750 ML
Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
26
750 ML
Penelope Four Grain Bourbon
34
375 ML
Heublein Old Fashioned
8
375 ML
Bulleit Cocktails B ulleit Coc ktails
Old Fashioned • Manhattan
10
375 ML
1.75 LITER
On The On The Rocks Rocks Coc Cocktail ktails ls Evan Williams Old Fashioned • Espresso Martini Bourbon Egg Nog moree! Margarita • Manhattan • and more!
21
9
10 OZ
Rouses Dark Cherries in Bourbon
visit rouses.com for more weekly ad specials! Prices good at all Lafayette, New Iberia and Youngsville stores September 24th - October 1st, 2025.
FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY INDICTED 2A THE
ACADIANA
ADVOCATE
T H E A C A D I A N A A D V O C AT E.C O M
|
F r i d ay, S e p t e m b e r 26, 2025
$2.00X
UL facing $25M budget deficit
All divisions should expect cuts, interim president says BY MEGAN WYATT and ASHLEY WHITE
faculty and staff, as he outlined plans for some cuts and asked for ideas on finding more efficiencies. Staff writers UL interim President Jaimie The University of Louisiana at Hebert revealed the university’s Lafayette is facing a $25 million bleak financial picture during deficit that will require significant a Thursday town hall meeting, cuts to every division, the interim which he followed up with an email president shared Thursday with that noted that leadership has iden-
tified $15 million in reductions to address the $25 million “structural deficit.” A university spokesperson would not confirm Thursday afternoon whether the cuts would involve layoffs. Most divisions will reduce operational expenses by 10%. Academic
affairs will reduce expenses by 5%, which Hebert said would limit impact on the university’s core mission. No academic programs have been cut so far. “Let me be clear: Other divisions absorbed deeper cuts to ensure that the classroom experiences we provide our students are preserved,” Hebert wrote in the email. “These reductions were strategic and designed to protect
essential functions.” Hebert noted that the $15 million in reductions represents only part of the deficit, and he welcomed ideas for finding efficiencies and new revenue streams as the “work continues.” He said administrators and department heads met for weeks to discuss how to reduce spending.
ä See DEFICIT, page 4A
AI key to LSU’s new flood prediction model Technique produces faster, accurate results, scientists say
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
A truck drives through floodwater on Stewart Street after heavy rain on April 24.
‘Twin’ storms throw experts for a loop
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
When a storm is barreling in from the Gulf, which neighborhoods would be most likely to flood and at what depths? And can that be predicted quickly with affordable technology? A team of LSU scientists is using artificial intelligence to do just that — and so far having success. It is developing a new flood prediction technique that runs exponentially faster than previous models while yielding highly accurate results. The method documents both storm surge and inland flooding from rainfall. Z. George Xue, a professor in the department of oceanography and coastal science and the Center for Computation and
ä See FLOOD, page 4A
THE FUJIWHARA EFFECT
Although rare, when two nearby storm systems develop, typically within 900 miles of each other, they can interact and alter trajectories or even merge into one storm Atlantic Ocean NORTHERN AMERICA
CURRENT 5-DAY FORECAST
BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer
There’s nothing all that special about Tropical Storm Humberto on its own. A typical storm developing in what is a historically active time of year for the Atlantic basin, Humberto seems like a cut-and-dried case. Yet since it formed east of the Leeward Islands on Wednesday afternoon, hurricane forecasters have warned that their predictions for the system could be less accurate than usual, spurring calls for vigilance from local meteorologists along the Gulf Coast. But it’s not Humberto itself that’s throwing forecasters and hurricane models for a loop. It’s the storm’s proximity to a tropical wave over
ä See STORMS, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 85 LOW 65 PAGE 10C
HUMBERTO
Gulf of Mexico
911 down briefly in Lafayette Statewide outages were also reported BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer
IMELDA
(predicted)
Caribbean Sea CENTRAL AMERICA
Staff graphic by DAN SWENSON
1 Storms could interact, launching each other onto unpredictable paths
2 Storms could merge, the more common outcome
SOUTH AMERICA
Business ......................6A Commentary ................3B Nation-World................2A Classified .....................4B Deaths .........................4B Opinion ........................2B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Living............................5C Sports ..........................1C
Multiple law enforcement agencies across Louisiana reported that 911, the nation’s universal emergency number, was down or intermittently receiving calls Thursday afternoon. “Please be advised that the 911 system is currently experiencing difficulties statewide,” said Sgt. Brandon Veal, of the Jefferson
ä See 911, page 4A
101ST yEAR, NO. 88