The Acadiana Advocate 01-21-2026

Letlow to challenge Cassidyfor Senate

Incumbenthas advantageincampaignfunds; challenger hassupport of PresidentTrump

“I don’tthink the crux ofthe campaign will be about endorsements.”

U.S. SEN. BILL CASSIDy, R-Baton Rouge

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

U.S. Sen.Bill Cassidy begins the 2026 Senate race with$11 million in the bank, millions of dollars more in asupportive super PAC—and abig problem.

“I

have fought alongsidePresident Trump to put America first.”

U.S. REP.JULIA LETLOW, R-Baton Rouge

ä Race to fill Letlow’sHouse seat alreadyunderway. PAGE 5A

to wage avigorouscampaigntoretain his seat

Appealscourt hearsarguments in lawsuitover Commandments in La.schools

BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer

Afederal appeals court heard arguments Tuesdayinaclosely watched case centered on Louisiana’slaw requiringpublic schoolstopost theTen Commandments, which couldhave national implications for religious freedom and is expected to end up in the U.S. SupremeCourt.

The full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals considered alawsuit brought by amultifaith group of families seeking to block the 2024 law,which requires public K-12 schools and colleges to display the TenCommandments in classrooms. The case wascombined with one related to asimilar law that the Texas Legislature passed last year,provoking alegal challenge by public school parents. The relatively rare review of the cases by the entire court comes after apanel of three 5th Circuit judgeslastyear declared Louisiana’slaw “plainly unconstitutional,”upholding alower court’sruling. The decision by thefull court, which is considered the country’smost conservative federal court of appeals, to rehear the case could signal somedisagreement with the panel’s decision, legal observers said.

Scottpolice chiefretiring

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

First, standing up for our parents, securing our borders, supporting law enforcement, rooting out waste, fraudand abuse that drives up inflationand fighting to fix an education system toofocusedonwokeideologyinstead of teaching.” Nonetheless, Cassidy saysheplans

U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow told aBaton Rouge crowd Tuesday morningthat sheischallenging Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge, three daysafter President Donald Trumpsaidhe wouldback her Twohours after her announcement, Letlow,R-BatonRouge, posted atwo-minute video that included pictures of her two young children and said, “I have fought alongside President Trumptoput America

“I don’tthink thecrux of the campaign will be about endorsements. The crux of the campaign will be how to makeLouisiana and the United States abetter place,” Cassidy told reporters Tuesday afternoon during ahastily-called news conference via Zoom. He believes he is theperson doing that, noting billions of dollars he helped secure to prevent flooding andtorepair roadsand bridgesin

ä See SENATE, page 5A

During Tuesday’shearing, afew judgesasked pointed questions aboutthe laws,including how they could constitutionally require schoolstopost atext from one religion— specificallya Protestant Christian version of the TenCommandments —when students’ families practice awide range of religions. But otherjudgesexpressedskepticism about the arguments against the law,noting that other texts allowed in schools such as the Pledge of Allegiance reference Godand saying

ä See APPEALS, page 6A

Trumpthreats spark

Leger

Longtime Scott Police Chief Chad Leger announced his retirement at theend of 2026. In aFacebook post he wrote, “Itiswithahumble heartand great love for our city,” that he will be retiring after nearly four decades in law enforcement Leger took office as police chief for the city of Scott in January 2003, and in November 2022 he was electedtohis sixth term, becoming the longest-serving elected official in the city’shistory,according to the department’swebsite.

ä See RETIRING, page 6A

BY WILL WEISSERT,JAMEYKEATEN and EMMA BURROWS Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump‘s pledge to provoke a sweepingtarifffightwithEurope to gethis wayintakingcontrol of Greenland has leftmany of America’sclosest allieswarning of a rupturewith Washington capable of shattering the NATO alliance that had once seemed unshakable.

The European Union’stop officialonTuesdaycalledTrump’s planned new tariffs over Greenland a“mistake” and questioned Trump’strustworthiness. French

President Emmanuel Macron said the EU could retaliate by deploying oneofits most powerful economic tools, knowncolloquially as atrade “bazooka.” Trumpprides himself on ratcheting up pressure to try to negotiate througha position of strength.He wasleaving Tuesday —the anniversary of his inauguration —for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, avenue that offers Trump the chance to defuse tensions as quickly as he stirred them up. But European leaders —digging

ä See TRUMP, page 4A

Vance, wife say they are expecting fourth child

WASHINGTON Vice President

JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, are expecting a son in late July they announced in a social media post on Tuesday

The couple said they were excited to share the news of their fourth child, who will join their other three young kids: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.

Vance, 41, and his wife, 40, said in the post that both mother and baby were doing well.

“During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and for the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children,” the post read.

The news of the Republican vice president’s growing family comes as he has spent years passionately advocating for Americans to have more children.

Hearing delayed for Florida congresswoman

MIAMI A federal judge in Miami yet again rescheduled a hearing on Tuesday so that a Florida congresswoman charged with conspiring to steal $5 million in federal COVID-19 disaster funds could finalize her legal team.

Judge Enjoliqué A. Lett granted U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s request for two more weeks, moving the arraignment to Feb. 3. Prosecutors didn’t object.

Defense attorney David Oscar Markus told the judge that Cherfilus-McCormick’s finances were complicated, but that he was confident they’d be able to reach an agreement to secure legal counsel by next month’s court date. The congresswoman’s arraignment had previously been scheduled for late December, but it was rescheduled for Tuesday Markus and Cherfilus-McCormick declined to speak with reporters Tuesday, but she has maintained her innocence Syrian military, Kurdish forces announce truce

RAQQA,Syria Guards from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces abandoned a camp Tuesday in northeast Syria housing thousands of people linked to the Islamic State group, and the Syrian military said that allowed detainees to escape.

Hours later, the Syrian government and the SDF announced a new four-day truce after a previous ceasefire broke down. The two sides have been clashing for two weeks, amid a breakdown in negotiations over a deal to merge their forces together

The al-Hol camp houses mainly women and children who are relatives of IS members Thousands of accused IS militants are separately housed in prisons in northeast Syria.

Syria’s interior ministry accused the SDF of allowing the release of “a number of detainees from the ISIS militant (group) along with their families.” The AP could not independently confirm if detainees had escaped from the camps or how many

The SDF subsequently confirmed its guards had withdrawn from the camp, but did not say whether any detainees escaped.

U.K. approves a ‘mega’ Chinese Embassy

LONDON Britain’s government on Tuesday approved a huge new Chinese Embassy in central London, despite strong criticism from lawmakers across the political spectrum that it could become a base for espionage and intimidation of opponents.

Local Government Secretary Steve Reed formally signed off on plans for the building near the Tower of London, after years of delays and legal challenges. Critics have long expressed concerns that the supersized embassy, set to be the biggest Chinese Embassy in Europe, will heighten risks of Chinese intelligence-gathering as well as amplify the threat of surveillance and intimidation of Chinese dissidents in exile.

The heads of two U.K spy agencies said that while it’s not realistic to eliminate all risk, appropriate “security mitigations” were in place.

DOJ subpoenas Walz, other Minn. officials

Immigration enforcement obstruction probe launched

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS Federal prosecu-

tors served grand jury subpoenas Tuesday to Minnesota officials as part of an investigation into whether they obstructed or impeded law enforcement during a sweeping immigration operation in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, a person familiar with the matter said.

The subpoenas, which seek records, were sent to the offices of Gov Tim Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, the person said.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity

The subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed federal immigration enforcement through public statements they made, two people familiar with the matter said Friday. They said then that it was focused on the po-

tential violation of a conspiracy statute.

Walz and Frey, both Democrats, have called the probe a bullying tactic meant to quell political opposition. Frey’s office released a subpoena, which requires a long list of documents for a grand jury on Feb. 3, including “any records tending to show a refusal to come to the aid of immigration officials.”

“We shouldn’t have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with,” Frey said.

Her, a Hmong immigrant and a Democrat, also acknowledged a subpoena, saying she’s “unfazed by these tactics.” The governor’s office referred reporters to a statement earlier Tuesday in which Walz said the Trump administration was not seeking justice, only creating distractions.

The subpoenas came a day after the government urged a judge to reject efforts to stop the immigration enforcement surge that has roiled Minneapolis and St Paul for weeks.

The Justice Department called the state’s lawsuit, filed soon after

the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an immigration officer, “legally frivolous.”

“Put simply, Minnesota wants a veto over federal law enforcement,” government attorneys wrote. Ellison said the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights. He described the armed officers as poorly trained and said the “invasion” must cease. It’s not known when U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez will make a decision.

Ilan Wurman, who teaches constitutional law at University of Minnesota Law School, doubts the state’s arguments will be successful. He said immigration enforcement is clearly a matter of federal control.

Greg Bovino of U.S. Border Patrol, who has commanded the Trump administration’s big-city immigration crackdown, said more than 10,000 people in the U.S. illegally have been arrested in Minnesota in the past year, including 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders” in the last six weeks during Operation Metro Surge.

Ukraine’s power grid again struck by Russia

Officials seek momentum in U.S.-led peace talks

BY KAMILA HRABCHUK Associated Press

KYIV Ukraine Russia bombarded Ukraine with more than 300 drones and ballistic and cruise missiles in its latest nighttime attack on the Ukrainian power grid, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, as Moscow gave no public sign that it’s willing to end the invasion of its neighbor anytime soon.

The attack knocked out heating to more than 5,600 apartment buildings in the capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Nearly 80% of the affected buildings had recently had their heating supply restored after a major Russian barrage on Jan. 9 that plunged thousands of people into a dayslong blackout, he said.

Ukraine is enduring one of its coldest winters for years, with temperatures in Kyiv falling to minus 4 F At the same time, Russia has escalated its aerial attacks on the electricity supply, aiming to deny Ukrainians heat and running water and wear down their resistance almost four years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials are trying to keep up the momentum of U.S.led peace talks. A Ukrainian negotiating team arrived in the United States on Saturday Their main task was to convey how the relentless Russian strikes are undermining diplomacy, according to Zelenskyy

The Ukrainian leader said last week that the delegation would also try to finalize with U.S. officials documents for

a proposed peace settlement that relate to postwar security guarantees and economic recovery If American officials approve the proposals, the U.S and Ukraine could sign the documents at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev plans to meet with some American representatives at Davos.

He refused to name the officials Dmitriev would meet with, but media reports said they would include U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said his country needs urgent assistance and additional sanctions on Russia to make Moscow change course.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “barbaric strike this morning is a wakeup call to world leaders gathering in Davos,” Sybiha said on X.

U.S.

forces seize 7th tanker linked to Venezuela

BY KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON U.S. military forces boarded and took control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to take control of the South American country’s oil.

U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post that U.S. forces apprehended the Motor Vessel Sagitta “without incident” and that the tanker was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

The military command did not say whether the U.S Coast Guard took control of the tanker as has been the case in prior seizures The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for more details. Southern Command said it had nothing to add to its post.

The Sagitta is a Liberianflagged tanker and its registrationsaysitisownedandmanaged by a company in Hong Kong. The ship last transmitted its location more than two months ago when exiting the Baltic Sea in northern Europe.

The tanker was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under an executive order related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The post from U.S. Southern Command indicated the ship had taken oil from Venezuela. It said the capture of the tanker “demonstrates our resolve to ensure that the only oil leaving Venezuela will be oil that is coordinated properly and lawfully.”

The military command posted what appeared to be aerial footage of the Sagitta sailing on the ocean, but unlike in prior videos the clip did not show U.S. forces flying toward it in helicopters or landing on the deck of the ship. Since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid on Jan. 3, the Trump administration has set out to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products.

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U.S. could lose measles status

Health officials to reevaluate elimination designation

BY DEVI SHASTRI Associated Press

It’s been a year since a measles outbreak began in West Texas, and international health authorities say they plan to meet in April to determine if the U.S. has lost its measles-free designation.

Experts fear the vaccine-preventable virus has regained a foothold and that the U.S. may soon follow Canada in losing the achievement of having eliminated it.

The reevaluation is largely symbolic and hinges on whether a single measles chain has spread uninterrupted within the U.S. for at least 12 months.

Public health scientists around the country are investigating whether the now-ended Texas outbreak is linked to active ones in Utah, Arizona and South Carolina. But doctors and scientists say the U.S. — and North America overall — has a measles problem, regardless of the decision.

“It is really a question of semantics,” said Dr Jonathan Temte, a Wisconsin family physician who helped certify the U.S. was measles-free in 2000 “The bottom line is the conditions are sufficient to allow this many cases to occur And that gets back to de-emphasizing a safe and effective vaccine.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed 2,242 measles cases across 44 states — the most since 1991 — and nearly 50 separate outbreaks.

The problem has been years in the making, as fewer kids get routine vaccines due to parental waivers, health care access issues and rampant disinformation. More recently, Trump administration health officials including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr have questioned and sown doubt about the established safety of vaccines at an unprecedented level while also defunding local efforts to improve vaccination rates.

“The most important thing that we can do is to make sure the people who aren’t vaccinated get vaccinated,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of Brown University’s Pandemic Center “We have not issued a clear enough message about that.”

A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said Thursday that Kennedy has emphasized vaccines as the best way to prevent measles, adding that the CDC is responding to outbreaks and working to increase vaccination rates.

In a briefing Tuesday, department officials said they don’t yet have evidence that a single chain of measles has spread for a year

But CDC’s principal deputy director said he would consider the loss of elimination status to be the “cost of doing business” globally

“We have these communities that choose to be unvaccinated,” said Dr Ralph Abraham. “That’s their personal freedom.”

Measles finds unvaccinated

There is little room for error in trying to stop measles. The virus is one of the most contagious, infecting 9 out of every 10 unvaccinated people exposed. Community-level protection takes a 95% vaccination rate. The current rate nationally is 92.5%, according to CDC data but many communities fall far below that.

The patient in Texas’ first known case developed the telltale rash on Jan. 20, 2025, according to state health department data

Workers

and rubella vaccine into an Andrews County Health Department measles clinic in April in Andrews, Texas.

From there, the outbreak exploded. Officially 762 people fell ill, most of them in rural Gaines County, and two children died Many more got sick and were never diagnosed: 182 potential measles cases among children in Gaines County went unconfirmed in March 2025 alone, state health officials said, a possible undercount of 44% in that county. Such data gaps are common, though, making it especially hard to track outbreaks.

Many people living in communities where the virus is spreading face barriers, including access to

health care and distrust of the government.

Contact tracing so many cases is also expensive, said behavioral scientist Noel Brewer, who chairs the U.S. committee that will finalize the data for international health officials. Research shows a single measles case can cost public health departments tens of thousands of dollars.

CDC data on measles is still among the best worldwide, Brewer said, but “the U.S. has changed its investment in public health, so we’re less able to do the case tracking that we used to do.”

Testimony ends in Uvalde officer’s trial over response

BY JIM VERTUNO Associated Press

Witness testimony ended Tuesday in the trial of a former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer accused of failing in his duty to stop a gunman in the critical first minutes of the 2022 Robb Elementary School attack, setting up the case to go to the jury Defense lawyers for Adrian Gonzales rested their case after calling just two witnesses, including a police tactics expert to bolster their claim that Gonzales did the best he could after driving onto campus amid a chaotic scene. Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endanger-

ment. He faces up to two years in prison if convicted Gonzales did not take the stand in his own defense. Closing arguments are scheduled Wednesday before the jury begins deliberations. Prosecutors rested their case after nine days of testimony from 36 witnesses in a trial that began Jan. 5. Gonzales’ only two witnesses included a woman who worked across the street from the school who told jurors she saw the shooter ducking between cars and trying to stay out of view — testimony that could reinforce Gonzales’ claims that he never saw the gunman. Jurors have heard at times gripping and emotional testimony from teachers who

recounted the terrifying moments when the 18-year-old gunman entered the school and killed 19 students and two teachers. Prosecutors have presented graphic photos from inside the classrooms and brought to the witness stand officers who described the chaos of the response. At one point in the trial, the sister of one of the teachers killed that day was removed after an angry outburst after one of the officers testified The prosecution’s case has tugged at the raw emotion and shock of the carnage of May 24, 2022, as they attempt to show what could have been avoided had Gonzales intercepted the gunman in the early seconds of the attack.

Timothy Busfield released from jail

BY MORGAN LEE and SAVANNAH PETERS

The Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A judge has ordered that actor Timothy Busfield be released from jail during a detention hearing on child sex abuse charges.

The order Tuesday by state district court Judge David Murphy is linked to accusations that Busfield inappropriately touching a minor while working as a director

on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.” The judge ordered him released on his own recognizance, pending trial. Busfield will be supervised upon release, and can leave the state to live at home.

Busfield, an Emmy Award-winning actor who

is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” was ordered held without bail last week at his first court appearance. Busfield called the allegations lies in a video shared before he turned himself in. At the hearing Tuesday, Busfield was handcuffed and dressed in an orange jail uniform at the hearing in a New Mexico state district court, while his wife watched from the court gallery

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Race to fill Letlow’s Houseseatunderway

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

The race to win U.S. RepJulia

Letlow’s5th CongressionalDistrict —aftershe announced Tuesday that she is giving up the seat to run for Senate —beginswithno clear front-runner

Several state legislators and others said Tuesday theywill getinto theraceorare looking closelyatit.

About half of the district is in metro Baton Rouge after thestate Legislature redrew congressional boundaries several years ago. The other half includes the Florida Parishes and the parishes up the Mississippi River to theMonroearea, where Letlow lived when she first was elected in 2021.

“It’sawide-open race,” said Woody Jenkins, aformer state representative who chairs the RepublicanParty in East Baton Rouge Parish. “People in northeast Louisiana are used to having representation. They’ll gravitate to acandidate from there. Anybody from north Louisiana needs to get

down here. It’savery conservative district.”

President Donald Trumpwon 67% of the district when he won the2024 presidentialelection and 66% in 2020 when he was defeated by PresidentJoe Biden, according to figuressupplied by JohnCouvillon,a Baton Rouge pollster and demographer.

Will Graves make acomeback?

The biggest question is whether former U.S. Rep. Garret Graves will seek to return to Congress.

Graves representedBaton Rouge and parishes to the south until 2024,whenhedidn’trun for reelection after redistricting gave hima district he didn’tthink he could win

That seat is now held by U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, aDemocrat. That district nowstretches from Baton RougetoShreveportand includes majority-Black precincts.

Graves didn’t respond to atext Tuesday.Hehas more than $3 millioninhis campaign account left over from the 2024 race he didn’t

run.

Thereconfigured5th Congressional District includes St. George andother majority-White precincts in Baton Rouge, but Graves actually lives in Fields’district. He does not have to liveinthe 5th Congressional District to run for theseat.

Who’sin?

Candidates will have athree-day windowbeginning on Feb.11todeclare their intentions.

StateSen. StewartCathey said he will announce “shortly.”

SENATE ELECTION

Louisiana andhis effortsto reduce the scourge of fentanyl.

Cassidy was alreadyseen as vulnerableasheseeks

histhird six-year term in the Senate —somuch so that four major Republicans had already announced campaigns to unseat him.

The others are state treasurer John Fleming, state Sen. Blake Miguez of New Iberia, state Rep. Julie Emerson of Carencro and Pu blic Service Commissioner Eric Skrmet ta, whose district covers suburban New Orleans.

Letlow is little-known throughout the state at this point, political analysts say But Trump so dominates the Republican Party that she threatens to overwhelm Cassidy and his opponents, who are now facing questions of whether they will stay in the race.

“She’sbeen careful to align herself with theconservative wing of her party while not embracing anything that would be radical,” saidPearson Cross, apolitical-science professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe. “She is asympathetic figure When her husband passed

unexpectedly, shepicked up thetorch andcarried it forward.She also has the single most important thing,DonaldTrump’sendorsement. In aclosed primary,that will make adifference.”

Letlow was atop executive at the University of Louisiana at Monroe when her husband, Luke, was elected in December 2020 to represent the 5th Congressional District and then died of COVID-19. Julia Letlow then wonthe seat in 2021, saying she had neveraspired to run forthe office

Letlow won reelection in 2022 and 2024 and last year moved from Richland Parish, outside of Monroe, to Baton Rouge.

To be sure, some political analysts said Letlow is not assured of winning the Republican primaryina state that typically elects the Republicancandidatefor Senate with 60% of thevote.

“It doesn’tmean she’sthe overwhelming favorite to win,” said Bernie Pinsonat, aveteran pollster and political consultant. “I’m guessingonly athird of Louisiana knows whoshe is. She has to spendmoney to getknown in Louisiana and to make the case why sheshould be elected. He’ssitting withlots andlots of money.Alot of it canbeused to criticize his opponents.Whenthey talk about his bad vote, he can talk about thebad things the public might not like about her.”

The“badvote” was Cassidy’sdecision to join six Republican senators and all 50 Democratstoconvict Trump of inciting the assaultonthe Capitol by hissupporters on Jan.6,2021.

The Louisiana Republican Party immediately censured Cassidy, and hispoll numbers statewidetanked Some conservatives are questioningwhether Letlow is conservative enough. Fleming, who spent eight years in the U.S. Houserepresenting northwest Louisiana, is also planningtocam-

Cathey,44, is aRepublican servinga second term representing the Monroe area, which contains about 20% of the 5th Congressional District’spopulation.

“Mytrack record —fighting for all areas of the state —proves that geography doesn’tmatter,” Cathey said.

Aconsultantwithhis father on IT issues, Cathey said he expects to be the only combat veteran in therace, having served twoterms in Afghanistan as amember of the Army Reserves.

RickEdmonds, 69, also intends to run. ARepublican from Baton Rouge,heisserving his first term in the state Senate after two terms in thestate House. He is apastor whoserved as vice president of theFamily Forum, which supports traditional families and opposes abortion.

“The Louisiana Legislature has been agreat place to serve to prepare me for serving in Congress,” Edmonds said.

Larry Davis, amember of the Republican Parish Executive

TIMELINE

FEB.11TO13: Candidates qualify to run MAY16: Closed party primary —Republicansand Democrats vote forwho will represent their party in the general election

JUNE 27: Runoff election for party primaries, if needed NOV. 3: General election

paign hard for the Senate seat He believes that hisopposition to carbon capture and sequestration effortswill resonatewithvoters fearful of thepotential water pollution

“Theybothhave somewhat moderatevoting records,” Flemingsaid of Cassidy and Letlow.“They’reboth supportedbythe Washington insider organizations, the big PACs and large corporations. Neitherone of them have been vanguards in the MAGA movement.”

Fleming, who helped foundthe arch-conservative Freedom Caucus in the House, likes to say that he was MAGA before MAGA was cool.

Skrmettasaidina text Tuesday that he is remaininginthe race andisnailing down the date of his

first fundraiser.Miguez and Emerson didnot respondto texts Behind thescenes, Letlow was calling donors to lineup campaign cash,while Cassidy made stops Tuesdayin southLouisiana.

Garry Lewis, an attorney andreal estate developerin LivingstonParish who is a major contributor to Republicans, accompanied Cassidy on avisit to Premier ConcreteProducts in Denham Springs

“I’m disappointed, I guess,” Lewissaid of Letlow’sentry intothe Senate race. “I thought they would both keep their same positions.”

Lewisaddedthathebelieves both Cassidy and Letlow are big supporters of Trump,who Lewiscalled “the best presidentwe’ve ever had.

Roy O. Martin III, another

Committee of Livingston Parish, announced forthe race last week, planning to run against Letlow if she ran forreelection.

Davis,28, said he owns Red Republic Media, which hosts conservative podcasts and publicizes conservative policies.

Davissaidheisrunning “to bring back innovation and actual resources, proper growth to the constituents of District 5.”

State Rep. Daryl Deshotel, RHessmer,said he is “strongly considering” getting into the race.

StateRep.DixonMcMakin, RBaton Rouge, said he “most likely”will run forthe seat if Graves stays out.

State Rep. Michael Echols, RMonroe, said he is talking with “leaders across the district now” in deciding whether to become a candidate.

Misti Cordell, aRepublican from Monroewho wasappointed by Gov. Jeff Landry to chair the state Board of Regents, is considering getting into the race.

big Republican donor whose family operates amajor timberoperation in central Louisiana,saidhewas torn among the candidates.

“I think theworldofJulia,” Martin said. “I like Bill Cassidy as well. John Flemingisalsoagoodcandidate May the best person win.”

One measure of Letlow’s support will come on Jan. 28 when she holds afundraiser at the Sazerac House on Capitol Hill as Washington Mardi Gras kicks off.

With lots of speculation about Cassidy’spath forward, one possible option —torun as an independent candidate this fall —nolonger exists.

The deadline to submit 2,500 signaturesfromvoters across the state to qualify as an independent was Jan. 14, or 30 days before the finalday of qualifying,which takes place from Feb. 11 to

13.

Somepolitical insiders believe that the Trumpendorsement was timed to take place after the opportunity to qualifyasanindependent hadpassed,although Cassidy had never shownadesire to do so.

Letlow,44, made the announcement at the end of a speech at the Baton Rouge Business Report Leadership Power Breakfast, and it caught mostofthe room off guard at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Cassidy had RSVP’d for the event, and Julio Melara, whose company publishes thenewspaper,announced to the crowd of nearly 700 people that he was there. But Cassidy’s campaign said he didn’tattend the event.

Cassidy said that Letlow called him Tuesdaymorning to lethim know thatshe would be challenging him

that theTen Commandments posters fall short of government coercion to practice a particular religion.

“Nobody’stelling the kids they have to look up at everything that’spostedon the walls,” said Judge Edith Jones, who was nominated to the court by President Ronald Reagan. Louisiana’slaw put the state at the vanguard of a movement by conservative activists and lawmakers to promote legislation that, they say,reflects the nation’s Christian roots and restores the role of religion in public life. Republicans in several states have proposed their own TenCommandments laws and related measures, such as allowing schools to teach Bible-based reading lessons or hire chaplains

Gov.Jeff Landry,a staunchly conservative Republican who has championed Louisiana’slaw,attended Tuesday’s hearing alongside state Attorney General Liz Murrill, whose officeis defending the law. Afterward, Landry told reporters that the law reflects “the Judeo-Christian principles that this nation was founded upon,” adding that all parents should teach their children those principles

“You eitherread theTen Commandments,” he said, “or your child is going to learn the criminal code.”

But groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United, which advocates for church-state separation, said parents alone should decide what moral code to teach their children. The groups, which are representing families in the Louisiana andTexas cases, said religious freedom is threatened when the government promotes aparticular doctrine.

“Americans agree that parents should be teaching their family’sreligionto theirkids,” said Americans United President and CEO

RETIRING

Continued from page1A

Hislaw enforcement career began on Dec. 1, 1988, withthe Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office, where he served for 14 years in a variety of roles, including patrol, narcotics, criminal investigations, SWAT,motorcycle enforcement and as aschool K-9 resource officer “For the last 24 years, Ihave had the honor and privilege of serving as your Chief of Police,” Leger wrote. “I am very grateful and thankful to the citizens of Scott for allowing me to serve.”

“Being Chief of Policefor the City of Scott is whatI was called to do, serving our citizens and providing them with the best quality of life possible for everyone to live, work and play,” he wrote.

Asmallarmyofattorneys and legal specialists, right, stand on the stepsofthe U.S. 5th Circuit CourtofAppealsinNew Orleans as theylisten to Gov. Jeff Landryand Attorney General LizMurrill talk to themedia about theTen Commandments posters in public schools case on Tuesday.

Jonathan youngwood, one of the lawyersrepresenting the families whosued to block the TenCommandments posters in schools, talks outside the U.S. 5th Circuit CourtofAppeals in NewOrleans on Tuesday.

Rachel Laser, “not government officialsorpublic schools.”

Louisiana became the first state in recent years to require public schools to display the TenCommandments when Landrysigned thelaw in June 2024, with Texas and Arkansas soon passing their own legislation. Kentucky haspassed asimilar lawmore than 40 years earlier,whichthe U.S. Supreme Court struck down in a1980 case called Stone v.

“I comefrom afamily of public servants,” Leger said in 2022. “Mygrandfather wasmayor forthe city of Scott,myfather served eight years on our city council andmymother wasa teacher for34years Shetaught at Scott Middle School for21years of her 34-year career.”

Duringhis tenure in Scott, Legerled themodernization of the Scott PoliceDepartmentinto adata-driven, intelligence-led agencyand wasinstrumentalinthe creationofthe ScottEmergency Services Building, which openedin2011and houses both the ScottPoliceand FireDepartments. His leadership extended statewide through service with numerouslaw enforcementboards andassociations, including the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police, where he served as president. In 2025, he was inducted into theLouisianaJustice Hall of Fame.

Graham.

Louisiana’slaw dictates thesizeofthe posters —at least 11 by 14 inches —and thetext they must feature, a Protestantversion of the Ten Commandments that begins with,“IAMthe LORD thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” It also requires an accompanying “contextstatement” explaining that some early American textbooks featured the TenCommandments, and says schools “may”display

other historicaldocuments alongside the posters. Agroup of publicschool parents whoidentify as Jewish,Christian,Unitarian Universalistand nonreligiousquickly sued to stop the lawfromtaking effect In November 2024, U.S. District Court Judge JohndeGravelles ruled that thelaw violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom, and barred state officials from enforcing it.

The 5thCircuit panel upheld that ruling, writingthat Louisiana’slaw is “plainly unconstitutional” basedon the Supreme Court’sruling in the Stone case. The lower court’s preliminary injunction remainsineffect as the full 5th Circuit reviewsthe case.

On Tuesday,some of the judges noted that the Stone decision relied on an earlier case, Lemon v. Kurtzman, that saidalaw must have a primarily secular purpose to avoid running afoul of the First Amendment’sestablishment clause. But, in 2022, the court’snew conservative supermajorityscrapped the

so-called Lemon test, saying the new standard is whether alaw is consistent with the country’shistory and traditions.

While the Supreme Court has not overturned Stone, the judges said it now stands on shaky ground.

“Ifyou take away Lemon, there is nothing left in Stone,” said Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, whowas nominated to the court by President Donald Trump.

Several judges also cited historicaldocuments that are taught and displayed in schools, suchasthe Declaration of Independence, that include language that could be describedasreligious. They also echoed an argumentbyLouisiana’s attorneys thatthe TenCommandments posters are a “passive display” that does not coerce students to adopt aparticular faith.

Jonathan Youngwood, who represented the public school families at Tuesday’s hearing, said the TenCommandments laws cross a

constitutionalline because they require studentstobe exposedtothe text in every classroom during their entire school career.Healso said the laws would violate some of thenew First Amendment standardsset by the SupremeCourt in the Kennedy case. “Ifthe government is going to put up acentral tenet of areligion as astate-selected scripture, Ithink that is turning the school in part intoachurch,”saidYoungwood, an attorneywith Simpson Thacher &Bartlett LLP

After the hearing, Murrill said theTen Commandmentslaw does notrun afoul of the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prohibitsthe government from promoting or favoring aparticular religion.

“It’snot establishing anything,” she said. Instead, it is presentinga “foundational document of one of the foundational lawgivers that is part of ourhistorical tradition.”

QUALIFIED APPLICANTSATA SPECIAL MEETINGAT10:00 A.M. ON SATURDAY,JANUARY31, 2026. QUALIFICATIONSFOR APPLICANTSFOR REGISTRAR OF VOTERS AREPROVIDED FORINLOUISIANA REVISED STATUE 18:52 WHICH PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS: Louisiana RevisedStatute 18:52. Qualificationsofregistrars A. Each applicantto fill the office of registrarofvotersshall be aregistered voter. If appointedto

of registrarofvoters, the applicant shallbecomea resident andregisteredvoter of the parishinwhich he is to performhis duties priortotakingthe oath of office Theregistrar shall remainaresidentandqualifiedvoteroftheparishinwhichheistoperform his duties B.(1) Theregistrar shallpossess at leastone of the followingatthe time of appointment: (a)A baccalaureatedegreefromanaccreditedinstitution andtwo yearsof full-time,professionalworkexperience.

(b) An associate degree from an accredited institutionand four yearsof full-time,professionalworkexperience.

(c) Sevenyears of full-time,professionalworkexperience.

(d) Five yearsoffull-time employment in aregistrar’s office in Louisiana.

2) Forpurposesofthis Subsection,“professionalworkexperience” means experience in an occupation whichrequires specialized andtheoretical knowledge usuallyacquired through collegetrainingorthrough work experience andothertrainingwhich providescomparableknowledge

Reflectingonhis career Legeremphasizedthe importanceoffamily and support during this transition.

“None of what Ihave accomplished would have been possible withoutthe love and support of my personal family and friends. From my parents, to my wife, to my kids, to my friends, they have made me who Iamtoday.”

Email Ja’koriMadison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

Forecast showsfreezingraininarea

Temperatures to drop aheadofweather system

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

Lafayettecould seefreezing rain this weekend as acold front moves through the area, according to the NationalWeather Service in Lake Charles.

The amount of ice and how far

Mamou tightens Mardi Gras rules

Some events canceled following ’25shooting

Staff report

Mamou Mardi Gras celebrations

will only be held on thesouth side of the small towninaneffort to improve public safety after ashooting last year

Mamou Chief of Police Pat Hall told KLFY the fatal mass shooting that left two dead and 12 injured last year led him to rethink security and planning.

This year,all festivities will be held on the south side of Mamou, around Main andSixth streets. The change will allow for better crowd control and safer conditions,Hall said. Prohibited activities include: n Tailgatingand uncontrolled gatherings

n ATVs,UTVs, dirt bikes, and golf carts on public streets without registration and alicense n Firearms, open or concealed carry n Ice chest, glass bottles and backpacks in the celebration area.

Last Mardi Gras, two people were killed, and adozen were injured. The shooting came just 24 hours after another shooting that occurredata Lundi Gras

ä See MAMOU, page 4B

south it will occur is still uncertain, but the greatestchances for freezing rain areSaturday and Sunday,accordingtothe weather service

Beforethe cold front, temperatures will rise slightly as a section of high-pressure moves across the state. Temperatures

are expected to reach about 73 degrees on Thursday in Lafayette andabout 66 degrees Friday

The high temperatures drop to about51degrees in Lafayette on Saturday,39degrees Sundayand 43 degreesMonday

Those low temperatures combined with higher rain prob-

abilities mean therecould be freezing rain between midnight Saturdayand noonSunday,according to the weather service

With that freezingrain,the weatherservice predictsa 45% chance Lafayette could seea measurable amount of ice accumulation. That possibilitygrows the farther north someone travels.

Thereisa20% to 30% chance

Lafayette will experience minor impacts from winterweather, which means there will likely be few inconveniences to daily life, but winter driving conditions are possible.

The forecast will becomeclearer as the week progresses.

Contact AshleyWhiteatashley. white@theadvocate.com.

United voices

CRIME BLOTTER Advocate staff reports

Police have arrested twopeople after adomestic dispute turned deadly Mondaynight on Cypress Garden Road in St. Martinville. Officers said the victim, 45-year-old Claude Collins of St. Martinville, was shot three times in an apartment in the 100 block of Cypress Garden Road Police respondedto the shooting about 10 p.m., and hewas pronounced dead at thescene. ShawnAbraham, 18,was arrested and charged with second degree murder Sheena Collins is chargedwith failuretorender aid and obstructionofjustice. Investigators said she is the victim’swife and did not help her husband after the

ä See BLOTTER, page 4B

Watchparty being held Saturday

BYJA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

An Opelousasnative is facing hisfears on national television on Fox’s“Fear Factor: House of Fear.”

LanceRichard, aflight attendant and longtimereality TV fan, is among 14 contestants competingonthe intense, high-riskcompetition series, which premiered Jan. 14 and features a$200,000 grand prize.

Hosted by Johnny Knoxville, “FearFactor: House of Fear” puts contestantsinaremote home where they live together facing extremestunts, social strategy

and phobia-based challenges. Unlike the original “Fear Factor,” whichfeaturedstandalone episodes,the reboot adds interpersonal drama similar to shows such as “Big Brother.”

Staying in ahouse with 14 others was both humbling and fun, Richard said, after filming in the house for three weeks

“It reminded me of college, some rooms had fourpeople some had two. You’reconstantly figuring out who you can trust.”

Richard said oneofthe biggest challenges was being pushed beyondhis comfort zone. As a self-describedpicky eater who is also afraid of large animals, he encountered both fearsduring the competition.

“I was eating pig snoutsand rat tails,” he said. “I was being pulled

by ahorse, and I’m terrified of horses. But I’m proud of myself for pushing through.”

Contestants ranged in age from 20 to their late 50s, and Richard said the experience required both physical endurance andmental focus. During filming, contestants were completely isolated, with no phones, televisions or contact with family.Each contestant was allowed to bring one photo and one personal item

“That isolation keepsthe integrity of the game, but honestly,it wasrefreshing. It took me outof everyday lifeand forced me to be present.”

Richard said appearing on “Fear Factor” is an opportunity he has waited along time forand

OUR VIEWS

Stateshould startplanning forfuture with less federalhelp

As the statehas faced recurring storms over the years that have affected largeswaths of our housingstock,many homeowners havecome to relyonabackstop that, in thefuture,may not be as readily available. That has become clear as the state winds down theRestore Louisiana program institutedtorebuild homes after Hurricanes Laura and Ida for people who didn’t have enough insurance coverage. If the federal government pullsbackfrom itsdisasterrelief efforts, we would like to seethe state begin to build on what it has learned abouthelping Louisiana residents to recover after storms. Restore is administered bythe Louisiana Office of Community Development,which was responsible for distributingfederalfunds the state was awarded after thehurricanes in 2020 and2021. The state received $3.1 billionfor the recovery,and about athird of it went to Restore Gina Campo, headofthe office, told ourreporter Sam Karlin that the office had provided aid to 13,000 people. But that’sout ofnearly40,000 surveys submitted by individuals seeking aid Restore, which started afterthe 2016 floods that inundatedareas of southLouisianathathad never seen serious floodingbefore,aimedtobe an improvement on the much-malignedRoad Home programtoassist homeowners in rebuildingKatrina.

Andwhile Restore Louisiana,like the Road Home,sufferedmyriad delays at thefederal level —funds for Laura and Ida werenot even appropriated by Congress until 2022—and was stymied by red tape in determiningwho was eligible for aid, state officials say some efforts to streamline the processofgetting assistancethe hands of homeowners were successful. Campo notedthat Louisiana disbursed aid fasterthan other states that receivedfederal fundsaround the same time.

All projects related to theRestore program for the 2020-2021 disasters are slated forcompletionbySeptember.The funds left over will go to affordable housing projectsthatwerepart of the recovery package in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and other places. Local infrastructure projects are also on tap once an application and reviewprocess is put in place.

But we urge the stateHouse panel that is charged with oversight of disaster recovery efforts to look closely at theRestore program and what it tellsusabout what thestate needs to do to prepare as storms become more frequent and stronger due to climatechange.With the Trump administration vowing to movemoreof thedisasterrecovery load to thestates, it’simperative that Louisiana develop aplanbased on experience.

Campo said that relocation could be an option that thestate will be more activeinasking some residentswho live in storm-prone areas to consider.While we understandthe need to tread carefully here, all options needtobeon thetable.There’s no bettertime than now to preparefor the next storm —evenaswehope it nevercomes

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

OPINION

Bibletells us howwe should treatimmigrants

Iwent to Lowe’sona recent weekend, and as Ipulled up outside, it seemed abit eerie, quieter and different. Then, it dawned on me it was because Border Patrol andPresident Donald Trump’simmigration officials had captured or run all the immigrants away Iguess to someofusitwas agood thing,but Iactually missed seeing those guys. They were always smiling and in good spirits, waving to see if you have any work for them. It made me think of when Iused one afew monthsback to fix aplumbing issue that popped up on aSunday when my normal plumber wasn’tavailable. It also made me recall how those immigrant guys helped me removeatree off my home and repair my fence and roof after Hurricanes Katrina and Ida when labor was in high demand and

short in supply The sudden eeriness of them missing and thrown into detainment camps like criminals made me think about and reach for my Bible when Ireturned homefrom Lowe’s. There in Leviticus 19:33-34, where God was speaking to Moses and theLevites whowere God’spriestsonhow to be holy,was this mostrelevant scripture: “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.The alien living with you must be treated as one of your nativeborn. Lovehim as yourself, foryou were aliens in Egypt. Iamthe Lord your God.”

Ihope in the end the truly holy and Christ-like people win out and we see those guys back outside Lowe’sseeking agood day of work.

KEVIN E. WILLIAMS NewOrleans

Damage caps hurt victimsofautowrecks, reward industry

As we move into 2026, the citizens of Louisiana need to takeahard look at thereality of the “No Pay,No Play” expansion enacted under Act 16. While proponents claim this is “tort reform” designed to lower our skyrocketing insurance rates, the actual result is apredatory “poverty penalty” that targets Louisiana’smost vulnerable families.

Under the new 2025 thresholds, an uninsured driver —often someone forced to choose between apremium payment and groceries —is now barred from recovering the first $100,000 in bodily injury and $100,000 in property damage. This applies even when they are 0% at fault. If areckless driver hits a working mother,totaling her car and leaving her with$80,000 in medical bills,our state law now saysshe deserves nothing. Worse, if shedares to seek justice in court and is awarded anything less than $100,000, sheis

forced to pay thecourt costs for the person who hit her This isn’tbalance; it’sanembargo on the courthouse doors foranyone living below thepoverty line.Weare creating atwo-tiered justice system where your right to medical recovery depends entirely on the size of your bank account.Gov.Jeff Landry’sadministration has handed the keys of thecastle to the insuranceindustry, leaving “thegood people of Louisiana” to be preyed upon by an industry that takes ourpremiums but fights every claim. It is time for our local leaders to standupagainstthese unethical barriers. We need representatives who understand that acar accident shouldn’tbealife sentence of debt just becauseafamily couldn’tkeep up with thehighest insurance rates in thenation.

JOHNPAULPIERRE Baton Rouge

What’s offlimits forIran’srulers should be off limitsfor ours

The recent headline on Iran should read, “Irony is dead.” The American president from one side of his mouth issues threats to the rulers of Iran should they violently suppress the regime’sopponents. Simultaneously employing the other side of his mouth, this same American president has unleashed his armyofgoons, granting all of them license to brutalize and even kill American protesters. Naturally,the 79-year-old American president does not perceive the irony of his divergent positions, for the ability to appreciate irony requires asubtlety and perspicacity of intellect the American president as failed to achieve, his 79 years of life experience notwithstanding.

MICHAEL RUSSO Baton Rouge

Congress needsto standwithcitizenson immigration enforcement

After the killing of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agentJonathan Ross, tensionshaveheightened in American cities where ICE is present.

Recently, twohorrendous actions by ICE agents standout andshould be addressed by ourlawmakersimmediately.

OneinvolvedICE agents in Minneapolis using tear gastoattack avan which carried sixchildren,including a six-month-old baby.The children were allhospitalized

Theother involved an ICEshooting of ayoungCalifornia protestorinthe head with“less lethal”ammunition, literally taking outone of his eyes.

This hastostop.

Congress can stop this carnage on our streets.

MARYANN

The front-page story on Jan. 2about highschool athletes being paid is further proof of our collective priorities. Ourstudentsare not,for the most part, getting astrongenough education as it is as we continue to move our focus elsewhere. Do you really think our workforce or economic development will be enhanced by high school students getting compensated for

STERNBERG Baton Rouge High schoolersgetting paid to play erodes

President Donald Trump has hired thugs to intimidate people who disagree with him and to harm them at will, withimpunity

When will Congress act to protect Americans from Trump and the barbarians whoare shooting and killing Americansfor him? When?

LENORA MEAUX Lafayette

La.can be Voting Rights Act leader.Willweacceptchallenge?

TheVotingRights Act of 1965 has guaranteedthat all eligible citizens of theUnited States have thesame opportunities to register and cast ballotsas all other eligible people once they’vereached 18 years of age. I’d love to see larger numbers of people who share my political and social change desires, perspectives andviews register and vote in ALL elections. Andasan American who gets excited when we have large numbersofpeople engaged, Iwant to see as many people participate as possible.IfIand others can’t sway them to be engaged, toregister to vote and to vote my way,that’s on we whoshare certain kinds of views.

These days it seems some politicians are more interested in keepingtheir seats, limiting others from getting equal footing withingovernmentand suppressing the number of voters by putting things in place to make it less likely that they will vote.

Rather than encouragingpeople to sharecommunity and parish concerns that can be addressed by local, state andfederal elected leaders, we have toomany people discouraging active engagement and participation.Some want to discourage votingbypeople whothey don’tthink share their views. Rather than expand voting significantly with automatic ballot mailings and all-mail elections,asCalifornia, Oregon and afew other states have done, they want to limit voting as much

whenever the court decides, they can’t stop the fight to hold ontothe voting rightsthey have and tofight for more.

During aMartin Luther King Jr scholarship brunch at United Christian Faith Ministries, she announced that theLegal Defense Fund she heads will work with thePower Coalition for Equity and Justice and other justice seekers to push to add Louisiana as one of afew states with its own Voting RightsAct.

In Trump World, wherealternative facts rule, reality is starting to makecomeback.

as possible. That includes limiting or eliminating mail ballotsand reducing the number of days and ways people canvote. Ican’t be certain, but Ithink alarge number ofour registered Louisiana voters whodon’tvote regularly might be more inclined to voteifthey automatically received an official ballot in the mail.

Janai Nelson, who argued thenowfamous Louisiana v. Callais redistrictingcase before theU.S. Supreme Court in October,spoke at aBaton Rouge church Monday,asthe statewas still awaitingthe highest court’sdecision on whether Louisiana’scurrent congressional district map featuring two majorityBlack districts will stand. She told the crowd that whatever and

According to theNational Conference of State Legislatures, California, Connecticut and Colorado have their own VotingRightsActs, and others are close or working towardthat goal. What that legislation would look like and what voting protections might be pursued are yet to be determined as conversations continue. Nelson said stateSen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, has agreed to help develop the bill and bring it before theLouisiana Legislature.

The spring legislative session will be important and interesting for anumber of reasons. It’sabout to becomeeven moreimportant, as we thepeople have aLouisiana VotingRightsAct considered by our elected legislative leaders.

“It’s going to takeall of us to get that act passed,”Nelson told the audience at United Christian Faith Ministries. ALL of us. As in nomatter what political party, what philosophy,what background. Allmeans all.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

Amid turmoil, dazedbut notconfused

As anew year of tormentcommences underthe administrationofPresident DonaldTrump, the only consolation for non-MAGA Americans is, well, nothing. Sorry.For the most part,the only refuge can be found in ashared reality: No, you’re not crazy.Ifeel the same way

Ireceive daily calls and textsfrom friends and family searching for answers, as though Isit atop a mountain of insight Who, me? I’m sitting in a pit of despair

Whether it’sthe unsanctioned usurping of Venezuela’s government with the nighttime kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro or the fatal shooting in Minneapolis of a37-year-old U.S. citizen by an Immigration andCustoms Enforcement agent, life feels out of control. And dangerous My contacts want to know if others areasfreaked out as they are. Yes, yes and yes. But what can you do? This is where the conversation usually stalls. And what’snext? Are we going to war with Mexico? Trumphas said that drugs are pouring through Mexico so “we’re going to have to do something.” Are we going to invade Greenland? Trump says annexing Greenland is anational security necessity. And what about NATO? Are we abandoning Europe? In his pursuit of hemispheric hegemony,Trump isn’t just isolating the United States from our allies; he’s creating apolitical divide at home that is becoming an irreparable chasm. Social media brimswith commentssuch as “I voted for this,” as Trump does the next worst thing. At the end of last week, it was Trump’swithdrawal of U.S. support for more than 60 international organizations. Meanwhile, more rational Americans feel paralyzed in ahellish limbo. Trump is making them feel crazy because no one who can do something is saying anything. To its credit,the Senate did just advancealargely symbolic measure to block further military action in Venezuela by Trump. We’ve watched afull year of Trump 2.0 with no reprieve in sight —and he’sgot three more years? It always starts with the small stuff —renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, paving over the Rose Garden, demolishing the East Wing and, recently,adding his name to theKennedy Center.It’sall designed to dazzle and confuse, numbing us for bigger stuff to come.

TO

The Republican-controlled Congress ought tobeashamed. If the cat’sgot their tongue,they need to go home and hug their blankies.Toparaphrase Mayor Jacob Frey (D), who told ICE to “get the f*** out of Minneapolis,” your presence is no longer required. My fear is what Trump’sRasputin, Stephen Miller,will come up with next. He recently told CNN’sJake Tapper: “We’re asuperpower.And under President Trump, we aregoing to conduct ourselves as asuperpower.” Tapper later said:“Idon’teven know, honestly,what you’retalking about right now.” I’d translate it as:Stay out of our way As in ReneeNicole Good, thewoman who tried to drive away but was shot to death by ICE? Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem defended theagent as doing his job,contrary to what we can see with our own eyes. Witnesses say there was no threat. Democratic MinnesotaGov.Tim Walz urged people not to buy thegovernment’s“propaganda,” while the president accused Good of trying to “run over” the agent. Trump, we’ve been told,is second to none in supporting lawenforcement. But then why did he pardon or commute the sentences of more than 1,500 criminals who attacked and traumatized Capitol police officers in the Jan. 6riot?

Swooping into Venezuela ostensibly to stop the flowofdrugs to America, only tocommandeer the country and its oilsupplies, is equally farcical

when just last month Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been sentenced to 45 yearsinprison for conspiring withtraffickers to funnel at least400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. If democracy suddenly erupts in Venezuela, I’ll runacorrection. So, yes,I’m dazed but not confused. My only consolation has come, not surprisingly,from acomedian. Dave Chappelle, in his Netflix special “The Unstoppable,” which was performed in October in D.C., makes one feel briefly sane. Apart political rant mixed with some gratuitous raunch, the75-minute show featured achainsmoking Chappelle delivering brutal truthsabout today’s world.

Iwas impressed by an empathetic moment of solidarity with the audience. If you’re feeling like things are weird now,hesoftened his tone, “you are not alone.” Well, thanks for that, Dave, and also for reminding us that humor is the antidote to horror which perfectly explains why Trump, after attacking the“fake media” through his first term, seized on comedians in 2025. For what it’sworth, you’re not alone if you feel like the worldiscrashing around you. Andifyou’ve read this far,you’re probably not crazy.Our only recourse will soon be within our sights— theNovember midterms.

Email Kathleen Parker at kathleenparker@washpost.com.

For months, the president has hammered JeromePowell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, denouncing him as a“numbskull” and demanding that he lower interest rates morerapidly Powell kept his course, but also kept quiet, until federal prosecutors threatened to bring criminal charge against him forlying to Congress.

Finally,Powell fought back. In a highly unusual two-minute video, he branded the criminal probe a“pretext” and asserted: “The threat of criminal charges is aconsequence 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. This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions —orwhether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation.”

This is aparadigm momentthat crystalizes a central tension in the political universe. Trump’s view is that “Reality is what Isay it is,” as the historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat put it, and what serves his interests. But his opponents, epitomized by Powell, say no: Reality is based on evidence, on facts, on independent observation and calculation.

Trumphas embraced “alternative facts” (a phrase coined by his former adviser Kellyanne Conway) his entire career.Heclaimed, without evidence, that his inaugural crowds werelarger than his predecessor’s. That the 2020 election had been stolen. That tax cuts pay forthemselves. All false. All lies.

Even moreinsidiously,Trumphas gotten rid of government officials whostand forprofessional integrity and could contradict his prejudices inspectors general, career prosecutors, climate scientists. He fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer,charging again, without evidence —that her figures were “RIGGED” against him

Trumphas also assailed other experts and institutions that can challenge his definition of reality —federal judges, law firms, universities and media companies. Many have folded in the face of his pressure, terrified of his power to sue them or regulate them or simply denounce them on social media.Almostall Republicans have gone along as well, impressed by the fervorofhis followers, but also fearful of his wrath.

Lately,thatunity has shown signs of splintering. Republicans in the Indiana legislature rejected his demands to redrawCongressional boundaries. Five Republican senators voted for awar powers resolution, rebuking Trump’s actions in Venezuela, and so infuriating the president thathedeclared they “should never be elected to officeagain.” Awhopping 17 Republican House members broke ranks andsupporteda measure to restore expiredsubsidies for health insurance premiums.

The attempt to intimidate Powell really hit a nerve,because it threatened the basic independenceofthe Federal Reserve, one of the central principles thathas made the American economy the strongest in the world. And it challenged the essentialconceptthat“evidence and economic conditions” should guide the Fed’sdecision-making, notpolitical pressure or self-interest.

“Powell investigation backfireswith Hill Republicans,” headlined the news website Semafor One of the strongest denunciations camefrom Sen. ThomTillis of North Carolina, whose decisiontoretire hasfreed him to be far more critical of the White House.

“If there were anyremaining doubt whether advisers within the Trump administration are actively pushing to end the independence of the FederalReserve,there should now be none,” said Tillis. He vowedtoblock any replacement for Powell, whose term as chairends in May, “until this legalmatter is fully resolved.”

Sen. JohnKennedy of Louisiana said he would be “stunned” if Powell had done anything wrong, adding: “Weneed this like we need aholeinthe head.” Rep. French Hill of Arkansas, chair of the House FinancialServices panel, warned that the threat by federal prosecutors “could undermine this andfuture administrations’ ability to make sound monetary policy decisions.”

Abipartisangroup of economists, including former Fedchairs and treasury secretaries, issueda stern warning: “This is howmonetary policyismadeinemerging markets with weak institutions, with highly negative consequences for inflation andthe functioning of their economies more broadly.Ithas no place in the United States, whose greateststrength is the rule of law, which is at the foundation of our economic success.”

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, an adviser to two Republican presidents, summarized the general reaction: “This strikesmeasa really unwise and boneheaded move. This is really stupid.”

Trump will certainly continue his waronreality, but he is nowlosing some battles

Email Steve Roberts at stevecokie@gmail.com.

McGlinchey Stafford lawfirm to beginlayoffs by endofJan.

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

More than two weeks after McGlinchey Stafford’sleaders voted to dissolve the law

firm after more than 50 years in business, the firm’swinddown plans are rapidly taking shape

McGlinchey’sNew Orleans office, its largest, willshut down on March 31 with layoffs for its more than 100 employees beginning on March 16, according to aWorker Adjustment and Retraining Notification that the firm sent last week to the Louisiana Workforce Commission notifying the agency of the pending job losses.

Those in the firm’sother offices will be out of work sooner.Inavirtual meeting with employees on Jan. 15, McGlinchey Managing Partner Michael Ferachi said the last day of work for everyone outside of New Orleans will be Jan. 30, which also will be the firm’slast day to practice law

“Thank you for your patience, resilience andgrit over the past week,” Ferachi told employees, according to an audio recording of the meeting. “I have beenvery impressed how you cared for and supported each other Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Per federal law,companies are required to give 60 days advance notice and file letters if they arelayingoff 100 employees or more. Only McGlinchey’sNew Orleans office is large enough to meetthe threshold.

McGlinchey’sequity members, agroup of partners that own the firm, voted on Jan. 5

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shooting. Bail details were not released.

One arrestedafter a shooting in acar

After allegedly shooting aman inside his caronthe nearby roadway,a73-yearold Sulphur man barricaded himself in his home before he was arrested for attempted second-degree murder.

Around 2a.m. on Sunday, deputies from the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to Christy Lane in Sulphur in referenceto ashooting, according to a news release. As deputies arrived and tried to make contact with the suspect, Larry J. Hardy, he barricaded himself inside his house,leading law enforcement officerstocall the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office’sPSO Anti-Crime and Tactical Team.

The deputies tried several tactics to get Hardy to leave the house safely,and at some point during the incident, Hardy began to shoot at deputies. Eventually,they were abletodetainHardy with the assistance of the office’s K-9 Ozzy

The initial investigation into the shooting found that the victim was in his car on

FEAR

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represents another step toward fulfilling his lifelong dream of competing on reality television. “I was always thekid watching reality TV while everyone else waswatching cartoons,” he said. “I was studyingthe socialstrategy, learning how people played the game.”

Born and raised in Opelousas, Richard said he always loved performing andcompeting.Heplayed tennis throughout his childhood and participated in theater during middleand high school, often being told he had the personality for television. After leaving Louisiana, he became aflight attendant. He now lives in Los Angeles, where

to shut down the midsizedlaw firm, once apowerhouseinthe region, sending shockwaves across Louisiana’slegal community

Avarietyoffactors contributed to the decision, including the recent departure of several high-profile attorneys with the firm, delinquent collections, internal disagreements and steep overhead costs in far-flung offices, according to sourcesfamiliarwith the situation and the firm’spublic statement.

In the days since, individual lawyers and groups of attorneys within McGlinchey have left forother firms, according to recent announcements. Dozens, however, remain, according to the notice filed with thestate. Thedocument shows that the New Orleans office alone, which is located on the12th floorofthe Pan American Life Center on Poydras Street, has 111employees, including 34 attorneys.

The attorneys include 2equity members, 17no-equity members, 11 associates and four of-counsel.

The office also has eight secretaries, six paralegals,fourebillingcoordinators and more than 40 othersinaccounting, IT,finance, compliance and back office departments. Ferachi and the firm declined to comment

At the time McGlinchey announced its vote to dissolve, the firm had around 160 attorneys and hundreds of support staff in 18 offices around the countryfrom Seattle to Boston, though itsNew Orleans and BatonRouge offices were its largest.

In the wake of the announcement, aprominent group of attorneys from the

the road when Hardybegan shootingathim.

Thevictim was taken to ahospitalwith anapparent gunshot wound and was released after treatment.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Officebooked Hardy into the Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged him with attempted seconddegree murder

The investigationisongoing, andadditional charges are forthcoming

Police seek public’s help after fatal crash

Police are asking for the public’shelp in investigating afatal pedestrian crash in Broussard.

Broussard police responded about 5:30 p.m.Jan.9 to areportofavehicle-pedestrian crash on U.S. 90 near Smede Highway

According to police, apedestrian was crossing Highway 90 when he was struck by avehicle. The pedestrian, identified as 69-year-old Tony Rabon, was transported to ahospital, where he was later pronounced dead. This investigation isongoing.

Former deputy arrested on child sexcharge

Afive-monthinvestigation hasled tothe arrest of aLafayette Parish manand former Natchitoches Parish sheriff’s deputy,SheriffStu-

he continues to pursue opportunities in entertainment.

“I always knew it was going to be Los Angeles or New York,” he said. “I didn’tknow if it would be theater,movies or reality TV but Iknew Iwanted to end up here.”

Although“FearFactor marksRichard’sfirst official television appearance, it was not his first attempt at reality TV.Hepreviously participated in fan-run competition games and came closetobeing cast on “Survivor” and “TheAmazing Race.” Aproducer he had workedwith previously encouraged him to apply for “FearFactor,”ultimately leading tohis spot on the reboot

“Over 400,000 people applied, and only 14 were selected,”Richard said. “To be one of those 14 so that

Officials sayhomethat burned hadnosmoke alarm

Baton Rouge office moved their corporate and real estate practice, including nine attorneysand four staffers, to Adamsand Reese.

On Friday,a 36-person team,including 19 attorneys from several of McGlinchey’s offices outsideofLouisiana, saidthey wouldbejoining Womble, Bond, Dickinson, a trans-Atlantic firm with 1,300 attorneys and home offices in London and Baltimore, accordingtoanannouncement from the firm.

AM Law,anindustry trade publication, reportedJan.16 that talks between the group, headed by apartner in McGlinchey’sCleveland office, and Womble began on Dec. 8 and concluded Dec. 26, less than 10 days before thevote to dissolve.

Around the sametime, McGlinchey lost four attorneys from its corporate litigation group in NewOrleans to Jones Walker.Another four attorneys from the firm’s Washington, D.C.,and Florida offices thatspecializein consumer financial services defense announced theirdeparture forChicago-based Hinshaw.

In remarks earlier this month, Ferachi acknowledged the firm had experienced several high-profile departures but said no single move had contributed to the decision to dissolve.

Thoseremainingatthe firmhave less than 10 days now,according to Ferachi’s remarks lastweek. At the meeting, he saidthe firm’s goal was to continue meeting payroll “as long as we can,” though he acknowledged this would“require ongoing bank approval.”

art Wright said.

The investigation began in August after the Sheriff’s Officereceived acomplaint alleging adeputy assigned to thePatrol Operations Bureau was involved in an inappropriate relationshipwitha juvenile. An offense report wasfiledand forwardedto the Criminal Investigations Bureau.

Javien R. Etienne, 23, of Youngsville, was fired duringthe initialstages of the investigation, Wright said.

Detectives conducted extensive interviews, including with the victim and potential witnesses, and collected forensicevidence. Investigatorsalso executed at least12search warrants. Based on theevidence,detectives obtained an arrest warrant signed by a10thJudicial District judge.

Etienne turned himself in Jan.14and was booked into the LaSalle Corrections/ Natchitoches Detention Center.Heischarged with onecount of indecentbehavior with ajuvenile.

Etienne was released on $75,000 bail pending acourt appearance. He had been employed with the Sheriff’s Office for less than ayear The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact theNatchitochesParish Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Bureau at (318) 357-7830.

was huge for me.”

Richard will return to Opelousas for apublic watch partyJan. 24 at South City Park.Doors open at 5p.m.,withepisodes airing back-to-back. Food and drinks will be provided.

If he wins the$200,000 prize,Richard said the money would go toward supporting his family

“Mygoal was alwaysto take careofmyfamily,my mom,” he said. “Andlooking ahead, Ihope to competingonother realityshows, including ‘The Traitors’or ‘House of Villains.’”

“Fear Factor: House of Fear” airs at 8p.m. Wednesdays on Fox and is available forstreaming Thursdays on Hulu and Disney+.

Email Ja’koriMadison at jakori.madison@ theadvocate.com.

Threekilled in Denham Springs fire

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

Therewas no working smoke alarm in aDenham Springs house where afire killed three people Saturday, according to newdetails from investigators.

The State FireMarshal is still investigating the fire and has not ruled out the possibilityofelectrical-relatedcontributingfactors, according to aMonday news release.

James Garrett, 96, his

MAMOU

Continuedfrom page1B

celebration that injured three people.

Alaya Christian, aLafayette Renaissance Charter High student, andBryson Green,aCecilia High student,werelater identified as the two killed in the shooting.

Trea’land Ty’rellCastille, 19, was arrested in connection withthe shooting, where, at thetime, he faced twocountsoffirstdegree murder

That year,AssistantPolice Chief Caleb Simien suggested allfestivities be moved to thesouth side of town priortothe shooting. He argued to theCity Council that it would be easier to barricade crowds and focus securityforces in one part of thetown

The council ultimately opposed theidea, saying separate celebrations were part of thecity’s Mardi Gras tradition.

The shootingerupted

great-granddaughter Kirsten Vidrine, 21, and her best friend, Danielle Ricard, 20, died in thefireonWanda Avenue, officialssaid. Fire crewswere dispatched to the scene about 6:20 a.m.

Amanda Broussard, Vidrine’saunt and Garrett’s granddaughter, said Saturday the three were trapped as the house burned.

“Therewas no way for them to physically get out,” Broussard said. Vidrine’sfather,James Vidrine,was able to crawl to safety out the house’s back door.Hewas taken for treatment at ahospital burn unit, his family said.

Investigators confirmed the home did nothavea

during aconcert after theNoLimit RidersTrail Ride and Chicken Run. Organizersofthat event announced last week they would take ayear off, explaining thepause would allow time to reflect, regroup, andevaluate safety measures moving forward.

In several videos of the 2025 shooting shared on social media, Chris Ardoin and his band NuStep Zydeko were playing and hundreds of people were dancinginthe streets when the event was interrupted by several individualshots andthenrapid gunfire.

When he heard the shots close to the stage, Ardoin said he dropped his accordionand jumpedonhis sontoprotect him. Lawenforcementofficers rushed in front of theband, he said, to shield them.

At the time, he said he would not perform at any more outdoor concerts.

The traditional Cajun MardiGras celebration in Mamoudraws thousands of visitors to the Evange-

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working smoke alarm, according to thenews release.

“Itiscritical that the people of Louisiana understand how much of adifference smoke alarms can make whenitcomes to surviving afire,” State Fire Marshal Bryan J. Adams said in the release. “It’snot the flames that kill, it’sthe smoke. Smokealarmsgivefamilies early warning of an emergency and valuable time to escape safely.” Staff writerQuinn Coffman contributed to this report.

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com.

line Parish town

The annual celebration includes astreet dance, or fais do-do, on Monday evening. The traditional courir begins early Tuesday morning, when costumed and masked participants on horseback, foot or trailer make their way through rural neighborhoods singinginFrenchand “begging” forgumbo ingredients. It culminates with achicken chase before participants make their way to the center of town fora street party,which is where Tuesday’s fatal shooting took place.

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INDIANA MIAMI

Lucky for 13

Cignetti laid foundation with James Madison players who followed him

BY EDDIE PELLS and MAURA CAREY AP sportswriters

MIAMI He had to start somewhere. So, when coach Curt Cignetti started his rebuilding project at Indiana, he turned to what he knew Cignetti recruited 13 players from his old school, James Madison, over to his new program with the Hoosiers. They formed the backbone of what he called “one of the greatest sports stories of all

time” — the rise of college football’s losingest program into a national champion.

Former James Madison players Elijah Sarratt, Kaelon Black, Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara were among the baker’s dozen — some call them “Cignetti’s Dozen” who contributed to Indiana’s undefeated season and the national title.

The players came in dribs and drabs, starting shortly after Cignetti accepted the job on Nov 30, 2023.

“They understood the program, the culture, and they had that championship at-

titude,” Cignetti said. “They were able to answer questions for the guys to decide to return and the right guys returned. And the new transfers, too, they could answer their questions and lead, and they were good players.”

In a testament to what Cignetti built during his five years at James Madison, it was the Dukes of the Sun Belt Conference who snagged the fifth and final automatic bid to this year’s College Football

Fischer narrates perfection 50 years apart

Voice of Hoosiers was also behind mic for Indiana’s 32-0 basketball season

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP sportswriter

MIAMIGARDENS,Fla.— Don Fischer never saw this coming. The play-by-play voice of Indiana basketball and football was behind the microphone a half-century ago when the Hoosiers

‘Sky is not falling’ on LSU gym, Clark says

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark is channeling his inner Flau’jae Johnson after the Tigers’ first loss of the season. Johnson said the sky wasn’t falling after the LSU women’s basketball team opened Southeastern Conference play with back-to-back losses.

Clark said the same thing after his Tigers’ uneven 197.200196.850 loss Friday to open SEC competition at Georgia.

“The sky is not falling. We’re fine,” Clark said Tuesday “We’ve got a great group of kids We knew going into this year there may be some growing pains.

“We just don’t want to self-destruct.”

Coming off an impressive season opener, a tie for first with Oklahoma at 197.500 in the Sprouts Collegiate Quad, the Tigers stumbled at Georgia with five scores of 9.65 or lower LSU was forced to count two of them, which proved to be the difference in the dual meet.

It’s the fourth straight year LSU has lost its SEC road opener The previous three seasons, the Tigers reached the NCAA finals in 2023, won the SEC and NCAA championships in 2024, and were SEC champs and the No. 1 overall NCAA seed in 2025.

“Dual meets mean a lot to us internally, but they really don’t mean a whole lot” overall, Clark said. “As long as we don’t count a score out of range.”

To affirm what Clark said the Tigers only slipped from a tie for second to No. 4 in this week’s RoadtoNationals.com rankings, which are based on a team’s average score. Florida is No. 1 (197.575), followed by Oklahoma (197.463), Alabama (197.375), LSU (197.175), then UCLA and Georgia in a tie for fifth (197.100).

Clark said it will be good to get home in a real meet for the first time Friday. The Tigers host Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Individual rankings

— the basketball Hoosiers, coached by Bob Knight won the 1976 national title with a perfect 32-0 record. And Monday, he described for listeners how the football team matched that feat of becoming an undefeated national champion. Indiana beat Miami 27-21 at Hard Rock Stadium for the College Football Playoff national championship, with the Hoosiers becoming the first 16-0 team in major college football since Yale in 1894.

“From my perspective as a broadcaster, that’s the ultimate to be a part of something, a national champion,” Fischer said in the Hoosiers’ radio booth a couple of hours before kickoff Monday “And now I’ve got a chance to do the same thing in football. I mean, it’s a special night for me.”

It got more special a few hours later, when Fischer got to make the call he’s waited 50 years to say

“The rags-to-riches story for Indiana football comes to conclusion and they are

ä See CIGNETTI, page 3C ä

ä

See FISCHER, page 3C

“Now we get to come home, feed off that energy and hit the reset button,” he said.

Kailin Chio is tied for second in the nation on balance beam (9.95) and tied for fourth on vault (9.912). Konnor McClain is fourth on vault (9.938) and Amari Drayton is tied for eighth on balance beam (9.925).

Kentucky, which has struggled in its first two meets after being ranked No. 9 in the preseason coaches poll, is ranked 39th (194.625) after failing to break 195.000 in its first two meets.

Cajuns freshman Lewis out for season with knee tendon injury

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The obstacles keep coming for the UL men’s basketball program. Since the season began, senior forward Zeke Cook left the team, starting point guard Jamyron Keller played two games before being lost for the season with a foot injury and transfer forward Sean Elkinton has not played a game because of a foot injury Now, freshman forward Joshua Lewis is out for the season with a patella tendon tear heading into a 5:30 p.m. Thursday road game against Appalachian State.

“I feel really bad for him because he desperately wants to be out there,” coach Quannas White said “He was starting to play really good, starting to shoot the ball really well.” Lewis finished the season at 8.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 22.6 minutes a game. The 6-foot-7

Tampa, Florida, native was shooting 51.4% from the field, 77.3% at the free-throw line and 44.4% from 3-point range.

“We were finding some things to run for him and putting him in position to go and be successful,” White said.

White said Lewis was injured on Jan 10 in a 90-70 loss to Troy, and he has missed two games since.

“At the end of the Troy game, he had a possession where he gave great effort and I think he blocked (Thomas) Dowd’s shot and then he dove on the ground and I think that’s where it happened,” White said. “He said he heard it pop.”

The Cajuns (5-15, 3-5 Sun Belt Conference) are coming off a 59-56 win at South Alabama. Lewis had emerged as the team’s third-leading scorer, but now the

Cajuns must find another source of scoring production. De’Vion Lavergne (7.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg), Milan Mejia (4.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg) and Dariyus Woodson (5.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg) have had their moments as of late.

“All that’s asked of these guys is when you’re out there impact winning and give it your all,” White said. “I’m not necessarily asking one guy or two guys to pick it up in this area. Just do what you’re supposed to do while you’re on that floor, and that’s enough.

“But all our guys understand the way you get minutes is by competing out there on the floor every second that you’re on the floor.” Redshirt freshman guard Karris Bilal (3.3 ppg, 0.4 rpg) also could be a solution after averaging only 9.1 minutes a game.

“It’s just time with Karris,” White said. “He plays really

He just had a (injury)

(in preseason). Each game, he’s gotten more minutes.”

On TV MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

6p.m. Pittsburgh at Boston College ACCN

6p.m. Maryland at Illinois BTN

6p.m. MurraySt. at DrakeCBSSN

6p.m. Notre Dame at North CarolinaESPN2

6p.m. ETSU at ChattanoogaESPNU

6p.m. Xavier at Creighton FS1

6p.m. Georgetown at Villanova PEACOCK

6p.m. Texas at Kentucky SECN

8p.m.Virginia Tech at Syracuse ACCN

8p.m. Washington at Nebraska BTN

8p.m. Fresno St. at NewMexico CBSSN

8p.m. N. Iowa at IllinoisSt. ESPNU

8p.m. Cincinnati at Arizona FS1

8p.m. West Virginia at Arizona St. PEACOCK

8p.m. Mississippi St. at TexasA&M SECN

10 p.m.NorthwesternatSouthern Cal BTN

10 p.m.Oregon St. at Saint Mary’sCBSSN

10 p.m.San DiegoSt. at Grand CanyonFS1

WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

7p.m. Marquette at St. John’sPEACOCK GOLF noon Bahamas Great AbacoClassicGOLF NBA 6:10 p.m. Cleveland at Charlotte ESPN

7p.m.New Orleans vs.Detroit KNGC

8:35 p.m.Oklahoma City at Milwaukee ESPN NHL

6p.m.Detroit at Toronto TNT

8:30 p.m.N.y.IslandersatSeattle TNT MEN’S SOCCER

11:15 a.m.Al Nassr at Damac FC FS2

11:40 a.m.MadridatGalatasarayCBSSN

1:55 p.m.PSV EindhovenatNewcastle CBSSN TENNIS

8p.m.AustralianOpen ESPN2

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

7p.m.AustinatMadison USA

Beltrán, Joneselected to Hall of Fame

BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer

NEWYORK CarlosBeltránand

Andruw Jones, center fielders who excelledatthe plate and with their gloves, wereelectedtobaseball’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday Beltrán, making his fourth appearance on the ballot, received 358 of 425votes for84.2% from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, 39 above the 319 needed for the 75% threshold.

Jones, in the ninth of 10 possible appearances, waspicked on 333 ballots for 78.4%

Beltrán moved up steadily from 46.5% in 2023 to 57.1% the followingyear and 70.3% in 2025, when he fell 19 votes short as Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected.

Beltránwas hiredasthe New York Mets manageronNov.1, 2019, then fired on Jan. 16 without having managed agame, three days after he was the only Astros player mentioned by name in a report by Major League Baseball regarding the team’sillicit use of electronics to stealsigns during Houston’srun to the 2017 World Series championship.

Jonesreceivedjust 7.3%inhis first appearance in 2018 and didn’t get half the total until receiving 58.1% in 2023.Heincreased to 61.6% and 66.2%, falling35votes short last year

They will be inducted at Cooperstown, New York, on July 26 along with second basemanJeffKent, voted in last month by the contemporary era committee.

BBWAA members with 10 or more consecutive years in the organization were eligible to vote.

ChaseUtley (59.1%) wasthe only other candidate to get at least half the vote, improving from 39.8% last year.Hewas followed by Andy Pettitte at 48.5%, an increase from 27.9% last year,and FélixHernándezat46.1%, up from 20.6%.

Cole Hamels topped first-time candidatesat23.8%. The other first-time players were all under 5% and willbedroppedfrom future votes.

Steroids-tainted players again were kept from the hall. Alex Rodriguez received 40%inhis fifth appearance, up from7.1%,and Manny Ramirez 38.8% in his 10th and final appearance. There were 11 blank ballots.

Anine-time All-Star,the switchhitting Beltrán batted .279 with 435 homers and1,587 RBIs over 20 seasons withKansas City (1999-2004), Houston (2004, ’17), theMets(2005-11), San Francisco (2011), St. Louis (2012-13), the

HALL OF FAME VOTING

Votingforthe2026BaseballHallofFame class.Playersneed75%ofthevotetobe elected.Playersgettingatleast5%of thevotecanstayontheballotforupto 10years.Therewere425votescast;319 needed

Carlos Beltrán358 (84.2%), Andruw Jones 333 (78.4),Chase Utley 251 (59.1),Andy Pettitte 206 (48.5),Félix Hernández 196(46.1) Álex Rodríguez 170 (40.0), MannyRamírez 165 (38.8), BobbyAbreu 131 (30.8),Jimmy Rollins 108 (25.4), Cole Hamels101 (23.8) Dustin Pedroia 88 (20.7),Mark Buehrle 85 (20.0), Omar Vizquel 78 (18.4), David Wright 63 (14.8), FranciscoRodríguez 50 (11.8),Torii Hunter 37 (8.7) Received fewer than 20 votes (lessthan 5): Ryan Braun 15 (3.5), EdwinEncarnación 6(1.4), Shin-Soo Choo 3(0.7),Matt Kemp 2(0.5), Hunter Pence 2(0.5),Rick Porcello 2(0.5), Alex Gordon 1(0.2), Nick Markakis 1(0.2), Gio González 0, HowieKendrick 0, Daniel Murphy0

New York Yankees (20014-16) and Texas (2016). He had 311 homers hitting left-handedand 124batting right, Beltrán was the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year and wonthree Gold Gloves, also hitting .307 in the postseason with 16 homers and 42 RBIs in65games. Jones batted .254 with 434 homers, 1,289 RBIs and 152 stolen bases in 17 seasons with Atlanta (19962007), the Los Angeles Dodgers (2008), Texas (2009), the Chicago White Sox (2010) and the Yankees (2011-12). He finished his career with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’sPacific League from 2013-14. His batting average is the second-lowest for aposition player voted to the HallofFame, just above the .253 of Ray Schalk, a

superior defensive catcher,and just below the .256 of Harmon Killebrew,who hit 573 homers. Afive-time All-Star, Jones earned 10 Gold Gloves.

In the 1996 World Series opener at Yankee Stadium, Jones at 19 years, 5months became the youngest player to homerina

Series game, beating Mickey Mantle’sold mark by 18 months. Going deep against Pettitte in thesecondinningand Brian Boehringer in the third of a12-1 rout, Jones became the second player to homer in his first two Series at-bats after Gene Tenace in 1972.

Sinner beginswithanticlimactic win

BY JOHN PYE AP sportswriter

MELBOURNE,Australia Twosets and just over an hour of tennis wasn’t what Jannik Sinner wanted at Rod Laver Arena for the start of hisbid for an AustralianOpen three-peat. In hisfirst competitive match since beating Carlos Alcaraz at theATP Finals in November, Sinner was leading 6-2, 6-1 when No 93-ranked Hugo Gaston suddenly retired from their match Tuesday night with an undisclosed injury.

“I sawthat he was notserving with avery high pace,” Sinner said, but “it’snot the way you want to win the match.”

After signaling he had to quit, Gaston went to acourtside chair and bowed his head into his hands. Sinner wenttoconsole him,putting ahand on the Frenchman’sshoulder and wishing him aspeedy recovery For Sinner,itwas an anticlimacticreturntoMelbournePark’s main arena 12 monthsafter clinching back-to-back Australian titles withawin over Alexander Zverev in the final. He played Alcaraz in the finalsof the other three majors, winning at

Wimbledon andfinishing runnerup at Roland Garros and theU.S Open, as theso-calledSincarazrivals extendedtheir dominanceof GrandSlam tournaments to asecond full year

Sinner isn’tcontent with evenly splittingthe titles with Alcaraz, though. He usedhis time off to concentrate on adjusting hisservice motion and tweaking other parts of his gameinthe search for incremental improvements

“I’ve put in many,many long days in the off-season trying to becomeabetter tennis player,” No.

2-ranked Sinner said. “But at the endof the day the most important part is to go on court andtoenjoy, no?It’sveryspecial to startthe season in anight session match here in aGrand Slam, the packed stadium, justtrying to do your best.”

Sinnerisaiming to becomethe fourth player to win three consecutive men’stitlesat the Australian Open

Osaka’sfashion statement

Wearinga wide-brimhat, veil andholding awhite parasol as she walked ontoRod LaverArena for the last night match,Naomi Osaka made agrand entrance.

The four-time major winner went on to beat Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Keys opener

Madison Keys had atough start to hertitle defense, struggling early against theoffbeat styleof Oleksandra Oliynykova beforeadvancing 7-6 (6), 6-1.

Ninth-seeded Keys, playing in her 50thGrand Slam tournament, trailed 4-0 before finding her rhythm.

“Obviously Iwas verynervous at the start,” Keys said. “As nervous as Iwas ...I’m really glad to be back, and that Igot through that match.”

Oliynykova’sunorthodox shotmaking andstrongdefensekept Keys off balance in the first set.

“I feel like thatmade things alittle extra tricky,” Keys said. “I felt likeatthe end of thetiebreaker I really kind of foundmygame and thenwas abletocarry that into the second set.”

Oliynykovagained alot of attention with herunique body art and ink, and aprinted message for Ukraine on aT-shirt she worein her post-match news conference. No.5Elena Rybakina and No

Warriors guard Butler out for season with ACLtear

SAN FRANCISCO Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler will require surgery and miss the remainder of the season after tearing theACL in his right kneeduring the third quarter of a135-112 victory over his former Miami team Butler was hurt Monday night moments after catching apass in the paint when he wentdown hard andawkwardly following acollision with the Heat’sDavion Mitchell —who was called forafoul. After the play,Butler was asking for twofree throws, apositive sign to coach SteveKerr that his spirits weregood.

Butler is Golden State’ssecondleading scorer behind Stephen Curry,having averaged 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists entering the week.

Vikings receiver Addison’s trespass charges dropped TAMPA,Fla. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison will not be charged with misdemeanor trespassing, after the case against him was dismissedone week following his arrest.

Florida state attorney Susan Lopezissueda termination of prosecution notice in Hillsborough County court on Tuesday,ordering therelease of Addison’s $500 bond. Addison wasdetained by Seminole Indian Police at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at 3:46 a.m. on Jan.12and was released from jail later that day Addison served athree-game suspensiontostart the 2025 season forviolating the NFL’spersonal conduct policy,stemming from his drunken driving arrest in Los Angeles the year before.

Falcons make veteran Callahan newO-line coach FLOWERYBRANCH,Ga. TheAtlantaFalcons hired veteran offensive line coach Bill Callahan on Tuesday,making one of the NFL’s most-experienced coaches thefirst offensive assistant added to new coach Kevin Stefanski’s staff. Theaddition of Callahan, 69, comes one day after the team announced defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will return. Callahan was theTennesseeTitans’ offensive line coach the past two years, including time working forhis son, Brian Callahan, who was fired as coach on Oct. 14. Bill Callahan hascoached 48 yearsincollege and the NFL. He has had 14 offensive linemen earn 35 ProBowl selections in his 27 yearsinthe NFL.

Packersrelease CB Diggs 3weeks afterclaiming him GREENBAY,Wis. CornerbackTrevon Diggs was released by the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday,three weeks after they claimed him off waivers from the Dallas Cowboys. General manager Bri an Gutekunst announced the move. The Packersclaimed Diggs on Dec. 31, aday after the Cowboys waived him.

10 BelindaBencicadvanced in straight sets, but twowomen’s seeds were ousted in straight sets early on Day 3, with Janice Tjen upsetting 2021U.S.Open finalist Leylah Fernandez and Tereza Valentova beating Australia’sMaya Joint SloaneStephens, the 2017 U.S Openchampion who had to qualify for the season-opening major,lost to Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (7), 6-2.

Sheltonadvances In amatch between left-handers, BenShelton, asemifinalist ayear agoinAustralia, overcame Ugo Humbert 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5).

Shelton said it was one of the toughestfirst-round matches he could have faced, with No. 33 Humbert having the highest ranking of the unseeded players. He’ll next face Australian qualifier Dane Sweeny,who ended the 20thand final Australian Open campaign for 39-year-old Gael Monfils. Also advancingwere No.5Lorenzo Musetti, No. 9Taylor Fritz, 2023 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and Eliot Spizzirri,who beat 19-year-old Joao Fonseca 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Diggshad an NFL-leading11interceptions and earned All-Pro honors in 2021. He made the ProBowl again in 2022 but his performance hasdeclined since, in part because of two major knee surgeries. Diggs, 27, joined thePackersjust before their final regular-season game.Heplayednearlyhalfof Green Bay’s defensive snaps in his Packersdebut as theteamrestedits starters in a16-3 lossatMinnesota

Alberto Mendoza transfers from Indiana to Georgia Tech

Less than 24 hours after being crowned anational champion with Indiana, AlbertoMendozahas announced his transfer to Georgia Tech. He announced his decision Tuesday in ajoint Instagram postwith the On3 transfer portal account. Mendozawas Indiana’sprimary backup underhis older brother, Fernando, as aredshirt freshman in 2025. He appeared in nine games and completed 18 of 24 passes for five touchdownsand an interception.Headded 190yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. Alberto played in one gameasa true freshman in 2024 behind sixthyear quarterback Kurtis Rourke. He joins the Yellow Jackets, who gotoff to their first 8-0 start since 1966under coach BrentKey and quarterback HaynesKing in 2025.

Indianatops finalAPTop 25 football poll

BY ERIC OLSON AP collegefootball writer

Indiana achieved one more first to end its magical season full of firsts: The national champion Hoosiers are No. 1inthe final Associated Press Top25college football poll. After beating Miami in the College Football Playoff title game to cap a16-0 season that was unprecedented in the modern era, the Hoosiers on Tuesdaybecame the third straight Big Tenteam to finish on top of the rankings.Indiana’schampionship and No. 1final ranking followed those of fellow Big Tenteams Ohio State in 2024 and Michigan in 2023.

No. 2Miami (13-3) moved up eight spots and ended with itshighest ranking since the 2002 season, when it was second behind Ohio State. The 2003 Miami team had been the most recent to finish in the top 10.

Ole Miss (13-2), which lost to Miami in the CFP semifinals after it beat Tulane and Georgia following coachLaneKiffin’sdeparture for LSU, was No. 3, its highest final ranking since 1962.

No. 4Oregon (13-2) finished in the top 10 for athird straight year and No. 5Ohio State was in the final top 10 for the 12th straight year.The Big Tenhad three teams in the final top five for the second straight year

LSU gymnast

Courtney Blackson finishes her routine on the unevenbars at the team’s Gymnastics 101/Open MikeNight on Jan. 2atthe PMAC.

Georgia (12-2),Texas Tech (12-2), TexasA&M (11-2),Alabama (11-4) andNotre Dame(10-2) rounded out thetop 10. The Bulldogs were No. 6inthe finalpoll for the secondstraight season and have ended in the top 10 every since since 2017. Texas Tech is aseason-endingtop-10 team for the first time. Texas A&M hadn’t beenranked in afinalpoll since JimboFisher’s2020team was No. 4. Alabama, which had endedevery season between 2008-23 in the top10, was back after slipping to No. 17 last year

Notre Dame won 10 straight gamesfollowing an 0-2 start,was left outofthe playoff andopted to not play in abowl game. Notre Dame slipped one spot and was ranked in aninth straight finalpoll.

TheHoosiers were No. 20 in the preseasonpoll after going 11-2 in Curt Cignetti’sfirst season. They earned theirthen-highest ranking ever at No. 3after they won at Oregontogo6-0. They moved up to No. 2the following week and stayed therefor sevenstraight polls. Their13-10 win over Ohio Stateinthe Big Tenchampionship

gamepushed them to No. 1heading into the playoff.

Poll points

n No. 17 Iowa was ranked for the first time this season after winning three straight, including abowl win over Vanderbilt. No. 22 Houston beat Baylor and LSUto end the season and was ranked for thefirst time in four polls.No. 25

TCU, whichhad been 18 spots out of the Top25, was rankedfor the first time since September after beating Houston, Cincinnati and USC.

n Arizona (21), Georgia Tech (24) and Missouri (25) dropped out.

n TheSEC hadseven teams in thefinal Top25for the second straight year.Lastseason wasthe first time that had happened since 2013.

n No.15Vanderbilthas itshighest final ranking since the 1948 team was No. 12.

n No. 19 James Madison No. 24 NorthTexas are in the final poll for thefirst time. Conference call

SEC(7rankedteams): No.3Ole Miss, No. 6Georgia,No. 8Texas A&M, No. 9Alabama, No.12Texas, No 13 Oklahoma, No.15Vanderbilt.

BigTen(6): No.1Indiana, No. 4Oregon,No. 5Ohio State, No. 17 Iowa, No.20SouthernCalifornia, No. 21 Michigan.

Big12(5): No. 7Texas Tech, No. 11

LSU

Continued from page 1C

Blacksonupdate

Senior transfer Courtney Blackson was alate scratch on vaultat Georgiabecause she “tweaked” her lowercalfjustabove her Achilles, Clark said. He stressed it was not along-term injury

CIGNETTI

Continued frompage1C

Playoff under his successor,Bob Chesney Chesney recently got hired away by UCLA, and at least seven players from the playoff team have followed him to Westwood, California.

The Indiana story is asupercharged versionofwhat’shappening across collegefootball

The transfer portal hasallowed players who don’tget looks from the bigprogramsinhigh school a chance to start small, get better, then maybe get their chance at the big time. Regarding Indiana’slack of four-and five-star recruits, Cignetti said, “I’ve never looked at astar in my life.” Some refer to the smaller programsthe unheralded players start with as “feeder schools.” The one at James Madison helped the Hoosiers becomechampions. In this case,Cignetti had arole in both —finding the playersout of high school, then luring themto the Big Ten.

“You take those 13 guys, Idon’t think any of them had great offers coming out of high school,” Fisher said. “Wehad acoach that took a chance on us once, and then the opportunity rose to do it again. For me, it changed my life.”

“She hasahistory of it on her other leg,” hesaid.“It’s not as bad as it’shappened before. She’sday to day,especially on vault.But on bars, she’llbefine.”

Blackson won the barsevent in theSprouts Collegiate Quad with a9.95.

On McClain,Drayton

It’s beenaroughstart to thesea-

son for twoofLSU’smost talented gymnasts, Drayton and McClain. Drayton has had afall or serious breaks in three of her five events, while McClain has had them in twoofher five performances.

Clark said his confidence in both gymnastsremains high.

“They’re showing great things in practice,” he said. “Mymessage is to keep doing what you’redoing.

Thechallengeistokeep moving forward.

quarterfinal game on Jan. 1inPasadena, Calif.

Here’salook at “Cignetti’sDozen”:

MikailKamara:The defensive lineman’sblocked punt resulted in atouchdownthat gave Indiana a17-7 lead in thethird quarter against Miami.

KaelonBlack:The running back led the Hoosiers with 81 yards rushingagainst theHurricanes. This season, he formed aone-two punch with Roman Hemby.Both finished with 1,000-plus yards.

D’AngeloPonds:The lockdown cornerback had five tackles in the championshipgame. His picksix of Oregon quarterback Dante Moore helped the Hoosiers get off

to afast start in thePeach Bowl. He was named defensive MVP in theRose and Peach bowls.

TyriqueTucker:The junior defensive lineman has been astrong presence on the defensive line. Hissix sacks ranked third on theroster behind RolijahHardy (eight) and Isaiah Jones (seven). Tucker also finishedthe season with 38 tackles and two pass deflections.

AidenFisher:One of Indiana’sstar linebackers, Fisherfinishedsecondonthe rosterwith95tackles. He also had 41/2 sacks for aloss of 25 yards, apass deflection,a forced fumble, afumble recovery and twointerceptions, one of

“Don’tever look backward, even if the result is great.”

Both also had encouraging scores in the Georgiameet: McClain tied for first on bars with a 9.95, while Drayton tied forsecond on beam with a9.925.

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

which was apick-six. He had four tackles and asack against Miami.

SolomonVanhorse:The senior added depth to the Hoosiers’ running back room and finished the season with nine carries for 48 yards. He had aseason-long12-yard rush in Indiana’s63-10 win against Illinois.

ElijahSarratt:The senior receiver led the Hoosiers and FBS with 15 receiving touchdowns and had 830 yards receiving. He had three receptions for 28 yards on Monday night

JamesCarpenter:After leaving Indiana after the 2024 season,the defensive lineman signed with theJacksonville Jaguars in April. He recently waspicked up by the Birmingham Stallions of the UFL.

Jailin Walker:The linebacker signedwith the Las Vegas Raidersinthe spring. In January,he was drafted by the new UFLfranchise, the Columbus Aviators.

NickKidwell:The former offensive lineman is nowthe offensive line coach at Shepherd University

ZachHorton:The tight endsigned withthe Detroit LionsinApril. He spent the season on the practice squad.

TylerStephens:The former offensive lineman is happily engaged and enjoying post-graduate lifein Virginia.

TySonLawton:The running back played in 13 games with six starts during his final year of eligibility in 2024. He was akey contributor with 668 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns on 141 carries.

BYU,No. 14 Utah, No.22Houston, No.25TCU

American(3): No. 18 Tulane, No.23

Navy,No. 24 North Texas.

ACC(2): No.2Miami, No. 16 Virginia.

Independent(1): No. 10 Notre Dame

SunBelt(1): No. 19 James Madison.

FISCHER

Continued from page1C

the national champions of 2026,” Fischersaidafter HeismanTrophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza hit the ground forthe finalplay. “Whata football team! Whatafootballteam! And this crowd goes crazy here tonight. The confetti starts to fly.” Fischer has seen some things in his time as the voice of Indiana football. Most of thosethings were, well, bad.

There was astretch of 24 seasons during which the Hoosiers managed exactlyone winning record —and that was just a7-6 mark in 2007. There was an 0-11 year.There wasan83-20 loss at Wisconsin. There was a62-0loss at Iowa.There was a28-game losing streak against ranked opponents. “I’ve seen alot of bad football,” Fischer said. Then came Curt Cignetti, whois now 27-2 in his two seasons at Indiana and anational champion. Fischer gotintroduced to Cignetti during the coach’sinfamous “Purdue sucks so does Michigan and Ohio State! Go IU!” speech that he gave during an Indiana-Maryland basketball game.Fischer’s broadcast aired Cignetti’sremarkslive frommidcourt during atimeout. “I just started laughing,”Fischer said. “Nobody’sever said thatin Indiana before, youknow? AndI said, ‘This is something different.’ So, from that point forward, Iwas intrigued by the guy.” Cignetti, forhis part, loves the Knight comparisons. Cignetti isn’t afraid to say what’sonhis mind, with little concern for repercussions. Knight was thesame way They aren’tcarbon copies —tothe best of all knowledge, Cignetti has not thrownachair across afield but it’seasy to see parallels. Also, they both win.

“I wasa bigBob Knight fanas alittlekid,”Cignetti said. “I liked sort of the shenanigans andthe facesatthe press conferences andthrowing thechair across the court. Ithought that was pretty cool. And the guy Ibought my house from was abig friend of Bob Knight, actually.” Fischer started going to Cignetti’spractices shortly after the new coach cametoIndiana to watch what makes him tick. He saw Cignetti was spending as much time, if not more, coaching his assistants than he did coaching players. He was theCEO,whichiswhat he learned in four years working under Nick Saban at Alabama. Fischer would getasked how he thought Cignetti would do. He predicted Cignetti would winbig.

“I knew he was going to win. I could tell,”Fischersaid. “You can tell if you’ve been around long enough that the coach has got it or if he doesn’tgot it. Icould see after watching those practices in the spring that he had it.”

And after more than 2,000 games, his voice echoing across the state of Indiana, Fischer had achanceatrelivingthose perfect memories of 1976.

“How do you get to this place in twoyears’ time and get to the playoff both years and get to the national championship game in the secondyear?” Fischer said. “It’sa miracle.”

Sophomore Lancelin helps elevate Westgate basketball

NEAL MCCLELLAND

Contributing writer

Westgate sophomore Cayden

Lancelin is listed as a point guard but the fact of the matter is that he will do whatever coach Oliver Winston needs him to do.

“I play wherever I’m needed,” Lancelin said after he scored 18 points in Westgate’s win over crosstown rival New Iberia on Friday in the first of two annual meetings between the rivals. “More to the point, I play wherever I can give my team its best chance to win.”

Lancelin has been doing a lot of playing and winning for the Tigers this season. Westgate improved to 12-3 with a win Monday over Sophie B. Wright.

He has been a big part of his team’s success.

Breaking into the starting lineup last season as a freshman, Lancelin is part of a sophomore class that took its lumps last year After a year in Winston’s system, the group has proven to be quick learners.

We’ve been doing great so far,” Lancelin said. “We won the St Thomas More Sunkist Shootout this year, which considering the good teams that usually play in it, says a lot for what we have the potential to do this year.”

He attributes much of his success to what the team went through last year

“We were young last year, which is no excuse but the biggest improvement that we made is that we became more confident in what we can do on the court and how we approach each game,” Lancelin said. Winston agrees.

“That’s the biggest difference between last year and this year for all of these players, especially Lancelin,” Winston said. “They are a year older and have a year’s more experience. They still make mistakes and start slow, and that is something that we work on and correct, but they have improved from last year and as long as they keep improving, they will play better and better.”

Lancelin believes his team has

Westgate guard Cayden Lancelin, shown here in the finals of the Lafayette Renaissance tournament, has played a key role in the Tigers reaching the finals of three top area tournaments this season.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Boys basketball North Vermilion 73, Northside Christian 30 New Iberia 45, St. Martinville 33 Opelousas 72, Independence 46 Westgate 58, Sophie B. Wright 49 Woodlawn 65, Southside 43 Madison Prep 65, Northside 56 North Vermilion 73, Northside Christian 30 NORTH VERMILION (73) Jayvin Gage 14, Zarian Gage 5, RJ Conway 10, Jose Sotomayor 20 Eli Dubois 2, Cooper Trahan 3, Kylon Martin 4, Mason Dauterive 4, Jaxsen Frederick 9 Johnny Aubrey 2. NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN (30) Hayden Duhon 3, Cody Clayton 2, Carter Hebert 7, Caleb Soeseno 4, Jackson Dupuis 3, Kohen Lissard 5, Christian Joseph 3, Wyatt Duhon 2. N. Vermilion2128156—73 Northside Chr.11104530 3-pointers – NV: J. Gage 1, Z. Gage 1, Sotomayor 4, Trahan 1, Frederick 3; NC: Duhon 1, Joseph 1. Total Fouls – NV 16, NC 3 New Iberia 45, St. Martinville 33 NEW IBERIA (45) Trey Lively 5, Shane Westley 16, Brian Coursey 2, Myles Joret 16, Kaden Johnson 2, Jylin Jackson 2, Theace Broussard 2 Totals:

been tested and is ready for bigger things against a tough District 4-4A schedule. “We want the (championship),”

4-8. St. Martinville71277—33 New Iberia101171745 3-pointers – SMSH: Fontenette 1, Potier 2; NISH: Lively 1, Joret 2. Total Fouls – SMSH 13, NISH 14.

ARCA girls soccer aiming to take next step

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

When Bryan Theriot took over the Acadiana Renaissance girls soccer program three years ago, he inherited a club that was only a year old but was fresh off a postseason appearance.

Theriot’s goal was to build upon that success and have the Eagles advance a step further every season.

So far, Theriot has made good on those goals as he’s led the Eagles to the postseason in each of his first two seasons with the furthest advancement coming last season when ARCA reached the Division III quarterfinals.

“I was not with them the first year that they made it to the playoffs,” said Theriot, whose Eagles will travel to face David Thibodaux at 7 p.m. Friday

“Three years ago, the goal was to let’s be the first soccer team to host a home playoff game. We achieved it that year Last year the goal was we want to be able to host two games at home, and we want to be district champs for the first time. We did that.”

The Eagles’ goals are much loftier now

“Last year, we made it to the quarterfinals. The goal this year is to take the next step, and the next step would be the state semifinals,” Theriot said.

“But if I’m being honest, my girls have set the goal to be playing on Feb. 26. That’s the state finals.”

Theriot was fully aware of the amount of talent returning from last year’s quarterfinals team that was eliminated by eventual state champions Parkview Baptist.

“We knew that we would have a very large senior class this year,” Theriot said. “You know, we sat down during the preseason and talked, laid out our expectations and goals. You’ve got to raise the bar right? So, you have to hold yourself accountable to a higher standard as a player and as a teammate.”

HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER

he said. “We feel that we can keep improving, keep getting better, and we feel that we can win it all.”

The Eagles look like a team on a mission, compiling a 9-4-3 record and sitting at No. 6 in the Division III power rankings. Their defense — led by goalkeeper Emery Hancox, Aubrey Briggs, Lily Shute, Sam Padilla

SCOREBOARD

IND_F.Mendoza 12 run (Radicic kick), 9:18 MIA_Toney 22 pass from Beck (Davis kick), 6:37. IND_FG Radicic 35, 1:42 MIAIND First downs 15

Rushes-yards

Passing

Punt Returns

Kickoff Returns

Interceptions Ret.

Comp-Att-Int

Sacked-Yards Lost

Punts 6-39.0 5-48.2 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 7-60 5-38 Time of Possession 24:43 35:17 ,m.RUSHING_Miami, Fletcher 17-112, C.Brown 3-5, Beck 1-(minus 7). Indiana, Black 17-79, Hemby 19-60, Nowakowski

(Team) 1-(minus 1), F.Mendoza 7-(minus 8). PASSING_Miami, Beck 19-32-1-232. Indiana, F.Mendoza 16-27-0-186. RECEIVING_Miami, Toney 10-122, Daniels 4-62, Bauman 1-22, C.Brown 1-11, Fletcher 1-8, Marion 1-6, Moore 1-1. Indiana, Cooper 5-71, Becker 4-65, Sarratt 3-28, Nowakowski 2-17, Hemby 2-5. MISSED FIELD GOALS_Miami, Davis 50 College basketball

Men’s state schedule

Monday’s games McNeese 69, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 53

Stephen F. Austin 79, Nicholls 62 Texas-Rio Grande Valley 68, Southeastern 65 UNO 89, Lamar 67 Houston Christian 82, Northwestern State 80

Tuesday’s games LSU at Florida, n Wednesday’s games No games scheduled.

Thursday’s games UL-Lafayette at Appalachian State, 6:30 p.m.

Women’s state schedule Monday’s games No games scheduled. Tuesday’s games No games scheduled. Wednesday’s games

Coastal Carolina at UL 6 p.m. Thursday’s games Mississippi Valley at Southern, 6 p.m. McNeese at Southeastern, 6 p.m. Northwestern at Stephen F. Austin, 6 p.m. Arkansas – Pine Bluff at Grambling, 6:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech at Missouri State, 6:30 p.m. UNO at Nicholls, 6:30 p.m. James Madison at UL – Monroe, 6:30 p.m. LSU at Texas A&M, 8 p.m.

Tennis Australian Open Results Tuesday At Melbourne Park Melbourne, Australia Purse: AUD111,500,000 Surface: Hardcourt outdoor Results Tuesday from Australian Open at Melbourne Park (seedings in parentheses): Men’s Singles First Round Lorenzo Sonego, Italy, def. Carlos Taberner, Spain, 6-4, 6-0, 6-3. Luciano Darderi (22), Italy, def. Cristian Garin, Chile, 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (3)

Quinn, United States, def. Tallon Griekspoor (23), Netherlands, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Lorenzo Musetti (5), Italy, def. Raphael Collignon, Belgium, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 3-2, ret. Sebastian Baez, Argentina, def. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, France, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7,

6-3. Ben Shelton (8), United States, def. Ugo Humbert, France, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Eliot Spizzirri, United States, def. Joao Fonseca (28), Brazil, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Karen Khachanov (15), Russia, def. Alex Michelsen, United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Nishesh Basavareddy, United States, def. Christopher O’Connell, Australia, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-3. Jakub Mensik (16), Czechia, def. Pablo Carreno Busta, Spain, 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3. Yibing Wu, China, def. Luca Nardi, Italy, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Dane Sweeny, Australia, def. Gael Monfils, France, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4, 7-5. Rafael Jodar, Spain, def. Rei Sakamoto, Japan, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 5-7, 4-6, 6-3. Jannik Sinner (2), Italy, def. Hugo Gaston, France, 6-2, 6-1, ret. Taylor Fritz (9), United States, def. Valentin Royer, France, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Vit Kopriva, Czechia, def. Jan-Lennard Struff, Germany, 4-6, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Tomas Machac, Czechia, def. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Hubert Hurkacz, Poland, def. Zizou Bergs, Belgium, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-3. James Duckworth, Australia, def. Dino Prizmic, Croatia, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. Stefanos Tsitsipas (31), Greece, def. Shintaro Mochizuki, Japan, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Women’s Singles First Round Katerina Siniakova, Czechia, def. Panna Udvardy, Hungary, 6-1, 6-2. Ashlyn Krueger, United States, def. Sara Bejlek, Czechia, 6-3, 6-3. Tereza Valentova, Czechia, def. Maya Joint (30), Australia, 6-4, 6-4. Taylah Preston, Australia, def. Zhang Shuai, China, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, def. Viktorija Golubic, Switzerland, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1. Janice Tjen, Indonesia, def. Leylah Fernandez (22), Canada, 6-2, 7-6 (1). Madison Keys (9), United States, def. Oleksandra Oliynykova, Ukraine, 7-6 (6), 6-1. Wang Xinyu, China, def. Anhelina Kalinina Ukraine, 6-3, 6-3. Karolina Pliskova, Czechia, def. Sloane Stephens, United States, 7-6 (7), 6-2. Linda Fruhvirtova, Czechia, def. Lulu Sun, New Zealand, 6-3, 7-5. Julia Grabher, Austria, def. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Italy, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4. Elena Rybakina (5), Kazakhstan, def. Kaja Juvan, Slovenia, 6-4, 6-3. Anna Kalinskaya (31), Russia, def. Sonay Kartal, Britain, 7-6 (3), 6-1. Jelena Ostapenko (24), Latvia, def. Rebecca Sramkova, Slovakia, 6-4, 6-4. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, def. Eva Lys, Germany, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Belinda Bencic (10), Switzerland, def. Katie Boulter, Britain, 6-0, 7-5. Laura Siegemund, Germany, def. Liudmila Samsonova (18), Russia, 0-6, 7-5, 6-4. Naomi Osaka (16), Japan, def. Antonia Ruzic, Croatia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Nikola Bartunkova, Czechia, def. Daria Kasatkina, Russia, 7-6 (7), 0-6, 6-3. Maddison Inglis, Australia, def. Kimberly Birrell, Australia, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (9), 6-4. Men’s Doubles First Round Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Argentina, def. Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov, Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-4. Francisco Cerundolo and Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Argentina, def. Edouard RogerVasselin, France, and Hugo Nys (8), Monaco, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Jean-Julien Rojer, Netherlands, and Marcelo Demoliner, Brazil, def. Alexander Bublik Kazakhstan, and Alexander Shevchenko, Russia, 6-3, 6-2. Lucas Miedler, Austria, and Francisco Cabral (9), Portugal, def. Fabian Marozsan, Hungary, and Mattia Bellucci, Italy, 7-6 (6), 6-2. Patrik Rikl and Petr Nouza, Czechia, def. Alexandre Muller and Terence Atmane, France

and Reide Sizemore — is a large reason for that success. The Eagles have allowed only eight goals on the season and recorded nine shutouts.

“I feel like the season is going very well,” Theriot said “Our defense is playing fantastically well right now We’ve only conceded eight goals in 16 games this season. I think that’s kind of been the pillar that we’ve been able to build off of. Our defense is putting us in great situations.”

The Eagles have scored 49 goals on the year and are led by Aubrey Hopton, Izzy Arnaud and Liv Girouard, who have combined for 32 goals. Hopton has a team-high 12 goals while Arnaud and Girouard have scored 11 and nine, respectively

“Our offense is doing their share,” Theriot said “They are pulling their weight.”

If the Eagles are going to accomplish their goals, Theriot is adamant it will take contributions from “the entire team.”

“It is going to take all 19 girls, every practice and every game,” Theriot said “There’s no opponent coming to our practice to push us. The old adage is you are going to play like you practice. Whatever efforts you put forth on the practice field, that’s what’s going to get you your results during a game.

“You push each other in practice, you challenge each other

The only way the starter is going to keep grinding is if she knows she’s got a teammate that’s pushing her to be her best.”

6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-2. Pedro Martinez and Jaume Munar, Spain, def. Pruchya Isaro, Thailand, and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha, India, 7-6 (3), 7-5. Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz (5), Germany def. Arthur Rinderknech, France, and Valentin Vacherot, Monaco, 6-4, 6-4. Luke Johnson, Britain, and Jan Zielinski, Poland, def. Rinky Hijikata and Tristan Schoolkate, Australia, 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4. Women’s Doubles First Round Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (2), Italy, def. Maia Lumsden, Britain, and Qianhui Tang, China, 6-3, 6-2. Olivia Nicholls, Britain, and Tereza Mihalikova (12), Slovakia, def. Jaqueline Cristian, Romania, and Anna Bondar, Hungary, 6-3, 6-2. Victoria Mboko, Canada, and Iva Jovic, United States, def. Ulrikke Eikeri, Norway and Ingrid Neel, Estonia, 7-5, 6-3. Emiliana Arango, Colombia, and Elsa Jacquemot, France, def. Venus Williams, United States, and Ekaterina Alexandrova, Russia, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Olga Danilovic, Serbia, and Anastasia Potapova, Russia, def. Iryna Shymanovich, Belarus, and Solana Sierra, Argentina, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia, and Clara Tauson, Denmark, def. Lyudmyla Kichenok, Ukraine, and Katie Volynets, United States, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-4. Magda Linette, Poland, and Shuko Aoyama, Japan, def. Ingrid Martins, Brazil, and Alexandra Eala, Philippines, 7-6 (3),

Want to start the new year on the right foot?

Showing gratitude may help

BY MIRIAM FAUZIA

The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

This new year, instead of picking up a habit that requires a fancy gym membership or new running shoes, what if you choose one that doesn’t cost anything at all?

Most of us show gratitude in passing, like when a barista hands over our coffee or a coworker does a small kindness. But what we may not know is how doing so affects our wellbeing and relationships.

“One thing that intrigues me about gratitude is we often think we are doing it for others, to make others feel good,” said Farnoosh Nouri, a clinical assistant professor of counseling at Southern Methodist University “In reality, what it does to our body, to our immune system, to our cardiovascular health is incredible.”

Bringing gratitude into focus comes at a time when more than 6 in 10 adults in the United States say societal division is a significant source of stress in their lives. And half or more of adults say they feel isolated and left out or lack companionship often or some of the time. Here’s what research suggests about gratitude and practical ways to incorporate it in your life.

“We often think we are doing it for others, to make others feel good. In reality, what it does to our body, to our immune system, to our cardiovascular health is incredible.”

FARNOOSH NOURI, a clinical assistant professor of counseling at Southern Methodist University on gratitude

The origin of gratitude

Gratitude is recognizing that something good has happened and attributing it to another person or, for some, a higher power.

“If you know someone is intending to help you or they are doing it for benevolent reasons because they care about you, you end up feeling more grateful,” said Jo-Ann Tsang, an associate professor of psychology at Baylor University “If you suspect someone got you a gift because they are trying to manipulate you or get something from you, then your gratitude is going to be a lot lower.” Tsang said gratitude may have arisen in human evolution to encourage reciprocity In 1971, evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers coined the term “reciprocal altruism” to explain why animals especially those not related to each other — will help one another, even when it comes at a cost. Applied to humans, Tsang said, the theory suggests gratitude may motivate us to return a favor, increasing the chances that both people benefit.

Other research by social psychologist Sara Algoe suggests gratitude helps people find partners who are responsive to their needs, strengthening close relationships over time.

Work by scientists Martin Nowak and Sebastien Roch also links gratitude to a phenomenon called “upstream reciprocity” — when receiving help from one person makes someone more likely to be generous to someone else.

TAKING NOTICE

CBY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

hef Don Green sweats the details

Most of Acadian Superette’s menu starts out in their backyard smokehouse, where Green builds the deep flavors and melt-in-yourmouth textures that show up in items like the Superette Melt — chopped brisket sandwiched with grilled onion, American cheese and bacon on golden Texas toast.

The superette’s Reuben is a local favorite for good reason, with a pastrami that Green brines and smokes in-house, paired with sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and the restaurant’s “spicy-rette” sauce, used here in place of the traditional Russian or Thousand Island dressing.

The Acadian Superette has a long history in Lafayette’s Freetown neighborhood, where founder Lynn Derenthal started the restaurant as a grocery and lunch spot before it was purchased in 2017 by Lafayette surgeon Robert Autin. Don Green took over the kitchen in 2021, and since then he has been crafting a menu that includes his spin on classic sandwiches and meat plates, while maintaining an

eagle-eyed focus on technique and process that nods to his experience in kitchens like Maxwell’s Market in Baton Rouge, and La Petite Grocery in New Orleans.

The “spicy-rette” sauce, a dressing that nods to the local palate for crawfish dip and Cane’s Sauce, is a good example of Green’s willingness to add a little flair to classic recipes. Similarly, if you order Acadian Superette’s french fries you’ll get a small mountain of fries that have been smashed, de-

starched and double-fried, before being seasoned with an onion and garlic blend that nods to Green’s favorite childhood french fries from Wing Stop.

“I try to modify a little bit to what I envision it as, and then we just make them a little bit crispier and a little better,” he said.

According to Green, who is from West Monroe, he isn’t making Cajun food. He’s simply preparing

ä See GREEN, page 6C

Former criminal can’t shakecrime’s shadow

good eats fora city that knows what’sdelicious, while expanding into menu items like aBahn mi sandwich, with spiced pork belly, the crunchoffresh andpickled vegetables, and jalapeno mayo and hoisin vinaigrette “Wedid that as aspecial, butit’sone of thosedishes where it proves there is a need for freshnessand newness,” Green said. “For alot of people, Asian pork belly and these ingredients might not be what they eat alot of. And they just go bananas over this Bahn mi.”

The Acadian Superette’s

features apastrami that

brines and smokes in-house, paired with sauerkraut, melted Swiss cheese and the restaurant’s ‘spicy-rette’ sauce.

GRATITUDE

Continued from page5C

Taken together,the body of gratitude research suggests that the emotion may have played an important role in human social evolution and helps explain why it shows up acrossdifferent cultures.

Grateful mind andbody Research suggests that expressing gratitude can benefitthe body in several ways. In the brain, it can lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol —which may be linked to less inflammation elsewhere in the body —and boost feel-good chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin.

Gratitude may also strengthen the connections between different parts of the brain, Nouri said.Thatcould matter for conditions such as anxiety and depression, in which communication between brain regions involved in emotion regulation may be disrupted. Whenaperson is thinking aboutgratitude, Nouri added, brain scans have shown increasedactivity in such areas

BEST

Continued from page5C

The meal also came with rice and refried beans, although Irequested black beans instead. As aCubanAmerican, Iknow good black beans. Those were very good black beans.

—Maddie Scott, features reporter

Chicken ramen

n Hikari Ramen,7474 Corporate Blvd., Baton Rouge

As temperatures plummet in Louisiana, soup is the answer to my woes. This week, Ihad the Hikari Chicken ramen at Hikari

DuringGreen’s tenureat Acadian Superette, the kitchen has evolved from plate lunches, to amorechef-led conceptwithatightmenuthat nonethelesspushes boundaries. Lafayette’s culinary scene hasevolvedover the years as well, continually welcoming new cuisines —Bahn mi sandwiches have steadily caught on, with shops like Toasted Baguette opening to acclaim —whileholdingonto theCajun and Creoletraditions that make it special. Green said,“In the beginning, we tried to stick to the similarities of what was. Andthen we realized the neighborhood hadchanged. Theclientelehad changed. Ithink people were really looking for anew approach, so we started to differentiate ourselves.

It’sunclear,however, whether practicing gratitude can meaningfully improve mental health conditions. A2021 reviewof70 studies found that people who reported higher levels of gratitude tended toreport lower levels ofdepression.

But a2020review of studies found gratitude-based interventions produced only small improvements in depression andanxiety, suggesting people should still pursue conventional treatmentsrather than focusing on gratitudealone.

Other benefits of gratitude include better cardiovascular health. A2022 study found thatgratitude and optimism were linked to a drop in heart rate and blood pressure.

Gratitudecan evenhelp our sleep. A2009 study found that grateful people go to bed with fewer stressfulornegative thoughts that keepthemawakeand with morecalm,positive thoughtsthatmakeiteasier to fall asleep.

Tips on practicing gratitude

Readytoshow more gratitude in yourlife? Nouri and Tsang recommend thefollowing tips:

Ramen across from Towne Center

Theramen had chicken chashu, ramen noodles, half an egg, bean sprouts, spinach, bok choy,green onions and fried onions. For an extra crunch, Irecommend getting an extra side of fried onions. The more, the better in my opinion.

—Margaret DeLaney, health section coordinator Fried chicken lunchspecial n Sharks, Fish &Chicken, 312 Jefferson Blvd., Lafayette Achain restaurant that opened in Lafayette had lots of buzz, so Ifinally decided to giveitatry.Known

DearMissManners: Nearly threedecades ago, my husband committedaserious crime. He faced the consequences,served his sentence, and has sincebuilt aquiet, responsible life. He has taken full accountability and has worked hardtobe adevoted husband and Christian. Yeteven after all these years, whenever his pastcomes up —whether whispered by neighbors or bluntly raised by acquaintances —people seem to seeonly the crime, not the person he has become. Some act as if it is their right to questionmeabout it, while others avoid us altogether How can Irespond with dignity when people insist

By The Associated Press

“I don’tconsider us like any other restaurant in town. Ithink we’re one of the more unique. And I’ve learned that themorewe’recooking, the more responsive people are. What we ended up doing was just bringing aclassic culinary,Frenchstyle of cooking. We makestocksback there by ourselves taking the time to do it the original way.We’re notbuying the products, we’re making good products, and people have startedtotake notice.”

The Acadian Superette is open at 600 Lamar St., Lafayette, from 11 a.m. to 3p.m. Tuesday to Saturday They are closed Sunday and Monday Email Joanna Brown at joanna.brown@ theadvocate.com.

n Keep ajournal to write down what you’re grateful for.This can help build a habit of seeing good things in your day-to-day

n Write alettertosomeone in your life saying whyyou’re grateful forthemand give it to them. “You not only get the awareness of what you’re grateful for,but because you’re giving it to someone else, you get to seetheir reaction,” Tsangsaid. “Itstrengthens your relationship.

n If letter writing isn’t your style, textthree people youare grateful forand tell them why you are.

n Take adeep breath before expressing gratitude. This canhelprelax themindand reduce stress, Nouri said.

n Don’tforce gratitude, especially in situations where you do not feel valued or appreciated.“If your needs are not being met andyou’re trying to addressthat by just being grateful, then that can also be an unhealthything, Tsang said.

Miriam Fauziaisascience reporting fellow at The Dallas Morning News. Her fellowshipissupported by the University of Texas at Dallas.The News makes all editorial decisions.

for their fried seafood and chicken, Itried thefried chicken lunch special, along with catfish and fried shrimp, paired with fries and aflavored frozen lemonade.

Everything arrived hot, fresh and fried to golden perfection withtheir signature “Shark seasoning, which has aflavor blend of lemon pepper and herbs. The piña colada frozen lemonade was the perfect addition.

Lunch specials can be mixed andmatched with a varietyofsides, including macaroniand cheese, hush puppies, okra, red beans and onion rings. —Jakori Madison, breaking news reporter

on defining my husband by amistake from decades ago, instead of by the life he has built since?

Gentlereader: It perplexes Miss Manners how many people adore “Les Misérables” without being upset by its central accusation: that it is the rankest hypocrisy for society to equate serving one’stime with forgiveness. But even if society were genuinely forgiving, there are many types of serious crimes. Being forgiven by society and being forgiven by one’svictims are different matters. It is asimple matter to preserve your dignity with former victims of your husband’scrime who nowwish to maintain their distance: Respect that wish. For

those who wish to confront you, depending on how they do so, it maybenecessary to create some distance with as muchrespect and humility as you can muster. This does not apply to the merely curious. They are simply being rude, which means that it is time to excuse yourself from the conversation.

Note thefundamental difference in what MissManners is sayingfrom what youasked:While it is laudable that your husband’s behavior has changed, there is no need to invite peopleto judge your husbandonhis behavior,past or present andMissManners is cynical enough to think that no good will come of doing so.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

Civil Warbegan.

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 21, the 21st day of 2026. There are 344 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Jan. 21, 2020, the U.S. reported itsfirst known case of the2019 novel coronavirus circulating in China, saying aWashington state resident who had returned theprevious week from the outbreak’s epicenter was hospitalized near Seattle.

Alsoonthisdate: In 1861, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, with adramatic farewell speech, resigned his U.S. Senate seat after his state and others seceded from the Union. He would later be elected president of the Confederacy shortly before the

In 2023, agunman

fire

In 1924, Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin died at age 53, setting off abloody power struggle that would lead to the rise of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

In 2010, adeeply divided U.S. SupremeCourt, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, vastly increased the influence of big business and labor unions by allowing unlimited contributions to political campaigns.

In 2017, aday after Donald Trump’sfirst presidential inauguration, an estimated 3million to 5million people rallied at Women’s March demonstrations across the U.S. to support civil rights and to protest Trump’srhetoric and policies.

TheAmerican RedCross of Louisiana is hereall year.

Local support. Local impact. TheAmerican RedCross in Louisiana serves4.65millionresidentsacrossall64parishesandextendshopeto communitiesacrossthenationandaroundtheworld.Whenyousupportyour localRedCross,youmakeadirectimpactinyourcommunity Poweredbygenerosity. TheRedCrossisnotagovernmentagency.Wearea501(c)(3) nonprofitthatreliesonthepowerofvolunteersandthegenerosity ofdonorstocarryoutourhumanitarianmission. RedCrosssupportersprovideabeaconofhope.Fromhelping duringdisasters,toprovidinglifesavingtrainingandsupporting militarycommunities,theRedCrossistherewhenhelpcan’twait.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Do your homework, follow the proper protocols and stay within budget. Do what you can yourself, but when an expert is essential, don't scrimp

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) When in doubt, sayno. Pursue facts,get the lowdown, enforcerulesandregulations,andrefuse to spend apenny on anythingthatyou think is unnecessary.

ARIES (March21-April 19) Keep your thoughts to yourself andavoid joint ventures and sharedexpenses. Look out for your best interests and say no to temptation. Focus inward. Make clarity, adaptabilityandgettingthingsdoneyour goals.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Keep moving The more time youspend mulling over whattodoandhowtodoit,themorefrustrating and unproductive your day will become. Justwing it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Open your mind, try somethingnew andput your energy into new beginnings, creative imagination andmakingadifference. Fight the battles that mean the most to you instead of working tirelessly for someoneelse.

CANCER (June 21-July22) Keep track of your money,possessions and important documents. You'll need to make payments or adjustments to avoid penalties.A disciplined mindset and unique approach will pave the way to satisfaction.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Initiate change Keeping an open mind andfinishing whatyou start will pay off. Partnerships

help you address concerns and make a difference in your community. Keep a level head and your eye on your target, and something good will transpire.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Keep moving. What you achieve will depend on how much time, money and effort you are willing to put into your pursuit. Reach out and join forces with other hardworking individuals.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Useyour charm to get others to pitch in and help. Alifestyle change that soothes the soulwill get you back on track and ready to take anew direction. Personal growth will broaden your awareness.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov.22) Wait and watch. Time is on your side, and avoiding premature changes will position you for success. Attend events that spark your imagination. Start conversations, listen intensely and observe what others do.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Getthe ball rolling, ask questions, promote and market your skills, and focus on what's possible. You owe it to yourself to follow your heartand to pursueyour dreams.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan.19) Tone down emotional rhetoric. If you act on gut feelings, you'll end up backtracking. Refuse to participate in emotional mayhem and instead project apositive attitude. Say less and do more.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist.ByAndrews McMeel Syndication

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers Theobjectistoplace the numbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothat each row, each column and each 3x3 boxcontains the same number only once. Thedifficulty levelofthe Sudoku increasesfrom Monday to Sunday

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

There is an old saying that real bridge playersdon’tneedBlackwood.Ofcourse, before bidding aslam, Blackwood of one ilkoranother is often used. Butonsome dealsitwill not help, and thepartnership needstoemploy control-bidding (cue-bidding).

Look at thisdeal. Southopens two clubs; North responds two diamonds, not being quite strong enough for atwoheart positive with that relativelyweak suit;South rebids two spades; and North raises to three spades, promising asmattering of points.(Some playerswould make afour-club splinter bid, showing thesingleton,but Ilikefour-cardspade support for that action.)

NowifSouthusesBlackwood,helearns thathispartnerhasoneace—buthedoes notknow if it is the useless heart ace or theinvaluablediamondace. Instead, he makes afour-club control-bid,showing afirst-round club control (ace or void), expressing slaminterest, and asking partner if he has asuitable hand. North, with aterrific hand, makes afour-diamondcontrol-bid.NowSouth,wondering abouttheclubsituation,control-bidsfour hearts.AndwhenNorthcontrol-bidsfive clubs to show his second-round control (king or singleton), South leaps majestically to sevenspades.

South ruffs the heart lead, cashes his club ace, ruffs aclub in the dummy, returnstohis handwitha trump, ruffs the club queen, carefully ruffs aheart in his hand (does notplaya diamond!), draws the last trumpand claims. ©2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By AndrewsMcMeel

Syndication

Each Wuzzle is aword riddle which creates adisguised word,phrase,

or

or

ToDAY’s WoRD ouTRIGHT: OUT-rite:Instantaneously.

Average mark 17 words

Timelimit 35 minutes

Can you find29ormore words in OUTRIGHT?

St. Mary manufacturer to launch expansion

A St. Mary Parish manufacturer will launch an expansion project in a move that will create 14 new jobs.

Viking Attachments will invest $160,000 to expand its domestic production of its VMW Series vibratory pile drivers at its Morgan City headquarters, officials with Louisiana Economic Development announced Tuesday

The project advances its transition from pilot to full-scale operations, strengthening its ability to meet demand from marine and infrastructure contractors nationwide, LED officials said. The facility will serve as Viking Attachments’ primary manufacturing and testing site for the pile drivers, supporting engineering, welding, assembly painting, testing and spare-parts warehousing.

The work is expected to be completed by March.

It will also support expanded inventory and the addition of a demonstration fleet as operations scale, strengthening production capacity and service response.

“Viking Attachment’s expansion is a true point of pride for St. Mary Parish,” said Evan Boudreaux, St. Mary economic development director “A local, home-grown business expanding into full-scale, national manufacturing right here in Morgan City affirms that we are a place businesses can start, scale and compete on a national stage.” EU plans phase out of telecom suppliers

LONDON The European Union said Tuesday it plans to phase out gear supplied by companies based in “high risk” countries from critical infrastructure such as high-speed telecom networks, in a move seen as targeting Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE. Brussels’ proposed measures to tighten up cybersecurity come amid rising concerns that the bloc’s 27 member countries are vulnerable both to the dominance of Chinese high tech manufacturing and U.S Big Tech services. Under the draft legislation released by the EU’s executive commission, telecom equipment from so-called high risk suppliers in third countries would be phased out within three years. The proposals don’t mention any countries or companies by name, but the term “high risk” has been previously used to refer to countries like China, home to tech giant Huawei. The company is the world’s biggest maker of networking equipment but has long been banned from the United States. U.K. considers teen social media ban

LONDON The British government says it will consider banning young teenagers from social media as it tightens laws designed to protect children from harmful content and excessive screen time.

The government said it would consult with parents, young people and other interested parties about the safe use of technology amid growing concern that children are being harmed by exposure to unregulated social media content.

“As I have been clear, no option is off the table, including looking at what age children should be able to access social media and whether we need restrictions on things such as addictive features like infinite scrolling or streaks in apps,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on Substack. As part of their investigation, government ministers will travel to Australia to learn about the country’s recent move that requires major social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X to bar children under 16 from their platforms. More than 60 lawmakers from Starmer’s center-left Labour Party earlier this week wrote to the prime minister calling on the government to introduce an Australia-style ban in Britain

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

Tariff threats sink Wall Street

Trump targets eight European countries over Greenland

BY DAMIAN J. TROISE Associated Press

NEWYORK Stocks slumped on Wall Street Tuesday after President Donald Trump threatened to hit eight European countries with new tariffs as tensions escalate over his attempts to assert American control over Greenland. The losses were widespread, with nearly every sector losing

ground. Major indexes in the U.S. extended losses from last week in what has been a wobbly start to the year The S&P 500 fell 143.15 points, or 2.1%, to 6,796.86. It is the steepest drop for the benchmark index since October

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 870.74 points, or 1.8%, to 48,488.59. The Nasdaq composite fell 561.07 points, or 2.4%, to 22,954.32. Technology stocks were the heaviest weights on the market. Nvidia, one of the most valuable companies in the world, plunged 4.4%. Apple fell 3.5%.

Retailers, banks and industrial companies also fell sharply Lowe’s fell 3.3%, JPMorgan Chase fell 3.1%, and Caterpillar lost 2.5%. European markets and markets in Asia fell. Long-term bond yields in Japan rose to record levels on concerns over the government’s fiscal policy, adding to anxiety in global markets.

Trump’s trade policy has roiled markets since the start of his second term. Stocks have sold off on the threat of steep tariffs, then rallied when Trump delays or cancels a tariff, or negotiates a lower rate.

Trump said Saturday that he would charge a 10% import tax

starting in February on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland. The annual combined imports from European Union nations are greater than those from the top two biggest individual importers into the U.S., Mexico and China. Gold prices surged 3.7% and silver prices soared 6.9%. Such assets are often considered safe havens in times of geopolitical turmoil. The trade tensions apparently short-circuited a recent rally in bitcoin. The cryptocurrency rose above $96,000 late last week but has dropped back to around $89,700.

But Trump’s shifting trade policy could disrupt deal

BY JOSH FUNK Associated Press

China has fulfilled its initial commitment to buy 12 million metric tons of soybeans from the U.S., but it’s not clear if the trade agreement announced in October can withstand President Donald Trump’s ever-shifting trade policy as American farmers are still dealing with high production costs.

Earlier this month, Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on any country that buys from Iran, which would include China. Then last weekend he threatened to impose 10% tariffs on eight of America’s closest allies in Europe if they continue to oppose his efforts to acquire Greenland.

So the administration’s trade policy continues to change quickly, and Iowa State University agricultural economist Chad Hart said that could undermine the trade agreement with China and jeopardize the commitment by the world’s largest soybean buyer to purchase 25 million metric tons of American soybeans in each of the next three years.

“Those new tariffs — what does that mean for this agreement? Does it throw it out? Is it still binding? That’s sort of the game here now,” Hart said

BY MICHELLE CHAPMAN and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writers

Netflix is now offering to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business in all cash — in an effort to win over the Hollywood giant’s shareholders for its $72 billion merger and potentially thwart a hostile bid from Skydance-owned Paramount. Back in December, Netflix struck a cash and stock deal with Warner valued at $27.75 per share, giving it a total enterprise value of $82.7 billion, including debt. But on Tuesday, the companies announced that they would be revising the transaction to simplify its

Beijing paused any purchase of U.S soybeans last summer during its trade war with Washington but agreed to resume buying from American soybean farmers after Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met in South Korea and agreed to a truce.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the purchasing milestone China has met in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox Business on Tuesday from the sidelines of a major economic forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Bessent met with his Chinese counterpart, Vice President He Lifeng. Bessent said China remains committed.

“He told me that just this week they completed their soybean purchases, and we’re looking forward to next year’s 25 million tons,” Bessent said. “They did everything they said they were going to do.”

Last fall, preliminary data from the Department of Agriculture cast doubts on whether China would live up to the agreement because it was slow to begin purchasing American soybeans and there is a lag before the purchases show up in the official numbers.

On Tuesday, the USDA data showed that China had bought more than 8 million tons of U.S. soybeans by Jan. 8, and its daily reports indicated that China placed several more orders since then, ranging from 132,000 tons to more than 300,000 tons.

China has shifted much of its soybean

purchases over to Brazil and Argentina in recent years to diversify its sources and find the cheapest deals. Last year Brazilian beans accounted for more than 70% of China’s imports, while the U.S. share was down to 21%, World Bank data shows.

Trump is planning to send roughly $12 billion in aid to U.S. farmers to help them withstand the trade war, but farmers say the aid won’t solve all their problems as they continue to deal with the soaring costs of fertilizer, seeds and labor that make it hard to turn a profit right now Soybean farmers will get $30.88 per acre while corn farmers will receive $44.36 per acre.

Another crop hit hard when China stopped buying was sorghum, and those farmers will get $48.11 per acre. The amounts are based on a USDA formula on the cost of production.

That and uncertainty about trade markets and how much farmers will receive for their crops has even some of the most optimistic farmers worried, said Cory Walters who is an associate professor in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Agricultural Economics. Soybean prices jumped up above $11.50 per bushel after the agreement was announced, but the price has since fallen to about $10.56 per bushel on Tuesday So prices are close to where they were a year ago and aren’t high enough to cover most farmers’ costs.

structure, provide more certainty of value for Warner stockholders and speed up the path to a shareholder vote — which they said could arrive by April. The all-cash transaction is still valued at $27.75 per Warner share. Warner stockholders will also receive the additional value of shares of Discovery Global, which would become a separate public company following a previously-announced separation from Warner Bros. Warner leadership has repeatedly backed a merger with Netflix — and the boards of both companies approved the all-cash deal announced Tuesday In a statement, Warner CEO David Zaslav said the revised agreement “brings us even closer to combining two of the greatest storytelling companies in the world.” A spokesperson for Paramount declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to acquire Warner’s entire company including networks like CNN and Discovery — and went straight to shareholders with all cash, $77.9 billion offer last month. Warner stockholders have until 5 p.m. ET Wednesday to tender their shares in support of Paramount’s bid, which has an enterprise value of $108 billion including debt But that deadline could be pushed back further While

Paramount declined to share further details on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported last week that the company was planning on another extension.

Beyond its tender offer, Paramount has promised a proxy fight. Last week, the company said it would nominate its own slate of directors before the Warner’s next shareholder meeting, the date of which has still not been set. Paramount also filed a suit in Delaware Chancery Court seeking to compel Warner Bros. to disclose to shareholders how it values its bid and the competing offer from Netflix. But a judge on Thursday denied Paramount’s request to expedite that proceeding.