The Advocate 01-17-2026

BREC laying off

10% of employees Commission also eyeing privatization and restructuring

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

Layoffs. Privatization. Restructuring. These changes and more are coming to BREC, which announced Friday it is immediately laying off 10% of its workforce, saying the move will make it “a leaner, more efficient organization.” According to a news release, the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge evaluated its workforce and is eliminating “roles deemed least necessary.” The agency has roughly 850 full-time and part-time employees.

The organization will restructure roles and assignments based on its

workforce review, institute a temporary hiring freeze on “all noncritical positions,” and evaluate retirement benefits for future hires. BREC also aims to privatize aspects of the organization. According to the release, BREC has hired Contingency Group for security and SELA Aquatics to manage its aquatic facilities, including Liberty Lagoon Water Park.

The announcement follows a December BREC Commission workshop, during which Chair Michael Polito said he would like to see the 10% reduction and the privatization of capital projects

“Take that money and increase people’s pay,” he said about the reduction in force. “You know, or a portion of that money and increase

Ex-LSU star key figure in point-shaving investigation

BY JOSEPH CRANNEY Staff writer

In early 2023, former LSU guard Antonio Blakeney then playing in the Chinese Basketball Association — went on a five-game tear

He averaged 28 points on about 22 shot attempts a game, capped by a 44 point, 10 rebound performance. His prolific scoring abilities had helped him get named a McDonald’s All American in high school, and he later was named a member of the AllSEC Freshman Team After his sophomore year at LSU, he declared for the NBA draft.

But after his flash of scoring prowess in China, his next game there on March 6, 2023 was different.

ä See FIGURE, page 4A

people’s pay.”

He did not respond to a request for comment via email Friday When reached by phone, interim Superintendent Janet Simmons said she couldn’t answer any questions In the news release, she said the decisions “are not taken lightly.” “BREC is composed of people who care deeply about this organization and the community we serve. This initiative is about being thoughtful, responsible stewards of public resources while positioning BREC for long-term success,” she stated “By working smarter and more intentionally today we are ensuring we can continue delivering the parks,

ä See BREC, page 5A

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Nearly every public school system in Louisiana has received donated posters bearing the Ten Commandments that can be hung up in classrooms if a federal appeals court gives the goahead.

“It is the foundation of Western civilization and much of natural law,” Mills said about the Ten Commandments, and a “historical document that needs to be brought before young eyes.”

“It is the foundation of Western civilization and much of natural law.”

The Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative advocacy group that promotes “biblical principles,” raised about $40,000 to have the posters printed and delivered to all but about five of the state’s 69 school districts, said Gene Mills, the group’s president. The posters were designed by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office and feature the biblical precepts alongside informational text and photos, including one of House Speaker Mike Johnson.

A 2024 state law requiring public K-12 schools and colleges to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom was declared unconstitutional by a U.S. district court and a three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Tuesday, the full 5th Circuit will rehear the case, which has been combined with a legal challenge to a similar law in Texas.

The law does not require school systems to pay for Ten Commandments posters, but says they must accept donated displays. Officials in six Louisiana school districts

Louisiana Family Forum arranged printing, delivery ä See POSTERS, page 5A

Hormone therapy ban lawsuit in La. continues

Case set for trial after two years of litigation

BY MATT BRUCE Staff writer

A lawsuit intent on gutting a statewide ban on hormone therapy and operations for transgender children in Louisiana is poised to proceed to trial soon after two years of litigation.

An East Baton Rouge judge dismissed a bid by the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office to get the challenge to Louisiana’s law tossed out of court. Attorney General’s Office attorneys relied on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last June that upheld a Tennessee ban on trans youth treatments.

In that case, known as U.S v Skrmetti, SCOTUS judges determined the Volunteer State’s restrictions on sex-transition thera-

py for minors addressed a legitimate public health concern, didn’t discriminate against transgender youth and the law wasn’t based on sex.

But 19th Judicial District Judge Ron Johnson said the equal rights protections in Louisiana’s Constitution are broader than the U.S. Constitution’s protections at play in Tennessee. He determined there were too many material facts in question to toss the Baton Rouge case out and denied the state’s motion for a summary judgment after listening to about an hour’s worth of arguments from attorneys on both sides.

“The state’s reliance upon Skrmetti is misplaced,” Johnson said. “The court is not of the opinion that Skrmetti resolves all of the issues associated with the claims that are asserted under the

ä See LAWSUIT, page 5A

BRIEFS

Ex-husband indicted in slaying of couple

COLUMBUS Ohio An Ohio grand jury has indicted a man in the double homicide of his ex-wife and her husband who were killed in their Columbus home.

Court records show a Franklin County grand jury charged Michael David McKee on Friday with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary while using a firearm suppressor McKee, 39, a vascular surgeon who was living in Chicago, is charged in the shooting deaths of 39-year-old Monique Tepe, from whom he was divorced in 2017, and dentist Dr Spencer Tepe 37, in their home on Dec. 30.

Authorities apprehended McKee in Rockford, Illinois, last weekend. He is currently being held after he waived his right to an extradition hearing Monday

No obvious signs of forced entry were found at the Tepes’ home. Police also said no weapon was found there, and murdersuicide was not suspected. Nothing was stolen, and the couple’s two young children and their dog were left unharmed in the home.

Sinema accused of breaking up marriage

PHOENIX Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that led to the breakup of the man’s marriage, his ex-wife alleges in a lawsuit seeking at least $75,000 from Sinema.

Matthew and Heather Ammel had “a good and loving marriage” with “genuine love and affection” before Sinema interfered, pursuing Matthew Ammel despite knowing he was married, Heather Ammel alleges in her lawsuit.

The Arizona lawmaker’s head of security hired Matthew Ammel after he retired from the Army in 2022, according to the lawsuit, which says he accompanied her on travels.

In early 2024, Ammel’s wife discovered “romantic and lascivious” messages he’d exchanged with Sinema over the Signal messaging app. That summer, he stopped wearing his wedding ring and Sinema gave him a job as a national security fellow in her Senate office while he continued to work for her campaign as a bodyguard, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit was quietly filed late last year in Moore County, North Carolina It captured attention this week when it was moved to federal court.

North Carolina is one of a handful of states that allow jilted spouses to sue for “alienation of affection” to seek damages from a third party responsible for the breakup of their marriage.

Trump-class warship may be among costliest WASHINGTON The first of the Navy’s proposed “Trumpclass” battleships could cost up to $22 billion, a price tag that would make it one of the most expensive U.S. military vessels in U.S. history, according to an early analysis.

The initial cost estimate for the ship was released Thursday by Congressional Budget Office naval forces analyst Eric Labs at a Navy surface warfare conference in Virginia. He acknowledged that the final price for the first vessel will depend on decisions that still haven’t been made around tonnage, crew size and weapons. His lowest-cost scenario was $15.1 billion

The guided-missile battleship would be twice as large as any cruiser or destroyer the Navy has built since World War II, but about one-third the size of the Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier that’s now the most expensive U.S. warship. The Ford was delivered in 2017 at a cost of about $13 billion. Labs said weaknesses in the U.S shipbuilding industrial base, including skilled labor shortages and supply chain challenges, could make the eventual cost even higher The average cost of follow-on ships could range from $10 billion to $15 billion, depending on a variety of factors, he said.

President Donald Trump announced plans for the new vessel in December, saying the ship would be part of his “Golden Fleet” plan to revive U.S. shipbuilding and overhaul the Navy

Timeline will challenge Congress

Weeklong break puts crunch on budget bills

BY VALERIE YURK and SAVANNAH BEHRMANN CQ-Roll Call (TNS)

WASHINGTON Lawmakers left Washington Thursday with a few more government funding bills under their belts but face a rush after the Martin Luther King Jr holiday to avert another partial government shutdown and respond to developments abroad.

Particularly challenging for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will be to push through the fiscal 2026 Homeland Security spending bill, which hit a snag following the fatal shooting by an immigration officer of an unarmed woman in Minneapolis

last week. Thune acknowledged Thursday the Homeland Security measure would be the most difficult, adding they may have to tackle the department’s funding through a continuing resolution.

The week started off with an easy Republican victory in the House: passage of two bills to relaunch African and Haitian trade programs. But things went downhill for GOP leaders. Johnson saw an embarrassing defeat Tuesday night as six GOP lawmakers sunk a worker education bill and indicated they would oppose other labor measures scheduled for votes.

Johnson pulled the other bills minutes before their votes, which left the House to consider a measure to codify the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back energy efficiency requirements for showerheads. It passed 226-197.

But the setback on the other bills highlighted the tension between leadership’s agenda and their razor-thin majority Johnson, for his part, brushed off the snafu as a whip count issue.

“We’re totally in control of the House,” he said after the Tuesday night votes. “This is a team that is very united right now, and everyone has different preferences and issues on bills, that’s nothing new But when you have a one-vote margin, it’s dicey some days.” The balance of the week was easier on leadership.

The House passed on Wednesday a $76.6 billion package of two more fiscal 2026 government funding bills — Financial Services and National Security-State in a 34179 vote. It marked the second time this month the chamber passed a slate of spending bills as Congress nears the Jan. 30 funding deadline

Demonstration in Cuba demands Maduro’s release

BY ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ Associated Press

HAVANA — Tens of thousands of Cubans demonstrated Friday outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana to decry the killing of 32 Cuban officers in Venezuela and demand that the U.S. government release former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. They crowded into the open-air “José Martí Anti-Imperialist” plaza across from the embassy in a rally organized by the Cuban government as tensions between Cuba and the U.S. spike following the U.S. attack Jan. 3 on Venezuela.

The 32 Cuban officers were part of Maduro’s security detail killed during the raid on his residence in Caracas to seize the former leader and bring him to the U.S to face drug trafficking charges.

“Humanity is experiencing something very complex, and (the U.S.) is governed by a president who considers himself an emperor,” said René González, 64, one of the protesters.

“We must show him that ideas are worth more than weapons,” he said.

“This march is a message of our unity Independence is sacred, and we will defend it tooth and nail if necessary.”

Cuba’s national anthem rang out at Friday’s demonstration as large Cuban flags waved in the chilly wind and big waves broke nearby along Havana’s famed sea wall. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel shook hands with members of the crowd clad in jackets and scarves before speaking to them.

“The current U.S. administration has opened the door to an era of barbarism, plunder and neo-fascism,” he said.

The demonstration was a show of popular strength after U.S President Donald Trump recently demanded that Cuba make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.

Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela’s oil and money Experts say the move could have catastrophic consequences since Cuba is already struggling with severe blackouts.

“No one here surrenders,” Díaz-Canel said. “The current emperor of the White House and his infamous secretary of state haven’t stopped threatening me.”

Washington has maintained a policy of sanctions against Cuba since the 1960s to pressure the island’s government to improve its human rights record, end its one-party communist system and allow democracy The sanctions have been further tightened during Trump’s presidency, suffocating the island’s economy

“Cuba does not have to make any political concessions, and that will never be on the table for negotiations aimed at reaching an understanding between Cuba and the United States,” Díaz-Canel said.

After the president’s speech, the demonstration transitioned into a parade that Cubans call a “combatant march,” a custom that originated during the time of Fidel Castro. The crowd was led by a line of people holding pictures of the 32 officers killed “Down with imperialism!” the crowd yelled. “Cuba will prevail!

Texas A&M cancels course under ‘race and gender ideology’ policy

BY SAMUEL O’NEAL

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TNS)

FORT WORTH,Texas A Texas A&M graduate professor was told that his Ethics in Public Policy class was canceled three days into the spring 2026 semester

The university alleges professor Leonard Bright refused to submit information needed to be exempt from a new rule on teaching course content that is considered to include “gender and race ideology,” according to an email sent to faculty In an email to employees at A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service, Dean John Sherman wrote that Bright was not asked to change course content, but was asked to supply the school information on his course and planned instruction on topics related to race and gender ideology Because the administration says he didn’t supply the information, his class has been canceled.

“I take no pleasure in making the decision to cancel this course and it is not one that I took lightly,” Sherman wrote.

Bright said in a statement on X that the university’s claim that he declined to clarify the fact that his class addressed race and gender is false.

Bright said on X that his colleagues and students found out about the school’s decision to cancel his class before he did.

“This disrespect my Dean showed towards me was unwarranted,” Bright wrote. “The message was clear: Be very afraid no one can save you from being censored at Texas A&M.”

Texas A&M’s Office of the Provost issued the new guidance in December prohibiting faculty from “requiring or encouraging students to hold certain beliefs, particularly regarding gender or race ideology or sexual orientation, or to feel shame for belonging to certain racial or ethnic groups.”

Johnson said Thursday he still intends to pass a Homeland Security funding bill as well as the three remaining, more controversial appropriations measures — Defense, Labor-HHS-Education and Transportation-HUD.

The House is under increased pressure next week to deal with remaining spending bills, as they are scheduled to be out the last week of January, when the funding deadline expires.

The Senate has passed six of 12 funding bills after successfully pushing through a package containing the Commerce-JusticeScience, Interior-Environment, Energy-Water bill in an 82-15 vote on Thursday Senate leaders anticipate taking up the House-passed package that consists of the Financial Services and National Security-State spending bills when they return.

Claudette Colvin, who refused to give up her seat on bus in 1955, dies

BY KIMBERLY CHANDLER Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Claudette Colvin, whose 1955 arrest for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus helped spark the modern civil rights movement, has died She was 86. Ashley D. Roseboro of the Claudette Colvin Legacy Foundation confirmed she died of natural causes in Texas.

Colvin, at age 15, was arrested nine months before Rosa Parks gained international fame for also refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus.

up her seat.

“So I was not going to move that day,” she said. “I told them that history had me glued to the seat.” At the time of Colvin’s arrest, frustration was mounting over how Black people were treated on the city bus system. It was the arrest of Parks, a local NAACP activist, on Dec. 1, 1955, that became the final catalyst for the yearlong Montgomery Bus Boycott, which is considered the start of the modern civil rights movement.

Colvin had boarded the bus on March 2, 1955, on her way home from high school. The first rows were reserved for White passengers. Colvin sat in the rear with other Black passengers. When the White section became full, the bus driver ordered Black passengers to relinquish their seats to White passengers. Colvin refused.

“My mindset was on freedom,” Colvin said in 2021 of her refusal to give

Colvin was one of the four plaintiffs in the landmark lawsuit that outlawed racial segregation on Montgomery’s buses. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said Colvin’s action “helped lay the legal and moral foundation for the movement that would change America.” Colvin was never as wellknown as Parks, and Reed said her bravery “was too often overlooked.” Colvin in 2021 filed a petition to have her court record expunged A judge granted the request.

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Republicans vouch for Federal Reserve chair

BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has spent his second term bulldozing elected and appointed officials who resist him or refuse to bend to his demands. But he may have met his match in Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

As the Trump administration ramps up its pressure campaign against the central bank now including Justice Department subpoenas and the threat of criminal charges — Senate Republicans have closed ranks around Powell, defending an independent Fed chair under attack from a president of their own party

“I know Chairman Powell very well. I will be stunned — I will be shocked if he has done anything wrong,” said GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Madisonville, one of Trump’s most reliable allies in the Senate.

Soon after the Justice Department served subpoenas on the Fed, Powell went on the offensive, releasing a video statement accusing the administration of using “pretexts” to pressure the central bank into sharply cutting interest rates, as Trump has demanded.

The 72-year-old Fed chair also leaned on Capitol Hill relationships he has cultivated since his 2018 appointment, holding multiple calls with Republican senators in the days following the video’s release “He knows his way around Congress,” said Robert Tetlow a former senior policy adviser at the Fed. “He gets in there, pets the dog, shoots the breeze, and has a way of getting people to like him, and he’s really good at it.”

who said they spoke with Powell after his video statement.

Alaska Sen Lisa Murkowski put her support behind North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis’ plan to block nominees. She was among the multiple Republican senators

“I look at the situation with Jay Powell and this supposed investigation of the overhaul of their offices going over there as grounds to do nothing but intimidate, threaten and coerce,” Murkowski told reporters. Powell goes by “Jay” informally “I believe strongly in an independent Federal Reserve,” said Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick who also sits on the Senate Banking Committee. The first-term senator added that he agrees “with President Trump that Chairman Powell has been slow to cut interest rates” but said he doesn’t “think Chairman Powell is guilty of criminal activity.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that the investigation “better be real” and “better be serious.”

Powell, a Republican, has been

a fixture in the nation’s capital for decades, where he developed a reputation as a centrist. He worked at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank, from 2010 to 2012 and pushed congressional Republicans toward compromise during their budget battles with President Barack Obama. Obama, in turn, appointed Powell to the Fed’s governing board in 2012. Trump then elevated him to the Chair position in 2018. He was reappointed by President Joe Biden in 2022.

Powell also built up credibility among Republicans in the House and Senate by largely ignoring Trump’s personal attacks during the president’s first term in office, when he complained about rate hikes by Powell in 2018. In general, Powell has tried to keep his head down and avoid a back-andforth with the White House. A solid economy — at least until the COVID pandemic struck also helped protect the Fed during Trump’s

first term. The subpoenas served to the Fed relate to Powell’s comments about the $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings, which Trump has criticized as excessive.

“The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President,” Powell said in a video.

Trump has insisted he was unaware of the investigation into Powell. When asked by CBS News whether the subpoenas were a form of retribution, Trump said Tuesday “I can’t help what it looks like.”

Trump has gone after several officials he sees as having done him wrong, including an attempted firing of another Fed board member, Lisa Cook. The Supreme Court has allowed Cook to keep her job and will hold a hearing on her case on Wednesday

Trump threatens tariffs as part of Greenland strategy

BY DANIEL NIEMANN and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

U.S.

President Donald Trump suggested Friday that he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, a message that came as a bipartisan Congressional delegation sought to lower tensions in the Danish capital.

Trump for months has insisted that the U.S. should control Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and said earlier this week that anything less than the Arctic island being in U.S. hands would be “unacceptable.”

During an unrelated event at the White House about rural health care, he recounted Friday how he had threatened European allies with tariffs on pharmaceuticals.

“I may do that for Greenland too,” Trump said. “I may put a tariff on coun-

tries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security So I may do that,” he said. He had not previously mentioned using tariffs to try to force the issue.

European leaders have insisted that is only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.

In Copenhagen, a group of senators and members of the House of Representatives met Friday with Danish and Greenlandic lawmakers, and with leaders including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Delegation leader Sen Chris Coons, D-Del., thanked the group’s hosts for “225 years of being a good and trusted ally and partner” and said that “we had a strong and robust dialogue

for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals. The White House hasn’t ruled out taking the territory by force.

“We have heard so many lies, to be honest and so much exaggeration on the threats towards Greenland,” said Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic politician and member of the Danish parliament who took part in Friday’s meetings. “And mostly, I would say the threats that we’re seeing right now is from the U.S. side.”

about how we extend that into the future.”

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, RAlaska, said after meeting lawmakers that the visit reflected a strong relationship over decades and “it is one that we need to nurture.” She told reporters

Defendant in Kirk’s killing asks judge to disqualify prosecutors

BY HANNAH SCHOENBAUM and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press

PROVO, Utah The Utah man charged with killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk returned to court Friday, as his attorneys sought to disqualify prosecutors because the daughter of a deputy county attorney involved in the case attended the rally where Kirk was shot.

Defense attorneys say the relationship represents a conflict of interest after prosecutors said they intend to seek the death penalty for Tyler Robinson.

Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. He has not yet

entered a plea.

The director of a state council that trains prosecutors said he doubted the disqualification attempt would succeed.

“I would bet against the defense winning this motion,” Utah Prosecution Council Director Robert Church told The Associated Press. “They’ve got to a show a substantial amount of prejudice and bias.”

The prosecutor’s 18-yearold daughter, who attended the event where Kirk was shot, later texted her father in the Utah County Attorney’s Office to describe the chaotic aftermath, according to court filings and tes-

timony She did not see the shooting but heard a loud pop, according to an affidavit submitted by prosecutors.

Robinson’s attorneys say the close connection between the prosecution team and a person present for Kirk’s killing “raises serious concerns about past and future prosecutorial decisionmaking,” according to court documents.

Prosecutors have said DNA evidence connects Robinson to the killing. Robinson also reportedly texted his romantic partner that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

At the school where the shooting took place, university president Astrid Tuminez announced Wednesday that she will be stepping down from her role in May

that “Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset, and I think that’s what you’re hearing with this delegation.”

The tone contrasted with that emanating from the White House. Trump has sought to justify his calls

Murkowski emphasized the role of Congress in spending and in conveying messages from constituents.

“I think it is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%,

will say, we do not think that that is a good idea,” she said. The dispute is looming large in the lives of Greenlanders. Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said on Tuesday that “if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the EU.” The chair of the Nuuk, Greenland-based Inuit Circumpolar Council, which represents around 180,000 Inuit from Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Russia’s Chukotka region on international issues, said persistent statements from the White House that the U.S. must own Greenland offer “a clear picture of how the U.S. administration views the people of Greenland, how the U.S. administration views Indigenous peoples, and peoples that are few in numbers.”

Watchdogs urge probe of Meta’s financing

BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer

Environmental and consumer groups want Louisiana officials to investigate how a new financing structure for Meta’s $27 billion artificial intelligence data center in the state’s northeast could impact electricity bills for residents

Meta can leave the data center after only four years, far shorter than the 15-year term approved in August by state regulators, the nonprofits say The altered financing “significantly increases ratepayer risk,” according to a motion filed Wednesday with the Louisiana Public Service Commission on behalf of two nonprofit groups.

“Meta is acknowledging tacitly, I suppose, that the buildout of this facility is risky,” said Logan Burke, who runs the Louisiana-based Alliance for Affordable Energy.

Entergy, which is building the electricity plants for the data center, disputes the nonprofits’ claims. The Public Service Commission which regulates utilities, approved in August the plan to power Meta’s biggest-ever data center, a project that will need roughly three times the amount of electricity annually that New Orleans uses in a year Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has separately spoken of further expanding the data center to a size that would rival the footprint of Manhattan, though some analysts have expressed doubt over whether that is possible.

The controversial approval cleared the way for Entergy, the state’s largest utility, to begin constructing three gas-fired electricity plants and other infrastructure worth billions of dollars. Advocates and academics have also

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Blakeney scored just 11 points in 31 minutes and took only 11 shots. His Jiangsu Dragons lost by 31 points Federal prosecutors now say Blakeney’s performance was no fluke. In an indictment handed up this week in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Blakeney was named as a central figure in an 11-state scheme to fix the outcomes of basketball games in the U.S. and China, mostly at the college level.

Blakeney and more than a dozen other players, including eight men who played basketball for Louisiana colleges, are accused of attempting to influence the final scores of at least eight games involving Louisiana teams in 2024 and 2025.

Blakeney is accused of pointshaving in two games in China, before using his influence as a former LSU star to recruit other college athletes in Louisiana into the scheme. Ultimately, two former forwards from Nicholls State, three former guards from the University of New Orleans and a former Tulane University forward were charged with bribery, fraud and aiding and abetting. That a significant share of the compromised games involved Louisiana teams appeared to mostly be the result of Blakeney’s connections here. Louisiana legal-

raised concerns over the environmental risks of the new fossil fuelpowered gas plants and the water demands of the facility

On the day Louisiana regulators approved Meta’s power plan, the tech company “fundamentally altered” the financial setup of the Richland Parish data center, the nonprofits allege. Under the complex financial model, Meta teamed up with a top private equity firm in a deal that helps the tech company offset financial risk and guarantees a profit for the private equity company according to The Wall Street Journal. The restructuring essentially gives the private

ized sports gambling in 2021; however most of the bets on the fixed games were placed by actors in other states, according to the indictment.

“It is fair to say that (Blakeney’s) closer to the center than he is the periphery,” said David Foster, a New York attorney and former deputy general counsel for the National Basketball Players Association He added that Blakeney’s reputation from his time at LSU likely garnered him “instant credibility” with other college players.

Federal prosecutors have focused on Blakeney’s time playing in China and have not charged him with rigging games while he played for LSU. But they say that for his role in the scheme involving Louisiana players, Blakeney was well compensated in bribes, plus his share of winning bets placed on games that players helped rig.

At one point, according to the indictment, a co-conspirator placed a package inside a storage unit owned by Blakeney in Florida. Its contents? Nearly $200,000 in cash.

Reached by The Times-Picayune on Friday, a lawyer for Blakeney said his client had no comment on the allegations.

The case is another turn in the once-promising career for Blakeney, an Orlando, Florida, native who ESPN ranked as the No. 3 shooting guard in the nation when he committed to LSU in 2015.

After two standout years with the Tigers, Blakeney tried moving on to the NBA but didn’t get draft-

equity company majority ownership of the data center and makes Meta a tenant, able to exit the lease every four years for up to 20 years.

The term is a fraction of the 15year contract that the Louisiana regulators approved, though that length also worried opponents The three gas plants that Entergy is building have a life span of up to 40 years, the nonprofits argued over a monthslong approval process, potentially leaving ratepayers on the hook for some costs of the new infrastructure if the tech company leaves.

The nonprofit groups want the commission to investigate whether

ed He signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago Bulls, winning the NBA G League Rookie of the Year award, but was released by the team in 2019.

In 2021, when Blakeney was 24 years old, he was arrested at his home in Kissimmee, Florida, and accused of arranging an armed robbery of two men who Blakeney invited to play cards at his house. It’s unclear how the case was resolved: A lawyer for Blakeney at the time didn’t return messages.

As the scheme’s ringleaders, federal prosecutors identified Marves Fairley, of Mississippi, and Shane Hennen, of Philadelphia. Both were professional gamblers and social media influencers who sold betting advice to their followers.

Prosecutors haven’t said exactly why, but at some point during Blakeney’s 2022-2023 season in China, the pair offered Blakeney bribes in exchange for his participation in the scheme, according to the indictment. There’s no indication that Blakeney had a prior relationship with Fairley or Hennen.

Harry Rosenberg, a former U.S. Attorney in New Orleans, said the pair may have learned of Blakeney’s prior arrest, which was reported on by news outlets.

“If he was caught structuring a card game for other individuals to use as a stickup point, it would seem to me that it tends to indicate that he would be open to other criminal activity,” Rosenberg said. “If somebody’s willing to put their foot in the pool, they’re likely to jump into the pool.”

Meta or Entergy misled the state regulators, determine the effect of the new financial structure on ratepayers and review the timing of the financial rearrangement.

A spokesperson for Meta could not be reached for comment.

Brandon Scardigli, a spokesperson for Entergy, said the company strongly disagrees with the allegation that changes to the data center financing puts Entergy or its customers at risk.

“That is simply false,” Scardigli said.

The deal between Meta and Entergy is supported and backstopped by robust credit protections, Scardigli said, including a

Either way, the scheme began with the March 2023 game in China. Bettors made at least $198,000 in illegal wagers on it, according to the indictment. The group placed another $100,000 in winning bets on a game that Blakeney sat out nine days later, prosecutors allege. There’s nothing guaranteed in this world, one co-conspirator later texted, but “death, taxes, and Chinese basketball.”

The group soon recruited more than a dozen other athletes into the fold, this time targeting college basketball games in the U.S. beginning in 2024.

According to the indictment, Blakeney and four others, “in person and through social media, text message communications, and cellular telephone calls,” contacted college athletes and offered them bribes ranging from $10,000 to $30,000.

Other defendants accused of helping rig outcomes of games involving Louisiana teams include: Kevin Cross, former Tulane University forward from 2020-2024; Carlos Hart, former University of New Orleans guard from 20232024; Cedouavious “Dae Dae” Hunter, former UNO guard from 2024-2025; Oumar Koureissi, former Nicholls State forward from 2023-2024; Dyouavion “Jah” Short, former UNO guard from 20232025; Diante Smith, former Nicholls forward from 2023-2024.

None have entered pleas yet.

For bettors looking to illegally fix the outcome of sports contests, college basketball games, particularly involving teams without a

guarantee from the tech company that remains “in full force” regardless of changes to project financing. The company also maintains that the “suggestion that Entergy Louisiana somehow misled the commission is utterly without merit and false.”

Entergy has previously stressed that the tech company will cover all costs for the new plants throughout the 15-year deal, though all customers will pay for other related infrastructure costs. The plants will be able to serve everyone if Meta leaves after the 15-year deal as the utility retires older, less-efficient plants.

Part of the nonprofits’ concern is related to the creation of a new entity majority-owned by the private equity firm, Blue Owl, and partly owned by Meta. That new entity will now serve as the parent company of the subsidiary that entered into the electricity deal with Entergy Meta itself had previously been the parent company of the subsidiary, which is called Laidley

“There is no longer an enforceable parent guaranty since Meta is no longer the parent,” the nonprofits’ motion states. Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, whose district includes Richland Parish, said his staff is looking into the request.

“We’re concerned about it, but we feel good that we have a financial backer in Entergy,” Campbell said. Commissioner Davante Lewis, the sole regulator to vote against the original plan, said he’s been deeply concerned “since day one” over transparency issues impacting both the public and the state regulators. He said he planned to review the motion “and ensure that it has a public discussion.”

large following, make for sensible targets, Foster said.

“It’s a lot easier for a basketball player to have a bigger impact on a game consistently than other sports,” Foster said, because the game involves a relatively small number of players who receive consistent playing time, among other factors.

The scheme also targeted small schools in games that weren’t nationally televised and unlikely to garner much attention, Foster added.

“If something strange is happening in a Duke/North Carolina game, there’s just more people watching,” Foster said.

And even in the era where college athletes can earn money through endorsements, or through direct payments from their universities, the athletes targeted in the scheme likely weren’t making much, said Noah Henderson, director of the Sport Management Program at Loyola University Chicago.

They also played for low-performing teams that weren’t competing for a championship, meaning the outcomes of a regular season game weren’t as critical, Henderson said.

“They were targeting teams that don’t have a whole lot of high hopes for their season, and they were targeting role players who were more than likely earning pretty nominal sums of (endorsement) and other athletic compensation,” Henderson said.

“The bribes go longer and it’s not putting the season in jeopardy.”

programs, and services our community depends on tomorrow.”

Central Mayor Wade Evans, who serves as vice chairman of the commission said he thought the commission owed it “to the citizens and the taxpayers.”

“It’s a holistic approach to creating a system where the BREC organization as a whole becomes more sustainable and resilient,” he said.

BREC Communications Director Robyn Lott said via email that the organization was withholding information about specific affected programs to protect the privacy of staff and added that critical positions were those necessary to support BREC’s core operations and public service responsibilities.

In response to a question about the number of people who are being laid off, she reiterated the 10% estimate and said the review “process is focused on organizational structure — not on a fixed headcount.”

Polito, Evans and St. George Mayor Dustin Yates all suggested BREC leadership cut costs and privatize areas of the organization at the commission workshop last month.

While Polito brought up layoffs and privatization, Yates recommended leadership look at removing retirement plans for new employees, saying many in the current workforce don’t stay at their careers for a lifetime like in the past.

Several of the commissioners — including Evans and Yates were appointed last year after a 2025 state law shifted the commission’s political power from the Baton Rouge metro to the parish’s outlying communities.

Before the law took effect in June, BREC’s nine-member board

POSTERS

Continued from page 1A

confirmed that they received the donated posters last year but said they are waiting for a final ruling before distributing them to schools. However, Mills said he has seen photos of the posters already on display in some public school classrooms

“Some of them were eager to do it the day (the law) passed,” he said.

The Times-Picayune | The Advocate was not able to independently verify that some posters already have gone up. For now, thousands of donated posters are stacked in school district offices across the state.

They feature four different layouts designed by Murrill’s office, which can be downloaded from her website. One is titled “The House of Representatives and the Lawgivers” and features Johnson’s

LAWSUIT

Continued from page 1A

Louisiana Constitution.”

At issue is a bill state lawmakers passed into law in July 2023: The House and Senate overrode thenGov John Bel Edwards’ veto to enact the Stop Harming Our Kids Act, which banned all genderaffirming medical treatments for transgender people younger than 18. The restrictions went into effect Jan. 1, 2024, and apply only to trans youth, many of who grapple with gender dysphoria.

Doctors can no longer perform voice surgery, do facial reconstruction, insert implants or do any other trans-related procedures on minors.

Medical professionals are also prohibited from prescribing synthetic drugs, hormone analogues or puberty blockers to minors.

The commission’s demographics changed with the law, shifting from six Black commissioners and three White ones to two Black commissioners and seven White ones.

The organization has been beset by controversy at various levels over the past year

included the parish mayor-president or a designee, a School Board designee, a Planning Commission member and six members appointed by the Metro Council. Under the law brought by Rep. Lauren Ventrella, R-Greenwell Springs, the commission now includes the mayors or their appointees for Baker Central, St. George and Zachary and Baton Rouge The four remaining seats are appointed by the Metro Council, with at least one required to be a resident of an unincorporated area of the parish and two to be city residents.

photo and an image of Moses next to the Ten Commandments, while another cites relevant Supreme Court cases.

School districts also received a copy of legal guidance that Murrill issued in January 2025 saying her office would defend in court any school that is sued for displaying the posters.

In a statement Friday, Murrill said her office was not involved in sending schools the posters, which she noted were donated by private groups. She also argued that the law is constitutional — despite two court rulings saying otherwise.

“If schools want to post them, they can,” she said

A multifaith group of parents with children in Louisiana public schools filed a lawsuit in June 2024, just days after Gov Jeff Landry signed the Ten Commandments law arguing that it violated their families’ religious freedom

Last year, the three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling that barred the state

Doctors who don’t follow the mandates face a minimum two-year suspension if they are caught treating underage transgender individuals.

The law also gives people up to the age of 30 to file malpractice lawsuits against doctors who perform sterilizing sex-change surgeries such as castration, hysterectomy, penectomy or vasectomy — on them when they are underage.

It is not clear if the state intends to appeal Thursday’s ruling, but Attorney General Liz Murrill defended lawmakers’ stance.

“My job is to enforce Louisiana law and protect children from mutilation,” she said in a statement.

“Members of the State Legislature and I fully agree that these dangerous, irreversible medical procedures are barbaric and should never be performed on children.

This is common sense, which is why we are vigorously defending

from enforcing the law, which the panel called “plainly unconstitutional.”

Proponents say the Ten Commandments have historical and educational value. Murrill’s team also argued the lawsuit was premature, writing in a November court filing that the plaintiffs are challenging Ten Commandments displays “that do not exist and whose contents and contexts have not been determined.”

But now thousands of posters do exist and have been delivered to most school systems — including Vernon Parish Schools, which is named in the lawsuit. A Louisiana Family Forum document shows that the posters have not been sent to the other school systems where the plaintiffs’ children attend public school — East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Orleans and St. Tammany or to public colleges and universities.

Murrill has argued that only the five named districts are barred from the enforcing the law. But the

the law in court.”

Five transgender youth sued the state in January 2024, just days after the law became enforceable in Louisiana. They allege it impacts hundreds of transgender youths across the state.

“Entire families, now because of this ban, are forced to travel out of state and pay exorbitant amounts out-of-pocket to get the kind of care that medical professionals all agree is safe, effective and necessary for these young people,” Nicholas Hite said outside the courthouse Thursday

Hite is part of the legal team that is led by Lambda Legal, a New York City law firm that is the nation’s oldest and largest legal advocacy group for LGBTQ and HIV/ AIDS communities.

The plaintiffs are vying for an injunction that would stop the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners from levying suspensions on health care professionals,

In 2024, several critics — including Evans accused BREC of mismanagement before a tax renewal vote, pointing to state audits that found misappropriated money and some weak financial safeguards.

Last year, former Superintendent Corey Wilson departed the organization, and Simmons replaced him. In the summer, Liberty Lagoon Water Park didn’t open until July, with Simmons blaming it on general maintenance and work on the filtration system. And last fall, residents pushed back against a proposed partnership for outside groups to fund and guide the design of a master plan for Baton Rouge’s lakes region and City Park. After that proposal failed, the commission created a committee to oversee the master plan creation.

ACLU of Louisiana and other legal groups have warned that other schools could be sued if they enact the law, which the groups say violates students’ First Amendment right to religious freedom.

“Public-school officials are legally required to protect and uphold the constitutional rights of students and families,” the groups wrote in a December 2024 letter to school superintendents.

In Texas, which passed a similar Ten Commandments law last year, public schools also have received posters donated by conservative groups including one tied to right-wing political commentator Glenn Beck, according to Houston Public Media. Parents in that state sued to block the law, and in November a federal judge ordered several school districts to remove the displays.

Beck has promoted a joint effort by Christian churches and conservative advocacy groups to raise money for Ten Commandments posters for schools in Texas and

essentially taking the teeth out of the law

“What the judge decided today is that the case is not open and closed,” he said. “The stories of our plaintiffs, the testimony of our experts, the record from the Legislature are all really important and need to be heard. So what the judge decided today is that he wants to hear from those experts. He wants to hear from our plaintiffs and he wants to hear the legislative record to decide whether this law is actually appropriate or not.”

In arguing for the case to be dismissed Thursday, Hunter Farrar cited last year’s ruling in Skrmetti and told Judge Johnson that SCOTUS justices admonished lower courts to mind the Skrmetti decision when deciding how to handle challenges to state laws restricting sex-transitions for youth

“These statutes were recently enacted by the Louisiana Legisla-

Arkansas, which passed its own law last year

A website for the campaign, called “Restore American Schools,” says posters have been donated to about 4,600 schools in those two states.

One group participating in that effort is Patriot Mobile, which describes itself as “America’s only Christian conservative wireless provider.” The cellphone carrier also contributed to the Louisiana Family Forum’s fundraising drive to send posters to Louisiana schools, according to Mills and a news release.

First Liberty Institute, a legal advocacy group that supports Louisiana’s law also joined the campaign. Matt Krause, an attorney at First Liberty, said groups like his wanted to ensure that Louisiana’s law is put into action.

“We have the ability to put the Ten Commandments up, which is great,” he said, “but if nobody actually does it, then it doesn’t do us much good.”

ture to achieve a legitimate, compelling state purpose, which is the protection of minors from irrevocable harm,” he argued. “The Louisiana government needs to protect minors. It has an interest in doing so and these laws are narrowly tailored to achieve that.”

But the plaintiffs argued the law amounts to “broad government overreach” and deprives parents of their right to decide their children’s medical care.

“(Judge Johnson) made it very clear that the federal ruling from Skrmetti doesn’t determine what happens here,” Hite said after Thursday’s hearing. “This is a case in Louisiana, under Louisiana’s laws, and it needs to be determined by Louisiana courts.”

The judge set a Feb. 10 hearing where the attorneys are expected to agree on a trial date.

Email Matt Bruce at matt. bruce@theadvocate.com.

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Residents object to new subdivision

Harvest Fields would be built near Galvez ASCENSION PARISH

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

One of the first new major subdivisions proposed in Ascension Parish in years received major pushback Wednesday night, as more than 100 people turned out

at a planning commission meeting to oppose the plans.

Dantin Bruce Development is seeking to build the 112-lot Harvest Fields subdivision, a 37-acre neighborhood off La. 44 just south of Bertville Road Before the public hearing began,

Chad Stevens, vice president of engineering for MR Engineering, said Dantin Bruce Development would like to defer the proposal until Feb. 11. At the end of the meeting, he explained the deferral was due to technical issues with the application.

The commission took no action because the item was pushed back. After Stevens announced the delay, many in the audience audibly groaned, and some residents later gave public comments specifically objecting to the deferral.

Neighbors near the proposed site are concerned the subdivision will lead to increased traffic, increased flooding and changes to the community Dina LeJeune, who has lived in the area for 40 years, said flooding has worsened over the years.

QUAD SQUAD

“I currently carry homeowners insurance, and I’m not in a flood zone, and it’s currently over $1,500 a year for me to carry this,” she said. “ All these subdivisions have been built up and up and up around me. We are getting

A group of students uses scooters to navigate through the quad on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge on Wednesday

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

An attorney from New Orleans was named deputy director of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, deepening Louisiana’s ties to the agency President Donald Trump’s administration is using to drive its deportation agenda. The veteran ICE official, Charles Wall, previously worked as the agency’s principal legal adviser, a role in which he oversaw attorneys representing the federal government across the nation in immigration removal proceedings. Wall attended Jesuit High School, received an undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans and studied

BY IANNE SALVOSA Staff writer

“We have a lot of bright people in the state going the 9-to-5 route or leaving the state,” he said. “We’re going to work on programming to retain them.” Nexus went through organizational changes in 2025, expanding its team to five after hiring a director of founder and ecosystem development and a marketing manager Zanders joined Nexus early last year, after the organization operated without a permanent president and CEO for three years. Nexus Louisiana gets $200K grant JPMorganChase donation to go toward strategic planning

Nexus Louisiana received a $200,000 grant from JPMorganChase to create the business incubator’s next strategic plan. The donation is the organization’s first philanthropic grant, which Nexus CEO Tony Zanders said will widen its funding base. Nexus primarily relies on government funding for its operations, which in-

clude programming that assists entrepreneurs in bringing their startups to scale, and Zanders says private donations help Nexus act as “good stewards” and return the public investment.

“We are capable of bringing dollars out of Louisiana, out of Baton Rouge, into Louisiana,” he said. The state has attracted major economic development successes in the past few years, drawing well-known companies like Meta to build large-scale developments, but Zanders said in the next five years, Nexus will advocate for micro-economic development. Growth tends to be slower with micro-economic development projects, creating only a handful of jobs at the start, he said, but the enterprises later mature into large companies, pointing to Meta’s start as Facebook.

Council

Measure approved quietly in final meeting of term

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

Opening a new Bourbon Street strip club will require special approval from the New Orleans City Council after the council quietly passed temporary club restrictions earlier this month, to the dismay of some nightlife industry workers.

District C council member Freddie King, who sponsored the measure, gave no explanation other than to say it was meant “to mitigate the negative secondary effects” associated with strip clubs. It passed unanimously with no discussion on Jan. 8, the final meeting of the previous council’s term

The restrictions, which could be in effect for up to two years, blindsided the local community of dancers club staff and their advocates,

SUBDIVISION

Continued from page 1B

everybody’s water coming in on us.”

Traffic, flooding concerns

Ascension Parish has long faced pushback from residents about new subdivisions as it has evolved from a largely rural region to a highly populated trafficprone parish with multiple flood zones.

In 2021, the Parish Council passed a moratorium on new land divisions that lasted into 2022, and no new subdivisions were proposed until one in late 2024.

Harvest Fields is the second submitted subdivision since the moratorium was lifted

According to an Ascension Parish staff analysis attached to the agenda, the Harvest Fields plat “meets all guidelines for a major subdivision per current ordinance.” However, it added that the drainage and off-site drainage will be studied more and will be approved should the refined plan conform to parish code requirements. An attached analysis by

GRANT

Continued from page 1B

Zanders said the number of Nexus staff should remain the same through 2026, but the strategic planning process will identify new programming that may require additional hires in 2027. He said he hopes to address the changing landscape for technological innovation, which was largely focused on developing tech

WALL

Continued from page 1B

strategic thinker” in a news release that said he has helped in “arresting and removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from American neighborhoods.”

Wall replaces former ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan, a South Dakota politico and Noem ally who previously served as Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries secretary. Sheahan is leaving ICE to run for Congress in her native Ohio.

Wall’s promotion adds to an already substantial roster of officials with Louisiana ties serving atop ICE at a time when the agency is in the national spotlight, as the Trump administration uses it as the fulcrum of its effort to aggressively ramp up deportations.

Besides Sheahan’s stint as deputy director, Melissa Harper, the longtime head of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations for the New Orleans Field Office,

said Mark Schettler, executive director of Shift Change, a nonprofit that advocates for the nightlife industry

“This was a late addition to the very end of the agenda for the final council meeting before new members were sworn in,” he said. “The sponsoring council member has refused to answer questions about it during the meeting or since.”

King did not respond to messages Attempts to reach representatives of three well-known clubs on Bourbon Street — Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club, Penthouse Club and Rick’s Cabaret were unsuccessful on Friday

“Adult live entertainment venues,” as strip clubs are known in the city’s zoning code, must now pass additional council scrutiny and meet individually tailored requirements to open on Bourbon Street under the measure. Before, they could operate by right so long as they had building permits and business licenses.

The new requirements are part of a new temporary zoning

district that could last up to two years while city planners consider recommendations for permanent action. The council will ultimately decide on any permanent changes

The measure comes while a new club, Peppermint Hippo, is promoting its upcoming opening at 226 Bourbon Street on social media. It’s not clear if Peppermint Hippo has already obtained its building permit and business license, or if it will need to go through the council’s new process. Calls and messages to Peppermint Hippo representatives were not returned.

The council imposed similar temporary restrictions from 2016 to 2018, as members and Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration sought more permanent restrictions on strip clubs and state authorities cracked down on code violations within the clubs.

Dancers and some club owners organized in vocal opposition to those efforts, and the zoning proposals failed. But the state raids forced some clubs to close while

engineers with CSRS, which is hired by the Ascension Parish government, said the plan met drainage requirements but that design needed “to be revised to ensure zero increase of water surface levels for all design storms.”

The Traffic Impact Study also recommended improvements to the turn lane at the subdivision’s entrance.

Yet residents who live near the site said the subdivision would be unmanageable. A 10-year-old boy said he could bike around the neighborhood, but feared it would

parks in the 1990s when Nexus Louisiana got its start, but is more flexible in location thanks to the popularization of remote work and cloud storage. This summer, Nexus will move its headquarters from the Louisiana Technology Park off Florida Boulevard to 440 on Third downtown. The new office is just down the street from Louisiana Innovation, Louisiana Economic Development’s innovation arm, and Zanders said he hopes the area can form an innovation district

was promoted in May of last year to a position with Enforcement and Removal Operations in the Washington, D.C., headquarters, according to a news release. Harper was later tapped to lead the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, ProPublica reported. Two Republican Louisiana congressmen U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, of Jefferson, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Benton also hold senior legislative branch positions in which they shepherded a massive DHS funding increase as part of Trump’s signature federal funding package.

Wall enters ICE’s secondranking leadership slot as the agency faces intense scrutiny over an agent’s fatal shooting last week of a Minneapolis resident and U.S. citizen, Renee Good. The agency is seeking to grow its ranks and detention capacity with the recent surge of funding.

Wall will help oversee an agency whose operations often flow through Louisiana. There were more than 7,000 people in the agency’s custody in Louisiana late last year according to data compiled

become too dangerous if the development were built.

Mark Taylor said, “There’s more things wrong with this preliminary plat than there are right.

He reiterated many similar criticisms others mentioned, including traffic and flooding.

“It feels as though we haven’t learned enough from the flooding we’ve had and learned enough from the massive growth that we’ve had in this parish that we want to build a plat that’s 25% in the flood zone,” he added.

downtown

“The strategic planning process won’t change the why, but the how,” he said. The grant will cover all of the costs of developing the strategic plan, Zanders said. Nexus will host listening sessions with stakeholders and community members to form its 2030 strategic plan, with the first slated for Jan. 22 at Melara Enterprises’ StudioE.us, the company’s marketing division. Nexus aims to release the 2030 strategic plan at the end of 2026.

by researchers at Syracuse

University Only Texas has more people in ICE custody

An ICE spokesperson did not respond to a request to make Wall available for an interview

Wall previously supervised undercover teams in Louisiana probing worksite enforcement violations, according to an official biography. He often worked with Homeland Security Investigations, DHS’ criminal investigative arm, and prosecuted removal cases with national security implications.

Wall was a prosecutor with the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office from 2009 to 2012.

Email James Finn at jfinn@theadvocate.com.

others saw their licenses suspended. That had a chilling effect on the local industry, forcing some dancers into illegal and more dangerous sex work, said Devin Ladner, a former Bourbon Street dancer who quit last year and now teaches at Loyola University

“It is scary to hear that there is another zoning ordinance affecting the strip clubs, because this is exactly what they tried to do last time,” Ladner said.

The remaining clubs have more exclusive standards for dancers, and restricting competition will only further limit their options, Ladner said.

“I know girls that are having issues with the amount of clubs that are on Bourbon Street and the limitations of where they can work at,” Ladner said. “They feel forced into certain environments and have no room to really go outside of it.”

The council’s previous failed attempt at new zoning regulations included a proposal to limit the number of strip clubs per block, and the law enforcement raids

were meant to stem human trafficking and crime. That came after this newspaper reported a link between trafficking and some French Quarter clubs, and a 19-year-old dancer, Jasilas Wright, died after she jumped out of a car on Interstate 10 trying to escape someone police said was her pimp. But a City Planning Commission report in 2018 found no link between the number of clubs and crime incidents, and the raids did not result in any trafficking arrests. Before 2018, the Bourbon Street strip club ecosystem included a range of establishments that catered to different types of audiences and dancers, and “that variety created opportunity and it literally fed families,” said a veteran Bourbon Street dancer who did not want to be identified because she owns an unrelated business. She said she had no concerns about trafficking in strip clubs, then or now “I feel safer in a nightclub than I do on the street,” she said.

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Johnson, Joe Saintsville C.O.G.I.C, at 11am

Jolla,Gladys Greater AllenChapelA.M.E.Church 6175 Scenic Highway, at 11 a.m. Jones, Hazel Winnfield FuneralHomeat11am.

Kelly,Dawson OursoFuneralHome, 13533 Airline Highway,Gonzales,LAat2pm Lasseigne,Judy ResthavenGardens of Memory and FuneralHome, 11817Jefferson Highway,at10:30 a.m.

Martin,Geneva Sweet Home BaptistChurch,343 W. Buchanan Street,at10a.m Richardson, Jeanette OurLadyofthe Holy Rosary Catholic Church in St.Amant at 11 a.m. RichardSr.,Joseph St.GerardMajella Catholic Church 5354 PlankRd., BatonRouge,LAat 12pm

Serf,Annie

Rosedale Cemetery,76535 Center Street in Rosedale,at10a.m

Smith,Marlon Sacred HeartChurch Activities Building, 1000 EliotStreetinDetroit MI,at5 p.m Ventress Jr., Vernon Greenoaks Memorial Park,9595 Florida Blvd., BatonRouge,LAat 12pm

Obituaries

Haney,Ethel Viewing 1/17/26 10:00 am -12:00 pm Services begin 12:00 pm Interment Winnfield Memorial Garden

Louque, Holt Roy Holt Roy Louque, age 78, of Denham Springs, Louisiana, passed away peacefully just after midnight on January 13, 2026 Born on November 13, 1947, in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, Holt was aproud graduate of Istrouma High School, Class of 1965 and retired from Exxon Chemical. He was aproud marine veteran who served his country with honor and pride during the Vietnam War, being awardedthe Navy Commendation Medalwith Combat "V". He is survived by hischildren, Tamela (Tammy) Louque Williams, from his first marriage to Cindy; Paul Ryan Louque and his wife, Kelly and Lauren Louque Fenstermann and her husband, Andy, from his second marriage to Billie. He leaves behind his beloved grandchildren Allie Williams Fincher, Jamie E. Williams, Katherine Ballard, StephanieJ Louque, Wilson P. Louque, Kenadi Watts, FionaFenstermann,and Ferris Fenstermann; along with six cherished great-grandchildren: Levi Benton; Declan and Jordan (Benji) Fincher; Kayden, Karsen, and Klaire Ballard. He was preceded in death by his parents, Wilson V. Louque, Jr. and Margerite S. Louque; his brothers, Wilson V.

Louque, III and Joel T. Louque; and his beloved wife, Judy Louque, affectionately known as "Tukey." Funeral arrangements canbefoundon SealeFuneral Home's website. Holt was aproud father, grandfather,and great-grandfather who will be deeply missedbyhis loved ones.

Heckman, DavidHenry

David H. Heckman,born March 19, 1937, passed away peacefullyonSaturday,January10, 2026,atthe ageof88. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Alice Avers Heckman, and byhis parents, Clarence and Selma Heckman. David graduated from The Ohio State University with adegree in Chemical Engineering and enjoyed alongcareer whichconcluded at Exxon, retiring as Manager of Maintenance. Adedicated memberofTrinity Lutheran Church, he took pleasureinserving and leading withinthe congregation.Outside of work and church, Davidloved golfing. He servedfor many yearsasa marshal at Webb Golf Course,loved playing bridge,and was an avid reader. He is survived by his wife, MaryHeckman;his childrenDrew Heckman(Cathy),John Heckman (Tammy), Tim Heckman (Mary), Heather Hollis(Jeff), and DinahOrr (Clint); grandchildren Blake Hollis(Natalie) and Grant Hollis(Kelsey) of Louisiana,8 additional grandchildren across the United States, and 11 great_grandchildren. He is also survivedbyhis siblings Don Heckman (Rena) of Atalissa,IA; C. Luther Heckman (Ruth) of Columbus, Ohio; and June Smedley (Bob) of Odessa,FL. Family and friends are invited to attend afuneral service to be held at Trinity LutheranChurch, 15160 SouthHarrell'sFerry Road, Baton Rouge,Louisiana 70816onSaturday,January 17, 2026 at 10:00 AM.Visitation willbeheldfrom9:00 AM until servicetime. Light refreshments will be servedfollowing the funeral service. In lieu of flowers,memorialgifts may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 15160 South Harrell's Ferry Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816.

Mearns, William Ernest

William"Bill" Ernest Mearns, 91, of Atlanta, Georgiapassed awayon Sunday,Dec.7,2025, one day before his 92nd birthday. Born in 1933inRichwood,WestVirginia, he was the son of Ernest Car-

son Mearnsand Iva Thomas Mearns.Billgraduated from NicholasCounty HighSchool and West VirginiaUniversity and served in theU.S.Army Reserve.InJune 1961, Bill married theloveofhis life Veda"Mickie" Avonelle White in Charleston,West Virginia. They latermoved to Baton Rouge,Louisiana, and Ringgold,Georgia, wheretheyraised their children.

During his four-decade career in thechemical industry, Billand twofriends formed their own company, Discovery Aluminas, located in BatonRouge, Louisiana. Billwas proud of thecompany'ssuccess and thededicated employeeswho worked alongside him. Upon his retirement, Billand Mickie returnedto their beloved home state of WestVirginia, in the mountains of Charleston. They were togetherfor 57 years until Mickie'spassing in 2018.

Billhad many hobbies, talents, and interests throughout his life.Hewas adedicated painter and musician and atalented woodworker, as well as a diehard fan of theWVU Mountaineers and generous supporter of theWest VirginiaSymphony. He created acollege scholarship in his parents' names,the Ernest and Iva Mearns Scholarship at Nicholas County HighSchool,to benefit graduates of the highschoolheattended and where his parents taught.Everyonewho knew Billwas struck by his generosity and kindness, his optimism, and his positive,gentledemeanor. He willbegreatly missed Billwas preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Iva Mearnsof Summersville, WV; his wife, Veda"Mickie" (White) Mearns; his brother Thomas "Tom" JeffersonMearns, MD of Beckley WV and his belovedson, MichaelShawn Mearns who died of leukemia as a child. He is survived by his childrenKaren (Mearns) Banksand William Patrick Mearnsand twograndchildren,James and Colin Banks who adored him and havea collectionofamazing toys and furniture he madefor them in his workshop to remember him by. Amemorial service will be held on Saturday, February 7at10:00 am at theClay Center, 1Clay Square,Charleston,WVin theFoundersLounge. For friends and colleagues in BatonRouge,a Celebration of Life will be held at Oak Lodge, 2905 Westfork Dr, BatonRouge,LAonJanuary 24that1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers,the family asks that donations be madein memory of Billtothe West VirginiaSymphony or the Mountaineer FoodBank, 484 Enterprise Drive, Gassaway,WV26624.

When youneed thenews. Wherever youreadthe news

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Supreme Court to hear appeal on Roundup

WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear an appeal from global agrochemical manufacturer Bayer to block thousands of state lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people that its popular weedkiller could cause cancer

The justices will consider whether the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval of the Roundup weedkiller without a cancer warning should rule out the state court claims.

The Trump administration has weighed in on Bayer’s behalf reversing the Biden administration’s position.

Some studies associate Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, with cancer, although the EPA has said it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed.

Bayer disputes the cancer claims but has set aside $16 billion to settle cases. At the same time, it has tried to persuade states to pass laws barring the lawsuits.

The high court will take up a case from Missouri, in which a jury awarded $1.25 million to a man who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma after spraying Roundup on a community garden in St. Louis.

Bayer faces about 181,000 Roundup claims, mostly from residential users.

YouTube relaxes policy on controversial content

YouTube is updating its guidelines for videos containing content that advertisers define as controversial, allowing more creators to earn full ad revenue when they tackle sensitive issues in a nongraphic way

With the update that went into effect Tuesday, YouTube videos that dramatize or cover issues including domestic abuse, selfharm, suicide, adult sexual abuse, abortion and sexual harassment without graphic descriptions or imagery are now eligible for full monetization

Ads will remain restricted on videos that include content on child abuse, child sex trafficking and eating disorders.

The changes were outlined in a video posted to the Creator Insider YouTube channel on Tuesday, and the advertiser-friendly content guidelines were also updated with specific definitions and examples

The update also makes personal accounts of these sensitive issues, as well as preventative content and journalistic coverage on these subjects, eligible for full monetization.

The Google-owned company said the degree of graphic or descriptive detail in videos wasn’t previously considered when determining advertiser friendliness.

Some creators would attempt to bypass these policies on YouTube and other platforms by using workaround language or substituting symbols and numbers for letters in written text — the most prevalent example across social platforms has been the use of the term “unalive.

OpenAI plans for advertising on ChatGPT

SAN FRANCISCO OpenAI says it will soon start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users who aren’t paying for a premium version of the chatbot.

The artificial intelligence company said Friday it hasn’t yet rolled out ads but will start testing them in the coming weeks.

It’s the latest effort by the San Francisco-based company to make money from ChatGPT’s more than 800 million users.

Though valued at $500 billion, the startup loses more money than it makes and has been looking for ways to turn a profit. “Most importantly: ads will not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you,” said Fidji Simo, the company’s CEO of applications, in a social media post Friday The ads “will be clearly labeled and separated from the organic answer,” the company said.

Officials aim to solve AI-driven problems

White House, governors hope to fix power shortages, price spikes

BY BEN FINLEY and MARC LEVY

Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors on Friday tried to step up pressure on the operator of the nation’s largest electric grid to take urgent steps to boost power supplies and keep electricity bills from rising even higher.

Administration officials said doing so is essential to win the artificial intelligence race against

China, even as voters raise concerns about the enormous amount of power data centers use and analysts warn of the growing possibility of blackouts in the mid-Atlantic grid in the coming years.

“We know that with the demands of AI and the power and the productivity that comes with that, it’s going to transform every job and every company and every industry,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told reporters at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House. “But we need to be able to power that in the race that we are in against China.”

The White House and governors want the mid-Atlantic grid operator to hold a power auction for tech companies to bid on contracts to build new power plants,

so that data center operators, not regular consumers, pay for their power needs. They also want the operator, PJM Interconnection, to contain consumer costs by extending a cap that it imposed last year under pressure from governors, that limited the increase of wholesale electricity payments to power plant owners. The cap applied to payments through mid-2028.

PJM wasn’t invited to the event.

However, PJM’s board is nearing the release of its own plan after months of work and will review recommendations from the White House and governors to assess how they align with its decision, a spokesperson said Friday PJM has searched for ways to meet rising electricity demand,

including trying to fast-track new power plants and suggesting that utilities should bump data centers off the grid during power emergencies The tech industry opposed the idea.

The White House and governors don’t have direct authority over PJM, but grid operators are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is chaired by an appointee of President Donald Trump.

Trump and governors are under pressure to insulate consumers and businesses alike from the costs of feeding Big Tech’s data centers. Meanwhile, more Americans are falling behind on their electricity bills as rates rise faster than inflation in many parts of the U.S.

Boost production

Lawmakers want to produce more rare earths and the other critical minerals

BY DIDI TANG and JOSH FUNK Associated Press

WASHINGTON A bipartisan group of lawmakers have proposed creating a new agency with $2.5 billion to spur production of rare earths and the other critical minerals, while the Trump administration has already taken aggressive actions to break China’s grip on the market for these materials that are crucial to high-tech products, including cellphones, electric vehicles, jet fighters and missiles.

It’s too early to tell how the bill, if passed, could align with the White House’s policy, but whatever the approach, the U.S. is in a crunch to drastically reduce its reliance on China, after Beijing used its dominance of the critical minerals market to gain leverage in the trade war with Washington President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in October, by which Beijing would continue to export critical minerals while the U.S. would ease its export controls of U.S. technology on China.

The Pentagon has shelled out nearly $5 billion over the past year to help ensure its access to the materials after the trade war laid bare just how beholden the U.S. is to China, which processes more than 90% of the world’s critical minerals. To break Beijing’s chokehold, the U.S. government is taking equity stakes in a handful of critical mineral companies and in some cases guaranteeing the price of some commodities using an approach that seems more likely to come out of China’s playbook instead of a Republican administration.

The bill that Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., introduced Thursday would favor a more market-based approach by setting up the independent body charged with building a stockpile of critical minerals and related products, stabilizing prices, and encouraging domestic and allied production to help ensure stable supply not only for the military but also the broader economy and manufacturers.

Shaheen called the legislation “a historic investment” to make the U.S. economy more resilient against China’s dominance that she said has left the U.S. vulnerable to economic coercion. Young said creating the new re-

serve is “a much-needed, aggressive step to protect our national and economic security.”

Rep. Rob Wittman, R.-Va., introduced the House version of the bill.

When Trump imposed widespread tariffs last spring, Beijing fought back not only with tit-for-tat tariffs but severe restrictions on the export of critical minerals, forcing Washington to back down and eventually agree to the truce when the leaders met in South Korea.

On Monday, in his speech at SpaceX, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed that the Pentagon has in the past five months alone “deployed over $4.5 billion in capital commitments” to close six critical minerals deals that will “help free the United States from market manipulation.”

One of the deals involves $150 million of preferred equity by the Pentagon in Atlantic Alumina Co. to save the country’s last alumina refinery and build its first large-scale gallium production facility in Louisiana.

Last year, the Pentagon announced it would buy $400 million of preferred stock in MP Materials, which owns the country’s only operational rare earths mine at Mountain Pass, California, and entered into a $1.4 billion joint partnership with ReElement Technologies Corp. to build up a domestic supply chain for rare earth magnets.

The drastic move by the U.S. government to take equity stakes has prompted some analysts to observe that Washington is pivoting to some form of state capitalism to compete with Beijing.

“Despite the dangers of political interference, the strategic logic is compelling,” wrote Elly Rostoum, a senior fellow at the Washington-based research institute Center for European Policy Analysis. She suggested that the new model could be “a prudent way for the U.S. to ensure strategic autonomy and industrial sovereignty.”

In addition to trying to boost domestic production, the Trump administration has sought to secure some of these crucial elements through allies. In October, Trump signed an $8.5 billion agreement with Australia to invest in mining there, and the president is now aggressively trying to take over Greenland in the hope of being able to one day extract rare earths from there.

Congress in the past several years has pushed for legislation to protect the U.S. military and civilian industry from Beijing’s chokehold. The issue became a pressing concern every time China turned to its proven tactics of either restricting the supply or turned to dumping extra critical minerals on the market to depress prices and drive any potential competitors out of business.

Canada agrees to cut tariff on Chinese EVs

China to lower tariffs on Canadian farm products

BY KEN MORITSUGU and ROB GILLIES Associated Press

BEIJING Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial annual cap of 49,000 vehi-

cles on Chinese EV exports coming into Canada at a tariff rate of 6.1%, growing to about 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its total tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.

“Our relationship has progressed in recent months with China It is more predictable and you see results coming from that,” Carney said. Carney hasn’t been able to reach a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump to reduce some tariffs that are punishing some key sectors of the Canadian economy and Trump has previously talked about making Canada the 51st state. Trump commended Carney for

making a deal with Beijing. “Well, it’s OK. That’s what he should be doing and it’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer earlier told CNBC Canada’s decision to allow Chinese EV imports at a low tariff is “problematic” and said that Canada may regret that in the long term.

Earlier Friday, Carney and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony

Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have

been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea. Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, told Xi that better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.” The tariffs Trump has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”

ANOTHERVIEW

Americansare waryofmilitary intervention

Nobody likes Nicolás Maduro. Or betterput,nobody should.Beforethe U.S.effectively removedhim from power on Jan. 3, he proved to be adisasterfor hisown country and adestabilizingforce beyond its borders. Venezuela’sliving standardsplummeted under Maduro. Protestserupted. His authoritarian rule mixed corruption, censorship, humanrightsviolations and election fraud.Thousandsof Venezuelans were killed without due process, androughly sevenmillion fled as theeconomyimploded. And yet U.S.voters are skeptical of the efficiently executed militaryaction President Donald Trump took against Maduro.Why? When Americans hear “military intervention,” they think “quagmire.” They view foreign involvement through the stained lens of Vietnam, Iraqand Afghanistan —brutal, costly wars withshifting rationales andmurky endings. They want to know if each situation poses adirect threat to them.

Anationwide Economist/YouGov poll conducted Jan. 2-5found that only 6% of U.S. voters favorusing military force to advance foreign policygoals “often,” and another 31% favor usingitonly“sometimes.” The latest Economist/YouGov polling, conducted Jan. 9-12, found that Americans—byawide 19-point margin— believe U.S. military interventions aremorelikely to make situations worsethan better

On Venezuela,the latest polling showsthat only 37%ofthe electorate believes U.S. military intervention was justified. Worse, fewer than athird believe the military action will improveconditions inside Venezuela. Abig majorityalso believesTrumpshould have sought congressional authorizationfirst —a view shared by most independentsand asizable chunk of Republicans.

Anew Quinnipiac Universitypoll findsthat41% of U.S. voters approve and 52% disapprove of Trump’s handling of Venezuela policy.Partisandivisionis razor-sharp: 83% of Republicans approve,compared to 4% of Democrats and 38% of independents.

Akey reason why Trump’snumbers have been so lackluster is because his messaging on Venezuela has been muddled. Is the action we took inVenezuela about drugs, terrorism, democracy or oil? Most Americans think it’sabout oil, since that’swhatthe president has communicated.But other reasonsmay have been more persuasiveinjustifying what’sbeen done.

Like George W. Bush withIraq and Joe Bidenwith Afghanistan, Trump has failed to make clear his course of action. ArecentCBS News poll shows 70% of Americans believe Trumphasn’t adequately explained his Venezuela policy.Thatmakes it harderfor voters, including Trump supporters, to embrace and defend it.

Economist/YouGov polling also finds thatvoters don’twant the U.S. to “run”Venezuela,asTrumphas suggested.Only 17% of voters thinkweshould Whilepresidents should notdisclose everydetailof globalwheeling and dealing, theydoneed to explain enough to earn public trust. Free advicefor theWhite House: Let Secretary of StateMarcoRubiodothe explaining; he’sbetter at it than therestofthe administration. Venezuela isn’tthe only internationalflashpoint creating political trouble for the president. There’s Greenland, too. Even after theadministrationhas floated threats, only10% of U.S.votersinthe latest Economist/YouGov poll supportusing “military force to take control of that country.”Also,only15% support giving Greenland residentsindividualpayments to “encourage them to secede from Denmark and join the United States.” In other hot spots, U.S. voters disapproveof Trump’shandling of the Israeli-Palestinianconflict by 48% to 37%,and disapprove of his handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict by 50% to 35%. Barely a third of the electorate says“America’sstanding in the world” has improved since Trumpbecame president last year,while 62% say it has worsened. At press time, it was still tooearly to knowhow the situation in Iran will unfold. But theQuinnipiac poll showsthatonly18% of votersthink theU.S. should take militaryaction against Iran if protesters are killed while demonstratingagainst their government. Seven in 10 voters don’twantthe U.S. toget involved. Trump won two elections withless than 50% of the vote. But war anddiplomacydemand somethingbigger: adurable publicmajoritytobackuphis policies. Right now,hedoesn’thave it.

Ron Faucheux is anonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

How one feels about our country’s immigration crisis is in manyways alitmus testofthe human heart.For some, undocumented immigrants must forever be treated as inferior human beings because they entered our country without permission, oftendecades ago. No matter how hard they have worked, how loving and responsible they have been as parents, how much they have contributed totheir churches and paid in taxes, their “sin” of entering without permission meansthey deserve to be treated like their lives don’tmatter.For mostAmericans, however,itisnot such asimple equation, nor so cruel aone. We understand that most immigrantswho entered the U.S. without permission did so to escape poverty so pervasive they could never get ahead and live lives of dignity

Butwhy not comelegally?

Aquick Google search sheds light: It’salmost impossible to obtain an immigrant visa unless one has aparent, spouse or adult child who is a U.S. citizen or Legal Permanent Res-

Jessie LeBlanc, in aletter complaining about illegal immigrants, says they are not paying FICA taxes, resulting in them not contributing to Social Security. They may not be contributing, but they also aren’t receiving Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare.

He also states they don’tpay income tax. While that’spossible, they do pay taxes. Let’snot forget sales tax,propertytax and all the other taxes built into cellphone, cable bills, etc.

Lastly,LeBlanc states “a large part”oftheir incomereturns to

It is all Ican do, mostdays, to makeitpast the first section of the paper withmysanity intact.

ident who can sponsor the applicant, or one is ahighly skilled professional with acollege degree and has identified aU.S. employer sponsor About 80% of immigrant visas a year are granted in these twocategories.

Historically,the remainder of immigrant visas allocated yearly are reserved largely forpeople granted asylum based on persecution by one’sgovernment.

After entering the U.S. without permission, thesame limited categories apply to gain legal status.

Clearly,our country’s immigration system needs major reform, which becamepainfully evident during the terror campaign waged recently by Customs and Border Protection on manyofthe same immigrants who rebuilt our region after Katrina. Until reform happens, can we remember theteachings of afamous immigrant whose birth we just celebrated, including: “Blessed are themerciful, for they will be shown mercy.”

SUE WEISHAR NewOrleans

their country of origin. It’s their money;they can use it as they see fit. Yes, illegal immigration is aproblem. The solutionisnot to arrest and deport everyone because they may not have proper documentation. They left their families, their home countries, to come to the United States for abetter life. They aren’tafraid of hard work and do jobsmost Americans don’tor won’tdo. We,asAmericans, should welcome them rather than condemn them.

SHELBY ROTOLO Metairie

Thank you, so very much,Walt Handelsman, for giving me theprize for doing so in theMetro section for these many years. Enjoy your retirement. Youhave so earned it,and we are very grateful to you.

DARLENE GUICHARD LaPlace

The mostrecent example of the folly of electing achief executive so totally ignorant of history and international law is his suggestion that he will either purchase, or seize by force, Denmark’sisland of Greenland. Sadly,such is the result when voters fail to appreciate the folly of turning government over to areal estate developer and reality show blowhard. But it will be interesting to see how long it now takes France to reclaim the vast interior portion of the continental United States, arguing that in 1803 Thomas Jefferson had acted unlawfully,or exerted too much pressure on their country,torealize the Louisiana Purchase. Thanks to CODOFIL, manyhere will be well prepared forthe language change. President Donald Trump’srecently named “envoy” to Greenland also may be advised to save the airfare and avoid awell-earned frosty visit.

JACK BELSOM NewOrleans

More than 50 years ago, as a Latin American Studies major at Tulane, Ilearned about the history of our interventions into Latin American politics —from Cuba (Remember the Maine!), to Haiti, to Nicaragua, to all the Central American republics, to Grenada, to CIAsupport of murderers like Chile’sAugusto Pinochet. Our attempts to shape the history of Latin America forthe benefit of American business interests is almost uniformly shameful. (Yes, capitalism was the engine driving our Latin American policies.) We intervened to protect or generate profits forU.S. corporations. That’s it. We are not democratizing; we are not reforming. We are the bullies of the region and capitalism, not idealism,propels us. We are, in short, the bad guys. Our invasion of Venezuela fits neatly with that history.I find that sickening. LEROY CLOSE NewOrleans

SPORTS

P T PAYTON’S

LSUfails to shakeSEC road opener troubles

Tigers have lost four straight conference openersaway

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

After soaring to afirst-place tie in ameet with three other top five-ranked teamsin last week’sSprouts Collegiate Quad, the No 2LSU gymnastics team came back to earth withseveral thuds Fridayinits Southeastern Conference opener at Georgia. LSU gymnasts returned from their trip to Athens, Georgia, with four individual wins, including apair for 2025 SEC freshmanof theyear Kailin Chio.But the Tigers also had five scores of 9.65 or lower and counted two of them, major culprits in LSU’s197.200196.850 loss to the No.8Bulldogs.

“Wehad really oneclean event where we hit all six routines,” afrustrated LSU coach Jay Clark said afterward. “That was it. “Wewerenot sharp at all. I’mnot going to make excuses. Youhavetogointoother people’splaces and adjust to the equipment. We didn’tlike the floor.But you have to execute.” It’sLSU’sfirst dual-meet loss to Georgia in adecade, and the Tigers’ fourth straight loss in an SEC road opener.The last time LSU woninits first SEC road meet of the season wasin2022 at Georgia.

The past three years, the Tigers were able to recover from their early SEC road stumbles and go on to have stellar seasons. In 2023, LSU lost at Kentucky and reached the

Philadelphia Eagleson Oct. 5inPhiladelphia.Paytonand theBroncos are playinga divisional round

Sean Payton begins hisquestfor historythis weekend.

TheDenverBroncos head coach is trying to become the first coach in NFL history to leadtwo different teams to Super Bowl championships. He needs three wins to get it done,starting with Saturday’sAFC divisional playoff game against theBuffalo Bills in Denver.

History tells us the task ahead is daunting.

Onlyseven coaches have managedtolead twodifferentteamstothe SuperBowl: John Fox(Panthers, Broncos); Mike Holmgren (Packers, Seahawks);Bill Parcells (Giants, Patriots);Dan Reeves (Broncos, Falcons);Andy Reid (Eagles, Chiefs); DonShula (Colts, Dolphins); and Dick Vermeil (Eagles, Rams). None hasmanaged to pull offthe Super Bowl daily double, underscoring the difficulty of Payton’schallenge

ä See DUNCAN, page 5C

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriter

CORAL GABLES,Fla. Miami safety Jakobe Thomas enjoyed seeing the Hurricanes at their worst.

He was with Middle Tennessee State in 2022 when the Blue Raiders—fourtouchdown underdogs that day —came into Hard Rock Stadiumand usedbig play after big play to beat Miami 45-31, part of the Hurricanes’ spiraltoa5-7 season in Mario Cristobal’sfirstyear back at his alma mater And it wasn’tlike that MTSU team was some juggernaut, either.It went 0-3inits next three games, losing by acombined 60 points. But it had no trouble withMiami.

Miamihas made remarkable turnaround in collegefootball ä See HURRICANES, page 4C

BY REED DARCEY and WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writers

LSU added potential starters to its offensive line and apromising young defensive back Friday through thetransfer portal. Former Bayloroffensive lineman Sean Thompkins, aredshirt sophomore,kicked off the flurry of activitywhen he committed to theTigers. LSU later picked up pledges from OleMissfreshman offensive lineman Devin Harper, OhioState freshman safety Faheem Delane and Marylandredshirt junioroffensive lineman Aliou Bah.

Coach Lane Kiffin andhis staffnow have added 36 transfers, twice as many as LSU signed last offseason.

Delane is aformer top-100 recruit, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and the younger brother of Mansoor Delane, an All-America cornerback for LSUthis past season Thompkins played in 10 games and made fivestartsfor Baylor this past season. He initially committed to North Carolina after he entered the transfer portal, but he did not sign paperwork. Harper also was atop-100 national recruit, andnow he’s ranked as the third-best interior lineman in the portal by 247Sports.Harper,aShreveport

native, was once committed to LSUbefore he signed with the Rebels in 2025. He played six games as afreshman this past season. Bah is the most experienced offensive linemanthatthe Tigers have added fromthe transfer portal so far.Hestarted 23 straight games at Maryland over the past two seasons at right guard. Afifth-year senior next season, he has one moreyear of eligibility LSU’stransferclass last year wasthe largest that the program hadsigned in the portal era, but Kiffin and his staff have far exceeded that number as they overhaul the offense andadd potentially more starters on defense. The Tigers needed to find several startersontheir offensive line.Theybrought back center Braelin Moore and right tackle Weston Davis, whoboth started double-digit gamesthis past season,but most of the unit transferred to other schools during the coaching change. Including Thompkins, Harper and Bah, LSU has landed eight offensive linemen through the transfer portal. That group also includes Ja’Mard Jones, aNicholls State freshman whocommitted to the Tigers late Thursday night. Thompkins is aformerthree-star recruit with two more years of eligibility.Bah, who’s ä See LSU, page 4C

9

3:30

7

2

Bichette, Mets agree to $126M deal

By The Associated Press

Bo Bichette and the New York Mets agreed Friday to a $126 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

A two-time All-Star shortstop with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette will move to third base with the Mets, who have Francisco Lindor at shortstop Bichette has never played a professional game at the hot corner

Bichette can opt out of the deal after the first or second season to become a free agent again. He would receive $47 million for one year and $89 million for two years, the person said.

The deal does not contain any deferred money and Bichette gets a full no-trade provision His $42 million average annual value ties for the sixth-highest in baseball history It was the latest big development in an eventful offseason for the Mets, who angered fans by letting popular slugger Pete Alonso and star closer Edwin Díaz leave in free agency President of baseball operations David Stearns also traded two other stalwarts, outfielder Brandon Nimmo and versatile veteran Jeff McNeil — both homegrown players.

Bichette batted .311 with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .840 OPS in 139 games for the Blue Jays last year He homered off Shohei Ohtani in Game 7 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Late last season, Bichette sprained his left knee in a Sept. 6 collision with New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells, keeping the infielder out of the lineup until the World Series. He returned for Game 1 against the Dodgers and played second base for the first time in six years.

Tucker, Dodgers agree to deal Kyle Tucker has agreed to a $240 million, four-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a person familiar with the deal, bolstering the team’s

time Gold Glove winner, Realmuto made his decision a month after designated hitter Kyle Schwarber also chose to remain with the Phillies, agreeing to a $150 million, five-year deal.

Realmuto, who turns 35 in March, hit .257 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs in 134 games last year, when he tied for the major league lead with 132 games at catcher He was in the final season of a $115.5 million, five-year contract.

Angels, Rays, Reds make trade

The Tampa Bay Rays sent outfielder Josh Lowe to the Angels on Friday as part of a three-team trade in which left-handed reliever Brock Burke went from Los Angeles to Cincinnati.

Chambliss sues NCAA for extra year of eligibility

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss sued the NCAA in state court on Friday for an additional year of eligibility so he can play for the Rebels next season.

The suit filed in Lafayette County came a week after the NCAA denied Ole Miss’ request for an extra year, saying the university and Chambliss’ previous school Ferris State failed to provide adequate medical documentation to back up the request.

The lawsuit filed Friday called the NCAA’s denial in “bad-faith, unreasonable and arbitrary,” and detailed his history of illness and included letters from physicians. Ole Miss’ arguments revolve around the fact that although he has been in college for five years, he has only played three years of football because of that history

Lavelle, Reale honored as best soccer players of year

National team midfielder Rose Lavelle has been named the 2025 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year

Lavelle, who also plays for Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, returned to the national team in June after recovering from ankle surgery and appeared in six matches with three goals and three assists.

Lavelle, 30, also scored six goals with two assists during the regular season with Gotham. She scored in a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit for the NWSL championship, winning the game’s Most Valuable Player award.

U.S. Soccer also announced Friday that Gotham defender Lilly Reale was named the Young Female Player of the Year

chance for a third consecutive World Series championship.

Tucker can opt out of the deal after years two and three, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday night.

Tucker’s $60 million average annual value would be the secondhighest in baseball history without factoring in deferred money, behind Shohei Ohtani’s $70 million in his 10-year deal with the Dodgers that runs through 2033.

Tucker becomes the latest accomplished veteran scooped up by the deep-pocketed Dodgers, who will have seven of the majors’ 29 biggest contracts by average annual value in 2026.

Los Angeles’ previous big move of the offseason was signing former New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz, widely considered to be the best reliever on the free agent market, to bolster their subpar bullpen.

When healthy Tucker is among the best all-around players in the majors. But he played in just 214 regular-season games over the past two years.

He batted 266 with 22 homers and 73 RBIs with the Chicago Cubs last season. He was acquired in a blockbuster trade with Hous-

ton in December 2024 that moved prospect Cam Smith to the Astros. Caratini heading to Minnesota Catcher Victor Caratini and the Minnesota Twins agreed Friday to a $14 million, two-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. Caratini, 32, hit .259 last year in his second season with the Houston Astros and set career bests with 12 homers, 46 RBIs and 386 plate appearances. He caught in 49 games, played first base in 15 and was a designated hitter for 30.

A switch-hitter, Caratini batted .268 versus right-handers and .208 against lefties. He could wind up in a platoon with Ryan Jeffers, a right-handed hitter who batted .313 versus left-handers and 248 against righties.

Realmuto to stay with Phillies

Veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto agreed to a $45 million, three-year contract to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday Realmuto can earn an additional $5 million annually in bonuses, the person said.

A three-time All-Star and two-

Infielder Gavin Lux moved from the Reds to Tampa Bay and minor league right-hander Chris Clark from the Angels to the Rays. Lowe, who turns 28 on Feb. 2, batted a career-worst .220 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs last year He injured his right oblique for the third time in 13 months and didn’t play between the March 28 opener and May 15

Lowe has a $2.6 million, oneyear contract and is on track to be eligible for free agency after the 2028 World Series. He has a .250 average with 43 homers and 170 RBIs in five big league seasons, all with the Rays.

Lux, 28, hit .269 with five homers and 53 RBIs in his only season with the Reds. He agreed last week to a $5,525,000, one-year contract and can become a free agent after this year’s World Series.

He has a .256 average with 33 homers and 208 RBIs in six seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2019-24) and the Reds, who acquired him last January for minor league outfielder Mike Sirota and a draft pick. Lux missed the 2023 season after tearing his right ACL in a spring training game. Burke, 29, was 7-1 with a 3.36 ERA in 68 relief appearances and one start for the Angels. He has a $2,325,000 salary and can become a free agent after this year’s World Series.

Keys returns to Australian Open as champion

BY JOHN PYE Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia Madison Keys planned to walk into the player tunnel at Rod Laver Arena in a quiet moment when nobody was watching, and take a photo of her name listed with the other champions at the Australian Open.

After beating top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s final at Melbourne Park to win her first Grand Slam title, Keys pictured the moment she’d return to the stadium for the first time as reigning champion.

“I’ve always kind of remembered walking through that tunnel and seeing all the names,” she said Friday, two days before the first major of the year starts. “It was a little bit of a pinch-me moment where I was like, ‘Wow, I’m

going to be up there.’

“I have not seen my name in the tunnel yet. I hope I can go in there when there’s no one else so I can take a picture and send it to my mom.”

Before facing the media in Melbourne, she couldn’t help but notice other evidence at the venue of her breakthrough triumph.

“There’s a really cool photo of me holding the trophy,” Keys said. “Getting to see those, it’s something you dream of in your career.”

The 30-year-old American said it was easy to look back almost 12 months and think everything worked to perfection, but “also you think about, ‘Wow, I almost lost.’

“I was match point down. So many three-set matches. There were some ugly matches. I think it kind of just makes everything a little bit better just because it wasn’t issue-free.”

Keys won a tune-up tournament in Adelaide in 2025 before ending Sabalenka’s 20-match winning

streak at the Australian Open. At 29, she was the tournament’s oldest first-time women’s champion. She also set a record as the player with the longest gap between their first two Grand Slam finals — her first was the 2017 U.S. Open.

The Australian Open victory launched her into a Top 5 ranking the following month. After the breakthrough, though, she was ousted in the French Open quarterfinals, the third round at Wimbledon and had a nervy firstround exit at the U.S Open. At the season-ending WTA Finals, she lost two group-stage matches. Sabalenka, meanwhile, admitted Friday that the loss here to Keys last year was tough.

“She played incredible and overplayed me. Took me a little time to recover,” she said. “We had matches after that. I worked on my mistakes on those matches.

“Going to this AO, I’m not really focusing on that last year result, but of course I would like to do just a little bit better than I did

last year.”

Sabalenka, who beat Keys in the quarterfinals last week en route to the Brisbane International title, plays her first-round match Sunday night against Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah, a wild-card entry from France.

Keys also lost in the quarterfinals in her title defense in Adelaide earlier this week. But she’s taking it in her stride as she prepares for another career first: defending a major title.

“Even though I’ve been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as that,” she said.

“I’m really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts.”

Seeded ninth and on the other side of the draw from Sabalenka, Keys is scheduled to open against Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine.

“Yes, I’m sure going on court I’m going to be very nervous,” she said, “but I don’t think I’ve ever walked on court first round of a Grand Slam and not been nervous.

Schonbaum in lead at Latin American Amateur LIMA, Peru Andy Schonbaum of Argentina steadied himself for a 2-under 68 on Friday to build a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Latin America Amateur Championship. Schonbaum, 34, has played in all but one of the 11 editions of the championship. He has yet to finish in the top 10 — his best was a tie for 11th in 2020 at Mayakoba in Mexico.

He was at 6-under 134, two shots clear of Andres Martinez Benedetti of Venezuela, who had to settle for a 70 at Lima Golf Club. Eric Fortlage of Paraguay (66) and Mateo Pulcini of Argentina (68) were three shots behind. The winner earns a spot in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open this year

Franzoni’s super-G win makes him a contender

WENGEN, Switzerland Host Italy has a new contender in Alpine skiing with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics three weeks away Giovanni Franzoni claimed his first World Cup victory on the famed Lauberhorn course in a super-G Friday, four months after his close friend and former roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile. The 24-year-old Franzoni — a former world junior champion in super-G, downhill and Alpine combined — took advantage of the No.1 bib to deliver a near-perfect run. Reaching a top speed of 87 mph, Franzoni finished 0.35 seconds ahead of Stefan Babinsky of Austria and 0.37 ahead of downhill world champion Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland.

Petrokina wins European skating title in stunner

SHEFFIELD England Niina Petrokina completed one of figure skating’s great comeback performances to retain her European championship title on Friday, three months after Achilles tendon surgery Petrokina landed seven triple jumps in a clean, personal-best free skate to music from “Dune” to score 216.14 points, a score which ranks the Estonian among some of the world’s best ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics.

“I don’t know how I do it,” Petrokina said when asked about her recovery “I needed everything that happened for this moment.” Petrokina had competed only in second-tier events and her national championships since

She’d struggled with

LSU hosts Missouri, aims to end SEC slide

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

LSU basketball understands the unforgiving nature of the Southeastern Conference.

LSU is the only team without a conference win, and coach Matt McMahon and his players admitted that an “emotional toll” was unavoidable after Kentucky’s game-winning, buzzer-beating shot Wednesday

LSU (12-5, 0-4 SEC) dropped its first four games in league play for the first time since the 2012-13 season. After the 75-74 loss to Kentucky, players and coaches said that moving on quickly will help their chances of winning an SEC game against Missouri (13-4, 3-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

“We’ve got to start our preparation here for Missouri and build on all the good things that we did (against Kentucky),” McMahon said.

LSU needs to rekindle its defensive effort from the first half against Kentucky.

The Tigers didn’t allow the Wildcats to make its first field goal until the 15:32 mark, and Kentucky opened the game 1 of 12 from the field

The Tigers brought an intensity early that had been lacking in conference

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NCAA final. In 2024, LSU lost at Missouri and won the SEC and NCAA championships. Last year, the Tigers started with a 196.875-196.600 loss at Arkansas and went on to win the SEC regular-season and championship meet titles and were the No. 1 seed in the NCAAs for the first time “Everything we want is still ahead of us,” Clark said. “You can see the stuff is there. But we’ve all got to be dialed in. You can’t have half the lineup do great and the other half checked out. You can see we have what we need. But this team has to adopt an attitude that this is unacceptable.”

LSU opened the meet on uneven bars with a string of solid performances, starting with 9.90 from Lexi Zeiss. Then Chio, who won the allaround and beam titles in the Sprouts meet, couldn’t complete a pass on the low bar and got only a 9.30. But Courtney Blackson and Konnor McClain saved the team score with marks of 9.85 and 9.95, respectively After one rotation, LSU led 49.37549.250 over the Bulldogs, who started on vault.

While Blackson, who won the bars title in the Sprouts meet, was able to go in that event, she scratched from LSU’s vault lineup because of a leg injury in pre-meet vault warmups. Clark said he did not know what type of injury it was but that it

matchups.

Robert Miller’s presence was the most pronounced as he had seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks The 6-foot-10 center also had six points and two assists.

“Rob Miller continues to come along,” McMahon said. “He’s our best defender He’s fantastic on that end of the floor

“We saw (Wednesday) he’s really good in those little short rolls in the middle of the floor as not only a scorer but a passer.”

McMahon will demand similar attention to detail from Miller and the defense against Missouri, which leads the SEC in field goal percentage (51.6%). LSU’s top rim protector will be tasked with deterring Mark Mitchell, a 6-8 forward who is averaging 17.5 points and has the third-most freethrow attempts (127) in the SEC.

Sound point guard play will remain a top priority for LSU with top playmaker Dedan Thomas nursing a lower-leg injury he suffered on Jan. 2. McMahon said he doesn’t have a timeline for Thomas’ return

“He’s gone from clearly being out to doubtful, making great progress (but) still day-to-day,” McMahon

Meet scores 1. #8 Georgia 197.200 (Vault — 49.250, Bars — 49.275, Beam — 49.200, Floor — 49.475) 2. #2 LSU 196.850 (Vault — 49.075, Bars — 49.375, Beam — 49.450, Floor — 48.950) Individual (includes first place and all LSU competitors) All-around — 1. Madison Ulrich, LSU 39.275; 2. Kailin Chio, LSU, 39.025. Vault — 1. Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.925; T4. Lexi Zeiss, Amari Drayton, LSU, 9.85; 8. Madison Ulrich, LSU, 9.80; 11. Victoria Roberts, LSU, 9.65; 12. Kathryn Weilbacher, LSU, 9.525. Bars T1. Konnor McClain, LSU, Lily Smith Georgia, 9.95; T3. Lexi Zeiss, LSU 9.90; T6. Ashley Cowan, Courtney Blackson, LSU, 9.85.; 8. Madison Ulrich, LSU, 9.825; 11. Kailin Chio, LSU 9.30. Beam 1. Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.95; T2. Amari Drayton LSU, 9.925; T4. Lexi Zeiss, LSU, 9.875; T6. Madison Ulrich, Kylie Coen, LSU, 9.85; 10. Konnor McClain, LSU 9.80. Floor — 1. Lily Smith, Georgia, 9.95; T2. Kaliya Lincoln, LSU, 9.925; T5. Kailin Chio, LSU, 9.85; T9. Madison Ulrich, Emily Innes, LSU, 9.80; 11. Amari Drayton LSU, 9.575; 12. Konnor McClain, LSU, 8.975. Attendance: 10,224

did not appear to be serious. Without Blackson, the Tigers fared poorly on vault other than a 9.925 from Chio in the anchor spot With former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin in the stands watching his daughter Harley and the other Georgia gymnasts, LSU managed only a 49.075 on vault while UGA surged to the lead with a 49.250 on bars The Tigers had to count a 9.65 from Victoria Roberts in the third spot when senior Kathryn Weilbacher, making her first appearance of the season as Blackson’s replacement, landed long and scored a 9.525. Midway through the meet, LSU trailed 98.52598.450. It got worse for the Tigers on what traditionally is one of their best events: floor ex-

Southern hits road for key SWAC game vs. Grambling

BY CHARLES SALZER Contributing writer

The Southern men’s basketball team only has one game this week, but it will be an important one when the Jaguars play at Grambling.

If anything, the extra time surrounding the game will add to the spotlight as both teams come into the game with aspirations of challenging for the regular season Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. Southern and Grambling are both 2-2 in league play, but are one game behind five teams in the loss column.

Saturday’s game will be the second half of a doubleheader at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center The Southern and Grambling women’s teams will play at 2 p.m., and the men’s contest will follow at about 4:30 p.m.

“It’s going to be a typical GramblingSouthern war a north Louisiana version of the Bayou Classic,” said Southern men’s coach Kevin Johnson, whose team improved to 6-11 overall after Monday night’s 77-73 win at Bethune-Cookman.

“This Grambling team is a good team. Even though there was a coaching change, I’m sure there will be no change as far as the hype for the rivalry.”

said “Started back running and jumping. He’d give anything to be on the floor Just can’t cut and jump and do everything at full speed that would allow him to get back out there.”

LSU made a change in the starting lineup against Kentucky for the first time since Thomas’ injury Instead of freshman Jalen Reece, the coaching staff placed senior Rashad King in the starting lineup.

The move worked early as both played confidently and each had his second-highest point total of the season.

King, a 6-6 transfer from Northeastern, used his size to block two shots and grab a steal. He also had 12 points with eight coming in the second half as LSU tried to fend off Kentucky Reece hesitated less on his 3-point shot, attacked more often and was active as a rebounder He scored 11 points while making 2 of 5 from beyond the arc. He also had five rebounds, four assists and one turnover “Jalen Reece and Rashad King were fantastic at the point position,” McMahon said. “I thought they did a lot of good things.”

The duo will have to be sharp against Missouri, which has a defense-first point guard in Anthony Robinson. The 6-3 junior averages 2.1 steals, good for fourth in the SEC.

ercise. McClain, making her season debut in the event, seated her second pass and got an 8.975. After a 9.85 from Chio, Amari Drayton stumbled forward trying to land her final pass and got a 9.575 that LSU had to count. Sophomore Kaliya Lincoln anchored the Tigers with a strong 9.925, but LSU managed only a 48.950 team score.

Trailing 147.725-147.400 going to the final routine, LSU needed a big score on balance beam and for Georgia to collapse to have a chance. The Tigers did their part with a 49.450, but Georgia was rock solid and did slightly better on floor with a 49.475.

Chio finished first on vault and beam, giving the sophomore All-American four individual titles in 2026 and 27 for her collegiate career McClain tied for first on bars with Georgia’s Lily Smith, who also won the floor title with a 9.95. Madison Ulrich, a junior transfer from Denver, won the all-around for LSU with a 39.275 to Chio’s 39.025. Georgia did not have anyone compete in all four events.

The Tigers return to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center next week for their home opener against Kentucky First vault is set for 6:30 p.m., and the meet will be televised on ESPN2.

“We’ll get back into our regular week training routine for the first time and hopefully settle into a groove,” Clark said.

The coaching change was part of an offseason shuffle that included Grambling hiring Patrick Crarey away from Florida A&M. That move was prompted when former Grambling coach Donte Jackson took the head job at Alabama A&M.

Regardless of who is on the sideline, Johnson said he thinks Grambling is one of a handful of teams capable of winning the SWAC.

“I’ve told everybody this,” he said. “We have about six or seven teams that could possibly win (the SWAC) Even the teams that were typically at the bottom have gotten better The league is more competitive this year than it was last year or the year before.”

With that much parity, road wins are valuable, which is why Southern’s comefrom-behind victory at Bethune-Cookman was so important. Its importance for Southern increased after the Jaguars lost 67-59 at Florida A&M in the first game of the Florida road swing.

Southern is still looking for consistency when the game is on the line, but the end of the Bethune-Cookman game showed what it is capable of.

The game featured five ties and three lead changes in the final nine minutes. The last tie was at 71-71 with three minutes

left, and Southern post player Malek Abdelgowad put the Jaguars ahead for good with four free throws. The win gave Southern something to build on as it prepares for Grambling. The Tigers opened their SWAC season with two wins, but lost their two games in Florida last week.

“Every road game is big,” Johnson said. “In a league our size, it’s a race to win road games because they’re so hard to get. The first couple of teams to get to five road wins, those are probably your favorites to win the regular-season championship.” Against Bethune-Cookman, Abdelgowad came off the bench to lead Southern with 21 points and 18 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. Michael Jacobs scored 20 and Joe Manning added 14 for the Jaguars, who helped themselves by making 22 of 30 free throws.

Grambling trailed the entire second half in each of last week’s losses to BethuneCookman and Florida A&M. Jamil Muttilib led the Tigers with 22 points against Florida A&M.

Indianaamong transfer portal winners

Hoosiers land star-studded groupthatincludesQBHoover

BY STEVE MEGARGEE Associated Press

Indiana and Ole Misshad rather busy schedules the past couple of weeks as they competedinthe College Football Playoff whilethe transfer portal window was open. But it apparently didn’t bother their 2026 roster construction efforts too much. As the programgets ready to face Miami in the national championship game, Indiana hasput together arguably the nation’sbest collection of transfers for its2026 roster.Ole Miss’ transfer class isn’tthat far behind heading into Friday’sclosing of the portal window Texas Tech andTexasA&M also put together impressive transfer classes, though their playoffruns ended before the portal window opened.

Alook at the AP’stop 10 transfer classes in order:

Indiana

Josh Hoover,who threw for71 touchdowns and more than 9,600 yards at TCU from 2022-25, is the heir apparent to Heisman Trophywinner Fernando Mendoza at quarterback. He will pass to Nick Marsh (59 catches,662 yards, 6 TDs at Michigan State last season) and Shazz Preston (43-723-4atTulane). Turbo Richard rushed for 749yardsand nine touchdownsat Boston College. Indiana also added offensive lineman Joe Brunner (formerlyatWisconsin)and defensive linemen Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State), Chiddi Obiazor (Kansas State) andJosh Burnham (Notre Dame). PrestonZachman (Wisconsin) and A.J. Harris (Penn State) boost thesecondary

Texas

Arch Manning has aprime new target now that Texas has added CamColeman, aformerfive-star recruit whohad 1,306yards receiv-

ing and 13 touchdowns at Auburn over the last two seasons. Raleek Brown (Arizona State) rushed for 1,141 yardsand Hollywood Smothers(N.C. State) ran for 939 yards this season. Rasheem Bilesproduced101 tackles —17for loss at Pittsburghthis season. Smotherswas afirst-team pick and Biles was asecond-team selection on the Associated Press all-Atlantic Coast Conferenceteam. The Longhorns also brought in Melvin Siani, who was Wake Forest’sstarting left tackle this season.The secondary adds cornerback Bo Mascoe (Rutgers), an honorable mentionallBigTen selection from the league’s coaches and media.

TexasTech

TexasTech’snew quarterback is Brendan Sorsby,who threw for at least 2,800 yards each of the last two seasonsatCincinnati. Texas Tech stockpiled its defensive front seven by adding lineman Mateen Ibirogba from Wake Forest, edge rusher AdamTrick from Miami (Ohio) and linebacker Austin Romaine from Kansas State. Romaine had more than 160 tackles over the last two seasons. Trick delivered 81/2 sacks and forced three fumbles thisseason.

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State is hoping it can bounce back froma 1-11 season by bringing in plenty of guys from a North Texas team that went 12-2. Morethan adozen players followed new Cowboyscoach Eric Morris fromNorth Texas. Drew Mestemaker threw for an FBSleading 4,379 yards this season. Otherarrivals from North Texas include Caleb Hawkinsand Wyatt Young.Hawkins rushed for1,434 yards and 25 touchdowns this season. Young had 70 catches for 1,264 yardsand 10 scores.

Louisville

Offensivelinemen Cason Henry

(South Carolina), Johnnie Brown (Georgia Southern),Anwar O’Neal (Delaware) andEryxDaugherty (Boston College) wereall starters at their former schools. Edge rusher Tyler Thompson (North Carolina)had seven sacks and safetyKoen Entringer (Iowa) recorded 73 tacklesthis season Wide receiverTre Richardson (Vanderbilt) and tight end Brody Foley (Tulsa)each caught seven touchdown passes.The Cardinals also added two quarterbacks in former Ohio State backup Lincoln Kienholz and West Georgia starter Davin Wydner

TexasA&M

The Aggiesrebuilt an offensive line that loses four starters by landing Tyree Adams (LSU), TrovonBaugh (South Carolina), Coen Echols (LSU) andWilkinFormby (Alabama). All werestarters at their former schools. C.J. Mims (North Carolina), BrandonDavisSwain (Colorado) andAnto Saka (Northwestern) should help the defensive front.IsaiahHorton (Alabama)caught eight touchdown passes this season. The Aggies boosted oneoftheirmajor weaknesses by adding David Olano,who went 37 of 43 on field-goal attempts at Illinois the last two seasons.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin found itsnew quarterback in Sun Belt offensive player of theyear Colton Joseph, who threwfor 2,624 yards and rushed for 1,007 at Old Dominion. Abu Samarushed for 1,933 yards the lastthree seasons at Iowa State. Safety Marvin Burks (Missouri) andcornerbacksJavan Robinson (Arizona State) and Bryce West (OhioState) shouldprovide immediate help. Burks and Robinson both started multipleseasonsat their former schools.

OleMiss

Linebacker Keaton Thomas

Duke QB Mensah says he’llenter portal,reversing plan to return

BY AARON BEARD

Associated Press

Duke quarterbackDarianMensah says he’sentering his name into thetransfer portal,reversing an original announcementthat he would return after leading the Blue Devils to the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

Mensah announcedhis plan in asocial media post Fridayafternoon, hours before the transfer portal window was set to close.

“I’m forevergratefulfor Duke and the coachingstaff,”Mensah said. “Thank you Duke family for everything. This wasn’t an easy decision, but after talking withmy family,Ibelieve it’sinmybest interest to enter the transfer portal.” Mensah and Duke announced his return in December,coming between the Blue Devils’ overtime win against Virginia for the ACC title and their SunBowl win against Arizona State.

Mensah, who transferred from Tulane, is second in the Bowl Subdivision ranks with 3,937yards

HURRICANES

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That was then. Miami’sresurrection from that bad day and alot of others over the last 20 years —a period duringwhich theHurricaneshavehad six coaches, threeotherinterim coaches, 17 seasons that didn’t includea bowl win, countless headaches and zero ACC championships —isjust about complete The Hurricanes (13-2, No. 10 College Football Playoff)playfor the nationalchampionshiponMonday night against Indiana (15-0, No. 1 CFP) at that same Hard Rock Stadium that was practically empty at theend of MTSU’s winfouryears ago.

“It’scompletely different,” said Thomas, who transferred to Tennessee for 2024before coming to Miami for his final college season

“The Miamiteamweplayedback in ’22 was not this team now.I think coach Cristobal changed the culture around this place.” Make no mistake, swagger is still athing at Miami. These Hurricanes are brashand aggressive and tackle hard and playharder.

KUPFERMAN

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JACOB

Duke quarterbackDarian Mensah looks to pass the ball against Virginia in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec.6.Mensah said Fridayheisgoing to enter the transfer portal.

passing and tied for second with 34 touchdown passes againstsix interceptions.

College football changed its calendarthis yeartohave only one transferportal window,with the

Cristobal’sintensity is constant. Same goes for hisstaff. But there’s abalance nowas well, ademand for accountability and carrying yourself theright way at all times.

Some examplesincludewide receiverMalachiToney,the best freshmaninAmerica this season, giving away turkeys at Thanksgiving; star defensive lineman Rueben Bain organizing atoy drive at Christmas and making a $5,000 donation tothe elementary school he attendedyears ago; and receiver CJ Daniels hosting an event to raise awareness of epilepsy,somethingthat has touched his family

Ever sinceCristobal cameback to Miami, the teamhas broken two records each year: onefor fallsemester GPA, then one for spring semesterGPA

“Wehave good people,” Cristobal said.“No,wehavegreat people. It starts there.Surround yourself with great people, like-minded people and see what happens.”

Cristobal didn’tuse someunheard-of,wacky formula to bring Miami back to the national title picture. It was really quitesimple: outwork everyone, make honesty and transparency fundamental

(Baylor) had more than 100 tackles each of the last two seasons. Thomas was asecond-team AP allBig 12 pick this season. Defensive lineman Michai Boireau (Florida)and defensive backs Joenel Aguero (Georgia), JayCrawford (Auburn),Sharif Denson (Florida) and Edwin Joseph (Florida State) all were starters at their former schools. Darrell Gill (Syracuse) hadfivetouchdowncatches and Jonathan Maldonado (Nevada) had five sacks this season. Offensive linemenCarius Curne (LSU) andTroy Everett (Oklahoma) bringmorePower Four experience. Quarterback Deuce Knight (Auburn) is unproven, but he’sa former five-star recruit.

LSU

Incoming LSU coach Lane Kiffin rebuilt the Tigers’ quarterbackroom by signing SamLeavitt (Arizona State) for the present and Husan Longstreet (Southern California) forthe future. Leavitt got Arizona StatetoaCFP berth last season.Longstreetwas a five-star prospect coming out of high school.Kiffin also upgraded LSU’s passing game by bringing WinstonWatkins with him from

LSU

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listed at 6-foot-6 and 327 pounds, beganhis career at Georgia Harper is the second former Ole Miss player to follow Kiffin to LSU. The first, wide receiver Winston Watkins, committedto theTigers on Sunday On theother side of theball, LSUhas added eight transfers five linemen andthree defensive backs. LSU also is in the market for alinebacker,and sources said the Tigersare ateam to watchfor in the recruitmentofOle Miss transfer TJ Dottery While the Tigers didnot have as many needs on defense as offense, they still wanted to sign several players.

Ole Miss and signing several otherwideouts, including Eugene Wilson (Florida), Jayce Brown (Kansas State), TreBrown(Old Dominion) and Jackson Harris (Hawaii). Harris had 49 catches for963 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. TreBrown had762 receiving yards andJayce Brown had712.

Virginia Tech/PennState

These twoschools are apackage deal because of their coaching connection. New Virginia Tech coach James Franklin has added about adozen of his former Penn State players. Thatlistincludes quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer,who took over for the injured Drew AllarasPennState’sstarter the second half of this season. Wide receiver Que’Sean Brown caught 10 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns in Duke’sSun Bowl win over Arizona State. New Penn State coach Matt Campbell brought nearlytwo dozenplayers withhim fromIowa State. Rocco Becht headed to Penn State after throwing for 64 touchdowns and more than 9,200 yards forCampbell’sIowa State teams over the last three seasons.

15-day period running from Jan. 2 through Friday as thefinal day for mostplayers to enter their names. In previous years, there wasone transfer portal window in December and asecond one in April.

principles of theprogram,hire thebest people and fight like hell to win recruiting battles.

Landing Bain —aMiamiguy whostayed home for college and should be afirst-round NFL draft pick—in2022was ahugeget Cristobal was on aplane when Bain calledhim to commit.He

TheTigers recruited Delane, aMaryland native, when he was afour-star recruit andthe No. 55 overallplayer in the 2025 class, accordingtothe 247Sports composite. He finishedhis lone season as aBuckeye with 12 tacklesand one tackle for loss while playing in 13 games. He has three more years of eligibility Delane visited LSU on Thursday after athree-day NCAA recruiting dead period ended. He became the second safety to transfertoLSU this offseason, joining former Boise State safety Ty Benefield. Delane wasranked as the No. 10 safety in the transferportal by 247Sports. At safety,LSU alreadyhas brought back redshirt sophomore starter Tamarcus Cooley and sophomore DashawnSpears, atop backup who could become afull-timestarter next season. It persuaded Spears to return after he said he would enter the transfer portal. The Tigers need new starters at onesafety spot and Star,a hybrid linebacker/safety position usually played by adefensive back.

threw his phone acrossthe plane when he heard the words. Luckily, it was aprivate plane. The phone didn’thit anyone.

“We’re used to winning and that’s what we’re going to bring back to Miami,” Bain said in 2022 when he announced his college choice.

“Theyneed help bad, they need helpright now, andI’m willing to come in right now and make a change.”

Changes were made.

After that 5-7 first season, Miami went 7-6 in 2023. Better,but nowhereneargoodenough. In 2024, theHurricanes started9-0 before losing three of their last four games. Better again, but still not good enough.

So,Cristobal hired defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman away from Minnesota to shore up that sideofthe ball. Carson Beck signed and took over for No. 1draft pickCam Ward at quarterback Miamikept landingkey pieces in the transfer portal—Thomas, Keionte Scott and Mohamed Toure aresome who’ll play big roles on defense Monday night, while Keelan Marion, James Brockermeyer, Marty Brown, Daniels andBeck arejust afew of the names who’ll be on the offensive side.

“Itwas just getting the brotherhood right,”saidlinebacker Wesley Bissainthe, whoplayed for Miami in that loss to MTSU. “I feel like we’re allinthere. Every person in that locker room is playing foreach other.That’swhat it looks like when we’re out there. No one is just playing forthemselves. The brotherhood,I feel like it’s one of the most important things in a team’s culture. You’ve got to play forthe person beside of you.” Miami hasput togetherback-toback seasons of double-digit wins —ithad four consecutive 10-ormore-win seasonsfrom 2000-03, then exactly one such season from 2004-23.Itwill have back-to-back, season-ending appearancesinthe AP Top25for just the second time since 2005. Winorlose on Monday, Cristobalinevitably will say more work needs to be done. But the dark days at Miami seem to be over “A care factor that’sthrough the roof and adie-hard belief in the University of Miami, bleeding orange and green through all of us, I think that’swhat has really forged our progress forward as we continue to try to get better,” Cristobal said. “And we certainly have along ways to go.”

Seahawks don’texpect surprisesagainst 49ers

BY ANDREW DESTIN AP sportswriter

RENTON, Wash. For the Seattle Seahawks to host another playoff game and move closer to the fourth Super Bowl appearancein franchise history,they will have to dispose of afamiliarfoe.

Very familiar

The top-seeded Seahawks (14-3) host the San Francisco 49ers (13-5) in the NFC’sdivisional round on Saturday night. It’ll be the second meeting in three weeks betweenthe NFC West rivals and the third time they have squared off in the playoffs. Seattle won the division and secured the No. 1seed with adominant 13-3 win overBrock Purdy andthe host49ersonJan.3.That was the lowest-scoring output for the Niners since they lost23-3 to Carolina in coach Kyle Shanahan’s debut in 2017.

Purdysaid San Franciscowill have to make adjustments againstthe NFL’s top-ranked scoringdefense.

“Wejust played them two weeks ago, so looking back at the other game plan as well and having it sort of fresh in your mind,”Purdy said, “picking it up where you left off and obviously making some changeswhere you need to. But yeah, it feels like we just played them.”

DUNCAN

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Before the season, Payton told me and others he had ateam talented enough to reach the Super Bowl and win it. Itook his words with agrain of salt, assigning his enthusiasm to the normal preseason optimism. Turns out, he wasn’tjust talking out the side of his neck. The Broncos went 14-3 and wrested AFC West supremacy away from the Kansas City Chiefs, the division’s longtime kingpin.

Ayear ago, Payton surprised the league by steering hissecond Broncos team to the playoffs. That bunch was not ready for prime time, and it showed ina 31-7 blowout loss to the Bills at Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, New York. This year is different. The Broncos are the top seed in the AFC. Expectations are high in Denver, where the Broncos will play their first home playoff game in adecade. If you’ve ever been to Invesco Field, you know the atmosphere will be electric for four quarters.

Broncos fans have endured years of frustration, embarrassment and heartache before reachingthis point. They’ll be ready

“After last season, the expectations rose internally as well as externally,” Payton said.“After free agency, Itold some (reporters) that Ithought this team had a chance to be unique, and Ifeel the same way now.” Rest assured, Payton knows what’satstake. He’sastudentof history and aware of what asecondSuper Bowl title would mean for his legacy

He also understands theimpor-

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Seahawks defensive lineman LeonardWilliams recognizes it will be achallengetoslow down San Francisco’s10th-ranked scoring offense,evenwith Seattle’s recent success against theNiners.

“They’ve clearlyshown that they have agoodoffense,” Williams said. “But at the same time, Itrust our team.”

Seattle finishedthe seasonwith seven straight wins to finishwith afranchise-record 14victories, but one ofits losses came at home against San Francisco in Week 1.

The Seahawks had some fresh concerns Thursdaywhenquarterback

Sam Darnold injured his left oblique in practice. He was listed as questionable but said he’sconfident he’ll play Seahawkscoach Mike Macdonalddoesn’t expect to seemuch that’sdifferent about the49ers, giventhat they’veplayedonly once since thelast meeting.

“You’re really going off how you felt like you played the game, things youdid well, maybe where youthink they might takethings,” Macdonald said.

The 49ers played theirfinal two games ofthe regular season with onefewer day of rest than normal,

DenverBroncoshead coach Sean Payton looksoveraplaybook with quarterback Bo NixonJan. 4in Denver.

tance of opportunity.The Broncos are rested,relatively healthy andblessed with the home-field advantage in the AFC thanks to their No. 1seed,a luxury Payton enjoyed just twice in 16 seasons with the Saints. He knows how rare these opportunities can be andthe importance of taking advantage of them.

“No. 1seedsare not like carwash coupons; they’re hard to get,” Paytonsaidthis week. “I told the team (this week),weonly have four weeks left together as a team.Let’smake themostofit.”

His team is good enough to garnerafourth Lombardi Trophy for theMile High City. TheBroncos are talented alongboth lines and boast themorefearsomepass rush in the league. But they are farfrom dominant.While they posted aleague-best 14-3 mark, they outscored opponents by only 5.3 points agame, seventh-best in the league. Eleven of their wins camebyeight points or fewer TheBills gamehas all of the ingredients forcompelling theater

Rams hope to wrap arms around Bears quarterback Williams

BY GREG BEACHAM AP sportswriter

LOS ANGELES When Jared

Verse begins to elaborate on the methodology of sacking Caleb Williams, it’s quickly obvious the Los Angeles Rams star edge rusherhas been thinking about this monumental task quite abit

“You just have to keep rushing,” Verse said. “You have to keep running. Honestly,once you get your hands around him, if you can’tfully grab him, aim for his arm. He’sathrowing quarterback. Obviously,that’s all quarterbacks, but you have to aim for his arm. Justtry to mess his throw up alittle bit.

“It can’tjust be like you’re getting him off the spot. He’sone of those quarterbacks even if they’re off thespot, they’re still liable to make any type of play.”

ä Rams at Bears.

5:30 P.M. SUNDAy,NBC

pursuing it and be able to make that tackle.”

Verse still remembers his frustrationwhenthe Rams visited the BearsinWeek 4oflast season. Verse managed to sack Williams twice in athree-play span of the second quarter,only for both to be nullified by defensive penalties

TheRams sacked Williams threetimes thatday,but he still led the Bears to avictory.Williams wassacked 68 times as a rookie, but that number plummeted to just 24 this season, and the Packers got him down only once lastweek while he led Chicago’sdramaticcomeback victory in the wild-card round.

including the Week 18 loss to Seattle. They’reinthe same situation this week against well-rested Seattleafter playing their wild-card gameSunday

Coach Kyle Shanahanhad lobbied fora Sunday game this week to no avail, leading to the team limiting practices and changing meeting times to give players as much rest as possible.

“Wecan’tcontrol that kind of stuff,” linebacker Eric Kendricks said.“At the endofthe day, we’re playing meaningfulfootball. We want to play meaningful football. These games mean alot.Weknow what’sat stake, so we betterget ready forit.”

Ninerswide receiver Ricky Pearsall has not played since Dec. 28 becauseofaknee injury,but he returned to practice this week in alimitedcapacity.Areturn by Pearsalll would be aboostfor San Francisco, especially after All-Pro tightend George Kittle tore his right Achillestendon in the 49ers’ 23-19 win at Philadelphia last week. Macdonald andthe Seahawks expect to see Pearsall in thelineup.

“Theyhavealot of talented receivers, buthe’sdefinitely oneof them,” Macdonald said. “He definitely complements the rest of the guys well in termsofwhat he does in his skill set and how they use him.”

Reigning MVPJosh Allen is trying to lead the Bills to their first Super Bowl in morethan three decades. The Bills began theyear as favorites to represent theAFC in Super Bowl LX. In beating Jacksonville last week, Allen ended afour-game losing streak in playoff road games. He won’tbe intimidated by the environment and will be at home in thefrigid conditions Saturday The game features another interesting subplot. The Buffalo coaching staff is filled with former members of Payton’sold Saintsstaffs,including offensive coordinator Joe Brady,offensive line coach Aaron Kromer,quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry and defensive assistant Ryan Nielsen. Combine that with aBroncos staff featuring seven coaches with Saints ties and you have two teams that are intimately familiar with each other

As Saintsfans know,Payton’s closing run in New Orleanswas hugely disappointing. For all the success he had, thesecond run of theDrew Brees era left fans feeling empty and unfulfilled. His teams lost homeplayoff games theywere favored to win in each of the 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons. The infamous NOLANo-Call derailed the 2018 team, but there was no officiating gaffe to blame in 2019 and 2020. The Saintswere just outplayed and out-coached by the Vikings and Buccaneers.

Now,Payton gets achanceat asecondrun at coaching immortality Winitall, and he books his ticket to Canton. Fall short,and he’ll provide morefodder for his critics, who cite his 9-9 playoff record among theshortcomings on his résumé. History awaits.

Williams’ clutch playmaking has driven the Bears (12-6) to the NFCNorth titleand home-field advantage in their divisional round visit from the Rams (135) on Sunday night.The Rams’ success in containing theformer Southern California star will be adetermining factor in this matchup —particularly in the fourth quarter,when two quarterbacks knownfor late comebacks seem likely to be trading big plays in the Chicago cold. Limiting Williams is an 11-man job,but abig chunkofthatresponsibility falls on Verse andhis fellowPro Bowl edge rusherByron Young. Theduo combinedfor 191/2 of theRams’ 47 sacksduring the regular season, but both will be challengedatSoldier Field by aprofoundlyelusive quarterback andhis much-improved offensive line.

Verse has plentyofideas about howtodoit, but he also knows the smartest plansagainst Williamssometimes don’twork.

“When youget to him, youhave to wrap him up,”Verse said.“It’s notlike(youcan)lunge or jump at him. He’svery athletic and he’svery nimble. He’s able to get away from anythingyou bring to him. Youhave to keep (moving) your feet under you when you wraphim up.You can’tlunge at him.

“We’ve watched all thetape, watched games from their last playoff game to thefirst game of theirseason. He’sbeen doing it all season long. It’simpossible to say he won’tget away from oneofus, butweall have to keep

Rams coach Sean McVay has been struck by Williams’ growth while watching film this week. “It’sone thing where you see him play in time and in rhythm with good accuracy and anticipation,” McVay said. “Butthen some of those second-reaction plays wherehe’sgetting flushed to his right or getting flushed to his left and guys understand how to work with him,thoseare the ones that arereally scary. He’s playing at ahigh clip.”

This challenge is particularly significant forthe Rams becausetheir passrushisthe main strength of their defense, which hasfaded down thestretch this season. Los Angeles has allowed at least 27 pointstoevery opponent other than the woebegone Arizona Cardinals since Thanksgiving, with theunit’seffectivenessdeclininginmostdefensive metrics.

The Rams blitz lessthan nearly everyteam in the NFL, just 18.1% of the time in the regular season. They rely on their edge rushers and interior rushers to get homeoften enough to help their secondary, which has been largely unimpressive all season long. Williams’ skill setisapotential nightmare forthe Rams, and they know it. Verse and histeammates arestill confident they can contain him enough to keep the Rams competitive.

“He’saHeisman winner for areason,” said Verse,who was drafted 18 picks after Williams in 2024. “Hewas the No. 1pick, and Ihave alot of respect for him.”

BY KRISTIERIEKEN AP sportswriter

HOUSTON— Asked how he’d describe Houston’spass rush to someone who hasn’tseen theTexansplaybefore, coach DeMeco Ryans took afew seconds before landing on an answer

“It’slikefourTasmanian devils just wrecking everything that’sin front of them. That’show Ilook at our guys,” Ryans said. “They are fast. They arephysical. The way they get off the ball, the way they collapse the pocket, they’re aterror.”

After astellar performance in a winover the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round, theTexans are looking forthis fearsome foursometoleadthemagain when they visit the NewEngland Patriots on Sunday, when awin will put them in the AFC championship game for the first time in franchise history

The starting defensive line consists of first-team AP All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson, and second-teamer and fellow endand LSU star Danielle Hunter along with tackles Sheldon Rankins andTommy Togiai.

The Texans led the NFL in yards allowed in the regular season and were second to the Seahawks in points. Theycontinued that successintheir firstplayoff game, allowing just 175 yardsin the30-6 winover Pittsburgh. Houston sacked Aaron Rodgers four timesand hithim 12 other times on Monday nightwhile forcinghim to fumble twice. They scored two defensive touchdowns against the Steelers, with one comingonAnderson’sstrip-sack of Rodgers thatRankins scooped

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2P.M. SUNDAy,ABC

up and returned33yards for the score. It was the fourthtouchdown this season for theHouston defensive line, another example of just how good thisgroup has been. Andersonand Hunterare the undisputed stars of the group after combining for27sacks in the regular season. But defensive line coach Rod Wright said what the Texans do doesn’tworkunless everyone does their job. “Wesay four equals one,” Wright said.“Everything we do,wedotogether.That’satribute to our guys. We knowwe’ll sack aquarterback if we rush as one. But if one guy wins, but the other guy doesn’tcomplement him, the quarterback’sgonna get out, especially aquarterback like we’re playing on Sunday.” Hunter said playing with that mindset makes the game alot of fun.

“The guys go out there and the biggest thing is just feeling free,” he said. “You don’thave to worry about somebody else’sjob, just doing your part. When you’re outthere,there’s no feelingthat’sbetterthanyou doing your part and everybody else is doing their part. It just flows.”

Houston’spass rush hurried and harassed the 42-year-old Rodgers throughout Monday’swin. The Texans knowthey’llhave a different challenge against the Patriots with the much moremobile 23-year-old Drake Maye,who has 450 yards rushing this season.

But regardless of who they’re facing, Wright’smessage this week is that you don’twin at this level by changing things up, but rather by continuingtodowhat got you here.

Sweet spot on the block

New BR coffee and dessert spot to serve up bubble waffles, more

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Just after the start of the new year, a coffee and dessert spot, Crave Lab, opened its doors on Jan. 6 in the Drusilla Shopping Center in Baton Rouge.

“We offer dessert waffles, crêpes, ice cream,” said manager Sam Zee. “We have ice cream bubble waffles, and we have coffee drinks too, milkshakes and smoothies.”

At 3490 Drusilla Lane, the spot got its lease in September and is located behind Mary Lee Donuts. This is the first location for Crave Lab, and Zee said the owners plan on expanding.

The building also has a drivethru, so it’s convenient for those wanting to grab a coffee on their way to work without stepping outside of the car Inside, the brightly lit space has a dining area with a TV and additional two-seater tables along the wall. There’s also a neon sign on a floral and greenery-covered backdrop that says the business’ name.

The menu offers a variety of Belgian waffles, ice cream bubble waffles, waffle bites, pancakes, stick waffles, a banana split and a Dubai chocolate cup. The waffle bites are Zee’s favorite, and they come with a variety of toppings like Nutella, Oreos and Biscoff, he said For beverages, there are milkshakes in classic flavors, but also Dubai, pistachio, lotus, pecan and more. The coffee options include variations like lattes and mochas, and they come hot or iced, including frozen, blended coffees called Chiller Coffee Smoothie flavors include banana, mango, pineapple, avocado and more.

Crave Lab, 3490 Drusilla Lane, Baton Rouge. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m Fridays, noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 9 p.m Sundays.

“It just dawned on me one day that I wanted to be a special effects makeup artist. Everybody thought I was crazy.” LEE

STUFFING FOR SHOW

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

At 8 years old, Lee Romaire started stuffing animals.

His introduction into special effects makeup and creature building started in Morgan City, his hometown, where he learned the art of taxidermy Now his work is featured in theme parks and on screen, most recently in Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein.” Romaire the owner and chief executive officer of Romaire Studios, says he was always interested in realistic effects in movies and rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion in Disney World.

“The thing that was really around me a lot when I was a kid was taxidermy,” Romaire said. “Everybody had a fish or a duck on their wall.”

A friend of Romaire’s dad practiced taxidermy as a hobby and had a mail-order course with books. Romaire began learning from him, and then taught himself using the course books.

A special effects journey

He began his own taxidermy business in high school in the 1980s. While other kids were out playing

football, he was mounting animals.

Although he graduated from LSU in advertising and worked in marketing in New Orleans, Romaire still had a burning desire to create.

“It just wasn’t fulfilling for me,” Romaire said about his advertising and marketing jobs. “It just dawned on me one day that I wanted to be a special effects makeup artist. Everybody thought I was crazy.”

He started working at Mardi Gras companies to sculpt Mardi

Gras props while he was learning special effects makeup. In a New Orleans bookstore, he found MakeUp Artist magazine and an advertisement for a trade show in Hollywood. He bought tickets and went. That trade show changed everything He met Dick Smith, an Academy Award-winning makeup artist famous for “The Exorcist” and “The Godfather,” who showed belief in Romaire’s talent. Romaire

See TAXIDERMY, page 3D

Aftermovingin, son becomes dismissive

Dear Harriette: Irecently welcomed my adult son into my home. Ididn’tknow him as he was growing up;I learned about him when he was already 18, and since then we’ve stayedintouch through visits, calls and texts. When his mother passed away, he asked to move in with me. My wife and daughters supported the decision, and he’sbeen living with us for about a year now.He’s25, has asteady job and is even considering school, which I’m proud of At home, however,he’s become demanding and dismissive. He was much kinder before he moved in. Now it feels like he resents me and wants to punish me for not being there when he was younger.Itriedtalking to him —and evenapologized for my absence —but he snapped at me and said Ithink too highly of myself and my impact on him. I don’tknow what to do. Ifeel like Iamwalking on eggshells now,with no sound resolution on how to change the dynamic in my own home. Any input? —Walking on Eggshells Dear Walking on Eggshells: Sit down and talk to your son. Ask what’sbothering him. Remind him that he

Usingupholiday leftovers

Handypaper towels

Harriette Cole

SENSE AND SENSITIVITy

hasbeen through alot and you are doingyourbest to be there for him, but you do not appreciate his current behavior.Probetosee what is goingoninhis life that hastriggered thisnew negativity.Suggest that he go to therapy to address some of hisissues. If herefuses to make an effort,you mayneed to encouragehim to findhis own place. It is not OK for him to be disrespectful in your home.Heneeds to understand boundaries. You have to draw theline. Dear Harriette: My daughter alwayswants me to babysit her children. Ilove my grandchildren dearly,but I am in my 80s and they are rambunctious and active, so it’shard for me to keep up with them. Ihatetotell my daughternobecause sheand her husband both work and are busy,sothe extra help is necessary.She often phrases it as, “Mom, you’rethe onlyone Itrust,” which makes me feel even more pressured tosay yes. On the rare occasion when Igently hintthatit’sgetting hard for me,she becomes defensiveand reminds me of how much shehelped me in the past, which makes me feel guilty

Idon’twant to causetensionorseem ungrateful, selfish or like Idon’tlove my family.Atthe same time,Iwant to enjoy what time Ihave left withsome peace. Ihave my own health issues, doctor appointments and days when Isimply don’tfeel strong enough to chase after young children. Iwish my daughterwould understand that I’m not the same woman Iwas 20 years ago. Iwant to be part of my grandchildren’slives, but Idon’t want to feel obligated, overwhelmed or like I’mbeing taken advantage of. How do Iset boundaries without hurting my daughter’sfeelings or damaging our relationship? —Tired Grandma

Dear Tired Grandma: In very direct terms,let your daughter know that you cannot do as much as you could in the past. Youhave physical limitations. Decide how often you believe you can watch her children maybe once aweek for a set amount of time. Be firm for your own health and for thesafety of her children. Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

Dear Heloise: In theSouth, aholiday dinner staple is broccoli rice casserole. After this year’s Thanksgiving feast, Ihad more leftover broccoli casserole than I expected. So, the day after,rather than reheating and eating the same old stuff, Imade a delicious cream of broccoli soupby pureeing the remains in my food processor and transferring the puree to asaucepan. Iadded somechicken broth, black pepper,heavy cream and milk while stirring on alow heat to make thesoup, which was a lighter menuoption for the next day.Iwas so pleased with the result that Idid this again after our Christmas feast. —DeeDee, in Austin, Texas DeeDee, this is agreat idea! Iwould have added just apinch of garlic. With aside salad and some dinner rolls, this would be an excellent meal after the heavy feast of the previous day —Heloise

Dear Miss Manners: Ihad achoking incident at the office today when Iinhaled acherry tomato.

One of my direct reports did the Heimlich maneuver and helped loosen it, and then one of the guys from another department joined in to keep the tomato moving. As Irecovered, asecretary from down the hall put acold

compress on my neck and forehead Iwanttothank them,but don’tquite know the rightthing to do.Any suggestions?

Gentle reader: Ummm …Thank them?

Whether you do it in person or in aletter is up to you. But constantly bringing it up in meetings andoffice parties, telling everyone

that these people are national heroes who saved your life, Miss Manners thinks, would be thebest way of all.

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

Dear Heloise: Ialways have aroll of paper towels in my car since Igotoalot of outdoor sport events. My towels roll around in the back seat and onto the floor.Tofixthe problem,I raised the headrest on the passenger side of the car (as Iamthe principal driver).

Ithreaded one end of a small bungee cord into the roll of paper towels, fastened the hook around the headrest post, hooked the other end to the headrest, and put the headrest back in place. Now Ialways have towels on hand, and they don’troll around in the car —Betty G., via email

Usinglessdetergent

DearHeloise: Ihave observed that detergent caps are getting larger,and for large containers with a spigot, the detergent often comes out muchfaster

This seems to encourage consumers to use more detergent than necessary

However,most standard laundry loads only require 1-2 tablespoons of detergent, and high-efficiency machines often need even less —sometimes as little as 1teaspoon. Rarely would one need more detergent than what reaches the lowest fill line on the cap. Iuse apermanent marker to highlight the lowest line on the cap as avisual reminder.This simple trick can help readers save money by significantly reducing how frequently they need to purchase laundry detergent. —Ann W., in Mount Pleasant,Wisconsin Email heloise@heloise.com.

Continued from page1D

moved to Hollywood thereafter.Smith mentored Romaire for 18 months, and his special effects careertook off from there. Throughout the 2000s Romaire worked in television and won an Emmyfor OutstandingMakeup for aSeries (Prosthetic) for “Six Feet Under” in 2002. He worked in makeup and specialeffects for movies like “White Chicks,” “Van Helsing,” “War of the Worlds,” “Scooby Doo” and “The Country Bears.” While working at the Jim Henson Creature Shop, he fell in love with animatronics In 2000, Romaire opened his own studio in Los Angeles. He and his team built commissions for movies and television, but he saw aneed in the theme park market for quality realism. Theme park animatronics are now the studio’smain business.

Frankenstein animals

Mike Hill, afriend of Romaire’swho is aspecial effectsmakeup artist and creature designer, contacted him with arequest. Hill was working on “Frankenstein,” developing the Creature’s design and makeup application for actor Jacob Elordi He asked if Romaire would wanttohelp out and be a part of the movie. Thefilm required alot of bodies, body parts and dead animalsthat had to be created. Romaire and his team created dead sheep and dead sled dogs with traumatic injuries from the Creature. Romaire andhis team of about 10 to 15people built the dead animals in four months and delivered them to set in Toronto.

‘Henry’ CountryBear mockup,Walt DisneyWorld,2011

Romairesays watching the film was gratifying, and he considered it an honortobe apart of adel Toro filmwith extensive, detailed practical work. Since its release, “Frankenstein” has won 44 awards, including the 2026 Critics Choice Award for Best Production Design,and has been nominated for 203 other awardsasofJan. 14. Thefilmis expectedto

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be nominated for Academy Awards in many categories, including production design, whichiswhatRomaire’s dead animals would fall under ButRomaire sayshe doesn’twatch the award shows. Thejoy of thework and being apart of awork of art is what matterstohim.

‘Reingators’ forMorganCity Now,Romaire Studios focuses on lifelike animal builds and high-end animatronicengineering for theme parks. Hisstudio hasdone builds for Disneyland’sGreat Moments with Mr.Lincoln, Walt Disney World’sStarWars: Galactic Starcruiser, Disney Imagineering, Universal’s Secret Life of Pets: Offthe Leash ride and Epic Universe.

Romaire brought his gifts back home when he renovated Morgan City’s Christmas shrimp boat display in 2018. Instead of reindeer,Romaire builtthree albino alligators

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with blue crabsasantlers and changed SantaClaus’slook to thatofatrapper.Hemodified theelves andturned them into shrimpers, complete withwhite shrimp boots.

The Cajun Christmas displayhas gainedinternational attention, and tourists even make their way to Morgan Citytotake pictures of thedecorations.

Despite all he has accomplished, Romaire still hashis sights setonfuture goals for his studio,like perfecting what they’re known for but also creating their own intellectual property.Hecredits his hometown and his early fascinations withstuffing dead animals as the beginning of his career in the special effects business.

“I’m always inspired by what Ilearned and what I was exposed to as akid,” he said. “That’s whereitall came from.”

Email Joy Holden at joy holden@theadvocate.com.

‘TheMiracle Hunter’ to lead retreat

The public is invited to a dayoffaith, discovery and inspirationwith speaker Michael O’Neill, “The Miracle Hunter,” from 7a.m. to 3p.m. Saturday,Jan. 31.

The event will take place at Cypress Springs Mercedarian Prayer Center, 17560 George O’Neal Road, Baton Rouge.

Tickets are $70 per person. Register online on

eventbrite.com.

St. JamesBaptist to hold celebration

St. James Baptist Church, 1105 N. 44thSt.,Baton Rouge, will celebrate the second-year appreciation of theRev.J.L.Franklin, pastor, andfirst lady Lisa Franklinat8 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 1.

Thepublic is invited. A meal will be served following the service.

By The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, Jan. 17, the 17th day of 2026. There are 348 days leftinthe year

Todayinhistory:

On Jan. 17, 1920, prohibition of alcohol began in the United States as the Volstead Act went into effect in support of the 18th Amendment.

Also on this date:

In 1950, the Great Brink’sRobbery took place as seven masked men held up the Brink’s Building in Boston, stealing $1.2 million in cash and $1.5 million in checks and money orders.

In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his farewell address in which he warned against “the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex.”

In 1977, convicted murderer GaryGilmore, 36, wasshot by afiring squad at Utah State Prison in the first U.S. execution in adecade. He was put to death after the SupremeCourt reinstated the death penalty the previous year

In 1994, the Northridge earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area; the magnitude 6.7 quake was responsible for57deaths, 9,000 injuries and an estimated $25 billion in damages.

In 1995, morethan 6,000 people werekilled when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake

struck the city of Kobe, Japan. In 2017, President Barack Obamagranted clemency to Chelsea Manning, allowing the transgender Armyintelligence officer convicted of leaking morethan 700,000 U.S. documents to go free nearly three decades early.Manning was one of 209 people whose sentences were commuted by Obama days before leaving office.

In 2022, as Russian troops stationed near Ukraine’sborder launched drills, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov angrily rejected U.S. allegations that Moscow waspreparing apretext to invade Ukraine. (Russia would launch afull-scale invasion of the neighboring country on Feb. 24.)

Today’sbirthdays: Rock musician Mick Taylor is 77. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr is 72. Singer-songwriter Steve Earle is 71. Singer Paul Young is 70.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Shareyour intentions, see who's on board andbe willing to proceed alone.Take the initiative and show everyone what you can do.Set astrictbudget and find ways to include what'smost important to you.

AQuARIus (Jan.20-Feb. 19) An energetic day will pump you up and get youmoving in apositive direction. Start by takingcare of allyour unfinishedprojects. Romance is favored

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Don'tsecondguess yourself; you're on target, andif you are willing to putinthe time and work, you'll make headway. Initiatepositivechangeandstartatrendthatencourages others to follow your lead.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Considerevery possibility. Research, think matters through from beginning to endand do as muchasyou canyourself. Relying on others or expecting something from them will leave you at aloss.

TAuRus (April 20-May 20) Invite change into your life. Keep an open mind. Look foropportunitiesthat offer greater freedom.Making homeimprovements or hosting an event are favored.

GEMInI(May21-June20) Spend time working out or making lifestylechangesto improve your health and well-being. Updating your appearance, attending a social event or spending time with someone interesting is encouraged.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) Join forces with like-minded individuals andyou'll find away to bring about positive change. Discipline and hardworkwill lead to

unexpectedprospectsthatcanalteryour directionand give you hope for abetter future LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Participation will lead to opportunities, newfound friends and the chance to use your skills, knowledge and experience in unique ways. Listen,engageinbringingaboutchanges and lend ahelping hand.

VIRGo (Aug.23-sept. 22) Visit aplace you love to frequent or go somewhere you've never been beforebut feel drawn to Time spent doing something fulfilling will lead to greater purpose andmeaning.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Patience will be necessary whendealing with domestic issues.Bideyourtime. Consider what's best for you and make positive changes withinyourbudgetthathelp yougrow strongermentally and physically.

sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Talk to the peopleyou encounter, and see who shares your likes, dislikes andconcerns. An opportunity to explorenew places, peopleand possibilities will give you new insight. Now's agood time for romance.

sAGITTARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Ifsomething doesn't feel right, it probably isn't. Move forward carefully and be mindful of how muchpersonal information you share Focus on how you earn and spend your money.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature,isnot based on scientific fact ©2026 by NEA,Inc.,dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

ToDAy'sCLuE: TEQuALsF

FAMILYCIrCUS

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

George Bernard Shawsaid, “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but moreuseful thana life spent doing nothing.”

At the bridge table, we make alot of mistakes. But with luck,aswegain experience, we make fewer of them. This week, we have been handling the trump suit. Here is one last example —let’s get it right!

West leads the diamond king against sixspades. How should declarer plan the play?

The South hand is very honorable, with, in Chicago and rubber-bridge scoring, 150 in aces and 150 in spades.Italso has 11 winners. Can partner produce an extra trick or two?

In this auction, South’s jump to three spades showed asolid suit, set that suit as trumps, and asked partner if he had anything. North’s raise to fourspades denied an ace or aking. South’s leap to sixspadeswasunderstandable,although risky with those two losing diamonds South must discard one diamond from thedummyonhisthirdtopheartandruff hislast diamond in thedummy. He wins with hisdiamond ace, cashes the three tophearts, and exits with adiamond. He takes the nexttrick andruffs his last diamondwithdummy’s spadeeight,so

there’s no risk of an overruff. Thenhe draws trumps and claims

Finally, note thatthisisone deal in whichthe very badtrump split was lucky. If Westhad beenable to leada trump, andthe defenderwho took the diamond trick could have led another trump, the slam would have failed. ©2026 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InsTRuCTIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the additionof“s,” suchas“bats” or “dies,” are notallowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may notbeused. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.

ToDAy’s WoRD ARTIFACTs: AHR-tih-fakts: Objects remaining froma particular period.

Average mark 31 words

Time limit 55 minutes

Can you find 49 or more words in ARTIFACTS?