The Times-Picayune 11-03-2025

Stateenergyprojectsfacepauses, cuts

Trumpadministrationcould hitbrakes on direct aircapture,carbonplants

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

The Trump administration has quietly pausedfunding forinitiatives at LSU and the University of LouisianaatLafayette that were studying direct air capture and solar energy employment, amid a

broader movement that mayresult in hundredsofmillions of dollars in Louisiana energy projectsbeing cut

The fundingpause comes as a list of proposedcuts by theDepartment ofEnergyhas circulated in Washington, D.C.Its targets include Project Cypress in southwest

Louisiana, amassive federally supporteddirect aircapture project, as well as carbon-capture projects by Entergy,Shell andHoneywell, among others

It’snot yet clear whether the projects will ultimately be cut, and the DepartmentofEnergy declined to answer questionsfor this story about the list’s authenticity But thechanges raise questions about whether Louisiana will continue to be abeneficiaryofanationalmovementunderformer

President Joe Biden’sadministration to bring technologies like direct aircapture to market. And the potential cuts comeatthe same time an unusualcoalitionofrural conservatives and environmentalists have bandedtogether to push back against awave of projects by petrochemical companies to store CO2 deep underground all across the state

The Energy Department had already announced around of $8 billion in funding cuts to clean energy

FARM TO CITY

BY JOSIE ABUGOV

Staff writer

When KellyCahill isn’tbartending, she tends to around 300 birds on her poultry farm —not in rural Louisiana, butjust ashort drive from the French Quarter

The only poultryfarmer with her own processing shop in New Orleans, Cahill runs aone-woman show in Lower CoastAlgiers, raising, slaughtering and selling the pasture-raised chickens and ducks to farmers markets and restaurants around the city

“It’swhat I’ll do forever,” Cahill said on an Octoberafternoon,

peeringintoamobile coop with 100young ducks.

Cahill, a34-year-old Lafayette native, firstgot into farming throughaCraigslist job posting for avegetable farm over adecade ago. The vocation connected her to her food in away she hadn’texperienced before,she recalled, and she’sbeen farming ever since.

Through her business, Yardbirds, Cahillrearsand processes birds on landowned by Cheryl Nunes andAnnieMoore, afarmer couplewho seven years ago

ä See FARM, page 3A

Family Court complaints sparkunusual uproar

Childabuse allegations, misconduct complaints create clashamong judges; nowpoliticiansare involved

BYJOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

In August 2023, avolatile divorce and custody case took aturn when ajudge in Baton Rouge held amother of twins in contemptofcourt and ordered months of jail time if she didn’t pay thousands to her ex-husband’sattorney After afour-day trial, Family

CourtJudge Pam Baker found KatherineDiamond hadharassed her ex-husband, posted online about custody matters againstacourtorderand failed to pay child support, attorney fees or the house note. The judge tacked on another $50,000 in legal fees for Diamond to pay her ex-husband and wrote that Diamond, whohas rarely seen herkids in years and only

under supervision, “continues to be abusive to everyone she has contact with in this case.” Afew weeks later,Baker tapped out, recusing herself over actions she found “so outrageousand extreme that thecourt fears forthe safetyofherself, her staff, and anyone else that Ms.Diamond perceivestobe

ä See COURT, page 5A

in early October.Not long after, another list started circulating that proposed asecondround of cuts, which include at least two university projects in Louisiana that have reported having their funding paused.

In all, the various cuts,pauses andproposedtrims have ledtoan enduring state of uncertainty in parts of Louisiana’sburgeoning clean energy economy ever since

NewOrleans set furloughs, frozehiring, raised property

BY SOPHIEKASAKOVE Staff writer

New Orleansofficials areworking to remedy a$160 milliondeficit and make payroll through the endofthe year,after thestate auditor last month uncovered months of botched budgeting. But it’snot the first time the city has been here.

Political watchers andformer officials point to 2010 as aprecedent for what the city may face, as leaders weigh potential cuts to services andfurloughs. That year saw newly installed Mayor Mitch Landrieu institute a slew of cost-saving measures to resolve anearly$100 million deficit he inherited from Mayor Ray Nagin’sadministration out of a$460 millionbudget.

Landrieu enacted 11 days of furloughs on city workers and ahiring freeze across all departments. Those cuts spurred harsh complaints from unions representing the city’sfirefighters and police officers, but allowed Landrieu to successfully balance the budget and, by thetimeheleftoffice eight years later,set millions aside as an emergency reserve.

“The city finds itself in adifficult situation and we shouldn’t be here however,itisa manageable problem,” said Landrieu in an interview on Friday

As asitting member of the City Council, Mayor-electHelenaMoreno has already been tasked with resolvinga majorfinancialcrisis that she must face as mayor once inaugurated in January.Landrieu, too, entered into office as the city stared down serious financial trouble.

As the city reeled from hurricanes Katrina andRita, theworst national recession since the 1930s and amassive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Landrieu’sadministration quickly discovered that thecitywas tensof millions of dollars in the red.

Addressing the city’sresidentsin his first State of the City address just two months into his term,Landrieu blamed his predecessorfor the budget gap, describing the budget passed by Nagin as “mismanaged from the toptobottom.” He blamed “massive overtimepayments that have “exploded the city’sbudget.” (A failure to budget for overtimethis year is one of the city’sbiggest budgeting gaffes, the state auditor found last month.)

ä See BUDGET, page 3A

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

2killed in dronestrikein

Ukraine’sOdesaregion

KYIV,Ukraine— At least two people were killed in adrone attack in Ukraine’ssouthwesternOdesa region, authoritiessaid Sunday Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine continued to target each other’s infrastructure.

ARussian drone attack on a car park in the Odesa region,on Ukraine’sBlack Sea coast, in the early hours of Sunday killed two people, according to the State Emergency Service. Odesa regional head Oleh Kiper said that three others were wounded.

Tens of thousands of homes were left without power after Russiaattackedthe front-line Zaporizhzhia region overnight with drones and missiles

Zaporizhzhiaregional head

Ivan Fedorov said nearly 60,000 people faced power outages and that two people were wounded in the attacks. He posted photos on Telegram of buildingsreduced to rubble. As aresult of attacks on Ukraine’spower grid, several regions faced rolling powercuts on Sunday,Ukraine’snational energy operator,Ukrenergo, said.

Ukraine’sEnergy Ministry said Sunday that the partially occupied Donetsk region was without electricity,aswellasparts of the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv,and Chernihiv regions.

Official: Nuketestplans won’t include explosions

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. New tests of the U.S. nuclear weapons system ordered up by President Donald Trump will not includenuclear explosions, Energy Secretary ChrisWright said Sunday It was the first clarification from the Trump administration since the president took to socialmedia last week to say he had “instructed the Department of Wartostart testing our Nuclear Weaponson an equal basis.”

“I think the tests we’re talking about right now are system tests,” Wright said on Fox News’“Sunday Briefing.” “These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call noncritical explosions.”

Wright, whose agencyisresponsible for testing, added that the planned testing involves“all the other parts of anuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriategeometryand they set up the nuclear explosion.”

Theconfusion overTrump’sintention started minutes before he held acritical meeting in South Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump took to hisTruth Social platform and appeared to suggest he was preparingtodiscard adecades-old U.S. prohibition on testing nuclear weapons. Later that day,ashemade his way back to Washington, Trump wascoy on whether he really meant to say he was ordering the resumption of explosive testing of nuclear weapons —something only North Korea has undertaken this century —orcalling for the testing of U.S. systems that could deliver anuclear weapon, whichis far more routine.

Trump: Immigration raids

‘haven’t gone far enough’

President Donald Trump said that immigration raids “haven’t gone far enough” despite videos showing physical confrontations among federal agents, immigrants and protesters.

“I think they haven’tgone far enough because we’ve been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges thatwere put in by Biden and by Obama,” Trump said in an interviewwith CBS’ “60 Minutes,” when asked if he approved of tactics shown in videos such as throwing people to the ground, smashing car windows and using tear gas in residential neighborhoods.

Trump said the tactics used by immigration agents were acceptable “because youhave to getthe people out.” Trump also repeated his claim that many of those detained had criminal records.

CBS posted excerpts of theinterview that aired Sunday

The president’scomments come afterhis administration expanded afederal programthatdeputizes local police to enforce immigration laws, signing up nearly 16,000 officers across 40 states as part of an effort to boostdeportations, accordingtodata reviewed by Bloomberg News. While the expansion hasled to more arrests,many local agencies arereluctant to participate.

Shutdown dragging into 6thweek

Trumppushes Republicans to change Senate rules

BY MARYCLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Republicans andDemocrats remained at astalemate on the government shutdown over the weekend as it headed into its sixth week, with food aidpotentially delayed or suspended for millionsof Americans and President Donald Trump pushing GOP leaders to change Senaterulestoend it.

White House presssecretary KarolineLeavittsaid SundaythatTrump has spoken to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, as he has publicly and repeatedly pushed foranend to the Senate filibuster.But Republicans have strongly rejected Trump’scalls since his first term, arguing that the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution andhas allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they are in the minority Leavitt saidSundaythat

theDemocrats are“crazed people” who haven’tshown any signs of budging.

“That’swhy President Trump has saidRepublicansneed to gettough, theyneed to get smart, and theyneed to usethis option to get rid of the filibuster, to reopen the government and do right by the American public,” Leavitt said on “SundayMorning Futures” on Fox News

Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government, denying Republicans thevotes in the 53-47 Senate as they insist on negotiations to extend government health care subsidiesthat will be cut off at the end of the year Republicans saythey won’t negotiateuntil thegovernment is reopened.

With thetwo parties at astandstill, the shutdown, now in its33rd day,appears likely become the longest in history.The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded thatCongress give himmoney for aU.S.-Mexico border wall.

Trump’spush on the filibustercould prove a distraction for Thune and Republican senators who have opted instead tostay the course as the consequences of the shutdown have become more acute, including moremissed

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOByJ.SCOTT APPLEWHITE

Sen.John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the Senate GOP whip, left, and Speakerofthe House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, arrive for anewsconference on the government shutdown on Oct. 1atthe Capitol in Washington.

paychecks for air traffic controllers and other government workers and uncertainty over theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP Republicansare hoping that at least some Democratswill eventually give them thevotes they need as they hold repeated votes on abill to reopen the government. Democrats have held together so far,but some moderateshave been in talkswith rankand-file Republicansabout potential compromises that could guarantee votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need

five additional Democrats to pass their bill.

“Weneed five with a backbone to say we care more about the lives of the American people than about gainingsomepolitical leverage,” Thune said on the Senate floor as the Senate leftWashington for the weekend on Thursday Virginia Sen. TimKaine, aDemocrat, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that there is agroup of people talking about “a path to fix the health care debacle” and acommitment from Republicans not to fire more federal workers. But it’s still unclear if those talks could produce amean-

ingful compromise. The coming week could also be crucial for Democrats as the open enrollment period for health care marketplaces governedby the Affordable Care Act opened Saturday andpeople arealreadystarting to see spikes in premium costs forthe nextyear,meaning it maybetoo late to make immediate changes. Democrats are also watching the results of gubernatorial electionsinVirginiaand New Jersey on Tuesday As Democrats have pushed Trumpand Republicans to negotiate, Trump hasshowedlittle interest in doing so. He immediatelycalledfor an endto the Senate filibuster after atriptoAsiawhile the government wasshut down. Leavitt said Sunday that the president spoke to both Thune and Johnson about the filibuster.But aspokesperson for Thune said Friday that his position hasn’t changed, and Johnson said on Sundaythat Republicans traditionally have resisted calling for an end to the filibuster because it protects them from “the worst impulses of the farleftDemocrat Party.” Trump’scall to end it “is a reflectionofall of ourdesperation,” Johnsonsaidon “Fox News Sunday.”

1of2men held over trainstabbings released

U.K. authorities laud ‘heroic’ rail worker

BY PANPYLAS and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON Britishpolice said Sunday that one of two menarrestedinconnection with amass stabbing attack thatspread fear and paniconaLondonbound train aday earlier has been released without charge,and that one person, a“heroic” member of the railway staff,remains in alife-threatening condition.

In astatement Sunday evening,police said the onlyremaining suspect is a32-year-old British man who remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder.Asecond man initially arrested as asuspect was released without charge after itwas determinedthe 35-year-old was notinvolved.

Police said they are not treatingthe stabbingsas an act of terror and are confident they arenot lookingfor anyone else in connection with the attack.

Atrain is parked Sunday at the station after amass

in Huntingdon, England.

Theyhavenot discloseda possible motiveorthe type of knife used.

“Our investigation is moving at pace and we are confident we are not looking for anyone else in connection to the incident,” said Deputy ChiefConstable Stuart Cundy ofthe British TransportPolice.

“As would be expected, specialist detectives are looking into thebackground of thesuspect we have in custody andthe events that leduptothe attack,” he added.

Six people remained in

hospitalsSunday, one of them in alife-threatening condition. Police said he is astaff member of the train’soperator,London North Eastern Railway,or LNER,which operates the East Coast Mainline services in the U.K.

“Having viewed the CCTV from the train, the actionsofthe member of railstaff were nothing short of heroicand undoubtedly saved people’s lives,” said Cundy

The five othersinjured during theattack on Saturdayevening have been

Israel says it received remains of threehostagesfromGaza

BYRENATA BRITO Associated Press

JERUSALEM— Israel on Sundayannounced that theremains of three hostages had been handed over from Gaza and would be examined by forensic experts, as afragile month-old ceasefire held. AHamas statement earlier said the remains were found Sunday in atunnel in southern Gaza. Since theceasefire took effectonOct. 10,Palestinian militants had released theremains of 17 hostages with 11remaining in Gaza, beforeSunday’shandover Militants have released one or two bodies every fewdays.Israelhas urged faster progress, and in certaincases it has said the remains aren’tofany hostage. Hamas has said the work is complicated by widespreaddevastation

Israel’smilitary said official identification of these remains would be provided to families first

Emotions around the remains have been high amongfamilies, whocontinue to rally weekly.On Saturday night, Moran Harari, afriend of the late Carmel Gat, urgedIsrael to have restraint

“This cursed war has taken so manylives of dear people on bothsides of the fence. This time, we mustnot fall into it again,” Harari said during arally in Jerusalem

Israel in turn has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians forthe return of the remains of an Israeli hostage.

Healthofficials in Gaza have struggled to identify bodies withoutaccess to DNAkits. Only 75 of the 225 Palestinianbodiesreturned since theceasefire

beganhavebeenidentified, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry,which has posted photos of remainsinthe hope that families will recognize them.

It is unclear if thePalestinians returned were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that sparked thewar,died in Israelicustody as detainees or were recovered from Gaza by troops during the war

Theexchangehas been thecentral part of the initialphase of theU.S.brokered ceasefire. The 20-point plan includes the formation of an international stabilization force of Araband other partners that would work with Egypt and Jordan on securing Gaza’sborders and ensure the ceasefire is respected.

discharged from hospitals. The two menwere arrested eight minutes afterthe

first emergencycalls were made at 7:42 p.m.Saturday from aboard thetrain, where passengers had reported scenes of panic and chaos, with many running through the carriages andsome seeking safety in the toilets. Police said the suspect is from Peterborough and that he boarded the train at the town’sstation, just afew minutesbefore it was forced into an emergencystopin Huntingdon, amarket town around 75 miles north of London.

The attack took place as the 6:25 p.m. train fromDoncaster in northern England to London’sKing’sCross stationwas abouthalfway through its two-hour journey,having just departed Peterborough.

bought 88 acres of mostly undeveloped pasture —the largest privately owned property in the city without any subdivisions.They transformed the land into River Queen Greens, acertified naturally grownvegetablefarmthatleases outsomeoftheir land to acouple of smaller-scale farmers, including Cahill.

But they aren’tthe only farmers nearby Yardbirdsand RiverQueen Greens are part of agrowing number of farming operations in Lower Coast Algiers, an area on the outskirts of New Orleans that feels utterly pastoral,but is only a 15-minute drive from downtown.

The neighborhood is the only district in the parishzoned “rural residential,” which means no permit is required for agriculture and livestock. Awide range of mostly women farmers has sprouted in the area over the last 10 years, selling citrus to high-end restaurants, supplying produce to food banks and providing kidswith outdooreducation field trips.

“It’sareally prime example of how important it is for there to be an actual quantity of land, real food production close to amarketfor a farmer,” said MargueriteGreen, theexecutive director of the Louisiana Food Policy Action Council, a statewide nonprofit that develops legislation to better the state’s food system. “Wethink of New Orleans as an exclusively urban parish Butthere are these really interesting pockets of New Orleans where there is larger-scale land access.”

‘Connectingpeople’

In 2017, the owners of River Queen Greensstarted farmingin New Orleansinaway that looked abit moreurban: ahalf-acre of leased land in the Bywater. Two years later,they boughtthe land in Lower Coast Algiers and dedicated themselves fully to the business. They grew around 60,000pounds

Imani Miller,who runs Imbue Farmsa shortdrivefrom River Queen Greens, bought the LowerCoast Algiers property last October,and began planting greens and herbsona fenced-in acre-sized plot —tokeep out hungry deer —about amonth ago. The closer proximity to her customer base made ‘a hugedifference,’she said.

of vegetableslastyear while working “double full-time,” Moore said.

Food grown on urbanfarmsin

NewOrleans is insufficient to feed the entire city,noted Grace Treffinger, the urbanagriculture liaison at the city’sOffice of Resilience and Sustainability.But semiurban operationslikeRiver QueenGreens are“theonly placeyou canreally do asubstantial amount of food production” only20minutes from downtown, she said.

Still, there are dozens of smallscale farms andcommunity gardens scattered across the city,and the benefits of urban farming can extend beyond food production, she said.SugarRoots Farm, anonprofit farm in Lower Coast Algiers, offers field trips for children, beekeeping classes and volunteer opportunities forpeopleatanaddiction recovery centerinNew Orleans

“It’s connectingpeopletotheir food systemin away that people in acity don’tusually get,” Treffinger said ‘Let’s tryitout’

Butland access for farmers in the city can be amajor finan-

too.

cial barrier, Greensaid, one that River Queen Green’s “incubatorstyle model” forsmallergrowers can helpaddress. Thecitylacks apipeline formany peopletoexpand their farmingventures from something like community gardening to market gardening to purchasing semiurban land —because of the capital investments required and “thegiant commitment” it takes to produce at alarger scale, Green said.

ImaniMiller, whoruns Imbue Farms ashort drive from River Queen Greens,had the opportunity to give farming akind of trial run because of her access to land. She started farming on 3acres of land in thetownofIndependencethat her in-laws owned, before leaving her job in theschool system in 2021 to farm full-time.

“SinceIhad never farmed before, my husband and Ithought, ‘Well, let’s tryitout on land thatwe already had,’”Miller said.

She found success andfulfillment with theventure, andstarted a weekly farmshare, where she sold to regular customers and New Orleans restaurants, as well as donat-

ed food to community fridgesand food banks.But thelongdrive from Independence to her customer base, family and her own homein New Orleans was time-consuming. She bought the Lower Coast Algiers property last October,and began planting greens and herbs on afenced-in acre-sizedplot—to keep outhungry deer —about a month ago. The closer proximity to her customerbase made “a huge difference,” she said. ‘Countless hours’

While the newlocation is an improvement, there are also challenges when it comes to navigating policies, Miller pointed out. For instance, she wasn’table to get electricity on the property —for lights or agreenhouse—because she didn’thave abuilding on the land.

“It’s aweird thing to be able to say, ‘Yes,I’m on theproperty. I’m functioningonthe property.But it’safarm. It’snot ahouse, it’snot a building,’”Miller said.

Cahill, thepoultry farmer, also faced delays in securing the permitsshe needed for her processing site.She was the first person in the citytogothrough this process, and it endedupbeing long andcostly For instance, she paid $11,000 for drawings to an architect.Operating costs arestill expensive and inconvenient,asshe needs to commute to the northshore for supplies.

“I put in countless hoursthatI’ll neverget paid for,”saidCahill. “I’m putting in tens of thousands of dollars ayear.”

Manyofthe obstacles thatthe semiurbanfarmers arefacingstem from alackoffamiliarity within government agencies, said Treffinger,the urban agriculture liaison at the city.Her jobisthe first of its kind, created last year to help address alack of local understanding aboutagriculturalbusinesses.

State andfederal farm policies areoften geared toward largescale, single-cropoperationsin rural locations. At the local level, better communication is needed whenitcomes to urban farms, she said.

In October,New Orleans’ City Council passed an ordinance that grew out of Treffinger’sconversations with urban farmers and local officials. The update to the city code recognizes cover crops, afarming practice that improves soil health andminimizes the need forherbicides. But neighbors and city workers have confused cover crops for unkempt grass or weeds, andurbanfarmers have,inturn, receivedcityfines, even though some of them received federal grants forthe sustainable method. But the new ordinance is only the first stepina broader effort to developmore policiesaround urban farming.

“Farmsare in this gray area for the city,” Treffinger said. “There aren’t yetsystems in place that are clear and accessible for growers to navigate.”

EmailJosie Abugov at josie. abugov@theadvocate.com.

“Likethe spill, it’s worse than we thought and there are no quick fixes. We must plug the hole,” Landrieu said in his address.

In order to reduce spending by the more than20% necessary to balance the budget, as the city is required by its charter to do by the end of the year,Landrieu began renegotiating contacts and consolidating boards and commissions.

But once the “low-hanging fruit” expenses were cut, Landrieu said, “we couldn’t close the deficit without imposing on employees.” Unlike today,when city officials are considering tapping a$37 million rainy day fund to cover city payroll through theend of theyear, New Orleansatthattime had “no rainy day fund,we had no money in the bank,” Landrieu said.

So Landrieu launched a slew of harsher measures— tightening policies for overtime and take-home cars,reducing payments to retiree pension funds, and forcing rank-and-file employees to take 11 days of unpaid furloughs over several months.

“The first yearwas hor-

rible,” said Landrieu. “You have to make tough decisions first andnobodyishappy about any of it.”

Atemporary freezeonnew recruits at theNew Orleans PoliceDepartmentinparticularwas blamed for slower response times andcontinuedhigh crime rates.

Loyola University professor Ronal Serpas, then New Orleans’ police chief, said that policestaffing decreased by around 25% during the firstcouple of years of the Landrieu administration as aresult of the budgetwoes.

And after thebudget crisisforced Serpas to layoff almost half of NOPDcalltakers, thecity’snew 911 call center fell far behind the national average in response times, with callers sometimes waiting several minutes to reach an operator.

The staffing has never recovered,Serpas noted.

“It’svery difficult tohire police officers quickly and maintain quality,”said Serpas. “Ittakesa long time to recoverand clearlythe city hasnot.”

Landrieu said that cuts impacted other city services,

“It was absolutely an inconvenience —itpushes back contracts, implementation of roadprojects,” said Landrieu. “All the things that the citydoes —it’slessand it goes slower.”

The council in 2010 also votedtoincrease property taxes by 5.5% and to double sanitation fees for residents and businesses to increase revenues.

Cantrell’s administration also in October floated raising fees,fines, and parking rates.But several council members said on Thursday thatthey are opposed to raising taxes or fees and instead hope to make payroll through cobbling together leftover funds, reimbursement paymentsdue to thecity,and the rainy dayfund.

Furloughs were also implemented by Sidney Barthelemywithin hisfirstfew monthsinoffice due to close a$10 millionbudgetdeficit that he blamed on payments deferred by his predecessor, Dutch Morial.

Landrieu said that anycuts to spending should be made precisely rather than across the board.

“If you came to me and said, ‘I need to lose 30 pounds,’ifItook asaw and took your legoff, I’d take 15 pounds offright away,but

you’d bleed to death,”said Landrieu. “That’s not theway you cut government.”

Landrieu also said that state officials —who earlier this week threatened astate takeover of thecity’sfinanc-

es after city officials pushed for a$125 million loan should work as apartnerto address the crisis.

“It would be great if the state was an active partner and didn’textort the city,”

Landrieusaid. “Itmakes no sense for the state to big-foot the city of NewOrleans.”

EmailSophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@ theadvocate.com.

associated with the Court.” Diamond had posted about Baker’s family, the judge wrote, “including addresses and contact information for her husband and son.”

To Baker, it’s only gotten worse since then. She said she plans to retire at the end of the year over what she calls dangerous and unwarranted scrutiny at the Family Court of East Baton Rouge Parish, sparked by Diamond’s advocacy

“It’s frightening how unhinged some of the litigants are. It’s not worth it to endanger my family and myself,” Baker said.

Unlike most bitter litigants, Diamond has mustered support from a cast of state leaders while accusing the court’s four judges and lawyers of abusing their powers.

A trio of political influencers — Baton Rouge GOP head

Woody Jenkins, Gonzales state Rep.

Kathy Edmonston and Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Hughes III — have responded, targeting the court with an unusual probe that Edmonston and Hughes continue to pursue, records show Their influence includes the selection last year of a retired judge who presided over a half-dozen hand-picked cases for special adjudication. Diamond’s case, Ragland v Ragland, was among them.

They’ve empowered them and endangered us.”

Baker’s contempt order also directed Diamond to pick up trash for a month. After the judge’s recusal, it was signed by a second judge, Erika Green. Diamond said she never had a chance to respond to “outright lies” from Baker.

Her complaints, broadcast on social media, in direct messages and legislative testimony as recently as last month, have resonated.

“People didn’t believe what was going on, so they just assumed all these parents were crazy,” Diamond said.

“My attorneys were like, ‘Don’t file judicial complaints. Don’t go to the Legislature, because it won’t help you. There’s nothing you can do to help you.’”

Denial of abuse

Jenkins was among the first to come to Diamond’s public defense. They’d met at a legislative hearing in 2023, months before Baker’s contempt ruling, both said.

Edmonston and Hughes have since shown up at the court for proceedings in multiple cases.

Hughes has twice spoken up this year at status conferences in Diamond’s case, and Hughes and Edmonston were recorded opining with the judge about another case involving allegations of child abuse.

Diamond views Baker’s contempt order and recusal as an attempt to smear her without evidence.

“Branding me unfit by default,” Diamond says the court has bled her dry with an array of fees, court-mandated services and attorney costs. She says it’s all part of a criminal racket, orchestrated by a grip of judges and lawyers, that holds the rights of parents hostage inside Louisiana’s only stand-alone family court.

“This is not family law; it is an economy of human exploitation operating beneath the language of child protection,” she claims.

Conflict with the court’s judges has mounted. The controversy has spawned judicial misconduct complaints, including accusations against Hughes of intimidation. Baker said she’s been targeted with several complaints of her own.

“When you acknowledge their craziness by sending someone to investigate us, all it does is embolden them to be even crazier,” Baker said.

“And that’s what’s happened.

By then, Diamond hadn’t seen her kids in more than a year Baker had signed a protective order in February 2022, and Diamond was restricted to weekly supervised visits, which became harder and harder to make happen.

More than one supervisor quit on Diamond. The Baton Rouge Parenting Center, which hosts visitations banned her.

After the contempt order, Jenkins began writing about her case in his newspaper, the Central City News, calling her treatment criminal.

Diamond’s ex-husband, Robert Ragland, had recorded a botched handoff in a parking lot in April 2020, during which he alleged child abuse. Baker agreed finding that Diamond had placed her daughter in a “choke hold,” according to a transcript.

Baker found that Diamond committed domestic violence against Ragland and their children. In deeming her a danger Baker also cited reports from Diamond’s ex-husband that she hit, slapped or shoved their son on other occasions. Jenkins disagreed. He noted that state child welfare officials never investigated the parking lot encounter, which he posted online

“It’s just not child abuse.

It’s bizarre,” Jenkins said in an interview “How can you deprive a mother of the right to see her children for years on an obviously trumped up, false accusation of child abuse?”

Jenkins now employs Diamond for work that includes broadcasting services from the Rev. Tony Spell’s Life Tabernacle Church. He’s fighting a subpoena for his financial records in Diamond’s case.

Power to pick cases

In May 2024, on the heels of Jenkins’ reports on her case, Diamond turned to the Legislature, testifying at a state

Senate committee hearing on a resolution that seemed modest enough.

Sponsored by then-state Sen. Cleo Fields, it asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to study the East Baton Rouge Family Court and report back.

Edmonston got behind the resolution. After it passed Edmonston said she sought out Hughes, whose district included the court, to execute it.

“This would have fallen through the cracks,” Edmonston said. “Then comes Jeff, who is more than willing to do over and above what any other justices would have done. He just thinks it’s a travesty what’s going on.”

Hughes, who ascended to the high court from Livingston Parish, has an ongoing defamation lawsuit against The Times-Picayune | The Advocate, former editors and its lawyer about reporting in 2019 related to his past conduct as a district court judge decades ago.

Based on the Senate resolution, Hughes led the high court to appoint a former colleague, retired 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge James Kuhn, as a “supernumerary” over the family court in September 2024.

Hughes said he first became interested in the court when he “heard reports of closed courtrooms where people were being kicked out of the courtroom, and I wanted to see for myself.”

But he declined to comment on his appearances in court at status conferences or at the appeal hearing in Diamond’s case.

The high court’s order empowered Kuhn to “preside over the proceedings of any of the Divisions of said court” as he saw fit

“I think the order says you can do whatever the hell you want,” Hughes told Kuhn in a February meeting that also included Edmonston, according to a court audio recording.

Kuhn swiftly took up Diamond’s case and a handful of others, and he began to issue orders.

Just why he picked those six cases was a question that buzzed through the courthouse.

Kuhn himself raised it at the February meeting. Hughes and Edmonston suggested the choices were made for him.

“I anticipate I’m going to be asked the question: ‘How did I choose these cases?’ You know what I mean?’ ” Kuhn asked, according to the court audio.

“They came from her (Edmonston) and Cleo,” Hughes responded.

“These are the people, they called and had, you know, major issues,” Edmonston said.

“The ones that were yelling the loudest,” Hughes added. Justice, lawmaker at court

In Diamond’s case, Kuhn took quick action, enabling her to restart supervised visits after nearly three years without them, though it wouldn’t last long.

At their first visitation, two days before Christmas last year, she brought gifts makeup for her daughter, a video game card for her son to the therapist’s office.

“I tried to be as festive and happy as I could,” she said. “They present me to my children as some sort of dangerous person they need to be protected from.”

Their most recent visitation, in May, went badly, Diamond said.

The appointed supervisor “arranged to have the children go and tell me every reason we were in supervised visitation,” she said. “Their sentiment is, the judge wouldn’t have done this unless there was something really wrong.”

Records show Hughes and Edmonston have shown up at the courthouse several times, appearing to observe other cases as well.

The court’s judges have not warmed to their presence, said Edmonston and several courthouse sources.

Baker confronted Hughes and Edmonston after they showed up in February for another contentious case.

“She wanted to know what we were doing,” Edmonston said. “Clearly not happy we’re there. Too bad.”

Just last month, Judge Charlene Day confronted Edmonston, who showed up with another lawmaker to support a litigant in a different case.

In Diamond’s case, Hughes has appeared four times in court, including one appeal hearing, according to transcripts and attendees.

He took the podium at a Feb. 6 status conference in the case, saying he was part of a committee that included Edmonston and that he was recusing from the Ragland case going forward.

Hughes went on to urge Kuhn, the judge, to address the high cost of Diamond’s supervised visitations, and to consider allowing her to call her kids.

“I don’t want to interject myself into proceedings, I’m just putting this out there,” Hughes said, according to a transcript

“But is it possible for the mother to at least talk to the children on the phone? You know, not at unreasonable times or an unreasonable

amount.”

‘Outrageous steps’

To Diamond’s ex-husband, the interventions by Kuhn and Hughes didn’t make much sense.

“You had a Senate resolution suggesting there should be a study of East Baton Rouge Family Court. How does that translate into an ad hoc judge being appointed, and within days, he’s already picking cases when he’s supposedly there to study the court?” Ragland asked More recently Hughes has pressed court staff about scheduling in Diamond’s case, in messages sent from his Supreme Court email address.

At a status conference in June attended by Jenkins and Hughes, a new visiting judge assigned to Diamond’s case, Lilynn Cutrer, asked people in the audience to identify themselves. Jenkins did so.

“And Justice Hughes, for the record,” Cutrer prompted.

“I’d rather not speak,” Hughes responded.

Last month, Hughes spoke up at an in-court status conference that Jenkins also attended in Diamond’s case, again before Cutrer

Hughes took the microphone and complained about a sign that said appointments were required at the court for anyone but litigants or their attorneys.

“I just want to make you aware that there are some who feel it’s inappropriate,” Hughes said.

Ragland’s attorney, Karen Downs, objected.

“Addressing the court on a matter when he’s not representing a litigant or a litigant, it’s inappropriate, and it’s making my client feel like (Hughes) has an ax to grind in this case,” Downs said, according to a transcript.

In a complaint to the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, attorney Kim Sport, an advocate for domestic violence victims, alleges that Hughes took “outrageous steps” to intimidate Ragland and Downs and to “unduly influence”

judges and court employees.

“It appears that Justice Hughes, Judge Kuhn, and Woody Jenkins conspired to take unlawful and unethical actions on behalf of Katherine Diamond Ragland,” Sport wrote in an Aug. 5 complaint. Judges are not permitted to comment publicly on complaints against them to the commission, and Hughes declined to comment.

‘Perception of favoritism’

Diamond said she isn’t surprised by her political influence. “The power is the truth of being hurt and exploited. That’s why I’m able to communicate with these people,” she said.

Lately Diamond has seized on the fees the court charges for transcripts: $6.50 per page plus a $5 administrative fee. Diamond argues they’re illegal, excessive and the motive for judges to drag out cases like hers.

Acting as her own attorney after a dozen lawyers came and went, Diamond recently filed a lengthy challenge to those fees.

But the official court probe that she helped spawn hasn’t turned out like she expected, Diamond said. At least so far. Kuhn left his six-month assignment at the end of February after failing to land an extension he’d sought, and the outcome of his review is in doubt.

Deference on judicial assignments normally goes to the justice who represents the district. As of this year the family court falls under new Justice John Michael Guidry, who declined to comment.

The Supreme Court has since tried to keep wraps on Kuhn’s review of the family court, a draft of which he submitted in April.

The high court turned down a request from the newspaper and has dodged pleas from lawmakers to release it, according to Edmonston.

In a copy The Times Picayune |

SNAP benefitscutsdriving

BY SUSAN HAIGH and DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press

LOUISVILLE,Ky. People across the country formed long lines for free meals andgroceries at food pantries and drive-through giveaways Saturday,after monthly benefits through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,or SNAP,were suddenly cut off because of the ongoing government shutdown.

In theNew York borough of the Bronx, about 200 more people thanusual showed up at the World of Life Christian Fellowship International pantry,many bundled in winter hats and coats and pushing collapsible shopping carts as they waited in aline that spanned multiple city blocks. Some arrived as early as 4a.m. to choose from pallets of fruits,vegetables, bread, milk, juice, dry goods and prepared

CUTS

Continued from page1A

President Donald Trump tookoffice at the start of the year. The president hitthe brakes on awide array of spending, especially around clean energy and efforts to fight climatechange.

“Every day,there’sa new list,” said Ramesh Kolluru, vice presidentfor research, innovation and economicdevelopment at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. “It’sgetting tough to keep up.”

Projects halted

Greg Upton, executive director at the Center for Energy Studies at LSU, was leading aproject with Shell and the UniversityofHouston to study the feasibility of adirect air capture project in southwest Louisiana.Direct air capture is anascent technology that sucks CO2 directly from the air in a bidtoreduce theamountof greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Those greenhouse gases, like CO2,are the primary cause of climate change, climate scientists say.They have linked warming global temperatures with worsening hurricanes, rainfall and extreme heat.

But after finishing the first phase of the project earlier this year,the Trump administration’scommunications became“limited,” Upton said, and the group was uncertain if it would be reimbursedfor more work.

In aquarterly report due Friday,Upton said the group informed the Energy Department it is pausing work on the project and laying off its employeebrought on to helpuntil it gets more clarity Upton said the subsequent list of proposed cuts to other direct aircapture and carbon-capture projects is not asurprise, given the funding pause on his and other university-led projects.

sandwiches. Mary Martin,who volunteers at the pantry, alsoreliesonit regularlyfor food to supplement her SNAP payments. She saidshe usually splits her roughly $200 amonth in SNAP benefits between herselfand hertwo adult sons, one of whom has six children and is especially dependent on theassistance.

“If Ididn’thavethe pantry to cometo, Idon’tknowhow we wouldmake it ”Martin said.

“I’m not gonna see my grandkids suffer.”

TheDepartment of Agriculture planned to withhold payments to the food program startingSaturday until two federal judges ordered theadministration to make them. However it was unclear as towhen the debit cards that beneficiariesuse could bereloaded after the ruling, sparking fear and confusion among many recipients.

“Onone hand, the Trump administrationissending asignal they’repro-carbon capture,” Upton said. “On theother hand, you seeprograms likethis(being cut).”

He also noted that direct air capture is different from the traditional carboncapture projects being proposedbyawidearray of petrochemicalcompanies.

Direct air capture isfar more expensive and less commercially viable.

Shell, apartner on the project, declined to comment.Upton saidacompany could still take the work they’ve completedsofar and use itasajumping-off point for adirect air capture project,evenif the grant is ultimately terminated.

UL was awarded more than $3 million for two separate projects that are on the listof proposed cuts by the EnergyDepartment. The grantswere announced in 2021 and2023.

One, theLouisiana Solar Corps, is an initiative to bolster the state’sfledgling solar industryworkforce. The plan was to train workers to buildsolar microgridsat churches, public buildings and National Guard bases to make the state moreresilient after hurricanesknock outthe power grid. The other,oncarboncapture, was transferredtoUConn and UL officials said they don’t knowthe status of it.

Kolluru, of UL, said the school “slowed”spending on the solar corps project after the department paused it, to avoidhaving to foot thebill for costs if theproject isultimately canceled.Funding is already sparse at UL, with the university recently announcing cutstomore than 70 positions as it tries to chip away at a$25 million deficit.

While theschool didn’t get aformal stop-work order for the solar corpsproject, Kolluru said,“it seemed like that was aproject at risk.”

Carbon captureuncertain

Arush of companies have sought tobuild out anet-

In an apparent response to President Donald Trump, whosaid he would provide themoney but wanted more legal direction from the court, U.S.District Judge John J. McConnell in Rhode Island orderedthe governmenttoreport back by Mondayonhow it would fund SNAPaccounts. McConnell, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said the Trump administration musteither makeafull payment by that day or,ifitdecides to tap $3 billion in acontingency fund, figure outhow to do that by Wednesday The delayinSNAPpayments, amajor piece of the nation’ssocial safetynet that serves about 42 million people, has highlighted the financial vulnerabilities that many face. At the Bronx food pantry,the Rev. John Udo-Okon said “people from all walks of life” are seeking help now

work of pipelines and wells in Louisiana to takeCO2 from industrialemitters, pipe it to geologic formations around the state and inject it deep underground, aprocess known as carbon capture.

Thereasonsare twofold: Customers overseas are increasingly willing to pay more forproductswitha smaller carbon footprint. And the Inflation Reduction Act, oneofBiden’ssignature accomplishments, provided tax incentivesfor companies who successfully capture and store CO2.

Companies have filed 60 applications with Louisiana regulatorstodrill such carbon capture wells. But Gov Jeff Landry recently signed an executive order that puts the brakes—atleast temporarily —onall but sixof them. Direct air captureisfurtherfrom reality.The Inflation Reduction Act provided an even more lucrativeincentive for thattechnology and the Energy Department hadallocated billions in direct federal aid to help the fledgling technologyreach commercial viability Louisiana officials —both Republicanand Democrat —havelargely welcomed bothtechnologies with open arms. Anda flood of federal grant money from the departmentwas slated to go to companies looking to build bothtraditional carbon-capture anddirectair capture projectsinthe state.

The futureofthoseprojects is shaky,giventhe list of potential cutsthat’sbeen circulated.

Thefederal government is slatedtocut aproject by Entergy to capture and store CO2fromits Lake Charles Power Station, anatural gasfired plant. Other projects on the chopping block of federal grants include aplan by Honeywell to establish a plant to build batteryinputs in Geismar; aValeUSA projecttobuild an ironore briquette facility in Convent to developcleaner steel; anda

Continuedfrom page5A

court,Kuhn wrotethat he conducted an independent evaluation and interviewed the court’sjudges and staff beforereporting his findings.

Among them, Kuhn flaggeda potential avenue for judge-shopping,claimed the court’sjudgesoveruse their contempt powers though not illegally or unethically —and blamed excessive delays on too many emergencyorders.

Kuhn cited Diamond’s case, though not by name, to illustrate afindingthat “somelitigants andattorneys maybemisusing the protective orderprocess to influencecustody decisions.”

Kuhn also found a“public perception of favoritism” andplentiful gossip at the court, but not the den of corruption Diamond has alleged.

“I didn’tsee anything egregious,” Kuhn toldthe newspaper

The judges —Baker,Day, Green andKyle Russ

series of grants to Battelle, part of acoalition of companiestrying to establisha massivedirect aircapture hub in southwest Louisiana called Project Cypress.

Entergydeclinedtocommentfor this story.Vale said it was still working on its project and in communication with theEnergy Department. Honeywell didn’t respond.

Patrick Courreges,a spokesperson for thestate DepartmentofEnergy and Conservation,declinedto comment on the list, but said the agency hasn’treceived anyindicationthatprojects running through it areonthe chopping block.

It’snot yet clear which of theprojects on the list —totaling morethan $20 billion in federal spending —will ultimately be cut, anddepartmentpress secretary BenDietderich declinedto verify thelist’sauthenticity

“No determinations have been made other than what

issueda tartresponse to Kuhn’sdraft report, disputing his claim that he interviewed them for it. They wrotethatKuhn only arranged to meet with court staff aboutthe cases he’d taken over Kuhn’sdeparture had left those cases in “jurisprudential disarray,” thejudges wrote. The six cases he adopted are now in thehandsofCutrer and another outside judge appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court in April to handle them.

Half ayear later, Cutrer has yet to take action on Diamond’spleatoresume supervised visits.

At astatusconference last week, Cutrer postponed ahearing on the matter for afew weeks, citing Diamond’sfailuretoturn over records requested by Downs, her ex-husband’s attorney

Cutrer also gave Jenkins anotherweek to challenge the subpoena seeking records of payments to Diamond.

Hughes did not appear Friday in court as Diamond sat beside anew lawyer: state Rep. Lauren Ventrella,

hasbeen previously announced,” Dietderichsaid.

“As SecretaryWright made clear, theDepartmentcontinues to conduct an individualized andthoroughreview of financial awards madeby the previous administration.”

Thedepartment’sinitial round of $8 billion in cuts largely targeted Democratic states, but the agency subsequently cut $700 millionin battery projects on the secondlist, E&ENews reported.Those projectsspanned red states as well.

Vikrum Aiyer, head of global policy at Heirloom one of the companies involved in Project Cypress, said, “Wearen’taware of a decision from DOEand continue to productively engage with the Administration in a project review “At this time,we’reproud to standwiththe governor, state leadership, workforce developmentand economic development organizations

R-Greenwell Springs,who said she would represent Diamond on alimited basis. Jenkins made theintroduction, said Diamond, who lamented the fresh delay in the case.

“It’ssopainful to have your children kidnapped by your own government. I don’tknowhow much Ican endure,” she said after Hughes said the result in the Legislature may be a first for Louisiana.

“I heard there maybe legislation to require the family court to livestream allproceedings so people can see what’sgoing on,” Hughes said.

Camerasare notcurrently permitted in the lower courts. If the investigation that Diamond spawned has sent shock waves through the courthouse,ithasn’tdone much to improveher situation, she noted.

“I guess Ithought the Supreme Courtand theLegislature would just come in and be, ‘Oh my God, this is terrible,’ andtakecontrol and fix it and make it right,” she said. “But that really hasn’tbeen what’shappened at all.”

andmanyothers whoare strong advocates for this project andits many economic benefits forthe state.

“They understand that subnational governments and international jurisdictions are clamoring forDAC investmentsaspartofthe race forenergy dominance, and this should not be America’slead to cede.”

Louisiana Economic Development SecretarySusan BourgeoisinMarch sent a letter to the state’scongressionaldelegation,asking them to lobby the head of the Energy Department to keep funding forProject Cypress flowing.

“The U.S. Department of Energy has not confirmed any funding changes to Project Cypress, and Louisiana will continue to honor its incentive commitments as participating companies meet their outlined capital investment and job creation benchmarks,” Bourgeois said in astatement Friday

Heated N.O. clerk’s race reaches runoff

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

A bruising race for criminal clerk in New Orleans enters the runoff with challenger Calvin Duncan and incumbent Darren Lombard making their final appeals to voters through their campaigns.

Duncan, who spent 28 years in prison for a fatal shooting conviction that was vacated in 2021, has declined invitations to debate

after Lombard challenged his innocence claim before the primary and sued in a bid to stop Duncan from saying he was exonerated.

Lombard’s attack went nowhere in court before he withdrew it, and political experts said it fell flat with primary voters as well. Duncan outpaced Lombard on election day after

trailing in early voting.

Duncan, with support from the criminal justice reform community, also has outraised Lombard, according to campaign filings, the next of which are due Wednesday Lombard says Duncan is illequipped for the job, with no experience in public office, while

Duncan says Lombard has inflated his accomplishments over four years in a post that a cousin, Edwin Lombard, once held for nearly three decades. How it all plays out in the Nov 15 runoff, with low expected turnout, will decide which of the two Democrats will lead an office charged with maintaining criminal court records and overseeing elections in New Orleans.

University of New Orleans political scientist Ed Chervenak said

the lack of much else on the ballot “tilts the race toward whichever campaign organizes best.” Enthusiasm and “mobilization capacity” loom large, he said.

“This is an under-the-radar election, so the electorate will skew more toward more engaged, interest driven, or organized groups,” Chervenak said “Whoever has the better ground game will have the advantage.”

Blessed be

Anne Rice fans flock to N.O. for memorial

Horror author contributed to city’s mystique

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

Fans lined up from Orpheum Theater’s entrance all the way down the block to the VooDoo Mart liquor store on Canal Street on Saturday, awaiting an opportunity to finally bid farewell to the late Anne Rice, the New Orleans-born queen of Goth literature. No one since Marie Laveau contributed as much to New Orleans’ supernatural mystique than she Rice, the author of the sensation 1976 novel “Interview with the Vampire” and 35 other enormously popular books, died in December 2021 at age 80. The COVID-19 pandemic made a large public memorial impossible at the moment, but her son, Christopher, and her friend Eric Shaw Quinn made up for lost time with a theatrical extravaganza befitting the cultural icon. The ornate, 1921 Orpheum was ideal for the event. The audience of Rice devotees blended perfectly amid the filigree. Corsets, waist coats, spidery lace, bejeweled brooches, macabre makeup, menacing artificial fangs and eerie vampire contact lenses were the order of the night. The house seemed to be at capacity If there were empty seats, they were few Rice’s ardent admirers paid $57

Saturday

and higher to attend the All Saints’ Day event, traveling from Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Boston; Philadelphia; Orlando, Florida; New York; and elsewhere across the country to be there. Zack Behany, an employee of the Olive Garden restaurant chain, had come from Warner Robins, Georgia, to pay his respects He clutched a beloved, autographed photo that he’d received from Rice. Behany said he first discovered Rice in 2008 after the death of his father Rice’s psychological horror tale “Interview with the Vam-

pire” offered him solace. “It was like she came into my world and said, ‘I know you’re going through some stuff and I think I have some friends that can help you.’” Those friends, Behany said, were Louis, Lestat, Claudia, Armand, Santiago and all the characters in all of her books to come. “She had one influence on me after another,” he said. Later, Behany said, he corresponded with Rice via email. “I would not be who I am today without her,” he concluded. In that, Behany spoke for many Ammie Kenney and Whit Hub-

ner had come from Nashville, Tennessee, for Rice’s long-postponed public send-off. Hubner wore a scarlet mask evoking “Memnoch the Devil,” one of Rice’s many sinister inventions Kenney, who wore bangs reminiscent of the author’s own, said that though the event recalled Rice’s death, “I don’t think she’s far away.” During Saturday’s lengthy memorial presentation, actors recited select passages from Rice’s novels, tenor David Michel sang

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

With millions of dollars in water and sewer infrastructure improvements in the works, St. Tammany Parish’s Department of Utilities will now ask its thousands of customers to pay higher rates in the new year

The more than $80 million in infrastructure improvements are thanks to grants the parish received from the federal American Rescue Plan Act and Louisiana’s Water Sector Program. The federal funds have already paid for new water towers and water mains, generators

See RICE, page 2B ä

WATER,

Nine horses dead after barn fire

Slidell Lewis Stables blaze remains under investigation

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

Nine horses are dead after a fire broke out at a barn in Slidell on Saturday night, damaging part of a building at Lewis Stables

Slidell Fire Protection District No. 1 contained the blaze to a section of the barn, the agency said in a statement on social media. Brian Macaluso, a spokesperson for the fire district, said firefighters’ efforts saved 28 horses in the barn.

“It’s unfortunate that this occurred,” Macaluso said. The owners of the horses have been notified, he added.

“We thought originally that 10 horses had perished,” he said. “But thankfully one had just escaped.”

An investigation into the cause of the fire involving multiple local and state agencies is ongoing, and it has not been determined.

Video posted online shows firefighters battling intense flames.

Lewis Stables boards horses and has 130 stalls, according to information posted on its social media page Attempts to reach the business owners on Sunday were not successful.

CLERK

Continued from page 1B

Calvin Duncan

Duncan’s campaign is informed by obstacles he faced securing records while trying to prove his innocence from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Duncan, 62, served as an inmate counsel for 20 years while under a life sentence for a killing in Treme. Stymied for years, he went free in 2011 under a guilty plea to lesser charges in a deal with former District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro.

After his release, Duncan earned a paralegal degree at Tulane University and a law degree from Lewis & Clark Law School in Oregon. He led advocacy against nonunanimous jury verdicts before Louisiana voters and the U.S Supreme Court outlawed them. Duncan also founded a program to help incarcerated people navigate the courts. A judge agreed to vacate his conviction in 2021.

His platform centers on expanding public access to court files. In TV ads, Duncan has tied Lombard to the errant disposal of court files this year in a landfill — an incident that Lombard blamed on the city, which was storing those records.

Duncan also has taken issue with Lombard’s claim to modernizing access to court records.

Renée Slajda, spokesperson for Duncan’s campaign, said another public debate with Duncan is out because of “really awful, baseless claims” from Lombard.

RICE

Continued from page 1B

La. cattle industry keeps eye on flesh-eating parasite

Screwworm cases documented near Texas-Mexico border

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

In an old coal-mining town in northern Texas, around 130 miles from Dallas/Fort Worth, Greg Buenger raises beef cattle on his ranch. But Buenger, also a Texas Farm Bureau District 3 state director and retired veterinarian, has his eyes elsewhere at the moment, far from the northern flatlands.

His focus is on the TexasMexico border, where a series of cases involving the New World screwworm have been documented.

The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warmblooded animal, including humans. The parasite enters animals’ skin, causing severe damage and lesions that can be fatal. Infected animals are a serious threat to herds.

The parasite is typically found in South America and the Caribbean, but since it escaped containment in Panama in 2023, it has been steadily moving northward.

The most recent case was found in a cow near the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, 70 miles from the border with Texas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it a “devastating pest” and said in June that it poses a threat to “our livestock industry, our economy and our food supply chain.” The federal government had been expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to keep it out of the United States.

What is a screwworm?

Screwworm is the parasitic larva of the screwworm fly and is a type of blowfly Think the metallic, oil-slick-colored flies that bother picnicking families. There are two types of screwworms: Old World and New World.

The Old World screwworm larvae dine on the decaying and dead flesh of warm-blooded animals and are generally considered unimportant New World screwworm, or NWS, on the other hand, feeds on the flesh of living warm-blooded animals.

The flies lay up to 3,000 eggs throughout their twoto-three-week life on the outside of open wounds and mucous membranes of animals, Buenger said. The larvae then burrow into the flesh and feed before turning into pupae, dropping to the ground to mature and start the cycle again.

If the animal cattle in Buenger’s case — goes untreated, the results can be fatal.

“Quite often, they will kill the animal. In fact, that’s almost always the result, depending on where the wound is,” he said.

New World screwworm once was a problem in the U.S., but was eradicated in the mid-1960s, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture documents. Using a technique discovered in the early 1950s, sterile male flies were produced to breed with female flies using dispersal facilities that the U.S. used to have in places like Texas and Florida.

Those facilities closed after the threat subsided.

The U.S. and Mexico collaborated to push the NWS south into Panama, where

“There’s so many dynamics and so many scenarios that equate to financial loss and hardship,” Buenger said. “I think folks politicians anyway — are going to be a little surprised at the economic impact of this.”

Lombard said he wasn’t fazed by the snub

“The best case scenario would be my opponent, showing up, and debating me face to face,” Lombard said in a statement. “But in the absence of such an opportunity I stand ready to talk to the people of New Orleans and demonstrate my command of the issues and the intricacies of this office.”

Darren Lombard

Lombard, 59, graduated from O.P Walker High School and UNO, where he earned a degree in psychology. He served as clerk of the 2nd City Court in Algiers for nearly a decade before winning his current post in 2021. Lombard campaigned on promises to speed up expungements and push the office into the digital age. He told the City Council last week that the office was “within days of launching” a new case management system, which he said would save the city money and connect with other agencies.

“It’s been a long tedious, drawn-out process, but we’re getting there. Hopefully by the end of the year, it’ll be fully operational and the kinks worked out,” Lombard told the council.

In a statement, he described a three-year process aided by a $1 million state grant to reach a stage of transferring data from the antiquated AS400 system onto the new one. The AS400, which includes the publicfacing Docketmaster system, “is tentatively scheduled to sunset” late next year, Lombard said Lombard also highlighted steps he said he’d taken to

secure evidence and keep records access open, as well as providing expungement clinics.

He’s touted his success lobbying for budget increases that raised starting salaries for entry-level employees from $27,000 to $32,000. Lombard said he hoped to raise pay for veteran staffers whose wages have stagnated.

Critiques emerge

Lombard has said Duncan’s inexperience — especially in managing elections should give voters pause before they pull the lever for him.

For his part, Lombard has faced a series of critiques from District Attorney Jason Williams that point to tensions between the two offices.

In February, Williams wrote about exhibits missing from several appeals court filings. He listed nine cases sent back by the appeals court with questions, urging Lombard to “take corrective action” and writing that “the likelihood increases that a conviction may be imperiled.”

Williams has also criticized Lombard for failing to provide notices required for bail bond forfeitures and for lapses in providing notices of arrest warrants.

Duncan argues that they reveal basic management failures.

Lombard downplayed the concerns, saying in a statement that he’d met with Williams to resolve the evidence issues.

“As you might imagine, in an organization as large as this, where my office manages thousands of cases, there will be situations where issues arise and need to be discussed,” Lombard said.

it remained until 2023, according to Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain.

So far in Mexico, over 7,000 New World screwworm cases have been reported, Strain said The closest case was an infected cow found in late September in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, with San Antonio the closest major American city. Before that, cases were discovered in Mexico City

The flies can travel up to 12 miles a day without wind, but Buenger believes the New World screwworm will likely enter the U.S. via a trailer, illegal movement of animals or through wildlife.

The increasing threat has led USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to close the border to imports of livestock and beef from Mexico. The initial closure began in July but was lifted several times before ultimately closing again. The border remains closed to imports. Mexican Agricultural Minister Julio Berdegue is set to meet with Rollins this week to discuss reopening the border to Mexican cattle, according to Reuters reports.

Impacts on industry

The impacts on Texas and, by extension, Louisiana’s cattle industry could be significant if left unchecked.

In Texas alone, the largest cattle-producing state in the U.S., a 1976 outbreak of New World screwworm cost the 2024 equivalent of $1.8 billion in total economic loss, with $732 million of that hitting producers in a single year That is more than the entirety of Louisiana’s $640 million cattle industry, according to 2023 LSU AgCenter data

The eradication of NWS is believed to have benefited

WATER

Continued from page 1B

sewer a month will see their rates go from $72.60 per month to $104.70. Depending on usage, rates for some customers in some areas may increase by more than double.

The changes do not affect customers of municipal water and sewer systems, such as the city of Mandeville or customers of the private water utility company Magnolia Water Both have seen major rate increases in recent years, prompting frustration among some residents.

“It’s a different philosophy between a public and private utility provider,” Tissue said, explaining that the parish’s utilities department does not try to make a profit.

And whereas there is little the Parish Council can do for customers of Magnolia Water, the council is the regulating board for the utilities department.

producers by an estimated $796 million annually and $2.8 billion toward the broader economy, according to USDA documents.

Border closures have already affected Texas cattle ranchers, who rely on livestock from Mexico The impact is also being felt in Louisiana.

Beyond cattle and livestock, if the screwworms were to enter Texas and Louisiana, local deer populations would be devastated, with around 80% to 90% of the population under threat of being killed, Strain said.

That would have a huge impact on a state known as Sportsman’s Paradise and on an industry that contributes more than a billion dollars to the local economy said the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries’ Assistant State Wildlife Veterinarian

Rusty Berry

“It’s a really big deal, and we’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars trying to keep this pest below our borders,” Strain said.

What is the U.S. doing?

Experts acknowledge that keeping the border closed will likely only slow the northward spread of the screwworm.

The next step is what worked to eradicate flies in the U.S. in the 1960s: sterile fly facilities, said Christine Navarre, an extension veterinarian and LSU AgCenter professor in the School of Animal Sciences.

The USDA, in a joint effort with Mexico, is investing nearly $30 million to renovate a sterile fly facility in Chiapas state, according to New York Times reports. The agency is also investing $750 million in a screwworm protection facility in Texas, according to Texas Gov Greg Abbott. The plant in Mexico aims

The Parish Council will introduce an ordinance to increase the rates at the council meeting on Thursday and could adopt the ordinance in December

“This is not designed for the parish to make money This is designed to be able for us to provide a quality service to them,” said council member Rick Smith, referring to the customers.

When determining the recommended rates, the study took into account factors like reserving six months’ worth of operating costs and establishing contingency funding to immediately replace water wells or other critical infrastructure, according to Tissue’s presentation.

to be ready by July and would double the number of sterile flies Mexico can release into the wild, according to Reuters. The Texas facility is years away from being built, Buenger said.

“We have no defense with flies yet, other than ones we can fly up from Panama,” he said.

Currently, the only sterile fly-producing facility is in Panama, but it can only produce about 20 million a day, Strain said. The U.S. is hoping for something on the scale of hundreds of millions a week.

There are precautionary steps and protections that ranchers and the state can take.

For one, ranchers should consistently be on the lookout for wounds in their herd. When wounds are noticed, they should be treated immediately If screwworms are found near the wound, ivermectin or Dectomax injectables can be used to kill off parasites.

It’s something Lee Robbins, an Angus beef seed cattle rancher near Unionville in north Louisiana, has been on top of, taking time to look over his herd.

“We’ve just been a little more vigilant over the past few months after seeing the reports, as it gets closer and closer to the southern border Is it a major concern, immediately? No. Longer term? Yes,” Robbins said. Robbins said the New World screwworm hasn’t entered much of his conversation with Louisiana ranchers, but some of the Texas Panhandle ranchers he knows are starting to mention it.

“Once it hits that borderline, it’s going to change,” Robbins said.

Email Stephen Marcantel at stephen.marcantel@ theadvocate.com.

The utilities department, formerly called Tammany Utilities, provides water or sewer to about 16,000 connections across the parish. It has 55 wastewater treatment plants with more than 300 lift stations and 16 public water systems comprised of 32 water wells. The utilities department does not receive funding from a property tax or any other taxes. It is entirely funded by water and sewer customer rates and other fees. In addition to the council meetings, the parish will hold three community meetings in November to inform the public about the coming rate increases.

LOTTERY SATURDAY, NOV. 1, 2025

PICK 3: 3-8-4

PICK 4: 6-0-9-3

“Bridge Over Troubled Water,” a song Rice found especially comforting and fellow horror authors described their devotion to the perennial bestseller, whom they considered a role model. The centerpiece of the presentation was an intimate documentary video that followed the life of the literary superstar who was born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien in 1941 in the Irish Channel. Footage shot during Saturday’s event will be included in the documentary before it is released to the public

winners, captivating eulogies delivered by Quinn and Christopher Rice and a marvelous appearance by Irma Thomas, who sang a soulful version of “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans.”

Further highlights included a pageant of Rice character costume contest

Though Mayor-elect Helena Moreno did not attend the event, she arranged for a proclamation declaring Saturday to be Anne Rice Day in New Orleans.

Bertucci

Jr.,Anthony Sansone,Vittorro

Simlin,Jennifer Speirer, Patricia Thomas,Victoria EJefferson

Garden of Memories

Bertucci Jr.,Anthony NewOrleans

Greenwood

Sansone,Vittorro

Speirer, Patricia River Parish

Robottom

Thomas,Victoria Obituaries

AnthonyBertucci, Jr.,

age 95, passedpeacefully intothe presence of his Lordand Savior,Jesus ChristonOctober 25, 2025, inKenner, Louisiana. He was born on June 11, 1930, inNew Orleans, Louisiana, toAnthony andAlma Bertucci.His humility,com‐passion,and unwavering beliefinGod’s Word in‐spiredall whoknewhim Anthony faithfully shared the Gospel andlived each day as atestimony to his Savior’slove. He waspre‐ceded in deathbyhis lov‐ing wife of sixtyyears,Jo Ann Bertucci;his son, Tommy Bertucci;his par‐ents, Anthonyand Alma Bertucci;and hissiblings John, Paul,Billy,Patricia, Beverly,Joan, andDoris Anthony is survived by his devoted children,Glenda Vassilakis, DebbieKirby (Gary), DianeWalker(Ster‐ling),and Joseph Bertucci Hewas aproud grandfa‐thertoten grandchildren— Katie,Natalie,Angela, Hillary,Shannon,GaryJr. Kellie, Chad,Ashley, and Tyler—and acherished great-grandfather to twenty-twogreat-grand‐children. He is also sur‐vived by hisbeloved sister, GailAbraham,along with numerousniecesand nephews.Anthony began his career in carpentry, working alongsidehis fa‐therand brothers in New Orleans.Withskill,dedica‐tion, anda strong work ethic,hewentontoestab‐lishhis owncontracting business, Five Star Homes, lovinglynamed after his five children.Through his work, he earned theaffec‐tionate nickname “The General,” areflection of his leadershipand commit‐menttoexcellence. Above all,Anthony’s life wasde‐finedbyhis deep faith.A devoted servantofJesus Christ, he wasa manof prayerwhose gentle spirit touched countless lives. He never meta stranger;al‐waysgreetingotherswith a kind word,anencourag‐ing heart, andhis signa‐turesmile.His humility compassion, andunwaver‐ing belief in God’sWordin‐spiredall whoknewhim Anthony faithfully shared the Gospel andlived each day as atestimony to his Savior’slove. Thefamily extends heartfeltgratitude toGerry Culottafor her cherished friendship with Anthony,and to thePas‐sages team fortheir de‐voted comfortand care.A special word of thanks is given to CoreyGallaty for the many hoursspent reading Scriptureand praying with Anthony— yourpresencewas atrue blessing. “And Godraised usupwithChristand seateduswithHim in the heavenlyrealmsinChrist Jesus.” —Ephesians 2:6. A Celebration of Life will be heldonNovember4th at GardenofMemoriesFu‐neral Home,4900 AirlineDr. Metairie, Louisiana70001 Visitationwillbegin at 10:00 AM,willa servicefol‐lowingat12:00 PM.Burial willtakeplace immedi‐ately after services in Gar‐den of Memories Ceme‐tery. To offerthe familyon‐linecondolences,send flowers, or planta tree in memoryofAnthony Bertucci Jr please visit

www.gardenofmemorie smetairie.com

Sansone, Vittorro Roch 'Vito'

Vittorro “Vito” Roch Sansone wasbornonSep‐tember13, 1993, at South‐ern BaptistHospitalinNew Orleans,Louisiana.A life‐longresidentofNew Or‐leans,hegrewupinthe 8th Ward’s St.Rochneigh‐borhood.Following Hurri‐caneKatrina,helived in Watson andDenham Springs,Louisiana,for four years before spending three yearsinLos Angeles, California. Vito attended Audubon Montessori,Res‐urrection Elementary, CoghillElementary, Edward Hynes Elementary,Holy Cross, OakHills Middle, and New OrleansInterna‐tionalCharter School.Vito had apassion fortravel, skateboarding,video games,music,and cook‐ing.Heloved raisingchick‐ens andhad abig heartfor animals.A sports enthusi‐ast,heplayedfootballasa widereceiverand baseball asa pitcher, firstbaseman and center fielderfor Lake‐viewBaseball. Aboveall Vitowas theproud andde‐voted father of hisdaugh‐ter,VioletRose, his“Pride and Joy,”along with her mother, Teraneshia.He alsoshareda specialbond withhis “fur family”— the lateFrostyand Grizley Gumbo,and Rocky. He is survivedbyhis loving par‐ents, Maricia“Tookey BloodwirthSansone and James “Big Jimmy” San‐soneIV. Vito waspreceded indeath by hisbrother James “Lil Jimmy” Sansone V;his grandparents,Mari‐etta “Yo-Yo Ally Blood‐wirth andYvonne Gerard Sansone Michel;and greatgrandparentsSorrobAlly (Myrtle Desdunes), Watt Bloodwirth(Thelma Bardell),James Sansone (Antoinette Matranga), and Charles Gerard (Marie Douseau). He is also sur‐vived by hisgrandfather, Clyde “Blood”Bloodwirth, and alarge,lovingex‐tendedfamily, including: Auntsand uncles Shelly Sansone,DebbieLaRocca MarciaBloodwirth(Eddie), Cherita Adams(Michael) MonicaRobiho(Melvin), AlysonWalton(Ty), Cosetta Bradford (Sean), Charles SansoneSr. (Mar‐garet), Robert SansoneSr. (Paulette,Mirta,Belinda, Margarita); Milton Ally (Jean); anda host of cousins includingJohnDu‐partSr, theDupart/Martin Family, Lisa,Kathy,Nicole, Sheena, Alvin, Elizabeth, Charles Jr Joseph M, Patri‐cia,Robert“Tito,” Gino‐vanni,Soryia, LilRobert, Sonja,Christian,EddieJr., Steven, Joshua,, Dominick, Giovanni, Marcus,Dallen, Jolie,Tylar,Camden, Han‐nah,Sarah,Jadah,Hailey, Kingston, Ivy, ShannonJr., Carter, Benton,Grayson StevenJr.,Mila, Wonona, MarvinJr.,JosephM Judy‐lynn, Irving Jr,Angel and manymorefromnearand far.Vitowas also closeto his childhood friend,the late GrantJaysonWei‐damen,and leaves behind countless friendsand loved ones across Louisiana,Georgia,Texas Chicago, New Jersey,Den‐ver,Washington, andCali‐fornia. Vito will be remem‐bered forhis bright smile adventurous spirit,and the lovehe poured into his familyand friends. His

laughter,kindness, anden‐ergytouched everyone who knew him, andhis memorywillliveonforever inthe hearts of thosewho loved himmost. Relatives and friendsare invitedto visit BlessedFrancis Xavier Seelos, 3037 Dauphine Street,New Orleans, LA 70117, on Wednesday, No‐vember5,2025, starting at 9:00AM. AFuneralMass willfollowthe visitation at 10:00 AM.The burial will be inSt. Patrick#1Cemetery. Wealsoinviteyou to share yourthoughts, fond memo‐ries, andcondolences on‐lineatwww.greenwoodfh com.Yoursharedmemo‐rieswillhelpuscelebrate Vito’slifeand keep his memoryalive

Simlin, Jennifer Elaine 'PB'

Jennifer"PB" Elaine Simlin entered eternal rest on Monday, October 6, 2025 at theage of 68 in San Antonio, TX. She was born on March 26, 1957 in New Orleans, La to thelate Hosea Simlin, Sr.and the late Etheline Seaberry Simlin. Jenniferwas a1975 graduateofL.W.Higgins HighSchool. She was employedasa clerk at H-E-B Grocery StoreinSan Antonio. She is preceded in death by her parents, Hosea, Sr and Etheline; a brother, Hosea, Jr.; and a sister, JoAnn Simlin Tibbs. Left to cherish her memories are abeloved sister, Linda Simlin Adams and brotherDwain Simlin; six nieces, KimTibbs, Sandra Simlin, WandaSimlin, Yolanda (Wendell, Sr.) McCoy, Toyah Adams, and Jasmine Simlin; four sisters-in-law; twobrothersin-law;one greatniece; seven greatnephews; one great-great nephew; and a host of otherfamily and friends. Relativesand friends of thefamily are invitedtoattendthe funeral services on Friday, November 7, 2025 at St. Josephthe Worker CatholicChurch ,located at 455 AmesBlvd Marrero, La 70072. Father Sidney O. Speaks,III willcelebrate theMass. The interment willbeprivate.Funeral planning entrusted to LewisFuneral Home in San Antonio, TX.

Avisitationwillbeheld from8:00 AM to 9:00 AM on November 7, 2025 at St. Josephthe Worker CatholicChurch, 455 Ames Blvd, Marrero, LA 70072.

ARecitation of the Rosary willbeheldfrom 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM on November 7, 2025 at St. Josephthe Worker CatholicChurch, 455 Ames Blvd in Marrero AMass of Christianburial willbeheldat10:00 AM on November 7, 2025 at St Josephthe Worker CatholicChurch, 455 Ames Blvd in Marrero Every day, in some small way, Memories of youcome our way. Thoughabsent,you are ever near, Stillmissed, stillloved, and ever dear.

Speirer, Patricia AnnAudler

cededindeath by herfa‐ther, ElliottAudler; her mother, Evelyn Audler;her grandparents, BerniceZim‐mer Mayeaux, Curley Mayeaux,Ellen Tujague, and Edward Audler;her sister, KimAudlerDavis; and hergranddaughter Madison Alysse Fee. Avisi‐tationand memorial ser‐vicewillbeheldonTues‐day,November4,2025, at Greenwood FuneralHome, 5200 CanalBlvd, NewOr‐leans,LA70124. Visitation for familywillbefrom4:30 p.m.to5:30p.m followed bypublicvisitationbegin‐ningat5:30p.m.The ser‐viceinthe chapel will begin at 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donationscan be madeinPatty’s name to the Pancreatic Cancer Ac‐tionNetwork (https:// pancan.org/about-us/) or toSt. Jude Children’s Re‐searchHospital(https:// www.stjude.org).Patty will forever be remembered for her laughter,her bold spirit, andher boundless lovefor herfamilyand friends.Her lightwillcon‐tinue to shineinthe hearts ofall who were blessedto knowher.Wealsoinvite you to shareyour thoughts, fond memories and condolencesonlineat www.greenwoodfh.com Your shared memories will helpuscelebrate Patty’s lifeand keep hermemory alive

Victoria Victor Thomas on Saturday, October 25, 2025 at herhomeinMontz LA surroundedbyher lovingfamily. Daughterofthe lateCeciliaand Henry Victor,Sr. Wife of thelate PercyThomas.Motherof Carolyn FrancisMalveo, thelateCecilia, Cindy and Brenda Thomas. Sister of the lateJules Victor,Sr., Loretta

children, 38 great great grandchildrenand ahost of nieces, nephews, other relativesand friends. Age 99 years. Anative anda residentofMontz, LA. Relativesand friends of thefamily, also priest and parishionersofSacred HeartCatholic Church and all neighboringchurches are invited to attendthe funeral Mass at Sacred HeartCatholic Church,401 Spruce Street, Norco, LA on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM.Rev.Edmund Akordor,Celebrant. IntermentStCharles Borromeo Mausoleum, Destrehan,LA. Visitation at theabove namedchurch from 9:00 AM untilMass time. SERVICED BY ROBOTTOM

Patricia AnnAudler Speirer,lovinglyknown as Patty,age 70, passedaway peacefullywithher hus‐bandbyher side on Octo‐ber 30, 2025, at St.Tam‐manyParishHospital. Born onAugust2,1955, in New Orleans,Louisiana,Patty was thebeloved daughter ofElliott andEvelynAu‐dler. ShegrewupinNew Orleans andattended Sa‐credHeart Academy, where hervibrant person‐ality andlovefor life began toshine.Patty wasa woman of many talents and passions.Overthe years,she worked as a cosmetologist,anaerobics instructor, andanadminis‐trative assistantatPanAmericanLifeInsurance Group.Her creativity,en‐ergy, andcompassion shone throughinevery‐thing shedid.Whether she was helpingsomeone feel beautiful,motivatingoth‐ers to stay active,or brightening theoffice with her laughter,Patty touched countless lives withher warmth andposi‐tivity. Shehas been mar‐riedtoher husband,David Speirer,for 38 years, shar‐ing alifefulloflove, laugh‐ter,and adventureto‐gether. Patty faced life withincrediblestrength and grace, especially throughouther coura‐geous battle with pancre‐aticcancerfollowing her diagnosis on Christmas Eve 2024. Despitecountless setbacksand hurdles,she kept fighting,withfaith, determination,and the sameradiant spirit that definedher entire life.In her finaldays, Patty was surrounded by herhus‐band, David, who stayed faithfullybyher side every day,along with herde‐voted children,grandchil‐dren, andvisitsfromloved ones. Herfamilyisdeeply gratefulfor thetimethey had to feel herwarmth, to holdher hand,listentoher favoritemusic,and fill the room with love andlaugh‐ter as they cherishedevery preciousmomenttogether. Those who knew Patty will rememberher as someone who trulylived.She loved dancing…alwaysthe first one on thedance floor (or creatingone if there wasn’t).Music washer constantcompanion,and concerts, fashion,and good timeswithfamilyand friends filledher life with color.Her happiest mo‐ments were spentwithher family, especially her grandchildren,who were her prideand joy. Sheen‐couragedthemtodream big andchase theirpas‐sions,justasshe always did.Patty’s spirituality was atthe center of herlife. She prayed dailywithun‐waveringfaith andbe‐lieveddeeply in thepower ofloveand Heaven’s promise.Thatfaith gave her strength throughevery challenge andpeace in knowing shewould one day be reunitedwithher loved ones who went be‐foreher.She is survived by her loving husband,David Speirer;her daughters, AmandaLaurenSpeirer, AshleyGuidryDimitri,and TaraLynnGuidry; hersis‐ters, BeaQuaintanceand ToniCancienne;and her cherished grandchildren, Isabella GraceRoberts, LukeJosephDimitri,Aiden Christian Feeand Alysse Gabrielle Fee. Patty is pre‐

Pregnancy centers support womenand help them seeoptions

Iwrite today as someonewhose life was transformed by thecare and compassionofapregnancy centerand withprofoundgratitudefor howthings have unfolded since.

Twenty years ago, Iwas acollege student and found myself pregnant. Iwas facing acrossroads. Iwas worried that continuing my education would be impossible. Ifelt overwhelmed andunsure of how Icould move forward. Ifelt my family would be upset at me and unwilling to support me. Thankfully,atthat crossroads, Imet Crossroads Pregnancy Center in Thibodaux. And thanks to their compassion and care, my life direction became clear Through the love Ireceived at the pregnancycenter,Iwas given more than aservice; Iwas given affirmation, guidance andhope. The center provided me with tangible resources that guided me through adifficult time. Their help allowed me to take apause and truly examine my options and what was best for me, and they supported me throughthat decision. Thanks to their care and support beyond the pregnancy,I was able to persist in my studies rather than abandon them. Because somebody believed in me, Icould believe in myself. Because doors were held open forme, Icould walk through them. Because Iwas not alone, I became empowered to build alife of purpose. Today,Iamauniversity instructorand mother of five. My daughter,once the unborn child whose future was clouded with doubt, hasgraduated high school andis succeeding in college herself. Iknow Iamnot alone. Ihave seen many other women positively impacted by pregnancy centers. Iwent on to intern with apregnancy center and later became the assistant director Iapplaud the state of Louisiana for supporting the work of pregnancy centers. Your investment in this beautiful work matters more than you may ever know KRISTEN D. CALLAIS Thibodaux

YOUR VIEWS

Public officials, Coastal Protection and RestorationAuthority staff and coastal rebuilding advocatesfrom across south Louisiana gather for aground-breaking ceremonyfor the MidBaratariaSediment Diversion in 2023.

Coastalprotectionbackonsolid ground with canceled projects

Your Oct. 19 editorial warns that canceling theMid-Barataria and Mid-Breton diversions erodes ahard-won coastal “consensus.”

From an engineering standpoint,the opposite is true: We are restoring the guardrails that keephigh-risk projectsrightsized. Three of those guardrails were weakened or bypassed:

n Marine Mammal Protection Act. MidBarataria advanced only after Congress directed awaiver of core MMPAprovisions for the project —despite federal analyses warning of serious risks to Barataria Bay bottlenosedolphins. Whena “restoration” project requires amortality waiver,that signals scale and operations concerns, not boldness.

n National Flood Insurance Program compliance. Modeling showed changes to watersurface elevations in Plaquemines Parish. Under NFIP,that triggers aConditional Letter of Map Revision and local permits. These are not box-checks; they protect residents from surprise insurance and flood-risk consequences.

n Empirical analogs. During theenvironmental impact study,four Bonnet Carré Spillway openings (2018-2020) produced real-world, river water-injurysignals for

dolphins,oysters, shrimp, crabsand harmful algae blooms. The datashouldhave tightened uncertainty instead of being deferred to “adaptive management.”

Addunresolved modeling/process issues and acost trajectory that grew from early estimates under $1 billion to amultibilliondollar program burden. Calling the pause a “retreat”misses thepoint.It’sacourse correction toward projects that (a) clear legal/ scientific checks, (b)deliver benefits on decadal —not half-century —timelines and (c) don’tsacrifice working fisheries or protected species as collateral damage. There’sa credible path: amedium diversion at Myrtle Grove with dedicated dredging, paired with land bridges, shoreline protection and aggressive pipeline marsh creation. Dredge-first can build and sustain land now,adjust to stormsand sea-level rise and carry fewer ecological and socioeconomic externalities —while preserving funds for multiple basins.

Louisianaearned respect by pairing ambition with credibility.Recentering on transparent,engineering-led criteria protects that legacy DENNISLAMBERT civil and environmental engineer

Dissenta cornerstoneofdemocracy

Democracy is aform of government in which political power is vested in the people. Key elements of democracy are free speech, dissent andholding those in power accountable.The U.S. is ademocracy Butletter writer Betty Champagne suggestsotherwise, when she states in her opposition to Illinois Gov.JBPritzker’s dissent on federal government overreach thatimpinges uponstates’rights: “President Trump won the election by winning all swing states, thepopular vote and the electoral vote. But Pritzker hasnorespect for thebasis of democracy —afree and clear win.”

Congress should restore fundsfor global health

I’m alarmed thatbillions of dollars in U.S. global health and development funds, already approvedbyCongress, have recently expired. These dollars support tuberculosis treatment, maternal and child health andfront-line health workers who stopdisease before it reaches ourshores.

Oncefunds expire,they cannot be reused, andtaxpayers lose the value of money already appropriated.Extending or reprogramming these funds would protect both public health andfiscal responsibility.Importantly,this language would assert Congress’ constitutionalroleinappropriations, require no additional spending and givenall the recentchanges to foreign aidthis year,would give the administrationmoretime to use appropriations responsibly in line with its priorities.

Iurge Sens. Bill Cassidy and JohnKennedy to work with Appropriations leadership to extend the availability of recently expired funds for an additional year

NICOLE KORCHEV student, Tulane University

Simple vote countshows Democratskeeping government closed

I’mcurious to understand the logic of the letter writer from Zachary on Oct. 11, blaming the Republicans forthe shutdown. The Republican House voted to keep the government open with a narrow majority,and almost every Democrat voted to shut it down.

In the Senate, 44 out of 47 Democrats voted to shut it down, while 52 out of 53 Republicans voted to keep the government open.

Looking strictly at the numbers, clearly,itisthe Democrats shutting it down.

LARRYLANGEVIN Kenner

LeaderslikeJohnson should choose engagement,not insult

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

Champagne suggeststhat an elected president’s policies and dictates be universally accepted because they were the winner Sorry,unquestioned adherence tothe dictates of an elected leader is not thebasis of democracy,free and clear win notwithstanding. Requiring agreement with aleader’s policy and orders because they are in charge is the systemofsingle-partycountries, such as North Korea. We have afairly elected president, just like the previous one, and Americans should work together.But dissent and change are essential to our democracy We would not even exist as acountry had colonists not dissented against the crown. Should we not have had aRevolutionary War? Would it have been wrongtofight for civil rights or suffrage if apresident had been in office opposing this? The writer should also recognize that the election wasn’t won by a100% sweep, but 49.81% to 48.34%. Iwonder if she followed her own stated expectations when President Joe Biden or Barack Obama were in office. Did she practice what she is preaching by supporting their policies and criticizing dissenters, and “demanding normal respect” for them because of their “free and clear wins?”

RICHARD HIRSCH Livonia

Thankstolawmakers whorecognizedimportanceofMedicaid

Icongratulate and thank state Sen. Gerald Boudreaux,Gov.Jeff Landry and all the Louisiana legislators who passed legislation institutinghigher reimbursement rates for health care professionals who treat Medicaid patients This will bolster access by Medicaid patients to medical care by professionals, clinics and hospitals, and will promotetheir health andwell-being.

Similarly now,the U.S. Congress should extend the tax credits used by millions of lower-income workers to buy health insurance. Promoting the health and well-being of the insured is not only beneficial to them, but as your editorial states, it strengthens “families,communities and ultimately our entirestate.”

PHYLLIS RAABE NewOrleans

Louisiana’sown Mike Johnson characterized the “NoKings” events held across the country as a“hate America” rally.That description is not only inaccurate but dismisses the patriotism of millions of Americans whoare raising their voices because they believe in our nation’spromise and ideals. By dismissing attendees as “the Antifapeople” and “the pro-Hamas wing,” Johnson reflects agrowing and troubling trend among some leaders: to divide and to insult rather than engage. Our democracy depends on the courage of citizens whocare enough to demand better They deserve respect, not ridicule. AARON SHIPPER NewOrleans

NEW LOOK NEEDED!

Thanksgiving is coming up soon, and everyone’s getting excited for the big feast. But it appears this bird’stryingfor awhole newlook to avoid the cook! So,what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtell me.Bewitty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries

Thewinningpunchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runon Monday, Nov. 10 in our printeditions and online. In addition, the winner will receiveasigned print of thecartoon along with acool winner’sT-shirt! Some honorable mentions will also be listed.

To enter,email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com

DON’T FORGET! All entries must includeyourname, homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.

Thedeadline for all entries is midnight,Thursday, Nov. 6. Good luck! —Walt

State’slong-term plan to save thecoast is gettingshort shrift

Twenty years ago, Louisiana began two campaigns essentialto hopes for thelong-term habitabilityofthe coastal zone, its most populous and economically important region.

Mamdani thinks he has integrity, but he doesn’t

Froma Harrop

ZohranMamdani’salleged zinger in a recentNew York mayoral debate wasa claimthathehad “integrity” and his chief opponent, formerGov.AndrewCuomo, did not. The people know Cuomo’sglories andmissteps. But many have been TikTok-edout of recognizing Mamdani’s two-faced candidacy displaying more calculation thanconviction. Start with the NewYork City PoliceDepartment. In June 2020, Mamdani tweeted:“We don’tneed an investigationtoknow that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer &amajor threat to public safety.Whatweneed is to #DefundTheNYPD.”Hetweeted, “There is no negotiating with an institutionthis wicked &corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycleofviolence.” This wasnot the product of ahigh school essay. These words were five years ago. And threeyears ago, State Assemblyman Mamdani votedtocut 1,300 officers from a“racist” NYPD. Now thatheneedsthe votes of regular New Yorkers worried about crime, he’s done a180 on that unpopular stance. He said, “I’m notheretodefund the police. We’re just working to make the city safer andinnovate.”

Aw,shucks.

Whatmanyyoung urbanprofessionals don’trealize is thatnot all low-informationvotersare MAGA hillbillies. They include many of their own, busy go-getters who rely on their social media silos for information. If governing were as easy as going viral, Mamdani would be unstoppable Mamdani is on record questioning the need for jails, having called them one of White supremacy’s“many faces.” On the prisonnow housing the most dangerous criminals, he said, “Rikers Island’sdecades-long history of abuse, neglect and suffering hasnoplace in New York City.” Last month, his campaign announced, “As Mayor, ZohranMamdani will work to adhere to the 2027closure of Rikers as requiredbylaw.”

One was to prevent the state’sbottom third from sinking below the Gulf of Mexico. The other was to provide reliable hurricane risk reduction for the millions of residents and billions in industry located there. Those two efforts produced steady success based on two guiding principles: science and sustainability

Today,those efforts arebeing pushed to the edge of failure by two other guiding principles from Gov.Jeff Landry: politics and hubris.

Here’swhy

In 2007, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority introduced the 50-year,$50 billion Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. That meant no quick fixes; only projects that would bring permanentbenefits.

From the beginning, river sediment diversionswere the key tothat sustainability.While dredge-and-fill operations could provide quicksolutions tosmall areas, they would have to be repeated about every 20 years due to unstoppablesubsidence. With tens of thousands of acres needing treatment, that was economically unsustainable.

The eight diversions in the original plan were the very definition of sustainability.They could deliver mud intothe sinking marshes as long as the river flowed, as well as extending the life of dredge-and-fill projects Over the years, there were changes. More than $360 million would be added to help commercial fishermen move their operations as freshwater relocated their target species.

And the estimated price for the first diversion of $600 million would soar to $3.1 million. Yetthe scientists and engineers at CPRA said diversions were worth the extra costs.They remain thebest chance for long-term sustainability

over the largest areas protecting the greatest populations.

Butaneven bigger,more challenging change hadarrived: Impacts from climate change caused by emissions from fossil fuels.

Sea levels are soaring at their fastest rate in 4,000 years. Recentscientific research indicates thecombination of subsidence and surging Gulf could put 87% of our coastal wetlands under waterby2050. Indeed, the latestiterationsofthe master plan indicate another 3,800 square miles of thecoastal zonecould be lost by 2067. Allthose scientificfacts mean that unless the world begins reducing the useofoil and gas, Louisiana’scoastal zone could be veryclose to Gonzales forthe next generations of Louisianians

ButLandry thinks he knows better thanall those scientists.

He’sanoil man turned politician and anoted science skeptic. He spent years calling climate science ahoax and claims Louisiana’sfutureisinmore oil and gas production —even though the sector now makes up about 4.5% of the state’sincome andranks 15th in total employment.

Calling diversions athreat to Louisiana culture due to impactsonoyster fishers, he killed the first two diversions. What about the science showing that

Officials and advocates gather for aMid-Barataria Sediment Diversion groundbreaking ceremonynear Ironton in 2023. STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

without diversions, manyareas would become too salty for oysters? He knows better What arethe plansfor the future of themaster plan, and what will they be based on? He didn’tannounce any Trusthim. He knows better than the CPRA.

Meanwhile, his civilian consigliere for all things New Orleans, wealthy businessman Shane Guidry, was given agreen light to remakethe Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection AuthorityEast. It was created by law to end the corruption and malpractice of politically appointed levee boards that oversaw thelevee system that failed during Hurricane Katrina. The change resulted in one of the bestlevee systems anywhere.

Guidry’sreason for the shake-up?

“Just becauseyou ran it one way for 30 years doesn’tmean it needs to run that way tomorrow,” he said. Creative destruction might be an OK gamble withyour own company,but not with protection for the lives of more than amillion people.

Butthis is what happens when politics andhubris arethe guiding principles for agovernment.

Bob Marshall, aPulitzer Prize-winning Louisianaenvironmental journalist, can be reached at bmarshallenviro@gmail. com, and followed on Twitter @BMarshallEnviro.

But nowhesaysthat closing Rikers by 2027 is “functionally impossible.” What causedthatlossoffervor? Perhaps it’s the resentment in Chinatown residents over plans to put oneofthe newRikers replacement jails in their neighborhood These voters have the information. Mamdani hascalledfor loosening criminalpenalties for prostitution —which he insists is notthe same as legalizing it. His party,the Democratic Socialists of America, hasnot been thatslippery.Itcalls for the elimination of all misdemeanors tied to prostitution.

Mamdani’ssocialist sister-in-arms, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recently ralliedindefense of prostitutes congregating in working-class Corona, Queens. The largely Hispanic neighborhood has been up in arms over this open sex trade, with prostitutes propositioning kids on their way to school

Muchhas been said about Mamdani’s refusal to denounce “Globalize the Intifada” talk in acity with alarge Jewish electorate. The candidate hassaidhe distinguishesbetween anti-Zionism and antisemitism, the first being OK and the latternot OK. Then last week, as voting dayapproaches,hetoldJewsinBrooklyn thatZionists would be part of his administration.

The real zingeratthe debate came from Cuomo when he said of Mamdani: “He’s neverhad ajob.Onhis resume, it says he internedfor his mother.” Cuomo warned thatany day, the city could have hurricaneor“God-forbid, a9/11” requiring experiencedleaders. RelatedtothatWorld TradeCenterattack thatcost2,753 lives, aphotograph shows asmiling Mamdani, armsaround SirajWahhaj. Wahhajisanimam, The New York Post reports, who “was fingeredbyprosecutors as an ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ in the 1993 WTC bombing” —a practicerun for 9/11. We areall entitledtochange our positions but fora politician, total flipping from week to week is manipulative and dishonest. And it’snobody’sidea of integrity

Froma Harrop is on X, @FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

SPORTS

LA GORY

Saints

Shough’s spotlightnever gets achancetoshine in firststart

BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

INGLEWOOD,Calif. Start with thecoin toss, one of the last momentsthat the outcomebetween the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams was still in question.

After winning the toss, the Saints electedtoreceive theopening kickoff It wasanaggressivechoice made by a team looking for any sort of advantage against one of the premierteams in the NFL. The idea, in theory, is to take control of the game earlybyjumping to an early lead

BYTOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

AFlorida State turnover triggered an outletpasstoJalenReed who finished aroutineright-hand layup.

The 6-foot-10LSU forward’s takeoff looked normal, but he felt his jump was slightly off.As the ball tickled the net, he landed on hisright foot alittle early.

The result robbed Reed of the rest of his season.

“It felt like my leg fell off,” Reed said. “It was one of thescariest feelings of my life.”

The junior lay sprawledonthe Pete Maravich Assembly Center court, stunned one minute and 46 seconds into the gameonDec. 3. He learned the next day that the popheheard in his right knee was hisACL tearing.

Falena Hughes’ maternal instinctsactivated. After driving two hours and 45 minutes from herMississippi home to watch her son, she left her seat to comfort

“We’ve gottofind away to start fast,” Saintscoach Kellen Moore said.

“Obviously,we’re not there.” No, they’renot.The Saintsgained 9yards on their first three plays and lost their stomach for aggressiveness, punting theball away.Los Angeles took possession at its own 12-yard line and showed the Saintswhat it meant to start fast.

ä Tarleton State at LSU, 7P.M.WEDNESDAy,SECN+

him in the training room where they watched the rest of LSU’s8575 win over FloridaState on TV

Thevictory temporarilyput Reed andhis mominbetter spirits. His teammates spoke with him, and hereciprocated their positivity,but his personal disappointment was simmering.

“After theyleft, Ibroke down for afew hours,” he said. “I knew my season had cometoanend. Iwanted to be therefor my guys more than anything.”

This was anew experience for Reed.Henever had to give up the game he loved for aprolonged period.Italso meant his first surgery ever

After an MRIconfirmed his fears, Reed wiped away his final tears with hismom by his side. He stopped feeling sorry for himself andembracedanew mindset.

“This is not the end of my story,”

Jeff Duncan

We came to watch adebut. Instead, we saw ademolition. Rams 34, Saints 10. Few expected the Saintsand Tyler Shough to knock off a Super Bowl contender like the Los Angeles Rams on their home field, but we certainly expected amore competitive affair than what we witnessed at SoFi Stadium on Sunday This was acomplete and utter annihilation. The Saints were outplayed, outcoached and outclassed

from start to finish in abeatdown so thorough and authoritative that it overshadowed Shough’sdebut and rendered his performance moot.We’ll have to wait another week to make arealistic evaluation of the rookie second-round draftpick.

Shough simply had no chance Sunday.The gamewas over almost before it began.

The blowout wasagrim reminder of just how farthe Saints have fallen and how farthey need to go to compete with the league’selite.

ä See SAINTS, page 4C ä See DUNCAN, page 5C

Reed said. “I’m gonna fight back. Whatever it takes to get back to where Ineed to be, that’swhat I’m gonna do.Sofromrehab,from that day forward, Itook it serious, like it was agame.”

Reed, 22, possesseda fervorfor hisphysicaland mental healing. That’s how he recovered nearly two monthsahead of the anticipated 12-monthprocess. He is ready to get backonthe court, starting with LSU’sseason opener against Tarleton State at 7p.m. Wednesday in thePMAC.

“I think he’ll be oneofthe great stories in college basketball this season,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “Been an inspiration watchinghow he’s committed to the worktoget back and not only to thefloor, butthe growth from a mindsetand leadership standpoint.

Ireally think he’ll have amonster year for us, and really proud to have an opportunity to coach him.”

‘Latebloomer’

Reed woke up after his ACL sur-

gery on Dec. 12 to the sight of his mother,McMahon and LSU athletic trainer ShawnEddy Reed’s momrecalls his first words being reserved for McMahon: “Coach,how was practice?”

“I don’teven remember hearing, ‘Hey,Mama,’” Hughessaidwith alaugh. While he loveshis mom, who he sportsa tattoo of her name, Reed’s focus was on his basketballteam. Now that he is so close to playing gamesagain, he’s excitedtopick up where he left off, averaging 12.4 points on 59.6% shooting and 7.4 rebounds pergame in thefirst seven games of last season. The Tigers would like to see even morethis season.

McMahon doesn’texpect Reed to be thatplayer immediately. Exercising patience as he reacclimates to the game is important. Just as important is to have fun again in his “happy place.” Not being asked to carry ateam

TheRams’ first four plays gained 10, 9, 20 and 16 yards. Whatever the Rams wanted to do on a12-play, 88-yard touchdown drive, they did. It ended ä See LSU, page 3C

On TV MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

5:30 p.m. Coppin St. at Maryland BTN

5:30p.m. Quinnipiac at St. John’sFS1

6p.m. Cent.Arkansas at N. Carolina ACCN

6p.m.Boston CollegeatFAU ESPNU

6p.m.Arizona vs. Florida TNT

6p.m.SouthernatArkansas SECN

7p.m. Lehigh at Houston CBSSN

7:30 p.m. Jackson St. at Illinois BTN

7:30p.m. Oakland at Michigan FS1

8p.m.

8:30

a.m.NorfolkSt. at Mississippi SECN

1:30 p.m. Californiavs.Vanderbilt ESPNU NBA

6p.m. Minnesota at Brooklyn Peacock

9p.m. L.A. Lakers at Portland NBATV NFL

7:15 p.m. Arizona at DallasABC NHL

6:30 p.m. Pittsburgh at Toronto NHLN

HORSE RACING

8:30 p.m.Melbourne Cup FS2 MEN’S SOCCER

6:15 a.m. Costa Rica vs.UAE FS2

8:30 a.m. Argentina vs. Belgium FS2

2p.m.Everton at Sunderland NBC

9:30 p.m.Minnesota at Seattle FS1 TENNIS

5a.m.WTA &ATP Tennis

6a.m.WTA &ATP Tennis

5a.m.(Tu.)WTA& ATPTennis

Undeniable Utah leapsinTop 25 poll

Obiri setswomen’sNYC

Marathon course record

NEW YORK TheNew York City Marathon made historyonSundaywitha course recordset in the women’s competition and the closest race ever on the men’sside, whichwas decided by afraction of asecond.

On Thursday,AwfulAnnouncing —ablog dedicated to covering sports media nationally pondered whether Iwas thebest or worst AP poll voter Idon’thave aclue which side of the spectrumI land on, but Iappreciate the fact that there’s at least one person whois listening to the reasoning behind my selections. Ialways strive to provide fair and honest analysis, even if it’sextreme or unique in comparison to theconsensus. So with that said, let’sbreak down my poll afterWeek 10

My AP Top25pollafter Week 10

1. Indiana, 2. TexasA&M, 3. Ohio State, 4. Alabama, 5. Georgia, 6. Texas Tech, 7. Notre Dame, 8. Ole Miss, 9. BYU, 10. Oregon, 11. Louisville, 12. Oklahoma, 13.Utah, 14. Miami, 15. Southern Cal, 16. Texas, 17.Missouri, 18. Vanderbilt, 19. Michigan,20. Washington, 21. Tennessee, 22. Illinois,23. Virginia, 24 Georgia Tech, 25. Iowa

Just missed: Houston, TCU, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati

What Idid with Miami

It felt like dropping Miami to No. 14 in my poll wasn’tenough after the Hurricanes’ loss to SMU. The loss means Miami is just 2-2 in ACC play and thePoniesalready had three defeats heading into this week, including two losses to middling-at-best teams in Baylor and Wake Forest. But this losswasn’tasdevastating as it may have seemed on the surface. SMU still only has one defeatinconference play,and Miami’sonly other loss comes to aLouisville team thatI haveat No. 11 in my poll.

It seems like Miami’s College Football Playoff hopes are done, but the Hurricanes still have a win over atop-10 team (Notre Dame) and dominated apretty good South Florida team. The Notre Dame win kept Miami ahead of Texas and USC. Neither team holds awin that impressive,

and they haveflaws in their own right.

Texasearned ahuge win over Vanderbilt this weekand beat Oklahoma, butitalso lost to Florida and probablyshould’ve fallen to lowly Kentucky and Mississippi State. USC snuck past Nebraska on theroad this week and beat Michigan, but the Trojans—unlike Miami —lost to the Irish Sliding uptoNo. 6inMiami’s place was Texas Tech after the RedRaidersdominated another Big12team (Kansas State) on Saturday. Besides oneloss with thebackup quarterback on the road, Tech has been unstoppable.

Iprefer the Red Raiders over Notre Dame, given that the Irish needed alate touchdown to pull away from awoefulBoston College team this weekend and have aweaker strength of record, accordingtoESPN.

Utah’s rise

Utah’s lack of stellar play at

quarterback still makes me nervous, but itsresume has become impossible to ignore at this point. When they haven’tlost, the Utes have blown everyone out, including this weekend when they crushed Cincinnati45-14 at home. It was the sort of statementvictory they needed, given their best win before this week was over Sam Leavitt-lessArizona Stateathome.

The lopsided wins, combined with the fact that its only defeats came to top-10 teams in my poll, were why theUtes madeameteoric riseinmyrankings this week.

Othernotes

Virginia is at No. 12 in the overall poll, but is only 24th in my poll for acouple of reasons.

The Cavaliershave agreat overtime winover Louisville, but close wins over North Carolina, Florida State andWashington State, and aloss to NC State, make me question what their

actual quality is.

Oddly enough, the team below them in my poll also lost to NC Statethis week. I’ve consistently been lower on Georgia Tech because of thelack of competition it has faced to this point, despite being undefeated.

The Yellow Jackets still made my poll because beating Duke on the road isn’teasy,and an 8-1 record for aPower Four conference team is still pretty good. They’ll be tested as they face Pittsburgh andGeorgia to finish theseason.

Iowa was the last team out a week ago, but the Hawkeyes are in this week despite not playing because Houston andCincinnati lost. Iowa lacks astrong win, and theIowa State loss doesn’tlook great,but theHawkeyes have managed to be the only team that’slost to Indiana by single digits.

Email KokiRileyatKoki. Riley@theadvocate.com.

TexasTechrisetotop

BY ERIC OLSON Associated Press

The Big 12 had two teamsinthe top 10 of The Associated Press Top25college football poll for the first time in two years Sunday, NotreDame wasback in the top 10 after atwo-month absence, and Oklahoma and Texas made the biggest upward moves. The top seventeams were unchanged in the final pollbeforethe College Football Playoff committeereleasesits first rankingsTuesdaynight to kickoff therun-upto the CFP bracket release Dec.7 No. 1Ohio State, which pulled away in the second half to beat Penn State, is at the top of the AP poll for a10th straight week. Indiana, which scored 50-plus points against aBig Tenopponent for the third time while hammering Maryland, is No. 2for athird straight week. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers again were followed byTexas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon andMississippi. Losses by Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt andMiami shuffled the Nos. 8, 9and 10 spots, now held by BYU, Texas Tech and NotreDame.

The distribution of first-place votes was the same as last week. Ohio State received 54, Indiana

got 11and Texas A&Mone. No. 8BYU and No. 9Texas Tech gave theBig 12 two teams in the top 10 for thefirst time since Oct. 29, 2023.The Cougars,who were idle, have their highest ranking of the season. The Red Raiders won at KansasStateand re-enteredthe top10for thefirsttimeinthree weeks. The twoteams face each other this weekend Notre Dame, winnerofsix straight, was pushed by aone-win Boston Collegeon the road before it won by15points and moved up two spots to No.10. The Fighting Irish were last inthe top 10 in Week 3, at No. 8, before ahome loss to Texas A&M dropped them to 0-2 anddropped them to No. 24.

No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 13 Texasreceivedseven-spotpromotionsfor their wins Saturday.The Sooners beat Tennesseeonthe road,and theLonghornsknocked off Vanderbilt at home.Tennessee took the biggest fall, dropping nine spotstoNo. 23. In andout

n No. 24 Washington, which was idle, is in the poll for the first time sinceitfinishedthe 2023seasonat No.2followingits losstoMichiganinthe nationalchampionship game. The Huskies’ onlylosses aretoNo. 1Ohio Stateathome andtoathen-unrankedMichigan on the road. n Houston, whose No.22rank-

ing lastweek wasits first Top25 appearance since 2022, dropped out after losing at home to West Virginia.

Poll points

n BYU has risen in the poll six straight weeks since making its debut on Sept. 21. The Cougars have gone from No. 25 to No.8 over that span.

n Miami’slosses to two then-unrankedopponents in three weeks have caused a16-spot plummet, from No. 2toNo. 18.

n OhioState is in the

Hellen Obiri of Kenya broke the women’srecord while compatriot Benson Kipruto wonthe men’s race by edging Alexander Mutiso by three-hundredths of asecond. Obiri finished in 2hours, 19 minutes and 51 seconds, besting by 16 seconds thecourse recordof2:22.31 setbyMargaretOkayo in 2003. Kipruto and Mutiso separated themselves in the men’srace heading into Mile 24. Kipruto pulled away from Mutiso in the last 200 meters. But Mutiso wasn’tdone, surging in the last 50 meters before falling just short. Kipruto finished in 2:08.40.

Longtime Bengalsplayer, broadcaster Trumpydies

CINCINNATI Bob Trumpy,who wasanoriginal memberofthe Cincinnati Bengals for10years before enjoying acareer as anetwork radio andtelevision analyst, has died. He was80.

The Bengals announced that Trumpy died peacefully on Sunday andwas surroundedbyfamily at homeinthe Cincinnati area. Trumpy played at the University of Utah before being drafted by the AFL expansion Bengals in the 12th round of the 1968 common draft. His4,600 receiving yards, 35 receiving touchdowns and15.4 yards per catch remain the most by atight end in team history Trumpy joined NBC Sports as an NFLanalyst in 1978 andcalled games through 1997.

Lady Vols dismiss senior guard after anotherarrest KNOXVILLE,Tenn. Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell announced Sunday that she has dismissed senior guard Ruby Whitehorn fromthe eighth-ranked Lady Vols, saying it was herresponsibilitytoprotect the program’s high standards. Whitehorn reportedly was stopped early Thursday by campus police, who found herinpossession of marijuana. She was charged with misdemeanor simple possession/casual exchange. Whitehorn had been allowed back on the team following asuspensionfor an August arrest.She pleaded guilty Sept. 5totwo misdemeanors of aggravated trespassing and aggravated burglary in exchange forjudicial diversion. Whitehorn started 28 of 34 games last season andaveraged 11.6 points.

South Carolina fires Shula as offensive coordinator

COLUMBIA, S.C. South Carolina announced it has dismissed offensive coordinator Mike Shula nine games into the 2025 season on Sunday

The movecomes aday after the Gamecocks managed 230 total yards, oneoftheir lowest outputs of the year,intheir 30-14 loss to No.7Ole Miss.

TheGamecocks’ next offensive coordinator will be the fourth under Shane Beamer since he took over as South Carolina coach ahead of the 2021 season. It wasn’t immediatelyknown who will call plays and manage the offense over the team’sfinal three regular-season games.

Sinner reclaims No. 1 rankingafterPariswin PARIS— Jannik Sinner reclaimed the No. 1ranking in men’stennis after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6 (4) in theParis Masters final on Sunday The four-timeGrand Slam champion from Italy replacedsix-time major winner Carlos Alcaraz at the top as he extended his indoor winning streak to 26 matches, following up avictory in Vienna last Sunday with his first Paris title. The ninth-seeded Auger-Aliassime needed to win thetournament at La Défense Arena to clinch the eighth and final spot for the season-ending ATPFinals in Turin, Italy.But Sinner did not concede abreak point chance in the match andwon the tournament without dropping aset. Sinner beat Auger-Aliassimefor the third straight time —including in the semifinals at this year’sU.S. Open.

Buckleyeyesleadrolein firstyearatUNO

BY SPENCERURQUHART Staff writer

Jakevion Buckley transferred to UNO after asuccessfulseason at Southeastern Louisiana in which he was afirst-team All-Southland Conferenceselection.

Buckley will remaininthe Southland for the2025-26 after trading in his Southeastern green for UNO blue.UNO president of basketball operations Percy “Master P” Millerled an effortto bring in transfers such as Buckley who had priorDivision Iexperience.

UNO brought in eight transfers, and the reshaped roster delivered an 89-73 exhibition win over Sacramento State last month at Lakefront Arena in which Buckley took onaleading role. Nicknamed“Jay,” the senior point guard finished with ateam-high 25 points and eight assists.

“(Buckley)was just acalmingpresence (inthe exhibition game) when we needed him to be,” UNO coachStacy Hollowell said. “There were possessions whereI said,‘Jay, youcallit,’ andheruns whatever (play) he wants to run. Ithink that’s fun for both of us.” Buckley’sfirst two years of college were at the junior-college level, and he joined the Division IranksatLamar.He found anew levelofsuccess at Southeastern, averaging 14.5 points pergameand being named to the Southland All-DefensiveTeam. He also averaged

LSU forward Jalen Reed drives to the hoop against Alabama State guard CJ Hines in the first half on Nov. 10, 2024, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

JOHNSON

LSU

during an

4.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

“I’m blessedtobeinthis position,” Buckley said. “I think everything happens for areason, there’sareason I’m here (at

UNO). I’ve gota lotofexperience,soI’m just lookingtouse that experience with my teammates and win games.” From Shelbyville,Texas,Buckley became aprepbasketball star

in his hometown after dedicating himself to basketball early on in high school.

“Inninth and 10th grade, Istarted taking (basketball) more serious than Iusually did,” Buckley said. “Me and my coach had atalk about is (basketball) something I wanted to do going forward, and Isaidyes.I want to keep working and do it for my family and myself.”

Texas State transferColeton Benson is expected to start alongside Buckley in UNO’s backcourt. Benson is known for his 3-pointshooting ability and is settotakeonthe shooting guard role with Buckley running the point Other guard optionsfor UNO include transfers Irish Coquia and TJ Cope. UNO also has added size with transfers Kedrick Osby and Churchill Abass to help out returning player MJ Thomas at theforward and center positions Buckleyhas embraceda leadership role for his fifth and final year of college eligibility. The regular season begins Mondayonthe road against TCU.

“When Ifirst got (to UNO), I felt like we were going to have a good team,” Buckley said. “For my team, Ijust want to bring everybody together and win games. Ijust want to winaconference championship and go to March Madness.

Continued from page1C

actually is areturntoReed’s roots as aself-proclaimed “late bloomer.” Beforehestood at achiseled 6-foot-10, 240pounds, he wasa bench warmer at Alston Middle School. He was ascrawny 5-9high school freshman point guard who rarely played. At the start of his sophomore year,he sprouted to 6-5but stillwasn’t close to astarter

“He’sone of those stories where for him to be where he is now,Iguess you wouldn’thave seen that coming based on how he barely played,” Hughes said “He wasn’tthe main option, nowhere near none of that.”

Hisjourney wasone ofpatience to developintoa stronger and more skilled player as he competed against the best in

LoyaltytoLSU

Reed started off slow as afreshman in the Southeastern Conference,the sameleaguehis late dad Justin Reed excelled in for four years at Ole Miss.

He was in his head. Reed had the ballhandling chops to initiate the offense at times,but he struggled. He lost his starting positionafter 11 games and finished the seasonaveraging 3.7 points pergame.

The lackluster year didn’t causeany shift in howMcMahon viewed Reed. He wanted him back no matter what.

“I didn’tperform like Icould have and like Ishould have,” Reed said about his freshman season.“And honestly,deep down, Ididn’teven feel like I deserved it all that much.”

More than any particularbasketball skill, LSU wanted Reed to return becauseofwho he is as a person, which epitomizes McMa-

yeah,Iwanthim to be the face of our program.”

The difficult parts of player developmentdidn’tscare either coach or player.Reedsteadily gotbetter during his sophomore year whilestarting20games,and he was in themidst of abreakout lastseason

Even with three straight years of LSUnot making the NCAA Tournament, Reed is abeliever in his coaches’ plan and wants to repay theirinvestmentinhim with hisplayinpurple andgold.

“It’s rare to see nowadays, but they haven’tgiven me areason to leave,” Reed said.

It also means alot for him to have acollege to be attached to, especially after playing at three high schools.

“It means something to me that Ihave one alma mater and make it work here,” he said.

His motherisproud of the path he has chosen.

“This is your life,”Hughes said.

BY DARRELL WILLIAMS Contributing writer

That St. Augustine got “punched in the mouth” in the first half against Holy Cross on Saturday didn’tsit well with coach Robert Valdez.

So,inthe secondhalf, the Purple Knights turned to theirrunning game to power toward a3224 District

9-5A victory against the Tigers at TadGormley Stadium.

St.Augustine (8-1, 5-1) won its fourth consecutivegamesince its only loss to No.1-ranked Edna Karr.The Purple Knightsend the regular season Friday at John Curtis, whose only loss also came against Karr on Friday

“(At halftime), we told them the story about front-runners,” Valdez said. “Front-runners are always good when things are gong good. We got punched in the mouth, and HolyCross cameout with more effort, executing real crisp.

“Wehad to make the adjustment We’ve beenreading our press clippings. We had to comeout and play some big-boy football. We had to control the line of scrimmage and to take away thecut-back lanes and play with gap integrity.”

TheKnights held HolyCross (45, 1-5) to 33 yards rushing in the second half after the Tigers rang up 121 in the first half.Running back Ky’Rynn Smith, who gained 108 yardsand atouchdown in the first half, was heldto25yardsin the second half.

St.Augustine ran for 154 yards in

the second half, with quarterback Vashaun Coulon gaining 54 on draw plays thatkept drives alive. Trailing 17-14entering thethird quarter, theKnightstook thesecond-half kickoff and went 80 yards, capped by Khlil Lewis’5-yard touchdown run. After St. Aug forced apunt, the Knights went 52 yards to Coulon’s28-yardscoring passtoMiguel Whitley for a26-17 margin at 4:14 of the third quarter “Wewere worn down,” Holy Cross coach Scott Wattigny said. “St.Aug ranthe ball, and the (quarterback) drawkilled us. They went 5for 5onthatplay,gettingfirst downs.” Smith rushedfor the go-ahead 23-yard touchdown as Holy Cross took a17-14 halftime lead.Smith’s score with 1:23 left in the second quarter came after Coulonraced up the middle fora19-yard touchdown at the 6:08 mark that put the Purple Knights in front 14-10. On the Tigers’ ensuing drive, quarterback CarterDuplessis slid on a3-yard gain at the Holy Cross 49 on fourth and 4. But the Knights werepenalized 15 yards for apersonal foul for hitting Duplessis as he slid. Thatgave the Tigers afirst down at the St. Augustine 36. Six plays later, Smith broke off his scoring run. The Tigerssurgedtoa 10-0 first-quarter advantage on a42yard field goal by Noel Mora at the 6:34 markand a4-yard keeper by Duplessis three minutes later The Knights answered by going 80 yards in three plays —a 33-yard pass to Vershaun Simms, a2-yard run by Lewisand a45-yard touchdown pass to Ray’Quan Williams.

RAMS 34, SAINTS 10

THE NUMBERS

Hill busts Saints’ longest run of year

BY LUKE JOHNSON AND MATTHEW PARAS Staff writers

Orleans, Hill 4-30, Kamara 6-14, Neal 3-11, Shough 1-2 L.A. Rams, K.Williams 25-114, Corum 13-58, Nacua 1-3, Stafford 4-(minus 4). PASSING—New Orleans, Shough 15-24-1-176, Hill 0-1-0-0. L.A. Rams, Stafford 24-32-0-281.

RECEIVING—New Orleans, Shaheed 5-68, Olave 3-57, Johnson 3-31, Cooks 2-16, Kamara 1-3, Neal 1-1. L.A. Rams, Nacua 7-95, Adams 5-60, Allen 3-37, Higbee 3-13, Ferguson 2-54, Smith 2-12, Parkinson 2-10.

PUNT RETURNS—New Orleans, Shaheed 1-9. L.A. Rams, Smith 2-11.

KICKOFF RETURNS—New Orleans, Shaheed

1-29. L.A. Rams, None.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS—New Orleans, Reid 7-6-0, Sanker 5-3-0, Taylor 5-3-0, D.Davis

4-9-0, McKinstry 3-4-0, Williams 2-1-1, C.Young 2-0-1, Granderson 2-0-0, Stutsman 1-7-0, Rumph 1-4-0, Shepherd 1-1-0, Werner

1-1-0, Godchaux 0-6-0, Bullard 0-2-0, Burgess

0-2-0, Howden 0-1-0, Jordan 0-1-0. L.A. Rams, Kinchens 4-0-0, Curl 3-1-0, Forbes 3-1-0, Speights 2-1-0, Lake 2-0-0, Fiske 1-2-1, Turner 1-1-0, Young 1-1-0, Durant 1-0-0, McCollough

1-0-0, Landman 0-5-0, Ford 0-4-0, Davis 0-1-0, Stewart 0-1-0, Verse 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS—New Orleans, None. L.A. Rams, Forbes 1-7. MISSED FIELD GOALS—L.A. Rams, Karty 39.

OFFICIALS—Referee Shawn Smith, Ump Tra Blake, HL Jay Bilbo, LJ Jeff Seeman, FJ Dyrol Prioleau, SJ Boris Cheek, BJ Dino Paganelli, Replay Mike Wimmer.

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

when the Saints sold out against the run at the 1-yard line, only to watch Tyler Higbee catch a touchdown after a play-action fake with nobody in his ZIP code.

The rest of the game — a 34-10 drubbing that dropped the Saints to 1-8 on the season — followed much of the same script. Every lever the Rams wanted to pull offensively worked in their favor as they piled up 438 yards of offense against New Orleans.

They put the Saints defense on skates with play-action passes. Matthew Stafford carved the Saints up in the pure drop-back game. When the Rams decided to run the ball, they found little resistance on their way to 171 yards on the ground — no matter who was carrying it Kyren Williams had 25 carries for 114 yards, and his backup, Blake Corum, had 13 carries for 58 yards.

Los Angeles dominated the situations, too, going 7 for 14 on third down, 2 for 2 on fourth down and 4 for 5 in the red zone.

“That’s a really, really good football team,” Saints safety Justin Reid said of the Rams.

The Saints offense, led by rookie quarterback Tyler Shough making his first career start, could not keep pace.

Shough struggled to get much of anything going against a tough defense. Each of the Saints’ first three drives went three-and-out and New Orleans didn’t start show-

INGLEWOOD,Calif.— The Saints went into Sunday’s game without a run that went for 20 yards or longer They finally ended that drought against the Los Angeles Rams during a 34-10 loss at SoFi Stadium.

Taysom Hill rushed for a 29-yard gain, breaking free after keeping it on a quarterback read in the second quarter The Saints used Hill at quarterback for three straight plays on their fourth drive of the game after beginning the contest with three straight three-and-outs.

The Saints’ previous longest run in 2025 was Alvin Kamara‘s 18-yard touchdown in the team’s Sept 7 season opener against the Arizona Cardinals.

Hill, at that point, had yet to be healthy The BYU product missed the first four games of the year as he was on the league’s physically unable to perform list, recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered last year (coincidentally against the Rams).

Since his return, Saints coach

ing any signs of life until Shough briefly came off the field and Taysom Hill took a keeper for 29 yards to flip the field That was the Saints’ initial first down of the game, and they already were trailing 13-0 by that point. The drive ended with a 39yard Blake Grupe field goal a kick that was attempted only after the Saints committed a false start when trying to convert a fourthand-1.

Los Angeles took the ensuing kick and went on an easy threeplay, 65-yard touchdown drive capped by a 39-yard strike from Stafford to Puka Nacua.

Shough’s best moment came during a two-minute drill to close out the first half. He completed four of his six passes in the hurry-up, including a third-down play where he scrambled out of pressure, kept his eyes downfield and hit Chris Olave for a gain of 27 yards. With seven seconds left in the first half, he hit Juwan Johnson for an 11yard touchdown that cut the Rams’ lead to 20-10.

“When we were playing fast, operation wise, all that stuff felt really good,” Shough said. “But at the end of the day, it wasn’t good enough.”

The rookie finished his first start completing 15 of 24 passes for 176 yards with a touchdown and an interception that came on a desperation fourth-down heave.

The touchdown drive offered a brief moment of hope, but the Rams quickly snuffed it out. Los Angeles took the opening kickoff of the second half and went on a methodical 16-play, 80-yard

Kellen Moore has been grappling with ways to utilize the 35-yearold. Days earlier, Moore had said he needed to do a better job of getting Hill involved after the 35-year-old played only five offensive snaps in last week’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Moore said the Saints came into the game with a planned package for Hill against the Rams. That 29-yard run was the first of three consecutive plays with Hill lining up under center while rookie starter Tyler Shough watched from the sidelines.

“We anticipated staying with Taysom for a few plays,” Moore said. “I felt like Taysom gave us a little bit of something there in the run game, which was a positive.”

Fuaga injured late

Taliese Fuaga limped off the field with an injured ankle in the closing minutes Sunday and did not return.

He left the field on a cart late in the fourth quarter with a towel covering his face. Moore did not have any substantive updates on Fuaga’s condition after the game, other than confirming it was an in-

jured ankle for his starting right tackle.

Fuaga’s injury occurred with 5:45 remaining in the fourth quarter after an incomplete pass on third down. Asim Richards replaced Fuaga in the lineup on the ensuing play, during which Shough threw an interception under duress from the Rams’ pass rush.

Fuaga has dealt with several injuries this season.

He missed the fourth quarter of the Saints’ season opener with a knee injury, then missed the Saints’ Week 3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a back injury In both cases, Richards filled in for him in the starting lineup.

Sluggish starts

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford entered Sunday’s game tied for the league lead with 17 touchdown passes, and he padded that total against the Saints. Stafford connected on touchdowns of 1, 3 and 39 yards in the first half of Sunday’s game, helping push Los Angeles to a 20-10 halftime lead He finished the game with four scoring strikes. That isn’t an especially new

phenomenon against this Saints defense. New Orleans has yielded 18 touchdown passes this season, and 15 of them have come in the first halves of games.

Stoll injured

Backup tight end Jack Stoll left the game with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter and did not return.

Stoll’s injury occurred when the Saints unsuccessfully went for it with a Hill keeper on fourth and 2 from the Rams’ 7-yard line. He left the game on a cart.

Odds and ends

New Orleans switched up its kick returners, with Hill and Rashid Shaheed handling return duties against the Rams. Los Angeles clearly had no desire to give Shaheed something to return, as five of its six kickoffs went for touchbacks. Offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz left the game with an undisclosed injury on the Saints’ 10th play of the game, but he returned later in the drive The Saints turned the ball over twice Sunday giving them 10 turnovers in their last three games.

touchdown march that bled nearly 10 minutes of game clock. Stafford closed it out with his fourth touchdown pass of the game, and second to star wideout Davante Adams. The Saints’ response was to fumble the ball away on the third play of the ensuing possession, when Rams linebacker Nate Landman punched the ball out of Alvin Kamara’s hands.

The Rams took over and proceeded to eat up another 6:22 with a 10-play, 52-yard touchdown drive. In the third quarter the Saints ran just the three offensive plays and

possessed the ball for 1:12.

“They controlled the whole third quarter,” Moore said. “... We got a little bit of momentum going into halftime with that touchdown, felt like we were right back in it, have a chance. And then for them to control the entire quarter we weren’t able to capitalize.”

That was an exaggeration of something that was true for the entire game: New Orleans ran just 40 offensive plays Sunday, and the Rams had a monstrous 43:53-to16:07 time of possession advantage. That was the most lopsided time of possession advantage for

any NFL team since 2011, and the worst single-game mark in franchise history for the Saints.

“We didn’t give ourselves a chance in this one,” Moore said. This is only the fourth time in franchise history the Saints have gotten through nine games of a season with no more than one win to show for it, with the other three teams being the 1967, 1972 and 1980 Saints that finished 3-11, 2-111 and 1-15, respectively Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

RAMS 34,SAINTS10

THREEAND OUT: RODWALKER’STOP THREETAKEAWAyS FROM ADREARyDAy FORTHE SAINTS IN LA

DEBUTREVIEW

1

Rookie Tyler Shough didn’t wowin his debut as the starting quarterback. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown andone interception. Hisbrightest moment came at the end of the first half when he led ascoring drivecapped off with his first NFL touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. He showedsome poise on that drive, especially after taking atough shot from Rams linebacker Byron young.The good news for Shoughis he won’t face adefense again this season as good as the one he sawSunday.Things should geteasier for him.

2

DEFENSESHREDDED

Remember howwell the Saints defense playedmost of last week in the loss to the Tampa BayBuccaneers? NewOrleans needed that to spill over to this week. But the Rams, as we knew, provedtobeinatotally differentweight classthan theSaints. Quarterback MatthewStafford and his offense did whatevertheywanted,and the Saints had no answers. The Rams racked up 415 yardsofoffense. Theydid it both throughthe air (268 yards) and on the ground (147 yards), making it aday of miseryfor Saints defensivecoordinator Brandon Staley.

3

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Saints are just past the midwaypoint of theseason and have just one win.It’stheir worst startsince 1980. Sunday’s loss came against ateam that very well could be in the Super Bowl. It was also areminder of just howfar the Saints have to go to be among the NFC elite. This season is over, but withthe NFL trade deadline Tuesday perhaps the Saints make somemovestohelp with the rebuild. The Saints traveltoCarolina next week to facethe Panthers (5-4), whoupset the Packers on Sunday.After that, the Saints geta byetoreset for the final stretch.

Talentgap runs wide

Saints have decisionstomakeafter Rams show them atruecontender

BY MATTHEW PARAS

INGLEWOOD,Calif. If he’s traded in the coming days, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheeddidn’t necessarily give fans something to remember him by in Sunday’s34-10 beatdown to the Los Angeles Rams

Ahead of Tuesday’s3 p.m. trade deadline, the 27-year-old technically led the Saints in receptions (five) and receiving yards (68) in whatcould be his final game with the franchise.But Shaheed didn’ttorch thesecondary.

He didn’tcatch the bomb —orthe bombs—that had been astapleof his time with the Saints, even though they’ve been few and farbetween this year It was aquiet performance fora playerwhose biggames always have been the loudest.

“I don’tknow what’sgoingtohappen,” Shaheed said. “I have no idea. It’skind of up in the air.”

He isn’talone in that regard.

The New Orleans Saintshave plenty of decisions to makeafter suffering another beatdown —none more pressing than whether to shake things up by trading Shaheed, wide receiver Chris Olave or any of their other key pieces to gain assets for the future.

Agame like Sunday’smight not sway general manager Mickey Loomis on how he plans to navigate the deadline, but it should emphasize just how much of atalent disparity exists betweenthe Saints andacontending teamsuch as the 6-2 Rams

The Saints have been reminded of that throughout their 1-8 season, from being humiliated in Seattle to embarrassed in Chicago to bullied in California. New Orleans has managed to be competitive in more thanhalfof its games, though that fight cantake a team only so far To contend, not just compete, the Saints need more talent.

“Wehad 40 snaps on offense, probably an all-time low,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said. “They had77, so they controlled the ball for much of this game.” Nothing said the Saints were outmanned like thedifference in time of possession. Days earlier,defensive end Cam

Jordan told reporters that to stop the Rams, theSaints wouldhaveto“rely heavily” on their secondary.Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, he noted, wasamongthe fastest in the NFLatgettingthe ball out,making him tough to sack.And that’strue.

Stafford entered the weekend with the sixth-fastest release in the league at 2.69 seconds.

Jordan’sremarks ultimately foreshadowed thedifficulties to come. The Saints’ young cornerbacks —bookended by second-year cornerback

Kool-AidMcKinstry and rookie corner

Quincy Riley —are notyet at thestage of their development where they can consistently lock down stars Davante Adams and Puka Nacua.Perhaps they’ll getthere someday,but Sunday was not that day.The duo combined for three of Stafford’sfour touchdown passes and12catches for 155 yards.

Rams coach Sean McVay schemed up several other ways to exploit the Saints’ young secondary, even with playmakerswho aren’tnearly as wellknown as their two superstar receivers. Los Angeles relied heavily on its tight ends,including in the end zone, whereTylerHigbeewentuntouched on aplay-action fake for awide-open touchdown in thefirst quarter

“Just alittle miscommunication,” Saintscornerback AlontaeTaylor said. “Wejustgotta correctthat, and we’ll do that.”

The secondary wasfar fromthe only position group overmatched. Perhaps if the Saints hadabetterdefensive line, theycould have generated the pressure that could have gotten Stafford off his game —even withthe veteran’stendency to get the ball out fast. Or maybe they could have contained a rushing attack that went for 171 yards

on 43 carries.

Instead of having true differencemakers upfront, the Saints settledfor contributors such as Jonah Williams.

Thefive-year veteranwas bracing to be inactive this weekend until he learned hours before kickoff that teammate John Ridgeway would be outwith an illness. Williams took advantage of the opportunity,sacking Stafford once.

“Always have to stayready,nomatterwhat,” he said.

That’sa nice,genuine moment for Williams, who also got the chance to playagainst his former team.

Butitalsosaid something about the Saints that they found themselves counting on ajourneyman in the first place.

Email Matthew Parasatmatt. paras@theadvocate.com

The Rams tripled the Saints in first downs (30-10) and nearlydoubled them in total yardage 438-224. They controlled the ball fornearly 44 of the game’s60 minutes.

In the teeth of this carnage, Shough was forced to operate andexecute Predictably,itwasn’tgood

The Saints went three-and-out on his first three drives. On those possessions, Alvin Kamaratried four runs andgained atotal of 9yards. By the time Shough gained his initial first down, the Rams wereleading 14-0, making it the sixth time in nine games the Saints have fallen behindearly and failed to lead for asingle minute

“Obviously,ifthere is asolution (to the slow starts), we haven’tfound it yet,” Saintscoach Kellen Mooresaid.

Forced into agame of catch-up against one of the league’sbest pass rushes, Shough struggledtofind rhythm or success.Hefinished 15-of24 passingfor 176 yards.

The highlight of his performance came just before halftime when he executed abeautiful two-minute drill and capped it with his first career NFL touchdown pass, an 11-yard strike to Juwan Johnson to cut themargin to 20-10 and give the Saints brief life. On the drive, Shough exhibited

many of thetraits the Saints liked abouthim coming out of college. He flashed arm strengthona13-yard dart to Rashid Shaheed to start themarch

He displayed mobility by eluding the Rams’ rush and hitting Chris Olave for a27-yard gain while scrambling to hisright. And he showed toughness by shaking off amassive helmet-to-

helmet hit by Byron Young on asack that led to aroughing-the-passer penalty.One play later,hefound Johnson in the left flatfor the score.

“I thought he handled some adverse situations and didn’tlet those other factors impact his play,” Moore said of Shough. If there was asilver lining, it was

that the gamedid not get too big for Shough. He played with poise and confidence. He was decisive, fairly accurate and did not look like arookie formost of the game.

“I thought he threw it well,” Moore said. “Operationally,I felt like he was very calm. He executed pretty well.”

In the end, though, it wasn’tnearly enough to prevent the Saints’ fourth consecutive loss and their third straight setback by adouble-digit margin.

Things gotsobad, the Fox Sports broadcast crew started filling time with Dodgers’ World Series content midwaythrough the second quarter

As the rout played out in the second half, the only suspense that remained for New Orleans fans was trying to determine whether the Saints would lose by an even larger margin than the Pelicans, who were thrashed 137-106 by the Thunder on Sunday

The Saints are now 1-8. It’stheir worst start in 45 years. The last time they began aseason this poorly was 1980, when they went 1-15, and the Aints and bag heads were born.

At least one Saints fanwas spotted with abag head in the SoFi crowd Sunday.You can bet the number will multiply in the days and weeks ahead as this grim season continues

Email JeffDuncan at jduncan@ theadvocate.com.

Broncos rally past Texans on late FG

By The Associated Press

Bo Nix threw two touchdown passes and Wil Lutz made a 34yard field goal as time expired as the Denver Broncos rallied to beat the Texans 18-15 on Sunday in Houston to extend their winning streak to six games.

They improved to 4-0 this season in games they trailed entering the fourth quarter

The Broncos (7-2) had punted three times in a row before a 25yard scramble by Nix got them to their 39 with less than a minute to go. J.K. Dobbins followed with a 9-yard run, and a 9-yard run by Nix two plays after that set up the game-winning field goal.

Nix couldn’t do much in the first three quarters against Houston’s top-ranked defense, but RJ Harvey’s 27-yard TD reception and Troy Franklin’s 2-point conversion grab tied it at 15-all early in the fourth quarter

C.J. Stroud sustained a concussion when he was hit at the end of a slide early in the first quarter

Ka’imi Fairbairn tied a career-high with five field goals, but the Texans (3-5) struggled to move the ball with Davis Mills at quarterback after Stroud’s injury STEELERS 27, COLTS 20: In Pittsburgh, Jaylen Warren ran for two touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers forced Indianapolis into six turnovers.

The Steelers (5-3) snapped a twogame losing streak by harassing Colts quarterback Daniel Jones into the kind of mistakes he’d largely avoided during Indianapolis’ scorching-hot start.

Jones threw three interceptions and fumbled twice, including a strip-sack by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt in the second quarter that seemed to shake the Steelers out of a weekslong funk in which the NFL’s highest-paid defense gave up yards and points at an alarming rate.

Watt’s recovery set up the first of Warren’s two touchdown runs.

49ERS 34, GIANTS 24: In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Christian McCaffrey and Brian Robinson ran all over the Giants on the way to a victory McCaffrey accounted for 173 scrimmage yards — 106 on the ground on his 28 carries and 67 receiving on five catches.

A week after a franchise-low 10 rushing attempts, Kyle Shanahan’s team ran the ball 39 times for 159 yards, including Robinson’s 18yard touchdown that sent a lot of the Giants crowd to the exits.

Niners QB Mac Jones completed his first 14 passes on the way to finishing 19 of 24 for 235 yards and TD passes to McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings.

PATRIOTS 24, FALCONS 23: In Foxborough, Massachusetts, Drake Maye threw two touchdown passes and had a pair of turnovers in an uneven performance, and New England held on for its sixth straight victory Terrell Jennings had his first career rushing touchdown for the Patriots (7-2). DeMario Douglas had four catches for 100 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game of his career New England led 24-17 in the fourth quarter when Michael Penix connected with Drake London for a 40-yard gain along the sideline with Christian Gonzalez in coverage.

The Patriots forced a fourthand-goal on the 8, but London outstretched Carlton Davis on a jump ball for a toe-tapping touchdown to get the Falcons (3-5) within a point. But Parker Romo’s extra point attempt missed wide right

CHARGERS 27, TITANS 20: In Nashville Tennessee, Justin Herbert threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score and the Los Angeles Chargers got their third win in four games. Herbert, who came in leading

the NFL with 2,140 yards passing, shook off an early pick-six and losing both his tackles to injuries before halftime. Right tackle

Bobby Hurt hurt a groin in the first quarter, and left tackle Joe Alt was carted off in the second after reinjuring his right ankle.

Odafe Oweh had two of Los Angeles’ four sacks.

The Chargers (6-3) took control midway through the third quarter, stopping the Titans and running back Tony Pollard on backto-back plays at the 1 to protect a 20-17 lead.

PANTHERS 16, PACKERS 13: In Green Bay, Wisconsin, Rico Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and his big run in the final minute set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s last-second, game-winning 49-yard field goal.

It was the second time this season the rookie from Florida State has made a winning field goal as time expired.

The loss could prove costly for Green Bay (5-2-1). Packers star tight end Tucker Kraft was carted off the field with a knee injury in the third quarter

Dowdle’s second touchdown gave the Panthers (5-4) a 13-6 lead late in the third quarter He celebrated that score by thrusting his hips twice, an homage to a “Key & Peele” sketch, and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

VIKINGS 27, LIONS 24: In Detroit, J.J. McCarthy threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in his return from an ankle injury, leading Minnesota over the Lions.

McCarthy sealed the victory by throwing a 16-yard pass to Jalen Nailor on third-and-5 from the Minnesota 28, a play that allowed Minnesota to run out the clock.

McCarthy, who led Michigan to the 2023 national championship, was 14 of 25 for 143 yards. He threw both of his scoring passes in the first quarter, connecting with Justin Jefferson from 10 yards out and T.J. Hockenson from 7 yards.

McCarthy ran for a 9-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter giving the Vikings (4-4) a 24-14 lead.

Lions QB Jared Goff was 25 of 37 for 284 yards with two touchdowns. Sam LaPorta had 97 yards receiving and a score, and AmonRa St. Brown had 97 yards on nine catches. Jahmyr Gibbs was held to 25 yards rushing on nine carries and 3 yards on 3 receptions. BEARS 47, BENGALS 42: In Cincinnati, Caleb Williams connected with Colston Loveland for a 58yard touchdown with 17 seconds left, and Chicago beat the Bengals in a wild game that featured three touchdowns in the last two minutes and two lead changes in the final minute.

After Joe Flacco put the Bengals ahead 42-41 with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Andrei Iosivas, Chicago (5-3) took over on its own 28 with 54 seconds left. Four plays later, on first down from the 42, Williams found Loveland down the middle

The rookie tight end caught it at the Bengals 36, bounced off Cincinnati defensive backs Jordan Battle and Geno Stone and ran to the end zone JAGUARS 30, RAIDERS 29, OT: In Las Vegas, Trevor Lawrence scored on a quarterback sneak in overtime for his second rushing touchdown of the game, and the Jaguars held on to win when nose tackle DaVon Hamilton batted down Geno Smith’s pass to deny the Raiders a winning 2-point conversion. Jacksonville’s Cam Little broke an NFL record with a 68-yard field goal at the end of the first half, and his 48-yarder with 16 seconds left sent the game to OT

The Jaguars (5-3) ended a twogame skid and improved their playoff chances. Las Vegas (2-6) has lost six of seven. Lawrence, who battled an illness, completed 23 of 34 passes for 220 yards.

Allen nearly flawless as Bills drop Chiefs

BY JOHN WAWROW AP sportswriter

ORCHARD PARK,N.Y After Josh Allen spent much of the past week downplaying Buffalo’s showdown against Kansas City, the Bills quarterback revealed there was more to the rivalry than he let on.

Turns out beating the Chiefs — a team that has blocked Allen and the Bills’ path to the Super Bowl for much of the past five years — meant something more to Allen. And the NFL’s reigning MVP had a near-perfect performance in a 28-21 victory Sunday

“They’re the pinnacle of what you want your franchise to be. They’ve been that for the last eight years,” Allen said. “Any time you get a chance to play the best and you can come away with a victory you’re going to be feeling pretty good.”

Allen put aside questions and criticisms of how Buffalo’s passing attack has sputtered over the past month by throwing one touchdown pass and running for two other scores. He set the franchise record for completion percentage by going 23 of 26 (88.5%) for 273 yards.

He also outdueled Buffalo’s arch nemesis, Patrick Mahomes. Though the Bills have won five

straight regular-season meetings against Kansas City, they’re 0-4 in playoff meetings dating to the 2020 postseason, including last season’s AFC championship game.

Mahomes, by comparison, finished with his worst completion percentage — 44.1% — while going 15 of 34 for 250 yards and an interception. The two-time NFL MVP previously never had finished a regular-season game completing fewer than 50% of his passes over his nine-year career

The Bills defense played a major role in harassing Mahomes, who was sacked three times and hit 15 more.

“We’ve had great moments, we’ve had bad moments. We have to be more consistent as a team,” Mahomes said “I have to be more consistent as a quarterback. And we have to be able to battle.”

The Bills (6-2) have the upper hand on the Chiefs (5-4) in the playoff seeding race. Buffalo, however, is still chasing New England (7-2) in the AFC East standings after losing to the Patriots last month.

The Chiefs, meantime, opened a season with four or more losses through nine games for just the third time since Andy Reid took over as coach in 2013.

“Against a team like this, you have to be able to score touchdowns, not field goals,” Reid said.

Kareem Hunt and Rashee Rice scored on touchdown runs, and Harrison Butker hit both field goal attempts for the Chiefs.

The game was decided in the final 17 seconds, when Mahomes threw three straight incompletions from Buffalo’s 40. The last throw fell short of the end zone and was batted down by rookie Maxwell Hairston, who earlier intercepted Mahomes. The Chiefs’ drive began at Kansas City’s 42 after Matt Prater’s 52-yard field goal attempt for the Bills struck the right upright. Tight end Dalton Kincaid led Buffalo with 101 yards receiving and James Cook had 114 yards rushing.

Bills coach Sean McDermott credited his team for coming together to pull out what stands as a signature victory Buffalo’s previous five wins came against opponents that entered Week 9 with a combined record of 11-30, while they lost to New England and Atlanta.

“We’re not where we need to be, but I saw the team come together and when it got tough,” McDermott said, “they stood tall.”

Cardinals look to break 5-game losing streak in visit with Cowboys

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP pro football writer

ARLINGTON, Texas Kyler Murray has never lost at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, where he could return from a two-game absence with a foot injury but won’t start as the Arizona Cardinals try to end a five-game losing streak.

Murray could be active and might play Monday night in a venue that’s as close to a sure thing as possible for him, but where the 2019 No. 1 overall pick will watch at the beginning as Jacoby Brissett makes a third consecutive start.

Murray is 9-0 at AT&T Stadium, which was first his high school championship venue before it was the place he won a Big 12 title with Oklahoma, and now has two victories leading the Cardinals.

If Arizona ends its skid against the Cowboys (3-4-1), Murray likely won’t get credit for this win if he’s active. But hey one of the victories in that perfect record was as the backup at Texas A&M, before he transferred to the Sooners and reached the College Football Playoff twice.

“We’ve been preparing for Kyler but also had plans knowing you could be facing Jacoby for whatever reason,” said Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who was the quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis when Brissett made 15 starts in place of an injured Andrew Luck in 2017. “The big thing for me about Jacoby is this guy is an incredible leader, very, very smart, big, powerful passer Very different from Kyler, but both are difficult to sack for different reasons.”

Had he been scheduled to start, Murray would have had some work to do to convince Arizona fans the switch back from Bris-

some controllables moving forward as it relates to everybody playing a little bit better,” Gannon said.

sett is a good thing. The 32-year-old veteran backup had 599 yards passing in the first two games Murray missed, boosting a passing offense that was ranked 30th when Murray got hurt.

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon said the two days before the game would determine whether Murray could be active and have a role in another game against his hometown team.

“He’s been pushing, we’ve been pushing,” Gannon said. “He is getting better He’s had some more work this last week If he can have a role, he’ll have a role.”

A chance to reset

The Cardinals lost all five games on their current skid by a combined 13 points, a shockingly low number The first three came on last-play field goals. This leads Gannon to believe last week’s bye came at a good time.

“I do think it’s a good little time to reset here and really focus on

Monday, Monday

The Cowboys are about to be just the second NFL team to play consecutive games on a Monday Their bye is next week, and they visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov 17.

The Raiders were the only other team to do it, in 1996 under the same circumstances. The then-Oakland franchise’s two Monday night games were separated by the open week.

Dallas has a Thanksgiving Day game every year, along with plenty of prime-time outings. So quirky schedules are nothing new

“I think people love or hate the Cowboys, and that’s part of why we play, how we play, where we play and whatnot,” Schottenheimer said “It really doesn’t matter These guys are going to play anybody any time, anywhere. I can’t say that it’s not something that is definitely noticeable when you look at the schedule.”

Green urges Pelicans to ‘keep fighting’

Team falls to 0-6 after 31-point loss to Oklahoma City

From staff and wire reports

OKLAHOMA CITY — The rough start to the New Orleans Pelicans’ season got even rougher Sunday

The Pelicans lost their third game of the season by 30 or more points, this one a 137-106 drubbing by the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, last season’s Most Valuable Player, had 30 points and seven assists in three quarters, as the Thunder improved to 7-0 The Pelicans, meanwhile, fell to 0-6. Dating back to last season, the Pels have now lost 13 consecutive games. That ties the franchise record for most consecutive losses.

Isaiah Hartenstein had 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Thunder, who shot 56% from the field and had eight players score in double figures.

The Thunder entered the game ranked last in the NBA in 3-point percentage at just under 30% but made 20 of 48 (41.7%) against the Pelicans.

Oklahoma City dominated despite three starters from last season’s championship team missing the game. Thunder guard Lu Dort was out with an illness, forward Chet Holmgren missed his third straight game with a lower back sprain and guard/forward Jalen Williams hasn’t played this season as recovers from offseason surgery on his right wrist.

None of that stopped the Thunder, which equaled its 7-0 start from last season when it won the NBA title. Oklahoma City is the third team in league history to start 7-0 in back-to-back seasons, joining the Boston Celtics (196365) and Houston Rockets (1993-95).

The Thunder made 13 of 24 3-pointers in the first half to take a 75-52 lead. Jaylin Williams tied a career high with four 3-pointers in the first half.

Former University of Oklahoma star Jeremiah Fears, a rookie, scored 16 points for the Pelicans after getting a warm reception when he was introduced during starting lineups.

“Yeah, it’s a long season,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “Long season. You’ve got to stay together and continue to work at it. You know, we’ll get back to practice and we’ll just keep going from there But the biggest thing is just stay together keep fighting for each other (and) let’s try to string together a consistent game.” Green is now 21-71 in his last 92 games coached, dating back to the Pelicans getting swept by the Thunder in the first round of the 2024 NBA playoffs The Pels have now lost 11 consecutive games to the Thunder Zion Williamson had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Trey Murphy added 19 points for New Orleans.

call

Freeze out at Auburn

Tigers have lost 12 of past 15 SEC games

BY MARK LONG Associated Press

Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday moving on after the Tigers lost for the 12th time in their past 15 Southeastern Conference games.

The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.

Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin will serve as interim coach for the team’s remaining four games.

“Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster,” athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Our expectations for Auburn football are to annually compete for championships, and the search for the next leader of Auburn football begins immediately.”

Freeze became the eighth Power Four coach fired this season, following moves at Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State, Penn State, UCLA and Virginia Tech Stanford also has a vacancy after firing Troy Taylor in March.

Freeze’s finale was a 10-3 home loss to unranked Kentucky on Saturday night in which Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels were sacked a combined seven times. It was the third consecutive loss for Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC) at JordanHare Stadium.

Freeze, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February received much of the blame for the skid. He missed on hand-picked portal quarterbacks Payton Thorne (Michigan State), Arnold (Oklahoma) and maybe even Daniels (Stanford). Freeze also went

1-12 against ranked teams.

The Tigers owe Freeze $15.8 million, with no mitigation, from a six-year, $39 million deal he signed to replace Bryan Harsin in 2022. Harsin was fired eight games into his second season. He was 9-12 overall and 4-9 in league play.

Freeze got the boot at 15-19 overall and 6-16 in the conference. The last five losses included more offensive woes. The Tigers scored 17, 10, 10, 17 and 3 in losses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia and Missouri and Kentucky Now, Auburn is seeking its fourth coach in seven seasons. The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn in 2020, Harsin in 2022 and now Freeze in 2025. Together, the school will end up paying $52.5 million in buyout fees.

Freeze and the Tigers showed promise by winning at Baylor to open the season. They were 3-0 and tied with Oklahoma when the season started to unravel.

The SEC acknowledged that officials missed what should have been a flag before John Mateer connected with wide-open receiver Isaiah Sategna for a 24-yard touchdown in second quarter.

Sategna appeared to run off the field before he stopped outside the numbers and ran a pattern for the score The league said simulated replacements or substitutions cannot be used to confuse opponents.

The Tigers ended up losing 24-17.

The following week at Texas A&M, Auburn managed just nine first downs, 177 yards of total offense and went 0 for 13 on third down in another one-possession loss.

It was more of the same against Georgia, which controlled the game after forcing a questionable fumble at the goal line late in the first half. A touchdown would have given Auburn a 17-0 lead. Instead, the turnover sparked the Bulldogs, who won 20-10 Nonetheless, Auburn trailed 13-10 until Georgia scored in the waning minutes. So it was another close loss for Freeze, who ended his tenure 2-10 in one-possession games.

Fears started the game with a 3-pointer to give the Pelicans an early lead, but it didn’t last long.

Center Kevon Looney made his Pelicans debut after dealing with a left knee injury he suffered in the preseason. Looney finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 16 minutes.

Gilgeous-Alexander made 8 of

“It was great,” Fears said about the reception. “It was basically showing everybody that it’s still a family Although I’m gone, they still come to support.”

14 field goals and all 13 of his free throws in 30 minutes.

“They made shots,” Green said of the Thunder “But a lot of those shots that were being made because they have to feel us more from a physicality perspective, and they didn’t. When teams do that, you’re allowing them to do what they do best, which is drivekick, drive-kick and get to the freethrow line.”

The Thunder led 114-90 in the fourth when Looney hit Oklahoma City’s Ajay Mitchell in the face as Mitchell drove to the hoop After review, Looney was called for a Flagrant-1. Mitchell made both free throws, then hit a floater on the extra possession to make it 118-90. The Pelicans return home to face the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday at the Smoothie King Center

Larson wins his second NASCAR championship

Hamlin denied in OT, ‘40 seconds away’ from first title

BY JENNA FRYER Associated Press

AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kyle Larson knew he wasn’t going to catch Denny Hamlin in the final laps on Sunday, not without the sort of help that only a caution flag can bring.

Larson got his lucky break.

Hamlin only got heartbreak.

Larson is now a two-time NASCAR champion after denying Hamlin what would have been his first career title when a late caution at Phoenix Raceway sent the championship-deciding finale into overtime.

Without that caution, which came with three laps to run, Hamlin had it locked up and was ready to finally shed the label of greatest NASCAR driver to never win a championship. But fellow title contender William Byron got a flat tire and hit the wall to bring out the caution, and a few minutes later it was over

“Just unbelievable,” Larson said. “I cannot believe it.”

Neither could Hamlin.

“I really don’t have much for emotion right now Just numb about it ’cause just in shock,” Hamlin said after consoling his crying daughters on pit road. “We were 40 seconds away from a championship. This sport can drive you absolutely crazy because sometimes speed, talent, none of that matters.”

When the caution for Byron came out, Hamlin led the field down pit road and got four new tires on his Toyota; Larson only took two tires on his Chevrolet.

It meant Larson was fifth for the two-lap sprint to the finish, with Hamlin back in 10th.

With so little time to run down Larson, Hamlin came up short with a sixth-place finish as Larson finished third. Ryan Blaney, who was eliminated from title contention last week, won the race.

“You do have to feel for that group and Denny Doing a good job all day it not playing out for him. But that is racing. It sucks sometimes,” Blaney said. “They can hang their head about it, but they should be very proud about the effort. They had the fastest race car here. Just one of those things where it doesn’t work out. Looked like it was going into his favor, unfortunately for him, it didn’t.”

It is the second championship for Larson, who won his first title in 2021 when he joined Hendrick Motorsports. It is the 15th Cup ti-

tle for the organization and came on the 30th anniversary of Jeff Gordon giving Hendrick its first championship in 1995.

As Larson celebrated, Hamlin sat in his car motionless for several seconds, then wiped his face with a white towel, never showing any emotion. Larson, who has been in a slump since his disastrous Memorial Day attempt to race both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, was also in shock.

“We didn’t lead a lap and won the championship,” Larson said.

“We had an average car at best and had the right front (tire) go down, lost a lap and got the wave around, saved by the caution with the wave around. It’s just unbelievable. What a year by this motorsports team.”

Team owner Rick Hendrick, Gordon and Larson crew chief Cliff Daniels all said they did not believe Larson still had a chance at the championship after so many problems during the race.

“I have to acknowledge that it was a pretty ugly day for us,” Daniels said. “I think we were beat on raw pace, and after we had the flat tire, there wasn’t a lot of good things coming our way The way the team stuck together and continued to believe in each other Kyle continued to believe if we just had a shot we could close it out.” When Hamlin finally got out of his car he embraced his crew members, but it was a scene of disbelief among the Joe Gibbs Racing crowd. Team members were crying, some sitting in shock on the pavement, Gibbs himself stood silent, one hand on his hip and a look of disbelief on his face.

It is the sixth shot at a title to slip away from Hamlin in his 20 years driving for Gibbs. He led

208 of the 319 laps and started from the pole.

“Nothing I could do different. I mean, prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend and my team gave me a fantastic car,” Hamlin said. “Just didn’t work out. I was just praying ‘no caution,’ and we had one there. What can you do? It’s just not meant to be.”

He said crew chief Chris Gayle made the correct call with four tires, but too many others only took two, which created too big of a gap for Hamlin to close on Larson in so little time. The 44-year-old Virginia native had been extremely jinxed in five previous championship finales, with bad luck, bad strategy and bad cars breaking his heart in 2010, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2021. Sunday marked his first time eligible in the winner-take-all race in four seasons.

Hamlin was remarkably loose and calm all week, rented three houses in Scottsdale for 30 friends and family, won the pole and then dominated Sunday’s race.

Hamlin teammate Chase Briscoe finished 18th in his debut in the championship finale, while Larson teammate Byron was 33rd after his late issue. He felt awful for ruining Hamlin’s chance even though his Hendrick Motorsports teammate won the championship.

“I’m just super bummed that it was a caution obviously I hate that. Hate it for Denny I hate it for the 11 team,” Byron said. “I mean, Denny was on his way to it. I hate that. There’s a lot of respect there. I obviously do not want to cause a caution. If I had known what tire it was, known that a tire was going down before I got to the corner I would have done something different.”

Dramatic Game 7 full of moments

TORONTO Late homers by Miguel Rojas and Will Smith rallied the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings Saturday night in one of the wildest Game 7s in World Series history Los Angeles overcame 3-0 and 4-2 deficits, and escaped a basesloaded jam in the ninth to become baseball’s first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees won three titles in a row Here are the top moments from the epic Game 7:

Bichette chases Ohtani

The Blue Jays took a 3-0 thirdinning lead when Bo Bichette connected against Shohei Ohtani for his first homer since Sept. 2, which was a few days before suffering a left knee injury that sidelined him until the World Series and still hampered him throughout.

Ohtani was pitching on three days of rest, and although he was up to 100.9 mph with his fastball, his command was shaky and he appeared to run out of steam in the third. After fielding Nathan Lukes’ sacrifice bunt, he threw a wild pitch to Vladimir Guerrero Jr and allowed Bichette’s homer on the next pitch, his 51st and last of the night.

Benches clear

Both benches and bullpens cleared after Dodgers lefthander Justin Wrobleski hit An-

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ASHLEy LANDIS

Miguel Rojas of the Los Angeles Dodgers follows through on a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday in Toronto. His blast tied the game.

drés Giménez on the right hand with a pitch in the fourth inning. Wrobleski already had thrown two high-and-inside fastballs to Giménez with his first and fourth pitches before hitting him with a 96.4 mph fastball with one out. After the players returned to their benches and bullpens, the

umpires huddled briefly before crew chief Mark Wegner issued a warning to both teams. Play resumed after a four-minute break between pitches.

Surprise hero

Max Muncy trimmed Toronto’s lead to 4-3 with a solo homer in the eighth, and that also guar-

anteed Ohtani would bat in the ninth. But the two-way superstar didn’t have to be the hero after all. Miguel Rojas hit the first tying home run in the ninth inning or later of a World Series Game 7, according to Stats Perform. His oneout drive off Jeff Hoffman was just his second home run since the All-Star break, and his second in 20 career postseason games.

Narrow escape in 9th Doders left-hander Blake Snell allowed two Toronto baserunners, prompting manager Dave Roberts to bring in Yoshinobu Yamamoto a day after he threw 96 pitches in a Game 6 victory Yamamoto hit Alejandro Kirk with a pitch, loading the bases, before the Dodgers escaped with two helter-skelter defensive plays. With the infield playing in to prevent the winning run, Rojas fielded Daulton Varsho’s grounder to second base and nearly fell over He gathered himself and threw home, but the throw briefly pulled Smith off the plate. Smith’s toe barely reconnected with the plate in time to get the force, a call confirmed by video review Then center fielder Andy Pages, who had just been inserted off the bench to provide better defense, collided with left fielder Kiké Hernández while catching Ernie Clement’s long fly on the left-center warning track. Pages held on for the final out

SCOREBOARD

2, Poole 2, Bey, Missi, Peavy). Steals: 6 (Jones 2, Alvarado, Murphy III, Poole, Williamson) Technical Fouls: None. FGFTRe

Barnhizer

Yongblood 6:51

Dieng 6:01 1-1 0-0

Totals240 47-8423-268-423

Percentages: FG .560, FT .885. 3-Point Goals: 20-48, .417 (Jay.Williams

Wallace 3-4, Wiggins 3-6, Joe 3-10, Caruso 2-3, Youngblood 2-3, Dieng

Carlson

Gilgeous-Alexander 1-5, Mitchell

Team Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 5 (Caruso, Dieng, Hartenstein, Jay.Williams, Wiggins) Turnovers: 11 (Gilgeous-Alexander 3, Carlson 2, Hartenstein 2, Mitchell 2, Caruso, Dieng). Steals: 12 (Wallace 5, Barnhizer, Caruso, Gilgeous-Alexander, Hartenstein, Jay.Williams, Joe, Mitchell). Technical Fouls: None. New Orleans22303024106 Oklahoma City39363329—137 A_18,203 (18,203) Pro football

CONFERENCE

s Angeles000101011015 Toronto00300100000—4

Angeles 2, Toronto

LOB_Los Angeles 10, Toronto 14. 2B_Smith (2), Giménez (1), Clement (3), Guerrero (2). HR_Muncy (2), Rojas (1), Smith (2), Bichette (1). SB_Clement (1). SF_T.Hernández (1), Edman (1). S_Lukes (1), Kiner-Falefa (1). IPHRERBBSO Los Angeles

of the inning despite knocking Hernández to the ground.

Blue Jays escape 10th

Los Angeles loaded the bases with one out in the 10th inning, but Seranthony Domínguez got two quick outs to escape. Giménez threw out Mookie Betts at home plate on Pages’ grounder to shortstop, then Guerrero fielded Hernández’s grounder to first and flipped to Domínguez covering the bag on a close play

Smith enters lore

Smith set a record for most innings caught in a single World Series with 74, and he helped ensure he wouldn’t have to catch a 75th with his solo shot in the 11th.

Smith hit a 2-0 slider from Shane Bieber into the Blue Jays’ bullpen in left field, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the night. It was the first extra-inning homer in a World Series Game 7.

Yamamoto closes it out

Guerrero doubled off Yamamoto leading off the bottom of the 11th and advanced to third on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s sacrifice bunt, and Toronto got the potential winning run on base when Addison Barger walked.

Yamamoto then induced a gameending 6-6-3 double play from Kirk, cementing the Dodgers’ second consecutive title and his World Series MVP award.

HBP_Wrobleski (Giménez), Yamamoto

“I remembermygrandparents cooking in them on my mother’sand father’sside, and Ijustgrewupalwaysseeingthem. It really hitme that these pots were special ” JUDE

ARTIGUE

STAFF PHOTOSByBRAD KEMP

The ‘MagnaliteMan,’Jude Artigue, cooks apot of shrimppasta while showingoff and explaining the historyof Magnalitepots at his home in Lafayette.

‘ITMEANS SOMETHING’

Gettoknow Magnalite, the Ohio cookware that became a Louisianalegend

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Few other brands areassociated with Cajun cooking quite likeMagnalite. Black potsand cast iron have avery important place in the regional culinary landscape —but Magnalite roasters, fry pans and rice potsare so ubiquitous throughout Louisiana home kitchens, locals are often surprised to learnthatthe company stopped producingcookwareinthe United States over 25 years ago. They arealsofrequently surprised to findout that Magnalite was never aLouisianaproduct. The famousaluminumand magnesium alloy pots, prized for their heat distribution, were manu-

BY CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT

Artigue displays various Magnalite pots and dishes. Once produced in Sidney,Ohio, the brand wassold and derivatives are nowproduced overseas.

factured in Sidney,Ohio, by the Wagner Manufacturing Company whichintroduced the Magnalite brand in 1934. The Ohio plant closed in 1999, thebrand was sold, and production of Magnalite-derivativecast aluminum cookware largely moved to China,where brands like McWare (owned by

CajunClassic Cookware outofMamou) are manufactured. McWare, and similar products like Magnaware, preservethe distinctivelook andcooking feel of Magnalite, and thehome cook won’tnotice much of adifference

ä See MAGNALITE, page 2D

important

What is the originofNational Alzheimer’sDisease Awareness month and what can Idotopromote it?

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan first designated November as National Alzheimer’sDisease Awareness Month, when less than 2million Americans werediagnosed with the disease and just one year before he himself received the samediagnosis.

Forty years later,that number has now more than tripled —to over 6million people. One in nine people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’sdisease, adegenerative brain disorder that slowly destroys memory,concentration and thinking skills. The lifetime cost of dementia is estimated to be more than $390,000, including the value of unpaid caregiving. Families/caregivers shoulder 70% of these costs. In the last five years of the life of aperson with dementia,family out-ofpocket health care spending totals more than $86,000 —more than twice as high as for aperson with cancer and nearly 75% higher than for aperson with heart disease (alzimpact.org). The greatest risk for Alzheimer’sdisease is age. The current growth of the population ages 65 and older is unprecedented in U.S. history.Older adults are aging better and living longer and are one of the fastestgrowing groups in the country In fact, 80.8 millionAmericans will be 65+ in 2040 —more than twice as many as in 2000. With these growing numbers, Americans need to pay attention. And, during this month we can do our part to bring about a greater awareness of this brain disorder November is atimetoespecially reflect and recognize all those affected by Alzheimer’s disease; to honor those who experience the disease every day,and to pay tribute to those whose journey has ended. We also need to promote agreater understanding of the disease to diminish the prevailing stigma that oftentimes prevents people with early symptomsfrom seeking medical attention in a timely manner

Raising awareness means starting adialogue. The more we know about Alzheimer’s, the morewecan spread the message to others. We need people to be aware that when symptomsgoundiagnosed and untreated, it is fartoo late to optimize the effects of available interventions. Opportunities forsocial engagement, nutrition counseling and physical activity can significantly alter the course of Alzheimer’sand preserve aquality of lifewhen the diagnosis is madeearlier Raising awareness means understanding risk factors. Researchers have shown that high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity are indicators of a greater risk for cognitive decline. The health of your brain is closely tied with the health of your body,particularly the heart. Managing other risk

Drymouth more common in olderadults

Dear Doctors: I’venoticed as I’m getting older —Ijust turned 63 that Ihave more episodes of dry mouth. I’m told this isn’tunusual for older people. Why would that be? Chewing gum helps, but I don’tenjoy it. Are there things I should eat or avoidthat can help this go away?

Dear reader: Dry mouth is justas it sounds,a shortage of saliva that leaves the tongue, teeth andinner surfacesofthe mouth without adequate hydration and lubrication Also known as xerostomia, this occurs when the salivary glands don’tproduce enough saliva.

For most people, dry mouthis something that happensoccasionally,often when they are nervous, anxious or under stress. But foran estimated 10% of the population, the condition becomes chronic.

By The Associated Press

Today is Monday,Nov.3,the 307th day of 2025. There are 58 days left in the year.Daylight saving time ends today

Todayinhistory:

On Nov.3,1979, five Communist Workers Party members were killed in aclash with heavily armed Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis duringan anti-Klan protest in Greensboro, North Carolina,inwhat became known as the Greensboro massacre. State and federal trialssubsequently acquitted six defendants of murder and riotingcharges.

Also on this date:

In 1911, the Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was founded in Detroit by Louis Chevrolet and William C. Durant.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt easily won reelection to asecond term, losing justtwo states to the Republican candidate,Kansas Gov. Alf Landon.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the spacecraft Sputnik 2, carrying the firstanimal into orbit, adog named Laika.

In 1992, DemocratBill Clinton was elected the 42nd presidentofthe United States, defeating Republican President George H.W.Bush.

In 2014, 13 years after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers, a new 104-story,1,776-foot-high skyscraper called the One World Trade Center opened for business at the site, marking an emotionalmilestone for both New Yorkers and the nation.

In 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the presidency,though his victory would not be known for more than three days as counting continued in battleground states; Republican President Donald Trump wouldrefuse to concede, falsely claimingthat he was avictim of widespread voter fraud.

Today’sbirthdays: Former MassachusettsGov.Michael S. Dukakis is 92. Economist and Nobel Prize laureateAmartya Sen is 92. Sen. Mazie Hirono, DHawaii, is 78. Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour is 76. Boxing Hall of Famer Larry Holmes is 76. Scientist David Ho is 73. Comedian-actor Roseanne Barr is 73. Actor Kate Capshaw is 72. Comedian Dennis Miller is 72. Singer Adam Ant is 71.

AWARENESS

Continued from page1D

factors such as diabetes, head injuries, smoking, poor nutrition, alcohol abuse and isolation are equally as important in delaying or preventing the onset of cognitive decline in later life. The social, emotional and fiscal benefits of raising awareness andgetting educated about Alzheimer’sdisease are too large to measure. Find support and resources at Alzheimer’sServices, alzbr.org, or the Alzheimer’sAssociation, alz. org. During National Alzheimer’sDisease Awareness month, you can bring awareness by being an ambassador for those affected by the disease. Spread the message.

Note: This column first appeared in 2023. Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’s advocate and author of “What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “The Memory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@gmail. com.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko Dr.Eve Glazier ASK THE DOCTORS

Symptoms include aperceptible dropinsalivaproduction; saliva that is thick, foamy or stringy; a sticky sensation inside the mouth; arough,dry tongue; bad breath; and dry or cracked lips. This decrease in saliva cancause the tongue, cheeks and inner surfaces of themouth to stick to each other and to theteeth It may becomedifficult to chew and swallow dry or crumbly foods.

MAGNALITE

Continued from page1D

in their gravy,according to Jude Artigue—alsoknown as the“Magnalite Man.” Artigue, who lives in Lafayette, is achemist and lifelong Magnalite lover

He said the difference in quality is moresubtle and comes down to poorlycontrolled variation in these brands’ production andmaterials.

“When production of everything in the world moved over to China, quality control got harder,” Artiguesaid. “Wecan scan these potsusing X-ray diffraction, and it gives you theexact content of aluminumand magnesium. In oldschool Magnalite by Wagner,the compoundsare so exact —soprecise every time.

“When you compare theChinese products, for example, the percentageofaluminum will be less consistent.They might makethem alittle thicker to makeupsome of thatquality,but it’sall over the place. You’re mass-producing a millionpieces and mixing all these metalsinagiant vat, and there’s just less quality control.”

Thesetopics, and other quality- and care-related issues, often comeupinthe Facebook group

Artigue opened in 2022 as ahome for all things Magnalite: “Magnalite Community (Cleaning, Cooking, Collecting, etc.),” now almost 80,000 members strong. The group is apassion project for him, started as away to help people learn aboutand appreciate these culturally and personally significant pots andpans.

“I remembermygrandparents cooking in them on my mother’s and father’sside, and Ijust grew up always seeing them. It really hitmethatthese pots werespecial

LUGGAGE

Continued from page1D

Larson quicklyforked over $708 for anew one-way fare on the same flight,plusbaggage fees. He hoped American Airlines would sort it out after hearrived in Alaska.

Of course, it didn’t.

Larson’scase raises three important questions that could apply to your next flight: Can agents arbitrarily deny baggage check-in?

Who’sresponsiblewhen partner airlines disagree on policies?

How do you get refunds when airlines point fingers at each other?

Let’sstart with what went wrong —and whyyour next tripcould hinge on theanswers.

‘Itfeltlikeascam’

Larson hadbooked his tickets directly through theAlaska Airlines website. There were no warnings or notationsonhis itinerary. It appeared that his luggage would be checkedinRaleigh andreturnedto himinKetchikan.

At 5:40 a.m., the American agent scanned Larson’sAlaska-issued ticket. Her screen flashed red.

“Whoever booked this didn’tallow enough timefor your bags,” shesaid.“Bags need90minutes in Phoenix.”

But therewere two problems.

First, Alaska Airlines hadcreated thereservation —sothat “whoever” was its code-share partner

Second, hisstopover was 93 minutes, whichisthree minutes more than American required

“She didn’ttry to fix it,” Larson recalls. “Shejust said, ‘Flytomorrow.’”

When he pressed to have asupervisor review hisproblem, the agentallegedly whispered to acolleague: “Sometimes you have to be rude to make them go away.”

With minutes to board,Larson hadnochoicebut to buy another

Because alack of saliva can change the optimal pH inside the mouth, the risk of toothdecay,gum disease and fungal infections increases. It’strue that the condition can occur more often in older adults, with an estimated 30% of people over 65 affected by thecondition. However,this is not due to agerelated changes in the body

Rather,dry mouth is mostoften aside effect of certain health conditions, medical treatments and medications. Diabetes, salivary stones, someautoimmune conditionsand some neurodegenerativediseases can adversely affect thesalivary glands. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption and even behaviors such as prolonged open-mouth breathing can affect moisture levels within the mouth. Dry mouth is associated with

when therewas adeathinthe family on my father’s side, and my dad was lower on the food chain, so he didn’tget the pot.

“I couldtellthathewas really bummed.That was one of the first times I’d ever seen him sad or upset. Iwas like, this is something more than just apot. And Iwas only 7or8,” Artigue said, explaining how Louisianans tendtocreate corememoriesinthe kitchen —whether it’s Mawmaw’s gumbo recipe, or the pot she madeitin. In theearly years,Magnalite produced everything from tea kettles to drip pans, as new-fangled cast aluminum cookware rode awave of popularity across post-WorldWar II America. Louisiana gradually became its domi-

ticket to Phoenix on thespot on the same flight.(I’ll get to that later.) He says thegate agents were confused that thereweretwo reservationsunder thesame name.

AlaskaAirlines said Larson’s flight from PhoenixtoKetchikan would remain valid.

But getting arefund for the ticket he couldn’tuse proved Kafkaesque. American told him to ask Alaska.AlaskasaidtalktoAmerican. Both ignored his emails.

“It felt like ascam,”Larsonsays Denial of service

Yes, they can. Airlinespublish minimum connectiontimes (MCTs)for passengers and their bags. These can vary by airport andcode-share partnership. In Phoenix, American’sMCT for Alaska flights is 90 minutes. Alaska’sis60.

WhenMCTs conflict, the operating carrier’srules apply.But here’sthe rub: Larson’s connection met Alaska’sthreshold. Andthere wasplenty of time. The American agentdidn’tevenhavetorequest ashort connection waiver to override thesystem, becauseLarson had 93 minutes between flights.

So theAmerican Airlines agent in Raleigh refused Larson’sluggage, even though shehad no reason to do so.

“It was clear that she was either incompetentorinexperienced,” Larson says. “She had to keep asking thegentleman next to her for help. Insteadofmaking attempts to work through theissue, she ignored me, hoping Iwould go away.”

Who’sresponsible?

Answer: It’scomplicated —but the ticketing airline usually owns theproblem Airlinesoperate under interline agreements or contracts that let themsell seatsoneach other’s flights.But these pacts oftenlack clearaccountability clauses. If your ticket starts with AS —that’s

awide range of prescription and over-the-counter medications. These include certain blood pressure medications, antidepressants, bladder control medications, antihistamines, antiinflammatories, diuretics, opioids, GLP-1 drugs,nausea medications, muscle relaxers andantipsychotics. The condition is also acommon side effect of radiation, chemotherapy and immunotherapy There areseveral dietary steps that you can take to ease the symptoms. It is important to stay hydrated, but to avoid carbonated and sugary drinks, which can increase acidity in the mouth. Caffeine andalcohol can contributetofluid loss, so limit or avoid them. Xylitol, an artificial sweetener,triggers saliva production and output.

nant market, and enthusiasm for thebrand hascontinued almost unabated ever since, thanks to a thrivingsecondary market stoked by generations of shared Magnalitememories.

When it comes to these pots, nostalgia can fetch ahefty price.

An 8-quart roaster in mint condition,perfect for making afamilysized jambalaya or crawfish étouffée, often sells for$300 or more at flea markets, vintage shops and online.

Artigue’sfriend and Magnalite co-aficionado, BryanDeslatte of New Iberia, has his own Facebook group devoted to buying and selling the brand. “Vintage Magnalite Swap ShopBuying or Selling” has 65,000 members, all on the hunt for theincreasingly rare cookware.

“Peoplelove to cook their meat and gravy in them,” Deslatte said of the pots. “The waythe heat distributesisdifferent. The other day Idid some roux in asmaller roaster,and within 20 minutes, Ihad my roux from start to dark.”

Overthe past fouryears in Deslatte’sgroup, the average price of alarge roaster has gone up to $375 from about $250.

“Some people charge $500,” Deslatte said. “If someone says, ‘I have to have it,’ they’ll pay any price. Don’tmean it’s worth that much.”

One lingering myth continues to lurk in Magnalite communities, suggesting alink between aluminum cookware and memory loss According to the Alzheimer’sAssociation, that link emerged in Alzheimer’sresearch in the 1960s and1970s, but studiesfailedto prove that everydayaluminum exposure causes Alzheimer’s. Magnalite fear has never withstood the devotion people continue to feel for the brand, especially in Louisiana. Artigue andDeslatte say that resellers and home cooks

Alaska Airlines —that would be your first call. But the operating carrier,American, controls the experience on thefirst legofthe flight

Translation: Alaska took Larson’s money,but American controlled thebaggage decision.

Most carriersrequire 60-to 90-minute minimumconnections for the transfer of bags on interline itineraries. Alaska’spolicyis60 minutesdomestically.American’s is 90 minutes. The American agent incorrectlyapplied American’s stricter rule, even though Alaska was the ticketing airline andthe connection time met American’s MCT requirement.

Airlinesuse asophisticated formula to determine minimum connection times. Most passengers assume the times are for passengers, but really,it’sjustasimportant that airlinescan transfer their baggage.

Gettingrefunds

Larson’sfirst mistake was payingunderpressure. Buying aduplicateticket at the last minute and assuming you can work it out later rarely works in apassenger’sfavor. You’re better off missing the flight and applying pressure to the airline to fix the problem it created.

Mistake No. 2: Allowing the airlinestoplay “pass the buck.” American Airlines created this problem by being totally incompetent. By theway,it’sunclear how buying asecond ticket solved theproblem in American Airlines’ view Larson boarded the sameflight andchecked the same amount of luggage. My advocacy team asked American Airlines about this, and I’ll have its response in amoment.

Optionsdoexist

n Ask fora refund. Larson emailed Americanimmediately That was anecessary first step Alwayscreate apaper trail.

n Get the ticketing airline in-

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

have latelytaken notice across the country,and people are hunting forMagnalite all over the U.S., but before WagnerManufacturing closed down in Ohio, they did about 80% of their business in the South.

“Now it’sjust blown up,” Artigue said. That popularity is partially thanks to the way Cajun families have themselvesgrown, dispersed and disseminatedtheir generational cookware outside of the region. The wedding sets of Magnalite that Louisiana couples started off withinthe 1950s and 1960s have long been broken up, and are now aging into the homes of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, wherever they happen to live.

SandraCorne, of NewIberia, recentlypassedonher mother’s Magnaliteset to herdaughter, Lauren, who lives in Austin. Her family’shistory with Magnalite is atypical onefor the area, with roasters, fryers and pots moving around on both sides of the family, whileeachnew generation keeps an eye on the best specimens.

“When Ipacked that box forher, Iincluded the roaster —myroaster,” Corne said. “It meanssomething to her. Youlook at them and they’re kind of used, but it’sbattle wounds. It’sscars. It shows that alot of love was cooked in these pots.”

Sandra Corne cooked her first meal in her mother’sMagnalite pot whenshe was11years old smothered pork chops withrice and gravy “It’sa big deal to give life back to these pots, because they’re so pricey now,” she said. “But, oh, they will make the best gravy ever whenyou’re cooking meattoput over rice.”

Email Joanna Brownatjoanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

volved.Alaskashould’veadvocated forhim under DOTrules on through-ticketed baggage. n Complain to theDepartment of Transportation. Airlines have 30 days to respond to agovernment complaint.

n File achargeback. After all, Larson paidfor atickethecouldn’t use. His credit card might return the money under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

IreviewedLarson’s paper trail between him, American andAlaska, which brings me to his final mistake. Although he started apapertrailbyemailing the airlines involved in this fiasco, he appeared to have spent alot of time on the phone negotiating with them and thengettingbounced between the carriers.

Aphone call is agreat waytoresolve aproblem when you’re stuck at the airport and need to get rebooked on aflight.But forrefunds, you need areliable paper trail that shows you asking foryour money back and the airline’sresponse. Will he ever gethis moneyback? Our advocacy team wasgenuinely baffledbyLarson’scase. What was the ticket agent in Raleigh thinking when she declinedhis luggage? How did buying anew ticket resolve this problem and allow him to fly on thesameitinerary?Why did American refuse to refund an obvious duplicate ticket?

Iasked American Airlines, but it did not answer.Itdid, however issue afull refund for Larson’ssecond ticket, including his luggage charges.

It’s along overdueresolutionto atruly bizarre case— anda reminder that when you’re booking acodeshare or interline flight, pay attentiontoyourconnectiontime Because sometimes your airline isn’t.

Email travelers’ advocate Christopher Elliott at chris@ elliott.org.

sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Participate andmake adifference. Opportunities developwhen you aren't afraid to take achance, stand up for others andapproach situations with apositive demeanor.

sAGIttARIus (nov.23-Dec. 21) Tidy up looseends in your domestic or personal lifesoyou can move forward without regret or uncertainty. Take nothing forgranted,dowhatyou do best and be grateful.

CAPRICoRn(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Takebetter care of yourself physically. Indulgence won'tsolveanything, but sticking to abalanced diet, fitness routine and healthy lifestyle will point you in the right direction.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Having something relaxing to look forward to will have apositive impact on how you look,feel andportray yourself to others. Take control of how you achieve happiness.

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Take abreak if it will rejuvenate yourmind, body and soul. Feeling good will helpyou shake up asituation and possiblycome out on top. Choosebeing calm over being frantic.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) It's all about attitude,confidence and poise. Of course,knowing what you're doing helps, so make sure you are up to date with what's cutting-edge. Avoid excess and indulgent people.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Slow down, plan carefully and budgetwisely

Refuse to letanyone talk you into somethingthat isn't realistic or to your benefit.Success demands thought,precision and persistence.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Ashiftistaking place; payattention, be readytoact and embrace positive change with open arms. Letyour voice lead theway and your enthusiasm infect those you want to enlist in your plans.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Mix business with pleasure. Networking eventswill lead to newbeginnings. Don't be afraid to voice your opinion. Don't overspend tryingtomake an impression.

LEo(July 23-Aug. 22) Youcan dream, but don't trick your mind into thinking the impossible is tangible.Use your imagination, and you'll come up with an innovative, budget-friendlyplan.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept.22) Expand your mind and updateyour technology. A change may seem tempting, butacting on it prematurely could bring unintended consequences. Weigh the pros and cons before takingachance.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Payattention and don't offerwhat you cannot deliver or spend what you do not have. Rethink your lifestyle and explore ways to cut corners or generateadditional income.

Thehoroscope, 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 gridwith several given numbers The objectistoplace the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number onlyonce. Thedifficulty level of the sudoku increasesfrom monday to sunday

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

Bridge

By PHILLIPALDER

Niels Bohr, aDanish scientist whowon the NobelPrize for Physics in 1922, said, “An expert is aperson who has made all themistakes that can be made in avery narrow field.” Why does abridge expert make fewer mistakes than someone lower down the ranks? What makes an expert abetter bridge player than someone lower down the ranks?

Thereare several factors, butcard sense (which Ibelieve is innate) and counting are top of the list. The more counting youdo, the better youwill play. Count high-card points, not just yours, butthose comingfromthe opponents during theplay.Count winners and losers. And, sometimes,you need to count hand distributions —asinthis deal.

South is in four hearts. West leads the diamond nine. East overtakes with his 10, cashes the diamond king, and continues with thediamond ace. How should declarer continue after ruffing high? (West discards aclub.)

North’s twodiamonds was acue-bid raise, showing three-plus hearts and at least game-invitational values. (This allowsajump-raise to three hearts to be played as pre-emptive.)

South, with three minor-suit losers, must find thespade queen. Andwhen faced with atwo-wayfinesse, ideally one leaves that decision until near the end of the deal.Declarer draws trumps and plays aclubtodummy’s king. East wins with his ace and returns aclub.

wuzzles

After South takes his two tricks in that suit, what has he learned? He knows thatEast started with three hearts, sixdiamonds and at least three clubs. Ergo, he has at most one spade. Declarer cashes his spadeace andconfidently finesses through West. Keep counting. ©2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrewsmcmeel syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuCtIons: 1. Words mustbeoffour or moreletters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. additional wordsmade by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD DRuPEs: DROOPS: Fruit,such as peaches or plums, with an outer skin,apulpy middle layer and ahard inner shell.

Averagemark 13 words

Timelimit 20 minutes

Can you find 17 or more words in DRUPES?

sAtuRDAy’s WoRD —RAsPBERRy

GramS Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letterword from theletters in each row. add pointsof each word, using scoring directions at right.Finally, 7-letterwords get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. allthe words arein theOfficial sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5thEdition. For more information on tournamentsand clubs,emailnaspa –north

info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit

kenken

WiShinG Well

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes called cages mustcombine 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 aplEasanT liTTlE

the number of

If youfailtodoso, the courtwillproceed to the hearingand theadjudi‐cation of

action.You arealsorequiredto file a copy of your answer if anyinthe office of the

of

WITNESS, Hon. PatrickW Stanton, FirstJustice of this Court. Dated: October17, 2025 Matthew JMcDonough Register of Probate 165183-nov3--1t $211.71

g (Baronne Lofts Project) in oneormoreseries(the “Bonds”) pursuanttothe provisions of Chapter3-G of Title40ofthe LouisianaRevised Statutes of 1950, as amended(the“Act”), and otherconstitutionaland statutoryauthority sup‐plementalthereto,to providea financingwith respecttothe acquisi‐tion,construction, and/or equippingof a multifamilyhousing de‐velopmentasfollows: DescriptionofProject Type:Baronne LoftsPro‐ject,consistingofa22unitmultifamilyhousing development(the“Devel‐opment”),located at 2256 Baronne Street,New Orleans, OrleansParish, Louisiana, encompassing 0.30 acresofland. MaximumBondPrinci‐pal: $6,000,000 fora pro‐ject cost of approxi‐mately $11,835,178.00.

InitialOwner/Operatorof theDevelopment:2256 Baronne,LLC TheBonds will be limited obligations of theCorpo‐ration securedsolelyby revenuesand moneys derivedbythe Corpora‐tion from andwithre‐specttothe Develop‐ment

Thepublicand inter‐estedparties areinvited to attend andpresent oral or writtencomments at thepublichearing re‐gardingthe residential developmentand theis‐suance of theBonds Questionsorrequestsfor additional information

maybedirectedtoLionel Dennis,Housing

g Case No:Z25-12 –Ordi‐nancetorezonea 0.37acre parcel locatedat 6650 PecueLnfromM1

II.

nances

ingonOctober

(1)Ordinance

authoritytoensurereli‐able,affordable, andsus‐tainable sourcesofelec‐tric powerand energy for thebenefitofresi‐dentsand businesses. (2)PlanningCommission Case:SA25-10 –Ordi‐nancetoapprovethe re‐naming of portions of PecueLnand PecueBlvd. Planning Commission vote:Motiontorecom‐mend approval by Laurie Marien;secondedby Travis Thornton.YEASTravis Thornton,Laurie Marien,Jason McAllister BillyAguillard.NAYS– 0. Motion passedand SA2510 wasrecommended for approval ABSENT:Bobby McKey. (3)Zoning Commission di