The Acadiana Advocate 03-03-2026

Judge’s role in tax law raises ethics questions

La. justice voted on challenge to ballot measure he helped write

BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer

Louisiana Supreme Court Jus-

tice Cade Cole was barely a week into the job last March when he weighed in on a subject he knows well: taxes.

The high court was reviewing a challenge to a ballot measure that Gov Jeff Landry pushed to revamp the state tax code. Early voting was underway Cole, a former state tax judge, helped kill the challenge in a 4-3 ruling.

“If the ballot language were inaccurate this Court would act to protect the voters,” he wrote in a concurring opinion. “That is not the case here.”

Cole was hardly fresh to the topic. Emails show he helped draft the law behind the contested ballot measure, called Amendment 2, which tanked at the polls.

Months before his swearing-in, Cole sent detailed revisions of Amendment 2 to top officials at the Department of Revenue, in a pair of November 2024 messages. The Times-Picayune | The Advocate received them through a public records request.

Some of the proposed changes made it into the complicated ballot initiative, which Louisiana voters rejected less than two weeks later by a nearly 2-1 margin. It was one of four constitutional amendments that failed last March. Veterans on judicial ethics say Cole should have recused himself from the case, or at least should have alerted the parties.

There is no evidence in the court record that Cole did so, or that he was subject to any attempt to have him step off the case. The justices meet in private when they decide on whether to take up a case and when they rule.

Cole declined an interview request through the court and de-

ä See QUESTIONS, page 3A

Trump says attacks on Iran will last weeks

State Department urges Americans to leave region

War could impact gas prices and energy production in La.

BY STEPHANIE RIEGEL Staff writer

The war in Iran is sending shock waves across global energy markets that are likely to reach Louisiana, first through rising prices at the pump and, if the conflict persists, with companies in the state potentially looking to increase production of oil and natural gas.

Gasoline prices are tied directly to the price of crude oil, which rose 6% on Monday to nearly $72 a barrel as the U.S. continued to unleash airstrikes and Iran retaliated by firing missiles at Israel and U.S. targets across the energy-rich Middle East.

INSIDE

ä Officials say some La. National Guard members could be in region of conflict. Page 3A

ä Iranian students at LSU cheer death of Khamenei Page 4A

ä Hegseth insists Iran conflict is ‘not endless.’ Page 6A

President Donald Trump said the attacks could persist for weeks in the Persian Gulf region. The Strait of Hormuz, which is the transit point for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, was virtually closed to maritime traffic. Tyler Gray, director of innovation at the LSU Energy Institute, said disruptions in

‘A generational experience’

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Festival International de Loui-

the oil and gas market thousands of miles away can show up in south Louisiana within days. That’s not because production is scarce, but because of how oil and gas is priced on the global market.

“The impact of these disruptions depends on their duration and severity,” Gray said. “Short-term price swings may be manageable but prolonged issues could significantly raise costs.”

That means gasoline prices, currently averaging around $2.50 a gallon in Louisiana, will likely rise in the coming weeks, though it’s too soon to say how high.

ä See IMPACT, page 4A

BY JON GAMBRELL, MELANIE LIDMAN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Israel and the United States pounded Iran on Monday in a campaign that U.S. President Donald Trump said would likely take several weeks. Tehran and its allies hit back against Israel, Gulf states and targets critical to the world’s energy production.

The intensity of the attacks, the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the lack of any apparent exit plan set the stage for a prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences Safe havens in the Mideast like Dubai have seen incoming fire; hundreds of thousands of airline passengers are stranded around the globe; energy prices shot up; and U.S. allies pledged to help stop Iranian missiles and drones.

With no sign of the conflict abating, Trump said operations are likely to last four to five weeks but that he was prepared “to go far longer than that.”

In a sign of concern over the potential for spiraling violence, the State Department on Monday urged U.S. citizens to leave more than a dozen Middle Eastern countries due to safety risks.

“The hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters. “The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.”

Trump said the military campaign’s objectives are to destroy Iran’s missile capabilities, wipe out its navy, prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon and ensure that it cannot continue to support allied groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fired missiles at Israel on Monday

The chaos of the conflict became apparent when the U.S. military said Kuwait had “mistakenly shot down” three American F-15E Strike Eagles while Iran was attacking with aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely As several airstrikes hit

siane is the country’s largest international music festival, and Francis Pavy is one of Lafayette’s bestknown and most widely exhibited contemporary artists. That makes Pavy and the festival a match made in heaven for Festival International’s 40th anniversary, commemorated with original artwork

by the local painter Pavy, who has worked out of his studio in the Freetown neighborhood of Lafayette for more than 40 years, has a wild, colorful, rambunctious style that mirrors Festival International’s vibe the dancing in the streets, the music in the air, and the blur of colors, people and excitement in every corner In honor of the festival’s 40-year legacy, this year’s original art is also a reflection on the artist’s legacy Francis Pavy completed the painting in honor of the anniversary, and his daughter, designer Annabelle Pavy, created the 2026 pin and poster from his work. The result is a piece of art alive

with activity and joy, and a pin and poster that depicts the colorful world of Festival International in the heart of Lafayette.

On Sunday hundreds of Festival International supporters gathered at Warehouse 535 right around the corner from Francis Pavy’s studio — for the 2026 pin and poster reveal. With this year’s designs created by a father-daughter pair, it was a reminder of how special this event has been for generations of families, in Lafayette and beyond.

“It was a blessing to be thought of,” said Annebelle Pavy, who un-

Lafayette family’s art captures 40 years of Festival International ä See ART, page 3A

FBI joins search for suspect in Ohio shooting

COLUMBUS Ohio Federal authorities joined local police Monday in the search for a suspect in a weekend nightclub shooting in Cincinnati that wounded nine people.

The nine were hospitalized with injures that were not lifethreatening after shots rang out about 1 a.m. Sunday inside the music venue Riverfront Live.

Interim Cincinnati Police Chief Adam Hennie said all the victims were in stable condition

The FBI was working with the Cincinnati Police Department on the investigation, said spokesperson Todd Lindgren, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offered a $5,000 reward for information identifying a suspect.

Though it occurred almost simultaneously to a deadly bar shooting in Austin, Texas, which is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism, authorities in Ohio have not provided any details about a motive in the Cincinnati shooting.

Bill Halusek, spokesperson for the Cincinnati ATF, said that at this time, the Cincinnati shooting is not suspected to be an act of terrorism.

‘Today’ host visits her missing mother’s home

TUCSON,Ariz.

“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie and her sister returned to their mother’s home outside Tucson on Monday in their first sighting at the house since Nancy Guthrie went missing a month ago.

The NBC anchor, her sister Annie Guthrie and brother-inlaw Tommaso Cioni walked arm in arm down the driveway, laid down yellow flowers and embraced each other in a tearful scene. The makeshift tribute at the edge of the property includes flowers, yellow ribbons, crosses, prayers, a sign that read “Let Nancy Come Home” and a statuette of an angel.

Later on Monday, Savannah Guthrie posted a photo of flowers at the tribute.

“we feel the love and prayers from our neighbors, from the Tucson community and from around the country,” Guthrie wrote, ending the sentence with a heart emoji. “please don’t stop praying and hoping with us. bring her home.”

Nancy Guthrie’s children have previously appeared in videos in which they pleaded for their mother’s return, most recently with a social media posting from Savannah Guthrie in which she said the family was offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the recovery of their mother

Nancy Guthrie was last seen at her home on Jan. 31 and was reported missing the following day

Trump awards Medal of Honor to 3 U.S. soldiers

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to three U.S. Army soldiers at the White House on Monday, celebrating heroes of old wars as he defended his launch of a new one.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson was recognized for actions during the Vietnam War that were credited with saving the lives of 85 other service members.

Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2013, was recognized for saving a Polish Army officer’s life.

Master Sgt. Roderick W. Edmonds, who died in 1985, was recognized for his leadership and resistance as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II.

“There’s no ceremony that can be more important than this,” Trump said to begin the East Room ceremony that included the recipients’ family members and the man Ollis shielded from enemy fire.

Video of Clintons’ depositions released

Former president tries to distance himself from Epstein

BY STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON Former President Bill Clinton distanced himself from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in closed-door depositions with lawmakers, according to videos that were released Monday by a House committee.

The recordings of the depositions, which spanned hours over two days last week, show how Bill Clinton told the committee that he had ended his relationship with Epstein years before the financier entered a 2008 guilty plea to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. Hillary Clinton told the committee she never even recalled meeting Epstein.

Both closed-door interviews before the House Oversight Committee were taken under oath Thursday and Friday

The Clintons’ testimony came as lawmakers are trying to meet demands for a reckoning over Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 in New York while facing charges for sex trafficking and abusing underage girls. High-status men around the world have been forced into resignations because of revelations about their relationships with Epstein, but so far there are few signs in the U.S. of serious legal consequences coming.

The former Democratic president said he first remembered meeting Epstein when he flew aboard the financier’s private jet in 2002 for the Clintons’ humanitarian work, and they parted ways the year after “There’s nothing that I saw when I was around him that made me realize he was trafficking women,” he told the committee.

Epstein visited the White House numerous times during Clinton’s presidency and there are photos of them shaking hands. Clinton told lawmakers he did not recall those interactions Bill Clinton faced searching questions

both from Republicans and Democrats about photos of the former president that have been released as part of the case files on Epstein. In response to a Democratic lawmakers’ questions about a photo that showed him in a pool with a woman whose face was redacted, the former president said he did not know the woman and did not engage in sexual activity with her

He said the photo was from a trip to Brunei for charitable work and a number of people in their travel party were swimming.

Whether the subject was a note Clinton wrote for Epstein’s 50th birthday or their travel together for the Clinton Foundation, he described their relationship as little more than “cordial.”

“We were friendly but I didn’t know him well enough to say we were friends,” he said.

Asked by Republicans whether they had talked about young women or girls together Clinton responded emphatically: “No.”

One line of questioning stirred up curiosity from lawmakers, and that was what Clinton had to say about President Donald Trump. He made clear he believed it was important for anyone, including presidents, to come forward and testify to their knowledge of Epstein.

Clinton also shared how he and Trump had briefly discussed Epstein at a charity golf tournament more than 20 years ago.

He said Trump had never “said anything to me to make me think he was involved in anything improper with regard to Epstein,” but also remarked that those two men had a falling-out over a real estate deal.

Republican lawmakers left the deposition pointing to Clinton’s words and arguing that it showed there is no evidence that Trump ever did anything wrong in his own relationship with Epstein.

Democrats, meanwhile, said Clinton’s testimony counters what Trump has said more recently about why he and Epstein had a falling-out. Trump has told reporters they had a disagreement because Epstein had hired people away from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Pakistan deploys troops, imposes curfew after deadly protests

BY MUNIR AHMED Associated Press

ISLAMABAD Pakistani authorities deployed troops and imposed a three-day curfew before dawn Monday in the northern cities of Gilgit and Skardu after several people died and tens were injured in violent protests following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S.-Israeli strikes, officials said.

Thousands of Shiite demonstrators on Sunday attacked the offices of the U.N. Military Observer Group, which monitors the ceasefire along the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, and the U.N. Development Program in Skardu city

Protesters also burned a police station and damaged a school and the offices of a local charity in Gilgit, according to officials. At least 12 people were killed and 80 others injured, said police in the GilgitBaltistan region.

U.N. spokesperson StéphaneDujarric said Monday protesters became violent near the UNMOGIP Field Station, which was vandalized. “The safety and security of U.N. personnel and premises throughout the region remain our top priority, and we continue to closely monitor the situation,” Dujarric said.

Meanwhile, Shabir Mir, a Gilgit-Baltistan government spokesperson, said Monday the situation was under control and that the curfew would remain in place until Wednesday Police chief Akbar Nasir Khan urged residents to stay indoors,

Officials: Gunman not on FBI’s radar before shooting

Attack at Austin bar kills two

BY JIM VERTUNO and LEKAN OYEKANAMI Associated Press

AUSTIN,Texas The gunman who opened fire outside a crowded Texas bar and killed two college students in an attack that wounded 14 others had not been on the radar of authorities, federal and local investigators said Monday

The FBI and police in Austin said it’s too soon to identify the motive behind the mass shooting early Sunday that the FBI has said is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism, coming after the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran.

“Our ultimate goal in everything we do is to determine the motive,” Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio office, said during a news conference.

Police identified the gunman as 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne. He was wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and bearing the words “Property of Allah” during the attack, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Investigators are poring over thousands of hours of video and police said there are more than 150 witnesses to interview “We are still in the early hours of this investigation,” said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.

The gunman legally bought the weapons used in the attack several years ago in San Antonio, Davis said. More information about the suspect along with body camera footage from the officers could be released later this week, Davis said.

Police identified the victims as 21-year-old Savitha Shan and 19-year-old Ryder Harrington. Harrington joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Texas Tech University in 2024, the fraternity said in an Instagram post.

“Ryder had a rare ability

to truly enjoy life to make people laugh, to make moments feel bigger and to make ordinary days unforgettable,” the fraternity said. “If anyone embodied what it meant to live fully and love deeply, it was Ryder.”

Texas Tech said in a statement that Harrington had been enrolled as recently as the fall 2025 semester, but was not taking classes this semester “Our thoughts are with Ryder’s family, friends, and all those affected by this devastating situation,” the statement said.

Shan’s LinkedIn profile listed her as a dual-degree student majoring in management information systems and economics at the University of Texas at Austin.

University President Jim Davis said her death was “devastating” and that several other students were injured in the attack.

“Some of these are very serious and we are hoping for the best outcomes, while others are on the path to recovery,” he said in a statement. “I have met with many of these families and will continue to pray for them.”

The gunman in the attack was originally from Senegal, according to multiple people briefed on the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation.

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citing “deteriorating law and order conditions.”

Demonstrators in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi stormed the U.S. Consulate on Sunday, smashing windows and attempting to burn the building. Police responded with batons, tear gas, and gunfire, leaving 10 people dead and more than 50 injured.

One person was also killed in clashes in Islamabad during an attempted march by Pakistan’s minority Shiites toward the U.S. Embassy They were protesting in support of Iran, which is majority Shiite. On Monday the U.S. diplomatic mission in Pakistan said its consulate in northwestern Peshawar city would close temporarily, while the embassy in Islamabad would continue providing all routine and emergency consular services for U.S. citizens.

La. National Guard has members deployed abroad

Officials say some could be in region of Iran conflict

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and ALYSE PFEIL Staff writers

About 1,000 Louisiana National Guard soldiers are deployed abroad, including some who could be near the conflict with Iran that began over the weekend, state leaders said. At the moment, there are no plans for a broader mobilization of Louisiana Guard members to Iran, officials said.

“I want to acknowledge the brave soldiers and airmen in the Louisiana National Guard who, as we speak, are serving within missile range of Iran,” Maj. Gen. Michael Greer told the state House Appropriations Committee during a budget hearing Monday “Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families here at home.”

For security reasons, National Guard officials generally do not give specific information about locations or missions for foreign deployments.

The Louisiana National Guard has about 11,000 members. Greer said after the hearing that 1,000 Louisiana soldiers and airmen are

currently deployed abroad for missions that began before Operation Epic Fury The bombing campaign, carried out by the U.S. and Israel, struck targets throughout Iran and killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, among other top figures. Iran retaliated with missile strikes on U.S. bases in the region, nearby Gulf states, and oil infrastructure.

Louisiana National Guard soldiers and airmen are deployed to several regions, “not necessarily in that part of the world,” Greer said. But, “It’s entirely plausible that there are some Louisiana National Guard members supporting Epic Fury by doing the

job they were doing prior to Epic Fury.”

Six American service members have been killed in the conflict, federal officials have said.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said that the bombing has killed at least 555 people. In Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people were killed. The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group also targeted Israel, which responded with strikes on Lebanon, killing more than two dozen people.

Three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

President Donald Trump on

Monday said he expected the U.S. operation would last four or five weeks, but “we have the capability to go far longer than that.”

About 350 members of the National Guard deployed in New Orleans shortly before the year started to assist with law enforcement. That deployment was scheduled to end Saturday, but Gov Jeff Landry announced Monday that about 120 soldiers will remain in the city until August.

Louisiana National Guard troops also participated in Trump’s deployment in Washington, D.C., and assisted with border security operations, among other missions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continued from page 1A

veiled the artworks alongside her father “There are major themes of this generational experience, and I’m happy to be one of the people who gets to pass the baton.”

Pavy said he drew his inspiration for the painting from the way Festival International “binds the community together.”

“I was thinking about all the things that make (the festival) so important, and for me, it’s community,” Pavy said.

“SoIstarteddrawingpeoplefigures,and I came up with two dancers I thought were really cool. One thing leads to another, one color leads to another, and eventually I got there for the concept.”

It’s been a busy year for the artist.

“Dancers,” a painting by Pavy, also recently appeared as the vinyl album

QUESTIONS

Continued from page 1A

clined to respond to written questions about his vote or his role in shaping Amendment 2.

“The Supreme Court’s opinions speak for themselves, and justices or staff cannot comment on court rulings,” Supreme Court spokesperson Trina Vincent said in a statement.

Under state law, a judge must recuse if they have “been employed or consulted as an attorney in the cause” or if they are “biased, prejudiced, or interested in the cause or its outcome.”

Louisiana’s Code of Judicial Conduct also says judges should recuse themselves “in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

Judges need to step aside when there’s a “substantial and objective basis that would reasonably be expected to prevent the judge from conducting any aspect of the cause in a fair and impartial manner,” state recusal law says.

“Justice Cole’s involvement in drafting portions of Amendment 2 just weeks before joining the court could create an appearance of bias when he later voted to uphold it,” said Clare Roubion, a legal ethics specialist who often represents judges accused of misconduct.

“Even if the judge believes they can be impartial, their prior involvement can create an appearance they have a stake in the outcome. At minimum, disclosure of his prior involvement would have allowed parties to make an informed decision about whether to seek his recusal.”

‘Has a dog in the fight’ Decisions on recusing Supreme Court justices are most often left to the individual justices themselves.

Gabe Roth, who directs the national watchdog advocacy group Fix the Court, said Cole’s involvement in drafting Amendment 2 precluded him from later voting over the ballot language.

“If you worked on an issue, and then a short while later that issue is put before you as a judge, there’s no way you can remain unbiased.

That’s not how the human brain or the state’s judicial recusal law works,” Roth said.

“Justice Cole has a dog in the fight — in this case, the ballot initiative he helped draft — and any reasonable

cover of Clifton Chenier’s “Zydeco

Sont Pas Sale,” covered by The Rolling Stones and Steve Riley for “A Tribute to the King of Zydeco” album. The album was released last year in honor of Chenier’s 100th birthday, and it won a Grammy in the “Best Regional Roots Music Album” category last month.

“I’m always momentarily fulfilled and perpetually dissatisfied I’m always searching for the next thing, and work feeds on itself,” said Pavy, reflecting on the evolution of his decades-long career “No painting or piece of artwork I make quite fulfills the desire to make art; there might be something I left out, so I start to explore that. And then more comes to the fore. It’s pretty much an endless pursuit of imagery and color, texture or whatever I’m thinking about.”

Email Joanna Brown at joanna. brown@theadvocate.com.

person knowing his work history would assume the judge is biased in favor of that dog, which means his recusal was required in this case under Louisiana law.”

Attorney William Most, who represented the losing challengers to Amendment 2, declined to comment

Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office had asked the Supreme Court to toss the legal challenge after a district judge refused. Murrill declined to comment on the emails showing Cole’s participation or if he disclosed it

“Our job was to defend the lawsuit, which we did successfully,” Murrill said in a statement.

Former tax judge

Cole joined the Supreme Court after Landry engineered an open seat by installing then-Justice Jimmy Genovese as president of Northwestern State University It was part of a broader push by the Republican governor to reshape the court, along with state boards and agencies.

Cole, 42, of Lake Charles, won the seat unopposed. Before then, he sat on the state Board of Tax Appeals and also served as its first appointed judge of the Local Tax Division. The Legislature created the entity in 2014 as “a forum for the uniform adjudication of all Local Tax disputes,” according to its website.

The emails from Cole in November 2024, which The Times-Picayune | The Advocate obtained from the Department of Revenue, include markups of House Bill 7, a rewrite of Article 7 of the state Constitution They also included edits to House Bill 9, failed legislation from Rep. Neil Riser, a northeast Louisiana Republican, to pay for a tax revamp through new sales taxes on services.

Cole addressed the proposed changes to then-Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson and others in his department.

In the second email, Cole referenced Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto and former St. Martin Parish President Guy Cormier Cole wrote that “locals’ attorneys have approved these drafts for taking to Lopinto and then if he approves to Guy Cormier.” Lopinto and Cormier, who heads the state Police Jury Association, were “knee deep in conversations” with Nelson, along with state business leaders and lawmakers, on a way for parishes to eliminate inventory

taxes, Cormier said.

“I never had a conversation with Cade Cole,” he said. “It would make sense to me that he’s having a conversation with Richard Nelson.”

Nelson now presides over the state’s community colleges. He declined to comment through his chief of staff.

Lopinto said he didn’t recall speaking directly with Cole about the legislation but that Cole has interacted with his office on tax matters in the past.

“It wouldn’t surprise me that my office would have been involved in drafting it, because we’re involved in it every year,” Lopinto said of the legislation.

“I had no clue that there was a challenge to the ballot language,” he added.

Was ballot language clear?

The bill to place the constitutional amendment before voters passed in Landry’s third extra session of 2024, his first year as governor The Senate vote was unanimous. The House backed it 87-11 with no Republicans voting against it.

But opponents argued that the ballot language was misleading and biased.

With the election ongoing, Judge Louise Hines of the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge declined to order it removed from the ballot.

“We’re past whether people can vote on it,” she said.

“Because the bell has been rung, the cows are out of the barn the toothpaste is out the tube.”

Opponents argued that Hines could still halt the counting under an injunction. But before the judge could entertain it, the Supreme Court stepped in.

Murrill argued that the challenge amounted to “gamesmanship galore” by opponents at the 11th hour

In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court majority found the ballot language was clear enough, ending the case.

“Plaintiffs also argue that the ballot language is biased: that it’s ‘all dessert and no vegetables,’ ” the court wrote. “Yet vegetables may be healthier than dessert. This too is a matter of opinion and for debate, beyond this court’s analysis, and for the voters to decide.”

Cole was joined in the majority by Justices Jefferson Hughes and Jay McCallum and then-Justice Will Crain, who has since joined the federal bench. Among the three dissent-

ers, Chief Justice John Weimer complained that the majority was allowing the state to “upend the normal process” by dismissing the case before Hines could first address all the claims.

“This court does not have any mechanism for hearing evidence,” Weimer wrote, “and any evidence the parties intended to introduce will now be essentially

swept under the rug.”

Justices John Michael Guidry and Piper Griffin joined Weimer in dissent. Guidry noted a requirement that a proposed amendment have “a title containing a brief summary of the changes proposed” and be “confined to one object.” Guidry found the amendment did neither as it spanned “a multitude of un-

related issues,” including a pay raise for teachers. In the end, voters killed it for similar reasons, Cormier said.

“That one amendment tried to handle too many things at one time,” he said of its defeat. Supporters have now split the issues and will try again this May with a pair of amendments on the ballot.

Iranians at LSU cheer death of Ayatollah Khamenei

BY JENNA ROSS Staff writer

When they heard they heard news that Iran’s leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been killed, they cheered. They cried. They called their relatives still in Iran, cheering and crying with them.

Then on Monday, more than 50 Iranian-born students and Baton Rouge residents gathered on LSU’s campus with flags, signs and a boom box.

“USA! USA!” they chanted.

“Thank you, President Trump! From Iran,” one sign read, one of the many praising President Donald Trump’s weekend assault on the country The group danced to the Village People’s “YMCA.”

With the help of the Iranian Students Association, Hamed Ghassemi, 47, pulled together the celebration in a matter of hours. He’s long been critical of Khamenei’s “very very dangerous regime,” including his security forces opening fire on street protesters in January, killing thousands.

Growing up in Iran, Ghassemi said he was brainwashed, trained to target U.S. civilians When he returned to Iran to bury his mother in 2015, he was put in prison for his online criticism of the Iranian government, he said. Ghassemi worried about the Islamic Republic developing nuclear weapons: “If these people get their hands on a nuclear weapons, we’re smoked.”

So he praised Trump for tak-

ATTACKS

Continued from page 1A

Iran’s capital, Tehran, the top security official Ali Larijani vowed on X: “We will not negotiate with the United States.”

World markets were rattled as the fighting expanded across a region vital to energy supplies.

Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil refinery came under attack from drones, but its defenses downed the incoming aircraft, a military spokesman told the state-run Saudi Press Agency. The refinery has a capacity of over half a million barrels of crude oil a day

“The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, an analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.

The Gulf state of Qatar said its air force shot down two Iranian Sukhoi Su-24 bombers, and QatarEnergy said it would stop producing liquefied natural gas indefinitely, taking one of the world’s top suppliers off the market. European natural gas prices surged by 40% in response. Several ships have been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes and where Iran has threatened attacks.

Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters that airstrikes targeted the Natanz nuclear enrichment site on Sunday

“Their justification that Iran

IMPACT

Continued from page 1A

Natural gas prices, which heat and cool homes, also are rising, which could mean that ratepayers in Louisiana, still reeling from sticker shock after February’s freeze, will face higher utility bills. The war comes at a time when the U.S. is less dependent on foreign oil than it ever has been. The U.S. produces more than 70% of what it consumes some 13 million barrels of crude oil per day Of that, about 80% is refined in Texas and Louisiana, according to Eric Smith, an associate director of the Tulane Energy Institute. In that respect, the Gulf Coast and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the country, is seemingly less vulnerable to the effects of a conflict in and around the Middle East and Arabian peninsula than it was, say, during the 1970s energy crisis.

“We have plenty of oil and plenty of refining capacity,” Smith said. “That’s not the issue.” But global supply chains are deeply intertwined, and

ing action: “We want freedom,” he said. “We want what we had back in the ’70s. It was taken away from us. That was taken away from us. If you took something away, whose turn is it to take it, to give it back?”

Meanwhile, a dozen counterprotesters with cardboard signs pro-

tested the U.S. intervention in Iran as yet another immoral Middle East conflict, citing civilian deaths and support for the Iranian people.

A protest with a similar message took place in New Orleans over the weekend.

“I support the sovereignty of Iran and Iranians to be able to

after a

a

wants to develop nuclear weapons is simply a big lie,” he said.

Israel and the U.S. have not acknowledged strikes at the site, which the U.S. bombed in the 12day war between Iran and Israel in June. Israel has said it is targeting the “leadership and nuclear infrastructure.”

Iran has said it has not enriched uranium since June, though it has maintained its right to do so while saying its nuclear program is peaceful.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said the U.S.-Israeli operation has killed at least 555 people. In Israel, where several locations were hit by Iranian missiles, 11 people were killed. Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Hezbollah killed dozens of people in Lebanon.

The U.S. military announced that two previously unaccounted for American service members have been confirmed dead, bringing the

exporting the oil and natural gas now mined from offshore Gulf waters and the shale formations in Texas and north Louisiana will be more difficult and expensive with key shipping lanes clogged or closed because of the conflict

“Oil and LNG exports can continue, but if you are having trouble sending your ships around the world it makes it more difficult to sell,” said Jim Richardson, LSU professor emeritus.

Experts say it’s too soon to say how much prices might rise, because there’s no telling how long the conflict will last and how widespread the collateral damage will be across the Middle East

In the short-term, however, they say the uncertainty and risk will drive gasoline prices up, which could spill over into price increases for other goods and services.

“Markets respond swiftly to perceived risks, and the effects are often visible at the pump before any physical supply constraints materialize,” Gray said “This means increased transportation costs, food prices and industrial input costs.”

When Trump took office in early 2025, he said one of his priorities was to further

total to six Three people were reported killed in the United Arab Emirates, and one each in Kuwait and Bahrain.

Iran’s top diplomat on Monday shared an aerial photo showing rows of graves that he said were for more than 160 girls killed during a U.S.-Israeli strike on an elementary school in Minab. “Their bodies were torn to shreds,” Abbas Araghchi the country’s foreign minister, said on X.

In Israel, three young siblings killed by an Iranian strike were being laid to rest at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Monday night. Yaakov, 16, Avigail 15, and Sarah Biton, 13, were among the nine killed Sunday when a missile slammed into a shelter located in a synagogue in Beit Shemesh.

Hezbollah said it fired missiles on Israel early Monday in response to Khamenei’s killing and “repeated Israeli aggressions.” It was the

increase domestic oil production.

One reason that hasn’t happened is because oil prices have hovered around $60 a barrel, too low, experts say, for drillers to justify the cost.

But if the war were to persist, cutting off supplies of oil and natural gas to buyers in Europe and Asia, domestic production along the Gulf Coast could increase, which could lead to more job creation in Louisiana and benefit the companies that do business here.

Such a scenario would be good for producers, experts say, but likely at the expense of consumers, who would feel the effects of higher prices throughout the economy.

“Two things can be true at once,” Gray said. Still, building out new production and refining capacity wouldn’t happen overnight. Smith doesn’t think it’s likely because of the financial risk oil companies would be taking.

Another potential longterm impact could be a market-driven response to more renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, which have been stymied by the Trump administration.

But those projects also

make these kinds of decisions for themselves,” said student Ziad Eissa, of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, “not for the U.S. to come in and impose, you know, this government will by military force.”

As the two sides shouted opposing chants into bullhorns in LSU’s

first time in more than a year the militant group has claimed an attack.

There were no reports of injuries or damage.

Israel retaliated with strikes on Lebanon The country’s Health Ministry reported at least 52 people were killed and 154 wounded in overnight strikes in the Beirut suburbs and southern Lebanon.

Associated Press journalists in Beirut were jolted awake by loud explosions that shook buildings and shattered windows.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army chief of staff, said the military would not end its offensive against Hezbollah “before the threat from Lebanon is eliminated.” An Israeli military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, said Israel is keeping “all options on the table,” including a potential ground invasion of Lebanon.

The Israeli military said it had completed a wave of strikes targeting branches of al-Qard alHasan, a charity operating outside the Lebanese financial system that Israel says is used to fund Hezbollah’s military wing.

Israel also struck a building housing Al-Manar channel studios in Beirut’s southern suburbs following an evacuation warning, the channel said. The military said it targeted “Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities in Beirut.” Plumes of smoke were seen billowing over the skyline No immediate details on casualties were available.

The U.S. military, which has used B-2 stealth bombers to strike Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs said Monday that it had taken out 11 Iranian

take years to develop and wouldn’t have any impact on the supply chain and available sources of energy For

Free Speech Alley some students gathered, trying to make sense of local reaction to the United States’ and Israel’s missile strikes in the country

“We think it’s needed,” Aidin Arasteh said of the military action, “because the people don’t have guns. The regime of Iran is willing to murder tens of thousands of its own people.”

Iranians are “not naturally Trump supporters,” Arasteh said, nodding to the group of students that had formed between groups.

The pro-Trump signs are “gathering a bit of attention among students here who are sort of surprised to see that.”

Under earlier leaders, the country valued human rights and uplifted women, he said. Arasteh, born in the U.S. to Iranian parents, himself didn’t vote for Trump and, in fact, has worked locally for Democratic campaigns. But he believes that given his targeting of protesters and killing of civilians, Khamenei needed to go.

Karame Mohammadiporshokooh left Iran for LSU “for the chance to get better education, to be free,” she said.

The Ph.D. candidate is hopeful that the military strikes open up an opportunity for a revolution, rather than the reign of a leader made in Khamenei’s image. Her relatives in Iran, who were celebrating his death, agree.

“They want to have a democratic regime,” she said. “They want to take their country back.”

warships. Trump has said the Iranian navy’s headquarters had been “largely destroyed.”

While Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., said the conflict would continue “as long as it takes,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Monday that the U.S is not engaged in a nation-building effort, saying, “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.” Trump sought to more clearly define the administration’s objectives on Monday following an earlier statement — as the attack was unfolding Saturday — in which he listed various grievances dating to Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution and urged Iranians to “take over” their government. There have been no signs yet of any such uprising.

Trump has also signaled an openness to dialogue with Iran’s new leadership, which could be chosen soon.

Tehran’s streets have been largely deserted with people sheltering during airstrikes. The paramilitary Basij force, which has played a central role in crushing recent nationwide protests, set up checkpoints across the city, witnesses said.

In the northern Iranian city of Babol, a student, speaking anonymously over concerns of retribution, told the AP that armed riot police were on the streets Saturday night and into the early hours of Sunday after the death of Khamenei.

“We don’t know whether to be happy about the elimination of the criminals who oppress us or to remain silent in the face of the U.S. and Israel’s war against the country and its interests and the terror that is taking place,” he said.

now, consumers in Louisiana need to brace for higher prices, though how much higher and for how long re-

mains to be seen.

“It

Defensesecretary

BY MICHELLE L. PRICE andKONSTANTIN TOROPIN Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary

Pete Hegseth spoke Monday to widening concerns that the U.S.Israeli strikes in Iran could spiral into aprotracted regional conflict by declaring: “This is not Iraq.This is not endless,” even as he warned that more American casualties are likely in the weeks ahead.

While the Trump administration has cited Iran’snuclear ambitions as the chief concern to be addressed, officials increasingly are pointing to the threat from Iran’s ballistic missiles as akey reason to launch the attacks as well asan opportunity to take out the government’sleadership and the sense that negotiations around thenuclear program have stalled.

Trump said Monday that Iran’s conventional missile program “was growing rapidly anddramatically, and this posed avery clear,colossal threat to Americaand our forces stationed overseas.”

Hegseth said at aseparate news conference with Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint ChiefsofStaff, that the operation had a“decisive mission” to eliminate the threat of Iranian ballisticmissiles, destroy the country’snavy and ensure “no nukes.”

Trump, Hegseth and Caine have not suggestedany exit plan or of-

feredsigns that theconflict would end anytime soon as the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhameneicast doubton thefuture ofthe Islamic Republic andhurtledthe region intobroader instability.Caine said the biggest U.S. military buildup in theMiddle East in decades would only grow because the commander in the region “willreceiveadditional forces even today.”

“This is nota so-calledregimechange war,but theregime sure did change,and theworld is better off forit,” Hegseth said.

Trump, however,invideostatementsreleased after the strikes began, urgedthe Iranian people “to take back your country.”

Theconflicthas spilledintothe

wider region, withIran and its allied armed groups launching missilesatIsrael, Arabstates andU.S. militarytargets in the Middle East

Six American troops have been killed, with Trump, Hegseth and Caine predictingmorecasualties. All wereArmysoldiersand part of the same logistics unitinKuwait, according to aU.S. official who was not authorized to commentpublicly and spoke on condition of anonymity

When asked about thesix deaths Monday,Hegsethsaid an Iranian weapon made it past allied air defenses “and, in that particular case, happened to hita tactical operations center that was fortified.”

EighteenAmerican service members also have been seriously

France to allowtemporary deployment of

BY SYLVIE CORBET and SAMUELPETREQUIN Associated Press

L’ILE LONGUE, France— French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday that France will increase its nuclear arsenal and, forthe first time, allow thetemporary deployment of its nuclear-armedaircraft to allied countries, in anew strategy aimed at strengthening Europe’s independence. In speech planned longbefore the most recent outbreak of war in Iran, Macrondiscussed how

Frenchnuclearweapons fit intothe security of Europe as leadersthere express concerns over recurring tensions with President Donald Trump and Russia’s full-scale invasionofUkraine Francehas beenthe only nuclear power in theEuropean Union since Britain’sexit fromthe bloc in 2020. “Tobefree,one needstobe feared,” Macron said at amilitary base at L’Ile Longue in northwestern France thathoststhe country’s ballistic missile submarines. Macronsaid the new posture could“provide forthe temporary

deployment of elementsofour strategic air forces toallied countries,” but saidtherewould be no sharing of decision-making with anyother nation regarding the use of the nuclear weapons Talks about such deterrence cooperation have started with Britain, Germany,Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Sweden andDenmark, Macron said. France alsowill allow partners to participate in deterrence exercises and allow allies’ non-nuclear forces to participate in France’snuclear activities, said Macron, whoisthe

Hegsethinsists Iran conflictis‘notendless’

wounded, said Capt. TimHawkins, aspokesman for U.S. Central Command.

The latest sign of the escalating upheaval camewhen, the U.S. military said, ally Kuwait “mistakenly shotdown” three American fighter jets during acombat mission as Iranian aircraft, ballistic missilesand droneswereattacking. U.S. Central Command said all six pilots ejected safely from theAmerican F-15E Strike Eaglesand were in stable condition.

Asked if there are boots on the ground now in Iran,Hegseth said, “No, but we’re notgoing to go into the exercise of what we will or will not do.”

He said it was “foolishness” to expect U.S. officials to say publicly “here’s exactly how far we’ll go.”

Trump told the NewYork Post on Monday that he wasn’truling out U.S. forcesinIranif“theywere necessary.” He noted, “I don’thave theyipswithrespect to bootsonthe ground.”

At theWhite House, Trump said themissionwas expected to take four to five weeksbut “wehave the capability to go far longer than that.”

Secretary of StateMarco Rubio told reporters at the Capitol that the U.S. “will do this as long as it takes to achieve”its objectives and warnedthat “thehardest hitsare yet to come from theU.S. military.”

Hegseth also dismissedquestions about thetime frame and said Trump had “latitude”todecide how long it would take. “Fourweeks, two weeks, six weeks,” he said. “Itcould move up. It couldmoveback.”

In laying outa case forthe strikes,

Hegseth did not point to any imminent nuclear threat from Iran and said againthatstrikes by the U.S. andIsrael last June “obliterated their nuclear program to rubble.” Instead, Hegseth pointed to threatsfrom other weaponry that justified the operation: “Iran was building powerful missilesand drones to create aconventional shield for their nuclear blackmail ambitions.”

He added, “Our bases, ourpeople, our allies, all in their crosshairs. Iran had aconventional gun to our head as they tried to lie their way to anuclear bomb.”

Hegseth said that during negotiationsleading up to the attack, Iranian officials were “stalling” despite having “every chance to make apeaceful and sensible deal.”

He also justified the operation by describing Iran’s government as having started the conflictfrom itsinception,declaring that for 47 yearsithas “wageda savage,onesided waragainst America.” In aprivate briefing Sunday, Trump administration officials told congressional staffers that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launchapreemptive strike against theU.S., threepeople familiar with the briefings said. Trump, aRepublican, had said the objective of the mission was to eliminate “imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” And senior Trumpadministrationofficials, whowere not authorized to comment publicly andspoke on the condition of anonymity,told reporters Saturdaythatthere were indicators that the Iranians could launch apreemptive attack.

commander-in-chief of the armed forces under the French constitution. European partners welcomed the strategy In ajoint statement, Macron and German ChancellorFriedrich Merz saidthe two countries would deepen integration in deterrence starting this year,“including Germanconventionalparticipationin French nuclear exercises and joint visits to strategic sites.” In aletter to Dutch lawmakers, Defense Minister Dilan YesilgözZegeriusand Foreign MinisterTom

Berendsen said the Netherlands was in strategic talks withFrance on nuclear deterrence as “a supplement to, and not areplacement for, NATO’scollective defense andnuclear deterrence capabilities.” Polish Prime MinisterDonald Tusk wrote on Xthat “weare arming up together with our friends so that our enemies will never dare to attack us.”

Macron also announced that France will increaseits number of nuclear warheads from the current level of below 300, but did not give afigure for the increase.

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Klanceya helping pawat

DA’s Office

Our daughter’s8-year-old dog still operatesatfull throttle. His near-constant energy did not prepare me for Klancey, who was the opposite of hyper

Klancey is a2-year-old Labrador and golden retriever mix. He was so stillonthe floorof the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’sOffice’s conference room that it felt almost unnatural. His eyes moved. The rest of him did not.

Trained by Canine Companions, Klancey is a“facility dog,” which is different from aservice dog. Service dogs are paired with one person. Facility dogs work in one setting and serve many

Klancey joined the District Attorney’sOffice in May.He’staking the place of Diesel, the office’s previous dog, who has gone to work in another court across the street with Judge Louise Hines.

Amy Files was Diesel’ssecondary handler.Files, asenior legal specialist, and Hannah Minnick, an investigator,are now Klancey’s handlers. Both work with the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney’sOffice and have waited for Klanceytojoin their team for 18 months.

The dogs spend nearly two years in professional training before they are matched. The handlers train, as well.

“They had amatching ceremonywherewe’re sitting there waitingtofind out which one’sgoing to be picked for us,” Minnick said. “Wehad an idea because we’d worked with this one the most —and then they bring him out, and it’s like, ‘You guys are with Klancey.’” Klancey knowsabout 40 commands. Filesand Minnick had to learn them all.And yes, he has a command for bathroom breaks

“‘Hurry’ is that command,” Files said. “So we don’tsay that word alot.” Files said they were looking for adog who had acalm personality who would let someone love on him and be acalm presence.

Minnick handles mostly sex crime cases, many involving juveniles. District AttorneyHillar Moore said Klancey is also used in human trafficking cases.The children with whom Klancey works are often asked to talk about trauma in rooms filled with adults. If acase goes to trial, the child may testify with thedefendant —oftena relative —seated just feet away.

“It’stough for an adult being cross-examined, but for akid, it’s brutal,” Moore said. Before achild ever takes the witness stand, there is preparation, often in aspacecalled the Family Room —aplace where Klancey can shift fromstillness to engagement.

Minnick told me about arecent meeting with two juveniles who were reluctant to talk.

“I would say they were disassociating from what we were talking about,” she said. “And Iwas just like, ‘Do you guys wanna see what Klancey cando?’” He climbed onto thefurniture. He offered his paw on command. He gave kisses on command. He spoke on command.

The energy of the room changed.

“And immediately,itwas like it switched,” Minnicksaid. “Now we’re talking about Klancey.” If acase reaches trial, the choreography becomes more precise. In court, Klancey is only allowed to work with victims 17 and under The courtroomiscleared, and Klancey is brought in and waits beneath the witness stand, out of

‘Shouldhaveneverhappened’ Dowworkers left lightindrum, causing2023explosion

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

Alargeexplosion at Dow’scomplexinPlaquemine in mid-2023 was a“catastrophic incident” that “should havenever happened,” set in motion by workers accidentally leaving alight inside alarge chemical drumfollowing repairs, according to afederal safety agency

Theindependent agency, the U.S. ChemicalSafetyand Hazard Investigation Board, recom-

mended Dow Chemical Co. and twonational fire safetyorganizations adopt procedures and rules to prevent similarkinds of accidentsfrom happening again.

The panel doesn’thave regulatory authority but investigates serious chemical accidents and suggests waystoavoid them in thefuture.

The explosioninDow’sGlycol II unit on July 14, 2023, in Iberville Parishreleased nearly adecade’s worth of typical emissions of the flammableand potent carcino-

gen ethylene oxide —more than 31,000 pounds —along with 16 other chemicals in 12 hours. The releasecreated atowering fire that took aday and ahalf to bring under control and weeks afterward to clean up.

Hundreds of nearby residents hadtoshelter in place for hours and stay inside with their air conditioners offduring asteamy summer night, while officials closed nearby highways. The fire has triggered scrutiny from regulators, including $31,250

in fines to settle safety violations fromthe U.S. Occupational Safety andHealth Administration in October 2024 and aU.S Environmental Protection Agency inspection that identified aseries of safety, training and plant design issues. In anew report on the fire, the ChemicalSafety Boardidentified acause —the worklight —that otheragenciesand Dowhad reported previously But the board laid out the series

Rememberinghistory

ABOVE: Fourthgraders at Charles M. Burke Elementary host aBlack History MonthWax Museum programFriday in Duson.Studentsresearched and created information boardsonhistoric African Americans, many dressing in costumeastheir chosen figure, andpresented that history to visiting parents, studentsand faculty LEFT: From left,Abigail Burks,asMaya Angelou; GreysonJoshua, as Kenny Washington; andAusten Patterson, as Frederick Douglass, portray historic figures.

Auditreveals Iberia clerk paid terminated employee

Errors aresult of insufficient procedures, report states

BYJOELTHOMPSON Staff writer

The IberiaParish Clerk of Court’sOffice continued to make monthlypayments to aformer employee for six months aftertheir termination, according to an annual audit

Therecently released reportfromthe Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice showed that the payments totaled up to $15,101 over the six-month period. Thereport, first made public on Feb. 25, states that the

payment errors were the result of afailuretoupdatepayroll records. The auditstated thatthe errors were aresult of internal proceduresnot being sufficient to prevent accounting errors or fraud. “Failure to maintain effective controls over payroll increases the risk of fraud, misuseofpublic funds, andnoncompliance with state laws and regulations governing thesafeguarding of public resources,” the report states.

The office first noticed the discrepancy during an internal review conducted of itspayroll andsubsequently consulted thestate auditor on theappropriate method to resolve it.

The auditor’sreport encouraged the office to establish proceduresthat would require all employee termi-

nations to be expresslycommunicated to payroll processors through written notifications. Additional recommendations includesupervisory oversight of payroll registers to be conducted on amonthly basis.

The reportidentifies that since thepayroll discrepancy’sdiscovery, all payroll is nowrequired to have awrittensign-off from Clerk David Ditch

The Iberia clerk’s office hasestablished arepayment planwith the formeremployee, who was notidentified in the audit, to recover the lost funds. The audit states that allpayments have so far been made in atimely manner,although no information has been provided on when paymentswill be completed.

State livestock brandinspectors arrested a Texaswoman last week in alivestock theft investigation,officials said. Meagan Breanna Byrd, 35, of Beaumont, wasbooked on two counts of livestock theft, according to the Louisiana DepartmentofAgriculture and Forestry Inspectors said they were contacted by aSt. Landry Parish livestock market in August after six horses, valued at more than $7,000, were sold during twoseparate transactionsbut never paidfor Authoritiesobtainedarrest warrants for three peopleinthe case. Byrd later turned herselfin, inspectors said. The horses have not been recovered,and additional arrestsare expected as the investigation

Climbingcosts and delayedcompletion are phrases all too familiar in south Louisiana, especially when it comes to key projects like those that protect us from storms and flooding. This is especially true when it comes to the U.S. Army CorpsofEngineers, the federal agency that builds and oversees avastnetwork of installationswithavariety of functions: protecting residents from floods, making sure rivers and waterways are safe for commerce andoperating majorinfrastructurelike theMorganzaand Bonnet Carré spillways.

So we are encouraged to seehigh-levelCorps leadershipvisit Louisiana and vow to cut through thered tape that often pushes projectedcompletion dates far into the future.Shortening the length of time between conception and completion lowers the risk that any new project will be obsolete as soon as it is built. Italso brings residents relief in the form of protectionand sometimes lowered insurance premiums.

But we acknowledge the importanceofquestionsabout how this reductionintime willbe accomplished. The Corps is not acompletelyautonomousagency.Projects must secureCongressional funding, and the slowpaceofreview and planning is oftennecessarytoensure that other federal laws andregulationsare being properly followed. In many cases, these are necessary.Major Corps projects alter the landscape in significant ways, and consequently, they have majordownstream effects.

Perhaps the greatest example is the Mississippi River levee system, whichprovides crucial floodprotectiontomuch of southeast Louisiana. But it also funnels land-building sediment out into the deep Gulf of Mexico insteadofintothe marshes,where it canbuild land that then protects populated areas fromstorm surges. This effect has been so pronouncedthatthere are now scores of projects aimed atcountering it through dredging or other means.

Another example is the BonnetCarré Spillway, which provides important river-levelreliefto the city of New Orleans but also causes major algae blooms in Lake Pontchartrain and hasbeen blamed for dolphin and other marine lifedeaths in the Mississippi Sound.

Unfortunately,details on howthe Corps intends to shorten project timelines remain thin. Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Assistant Secretary Adam Telle, in Louisiana last week to tout their efforts, provided few details.

Driscoll and Telle visited the site of the West Shore Lake Pontchartrainlevee system, aproject that will provide protection to roughly 60,000 peopleand was originally projectedtocost$760 million, butthat has now balloonedto$3.4 billion. It has been delayed too long, theysaid.

“Our goal is to cut paperwork and get back to building for the Americanpublic,” said Telle That’saworthy goal, and one we support. But doing so properly will require far more than handy slogans and news conferences in LaPlace. It will require meticulous and careful workto devise away to build morequickly,while still accounting forthe potentialeffects uponother areas, residents, commerceand wildlife.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

atreasured public resource

This year marks the100th anniversary of the historic CityPark Golf Course, aTom Bendelow design and one of Baton Rouge’soldest public recreational landscapes. For acentury,this course has offered an accessible, walkable and affordable place for residents to learnthe game, stay active and enjoy arare piece of intact early 20th-century park design. Instead of celebrating that milestone, thecourse now faces an existential threat.

BREC andBRAF are advancing a proposal to “repurpose” the40acres occupied by thecourse into athree-hole, pitch and putt. While presented as an enhancement, the plan would in fact dismantle ahistoric public asset and removeitfrom theNational Register of Historic Places, erasing its recognized cultural and architectural significance. It would displace the28,000 rounds played there in 2025 —usage that reflectsa loyal and diverse community of golfers.

The ripple effect would impact all

If we are serious about improving healthoutcomes and reducing longtermpublic spending, we must begin with housing.

Substandard housing conditions are linked to higher rates of chronic disease, respiratory illness, mental health challenges and substance use disorders. Families facinghousing instability are morelikely to delay medical care, struggle with medication adherence and rely heavily on emergency rooms. The connection is not abstract. Housing is not separate from health care.

In Baton Rouge, thenumbers tell a sobering story On any given night, more than 400 people experience homelessness. More than half of renters in East Baton Rouge Parishare cost-burdened, spending 30% or more of their income on housing. When housing instability collides with chronic illness, untreated trauma or behavioral health needs, the outcomes are predictable: repeated emergency room visits, avoidable hospitalizations, involvement with the criminal justice system and sustained strain on taxpayer-funded systems. Evidence from communities across thecountry shows that permanent supportive housing —affordable hous-

BREC courses, particularly nearby Webb Memorial which recorded 56,246 rounds played in 2025. Absorbing City Park’scapacity would place enormous maintenance pressure on that facility.The remainingfour-course BREC lineup would be without aunique 9-hole layout, in thecenter of the city,that provides opportunity forbeginners, high school golf competition and anyone with only time for9holes on any given day.Atatime when communities nationwide are working to preserve historic public spaces andexpand recreational opportunities, Baton Rouge risks moving in the opposite direction. City Parkismore than agolf course. It is acentury-old civic resource that has served generationsoffamilies, seniors, studentsand beginners. The public deserves atransparent, citywide conversation about what is at stake. Not just askewed survey andmeetings that may not be open tothe public.

STAN SPRING director, Friends of City Park Baton Rouge

ing paired with case management and healthservices —reduces hospital utilization, improves treatment adherence and increases long-term stability Addressing root causes upstream costs less than repeatedly managing emergencies downstream.

At STARTCorp.,where we serve vulnerable families and individuals across Louisiana, we see this transformation firsthand. When someone has asafe, stable place to live, treatment becomes realistic.

Healthreform conversations should include housing development, rental assistance and eviction prevention programs. Healthsystemsshould treat housing partnershipsascore communityhealth strategies, not peripheral initiatives. Lawmakers should evaluate budgetswith aclear understanding that housing stability reduces longtermstrain on hospitals, jails and statefunded institutions. The bottom line: Health begins long before anyone enters aclinic. If Louisianaisserious about improving outcomes, lowering costs and building stronger communities, we must treat housing as foundational health infrastructure.

CASEY GUIDRY CEO,StartCorporation

IhopeGov.JeffLandry eats eggs, because alot of them have been cracked on his head. The Kelly/Kiffin egg wasfirst. The eggcracked open on Landry’shead when he orchestratedthe firing of LSU football coach BrianKelly (though he deniesit). Landry said LSU’sathletic director was incompetent to pickthe next coachsince he paid Kelly $100 million for10years. Landry said he or President DonaldTrump was more competent to pickLSU’scoachand proclaimed the coach’s salary must be performance-based, he said! No big salary! No big buyout! A hastily formedcommittee began “the search”tohire Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin became LSU coach for $91 millionover sevenyears, with an 80% buyout. Performance?Whatperformance? Ignore the additional $13 million peryear thatKiffin’sassistant coaches andstaff are paid compared to $9 millionayear to Kelly’sassistants andstaff. This eggisstill dripping offLandry’s chin. ThenGreenland’segg cracked on Landry’shead.Landry said Trump askedhim to be an envoy to brokera deal with Greenland to become U.S. territory (though Greenland made it clear it had no interest). Trump said Landry askedfor the task. Landry said he would use “Cajun cuisine” diplomacytoget Greenland to accept. Greenland said Cajuns had America’sfourth-highest obesity rate,sonothanks. Landry said he was invited to Greenland’sbiggest dogsledrace. The invite was rescinded when the dogs found outand threatened to strike ThenTrump droppedhis interestinGreenland but left Landry scrambling to explain why he didn’tknowit.

Governor,avoid Easter eggs. Dem eggs be hard-boiled an’ll hurt yo’head!

CHARLES MOSLEY

Morgan City

COMMENTARY

So youwanttobea plumber

The skilled trades have become hot of late. That has many youngpeople dropping plans to attend college. Meanwhile, some desk-bound professionals aresaid to gaze longinglyatnearby construction sites. They daydream about trading spreadsheetsfor tool belts. They imagine becomingplumbers, electricians or carpenters —welders, riggers or crane operators. The list of hands-on jobs that require real training is long Why the change of hearts?

Three reasons:

1. Artificial intelligencewill soon do the thinking required for many of these office occupations.

heated new construction when temperaturescrateredinto thesingle digits. And some work is quite unpleasant Craig recalls being summoned to a floodedbasement in an 1890s house. The“water” was sewage, and it came up to histhighs “I tried and Itried to get this drain unclogged,” he said. “Wasn’thappening. Iused asubmersible pump to pump outthe water.But then Igot down to thedrain. Itried snaking it,then found that the drain not only had to be replaced but connected 30 feet down to themiddle of abusy street.”

2. The realization that electricians and plumbersoftenmakemore money than aclaims processor sometimesalot more.

3. Four-year college can cost mountains of money,whereas askilled trade can be learned in half that time,during which astudent canmakemoney as an apprentice.

But before you replace yourbriefcase with safetyglasses or loafers with waterproof boots, considerwhatthese hands-on jobs entail.Toward thatend, Iinterviewed amaster plumber who also happens to be my husband,Craig The work can be grueling.Attimes Craig says, he’shad to carry 150-pound water heaters on his back upseveral flights. He’sdone plumbing jobs in un-

Plumbing is physical labor often combined with advanced problem-solving. Most customers are nice,but afew are not.

Another thing would-be plumbers needtounderstandisthe considerable trainingrequired before thebig paykicksin. Craig did thetwo-year plumbing course at New England Tech. Plumbers have to be proficient in English andbasic math (you had to figure outangles and lengths of pipe), and so most students had to takeclasses to getuptospeed. Craig learned all that in high school and could skip the classes. Butmost enrollees had to take them, and some couldn’tget past those basics.

The student becomes an apprentice to amaster plumber and so starts mak-

ing money right away.Apprentices cannot do jobsontheir own, not legally, anyway

It can takefour years before an apprentice getslicensed as ajourneyman whocan be sent out but remains under supervision. Becomingamaster plumber easily takes five years.

Butthe money is real. Howmuch can amaster plumber make? “Anywhere from $30,000 to amillion,” according to Craig. The higher numbers go to entrepreneurial types who employ others. Women aremoving into these trades, but thebranding still sells akind of muscled manliness. (It worked for me.)

That explains the popularity of rugged Carharttjackets and indestructible Red Wing boots, especially among professionals. High-fashion boutiques now sell them. Craig would stop at a Starbucks every morningat6 a.m. and identify the lawyers in Carhartt by their soft hands.

Want to be aplumber? “The bad part is the burns, the cuts, the colds, the stitches,often theheat. The strain on your body.”

The good part: “You’re not just leaving an office with some program that you screwed around with. It’ssomethingthat Ican look at and admire the outcome. Plus, there’salways work.”

That’sthe deal, and it’s not abad one.

Froma Harrop is on X@FromaHarrop. Email her at fharrop@gmail.com.

Trumptariffs tossed;Constitutionupheld Elites fear thecoming economy

So much for the notion that theSupreme Court, withits 6-3 majorityof justices appointedbyRepublicanpresidents, was going to be arubberstamp for President Donald Trump. That is a frequently voiced chargebypartisan Democrats, and afear of many ambivalent voters who find manyof Trump’s policies agreeable but worry abouthis overreach on policy and personnel

That’sone political meme refuted by the court’sLearning Resources v. Trump decision last Friday, announced after morethan the expected delay for the drafting of concurringopinions.

If you’re in an industry ripe fordisruption by artificial intelligence, thinking about what’s coming inspires strong emotions. Like panic. And outrage. If you’re acollege-educated professional, the economy has worked well foryou over the past fewdecades. As with anything that has lasted foralong time, this seemslike the natural order of things —anentitlement, not chronological luck. And to be fair,you didn’tjust luck out by having the kinds of natural aptitudes that were highly remunerative in apostindustrial society

Youalso worked hard to develop those aptitudes into something the market would reward. Now, amachine might steal what you earned. This doesn’tjust feel bad. It feels like aviolation.

These are what the gentle-parenting folks call “big feelings.” Such feelings are particularly big among journalists, because our industry is already suffering badly from tech-induced disruption. We’re not in the mood forany moretech revolutions, thank you very much, and given our influence over the discourse, our dour moodstend to leach into the national psyche.

But we’re hardly the only people worried. Anyone whose job primarily involves data analysis, software coding or writing has to ask themselveswhether their job could eventually be automated away,because their bosses are asking that question.

All that raw emotion leftpeople vulnerable last weekend when alittle-knownfirm,Citrini Research, suggested the economy might be headed foranAI-induced free fall. It went viral, and next thing you know,the stock market washaving convulsions even though the scenario madelittle sense.

The courtstruck down Trump’sbeloved tariffs, with only one Republicanappointed justice taking the president’sside while the majority consisted of three Republican-appointed and three Democraticappointed justices. Such aresult should not have surprised those with some appreciation of Supreme Court history Franklin Roosevelt, after seeingseveral of his New Deal programsruled unconstitutional, and after unsuccessfully urging Congress to pack thecourt with new justices, finally ended up filling eight of the court’snineseats.

That didn’tstop abench of Democratic appointees from disapprovingof Democratic President Harry Truman’s seizure of the nation’ssteel plants during the Korean War, in acase, Youngstown Sheet &Tube v. Sawyer, cited 15 times by the LearningResources justices.

Justices newly appointed in times when Supreme Court decisions are subjects of partisandisputestend to agree on contemporary issues. Butin time, new problems arise, to which they turn out to have differences. And even animosity: Some of theRoosevelt appointees even stopped speaking to each other One such issue broughtforward by Trump’selection and reelection is the tariff. There’sastrong argumentthat the president’sview that trade deficits impoverish the country andtariffs enrich it is delusional. Alexander Hamilton backed tariffs not so much to foster infant industries but becausethey were the easiest taxtocollect with the 18th-century technology Learning Resources, as anti-Trump conservative David French wrotein The New York Times, “may proveto be the most important Supreme Court case this century,” because it fortifies the “major questions doctrine,” celebrated in Justice Neil Gorsuch’s extraordinary 46-page concurrence The major questions doctrineis drawn from the constitutional architecture: Article Iauthorizes Congress to pass laws, Article II authorizes the president to take care that they be faithfully executed. It follows that a

president can’trummagearound in the statute books, searching for somelanguage —or, as in this case, two words separated by 16 words —that somehow can beinterpreted, though no one has interpreted them that way before, to authorize him to do what he wants to do.Onmajor questions, it must be clear Congress has already done that TheSupreme Court, with majorities made up of Republican appointees, used the major questions doctrine to overturn major Biden administration policies —cancellation of student loans (based on authorization to “waive or modify” them), eviction moratorium (based on preventing“transmission of communicable diseases”) and vaccine mandate (based on “safety and healthy work conditions”).

In a46-page concurring opinion, Gorsuch argues that his three Democraticappointed colleagues are wielding the majorquestions doctrine against the Trumptariffs, though they say they’re not,and they were unwilling to use it against Biden policies. He argues the three dissenting Republican-appointed justices should have agreed that the majorquestions doctrine requires overturningthe tariffs. He argues that Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whovoted to overturn tariffs, should have relied more explicitly on the doctrine. Is this evidence of thekind of discord

that divided theRoosevelt-appointed justices so manyyears ago? Maybe, and the justices don’tseem as collegial now as they did before someone —a liberal justice’slaw clerk? —leaked a draft of Justice Samuel Alito’sopinion overturning Roe v. Wade.

Butthe thrust of Gorsuch’sconcurrence is that thejustices are functionally in agreement with the major questions doctrine, even if they’re uncomfortable saying so. Perhaps it was written to undercut arguments by the liberal law professoriate that themajor questionsdoctrine is defunct.

Meanwhile, theTrumpadministration may search the statute books for verbiageitcan usetojustify somelimited tariff authority,just as the Biden administration searched the statute books to find verbiage to justify some limited student loan forgiveness.

Butthe SupremeCourt, regardless of partisan labels, seems ready to use themajor questions doctrine to limit thebillions of dollars that can be raised or spent without some clear authorization in laws passed by Congress. And someday apresident will figure out how to persuade Congress to pass laws authorizing all or some of what she or he wants.

Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.

Iwon’tbelabor the flawsbehind the Citrini claims because Icovered someofthem in a recent column, and if you want Citrini-specific critiques, you can read excellent ones from Paul Krugman, Tyler Cowen or Josh Barro. But Idoubt this will be the last timethat elites’ anxiety about our personal futures makes people believe the economy is headed foradoom loop. As I, and others, have pointed out, this is unlikely —asituation where AI radically boosts productivity is likely to be one where incomes rise, not fall. But of course that doesn’tmean every individual will be better off. It wasgreat formost people when mass-produced textiles madeclothes much cheaper,but it was bad newsfor artisanal spinners and weavers. Mass production of readable prose, attractive images, software code or data analytics will be similarly good forhumanity but agenuine loss formany current producers.

The only difference is that the people who currently face disruption are influential elites whose private worries shape public discourse —and can movemarkets when they get out of hand. Remember that the next timeanominous prophecy circulates —orreally,whenever you read anything about AI,including this column. Itry not to mistake my problemsfor those of humanity,but no one ever succeeds at fully untangling the two.

For example, you may have read about the growing pushback against data centers, driven by AI fears. The protests are real enough, but are they really about stopping AI,oristhis just ageneral backlash against aesthetically uninspiring local development that might increase electricity or water bills? Writer Matt Yglesias suggests it’sthe latter,and Ifind that convincing. Looking at polls, Americans seem wary about AI but not enraged, and those who have used it seem cautiously optimistic. Yetthe AI backlash narrative predominates, perhaps because it’swhat speaks mostdirectly to the fears of journalists and their highly educated readers.

It’s also simply moreinteresting. “NIMBYs don’tlike development” is adog-bites-man story these days, and so is “people wantlow electricity bills.” “Grassroots rebellion against AI overlords,” on the other hand, seemsnew and fascinating. As do science fiction tales about a machine-induced Great Depression, which are waymore compelling to read than someeconomics monograph on the complex mechanics of technology diffusion.

Youshouldn’tdismiss the alarmists entirely —the details can be useful, even if the overall picture isn’tquite right. Just remember that my problemswon’tnecessarily be your problems. And remember,too, how limited our imaginations are in the face of atrue technological revolution: Neither 18th-century artisans nor their industrial rivals could have deduced the five-day workweek, the interstate highway or the rise of masshigher education from the operations of aprimitive textile mill. Whatever is coming, it will almost certainly be weirder and moresurprising than any doom-filled prophecy or utopian fantasy you’ll read today MeganMcArdle is on X. @asymmetricinfo.

Judgerules St.James schoolsfailedtodesegregate

Districthas not complied with ’17 consentorder

BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT Staff writer

Sixty years after residents sued to end racial segregation in the St. James Parishschool district, afederal judge found inequalities remain —including one school’sstudent body being more than 95% Black —and denied a School Board request to dismiss thecase.

U.S.District Judge Darrel James Papillion, of New Orleans, found Friday that the school district had failed to complywith aspects of a2017consent order andthat vestiges of segregation persist at schools acrossthe district.

His order focused on three schools that were onceall-Black and legally segregatedbefore Brown v. Board of Education including the St. Louis Math and Reading Academy.Papillion found that aspectsof aspecial literacy program designed to attract students from across the parish to St.Louis hadbeenadopted districtwide, nullifyingthe program’sintended desegregation purpose.

“In sum, this Court recognizes the District’sefforts in desegregating its geographically complex school district and de-

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sight. “The dog is put underneath the witness box that you can’tsee,” Moore said. “And the dog remains silent.” The jury neversees him. The defendant never sees him. The child does. Klancey is right there at the child’sfeet.

After testimony ends, the courtroom is cleared again, and Klanceymakes his exit. His presence is invisible to the room —but not to the child.

Klancey comes to work Mondaythrough Friday When he’snot working with victims, he spends time in the office with Files and Minnick. Sometimes he tags along to meetings. They’ve noticed that when someone is struggling, Klancey seems to know

“During the meeting, he will just walk over to that person and sit at their feet,” Files said. Outside of court, both Files and Minnick say he is unmistakably ayoung dog. They take turns bringing him home at night.

He has his assigned spaces in the District Attorney’sOffice,and Minnick has created anew bed for him by awindow in her new office —because

BLOTTER

continues. The Livestock Brand Commission operates a24-hour Crime Stoppers hotlineat (800) 558-9741 to report livestock theft or other agriculture-related crimes.

Officials: Man in clown mask stole chain saw AVillePlatte man has been arrested in aburglary at a tree servicebusiness, according to the EvangelineParish Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded Feb. 10 to areported burglaryat Butler’sTree Service in the 6000 block of U.S. 167 North. Investigators said asuspectentered the business and stole a chain saw from an equipment storagearea. Surveillance footage showed an individual wearing aclown mask taking the chain saw and leaving the property

sires to return St.James Parish Schools to the local authorities,” he wrote. “But this Court cannot ignore the fact that St. Louis, or former FifthWard, ahistorically Black schoolremains avirtually all-Black school.”

His ruling follows an initial one-page decision released in September, in which he said he would later publish the full orderwithhis reasons. The School Board has appealed hisruling to theU.S.Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Papillionwas nominated to the federalbench by former President JoeBiden

The developmentisjust after ajudge rejected abid by the neighboring St.John the Baptist Parish School Board to end its longstanding desegregationorder. It also comes after Louisiana Attorney General LizMurrill’s stated goal last yearofclosing all remainingdesegregation cases in thestate with thehelpofthe U.S. Department of Justice.

In awrittenstatement, St. James Parish school system Superintendent Chris Kimball said the boardand district were unable to comment because the matter concerns pendinglitigation.The U.S. Department of Justice saidinanemail thatithad no comment

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys,including Alexsis Johnson, who serves as an assistant counselwith the NAACPLegalDefense& Educational Fund.

Stemsfrom2017consent order

First filed by several residents on Dec. 15, 1965, the historic case moved closer to concluding in 2017whenall parties agreed to anew consentorder.Thatorder allows court supervision of the district and guidesittoward resolving the case

The School Board fileda motion in 2023 asking the courttofind it had achieved desegregation to all practicable extents.Atthe time, Papillionfoundthat the school district hadaccomplished desegregation in some areas,but not in studentassignment, which concernsthe racial demographicsof schools across the district. This meant theschool district would still be undercourt supervision.

Papillion’sdecision on the 2023 motion focuses on threeschools that wereonce all-Black:the west bank Cypress Grove Montessori School, formerly Lutcher Elementary School, and the east bank St.Louis Academy and Sixth Ward Elementary School.

While theelementary student population in St.James Parish is about 62% Black, in 2016 at

Speaking Monday,Johnson said thegroup was“really happy with the ruling.” “It reflects the reality thatour clients and Black folks in St. JamesParishhaveknown all along: that the district is under-investing in the education of Black schoolchildren in St. JamesParish andthatthere is much more the district needstodoinorder to remedy itspast race-based discrimination againstBlackstudents,” shesaid.

East Baton RougeParish District AttorneyHillar Moore stands with, from left, Amy Files, Hanna Minnick and Klancey,the District Attorney’sOffice’snew facility dog. Files and Minnick are Klancey’shandlers.

Klancey likes to baskinthe sun. Minnick also manages Klancey’ssocial media. He has abest friend—Diesel, his predecessor —who now works across the street. The dogs often run and play together When the vest comes off, he runs. He plays. He is a 2-year-old dog, his handlers say with asmile. When the vestgoeson, he becomes something else entirely —not an advocate, nota witness, nota distraction, but asteady presence in rooms where steadiness can feel scarce.

interviewed McCauley,who denied involvement.

During the investigation, officers learned the stolen chain saw had been recovered by theTurkeyCreek Police Department and positively identified by the business owner.Investigators said the chain saw hadbeentradedin exchange for narcotics McCauley wasarrested Feb. 24 and booked into the EvangelineParish jail on countsofunauthorized entryofaplace of business and simple burglary,both felonies.His bail was set at $75,000.

The investigationremains ongoing. Anyone withinformation is asked to contact the Evangeline ParishSheriff’s Office Criminal InvestigationsDivision Studentarrested afterbomb threat

Email Jan Risher at jan. risher@theadvocate.com

ed through the school’scomputer system. Investigators determined astudent, identified by thelast name Hooks, sent amessage claiming she had abombstrapped to her chest.

Continued from page1B LOTTERY SUNDAY,MARCH 1, 2026 PICK 3: 8-0-0 PICK 4: 9-1-6-3 PICK 5: 7-2-1-9-2

The case was turned over to the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, which identified the suspect as 31-year-old Casey Stephen McCauley,ofVille Platte. Detectives laterlocated and

Astudent was arrested Thursday,accused of sending abomb threat to an area high school, accordingtothe St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said aschool resource officer was notified by aprincipal on Friday morning that abomb threat had been communicat-

Authoritiessaidthe school was determined to be safe before investigators collected statements. Kayla Rose Hooks,18, was arrested and booked into the St. Landry Parish jail after probable cause was established.

“Misguided peopleperformingillegal actscan create chaos in our schools,” Guidroz said. The Sheriff’s Office “will do everything we can to protect our children and school employees.”

Anyone with informationisasked to contact the St.LandryParishSheriff’s Office at (337) 948-6516 or Crime Stoppersat(337) 9488477.

least 94%ofstudents at the three schools were Black

Papillion’sdecision focused on St. Louis Academy and its literacy academy program. It was created in the2017 consent order which required thedistrictto create aspecial programatthe school to attract students from across the district.

According to the 2023 objection to the district’smotion submitted by residents,the districtrolledback severalofthe program’sfeatures intended to attract White students, includingaspecialized curriculum,a trained interventionist teacher andspecialized training for teachers.

“TheDistrict’smere‘initiation’ of aliteracy program that had thepotential to desegregate SLA —but failed to do so —does not entitle the District to unitarystatus,” the document stated.

Papillionagreed, finding that the district failed to comply with theconsent order because the special aspects of the program wereadopted districtwide.

“The program’sdesegregative functiondepended on its distinctiveness, and theDistrict’simplementation of materially identical features across schools eroded thedistinguishing features of the program,” he wrote.

He also found that the school, like others in the district, had failed to change itsracial demographics.

School remainsover95% Black

St. Louis Academy and Sixth

Ward ElementarySchool failed to significantly change their racial composition since the 2017consent order, Papillion ruled.

To determine if aschool can be considered desegregated in student assignment, the 2017 consentorderadoptedavariance measure of 15% above or belowdistrictwidedemographics as astarting point.Inpractice, that roughly correlates to a Black student enrollment rate of between 45% and 75% forevery school.

In the 2023-24 school year,more than 95% of the student body at St.Louis Academy was Black, whileSixth Ward was80% Black, according to the order

The district alleged thedemographics of both schools were due to the westbank’sdemographics andthe St.LouisAcademy being in a“geographically isolated community.”

Residentsrepresented in the lawsuit rejected that argument because 21 Black students had transferred to the school between 2018 and 2023. Basically, if thedistrict can get transport students into the school, it cannot argue that it is too isolated or remote to attract asimilar number of White children.

PapillionsaidthatSt. Louis Academy, which feeds into Sixth Ward, “is at theheart of theissue.” He didn’ttake action on the decision, instead stating he wanted both partiestomeetinorderto find aremedy

DOW

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of breakdownsthatled to the fire in far greater detail, including that the design of someofDow’s processequipment andits procedures to ensure pipelines are clear of hazardouschemicalscontributed to the “severity of the incident.”

‘Enormousconsequences’

Thelighthad beenleft in what’sknownasareflux drum after turnaround maintenance in May 2023. When theGlycol II Unit was restarted and filled withethylene oxide, the light broke down and debris eventually flowed into downstream equipment, breakingopena protective disc,according to the safety board.

The brokendisc allowed ethyleneoxide to enter downstream pressure relief piping containing oxygen, allowing the chemical to ignite.Then, the flame moved fartherthrough more equipment intothe reflux drum,which exploded, board investigators found.

“This catastrophic incidentshouldneverhave happened,” Steve Owens, board chairperson, said in astatement. “The workers did not remove all the work lights from inside the drum, andDow didnot have an effective procedure in place to ensure that they did so. When dealing witha highly hazardous chemical like ethylene oxide, even a seemingly small mistake can have enormousconsequences.”

Dow officials said they recognize the board’srole in reviewing chemical incidents and its “goal in preventing arecurrence,” but that they were already at work learning from what happened.

“The agency’srecommendations are consistent with the recommendations that came outofDow’sinternal root cause investigation,” company officials said in a statement. “Dow remains dedicated to learning from this eventand preventing incidents suchasthis from happening again.”

The safetyboardnoted that Dowadopted anew vessel closure process among other measures, so it didnot need to make those recommendations. However,the boardsaidit was “urging Dowtoensure that the company strictly adheres to the new requirements.”

It did recommend that Dow improve procedures to make sure closed pipelinesremained“inert, meaning dangerous chemicals aren’tleft in aline that is supposed to be shut, and that the inert linesare monitored continuously ‘Clean andverified’

The boardidentifieddeficiencies in the system that filled closed lines with nitrogen and madethem inert. The company“was unaware that nitrogen had slowly leaked out” of arelief pipe that then filled with outside air,including oxygen.

That relief pipe was one of thepiecesofequipment thatreceivedflammable ethylene oxide once debris from theleft-behind light

had damaged other equipment.

“Companies must ensure that equipment is clean and verified beforestartup,that inerting systems are actively monitored, and that pressure relief systems are designed to prevent flame propagation,” added Mark Wingard, asafety board supervisory investigator

The board also spotted flawsinthe design of Dow’s emergency pressure relief systembecause it routed backtothe reflux drum Flames in the equipment were able to reach the drum because of this structure and“intensify the explosion,” the board said. The boardnoted that Dow could have reworked this flawed design in 2010 when the company replaced equipment.

OSHA originally proposed fining Dow $46,875 over three serious safety violations stemming from thefire,including alack of procedures to prevent left-behind equipment, but agreed to reducethe numbertotwo andthe severity of oneofthem after Dow appealed.

EPA’sinspection noted problemswith the safety of worker emergency shelter buildings and emergency relief valves, amongseveral other problems.Dow was issued anotice of noncompliance in January 2025 but has not been fined. The board advised the NationalFire Protection Association and the American Society of Safety Professionalstoupdate their startup safety rules followingthe post-repair cleanup of tanks and other enclosed vessels.

Staying for a while?

Tournament

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

On one hand, the UL softball squad has been pretty consistent this season. In four tournaments, the Ragin’ Cajuns have posted records of 3-1, 3-2, 4-2 and then went 3-2 this past weekend at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas.

On the other hand, the Cajuns have been up and down aloss to SWAC school Prairie View after beating Ole Miss and getting run-ruled by Houston after run-ruling Missouri or losing to St. Mary’s after knocking off the Aggies. But standing at 14-8 heading into a weekend tournament at Oklahoma where her Cajuns will play the powerhouse Sooners twice, coach Alyson Habetz’s confidence is building.

“We have highs where we show signs of greatness, and then we just kind of even out and kind of don’t play to our potential,” Habetz said.

“It’s kind of the ebbs and flows of the season and the grind. On the road, I think, is always a challenge, but I think we’re showing some really good signs of being able to play at the top.”

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

So what are the chances of UL’s men and women’s basketball teams making noise in the Sun Belt Championship Tournament this week in Pensacola, Florida?

Well, it starts with having to win the first game.

For the No 12-seeded men that’s a rematch with No 13 Georgia State in a 5 p.m. Tuesday game at the Pensacola Bay Center

For the No 14 women, it’s a second game in the past five days against No 11 Georgia State at 2 p.m. Tuesday

At first glance, coach Quannas White’s men’s club would appear to be a perfect candidate to make a dark-horse run in the tournament.

For starters, the Cajuns beat the Pan-

thers 82-72 on Jan. 29 in Lafayette.

Even better, the winner of this game will play No. 9 James Madison at 5 p.m. Wednesday and UL also defeated the Dukes earlier this season — a 64-61 win on Feb. 4 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The next factor to consider is the availability of guard Dorian Finister, who missed the past two games while in concussion protocol Fortunately for UL, Finister is expected to be available in the tournament.

UL’s first meeting against Georgia State was arguably the Cajuns’ best game of the Sun Belt season.

The only reason the Panthers only lost by 10 is because they made 33 of 35 free-

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

throw attempts. UL had one of its better shooting nights making 50% from the field and 3-point range and 81% at the line.

The Cajuns (10-21, 7-11) even outrebounded the Panthers 37-30 in the win, while limiting second-team All-Sun Belt performer Jelani Hamilton to 2-of-15 shooting from the field.

Another big part of UL’s earlier win over Georgia State (10-21, 7-11) was De’Vion Lavergne. His 23 points and seven assists began a six-game run where Lavergne averaged 17.3 points a game.

In his past four games, though the North Central graduate has settled for 8.5 points per game.

If Finister isn’t quite himself, the Cajuns will likely need the hot version of

Even when you’re one of the quickest guards in the NBA, sometimes you need things to slow down.

For Pelicans’ rookie point guard Jeremiah Fears, things have started to slow down. It has helped him put up the type of numbers he’s put up on the Pelicans’ current road trip.

Fears is averaging 19.3 points, 4.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds over the past three games.

He’ll try to continue his upward trend Tuesday night when the Pelicans (19-43) play the Los Angeles Lakers (36-24) at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Fears, selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 draft, is coming off arguably the two best games of his rookie year on backto-back nights In Saturday’s win over the Utah Jazz, he recorded the second double-double of his career, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists The 11 rebounds were a career-high.

The 6-foot-3 Fears followed that up Sunday by scoring a careerhigh 28 points in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The recent wild cards — pitcher Bethaney Noble (4-1, two saves, 1.46 ERA) and catcher-turned-outfielder Mia Norwood (.324, two HRs, have RBIs) — continued to state their cases.

“(Noble) has big dreams, and, you know, I’ve said this before, her mentality is really good,” Habetz said. “She has the stuff. It’s just a matter of continuing to believe in it.”

Noble faced her first obstacle of the season in Sunday’s 5-1 loss to Texas A&M.

“The (Aggies) third base coach was calling out her change-up,” Habetz said. “As a result of that, she started to change things, and she started to not be confident in it. She let an outside noise affect her performance, and I said, ‘You can’t do that. You’re better than that.’

“It’s just my pace,” said Fears, a former Oklahoma star “Two months ago I was just trying to use my speed. (So I had to) learn when to use speed and when to attack and get downhill and take angles and attack spots and know where you’re trying to get on the floor And that

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LSU’s Chio piles up No. 1 rankings

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Check out the top of the women’s college gymnastics rankings and you’ll probably find Kailin Chio’s name there.

The LSU gymnast is ranked No 1 in three of five major categories: She’s the nation’s top-ranked all-arounder, having taken over that spot this week from UCLA’s Jordan Chiles, and remains No 1 on vault and balance beam. Chio is also tied for seventh on floor and tied for 22nd on uneven bars.

As a team, the Tigers (11-2-1, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) are still ranked No. 2 nationally behind SEC rival Oklahoma but closed the gap on the Sooners this week. A week ago, LSU trailed Oklahoma 197.938-197.735, but Monday OU’s lead was 197.943197.836 over the Tigers.

LSU remains No. 1 as a team on floor, No. 2 on vault and bars and is No. 3 on beam.

All the numbers support LSU coach Jay Clark’s argument that the Tigers are more than just their star sophomore

“We all love the success Chio is having,” Clark said Monday “We love her as a person. We love having her on our team. But she is part of our team, not a one-man band.”

This past weekend was a banner one for Chio and the Tigers. On Friday in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, LSU held off No. 3 Alabama 197.975-197.600 in an SEC dual meet. Sunday in the Podium Challenge at the Raising Cane’s River Center LSU widened

are National Qualifying Scores

The average is determined by taking a gymnast’s or team’s season scores, throwing out the high and low marks and averaging the rest. Eventually, this will include a team or athlete’s lowest five home scores if there are six or more and all their road scores.

Before this season, NQS was calculated by taking six scores, including at least three road meets, dropping the highest score and averaging the remaining five.

Clark said he wants all scores counted but favors this new formula because it includes more of the season.

“It’s closer to what I’ve advocated for,” Clark said. “Before we were counting about 50%, so it’s better It puts more emphasis on away scores.”

LSU travels to face No. 4 Florida at 5 p.m. Sunday in the Tigers’ final SEC regular-season road meet. The meet will be televised on the SEC Network.

Ex-Saints CB Lattimore to be cut by Commanders

Just 16 months after being traded, former New Orleans Saints star cornerback Marshon Lattimore has been told he will be cut by the Washington Commanders, according to a Monday report.

“Commanders have informed former Pro-Bowl CB Marshon Lattimore that they intend to release him before the new league year begins,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported, “a move that will save the team $18.5 million in salary cap space, per sources.”

The Saints traded Lattimore and a fifth-round draft pick to Washington before the trade deadline during the 2024 season.

Lattimore finished last season with 16 solo tackles, one interception and seven pass deflections in nine games. He tore his ACL in November against the Seahawks.

Lions trade RB to Texans for lineman, draft picks

The Detroit Lions traded running back David Montgomery to the Houston Texans for offensive lineman Juice Scruggs along with fourth- and seventh-round picks, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Detroit dealt a veteran running back who wanted more carries for much-needed depth on the offensive line and extra selections in next month’s NFL draft.

Montgomery 28, finished with career lows in rushing attempts (158) and yards rushing (716). He still scored eight touchdowns and his 4.5 yards per carry trailed only his career-best 4.6 yards per attempt in 2023 when he had 1,015 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground during his debut season in Detroit.

the gap with a 198.200-197.650 win over the Crimson Tide, the Tigers’ highest road score of 2026. No. 18 North Carolina was third at 195.950, while No. 30 Arizona was at 195.000. Chio won or shared first place in four events Friday, including the all-around (39.800) and beam, where she posted a perfect 10. Sunday she didn’t compete as a four-event all-arounder for the first time this season, skipping floor but still recorded another

10.0 beam score. It was the fourth perfect 10 in the past three meets for Chio, who now has an NCAA-best six 10s this season. It was also the third straight time she had had a 10 beam, believed to be the first LSU gymnast since Jennifer Wood in 1995 on vault to have a 10 on one event in three straight meets.

LSU’s Konnor McClain is tied for ninth on bars, while Kaliya Lincoln is also tied for 10th on floor

What is NQS?

The season averages being used in the second half of the season

Celebrations

The Tigers have been getting more and more elaborate in their post-event celebrations lately Senior Ashley Cowan was a prime example Sunday, pretending to dole out imaginary dollar bills after scoring a 9.925 on bars.

“The last couple of meets we talked about having more fun out there,” Chio said. “They’re enjoying themselves. Seeing Ashley after bars, she’s so not like that To see her do that is amazing.” Clark half-threatened to clamp down on the celebrations, but was smiling when he did so.

How LSU’s transfer portal departures are faring

BY TOYLOY BROWN III

Staff writer

Coach Matt McMahon’s fourth season leading LSU hasn’t gone as well as the program and fans had hoped.

LSU (15-14, 3-13 SEC) is tied for last in the Southeastern Conference ahead of its second-to-last game of the season against Auburn (15-14, 6-10) at 9 p.m. Tuesday at Neville Arena in Alabama. After returning two players and losing seven to the transfer portal, LSU’s new group is in the same place it was last year Like last season, McMahon’s team has three conference wins and little to no chance of accomplishing its goal: earning an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since the 2021-22 season. A factor in the team’s descent after a 12-1 start in nonconference play was the season-ending injuries to a pair of significant players. Dedan Thomas, the team’s leader in points and assists, reaggravated a left foot injury and had to have surgery after playing three games in SEC play. Jalen Reed, LSU’s longest tenured player as a redshirt junior, had a season-ending left Achilles injury in the sixth game of the season With the Tigers likely to miss the NCAA Tournament with an almost entirely new team, here are the situations the seven transfer portal departures are in and what they’ve accomplished this season LSU transfer portal departures

Noah Boyde, Western Kentucky: The 7-foot senior center transferred after playing a total of 12 minutes in five games at LSU. Boyde has played 21 games for the Hilltoppers, including 11 starts For Western Kentucky (18-11, 11-7 Conference USA), he’s averaging 2.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game. His team is third in the conference standings. Corey Chest, Ole Miss: Chest, a New

American) in 3-point shooting at 37.7% while scoring 9.4 points in 25.1 minutes. He is also shooting 43.6% from the field and dishing 2.2 assists. With LSU last season, he averaged 4.8 points on 26.9% shooting overall and 1.6 assists in 18.2 minutes.

Vyctorius Miller,Oklahoma State: Miller was LSU’s top freshman scorer last year with 8.9 points on 44.7% field-goal shooting and 31.8% from the 3-point line in 19 minutes. The 6-5 sophomore guard for Oklahoma State is the team’s thirdleading scorer with 11.9 points, starting 24 of 27 games. Miller is shooting 43.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc and getting 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He’s also the only transfer from LSU to have a 30-point game this season.

Tyrell Ward, VCU: Ward stepped away from LSU last season for mental health reasons and never played. The 6-6 junior wing is now a contributor on the second-best team in the Atlantic 10. Ward, in 24 games all off the bench, is averaging 6.3 points, shooting 49% shooting overall and 32% from the 3-point line, and grabbing 2.1 rebounds in 13.3 minutes. He has scored 15 points in three games for VCU (22-7, 13-3 A-10), which is 47th in the NET

Texans send OT to Browns for fifth-round draft pick

The Cleveland Browns have agreed to acquire offensive tackle Tytus Howard from the Houston Texans for a fifth-round pick, a person familiar with the move told The Associated Press on Monday

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams have not announced the deal, which can not become official until the start of the NFL’s new league year on March 11.

Howard, who will be going into his eighth season, is also expected to get a three-year extension worth $63 million. He was a firstround pick by Houston in 2019 and has 93 regular-season starts. Howard is expected to take over at right tackle, but has also played at left tackle and right guard.

U.S. captain reveals she played with a torn MCL NEW YORK U.S. women’s hockey gold medal-winning captain Hilary Knight revealed Monday in a television appearance that she played in Milan with a torn medial collateral ligament in one of her knees.

Knight, playing at what she said was her final Olympics at 36, tied the final against Canada with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Knight and U.S. men’s gold medal-winning players Jack and Quinn Hughes were set to appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday night That is coming 48 hours since their memorable cameo alongside women’s golden goal scorer Megan Keller on “Saturday Night Live.”

Orleans native, is averaging 2.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 14 minutes. The Rebels, who are 12-17 and 4-12 in the SEC, gave the redshirt sophomore his fourth start of the season in the Tigers’ 106-99 double overtime win on Feb. 25. The 6-8 forward played 26 games for LSU last year and averaged 6.1 points 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game. Daimion Collins, South Florida: The 6-9 forward was LSU’s starting center for 22 games last year after Reed’s season-ending knee injury

Collins averaged 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. This year, he’s made one start for USF (21-8, 13-3 American) and has appeared in 28 games. The redshirt senior is putting up 4.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 14.8 minutes for the top team in the conference. The Bulls are 48th in the NET Rankings, the NCAA’s measurement tool to evaluate teams.

Curtis Givens, Memphis: The sophomore point guard has started 14 of 22 games and is playing 25.1 minutes for his hometown team. Givens leads Memphis (12-7, 7-9

Mike Williams, Seton Hall: Williams played 24 games and made no starts for LSU last year, averaging 4.0 points on 31.3% shooting overall and 1.4 rebounds in 11.2 minutes The 6-3 junior guard has started 27 of 29 games for the Pirates and is scoring 7.0 points on 37.3% shooting overall and 35% from the 3-point line. Williams, in 20.1 minutes, is also getting 2.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals. Seton Hall (19-9, 9-9 Big East) is fourth in its conference and 56th in the NET

Duke extends poll record; UConn unanimous No. 1 Duke is No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll for the second straight week, extending its all-time record with the program’s 149th appearance in the top spot. The Blue Devils (27-2) received 55 of 59 first-place votes in Monday’s poll. No. 2 Arizona received four first-place votes Michigan, UConn and Florida rounded out the top five. In the AP women’s Top 25 poll. UConn is still the unanimous No. 1 choice and heads into the postseason undefeated. The Huskies (31-0) received all 31 first-place votes in Monday’s poll from a national media panel. The top nine were unchanged with UCLA, South Carolina and Texas following the Huskies. Vanderbilt and LSU were next followed by Oklahoma, Michigan and Iowa.

LCA two wins away from sixth straight title

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

When you’ve won five consecutive state championships and eight of the past nine across three divisions, and are in the state semifinals for the 10th consecutive season like Lafayette Christian girls basketball team is, you can’t be worried about what players you’ve lost to graduation or injury

So while some thought this would the most beatable the Knights have been in a long time following the season-ending injury to Nicholls State signee Kaliyah Samuels, it appears those naysayers were wrong. And Knights coach Errol Rogers isn’t surprised.

“People don’t realize Kaliyah got hurt, and we played John Curtis about a week or two after that and we only lost to them 37-35,” Rogers said. “So, I mean, this team is pretty good. You know, with Kaliyah it would have been great. But this team is still pretty good without Kaliyah.”

Because unlike for most programs, the standard doesn’t change for Rogers and the Knights.

“It’s the standard,” Rogers said “The standard is the standard You come play here and we’re going to treat you the same. We’re going to do the same thing and we’re not going to change because somebody gets hurt. We’re going to do what we need to do to survive and advance.”

At 1 p.m. Tuesday, the top-seeded Knights (22-8) will look to continue their pursuit of six in a row when they face No 4 Holy Savior Menard (23-4) in the Division III select

semifinals at the University Center on the Southeastern Louisiana campus in Hammond.

“We’re excited,” Rogers said. “We want to go every year and

we’re blessed to be able to go again. We can’t wait. We are ready to play.”

Scoring depth is among the strengths the Knights possess, and

SCOREBOARD

Totals 240:0048-8924-2910-38 29 22 137 Percentages: FG .539, FT .828. 3-Point Goals: 17-36, .472 (Lopez 4-6, Jones Jr. 3-4, Sanders 3-4, Batum 3-5, Miller 1-1, Dunn 1-2, Collins 1-4, Leonard 1-7, Mathurin 0-3). Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 3 (Jackson, Mathurin, Niederhauser). Turnovers: 8 (Collins 2, Leonard 2, Christie, Dunn, Lopez, Mathurin) Steals: 11 (Dunn 3, Miller 3, Collins 2, Christie, Leonard, Lopez). Technical Fouls: None. New Orleans 32 38 24 23 — 117 L.A. Clippers 43 33 31 30 — 137 A_17,003 (18,000). T_2:20 College softball

State scores, schedule

Sunday’s games Sam Houston 3, Southeastern 2 Nicholls 8, Memphis 7 Oklahoma 9, Southeastern 1 Texas A&M 5, UL 1 Monday’s games None scheduled. Tuesday’s games Southern at Dillard (DH), 1 p.m. Nicholls at South Alabama, 5 p.m. College baseball

State scores, schedule

Sunday’s games Tulane 11, Eastern Kentucky 3 UNO 12, Stephen F. Austin 6 Northwestern State 5, Southeastern 4 UL 4, California-San Diego 3 Morehead State 8, Southern 7 LSU 3, Dartmouth 0 Nicholls 3, McNeese 2 Monday’s games Northeastern at LSU, n Tuesday’s games McNeese at Southern, 6 p.m. Southeastern at ULM, 6 p.m. Tulane at Nicholls, 6 p.m. Jackson State at UNO, 6:30 p.m. College basketball Men’s state schedule Friday’s games Arkansas State 75, UL 63 Saturday’s games Fl. International 84, Louisiana Tech 76 Nicholls 68, Southeastern 60 Bethune-Cookmam 82, Southern 79 McNeese 66, UNO 63 Oklahoma 83, LSU 67 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 71, Northwestern State 59 Florida A&M 66, Grambling 59 Sunday’s

it was on full display during their 60-27 rout of Episcopal in the quarterfinals. Led by Logan Boutte, Shanna Simien, Paityn Dean and Kenadie Jackson, Rogers spoke about the Knights’ deep group of scorers after the Episcopal game.

“We have six players who can put the ball in the goal,” Rogers said.

When it comes to their matchup against Holy Savior Menard, the question isn’t about the Knights’ ability to score as it is their ability to defend senior post player Carly Meynard, who has scored more than 2,000 points in her career

“She’s pretty good,” Rogers said of the 5-foot-11 power forward/ center “They have decent guards, but (Meynard) makes that team go They spread you out and get the ball to her and they let her go one-on-one.”

Because Meynard is so skilled, Rogers said the Knights will have their hands full.

“She’s about the same height as Kaliyah, but she’s really strong. She’s phenomenal.”

Rogers said he believes containing Meynard will go a long way in determining whether LCA gets a chance to play for a sixth state title.

“If you got somebody who can score in the paint, then good things can happen,” Rogers said. “So (we’ve) have got to try to neutralize her That’s my concern. We have got to find a way to contain her.”

623. 8, Hideki Matsuyama, 592. 9, Si Woo Kim, 537. 10, Min Woo Lee, 522. Scoring Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 68.908. 2, Jake Knapp, 68.969. 3, Rory McIlroy, 69.103. 4, Jacob Bridgeman, 69.128. 5, Nicolai Hojgaard, 69.155. 6, Tommy Fleetwood, 69.353. 7, Hideki Matsuyama, 69.471. 8, Shane Lowry, 69.570. 9, Chris Gotterup, 69.651. 10, Si Woo Kim, 69.715. Driving Distance 1, Michael Brennan, 329.4. 2, Gary Woodland, 327.7. 3, Aldrich Potgieter, 325.8. 4, Rasmus Hojgaard, 322.9. 5, Chris Gotterup, 322. 6, Jesper Svensson, 321.8. 7, Min Woo Lee, 319.9. 8, Jake Knapp, 319.4. 9, Isaiah Salinda, 319.2. 10, Nicolai Hojgaard, 318.8. Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Lucas Glover, 77.38%. 2, Joel Dahmen, 77.04%. 3, Chan Kim, 74.49%. 4, Andrew Putnam, 72.32%. 5, Si Woo Kim, 72.02%. 6, Corey Conners, 70.92%. 7, Matt Fitzpatrick, 70.54%. 8, Kensei Hirata, 70.17%. 9, David Lipsky, 70.00%. 10, Collin Morikawa, 68.37%. Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%.

Total Driving 1, Min Woo Lee, 25. 2, Blades Brown, 29. 3, David Ford, 50. 4, Adam Scott, 58. 5, Jimmy Stanger, 65. 6, Michael Thorbjornsen, 70. 7, William Mouw, 74. 8, Jordan Smith, 77. 9, Collin Morikawa, 80. 10, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, 83. SG-Putting 1, Jacob Bridgeman, 1.276. 2, Zach Johnson, 1.232. 3, Kris Ventura, 1.181. 4, Jake Knapp, 1.095. 5, Davis Riley, 1.021. 6, Matthieu Pavon, 1.005. 7, Sam Ryder, .992. 8, Vince Whaley, .977. 9, Seamus Power, .972. 10, Robert MacIntyre, .934. Birdie Average 1, Scottie Scheffler, 5.88. 2, Jacob Bridgeman, 5.5. 3, David Lipsky, 5.4. 4, Rory McIlroy 5.38. 5, Tommy Fleetwood, 5.25. 6, Ricky Castillo, 5.19. 7 (tie), Pierceson Coody and Will Zalatoris, 5.17. 9, 2 tied with 5.08. Eagles (Holes per) 1, Keegan Bradley, 43.2. 2 (tie),

UL HOOPS

Continued from page 1C

Lavergne to advance.

Finister had 18 points and six rebounds in 29 minutes in the win earlier this season.

Theoretically, Finister not playing last week gave him a breather and he probably needed it after having to log so many minutes because of the injury bug all season.

It’s a matter of how sharp he’ll be.

Even more encouraging for the Cajuns is Georgia

Player

Defensive

Newcomer of the Year Joshua Beadle, Coastal Carolina Freshman of the Year D.J Hall,Texas State

Sixth Man of the Year Joey Chammaa,Arkansas State

Coach of the Year Scott Cross,Troy

State has lost nine of its past 10 games — beginning with that Jan. 29 loss at the Cajundome with the only win being a 66-64 decision over Georgia Southern. Also true, though, is UL is almost a .500 team in home games this season at 7-8 and

3-13 away from home. On the women’s side, coach Garry Brodhead’s club lost 74-68 at Georgia State on Friday It was a frustrating game because the Cajuns outrebounded the Panthers 5033, outshot Georgia State

FEARS

Continued from page 1C

the game early Seeing my first shot go in and seeing my teammates continue to uplift me.”

It took some adjusting, but he’s been playing some of his ball ever since.

“I think he’s been really good recently,” Borrego said. “The two Utah games and then (Sunday against the Clippers.) Big shots, big plays. I love to see his growth. He’s headed in the right direction.”

What has led to the improvement?

LSU WOMEN

Continued from page 1C

to the strategy she used Sunday in a win at Mississippi State.

“I used several lineups,” Mulkey said. “I went small, and that’s a lot of the reason why Mikaylah never came out.” Yes, you heard her right. Williams played all 40 minutes of the No. 6 Tigers’ regular-season finale, finishing with 26 points on 10-of17 shooting, a career-high 15 rebounds, four assists and a steal. LSU fell into a couple scoring ruts in the win, and the Bossier City native pulled them out of both. Williams posted only one double-double across her first 71 career games Now she has three double-doubles in each of the three contests she’s played since Mulkey left her on the bench for the last 20 minutes of the Tigers’ win over the Rebels on Feb. 19. March is here, and Williams has begun to play the best basketball of her season — and possibly her career

“I just think she’s playing harder in practice,” Mulkey said. “I think she’s playing harder in the games. Sometimes when you get older, you become a junior and a senior, it’s not that you coast, you try to pace yourself, and I don’t want her to pace herself. I think if you go hard every possession, it becomes a part of who you are.”

Why sit Williams for half of the Ole Miss game? Mulkey declined to offer insight into the move after LSU throttled Missouri on Feb. 22, saying

“It’s the decision making,” Borrego said. “As the point guard, you’re going to make multiple decisions throughout a game. It’s the No. 1 thing you have to do. Taking care of the ball. Understanding time, score, situation and management of the game, but still utilizing your aggression and still making plays off that aggression.”

Fears said he has learned from veterans Dejounte Murray and Jordan Poole. They have given him pointers on life in the NBA both on and off the court

He admits there is room for improvement. He committed five turnovers Sun-

instead that “it doesn’t matter why I did it.” But it sure does look like it worked.

In the 16 minutes she played against the Rebels, Williams missed five shots, turned the ball over four times and failed to grab a single rebound. She was holding onto the ball and settling for contested looks. LSU’s halfcourt offense, as a result, started to stall.

Now things are running a bit more smoothly for the Tigers. They hung 108 points on Missouri, then followed that outburst with an 89-point showing in a win over Tennessee. LSU may have turned the ball over 20 times against Mississippi State, but it also shot 46% from the field and drained five of the 14 shots it took from beyond the arc. In those three games, Williams averaged 19.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals while shooting 50% from the field. Mississippi State coach Sam Purcell called Williams a “smooth operator” last season when she dropped 22 points on his Bulldogs in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center On Sunday, he offered that same description not long after he called her a “special player.”

“What separates her,” Purcell said, “is her high release and her elite handles.” Williams has always been able to score. What’s different now about her game is her defense and her rebounding. She’s corralled 32 rebounds in just her past three games. That’s almost half as many as she pulled down in the 16 SEC matchups LSU played last season (65).

ALL-SUN BELT TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Joshua Beadle, Coastal

Carolina Thomas Dowd,Troy

Wyatt Fricks, Marshall

Chaze Harris, South Alabama

Tylik Weeks, Southern Miss

SECOND TEAM

D.J. Hall,Texas State

Jelani Hamilton, Georgia State

44% to 33% from the field and dominated points in the paint 44-20.

SOFTBALL

Continued from page 1C

“They still have to hit it, so stay within yourself. What you have is good.”

Norwood’s emergence also has Habetz excited. Not expected to start early on, the sophomore has hit her way into more at-bats.

“She’s made me put her in the lineup,” Habetz said.

“That fires me up. To have a kid like that, a Louisiana kid, who says, ‘Hey, I want to prove you wrong,’ — like Gabbie Stutes.”

If there was any doubt, Sage Hoover emerged as the expected Friday night starter at Southern Miss in two weeks. She fired 135 tough pitches against Texas A&M after tossing 172 against LSU.

“Her biggest strength is she’s a competitor,” Habetz said. “She wants the ball like (Noble) in the sense of her mentality (that) I can beat anybody

“She moves the ball well. She can jam up a big righty if she gets it inside, and she gets to the right height.”

Kasen Jennings,App State

Adam Olsen, South Alabama

Jalen Speer, Marshall

THIRD TEAM

Cliff Davis, James Madison

Alonzo Dodd,App State

Christian Harmon,Arkansas

State

Justin McBride, James

Madison

Victor Valdes,Troy

The problem was the Cajuns (4-25, 2-16) had 23 turnovers to eight for Geor-

gia State and the Panthers made seven more 3-pointers. Georgia State (10-20, 5-13) had lost nine straight games before that win, so it shouldn’t take the best effort of the season to advance. If the Cajuns can avenge last week’s loss to Georgia State, though, a matchup against No. 10 UL-Monroe doesn’t look as favorable. The Warhawks won the two meetings 61-51 and 102-58 during the regular season. Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

No. 1 pitcher,” she said. “We didn’t stop there. We didn’t settle for just being, ‘OK, we’re still ahead.’ ”

day It was the fifth time this season he’s had that many turnovers in a game. He had six in a game against the Washington Wizards.

“The last couple games, I’ve been turning it over too much,” Fears said. “I’ll watch some extra film and take care of the ball.

Fears has just 20 games remaining in his rookie season. His goals for the rest of the way are simple.

“Just continue to play your game,” Fears said.

“Do what I do.”

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@theadvocate. com.

Williams has now also tallied more steals in 30 games this year (40) than she did in 37 last year

Mulkey won’t hesitate to slide the 6-foot Williams down into the post, in part because she’s proven she can be an effective glass cleaner On Sunday, she spent 13 minutes at the 4, and the Tigers outscored Mississippi State 27-18 across those stretches.

“She’s got the strength to battle in there for rebounds against bigger players,” Mulkey said, “so I’m not surprised. I mean, as I said earlier in the year, Mikaylah has taken her game to a whole another level.”

Now it’s time to see if Williams can keep playing as well as she is now once LSU begins its postseason run.

When the Tigers play their first SEC Tournament matchup on Friday, they’ll still have an outside shot at landing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will, though, likely have to win the whole thing to move back into contention for one of those coveted spots in the bracket, which means they’ll have to knock off South Carolina, Texas and Vanderbilt.

It’s difficult. But not impossible, especially because Williams bounced back from her abbreviated outing against Ole Miss and figured out how to play some of the best basketball of her career in LSU’s three subsequent games.

“I think it was just me realizing that I had to come on,” Williams said, “because Mississippi State was playing really good basketball, and I had to get started and be that spark so the rest of the team could come on.”

The most encouraging thing to Habetz in the 10-8 upset of the Aggies on Friday was her offense being relentless scoring in five of the seven innings.

“The bottom of the seventh, we put up two on their

While the results have been more consistent than they seem, the lineups and roles in many areas remain up for the grabs with one week before until Sun Belt play begins. But Habetz said she likes it that way “When someone isn’t performing, then another one

steps up,” she said. “Every day is a new opportunity That’s why we have 22 athletes on our team. A different kid can come up every game. “You see signs of greatness from one, and then the other one’s kind of standing in the background, and then all of a sudden, you see greatness from her.” Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@theadvocate.com.

Don’t throw shade

Be wary as freeze damage canmimic diseasesymptoms in palm species

For along time in Louisiana, the biggest risk that came with growing palms was incurring freeze damage in the winter

In the past decade, however, two diseases have emerged as new threats to thesebeautiful tropical plants.

The diseases —lethal bronzing and lethalyellowing —are closely related and affect several palm species. They’ve been reported in parishesacross southern Louisiana, with infections concentrated in the Baton Rougeand New Orleans areas.

“Both those diseases are terminal,” said LSU AgCenter plant doctor Raj Singh. “But they don’tproduce unique symptoms so that you can easily separate them from abiotic disorders like freeze injury.” Lethal bronzing and lethal yellowing cause palms’fronds to turn brown. This is where things get confusing: It’sperfectly normal for palms to exhibit similar symptoms following freezing temperatures and as older fronds die off.

LSU AGCENTER FILE PHOTO

The spear leaf of this Chinese windmillpalmisdead as a result of infection with lethal yellowing phytoplasma.

“A lot of palms have been sacrificed because ahomeowner or landscaper thoughtthey had adisease that was actually freeze damage,” Singh said. Wondering whether your palm has adisease —orifit was simply affected by recent freezes?

There are afew telltalesigns of lethal bronzing and lethal yellowing:

n Speed: Palms infectedwith these diseases turn brown and die quickly.There is no transition period from green to yellow to brown, Singh said; instead, fronds become brown almost immediately Palms succumb to the infection within three to five monthsof the onset of symptoms. Cold injury,bycontrast, often appears in stagesbeginning seven to 10 daysafter afreeze.

n Lower canopy separation: Infected palms’ lower fronds turn brown, droop and separate from the upper canopy “The top of the palm willlook like amushroom,” Singh said. “In the case of afreeze, the entire palm canopy exposed to cold temperature turns tan to brown.”

n Dead spear leaf: The young, unopened frond at the top of apalm is known as the spear leaf. “If you see the ä See PALMS, page 6C

STAFFPHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Stephanie Elwood,SouthernUniversity Agricultural Research and Extension Center horticulture assistant specialist, gives atour of the minihydroponicsfarminsideSouthern’sMayberryDining Hall.

GROWING MINDS

Howmuchspace

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

The mini hydroponicsfarm in Southern University’s cafeteria is small but mighty.About 10 paces away,itfeeds the salad bar that’sfrequented by students, staff and visitors.

Hydroponics, amethod of growingplantswithout soil, is what the SouthernUniversity Ag Center usestogrow fresh produce in tiny spaces while teaching new generations about nutrition, plant cycles and space utilization.

Stephanie Elwood, ahorticulture specialist at Southern University, oversees the mini farm along with graduate studentGerrick Breaux to grow microgreens, parsley,basil, kale and lettuce.

“Theyharvestthe microgreens or the lettuce, andthey put it 10 feet away right here intothe salad bar,” Elwood said. “You can’tget any fresher than that.” Farm to plate

As Breaux pursues his doctorate in toxicology at the university, he visitsthe cafeteria as many as three to four times aweek to har-

Local restaurateur TamNguyen points to atall poster of aVietnamese woman inside of his newrestaurant, Nammìi Asian Kitchen, setto open in March.

Rows of kale grow in the mini hydroponics farm

vest and feed the plants. He’s been at it for two years. He cuts the herbs and hands them directly to thechef, who uses them wherever needed.Hegives the lettuce and kale to an employee in the kitchen who washes it and places it on the salad bar

Each tray contains about 100 plants, meaning the machine has been hometoabout 2,000 plants across 20 seasons since being in

thecafeteria,Elwood said. The machineusesanapp that connectsto Elwood and Breaux’sphones, making the process easy to track.

“Ittells you when to clean, when to plant, when to harvest,” Elwood said. “It tells you when the pH is off. It tellsyou when thenutrients are off. It’s very user-friendly.”

ForBreaux, caring forthe mini

BY MADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Make thebed simply,quickly

Dear Heloise: Regarding the widower who doesn’tlike walking around the bed to center the top sheet, here’s asimple solution that saves time and steps: Get apermanent marker in acolor that is similar to your bedding. Make two small guide marks —one at the top edge (which is covered when the sheet folds) and another halfway down the side. Use these marks to quicklyline up the sheet,avoiding trips around thebed. If you live alone, acouple of small inch-long marks on the mattress edge shouldn’t bother anyone. They’ll be hidden once the bed is made, and it makes the process much smoother.Hope this hint helps! Ihave found so many useful ideas in your column and am happy to share one in return. —Karen

S.,inDeshler,Ohio

By The Associated Press

tier holdsadifferent category,makingeveryitem visibleand easy to grab. Each tier also holds separate parts: beaters anddoughhooksin one, pressure-cooker accessories in another,and processor blades and discs in the third. With everythingvisible and easy to grab, there’s no more rummaging for theright attachment!

This simple change keeps my countertops clutter-free and makes cooking andbakingmuch more convenient. It’sagreat example of how repurposing an item that you alreadyown can save bothspaceand frustration

—Carole Rowland, in California

Lemonboard refresh

Kitchenstorage solution

Dear Heloise: Yourecently asked for ideas on repurposing everydayhousehold items, and I’d like to share one that has made my kitchen much more organized:I repurposedathree-tiered, hanging vegetable strainer to organize attachments for my Instant Pot, stand mixer and food processor.Each

Dear Heloise: After chopping onions or mincinggarlic, a stubborn smell can cling to your wooden cutting board long after you’ve washed it. Trycleaning thecutting board with warm, soapy water.Then sprinklecoarse salt on it andrub it with half afresh lemon,squeezing gently.The saltlifts residue and lightstains, while the lemon neutralizes odors.

Fortougher smells, let the mixture sit for 5minutes before rinsing and drying. This deodorizes and

refreshes thewood without harsh chemicals. Once the board is completely dry,use aclean cloth to rub asmall amount of food-grade mineral oil onto the wood. This step helps prevent cracking and keeps theboard looking its best.

Sometimes the simplest solutions work beautifully —just lemon and salt!

Anne Lawson, in Elizabethtown, Kentucky

Watering orchids

Dear Heloise: Don’twater orchids with ice cubes —orchids aretropical, and cold shocks their roots. Water collecting at the bottom can causerot. Orchids need dry rootsbetween waterings To water an orchid, do this: Onceaweek, remove it from itscachepot, place it in the sink, and soak it thoroughly in room-temperature water.Let it drain fully,then return it to itscontainer

Orchids prefer agood soak, followed by proper drainage —not constant moisture. Trust me, I’ve successfully grown beautiful orchids for years using this method!Iloved your mother’s column, Heloise, and read yours faithfully, too! —Margi,inColorado Springs, Colorado

Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

Astudent fixing their plateat the salad bar walks by

SouthernUniversity’sMayberry DiningHall. Greens

bar or used by the kitchen after harvests.

FARM

Continued from page5C

farm is areset from his studies. He strolls to the cafeteria from his department building, sometimes taking the longer route when it feels right.

“It’sagrounding kind of thing for me, like areset from my busy lifestyle,” he said. “You know those people who trim bonsai trees and stuff like that to calm them? It’slike my calming thing of the day.”

Learning with littles

At the on-campus day care, children from ages 2 to 4gaze up at the 4-foot-tall hydroponic towergrowing lettuce and dinosaur kale.

“Beingable to expose them to this and let them be able to watch it grow right before their eyes,” said garden specialist Cornelius Jackson at the Southern University Ag Center.“Being able to come in there, see the lights on, see the plants

KITCHEN

Continued from page5C

Vietnam,” Nguyen said. “We love those times. We went back to Vietnam acouple months ago, and we love it.” Menu andhours

The menu will feature dishes likeegg rolls, shaken beef rice plates, dumplings, stir fries, bone broths with egg or rice noodles. There will also be bò né, aVietnamese breakfast dish with eggs, beefand sausage, Nguyen said.

The bar will serve Vietnamese beer,aswell as wine and specialty Asian cocktails.

Once the restaurant opens in March, the hours will be

growing every day, hearthe water splashing ” After aharvest, the day carechefwill preparetortilla wraps packed with lettuce, cheese and ham, allowing the toddlers to eat the plant they watched growfor thepastthreeto four weeks.

Thetower has been around forabout twoyears, part of an initiative from Southern’s Ag Center thatplaces community gardens (including hydroponics andtraditional, soil-based gardens) in Baton Rougeschools and child development centers. So far, Jackson has broughthydroponic gardens to about 10 places.

Many people don’thave the space to grow aregular garden, Jacksonsaid, sothe hydroponic towers are useful.

“These hydroponic towers allowpeopletomaximize the minimum space and get maximum output by beingableto just growinanupright tower that only requires water, nutrient solution anda rockwool, which is amakeshift

11 a.m. to 9p.m. Mondays throughSaturdaysand closed Sundays.

Sneakpeekinside

Nguyen was bornin Vietnamin1986, andafter arecent visit back home, he decided to open therestaurant in honor of his roots. The interior design drawsfrom this inspiration

“The music, the dressing, the culture, the people,”he said. “Wefall in love withit.

That’swhy wewanttobring that back to the customer to feel that when they come here.”

One of thefirst thingscustomers will seeupon enteringisa nearly 8-foot-tall poster of awoman wearing atraditional Vietnamese

Today is Tuesday, March 3, the62nd day of 2026. There are 303 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On March 3, 1991, motoristRodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers after ahigh-speed chase in a scene captured on amateur video that sparked public outrage. (The subsequent acquittal of four officers of felony assault and other charges in April 1992 triggered days of rioting and dozens of deaths in Los Angeles.)

Also on this date: In 1845, Florida became aU.S. state.

In 1849, Congress established the U.S.Department of the Interior In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the act creating the National Academy of Sciences. In 1931, President Her-

bert Hoover signed abill making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States.

In 1943, in London’s East End, 173 people died in acrush of bodies at the Bethnal Green Tube station, which wasbeing used as awartime air raid shelter

In 1945, Allied troops fully secured the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during World WarIIafter amonthlong battle that destroyed much of the city

In 1969, Apollo 9blasted off from Cape Kennedy on amission to test NASA’s lunar module.

In 2005, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly aplane around the world solo without stopping or refueling, landing in Salina, Kansas, where he took off 67 hours earlier In 2022, OxyContin mak-

er Purdue Pharma reached anationwide settlement over its role in the opioid crisis, with the Sackler family members whoown the company boosting their cash contribution to as much as $6 billion in adeal intended to stanch aflood of lawsuits. Today’sbirthdays: Filmmaker George Miller is 81. SingerJennifer Warnesis79. Author Ron Chernowis77. Football Hall of Famer Randy Gradishar is 74. Musician Robyn Hitchcockis73. ActorMiranda Richardson is 68. Radio personality Ira Glass is 67. Olympic track andfieldgoldmedalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is 64. Rapper-actor Tone Locis60. Hockey Hall of Famer BrianLeetch is 58. ActorJulie Bowenis56. ActorDavid Faustino is 52. ActorJessicaBiel is 44. SingerCamila Cabello is 29. NBA forward Jayson Tatum is 28.

‘The LouisianaStrawberry’ tells storyofberry throughout region

As strawberry season in Louisiana picks up, Louisiana Public Broadcasting will debut anew independent documentaryabout thesweet treat, aboost to theregion’seconomy

“The LouisianaStrawberry,” from independent filmmaker and Hammond native Paul Catalanotto, will air at 7p.m. Tuesday on LPB stations statewide.

“The Louisiana Strawberry” exploresthe history of thecrop,the farmerswho sustain it, and the cultural traditions thathave grown alongside it. From family farmstothe Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, the

PALMS

Continuedfrom page5C

soil,”Jackson said.

Someonecan grow broccoli in theirclosetorproduce5 pounds of greens in acorner of their house.

“For the nutritional aspect of it,” Jackson said, “allowing them to actually taste these vegetables and do theirown little activities;Ithink that’ssomething they’re going to remember for alifetime.”

Focusofnutrition

When Breaux performs hisminifarmrituals,sometimes curious cafeteriagoersask what he’s doing, allowinghim theopportunity to teach themabout hydroponics. It’ssomething he’spassionate about, and providing fresh food and sustainable practices to the community is his goal.

“That’smymain focus nutrition,” Breaux said.“At the end of the day, when I’m finished with school, my whole thing is to find away to provide the best nutrition possible. Alot of that is teaching people to be selfsustainable.”

dress, called ao dai. Behind her is abustling street in Vietnam. Nguyen contracted aVietnam-based artist to create the artwork.

Nguyenalso plans on stringing colorful paper lanterns in the dining space that holds40seats, and Asian musicwill play on thespeakers for further ambiance.

Thebuildinghas been underrenovation forthe past five months, Nguyen said. His team added newflooring, plumbing and electrical work.

“Welove the restaurant environment,” he said. “Cooking for people, bringing back memories when theyeat the food. The decoration,all of that. That’s what we want.”

spear leaf is dead, that meansthe palm is definitely infected with one or the other disease,”Singh said While theseclues can point towardalethal bronzing or lethalyellowing infection, they’re not enough to definitively say apalm is infected. To do that, you’ll need to send in asample to theAgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center,which Singh oversees.

It’sworth taking this extra step to figure outfor sure whether one of these diseases or adifferent ailment or an abioticstressor is in play.Freeze-damaged palmssometimes —but not always —can recover with propercareand don’tnecessarily havetoberemoved from thelandscape.

Apalmstrickenwith lethal bronzing or lethal yellowing, on the other hand, needstobetaken down immediately. This can help

program captures how agriculture, community and heritageintersect in Tangipahoa Parish and beyond.

Throughthe voices of past andpresent growers, thedocumentaryhighlights both the pride and the pressuresofmodernfarming.

Theirstoriesreveal how knowledge,resilience and tradition have allowed the strawberry industry to endure acrossgenerations, shaping not only alocal economy but asharedcultural identity

prevent diseasespread to nearby palms,and theinfected palm will die soon anyway “Once the palm is infected,there is no cure,” Singh said.

Preventive treatments areavailable to help healthy palmsresist phytoplasma infection, which is

Developed over the past year in closecollaboration with LPB, Catalanotto worked alongside LPB DirectorofProgramming Jason Viso, who served as a creative consultant in shaping the film’s narrative and storytelling approach.

“As aLouisiana filmmaker,premiering on LPB is asignificant milestone,” Catalanotto said. “It gives the film aplatform to move from aregional audience to statewide attention, sharing the story with communities across Louisiana.”

“The documentary is first andforemost astory about thefarmers who worktirelessly to growthe fruit and bring it from their fields to our tables,” Catalanotto said. “The strawberry is morethan acrop;itispart of our cultural identity,as essential to who we are as crawfish.”

transmitted and spread by asmall leafhopper insect called Haplaxius crudus.

“They will feed on the phloem of the palm, and while they’re feeding, they will transmit the phytoplasma into the phloem system of the plant,” Singh said. The phytoplasmahamperstranslocation of nutrients inside the palm,essentially starving it to death. If you’re interestedin growingpalms, youcan be careful in choosing species as another preventive measure. CanaryIslanddate palms, Chinese fan palms, Chinese windmill palms, medjool date palms, queen palms and silver date palms are allsusceptibletolethal bronzing and lethal yellowing. Sabal, or cabbage, palmsare abit moretolerantofthese diseases than other species.

Youcan find more information about these diseases and learn how to submit samples to the Plant Diagnostic Center by visiting www.LSUAgCenter.com/ PlantDiagnosticCenter

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) The more you interact with others, the better. Participating in community events will help you expand your plans and initiate new ones.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Keep your plans to yourself. Preparation will promote a better lifestyle. Consider where to funnel your time and energy to ensure that you get the most out of it.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Focus on how you can use your time to help others or support a cause that concerns you. The people you meet and the opportunities that arise will change how you live and do things.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Empty promises will backfire and add to your stress. Focus on researching, honing skills and looking for ways to show off what you have to offer.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) An open and direct attitude will help you get ahead personally and professionally. Home and self-improvements will make a difference to how you think, live and feel about the future.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Dig in, and don't stop until you are satisfied with your progress. Discipline, open-mindedness and finding meaning in what you do will be rewarding and offer insight.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Take the initiative, follow your heart and put your plans in motion. Communication will bring you closer to your dreams and

to those who want to help you reach them.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Say what's on your mind and follow through on your words. Having the drive to finish what you start will attract attention and the support you need to exploit your talents.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) The coast is clear for you to promote what you can do. Social events will offer you an opportunity to practice your spiel on those you trust to critique you with kindness and positive suggestions.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Discussions will spin out of control if you aren't careful about what you say or do. Take time to rethink your plans before you proceed. Be resourceful.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Financial growth is evident through wise investments and budgeting. Verify information before you participate in an offer that comes your way. Not everyone will have your best interests at heart.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) A high energy level will help you make personal changes. A job opportunity or partnership looks rewarding. Your unique concepts will attract attention and positive changes.

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

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

This week, we are looking at counting —arguablythe mostimportant factor forsuccessatthe game. And when you areondefense,you will sometimes need partner to give you acount signal so that youcanworkouthowmanycardsdeclarer has in the suit— as in thisdeal

In threeno-trump, declarer starts with onlyfivetop tricks:three spades and twodiamonds. He needs to get the rounded suits going. So, after taking the firsttrick with hisspade king, he leads the club king.

East wantstotakehis club ace when South is playing his last club. So West mustgive acount signal.Since West has an even number of clubs, he should go high-low, playing first the five (or eight, but Ilike second-highest fromfour), then thetwo. This will tellEasttotake the second clubtrick. (If West has only two clubs, Southhas four and holding up twicewould not help.)

East leads back his second spade to declarer’s ace. South, needing to get into the dummy, leadsthe heartking. West plays hisnine, starting ahigh-low with adoubleton. East,aware of what is happening, holds up his ace.

South will probably tryalow heartto dummy’s queen, but East wins with his ace and shifts to the diamond jack (or leadsbacktheheart10),andthecontract is dead.

Finally, note that at trick one, East shouldplayhis spade three, adiscouraging signal denying helpinspades.But adefender does not signal attitude when declarer leads asuit (except perhaps to play the top of touching honors).

©2026 by NEA,Inc., dist.

By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3 Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAy’s WoRD MARoons: muh-ROONS: Leaves in isolation.

Average mark15words

Timelimit 25 minutes

Can you find 21 or morewords in MAROONS?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —sPAcIous

cuss oasis opus

and not hearers only,

BRIEFS

India, Canada to boost economic partnership

NEW DELHI India and Canada on Monday agreed to strengthen their economic partnership, in a move aimed at boosting ties after two years of strained relationship

Speaking after talks with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries would soon finalize a “comprehensive economic partnership” which is expected to increase bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030. India and Canada began advancing negotiations on a long-pending trade agreement last year, as Carney moved to re-engage with New Delhi, restore diplomatic channels and stabilize ties between the two countries.

Carney said the two sides were aiming to conclude the deal by the end of the year

“This is not merely the renewal of a relationship. It is the expansion of a valued partnership with new ambition, focus, and foresight,” Carney said.

Burger King testing

AI-powered headsets

Burger King is testing AI-powered headsets that can recite recipes, alert managers when inventories are low and even track how friendly employees are to customers. Restaurant Brands International the Miami-based company that owns Burger King, Popeyes and other brands — said Thursday it’s testing the OpenAI-powered headsets in 500 U.S. restaurants

The system collects data on restaurant operations and shares it via “Patty,” a voice that talks to employees through their headsets. If the drink machine is low on Diet Coke, Patty will tell the store’s manager If a customer uses a QR code to report a messy bathroom, the manager will be alerted

Employees can ask Patty how to make various menu items or tell Patty to remove items from digital menus if they’ve run out of ingredients.

Burger King said it’s also exploring using Patty as a way to improve customer service. The system can track when employees say key words like “welcome,” “please” and “thank you” and share that with managers. When asked about that capability Thursday by The Associated Press, Burger King said the intent is to use Patty as a coaching tool, not a tracker of individual employees.

“It’s not about scoring individuals or enforcing scripts It’s about reinforcing great hospitality and giving managers helpful, real-time insights so they can recognize their teams more effectively,” Burger King said in a statement.

Burger King added that the key words are “one of many signals to help managers understand service patterns.”

Walmart to pay $100M to settle FTC allegations

NEW YORK Walmart Inc. has agreed to pay $100 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that the retailer caused its delivery drivers to lose tens of millions of dollars’ worth of earnings by deceiving them about their pay and tips they could make, the commission said in a statement on Thursday

Joined by 11 states, the FTC alleges that the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer showed drivers inflated base pay and tip amounts in its crowdsourced gig driver delivery program called Spark

The FTC alleges that the retailer deceived customers by falsely claiming that all of its customer tips would actually go to drivers. The commission also alleges that Walmart failed to inform drivers that it would split tips when a customer’s delivery was split across multiple drivers.

“Labor markets cannot function efficiently without truthful and nonmisleading information about earnings and other material terms,” Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement

As part of its settlement with the FTC, Walmart is required to implement an earnings verification program to ensure that drivers are paid the promised earnings and tips, among other orders.

Federal court rejects refund delay

Companies seeking payouts after Trump’s tariffs ruled illegal

BY PAUL WISEMAN and MAE ANDERSON AP business writers

WASHINGTON A federal court on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to slow the process of refunding billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs the Supreme Court struck down as illegal last month.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit started the

next phase in the refund process by sending it to a lower court to sort out.

In a court filing Friday, Trump’s Justice Department had urged the Federal Circuit to proceed cautiously and hold off for 90 days. But the judges refused.

The Supreme Court ruled Feb 20 that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on most countries in the world were illegal, clearing the way for the importers who paid them to seek refunds.

The government had collected more than $130 billion from the tariffs by mid-December, and could ultimately be on the hook for refunds worth $175 billion, according to calculations by the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

But the Supreme Court offered no guidance on refunds; its deci-

sion did not even mention them Now the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York will decide how the complicated refund process should proceed.

“I would expect the Court of International Trade to quickly issue an order requesting a status update from the government on their plans with respect to refunds (or expedited briefing),” said trade lawyer Ryan Majerus, a partner at King & Spalding and a former U.S. trade official. “I expect the court to take an aggressive posture, asking the government to justify how they intend to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.”

Siddartha Rao, a partner at law firm Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, said he has been getting a lot of calls from clients with questions.

Stocks remain up despite big drop

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK Oil prices

leaped Monday on worries that war with Iran could clog the global flow of crude and make inflation even worse. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, swung from sharp losses to a tiny gain.

Crude prices jumped more than 6%, which will likely mean higher prices soon at gasoline pumps. That would hurt not only U.S. households, whose spending makes up the bulk of the U.S. economy, but also businesses with big fuel bills.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.2% at the start of trading, and cruise lines and airlines led the way lower But U.S. stocks quickly erased those losses, in part because past military conflicts haven’t usually created sustained drops for the market, and the index finished the day with a gain of less than 0.1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 73 points or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%. Both also came back from steep early losses.

Prices for natural gas remained higher, meanwhile, which could raise heating bills for the remainder of the winter, after a major supplier of liquefied natural gas to Europe said it would stop production because of the war Gold climbed 1.2% as investors looked for safer things to own and as U.S. officials tried to persuade the world that this war will not last forever Typically, Treasury yields also fall in the bond market when investors are feeling nervous. But yields instead climbed, in part because higher oil prices will put

upward pressure on inflation, which is already worse than nearly everyone would like. That could tie the Federal Reserve’s hands and keep it from cutting interest rates.

Lower interest rates can boost the economy and job market, but they also worsen inflation. Higher rates can do the opposite.

Past military conflicts in the Middle East have not caused long-term drops for markets For this war to knock down U.S. stocks in a significant and sustained way, the price of oil would perhaps need to jump above $100 per barrel, according to strategists at Morgan Stanley led by Michael Wilson.

Oil prices are still well below that level, even with Monday’s jump. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 6.3% to settle at $71.23. Brent crude, the international standard, climbed 6.7% to $77.74 per barrel.

That helped the U.S. stock market pare some of its steep opening loss. Morgan Stanley also said the S&P 500 has climbed an average of 2%, 6% and 8% in the one, six and 12 months following “geopolitical risk events” historically That’s going back to the Korean War, which began in 1950, and the 1956 Suez crisis. At this moment, though, fear is still running through markets.

Stocks of airlines were some of Monday’s sharpest losers. Not only do higher oil prices threaten their already big fuel bills, the fighting in the Middle East also closed airports and left travelers stranded.

American Airlines lost 4.2%, United Airlines fell 2.9% and Delta Air Lines

sank 2.2%.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped even more, 10.6%. It needs customers to have plenty of cash to spend after paying for gasoline and other essentials.

The cruise operator also reported weaker revenue for its latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit was better Its forecast for profit this upcoming fiscal year was also lower than analysts expected.

Stocks in the housing industry struggled as higher Treasury yields could translate into more expensive mortgage rates. Homebuilder D.R. Horton lost 3.7%, and Builder FirstSource sank 4.7%.

Helping the U.S. stock market to bounce back from its early losses were oil companies, which benefited from the rising price of crude. Exxon Mobil climbed 1.1%, and Marathon Petroleum rose 5.9%. Companies that make equipment for the military also strengthened. Northrop Grumman climbed 5.9%, and RTX rallied 4.7%.

Palantir Technologies, whose software helps global defense agencies and other customers, jumped 5.8% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500. Big Tech stocks also helped support the market. Nvidia rose 2.9% and was the strongest single force pushing the S&P 500 higher In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.04% from 3.97% late Friday A report showing growth for U.S. manufacturing was better last month than economists expected also helped to lift yields.

“We are somewhat in uncharted territory,” he said.

The Trump administration has been reaching for new tariffs to replace the ones the Supreme Court struck down.

One question, he said, is how the government might actually pay for these refunds.

“Everyone is sort of cognizant of the fact that it’s not like there’s over a hundred billion dollars sitting in, you know, in a room somewhere to just cut checks,” Rao said.

“So, you know, this is a Treasury problem, and it may very well be that the administration is reimposing tariffs for the reasons that it’s cited it’s important for strategic trade agreements and for bargaining power and all of that. But it also might be that they need to raise revenue to pay out refunds.”

Limited flights resume from UAE

BY KELVIN CHAN and ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press

LONDON Several international airlines cautiously resumed a small number of flights from the United Arab Emirates on Monday, providing the first opportunity for travelers stranded by sweeping airspace closures to leave the country after the U.S. and Israel bombarded Iran, and Iran struck back at targets across the Middle East.

The limited flight schedules followed days of near-total shutdowns at some of the world’s busiest aviation hubs. The disruptions have rippled far beyond the conflict zone, stranding tourists, business travelers, migrant workers and religious pilgrims across multiple continents and snarling global travel that relies heavily on Gulf airports. Long-haul carriers Etihad Airways and Emirates, based in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, along with budget carrier FlyDubai, said they would operate select flights from the country where air traffic was suspended Saturday and defense systems have intercepted Iranian missiles and drones. Dubai’s government urged passengers to go to airports only if contacted directly, warning that operations remained limited. More than 90% of the scheduled flights from Dubai and more than half of those set to depart Abu Dhabi were still canceled, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.

At least 16 Etihad flights left Abu Dhabi to evacuate stranded passengers during a three-hour window Monday, according to tracking service Flightradar24, heading to destinations including Islamabad, Paris, Amsterdam, Mumbai, Moscow and London. The airline’s website, however, said all its regularly scheduled commercial flights remained suspended until Wednesday afternoon.

Emirates said customers with earlier bookings would get priority for seats aboard the limited flights it planned to operate starting Monday evening. FlyDubai said it would operate four flights departing the city and another five arriving planes on Monday, adding that schedules could quickly change as the situation evolved.

Leela Rao, a 29-year-old law student at Georgetown University in Washington, made it onto one of Monday’s Etihad flights after landing in Abu Dhabi on Saturday She learned of the airstrikes while waiting to make a connection and spent hours at the airport following news updates, hearing explosions and receiving shelter-in-place alerts before the airline arranged a hotel stay in Dubai.

“I am feeling so, so, so grateful,” Rao said via text message after arriving in Delhi in time for a friend’s wedding. “Everyone clapped when we landed.”

With air travel severely limited throughout the Middle East, travelers found themselves unexpectedly marooned in hotels, airports and on cruise ships in multiple countries besides Iran and Israel once the conflict started Saturday Dubai International Airport, Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport and Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, are key hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and Asia. All three were all directly affected by Iranian strikes over the weekend. Along with people planning to head to or from the region, travelers who were passing through on multileg journeys also found themselves stuck. Air Canada announced Monday it was canceling flights between Canada and Israel and Dubai until March 22.

Airlines elsewhere in the region remained grounded. Qatar Airways said its flights were still suspended, with its next update expected Tuesday. Jordan announced a partial closure of its airspace Monday.

At least 11,000 flights into, out of and within the Middle East have been canceled since Saturday, impacting more than 1 million passengers, according to an analysis by aviation analytics firm Cirium. It said the major airlines operating in the region, including Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and Saudia, along with all of the carriers in the three main airline alliances, fly around 1,500 flights a day to the Middle East, totaling nearly 389,000 seats. Governments urged stranded citizens to shelter in place as they scrambled to organize evacuations and alternative routes.