The Acadiana Advocate 11-11-2025

Congress moving closer to deal to end shutdown

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington after the Senate voted to move forward with a stopgap funding bill to reopen the government through Jan. 30.

Legislation before the Senate would also need to clear the House before the federal government could reopen

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK and LISA MASCARO Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Senate was drawing closer to a vote Monday evening on legislation to end the shutdown after a small group of Senate Democrats broke a 40day stalemate late Sunday evening and voted with Republicans to move forward with reopening the government.

Senators began debate on the bill just past nightfall. Senate Majority Leader John Thune set up a series of procedural votes and said he hoped final passage would take “hours not days.”

“The American people have suffered for long enough. Let’s not pointlessly drag

this bill out,” he said as the Senate opened on Monday morning.

The legislation would still need to clear the House before the government could reopen. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington “right now” given travel delays, but he said he would issue an official notice for the House’s return once the Senate passes the legislation.

“We have to do this as quickly as possible,” Johnson said at a news conference. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.

After weeks of negotiations, the moderate Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed ex-

ä Ending shutdown won’t stop flight cancellations, FAA says. PAGE 10C

tension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have demanded that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1 Thune, R-S.D., promised a mid-December vote on the subsidies, but there was no guarantee of success.

The final vote was 60-40 Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, voted against moving ahead with the package, along with most of his Democratic colleagues.

ä See SHUTDOWN, page 7A

Supreme Court

hears suit

inmate shaved by guards

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON While seemingly sympathetic to a Louisiana inmate having his dreadlocks shaved off against his religious beliefs, conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices asked questions that hinted they were skeptical he could sue the government to be compensated. A devout Rastafarian, Damon Landor had followed dictates of the religion and grown his hair for 20 years without cutting it. Three weeks before the end of his fivemonth drug-related sentence in 2020, Landor

ä See SHAVED, page 6A

Hebert defends Guard facility location

UL president says it expands opportunities for collaboration

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

In a letter sent to residents of a neighborhood adjacent to a new Louisiana National Guard Readiness Center the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s interim President Jaimie Hebert said the partnership with the Guard is in alignment with the university’s strategic goals and still leaves room for development along Congress Street.

Concerns over the $37.5 million, 83,000-square-foot facility came to light after an Oct. 8 groundbreaking at the university’s research park along West Congress Street that surprised many residents.

The letter sent Thursday followed a Louisiana National Guard response to questions posed by two local legislators.

Locating the facility within University Research Park will strengthen the school’s partnership with the Louisiana National Guard in several research areas, Hebert wrote. It also expands opportunities for collaboration in areas such as emergency management and cybersecurity he said. The letter said the arrangement aligns with the university’s master plan for growth and with its mission to create research partnerships.

He added that placing the facility on university property will allow the Louisiana National Guard to secure federal research and contract dollars it currently doesn’t qualify for Hebert also addressed some concerns over future economic

Temple says state now has 10,000

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

Louisiana may soon require insurance companies to deliver bigger discounts to homeowners who put fortified roofs on their homes, as residents flock to get the new roofs and state officials grapple with an enduring insurance crisis that has brought stubbornly

has doled out millions in

to help homeowners put the roofs on their homes. Temple announced that 10,000 Louisianans now have fortified roofs, the third-most in the nation behind Alabama and North Carolina. This time last year only about 1,000 residents had them. And he said the next round of grants will open to residents this Wednesday The agency will select 1,000 people at random. “Louisiana is the fastest-growing state when it comes to putting fortified roofs on in the country,” Temple said.

About 40% of those have received a $10,000 grant from the state to help pay for them,

Small plane on relief mission crashes; 2 killed

A small turboprop plane on a hurricane relief mission to Jamaica crashed Monday morning into a pond in a gated residential neighborhood of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, suburb of Coral Springs, killing two shortly after takeoff and narrowly missing homes, authorities and a resident said

The Coral Springs Police Department confirmed the deaths in a statement Monday afternoon. But police did not provide further details about the occupants of the plane and did not immediately return messages seeking more details.

20 taken to hospitals after bus overturns in California SANTA ANA, Calif A bus carrying teens and young adults returning from a church camp in the Southern California mountains lost control and tipped onto its side Sunday night while on the way down a winding mountain road, sending 20 people to the hospital, authorities said.

The bus began to shake and swerve then rocked side to side before toppling over, said Cyntia Ramirez, a 21-year-old community college student who had been on board. She recalled the accident Monday while picking up her stray luggage from the Orange County church that organized the weekend retreat at a camp in the San Bernardino Mountains.

“It’s just a freak accident,” Ramirez said. The bus with 36 people aboard crashed at a curve on two-lane highway near Running Springs, about 70 miles northeast of Los Angeles according to the San Bernardino County Fire Department. The winding route curves along cliffsides and through forest areas at an elevation of about 6,100 feet. Authorities haven’t said what caused the crash.

Writer Salman Rushdie honored with peace prize

DAYTON, Ohio Salman Rushdie was among the honorees Sunday at the Dayton Literary Peace Prize event in Ohio, receiving a lifetime achievement award after publishing his first work of fiction since being stabbed on a New York lecture stage three years ago. The prizes honor both literary merit and the writers’ promotion of peace through their work, with separate awards annually for fiction, nonfiction and lifetime achievement. The Ohio city was the site of negotiations that led to the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995, ending a war in the Balkans marked by ethnic cleansing that killed more than 300,000 people, as well as the displacement of 1 million residents.

The 78-year-old Rushdie is best known for his 1988 novel “The Satanic Verses,” which includes a dream sequence about the Prophet Muhammad that prompted allegations of blasphemy and a 1989 call from Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for the Indian-born writer’s death, driving him into hiding. In accepting his award, Rushdie said it can be difficult to write about peace while living in a time of “inexcusable violence,” including the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.

Frida Kahlo auction could fetch up to $60 million

MEXICO CITY Frida Kahlo’s “El sueño (La cama)” — in English, “The Dream (The Bed)” — is causing a stir among art historians as its estimated $40 million to $60 million price tag would make it the most expensive work by any female or Latin American artist when it goes to auction later this month.

Sotheby’s auction house will put the painting up for sale on Nov 20 in New York after exhibiting it in London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Paris.

“This is a moment of a lot of speculation,” said Mexican art historian Helena Chávez Mac Gregor, a researcher at UNAM’s Institute of Aesthetic Research and author of “El listón y la bomba. El arte de Frida Kahlo (The Ribbon and the Bomb. The Art of Frida Kahlo).” In Mexico, Kahlo’s work is protected by a declaration of artistic monument meaning pieces within the country cannot be sold or destroyed. However, works from private collections abroad — like the painting in question, whose owner remains unrevealed are legally eligible for international sale

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Supreme Court upholds ruling

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in

damages and attorney’s fees to a couple denied a marriage license. Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling. Thomas was among four dissenting justices in 2015. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are the other dissenters who are on the court today Roberts has been silent on the subject since he wrote a dissenting opinion in the case. Alito has continued to criticize the decision, but he said recently he was not advocating that it be overturned.

First phase of Gaza ceasefire winds down

Netanyahu and Kushner meet

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the next stages of the fragile Gaza ceasefire, while Israel returned the remains of another 15 Palestinians.

The remains of four hostages are still in Gaza after Palestinian militants released the remains of another on Sunday.

The first stage of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10 is nearing its end.

The next stage calls for the implementation of a governing body for Gaza and the deployment of an international stabilization force. It is not clear where either stands.

Israel ended the previous ceasefire agreement earlier this year after a period of exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners At the time, mediators were unable to bring Hamas and Israel to the table to negotiate a troop withdrawal and a plan for the future governance of Gaza.

Also on Monday the Israeli military released the results of a review into the failures surrounding the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war, saying it had found shortcomings in a series of previous investigations.

For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians — an exchange central to the ceasefire’s first phase The Gaza Health Ministry said the total number of remains received is 315.

On Sunday, Israel confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year’s war between Israel and Hamas.

His remains had been the only ones left in Gaza predating the current war between Israel and Hamas. A funeral was scheduled for Tuesday Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians were killed in the 2023 Hamasled attack on Israel, and 251 people were kidnapped.

Netanyahu and Kushner discussed the prog-

ress and future of the ceasefire, said Israeli government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian.

The deal has focused on the first phase of halting the fighting, releasing all hostages and boosting humanitarian aid to Gaza. Details of the second phase haven’t been worked out.

The United Nations’ humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said on Monday that more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza have been fed since the ceasefire began, and that winter clothes and blankets are being distributed.

“But many obstacles remain,” Fletcher said, citing red tape and too few entry points to bring additional aid into Gaza. “We can do much more to save many more lives.”

For his part, Kushner also was helping to lead negotiations to secure safe passage for 150-200 trapped Hamas militants in exchange for surrendering their weapons after the release of Goldin’s remains, according to someone close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the talks.

Bedrosian did not say where those negotiations were headed.

Hamas has made no comment on a possible exchange for its fighters stuck in the so-called yellow zone of territory controlled by Israeli forces, though it has acknowledged that clashes were taking place there.

The conclusions released Monday by the Israeli military appeared to largely echo those of past investigations, citing both intelligence and operational failures.

It said that intelligence officials had failed to recognize Hamas’ growing capabilities or preparations for the attack, even in the early hours of Oct. 7. It also criticized the performance of ground troops, the navy and the air force.

“On the night of Oct. 7, direct intelligence had accumulated which, had it been professionally analyzed, could and should have led to an alert and a significant operational response,” the military said.

The report focused only on the army’s performance. Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official commission of inquiry that would look into governmental decision making, saying such an investigation can only take place when the war ends. Critics accuse him of stonewalling to prevent what is likely to be an unflattering report.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court in 2015, has said that there are times when the court should correct mistakes and overturn decisions, as it did in the 2022 case that ended a constitutional right to abortion.

But Barrett has suggested recently that same-sex marriage might be in a different category than abortion because people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson praised the justices’ decision not to intervene.

“The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the

constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences,” Robinson said in a statement. Davis drew national attention to eastern Kentucky’s Rowan County when she turned away same-sex couples, saying her faith prevented her from complying with the high court ruling. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015. She was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. Davis lost a reelection bid in 2018.

Arctic air hits much of U.S.

BY SAFIYAH RIDDLE and MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

Some of this autumn’s coldest weather yet is bearing down on the United States, enveloping the eastern two-thirds of the country with Arctic air on Monday and affecting millions of people.

National Weather Service forecasters said the weather could bring record low temperatures in the Southeast, including all of Florida, where temperatures in parts of the state were near 80 degrees just a day ago.

The cold air brought gusty wind and red flag warnings in the Great Plains on Monday, and forecasters said the Great Lakes and Appalachian Mountain regions could see 4-8 inches of snow

Around Lake Erie, forecasters warned of possible lake-effect snow, where copious amounts can fall in relatively narrow bands, drastically increasing snowfall near the water while leaving other nearby areas untouched.

Cold weather warnings were issued for Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, with freezing temperatures predicted for a large swath farther south, from Texas and Oklahoma to Alabama and Georgia.

Falling iguanas

In Florida, forecasters said wind chills could dip to the 30s. Whenever it gets that cold in the Sunshine State, many look to the trees: Iguanas, an invasive reptile species, have previously gone into a sort of suspended animation and fallen to the ground when temperatures dip below 40 degrees. They usually wake up with the sun’s warmth although it is unclear whether any of the reptiles will tumble from the treetops this time

Across the South, many local governments opened heated shelters for residents struggling to cope with the cold.

Those resources are invaluable in St. Louis, where some people are still waiting for essential repairs on their houses after a powerful EF3 tornado ripped through the region in May City officials announced Monday that emergency shelters would be open for homeless people as well as

those who still dealing with the aftermath. Hazardous road travel

In Tennessee, temperatures dropped to 30 into Sunday morning, and areas with higher elevation in the eastern part of the state reported that 3 inches of new snow had fallen by 9 a.m., causing some school closures. Snowslickened roads led to a crash involving multiple vehicles and about an hourlong shutdown on westbound Interstate 40 in Putnam County, east of Nashville, the county Sheriff’s Office announced. Further north, as temperatures dropped across the nation’s midsection, meteorologists warned of hazardous travel conditions through winter weather advisories for Michigan, Indiana and

Wisconsin. Snow fell Sunday in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where meteorologists warned of low visibility with up to a foot of snow by Monday In Indiana, weather experts predicted up to 11 inches of snow and “slippery surfaces” for road travel. Up to 6 inches of snow were predicted in parts of Wisconsin. “Patchy blowing snow” and wind chills hovering near freezing were expected in portions of Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. Some areas got measurable fluff a day earlier, including 4 inches of snow in southwest Minnesota and more than 5 inches in northern Iowa. Associated Press writer Heather Hollingsworth contributed reporting from Mission, Kansas.

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None on new pardon list had faced federal prosecution

BY NICHOLAS RICCARDI and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The pardons of dozens of Republicans accused of participating in efforts to overturn the 2020 election are a continuation of President Donald Trump’s attempts to rewrite the history about his election loss. They come months after Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was the culmination of the campaign to reverse Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Unlike the Jan. 6 pardons, the newer ones will have little legal effect. None of the people on the new pardon list had faced federal prosecution for their actions in 2020. The presidential pardon has no impact on state or civil cases.

But they send a signal to those thinking of denying future elections in Trump’s favor

Here’s a look at some of the more prominent names who were pardoned:

Rudy Giuliani: The former New York City mayor, who was celebrated as “America’s mayor” after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, played a pivotal role in pushing

Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as the Republican’s personal lawyer in 2020.

He has faced a slew of legal woes and financial setbacks for his advocacy of Trump’s false claims, including losing his law license in Washington and New York. He was criminally charged in cases brought by state prosecutors in Georgia and Arizona and pleaded not guilty

Those cases have hit roadblocks but remain unresolved and are not impacted by Trump’s pardon. Giuliani was ordered in 2023 to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers who sued him over lies he spread about them and reached a deal in January to resolve the debt and retain some of his property The amount the women were set to receive was not disclosed. Giuliani has denied wrongdoing and said he was right to challenge an election he believed was tainted by fraud.

MarkMeadows: Trump’s chief of staff during the 2020 election and its aftermath, Meadows was charged in Arizona and Georgia cases and pleaded not guilty in both states.

Last year, the U.S Supreme Court rejected his effort to move his case in Georgia to federal court, where a pardon would nullify his jeopardy

U.S. asks to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia

By The Associated Press

GREENBELT, Md. — U.S. government attorneys say they have cleared all the hurdles needed to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and are asking a federal judge to dissolve an order blocking his deportation.

Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation to his home country of El Salvador earlier this year has helped galvanize opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. His attorneys claim the administration is now manipulating the immigration system in order to punish him for successfully challenging that deportation.

A motion from the government filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland late on Friday says officials have received assurances from Liberia that Abrego Garcia

would not face persecution or torture there. Further, it says an immigration officer heard Abrego Garcia’s claims that he feared deportation to the West African nation, but ruled against him.

His attorneys argue in a separate Friday filing that Abrego Garcia has already designated Costa Rica as a country where he is willing to be deported. They claim the government now must send him there. The fact that officials continue to pursue deportation to other countries is evidence that the process is retaliatory and violates due process protections, they argue.

Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador as a teenager

Judge allows deployment of W.Va. Guard to nation’s capital

BY JOHN RABY Associated Press

A judge on Monday allowed the continued deployment of more than 300 West Virginia National Guard members to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump’s push to send the military into Democraticrun cities.

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Richard D Lindsay made the ruling after hear-

ing arguments in a lawsuit by a civic organization that argued Republican Gov Patrick Morrisey exceeded his authority when he authorized the Guard’s deployment in August.

“The question before this court is whether or not state law allows West Virginia to do this,” Lindsay said. “The court has found that

“This court believes that the federal law allows for the request made by the president to the governor.”

Meadows has contended his postelection actions were taken in his official capacity as White House chief of staff, though prosecutors and judges have disagreed.

Meadows was on the phone when Trump asked Georgia’s secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, to “find” him enough votes to be declared the winner of the state.

Kenneth Chesebro: Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, alleged that Chesebro, an attorney worked with Georgia Republicans at the direction of Trump’s campaign to organize 16 people to sign a certificate falsely claiming that Trump won the state and that they were his “duly elected and qualified” electors.

Chesebro pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in the state case but unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his plea as the massive case against him and 17 others, including Trump, collapsed due to legal issues. Chesebro’s law license in New York state was suspended after his plea and he still faces criminal charges in Wisconsin related to an electors scheme there.

Jenna Ellis: A prominent conservative media figure and an attorney, Ellis also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings in the Georgia case.

She apologized in court for advising the Trump campaign on how to overturn its loss and was censured

and barred from practicing law for three years in her native Colorado for her conduct in 2020.

John Eastman: A prominent conservative law professor, Eastman wrote a key memo outlining the Trump strategy of trying to reverse the president’s election loss by presenting a slate of alternate electors to Congress. Eastman faces charges in a state case filed by Arizona’s Democratic attorney general over that scheme. He was also charged in Fulton County, and the disciplinary board of the California State Bar has recommended he lose his California law license. Eastman has pleaded not guilty in the criminal cases and appealed his license suspension to California’s Supreme Court. He argues he is being punished for simply giving legal advice.

Jeffrey Clark: Clark, as a Justice Department official in the first Trump administration, drafted a letter that said the department was investigating “various irregularities” and had identified “significant concerns” that may have impacted the election in Georgia and other states. Clark wanted the letter sent to Georgia lawmakers, but Justice Department superiors refused.

A Washington attorney disciplinary panel in July recommended that he be stripped of his law license, finding he made “intentionally false statements” when he continued to

push for the Justice Department to issue the letter after being told by superiors that it contained falsehoods.

Clark, who is now overseeing a federal regulatory office in the second Trump administration, said in a post on X on Monday: “I did nothing wrong when I questioned the 2020 election in Georgia.”

Sidney Powell: A lawyer and staunch Trump ally, Powell filed in battleground states a series of lawsuits that were rejected by courts and played a pivotal role in pushing unsubstantiated claims of fraud.

Emails and documents obtained through subpoenas in one lawsuit showed Powell was involved in arranging for a computer forensics team to travel to rural Coffee County, about 200 miles southeast of Atlanta to copy data and software from elections equipment there in January 2021. She pleaded guilty in 2023 to reduced charges in the Georgia case, becoming the second defendant to reach a deal with prosecutors. She was initially charged with racketeering and six other counts but ultimately received probation after pleading guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties.

High court to mull late-arriving

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states can continue to count late-arriving mail ballots, which have been a target of President Donald Trump.

The justices took up an appeal from Mississippi after a panel of three judges nominated by the Republican president on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that the state law allowing ballotsthatarriveshortlyafter Election Day to be counted violated federal law

Mississippi is one of 16 states and the District of Columbia that accept mailed ballots received after Election Day as long as the ballots are postmarked on or before that date, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

An additional 14 states allow the counting of latearriving ballots from some eligible voters, including overseasU.S servicemembers and their families, according to a filing from Democratic-led states that urged the justices to reverse the appellate ruling.

The case will be argued in the late winter or early spring.Afinalrulingalmost certainly will come by late June, early enough to govern the counting of ballots in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, a Republican, told the Supreme Court that the appellate ruling “will have destabilizing nationwide ramifications”

if left in place.

“Thestakesarehigh:ballots cast by but received after — election day can swing close races and change the course of the country,” Fitch wrote.

Trump has claimed that late-arriving ballots and drawn-out electoral counts undermine confidence in elections. In March, the Republican president signed an executive order on elections that aims to require votes to be “cast and received” by Election Day The order has been challenged in court.

The Republican National

Committee and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi led the challenge to the Mississippi law A federal judge dismissed a similar challenge to Nevada’s law, but the decision has been appealed.

The Supreme Court is separately considering reviving a lawsuit filed by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and backed by the Trump administration that challenges Illinois’ ballot receipt law The issue is whetherthecongressmanhas the legal right to sue. SomeRepublican-ledstates, including Kansas and North Dakota, have taken steps to

mail ballots

stop counting late-arriving ballots. In Ohio, Republican lawmakers are advancing legislation that would require ballots to be received by Election Day, closing the window for mailed ballots. The measure has passed the state Senate. In the Mississippi case, Judge Andrew Oldham wrote for the appellate panel that Congress established a “singular” Election Day for members of Congress and presidential electors, “by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials.”

Car blast near historic Red Fort kills at least 8

BY RAJESH ROY and PIYUSH NAGPAL Associated Press

NEW DELHI A car explosion near the historic Red Fort in India’s capital on Monday killed eight people and injured at least 19 others, police in New Delhi said.

Trump threatens to sue BBC over edited speech

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC over the way a speech he made was edited in a documentary aired by Britain’s national broadcaster BBC Chair Samir Shah on Monday apologized for the “error of judgment,” which triggered the resignations of the BBC’s top executive and its head of news.

Director-General Tim Davie and news chief Deborah Turness quit Sunday over accusations of bias and misleading editing of a speech

Trump delivered on Jan 6, 2021, before a crowd of his supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington.

The hourlong documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance?” — was broadcast as part of the BBC’s “Panorama” series days before the 2024 U.S. presidential election. It spliced together three quotes from two sections of the 2021 speech, delivered almost an hour apart, into what appeared to be one quote in which Trump urged supporters to march with him and “fight like hell.” Among the parts cut out was a section where Trump said he

wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully Shah said the broadcaster accepted “that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.” A letter from Trump attorney Alejandro Brito demands the BBC “retract the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements,” apologize and “appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused,” or face legal action for $1 billion in damages. The BBC said it would review the letter “and respond directly in due course.”

Venice musicians march through streets in protest of new director

BY GIADA ZAMPANO Associated Press

ROME The Vatican said

Monday it was investigating a possible antisemitic incident, in which a Swiss Guard allegedly made a spitting gesture toward two Jewish women. The alleged incident occurred during a papal audience Oct. 29, at the entrance to St. Peter’s Square

The audience that day was dedicated to marking the anniversary of a 1965 declaration on the church’s relations with Jews and other non-Christians.

The victims were part of an international Jewish delegation attending the pa-

The blast, which triggered a fire that damaged several vehicles parked nearby took place near one of the gates of the Red Fort metro station, the fire services said The cause is being investigated. New Delhi’s international airport, metro stations and government buildings were placed on a high security alert after the explosion, the government said.

pal audience, during which Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed Catholic-Jewish relations and vowed to fight antisemitism.

One of the people involved, Israeli writer and theatre director Michal Govrin, told The Associated Press the incident happened as she was walking with a colleague through a side entrance to St. Peter’s Square, as part of an international delegation of Jews.

One of the Swiss Guards hissed the phrase “Les Juifs,” or “the Jews” in French, as they passed, Govrin said in a written statement. “We were totally shocked,” she added. “Such an incident

Home Minister Amit Shah told local media that a Hyundai i20 car exploded near a traffic signal close to the Red Fort. He said CCTV footage from cameras in the area will form part of the investigation.

of Jewish hatred inside the Vatican?! In contrast to the Pope’s important words strongly condemning antiSemitism and calling for collaboration and peace?!”

Govrin said her colleague turned to the guard and said, “You said ‘Les Juifs,’” to which the guard replied “No, I didn’t,” and “You are lying.” He then made “a contemptuous sound of spitting toward us,” Govrin said.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said “the Pontifical Swiss Guard has received a report regarding an incident at one of the entrances to the Vatican City State, in which elements interpreted as having antisemitic connotations were detected.”

BY COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press

VENICE, Italy The storied Venetian opera house La Fenice is locked in an escalating dispute with its workers over the appointment of a young and telegenic music director with ties to Premier Giorgia Meloni but none with the musicians with whom she has been hired to construct the theater’s musical future.

On Monday, musicians, singers and backstage hands marched through Venice with workers from other Italian opera houses, including Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Verona’s Arena and Turin’s Regio Teatro. They were joined by season-ticket holders, music students and Venetians worried about the future of artistic independence at La Fenice — and across Italy What began as a labor protest over a lack of transparency in the Sept. 22 appointment of 35-yearold Beatrice Venezi has evolved into a wider protest reflecting concerns that Meloni’s far-right-led government intends to exert artistic control over all of Italy’s 14 opera houses.

by other performing

professionals, march through the city Monday demanding the resignation of superintendent

and artistic director Beatrice Venezi.

In the month and a half since La Fenice announced Venezi’s appointment, effective next October, striking workers forced the cancellation of an opera premiere and unions have called for the resignation of La Fenice’s general manager, Nicola Colabianchi, who made the appointment.

“The scandal we’ve uncovered here in Venice shows that, unfortunately, once again, politics wants to meddle heavily in culture, with appointments that have no artistic or qualitative justification, but are purely political,” said Marco Trentin, a union organizer and cellist in the La Fenice orchestra

Canada loses measles elimination status after ongoing outbreaks

BY DEVI SHASTRI

AP health writer

Canada is no longer measles-free because of ongoing outbreaks, international health experts said Monday, as childhood vaccination rates fall and the highly contagious virus spreads across North and South America.

The loss of the country’s measles elimination status comes more than a year after the highly contagious virus started spreading Canada has logged 5,138 measles cases this year and two deaths. Both were babies who were exposed to the measles virus in the womb and born prematurely

Measles elimination is a symbolic designation, but it represents a hard-won battle against the infectious disease. It is earned when a country shows it stopped continuous spread of the virus within local communities, though occasional cases might still pop up from travel.

Measles typically begins with a high fever followed by a telltale rash that starts on the face and neck. Most people recover, but it’s one of the leading causes of death among young children, according to the World Health Organization. Serious complications, including blindness and swelling of the brain, are more common in young children and adults over age 30.

It is prevented by a vaccine administered routinely and safely to children around the world.

“It’s a deeply disheartening development It’s a deeply worrisome development. And, frankly it’s an embarrassing development,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a Brown University infectious disease expert “No country with the amount of resources of Canada or other countries in North America even — should lose their measles elimination status.” Canada eliminated measles in 1998, followed by the United States two years later After hugely successful vaccination campaigns, the Americas became the first region

in the world to be free of measles in 2016. Health officials estimate the measles vaccine prevented 6.2 millions deaths in the Americas between 2000 and 2023. The U.S. eliminated measles in 2000. That status is at risk even though the large outbreak that killed three and sickened nearly 900 across Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma earlier this year is over Current outbreaks in the U.S. include 34 cases in South Carolina and one hitting towns on the Arizona-Utah border that has sickened more than 150 since mid-August.

A major question now is if either are linked to the Texas outbreak. To lose elimination status, health data

must show a continuous chain of measles spread for one year International health officials have recommended the U.S “enhance case investigation protocols,” because closing data gaps is key to stopping the virus from taking hold again, said Dr Daniel Salas, who leads immunization efforts at the Pan American Health Organization.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 1,681 cases and 44 outbreaks this year, making it the worst year for measles in the U.S. in more than three decades. Only nine states haven’t confirmed cases, according to the CDC.

development along West Congress Streetand Cajundome Boulevard. While the facilityentrances will front the two streets, the center will be set back, leaving2 acres of developablepropertyalong the commercialcorridor

The university,reiteratingsome information previously provided by the Guard, said the facility willbeanadministrative andcoordination complex equipped with meeting rooms and classrooms. It willreplacethe aging 50-year-old NationalGuard 256th Brigade readiness center on Surrey Street near theLafayetteRegional Airport.

The West Congress readiness centerwillonly store light vehicles, the university wrote, such as Humvees and high-water rescue vehiclesfor disaster response. The facilitywill not house helicopters, tanks, artillery, or heavymilitary equipment.

theproperty was earmarked for records storage, auniversity bus depot and aresearch library

It’sunclear whether it plans on constructing those facilities in another location.

Construction of the readiness center will occurduring standard hours andwill attempttominimize dust and noise, Hebert wrote.

On Oct. 29, Louisiana National Guard Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, an adjutantgeneral,respondedto neighborhood concerns relayedby Rep.Annie Spell and Sen. Brach Myers, over such issues as live weaponstesting. Spell posted Friloux’sresponse to social media.

“The facilitywill havethe ability to store theunit’sequipment,” Frilouxwrote, “but no weaponsfiring of any kind will take place at this location.”

National Guard soldiers usually spend one weekend per month training, Friloux wrote. Somewho come from across the state and neighboring states maylodge at thereadiness center

will be professionally landscaped and awall built to buffer the residences from the site.

Regarding concerns about flooding, Friloux wrote that 10-year 25-year and 100-year flood studies were conductedonthe property, which has three drainage areas and outfalls. The primary existing outfall, he said, carries water from part of the site and the adjacent CGITechnologysiteonCajundome Boulevard to thesoutheast cornerofthe siteusing adrainage channel that flows to asmall detention area, then to the city’s drainage system through a54-inch concrete pipe.

was transferred to the Raymond LaBordeCorrectionalInstitution in Avoyelles Parish. Twoprevious facilities had not cut his hair.But on orders of the warden, guardsheld Landor down and shaved his head. The case isn’tabout whether Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections officials mistreated Landor.Federal trial and appellate judges and LouisianaAttorney General LizMurrill agreed he was.

“Wecondemn the conduct as allegedinthis case andhavetaken steps to prevent this problem from recurring,” Murrill said before the Supreme Court arguments.

But, she argued, “Ten federal courts of appeals have held that

ROOF

Continued from page1A

meaning most people have paid out of their own pocket. Fortified roofs use stronger nails, roof deck seals and better edges to make them less likely to sustain damage during hurricanes.

Fortified roofshave emerged as one long-term solution to the insurance crisis. They’ve also garnered bipartisan support in Louisiana, embraced by Republicanslike Temple who favor afree-market approach as well as Democrats and advocates who have clamored for amore direct intervention to

UL’s collaboration with the Guard came with no direct financial benefit tothe cash-strapped

thefederal ReligiousLand Useand Institutionalized Persons Act does not allow prisoners to sue prison officials in their personal capacities for damages.”

U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick, of Baton Rouge, dismissedLandor’scaseasmootsincehehad been released from prison afew weeks after his dreadlockswere shorn.

She alsofound that thelaw did not allow him to sue for damages.

The5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals alsocondemned Landor’s treatmentbut found that past rulings didn’t allow damages against state officials.

Thequestion before theU.S. Supreme Court was whether Landor couldseekmonetarydamages from prison officials underthe 25-year-old Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Before the Supreme Court, Louisiana Solicitor General J. Benjamin

helpresidents struggling under enormousprice shocks. But the twosides have fought fortwo years,since the state first began doling out the grants, over whether insurancecompanies shouldberequired to give homeowners aspecific discount when they get afortified roof. Current lawonly requires themtofile a discount that is “actuarially justified.” Several insurers offer negligiblediscounts, though mostoffer at least15% off thewind and hail portion of the premium. Temple beat backmultiple attempts in the Legislature to mandate a20% discount, arguing it would pushinsurers away as he works to loosen regulations and

university,which leased theland to theNational Guard for 55 years at no cost.Inthe UL Master Plan,

Aguiñaga argued that state-hired prison personnel were trained on their obligations, but nobody signed acontract that required them to abide by allthe terms of thereligious libertieslaw andthatifthey didn’t they wouldliabletopaying monetarydamages

ZacharyTripp, representing Landor,argued that monetaryrecompense was implicitly allowed by Congress, even if those specific words were not in the law

“The heart of this program under RLUIPAisifyou want federal funds for state prisons, you need to accommodate religious liberty,” Tripp said. “Without damages, officials can literally treat the law like garbage.”

Trippcontended that,absenta mechanismtoholdthem accountable, state officialswere free to ignore other religious requirements, such as refusing to adhere

make it easier for them to raise premiums, part of abid to attract more companies. Alabama, which pioneeredthe program, sets a benchmark of 25% to30%, though insurers can go through aprocess to offer asmaller discount

“There’s been talk in thelast several sessions aboutcreating sometype of mandatory discount Iwas opposed to thatbecause I thought it was too early,” Temple said. “Now with 10,000 homes, I think we’re getting to that critical mass.”

It’snot yet clear what the benchmark will be.Temple said his office is studying the idea, anda spokesperson said it likely won’t be implemented until earlynext

thenceS13º53’42”E, a distanceofapproxi‐mately181.63’,along the easterlypropertylineof LANDONMATT, andthe westerlypropertylineof RITAANN BELL to acor‐ner point, thence S12º06’07”W, a distanceofapproxi‐mately195.51’,along the easterlypropertylineof LANDONMATT, andthe westerlypropertylineof RITAANN BELL to acor‐ner point, thence N77º53’53”W, a distanceofapproxi‐mately138.65’,along the southerly property line of LANDONMATT, andthe northerly property line of RITAANN BELL to acor‐ner point, thence N12º06’05”E, a distanceofapproxi‐mately369.46’,along the westerlypropertylineof LANDONMATT, andthe easterlypropertylineof KBEPLLC to acorner point whichisalsothe

Lights will be pointed inward to limit impacts, he said, and the site

to dietary restrictions of practicing Jews.

The6-3 conservative majorityhas recently bolstered religious rights, such as allowing parents to keep their children from learning about LGBTQ+ issues in public schools.

In the Landor case, questions from the nine justices, particularly the six conservatives, centered around if state officials were aware that they could be ordered to paymonetarydamages forviolating afederal law

“The hard part, as Isee it for your case,for me, is that you need aclear statement,” ChiefJustice John Roberts toldTripp. “I don’t think when theprison guard is hired, he says, ‘Well, Iwant to see the federal conditions that you agreed to under the contract.’”

“Congresscould have easily written astatute that does this and says that those individual officers

year State Rep. Matthew Willard, aNew Orleans Democrat who won electiontothe City Council last month, said he’s heardfrom homeowners whoadded fortified roofs but said they got negligible discounts on their insurance in return. Willard passed aresolution this year calling on Congress to stepinand to offer asolutiontothe homeowners insurance crisis.

“If homeowners insurance is the biggestproblem our state faces, thenthe state should at least provide clarity to homeowners regarding aminimum expected discount for afortified roof,” Willard said. “That knowledge could very

They expect to use all three outfalls, he wrote, with the primary flow coming from the proposed stormwater 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 sewer manhole. Dueto the shallow depth, asewer pump station will also be installed. Staff writer Claire Taylor contributed to this article.

have to agree withthe federal government to be bound under federal law,”JusticeNeilGorsuchsaid. “It could do that, but it didn’tdothat.”

The court’sthree liberal justices were more in agreementwith Tripp that state employees were required to followfederal guidelines as acondition of employment.

“The recipient of federalfunds has made clear with the federal government that it’sgoing to require its employees to comply with RLUIPAand not violate people’s rights,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said. “Then when those employees decide, choose, consent to accept ajob with that employer, they are thereby consenting to follow those agreements.”

Justice Sonia Sotomayor added, “We’re allpresumed to knowthe law when we take our jobs.” Historically, the Supreme Court releases its decisions in June.

well spur faster adoption of fortified roofsacross Louisiana.” Louisiana’shomeinsurance crisishas become alasting problem, especiallyinhurricane-prone southern parishes. Temple, aformer insurance executive, has ushered in aseries of movesto makeiteasier forinsurers to drop policyholders and raise premiums, saying it will lead to more competition that ultimately will tamp down costs.

Butwhile theLegislature has largely moved on to other topics, insurance remains unaffordable formany,though premium increases have slowed. Louisiana hasn’thad amajor hurricane since Idain2021.

property lineofCANEPLAZA SUB‐DIVISIONwhich is also the existing City of Lafayette corporatelim‐its to acornerpoint thence S43º25’29”W a distanceofapproxi‐mately969.09’,along the southeasterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLC, andthe northwesterly property lineofFELICIA PLACE SUBDIVISION which is alsothe existing City of Lafayette corporatelim‐its to acornerpoint thence N46º30’23”W, a distanceofapproxi‐mately236.82’,along the southwesterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLC, andthe northeasterly property lineofSTMICHAELS COVEPHASE 1which is alsothe existing City of Lafayette corporatelim‐its to apoint

thence N46º26’00”W, a distanceofapproxi‐mately525.26’,along the southwesterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLC, andthe northeasterly property lineofSTMICHAELS COVEPHASE 1which is alsothe existing City of Lafayette corporatelim‐its to apoint

thence N42º53’09”W, a distanceofapproxi‐mately106.16’,along the southwesterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLC, andthe northeasterly property lineofHAMILTONPARC SUBDIVISION which is alsothe existing City of Lafayette corporatelim‐its to acornerpoint

southwesterly roadway ofROW 1which is also the existing City of Lafayette corporatelim‐its to apoint thence S46º30’32”E, a distanceofapproxi‐mately284.50’,along the northeasterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐

thence N42º27’46”E, a distanceofapproxi‐mately450.50’,along the northwesterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLCtoa cor‐ner point, thence S40º54’42”E a distanceofapproxi‐mately7.78’ to acorner point thence N44º10’11”E, a distanceofapproxi‐mately25.00’,along the northwesterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLC, andthe southeasterly roadway ofTarponSttoa point, thence N41º39’53”E, a distanceofapproxi‐mately480.46’,along the northwesterly property lineofSTILLWATERDE‐VELOPMENT LLC,

We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care Still, an end to the shutdown could still be days away if any senators object and drag out the process. Thune was still working out concerns within his Republican conference about individual provisions in the underlying spending bills.

One of those Republicans, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, had threatened to object to a provision championed by his home state colleague, former GOP leader Sen Mitch McConnell, to prevent the sale of some hempbased products. Paul said he was seeking an amendment to strip the language before a final vote.

President Donald Trump expressed support for the agreement Monday

“We’re going to be opening up our country very quickly,” Trump said.

A group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan and In-

dependent Sen. Angus King, of Maine — broke the sixweek stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January

The legislation includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.

In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.

The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the

end only five switched their votes — the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since Oct. 1.

The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not “in good faith” support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours on Sunday Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., agreed, saying that voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats in last week’s elections were urging them to “hold firm.”

House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.

Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting

on Democrats to fight.

Others gave Schumer a nod of support. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had criticized Schumer in March after his vote to keep the government open. But he praised the Senate Democratic leader on Monday and expressed support for his leadership throughout the shutdown.

“The American people know we are on the right side of this fight,” Jeffries said Monday, pointing to Tuesday’s election results.

It’s unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the health care subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. Johnson has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber

On Monday, Johnson said House Republicans have always been open to voting to reform what he called the “unaffordable care act” but again did not say if they would vote on the subsidies.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Firstcup of coffee

Before Imoved to Baton Rouge, afriend in Lafayette told me one of her favorite things about living in the CapitalCity was morning runs around the lakes and smelling the roasting coffee wafting across the Mississippi River

For years,I’ve wondered exactly where that roasting coffee smell came from.

Last week, Iwent to the source —the CommunityCoffee plant in Port Allen, where I’d been promised afull tour and something calleda“cupping.”

Ihad no idea whata cupping was— only that it probably involved drinking coffee. Before the tour,one thing weighed on me. How would my hosts reactwhen they learned my coffee secret?

My plan was to come clean early and admit the unthinkable. I’ve never had acup of coffee.

Not one.

Ever Still, Iwas fascinated by the process and learned more than Iever thought possible as operations managerLogan Scully led the tour.The plant runs two crews on staggered four-day shifts to keeproasting and packagingcontinuous throughthe week.

The green coffee beans arrive from places like Mexico, Brazil, Honduras, Venezuela and Colombia. They come in the traditional burlap sacks and the higher-tech massive Tyvek “supersacks,” stacked high in the back of the plant, awall of pale green beans waiting their turn in the roaster

The facility keeps twotothree weeks of inventory on hand and roastsabout 500,000 pounds a week.

Iwas able to watch Curtis Mason, the manufacturing supervisor,open one of the supersacks of green coffee on its way to be storedinone of nine silos. Mason is aQGrader,ahighly trained coffee taster who can smell, see and taste to tell you exactly what kind of bean it is and how to roast it. Scully and Mason caught a handful of green coffee beans fresh from the bag and letme examinethem. Turns out, green coffee doesn’tsmell like what we thinkofcoffee smelling like.To me,itsmells like grass.

Ilooked around at all the

Gulf oilfieldleasesopenagain

80 millionacres forsale, the firstsince 2023

BY MARKBALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON— The federal government released Mondayacall for bids to lease about 80 million acres in thecentral andwestern Gulf underthe recentlyenacted OneBig Beautiful Bill Act. It’sthe first lease sale since December 2023. Energy companieshaveuntil

Dec. 10 to submit bids for how much they will pay to explore for anddevelop oiland natural gas reserves on theoutercontinental shelf off the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. The sale is also thefirst that will bring in higher rates under the Gulf of MexicoEnergySecurity Act, which pays Louisiana and other Gulf statesa portion of the millionsofdollarsfrombid prices

androyalties oncethe offshore rigs are producing. It takes about fiveyearsfrom the lease until a well produces fossil fuels.

The last lease salebrought in $372.5 million.

“Wefollowedthrough on our promise to unleash American energy with thepassage of ourhistoric Working Families TaxCut, which required lease sales in the Gulf of America,” Majority Lead-

er Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson,said in astatement.

Scaliserepresents coastal parishes wheremanyofthe oiland gas support businessesare located.

“I’mexcitedtosee this lease sale move forward, strengthening our energy dominance, lowering energy costs for hardworking American families, creating more jobs here at home, and bolstering our energy security,” Scalise

24-HourCitizen winners

Newfoodfestivalto celebrateculturaldiversity

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

There was alot to celebrateSaturday night at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, which hosted the ninth annual 24-Hour Citizen Project.

The event helps connect civic-minded individuals and groups in Acadiana to local backers to fund communityprojects. Andthis year,five projectshave the chance to become more than just an idea.

Here are 2025’swinners with team leader and funding:

Team Global Bites (SamiParbho): $3,500

Lafayette is gaininganother way to connect with the community’sdiverse ethnic populations with anew food festival, which plans to kick off on the eve of Festival International.

The project aims to bring together the cultural street foods of eight to 12 communities, ranging fromLafayette’s Lebanese andPersian populations to its Laotian residents, under one tent in collaboration with Festival International.

Food itemswould rangefrom$1to$3. Festivalgoers would be asked to purchase their “passports” in advance. They wouldgostation to station,gettingthem stamped as they try out cultural dishes.

Team Certify Teens (Kisharra Angelety): $3,500

As the job market becomes more com-

petitive, certificationscan be theway to give local teenagersthe edge in snagging their first jobs, says Team Certify Teens.

The project would help teenagers earn certificationinCPR andfoodsafety,developing usable skills.Itbrings resources directly into communities by partnering with established youthprograms, schools and local organizations.

The project would begin operations in

Lafayette, New Iberia and Eunice. Team 64 SquaresofLagniappe (Justin Robinson): $3,500

When you think of NewYork’sCentral Park, imagesofBethesda Terrace and Strawberry Fields Memorial may popup. What also comes to mind are images of peopleplaying chess at the park’s perma-

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Acadianaiscelebrating Veterans Day withvarious events and discounts to honormilitaryservice members. Veterans Day is away to honor thosewho served honorablyinthe military.Officially observed on Nov.11every year,Veterans Day marks the anniversary of the ending of World WarIfighting, which went into effect at 11 a.m. Nov.11, 1918,the 11thhourofthe 11th day on the11th of themonth.

To celebrate, here’salist of events happening aroundAcadiana, along with some restaurants, shops that areoffering deals and discounts. Dealsand discounts (Mostbusinesses offering Veterans Day discountsrequire proof of service, suchasaVeteran ID card, Uniform Services ID card, or DD214.) n Starbucks: Get afree

OUR VIEWS

In aseasonof remembrance andgratitude, we thankour veterans

Editor’snote:Aversion of thefollowing editorial has appeared on previousVeteransDaysinthis newspaper

America is built on representative government and capitalism, two institutions thatrecognize how fickle humans can be.

The marketplace of ideas we call politicsand the marketplace of products we call freeenterprise both assume thatpeople are pliable creatures, likely to change their mindsinahurry We honor choice as anational birthright. But the country’sfreedom is protected by men and women who give upa world of choices so we can continue to have ours. Theyare the Americans who serve in ourmilitary,acall that doesn’tindulge inconstancy or caprice.Theydeserve our honor this VeteransDay —and every Veterans Day

This year’scommemoration is especially resonant because it comes the day after theMarines celebrate their 250th birthday,amonth after the Navy celebrated its 250th,five months after the Army did so —and eight monthsbeforethisnation celebrates its official semiquincentennial. The conjunction of these birthdaysreminds us that our freedom was boughtthrough courage and sacrifice.

One cannot easily optout oncea commitment to military service is made. And when thebattle is joined,weask brave men andwomentorisk their lives to defend this nation’sinterests. It’s not asacrifice that can properly beundertaken on awhim, shaped by thelatest pollnumbersor focus groups.

That’swhy those long rows of white tombstonesatour nation’smilitary cemeteries are such aresonant part of theAmerican landscape. They demonstrate, in acountry touched by flux andequivocation and the endlessmutability of opinion, that there have alwaysbeenwarriors who embrace principleasafixedstar, not a fashion statement.

Tiny American flags bloom from those cemeteries everyMemorial Day,the dayweset aside to honor the nation’swar dead.Veterans Day recognizes boththe heroes whohave passed andthe veteransyet with us —the ones we can stillfind in our neighborhoods, ourchurches and temples, the grocerystore. They bear living witness not only to the privilegeofliberty but to its costs.

Not all members of the military seebattle during theirservice, but there are other hardships in serving in America’sarmed forces Theprofound pain of separation from family, the loss of privacy,the boredom —these areno small things. It is right andgood that we should acknowledge those sacrifices each November, as the holidays approach. This Thanksgiving and Yuletide season, as in every year, soldiers and sailors and airmen will beserving faraway from home.

Tomorrow,wepause, in amonth marked by gatheringsfor gratitude, tosay thanks to our veterans. Their contributions are easy to overlook, but we forget their service at our peril.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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 USA LETTER, SCANHERE

OPINION

Celebratenurseswho help patients in hour of need

If you or someone you love has had asurgical procedure, aperioperative registered nurse was responsible for you or your loved one’swell-being throughout theoperation. Perioperativeregistered nurses provide specialized nursing care to surgical patients before, during and after surgery in every hospital and ambulatory surgery settinginthe United States and around theworld.

Nov.9-15 is Perioperative Nurses Week, an annual celebration of perioperative nurses and their commitment to safe patient care. The Association of periOperative Registered Nurses is thenational association representing the interests of over 200,000 perioperative nurses in hospitals and outpatient surgery centers. AORN’s44,000 membersmanage, teach and practice perioperative nursing.

AORN of New Orleans, Chapter 1902, is the local chapter of perioperativeregistered nurses that care for the surgical patientsinour local hospitals and surgical centers. Ourchapter

was formed Oct. 15, 1950, and we just celebrated our 75th anniversary last month.Weare dedicated to providing education, advocacy and community service opportunities to our members.

Next year,onApril 11-14, theAORN Global Surgical Conference &Expo will convene at the Ernest Morial Convention Center.Our annual surgical conference unites perioperative nurses from around theglobe foran exhilarating experience filled with education, innovation, inspiration and networking. Thousandsofnurses and exhibitors will once again come enjoy thefood, music and culture that New Orleanshas to offer We want our community to know we are working hard to protect you —our patients—when you are mostvulnerable. Please join us in celebrating perioperative nurses and our dedication to safe patient care during the 2025 Perioperative Nurses Week.

NATHALIE WALKER registered nurse Metairie

Supreme Courtdoesn’t live up to itsresponsibility

The whole problem with thecountry today is that the U.S. Supreme Court has ceased tofunction. Its members have let power slip through their fingers and thus doomed theUnited States.

There are three branches of federal government:executive, legislative and judicial. Because theSupreme Court has green-lighted many things with its rulings in Trump’sfavor,the executive branch of the government has morphed intosomething twice its normal size.

There are few people who care enough about monarch butterflies to plant milkweed for them. They are a threatened species, due mainly to loss of habitat. The most effective way to help monarchsistoplant moremilkweed, their host flower It is counterproductive to discourage anyone from planting any kind. The OE virus has been around since the1960s, and the only way to get rid of it is to get rid of the monarchs, and that is what will happen if there is no

Trumphas seized on the advantage, and now he does what he wants. Because of their lax, faulty and weak judgments, the U.S. SupremeCourt has caused the downfall of America. Chief Justice John Roberts has been a terrible chief justice to let the country slide so badly He needs to get some guts and do his job and re-establish the federal balance of powers as the framers of the Constitution intended.

ANNE EASSON NewOrleans

milkweed Ihave had tropical milkweed and monarchs in my garden formany years, and I’m grateful to see their beauty. People walking by comment on how much they enjoy them. The one step that needs to be taken is cuttingdown milkweed stems once the weather gets cold. The stemscan be rooted toplant thenext spring. Long live, monarchs(thewinged kind)!

DONA SIMONS NewOrleans

Chargesimplied juvenile victim was somehow at fault

In arecent article about a“missing Baker girl found in Pittsburgh,” it was reported twice that two 62-yearold menwere arrested and charged with “contributing to the delinquency of ajuvenile.” Citing the Baker Police Department, the article concluded by reporting that, “Our precious missing child has been found and is safe.”

The issue Ihave with this is that language matters. Charging the perpetrators with contributing to the delinquency of ajuvenile, by extension, appears to charge the girl with delinquency and implicitly labels the victim —“our precious child” —who wasallegedly sexually assaulted and trafficked —a“juvenile delinquent.”

Most readers would associate this term with underage criminals. The girl in this incident is neither adelinquent nor acriminal; she’sa victim and asurvivor.Toimply she’s become ajuvenile delinquent, as a consequence of being victimized, is wrong, and yet no one in any position to change the waysuch children are described, seems willing to take action: law enforcement, the courts, prosecutors, bar associations and yes, the press.

Language matters, and it’stime to change the way young victims are described and their abusers charged. These perpetrators didn’tcontribute to anyone’s“delinquency” —they kidnapped, raped, sexually abused, trafficked, and in worst-case scenarios, murdered children, and the language used to report this should reflect that. TOMDINAPOLI Baton Rouge

Leadersofbad character cansink acountry

Irecently read aquote that said, “America is great because it is good. When it ceases to be good, it will cease to be great,” Ifear that we are well on our waydown that road away from goodness. Jimmy Carter was incompetent and surrounded himself with incompetents, but he was an honorable man. Donald Trump is incompetent and has surrounded himself with incompetents. And he is not an honorable man. Godhelp us all.

Solvethe hunger games

There are an estimated42million people receiving food aid from the Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.The figure represents 12.3% of the U.S. population, according to the USDA. In the richest nationonEarth, thatis not something to brag about.It is, or ought to be, adisgrace.

SNAP is acasualty of the government “shutdown,” though two federal judges have ordered theTrump administration to restore funds to theprogram.

Cal Thomas

President Trump saidhewill use a contingency fund to cover only 50% of SNAP benefitsfor November,but none afterthat ifthe governmentdoesn’t open. Now would be agood time to ask why so many Americans seek food assistance. Astarting point that should getpolitical support (at least from Republicans) would be the eliminationof mistakes, wasteand fraud inthe SNAP program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP for the states, estimatesthatinfiscal year 2023, approximately 11.7% of SNAP benefits, or about $10.5 billion, were “improper payments,” includingfraud andother errors. While overpayments from household errorsand administrative mistakes make up the largest por-

tion of theseimproper payments, the USDA and other experts also report significant issues with benefit trafficking and recent surgesintheft.For example, a55% increase in fraudulent transactions occurred between thefourthquarter of fiscal 2024and the first quarter of 2025. Thefirst food assistance programswere established in 1939 during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Like so many other government programs, whenthe Depression ended and theneed for food assistance subsided, the programs continued and new peoplewere added,even during periods of prosperity

Followingthe elimination of improper payments, there should be a focusonthe able-bodied who are not working.There is awork and job trainingrequirement for people receiving SNAPbenefits. Whether those without children are meeting that requirement should be investigated. The goal should be to wean people off government assistance and towardfinancial independence. The elderly and those with physical or mental disabilities who qualify,shouldcontinue receiving food assistance. Whatever happened to children caring for their parentswho are in need? Adult children with resources should

be required to help their parents before turning to thegovernment. SenateDemocrats, most of whom have refused to votetoopen thegovernment, continue to use SNAP —as well as air traffic controllers and other vital services —toextort political capital from Republicans. So far it appears to be working. Arecent Quinnipiac poll found that voters blame Republicans slightly morethan Democratsfor the shutdown.

Toomany Americansbelieve they are entitled to other people’smoney and that it is the government’sresponsibilitytotake care of every citizen (andsome noncitizens) from cradle to grave. Maybe Congress should be listed among those who are “nonessential” and have their pay suspended. Watch how quickly thegovernment would open again should that occur Nearly every problem has asolution. The problem for politicians is that if they solve aproblem,they no longer have an issue withwhich to bash the other party.Aslong as holding on to political office remains their top priority, nothing will change. More people will come to rely on government, which will help theDemocrats, but it will be bad for thecountry and thepeople who have becomeaddicted togovernment.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com

Bidenand Trump, in theirown ways, poisoned theimmigration debate

Today’scoagulated politics is nullifying the most dramatic achievement of Donald Trump’ssecond term, the restoration of order along the southern border.This has created the prerequisite for policies that could improve the nation’sdynamism and its understanding of itself. Yetneither political party will seize the moment for immigration reform, thereby risking the wrath that envelops those guilty of seemingaccommodating.

More than the inflation Joe Biden’s policies ignited, even more thanthe senescence he could not palliate,uncontrolled immigration upendedhis presidency.Control of bordersisa core attribute of national sovereignty

The Biden administration’sabdication of this responsibilitysent aradiating, demoralizing message of indifference and incompetence: The government was unable —worse, unwilling —to create the prerequisite for all othersocialgoods: civic order This choice was prefigured. On June 27, 2019, in acandidates debate, 10 Democratic contenders for their party’spresidential nomination were asked to raise their hands if they favored decriminalizing unauthorized bordercrossings Eight, including Biden, did. During his presidency,net migration averaged 2.6 million (approximately equal to the population of the nation’s 24th largest metropolitan area, San Antonio) every year,for afour-year totalof10.4 million, slightly more than Michigan’spopulation.Hence theseismic effect on public opinion: According to Gallup, in 2020-2024 thepercentage of Americans favoring lessimmigration soared from 28 to 55. On election night 2024, progressives learnedthe perils of dismissing this asracismand xenophobia.

The nonpartisan MigrationPolicy Institute found that in Biden’sfirst 100 days, he took 94 executive actions pertaining to immigration. Manhattan Institute President ReihanSalam, writing for the Free Press, says these repudiated not only Trump’sapproach but “long-standing immigrationlimits that had been embraced by the Clinton and Obama administrations.” Salam says public opiniononimmigration often is “thermostatic,” moving against excesses of thosein power. Perhaps anational recoil against the ugliness of the Trump administration’s militarized measures against unauthorized immigrants —many of whomhave been here more than 10 years —will allow reframing the immigrationdebate.

The fear on the right, Salamsays, has been that immigration meansnot a Great Renewalofnational dynamism but aGreat Replacement of nativeborn Americans. This should have been assuaged by Trump’s“massive gains among naturalized citizens and second-generation Americans in 2020 and 2024.”

So, to the discomfort of some of Trump’saides and many of his supporters, and perhaps even Trump, he might have unintentionally made reform morepalatable. According to a2024 Pew Research Center poll, 70% of Americans, including 55% of Trump supporters, favor“admitting immigrants who can fill labor shortages.” U.S. population growth is lower than ever,migration is net negative for the first time, and life expectancy is projected to increase from today’s78.4to 80.4years.The twoentitlements (Social Security,Medicare)primarily responsiblefor thenormalization of, soon, $2 trillion annual budget deficits depend on theworkforce’sgrowth, which now depends entirely on immigration. Economicfacts are not static like the Rocky Mountains. They change with economicdynamism,and immigration energizes.Conservativescorrectly insist on “dynamic scoring” of taxcuts —projectingpositive revenue effects from tax cutsthat incentivizeproductive behavioral changes. Such conservatives shouldalso favor the dynamic scoring of immigration’seconomic

effects.

One of which is: Immigrantswho fill jobs as domestic helpers, cleaners, servers, car-wash attendants, meatpackers and other low-skill jobs drive productivity and social dynamism by allowing, even compelling, other workers to advance to more-skilled work. In 2023 House testimony,the Cato Institute’s David J. Biernoted thatthe Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that mostjobs created in this decade will not require acollege degree.

Regarding America’ssagging birth rate,research finds thatlow-skill immigrants(nannies, housekeepers, meal-preparers) “substantially” reduce hesitation about having children. Today’shousing shortage?Bier: “Thanks to toofew workers,itnow takes about eight months to build anew home, which is up from four to six months” before 2020.

Three economists, writing for the American EnterpriseInstitute, have estimated thatnet U.S. migrationmight be negative this year —for the first time in history —bymorethan 200,000. Most economists think the question is not whether but how muchthis will subtract from economic growth.

Choosing not to act is achoice, as is the decline of anation withAmerica’s human resources. Decline is today’s grim and only bipartisanship.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

Every now and then, amovement, like ahouse needs agood scrubbing. For the deep clean taking place in the conservative movement to eradicate bigots and antisemites, we can thank Tucker Carlson, the once-charming, bow-tied boy wonder of an erstwhile kinder,gentler Republican Party Carlson invited White nationalist Nick Fuentes onto his podcast recently and failed to challenge his guest’sbigoted remarks about Jews, setting off acascade of righteous outrage. This was hardly the first time Carlson has engaged in antisemitic commentary Jew-hating has become all the rage in certain once-respectable circles. It’sjust that this time, Carlson and his guest went too far evenfor friends and political allies.

One wonders why it took so long for Republicans and other conservatives to speak out, but here —finally —weare. The Fuentes interview launched aprotest from important corners of the conservative world, including Sen. TedCruz, R-Texas, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and, belatedly, the Heritage Foundation, though only afterits president, Kevin Roberts, took heat fordefending Carlson.

It shouldn’tbelong before fellow bigot-baiter Candace Owens bellows arant too far.She’snot in Carlson’sleague as listeners go, but she’s nota nobody.She has millions of social media followers. Her 2024 eviction from conservative (Jewish) commentator Ben Shapiro’sDaily Wire for antisemitic rhetoric apparently didn’thurt her standing with herfans. Among other offenses, she liked asocial media post that askedifarabbi was “drunk on Christian blood again.” She and Carlson have seemed to suggest that Israel was behind the murderofCharlie Kirk.

The Israel-Gaza war has given such entertainers (they’re not journalists) excuses to talk trash about Jews, but the comments in question far exceed criticism.Plenty of people left and right, as well as nations, have expressed concerns about whatmany view as Israel’sdisproportionate response to the terrorist slaughter of civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. More accurately,Owens andCarlson engage in dog-whistling tropes that historically have been used to marginalize Jews andtojustify muchworse.

This is why Carlson’sengagement of Fuentes and others is so repugnant and unforgivable Carlson speaks of the “brain virus” of Christian Zionism,but he doth project too much, methinks. The virus currently infecting asegmentofthe American population is, to put it bluntly,Jewhating.

The toxic drivel emanating from these two popular podcasters corresponds to the conspiracy theories of White nationalists andother hate-mongers. As recent events affirm,this trend is too serious to treat with dignity.This isn’ta debate for polite disagreement. WhatCarlson and Owens are doing must be terrifying to Jews, and it should be to Christians and Muslims, too Recently,aclose friend and Iwere discussing the matter over manicures in aGeorgetown salon whenaJewish lady who had been sitting nearby leaned into our conversation. “I overheard enough of whatyou were saying to urge youto keep doing whatever you’re doing,” she said, then asked, “Can Ilick envelopes?”

So, whenCarlson engages in tropes to describe UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy,who is Jewish, as “ratlike,” “shifty” and “dead-eyed,” or inexplicably uses his eulogy for Kirk, whom he compared to Jesus, to remind people that the Jews killed Jesus, he is winking at neo-Nazis. And whenCarlson invites someone such as Fuentes, a27-year-old Holocaust denier who haspraised Hitler,for acongenial chat, he deserves the wrath he’s receiving. And more. In fairness, Carlson did challenge Fuentes for his antisemitism once, an interjection that waslost amid the twohour interview Fuentes is such an abhorrent character that he must be good for clicks in the same way dogfighting is, probably for the same people.The Anti-Defamation League reported thatFuentes said the Oct. 7slaughter of concertgoers and families in Israel didn’thappen, suggesting that the rapes and other atrocities were “all alie” and “none of it was real.” Why did Carlsoninvite such afrothy punk on his show? The answer,ofcourse, is money.Blood money is cheap, while respect is invaluable. Carlson long ago hung up his journalist’shat (along with his bowtie). Nowhe’sjust another rage machine hiding in the bunker of his Maine cabin, giving people like Fuentesanoutlet for his bile.But enough with niceties.

Counterintuitive though it is, we owe Fuentes amuted thank you for riling conservatives into action or at least to declare intolerance forthe hateful among them.Hate is the brain virus. Antisemitism is, too. Carlson knows betterbut apparently has fallen victim to the virus. It’stime he —and others like him —clean their houses before it’stoo late.

Email Kathleen Parker at kathleenparker@ washpost.com.

OILFEILD

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added. The Gulf spans roughly 160 millionacres,with an estimated29.59 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and 54.84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The bureau

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police Sgt. RobinGreen said. This case remains under investigation. Man found shot dead in home;teen arrested ASt. Martinville teen has beenarrested in connection to aman foundshot in the living room of ahome, police say Delian Mallery,19, of St. Martinville, has been booked with second-degree murder On Sunday at approximately 12:12 p.m., deputies with the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office responded

RISHER

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different coffee beans from all the different places and askedhow they manage to take all the beans and create a consistent flavor for their coffees.

“When you roast coffee, you’re really inducing chemical reactions. You’re changing those components, those amino acids and lipids into roasted coffee, and that will change the flavor,” Matt Saurage Jr.said.

Saurage is the research and development manager for Community Coffee and part of the fifth generation to work at the company his great-great-grandfather founded in 1919

“The job that we have is to take different coffees from different countries and throw them into a roaster,” he said. “Weroast them in avery specific way and manage that taste. It’s very difficult to do.”

The plant has new and old roasters, like the Neotec roaster that was installed when the plant opened in 1970. It canprocess 6,000 poundsofcoffee beans an hour.Scully called it their “workhorse.” Even though the roasters use different technology,they all rely on three variables to control flavor —time, temperature and air flow From the roar of the roasters, we moved to the precision of the packaging line, which Iloved. Watching the ingenuity of aroll of paper transforming into bags of coffee amazed me. It reminded me of newspaper presses —the same dance of paper precision and speed.

Upstairs in the tasting room, Mark Howell and Saurage had set up a“cupping” —amore elaborate setup than Iexpected. Howell assembled six different coffees from Ethiopia (the birthplace of coffee), Colombia, Indonesia, Honduras, Brazil and Guatemala. For each coffee, he had atray of the roasted beans and five cups with in-

oversees offshore oil and gas development

The newly enacted law requiresthe agency to hold at least 30 regionwidesales, starting with this one. After this first sale, thebureau must hold at least two lease sales per year from 2026 through 2039,plusone additional salebyMarch 15, 2040.

Theagency released in the FederalRegisteronMonday the “Final Notice of Sale for Lease Sale Big Beautiful

to a911 callinthe 1900 blockofCypressIsland Highway,inSt. Martinville, regarding aman whohad been shot

Upon arrival, deputies found adeceased male with agunshot wound to the head lying in the living room of theresidence, according to authorities.The initial investigation revealed that Mallery shot thevictimfor unknown reasons, police said. Awarrant of arrest wasobtained,and Mallery was arrested. Following Mallery’sarrest,hewas booked intothe St. Martin Parish Correctional Centerand is being held without bail.

Theidentity of the victim is pendingnotificationtothe nextofkin.

Gulf 1” andanother lease salefor Alaska’sCook Inlet. To encourage participation, thebureau seta 12.5% royaltyrate—the lowest rate permitted —for both shallow and deepwater leases.

“President (Donald) Trump’ssigning of the One BigBeautiful Bill Act marked the beginning of a new chapter for oil and gas development in the Gulf of America and Alaska’sCook Inlet,” agency acting Director Matt Giaconasaid

Correctional officers fired and arrested

The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’sOffice fired and arrested two of its correctional officersafter they were accused of injuring a73-year-old inmate

John Smith, 30, of Port Barre, faces charges of crueltytoaperson with infirmities, failure to seekassistance, and malfeasance of office, according to a Sheriff’s Office announcement.

HaydenAymond,19, of Opelousas, also faces charges of failure to seek assistance and malfeasance in office

Asocial worker at Opelousas General Hos-

in astatement. “BOEMis now moving forwardwith apredictable,congressionally mandated leasingschedule that will support offshore oiland gas development for decades to come.”

During the Biden administration, only one lease sale was allowed every two years in Gulf waters.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

pitalnotified theSheriff’s OfficeonWednesday that a73-year-old inmate may have suffered injuries at the hands of correctional officers.

The Sheriff ’s Office launched an investigation, leading to the arrest and later termination of Smith and Aymond. An internal investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with additional information about this case is encouragedtocallthe St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Officeat(337)948-6516

Youmay also call Crime Stoppers at (337)948-8477, download the P3 app on your mobile device or simply dial **TIPS on your mobile phone to tip. All calls are anonymous

dividually ground beans

Howellisalso alicensed QGrader and has one of the most sophisticated coffee palates around. He gothis start in coffee by serving in the Peace Corps in Honduras in theearly 1990s. Once he explained what we would do, he presented each of us witha special rounded spoon. We sat downatthe revolving table and Isteadiedmyself for coffee.

As it steeped, Howell showed me how we were supposed to fillthe spoon from each cup and simultaneously smell and slurp —and Imean loudlyslurp —and thenspititout.

This is when Itold them that not only was Inot a coffee drinker,but Ihad literally never taken aswig of it. They took the news in stride —maybe with a little disbelief, butplenty of good humor

“Well, this is afirst for us,” Saurage said.“It should be interesting.” And it was.

With my untrained palate, Itasted 30 cups of coffee. As Howell and Saurage made impressively loud slurps, Islurped as best I could to taste for the things they mentioned —acidity earthiness, complexity,

nutty chocolates, inconsistencies,tobacco notes and more.

Even for someone who’s neverhad acup, Ileft the plant withanew appreciation for the patience, science and art that go into filling so many people’s mugs each morning.

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nent outdoor chessboards. The Downtown Lafayette Chess TablesProject is lookingtoinstall one permanent chess table at key park locations, serving as free, year-round gatheringspots forplayers of all ages. Theorganization is also looking to purchase a handful of pop-up tables to test out future locations. When it’scompleted, residentswould follow QR codes that point them to nearby businesses that will hold the chess pieces.

Team FOOD (Leonardo MezaJuarez): $3,700 Lafayette has slowly but surely built up amutual aidfood network forfamiliesand individualsfacing food insecurity.The team at Feeding Others: Outreach andDistribution is an organization of volunteers driven to reduce food waste and improve access to food.

The organization, working with adesign team in New Orleans, is looking to create asolar-powered community fridge to create agreener way to provide food to those in need.

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free meal that includes a cheeseburger with fries.

n Hacienda Mexican Restaurant: Allveteransand active-duty military may receive afree large burrito withbeef, rice and beans. A10% discountisalsooffered on all meals.

Tuesdayevents

n The Veterans of Ville Platte: 11 a.m.atthe Evangeline Parish Courthouse, annual Veterans Day event. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veteransand theVietnam Veterans will be there for the ceremony

n American Legion Arceneaux Post 77: 6:30 p.m. at 213 American Legion Drive in Rayne. Celebrate Veterans Day with acelebration to paytributetothose who serve andprotect the country

n New Iberia Veterans DayCeremony: From 5p.m. to 7p.m. at Steamboat Pavilion/Bouligny Plaza, 128 W. Main St., NewIberia. The Iberia Jazz Band will perform

The organization was created two years ago, has partnered with the Lafayette Community Fridge, andisnow lookingtoexpand itsreach,with donations farexceedingcapacity.The team will use community engagement, education, and empowerment to develop and sustain food pantriesand fridges throughout Acadiana, distributing surplus food to locations.

Team Lafayette Kid News(Audrey Dupre): $3,000 Lafayette’schildren also deserve to be informed, according to the team at Lafayette Kids News. The project will create aquarterlynewspaper forchildren ages 7-12. Thepaper will provide a fun andcreative platform for children to share their voices, showcase theirtalents andcontributetothe community.Sections include the Kid of the Quarter,puzzles, games, jokes, trivia, local sports, arts and history,anart gallery and acalendar of kid-friendly events in town. The outlet would allow children to publishtheir own written and visual work, while highlighting the achievements of local kids.

patriotic music, with apresentation of colors by BSA Troop 331, aPOW Table, the laying of amemorial wreath and arifle salute by VFW Post 1982.

n Acadiana High School: 9:30a.m.atthe school’s gymnasium.The presentation will follow abreakfast for veterans at 8:30 a.m. in the library n Annual Hats OfftoVeterans Luncheon: 11:30a.m.at theYambileeBuilding in Opelousas. The annual celebrationhonorsthe service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans while raising funds to support theSt. Landry Parish Veterans Memorial. Allproceeds from the luncheon will directly benefit the memorial. For moreinformation, contact Pat Mason-Guillory,project director,at pmgveterans@slpgov.net n Bayou BendFitness Center of Franklin: The center,1029 Northwest Blvd.,Franklin, is honoring veterans with aruck while you work outevent. Wear weights, camo, patriotic gear,military shirts or dogtagsand make it your own style. There is no enrollment fee year-round forall veterans.

SPORTS

MENTAL HURDLE

Olave shakes bad memory in Charlotte to post big game for Saints

BY LUKE JOHNSON

Staff writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. Everything was normal in the lead up to the New Orleans Saints’ Week 10 game against the Carolina Panthers, and then Chris Olave stepped onto the turf at Bank of America Stadium.

It was here last season where Olave’s season came to an early end. Here where Olave suffered his second concussion of the season and the fourth of his playing career Here where he lay on the turf in the worst kind of way, limp and with his teammates calling for the medical professionals.

That was a little more than a year ago. Much has happened since, but the mo-

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The UL Ragin’ Cajuns got their first win with Friday’s 58-52 victory over Southeastern Louisiana. Now it’s time to see how coach Quannas White’s team can deal with a more high-powered offense when Tulane visits at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Cajundome.

ment came flooding back when Olave took the field for the first time. He felt anxious.

“As soon as I stepped on the field, I just felt it all over again,” Olave said.

There were a lot of questions about Olave coming into 2025. When he’s been on the field, his talent is undeniable He topped 1,000 yards in each of his first two professional seasons after the Saints selected him in the first round of the 2022 draft, and he looked like he was on his way to a third straight last season.

But the concussions put a pause on Olave’s career The fact that he had suffered a couple of them in one season — and had been evaluated for another led to legitimate questions about Olave’s

“They like to run this matchup zone,” White said. “He’s a really good coach They’re experienced and have a really good shooting team.”

Playing Tulane means the return of old UL nemesis Ron Hunter to the Cajundome. The Tulane coach was a huge rival of the Cajuns during his stint coaching at Georgia State.

long-term viability as a professional player

That noise has somewhat quieted this season as Olave has played in each of the Saints’ first 10 games, missing only a few snaps when he’s dealt with relatively minor injury issues. But it was a major concern, and the thoughts crept into Olave’s head Sunday against Carolina.

And then he spotted his father in the stands. And then he heard the encouraging words from his teammates. And then Olave did the thing he does best. He torched the Panthers. Olave caught five passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown went

The Green Wave is off to a 2-0 start after an 85-72 win over Samford and 79-71 victory over Texas State.

Rowan Brumbaugh scored 33 points with four rebounds in the win against Texas State. Tyler Ringgold also contributed to four double-figure scorers with 14 points and seven boards. Against Samford, Asher Woods led the way with 24 points and three rebounds, followed by

Curtis Williams with 22 points and six boards.

The Green Wave made 45% from 3-point land against Texas State and 52.4% against Samford.

“They like to get up and down the floor offensively, try to score and transition,” White said. The truly impressive thing about Tulane is its free-throw

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

It’s kind of the way it’s gone for UL coach Michael Desormeaux and the Ragin’ Cajuns this season.

Even when his team comes off a big home win for its first two-game winning streak of the season, Desormeaux isn’t able to enjoy the spoils for too long. This week, that includes the consequences of a postgame fight on the field after UL’s 42-39 win over Texas State on Saturday

BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer

Garrett Nussmeier will take the first reps at practice this week, but LSU is expected to play both Nussmeier and sophomore Michael Van Buren at quarterback Saturday against Arkansas.

Interim coach Frank Wilson shared the Tigers’ plan for the position during a news conference Monday after Nussmeier was benched in the third quarter of a 20-9 loss to No. 4 Alabama. Van Buren played the rest of the game, his first significant snaps this season.

“They both brought something to the table that helped this team go up and down the field,” Wilson said. “They both have things that they need to continue to work on

ä Arkansas at LSU, 11:45 A.M. SATURDAy SEC NETWORK

as well. I don’t think it’s a clear separation where one is beyond the other. We’ll need both of them, and I know we’ll use both of them in this game.”

The Tigers (5-4) play Arkansas (2-7) at 11:45 a.m inside Tiger Stadium.

Wilson said Nussmeier played well enough to take the first practice reps Monday and Tuesday Nussmeier completed 86% of his passes (18 of 21) for 121 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions against Alabama.

Nussmeier has completed 67.4% of his throws this season

ä UL at Arkansas State, 6:30 P.M. NOV 20, ESPN

On Monday, the Sun Belt Conference announced its discipline from the incident and was harsh on the Cajuns, especially in the secondary Safety Tyree Skipper was suspended for the remainder of the season. Suspended for one game are cornerback Courtline Flowers, safety Kody Jackson, linebacker Kailep Edwards, safety Collin Jacob, wide receiver Evan Stroman and defensive lineman De’Antonio Leseuer For Texas State, the suspended players included Tymere Jackson for two games, and one game for Khamari Terrell, Justin DeLeon, Kyran Bourda, J.P Deeter and Devarrick Woods.

“It’s a distraction we don’t need, we can’t afford and shouldn’t have,” said Desormeaux, whose Cajuns don’t play this weekend before traveling to Arkansas State on Thursday, Nov 20. “I just think it’s a really hard (situation). You know, you get attacked and I don’t know how you’re supposed to respond. To be honest, those are things, I don’t know what you want.

“If you’re walking down the street and someone punches you in the jaw, I would imagine you’d probably want to fight them back, you know?”

Desormeaux was displeased the altercation didn’t end after some pushing and shoving while UL was in the victory formation in the final minute of the game.

“I don’t understand how this wasn’t cleared up before,” he said. “I don’t understand how this wasn’t stopped once it broke out the first time. I don’t understand how we didn’t get people off the field.”

The second reason for his anger is the amount of big plays the Cajuns continue to allow, especially in the second half of Saturday’s win over Texas State.

“It’s absurd,” Desormeaux said. The Bobcats sport the most explosive offense in the Sun Belt, but that’s no consolation to Desormeaux.

On the second drive, it was a 62-yard pass to Beau Sparks. On the third drive, it was a 54-yard touchdown run up the gut by Lincoln Pare.

Two drives later, it was completions of 35 yards to Sparks and then a 24-yard TD pass to tight end Titus Lyons.

Two drives after that, it was a 41-yard completion to Chris Dawn. A 38-yard TD pass to Sparks and a 49-yard TD run by Sparks came later

“We’ve got to do a better job there,”

Baylor, Southern Cal enter top 10

BY DOUG FEINBERG

Associated Press

Baylor and Southern California jumped into the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll after big openingweek victories.

The Bears began the season with a victory in Paris over then-No. 7 Duke to replace the Blue Devils in that spot Monday, climbing nine places The Trojans edged thenNo. 9 N.C. State by a point Sunday to move up 10 spots to eighth overall.

While USC will be missing star JuJu Watkins all season as she recovers from an ACL tear suffered last March, coach Lindsay Gottlieb’s team has a new young star in Jazzy Davidson, who hit the go-ahead shot with 8.2 seconds left.

UConn, South Carolina, UCLA and Texas remained the top four teams in the poll after relatively easy opening-week wins. The defending champion Huskies received 30 first-place votes from a national media panel while the

Gamecocks got the other two. LSU and Oklahoma stayed at fifth and six. The Sooners faced UCLA on Monday night in Sacramento, California, a site of one of the NCAA regionals next spring. Maryland moved up one place to ninth. N.C. State which fell to USC by a point and beat Tennessee by three in the opener, dropped to 10th. The Lady Vols fell to 12th and the Blue Devils 15th.

In and out

No. 25 Washington entered the Top 25 for the first time in two years. The Huskies were hosting Montana on Monday night before heading to Utah on Saturday Richmond dropped out of the poll after losing at Texas.

Banner raising UConn unveiled its 12th championship banner on Sunday when the Huskies beat Florida State. The team took to the court before the game wearing custom white-

and-gold tracksuits that read “National Champions XII” on the back.

Happy anniversary

The women’s basketball poll celebrates its 50th anniversary this month with the first rankings coming out in late November 1976. Founded by Mel Greenberg, the poll was a coaches’ poll until 1994-95 when it became one voted on by national media.

Games of the week

No. 2 South Carolina at No. 9

USC, Saturday The Gamecocks will head west to face the Trojans in a home-and-home series dubbed “The Real SC.” Saturday’s game will be played at Crypto. com Arena.

No. 17 TCU at No. 10 N.C. State, Sunday The Wolfpack continue a difficult nonconference schedule facing the Horned Frogs, who added transfer Olivia Miles from Notre Dame this offseason.

LSU women’s soccer to host in NCAA first round

The LSU women’s soccer team earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament during Monday’s selection show and will host a firstround game in Baton Rouge to start competition.

The Tigers, who are in the Vanderbilt portion of the bracket, will play Houston Christian at 7 p.m. Friday at LSU Soccer Stadium.

Houston Christian (12-8-2) earned an automatic NCAA bid by winning the Southland Conference tournament.

The winner of LSU-Houston Christian will advance to play on Nov 20 against the winner of Iowa and South Dakota State.

Vanderbilt beat LSU (13-5-4) in the SEC championship game on Sunday in a game decided by a penalty shootout.

Three-time Hall of Famer Wilkens dies at age 88

SEATTLE Lenny Wilkens, a threetime inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame who was enshrined as both a player and a coach, has died, his family said Sunday. He was 88.

The family said Wilkens was surrounded by loved ones when he died and did not immediately release a cause of death.

Wilkens was one of the finest point guards of his era who later brought his calm and savvy style to the sideline, first as a playercoach and then evolving into one of the game’s great coaches. He coached 2,487 games in the NBA, which is still a record. He became a Hall of Famer as a player, as a coach and again as part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team — on which he was an assistant.

Kurtz, Baldwin win MLB Rookie of the Year awards

Athletics slugger Nick Kurtz is the unanimous winner of the American League Rookie of the Year, and Atlanta Braves catcher Drake Baldwin is the winner of the National League honor The ballots by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America were announced Monday night. Kurtz, 22, batted .290 with 36 homers, 86 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS in 117 games this year The first baseman became the eighth rookie since 1901 to finish with an OPS over 1.000 while making at least 400 plate appearances. Baldwin, 24, stepped up for Atlanta after No 1 catcher Sean Murphy was sidelined by a cracked rib in spring training. Baldwin hit .274 with 19 homers, 80 RBIs and an .810 OPS in 124 games.

MLB, sportsbooks cap bets on individual pitches

Major League Baseball said its authorized gaming operators will cap bets on individual pitches at $200 and exclude them from parlays, a day after two Cleveland Guardians were indicted and accused of rigging pitches at the behest of gamblers.

BY JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press

released Monday, swapping spots with Purdue by earning three more points overall. The Cougars received 18 first-place votes from a 61-person media panel, and Purdue had 36, with four other teams also getting at least one. UConn, Duke and Arizona round out the top five in a chaotic poll that saw only four teams hold their positions from the preseason poll, yet no one moved in or out of the poll. Houston, which lost to

in last spring’s national championship game, is No. 1 for the first time since a three-week stint in 2024. The Boilermakers were ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time in program history and opened the season with a pair of wins. Purdue had a hard time shaking Oakland in an 87-77 win Friday and some Top 25 voters dropped the Boilermakers out of the top five on their ballots.

“Yeah, I mean, we just beat Oakland by 10 points. Credit to them, they played a great game,” Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer said. “But if we’re supposed to be the No. 1 team in the country, we’ve got to be better than that, and it starts at the defensive end.” Houston had no trouble in its first two games, blowing out Lehigh and Towson by an average of

MLB said Monday in a statement that pitch-level bets on outcomes of pitch velocity and of balls and strikes “present heightened integrity risks because they focus on one-off events that can be determined by a single player and can be inconsequential to the outcome of the game.”

Pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted Sunday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on charges they took bribes from sports bettors to throw certain types of pitches.

PGA returning to Asheville for first time in 86 years ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The PGA Tour is returning to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina for the first time in 86 years, announcing Monday a FedEx Cup Fall event starting

Wilson says WR avoids serious knee injury

BY KOKI RILEY and REED DARCEY Staff writers

LSU wide receiver NicAnderson did not suffer a significant knee injury

Saturday in a loss to Alabama, interim coach Frank Wilson said Monday And linebacker Whit Weeks, Wilson said, is “uncertain” for the game against Arkansas on Saturday (11:45 a.m., SEC Network).

Anderson, an Oklahoma transfer, was hurt after fifth-year senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier connected with him on a 16-yard completion in the third quarter of the Tigers’ 20-9 loss to the No. 4 Crimson Tide. He then walked gingerly off the field, rode to the locker room on a golf cart and returned to the sideline later in the game on crutches.

“We’re really worried on the sideline that it could be something long-term,” Wilson said. “It is not. It does not require a procedure and so we’re day by day in a rehabilitation, preventative manner with him to get him along the way.” That catch was Anderson’s second of the game and 12th of the season.

The redshirt junior joined the Tigers in 2025 as one of the stars of their top-ranked transfer class, but LSU struggled to find a role for him before he was injured Saturday In the first eight games Anderson collected only 74 yards receiving and two touchdowns on just 18 targets. He was much more productive in the last full year he played his 2023 redshirt freshman campaign when he caught 38 passes for 798 yards and 10 touchdowns with the Sooners. Weeks is battling a bone bruise in his ankle. He first suffered the injury late in a Sept. 27 loss to Ole Miss, and he’s now missed three

UL

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shooting. The Green Wave has missed just one of 43 attempts thus far

“It’s extremely important,” White said about keeping Tulane off the line.

“That’s why I harp on with our guys every single day about being more disciplined being the second guy off the floor and contesting shots without fouling.

“A lot of that just comes from not being focused and locked in. Guys get tired out there sometimes and not mentally or strong. We have to be better, even if you’re tired.” White was pleased with the progress the Cajuns made defensively from the Ball State opener to the Southeastern game.

“I was pleased with our defense in the first half,” White said. “I thought in the second half, we did some uncharacteristic things in terms of putting those guys on the foul line, like we did against Ball State.

“So we’ve got to continue to improve in that area and be more disciplined and be consistent at doing what we do at practice.”

Injuries are still hampering that process. Karris Bilal played one minute in the opener, but White said Monday he reinjured his foot and will be out a while.

Alabama defensive back Zabien Brown tackles LSU wide receiver Nic Anderson as Alabama

DaShawn Jones closes in on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Anderson was

in the game, and his playing status is ‘uncertain’ against Arkansas.

consecutive games.

“He’s eager,” Wilson said. “He wants to be back out there, but we won’t put him out there until he can protect himself and play at the level that allows him to be elite.”

Battle at right tackle

Wilson is unsure who will start at right tackle Saturday, he said Monday LSU started redshirt freshman Weston Davis at right tackle against Alabama, but he was replaced by redshirt freshman OryWilliams in the second half.

“They both did some really good things,” Wilson said. “They both

did some things that still need to be built upon. But we haven’t made a decision (as to who will start) just yet.”

Williams played 32 snaps and didn’t allow a quarterback pressure against the Crimson Tide, according to Pro Football Focus.

Wilson liked what he saw from the former three-star recruit.

“It was good to see big Ory get out there,” Wilson said. “He’s a mammoth of a man, right, huge in stature.”

Davis has started all but one game at right tackle. The lone contest he missed was against Ole Miss, when he suffered a concussion and broken nose in warmups

Louisiana Tech transfer Sean Elkinton got an MRI on Monday and “will probably be out a while” before returning to the lineup. Todd Jones, Dariyus Woodson and Joshua Lewis are all healthy after being out with injuries until recently

“It takes time,” White said.

“You’ve got to get in a rhythm, but it takes time to getting back in the flow of practice.”

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Tulane matchup is how the UL transition offense operates.

“We’ve been talking about playing faster all the time no matter

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

for 62 yards the longest catch of Olave’s career Several of his catches came on clutch downs, moving the chains on third down. One likely will make his career highlight reel, when he shrugged off a defensive pass interference to make a whirling one-handed snag near the sideline.

“The thing is he’s our guy, he’s our receiver,” tight end Juwan Johnson said. “Like, there’s no question about it. That (one-handed catch is) something we knew he could do from the beginning So we’re not surprised.”

It’s been a tough year for Olave. He’s playing for a struggling team, and he’s had his share in those struggles, with several crucial drops earlier in the season as the primary receiving option. He seemed limited by the offense early with most of his catches going for shallow gains

But lately, Olave has rediscovered his big-play ability He now has seven catches of 20 or more yards this season, all of which have come in the last five weeks. Olave has caught a pass of 50 or more yards in three of the last five games. His big explosive play Sunday against Carolina came when the Saints desperately needed it. Facing a third down, quarterback Tyler Shough stepped into a clean pocket and let a deep ball fly down the sideline. Olave was battling tight coverage by Panthers star corner Jaycee Horn, but he fought through it and maintained his focus as Horn fell. Olave hauled it in with nobody around him and coasted in for the 62-yard score. The Saints initially were fooled on the play, but it worked out to their benefit. Olave figured it was Cover 2 pre-snap, but when he went for his double move, Horn stuck with him. “I kind of went outside, tried to outside release and it was man,”

the opponent,” White said. “We want to try to push the ball up the floor and try to see if we can’t get an easy bucket versus having a setup and running action. Playing within the shot clock, we don’t want to do that.”

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Olave said. “At the end of the day, that’s what we wanted. We kind of got tight to the sideline so I had to kind of battle him to catch the ball and he fell.”

That was Olave’s first catch of the day He needed something like that to put the bad memories from last year’s game out of his mind.

But Olave wasn’t alone. His teammates had his back, and so did his father, Raul Olave. His dad was there at Bank of America Stadium, and he offered support when the memories came flooding back.

“He showed through that process I was going through a lot and him being at every game, all the away games, all the home games, it means a lot to me, man,” Olave said about his father “He was out there solo in the stands by himself. I had to go talk to him pregame and just to loosen up my mind It helped me a lot.”

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

1:13 remaining in the first half, Nussmeier attempted a pass to senior wide receiver Barion Brown that fell incomplete.

The incompletion allowed the Crimson Tide to march 66 yards down the field in less than a minute to take a 17-3 lead over the Tigers heading into halftime.

“They’re exactly where we thought they would be,” Wilson said when discussing the play “It’s the exact defensive call we anticipated, and we don’t convert there, unfortunately.”

Wilson further explained the Tigers’ aggressiveness in that situation, noting that LSU went into a two-minute drill once it started the drive.

“I say to our football team, I say to media, I say to anybody who was listening, we’re going to try to win this game,” Wilson said. “We’re not going there for a moral victory and hope that we can stay with them. We’re going to try to win the game.”

Western Kentucky time

In two weeks, LSU will face Western Kentucky at 6:45 p.m. on the SEC Network, the SEC announced Monday

and was replaced by freshman Carius Curne Curne has started at left tackle the last two weeks since redshirt sophomore Tyree Adams suffered a right ankle injury in LSU’s loss to Vanderbilt.

Third-down pass

Despite the move being unpopular among LSU fans, Wilson defended LSU’s decision to throw the ball while trailing by seven on third and 11 at its own 19 late in the first half of Saturday’s 20-9 loss to Alabama. On the play, instead of running the ball to bleed out the clock and preserve its one-score deficit with

LSU

Continued from page 1C

for 1,927 yards with 12 touchdowns and five interceptions. He ranks 11th in the SEC at 214 yards passing per game a year after finishing second in the conference.

“I thought Garrett did well enough, at times, to still be in position to be the starter as we start and embark upon this week,” Wilson said.

Trailing 17-6, LSU pulled Nussmeier after its opening drive of the third quarter The Tigers had reached Alabama’s 9-yard line, but they kicked a field goal after Nussmeier spun into a sack on third down. Nussmeier spent the rest of the game on the sideline and encouraged his teammates when they came off the field.

Van Buren finished 5-of-11 passing for 52 yards. He also gained 21 yards rushing on four carries with two sacks removed from his final line Van Buren lost a fumble in the fourth quarter that helped Alabama seal the game.

“I thought both of them did some good things,” Wilson said.

“I thought both of those guys did things that need to be improved upon. I thought Garrett, at times, was spectacular He started off red hot. He did some really good things for us.

“I felt at the back end, we needed a spark and something to get us going and add another dimension to our game I thought Michael stepped in and gave those things to us as a football team.”

LSU attempted field goals on all four of its trips to the red zone

PLAYERS

Continued from page 1C

Desormeaux said. “We’re giving up a double move every game. It’s got to stop. I mean, it’s got to stop. At some point, you got to play with technique and discipline. It’s got to stop.”

The Tigers will head into the matchup after their game this Saturday against Arkansas (11:45 a.m., SEC Network). The Western Kentucky game Nov. 22 will be LSU’s final home game of the season.

LSU finishes the season at Oklahoma on Nov 29. The game will be played at 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m. or between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The Tigers head into the final three games of their season with a 5-4 record. They have lost four of their last five contests, including three in a row

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

and did not score a touchdown for the first time since a 29-0 loss to Alabama in 2018. The Tigers now have scored touchdowns on 51.5% of their red-zone trips, which ranks 115th in the country LSU was playing its first game since the firing of head coach Brian Kelly and offensive coordinator Joe Sloan. Interim play-caller Alex Atkins added some wrinkles to the offense, including two rollouts for Nussmeier on the opening drive that resulted in completions. Nussmeier told Wilson he felt comfortable with those plays.

“He can do those things naturally,” Wilson said. “It flows for him. As he says to me, ‘I’ve been doing that since I came out of the womb.’ We’ll continue to do whatever it is to benefit Garrett, to benefit Michael, to play to their strengths.”

LSU is now averaging 23.7 points per game, which ranks 98th nationally and 14th in the SEC. Its only conference wins came against the two teams, Florida and South Carolina, that have scored fewer points at this stage of the season. Wilson said it will be imperative for LSU to score touchdowns against Arkansas. The Razorbacks have averaged 35.4 ppg and have one of the best red-zone offenses in the country behind star quarterback Taylen Green However, they have given up the most points in the SEC.

“We’re going to use everything we have,” Wilson said, “and both of those will play in this game moving forward.”

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

Desormeaux said senior safety Jalen Clark’s play has been hampered by a nagging injury that he hopes rest will help heal.

“We’ve asked them to be more accountable than we’ve been, not even on but off the field, like, do everything the right way,” Desormeaux said. “For a group of young people, I think to keep their focus and to continue to stay the course, when it’s really difficult, and you’re not getting results. For them to still be in this thing, to still be playing as hard as they are, to still be doing this I mean, you can say ‘Well, you’re supposed to play hard, it’s football?’ Well, it’s not that easy It’s not that easy.”

The Cajuns (4-6 3-3) remain hopeful to end the season on a four-game winning streak and head to a bowl game for the eighth consecutive season. To do so, it’ll require a road win at Arkansas State (5-5, 4-2) and then a home win over UL-Monroe (3-6, 1-4). The Red Wolves will await UL on Nov 20 on ESPN after a 27-21 home loss to Southern Miss (7-2, 5-0) on Saturday For the third straight week, it appears the Cajuns came out of a game without losing more starters for extended time because of injuries.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Numbers give peek into LSU women’s hot start

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSU women’s basketball team crossed the 100-point threshold again Sunday, this time hitting that mark after only three minutes had ticked off the fourth quarter

The bucket, a layup by freshman ZaKiyah Johnson, cemented another strong offensive showing for the new-look Tigers. This season, they’ve already matched the largest margin of victory in program history, posted their secondhighest field-goal percentage of the NCAA era (since 1981) and tied their third-highest single-game scoring output of the last 40 years.

“A lot of people can score the ball,” coach Kim Mulkey said. “I haven’t studied the stat sheet yet, but I bet we’ve had five or six every night scoring double figures, and those that don’t, they’re getting good looks as well.” LSU has played only three games against overmatched mid-major opponents, but it’s still off to one of the hottest offensive starts of Mulkey’s five-year tenure.

The No. 5 Tigers (3-0) have scored at least 100 points in each of their first three contests, becoming only the third team in program history to hit that mark in three consecutive games and just the second to do so in the first three matchups of a season.

In 2022, the Tigers hit the century mark in each of their first five games In 2023, they did it four times in a five-game stretch of November, including each of the first three games played against mid-major opponents.

The difference now is that LSU is shooting at a higher percentage than both of those teams did at the start of their respective seasons. In 2022, the Tigers — who eventu-

ä Charlotte at LSU 7 P.M. WEDNESDAy, SECN+

ally won the program’s first national championship — shot 53% from the field and 38% from 3-point range against the first three teams they played

These Tigers, who routed Georgia Southern on Sunday 118-70, are shooting 58% from the field and a blistering 47% from beyond the arc.

“We don’t have a liability where you cannot guard somebody,” Mulkey said. “Everybody is able to score the ball, and particularly from the 3, all of them will let it go.”

The efficient shooting starts with LSU’s two stars. Mikaylah Williams is shooting 60% from the field and Flau’jae Johnson is shooting 49% Williams has drained 6-of-9 3-point tries while Johnson

has sunk 8-of-13 attempts from beyond the arc.

Freshman guard Bella Hines has caught fire, too. She has hit 6-of-10 3-point attempts to start her collegiate career

MiLaysia Fulwiley may be just 2 of 10 from 3-point range to start her first season at LSU, but she’s also shooting an efficient 18 of 25 on field goals inside the arc. She’s one of six Tigers with a double-digit scoring average through three games.

LSU also has assisted on more than half of its buckets while turning the ball over on less than 15% of its possessions. According to Her Hoop Stats, the Tigers had a turnover rate of at least 15% in each of their last three seasons.

“We just been spreading the wealth,” Johnson said, “and I think that’s the most important thing. We’re finding each other, and it’s just fun.”

Giants fire Daboll after 2-8 start to 4th season

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP sportswriter

NEW YORK The New York Giants fired coach Brian Daboll on Monday, moving on from him midway through his fourth season after they dropped to 2-8 with a loss at Chicago.

Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka was named as the interim replacement.

The move made by ownership came a day after the Giants blew another late lead to lose 24-20 to the Bears. General manager Joe Schoen remains in his role, and owners John Mara and Steve Tisch said he will lead the search for the next coach.

“We spoke this morning about the direction of our franchise on the field, and we have decided that at this time it is in our best interest to make a change at the head coaching position,” Mara and Tisch said in a statement.

“The past few seasons have been nothing short of disappointing, and we have not met our expectations for the franchise. We understand the frustrations of our fans, and we will work to deliver a significantly improved product.”

The rest of Daboll’s staff was kept in place, including defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.

New York has lost four in a row since upsetting reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia at home in prime time early last month. That included becoming the first team since 2003 to lead by 18 points with six minutes to play and lose, which the Giants did at Denver on Oct. 19. This is just the Giants’ third midseason coaching change over the past 95 years. It’s the first since 2017, when Ben McA-

SCOREBOARD

at SEATTLE -122 Columbus +102 Winnipeg -130 at VANCOUVR +108 College basketball

Women’s State Schedule

Sunday’s games LSU 118, Georgia Southern 70 Kansas 75, Northwestern 60 Grambling 93, Ouachita Baptist 45

Monday’s game UL-Lafayette at Texas, n Tuesday’s games Louisiana Christian at Louisiana Tech, 6:30 p.m. Grambling at UL-Monroe, 6:30 p.m.

Women’s national scores Monday’s games SOUTH Elon 93, Presbyterian 48 MIDWEST North Dakota State 84, Concordia-Moorhead

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING_Pittsburgh, Warren

Johnson 2-3. L.A. Chargers, Vidal 25-95, Herbert

Patterson 1-1. PASSING_Pittsburgh, Rodgers

L.A. Chargers, Herbert 20-33-0-220. RECEIVING_Pittsburgh, Metcalf 3-35 Freiermuth 3-33, R.Wilson 2-35, Warren

Austin 2-14, Gainwell 2-4, Washington

doo and general manager Jerry Reese were fired after a 2-10 start.

Daboll went 20-40-1 in his first head-coaching job in the league. He led the Giants to the playoffs in his first season and was named coach of the year, but has gone 11-33 since.

His .336 winning percentage ranks 154th out of 166 coaches with 50-plus games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger Daboll is the second coach to be fired this season; Tennessee dismissed Brian Callahan after the Titans started 1-5.

Daboll, who previously served as the Buffalo offensive coordinator from 2018-21, had faced increasing pressure about his job security in recent weeks and repeatedly took responsibility for the Giants’ woes.

“Look, you put everything you’ve got into it,” Daboll said.

“You look at the things that aren’t where they need to be and you try to fix them. Whether that’s changing things on the schedule, whether that’s different periods of practice, whether that’s changing little parts of the scheme, again, that’s where we’re at We’re at where we’re at.” Kafka takes over after another turn of uncertainty in a lost season, following quarterback Jaxson Dart’s concussion against the Bears that forced Russell Wilson back into action. Fellow rookie Cam Skattebo and No. 1 receiver Malik Nabers already were lost for the season because of injuries. Schoen, who is in his fourth season as GM since also being hired from the Bills, got a vote of confidence from Mara and Tisch. Selecting edge rusher Abdul Carter with the third pick, trading back into the first round to get Dart and drafting Skattebo likely played a significant role in Schoen sticking around longer than Daboll.

Howtoshop for andplant thestate fruittoharvest a very,berry good springtime treat

Raise your hand if you love strawberries!

These sweet, juicy,red berries are one of the most popular kinds of fruit. And how could they not be? They’re delicious and nutritious —a healthy treat even picky youngsters can appreciate. Strawberries are an economically and culturally important crop in Louisiana, and they’reour official state fruit. If you’d like to grow some of your own, it’seasy to do —and October through mid-November is the best time to get your plants in the ground. Youcan grow them in containersand raised beds, too.

Plant now,and you can expect aharvest in March and April.

LSU AGCENTERPHOTO By OLIVIA McCLURE

Strawberry plants aretypically sold bareroot. Sometimes,they still have old foliageattached. youcan cut off these leaves before planting

Let’sgoshopping

Strawberry plants are typically sold bareroot, meaning they’renot potted up in containers. When you go shopping at your local garden center,the plants willlook like aclumpof roots that may or may nothave foliage. That’scompletely normal! Once planted, new shoots will grow from the roots. Look for LSU AgCenterrecommended varieties such as Benicia, StrawberryFestival, Sweet Ann, Camino Real, Chandler and Camarosa. These have all been tested and found to perform well in Louisiana’sclimate Planting tips

Youneed to plant your strawberries soon after bringing them home from the garden center,asbareroot plants can dry out in ahurry.Before planting, you may want tosoak the roots in water for about 20 minutes to rehydrate them. Strawberries should be planted in full sun and well-drained, slightly acidic soil. Containers and raised beds filled with typical pottingorraised bed mixes are perfect. If your plants still have a lot of old foliage attached,go ahead and cut that off. It’ll die eventually anyway,and removing those extra leaves will help the plantsconcentrate their resources on getting established and growing new roots and shoots that willeventually producestrawberries.

Pay special attention to your planting technique. When you place your plants in the ground, the roots should be spread out —not curled up

Youalso need to keep an eye on the crown, which is where the roots and shoots come together The crown is theplant’smain

ä See BERRIES, page 6C

STAFFFILE AND PROVIDED PHOTOS

LSU TigerBand member KentBroussard says talk showhost Kelly Clarkson was easy to talktoand asked him great questions. Broussard also spent time visiting Times Square while in Newyork City.Kent Broussard marching throughcampusand sharing timewith his wife, Cheryl.

AS SEEN ON SCREEN

FBY JOYHOLDEN Staff writer

rom an SEC Nation special with Marty Smithtoasitdown with Kelly Clarkson, Kent Broussard hasbeen sharing his story of being a66-year-old LSU band member far andwide.

Broussard, theoldest member of the Golden Band from Tigerland, has played the sousaphone for nine games now,and his popularityhas exploded across campus andthe country.Heisstopped on campus often, asked to pose for pictures andtakeselfies with undergrad students.

Game days usuallycomewith

even more picturerequests. Broussard has madeinter-generational friendships with band members and even his classmates.

“I’ll always take apicturewith a student,” Broussard said, “because Iamone.”

The season has been an amazing experience, he said, even more thanheexpected. In fact,heisa little sadthat the fall is coming to a close. LSU has four regular-season games remaining,and thesemester is winding down for classes.

“I’ve realized it’s almostover. It has gone by so fast.Ithas just been ablurthe wholeseason,”Broussard said.

Classes have been apleasant surprise for Broussard. He says he’s

had great teachers and supportive classmates whohavemadethe experience remarkable. He’shad such agreat timeasaTiger that he has reenrolled forthe spring semester with goals to continue playing in the band foranother year

‘A good story’

Broussard says the attention and mediafocus have surprisedand delighted him

“The story Iproject is agood story,” he said. “It’sone that people gravitate toward. They like the aspect that I’mdoing something that nobodyelsehas done andthat I’m

fitting in withthe band andwith

ä See TUBA KENT, page 6C

La.plantationtohonor BlackservicemenofCivil War

Édouard Duparc Gros, thirdfrom the left, at the sugar mill at Laura Plantation in 1888. Gros is one of nine soldiers from the plantationwho fought for the Unioninthe Civil War.

BYDESIREE

STENNETT Staff writer

Louisianahad moreBlack soldiers fightfor theirfreedom in the Union Army thanany other state, so the Laura Plantation in St.JamesParish is honoring them for Veterans Day,including nine soldiers whowere freed from that plantation. Aceremony is plannedat 10 a.m. Tuesday in honor of the 1,400Blackand Creole menfrom

Louisiana who made up the75th United States Colored Infantry during theCivil War. Three of them —Édouard Gros, Daniel Howard and Jean Baptiste Peterson —were formerly enslaved at Laura Plantation and joined the fight to free others. While themen no longer have relatives living the area, other members of the community who are descendantsofpeoplewho

‘I’msosorry that Ican’t make it’

Dear Miss Manners: While acknowledging gratitude for beinginvited to quite afew socialevents, how do Idecline an invitation that Ihave little interest in attending? (Yes,Igladly attend special birthday celebrations and all 50th wedding anniversaries.)

“I’m sorry,Ican’tmake it” is honest, but does etiquette require validreasons for absences?Such as, “Sorry,I’m having a baby that day” instead of, “No thanks, I’m not interested.”

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

“I’m sorry,I’m under theweather” might be OK to use (in truth, we are all “under” the weather), but only as alast-minute excuse, not for an advanced RSVP.Itrust

youunderstand my quandary Gentle reader: Use any of those excuses, andsomeone is bound to post apicture of you enjoyingyourself elsewhere, even if you were just caught withafleeting smile on your way to the grocery store. It is for that reason and we can throw in a moral one for free —that MissMannerscounsels that if you do not have a presentableexcuse, you should not claim one. Youare required to express thanksatbeing invited and regret at not beingable to accept. (You do have someregret, don’tyou? Well, conjure some up, even if

you are sorry only about the inability to be frank.)

Most hostsare satisfied with that —and probably grateful to get any definiteanswer.Should one be so rude as to ask why you cannot attend, just keep repeating theformula (“You’re so kind to invite me; I’m so sorry Ican’tgo”) until you get asurrender

Dear Miss Manners: For 15 years, since our two daughters have had partners whom they married, my husband and Ichose to have Thanksgiving dinner on Friday so our kids could spend Thursday with their in-laws.

This year,our younger daughter announced that she was starting her own family tradition and having Thanksgiving dinner on

Thursday at her newly purchased home. We were invited to attend. She said shewould be too tired to come to ourdinner on Friday

This daughter and her husband have also counted thenumber of times my husband and Ihave visited them, and decided that they want “one more visit per year” in theinterest of “the importance of family.” Any advice?

Gentlereader: Yes: Go to your younger daughter’sfor Thanksgiving on Thursday,and tell her you would be delighted to plan another visit. Your Friday Thanksgivings were kindly done for your children’s convenience, and surely you are not trying to claim them as an inviolable tradition. Miss Manners is guessing that

theproblemhas to do withthe other daughter’sThanksgiving. The youngerone hasprobably notinvited hersister’sextendedfamily In that case, you will be consuming alot of turkey and cranberry sauce. Your daughters have been doing double Thanksgivings foryears —asdomany who can’tassemble their families for whatever reason —soyou know it won’tkill you.

Send questions to Miss Manners at herwebsite,www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday,Nov.11, the 315th day of 2025.There are 50 days left in the year Today is Veterans Day

Todayinhistory:

On Nov.11, 1918, fighting in World WarIended as the Allies and Germany signed an armistice aboard arailroad car in the Forest of Compiègne in northern France. Also on this date: In 1620, 41 Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower,anchored off Massachusetts, signed the Mayflower Compact, creating alocal government for the colony that called for a“civil body politick, for our better ordering and preservation.” In 1921, the remains of an unidentified American service member wereinterred in aTomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Nation-

al Cemetery in aceremony presidedoverbyPresident Warren G. Harding In 1938, Irish-born cook Mary Mallon, who’d gained notoriety as the diseasecarrying“Typhoid Mary” blamed for the deaths of three people, diedonNorth Brother Island in New York’s East River at age69 after 23 years of mandatory quarantine. In 1966, Gemini 12 blasted off on afour-day mission with astronauts James A. Lovell andEdwin“Buzz” Aldrin Jr.aboard; it wasthe 10th andfinal crewed flight of NASA’sGemini program. In 2020,Georgia’s secretary of state announcedan audit ofpresidentialelection results that he saidwouldbe done witha full handcount of ballots becausethe margin was so tight; Democratic President-elect JoeBiden led Republican President

Donald Trump by about 14,000 votes out of nearly 5 million votes counted in the state.(The audit would affirm Biden’swin.) In 2022, Sam BankmanFried’sFTX crypto exchange platformfiled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid acollapse of itsassets;Bankman-Fried was convicted in November 2023 of sevencounts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to 25 yearsinprison. Today’sBirthdays: Music producer MuttLange is 77. Actor Stanley Tucci is 65. Actor Demi Moore is 63. Actor Calista Flockhart is 61. TV personality Carson Kressley is 56. Actor David DeLuise is 54. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is 51. Musician Jon Batiste is 39. Retired American figure skater Adam Rippon is 36. Actor TyeSheridan is 29.

The crown of each strawberryplant shouldbeevenwith thesoil. It shouldn’t be burieddeeply or sitting highabove soil level.

BERRIES

Continued from page5C

growing point. It’scrucial for it to sit right at soil level not deeperorhigher If you’re growing strawberries in rows in the ground or in araised bed space your plants 12 inches apart. For smaller container-grown strawberries, place just one plant per pot.

Larger containers or hanging baskets can accommodate plants placed as close as 8inches apart

Watering andmulching

Strawberries have ashallow root system, so it’sessential to keep them moist but not overwatered. Water every day for the firsttwo

TUBA KENT

Continued from page5C

the students. It’sbeen overwhelming, but I’malong for the ride.”

“The Kelly Clarkson Show” contacted Broussard afew months back, and schedules finally aligned. Broussard says that he almost didn’tmake the trip duetobad weather,but the Clarkson team helped him get there even after he had to cancel three flightsin about six hours.

weekswhile the plants establish.After that,plan on wateringeverytwo to three days if rain isn’tin theforecast. Makesurethe plantsare never sitting in waterlogged soil.

Mulcharound yourstrawberriesafterplanting; pine straw is agreat choice for this. Mulch notonly helps retain moisture but also will prevent berriesfromcoming in direct contact with thesoil, which can damage thefruit.

Flowers, fruitand fertilizing Incorporatingapre-plant fertilizer into thesoil or pottingmedia just before you plant is arecommended practice. Your plants will grow quite abit in their first couple of monthsand may

He taped the show on Halloween.

Whiletalkingwiththe productionteam,Broussard mentioned that he could play the sousaphone, so the show went out and rented a fiberglass sousaphone that he could play.Before theinterview,Broussard marched out onto the stage with the rented sousaphone, playing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” He chatted with Clarkson for about 7-8 minutes, noting that the Grammy Awardwinning host was easy to talk to andasked him great questions.

even put on afew flowers. Removethese early flowers —they usually turn into small, misshapen fruit,and plantsneed to focus instead on just growing in this time. In late winter or early spring, you’ll see another round of bloomsappear It takes about four to six weeks from bloom to berry During this critical growth period, help your plants out with ageneral-purpose liquid fertilizer,which will encourage fruit production.

Formoreinformation

Check out theAgCenter’s free publication at www LSUAgCenter.com/strawberryguide for moredetails on growing strawberries. Youalso can contact your parish AgCenter agent with questions.

Broussard andhis family made the weekend amini Manhattan vacation by eating great food and seeing “MJ theMusical,”amusical about Michael Jackson. Witnessing themultifaceted organization behind the scenes of atalk show also fascinated Broussard. Twomembers of the LSU public relations team, Zach Labbè and Abbi Rocha, accompanied him and his family to the taping of the show

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

Husbanddoesn’t seem supportive of partner’scareer

Dear Harriette: The other night,myhusband said somethingthat’s been weighing on me. We were talking about myjob, and he told me that maybe thereason I haven’tbeen moving up in my career is because Idon’t have much drive anymore. He said it casually,like he didn’tmean any harm,but it hurt I’ve been doing my best,even if my progress hasn’tbeen as fast as I’d like, and hearing that from someone Ilove and thought supported me was discouraging. It mademestartquestioning myself and wondering if he thinks I’m afailure. I’ve been under alot of pressure lately,and Iwish

he had offered encouragementinstead of criticism.

Harriette Cole SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

WhenItoldmyhusband howhis words made me feel,hebrusheditoff and said he was just trying to motivate me. NowIfeel both hurt andfrustrated, like he doesn’tsee how much effort Iput in or howmuchIcare aboutmywork. I love him, but Idon’t knowhow to make him understand that his words can do more harm thangood.How should Iapproach this conversationsothathegrasps howdeeply his commentaffected me without it turning into afight or making things worse between us? —Hurt

Dear Hurt: Rather than homing in on how your husband madeyou feel

with his observations, focus on your career ascent and how to get where you want to go. If you can afford it, hire an executive coach to help you forafew months to evaluate where you are in your workand develop astrategy with you forgetting to the next level.

Share your husband’s hurtful comments about drive and motivation with your coach. Perhaps through that person’sneutral lens, you can find value in the message, even if the delivery was biting.

Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/oAndrewsMcMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St.,Kansas City,MO 64106.

Usingflashlightsfor extralight

Dear Heloise: Hello from Nebraska! My husband received apackage of small flashlightsasa gift because his job required that he always have a flashlight available. Fast forward to his retirement I’ve now taken all of these flashlights and hung them on thehinges at the back of the doors in thebedrooms, bathrooms, closets and exit doors. This means that we always have light available to us,whether it be an emergency or just need-

PLANTATION

ing extra light in acloset. Visiting family members knowthatflashlights are available,and this providesthemwith safety.All Iask is thateveryone put themback when finishedorlet me knowiftheyneed newbatteries. —Respectfully,Julie Murphy Vacation fall

Dear Heloise: On vacation thissummer, my husband fell and hada coupleofcutsthat needed morethana bandage.Wewere stayingata friend’shouse, andall they hadwas abox of bandages.

Continuedfrom page5C

were enslaved at the plantationwill gather to read the names of all1,400 men in theinfantry —formerly known as the Third Louisiana Native Guard when it formed in New Orleansin 1862.

Brittany Jones, whose third great-grandfather Madison Graywas enslaved at Laura Plantation, will be among those reading the names of soldiers. Growing up as an African American woman in the south, Jones always assumed her ancestors had been enslaved,but it wasn’t until 2020 thatshe started genealogy research “Slavery was something we knew about and learned about but Inever felt aconnection to,” Jones said.“But to have aname and abill of sale attached to that legacy just really changedthe way Ifelt about my family,and it mademewant to connect more andfigure out, how did we become thefamily that we are? Andwho are thepeople that laid that foundationand gave me such awonderful family?” She learned that Gray was askilled carpenter,and his grandson, afree man, owned asuccessful shoe repair business one generation after slavery ended.

Those ancestorsonher maternal grandmother’sside wentontoproduce highranking military officials, educators, doctors, nurses and politicians among the family members who are alive today.Jones became apharmacist andher mother,Vondra Etienne-Steib, wasthe first woman to be elected to theSt. James Parish Council. The soldiers being remembered Tuesdaymade that possible, Jones said, adding that she is “honored”toread their names.

“Could you imagine what America would have been like if thoseenslaved gentlemen didn’tjointhe Union Army?” she said.

Katy MorlasShannon, a historianwith Laura Plantation, said the Veterans Day eventwill launch their new mission to tell Louisiana’sstory of the Civil War, which she said is often “written off” compared to places like Gettysburg and other major battlefields. ButLouisiana’scontribution should be celebrated, she said. At the event, aplaque honoring the soldiers will be unveiled. Museum staff is also working on abook to tell their stories, as well as atourthatwill highlight the Laura Plantation’sCivil Warconnections.

“Louisiana wasreally significant because it was aproving ground forfreedom,” Morlas Shannonsaid.

ButI remembered that we hada full first-aidkit in our vehicle,and this really had everything we needed in it! This might also help someoneelse. —Corrinne Berkland,in Universal City,Texas Bottle caps Dear Heloise: Ibuy several supplementsthat come in different-sized bottles. Some have flip-top lids.I savethem/recyclethemby adding them to appropriatesized bottles foreasier access. Thank youfor your column. —GloriaWalker,via email Sendahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

“There was Confederate warfare going on,guerilla warfare,inthe swamp. So it looked differently here, but people are beginning to realize thatwhathappened here during the Civil Waris significant.”

It was members of the Second Louisiana Native Guard, free Black men from New Orleans, that freed many enslaved people at Laura Plantation. The newly freed menwere so inspired aftermeeting the Black and Creole men fighting for the Union Armythat they wentto NewOrleans andenlisted, creating theThirdLouisiana Native Guard and later the 75thUnitedStates Colored Infantry.Ifthey had been captured, it’slikely theywould have been killed.

“Laura Plantation becameasite of liberation,” MorlasShannonsaid. Jones said herhopeis thatlearning the storiesof these menwill encourage more Black Louisiana residents to start researching their ownfamily histories.

“I hope more people will consider digging alittle deeper into their family story and not be afraid of going to the uncomfortable places,” she said. “There are gemsburied in that rubble.”

Email Desiree Stennett at desiree.stennett@ theadvocate.com.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Pay attention to maintaining balance in your life and split your work and play time equally. A change of scenery will — depending on how you adapt to your new surroundings — be either uplifting or educational.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Press forward with vim, vigor and a budget. A high-energy approach to how you live and maintain your routine will help secure your position and ensure progress.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) State what you are willing to do, and you'll avoid backtracking, leaving you more time to concentrate on what's meaningful to you. Do your best to make and stick to simple rules.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Pay attention to who does what and how you can live up to your word and responsibilities. Initiate necessary alterations to avoid confusion and maintain your budget.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Choose to use charm over pressure. Emotional manipulation will lead to trouble and unnecessary expenses. It's best to stick to the facts, enforce a strict budget and call it a day.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Communication is essential if you want the facts and figures before making a decision or purchase. Attend informative events or scour the internet for reliable answers.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Self-improvement requires attention; refuse to let

others choose for you. A change at home that influences your financial well-being requires attention. When in doubt, halt.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Mixed feelings will lead to trouble if you let personal and professional conflicts interfere with each other. Balance and integrity will play a role in what happens next.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Broaden your vision, and don't deny yourself the chance to reach your dreams, hopes and wishes. Call the shots and initiate what works best for you. A healthy social life will help you see clearly. LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Emotions will surface, causing confusion and trouble at home. Intelligent navigation is necessary if you want to come out on top. Make suggestions that encourage unity, not separation.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Refuse to let your thoughts spin out of control. Saying something prematurely will hinder what you are trying to achieve. Treat others however you want them to treat you, and you'll have no regrets. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Think twice before purchasing something you don't need. Emotional spending or trying to buy someone's favor will backfire. Choose a healthy diet and exercise program.

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

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. 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

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

Bob Hope defined bigamy as the only crimewhere two rites make awrong. Today, let’s have two contracts to see if you can play both of them rite— Imean, right. South is in six heartsor seven hearts. West leads the diamond jack. Howshould declarer proceed in each slam?

Northresponded two no-trump, the JacobyForcingRaise,promisingatleast four-cardheartsupport and game-going values.SouthlaunchedRomanKey-Card Blackwood.Northshowedtwokey-cards (twoaces,oroneaceandthetrumpking) NowSouthknew to settlefor six hearts. If South’s four no-trump were regularBlackwood,hewould have followed with five no-trump to learn that one king was missing and not known what to do. Notethat if North’s diamond king were the heart king, South would have 13 top tricks: four spades, five hearts, one diamond and three clubs. Each slam revolves around the trump suit. In seven hearts, South should play aheart to his queen, winning whenever Easthas king-doubleton or West has jack-singleton. But in the small slam,declarer can afford one trump loser. Then the best play is to start withhis ace. Here, the king drops from West. Now South can make seven, crossing to dummy and finessing East out of his trump jack.If instead the jack drops from West, South continueswithhisqueenandclaims.And if the ace draws only the three and the six,declarer crossestothe boardand leads aheart toward his queen.Hehas no guesswork Inthisdeal,strangely,yougodownone ortwoinsevenhearts,butmakesixwith an overtrick!

McMeel

©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist. By Andrews

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 ERuPtED: eh-RUP-tid: Burst fromlimits or restraint.

Average mark16words

Time limit 30 minutes

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —VILLAIny

Can you find 24 or morewords in ERUPTED? vail

vainly vial villa

vinal viny vinyl inlay inly lain layin lily ally anvil nail navy

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Big Tech brings Wall Street back from loss

NEW YORK Big Tech and other superstars of the U.S stock market got back to rallying on Monday and Wall Street recovered most of its loss from last week. The S&P 500 climbed 1.5% and clawed back nearly all its drop from last week, which was its first weekly loss in four The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 381 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 2.3% for its best day since May Nvidia was by far the strongest force lifting the market and leaped 5.8%. It was a powerful rebound after Nvidia and other winners of the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology led last week’s drop Critics say their stock prices shot too high and too fast in the AI mania, drawing comparisons to the 2000 dot-com bubble that ultimately burst.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes chips for Nvidia and other companies, saw its stock that trades in United States rise 3.1% after reporting that its revenue climbed nearly 17% in October from a year earlier While such growth is strong compared with other companies, it’s a slowdown from TSMC’s earlier performance.

Wendy’s plans to close hundreds of U.S. stores

Wendy’s plans to close hundreds U.S. restaurants over the next few months in an effort to boost its profit and make its remaining stores more appealing.

The Dublin, Ohio-based chain said during a conference call with investors Friday that it planned to begin closing restaurants in the fourth quarter of this year The company said it expected a “mid-single-digit percentage” of its U.S. stores to be affected, but it didn’t give any more details.

Wendy’s ended the third quarter with 6,011 U.S. restaurants. If 5% of those locations were impacted, it would mean 300 store closures.

The new round of closures comes on top of the closure of 240 U.S. Wendy’s locations in 2024 At the time, Wendy’s said that many of the 55-year-old chain’s restaurants are simply out of date.

Ken Cook, Wendy’s interim CEO, said Friday the company believes closing locations that are underperforming — whether it’s from a financial or customer service perspective — will help improve traffic and profitability at its remaining U.S. restaurants. Cook became Wendy’s CEO in July after the company’s previous CEO, Kirk Tanner, left to become the president and CEO of Hershey Co. Tesla Cybertruck executive to depart

The executive leading Tesla’s Cybertruck business is leaving the Elon Musk-led automaker after eight years.

Siddhant Awasthi, the program manager for Tesla’s Cybertruck and Model 3, said on LinkedIn that it wasn’t an easy decision to depart the company He did not provide details on what he will be doing next.

Awasthi said he began as an intern at Tesla and was involved in “ramping up Model 3, working on Giga Shanghai, developing new electronics and wireless architectures, and delivering the once-in-a-lifetime Cybertruck — all before hitting 30. The icing on the cake was getting to dive back into Model 3 work toward the end.”

Last month Tesla recalled more than 63,000 Cybertrucks in the U.S. because the front lights are too bright, which may cause a distraction to other drivers and increase collision risk. In March U.S. safety regulators recalled virtually all Cybertrucks on the road. The NHTSA’s recall, which covered more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an exterior panel that runs along the left and right side of the windshield can detach while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers.

Expect more flight cancellations

Cuts will still be made, even if shutdown ends, FAA says

BY JOSH FUNK and RIO YAMAT Associated Press

Air travelers should expect worsening cancellations and delays this week even if the government shutdown ends, as the Federal Aviation Administration moves ahead with deeper cuts to flights at 40 major U.S. airports, officials said Monday.

Day four of the flight restrictions saw airlines scrap almost 2,000 flights by Monday afternoon after cancelling 5,500 since Friday Some air traffic controllers — unpaid for

more than a month have stopped showing up, citing the added stress and need to take second jobs.

Controller shortages combined with wintry weather led to fourhour delays at Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Monday, with the FAA warning that staffing at more than a dozen towers and control centers could cause disruptions in cities including Philadelphia, Nashville and Atlanta.

President Donald Trump pressured controllers Monday on social media to “get back to work, NOW!!!” He said he wants a $10,000 bonus for controllers who’ve stayed on the job and to dock the pay of those who didn’t.

The head of the controllers union said they’re being used as a “political pawn” in the fight over the shut-

down. The Senate on Monday was nearing a vote to end the shutdown although it would still need to clear the House and final passage could still be days away Transportation

Secretary Sean Duffy made clear last week that flight cuts will remain until the FAA sees safety metrics improve.

Over the weekend, airlines canceled thousands of flights to comply with the order to drop 4% of flights at 40 of the nation’s busiest airports. That will rise to 6% on Tuesday and 10% by week’s end, the FAA says. Already, travelers are growing angry “All of this has real negative consequences for millions of Americans, and it’s 100% unnecessary

and avoidable,” said Todd Walker whose flight from San Francisco to Washington state was canceled over the weekend, causing him to miss his mom’s 80th birthday party

One out of every 10 flights nationwide were scratched Sunday — the fourth worst day for cancellations in almost two years, according aviation analytics firm Cirium.

The FAA expanded flight restrictions Monday, barring business jets and many private flights from using a dozen airports already under commercial flight limits. Airports nationwide have seen intermittent delays since the shutdown began because the FAA slows air traffic when it’s short on controllers to ensure flights remain safe.

Billionaire Warren Buffett warns that ‘Father Time’ is catching up

But says he trusts Berkshire Hathaway successor

BY JOSH FUNK AP business writer

OMAHA, Neb Billionaire Warren Buffett warned shareholders Monday that many companies will fare better than his Berkshire Hathaway in the decades ahead because of its massive size, though others might say the company’s prospects will dim because “Father Time” is catching up with the 95-year-old icon who plans to step down as CEO in January Buffett reflected on life and his health in a new letter to shareholders where he announced $1.3 billion in new charitable gifts to the four family foundations run by his children that — along with the Gates Foundation — have been helping steadily give away his fortune since 2006.

Berkshire is known for consistently outperforming the stock market during the past 60 years under Buffett — which helped earn him legions of fans — although that has become harder to do in recent years because of the huge size of the conglomerate. Berkshire owns Geico insurance, BNSF railroad, several large utilities and a diverse assortment of manufacturing and retail businesses, including such well-known brands as Dairy Queen,

See’s Candy and Helzberg Diamonds. But Buffett also reassured shareholders that he remains confident in his successor Buffett promised to keep in touch with shareholders through Thanksgiving letters in the future, but he confirmed that next year Greg Abel will take over Buffett’s famous yearly letter and answer all the questions at the annual meeting after he becomes CEO in January Buffett will remain chairman

calamities that often cut life short.

Buffett recounted spending several weeks in the hospital after having his appendix out as a child, where he turned to fingerprinting all the nuns who were taking care of him just in case they turned to a life of crime later Buffett previously battled prostate cancer in 2012, but that wasn’t considered life-threatening.

Buffett said that “through dumb luck, I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth” by being born in Omaha, Nebraska, where he met many lifelong friends — including several who helped shape Berkshire’s fortune and both his wives after attending public schools.

He said he has been fortunate to have his life saved three times by doctors who lived nearby while managing to avoid the kind of

“Those who reach old age need a huge dose of good luck, daily escaping banana peels, natural disasters, drunk or distracted drivers, lightning strikes, you name it,” he wrote. But now after decades of benefiting from the fickle nature of “Lady Luck,” Buffett said “Father Time, to the contrary, now finds me more interesting as I age. And he is undefeated; for him, everyone ends up on his score card as ‘wins.’” Buffett said he is moving slowly and now has increasing difficulty reading, but he continues to go into the office five days a week to hunt for useful business ideas or deals that could benefit Berkshire.

Berkshire shareholders should have faith in Abel because Buffett said he has consistently met the high expectations he has for him. “He understands many of our businesses and personnel far better than I now do, and he is a very fast learner about matters many CEOs don’t even consider I can’t think of a CEO, a management consultant, an academic, a member of government you name it — that I would select over Greg to handle your savings and mine,” Buffett wrote.

Berkshire’s fortress-like balance sheet, highlighted by the $382 billion cash it holds, ensures the company is unlikely to encounter a devastating disaster, and Buffett said the board remains conscientious of shareholders’ interests but still the company will have trouble outperforming.

“In aggregate, Berkshire’s businesses have moderately better-than-average prospects, led by a few non-correlated and sizable gems. However, a decade or two from now, there will be many companies that have done better than Berkshire; our size takes its toll,” Buffett said.

China rolls out its version of H-1B visa to attract tech workers

BY CHAN HO-HIM Associated Press

HONG KONG

Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, a skilled Indian IT professional who has worked in both India and the U.S., has been looking for work in China. Beijing’s new K-visa program targeting science and technology workers could turn that dream into a reality

The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of China’s widening effort to catch up with the U.S. in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology It coincides with uncertainties over the U.S.’s H-1B program under tightened immigrations policies implemented by President Donald Trump.

“(The) K-visa for China (is) an equivalent to the H-1B for the U.S.,” said Srinivasagopalan, who is intrigued by China’s working environment and culture after her father worked at a Chinese university a few years back. “It is a good

option for people like me to work abroad.”

The K-visa supplements China’s existing visa schemes including the R-visa for foreign professionals, but with loosened requirements, such as not requiring an applicant to have a job offer before applying.

Stricter U.S. policies toward foreign students and scholars under Trump, including the raising of fees for the H-1B visa for foreign skilled workers to $100,000 for new applicants, are leading some non-American professionals and students to consider going elsewhere.

“Students studying in the U.S. hoped for an (H-1B) visa, but currently this is an issue,” said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian masters student of international relations at Sichuan University in China. China is striking while the iron is hot.

The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top prior-

ity, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics.

“Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the U.S. as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly,” said Barbara Kelemen, associate director and head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly

Unemployment among Chinese graduates remains high, and competition is intense for jobs in scientific and technical fields. But there is a skills gap China’s leadership is eager to fill. For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the U.S. and Europe after they finished studies there.

The brain drain has not fully reversed.

Many Chinese parents still see Western education as advanced and are eager to send their children abroad, said Alfred Wu, an

associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

Still, in recent years, a growing number of professionals including AI experts, scientists and engineers have moved to China from the U.S., including Chinese-Americans. Fei Su, a chip architect at Intel, and Ming Zhou, a leading engineer at U.S.-based software firm Altair were among those who have taken teaching jobs in China this year

Many skilled workers in India and Southeast Asia have already expressed interest about the Kvisa, said Edward Hu, a Shanghaibased immigration director at the consultancy Newland Chase.

With the jobless rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18%, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions.

“The current job market is already under fierce competition,” said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in behavioral science at eastern China’s Zhejiang University