The Acadiana Advocate 03-11-2026

LAFAYETTEPARISH

Boardeyesclosing ComeauxHigh

Campus wouldbe turned into district’snew Career Center

ette Parish area.”

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

The Lafayette ParishSchool Board will consider aproposal to closeand rezoneComeaux High Schoolstudents and turn the campus into the district’snew Career Center SuperintendentFrancisTouchet Jr.told The Acadiana Advocate the change, which will be considered at Thursday’sSchoolBoardmeeting, could help the district with two issues: districtspending and a 450-studentwaitlist for the Career Center

Theproposaltoclose Comeaux

“Our kids need to be careerreadywhentheyget outofhigh school, and we are now responding to that,” he said. “When we put something like this on the market, doors are goingtoopen up for our kids, aswellaskids in theLafay-

High, rezone itsnearly 700 studentsand convert thecampus into the OveyComeaux Workforce Innovation Academyisbeing presented by School Board President HannahSmith Masonand board member Kate Labue.

This isn’tthe first time in recent years that the board has proposed big changes toComeaux, and each

hascome with major pushback from the school’ssupporters. Students, teachers andother stakeholdershavearguedthe district hasn’t investedinthe school,which contributed to facility issues and a decrease in morale.

Butthe school hasseen buy-in recently from outside groups and fromits students and staff. The school received aschool performance score of aBfor the 2025 school year and an Afor the2024 school year

Lafayettegas prices spike

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

Gas prices have spiked nationally sincePresident Donald TrumpfirstannouncedU.S.attacks onIranlessthan two weeks ago

While Louisiana, richinoil refineries, may be feeling less hurt than other states, that price shock has reached Lafayette, where gas and diesel prices have jumped nearly 19% overthe lastweek, according to AmericanAutomobile Association data.

As of Tuesday,the average gasprice in Lafayette was $3.14 per gallon, a$0.56 increase from last week. Lafayette’sprices areslightly above the Louisiana average of $3.11. The price still sits below the national average of $3.54 agallon as of Tuesday,upfrom $2.98 more than a week ago. Nathaniel Moore,who lives in Lafayette, toldKATChe’s

La.nativegetschance to play Banana Ball

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

The FaceTime call came through just as Bryce Grizzaffi’s head hit thepillow, whichisreally when dreamsare supposed to start anyway The baseball draft that Grizzaffi had been highly anticipating was nearing the end.

Rounds seven, eight andnine cameand went and he had yet to hearhis name. As the disappointment started to creep in more andmore on that day in November,hedecided to take anap But the nap plans were interrupted by that FaceTime call where one simple question was

The ideatoclose Comeaux and move the Career Center to the campus was first presented in fall 2024 as part of adistrict optimization plan, but it failed on a5-4

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

Louisiana will soon push home insurers to give specific discounts in exchange for homeowners getting fortifiedroofs, aftera yearslong debate over how to deliver savings to residents whoface soaring insurance premiums. Insurance Commissioner TimTemple’sofficequietly released abulletin to insurers last Friday that lays outthe levelofdiscount they now must provide, whichvariesdepending on the type of fortificationand regionofthe state. If they don’tmeet thethreshold,they mustprovide actuarial math justifying the lower discount, similar to how Alabama operates.

Forsouth Louisiana homeownerswith fortified roofs—the most common category— insurers will have to give a29% discount on thehurricane portionofthe premium. The hurricane portion is generally the largest contributor to the overall premiuminparishes at risk from hurricanes.

askedbythe guys on theother end. “Are youready to be aBanana?” This was thecall that Grizzaffi, aMorgan Citynative, hadbeen waiting for.Itwas an opportunity to playwith the SavannahBananas, theoh-so popular baseball team that travelsthe country and mixesAmerica’spastime with a whole lot of showmanship and fan participation.

Homeowners with fortified “gold” homes, which must include reinforced windows, doors and other bracing against wind, will geta 49%discountunlessinsurersjustify a lower amount.

Temple saidinaninterviewthathis office randatathrough two different catastrophe models to arrive at the discount figures, in partnership with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

“Wedidn’tjust pull these numbers out of the air,” he said. “Wecollected homeowners’ data and ran it through the models.”

“Itshould have asignificant impact on premiums,” he added.

“It was adream that Inever knew Ihad that came true,” Grizzaffi said. That dream becomes even moreeuphoricSaturdayand Sunday when the Savannah Bananas play games at Caesars Superdome, just 70 miles from where Grizzaffi was born and raised. The Dome, likeitistomany folks in Louisiana, is near and

See DREAM, page 7A

Bryce Grizzaffi

Suspect in Rihanna’s house shooting in court

LOS ANGELES A Florida woman arrested on suspicion of firing gunshots at Rihanna’s Los Angeles home while 10 people were inside is expected to make her first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutors said they are reviewing a case presented by police and 35-year-old Ivanna Lisette Ortiz is expected to be arraigned later in the day. Charges have yet to be filed.

Ortiz was arrested and a weapon was recovered on Sunday afternoon after shots were fired outside the home in the Beverly Hills area, police said.

No one was hurt. But Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell told media gathered for a news conference on a different subject Tuesday that 10 people were at home at the time He identified the house as Rihanna’s, but he did not say whether she, her partner A$AP Rocky or their children were among those in the home.

McDonnell said investigators believe Ortiz drove to the area from Florida, but it’s not clear when. Public records show her most recent address was in Orlando.

Ortiz was being held on $10.2 million bail.

Authorities have not said if she has any connection to Rihanna

No new trial for man in Laken Riley’s death

ATLANTA A judge has rejected a request for a new trial for a Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration.

Lawyers for Jose Ibarra argued his constitutional rights were violated when the judge declined two defense motions before trial.

One was a request to delay the trial to give an expert witness time to review and analyze DNA data. The other would have excluded some cellphone evidence.

Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who presided over the trial, wrote in an order Monday that the evidence of Ibarra’s guilt presented by the state was “overwhelming and powerful.”

After Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, Haggard found him guilty of murder and other charges during the November 2024 trial and sentenced him to life in prison.

A spokesperson for Ibarra’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal.

Ibarra, 28, had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case.

Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, 2024, and killed her during a struggle.

Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Baltimore officer wounded in call

BALTIMORE A police officer responding to a burglary call in Baltimore was shot in the leg Tuesday by a gunman who was killed by another officer, authorities said.

A woman jumped out of a window during the tense confrontation and another woman was held at gunpoint by the man before he was shot, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said.

“It was relatively quick because he was firing on our officers,” Worley said.

The officer with a leg wound was in stable condition at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center Dr Thomas Scalea praised a “buddy” who applied a tourniquet at the scene.

“We’re just so thankful that the officer or any other folks in that neighborhood were not severely harmed,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told reporters “Our thoughts are with him and his family, and even the family of the deceased.”

The man who died was related to people at the home, Worley said.

Explosive residue found in connection with N.Y. bombing

2 men are charged in hurling devices outside mayor’s home

BY JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NEW YORK The FBI said Tuesday that it found explosive residue in a Pennsylvania storage unit as part of an investigation into two men charged with bringing homemade bombs to a protest outside the home of New York City’s mayor Emir Balat, 18, and Ibrahim Kayumi, 19, told police after their arrests that they were inspired by the Islamic State group, according to law enforcement officials and a criminal complaint.

The men live in the Philadelphia suburbs and drove together to New York City on Saturday to carry out the attack near Gracie Mansion in Manhattan, officials said.

In response to police questioning, Balat said he hoped to accomplish something “even bigger” than the Boston Marathon bombing, which killed three people, the complaint said Overnight Monday, FBI bomb technicians conducted controlled detonations of the explosive residue found at a public storage facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, near where Balat’s family lives, the agency said.

The explosion resulted in “sev-

eral loud bangs,” the Middletown

Township Police Department said Tuesday, adding that there was no threat to residents. The FBI said it has conducted multiple searches in connection with the investigation.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Tuesday called the attack “absolutely despicable” and said government investigators and prosecutors won’t rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice.

Much remains unknown about the motives, planning and relationship between Balat and Kayumi.

Court documents show Emir Balat’s father, Selahattin Balat, is a native of Turkey who was granted asylum in the United States in 1998 and later became a U.S. citizen. In a 2009 bankruptcy filing, he listed his occupation as painter and said he had three children.

Emir Balat is a senior at Neshaminy High School in Langhorne. A school spokesperson said he enrolled in a virtual program in September and had not attended in-person classes since.

Rock High School North, according to a school spokesperson. His attorney did not speak to reporters following a court hearing Monday and declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press.

Online records show that Kayumi’s parents have owned and worked at multiple Popeyes fast food locations, including in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Atlantic City

His mother filed a missing person report with police Saturday, the day of the protest, saying her son had not been seen since that morning, according to the complaint.

His lawyer Mehdi Essmidi, said his client had “complicated stuff going on” in his personal life, without elaborating. Essmidi said he did not believe the two young men had known each other for long.

Kayumi is from Newtown, about 4 miles north of Langhorne. He graduated in 2024 from Council

Chaldean Catholic leader pleaded not guilty

BY GREGORY BULL, CHRISTOPHER WEBER and DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press

EL CAJON, Calif.

— The bishop of a small Chaldean Catholic community in the San Diego area has resigned amid charges that he embezzled $270,000 from his parish, Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesday Bishop Emanuel Shaleta pleaded not guilty on Monday to 16 felony charges, including money laundering, during a hearing attended by many of his supporters. The hearing followed his Thursday arrest at San Diego International Airport as he was trying to leave the country according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office.

Shaleta, 69, is accused of embezzling from the St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon, east of San Diego.

Last August, someone from Shaleta’s church provided a statement and documentation “showing potential embezzlement from the church,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

The Vatican said in its daily bulletin Tuesday that Leo had accepted Shaleta’s resignation under the code of canon law for Eastern Rite churches, which allows for the pope to agree if a bishop asks to step down.

It also said Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako retired as patriarch of the global Chaldean Catholic Church, saying he wishes to pursue “prayer, writing and simple service.”

It’s unclear if his retirement is connected to Shaleta’s case.

Leo actually accepted Shaleta’s res-

Prosecutors, police and FBI officials say Balat and Kayumi joined a throng of counterprotesters at a small, anti-Muslim rally organized by far-right activist Jake Lang. A Christian nationalist, Lang is a critic of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat and the first Muslim to hold the office.

Jou rn alists photographed Balat hurling a device, smoking with a lit fuse, that was later found to contain the explosive TATP The object, which also contained nuts and bolts, extinguished itself without harming anyone. Balat then dropped a second object near some police officers and tried to run, but was tackled and arrested, according to a court complaint.

ignation in February, but it wasn’t announced until this week, according to the Vatican embassy in Washington. The Holy See appears to have waited to announce the decision to avoid interfering with the police investigation.

Prosecutor Joel Madero said the allegations against Shaleta are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church’s social hall that allegedly were missing. He said there were discrepancies in church accounts and that Shaleta “provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going.”

The judge set bail at $125,000 and seized Shaleta’s passport. Madero said Shaleta was a flight risk, but the bishop’s attorney said Thursday’s flight had been planned for a while. Authorities didn’t say where he was headed.

During a Feb. 22 Mass, Shaleta addressed allegations against him, saying he has never “abused any penny of the church money.”

“On the contrary, I have done my best to preserve and manage the donations of the church properly,” he said at the time.

Shaleta’s attorney, Sharon Appelbaum, said she planned to show that the allegations were false.

The priests of the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle released a statement expressing solidarity with Shaleta.

Shaleta could face 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the district attorney’s office said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 27.

On Tuesday, the El Cajon parish church’s doors were closed and its parking lot was empty Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as a temporary administrator

Suspects sought in U.S. consulate attack

No injuries as gunfire strikes Toronto building

BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press

TORONTO Police in Canada searched Tuesday for two assailants who opened fire at the U.S. consulate in downtown Toronto in an early-morning attack that damaged the outside of the building but did not cause any injuries.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Chief Superintendent Chris Leather called it a national security incident and said the national police force was working with Toronto police on finding the suspects and determining the motive.

The shooting came amid heightened tension over the Iran war, and followed gunfire attacks on two Torontoarea synagogues last weekend.

Leather said the U.S. and Israeli consulates, as well as embassies in Ottawa, would see an increase in security

“It is extremely concerning,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said.

“We will use the full weight of our resources to ensure that the perpetrators feel the full weight of justice.”

Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said two individuals emerged from a white Honda CRV SUV at around 4:30 a.m. and fired multiple shots at the building before fleeing. Police released images of the SUV, but had no further information about the suspects.

“There were people inside the building. However, this building is highly secured and highly fortified and there were no injuries,” he said.

The gunshots caused damage to the outside but did not penetrate into the building, Barredo said.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called it “an absolutely unacceptable act of violence and intimidation aimed at our American friends and neighbors,” and he hinted at a possible link to the war in Iran.

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CONFLICT MIDDLE EAST IN THE

U.S. andIranrampupthreats

At least140 U.S.

BY JON GAMBRELL, JAMEYKEATEN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Iran’s attacks on oil infrastructure and pledges to choke off avital waterway left markets on edge Tuesday as the United States promised blistering new strikes. The war entered its 11th day with noend in sight as its effects rippled across the Middle East and beyond.

Both sidessharpened their rhetoric as they dug in, with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth again promising the most intense strikes yet, while Iran’sleaders ruled out talks and threatened U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Pentagon says about 140 U.S. service members have been wounded in conflict with Iran.

“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor,and 108 service members have already returned to duty,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. Eight are currently “severely injured,” Parnell added.

These numbers are the first insight into the broader toll of injuries sustained by U.S. troopsafter abarrage of retaliatory rocketand drone strikes from Iran that also killed seven soldiers in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Iran launched new attacksagainst Israel and Gulf Arab countries, while Israel carried out airstrikes on Iran and Lebanon, where it is battling Hezbollah militants.

Residents of Tehran said they had experienced some of thewar’s heaviest strikes, with electricity cut to neighborhoods. Awoman said she saw aresidential building get hit. She and others spoke on condition of anonymity to prevent reprisals. Tens of thousands of Iranians have sought shelter in the countryside. The United Arab Emiratesre-

ported two more deaths as nine drones struck thecountry, and nearly threedozen other drones andmissiles wereintercepted. Firefighters battled ablaze after an Iranian dronestrike in the industrial city of Ruwais, home to petrochemical plants, officials said. No injuries were reported there.

Iranian attacks on the wealthy Gulf country —hometothe business and travel hub of Dubai have killedsix peopleand wounded 122 others since the surprise bombardment of Iran by theU.S. and Israel began on Feb. 28. In Bahrain, authorities said an Iranian attack hit aresidential building in thecapital, Manama, killing a29-year-old woman and wounding eight people. Bahrain’s Defense Ministry says it has intercepted over 100 ballistic missiles and 175 drones since the war began.

Sirens also sounded in Jerusalem, and sounds of explosions could beheard in TelAviv as Israel’s airdefensesworkedtointer-

cept barrages from Iran. Hezbollah, which began firing on Israel after the start of thewar,launched missiles intoIsrael.

At the Pentagon, Hegseth warned that Tuesday“will be yet again our mostintense day of strikes inside Iran: The mostfighters, the most bombers, the most strikes,intelligence more refined and better than ever.”

He said the last 24 hours had seen thefewestIranian missiles fired in thewar Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff, saidU.S. forces hit more than 5,000 targets.

The Pentagon separately said Tuesday that about140 U.S. service membershave been wounded in the war,and the“vast majority” of theinjurieswere minor, with 108servicemembers already back on duty.Eight U.S.servicemembers suffered severe injuries, and seven have been killed.

In Iran, at least1,230 people have been killed, while the death toll is at least 397 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel, according to officials.

Americansdivided on Iran,polls reveal

BY LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press

WASHINGTON Americans are divided along party lines on U.S. military action against Iran, accordingto pollsconductedsincethe war began, with most polls showing opposition is higher than support.

Polls suggest many Americans are worried the military action is making the U.S. “less safe,” even as they see Iran as athreat to U.S. There are also warning signs for President Donald Trumpas he confronts the possibility of aprolonged conflict that could come with significant economic turmoil. Trump gave conflicting messages Monday about the war’s timeline, suggesting it could be near itsend while also threatening additional force if the flow of oil is disrupted. Fluctuatingoil prices may already be alarming voters.

Polls conducted over the weekendfound alargemajority of Americans are worried aboutthe warcausingoil and gasoline prices torise. The vast majority expect the U.S.action against Iran will last at least “months,” if not longer.

Republicansare largely behind thepresident, aRepublican,the polls show, but there are indications that they are wary of any response that wouldlead to U.S. troops on theground in Iran. And afterTrump campaigned on the pledge of putting “America first”and ending U.S.involvement in “forever wars,”the Iran conflict could become aparticular point of friction.

Abouthalf of registered voters —53% —oppose U.S. military action against Iran, according toanew Quinnipiac Poll conducted over the weekend. Only 4in 10 support it, and about 1in10are

uncertain. Anew Ipsospoll alsofound moredisapprove thanapprove of the strikes. That’ssimilartothe results of text message snap polls from The Washington Post andCNN, both conducted shortly after the joint U.S.Israel attacksbegan,which also indicated that more Americans rejected themilitary action than embraced it. ArecentFox News poll found opinions more evenly divided: Half of registered voters approved of the U.S. militaryaction, whilehalf disapproved.

Several of the recent polls show amajorityofAmericans believe the Trump administration has not provided aclear explanation of the reasons behind themilitary strikes, andthere are some divisions about whether Iran truly posedan“imminent and direct threat” to the United States, as theWhite House has said.

Iran’sleaders have remained defiant after days of heavy strikes targeting the country’s leadership, military, ballistic missiles and disputed nuclear program.Iran’s parliament speaker,Mohammad BagherQalibaf, said on Xthat Iran was “definitely not looking for a ceasefire.”

“Webelieve that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns alesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again,” he said.

Atop Iranian security official, Ali Larijani,posted awarning to Trump, writing on Xthat “Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful notto geteliminated yourself.”Iranhas been accused of plotting attempts to kill Trump in the past. Iran has repeatedly targeted energy infrastructure with attacks that appear aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end their strikes. It has also fired on Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.

BY MATTHEW LEE AP diplomatic writer

WASHINGTON The State Department has authorized the use of up to $40 millionin emergency funds to pay for evacuation charter flights for Americanstoleavethe Middle East because of disruptions in transportationcausedbythe Iran war

The department hadapproved theuse of moneyfrom afund normally reservedfor emergencies involving diplomaticand consularstaff, according to two U.S. officials whowere not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity

The State Department confirmed the use of the emergency funds but declinedtospecify the amount.

“Wehavesufficient funding to cover ourefforts to date,” it said. “The administration will work with Congress should additionalfunding be necessary.” Underfederal law,private Americans are obligated to reimburse the government for such transportation, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio waivedthat requirement last week.

The State Department has faced accusations fromlawmakers andtravelers of not adequatelyplanning forthe war thatthe U.S. and Israel launchedinIranand notacting quickly enough to help Americansinthe region.

The U.S. has advised Americans in 14 countries in the Middle East to leave, issuing a warning two days after the war beganasclosed airspace and flight cancellationsmadetravel difficult. $40M to be used for evacuation flights, U.S. says

‘No support’ from Danish about U.S. acquiring Greenland

Educator hopes to visit Landry while in Louisiana

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Frederik Waage is a professor of constitutional law at the University of Southern Denmark

He is visiting several cities in the United States to discuss President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire or even seize Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark.

Waage will spend several days in Louisiana beginning Wednesday to give talks on the subject and, he hopes, to meet with Gov Jeff Landry, named by Trump in December as his special envoy to Greenland. Landry recently suggested to Trump that he send a hospital ship to the territory after talking with a Greenlander who raised concerns about health

Thune:

But pushes back on demands for ‘talking

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that the Senate will consider a bill to impose strict new proof-ofcitizenship requirements in elections, but says “the votes aren’t there” to pass it through a marathon talking filibuster sought by President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he won’t sign any other legislation until the bill — known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE America Act — is passed. But it faces unified opposition from Democrats, meaning that the Senate can’t pass it unless Republicans change the rules and eliminate the filibuster

Thune has said there aren’t enough votes to do that, or to launch a talking filibuster that would force Democrats to hold the floor indefinitely to block the bill.

“That is just a function of math,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday, making his strongest statements yet after weeks of discussions among GOP senators “For better or worse, I’m the one who has to be a clear-eyed realist about what we can achieve here.”

Republican senators are discussing, instead, voting on the legislation as soon as next week under regular procedure meaning it will likely fail. Thune said that Republicans are “going to have a fight on the floor”

PROVIDED PHOTO

Professor Frederik Waage is visiting several cities in the United States to discuss President Donald Trump’s plans to acquire or seize Greenland

care. No ship has been available to undertake that mission.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

Were people in Denmark surprised when President Trump began saying last year that he wanted to have the United States acquire Greenland?

It was a big surprise that this issue came up again. We had not heard about it during the presi-

Q&A WITH FREDERIK WAAGE

AT UNIVERSITy OF SOUTHERN DENMARK

PROFESSOR

LAW

CONSTITUTIONAL

dential elections. It came up only after he was elected. We had almost forgotten his wish to buy Greenland from 2019. And what was the reaction when Trump began saying more recently that he wanted to seize the island?

Great confusion and shock due to the fact that it’s the closest ally we have. There was great confusion also because America already has a big military presence in Greenland.

Do the Danish people support the United States acquiring Greenland? How about the people in Greenland?

There’s no support at all in Denmark or in Greenland for this. Greenland has mentioned that they would elect to be in the Danish kingdom rather than be part of the United States.

President Trump suddenly got people in Louisiana interested in Greenland in late

and will force Democrats to vote on “whether they think noncitizens should vote in American elections.”

Trump’s aggressive effort to dictate Senate procedure has put Thune in an awkward position as he has tried to appease the president and increasingly angry base voters who have called for Republicans to do whatever they can to pass it ahead of the midterm elections. But most Republican senators appear to be backing Thune’s approach

“There’s been enough dithering,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville. “It’s time to go and let the chips fall where they may.”

Trump has made the SAVE America Act a priority ahead of the midterm elections, arguing that Republicans need it to win — even as his party won the presidency and congressional majorities in 2024 without it. Federal law already requires that voters in national elections be U.S citizens.

“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” he told House Republicans Monday at their annual retreat at his Florida golf club “If you don’t get it, big trouble.”

But Trump’s push is running into the realities of the Senate, where minor-

ity Democrats can filibuster any piece of legislation and force Republicans to find 60 votes when they only hold 53 seats. Democrats uniformly oppose the legislation, arguing that it would disenfranchise some 20 million American voters who don’t have birth certificates or other documents readily available.

Republicans could change the rules and eliminate the filibuster to pass it, or they could attempt the talking filibuster

But Thune says they don’t have enough support within the GOP conference to do either

Even if they did, a talking filibuster would not guarantee passage. Supporters of that approach say that Democrats would eventually tire of speaking or allow the legislation to pass.

But Democrats would also be allowed to bring up an indefinite number of amendments on any subject, forcing Republicans to take hard votes in an election year and delaying the process even more.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee, who has led the talking filibuster push with Trump, posted on X Tuesday that the “Senate should do everything it can in an effort to pass” the bill.

December when he named Gov Jeff Landry as his special envoy to the territory.What kind of reaction did that generate in Denmark and Greenland? We’re very curious about this appointment. That is the reason for my visit here. I’m traveling to Louisiana to give him an invitation to speak at my university, the University of Southern Denmark, to give a talk there about Denmark and to talk to two of the top Danish news outlets. The main reaction in Denmark was people were mystified by this appointment. This person was appointed to follow Greenland. We’re trying to figure out to which degree he’ll play a role in Greenland politics and the hospital ship. That has led to many questions.

Landry has said he would like to visit Greenland.What kind of reaction would he get if he walked down main street of the

capital? I know that when (Vice President) JD Vance wanted to go to Greenland, he ended up at an American base instead of a dog sled race because there were American demonstrations against him. It would make sense for (Landry) to go to Denmark to make sense of the situation in Greenland and discuss American policy toward Greenland. It would not be the outcome of JD Vance’s experience.

You are hoping to meet with Landry while you’re in Louisiana.What would tell him and what would you hope to learn? I would be very interested in hearing his idea about the hospital ship. I’d like to talk about Greenlandic health care, which is a big topic in Denmark. Does he have any other initiatives coming up? He’s considered a very important person from a Danish perspective. It would be a chance for him to talk to an expert about Greenland and for us to engage in dialogue.

Ala. governor commutes death sentence of man, 75

Accomplice fired fatal shot

BY KIM CHANDLER Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. Ala-

bama Gov Kay Ivey on Tuesday commuted the death sentence of a 75-yearold inmate who was set to be executed this week even though he was not in the building when the victim was killed during a 1991 robbery

Ivey reduced Charles “Sonny” Burton’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, marking just the second time the Republican governor has granted clemency to a death row inmate since taking of-

fice in 2017. Burton was sentenced to death for the shooting death of a customer Doug Battle, during the robbery of an AutoZone store in Talladega. Though he had left the store before another man, Derrick DeBruce, killed Battle, Burton was convicted as an accomplice, with prosecutors portraying Burton as a leader of the robbery Both DeBruce and Burton were convicted of capital murder, but DeBruce’s sentence was overturned on appeal. DeBruce was resentenced to life and died in prison.

Ivey, who has presided over 25 executions, said she firmly believes in the death penalty as “just punishment for society’s most heinous offenders,” but said it

also must be administered fairly and proportionately The Republican governor said she “cannot proceed in good conscience with the execution of Mr Burton under such disparate circumstances.”

“I believe it would be unjust for one participant in this crime to be executed while the participant who pulled the trigger was not,” Ivey said.

Burton was scheduled to be executed Thursday night by nitrogen gas, a new execution method the state began using in 2024. Burton’s supporters and family members had urged Ivey to consider clemency for the inmate, who is sometimes confined to a wheelchair

COMEAUX

during its Thursday meeting. If approved, students would finish the current school year as is. Prior to the start of the2026-27 school year,students would be rezoned to Acadiana, Lafayette and Southside high schools, witheach school receiving about 200 students Comeaux’sNavy JROTC studentswould all be moved to Acadiana High Southside High wouldwelcome the fewestnumber of students —about 200 from the Broussard area —bringing its total projected enrollment for the 2026-27 school yearto2,029. The increase in students wouldrequire some teacherstorotate classroomsrather than have apermanent class.

Acadiana High wouldwelcome about 220 students, bringing its projectedenrollment to 1,873, and Lafayette Highwould welcome the most —about 270 —bringing its projected enrollment to 2,013.

Construction is wrapping up at Lafayette High, which just had amajor overhaulto replace its old facility with anew one. Construction is underway at Acadiana High, which is receiving a newclassroom wing, and is expected to be completed in fall 2027.

Touchet said he and his team met with the leaders and staff at all four high schools Tuesday

The current Comeaux site would be renovatedtohouse the Career Center and E.J Sam Accelerated School. It would also serve as theLafayette Parish Schools Sports Complex, utilizing the gyms and field as acentralized venue for athletic events. The JROTC and performingarts buildings would not be renovated and could be worked into the anew career center, Touchet said.

The district would have until the 2028-29 school year to open the new Career Center.Apreliminary estimate projectsthe renovations would cost about $25 million,

GAS

Continued from page1A

frustrated by how far his money no longergoeswhen filling up.

“Wealready struggling here right whereweat, so I just don’t getit,”Moore said Moore said he typically spends $10 aday on gas, but it no longer stretches the way it used to.

“I pay $10 aday,every day, every day,and Idon’teven get ahalf atank,” he said Double-digit increases are well above the norm, said Justin Alford, who co-owns Benny’sCar Wash andBQuik locations around Baton Rouge. B-Quik sold regular gas at $2.89 per gallon Monday for their rewards program members and $3.19 per gallon for nonmembers, a$0.22 increasefrom the day prior

Typically,anincreaseof just $0.04 to $0.06 is significant, Alford said. He first noticed an uptick in wholesale gas pricesMarch 2, just afew days after the war began.

“It’sgoing up every day,” he said. “It’sgoing up really fast.”

Diesel sits at around $4.33 agallon, a30% increase from aweek ago.

“The last time thenational average made asimilar weekly jump was back in March of 2022 during the startofthe Russia/Ukraine conflict,” AAAsaid in anews release on Thursday In June 2022, gas prices reached ahistoric highof $4.58.

The United States produces most of the oil it uses, but also imports oil from amultitudeofcountries, mainly from Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Oil, from crude to refined petroleum, is sold in an open, global market, so while Iran is not one of the country’s oil sources, U.S. gas prices are influenced by the global price of crude oil, AAA spokesperson Don Redman

Touchet said.

The W.D. andMary Baker Career Center has 12 programs, including auto paint and body,culinary,cosmetology,culinary,HVAC, machining,medical and welding. Students spendhalf a day at their home school in coreclasses andspend the otherhalf of the day at the Career Center in their program. Most students graduate with an industry-recognized credential. It’sservingnearly 500 students, according to spring 2026 enrollment numbers. Butthere’s nearly thesame number of studentsonawait list.

“Expanding our Career Centerand building astateof-the-art facilityfor allof thedifferentprograms that arein demand is awonderfuland positive thing forthe future of our parish andthe futureofour state,” Mason said. “We’re planning for the long term andpositioning Lafayettetobeasstrong as it can be in thefuture.”

said.

AAA has advised its members to budget $3.50 per gallonofgas throughthe endof May to account forfuture price fluctuations.

“Hopefully we’re wrong, but at least we feel that’sa big enough cushion for when families are trying to make acreate abudget as to what their expenses are going to be forfuel,”Redman said.

Beforethe U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and the killingofthe country’sSupreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, crudeoil prices hovered around $70 abarrelcomparedtoMonday’s trading at $98. Increases in crudeoil prices,which are refined into gasoline and diesel, lead to higher pump prices.

Despite the jump, Louisiana remains in the top 10 cheapest states for gas, accordingtoAAA data. California hasthe highestcurrent gas pricesat$5.20. Energy expertssay it’s too soon to tell howhighgas pricescould riseasthe conflict drags on. On Monday Trump called the war“very complete,” and that conflict is “going to be ended soon” despiteadditional warnings to theMiddleEastern nation

“The impact of these disruptionsdepends on their duration andseverity,”Tyler Gray,director of innovation at theLSU Energy Institute,saidlast week. “Short term price swings may be manageable, but prolonged issuescould significantly raise costs.”

Around53% of voters said they oppose U.S. military action against Iran, accordingtoaQuinnipiac Poll releasedMonday.Opinions on the conflict fallalong party lines, with Republicans overwhelmingly in support of militaryactionat85% and Democrats opposinginterference at 89%. Independentslargely,at60%,oppose American intervention.

Staff Writers Julia Guilbeau andStephanie Reigel contributed to this article.

Comeaux High has had declining student enrollment over thepastfiveyears, which school supporters have previously blamedon alack of districtinvestment, theopening of Southside High in 2016 and the lack of afeeder middle school.

The school is designed to hold about 1,700 students. It had about 640 enrolled studentsasofFeb.1.Meanwhile, enrollment at the Career Center has been increasing, as has its demand. Both facilities are aging and need significant facil-

ity upgrades. Comeaux was builtin1964 andthe Career Center was built in 1950. Comeauxfloods when it rains, and the Career Center needs anew HVAC system, which could cost at least $6 million to repair,Touchet said. The district is also facing anotherchallenging budget cycle. Thefirst part of the preliminary 2026-27 budget will also be presented at 4:30 p.m.Thursday.The budget is expectedtobeabout $10 million smaller than last year’sbecause the district saw anearly 1,000-student

decrease when comparing October2025 enrollment to October 2024 enrollment.

The district is funded in part by acombination of federaland state grants, property andsales taxes, andper-pupil funding. Fewer students means less perpupil funding.

Mason said the proposal to close Comeaux and move the Career Center isn’ta newone andthat theboard and district have been taking in feedback and analyzing it sinceitwas first presented during thedistrict

TION

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Notice is hereby given that sealed bids will be received either electroni‐callyathttps://lafayet tecsdgovla.tylerportico. com/va/vendor-access/ registration or in theof‐fice of thePurchasingDi‐vision at theLafayette Consolidated Govern‐ment Building,located at 705 West University Av‐enue,Lafayette, Louisiana, until 10:00 am CentralTimeonthe 31st dayofMarch 2026 for the following: WASHED GRAVEL andwill, shortlythere‐after,beopenedand read aloudinthe Office of Purchasing locatedat 705 West University Av‐enue,Lafayette,LA. Bids received after theabove specified time foropen‐ingshall notbeconsid‐ered andshall be re‐turned unopened to the sender.Bidders areen‐couraged to attend the bidopening virtuallyby usingthe followinglink https://us02web.zoom us/j/83832460854? pwd=V59WEVTFGQiGuL4 BEdeWlUA2AvFxJi.1 MeetingID: 838 3246 0854 Passcode:509592 In accordance with LouisianaRS38:2212. vendorsmay submit theirbid electronically at thewebsite listed above. Biddings documentsare availabletoviewonlyat thewebsite above. Ven‐dors mayrequest thebid packageelectronically from HeatherKestler at hkestler@lafayettela.gov Vendorswishingtosub‐mittheir bidelectroni‐callymustregisteronline with Lafayette Consoli‐datedGovernment, in ordertoestablish an ac‐count Vendorssubmittingbids electronically arere‐

Servicelist of

companieswhich

lished

in

FederalRegister, or by

Louisianadomiciled

surancecompany with

leastanA-Ratinginthe latest printing of theA.M

KeyRatingGuide to writeindividualbonds up to tenpercent (10%) of policyholders’ surplus as showninthe A.M. Best’s KeyRatingGuide or by an insurancecom‐pany in good standing li‐censed to writebid bondswhich is either domiciledinLouisiana or ownedbyLouisianaresi‐dents. Thebid bond shall be issued by acompany licensed to do business in Louisianaand counter‐signed by apersonwho is under contract with re‐siding in this state. The certified check, cashier’s check, or bidbondshall

PUBLIC NOTICE "NOTICE" TheEstateofHubert Bruno Sr andPeggy Ce‐lestineBruno LaceyBruno,Miles Lance Hubert Bruno,Hubert Bruno Jr Hubert Bruno Tonell Bruno. Mayola Bruno,Cindy Bruno, THIS NOTICE BY PUBLICA‐TION IS NOTIFICATION THAT YOUR RIGHTS OR INTEREST IN THEFOL‐LOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY LOCATEDIN OPELOUSAS, LOUISIANA MAYBETERMINATEDBY OPERATIONOFLAW IF YOUDONOT TAKE FUR‐THER ACTIONINACCOR‐DANCEWITHLAW: PLOT 12 BLK13VEAZEY ADD(50X54) ON PERSH‐INGST Improvements thereon bear MunicipalNo. 6068789 Taxsaletitle to theabove-described property hasbeen sold forfailure to paytaxes Youhavebeen identified as apersonwho may have an interest in this property Your interest in theprop‐erty

THAT YOUR RIGHTS OR INTEREST IN THEFOL‐LOWING DESCRIBED PROPERTY LOCATEDIN OPELOUSAS, LOUISIANA MAYBETERMINATEDBY OPERATIONOFLAW IF YOUDONOT TAKE FUR‐THER ACTION IN ACCOR‐DANCEWITHLAW: PLOT 2-BLK68MCCOMB ADD(0.117 AC)(41X125) Improvements thereon bear MunicipalNo. 6050202 Taxsaletitle to theabove-described property hasbeen sold forfailure to paytaxes Youhavebeen identified as apersonwho may have an interest in this property Your interest in theprop‐erty will be terminated if youdonot redeem the property by making all required payments to the taxcollector listed below or file alawsuit in accor‐dancewithlaw within [60days] of thedateof the firstpublicationof this notice,orthe record‐ingofanact transferring ownership, if later. Lafayette Parish TaxAs‐sessor,1010 LAFAYETTE STREET,LAFAYETTE,LA 70501 Thepolitical subdivision or acquiringpersonmay file with therecorderof mortgagesofthe parish in which thepropertyis locateda copy of oneof thenotices that wassent to thetax debtororthe currentowner. Atrans‐fer, mortgage, lien,privi‐lege,orother encum‐brance filedafter the fil‐ingofthe notice shallnot affect theproperty. The recorder of mortgagesor recorder of conveyances shallcancel, erase, ter‐minate,orrelease the acts upon therequest of theacquiring person TheJames Firm,LLC has been employed by La‐DosiaLandrytoprovide notice to youfor the aboveproperty. If you have anyquestions, please give us acall337703-4312. 180177-mar11-1t $242.34

NOTICE BourqueVacuum Service, Incwho operates under commoncarrier LPSC # 5450 E/Fserving the StateofLouisiana,has filed fora rate increase with theLouisiana Public ServiceCommission, and hasbeen docketed as LPSC

filingmay be viewed in theofficesof theLPSClocated at 602 NorthFifth Street,Galvez Building,12thfloor, BatonRouge,Louisiana phone225-342-4404 and on theLPSCwebsite (www.lpsc.louisiana. gov) 179987-mar11-1t $109.65

optimization discussions. Community members will be abletoshare their thoughts on the proposal during public comment before the boardvotes on the agenda item Thursday night. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in theboard room at thedistrict’scentral office, 202 Rue Iberville. Visitors will need to adhere to a clear bag policy,and comments will be time-limited. Email AshleyWhite at ashley.white@ theadvocate.com.

Constitution of theUnitedStates, thefol‐lowing proposition, towit: LIBRARYTAX CONTINUATION PROPOSITION Shallthe Parish of Lafayette,State of Louisiana(the"Parish") continuetolevya special taxof3.12mills on all property subjecttotaxa‐tion in theParish(an es‐timated$8,894,400 rea‐sonablyexpectedatthis time to be collectedfrom thelevyofthe taxfor

fora period of 10

beginning with theyear2027 and ending with theyear 2036, forthe purposeof themaintenance and supportofthe public li‐braryofLafayette Parish and itsbranches, said millagetorepresent a 0.21 millsincrease(due to reappraisal) over the 2.91 millstax authorized to be levied throughthe year 2026 pursuant to an election held on Novem‐ber8,2016? Thesaidspecial election shallbeheldateachand everypolling placeinthe Parish,which polls will open at seveno'clock (7:00) a.m. andclose at eighto'clock (8:00) p.m. in accordance with the provisions of La.R.S 18:541. Thepolling places forthe precinctsinthe Parish areherebydesignatedas thepolling places at which to hold thesaid election,and theCom‐missioners-in-Charge

DREAM

dear to Grizzaffi. He attended football games there as akid, rootingfor his childhood heroes like Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister and Drew Brees. He remembers crying in his living room that day Garrett Hartley’sfield goal sailed through the uprights to send the Saints to theSuperBowlfor the first time. He just might cry again when he gets to play baseball in that very same building.

“I don’teven know what to say about getting to play in the Superdome,” Grizzaffi said. “I might shed atear walkingonthat field. That’show big of aSaints fan Iam andhow big of afan Iam of New Orleans and Louisiana.I’m full Louisiana, born and raised.That’s going to be so awesome, Ican’tdescribe it.”

The ticket requests from friends and family have been nonstop.Sorry,folks. They are all gone

The Dome will be sold out, just like every stadium is when the Bananas come to town. Grizzaffi got his first taste of just how passionate the fans arelastweek when he made his debut with the Bananas. That game was played at Doak Campbell Stadium,the footballstadium at FloridaStateUniversity.The attendancewas over 60,000. The largest crowd Grizzaffi hadever played in before that was in 2023 when he was acatcher at Southeastern Louisiana when the Lions made the NCAA baseball tournament and played in the Auburn regional.

“That place (at Auburn) was jumping,” Grizzaffi said. “But when Isaw that whole football stadium filled with peopleinevery single seat the otherday,that was breathtaking. That was crazy.”

Expect more of that craziness Saturday and Sunday as baseball’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters makesits waytoNew Orleans.

The Bananas will takeonthe Party Animals, one of their Banana Ball

ROOF

Continued from page1A

State Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-NewOrleans, sponsored legislation in 2024 and 2025 that would have required insurers to give a minimum 20% discount on the overall premium in exchange for fortified roofs. But Temple and Republican lawmakers, who have largely sided with insurance companies in the debate over how to lower rates,killed those measures, arguing they would push insurance companies out of the state. Temple changed course last November,saying he was working on arule creating abenchmark, about two years after lawmakers created the grant program.

“I’m abit surprised but I’m pleasantly surprised,” Duplessis said Tuesday “This is apositive step in the rightdirection.Istill think we have furtherto go.”

Duplessis said it’sstill worthwhile to debate his legislation, which is up for consideration again for the session that began Monday Temple or afuture insurance commissioner could unwind the rule in the futurewithout legislative ac-

rivals, at 6p.m. Saturday andat 3p.m.Sunday.

“It’sashow,”Grizzaffi said. “I don’tthink fansshould expect a baseball game. When people hear baseball game, they sometimes think slow pace, boring and alot of down time.Fansshould expect

to be excited and ready for ashow every single inning, every single at bat. It’sjust ashow the entire time.”

Fanswill get to see Grizzaffi and histeammates swing their bats and sway their hips. Dance routines during games are apart of

the craze. The Bananas set aside 30 minutes to an hour during practice working on the routines with first base dancing coach Maceo “Mace” Harrison.

“I wouldn’t have considered myself adancer before this,” Grizzaffi said. “ButIlike to have fun though. Alot of energy.A lotofmoving around. Just being aball of energy on thefield is exactly howIhave played baseballmywhole life.”

Baseball is one of the sports he loved growing up in MorganCity.He dreamed of playing in theMajor Leagues, the NFL and the NBA. But baseball became his love. He wasthe kid whowould skip his friends’ birthday parties if they conflicted with agame. And he was thekid whose parents had to makehim come in the housebecausehewould be outside long after thesun went down throwing balls against the brick wall of their home.

“I wentand Iabsolutely killed it,” he said. “Someofthe mostfun I’ve ever hadona baseball field. After that, it wasthe waiting game.”

Being patient is one of the lessons his dad always taught him

“The cream will always rise to the top,” Ronnie Grizzaffitaught his son.

He wasn’tgoing to be denied. TheTommy Johnsurgery he had after leaving Southeastern Louisiana wasn’tgoing to deny him.Neither was thefracturedorbital that occurred when he was hit in the face by afastball while playingfallballafter that.

“I don’teven know what to sayabout getting to playinthe Superdome. Imight shed atear walking on that field. That’show big of a Saints fan Iamand how big of afan IamofNew Orleans and Louisiana. I’m full Louisiana, born and raised. That’s going to be so awesome, I can’tdescribe it.”

BRyCE GRIZZAFFI, Louisiana nativeplaying for the Savannah Bananas

Athree-sportstar at Central Catholic High School, he won abaseball state championship as afreshman

He played four seasons at Southeastern Louisiana,earning secondteam All-Southland Conference honors and also makingthe AllDefensive Team. He transferred to Lamar University andfinished his career there last season.

“I wasn’treally sure what Iwas going to do next,” he said. He began pursuing acoaching career and landed ajob as director of player development at Lamar He wasinvited to aBanana Ball tryout in Philadelphia last summer.His initial thoughts about the invitation?

“I don’tdance and Idon’tdoTikTok.” But he went to the tryout anyway

“He workedhis butt off through blood, sweatand tears,” his dad said. “A lot of blood. Andhegot through that.”

Nowhe’sgetting to playbaseball with abit of atwist. Not abad way to enjoy life forasmalltown guy living a big dream

“I’m just so happy that he gets to do whatheloves,” said Amber Taylor, his mom.

BryceGrizzaffi turns 25 on St. Patrick’sDay.But the real celebrationwill be Saturdayand Sunday when thousands of sports fans pack the Superdomeasifit wasone of those fall Sunday afternoons he remembers as akid.

“The people in Louisiana are going to absolutely love it,” Grizzaffi said.

Nobody will love it quite as much as Grizzaffihimself.He’sona oneyear contract with the team, but he hopes this is just the beginning.

“I feel like I’ve always just been meanttobehere,” Grizzaffi said.“I can see myself doing this forhowever long they let me do it.”

Email RodWalkeratrwalker@ theadvocate.com.

tion. And,henoted,the rule applies only to the hurricane portionofthe premium, not the entire cost. “I still thinkthere’s more we can do,” he said. “I still think this is something we should not take off thetable doing legislatively.”

Insurers in Louisianaare alreadyrequiredtogive homeowners an “actuarially justified” discount in exchange for afortified roof.

Butinpractice,manyinsurers offer only anegligible break on premiums. Areport last year by the Insurance Departmentsaid several insurers offered only a5% to 10%discount on hurricane premiums.

Temple’smove comes as lawmakers convene for anotherlegislative session amid untenably high prop-

erty insurance rates for thousands of homeowners. The rolls of Citizens, the insurer of last resort, are still stubbornly high years after hurricanes in 2020 and 2021 upended themarket.

Fortifiedroofs likely will be asource of debateinthe Legislature. The state has dedicated $30 million to a grant programtohelppeople put fortified roofs on theirhomes, but demand has far surpassed supply, andadvocates have called forthemtoinvestfar more. Since the state moved to alottery systemfor the grants, only about20% of the people who have registeredhave won grants, the Times-Picayune |The Advocate reported recently. Gov Jeff Landry subsequently

asked theLouisiana Workers Compensation Corporation, astate-created nonprofit,to use itsbalance sheet to send money to fortified roofs. It’snot yetclear whether

the organization will agree; aspokespersondidn’trespond to messages Tuesday. LWCC initially said it would review the request. Louisiana also offers atax

credit for people who pay for anew fortified roof out of pocket. The credit is capped at $10,000 per roof and $10 millionayear,enough for 1,000 homeowners.

Paraguay OKsagreement for increasedU.S.militarypresence

Personnelcan operateunder speciallegal rules

By TheAssociated Press

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay— Para-

guay’sChamber of Deputies on Tuesday approved a defense agreement allowingthe temporary presence of U.S. military and civilian personnel inside its borders, widely seen as avictory for the Trump administration, which has sought to strengthen its presencein Latin America.

The StatusofForces Agreement, or SOFA, was approved by alarge majorityoflawmakers andnow awaits the signature of President Santiago Peña to take effect. Peña, one of Trump’s closest allies in theregion, is expected to sign the deal in the coming days.

The agreement passed with 53 votes in favorand eight against, andfour abstentionsout of atotal 80 lawmakers. Fifteen were not

present for the vote. Signed by bothcountries in Washington in December theagreement establishes alegal framework for the presence ofU.S. security forces in Paraguay fortraining, jointexercises, and humanitarian assistance. It also authorizesthe United States to have criminal jurisdiction over its personnel while in thecountry

The treaty,praisedas“historic” by both the U.S. State Departmentand Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, was approvedbythe Paraguayan Senate lastweek, where debatewas morepolarized due to concerns over potential violationsofsovereignty.

Some legislators argued against the agreement,citing acontroversial provision to grant foreign troops immunity from prosecution, equivalenttothat handedto diplomatic personnel

“Webelieve in international cooperation,but wealso believe in strong states, respected institutionsand real democratic sovereignty,”

said independent congressman RaúlBenítez.

Despite criticisms, Paraguay’sforeign minister backed the agreement,arguing in Decemberthat its main purpose is to strengthen cooperation between the United States andParaguay in fighting transnational organized crimeand “terrorism.”

He also clarifiedthat “there is no possibility of the installation of U.S.military bases” in Paraguay

Washingtonhas also praised SOFA,withU.S. SecretaryofState Marco Rubio callingita“historic agreement” that would help facilitate bilateral and multinational training, humanitarian assistance, disaster response, andother shared securityinterests.

The approval of SOFA comes as Washington seeks to expand its influencein Latin America under the Trump administration’snational security strategy and as asector of civil society in Paraguaycontinues to raise its voice against it.

Of

Jihadisintensify attacks againstNigeria’s military

ficers killed, weaponsstolen

BY CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press

ABUJA, Nigeria Jihadi extremist groups, including Boko Haramand one of its factions,have been blamed for intensified attacks targeting Nigeria’smilitary bases in the northeastofthe country in the last week. At least two officers and several soldiers have been killedinthe attacks, which analysts sayshows aremarkable level of coordination.

Over the weekend, Islamic extremistslaunched at least six attacks in Borno andYobestates and in the wider Lake Chad region, spiritingaway trucks and military hardware fromthe bases, according to security analysts andsecurity reports.

By The Associated Press

GENEVA— Abus caught fire in atown westofthe Swiss capital killing at least six people andthreeothers werehospitalized with severe injuries, policesaid Tuesday

Policespokesperson FredericPapauxofFribourg canton, or region, said an unspecified “voluntaryact” could be thecause of the inferno Tuesday evening in the town of Kerzers, about west of Bern, the capital. The regional transport bus is operated by PostBus, which is affiliated with the national postal service. Images from the scene on Swiss media

TheNigerianmilitary said in astatement that the latest attacks between Sunday and Monday werean “attempt by theterrorists to overwhelm troop positions.”

Military spokesman Sani Uba said late Monday that the troops lost an unspecified number of soldiers and amilitary officer,without providing further details It adds to adeath tollof several soldiers and at least oneofficer in the past week. Security analysts estimateatleastfourmilitary officershave been killed in that period.

Africa’smost populous country has long struggled to contain the jihadi violenceinits northeast.

Afterlaunching an insurgency in 2009, Boko Haram has grown into different factions, including theIslamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP,which is backed by the Islamic State group. Thecrisishas overstretched the Nigerian military,which alsobattles othersecuritycrises across the conflict-battered north. Theattacks have angered Nigerians, with many accusing President Bola Tinubu’sgovernment and the ruling party of prioritizing next year’spresidential election in which Tinubu is expected to seek reelection. WhileISWAP hasstageda growing number of attacks againstthe military in recent months, observers say this is the first time in recenthistory that thegroup has successfully launched simultaneous attacks of this scale in the region. Theattacks show “a remarkable level of coordination” from the group, according to Vincent Foucher senior research fellow with France’sNational Center for Scientific Research who has extensive knowledgeof the conflict.

Juvenile detention tax vote postponed

Several parishes move to leave district

ficials said the search for a location will restart.

BY JOEL THOMPSON Staff writer

A sales tax referendum planned for June 27 that would fund a new juvenile detention center has been postponed following a Tuesday meeting of the Acadiana Regional Juvenile Justice District.

The change comes after

Two bills target disruption of church services

Lawmakers cite Don Lemon case

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

Some Louisiana lawmakers want to make it a state crime to disrupt religious services, weeks after an anti-ICE protesters interrupted a Minneapolis church service, drawing condemnation from conservatives across the country

On Tuesday, the Senate’s Judiciary C committee greenlit two bills that create criminal penalties intended to address such incidents. They were Senate Bill 35 by Bill Wheat, a Republican state senator from Ponchatoula, and Senate Bill 306 by Rick Edmonds, a Republican state senator from Baton Rouge.

“You start seeing particular behavior, and you’re concerned that that behavior may move across to other states,” Edmonds said in an interview “I think we have to be aggressively involved to protect our churches and our church families.”

During the committee meeting, proponents of the measures slammed the Minnesota protesters, who they said scared children and worshippers. They argued passing a new law would help protect the right to worship, which is enshrined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But civil rights advocates raised concerns that the bills were too vague and could violate the First Amendment by curtailing free speech. Following the protest in Minneapolis, multiple participants, who entered the church because a pastor there was an ICE official, were arrested.

The demonstrators were accused of violating laws as were two journalists, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon. The reporters’ arrests provoked national outrage from First Amendment advocates who said they had the right to document what occurred and should not have been considered participants in the protest.

In an interview, Edmonds, who sponsored one of the Louisiana bills, said his proposal would not penalize journalists who simply documented events, so long as they did not become “agitators.”

“Disruptive acts are pretty clear You have stopped the normal movement of what is in a worship service or a committee room,” he said. “We got cameras in churches all the time. They’re not interfering. We have journalists that come in and record our services when we have guest speakers. They don’t interfere.” Edmonds is among several prominent Republicans who are running for Congress in the 5th district, which Rep. Julia Letlow is vacating to challenge Sen Bill Cassidy

SB306 lists multiple actions that would qualify as illegal interference with the right to worship, including “using force, the threat of force, physical obstruction,

ä See CHURCH, page 4B

St. Martin Parish’s planned departure forces the district to reevaluate plans for the facility The proposed facility had been planned for St. Martin Parish. With the parish seeking to leave the district pending action by the state Legislature — of-

St. Martin Parish held a special council meeting on Friday during which it passed a resolution requesting the state Legislature to remove them from the district Just last week, Parish President Pete Delcambre had indicated the parish would remain in the district; however council members expressed concerns over the cost of the tax proposal and subsequently voted to seek removal.

“If we don’t have a facility in place, we can’t ask people to support this tax,” Jefferson Davis Parish board member Ricky Edwards said.

Acadia Parish is also expected to pass a resolution requesting removal during a Tuesday meeting of the parish’s Police Jury That would bring the total number of parishes requesting

out of the district to four of the nine-member body, with Evangeline and Vermilion parishes having made similar requests earlier in the year The proposed 1% sales tax was expected to generate nearly $90 million with all nine parishes participating. If four parishes leave, projected revenue would drop to about $52 million. The sales tax proposal would also be reduced to a quarter-cent

levy following the first year for purposes of maintaining the facility The expected annual revenue under the quarter-cent sales tax would be roughly $13 million from the five parishes expected to remain. Edwards pointed out that this figure is likely still enough to provide for a new facility “We had estimated that it

Artist Rick Kom, left, adjusts his booth while Jeremiah Broussard, center, and Leanne Breaux browse. The Shadows Arts and Crafts Festival was presented by Shadows-on-the-Teche on Saturday in New Iberia. Artists from around Louisiana and Texas displayed and sold their original work. Food vendors offered meals, desserts and beverages.

Grounds for creativity

TV personality leaves KADN for UL position

BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor

Longtime TV personality Marcelle Fontenot is leaving KADN and the news industry to take a position with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Fontenot, who landed at KADN in early 2024 after nearly 20 years at KATC, announced the move on Facebook on Tuesday morning. She accepted a position as chief communications officer at UL under new president Ramesh Kolluru.

Longtime personality Darla Montgomery will take her place on the News 15 anchor desk with Jim Hummel, said Jim Parker, vice president and general manager for KADN and KALF Fontenot’s last newscast will be March 20.

“It’s a big change but some-

ABOVE: People browse wares on the grounds of the historic plantation home

LEFT: Katy Freshley, of Lafayette, enjoys looking at the variety of arts and crafts.

Proposed bill would name BR bridge after Trump

House committee approves measure

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and ALYSE PFEIL Staff writers

A member of the Louisiana Legislature who is running for Congress has moved to name a highly anticipated new Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge after President Donald Trump. Rep. Mike Echols, R-Monroe, has sponsored House Bill 221,

which would designate the bridge the “President Donald J. Trump Expressway.” He said the bill is strategically designed to get the president’s attention.

“For 40 years, this bridge has been talked about and nothing has happened,” Echols said in a House transportation committee meeting Tuesday “We now have a president in the

We were gratifiedto seerecently aLouisiana appellate court reaffirmakey principleofour democracy —that meetings of apublic body to discuss public business needtobeconducted in front of the public, no exceptions. That means efforts to skirt aquorum, informalgatherings not labeled meetingsand failure togiveadvance notice to citizens of ameeting are illegal.

All of this apparently happened in 2019 as officials in St. James Parish were considering the permit application from Wanhua Chemical, a Chinese company that wantedtobuild a$1.25 billionpolyurethane manufacturing facility in Convent. Residents of the largely Black community near the proposed planthad objected to the location, citing concerns over emissions in the area, aheavilyindustrialized stretch alongthe Mississippi River Citizens there have organized over thepast decade to form grassrootsgroups like RISE St James, which have been ahighly visible and effective counterweight to powerfulinterests seeking to sway public officials.

That’sperhaps why,days before akey vote on theWanhua plan, members of theSt. James ParishCouncil and Planning Commission convened twomeetingswiththe company so theycould receive information and askquestions aboutthe project without the public present

The meetings were carefully structuredso that no quorum of either bodywas present; they were held at aplace where public businessisn’t usually conductedand there was no public notice given for the meetings.

All this subterfuge, St. James officials would testify during the trial, was in order to “alleviatethe potential forbickering”about the plan. In our democracy,that“bickering” is generally known as public debate and should be welcomed as major projects are considered in an area.

Wanhua would later withdraw itsproposaldue to public opposition, ballooning costs of construction and tariffs during President Donald Trump’sfirst term, when he pursued atrade war with China.

Still, it’simportant that alower court ruled against the parish, and theFifthCircuitCourt of Appeals agreed Feb. 25 thatwhatofficials did was against the letterand spirit of theopen meetings law

The open meetings lawhelpscitizens —as well as we in the media —hold government to account. The illegal meetingsperhapswould have never come to lightbut forwatchdog groups RISE St. James and the Louisiana Bucket Brigade represented by the Environmental Law Clinic at Tulane University. Thesegroups filed numerous publicrecordsrequests about the project, uncovering emails where themeetings were discussed.

We wish the trial court had issued astronger penalty for the violation,but it foundthatofficials had no “ill-intent”and argued thatthey know now what the law requires, so an injunction on future secret meetingswas not necessary We hope public officials around thestate are watching. If they aren’t, thisshows citizens why they need to be.

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

I’ve lived my entire adult life in Baton Rouge. The great majority of thecity is within walking distance of City Park. This is where Ifell in love with the game of golf. In theearly 1980s and for many years, it wasn’tlush fairways and impeccable greens. Icouldn’tfigure out why such amagnificent tract of land wasn’tbetter cared for.Fast forward to about 2015. Amovement to put some lipstick on this goat ranch finally started happening. Andithas only grown and improved. When friends come in from out of town,Inow proudly takethem to our gem,known as Historic CityPark Golf Course.

Buttobeclear,this is still not Pebble Beach or AugustaorCountry Club of Louisiana. It is acourse for the common working man,the upcoming youth, parentsand their children, and

In his Feb. 21 letter,Jeff Wilson of Mandeville shares wonderful experiences withAmtrak’sCity of New Orleans.

Sounds marvelous.

I, however,have not had such luck. Not that my ride was all that bad. It never happened.

Fouryears ago, Iwanted to take Amtrak to Chicago for acelebration of life for adear friend.

Disliking air travel, Itried to book thetrip on Amtrak. Isaw an ad for exactly that trip and began booking it Amtrak responded that thetrip was not running that day.This was one month ahead of my planned trip.Then Ibegan receiving ads on my cellphone for “City of New Orleans” to Chicago and back. Great! Just what Iwanted. Tried again. Nope. Train not running

likely one of the best golf values in America. Yet, agroup has formed to do away with our nine-hole gem. In its place, they envision coffee shops, paddle boatsand launches, amphitheaters and more—more hardscape structure, moreconcrete —alot moreconcrete for parking, etc. It reminds me of the classic Joni Mitchell lyric, “They paved paradise and put up aparking lot.” These are all nice ideas, just not for this location The added congestion local homeowners would face is not whythey live here. Pleaseconsidercontacting your BREC commissioners and requesting that they leave City Park GolfCourse just theway it is. Andcome play around here. Ithink you’ll enjoy it MITCH EVANS Baton Rouge

that day.More ads. Itried three moretimes. Ieven went tothe downtownLafayette train depot, directly to Amtrak. Amtrak has an office there but no personnel. Youbook Amtrak on your phone and show yourdigital ticket to theconductor and climb aboard. Easy peasy.However,Amtrak will not run on the day Ichoose. Amtrak will, however,send more and moreads stating “how enjoyable it would be to ride the City of New OrleanstoChicago. Leave Friday,return Sunday.”Noluck. My lovely wife said, “Let’sdrive and have amini vacation.” We did. It was lovely.But,I sure wish Icould have experienced the City of New Orleans.

DARREL LEGER Lafayette

In addition to theUnited States government destroying vessels carrying drugs, “The navies of El Salvador and Mexico announced drug seizures in the PacificOcean this week of more than 10 tons of cocaine,” according to aFeb.

20 article. What happens when supply is reduced but thedemand stays the same? Prices goup. Users have essentially two choices: one, less drug use, or two, womensell

For National Engineers Week last month, the theme was Transform Your Future. At Baton Rouge STEM, we believe that transformation shouldn’tdepend on achild’sZIP code. Through our STEM Exploration initiative, we are maximizing exposure for students in under-resourced schools and underserved communities, ensuring every child can see themselves as afuture innovator Our mission spans afull “K-tocareer” pipeline. During National Engineers Week, K-12 students at our partner and community sites engaged in hands-on challenges across aeronautical, electrical, structural, mechanical and chemical engineering. By dismantling the mystery of these fields early,weturn curiosity into acareer path.

The journey is ongoing with our BRSTEM Fellowsand ninth and 10th graders at Scotlandville High and Capitol High. These high schoolers receive the mentorship and technical rigor needed to lead the next generation. We close the loop with our STEM internship program,placing college students directly into professional environments to ensure Baton Rouge’shome-grown talent stays right here to build our city’sfuture. From coding robots to designing resilient infrastructure, these students are proving that “underserved” does not mean “undertalented.”

By bringing guest speakers and high-tech tools into their neighborhoods, we aren’tjust teaching science —weare engineering amore equitable Baton Rouge.

The next great breakthrough is waiting in one of our classrooms and in manyunderserved neighborhoods. It’s our job to give them the tools to build it.

ERICLEWIS

executivedirector,Baton RougeSTEM

their bodies and men break into cars to maintain their habit. Perhaps our government should focus on demand instead of supply

JAYWIERIMAN Metairie

Howmuchpainatthe pump are Americanswilling to stand?

pay.”

This is Trump’s war

As President Donald Trump continues to bombard Iran, triggering violent reprisals across the Middle East, is he also blasting Republican chances for controlling Congress afterthis fall’s midterm elections?

Much depends on how the conflict plays out, especially how many American soldiers come home in coffins. But this fact is already clear: Trump is taking an enormous political risk, and the odds seem heavily stacked against him.

While Americans traditionally “rally ‘round the flag” whenU.S. forces are in danger, that’s not happening now.Inanew CNN poll, 59% of Americans disapprove of the strikes against Iran, with 41% approving. Just 12% favor sending ground troops into Iran, an option Trump has refused to rule out, while 60% would oppose that move.

If you’re like me, Iran feels so far away,and it is. Iran is easily more than 7,000 miles from Louisiana, and that’s if you were to walk astraight line. No one does that, of course. Flying is the best option, and that takes more than 25 hours.

I’m floored by the frequent gas priceincreasesinrecent daysin our nation and in our state. Ilooked at one nationalgas price survey and saw that the Louisiana average was listed at $2.95 pergallon of regular gas. That didn’tlast long. Ilooked again.Itwas up to $3. I’ve gotten used to paying $2.09 to $2.15 at my “secret,” four-pump gas station. Ican’ttell you where it is because far too many of you would make me sit in longer lines thanI already do There are plenty of ride-share drivers, cab and taxi driversand big truck driverswho know when to show up for the cheapest gas.

secret spot has lottery tickets, no latte, andI’m more likely to see someone askingfor money

Ipay more at the gas station .1 mile away from my home. They have more pumps, better coffee, abetterselection of snacks, lottery tickets andlattes. My

ButIprefer to pay less. Just in the last couple of days,there have been reports of gas prices at $3.06 in Allen Parish, $31.12 in East and West Feliciana parishes, and $3.15 in Plaquemines Parish. Recently,gas prices have ranged from $3.54 to $3.79 in Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Shreveport.High enough, but Ihave family and friends in Nevada paying that much and others in California paying$4.90 agallon. Thegood news is that Louisiana continues to have some of thelowest gas pricesaswewatch “seasonal” gas prices increase further,impacted by theUnited States’and Israel’sdecision to go take out Iran’s ruling regime, push forregime change and more. Iran is fighting back, throttling the Strait of Hormuz, akey waterway for keeping oil flowingthroughout the world.

President Donald Trumpsaid what we’re experiencing is a“small price to

Really?Maybe 48 cents more for a gallon of regular gas is small toTrump. Buttothose of us who have to drive to live our lives, it adds up.

My secret gas station prices per regular gallon have risen to $2.19, $2.29, $2.39, $2.49 and $2.59. Just this weekend, the price changed again —to $2.79. I’ve noticed recently that some regular gas is selling for as little as $2.49 in Metairie and $2.29 in Marrero. Imay have to kiss my secret gas bye-bye. I’m troubled by increasing gas prices. I’m sure you are, too. This IranMideastiscomplex, complicated and sticky.But it doesn’tmean we don’t care about how much we’repaying at thepump.

Twenty-five cents, 50 cents or $1 moremight seem like asmall price to pay per regular gallon of gas, but it’sa big discomfort for those gassing up to go to church, doctor’sappointments, school or work.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

Usingreligiontocourt thevoters

Democrats have had trouble in recent years attracting conservative evangelical voters, who mostly vote for Republicans. In 2000, former Vice PresidentAlGore gave it atry.Hefailed badly when he said the first instance of pollution in the Bible is when “Abel’sblood cried out from the ground”after his brother Cain murdered him. Gore said this meant Abel’sblood had “defiled” or “polluted” the ground, rendering it incapable of yielding crops. Not exactly Now comesDemocrat James Talarico, the Democraticnominee forthe Texas Senate seat currentlyheld by RepublicanJohn Cornyn.Talarico is giving it another try This time his appeal to religious voters is more subtle. The media refersto Talarico as a“Christian” and “seminarian.”

No one should question the legitimacy of another person’sfaith,but asJesuswarned: “Bewareoffalse prophets, who come to you in sheep’sclothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves Youwill know them by their fruits.” (Matthew7:15-20)

Avisit to Talarico’scampaign website displays his “fruits” on several issues, all of which could be held bya secular progressive. Curiously (or maybenot) there is no mentionofhis views on social issues, other than astatement that might be regarded as ideological and theological pablum. Talarico opposes school choiceand vouchers which allow the parents of publicschool children, especially poor children trapped

in addition to a“Green Seminary” declaration, there is this: “Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary affirms theGod-given dignity of all persons and recognizes persons of all faith traditions to be uniquely created in God’s image. The Seminary welcomes people of all races, cultures, abilities, sexual orientations, gender expressions, and socioeconomic status to learn and study at this school of the church.”

in underperformingschools, to get a good education in private schools. The teachers’ unions oppose school choice and contribute heavily to Democrat candidates who share their view Talarico also believes in “climate change,” though that issue has sharply declined among voter priorities. Now aboutthe seminaryheattended but fromwhich he has not yet graduated.Not all seminaries are the same. Some denycentral doctrines of the Christian faith, including theVirgin Birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ the authorityofScripture and the miracles, among other things. Some attempttomarry theworld’ssecular agendawith the “kingdom not of this world.”

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is affiliated with thePresbyterianChurch USA, considered by many to be atheological and politically liberal denomination.Ontheir website,

That sounds very inclusive and an example of how theworld thinks, but Scripture teaches the Gospel is exclusive; meaning, in order to be saved from thefires of Hell one must repent of one’ssins and receive Jesus Christ as Savior.That has been Christian doctrinefor 2,000 years. There is nothing on the seminary’ssite and nothing I have discovered on Talarico’ssite that reflectsthese central doctrines.

The mostimportantquestion for voters to consider is what difference Talarico’sproclaimed faithmakes on his policy positions? Many liberal Democrats link whatever faith they claim to have to government programs and spending. Talarico does that when he says we don’tlive in aleft-right country,but in atop-down one. It’sthe old Robin Hood-Democrat playbook. Again, asecular progressive who never went to seminary (andsome people who did) could affirm what Talarico believes.

Texas voters should not be fooled because “not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven.”(Matthew 7:21) Or perhaps theU.S. Senate.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com

Roberts

The first explanation for those dismal numbers is that Trump has broken one of his most emphatic and effective campaign promises: “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars.” Video clips of him making this and similar statements are already being replayed constantly,vividly documenting his deception.

While most MAGA loyalists continue to support the president, cracks are beginning to show in his base. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned from her congressional seat afterbreaking with Trump, condemned his waras“the worst betrayal.”

The right-wing agitator and Trump ally Tucker Carlson called the attacks “absolutely disgusting and evil” on ABC and predicted they would fracture the MAGA movement. “This is going to shuffle the deck in aprofound way,”Carlson said.

This is how Trump always operates. At heart, he is aperformer,given to dramatic gestures and sweeping promises that work well on the campaign trail but are poor guidelinesfor governing. Remember his vows to end the war in Ukraine and bring down prices “on day one?” As his list of failures and frustrations mounts, confidence in his leadership continuestoerode. In aWashington Post/ABC poll conducted before the Iran campaign, only 29% describedTrump as “honest and trustworthy.”

NowTrump has made another grandiose promise that will be almost impossible to keep —demolishing Iran’styrannical theocracyand replacing it with astable, popularly chosen government. There seems to be no clearstrategy or game plan for accomplishing such an ambitious goal, and past attempts by American presidents to reshape regimes in the Middle East have all ended badly

“Our leaders don’tseem to have learned anything from U.S. interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya,” says New York Timesopinion writer MeganK.Stack. “Sure, the U.S. military can kill all the leadership. And then what?”

“Wars always are easier to start than to finish, especially whenyou’ve set apolitical goal of regime change, rather than aclearly defined military objective,” adds David Ignatius, the foreign affairs columnist for the Washington Post. “President Vladimir Putin thought he would take Kyiv in aweek. Israel thought it would throttle Hamas in afew months. But wars to erase aregime don’twork like that.”

Add athird dimension to Trump’spolitical gamble: the potential impact of his war-making on domestic prices, especially energy.Even before the attacks on Iran, Americans were deeply distressed over Trump’seconomic record, with only a32% approval rate for his handling of inflation in the Post/ABC survey

As the bombs and missilesfell, oil prices surged, stock markets wobbledand shipping channels closed. About one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, controlled by Iran, and Clayton Seigle, aseniorfellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, warned in Wired: “The more desperate Iran becomes, the greater likelihood forittouse energy as leverage to advance its interests.”

This all adds up to afinal and potentially fatal problem for the president: the growing conviction that he simply does not care about the issues that matter most to the voting public

Notasingle American family is better off today,inreal terms, because Trump axed the ayatollahs in Tehran, or kidnapped the president of Venezuela, for that matter

On the eve of his latest foreign foray,only 32% told CNN that the president “had the right priorities,” while 68% agreed that he “hasn’tpaid enough attention to the country’smostimportant problems.”

Trump loves to put his name on things —the bigger and bolder,the better.Well, his name is now on the war in Iran, in huge gold letters. But those letters are already spattered with blood, and voters will remember that in November

Email Steven V. Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.

would cost around$12 million annually to maintain it, and that was with nineparishes using it as opposed to five. The facility we need now will likely be smaller, so it may not end up being that much to maintain.”

Board members discussed possible strategic failures that contributed to the member departures, suchasaninability to properly communicate the value of the facility the tax was essential to providing.

“Weneed to do better at letting people know whatis likely to happen if we don’t pass this. The cost of not doing anythingmay cost us more in the long run,” said St. Mary Parish representative Lt. Oscar West.

Others, such as Iberia Parish board member Armond Schwing, arguedthat each parish should have

CHURCH

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intentional injury,orattempted intentional injury, to intimidate or interfere with any person lawfully exercisingorseeking to exercise the First Amendment right of the free exercise of religion at a church or other place of worship.”

It also covers damaging church propertyand blocking people from freely moving around and entering places of worship.

Most first-time offenderswould face up to six months in prison anda maximum fine of $10,000. Those convicted for asecond time would have to go to prison for between a year and 18 months, and they would have to pay a fine of up to $25,000.

Any violation that injured achurch attendee or staffmember would carry apenalty of up to 10 years in prison.

Free speech advocates took the least issue with SB306 because they said it was the most specific, and therefore the most likely to pass constitutional muster Still, Sarah Whittington, advocacydirector of the

KADN

Continued from page1B

thing I’m very excited about,” she said. “WhenI was first approached about this opportunity,atfirst I couldn’t fathom it. Then, I could.” Montgomery,who joined KADNinJanuaryafter she spent 33 years in the Lafayette television news market mostly at KLFY, will end up anchoring two slots for the station. Her midday program, News

BRIDGE

Continued frompage1B

make the decision and control the pursestrings to be apart of that reality.”

Echols said Trump “likes to build big things. This is a big bridge.”

“Whether you like him or not, you put his name on something, you get his attention,” Echols said. “And that’sthe goal of this bill.” Rep. Joy Walters, DShreveport, objected to the proposal.

“What are we saying to the people of this state?” she said.“We are dealing with abridge right now that is theoretical because it is not actually being built.” Walters asked why Louisiana’sRepublicancongressional delegation can’tget the president’sattention on the issue. She asked whether Echols was sponsoring the bill to win Trump’sendorsement in thecongressional race.

“No, he’salready endorsed somebody else,” Echolsresponded. Asked about the proposal,

been aware of the facility’s importanceuponentering into the district, and thata taxwould be necessary to fund the project “I don’t reallyunderstand this thought process. When they entered the district, they hadtohave known there was going to be some kind of funding process for this facility,” Schwing said.

Thedistrict’sPresident Jessie Bellard said he intended to meet withGov Jeff Landrytodiscuss possible remedies for the district moving forward, including blocking theexit of the four parishes seekingremoval.The state Legislature formed the district in 2023, and any amendments to the district’scurrent boundaries would similarly need passagefrom both chambers alongwith the governor’s signature.

“Personally,Ithink these parishes ought to give the opportunity to the people.

American CivilLiberties Union of Louisiana,told theJudiciary Ccommittee she believedtwo parts of the proposal were unconstitutional.

One would bar“engaging in adisruptive activity at achurch or other place of worship.” Whittington argued that language was overly broad, positing that it couldencompass asoccer gamethat goes into overtime on church ground.

She also took issue with asectionbanning people from “knowingly financing, funding, or providing materialsupporttoa personwho is engaging, or attempting to engage, in disruptive activities designed, or intended, to interfere with the freedom of worshipinachurch or other place of worship.”

Meanwhile, Gene Mills, president of the Louisiana Family Forum, aconservative, faith-based values organization, expressed strong support for SB306, as did Will Hall, director of public policy for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Hall described the Minnesotaprotest as an “act of terrorism,” andMills said it wasa “wake-up call” for churches and church security

“We’re deeply concerned

15 Midday with Darla, will debut Monday,Parker said.

“It’sabittersweetday at News 15,” Parker said. “While we are so excited personally for Marcelleand understand her decision, she will be greatly missed. Butweare fortunatethat Darlahas agreedtofill that gap.” Fontenot, first hired by KATC in 2001 as an intern while enrolled at Southern University,reached celebrity status in two decades in the Acadiana market.

House Democratic Caucus ChairKyleGreen said that “ifthe federalgovernment paysthe full $3 billion to fund thebridge,Echols can name it after any federal official, living ordeceased.” Louisiana lawgenerally prohibits naming public buildings andbridges after people who arestill alive, but theLegislature canpass laws makingexceptions. Echols is running for the 5thCongressional District, which U.S.Rep.Julia Letlow is vacating to challenge U.S.Sen. Bill Cassidy. He is running against state Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge; Misti Cordell, the chairofthe stateBoard of Supervisors;and state Sen. Blake Miguez, R-Erath whom Trump has endorsed Other,less well-known Republicancandidates are Sammy Wyatt, Austin Magee andMichael Mebruer Democrats Jessee Fleenor, Larry Foy,Lindsay Garcia, DanMcKay and TaniaNymanare also running. The districtstretches from East Baton Rougeand Livingston parishes up to Monroe and thenortheastern corner of thestate

Letthemvoteonit,”Bellard said. “Some of these parishes, like Evangeline, have facilities wherethey can hold (juveniles),but there’sa difference betweenholding them and educatingthem. This is a place wherewewant to rehabilitate.”

No representatives from any of the four departing parishes were presentat theTuesday meeting.

Of the remaining five parishes, Bellardstated only Allen, Jefferson Davis, andSt. Landry parishesrespondedtoa letter theboard sentinFebruary requesting areiterated commitment to remain in thedistrict, with Iberia andSt. Mary parishesnot responding.

TheAcadiana Regional Juvenile Justice District is now aiming to have the sales tax referendum prepared for the November election after officials reassess thefacility’ssize andidentify anew location

that Louisiana churches, families and children need enumerated protections against acts of lawlessness,” Mills said. “(SB306) would ensure swiftaction on the part of our state and local officials to stopthis typeofbehavior.”

SB35, by Wheat, also cleared the Judiciary C committee. It would make it acrime to protest or assemble within 50 feet of a place of worship “in amannerwhich disrupts, threatens to disrupt,intimidates, harasses, or interferes withany person lawfully exercisingorseeking to exercisehis right of religious freedom.”

Breaking that rule would result in a$500 fine and 15 days imprisonment Meghan Garvey,ofthe Louisiana Association of CriminalDefense Lawyers, opposed the proposal. TheU.S.Supreme Court has ruledthat banning people from protestingona public sidewalk is unconstitutional, she said.

SB35 and SB306 still need approvalfrom the full Senate and thenthe House. Threeotherbills, filed by House members, also address church service disruptions. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

She was named co-anchor of thestation’s6 p.m. newscastinJune2006 and begananchoring the 5p.m.,6 p.m. and 10 p.m. news programs each weeknight She and Hummel left KATC in late 2023 as the station abandoned its anchor desk positions.

Gray Media hasdealsto acquirebothKADNand KATC that arepending federal approval.

Email Adam Daigleat adaigle@theadvocate. com.

The new bridge is planned for one of three sites that would connect La. 1near Plaquemine to La. 30 near St. Gabriel. Thegoal is to alleviate notorious traffic pileupsonthe existingI-10 bridge. The bill to namethe bridge after Trump passed out of the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday on a12-2 vote. TwoDemocrats —Reps. TehmiChassion, of Lafayette,and ChasityMartinez, of Plaquemine —joined Republicans in supportof the proposal. Walters and fellowDemocrat Ed Murray, of New Orleans,voted against it.

Martin,Mary St.Edmond Catholic Church,4131 W. CongressSt.,Lafayette,LAat10am.

Obituaries

Banks, KendallC

Kendall C. Banks, 67. Visitation willbeobserved at FountainMemorial Funeral HomeinLafayette on Thursday, March 12, 2026, from9:00 am with a Funeral Service at 10:00 am. Online obituary and guest book may be viewed at www.fountainmemorialf uneralhome.com. Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1010 Pandora St.337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements. Webb,Nellie Champagne

Funeral serviceswillbe held on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM in La Chapelle de Martin & Castille forNellie Champagne Webb, age91, who passedaway on Sunday, March 8, 2026 at RiverOaksRetirement Manor in Lafayette. Entombment willbe held in Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum in Lafayette. Reverend Howard Blessing willofficiatethe services The family requeststhat visitationbeobserved on Saturday at Martin& Castille's DOWNTOWN from10:00 AM until time of services SurvivorsofMrs. Nellie includetwo daughters, MelodyThibodaux and LauretteBienvenuand her husband, Kevin; three sons, Brent Faul and com-

panion,Diana Benning, KennethFauland his wife, Cathyand EwellJoseph Faul, Jr.; two stepdaughters, Elizabeth Webb Pavy andher husband, Tedand Pamela Webb Plaucheand herhusband, Rick;her grandchildren, Claire Courrege (Gavin), Rachel Thibodaux, LindseyLee (John), NathanBienvenu (Lindsey), Caelan LeBleu; hergreat grandchildren, Emery, Bowen,Silas, and Eliana.

Shewas preceded in death by herhusband, Aldon Joseph Webb and herformer husband, Ewell Joseph Faul, Sr.; herparents, Dudley Pierre Champagne and Odillia Broussard Champagne; her son, Blane Faul; son-in-law, David Thibodaux; hersisters, Betty Cormier, Marilyn Robin, Nancy Patin, and Rita Poage

An avidreader and a natural scholar, Nell achievedquiet academic success duringher primary school years, eventually graduating valedictorian of herLafayette High School class of 1953. Herpursuit of aGeologydegree at SLI wasinterrupted for almost twodecades by marriage andmotherhood. She resumedstudies at USLin theearly 1970's, earning a degree in Sociology in 1976. She eventuallysettled into acareer as an abstractor in theOil andGas industry untilher retirementin2010. With agentlespirit

enormous compassion, and aboundlesscapacity for love,she touched the lives of all that knew her. Pallbearers will be Brent Faul, Kenneth Faul, Ewell Joseph Faul, Jr Kevin Bienvenu,Jorge Diaz, and William Diaz. Honorary Pallbearers will be NathanBienvenu andCaelan LeBleu ThefamilyofMrs. Nellie Champagne Webb would like to thankthe staff of The Blake, RiverOaks NursingHome and Heart of Hospice fortheir compassion and care shown to Nellie In lieu of flowers, memorial donations canbe made in Nellie's name to HeartofHospice,901 Hugh WallisRoadSouth,Suite B104, Lafayette, Louisiana, 70508. View theobituaryand guestbook online at www.mourning.com Martin& Castille Funeral HomeDOWNTOWN, 330 St LandryStreet, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506, 337-2342311

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Cajuns readytotackleSun Belt

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

Before the final game of theOkana Invitational last weekend, it was going tobeachallenge to find much to takefrom UL softball’s long trip to Norman, Oklahoma.

To that point, the Ragin’ Cajuns had handled Abilene Christian twice and gotten crushed by the Sooners once.

But after losing 2-1 to No. 4Oklahomaon Sunday,ULcoach Alyson Habetz saidshe

likes the boost it gave her club heading into the start of SunBelt Conferenceplayat Southern Mississippi on Friday

“Wedefinitely had achance to win,” Habetz said. “I felt like we were ready to play (after a10-0loss to Oklahoma on Saturday).

Ithink it was good for ourteam. It gave us confidence to know that we still can play with anybody.”

The star of thegame was pitcher Bethaney Noble,who allowed two runsonfive hits over six innings against adynamic Sooners lineup.

Noble,who didn’tpitch in UL’s first eight games, sports the staff’s best numbers entering conference play at 5-2with a1.80 ERA.

The other big thing in Noble’scorner is shehas the fewestwalks —10in462/3 innings —and six complete games.

UL has therest of the week to line up the weekend pitching rotation, but it’snot an easy decision.

“Overthe last fewweekends, we’ve been trying to figure out who’sbest witha day’s rest,and who can go back-to-back,” Habetz said. “The bottom line is, we’re going to

‘Shock’and advance

Saturdayatthe Pete Maravich Assembly Center.The

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

Jalen Reece fielded the final question for players in LSU’s last postgame newsconference of the regular season Saturday

Afterhaving 17 points, fiveassists and three steals in a94-91 triple-overtime loss to Texas A&M, Reece was askedabout his team’smentality entering theSoutheastern Conference tournament. The freshman point guard’sresponse brimmed with confidence unexpected of aplayeronthe

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

last-place Southeastern Conference team.

“Goout there and fight untilthe end, Reecesaid.“Ithink we are goingtomake arun in the tournament,soI’m not really worried about what we are going to do. We aregoing to play hard every time out. So I think it’s amatter of time till we just start winning. Ithink thetournament is where we are going to shock people.”

LSU can inject ashock factor when the No.16-seeded Tigers face No.9 Kentucky (19-12, 10-8SEC) at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in the first roundofthe SECTournament

at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.Inthe first meeting Jan. 14, LSU (15-16, 3-15) lost 75-74 at home on agame-winning jump shotbyMalachi Moreno as timeexpired.

TheTigersenter thesingle-elimination tournament on athree-gamelosing streak and losers of eight of their last nine games. The only way LSU can participate in March Madness is by miraculously winning five games in five days.

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

Donnetta Etienne knowsthere is no place like home.

Her son Travis knowsit, too.

It’s the reason the running back from Jennings agreed to adeal with the NewOrleans Saints on Monday,bringing him hometo the state he wasborn and raised.

Donnetta Etienne spent the past five years living in Jacksonville, Florida, watching her son run formore than 1,000 yards in three of the four seasons he played in actual games forthe Jaguars (he missed his entire rookie season with afoot injury).

During that time, she also had to mixintraveling to games to watch her other son, Trevor,who played college ball at Florida and Georgia before playing last season with the Carolina Panthers.

“I had alot of houses, but I didn’thave ahome,” she said.

She got anew homeinLafayette forher birthday last week. But perhaps the better present came Monday,the first day NFLteams could negotiate deals with free agents.

“It’sasurreal moment, afullcircle momentfor the family,” she said.

The deal is reportedly worth $52 million over four years.

ASaints team that has struggled running the ball in recent years may have found an answer Travis Etienne is considered the second-best running back in this free agency class behind Super BowlMVP Kenneth Walker of the Seattle Seahawks. Walker agreed to adeal with the Kansas City Chiefsjust hours before Etienne chose the Saints.

What the Etienne deal means forthe rest of the NewOrleans running back room remains to be seen.

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, whohad NFLscouts and fans drooling at the combine, probably is not as high on Mickey Loomis’ wish list.

Alvin Kamara, arguably the mostbeloved player on the roster,will no longer be the guy getting the bulk of the carries. That’sifKamara, whose contract

2

Clark happy with LSU gym’s position

BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer

Two days of perspective on LSU’s 198.450-198.325 dual-meet loss at Florida on Sunday didn’t change gymnastics coach Jay Clark’s feeling about his Tigers’ performance and where they are going forward.

“It was by far the best meet we’ve had all year,” Clark said Tuesday LSU also lost narrowly at Oklahoma on Feb. 20, 198.125-197.925. To Clark, the difference is being away from the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

“Our environment is worth about two-10ths to us,” Clark said, “as is Florida’s to them and Oklahoma’s is to them. On a neutral floor and four judge panels when you get out of the regular season, I like our chances if we’re dialed in like that.”

Notebook

The postseason looms, starting with the Southeastern Conference championships March 21 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, followed by an NCAA regional at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (April 1-4) and the NCAA championships in Fort Worth, Texas (April 16-18). First up is one more tough home meet at 7:30 p.m. Friday against No. 8 Arkansas.

Clark indicated he would like to have a chance to rest some of his gymnasts, but based on the quality of the opponent and the need to keep up his team’s national ranking, that likely isn’t in the cards

“We need to win the meet,” he said. “I don’t know that we’ll treat it all that different. We have a couple of nagging things from a physical perspective.

“We’re still watching Kaliya (Lincoln’s) Achilles. Amari (Drayton’s) shins

stay pretty hot. We’ve chronicled Konnor (McClain’s) different aches and pains. It may affect the things we do with the lineups, but it’s a meet we need to win. We have a good team coming in here.”

Top of charts

Despite losing the meet at Florida, LSU improved its NQS (National Qualifying Score) average from 197.836 to 197.897. The Tigers remain No. 2 behind Oklahoma (197.967) and ahead of No. 3 Flor-

ida (197.593), which leapfrogged Alabama Individually, LSU sophomore Kailin Chio remains the nation’s No 1 all-arounder (39.760), just ahead of UCLA’s Jordan Chiles (39.725). Chio is also No. 1 on balance beam (9.990) and vault (9.970), and tied for sixth on floor (9.940). Chio and Chiles are also tied for the most perfect 10s this season with six. Utah’s Avery Neff has three, and no one else in the nation has more than one.

ä Arkansas at LSU 7:30 P.M. FRIDAy, SECN+

McClain is tied for seventh on uneven bars (9.930) while Drayton is ranked eighth nationally (9.915). Lincoln gets SEC honor Lincoln was named SEC specialist of the week after a stellar performance at Florida. She shared first place on vault with a careerhigh 9.975 and won a share of first place on floor with a career-hightying 9.975. She also had a 9.95 on beam.

Florida’s Selena Harris-Miranda, who won the all-around 39.850-39.775 over Chio with a perfect 10 on beam, was named SEC gymnast of the week. Alabama’s Azaraya Ra-Akbar was freshman of the week.

Lagniappe

Friday’s meet will be shown on a streaming basis on SECNetwork+. Some general admission tickets were still available as of Tuesday afternoon, in part because LSU students are on spring break. “There’s opportunity for people to get good seats,” Clark said. “I want this place full for these seniors.” 2027 LSU commitment Josie Lynch, the No. 2 prospect for that year’s class, won the senior all-around title Saturday in the Nastia Liukin Cup. In February, LSU recruit Hezly Rivera, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and 2025 U.S. national allaround champion, won the senior all-around, beam and floor titles in the Winter Cup.

Advocate staff writer Reed Darcey contributed to this report.

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

UL golfer makes history at Louisiana Classics

BY DAN MCDONALD

Contributing writer

In the 41-year history of the Louisiana Classics Golf Tournament, winners have included Ryder Cup players, one major champion and multiple PGA Tour winners.

But none of them accomplished what Malan Potgieter did Tuesday, when he etched his name into the UL golf record book once again

One year ago, the Kirkwood, South Africa, native became the first Ragin’ Cajuns player to win the Louisiana Classics individual title. On Tuesday, he became the first player in tournament history to claim medalist honors in backto-back years.

Potgieter carried a four-stroke lead into Tuesday’s final round over the 6,898-yard par-72 Oakbourne Country Club layout. His 3-under 69 in the final round left him at 15-under 201 for a threestroke advantage over runner-up Carter Maneth of Middle Tennessee State.

“With the mental fortitude and the golf IQ he has, he’s a professional golfer playing in a college field,” UL coach Theo Sliman said. “It’s something special to watch. I’m really proud of the grit he showed over the last two days, because it’s not easy to win at home.”

Potgieter won last year’s tournament title in a three-hole playoff. In Monday’s opening round, he birdied the first three holes he played to take the lead from the opening tee shot. On Tuesday, he birdied his first two holes.

“That gave me a lot of confidence, settled some of the nerves,” said Potgieter who has now finished in the individual top four in seven of UL’s eight tournaments this year “It’s always nice to start hot, and I was able to take it from there.

“(Monday) I was coasting, and

everything went well. Today I had a few bumps in the road, but I held it together and finished strong.”

Potgieter had 14 birdies and two bogeys in Monday’s 36-hole opening day He added six more birdies on Tuesday but had three bogeys along with a double-bogey at the par-five 13th hole (his fourth hole of the day after starting on No 10) that temporarily dropped his lead to one shot when playing partner Maneth birdied that same hole. But Potgieter came back with two birdies in a four-hole stretch, and he put away the individual title when he birdied the par-four sixth and eagled the par-five seventh for a four-shot lead going into the final two holes.

for the second straight year on Tuesday.

“I had planted a little seed this morning, knowing how fickle this game can be,” Sliman said, “and he knew the message I was giving him. He doesn’t need a lot of speeches, he just goes out and gets locked in.”

“It’s pretty cool to have your name up on that board twice,” Potgieter said while looking at the sign listing the 40 previous individual winners. The UL team dropped two spots in Tuesday’s final round and finished ninth in the 16-team field, with a final-round 2-over 290 score that left the Cajuns at 5 under for the tournament. Freshman James Holtsclaw shot his third straight subpar round and finished tied

for 19th at 71-71-71—213 for UL’s next-highest finisher Texas A&M, ranked 29th nationally, entered the final round with an eight-shot lead and was never caught, winning its fourth Louisiana Classics title in the last five years with a 24-under 840 total. The Aggies did not have a player finish in the individual top seven, but they had four top-20 finishers. Jaime Montojo led the Aggies with an eighth-place finish at 6-under 210. Little Rock, the other top-50 team in the field at No. 48, finished seven shots back of A&M at 17-under 847, edging Middle Tennessee (-16 846) by one shot for runnerup honors.

Masters gets ‘relief’ with 11th Paralympic gold medal

Oksana Masters’ 11th Paralympic gold medal was “redemption” for the most decorated American Winter Paralympian.

And it was clear just how much it meant to her Masters screamed loudly several times in delight after winning the women’s sprint sitting discipline in Para cross-country skiing on Tuesday at Milan Cortina.

She finished second in the event four years ago.

“It was just such a relief and redemption from Beijing. It was the one that got away I love sprints and I hate sprints because there’s so much stress,” Masters said. Masters now has seven Winter Paralympic gold medals to go along with her four victories at the Summer Paralympics. She has competed in every Paralympics since 2012.

QB Smith set to return to Jets in trade with Raiders

Geno Smith is making a fullcircle return to the New York Jets, who found their new starting quarterback by reaching back into their past.

The Jets are acquiring Smith — who was the team’s second-round draft pick in 2013 from the Las Vegas Raiders, a person familiar with the trade told The Associated Press on Tuesday New York is also getting a seventh-round pick and sending a sixth-rounder to Las Vegas in the deal.

Las Vegas likely has its sights set on Fernando Mendoza, the Indiana quarterback widely expected to go No. 1 in the NFL draft. Smith’s days with the Raiders appeared well over before the trade, even if it meant releasing him.

Reds ace Greene could miss up to four months

GOODYEAR, Ariz Cincinnati Reds ace Hunter Greene is scheduled to undergo surgery Wednesday on his right elbow and could miss up to the first four months of the season.

The Reds said Greene was diagnosed with bone chips and loose bodies in his elbow Greene needed an MRI last week after he left spring training camp due to right elbow stiffness.

Greene went 7-4 with a 2.76 ERA last year, helping Cincinnati earn an NL wild card for its first playoff appearance since 2020. Greene, whose 99.5 mph average four-seam fastball velocity led the major leagues among those throwing at least 1,250 pitches, was limited to a career-low 19 starts and 107 2/3 innings.

Luzardo commits to Philly with $135M, 5-year deal

PHILADELPHIA Jesús Luzardo found the stability in the Phillies’ rotation along with the good health he craved as he bounced around the major leagues with three other organizations. With a chance to potentially become a free agent next offseason during a winter that could include labor strife, Luzardo decided to opt in with the Phillies over the long haul and become the latest starter with a long-term deal. Luzardo and the Phillies finalized a $135 million, five-year contract that starts in 2027. The deal for the 28-year-old left-hander announced Tuesday calls for annual salaries of $27 million, a $32.5 million team option for 2032 and a $10 million conditional team option for 2032.

NBA fines Doncic $50K for gesture toward ref NEW YORK Luka Doncic has been fined $50,000 for making a gesture toward an official during the Lakers’ 110-97 win over the Knicks, the NBA announced Tuesday The incident occurred with 4:35 remaining in the third quarter on Sunday when Doncic fell backward after contact from Knicks forward Mohamed Diawara, who was driving to the basket. Doncic threw his hands up and did a “money” gesture toward the official by rubbing his fingers together Diawara shoveled the ball to Josh Hart, who scored the layup and cut the Knicks’ deficit to 74-65. The fine makes up roughly 0.109% of Doncic’s $46 million salary this season. The Lakers (39-25) host the Timberwolves (40-24) on Tuesday night.

Saints bringbackEllissto fill LB void

BY RODWALKER and ZACH EWING Staff writers

The Saints are bringing aformer linebacker back to New Orleans.

The Saints agreed Tuesday to a deal to sign Kaden Elliss, who was drafted by the Saints in the seventh round of the 2019 NFL Draft Elliss spent his first four seasons with the Saints before playing the past three seasons with the rival Atlanta Falcons.

The three-year deal is worth$33 million, with $23 million guaranteed.

Elliss recorded 107tackles and 31/2 sacks last season for the Falcons. He recorded more than 100 tackles in eachofhis three seasons there.

He didn’tmiss agame, playingin all 51 games for Atlanta

The deal came aday after the Saints lost star linebackerDemarioDavis. Davis, who played eight seasonswiththe Saints, agreed to join the New York Jets on atwoyear,$22 million deal that includes $15million guaranteed. Davis was originally drafted by the Jets in 2012.

Davis’departure lefta giant void in the linebacker room that the Saints are hoping Elliss can help fill.

Also on Tuesday,aday after signingRyan Wright to handle their punting duties,the Saints made atrade from their surplus at the position.

The Saints traded lastyear’s starting punter,Kai Kroeger,tothe

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he was selected to the All-Star Game and also was named the league’sMostImproved Player “He shares alot of relationships here, so it should be afun game,” Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said. “I hope more than anything the city welcomes him back and embraces him. He gave alot to this city.Blood, sweat and tears. He was acompetitor.”

Ingram was abig reason the Pelicans pushed the top-seeded Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round of the playoffsinthe 2021-22 season. He averaged 27 points, 6.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in that series that had Pelicans fans thinking the franchisewas headinginthe right direction. Ingram, who made his second AllStar Gamethis season, is also a big reason the Raptors arefifthin the Eastern Conference standings after not making the playoffs last season. His time in New Orleans wasn’t all highlights. There weresome toughtimes, includingapoor performance in the first-round playoff series in 2024 when the Pelicans were swept by the Thunder And there were also the injuries

LSU

Continued from page1C

Accomplishing asingle win, let alone five consecutive, will “shock people”ina seasonwhere fourthyear coach Matt McMahon already has answered questions about why he should remain the leader ofthe program. Despite the steep odds, LSU players and coaches are solely focusedonwinningthe next game.

Fifth-year senior Marquel Sutton said records are meaningless in the SEC Tournament.

“Weare zero-zeronow,”hesaid.

“The tournament is next, so we got the chance to still go out thereand prove ourselves.” McMahon said they will clear their mind of the Texas A&M loss and look forward to Kentucky.

“It’sdisappointing when you pour everything you have into the cause here over the last 72 hours, and you come up one possession short,” he said. “So that’ll be the first piece, and that’smyjob as coach —provide the encouragement and the balance that’sneeded there. And then it’ll be about getting better followour same process. And that’ll be themindset moving forward.”

LSU’sgame plan almost worked

CAJUNS

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need everybody,but whocan go Saturday andSundayifneeded?

Who needs aday of rest?

“Those are the things we’ve been working through.”

The other options areSage

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILEPHOTO

AtlantaFalcons linebacker Kaden Elliss stops Saints running back AlvinKamara on Nov. 26 in Atlanta. Elliss, drafted by the Saints in 2019, signedathree-year dealwith NewOrleans on Tuesday worth$33 million.

Houston Texans for apick swap in afutureNFL draft. TheSaints sent their seventh-round pick in 2028 forthe Texans’ sixth-rounder the same year Kroeger started all 17 games in

2025 for theSaints as arookie out of SouthCarolina, averaging 44.8 yards perpunt (30th in the NFL) and37.3 net yards per punt (31st). He also tied forthe league-high with two punts blocked.

Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram has the ballstripped by Milwaukee Bucksforward Myles Turner on Feb.22inMilwaukee.

that forced himtomisssomany games. In fact, former Pelicans coach Willie Green never coached asingle gamewith Ingram, Williamson and Dejounte Murray in the lineup together.But that shouldn’ttake away from what he meant, especiallytothe locker room.

Borrego, who arrived in NewOrleans as an assistant in 2023, grew close with Ingram during their timetogether “His professionalismand his workethic werethe two things

that alwaysstoodout,” Borrego said. “You control your work. AndB.I. brought it everyday Whether he wasgoing through a greatstretch or apoor stretch or the highs andlows,every dayhe showed up to work. Ithink that work ethic rubbed offona lot of the guys. His work ethic wassecond to none.”

Trey Murphy was oneofthe guys aided by Ingram. Murphy wasdrafted by the Pelicans in 2021 as Ingramwas entering his third season with the team.

LSUforwardMarquelSutton

in its one-point loss against Kentucky in the Pete Maravich AssemblyCenter. The Tigers led by as many as18points early in the secondhalf andwereahead for nearly36minutes of gametime.

Hoover (4-4, 4.74 ERA, 512/3 IP), LexieDelbrey (3-1, 3.50, 34 IP) and JulianneTipton (3-1, 3.54, 272/3 IP).

“I feel comfortable in the sense of,I feel like we have thepitching staff to really goout and beat people, especiallyinthe conference,”

Habetz said. “But it might change weekend to weekend, depending on whowe’re playing.”

UL pitchers have just110 strike-

They built alead partly because of how the 6-foot-9 Sutton was a mismatchagainst the Wildcats Sutton, LSU’s second-leading scorer during conference play (12.4ppg), scored 11 of theteam’s

outs in 1711/3 innings,which putsa higher demand on defensiveplay. That area has been inconsistent for theCajuns (16-10) this season.

“It’sreally the little things at times …sometimes on routineplays, just notstaying focused,” Habetz said “It’spart of the game, but youhave to be ready. Every play, theball is comingtome. Not ‘If it’scomingto me —it’scomingtome.’

wasrestructured last week, remains on the roster at all. He turns 31 in July,considered ancient in running back years. And the Saints have drafted tworunning backs over the last three years. Kendre Miller,selected in 2023, has struggled to stay healthy.Devin Neal, selected in the sixth round last year, showed promise as arunner and ablocker in 2025. What we do know is that Loomisinvesting that type of money in Etienne meansEtienne is the guy.And as he showed at both Clemson in college and in Jacksonville as apro, he can be the guy.Hecombined for1,399 yards last season (1,107 rushing and 292 receiving). He’sbeen over 1,400 total yards rushing and receiving twoother times. That’sthe type of weapon Saints head coach Kellen Moore wants to pair with second-year quarterback Tyler Shough. The running gamehas struggled with explosive plays lately Etienne can fix that. He’shad at least one run of at least 60 yards in three of his four seasons, including a71-yarder last season.

Wright was eighth at 49.0 yards perpunt for the Minnesota Vikings andfourth at 44.5 net yards per punt.The Saints and Wright agreed to afour-year,$14 million deal Monday

“B.I. was the guy Ilooked at and said ‘OK, if Iwanttoget to his level, I’ve gottowork as hard as he does,’ ”Murphy said. “So that helped me work on my game a lot. I’m more efficientand tactical. Seeing himmakeAll-Starthis year,Iwas superhappy for him. He’s abig brothertomesoI’m happy to seehim play again.”

While Murphy and Borregowant to see Ingram do well thisseason, Wednesday night’sgame andthe rematch in TorontoonMarch 27 are twotimes theyhopehedoesn’t bring his A-game.

“(Wednesday),Idon’t want to see any of those buckets going through the hoop,” Borregosaid. Anyother time, theywanttosee Ingram doing what he does. Not just because of the player he is on the court but also for who he was in the locker room.

“He’safantastic human being,” Borrego said. “He’sabout the right things. He taught me alot about working. He hada great spirit about him. Awork ethic about him.Hebrought ajoy to the gym every singleday.Itwas an honor to coach him. Oneofthe special guys Igot to be around.”

In Ingram’sfirst game in the Smoothie King in 14 months,Pelicans fans gettheir chance to show Ingram just howspecial he wasto the city

Loomis, whohad abanner day Monday,also agreed to a deal with guard David Edwards from the Buffalo Bills to help open holes forEtienne. Edwards wasconsidered one of the best guards in free agency The Saints appeared to fill their void in the running game. And forEtienne’smother,a void was filled as well.

“When you’re in other places, the culture is different,” she said.

“The food is different. The things they do are different. So we had to adjust to our way of living.”

Nowthings will feel more normal. Etienne will try to replicate in the Caesars Superdomewhat he did on all of those electrifying Friday nights at Jennings High School years ago. It’ll be much easier forthe family

“We’ve all gotten older,” his mom said. “You have elders and grandmothers whocan’ttravel like they used to. But they can all travel to New Orleans.” Nobody would be moreproud than the late Betty Jackson. She wasEtienne’sgreat-grandmother and adie-hard Saints fan. She would watch her favorite team play every Sunday

“That was her favorite team,” Donnetta Etienne said. “Travis is overjoyed. Everybody in the family is overjoyed. Youthink about it and you dream about it, but forthis to actually happen is surreal.”

Saints fans should be overjoyed, too.

Email RodWalkerat rwalker@theadvocate.com.

SECTOURNAMENTGLANCE

at Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn. Wednesday’s games Game 1: No. 16 LSUvs. No. 9Kentucky,11:30 a.m., SECN Game 2: No. 13 Mississippi Statevs.

first 19 points. His 3-point shooting andinside moves challenged Kentucky’swings. What doomed the Tigers was their inabilitytodefendthe 3-point line, where Kentucky made8of11 in the last 20 minutes. The Wildcats have succeeded after trailing early and finding arhythm later in games this season. They’ve beaten LSU, No. 25 Tennesseetwice and Mississippi State after trailing by at least12points in each game. They also had a10-point comeback win against No. 13 St. John’s. EveninKentucky’smost recent 84-77loss to top-seeded Florida, it outscored the Gators by 10 in the final 20 minutes and was down by

“Wehave to be betterand we’re going to work on that.”

While mental lapses on defense still must be addressed, team chemistry andleadership are two areas the Cajuns are comfortable.

“I thinkit’sreally good,” Habetz said. “Being on the road is challenging. Youkind of have to learn how to love each other,even when you don’twant to love each other

five with 29 seconds remaining. LSUcan’t relax, no matter how large alead it builds, since it has first-hand experience about its Kentucky’spersistence. Even if there’sextra motivation to avenge the January loss, LSU is adecided underdog. Ther Tigers hope to prove people wrongand themselves right come Wednesday Thelast time LSU won an SEC Tournament gamewas during McMahon’sfirst season, beating Georgia 72-67 in 2023. That team, just like this one, waslast in the SEC with only twovictories. LSU also closed the regularseason in 2023 on athree-gamelosing streak, just like in 2026.

“On those long bus rides, it’sentertaining as acoach when you’re in the front of the bus and then you hear the cackling back there and then they just start singing the national anthem out of nowhere …they’re very creative,they’re characters and it’sfun.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Lions ink RB Pacheco to pair with Gibbs

BY SCHUYLER DIXON AP pro football writer

On the second day of NFL free agency Tuesday, the Detroit Lions reached an agreement with running back Isiah Pacheco as a replacement for David Montgomery after the Lions traded Jahmyr Gibbs’ backup last week

Pacheco spent his first four seasons in the running back rotation with the Kansas City Chiefs, who agreed to a $45 million, three-year deal with Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker in the opening hours of free agency Monday

Pacheco rushed for 2,537 yards and 14 touchdowns over four seasons with the Chiefs, helping them win two Super Bowls.

Montgomery, who no longer wanted to play behind Gibbs, was sent to the Houston Texans for offensive lineman Juice Scruggs along with fourth- and seventhround draft picks.

The Chiefs also agreed to a $24.5 million, three-year deal with former Baltimore safety Alohi Gilman and an $11 million, two-year

contract with receiver Tyquan Thornton, who emerged as perhaps their best deep threat during a 6-11 season that ended a 10-year playoff streak.

The Green Bay Packers are doing some shuffling at cornerback by adding Benjamin St-Juste while informing Nate Hobbs of a plan to release him a year after signing him to the $48 million, four-year contract, according to two people with knowledge of the decisions.

St-Juste is getting a $10.5 million, two-year deal.

Pittsburgh agreed with running back Rico Dowdle on a $12.25 million, two-year deal in what will be a reunion with new Steelers coach Mike McCarthy They were together in Dallas, where Dowdle became the first undrafted Cowboys running back to rush for 1,000 yards in McCarthy’s final season in 2024.

Dowdle signed with Carolina last year and followed a 206-yard outing against Miami with 183 yards rushing and a 36-yard touchdown catch against the Cowboys. Dowdle finished the season with 1,076

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By DAVID BECKER Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco looks on after a game against the Raiders on Jan. 4 in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, the Lions reached an agreement with Pacheco.

yards. The Steelers are waiting on what would be a much more significant reunion for McCarthy Quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn’t said whether he plans to return for a 22nd season, and second in Pitts-

burgh The 42-year-old was with McCarthy for 12-plus seasons in Green Bay, and they won a Super Bowl during the 2010 season. New England picked up one of the top available receivers in Romeo Doubs, agreeing with the

former Green Bay player on a $70 million, four-year contract. The reigning AFC champions also added guard Alijah Vera-Tucker on a $42 million, three-year deal.

The Buffalo Bills and tight end Dawson Knox agreed to a threeyear contract extension that will save money under the salary cap.

The seventh-year player was entering the final year of his deal and scheduled to count $17 million against Buffalo’s cap.

The New York Giants have an agreement with cornerback Greg Newsome after losing starter Cor’Dale Flott to Tennessee on the first day of negotiations for free agents.

Cleveland and linebacker Quincy Williams agreed on a two-year contract worth up to $17 million. The deal reunites Williams with new Browns defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg who was the New York Jets linebackers coach from 2021-24.

The Browns also re-signed offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, who played all 17 games last season and made four starts at right guard.

PREP REPORT

— Madison Prep-Northside vs. Washington-Marion-Peabody winners 4 p.m. — Curtis-Catholic vs. Karr-Alexandria winners 6 p.m. — Marksville-Mamou vs. Green OaksMadison winners 8 p.m. — Zachary-Denham Springs vs. Central-Ruston winners Baseball Monday’s scores Abbeville 8, Northwest 3 Vermilion Catholic 10, Highland Baptist 0 Iota 2, Oakdale 0 Kaplan 1, Loreauville 0 Westminster-Lafayette 8, Oberlin 4 Breaux Bridge 5, Jennings 4 Midland 7, Reeves 4 Notre Dame 5, Grand Lake 0 Abbeville 8, Northwest 3 Northwest 000 000 3 – 3 5 5 Abbeville 110 330 x 8 2 4 WP – Braylon Himel (7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K),

Braxton Meagher 2-3; Parker Bertrand 1-2; Riley Jones 1-2; Dace Freslier 1-3; OAK: Matthew Hebert 2-2, 3B. Kaplan 1, Loreauville 0 Loreauville 000 000 0 – 0 6 1 Kaplan 001

Softball Monday’s games Notre Dame 16, Crowley 0 St. Edmund 17, East Beauregard 2 Midland 21, Elton 6 Acadiana Renaissance 12, Vermilion Catholic 2 Lafayette Renaissance 22, Glencoe 12 LaGrange 15, Westminster-Lafayette 14 Erath 16, Catholic-NI 13 Lafayette 15, Ville Plate 0 David Thibodaux 19, Comeaux 0 Delcambre 9, Hanson 5 Houma 17, Highland Baptist Notre Dame 16, Crowley 0 Crowley 000 0 0 2 NotreDame (10)6x – 16 7 0 WP – Camille Menard (3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K), LP – Emma Cradeur (2 IP, 7 H, 12 ER, 9 BB, 0 K). Top Hitters – ND: Ella Dupuis 1-1, HR, 4 RBIs; Camille Menard 1-1, 3 RBIs; Maddy Teare 1-1, RBI; Lizzie Richard 1-1, RBI; Jeanne Menard 1-1, RBI. Notre Dame 17, East Beauregard 2 EastBeauregard 101 – 2 4 4 NotreDame 13(13)

Charlie Frederick 1-3, RBI. Midland 7, Reeves 4 Midland 501 000 1 – 7 8 0 Reeves 100 300 0 – 4 10 0 WP – Andrew Martin (7 IP, 10 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 11 K), LP – CHase Ducharme (0.2 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). Top Hitters – MID: Ethan LeBlanc 2-2, 2B, RBI; Ayden Hollie 1-2, RBI; Karson Thibodeaux 1-2, RBI; REV: Chase Ducharme 2-3, 2 RBIs; Braxton Phillips 2-3, RBI. Wednesday’s games Cecilia at Berchmans, North Vermilion at Acadiana Renaissance, Westgate at Centerville, Opelousas Catholic at Tioga.

SCOREBOARD

Quarterfinals Monday Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 74, UNO 61 Texas Rio Grande Valley 86, Nicholls 68 Semifinals Tuesday Stephen F. Austin vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, n McNeese vs. Texas-Rio

A&M 56 Nicholls 81, Incarnate Word 55 Quarterfinals Tuesday Texas Rio Grande Valley 76, Northwestern St. 67 Stephen F. Austin 63, Nicholls 60 Semifinals Wednesday McNeese St. vs. Texas Rio Grande Valley, 10:30 a.m.

Dishes with layers of flavor

Staff report

Cuban sandwich and empanada

n Sazon Latin Grill, 1230 O’Neal Lane, Baton Rouge

When people ask me about good restaurants in Baton Rouge, I’m quick to name Sazon Latin Grill, afamily-owned spot on O’Neal Lane. When Ihad ahankering for aCuban sandwich, Iknew just the place. The Cuban empanada came stuffed with juicy,shredded beef and was served with aside of cilantro-lime sauce, which Ihadn’t tried yet. The sauce was so good! The cilantro brought abright flavor,and the lime juice added apunch of acidity.Idipped my sandwich in it, too.

The Cuban sandwich was built as it should be: pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard on French bread. It tasted just like Iremembered: downright delicious. Isent photos and bragged about the meal in my family group text.

If it’syour first time here, I recommend this order to start off, because you can’tgowrong with this classic handheldand empanada. Though it’sabout a 20-minute drivefrom my house, the flavors are worth it every time.

—Maddie Scott, features reporter

Pizza

n Wild Child Wines, 210E.Vermilion St., Lafayette

Wild Child Wines, anatural wine shop in downtown Lafayette, added sourdough loaves, baguettes, pizza and other items to their Friday-only lunch menu acouple of years ago

ä See BEST, page 6C

GOINGGREEN ImmersiveSt. Patrick’sweekend offers

Irishfood, drink, cultureinLafayette

BY JOANNABROWN Staff writer

Lookingfor aplace to getagreat pint of Guinness in Lafayette this weekend? You’reinluck.

St.Patrick’sDay takes place this year on Tuesday,and theCeltic Bayou Festival will be held in Lafayette on Friday through Sunday, making all things Irish the theme of the weekend. Thefestivalwas foundedbyTony andSheila Davoren in 2016 to celebrate theirIrish heritage, along with everything they loveabout living in Acadiana —the food, themusic and dancing, and the camaraderie, most of all. This year’sfestival will provide multiple opportunitiestocelebrate, from apub crawl on Friday to aGuinnesscook-off on Saturday with teams cookingupcreations like “Guinness, gritsand grillades.”

Bakers will also be competing, using any flavor of Bailey’sIrish Cream as theirsecret ingredient.

For the tradition-minded, the Celtic Bayou Festival features an authentic, cozyIrish pub experience at the Bailey’sIrish Pubpop-up, on topofclassic offerings like fishand chips,bangers andmash, shepherd’spie,and of course, pints of Guinness. As aproper

Advocate Cookie Contest returns vocate CookieC test

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE Staff writer

The smell of achocolatechipcookie awakens the senses. We’ve even heard that some real estate agents bake cookies before an open house tofill the air with that sweet scent and allure future homeowners to seal the deal.

This year,the newspaper is reintroducing itsCookie Contestatthe Main Library’sBaker Fair from 2p.m. to 5p.m. on April 12 at 7711 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge.The first-placewinner will receivea $100 gift card; second place, $75 gift card; andthird place,$50 gift card.

We know people have strong cookie preferences. Some like undercooked, doughy cookies,while others prefer theirs to be soft in the middleand crispy around the edges.We’re looking forward to the variety that will be presentedatthe fair.

The winners and their cookies will be featured in The Advocate’sfeatures section. For more details and to enter the contest,go to ebrpl.co/advocatecookiecontest.

The Advocate CookieContest Rulesare asfollows:

n Any style of cookie —cut, roll, droporbar

maybeenteredinthe contest, but the cookiemust be homemade.

n Thecookieshouldbemadefromscratch without relying on ready-made cookie dough or mixes.

n On contest day,bring two dozen cookies in adisposable containertoThe Advocate’s Cookie Contest at the Baker Fair at 2p.m. on April 12 at the Main Library at Goodwood.

n Each cookie entry container must be clearly labeled TWICE (ontop ANDon bottom). Labels must be taped to the top cover and the bottom of container and include the name of cookies, baker’sname, address and phone number on a3-inch by 5-inch indexcard or similar-size piece of paper

n Each cookie entrymustbeaccompanied by its recipe, printed or typed on an 8.5-inch by 11-inch piece of paper that will be turnedintothe contest administrator when thecookies are delivered on theday of thecontest. Thebaker’s name, address andphone number shouldbeincluded on the recipe.

homesick Irishman, Tony Davoren saidhepersonally makes sure that the kegs areuptosnuff for the festival.

Your overreaction explains quiteabit

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

Dear Miss Manners: While having acasual dinner at my parents’ house, Inoticed that my brother and his fiancée were wearing wedding bands. I texted my sister to ask if they had secretly gotten married and she told me Ineeded to talk to our brother He finally called me tonight and told me that they did indeed go to the courthouse to get married He explained that they are trying to buy ahouse, and that it is easier to get amortgage whenlegally married.

Iamthe last in the immediate family to find out. I feel very hurt that Iwas not includedinany of the initial announcements and had to find out by noticing wedding bands on their hands. The icing on the cake is that they plan to keep this hush-hush and have abig white wedding next year they will have aceremony, register for gifts and pretend to the entire extended family like they have not been married the entire

time. Ithink this is highly irregular andinappropriate, and it feels likelying.There is nothing wrong witha courthouse wedding,and Ithink it should havebeen celebrated in themoment, maybe with anice dinner with close family

Idon’t know how Iam supposed to celebrate and support my brother now that he has gone about this in such an untraditional way,and Iamhavinga hard time gettingbehindlying to ourextended family members and friends.What is the best way to navigate this situation?

Gentle reader: When he was young, didyour brother tell histeachers that he couldn’t take the test as he was in mourning because thedog died —and then thenext week complain that thedog ate his homework?

Miss Mannersasks because hedoes not seem particularly adept at lying (as evidenced bywearingthe weddingrings).

Separating a“wedding” from theact of marrying, as if thetrappings were moresignificant than the ceremony, is no longer unusual —although ayear is along time to wait between thetwo.

Youare not required tolie about it to others, although this may be why they didn’t tell you. Butifheand his fiancée plan to wear their rings to therehearsal dinner,perhaps you can offer to sequester the jewelry

Dear Miss Manners: This may be alosing battle, but as an adult with abirth defect, Icompletely abhor the phrase “special needs” in all its forms.

People with disabilities have theSAME basic needs as everyone else. Shocking, Iknow! The accommodationsmay be morethan others generally require to get to thesame baseline, and may affect family routines, bonds and behaviors, but theneeds themselves are not “special.”

There are organizations that are trying to help correct this mindset, but do you have any suggestions?

Gentlereader: Miss Manners suggestscompassion, dignityand an assumption of goodwill and good intentions. Also needed, she fears, will be patience in getting people to understand and change.

Email questions to Miss Manners at dearmissmanners@gmail com.

STAFF PHOTO By LAUREN CHERAMIE Edamame and grilled porkbao buns from AvaCafeinBaton Rouge

BEST

Continued from page5C

If you’re in the mood for a long, delightful lunch at the end of the week, stop by for aglass of wine, some people watching and one of the most special slices of pizza in town. The sourdough crust is bouncy and flavorful, perfect for the robust flavor profiles built on top: red sauce, cloves of garlic, fresh basil and cheese, crisp pepperoni and juicy shrimp with abright burst of pesto

have all graced the menu in recent weeks, and every sliceis better thanthe last Forme, it’susually atough choice between thepizza, or my favorite sandwich on Wild Child’slunchmenu

—arustic jambon buerre with unbelievably rich and creamy butter on afresh sourdough baguette.

—JoannaBrown,staff writer

Grilled pork bao buns and edamame n AvaCafe, 5207 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge

When I’m craving some-

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, March 11, the 70th day of 2026. There are 295 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On March 11, 2011, amagnitude 9earthquake and resulting tsunami struck Japan’s northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000 people and severely damaging the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Also on this date: In 1918, what were believed to be the first confirmed U.S. cases of adeadly global flu pandemic were reportedamong U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Riley,Kansas; 46 soldiers would die. (The influenza outbreak would ultimately kill an estimated 20 million to 40 million people worldwide.) In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act, which provided war supplies to

Alliedcountries during World WarII. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was chosen to succeed the lateKonstantin Chernenkoasgeneral secretary of the SovietCommunist Party. In 2004, three days before general elections in Spain, 10 bombs exploded in quicksuccession inside commuter trains in Madrid, killing 193 people in an attack linked toal-Qaida-inspired militants. In 2010, afederal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the use of the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and “In God We Trust”onU.S. currency In 2012, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales shot and killed 16 Afghan villagers —mostly women and children —asthey slept (Bales later pleaded guilty and was sentenced tolife in prison without parole.) In 2021, President Joe

Gary Shaw,left, and CarlaFoster share apintand an order of fish and chips during the 2024 Celtic BayouFestival

GREEN

Continuedfrom page5C

“Wehave adraft trailer that hasall the draft beers on it, andGuinness providesuswith fresh barrels so we have proper draft Guinness,” he said. “I test the first pint each year to makesureit’supto scratch,and it’s never let me down.”

Davoren says only afew bars in the Lafayette area serve Guinness on tap it’snot acommonbeverage for thearea —and he admits that he doesn’tfind it thesame as drinking GuinnessatatrueIrish pub. Guinness is distinct from other beers, from how it’sbrewed to the way it’s tapped.

The drink needs its own, very clean tap lines, requires aspecialized tapto ensure the proper nitrogen mixand needs to rest in the middle of pouring to build thesignaturecreamy foam on top. It also requires a special, tulip-shaped glass, andittakes almost two minutestopour apint of

Guinness theright way, Davoren said.

“I was abartender in Ireland for years, and we hadtoclean andmaintain our own Guinness lines,” he said. “Fresh Guinness is kind of like adairy product; you can’tlet it sit for too long. The yeast and the Guinness can really fog the lines up and make it go foul. Then there’s the technique itself —you can’tjust plug Guinness to aregular beer tap. That’s notgonna work.”

Before gaining experienceasabartender, Davoren learnedhow to drink Guinness earlierin life, playing football as a teen in his village in Ireland anddrinking withthe men after.

“There just seemed to be this mystique around it. I loved the way you never saw anyone gettingrowdy after pintsofGuinness,” he said. “There might be debates, but there’snever drama.Everyone is too full after drinking three or four pints of Guinness.” The Guinness (and whiskey) will be flowing this weekend, but even if

thing satisfying and refreshing, the bao buns from Ava Cafe call me like asiren song. WhenI’m feeling indecisive about what to eat, these little clouds ofair really do the trick.

The appetizer offers the option of grilled pork, grilled chicken, grilled shrimporlemongrasstofu avocado —all prepared with spicymayonnaise, wasabi cream, pickled carrots/daikon and cilantro. Ichosethe grilled pork ($8.95),which Ipaired withgarlic butter edamame($7.95)

—Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator

Biden signed intolaw a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package that he saidwould help defeat thevirus and nurse theeconomy back to health. Lower-income Americans would receive up to $1,400 in direct payments, along with extended unemployment benefits. Today’sbirthdays: Media mogul RupertMurdoch is 95. Former ABC News correspondent Sam Donaldson is 92. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 76. Actor Elias Koteas is 65. Actor Alex Kingston is 63. Actor John Barrowman is 59. Singer LisaLoeb is 58. Actor Terrence Howard is 57. Actor Johnny Knoxville is 55. Basketball Hall of Famer BeckyHammon is 49. Rock musicians and twins Benji and Joel Madden (Good Charlotte; The Madden Brothers) are 47. Singer LeToya Luckettis 45. Actor ThoraBirch is 44. Actor Jodie Comer is 33. Actor Madison Brydges is 22.

you’renot adrinker, the Celtic Bayou Festival offers something thateveryonecan enjoy:the chance to blur the lines of culture andcelebrate allthe things thatbring people together “Ever since Imoved down here, the fun for me has always been finding outwhatconnectsus, what we share,” Davoren said. “Weget excitedwhen we see those lines blurred betweenthe Celtic world and Louisiana. That’salways more fun than wanting everything to be the way it is at home.Iwantto have ataste of homeright here, but also showeveryonehow much fun we have beinga part of thegreater Lafayette community.” The Celtic Bayou Festivalstarts with adowntown Lafayette pub crawl at 5p.m.Friday. Thefestival willcontinueatChezla Fête at 811 Lafayette St. on Saturday,beginning at noon.Tickets areavailable on the Celtic Bayou Festivalwebsite

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

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) What you gain through interacting with people who share your interests will help you save time and money reaching your objective. Don't sell yourself short.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) A low profile will keep you out of harm's way. Spend more time on your personal needs, learning and preparing for something you want to pursue. Embrace selfimprovement projects.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Helping others is admirable, but paying for others' shortcomings is not. Choose your words carefully and offer suggestions, but when push comes to shove, do what's best for you.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Whether you frequent a new destination, try something new or set goals, it will result in self-improvement. Don't let someone's negativity stand between you and what your heart wants.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) It's what you accomplish that counts. Use your brain instead of your brawn if you want to achieve what you set out to do. Refuse to let your emotions lead you astray.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Listen to what others have to say, and you'll gain insight into whether you want to participate. Check the facts; someone you encounter will offer misleading information.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Take a moment to digest information and to figure out your options. Don't mix money and

emotions. If you can't afford something on your own, you'd best take a pass.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Mixed emotions will confuse you when dealing with relationships. Listen carefully before you reveal information that may incriminate you. Protect your interests, your reputation and essential relationships.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Overspending or trying to buy favors will backfire. It's how you respond to people that will help you maintain a good reputation. Use common sense.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) If you want to make the most of your day, adopt a healthy lifestyle or start a homeimprovement project. Make money management, diet and exercise your goals.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Avoid confrontations. Keep your opinions to yourself until further notice. Pour your time and energy into self-improvement projects, social events that offer positive affirmations, and romance.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Assess your current direction and consider what you would rather be doing with your time and skills. Innovative ideas will lead to high returns.

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. The object is to place the numbers1 to 9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s PuzzleAnswer

BY PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Joseph-MariedeMaistre, aFrench writer, lawyer and diplomat who died in 1821, said, “It is one of man’scurious idiosyncrasies to create difficulties for the pleasure of resolving them.”

At thebridge table,wecreatedeals, either by hand or with acomputer program, and then enjoy trying to solve them. Most can be handled correctly if our analysisisaccurate. But occasionallyalayoutwillarisethatrequiresdoing something so abnormalthat it is easy to overlook.

Cover the West and South hands.West leadsthehearteightagainstfourspades. After East takes dummy’s10withhis queen, what shouldhedonext?

If West had opened oneheart,North would have overcalled one no-trump. Butinthe balancing position (a pass by North would have ended the auction), one no-trump would have shown only 11-15points.Then,afterSouthadvanced with one spade, indicating 0-8 points, North’s raise to two spades promised 17-19 points.

Easthasthreedefensivetricks:hisaces andtheheartqueen.Iftheheartkingwill automatically score later, East can cash thoseacesandexitwithadiamond.Here, though, thatdoes notwork.

East shouldrealize that West has leda singletonorhighfromadoubleton.(West would have led low from atripleton becausehehad not supported hearts.) Then,ifEast makes the weird-looking lead of aheartattricktwo, he will defeat the contract. Here, South wins in the dummyandplaysatrump,butEasttakes the trick, cashes the diamond ace,and gives West aheart ruff for downone.

©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 GEnuInELY: JEN-yu-wen-lee: Truly; certifiably.

Average mark20words Time limit 40 minutes

Can you find 30 or morewords in GENUINELY?

YEsTERDAY’s WoRD —scALLoPs

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Wall Street waits for next signal on Iran

NEW YORK The U.S. stock market held steadier Tuesday as Wall Street waited for the next signal on when the war with Iran may end.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, a day after its latest wild swings caused by extreme moves in the oil market The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 34 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite edged higher by less than 0.1%.

Oil prices, meanwhile, remained sharply below their peaks hit on Monday Such spikes have been rocking financial markets worldwide because of worries that the war could block the global flow of oil and natural gas for a long time

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, settled at $87.80. That’s down 11.3% from its settlement price the day before, but much of that drop happened on Monday before the U.S. stock market finished trading. That’s why it did not give much of a boost to U.S. stocks Tuesday Oil prices plunged Monday afternoon from a high of nearly $120 per barrel, its most expensive level since 2022, after President Donald Trump told CBS News he thinks “the war is very complete, pretty much.” That raised hopes that the war may end relatively soon, which could allow oil to flow freely again from the Middle East to customers around the world.

But Trump’s comments later Monday, after the U.S. stock market finished trading, were not as clear That has Wall Street waiting for the next clue about how long the war may last.

One point where Trump remained clear was his desire to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. The war has effectively blocked the waterway off Iran’s coast, where a fifth of the world’s oil sails on a typical day That’s been a central reason for extreme swings in oil prices recently, which have dominated other financial markets and raised worries about the global economy

JetBlue briefly grounds flights due to outage

All JetBlue flights were briefly grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration early Tuesday at the request of the airline as it dealt with a short system outage.

The ground stop was lifted about 40 minutes after it was imposed, the agency said in a notice posted to its website

“A brief system outage has been resolved and we have resumed operations,” JetBlue said in a statement. The airline did not provide further information. JetBlue, which was founded more than 25 years ago, has its headquarters in New York City and its flagship terminal at the city’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Beyond Meat drops

‘Meat’ from name

Beyond Meat is changing its brand to just Beyond.

The maker of plant-based proteins that look and taste like meat changed its website and social channels last week to reflect its new full name: Beyond the Plant Protein Co.

“We are not moving away from making plant-based meat. This is a strategic expansion of our portfolio into additional protein categories,” Beyond spokesperson Shira Zackai said. In an Instagram post announcing the change, the company repeatedly described its products as “clean.”

“We start at the farm with clean and simple, non-GMO ingredients like yellow peas, red lentils and faba beans,” the post read. “We love clean protein and fiber.” In an August quarterly earnings call, Beyond Chief Executive Ethan Brown said the shortened name “provides for reduced emphasis on facsimile, a now-complicated frame that overshadows the real, highquality protein offerings we provide to consumers.”

BY ALEX VEIGA AP business writer

Sales of previously occupied

U.S. homes picked up in February from the previous month as home shoppers took advantage of easing mortgage rates and a modest increase in properties on the market heading into the spring homebuying season.

Existing home sales rose 1.7% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday Sales fell 1.4% compared with February last year, with every region except the South posting lower sales versus a year earlier

The latest sales figure topped the

3.84 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.

“Good momentum, but nonetheless sales are still below one year ago,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said during a conference call.

Home prices continued to rise last month, albeit more slowly The national median sales price increased 0.3% in February from a year earlier to $398,000, an all-time high for any February on data going back to 1999, NAR said. Home prices have risen on an annual basis for 32 months in a row

The latest sales trends follow a dismal January, when existing home sales posted their biggest monthly decline in nearly four years and the slowest annualized sales pace in more than two years, although NAR has since revised January’s sales data modestly higher

The U.S. housing market has been in a slump dating back to

2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S homes remained stuck last year at 30-year lows.

Sales have been hovering close to a 4 million annual pace now going back to 2023.

That’s well short of the 5.2 million annual pace that’s historically been the norm.

A sharp run-up in home prices, especially in the early years of this decade, and a chronic shortage of homes nationally worsened by years of below-average home construction have left many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market.

At the same time, mortgage rates have been trending lower, boosting the purchasing power for home shoppers who can afford to buy at current rates.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage dropped two weeks ago to just under 6% for the first time

since late 2022, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. First-time buyers were among those who took advantage last month of easing mortgage rates. They made up 34% of all home purchases in February, matching the highest level in the last five years, Yun said.

However, the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use to price home loans, has climbed following the spike in oil prices since the Iran war started which could lead to higher mortgage rates just as the spring homebuying season gets going.

“Despite mortgage rates falling below 6% briefly international conflict has sent them higher in recent days,” Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, said in an email. “If the conflict with Iran is limited, the housing market could rebound quickly However, a prolonged conflict could stall home sales activity this spring.”

BY PAUL WISEMAN AP economics writer

WASHINGTON The war with Iran is doing collateral damage to the world economy

The conflict is driving up energy and fertilizer prices, threatening food shortages in poor countries, destabilizing fragile states such as Pakistan and complicating options for the inflation fighters at central banks like the Federal Reserve.

Causing much of the pain: the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes was effectively shut down after the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes Feb. 28 that killed Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“For a long time, the nightmare scenario that deterred the U.S. from even thinking about an attack on Iran and which got them to urge restraint on Israel was that the Iranians would close the Strait of Hormuz,” said Maurice Obstfeld, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund. “Now we’re in the nightmare scenario.”

With a key shipping route cut off, oil prices have surged. They’ve taken gasoline prices with them.

In India, restaurants are already warning of possible shutdowns as the government prioritizes gas supplies for households. Thailand has suspended overseas travel for civil servants and urged them to take stairs instead of elevators. The Philippines has introduced a temporary four-day work week for some government agencies, while Vietnam is encouraging people to work from home.

Every 10% increase in oil prices — provided they persist for most of the year — will push up global inflation by 0.4 percentage points and reduce worldwide economic output by as much as 0.2%, said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

“The Strait of Hormuz has to be reopened,” said economist Simon Johnson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recipient of the 2024 Nobel Memorial Prize in

BY MATTHEW PERRONE AP health writer

WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved a generic medication for a rare brain disorder, while walking back statements by President Donald Trump and other administration officials that the drug showed great promise for people with autism. The agency said it approved leucovorin for children and adults with a genetic condition that limits delivery of folate, a form of vitamin B, to the brain. FDA officials estimate the ultrarare condition impacts fewer than 1 in a million people in the U.S. It’s a major step back from com-

economics. “It’s 20 million barrels of oil a day going through there.”

The world economy has shown it can take a punch, absorbing blows from the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years ago and from President Donald Trump’s massive and unpredictable tariffs in 2025.

Many economists express hope that global commerce can stagger through the latest crisis.

For now, the war is likely to create economic winners and losers.

Energy importers — most of Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, India and China — will get clobbered by higher prices, Shearing wrote in a commentary for London’s Chatham House think tank.

Pakistan finds itself in an especially bleak position. The South Asian country imports 40% of its energy and relies especially heavily on liquified natural gas from Qatar, supplies of which have been cut off by the conflict. Higher energy prices will squeeze Pakistani families and damage their economy Far from cutting interest rates to provide

ments made at a White House news conference in September, when Trump and FDA commissioner Marty Makary announced the drug was under review to benefit patients with autism, some of whom have a form of the vitamin brain deficiency “It might be 20, 40, 50% of kids with autism,” Makary said at the news conference. But senior FDA officials told reporters Monday that their review was narrowed to focus on the strongest evidence, which only supported the drug’s use by patients with the rare mutation that impacts folate levels in the brain. The FDA officials also pointed out that one study supporting the drug’s use for autism was retracted earlier this year Autism researchers on Tuesday reiterated that the drug has not

some relief, though, the country’s central bank will probably have to raise them instead, say economists Gareth Leather and Mark Williams of Capital Economics. That is partly because inflation remains uncomfortably high in Pakistan — and higher energy prices threaten to make it worse.

But oil-producing countries outside the warzone — Norway, Russia, Canada — will benefit from high oil prices without the risk of missile and drone attacks.

“Any countries with significant agriculture sectors, including the United States, would be vulnerable,” Obstfeld said. “The effects are going to be most devastating in low-income countries where agricultural productivity may already be challenged. Add this extra cost component and you get the prospect of significant food shortages.”

The United States, now a net exporter of energy, should gain slightly overall from higher oil and gas prices. But ordinary families will feel the pain at a time when Americans are already furious about high costs ahead of November’s midterm elections.

been shown safe or effective for the vast majority of people with the brain disorder

“There is no evidence to say that leucovorin will help most people with autism, and there’s certainly no evidence to say it’s safe,” said Dr Alycia Halladay of the Autism Science Foundation.

Halladay noted there is also no established figure for how many people with autism have a form of the folate brain disorder Some doctors diagnose the folate condition using a specialty laboratory test that isn’t FDA-approved. The administration’s White House event touting the drug last year followed promises from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to determine the cause of autism by September

Leucovorin is a synthetic metabolite of folate, which is essential for healthy pregnancies and is recommended for women before conception and during pregnancy The drug’s current FDA label covers leucovorin’s use in reducing side effects of certain chemotherapy drugs and treating a rare blood disorder

Patients affected by the condition targeted by Tuesday’s approval experience movement disorders, seizures and other neurological problems that can resemble symptoms of autism. But professional medical societies say it’s far from clear whether the drug helps people with autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn’t recommend routine use of leucovorin for autistic children, including those with the brain condition known as cerebral folate deficiency

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Sudoku

Sudoku is anumberplacing puzzlebased on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers.The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothateach row, column and3x3 box contains thesame numberonlyonce.

Multi-Sudoku

Each puzzleconsists of twoormoreSudoku gridsoverlapping each otherinvarious configurations.The gridsmay be ClassicSudoku or amix of differentSudoku variants.The object is to solveall gridsaccordingtotheir variantrules.Notethat overlapping areas comply with therules of more than one grid.

TheCryptoquipisa substitutioncipherinwhich one letterstands foranother. If you thinkthatX equals O, it will equalO throughout the puzzle. Single letters,shortwords andwords usinganapostrophe give you cluestolocatingvowels. Solutionisbytrial anderror.

BM KF AM RA TE UB W AM R

JX IR WF KP RF HQ K PK XR IA J

AD JA RI AM WJ PR WQ U

BRQ H, MK YR UT DD EA

DF RQ WY X.

Today’sCryptoquipClue:Aequals T

HD LH QY DB TH OY SO

SFF NQ BL FQ SW Z HO DZ Q

WB OC QO H QO WQ KDB LQ .

Today’sCryptoquipClue: Pequals I

Today’sCryptoquipClue: Dequals T

NP M, ML QZ GQ V SG QG MN

MW EQ W RD NT QB CW R.

Today’sCryptoquipClue: Mequals T

TG VJ LC XL EY VJ HL GG OK : “K LC OZ KD MU JX U. ” DV LR SP DA AP CR IL DK KN DL RK JL UJ VV JJ C AJ KJ SP IZ ,P LV RK LD U

QM DG ZK JG SX OM IG ZL M

DM JN YG NM KS XUC EM TM IO XG QZ KV JH

Today’sCryptoquipClue: Qequals F

LQ JF ZQ PC NR CD KP LL KR PI UP CR. TL QC ML NOQ HP ZO MS DD SC HM LQ ON SD IQ VW XQ RD PX I MP VE QB QG

ZB AQ CQ L, D ZQ KQ SL WZ AS KT LE H D N QKK. PU XP PD VY BN BD PU SR SZ OX PU YP SN XB BW OD DA RU XO Y, XZ TS P’ R DA TS ZX AW .V UX PX RX T NDKK DZ PY AA W.

Today’sCryptoquipClue: Requals S

CROSSWORD

THOMAS JOSEPH

fight

in ahurry

“You bet!”

DOWN 1Wheel part

2Start of acount 3Everything 4Spotsfor shingles 5Rational 6Border 7Downhill course

8They’re found among needles 9Little laborer

Golf peg 16 Less than tactful

Howled 18 “Rollinginthe Deep” singer

Rocket parts

Scoundrel

Locations

Burn with water

Skillet

Lead ore

To thetime that

Overlook

“The King andI”heroine

Pop’swife 38 Chopping tool

Make achoice

Maiden name indicator

Make mistakes

Point&Solve

In this crosswordpuzzlevariety,the cluesappear in thediagram itself. Simply enter theanswers in thedirections indicated by thearrows.

CROSSWORD THOMAS JOSEPH

ACROSS

1Rigging support

5“Aladdin” villain

10 Cocoaalternative

12 Full of verve

13 Battery part

14 Sandy hills

15 “— Misérables”

16 Tinortitanium

18 Chooses

20 Candlecount

21 “M*A*S*H”star

23 Wine choice

24 Fill completely

26 Night fliers

28 CapitolBldg. figure

29 Rotisseriepart

31 Yoga need

32 Football team

36 Raise

39 “— hadit!”

40 Like some jackets

41 ConsumeristRalph

43 Muscularly fit

44 Correct,astext

45 Losesit

46 Cook’sneeds

DOWN

1Delicounter sight

2Seminar group

3Stood

4Pistonconnector 5Green stone

6Homecoming guest

7Connoisseur’s concern 8Getssatisfactionfor 9Took abreather

11 Entomology topic

17 Acid

19 Purr producer

22 ChisholmTrail end

24 Marine mammal

25 Receptionaid

27 Hadlunch

28 Does refinery work

30 Sulkystate

33 Musical mini-movie

34 Happening

35 Uncool group

37 Julia Louis-Dreyfus show

38 Throws in

42 Band blaster

Cryptoquote

AX YD LB AA XR is LO NG FE LL OW

Oneletterstands foranother. In this sample,Aisusedfor threeL’s, Xfor thetwo O’s, etc. Singleletters,apostrophes, andlengthand formationofwords areall hints. Thecode letters aredifferent for each puzzle.

LY DOD KO DG JW FL MG

RT HL KE DH GJ DB KJ RK ED

KW GJ ZL YD OG KX LG

LO VL Y; JG LZ GT JZ KW W

LY DM KF ,K JX JG L

HL KOL TJ Z. —I VX XY K

Sudoku

Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzlebased on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers.The object is to place thenumbers 1to 9inthe emptysquaressothateach row, column and3x3 box contains thesamenumberonlyonce

VN SF QS RF YA OHS OXO

UQNF DY KL YC YF RO O;

FQ OP OUNP LY VF QS R

VN SFQ SR FY RO OU QNF

DY KA OHS OX O. —R NS CF

NKJ KR FSC O CBJ ’N HT BB C. VQ NB J XY NG IY RY JV FJ CI BR YJ V.

OC BJ ’N GF RQ DB TQ RQ T. —I QB HOZ EF VI YF

Find thelistedwords in thediagram.Theyrun in alldirections -forward,backward,up, downand diagonally.Every puzzlehas one unlistedclue.

Challenger

Fill each square with anumber, 1-9. Horizontal squares shouldadd to thetotalsonthe right,vertical squaresshould addtothe totals on thebottomand diagonalsquaresshould addtothe totalinthe upperand lowerright

CLUE LIST

Badminton

Frontenis

Jaialai

Lacrosse

Matkot

Paddleball

Pickleball

Qianball

Racketlon

Racquetball

Racquets

Squash

StickÈ

Tennis

Xare

CLUE LIST

Bermuda

Climbing

Cocktail

Egyptian

Green

Pearl

Pickled

Purple

Red

Sea

Spanish

Spring

Sweet

Welsh

Wild

Each Wuzzles is awordriddlewhich createsa disguisedword, phrase, name,place, saying, etc.

ForExample,NOON GOOD =GOODAFTERNOON

Unscramble thesetwelveletterstrings to form each into an ordinary word (ex. HAGNECbecomesCHANGE).Prepare to useonly ONE word fromany marked ( ♥ )letterstringaseach unscrambles into more than one word (ex. ♥ RATHEbecomesHATER or EARTHorHEART). Fiteach string’sword either acrossordown to knot alltwelvestrings together. 1

Find thelistedwords in thediagram.Theyrun in alldirections -forward,backward,up, downand diagonally.Every puzzlehas one unlistedclue.

CLUE LIST

Bit

Dab

Granule

Iota

Mite Molecule Pittance

Puny Sample Scintilla Shaving

Shred Sliver Smidgen Whit

CROSSWORD

cattle breed

CLUE LIST

Aaron Fonda

Ford

Hyde

James Kissinger Mancini

Miller

Morgan

Steinway

TheVII

TheVIII

Thomas Waxman

Winkler

Felt

Laced with profanity

Printunits

Source of cents

Sudoku

Sudoku is anumberplacing puzzlebased on a9x9 grid with severalgiven numbers.The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squaressothateach row, column and3x3 box contains thesame numberonlyonce.

Multi-Sudoku

Each puzzleconsists of twoormoreSudoku gridsoverlapping each otherinvarious configurations.The gridsmay be ClassicSudoku or amix of differentSudoku variants.The object is to solveall gridsaccordingtotheir variantrules.Notethat overlapping areas comply with therules of more than one grid

CROSSWORD

THOMAS JOSEPH

ACROSS

1Captivated

5Unexpected problem

9Forbidden 10 Doughnut’s shape 12 Before,inBrest

Concede

Bridge goof

Hubbub

Hydrocarbon suffix

Kitchendevice

Stationworker

Effortless

Bandedrock

Minimalchange

Core groups

Ketchikanresident

Peyton’sbrother

Crater part

Requests

Shark’shome

Gray-brown

Nanny’smate

Frequently

Gaze

DOWN

1Deep chasm

2Humbled

3Minnow’s home

4Pledge drivereward

5Hackneyed

6Silent assent

7Spanish fleet

8Tour leaders

9Circusstar 11 Yarn

15 Llamas’cousins 19 Call for 21 “Memory” musical

Summershirt 25 Chocolateimitation 26 Draw out 27 To wit 29 Prove false 30 Impatient groom,e.g.

Temptress 33 West of music 37 Ump’scall

39 High peak

Find thelistedwords in thediagram.Theyrun in alldirections -forward,backward,up, down anddiagonally.Every puzzlehas one unlistedclue.

Challenger

Fill each square with anumber, 1-9. Horizontal squares shouldadd to thetotalsonthe right,verticalsquaresshould addtothe totals on thebottomand diagonalsquaresshould addtothe totalinthe upperand lowerright.

CLUE LIST

Barracks

Billet

Bivouac

Bunker

Camps

Cantonment

Castle

Citadel

Compound

Encampment

Fort

Garrison

Hut

Tents

USO

CLUE LIST

Air

Ball-peen

Claw Drop

Mike

Piano

Pneumatic

Sledge

Steam

Tack

Trip

Underthe

Upholstery

Water

Yellow

Point&Solve

In this crosswordpuzzlevariety,the cluesappear in thediagram itself. Simply enter theanswers in thedirections indicated by thearrows

CROSSWORD THOMAS JOSEPH

ACROSS

1Angelhair, forexample

6Bellhop’srewards

10 PopstarJohn

11 Take as one’s own

13 Snoozed

14 Composer Erik

15 “Mazel —!”

16 Many atime

18 Egglayer

19 Johnny Depp role

22 Auctionsignal

23 Lotioningredient

24 Stone worker

27 Forgofrugality

28 Margarine

29 Look upon

30 Johnny Depp role

35 —Dhabi

36 Skillet

37 Memorabletime

38 Heartpart

40 Venice sight

42 Onlinemessages

43 Fill with joy

44 Asia’s —Sea

45 Storeevents

DOWN

1Nuisances

2Permit

3Canyon of comics

4Spinning toy

5JusticeScalia

6Delicious

7Lupino of films

8Driving hazard

9Watched secretly

12 Lookedafter

17 Nourished

20 Downloadable read

21 Become narrower

24 Californiadesert

25 CrimsonTide’shome

26 Worldly

27 Medium sessions

29 Sauna site

31 Period of time

32 Of thekidneys

33 Make aspeech

34 Cardiff’sland

39 By wayof

41 In thestyle of

Each Wuzzles is awordriddlewhich createsa disguisedword, phrase, name,place, saying, etc.

ForExample,NOON GOOD =GOODAFTERNOON

Unscramble thesetwelveletterstrings to form each into an ordinary word (ex. HAGNECbecomesCHANGE).Prepare to useonly ONE word fromany marked ( ♥ )letterstringaseach unscrambles into more than one word (ex. ♥ RATHEbecomesHATER or EARTHorHEART). Fiteach string’sword either acrossordown to knot alltwelvestrings together. 1

Each Wuzzles is awordriddlewhich createsa disguisedword, phrase, name,place, saying,etc.

CROSSWORD

sisters

“AFish Called—”

1Downwardarc

2Music’sAbdul

3Door sign

4Bustle

5Roof supports

6Grill waste

7SaltLakeCity player

8Crystal buyer, perhaps 9New Jersey city 10 Guile 14 Mosaic piece 19 “Fargo” director

Possumofthe comics

Clean with asponge

Bittersalad green

Stifflyawkward

He worksathome

Presents

Site of abiblical tower

2

Sudoku 1

Sudoku 2

Multi-Sudoku 1

Multi-Sudoku 1

PremierCrossword

WHEN THAT GUYWITHASPRAINEDANKLEDEPARTS TO STARTHIS DAILYWALK,HEMAY GO OUT ONALIMP.

AFTERIACCIDENTALLYATELOTSOFFOOD COLORING, IT FELTAS THOUGH IDYEDALITTLE INSIDE

ITRIED TO FINDANAPPLEORPEACH IN THE CONVENIENCE STORE. HOWEVER,THE SEARCH WAS FRUITLESS.

FAMOUS NOVELABOUTAMAN WHOWAS VERY CAPABLEOFUSING POINTY ETCHING TOOLS: “STYLUSMARNER.”

WHEN THOSEGUYS TILLING THESOILBECAMEPLUMB TUCKERED OUT,THEYDECIDED TO TAKEAPLOWER NAP.

5

Scramblers 1Scramblers2

Scramblers 3

JosephCrossword

THAT TOWELCLOTH IS IN PATHETICALLYPOOR SHAPE, AND IT’S ORDINARY. WHATASAD COMMONTERRY

1 THEREARE ONLYTWO MISTAKESONE CANMAKEALONG THEROAD TO TRUTH; NOT GOINGALLTHE WAY,AND NOT STARTING. —BUDDHA

3 DON’TBROOD. GETONWITHLIVINGAND LOVING. YOU DON’THAVEFOREVER.—LEO BUSCAGLIA 2 FAITHISTOBELIEVE WHATYOU DO NOT SEE; THE REWARD OF THIS FAITHISTOSEE WHATYOU BELIEVE. —SAINTAUGUSTINE

2

Sleuth 1 Word Sleuth 2

Wuzzles 1

Wuzzles 2

JosephCrossword

Page 12

Sudoku 1

Sudoku 2

Multi-Sudoku 1

Multi-Sudoku 1

Page 13

PremierCrossword