising to an early gain, the S&P 500 erased it and fell 0.3% below the all-time high it set the day

before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 220 points, or 0.5%, after swinging between an early gain of nearly 150 points and a loss of 400. The Nasdaq composite edged down by less than 0.1%

The action was more decisive in the bond market, where Treasury yields tumbled after a report from the Labor Department said U.S. employers hired fewer workers in August than economists expected

The disappointing numbers follow last month’s discouraging jobs

update, along with other lackluster reports in intervening weeks, and traders are now betting on a 100% probability that the Fed will cut its main interest rate at its next meeting on Sept. 17, according to data from CME Group. Investors love such cuts because they can give a kick-start to the economy, but the Fed has held off on them because they can also give inflation more fuel. So far this year, the Fed has been more worried about the potential of

inflation worsening because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs than about the job market. But Friday’s job numbers could push the Fed to consider cutting rates in two weeks by a steeper amount than usual, said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

“This week has been a story of a slowing labor market, and today’s data was the exclamation point,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Hiring stalls as reluctant employers are concerned with erratic economy

Labor Department reports fewer jobs than expected

BY PAUL WISEMAN, ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and CORA LEWIS AP business writers

WASHINGTON The American job market, a pillar of U.S. economic strength since the pandemic, is crumbling under the weight of President Donald Trump’s erratic economic policies.

Uncertain about where things are headed, companies have grown increasingly reluctant to hire, leaving agonized jobseekers unable to find work and weighing on consumers who account for 70% of all U.S. economic activity Their spending has been the engine behind the world’s biggest economy since the COVID-19 disruptions of 2020.

The Labor Department reported Friday that U.S. employers — companies, government agencies and nonprofits — added just 22,000 jobs last month, down from 79,000 in July and well below the 80,000 that economists had expected.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3% last month, also worse than expected and the highest since 2021.

“U.S. labor market deterioration intensified in August,” Scott Anderson, chief U.S economist at BMO Capital Market, wrote in a commentary noting that hiring was “slumping dangerously close to stall speed. This raises the risk of a harder landing for consumer spending and the economy in the months ahead.”

Alexa Mamoulides, 27, was laid off in the spring from a job at a research publishing company and has been hunting for work ever since. She uses a spreadsheet to track her progress and said she’s applied for 111 positions and had 14 interviews but hasn’t landed a job yet.

“There have been a lot of ups and downs,” Mamoulides said. “At the beginning I wasn’t too stressed, but now that September is here, I’ve been wondering how much longer it will take. It’s validating that the numbers bear out my experience, but also discouraging.”

The U.S. job market has lost momentum this year, partly because of the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve’s inflation fighters in 2022 and 2023.

But the hiring slump also reflects Trump’s policies, including his sweeping and everchanging tariffs on imports from almost every country on earth, a crackdown on illegal immigration and purges of the federal workforce.

Also contributing to the job market’s doldrums are an aging population and the threat that artificial intelligence poses to young, entry-level workers.

After revisions shaved 21,000 jobs off June and July payrolls, the U.S. economy is creating fewer than 75,000 jobs a month so far this year, less than half the 2024 average of 168,000 and not even a quarter of the 400,000 jobs added monthly in the hiring boom of 2021-23.

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN and BERNARD CONDON AP business writers

When the Labor Department put out a disappointing jobs report a month ago, an enraged Trump responded by firing the economist in charge of compiling the numbers and nominating a loyalist to replace her “The warning bell that rang in the labor market a month ago just got louder,” Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Rates, wrote in a commentary. “It’s hard to argue that tariff uncertainty isn’t a key driver of this weakness.”

Trump’s protectionist policies are meant to help American manufacturers. But factories shed 12,000 workers last month and 38,000 so far this year Many manufacturers are hurt, not helped, by Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and other imported raw materials and components. Construction companies, which rely on immigrant workers vulnerable to stepped-up ICE raids under Trump, cut 7,000 jobs in August, the third straight drop. The sweeping tax-and-spending bill that Trump signed into

law July 4 delivered more money for immigration officers, making threats of a massive deportations more plausible.

The federal government, its workforce targeted by Trump and by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, cut 15,000 jobs last month. Diane Swonk, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm KPMG, said the job market “will hit a cliff in October, when 151,000 federal workers who took buyouts will come off the payrolls.”

And any job gains made last month were remarkably narrow: Health care and social assistance companies — a category that spans hospital to day care centers added nearly 47,000 jobs in August and now account for 87% of the private-sector jobs created in 2025.

Economists are also beginning to worry that artificial intelligence is taking jobs that would otherwise have gone young or entry-level workers. In a report last month, researchers at Stanford University found “substantial declines in employment for early-career workers” ages 22-25 in fields most exposed to AI.

The unemployment rate for those ages 16 to 24 rose last month to 10.5%, the Labor Department reported Friday, the highest since April 2021.

Jobseeker Mamoulides is sure that competition from AI is one of the reasons she’s having trouble finding work. “I know at my previous company, they were really embracing AI and trying to integrate it as much as they could into people’s workflow,” she said. “They were getting lots of (Microsoft) ‘Copilot’ licenses for people to use. From that experience, I do think companies may be relying on AI more for entry-level roles.”

of data that are

chatbots.

The world’s richest man could become its first trillionaire if Elon Musk hits a series of extremely aggressive targets for his electric car company over the next decade, according to a proposed pay package released by the company But the payoff is in shares, not cash, and the goals are extreme as well. Musk overcame doubters

to turn Tesla into the world’s most valuable car company, but he could face even steeper odds in hitting the targets set by the company’s compensation committee — not least because of Tesla’s main business of making electric vehicles is currently in a slump, in part because of Musk’s foray into rightwing politics. “It doesn’t matter how

much money he gets He can’t help himself,” said Telemetry analyst Sam Abuelsamid who follows Tesla stock, which has plummeted 27% from its December high. “And the more he talks, the more he turns off potential customers.” To get his first package of shares equivalent to 1% of the company, Musk would have to convince investors in the stock market that Tesla is worth $2 trillion in total, double what they value it today and also hit several other milestones. To receive all the shares offered and make him the world’s first trillion-dollar man would require that market value to then rise to $8.5 trillion, double that of the world’s most valuable company Nvidia. Among other goals, sales of all Tesla vehicles would eventually also have to reach 20 million, nearly triple its entire sales since it was founded more

OPINION

Have Democrats foundtheir newleader?

California Gov.Gavin Newsom is emerging as thenew spokesman forthe Democratic Party.His sharp, relentless attacks on President Donald Trumpand Republican policies —especiallyoncongressional redistricting —are crisp and direct. Discardingthe worn slogansand measured responses of party leaders on Capitol Hill, Newsom is giving enraged andworried Democrats what theywant: abold battler who will fight back In recent weeks, the57-year-old Newsom has made numerous presidential-style speeches, going after Trumpwithhammer and tongs. On social media, Newsom and his supporters are running unconventional, even outlandish,memes andads thatuse Trump’sown tactics against him.

Pro-Newsom social media posts make funofTrump in ways we haven’tseen before. Some of them copy Trump’s unique style of attack, replicatingTrumpianlanguage (“Sad!”), misplaced CAPITAL lettering in tweets and more exclamation points than needed!!!Cartoonsportray Newsom as adynamic superhero, swooping in andrescuing the nation(including Trump’swife anddaughter)from MAGA control.

Some Democratic operatives fear Newsom’sapproach is politically risky,too cute byhalf. But pollsshowit’sworking.

During the first half of 2025, Newsompolled an average of 8% in multicandidatetrial heats forthe party’s2028 presidentialnomination,running third or fourth. Themost recent Emerson College poll shows amajor shift, with Newsom now running first amongDemocraticprimary voters with25%. That’snine pointsabove former TransportationSecretary Pete Buttigieg(who polls 16%) and 14 points above former Vice President Kamala Harris (who polls 11%).Other nomination prospects receive5%or less.

Over the past two months,Democratic votersupport for Newsom’snomination increased from6%to18% among those between 18 and 29 years old andwent from13% to 31% among those 70 and older.His vote ballooned among WhiteDemocrats, 10%to 24%,and Black Democrats,9% to 23% Though Newsom’supswing ishappening mostly within the Democraticbase, it’salso strengthenedhis general election standing. In the July Emersonpoll, Vice President JD Vance led Newsom 45%to42%; in the August survey,they tied at 44% each.

The more recent Yahoo/YouGov poll showsNewsomdoing even better,beating Vance by eight points. Keep in mind that Vance,Harris andButtigieghave already gained broad national recognitionfromtheir past runs for president or vice president andtheir servicein national government. Newsom has yetto hold or seek nationaloffice,althoughhe’swon 10 out of 10 elections in California.

Elected to the San Francisco board of supervisorsin 1998, Newsom was reelected twice. In office, he worked to shiftlocal social programsfrom “cash to care,” givingthe needy specific services in lieu of handouts. Though the initiative was opposed by progressives, it nonetheless passed and ended up saving taxpayers money

Newsom was elected mayor of San Franciscoin2003 with 53% of the vote, runningasapro-business Democrat, aliberal with pragmatic leanings. His slogan was “great cities,great ideas.” He had thesupport of Bill Clinton,Al Gore and MayorWillie Brown.Newsom’sopponent ran at him from the left.

Newsom was reelected mayor with72% in 2007. He planned to seek California’sgovernorship in 2010, but when former DemocraticGov.Jerry Brown enteredthe race,Newsom ran insteadfor lieutenantgovernor.He wonthe job by 11 points andwas reelected by 14 points In 2018, Newsom was elected governorwith 62% of the vote. Three years later,hebeat arecall effort, winning againwith62%. In 2022,hewas reelected with 59%. As astatewide official,Newsom has opposedcapital punishment and supported abortion rights, social justice initiatives, same-sex marriageand legalizing cannabis —typical foraliberal in ablue state.Aswith the other possible presidential contenders, Democrats and Republicans,Newsom’sideological slantwouldlikely help him win party primaries across the nation,but it mayhurt him in the general election.

Arecent Economist/YouGov survey showsNewsom’s rating among Democrats is arobust 63% favorable/15% unfavorable. However,his strength dissipatesamongall voters,when independentsand Republicansare included, pushing his rating down to 36% favorable/48% unfavorable.

Winorlose, like him or not,Newsomisalready making the 2028 race more interesting

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollsterand writer based in Louisiana.

Don’tlet politics undo the work that leveeboardsdid

We weredistressed to read the Aug. 8guest column by Blair duQuesnay of Citizens for 1Greater New Orleans exposing theshocking political meddling currently undermining the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East’s capacity to protect New Orleans from hurricane flooding. We arenow older and, perhaps, wiser coastal scientistswho still care about the future of New Orleans and the rest of coastal Louisiana. One of us, Ivor van Heerden, led the“Team Louisiana” investigation into the 2005 Katrina leveefailures,while theother, Paul Kemp, servedonthe east bank levee board under two governors from 2011 to 2018.

We well remember the panache withwhich Ruthie Frierson and her red-cladcadrenvaded our Louisiana Capitol in thedarkdays after the levees failed.

They made the case—like no one else could —that New Orleans deservedbetter science, engineering and oversight from thestate levee boards thathad given theU.S. Army

Corps of Engineers a40-year pass on the “never quite finished” flood defenses put in place after Hurricane Betsy And those intrepid women won! Until now,itseems. For almosttwo decades, bipartisan reforms consolidated three east bank New Orleans boards into one and requirednew board members nominatedbythe governor to meet specific qualifications judged by aselection committeedirected by Jay Lapeyre Jr., one of NewOrleans’ finest. We who servedonthis board knew that if we ever lostour focus, New Orleans could not survive to address the many seemingly more important problems and opportunitiesfaced in the city everyday DuQuesnay,chair of the Citizens for 1Greater NewOrleans, is as right today as Friersonwas 20 years ago. We had betterget this fixed fast. G. PAUL KEMP Baton Rouge IVOR VANHEERDEN Reedville, Virginia

Cassidyhas failed us time andtimeagain

“First,donoharm.” That is the core principle of the Hippocratic Oath, which every physician takes and agrees to abide by It highlights theimportance of physicians avoiding actions that could cause injury,pain or suffering.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is aphysician, as he often reminds his constituency,and his election to the Senate does not change his obligations under theHippocratic Oath he took With this in mind, Iwould like to hear publicly from Cassidy as towhy he voted toconfirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr.assecretary of Health and Hu-

man Services andwhy he continues to support this administration which, among other things, has canceled hundreds of millions of dollars in grantsfor medical research, reduced critical scientific research staffand, in short, assaulted science, public healthand evidence-based medicine. If Cassidy cannot be relied on to live up to his obligations as adoctor his touted profession,how can he be trusted todowhat’sbest forthe good of the people he is supposed to represent?

STEPHENKUPPERMAN NewOrleans

We have just spent more than aweek in Washington, D.C. How lovely to have public transit at our disposal. We walked to ametro stop, passing Florida and New York avenues without fear.Wewalked up Connecticut Avenue, Wisconsin and the whole of Constitution Avenue without fear.Weate outside at The Big Bear Cafe without fear The zoo, no fear We wentfrom the McPherson metro stop on aseven-minute walktoThe Sage, unafraid. We walked to and from Trader Joe’sand Harris Teeter’sunafraid.

Like any big metropolitan area, one must always be aware. Sure, crime exists. However,itisn’tthe rampant, sordid den of thieves that President Donald Trumpistrying to distract the country from with his fear talk.

There were parents strolling their babies, fit young people jogging on the streets, every available food truck imaginable, traffic, professionals with briefcases, dog walkers, people pushing their portable grocery carts, tourists looking at their phones fordirections while pulling suitcases. People even walkdown the street talking on cellphones. What Trumpistelling you is not accurate. No surprise there.

SUSAN BENSINGER NewOrleans

us watching him

In reference to arecent letter thanking the zookeepers, Iwould like to offer the following: Ihave been avolunteer at the Audubon Species Survival Center for the past 12 years. Iknow firsthand the commitment of the staff at this location. Iamsure the staff throughout the Audubon family are as dedicated. Every morning, astaff meeting is held to discuss thestatusoftheir “precious babies.”All staff report the status of their animals.Each animal has aname, and treatment discus-

sions are no different than if the care were for any person. Isee the real care that is afforded to these animals.Isee the joy when anewborn arrives and thetears when one in their care passes. It is very emotional in both cases. Ihope the community continues to support the Audubon facilities. If you could experience what Ihave over the past 12 years, it would be a no-brainer

MICHAEL RANSON Kenner AudubonZoo staffshine behind thescenes

Orwell’sdescription of our society in his novel “1984,” published morethan 75 years ago, has come to pass. He’sonthe television news 24 hours aday.Heisrewriting history.Heisreorganizing every phase of our lives, etc. He never runs out of words. You can’tturn him off. Donald TrumpisBig Brother!

ROBERT RADELAT Baton Rouge

SP KS TIGER STADIUM

ollegefootballhas changed at an ever-quickening pace, spinning themind that triestograpplewitheverynew facet.

Scott Rabalais

Come back to me, then, to rediscover whyyou fell in love with this game IamTiger Stadium. Ancient and eternal.And as Ibeginmysecond century on Saturday night with LSU hosting Louisiana Tech, letmeremind you what matters most. NILdeals? Enormous TV contractsand coaches’ buyouts?Conference realignment and something you call …aplayoff?

ä See RABALAIS, page 2C

LOUISIANA TECH AT LSU 6:30 p.m. SATurdAy, eSpN+

LSU GAMEDAY

LSU vs. Louisiana Tech

6:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN+/SECN+ | Line: LSU by 37½

Radio: WDGL-FM, 98.1; WWL-AM, 870; WWL-FM, 105.3; KLWB-FM, 103.7

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

Bah. Follies. Foibles. Fads. It’s places like me that made this game great. And if you truly love college football, you must make a pilgrimage to visit me. Football always will change, and so have I, to a point. A shiny new scoreboard here, brighter lights there, more and fancier perches for the privileged to see and be seen.

In the end, I am still much the same. My history is recorded in my green grass, my roughhewn concrete, even in the smell of bourbon and sweat. My marching band’s bass drum keeps time, but time for me is relative. It all compresses into one glorious sensory experience that delights and revitalizes year after year Within my walls, time slows. Stands still. And if you look hard enough, it even spins backward. I am a time portal to what was and what hopefully always will be.

Am I old? You bet. Older than that other stadium at Clemson that claims my nickname. I was born in 1924. That one came into being in 1942. A mere child. Which is the real Death Valley? My Tigers conquered theirs. Draw your own conclusions. Through the years I have become a happening, a place of worship on six or seven Saturdays each year, from the sticky heat of September to the brief flirtation of November’s autumn chill.

I am one with the night, and with the mighty Mississippi that courses past my sidelines, upon whose bottomland I dwell. You should have seen the faces of those sugar cane farmers across the river that evening way back in 1931 when my floodlights first cut through the darkness. They’d never seen such a wonder The ancient Roman coliseums are my elders. The nameless fields where children first played this football game with touch or flags are my kin. Some arenas are even older than me. A precious few are bigger

None are louder

I have seen a steady Mardi Gras parade of the great and would be great and never were greats pass through my portals.

There once was a Kingfish who thought he owned me, though he was really just renting. I have seen a cannon streak past to glory like a Halloween ghost. I have shaken the earth. I have witnessed the improbable — Ole Miss folks would say impossible — when two plays in the final four seconds in 1972 led my Tigers

STAFF PREDICTIONS

REED DARCEY

LSU 45, LOUISIANA TECH 7

Remember the Nicholls game last season? LSU led only 23-21 after two minutes had ticked off the third quarter. Brian Kelly wants this Week 2 matchup to have a different feel, and it looks like his team now has the talent and focus to make it happen The LSU starters build a large enough lead in the first half to sit the whole second half and watch some younger players get action

ZACH EWING

LSU 41, LOUISIANA TECH 13

Fueled by the home opener crowd, LSU will start fast and win this game easily; however, this is a classic letdown spot so expect a mid-game lull instead of total domination It would be good for the Tigers to see some consistent push from the offensive line in the running game. Get Caden Durham his third career 100-yard game, let the backups play and get to the Florida game healthy

to victory

You Rebels complain? Whose clock is it anyway?

New heroes find a home here. Joe. Jayden.

The Honey Badger Old faces leave my stage, never to return. Cannon. Dietzel. McClendon. Even Bear Bryant. But they are never really gone. Remember what William Faulkner said: “The past is never dead. It isn’t even the past.”

Here, in my giant bowl, on my field that another Mississippi writer Willie Morris described as a “terrain of old tumult,” the memories flood back every fall and mix with the new ones still to come.

The coach with the high white hat who used to graze on my blades of grass, I haven’t seen him for a while. Like him or mock him, he said something that has stuck with me: “Tiger Stadium is where opponents’ dreams come to die.” I like that. I like that very much.

But I am also perpetual life, a fountain of youth renewed every year by the players who run out of my tunnel and under my goalposts. The faces that fill my grandstands. How they marvel at my show

I have played host to Heisman winners and hopefuls. Presidents and evangelists. Singers and special athletes of other disciplines and abilities. I’ve even welcomed Taylor Swift

SCOTT RABALAIS

LSU 48, LOUISIANA TECH 13

The question “Will the Tigers win?” doesn’t apply this week. They will Handily. It’s been replaced by two questions: “Will the Tigers cover?” and “Will all three Weeks brothers play snaps together?” They do, and LSU doesn’t quite cover because Brian Kelly empties the bench late to play Zach Weeks and other newcomers in what amounts to a live-action workout for next week’s huge SEC opener with Florida

KOKI RILEY

LSU 49, LOUISIANA TECH 10

Garrett Nussmeier won’t need to play for more than a half Expect LSU to put up points early and often, and the defense to shut down a Louisiana Tech attack that went into halftime with just three points against Southeastern Louisiana last week More playing time for LSU’s younger players and improved continuity across the offensive line should be points of emphasis in this game

LSU quarterback JoeBurrowruns the ball into theend zone for atouchdowninthe second half of a game against AuburnonOct. 26, 2019,atTiger Stadium

twice. If she evercomes back with her football fiancé in tow,Iwouldn’t mind adiscreetly scrawledautograph on oneofmywalls. As great as Iam, Ican still bea fan They say it never rains here on aSaturday night. We all know that’snot true.Opento the elements as Iam, Ican certainly attestto that. But it’sall part of my allure. My myth Iendure the weather and, I’mproud to say, am rather impervious to it.Lightning, floods, hurricanes, they may disrupt orpostponethe games. But there is always another season.If that constant brings you comfort,I can certainly give youthat.

Iammany things. Amonolith. Amuseum. A haunted house. Alibrary full of thrilling moments and fantastic achievements. What Iam not is perfect. It willbehot Saturday.Itcan be cold. It can rain and blow.Myteamsoccasionally lose. Iwish Ihad more restrooms. Andit often seems like the undefeated championof them all is my pre- and postgame traffic. But Imake it all worth it.The chance to see something you’ve never seen before.The delight at seeing againsomethingyou’vealways

cherished —like the band belting out those first four brassy notes of “Hold That Tiger.” Iamthe precious memories of afather and son. Of afirst dateora last embrace. Of friends tailgating on my grounds. Of fans tauntingGators and Bulldogs, Green Waves andCrimsonTides, then feeding them atasty plate and bidding them to come back soon. How long can Iendure? Another hundred years?Even longer? That’s not for me to say. Ionce heard of aplan about 40 years ago to replace me with somethinglike your Superdome,but that notion went nowhere. Sometimes,it’suseful to be apriceless work of art.

Let’sput it this way: As longasyou want to come back, Iwill be here. Agiant gray sentinel amid my oak trees and my river If you lose your way,just follow thelights, thesounds, the sights to my timeless spectacle. Youwon’tbedisappointed.

For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/ lsunewsletter

Hester permanentlyreplaces Moreau on radiobroadcasts

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

One former LSU football great is replacing another on the school’s radio broadcasts.

LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette confirmedthat longtime color analyst Doug Moreau has stepped down from his role on the LSU radio team. His permanent replacement is former LSU fullback Jacob Hester, who hosts sports-talk shows locally onWNXX-FM104.5 and nationally on SiriusXM.

Hester,anall-SEC fullback forthe Tigers from 2004-07,filled in for Moreau during the 2024season as the latter stepped away from thebooth to recover from surgery.Hester called LSU’s17-10 win at Clemson lastSaturday

“Growing up, my family always hadthe radio on to hear Jim (Hawthorne, former play-by-play announcer) and Doug call LSU games,” Hester said Friday,“long before every game was on TV like it is now.That was ourconnection to Tiger Stadium, and it’s how so many of us fell in love with LSU football.

“Last year, Ihad the honor of filling in for Doug Moreau, and Inever imagined I’done day be stepping into the role ofreplacing alegend

Doug setthe standard for what this job should be,and I’ll alwaysbegrateful for the example he gave all of us. To now have theopportunity to join Chris (Blair, play-by-play announcer)permanently on the LSU Sports Radio Networkis truly special.”

An All-American tight end at LSU from 196365 who went on to play four seasonsfor theMiami Dolphins, Moreau calledLSU footballfor 46 seasons from 1972-81and againfrom 19882023. An assistant districtattorney,judge and districtattorney in Baton Rouge from 19742009, Moreau was color analyst on TigerVision, LSU’sin-house pay-per-viewbroadcasts, from 1982-87. Moreau’sformal departure is oneoftwo big changes for LSU footballthisseason.Last month, state Rep. DixonMcMakin of Baton Rougewas selected to succeed Dan Borneas Tiger Stadium’s public address announcer.McMakinbecomes just the fourthperson to do PA in Tiger Stadium since1955.

LSU baseball PA announcer Bill Franques filledinfor Borneduring the2024 season when thelatter took aleave of absence for healthreasons. Borne replaced Sid Crocker in thatrole in 1986.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

SMU (1-0) vs.Baylor (0-1), 11 a.m.

11 a.m.

(1-0)vs. Utah St. (1-0),11:45 a.m.

20 Mississippi (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0), 2:30 p.m. No. 21 Alabama (0-1)vs. UL-Monroe (1-0), 6:45 p.m. No. 22 Tennessee (1-0)vs. ETSU (1-0), 2:30 p.m. No. 23 Indiana (1-0)vs. Kennesaw St. (0-1), 11 a.m. No. 24 TexasTech (1-0)vs. Kent St. (1-0), 11 a.m.

No. 25 Utah (1-0) vs.Cal Poly (1-0), 5p.m.

EAST Uconn (1-0) at Syracuse (0-1), 11 a.m. Lincoln (Pa.) (0-0) at Duquesne (0-1), 11 a.m.

FIU (1-0) at Penn St. (1-0), 11 a.m. Cent. Michigan (1-0)atPittsburgh (1-0), 11 a.m.

Albany(NY) (0-1) at Delaware St. (0-1), noon

Wagner (0-1) at Georgetown (1-0), noon

Howard (1-0) at Temple (1-0), 1p.m.

St. Francis (Pa.) (0-1)atBuffalo(0-1), 2:30 p.m.

Miami (Ohio)(0-1) at Rutgers (1-0), 2:30 p.m.

UAB(1-0) at Navy (1-0), 2:30 p.m. Missouri St. (0-1)atMarshall(0-1), 5p.m.

Colgate(0-1) at Villanova (0-0), 5p.m. SOUTH Virginia (1-0) at NC State (1-0), 11 a.m. East TexasA&M (0-1)atFloridaSt. (1-0),

The Citadel (0-1)atSamford(0-1), 2:30 p.m. South Florida (1-0)atFlorida(1-0), 3:15 p.m.

JacksonSt. (1-0)atSouthernMiss. (0-1), 4p.m.

Houston Christian (1-0)atE.Kentucky (0-1), 5p.m.

Florida A&M (0-1)atFAU (0-1), 5p.m. Maine (0-1)atWilliam&Mary (0-1),5 p.m. Campbell (0-1)atEast Carolina(0-1), 5p.m.

Elizabeth City St. (0-0) at Hampton (0-1), 5p.m.

Warner University (0-0)atStetson (0-1),5 p.m.

Virginia St. (0-0)atNorfolkSt. (0-1), 5p.m. Richmond(0-1)atWofford(0-1), 5p.m. Davidson (0-1)atElon (0-1), 5p.m.

NC Central (1-1)atOld Dominion (0-1), 5p.m.

West Georgia (1-0) at Nicholls (1-1), 6p.m.

North Carolina (0-1)atCharlotte (0-1), 6p.m.

Memphis(1-0) at GeorgiaSt. (0-1), 6p.m.

Bethune-Cookman (0-1)atMiami (1-0),6 p.m.

SC State (1-0) at South Carolina(1-0), 6p.m.

NC A&T (0-1) at UCF (1-0), 6p.m.

Alcorn St. (0-1)atAlabama A&M (0-1),6p.m. Charleston Southern(0-1) at CoastalCarolina(0-1), 6:30 p.m.

Arizona St. (1-0)atMississippi St. (1-0), 6:30 p.m.

Ball St. (0-1)atAuburn(1-0), 6:30 p.m. Vanderbilt (1-0)atVirginia Tech (0-1), 6:30 p.m.

MIDWEST Northwestern St. (1-0)atMinnesota

(1-0)atArkansas (1-0),4 p.m. Ark.-Pine Bluff (0-1)atCent. Arkansas (0-1),6 p.m. South Dakota (0-1)atLamar (0-1), 6p.m. Houston (1-0)atRice (1-0), 6p.m. Michigan (1-0)atOklahoma (1-0), 6:30 p.m. StephenF.Austin(0-1) at Abilene Christian (0-1),7 p.m. UT Martin (0-1)atUTEP(0-1),8 p.m. FARWEST Idaho St. (0-2)atNew Mexico (0-1),2 p.m. FresnoSt. (1-1)atOregon St. (0-1),2:30 p.m. Oklahoma St.(1-0)

THENATION

THINGS TO WATCHINWEEK2

Who, what andwhere to keep an eyeoninthisweek’sgames around thenation

Powerhousesmeetinrareclash

No. 15 Michigan and No. 18 Oklahoma are twoofjust six programs that have wonatleast 950games. Michigan has wonthree national titles, and OU has wonseven But this Big Ten-SEC matchup is about thepresent,and both teams are similarly positioned. The Wolverinesunderperformed with alethargic offense in Sherrone Moore’s first year OU beat Alabama but otherwise had arough entry into the SEC. Both think theyhavethe quarterbacks —Bryce Underwood at Michigan andJohn Mateer at OU —toleadrevivals.

Gators must containrisingBulls

Alex Golesh has been quietly building South Florida since 2023, when he took overa program that hadwon atotal of 15 games over five years. He put together back-to-back 7-6 seasons that ended with bowl wins and will go into Saturday’sgame at No. 13 Florida with adynamic quarterback in ByrumBrown, a retooled defense and the boost of confidence. Both teams will see abetter opponent on the other side of the ball afterthe Gators gotthree TDs fromDJLagwayina 55-0 blowout of Long Island

Home-pondadvantage

Oregon quarterback Dante Moorecompleted 18 of 23 passes for 213 yardsand three touchdowns in the Ducks’ 59-13 opening rout of Montana State. He spread the ballaround, hitting 10 receivers. Oklahoma State, who is coming off a27-7 win over UT Martin, turns to Zane Flores, athird-year freshman QB,after starter Hauss Hejnybrokea boneinhis left foot in the first quarter.Floresgets thedaunting task of making his first startagainstthe No. 6Ducks at Autzen Stadium,whichisknown forbeing loud and disruptivetovisiting teams. 2

—AssociatedPress

Sellingpoints

The Venture Global logo is being painted on the field at TigerStadium. LSU is among many SECschoolsseeking creativewaystogenerate fundsdue to newrules on revenue sharing with athletes.

PROVIDED PHOTO

On-fieldads make theirway to TigerStadium

BY KOKI RILEY

Staff writer

For the past 100 seasons, there havebeen no advertisementsonthe playingsurface at Tiger Stadium.

NCAA rules forbade themfromcollege football fields until last year,but Death Valley has also been afield steeped in tradition notcorporate sponsorships.

Instead of every 10 yards being marked, it’severy five in Tiger Stadium.The white goalposts are athrowback to adifferent time. This year,the stadium will have just its fourth public address announcer since 1955.

But even Death Valleycan’tescapethe ever-changing landscapeofcollege sports. For its 101st season, there will beanadvertisement on the field at Tiger Stadium when LSUtakes on LouisianaTech in its home opener on Saturday(6:30 p.m., ESPN+/SEC Network+).

“Everything’sgoing to be tastefully done,” LSU deputy athletic director andchief marketing officer Clay Harris said. “Like,weunderstand how this works,and how weneed to have our LSU brand frontand center.”

Theadvertisement featured on thefield will be fromthe oiland liquified natural gascompanyVenture Global. Theirbrand willbeonboth25-yardlines, opposite the Southeastern Conference logo that’s already prominently placed on both25-yard lines.

“Venture Global is honoredtofurther strengthen our relationship with LSU athletics and the entire LSU community,” Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel said in astatement to The Advocate. “Weare proud to make history alongside LSU by supporting this iconic program and Tiger Stadium,whichholds a special place in the heartsofsomanyLouisianans

“As we continuetoinvest in Louisiana’s energy future, we are equally committedto supporting the state’straditions and strong sense of community.GeauxTigers!”

The Venture Global advertisement will have white letters with agold outline. LSU made sure the company it decided to sell the ad space to fit its visual brand

“Wewere very cognizantofwho the part-

ner was (and) what (thead) looks like. We kind ofhad theLSU brand front of mind on this,” Harris said. “Wewanted to make sure we didn’tlosethattraditional feel on Tiger Stadium.”

There will be no advertisements in theend zoneoratmidfield.Those will remain the same as they have been for years.

LSUhad “six to 12 highly interested partners” in acquiring the ad space on thefield, Harris said. LSU’sagreement withVenture Global is amulti-year deal thatwas finalized over thefirst few months of 2025.

“They’re doing alot of business in Louisiana, on the(liquid natural gas) side. They’re newtothe area, and they’re acurrentcorporatesponsor,” Harris said. “They started their partnershiplast year,and both sides saw an opportunity to elevate theirbrand throughout the state and city,and thebest way to do that was by having their logo prominently displayed on TigerStadium’s field.”

The NCAA didn’tapprove on-field advertising until last June, which wasn’tenough time for LSU to find asponsor lastseason. Ahandful of SEC schools had ads on their field ayearago —including Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri —but thatnumber will increase substantially this season.

“Eleven (schools)will have it on their field in some way, shape or form this season,” Harris said. “Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Imean, there’sa bunch.”

The sudden rush of schools across the conference adopting on-field advertising reflectsalarger trend within college football.

With revenuesharing— whichbegan in Juneand allows schools to directly pay athletes $20.5million per year —LSU and its competitors nationwide have been forced to find alternative revenue streams to make up forthe extramoney they aredishing out to athletes.

Placingadvertisementsonthe field is a part ofoffsettingthat deficit

“We’ve gottochange our mindset alittle bitonhow we’re generating revenue at this school,” Harris said. “It’s not just thefield logo. It’s, ‘How can we think differently? Howcan we getcreative on ways where

we’re making money at LSU that we weren’t thinking before?’

Besides on-field advertising, LSUhas expressed astrong interestinadding advertisement patches to its jerseys. The NCAA has not approved legislation that would allow schools to place adsonuniforms yet, but Harris believes it’s amatter of when, not if, that will happen.

“I don’tthink we’realone in getting preppedonwhenthatgetsannounced,” Harris said.

The school is also interested in further growing its revenuefrom hosting concerts and other external events. Extracting more money from thelicensingside of itsbusiness has also becomeanemphasis.

“LSU is an extremely hot brand right now, andcollege sports is really clicking at ahigh level, on alot of eyeballs and things like that,” Harris said. “So we’vegot to capitalize on that.”

LSU coach Brian Kelly understandsthe importance of these revenue changes. To stay competitive on the field, LSU must also staycompetitive off the fieldfrom afinancial standpoint.

Schools upending normstostayatthe forefront financially is atrend he’s noticed across thecountry

“With revenue sharing andall that goes with that, you’relooking for revenue streams,”Kelly said.“Iknowwhen Iwas at Notre Dame, theyhad, at that time, no advertising, and now they’re selling beer in thestadium.”

Harrisunderstands placing an ad on the field at TigerStadium wasnosmall move This was notadecision he said wasmade lightly,especially given thehistory and tradition thatmake Death Valleyspecial for LSUfans.

“Tiger Stadium’sfieldissacred,” Harris said.“I’mbornand raised here,and I’ve been an LSU guy my wholelife, so Iknow that more than anybody “(VentureGlobalis) theright prospect to putthis on there,and we’re really excited. Ithink it’s all going to be apositive thing.”

Email Koki Riley at Koki.Riley@ theadvocate.com.

St.ESPN2

6:30 p.m.BallSt. at AuburnESPNU

6:30 p.m.La.Tech at LSU ESPN+,SECN+

6:30 p.m.Ga. SouthernatSouthern CalFS1

6:30 p.m. Boston Coll.atMich.St.NBC,Peacock

1 LSU Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedClemson 17-10

Thisweek: vs.Louisiana Tech, 6:30 p.m. Saturday(ESPN+/SECNetwork+)

2 GEORGIA

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedMarshall 45-7

Thisweek: vs.Austin Peay,2:30 p.m. Saturday(SECNetwork+)

3 TEXAS

Record: 0-1overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: Lost to Ohio State 14-7

Thisweek: vs.San Jose State,11a.m. Saturday(ABC)

4 FLORIDA

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedLong Island 55-0

Thisweek: vs.South Florida, 3:15 p.m. Saturday(SECNetwork)

5 AUBURN

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedBaylor 38-24

Thisweek: vs.Ball State,6:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU)

6 SOUTHCAROLINA

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedVirginia Tech 24-11

Thisweek: vs.South Carolina State,6 p.m. Saturday(SECNetwork+)

7 TENNESSEE

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedSyracuse 45-26

Thisweek: vs.ETSU,2:30 p.m. Saturday (SECNetwork+)

8 ALABAMA

Record: 0-1overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: Lost to Florida State 31-17

Thisweek: vs.UL-Monroe,6:45 p.m. Saturday(SECNetwork)

9 OKLAHOMA

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedIllinois State 35-3

Thisweek: vs.Michigan, 6:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)

10 TEXASA&M

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedUTSA 42-24

Thisweek: vs.Utah State,11:45 a.m. Saturday(SECNetwork)

11 OLE MISS

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedGeorgia State 63-7

Thisweek: at Kentucky,2:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)

12 MISSOURI

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedCentral Arkansas 61-6

Thisweek: vs.Kansas, 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2)

13 VANDERBILT

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedCharleston Southern 45-3

Thisweek: at Virginia Tech, 6:30 p.m. Saturday(ACCNetwork)

14. ARKANSAS

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedAlabama A&M 52-7

Thisweek: vs.Arkansas State,4 p.m. Saturday(SECNetwork+)

15. KENTUCKY

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0 SEC

Previous rank: N/A

Last week: DefeatedToledo 24-16

Thisweek: vs.Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ABC)

16. MISSISSIPPI STATE

Record: 1-0overall, 0-0

Previous rank: N/A

Eagles’ Carter awaits discipline

Philadelphia DT ejectedafter spitting on Cowboys’ Prescott

BY ROBMAADDI

AP pro football writer

Analysis

The NFL made it clear before the season that sportsmanship would be apoint of emphasis Jalen Carter provided the first example of misconduct. Now,he awaits discipline from the league. With tens of millions watching the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles taking on the rival Dallas Cowboys, Carter spaton Dak Prescott six seconds into the league’sopener on Thursday night.

The 24-year-old defensive tackle, asecond-team All-Pro last season, was ejected from the game, forcing the Eagles to play without their best defensive player.They still won 24-20.

Afine is expected and asuspension is apossibility,though Carter’scontrition after the game and precedent should help his case. Players have been fined for spitting on opponentsinthe past, but there doesn’tappear to bea case where anyone was suspended for doing it. Carter would appeal any suspension through the NFL Players Association, so it would be difficult for such apenalty to hold up considering previous disciplinary measures by the league.

Disqualifying Carter was an easy call for the officials,who’ve been instructed by theleague to maintain order Teams were informed there would be no tolerance for unsportsmanlike or inappropriate gestures. Players were shown a video in which leagueexecutive Troy Vincent, asix-time ProBowl cornerback during his playing career,said: “Respect your opponent, respect yourteammates and play the game in between the whistles.”

ä See CARTER, page 10C

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter walks off the field after being disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct against the DallasCowboys on Thursdayin Philadelphia.

There’sonlyone CamJordan

Saints legend discusseshis 428 teammatesduring 15-yearrun

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

There has been aJordan Miller,JordanMills, Jordan Mims, Jordan Howard and Jordan Howden —even oneLil’Jordan—but there has been only oneCam Jordan. There also hasbeena McBride, aMcCain, aMcCown,aMcCoy,aMcDaniel, aMcDougle,aMcGlynn, aMcGovern, aMcKinstry,a McManis and aMcQuistan.

“So Ishould getinvitedtoalot more Irish parades in March,” Jordansaid. There have been twoBrowns, aGray,aGreen and

an Ivory There have been three Carrs, four Grahams, five Davises and seven Johnsons —including apair of brothers, George andJuwan, who were born nearly nine years apart Their careers have spanned four decades of the NFL, with the oldest JohnKasay,having debutedin1991. There have been 44 players who only wore aNew OrleansSaints uniform for onegame. Andthere are toomanytocount who suited up for trainingcamp or the practice squad but nevermadeittoanactivegame-day Saints roster Allofthem, 428 who have suited up for the Saints on

BODY SHOTS

Southernlooks to slow down electric

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

Vincent Paige offersasimple viewpoint aboutSouthern’shome opener

The 6p.m. Saturday contestagainst AlabamaState at A.W.MumfordStadiumisan opportunity to seehow good the Jaguars are this season. “It’sgoing to be areal test for us early,” the seniorlinebacker said. “I think we’ll find out what kindofteam we really are.” The season-opening loss against North Carolina Central and last week’sclosevictory over Mississippi Valley State were insightful for coach Terrence Graves. Butthe Alabama State contest, whichwon’t count toward the Southwestern Athletic Confer-

“It’sgoing to be areal test forus early.I think we’ll find out what kind of team we really are.”

VINCENT PAIGE,

ence standings,will measurethe team’s abilitytowithstand one of the more potent offenses it likely will face.

AlabamaState comestoBatonRouge after losing 52-42 to UAB. Despitethe defeat, the Hornets offense was electric in away you don’tnormally see against an FBS team. The player most responsible for putting AlabamaState in aposition to win was quarter-

back Andrew Body Thejunior completed 18 of 24 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns. He also led his team in rushing with 16 carries for 119 yards anda touchdown. Body wasresponsible for431 of the team’s520 yards of total offense.

Graves is familiar withBody, whopreviously spent three seasons at Texas Southern. He threw for morethan 2,000 yards and 11 touchdowns as afreshman. In the games Body has played against Southern in his career in 2021 and 2022, his team haswon both times. He hasmissedthe majority of thelast twoseasons because of injuries.

“He’smature. He’s probably healthy,”

8:55 a.m. F1: Qualifying ESPN2

2p.m. SuperMotocross NBC

3:30

GOLF

2p.m. PGATour:Stifel Charity Classic Golf

6p.m. Walker Cup: USA vs.GB&I Golf

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Noon Toronto at N.Y.YankeesMLBN

3p.m. PhiladelphiaatMiami MLBN

6p.m. San Francisco at St. LouisFox

U.S. OPEN

9p.m.Athletics at L.A.Angels MLBN MEN’S SOCCER

10:50 a.m.England vs.Andorra FS2

1:30 p.m.Ireland vs. HungaryFS2

4p.m.U.S.vs. South Korea TNT WOMEN’S SOCCER

6:30 p.m.Utah at North Carolina ION

9p.m.Kansas City at BayFCION TENNIS

6p.m.WTA:U.S.Open ESPN

AlcarazhandlesDjokovicinsemis

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

NEW YORK Carlos Alcaraz used his youth, athleticism and creativitytoassert himself against the much more accomplished,but also much older,Novak Djokovic and beat the 24-timemajor champion 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-2 at the U.S. Open on Friday for aberth inhis third consecutive Grand Slam final.

By the end, Djokovicwas “gassed out,” as he described it afterward, and seemed resigned to the result. The 38-year-old from Serbia reached the semifinals at all four Slams this season but exited in that round each time, three via losses to No. 2Alcaraz,22, or No. 1JannikSinner,24.

“It’sfrustrating on the court when youare not able to keep up with that level physically, but at the same time, it’ssomethingalso expected, Iguess,” Djokovic said. “It comes with time and with age.” Alcaraz will face defending champion Sinner afterSinner defeated No. 25 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 late Friday night for the championship on Sunday,when PresidentDonald Trump plans to attend. Sinner is trying to become the first repeat men’schampion in New York sinceRogerFederer wonthe hard-court tournament five years in arow from 2004 through2008. Alcaraz hasn’tdropped aset as he pursues his sixthmajor title and second at Flushing Meadows. He defeatedSinner at the French Open in June and lost to his rival at WimbledoninJuly.

Go back to April, and Alcaraz is 44-2, making it to the finals at each of his last eight tour-levelevents

“It’ssomething that I’mworking on, just the consistency on the matches, on the tournaments, on the year,ingeneral. Justnot having up-and-downs in (a)match,” Alcaraz said. “Probably,I’m just getting mature, just getting to know myself muchbetter,what I need on, off the court.”

Alcaraz had lost his twomost recent matches against Djokovic —inthe gold-medal final at the Paris Olympics last year, and in the Australian Open quarterfinals

this January “It’snot easyplaying against him,to be honest,” Alcaraz said. “I’mthinking about the legend; what he has achieved in his career It’sdifficult nottothink about it.”

Djokovic’sbid to become the first player in the sport’shistory to get SlamNo. 25 was blocked again, and he thinks part of the issue is trying to overcome much younger men in best-of-five set matches.

“I still want to play .(a) full GrandSlam season next year,” Djokovic said. “Let’ssee whether that’sgoing to happen or not, but .Slams are Slams. They arejust different from any other tournament.Theyare thepillarsofour sport,the most important tournaments wehave. But Idofancy my chances abit moreinbest-ofthree.”

Alcaraz and Sinner have combinedtocollect the past seven majorchampionships andnineof the last 12.Djokovic won the other threein that span,mostrecently

at the 2023 U.S. Open. Djokovic’s shots were notquite on-target early and, but for abrief interlude in thesecond set, his usualvervewas notpresent. He rolled his eyes after one miss, grimaced after another At changeovers, he flexed or stretched his neck, which bothered him earlier in thetournament, andalsowas looked at by a trainer

There also was theoccasional bit of brilliance, including atwohanded backhand passing shot that drew raucous roars from the crowd,which often cried outhis nickname, “No-le!”and seemed to want to will him to at leastmake things more competitive, if not win. Djokovic celebrated by strutting to his towel boxwhile shaking his righthandover andover, as though to say,“Hoo-boy! How nice was that?”

Djokovic even managed to steal oneofAlcaraz’s servicegames while taking a3-0 lead in the second set. Might this portend along,

tight match?

Nope. Alcaraz immediately snappedto, taking the next three games, including one scooped cross-court forehand passing winner that was so superb even Djokovic felt compelled to applaud withhis racket.

Alcaraz never faced another break point.

“Today,I’d say,itwasn’tthe best level of the tournament for me,” said Alcaraz, whose 30 unforced errors were the same as Djokovic’stotal, “but Ijust kept acool level (from)the beginning until thelast point.”

He was wearing apink, sleeveless shirt and sporting nearly a full head of hairless than two weeksafter showing up with a buzz cut he saidwas necessary when his brothertried to play barber but messed up.

Askedwhether he’llstick with thenew look if he wins on Sunday, Alcaraz smiled andreplied: “Even better.You will see. Surprise, surprise.”

Anisimovatofacedefending champion in final

BY HOWARD FENDRICH AP tennis writer

NEWYORK It is impossible to look ahead to Amanda Anisimova’s U.S. Open final against defending champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturdaywithoutviewing it through the prism of what happened less than two months agoat the last Grand Slam tournament, Wimbledon. Impossible for Anisimova. Impossible for Sabalenka. Impossible for anyone, really That’sbecause, for onething, Anisimova made it to her first title match at any Grand Slamtournament by beating the No. 1-ranked Sabalenka in thesemifinals at the All EnglandClub to improve to 6-3 in their head-to-head series. And because, of course, Anisimova’s major final debut ended with a loss —and not just any sort of loss, but a6-0,6-0 shutoutagainst Iga Swiatek. Anisimova seeks her 1st major title while Sabalenka her 4th. Theway Anisimova, a24-yearold American whoisthe No. 8seed at Flushing Meadows,managed to put that defeat behind her immediatelyand notjustplaywell, but well enough to eliminate Swiatek, of all people, in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, en route to making it to another final, is remarkable.

“It just shows that Ihave worked really hard, especially on my mental game and not giving up,” Anisimova said after coming back to defeat four-time major champion Naomi Osaka 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3 in asemifinal that ended shortly before 1 a.m. on Friday.“Liketoday Icould have easily said, ‘Oh,she’s

playing better than me, and Ican’t really do anything.’”

Anisimova didn’tshy away from thinkingabout,ortalking about, what happened at Wimbledon.

Ratherthan completely erase it, sheeven watched that final the night before herrematch against Swiatek in New York, “as painful as it was, just to see what Ican avoid or what wentwrong,”said Anisimova,who was born in New Jersey andgrewupinFlorida.

She paid attention to tennis-specific aspects, and made an effort to understand how to better deal with thekinds of pressure that arise.

“I have really worked on myself to really be able to handle those moments andtobelieveinmyself, evenwhenitfeels like, ‘What is there to believe in?’ in away,when you’re not playing that well,” she said. “I havereally done abetter job of that.”

That helped againstOsaka, who was agamefrom winning while up aset and6-5 in thesecond.

Anisimova acknowledged afterward she experiencednerves and stress.

“I just keep telling myself that I can do it, and Ibelieve in myself. Ikeep saying that over andover again,not just in the match,but the wholeday.Ireally try and tell my brain, or Iguess Ifeel like (if I) ‘manifest’it,”Anisimovasaid, using two fingerstomakeair quotes,“or visualize it, then it will happen.

This is the sortofeliteplay expectedofAnisimovasince she was ateen who beat Coco Gauff in the2017 U.S. Openjunior final. As apro in 2019, at 17, Anisimova

Amanda Anisimova,ofthe United States, reacts after defeating Naomi Osaka, of Japan, during the semifinals of the U.S. Open on Thursday in NewYork.

reached the French Open semifinals. Then,in2023, she took a mental-health break because of burnout

As Anisimova now pursues her first Grand Slam championship, Sabalenka will be seeking her fourth overall and second U.S. Opentrophyinarow.The last woman to win consecutive titles in New York was Serena Williams, whocaptured three straight in 2012-14. Both of Saturday’sfinalistsare equipped with some of the biggest groundstrokes in the game. Sabalenka is apremier server; Anisimova’samong the best returners around. Afterher semifinal win over 2024 U.S. Open finalist Jessica PegulaonThursday, Sabalenka was

asked what sticks out from the loss to Anisimova in July

“I have to trustmyself, andI have to go after my shots. Ifelt like in that match at Wimby, Iwas doubting alot my decisions, and that was the main thing that was bringing alot of unforced errors,” said Sabalenka, therunner-up to MadisonKeys at the Australian Open in January andtoGauff at theFrench Open in June.

“I gave her alot of opportunities, andofcourse,she playedincredible tennis,” Sabalenka said about Anisimova, “but Ifeel like I had my opportunities. Ididn’tuse them.”

Skysuspends Reese for one half over comments

Angel Reese was suspendedby the Chicago Sky for the first half of the team’s game against Las Vegas on Sunday for comments she made that were “detrimental to the team.”

The team announced the suspension Friday.Reese already is missing the team’sgameFriday night against Indiana because of amandatory one-gamesuspension by the WNBA for picking up her eighth technical foul of the season.

The two-time All-Star voiced her frustrations with the franchise, tellingthe Chicago Tribune that she “might have to move in adifferent direction and do what’sbest for me” if the team doesn’timprove its outlook. After Wednesday’swin over Connecticut, she took back those comments andapologizedto the team. The Sky is 10-30.

Clippersinvite NBA probe during Leonard deal fiasco Los Angeles Clippers owner

Steve Ballmer said in an interview with ESPN that he welcomes the NBA’s investigation into an alleged circumventionofleague salary cap rules, denying anyinvolvement in a$28 millionendorsement contract between Kawhi Leonard and aCalifornia-basedsustainability services company,Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC. In the interview,Balmermentionedhow he introduced Leonard to Aspiration.

TheClippers stronglydenied any rules were broken in astatement issued on Wednesday after the NBA announced its investigation following areportbyjournalist Pablo Torre. Ballmersaidhe’d want the NBA to probe anotherclub if it were accusedofthe same violation.

Twinsreactivate López after shoulder strain

TheMinnesota Twinsreturned right-handedpitcher Pablo López from hisrehab assignmentand reinstated him from the 60-day injured list on Friday,sending him to the mound to start athree-game seriesagainst the Kansas City Royals.

López missed three months with astrain of the teres major muscle in his throwing shoulder after experiencing discomfort during his last start forthe Twins on June 3.

The 2023 All-Star made three rehabstartsfor Triple-A St.Paul, posting a3.18 ERA in 111/3 innings. Before the injury,López was5-3 with a2.82 ERA in 11 starts with a .225 opponent batting average for the Twins.

Their season fell apart shortly after he wassidelined.

Mets send down Senga, activate Alvarez from IL

Struggling pitcher Kodai Senga has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse by the New York Mets, who also reinstatedcatcher Francisco Alvarez from the 10-day injured list on Friday The team announced the moves hours before the opener of acritical three-gameseries at Cincinnati. Brandon Sproat, one of NewYork’s top pitching prospects, is expected to be called up from Syracuse to start theseries finale Sundayin Senga’splace.

Senga, an All-Star in 2023 and runner-up for NL Rookie of the Year,was the Mets’ best starter early this season —though largely ineffective sincereturning froma hamstring injury in mid-July. The 32-year-old right-hander is 7-6 with a3.02 ERA in 22 outings overall.

Lagergrenshoots a62, stays in front of McIlroy

Rory McIlroy hit abogey-free 6-under 66 to move into contention after the second round of the Irish Open, where Joakim Lagergren of Sweden leads after a62onFriday McIlroy jumped into ashare of thirdplace after making six birdies at The KClub.

The world No. 2will have to reel in Lagergren, wholed on 12-under par after 36 holes,and Adrien Saddier of France, who addeda 66 to an opening 67 andwas onestroke back.

The 33-year-old Lagergren has history at The KClub. Last year,when playing the Irish Challenge here on theadjoining Palmer South Course,heshot a course-record 63 and then holed outfromabunkertomakeeagle on the 72nd hole and earn aonestroke victory

GAMEDAY

JacksonState stillteamtocatch

BY RASHAD MILLIGAN and TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writers

Everyteaminthe Southwestern Athletic Conference has played at least onegame so far, and theearly action hasn’tcome without theatrics.

Here are the SWAC power rankings after Week 1.

1. JacksonState Record: 1-0overall, 0-0SWAC

Previous rank: 1

Last week: 28-14 winvs. Hampton

This week: at Southern Miss, 4p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)

Extrapoints: The Pirates punched Jackson State in themouth as they took a7-0 lead,which raised eyebrows around theconference. But sophomore running backAhmadMiller carried the Tigerstovictory as he finished with 180 yardsrushing andtwo touchdowns on 12 carries.

2. PrairieView

Record: 1-0overall, 1-0SWAC

LEADERS

PASSING

Cam’RonMcCoy 54.84%,152 yards, TD

JalenWoods 72.22%,79yards

RUSHING

Trey Holly

29 carries, 186yards,6.4 avg, 2TDs

Cam’RonMcCoy

14 carries, 128yards,9.1 avg, 2TDs

RECEIVING

Darren Morris

5catches,58yards,11.60avg,TD

Dupree Fuller

6catches,48yards,8avg

Previous rank: 6

Last week: 22-21 win vs.Texas

Southern

This week: vs.Texas Rio-Grande Valley,6 p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: New Panthers coach Tremaine Jackson got thelast laugh last Saturday withalastsecond 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cameron Peters to wide receiver Rodny Ojo. Jackson respondedtoTexas Southern coach Cris Dishman’s weeklongtrash talk bycarrying ahandful of grass with him after the victory

3. Alabama State

Record: 0-1overall, 0-0SWAC

Previous rank: 3

Lastweek: 52-42 loss at UAB

DEFENSE

HoracioJohnson

16 tackles, 0.5for loss

TreylanJames 14 tackles, 2for loss

SCHEDULE

PREDICTION

SOUTHERN 34,ALABAMA STATE31:

AlabamaState quarterbackAndrew Body is coming offa game with more than 300yards passing,100 yards rushingand five totaltouchdowns. Theoddsofhim doingthatagain at A.W. MumfordStadium forSouthern’s home opener areunlikely. TheJaguars defenseplayedwelllastweekand should be prepared to handle his scrambles. TheSouthernground game also will be able to dominate time of possession

Toyloy BrownIII

SWAC STANDINGS

This week: at Southern, 6p.m.

Saturday

Extrapoints: The difference in last Saturday’sloss for the Hornets proved to be thethird quarter, when the Blazers won the period 21-7. Alabama State quarterback Andrew Body completed 18 of24passes for312 yards and four touchdownswith zero interceptions. This weekend shouldbeagreat litmustest for the Hornets and Jaguars in Baton Rouge.

4. Southern

Record: 1-1overall, 0-0SWAC

Previous rank: 4

Last week: 34-29 win at Mississippi Valley State

This week: vs.Alabama State, 6p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: Southern had a chance to dominate the Delta Devilsonthe road, but the Jaguarsended up barely squeezing by and leavingwithaninjured starting quarterback. Jalen Woods took ahit to thehead, and Cam’Ron McCoy will be the starting QBthis week for the Jaguars.

5. FAMU

Record: 0-1overall, 0-0SWAC

Previous rank: 2

Lastweek: 10-9loss vs. Howard

This week: at Florida Atlantic, 6p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)

Extrapoints: TheRattlersfailed to score atouchdown againsta Howardteam that went 4-8 and gave up an average of 26 points per game in 2024. Junior kicker Daniel Porto kicked three field goals asthe lone scorer for FAMU in the Orange Blossom Classic.

BODY

Continued from page5C

Graves said of Body.“He’shad two season-ending shouldersurgeries, and he’srecovered from that, and thenhe’sgotten older. Youcan see thematurationprocess withit. So he’sdoing areally good job of facilitating what they’redoing.”

Paige, aSWACpreseasonfirstteam defender,saidknowing a strong quarterbackiscoming to town wakes up the defense.

“He’sa great athlete, great quarterback,”Paige said. “Of course, playedanFBS team,and he had a great game. Types of games like this make defensive players get up to go to work. So it’sgoing to be exciting ” Southern wants to disrupt any rhythm Body finds.One way to do that is by speeding him up with

6. TexasSouthern

Record: 0-1 overall, 0-1SWAC

Previous rank: 8

Last week: 22-21 loss vs. Prairie

View

This week: at Cal, 5p.m. Saturday (ACC Network)

Extrapoints: The Tigers lost a heartbreaker in theLabor Day ClassicasPrairieViewcompleted a17-yard touchdown pass to Rodny Ojo at the end. Texas Southern quarterback KJ Cooper completed 12 of 21 passes for 132 yards anda touchdown. Wide receiver Roriyon Richardson reeled in four passes for 75 yards receiving anda touchdown

7. Alabama A&M

Record: 0-1 overall, 0-0SWAC

Previous rank: 7

Last week: 52-7 loss at Arkansas

Thisweek: vs. Alcorn State, 6p.m.

Saturday

Extrapoints: TheBulldogs tied Arkansas 7-7inthe first quarter before the Razorbacksdominated therest of theway.Quarterback Cornelious Brown completed 9of19passes for130 yards. Running back MauriceEdwards scored the only touchdownfor Alabama A&M,and he finished with 30 yards on six carries.

8. Grambling

Record: 1-0 overall, 0-0SWAC

pressure in thebackfield.

Senior defensive end Ckelby Givens is theperfectplayerfor thetask. The reigning SWAC coDefensive Player of the Year is coming off aperformance where he hadninetackles,five tackles forloss, 31/2 sacks anda forced fumble.

Givensand the rest of the defensive line will try to flush Bodyout of the pocket, but that’swhen he can show off his dangerous mobility. Body’slegs are top of mind for Graves,who sawanother dualthreat quarterback from MVSU rush for 87 yards on 12 attempts last week against the Jaguars

“A thing we havetoclean up is we have to makesure that we do a better job of dealing with ascrambling quarterback,” Graves said. It’s even more paramount on third downs, whichAlabamaState converted 13 of 15 last week.

The Southern defense improved last week over its Week 0perfor-

Previous rank: 9

Last week: 55-7 win vs. Langston

This week: at Ohio State, 2:30 p.m.

Saturday (Big TenNetwork)

Extrapoints: Former Southern quarterback Czavian Teasett completed 20 of 25 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns in a dominantShreveportKickoff Classic victory.Running back TreBradford ran for 56 yards and atouchdown on six carries. Defensive back Tyrell Raby also grabbed an interception that he returnedfor 29 yards.

9. Alcorn State

Record: 0-1 overall, 0-0 SWAC

Previous rank: 5

Last week: 20-10 loss at Northwestern State

Thisweek: at AlabamaA&M, 6p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: Northwestern State upset the Bravestoearnthe program’sfirstwin since the2022 season.Alcorn junior quarterback JaylonTolbert completed 19 of 44 passes for 182 yards and two interceptions. Running back Reggie Davis ran for 65 yards on 15 attempts. Defensive back Orlandus McLaurin returned an interception for a72-yard touchdown

10.Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Record: 0-1 overall, 0-0 SWAC

Previous rank: 11

Last week: 67-7loss at TexasTech

This week: at Central Arkansas, 6p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: The Golden Lions

mance, but there were afew glaring moments when players’ openfield tackling was lackluster,leading to long gains on scrambles and yards after thecatch. Paige said improving anglesis howtoprevent thosemistakes. He also admitted there were momentslastweekwhenthe team thought it had MVSU handled.

“I felt like certain points in the game,wekindofchecked out mentally,”Paige said. “Thought thegame wasover.”

He andthe rest of the defense know they can’twin this week if their focus slips. Whatwill increase Southern’s marginoferror against Alabama State is collecting turnovers. The secondary largely haslivedupto itsbilling besidesone thing: gettinginterceptions. Against MVSU, Southern had five chances to takethe ball away SafetyHoracio Johnson had three balls go through his hands.

have achance to win theirfirst game of the year with aroad matchup against Central Arkansas. Quarterback Christian Peters completed17of33passes for 123 yards, atouchdown and an interception in theseason opener at Texas Tech. Wide receiver Kareem Burke grabbed three receptions for 33 yards.

11.MississippiValleyState

Record: 0-1 overall, 0-0 SWAC

Previous rank: 12

Last week: 34-29lossvs. Southern

This week: at TarletonState, 6p.m. Saturday

Extrapoints: The DeltaDevils had astrong showing in their loss to Southern. Quarterback Joshua Brown completed12of25passes for146 yardsand twotouchdowns. The dual-threat quarterback also led the team in rushing with 87 yards on 12 carries.

12.Bethune-Cookman

2025 record: 0-1overall, 0-0 SWAC

Previous rank: 10

Lastweek: 42-9 loss at Florida International

This week: at Miami, 6p.m. Saturday (ACC Network)

Extrapoints: Wildcatsquarterback Timmy McClain completed 18 of 28 passes for 164 yards in the season opener against FIU. Allthree scores from BethuneCookman came fromkickerJuan Dominguez.Defensive endCornelious Bass had two tackles for aloss for 17 yards in the game.

“Wemisseda tonofinterceptions,” Gravessaid. “Wemake those interceptions, you know,it’s atotally different ball game, and then youkeepa team’s offenseoff thefield.Soyou eliminate them from scoring when you take the ball away.Sothat’ssomething that we’ll have to continue to workon. Southern likely will relyonits ground game offensively,which is second in the SWAC in rushing yards per game (236) thanks to tailbacks Trey Holly andMike Franklin, and dual-threat quarterback Cam’Ron McCoy, who will start as Jalen Woods is in concussion protocol.

Thetriowilltry to carveupan Alabama State defense that allowed 520 yardsoftotal offense last week.

“Everybody hastodotheir job and do it well,” Graves said. “If we do that, then we give ourselvesa greatchanceofwinningthe ball game.”

THE VARSITY ZONE

Zachary, running back Patton grind down Plaquemine

Junior RB makes memorable varsity start with 217 yards, 2 TDs in win

BY WILLIAM WEATHERS

Contributing writer

Zachary junior running back

Jeremy Patton spent the whole day thinking about his opportunity

After serving as a backup to leading rusher Davekio Ruffin last season, Patton made his first varsity start a memorable one with 217 yards and two touchdowns to propel Zachary to a 52-28 home victory over Plaquemine in Friday’s season opener for both teams.

“I was just ready to play,” said Patton, who rushed for 117 yards on five carries after halftime and had a total of 17 carries. “I had it on my mind since I left campus after school. I just trusted in my line, and they trusted in me.”

Patton’s career-high outing was part of a 263-yard rushing attack on 33 carries (8.0 yards per carry) for Zachary, which also had 48 yards and a score from Tylek Lewis.

Plaquemine, the No. 7 team in Class 4A, twice closed to within a touchdown during a frenetic third quarter when the two teams combined for 35 points.

Quarterback Brennan Miles scored on a 1-yard run and later threw an 82-yard TD to Tyrinn Henderson, which left the Green Devils trailing 28-20.

Zachary responded with the third TD pass from first-year starting quarterback Michael Kirby and pushed its lead to 4220 on Zakarri Hogan’s 32-yard interception return with 2:25 left in the third.

“That’s a good, well-coached football team,” Plaquemine

coach Donald Williams said about Zachary “I thought we came in with a good plan. We’ve just got to make plays in the big moments. They made plays and we didn’t, and that’s what it came down to.”

The teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter before Zachary kicker Boston Bentley, who kicked seven extra points and had seven touchbacks, booted a 22-yard field goal with 13 seconds left to cap the scoring.

Zachary outgained Plaquemine 428-365 with Kirby completing 9 of 15 passes for 165 yards, three TDs and a pair of interceptions. Trikoby Rheames had a team-best three receptions for 88 yards, including scores of 6 and 60 yards, respectively, in the second and third quarters.

“We ran the football effectively in the second half and that was the difference,” Zachary coach David Brewerton said.

“We ran it when we needed to run it, moved those chains and kept their defense on the field.”

Miles was 12 of 21 for 242 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Dajon Beloney led the Green Devils with five catches for 52 yards, and Henderson piled up 127 yards on three receptions.

Zachary scored on its first three possessions, including a pair of touchdown passes from Kirby, for a 21-6 halftime lead.

The Broncos scored twice in a five-minute span of the first quarter for a 14-0 advantage.

Patton’s opening score, a 25yard run over right tackle, was the team’s first score of the season, and Kirby added his first two career touchdown passes in the first half.

“Those guys are super talented and athletic,” Brewerton said. “If you’re able to win the line of scrimmage, that’s what you have to do in games like this.”

All eyes on Haven as Dunham blows past Parkview

BY TRE ALLEN Contributing writer

In the high school season opener on Friday night, the Dunham Tigers traveled to Parkview Baptist for a 49-14 victory

All eyes were on the No. 1 quarterback in the Class of 2027 in Elijah Haven, and the Dunham signal caller quickly showed why he is one of the best players in the country Haven threw for five touchdowns in the first half to put the game out of reach.

With a combination of using his legs to scramble and throwing the ball to a host of receivers, the Tigers offense looked unstoppable.

Dunham is a team with a known identity — it’s fast. Throughout the game, the Tigers made it an emphasis to get the ball snapped as fast as possible for the next play

Baptist

but it was short-lived.

There wasn’t much for the Eagles to cheer about in the first half as they found the end zone only once. The Eagles were led by senior quarterback Logan Sorrel, who scored the team’s only two touchdowns while running, including a 53-yard touchdown run in the first half.

While he didn’t score, sophomore running back Marquise Franklin also displayed his patient yet aggressive running style to give the Eagles multiple positive gains on the night.

“Parkview football is going to be built on resilience and grit and tenacity and mental and physical toughness, and we have to be able to display that.”

DEVIN DUCOTE, Parkview Baptist coach

The Tigers’ speed turned out to be too much for the Eagles to handle.

With weapons such as junior wide receiver Jarone Harris and senior wide receiver Richard Montgomery, Haven was able to pick apart the Parkview Baptist defense with ease. The Tigers also scored on defense and special teams to truly make it a team effort.

For the Eagles, the excitement was buzzing entering this game with new head coach

Devin Ducote making his debut,

TD MACHINE

Catholic RB Batiste scores four times as Bears beat Destrehan

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Whenever Catholic got inside the Destrehan 10-yard line, the Bears knew whom to call on.

Junior running back Justin Batiste found the end zone time after time. He scored four rushing touchdowns on direct snaps. The four plays totaled just 9 yards.

“That package, that was his tonight,” Catholic coach Hudson Fuller said. “He did a great job battling back through the game and being consistent.”

Batiste’s big day fueled Catholic (1-0) to a 3223 win against Destrehan to begin the season at Memorial Stadium on Friday night While Batiste scored four times, Catholic sophomore Greg Williams was the main running back with 130 yards on 18 carries.

Despite his big scoring night, Batiste was ready to share the credit.

“I can’t take the glory,” Batiste said. “The line, the coach’s game plan, everything. I just got to go out there and run the ball.”

After opening the game with a field goal, Destrehan went up 10-0 after senior defensive back Jabari Mack picked off Bears senior QB Turner Goldsmith in the end zone. Mack then raced down the left sideline and returned the pick the length of the field for a touchdown to put the Wildcats up 10-0 with 4:58 left in the first quarter

The Bears responded quickly with a fiveplay, 56-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Batiste to open the second quarter

After a Destrehan three-and-out, Catholic took the lead. The Bears picked up 21 yards

on five straight running plays. After one pass play, Catholic picked up 14 more yards on four consecutive rushes. The last run was Batiste’s second touchdown to make it 13-10 with 10:35 left in the second.

“A big part of our team culture is not being affected by things like momentum,” Fuller said. “They did a great job of that tonight.”

Late in the second quarter, Wildcats senior linebacker Bryce Bufkin stripped the ball from Batiste to give Destrehan the ball back at the Catholic 26-yard line. After a 24-yard run by junior running back Malachi Dabne to get inside the 5, he took the ball again for a touchdown to put Destrehan back in front 16-13 with two minutes left in the half.

Catholic went up just before the break after Goldsmith found junior RB Jayden Miles for a 21-yard gain to reach the Destrehan 40. Two plays later, Goldsmith found a wide-open Chamberlain for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 20-16 at the half

After stalling on its first drive of the second half, Catholic got the ball right back after senior linebacker Maxwell Maurer stripped the ball from Dabney to give the Bears the ball in Wildcats’ territory Batiste punched it in for his third score of the day to make it 26-16 midway through the third.

“I saw a gap open up, and I saw the ball on the ground,” Maurer said. “When you see the ball on the ground, it’s like cake. You just jump on it. Ended up coming away with it.”

Destrehan fought back and scored on the ensuing drive after senior QB Jackson Fields scored on a 4-yard rushing touchdown to make it 26-23 late in the third.

Batiste put the game away with his fourth score of the game.

Despite starting 1-0, Fuller knows his side hasn’t reached its full potential.

“For us, a lot of things that if we can clean up,” Fuller said, “we’ll get to a completely different level of play.”

Madison Prep outlasts Dutchtown

BY TROY LEBOUEF Contributing writer

Ducote emphasized that he wanted to see his players display resilience even though the night wasn’t going their way “Parkview football is going to be built on resilience and grit and tenacity and mental and physical toughness, and we have to be able to display that,” Ducote said. “And right now, we’re in a trial by fire, and we are being refined.”

As Ducote and his Eagles try to put this game behind them and move on to the next one, he mentioned that the team has plenty of talent on it but a lot to work on.

“We continue to reinforce the positives. We continue to show them the why behind what’s happening, and let them know that we’re going to manifest our own destiny with how we believe about either being the victor or the victim of this story,” Ducote said.

The Madison Prep defense forced three turnovers to set up short fields and points resulting in a 48-41 victory over Dutchtown at Griffin Field in Dutchtown. Chargers quarterback Landon Johnson, a junior, had three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown to lead his team in the season opener

The Chargers (1-0) got on the board first after Dutchtown return man Hayden Becnel fumbled a punt to set up the Chargers at the Griffins 42-yard line. Johnson then found Keyon Robinson for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

The Chargers led 8-0 after a successful two-point conversion.

Dutchtown quarterback Owen Fletcher was intercepted on the Griffins’ first possession of the second quarter to set up the Chargers at the Griffins 10.

Johnson added his second passing touchdown after finding Dylan Reed in the end zone and the Chargers led 16-0 with 11:20 left in the second quarter

The Chargers defense harassed Fletcher and Clay Walker Vice most of the night with pressure. Johnson added a 46-yard touchdown run with 3:05 left

“Good win for us, early season, lots of mistakes. Give credit to Dutchtown. They kept coming and didn’t quit. They are a good team. Proud of my guys for creating some opportunities for the offense and our QB (Johnson) led us with poise.”

LANDRY WALKER, Madison Prep coach

before the half. The Griffins trailed 22-10 at the half. Griffins kicker Oakley Rutzen banged a 27-yard field goal and sophomore Landon Ruffins scored on a reverse good of 50 yards with 26 seconds remaining. Coach Landry Walker said he was pleased with his defense getting takeaways and his offense putting up big numbers.

“Good win for us, early season, lots of mistakes,” he said. “Give credit to Dutchtown. They kept coming and didn’t quit. They are a good team. Proud of my guys for creating some opportunities for the offense and our QB (Johnson) led us with poise.” The third quarter was even with the Chargers scoring two touch-

downs as Harlem Turner scored from 11 yards out after a fumble was picked up by defensive lineman Jamyris Allen to set up the score. Johnson added his second passing touchdown with a 60-yard bomb to Keyon Robinson to make the score 34-20. Dutchtown had cut the lead when Fletcher hit wideout Martell Rogers for 52 yards. Rutzen added a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter The teams traded touchdowns to start the fourth quarter Turner added his second touchdown with an 18-yard rush for the Chargers. Fletcher scored from 16 yards out to make the score 40-27 with 9:12 left. Chargers running back J’on Profit added a 1-yard touchdown with 6:43 remaining to extend their lead to 48-27.

Dutchtown added a late scoop and score by Jordan Odom and Walker Vice touchdown pass to make it interesting.

Dutchtown coach Guy Mistretta said was happy his team didn’t give up.

“We kept playing, lots of inexperienced players contributed tonight,” he said. “We are better now than we were three hours ago, Congrats to Madison Prep, they are really good and well coached.

THE VARSITYZONE

East Ascensionfalls as BrotherMartinrallies

BY CHARLESSALZER

Contributing writer

There was no mysteryFriday night at East Ascension.

TheSpartans’ gameplanwas to lineupand run the ballstraight at BrotherMartin. It was an approachthat nearly paid off, but Brother Martin had an answer with the game on the line.

The Crusaders came up with a pair of key fourth-quarter defensive stops in their own territory, and they held on for a29-22 win over the Spartans in Gonzales.

Brother Martin (1-0) trailed 22-9 at halftime but rallied behind the play of Easton Royal. TheCrusaders junior wide receiver tied the game late in the thirdquarterwith a 5-yard touchdown run. Early in the fourth, he gave his teamthe lead with a47-yard catch-and-run score.

Royal finished with 130 total yards and three touchdowns. He rushed four times for 71 yards and two scores, and added four receptions for an additional 59 yards.

Including 239 yards rushing, East Ascensionoutgained Brother Martin 355-231, but it wasn’t enough.

“Wealways talk about neversay die and overcoming adversity,” Brother Martin coach Mark Bonis said. “It’seasy to say thatina fight song but it’sdifferent whenyou have to overcome the adversity

I’m so proud of our guys.”

The key play came with less than two minutes to play after East Ascension picked up afirst down at theCrusaders 8-yardline. On second down, Henderson lost afum-

Prep55, St. Frederick 21 Warren Easton 48, L.B. Landry 7 Many35, Logansport 19 Livingston 20, Ellender 10 Walker 27, Ponchatoula 26 Lakeside 30, Arcadia 14 LakeArthur 35, Basile 0 Lafayette Renaissance 35, Prairieville 14 East Feliciana 32, Kentwood 26 Winnfield 26, Jonesboro-Hodge 8 Chalmette 35, John Ehret0 Jeanerette 44, Patterson 20 Loranger 47, Independence 19 St. Paul’s48, LiveOak 13 Menard42, Northwood-Lena0 Helix Mentorship 28, East Iberville 20 Haynesville 38, North Webster 0 Country Day28, Haynes Academy21 Homer 36, Haughton 34 Hahnville 43, Booker T. Washington 6 Woodlawn Shreveport 30, Green Oaks 28 Grant 69, Montgomery 50 Ben’s Ford Christian38, SylvaBay 24 Picayune Memorial 27, Northshore 13 Pearl River Central 34, Pope John Paul II 16 Glenbrook 64, Magnolia School of Excellence6 Rayville 14, General Trass 12 Franklin Parish 52, West Jefferson0 Lafayette 52, Franklin 8 Lakeshore45, Fontainebleau7 Ferriday54, Vidalia 12 Eunice 16, Northwest 14 Erath 34, Loreauville 19 St. James 49, East St. John 12 Holy Cross 27, E.D.White 26 Dunham 49, Parkview Baptist 14 DeRidder 42, South Beauregard13 Denham Springs 34, Hammond15 Central 20, De La Salle 13 D’ArbonneWoods37, Lincoln Prep 24 South Terrebonne 17, Comeaux0 Istrouma 58, Collegiate Baton Rouge0 Vandebilt Catholic 55, Central Lafourche 12 Delcambre51, Centerville 30 Cedar Creek 19, Delhi Charter 14 Catholic HighPointeCoupee 26 Catholic HighNew Iberia 20, Vermilion Catholic 0 Catholic High 32, Destrehan 23 Parkway 43, Carroll 13 Carencro30, St. Thomas More 27 Ouachita Parish 37, Captain Shreve 19 St. Amant 49, C.E. Byrd6 Block 45, Buckeye 0 Natchitoches Central 41, Breaux Bridge 0 Bossier 63, North Caddo 25 Booker T. Washington Shreveport 56, Lakeview 0 Morgan City 40, Berwick 14 Belle Chasse 61, McMain 0 Beekman Charter 50, Delhi24 Baker 50, Tara 6 Donaldsonville 34, Assumption 13 Ascension Episcopal 41, Kaplan 7

ble as he was stuffedatthe line. BrotherMartinthentookaknee on three consecutive plays to run out theclock.

East Ascension dominated the first half. The Spartans scored on

their first threepossessions as they raced out to a22-9 lead early in the second quarter.That score stood the rest of the half

The numbers toldthe story of the first half with East Ascension

picking up 244 yards and 12 first downs. Brother Martin was held to 107 yards, atotal boosted by Royal’s50-yard touchdown run. It wasone of the few highlightsfor the Crusaders, who managed four first downs in the half

The Spartans lost the pregame coin toss but responded by turning thegame’sopening possession into alongtouchdown drive.EastAscension drove 67 yards in 12 plays, allonthe ground, andusedmore than four minutes.

Jason Blackburndid most of the work with nine carriesfor 56 yards, the last a4-yard touchdown run that gave East Ascension a6-0 lead.

Afumbled East Ascension punt helped CrusaderskickerMaixmo Barriosmakea38-yard field goal East Ascensionthengot aquick strike as JaydenUrsinturneda short pass into a61-yard touchdown. Jamarius McCarty’sfirst of apair of two-point runs made it 14-3.

Royal’stouchdown pulled Brother Martintowithin 14-9,but the East Ascension offense kept going. The Spartans went70yards in 10 plays and extended their lead to 22-9 on Javien Henderson’s15yard run.

McCarty led all rushers with 108 yards on 23 carries. Blackburn sat outthe secondhalfaftertotaling 70 yards on 10 first-half rushes.

PREP REPORT

Lafayette Christian 27,Rummel 26 Alexandria 54, West Feliciana 7 Airline 56, Barbe27 Washington-Marion44, Abbeville 14 Calvary Baptist 30,Oak Grove7 John Curtis54, Cathedral 26 Fredrick A. Douglass 32, Cohen 28 Abramson 14, Sarah T. Reed 2 Madison 20, Ringgold14 Wossman 36, Bastrop 6 Hamilton Christian 39,DeQuincy 14 Westminster Christian Lafayette 26, Albany16 West Monroe 41,Huntington 18 Grand Lake45, East Beauregard0 University 49, Woodlawn8 Teurlings Catholic 48, Opelousas 12 St. Charles Catholic36, Newman 3 Bonnabel 36, SophieB.Wright 0 Westlake34, Rosepine0 Covington 49, Bogalusa0 Pine 37, St. Thomas Aquinas 37 North Iberville 47,Central Private 20 North Central 46, Merryville 40 Canceled Dallas Jesuit, Texas, vs.Jesuit Ascension Catholic 45, H.L. Bourgeois 40 Team H.L. BourgeoisAsc. Catholic First Downs 13 11 YardsRushing 24-238 55-364 YardsPassing 292 113 Passes(C-A-HI) 15-28-2 7-10-0

Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-0

Penalties-yards 10-95 8-60

SCORING SUMMARY H.L. Bourgeois 713200 —40 Ascension Catholic227 79 —45

ACHS: Trevin Simon 9run (Johnny Viallon kick)

ACHS: JacobJulien 54 pass from Greg Fernandez (Viallonkick)

ACHS: Simon 80 run(Cy Landry2 run) HLB: Kader Mitchell 14 run(Colby Guidry kick)

HLB: TerrellNixon 45 pass from Logan Renfro(Guidry kick)

HLB: Derrick Celestine 42 pass from Renfro(kick failed)

ACHS: Simon 56 run(Viallon kick)

HLB: Mitchell 91 run(Guidry kick)

ACHS: Simon 2run (Viallonkick)

HLB: Nixon65pass from Renfro (Guidrykick)

HLB: Xavier Naquin26pass from Renfro(2ptfailed)

ACHS: Safety ACHS: Fernandez 13 run(Viallon kick)

Zachary 52, Plaquemine 28 Team Plaquemine Zachary

First Downs 14 21

YardsRushing 28-116 33-263

YardsPassing 249 165 Passes (C-A-HI) 13-23-2 9-15-2

Punts-avg.3-26.0 0-0 Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-0

Penalties-yards 7-55 5-45

SCORING SUMMARY Plaquemine 06 14 8— 28

Zachary147 21 10 —52

ZHS: JeremyPatton 25 run(Boston Bentley kick)

ZHS: Ethan Kimmie20pass from Michael Kirby(Bentley kick)

PHS: John Walker 3run (pass failed)

ZHS: TrikobyRheams 6pass from Kirby(Bentley kick)

ZHS: Patton 72 run(Bentley kick)

PHS: Brennan Miles1 run(Milesto Dajon Belony)

HerbertoutduelsMahomes to help Chargers beat Chiefs

By The Associated Press

JustinHerbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns in outdueling Patrick Mahomes,and the Los Angeles Chargers beat Kansas City 27-21 on Friday nightin Sao Paulo, snapping aseven-game skid to the Chiefs.

“It’smonumental,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “September 5thwill go down in some Charger lore, in my opinion. It was abig win.” The NFL’s second game played in South America was streamed on YouTube, with Brazilian soccer superstar Neymar in attendance.

Newlyengaged popsuperstarTaylorSwift wasn’t there to watch fiancé Travis Kelceand seeColombian singer Karol Gperform at halftime. Herbert becamejust the third quarterback in Chargers history with 300 yards and three TDsinaseason opener His 19-yardrun on thirdand-14 dashed any comebackhopes theChiefs had with 2:21 to play.He finished 25 of 34 and was sacked three times.

“Weknew it was going to be adogfight,soweshowed up todaywith our best effort,” Herbert said. “Itwas

fun to see.”

Mahomes was 24 of 39 for 258 yards, one touchdown and two sacks.

Herbert’s23-yard TD pass to Quentin Johnston extended the lead to 26-18 with 5:02 remaining in the fourth. They hooked up for a5-yard TD on the Chargers’ opening drive of the game.

Chased by Khalil Mack, Mahomes threwincomplete to MarquiseBrown on firstand-goal at the LA 9. Two more incomplete passes brought on HarrisonButker,whose 27-yard field goal cut the deficit to 27-21 with 2:34 remaining.

PHS: Tyrinn Henderson82pass from Miles (kick failed)

ZHS: Rheames 60 pass from Kirby (Bentley kick)

ZHS: Zakarri Hogan 32 interception return(Bentley kick)

ZHS: Tylek Lewis 3run (Bentley kick)

PHS: Spencer Collins 1run (Walker pass to Belony)

ZHS: Bentley 22 FG Brother Martin 29, East Ascension 22 Team Brother Martin E. Ascension First Downs 13 18 YardsRushing 30-158 51-239 YardsPassing 73 126 Passes (C-A-HI) 8-16-0

Saints rule outDEYoung

Pass rusher dealing with calf injury

BY MATTHEW PARAS and LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

The Saints will be without their top pass rusher to begin the season. The Saints ruled out defensive end Chase Young (calf) for Sunday’s opener againstthe Arizona Cardinals. Young, who re-signed with the Saints on a three-year,$51 million contract this offseason, sufferedacalf injury in Wednesday’s practice and missed the next two days.

“We’re just going to have to take it week-to-week and see how it progresses,” coach Kellen Moore said of Young’sinjury.“He’sdoingeverything he can.”

In addition to Young, theSaints will be without Trevor Penning,who wasruled out with atoe injury.

The Saints also listed safety Jordan Howden as questionable with an oblique injury.

But New Orleans’updated injury report did notinclude a game designation for cornerback Alontae Taylor,meaning he’s good to go for Sunday’sgame.

Taylor,the Saints nickel corner, hadbeenout sinceAug.8 with agroin injury

“(Taylor) had aphenomenal camp and just had an unfortunate injury that poppedupwhile we were in California,” Moore said. “Outside of that, it’sjust been areally impressive process for him. He’sdone anice job,and he’sput us in aposition to have great success.”

As for Young, Sunday will be his first missed game as aSaint. The 26-year-old played in all 17 games last year,despite coming offneck surgery.Over his first five years, Young has missed a total of 23 games because of injuries —most of whichstemmed from atorn ACL.

Asked Thursday if his injury was along-term concern, Young hadanemphatic response.

“Hell no,” Young said.

Mellottvision

Pump the brakes on comparing Tommy Mellott to Taysom Hill

“He just got here theother day,” Moore said. “The main focusisjusttolet himplay receiver.”

When theSaints signed Mellott to thepractice squadthisweek, it was easy to wonder if New Orleans envisioned the team using the 23-year-old in aHill-esque gadget role. After all, Mellott, like Hill, was acollege quarterback whowas explosiveinthe rungame.

But in April, Mellott switched to wide receiver afterthe Las Vegas Raiders drafted him in the sixth round.

JORDAN

Continued from page5C

game days since the start of the 2011 season, get to say they were Cam Jordan’steammate in New Orleans. With 22 newplayers on the 53-man roster to start the season, that number surely will climb above 450 this year Jordan is about to embark upon his 15th season with the Saints. It is hard enough to last 15 seasons in the NFL, aleaguethat has a reputation for ruthlessly chewing up and spitting out players. It is much, much harder to last 15seasonsinone place, especially in the modern era of the game.

“Fifteen years in one place is about as rare of an accomplishment as anything —and that’s for aplayer,acoach, an executive,” said defensive coordinator Brandon Staley,who is now working for his sixth organization in nine seasons as an NFL coach. “Any timeyou’re with one team that long, it shows how special you are. Youhave special ability,for sure, but Ithink Cam has got special intangibles.”

Staley isn’twrong. Only 57 players in NFL history have played their entire 15-plus-season career with one franchise. Afew more, including Jordan’sformer teammate Drew Brees, spent15or more years with one team but playedfor multiple franchises

It’sbecome more rare in the modern era. Jordan and his fellow 2011 draft class member Cam Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers can become the sixth and seventh non-specialists to join that group after debuting in the2000s, joining Ben Roethlisberger,Eli

And the Saintsplantokeep him there

“He’s agreat kid,”Mooresaid.

“Transitions are really hard in this league when you go from oneposition you playedjust about most of yourlife to anew one. It’sexciting just to see him grow in that aspect.”

Mellott said he received interestfromthe Saints before the draft but didn’tknowwhether that meantasalate-round selection orifhehad gone undrafted.

The Saints expressed interest after the Raiders cut him last week,and theformer Montana State quarterback signed followingaworkout.

In New Orleans, Mellott said he’s learning allthree receiver spots as he dives into the playbook.

The RaidersusedMellott primarily in the slot, where there’s been an illustrioushistory of former quarterbacksmaking it as aslot receiver.That group includes former NewEngland Patriots great Julian Edelman and former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El

“There are quite afew that have sortofmade that transition,” Mellottsaid.

“I’d love tobeabletotalk some of those guys, get to hear from theirexperiences, what theysaw Ithink there’ssome things certainly natural for me as an athlete and I’ll continue to train my eyes, continuetounderstand offenses and stuff like thattokeep making it easier and easier (to playwide receiver).” Happyreturns?

The New Orleans Saints have oneofthe NFL’s most danger-

Manning, Larry Fitzgerald, Antonio Gates and BrandonGraham.

He’sbeen at this for so long in one place that his head coach, Kellen Moore, was in college during Jordan’srookie season and has since playedfor twoNFL organizations and coached for four “That is just something you don’t see very often,”Moore said.

‘I stillbehere’

OneofJordan’smanyquirks, at least in his interactionswith reporters, is to takeageneral question and use it as avessel to talk abouthis teammates. Alot of his teammates. For example,he’ll answer aquestion about the Saints pass rush by ticking offthe entire defensive line.

So it was fun to turn the tables on Jordan: Can he —namer of defensive line teammates— name all 75 of the defensive linemenhe’s playednext to in his Saints career?

At first,Jordan balked. And then he started talking. And as Jordan does, he didn’tstop.The first three names out of his mouth: Brodrick Bunkley,Aubrayo Franklin, Shaun Rogers. He was on aroll.

Jordan started spitting out names rapid fire. Plenty of them he remembered by their nicknames, not all of which can be printed in this story.

“JeffCharleston, akaWhite Lightning,” Jordan said. Some of them played only one game for New Orleans, but they had qualities that Jordan couldn’t forget.

“Ethan —God, what was his last name?” Jordan said. “He had a tear drop(tattoo) on his ear.”

That would be EthanWestbrooks.

Some of them are remembered fortheir physical qualities.

ous return menontheir roster, anditsounds like they intend to usehim in that role—even as hisstar ascends as an offensive player Though RashidShaheed maynot be pullingfull triple duty this season —starting at receiver while also servingasthe primary punt and kick returner —Saints special teamscoordinator Phil Galiano still expects to have Shaheed at his disposal this season.

“Weall want to get our best players to havethe ballintheir hands, because they have a chance to score,”Galiano said.

“So, strategically,whether it’s offense or special teams, how can we get theballinShid’s hands?Becausehe’sone of our better playmakers.”

Shaheed has blossomed as areceiver the past few seasons, but he made hisnameinthe return game. He earned Pro Bowl honors anda first-team All-Pronod in 2023 as areturn man, averaging 13.6 yards per return on punts. He waseven better last year, averaging15.9 yards perpunt return. He’sthe only NFL player with apunt return touchdown each of the past two seasons.

And returning puntsisprobably where he will spend the most timeonspecial teams: New Orleans has used Kendre Miller and Velus Jones as its kick returners in training camp.

“Wehave some otherguys that Ithink can score when they touchthe ball as well, so we’re able to be selective, and maybe Shid is not every kick return, maybe it’scertain situations that we may want to use him,” Galiano said.

“The big 6-7Albanian,” Jordan said. “Frick. He wassotall.”

That would be Margus Hunt (four games). Though, to be fair, he was6-foot-8 and Estonian.

Someofthem are remembered because they’re Kyles

“Wehad aKyle at onepoint,” Jordan said. “Kyle Phillips?” Yes, there was aKyle Phillips whoplayed56defensive snaps in NewOrleans.

When Jordan gave up so the interview could continue, he’d successfully named 45 of his fellow defensive linemen, including Jalyn Holmes (eight games), Kaleb Eulls (four games) and Mitch King (three gamesinJordan’srookie season).

Do exerciseslike these make him think about how long he’s been in one place?

“No,” Jordan said. “Don’tthink. Thinking hurts. Sometimes you just gotta do. I’ve had arunning joke for about 10 years now: I’ve seen coaches come and go, I’ve seen players come and go,I still be here.”

‘The same,all thetime’

Erik McCoy sat at his locker and tried to put Jordan’sSaints career into perspective. He’s seen firsthand how fast things can change: McCoy has snappedthe ball to seven starting quarterbacks and is playing under his third head coach with the Saints.

Fifteen years in one place is hard to wrap his head around. In McCoy’seyes, only the elite of the elite can ask for somethinglike that. Cesar Ruiz overheardMcCoy’s comments fromthe neighboring locker and piped in with his own perspective:“Thefirst timeCam wasnamed aSaints captain, Iwas 14 years old.”

CARTER

Continuedfrom page5C

Carter spitting on Prescott was the ultimatesign of disrespect “I don’tknowhow youcan do that as aman,first of all,” Hallof Fame coach Tony Dungy said on NBC’sbroadcast.“Butthentolet your teammates down, that’sunspeakable.” Rodney Harrison, who was a two-time All-Pro safetyovera15year career with the Chargers and Patriots, called it “very selfishand very disrespectful.”

Carter has previouslydemonstrated apattern of poor discipline.

He waspenalized three times for unnecessary roughness last season and was also benchedtostart agameinadisciplinary moveby coach Nick Sirianni.One of Cart-

This week, Jordan was named aSaints captain for the 11th time. Only two of his current teammates —Brandin Cooks(fiveteams) and Demario Davis (three teams) —have been in the league for 11 seasons. In asense, McCoy is right:Jordan’slongevityinNew Orleans is strongly rooted in hisHall of Fame credentials.For most of his career,Jordan hasbeen oneofthe best two-way defensive players in the NFL. He is the Saints’all-time sacks leader,with 1211/2 next to his nameinthe record books, but the real football headslovehis dominance in the run game, too. Theguys he’s shared locker roomswith appreciatethatabout Jordan, buttheydon’t see thatas the only reason he’s spent so long in the league.

“Cam is the same, all the time, everywhere,” saidlongsnapper Zach Wood,now entering hisninth season as Jordan’steammate. “That’sone of the reasons he’s been around so long. He’sjust himself, all the time, which is great.”

“Bro,the best teammate,” McCoysaid. “He’sjust aguy who comes in every dayand givesitall as aplayer,asaleader,asateammate. Agood day, badday,heisalways the same. Ifeel likeit’snice to have someone who is aconstant like that around here.”

That is innate,but it is also intentional. Jordan likened it to beingona roller coaster.The ups anddowns are fun, but theycan makeyou dizzy and lose where you are. If you’re always the same person, it’s easier for otherpeople to deal with the person theyknowratherthan the person theydon’t He feels incredibly blessed to be here. His father,Steve Jordan spent his entire 13-year career

er’spenalties in agame against Pittsburgh in December ledto Sirianni having aheated conversation with defensive line coach Clint Hurtt, who stood in front of the player on the sidelinewhenthe coach approached him. Carter also was fined $17,445 for an open-handedblow to the head of Washington Commanders centerTylerBiadasz in the NFC championshipgame.

TheEagles were only in position to draft Carter in 2023 with the ninth overall pickbecause several teams passed himupbecause of hisroleina fatal car crash in college thatkilleda teammate, offensivelineman DevinWillock, anda Georgiarecruiting staffer, Chandler LeCroy

Carter received oneyear of probationand wasfined$1,000 after pleadingnocontest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing related to the wreck.

with the Vikings. Cam Jordan likes the fact thathe’sdonesoinNew Orleans, at least to this point. It helpsthathe’sbeen healthy, anotherthing he prideshimself on.Jordan hasmissed only two games in hiscareer,one because of apositiveCOVID test and anotherbecause of afractured orbitalbone.

“People ask what the secret is,” Jordan said. “The best abilityis availability.That’salot of God and alot of luck.”

Thesecret also is tied to time andplace.

Jordan recalled apre-draft meetingwith the Saints back in 2011. They hadthe 24thoverall pick,and Jordan remembers defensive line coach Bill Johnson joking with him: Hey man, what are we doinghere, everyoneknows you’re going top15

When draft night came, Jordan worried aboutfallingout of the first round until the Saints called hisname.

“When Igot drafted Iwas overly excited,like,‘Oh,let’s do this!’ ” Jordan said. “Yeah, because Iwas falling. Iwas spiraling. TheSaints were my safetynet,and they caught me.”

Then he gottoNew Orleans. Then he met hiswife, Nikki.Then he hadfourkids, allborn and raised here in the city.The foundationprovided by hisfamily,he thinks,iswhatreally gave him staying power.

Thenextthing he knew, he’s been in oneplace for 15 years, staying in hiscorner locker while the faces changedaround him.

“Everything good hashappened in New Orleans,” Jordan said. Email Luke Johnsonatljohnson@ theadvocate.com.

Olderfolks, avoid the ‘backinmy day’ lectureto youngpeople

I’m writing this from my balcony,overlooking alarge pond with abeautiful threepart fountain. I’ve become bougie. Igrew up in ahouse with wheels. Look at me now I’m not acomplete sellout. I’m sitting on aroyal blue camping rocking chair.It doesn’tmatch the much more expensive outdoor furniture of my neighbors, but Ican still feel the comfortable nostalgia of childhood trailer trash while sitting on my posh waterfront balcony

As Isit here,Iwatch the neighborhood kids zoom by on allmodes of transportation Tricked out trucks, electric bikes, dirt bikes, scooters, “golf” cartsand Segways fly by at speeds that would shame my childhood BMX suffering under the load of too many fried bologna andegg sandwiches.

“They’re going too fast

They’ll get hurt, just wait,” I’ll grumble, while my wife and sons chuckle and smirk at each other in agreement that I’m becoming abit curmudgeonly

Iwant to offer them advice You’d think that for apsychotherapist, I’d have my fill of doling out advice. But acounselor’srole isn’ttotellpeople what to do. Our job is to helpthem figure out what they can and should do, access the required motivation, and find the necessary resources to carry it out That’smuch harder than giving advice. Also, advice is atricky thing. I’ve found most people wantto be the expert on their own life, especiallyadolescents. Becomingindependent from needing adult input is anormal and healthy part of growing up. Accepting adult advice makes the adult “right,” and the teendesperately wants, and even needs to be, “right” at times

As acounselor and parent (and husband, to be honest), I’ve learned it’smore effective to ask, “Would you be interested in my input on this?” Often, they’ll say yes.Sometimes, they really listen. Iknow the difference.

The differenceismeasured by the amount of what Icall “parent crack” we get. It’s when our kid immediately seems to get what we’re saying. The light bulb goes off in their heads, and they lookatus like we’re Yoda.

That’saunicorn. That may happen in their 20s,but not likely sooner It’snatural to want your children to avoid the same mistakes you made. It’ssensible to want to protect them from hurt you know might happen if they speed down certain paths. And it is perfectly normal and good to want to pass on your wisdom.

Yetweoften relytoo much on our words to guide others and far underestimate the value of our example, both good and bad.

ä See ADVICE, page 2D

LIVING

Making a difference

Alasting legacy

brings anew mental health counselortothe Golden Band from Tigerland

BY MARGARETDELANEY

MStaff writer

atthew Bahlingerwas a saxophone player and mechanical engineering major on the Tiger Band. He spent two football seasons donning thepurpleand gold regaliaofThe Golden Band and marching alongside his bandmates in feather caps. According to his family, Matthew Bahlinger received treatmentfor depression throughout high school, buthehad adifficult time finding services at LSU.

“He neededmore help,” said AliceBahlinger,his mother Matthew Bahlinger,whose dry wit and strong moral character endeared himtoall he met, lost his battle with depression in February 2022 at the age of 24.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, 1inevery 6people will experience depression at some time in life. Initially, it often affects people in theirlate teens to mid-20s

Theyorganized the event in memoryoftheir son Matthew.

With thatthought in mind, as well as their other children attending LSUasmembers of theTiger Band, the Bahlinger family madeittheir life’smission to raise awareness and assist those struggling with mental healthissues —allowing Matthew

Bahlinger’slegacy to live on.

‘Wewantstudentsto… thrive’

For the last three years, the family has hosted dinners and lunches

LouisianaBookFestivalannounces participatingauthors

Melissa Alvarez puts a book back on theshelf while browsing with her husband Nicolas Alvarez at the 2024 Louisiana Book Festival in Baton Rouge

Staff report

As fall approaches, book lovers prepare for the ultimate

by volunteers at Matt’sDinner.Aliceand

LEGACY

Continued from page1D

forthe TigerBand, sponsored seminars for students to recognize someone struggling and funded apart-time counselor

This year,the Matthew Bahlinger Memorial Fund has sponsored afull-time mental health counselor for thestudents at the College of Music and Dramatic Arts.

The new counselor,who will be announced in September,will be part of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts and help provide students with mental health services while attending LSU

“Wewanted to be acatalystinproviding thekinds of services that could make adifference in people’s lives,” Alice Bahlinger said This counselorwill be located in the college’sbuilding, with afully-furnished office and open doors to welcome students struggling with their mental health.

Gerald “Bert” Bahlinger said one of the foundation’s keyaimsistostartaconversation around mental health.

“It’sabout making people comfortable in talking about (mental health), reducing stigma,” he said. “If yousee someonewho’s uncomfortable, talk about it. If they’re struggling, let’s do something about it.”

The foundation provides TigerBand sectionleaders with Question, Persuade, Refer training, which helps to recognize and assist people struggling with mental health.

Since 2023,the fund has helped install apart-time graduate student counselor from LSU’sPsychological Services Center for the school year.The counselor’s office,similar to the new full-time position,was in the College of Music and Dramatic Arts building, with theirservicesavailable to all music and drama students and all LSU bands.

Having someone available on short notice is crucial —it’ssomething that both Gerald and Alice Bahlinger say wasn’tavailable to their son when he desperately needed it.

“I’m happy this is happening for the college,” said Eric Lau, dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. “Wewant studentsto come here and thrive, their physical and mental health.

This is howwecan more fully support our students while theyare at LSU.”

At the college,the new mental health provider will be integrated intothe staff, according toLau.

“The new counselor will come to faculty meetings, walkaround and meetthe students —that’swhatwill be really special about this Lau said. “The counselor will be able to gettoknow the students, to be with them throughout theirown journey throughout all of LSU.”

Another of thefoundation’s programs is Matt’s Dinner.Withfood donated by localrestaurants —including ones Matthew worked at —volunteers servedinnertoTiger Band students and staff at the end of Band Camp. On Aug. 15, the foundation hosted its fourth dinner.Operating like awell-oiled machine, it fed over 350 people in 20 minutes.

“(Setting up the foundation) was bittersweet at first,becausethe very thing weweredoingwas something that wouldhave helped Matthew themost,”

Alice Bahlinger said. “It felt abit like closing the gate after thehorse hadalready escaped. But we want to help anyone who needs help, anyone who wantsit.”

Mental health care at LSU

TheCollege of Musicand Dramatic Arts is not the onlyspecialty on campus with its own in-house “embedded clinician,” according to Raime Thibodeaux, the director of mental health for studentsatLSU. Both the LSU Law School andLSU Ogden HonorsCollege have theirown mental

Dear Heloise: Iliked the idea of doing easy crosswords upside-down. SomethingIenjoy is totry to solve thepuzzle using only the across clues. It makes it fun, and it requires imagination and visualizing thepossibilities when the clues are vague.

—Tim K., in Elkhorn, Nebraska

Easy laundrysorting

health specialist thatresides in their respective buildings

“They aretheir own culture at the law school,” Thibodeauxsaid. “The school wanted to make sure they had theaccess they needed.Itmakes it that much easier to getthe access needed. If the care is in your house, there areless reasonsnot to access it.”

However,theseclinicians are not squandered away to certain majors. Thibodeaux emphasizes that allstudents in all majorscan and will be provided mental health services at theLSU Student Health Center,even if they just need tobepointed in theright direction.

Muchofthe work of oncampus mental health clinicians and therapists is in its one-on-one therapy sessions (including walk-in opportunitiesfor students in distress).However,there are group therapy sessions as well if that method of care is suitable for astudent

“The heartofwhat we want to do is be sure we provide appropriate access for students,” Thibodeaux said. “Not all students need professional therapy,but we want to be there for those who need it.”

LSUstudentscan schedule an appointment with aprofessional at the mentalhealth center online at no cost.Additionally walk-in sessions are available to all students from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m at theLSU Student Health Center,16Infirmary Lane, Baton Rouge.

Email Margaret DeLaney at margaret.delaney@ theadvocate.com.

Dear Heloise: To easily sort laundry, Ibought one tall white laundry basket and one tall black laundry basket.They sitbeside each other in the bedroom. Bingo! It’s so easy to sort laundrythis way.When a basket is full, it’s time to do either awhiteordark load. —Laura, in Charles City, Iowa

Stop releasing balloons

Dear Readers: When you thinkofcelebrations like birthdays, weddings, graduations and gender reveals, you may think of helium balloons and balloon

BOOK

Continuedfrom page1D

thefollowing WordShops: 9a.m. to noon n Does Your Writing Smell?The Powerof“The FifthSense”presented by

Julie Kane

n Building aWriting Career presented by Michele Filgate 1:00 to 4p.m.

n The Great Character

ADVICE

Continuedfrom page1D

We undervalue the simple act of affirming agood

releases. But think again. The United States Fish and WildlifeService (FWS.gov) is imploring people to stop the practice of balloon releases. Why? Deflated balloonsand strings can find their wayinto our oceans, parks and wildlife refuges where theyare mistaken for food andconsumedbyanimals. Turtlesare most susceptible to ingesting the balloonsand strings, which, of course,cannotpass through their delicate systems. And the strings can getwrapped around their legs, beaks, etc. So,here aresome alternatives to balloons: n Paper or cloth bunting signs.

n Paper flowers.

n Environmentally friendly bubbles.

—Heloise

Washinggreens

Dear Heloise: What’sthe best waytosafely wash greens? Ilove afresh,

Surrender presented by Kionna Walker LeMalle

n Selling Your Story: Strategies from aTop-Selling Literary Agent presented by Jesse Byrd

delicious salad during this timeofyear —Kelly T.,inSan Antonio Kudos, Kelly,for eating greens! Here are afew hints:

n Wash greens immediately before eating, not when you first bring them home.

n From ahead of lettuce, abunch of spinach, or a stalk of kale, cut them into fork-sized pieces (1 inch) and submerge them in a bowlofcold water

n Give it timefor the dirt particles (it comes from the earth, after all) to fall to the bottom of the bowl (about 15 minutes).

n Reach in and grab the greens to transfer them to acolander.Don’tdump the bowlinto the colander; you’ll redeposit the sedimentback over and into the greens.

n Either spin-dry the greens in alettuce spinner or blot-dry them with paper or cloth toweling.

—Heloise

Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Those interested can also attend the Louisiana Book Festival Authors Party 7p.m.to9 p.m. Oct. 31,at the State Library of Louisiana, 701 N. Fourth St., Baton Rouge.Tickets are $65, available forpurchase at www.louisianabookfestival.org/events/authorsparty/. The evening affair includes music, Louisiana cuisine andmore. Formore information,email lbf@ state.lib.la.usorcall(225) 219-9503. To seethe full list of panelists andparticipantsof the Louisiana Book Festival, visit louisianabookfestival.org/featured-authorspanelists/featured-participant-lineup/.

Email Joy Holdenatjoy holden@theadvocate.com.

decision,a good effort. While it is sometimes necessary to lovingly criticize apoor decision, there is immense value in sincerely, and in anonpatronizing way,asking them whatthey mayhave learned from decisions that had unfortunate consequences. These are all far more effective at fostering growth and maturity than a“back in my day” lecture.

When gifts, thank-yous areacceptableinthe mail

Dear Miss Manners: Youhave been influential in my decision to take up anew hobby this year: mailing handwritten letters to friends and family for a variety of occasions. This includes handwritten thank-you cards instead of my usual texts of gratitude upon receiving agift when the giver is not present.

time that he came and took the thank-you card Ihad writtenfor “Jill’s” dress, not knowing Jane was getting one, too. Ihave alarge extendedfamily with literally dozens of auntsand uncles, and Idonot have this aunt’sphone number

Ithink it makes sense to do both. What are your thoughts?

Judith Martin MISS

MANNERS

But Igot myself into afunny conundrum. My aunt recently sent matching dresses to my two youngest girls. However, “Jane’s” dress was delivered by the postman at the same

Ifeel likemy options are as follows:Send another thank-you card tomorrow for both dresses, explaining why I’d sent the first one; askmymother to text my aunt to let herknowthat Idid, in fact, receive both dresses; or both.

Gentlereader: Unless the first thank-you letter ended with, “And Jane says, ‘Thanks for nothing —where’smydress?”’ it is fine —nay,charming —to send asecond letter without referencing thefirst

But if your motherisable to text your aunt, she has her contact information. Miss Manners is not suggesting you have to use it; she is just curious why,despitethe dozens of relatives, you cannot seem to figure out how to find this aunt’s number Dear Miss Manners: Ilive in a

Guidance from grandma

Dear Annie: Iama 68-yearold Grammy, and Ilove to do things with my grandchildren. Unfortunately, as we age, our immunity lowers, and we can become sick more easily We can expose whooping coughto our grandbabies by just holding them. Pneumonia can be deadly,too, along with COVID-19 or the flu.

very small apartment whose contentsand decor Ihave curated according to my specific needs and taste.But even friends who know this about me give me gifts of coffee-table books, artwork, tableware, clothing and more, none of which Iwould have chosen for myself and none of which Ihave room for My gift preferences would be consumables —food, flowers, nice soaps and the like —and Idomention this when giftsare discussed. Of course, Iamgrateful for their kindness, and always thank them sincerely in anote, but Ifind myself regularly giving these pres-

ents away Ionce read that the purpose of agiftwas to be received, which has alleviated someguilty feelings. So far, no one seemstohave noticed that their presents are not present. Gentle reader: Lucky you. But even if they are misguided, please remember that your friends’ intentions are to please you, not torture you. And what youdowith the presents is up to you. (Miss Manners is having trouble making sense of your “purpose of agift” quote, but she is pleased that it seems to help you feel better about donating these items.)

TODAYINHISTORY

Paris.

By The Associated Press

As long as you continue to thank your friends, not berate them for their appalling lack of observation, everyone will be fine.Except perhaps the secondhand recipients of the cast-offs, who maybesimilarly annoyed that you do not understand their tastes.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www.missmanners. com; to heremail, dearmissmanners@gmail. com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

So, as we become older,wehave to take care of ourselves so we can enjoy our grandchildren, which we have been blessed with. Ihave six, from the ages of 19 to 1. Oregonand Idaho Grammy Dear Grammy: Your words of caution are well-founded, and yourgrandchildren are luckytohave such aconscientious and loving grandmother Dear Annie: As someone who lived in an environment similar to the Cinderella who wrote to you, Iwanted to say that I thought yourresponse was agood one, except for finding Prince Charming. NO ONE can save us but ourselves. Before looking for Prince Charming, Cinderella needs to learn to love herself. This can be tough with her background, but it is doable. Cinderella mightwant to emotionally step out-

side of herself and talk to her “better emotionally healthyself.” She can do this withorwithoutatherapist. The answers she will receive willbesomuch better than looking for aPrince Charmingtosave her or to complete her Thepurpose of finding amate is neither to be saved nor to live happily ever after.The mateshouldhelp Cinderella be the best possibleversion of herself, but Cinderella can become her best version with or without the prince. —A 72-Year-Old Cinderella Who Is Still Finding Herself and Enjoying theJourney Dear Cinderella: Thank you for sharing your letter Youare correct that one of the most important love affairs to have is loving yourself. Butfinding a Prince Charmingisicing on the cake. There are many wonderful cakes without icing, but there are also many wonderful cakes with icing. Dear Annie: My friend and Ihave been friends for 30 years. We met when we were little kids, and now we are both 37. She has two beautiful daughters by different men. Thefather of one of her daughters is her current boyfriend, and they have no plans to get mar-

RELIGION BRIEFS FROM STAFFREPORTS

An evening with Omer Shem Tov

Chabad at LSU and Greater Baton Rouge will host an evening with hostagesurvivor Omer Shem TovonSaturday at the Crowne Plaza Baton Rouge, 4728 Constitution Ave.

The eventwill beginwith aVIP reception at 5p.m., followed by doors opening at 5:45p.m., and the main program beginning at 6:15 p.m. Shem Tovwill share his harrowing account of surviving505 days in captivity in Gaza. Ticketsrangefrom$5

ried. The way Isee them parenting, it is as if they are playing house

Iasked myfriend if she wants him to marry her, andshe said yes, but he seesnoreason to because he says, “it is just apiece of paper.”

My biggest concern is that he dotes on the daughter they have together, age 2, andhevirtually ignores herother daughter, who is 8. Whatmakes me most upsetisthatshe hasstarted calling him “Daddy.” Itoldmyfriend that she should correct theolder daughter, or oneday,when she is grown up, she will wanttoknowwho herreal dadis. Whatshould Ido? —Concerned Friend Dear Concerned Friend: You should mind your own business. Youare concerning yourself with some pretty personaldetails of your friend’slife.Itisher choice as to what she is comfortable with in the relationship. Just focuson your friendship andenjoying your friend. If your friend is concerned for herdaughter’sfeelings, she will stepinherself. The only way it would be appropriate is if she were to confide in youthat she herself is worried

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators.com.

forstudents to $45for preferredseating.VIP sponsorships with meet and greet opportunities are also available. Proceeds will benefit Shem Tov’srecovery fund. For tickets and more information,visit www chabadbr.com.

Today is Saturday,Sept. 6, the249th day of 2025. There are 116 days left in theyear Todayinhistory:

On Sept.6,1901, President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. (McKinley died eight days later and was succeeded by his vice president,Theodore Roosevelt.)

Also on this date:

In 1949, Howard Unruh, aresident of Camden, New Jersey, shotand killed 13 of his neighbors.(Unruh, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was incarcerated for 60 years until his deathin2009.)

In 1972, theSummer Olympicsresumed in Munich, West Germany,aday after the deadly hostage crisis thatleft 11 Israelis,five Arababductors and aWest German police officer dead.

In 1975, 18-year-old tennis star Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia, in New York for theU.S. Open, requested political asylum in theUnited States.

In 1995, BaltimoreOriole Cal Ripken Jr.played in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking Lou Gehrig’s 56-year-old MLB record; Ripken’sstreak would ultimately reach astill-record 2,632 games.

In 1997, apublic funeral was held for Princess Diana at Westminster Abbey in London, six days after her deathinacar crash in

In 2006, President George W. Bush acknowledged for the first time that the CIA was running secret prisons overseas and said “tough” interrogation techniques had forced terrorist leaders to reveal plots to attack the United States and its allies.

In 2018, the Supreme Court of India decriminalized consensual sex between adults, legalizing homosexuality in the country

In 2022, Liz Truss began her tenure as U.K. prime minister; she would resign just 49 days later

Today’sbirthdays: Comedian JoAnne Worley

toonist Sergio Aragonés

VIRGo(Aug. 23-sept. 22) You'll require patience, freedomand desire to get what you want up and running. Don't limit your imagination, but recognize what's possibleand what isn't.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Do the legwork before liftoff. Nowisnot thetimeto jump into situations unprepared.Social eventswill offer insight into recreational pastimes thatmotivate you.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Consider attending events or reunions that offer insight intonew possibilities or partnerships. Change comes at acost, but it alsoprovides experience that will help mold yourfuture

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Let's get physical; test your strength and alter your lifestyle to ensure you take better care of yourself. Control your situation instead of caving to please others.

cAPRIcoRn(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Invest time and money into yourself andwhat you love to do most.Don't be fooled by offersthatlackpracticality.Only act when thetime is right foryou, and basethe changes you agree to on your needs

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Make domestic changes to suit yourlifestyle. Be sure to budgetwisely to avoid financial stress. Discuss your plans and build better professional relationships.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Expect a change of plans to disrupt your life. Review your options and make choices that reduce stress. Divert your energy into something that challenges you

physically and encourages wise choices.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Reininginyour spending is crucial when managing your finances. Be thoughtful when trying to convince someone close to you to buy into your plans. You'll encounter less resistance with apositive attitude.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Plan and implement changes that are not emotionally impractical. Only shareyourfeelings with thoseyou can trust to keep asecret or can help you sort through your differences.

GEMInI(May 21-June 20) Plan carefully. Timingiseverything when it comes to trying new experiences and meeting new people. Physical improvements and exploring what'savailable to you will encourage you to be better.

cAncER(June 21-July 22) Expand your world;participateinevents that offer insight into someone or something you may be able to incorporate into your life. It's time to reach out and discover your options.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Jump into action Choose to take careofbusinessinstead of sitting on thesidelines. Takean interest in physical improvements that encourageyou to feel confident and ready to lead.

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

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placingpuzzle basedona9x9 grid with several given numbers The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increasesfrom Monday to Sunday

Puzzle Answer

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

BobHopesaid, “Virus is aLatinword used by doctors to mean ‘your guess is as good as mine.’”

Sincebridge isn’t always aperfect science, capable of exact calculation,every player hastoguess occasionally. But whenyou have to guess, consider each sensible choice andtry to select theone that youthink will workmostoften Southguessedwellinthis deal from a social game. After West’s one-diamond opening (that hand was far too good for a weaktwo-bid),North’stwo-clubovercall, andEast’s pass, South advanced witha forcingtwo hearts.(More pairs treatthis bid as encouraging but nonforcing; Ipreferforcing by an unpassedhand.)When North rebid two no-trump, what should Southhavedonenext?

Manyplayers would have immediately raised to three no-trump. But that contract would have had no chance— assuming East led the diamond seven, nota spade At thetable, though, South forced to game with athree-diamond cue-bid. And when North admitted to secondary heart support with athree-heart bid, South raisedtofour.

True, this contract would have failed if thedefense hadgoneclub ace, club ruff, diamond to the ace, club ruff. But no West was ever going to guess that. Instead,heled thespade eight.Declarer won in his hand, drewtrumps, anddrove out the club ace. West had to cash the diamond ace to stop asecondovertrick. Irrelevanttothisdeal, if youstudy results, youwill seethatexpertsguess better than nonexperts. ©2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By

Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four lettersbythe additionof“s,”suchas“bats” or “dies,”are notallowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may notbeused. 4. Proper nouns,slang words,orvulgar or sexually explicit words are notallowed.

toDAy’s WoRD oVERVIEWs: OH-ver-vyooz: Summarizes.

Average mark 23 words

Time limit 60 minutes

Can you find 46 or more words in OVERVIEWS?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD— MIcRoBEs

mesic

score scribe scrim semi sire sober somber sorb sore

Isay to you which hear, Loveyour enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, andpray for them which spitefully use you.” Luke 6:27-28