The Times-Picayune 10-30-2025

N.O. city officials abandonloaneffort

Leadersfendoff potentialstate takeover of finances

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

New Orleans officials on Wednesday abandoned their pursuit ofa $125 million loan to shore up the city’sbudget, and appeared to fendoff —atleast for now —the potential state takeover of cityfinances.

But the moves left questions about how the city would rectify a$160 million deficit and make payroll moving forward, as the CityCouncil and Mayor LaToya Cantrell’sadministrationappeared to be on separate pages about how to proceed.

Astate Fiscal Review Committee that was due on Wednesday to consider recommending that astate agenttake over New Orleans’ finances canceled its meeting, after city leaders withdrew their request for permission to sell $125 million in short-term revenue bonds, essentially government payday loans. The State Bond Commission, whichwas due to consider that request on Thursday, also canceledits meeting.

The city faced long odds in getting the bond request approved: Gov.Jeff Landry came outagainst it, and several bond commissioners indicated this weekthat they could follow his lead.

State officials also made clear they would approve thecash infusion only if

Agency violated La.judge’s order, ACLU says

BYMEGHAN FRIEDMANN

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has sent a44-year-old Louisiana Lockupdetainee, who a judge has said has a“substantial

NewOrleans MayorLaToyaCantrell discusses the city’sbudgetissues during Wednesday’sCity Council meeting

local officials ceded control of cityoperationstoastate administrator

Thatmeant an impasse, council memberssaid at anews conference: “I will not stand for having afiscal administratorcome into the cityofNew Orleans. Thatisessentially the state coming in andtaking over thecity,” said City Council Vice President Helena Moreno,

claim” to being an American citizen, to Laos, where he is in custody, accordingtothe Louisiana American Civil Liberties Union. Because of thatclaim, Judge Shelly Dick of theMiddle District Court of Louisiana issued atemporary order on Oct. 23 blocking thegovernment from sending Chanthila Souvannarath out of the country.But the U.S. Department of HomelandSecurity, which oversees ICE, says it sent Souvannara-

whowill take officeasmayor on Jan. 12.

“As things stand right now, the city of New Orleans,both the administration and this council, are going to move forward without the$125 million on the table,” added City Council President JP Morrell. “Weare going to make cuts to

See OFFICIALS, page 7A

th to Laos before the ordercame down.

Souvannarath, who was born in arefugee campinThailand, received lawfulpermanentresidenceinthe UnitedStates as a baby,Dick wroteinher court decision.

Souvannarathsaid that, because his father becameanaturalized citizen, and because he entered his father’s solecustodyat13, he met the requirements for deriva-

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

The Louisiana Legislature concluded business and leftthe Capitol on Wednesday,and when it next returns, lawmakers could be stepping into abitter partisan fight over Louisiana’scongressional map All eyes are now on the U.S. Supreme Court’sruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a potentially watershedvoting-rights and redistricting case, whichcould comeas early as this year or as late as next summer During aspecial session that ended Wednesday,the GOP-controlledLegislature approved aplan to delayLouisiana’snew closed party primary elections forU.S. House and Senate by one month from April to May

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Louisiana’s state government will pay to ensure mostfederal food stamprecipients continue to receive money for groceries if the shutdowninWashington, D.C., continues, Gov. Jeff Landry announced Wednesday

ä LSU FOOTBALL: LandrysaysAD Woodwardisn’t picking thenext coach. PAGE 6A

But 53,000 ablebodied adults are unlikely to be covered under the state’splan, whichprioritizes the elderly,people with disabilities and households with children.

“Our priorities areveryspecific.We are going to protect the mostvulnerable population in Louisiana,which is our

tivecitizenship andhas been aU.S citizen sincechildhood, according to theorder

The order says the government is “immediately prohibited from removing” Souvannarath from the United States or from the jurisdiction of theMiddle District,which covers the Baton Rouge region.

“This is what happens when you disappear people to notorious, isolated prisons under the guise of ‘civil’ detention —you end up

wrongfully deporting individuals with strong claimstoU.S. citizenship,”Sarah Gillman, director of Strategic U.S. Litigation at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, said in astatement.

The Department of Homeland Security said in astatement that “there wasnomistake,” and that Souvannarath wasremoved before Dick’sorder was issued. The

ä See DETAINEE, page 7A

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Sheriff says N.C. man killed 4ofhis children

SMITHFIELD,N.C. The North Carolina man accused of killing four of his childrenafter human remains were foundinsidethe trunk of avehicleattheir home appears to have spread theslayings over several months, a sheriff said Wednesday

Wellington Delano Dickens III, 38, was charged Tuesday with four counts of murder.The sheriff’s office said investigators believe Dickens killed three of his biological children,ages6, 9and 10, as well as his 18-yearold stepchild.

Dickens had contacted JohnstonCounty 911late Monday and saidhehad killed his children He told deputies that arrived at his home on the outskirts of Zebulon —about 25 miles east of Raleigh —that four of his children were deceased and had been placed inside the vehicle parked in his garage, theJohnstonCounty Sheriff’s Office said.

Sheriff Steve Bizzellsaid Dickens killed his 6-year-old child in May,the 9-year-old in August, the 10-year-old in late August or early September,and the18-year-old in September

Some neighbors said Tuesday that they didn’trememberseeing the family,especiallyafter Dickens’ wife,Stephanie Rae Jones Dickens, died in April 2024. Authorities had determined she died from complications from a miscarriage, anddoctorsruled herdeath as natural, Bizzellsaid.

Asked how the children’s deaths were concealed for so long, sheriff’s Capt. Don Pate said the family members “were just very secluded” andthat Dickens’ extended family was not welcome to visit.

Judge says Greenpeace must pay $345 million

BISMARCK,N.D.— ANorth Dakota judge has ordered Greenpeace to pay damages of $345 million, reducing an earlier juryaward after it found the environmental group and related entities were liable for defamation and other claims brought by apipeline company in connection with protests of an oil pipeline nearly adecade ago.

Theaward is roughlyhalfthe $667 million thata jury previously had awardedtothe company, Dallas-based Energy Transfer and subsidiary Dakota Access.

State District Judge James Gion granted and denied Greenpeace requests to rule inits favor on various claims before recalculating the damages

Energy Transfer saiditintendstoappeal the verdict “as we firmly believe that the original jury findings and damages awards for conspiracy and defamation are lawful and just.”

The lawsuit stems from protests nearly adecade ago against the Dakota Access oil pipeline and its crossing of the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’sreservation. The case would go next to theNorth Dakota Supreme Court.

In March, anine-person jury found Netherlands-basedGreenpeace International, Greenpeace USA and funding armGreenpeace Fund Inc. liable for defamation and other claims brought by Energy Transfer

The jury found Greenpeace USA liable on all counts, including conspiracy,trespass, nuisance and tortious interference with business relations. The other two entities werefoundliablefor some of the total claims.

Microsoft deploys a fix to Azure cloud service

NEW YORK Microsoft has deployed afixtoaddressanoutage of their Azure cloud portal that left usersunable to access Office 365,Minecraft and other services.

Thetech company wrote on its Azure status page that aconfiguration change to its Azure infrastructurecaused the outage, and that its fix is being rolledout Microsoft acknowledgedissues withits AzureFront Door, aglobal content and application delivery network, service on its status page and social media accounts On Downdetector,awebsite that tracks online outages, users reportedissues throughout the day with Office 365, Minecraft, Xbox Live, Copilot, Costco,Starbucks,and many other services.

Israel’s militarysays ceasefire is back on

BY WAFAA SHURAFAand JOSH BOAK Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israel’s military said Wednesday that the ceasefire was back on in Gazaafter it carriedout heavy airstrikes overnight across the Palestinianterritory that killed 104 people, including 66 women and children, accordingtolocal health officials.

Thestrikesmarked the most serious challenge to thetenuous truce to date.

The bombardment pointed to Israel’s readiness to strike hardatwhat it says areHamas violations of theceasefire deal. Meanwhile the militant group denies it is responsibleand blamesIsrael for violations.

After it announced the restoration of theceasefire, the Israeli military said it carried out another airstrike in northernGaza, targeting what it called asite where weapons were being stored for an imminentattack

Thelatest violence puts new strains on American pressure to keep theceasefire on track.U.S. President DonaldTrump defendedIsrael’s strikesbut also insisted theescalation won’twreck the truce.

Israel said its overnight strikeswere in retaliation for the shooting and killing of an Israeli soldier in Rafah, the southernmost cityinGaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alsosaidHamas violated provisions in thedeal concerningthe handover of remainsofhostages.

Hamas denied any involvement in the deadlyshooting and, in turn, accused Israelof“ablatantviolation of the ceasefire deal.” It also said it would delay handing over thebody of another hostage to Israel because of thestrikes.

Thestrikes across Gazainthe early hours Wednesdaypoundedbuildings and tentcampshousingdisplaced families.

Ambulances and small trucks carrying bodies crowded hospital entrances. In Deir al-Balah, bodies were wheeled in on stretchers or carried on mattresses.

Oneman walked into ahospital carrying the body of ayoung child.

“They burned children while they were asleep,” Haneen Mteir,whose sister and nephews were killed in astrike, shouted at the morgue in at Nasser Hospitalin the southern cityofKhan Younis.

TheIsraelimilitarysaid in astatementWednesday that it struck dozens of Hamas targets, including individuals, observation posts, weapons depots, mortar firing positions and tunnels.

It said it hit anumber of senior Hamas fighters, including 21 commanders of various levels. It said they included militants involvedinthe Oct. 7, 2023, Hamasled attack on Israel that started the war, including Nukhba company commander Hatem Maher Mousa Qudra, who led the attack on the Ein Hashlosha Kibbutz, the statement said.

An Israeli military official said Wednesday that thesoldier in Rafah,identified as MasterSgt.YonaEfraimFeldbaum, 37, was killed by “enemy fire”thattargeted his vehicle on Tuesday Hamas insisted it was not involved in theRafah gunfire.

Netanyahu accused Hamas of violating the ceasefirebyhanding over body parts this week that Israel said were partial remains of ahostage recovered earlier in the war.Israeliofficials alsoaccused Hamas of staging the discovery of some of the remains Monday,sharing a14-minute, edited video from amilitary drone Hamas repliedinkind on Wednesday, saying theIsraeli strikes reveal “a clear Israeli intention to undermine theceasefire agreement and impose new realities by force.”

Jurors convictIll.deputy of killingBlack woman

BYJOHN O’CONNOR Associated Press

PEORIA, Ill. Ajury on Wednesday convicted an Illinois sheriff’s deputy of second-degree murder,alesser charge, in the shooting death of Sonya Massey,a Black woman who called 911 to report a suspected prowler

Sean Graysoncould be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison or even probation. Thejury did not convicthim of first-degree murder,a crime that carries asentence of 45 years to life.

Massey’s supporters were angered by theresult. “I’m fueled by rage right now,” said Massey’scousin, Sontae Massey.“Youget an officer that says he’s going to shoot you in the face, and then he shoots youinthe face,and you only get second-degree? Thejustice system did exactly what it’sdesignedtodotoday It’s notmeant for us.”

Massey’skilling prompted achange in Illinois law requiring fullertransparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.

Massey’s father,James Wilburn, called forthe Illinois measure to become law nationally,along with stalled federal police misconductand civil rightslegislation. “There’sadifference in this countrywhen you havemyskin color and Grayson’s skin color,”Wilburn said. “We need seriousjustice, not amiscarriage of justice.”

Grayson, who is White, and another deputy arrived at Massey’shome in Springfield early on July 6, 2024, after shereported hearing someonebanging on the outside of her house. He shotthe 36-year-old woman after confronting her inside about how she was handling apot of hot water on thestove. Grayson and his attorneys argued

that he fired his gun in fear that Massey would scald him with the hot water,contending at onepoint that Masseyprovoked the encounter by threatening to throw thepot at him

“Anybody who watched the video and thinks that it was partlySonya’s fault is inhumane,” Massey’smother,Donna Massey, said afterthe verdict. “And for them nottogive himlife, andSonyagot life —and death…Ican’twait until he goes to hell.”

Grayson, 31, who was fired upon his indictment, was charged withfirst-degree murder, but the jurywas given theoption of considering second-degree murder,which can apply when adefendant faces a“serious provocation” or believes their action is justified even if that belief is unreasonable. He will be sentenced on Jan. 29.

Body camera video recorded by another Sangamon County sheriff’s deputy at thescene, Dawson Farley,was akey part of the prosecution’scase. It showed Massey,who struggledwithmental health issues,telling theofficers,“Don’t hurt me,” andrepeating, “Please God.”

When the deputies entered the house, Grayson saw thepot on the stove and ordered Farley to moveit. Massey jumped up to retrieve thepot, and she and Graysonjoked abouthow he said he wasbacking off from the“hot,steaming water.” Masseythenreplied, “I rebuke youinthe nameofJesus.”

Grayson immediately warned her that he would shoot herinthe face. He and Farley drew their pistols andyelled at Massey to put the pot down. Grayson, who testified in his own defense,told investigators he thought her “rebuke” meantshe intended to kill him and, in the following commotion, fired three shots, striking Massey just below theeye.

Pope condemns antisemitism, vows to fightit

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME PopeLeo XIV acknowledged Wednesday that there had been misunderstandings and conflicts with Jews over Israel’swar in Gaza.But he strongly confirmedthe Catholic Church’scondemnation of antisemitism and commitment to fighting it as part of Christians’ Gospel-mandated friendship with the Jewish people.

At atime of rising antisemitism stemming from Israel’swar,Leo adopted as his own the Vatican’s officialpositionabhorring antisemitismashemarked the 60th anniversary of a landmark Vatican document that revolutionized the Catholic Church’srelations with Jews. Leo dedicated his Wednesday general audience to theanniversary of the “Nostra Aetate” declaration, speaking to acrowd that included several Jewish leaders and representatives of other religions who hadcome to Romethis week to participate in anniversary celebrations. In the text, “Nostra Aetate,”Latin for“In Our Time,” the Catholic Church deplored antisemitism in every formand repudiated the “deicide” charge that blamed Jews as apeople forChrist’sdeath.

The ideaofJewish collective guilt forthe crucifixion had fueled antisemitism for centuries. The Vatican crafted the documentrepudiating it as the church reckoned with the role traditional Christian teaching hadplayedinthe Holocaust.

Leo quoted thedocument as saying the CatholicChurchdecries “hatred, persecutions, displays of antisemitism, directed againstJews at any time andbyanyone”and noted thatall his predecessors since then had clearly condemned antisemitism.

“And so I, too, confirm thatthe churchdoes not tolerate antisemitism and

fights against it, on the basis of the Gospel itself,” he said.

“Wecannot deny that therehavebeenmisunderstandings, difficultiesand conflicts in this period, but these have never prevented the dialogue from continuing,” he added. “Even today, we must notallow political circumstances andthe injustices of some to divert us from friendship, especially sincewehave achieved so muchsofar.”

This year’sanniversary comes amid asurge in antisemitismlinkedtoIsrael’s military actions in Gaza following theOct.7, 2023, Hamas attacks. In the UnitedStatesalone,the Anti-Defamation League says the numberofantisemitic incidents reached a recordhigh last year,with 58% of the 9,354 incidents related to Israel, notably chants, speeches and signs at rallies protesting Israeli policies.

Thewar hassimilarly strained the Vatican’srelationswiththe Jewish community.Pope Francis repeatedly angeredJewishand Israelileaders with comments theyperceived as drawing amoral equivalencebetween the Hamas attacks and Israel’smilitary actions.

Francis did meet with relatives of hostages taken by Hamas and called repeatedly forthemtobereturned. But he called for an investigation to determineifIsrael’s attacksinGazaconstitute genocide and said Israel’smilitary response was disproportionate Leo didn’tminimize the strain when he met with Jewish leaders andfaith leaders who attended his installation as pope in May. In greeting the Jewish leaders present, he recalled Christians’ special relationship with Jews.

“Even in these difficult times, marked by conflicts and misunderstandings, it is necessary to continue the momentum of this precious dialogue of ours,” Leo said in May

Dozens dead in trailofdestruction

BY ARIEL FERNÁNDEZ, ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ, JOHN MYERS JR and EVENS SANON Associated Press

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba Hurri-

cane Melissa left at least dozens dead and widespread destruction across Cuba, Haitiand Jamaica, whererooflesshomes, toppled utility poles and water-logged furniture dominatedthe landscape Wednesday

Alandslide blocked themain roads of Santa Cruz in Jamaica’s St. Elizabeth parish, where the streets were reduced to mud pits. Residents swept water from homes as they tried to salvage belongings. Wind ripped offpart of the roof at ahigh school that serves as apublic shelter.

“I never see anything like this before in all my years living here,” resident Jennifer Small said.

Theextentofthe damage from the Category 5hurricane was unclear Wednesday as widespread power outagesand dangerous conditions persisted.

“It is too early for us to say definitively,” said Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’seducation minister Melissa made landfallTuesday in Jamaica with top winds of 185 mph, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanesonrecord, before weakening and moving on to Cuba, but even countries outside the direct path of the massive storm felt its devastating effects.

At least 23 people havedied across Haiti and 13 are missing, Haiti’sCivil Protection Agency said in astatement, revising the death tolldownward. Twenty of those reported dead and 10 of the missing are from the southern coastal town of Petit-Goâve, where flooding collapsed dozens of homes. The number of dead and missing in Haiti often fluctuate in

Residentsstand onthe wreckageofa house destroyedbyHurricane

Wednesday.

theearly daysafter major natural disasters.

In Cuba,officialsreported collapsed houses, blockedmountain roads and roofs blown off buildings Wednesday,withthe heaviest destruction concentratedin thesouthwest andnorthwest. Authorities said about735,000 people remained in shelters.

“That was hell. All night long, it wasterrible,” said Reinaldo Charon in Santiago de Cuba. The 52-year-old was oneofthe few people venturing out Wednesday, covered by aplastic sheet in the intermittent rain.

In Jamaica, morethan 25,000 peoplewere packed into shelters

Wednesday and more streamed in throughout the day after the storm ripped roofs off their homes and left them temporarily homeless.

Dixon said77% of the island was without power

Theoutagescomplicated assessing the damage because of “a total communication blackout”in areas,RichardThompson, acting director general of Jamaica’sOfficeofDisaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, told the Nationwide News Network radio station.

“Recovery will take time, but the government is fully mobilized,” Prime MinisterAndrew Holness said in astatement. “Relief sup-

pliesare being prepared, and we aredoing everything possible to restore normalcy quickly.”

Officials in Black River,Jamaica, acoastaltownofapproximately 5,000 people in the southwestern part of the island, pleaded foraid at anews conference Wednesday

“Catastrophic is amild term basedonwhatweare observing,”

Mayor Richard Solomon said.

Solomon said the local rescue infrastructure had been demolished by thestorm. Thehospital, police units andemergency services were inundated by floods and unable to conduct emergency operations. The storm also destroyed the facility where relief supplies were

being stored.

The United States is sending rescue andresponse teamstoassist in recovery efforts in the Caribbean, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcedonX.Hesaidgovernmentofficials werecoordinating with leadership in Jamaica, Haiti, theDominican Republic andthe Bahamas.

St. Elizabeth Police Superintendent Coleridge Minto told Nationwide News Network on Wednesday that authorities have found at leastfourbodies in southwest Jamaica. One death was reported in the west when atree fell on ababy, state minister Abka Fitz-Henley told Nationwide News Network. Before landfall, Melissa hadalready been blamed for three deaths in Jamaica, three in Haiti and one in the DominicanRepublic.

People in the eastern Cuban province of Santiago de Cuba began clearing debris around the collapsed walls of their homes Wednesday after Melissa made landfall in the region hours earlier

“Life is what matters,” Alexis Ramos, a54-year-old fisherman, said as he surveyedhis destroyed home and shielded himself from the intermittent rain with ayellow raincoat. “Repairing this costs money,alot of money.”

Local media showed images of the Juan Bruno Zayas Clinical Hospital with severe damage:glass scattered across the floor,waiting roomsinruins andmasonry walls crumpled on the ground.

“Ithas been avery complex early morning,” President Miguel Díaz-Canel wroteonX.“As soon as conditions allow,wewill begin the recovery.Weare ready.”

Authorities in the Bahamas were evacuating dozens of people from the archipelago’ssoutheast corner Wednesday ahead of Melissa’sarrival.

BY FARNOUSH AMIRI

and JENNIFER PELTZ

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn the U.S. economic embargoofCuba for a33rd year.Yet the vote, taken as Hurricane Melissa tore through the island nation, softened Washington’s isolation on along-standing issue in the Caribbean while new friction grows around the American military buildup there. The vote was 165-7, with 12 abstentions. Last year,it was187-2, with “no”votes from the United States and Israel and one abstention. This year,countries including Argentina, Ukraine and Hungaryalsoopposedthe measure. Such resolutions are not legally binding but reflectworld opinion.

“The United States government is satisfied to see so many countries send the regime amessagethat the international community will no longer tolerate” its activities, Ambassador Jeff Bartos said, after he expressedconcernfor Cuba and other countries in the

storm’spath.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Cuban Foreign MinisterBruno Rodríguez said the U.S. mounted apressure campaign to influencethe vote.

Rodríguez said his government had heard from other countries, mainly in Europe, that the State Department was encouraging them to vote againstthe resolution. The department did not respond to requestsfor comment,and Bartos did not address the claim after Rodríguez repeated it Wednesday in the assembly

Before the vote, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, described the annual exercise as “political theater”byCubato“castitself as the victimof aggression while plainly describing itself as theenemy of the UnitedStates.’”

“I would suggest that our member states stop appeasing the regime with their votes andinstead use this vote to send the world a message,”Waltz said during debate Tuesday.Hesaid the vote also could signalto Cuba notto “blame allofits economic problems on the United States.”

In ataste of thesourrelationsbetween the countries, Rodríguezformally interrupted Waltz’sremarks with a“point of order” to complain that they were“uncivilized, crude and gross.”

scription of theeconomic restrictions as ablockade.

The embargowas imposed in 1960 after FidelCastro led arevolutionthattoppleddictatorFulgencio Batista and nationalizedproperties

corporations.

“Mr.Waltz, this is the United NationsGeneral Assembly.Itisnot aSignal chat. Nor is it theHouse of Representatives,” the Cuban envoy said.

“I am wellaware of the location in which we are speaking. And this is also not acommunist illegitimate legislature in Havana,” Waltz responded.

Waltz, aformer congressman, servedasPresident Donald Trump’snational securityadviser earlier this year before unintentionally adding ajournalist to aprivate Signal chat used to discuss sensitive military plans. Rodríguez, in theinterview,said, “Wecannotunderestimatethe importance, the impact, of thepowerful messageyear after year by theGeneral Assembly,which is the most democratic, representative body of the international community.”The resolution, he added, “is not binding, but it is powerful.”

The U.S. objects to thede-

Texascityremoves muralafter Abbott threatensfunds

Governor puts $1.6B in road money at stakeinLaredo

BY JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press

HOUSTON ASouth Texascity

hasremoved amural protesting the border wall along the southern border with Mexico following athreat by Gov.Greg Abbott to withhold up to $1.6 billion in road funding.

The mural, which waspainted on astreet in front of the federal courthouse in Laredo and said, “Defund the Wall,” was removed Tuesday evening, said Noraida Negron, aspokesperson for the city of Laredo.

Its removal came after Laredo’s City Council on Monday voted to do so.

Laredo is the latest U.S. city to remove political messages orartwork from roadways following a directive from the administration of President Donald Trump and action by Republicans.

In August, Florida officials removed arainbow-colored cross-

walk outsidethe Pulse nightclub where 49 people were gunned down. In March, crews in Washington, D.C., removedalarge yellow “Black LivesMatter” mural that hadbeenpaintedonastreet one blockfromthe White House. The removal came after pressure from Republicans in Congress.

During an at times contentious meeting on Monday,Laredo Mayor Victor Treviño said he had requested avote on themural’sremoval after receivingaletter earlier this month from theTexas Department of Transportation, or TxDOT,directing the city to eliminate the mural orrisk losing up to $1.6 billion in funding forroads

“We’re notgoing to devastate ourcommunity for what is considered oneparticular vantage point on our public roads, even if this speech may bepopular or well received,” Treviñosaid.

On Oct. 8, Abbott directed Tx-

DOT to ensure that all Texas cities andcounties are in compliance with federal and state guidelines on roadway safetyand thatsymbols, flags and othermarkings conveying social or political messages were prohibited

“Texans expect their taxpayer

dollars to be used wisely,not advance political agendas on Texas roadways,”Abbott said in astatement.

Abbott’soffice did not immediately respond toanemail seeking comment on Wednesday Abbott’s directivecameafter U.S. TransportationSecretarySean Duffy in July sent letterstoall U.S. governors saying that intersections

andcrosswalks needed to be kept free from distractions as part of a nationwide roadway initiative.

“Roads arefor safety,not political messages or artwork,” Duffy said in astatement in July

Themural in Laredo was painted in 2020 using private funds and came amid lawsuits and protests against thebuildingofthe border wallinthe area. In 2021, federal of-

ficials terminated allremaining border contracts for the Laredo sector In Laredo, ElsaHull alandowner who opposedthe building of the border wall, told city council members on Monday that the state’sorder to remove the mural was “bullies threatening our city.”

“This mural enabledthe people to unite and stand against injustice and allowed us to keep our land, ourhomes,and our river from being taken away fromus. This is part of our history.Don’terase our voices completely,” Hull said.

Earlierthis month, officials in Houston removed arainbow-colored crosswalk that hadbeen in place for the last eight years to honorinpartthe LGBTQ+ community During aCity Council meeting earlier this month, Houston Mayor John Whitmire was critical of Abbott’sdirective but saidthe city would likely lose any legal challenge to the order

“If we do notfind ways as a city to take astand, what’snext?” Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin said. “When something is erased like this that meansso much to so many,there is areal toll on the community.”

Democratic congressionalcandidate indicted over ICEprotestsoutside Chicago

BY SOPHIA TAREEN and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

CHICAGO ADemocraticcongressional candidate in Illinois has been accused of blockinga federal agent’svehicle duringSeptember protests outsideanimmigration enforcement building in suburban Chicago,according to courtdocuments unsealed Wednesday

The felony indictment, filed last week by aspecialgrand jury, charges Kat Abughazalehand five others of conspiring to impede an officer “This is apolitical prosecution

and agross attemptatsilencing dissent, aright protected under theFirst Amendment. This case is yet anotherattempt by theTrump administrationtocriminalize protest andpunishthosewho dare to speak up,” Abughazaleh saidina statement Wednesday Protesters have gatheredoutside theimmigrationcentertooppose enforcement operations in the Chicago area that have led to more than 1,800arrestsand complaints of excessiveforce. GregBovino, whoisleading BorderPatrol efforts in Chicago, was ordered this week by U.S. District JudgeSaraEllis tobriefher every

evening aboutthe operations. But an appeals courtblocked the order before he was scheduled to appear Wednesday while it considers an appeal fromthe Justice Department.

Federal prosecutorsaccuse Abughazalehand others of surrounding avehicle driven by a federal agent on Sept. 26 and attempting to stop it from entering thefacility

Amongthe others namedinthe indictment are acandidate for the Cook County Board, aDemocratic ward committeeman and atrustee in suburban Oak Park.The charges accuse all six of conspiring to

ficer, BrettSandifer, at bsandifer@crt.la.gov 163876-OCT27-NOV27 $603.88 PUBLIC NOTICE THIS NOTICE BY PUBLICA‐TION IS NOTIFICATION THAT YOUR RIGHTS OR INTEREST IN THEFOL‐LOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY LOCATEDIN THECITYOFNEW OR‐LEANS, LOUISIANAMAY BE TERMINATED BY OP‐ERATIONOFLAW IF YOU DO NOTTAKEFURTHER ACTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW: Tax Bill 2005-INDEPEN‐DENCEST HERBERTJ.BOUDREAUX Dorothy Chase Boudreaux,Housecraft CityofNew Orleans, her‐berts.boudreaux,joseph stein SQ 1003LOT BPTC INDE‐PENDENCE30X 95 FR SGLE5/RM& SHED A/R Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 2005 IndependenceSt, New Orleans,LA70117 TaxBill1629-GORDONST TaprenaMiAugustine GWENDOLYN LANG BURNS,Option OneMort‐gageCorporation,Cityof New Orleans, ct corpora‐tionsystem SQ 700 LOT8 30X111 1629-31GORDONSTW/FR DBLE10/RMSA/R Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 1629 GordonSt, NewOrleans LA70117 TaxBill55124-PER‐RAULTWK CHARLESJ CIACCIO, CITY OFNEW ORLEANS, RUTH S.DONALDSON,ESTHER V.DONALDSON,NAOMI M.DONALDSON WARD ELSIE VIRGINIA DONALD‐SON SWEENEY,ROBERT RIVERSDONALDSON PROVEAUXARMSTRONG DONALDSON,ANITA C. DONALDSON KOCH,EVE‐LYN MARY DONALDSON GRADWOHL, CORWIN B. REED,ANITA GUILLORY REED,RIVERLAKE,INC VERAV.PALERMO CHARLES A. PALERMOJR. PAULV.PALERMO, NATHAN PHILLIPS, THEODOREC.CIACCIO, PHILLIP C. CIACCIO, deb‐bie silver,karen silver mikesilver, greg silver kim wells,stephan harris sackjr.,susan leasack, edwardsmolen, philip smolen, elizabethrauch‐berg, dennis ralph phillips, terry sue phillips, yvonne s. mcbride,marganm.nor‐mand,CARLHENRY FEAK III, MARSHA JEAN FEAK SMITH,ALLAN A SWEENEY,DELIA DON‐ALDSONDOTY, VENABLE MOORE,BUTCH CAIN, JESSICA ALEEN FABER MILITELLO,JASON AARON FABER,KAREN DONALD‐SON ST ROMAIN,JOHN DAVID DONALDSON, CYN‐THIADONALDSON DUPRE ANN REED BELL BECKER PAULVICTORPALERMO CARON LYNN PALERMO WOOLSEY,KATHLEEN CIACCIODUSSELGILER PHILIPC CIACCIOJR,

GRADWOHL III PERRAULTTRACT LOTS 45 46PERRAULTWALK 60X150 VACANT Improvements thereon bearMunicipal No.55124 PerraultWalk, NewOr‐leans,LA70127 TaxBill3029-PERDIDOST ANNA MAESHEPHERD EARLES, GEORGE DEWEY EARLES, CITY OF NEWOR‐LEANS,TALLTIMBERS OWNERSASSOCIATION, ANDRE EARLES,BRYON EARLES, ERICATERRY GAILHAYES,MARGO STEWART,SAVYONAMIT, johnw.watersjr SQ 638 LOT10PERDIDO & SALCEDO 28' 9' X120' Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 3029 Perdido St,New Orleans, LA70119 TaxBill4650-RAYAV JULIE YOUNG, GUARANTY SAVINGS ANDHOME‐STEAD ASSOCIATION, SAMMIEEVANS,INEZ MARTINEVANS,CITYOF NEW ORLEANS, home bank, leeprince, kury evans,tracy evans, sam‐mie randall, andrea m. bernard,glenetraevans sidneyeveans, larry evans,tonyevans michael evans, donna campbell, donnie mcdon‐ald,tiffany mcdonald carlmcdonald SQ 11 HAYDEL HGTS PT LOTS1516RAY AVE 50X153 FOURPLEX W/FR 28/RM S/R Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 4650 Ray Ave, NewOrleans,LA 70126 TaxBill3332-AUDUBONCT ElmerJ.Gifford,Bearer, atAdvance Mortgage Company,Partnership in Commendam,EMC Mort‐gageCompany,Cityof New Orleans, davidgif‐ford, carolyngifford cherylspencer,ADVANCE MORTGAGECOMPANY L.L.C harold wainer BRTHVLLAUDBNCTSQA LOT 418/21X155 3332 AUD&7008 OLIVES-2 STYSTORE&APT **07NR&00** FILE#62684 4/87 SUCN BURTHEVILLE SUDUBON CTSQA STY-STORE & APT 2000 NR LOT4 OLIVE & AUDCT18/21X155 3332 AUD&7008 OLIVES-2 Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 3332 Audubon Ct,New Or‐leans,LA70125 TaxBill7919-TARPONST TERENCEH GOEGGEL, WAYNE AMATTHIS,City ofNew Orleans, mary matthis ortego, byron michael tylerjr.,patricia angelloz LAKEFRONTSUB DIVSQA LOT 5TARPON30X100 SGLE/BR 4/RM A/R Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 7919 TarponSt, NewOrleans LA70126 TaxBill4117-THALIAST ROBERT WKIRTONJR, CityofNew Orleans, robertkirtonIII, rodney kirton, keenan kirton dwightkirton, tanyakir‐ton,quentin kirton,nina kirton, Anya Kirton SQ 495 LOTP THALIA 29 X 112' 10" A/FOKLG Improvements thereon bearMunicipalNo. 4119 Thalia St,New Orleans, LA70125 TAXSALETITLE TO THE ABOVE DESCRIBEDPROP‐ERTYHAS BEEN

$130.00

I, DARVELL HALL, have been convictedof 11990002 -22.011(a)(2) PC -SexualAssault Child.TEXAS.State Equivalent: 14:80Carnal knowledgeofa juvenile.Date Convicted:9/7/2004. My Addressis: 7525 MERCIERSTNEW ORLEANS, LA 70128

Race:BLACK Sex: MALE Date of Birth: 3/10/1980 Height:5'7 Weight:180 Hair Color: BLACK EyeColor:BROWN Scars/Tattoos: Louisiana 164552, Oct30-31 $250

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given thatthe Administratrix Carla Quintella,ofthe SuccessionofCarlEdwin Hooper,Docket46807, Div.A,20thJDC,has peti‐tionedfor authorityto sellthe followingde‐scribed property belong‐ing to thesaidsucces‐sionatprivate sale in ac‐cordancewiththe provi‐sions of La.C.C.P.art 3281, et seq.,onthe terms andconditionsset forth in said application: Those certainlotssitu‐atedinthe ThirdDistrict ofthe City of NewOr‐leans,inSquare686 and being Lot8 (30’ on Ben‐ton by depthof120’)and pt. Lot9 (approx..2.17’

impede an officer Abughazaleh is scheduled to make an initialcourt appearance next week. Her attorney called the charges “unjust.” The indictment said the group bangedonthe car,pushedagainst it,broke amirror and scratched thetext “PIG” on the vehicle.

Abughazaleh at one point put her hands on the vehicle’shood and braced her body against it while staying in its way, the indictment says. The agent was “forced to drive at an extremelyslow rate of speed to avoidinjuring anyofthe conspirators,” it says.

Just aweek before that alleged

confrontation, she told The Associated Press that duringaprotest on Sept. 19 she wasthrown on the ground by federal agents and hit withtear gasasshe stood arm-inarm with others in front of adriveway,blocking acar.Avideo of that incident was widely circulated. Aliberal journalist with abig social media following, Abughazaleh announced herrun in March, saying mostDemocrats “work from an outdated playbook.” “I’ve spentmycareerfighting America’sbackwards slide towards fascism,and I’mnot going to give up now,”she said. “I hope you won’teither.”

Pursuant to provisions of the laws of the State of Louisiana

Department of Conservation and Energy Office of Permitting and Compliance

or designated representative will give any interested personthe opportunity to present testimony,facts, or oralorwritten comments relative to the

prepared in response to an applicationby:

RegionalLandfill Company 1158 Landfill Road Oakdale, LA 71463

Louisiana Regional Landfill Company has applied to the Department of

to drill, construct, and operate one new Commercial, Class INonhazardous

19, Township 02 South, Range 02 West, of Allen Parish for disposal of

and exploration and production (E &P)waste

applicationorother

Draft Permit, fact

obtained

inspection between 8:00 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday in the

and Energy,Rm. 817, of the LaSalle Building, 617 North 3rdStreet, BatonRouge,LA70802.

of

Roshto, Office of Permitting and Compliance, 617 North 3rdStreet, 8th Floor,BatonRouge,LA70802. Comments mayalso be e-mailed to info@la.gov.Please reference: Louisiana Regional Landfill Company Class I, Application Number

Effort to fund food benefits failsinSenate

BY KEVIN FREKING and MARYCLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Republican leaders in Congress said it’s all or nothing on Wednesday as they rejected aDemocratic push to carve out funding to continue food aid for more than 40 million Americans who stand to lose it as part of the government shutdown.

Democrats have repeatedly voted against reopening the government as they demand that Republicans negotiate with them to extend expiring health care subsidies. But they pushed for expeditedapproval of legislation to continue funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,or SNAP,inthe meantime.

“It’ssimple, it’smoral, it’s urgent,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he called for passage of SNAP funding Wednesday Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D angrily objected to the Democratic request,calling it “a cynical attempt to provide political cover” for Democrats to continue theshutdown, now in its 29th day.“We’re not going to let them pick winners and losers,” Thune said. “It’s time to fund everybody.”

If Democrats want to prevent damage fromthe shutdown, “they can end the shutdown,” Thune said.

The increasingly pointed

statements from lawmakers on Capitol Hill reflected growingfrustration and pressurethatisbuildingas theSNAPdeadline loomsand federal workers and military service members face missed paychecks this week. Vulnerable families could see federal money dryup soon for some other programs, as well —fromcertain Head Start preschool programs to aid for mothers to care for their newborns through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program

for Women,Infants, and Children, known as WIC.

The Department of Agriculturehas posted on its website that the SNAP benefitswill end Friday.“Bottom line, the well has run dry,” thestatementread.

Almost two dozen states have fileda lawsuit arguing that President Donald Trump’sadministration hasthe moneytocontinue thebenefitsand is legally required to do so. Schumer saidthat SNAPbenefits have never stopped during previ-

ous government shutdowns and thatTrump is “picking politics over the lives of hungry kids.”

Republican leaders, in turn,blamed Democrats. The solution, they said, was for Democratsinthe Senatetoallow forpassage of their short-term funding patch that hassofar failed 13 times in that chamber

“Things are getting really tough on the American people,”House SpeakerMike Johnson, R-Benton, saidat the start of his daily news

Virginia takessteps toward redistricting

By The Associated Press

Democratic lawmakers in Virginia pressed ahead Wednesday with plansthat could allow mid-decade redistricting as part of agrowing national battlefor partisan advantage in next year’s congressional elections.

Virginia’sHouse endorsed aproposed constitutional amendmentthat, if ultimately approved by voters, would allow lawmakers to temporarily bypass abipartisan redistricting commission and redraw congressional districts in response to similar efforts in other states. Redistricting typically occurs once adecade, immediatelyafter acensus.But President Donald Trump hopes that redistricting now can help Republicans in next year’smidterm elections hold on to the House, where Democrats need to gain just

threeseatstowin control and impede Trump’sagenda. Republicans in Texas, Missouri and NorthCarolina already have revised districts at Trump’surging. So far California is theonlyDemocratic-led statetocounter with anew congressional map, whichisgoing before voters in aspecial election that concludes Tuesday Democratsholda6-5 edge over Republicans in Virginia’sU.S. House delegation. Anew map could allowthem to expand that advantage. Butitrequires amultistep process because avoter-approved constitutional amendment places redistrictinginthe hands of abipartisan commission After the2020census, that commission deadlocked, so a courtimposed districts that remain inuse. The Virginia House on Wednesday voted for aproposed constitutional

amendment that would allow lawmakers to draw new congressionaldistricts in response to mid-decaderedistrictingdone in other states. To be placed on the statewide ballot, the proposalstill needs Senateapproval, then would have to be approved by bothchambers again in another legislative session.

“We’re here to defend against the power grab” by Trump, Democraticstate Del. Marcus Simon said.

ButRepublicanstateDel Chris Obenshain saidthe amendment was a“power grab” by Democrats and“a frightening attempttoresurrect aFrankenstein’smonster of gerrymandering.” A lawsuit broughtbyRepublicanscontends the special session on redistricting violates the state constitution.

So far, Democrats haven’t unveiled plans for how those newdistricts would

be shaped.

Indiana Republican Gov Mike Braun had called for a special session on congressional redistricting to begin next Monday. ButHouse Speaker Todd Huston said in astatementThursday that thechamber is still working on aschedule and won’tconvene Monday Aspokesperson for the Indiana Senate Republican caucussaid theSenate also is unlikely to be ready next week.

Though national Democrats are pressingIllinois to redraw its U.S. House districts, Democratsinthe stateGeneral Assembly say they won’ttakeupthe topic while in session this week.

Democratshold 14 of the state’s17U.S. House districts, which already were drawn to favor Democrats after the 2020 census.

conference that has become astaple of the shutdown.

The House has been out of session since mid-September,and Johnson is resolute that he will not bring the House back until the Senate has passed abill to fund thegovernment, whichthe House did on Sept. 19.

Senate Democrats have shownnosigns publicly that they are backing away from theirinsistence that agovernment funding bill also include help for millions of Americans who purchase health insurance coverage on the exchanges establishedthrough theAffordable Care Act.

Thestandoffshows few signs of easing. Thune told reporters there’sbeen a “higher level of conversation” with Democrats this week and that talks continued between senatorsin both parties over possible health care compromises.

But the underlying dynamics of the impasse remained thesame. Thune andother Republicans are continuing to press rank-and-file Democrats to vote to reopen the government before the Senate takes up talks to extend the health coveragebenefits. That’sthe strategythat’s been in place fornearly a month.

On Tuesday,air traffic controllers missed theirpaychecks andTransportation Secretary Sean Duffy ex-

pressed concerns that flight delays could multiply as increasingly stressed-out controllers call out sick. Also on Tuesday, Vice President JD Vancetoldreporters after meeting behind closed doors withSenate Republicans that he believes U.S. military members will be paid at theend of theweek, though he did not specifyhow In anews conference, House Democrats calledon Trump to return from his trip in Asia to address the issue.

“If the president wanted to help feed hungry American children, he would,” said Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committeethat handles the food aidprogram. “I’mcalling on the president to get back from Asia and do the right thing —and the moral thing.” As Republicans objected to the legislation to continue SNAP benefits, Democrats said they’d also support a similarbillfromRepublican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who hasseparate legislation to immediately fund the program But Thune said Republicans won’tallow apiecemeal process. He calledon Democrats to support their bill to extend all government funding and reopen the government.

“If Democratsreally want to fund SNAPand WIC, we have abill for them,” he said.

BY CLARA HARTER Los Angeles Times (TNS)

Athief or crew of thieves recentlycarried outone of thelargest artheists in California history, breaking into astorage facility for the Oakland Museum of California under cover of darkness and making off with more than 1,000 precious artifacts.

Oakland police said the burglary took place just before 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 15, four daysbefore robbers stole atrove of priceless Napoleonicjewelsfrom the Louvre Museum in Paris. Items stolen from the Oakland museumincluded Native American baskets, jewelry,laptops, historic photographsand intricately carved ivory tusks. The

Oakland Police Department is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s ArtCrime Team to investigate the heist and retrieve the missing artifacts.

“The theft that occurred represents abrazenact that robs the public of our state’scultural heritage,” said museum ChiefExecutive LoriFogarty in a statement. “Most of these objects have been given to the Museum by generous donors.”

The Oakland Museum of California is hometomore than 2million objects dedicated to tellingthe story of California through collections of art, historyand natural science. It features more than 110,000 square feet of gallery space across aseven-acre campus.

BY ROBGILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO— The leader of Canada’smost populous province on Wednesday said the U.S. ambassador to Canada should apologize to Ontario’srepresentative in Washington after the ambassador reportedly shoutedprofanely at him about the province’s antitariff ad.

Ontario Premier Doug Fordsaid Ambassador Pete HoekstraowesDavid Paterson an apology for an “absolutely unacceptable” tirade that Ford said is “unbecoming for an ambassador.”

An official familiar with the matter confirmed that Hoekstra shouted at Paterson during areception hosted by the Canadian American Business Council in Ot-

tawa on Monday night.The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on thematter

of tariffs and used much of the1987 address featured in Ontario’sadtospell out the case against tariffs

“Pete, you’vegot to call Dave up and apologize. It’s simple,” Ford toldjournalists, adding: “I get it. You’re ticked off. Butcall the guy up, because you’re agood guy.”

Aspokesperson for the U.S. Embassy declined comment Ontario’s television ad criticizes President Donald Trump’stariffs by citing a speech by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. The ad infuriatedTrump, who said he plans to raise tariffson imports of Canadian goods by anextra10%.

Trump saidthe ad misrepresented the position of Reagan. But Reagan waswary

“The intention wasn’t to go poke the president in the eye,” Ford said. “My intentionwas to geta conversation going.”

Fordsaid Hoekstra should understand why Canadians are upset.

“You have someoneattacking your province, attacking your country,constantly saying itsthe 51ststate, trying to takeour autojobs down to theU.S taking our manufacturing,our life science jobs, trying to takeour steel jobs,” he said. “What do they expect me to do?”

Ford pulledthe ad Monday after it was shown during the first twogames of the baseball WorldSeriesover theweekend.

LSU board will pick next coach, Landry says

Governor criticizes

AD Scott Woodward’s previous contracts

BY ALYSE PFEIL and MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writers

Gov Jeff Landry said Wednesday that LSU athletic director

Scott Woodward will not select a head football coach to replace Brian Kelly

“No. I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” he said in response to a question at a news conference. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before I let him do it.”

When asked who would hire the coach, Landry replied, “The Board of Supervisors is gonna come up with a committee, and they’re gonna go find us a coach.”

The governor appoints members of the board.

Woodward and LSU spokesperson Zach Greenwell did not immediately return a request for comment.

ELECTION

Continued from page 1A

Republican leaders said they want the extra month to see if a Supreme Court decision in the Callais case comes down before Christmas, and if necessary, use that guidance to draw a new congressional map ahead of the spring primary

Democrats said the election date change is a first step toward eliminating one or two of Louisiana’s majority-Black congressional districts, which elected two Democrats. At every turn of the six-day special session, they protested the delay of primary dates, presaging what is likely to be a contentious battle over a new congressional map — but only if the court rules in time.

On the final day of the session, a key Republican lawmaker said that, if an opinion doesn’t come before January, discussions could take place about tossing Louisiana’s closed primary and returning to the familiar jungle primary Rep. Beau Beaullieu, chairman of the committee that handles redistricting and voting matters, said it’s possible someone would propose repealing the spring closed primary in favor of returning to an open primary, which would be held in fall.

“If we don’t hear back from the Supreme Court, I think more people are going to be asking that question,” Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, said in an interview, referring to whether lawmakers will begin discussing a return to a fall open primary But he also said if the Supreme Court doesn’t rule until summer, Louisiana may have to stick with its current congressional map.

Legal observers across the political spectrum believe the Callais decision could have major consequences for the Voting Rights Act.

That civil rights era law aims to prohibit racial discrimination in voting and in redistricting, and for decades it’s been the basis for legal challenges that claim that redistricting plans unfairly dilute the voting power of minorities.

A Voting Rights Act lawsuit led

BENEFITS

Continued from page 1A

kids, our elderly and the disabled,” Landry said. “We’re going to lead the nation in the way we take care of people.”

Landry encouraged those the state doesn’t cover to look for work at louisianaworks.net and to lean on food banks. He called on Louisianans with the means to help stock food banks to step up to fill the gap.

“We’re going to start to talk about filling our food banks, because, again, what we’re doing today is not sustainable,” he said. Bruce Greenstein, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, said officials would finalize their policies in the coming days.

Landry said guidance for beneficiaries would be issued within 24 hours

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides monthly money to help low-income people cover the cost of gro-

Landry criticized the contracts that Woodward reached with the last two football coaches that he hired, Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Kelly A few years after Woodward left Texas A&M for LSU, Fisher signed a lucrative extension in 2021 as LSU searched for its next coach, a process that landed on Kelly Fisher was paid a buyout of nearly $77 million, the highest in college football history, when he was fired in 2023. Kelly’s nearly $54 million buyout would be the second-largest in the sport’s history LSU also paid former coach Ed Orgeron a $17.1 million buyout

when it fired him during the 2021 season.

“We are not going down a failed path,” Landry said “The guy that’s here now that wrote that contract cost Texas A&M $77 million. Right now, we’ve got a $53 million liability We are not doing that again.”

Negotiations with Kelly are still underway, but sources said his buyout will be paid by private donors.

Kelly is owed nearly $54 million, which would be paid out in monthly installments through 2031. That could be reduced through negotiations or offset if he takes another job in coaching, administration or media.

Landry said LSU’s next coach would be “compensated properly,” but he suggested putting “metrics” on the contract, indicating he would like to see a deal with less guaranteed money and more incentives.

“I’m tired of rewarding failure in this country,” Landry said.

Landry went on to blast a college athletics system in which he said influential sports agents engineer excessively large deals for coaches.

the Legislature in 2024 to draw the current voting map, in which two of Louisiana’s six congressional districts are majority-Black Those districts are represented by Congressmen Troy Carter, DNew Orleans, and Cleo Fields, DBaton Rouge.

Louisiana’s population is roughly one-third African American.

A group of White voters sued over the new map, however arguing their rights were being infringed under the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

The Supreme Court is now weighing whether the creation of the second majority-Black district under the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional

“When it comes to doing things that give fair and equitable maps to African Americans, we delay and we kick the can down the road,” Legislative Black Caucus

ceries. Almost 800,000 Louisiana residents are on SNAP, or about 17% of the state’s population. Funding for SNAP is set to expire as part of the federal government shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said it is out of money for the program. But two dozen states, who say the government has the funds to continue paying for SNAP and is illegally withholding them, have sued President Donald Trump’s administration. Meanwhile, Congress has not been able to pass a bill authorizing funding for most of the federal government

With no authorization to spend money, national parks have closed, many grant programs have shuttered and many federal employees have been furloughed or are working without pay

Around 1,100 people who work on the SNAP program in Louisiana are set to be furloughed next month, according to officials. The federal government pays half their salaries and the state pays the other half, Landry said. The governor said the state will

Chair Edmond Jordan, D-Baton Rouge, said Wednesday during debate on the House floor “When it’s something that has the potential to dilute the African American vote here, we want to rush and anticipate.”

Rep. Ed Larvadain III, D-Alexandria, said he expects the Legislature to convene for a special session this winter to quickly draw new maps with little public input once the Supreme Court rules.

“The Legislature will intentionally create unfair maps,” he predicted. “There will be no African American representation in Congress.”

“This is not right, and this not fair to the African American population,” he added.

Larvadain said that, in the midst of the 2026 midterm election cycle, Louisiana delaying the spring primary is also a way to “help

use the money it saves through the furlough to help fund the food assistance program. A skeleton crew will make sure that program functions.

Though the program will be administered only by the state, SNAP beneficiaries will be able to use the same cards they used through SNAP to pay for groceries, Greenstein said.

Nationally, Republican and Democratic politicians continue to point fingers at one another over the impacts of the shutdown in Washington.

Republicans blame Democrats for refusing to vote for a “clean” continuing resolution that would keep the government funded at its current levels. Landry has repeatedly referred to the “Schumer Shutdown,” blaming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y “Any mistake that we make is Chuck Schumer’s fault,” he said during the news conference.

Democrats fault Republicans for refusing to negotiate with them on restoring health care subsidies that are set to expire soon,

“This is ridiculous. Lawyers would be disbarred for the way these agents act,” he said. “It’s really time for the NCAA to put on some guardrails on college sports.”

“If big billionaires want to spend all that kind of money, no problem,” he said. “But if I gotta go find $53 million it’s not gonna be a pleasant conversation.”

Landry confirmed Wednesday that he was involved in discussions about the coaching change.

“My role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a terrible contract,” Landry said. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for.”

Landry confirmed he hosted a meeting at the Governor’s Mansion on Sunday, the night Kelly was fired, but said the meeting was not about whether Kelly would be pushed out.

“No, I hosted a meeting at the Governor’s Mansion to talk about the legalities, to talk about the cost, to talk about who pays for it, to talk about ‘what’s the effect of it,’” he said. “It was a meeting to discuss the legalities of the contract.”

Staff writer Wilson Alexander contributed to this story

are held under an open system commonly referred to as a “jungle primary.” All candidates run against each other on the same ballot regardless of party, and voters cast a ballot for any candidate of their choosing.

But last year, Louisiana lawmakers, with Gov Jeff Landry’s backing, decided to switch to closed party primaries for a handful of races, including U.S. House and Senate.

Louisiana Supreme Court, Public Service Commission and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education races also use closed primaries now In a closed system, Republican and Democratic candidates compete only against each other in the primary, and the party’s winner advances to the November general election. Voters must also cast a ballot in line with their party registration.

Under the jungle primary, elections were held in fall. But the new closed primary elections are scheduled for spring leaving less time to wait for a Supreme Court decision and potentially redraw congressional maps. Beaullieu said that if the Legislature starts to consider reverting to a fall jungle primary, it may only be needed for the U.S. House maps, since those districts are at issue in Louisiana v. Callais.

President Trump obtain more seats in Congress.”

But Beaullieu, a co-author of the legislation, disputed those accusations.

“Election dates are not partisan. Election dates do not see color,” he said. “This deals with election dates and nothing else.”

He added that no one knows how the Supreme Court will rule or what an opinion will say.

“We are not changing any of our rules, not changing any of our maps, not changing any of our procedures. We are extending dates and providing the process to change those dates as we wait for the Supreme Court of the United States,” he said.

To administer the election under a new congressional map, the Secretary of State’s Office would need a replacement map by Jan. 13, Beaullieu said.

Primary elections in Louisiana

potentially leaving many Americans with drastically higher insurance premiums.

But the Louisiana Legislature passed a bipartisan resolution urging the Louisiana Department of Health to reallocate funds so that SNAP recipients would continue to get money for food.

The Senate gave final passage to House Concurrent Resolution 3 on Wednesday It was sponsored by House Speaker Phillip Devillier, R-Eunice, and Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie.

In his remarks about the resolution on the Senate floor, Henry listed state lawmakers from both parties with tens of thousands of SNAP recipients in their districts.

“Trying to put Ds and Rs on this ain’t gonna work,” he said. “We’ll continue to feed people until D.C. gets organized, straight, sane — whatever you want to call it.”

Funds for the food stamps will flow through the Health Department, Henry said. If necessary, the Legislature can backfill the agency’s budget, possibly using money from the state’s rainy day

“We’re going to have some tough decisions to make, and I’m not sure what the decisions are going to be,” he said.

Asked about potentially returning to a jungle primary for U.S. House and Senate races, Senate President Cameron Henry, RMetairie, said some senators are open to the idea while others are not.

“The problem is, is to do that you’d have to come back into session,” Henry said. “And I don’t know whether members are going to come back in session again just to change more election dates again.

He said that would “maybe” be more likely if the session were to coincide with drawing maps, “but that’s too far down the road for us to even consider.”

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse.pfeil@ theadvocate.com.

fund, he said. No other Health Department programs would be depleted by the government’s decision to assist SNAP beneficiaries, Henry said.

HCR3 passed the House unanimously and it passed the Senate 32-1. State Sen. Jay Morris, RWest Monroe, cast the lone vote against it.

Morris said he thought the decision set a “bad precedent.”

“It forces us to do something for the federal gov that it should be doing itself,” Morris said.

The Legislature did not need to pass the resolution to authorize the funding, according to Henry, who said Landry’s Oct. 24 declaration of emergency gave the governor the power to reallocate funds as needed

But both Henry and DeVillier called Landry last week to ask that the state government intervene as SNAP funds dried up, the governor said.

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

the budget accordingly.

Furloughs and cuts to city services and overtime for police officers and firefighters are all on the table, Morrell said.

But Cantrell’s administration in a statement later on Wednesday said it was “collaborating” with the council to use “reserve funds” and revenue collections “to meet City obligations and keep City government operating.” It made no mention of cuts to overtime or furloughs but said city workers “are our most valuable resource.”

Earlier this month, the state Legislative Auditor Michael Waguespack said addressing the $160 million spending gap with existing reserves would leave the city with a dangerously low fund balance — or reserve fund — of $46 million, or just 5% of operating expenses.

Yet most of the existing fund balance — all but $8 million — is locked away in an emergency savings fund that can be tapped only in certain circumstances under the city charter

Those circumstances include whenever “a significant loss in city revenues due to an economic downturn” occurs, during a natural disaster or by federal mandate, per the city charter A two-thirds council vote is needed to approve spending from the emergency fund; it’s unclear if the full council supports tapping into those funds.

Payroll for New Orleans’ nearly 5,000 employees is funded through Nov 12. The city would have to deplete its reserves and use sales tax revenue to cover payroll through the end of the year, Finance Director Romy Schofield-Samuel said Wednesday

The rapid-fire chain of events Wednesday showcased a cashstrapped city at the precipice of a state fiscal takeover and the simmering tensions between state officials and the leaders of Louisiana’s largest city.

Gov Jeff Landry in a social media post on Tuesday urged the State

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Continued from page 1A

statement said he lost his green card after a conviction for assault and unlawful possession of a firearm and was ordered removed in 2006, but “tried a Hail Mary attempt to remain in our country by claiming he was a U.S. citizen.”

“I know it’s shocking to the media but criminal illegal aliens lie all the time,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.

On Tuesday lawyers for Souvannarath filed a motion asking the court to order the government to bring Souvannarath back to the United States.

ICE did not answer questions about the date of Souvannarath’s flight or provide a copy of his 2006 removal order Wednesday Souvannarath’s removal comes amid President Donald Trump’s push for mass detentions and deportations of immigrants As part of that push, the administration has been transferring ICE detainees to countries where they were not born.

Bond Commission a 14-member panel made up entirely of Republicans — to reject New Orleans’ bond request and also suggested the Fiscal Review Committee appoint a fiscal administrator

That prompted the council to hold a special meeting on Wednesday morning at which they approved a series of measures aimed at convincing state officials that they’re capable of managing the city’s finances without outside interference, that a similar fiscal crisis won’t reemerge in the future and that a short-term infusion of cash is the best route to fixing the city’s budget woes.

That included the introduction of an ordinance creating an emergency payroll fund for the bond proceeds with special oversight requirements. They also approved a resolution asking Waguespack, the legislative auditor, to work with the city’s inspector general to investigate city spending during Cantrell’s second term, among other moves.

Last week, PBS reported that the Trump administration had sent immigrants to at least four African countries through the “third country” program — Eswatini, South Sudan, Ghana and Rwanda.

Souvannarath has never been to Laos, according to the ACLU.

“ICE just ignored a federal court order and tore yet another family apart,” Alanah Odoms, executive director for the ACLU of Louisiana, said in a release “This is the deportation of someone who has strong claims to American citizenship. This administration has shown it will ignore the courts, ignore the Constitution and ignore the law to pursue its mass deportation agenda, even if it means destroying the lives of American citizens.”

ICE detained Souvannarath in June and eventually took him to the Louisiana Lockup, a new ICE detention center located inside the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, according to Dick’s order Louisiana Lockup is also known as Camp 57.

On Oct. 16, Souvannarath, who was told he would “be placed on the next flight to Laos,” filed a petition chal-

But the measures weren’t enough, and in the hours after the meeting adjourned, it became clear that state and city officials had reached an impasse.

Moreno said Attorney General Liz Murrill, in particular, had “taken a hard line” that the only way New Orleans would get Bond Commission approval is if it agreed to have a fiscal administrator come in for an “indefinite” amount of time Murrill is a member of both the Fiscal Review Committee and Bond Commission.

Murrill responded in a post on social media Wednesday arguing that the council had failed to “carry out its duties to the people of New Orleans” and that she couldn’t “in good conscience trust it” with additional funds without “meaningful budgetary reforms.”

Murrill targeted Moreno in particular for what she said was an unwillingness to partner “in a way that would ensure fiscal reform rather than continuing this shell game and municipal Ponzi

lenging the legality of his detention and demanding his immediate release, according to court records. He also filed an emergency motion for a stay of removal, which Dick granted.

The ACLU learned of his removal to Laos on Tuesday, a spokesperson said.

Souvannarath, who had been living in Alabama, had a wife and at least two children living in Washington state, the spokesperson added.

Trump officials and Gov Jeff Landry have advertised Camp 57 as fit for the “worst of the worst” “criminal illegal aliens.”

Upon its opening, ICE released a list of 51 detainees who the agency said had been convicted of murder, rape or sex offenses against children.

Souvannarath was not on that list. He has convictions from 2004 for unlawful possession of a firearm and for domestic violence-related second-degree assault in King County Washington, according to county records.

Louisiana, which holds the second-most ICE detainees behind Texas, has become central to the Trump administration’s deportation efforts.

scheme.” Moreno in a response on social media said it’s “absolutely false” that New Orleans wasn’t willing to partner with the state, pointing to the oversight measures approved Wednesday morning.

“I’m hoping that once again, politics can be pushed to the side, and cooler heads can prevail,” she said.

Under state law, the fiscal administrator would have wide-ranging authority, including the ability to amend budgets, cancel contracts, appoint or remove personnel, abolish departments and appropriate funds. The city’s elected officials, meanwhile, would be relegated to an “advisory capacity.”

New Orleans officials planned to pay back the loan in January, when they’re scheduled to receive property tax revenue. Because of the short-term nature of the bond, New Orleans would have had to pay an interest rate of up to 6%, much higher than a typical municipal bond. The state of Louisiana wouldn’t have incurred any costs as part of the deal, Morrell said.

ICE has nine regular detention centers in the state, which can hold over 7,000 people at any given time, immigration advocates said. ICE also has a facility in

“Simply put, it is not in the city of New Orleans’ best interest to be under state control indefinitely, in exchange for a loan we would repay in January,” Morrell said. At a news conference in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, Landry criticized New Orleans officials for withdrawing their Bond Commission request, and said the city should make its case before the Fiscal Review Committee, the state panel that decides whether to recommend that a judge appoint a fiscal administrator

“We are not being obstructionist here,” Landry said. “We are giving them multitudes of paths to be able to get what they need. They just don’t want it.”

The governor added that his administration is “treating (New Orleans) like everybody else. They’re normally not used to being treated like everyone else.” Morrell said the Cantrell administration will be tasked with making cuts, and said he was told by Chief Administrative Officer Joe Threat that an email would be going out either Wednesday or Thursday detailing the city’s austerity measures. Meanwhile, the council is looking for revenues.

District A council member Joe Giarrusso on Wednesday detailed several potential pots of funding that the city could rely on to help cover its expenses That includes pulling back around $45 million unspent American Rescue Plan Act funds; redirecting $9 from the Recreation and Culture Fund; collecting $9 million owed by the Sewerage & Water Board; and collecting somewhere between $30 to $50 million in FEMA reimbursements from the state of Louisiana.

Giarrusso also noted that a $20 million settlement with the Orleans Parish School Board and a $12 million appropriation for the redevelopment of Charity Hospital had yet to be paid out, though he didn’t say whether or not the council would seek to claw back those funds.

Email Blake Paterson at bpaterson@theadvocate.com.

Alexandria attached to an airport, which has become a hub for deportations.

Between January and August, over 21,000 ICE detainees were shuttled through that facility, The New York Times reported.

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

OPEN GENERAL/ ORLEANS MUNICIPAL PAROCHIAL GENERAL ELECTION

New Orleans, LA –The Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters will conduct Early Voting for the November 15, 2025, Open General/ Orleans Municipal Parochial General Election from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday, November 1, 2025, to Saturday, November 8, 2025, except for Sunday,November 2, 2025

Early Voting Locations

City Hall—1300 Perdido St., Room 1W24 (Designated Free Parking Available on Both Sides of the 400 &500 Blocks of LaSalle Street and The 1300 Block of Perdido, Only Where Indicated)

Algiers Courthouse—225 Morgan St., Room 105 (Parking Available behind the Algiers Courthouse)

Voting Machine Warehouse—8870 Chef Menteur Hwy. (Parking Available at the Voting Machine Warehouse Parking Lot)

LakeVista Community Center 6500 Spanish Fort Blvd.; 2nd Floor

(Parking Available at the Lake Vista Community Center Lot)

All Sites areADA Compliant

City Hall’s Designated Entrance Opens at 8:30 a.m. Preview Your Ballot and Get Voter Information at www.GeauxVote.com; www.nola.gov/registrar; or Download the GeauxVote Mobile App. Sample Ballots are available at each Early Voting site and online. Seniors are encouraged to join the 65+ or Nursing Home Program to automatically receive Absentee-By-Mail ballots for each election. Formore information, call (504) 658-8300.

What shutdown? Trump isn’t canceling anything

BY WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump isn’t curtailing travel. He’s not avoiding golf or making do with a skeleton staff in the West Wing. Even hamburgers served at the White House aren’t from McDonalds, this time.

In shutdowns past including during Trump’s first term — presidents normally scaled back their schedules. With staffers deemed “nonessential” sent home, the White House often sought to appear sympathetic to Americans affected by disruptions to health care, veterans benefits and other key services.

The current one has left around 750,000 federal employees furloughed and others working without pay

Nonetheless, it’s been mostly business as usual for Trump over the past 29 days.

“It’s like that country song: ‘Sometimes falling feels like flying for a little while,’” said Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to President Bill Clinton who presided over two shutdowns between 1995 and 1996. “They seem to be like, ‘So far, so good, man.’” Ballroom, golf and trips

Trump is on a six-day swing through Asia, after a recent, whirlwind Middle East visit. He hosted a White House fundraiser for major donors to his $300 million ballroom that has seen construction crews tear down the East Wing, and held another fundraiser at his Florida estate.

Members of the Cabinet have similarly hit the road. Vice President JD Vance traveled to Israel, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem went to Oregon and Defense Secre-

BY MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

DENVER Colorado officials filed

a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the relocation of U.S. Space Command to Alabama was illegally motivated by President Donald Trump’s desire to punish Colorado for its mail-in voting system.

tary Pete Hegseth toured TOPGUN, the U.S. Navy’s elite fighter weapons school in Nevada.

Only 32% of staff in the Executive Office of the President were set to be furloughed during the current shutdown, according a White House budget office contingency report. That’s down from 61% during the last shutdown in 2018-19, in Trump’s first term.

About half of the Executive Mansion’s team that includes housekeepers, ushers, valets and butlers are currently working. Last time, more than 70% were furloughed.

It’s often been hard to tell a shutdown is happening with so many staffers remaining at their desks.

“I don’t even know if they’re supposed to be working, but they wouldn’t miss a day,” Trump said during an event last week.

It’s a departure from Trump’s

first term, when he cut out golf and canceled a planned trip to Florida

The litigation announced by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser asks a federal judge to block the move as unconstitutional.

Trump chose Huntsville, Alabama, to house Space Command during the closing days of his first term. But in 2023, then-President Joe Biden announced the command would be permanently locat-

for Christmas during the 2018 shutdown, which stretched into the new year He made a surprise visit to visit troops in Iraq then, but nixed plans to go to the Swiss Alps for the World Economic Forum.

When hosting Clemson University football players celebrating their NCAA football championship, Trump brought in burgers and fries from McDonald’s and Domino’s pizza because of White House staff furloughs.

This time, the president had Republican senators over for a lunch that featured burgers, too. But staff made them.

‘A smarter approach’

Some say barreling ahead like there’s no shutdown has some political advantages for Trump, allowing him to look presidential while avoiding congressional bickering.

“It’s a much smarter approach,” said Marc Short, chief of staff

ed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which had been serving as its temporary headquarters.

Trump in September said Colorado’s mail-in voting system “played a big factor” in moving the headquarters to Alabama.

“The problem with Colorado is that they have a very corrupt voting system,” Trump said. He

to former Vice President Mike Pence.

In Trump’s first-term shutdown, he rejected a congressional compromise to force the government to close an attempt to win funding to wall off the U.S.-Mexico border Then, he named Pence as lead negotiator to end the shutdown while involving his son-inlaw Jared Kushner creating the visual of them having to go to Capitol Hill.

“The first go-around, he was pretty clear with cameras rolling: He said he wanted the shutdown. He claimed ownership,” Short said. This time?

“The White House has been clear about not owning it.”

Trump could probably find a way to end the current shutdown if he wanted to prioritize it, said Leon Panetta, who worked to end past government closures as Clinton’s chief of staff. But Trump’s “attention is focused on everything but sitting down and getting both parties together to resolve this issue,” Panetta said.

‘Continuing to work night and day’

During the 16-day government shutdown of 2013, President Barack Obama scrapped a fourcountry Asia trip and skipped the Congressional Hispanic Caucus gala. His schedule featured events meant to show the shutdown’s effects, including visiting a Maryland construction firm that benefited from the kind of federal loans jeopardized with the government shuttered.

In 2019, as that shutdown dragged on, Trump’s White House officials acknowledged feeling pressure to end it. This time, the administration’s approach has been to blame the Democrats, while signaling that it’s prepared to wait — even warning of coming

travel delays during the Thanksgiving holidays.

“President Trump is continuing to work night and day on behalf of American people,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson. “The entire administration, including the president, will continue highlighting the workers and families who are suffering because of the Democrats’ decision to shut down the government.”

Bill Daley, a White House chief of staff to Obama prior to the 2013 shutdown, said Trump isn’t acting like he’s feeling political heat to reopen the government, even before next Tuesday’s gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey — both home to sizable federal workforces.

“My guess is, he thinks it helps him,” Daley said, “until — and I don’t know if it will the bottom falls out.”

Democrats are demanding an extension of expiring tax credits that have helped millions of people afford health insurance, while Republicans say they won’t negotiate until the government is reopened.

Trump has said the shutdown must end, but also used it to cut federal positions and target programs Democrats favor, while redirecting funds to his own priorities like covering military paychecks. The president has even said of closed museums, “We should probably just open them.”

Americans, meanwhile, are divided on who’s to blame.

Roughly 6 in 10 say Trump and congressional Republicans have “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of responsibility for the shutdown, while 54% say the same about Democrats in Congress, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

said earlier plans to relocate the headquarters to Huntsville were “wrongfully obstructed” by the Biden administration.

“President Trump has unlawfully retaliated against Colorado to punish the state for its exercise of sovereign authority to regulate elections,” Colorado officials wrote in Wednesday’s lawsuit “The Supreme Court has long recognized that the Constitution prohibits the use of retaliation, punishment, or other coercive action in response to the exercise of constitutional right or power.” Alabama officials have said about 1,400 Space Command jobs would transition to Redstone Arsenal over the next five years.

Council candidates ready for runoff

Friedman, McCarron face off in N.O.’s District A

BY DESIREE STENNETT Staff writer

soon choose

between both candidates who have worked on staff for outgoing council member Joe Giarrusso.

Holly Friedman and Aimee McCarron will face each other in the Nov 15 runoff election after no candidate received more than 50% of

the vote. Friedman, who served as Giarrusso’s former constituent services director, won 39% of the vote in the October primary McCarron, who is the current policy and budget director on Giarrusso’s staff, earned 32% of the vote. Both say addressing the city’s $160 million budget crisis while improving infrastructure and city services are the top priorities, but they have differing approaches. Friedman would focus on technology to help the city improve its

‘FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM’

ABOVE: Kendra Williams sings outside City Hall after sharing some of her experience as a ‘victor’ of domestic violence during the Shine the Light on Domestic Violence vigil in New Orleans on Wednesday. ‘I went from fear to freedom,’ said Williams in front of the crowd. Williams prefers to be called a ‘victor,’ not a ‘survivor.’ The New Orleans Family Justice Center held a sidewalk procession to City Hall for the Shine the Light on Domestic Violence vigil. The walk was to remember those who lost their lives to domestic violence and to tell survivors they are not alone and have support. The vigil on the steps of City Hall honored 24 victims of domestic violence and included speakers and music performances. BELOW: 24 people hold electric candles to represent victims of domestic violence.

GERMER

La. State Police investigate hit-and-run death of tourist Wisconsin woman died on I-10 twin span

MISSY WILKINSON

Caraway was staying the Hilton New Orleans Convention Center her uncle Tawny Gray said — about 25 miles from where she was found dead on the bridge after being hit by a Mazda CX5, and possibly another vehicle before that, according to the

State Police’s preliminary investigation. “She didn’t have a vehicle. She didn’t rent a vehicle,” Gray said. “She was Ubering.” Gray believes Caraway returned to her hotel room after the concert ended at the Smoothie King Center at 11 p.m. Oct. 20. He said her concert wristband was in the hotel room. But what happened between then and 2:19 a.m., when Caraway’s mother received a car crash alert on her phone,

ä See DEATH, page 2B

Friedman McCarron

Lawyer: Suing oil firms will help drilling

Fixing environmental damage good for industry, Carmouche says

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

For years, oil and gas companies have argued that litigation seeking to have the industry pay for historic environmental damage to Louisiana’s coast and groundwater has been a deal-killer for new drilling, creating financial risks that have scared off operators and stymied new jobs. But one of the chief architects of lawsuits filed by Louisiana parishes against the oil companies is contending that the opposite would be true over the long term if the suits are ultimately successful. Baton Rouge lawyer John Carmouche says addressing the decades of environmental damage and leftover oil-and-gas infrastructure on the coast would clear away a major obstacle for new drilling by operators looking to enter the market.

“They can’t go operate because they don’t want to be held responsible for something they didn’t do,” Carmouche told the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday “So, my opinion is, which I strive for, and I talk to independent oil companies all over the country is, ‘Hey let’s get rid of the liability and come ‘drill, baby, drill.’ That’s what the state needs.”

“Nobody’s fighting oil companies to come in and be responsible and put the jobs back, but they will not come unless

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Jefferson Parish officials said Wednesday they are optimistic for the Greater New Orleans area’s future under the leadership of New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Moreno, even as

Council optimistic about New Orleans area ä See FUTURE, page 2B Moreno

NFL player’s identity stolen, Jefferson authorities say

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

A man and woman from Jefferson Parish are accused of committing identity theft in order to secure

$250,000 in loans in the name of Tennessee Titans quarterback and No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward, according to authorities. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested Albert Weber, 42, of Harvey, and Cyntrelle Lash, 39, of Metairie, on May 16 on charges including identity theft, bank fraud and forgery, said Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesperson for the department.

third-party broker in April, claiming to be in need of money, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The phony Cam Ward offered to use property belonging to his father and uncle as collateral for a loan until his “purported $30 million contract” was finalized, authorities said A notary public hired by the complainant’s company met twice with the suspect to sign paperwork leading to a $250,000 loan, authorities said.

“We believe Weber posed as Cam Ward’s dad to obtain the loans, and she assisted in the fraud,” Rivarde said.

Neither Weber nor Lash could be reached for comment Wednesday They have not been formally charged

The Sheriff’s Office opened its investigation in May after the representative of an unidentified business contacted the department, reporting that they’d been tricked into lending money to a fraudster, according to authorities

The complainant told deputies that a person who identified himself as Cam Ward reached out through a

According to a news story first reported by The Guardian, detectives reached out to Ward’s father earlier this year and told him that two liens had been placed on his Texas home.

Weber denied any involvement to The Guardian. The investigation is still open and additional charges are possible, according to Rivarde.

“We suspect him of impersonating multiple people,” Rivarde said.

It appears federal authorities are also involved based on FBI records that show the agency seized a 2018 Bentley Bentayga belonging to Weber in July

Weber was released from the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna on May 18 on an $80,000 bond. Lash was freed a day later on a $60,000 bond.

Victims in rural St. Tammany Parish house fire identified

Staff report

The St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office has released the names of two people who lost their lives in a rural house fire last month.

The Coroner’s Office identified the men as Micheal Hope, 76, and Michael Scottivo, 56 Both died of smoke inhalation, and their deaths were ruled accidental.

Firefighters responded to a house fire on Sun Drive in the village of Sun on the afternoon of

RUNOFF

Continued from page 1B

efficiency and transparency to help provide better services while making necessary cuts McCarron plans to use her financial background to make strategic cuts while leaving room for hiring that would cost less than outsourcing and raise the capacity to provide better services.

Voters in parts of Mid-City, Lakeview, Hollygrove and Uptown will get their chance to weigh in on which candidate will represent them as early voting starts on Saturday ahead of Election Day

Holly Friedman

Technology and transparency are the linchpins for Friedman’s plan to address the city’s financial woes.

After spending four years in the early 2000s working as an economic crime investigator for the New Orleans District Attorney’s

Sept. 28. The home was engulfed in flames when they arrived.

The bodies of the two men were found inside, but positive identification took several weeks because DNA had to be collected from family members who live out of state, a coroner’s spokesperson said.

Both men listed the home on Sun Drive as their address. After the fire, neighbors told television reporters that the two men who lived in the home usually kept to themselves.

Office, Friedman, 57, said she will be ready on Day 1 to address the massive budget shortfalls, understand how it happened, and hold those responsible accountable.

“My job was to follow the money and uncover where it went, who is responsible and how to prevent it from happening again,” she said, adding that she plans to bring that investigative experience to the city’s financial deficit. “This did not appear overnight. It’s years of poor oversight, a lack of transparency and weak accountability.”

As she’s knocked on doors and attended neighborhood meetings, she said residents told her they are desperate for better city services.

Friedman said technology is the solution for them.

She also worked as director of the district attorney’s Open Source Intelligence team to abate violent crime, and worked on the NO DICE project that focused on criminal blight indictments that forced longtime negligent property owners to either clean up their

FUTURE

Continued from page 1B

Parish that we have seen in a long, long time,” said Walker, a former broadcast journalist who joined WDSU-TV shortly after Moreno’s departure in 2008.

Ruth Lawson, executive director for the chamber, said collaboration with Mayor Latoya Cantrell has “probably been a little nonexistent” in recent years, which Walker agreed with.

“There was an impediment over the past several years to that regionalism, and I’m looking forward to that impediment not being there,” Walker said.

Long-standing relationships

On the other hand, Lee Sheng and Walker both said they’ve had a long-standing relationship with Moreno in her role as a New Orleans City Council member, which they hope to continue as they seek more collaboration on issues like emergency management transit, drainage, infrastructure and tourism.

While the two parishes have few governmental ties to one another, particularly after Jefferson pulled out of the Regional Transit Authority last year, Lee Sheng said she looks forward to collaborating with Moreno on regional events like sports tourism and exchanging ideas on how to run their respective governments more efficiently

“I will be at any meeting that you (Moreno) need for New Orleans, and she’s willing to come here to get us a meeting for something

DEATH

Continued from page 1B

remains unknown.

Also a mystery is whom, if anyone, she may have been with. She had traveled solo from Appleton, Wisconsin, to New Orleans.

“She was kind of a loner it’s weird she would join someone if that was the case,” Gray said. “She would have told us if she was going down (to New Orleans) with someone. And her mother talked to her a few times on FaceTime.”

properties, sell them or face criminal charges She said she has seen the dramatic improvement that leveraging technology can bring to communities across the city

“I want to use that same data and technology to actually track city services,” she said. “I see it working in law enforcement Let’s bring that same sort of data and technology to City Hall where it can give our basic city services and give those departments relief. Other cities have done it successfully.”

Hiring, she said, will likely be out of the question for some time as efforts are underway to rightsize the budget. Some cuts may even be painful. But adding technology that utilizes data the city already has could be the key to improving life in District A and across the city as the budget problems are reigned in, she said.

Aimee McCarron

For McCarron, 41, balancing the budget is not just making blunt cuts across the board.

that lands in Jefferson Parish,” Lee Sheng said. In one example, she said Moreno has sent staff members to Jefferson task force meetings to exchange ideas on how to streamline permitting processes — prompted by complaints from local business owners. In an interview earlier this month, Lee Sheng recalled meeting the mayor-elect roughly 25 years ago, when Moreno interviewed her as a journalist because Lee Sheng worked for the U.S. Department of Justice Immigration.

Jefferson Parish at-large council member Jennifer Van Vrancken, another former broadcast journalist, echoed her colleagues’ sentiment earlier this month, saying she foresees both parishes being strengthened by Moreno’s leadership.

“This is one of the first people we’ve had a long-standing relationship with already,” Van Vrancken said. “I think there will be a tremendous amount of more communication.”

Financial woes

Although officials are optimistic, both parishes are reckoning with major financial problems, a point of consternation during the State of Jefferson discussions Wednesday Jefferson Parish lost its bond rating earlier this year after failing to file multiple audits on time and is paying Deloitte and Touche over $8 million to overhaul the parish’s accounting system. Losing a bond rating is the equivalent of losing a credit score, in layman’s terms. New Orleans, on the other hand,

That was typical for the closeknit family, Gray said. An only child, Caraway was born in Chicago and attended South Shore Community Academy, an arts school. Caraway worked from home as an auditor, loved music, food, her family and raising her 6-year-old son.

“(She and her son) have the same funny extremely extremely smart personality,” Gray said.

“He’s 6 years old, but you forget you’re talking to a 6-year-old. But that was her sense of humor.” Caraway’s body was returned to the family over the weekend.

She has worked closely with the city budget under Giarrusso since 2022 and has 10 years’ experience as a financial adviser, which gives her to chops to trim the fat while leaving room for hiring that supports revenue-generating departments.

She supports a plan also championed by Mayor-elect Helena Moreno to work with Delgado Community College and local trades unions to train workers who could be hired by the city She said building up staff could mean dropping expensive outsourcing and getting better quality work.

“We still are spending a lot of money on outside contracts and we really, really need to take a hard look at that and determine how do we transition out of those contracts,” she said “That’s the importance of knowing how to actually look and understand how budgets work on Day 1.”

McCarron clarified that while her role has focused on the city budget for the past four years, she and the rest of the council staff

in working to solve a roughly $160 million deficit in the city’s budget, along with a shortfall in city payroll due to delayed federal grant payments.

The distinction between the two, Lee Sheng emphasized, is that Orleans Parish has overspent its money, but Jefferson has properly budgeted funds, just failed to process them efficiently

Lee Sheng has repeatedly said the late audits were caused by a “perfect storm” of issues, including an influx of over $370 million in emergency federal aid, outdated financial management software and turnover of department staff amid a national accounting shortage.

The parish anticipates submitting its 2024 audit by the end of March 2026 so it can be back on schedule for the 2025 audit, due next summer

Deloitte will also transition the parish to new financial software and reorganize the finance department, two tasks Lee Sheng said must be confronted now alongside the late audits rather than passed along to the next parish president.

“It always looks worse before it looks better,” Lee Sheng said. “And we will stay the course until we can turn the corner.”

The Jefferson Parish Council passed several measures last week to give itself more oversight over parish budgeting and finance, including a request for a financial summary of all the parish’s 28 millages to check for shortfalls, a monthly update from Deloitte to the council on work plans, and a recruiter to help hire a new finance director and accounting director

They have created a GoFundMe for funeral expenses.

“Now that I have her back with us, trying to figure out what is going on is a priority,” Gray said. He implored anyone with information to contact Louisiana State Police Troop L at (985) 893-6250 or the St. Tammany Parish coroner at (985) 781-1150. Tipsters may contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans anonymously at (504) 822-1111.

“She should have came home,” Gray said. “She went down for a concert, and should have been able to go home.”

and elected officials were usually only privy to information on how much money was allocated to departments and projects, not how much money was being spent.

Getting more detailed spending information could prevent a future budget imbalance, she said. “There definitely needs to be a lot more transparency with the budget process in general,” she said.

She called for monthly budget and spending data to be made available to council members, and for the council to get full access to the city’s financial tracking system. She also called for the council to be more informed about the budget requests made by individual departments before the administration approves or denies them.

If she can help the city navigate its way through the budget crisis, McCarron said her hope is to find dollars to get more funding to the New Orleans Recreation Development Commission to support programs for children.

revenues.

Continued from page 1B

somebody takes responsibility for the mess that’s in our coast,” he added “So when these lawsuits are over, I think it’s going to be an economic boom in the state of Louisiana.”

Carmouche’s firm, Talbot, Carmouche & Marcello, has played a central role not only in the 42 coastal damage lawsuits but also so-called “legacy” cases over onshore soil and groundwater contamination and abandoned infrastructure from past drilling

Carmouche told the Press Club that the coastal suits are trying to hold accountable companies that left behind oil infrastructure, dug damaging canals or dumped highly saline produced water and other contaminated exploration waste into unlined pits that, he alleges, played a part in destroying Louisiana’s swamps and marshes and broke the law

After coastal protections were adopted in 1980, companies were required to get state permits that forced them to restore the damage they caused to coastal lands, including backfilling dredged canals, he said. Only companies

that didn’t correct their actions after 1980 have been sued, he said. Ninety-nine percent of the defendants didn’t even get the required permits, he said.

“They ignored the law,” Carmouche said.

‘Money grab’?

The chief trade group for drillers, the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, argues that the wave of coastal suits has had a measurable impact on Louisiana offshore and inland drilling. It points to state data showing revenues and production levels from state leases on inland and offshore waters have fallen off to nearly nothing since the first suits were filed in 2013.

“With the stigma of legacy lawsuits already tainting Louisiana’s reputation, it didn’t take long for the word to get out to the investment world that any company filing dredging permits would be named in coastal suits,” Mike Moncla, president of LOGA, said in a statement “This decimated investment in our state’s inland waters.”

Other analyses point to a combination of factors contributing to the decline in onshore drilling, including demand, price and the cost of extraction, among others.

In the first of the coastal cases to go to trial, Carmouche’s firm won

a $745 million jury verdict in April over coastal damage caused by Chevron through its predecessor, Texaco, in Plaquemines Parish. Jurors held Chevron responsible for Texaco’s dumping of 4.2 billion gallons of briny, contaminated produced water in parish marshes, finding the actions bore 25% of the responsibility for coastal erosion in the parish.

Attempting to dispute claims that the coastal suits are a “money grab” for plaintiffs’ attorneys, Carmouche said all of the Plaquemines award would go toward financing the state’s coastal restoration plan. Any attorneys’ fees and costs would have to be awarded by a judge on top of the verdict.

But uncertainty remains over the legal battle, and the nation’s highest court will soon weigh in. Supreme Court showdown

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments over whether the case — and at least 10 other coastal lawsuits — should be tried in federal court because the oil and gas activity in question was tied to federal wartime needs during World War II. Plaintiffs have disputed that this connection is sufficient to force the change of courts and have

prevailed three times previously, including a ruling before the U.S 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed the Plaquemines trial to proceed.

Carmouche speculated Monday that the high court may have agreed to consider the issue because of a different ruling in another appellate court. He expects oral arguments in Washington, D.C., in January with a potential ruling in March or April.

While the Trump administration has recently sided with Chevron, state Attorney General Liz Murrill has been an ardent backer of parishes and recently said the Plaquemines verdict resulted from a clear-cut case of legal violations about which Texaco repeatedly lied to state regulators. Gov Jeff Landry has also supported the litigation.

“It’s not like they didn’t make decisions,” Carmouche added about the many defendants, “that put them in the position they are in today.” Whatever promise Carmouche argues the coastal suits may bring in the future, Moncla, LOGA’s president, said the suits have had an effect on the present, decimating the inland drilling industry, costing property owners value and the state royalty and severance tax

Moncla offered the example of his family’s company, Moncla Marine, the largest of the niche barge companies that worked over inland wells. The company employed more than 250 people but had to file for bankruptcy and liquidate its assets, including its valuable barge fleet, for less than 15% of its value.

“These lawsuits demolished an entire service sector that will never recover, sent thousands of Louisianans to seek employment elsewhere, and to date have cost the state well over a billion in revenues,” Moncla said.

David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

LOTTERY

TUESDAY, OCT 28, 2025

keep your tickets

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Chipmaker Nvidia is first $5 trillion company

Nvidia has become the first $5 trillion company, just three months after the Silicon Valley chipmaker was first to break through the $4 trillion barrier

Hitting the new benchmark puts more emphasis on the upheaval being unleashed by an artificial intelligence craze that’s widely viewed as the biggest tectonic shift in technology since Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone 18 years ago. Apple rode the iPhone’s success to become the first publicly traded company to be valued at $1 trillion $2 trillion and eventually, $3 trillion Nvidia’s value is greater than the GDP of India, Japan and the United Kingdom, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Nvidia carved out an early lead in tailoring its chipsets known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, from use in powering video games to helping to train powerful AI systems, like the technology behind ChatGPT and image generators. Demand skyrocketed as more people began using AI chatbots. Tech companies scrambled for more chips to build and run them.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has downplayed concerns of a bubble bursting, saying that the generative AI chatbots that were merely “interesting” when they first took hold a few years ago are now becoming so useful that they will be profitable Alphabet posts $100B in revenue

SAN FRANCISCO Google’s corporate parent on Wednesday announced its first-ever quarter with more than $100 billion in revenue, a milestone that illustrates the unwavering power of its internet empire amid legal and competitive threats.

The news of Alphabet Inc ’s accelerating growth in revenue and profit comes on the heels of a court ruling in the U.S Justice Department’s landmark monopoly case against Google’s dominant search engine that was widely seen as a mild rebuke that wouldn’t hobble the company Alphabet performed like a powerhouse during the JulySeptember period, delivering a profit of nearly $35 billion, or $2.87 per share, a 33% increase from the same time last year Revenue rose 16% from last year to $102.3 billion. Both figures easily exceeded the analysts’ projections that steer the stock market. Google has been implanting more artificial intelligence features into both its search engine and Chrome, as well as its other products, as part of its effort to protect its turf while also expanding into new technological frontiers.

Boeing pushes 777X jet deliveries to 2027

Boeing reported mixed thirdquarter results on Wednesday, as higher aircraft deliveries and a growing backlog of orders were offset by continued certification delays for its 777X jets.

CEO Kelly Ortberg said the first delivery of Boeing’s next generation of long-haul, widebody jets is now expected in 2027 instead of 2026, resulting in a $4.9 billion charge in the quarter through September But Ortberg emphasized in a call with analysts that the delays stemmed from the certification process, and not from any newly discovered technical issues.

Ortberg said Boeing was making progress on stabilizing its production. The aerospace giant delivered 160 planes in the third quarter, the most quarterly deliveries since 2018 The same time last year, Boeing said it delivered 116 planes.

Boeing also reported that its backlog of orders had grown to $636 billion in the third quarter. The growing backlog includes 5,900 commercial planes, with big 777X orders from Qatar Airways, which is waiting on 124 jets, and Dubai-based Emirates, which has ordered 205 of them.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

Wall Street waffles around records

Market snaps amid Fed announcement

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. stocks bounced around their records on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve made moves to boost the job market but also warned that more help isn’t guaranteed.

The S&P 500 finished virtually flat and edged down by less than 0.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 73 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5% All

three indexes were coming off an all-time high.

Stocks had been on track for modest gains in the afternoon after the Fed cut its main interest rate for the second time this year in hopes of helping the slowing job market

But the market snapped lower after Chair Jerome Powell later warned that it “is not a foregone conclusion” that the Fed will cut again in December at its next meeting.

“That needs to be taken off the board,” Powell said.

In the meantime, the deluge continued of big U.S companies reporting how much profit they made during the summer, and the frenzy in

artificial-intelligence technology is driving growth. The pressure is on companies to deliver gains because that’s one way they can quiet criticism that their stock prices have shot too high Teradyne soared 20.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the company, which makes automated test equipment and advanced robotics systems, reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected CEO Greg Smith credited strength related to artificial-intelligence applications and said “AI-related test demand remains robust.”

Even Caterpillar, the company known for its construction and min-

ing equipment, is feeling a boost because of AI. It rallied 11.6% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The strongest growth came from Caterpillar’s business that provides equipment for big data centers that are powering AI On the losing end of Wall Street was Fiserv, which plunged 44% for its worst day since its stock began trading in 1986. The payments and financial technology company reported weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, slashed its profit forecast for the year and revamped its board of directors and leadership team.

On Wednesday, Federal

there were ‘strongly differing views about how to proceed in December’ at its next

FED CUTS KEY RATE

Chair Jerome Powell says future reductions not locked in

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP economics writer

WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring, even as inflation stays elevated.

But Fed Chair Jerome Powell also cautioned that further rate cuts weren’t guaranteed, citing the government shutdown’s interruption of economic reports and sharp divisions among 19 Fed officials who participate in the central bank’s interest-rate deliberations.

Speaking to reporters after the Fed announced its rate decision, Powell said there were “strongly differing views about how to proceed in December” at its next meeting and a further reduction in the benchmark rate is not “a foregone conclusion — far from it.”

Wednesday’s quarter-point cut brings the Fed’s key rate down to about 3.9%, from about 4.1%. The central bank had cranked its rate to roughly 5.3% in 2023 and 2024 to combat the biggest inflation spike in four decades before implementing three cuts last year Lower rates could, over time, reduce borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and

credit cards, as well as for business loans.

The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without the economic signposts it typically relies on from the government, including monthly reports on jobs, inflation and consumer spending, which have been suspended because of the government shutdown.

Financial markets largely expected another rate reduction in December, and stock prices dropped after Powell’s comments, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average closing slightly lower

“Powell poured cold water on the idea that the Fed was on autopilot for a December cut,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S rates strategy at TD Securities. “Instead they’ll have to wait for economic data to confirm that a rate cut is actually needed.”

Powell was asked about the impact of the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1 and has interrupted the distribution of economic data. Powell said the Fed does have access to some data that give it “a picture of what’s going on.” He added that, “If there were a significant or material change in the

economy, one way or another, I think we’d pick that up through this.”

But the Fed chair did acknowledge that the limited data could cause officials to proceed more cautiously heading into its next meeting in mid-December

On Wednesday the Fed also said it would stop reducing the size of its massive securities holdings, which it accumulated during the pandemic and after the 2008-09 Great Recession.

The change, to take effect Dec. 1, could over time slightly reduce longer-term interest rates on things like mortgages but won’t have much impact on consumer borrowing costs.

Jeffrey Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted against the move because he preferred no change to the Fed’s rate. Schmid has previously expressed concern that inflation remains too high.

Fed governor Stephen Miran dissented for the second straight meeting in favor of a halfpoint cut. Miran was appointed by President Donald Trump just before the central bank’s last meeting in September

Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell for not reducing borrowing costs more quickly

Leading AI company to ban kids from long chats with bots

Concern about the technology on the rise

BY QUEENIE WONG

(TNS)

Los Angeles Times

Character.AI, a platform for creating and chatting with artificial intelligence chatbots, plans to start blocking minors from having “open-ended” conversations with its virtual characters.

The major change comes as the Menlo Park, Calif. company and other AI leaders face more scrutiny from parents, child safety groups and politicians about whether chatbots are harming the mental health of teens. Character.AI said in a blog post

Wednesday that it is working on a new experience that will allow teens under 18 to create videos, stories and streams with characters. However, as the company makes this transition, it will limit chats for minors to two hours per day, and that will “ramp down” before Nov 25.

“We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly but we do think that it’s the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology,” the company said in a statement.

The decision shows how technology companies are responding to mental health concerns as more parents sue the platforms follow-

ing the deaths of their children.

Last year several parents sued Character.AI over allegations that the chatbots caused their children to harm themselves and others.

The lawsuits accused the company of releasing the platform before making sure it was safe to use. Character.AI said it takes teen safety seriously and outlined steps it took to moderate inappropriate content. The company’s rules prohibit the promotion, glorification and encouragement of suicide, self-harm and eating disorders.

Following the deaths of their teens, parents have urged lawmakers to do more to protect young people as chatbots grow in popularity While teens are using chatbots for schoolwork, enter-

tainment and more, some are also conversing with virtual characters for companionship or advice.

Character.AI has more than 20 million monthly active users and more than 10 million characters on its platforms. Some of the characters are fictional, while others are based on real people.

Megan Garcia, a Florida mom who sued Character.AI last year, alleges the company failed to notify her or offer help to her son who expressed suicidal thoughts to chatbots on the app.

Her son, Sewell Setzer III, died by suicide after chatting with a chatbot named after Daenerys Targaryen, a character from the fantasy television and book series “Game of Thrones.”

NewOrleans Area Deaths

August-Perkins, Maudrey

Dorsey,Mack

Burial.You maysignthe guest book on http://www gertrudegeddeswillis.com. Gertrude Geddes Willis Fu‐neral Home Inc.,incharge (504) 522-2525.

Douglas,Keith Douglas, KeithWade

JamisonJr.,Robert

Jerome,Joya

McCall, Patricia

Morton, Dorothy

Paretti III,August Ross, Raphael

Young, Eugene

NewOrleans

DW Rhodes

McCall, Patricia

Young, Eugene

Gertrude Geddes

Dorsey,Mack

Jerome,Joya

MurrayHenderson

JamisonJr.,Robert

River Parish TreasuresLife

Douglas,Keith

St Tammany GraceFuneral

Paretti III,August

Honaker West Bank West Leitz-Eagan

Morton, Dorothy

Obituaries

August-Perkins, MaudreyMae

Maudrey Mae Perkins was born February 14,1935 to the union of Ernest& Adelle in Laplace LA. On Tuesday October 21,2025, the Lord looked down upon Maudrey Mae and called the spirit of our loved one home to rest. Family and friends are invited to attend the Celebration of Life Service on Saturday, November 1, 2025, for 10:00 a.m. at Doyle's Funeral Home, 2430 4th St Slidell La 70458 Visitation will begin at 9:00 a.m. Pastor Kaseem Short officiating. Interment will take place on Monday November 3, 2025 at Biloxi NationalCemetery 400 Veterans Ave Biloxi Mississippi 39531

Mack "Berry"Dorsey, age 72 wasbornonDecem‐ber 23, 1953 in New Or‐leans,LAdepartedthis earthly home on Wednes‐day,October 15, 2025. He was ahighschool gradu‐ate anda self employed truck driver.Mackwas the lovingfatherofSharon Marie "Ree" Brown-Jones. Beloved brotherofElaine Walker, BettyJeanDorsey, Barbeth Dorsey,Celestine Dillion,RosemaryDorsey, PatriciaDorseyand Crystal Dorsey. He wasalsosur‐vived by 3grandchildren,2 great-grandchildren,and a hostofnieces, nephews, cousins,familyand friends.Hewas preceded indeath by hisparents MackCushinberry and Ethel MaeDorsey; andhis brother Larry Dorsey.Rela‐tives andfriends of the familyare invitedtoattend the Memorial Celebration onSaturday, November 1, 2025 at Gertrude Geddes Willis FuneralHome, 2120 Jackson Avenue,New Or‐leans,LA70113at10:00 a.m.Familyhourfrom9:00 a.m. until10:00 a.m. Private

“And God shallwipe awayall tearsfromtheir eyes; andthere shallbeno moredeath,neither sor‐row,nor crying,neither shall therebeany more pain: forthe former things are passedaway.”- Revela‐tions 21:4.Keith Wade Dou‐glaswas born on June 14, 1954, in NewOrleans,Lato the union of thelateClin‐ton andLoretta Douglas. At 3 months old, he wasnur‐tured andraisedwithlove bythe late Calvin Sr.and LuellaWoodfork Grows. He was baptized at an early age at GreaterNew St Peter BaptistChurch in Edgard, La by thelateRev‐erend J.J. Harper.He servedfaithfully as amale chorusmemberfor this church andSecondAfrican Baptist Church in Edgard La. He waseducatedinthe St. John theBaptist Parish PublicSchool System.He graduated in 1974 from SecondWardHighSchool Keith worked as acusto‐dianfor St.Johnthe Bap‐tistParishLibrary andClub Grocery formanyyears.He departedearthly life forhis eternal home on Sunday October 26,2025, at Chateau St.James Rehab and Retirement Nursing HomeinGramercy, La.He issurvivedbyhis sister, Bernadette;and brothers Kenneth andRonaldDou‐glas; andbyhis foster sib‐lings,CalvinJr; andJessica Grows;Clarence(Emma); and Mercedes Hunter Beloved family members thatprecededhim in death werehis parents, Clinton and LorettaDouglas;foster parents,CalvinSr. and LuellaWoodfork Grows; brothers, Floyd, Lloyd, Ernest, Donald,and Allen; sister, Geraldine; andfos‐ter sister,Yvonne Grows Keyes.A CelebrationofLife willbeheldonSaturday, November1,2025, at New St, PeterBaptist Church, 200 W. 3rdSt.,Edgard, La 70049. Visitation at 10AM. Service will beginat11AM. Interment to follow at Young Cemetery.Final care and professional services entrusted to Treasuresof LifeFuneral Services,315 E. Airline Hwy.,Gramercy, La 70052.

Jamison Jr., Robert Luedavid

RobertLuedavid Jamison Jr.passed Oct, 18, 2025. Born to the late Clayona AltheaCalvin Jamison& Robert Luedavid Jamison Sr Leaves behind wife Fayetta Jamison; children Dana (Tremayne)Bailey, Daria (Jeremy) Geary, Rashida(Benjamin) Poole, &RobertJamisonIII ;& brother Bruce Jamison. Funeral Nov. 1, 2025. Visitation9 AM; Service 11 AM. 1st Free MBC,426 Lamarque, NOLA 70114. Interment Nov. 3, 2025 @12PM. Westlawn, 1225 Whitney,Gretna, LA70056. FULL OBIT:https://www .murrayhendersonfuneralh ome.com/?fh_id=12624 Professional Arrangements Murray Henderson Funeral Home, 1209 Teche, NOLA 70114.

LA,departedthislifeon Monday, October6,2025 Joyawas thelovingdaugh‐ter of Willie Jerome and Catherine Griffin. Beloved sisterofJa'CorieCasborn Ju'VonArana andWillie Jerome. Shewas also sur‐vived by herniecesand nephews,Ahmoray Arana, Kiara Pickens, Sheynne White, Some'Hunter,Jane' White, RavenPickens Juzet Arana, JuriiArana and ahostofcousins,fam‐ily andfriends.Relatives and friendsofthe family are invitedtoattend the MemorialCelebration Ser‐viceonSaturday, Novem‐ber 1, 2025 at Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral Home, 2120 JacksonAv‐enue,New Orleans, LA 70113 at 12:30 p.m. Family hourfrom11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. PrivateBurial. You maysignthe guest book on www.gertrudeged deswillis.com.Gertrude GeddesWillisFuneral HomeInc., in charge (504) 522-2525.

McCall, Patricia GavinDuncan

With sadnessweshare the passingofPatricia Gavin Duncan McCall,on October 16, 2025. Please visit www.rhodesfuneral. com to view serviceinfor‐mation, sign online guest‐book,sendflowersand share condolences.

DorothyElaineDan‐dridgewas born on No‐vember24, 1947, in NewOr‐leans,Louisiana,toLouis and DorothyDandridge She wasthe oldest childof 9 children.Dorothy gradu‐atedfromBooker T. Wash‐ingtonHighSchool in 1968 and Southern University of New Orleanswhere shere‐ceiveda Bachelor of Sci‐ence. Dorothymarried her trueloveCharles Morton onJuly26, 1969. To that union 3childrenwereborn: Marcell,Lakeidra, and Aleron. Shethenwentto obtain hermaster’sinspe‐cialeducation from Xavier University. Shetaughtspe‐cialeducation at various elementaryschoolsinOr‐leans Parish School Sys‐tem.Dorothy andCharles thenopeneda nursery school namedLearningfor

Lasting, teaching children fromnewborn to kinder‐garten. During the23years ofoperation,kidseither wentstraighttokinder‐gartenorwerepromoted to1st gradeafter leaving Learningfor Lasting. After retiringfromthe Orleans ParishSchool system where Dorothytaughtfor 33years,Dorothy became a JeffersonParishCASA workerwhere shecontin‐ued to fulfilher love in ad‐vocatingfor children safety andeducation.She alsoworkedfor Jefferson ParishHealthand Human Servicesproviding cogni‐tivetesting forearly child‐hood children.Her Siblings BrothersAlvin in LaPlace, Louis in California,Darryl inAtlanta andSisters Marie (deceased),Sheila (deceased), Vanessa in Texas,Lisaand Jennifer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A religious ceremony for Dorothy will be held Satur‐day,November1,2025, from11:00 AM to 12:00 PM atWestside/Leitz-Eagan FuneralHome, 5101 West‐bankExpressway, Marrero, LA70072, thevisitationwill befrom9:30AMto11:00 AM, followed by arepast from12:00 PM to 2:00 PM Fondmemoriesand ex‐pressions of sympathy may be left forthe Morton Familyatwww.westsidelei tzeagan.com

August J. “Augie”Paretti III, 85, alongtimeresident ofMetairieand,since 2004 ofSlidell, Louisiana, en‐tered peacefully into eter‐nal rest on Sunday,Octo‐ber 26, 2025, surrounded by his loving family. Born in the NinthWardofNew Or‐leans,Louisiana,onJanu‐ary 27, 1940, to August Paretti Jr.and Vivian Paretti.Hewas agraduate ofFrancis T. Nicholls High School,where he formed manylifelongfriendships Heattended TheUniversity ofNew Orleans(LSUNO) in its inauguralyearwhere he began dating andmarried his childhood friend and the love of hislife, Sondra Lea Polo.Together they shared64years of mar‐riage,buildinga beautiful liferooted in faith,family, and service. August wasa 32-year veteranofthe 214thEIS LA AirNational Guard where he attained the rank of ChiefMaster Sergeant. He wasa proud andlovingfather, grandfa‐

ther,and great-grandfa‐therwho found hisgreat‐est joyintimespent with his family. Hiswarmth, humor,and steady pres‐encewillbedeeply missed byall who lovedhim.He was preceded in deathby his threesisters,Veva Tomeny, Billie Ward,and SandraConners.Augie is survivedbyhis beloved wifeSondraParetti;his three children,Scott Paretti (Kim), GreggParetti (Julie),and ShawnParetti (Kenta);seven grandchil‐dren, JourdonParetti Gabriel Paretti,Amelia Paretti,Sarah Guth,Shawn Paretti II, MeganPichon, and JacobParetti;and three great-grandchildren, EvelynGuth, August Guth and Robert Pichon.Heis alsosurvivedbyhis brother-in-law, Arty Polo (Linda) anda host of nieces, nephews, andex‐tendedfamilywho loved him dearly.A FuneralMass willbecelebratedatSt. Lukethe Evangelist Catholic Church,910 Cross Gates Blvd,Slidell, LA 70461, on Saturday,Novem‐ber 1, 2025. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m.,fol‐lowed by theFuneral Mass at11:00 a.m. Intermentwill takeplace at alater date in the SoutheastLouisiana VeteransCemetery. "Inlieu of flowers, thefamily kindlyrequeststhat Massesbeofferedfor the reposeofAugustParetti, III’ssoul. Your prayersfor August’seternal rest are deeply appreciated. Forde‐tails,pleasecontact Julie Paretti at 985-285-3254." Pleasevisit www.honaker forestlawn.comtosign guestbook.Arrangements byHonaker FuneralHome, Inc.,Slidell, LA

Raphael (Ralph) Ross III died on October27, 2025, at the age of 80. The son of RaphaelRossJr., MD, and Mary Sinclair Ross,he grew up in Old Metairie, butspent most of hisadult life in Hammond, wherehe hada successful career as abanker, management consultant, andadjunct professor. After graduating from GeorgiaTech in 1968, Ralph wascommissioned as an officerinthe U.S. Navy, serving tours in Washington, D.C., and London before entering the U.S. Naval Reserves,where he served untilretiringas aCaptain in 1991. He played leadership roles in multiple city, parish,and

stateorganizations, including seven years on the CityofHammond's Planningand Zoning Commission wherehewas known for his support for historicpreservation Ralph is survived by his belovèdbride of 58 years, Nina Shaw Ross;their sons, T. Carter (Evelin Letarte)and Andrew(Niki); andfourgrandchildren; as well as abrother,Randy (Deb).A celebrationofhis life will be held at First Presbyterian Church in Hammond on Saturday, November 1; visitation from 12 to 2p.m. followed by aservice.A private interment will follow at Lake LawninNew Orleans. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Fisher HouseFoundation, which supports militaryand veteran familiesduringhospitalizations, or acharityof yourchoice

Young,Eugene

With sadnessweshare the passingofEugene Young,onOctober 14, 2025

Pleasevisit www.rhodesf uneral.comtoviewservice information,signonline guestbook,sendflowers and sharecondolences

4521 West Napoleon Open Wed-Sat violetdragonflies.com

OUR VIEWS

Times-Picayune makesthese recommendations on NewOrleans ballot measures

In addition to municipal runoff elections, New Orleans voters face several ballot questions when they returntothe polls Nov.15, withearly voting starting Saturday and running through Nov.8.The Times-Picayune makes the following recommendations.

City Infrastructure, Drainage andStormwater Management and Affordable Housing Bond Propositions: Yes

By awide margin on Oct.11, New Orleanians elected Helena Moreno as their next mayor,in the hopes that she and anew CityCouncil that’s still being chosen will be able to make tangible progress on the many challenges thatplague the city,including infrastructure, drainage and housing. Three bond issues on the Nov.15ballot would give the city authoritytoborrow $510 million for these pressingpriorities, to be paid for with a14.5 mill tax already on the books that’sdedicated to paying off similar bonds.

The biggest ticket item, by far,is the$415 million infrastructure bond issue, which would finance everything from streets and bridges to recreation facilitiestothe rehab of longdormant eyesores such as the old Lindy Boggs MedicalCenter on BayouSt. John.The city could also put this moneytoward technology improvements, heavy equipment and essential servicevehicles.

The drainage bond issue would free up $50 million to pursue projectsinflood-prone neighborhoods.

The $45 million housingbond issue has attractedthe most controversy.The Bureau of Governmental Research argues that the city should find amore sustainable way tomeet the investment mandate that voters approved a year ago; while BGR recommended yes votes on the infrastructure and drainage questions, it recommended anovote on this one. And housing advocates who pursued 2024 charter amendment worry that funding the mandatory 2% equivalent of the citygeneral fund this way is too risky

We understand those arguments, but believe that on balance, voters at this juncture should givethe city’sincoming leaders every possible tool and as much maneuverability as possible to be successful.

That’sparticularly true now that we know the depth of the budget crisis that Moreno and the new council will inherit when they take office in January.

We also note that proceeds of these bond issues must be used on capital projects, not operating expenses, and that the current council has put into place some important oversight mechanisms to prevent any administration from redirecting this money for other purposes.

We urge New Orleans voters to support all three bond propositions

City Attorney Charter amendment: Yes

This technical charter amendment would clarify that, while the cityattorney is appointed by the mayor,the person in thatrole andthe entire law department serve the whole city government; it would also add other ethicalguidance. It’saimed at averting periodic conflicts over the department’srole.

Thecity already moved in this direction when voters approved an earlier amendment giving the council approval authority over top mayoralappointments.

The council can now ask nominees toaffirm their understanding of thelawyer/client relationship in public hearings. Such statements are not binding, however.The amendment also allows the council to override amayor’stermination of acity attorney,which would createan awkward situation but, in reality, is unlikely to happen

We see some potential benefit —and no realistic harm —inclarifying this important government official’srole.

OPINION

Whywemustnot turn away from ‘The Scourged Back’

President Donald Trump may try to sidestep this history,but we will not forget what our ancestors endured through slavery and beyond. We cannot eraseour past— we must face it,learn from it and teach it so it is never repeated. As ason of the South and aproud Black man serving Louisiana in Congress, Ispeak from the veryplace where one of America’smost powerful photographs was taken In 1863, in Baton Rouge, Union doctorsexamined an enslaved man named Peter —later called Gordon whose back carried deep scars from whippings. Photographers captured that image, known as “The Scourged Back.”

The photograph shook the nation. Published in abolitionist papers and in Harper’sWeekly on July 4, 1863, it revealed the cruelty of slavery more clearly than words could. Leaders like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truthused it to awaken the conscience of the country

Gordon’sescape, his survival, and his later service as asoldier turned his story intoacall for freedom and

justice. This is not “divisive”history.Itis honesthistory

Recentreports of efforts to remove artifacts like “The Scourged Back” from national displays are troubling. Whether or not thisspecific image was taken down, themessage is clear: trying to hide painful truths weakens America instead of healing it.

This photograph belongs in classrooms, museums and monuments. It tells thestory of apeople who built this country,endured its worst injustices andstill rise with faith and resilience.

As Louisiana’srepresentative, I will not be silent.Wemust teach our children —ofeveryrace —what happened, so they can lead with open eyes and better hearts.

IurgePresident Trump to make clear that America will preserve and teach itsfull history —including the hardestparts. Only then can we grow stronger as anation.

REP.TROYCARTER

U.S. representative,Louisiana’sSecond Congressional District

Social bike rideshelpcreate communityacrossthe city

There’snobetter time than the fall to enjoy bicycling around New Orleans, and there’snobetter way to enjoy bicycling than by joining the seemingly myriad social ride groups that roll across the city on an almost daily basis. Social rides createnot only asense of community among cyclists but also a“strengthinnumbers” sense of securitythat shows the potential of safe or complete streets. Someofthe larger rides, like Tuesday’sGet Up NRide or the monthly Critical Mass NOLA, feel like joyful street takeovers as hundreds of bikes —often decorated with blinking lights —fill the lanes. While some motorists might scowl, thevast majority smile, cheer,take photos and videos or honk in encouragement. Tooling through residential neighborhoods on smaller group rides —ranging from 20 to 50 cyclists draws even more positive energy

from delighted residents. It’s aheckuva feeling to experience. And the pitstops at local bars or restaurants for aquick beverage or restroom break create aform of economic impact for any small business that benefits from thevisit.

On Sunday,Bike Easy will roll with its 2025 Bicycle Second Line, with hundreds of riders cycling on a10mile routethat loops around Mid-City and the edge of the downtowncorridors. There will be amid-way stop in Washington Square andanafter-party at the Broadside featuring Sweet Crude. (Don’t worry; it all wraps up just in time for theSaints-Rams game that afternoon.) Take advantage of the beautiful weather and the opportunity to feel what it’slike to roll along in acommunityonwheels.

DAVID LEE SIMMONS boardmember,BikeEasy

Charteramendment clarifies rules

New Orleans votes Nov. 15 on acharter amendment that will resolve legal conflicts before they ignite hostilities between the mayor and council. The amendment also protects independent legal advice forthe city by clarifying that the Law Department’sclient is the city of NewOrleans.

The city is amunicipal corporation with the mayor as chief executive, the council as board of directors and citizens as shareholders. Lawyers in the Law Department should represent the best interests of the city and its shareholder-citizens, first and foremost. That’swhat ethical rules say.That’swhat this amendment requires.

City lawyers must act “in strict accordance with the ethical rules.” They “must exercise independent legal judgment.” They must serve “the best interest of the city.” These safeguards ensure independent, impartial legal advice from the city’s lawyers.

The Law Department will usually represent the city,the mayor and the council without aproblem because all usually share the city’s best interests.

But when aconflict arises, the proposed amendment gives clear guidance. The Law Department’s client is the city

The mayor and council will never lack legal representation. Both branches have their own lawyers. The mayor has an executive counsel. The council has its in-house lawyer

The mayor will still appoint the city attorney.We’ll see something new in 2026, however.Two years ago, voters amended the charter to require council confirmation of department heads.

Before they vote to confirm, council members will ask the proposed city attorney probing questions about conflicts of interest. This amendment enables the city attorney to respond honestly and in keeping with ethical rules.

The proposed amendment’s guardrails protect independent legal advice in city government. The amendment will also head off mayor-council hostilities by requiring compliance with legal ethics.

We urge everyone to vote on this important ballot proposition.

DAVID MARCELLO former executivecounsel

SHARONDAWILLIAMS former city attorney

UNOsailing into rightdirection with LSU

Quin Hillyer

It’stime for the whole state of Louisiana to recognize the great asset it hasin the University of New Orleans. Registration opens Nov.3 for UNO’s Spring 2026 semester,perhaps the last full semester before the schoolmoves back into the Louisiana State University system. WhatLSU is getting is aPrivateer ship that waslisting dangerously,but nowisstabilized and sailing briskly in the rightdirection. The turnaround is largely due to adynamic duo, University President Kathy Johnsonand Rebecca Conwell, president/CEO ofthe UNO Beach Research and Technology Park. Saturday marksthe second anniversary of Johnson taking the university’shelm.

Before looking at what agem UNO is, let’sunderstand the direstraits into which it had fallen. Once thriving with some 17,000 students, UNO took huge hits fromHurricane Katrina in 2005 and fromstate budget cutbacks laterthat decade. Now at less than 6,000 students, UNO two years ago faced adebtof $30 million and an annual operating deficit of $15 million.

Johnson eliminated the latter by implementing numerous tough but necessary savings measures (notworth detailing here) while showing great transparency and instilling confidence in her leadership and vision. The LSU takeover of the school,overtime, should help with the back debt.

Michael Hecht, the GNOInc.president and CEO who is the secretary/treasurer of The Beach (researchpark),isa Johnson fan.

“Under Kathy’sleadership and with the support of the governor’soffice and the Legislature, UNO has cleanedup its balance sheet,” he said. “Kathy is characterized by being accessible and inclined towards partnership.” Meanwhile, The Beach is an impressive facet of UNO life. With 800,000 square feet of space on a30-acreproperty,The Beach is wheremorethan30 entrepreneurial companiesleasespace, often for high-tech research of the sort where business and sciencestudents can learn and contribute.BeachCEO Conwell touts its “academic-industry partnerships,” and it has government lessees as well, includingengineers for the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority,biologists forthe state Department of Energy and NaturalResources—and also the U.S. NavalInformation Warfare Center atthe Congressman Bob Livingston East Campus. An entire feature should be dedi-

UNO president KathyJohnson shakes handswith graduates

spring2024 commencement ceremony.

cated (elsewhere) to all the ways UNO

studentsare at thecutting edge of researchand entrepreneurship through The Beach: shipbuilding, wind and other energy projects, cybersecurity, even kinetic-motion-analysis apps for exercise watches that help basketball playersrefinetheir shot-making.

Especially important here is that, whereas the research parkanumber of years ago hadbecome basically justa business realestate sitewithout major engagement withthe university itself, nowThe Beach is, as Hecht describesit, “an activeand constructive contributor to UNO both academically and financially.” Hecht creditsConwell for the renewedfocus that he calls “a total changeover in themissionand constitutionofthat organization.”

“Weare obsessed withthat,” Conwell said.“We wake up everymorning thinking about the connectivitybetween the research parkand theuniversity. We have really spent alot of time thinking about how we impact student experiences.” It is thenature of the UNO students themselves, though, along with the servicethe university provides them, that is perhaps themostremarkable thing about the college as awhole. The proportionofstudents eligible for Pell Grants —meaning generally (although notalways) from lower economic strata —is59%, considerably higherthan the nationalaverage of 34%. YetUNO is having remarkable success with these students, and in general with students (Pell Grant or no)fromlessfinancially advantaged homes.

An education-data and software outfit called CollegeNET publishes the“Social Mobility Index,” which measures “the extent to which acollege or university educates moreeconomically disadvantaged students(with family incomes below the national median) at lower tuition and graduates theminto good paying jobs.”Insum, it measures the improvement in student economic conditions (regardless of race) at each college. UNOranked in the top10% in the whole country Additionally,for universityquality and effectivenessasa whole, an outfit called Intelligent.com,which does “data-driven analysis on over 2,000 colleges,” rankedUNO the 14th best“urban” college in the nation, behind prestigious UCLA and the University of Chicago but ahead of suchstalwarts as Columbia and Vanderbilt Now,with President Johnson’simpressive stabilization work on finances and mission, along with the pending move back to theLSU system,Johnson says UNO is ready “toget back into growth mode” by emphasizing “workplace-relevant credentials.” Also akey metric: Some 89% of all UNO studentscome from Louisiana, and nearly 70% of them stay hereto build communities rather than leaving the state as so many other top-notch young people do.

As Johnson said, “Wewill always have afocus on this region” —and on being adriverfor Louisiana’scivic and economic health.

Email Quin Hillyer at quin.hillyer@ theadvocate.com

Keep momentum goingoncrime improvements in NewOrleans

our streets safer

Recently,The Times-Picayune gave us an indepth look at the financial distress being faced by somehigh-profile office buildings downtown. While the buildings are currently in default, they also have above-average occupancy and generate substantial revenue.

A sense of optimism is in theair.New Orleaniansare hopefulthatlingering infrastructure and quality-of-life issues will finally be addressed by Mayor-elect Helena Moreno andthe new city council. But they face additional stiff challenges intertwined with great opportunity.Noissue canshatter momentum —ordestroy lives —more quickly than violent crime.

Let’sstart withthe stateLegislature. In 2024, lawmakers passedalaw allowing people 18 or older,without trainingor abackground check, to carry a concealed weapon unlessthey arefelons. Recognizing the danger to those visiting the French Quarter,local business andpolitical leaders urged alimited carveoutfor the city’s“crown jewel.” Afterall, guns arealready banned in bars, andmuch of the Quarter functions as an open-air saloon. The Legislature ignored the plea

rolling back the 1,000-foot gun-free zone surrounding aschool’sactual property line. Does that sound safe? Meanwhile, state legislators ensure their own protection. Signs at the State Capitol warn: “Dangerous WeaponsProhibited” and “Visitors andProperty Are Subject to Search.” How about granting thesame level of safety to residentsand touristsinthe state’s iconicFrench Quarter,onparade routes and near schools?

City policymakers, too, can take meaningful steps by prioritizing public safety over politics, starting with responsible use of facial recognition technology.This vital tool helps identify and locate known wanted suspects. When the technology is implemented properly, police obtain ajudge’swarrant for aviolent offender,use facial recognition to pinpoint thesubject’s location,and make an arrest —preventing crime and saving lives.

Recruiting is another urgent challenge. The NOPD force has fallen to 900 officers, including those on leave. That’sdown from 1,226 in 2019. The departmenthas seen amodest rebound in applicants thanks to social media outreach and platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook andInstagram.Highlighting positive images of the NOPD and using digital tools to engage prospects is helping attract new recruits.

Theimpact was immediate. Law enforcers lost the ability to conduct proactive gun enforcement.According to the Metropolitan Crime Commission arrests involving weaponscharges plummeted from an average of 33 per month before the law’s enactmentto only 10 afterward —a70% drop That means more armed offendersare roaming Bourbon Street unchecked.

The following year,the Legislature doubled down, allowing paradegoers to carry concealedweapons. Then it weakened restrictions near schools,

LETTERS TO THEEDITORARE

published.

Thetechnology has also proven its worth during times of crisis. When a jailbreak andaterrorist attack shook the city,facial and characteristic recognition helped authorities track down afleeinginmate and locate bombs planted in the French Quarter Andthe public is on board with the useofthisresource. ANew Orleans CrimeCoalition survey found that 68% of residents support using facial recognition technology. Policymakersshould listen to their constituents and empower theNOPD withthis force multiplier Implement facial recognition and make

The business community is stepping up. Effortsare underway tobetter align NOPD recruiting with civil service processes,and local tech firm DXC even developed afree AI-powered recruiting app to assist thedepartment. These partnerships show the kind of innovation that can strengthen police protection across New Orleans. Butthe citymust go further: streamlining back-office bottlenecks, deploying top-tier digital marketing techniques and providing all necessary resources toaccelerate recruitment and grow our force. Simply put,increased police presence reduces crime. We are at acrossroads. The path ahead demands that we improve and expand efforts to protect the public and save lives, equipping law enforcementwith every available crime-fighting tool. Nothing can set New Orleans back morethan unchecked violent crime —and nothing can propel it forward more than restoring safety and peace of mind.

GregoryRusovich is acivic and business activist.

Earlier this year,after Palace CaféonCanal Street closed abruptly,welearned that it was driven by the dramatic increase in the market value of the property.Our underlying market conditions are not as bad as they appear.Weare 20 years into the transformation of Downtown NewOrleans and well-positioned to continue growing with active partnership and investmentfrom the public and private sectors. The current NewOrleans office market within the DowntownDevelopment District is approximately 16.7 million square feet across all classes, according to CoStar data. That is approximately 15% less office space than we had in 2007. Overall office occupancy has increased each quarter so farthis year and currently stands at approximately 88.1%, downless than five points from 92.4% in 2007. At 11.9% overall vacancy,our downtownoffice occupancy compares quite favorably to the national average, which has hovered around 20% formost of the last year,according to Moody’s. Large-scale downtownoffice conversions and adaptations began in NewOrleans long before the “office to residential” concept gained traction post-pandemic. The trend really accelerated in the early years after Hurricane Katrina. Notable examples include the conversion and renovation of the historic 1920s Hibernia Bank building at 812 Gravier St. into 175 mixedincomeapartments and the partial conversion and renovation of a1980s office building at 1250 Poydras St. into a194-room Hyatt House hotel. Both projects werecompleted morethan five years before the pandemic even arrived. These projects are also part of an impressive post-Katrina investment boom of over $10 billion downtown, according to City of New Orleans permit data. Hundreds of millions have been invested in the renovation of public facilities like the Superdomeand the Convention Center,but the transformation of downtown has largely been driven by private sector capital, albeit with someimportant public sector financial leverage. State and federal historic tax credits have been consistent and critical sources of development financing. In the early years after Hurricane Katrina, Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds and NewMarket TaxCredits werekey and, morerecently,Opportunity Zones have played asupporting role.

The real estate finance landscape remains challenging and there simply aren’tasmany resources available to drive new development downtown. We need vision and creative partnerships to continue our progress. Tulane University President Michael Fitts put anational spotlight on the $600-plus million mixed-use redevelopment of the former Charity Hospital, and the symbiotic relationship between research universities and downtowns, in his Forbes.com opinion “How Research Universities Can Power America’sUrban Comeback.” The City of NewOrleans has already stepped up with a$20 million commitment and President Fitts correctly points out that, “The boon will not be limited to downtownNew Orleans, but will drive economic growth across the state.”

We need morefinancial tools to leverage catalytic projects like Charity and the proposed $250-plus million office-to-residential conversion of the Plaza Tower.The Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act, awaiting action in the 119th Congress, would provide $15 billion in tax credit authority foroffice-to-mixed-income residential conversion projects. Novogradac estimates that over $160 million in tax credits would be allocated to Louisiana —asubstantial sum that could leverage another waveofdowntowninvestment. Hurricane Katrina leftusnochoice but to begin a21st-century downtowntransformation that now provides afoundation forour growth and aroad map for post-pandemic recovery in other cities. Our experience showsthat downtownresilience is directly connected to longterm partnership and investment between the public and private sectors. We must continue to affirm our commitment and strengthen that partnership —itisthe key to realizing generational economic development downtownthat will be felt across NewOrleans, Louisiana and the entire country

Seth Knudsonisthe president andCEO of the DowntownDevelopment District of the City of NewOrleans.

SPORTS

Nitty-gritty time

Tulane begins defining stretchwithdifficult road test

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

Tulane quarterback JakeRetzlaff does not care that Thursday night’sgameat Texas-San Antonio is in October. November arrives Saturday,and he considers this the firststep in the hardest month of the year

“You see the giants getknockeddown,” he said. “The better your record is, the biggerthe target is on your back, so we have to put the same size target or abiggertarget on our opponent’s back and know every game’sabig game and every team needs to feeluswhenweshowup.”

The Green Wave (6-1, 3-0 American Conference) certainly has agigantic opportunity in front of it.Ifitkeepswinning, it will lock up arecord fourth consecutive appearanceinthe league championship game andput itself in prime position to compete for aCollege FootballPlayoff spot on thefirst Friday of December.To get there, the Wave understands it needs to stay entirely in thepresent, starting with Thursday’stricky affair

TheRoadrunners (3-4, 1-2) are 31-4 at theAlamodomeunder sixth-year coach

Jeff Traylor and 23-0 in conference home games. The only teams that have beaten them therewhile any currentplayer was

on the roster wereHouston in triple overtime in 2022, Army in 2023and Texas State this September —all by one-score margins.

“You can’tcontrolwhat happens in the future or the past,” Retzlaff said. “Just worry about where you are right now That’sthe mindset we’reinthis week. Every gameisachampionship game. We controlour own destiny

“We’re focused on UTSA. We haveto go do something that hasn’tbeen done in awhile,but it’s also not Mount Everest. If we play Tulanebrand football,

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

When TylerShough learned Tuesday that he was goingtobethe NewOrleans Saints starting quarterback, his first call went to the person who was by his side forthe entire journey

ä Saints at Rams, 3:05 P.M. SUNDAy,FOX

Hiswife, Jordan Shough, was there forthe circuitous collegefootballcareer that wound from Oregon to Texas Tech andfinally Louisville.She was there to help keep doubts at bay when Shough went through multiple seasonending injuries. She was there when he went through the uncertainty of the draft process, and when he watched from thesidelines formuchofthe first eight games of his pro career And, as aformer college athlete herself, she was there to strike the right tone when Shough shared the exciting news.

“She waslike, ‘Good. Go out there and win,’ ”Shoughsaid. “She’s notreallysatisfied and neither am I.” He is astarter,but this is astarting point. He nowholds thetitle he first let himself dream about when he was akid wearing aBrett Favre jersey, but he also understands the reality of his situation. Shough is taking over a1-7 football team that has not performed well on offense this season.

“There’salot of work to be done,” Shough said.

The Saints are invested in Shough, having selected him 40th overall in this year’sdraft. But they’ve been content to let him develop in the relative shadows, with Shough’sonly game experience coming in garbagetime againstthe Seattle Seahawks prior to his takeover in the secondhalfoflastweek’s loss to TampaBay

Parentsshare thoughts,interactionswithKelly

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

When Jafau Delane watches football, his eyes turn to the sideline

That’swhere Delane —aformeryouth football coach and the father of two sons playing at LSU and Ohio State —learns about the quality of ateam. How do the players walk outtothe field? Are they confident with extra pep in their step, or is their body language poor?

“These are just subtlethings that Ithink as players,you don’t realize it’sbeing done,” Delane said. “But when you’re excited about anything, you run to the moment.”

When Delane watched LSU play this season, he didn’tsee

agroup of players who were eagerfor the moment.Delane, whose son Mansoor is astarsenior cornerback with theTigers, saw something else instead, especially whenitwas the struggling LSU offensethat was trottingout to thefield

“If you goback and watch the tape, it didn’tseem like the offense waslockinginand getting ready to go change the tide of the game,” Jafau Delanesaid. “And then when they would go on, if it wasn’ta TV timeout, it was a very lackadaisical approach.”

LSU decision-makers must have agreed with Delane, or at thevery least were concerned with theresults of that bad body language. Their worrieswere enough to decide Sunday night to fire

the coach responsible for allof those problems and a5-3 start: Brian Kelly “As afan,we’re sitting back watching it, andyou cansee, what are we doing?” Delane said. “Like, the communication was horrible.”

Kelly’stenure ended less than four years into a10-year,$100 million contract.Heleft Notre Dame and arrived in Baton Rouge with grand expectations, andfor good reason. He made thenational championship game, reached the playoff and became the winningest coach in Notre Dame history before arriving at LSU.

But Kelly’sbestseason in Baton Rouge ended up being his first in 2022. LSUreached the SECchampionship game and

BYREED DARCEY Staff writer

The first time coach Kim Mulkey’sfifth LSUwomen’s basketball team took thefloor,it defeated Division II Mississippi College by morethan 100 points. It was just an exhibition. The real games don’tstart until Tuesday

But the tune-up still offered achancetosee howeight newcomers can help returning stars Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams lead LSUback to the FinalFour. Twotransfers started while athird came off the bench. Afreshman led the Tigers in scoring. Anda returning sophomore guard took thereins at point guard to start the game. Mulkey likes to involve every scholarshipplayer in nonconference play,then whittle her rotation down to acore of eight

had an outside chance of cracking the four-team playoff field deep intoNovember It was also theyear he inherited themostplayers from the previous regime under Ed Orgeron. Among those players were wide receiver Jack Bech, a sophomorewho led the Tigers in receptions theyearbeforeKelly arrived at LSU.

Bech, hismother Michelle said, hadaclose relationship with Orgeron.

“Coach (Orgeron) recruited him,” Michelle said. “And you know,ofcourse, Jack was sad to see (Orgeron) leave.”

Once Kellyand hisnew staff took control, Bech’srelationship with them was much different,

See PARENTS, page 4C ä See TULANE, page 3C

Players battling forLSU women’s‘long

ä Langston at LSU, 7P.M.THURSDAy,SECN+

or nine once LSU begins facing SEC opponents in January.Who will be apartofthat group? Let’s project the starters and key reserves ahead of the Tigers’ secondand finalexhibition game, which tipsoff at 7 p.m. Thursday (SEC Network+).

“You just want to be in that rotation of eight,” Mulkey said, “and youwant to playextended minutes and long minutes.” Five starters

GJada Richard, GFlau’jae Johnson, G Mikaylah Williams, FAmiya Joyner, CKate Koval

Thekey questionhereiswho startsatpoint guard:Richard or MiLaysia Fulwiley? Mulkey said

But the Saintshave seenthe maturation while Shough hasoperated the scout-team offense during practice.

It’snot aperfect setup. Shough’sjob was to give the starting defense alook at what the opponent might do in agiven week, meaning he’snot running his own playbook.The receivers he wasthrowingtowere not the ones he will work with Sunday,and the samething is true forthe offensive line.

There are benefits to it, though.

“Oneofthe best things that comes out of being ascout-team quarterback is the pockets aren’t going to be ideal,” Saints coach Kellen Mooresaid. “You’re playing against your starting defense and the goal in practice is to make the blitzesand everything look good,so you’re going to be in somechallenging, compromised situations.

“You’re going to have to forceyourself to adapt and hang in there and still deliver athrow.”

Moore watched Shough develop more feel forhow to navigate muddy pockets —aknock on Shough coming out of Louisville and something he sometimes struggled with during training camp. He also noticed the rookie beginning to test his limits, pushing to seewhether he could make acertainthrowordecision. The latter part of that, Shoughsaid, was “huge.” Thescout-team repsgave him someadditional freedom to try different things that he may not have done while practicing within the structure of the typical offense.

“From atiming element, the pocket presence, ripping seams, hole shots, finding the check-downs, finding different routes, doing everything you can to manipulate defenders, it’sbeen really good to kind of test that,” Shough said. That behind-the-scenes look was enough for New Orleans to pull the trigger on the quarterback switch —one that Moore reiterated Wednesday afternoon wasnot going to be temporary With nine games remaining, Shough will have every chance to fail and learn without having to wonder whether his jobisinjeopardyona week-to-week basis.

“Tyler’sstarting,” Moore said. “We’re not looking back on that.”

While Spencer Rattler played wellfor

On TV

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

6p.m. Norfolk State at Delaware St. ESPNU

6:30p.m. Tulane at UTSA ESPN

6:30 p.m. Marshall at Coastal Carolina ESPN2

MEN’S COLLEGE HOCKEY

5:30 p.m. Penn St. at Ohio St. BTN

8p.m. Minnesota at Wisconsin BTN

WOMEN’SCOLLEGE SOCCER

5p.m. Wake Forest at Florida St. ACC

Twinshire Sheltonas manager

By The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS The Minnesota Twins have picked formerbench coachDerekShelton as their newmanager,a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed Wednesday night.

Theperson spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the hire. Major League Baseball encourages clubs to avoid spotlighting big moves during the WorldSeries.

Shelton served as manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates for fiveplus years with an overall record of 306-440 before he was fired on May 8, just 40 games into this season. The 55-year-old was the bench coach for the Twinsin 2018 and 2019 under two different managers,Paul Molitor and Rocco Baldelli. With theunderfunded Pirates,Sheltonnever finished higherthan fourthplace in the NL Central or better than 76-86.

Baldelli was fired the dayafter the regular seasonended with a 527-505recordover sevenyears, plus 3-8 in the postseason.The Twins won three AL Central titles under Baldelli, including their 101-61 finish in 2019 when the rookie skipper wonthe AL Manager of the Year award, but they made the playoffs only once in his last five seasonsand frequently struggledtoshepherd their top prospects into becoming consistent contributors. New York Yankees hitting coach James Rowson, who held that role for the Twinsunder both Molitor and Baldelli before leaving to become bench coach of the Miami Marlins in 2020, was also one of the finalists. According to multiple reports, formerSeattle Mariners manager Scott Servais andcurrent Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty were in the mix, too. The Twins are one of nine MLBteams who have changed managers this year Shelton, who was well-regarded within the Twins organization and aclose friend to Baldelli, willtakeoverateamthatspiraled to a70-92 finish after the front office decided to usethe leverage of the deadline tomaximize the incoming talent and traded 10 players off themajor league roster in astunningly aggressive teardown.

The Twins tradedtheir five best relievers, from closer Jhoan Duran on down, and leftthe final 54 games to aragtag group that had eight blown saves in 18 opportunitiesduringthatspan. The conversion rate of 44.4% ranked second-worst in the majors over the final two months.

The Twins are 82-119over their last 201 games for a.408 winning percentage, and that includes a13-game winningstreak this season.

7p.m. NC State at North Carolina ACC

WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

9p.m.Loyola MarymountatPepperdineESPNU GOLF

6a.m. DP WorldTour:Rolex Grand Golf

8:30 p.m. LPGA: Maybank Champ. Golf HORSE RACING

Noon America’s Dayatthe Races FS2 NBA

7p.m. Golden State at MilwaukeeNBA NFL

MAJORLEAGUEBASEBALL

7:15 p.m.Baltimore at Miami PRIME NHL

6p.m.DallasatTampa BayTNT/TruTV TENNIS

5a.m.Paris-ATP,Jiujiang-WTATennis

10 p.m.Paris-ATP,Jiujiang-WTATennis HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

7p.m.East Ascension at DutchtownCox4

Wednesdaynight’sGame 5ended after press time.

Gettingelbow room

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

LOS ANGELES Shane Bieber elbowedShoheiOhtani rightout of thespotlight

Aformer Cy YoungAward winner who returned from Tommy John surgery just two months ago, Bieber outpitchedthe celebrated two-way star and struck him out twice in winning his World Series debut.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Bieber said with awide smile after pitching Torontoover the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Tuesdaynight to tie the World Series at two games apiece.

Bieber nearly made his first Fall Classic appearance in the 19th inning Monday,but theDodgers won6-5 on FreddieFreeman’s 18th-inning home run. Max Scherzer had approached Bieber in the 11thor12thinning about getting ready to relieve.

“Max is always one step ahead,”

Bieber said. “He was like, ‘Biebs, if this getssquirrely’ —you could tell the wheels were turning and he’slike, ‘Can you pitch?’ ”

So Bieber told manager John Schneiderand pitching coach Pete Walker he was available, and Bieber warmed upinthe 18th.

“I was definitely amped up,” he said. “Potentially,I wasthinking about my first big-league save, and inthe World Series. That would havebeen very cool.”

Bieber gotback to theteam hotel at 1a.m. and dozed off about 45-60 minutes later.But notfor long.

“I didn’tsleep verywell,” he said.

His first batter was Ohtani, who reached nine times on Monday with two homers, two doubles and five walks.

in thethird on achangeup at the outside corner and froze him with aknuckle curve for acalled third strike in thefifth,athree-pitch at-bat that left Ohtanishaking his head.

“He attacked really at theedge andwas able to executelocationwise,” Ohtani said through a translator A30-year-old right-hander who went to high school in nearby Laguna Hills, Bieber was drafted by Cleveland in 2016. He made it to the majors twoyears later and became an All-Star in 2019. He was aunanimous winner of the AL Cy Young Award for the pandemicshortened2020 season, when he led the majorleagues witha 1.68 ERA.

He missedmorethan two monthsin2023 with elbow issues, pitched12scoreless inningswhile striking out 20 in his first two outings in 2024, then had Tommy John surgery in April 2024 with Dr.Keith Meister

Bieber felt he was making steady improvement andthrew 21/3 scoreless innings in his first minor league outing, for the Arizona ComplexLeagueGuardians on May 31. Then he experienced soreness during abullpen session three days later and didn’tpitch in a gameagain until July 15.

“In speaking withthe medical staff in Clevelandand most specifically Dr.Keith Meister in Texas,he’slike, ‘Hey,it’svery rare for anybody to nothave any sort of hiccup, so this was probably always going to happen, and your body’sjusttelling youitneeds a couple days off,’ ”Bieber said. “I was able to get back on track after that.”

IN BRIEF FROM STAFFAND WIRE REPORTS

Kentucky Derby winner pulls out of Breeders’ Cup DELMAR, Calif. Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty has been scratched and will not run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturdayaftercatching afever this week, taking the favorite out of the $7 millionworld championship race. TheBreeders’ Cupannounced the scratch of the country’stop 3-year-old horse on Wednesday after trainer Bill Mott told the Daily Racing Formabout thedecision he and his camp made.Motthad previously said Sovereignty not racing was apossibility Sovereignty opened as aheavy 6-5 morning line favorite in thefield of 10, which alsoincludes Derby and Belmontrunner-up and Preakness winner Journalism. The Breeders’ Cup Classicwas expected to determine the horse of theyear

Former Duke, NBA player

Singler charged with assault

Former Duke and NBA player Kyle Singlerhas been charged with assault in Oklahoma. HaskellCounty deputies say Singler and his girlfriend were staying at an Airbnb in Whitefield in eastern Oklahoma whenheallegedly tried to rape her, grabbedher and pushedher down last Thursday. Mitch Dobbs, with the Haskell County Sheriff’sOffice, told News 9the woman hadmarks on her face consistent withSingler’s handprints. Singler,37, appeared to be under the influence of narcoticsand refused to cooperate with investigators, he said.

Atoddler in the homeatthe time of theincident was deemed safe

The alleged victim told deputies she shares the young child with Singler

Buffalo, he returned to the major leagues for the first time in 161/2 months, allowing one run and two hits over six innings at Miami on Aug. 22. He made sevenoutings down thestretch, going 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA in helping boost Toronto to its first AL East title since 2015. As the banged-up Blue Jays piecedtogether apostseason rotationwithout injured José Berríos, they slotted former LSU star Kevin Gausman first, followed by rookie Trey Yesavage, Scherzer and Bieber,shifting Chris Bassitt to thebullpen.

Bieber is 2-0 with a3.57 ERA in four postseason starts, the last threeBlue Jays wins that includedvictories in Games 3and 7ofthe American League Championship Series against Seattle. Hisstay with Toronto might be a short one, since he’slikely to turn down aplayer option for2026 and becomeafree agent.

“These are thespots that we acquired himfor,” Schneider said “It’sasking alot of him, basedon what he’sbeen throughwiththe recovery from the surgery and stuff. Buthe’senjoying it and he’s embracing it and he’sbeen ahuge part of us getting here.”

Bieber allowed one run and fourhits in 51/3 innings against L.A., giving up Kiké Hernández’s second-inning sacrifice fly after Max Muncy’swalk and Tommy Edman’ssingle put runners at the corners.

“Used thecutter,spun us, minimized damage, limited traffic, and we really didn’tget awhole lot of good swings,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

Rozier,Billups won’t get salaries while on leave NBAguard Terry Rozier and coach Chauncey Billups will not receive their salaries while on leavefor their arrests on federal gambling-related charges, two people with knowledge of the matters told The Associated Press on Wednesday Rozier hadbeen due to receive the first installment of a$26.6millionannual salary with the Miami Heat later this week. That, and futureinstallments, will be held pending resolution of his legal case, said the people, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity If Rozier is cleared and allowed to returntothe NBA, whichplaced him on leave hours after his Oct. 23 arrest, he could receive the held payments in full, one of the sources said.

Sinner’sbid for No.1 starts with win over Bergs in Paris PARIS JannikSinner’sbid to reclaim theNo. 1rankinggot off to a good startWednesdaywitha 6-4, 6-2 win over Zizou Bergs in thesecond round of the Paris Masters, which the Italian needs to win to knock Carlos Alcaraz off thetop spot

Bieberwalked him on afull count with an outside corner changeupthat could have been strike three. He struck out Ohtani

Bieber made threemoreminor league starts, then was dealtto theBlue Jays at the July 31 trade deadline for minorleague righthander Khal Stephen.

After three starts at Triple-A

Justin Bieber,the Canadian singerand songwriter,sat in the front row behind the Blue Jays dugout at Dodger Stadium.Shane says they’re not related, as faras he knows.

“I used to tell people: second cousin, twice removed,” Shane said withasmirk. Back

Dodgers’ 18-inningwin hadlessviewers than ‘MondayNight Football’

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK Mondaynight’s18-inning marathon between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3ofthe World Series averaged 11.31 million viewers in the U.S. according to Nielsen, Fox and MLB. That is a17% decline from the audience of last year’sthird game between the Dodgers and New York Yankees, and it wasn’tthe most-watchedprogramofthe night. The “Monday Night Football” game between the Washington

Commanders and Kansas City Chiefs averaged 17.6 million on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportesand NFL+ streaming, makingitthe highestMNF Week 8audience since Washington at Dallas in 2014. It wasthe 10thtime since 1986 that aWorldSeries game was played on aMondaynight, but only thefifth that it went head-tohead against “Monday Night Football” on networktelevision

It is the second time in three years the NFL beat the Fall Classic on Monday night Even though the extra innings

were in prime time on the West Coast,the length of the game likely had an impact in the viewer average as it ended near 2a.m. in the Central time zone. Theviewership numbers aren’t all bad for MLB though. The combined 17.62 million average in the U.S. and Canadafor theDodgers’ 6-5 victory over the Blue Jays on Freddie Freeman’s18th-inning home run off BrendonLittle was a27% increase from last year Through three games, the World Series is averaging 18.73 million combined viewers in theU.S. and Canada, a25% jump.

Blue Jays games in Canada are being aired on Sportsnet. The networkisowned by RogersCommunications Inc., the parent company of the Blue Jays.

According to Fox,the audience in the U.S.peaked at 13.17 million as thegamewentinto extrainnings (10:30-10:45 p.m.).

TheDodgers’ 3-2 18-inning victory over theRed Soxin2018 averaged 13.3 million.

Game 3ratings for Japan were not available as of Wednesday evening. The Japanese average for the first twogames was 10.7 million

Sinner’s65-week reign as No.1 ended in September when Alcaraz won the U.S. Open finalagainst him for his sixth majortitle and thetop spot. But Alcaraz lost in Paris on Tuesday in the second round to unseeded Cameron Norrie, opening the door forSinner in their seesaw rivalry Sinner had Bergs under constant pressure, forging 11 break-point chances and converting three, while not conceding abreak point of his own.

The 24-year-old Sinner plays unseeded Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.

Jets to trade CB Carter to Eagles for WR Metchie

The NewYorkJets agreed to trade cornerback Michael Carter to thePhiladelphia Eagleson Wednesdayfor wide receiverJohn Metchie, aperson with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The Jets will also receive asixthround pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and will send aseventh-round selection in that draft to the Eagles, the person told theAPoncondition of anonymity because the teams didn’tannounce the trade. Carter, afifth-round pick in 2021 out of Duke, became the NFL’s highest-paid nickel cornerback last year when he signed athreeyear,$30.75 millionextensionafter becoming one of the best playersathis position.

GAMEDAY

Tulane back on topbunched league

BY GUERRYSMITH Contributing writer

The American Conference remains the clear frontrunner among Group of Five conferences to place ateaminthe College Football Playoff, but it is much less clear whether that team can be remotelycompetitive in aroad playoffgame. Tulane lost at Ole Miss 45-10 in September,and the lone touchdown came late in the fourth quarter. South Florida lost at Miami 49-12 aweekearlier yielding 576yards

Thoseare exactlythe type of opponents the league winnercould face as apresumed No. 12 seed, and we will see how Navy fares as a huge underdog against Notre Dame on Nov.8.Memphis has not faced aplayoff contender out of conference,but theTigersneeded to force alast-minute fumble at home to prevent Arkansas (winless in the SEC) from attempting achip-shot field goal to win on the final play Here are ourlatest power rankings:

27, UTSA 23: Maybethisis thetimeTulanewillput it alltogether, butseeingisbelieving,and we havenot seen it yet. That said,the GreenWave continuestomakeplays when it matters most andmay havefound something with quarterbackJakeRetzlaffdirecting a fast-paced offensetotwo

in the finaltwo minutesagainst Army Texas-SanAntonio is very toughat home butvulnerabledefensively.Look forRetzlaffand hisreceivers to havea bignight as Tulane becomesthe first conference opponent to wininthe Alamodome since2019.

Guerry Smith

1. Tulane

Record:6-1 (3-0 American)

Previous rank: 2

Last week: off

This week: at Texas-SanAntonio, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN)

Extrapoints: It remains to be seen whetherornot Memphis’ win against SouthFlorida was good or bad for the Green Wave.Knockingthe Bulls fromthe league’s undefeated ranks helpedTulane’s chance to host the league championship game but put more pressure on it to win at Memphis on Nov.7

2. Memphis

Record: 7-1(3-1 American)

Previous rank: 4

Last week: defeated SouthFlorida, 34-31

This week: at Rice,6 p.m. Friday (ESPN2)

Extrapoints: That was aheck of a home win against the Bulls for the resilient Tigers, who rallied from a31-17 fourth-quarter deficit despite being outrushed 295-129. Dual-threat QB BrendonLewis, renderedone-dimensional by a leg injury, threw for 307 yards and thewinningscore with 1:10 left.

3. Navy

Record: 7-0(5-0 American)

Previous rank: 3

Last week: defeated Florida Atlantic 42-32

This week: at North Texas,11a.m. Saturday(ESPN2)

Extrapoints: Despitebeing ranked aleague-best 23rd in thecoaches poll, the Midshipmen are 61/2-point underdogs to the Mean Green in a matchup of opposites.ItisNorth Texas’ prolific passing attack vs Navy’s115th-rankedpass defense, andNavy’s No. 1rushing attack vs. North Texas’ 118th-ranked run defense.

4. SouthFlorida

Record: 6-2(3-1 American)

Previous rank: 1

Last week: lost to Memphis 34-31

This week: off

Extrapoints: What abrutal defeat for the Bulls, who looked better than Memphisfor three quarters

TULANE

Continued from page1C

we’ll do it.”

Tulanehas little margin for error.Seven teams in theAmerican have zero (Tulane, Navy)orone conference loss (Memphis,South Florida, North Texas, East Carolina, Temple). Regardless of what happens Thursday,the Wave may have to win at Memphis on Nov.7 to reachthe championship game.

Coach Jon Sumrall believes the conference has recovered from the defections of Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida in 2023 aftera brief down cycle.

“If you look at theleague as a whole, youare in for afreaking battle,” he said. “Everybody is going to talk aboutMemphis and South Floridaand Navy,but people aren’t talkingenough about East Carolina’s really good and Temple is dang good. It’sareal challenging league. This team we’re getting readytoplay, when Iwatch the video, they could be at thetop of the league.” Aside from running back Robert Henry,who ranks second in the

defensiveback E’Zaiah

on Oct. 18 at yulman Stadium

before spitting the bit. They virtually could have sealed aspotinthe league title game with awin. Now they are notguaranteed to makeit even if they run thetable.

5. NorthTexas

Record: 7-1(3-1 American)

Previous rank: 5

Last week: defeated Charlotte 5420

This week: vs.Navy,11a.m. Saturday (ESPN2)

Extrapoints: Theanalytics crowd loves this team and discounts Navy.There is certainly alot to like about QB Drew Mestemaker, who threw foranFBS-season-best 608 yards against haplessCharlotte,but the defense has plenty to prove after giving up 63 points and 580 yards to SouthFlorida.

6. East Carolina

Record: 4-3(2-1 American)

Previous rank: 6

Last week: off This week: at Temple, 1p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)

Extrapoints: The well-rested Pirates, who have notplayed since Oct. 16, are favored on the road in adefacto elimination game against Templeina matchup of under-the-radarteams.East Carolina has won four in arow in the series, scoring at least 45 points in thepast three meetings.

7. Temple

Record: 5-3(3-1 American)

Previous rank: 7

Last week: defeated Tulsa 38-37 (OT)

Thisweek: vs. East Carolina,1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN+)

Extrapoints: The Owlsneeded atwo-point conversion stop to survive at Tulsa in overtime, but this team may be better than that performance indicated. QB Evan Simon hasthrown for 21 touchdownswith zero interceptions,

FBS in rushing yards per game (124.0) and average yards per carry (8.35), Texas-SanAntonio’s numbers do not back up Sumrall’s assertion. The Roadrunnersallow 30.9 points per gameand have given up 42 or more to Texas A&M, TexasState and North Texas. Theyranknear thebottomofthe American in passing, third-down conversion percentage and takeaways (seven).

Still, theypicked up where they left offinfourdominant home conference wins ayear ago, eviscerating Rice 61-13 at the Alamodome on Oct. 11. The noise factor there hascreated issues foropponents.

“If you watch European soccer theyhave those little sticks people bang,”Sumrall said. “They’ve got those things in the stadium They make some artificialnoise likeatMississippi State. Ithink they pipe some in through the speakers. Idon’tthink it’s legal. I don’tthink anybodyisinvestigating it.Wejusthave to be readyto deal withit.”

The Wave also needs toregain itspushinthe rungame. After averaging 205.8 yards rushing in its first fivegames, Tulane rushed

and Temple has committedonly one turnover all season.

8. Army

Record: 3-4 (2-3 American)

Previous rank: 8

Last week: off

This week: at AirForce, 11 a.m

Saturday (CBS)

Extrapoints: Aslight underdog to Air Force, Army is in danger of going 0-2 in the battle for the Commanderin-Chief’s Trophy for the first time since 2019. The Black Knights will be amore sizable underdog when theyface Navy in December.

9.Texas-San Antonio

Record: 3-4 (1-2 American)

Previous rank: 9

Last week: off

This week: vs. Tulane, 6:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPN)

Extrapoints: The past two games sayitall about the Roadrunners’ bizarre home-road disparity.Afterbeating Rice61-13 in the Alamodome despite notscoring in the fourth quarter,they lost 55-17 at North Texas while giving up 584 yards. Make it makesense.

10.Florida Atlantic

Record: 3-5 (2-3 American)

Previous rank: 11

Last week: lost to Navy42-32

This week: off

Extrapoints: The Owls scored two touchdowns in thefinaltwo minutes tomake their game at Navy appear closer than it actually was. Caden Veltkamp’s11interceptions are nearly double the total of any other American Conference quarterback.Itishard to wingiving up 36.3 points per game.

11.Rice

Record: 4-4 (1-3 American)

Previous rank: 13

Last week: defeated UConn 37-34 (2 OT)

This week: vs. Memphis, 6p.m. Friday (ESPN2)

for 96 yards against East Carolina and141 against Army,with the running backs accounting for only 70 in each Texas-SanAntonio linebackers

Shad Banks (47 tackles) and KendrickBlackshire (33 tackles) high-profile transfers fromTexas A&M and Alabama, respectively —will present achallenge.

“Weprobably haven’ttargeted some things perfectly and missed some opportunities getting the block springing therunneron the perimeter sometimes,” Sumrall said.“There werecertain plays we hadone guynot blocking properly, and that’sall it takes fora non-positive play.We’vegot to be better in that area.”

Look for afull complement of running backs to share the load after Zuberi Mobley did nottouch the ballthe past two games and Booker T. Washington product ArnoldBarnesdid notplayatall againstArmy

“I love Arnold, but you have to practice good to playgood,” Sumrall said.“Youget what youearn Idon’t sugarcoat it.There’s no like, hey, because youweregood amonth ago, I’m going to letyou be average today.You have to be

Extrapoints: The Owls rebounded from ahumiliating loss to UTSA by rolling up 300 yards on the ground in their double-overtime upset of UConn. QuintonJackson had 168 yards and three TDs. Can they hang with Memphis, the ultimate yo-yo team the past two weeks?

12.UAB

Record: 3-4(1-3 American)

Previous rank: 10

Last week: off

This week: at UConn,11a.m.Saturday (CBS Sports Network)

Extrapoints:Aftergetting aweek offtocelebrate ashocking win against Memphis, the Blazers will see whether they cancomedown from the clouds in anonconference road game. It is interimcoach Alex Mortensen’schance to prove his first game wasnot afluke.

13.Tulsa

Record: 2-6(0-5 American)

Previous rank: 12

Last week: lost to Temple 38-37 (OT)

This week: off

Extrapoints: There is nothing wrong with going fortwo points to wininovertime, but theplay the Golden Hurricanes tried was low percentage —a jump pass from tight endBrodyFoley,who lined up at quarterback, to another tight end, Jewylen Roberts, whohad two catches for the year.Nobueno.

14.Charlotte

Record: 1-7(0-5 American)

Previous rank: 14

Last week: lost to North Texas 5420

This week: off

Extrapoints: A20-17 third-quarter lead turnedinto yetanother embarrassing loss forthe hapless 49ers, who have yettoloseby fewer than 11 points and still have road games with East Carolina, Georgia and Tulane. Ouch.

great every day.” Defensively,the Wave will be without seniorlinebacker Sam Howard forthe secondconsecutive game as he recovers from aleg injury he sufferedagainst East Carolina. It will be up to Chris Rodgers, who made acareer-high 10 tacklesagainst Army in Howard’sabsence, along withthe less experienced Makai Williams,Jean Claude Joseph and DallasWinnerJohnson.

“Sam’sconfidenthewill be ready for the next one(Memphis), but we’ll see,” Sumrall said. “He’sa tough dude. He’sprobably doing more than the trainers want him to do, but that’swho he is.”

Coming off two open dates earlier in October,Tulane players have had plenty of timetocheck out their competition at the top of the American, particularly last Saturday when Memphis overcamea 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat South Florida at home. They know what they have to do to stay undefeated in league play

“Wehavetoplaybetter,”said safety Jack Tchienchou, the Wave’sleading tackler.“We haven’tplayed our best. We have to put that full game together.”

Wilson says Nussmeier still starting QB

Interim coach did open possibility of more Van Buren

BY WILSON ALEXANDER, KOKI RILEY and JASON WILLIS Staff writers

Garrett Nussmeier is still the LSU starting quarterback.

Interim coach Frank Wilson made that clear Wednesday on the SEC coaches teleconference, but in the wake of the firing of coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan, he suggested backup quarterback Michael Van Buren could have an increased role.

“Garrett is our starting quarterback,” Wilson said. “I think he gives us a great opportunity to be efficient with our offense. I think Michael has a skill set that adds value to our football team that will be called upon that could help us

PARENTS

Continued from page 1C

Michelle said. Kelly and his coaches had a “different” approach to the way they wanted to run the team.

“I don’t know that Jack really ever even had that much interaction with (Kelly),” she said Relative to his standout freshman campaign Bech struggled in his only season under Kelly while playing through a stress fracture in his leg. He entered the transfer portal after the season and went to TCU, but his decision to depart LSU had nothing to do with Kelly

on Oct. 11 at Tiger Stadium. 4C

“Jack made a very independent decision to leave,” Michelle said. “It was about him being closer to my brother-in-law and his uncle. And it just all really worked out well for Jack.” Kelly then coached through a pair of frustrating seasons in 2023 and 2024.

LSU historically had a great offense and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback in Kelly’s second season. But a historically bad defense ended the Tigers’ hopes of reaching the playoff as LSU went 9-3 for a second consecutive year The next year wasn’t any better for Kelly The Tigers’ record dropped to 8-4 and their improvements on defense were offset by an offense that took a step backward.

“The nature and the temperature of college football is win,” Harry Berry, the father of current freshman running back Harlem Berry, said. “So if you can’t do that and (win) consistently, a change is going to be made.”

LSU’s struggles weren’t because of lackluster results on the recruiting trail. The Tigers signed top-10 classes nationally heading into both seasons, according to the 247Sports Composite Kelly knew the importance of recruiting the state LSU signed 20 top-10 recruits from Louisiana during his time in Baton Rouge. Among those prospects was Tyree Adams, a four-star offensive lineman who became LSU’s starting left tackle this year

Tyree’s mother, Barbara, met Kelly and his wife Paqui a few times over the years and had only nice things to say about the LSU coach and his wife.

“They are amazing people,” Barbara said. “They’re very nice people.”

Another top recruit LSU landed during this period was sophomore tight end Trey’Dez

LSU WOMEN

Continued from page 1C

she doesn’t know, and she doesn’t think it really matters. Both will have significant roles, she said. Sometimes, they’ll even share the floor But who will run the LSU offense at the end of close games?

For now, we’ll give the nod to Richard because, as Mulkey said after the first exhibition, the sophomore understands how to play point guard in her system, and she’s now a “completely different player” than she was as a freshman. Fulwiley is the better

win the game.”

Nussmeier has not met preseason expectations as the entire offense has struggled through a 5-3 start

After throwing for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns as a first-time starter last year, Nussmeier has completed 65.9% of his passes for 1,806 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions this season.

LSU has averaged 249 yards passing per game, which ranks 47th in the country. With an inefficient offense in multiple areas, it ranks 83rd nationally in scoring at 25.5 points per game

“There’s things that he likes and does well, and so we want to do those things for him,” Wilson said.

“We owe it to him to put him in that position. He’s a very talented quarterback. He didn’t coincidentally get to the status that he is with an inability

“So now, it’s urgent upon us to be able to identify that and game-plan around that so that he’s able to have the success that he wants, that we need and that ultimately affects the

outcome of the game for our football team.”

Wilson emphasized Tuesday that LSU will run the ball more over the last month of the regular season. After firing Sloan, the Tigers named tight ends coach and running game coordinator Alex Atkins as the interim play-caller

There also could be a role for Van Buren, a sophomore who transferred from Mississippi State after starting eight games as a freshman. Van Buren has completed 13 of 16 passes for 172 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions He also has run nine times for 23 yards and a touchdown.

“We haven’t finalized that in our game-planning just yet, but there’s things that he does very well that we’ll ask him to do that we may not necessarily ask Garrett to do,” Wilson said of Van Buren.

Whit Week trending up

Junior linebacker Whit Weeks did not practice Tuesday but is trending in the right direction when it

Green, who has emerged as one of LSU’s top receivers this season, catching 19 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns over the Tigers’ last three games.

Green arrived at LSU as the No 1 tight end in the nation and the No. 2 player in Louisiana. But Casondra, Green’s mother, said she has met Kelly only twice, and both times were on the recruiting trail

“I’m not sure on the relationship that he has with him, but I know he’s talked with him many of times,” Casondra said. “I know he has the utmost respect for him.”

Expectations were sky-high entering the 2025 season. A trip to the playoff was a must, especially after the Tigers tripled their financial commitment on the roster and added one of the top transfer portal classes in the country

Among those top transfers was Mansoor Delane, who arrived at LSU from Virginia Tech after three years as a starter Despite Mansoor’s individual success Jafau said he had to reach out to LSU instead of the other way around when Mansoor entered the portal.

That wasn’t the case with Texas A&M, which contacted Mansoor immediately when he became a free agent.

“They made it seem like as if they sought after Mansoor,” Jafau said. “In all actuality, we considered LSU and I reached out to some of the contacts that I had when (Mansoor’s younger brother Faheem) was being recruited, and sort of told them, ‘Hey, this is what we wanted to do.’ “

Between Faheem’s recruitment and Mansoor’s time in the portal, Jafau built stronger relationships with Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Texas A&M coach Mike

Elko and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin than he has with Kelly

“One of the things that I felt, even with Lane Kiffin, as much as he’s a younger guy, his personality really runs on that team as well,” Jafau said. “Dan Lanning, I know him very well. His intense attitude towards defense (results in) his teams playing very physical.

“And if you were to look at Kelly what is that personality that he’s putting on that team? It’s not one.”

Once Mansoor arrived at LSU, he told Jafau about Kelly’s CEO approach to coaching. Kelly oversaw the operation and was “checking the boxes,” but he didn’t give the sort of one-on-one instruction Mansoor thought he might receive. It was not a “hands-on experience.”

“You can’t be a CEO in a sense, and run a college football team because they have to take on that coach’s personality,” Jafau said. “And I’m not speaking only in correction, but it’s how you walk, it’s how you talk, it’s how you interact with people.”

Kelly’s CEO philosophy clearly didn’t work LSU won its opening four contests this season but then lost three of its next four games before he was fired Sunday night.

His termination was sudden, but the warning signs were there much earlier

“Maybe Brian Kelly got too comfortable with the idea that success was just going to happen,” Jafau said, “versus him demanding it from the players and expecting it and knowing how close it is.”

Email Koki Riley at Koki Riley@theadvocate.com.

all-around scorer but she’s still trying to figure out how to play that position.

Importantly, neither Richard nor Fulwiley turned the ball over in the first exhibition. Richard kept the ball moving through LSU’s halfcourt sets, while Fulwiley ignited its transition offense. Perhaps those are ways in which they can each contribute this season.

Fulwiley joined the Tigers as one of the nation’s top transfers, but Mulkey said she was not promised a spot in the starting lineup.

“That’s not how it operates,” Mulkey said. “I play to win, and Jada’s gonna give her a bit of what she needs to give her to compete at that position, and man, they both

comes to his status for the Nov 8 game at Alabama, Wilson said.

Weeks has missed LSU’s last two games with a bone bruise on his ankle. It’s the same ankle he injured during the Texas Bowl last season.

“I’m optimistic more now than ever before that the probability of him playing in this game is a reality,” Wilson said. “I don’t know that for a fact just yet It will need to continue to trend in the right direction. But he had a very, very productive day from a rehabilitation standpoint, from a diagnostic standpoint on his status.”

Orgeron weighs in

Former LSU coach Ed Orgeron and Kelly now have something in common: They were both fired by LSU. Orgeron discussed Kelly’s firing on ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike” show Wednesday

“Whether or not it’s true or not, it looked from the outside Brian Kelly never embraced the state of Louisiana,” Orgeron said. Orgeron was named the interim

coach at LSU in 2016 when the team parted ways with former coach Les Miles He impressed enough to hold onto the job and later led the Tigers to the 2019 national championship. Orgeron was fired two years later after LSU went 11-11 in his final two seasons. He said the next head coach should do away with a Kelly policy that reportedly limited former LSU players entering the football facility He also said the next coach should develop a better relationship with fans.

“Be nice to them when you see them. Shake their hand, take a picture. Be available,” Orgeron said. “I said when I became the head coach, ‘This is for the state of Louisiana.’ And when you say that and you mean it, that means embracing the state of Louisiana.”

When asked, Orgeron said he’d be open to returning to LSU — as a head coach or assistant coach.

“I love LSU. I still got my home in Baton Rouge,” he said.

McMahon says players ‘determine who plays’

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Coach Matt McMahon never has led an LSU team with this many new players.

Even in his first year, when he accepted the job without any player committed to returning, he had five players come back from the previous season. The fourth-year coach only has two returners this year: Robert Miller and Jalen Reed. Figuring out how to distribute playing time will be one of the focuses early in the season. In the team’s only exhibition at Central Florida, where it won 75-68 on Sunday the team played nine players. McMahon would like to eventually land on an eight-man rotation, but he said Wednesday that isn’t something he’s fully set on.

“I think the players get to determine who plays by their consistent performance in practice,” he said. “I do like the depth of our team, but I think it’s important to establish a fairly consistent rotation. And that’s what these first five home games in November will go a long way for us in determining that.”

Here’s what we project as the team’s rotation ahead of the season opener at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Tarleton State at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

Starters

Point guard: Dedan Thomas Thomas is the team’s engine. It’ll be surprising if the 6-foot-1 lefty doesn’t lead the team in minutes. The team might struggle when he’s not orchestrating plays. The 20-yearold junior is a natural playmaker who McMahon is excited to see accentuate the strengths of everyone else.

Projected minutes: 30-33

Guard/wing: Max Mackinnon

The Portland transfer is a spot-up shooter with nice size at 6-6. What he lacks athletically doesn’t matter if he is a spacer for Thomas in the corner and wings. Mackinnon started in the exhibition, making 3 of 4 shots from the 3-point line.

Projected minutes: 20-24

Forward: Marquel Sutton

The 2024-25 Summit Player of the Year is a versatile piece McMahon will use to guard at least four positions. If he shoots even a modest 3-point percentage and defends with energy, Sutton will be hard to take off the court.

Projected minutes: 25-28

Forward/center: Jalen Reed

LSU will be patient with Reed as he returns from his right ACL tear last year The 6-10 forward will have

to shake off some rust early When he gets fully comfortable again, the redshirt junior should return to being a face-up driver in the frontcourt who can average about 11 points and seven rebounds as he did last year

Projected minutes: 20-23

Center: Michael Nwoko

The Mississippi State transfer is the most powerful player LSU has in the paint at 6-10, 261 pounds. The junior’s offensive rebounding will be essential, and he could be a boon as a post scorer if he stays out of foul trouble.

Projected minutes: 20-23

Role players

Guard/wing: Rashad King

King has the best case as a sixth man, as he is billed as a three-level scorer who averaged 18.5 points at Northeastern. If the 6-6 senior can replicate some of that offense, he can be the group’s spark plug when Thomas rests.

Projected minutes: 19-22

Forward/center: Robert Miller

The 19-year-old sophomore should be the first big to come off the bench. His consistency on the glass and ability to remain out of foul trouble will be what determines whether he is occasionally depended on or steals minutes from the starters.

Projected minutes: 19-22

Point guard: Jalen Reece

The 6-foot freshman from Orlando, Florida, is the only other true point guard on the roster other than Thomas While the Tigers don’t want to throw too much at him all at once, McMahon believes in his playmaking talents.

Projected minutes: 8-12

Depth pieces

Guard/wing: Ron Zipper

Zipper is the team’s biggest wild card as the 22-year-old freshman brings professional experience from Israel. The 6-5 lefty could be useful as he has a reputation as a knockdown shooter

Projected minutes: 5-10

Power forward: Pablo Tamba

If one of the frontcourt players gets hurt, the 6-7, 206-pound graduate student from Malaga, Spain, will take on their minutes. Tamba, a UC Davis transfer, is a good athlete who makes up for his lack of height with a high motor

Projected minutes: 5-10

Shooting guard: PJ Carter

The 6-4, 183-pound fifth-year senior is another dead-eye shooter

The Memphis transfer shot 40.3% from beyond the arc last season in 14.6 minutes per game.

Projected minutes: 5-10

bring good stuff to the table.”

First four off bench

G MiLaysia Fulwiley, G Kailyn Gilbert, F ZaKiyah Johnson, F Grace Knox Johnson impressed in the exhibition, scoring a game-high 25 points on 12-of-14 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. She was recruited as a guard, but now she’s an undersized post player who looks comfortable around the rim.

If LSU wants to stagger the minutes of its two tallest, most physical post players — ensuring at least one of them is on the floor at all times — then it can bump the 6-foot-2 Joyner to the bench and start Johnson next to the 6-5 Koval Johnson and Knox also can form

a versatile, athletic frontcourt punch off the bench by themselves. They can both rebound and handle the ball.

Gilbert’s fit is a tricky one. LSU signed two highly rated freshmen guards, then landed Fulwiley out of the transfer portal. Will there be enough touches and shots left over for her to score in the half court like she did last season? If she can rebound and defend, then Mulkey will find room for her in the rotation.

Other contributors

G Bella Hines, G Divine Bourrage Hines is a floor-spacing guard and a long, active defender Bourrage is a tall, lanky ballhan-

dler one who may need some time to develop before she can play meaningful minutes for a national title contender

Expect Hines to push for a role this season but only if she can knock down outside shots at an efficient clip and defend SEC perimeter players. They’re both high-profile recruits with bright futures. For now, they’re each expected to rotate onto the floor behind more experienced veterans.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com. For more LSU sports updates, sign up for our newsletter at theadvocate.com/lsunewsletter

Moore blames self for lack of Hill snaps

BY MATTHEW PARAS AND LUKE JOHNSON Staff writers

Kellen Moore repeatedly has said that Taysom Hill‘s role would expand as the season progressed, which made sense considering the New Orleans Saints’ do-it-all weapon was working his way back from a serious knee injury

Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a notable departure from that plan.

Hill played just five offensive snaps against the Buccaneers, his lowest total in a game since 2019. Three of those five reps resulted in touches as the 35-year-old had two carries for 6 yards and a 6-yard catch.

Hill’s lack of usage wasn’t “by design,” Moore said.

“When you look at the play numbers, that’s on me,” Moore said. “We certainly had a lot of stuff in the plan for Taysom to be a part of this thing, but it just didn’t allow itself. So I’ve got to find a way to get him on the field more.”

Hill after a touchdown against the New England Patriots during a game on Oct. 12.

“There’s a lot of situations you have plays for but you’ve got to get to ‘em,” Moore said.

New back

The New Orleans Saints have added their second new running back to the roster since Kendre Miller was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

Last week it was former Denver Broncos running back Audric Estime Wednesday, the Saints added former Colts running back Evan Hull to the practice squad, waiving defensive lineman Coziah Izzard to make room for him.

Hull was a fifth-round pick of the Colts in 2023. He missed almost his entire rookie season with a serious knee injury — he not only tore his MCL but also his meniscus root, which resulted in a much longer recovery He played only nine total snaps with the Colts before being released.

Neal Velus Jones had spent most of the season as the No. 3 running back, but the Saints released him last week to make room for tight end Zaire Mitchell-Paden, and Jones recently signed with the Seattle Seahawks.

Injury report

The Saints have been their healthiest in years amid their worst season in decades.

New Orleans again did not have a player miss practice Wednesday although it did have four players listed as limited.

Kamara and Neal are dealing with ankle injuries, while Rashid Shaheed (hip) and cornerback Alontae Taylor (shoulder) also popped up on the report. But the injuries weren’t severe enough to keep them out of the entire session.

Hill’s snaps were limited in part because the Saints failed to get into the type of situations in which he typically has been utilized. Against the Buccaneers, New Orleans didn’t even get into the red zone — an area where 60 of his 295 touches have come since 2022. Under Moore, five of Hill’s 14 touches have come on third and short, but only five of the Saints’ 16 third downs faced 3 yards or fewer to convert.

son, Hill had a traditional running back carry in which he received a toss from quarterback Spencer Rattler — whereas his previous rushing attempts in 2025 came lined up as a quarterback.

Moore did try to use Hill in different ways than he had previously For the first time this sea-

Bills say they are on same page about passing game

BY JOHN WAWROW

AP sportswriter

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y Bills coach Sean McDermott put to rest any suggestion of a disconnect between him and coordinator Joe Brady on how they view Buffalo’s suddenly struggling passing attack.

McDermott welcomed a question on the issue Wednesday by saying he and Brady are on the same page, two days after they presented contradictory assessments. McDermott said the passing game needed to improve, while Brady said he had no concerns.

“I’m aware of what he said and how it was said,” McDermott said. “We see it the same way, so we’re in a good spot.”

Assurances aside, the lingering concerns aren’t going away The Buffalo receivers are having trouble getting open down field, forcing Josh Allen to throw short passes and hope players can generate yardage after the catch.

The Bills (5-2) didn’t need a strong passing attack last Sunday, when James Cook rushed for a career-best 216 yards in a 40-9 win over Carolina. The question is whether a similar approach can work this weekend, when Buffalo hosts Kansas City (5-3) in what’s become an annual showdown of AFC contenders.

It’s a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game, which the Chiefs won 32-29. That outcome was sealed when Allen’s desperation fourth-down pass attempt fell through the hands of tight end Dalton Kincaid in the final minutes. On Monday, McDermott noted how the passing game lagged behind the running attack against Carolina.

“The results in the running game were clear to see for everyone. Not so much in the passing game,” McDermott said. “And it’s something that we have to continue to work on as coaches and figure that piece out.” Allen struggled in the first half, going 6 of 13 for 66 yards, before

SHOUGH

finishing 12 of 19 for 163 yards and a touchdown. He completed just one pass that traveled beyond 20 yards Khalil Shakir’s 54-yard TD came on a 4-yard catch, with the receiver doing the rest.

McDermott’s goal is to keep the offense balanced, and his concerns date to Allen’s struggles in two straight losses before the win over the Panthers.

Brady, who spoke after McDermott on Monday saw things differently

The third-year coordinator began by saying Buffalo didn’t need to pass the ball against Carolina because of how effective Cook was.

“I have no concerns with the pass game,” Brady said. “Obviously, I’d love to go every game and run for 200 and throw for 300, but that wasn’t how the game needed to be won.”

Brady then defended the passing attack, noting how Allen threw for 251 yards in the fourth quarter alone to rally Buffalo from a 15-point deficit in a 41-40 seasonopening win over Baltimore.

It wasn’t until he was reminded of the offense’s struggles in losses to New England and Atlanta that Brady acknowledged some deficiencies.

“When you look at us the last few weeks, we have to obviously improve in the pass game,” he said, before referring to the Bills hurting themselves by getting into third-and-long situations. “I wouldn’t say it’s been hard. But in the situations that we’re in, we’re not helping ourselves get out of some of those situations.”

The issues appear similar to last season, when Buffalo sputtered in losses to Baltimore and Houston in Weeks 4 and 5.

General manager Brandon Beane responded by acquiring veteran receiver Amari Cooper. Though Cooper’s production was limited, his presence drew the attention of defenses and opened space for other receivers.

Beane has yet to make a move and has little room under the salary cap to add talent before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday

Still, Moore wouldn’t be the first play-caller to wrestle with finding the right balance for Hill. But the first-year coach knows that five snaps weren’t enough.

He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason but did not make the roster after rushing 11 times for 33 yards in the preseason. Hull was one of several running backs who tried out for the Saints earlier this week.

New Orleans currently has only two running backs on the 53man roster in Alvin Kamara and Devin

Tight end Juwan Johnson (neck) and wide receiver Chris Olave (ankle) were also full participants.

The Saints do have a handful of players on injured reserve — including starting center Erik McCoy (biceps) and Miller — but that pales in comparison to the issues they dealt with last year

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

Destrehan, Hahnville renew St. Charles Parish rivalry

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

Destrehan and Hahnville have one of the biggest high school football rivalries in Louisiana.

Destrehan has won the St Charles Parish rivalry the past seven years, but Hahnville was just seven points short in last year’s contest during Greg Boyne’s first season as coach. Boyne led Hahnville to its first playoff win in five years after serving as Destrehan’s offensive coordinator Destrehan (6-2, 4-0 District 8-5A) reached the state semifinals last season and has won its past five games after a nondistrict schedule that included state powers Catholic-Baton Rouge and Alexandria.

Destrehan was at home in last year’s win against Hahnville (7-1, 4-1), but this year could present more of a challenge in Boutte.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday

“It’s a huge deal for our community on both sides of the river,” Destrehan coach Marcus Scott said. “(Greg Boyne) has done a really good job. They’re playing really well and pose a lot of problems for defenses.”

Destrehan senior Jackson Fields and Hahnville junior Landen Teague are both returning starting quarterbacks Both Fields and Teague have had strong seasons, leading their teams to a combined 9-1 record over the past five weeks during district play

Teague has completed 70% of his passes for nearly 1,500 yards this season with 17 touchdowns and no interceptions. He’s spread the ball around well with three receivers having more than 300 yards.

“Landen’s knowledge of football has grown,” Boyne said “He understands what we’re trying to do with motions and shifts. Him and our receivers have come a long way.”

Fields was sharp last week in a district win over Central La-

fourche, completing 15 of 16 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns along with 46 yards rushing. Destrehan’s offense has scored 40 or more points in each of the past five weeks.

“Jackson never gets too high or too low,” Scott said. “He’s done real well from a leadership perspective.”

Destrehan’s recent success includes 68-point performance at Captain Shreve in which running back Malachi Dabney ran for 212 yards on 12 carries and had five catches for 81 yards with six total touchdowns. A junior, Dabney has been Destrehan’s workhorse running back after taking over the starting job last season. Senior Jabari Mack, a four-star wide receiver recruit committed to LSU, has made an impact at multiple positions.

“Malachi is consistent and continues to add to his game,” Scott said. “Jabarihad another strong game last week and is a versatile, all-around athlete.”

Junior Fabian Celestine is now Hahnville’s workhorse running back with last year’s starter Calvin Smith now at Southeastern

Louisiana. Celestine fractured his leg last season but has worked his way back to full health this year with nearly 700 yards rushing on 110 carries.

“Fabian had a long recovery, but was really dedicated to the process,” Boyne said. “He’s had no fumbles and 12-15 catches with no drops. He’s the total package.”

Destrehan’s defense lacked experience entering the season but has allowed seven points or less in three of its past five games. Hahnville has allowed 20 or less points in its last four games after a 52-38 loss to Terrebonne.

“Anytime we play here, we talk about protecting our home field,” Boyne said. “Friday will be a good measuring stick of where our program is.”

The rivalry game could decide the district title as well as which team ends up the higher seed in the Division I nonselect playoff bracket.

“It’s a rivalry, but there’s respect on both sides,” Scott said. “It’s going to be a hard-fought game and a very good environment.”

Email Spencer Urquhart at surquhart@theadvocate.com.

significant stretches of this season, the Saints offense still lagged toward the back of the NFL pack.

New Orleans ranks near the bottom of the league in every major statistical category, none more important than scoring offense: Only three teams are managing less than the Saints’ 16 points per game. So while Shough said he’s gotten a positive reception from his teammates after his appointment in the starter’s seat, he acknowledged that this isn’t exactly cause for celebration.

“Obviously it’s not a fun situation,” Shough said “We’re 1-7 right now We’ve got to go out there and play better.”

Shough won’t get much of a break in his first start against the Los Angeles Rams. He will try to fix the Saints’ scoring problem against the league’s No. 3 scoring defense.

Moore shrugged off the timing of Shough’s debut against the Rams, saying “there’s no soft landing” in the NFL If Shough is going to continue to develop as a player he’s going to have to do it in challenging circumstances.

“I’m going to make mistakes, so I’m going to do everything I can to learn from those mistakes, and then just have fun doing it,” Shough said. “... What a great opportunity to go out there and just let it rip.”

And, as his wife reminded him, to win

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1C Saints quarterback Tyler

looks to throw a pass against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a game at the Caesars

Mount Carmel’s Annabelle LaBure, left, and Alexandra Comeaux defend the net against Dominican’s Molly Baker on Tuesday. Dominican won the match 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 24-26, 15-12.

Dominican outlasts

MCA in five sets to finish season sweep

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Dominican played a five-set volleyball match for the first time this season and completed a home-and-home sweep of Mount Carmel with a hard-earned victory Tuesday at home.

Junior Rani Smith (17 kills, five blocks) and senior Mallie Mahoney (16 kills, one ace) provided plenty of production as Dominican won the first two sets and got pushed to a fifth set that included nine ties and four lead changes.

Sophomore Hazel Roots put down the final point that completed the 25-22, 25-18, 20-25, 24-26, 15-12 victory, and the large crowd of Dominican supporters that filled one side of the gym flooded the floor in celebration.

“This is the first match that we’ve gone five all season, so it’s really good to see us in that situation, and then, you know, seeing how we respond,” Dominican coach Jessica Chatellier said. “On both sides, that was just an incredible game. I think both teams really put everything out there. The defense on both sides, some of those rallies, I would like a timer on them, they were so long.

Dominican (32-4) won the first two sets with a pair of comebacks, overcoming a seven-point deficit with a 12-2 run including the final six points to close the first set and then finishing the second set with a 13-4 run after being down 14-12 midway through the set.

Smith scored five of the points during the closing run in the first set, at one point scoring four points in a row. Senior Molly Baker (seven kills, one ace) scored the final three points in the second set, including a sideways punch of the ball as she ran parallel to the net for the final point.

Mount Carmel (34-4) won the third and fourth sets, surging ahead after the teams were tied 19-all in the third set and then clinching the fourth set when junior Allie Steele put down one of her team-high seven blocks.

Dominican went ahead for good in the fifth set when Baker put down a kill that made the score 11-10. Junior Kaitlyn Byrd (14 kills, one block) had a kill and Smith scored on a block during the finishing stretch.

“Definitely our grit,” Smith said when asked what made the difference in the fifth set. “We wanted to put everything out on the court. This is our home court, and this is our last pink game of the season, so we just put everything out there and we weren’t going to lose.”

Mount Carmel junior Lila Franovich led with 18 kills and three blocks, senior Annabelle LaBure had 15 kills and one ace and junior Gabrielle Locascio had nine kills and two blocks.

Other contributors for Dominican included sophomore Hadley Bonifacic (seven kills), junior Aurore Tortorich (49 digs, two aces), sophomore Aubrie Dalton (31 digs) and sophomore Addi Shannon (two aces)

The five-set match came two weeks after Dominican, at No. 1 in the Division I power ratings after the match, won in four sets on the road against No. 2 Mount Carmel. Dominican has won the last three matches against Mount Carmel, including the state semifinal sweep in Lafayette last season.

“I’m sure we’ll see them at some point in the playoff run,” Chatellier said “And I’m sure it will be a match just like this. They’ll continue to get better and we’ll continue to get better, so we’ll see.”

Contact Christopher Dabe at cdabe@theadvocate.com

p.m.

(6-1) at UTSA (3-4), 6:30 p.m.

(3-3) at

games

(4-2), 6 p.m.

(4-3),

(2-5) at Syracuse (3-5), 6:30 p.m. Sam Houston St. (0-7) at Louisiana Tech (4-3), 7 p.m. Memphis (7-1) at Rice (4-4), 6 p.m. Idaho (3-5) at N. Arizona (5-3), 9:30 p.m. Saturday’s state schedule Southern (1-7) at Ark.-Pine Bluff (3-5), 2 p.m. Alabama A&M (4-4) at Grambling (5-3), 2 p.m. UL (2-6) at South Alabama (2-6), 2:30 p.m. Old Dominion (5-3) at UL-Monroe (3-5), 2:30 p.m. Houston Christian (2-6) at Nicholls (2-6), 3 p.m. East Texas A&M (2-6) at Southeastern Louisiana (6-2), 6 p.m. Northwestern St. (1-7) at McNeese St. (2-6), 6 p.m.

Horse racing

Breeders’ Cup odds Breeders’ Cup Classic in Del Mar, Calif Distance: 1¼ miles on dirt for 3-year-olds and up. Purse: $7 million. Posttime: 5:25 p.m. Saturday. Listed as post position, horse, trainer, jockey, odds n 1. Fierceness, Todd Pletcher, John Velazquez, 5-2 n 2. Baeza, John Shirreffs, Hector Berrios, 10-1 n 3. Nevada Beach, Bob Baffert, Mike Smith, 20-1 n 4. Contrary Thinking, Chad Brown, Florent Geroux, 50-1 n 5. Forever Young, Yoshito Yahagi, Ryusei Sakai, 7-2

n 6. Sovereignty, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado, SCRATCHED n 7. Sierra Leone, Chad Brown, Flavien Prat, 7-2

n 8. Mindframe, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr., 6-1

n 9. Journalism, Michael McCarthy, Jose Ortiz, 5-1

n 10. Antiquarian, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez, 10-1 Pro basketball

France, 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4. Francisco Cerundolo, Argentina, def. Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (4).

Auger-Aliassime (9), Canada, def. Alexandre Muller, France, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4). Alexander Zverev (3), Germany, def. Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Argentina, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (15), Spain, def. Arthur Cazaux, France, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Jannik Sinner (2), Italy, def. Zizou Bergs, Belgium, 6-4, 6-2. Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, def. Lorenzo Musetti (7), Italy, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Alexander Bublik (13), Kazakhstan, def. Corentin Moutet, France, 6-3, 7-5. Karen Khachanov (10), Russia,

Exploreour favorite fruit’s savory side

BY GRETCHEN McKAY

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

Usually,you don’thave to think too hard about what to do withthe abag or bushel of apples.

Apples are terrific out of hand,of course, and make agreat (and healthful) addition to yourchild’s lunchbox. They also travel well, makingthem an excellentcar food

Thanks to thefruit’s natural sweetness, apples lendthemselves especially well to baked goods. Youdon’t have to look too far to find any number of seasonal cakes, pies, crispsand crumbles built around apples as the star attraction.

Apples also cook down pretty easily into applesauce —with or without added sugar —and slices can be dried into chips for agood-for-you anytime snack

Yet, confining our favorite fall fruit to the dessert table is to not put afullspin on its versatility Crisp and tart apples that hold their shape while cooked, such as thepopular green Granny Smith, PinkLady and Honeycrisp, can add abrightand tangy flavortoeverything from salads to soups to gratins and curries. Thefruit’s natural sweetness and acidity also pairs well with savory,roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. And if you’re trying to get moreplants into your diet? When marinated in a tangy vinaigrette, they make asurprisingly delicious addition toacheese sandwich.

These savory recipes won’tupsetthe apple cart. Instead, they’llshine alight on the fruit’spossibilities.

BY NICOLE HVIDSTEN

Afriend once said there’snosuch thing as soup season —itshouldbe enjoyed year-round. As someonewho just happily ordered acup of chicken wild rice soup on a90-degree day,I agree. But when the air finally does turn crisp, it reignites the desire to cook

PAINTAND FABRIC DYETOSPICES,

Diversity powerhouse

BY ANNEMILNECK Contributingwriter

The spice world is rich with ingredients that transform dishes through aroma and taste, and there are some spices that alsodeliver vibrant color

Annatto seed is one such spice that imparts both delicious flavors and atransformative hue.

Known across Latin America and theCaribbean as achiote, this tiny, brick-redseed is an oft-overlooked workhorse. Often absent in today’shome kitchens, annatto is afoundational ingredient in traditional Mexican cuisine and Indigenous cultures. Annatto seeds are harvested from the Achiote tree, native to tropical regions of Centraland South America. Widely referred to as the “lipsticktree,” Achiote trees’ annatto seeds were historically used to make body paint and fabric dye. In modern food processing, an-

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Whole annatto seed can be stored for up to twoyears in acool,dry place. Ground annatto seeds should be used within six months, as theybegin losing potency and color once ground

natto seeds became known as “poor man’ssaffron” for theseed’sability to impart theorange colortopackaged yelloworsaffronrice mixes. Theannatto seed’sflavor is similar to paprika withslightly peppery, smokyand earthynotes andfloral

Marriage brings bigchanges

DearAnnie: My younger sister “Natalie” got married this spring to aman none of us really know.They met online, and withinsix months, they were engaged. My parents were uneasy about how fast it all happened, but Natalie was sure. She said she’d never felt so connected to anyone. Since the wedding, though, she’s been pulling away from the family.She used to call me almost every day,and now it’smaybe once aweek. She skipped our mom’sbirthday dinner last month and didn’t seem that apologetic aboutit. When Iask how she’sdoing, she just says she’s“busy”

By The Associated Press

Reader writes in with hints

Annie Lane DEAR ANNIE

and changes the subject. Iknow married lifeis an adjustment, and Idon’t expect to be her top priority right now,but the shiftfeels bigger than that. Imissher, and I’m not sure how to reach out without sounding clingy or critical. Idon’twant to make her feel guilty.Ijust want our closeness back! How do Ilet her knowImiss her without pushing her away? —Protective Big Sister Dear ProtectiveBig Sister: The “honeymoon phase” can be all-consuming,especially when arelationship moved as fast as theirs did.It’s possibleNatalie is simply

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Thursday,Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2025. There are 62 days left in the year.

Todayinhistory:

On Oct. 30, 1974, Muhammad Ali, 32, knocked out George Foreman, 25, in the eighth round of ascheduled 15-roundbout known as the “Rumble in the Jungle,” in Kinshasa,Congo (then Zaire), to regain his world heavyweight title.

Also on this date:

In 1938, the radio play “The Warofthe Worlds,” starring OrsonWelles, aired on the CBS Radio Network. The broadcast panicked some listeners in its portrayalofaninvasion by Martians.

In 1961, the Soviet Union tested ahydrogen bomb, the “Tsar Bomba,” with aforce estimated at about 50 megatons (over 3,500 times that of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima). It remains the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated.

In 2005, thelate Rosa Parks was the first woman to lie in honorinthe U.S. Capitol Rotunda; Parks became acivil rights icon by refusing to give up her seat on asegregated busto a White passenger in 1955. In 2018, gangster James “Whitey” Bulger was found beaten to death at afederal prisoninWest Virginia; the 89-year-old former Boston crime boss and longtimeFBI informant hadbeen transferred there just hoursearlier.(Three inmates entered plea deals and were convicted in Bulger’skilling). In 2023, the United Auto Workers said it reached a tentativedeal withGeneral Motors,capping awhirlwindfew daysinwhich GM, Ford and Stellantis agreed to terms that would end theunion’stargeted strikes over six weeks.

wrapped up in her new life and hasn’trealized how distantshe’sbecome. Still, if you ever notice clear red flags in their relationship —controlling behavior,possessiveness or signs of emotional abuse it’simportant to stay close and remain ajudgmentfree place she can turn to. More likely,though, she’s just infatuated and adjusting. That phase won’tlast forever,but don’twait it out in silence. Tell her you missher and value therelationship. Beinghonest now can keep resentment from building later

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com.

(UAWmembers later ratified thecontracts).

Today’sbirthdays: Author Robert Caro is 90. Football Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil is 89. Rock singer Grace Slick is 86. Songwriter Eddie Holland is 86. R&B singer OtisWilliams (TheTemptations) is 84. Actor Henry Winkler is 80. Broadcast journalist Andrea Mitchell is 79. Country/rock musician Timothy B. Schmit (TheEagles) is 78. Actor Harry Hamlin is 74. Country singer T. Graham Brown is 71. Actor Kevin Pollak is 68. Actor Michael Beach is 62. Musician Gavin Rossdale (Bush) is 60. Actor Nia Long is 55. Actor Matthew Morrison is 47. Businessexecutive and former presidential adviser Ivanka Trumpis44. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nastia Liukin is 36. NBA guard Devin Booker is 29. NHL defenseman Cale Makar is 27.

RoastedBrussels Sproutsand Apples

Serves 4. Recipe is from Gretchen McKay. Brussels sprouts can be bitter when boiled, butstick them in theoven to roast and wow, it’smagic! The high heat causes the vegetable’s natural sugars to caramelize,bringing outtheir natural sweetness. Throwing afew apples onto the panenhancesthe nutty flavor.Besure to pull off the loose outer greenleavesand trim the sprouts’ ends before cooking, and scatter them evenly on a baking tray.They’re done when theleaves are just about to char,and the innermost part of the sprout is fork-tender

1pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and outer leaves removed

1largered or green apple, cored and cubed

1medium red onion, cut in wedges

1tablespoon olive oil

2tablespoons maple syrup

1teaspoon fine sea salt

¾teaspoon ground black pepper

3sprigs of thyme

½cup toasted pecans, optional

¼cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Cut Brussels sprouts in half,then place in alarge bowl with apples andonions.

3. In ameasuringcup, stir togetherolive oil, maplesyrup, saltand pepper.Drizzle over the Brussels sprouts mixture and toss withyour hands until everything is thoroughlycoated.

4. Place the mixtureona rimmed baking sheet.Make sure Brussels sprouts are

cut side down. (This ensures that they all get perfectly caramelized.)

5. Place sprigs of thyme on top of andaround theveggies.

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes, shaking thepan afew times as they bake,until the apples aretender,the onions are soft andthe sprouts look like they are starting to char

7. Topwith pecans and gratedcheese, if desired, and serve while hot.

Marinated Appleand Cheese Sandwich

Makes 4sandwiches. Recipeisfrom foodandwine.com. Trying to eat more plants? The peppery flavor of arugula works incredibly well with sweet apples andsavory cheddar in thissurprisingly hearty sandwich. Thevinaigrette is so simple to make and adds more flavor; Isaved the leftovers to use as adressing on salad. Imade thesandwiches on toasted sunflowerbread but anyhearty variety works.

½cup apple cider vinegar

¼cup extra-virgin olive oil

2tablespoons honey

4teaspoons wholegrain mustard

½teaspoon black pepper

½teaspoon kosher salt

2small shallots, thinly sliced (about 1⁄3 cup)

2small garlic cloves, grated

1tartgreen apple

(such as Granny Smith)

unpeeled, cored andvery thinly sliced crosswise

1tart-sweet apple

(such as Honeycrisp)

unpeeled, cored andvery thinly sliced crosswise

Salted butter,atroom temperature

8slices softmultigrain sandwich bread

4-8 ounces aged white

cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

11⁄3 cups packed baby arugula

1. Whisk together vinegar,oil, honey,mustard, pepper andsaltina medium saucepan; bring to asimmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve honey.Stir in shallots andgarlic. Remove from heat.

2. Placeapple slices in alarge, shallow, heatproofdish; pour hotvinegar mixtureover apples, and toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature 45 minutes, tossing occasionally Drain apples and discard vinegar mixture.(I savedittouse as adressing.)

3. Spreada generous layer of butter on one side of each bread slice. Divide cheese, apple mixture and arugula evenly on buttered sides of four breadslices. Topwith remaining bread slices, butter sides down. Serve immediately

Apple Curry

Serves6.Recipe is from Gretchen McKay.This one-pot, lightly spiced curry pairs two favoritefallofferings: butternut squash and apples. If youdesire aprotein kick, add a canofcooked, drainedchickpeas or 1pound boneless, skinless chicken cut intobitesizedchunksbefore adding thecoconut milk. Chopped cashews add arich, nutty finish.

1½ tablespoons olive oil

1largeonion, chopped (about 1cup)

3largecloves garlic, minced

1-inch piece fresh ginger, finely minced

2cups cubed butternut squash (about 1small)

2cored and roughly chopped apples (peel on)

2tablespoons curry powder

1(14-ounce) can light coconut milk

½cup vegetable broth or water

1teaspoon salt

¼teaspoon pepper Cooked white rice, for serving Chopped cilantro, for garnish Chopped cashews, for garnish

1.Add oliveoil to alarge stockpot or Dutch oven set over medium heat

2. When hot, add in onion and cook for about 5minutes, until tender.Add in garlic,ginger, butternut squash and apples. Cook for 3minutes, thensprinklewith curry powder and stir to combine.

3. Pour in coconut milk and broth/water,and scrape up anybits that havegotten stuck to the bottomofthe skillet.Turn

Dear Heloise: Hey there. I wanted to write in with two hintsfrom aboy in Illinois. My mother lives alone, and I’ve asked her to turn on the front porch light when she goes to bed, then turn it off when she gets up. I’ve asked the neighbors to check on her light. If it’sstill on around 11 a.m., Iask them to please call her and check in on her

heat down to medium and simmer for at least 5minutes, stirring occasionally

4. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes,oruntil squash and apples are fork-tender, stirringoccasionallyandadjusting theheat as needed.

5. Removefrom theheat. Tasteand season withadditional salt and pepper as needed.

6. Serve thecurry with white rice, garnished with choppedcilantroand chopped cashews.

Hints from Heloise

The second thought is: When Imake the grocery list, Imemorize it and leave it in the car.It’sgreat practice for thebrain. Last time Idid this, Ionly forgot two items —Keith Filges, via email

After-school snacks

Dear Heloise: Ihave avery clear memory of being 7 or 8years old and heading to my friend’shouse after school. Her mother served us carrotsand apples slices as we played agame on thefloor.Iloved it. It was simple and good for us. It remainsone of myfondest memories of childhood.

One day,when Iwas visiting my hometown years later,I passed my friend’s house and saw her mother outside. So, Istopped by to say hello. She was quite elderly by then. Irecounted my story of the apples and carrots and how much I enjoyed them as an after-school snack. She beamed and thanked me as she also remembered these special times. —Ellen Shapley Quickmedical hints

Dear Heloise: Just acouple of quick medical tips: n Sometimes Ihave problemswith the ink that is used on prescription labels becoming illegible due to frequent handling, particularly on prescriptions that are good for90days. When Iget anew prescription bottle, Iimmediately cover the printing on the bottle with either clear or frosted (magic) tape. This keeps it readable forthe 90-day duration.

n Most of us carry smart cellphones and have some

kind of aplastic or rubberized cover to protect the back. Pop the cover offand put acouple of standard bandages between the case and the body of the phone, using care not to cover the lenses of the camera. Snap the case back in place, and you will always have aquick fix forasmallcut or an abrasion. —Scott D.,in JohnstonFortDodge,Iowa Quickerstickers

Dear Heloise: Ihave acompost heap in the backyard. Beyond the grass clippings and leaves, we also put in vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and fruit. The problem with the fruit is that every apple, banana and orange has aplastic label on the outside. The plastic label will not breakdowninthe compost heap. What Iwould love to see is all of these plastic fruit labels replaced with biodegradable ones. Biodegradable labels would breakdown. —Gordon C., in Corona, California Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Achiote paste is acombination of ground

cloves, garlic and an acidic ingredient like

AceitedeAchiote (Annatto SeedInfused Oil)

1cup neutraloil (vegetable oil)

3tablespoons wholeannatto seeds

1. In asaucepan, heat theoil and seeds over low to medium heat. Cook, swirling the potoften,for 10 minutes. Turn offthe heat and allow the seeds to infuse in the oil for 20 minutes.

2. Strain off the seeds and discard. Storethe annatto-infused oil in aglass jarorcontainer with alid at room temperature. Use within threeweeks

Suggesteduses: Use theoil to saute aromatics

ANNATTO

Continuedfrom page1D

undertones. Whencombinedwith other spices and herbs likecumin,coriander andMexican oregano, it can be used as aTex-Mex dry rub for proteins andvegetables. Annatto’sabilityto impartvibrant color makes it perfect for infusion in fat to create aceite de achiote, or annatto oil. After steeping annatto seeds in hot oil, the seeds are strained off and the deep orange-red oil can be used to makerice, start a pot of beans, sautemeat or roast vegetables. Another use for annatto

seeds,coriander,cumin,

or

Annatto seed imparts both delicious flavors and atransformativehue.

for apot of beans; sizzle raw rice in atablespoon of the infused oil before adding the cooking liquid; toss cauliflower florets in 3tablespoons of the infused oil before roasting.

seeds is to create achiote paste. Blocks of achiote paste are astaple ingredient in Mexican and Central American cuisine, and it’s simple to makeathome. This flavorful paste is acombination of ground annatto seeds, coriander, cumin, oregano, cloves, garlic and an acidic ingredient like orange juice or apple cider vinegar.Achiote paste is classically used to create the slow-roasted pork dish cochinita pibil and al pastor marinades. Creating an achiote paste is easy and will transform the flavor of lean proteins like chicken breasts and pork tenderloin and lead to adeep red crust and tangy, earthy flavor

Achiote Paste

3tablespoonswhole annatto seeds

2teaspoons ground coriander

2teaspoons ground cumin

2teaspoons smoked sweet paprika

2teaspoons Mexican oregano leaf

1teaspoon ground black pepper

1teaspoon salt

½teaspoon ground cloves ¼cup apple cidervinegar ¼cup vegetable or olive oil

1. Useamortar and pestle or spicegrindertogrind the annatto seedstoafine powder. 2. In abowl, combine the ground annatto seeds and all other ingredients and stir to createapaste.Use the paste on chicken, pork or beef as a marinade. Marinate the meat at least 8hours or,ideally, overnight.

Whole annatto seed can be storedfor up to two years in acool,dry place. Ground annatto seedsshould be usedwithin six months, as theybegin losing potency andcolor once ground. Whetherinfusedinto oilfor making riceorcombined into apaste formarinating, annatto is worth adding to your spicerack With it, you’ll create visual dramaand deep, satisfying flavor to avariety of dishes.

AnneMilneck is achef and instructor at the Chef JohnFolse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State Universityand ownerof RedStick SpiceCompany in Baton Rouge.

Mum’sLoving Leek and Potato Soup

Serves 4. From “Cooking Fast and Slow” by Natalia Rudin, who writes: “It might sound like acliché, but my mum is my superhero and her leek and potato soup heals me in more waysthan Ican put into words. My re-creation will never be as good as hers, but I’ve given it my best shot.” (Ten Speed Press, 2025) 1to2tablespoons olive oil 3leeks, roughly chopped ½white onion, roughly chopped

1teaspoon fennelseeds

¼teaspoon gratednutmeg 2cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1largepotato (no need to peel) 4cups vegetable stock 1to2tablespoons butter Salt and black pepper

1. Heat the olive oilina

tato in half, lay it flat side down, and cut

2. Meanwhile,cut thepo-

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Observe and take notes. Preparation is vital to getting what you want. A positive change comes with executing your plans flawlessly. Choose minimalism over excess and indulgence.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Set boundaries, offer honest assessments and pursue something tangible. Focus your energy on updating your surroundings to suit your situation and foster success.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Mixed emotions will drain you mentally and financially. Be wary of scams and people trying to separate you from your cash. Gather information regarding any event that may pose a risk of injury or illness.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Put your emotions aside and know when to walk away. A debate will not serve a purpose and will leave you feeling distraught. Pay more attention to building your physical strength.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Upbeat talks will help you gain enthusiasm to get moving and to introduce positive change into your life. Stop letting mixed emotions hinder your ability to act.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) A little primping will go a long way. Do something that makes you feel good, boosts your confidence and gives you the nudge you need to make a move. Participate in events that are geared toward a purpose.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) You should sift through your options and decrease the

WonderWord

number of your commitments. Effective communication is essential to prevent mistakes and misinformation.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Live, love and learn, and a positive change will be unveiled. Trust your instincts and let your imagination wander. Reach out, and the result will fulfill your expectations.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Avoid jumping to conclusions or taking on too much Pace yourself and explore all options before deciding on your next step. Tone down drama and indulgence, and concentrate on self-improvement.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Look at the big picture before you make a comment or change. The impression you make and the effect you have on the people you encounter will determine what comes your way.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) It's all or nothing when dealing with domestic or workrelated matters. Stand back, absorb the atmosphere in the room and let your instincts guide you in interpreting the outcome.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Effective money management encourages you to live frugally and appreciate what you already have. Consider what you can do to update your look. Socializing will promote romance.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

Carl Gustav Jung said, “Knowledge restsnotupontruthalone,butuponerror also.”

Howtruethatis. All bridge players makemistakes. But each hopes to learn something from those errors.

Today’s deal occurred during asocial game. First, look at the auction.With which calls do youdisagree and what would you have done differently? Thereweretwo clear-cuterrors (and a few calls that were debatable). Thedefinitemistakeswere,first,North’spassing over twoclubs.She might have bid two no-trump, showing 18-20 points,because partner had promised some cards with hisone-spadebid.(Hewouldhavepassed with nothing when East responded one diamond.) Asecond possibility was anothertakeoutdouble,typicallyindicating three-cardspade supportand extra values. Also, South, over two diamonds,should have competed with two hearts. Of course, that might have got his side to four hearts, an unmakable game, instead of to fourspades, themakable game. Against two spades, West led alow club.Southranthattohisjack,tookdummy’s top trumps, playedthree rounds of diamonds,ruffing the lastinhis hand, and cashed dummy’s two club winners, discarding aheart whileEastruffed in East shifted to theheart 10,which South strangely covered withhis king to lose three tricks in the suit and collect only one overtrick. Since West was marked with the heart ace, Southshould have ducked theheart.Westwould have won but would have been endplayed into conceding asecond overtrick.

©2025 by nEa,inc dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRucTIons: 1.

ToDAy’s WoRD DWARFIsH: DWOR-fish: Smallinstature.

Average mark 19 words

Timelimit 30 minutes

Can you find 24 or more words in DWARFISH?

heed thereforetoyourselves, and to all theflock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28

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

GramS Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 - The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 - Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

/nolalibrary @nolalibrary

Main Library

219 Loyola Avenue (504) 596-2570

Algiers Regional Library

3014 Holiday Drive (504) 596-2641

Alvar Library 913 Alvar Street (504) 596-2667

Central City Library

2020 Jackson Avenue,Suite139 (504) 596-3110

Children’s Resource Center Library

913 NapoleonAvenue (504) 596-2628

Desire /Florida SatelliteLocation 3250 Industry Street

East NewOrleansRegional Library 5641 Read Boulevard (504) 596-0200

Cita Dennis Hubbell Library 725 Pelican Avenue (504) 596-3113

Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center 4300 SouthBroad Avenue (504) 596-2660

Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Library 1611 Fats Domino Avenue (504) 596-2695

Milton H. Latter Memorial Library 5120 Saint Charles Avenue (504) 596-2625

Norman MayerLibrary

3001 GentillyBoulevard (504) 596-3100

Mid-City Library

4140 CanalStreet (504) 596-2654

Nora Navra Library 1902 Saint BernardAvenue (504) 596-3118

Nix Library 1401 South Carrollton Avenue (504) 596-2630

REACH Center

2022 St.Bernard Avenue,Building C (504) 256-6983

Robert E. Smith Library 6301 Canal Boulevard (504) 596-2638

BLUE HOUSE MUSIC*

EARLY LITERA EVENTS CHILDREN’S

TheNew Orleans Public storytimes for childrenf age 5atall of our locat nolalibrary.org/early-literacy formore information.

DIY Storytimes comi near you from Nove

PLAYTIME AT TH

Imagine andplay with toys, dress-up clothes, more.For children ages 2–5and theirfamilies.

•Electro-Plating Copper

this children

This month’s themes include:

•Let’sPlay Bakery

•Let’sPlay Barber Shop and Beauty Salon

•Let’sPlay Movie Theater

•Let’sPlay Restaurant

•Let’sPlay Farm

•Let’sPlay Gardener and more!

Visitnolalibrary.co/playtime or scanthe

QR code to get timesand locations.

MUSICAND MOVEMENT*

Dance,wiggle,and stretch as we use musicand movement to practice early literacy skills. This program is designedfor childrenages 2– 5and their caregivers.

Mondays in November from 5pm –5:30pm Mid-City Library

LITTLE STOMPERS*

Explore New Orleans music and culture duringthis 6-week interactive program series designed for childrenages 1–5 years and their caregivers. Themes include: Big Easy Rascals, Swamp Stompers, Mardi Gras Mambos

Register at nolalibrary.co/little-stompers.

Saturday,November 1and 8

from 10:15am –10:45am, 11am– 11:30am or 11:45am–12:15pm Algiers Regional Library

Indulge your child’scuriositywith this fun and interactive program featuring STEAM concepts. For ages3–5and their families.

Register at nolalibrary.co/little-steamers.

Saturday,November 8 from 10:30am–11:30am Norman Mayer Library

BINGO:PRESCHOOL EDITION*

Play afun and interactive game of beginner’sBINGO to build children’searly literacy skills and getready to read. For children ages 2–5 and theirfamilies.

Saturday,November 10,17, and 24 from 5pm –6pm Nora Navra Library

DINOvember

An Early Literacy Adventure*

Practice developing earlyliteracy skills withcrafts, hands-on activities, and snacks. Afun dinosaur-themed program for children ages 2 – 5and their families.

Friday,November 21 from 10:30am –11:30am Mid-City Library

•Phonics Fun

•Tangrams

•Jean-Michel Basquiat

•Art Smarts: Performance Art Inspired by MarinaAbramovic

•Hydrodipping Fun

•Upcycled Kites

Visit nolalibrary.co/STEAM for times and locations.

PEQUEÑASCREACIONES/ SMALL CREATIONS

ESCULPIENDO EN PLASTILINA/ARCILLA PARA NIÑOSY SUSFAMILIAS*

Esculpe ypractique su español. Este programaespara niños hispanohablantes de 6a12años ysus familias.

Saturday,November 1 from 3pm –4pm Nora Navra Library

CHESSCLUB*

Beginner andexperienced players are welcome at Chess Club.Each session includes instruction as needed but focuses on playing. Forages 6–12.

Wednesdays in November from 4pm– 5pm Algiers Regional Library NixLibrary

Thursday,November 6and 20 from 4pm– 5pm Cita Dennis Hubbell Library

ES There Can escape

Re nolalibrary

Saturday from 1pm Milton

Lo headed can dog ana Satur from Nora DI EN FA Tiempo Ac rienda Hang bilingual snack

Re nolalibrary help Re nolalibrary ayudarnos

We from Central

es ch ourself

ADU EVENTS

TECHCONNECT

Book aone-on-one appointment to develop confidence,build computer skills, andgrowmore comfortable in today’sdigital world.

Register at nolalibrary.co/techconnect or by calling 504-596-3501

Tuesdays from 10am–12pm Wednesdays from 3pm –5pm East New Orleans Regional Library

WELLNESS

THROUGH MOVEMENT: FALL DANCEAND FITNESS CLASSES*

Get active this fall with the REACH Center andANEW Fitness. November’s theme is Chair Yoga.

Saturday,November 1, 8, 15 from 1pm –2pm REACH Center

FREE FLUSHOTS WITH WALGREENS

Walgreens pharmacistswill administer free flu shots.Please bring I.D.and any insurance card/information. Vouchers are availableona first come,first serve basis forthose who are uninsured.

Wednesday,November 5 from 10:30am– 1:30pm East New OrleansRegional Library

Thursday,November 13 from 10:30am– 1:30pm Main Library

COMMUNITY,POWER, AND THESEARCH FORINDIGENOUSIDENTITY

In an online talk, Joseph Leediscusses his stirring memoir. In it, he explores Indigenous identity in proximitytoland that serves as an iconic vacationing spot for the wealthy–the “island paradise” Martha’s Vineyard.

Register at nolalibrary.co/joseph-lee

Wednesday, November 5 from 1pm –2pm

BEYOND BOOKS: NON-TRADITIONAL

RESOURCESATTHE LIBRARY

Get more than bookswith your Library card. Discover some of the Library’s non-traditional resources,including the Culture Pass Program, CakePan Collection, andSeed Libraries.

Wednesday, November 5 from 3pm –4pm Alvar Library

Thursday,November 13 from 3pm –4pm Nix Library

AUTHOR NIGHT AT NORMAN MAYERLIBRARY: BOYCEUPHOLT–THEGREAT RIVER

In this landmark work of natural history, Boyce Upholt tells the epic story of the wild and unruly Mississippi River,and thecenturies of efforts to control it.

Thursday,November 6 from 5:30pm -6:30pm Milton H. Latter Memorial Library

MEMOIR WRITINGOFANCESTRAL REVERENCEAND RECKONING*

Award-winning Author and Storyteller Bernice L. McFadden discusses her first memoir,Firstborn Girls.Enter araffle to get afree copy of the book.

Friday,November 7 from 6pm –8pm Community Book Center (2523Bayou Rd.)

SOIL MAKING 101 WITH PELICAN GARDENS*

Learn the basics of howtomakeyour own garden soil mix to provide nutrients and drainage in your home garden.

Saturday,November 8 from 1pm –2pm Cita Dennis Hubbell Library

AUTHOR NIGHT AT HUBBELL LIBRARY: YURIHERRERA –SEASON OF THESWAMP

In 1853, young Mexican exile Benito Juárez spent 18 months in NewOrleans. Herrera imagines that timeand how it preparedhim to becomethe first indigenous head of state in the postcolonial Americas

Tuesday,November 11 from 6:30pm–7:30pm

Cita Dennis Hubbell Library

DO YOUR DOGGYDOO-DOO DUTY –DIYWASTE BAGSHARE STATION

Makeand decorate dog poop bag dispensers.These dispensers attach to afence/ post and help out your neighbors in case they find themselvesina“stinky” situation.

Register at nolalibrary.co/doo-doo

Wednesday,November 12 from 5:30pm –6:30pm Mid-City Library

WITH NATASHASANCHEZ*

Take aphoto walk around theneighborhood thathighlights photography andcomposition basics. Explore different ways to photograph and see the world around us.

Register at nolalibrary.co/photowalk.

Saturday,November 15 from 10:30am –12pm Mid-City Library

PERFORMING YOUR WRITING WITH DAPHNE ARMBRUSTER*

Live readings are an essential part of a writer’scareer,but reading in front of an audience can be daunting. Learn basic performance skills andtechniques to read with confidence.

Saturday,November 22 from 11am –1pm

Milton H. LatterMemorial Library

don’tmiss don’tmiss don’t miss

themusic of studio ghibli

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra heads to the Jefferson PerformingArtsCenter,6400 Airline Drive, Metairie, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday to perform JoeHisaishi’smusic from Oscarwinner Hayao Miyazaki’sanimated films. Tickets start at $30. lpomusic.com.

haunted

plantations voodoofest

Ever wonder about places like Oak Alley,Destrehan, Nottoway,Pitot House andThe Myrtles? Are theyhaunted? David Laville,co-founder and lead investigator for New Orleans Ghost Hunters, will delve into the mysteries at 7p.m. Thursdayatthe East Bank Regional Library,4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie. jefferson.lib.la.us.

camp parapetday

The Jefferson Parish Historical Commission will open the Civil War-era powder magazinefor tours from 10 a.m. to 2p.m. Saturday.Activities include flagraisings, period dance performances,and displays and exhibits at the National Register of Historic Places site on Arlington Street near South Causeway Boulevard in Old Jefferson.

ABOUTLAGNIAPPE

The Lagniappe section is published each Thursdayby The Times-Picayune |The New Orleans Advocate. All inquiries about Lagniappe shouldbe directed to the editor.

LAGNIAPPE EDITOR: Annette Sisco, asisco@theadvocate.com

COVER DESIGN: Andrea Daniel

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Victor Andrews, Will Coviello,Justin Mitchell, Keith Spera, Geraldine Wyckoff

GETLISTEDINLAGNIAPPE

Submitevents to Lagniappe at leasttwo weeks in advance by sending an email to events@ theadvocate.com.

ON THECOVER

Benny Jones and the Treme Brass Band will lead aprocession on All Saints’ Day, Saturday,that concludes at the Backstreet Cultural Museum. Photo by MaxBecherer. Music writer Geraldine Wyckoff details the tradition on Page 6.

The annual free event marks voodoo’scontributions to local tradition by honoring ancestors, educating the public and preserving the aspects of the culture. Activities include creating potion oils, gris gris bags, dolls and other crafts, refreshments, music and performances. Opening ceremonies start at 1p.m. Friday at Voodoo Authentica, 612 Dumaine St., and conclude at 7p.m. voodooshop.com.

dayofthe

Amarket, procession and ceremony are part of La Source Ancienne Ounfo’sannual vodou ceremony as away to remember the dead. Happy hour kicks off at 5 p.m. withavariety of artists. At 7p.m., Sallie AnnGlassman leads a ceremony with master drummers; whiteattireisrequested. A procession at 10 p.m. is planned to “feed the dead.” fetgede.org.

Heartbreak aboundsin lyricalode to songwriter Lorenz Hart

BY MOIRA MACDONALD

The Seattle Times (TNS)

Review

Richard Linklater’swistful “Blue Moon” is atiny story about enormous heartbreak, with an artist at its center all too aware that the spotlighthas passed him by.

Lorenz “Larry” Hart (Ethan Hawke, uncannily transformed intoaman both short and balding) wasashining star from the mid-’20s to theearly ’40s; with composer Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott), he created astream of beloved classic songs (“My FunnyValentine,” “The Lady Is aTramp,” “Bewitched” and the movie’smelancholy title song, just to name afew)

But alcohol addiction endedHart’s partnership with Rodgers, his career and hislife. The film’sbriefprologue, setinadark Manhattan alley,shows a staggering Hart singingsadly to him-

SONy PICTURES CLASSICS/TNSPHOTO

‘BLUEMOON’ HHH

STARRING: Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale,AndrewScott

DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater

MPARATING: R(forlanguage and sexual references)

RUNNING TIME: 1:40

HOWTOWATCH: In theaters

self in the rain (a full pendulum swing from GeneKelly’sjoy) before collapsingonto the wet pavement; we then hearthe beginnings of aradio obituary for “one of America’sforemost songwriters.” In real life, Hart died of pneumoniaafter exposure on asodden night,agedjust 48.

Other than that initial scene, “Blue Moon” takes place entirely on one New York evening in 1943, less than ayear before Hart’s death, at Sardi’sbar.

It’sopening night of Rodgers’ smashhit musical “Oklahoma!,” written with new partner Oscar Hammerstein, and Hart is there because, well, he wants to

be part of the scene, and he can’tquite believe that what he sees as asilly feelgood show could possibly be what Rodgers —and the public —wants.

“Who wants inoffensive art?” he demands to asympathetic bartender (Bobby Cannavale) and ayoung lounge pianist (Jonah Lees). And he’sachingly, hopelessly in love with amuch younger woman(Margaret Qualley); never mind that it’spretty clear to everyone that Hart is acloseted gay man,ata timewhen being uncloseted was not an option.

Linklater nails the atmosphere; watching “Blue Moon” feels like sitting with smart people in aretro bar, covered in agentle blanket of cocktail piano.

And Hawke, often surrounded by wafting symphonies of cigar smoke, gives abeautifully shaded performance, of equal parts bravado and vulnerability

NOVEMBER 5, 2025 5:00 P.M. CT |PROGRAM:6:00P.M.CT OPENING

SENATOR JOHN AL ARIO,JR. SPECIALE XHIBITION HALL

Join us forthe openingofour new special exhibition,Degenerate! Hitler’s WaronModernArt Createdbyand on loan from theJewishMuseum Milwaukee, thisexhibit features65+ worksfrom artistsdeemed“degenerate” by the ThirdReich.

food food food

Dahla owners to open upscale Thai fusion restaurant in Mid-City

BY JUSTIN MITCHELL Staff writer

The couple behind a popular Thai spot in downtown New Orleans is opening an upscale fusion restaurant in Mid-City set to welcome diners by January

Dahla owners Glenn Mahiya and Warakorn “Tom” Intavichai unveiled 15 menu items for their new spot, Chada NOLA, to friends and family on Sunday Guests came from as far away as Wisconsin and California to celebrate the expansion and try the dishes, all served family-style.

Chada references the traditional headdress or crown worn by royalty in Thailand. The ornate, golden pieces will be seen in the decor at the new restaurant at 3420 Bienville St.

Intavichai, who runs the front of house at Dahla in the South Market neighborhood of the Central Business District, said construction on the building should be finished around Thanksgiving. The owners are planning a friends and family run-through in December before tentatively opening Chada to the public in the first week of January

Chada’s concept explores Thai, Indian and Japanese cuisine through flavor and presentation. The menu includes Dahla favorites like classic pad Thai, pineapple fried rice and chicken satay, but also departs with unique fusions of protein, seafood, curries and sauces.

Here is a sampling of the standouts.

Chor muang: These royal dumplings are shaped like a flower and colored purple with anchan, also known as butterfly pea powder. Inside, the minced chicken and garlic shine and make for a perfect bite. The peanuts on top added a crunch to the dish, and the soft dough elevated this above a typical piece of steamed gyoza.

Pek kai yad sai: These Thai-stuffed chicken wings felt like a true nod to New Orleans. The exterior, well-seasoned and crispy, enveloped lumpia-like filling of minced pork, carrots, garlic, fish sauce

noodles. Chada’s version is topped with a sweet chili sauce.

Green curry pasta: This ain’t your mama’s seafood pasta. Scallops, grilled chicken, peppers and onions marry together in a spicy, creamy green curry sauce over fresh-made pasta. The result is a fusion of the many cuisines that make up New Orleans’ food scene and is unlike any other dish on the menu.

Pla neung ma naw: The family-style whole fish is a showstopper served atop an open flame.

Short ribs panang curry: A tender, well-seasoned short rib big enough for at least four people is served atop a sweet red curry and Brussels sprouts. The hearty dish had a surprising flavor profile.

and glass noodles. It’s an appetizer designed for sharing, and the familiar filling is sure to be a crowd pleaser

Goong sarong: There aren’t many things more New Orleans than fried shrimp, and this dish wraps the large, golden tail-on prawn in crispy vermicelli

Thai tea sticky rice: A simple dessert, the flavor of tea-stained rice with smooth vanilla ice cream is a light yet comforting end to the meal.

Email Justin Mitchell at justin. mitchell@theadvocate.com.

events events events

‘Thriller’ flashmob makes chilling return

BY VICTOR ANDREWS Staff writer

The secret is out — it’s “Thriller” time, and Flash Mob New Orleans is going to get everyone in the Halloween spirit.

The annual gathering returns to its former spot at City Hall at 1 p.m. on Friday, All Hallows’ Eve, for the group dance to Michael Jackson’s epic tale of frights and fun.

Spearheaded by Kenneth “Kynt” Bryan, the ghoulish “citywide celebration of dance, music and community spirit” features a host of zombie costume-clad dancers who have been practicing the moves to the 1980s sensation that changed music videos and captured global attention for the musical superstar.

The original video, produced by director John Landis, features Jackson and Ola Ray viewing a werewolf-themed movie and walking home after The video morphs into its own horror flick, with Jackson becoming a zombie and leading an ensemble of undead dancers. Vincent Price voiced a creepy tale of terror over the dream sequence.

Performances in the Crescent City will feature Ann Burr Dance Studio,

Organizer Kenneth ‘Kynt’ Bryan leads participants in a dance to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ during the 2022 Thriller Halloween Mob in Jackson Square.

Giacobbe Academy of Dance, FitNOLA/ NORCD participants, plus Casmé, Kirkland Green, Chloe Marie, Naydja CoJoe and students from The Willow School, Spotlight Dance, Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary, Homer Plessy Community Schools, Pierre A. Capdau STEAM School and the Academy of the Sacred Heart.

The event on the steps at 1300 Perdido St. is free and the public is invited. For information, visit flashmobneworleans. com.

Brass band to lead rolling second-line this weekend for bike advocacy

Bike Easy, the New Orleans bicycling advocacy group, will hold its annual bicycle second-line on Sunday with a morning ride, followed by a party with a fundraiser and resources for bikers.

“This pedal-powered version of the famous, musical second-line will parade through the streets of New Orleans and will start and end with a celebration at The Broadside (600 N. Broad St.). All you need is a bike!” the group’s release states.

The family-friendly 10-mile Bicycle Second Line will meet at The Broad-

side for registration at 10 a.m. and rolls at 11 a.m. The festive gathering will be entertained by the New Orleans Johnnys as the ride prepares to set out Then, the Treme Brass Band will lead the way as riders roll through the streets with the support of the New Orleans Police Department.

The group will stop at Washington Square Park for refreshments, then head back to The Broadside for an after-party complete with silent auction, food, resources for the bike community and live music by Sweet Crude.

The event is free. Preregister with Bike Easy at bikeeasy.nationbuilder. com

WhoKnew: Flamenco!

This article is broughttoyou by ChateauFlamencoFestival

Whoknew? Acommonexpression. Who would’ve known? Know what I’msayin’? My New Orleans expressesitself that way-casual, familiar,fullofrhythm and warmth.WeinNew Orleans hadour “who knew”storytellers: JamesGillinthe TimesPicayune,Phil Johnson on TV,and my friendEric Paulsen on themorning show -friendly, familiar, andsocially fluent in that unique NewOrleans way(he wasfathered in,after all).But now, whoknows?There’s no guidebook, no French Quartertourguide to lead us throughwhat’s next.Still,I’m from New Orleans,and I’mheretotelly’all -all is notlost. Imay notbeone of thosenames, butIamsomeonewho appreciates ourcity’s deep historyand feelspartofit. IamSpanish NewOrleans,and there’ssomething y’allshould know:something naturallyNew Orleans is coming your way.

Abit of history first. Spainwas here -weall know that.The Spanishdidn’tjust“rule”New Orleans; they guideditintothe 19th century, shapingits spirit and leavingbehinda legacy of liberation, humanity,and harmony. From 1763 to 1803,Spanish influence molded thecity’sculture Yes, Spain allowedslavery,asdid Franceand England,but with the belief that we areall human-sociallyone.Thatbeliefstill pervadesinour character, ourmusic, ourcommunity.

Youcan seeSpain’s imprinteverywhere-inour approach to daily life,inthe social aidand pleasure clubs, and most vividlyinour music. That’s whyI’m presenting flamenco here -not as somethingimported, butassomething that’s always belonged.It’spart of ourculturalDNA,asound andspirit that helped shapewhat theworld recognizes as ‘New Orleans’rhythm.

This year,the 2025 Chateau Flamenco Festival brings twoNew Orleanspremieres from Spain to theJefferson Performing Arts Center:Maria Bermudez FlamencoSonidos Gitanoswill be November15and Rafael Ramirez’s“Chronicleofa Time That Was” will be November21. Twonights, twovisions -aliving connectionbetween thedeltas of Jerezand Louisiana, between Spainand NewOrleans

The4th Annual NewOrleans ChateauFlamencoFestival wouldnot be possible withoutthe generosity of theNew OrleansTourism andCultural Foundation (NOTCF)- elevating NewOrleans to theworld.Thank youtoArtsNew Orleans, supported in part by aCommunity Arts Grantmadepossible by theCity of NewOrleans and administered by Arts NewOrleans.And thank youtoThe NewOrleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation for your continued support.

MaríaJoséSalmerón Director &Founder, ChateauFlamencoFestival

events events events

call Soul

Backstreet Cultural Museum marks

All Saints’ Day with jazz, flowers and names of the dead

BY GERALDINE WYCKOFF

Contributing writer

Boasting a large Catholic population, New Orleans observes All Saints’ Day more rigorously than other places in the United States.

In the Crescent City, Nov. 1, a day of observance and remembrance of those who have passed, often goes beyond religious boundaries to embrace shared cultural experiences.

In 1999, the Backstreet Cultural Museum introduced a new All Saints’ Day tradition by presenting its first All Saints’ second-line and commemoration.

The event, masterminded by the museum’s late founder, Sylvester Francis, also acted as a lead-in to the grand opening of the museum.

Previously, the primary activity in New Orleans on All Saints’ Day had been to visit and attend to the grave sites of relatives, loved ones and friends. As the legendary Benny Jones, the drummer and bandleader of the Treme Brass Band, said, “We’d go to the cem-

Director Dominique Dilling is continuing the legacy of her late father, Sylvester Francis, who in 1999 spearheaded the museum’s first All Saints’ second-line and commemoration.

etery to pay respect to the deceased — paint the tombs, bring flowers and cut the grass.”

Now the band, known for its dedication to tradition, holds the honor of leading the parade that concludes at the museum with a solemn commemoration to pay respect to the year’s honorees who have left us.

‘Passionate about jazz funerals’

“Sylvester had the whole thing planned out about how he wanted to do it,” Jones said. “He wanted us to perform like it was a traditional jazz funeral — wearing black and white (shirts, ties, pants, hats).

“He was very passionate about jazz funerals,” said Dominique Dilling, Francis’ daughter and director of the museum since death on Sept. 1, 2020.

A sign reading “Keeping Jazz Funerals Alive” long hung outside of the museum’s original building, the former Blandin Funeral Home, 1116 Henriette Delille St. The sentiment continues at the Backstreet’s present address, 1531 St. Philip St.

“I don’t remember the brass bands being involved with All Saints’ Day,” Jones said. Its inclusion is just one of the components that makes the Backstreet event unique.

Visually the most iconic element of the parade is the horsedrawn caisson, provided by Charbonnet Family Services, that often carries an empty casket with the name of one of the event’s honorees. Onboard are handcrafted items of Francis’ creative designs that made the displays personal.

“He had a special way of doing things — a special way of going about his work,” said Brison Colbert, who lived near the museum

and helped in bringing Francis’ visions to fruition.

One notable display is a threetiered birthday cake made out of wood and decorated with the names and photos of the honorees.

Flowers for the family

In the early years, the parades started at Rhodes Funeral Home on North Claiborne Avenue, a business where Francis had once worked detailing cars. Annually, the funeral home had an earlier service in commemoration of All Saints’ Day as live flowering plants decorated the facility Soon the pots of flowers were loaded onboard the Backstreet’s procession wagon and given away to family members of the deceased and participants. They, too, have become an iconic element in the Backstreet’s remembrances.

On arrival at the Backstreet’s original locale, there would be a more solemn moment when from the museum’s porch, Francis’ sister and president of the museum’s board, Elvera Touro, would read the names of the year’s deceased honorees. One didn’t have to be a Black Indian chief, a famous musician or member of a social and pleasure club to be in that number. Anyone attached to the community could be named.

This year’s parade begins at 2 p.m. Saturday in front of St. Au-

The horse-drawn caisson, the Treme Brass Band and a three-tiered cake have become traditional elements of the Backstreet Cultural Museum’s All Saints Day parade. Here the procession is shown on the 20th anniversary of the parade in 2019.

gustine Catholic Church on the corner of Henriette Delille and Governor Nicholls streets. The horse-drawn caisson will be out front and the Treme Brass Band, complete with a grand marshal, will kick off with a dirge on a hymn like “Amazing Grace.”

When the roll is called

On its arrival at the Backstreet museum at St. Philip and North Robertson streets, a “roll call” of this year’s honorees will be a vital part of the commemoration A fairly new element is what is being called a “shout out” when folks in the crowd are encouraged to call their loved ones’ names.

As always, at the conclusion of the ceremony, red beans and rice, prepared by Francis’ wife, Anita “Lulu” Francis, a noted cook and an essential helpmate to her husband, will be served.

Said Dominique: “I want to do the All Saints’ Day parade and commemoration every year because I feel like this was my daddy’s thing, this was his project, this was his baby, so this is like a part of Backstreet for me for him.”

“I’m glad she’s keeping it alive,” Brison said of Dominique. “People need history in their lives.”

Geraldine Wyckoff is a music journalist in New Orleans. Email her at gwnomusic@yahoo.com.

stages stages stages

IT TAKESTWO

Showsaroundthe area setthe scenefor lovers andfighters

New Orleans theatrical experiences aretrapped in their own time warps as shows look at the past and presentininteresting and insightful productions.

From thestages of the University of New Orleans to the playhouses of the River Parishes, theatrical experiences take audiences from the court of Elizabeth Itothe homeofa classic mismatched duo

(Im)perfectpairing

Neil Simon’sclassic story of unlikely roommates, “The Odd Couple,”gets afresh look at the River Region Performing Artsand Culture Center in Norco as the Drama Guild stages the story of Oscar and Felix.

The 1965 play,which took home four Tony Awards, was later madeintoa television show.Inthe story,neatnik Felix Unger is gettinga divorce and needsa place to stay,sohepairs up with unkempt sportswriter Oscar Madison. Chaos ensues as the two figure out how to getalong.

Taking the role of Felix is Trey Lowry,and Mitchell Kogan isOscar

The cast also includes Kevin Smathers, Violet Keller,Kathryn Salvaggio, Evan Johnson, Joyce Lucurto, Diavion Janae, Averi Rojas, AlainaMarkey and Jaden House. Justin FlorentRogers takesthe helm as director

The show is at 7:30 p.m.Thursday andSaturday,plusat 2p.m.Saturday and Sunday, at 15146 River Road.Ticketsstart at $15. Visit rrpa.org.

Warcorrespondence

The romancebetween ayoung French couple, set against thebackdrop of aworld at war,is the moving subject for “Love Letters of WWII,” the next production of Mélange Dance Co. to open Nov.7.

The story of two lovers, separated

PROVIDED PHOTOS

Trey Lowry, left, is Felix Unverand Mitchell Kogan is Oscar Madison in the Drama Guild’s production of the Neil Simon classic comedy‘The OddCouple’ opening this week at the River Region PerformingArtsand Culture Center

during the fascist occupation of France by Germany,istold through ballet choreographed by artistic director Monica Ordoñez with original music by Sarah Quintana. Woven intothe story are tales of wartime resilience and even French-speakingLouisiananatives

who participated in the victory Adrienne Simmonsand BlakeBellanger are the principal dancers. The music is performed by Anna Laura Quinnand band.

The production is at 8 p.m. Nov.7,9, 15-16 and 2p.m. Nov.8-9 and 16 at New

Adrienne Simmons and BlakeBellanger are principal dancers in MélangeDance Company’supcoming ‘LoveLetters from WWII’ opening Nov. 7.

Marigny Theatre, 2301 Marais St., in New Orleans. Tickets start at $25. Visit melangedanceofnola.com.

AWoolf at thedoor

Running through timeand even genders, “Orlando” is the adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel described as a satire of English literature written for her lover Vita Sackville-West.

UNO’s School of the Arts tackles Sarah Ruhl’splay that has the character starting as ayoung man in the court of Queen Elizabeth Iand eventually ending as awoman in the 20th century near the timethe story was originally published in the 1920s.

Taking the role of Orlando is Kalimah Williams, with Keith Campbell as The Queen. Other cast members include Charlie Pettus, Michael Newberry,Dallas Blackmore, Ronan Newberry,TyRobbins, Chad Roberts, Sofia Sayyad and Gavin Scott. Maggie Tonra is directing.

The show will preview at 8p.m. Nov.

ä See THEATER, page 9

music music music

Freret Street Festival making fall debut

BY WILL COVIELLO Gambit Weekly

The Freret Street Festival was canceled in March due to forecasts of bad weather The rescheduled fest is Saturday, and it’s also a debut of sorts. Organizers say the fest will stick with the first Saturday in November moving forward, again due to more hospitable weather

The free event stretches between Napoleon Avenue and Valmont Street on Freret Street, on which there are three music stages and more than 200 vendors. The fest runs from 11 a.m to 6 p.m. Saturday

But the festival footprint is changing slightly Due to construction of the Trader Joe’s on Napoleon, the large music stage on that end of the strip will be moved into the parking lot at Jena Street. The move also gives the crowd more space in front of the stage At the other end, the new placement of the Valmont Stage adds a block on that side of the strip.

Many of the bands originally scheduled for the fest are still on the bill. Headliners include The Rumble, which is a new addition, Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph and People Museum.

Big Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr. leads

The cast of ‘Orlando’ practices the play, which opens Nov. 13 the Robert E. Nims Theatre at the University of New Orleans.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Drumming group N’Fungola Sibo is among the performances set for Saturday’s Freret Street Festival, which made a permanent move from March to November due to weather.

The Rumble, the Mardi Gras Indian funk outfit, closing out the Napoleon Street Stage starting at 4:45 p.m.

Joseph was known for singing in front of Galactic and supporting Tank and the Bangas before going solo.

HaSizzle, the self-proclaimed King of Bounce, joins her for the set closing the Valence Stage at 4:45 p.m.

People Museum expanded from the electro pop duo of Claire Givens and

THEATER

Continued from page 8

trombonist Jeremy Phipps to a fourpiece band. In the last year, the group stretched its collaborations to a livescored dance piece with Brazilian inspirations with Marigny Opera Ballet. The group performs at 1:50 p.m. on the Valmont Stage.

The music lineup works in a variety of local sounds. The Creole String Beans play their mix of swamp pop, classic New Orleans R&B and funk

13 and run at 8 p.m. Nov. 14-15 and 19-22 at the Robert E. Nims Theatre in the UNO Performing Arts Center, 2000 Lakeshore Drive, on the lakefront campus. A 2 p.m. matinee will be Nov. 16. The show is free but donations are requested for the UNO School of the Arts Theater Department. Visit uno.edu/sota-performances.

In

production

”DRACULA”: 8 p.m. Thursday; Orpheum Theater, 129 Roosevelt Way. New Orleans Ballet Theatre’s production of Oliver Halkowichchoreographed story based on

Bram Stoker’s novel told from Jonathan Harker’s point of view as he struggles with Dracula and his own inner turmoil. Principal dancer Josh Reynolds returns in his role as the count. Tickets start at $51. nobt. org.

”GYPSY”: 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, plus Nov. 7, and at 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov 9; Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St., Kenner. Packed with powerhouse musical numbers and a huge dose of show business, gargantuan tale of the ultimate stage mother based on the memories of famous entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee and the “center of the universe” character of her mother, Rose, a women who bulldozes her daughters into show business “’cause I was born too soon and started too

at 2:05 p.m. on the Napoleon Stage. Singer-songwriter Paul Sanchez closes the Valmont Street Stage. Blues guitarist Ghalia Volt has a solo set there earlier in the day. Guitarist and composer Mahmoud Chouki teams up with pianist Victor Campbell on the Napoleon Stage. Cuba Heat brings Cuban and Caribbean sounds, and the Divas Brass Band opens the Napoleon Stage with funky brass band music. There also are a couple of sets organized by and featuring musicians from Loyola University

Dance and movement performances include the African dance and drumming group N’Fungola Sibo at 2:50 p.m. on the Valmont Stage. NOLA Capoeira will present the Brazilian martial artsdance hybrid on both the Napoleon and Valence stages.

Food booths and bars generally will be clustered at street intersections. And an assortment of craft vendors will sell clothing, jewelry, leather goods, painting, ceramics, candles, soap and body care products, pet care and accessories, and more.

For information, visit freretstreetfestival.org.

Email Will Coviello at wcoviello@ gambitweekly.com

late.” Tickets start at $43. rivertowntheaters.com.

”THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW”: 8 p.m. Friday; Cutting Edge Center for the Arts, 767 Robert Blvd., Slidell. Cutting Edge’s iteration of the campy cult classic by Richard O’Brien in an homage to low-budget sciencefiction movies, features a hapless couple who stumble onto a castle with an alien mad scientist creating a muscle man and celebrating a gathering of “transexuals from Transylvania,” their home planet. This year’s version being “Insane Asylum.” There, Riff Raff is the head nurse and Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a surgeon. Tickets start at $35. cuttingedgetheater.com.

Email Victor Andrews at vandrews@theadvocate.com.

music music music

LILWEEZYANAFEST

SATURDAY,SMOOTHIE KING CENTER

Lil Wayne’sLil WeezyAnaFest started in 2015 at Champions Square as acommemoration of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and acelebration of New Orleans’ recovery.The initial event’ssuccessturned Lil WeezyAna Fest intoanannual event. Each year,New Orleans’ best-known rapperisjoined bya slew of surprise guests The 2024 Lil WeezyAnaFest moved tothe Smoothie King Center andsold outthanks to areunion of theHot Boys,the CashMoney Recordsall-star quartet.Lil WeezyAna Festreturnsto theSmoothie King Center on Saturday to mark its10th anniversary. As of press time, nospecial guestshad been announced. Thearena will use areducedcapacity configuration; lotsoftickets are still available, startingat$76 plustaxes

Musicoptions in NewOrleans this week includeahomegrown rapstar, variousstring/jam bandsand a Rolling Stones sideman.

YUNIVERSE

OTHERNOTEWORTHYSHOWS

THURSDAY

People Museum represents anew generation of New Orleansmusic. Claire Givens’ ethereal vocals float above the brass and rhythm of drummer Aaron Boudreaux, trombonist Jeremy Phipps, bassist/tubaplayer Charles Lumar,trumpeter Emily Mikesell and saxophonist Meg Dwyer.Boudreaux uses adrum pad to trigger synthesized sounds that augment his drums. Hear them at Chickie WahWah on Thursday, with Lyla George opening at 9p.m. Tickets are $20.

moves easily between two totally differuniverses: the blues/funk/jazz/R&B/rock of his Tiny universally beloved catalog of the World’s Band—since 2014, Denson has played Rolling Stones. started rolling with the Stones, Denson was band circuit with the Greyboy Allstars and, iny Universe. The latter band headlines for aHalloween night blowout. Opening the .isAmericana blues ‘n’ boogie singer and arist Eric Lindell’sQuartet, which consists of Courage, Brady Blade and Myles Weeks. ckets are $30.

music music music

THURSDAY (continued)

Modern jazz saxophonist and composer Trevarri Huff-Boone, who performs with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Uptown Jazz Orchestra and other ensembles, leads his own band at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro at 7:30 p.m and 9:30 p.m. Thursday Tickets are $30. The Droptines, an alternative country band from Texas, headlines Tipitina’s Derek W. Dooms kicks off the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.

It’s Zydeco-Ween at Rock ’N’ Bowl with blues and zydeco harmonica and accordion player Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes ($17).

FRIDAY

Lisa Fischer spent 26 years as a backing vocalist with the Rolling Stones; she also supported the likes of Luther Vandross, Tina Turner and Chaka Khan. After she was featured in the Oscarwinning 2013 documentary “Twenty Feet From Stardom,” she launched her own career as a bandleader She and Grand Baton intermingle soul, rock, jazz, R&B and other styles. Hear them at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market in Central City. Tickets start at $25.

Bassist George Porter Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners “Will Funk You To Death,” especially when Bonerama trombonist Mark Mullins and Porter’s Funky Meters bandmate, guitarist Brian Stoltz, sit in on Halloween night at Chickie Wah Wah. Tickets start at $40.

The “Monster’s Ball” at Snug Harbor features two highly improvisational sets from pianist Brian Haas, pianist/keyboardist Lawrence Sieberth, reeds master James Evans, and drummer/percussionist Pedro Segundo The contributions of “live light painter” Monica Rose Kelly turn the ball into a multimedia event. For Halloween night only, Snug Harbor’s show times are pushed later, to 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tickets are $30.

.moe and the Infamous Stringdusters kick off a two-night jam-band Halloween stand at the Joy Theater Single-night tickets start at $45 (two-night passes are also available).

Born in Brooklyn in 2015, Big Thief crafts folk-tinged indie rock. The band’s latest album, “Double Infinity,” was released in September. Big Thief

headlines the Saenger Theatre on Friday LOMELDA opens. With two-for-one discounts, tickets start as low as $24.

Rock ’N’ Bowl hosts a Day of the Dead celebration with Javier Olondo & AsheSon ($17).

SATURDAY

Modern jazz guitarist Norman Brown plugs in at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market. At press time, his 7 p.m. show was nearly sold out; tickets for the 9:30 p.m. show start at $41.

Tipitina’s hosts “Day of the Dead: A Benefit Celebration for Immigrants.”

The musical lineup includes John Boutté, Alex McMurray, James Singleton, Sam Price, Margie Perez & the Tremolo Kings, Michael Skinkus, John Rankin, Glenn Hartman,William Buckingham, John Lawrence, Manny Arteaga, Matt Johnson, Jonathan Freilich, Ralph Gipson, Donald Surtain and a reunion of singer Fredy Omar’s band Con Su Band Tickets are $25; proceeds benefit I.S.L.A., Immigration Services & Legal Advocacy. Showtime is 7 p.m.

The Pfister Sisters vocal group does a free happy hour set at Snug Harbor at 5 p.m Later, New Orleans drum master Herlin Riley takes over the Snug stage at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($45).

Chickie Wah Wah hosts “A Halloween Cure!” with DJ Mykelle playing the music of The Cure. Admission is $5. .moe and the Infamous Stringdusters are back for Night 2 at the Joy Theater

SUNDAY

From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., trumpeter Gregg Stafford & the New Orleans Jazz Hounds are featured for the free “Nickel-aDance” show at Snug Harbor Later, the Electric Yat Quartet, a unique New

Orleans string quartet, teams up with pianist Andre Bohren on a program of reimagined George Gershwin compositions at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. ($30).

TUESDAY

SUSTO Stringband picks and strums at

Tipitina’s with opener Patton Magee. Tickets are $20.

Modern jazz ensemble the Saturn Quartet is at Snug Harbor at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ($30).

WEDNESDAY

Leon Thomas’ “MUTT” was one of the most acclaimed and adventurous contemporary R&B albums of 2024. He followed it up this year with “MUTT Deluxe: Heel,” a deluxe version of the album. His Mutts Don’t Heel Tour stops at the Fillmore on Wednesday ckets, if still available at face value, start at $87.

Jeff Lorber Fusion features its namesake keyboardist along with founding Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip and Earth Wind & Fire drummer Sonny Emory Hear them at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Wednesday at the New Orleans Jazz & Blues Market. Tickets start at $31.

Keyboardist Jon Cleary does a solo show at Chickie Wah Wah at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.

FAUX leather

FRIDAY,NOVEMBER 7

SYDNEYAND WALDABESTHOFF SCULPTURE GARDEN

PATRON PARTY | 7PM–8PM | GARDEN PARTY | 8PM– 11 PM