The Acadiana Advocate 02-24-2026

Three AI data centers set for northwest La.

Officials announce $12B development plan to build facilities in the region, creating 540 permanent jobs

BY LIZ SWAINE staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry announced what he called “the largest investment in the history of northwest Louisiana” on Monday, two Amazon Web Services AI data centers to be built in Shreveport and Bossier Parish. Economic development officials say the third, in rural Caddo Parish near Blanchard, is “coming.”

The governor was joined by Amazon and STACK Infrastructure at the Shreveport Municipal Auditorium to unveil the $12 billion development plans. Construction on the centers is beginning “imminently,” said Roger Wehner, Amazon’s vice president of economic development

“When you just look at the seriousness of it, the size of it, the scale of it and just the cumulative nature of it, it’s really remarkable,” said Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois. “You layer that on to other things that we’ve

EPA rollback of climate rule could raise risks in La.

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

The Trump administration has rolled back a scientific finding that serves as the backbone for federal climate change policy, a move that could leave Louisiana’s industrial players in a state of regulatory uncertainty while exposing the state to more extreme weather, rising seas and hotter temperatures. The Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 12 rolled back the “endangerment finding,” which allowed planet-heating greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide to be regulated like other pollutants under the Clean Air

been talking about. I would argue that north Louisiana hasn’t seen this kind of momentum.”

Monday’s announcement was the latest sign of how Louisiana is capitalizing on the rapid emergence of

artificial intelligence data centers and the economic promise they hold. Over the past couple of years, Landry and other top state and local

ä See CENTERS, page 5A

A charred

Candidates to lead UL share vision for university

Interviews held with three semifinalists for president

BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer

The three semifinalists vying to become the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s next president — Ramesh Kolluru, Hitesh Rai Kathuria and Richard Ludwick — shared their vision for the school’s future Monday and addressed its financial woes during interviews with faculty, staff, students and community leaders.

Interim President Kolluru, who has been serving as the university’s former vice president of research, innovation and economic development, outlined his four-pillar vision focused on student success, faculty excellence, research growth and operational efficiency

He projects growing enrollment from 16,100 to 27,500 students and annual research funding growing from $254 million to $500 million within a decade. He said he’d grow enrollment by emphasizing recruiting, along with retention and graduation rates, “making sure every graduate has two job offers to choose between by the time they walk across the stage.”

Kolluru acknowledged how difficult the past several months have been as the university’s bleak financial reality came to public light — a $50 million total deficit, with $25 million of that being a recurring structural deficit — and the resulting staff and budget cuts The university will be in the black by the end of this fiscal year on June 30 and will establish a budgeting process next month that will take the university into a more fiscally responsible future, Kolluru said.

He believes that by addressing the budget shortfall internally, the university can rebuild trust with state lawmakers to get funding in the future, such as the $15 million he’s seeking from the Louisiana Legislature to support student success efforts on campus.

“We’re not asking them to bail us out because of our financial mismanagement of the past,”

See CANDIDATES, page 6A

Mexico security forces keep up fight with cartel

BY MEGAN JANETSKY and MARÍA VERZA Associated Press

TAPALPA, Mexico A day after the Mexican army killed the country’s most powerful drug lord, the picturesque town where it happened was a study in contrasts.

Tourist shops in Tapalpa were open Monday, and workers were on the job. But gunshots also rang out, and in the street was a dead man lying beside a bullet-pocked vehicle. Meanwhile, heavily armed Mexican security forces kept up their battle with cartel gunmen following the killing that sparked a surge in violence and put the country on edge. Cartel fighters continued to block roads as smoke rose on the outskirts of the town in the state of Jalisco.

More than 70 people died in the attempt to capture Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and the aftermath, authorities said Monday Known as “El Mencho,” he was the notorious leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Mexico. The body count taken by security officials included security forces, suspected cartel members and others. Officials did not offer details, and the circumstances of most of the deaths were unclear Oseguera Cervantes was the boss of one of the fastest-growing criminal networks in Mexico, known for trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine to the United States and staging brazen attacks against Mexican

ä See CLIMATE, page 5A ä See MEXICO, page 6A

U.S. strikes alleged drug boat, killing 3

WASHINGTON The U.S. military said it killed three people Monday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Trump administration’s monthslong campaign against alleged traffickers

Monday’s attack brought the death toll to at least 151 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels in early September

As with most of the military’s statements on the more than 40 known strikes, U.S Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs but posted a video on X that showed a small boat with outboard engines being destroyed.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” Southern Command stated in a post on X. “Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action.”

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

Students in Iran protest against government

CAIRO Students held anti-government protests at universities across Iran’s capital on Monday, according to witnesses and videos circulating online, in a new sign of unrest as U.S. forces gather in the region for possible strikes.

The protests, in which many students expressed support for the exiled crown prince of Iran’s long-deposed monarchy began over the weekend. Demonstrations erupted on at least three university campuses on Monday, in one instance leading to scuffles with the paramilitary Basij.

Iran launched a fierce crackdown in January on mass protests, killing thousands of people and detaining tens of thousands.

President Donald Trump threatened military action in response before shifting his focus to Iran’s disputed nuclear program and warning it to make a deal.

American and Iranian negotiators are set to hold another round of indirect talks in Geneva this week, where Iran is expected to make a detailed proposal on reining in its nuclear program. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier is meanwhile heading toward the Middle East to join another carrier

Israeli settlers torch, vandalize mosque

TELL, West Bank Israeli settlers vandalized a mosque in the Israeli-occupied West Bank early Monday, spray-painting offensive phrases and setting a fire, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Worshippers arriving for the day’s first prayers found the damage and a smoldering fire that spewed black smoke across the entrance of the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, near Nablus, and stained the ornate doorway

“I was shocked when I opened the door,” said Munir Ramdan, who lives nearby. “The fire had been burning here in the area, the glass was broken here and the door was broken.”

Security camera footage showed two people walking toward the mosque carrying gasoline and a can of spray paint, and running away a few minutes later Ramdan said.

The attackers spray-painted graffiti denigrating the Prophet Muhammad, as well as the words “revenge” and “price tag.” In “price tag” attacks, hard-line Israeli nationalists attack Palestinians and vandalize their property in response to Palestinian militant attacks or perceived efforts by Israeli authorities to limit settlement activity

Huge snowstorm slams Northeast

Weather forces millions to stay home, disrupts flights

BY ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE, CLAIRE RUSH, JULIE WALKER and ADAM GELLER Associated Press

NEW YORK A massive

snowstorm pummeled the northeastern United States from Maryland to Maine on Monday forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns, and school and business closures.

Meteorologists said the storm is the strongest in a decade, dumping more than 2 feet of snow in parts of the metropolitan Northeast, shattering accumulation records in places, immobilizing transit and even leading the United Nations to postpone a Security Council meeting Officials declared emergencies, schools closed, including in New York City, which had its first “old-school” snow day in six years, and people grappled with power failures.

Even as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas, the National Weather Service said it is tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week.

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/ nor’easter off the Northeast coast.” A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain

amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the fall and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures. While it was paralyzing and potentially dangerous for millions along the Eastern Seaboard, meteorologists found themselvesrhapsodizing over the combination of power and beauty

The storm hit the “Goldilocks situation” of just the right temperature for wet, heavy snow: Any warmer and its precipitation wouldn’t have fallen as snow, any colder and there wouldn’t have been as much moisture in the air to feed that snowfall, said Owen Shieh, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in Maryland. In Lower Manhattan,

snow shovelers appeared to outnumber commuting office workers, and pedestrians walked freely in streets normally blocked by morning traffic.

“It’s very quiet, except for the howling winds,” said Luis Valez, a concierge at a residential tower just off Wall Street, as he cleared the sidewalk. “A couple of residents have gone out to get their essentials. Other than that, there’s nothing.”

Matthew Wojtkowiak 57 an attorney, was also shoveling in his Brooklyn neighborhood.

“I’m from the Midwest, so this is in the zone,” he said. “Not too bad, not too easy, either.”

Schools were closed, and he said he hoped people would get out and enjoy the snow

“We have sleds at the ready,” he said.

Karen Smith and Adele Bawden are tourists visiting New York from the United Kingdom.

“We’ve been dancing in Times Square this morning in the middle of the road in rush hour,” Bawden said. “We’ve just been dancing and not believing we could do it.”

Ingrid Devita said she liked to patrol the Lower East Side on skis, checking on people who might need help.

“I find people fall in the snow and they can’t get up,” she said.

Central Park in New York City recorded 19 inches of snow Warwick, Rhode Island, exceeded 3 feet, topping the nation so far. The highest wind gust of 83 mph was recorded in Nantucket, with hurricane-force gusts seen all over Cape Cod.

More than 5,600 flights in and out of the United States were canceled Monday and a further 2,000 flights scheduled for Tuesday were grounded, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware Most of the cancellations involved airports in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Almost 2,500 flights were delayed. Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport announced Monday that it was temporarily ending all airport operations The Weather Service reported that the facility got 32.8 inches of snow, breaking a record set in 1978. Public transit ground to a halt in some areas, while DoorDash suspended deliveries in New York City overnight into Monday Storm-related power outages plunged more than 500,000 customers into darkness along the East Coast early Monday, according to PowerOutage. us, which tracks outages nationwide.

In Connecticut, crews at the Mystic Seaport Museum prepared to clear snow from a fleet of historic ships, including the 113-foot-long Charles W. Morgan, a wooden whaling ship from the 19th-century American merchant fleet. Shannon McKenzie, vice president of watercraft operations and preservation, said shipyard staff will clear the snow by hand using rubber or plastic shovels because machinery or metal shovels could damage the boats. New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies.

Rob Reiner’s son pleads not guilty in murder

Man accused in parents’ killing

BY ANDREW DALTON Associated Press

LOS ANGELES Nick Reiner, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood luminary Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree murder more than two months after their deaths, denying for the first time that he fatally stabbed his parents. Nick Reiner’s attorney Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene, entered the plea on his behalf as he stood behind glass in an enclosed custody area of the packed Los Angeles courtroom. The third of Rob Reiner’s

four children, Nick Reiner has been held without bail since his arrest hours after beloved actor-director Reiner and photographer and producer Singer were found dead on Dec. 14 at their home in the upscale Brentwood section of Los Angeles. Reiner appeared in court with a shaved head and light facial hair, wearing brown jail clothes. He talked to his lawyer briefly through the glass before the judge began the hearing. At one point a low door in the enclosure was opened and they crouched down and spoke face-to-face. During the hearing, he spoke only to answer yes when the judge asked if he waived

his right for next steps of the case to proceed speedily Reiner was not wearing the suicide prevention smock he wore in his first court appearance in December days after his parent’s killings. It was the third time he had been set to enter a plea, but issues surrounding the high-stakes, closely watched case, including a surprising change in defense lawyers, kept it from happening until Monday

The judge told Reiner to return to court April 29 for the scheduling of a preliminary hearing where prosecutors will present evidence and a new judge will decide if it’s enough

Former ambassador arrested in U.K. probe into Epstein ties

BY PAN PYLAS and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON British police on Monday arrested Peter Mandelson, a former U.K. ambassador to the United States, in a misconduct probe stemming from his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein. It came days after a friendship with Epstein landed the former Prince Andrew in police custody Both men are suspected of improperly passing U.K. government information to the disgraced U.S. financier, and the high-profile British arrests are some of the most dramatic fallout from the trove of more than 3 million pages of Epstein-related documents released last month by the U.S. Justice Department. London’s Metropolitan

Police force said “officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office” at an address in north London. He was taken to a police station for questioning. The man was not named, in keeping with British police practice, but the suspect in the case previously was identified as the former diplomat, who is 72. Mandelson was filmed being led from his London home to a car by plainclothes officers on Monday afternoon. Under U.K. law, police can hold a suspect without charge for up to 24 hours. This can be extended to a maximum of 96 hours. Mandelson could be charged, released unconditionally or released while investigations continue.

Police are investigating

Mandelson over claims he passed sensitive government information to Epstein a decade and a half ago. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct

His arrest came four days after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, was arrested in a separate case on suspicion of a similar offense related to his friendship with Epstein. Andrew was released after 11 hours in custody while the police investigation continues.

Mandelson served in government roles under previous Labour governments and was U.K. ambassador to Washington until Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired him in September after emails were published showing that he maintained a friendship with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses involving a minor

for Reiner to go to trial. The case will now be handled by longtime Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta. He has had many prominent murder, manslaughter and public corruption cases in his courtroom in recent years, but none have drawn the national media attention this case has.

District Attorney Nathan Hochman said outside court

that his office still hasn’t decided whether it will seek the death penalty for Reiner Hochman said the death penalty decision “goes through a very rigorous process. We will be looking at all aggravating and mitigating circumstances.”

Reiner’s not guilty plea is common for criminal defendants at this stage of the case, whatever their longerterm plan might be.

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Judge blocks release of special counsel report

Jack Smith investigated Trump’s classified documents case

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON A federal judge on Monday permanently barred the release of a report by special counsel Jack Smith on his investigation into President Donald Trump’s hoarding of classified documents, a prosecution that was once seen as the most perilous of the four criminal cases the Republican faced.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, granted a request from the president to keep under wraps the report on an investigation alleging that Trump stored sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House following his first term and that he obstructed government efforts to get them back Smith and his team produced a two-volume report on the classified documents investigation and a separate probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Both investigations produced indictments that were abandoned by Smith’s team after Trump’s November 2024

testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 22 at the Capitol in Washington.

election win in light of longstanding Justice Department legal opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal prosecution.

said the release of the report would present a “manifest injustice” to the president and his two co-defendants.

Landry requests expanded DEI probe of La. college, universities

Governor asks Education Department for investigation

BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry has asked the U.S Department of Education to expand its investigation of diversity, equity and inclusion practices at the state’s higher education board to include all public colleges and universities in Louisiana, a news release Monday said.

from public postsecondary schools.

Federal officials said the practice appeared to violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans discrimination based on race, color or national origin in education programs and activities that receive federal funds.

“Title VI guarantees all students equal access to educational programs and opportunities regardless of race and OCR is committed to preserving these rights,”

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in the announcement.

Attorney General Pam Bondi had already determined that the report was “an internal deliberative communication that is privileged and confidential and should not be released” outside the Justice Department, according to court papers The Trump administration has characterized Smith’s investigation as politically motivated and said in recent court papers that the report belongs in the “dustbin of history.” Cannon’s order blocking the release also applies to Bondi’s successors at the Justice Department. Cannon, who in 2024 dismissed the case after concluding that Smith was unlawfully appointed after multiple other favorable rulings for Trump,

“Special Counsel Smith, acting without lawful authority obtained an indictment in this action and initiated proceedings that resulted in a final order of dismissal of all charges,” she wrote “As a result, the former defendants in this case, like any other defendant in this situation, still enjoy the presumption of innocence held sacrosanct in our constitutional order.”

A First Amendment group and a watchdog organization have been pressing for the report’s release.

Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said it “will continue using every tool available to force this information into the open and to defend the public’s right to the truth through the release of this report.”

“Let me be clear: Louisiana is done with woke DEI policies,” Landry said in the release. “Discrimination against ANY student will not be tolerated.”

In a letter dated Monday to the Office for Civil Rights within the Department of Education, Landry said, “it is vital to discover if any institution in this state is engaged in practices contrary to federal law and policies.”

The federal investigation, launched earlier this month, focused on performance targets laid out in the Board of Regents’ executive budget reports. The targets called for public universities to increase the number of underrepresented minorities — defined as races other than White or Asian — graduating

Ex-agency lawyer: ICE officer training

BY REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

WASHINGTON A former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyer who was responsible for training new deportation officers warned Monday that the agency’s training program for new recruits is “deficient, defective and broken.”

Ryan Schwank’s comments during a forum held by congressional Democrats come at a time of intense scrutiny of the officers tasked with carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Critics, including rights groups and Democratic politicians, have accused deportation officers of using excessive force when arresting immigrants, attacking bystanders who record their conduct and failing to follow constitutional protections of people’s rights.

The Department of Homeland Security is rapidly scaling up the number of deportation officers, raising concerns that it will sacrifice proper screening and training of applicants in a rush

to get them into the field. The department denied it was cutting corners, saying new officers get trained on firearms, use-of-force policies and how to safely arrest people Schwank testified during a hearing hosted by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Rep. Robert Garcia of California. Blumenthal’s office said Schwank resigned from the agency on Feb. 13. “I am here because I am duty-bound to report the legally required training program at the ICE academy is deficient, defective and broken,” Schwank said.

He also accused the department of dismantling the training program for new deportation officers and lying about what they were doing.

“DHS told the public the new cadets receive all the training they need to perform their duties, that no critical material or standards have been cut,” he said. “This is a lie ICE made the program shorter, and they removed so many essential parts that what remains is a

dangerous husk.”

Monday’s was the third public forum held by the two Democrats to examine how ICE is training thousands of new officers and the conduct of those officers once they’re on the streets. Both have been vocal critics of how ICE officers conduct themselves.

At the beginning of the hearing, Blumenthal thanked the witnesses, including Schwank, for their “courage and strength.”

Blumenthal’s office said Schwank was one of two anonymous whistleblowers who came forward earlier to disclose a new ICE policy authorizing deportation officers to forcibly enter an immigrant’s home to remove them from the country even if they didn’t have a warrant signed by a judge.

His office also released dozens of pages of documents related to the training of new deportation officers, noting the disclosure came from whistleblowers.

Blumenthal’s office said the documents demonstrated “drastic cuts” to how new deportation officers are trained and tested. That includes

Armed man killed at Mar-a-Lago never interested in politics or guns, cousin says

BY ALLEN G. BREED Associated Press

CAMERON, N.C.

— The 21-yearold North Carolina man who entered a gate at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort with a shotgun before he was shot and killed worked as a golf course groundskeeper and liked to sketch. Austin Tucker Martin rarely, if ever, talked about politics, seemed afraid of guns, and came from a family of Trump supporters, according to Braeden Fields, a cousin who said the two grew up together

“I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said. “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.” Martin walked up to the secure perimeter at Mara-Lago early Sunday and went through a gate when it opened for employees to leave, a U.S. Secret Service

spokesperson said Monday Martin dropped a gas can and raised a shotgun at two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy who then opened fire “to neutralize the threat,” said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw Trump, who often spends weekends at the Palm Beach, Florida, resort, was at the White House at the time Investigators have not identified a motive. Trump faced two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign, including one just a few miles from Mar-a-Lago when a man was spotted aiming a rifle through shrubbery while Trump was golfing. Following Sunday’s incident, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said investigators believe Martin bought his shotgun while driving to Florida. Authorities said his family had recently reported him missing. Martin was from central

North Carolina, where guns and hunting are a part of life, his cousin said. But whenever they’d go hunting or target shooting, Martin would never pick up a gun, Fields told The Associated Press on Sunday He lived with his mother in a modest modular house down a rutted sandy road near the town of Cameron. No one answered the door Monday, and the large police presence from the day before was gone.

Martin’s sister was just 21 when she was killed in a car accident in 2023, and he has an older brother who’s in the military Fields said.

For the past three years, Martin worked as a groundskeeper at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club.

“It’s tragic. I feel for his family,” said Kelly Miller, president of the course in nearby Southern Pines. “It’s just unfortunate what transpired. It was totally unexpected.”

changes to the number of exams new officers have to pass, the classes they have to take and the hours they train.

“The training has been

“OCR will fully enforce Title VI to ensure our education programs are defined by equality, not exclusion.”

The Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether the office will expand the investigation.

Diversity equity and inclusion policies in higher education have regularly surfaced as a contentious issue in Louisiana politics, particularly under the second Trump administration.

A bill advanced through the House in 2025 that would have banned those programs in state agencies and prohibited universities from mandating instructional content related to “critical race theory, white fragility, white guilt, systemic racism, institutional racism, anti-racism, sys-

temic bias, implicit bias, intersectionality, gender identity allyship, racebased reparations, or racebased privilege.”

Members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus decried the legislation, with Rep Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, calling it “the most racially offensive piece of legislation that I think I’ve had to debate since I came into office.” The bill ultimately died in the Senate. Louisiana’s higher education institutions have also taken steps to remove or rename initiatives with ties to diversity, equity and inclusion in recent years. In 2024, LSU struck some references to diversity from its website and replaced the word “Inclusion” with “Engagement” in the renamed Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX.

LSU system President Wade Rousse said Monday that LSU would comply with an expanded investigation.

“The LSU System intends to be compliant with all state and federal laws and is prepared to cooperate with this expanded investigation,” Rousse said. In the letter shared Monday, Landry said his administration welcomes “efforts to root out remnants” of diversity, equity and inclusion practices in the state.

“If there are violations of federal law anywhere in our system, we want them corrected,” Landry said.

truncated and reduced, both in numbers of courses and substantive policy,” the senator said at the start of the hearing.

officials also have announced multibillion-dollar data center projects in Richland andWest Feliciana parishes.

The two data centers announced Mondayare part of a multitechnology campus that will totalmorethan7 million square feet and will be located in west Shreveport and in Bossier Parish near Benton.

“This project is so significant because it positions northLouisiana to be at the center of something that is shaping the global economy —that is artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure,” Landry told the gathered crowd.

In addition to site construction dollars, AWSalso plans to invest $400 million in public water infrastructure, said Landry,who was adamant in his promise to state utility ratepayers. “What I’mtelling youisthat this is not going to cost the people of Louisiana anymoreintheirutility rates,” he said.

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, whorepresents north Louisiana, said he and the commission would be “grading the papers” of SWEPCO, Caddo and Bossier’s electric utility,making certain anycosts incurred for the data centers were not passed on.

CLIMATE

Continued from page1A

Act. That finding has served as the foundation of federal regulations aimed at limiting the long-term impacts of climate change.

In practical terms, standards for tailpipe emissions and other climate rules aimed at powerplants and major industrial sources could be stalled, rewritten or struckdown in court. That couldleave companies andregulators operating in agray area for monthsor years as lawsuits play out

“This radical rule became the legal foundation for the Green New Scam, one of the greatest scams in history,” said President Donald Trump at anews conference announcing the move. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrillpraised it as astep toward eliminating aslate of climate change policies, often referred to as the “Green New Deal,” that some Democratic lawmakershave championed.

“This is the single largest act of deregulation in U.S.history and will make buying acar more affordable for Louisiana families,” Murrill said.

The Trump administration estimated that the change will save $1.3 trillion in costs overthree decades, mostly by reducing the price of new cars, though environmental groupslike the Sierra Club have stressed that figure ignores the healthand infrastructure costs of allowing additional air pollution.

Many of those health impacts may fall on Louisianans, some of whom already live in areas with poor air quality.The move is also likely to increase Louisi-

It is amajor undertaking for theutility.Inanewsreleasefollowingthe announcement,SWEPCO toutedthe investment already made to its system, but made no reference toaneed for additional power generationsuch as Entergyneeded to powerthe huge Meta data center in Richland Parish. The commission said any similar request from SWEPCO would come to it first.

Jobs arecoming

Theprojects willcreate 540 permanent jobswithwages 50% higher than the stateaverage. A webpage with job openings will go live on Tuesday.

Matt Vanderzanden, CEO of STACK Infrastructure,saidto expect 1,500 construction jobs from the projects. “I can’twait to get started telling the contractors to get going. Youguys shouldsee dirtpushing imminently,” he said.

STACK is the ownerand developer of thedata centers and will be leasing them to AWS.

“This development reflects confidence in northern Louisiana’sleadershipworkforce and ability to execute at scale,”

Vanderzanden said. “We’re entering this marketwithalongterm mindset. We’re nothere to builda project. …We’re committed to be an excellent partner.”

“Louisianaismaking generationalchanges and it starts withwhat we are doing today,”

Landry said

ana’sclimate risk, potentially increasingalready high insurancecostswhile making hurricanes stronger and more likely to rapidly intensify

“This increases the likelihood of another Katrina,” said Joshua Basseches, a professor of public policy andenvironmentalstudies at Tulane University.“This is the single mostdamaging thing that this administration hasdonewith regard to climate change.”

Louisiana is on the front lines ofclimate change, Basseches said. It is ahurricane-prone state, and storms can besupercharged by hotterGulf waters, which not only make the storms more powerfulbut also more likely to undergo rapidintensification —giving thecityless time to prepare and residentsless time to evacuate.

Land loss andchronic flooding are alsolikely to become more severe on ahotter planet.Risingsea levels will eat away at Louisiana’s already diminishedcoastal marshes, giving metropolitan areas like New Orleans and Baton Rougeless buffer from storm surge. Dayto-day tidal flooding will get worse,too, particularly in places outside of levee systems, likeCocodrie.

Plus, New Orleans’ levee system is only built to withstand aso-called100-year storm —one that has a1% chance of happening during anygivenyear. As theclimate changes, those storms are set to become more likely.Congress has authorized but has not completely funded astudy aimedatproviding 200-year protection to NewOrleans’levee system on theeast bank In the long-term, however,it’snot yet certain that theTrump administration’s

move will stick. Already, the rescission hasbeen challengedinfederalcourt Environmentaland health groups, including theAmerican Public HealthAssociation,the AllianceofNurses for aHealthyEnvironment, andthe EnvironmentalDefense Fund, filed alawsuit on Wednesday ‘Waitand see’

The endangerment finding traces back to a2007 Supreme Court decision, Massachusetts v. EPA, which heldthat greenhouse gases qualifyas“airpollutants” underthe Clean Air Act andrequiredthe agency to decide whether those emissionsendangerpublic health or welfare.

The rollback is already headed for alegal showdown in the D.C. Circuit,and observersexpect thedispute could ultimately return to the Supreme Court, which haspreviouslyrecognized EPA’sauthority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

Industry maywaittosee how theTrump administration’s latestmoveplays out before makingdecisions based on it.Globally,investments in renewable energy have still been breaking recordsdespite the Trump administration’sopposition. Energy experts in Louisiana don’tthink that is likely to change now

“Trump isn’tdictating what happens in worldenergymarkets,” saidDavid Dismukes, aprofessor emeritus at the LSUCenter for EnergyStudies. “When you create this kind of uncertainty in policy,whether you thinkit’s‘good’ or ‘bad,’ you start changing things that’sjust not good for capitalformation,regardless of what side of the political

coin you’re on.”

“From apure economist, finance-guy perspective,” he added, “this isn’ta good thing.”

To Dismukes, abigger deal than the rollback of the endangerment finding may be the Trump administration’s movetoundo tax incentives forrenewable energy that theBiden administration put forward.

“In thehere and now,that has much bigger implications,”hesaid.

Keith Hall, the director of LSU’s Energy Law Center, saidifthe endangerment findingisrescinded,that could open the door for cities run by Democratic administrations, such as New

Orleans, or environmental groups to bring new lawsuitsagainstcompaniesfor climate pollution.

“Someofthese groups may feel like if nothing’sgoing to happen at the federal regulatory level, we need to file lawsuits,” he said. “But Ithink there’sgoing to be some wait and see, both because of the legal challenges and the fact that the next administration may take adifferent view.”

Louisiana’sclimate plan

Under former Gov.John Bel Edwards, the state convened atask forcethat put forward aplan aimed at guiding the state toward limiting itsgreenhouse gas

emissions.But that plan appearstohavebeen shelved by Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration.

Thatplanwas notlaw, Basseches said, andhad no framework for holding companies to account if they did notfollowit. “But it was extremely important comparedtonothing,which appears to be thedirection that this stateisgoing in now,”he said. He added that the state’s plan was not reliant on the federal government’sclimate regulation. “There’s nothing stopping Louisiana from reviving itsclimate action plan,”hesaid, “other than the lack of political will.”

CANDIDATES

Continued from page1A

Kolluru told faculty and staff. “We are asking them —here is what we’ve done. Invest into us.”

Hitesh Rai Kathuria, atenured professor and former provost and executive vice president foracademic affairs at Empire State University in Saratoga Springs, New York, focused on being fiscally disciplined, increasing enrollment andretaining existing studentsin his vision for UL.

He expects to generate additional revenue and make up forthe existing structuraldeficit through creating additional online degree programs and improving retention rates. He also emphasized the importance of maintainingthe university’sCarnegie R1 research classification and pursuingpublicprivate partnerships to maximize regionalopportunities, such as energy production and coastal restoration.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette presidential candidate Ramesh

Kolluruspeakswith faculty and staff during on-campusinterviews with students, faculty,alumni and members of the public on Monday

Kathuria, who also has worked as provostofaConnecticutuniversity system and as director of collaborative academic programs at Indiana University,shared his history of creating new online degree programs andopportunitiesfor nontraditional students to increase enrollment and revenue.

MEXICO

Continued from page1A

government officials. The organization responded to his deathwith widespread violence, including erecting more than 250 roadblocks across 20 states and setting fire to vehicles.

Oseguera Cervantesdiedafter ashootout with the Mexicanmilitary.Mexican Defense Secretary Ricardo Trevilla said Monday that authorities had followedone of his romantic partners to his hideout in Tapalpa.

The cartel leader and two bodyguardsfledinto awooded area where they were seriously wounded in afirefight. They were taken into custody and died on the way to Mexico City,Trevilla said In adifferent location in Jalisco, soldiers killed another high-ranking cartel member whoTrevilla said wascoordinating violence and offering more than $1,000for every soldierkilled.

The dead included 25 members of the Mexican National Guard who were killed in six separate attacks,SecuritySecretary Omar García Harfuch said. Harfuch said some 30 criminal

During his time in Connecticut, Kathuriawas alsoresponsible for deficitmitigation planning and addressing adeficitwithin thecollege system. “So Ifully understandthe anxiety this currentsituation may be causing,” Kathuria toldfaculty and staff. “But thisistransient, and this is manageable, and UL Lafayette is not theonly university in thissituation. Alot of public universities are in this situation.”

suspects were killed in Jalisco, andfourothers were killed in the neighboring state of Michoacan Also killed were aprison guard andanagent fromthe state prosecutor’s office.

As the threat of more violence loomed, severalMexican states canceled school Monday,while local andforeigngovernments warned their citizens to stay inside.

TheWhite House confirmed that the U.S.providedintelligence support to the operation to capture the cartel leader and applauded Mexico’sarmyfor taking down aman whowas oneofthe most wanted criminals in both countries.

Mexico hoped the death of the world’sbiggest fentanyl traffickerswould ease Trump administration pressure todomore against the cartels, but many people were anxious as they waited to seethe powerfulcartel’sreaction.

The U.S. Embassy said via Xthat itspersonnel ineight cities and in the state of Michoacan would shelterinplaceand work remotely Monday. It warned U.S. citizens in many parts of Mexico to do the same. Cars began circulating in Guadalajara before sunrise Monday with thestart of the workweek, a

Richard Ludwick, former president and current president emeritus of the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas, shared his vision of cutting costs strategically, growingenrollmentand generating revenue from nonenrollment sources at UL

notable change from Sunday, when Jalisco’sstate capital and Mexico’s second-largest citywas almost completely shut down as fearful residentsstayed home.

More than 1,000people were stuckovernight in Guadalajara’s zoo, where they slept in buses.

LuisSotoRendón, thezoo’s director, saidmanyhad been trapped there sinceSunday morning, when violence broke outinJaliscoand thesurrounding states. Families concludedtheycould notreturn home in nearby states like Zacatecasand Michoacan.

“Wedecided to letpeople stayinside the zoo for their safety,” Soto said. “There aresmall children andsenior citizens.”

José Luis Ramírez, a54-yearoldtherapist, was in alongline of people waiting outside apharmacy,one of the few businesses that were open Monday in Guadalajara.

Families were buying food, medicine, water, diapers andbabyformula, from pharmacists through a chained door

It was Ramírez’sfirst time leavingthe house sincethe violence erupted, but he struck ahopeful tone, saying thatdespite the bloodshed, civilians needed to moveforward.

“Wehavetonot think scared, but

He also shared the steps he took to cut22ofthe 170 faculty positionsatthe University of St. Thomas during financial problems and said he doubled undergraduate enrollment, doubled gross revenue and increased the school’s endowmentbymore than 80% during his tenure.

Ludwick, also alobbyist who is legally blind, said he would focus on buildingrelationships with politicians, donors and lawmakers to bring more money to UL.Such relationships, he said, allowedhim to secure thelargest singlestateappropriation forstudent aid in Indiana history during his time at the Independent Colleges of Indiana.

“That was built off of the developmentoftrust,” Ludwick told facultyand staff. “Trust is absolutely essential in anyofthese kinds of endeavors. The relationship matters.”

A21-member presidential search committee selected the threesemifinalists last week from alist of 12 candidates.

The interviews Mondaywere split intothree sessions —one led by faculty and staff, oneled by students andanother ledbycommunitymembers.

The presidential searchcommittee will conduct interviews

be coolheaded, like they say,and takethings as they come,” he said.

Those who had to workcarefully madetheirway across the city

IrmaHernández, a43-year-old hotel security guard in Guadalajara,normally takes public transportation to her job, but buses were notrunning, and shehad no way to cross thecity. Herbosses organized aprivate car to pick her up. Her family,she said, was staying at home, too scared to leave.

“I am worried becauseIdon’t know how to get homeifsomethinghappens,” she said.

President Donald Trumphas demanded Mexico do more to fight the smuggling of fentanyl, threatening to impose moretariffs or take unilateralmilitary action if thecountry does not show results.

The operation mayalso pave theway for moreviolence as rival criminal groups take advantage of the blow dealt to El Mencho’s organization, saidDavid Mora, Mexico analyst for the International Crisis Group.

“This might be amoment in which those other groups seethat thecartel is weakened and want to seizethe opportunity for them to expand control and to gain control over Cartel Jalisco in those states,” he said.

Tuesday on campus and decide on finalists to recommendtothe full UniversityofLouisianasystem board. It is scheduled to interview finalists Friday on campus. The university has been without apermanentpresident since last July whenthen-President Joseph Savoie abruptlystepped down. Since then, the board has named twointerim presidents, first Jaimie Hebert, whohas since returned to his position as provost, and Kolluru. The decision to form asearch committee came last fall after speculation the system board would forgo asearch and install a president without anyinput from faculty,staff or students. Professors andthe public pushed back againstinitialplans to installKolluruintothe job without asearch. The next president of UL will be tasked with tackling the school’s financial struggles.

After being named interim president,Hebertannounced job eliminationsand othercost-cutting measures to try to makeup fora $25 million deficit.Kolluru announced in December that the deficit hadbeenreduced to about $10.5 million.

Staff writer Ashley White contributed to this report.

EversincePresident Claudia Sheinbaum took office, “thearmy hasbeenway more confrontational, combative against criminalgroups in Mexico,” Mora said. “This is signaling to the U.S. that if we keep cooperating, sharing intelligence, Mexico candoit. We don’tneed U.S. troops on Mexican soil.”

TheU.S.State Department had offered areward of up to $15 million forinformation leading to the arrest of El Mencho. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel beganoperating around 2009.

In February 2025, the Trumpadministration designated the cartel as aforeign terrorist organization. It has been one of the most aggressive cartelsinits attacks on the military —including on helicopters —and is apioneer in launching explosives from drones and installing mines.

At ablockade Monday on the outskirtsofTapalpa,25-year-old Joel Ramírezand twofriends were waiting forsoldierstoclear ablockade of tree limbs. He hauls things in his pickup foraliving and had not been able to get home since Sunday’sviolence. “Everythingseems calmer, but we were almost there and got stuck,” he said. “We’re scared.”

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

What’s beingbuilt across the South

Twelve graduate students took their turns standing on astage in Baton Rouge on Friday —each with one static slide, no notes and exactly three minutes to explain years of research.

No pressure. Ihad never heard of the Three Minute Thesis competition 3MT,asit’sknown —before last week. Developedatthe University of Queensland in Australia the format challengesmaster’s and doctoral students to present their original research to a nonspecialist audience in 180 seconds or less.

In other words: Take something really complicatedand make it make sense to someone who doesn’tknow anything about the topic.

When Mary Farmer-Kaiser, dean of the graduate school at theUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette,asked me to serveas acommunityjudge at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ regional competition at theCrowne Plaza, Ithought the event sounded interesting, but Ididn’tappreciate the extent to which it would impactme.

In short,Iwalked in to score presentations, and Iwalked out reconsidering the future.

Five Baton Rouge community judges listenedas12finalists each awinner from their home universityand of apreliminary round at last week’sregional competition—took the stage. As judges, we didn’tknow the topics in advance. We scored based only on the individual presentations. We didn’tknow where they were studying. That element of blind judging turned out to be more importantthan I expected.

One student explained how microRNA 29a might help recharge cancer-fighting Tcells. Another mapped the implications of how North Carolina’shistoric 2024 floods redistributed microplastics

One studied whether dolphins can recognize their own names amid the rising noise of the ocean —what she called, memorably,“the dolphin cocktailparty effect.”

There was research on turning waste into sustainable iron compositesfor cleaner water On coating probiotics so they survive the stomachand dissolve where they’re actually needed. On developing avaccine to prevent lameness in broiler chickens. On reexamining ancient plant-based remedieswith modern chemistry

Hiding behind big words and jargon would have been easier Instead, they toldstories. They translated. They connected dots. Judging the competition was not easy.Fellow judge Robyn Merrick, of Southern University, said she was “absolutelyblown away” by both the innovation and the clarity of the presentations —and she was right. The range of topics alone was alot to take in. The discipline requiredto distill the informationwas even more impressive. Somewherealong the way,I found myself rooting not just for one student but for all of them. They wereearnestwithout being naive and serious without being self-important. They were doing both the hard workofdiscovery andthe evenharder work of making that discovery understandable

My top score went to Samadhi Nisansala Nawalage, whose research focuses on creating sustainable iron composites

$28M sought forjuvenilejustice

Some moneywould go toward newdetention facility

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Citing aneed for more beds to houseincarcerated youth, Louisiana’s juvenile justicesystem hasasked for$28 million more in statefunding forthe next budget cycle —including $15.2 million to open anew secure carefacility in Vernon Parish.

If approved by theLouisiana Legislature, which will take up the budget during thelegislative session that begins March 9, the changewouldmarkaroughly 16% increase over theOfficeof Juvenile Justice’sbudget for the current fiscal year,which sits at

about $177 million.

TheOJJ’ssecurecare facilities are theequivalent of juvenile detention centers. They house convicted youthinneed of thehighestlevel of security.

Of the$15.2 million for the Vernon Parish facility, $11 million is slatedtofund 122 positions, while $2.5 millionwill pay for operational costs suchasmedical care, supplies, leasecosts and insurancecosts, according to Commissioner of Administration TaylorBarras, atop budget official.

Another$1.6 millionisset aside for repairs to thebuilding, he said. Thatbuilding is owned

by theVernon Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Of thetotal$28 millionincrease, $2.6 million is expected to be used for one-time purchases,according to Barras. Askedwhat else was contributing to the requested budgetincrease,Barras said thestate anticipated highercostswith more youth using OJJ programs. And, he said, $2 million of the increase was slated to payfor staffingat the Jetson Center forYouth in Baker. Jetson is ashuttered former juvenile facility.Itisexpected to partlyreopen in April. Officials last year said they needed to

open abuilding there to house36 teensdue to bedspace shortages.

The state is simultaneously expected to begin constructionona new72-bedfacility on the Jetson property.

So,too,willthe Vernon Parish facility help support agrowing populationofincarcerated teens, according to Deputy Secretary Courtney Myers,the OJJ’stop official

“Toaddress the increased youth populationand alleviateovercrowding, the proposed project will renovateanexisting building operated by theVernon ParishSheriff’sOffice,” Myerssaid in astatement. “This renovation aims to createapproximately 56

SWING INTO SPRING

ABOVE: Chuck Guardia,foreground, playswith thetrombone section Sundayduringthe Prelude to Spring concert at the Community Center in New Iberia,presented by theIberia Cultural Resources Association. The Skyliners Big Band performed themusic of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgeraldand otherjazz artists. LEFT: Daniel Leberand Kitty Metz danceto bigbandswing music.

Youngsvillereceives grants fornew sidewalk

BYJOELTHOMPSON Staff writer

Youngsville willreceive $459 737in

federal grants for an upcoming sidewalkproject, according to acitynews release on Friday

Thesidewalkwill be located on a portion of Youngsville Highway north of thecity’s downtown area. Beginning at Hawk Drive and ending at the NuNu’s FreshMarket,the sidewalk project will cover roughly 0.4 miles

“As ourcommunity has grown, connectivity, walkability,and public safety have remained top priorities,” Youngsville Mayor Ken Ritter saidin thenewsrelease. “This investment helps close critical sidewalk gaps and provides safer access to residential areas,schools, churches,retail, medical offices, and city facilities.”

The city was awarded the grant through the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’sTransportation Alternatives Program. The program is federally funded through the Federal High-

way Administration, witheach state’s DOTD equivalent managingthe application process for local projects. Youngsville’srequest was selected out of about 60 project applicants. Federal funds distributedthrough the progra willaccount for 90% of the total cost of theYoungsville sidewalk project,with the remaining 10% being matched by thecity.

The selection comes after the Youngsville City Council passeda resolution in May that approved the city’srequest to apply for thegrant Thegrant application was prepared by city officials in conjunction with localconsulting firmMcBadeEngineersand Consultants.

According to Youngsville officials, the project is the first phase of a broader plan that will see sections of the highway betweenFortuneRoad and Iberia Street widenedtofour lanes. Estimated costs of the entire projectare estimated at $9.8 million, according to the city’smaster

BY JA’KORI MADISON Staff writer

Aburn ban is in effect for two parishes in Acadiana as theresult of critical fire weather warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

Vermilion and St. Landry parishes are under the burn ban until further notice.

Ared flag warning has been issued by the National WeatherService, indicating that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or expected shortly.Acombination of strong winds, low humidity and warmtemperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior

“Any fire that develops will catch and spread quickly.Outdoor burning is not recommended,” the advisory states. The warning remained in

effect through 6p.m.Monday

Dry conditions across Louisiana have ledtosmall wildfires that firefighters in St. Tammany Parish continue to battle. Alarge blaze Sunday night forced the closure of mostofInterstate 12 between Abita Springs and Lacombe afterwildfiresignited along the roadway,producing dense smoke and reducing visibilityfor drivers, officials said.

Thewarning indicates that weather conditions, including high winds and low humidity,are the perfect combination forwildfires. The warning also coincideswithanapproaching cold front, with temperatures expected to dropinto the upper 30s and lower 20s Monday and Tuesday According to the Na-

OURVIEWS

Candidates, listen to the concerns of real Louisianans

With the slate of candidates set forupcoming congressional elections, we wish we could take the hopefuls aside for afew wordsonbehalf of thepeople of Louisiana.

The May 16 party primary election features someimportantoffices, mostnotablythe seat nowoccupied by Republican U.S.Sen. BillCassidy.Among those seeking to take down theincumbent is state Treasurer JohnFleming, aRepublican firebrand, and U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, who is banking on the endorsementofPresident Donald Trump to carryher over the finishline Democrats haven’tput up well-known challengers, but three are seekingthat party’snod for Senate In heavily red Louisiana, most of theaction so far has been on the Republican side— with attacks and counterattackstrying to paint opponentsastoo liberal.

We’re not naive enoughtothink that national politics shouldn’tplay arole in ourelections. With the House and Senate sonarrowly divided, we know that each seat matters to either party’sprospects to gain amajority. Addto that Trump’sability to marshal his supporters behind anyone who shows loyalty tohis agenda, and it’snowonder candidates are wary of straying too far from the national party line

Still, we would hope that some room in these important races can be reserved fora discussion of issues that mattertoour state.Wewould invitethe candidatesasthey visit citiesand towns to listen to what is on the minds of Louisianans.They might be surprised

We want to see candidates offer solutions to the problems we face, not just whip up division and anger.Werealize, too, that ifweasvoters wantadifferent kind of politics, we must support candidates who embody that.

In addition to the Senateseat,all six of Louisiana’sHouse seats are up forelection, though five are considered safe forthe incumbents. Letlow’s5th District seat,however,has drawn fierce competition —withstate Sen. BlakeMiguez, whohas Trump’sendorsement,state Sen Rick Edmonds and state Rep. Michael Echols among the top Republicannames.It’snot encouraging that the candidates seem to be vying more to cozy up to the president— Echols has gone so far as to propose abill thatwould name abridge after Trump —thantoaddress concerns we hear from voters.

Other races on the ballot include the Louisiana Supreme Court, Public Service Commissionand the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

We’ll be eager to hear what all the candidates have to say in the run-up tothe primariesand possible party runoffs, andall the way to the Nov.3general election.

Elections are when voters get their sayon what direction our country is going. Smartpoliticians will recognizethey’re not inthe driver’s seat.

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 SENDUS ALETTER SCAN HERE

Is therenoend to Trump’s need to push hisbrand?

Nothing seemssafe from having Donald Trump’snamestamped on it. Buildings, train stations, cultural centers, watches, clocks, jewelry,clothing, collectible coins, tie clips, belts, restaurants, cryptoventures, even Bibles and steaks —this list is long but incomplete. There was also Trump University,his defunct real estate seminar program, for which Trumppaid a $25 millionsettlement to the students who alleged fraud and deceptive practices. More recently,Trump’sDepartment of Transportation froze federal funding for thePenn Station project and the Dulles Airport. Multiple outlets reported that Trump considered unfreezing the $16 billion of funding if the responsible entities would renamePenn Station and Dulles Airport after him. Why would abillionaire sell tie clips, belts, steaks, Bibles, and other products? Theanswer seemsless financial and more psychological. Next is Trump’spicture on buildings and billboards all across the country,asyou see in many authoritarian countries.

It’s time forGOP to standuptothe president

What is really going on in our country these days when we have asitting president who only wantstotrample over those who do not agree with him. Ionly wish that those of theRepublican Party would stand up to this president whom I see as abig bully

VINCENT YOUNG Baton Rouge

On Feb. 10, the David Shribman article on the editorial page made astatement thatwas not correct He said, “It is well known what went intoVietnam: a disproportionate number of Black soldiers. It’swell known what happened to them: Adisproportionate number sent to the front in the early years of combat, producing adeathrate higher thanthat of Whites, and ahigher rate of military punishment.” It was an unpopular war, and there was muchmisin-

And nowfirst lady MelaniaTrump is joining the name-stamping party.Jeff Bezosspent $75 million on adocumentary about Melania. The exorbitant priceis unheard of for adocumentary,soitraises the possibility of beingabribe to appease any future Trump tempertantrums and anypast Trump grievances against Bezos thatwould negativelyaffect Bezos’sbusinesses. The documentary is projected to lose tens of millions of dollars, according to Variety,a fact that mostpeoplewould notwant their name associated with.

At thisrate, perhapsweshouldbrace for “Trump” toilet paper to be soldonAmazon.Amazonmight feature it withaspecial badge —not “Amazon’sChoice,” but with anewly created badge —“Amazon’s Greatest Choice Ever.”

“MAGA” could be embossed on every sheet,but the Arepresenting America would have an entirelydifferentmeaning appropriatefor the task at hand. RICKI THARPE Baton Rouge

Glad to putHarris’

characteragainst Trump’s

In response to George McMillian’s letter that Mayor Helena Moreno should not have invited “deplorable” Kamala Harris to her inauguration, I wish he would please list the deplorable things she’sdone compared to all thedeplorable things Donald Trump has done.

WENDELL DUPUY Gonzales

formation about it,mostly supporting those who opposed the war.Here are some of the myths along withthe facts.

Myth: The U.S. soldiers were young and poorly educated. Fact:the average age was 23 and 79% of our troops were high school graduates.

Myth: the soldiers were mostly poor and minorities. Fact:Only 30% of the 58,000 killed camefrom the lowest third of income. Twenty-six percent came from the highest third,

12.5% were Black There are manyother bits of misinformation which can be corrected by contacting thekeepers of record of each person who diedand whosename appears on theVietnam Memorial. Please publish facts not opinions about Vietnam. It is adisservice to thoseofuswho served. Iwas an 11-year veteran of the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam 19691970. Semper Fi WILL LANNES NewOrleans

Bad Bunny speaks to what is best about America

There are so manyugly and hurtful (as well as illegal) things taking place in our country that are fueled by the pervasive divisive and mean-spirited social and political climate. Iam commenting on the absurdity of controversy over Bad Bunny’s Super Bowlhalf-time show First, let’slook at the facts: Puerto Rico is aUnited States commonwealth territory,that status established in 1952. Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, professionally knownasBad Bunny,was born March 10, 1994, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Therefore, he is an American citizen.

The Super Bowlshow he headlined wasacelebration of Puerto Rico, apart of the United States. Ocasio is aspokesperson forPuerto Rico, his home, and forthe extended Latin community,and he supports diversity and inclusion in his community.Inaddition, Ocasio has established the GoodBunny Foundation, aphilanthropic organization that serves underprivileged children. He is bilingual but prefers to speak his native language of Spanish, and he uses language creatively in his music. So, how is any of that bad or wrong or un-American?

Iwill makeone last point —I don’tunderstand what religion or religious beliefshave to do with the Super Bowl; Idoknow that his message (which by the way,was displayed in English) of “love is morepowerful than hate” is amessage that all of us, people of all faiths and of humanitarian persuasion, should have in our hearts and be practicing in our daily lives.

DESHA RHODES Baton Rouge

Whysomuchfaith in politics? The2020

It’sonly February and other than the almost nonstop coverage of the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping story,especially cable networks are obsessed with the November election, though it is more than eight months away So much can —and likely will —change before then. Why all the attention?

When Iwas active on the lecture circuit, my openingline was,”I’m happy to be here tonight from Washington, D.C., where the only politicians with convictionsare in prison.” Another laugh-getter was, “Do you know the meaning of politics? Poly means many andticks are blood-sucking insects.”

Whydosomany put so much faithin politicians when they have repeatedly proven they can’t, or won’t, deliver on important issues? Like Social Security andMedicare reform and the massive national debt, which is at $38 trillion and counting because Washington refuses to cut spending, despiterecord amounts of revenue flooding intothe Treasury Politics is afalse god. Its “altar” is the Capitol and its required sacrifices consist of taxpayer (and borrowed) money.Somuch of that money is wasted.Child care fraud in Minnesotais only one of many examples and Minnesota is only one of many states with lax control of welfare spending. We keep electing them —one party and then the other —expecting better outcomes. Instead, many spend too much time fundraising and cementing their careers. Few read the bills they vote on, relying instead on staff and lobbyists, the latter who contribute to their campaigns.

As we approach another tax season, aprime example of the havoc Congress has imposed on the public is the U.S. tax code. It is mostly indecipherable but gives breaks to those donors favored by incumbents. The taxcode is 6,871 pages. When IRS tax regulations and official tax guidelines are included, the number of pages jumps to about 75,000. This should violate Article 32 of the Geneva Convention, which, among other things, prohibits torture.

The dirty little secret about politics andpoliticians is that if they solve a problem, they no longer have an issue to run on. Keeping their place in office with all its perks hasbecomethe primary objective of too many members.

Need Imention how some members and/or their spouses become multimillionaires on alow six-figuresalary?

Term limits used to be ahot issue as ameans tosolvethe problems that accompany incumbency.Itwent nowhere because members of Congress are not about to limit themselves. As previously mentioned here, an Article 5Convention of States remains the only way power will be transferred from the politicianstothe people where the Founders intended it to reside.

Kansas recently became the 20th state to vote for aConvention of States. Thirty-four areneeded. According toConvention of States Action, the following states will be considering this year whether to vote

Ourbrainscan’t

Asked whatshe thought of an attack on the poet Lord Byron’smorals, awit replied, “It is the first time Iever heard of them.” Youmight say the same if asked whatyou think about proofs that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

for an Article 5convention: Hawaii, Illinois,Iowa, Kentucky,Massachusetts, New Jersey,North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. The latestphony and unnecessary partial government “shutdown” should add to the momentum. Democrats and the left are mobilizing to opposesuch aconvention because they know it would mean aloss of their power.That’s why people who are fed-up with theway things are had better turn up theheat on these remaining states if they wanttomaintainanything resembling thenation that has been passed down to them. EmailCal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.

handle amoderneconomy

Aficionados of internet discourse may recall the vogue fordeeming things “stochastic terrorism.” Astochastic process has astrong elementofrandomness, even when the overall result is predictable. Thus the idea of stochastic terrorism, which has been defined as “the use of mass media to provoke random acts of ideologically motivated violence that are statistically predictable butindividually unpredictable.” (For example, how the Islamic State used social media to inspire attacks.)

The term was used ceaselessly and carelessly,and eventually became a calumny against any speaker someone disagreed with. But the idea of stochasticity remains useful. Lately,I’ve been thinking about what you might call the stochastic economy —the things we pay for to avoid outcomes that are statistically likely but individually rare. Because I keep having conversationswith folks who claim that the economy simply stopped getting better some decades back, and I think one reason they feel this way is that stochasticity makes it harder to see real and valuable improvements. These discussions are happening as the disconnect grows between healthy economic indicators and Americans’ negative perceptions of the economy

My interlocutors concede that a few things have improved, such as flat-panel televisions, but they think we’ve lost at least as much as we’ve gained. Sure, we got better screens, but social media ruined our politics, attention span and culture. OK, maybe trade and immigration made goods and services cheaper,but they’ve also disrupted tight-knit communities. There’sa spirited debate to be had about whether the benefitsofthese developments outweigh their costs. But that’sanargument for another day, because Iwant to focusonhow many amazing improvements this sort of debate ignores.

Take automobile safety.You’ve probably read about how theaverage price of anew vehicle is more than $50,000. If you’re of acertain age, that number seems insane. In 1990, theaverage new vehicle price was $15,000, which would be about $38,000 in today’s dollars. Acar is amajor and unavoidable purchase for most families —it’s something they pay alot of attention to when they thinkabout how well they’redoing. Doesn’tthat huge number mean we’re worse off?

Well, no.One reason cars are more expensive is that as the economy grew,consumers decided to spend some of the surplus on larger,plusher vehicles —for one thing, we’re buying more SUVs and fewer sedans. Another reason is that cars today have more bells and whistles, including features thatmakethem much safer, such as air bags, stabilitycontrol and advanced driver-assist systems. We’re not buying the same vehicles we were 30 years ago; we’re buying much betterones, and that shows up in crash data: In 1995, we lost 1.7 American livesfor every 100 million vehicle miles traveled, but only 1.2 in 2024.

Compared with thevalue of ahuman life, afew grand more for acar seems like abargain. Butthat doesn’tmean it feels like abargain when you’re at the dealership. Sure, your chance of dying in acrash hasbeen reduced significantly,but that chance was small to begin with. You’veentered the stochastic economy,paying asignificant sum to prevent an accident that is statistically likely to happen to someone butnot particularly likely to happen to you. Many things we nowspend money on have this quality,such as car and homeowner’sinsurance. That’s particularly true when it comes to health care, which accounts for almost afifth of the U.S. gross domestic product Nowhere is the improvement in our quality of life more apparent: acure for hepatitisC,treatments for cystic fibrosis, immunotherapies for cancer, retroviral medications that turned HIV into amanageable disease rather

than adeath sentence, much better treatments for cardiovascular disease, and mRNA vaccines that stopped a pandemic in itstracks. Yetnowhere is that improvementmore debated. Vaccines create aparticular kind of dissonance, because if they work, you’ll never know whether you benefited from takingthem. Butamilder disconnect pervades almostall health care spending, because the improvements are invisible to most consumers. Unlike the consumer-goods bonanzathat drovethe midcentury economic boom or the internet revolution of the2000s, these gains become clearer only when you get sick. Odds areyou will end up with a condition for which medical treatment has greatly improved over the pastthree decades.But you probably don’trealize how much they’ve improved, and you alsodon’tknow which treatmentyou’ll need, so you pay abit for each of them every year through insurance premiums.Until you’restruck down withsome illness, it’s hardtosee what you’re getting for your money.All yousee is your premiums marchingupward.

Stochasticityhelps explain the mystery of good economic dataand bad economic vibes. It might alsoexplain another mystery: why so manyseemingly normal people cheered the assassination of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson. People absolutely hate healthinsurers, because it feels as though they take your money and give younothing back.

That’snot true —insurersare legally required to spend most of our premiums on care, and their profit margins averaged under 1% in 2024. Butmost people don’tknow that. All they know is they’re paying alot for what feels like nothing. Ourbrains just aren’t adept at parsing those sorts of unknowns.Sadly they may be better able to process stochastic terrorism than to handle stochastic economics.

Megan McArdle is on X, @asymetricinfo.

Donald Trump’sbelief in widespread fraud in the casting and counting of 2020 ballots is entailed by his belief that it is theoretically impossible for him to lose at anything. His certitude infects millions of Americans, some of whomthink it inconceivable that he could ever be mistaken. Others doubt that anyone could win the presidency while obsessing about acomplex conspiracy for which there is no evidence.

Remember,however,the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Many people, reluctant to believe thatimmense consequences could result from an insignificant person, concluded that the complete absence of evidence of the conspiracy was conclusive evidence of how vast and competent the conspiracy to kill Kennedy had been.

The 2020 election’scontribution to humanity’s history of gullibility continues through Sidney Powell, aformer Trump post-electionlawyer. Five days after the election, she appeared on Fox News to say there had been “massive and coordinated” malfeasance to “delegitimize and destroy” Trump votes, and “manufacture” votes for Joe Biden. She spoke of a“computer system” in Dominion voting machines “flipping votes” or manufacturing them.

Dominion sued Fox News and collected $787.5 million. Now Powell is defending herself against adefamation suit involving another voting-technology company.Powell is merely acuriosity —anexotic (even by today’sstandards) flavor of paranoia, or cynicism,orboth. Tulsi Gabbard, however,isimportant.

She is director of national intelligence.Inher spare time, of whichshe evidently hastoo much, she is asleuth who last month appeared at a warehouse in Fulton County,Georgia. There, the FBI, which surely has better things to do,seized ballots from 2020. Gabbard was there to To do nothing proper.Writing for the Dispatch, Kevin Carroll, senior counsel to the Homeland Security secretary during the first Trump administration, says the National Security Act of 1947, which established the CIA, was passedby areluctant Congress only after it was amended to stipulate that the agency “shall have no police, subpoena, or law enforcement powers or internal security functions.” Carroll says the “entire intelligence community is prohibited fromcollecting information on U.S. persons solely to monitor First Amendment-protected activity —such as voting.” An executive order, updated since Ronald Reagan issued it, prohibits all elements of the intelligence community,otherthan the FBI, from “acquiring informationconcerning the domestic activities” of Americans.

Aparticularly sinister aspect of Richard Nixon’sbehavior in the wake of the Watergate break-in washis attempt to draw the CIA into the subsequent cover-up by claiming there was a “national security” dimension to the matter.The Trump administration has offered no intelligible national security rationale for Gabbard’sGeorgia grandstanding.

The FBI was there to placate the president, who in January said he should have ordered the National Guard to seize ballot boxes in 2020 swing states —presumably not in any he won. This spoken regret wasfollowed by his wish that congressional Republicans would “nationalize” elections.

Hours after the FBI’sGeorgia stunt, Trump posted some conspiracy theories, including speaking of the exotic —this: China coordinated the use of Italian military satellites to cause U.S. voting machines to flip Trump votes to Biden. Someone should read to him “Lost, NotStolen,” a2022 report by eight conservatives (two formerRepublican senators, three former federal appellate judges, aformer Republican solicitor general, and two Republican election law specialists). They examined all 187 counts in the 64 court challenges filed in multiple states by Trump and his supporters.

Twenty cases were dismissed before hearings on their merits, 14 were voluntarily dismissed by Trump and his supporters before hearings. Of the 30 that reached hearings on the merits, Trump’sside prevailed in only one, Pennsylvania, involving far too few votes to change the state’sresult. Trump’sbatting average? 0.016. In Arizona, the most exhaustively scrutinizedstate, aprivate firm selected by Trump’sadvocates confirmed Trump’sloss, finding 99 additional Biden votes and 261 fewer Trump votes. It would be reassuring to think that Trump believes nothing he says about 2020: Cynicism in the presidency is less disturbing than delusion. But reassurance is not plausible. As the poet William Blake wrote, “The manwho never alters his opinion is like standing water,and breeds reptiles of the mind.”

EmailGeorge Will at georgewill@washpost. com.

Former La.surgeon generalsteppingdownfromCDC job

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and MARK BALLARD Staff writers

Ralph Abraham, the former Louisiana surgeon general and congressman, is stepping down from hisrole as second-incommand at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “address unforeseen familyobligations,” the agency said in a statement.

“Dr.Abraham led with clarity and discipline, ad-

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for cleaner water. Iwas fully committed to her presentation before Iknew anything about her background. When she endedup winning second place, I learned she is pursuing her degree at my alma mater,Mississippi State University

It startled me, and I couldn’thelp but be especiallyproud of and for her The overall winner Natasha Khatwani, of the University of Miami, earned first place for her presentation, “From exhausted to energized:Recharging cancer-fighting Tcells.”

The audience selected Alyson M. Ackerman Olivelli’sresearch on upgrading ancient remedies with modern chemistry for the People’sChoice Award. Olivelli studiesatthe UniversityofKentucky. Afterward, Ispoke with the winners and several of the finalists. Iasked Nawalage what she took away from the experience.

“Toenjoy what you do —and to enjoywhat you do, you have to really know where it connects in the big picture, in the big story,” Nawalage said. “If you find where it fits in the big story,you cannarrow it down and find purposein what you do.”

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tional Weather Service,on Tuesday morning, Lafayette is expected to see a widespread frostbefore

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vancing the CDC’smission to protect thehealth and safetyofthe American people,” the CDC said in a news release. “He worked directly with career staff and public health partners to strengthen national preparedness and improve the country’s emergency response efforts.”

Abraham didn’treturn requestsfor furthercomment.

Abraham was namedprincipal deputydirectorinNovember,but didn’tassume office in Atlanta until Jan 5. His appointment made waves nationally because of his stanceonvaccines; he was afierce criticofCO-

VID-era vaccination mandates and requirements to wear masks in public places. As Louisiana surgeon general in 2024 and 2025, Abraham orderedthe Louisiana Department of Health to stop promoting universal vaccinations Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wholeads the DepartmentofHealth andHumanServices, has been making numerous personnel and policy changes in the agencies underhis charge, includingCDC, the Food andDrug Administration andthe Centers for Medicare andMedicaidServices

Under Kennedy,the CDC’sbudgethas been cut, staff has left and vaccination policyadvisers were replaced largely with vaccine skepticshand-picked by thesecretary

The CDChas been withoutafull-time director for allbut fourweeksofthe 13 monthsPresident Donald Trump hasbeen president. Theposition is presidentially nominated and Senate confirmed.

SusanMonarez,who was CDC director for about four weeks, was firedinAugust for notagreeingtothe vaccination recommendations. Fourother high-ranking CDC officials resigned after

Monarezwas fired. She was replaced as CDC director on an interim basis by JimO’Neill, who also is deputy secretary of Health andHuman Services. He steppeddown fromthe CDC on Feb. 13.

Last week, the president namedJay Bhattacharya, director of the National InstitutesofHealth, to also become the CDC director He’ll hold both jobs.

Abraham, aRepublican fromthe town of Alto,between Monroe and Winnsboro, represented Louisiana’s5th Congressional District from 2015 to 2021. He ranfor governor in 2020 but didn’tmakethe runoff.

JanRisher celebratesSamadhi Nisansala Nawalage’ssecond-place win in the 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) competition in BatonRouge. Nawalage’sresearch focuses on creating sustainable iron composites for cleaner water.She is pictured in the middleofthe photosurrounded by otherMississippi State University grad students and their faculty adviser.From left, Risher,Brien Henry, Meghan Wolf, Nawalage, Jeremy Montgomery, Lilli Harris and HaleighDuke. Risher is agraduate of Mississippi State University

She’s28. Iwanted to hug her and assure her of the promise she and her generation hold. Something about the brief intersection of our lives still almost makes me cry —and Ican’tfully explain that. Perhaps it’s in knowing that she and hercolleagues don’tyet see all the ways life will stretch them. And yet, they’ve already shown that they know how to do hard things. Ihave written plenty over the years about what’sbroken —ininstitutions, in communities, in public life.Sitting in that hotel ballroom Friday,listening to young scholars explain howtheyare tack-

7a.m.witha high near 63. Southeastwinds are expected to reach 5to 15 mph in theafternoon with winds gustashigh as 20 mph. Tuesday night will see lows around 51 and south winds from5 to 10 mph,

withgusts as high as 20 mph.

Parish residents arereminded that due to the ongoing fire danger,the burningofvegetation, debris,yardwaste, brushand other combustible material are prohibited.

LOTTERY

ling cancer,pollution, water quality,animalhealth and more, Iwas reminded that something else is happening, too. People are still building.

U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow’s husband, Luke,was Abraham’schiefofstaff and closest adviser.When Luke Letlow died in December 2020 of COVID-19 complications, hiswidow,who was administrator at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, ran for and was elected to Congress —with the help of Abraham. She hadnocommentonAbraham’sresignation. Abraham is expected to help out with Julia Letlow’s campaign to unseat Sen. Bill Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge. Trump endorsed Letlow The closed party primary is May16, with early voting beginning May2

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beds, enhancing safety, enabling developmental separation of youth, and supporting broader operational improvements.”

Statedata shows the number of youth in secure care has steadily risen over the past several years. In thefourth quarter of 2020, 308 received secure care services from the state; by the fourthquarter of 2025, that number reached 510, according to reports available on the OJJ’swebsite

TheOJJ did not answer questionsabout its currentsecurebed capacity or about what its capacitywould be if the Vernon Parish facility opens. Historically,the agency has struggled to provide enough beds for adjudicated youth. As a result,someteens have languished in pretrial detentioncenters, which areoften not equipped to provide the services theyneed

transportationplan. The city will now move into the design phase of theprojectwithgrantdisbursal to come following areceipt of project authorization.

SUNDAY,FEB.22, 2026

Detailedinformationon theYoungsville Master Transportation Plan and other plannedenhancementstolocal infrastructure can be viewed at youngsville.us.

Market musings

Scouting combine can give Saints glimpse into offseason

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

INDIANAPOLIS Welcome to the NFL scouting combine

As players prepare for drills and interviews that could affect the discourse ahead of April’s draft, teams are also quite busy this week. Executives not only speak with this class of prospects but also spend plenty of time meeting with agents to get an informal start on next month’s free agency

That’s how the gossip begins. The combine has become a breeding ground for chatter that will surely spread leaguewide. The New Orleans Saints will be a big part of those talks, and there are a number of storylines to keep tabs on as the league’s biggest con-

vention gets underway

Taylor’s market

Agents use their time at the combine to get a better understanding of what the market will be for their clients ahead of free agency Will there be a demand for Saints cornerback Alontae Taylor? Before the Saints opted to keep him at the trade deadline, the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears were reportedly in the mix to trade for him. There should be no shortage of suitors this spring, but the potential gap in his value will be worth monitoring. The league’s highest-paid nickel cornerback is Chicago’s Kyler Gordon at three years, $40 million — good for a $13.3M annual average value. But Taylor, who also has played as an outside cornerback, just watched for-

UL baseball risks streak against slugging Kansas St.

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

mer teammate Paulson Adebo sign for an average of $18 million last year with the New York Giants. That’s quite a difference. The Saints tried to negotiate a new deal with Taylor this past season but didn’t reach an agreement. Old guys rewarded Taylor isn’t the only Saints defender with a possible complicated negotiation. After bounce-back seasons from Cam Jordan and Demario Davis, New Orleans is left in a tricky spot of how much to pay for past performance when factoring future contracts. It’s not often that 36-yearolds get a raise in the NFL, but both Jordan and Davis might not be willing to take much of a discount this time around.

No one has to remind the UL Ragin’ Cajuns what happened when Troy came to town Jan 10 The numbers were ugly in the Trojans’ 90-70 victory over the Cajuns. Troy outrebounded the Cajuns 42-19 and made 17 3-pointers out of 29 tries almost 60% beyond the arc. Coach Quannas White hopes his Cajuns can reverse those numbers when UL visits Troy at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Trojan Arena in Alabama.

“Anytime you lose a game, especially the way we did, it’s motivation in itself,” White said. “You’re not familiar with those guys and how to play them, so that’ll help us in this game.”

The teams that were in the Cajundome six weeks ago are much different now In their last three games, the Trojans are shooting 25.8% from 3-point land after 24-of-93 shooting. In a 65-54 loss at South Alabama on Saturday, Troy made only 13 total field goals and 10 of those were 3-pointers. Before that, the Trojans slipped past UL-Monroe 77-76 after losing to Southern Miss 69-65 after going 6-of-22 shooting from 3-point land.

“It’s like I’ve said from the beginning, this is a really good league with really good coaches,” White said. “It’s not so much that

Auriemma makes AP Top 25 history

BY DOUG FEINBERG Associated Press

Geno Auriemma broke a tie with Tara VanDerveer of Stanford for most appearances by a coach in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday when UConn was again a unanimous No. 1.

Auriemma has the Huskies ranked for the 655th time. UConn was atop all 31 ballots from the national media panel. The Huskies (29-0) are the last unbeaten team in Division I basketball and have won 45 consecutive games dating to last season.

The top five teams remained unchanged in the rankings this week with UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt following the Huskies. The rest of the top 10 changed as Michigan, Louisville, Duke and Ohio State all lost games last week.

LSU moved up one spot to sixth with Oklahoma jumping up four places to seventh. Michigan dropped two spots to eighth, and Iowa was ninth.

The Hawkeyes moved up four places after beating the Wolverines on Sunday Louisville was 10th.

Duke, which ended its 17-game winning streak Sunday in a loss to Clemson, dropped to 12th, and Ohio State was 13th.

Falling Lady Vols Tennessee dropped out of the

Conference supremacy

The SEC remained the top conference with nine teams in the poll. The Big Ten is next with seven. The Big 12 has four teams, the Atlantic Coast Conference has three and the Ivy League and Big East each has one.

Games of the week

times the honesty is good.”

poll for the first time this season after losing last week to Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

The Lady Vols have dropped seven of nine games for the first time in school history Tennessee had been ranked for the past 31 polls.

“We’ve had an incredibly tough stretch,” coach Kim Caldwell said after Sunday’s loss to Oklahoma.

“You just (have to) be honest with your team, and they can handle it or they cannot. And sometimes the honesty is not good and some-

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Lady Vols with regular-season games left against LSU and Vanderbilt. Welcome back

Princeton re-entered the poll this week at No. 25. The Tigers (21-3) fell out last week after losing to Columbia on Feb. 13. The Lions have beaten the Tigers twice this season, and Princeton’s other loss came to No. 14 Maryland.

No 8 Michigan at No 13 Ohio State, Wednesday The two rivals meet with Big Ten Conference seeding on the line. The Wolverines lost their last game, falling at then-No. 13 Iowa on Sunday. The Buckeyes have dropped two of their past three games.

No. 12 Duke at No. 21 North Carolina, Sunday The Blue Devils beat the Tar Heels in the first meeting earlier this month and will look to wrap up the ACC regular-season crown with another victory

Vonn says surgery saved her leg from amputation

VAIL, Colo. — American skier Lindsey Vonn says she nearly lost her left leg following a frightening crash in the women’s downhill at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Vonn shared in an Instagram post on Monday that her injuries went far beyond the complex tibia fracture in the leg she initially revealed after clipping a gate and sailing off course just 13 seconds into her run on Feb. 8.

Vonn, 41, said the trauma from the crash led to compartment syndrome, which involves excessive pressure building up inside a muscle, either from bleeding or swelling. High pressure restricts blood flow and can lead to permanent injury if not treated quickly Vonn credited orthopedic surgeon Dr Tom Hackett for conducting a fasciotomy to salvage her leg.

Rams finalize staff with Kingsbury as assistant HC

LOS ANGELES Kliff Kingsbury will have the title of assistant head coach on Sean McVay’s staff with the Los Angeles Rams.

Kingsbury’s formal title was revealed Monday when the Rams finalized their coaching staff for McVay’s 10th season in charge. The Rams also announced that recently retired receiver Robert Woods will be their assistant wide receivers coach.

Kingsbury the former Arizona Cardinals head coach, is joining his friend’s staff following two years as Washington’s offensive coordinator He is also bringing Brian Johnson as a senior offensive assistant after the former Philadelphia offensive coordinator worked for Kingsbury with the Commanders.

Mayweather, Pacquiao agree to rematch in Vegas

LOS ANGELES Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have agreed to a rematch of their landmark 2015 bout.

Their second fight will be held Sept. 19 in Las Vegas, the boxing icons said Monday The rematch, which will be streamed on Netflix, will be the first boxing event to be held at Sphere, the immersive event venue east of the Strip. Mayweather, who turns 49 on Tuesday, announced his intention last week to end his nine-year retirement from competitive boxing. The 47-year-old Pacquiao ended his own four-year retirement last year, and he is scheduled to meet Ruslan Provodnikov on April 18 in the second bout of his comeback. Mayweather and Pacquiao didn’t announce a weight class or length for their second bout.

BY AARON BEARD Associated Press

Duke’s win against Michigan has propelled the Blue Devils to a familiar perch: No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.

The Blue Devils climbed two spots to top Monday’s poll, marking the 148th appearance at No. 1 to add to what was already the record for any program. Duke (25-2) claimed 56 of 61 first-place votes to supplant Michigan (25-2) after Saturday’s 68-63 win against the Wolverines in Washington.

That win came in a matchup of the top two teams in the NCAA men’s selection committee’s preliminary top 16 seeds for March Madness, released hours before the game. The Blue Devils enter this week with a national-best 12 Quadrant 1 wins, along with nine wins against AP Top 25 teams. And now the latest such win has pushed the Blue Devils back to a No. 1 ranking for the second straight season under fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer Last year’s Final Four team sat atop the past two polls entering the NCAA Tournament, the first time Duke had reached No 1 since Scheyer took over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski in 2022.

Arizona rose two spots to No. 2 after beating BYU and winning at Houston, and secured the other five first-place votes. Michigan fell to No. 3 as its first appearance at No 1 since January 2013 turned into a one-week stay, followed by a pair of Big 12 teams in Iowa State and Houston.

The top tier

UConn fell one spot to No. 6 after a week that included a home loss to Creighton, while reigning national champion Florida leapt five spots to No. 7 to return to the top 10 for the first time since late November The Gators were ranked No. 3 in the preseason and spent a week among the unranked

in early January They have won seven straight and 12 of 13. Purdue, Gonzaga and Illinois rounded out the top 10.

Selection committee vs. AP

The selection committee had Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the No. 1 seeds in Saturday’s revelation of the preliminary top 16 seeds. The Cyclones edged UConn and Houston for the fourth 1-seed, with the Huskies’ loss to Creighton and then Iowa State’s head-to-head win against Houston to start last week swinging the vote to T.J. Otzelberger’s squad.

Monday’s poll largely aligns with the committee’s reveal, starting with the same four teams at the top in a shuffled order — with Iowa State moving up two spots even after Saturday’s loss at nowNo. 19 BYU.

In addition, the AP Top 25 and committee align on 15 teams being ranked among those top 16 seeds. The outlier is St. John’s at No. 15 in the AP poll, taking a slot that went to Vanderbilt with the Commodores seeded 15th overall

by the committee Saturday but sliding to No. 25 in Monday’s poll.

Rising

Alabama had the week’s biggest jump, rising eight spots to No. 17 after a thrilling double-overtime home win against Arkansas and a win at LSU pushed the Crimson Tide’s win streak to six games. Florida had the week’s secondbiggest gain, while BYU rose four spots after the Arizona loss and Iowa State win. In all, 11 teams moved up from last week’s ranking.

Sliding No. 14 Kansas joined Vanderbilt with the week’s biggest slide of six spots. The Jayhawks are coming off a 16-point home loss to a Cincinnati team that was reeling in early February but has won four straight. The Commodores lost at Missouri and at home to Tennessee last week, falling to 5-6 since a 16-0 start that carried them to a No. 10 ranking as of mid-January Saint Louis tumbled five spots to No 23 after last week’s loss at

Rhode Island ended an 18-game winning streak, while 11 teams fell from last week but remained in the poll.

Coming and going

Tennessee was the lone new addition at No. 22, with the Volunteers beating Oklahoma and Vanderbilt last week to push its winning streak to four games. This starts a third stint in the poll for Rick Barnes’ Volunteers, who fell out for two weeks in mid-January returned for a week at No. 25 to start February, then were unranked again for the past two weeks.

The Vols replaced Wisconsin, which fell out from No. 24 after last week’s loss at Ohio State. Conference watch

The Big 12 led all conferences with six ranked teams, while the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference each had five. The Atlantic Coast Conference was next with four, followed by the Big East with two.

The West Coast Conference, Mid-American Conference and Atlantic 10 each had one ranked team.

U.S. women’s hockey team declines Trump invitation

WASHINGTON The U.S. women’s hockey gold medal-winning team has politely declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday

“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” the U.S. women’s team said in a statement released Monday

Trump also invited the U.S. men’s gold medal-winning team. Logistics played a role in the decision as many on the women’s team were not scheduled to arrive in North America until Monday evening.

Two-time WNBA champion dies at 43 after car crash

Two-time WNBA champion Kara Braxton died after being in a car crash in Atlanta on Saturday She was 43. The athletic department at Georgia, where Braxton played in college, texted The Associated Press confirmation of her death on Monday and posted on social media. Her son, Jelani Thurman, posted a photo of his younger self in her jersey on social media and wrote that he we will miss his “queen.” Braxton last played in the WNBA in 2014 while finishing up a fouryear

UL softball gets quickpit stop at home

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Alot has happened since theUL softball team last played at Lamson Park.

In fact, seven games were played in three different cities from Tallahassee, Florida, to Lake Charles.

But fans better not blink when UL takes on Northern Iowa at 5p.m.Tuesday at LamsonPark because it is the only homegame until March 20.

“It was ahectic schedule,” UL softball coachAlyson Habetzsaid.

“I thought there were times when we played really well. Icould see what we’re capable of, then other times, we didn’tplay so well. So Ithink moving forward, it’s just about playing to astandard.”

The road trip began and ended awfully —with run-rule losses to Florida State and Houston —but in the middle there were alot of encouragingsigns with four wins in five games. But nothing hurt as much as a 2-1loss at LSUonSaturdayin10 innings.

“I felt like we were on ourheelsa little bit (at Florida State),”Habetz said, “but Ididn’tsee that at LSU. I think the (player) reaction (to the LSU loss) was exactly suited for what happened.Itwas gut-wrenching. It was alot of silence on the bus, because Ithink we know that we could have won that game.”

Perhaps the biggest thing that cameout of the week was the emergence of Bethaney Noble in the circle. She is now 3-0 with a 0.35 ERA over 20 innings.

“That’sone of the fun things

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Koval sparkedLSU’s come-frombehind win over No. 17 Ole Miss on Thursday,and agroup without either one of them laidthe foundation of its beatdown of Missouri on Sunday

Forward ZaKiyah Johnson, a 6-foot freshman, anchored the two most productive lineups Mulkey used against Missouri. The one that featured guards Jada Richard,MiLaysia Fulwiley,Flau’jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams next to her outscored the visiting Tigers 30-10 in the 10 minutes it spent on the floor

That group did most of itsdamage in the first half. Mulkey pivoted to it quickly because Missouri ruled 6-3 starter JordanaReisma out of action on the availabilityreport it released two hours before tipoff.

Mulkey needed asmaller,quicker group of players to match up with the starting lineup Missouri threw out instead, butshe and associate head coach Bob Starkey already had decided to start Joyner “Bob and Iwere like, ‘Wegot a problem here,’ ”Mulkeysaid. “I said, ‘Go ahead with the lineup we had planned to start, and thenwe’ll just adjust and move (Williams) inside with (Johnson) andjust play small.’Itworked, and it was entertaining.”

Mulkey has those options now LSU has played 14 league games, and she still isn’trelying on her stars nearly as much as she did in the previous two seasons. Only six Tigers played more than 15 minutes per night in SEC matchups last season. AneesahMorrow, Flau’jae Johnson and Williams each logged more than 33 minutes per game. Now LSU has eight players who are seeing, on average, more than 15 minutes of run in league play and none of them are playingmore than 28. That group doesnot include guard BellaHines, afreshman who’sbeginning to carve out aconsistent role in Mulkey’srotation. She didn’tplay more than

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And if they don’t,how many other teams will be interested in them?

This week might provide some clarity Dazzling defenders?

The prevailing thought, at least amongdraft analystsand other media members, is that the Saints should look to juice their offense to surround quarterback Tyler Shough with better weapons. But if that narrative is going to change, the combine could be the start of the shift. This is astrong class of edge rushers —another need for the Saints —and perhaps the Saints will be tantalized enough by

STAFFPHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL second baseman Miki Watts has taken full advantageofrecent at-bats to givethe coaching staffanother lineup option from theleft side.

ä NorthernIowaatUL, 5P.M.TUESDAy, ESPN+

about coaching,”Habetz said.

“When Bethaney is on,she’s special. She moves the ball andshe does things thatother pitchers can’tdo. She getsa lotofmishits andswingsand misses.

Apreseason injury hampered Noble early,but the senior right-

hander is establishing herself now

“Weknewshe was capable of that,” Habetzsaid. “When she didn’treally pitch the first weekendand the second weekend until she pitched on her (senior) day, I think she dug in alittle deeper.I thinkitmotivated her “I think it got to her and she decided, ‘Hey,I’m good enough and I’mgoing to proveit.’ Ilovedit. It was awesome.”

LSUfreshmanBella Hines pulls down adefensiverebound in the second half of LSU’s108-55 win over Missouri on Sunday

AssemblyCenter

14 minutes in any of LSU’sfirst 10 league contests, butnow she’s earned more than 15 minutes in three of the last four

Williams is playing three fewer minutes and taking four fewer shots per game than shedid last year. Flau’jaeJohnson is taking three fewer shotsper night and playing fivefewer minutes.

LSU began SEC playleading the country in bench points. It’snow receiving 39.4 ppg from its reserves, which means it still hasn’t fallen off the top spot.

“You can get really creative,”

ZaKiyah Johnson said. “Everybody on the floor is sprinting. They got adifferent bag, and you just have alot of weapons all the way down the bench,even when you go to the bigs, but when we can get in there andrun,it’salways morefun.”

Conventionalwisdom says that playing smaller lineups hurtsa team’schances of grabbing rebounds.Thatlogic, however,did

Miami’sRuebenBain, Texas Tech’s David Bailey or Ohio State’sArvell Reese to merit consideration when they’reonthe clock at No. 8come April (ifany of them arestill left on the board). There’salso Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who becomes an intriguing option should Taylor boltinfree agency

Kamarabuzz

NFL.com recently listed Saints running back Alvin Kamara as a possible cut candidate, given the Saintscan save $8.5 million with apost-June 1release. But parting ways with Kamara is not as simple as it seems. For one, Kamara’s$18 millioncap hitstill wouldbefully on thebooksuntil June, so New Orleans wouldn’ttruly benefitfrom that money until building next season’sroster (or for arare late sum-

not apply toLSU’swin over Missouri —one of the best rebounding games the No. 6Tigers have ever produced.

LSUcorralled awhopping72 boards on Sunday,setting its NCAA-era single-game rebounding record. They pulled 30 of those boards off the offensive glass, two shy of the program record.

With only tworegular-season contests left, LSUisoutscoring SECopponents by 23.3 points per 100 possessions, according to Her Hoop Stats. That rating would be thehighest the Tigers have posted in league play since Mulkey took over in 2021.

What’sdriving that success? Startwith LSU’sadded depthand versatility. It looks like Mulkey is ready touse it in thepostseason.

“We’refortunate to have depth on the perimeter,” Mulkey said, “and fortunate that we have acouple perimeter playersthat can go inside and defend.”

mer signing).The better question could be whether Kamaraisopen to staying on apay cut, though it’s unclear whether the Saints have engaged in such discussions.

Carr interest

If Derek Carr is serious about comingout of retirement, thecombine could be agood way to findout if theinterestismutual—meaning the Saints could reap somereturn in atrade. The former Saintsquarterback said on his podcast that he’donly do it for achance to win a SuperBowl, whichwould limithis market.Will any of those contending teams want to takeachance on asoon-to-be 34-year-old coming off amajor shoulder injury?

Email Matthew Paras at matt paras@theadvocate.com

through herveins. The moment is really not too big forher

“She’sathletic. To have alefty in the lineup …that gives our lineup alittle more.”

Habetz said she’scapable of playingany position otherthan pitcher

“She gives us options,” Habetz said.

Perhaps thebiggestdevelopmentwas Sage Hoover looking the part of atrue ace against LSU.

“That’sthe Sage Hoover that Iknewwas in there,” Habetz said. “I mean, she pushed against somereally good hitters, and, you know,struck them out, madethem mishit, and just pitched aphenomenal game. And the defense played well behind her.”

In 92/3 innings and 172 pitches, Hoover allowedtwo runs on 10 hits withfive walks andsix strikeouts against LSU.

“I think thatgameshowed what we’re capable of moving forward,” Habetz said.

Northern Iowa is 6-5 on the season. At atournament in Monroe over theweekend, Northern Iowa lost to UL-Monroe 2-1and swept Lamar 12-3 and 8-6.

True freshman infielder Miki

Watts (.385, 1HR, 4RBIs) from Loranger is suddenlygetting at-bats, producing andmaking lineup decisions difficult forthe coaches.

“She’sagood complication,” Habetzsaidwithalaugh. “You don’t know what athletes, especially hitters, are feeling in the box. Generally speaking, there’salot of anxiety …but Miki’sgot icerunning

UL BASEBALL

Continued from page1C

Ragin’ Cajuns at Russo Park.

“Not too many times you’ll see ateam hitting like that over seven games,” UL coach Matt Deggs said. “That’shard to do in aseries. They’re avery talented ball club.

“I don’twant to use the word upstart because they’re not. Kansas State has been good for anumber of years…He(coach Pete Hughes) hastransformed them.”

The Wildcats (6-1)have won 35 games in three of the past four seasons, including two straight NCAA regional appearances. AJ Evasco (.500, 10 RBIs) and Dee Kennedy (.500, 3HRs, 15 RBIs) are the Wildcats’ hottest hitters.

On the mound, no pitcher has thrown more thanfive innings so far.Infact, KansasState hasthrown 13 different pitchers with 11 of them getting only one appearance so far Getting the assignment to try to cool off Kansas State is true freshman UL starter Sawyer Pruitt, who is 1-0inthreeoutingscovering 82/3 inningswith a0.00 ERA.

“I think it’simportant for Sawyer to stay outthere fora while (Tuesday),” Deggs said.

“I’d like to really keep adding to him, because he’sgoing to be special. Here’sanother freshman,he’sgot azero ERA, he doesn’twalk anybody,hecan hold runners, he canfield his position —all the stuff you ask older guys to do to headline astaff. That’sthere already,and he’sgoing to learn howtomanipulate that hand even more.”

Kansas State is expected to

UL MEN

Continued from page1C

involved in afour-way tie for first place in theSun Beltinthe loss column.

Despite theirrecentslump, theTrojansare still loaded with four players averaging double figures,led by Victor Valdes (15.1 pts, 4.0 rebs) and Thomas Dows (14.2 pts, 10.1rebs).

“We’ve gottokeepthemoff theglass,” White said. “We’ve allgot to go to theglass. We know these guys can shoot, so we’ve got to do agoodjob of defending the 3first. Then we’ve got to crash theboards, but Dowd is the best offensive rebounderinthe league.

“Wedid not do agood job of rebounding in the first game.”

TheCajunswon their home finale Saturday 67-54 over Texas State, which had won seven straight games. TheCajuns got 12 points from DariyusWood-

Skylar Benesh (.514, 5HRs, 9 RBIs), Kate Lappe (.485, 6HRs, 16 RBIs) and Sykora Smith (.457, 1HR, 8RBIs) lead the wayfor an offense hitting .319.

In the circle, the Panthers have a4.60 team ERA with 100 hits allowed in 73 innings.

UL has not announced its starting pitcher forTuesday

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

start redshirt junior right-hander Tanner Duke, whoallowed six hits andfourruns over 22/3 innings against Air Force in his onlyouting of the season. Coming off a4-0 week against Rice and Maryland, the UL coaching staffhopes to beef up the hitting numbers after primarily riding pitching and defense, which committed zero errors in the four games.

“We’ve got alongway to go, especially offensively,” Deggs said. “Wehaven’thit our stride yet. We will. We’re a lotstronger than we’veplayed as farasextra-base hits and whatnot. I’ve seen thatout of this ballclub.Someteams find that groove alittle later; some teamsearly.”

UL is batting .265 as ateam with four home runs. The only threehitters batting above.269 are freshman shortstop Blaze Rodriguez (.370, 7RBIs), senior second baseman Rigoberto Hernandez (.346, 2HRs, 5RBIs) andfreshmancatcher Colt Brown (.333, 3RBIs). While the infield appears set, thequestions areinthe outfield. Donovan LaSalle (.222, 2RBIs) missed the Marylandseries witha wrist injury andDeggs said he’s “stillday to day,”but revealed LaSalle grabbed abat in Sunday’smarathon nudging his coach to be inserted. Also in therotation areMaddoxMandino (.214, 6RBIs), NoahLewis (.188), Griffin Hebert (.150, 3RBIs), Mark Collins (.400) and Kasen Bellard (.143, 1 RBI).

“I really likedthe way Collins played thisweekend,” Deggs said. “I think Doggy’s(Mandino) done afine job defending it and he finds waystoreach base. Hebert’shad his moments.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

sonand 20 from Jaxon Olvera in thewin,while shooting 9of 13 from 3-point territoryoverall.

“Yes, Dariyus played really wellSaturday,but it’snot a one-man deal,” Whitesaid. “All of ourguys need to be consistenttobeat ateam like Troy.”

Theother big improvement against Texas State was the team defense the Cajuns displayed after three of their previous four opponents shot at least57% from the field.

“I thought we were more connected on defense,” White said. “Wetry to change defenses up, but yougot to have allfive guys whether youare in man-to-man or zone —connected, communicating and giving the same effort at ahigh level.

“I thought every guy that came on that floor against Texas State did that.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

STM, Northwest boys receive home-heavy path

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

Making the playoffs is always a good thing, regardless of where a team is seeded in its bracket.

But coaches who have aspirations of making a run toward the state basketball tournament will admit that earning a first-round bye and/or playing multiple games on their home floor is key to fulfilling that dream.

“If you look back, ever since the final four has started in this select and nonselect (era), the teams that play at home the longest are usually the teams that end up in Lake Charles the most,” Teurlings Catholic coach Jake Dueitt said. “So, it was important to try and win as many games as we could. Obviously getting a first-round bye, it is one less game you have to play. To be able to stay at home as long as you can is important.”

The LHSAA released the boys basketball playoff brackets for nonselect and select Monday, and 34 Acadiana-area teams — 18 nonselect, 16 select —learned the road they’ll have to travel if they want to reach Lake Charles.

And while six of those teams received first-round byes, only two Northwest (No. 2 in Division II nonselect) and St. Thomas More (No. 4 in Division I select) — are guaranteed to play on their home court through the quarterfinals.

“Honestly, I just wanted us to be in the top four,” Raiders coach Mark Cassimere said. “I wanted to have that first-round bye and get those two games at home. That’s what we worked the whole year for In the summer, that is all we talked about because they say it makes the biggest difference if you’re trying to make a championship run.”

In addition to the Raiders and the Cougars, four other teams — the Rebels (No. 5 in Division I select), Lafayette Renaissance (No 5 in Division III select), WestminsterLafayette (No. 5 in Division IV select) and Ascension Episcopal (No. 8 in Division IV select) earned a bye in the first round.

For the Tigers, it is the second consecutive year they’ve earned a first-round bye, but LRCA coach Brad Boyd admits he had hoped to sneak into the No. 4 spot.

“We would have liked to get to the four-seed, but a couple of slip-ups here and there throughout the season (cost us),” Boyd said. “Last year we had a firstround bye as the No. 8 seed, and after winning the second-round game, we had to go to the No. 1

Evan Lecour

the Lafayette

seed, Calvary “Just that experience Calvary had with the homecourt advantage, the big crowd and it’s loud, was something that we were shooting for as the No. 4 seed That was one of the goals for the year, and we just came up a little bit short.”

With the way the brackets are set up, there could be some interesting regional and quarterfinal matchups involving Acadiana-area teams. With a win over Pineville in the first round, No. 13 Lafayette High would face the Cougars in the second round of the Division I select bracket. The winner would possibly face the Rebels in the quarterfinals with a trip to Lake

Charles on the line.

In Division III select, the Tigers could have a rematch against district rival No. 13 Lafayette Christian if the Knights defeat No 21 Pope John Paul II in the first round.

“If we’re fortunate enough to draw STM in the quarterfinals, that would be big for the city of Lafayette, and both of our Catholic schools. It would be a great atmosphere,” Dueitt said “But right now, my focus is on Catholic High of Baton Rouge and St. Paul’s. Those are two tradition-rich schools that are known for deep playoff runs, and they both have good teams There are no easy draws in this division.”

LSU gym playing it cautious with injuries

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

The LSU gymnasts posted a season-high road score at No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday, but they also picked up a couple of injuries ahead of the meet. Coach Jay Clark said Monday that junior all-arounder Konnor McClain suffered an arm contusion on the uneven bars in pre-meet warmups. He also said that sophomore all-arounder Kaliya Lincoln started battling inflammation in her Achilles tendon in the days before the No. 2 Tigers’ road trip.

McClain is day-to-day, Clark said She sat out the meet with the Sooners, while Lincoln performed on vault and balance beam but not on floor Clark said that LSU will continue to take a cautious approach to her injury as it readies to compete twice in one weekend — first on Friday against No. 3 Alabama in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and again on Sunday in the annual Podium Challenge at Raising Cane’s River Center

“I hope that we’ll do the same thing with (Lincoln) this weekend that we did last weekend,” Clark said, “and that’s really just out of abundance of caution just because we’ve just got to preserve her

“That last stretch, when we get into the postseason, we need that floor routine, and so we’ll do everything we can to make sure that that remains the case.”

LSU put sophomore Lexi Zeiss in the floor lineup in place of Lincoln against the Sooners, and she delivered a strong 9.925 score in the first such routine of her career Clark said he was impressed with how the Tigers responded to the lineup shuffling against Oklahoma.

“They just were matter of fact,” Clark said, “and that’s good. That’s the mark, I hope, of a team that’s mature and that understands what we’re asking of them and handles those things. Because circumstances can change quickly, one way or another.”

Chio keeps posting 10s

Only three NCAA gymnasts have earned multiple perfect 10.0 scores this season, and sophomore Kailin Chio is one of them.

She picked up 10s on both vault and balance beam on Friday, becoming the first athlete to earn two perfect scores in one meet this year She now has four on the season. Team USA star and UCLA senior Jordan Chiles is the only gymnast with more.

SCOREBOARD

UNO 10, Northern Kentucky 3 Sunday’s games Southern vs. Florida A&M, n Tulane 11, Harvard 1 UL 6, Maryland 5 (15 innings) Nicholls 15, Tennessee-Martin 8 Southeastern 6, SIE 5 LSU 11, Central Florida 0 UL-Monroe 9,

go of the top bar in her uneven

Lamar, 6 p.m. Texas—Rio Grande Valley at McNeese, n Incarnate Word at Northwestern State, n Mississippi Valley at Grambling, n Tuesday’s games UL-Lafayette at Troy, 6 p.m. Wednesday’s games Tulsa at Tulane, 6:30 p.m. UL-Monroe at South Alabama, 7:30 p.m. LSU at Ole Miss, 8 p.m. Women’s state schedule Sunday’s game LSU 108, Missouri 55 Monday’s games None scheduled. Tuesday’s games Tulane at Tulsa, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday’s games Texas State at UL – Monroe, 6:30 p.m. Golf The Genesis Invitational

“There’s just not a whole lot you can say other than, ‘Wow,’ ” Clark said. “I mean, she’s operating at such an efficient, consistent, extremely high level, and seems to really rise to the occasion in moments where we need her to be. I think every team needs somebody like that.”

Chio said Monday she was surprised that judges deemed her vault worthy of a perfect score Friday She thinks she’s done better vaults this season.

“I’ve been wanting it for so long,” Chio said with a laugh, “but it was just funny that it came on that one instead of all the other ones.”

Busy weekend

The string of postseason meets that Clark likes to call a “meat grinder” is right around the corner as there are only three weeks left in the regular season. So taking on two meets in three days, which LSU will do this weekend, is a nice way to prepare for not only the SEC championships but also the NCAA regionals.

“Our regional will be a Thursday-Saturday type situation,” Clark said, “assuming we advance. So, it’s just more of a semantic, sort of logistical preparation for those kinds of things that are on the horizon.”

Sunday’s meet in the River Center will be staged on a podium — the softer, elevated surface that teams compete on in the NCAA Tournament.

LSU’s performance in that quad meet can count toward its national qualifying score (NQS) as a road score. No. 3 Alabama, No. 17 North Carolina and No. 27 Arizona are also competing in that meet, which will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday The Tigers will host the Crimson Tide at 8:30 p.m. Friday

Native staple

Mirlitonsare part of Louisiana’s heritage —and they’reeasy to grow at home

Like alot of people whogrew up in Louisiana, LSU AgCenter horticulturist Jason Stagghas fond memories of eating casseroles andotherdishes his mother prepared using mirlitons —asquash that has been grown in the state forgenerations.

Mirlitons (Sicyos edulis or Sechium edule) —also known as vegetable pears and alligator pears —are apear-shaped squash with amild flavor They’re usually green but sometimes are white. Known as chayote in their nativeMexico and Central America, some sources indicate they arrived in Louisiana by way of Haitiin the 19th century It’seasy to grow your own mirlitons. Traditionally, mirlitons are plantedoutdoors in the spring. But if you have some space indoors or in another warm, protected area, you can plant them in containers while it’sstill winter and get an early start on your vine, Stagg said.

Now mirlitons don’tgrow from small, dried seeds like tomatoes or many other crops. Eachmirliton contains one embryo, and the entire fruitessentially is aseed. That means you’ll need to plant the whole thing to grow amirliton vine. Something else to know about mirlitons is that they are self-pollinated.

LSU AGCENTERPHOTO By RANDyLABAUVE Mirlitons hold aspecialplace in Louisiana’sculinaryand horticultural heritage.

“You do not need two different plants to pollinate because the male flowers and the female flowers grow on one plant,” Stagg said. “However, having acouple of different plants does improve your chance for pollination.”

So, the first step is to getyour handsonamirliton —ora few “It’simportant to research your sources for these because finding true Louisiana heritage mirliton varieties will give you thebest results,” Stagg said Leave the mirliton in awarm place indoors until asprout emerges from the larger end of the fruit.

Next, place the mirliton in a 3-gallon container filled with potting mix. Position the mirliton at a45-degree angle with the larger,sprouted end pointing downward. Bury about two-thirds of the mirlitonwith potting mix so thatthe smaller end is sticking out above the surface

The vine will begintogrow larger soon. Keep the container moist but take care not to overwater.

“They do not like wet feet, especially when establishing,” Stagg said.

Once spring arrives and the threat of frost has passed,you canmoveyourcontainertoa sunny spot outdoors or transplant the mirliton into araised bed. Planting directly intothe ground isn’trecommended if ä See MIRLITON, page 6C

LEFT: Twoofthe featured people in Louisiana’sOld State Capitol’s exhibit, ‘A More Perfect Union: Reconstruction’sLegacyinLouisiana, are twins Elsieand Lela Scott, daughters of John and JuliaScott, whomigrated from Louisiana to Indiana and finally to Kansas during post-Reconstruction.

BY ROBIN MILLER | Staff writer

TDuring Reconstruction, former enslaved people often placed ‘Lost Friends’ notices in newspapersseeking lovedones from whom theywere separated during slavery

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

he white robe and itspointy hat are blood-curdling yetnecessary

This is whythe items are tucked away in adisplay withinthe smallturret room connected to Louisiana’s OldState Capitol’snewest permanent exhibit, “A MorePerfect Union:Reconstruction’sLegacy in Louisiana.”

The smaller display is very much apartofthe exhibit, but as curator Anne Mahoney points out, its content is sensitive, and yes, ugly.But to ignore it would be adisservice to thevictimswho experiencedthe violence inflicted by the wearers of robes and pointyhats. Black Southerners and their supporters were the targets.Some survived, but manydidn’t. And their suffering changed history Lincoln’stesting ground

Thedisplaycomes at the end of Louisiana’sReconstruction story and its impact on the nation. The

ä See EXHIBIT, page 6C

AKuKluxKlanrobe and hood tell the storyofthe violence that arose among White supremacists during Reconstruction.

sertsand margaritas. On March3,aseventh location will openinside anewly constructedbuilding at 805 W. Lee Drive in Baton Rouge, which is next to Panda Express and across thestreet from Waffle House. Menu andhours The menu features chicken, beef andseafood tacos likethe Southern Comfort, with fried chicken, chipotle cream corn, potato, grilled onions and country pepper gravy. There’salso the Mango Tango with shrimp, mango pico de gallo, jack cheese, guacamole and Cholula tartar Themenu has 10 breakfast tacos served allday,including a chicken and waffles taco and the FuegoDeluxe, with bacon, eggs, frijoles, grilledonions, potato and roasted poblano queso. There are afew dessert items, like the banana pudding, magic cookie (with chocolate chips, graham crackers, coconut and pecans) and the triple chocolate chip cinnamon brownie.The drink menuhas aclassic and seasonal Texastacochain with late-night hourstapsBR ä See TACO, page 6C

Fuego Tortilla Grill, aTexasbasedtacochain,willopenits first Louisiana location in March, accordingtoanews release. The fast-casual taco chain currentlyhas sixlocations, with five in Texas and one in Arkansas. The menu features tacos,bowls,des-

Do notask more from aguest than theirpresence

Dear Miss Manners: People want to feel loved and cherished. An invitation to shareameal in your home is aspecialexample. So when dinner guests ask me what they can bring, Itell them something specific: “Oh, Iwould love some pink peonies.Those would be so beautiful.” Or Imight request abottleof maple syrup, or arecipe card for the wonderful cookies the guest baked on aprevious visit.

Offering these suggestionslets your friends love you back Gentle reader: Please do not make the idea of bringing something —or, as it is now phrased,“not showing up empty-handed”— more of achore than it alreadyis.

Miss Manners pictures your

By The Associated Press

guests,lookingforward to a pleasant evening withyou, being confronted with your suggestions. “Pinkpeonies?” they say in despair. “Where in the world are we supposed to find those? Even if there’s aflorist open, they’re not likely to have thoseon hand.” Or:“Maple syrup? We could stop at the grocery store on the way,but they probably expect some kind of gourmet version.”

Or: “What cookie recipe?

Maybe they’rethinkingofthose cookies that AuntLucy sent us, andIdidn’tcorrect their assumption that I’d baked them. HowdoI knowwhatthe recipe was?”

Miss Mannerswould not describe this as making someone feel loved

TODAYINHISTORY

Today is Tuesday,Feb. 24,the 55th day of 2026. There are 310 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On Feb. 24, 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson by avote of 126-47 following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of WarEdwin M. Stanton; Johnsonwas later acquitted by the Senate by asinglevote.

Also on this date:

In 1803, in its landmark Marbury v. Madisondecision,the U.S. Supreme Court established the foundational principle of judicial review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes.

In 1981, ajury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guiltyofsecond-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr.Herman Tarnower.(Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Harris was granted clemency by New York Gov.MarioCuomo in December 1992.)

In 1988, in aruling thatexpanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a$200,000 award that the Rev Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher,Larry Flynt.

In 1991, the United States began ground operations in the Gulf War by entering Iraqi-held Kuwait.

In 2008, Cuba’sparliament named Raul Castro president,

endingnearly 50 years of rule by hisbrother,Fidel, who announceddays earlier that he would not seek reelection. Raul Castro served as president until April 2018.

In 2011, Discovery,the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward theInternational Space Station on ajourneymarking the beginning of theend ofthe shuttleera.

In 2020, Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rapeand sexual assault in New York and was led off to prison in handcuffs in a pivotalmoment for the #MeToo movement.Anappeals court later threw outthe verdict and ordered anew trial, but Weinstein remained behind bars after other convictions.

In 2022, Russia began afullscale invasionofUkraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions.

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Dominic Chianese is 95. Nikeco-founder PhilKnight is 88. Actor Barry Bostwick is 81. Actor Edward James Olmos is 79. Musician George Thorogood is 76. Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 70. Actor Billy Zane is 60. BoxingHall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 49. Tennis Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt is 45.Actor Daniel Kaluuya is 37. Singer-songwriter Domenic Innarella is 15.

MIRLITON

Continued from page5C

sturdy structure like atrellis to support the weight,” Stagg said.

It is not the jobofhoststodictate any presentsthe guests may bring. And bringing something is not an easy jobfor the guests. Many used to bring flowers or chocolates, but would now risk running intoallergies and diets, so theybring wine instead —tothe annoyance of hosts whodonot drink. Miss Manners only wishes everyone would calm down. Atoken present is fine, but thereal show of appreciation from aguest is responding to theinvitation immediately,engaging other guests in friendly conversation, thanking thehost and reciprocating soon.

Dear Miss Manners: Lastyear,our son marriedhis longtimegirlfriend in alovely ceremony followed by alarge reception. This year,they’re planning an even bigger party.This next

partyissomehow about their wedding —but we already had thewedding!

I’m finding it difficult to be enthusiastic about attending a partywhen Idon’tknow what I’m celebrating. To have asecond celebration seemstomake the first one less meaningful. Of course Ican decline with asimple “no, thank you,” but Iwould like to hear your comments

Gentlereader: Would you feel better if they called it an anniversary party?

In today’scasual world, it puzzles Miss Manners that people seem tothink awedding is the only formal event they are entitled to throw or attend —unless they are up foranentertainment award.

People crave abit of formality, if only forarare change from near-universal grunge. Thus the urge to have multiple weddings if not multiple marriages. Boycotting this event would be ahostile move. Are you not in a position to have agentle conversation with the couple, in which you support their idea but discuss modifying it? Calling it an anniversary party would makeittheir first big attempt at entertaining, instead of awedding rerun. Then again, perhaps they should not call it that. Surely they don’t want their friends thinking, “Do we have to give them presents AGAIN?

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com.

OF CONGRESS

Aphoto of the 1864 inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln’s second termisfeatured in Louisiana’sOld State Capitol’snewestpermanent exhibit,‘A More Perfect Union: Reconstruction’sLegacyinLouisiana.’Lincoln

EXHIBIT

Continuedfrom page5C

state waschosen by President Abraham Lincoln as the testing ground forhis lenient “Ten Percent Plan” for Reconstruction, requiring only 10% of voters to pledge loyaltytothe United States forthe state’srestorationtothe Union.

Lincoln hoped this fasttrack experiment would lead to the establishmentofa loyal government that abolished slaveryand provided public education. It also considered limited Black suffrage. But the president was assassinated beforehecould fully implementhis plan. And,asoften is the case with good intentions, things didn’tgoasplanned, turning, well, ugly

“Wehave deliberately putthis information in here,because it has to do with theviolentaftermath of the war,”Mahoney said.“And so, we did this veryintentionally because we’re bringing school groups through here, and we’re goingtoask the teachers, ‘Do you want us to talk about this?’”

Themuseumtoursaren’tglossing over thesubject of violence, openly discussing it in the main gallery

Asword belongingtoP.B.S Pinchback is featured in Louisiana’sOld State Capitol’s exhibit, ‘A More Perfect Union: Reconstruction’sLegacyin Louisiana.’Pinchback’sinitials are inscribed on the grip.Hewas the nation’s first Black governor serving as Louisiana’s24th governor during Reconstruction.

were captured quickly.”

“Letthis letter be read fromthe pulpits,” he writes.

In another,AlexDawson,of Shreveport, asks for information abouthis missing brother, Len Davis, who was ownedbyRobert Davis, of Shelbyville, Texas.

“There were ‘Lost Friends’ ads in other papers, but these were specifically published in NewOrleans,” Mahoney said.

And in the midst of this chaos, Lincoln was inaugurated forasecond presidential term

“Wehavea photo of the inauguration in the exhibit, and he towers over everybody,” Mahoney said. “In the last speech that Lincoln gave from the White House, he talked aboutLouisiana andtaking the statebackinto theUnion, because the state passed aconstitution that would give the right of public education to Black and White children and allow Black mentovote.”

Mahoney,through research, discovered that Lincoln’sassassin, John Wilkes Booth,was in the audience that day

“And three days later,Lincoln was dead,” she said. “There was alot of violence that followed, because Andrew Johnson, who became president, wasnot completely on board with how Lincoln wanted Reconstruction to roll out.”

Violence ensued

Warmer weather will encourage your mirliton to grow into avigorous plant rather quickly, and it willcontinue to do so throughout the summer.Some people find that installingshade cloth above their rapidly growing mirlitons during this time helps keep the plants from wilting in the hot afternoon sun

“Once established, these plants will grow to be quite large, so you’ll need to make sureyou have plenty of space and agood

TACO

Continued from page5C your garden stays wet, as good drainage is important for mirlitons.

spot is open 24 hours, six days aweek and closed Mondays. Grandopening

At the grand opening on March 3, the first100 guestsget alimited-edition Fuego T-shirt, and the first 20 guests win free queso for ayear,according to the release.

Patience is key when growing mirliton, as flowers won’tappear until late summer,producing a fall crop that will last all theway to the first frost. Each vine can producedozens of fruits.

Mirlitons are technically perennials. Their vines will die back once cold temperatures setin— but as long astheir roots are insulatedwith athicklayer of mulch, they often can survive Louisiana winters andregrow eachspring foryearstocome, Stagg said. However,asasafeguard against unusually cold weather, save some of yourcrop to plant next year.Storing mirlitons in a cool, dark,dry place for the winter will helpensure longevity

Freebreakfast tacos will be available from 7a.m. to 9a.m. on openingday

“Certainly,wetalk about violenceand people fleeingviolence andthe JimCrow laws, but we wanted to put these really graphic descriptions andthings in this other room so that if somebody doesn’twant to see it, they don’t have to,” Mahoney said.

Storybeginswithsecession

“A MorePerfect Union” starts at the beginning of the Civil War, represented by areproduction of Enoch Perry Jr.’s1861 painting, “Secession Ordinance.” The piece depicts the Louisiana Legislature’s votetosecede from the nation.

The vote happened in the Old Capitol’sHouse of Representatives chamber directly abovethe “Reconstruction” gallery.Then camewar and Union occupation, followed by the Emancipation Proclamation and finally,Reconstruction.

The exhibit illustrates this sequence of eventsthrough artifacts, documents, photos and panels.

“This exhibit has been three years in the making —three long yearsofstudy and scholarlyresearch,” Mahoney said. “Wefinallyopened it on Jan. 22, andit really started because, honestly,I sawaprogramonLPB about Reconstruction, andI learnedthings Ididn’tknow.Istartedlooking at how Louisianawas literally thepetridish of how Lincolnhoped Reconstruction would work andhow we were under Reconstruction longer than anybody else, because we

The exhibit examines how the state was an early Union target because of itsproximity to the Mississippi River. Control of the river meant control of its traffic, making both NewOrleans and BatonRouge key military strategic points.

“Thiswas before the Emancipation Proclamation,” Mahoney said. “The Union established amilitary roleand startedgovernments and started instituting this new society with whomever was there. And once they had established astronghold, the enslaved people on surrounding plantations fled to these areas, kindofforcing the military generals to start setting up asociety,a democracy. So,really,the freed people whofled there kind of forced this situation of starting early.”

‘LostFriends’notices

It’s at this point in the show where the exhibit becomes more thanahistorical overview.Real people were affected by the war andits aftermath as shown in adisplaytitled“Lost Friends” notices, featuring messages posted by formerly enslaved people.

Visitors can thumb through thesepostingsoriginallypublished by theSouthwestern Christian Advocate newspaper in NewOrleans, most of themseeking the whereabouts of loved ones separated by slavery

In one ad,aman named Edgar Spencer,ofIndian Bayou,Mississippi, desperatelyseeks wordof his sister,Eliza Cotton, who, he’s heard, may be living in NewOrleans.

So, violence ensued. This included the New Orleans Massacre of 1866, where Freed Black men conducting ameeting were killed by White rioters.

“Thatwas one of two major events —the other happened in Memphis —that prompted the congressionalReconstruction acts that basically saidstates had to create new constitutions to protect free people,” Mahoney said. “If they didn’t, they wouldn’tbe readmitted to the Union.”

Meanwhile, Black people began practicing activism through their churches and social clubs, and in New Orleans, Straight University was established. The school eventually would be renamed Dillard University

But contentionoverBlack voting power brewed among White supremacist groups, whose rampant violencetorethrough the South. Highest in profile wasthe Ku Klux Klan, whose uniforms were the samewhite robes andpointyhats as that displayed in this show The Klan’sperpetual terrorization heavily contributed to Congress’ act to end Reconstruction in 1877. And though the country reunited, the nation’sracial problemspersisted, prompting many BlackSoutherners to migrate northward in post-Reconstruction. And the exhibit’sugly side is a reminder of that.

Email RobinMilleratromiller@ theadvocate.com.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Embrace change. Check out your options, and make choices that allow you to grow and excel. Know when to walk away from restrictive situations and toward the happiness you deserve.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Spend your money wisely. Be creative in your thought process when making home improvements or dealing with institutions or agencies. Set high standards and fulfill your promises.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Reconfigure your plans to suit demands. Being receptive to whatever comes your way and able to step up and lead quickly will pay off Personal and financial gain are within reach.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Put your energy into something that offers high returns Refuse to let anyone compromise your emotional or physical health and wellbeing. Know when to say no and walk away.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Check out what's available for you professionally Consider how to market yourself for a position that interests you. Follow the path that leads to your happiness.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You'll feel good if you give back. Donate, volunteer or help people who appear to be struggling. A kind word or gesture is all it takes to make the world a better place.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don't let your emotions stop you from doing what's right. Set high standards and pursue the path that is most meaningful to

you. It's time to expand your interests, friendships and prospects.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Set a budget and stick to it. You'll have more willpower than usual, so set your sights high, and don't stop until the results satisfy you. Think big, but live and operate within your means.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Hunker down and tidy up loose ends before heading out into a social setting. Let your charm, knowledge and experience open doors to new friendships, possibilities and prospects.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23-Dec 21) Use your imagination and rearrange your space to make it more convenient Bringing in additional income by doing something you enjoy or by selling items you no longer need or use will be liberating.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) It's up to you to discover opportunities and to make things happen. Take responsibility for your happiness and financial wellbeing, and you'll find it easier to move forward.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Rethink how or where you want to live. A change at home can create a new income source. Follow your heart, your dreams and your passion. Explore the possibilities.

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

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Sudoku

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

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

Bridge

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Supposedly, confession is good for the soul. But Peter De Vries, anovelist and an editor who died in 1993, said, “Confession is good for the soul only in the sense that atweed coat is good for dandruff.”

Regardless,Iwillconfesstoanerrorin today’s deal. Look at the South hand. You open one spade and partner raises to two spades. What would you do now?

Iwas in Phoenixfor the Fall North American Championships, playing for afew hours with friends. North was Eddie Kantar, atwo-time world championandanexcellentteacherandauthor We were playing against Eddie’s wife, Yvonne,andVinitaGupta,whowasfresh from winning the Baze Senior Knockout Teams, her first national title. When Kantar raised to twospades, I thought Iwould keep my heart suit hidden, so jumped to four spades. Error! Gupta led the diamond six. Iput in dummy’s 10 and ruffedEast’s queen. Then Iled my low club, but West, who couldseethreemajor-suitwinners,went inwithheraceandshiftedtoalowspade.

Ihad to lose two spades, one heart and one club. If Ihad sensibly rebid three hearts, North would have raised to four hearts. Then, it is true, Imight have bid again, becauseNorthcouldhaveheld,forexample,king-thirdofspadesandking-fifthof hearts, when six hearts would have been excellent. But we would have stopped in five hearts. Then, after Idrove out the club ace, cashed the heart ace, and discarded two spades on the king-queen of clubs, aspade-diamond crossruff would have produced 11 tricks. ©2026 by NEA, Inc.,dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Wordsmustbeoffour or more letters.2.Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” suchas“bats” or “dies,” are not allowed. 3. Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicitwords are not allowed.

toDAY’sWoRD WAtcHFuL: WACH-ful: Carefully observant or attentive.

Average mark 15 words

Time limit 25 minutes

Can you find 22 or more wordsinWATCHFUL?

YEstERDAY’sWoRD —VItIAtEs

vase vast vest visa vise visit vista vita vitiate ivies taste teat test east sate save seat site stat state stave stet

today’s thought

“Give us help from trouble: for vainisthe help of man. Psalms 108:12

Justices to hear from oil, gas firms

Industry trying to block climate change lawsuits

BY LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court said

Monday that it will hear from oil and gas companies trying to block lawsuits seeking to hold the industry liable for billions of dollars in damage linked to climate change.

The conservative-majority court agreed to take up a case from Boulder, Colorado, one of multiple lawsuits alleging the companies deceived the public about how fossil fuels contribute to climate change.

Governments around the country have sought damages totaling billions of dollars, arguing it’s necessary to help pay for rebuilding after wildfires, rising sea levels and severe storms worsened by climate change. The lawsuits come amid a wave of legal actions in California, Hawaii and New Jersey and worldwide seeking to leverage action through the courts

The case out of Boulder County likely will have implications for other lawsuits, some of which have been dismissed while others work their way through state courts.

Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil appealed to the Supreme Court after Colorado’s highest court let the Boulder case proceed. The companies argue emissions are a national issue that should be heard in federal court, where similar suits have been tossed out.

“The use of state law to address global climate change represents a serious threat to one of our Nation’s most critical sectors,” attorneys wrote. ExxonMobil said Monday that “climate policy shouldn’t be set through fragmented state-court actions.” President Donald Trump’s administration weighed in to support the companies and urge the justices to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court decision, saying it would mean “every locality in the country could sue essentially anyone in the world for contributing to global climate change.” Trump, a Republican, criticized the lawsuits in an executive order, and the Justice Department has sought to head some off in court.

Attorneys for Boulder had argued that the litigation is still in early stages and should stay in state court “There is no constitutional bar to states addressing in-state harms caused by out-of-state conduct, be it the negligent design of an automobile or sale of asbestos,” they wrote.

City officials said the case was about dealing with problems people are facing in Colorado. “Our case is, fundamentally, about fairness. Boulder is already experiencing the effects of a rapidly warming climate, and the financial burden of adaptation should not fall solely on local taxpayers,” said Jonathan Koehn, its climate initiatives director The Supreme Court also asked the two sides to present arguments on whether the case is truly ready to be heard by the justices Arguments are expected in the fall.

Fed’s Waller says rate cut in March is a ‘coin flip’ WASHINGTON Federal Reserve

governor Christopher Waller said Monday that solid job gains in January could mean the central bank can skip a rate cut at its next meeting in March, a decision that would likely spur further attacks by President Donald Trump. At the same time, Waller said last month’s pickup in hiring, when employers added a more-than-expected 130,000 jobs, could have been a one-time gain He said he would need to see a similarly positive report next month to conclude the job market, which he noted was very weak in 2025, is improving.

Waller also said that the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down many of Trump’s tariffs would likely have only a limited impact

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

Stocks drop as Trump ramps up tariffs

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK U.S. stocks slumped

Monday after President Donald Trump ramped up his newest tariffs, while investors continued to punish companies that could be losers in the artificial intelligence revolution.

The S&P 500 fell 1% after Trump said on Saturday that he would place temporary 15% tariffs on other countries. That’s up from the 10% rate he announced Friday following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down his sweeping “reciprocal” taxes on imports from around the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.1%.

Trump’s quick move toward more aggressive tariffs shows how much uncertainty still hangs over the global economy, even after the Supreme Court said the president lacked the legal authority to institute his sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs.

Beyond a 15% tariff that could last for up to 150 days, unless Congress extends it further, Trump is moving forward on other avenues to place more permanent tariffs on countries and industries. That has trading partners uneasy South Korea’s

EU hits pause on trade deal

BY DAVID McHUGH AP business writer

FRANKFURT, Germany Frustrated European officials pushed Monday for clarification on how President Donald Trump’s declaration of a 15% global tax on imports would affect the trade deal they struck with Trump this summer as EU legislators hit pause on the deal’s ratification until they get clarity

The European Parliament’s trade committee postponed a committee vote on ratification after Trump said he would impose the new tariff, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his use of an emergency powers law to set new import taxes. Trump then turned to another section of trade law to justify his imposition of the 15% global rate, which take effect Tuesday

The EU position is expressed in five words: “A deal is a deal,” said commission spokesperson Olof Gill. “So now we are simply saying to the U.S., it is up to you to clearly show to us what path you are taking to honor the agreement.”

The U.S.-EU deal called for a 15% cap on tariffs on most European goods imports, while tariffs on U.S. industrial goods would be lowered to zero. While the deal burdened consumers and businesses with a tariff increase from the previous average of 4.8%, it also gave businesses certainty so they could plan — a factor cred-

on the economy and inflation, and therefore wouldn’t affect his view on rates.

The ruling could have “a positive impact on spending and investment,” he said, but “how large the impact may be and how long it could last is unclear.”

Waller also noted that the White House is seeking to reimpose the tariffs using other laws, creating “considerable uncertainty over to what extent tariffs will continue.”

If February’s jobs report is similar to last month’s, “indicating that downside risks to the labor market have diminished, it may be appropriate” to keep the Fed’s short-term rate “at current levels and watch for continued progress on inflation and strength in the labor market,” Waller said in remarks to a conference held by the National Association for Business Economists

trade minister, Kim Jung-kwan, said Monday that uncertainty may worsen if the Trump administration continues imposing new tariffs under alternative laws.

To be sure, Monday’s moves for markets weren’t close to as bad as the panic that swept the world in April, when Trump initially announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs. U.S stocks were modestly higher for a brief moment during the morning.

The U.S. dollar’s value edged lower against other currencies.

Bitcoin briefly fell below $64,000 but remained above its low point reached earlier this month. Gold continued to rise thanks to its reputation as something safer to own during uncertain times. Investors may be sensing it will take a long time, as well as more court battles, before more clarity comes about how global trade will look.

“Stocks got a boost Friday from the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling, but it quickly became clear that the decision was simply going to open a new chapter in the trade saga, not end it,” according to Chris Larkin, managing director trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley On Wall Street, big losses hit companies under suspicion of getting undercut by AI-powered rivals. Investors have been

sharply and suddenly punishing stocks of such companies recently

CrowdStrike fell 9.8% to widen its loss for the young year so far to 25.3%. A new tool from Anthropic that scans codebases for security vulnerabilities and suggests targeted software patches for human review has been hitting stocks across the cybersecurity industry

AppLovin sank 9.1% and took its loss for the year to date to 43.5%. It’s among the software companies hurt by worries that AI competition will steal customers and fundamentally reset their industries.

Companies that have lent money to software companies whose revenues may be under threat also continued falling, and Blue Owl Capital fell 3.4% to bring its loss for the year so far to 30.1%.

More big moves may still be ahead for Wall Street this week, particularly with a profit report from Nvidia coming on Wednesday Worries are rising that companies like Alphabet and Amazon may be spending so much on Nvidia’s chips that they’ll never be able to recoup their investments through higher productivity and future profits.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, stocks of airlines fell after heavy

snow and high winds canceled thousands of flights across the busy Northeast.

United Airlines lost 5.2%, American Airlines fell 4.9% and Delta Air Lines sank 3.7%. Novo Nordisk’s stock that trades in the United States tumbled 16.4% after the Danish drugmaker said a trial for its CagriSema drug showed people lost a smaller percentage of their weight after 84 weeks than with a similar one made by rival Eli Lilly Eli Lilly rose 4.9%. All told, the S&P 500 fell 71.76 points to 6,837.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 821.91 to 48,804.06, and the Nasdaq composite sank 258.80 to 22,627.27.

In stock markets abroad, indexes mostly

Kospi rose a more modest 0.6%. Markets in Japan and mainland China were closed for holidays. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.03% from 4.08% late Friday AP business writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this article.

ited with helping Europe avoid a recession last year Since the new 15% rate announced Saturday would be applied on top of the previous tariffs, it would break the agreed ceiling on tariffs, said Bernd Lange, chair of the parliament’s trade committee. Legislators postponed a committee vote on the agreement scheduled for Tuesday Questions surrounded other trade deals done with individual countries including Brazil, India and Britain. For instance, Britain agreed a 10% maximum tariff with the U.S., while India settled on 18% and Vietnam accepted 20%. Although the Supreme Court decision did not directly affect bilateral deals, they were negotiated using threats of imposing the now-invalidated tariffs as leverage. However re-opening

those deals could backfire because Trump has made clear he will pursue tariffs under other laws than the one the Supreme Court said he could not apply

U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation” program that the administration had made clear to negotiating partners that Trump was intent on tariffs whether the Supreme Court ruled against him or not, that “whether we won or lost, there were going to be tariffs.”

He said that the bilateral deals

“are good deals, we expect to stand by them, we expect our partners to stand by them.”

Moving from country-specific tariffs to the flat 15% global tariff

“will have considerable implications elsewhere,” said Atakan Bakiskan, economist at Beren-

berg bank. The new tariff means a reduced rate for some countries, for example Brazil, which faces a reduction of nearly 15 percentage points and China which sees a reduction of nearly 10 percentage points.

Under the law Trump relied on, these latest tariffs are in effect for only 150 days unless Congress votes to extend them. Trump could use that time to search for other legal provisions that would support his actions. While uncertainty hits European companies, it puts pressure on the U.S. economy as well, where consumers and companies pay the tariffs on goods purchased from abroad. “Uncertainty around trade policy appears here to stay, putting continued pressure on the U.S. economy,” Bakiskan said.

“But if the good labor market news of January is revised away or evaporates in February,” he continued, “a cut should be made at the March meeting.”

“As things stand today, I rate these two possible outcomes as close to a coin flip,” Waller added.

Kaiser Permanente health care workers end strike

LOS ANGELES An estimated 31,000 registered nurses and other frontline Kaiser Permanente health care workers will return to work on Tuesday after a four-week strike in California and Hawaii to demand better wages and staffing.

The United Nurses Associations of California/Union of Health Care Professionals said in a statement Monday that “significant movement at the bargaining table” prompted

an end to the walkout. There were no details about what progress was made during negotiations or what a potential deal might look like.

“According to the union returning members to their patients and their livelihoods is the clearest path to securing a final agreement and building on the progress achieved during the strike,” the statement said.

Kaiser Permanente officials didn’t immediately comment on the union’s announcement. They asked for a 25% wage increase over four years to make up for wages they say are at least 7% behind their peers.

NYC nursing walkout ends with new deal NEW YORK Nurses at a big New York hospital system approved a

new contract Saturday, voting to end a major nursing strike after more than a month.

More than 4,000 nurses in the privately run NewYork-Presbyterian system went on strike Jan. 12. They are now due to start returning to work in the coming week The union, called the New York State Nurses Association, said 93% of its members at NewYork-Presbyterian voted to ratify the three-year contract.

Two other big private hospital systems, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, ended their nurses’ walkout earlier this month by inking contract agreements with the same union. “We are so happy with the wins we achieved, and now the fight to enforce these contracts and hold our employers accountable begins,” union President Nancy Hagans said in a