The Acadiana Advocate 11-04-2025

“Wejust don’thavethe dollars, the manpower,the food, to givethat much foodout at onetime, at atime that wasalready at an all-timelow.”

BURKLEO,executivedirectorofFeedingLouisiana

PATR.VAN

SNAP shutdown strains Louisianafoodbanks

Aftercourt rulings, administration says it will fund half of program

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON Louisiana food bankshave seen an influx in demandasfederal funding for food stamps expired due to the federal government shutdown, which has gone on 34 days with no end in sight Monday Louisiana started using state money Saturday,when federal dollarsstopped, to provide some benefits to the elderly, disabled people and children. But that has not covered all of thenearly 800,000 people in the state who use the program —about 53,164 people considered ablebodied adults will not receivestate-fund-

ed assistance, the state Departmentof Health said.

Andstate officials are looking to the fedstorenew the program soon.

The Trump administration,after rulings from two federal courts,announced Monday it would start providing funds forabouthalfthe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides food stamps for about 42 million Americans.

Butjust when,how and who will receive benefits is still being worked out.

Meanwhile, the Health Department suggested in astatement that SNAP recipientsnot receiving benefitsshould go to local food banks.

But that could prove problematic as

thefood banks already are receiving less money and fewer foodstuffs from previousbudget cuts, said Pat R. VanBurkleo, theexecutive director of Feeding Louisiana, the Baton Rouge-based trade associationfor the state’slocal food banks.

“If everyonerushes to thefoodbank, therewill definitely be some food shortages goingoninthe stateofLouisiana andacross thecountry,” VanBurkleosaid Monday.“We just don’thave the dollars, the manpower,the food,togivethatmuch food out at one time,ata time that was already at an all-time low.” Louisianafood banks, which are seeking

ä See SNAP, page 6A

Judgevoids LNG buildout permit

Ruling citesfailure to studyclimate risks

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Afirst-of-its-kind rulingbyaLouisianajudge has interrupted the state’s rapid buildoutofits LNG industry,raising questions over whether regulators will have to look more closely at the facilities’ environmental impacts beforegranting permits. The recent decision struckdownakey permit for aliquefied natural gasplant over failing to consider the impacts of climate change, effectively halting construction for themultibilliondollar project in CameronParish Environmental andcommunitygroupsapplauded the decision as an incremental winin

ä See LNG, page 4A

BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor

Guard center concerns addressed

Officialssay facility will storeweapons; they won’tbe fired

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

ALouisiana ArmyNational Guard Readiness Centerunder construction next to aLafayette residentialneighborhood can be used to store weapons, but they will not be fired on theproperty,an official wrote in response to questions from two local legislators. State and local officials broke ground Oct. 8onconstruction of a$37.5 million, 83,000-square-foot center in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’sUniversity Research Park.

Most people in Lafayette were surprised to hear that the center, which will provide anew home base forthe 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, will be built on prime real estate leased to the National Guard for 55 years at no cost. Soldiers of the 256th Brigade currently use areadiness center on Surrey Street, which is around 50 years old.

Even people whosehomes will abut the facility knew nothing aboutituntil thegroundbreaking. They raised concerns with state officials about safety,potential flooding andlandscaping between the buildings and homes.

“Wewere not informed,” Memory Lane resident Sarah Brabant said Friday.“Thefirst thing we knew,there were big hulking machines digging it up.”

Brabant still has concerns about the impact of the NationalGuard training facility on property valuesinand around theneighborhood, the safety of neighborhood children and traffic.

“I think the whole thing has been mishandled,” she said.

State Rep. Annie Spell shared on social media an Oct. 29 letter from Maj. Gen.Thomas Friloux, adjutant generalwiththe Louisiana

Stuller Inc. founderMatt Stuller will step down from his longtimeCEO post next year but will remain with the company,company officials announcedMonday morning.

Stuller,who started the company in 1970, will remainasexecutive chairman of the board of directors for

thejewelry manufacturing companywhile longtime President Danny Clark will becomeCEO effective Jan. 1, companyofficials announced.

The company,which is the largestprivate employer in Lafayette Parish thatisnot health care-focused, also announced that current COO Belit Myers will become companypresident at that time.

“I am proud of the family-ownedbusiness we continue to build andthe 2,000careerswehave created across Acadiana,” said

Mass murderer George Banks dies in prison

HARRISBURG,Pa. George Banks, one of the most notorious mass murderers in the U.S., has died. Banks, 83, died Sunday afternoon at Phoenix state prison in Pennsylvania, the state Department of Corrections said. Banks died of complications from renal neoplasm, or kidney cancer, said Montgomery County Coroner Dr Janine Darby Banks had been in prison since 1982 after shooting 14 people, and killing 13, including his own children, during a rampage in Wilkes-Barre. At time, it was considered one of the worst mass murders in American history

He was convicted of 12 counts of first-degree murder and one count of third-degree murder

Banks had been drinking at a party late at night before using an AR-15 rifle to start the rampage at his home.

Five victims were his children, ages 1 to 6. Four more were the mothers of his children. Other victims were bystanders, including an 11-year-old child who sometimes stayed with his family, a 7-year-old child and a teenager who saw Banks leaving his home armed with the rifle and recognized him.

Banks killed three women and five children at his home, authorities say Then, dressed in green army fatigues with an ammunition bandolier around his chest and shoulders, Banks left, when he saw four teenagers walking to their car from a nearby friend’s house. He shot one fatally, and another, who survived, authorities said.

Ukraine gets more Patriot defense systems

KYIV, Ukraine Ukraine has received more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to help it counter Russia’s daily barrages, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian drones killed a man and injured five of his family members, including two children, in the latest nighttime attack.

Russia’s relentless pounding of urban areas behind the front line following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago has killed thousands of civilians. It has also targeted the energy supply to deny civilians heat and running water in winter, as well as disrupt industrial production of Ukraine’s newly developed drones and missiles

The sophisticated Patriot systems are the most effective weapon against Russian missiles. Zelenskyy has pleaded with Western partners to provide more of them, but production limitations and the need to maintain stockpiles have slowed their delivery

“More Patriots are now in Ukraine and being put into operation,” Zelenskyy said on social media late Sunday “Of course, more systems are needed to protect key infrastructure sites and our cities across the entire territory of our state.” He thanked Germany and its Chancellor Friedrich Merz for the Patriots. Germany said three months ago it would deliver two more U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine It agreed to the move after securing assurances that the U.S. will prioritize the delivery of new Patriots to Germany to backfill its stocks.

Judge rejects plea deal for funeral home owner

DENVER A Colorado judge on Monday rejected the plea agreement of a funeral homeowner accused of stashing nearly 190 decaying bodies in a bug-infested building after family members of the deceased argued that the agreement’s 15- to 20-year sentence was too lenient.

“The sentence negotiated by the parties does not adequately account for the harms that these crimes have caused,” said State District Judge Eric Bentley, describing his rare decision to forego an agreement reached by the prosecution and defense for funeral homeowner Carie Hallford. Carie Hallford and her husband, Jon Hallford, owned Return to Nature Funeral Home and are accused of dumping the bodies between 2019 and 2023 in a building in Penrose, Colorado, about a two-hour drive south of Denver and giving families fake ashes.

Shutdown may become longest ever

Trump says he ‘won’t be extorted’ by Democrats

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON The government shutdown is poised to become the longest ever this week as the impasse between Democrats and Republicans has dragged into a new month. Millions of people stand to lose food aid benefits, health care subsidies are set to expire and there are few real talks between the parties over how to end it.

President Donald Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday that he “won’t be extorted” by Democrats who are demanding negotiations to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies Echoing congressional Republicans, the president said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” he’ll negotiate only when the government is reopened.

Trump said Democrats “have lost their way” and predicted they’ll capitulate to Republicans.

“I think they have to,”

Trump said. “And if they don’t vote, it’s their problem.”

Trump’s comments signal the shutdown could drag on for some time as federal workers, including air traffic controllers are set to miss additional paychecks and there’s uncertainty over whether 42 million Americans who receive federal food aid will

be able to access the assistance. Senate Democrats have voted 13 times against reopening the government, insisting they need Trump and Republicans to negotiate with them first

The president also reiterated his pleas to Republican leaders to change Senate rules and scrap the filibuster Senate Republicans have repeatedly rejected that idea since Trump’s first term, arguing the rule requiring 60 votes to overcome any objections in the Senate is vital to the institution and has allowed them to stop Democratic policies when they’re in the minority Trump said that’s true, but “we’re here right now.”

“Republicans have to get tougher,” Trump told CBS. “If we end the filibuster, we can do exactly what we want.”

With the two parties at a standstill, the shutdown,

now in its 34th day and approaching its sixth week, appears likely to become the longest in history

The previous record was set in 2019, when Trump demanded Congress give him money for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Trump’s push on the filibuster could prove a distraction for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, RS.D., and Republican senators who’ve opted instead to stay the course as the consequences of the shutdown become more acute.

Republicans are hoping at least some Democrats will eventually switch their votes as moderates have been in weekslong talks with rank-and-file Republicans about potential compromises that could guarantee votes on health care in exchange for reopening the government. Republicans need five additional Democrats to pass their bill.

Thune told reporters Monday that he was “optimistic” that the Senate could vote to reopen the government by the end of the week.

But he also added, “If we don’t start seeing some progress or some evidence of that by at least the middle of this week, it’s hard to see how we would finish anything by the end of the week.”

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday there’s a group of people talking about ”a path to fix the health care debacle” and a commitment from Republicans not to fire more federal workers. But it’s unclear if those talks could produce a meaningful compromise.

Trump said in the “60 Minutes” interview that the Affordable Care Act — often known as Obamacare because it was signed and

Israel hands over bodies of 45

Move comes after Hamas returns the remains of 3 soldiers

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip Israel handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians on Monday, the Red Cross said, a day after militants returned the remains of three hostages. Israeli officials identified the three as soldiers who were killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza.

The exchange marked another step forward for the tenuous, U.S.-brokered ceasefire intended to end the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas.

Since the truce took effect on Oct. 10, Palestinian

Red Cross vehicles carrying the bodies of three people believed to be deceased hostages handed over by Hamas make their way toward the border crossing with Israel on Sunday to be transferred to Israeli authorities in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

militants have released the remains of 20 hostages, with eight now remaining in Gaza.

For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. With Monday’s return, the bodies of 270 Palestinians have been handed back since the start of the ceasefire.

The Red Cross said it had facilitated the transfer of 45 Palestinian bodies to Gaza on Monday morning. Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the Gaza Health Ministry, told The Associated Press that Nasser Hospital received the bodies around noon. Only 78 of the bodies returned so far have been

Man charged in U.K. train stabbing that wounded 11

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON U.K. police on Monday charged a 32-yearold man with attempted murder over a mass stabbing attack on a train that wounded 11 people, and revealed that he may have stabbed two other people in the 24 hours before the attack.

British Transport Police said Anthony Williams is charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one of actual bodily harm and one of possession of a bladed article over the attack on Saturday.

He is also charged with attempted murder over an earlier incident at Pontoon Dock light rail station in

London just before 1 a.m. on Saturday, in which a victim “suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife” by an assailant who fled the scene. Another police force, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, said it is investigating whether Williams was involved in three incidents in the city of Peterborough — a Friday evening stabbing in which a 14-year-old boy received minor injuries and two reports of a man with a knife at a barber shop on Friday evening and Saturday morning. In all three cases, the suspect quickly left the scene and police did not detain anyone. Police say they are not treating the train stab-

bings as an act of terror and are not looking for other suspects. A second man initially arrested as a suspect was released without charge on Sunday Williams, a British citizen living in Peterborough, made a brief appearance at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Monday Flanked by four security officers as he stood in the dock wearing a gray prison tracksuit and handcuffs, was ordered detained until his next hearing on Dec. 1. He was not asked to enter pleas.

The charge of actual bodily harm is for allegedly hitting a police officer and breaking his nose after Williams’ arrest.

championed by then-President Barack Obama — is “terrible” and if the Democrats vote to reopen the government, “we will work on fixing the bad health care that we have right now.”

Democrats feel differently, arguing that the marketplaces set up by the ACA are working as record numbers of Americans have signed up for the coverage. But they want to extend subsidies first enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic so premiums won’t go up for millions of people on Jan. 1.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said last week that “we want to sit down with Thune, with (House Speaker Mike) Johnson, with Trump, and negotiate a way to address this horrible health care crisis.”

As Democrats have pushed Trump and Republicans to negotiate, Trump has showed little interest in doing so. He called for an end to the Senate filibuster after a trip to Asia while the government was shut down.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the president has spoken directly to Thune and Johnson, R-Benton, about the filibuster But a spokesman for Thune said Friday that his position hasn’t changed, and Johnson said Sunday that he believes the filibuster has traditionally been a “safeguard” from far-left policies.

Trump said on “60 Minutes” that he likes Thune but “I disagree with him on this point.”

Palestinians

identified, the ministry said Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza, it added. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office identified the three hostages, whose bodies were returned to Israel on Sunday night, as Capt. Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli,

“Our

are

his final resting place in the land he loved and defended,” Neutra’s mother, Orna, told reporters Monday in Tel Aviv

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CoastGuard responds to gasleakinLafourche

wellhead in place as boom deployed

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday prepared aplan to plug anatural gasleak in southern Lafourche Parish after deploying thousands of feet of boom to contain it over the last few days.

The gas release first reported Friday morning re-

mains uncontrolled, and the federal agency is working alongside state and local authorities to contain the pollutionand plug the wellhead. A sheen is visible onthe water nearby,but the Coast Guard says that it “disperses and evaporates quickly,and thereare no indications of significant environmental impact.”

Theagency said thegas release currently poses no risk to Golden Meadow.The wellhead is about 31/2 miles southeast of the town

“They have vessels currentlymonitoring theair as well as thewater,”saidCoast

Guard Lt. Joshua Turner

The agency is staging aplan to plug the gas release now, and it hopes to be ready to implement it by Wednesday

The agency saidithad deployedabout 5,100 feet of hardboom —ahard barrier meant to keep oil contained in aparticulararea— as well as 106 bales of absorbent boom, whichhelpto absorbthe gas out of the water

The well is owned and operated by Castex Energy, aHouston-based company that owns about130 oiland gaswells across Louisiana, according to records from

thestate’sDepartment of Conservation and Energy

Only 11 of the company’s wells areactive,state recordsshow. The remaining wells are largely permanently plugged, but six are temporarily shuttered and may produce oil again.

The leaking well was first drilled on Nov.19, 2012, and hasbeen brought in andout of activeproduction nine times since then, records show Matt Driscoll, apublic information officer for Castex, declined to comment and referred furtherquestions to theU.S. CoastGuard.

State Rep. Joe Orgeron, R-Golden Meadow,said he stoppedbythe site of the leak over the weekend after he received inquiries from constituents.

“I’m getting questions from people from out of townwho have camps back there,” he said. Theycan’t access theirproperty, he said, because the canals they use to get to their camps are blocked off with containmentbooms.

“I spoke to some of the cleanup people,” Orgeron said. “Theytoldmethat, one, the well hadnot been contained and, two, that it was messier than one might imagine.” Orgeron stressed that he hadnot yetspokentoanyone at Castex, nor hadhebeen briefed by the Coast Guard.

BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

CAIRO— Tworegions of war-torn Sudan are enduring afamine that is at risk of spreading to otherareas of the sprawling northeastern African country,where paramilitary fighters have been battling the military for power for more than two years, aglobal hunger monitoring group said Monday Famine is happening in el-Fasher,amajor city in the western Darfur region, and the town of Kadugli, in the southern South Kordofan province, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification saidinanew report.

It is also threatening20other areas in Darfurand central Sudan’sKordofan region, where fightinghas intensified in recent months, according tothe IPC, the leadinginternational authority on hungercrises.

“Famine and the risk of famineare urgent priorities, buttheyare only themost severe symptoms of afar broaderand deepening crisis affecting millions across Sudan,” theIPC wroteinits report.“This is aman-made emergency,and all steps neededto prevent further catastropheare clear.”

The Rapid Support Forces besieged el-Fasher for 18 months, cutting off muchof

thefoodand othersuppliesto tens of thousandsofpeople.

Last week, the paramilitary group seized the city,which had been the military’slast majorholding in Darfur, and reportedly unleashed attacks thatkilled hundreds of civilians,though thescope of violenceisunclearbecause communications arepoor

The RSFhas also besieged Kadugli town formonths, with tensofthousands of

people trapped as the group tries to seize moreterritory from the Sudanese military

The war hasbeen tearing apart SudansinceApril 2023.

More than 40,000 people have been killed, according to figures kept by theUnited Nations, whichdescribedthe war in March as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. But aidgroups saythe true deathtoll could be many times higher

DianeLadd, 3-time Oscarnominee,diesat89

By The Associated Press

OJAI, Calif. Diane Ladd, a three-time Academy Award nominee and actor of rare timing and intensity whose roles ranged from the brash waitress in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” to the schemingparent in “Wild at Heart,” hasdied at 89. Ladd’sdeath was announced Monday by daughter Laura Dern, who issued astatement saying her mother and occasional costar had died at her home

in Ojai, California, with Dern at her side. Dern, who calledLadd her “amazing hero” and “profound gift of amother,” didnot immediately cite acause of death. “She was the greatest daughter,mother,grandmother, actress, artist and empathetic spirit that only dreams couldhaveseem-

ingly created,” Dernwrote. “Wewereblessed to have her. She is flying with her angels now.”

Agifted comic and dramatic performer,Ladd had along career in television and on stage before breaking through as afilm performer in Martin Scorsese’s 1974 release “AliceDoesn’t Live HereAnymore.” She earned an Oscar nomination for supporting actor for her turn as the acerbic, straight-talking Flo, and went on to appears in doz-

ens of movies over the following decades Her manycreditsincluded “Chinatown,”“Primary Colors” and two other moviesfor which shereceived bestsupporting nods,“Wild at Heart” and “Rambling Rose,” both of whichcostarred herdaughter.She alsocontinued to workin television, with appearances in “ER,” “Touched by an Angel” and “Alice,” the spinoff from “Alice Doesn’t LiveHere Anymore,” among others.

Miss.motherkills escapedmonkey

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

Oneofthe monkeysthat escaped last week after a truck overturned on aMississippi highwaywas shot andkilledearly Sunday by awoman whosays she feared forthe safety of her children.

JessicaBondFerguson saidshe was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old sonwho said he thought he had seen amonkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She gotout of bed, grabbedher firearm and hercellphone andstepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet away Bond Ferguson said she andother residentshad been warnedthatthe escaped monkeys carried diseases so she fired her gun.

“I did what any other motherwould do to protect herchildren,”BondFerguson, whohas five children ranging in age from 4to16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and Ishot again, and he backed up and that’s whenhefell.”

The Jasper CountySheriff’s Office confirmed in asocial media post that a homeowner hadfound one of the monkeys on their propertySundaymorning but saidthe office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and

Parks took possessionofthe monkey,the sheriff’s office said. Before Bond Ferguson hadgone outthe door,she had calledthe police and was toldtokeep an eye on the monkey.But she said she worried that if themonkey got away it would threaten children at another house.

“Ifitattacked somebody’skid, and Icould have stopped it,thatwould be a lotonme,” said BondFerguson, a35-year-old professional chef.“It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they arerunning around, and people have kids playing in their yards.” The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, which routinely providesprimates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.Inastatement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university,and they were notbeing transported by the university Atruck carrying the monkeys overturnedTuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg.Ofthe 21 monkeys in thetruck,13were found at the scene of the accident and arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane. Another five were killed in the hunt for them and three remained on the loosebefore Sunday

Stuller,who is 74. “Mylovefor the jewelry industry and Stuller’srole today and in the future is greater than ever.Iwill remain fully engaged in Stuller’smission to provide jewelers worldwide witha wide selection of quality products and friendly service they can count on.” Now with over 1,500 employees at its 600,000-square-foot campus at the corner of Verot School Road and Rue Louis XIV,StullerInc. has grown from aone-man operation into thelargest jewelry manufacturerinNorthAmerica and amajor economic force insouth Louisiana.

Stuller told Forbes in a2023 article that thecompanybooks about $800 million in annual sales. Earlier this year,hedeclined to provide updated numbersbut noted that the company’scurrent numbers have grown since then. Clark has spent 16 years with the

company and guided it through periodsoftransformational growth while remaining focused on customers and employees,the announcement indicated.

“I am both humbled andthrilled to serve thejewelry industry,our business partners, ourcustomers and employees worldwide as CEO,” Clark said Myersbegan her career with Stuller two decades ago while enrolled at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Sincethen, she has led multiple areas of thebusiness, including finance, fulfillment, manufacturing, merchandising and information technology

“Afterworking acrossnearly every part of theorganization, I’m honored to carry forwardwhat truly defines us —our people, our passion to serve, andour unwavering commitment to our customers,” Myers said.

Staff writer Blake Paterson contributed to this report.

Email AdamDaigleatadaigle@ theadvocate.com

nearLake Charles andthe Texas line.

fuel.

an ongoing fight against the LNG exportexpansion in southwest Louisiana, which they stress will damage the coast and emit polluting fossil fuels.

State officials, meanwhile, vowed to appeal the ruling and praised the federal government for giving the facility anextensiontobuild.

Judge Penelope Richard, of Louisiana’s38thJudicial DistrictCourt, ruled Oct. 10 that state regulators are required by lawtoconsider the impacts that the export terminal will have on the coastal zone and nearby communities. She mentioned potential harms to “those living in poverty,and those who fish not only for recreation butfor their livelihood, which has always been adefining characteristic of Cameron Parish.”

The decision invalidated acoastal use permit thatthe Louisiana energy department hadgranted to Commonwealth LNG, the company building the terminal. The approved facility is one of 13 LNG terminals existing, approved or proposed in Louisiana. Richard noted in her judgment that Commonwealth would be the third LNG facility on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, located

GUARD

Continued from page1A

National Guard, in which he responded to questions posed by Spell and state Sen. Brach Myers, of Lafayette, which answered some of the residents’ questions.

“Thefacility will havethe ability to store the unit’s equipment,” Friloux wrote, “but no weapons firing of any kind will take placeat this location.”

National Guard soldiers usually spend one weekend per month training, Friloux wrote. Some who come from across the state and neighboring states may lodge at the readiness center

Friloux wrote that there will be one driveway connecting West Congress

The state regulatorshave an obligation to considerall impacts of the project,“includingthe potential impacts on storm severity or sea level rise in the coastal zone together with two other LNG facilities,” she stated.

Thestate energy agency must prove that thebenefits of theproject outweigh thecosts of the community beforegiving the company the green lighttobuild.

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade andtwo nationalnonprofits, the Sierra Club and the Turtle Island RestorationNetwork, broughtthe case against theLouisiana Department of Conservation andEnergy (formerlythe Department of Energyand NaturalResources).

Eric Huber,anattorney at the Sierra Club, noted that the ruling was unprecedented:the first time that acourt hasinvalidated an LNGpermit basedonclimate changeand environmental justice.

Clay Garside,another attorney for theplaintiffs, called theruling a “warning shot over the bow” for LNG companies and regulatory authorities that these concerns can’t be ignored.

Houston-based Commonwealth LNG didnot respond to requests forcomment.The department said it cannot comment on pending litigation

Tyler Gray,the director of the

Street, no direct connection with thebike path, no helipadand no anticipated use of helicopters.

Lights will be pointed inward to limit impacts, he said,and the site will be professionally landscaped and a wall builttobuffer theresidences from thesite.

Regarding concernsabout flooding, Friloux wrote that 10-year,25-year and 100year flood studies were conductedonthe property, which has three drainage areasand outfalls. Theprimary existingoutfall, he said, carries water from part of thesite andthe adjacentCGI Technologysiteon CajundomeBoulevard to the southeast corner of the site using adrainagechannel thatflows to asmall detention area, then to the city’s drainage system through a

state energy agency until he stepped down in September,disagreed with thejudge’s conclusion that the agency was required to independently analyze the impacts of climate change and environmental justice.

He also noted that the state reliedona federal environmental analysis in approving the permit. “Why shouldn’tyou be able to use thatinyour own analysis?”Gray said. “Why do youneedyour own?”

He pointed to acourt case decided last year between the Louisiana energy agency and environmental groups that reached the opposite conclusion, affirming the state’s coastal permit for apipelinerelated to another LNG facility

“Eventually this is what’sgoing to happen,” Gray said.

Federalapproval

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill saidthe state is appealing thedecision. The ruling overreads state law and“ignoresthe actual facts in therecord,”Murrill wrote in an email. She applauded federal regulatorsfor doing “theright thing”ingranting Commonwealth afour-year extension to finish construction of the facility

In order to moveforward with the proposedproject, thecompany needs approval at boththe federal and state levels.

TheFederal Energy Regulatory

54-inch concrete pipe.

They expect to use all three outfalls,hewrote, with the primary flow coming from the proposedstormwater retention pond.

Friloux said his staff analyzed sewerage output and impact on the local system during peak demand. The readiness center will tie into an existing sewermanhole Duetothe shallowdepth, though, asewer pump station will be installed as well.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.

Commission on Tuesday gave the companyuntil theend of 2031 to finish construction.

The extension was in response to an Oct. 2letterfromanattorneyfor Commonwealthciting past litigation and“historic,unprecedented delays”under the Biden administration as primary reasons thatthe company had not finishedconstructing andbegun operations. The companylawyers did not mention the separate state lawsuit in the extension request to FERC.

Environmentalconcerns

Louisiana haspositioned itself as the epicenter of the global LNG export market. In 2023, thestate produced more than 60% of the nation’s LNGexports. The technology at these massive facilities converts natural gas into liquid form by supercooling it,allowing the fueltobeloaded on tankers andexported worldwide.

ProponentsofLNG tout jobcreation and the importance of supplying U.S. allies with fuellong seen as burning cleaner than coal.

TheBidenadministrationhad pausedapprovalsfor new export permits for LNGplantsinpart to study the facilities’ impact on global warming, while the second Trump administration hasapproved LNG terminals and relaxed barriers thatrestricted use of the

Recentstudieshavefound that natural gas maybenobetterthan coal when taking into account leaks across the supply chain of methane, apowerful heat-trapper Making LNG is more energy-intensive than burning natural gas alone, accounting for even more emissions.

Watchdog groupEnvironmental Integrity Project released areport last weekthat reviewed public records and found alloperating LNG export terminals in the country violated airpollution rules. The report highlighted multiple Louisiana facilities as some of the biggest polluters.

“We’rethe bullseyeofthis destruction,” said Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade.

State industry leaders discredited thevalidity of thereport. Tommy Faucheux, president of theLouisiana Mid-ContinentOil and Gas Association, said the findings were “another in alongline of attempts to fearmonger by an activist organization.”

“U.S. LNGisone of ournation’s mostheavily regulated industries, which has set the globalstandard forproviding cleaner-burning and reliable energy to the world,” he said.

Email Josie Abugov at josie abugov@theadvocate.com.

additionalfunds from private sources andthe government,don’t have the resources to cover the onslaught. For every meal afood bank can provide, SNAP can provide nine meals, VanBurkleo said.

TheHealth Departmentand the Louisiana Workforce Commission, which administer the food stamps the federal government pays, have furloughed about1,100 stateemployees who work on SNAP and receive half their pay from the federal government.

HowLouisiana’spaymentswork

The state Legislatureput aside about $150 million to cover what thefederal governmentcan’tduringthe shutdown when Congress has no legal authoritytospend money

“We’re utilizing thedollarsin the existing (Health Department) budget first,” said Louisiana House AppropriationsCommittee Chair

Jack McFarland, R-Winnfield

“Any dollars we have thatdon’t have to be used right now for other things, we’re going to use for that.”

The Department of Healthis sending $11 million to cover the first week of the month’sbenefits for about 200,000 people. The elderly and disabled get their SNAP benefits from the first to the fourth day of each month. Then thecards used to buy food in grocery stores are refilled for others throughout the rest of month to about the 23rd day The cards are receiving 25% of the monthly allotment each week, according to the HealthDepartment. After that money is used up, the statewill tapthe $2.5 billionRevenue Stabilization Fund, which was set aside generally for emergencies.

Louisiana is OK for November and Decemberbut if the government doesn’treopen, the statewill have some problems

“I mean, we just couldn’tkeep going to revenue stabilization, because then you start jeopardizing your bond rating and other things that would cost you on the back end,” McFarland said.

McFarland saidMonday he doesn’tknow yet how the Trump administration’sdecisiontostart funding part of SNAP will affect Louisiana’sfinances. No details have been released yet.

“If thefederal government decides to dispersedollars, then (the Health Department) will have to identify those individuals and those are less dollars that we wouldhave to put out on thestate level,” he said. Couldthe feds step back in?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which funds SNAP,stated in court filings Monday that the agency has enoughmoney to provide foodassistance for about half their benefitsinNovember In separate rulings, U.S. District Judges John McConnell, of Providence, Rhode Island, and Indira Talwani, of Boston,onFriday ordered the Trump administration to continuesupportingfood stamps. President Donald Trump, speak-

ing to reporters on his return from Asia last week, saidhewould not appeal the decisions because he toowanted to find the money for SNAP,hejust wanted to know how TheTrump administration had argued that it could not tap afund set asidefor contingencies,likedisasters, becauselegally that fund could not be touched since the underlying supportfor SNAP was suspended due to the government shutdown.

In acourt filing, Patrick A. Penn, the deputy undersecretary who oversees SNAP, reversed the administration’sposition after the court rulings.

He agreedtouse the$4.65 billion left in theemergency fund “tocover 50% of eligible households’ current allotments. This

meansthatnofunds will remain for newSNAP applicants certified in November,disaster assistance, or as acushionagainst the potential catastrophic consequences of shutting down SNAP entirely.”

But Penn also wrote thatthe USDA wouldn’ttap the Child Nutrition Program to cover the remaining $4.5 billionneeded to fully fund SNAP for November because that “merely shifts the problem to millions of America’slow-income childrenthatreceive their meals at school.”

Speaking at anews conference Monday morning before the Trumpadministration’sannouncement, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, noted that SNAP costs about $9 billion amonth.

“It’snot as easy as hitting ‘go send’ on acomputer.You’ve got to go through and recalculate partial payments to the 42 millionrecipients of the program.That’sahuge burden,” Johnson said. It may take afew weeks for the funds to be disbursedbecause each state administers SNAP differently Like Trump and other Republican leaders, Johnsonarguedthat Senate Democrats should just approve the House-passed resolution to continue government operations.

“The simplest way to get all these issues resolved —health care, everything else, to getitall finished up for the year —isfor them to just reopen thegovernment,” he concluded.

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

If this secret room couldtalk

Late Saturdayafternoon, a friend came overto our homeand said, “I have amission for you.”

Ididn’tknow what kind of mission he meant —but Iwas in He went on to explain thatRoss Dellenger,formerly of this newspaper,now with Yahoo Sports, wrote astory titled “The sordid tale of LSU football, the Louisiana governor and ayearslongfeud,” chronicling the topsy-turvy madness of the past 10 days of LSU football, the state’sgovernor and the remaining castofcharacters that could rival any teledrama.

Speaking about Scott Woodward, Dellenger wrote, “Likeany good Louisiana politician, he’d prefer to keep things quiet,work in the shadows, possibly even operate in the backroom of abackroominacertain Baton Rouge seafood house.”

Years ago, Dellenger wrotethat he had been to the secret room, entering througha “trap door built into the wall of the eatery’s backroom, revealing beyondit acove with atelevision, mini kitchen and —wouldn’tyou know it —acard table.”

My mission was simple: find the back room. It was enough tomake my heart sing. Consulting avariety of sources, within minutes, Ihad narrowed my options. Idecided, “Whynot go to the horse’smouth?” and messaged Dellenger,who confirmed my suspicions.

It’sPhil’sOyster Bar on Perkins Road. On Monday,Idrove to Phil’s, aBaton Rouge institution Ihad somehow nevervisited. Iarrived 10 minutes before it opened and watched people approach,waiting for the magic hour of 11 a.m. on aMondaymorning, mindyou. By the time Ientered at 11:09 a.m., 23 people were seatedin Phil’s.

Iexplained to the hostess why I was there. She took my business card and said, “Let me go talkto the manager.”

Afew minutes later,she asked if Iwould like atable. Isaid, “Yes.”

Celeste Thomas, who haswaitressedatPhil’sfor nine years, approached withinnanoseconds. If Central Casting was searching for the ideal waitress, Thomas would be the pick. Isat with the menu, not sure what would happen next.A few minutes later, Anthony Piazza walked toward me, hand extended.Istoodupand shook his hand.

“Miss Jan,” he said, “I’mthe owner,and Idon’twant to talk about the back room.”

Well, Ithought, so much formy mission.

Piazza explained that hisfather, who passed away in 2007, had worked in Louisiana government for awhile before he got intothe restaurant business. Phil’sclosed after his father’sdeath, but Piazza and his brother reopened it in 2016, at 4335 Perkins Road. He was tight-lipped about the secretroom.

“I want people to feel like they can come here and be themselves and not worry about what somebody might say or about what they hear back there,” Piazza said. “So, it’sjust something that we try to keep in-house.”

Iawkwardly invited Piazza to sit down at atable at his ownrestaurant. He did. We chatted. His grandmother’srecipe of spaghetti and meatballs, he said, was his favorite menu item. He explained the 120-person capacity restaurant was openseven days aweek, employing 70 people, about30being full-time employees.

Iconfessed that it was myfirst visit to Phil’sbecause oysters are rarely at the top of my list, but to mysurprise, the menu has all sorts of things.

“I think that’sthe biggest

Report:Child care cuts loom

Fund providingaffordableaccessrunning outofmoney

BY ELYSECARMOSINO Staff writer

Nearly 1,000 Louisiana families could lose access to affordable, high-quality child care within the next five years

unlessthe state Legislatureagrees to put more money into one of its major fundingsources for early education, a new report warns.

The Early Childhood Education Fund, astate program that incentivizes communities to invest in affordable child care by matching local fundingdollar-fordollar,may be forced to cut the number of families it serves in halfifthe statedeclinestocontributeadditional dollarstokeep the program afloat,according to an analysis released this week by Leaders for aBetter Louisiana, anonpartisan organization that advocates for economic and educational policy reforms.

Roughly 2,000 children in 14 parishesreceive child care financed through the match program, which the state Legislature funded with aone-time appropriation of $40 million in 2023. Local governmentscontribute $30 million to thefund.

As participation in the program hasgrown by 18%over thepast two years, the state’sfunding likely will be depleted by 2030 at thelatest, the report found, even if thenumber of children served each year remains flat.Ifenrollmentcontinues to increase at a steady rate, the funds could be exhausted as soon as the2027-28 fiscal year,the report says.

To meet growing demand, the report suggests that lawmakers allocate$30 million annually for theprogram —a big ask of the state’s Legislature, which made $10million in cuts to early educationlastyear.The annual funding

would allow the program to serve 10% more students each year and keep the programsustainable through the mid-2030s.

Unlessthe Legislature finds a way to increasefunding, experts worry that familiesand the state economy will suffer “Morefamiliesare goingto have to make decisions about theirworkarrangements, which could mean dropping out of the workforce,” said Barry Erwin, president of Leadersfor aBetter Louisiana, “and it’sgoing to mean fewer kids arebeing served in high-quality settings.”

Around 57,000 Louisiana children are enrolled in day care through state and federally funded early learning initiatives, including thelocal-match program, Head Start and the Child Care Assistance Program,said Libbie Sonnier, director of the Louisiana PolicyInstitute for

Children. Experts estimate that another 116,000 children statewide qualify for subsidized child carebut arenot enrolled. Lack of widespread access to daycarecostthe state roughly $1.3 billion each year in lost tax revenue and productivity, according to a2021 report from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, though Sonniersaid that numberhas likelychanged since the state match program was introduced.For children, not participating in early educationprograms hasbeenlinked to worse academic outcomes and development gaps. While advocates have so far notconvinced theLegislatureto restore the millions it previously cut from the state’searly education programs, Erwin believes lawmakers will be morewilling to approve additional funding for the match program. This fund “is an attractive way

See CARE, page 4B

Scott

Turning thepage

Festival International launches book in Englishand French for40thanniversary

BYJOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

It’shardtoimagine Lafayette without Festival International. Its presenceindowntown Lafayette over the past four decades has come to represent much of the unique blend of cultural heritage

that definesLouisiana. Sinceits inception in 1986, thefestivalhas grown from asmall community eventinto the largest international music festivalinthe UnitedStates.

It’s that transformation that a newbookcommemorating the 40th anniversary of Festival International de Louisianeaims to document and celebrate.

At Lafayette City Hall on Friday morning, representatives from Festival’sexecutive committee, local elected officials and communityleaders gathered to announce the book’s launchthrough Denham Springs-based publisher Cavalier

House Books.

Thebook will serve as areference for anyone interested in the history of FestivalInternational withdetailed information for everyyear the eventhas taken place, including each festival’s unique poster designs and leadershipteam. It isn’t just ahistorical document, though. Festival’sExecutiveDirectorScottFeehansaid the book intends to give readers the special vibe associated with “Festival.”

“When we took on the project of

See BOOK, page 4B

Man,

18,tried to enterfootball game with gun, police say

Ex-student setoff metaldetector, officialsadd

BY ASHLEYWHITE Staff writer

Aformer Carencro High student was arrestedafter police say he triedtoenter the school’s footballgamewith agun.

WhenAntonio Prejean tried to enter the Thursday night game, the metaldetector went off. A Carencro police school resource officerspotted the gun under the18-year-old’sarm while the

officer was using ahand wand to determinewhat set off the metal detector,Carencro Police ChiefDavid Anderson said.Officerslater foundafully loaded magazine in his shoe.

“Weare veryfortunate that the SRO whowas working that location was paying attention to detail and was on top of his job,” Anderson said. “I truly believe he prevented ashooting at the game.”

Prejeanwas arrested and booked intothe LafayetteParish Correctional Center on acount of carrying afirearm on school property.Heisalso facing three other charges from an unrelated

incident.Hewas being held without bail as of Mondaymorning. Anderson praisedthe Lafayette Parishschool system and its boardfor increasing its funding for physicalsafetymeasures in the past few years. That funding hasincludedpurchasing weaponsdetection systems forall schools that are used daily and during after-hours events. “Weknow it’salot of money (to fund these measures), but howdoyou ever put apriceon the safetyofyour students?” Andersonsaid. “The people who come to thesegames just want to watch their kids playand succeed.”

Twochildren hitbycarson

Both injured in separate incidents, officialssay

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

An 8-year-old pedestrianwas struck by avehicle shortly before trick-or-treating began Friday in an unincorporated part of Lafayette Parish.

Just after 5:30 p.m. Friday,deputies

Changesto election laws only serveto confusevoters

Last week, as expected,the Legislature approvedameasure that will push back the dates of the springtime elections by onemonth,a move aimed at perhaps drawingnew congressional district lines after apotential Supreme Court ruling in aLouisiana case later this year That case, Louisiana v. Callais, could have wide-ranging applications forvotingrights if, as some hope, thenation’s highest court rules that Louisiana’scurrent map, withtwo majorityBlackdistricts, is unconstitutional. If thathappens, legislators would likely reconvene early next year to redraw the districts, potentially creating another seat that would likely be won by Republicans and help that partymaintain its slim majority in theU.S. House. The move is just the latest in ablizzard of election-law changes pushed throughbyGov Jeff Landry and the state’sRepublican supermajoritysince the beginning of 2024. These rapid-fire adjustments do little to improvethe integrity or fairness of Louisiana’s elections while almost certainly adding to voterconfusion and disinterest.

To recap briefly: Last year,the Legislature redrew the state’s congressional map to include District6,a twisty majority-Black district that was the state’ssecond, amove lawmakersconsiderednecessary in order to prevent afederal judgefrominvalidating theentire mapand perhaps imposing one on the state.

State leadersalso partially convertedLouisiana’spopular open-primary systemtoclosed party-primaries, meaningthat, forsome offices, voters registered as DemocratsorRepublicans will be able to vote only in the primaryfor candidates of the party they belong to, while voters choosing the “no party” option can picktheir primary.Candidates now have to win aparty primary, aparty runoff andthen the general election. They also tightened rules around voterregistrationdrivesand absentee voting.

This year,some of those same leaders who defended the congressional map lastyear attacked it in the hopes that the conservativemajority on theSupreme Court will strikedownthe longheld interpretations of Section 2of theVoting Rights Act, which consider astate’sracial makeup when determiningwhether mapsare fair.Louisiana’spopulation is aboutone-third Black. Federal courts and officials bear some of the blame for this morass.Over the years, they have offeredconfounding guidance on Section 2, making it difficult and sometimesimpossible for legislaturestocomply with bothconstitutional requirementsand jurisprudence

We think making so many changes soquickly is bad for Louisiana’sdemocratic process.Redrawinglines in the middleofthe normaldecennial cycle and getting ridofthe state’s open primary system—which recent polls have shown is very popular. It should be abedrock principle thatencouraging voting and participation in electionsisa good thing. The more people vote, the better we are. Louisiana already has aproblem with lowturnout elections. These steps will makeit worse.

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

TO SEND US A LETTER SCANHERE

Not so fast on thesaleof waterfromToledoBend

Planstosell Louisiana’swater to Texas at first seem simple. Texas needs water; Texas has money.Louisiana has water; Louisiana needs money Butthe value of water is complicated. Transferring water from Toledo Bendwill prevent it from flowing downstream intoSabine Lake and the adjacent coastal wetlands. That will makethe coastal wetlands around Sabine Lakemore like Texas’ coastal wetlands around Galveston Bay and Matagorda Bay,which support fewer fish (andsofewer recreational and commercial fishermen) fewer ducks (andsofewer duck hunters and hunting leases),fewer alligators (and so fewer alligator hunters, fewer alligator eggs and fewer farm-raised alligators), fewer migratorysongbirds and waterbirds (andso fewer birdwatchers) and fewer acres of marsh grasses (andsolessofa

We thepeoplehavethe

We need morevisionaries.Even when things are at their worst in our country,weare still great

Ourpoliticians and leaders may be lessthan we want, need or deserve, but we the people have thepower and ability to rise above it. We just have to step up anddoit. Peacefully, nonviolently but actively,visibly and in ways that ourelected officials and corporate executives cannot ignore. Actions that will affect the direction that these “leaders” takegoing forward.

speed bumptoslow storm surges moving inland) than in the coastal marshes around Sabine Lake.

This situation is caused partly by the fact that wetland owners are not paid for many of theeconomic activities that their wetlands support, and partly by thefact that most people whoeconomically benefit from wetlands that they never see are unaware that some of their expenses will increase as those wetlands change and/or convert to open water

The full economic costs of diverting freshwater from Sabine Lake probably cannot be accurately estimated, but that does not mean that the costs are zero or should be ignored

Unfortunately,the $50,000 study will focus only on water levels in Toledo Bendand ignore salinity in the coastal marshes around Sabine Lake.

J.A. NYMAN Baton Rouge

powertochangeeverything

and embraced thedeclaration that we are all created equal —not identical —equal. People who understood and embraced the blessings andopportunities of being aUnitedStates citizen. Visionaries are unique and essential. They institute enhancements to our lives but don’ttell us how to live them.

No organization, foundationor political entity has the authority to eliminate an individual’sliberty nor stipulatethat there is only one “right” way to live.

Trustingovernment erodingfor good reason

If Iwere afederal employee today, I’d be looking for another job. Notbecause Idon’tvalue public service —I do —but because our government has become too unstable to trust. Shutdown threats have become routine. Congress no longer functions as agoverning body but as astage for partisan performance. Elected officials chase headlines instead of solutions, treating every disagreement as abattle to be wonrather than aproblem to be solved. This dysfunction has real consequences. Federal workers miss paychecks. Veterans face delays. Public services stall. Behind every political stunt are real people trying to get by This isn’tabout party.It’sabout the absence of maturity,responsibility and basic respect. We were built on the idea that disagreement could coexist with dignity.But today’spolitics rewards outrage and punishes cooperation.

Worse, we’ve seen faith twisted into apolitical weapon. Many leaders preach morality but practice cruelty Using religion to divide while ignoring its core values —compassion, humility,honesty —isn’tjust hypocrisy It’samoral failure.

America doesn’tneed perfect leaders —just decent ones. People who can admit mistakes, seek common ground and put service over spectacle.

Until that becomes the norm, it’sno surprise that trust in government is eroding.

Be avisionary! We need visionaries, not ideologues Think Walt Disney,the Wright brothers, Steve Jobs,Henry Ford, our Founding Fathers. Not perfect people but ones who had thecourage, dedication and imagination to initiate and nurture not denigrateand destroy.Visionaries who embodied life, liberty andthe pursuit of happiness

That’snot what our Founding Fathers risked theirlives to provide for us.Their vision was forabetter, more respectful society than our current political leadersare fostering. Look pastthe tangible, unwelcome negative aspects of our current political situation. Be avisionary STEVE PEARCE Mandeville

beliefs? Would we accept this identity to actually be thesavior or like everything else these days to be ahoax? Anymir-

acle would be considered atrick and prophecy to be alie. Hope it’snot too late to recognize the real saints from thedeceivers.

STEPHENPOL Baton Rouge

We deserve better —now,not someday.Remember your vote matters, and remember who put us in this position.

Because agovernment that refuses to govern with civility won’tjust lose effectiveness. It will lose the moral authority to lead.

CHRISTINE DILL FORREST Houma

Congress is useless

So, explain how this works: We are in agovernment shutdown. We are losing health care, jobs and hospitals. People are working forfree. We can’tafford groceries. Somehow,we can find $40 billion to give Argentina. Why? We don’tneed Congress. They serve no purpose. When are we going to say enough?

JERMAINE DUPLESSIS LEWIS NewOrleans

Landry’s role in LSUcoaching saga puts La.ina badlight

Let’sstart with what Gov.Jeff Landry got right.

Faimon Roberts

He’scorrect that ScottWoodward has been responsible for two of the biggest coaching contractsincollege football history: Jimbo Fisher’s10-year,$75 million deal at Texas A&M in 2017 and Brian Kelly’s10-year,$95 million pact at LSU. Neither coach lived up to high expectations and both were eventually fired, triggering large buyouts. So the governor’scriticism of LSU’snow-terminated athletics director for richly rewarding football coaches who ultimately didn’tdeliver is legitimate.

Also props to Landry for noting that massive buyout provisions are good for only one of acontract’s parties: the coach. They leave the universities holding the bag. Taken on their face, neither of these critiques is out of bounds. But everything else about Landry’srole in the LSU saga has been wrong.

Landry has bashed Woodwardfor his actions at both schools, but Woodward was not technically responsible for Fisher’s$77 million buyout in 2023.

That buyout was the result of the extension and raise Woodward’ssuccessor gave to Fisher two years after Woodward left for LSU.

More importantly,Landry messed up when he decided to publicly kneecap one of the flagship university’stop officials.

It began Wednesday,when he was asked at anews conference about the LSU coaching vacancy,and he took aim at Woodward.

“I can tell you right now,ScottWoodward is not selecting the next coach,” Landry said. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before Ilet (Woodward) do it,” Landry said.

Even though Landry then insisted that LSU’sBoard of Supervisors would

process, but getstoblame somebody else if it goes badly

With those statements, Woodward’s departure became littlemore than a formality.Landry had publicly ridiculed the six-year AD whobrought LSU athletics an impressive runof success.

During Woodward’stenure, LSU teams won sixnational titles, including two in baseball under Jay Johnson (Woodward hire),the first by gymnastics under Jay Clark(Woodward hire) and the first women’sbasketball title under Kim Mulkey (Woodward hire).

Of course, Woodward’sdeparture means another buyout,this one about $6.7 million.

HowJohn Brennanlied to Congress

form acommittee to pick thenext coach (apparently asurprisetoBoard ChairmanScott Ballard), Landry’s own words made his meaning plain: Power in this situation flows from him alone.

Landry could havebackpedaled at this point,realizing that the optics of having the governor this deeply involved in coachingdecisions does not reflect well on the university or the state. Instead, he doubled down when he went on ESPN’sPat McAfee show Thursday.

“There’sanumber of bad contracts thatseem tohave followed Scott Woodward,” he saidonthe show Landry then again insisted he would not be picking the coach.

“That is not my job,” he said. He also said that whoever getsthe jobwill have a“patently different contract.”

So, to sum up: Landry decides who will hire the next coach and gets to approve the contract, but he doesn’t hire the new coach. He controls the

Landry didn’tmention that, though. The governor’s roleinthis sagadid serveone purpose: It put LSU’scoaching search and Landry at the center of thesports media spotlight —and not not in agood way Now,much of the rest of the sports world is chuckling and noting that Louisiana is “its own country,” as McAfee said, or “less astate than a rogue nation,” as The Dallas Morning News called it.

Landry would have done well to takehis cues from Texas.Gov.Greg Abbott, like Landry,isaconservative firebrand, buteven he stayed out of the fray when the Aggies ponied up to JimboFisher.And look how it’s helped: Texas A&M got agood coach, beat thecrap out of LSU and is now enjoying its best season in years. Whether Landryrealizes it or not, coach contracts, outrageous though they may be, arethe products of a market-based system. If LSU is not willing to offer top dollar for top talent, somebody else will. Thereare anumber of premier jobs already open: PennState andFlorida, for example. LSU was considered agreat job.Isit still? Idoubt it.

Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

ObamachallengesTrump’s remappower grab

Friends who are frustrated bythe current White House regime still ask me, “Where is Obama?” As ifhemight miraculously arise again in the politicalskies like Mighty Mouse singing, “Here Icome to save the day!” Dream on, Ipoint out. Havingserved two full terms, Obama hasmaxed out of his constitutional eligibility. But, behind the scenes,hehas found more to do than, say,add to therising outrage over President Donald Trump’s demolition of the East Wing of the White House.

Specifically,Obama has lent his support to aplanto counteract Trump’splans to lock in aRepublican majority in theHouse of Representatives through gerrymandering. Unfortunately,that effort looks a lot like gerrymandering itself Republicans in several states, at Trump’surging, have set about an unprecedented mid-decade wave of redistricting. Typically,redistricting happens every decade, after the U.S. Census. However, Trump has accurately intuited that the thinGOP majority in the House is in peril thanks to hishighly polarizing policies. To help extend Trump’sabsolutecontrol of theU.S. government, TexasGov.Greg Abbott convenedaspecial session of the state legislature lastsummerto redraw Texasdistricts in away thatis likely to deliver five more Republicans to Congress.

Democrats would have to fight fire with fire

At aboutthe sametime, California Gov.Gavin Newsom, aDemocrat, met with legal experts to explore his state’s options, including how to workaround aconstitutional requirement of nonpartisan redistricting —without looking too hypocritical.

The situation brings to mindanold saying well known to observers of politics in the Windy City.They are the words, uttered more than acentury ago, bythe notoriously colorful, corrupt and charismatic Alderman Paddy Bauler: “Chicago ain’t readyfor reform.”

Clarence Page

It’seasy for wags on the other side of the partisan divide to call out Newsom, Holder and Obama for conveniently abandoning their high ideals, but at this pointtostick to apolitical redistricting in blue states looks alot likeunilateral disarmament

Obama and Holder supported Newsom on thegrounds that his plans for redistricting were temporary and required the approval of California’s voters.

By mid-August, Obama had become anational advocate for Democrats taking up the redistricting fight. Illinois also got into the action when Texas Democrats slipped away to the Land of Lincolnfor two weeks to temporarily blockaGOP vote on thenew map.

takingdirection from apartisan White House that is effectively saying: Gerrymander for partisan purposes so we can maintain the House despiteour unpopular policies, redistrict right in the middle of adecade between censuses —which is not how thesystem was designed. Ihave tremendous respect for how Gov.Newsom has approached this.”

Obama also filmed an ad for Prop 50, Newsom’sredistricting ballot initiative, aimed at motivating Democrats and independents, saying, “California, thewhole nation is counting on you. Democracy is on the ballot Nov.4.”

The ad also featured video images of Trumpand National Guard and Immigration and CustomsEnforcement in U.S. cities.

“Republicans want tosteal enough seatsinCongress to rig thenext election and wield unchecked power for two moreyears,” says thenarration. “WithProp 50, you can stop Republicans in their tracks.”

Efforts to redraw U.S.Housedistricts for partisan advantage have been taken up in Republican-led Missouri, where thelegislature approved revised districtsbut thechanges are being legally contested, and officials in more states are considering following suit. So, to those who are wondering, Obama is doing his part for his party as it struggles to unify itself after itsdevastating defeat by Trump’swell-oiled machine.

In late July,Obama spoke withhis former attorney general, Eric Holder, about how Democrats should respond. Notably,both Obama and Holder have been outspoken advocates of independent commissions to draw congressional districts free of thepolitical gerrymandering. Holder founded the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which advocates drawing nonpartisan maps, and Obama has endorsed its efforts.

According to an in-depth Washington Post report, Obama and Holder concluded that those aspirationswould have to be put on hold, andthatthe

When Texas Republicans threatened to arrest thedissident lawmakers andremovethem from office, Obama called in to one of the Democrats’ meetingsatasecret location in Illinois to lendsupport to their stance —and later released aportion of the call to the public.

Afew dayslater,ataMartha’sVineyard fundraiser for Holder’sredistricting committee, Obama gave his fullthroated endorsement of theCalifornia proposal

“I want to see as along-term goal that we do nothave political gerrymandering in America. That would be my preference,”Obamasaid. “Texas is

That machine operates at ascale of thoroughgoing corruption and coercion that would have blown Paddy Bauler’s mind. The United States governmentis in desperate need of reform. The question is whether the Democrats, in their post-Biden funk, are able tosell the American electorate on theproposition that they can deliver it.

Obama, apolitician who knows a thing or two about overcoming corrupt political machines, can help the Democrats make aconvincing case.

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com

The Justice Department is evaluating a criminal referral accusing former CIADirector John Brennan of lying to Congress. In the referral, Republican members of the House allege that Brennan lied to investigators trying to figure out what the nation’sintelligence agencies did in their pursuit of President Donald Trumpover the Russia collusion matter.The case is astrong one. It started back in 2017. Congressional Republicans were trying to trace the FBI,CIA and other agencies’ activities in what is often knownasthe “Russia hoax.” One central focus wasthe Steele dossier,the collection of false and salacious accusations that Trumpconspired with Russia to steal the 2016 election.

The dossier,aseveryone knowstoday,was apolitical opposition research job. It wasput together by aformer British spy who washired and paid by operatives working on behalf of the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign. As an investigative document, it was 100% BS.

That, of course, did not stop the FBI from embracing it. The bureau accepted the dossier as a legitimate source. Here was where things did not add up forHill investigators. Given what the FBI was doing, one might have expected that the CIAwould also have played somerole in the whole dossier saga. But Brennan, then the head of the CIA, swore under oath that the CIAhad nothing to do with the dossier GOPinvestigators wanted to know: Wasthat conclusion based on the dossier? Did Brennan’s CIAsupport including the dossier in the assessment? In testimony on May 23, 2017, Brennan said absolutely not, that the dossier played no role in the CIA’swork. Brennan told lawmakers the dossier “was not in any way used as abasis forthe Intelligence Community Assessment.” Six years later,onMay 11, 2023, Brennan again found himself answering questions from Hill Republicans, and he again denied CIAinvolvement with the dossier.“Iwas not involved in analyzing the dossier at all,” Brennan said. “I said the first timeI actually saw it, it wasafter the election. And the CIAwas not involved at all with the dossier It was[the FBI’s]purview,their area, not ours at all.” Brennan also reiterated earlier testimony when he said, “The CIAwas very much opposed to having any reference or inclusion of the Steele dossier in the Intelligence Community Assessment.” Now it appears that what Brennan told congressional investigators wasfalse. The current CIAdirector,John Ratcliffe,who used to be one of the House investigators looking into the Russia matter,has declassified documents from Brennan’stimeatthe agency which show that, farfrom keeping the dossier at arm’sreach, Brennan actually forced CIAanalysts to use it and overruled those whowanted to leave the dossier out of the Intelligence Community Assessment.

Ratcliffe has also declassified a2020 House Intelligence Committee report, which the CIA had kept under wraps, that outlined Brennan’sinvolvement in the dossier.The report, based on the committee’sinterviewswith CIA staff, said that “twosenior CIAofficers,” both with extensive Russia experience, “argued with [Brennan] that the dossier should not be included at all in the Intelligence Community Assessment, because it failed to meet basic tradecraftstandards, according to asenior officer present at the meeting. The sameofficer said that [Brennan] refused to remove it, and when confronted with the dossier’smany flaws responded, ‘Yes, but doesn’titring true?’ Taken together,these accounts show that significant portions of Brennan’scongressional testimony about the dossier and the Intelligence Community Assessment wereuntrue. Here’sthe bottom line, which Republicans have believed foralong time. In the politically supercharged atmosphere of late 2016 and early 2017, the FBI and CIAboth knew the dossier wasBS. And then, under oath before Congress, Brennan lied about it. In arecent letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-OH, wrote that the 2020 House report and the CIA’sanalysis “confirm not only that the Steele dossier wasused as abasis for the Intelligence Community Assessment, but that Brennan insisted on its inclusion.” Brennan’stestimony to Congress, Jordan continued, “was abrazen attempt to knowingly and willfully testifyfalsely and fictitiously to material facts.” Jordan asked Bondi to investigate whether Brennan’sstatements warrant acriminal charge of making false statements. Now it is up to the attorney general. Will Brennan contend that he somehow wastelling thetruth whenhemadethe above statements? Of course he will. But if he is charged, that will be ahard case to make.

Byron York is on X, @Bryon York

for legislators who want to fund early childhood education to do it in a way that really stretches those dollars,” he said.

Local communities

Losing the Early Childhood Education Fund would

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misconception about this restaurant because of the name,” he said of the full menu.

It was 11:15 a.m. on a Monday, and the place was two tables away from being at full capacity

He told me that Pam Beard, a waitress, has worked at the restaurant for 42 years He explained that she’s a big part of what makes the backroom special.

“Honestly, she makes the backroom what it is. She has regulars back there every day,” he said. “She knows what they want before they order it. So, they come for that treatment that’s also what makes that room really special.”

How does one get into the secret room, I wondered I asked if there was a secret password to get in.

“No,” he said. “It’s one of those things. If you know you belong, you belong. You just kind of walk back there and sit.”

He acknowledged the following:

n Technically, there are two backrooms the original backroom and the one through the trapdoor

n The room can be reserved for private events, but there’s still mystery behind it.

n He wants people who use it to be able to continue using it.

have a significant impact on the communities that rely on it, advocates say In Jefferson Parish, about 17,000 children under age 5 are eligible for some form of publicly subsidized child care program, but only around 4,500 are enrolled, said Sarintha Strickland, executive director of the Jefferson Ready Start Network, which works to create comprehensive early child-

hood services for young children.

To help close that gap, the parish has put $1.2 million into the state match program, Strickland said. Much of the funding has come through the Jefferson Parish Council, which recently pledged to contribute $250,000 per year for the next three years.

But without those state dollars, “that powerful part-

nership that was created as an incentive for local municipalities to get involved in the early care and education space goes away,” Strickland said. “It really puts parents in real precarious situations.”

About 1 in 4 households in Jefferson Parish with children under 18 live below the poverty line, according to federal data. If the child care program goes

away, many parents could be forced to leave the workforce, Strickland said.

“The message is simple,” she said “We need additional funding in order to support eligible children to be in quality settings so that parents can get to work.”

Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate. com.

n The room operates on Vegas rules: “Whatever happens back there, stays back there.”

BOOK

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this

what ‘Festival’ is all about. It’s 40 years of magic, discovery growth and revitalization,” Feehan said.

Part of that encapsulation involves making the commemorative book as much of a visual experience as it is a reading experience. Photographs are indeed a major component of the book, with full-page spreads and galleries comprising a large chunk of the roughly 200 pages. In synergy with Festival’s mission of celebrating the blend of cultures that make up Louisiana, all sections of the book are written in both English and French.

Feehan donated the first copy of the book to the Lafayette Public Library, with two other copies going to the offices of Lafayette Parish Mayor-President Monique Boulet and Lt. Gov Billy Nungesser Boulet attended Friday’s announcement and spoke briefly on what she feels the book signifies for the Acadiana region.

“It is a critical part of our community,” Boulet said. “It elevates Lafayette; it defines who we are. When you look at these pictures, when you read these stories, you’re able to hear music.” That sentiment was echoed by Feehan, who paraphrased Cajun folklorist and University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor Barry Ancelet in saying, “Lafayette doesn’t have beautiful mountains

“Honestly, it’s more of a boys club, I would say,” Piazza said In the evenings, the room can be reserved for private events and is used for overflow dining, especially on Friday nights or busy weekends.

It’s lunchtime when the real conversations happen.

“It’s a room where regular guys go multiple times

a week,” he said. “Some influential people and some regular Joes who mix and match and just talk about daily things and daily happenings and try to make decisions based on what they hear, I guess.” I asked whose idea it was to add the trapdoor through a cinderblock wall. Piazza said he and his brother came up with that idea. Then, he said the magic

WESTBROOK

STAFF PHOTO By LESLIE

A book marking the 40th anniversary of Festival International is displayed Friday during a news conference at City Hall in Lafayette.

or white sandy beaches or clear blue water What we do have is our culture and our heritage and our music. That’s what Festival is about celebrating.”

The official launch of the book will take place at Cavalier House Books’ Lafayette location from 6 p.m.

to 8 p.m. Saturday, with limited seating and $10 entry fee. The event will feature a Q&A from the book’s developers, as well as a signing of copies. The 2026 Festival International de Louisiane is set to take place April 22-28 in downtown Lafayette.

with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office investigated a crash at the intersection of Blue Heron and Grazing Trace, according to spokesperson Chris Cormier

Detectives determined that a 16-year-old driver was traveling about 25 mph when the 8-yearold entered the road and was hit, Cormier said.

The child suffered serious injuries and was transported to a hospital for treatment, he said.

The driver was not injured.

Cormier said investigators do not believe impairment or distraction contributed to the incident.

A family member of the injured child posted on social media Sunday that they were in intensive care in a Baton Rouge trauma center The child, they wrote, suffered a fractured skull, broken nose and internal bleeding.

Another Acadiana child was injured while trickor-treating on Friday in Youngsville.

A 4-year-old trick-ortreating on Halloween night was struck about 7 p.m. in the 100 block of Brook Hill Drive in Youngsville. It appears the boy, dressed as a police officer, ran into the street as a vehicle was traveling slowly, trying to leave the neighborhood.

Dogs smoking cigars could have been playing poker in the corner and I wouldn’t have been surprised.

words I had been waiting for: “Do you want to see it?” I left the meatball quesadilla I had ordered and followed Piazza through the original backroom, a secret door, down a hallway and into a dark room with a beautiful round table in the middle. Its walls were decorated with signed Kentucky Derby banners (signed by some of the room’s original inhabitants).

Police Chief Jean-Paul “JP” Broussard on Saturday said the child suffered moderate injuries.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate. com.

The secret room was exactly as I had imagined it to be proof that sometimes the best missions are ones that lead you right where you hoped.

Cajuns get positive injury updates

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

For the first time aftera road trip this season, the UL Ragin’ Cajunsmet on Sunday for alight practice after avictory It’sbeen astrange trend for the Cajuns, who went undefeated on theroad last season.

“It was crazy because it was something we did so well last year,” said Michael Desormeaux, whose Cajuns (3-6, 2-3) return home to meet TexasState (3-5, 0-4) at 4p.m.Saturday “We’ve just struggled with it this year Now,it’sjusta feeling that you’ve got to be obsessed with getting again.” Another feeling the Cajuns couldget used to is afavorable injury report.

“This is the first week, Ithink, this year in 10 games that we haven’tlost aplayerin agame. So thankful and gratefulfor that,” Desormeaux said. “I thinkwecame through that onepretty good.”

Desormeaux suggested tightend Caden Jensen is progressing through concussion protocol well and is expected to playSaturday Offensive guard Matthew Broussard,who missed the last game after getting injured two weeks ago, hasn’tpracticed yetbut is considered “probable” to play Safety Jalen Clark waspulled early from Saturday’swin because he didn’tseemtobe responding well to ainjury, “soanother week of rest will be good for him,” Desormeaux said.

The Cajuns are enjoying lastSaturday’s win at South Alabama.

“It’sjust such ahard game, man,” Desormeaux said. “You worked so hard week in and week out, and you do things like, from start to finish, from Sundayall the way to Saturday.It’sa grind every week for everybody involved. And when you keepcoming up short, it’sjust like agut punchevery week.

“Tofinally go out there and finallycome out

See UL, page 2C

MiLaysia Fulwileydecided she‘needed to leave’ the placeshe spenther whole life.Thisiswhy LSUwas herpreferred destination.

PATH

The feeling hitMiLaysia Fulwiley when shewoke up one morning in April. She needed to get out.It wastime for somethingdifferent.A fresh start.

Fulwiley’s whole life had unfolded within thesame 10-mile radius in Columbia, SouthCarolina. It was her home. She was first labeled agenerational talent there, then christened a hero there once she helped her hometown South Carolina Gamecocks win anational championship.

side in the LSU-South Carolina rivalry?

Rod Walker

If Gayle Benson didn’talready know how bad her two professional franchisesare,an embarrassing four-hour window Sunday afternoon should have madeitloudand clear HerPelicans got stomped 137-106 in Oklahoma City. At the same time, her Saints were experiencing asimilar beatdown in California: a34-10 thrashingbythe Los Angeles Rams. On theday we turned our clocks back an hour to end daylight saving time, the Saints turned the clock all the way back to 1980. That’s the last time the Saints started aseason worse than this one. Thetime change caused it to get dark aroundhere Sunday around 6p.m. That’sright aboutthe time things got even darker for New Orleans’ sports fans. The Saints (1-8) andPelicans (0-6) have combined for one win The Saints’ last win cameamonth ago against the New York Giants. The Pelicans haven’twon agame since lateMarch.Sunday’sloss to the Thunder was their13thin arow,tied for the longest losing streak in franchise history

Owning the worst team in theNFL and NBAatthe same time isn’t agood look. It’s anew low for sports in New Orleans, acity where fans are known to wear paperbags over their heads.

“When Ileft there, Ijust cut out all the distractions,” Fulwiley told The Advocate, “and now it’sjust strictly basketball, strictly focused on my goals and whereIwant to be in life.”

In April, Fulwiley decided she wanted to be in Baton Rouge instead. That’swhere her junior season will begin when her LSUwomen’sbasket-

ball team hostsHouston Christian on Tuesday (7 p.m.,SEC Network+) in thefirst gameofits fifthseason under coach Kim Mulkey

Hundreds of women’scollege basketball players entered thetransfer portal in the offseason. Noneofthem settled on amore intriguingdestination than Fulwiley,the dynamic guard who left the Gamecocks so she could play for their top rival. Why did Fulwiley turn to the other

On Friday,after alight practice, the 5-foot-10 guard sat downinthe Tigers’ training facility and said she needed somethings that the Gamecocks could no longer offer her Achance to show WNBA scouts she can play point guard. Adistractionfree environment that she could tailor solely to her development as a basketball player.Anew place that could strip away everything else and show her whoshe really was “My real close people and people

See WALKER, page 2C ä See FULWILEY, page 3C

Former ADsdetailobstacles in LSUsearch

BYKOKI RILEY Staff writer

Mike Alden calls them investors Sure, most collegefootball people would label them as donors or boosters, but Alden— whowas theMissouriathletic director for 17 years —said they are investors becausetheir investmentcomes with asense of power over the decisions that are made within the program The introduction of NILand revenue sharing isn’tthe first timecollegiateathletes have been paid, but creating adirect correlation between the athletes and donorshas changed the power dynamics within college sports, Alden said.

Woodward

“Investors believe they’regoing to have a higher say into what takes place in an athletic program,” Alden said, “probably than ever before.” Perhaps no school has experienced this shift more violently than LSU last week. LSU firedcoach Brian Kelly on Oct. 26, watched Gov.Jeff Landrydeclare three days laterthatathletic director Scott Woodwardwouldn’thire Kelly’s replacement andthen parted ways with Woodward theday after Landry’scomments. Thewhiplashand chaos of the week didn’tsettle until Friday,when LSU announced afive-man committee, led by interim athletic director Verge Ausberry,

that will select the next coach.

“Verge is the ideal person to lead this department through this change,” said JohnCarmouche, the chairmanofthe LSU athleticcommittee on the LSUBoardof Supervisors. “And Iwant to be very clear, he has full authority to do so, that includes leading the search forour next head coach and hiring our next head coach.”

But the dramaofthe past week at LSU has made hiring the next coach more difficult.

“Weare not going to let this program fail,”Ausberry said Friday. “LSU hasto be in theplayoffseveryyearinfootball; there are 12 teams that makeit. It’s going to expand here. We have to be one of those at LSU.”

See LSU, page 4C

5

5:30 p.m. Evansville at Purdue BTN

7:30 p.m.

9

STM, Westminster headed to playoffs

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Each of the past four seasons, the St. Thomas More Cougars’ volleyball season has ended with them hoisting the Division II state championship trophy

On Monday, the Cougars learned the path they’ll have to take if they are going to successfully extend their streak to five consecutive state titles.

“We have had a great season,” said Cougars coach Jessica Burke, whose team is also looking to reach the state finals for a sixth consecutive year “Our players played with a lot of maturity, especially with so many new kids to varsity

“They gelled really well, and they’ve been playing really, really clean volleyball and really playing together Everybody has been kind of consistently performing together at the same time, so if we can keep that up, we’ll be tough to beat for sure.”

The Cougars, who are 36-5 overall and recently won the Spooktacular Tournament held by ESA, are the No. 1 seed in Division II for the fifth consecutive season.

STM is the lone No. 1 seed in its division from the Acadiana area.

“I definitely think there’s a benefit to being the No. 1 seed,” Burke said. “If it all works the way it should, you shouldn’t see your

UL

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on top of it, it just just allows you to take a deep breath and say, “All right, we’re doing things the way it’s supposed to be done.’ This is the formula we’ve got to repeat.” UL has won all 12 meetings against Texas State, which is leaving the Sun Belt after his season, but Desormeaux isn’t entertaining that angle.

“Maybe if the season was a little different right now,” he said.

“The motivation for us is just to get another win, that’s it. It’s life or death for our team it’s win at all costs. I don’t know if there’s any way you could add more to it.” The first 10 meetings resulted in double-digit wins for the Cajuns. Two years ago, UL utilized a blocked punt to squeak out a 34-30 home win. Last year, UL subdued the Bobcats 23-17 in San

WALKER

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The paper bags are making a comeback. Some were spotted at SoFi Stadium on Sunday for the Saints’ debacle against the Rams There likely will be plenty more when the Saints return to the Superdome in a few weeks. Heck, there may be some in the Smoothie King Center, too.

Frustration is at an all-time high. Last season, Benson’s two teams combined to win 26 games. The Saints went 5-12 and the Pelicans were 21-61. They could smash that dubious mark this season the way both teams have played.

The Saints are just past the midway point of their season, but they have some winnable games (I think) left against struggling teams such as the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans.

The Pelicans are just six games in. It’s too soon in an 82game season to hit the panic button, but it’s more about the way the Pelicans have lost. Three of

toughest competition until the last day and that’s the nice thing about being the high seed. Whereas if you are a lower seed, then you have to face somebody, you know, who might be able to beat you, a little earlier on.”

The Acadiana area is well-represented in the postseason as 28 teams have earned playoff berths across the five divisions.

In addition to the Cougars, the only other area team to earn one of the top two seeds in its division is the Westminster Christian Crusaders, who are seeded No. 2 in Division V

The Crusaders (32-9), who have finished as the state runner-up each of the past three seasons, are the No. 2 seed in Division V for the fifth consecutive year

“It looks like we have a good road right now,” Crusaders coach

“You’re playing a team that is really scary, particularly on offense. They’ve got a lot of weapons. They can score quickly.”

MICHAEL DESORMEAUX, UL coach, on Texas State

Marcos, Texas.

“You’re playing a team that is really scary, particularly on offense,” Desormeaux said.

“They’ve got a lot of weapons. They can score quickly.” Before last week’s home loss to first-place James Madison, the Bobcats lost three straight nailbiters in which they led late in all of them.

Texas State outgained Arkansas State 519-318 but lost 31-30. The Bobcats outgained Troy 574-458 but lost 48-41 in overtime. Then in a 40-37 double-overtime loss to Marshall, Texas State outgained the Thundering Herd 558-466 but committed three turnovers.

the losses have been by 30 or more points.

Things were so rough Sunday that you could have a serious debate about whose defense was worse: Willie Green’s team or Kellen Moore’s team?

Green’s Pelicans gave up 108 points through the first three quarters against a Thunder team missing three of its four best players. Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort all sat out.

Moore’s Saints allowed 438 yards of offense and had no answer for Matthew Stafford and his offense.

To be fair, the overmatched Saints and Pelicans were playing teams that very well could be lifting the Lombardi Trophy and Larry O’Brien Trophy at seasons’ end But Sunday also showed just how far away the Saints and Pels are from being on the same tier with those elite teams. Neither of Benson’s teams is trending in the right direction.

If there is some light somewhere at the end of the tunnel, the tunnel is too long to actually see it.

Keith Leon said. “But you know it is the playoffs, and you have to take it one game at a time. It’s tough, and anybody can beat anybody when it comes down to state.”

Burke and Leon agreed they like how their teams look heading into the playoffs

“Right now, I think we are really playing well,” said Leon, whose Crusaders collected victories against Parkview Baptist and E.D. White this past weekend. “If we stay where we are, I think we’ll be fine in the playoffs.”

In addition to the Cougars and Crusaders, other teams to watch in the playoffs are No 6 Southside (Division I), No. 6 Teurlings Catholic (Division II), No. 7 Iota (Division III), No. 8 Notre Dame (Division IV), No. 10 Lafayette Christian (Division IV), No. 11

Catholic-N.I., No. 6 ESA (Division V), No. 7 Northside Christian (Division V) and No. 8 Ascension Episcopal (Division V).

“Teurlings is a team you can’t count out,” Leon said. “Catholic High has some athletes, and if they can pull it together, they can make big run.”

Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

UL defensive end Jordan Lawson tries to pursue the quarterback during the Cajuns’ 31-22 win over South Alabama on Saturday

The Saints currently are in position for the No. 1 draft pick in next year’s draft. But one draft pick won’t solve all of the issues on the roster Mickey Loomis and his staff have put together The Pelicans are in line for a very high draft pick, too. Well, except they traded their firstround pick away in June to move up in the 2025 draft. So neither of these teams will be fixed overnight. It’s going to take some time.

It’s almost fitting that this is being written on Nov. 3 On that date a year ago, Dennis Allen coached his final game for the Saints in Charlotte, North Carolina, against the Carolina Panthers. He was fired the next day

The Saints, after striking out on several coaches they targeted, hired Moore. Across the parking lot, the Pelicans fired executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin at the end of the second-worst season in franchise history and replaced him with Louisiana native Joe Dumars. Both hires were supposed to

Fuaga expected to miss Saints’ game this week

New Orleans Saints right tackle Taliese Fuaga suffered a high ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and probably won’t be available to play this week against the Carolina Panthers, head coach Kellen Moore said Monday Fuaga, the Saints’ 2024 firstround draft pick out of Oregon State, was seen in the locker room Monday wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

Fuaga was injured in the Saints’ 34-10 loss to the Rams. He left the field on a cart late in the fourth quarter with a towel covering his face. Asim Richards replaced Fuaga in the lineup. Fuaga has dealt with several injuries this season, including knee and back injuries.

Braves promote bench coach Weiss to manager

ATLANTA The Atlanta Braves hired Walt Weiss on Monday as their manager, promoting from within for the successor to 2021 World Series winner Brian Snitker. Weiss has been the Braves’ bench coach since 2018 and was on Snitker’s staff four years ago when they won the fourth championship in franchise history Snitker also was an internal hire, coming from Triple-A in 2016, when he replaced Fredi González midseason and then got the full-time job the following year This is Weiss’ second major league managing job after four seasons with the Colorado Rockies (2013-16). Weiss finished his playing career as a shortstop with Atlanta from 1998-2000.

Delgado, Kent, Sheffield, Valenzuela join Hall ballot

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy were held over on the Hall of Fame’s contemporary baseball era committee ballot and will be joined next month by Carlos Delgado, Jeff Kent, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela. The 16-person committee meets on Dec 7 at the winter meetings in Orlando, Florida, and a 75% vote is necessary for election. Anyone elected will be inducted on July 26, along with anyone chosen in the Baseball Writers’ Association of America vote, announced on Jan. 20.

Albert Belle, Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling were dropped after appearing on the previous contemporary era ballot in December 2022.

Packers TE Kraft out for season with torn ACL

Green Bay’s Tucker Kraft seemingly was on his way to putting together one of the most prolific seasons by any tight end in Packers history

Now he’s done for the season before the halfway mark.

Kraft tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the third quarter of Green Bay’s 16-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers and will miss the rest of the season The news came Monday on Kraft’s 25th birthday

be a fresh start and a turning point for the franchises. Neither has been yet.

Green, whose seat is as hot as it’s ever been, and Moore are both optimistic they can get things turned around.

“The biggest thing is just stay together,” Green said after the Pelicans’ loss Sunday “Keep fighting for each other, (and) let’s try to string together a consistent game.”

A little over an hour later, about 1,300 miles away in Inglewood, California, Moore had a similar message.

“It’s challenging,” he said. “We are going through a challenging storm. We’ve faced some adversity We’ve got to keep pushing. We’ve got to keep pushing together You get through this storm, you’re going to tell one heckuva story But you’ve got to get there. We’re not there yet.”

Sunday showed neither team is even close.

Players are frustrated.

Fans are frustrated.

Mrs. Benson should be, too.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

Kraft lined up left and was moving to his right behind the line of scrimmage when he ran into the backside of Packers guard Sean Rhyan, who was blocking Carolina’s Nic Scourton on the play Kraft had 32 catches for 489 yards and six touchdowns this season. He led the Packers (5-2-1) in yards receiving and touchdown catches.

Rybakina stuns Swiatek to reach WTA Finals semis

RIYADH,SaudiArabia — Elena Rybakina qualified for the WTA Finals semifinals for the first time after overcoming Iga Swiatek 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 on Monday

That result and Amanda Anisimova’s win over Madison Keys in the first professional matchup of the Americans meant Swiatek and Anisimova will play on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals. Swiatek beat Anisimova in the Wimbledon final 6-0, 6-0 but Anisimova ousted Swiatek in the U.S. Open quarterfinals 6-4, 6-3. Australian Open champion Keys, with a 0-2 record, was out of contention. No. 6-ranked Rybakina passed the round-robin for the first time at her third WTA Finals.

National observer: McMahon’s seat

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Coach Matt McMahon called the NCAA Tournament the “North Star” for LSU basketball a couple of times this offseason.

Every roster decision and new staff hire — such as Ronald Dupree as the program’s first general manager — has been motivated by the team’s desire to return to The Big Dance for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

That mission starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday when LSU faces Tarleton State at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

In charge of leading the Tigers for a fourth year is McMahon, who fielded a team that went 14-18 overall and 3-15 in the Southeastern Conference last year

The Advocate spoke to 11year ESPN national college basketball writer Jeff Borzello about McMahon’s job security entering the 202526 season. This interview happened before LSU fired football coach Brian Kelly McMahon’s position on the hot seat is clear to Borzello. He has an SEC record of 14-40 in three years and no NCAA Tournament appearances.

“You take that in a vacuum, and that’s enough to be on the hot seat,” Borzello

FULWILEY

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that’s really in my circle and know me in real life,” Fulwiley said, “they understand why I made that move, and they never questioned it because they already knew They see me every day They knew that I needed to leave.”

‘The best-kept secret’

It’s not unusual to see a big-name coach walking around WJ Keenan High School in Columbia. The place tends to produce college basketball players. Longtime boys basketball coach Zachary Norris has coached his fair share of Division I talents, which means he’s also hosted his fair share of Division I coaches.

Like Gregg Marshall, the disgraced former Wichita State men’s basketball coach.

He was watching Keenan’s team practice one day when a smaller, younger player caught his eye. She played with the girls. Sometimes, she’d practice with the boys.

“Who’s that?” Marshall asked Norris.

“I said, ‘That’s MiLaysia Fulwiley,’ ” Norris said. “ ‘That’s the best-kept secret around here.’ ” Norris — a South Carolina Hall of Famer beginning his 39th season as a high school basketball coach — used to tell his team that he’d be late to pregame meetings because he wanted to watch Fulwiley play in her middle school games. Even then, she was a big deal. Reggie McLain, the Keenan girls coach, let Fulwiley join his varsity team when she was in seventh grade.

A year later, The State newspaper in Columbia ran a story about a local basketball star who was seeking her second high school state championship — before she even started high school. The subject, of course, was Fulwiley She already was a dazzling talent — magnetic enough to attract a few spectators at her first varsity practice, then later, draw crowds large enough for games that Keenan’s coaches brushed up on the fire code.

“She was just a great person,” Norris said. “Great to be around. Always made you laugh and smile. And then on the court, she was just, oh man, amazing. Just

said. “Throw in the fact that, again, even with an improved roster, they’re not projected to make the NCAA Tournament. And so just those two things combined, it’s pretty easy to make a case that he is on one of the hottest seats in the Power Five level right now.”

McMahon inherited a basketball program in 2022 with what Borzello called a “dark cloud” hanging over it. The previous coach, Will Wade, was fired for cause after committing NCAA violations. McMahon signed a contract that lasts until 2029 to rebuild the program. His buyout, if fired after this season, is roughly $6.5 million.

“We’ve seen it on the football side that many times that amount of money is not going to stop a school from making a move if they feel that it’s time,” Borzello said. Borzello thinks McMahon will be gone if LSU misses the tournament again, but he can also see a scenario where McMahon stays if the team is one of the first four out when the bracket is revealed.

What also would factor into the decision is the risk of losing players from the high school recruiting trail and the following season’s transfer portal cycle.

Regardless, the only way for McMahon to “feel safe” is by making the tournament “I don’t know if LSU with the resources they have and with the resources they use on this year’s

the things that she could do, some of the guys couldn’t even do them.”

As a freshman in high school, Fulwiley scored 54 points while South Carolina coach Dawn Staley watched from the bleachers. As a junior, she dueled with future LSU star Flau’jae Johnson. Keenan had to start turning fans away from that game. Inside, the two traded deep 3s, trash talk and crafty transition layups, foreshadowing their subsequent matchups in college.

Fulwiley committed to South Carolina as a senior, then helped her hometown Gamecocks win a national championship as a freshman. Bradley Elementary, her former school, invited her to speak to its students that spring. So, too, did Keenan. On that visit, Fulwiley wore a shirt that read “Homegrown Champion.”

“She had a dream,” said Kezia Myers, principal at Bradley, “and now her dream is reality They can do it as well. So, she inspires other people, even if she knows it or not. Because they look up to her.” Now with Fulwiley at LSU, Columbia residents have to do so from afar

“I respect her for what she did,” Norris said. “I really do. Because it takes a lot to leave your hometown and leave your family and everything It takes a lot. But to me, that’s a part of maturity, too, and maybe she needs another avenue to show her stuff and the skills that she has.

“But it hurts now because I can’t go down to (South Carolina) to watch her, you know?” Norris said with a laugh. “I’m kind of caught in between on that one.

‘Get the best of her’ In the memoir she published in May, Staley called Fulwiley “a younger, savvier version of myself.” She’s naturally reserved the South Carolina coach wrote, and quiet. She’s also a “show woman.” She embraces the spotlight when she’s playing well and shies away from it when she isn’t.

Fulwiley is also “prideful,” Staley said. She doesn’t want to need anything, and she’d rather not ask for help.

Staley penned that description of her former star guard in a chapter she wrote about the importance of developing good habits. That wisdom is what the Gamecocks coach spent the previous two seasons trying

roster — just don’t know if they’re going to go into year five without being to a tour-

to instill in Fulwiley, as she said in an April appearance on “The Breakfast Club” radio show

“I thought MiLaysia was getting better,” Staley told the show’s hosts. “I saw a whole lot of growth, on and off the court. LSU’s gonna get the best of her now.”

Fulwiley is one of the country’s most electrifying players. She’s quick and fast. For a guard, she’s tall and long, and she can swarm opposing ballhandlers at the point of attack. Few players are more adept at navigating tight spaces, dishing out crafty passes or finishing layups from difficult angles.

At South Carolina, Fulwiley changed the complexion of games.

She scored a career-high 24 points in an SEC Tournament final win over LSU as a freshman. The next season, she notched 16 of her 23 points in the second half of a tight NCAA Tournament victory over Maryland, propelling the Gamecocks into the Elite Eight.

Staley, however, preferred to play Fulwiley in spurts.

Sometimes, she’d commit a costly turnover or miss a defensive assignment.

Fulwiley played at least 30 minutes in only one of the 77 games she appeared in as a Gamecock. Before she was unleashed last season in the Sweet 16, she was benched in the second round. Those struggles were carrying over from one round of the tournament to the next, so Staley tore into her in the third quarter of the game against the Terrapins, then watched her catch fire the next time she checked in.

“I think what we saw over her time at South Carolina is decision-making being a big thing for Dawn Staley,” ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo said on a recent conference call with reporters, “in terms of on the offensive end of the floor and her improvement there.

“Also, on the defensive end of the floor, you just saw her grow and mature throughout the last couple of years, and I think you will continue to see those things.”

South Carolina’s last chance to climb back into its national championship loss to UConn last season was starting to slip away Then Fulwiley checked in late in the third quarter and gave the Gamecocks a chance.

She banked in a runner

nament under McMahon,” Borzello said. “I wouldn’t say it’s guaranteed he gets

Blocked a shot. Stole a pass and assisted a fastbreak layup. Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, sensing a shift, called a timeout.

“She can change the course of a game in just a few possessions,” Lobo noted on the broadcast.

The run was short-lived.

On the first play after the break, UConn star Sarah Strong caught Fulwiley out of position and passed to the open sharpshooting guard Azzi Fudd, who buried a corner 3-pointer that negated what South Carolina had done on the previous few possessions.

The broadcast then captured Staley yelling in frustration on the bench. Her reaction was quickly clipped and plastered across social media, and now it’s immortalized in gif form.

“You don’t help off the strong-side corner,” Lobo said.

A month and a half later, Fulwiley signed with LSU, and Staley was booked for a press tour of her book.

“We went through the hard part of just smoothing some rough edges,” Staley said on the radio show, “and getting her to create good habits. I do think habits are the thing that allows you to elevate. So, I think what we’ve given her, and what she’s given us, will allow her to have much better days,

fired if he doesn’t make the tournament, but I don’t think he’ll feel safe at all if

much more consistent days, than she had with us at her next stop.”

‘Mixed views’

LSU checked every box for Fulwiley She can play point guard there. She can compete for a national title there. She can play the only way she knows how to there fast, loose and free — and she can do so in the SEC, arguably the most competitive league in the country She didn’t want to leave the conference.

Still, Fulwiley’s decision rocked the college basketball world while puzzling some folks from her hometown — and rankling others.

“At first, I was trying to figure out why,” said Norris, the Keenan boys basketball coach.

Said McLain, her high school coach: “The thing that I think shocked the people was the destination.”

Myers, the principal at Fulwiley’s elementary school and an avid South Carolina fan, said Fulwiley’s move was “totally her decision.”

“She has to make her own way,” Myers said, “so we are extremely proud of her and know that she’s going to do well.”

Running point in Mulkey’s system has its challenges. Hailey Van Lith chose LSU for the same reason in 2023,

they find themselves on the outside looking in on Selection Sunday.”

Winning more games than last season, especially during SEC play, will alleviate some pressure. Being a competitive team in the conference is a possibility that’s not outlandish, Borzello said. He said LSU did a “quietly good job” improving its roster with mostly older players who can be “plug and play.”

The crown jewel of the overhaul is the new junior point guard from UNLV.

“I love Dedan Thomas,” Borzello said. “I’ve liked him since high school. Really good point guard, really good passer, one of the better non-Power Five point guards in the country last year.”

The SEC will be deep again after a season where an NCAA-record 14 teams made the tournament. While the top of the conference won’t be as elite, several teams in

and she reentered the portal after one rocky season with the Tigers, though she later said her initial decision to move to Baton Rouge helped her get drafted into the WNBA in 2025. Fulwiley is following that same path, except her transfer move happened to spice up one of the sport’s bitter rivalries.

“I think you’re gonna have mixed views,” McLain said. “You got some that’s still gonna support her — like us. We’re gonna support her and her coaches and family You got a lot that are not gonna support her They didn’t like the decision. They were not for it.” But Fulwiley wants those folks to know she simply did what she thought was best for her and her family — and that above all else, it was important for her to choose a team that she could help win a national title.

“I also wanted to be on a team that fit my style of play,” Fulwiley said, “where I can just be myself, but also be coachable and be disciplined while being myself. And I felt like this was one of those programs.”

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

When, howto plant bulbsfor spring blooms

Gardening often is an exercise in thinking ahead. Being able to enjoy flowers, foliage and food from the garden depends on whether you ticked off the requisitelist of to-dos in previousseasons. That’sdefinitely the case with flowers like daffodils that grow from bulbs.

While they won’tbloom until spring, now through November is when you need to plant these bulbs. This is because many of them require acertain amount of time in the chilly groundto trigger their beautiful blooms in February,March and April. Don’tknow much about bulbs? Don’tbeintimidated you might know more than you think. Consider the onion thatmay be sitting around in your kitchen. That’sabulb that happens to be edible.

Abulb is an underground structure that some plants use to store their food supply It also produces shoots —so abulb simply functions as a sort of giant seed that can be used to grow anew plant. Over time, that plant may eventually produceclumps of more bulbs called bulblets or offsets.

When shopping for bulbs, examine them to ensure they are firm

Many people order their bulbs from seed catalogsand websites. Your local garden center probably has agood selection of bulbs, too. (If you’re lucky,you might have agardening friend who has divided and saved their ownoffsets and is willing to share from their stash.)

Wherever you shop, you’re likely to come across many bulbs labeled as various kinds of narcissus. This is areference to the Narcissus genus, manymembers of which are commonly called daffodils. These classic spring flowers come in shades of yellow,pink, orange, coraland white. For most daffodil species,each stem produces asingle, large, trumpet-shaped bloom. The Narcissus genus also includes species that feature clusters of smaller bloomsthat are highlyfragrant, such as jonquils (Narcissus jonquilla) and paperwhites (Narcissus papyraceus)

Bulbs typically are packaged in perforatedplastic or paper bags, and they look alot like onions —round withpapery skins. If you’re shopping in person, take some time to carefully examine the bulbs. Squeeze them —they should feel firmwith no soft spots.

ä See BLOOMS, page 6C

BY JANRISHER Staff writer

olenda hand to whoever takes thereins of LSU’s storied —but lately beleaguered —football program, our newspaper staff hascompiled ashort list of Baton Rouge homes for consideration.

Someare within shoutingdistance of TigerStadium, while others offer abit moreprivacy

When it comes to helping LSU coaches find the rightfit, no one knows thatterritory better than Quita Cutrer

She workedwith Nick Sabanon multiple Baton Rouge real estate deals, including theso-called“Saban Estate” on Highland Road. She helpedLes Miles andhis family find their Bocage-area home. She found and listed the home Brian Kelly ended up buying, which wasn’teven on the market at the time.

Cutrer says there are several potential houses foranew coach to consider,depending on what area of town he chooses to live in,including one that sheknows of that

isn’tonthe market yet It all depends on what the new coach is looking for in ahome

“Nick (Saban)wanted land. He liked theprivacy of his home on Highland —and I’ve already had a call from the seller willing to make adeal for the new coach,” she said.

MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

“Brian Kelly wanted to be within a mile of LSU.”

Lookingfor theinsidescoop

The biggest difference in working in real estate withhigh-profile

HOMES

coaching jobs, Cutrer says, is the constant barrageof questions from people wanting theinside scoop. If the new coach wants to live closer to LSU, Cutrer recommends the Lakeshore area —where Brian Kelly purchased his home on East Lakeshore Drive, situated with an enviable view of the lakes and LSU in the distance. Thehouse is expected to go on themarketsoon and is drumming up alot of real estate talk in and around Baton Rouge, according to Cutrer

ShesaidKelly wanted to be near LSU’scampus so he could use his home for recruiting purposes.

“I’ve been getting calls relentlessly about the house.

‘Is it going to go on the market? Howmuch is it going to be listed for?,’”she said of Kelly’shome,which requirednorenovations when he moved in early 2022. Move-in ready is anearuniversal requirement for a coach’sfamily. The rest depends on the family’sspecificneeds.Do they have young children? Are they empty nesters?Do they have abig dog? Do they want alot of privacy?

Until the Kelly era at LSU, Cutrer worked with most of the football coaching staff to help them findtheir homes as well. Her ties to the LSU Athletic Department go back to Skip Bertman.

“SkipBertman would recommend me to all the coaches. He called me when he hired Les Miles and told me to get over to the football office and take out anew coach’swife,” she said. She says she’seven had some coaches look as far out as the Country Club of Louisiana for homes, which would make for alonger drive to Tiger Stadium. De-

BLOOMS

Continued from page5C

Make sure there areno signs of mold growing on them.

Once you bring your bulbs home, chooseawelldrained bed that is sunny in the winter and early spring Full sun is preferable, and part sun is OK. Steer clear of shady locations or you’ll have fewer blooms and floppy plants.

Don’tplant the bulbs as deeply as advised on their package labels. LSU AgCenter horticulturists recommend planting larger bulbs no more than 4to5inches deep and smaller bulbs 1to 2inches deep. We usually aren’tatrisk of the ground freezing during winter in Louisiana, so it’sunnecessary to bury the bulbs as deeply here. Planting too deeply also can cause bulbs to rot in our climate.

OUTBACK

Continued from page5C

pending on traffic, it could be more than ahalf-hour drive. Even for big-timecoaches, the BatonRouge real estate decisioniscrucial —for the same reasons it is for anyoneelse.

With all themovingcoaches dointhe new version of college football, one factor to consider is resale. However,other piecesofthe puzzle get to the nitty-gritty of each family

“This is their home where they’re going to live, hopefullyfor awhile,” Cutrersaid.“But it’slike any other real estate transaction, whichmeans it’sconfidential.”

Building awinner

There is one optionthat stands out: the aforementioned home of Saban is on themarket at 6326 Highland Road.

At $4.99million,the sixbedroom/seven-bath home comes in at 6,494squarefeet on a5.38-acre lot, though 14 additional acres are also available if thenew coach is really interested in privacy

The home’sdescription says it wasformerlyknown as “The Saban Estate” and comes with “timeless French Chateau elegance with unmatched modern amenities” and achef’s kitchenwith anoversized island, triple sink and Miele six-burner cooktop. Oh,and there’sacharming guest house with its ownkitchen andprivate parking, “a true storybook experience for visitors or extended family.”

It also offers privacy and proximity with two entrances offHighland Roadand oneoff BurbankDrive.Plus, it’sonly 3miles and about an 11-minute drive from Tiger Stadium

Traditionand elegance

Why notbuy an A. Hays Town home? Doing so will give thefamily instant style credibility and be all the evidence needed to prove that

While many springflowering bulbs should be plantedinOctober and November,there are some exceptions—notably hyacinths and tulips,which you’llalso find for sale this time of year.These need to be planted later,but go ahead and buythem, as they take some additional prepwork. You’llneed to refrigerate hyacinthand tulip bulbs for aminimumofsix to eight weeks before planting Place them in paper bags

Employ kindness with wait staff

Dear Heloise: Aletter in your columnthat ran a few days ago about gettingservice in a restaurant reminded me of something Idowhenever I need help or service from acompany As soon as they answer,and we establish contact, I tell them that Iampleading insanity and am throwing myself at their mercy It always gets alaugh and setsa good mood. Ialmost always get thehelp or service Ineed. Tryhumor and kindness. It works every time. —Tom Desaulniers, in Conway,Arkansas Getabettergrip

better control of my razor and it is less likely to slip. —BawnFroning,inPapillion,Nebraska Twisttie use

other locations,and all will receivea transition bonus. Baton Rouge has one remaininglocationat2415S Acadian Thruway,and Gonzales hasaspotonSouth

they appreciatetradition.

The home at 1525 Brame Drive in Baton Rouge comes with majesticlive oaks, complete with aswing, in thecase of young children or grandchildren.

It was built in 1963 and “thoughtfully expanded in 2006,” according to its online listing, blending “timeless architecture withmodern luxury.” It’savailable for $2.35 million.

Thehome has6,303 square feet under roof and 1,200 square feet of porchesdesigned foryear-round enjoyment —though it may be on thesmaller side with only four bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The property includesa private pond and can be accessedthrough alandscaped alleyway offHyacinth Avenue.

TigerStadiumproximity

Location.Location. Loca-

tion

For amere$2.25 million, if the new coach is an empty nesterand doesn’t wanta house that’stoo big, perhaps he and his family would like to snagthis three-bedroom/ five-bath, 5,017-square-foot home at 3109 E. Lakeshore Drive?

It’sanelegant home with allthe trimmings andluxurious details.

Plus,ithas agated driveway,anelevator and an outdoor dog wash station

Alittlefurther out

For thecoach who wants to put alittle distance between home and work and live on agolf course, there’s 17835 E. Augusta Drive, for $3.5 million.

With five bedroomsand six baths, the home overlooks the fifth hole at theCountry Club of Louisiana and includesanoutdoor kitchen, asaltwater pool for summer days anda 1,500-square-foot guest house.

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com.

and store them in thefridge away from fruits, which emit ethylene gas as they ripen. This substance can damage the bulbs and prevent them from flowering. Wait for acold, wet day in January to plant.You may be miserable, but those conditions are ideal for putting these bulbs in theground. Hyacinths, tulipsand manymodern daffodils available in the general market likely will produce flowers for just one year We tendtotreat these bulbs as annuals in Louisiana because our climate just isn’t conducive to repeat blooming. North Louisiana may see better reblooming of these selections. Finding high-performing, perennial Southern bulbs takes alittle research. These heirloom varieties with proven heat tolerance and little demand for chilling are much better suited for naturalizing and providing years of enjoyment.

VeteransBoulevard, part of the13total locationsinLouisiana. “Weappreciate the community’ssupport over the past 24 years,” Daly said, “and hope to see them at our Acadian and Gonzales restaurants.

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: Icrochet alot of hats and scarves forthe homeless to distribute in the winter.I used abread twist tie to save my stitch when Ihad to stop in the middle of aproject. —M.R., via email Pillow talk

Dear Heloise: As I’ve gotten older,Ifind that it is harder to hold smaller itemslike my razor.After watching my dentist work with her tools,Igot the idea to slip orthodontic bands around thehandle of my razor.It works like acharm!Ihave

Dear Heloise: My husband swears that his foam-core pillow is the best sleep pillow he has ever experienced. The dense memory foam that makes up the pillow is covered by aquilted zip cover,which Ithen place in apillowcase from our sheet set. The problem is that while Ican washthe cover and case, there are no instructions on how to clean the foam core. Although I occasionally treat it with

afabric freshener spray there is still aresidual odor that can actually permeate the room.Any suggestions on how to clean this item?

—Janice L., viaemail Janice, hand-wash the foam pillowwith the cover offina combinationoflukewarm waterand amild detergent. Make sure thatyou totally submerge the pillow. Gently squeezethe pillow to getall the detergent and waterout. Rinse by soaking the pillowinclean water (with no detergent), and squeezethe waterout again without wringing or twisting the pillow. Allow it to air-dry,but keep the foam away from direct heat and sunlight. This can take anywhere from 24-36 hours. Between washings, you can sprinkle baking soda on the foam, let sit fortwo hours, and then vacuum off the baking soda. —Heloise Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, Nov.4,the 308thday of 2025. There are 57 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Nov.4,2008, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was elected the first Black president of the United States, defeating theRepublican candidate, Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Also on this date:

In 1922, theentrance to King Tutankhamen’stomb was discovered in Egypt In 1979, theIran hostage crisis began as militant studentsstormed theU.S. Embassy in Tehran, seizing its occupants; 52 of the hostages were held for 444 days and were released on Jan. 20, 1981.

In 1980, Republican Ronald Reagan wonelection to the White House forthe first timeashetrounced Democratic President Jimmy Carter

In 1991, Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley, California; attending were President George H.W Bush and former Presidents Jimmy Carter,Gerald R. Ford and Richard Nixon—the first-ever gathering of five past and present U.S. chief executives.

In 1995, Yitzhak Rabin, prime ministerofIsrael, was assassinated by arightwing Israeli minutes after attending apeace rally

In 2007, King Tutankhamen’sface wasunveiled for the first time to the public more than 3,000 years after the pharaoh was buried in

his Egyptian tomb. In 2016, the Paris climate accord, reached the previous year,took effect; the first global pact to fight climate change called on the world to collectively cut and then eliminate greenhouse gas pollution but imposed no sanctions on

SCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) It's up to you to promote what you can do. Stick to the truth. If you promise more than you can deliver, it will lead to unnecessary stress. Keep your message strong, honest and reasonable.

SAGIttARIuS (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Take the initiative and make things happen. Relying on others to do things for you will lead to disappointment. Rise above negativity and walk away from whatever and whoever holds you back.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Let go of toxic or indulgent situations. Ask what you can do that will help you get back on track. Being in a stalemate situation will continue to numb you. Shake things up and learn something new.

AQuARIuS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Amentalreset may help you change course. Make yourself aware of what's adaptable and what isn't. Learn how to manipulate your happiness. Implement something that will bring joy to your routine.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Spontaneity will work against you. Don't feel pressured to make a purchase, a choice or a move. Refuse to let outside influences infiltrate your decision-making.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Stick to basics, be direct and verify information before sharing it. Excess is the enemy, and discipline is your ticket to flourishing.

Nurture meaningful relationships.

tAuRuS (April 20-May 20) Emotions will run high when dealing with personal

and business relationships. Clutter and indulgent tendencies require your attention. Let go of dead weight

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Unresolved issues will take a toll on you emotionally. Verify information, confirm facts and address matters directly. Avoid purchasing costly products promising unrealistic things.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Being receptive to new technology or ways of doing things will help you advance. Don't fall behind because you don't like change. Look at what you cannot control as a new adventure.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Socializing more will enhance your curiosity and lead to new friendships and pastimes that bring you a sense of vitality. Don't drown yourself in screen time when physical connection is what you need.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Address financial, medical and legal matters that are weighing you down. You have more options than you realize. Exhaust your resources and put out a call for help. LIBRA (Sept. 23-oct. 23) Aggressive moves will not resolve issues. Consider what's stopping you and adapt rather than try to change what's heavily rooted. Let go of negative partnerships.

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

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

toDAy'S CLuE: B EQuALS y

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Alexander Smith,a19th-century Scottishpoet,said,“Everythingissweetened by risk.”

Notwhen you are adeclarer!Then, you shouldaim to make your contract withoutrisk. However, declarer usually faces various dangers. In today’s deal, he must work to keep aparticular opponentoff the lead.

Southcruises into four spades. West, whoovercalled in clubs, leads thediamond king. After Eastsignals with the jack, how should declarer plan the play? In the modern style, North responded three spades, showing aweak hand with four-card spade support. With agameinvitational hand, North would have cue-bid three clubs.This is agood idea becauseitallows responder to bid both constructively and obstructively.

Declarerstartswithninetoptricks(six spades,twoheartsandonediamond)and hopes to establish dummy’s heartsuit. But he is in danger of losingfour tricks: one heart, one diamondand twoclubs However,heriskslosingthosetwoclubs onlyifEast gains lead.

South must duck at thefirst trick avoidance play number one. East’s careful play of the diamond jack indicates thathealso has the 10, apotential entry card.

Then,aftertakingthesecondtrickwith his diamond ace, declarer draws trumps endingontheboardandleadsalowheart to his10— avoidance play number two. West winswithhis queen, but cannot do better than cash the club ace to stopan overtrick.

Note that if South takes the first trick or plays off three rounds of hearts, East gets on lead to pushaclubthrough South’sking.

©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InStRuCtIonS: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed

toDAy’S WoRD SIAMAnGS: SEE-uh-mangs: Black gibbons of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula.

Average mark12words

Time limit 30 minutes

Can you find 22 or morewords in SIAMANGS?

yEStERDAy’S WoRD —DRuPES

today’s thought “Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1Corinthians 3:16

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Microsoft to ship Nvidia

AI chips to UAE in deal

WASHINGTON Microsoft said Monday it will be shipping Nvidia’s most advanced artificial intelligence chips to the United Arab Emirates as part of a deal approved by the U.S Commerce Department.

The Redmond, Washington, software giant said licenses approved in September under “stringent” safeguards enable it to ship more than 60,000 Nvidia chips, including the California chipmaker’s advanced GB300 Grace Blackwell chips, for use in data centers in the Middle Eastern country

The agreement appeared to contradict President Donald Trump’s remarks in a “60 Minutes” interview aired Sunday that such chips would not be exported outside the U.S.

Asked by CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell if he will allow Nvidia to sell its most advanced chips to China, Trump said he wouldn’t. “We will let them deal with Nvidia but not in terms of the most advanced,” Trump said. “The most advanced, we will not let anybody have them other than the United States.”

Despite EV declines, Ford sales up in Oct.

Ford Motor Co.’s larger SUVs and trucks outweighed a downward sales trend from the expiration of the federal government’s plug-in vehicle tax credit propelling the Dearborn automaker to a 1.6% increase year-over-year in October U.S. deliveries.

Ford’s EV sales declined almost 25%, and hybrids fell 4%, while internal combustion engine vehicles represented 87% of sales. CEO Jim Farley has forecasted U.S. EV sales will halve as a result of the lost upto $7,500 tax credit for eligible electrified vehicles as obstacles among many consumers persist around EV affordability, accesses to charging stations, range anxiety, grid reliability and behavioral changes Average transaction prices for new EVs rose to $65,021 in October, the second-highest on record, according to auto information website Edmunds.com Inc. Cox Automotive Inc. was predicting a “collapse” in EV sales in October after a record high in the third quarter Overall, Cox was predicting a more than 3% decline in U.S sales last month Ford in total last month sold 175,584 vehicles Trucks rose 4.9%, SUVs fell by 4.7% and the Mustang coupe grew by 43%. The Ford brand rose by 2.5%, while the luxury Lincoln brand fell by 13.4%.

AI darlings soar as most other stocks fall NEW YORK More gains for Nvidia, Amazon and other AI superstars propped up Wall Street on Monday

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and pulled closer to its all-time high set last week, even though the majority of stocks in the index sank. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 226 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Nvidia was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500, just like it has been for the year so far The chip company rose 2.2% to bring its gain for the year to date to 54.1%.

Amazon was the No. 2 force pushing the market higher It rallied 4% after announcing a $38 billion agreement with OpenAI, which will use Amazon’s cloud computing services to run its AI workloads

IREN, an AI cloud service provider, jumped 11.5% after Microsoft announced a $9.7 billion contract with it that will give the tech giant access to some of Nvidia’s chips Palantir Technologies, which came into the day with a stunning 165% gain for the year so far rose another 3.3%.

Traders pushed the AI darling higher in the final hours before the data platform company reported its latest quarterly results after trading closed for the day

Systems would run on cloud services

By The Associated Press

SEATTLE OpenAI and Amazon have signed a $38 billion deal that enables the ChatGPT maker to run its artificial intelligence systems on Amazon’s data centers in the U.S. OpenAI will be able to power its AI tools using “hundreds of thousands” of Nvidia’s specialized AI chips through Amazon Web Services as part of the deal announced Monday

Amazon shares increased more than 4% after the announcement.

The agreement comes less than a week after OpenAI altered its partnership with its longtime backer Microsoft, which until early this year was the startup’s exclusive cloud computing provider California and Delaware regulators also last week allowed San Francisco-based OpenAI, which was founded as a nonprofit, to move forward on its plan to form a new business structure to more easily raise capital and make a profit.

“The rapid advancement of AI technology has created unprec-

Massive health goods company to include Band-Aid, Listerine

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN Associated Press

Kimberly-Clark is buying Tylenol maker

Kenvue in a cash and stock deal worth about $48.7 billion, creating a massive consumer health goods company

Shareholders of Kimberly-Clark will own about 54% of the combined company Kenvue shareholders will own about 46% in what is one of the largest corporate takeovers this year The deal must still be approved by the shareholders of both companies.

The combined company will have a huge stable of household brands under one roof, putting Kenvue’s Listerine mouthwash and Band-Aid side-by-side with KimberlyClark’s Cottonelle toilet paper, Huggies and Kleenex tissues. It will also generate about $32 billion in annual revenue

Kenvue has spent a relatively brief period as an independent company, having been spun off by Johnson & Johnson two years ago. J&J first announced in late 2021 that it was splitting its slow-growth consumer health division from the pharmaceutical and medical device divisions.

Kenvue has since been targeted by activist investors unhappy about the trajectory of the company and Wall Street appeared to anticipate some heavy lifting ahead for Kimberly-Clark

Kenvue’s stock jumped 12% Monday afternoon, while shares of Kimberly-Clark, based outside of Dallas, slumped by nearly 15%.

Kenvue shares have shed nearly 50% of their value since approaching $28 in the spring of 2023.

Morningstar analyst Keonhee Kim said Kenvue’s volatile journey as a public company may have been driven in part by poor execution and a lack of experience operating as a stand-alone business.

He said the leadership of a more-established consumer products company like Kimberly-Clark could help unlock some of Kenvue’s value.

He also noted that Kenvue brands include Neutrogena, Benadryl and other names that have been in store consumer health aisles for decades. Kim said he thinks KimberlyClark may have seen upside in adding those products.

“I think that may have made the deal a lot more attractive especially after the past couple of months of Kenvue’s stock price decline,” he said.

Kenvue and Tylenol have been thrust into the national spotlight this year as President

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Abu Dhabi opened a major oil summit Monday with officials offering bullish optimism that power demands for artificial intelligence and global aviation will boost energy prices, just hours after OPEC+ paused production increases planned for next year

The comments at the annual Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference in the Emirati capital highlighted the contradictions in the market

edented demand for computing power,” Amazon said in a statement Monday It said OpenAI “will immediately start utilizing AWS compute as part of this partnership, with all capacity targeted to be deployed before the end of 2026, and the ability to expand further into 2027 and beyond.” AI requires huge amounts of energy and computing power and OpenAI has long signaled that it needs more capacity, both to develop new AI systems and keep existing products like ChatGPT answering the questions of its hundreds of millions of users. It’s recently made more than $1 trillion

worth of financial obligations in spending for AI infrastructure, including data center projects with Oracle and SoftBank and semiconductor supply deals with chipmakers Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom. Some of the deals have raised investor concerns about their “circular” nature, since OpenAI doesn’t make a profit and can’t yet afford to pay for the infrastructure that its cloud backers are providing on the expectations of future returns on their investments. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last week dismissed doubters he says have aired “breathless concern” about the deals.

Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and the complex brain disorder autism.

Trump then urged pregnant women against using the medicine. That went beyond Food and Drug Administration advice that doctors “should consider minimizing” the painkiller acetaminophen’s use in pregnancy amid inconclusive evidence about whether too much could be linked to autism.

Kennedy reiterated the FDA guidance during a news conference last week. He said that there isn’t sufficient evidence to link the drug to autism.

“We have asked physicians to minimize the use to when it’s absolutely necessary,” he said.

Kenvue has continued to push back on the Trump administration’s public statements about Tylenol and acetaminophen, the active ingredient it contains

“We strongly disagree with allegations that it does and are deeply concerned about the health risks and confusion this poses for expecting mothers and parents,” Kenvue said in a statement on its website.

The merger could face other hurdles. Citi Investment Research analyst Filippo Falorni said he is concerned about the deal’s size given the recent history in the sector, particularly given the challenges faced by Kenvue.

In July, Kenvue announced that CEO

and in the United Arab Emirates, a major oil producer that hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks in 2023.

Sultan al-Jaber, the head of the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. who led COP28, described the energy market as needing “reinforcement, not replacement.” U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum applauded al-Jaber’s remarks and criticized what he described as “a set of policies that have been driven by an ideology around climate extremism.”

“The demand for power is going to go up and up and up,” Burgum said. “Today’s the day to announce that there is no energy transition. There is only energy addition.”

On Sunday, OPEC+ met and de-

Thibaut Mongon was leaving in the midst of a strategic review, with the company under mounting pressure from activist investors unhappy about growth. Critics say Kenvue has relied too much on its legacy brands and failed to innovate.

Industry analysts also point out the poor track record for mergers involving consumer packaged goods companies. In September, Kraft Heinz said it would break up its decade-old merger Its net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.

Kimberly-Clark and Kenvue, like Kraft Heinz, are facing increasing competition from cheaper store brands. In 2024, 51% of toilet paper and other household paper products sold in the U.S were store brands, according to Circana, a market research company, while store brands held a 24% share of sales of health products, including medications and vitamins.

On Monday, a bottle of 100 extra-strength Tylenol caplets cost $10.97 on Walmart’s website. A bottle of 100 extra-strength acetaminophen caplets from Walmart’s Equate brand cost $1.98.

Inflation drove some of that buyer behavior, Circana said. Shoppers are also shifting their purchases to stores with more privatelabel brands, like Aldi and Costco. And stores are improving their offerings and adding more of them; last year, Walmart and Target both launched new store brands to complement their existing ones.

cided to increase its production by an additional 137,000 barrels of oil beginning in December However, it said other adjustments planned in January, February and March of next year would be paused “due to seasonality.”

OPEC+ includes the core members of the cartel, as well as nations outside of the group led by Russia.

Benchmark Brent crude sold Monday around $65 a barrel, down from a post-COVID high of some $115 a barrel after Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It had fallen to $60 a barrel in recent days over concerns that the market had too much production.

“Yes, OPEC+ is blinking, but it’s a calculated move,” said Jorge

León, the head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad Energy “Sanctions on Russian producers have injected a new layer of uncertainty into supply forecasts, and the group knows that overproducing now could backfire later By pausing, OPEC+ is protecting prices, projecting unity and buying time to see how sanctions play out on Russian barrels.”

Suhail al-Mazerouei, the Emirates’ energy and infrastructure minister, however, dismissed any idea long-term of too much oil being in the market.

“I’m not going to talk about a an oversupply scenario,” he said. “I can’t see that. I can’t justify that. And I think all of what we are seeing is more demand.”