The Times-Picayune 03-10-2026

Broken watermain floods Uptown streets

Acity crewworks to repairawater main Monday near the corner of South Carrollton

broke overnight flooding streets and gettingintosomenearbyhomes.

Leaders, residentsexpress frustrationwithongoing issues

BY BEN MYERS andMARCO CARTOLANO

Staff writers

Uptown streets flooded and thousands of NewOrleanians were told to boil theirdrinking water aftera majorwater main break near Carrollton Avenue, the third such rupture since the start of the year and one that prompted sharp criticism of the New Orleans Sewerage &WaterBoard from frustratedresidents and Mayor HelenaMoreno.

For most of Monday,S&WB crews were working to repair a48-inchwater main near theintersection of Carrollton and Panola Street thatstartedspewing water in the early morning hours. Therupture flooded cars and reached into severalhomes before the utility shut off service to the area.A drop in pressure led to aboil-water advisory formostofthe east bank of thecity. The break occurred just afew blocks fromanearlier one on Panola on Jan. 31,the firstina spateof failures that have angered residentsand are now prompting questionsfrom CityHall. S&WB officials have struggled to offeranexplanation forthe recent breaks, other than to point out that many of itswater transmission pipes are at theend of their life span

ä See WATER, page 5A

Recent subsurface line breaks

Governor callsout ‘incompetent’ judges

Landry toutschanges in his opening sessionaddress

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

The Essence Festival of Culture saidithas agreements in place to pay all contractors for work on last year’s festival, after New Orleans officials warnedthat failing to do so could jeopardize government incentives for the 2026 festival in July New York-based Sundial Media Group, which owns Essence, said in astatement Thursday it had “addressed all financialissues” with its festivalpartners and was

ä See ESSENCE, page 4A

Jan. 31: PanolaStreet, near Carrollton Avenue Feb. 23: Claiborneat Toledano/ Louisiana

March9: PanolaStreet, near Carrollton Ave. (second breakinarea)

March4: JacksonAve.at Magnolia St Feb. 15: N. Galvez at St.Louis Street

Gov.JeffLandryonMonday lambasted “incompetent” judgesand called on lawmakers to hold them accountable as he recounted howatourist in NewOrleans wasmurdered in 2024 by ajuvenile whohesaidwas supposed to be under court supervisionthrough an electronic ankle monitor because of previous crimes. Sixfamily membersofthe slaintourist,Jacob Carter,stood in thevisitor’sgallery overlooking theHouse chamberwhile statelawmakers rose to their feet and applauded in ashow of respect. The emotionally charged momentcame near the end of a54-minute speech by Landry that kicked off the 2026 regular legislative session. Until that point, the governor mostly extolled the changes that he and Republican legislators have enacted during the past twoyears that have swung the state to the right.

In abrief interview after the speech, Landry said he is supporting one piece of legislation that wouldreduce the number of judges in Orleans Parish and another that would allow himtoremovejudges and district attorneys throughout

ä See GOVERNOR, page 4A

Meeting addresses hanged dolls,

BY DOUG MacCASH Staff writer

New Orleans City Council mem-

bers on Monday grilled Mardi Gras parading groups over several incidents that darkened this year’s celebration, including throws of dolls with beads around theirnecks, throws that advertised abusiness and athrow that injured achild.

Seatedbeforethe counciland dozens of onlookers, leaders of the Krewe of Tucksexplainedthe

krewe’sdecision to permanently ban two riders who tossed Black and White dolls hanging by beads, an incident that drew immediate backlash in the city,based on the South’shistory of lynching Black people andviolenceagainst women.

TucksfounderLloyd Frischhertz and his son Mark Frischhertz acknowledged that the image of a Black doll hanging by its neck would certainly be seen as aracist symbol, though theycould notbe certain of the motives of the riders.

“Objectively it is at least racially insensitive and at worst overtly racist,and it harms ourorganiza-

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

1 held after shots fired near Rihanna’s home

LOS ANGELES Los Angeles police took a woman into custody after she fired gunshots outside Rihanna’s gated home, according to authorities and news reports on Monday

No one was injured, police said. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the singer was at home when the shooting happened Sunday afternoon.

Police received a call about shots fired about 1:15 p.m in the Beverly Hills area, Officer

Charles Miller said Monday A 35-year-old woman was later taken into custody and investigators recovered a weapon, according to a police statement

The suspect has been booked on suspicion of attempted murder and is in jail on $10 million bail. The district attorney had not yet announced charges.

Miller did not say who lived in the home. Multiple local news outlets reported that it belongs to Rihanna. Public records show the property is owned by a trust run by Evan Jehle, who is a member of the advisory board for Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation.

Emails seeking comment were left with Rihanna’s publicist and manager

KABC-TV showed video of what appeared to be five bullet holes in the front gate of the home.

It was not known if the woman under arrest had any connection to Rihanna.

ICE releases teen boys in mariachi band

RAYMONDVILLE, Texas A fam-

ily whose two teen boys are in a nationally recognized mariachi band in South Texas was reunited Monday afternoon after bipartisan criticism that the Trump administration’s campaign for mass deportation overreached by detaining the family. Brothers Antonio GámezCuéllar, 18, and Joshua, 14, were detained along with their 12-year-old brother and their parents Feb. 25. The teenage boys were prominent members of the McAllen High School Mariachi Oro band, which has visited the White House, performed at Carnegie Hall and won eight state championships.

The two younger boys and their parents were released Monday from a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat who visited them, marking his third visit to the center Antonio was released on Monday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from a detention center in Raymondville, Texas.

“They were ecstatic. They were crying They were excited to be reunited with their son and brother, Antonio, who was being held separately in Raymondville,” Castro said at a news conference in San Antonio. “But their mom kept asking, ‘What did we do wrong? We followed all the rules. We went to court, we haven’t done anything wrong.’”

Officials: Teacher killed in prank gone wrong

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — It was a prank that turned deadly, authorities said: A group of teenagers unspooled rolls of toilet paper outside the home of a beloved high school teacher who tripped in the street and was struck by a pickup truck as the pranksters started to drive away

The 40-year-old teacher, Jason Hughes, died after being taken to a hospital late Friday the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said. The 18-year-old driver of the pickup was arrested on a felony charge of vehicular homicide, and four other teens were charged with misdemeanors.

Hughes’ family said he knew and loved the five students involved and urged authorities to drop all charges against them.

“This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students,” Hughes’ family said in a statement on Monday “This would be counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”

Hughes taught math and helped coach golf, football and baseball at North Hall High School in Gainesville, about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta

Authorities: Men who brought bombs to rally inspired by IS

Two accused of throwing improvised explosives at far-right protest in N.y.

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ, MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ

Associated Press

NEWYORK Two men who brought explosives to a far-right protest outside New York City’s mayoral mansion said they were inspired by the Islamic State extremist group, a court complaint said.

Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, were being held without bail after a court appearance Monday on charges that include attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Their lawyers didn’t argue for bail but could do so later

The homemade devices, which did not explode, were hurled

Saturday during raucous counterprotests against an anti-Islam demonstration led by Jake Lang, a far-right activist and critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.

“Balat and Kayumi sought to incite fear and mass suffering through this alleged attempted terror attack in the backyard of an elected city official,” James Barnacle, who runs the FBI’s New York office, said at a news conference after the brief court session.

The defendants said nothing in court, but Kayumi smirked and looked over at Balat as the judge read part of the complaint alleging they acted in support of the Islamic State group. Balat stared ahead at the defense table.

According to the complaint, Kayumi blurted out, as he was being arrested Saturday, that “ISIS” was the reason for his conduct. Balat later told authorities that he had pledged allegiance to the extremists, and Kayumi asserted that he was affiliated with the group, the complaint said.

Officers asked Balat whether he was aiming to accomplish something akin to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded hundreds more

“No, even bigger,” Balat replied, according to the complaint.

Emir Balat’s lawyer, Mehdi Essmidi, said outside court that his client is a Philadelphia-area high

Police detain Emir Balat on Saturday after he allegedly attempted to detonate an improvised explosive device during a counterprotest against far-right influencer Jake Lang staging an anti-Islam protest outside

Mansion in New york.

school senior with “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life.

“There’s a lot to figure out,” the attorney added. Asked whether he believed Balat was a terrorist, the lawyer said: “I believe he’s 18 and he doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing.”

Kayumi’s lawyer Michael Arthus, pointed in court to the extensive publicity surrounding the case and asked that prosecutors avoid saying anything that could prejudice potential jurors.

No one answered the door at a home listed as belonging to one of Kayumi’s relatives in Newtown, Pennsylvania. At a home where neighbors said Balat lives in nearby Langhorne, a young man declined to comment when a reporter knocked on the door

A spokesperson for Neshaminy High School, located in Langhorne, confirmed that Balat is in his senior year there. He has not attended in-person classes since enrolling in the district’s virtual program this past September, according to a note sent to parents Monday by the district’s superintendent.

Essmidi said he didn’t believe the two young men had known each other for long. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said neither defendant had a criminal history Meanwhile, U.S Attorney General Pam Bondi commented on social media that authorities “will not allow ISIS’s poisonous, antiAmerican ideology to threaten this nation.”

Tisch said there are no indications that the attack was connected to the ongoing war in Iran.

An automated license plate reader captured the defendants entering New York City from New Jersey less than an hour before the noontime attack, according to the complaint. Kayumi’s mother filed a missing person report, saying she last saw him about 10:30 a.m. Saturday

The men’s vehicle — registered to one of Balat’s relatives was discovered Sunday, a few blocks from where they were arrested. A search of the car turned up a fuse, a metal can, and a list of chemical ingredients and components that could be used to build explosives, the complaint said.

Lang’s sparsely attended protest Saturday drew a far larger group of counterdemonstrators.

Amid the faceoff, Balat tossed a jar-sized device that contained the explosive TATP into the crowd, the complaint said The object also contained a fuse, plus an exterior layer of duct-taped nuts and bolts, the complaint said.

The device extinguished itself steps from police officers. According to the complaint, Balat then ran down the block and collected a second, similar device — which has yet to be tested for explosives — from Kayumi. Balat dropped it near some police officers and tried to run away the complaint said. Police tackled Balat and soon arrested him and Kayumi.

New footage raises likelihood U.S. struck Iranian school

Feb. 28 blast killed at least 165 people

BY JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press

JERUSALEM New footage shows what an expert investigative group says is likely an American Tomahawk missile hitting a compound in southern Iran, meters from the school where a deadly unclaimed blast killed over 165 people at the start of the war raging in the Mideast It comes as mounting evidence points to U.S. culpability for the Feb. 28 strike, which hit a school adjacent to a Revolutionary Guard base in Minab, Iran, in the country’s southern Hormozgan Province.

Experts interviewed by The Associated Press, citing satellite image analysis, say the school was probably struck amid a quick succession of bombs dropped on the compound. A U.S. official familiar with internal deliberations on the matter has told the AP that the strike was likely American. The official spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the sensitive matter.

The new footage, first analyzed by the investigative group Bellingcat, was taken the day the school was struck but circulated Sunday by Iran’s semiofficial Mehr news agency. It shows a missile hitting a building, sending a dark plume of smoke into the air

The AP was able to geolocate the video and determine it was taken from a site adjacent to the school, while smoke was already rising from the school vicinity Satellite imagery of the compound is consistent with visual identifiers found in the video, including a flat-roofed building, power lines and vehicles. Trevor Ball, a Bellingcat researcher,

A man hold

identified the munition as a Tomahawk cruise missile — which only the U.S. is known to possess in this war It’s the first evidence of a munition used in the strike.

U.S Central Command has acknowledged using Tomahawk missiles in this war and even released a photo of the USS Spruance, part of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier group located within range of the school, firing a Tomahawk missile on Feb. 28.

Bellingcat said the footage “appears to contradict” President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for the deadly school blast Neither the U.S. military’s Central Command nor the Israeli military immediately replied to requests for comment Monday from the AP When asked by a reporter Saturday whether the U.S. was responsible for the blast, which killed mostly children, Trump responded, without providing evidence: “No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.” Trump added that Iran is “very inaccurate” with its munitions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quickly chimed in to say the U.S. was investigating.

Real estate brokers convicted of sex trafficking

BY MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEWYORK Three brothers, including two of the nation’s most successful luxury real estate brokers, were convicted of sex trafficking charges Monday after a five-week trial over accusations that they used drugs and force to rape scores of women they had dazzled with their wealth and opulent lifestyle. The verdict came after 11 women testified they were sexually assaulted by one or more of the brothers: twins Oren and Alon Alexander 38, and Tal Alexander, 39.

The women described attacks that occurred after they were invited to vacation locales including the Hamptons, a Caribbean cruise and a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado. More than 60 women say they were raped by one or more of the brothers, according to prosecutors.

Defense lawyers suggested the accusers had faulty memories or were hoping to cash in on the brothers’ fortunes. The brothers, their lawyers conceded, were womanizers. But they insisted any sex was consensual.

The jury began deliberating Thursday Oren and Tal Alexander were brokers at real estate powerhouse Douglas Elliman before starting their own firm, Official. Alon Alexander worked at the family’s private security firm.

Besides the criminal case, the trio faced about two dozen lawsuits, including one filed Thursday by Tracy Tutor, a star of “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” on Bravo. She alleges Oren Alexander drugged and assaulted her in a restaurant bathroom while she was in New York City for a real estate event. When those lawsuits first began being filed, multiple women came forward claiming they had also been sexually harassed or assaulted, and that the brothers’ misconduct with women had been an open secret in the real estate world for years.

During the trial, many of the women who testified said they believed they’d been drugged after they were handed alcohol by one of the brothers. Some described feeling like they’d lost control of their bodies after less than one drink.

Trump says Iran war could be over soon

President threatens intensified action if oil supplies disrupted

BY JON GAMBRELL, JAMEY KEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

President Donald Trump said Monday that the war against Iran may be shortlived despite the country’s selection of a new hard-line supreme leader to oversee the fight for the Islamic theocracy’s survival.

But moments later, Trump hinted during a news conference that the worst fighting could still be ahead as he threatened intensified action if Iran made any “attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply.” The back-and-forth sent oil prices and stock markets seesawing.

“We’re putting an end to all of this threat once and for all, and the result will be lower oil prices, oil and gas prices for American families,” Trump said.

The war has choked off major supplies of oil and gas to world markets and sent fuel prices rising across the U.S. The fighting has also led foreigners to flee from business hubs and prompted millions to seek shelter as bombs hit sites including military bases, government buildings, oil and water installations, hotels and at least one school.

The selection of hard-line Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his late father as Iran’s supreme leader sent oil prices surging and markets sliding. Investors saw it as a signal that Iran was digging in 10 days into the war launched by the United States and Israel.

Oil prices later fell, and the U.S. stock market closed higher after Trump told a group of lawmakers at his golf club near Miami that the conflict may end soon

“We took a little excur-

sion” to the Middle East “to get rid of some evil. And, I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion,” Trump said. Trump also had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war and other issues.

Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Putin “voiced a few ideas regarding a quick political and diplomatic settlement” of the conflict following his conversations with Gulf leaders and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian Khamenei, a secretive 56-year-old cleric, is only the third supreme leader in the history of the Islamic Republic. He has close ties to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989, was killed during the war’s opening salvo.

More than 20 heavy explosions were heard in Tehran in what was considered the heaviest air raid on the capital since the war started Feb. 28. Iranian media did not report on damages and casualties.

Israel said Monday that it was carrying out “a widescale wave of strikes” on the Iranian city of Isfahan, as well as Tehran and in southern Iran. The Israeli military said it hit dozens of infrastructure sites, including the drone headquarters of the Revolutionary Guard. Meanwhile, Israel’s military said more missiles had been launched from Iran toward Israel late Monday Trump said the United States was nearing its goal to eliminate Iran’s ballistic missile stockpile and its ability to produce and launch them The administration

has offered shifting rationales and timelines since the start of the conflict.

He also talked about “building a new country,” a comment that seemed to suggest the U.S. might be engaged in the building of a new Iran.

Thousands poured into a central square in the capital, Tehran, and other locations in a show of allegiance to the new supreme leader, waving flags and shouting phrases like “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

The younger Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since the war started, was long considered a potential successor even before the killing of his 86-year-old father Trump told reporters that he was “disappointed” that Mojtaba Khamenei was picked and that he liked “the idea” of a leader drawn from an “internal” group of candidates, saying that this process “works well” with Venezuela’s new leader,

Delcy Rodriguez.

The younger Khamenei is seen as even less compromising than his late father As supreme leader, he has the final say on all major policies, including Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Though Iran’s key nuclear sites are in tatters after the U.S. bombed them during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, it still has highly enriched uranium that’s a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Khamenei could choose to do what his father never did — build a nuclear bomb.

Trump told reporters the war with Iran started because that country was starting work on a new site for developing material for nuclear weapons to replace one bombed last year by the U.S.

Israel has already described Khamenei as a potential target Trump said Monday it “would be inappropriate” to say whether he would be targeted.

The U.S. stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long. Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, the highest since 2022, back toward $90.

Iran’s attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world’s oil is carried, and Iranian drones and missiles have targeted oil and gas infrastructure in major producers. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least seven mariners, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Kamal Kharazi, foreign policy adviser to the office of the supreme leader, told CNN on Monday that Iran is prepared for a long war He said he sees no “room for diplomacy anymore” unless economic pressure prompts

other countries to intervene and stop the “aggression of Americans and Israelis against Iran.”

Turkey meanwhile, said NATO defenses had intercepted a ballistic missile that entered the country’s airspace for the second time since the war started. Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following the drone attack on its massive Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the “biggest loser” if it continues to attack Arab states. In the UAE, home to the futuristic city of Dubai, authorities said two people were wounded by shrapnel from the interception of Iranian missiles over the capital, Abu Dhabi. The Emirati Defense Ministry said 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were fired at the country on Monday Iran also attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, where it hit a residential area, wounding 32 people, including several children, according to authorities. Another attack appeared to have started a fire at Bahrain’s only oil refinery, sending up thick plumes of smoke. The U.S. State Department early Monday ordered nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia. Several other U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all but key staff to leave. The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials. A total of seven U.S. service members have been killed.

Trump said Monday that family members of the soldiers told him during the transfer of their remains over the weekend in Dover, Delaware: “Make sure you win, sir.” Magdy reported from Cairo and Keaten from Geneva. Associated Press journalists around the world also contributed to this report.

Capturingopportunity:CCS canfuel economic growth and energy supply in Louisiana

Thisstory is brought to you by ExxonMobil

New energytechnologiesare reshaping the world, and Louisiana is already positioned to lead. Decades of safely transporting CO2 (carbon dioxide) have given the state astrong foundation to capitalizeonthe next generation of energy innovation.

Building on almost 40 yearsofexpertise capturing, moving, and storing CO2,ExxonMobil is helping Louisiana turn thatexperience into acompetitiveedge—strengthening the state’s role as aleader in the carbon captureand storage(CCS) industry

What is CCS?

CCS is the processof capturing CO2 createdbyindustrial and manufacturing processesand permanently storing it instead of allowing it to be releasedintothe atmosphere.

CCS involves twopossible storagepathways forthe captured CO2: In enhanced oil recovery (EOR), CO2 is stored via injection deep underground 2,000 feet or more—intoexisting oil reservoirstomakethem moreproductive.

In dedicated storage(Class VI wells) CO2 is stored via injection morethan 5,000 feet (overamile) underground into porous rock formations,whereitremains permanently and securely sequestered.

Both EOR and ClassVIwells result in safe storageof CO2 thatwould otherwisebereleased into the atmosphere. CCS via either pathwaycan create significanteconomic benefits likeproducing morecompetitive productsthatsupportoureconomy,increasing income sources forLouisiana landowners, and attracting billions of dollarsinnew projects from companiesseeking to make and export lower-carbon products

Capturing morevalue with safe and permanentstorage

While the goal of producing lower-carbon products to remain competitiveinchanging global markets mightbenew in Louisiana, capturing CO2 during industrial processes and storing it safely isn’t—and thatgives Louisiana an advantage.

In fact,Louisiana’s geology, CO2 pipeline presence, and extensiveinfrastructurein oil and gas, industrialprocesses, and manufacturing create an ideallandscape forboth dedicatedstorage and EOR.

Each year,oilfield operators inject millions of tons of CO2 into existing oil reservoirstoincreasethe flowofoil andmaximizeefficiency of thosesites CO2 cycles through wells and either remains underground or is processedalong with the produced oil, meaning significantvolumes of CO2 aresafely stored. As CCS infrastructurebuilds out in Louisiana with carbon capturefacilities and dedicatedstorage sites,the expanding network will alsobenefit existing oil fields by increasing the CO2 supply so newEOR projects canbebuilt ultimately increasing the output of those reservoirsand boosting Louisiana’s overall oil production.

Already,Louisiana’sleadership in CCShas helped attractnew projects thatcould create an estimated 17,000 newjobs and $76 billion in capital, according to a2025 executive order from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.

Advanced infrastructureand ideal geology

CO2 is used in manydifferentapplications,fromsoft drinksand carbonatedwatertomedical supplies and fogfor special effects.Much of that CO2,whether it’sgoing to oil wells,soda bottlers, or other manufacturers, travels through Louisiana via the nation’smost advanced CO2 pipeline network. Pipelines arethe safest method of CO2 transportation. CO2 pipelines aretypically made of thickersteel thanother pipelines, and theycome with additionalsafetymeasures and constant real-time monitoring In addition to extensiveinjection expe-

rience and pipeline infrastructure, Louisiana alsohas the geological conditions for safe,permanent CO2 storage. Operators typically look fortwo factorswhen identifying potential areas for CO2 storagethousands of feet underground:

•Permeability or pores in the rock formations thatcreate space for CO2 to flow

•Impermeable caprock or ‘seal’ rock layers thatprevent stored CO2 from migrating upward Louisiana has been identified as an ideal place forstorage basedontheseconditions, but beforeany sites arefinally selected, teams of expert geologists conduct extensiveunderground testing to confirm an area’s suitability.

Awin forLouisiana

CCS supports the energy and manufacturing sector –the backbone of Louisiana’s economythatemploys nearly 150,000 residents acrossthe state –asfacilities seek to competeinglobal markets thatincreasingly demand low-carbon products and energy including biofuels,ammonia,natural gas, and steel.

CCS alsohelps to attract new industrial investments,likenatural gasprocessing, steel mills,and more. Already,Louisiana’s leadership in CCS has helped attract new projects thatcould create an estimated 17,000 newjobsand $76billion in capital, according to a2025executiveorder from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry

In addition to protecting existing jobs and attracting newinvestment, CCS projects planned acrossthe state areexpected to generate millions of dollarsinlandowner payments and tax revenue for Louisiana parishes,insome casesexponentially increasing parish tax revenues —including in rural parishes who have not previously had opportunities to directly benefit from Louisiana’sindustrial sector

ExxonMobil and its customershave begun operating twocommercial CCS projects already,directing captured CO2 from Louisiana industrial sites to EOR fields while dedicatedstorage projects aredeveloped.

CCS combines decades of experience, robust infrastructure, and askilled workforce to support today’sindustry and prepare Louisiana to lead the lower-carbon future.

Cardi B, Patti LaBelle among Essence Fest ’26 acts

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

The first wave of artists an-

nounced for the 2026 Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome this summer is heavy on female performers.

The initial roster of artists revealed by Essence features Cardi B, Patti LaBelle, Kehlani, Latto and the duo of Brandy and Monica. Essence Fest is July 3-5.

This will be Cardi B’s first full Essence show She’s on the road with her “Little Miss Drama Tour.” Brandy and Monica spent part of

ESSENCE

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focused on planning this year’s event, scheduled for July 3-5.

The announcement comes as Essence prepares to ask the Louisiana Legislature for additional funding to support this year’s festival, and after City Council members a week earlier threatened to repeal a “clean zone” ordinance barring certain economic activities that could compete with the festival if Essence didn’t make good on its debts.

“We are certainly aware and cognizant of the fact that if that is not resolved in a timely manner, it will certainly impact whether the city is willing to do a clean zone for this group or any other group,” council President JP Morrell said at the Feb. 26 meeting where the ordinance was approved In its statement Thursday Sun-

GOVERNOR

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the state for up to six months

“It seems like the people of this state are getting tired of not having the proper oversight over outof-control judges or DAs that are just not doing their job,” Landry said during the interview outside the House chamber “As crime falls, it’ll only stay down if we take the dangerous people and we put them behind bars. If they keep letting those people out, or they treat the juveniles like some sort of afterthought, guess what’s going to happen? Crime’s going to come back again. We don’t want to do that.” Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams pushed back on Landry’s narrative, noting that crime has dropped sharply in recent years in New Orleans.

“New Orleans is now in the midst of a historic, multiyear decline in homicides,” Williams’ office said in a statement.

That does not satisfy Landry or Sen. Jay Morris, R-Monroe, who is sponsoring the two pieces of anticrime legislation.

Senate Bill 217 would eliminate two of the 14 Orleans Parish civil court judge positions and have the judicial council study whether to reduce the number of Orleans Parish criminal court judges.

Morris contends that Orleans Parish’s court system should downsize now that New Orleans has a smaller post-Hurricane Katrina population.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno questions the benefits of SB217.

“As a former legislator, there are some bills that come about because they are really about efficiencies, and some that come about because they are political,” she said in New Orleans. “And I believe that this one is really more about being political.”

Morris’ Senate Bill 123 would allow Landry to remove judges and district attorneys “for malfeasance, gross misconduct, or incompetence, as defined by law,

2025 touring as a duo for the “The Boy Is Mine Tour.” The blended coheadlining show saw them taking turns singing their hits and collaborating on a series of duets. That tour included a December stop at a full Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. Brandy and Monica recently appeared together on the cover of Essence magazine. In addition to Cardi B, two other acts will be making their Essence debut in 2026. Southern rapper Latto is best known for her hit “Big Mama.” And Kehlani scored a Top 10 hit with “Folded” and won

dial Media, which purchased Essence in 2018, said it had inked agreements to pay three production companies for thousands of hours of work they put into last year’s festival — nearly eight months ago. The company said it always planned to pay up, but it took time to work out “lingering discrepancies.” It worked out a payment plan with the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in February

“We have ALWAYS BEEN committed to ensuring every partner is made whole, and have done no differently this year,” the statement said Essence said it was moving ahead with planning for this year’s festival and would make major announcements this week about the event. On Monday Essence gave a first peek at its musician lineup, which includes R&B stars Brandy, Kehlani, Monica and Patti LaBelle, as well as hip-hop stars Cardi B and Latto.

Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Song during the 68th annual Grammy Awards. Unlike those two, the legendary LaBelle has a long history with Essence. She’s performed her own shows and been the subject of tributes. At the 2025 Essence, she performed briefly during a show curated by Jill Scott.

Additional Essence performers will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets are on sale.

Email Keith Spera at kspera@ theadvocate.com.

The hiccup in payments comes as Essence’s future in New Orleans approaches a crossroads The festival’s five-year contracts with City Hall, the Convention Center and Caesars Superdome expire at the end of this year

Mayor Helena Moreno, who took office in January, has said she wants to do everything possible to keep Essence in New Orleans, but that any future arrangement must also benefit local businesses, artists and vendors.

“The mayor continues to bring stakeholders together to ensure a successful Essence Fest in 2026 and years to come,” a Moreno spokesperson said in a February statement. “Honest discussions about challenges and solutions must take place and those conversations are ongoing.”

As a council member, Moreno called for the creation of a local host committee to work with Essence year-round to iron out its issues After winning the October

election, Moreno enlisted former Mayor Marc Morial, who led the city when Essence Fest first came to New Orleans, and former U.S Rep. Cedric Richmond to help her administration navigate its relationship with Essence.

Morial met with Moreno and her team at City Hall on Wednesday, alongside New Orleans & Co. CEO Walt Leger III and Doug Thornton, an executive at Legends Global, the private company that manages the Superdome, according to an Instagram post from Morial. Essence Fest has held an important place on New Orleans’ cultural calendar for three decades and over the years has blossomed into a summertime celebration of Black culture and empowerment around the Fourth of July holiday

The festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors to New Orleans and is widely viewed as an important economic driver during the city’s slow summer months.

In 2024, the four-day summit of

while in office.” To take effect, it would require approval by state legislators by a two-third vote and by voters statewide in an election that would take place in April 2027.

Following Landry’s speech, Morris said he filed the two bills on his own and is glad to have the governor’s support.

“Having judges who vigorously enforce the law competently is critical to having a safe Louisiana,” Morris said.

However, Williams’ office noted that, since 2022, armed robberies have dropped by 70% and murders by 55%.

“Unfortunately, Sen. Jay Morris and his adviser, Laura Cannizzaro, continue to ignore those results while placing New Orleans in their political crosshairs,” Williams said in his statement. He was referring to Laura Cannizzaro Rodrigue, the founder of the Bayou Mama Bears, an advocacy group, and the daughter of former Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro.

Carter’s younger brother Jonathan Isaac Carter was one of the family members Landry invited to watch his speech. He came to Louisiana from Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lives. His brother, who owned a bagel shop in Tacoma, Washington, was gunned down on Jan. 5, 2024, in the Marigny neighborhood, a short walk from the French Quarter He was visiting New Orleans with his husband. Malik Cornelius, who was 16 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to manslaughter in relation to the death of Jacob Carter and was given a 26year sentence.

Following Landry’s speech, Jonathan Isaac Carter noted that his family filed complaints against two Orleans Parish juvenile court judges, Candice Bates-Anderson and Ranord Darensburg, saying they had failed to ensure that Cornelius was tracked via the electronic monitor

In his speech, Landry said Cornelius missed more than 400 required check-ins and that the

monitoring contract with a private company had lapsed.

The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana dismissed the Carter family’s complaint.

“Our family has been screaming into the void over the past two years about what happened in New Orleans and trying to get someone to pay attention,” Carter said Monday “To have the leader of the state acknowledge what happened was a preventable tragedy was very gratifying.”

Bates-Anderson and Darensburg couldn’t be reached for comment on Monday

Before turning a spotlight on Jacob Carter, Landry highlighted how he and lawmakers over the past two years have passed legislation to reduce car and property insurance rates, reorganized the Department of Transportation with the aim to more quickly complete road repairs, made moves that have led to jumps in fourth grade reading scores, abolished the corporate franchise taxes and reduced corporate and individual

Black music, culture and wellness at the Convention Center and the Superdome generated $345 million in economic activity for New Orleans, per one estimate by Dillard University

Still, the event faced criticism last year The concert series at the Superdome ran well behind schedule, with headliner Lauryn Hill finishing her set in front of a mostly empty audience at 3:37 a.m. Some festivalgoers also complained about a new policy requiring VIP tickets to see performances in the Superdome lounges.

Essence officials apologized after last year’s festival and committed to do better

The “clean zone” ordinance approved by the City Council bars certain economic activity — like promotional giveaways or samples — in the Central Business District, French Quarter and portions of Treme. The restrictions will begin at 6 a.m. June 29 and end at 6 p.m. July 6.

income tax rates.

“Today, we are seeing the fruits of our labor, as the upsurge of business interest and investment in our state reaches historic levels,” he said.

Landry did not note that the tax reductions were coupled with a sales tax increase that gives Louisiana the highest average sales tax in the country In his speech, Landry laid out an agenda that is less ambitious than what he sought to do during his first two years as governor.

With a lighter agenda, Landry will have more time to ensure the passage of four constitutional amendments on May 16 He has already convened a meeting of the Louisiana Committee for a Conservative Majority and major donors to plot strategy and raise money to pass all four of them.

During his speech on Monday, Landry highlighted Amendment 3, which would give teachers an annual pay increase by restructuring education trust funds. Landry suffered his biggest defeat as governor a year ago when voters smacked down four different amendments to the constitution that he favored.

On Monday Landry made no mention of a topic that has put him in national and international headlines: his appointment by President Donald Trump as special envoy to Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

The Wall Street Journal reported two weeks ago that Landry during Mardi Gras hosted two Trump supporters from Greenland at the Governor’s Mansion. One of the men a bricklayer told Landry that the United States ought to send a hospital ship to Greenland, the newspaper reported. Landry then suggested the idea to Trump, who announced the ship was on the way It never actually left. The hospital ship is undergoing repairs. Besides, Landry said during an interview with a Danish publication, it cannot operate in Arctic waters. Capital bureau reporter Meghan Friedmann and staff writer Matt Bruce contributed to this article.

and will require costly remedies to prevent future problems.

Moreno, who oversees the S&WB as the president of its board, said during anews conference Monday afternoon that she is “sick and tired” of excuses about the age of pipes from S&WB leaders.

“The people of thiscity demand urgency in their city service and they demand urgency when it comes to the S&WB,” Moreno said. “Whatisthe plan? What are you doing to rectify this situation right now that is clearly asignificant emergency? What is the shortterm plan? What is the long-term plan?”

S&WB officials are scheduled to appear before the City Council’spublic works committeeon Tuesday,and District Acouncil member AimeeMcCarron,who represents the areaaround Carrolltonand Panola, said shewould seek detailed answers about what is happening within the S&WB transmission system.

“There’sgot to be somethingelse happening. Iknow the pipes are old, butitdoesn’t seem to me like we should have three significant, huge water main breakswithin like two months of eachother,” McCarron said.

In addition to thetwo water main breaks underPanolaStreet, another 48-inchmain alongSouth Claiborne burst on Feb.23near the intersectionwith Louisiana Avenue. That break also caused a drop in pressure, forcingschools and businesses to close for days.

Asmaller pipe burstonMarch 4 in Central City,near the intersection of Jackson Avenue and Magnolia Street. Asewer mainalso ruptured nearthe Lafitte Greenway on Feb. 15.

‘Incrediblyfrustrating’

The S&WB has 47 miles of large water transmission lines, including the ones along Panola and South Claiborne.

Kaitlin Tymrak, the S&WB’sinterim superintendent, said in an interview on Monday that theutility is planning to inspect 35 of those miles —about three quarters of the system —that are morethan acentury old and are at the end of their expected useful life. Based on the inspections, the agency will develop aplan to repair,replace or line the pipes to prevent additional breaks Tymrak said she didn’tknow how long the assessment mighttake.

COUNCIL

Continued from page1A

tion,” Mark Frischhertz said at the council’sGovernmental Affairs Committeemeeting. “I can’tget into someone’sheart. What Ican do is say that that type of throw is offensive and hasnoplace in our parade.”

Council memberJason Hughes told the Frischhertzsthat the hanged dolls were not merely racially insensitive. “The actwas racist, plain and simple,” he said, as he pounded the dais, “and it has no place in Mardi Gras and ithas no place in our city,and it’sahorrific reflection on everybody.”

Council member LesliHarris declared that the hanged dolls were an unequivocal symbol of violence against women.“The act was not only racist, it was sexist, because they were stringing up White dolls as well, Black and White female

Deniece Tate, an assisted-living attendant who works near Monday’sbreak, said the city needsto figure out asolution. She saw policelightsearly Mondaymorning during her shift,but authorities told heritwas too late to moveher vehicle to the neutralground. A tow truck drivercouldn’treach it, anditflooded “When the towtruck person couldn’tcome, Iopenedmytrunk to see what stuff Icould save, becauseIhad my diploma, birth certificate, my laptop in the car,” Tate said. “I started to take them outlast nightbut Iwas tired so I

dolls.”

After the meeting, Council President JP Morrell said that Tucks may be finedthe maximum $500 for the incident, because the doll andbeadcombinationviolated part of the Mardi Gras ordinance thatrequires krewe approvalof allthrows. Morrellsaid thecost of the fine was farlessharmfultothe krewe than thedamage the riders haddonetoTucks’ reputation

Thecouncil usually decides Carnival fines in April or May

The hanged dolls wereone of several incidents this Carnival that drew public condemnation and resulted inkrewe discipline against riders. Scores of other riders were ejected from the Carrollton and Thothparades this yearfor hurling beads at law enforcementofficers or at protesters, thoughnone have been permanently banned.

AZulu rider on FatTuesday threw aliquor bottle that struck a4-year-old child,causing an in-

left them.

“I just hope thecity does what it’ssupposed to do to fix this problem.”

It’s notclear howmuchitwill cost to secure thewater system.

S&WB Executive Director Randy Hayman, who took over the job lastyear,has previously suggested that it could costaround $200 million.Hayman wasinWashington, D.C., on Monday morning lobbying federal lawmakerstoidentify new funding sources for thewater system

“Wewill immediately go in to get acontractor to do thework,”Hay-

jury thatrequired threestaples to thechild’s scalp. OnMonday, representatives of theZuluSocial Aid andPleasure Club told council membersthat there may have been asecond victim in the incident. The club continues to investigatethe incident and is awaiting apolice report.

Krewe of Oshun captainGian Durand apologizedtocouncil members on Monday for arider popping off aMylar confetti cannon— known for shorting out parts of the city’selectrical grid —inviolation of thecity’scode. Morrell said theincident is liable to cost the krewe afine.

Krewe of Freret captain Bobby Hjortsberg also apologized fora rider throwing koozies that advertised aTHC beverage company andincluded alink to awebsite promoting pro-hemp advocacy, whichwere in violation of Mardi Gras rulesthatprohibit commercial andpolitical messages on throws. Hjortsberg called the

man told WVUE-TV on discussing repairs to the break on Monday morning.

In her public comments and in a private email exchange,Moreno indicatedshe is losing patience. She told Hayman the water main breaks are “incredibly frustrating” in an email Monday and said the S&WB is movingtoo slowly. She said acoustic tests on the pipes should have already been conducted,and cost projectionsfor protectivelining should be available.

Hayman replied that he agreed, but “lack of funding continuesto cause major limitations,” drawing an additionalresponse from the mayor

“When we have avery specific number andrequest for funding we can all worktoward that, but constantly saying there’salack of funding isn’tcutting it. Find the cost of theitemsbelow and let’sgo figure it out! All hands on deck!” Moreno replied.

Possible causes

Tymrak said theS&WB is working to determine what contributed to the rapid succession of water pipe failures. Anew leak along Panola —separate from the one in January —was under repair last week, butwork paused after the Central City break.She saidrepair work was to resumethis week.

“Due to thesystem configuration,wewould be concerned about one thing causing another problem,” Tymrak said, explaining the pause in repairwork.

throw an accident. During Monday’s meeting the captains of Carrollton and Thoth said that theriders were notarrestedand claimed that the New Orleans PoliceDepartment has providedlittlespecific informationabout the incidentsinvolving police officers. Once the krewe leadership concludeswho wasresponsible for the offense, the riderscan be disciplined, saidThoth captain Pendleton “Penny” Larsen. Larsen saidthe krewealso plans to reduce theweight of some throws.“Ifeel that some of these things are getting really heavy, and Ithink it’s become aproblem,” he said. Anybeadsover 12 millimetersinwidth will be forbidden, he said.

Morrell laterproduced aT-shirt mocking former President Joe Bidenthat he said was thrown by ariderinthe 2026 Thoth parade Morrell pointed out that the Mardi Gras code bars such throws and sullies Thoth’sfamily-friendly

Recent testing on waterpumps at the Carrollton Water Treatment Plant has caused slight increases in pressure throughout the transmission system,but the pressure hasremainedwithinnormal operating range.She declinedcommentwhen asked if the increase wouldbeenough to burstthe water mains.

Steve Nelson, the former S&WB general superintendent who is nowMoreno’spublicworks director,said numerous factors in addition to pumptesting could cause slight variations in pressure that endanger old pipes, though he said it would be difficult to pinpoint one cause over another Nelson said pressure can even increase after repairs are made, either because of lingering air bubbles or because patching up leaks increases water flow elsewhere.

He also notedthatNew Orleans is currentlyinasevere drought, which can cause the soil surrounding water pipes to contract and expand against the pipes whenrain comes.

“There has to be somesort of common denominator.Sothere are probably some contributing factors. Pinpointing what it is is really tough to do, because it could be awide variety of things,” Nelson said.

As officials sought an explanationfor the ruptures, some residentswereleft cleaning up from them. BilliJo Dolton said her home flooded andmuchofher belongings were soaked, including her car.Her car also flooded in the January water mainbreak on Panola, she said.

Panola Street resident Elizabeth Carder wokeuptoflashing police lights. Shesteppedout of bedto see that water had poured into her room from herapartment’sstorage closet.

“I steppeddown right into water,” Carder said.

Carder said police told her to stay in the building until the water drained. Hourslater,Carder said she still had not been able to go through herbelongings in the flooded closet. Alarge portion of the east bank, including Uptown, the Central Business District, the French Quarter,the 9th Ward,Mid City andGentilly,remains under a boil water advisory following the break. Typically, testingtoensurewater is safe to drink takes at least 24 hours.

Staff writersBlake Paterson and Julia Guilbeau contributed reporting.

tradition.

Morrell said that the council is considering instituting aregistry of banned riders that would prevent offenders who were barred from one parading organization from joining another.Morrell said that his office is examining whether compiling such alist is legal. Morrell said he would call on the NOPD to make arrests and to file reports on any future parade occurrences that required police action, so the krewes andcitycould take appropriate action against the offenders. Morrell pointed out that riders,customarily disguised, assumeanonymity If they werethreatened with being named in police documents, they would “no longer have the abilitytothink that wearing that mask, and that costume covers up badbehavior,”Morrell said. Apolice report “not only lets the krewe knowwho thebad charactersare, but lets the public know who the bad actors are.”

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Uber’s women-only option goes nationwide

NEW YORK Uber launched a feature Monday to allow both women riders and drivers across the U.S. to be matched with other women for trips, expanding a pilot program aimed at addressing concerns about the safety of its ride-hailing platform.

The new feature is being rolled out nationwide despite an ongoing class action lawsuit against the policy in California, filed by Uber drivers who argue that it discriminates against men. Rival ride-hailing company Lyft is facing a discrimination lawsuit over a similar offering that it introduced nationwide in 2024.

Uber’s feature, announced in a blog post, allows women to request a female driver through an option on the app called “Women Drivers.” Passengers can opt for another ride if the wait for a woman is too long, and they can also reserve a trip with a woman driver in advance. A third option allows female users to set a preference for a woman driver in their app settings, which would increase the chances of being matched with a female driver but doesn’t guarantee it. Uber also allows teen account users to request women drivers.

Uber’s women drivers can set the app’s preferences to request trips with female riders, and they can turn off that preference at anytime.

Uber, based in San Francisco, says about one-fifth of its drivers in the U.S. are women, though the ratio varies by city Hims & Hers Health, Novo Nordisk end suit

Novo Nordisk is dismissing its patent infringement lawsuit against telehealth company Hims & Hers, as the two companies have reached an agreement that will see Novo Nordisk’s branded weight loss medicines sold through the Hims platform. Early last month Hims & Hers said that it was going to launch a cheaper, off-brand version of the weight-loss pill Wegovy, just weeks after drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its highly anticipated reformulation of the blockbuster medication. At the time, Novo Nordisk vowed to sue Hims, calling the new product “an unapproved, inauthentic, and untested knockoff” of semaglutide, the chemical name for Wegovy

But just two days later, Hims dropped its plan to offer the cheaper, off-brand version of Wegovy That move came a day after the Food and Drug Administration threatened to restrict access to the ingredients needed to copy popular weightloss medications.

The FDA permits specialty pharmacies and other companies to make compounded versions of brand-name drugs when they are in short supply Simon & Schuster names new CEO NEW YORK Simon & Schuster has named a former Amazon. com executive, Greg Greeley, as its new CEO. The publisher announced Monday that Greeley’s appointment is effectively immediately

The 62-year-old Greeley succeeds Jonathan Karp, who announced last year that he was stepping down to head his own imprint at the company Simon Six. Simon & Schuster, which celebrated its centennial in 2024, is home to Stephen King, Colleen Hoover and Bob Woodward and many other bestselling and prize-winning authors. While Karp is a longtime editor and publisher Greeley has a background in business and investment. He spent nearly 20 years at Amazon, where his positions included vice president of Amazon Prime. In 2018, he left to serve as president of Airbnb’s Homes division. More recently, he was president and COO of the biotechnology startup Opentrons and CEO of Thrasio, a consumer goods company.

BUSINESS

NOLA.COM/BIZ

Anthropic sues Trump administration

AI company seeks to undo ‘supply chain risk’ designation

BY MATT O’BRIEN AP technology writer

Artificial intelligence company

Anthropic is suing to stop the Trump administration from enforcing what it calls an “unlawful campaign of retaliation” over its refusal to allow unrestricted military use of its technology

Anthropic asked federal courts on Monday to reverse the Pentagon’s decision last week to designate the artificial intelligence company a “supply chain risk.”

The company also seeks to undo President Donald Trump’s order

directing federal employees to stop using its AI chatbot Claude.

The legal challenge intensifies an unusually public dispute over how AI can be used in warfare and mass surveillance one that has also dragged in Anthropic’s tech industry rivals, particularly ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which made its own deal to work with the Pentagon just hours after the government punished Anthropic for its stance.

Anthropic filed two separate lawsuits Monday, one in California federal court and another in the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., each challenging different aspects of the government’s actions against the San Franciscobased company “These actions are unprecedented and unlawful,” Anthropic’s

lawsuit says. “The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech. No federal statute authorizes the actions taken here. Anthropic turns to the judiciary as a last resort to vindicate its rights and halt the Executive’s unlawful campaign of retaliation.”

The Defense Department declined to comment Monday, citing a policy of not commenting on matters in litigation.

Anthropic said it sought to restrict its technology from being used for two high-level usages: mass surveillance of Americans and fully autonomous weapons. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other officials publicly insisted the company must accept “all lawful” uses of Claude and threatened

punishment if Anthropic did not comply

Designating the company a supply chain risk cuts off Anthropic’s defense work using an authority that was designed to prevent foreign adversaries from harming national security systems. It was the first time the federal government is known to have used the designation against a U.S. company

Hegseth said in a March 4 letter to Anthropic that it was “necessary to protect national security,” according to Anthropic’s lawsuit.

President Donald Trump also said he would order federal agencies to stop using Claude, though he gave the Pentagon six months to phase out a product that’s deeply embedded in classified military systems, including those used in the Iran war

U.S. stocks erase early loss amid worries of Iran conflict

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK The U.S. stock market careened

through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long. Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, their highest since 2022, back toward $90.

The S&P 500 dropped as much as 1.5% in the morning before flipping to a gain of 0.8%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed back a plunge of nearly 900 points to rise 239 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.4%.

They’re the latest hour-to-hour swings to pummel financial markets because of the uncertainty about just how high oil prices will go and how long they will stay there because of disruptions to the energy industry in the Middle East.

Markets made their remarkable reversals during the last hour of Wall Street’s trading after President Donald Trump told CBS News that he thinks “the war is very complete, pretty much.”

That calmed worries that had built earlier in the morning, when the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly touched $119.50. It hadn’t been that expensive since the summer of 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.

If oil prices stay very high for very long, households’ budgets already stretched by high inflation could break under the pressure.

Companies, meanwhile, would see their own bills jump for fuel and to stock items on their store shelves or in their data warehouses It all raises the possibility of a worst-case scenario for the global economy, “stagflation,” where growth stagnates and inflation remains high.

Concerns have focused in particular on the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway off Iran’s coast that a fifth of the world’s oil sails through on a typical day Iran had earlier threatened to set fire to ships sailing the strait.

If the Strait remains closed for only a few weeks, the price of oil could push to $150 per barrel of higher, according to oil and gas strategists at Macquarie Research.

But oil prices pared their gains through the day initially on talk that seven of the world’s largest economies could coordinate moves to push back on the spikes. They then slid

Justice

sharply after CBS News said Trump said of Iran that “if you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.” Trump also added that when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, he’s “thinking about taking it over,” according to CBS.

A barrel of Brent crude pulled back to settle at $98.96 in the afternoon and then kept falling afterward below $90. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude touched $119.48 during the morning, then pulled back to settle at $94.77 and then sank toward $85.

The U.S. stock market has a history of bouncing back relatively quickly from past military conflicts, as long as oil prices don’t stay too high for too long. Some professional investors continue to suggest that drops in prices for stocks could ultimately offer opportunities to buy them at cheaper levels before they rise again.

“We continue to believe that the current acute shortage of oil will be reversed in the coming months as new supply comes online and oil should drop significantly,” according to Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Even with all the recent swings in the market, the S&P 500 index that sits at the heart

of many 401(k) accounts is still within 3% of its record set in January All told, the S&P 500 rose 55.97 points to 6,795.99. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 239.25 to 47,740.80, and the Nasdaq composite gained 308.27 to 22,695.95.

To be sure, prices could reverse again in the coming days given all the uncertainties about the war That’s what happened through the huge swings that rocked Wall Street last week.

In stock markets abroad, where economies are more dependent on the import of oil and natural gas stocks fell sharply before Trump’s comments were published. South Korea’s Kospi sank 6%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 5.2% and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1%.

Trump’s comments came after he said late Sunday that high oil prices at the moment were worth the cost.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace,” he said in a posting on his social media network.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10year Treasury fell to 4.10% from 4.15% late Friday

Dept., Live Nation settle in illegal monopoly case

BY ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and LARRY NEUMEISTER

Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Justice Department said Monday it has tentatively settled its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, striking a deal to ultimately lower ticket prices for consumers and end an illegal monopoly over live events in America.But some states signaled they won’t join the deal and will continue an ongoing trial. After the Justice Department announced an agreement that ends its participation in the Manhattan federal court trial, Judge Arun Subramanian called it “entirely unacceptable” that nobody told him about it until late Sunday after a

term sheet outlining the deal was signed Thursday A senior Justice Department official spoke effusively of the looming settlement on the condition of anonymity Monday during a phone call with journalists under terms set by the department to release some information about the proposed settlement

Live Nation would pay a $280 million fine and divest itself of at least 13 amphitheaters nationwide while opening its ticketing processes so competitors can share in the sale of tickets, the official said, adding that at least 10 states were expected to join the deal.

The official called it a “win-win for everybody,” bringing immediate relief to consumers and protecting venues from retaliation when

they choose Live Nation’s competitors to handle tickets or promote events.

Live Nation Entertainment said it was pleased with a settlement that will let other promoters decide how best to distribute up to 50% of tickets and cap ticketing service fees at 15%.

“We have never relied on exclusivity to drive our ticketing business, it has simply been the result of having the best products, services and people in the industry,” said Michael Rapino, president and CEO.

Live Nation said the settlement will include an eight-year extension of the company’s consent decree with the Justice Department. It described the $280 million that the Justice Department official labeled

a “fine” as a “settlement fund to address the states’ damages claims.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that the pact “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case.”

“My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation, and we will continue our lawsuit,” James said.

A release containing her statements said other states rejecting the settlement included Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

Officials shaped by combat after 9/11 grapple with Iran war

BY STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON As Congress responds to President Donald Trump’s attack on Iran, lawmakers who served on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan are making their voices heard in a war debate that has taken on intensely personal meaning.

Many admit mixed feelings, taking satisfaction in seeing vengeance taken on the leadership of an Iranian regime that has targeted U.S. service members for decades, yet fearful that another generation of soldiers could soon face the same combat experiences that they did.

“Do I take gratification?

You know there’s the Marine side of me: Yeah, of course,” said Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, whose company suffered some of the heaviest losses on the U.S. side during the Iraq War. “I know they killed a lot of American soldiers American Marines. But do I also understand that I have a responsibility not to let my lust for revenge drive my country into another war?”

Experiences in the post 9/11 wars are also coloring the decisions of the Trump administration, given that top officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, were once deployed to Iraq. Gallego, like others on Capitol Hill, leaned heavily on his firsthand experience of fighting in the wars after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as he assessed the Iran conflict.

Lawmakers wore bracelets

etched with the names of friends killed in battle, told stories of coming under attack from Iran-backed militant groups and reflected on their own life-changing injuries suffered during combat

While the initial votes on Iran saw Congress divide mostly along party lines, with Republicans backing Trump’s actions and Democrats warning of an extended conflict, veterans in both parties share deep reservations about entering the conflict.

“As somebody who knows a lot of friends that didn’t come home and a lot of Gold Star families, that’s why the week before the attack, I was actually one of the ones that was talking about caution and why we needed to avoid at all costs getting

into another long, drawn-out Middle Eastern war,” said Republican Rep. Eli Crane, of Arizona, a former Navy SEAL who left college to enlist the week after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Crane said his concerns were partially assuaged by briefings from the Trump administration that indicated to him the president is not planning a drawn-out war He voted against a war powers resolution that would have halted attacks on Iran unless Trump got congressional approval.

But Crane said wars are never straightforward. “I’ve been on military operations that did not go to plan many times, and so I understand the nature,” he said, adding that he was calling for the

Trump administration to approach the conflict with “humility and caution.”

Gallego and other Democrats worried that it was too late for that approach. They paid tribute to the six U.S. military members who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait and worried that there could soon be more American casualties. A seventh service member died on Sunday from wounds suffered during a March 1 attack in Saudi Arabia.

“War is dirty, and mistakes happen,” Gallego said. The longer the conflict drags on, he added, the greater the chance there will be for U.S. military members to be killed. He experienced that firsthand in Iraq when friends would be killed by

seemingly random shots from enemy combatants.

Still, many Republicans argued that it was necessary to attack Iran to stop a regime that for decades has helped train and arm militant groups throughout the Middle East. Republican Rep. Brian Mast, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led the debate on the House floor against the war powers resolution.

Mast, who served as an Army bomb disposal expert, now uses prosthetic legs after receiving catastrophic injuries from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. “Me especially, many of my other colleagues, no one wants to see our military go into combat or war,” he said.

Then he added, “But Iran’s terror, which has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans, it has to stop.”

Important questions loom for Congress as the conflict with Iran unfolds and spreads to other parts of the Middle East. The price of the operation is already likely running into the billions of dollars, likely forcing the Trump administration to soon seek billions in funding from Congress. The outbreak of war has also scrambled global alliances and the future of U.S. foreign policy Shadowing it all is the potential of another drawn-out conflict. Lawmakers said they owe it to their fallen comrades to ensure that doesn’t happen.

“To me, it’s to speak out. It’s to say another generation should not go fight in an openended, ill-conceived regime

change war in the Middle East,” said Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan, his hand moving to a bracelet etched with the names of friends who were killed during his two Army combat tours in Iraq.

Others remembered how frustrated they became with Washington during their service, especially as soldiers tried to fight with insufficiently armored vehicles and not enough troops.

“I know what it was like to be on the very end of the receiving line of the decisions made in Washington,” said Democratic Rep. Jason Crow, who entered the Army as a private before being promoted to a captain and deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. Crow said that front-line soldiers often suffered “because people stopped asking tough questions. People stopped being held accountable. Congress stopped voting on it.”

Another veteran, Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, said that was one of the reasons she sought a congressional seat in the first place. As a Blackhawk helicopter pilot with the Illinois National Guard, Duckworth lost her legs when her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq.

“I ran for Congress so that when the drums of war started beating once again, I’d be in a position to make sure that our elected officials fully considered the true cost of the war,” she said. “Not just in dollars and cents but in human lives.”

Alexander Butterfield, who disclosed Watergate tapes, dies at 99

BY DOUGLASS K. DANIEL and MICHAEL TACKETT Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Alexander

Butterfield, the White House aide who inadvertently hastened Richard Nixon’s resignation over the Watergate scandal when he revealed that the president had bugged the Oval Office and Cabinet Room and routinely recorded his conversations, has died. He was 99. His death was confirmed to The Associated Press by his wife, Kim, and John Dean,

BY GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press

Wyoming Gov Mark Gordon on Monday signed ban on abortions after embryotic cardiac activity can be detected, generally at about six weeks’ gestation and often before women know they’re pregnant.

who served as White House counsel to Nixon during the Watergate scandal and went on to, along with Butterfield, help expose the wrongdoing.

Butterfield

“He had the heavy responsibility of revealing something he was sworn to secrecy on, which is the installation of the Nixon taping system,” Dean said. “He stood up and told the truth.”

As a deputy assistant to the president, Butterfield oversaw the taping system connected to voice-activated listening devices that had been secretly placed in four locations, including Nixon’s office in the Executive Office Building and the presidential retreat at Camp David.

Butterfield later said that, besides himself and the president, he believed that only White House chief of staff H.R. Haldeman, a Haldeman assistant and a handful of Secret Service agents knew

about the taping system

“Everything was taped as long as the president was in attendance,” Butterfield told Watergate investigators when testifying under oath during a preliminary inter-

view The tapes would expose Nixon’s role in the cover-up that followed the burglary in 1972 at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate building. To avoid

impeachment by the House, Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974, less than a month after the Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender the relevant tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor

The signing makes Wyoming the fifth state to bar abortions at that stage of pregnancy, along with Florida, Georgia, Iowa and South Carolina. Thirteen other states bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. Gordon, a Republican, said in a letter to lawmakers Monday that he has some misgivings about the law he signed because it does not include exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest. “Where the act does not align to my pro-life stance is in the concern for specific vulnerable populations,” he wrote.

The law does make an exception in cases to “preserve the woman from an imminent peril that substantially endangers her life or health, according to appropriate medical judgment.”

The other issue Gordon said, is that the law “very likely puts us back in the all too familiar and unfortunate territory of pro-life litigation.” The state’s Supreme Court in January stuck down a ban on abortion throughout pregnancy

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Findingluck in afour-leaf clover

For more than 20 years, Ihave known that my friend Jennifer May has an unusual ability She can find four-leaf clovers. Not eventually or afterhours of searching. She can simply be walking along apath, glance down and say,“Ah, here’s afourleaf clover.”

I’ve seen it happen. On the other hand, Ihave spent most of my life not finding them.

Iremember sitting on the playground in third grade with friends, scanning patchesof clover and hoping to be the lucky one. None of us found a four-leaf clover,but Iput my clover-patch time to good use

Though Istoppedlookingfor luck, Ibecame an expert in making clover crowns and necklaces. Every day during recess, Iset up shop to make adornments for my friends.Wewalkedback into Mrs. Elliott’smath class like playground royalty

Until Imet May years later,I thoughtfour-leaf cloversonly existed in the technical sense —anomalies like two-headed snakes.

May,however,isproof that four-leaf clovers arereal. We met Feb. 19 at Moncus ParkinLafayette for aguided hunt. Iblocked off three hours on my calendar and showed up prepared for a long afternoon in the sun —blue jeans, tennis shoes and abig hat. In my mind, this excursion was going to involve sitting on the ground for hours,crawling around on all fours, carefully inspecting thousands of tiny leaves. May has adifferent approach. About 35 seconds after we walked to aclover patch, she said, “Here’sone.”

She bent to pick it andheld it for me to see.

“Hold up,” Isaid. “How did you do that?” She began to explain.

“Look at each clover leaf,” she said. “See thoselittle red marks on each leaf —theseare redbecause they are red clover. If you lookover here, these are white clover,and you’ll see those leaves have white marks.”

I’ve looked at clover leaves for the better part of 60 years and never noticed the different colors of flowers and leaf marks. Before she could fully explain how she finds four-leafclovers, she spotted another one

“You’ve got to tell me what you’re doing here,” Isaid.

She pointed again to the leaves. She asked me to pay special attention to the small chevronshaped marks on each leaf.

“Most clovers have three leaves,” she said. “So, noticethe little almost-circle that the combined marks on the three leaves make.”

Isaw what she meant.

Then she held up one of the four-leaf clovers she had found.

“Look at what the little marks make when there are four.It’s not acircle. It’smore like a square,” she said. “So, I’m looking at the patterns the marks make, not at the leaves. Here’s another one.”

Icouldn’tbelieve it.

She pausedand glanced toward me.

“12 o’clock for you.”

Ifroze and staredinthe direction she indicated. At first, Isaw what Ihad always seen —ablur of identical green leaves. But then Istarted scanningfor patterns.Not circles. Squares. And suddenly,there it was. About 10 minutes into our hunt, with my friend’scoaching, I found my first four-leaf clover

Droneplanmovesforward

NOPD gets fundingfor Quartersurveillancetech

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

The New Orleans PoliceDepartment is one step closer to expanding its useofdrone technologyinthe French Quarter after aneighborhood board committee approved a$250,000 proposal Monday.

Thesecurity and enforcement committee of theFrench Quarter Management District, astatechartered neighborhood management organization, agreed to fund NOPD’spurchase of onedrone anda docking stationthat would allow law enforcement to immediatelydeploy it in response to incidents.

The proposal will next be considered by the management district’sfinance committee and then will gobefore the full board for a vote

Initially,NOPD proposed that the district dedicate $740,000 to purchase three or four drones.

But8th District Capt.Samuel Palumbo said Monday that other partners wouldinstead fund the department’s drone expansion. He would not reveal them or say how much they donated or how many

The 8thDistrict of the NewOrleans Police

additional drones thedepartment will get.

The votecomes less thantwo years after NOPD began deploying camera-equipped drones throughout the city,drawing oppositionfrom anti-surveillance

groups. The drone the department now seeks could be deployed remotely in response to 911calls.The department’scurrent nine-drone fleet needs to be operated by two pilotson-site and is typically used

Stillstanding

during major events or as part of crime-scene investigations.

“It givesusthe abilitytorespond to things in amuchfaster andmoreprecisemanner,” Palumbo said.

At amanagementdistrict committee meeting in October,Palumbo said the funding would give NOPD “the availability to have drones on standby 24 hours aday, seven days aweek.”

Opponents have raised concerns about privacy and racial bias. Police andFrenchQuarter leaders say the technology would help the short-staffed force keep the neighborhood safe.

The small boardroom was full Monday with eight people speaking in opposition and two in favor of the proposal.

“Wehave enoughcameras everywhere,” said TayGiarnella, a New Orleansresident who works in the French Quarter.“During sucha big budgetdeficitwhenso manyprogramshave just gotten cut…there aresomanythings that money can go to and need to go to in this city.”

ChristianPendleton, chairofthe security committee, noted that the drone purchase wouldbefunded from the revenues of aneighbor-

See DRONE, page 2B

the fallen branches Monday.The damagedtree is one of the park’s mature live oaks, long adefining feature of theUptownlandscape.

National search begins forN.O.policemonitor Department emerging from federaloversight

BY MISSY WILKINSON Staff writer

Thecity’sEthicsReview Board last monthlaunched anationwide search for an independent police monitor,potentially ushering in aleadership change forthe civilianwatchdog just as the New OrleansPolice Department emergesfrom federal oversight.

The four-year term of thecurrent monitor,Stella Cziment, expires in April, and she has not saidwhether she will seek re-

appointment. Under the city’s home-rulecharter, the board may reappoint the monitor at its discretion or launch anational search.

“(Cziment) said shemay reapply,but she is not certain,”said Dane Ciolino, the board’sgeneral counsel and executive administrator.“So theboard doesn’thave achoice other than to do anational search. We hope she will reapply.But we have to do asearch.” Cziment declined to comment. Her decision comesasthe board weighs whether to recommend a newcity baronits policemonitors runningfor public office, serving in anypolitical capacity, or acceptingapolitical appointment for fouryears after their terms The Office of Inspector General, whichisalso overseen by

Mayorurges council to raiseN.O.trash fees Moreno warns servicecutsmay happenwithout newrevenue

BY BLAKE PATERSON Staff writer

MayorHelena Moreno is asking the New OrleansCity Council to increase thefee residents pay forcurbside trash and recycling collection, warning that without new revenues, she’ll have to makecuts to essential services in next year’s budget. At awide-ranging newsconference Monday,Morenosaid the

sanitation fee costs households $24 per month but only covers a fraction of what it costs thecity to provideonce-per-week,curbside trash and recycling collection. City Hall is spending $24 million of its general fund in this year’sbudget to fill the gap.

“Ofcourse, Idon’t want to do any type of increase in fee. I mean, Ihate to even bring this up. But this feeisjust totally out of whack,” Moreno said Monday, noting thatthe feehasn’tchanged since 2011.

Thecouncilcouldintroduce a proposedfee hike at Moreno’s request at its regular meeting on Thursday,though Moreno said it’sultimately up to the council to decide howtoproceed.Any fee proposal has to wait three weeks after introductionbefore it can be considered by the council.

Bob Shofstahl spent life diverting crises

New Orleans executive dies at 84

BY JOHN POPE

Contributing writer

Robert Maxwell “Bob” Shofstahl, who went from ironing sheets in his parents’ boardinghouse as a youth to holding top positions in New Orleans’ financial and legal and institutions, died Sunday in Slidell from complications of a stroke. He was 84. A lifelong resident of the New Orleans area, Shofstahl was president and CEO of Pelican Homestead and Savings Association Inc through the 1980s, and he served on the board of the New Orleans branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

In 1996, he joined Adams & Reese as chief administrative officer and he served until his retirement in 2009. In that role, which does not require a law degree, Shofstahl managed the business side of the firm, which has about 500 lawyers and staffers in 20 offices throughout the country “His leadership and mentorship for the managers who reported to him were invaluable, as he included us in every meeting with our vendors,” Linda Soileau, the law firm’s human resources director, said in a statement. “His style of management was to equip us

with the knowledge to collaborate across departments to make good decisions for the firm He helped us grow personally and professionally and I will always remember him for his kindness and his calm and steady demeanor.”

Shofstahl grew up in a large home on St. Charles Avenue that was turned into a boardinghouse for male Tulane University students when times were tough. When he was 8 years old, Shofstahl was put to work ironing freshly washed sheets for the boarders, said Jason E. Tipton, his son-inlaw

At John McDonogh High School, Shofstahl was starting catcher on the baseball team. His athletic prowess and strong academic standing won him dual scholarships to Tulane, from which he graduated with honors and a Phi Beta Kappa key

After graduation, he joined South Central Bell, where he entered the company’s initial management program. During his seven years with the company, he worked around the state he even helped stave off a companywide strike — but he left when he was offered a promotion that would have required him to leave

Louisiana, Tipton said. His next stop was Pelican Homestead, where he rose through the ranks to become president and CEO in 1978. During his time there, the mutual thrift rose from about $100 million to more than $2 billion, Tipton said, and he led the acquisition and rescue of 11 failing savings and loans during the S&L crisis. That ended in 1989, when Congress passed the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, which established the Resolution Trust Corp. to close hundreds of insolvent thrifts and provide money to pay their depositors.

Pelican Homestead was auctioned off in 1992. Four years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government had overreached by passing that act, but it was too late to save Pelican.

Shofstahl was hired to lead AmWest Savings Association (later First American Bank), where he consolidated 51 branches, settled more than $50 million in claims and made the $3 billion institution profitable.

In April 1995, the Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corp. named Shofstahl president and chief regulator of New Orleans’ land-based casino. The offer was attractive, providing a $100,000 annual salary, but he turned it down 11 days later be-

cause his eldest son was a lawyer at Adams & Reese, which represented Bally Gaming in a dispute before the board. Even though the younger Shofstahl wasn’t involved in the case, his father declined the job to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

The elder Shofstahl joined Adams & Reese a year later and stayed there for the rest of his professional life. He also joined the board of Eureka Homestead, on which he served until the end of last year

When Shofstahl retired, Alan T. Heintzen, Eureka’s chair and CEO, praised his “insight, integrity and commitment to our mission of community service.”

From 1986 through 1988, Shofstahl was director of the Federal Reserve Bank’s New Orleans branch. He also served on national committees of the U.S. League of Savings Associations the Governor’s Thrift Industry Advisory Council and the board of St. Martin’s Episcopal School.

Survivors include his wife, Lois Berrigan Shofstahl; two sons, Tyson and Christian Shofstahl, both of Mandeville; a daughter, Elisia Tipton, of Big Branch; and four grandchildren. The funeral will be private Email Chad Calder at ccalder@ theadvocate.com.

TSA expects continued delays amid agent shortage

Federal security agents working without pay

BY KASEY BUBNASH Staff writer

Wait times for security screenings at the New Orleans airport improved Monday after a shortage of Transportation Security Administration employees over the weekend resulted in hourslong delays and lines that stretched out into the parking garage.

Several public figures and politicians took to social media Monday to share footage from inside the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and describe their experiences moving through security

Around 10 a.m., former Democratic New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said in a post on X that lines were down and moving as normal. He went on to thank TSA officials and local airport staff.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said in a video posted to social media later that afternoon that while Monday’s lines were shorter than those travelers ex-

DRONE

Continued from page 1B

hood sales tax that can be used only for programs in the French Quarter The district would pay the $250,000 over five years. Other opponents said the technology could be shared with federal immigration agents The program — called Drone as First Responder — is modeled af-

RISHER

Continued from page 1B

The game was on. She kept finding them right and left, explaining that sometimes the leaves can fake you out. Within about 15 minutes, she had eight. Then I found one on my own and felt like yelling, “Look, Ma, no hands!” Within 20 minutes, she had found so many that I lost count.

A thought crossed my mind — should we be picking all of these? Should we leave some for someone else to find?

Then the irony hit. Here we were, carefully and deliberately picking clovers — a plant that most people consider a weed Yet the moment a clover has four leaves instead of three, we treated it like a treasure By the time we finished, I had five four-leaf clovers carefully tucked in my hand. May told me that if I put them in water, they would stay green and alive for weeks. She wasn’t joking. In a jar on my desk, four of the five stayed

perienced over the weekend, the TSA agents he saw working at MSY looked stressed.

“And they should be stressed,”

Cassidy said in the video.

“They’re not getting paid.”

TSA employees are working without full pay amid a battle over funding for the Department of Homeland Security that has resulted in a partial government shutdown. It’s the second shut-

ter similar efforts adopted across the country in recent years. Jefferson Parish has purchased a fleet of 23 first responder drones in recent months.

At a news conference in January NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said she is “very excited” about the technology, as it would allow the police to “chase you smarter.” Palumbo has said NOPD wants to expand the program citywide. The drones would be produced

down to impact the TSA since the longest in U.S. history ended on Nov 12 Travel and aviation industry leaders last week urged Congress to end the shutdown, NPR reported, saying that TSA officers hit by past shutdowns were more likely to stay home from work once they started missing paychecks.

But Senate Democrats blocked

by California-based Skydio, which also made the drones purchased by Jefferson Parish last year for $1.5 million.

Palumbo said the department would deploy drones in response to calls for service.

“We’re not just sending this out to watch things,” Palumbo said.

He said the department had recently run a two-week pilot of the Drone as First Responder program and that the 8th District had used a drone to monitor barriers on Bour-

a bill to fund Homeland Security on Thursday, continuing their calls for new restraints of immigration enforcement tactics following the January killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by federal immigration officials.

Shortages of TSA workers and delays at airports in New Orleans and Houston have triggered finger-pointing from both sides of the aisle and warnings from New Orleans airport officials that longer wait times could continue through the week.

Officials with the New Orleans airport said Monday afternoon that while the lines had improved, “the situation remains fluid.” Officials encouraged travelers to get to the airport at least two hours before their departure, with wait times fluctuating between 15 minutes and an hour Airport traffic usually peaks from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., officials said.

“The delays could continue through the rest of the week,” airport officials said in a statement on X.

Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey bubnash@theadvocate.com.

bon Street and ensure that they remained in place, rather than rely on officers to do so. It is unclear how the two-week program was funded. An official schedule of Mayor Helena Moreno obtained by The Times-Picayune shows that Moreno met with Palumbo and Kirkpatrick to discuss the drone first-responder “demo.” A spokesperson for Moreno did not immediately respond to comment on the meeting or the proposed program.

the city ethics board, operates under a similar restriction. Two of Cziment’s predecessors have gone on to win elected office Susan Hutson who served as monitor from 2010 to 2021, resigned to run successfully for sheriff. Simone Levine, who was deputy monitor from 2010 to 2016, won a criminal court judgeship in Orleans Parish in 2023. Cziment submitted a memo to the board arguing that such a restriction would violate the First Amendment rights of those monitors.

“A blanket interagency employment prohibition is not supported by the law and violates Louisiana’s strong public policy against an employee contractually depriving herself of the ability to support herself and consequently becoming a public burden,” reads the Dec. 1 memo from attorney Sharonda Williams, a former city attorney City Council President JP Morrell did not immediately comment on the status of the potential restriction.

Appointed interim monitor in 2021 and monitor in 2022, Cziment led the office as the federal consent decree that had governed the NOPD starting in 2012 wound down.

The office has played an informal role in the enforcement of the federal reform agreement, which touched on virtually every aspect of NOPD policing.

Since 2021, the police monitor has investigated 110 civilian complaints, according to its January report.

When U.S District Judge Susie Morgan in November freed the NOPD from her oversight, lead federal monitor Jonathan Aronie singled out the police monitor office for a key role in keeping “the whole department accountable for the standards it has set, and ensur(ing) that the achievements of the past are not squandered.”

MAYOR

Continued from page 1B

New Orleans used to have twice-a-week garbage pickup, though that was cut in half after Hurricane Ida in 2021. The city’s garbage collection is managed by IV Waste, a firm run by Sidney Torres IV; Waste Pro, a multistate firm with local offices based in Kenner; and Richard’s Disposal, run by Alvin Richard. Former Mayor LaToya Cantrell, as part of her final budget proposal in October, also recommended increasing the monthly sanitation fee, from $24 to $36 for residents and from $48 to $72 for businesses. The council — which at the time included both Moreno and Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso — never brought the proposal up for a vote. Though they are receiving less service since Ida, residents continue to pay the same cost, though Moreno is arguing that more cash is needed to run the service effectively She said Monday that she’d prefer to pair any increase with additional service. She said that could include the reinstatement of a “strike force” to address illegal dumping. Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack, who is leading a wide-ranging inquiry into the city spending and released a report in December on the sanitation fee, echoed calls for a fee increase at Monday’s news conference, saying City Hall may need to make cuts to public safety or recreation if it doesn’t happen.

“We’re at the point in time in New Orleans where the general fund can no longer subsidize the sanitation fee,” Waguespack said. “Residents are going to have to step up and pay for this.”

bright and perky until I pressed them last week. Every time I looked at them, I smiled. I learned the scientific names for white and red clover are Trifolium repens and Trifolium pratense. In Latin, “tri” means three and “folium” means leaves.

Scientists estimate that about one in 10,000 clovers has four leaves. Irish legend says the four leaves represent hope, faith, love and luck.

Since that afternoon at Moncus Park, I’ve looked for four-leaf clovers twice on my own and once with another friend.

So far, I haven’t found another one. But now I believe and see clovers differently I’m not just looking for leaves anymore. I’m looking for patterns. Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@ theadvocate.com.

NewOrleans Area Deaths

de la Houssaye,Carol Gomila,Carolyn Laners Jr., Eddie Malveaux, M. Schneider,Shirley NewOrleans

Boyd Family

Laners Jr., Eddie Greenwood

Schneider,Shirley

Majestic Mortuary

Malveaux, M.

Obituaries de la Houssaye, Carol Cazayoux 'C.C.'

Carol Cazayoux de la Houssaye, age 82, passed away peacefully on March 5, 2026. ANew Orleans native affectionately known as "C.C." by her grandchildren, Carol cherished her family above all else. She was adevoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great -grandmother whose greatest joy was spending time with those she loved. She traveled extensively throughout her life and especially treasured the adventures she shared with her grandchildren.

Carol had alively and curious spirit and was known for her great sense of humor and quick wit. She loved gathering with family and friends in her home and was awarm and gracious hostess. She enjoyed playing games particularly bridge, mahjong, and Rummikub and had a special fondness for her beloved cats. Atalented andaccomplished artist, she found great pleasure in creative expression and the beauty of everyday life Always beautifully dressed, she was admired for her impeccable sense of style. She treasured the lifelong friendships she maintained throughout her life and remained closely connected to friends she had known since childhood. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Ursula B. Cazayoux and Anthony Eliot Cazayoux; her husband, Wayne Robert de la Houssaye; and her brother, M. Noel Cazayoux. Sheissurvived by her brother, Charles E. Cazayoux; her daughters, Courtney D. Freeman (Louis Jr.), Holly P. Clark (Tom), and Susan L. de la Houssaye; her grandchildren,L.McDaniel Freeman III (Sarah-Elise), W. Pierce Freeman, Sarah Jane H. Freeman, Alexandra "Ally" S. Clark, Vanessa A. Clark, and Lindsey T. Clark; and one great-grandchild Louis M. Freeman IV. The family extends special thanks to Dr. Elena Rada and her staff at Ochsner, as well as Tish Albarado,LPN, and the car-

ingstaffatThe Blakeat ColonialClubfor their compassion anddedicated care

Carolwillberemembered forher loveoffamily, her creativity, andthe warmth she brought to those around her In lieu of flowers, memorialdonations may be made to the charity of your choice.A privateremembrance willbeheldby the family in celebrationof her life

Gomila, Carolyn Ann

Carolyn A.Gagnon

Gomilapassed awayon Friday, February 27, 2026, in Baton Rouge,LA, at the ageof89. Born April24, 1936,inNew Orleans,LA, to Leo WilliamGagnon Sr. and Isabel Aleman Gagnon. Carolynloved dogs her wholelife. She graduated from NicholsHighSchool inNew Orleans and went on to grow and nurture her family as well as pursue her artistictalents. She was an amazinglytalented,accomplished, and prolific potter. Strong-willed, strong-minded, truly an incredibly unique woman. Unapologetically passionate aboutevery aspect of her life,especially herlove forher dogs.Mostofall dedicatedtoher family Sheispreceded in death by her husband of more than 50 years, FrancisX "Boogie"Gomila; parents, Leo WilliamGagnon Sr.and Isabel Aleman Gagnon; and brother, Leo W. "Bill" Gagnon Jr.Carolynissurvived by her children:Renee GomilaCroissant (John), Julie Cornell, Gaye Gomila, and Paul Gomila (Maria); grandchildren (ChristopherCornell, Kathryn CornellSmith (TJ), Kyle Cornell, Madeline "Bee"Gomila, and Paul X. "Bear" Gomila; andgreatgrandchild, Grant Smith. Privateintermentfor immediate family will be held at alater date.The family wouldliketogive aspecial thanks toher incredible care team: Tatyanna Aldrich, Myletta Farria, Mirna Gordillo,Curletta Harris;and her long-time friend and general contractor-Gerald "Rosie" Flowers.

Laners Jr., Eddie

We canhearthe soft hornofJohnColtranein the background as we cele‐brate thelifeofEddieLan‐ers Jr affectionately known as M’daddy,June, Junior,T’Challa, andTuhhub-la, who transitioned onFebruary15, 2026. His words,“Ionlycamethis way to pass through,” carry even more weight now, as he departed on

that day. EddieLanersJr.,a

proud AirForce veteran and NewOrleans native (Uptown on MarengoSt.), was preceded in deathby his mother,father, hisold‐est sister,and twonieces. Heissurvivedbyand deeply lovedbyhis chil‐dren, grandchildren, sis‐ters, brothers,aunts, anda hostofnieces, nephews, cousins,and friends. True tohis nature,Eddiechose totransitionquietly,fore‐going aformalservice and instead requesting that his cremainsbespreadina peacefulplace of his choosing. Wordsona page could neverfully capture the essenceofEddieLan‐ers Jr.Hewas ourphilo‐sophicaltourdeforce.Sit‐tingdownand conversing withhim wasa spiritual experience. Theway he pouredintohis familyand anyonearound himleft themwitha deeper under‐standingofthemselves and thepower of theirpur‐pose. He wasbrilliant, walkedwiththe confi‐dence of kings, yetre‐mainedhumble, findingjoy insimplepleasures:a strongcup of blackcoffee, a boxofOreocookies, a good kung fu movie, or a classic Western. Youwould hearEddiebeforeyou saw him—his laughcarried acrossrooms, hisstory‐telling wasvividly cine‐matic,and hi likethunder. eranofthe Un Air Force, Ed bothdisciplin throughouth joysbrought happiness, an tures—likehav granted to vi Hotel Pupp in Czech Repu out hisinne havenot lost ofyourbeing everconnect three soulsw yourlineage.Y framed, andg continue walk withmentals bility, courage, edge, always essenceinour man who held refused to ev bye.“Love yo “Tata fornow Eddie. Your sp likeColtrane’ eternity.

Sister M. Malveaux, Theresa Ma daughterofthe Malveauxa Thierry Malvea eternal life March 6, 2026. bornonOctob inPlaisance She was92y ter enteredt tionofthe Si HolyFamilyo 7,1951, made August15, 1954, petualVowso 1959. Sister spent 74 year ofthe Holy would have be ing her75thJ 2026. In prepar ministryasa HolyFamily, Si ena acquired ementaryedu administration

an excellentadministra‐tor”one sister recollects Perhaps notonlyexcellent but also beloved, some teacherswho taught under sisterbefore2000 still speak of herwithgreat fondnessand deep love SisterPhilomena inspired MarksvilleCatholicEle‐mentary school children, teachersand community toactivelykeep theirlittle school open even after she was no longer there. As teacher/administrator,Sis‐ter Philomenaservedat various schools: Bertrandville,nearDonald‐sonville; OurLadyofGrace Reserve;HolyGhost, Opelousas;Immaculate Heart of Mary,Lafayette; All Saints,New Orleans; MarksvilleCatholic, Marksvilleall in Louisiana and OurMotherofMercy inHouston,Texas.After morethan50years in edu‐cation, Sister Philomena was assigned to Washing‐ton,DC, to serveinpas‐toral ministry andaslocal leader. In 2011 Sister re‐turnedtothe motherhouse and eventually residedat LafonNursing Facility due toill health from 2014-26 Sisterwas notonlyacade‐mically able andinclined but also notafraidtodo hardwork. Long,before she returned to live in New Orleans,the community was lookingfor someone

Visitation begins at 8:00 a.m.Wakeservicesbegin at9:15a.m.and Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m.Interment at St.Louis Cemetery# 2. Professional Arrangementsentrusted to MajesticMortuary504-5235872.

Schneider,Shirley Raftery

ShirleyRaftery Schnei‐der, age96, passedaway peacefully on March1, 2026, in NewOrleans,sur‐rounded by herlovingfam‐ily. Born on September27, 1929, in NewOrleans Shirleywas thebeloved daughter of CharlesR RafterySr. andEthel LeBlancRaftery.She was

shecherished herfamily— especially herthree grand‐children andher greatgrandchildren. Shewas also joyfully anticipating thearrival of another great-grandchild,expected soon by Dalton andKatie Sheissurvivedbyher son, Paul J. Schneider Jr.(Judy); herdaughter, Paulette S. D’Aunoy(Donald Sr.);her grandchildren,DonaldG D’AunoyJr. (Jessica), Eliza‐beth D. Rodrigue (Ricky) andDaltonBeauD’Aunoy (Katie); andher greatgrandchildren, Wesley and ArdenRodrigue. Relatives andfriends areinvited to attend thevisitationat 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March11, 2026, at Green‐wood FuneralHome, 5200 CanalBlvd. NewOrleans, LA,followedbya Mass at 1:00 p.m. Burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery Shirleywillberemembered forher warmth,vibrant spirit,leadership, anddeep devotion to herfamily, faith, andcommunity.Her legacy of love,service,and joyful celebrationoflife will live on in allwho knew her.

OUR VIEWS

Public owed debatesby Senate candidates

The three leading candidates for theRepublican nominationinthisyear’sU.S. Senate race are engaged in theusual, tiresome sniping about who should debate where, if at all

The only right answer is: Yes, there should be at least afew debates, broadly televised, with neutral moderators, involving all candidates who exceed aminimum polling average. Candidates should be expected todebateunderthese terms, not to make debates asubject to political tactics.Their duty is to servethe public,not themselves Alas, thecandidates in the new May 16 GOP primary areplaying games.

Incumbent Sen. Bill Cassidy has challenged U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow to debate, withoutmentioning the other major candidate, state Treasurer John Fleming, at all. Cassidyindicated he would not debate unlessLetlow is there, too. Goodfor him for raisingthe prospect of debates, but Cassidy sang adifferent tune in previous campaigns. Whenchallenging embattled incumbent Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu in 2014, he declined allbut onemajor debateinvitation in the runoff against her.Whenrunning forreelection against Democratic Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins and others in an open primary in 2020, Cassidy refused to debate unlessall 14 candidates, including ones noteven actively campaigning, were invited. No respectable outlet would sponsor whatsurely would have been acircus instead of aconstructive public forum, so Cassidy’sstance amounted to a refusal to have areal debate.

Letlow’s response has been to decline participation in analready scheduledApril16debate on Louisiana Public Broadcasting— generally seen as aneutral forum —but instead to suggest adebate on the radio show of outspoken conservative Moon Griffon.AsGriffonhas a longstanding feud with Cassidy,his showcould hardly be considered unbiased.

Fleming, with asignificant base of support but generally seen as running thirdinthe race so far,naturally wants any airtime hecan get. He said he’seagertodebate theothers.

Let’sbeclear: To dodge major debatesisto say public accountability doesn’tmatter.A candidatewho relies entirelyonthe self-controlled environment of campaign advertising andendorsements is failing the test of transparency and ducking the responsibility to answertough questions. Voters deserve to know, in an open setting, what candidates stand forand whether they can take some heat It goes without saying that anycandidate that hasconditions about when or where to debate isn’tserious about presenting hisorher ideasto the public. The default response to an invitationtodebate should be yes. Anything else is asmokescreen, ill-befittingapublic servant

Taking to thestreets is in theAmericantradition

Iappreciate what letter writer JonathanShermanwas going for with his letter regarding opposing voices on Minnesota. He states that the only way to change laws in the country is through Congress and notbystandinguptolaw enforcement in the streets. In theory,that is niceand quaint. In reality,ifinour collective history we relied solely on Congress to change laws in the best interest of this nation, we might still have slavery,women andpeople of color would nothavethe right to vote, and schools would notbe integrated. It is notastretch to say that withoutsit-insand marches, the Civil Rights Movement would nothavebeen able to achievereal change As we remember the life of the Rev.Jesse Jackson, let’sbesure to rememberthatthe very thing that makes America already greatisthe

In my 80-plus years of enjoyingMardi Gras, Ihave never been so disappointed in aparade. The truck floats following Rex were spewing such obscene and vulgar so-called music.

Mardi Gras has always been afamily event but not this time. It is an embarrassment to the city that Ilove. If this is thebest that they can do, then maybe it’stime to cancel the truck parade.

ANNETTE ROFLES NewOrleans

right thatweall have as members of this democratic experiment to protest and take to the streetsto make our voices heard andstandup forthose whomay notbeable

To many of us, the brightest ray of hope is theunity andstrengthof protests and those willing to stand up fortheir neighbors. So Iask,whatiswrong withusif we areOKwith amasked federal lawenforcementgroup notfollowing the Constitution that is so woven intothe fabric of this great nation? Protests should always be peaceful andnonviolent As of now, two U.S. citizens are dead at thehands of the law enforcementweare taught to respect. What is wrongwithusindeed? Congress is needed to change laws, but so are allofus. Stand up andbe heard

PATRICK MACFETTERS NewOrleans

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE

WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

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

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

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCANHERE

Mardi Gras always makes me thinkofJackie Kennedy’sCamelot, that short, shimmering moment when everything feels lighter For afew days, New Orleansforgetsits worries.Strangers become neighbors, joy getspassed hand to hand, and the weight we all carry steps aside. It’s not that life isn’t

heavy,it’sthat,for aminute, we’re allowed to put it down We laugh, we dance, we show up for each other,and we remember what it feels like to belong. And that feeling? It stays with us long after thebeads come down.

GENIEGOLDRING NewOrleans

Iapplaud the recent comment of Duke Truby.Itcaptures what Ihave felt fora long time, and Iassumewhat manyof your readers have felt. And candidly,I was shocked that you published it. However,I have an issue with your headline, “Letters should cater to the viewsofcustomers,” and Iassumeitis the headline you assigned to the article and not what Truby titled his comment. It wasaclever covert way to discredit the comment. Idonot think it was the writer’sintent, and it certainly is not my wish, that you “cater to viewsofyour customers.” That verbiage makes it appear that we want you to compromise your journalistic integrity forfinancial reasons. Rather,I think what Truby is asking foristhat you take agood look at your obvious bias and makeaconscious effort to be fair and balanced, not cater It is clear to me that doing that goes against your ideological beliefsand political objectives, but that brings us back to journalistic integrity,which, in my opinion, your paper could use alot moreof.

Idon’tthink your editorial board can be objective, as it is stacked with liberal ideologues, but at least they should try to be quantifiably fair It’s simple: Useaformula, 50% of the political-ish opinions and commentaries you publish should be liberal leaning and 50% should be conservative-leaning. Discerning the difference is not hard to do.

JOE SPITALE Kenner

The government seemstohave unlimited funds: We have money fora ballroom,money to repaint planes, money forunlimited travel forsome White House staffmembers and their girlfriends. We have no money forSNAP, health care, the homeless, etc. How long are we going to let our government continue in this recklessness? We are living in anightmare. Please, will someone wake us up?

JERMAINE DUPLESSISLEWIS NewOrleans

Cop-turned-convict reflects on thesystemheonceserved

MANCHESTER, Ky.— Sitting on ahard chair in the low cinderblock visiting room at afederal prison campnestled in the foothills of Appalachia, Chad Scott has lost little of the frenetic energy that drove his law enforcement career formorethan twodecades.

Faimon Roberts

The former DEA special agent, his once blond hair now almost entirely gray,sits forward in his chair.Hesits back. He crosses his arms. He uncrosses them. He runs his palms along the thighs of hisgreen prison uniform.Hefolds and unfoldshis hands. Scott, 57, has now been in federal custodyfor nearly five years after two juriesfound him guilty on ninecorruption counts. That’sfive years tothink back on what got him there andwhat he’slearned since. Five years to study up close the system he once helped consign so many suspectsto.

“It’sbroken,” he says simply.“The whole thing is broken.”

Scott’swords carryasense of irony. He was, after all, one of New Orleans’ most fearedand respected drug cops for more than adecade. He racked up arrests, seizures and convictions. He bagged ashelf of awards.

So he is perhaps ascratched lens through which to examinethe federal criminal justice system. Buteven a scratched lens can sometimes show things clearly.

In 2016, Scott moved from one sideof the system to the other.Scott became atarget of that system, apariah in the agency he had long served.

Those signs of stature melted away Colleagues wouldn’treturn his calls. His nickname,“The White Devil,” which had beengiven in jest by aBlack colleague, took on an ominous tone. With Scott vulnerable, his enemies, both in law enforcement and the criminal underworld, came hard. Afederal investigation lasted nearly twoyears. He was indicted in 2017. More chargeswereadded monthslater.Three gruelingtrials interrupted by the pandemic eventually led to guilty verdicts on nine counts,including perjury and obstruction of justice. He got a13-year sentence.

Scottwas once viewed as abrave soldierinthe drug war.Then he becamea convict. He’sseen the system in away that few have. His assessment, delivered this weekend in that visiting room, isn’taresult of some liberal epiphany.There’sa healthydose of self-interest at work. Butthat doesn’tmean he’swrong.

Defendants, even those who might be innocent, face long odds in winning against thefederal machine. Most estimates put the federal conviction rate northof90% once plea deals are factored in. Scott used that when he was an officer; hefaced it as an accused.

“Tell me that’sfair,” Scott says. And even when defendants lose, incarceration isn’tlikely to makethings anybetter.Thereare few opportunities for education or skills-training, even in the low-security camps like where Scottis. Contraband is rampant;anything can be bought;everyone has a hustle. The camps, sometimes called “Club Fed,” have such low security that in-

mates sometimes walk outthe front door to go to their prison jobs. On Sunday,while Ivisited with Scott, a handful of inmates did just that while aguard sat behind adesk. Afew hours later,they returned.

Beforehewas transferred to Manchester,Scott was at the prison camp in Ashland, Kentucky.One of his jobs there was town driver,ferrying inmates to medical appointments or bus stations for release. Sometimes those tripstook him several hours away from thecamp, unsupervised.

“If Ican be trusted todothat,why am Iinhere?” Scott has asked.

Scott’sbeen trying to get that last question in front of one key person: President Donald Trump. Spurred by therash of pardons and commutations since Trumptook office, Scott was at one time optimistic he might get clemency.His petition madearguments he hoped would resonatewithTrump: that Scott too was the victim of aweaponized Justice Department and that he was adecorated law enforcement officer.Heeven named adog he was training in prison as part of an inmate program “Trump.”

Those efforts have yet to bear fruit. He’swatched as drug kingpins, reality stars and scores of others have walked free while he sits —another sign of the system’s caprice.

Andsofor now,hewaits and sees, clearly,the shortcomings in the system and how it grinds down even those, who, like Scott, were once its truest believers.

Email Faimon A. Roberts III at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Theeffects of JesseJackson’s

vision

Theabsurdity of imprisoning parentsfor theirchildren’s crimes

Having covered the Rev.Jesse Jackson for more than ahalf-century,Ihave an insider’sunderstanding ofwhy thousands of people lined up to waitpatiently in Chicago to pay their final respects to the departed civil rights icon. Jackson knew when and how to defy power,but he also knew howtocajole thepowerful to make room at the table for the excluded.

Clarence Page

Of all the memories Ihave gathered in the past 50 years, one stood out on this solemn occasion:BlackExpo,anannual convention put on by Jackson’sOperation Breadbasket for several years in the late 1960s and early 1970sto showcase Blackbusinesses as well as music,arts and other endeavors. Black Exposwereheld in Chicago until 1976, and other cities put them on as well, including New York, Philadelphia, Washingtonand Atlanta. Butthe one that stands out in my mind was in Chicago in 1971.

My fellow young reportersand Iwere amused to see Mayor Richard J. Daley pictured on the front page of theTribunewithhis hand clasped with Jackson’sinaclassic “grip-and-grin” shot. But with adifference.

“Look at their hands,” afriend pointed out. Indeed, this was not atraditional handshake.

As the camera flashed, Jackson had hooked his thumb with Daley’sinto what had been popularized by my generation as a“Black Power” handshake

Whether Daley noticed, it didn’tseem to matter.Asapracticed politician, he was not about to let agoodhandshake opportunity go to waste. Nor was Jackson. For anyone familiar with the racial tensions of that era, this was something of abreakthrough. For many of us, it was amodestsign, at least, that the cultural gaps in our racially fractious city might be bridged. Maybe we could all get along.

The reverend was trying, anyway Chicago, you’ll recall, was where only five years earlier,the Rev.Martin Luther King Jr.was struck in the head by arock while marching in aSouth Sideneighborhood. After King’sassassination in 1968, the city went through traumatic rioting, with 11 people killed and parts of the West Side laid waste. The so-called Black Power movement wasonthe rise, spurning the nonviolent ethos of King’smovement, and not only the Black Panthers but also the mostly white Weather Underground were active in Chicago. In 1969,Chicago

policekilledtwo Panthers, including the organization’snational deputy chair, Fred Hampton, in ahighly controversial predawnraid

It wasinthis context that Jackson was offeringanew model for political organizing. Instead of Black power,Jackson promoted“green power” to build Black economic and educational investment for everyone’s benefit

To the reliefofmany,the son of South Carolina was not out to be another revolutionary,but rather was offering reassurancethatlocal people, businesses, churches andcommunities could work togetheracrossracial, classand political lines.It might not sound as impressivenow,but when the fires of the 1960s were still vividinthe public mind, it wasreassuring to hear Jackson’srefrain,“Keep hope alive!”

And that’swhat Jackson did. Black Expo was abig testand, for many,a breakthrough for thehopes that Black Americanscould takethe advances of the civil rights era and build on them. The event glorified Blackentrepreneurs in the way usually associated with athletesand soul music stars. The theme of the five-day September event in the International Amphitheatre was “Save the children,” but,asmany noted, it might as well have been “Invest your dollars.” Jackson’s vision of Black economic powerwas perhaps an update of Booker T. Washington’s, or perhaps asofter version of Elijah Muhammad’s, and the BlackExpo was acommercial success. The thirdannual exposition in

1972 was ahuge financial and publicity success. Jackson managed to blend politics withartistic attractions,major corporate exhibitorsand entertainment luminaries such as theJackson 5, Isaac Hayes, and Big Bird and Roosevelt Franklin of “Sesame Street”—and lots of deal-making intended to build Black capitalism. Perhaps it succeeded toowell. A1990 article in the Chicago Tribune described arevived expo in Chicago thatyear,casually mentioning thatemployerslooking to recruit at the eventincludedthe Illinois StatePolice, H&R Block andthe FBI! Yearswould passbefore Jackson would make aserious bid for theU.S presidency.His run in 1984 and his moreserious candidacy in 1988, some have argued, played acrucialrole in setting the table for Barack Obama’s successatclaiming thehighest office in 2008. It’s no wonder Tribune scribe Mike Royko called him theRev.“Jesse Jetstream.” It’shardtoimagine how Jacksonsummoned the energy Now,heisatrest. And it’s fitting to remember how central Jackson was to broadening our understanding of atruly inclusive society,acountry whereBlack achievement and full participation in the prosperityofAmerica were natural and fitting and worthy of fostering. Jackson has become alegend, and he’s made it possible for so many othersto reach the pinnacle of American success. Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.

The recent guilty verdict in the murder-byproxy trial of afather whose son is accused of killing four people in aschool shooting in Georgia sets adevastating and absurd precedent forimprisoning people foressentially being bad parents. Colin Gray,55, was found guilty in acase involving his son Colt Gray’salleged actions before the latter’sguilt has been determined. Doesthis mean we no longer need to say “allegedly” in discussing the son’scriminal proceeding? Colin Gray’sconviction on two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter followsasimilar case in Michigan. There, the parents of Ethan Crumbley,ateen sentenced to lifeinprison for fatally shooting four students at his high school in 2021, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and each sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

Colin Gray’sjury deliberated forless than twohours before finding him guilty of the killings and other charges related to his failure to heed warning signs that his son wasspiraling toward acatastrophic event. The verdict, and aprosecutor’sassertion that Colin Gray had blood on his hands, can be viewed as awarning to gun-owning parents whofail to notice signs that are all too clear retrospectively.The notion that this precedent would be used only in mass shooting cases involving minors and lousy (or good?) parents isn’tlikely to be observed. For now,the role that parenting plays in criminal behavior is worthy of serious scrutiny Parents are never perfect, and even the worst fathers and mothers often bequeath the world exceptional offspring. Ludwig van Beethoven’s alcoholic father reportedly beat him as achild, forcing him to play the piano during the night.

Colin Gray’sgreatest crime wasgiving his son an AR-style rifle forChristmas the year before the 14-year-old allegedly opened fire on Sept. 4, 2024, at Apalachee High School in Winder,Georgia, injuring nine others as well. The convictions could put Gray behind bars forthe rest of his life. His son, now 16, faces dozens of charges, including felony murder.He has pleaded not guilty

Let’sbeclear: Colin Gray and his estranged wife, Marcee Gray,were horrible parents. Given what we know about Colt’schildhood, manypeople would conclude that he never had achance. According to family members, neighbors and other sources, his parents were drug and alcohol addicts whowere abusive, neglectful and sometimes absent. The daughter of one neighbor said that Colt, whowas often filthy,was bullied by other children whotossed dry shampoo at him.Despite repeated reports to social services by concerned neighbors and relatives, the child wasneglected even by the authorities designated to protect him.AWashington Post investigation found that during the roughly three years before the shooting, Colt and his family interacted with Georgia child welfare workers, four school systems, three county sheriffs departments and two local police agencies. Yet, the family includes twoother children, who, as farasweknow,haven’tfantasized about hurting themselves or other people, as Colt allegedly did. Absolutely,Colt’sfather idiotically gave the boy alethal weapon without also providing strict oversight. But if we’re going to hold one parent responsible, whynot both? Marcee Gray washardly amonument to good mothering. At one point, she said she was going to kill Colt, according to his grandmother Colt was haunted formonths and becameparanoid. Though Marcee didn’tbuy the gun used in the shooting, she apparently didn’tstop her husband from giving it to him as agift, either After the couple had split up in 2022, she had urged Colin to secure his guns. She told the Post that Colt had becomeobsessed with school shooters formore than ayear before the shooting. Red flags don’tcome any brighter,yet Colin claims he never saw any.When Colt faces his jury,charged as an adult, his defense will surely include his difficult childhood and his father’sconviction. Colin Gray deserves to be held accountable forsomething, perhaps amisdemeanor or amuch lighter penalty.He was not —I repeat, not —the perpetrator of this shooting. Barring asuccessful appeal in his case, parents —good or bad —may someday face punishment forthe crimes of their children. At atimewhen Americans are being urged to have children to counter the declining birth rate, this case isn’thelpful.

Email Kathleen Parker at kathleenparker@ washpost.com.

with meteorologist DamonSingleton

We’ll waketopatchyfog in partsofSoutheast Louisiana once again this morning.That said,the fog shouldn’tlast long.Otherwise, expect amostly cloudymorning to give waytoapartlysunny afternoon. Temperatures todaywillbewellabove average, rising to the lowtomid-80s.Winds will be southerlyat10to15mph, and humidity will remainhigh. Rain chances are at 20%,soafew showers are possible.More rain and storms with asevere weather risk will returnlate tomorrowwiththe next coldfront.

Womancontinues greencard processwhile in La.ICE jail

Attorneyssay fingerprinting appointmentcan take place

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Federal officials have agreedunder acourt settlement to take awoman in Louisiana immigration detentiontoafingerprintingappointment necessary to complete her application for permanent U.S. residency, her attorneys said Monday Department of Homeland Security officials will take Marina Cruz Alanis, who is beingheld in Louisiana’s Richwood Correctional Immigration andCustoms Enforcement facility,to an officeinMississippi where she will complete the appointment her attorneys said wasthe final step of hergreen card application

The mother of anaturalized U.S. citizen, the 11-year U.S. resident had been barredfrom attendingthose appointments at aU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Servicesoffice throughout her eightmonthdetention, herattorneys say The settlement marks a concession from President Donald Trump’sadministration about the limits of anew policy guiding its sweeping immigration crackdown. The administration last December disallowed immigrantsin its custody from attending biometrics screenings. The policysaid federal officials wouldnot expend resources to help detaineesattend thoseappointments

The new rule also sought to “deter the filing of frivolous claimsand provide operational consistency

within ICE detention facilities, Homeland Security attorneys saidina December memo.

AHomeland Security spokesperson did not immediately respond to arequest forcomment.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana andthe Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center filed alawsuit on Alanis’behalf in January, asked afederal judge to vacate the policyand to orderICE to once again collect biometricsfor people in its custody Fingerprinting and takingphotoswere theonly requirements that “stood in the way betweenher andthe processing ofher application forlawful permanent residence,” Alanis’ attorneys said in astatement Monday.

Bothparties moved to dismissthe case after Homeland Security agreed to transport Alanis to her appointment, with court recordsshowing aNew Orleansfederaljudge finalized thedeal lastFriday

“The administration demands immigrants play by the rules, then quietly eliminates the rulesthat Congress wrote to protect them from deportation,” Anthony Enriquez,ofthe Kennedy Human Rights Center,said in astatement.

“Cutting off access to required biometric appointments isn’tenforcing immigrationlaw,” he added. “It’srunning acrooked game to guarantee the outcome theadministration wants.”

Anews releasefrom the ACLUsaid Alanis has no criminal background, has livedinthe country since 2015 and has achild that is aU.S. citizen.Itdid not list the country she immigrated from. Amidthe Trump’sad-

ministration ongoing immigration crackdown, administration officials have ordered employees at USCIS, which processes residency applicationsand has not historically contributed to enforcement, to communicatewithICE andother enforcement agents.

Multiple people in the New Orleans region, including the wife of an AmericanU.S.Marine veteran andthe husband of a U.S. citizen, have reported being detained afterarrivingtoregularly scheduled USCIS appointments.

TheHomelandSecurity spokesperson did not respond to aquestion about whether thesettlement in hercase could have broader implications forthe December policy or the ways the agency handles other similarcases.

Louisiana hasplayed a central role in ICE detention operations amid the Trumpadministration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, with hasthe secondmost ICE detainees of any state except Texas.

Email James Finn at jfinn@theadvocate.com

ANEW ERA

Saints’big dayinfreeagencyoutlinesa clearpath

BY MATTHEWPARAS Staff writer

For ateam thatnever wanted to rebuild, theNew Orleans Saints seem to have embraced it.

Analysis

Think back to last offseason.The plan to run it back with Derek Carrinstantly shifted when the quarterback first suffered amysterious shoulder injury and thenretired. Everything since then hascaused the Saints to “recalibrate,” general manager Mickey Loomis acknowledged afterthispast season.

That recalibration —not to be confused with arebuild, wink wink —unfolded in stages.The rookie quarterback.

The push to getyounger. Thegrowing painsunder afirst-year coach, followed by genuine momentumnear the end of the season.

“It just changes your course alittle bit,”LoomissaidinJanuary.“That’sthe best way to describe it.”

But the Saints’ change of course looks to have been thebestthing for them. And it took another significant turn Monday when NFL free agency effectively be-

Pels canprove mettle in thenext10 games

gan. Simultaneously,the Saints weremajorplayers while further pivotingaway from their previous era.

They spent big to beef up the supporting cast around quarterback Tyler Shough, agreeing to terms with former Jacksonville JaguarsrunningbackTravis Etienne (four years, $52 million), former BuffaloBills guard David Edwards (fouryears, $61 million) and tight end Noah Fant(two yearsonadeal yet to be disclosed). They made the hard but disciplined choices to say goodbye to linebacker Demario Davis and cornerback Alontae Taylor. Davis strucka two-year,$22 milliondeal with theNew York Jets. Taylor earned awhopping three-year,$60 millioncontract from theTennessee Titans. New Orleans even signed apunter, makingformer Minnesota Vikings andTulaneGreen Wave standoutRyan Wright (four years,$14 million) oneof the highest-paid playersathis position. From the moment that Shough showed enough promise that he was worth building around lastseason, these were the

ä See SAINTS, page 4C

Davisleaves void beyond on-field production

Monday marked the end of an era in New Orleans.

Demario Davis’ eight-year career with the New Orleans Saints cameto an end when he agreed to termsona two-year,$22 millioncontract to join the New York Jets. In New York, Davis will reunite with Aaron Glenn, the Jets head coach who served as aSaints defensive assistant during Davis’ early tenure here. Davis leaves as one of the most respected, productive and decorated players in Saints history Few noticed when the unheralded linebacker from Brandon, Mississippi, signed with the Saints during free agency in 2018. Eight years, two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro honor later,newsofDavis’ departure resonated across New Orleans. When ESPN announced the agreement just past noon Monday, several fans crowded around the TV set at a local gym. One rubbed her eyes in acrying gesture. Their emotional reaction spoke to Davis’ effect on the city Davis led the Saints in tackles in each of his eight seasons, including last year when he recorded acareer-high 143 stops, afigure that ranked 10th in the NFL. Davis wasn’tjust productive. He was uncommonly durable, arock of reliability in the middle of the defense. He missedjust one game because of an injury in eight years. He was voted ateam captain by his peers and called the defensive signals throughout his tenure. Davis departure, however,was far from asurprise. The veteran linebacker hinted that his days in New Orleans could be numbered during media appearances after the season. And while Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said he wanted Davis back in 2026, it was apparent that it would comeat the team’sasking price, not the other way around.

“New Orleans is home for me,” Davis said at Super Bowl LX last month. “… But the business has to play how the business plays out.”

The Saints prepared for Davis’ eventual departure by selecting Danny Stutsman in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The former Oklahoma standout showed flashes of potential during his limited playing time last season. He was groomed to become the defensive signal-caller during training

See DUNCAN, page 4C

The metrics say the New Orleans Pelicans have improved The record, 11-9 over their last 20 games, says it, too. But have they really improved? We’re about to find out over these next 10 games. The Pelicanswon their 21stgame Sunday night, tying their win total from last season Of those 21 wins, 14 have come against teams that won’t sniff the playoffs. The good news is the Pelicans have been taking care of business against inferior competition. Their last fourvictories, all against non-playoff teams, all have been by double digits. The latest one was Sunday’s138-118 victory over the Washington Wizards

“These guys continue toplay with great urgency,” Pelicansinterim coach James Borrego said “They keep pounding therock.” The rock gets tougher in the upcoming stretch, starting

Wednesdaynight at homeagainst theToronto Raptors. Nine of the Pelicans’ next 10 games are against teams that currently are in the playoffs or at least the playin tournament. “It’sagreat measuring stick to see where we’re at,” Borrego said. “I think since alittle before the All-Star break,we’ve played goodbasketball.We’ll get tested again here comingup, which is greatfor us. That’s where you want to be. And we’re going to treat it as such.”

Theonlynon-playoff team over the next 10 games is Monday’s matchup against theDallas Mavericks. Other than that, they face the Raptors (twice), Houston Rockets (twice), LosAngeles Clippers (twice), Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. The Cavs, Knicks and Pistons are three of thetop four

Soon, we should know what MattMcMahon’sfuture as the LSUmen’sbasketball coach will be. If he has one. The Tigers are off to Nashville, Tennessee, for theSEC Tournament, wherethey’ll play Kentucky on Wednesday in thevery first game. No sense in puttingoff the inevitable. Barring awaterinto-wine-type of run to thetournamenttitle, LSU will finish afourth straight season under McMahon without an NCAA Tournament appearance, leaving athletic director Verge Ausberry witha weighty decision to make: Keep McMahon, in hopes of a significant turnaround in Year Five. Or fire him Ausberry already has one major hire under his belt —new football coach Lane Kiffin. That was an easy one, if Kiffin’shir-

UCLA gets votes, ends UConn run

BY DOUG FEINBERG Associated Press

No. 2 UCLA picked up firstplace votes from top-ranked UConn in The Associated Press women’s basketball Top 25 on Monday and Texas jumped South Carolina to move up to No. 3 after winning their head-to-head showdown in the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game. The Bruins picked up three first-place votes after their 51-point win over then-No. 9 Iowa in the Big Ten title game Sunday UConn had been a unanimous No. 1 from the national media panel for the past eight weeks. The undefeated Huskies received the other 28 first-place votes.

UConn and UCLA are expected to be the top two teams when the women’s NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed Sunday night. While the Bruins are done until then, the Huskies faced Villanova for the Big East tournament title Monday night.

LSU moved up to No. 5, swapping spots with Vanderbilt. Despite its loss to UCLA, Iowa moved up to seventh. Duke jumped five places to eighth after winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, beating then-No. 12 Louisville in overtime. Michigan was ninth and Oklahoma was 10th.

In and out

Buoyed by reaching the ACC Tournament semifinals, Notre Dame re-entered the Top 25, coming in at No. 22. Notre Dame replaced Fairfield, which had entered the poll last week and advanced to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship game Monday Conference supremacy

The SEC has the most teams in the Top 25 with eight The Big Ten is next with seven. The Big 12 and ACC each have four. The Ivy League and Big East each have one.

UCLA guard

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JESSICA HILL

UConn guard Allie Ziebell goes up for a basket between Creighton guards Norah Gessert, left, and Ava Zediker during their semifinal game in the Big East Tournament on Sunday in Uncasville, Conn.

Games of the week Besides UConn, Princeton is the only other Top 25 team playing this week. The Tigers will

face Brown in the Ivy League Tournament semifinals on Friday night. If they win, they will play ei-

ther Harvard or Columbia on Saturday The Lions handed the Tigers two of their three losses this season.

Saints add compensatory fourth-round draft pick

The NFL released official confirmation of which teams would receive compensatory picks in next month’s NFL draft, and the New Orleans Saints are on the list.

As expected, the Saints will add a fourth-round pick, No. 136 overall, as compensation for losing cornerback Paulson Adebo to the New York Giants in free agency a year ago.

Adebo signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Giants. Compensatory picks are awarded at the end of Rounds 3-7 based on a formula that measures the value of free agents lost the previous season compared to those brought in.

The NFL awarded 33 compensatory picks in this year’s draft, led by the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers all with the maximum of four picks.

NBA cancels Hawks’ plans to celebrate famed club

The NBA has called off the Atlanta Hawks’ plans for a night celebrating the city’s famed Magic City adult entertainment club, saying it did so because of “concerns” from many across the league. Atlanta announced the plan last month, saying the team would pay tribute to an “iconic cultural institution” with food — including the club’s famous lemon pepper wings — along with music and exclusive merchandise.

Luke Kornet of the San Antonio Spurs spoke out about the idea and urged the parties involved to reconsider And the league evidently heard the same messaging from others. The tribute game had been scheduled for next Tuesday against Orlando.

MLS bans 2 players for life for gambling on games

Two players were banned for life Monday by Major League Soccer for gambling on soccer, including bets involving their own matches. Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah were both placed on administrative leave in October pending a review of potential violations of league rules.

MLS said the investigation concluded the players “engaged in extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams, during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.” The league cited one instance where the players bet on Jones to receive a yellow card in a 2024 match, which he did. Both players were with the Columbus Crew at the time.

MLS was alerted to suspicious betting through its integrity partners.

‘Rock star’ Paralympian wins silver for late brother

BY DAVE SKRETTA Associated Press

Duke was chosen No 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for a record 150th time on Monday

The Blue Devils received 56 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel after wins over rivals NC State and North Carolina, leaving them in the top spot for the third consecutive week. Arizona stayed second and received four first-place votes while Michigan received the other No. 1 ballot after its impressive win over No. 8 Michigan State.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position to do something special and make a run,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.

The Blue Devils reached No 1 in the AP poll for the first time on Dec. 13, 1965, and they’ve spent more time there than any other men’s basketball program UCLA is second with 134 weeks on top while Kentucky is third (125). Now Scheyer’s crew heads into the ACC Tournament as the No. 1 seed, but potentially without two of their starters. Patrick Ngongba and Caleb Foster both were wearing boots in the second half of Duke’s win over the Tar Heels on Saturday “I’d be shocked if both of them are playing (in the conference tournament),” Scheyer said.

“Our plan is how can we get as healthy as possible and ready as possible for two weeks from now wherever we go (into the NCAA

Tournament)?” Reigning national champion Florida climbed to fourth in this week’s AP poll, the highest the Gators have been since they were preseason No. 3. Houston moved up to fifth after finishing second to Arizona in the regularseason Big 12 race. UConn dropped from fourth to sixth after the Huskies were upset by Marquette in their regular-season Big East finale. Conference tournaments Arizona, Houston, No. 14 Kansas and Texas Tech are the top four seeds in the Big 12 and earned double-byes into the quarterfinals on Thursday Duke, No. 10 Virginia, Miami and No. 19 North Carolina are the top four in the ACC and

likewise begin play Thursday, as will the top four seeds in the Big East: St. John’s, UConn, Villanova and Seton Hall. Michigan, No. 11 Nebraska, Michigan State and No. 9 Illinois are the top four seeds in the Big Ten and will play their quarterfinal games on Friday So will Florida, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas and No. 22 Vanderbilt, the top four seeds in the SEC Tournament. No. 12 Gonzaga played Oregon State in the West Coast semifinals on Monday night, while No. 21 Saint Mary’s played Santa Clara in the other semifinal. The winners will meet for the conference championship Tuesday night. No. 20 Miami (Ohio) is the top seed in the MAC tourney The

RedHawks play UMass in the quarterfinals on Thursday NET rankings

The rankings used by the NCAA to help seed its tournament varied slightly from the AP poll. The NET had Michigan instead of Arizona at No. 2 behind the Blue Devils, while BYU and Iowa — unranked in the media poll rounded out its version of the Top 25. Conference watch

The

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy Patrick Halgren, the self-proclaimed “rock star” of the Milan Cortina Paralympics, said he could feel the presence of his late twin brother in his silver medal-winning Para alpine ski run on Monday

“He made this happen for real. He is the ski god and he has blessed me with speed today,” Halgren said of his brother Lucas Sven Halgren.

Lucas Sven died in a motorcycle accident in New Zealand in 2016, three years after Patrick nearly died and lost most of his left leg in another motorcycle accident. Patrick has been plastering blue-and-yellow stickers that read “SvendIt” around Cortina d’Ampezzo, a play on “send-it,” which is Patrick’s mantra on life.

FIFA official: World Cup ‘too big’ to be postponed

DALLAS FIFA’s World Cup chief operating officer says the tournament is “too big” to be postponed because of global turmoil caused by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. Speaking Monday, Heimo Schirgi said FIFA continues to closely monitor the war and its fallout.

“If had a crystal ball I could tell you now what is going to happen, but obviously the situation is developing, Schirgi said. “It’s changing day by day and we are monitoring closely The World Cup is too big and we hope that everyone can participate that has qualified.” The tournament, expanded from 32 nations to

is scheduled for 11 U.S. venues plus three in Mexico and two in Canada.

Riddlespilingup forLSU baseball

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball’sstruggles against Sacramento State last weekend were somewhat alarming, even in early March.

Analysis

In athree-game seriesagainst theHornets, the Tigers won 15-4 on Friday,but dropped Saturday’s contest5-4 andlost 6-1 in Sunday’sfinale. LSU (12-5) hasjustone more nonconference game remaining before Southeastern Conferenceplay begins.

Here arefive takeaways from a frustrating weekend at Alex Box Stadium: Starkcontrast

After Wednesday’slosstoUL, junior Jake Brown said LSU watched every pitch from the defeat to evaluate swing decisions andwhat the offense needed to improve.

The film session worked. LSU smacked10extra-base hits and launched six home runs in Friday’s win. Brown hit three homers in his first three at-bats.

“Wewatched what we did good, what we did bad,” Brown said.“It’s just knowing we’re areally good team whenever we do these things right, so let’sfocus on those and eliminate everything else.”

But the Tigers reverted to their struggles in the next two games. They stopped hitting the ballhard on Saturday and had troublegetting on base Sunday.LSU struck out 11 times in the secondgame of the series and walked only twice thenext day

It’sworth noting that LSUhit the ball with greater authoritySunday and ran into some tough luck, but the Tigers’ attack still wasn’tplaying up totheir standard.

“Weneed to score more runs. I mean, it’s nothingdifferent than we talked about goingintothe weekend,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said Sunday Checking on Evans

One of thefew brightspots over the weekend was Casan Evans, the sophomore right-hander whotossed five perfect innings Fridaybefore Sacramento State put afew runs on the board against him in thesixth.

He dominated Hornets hitters with awipeout slider and afastball that consistently sat in the mid-90s and touched 98.7mph. The performance was, in part, theresult of a mechanical adjustment Evanshas been trying to make.

On Friday,hefocused on not rushingthrough his windup. Evans has found that pausing for an extra split second at the top of hisdelivery before going downthe mound has helped with his command.

“Wefoundthatworksbetterforme,” hesaid.“I’mabletothrowmorestrikes and hit the spots that Iwant to.”

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Kelly was ousted in late October But all that spending was for football. How much money,and appetite,would be left for asimilar change in men’sbasketball?

On the face of it, McMahon should have as much chance of returning as an LSU fan would have of walking from Bridgestone Arena to the CumberlandRiver downNashville’sBroadway without hearing country music. He is 60-69 in four years with alonely one-and-done NIT appearance. Evenworse, he’s17-55 in SECregular-seasonplay,witha9-9 mark coming during the NIT season of 2023-24.That means McMahon’s other three teams are 8-46combined in SEC play

While that’sanabysmalrecord, it’salso true McMahon has been dealt blowsthroughout his LSU tenure. When the schoolfired Will Wade in the wake ofthe FBI

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teams in the Eastern Conference. “It’salitmus test to see where we are,” Pelicans forwardTrey Murphy said. “Tosee what quality of basketball we are really playing. Ifeel like alot of the teams we’ve been playing against haven’tbeen trying to win.Now we get to see what our product

ON DECK

WHO: LSU(12-5) vs.Creighton (5-7)

WHEN: 6:30 p.m.Tuesday

WHERE: Alex BoxStadium

ONLINE: SECNetwork+

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM,870 (New Orleans); KLWB-FM,103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 13 by D1Baseball;Creighton is not ranked

PROBABLESTARTERS: LSU —TBA; Creighton —TBA

PREGAME UPDATES: theadvocate. com/lsu ON X: @KokiRiley

WHATTOWATCH FOR: LSUcoachJay Johnson declared after Sunday’sloss that Tuesday’sgameissecondary to theimprovementshe’ll tryto implement withhis team at practice before thegame.LSU’s five losses beforethe start of Southeastern Conference playare the most it has suffered since 2020. Creighton won twoofthree gamesagainst Gonzaga last weekend

He is still working on his slider It’s apitch he’sbeen tryingtofind the right shape for lately,despite thesuccess he hadwiththe offering Friday Whowillplay2B?

Second base has becomearotating door for LSU.

The Tigers started freshman Jack Ruckert on Friday and Saturday, his first starts at LSU, before turning to High Point transferBraydenSimpson on Sunday Ruckert didn’trecord ahit in either game, but he walked twice and scored two runs Friday.Simpson had LSU’slone run-scoring hit in the series finale.

Notably, LSU didn’tturntoKansas State transfer Seth Dardar.He wasthe primary starteratthe position until last weekend. He was thedesignated hitter Friday and playedthird base Sunday Johnson said RuckertisLSU’s best defensive option at second. But Dardar and Simpsonhave more experience and promise at theplate.The offensive struggles would suggest that Simpson or Dardar shouldbeJohnson’stop options, but their problemsondefense can’t be ignored

“I like Jack as aplayer,and I think he fits well withthis team,” Johnson said,“if everybody else is performing at ahigh levelorexpectation.”

WhoLSU turns to fornow will come down to thematchup on the particular day.

Bullpen bopped

There weren’tmany positive

SEC TOURNAMENT GLANCE

At BridgestoneArena Nashville, Tenn. First Round Wednesday Kentucky vs.LSU,11:30 a.m. Auburn vs.Mississippi St., 2p.m. Texasvs. OleMiss, 6p.m. Oklahoma vs.South Carolina, 8:30 p.m. Second Round Thursday, March 12 Missouri vs.Kentucky-LSU-winner, 11:30 a.m. Tennesseevs. Auburn-Mississippi St.winner, 2p.m Georgia vs.Texas-Ole Miss-winner,6 p.m. TexasA&M vs.Oklahoma-South Carolinawinner, 8:30 p.m. Quarterfinals Friday, March13 Florida vs.TBD,noon Vanderbilt vs.TBD,2:30 p.m. Alabama vs.TBD,6p.m. Arkansas vs.TBD,8:30 p.m. Semifinals Saturday, March 14 TBD vs.TBD,noon TBD vs.TBD,2:30 p.m. Championship Sunday, March 15 Semifinal winners, noon

wiretapping scandal, the roster completelyemptiedout, forcing McMahon into atotal overhaul. He’salso dealt with keyinjuries,

looks like againstteams that are trying to win and competing for theplayoffs.” The Pels haveplayed well against some playoff teams,too. They pushed theLos Angeles Lakers andPhoenix Suns to the limits on the recent six-game road trip, but couldn’tclose the deal. While many non-playoff teams have maileditinfor therest of the season, the Pelsaren’t taking that approach. With no

takeaways from the LSU bullpen.

In 91/3 innings, the group allowed eight earned runs, six hits and walked eight batters, resulting in a 7.72 ERA against Sacramento State. Some of the struggles can be attributed to the offense’s inability to give the relievers any room to breathe in the late innings, but that doesn’tfully explain why most of thetop relievers ran into issues.

Redshirt sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerinstruggled for thefirst time Saturday,loading the bases on twowalks and asingle before redshirt juniorright-hander Jaden Noot surrendered agrand slam that proved to be thedifference in the game.

Redshirt juniorright-hander Gavin Guidry struggled Sunday. He walked aseason-high three batters and allowed three inherited runners to score, runs thatallowed Sacramento State to pull away from theTigers in a2-0 game.

Guidryand Sheerin hadn’tgiven up an earned runinrelief beforelast weekend. They were due for some regression, but their strugglesfurther exposed abullpen that lacks reliable options outside of them.

Sophomoreright-handerMavrick Rizyhas a1.93 ERA, but he’s struggled with his command, walking sevenbatters andplunking five others. Sophomore left-hander Cooper Williams threw ascoreless inning Saturday,but the batter he hit on Sunday scored. He’s given up seven hitsin61/3 innings.

The only bright spotwas juniorcollege transfer Ethan Plog. In a 1-0 game Saturday,the left-hander tossed22/3 scoreless innings, lowering hisERA to 1.50 with lots of weak contact.

“He’sprobably ourbest reliever,” Johnson said, “along with Gavin, at this point.”

Historywith five

The Tigers haven’tdropped five or more games before SEC play since 2020, and they haven’tlost fourormore games against midmajor opponentsbefore their conference slate began since 2007.

So yeah, it’s been years since LSU hasfound itself in these waters.

The Tigersdidn’tget to SEC play in 2020 as COVID-19 shut down the season, but 2007 was theprogram’s worst year since 1983, the campaign before Skip Bertman’s first season in charge. It was the only time LSU has failed to reach 30 wins outside of the COVID year Outsideof2020and 2007, the other years in which the Tigers lost morethan four nonconference games before SEC play this century were 2017-19, 2002-03 and 2000. LSU made the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons, reached Omaha three times and won anational championship in 2000, all indications that aslow start doesn’t mean 2026 is awaste.

like this year to point guard DedanThomas and forward Jalen Reed. There’snoway to know, but it’satleastplausiblethatLSU would have at least been an NCAA Tournament contender if both had been healthy.

But back to the real crux of the McMahon case: money.Asmy late father said, it always comes down to money

McMahon’sbuyout would run LSUabout $8 million, plus the staff. Then tohire anew coach, it likely would have to pay amultimillion buyout to get him out of his current contract. Then of course these days, like it or not, you need millionsmore to build a roster

Let’ssay that’sall about a$20 million to $25 million investment. Does LSUhave the means to spend that? Asmaller fortune than the expenditures on football, sure, but afortune nonetheless.

Andwhat if McMahon is retained? The crowds for men’s games in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for much of

first-round draft pick, there’sno reason to do so.Theyare trying to win. “I think it speaksfor thecharacter of our group that we are about getting better and we’re about the right things,” Borrego said. “Meaning we compete and do ourjob every daynomatter what. There’sastandard. And we’re still trying to raise that standard collectively “Every night,webring it.Every night, we are in every single

UNO’sseasonends after11-winuptick

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

UNO saw its season come to an endinthe Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinals against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday Aftertrailingbyasmuch as 16 points in thefirst half, UNO was up by twowith13:06 to go in the game after aColeton Benson 3-pointer.But Texas A&M-Corpus Christi got the lead back less than one minute later and led the rest of the way in a74-61 win at Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles. No.5-seeded UNO finishes with a15-18 record, an 11-win improvementfromlastseason.The Privateers defeated No. 8-seeded HoustonChristian on Sunday butcouldn’t get past No. 4-seeded Texas A&MCorpus Christi on Monday. Guard Daniel Michelini-Jackson scored acareer-high 28 points for theIslanders, shooting 10 of 12 from the field and making all five of his 3-point attempts. He also led the Islanders (18-14) in rebounding with eight. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outrebounded UNO 41-29, astark contrast fromSunday whenUNO outreboundedHCU by double digits. Forward MJ Thomas was

theonly UNO player to record morethan six rebounds. Thomas had adouble-double forthe second night in arow,finishing with 14 rebounds andtied Benson as UNO’s top scorer with 17 points. Benson made ateamhigh three3-pointersagainst Texas A&M-Corpus Christi but shot just 5of13from the field. Guard Jakevion Buckley was UNO’ssecond-leading scorer on the year but washeld to just two points on Monday.Guard TJ Cope scored 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and center Churchill Abass had eight pointswith six rebounds. UNO receivedonly threepoints from its bench. Monday was the third meeting between UNO andTexas A&MCorpusChristi thisyear.The teamssplit in the regular season, which included an 84-78 UNO overtimewin on Feb. 9atLakefront Arena.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will face No. 1-seeded Stephen F. Austininthe firstSouthland semifinal matchup at 6p.m.Tuesday, with the winner advancing to Wednesday’schampionship game. The Southland championship game is scheduled for 4p.m Wednesday. The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament.

LSUassistant Redus chosentoleadRutgers

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Rutgers announced Monday that it’shiring LSUassistant coach Gary Redus as its next head women’s basketball coach. Redus is an ace recruiter who joined coach Kim Mulkey’s staff in 2022 after stops at Division II DeltaState, Vanderbilt and SMU. Across thefour seasonshespent in Baton Rouge, he helped the Tigers sign the nation’stop-ranked freshman classes in both the 2023 and 2025 cycles. He also worked closely with theLSU guards.

ThreeLSU figuresnow have accepted keyjobsatRutgers in the last 12 months.Former LSU president William F. Tate IV is the BigTen school’snew president, and former LSU athletics chief operating officer Keli Zinn is the new athletic director Zinnsaid in anews release that Redus is “one of the toprecruiters in thecountry”and an “outstanding teacher of thegame.”

“Redus knows what it takes to build andsustainachampionship program,” Zinn said, “and I’m confident he will restore the proud tradition of Rutgers women’s basketball and reenergize our passionate fanbase.”

this season have been decidedly uncrowded.There have been gameswhen I’ve been tempted to start counting the fans in the PMAC, feeling there would be adecentchance to compile a reasonable estimate by the final horn.

Theprogram makes money despite all of the losses because of SECand NCAA TV contracts, but apathy has led fans to turn their backs on the Tigers by the thousands. Youhave to believe manyofthem won’t be back until acoaching change is made.

McMahon said recently he understands theexpectations of the LSUjob andthat he shares the “disappointment and frustration” of another fruitless basketball season.

“Withthat said, Iabsolutely love LSU. Ilove our core group that returns next year,” McMahon said, before adding “I’ll respect whatever decisions they (the LSU administration) makemoving forward.”

Adecision in avacuum, or with-

game. We’re competing until the last minute, andweexpect to win every game that we step on the floor.” The competition stiffens up Wednesday when former Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram and the Raptorscome to town. The Pelicans are as healthy as they have been all season. While mostteams with a21-45 record may not have much to play for, the Pelicans still believe they do. That’swhy they will attack these next 10 games

Zinn fired coach Coquese Washington last week after she led the ScarletKnights to a1-17record in conference play.She began her tenure at Rutgersin2022,succeedingC.VivianStringer— the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer who ranks fifth on theall-timeNCAADivisionI wins leaderboard (871).

Rutgersreachedthe NCAA Tournament 17 timesinStringer’s27-year tenure. It advanced to the Final Four twice and made one appearance in the national title game, when it lost to Tennessee in 2007.

The Scarlet Knights have made theNCAATournament only three times since2013, and they last advanced past the first round in 2015.

Redus is an Alabama native who played college basketball at Centenary and South Alabama from 2008-11. He also played professional hoops overseas for four seasons.

“I am honored andgrateful for the opportunity to be the next women’s basketball coach at Rutgers University,” Redussaid. “I am no stranger to the rich history of basketball here at Rutgers, and Ilook forward to building on that legacy as we move the program forward.”

out the recent football spending spree being part of the equation, probably would spell McMahon’s doom.But the decision is acomplicated one.

Still, it’sadecision that’scoming. Ausberry told The Advocate in mid-January that he would evaluate the men’s basketball program at season’send.

That end is rapidly approaching.

“We’re all grown-ups here,” Ausberry said back then. “Matt’s agrown-up. He understands how the business works. He understands that LSU basketball has to be successful.”

LSU basketball has been the anthesis of successful under McMahon. He deserves someblame. He’salso somewhat avictim of circumstances. Youcan makethe argument for Ausberry to cut McMahon loose. It’s also easy to imagine LSU kicking the basketball downthe road foratleast another season. One way or another,wewill know soon.

as if they are fighting forplayoff position.

“This is whoweare, no matter our record,” Borrego said. “We’re not looking at that. It’s about the process of building achampionship-winning program.That’sthe goal right now

“I see an edge about them. We are farfrom where we need to be, but we are certainly making strides.”

How big of astride? The next 10 games will tell us.

No Darnold apparent in thin quarterback market

BY DAVE CAMPBELL

AP pro football writer

The Atlanta Falcons have declared Kirk Cousins will be a salary-cap cut. Kyler Murray has been informed of his impending release by the Arizona Cardinals. Geno Smith is widely expected to join them this week once the Las Vegas Raiders let him go Beyond them, the landscape of available quarterbacks looks quite barren for NFL teams seeking the next Sam Darnold success story in free agency Trade candidates among proven starters appear to be even more scarce. For the handful of clubs at a crossroad or committed to starting over this offseason, the timing is hardly ideal.

The rookie class thins quickly after Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, the consensus projection to be taken first overall in the April draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, so going the Drake Maye route to a Super Bowl probably won’t happen anytime soon.

After eating more than $99 million in dead money on their salary cap by deciding to cut Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins snatched up the most sought-after free agent. They gave former Tennessee Titans and Green Bay

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logical next steps for the Saints. They took them Monday — full steam ahead.

“Any offense is going to be steered by the quarterback position,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said last month at the NFL scouting combine. “Once that narrows its focus, it allows me to be a lot more specific as to what you want to do. That’ll be a full offseason journey.” Moore now can focus on revamping the running game to help Shough, something that’s badly needed after New Orleans ranked last in yards per carry and explosive run rate last season. The coach acknowledged that improving it would be a priority in Year 2, and the Saints’ two big additions should help. In Etienne, who returns to his native Louisiana, the Saints landed a productive rusher who has run for more than 1,000 yards in three of his four seasons. In Edwards, the Saints get an accomplished veteran who provides stability at a spot that

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camp.

Stutsman will have big shoes to fill in trying to fill the leadership void created by Davis’ absence. Davis was the unquestioned leader of the locker room and

Packers backup Malik Willis a reported $45 million guaranteed over three years in a deal that will quickly allow the 26-year-old with just 155 career passing attempts to cash in even bigger if he can establish himself as a productive and reliable starter

Here’s a closer look at the most viable options that remain:

Kirk Cousins

The Falcons announced last month they will cut him and fully pivot toward 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix, whose knee injury last year gave Cousins the job back Then Atlanta signed Tua Tagovailoa. Cousins, who turns 38 before the season, would be a realistic bridge starter to give 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy more time to develop in Minnesota.

Kyler Murray

Limited to five games by a foot injury last season as the Cardinals slumped to 3-14, Murray will cost them more than $54 million in dead money He’ll also make more than $36 million in real money from the Cardinals, no matter where he winds up, because his 2026 salary is fully guaranteed.

Offset language in his contract allows his new team to sign him for the veteran minimum.

has been a rotating door recently.

The Saints’ other additions also figure to guide Shough. Fant is coming off of a quiet season with the Cincinnati Bengals, but the seven-year veteran gives the Saints a notable red-zone target and the option to deploy two pass-catching tight ends alongside Juwan Johnson Wright should give the defense better field position. Heck, even re-signing defensive tackle John Ridgeway (two years, $6.2 million) doesn’t hurt. Notably, the Saints were willing to spend to address their biggest needs.

Etienne’s reported annual average value of $13 million would make him the league’s seventhhighest paid runner and it was the second-largest deal for a running back to start free agency — behind only the Chiefs’ three-year, $45 million deal with Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker Edwards, at $15.25 million per year, also didn’t come cheap.

The signings also don’t appear to be an overpay, let alone be crippling toward the team’s future. That disciplined financial approach was even more evident in whom the Saints let walk. Start

With the expected addition of Mendoza, the busy Raiders have little reason to keep the 35-yearold Smith on the roster after a woeful 2025 season. Releasing him would only stick the Raiders with $18.5 million in dead money Smith made the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023 and could make a serviceable bridge starter for a team wishing to draft a quarterback in the middle rounds this year Long shots

Aaron Rodgers at age 42 appears unlikely to switch teams again, as a reunion with coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh presents an attractive way to put off retirement and stay with the Steelers. Perhaps he’ll get another call from the Vikings if their other options dry up. Though Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have hit some bumps in the road together, the two-time NFL MVP is on track for a new deal. He wouldn’t have had a voice in the coaching search if the Ravens were considering a trade. “I have spoken to Lamar about a lot of different things over the last month,” general manager Eric DeCosta said at the combine in Indianapolis last month “He’s been very engaged.”

Walker, Willis, Evans among big names on move

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP pro football writer

Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker is the new running back for Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City; Miami settled on Malik Willis for a reset at quarterback; and receiver Mike Evans is headed to San Francisco after 12 years in Tampa Bay

People with knowledge of the agreements told The Associated Press on Monday, the opening day of NFL free agency, that Walker was leaving Seattle after winning a championship, and the Dolphins reached a deal with Willis after announcing earlier in the day that they were releasing Tua Tagovailoa.

The negotiating window opened with a flurry of significant deals, including the Indianapolis Colts keeping their top free agent in receiver Alex Pierce.

Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and the Carolina Panthers agreed on a four-year $120 million contract with $80 million guaranteed. Philadelphia was hoping to retain Phillips after sending a third-round pick to Miami for him at the trade deadline last season. Phillips had five sacks combined for the Dolphins and Eagles.

The Dallas Cowboys added edge rusher Rashan Gary in a trade with Green Bay for a 2027 fourth-round pick. The Packers acquired star Micah Parsons from the Cowboys a week before the season started last year Gary was the 12th overall pick in the draft in 2019, two years before Dallas drafted Parsons in the same spot.

Walker and the Chiefs agreed to a three-year deal worth up to $45 million, with $28.7 million guaranteed. The 25-year-old fills perhaps the biggest need as the Chiefs try to bounce back from a 6-11 season. Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco, their top two running backs, are both free agents.

The Dolphins reached an agreement with Willis a few hours after dumping Tagovailoa, who later agreed to a one-year deal with Atlanta and incurring a record $99 million hit on their salary cap.

Miami made another move by agreeing to trade safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the New York Jets for a seventh-round pick.

The 49ers added a proven pass catcher in Evans, 32, for quarterback Brock Purdy, agreeing to a three-year contract with a player who had 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first 11 seasons before injuries limited Evans to eight

with Taylor The Titans paid him as an outside cornerback, because they view him as an outside cornerback. The Saints didn’t. New Orleans wasn’t going to pay $20 million per year for Taylor to be its slot cornerback, even though his departure creates a notable hole.

one of the organization’s ambassadors in the community Through this Devoted Dreamers Foundation, he devoted countless hours to improving education and leadership for local children. There’s a reason the Saints nominated him three times for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award and took Davis and his wife, Tamela, with them to France last summer to promote the team “Rare-air type leadership,” longtime defensive end Cam Jordan posted about Davis on social media on the eve of free agency Sunday It was notable that when Drew Brees retired in 2020, he handed Davis the duties of leading the Saints during their pre-

Likewise, $11 million per year for a 37-year-old linebacker likely was too great a cost for the Saints.

From an on- and off-field perspective, losing Davis hurts. He became a franchise staple during his eight years in New Orleans, emerging as one of the league’s best linebackers

game breakdown chant. It was a symbolic position but an important one. Since Brees assumed the duties from Reggie Bush and Joe Horn in 2007, he and Davis have been the only players to lead the team in the pregame huddle. As the defensive captain and respected conscience of the locker room, Davis was the

games in 2025.

The Colts keeping Pierce on a $116 million, four-year deal coincided with them sending Michael Pittman to Pittsburgh for a lateround draft pick. Pittman spent his first six seasons with Indianapolis.

Former Giants and LSU player cornerback Cor’Dale Flott, is headed to the Titans.

Cleveland added guard Zion Johnson, a 2022 first-round pick who spent his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Browns are looking at an overhaul in the offense, with several starters in free agency Looking to bounce back from a 5-12 season, Washington spent big money in free agency to sign edge rusher Odafe Oweh, while also bringing back starting left tackle Laremy Tunsil. Oweh’s contract is worth $100 million over four years, with $68 million guaranteed.

Later Monday, former Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed returned to the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on a $51 million, three-year contract.

Shaheed had 59 catches for 687 yards and two touchdowns last season for Seattle and New Orleans. He was acquired before the trade deadline and helped the Seahawks down the stretch and in the postseason.

in that span. He was an instrumental leader for New Orleans, both as a player and as a person.

But changing your franchise’s course, as the Saints have, requires tough decisions. And they’ve gotten noticeably younger, as Davis’ departure creates an opportunity for 22-year-old Danny Stutsman to seize. Or if the Saints don’t feel the 2025 fourth-rounder is ready for that role, perhaps they bring in a veteran or draft a rookie to compete.

Taylor’s agreement with the Titans allows him to play in the state where he grew up. Davis returning to the Jets for a third stint gives him the chance to end his career where it began. They appeared to get what they wanted.

For the Saints, the question is how many more goodbyes are left? Cam Jordan and Taysom Hill were among the 17 Saints to hit the market when the league’s negotiating window opened at 11 a.m. Monday Running back Alvin Kamara’s future also is up in the air after a recent contract restructure and Etienne’s signing.

The Saints are transitioning from one era to the next. Monday showed the latest cost.

Southern Labdefense

stymiesSt. Martin’s

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

LAKE CHARLES – SouthernLab clung

to afour-point lead with one minute left against St. Martin’s.

In crunch time,the Kittens turned to what they’ve worked on all week: defense.As seconds tickedaway,the Saints were forced into tough shot after tough shot. Offensive rebounds proved moot after Southern Lab stymied three shot attempts on one sequence late.

No. 6-seeded Southern Labfinally got the ball back and closed it out at the free-throw line totake down No. 2St. Martin’sEpiscopal 55-50 in the Division IV select semifinals on Monday in the Burton Coliseum.

“Defense wasatthe topofour list when we did our film session,” SouthernLab coachHaroldBourdreaux said. “Everything thatthey ran, we ran it all week.”

St. Martin’sshot just 35% from the field and had nine turnovers.

“They blitzed some ball screens earlyand puta lotofpressure,” Saints coach Mike Odom said. “We had to match their physicality with our physicality.”

The Kittens led 16-11 afterthe first quarter,inpart from three 3-pointers in the opening period Southern Lab (14-12)opened the second quarter with apairof triples from juniors Evan Williams and Warren Gougisha to pushthe lead to 11 points.

Saints junior Beckett Smuckgot going to trimthe deficit. He scored five straight points off two layups. Oneturnedinto athree-point play after he drew afoul. He got to the rim three more times to get his side within two

After aKittens score, Saints junior Kade Vinju buried acorner

three to cut Southern Lab’slead to just one point,down 26-25 at halftime.

St.Martin’s(20-7) took its first lead of the game three minutes into the third with apair of free throws from Vinju.

Kittens sophomore Randolph

Harrellrestoredhis team’slead with atriple. Gougisha then pushed thelead to four after he stolethe balland raceddown thecourt for aone-handedslam dunk.

“It’snothingnew to me,” Gougishasaid on his dunk, “but Friday,I promise you, it’sgoing to be something different.”

Southern Labsenior Kendell

Johnson pushed the runto7-0 after afast-break layup off asteal.

Vinjuhit apair of 3-pointers late to tie it, but three Southern Lab points to end the third gave the Kittensa38-35 lead.

The Saints tied it with three free throws to begin the finalperiod

Harrellput the Kittens back in front with a3-pointer.The Saints got one back with aput-back layup, but Williams found Johnson for an open corner three to push thelead to fourpoints.

Later in the fourth, Vinju knocked down afadeaway corner 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one point with three minutes left Johnson pushedthe lead back to two with afree throw.Hethen stole the ball and found senior James King on afast break for an easy layup to push the advantage to fourpoints with 1:43 left.

Southern Lab’sdefense and free throws then fended off alate St. Martin’scomeback. Williams finished with 14 points. Four Kittens scored in double figures. “They’re hurting right now,” Odom said,“butthere’sa ton to be proud of.”

No. 5Lafayette Renaissance 46 No. 3Country Day74, No. 6St. Louis Catholic 53 Division IV select No. 2St. Martin’s 53, No. 7Delhi Charter 40 Division Inonselect No. 1Zachary 61, No. 9Northshore58 Semifinals Division Iselect No. 1JohnCurtis vs.No. 12 Catholic-BR, 2:45 p.m. Wednesday No. 11 Edna Karr vs.No. 2Alexandria, 4:30 p.m. Wednesday Division III select No. 3CountryDay vs.No. 2Dunham, 1p.m. Thursday No. 4DeLaSalle vs.No. 1Calvary Baptist, 2:45 p.m. Thursday Division IV select Monday No. 6Southern Lab55, No. 2St. Martin’s 50 SouthernLab 55, St. Martin’s Episcopal 50 St.Martin’sEpiscopal 11 14 10 15 -50 SouthernLab 16 10 12 17 -55

SCORING: Southern Lab: Evan Williams 14, Kendell Johnson 11,Warren Gougisha11, Randolph Harrell 10, King5,James Byrd2 Dillon Patterson 2; St. Martin’s Episcopal: Kade Vinju 19, MichaelBeckett Smuck 17, BryceHelwig 8, Tyler Sandlin 4, Gavin DiMaggio 2. 3-POINT GOALS: Southern Lab 8(Harrell 3, Johnson 2, Gougisha2,Williams 1) St. Martin’s Episcopal 6(Vinju 5, Helwig 1)

Micheu continues12-year runof brothers playingCurtisbaseball

BY CHRISTOPHER DABE Staff writer

Asharply hit groundball skipped along the turfand struck ConnorMicheu in the left wrist. Then came another one. Andanother “You can’tcomplain about it,” Micheu said. “You have to do it.”

Eveninfifthgrade,Micheufielded grounders hit just as hard as the ones his two older brothers faced —and there was no letting up.

Keeping pace with them helped Micheubecome athree-year starting shortstop at John Curtis and earn achance to play in college at Southeastern Louisiana.

Heading into Tuesday’sCatholic League openeragainst Rummel, thereturning all-districtshortstop is the third brother to come through the Curtis baseball program. Spaced four years apart, thethree brothers have now kept family on theteam for 12 consecutive seasons.

Before he was oldenough for varsity,Micheu stood at the dugout railand watched his brothers play starring roles.

He jumpedintothe dogpile when oldest brother Brandon Davis-Micheuplayedshortstopon three statechampionshipteams before graduating in 2018 witha footballscholarship to theUniversityofTennessee.

Four yearslater,hevaulted out of the dugout when middle brother Buddy Micheu Jr.hit atwo-RBI single just inside the left-field line to send Curtis to thestate finals in 2022.

Buddy Jr.rounded first and looked back toward thefirst-base dugout and saw Connor running towardhim.

“Theypretty much had to hold himbackfromgettingonthe field,” Buddy Jr.said withalaugh.

Thatbondwas built during years of workoutstogether

With their dad —Buddy Sr., aformer professional baseball player in the Texas Rangers organization —swinging the bat, they each fielded groundersthatwere hit harder than anything they faced in games.

Their father,alongtime New Orleans policeofficer,drilled them relentlessly,believing it was his responsibility to prepare them for whatever they faced on thefield.

When Connor came along, he obsessively tried to outdo his older brothers at everything.

“Hedidn’tacceptthe fact that he wassmaller and younger,” Buddy Sr.said. “He thought he was betterthan them. He would always wanttodochallenges.”

They’d play games in the batting cage, each base hit being worth a point.Oronthe field, the first one to missagroundball was out.

“Let’s not just practice today let’smake it achallenge,” Buddy Sr.remembered Connor telling him

“Itwould be unloading the car for groceries,” BuddySr. said. “‘All right, Connor,you got 30 seconds.’ He would go run and do it.”

All these years later,neither

brother is surprised by Connor’s success.

“He’sbeen picking up abat sincehecould walk,”Brandon said.

Buddy Jr.remembered how Connor would scoop up grounders “hit 90-something milesan hour,” and“instead of getting out of the way,hewould put his chest behind it.”

“He doesn’thave any fear when it comes to baseball,” Buddy Jr said. That bravado proved especially helpful forConnorwhenhewent to Southeastern Louisiana fora baseball campinthe summer after his freshman season.

Aftermissing abackhand during adrill, he kept going. He fielded the next one —and the one after that.

Afterthe camp,the coaches held him back so theycould talk with him

“They told me how competitive andhow tough Iwas,” Micheu said.

Ascholarship offer came soon after that.

The threebrothers remain close and are regulars at Curtis games.

“Wecallhim ‘C,’”saidBuddy Jr., nowa student at UNOafter twoseasonsatNunez. “Everybody calls him ConnororC-Micheu.”

Connor,who wears No.5like Buddy Jr.did, knows when his brothers are there because he has an ear fortheir voices.

“Usually,I don’thearanything from thecrowd,” he said.“Butthe games they’ve been to, that’sthe only people I’ve heard, is them.” No two people knowthe work Connor put into becoming what he is on the baseball diamond better than them. They saw him do it one groundball at atime.

Contact Christopher Dabeat cdabe@theadvocate.com

Coming off roughyear, Tulane QB believes he’s readytoroll

BY GUERRYSMITH

Contributing writer

After what happened last summer,noone canbehappier than Tulane quarterback Kadin Semonza that the second transfer portal window has beeneliminated. Semonza, then aredshirt sophomore, went from frontrunnerfor thestarting jobunder former coachJon Sumrall to the third option behind post-spring arrivals Brendan Sullivan (Iowa)and Jake Retzlaff(BYU) without the benefit of asingle practice.Retzlaffwas nottechnically aportal addition, walking on in late July rather than accepting asix-game suspension at BYU, but the effect was the same. Ayear after starting every game for Ball State, Semonza never played in the Green Wave’srun to the American Conference championship and College FootballPlayoff with Retzlaff in charge and Sullivan backing him up “Tosay it was difficult wouldbeanunderstatement,” Semonzasaid after Tulane’sopeningspring practice on Monday morning with new coach Will Hall. “I’d be lying to you if I said Ihad agoodattitude the whole time. The first month or so was very hard.” It is comforting to know the competition in the 15

spring practices will notbe expanded to outsidersbefore thestart ofpreseason camp. Semonza began Monday with aleg uponredshirt senior Houston transfer ZeonChriss-Gremillion, who took only stationary repetitions because of a hamstring injury,and he will do everything in hispower to prove Tulane can maintainits championship level with him as QB No. 1. “I’m just excited to keep goingforward,” Semonza said. “Last year was the toughest timeinmycareer,but I’m grateful to be blessed with theopportunity

to grow.It’suptomewhat to do withit.”

He addedhenever considered going back intothe portal once Hall was hired as coach, saying they developed agood relationship as soon as Hall became passing game coordinator lastyear Any hard feelings about his treatmenthad nothing to do with Hall, who felt strong enough aboutSemonza’s potential not to bring in anyone other than ChrissGremillion, who started seven gamesfor UL in 2023 and seven more for Houston in 2024 before being relegated to abackup role with the

Cougars last season.

“Theyare both really experienced,” Hall said. “They both are high-character young men and impact everybody around them in a positiveway.Theyare not finishedproducts yet, but we can work with their skill set and what they’ve got to do.” Semonza gave an honest assessment of their respectivestrengths.

“He (Chriss-Gremillion) is avery good,mobile quarterback,” he said. “I like to considermyself an athlete, but it’sadifferent level. He’sanextremely good athlete, very explosive, and he

can throw the heck out of the ball. One of my mostimportant strengths is the mental gameand I’mextremely accurate. Those are the things Icarry myself with that can help the team.”

Despitenot playing in 2025, Semonzabelieves he improved. For one, he watched howRetzlaff performed in clutch moments forawinning team,something Semonza neverexperienced while throwing for 2,904 yards and 25 touchdowns for 3-9 Ball State in 2024.

Unlike KaiHorton, who was openly disconsolate after losing Tulane’s quarterback competition in 2024, Semonzaremaineda good teammate through his disappointment.

“The biggest thingI picked up on was how to win big games,” he said. “I playeda lotoffootballat BallState, but as ateam we weren’tvery good. No matter how you play,itdoesn’t matter if the team’s not winning. Ijust kind of took a back seat, seeing how to win those games when it gets

down to one possession and it’smyopportunity to go out there when the gameison the line.”

Semonza said Hall’soffensehad more pro-style concepts than what the Wave ran lastyear.The terminology is different, too, but he expects abig jump this spring as everyone becomes comfortable.

“We’re doing alot of really good stuff that I’m excited for and fired up about,” he said. “I think we’re going to do really well on offensethis year.”

Lagniappe

Running back Jamauri McClure will miss spring drills while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, but Hall said he would be cleared by thesummer. The backfield is deep. Maurice Turner,who started the opener last year before hurting an ankle,and transfers Jaylin Lucas (Florida State) and DJ Dugar(Oklahoma State) alllooked sharp on Monday.…Tulane will practice Tuesday,Thursday and Saturday this week.

‘Sinners’ shines light on La. blues legends

Hopefully Ryan Coogler has aU-Haul on standby.The 39-year-oldmovie director may need amoving van March 15 to bring the Oscars home for his horror film, “Sinners.” The movie, which grossed $369 million in worldwide box office receipts, is up for arecord 16 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Song.

“Sinners” is already awinner for putting the spotlight on the blues and at least three Louisiana musicians who shaped the sound. Much of the vampire thriller is set in Southern juke joints of the 1930s, makeshift dancehalls that shook with sounds that poured the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll, soul, R&B, rap, country and more.

Coogler illustrates that past and future in ascene with the original song, “I Lied to You.” The 1930s scene drifts to visions of the coming decades of rock, rap, break dancing and funk.

Buddy Guy,an89-year-old native of Pointe Coupee Parish, appears briefly in the movie as an aging version of the character Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore. Born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Guy was aproduct of this “Sinners” era withskills that heavily influenced Jimi Hendrix,Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others considered guitar gods.

AGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Kennedy Center honoree, Guy is still going strong with a tour of Australia set for April. Fellow blues senior and Homer native Bobby Rush has also enjoyed “Sinners” notoriety,along with the late harmonica legend Little Walter of Marksville. Rush, 92, wasn’t seen in the movie, but his harmonica was used for the character “Delta Slim.” Guy and actor Miles Caton performed the Little Walter original, “Juke.” The song has more than 2.2 million

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER BuddyGuy uses adrumstick to playaJimi Hendrix tune at the 2023 NewOrleans Jazz & HeritageFestival.

FUR FASHION

Grandma’spieces making acomeback thankstovintage stores andupcycledcoats

BY ANNE HOLZKI and ANJASOKOLOW dpa (TNS)

BERLIN Furcoats, fur hats andother accessories are back as we see “granny furs” and unique, reworked pieces being snapped up, say secondhand store owners andfurriers.

“This is the first year that these special grandma furcoats are really comingback into fashion,” says Rosemoon Cunningham,co-owner of Ophelia Vintage, ashop in Berlin’strendy Friedrichshain area.

Butanimalrightsactivists remain critical, even of thosewearing used fur items

For Cunningham, fur is astatement that sparks discussion. “It takes couragetowear afur coat.You’re wearing an animal, which can be provocative.”She makes sure to chat to customers before every sale. The vintage aspect is crucial for her.“For us, genuine vintage fur is something completely different from newfur production.”

She sees furs from before the 1980s to be moreethically acceptable.Theyare clearlyrecognizable as historical garments. Manycome from grandmothers, from the 1940s or 1960s, often with apersonal story.“It would be terrible if these

coatsjust ended up in alandfill,” she says. For many buyers, this argument is the key factor

People in theirmid-20s to 30s are particularly likely to buy them— inspired by pop culture and the unconventional Berlinstyle, Cunningham says. Furisseen as ameans of expression, but remains a niche product.Faux fur sells faster Diana Durdic from Sing Blackbird Vintage in Berlin-Neukölln agrees. “It’salso not sustainable to produce new faux fur

It’s better to use real furthat has already been worn and is thus saved from being thrownaway,” she says.

Initiallysceptical,she ultimately decided to offer furbecause of the sustainability aspect. Transparency about origin and condition is crucial.

The trend is also clearly noticeable in the secondhand store wsiura. “Fur fashionisselling very well,” says employee

BY JAMI GANZ Newyork Daily News (TNS)

will reprise thetitular role in what she hassaid is “notasequel” and “not areboot.” Streamers aren’tthe only ones dipping their toes into the deep end of ’90s IP Varietyreported lastmonth that Fox is rebooting “Baywatch.” That one though remains abit of ahead scratcher, given the 18% critical approvalrating of the2017 film adaptation.AsofThursday, the network hosteda casting callthat attracted 2,000 hopefuls ready to save thesun-soaked day But will the revitalization of theseproperties simply use the names blessed —orburdened with built-in fanbases, or will they hearkenback to theera in which Thedream

Maybe it’sbecause everything looks better through rose-colored glasses or without the ubiquitous presence of artificial intelligence and social media. Regardless, some of today’sforemost directors are channeling the days before bingeing applied to content, before art was dubbed content back when allaudiences needed was slo-mo running on abeach. Whatever the reason, the ’90s are back, aided by more objective prestige than the days of VHS tapes and disposable cameras might initially conjure. News broke last week that Ryan Coogler,the critically and commercially acclaimed “Sinners”

auteurtapped for abestdirector Oscar at this month’sceremony, will be rebooting“The X-Files”for Hulu, with BAFTAnominee Danielle Deadwyler starring. Chris Carter,creator of theoriginalEmmy-winning series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulderand Dana Scully,a pair of FBIagents probing the paranormal, saidin2023 thatCoogler was planning to “remount ‘The X-Files’ with adiverse cast.” The Disney-owned streamer will also be the home of the “continuation” of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,”helmedbyOscar-winning “Nomadland”filmmakerChloé Zhao, who is also nominated at this year’sOscarsfor directing “Hamnet.” Sarah Michelle Gellar

Pack patience fordoctor’soffice

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: I’ve learned that patience really matters at the doctor’soffice. Sometimes I’m taken in right away,and other times, I wait. I’ve found that it helps to come prepared. Ibring abook or make sure my phone is charged so that the time doesn’tfeel wasted. Ialso tryto keep things in perspective. When my doctor comes in, he never rushes. He listens and answers every question. This extra care is worth afew extra minutes in the waiting room. Appointments run on tight schedules, and emergencies happen. When I’m the one who needs extra time, I’m grateful thatno one is watching the clock Alittle patience makes the visit easier for everyone. Helene, via email

Messysalad-packet fix

Dear Heloise: I’ve had enough of the messysaladkit packets. Youknow,the tiny pouches of dressing or toppings that leave your fingers sticky and the counter splattered? They rarely

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday,March 10, the69th day of 2026. There are 296 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On March 10, 1959, thousands of Tibetans rebelled against occupying Chinese forces, surrounding the Dalai Lama’spalace to protect him from potential harm. Fierce fighting between Tibetans and Chinese forces ensued, causing the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet for India, where he remains in exile today

Also on this date:

In 1496, Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Maj. Gen.Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general and the command of the Union army in the Civil War.

FUR

Continued from page1D

Kanya. Thechillyseason, fashion functionality and current trends are driving sales, shesays. Long coats, scarves, andhatsfromolder decades are particularly in demand. “This year wehad 300 fur coats in the store, and now there are only nine or 10 left.” Many customers specificallyorder vintage furs, she adds.

Another driver is Slavic style. “People want to look Eastern European,” says Kanya. They are also taking their cuefrom some international catwalks, where fur is making acomeback.

“Wesaw college students coming in to buyfur, whichwehaven’t seen in years,” Larry Cowit, owner of Madison Avenue Furs, told the BBC. He also says young people were carefullyweighingupthe pros and cons of vintage versus fake furs.

Fur is also cautiously returning to places with milder winters thanGermany and the U.S. In London, Holly Watkins, owner of vintageboutique One ScoopStore,toldthe BBC she had seen ashift away from selling real fur to fake alternatives in recent years, especially among theyoung.

For some, vintage fur also has nostalgic value. Some even buy it exclusively for their collections. The German Animal Welfare Association is critical of not only new fur,but also second-hand fur.“Fur always stands for animal suffering —regardless

tear neatly,and squeezing outthe last drop can make lunchtimefrustrating. I’m not sure if there’sa perfect fix, but afew things help:Iuse kitchen scissors to snip asmall corner rather than tearing it. Iopenpackets over the sink or right above my bowl and keep anapkin nearby.Sometimes Ipour the dressing into asmall cupand drizzleitwith aspoon. If I’m packing lunch,I transfer toppings into small reusable containers before Ileave home. It saves time with cleanup later. Maybe other readers have even better ideas! —Neater Eater,in Omaha,Nebraska

Asmart travel trick

Dear Heloise: Iswear by spring-type clothespins when Itravel. Some people use binderclipsto close gaps in hotelcurtains, but Ifind clothespinseasier to squeeze, especially with arthritis. They’re also lightweightand inexpensive. Hotel curtains often let in a strip of early-morning light. Aclip or two keeps the panels closed and the room dark. At home, Iuse them to seal chip bags and bread. They’re sturdier than twist ties and don’tdisappear as easily. It’sproof that simple tools

TODAYIN HISTORY

In 1876,AlexanderGrahamBell’sassistant, Thomas Watson,heardBellsay over hisexperimentaltelephone:“Mr.Watson —come here —Iwanttosee you” from thenext roomofBell’s Bostonlaboratory; those were thefirst wordsever conveyed by telephone In 1913,abolitionist and Underground Railroad “conductor” HarrietTubman died of pneumonia in Auburn, NewYork In 1969,James EarlRay pleadedguilty in Memphis, Tennessee, to assassinating civil rightsleader Martin Luther King Jr.(Raylater repudiatedthatplea, maintaining his innocenceuntil his death.)

In 1993,Dr. David Gunn waskilledoutside the Pensacola Women’sMedical Servicesclinic byanti-abortionactivistMichael Griffin; it was the firstkilling attributed to adoctor’srolein providing abortioncare

of whether the product is bought new, passed on, or put back into circulation as secondhand,” says spokeswoman NadiaWattad

Wearing real fur —even secondhand —can contribute to making fursocially acceptable again and establishing it as fashion. “Thissends the wrongsignaland canpromote trendsthat ultimately also benefit the marketfor newfur products,” says Wattad.

TheGermanAnimal Welfare Association advises people opt for fur-free,animalfriendly alternatives.

From an animal welfare perspective, existing furs should berecycled into sofa cushions orblankets.That way, they can keep people warm while preventing fur from gaining traction in the fashion world.

Furriers such as Birgit Pietsch from Berlinuse furfromthe Weprefurlabel. TheCentral Association of Furriers promotes furfromethicalhunting in forests, fields, and meadows, so fur that would otherwise go to waste. “National animalwelfare and legal huntingguidelines areofcourse complied with here,”itsays.

Butthe AnimalWelfare Association is also critical of the Weprefur initiative. It is an “attemptto portray certaintypes of fur as ecologicaland animal-friendly and thus give furabetterimage in general.” Pietsch saysyoungpeople in particular are tending to wear old clothes rather than buynew ones for sustainability reasons. In her shop, shealso alters old furs or sews them into modern designs.

can be surprisingly useful. Toss afew clothespins in your suitcase —you’ll likely find moreuses than you expected. —Cathy, in Texas When to usestore wipes

Dear Heloise: I’m still surprised to see people grabbing antibacterial wipes on their way into the store, especially since they’re usually placed right at the entrance.

From my understanding, these wipes sanitize the germsthat are already on your hands, but they don’t provide lasting protection once your hands are dry Inside thestore, you’ll be touching carts, cans, boxes and produce that may have been handled by manyothers. To me, wipingatthe beginning doesn’tmake as much sense.

Instead, Imake apoint of not touching my face while shopping. On my way out, Igrab awipe and clean my hands before getting into my car.This way,I’m removingwhatever Imay have picked up during my trip.It’sa small change that makes moresense to me. Kate, in Portland, Oregon

Send ahinttoheloise@ heloise.com.

In 2019, aBoeing 737 Max 8operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from theEthiopian capital of Addis Ababa,killing all 157 people on board. Today’sbirthdays: ActorChuck Norris is 86. Singer Dean Torrence(Jan and Dean) is 86. TV personality/business executive Barbara Corcoran (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 77. ActorSharon Stone is 68. ActorJasmine Guy is 64. Music producer RickRubin is 63. Football Hall of Famer RodWoodson is 61. Singersongwriter Edie Brickell is 60. ActorPaget Brewster is 57. ActorJon Hammis55. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 54. Singer Robin Thicke is 49. Olympic gymnastics gold medalistShannon Miller is 49. Actor Thomas Middleditch is 44. Country singer-songwriter Carrie Underwood is 43. Actor Olivia Wilde is 42. Actor Emily Osment is 34. Rapper-singer BadBunny is 32.

Afur that can be worn for decades is sustainable. “It’s better than wearing faux fur, whichismadefrom crude oil,” she says.

Furrier Isabel Penth from Völklingen in Germany also counts many young people between theages of 20 and 30 amongher customers. “They come with furitems they have inherited from their grandmothers and have them reworked,” says Penth, acraftswoman who upcycles items. In addition to jackets and coats, thesealso include home accessories such as pillows andblankets. “Fur can be worn for50to80 years. No other material can do that,” she says.

The issue remains divisive at many levels, as some major fashion shows banish fur even as individual designers flaunt faux fur creations.

Norway became thefirst countryinthe worldtoofficially banfur clothingfrom fashion shows according to reports.

Norwegians decidedfur items would notbepresented back in 2011. Major fashionshows including London followed suit,alsoexcluding theuse of animal skinssuchas snake and crocodile.

And morerecently,the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which owns andorganizes New York FashionWeek, decided to ban fur on the runway in 2026, according to Plant BasedNewsenvironmental website andanimalprotection news sites.

Berlin Fashion Week also decidedtoban fashionfeaturingnew feathers, exotic skins or furonits catwalks, likewise as of 2026.

SINNERS

Continuedfrom page 1D

streamsonSpotify and nearly 750,000 plays on YouTube.

Like Guy,Rush is not resting in his senioryears. Between now and end of May,Rush has gigs stretching from theFrenchQuarterFestivalinNew Orleans to the Ribs &Blues Festival

in the Netherlands.

Similar to Guy,Little Walter,born Marion Walter Jacobs in 1930, left Louisiana for Chicago, where he recorded “Juke,” “My Babe” and more groundbreaking harmonica blues. Renowned as an alcoholic with ashort fuse and numerous fight injuries, Walter only lived to the age of 37. Yetthe blues of Walter,Rush and Guylive on, thanks to “Sinners,”

introducing anew generation to the foundation of American music.

HermanFuselieris executive director of theSt. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. Alongtime journalist covering Louisiana music andculture, he lives in Opelousas. His“Zydeco Stomp”showairsat noon SaturdaysonKRVS Public Media.

REBOOTS

Continuedfrom page 1D

they first madewaves?

The pendulum has swung in myriad wayssince the days Pamela Anderson was running to the rescue in ared one-piece. In recent years, the“Baywatch” alum,58, has spoken at length about the journey to reclaimingher identity fromher over-sexualized image at the turn of the century “And Just LikeThat…” theoft-derided yet widely watched “Sex and theCity” spinoff —made aconcerted efforttoupdate itsplot and characters for today’s sensibilities, to varying degrees of success. While critics would likely

argue “The X-Files” is in far more deft and capable hands with Coogler than, say, thoseofMichael Patrick King, it remains to be seen whetherthe impulse to revisit existing properties is simply forthe sake of nostalgia. Could that then be the reasonfor the success of “The Pitt?” The Emmy-winning HBO hit can’t legally call itself an “ER” spinoff, even if it comes about as close as one can —downtosharing astar in Noah Wyle, who initially hopedtoreprise his role as Dr.John Carter in a direct sequel. One striking similarity no one can deny about the two medical sensationsistheir week-to-week impact. Instead of dropping multiple episodes at once to facilitate abinge,“The Pitt”

living on HBO means fans wait for updates week-toweek. While most streaming shows —and, really,most prestige shows —contain five to 10 episodes perseason, with seasonspremiering between one to four years apart, the first two seasonsof“ThePitt,” contain 15 episodesapiece and premiered in January 2025 and 2026. Just like traditional television, the third season is already slated to premiere early next year, like clockwork. Are these returns to form, both in theway of content andviewing, just channelingolder sensibilities? Or aretheyproof thattoday’s viewer wants something, anything, to hold onto that signalstoamorefamiliar, morecomfortable time?

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Don't start something you cannot finish. Choose your words wisely. Anger will lead to setbacks that can stifle your progress. Choose kindness and love over chaos and aversion.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Refuse to let your emotions interfere with what you need to do. Act with unfiltered truth and compassion. Dedicate your time and effort to educating others and making a difference in your community.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Forward thinking will be necessary, and you will need to make the most out of what you have to ensure the best outcome. A career choice will offer financial benefits and emotional costs.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Stop procrastinating. Communicate, research and implement a plan. The more you do to make a difference, the greater the benefits. A solid plan will give you the confidence needed to make a move.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Protect your reputation. Ask questions, consider your options and avoid letting your emotions lead to arguments you cannot win. Keep your thoughts to yourself and avoid risky situations.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Actions will take precedence. Put your plans in motion, and don't stop until you are satisfied with the results. Personal gratification for your achievements will be worthwhile.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Domestic issues will throw you off course. Don't lose sight of your goal or neglect a situation that can influence how someone feels about you. Keep what's meaningful to you in the forefront.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Keep your personal life to yourself. Mixing business with pleasure will be counterproductive. Romance and personal growth are heading your way.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Listen, and you'll gain insight into how best to maintain the status quo. An energetic approach to physical activity will set you apart from any competition you encounter.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Pay more attention to what's happening at home than what's going on out in the streets. Don't involve yourself in a fight that doesn't concern you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Fly under the radar if you want to maintain a steady pace. Refuse to let anyone coax you into putting their needs before your own. Emotions and money will not mix well today.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb 19) There is power in energy. Design a plan that lets you give your all to whatever delivers the highest returns. A little love and understanding go a long way.

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

BY PHILLIP ALDER

Kevin Barry, an Irish author, said “When you wake up,instead of checking emails on your phone,orcounting your retweets,pickupapenandscratchafew sentences into anotebook.”

Orsitatacomputerkeyboardandtype afew articles into aword processor.

Over the lastseven columns, Ihave beenstressingcounting,primarilybythe defenders.Hereisonemoreexample,by way of revision because someone once told me that repetition is good in ateaching environment.(Ihope he is right.)

South zooms intofour hearts. West leadsthe spade queen. Howshould the declarer-play and defense go?

Note thatthreeno-trump has no chance. That is usually atough contract tomakewhenyouhavetwoorthreeaces to dislodge. Thedefendershave alot of time to establishand runtheirlong suit.

In four hearts, South starts with four losers: one in each suit. He has 10 possibletricks: twospades, four hearts, two diamonds and two clubs. However, he will get those two club tricks onlyif East errs, since declarerhas no dummy entry outside clubs.

South’s best chance is to win trick one with the spade ace and play aclub, hopingtheopponentwiththeacewinsimmediately. West, though, should play his eight, starting ahigh-low with an even number.East shouldthen work out that declarer started withtwo clubs. (With four, South wouldnot be attacking clubs this quickly; he would surely be drawingtrumps.)SoEastshouldduckthefirst club,takethesecond,andreturnaspade to kill the contract. ©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 scALLoPs: SKA-lups: Edible mollusks that swimbyopening andclosing valves.

Average mark18words

Timelimit 25 minutes

Can you find 22 or morewords in SCALLOPS?

YEstERDAY’s WoRD —tuMuLtuous

tout tumult tutu utmost molt most must mutt lost lotus lust oust slot slum smut soul stout sumo

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

WiShinG Well