The Acadiana Advocate 08-22-2026 by The Advocate

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Race for 6th District wide-open

Fields not seeking reelection after redistricting BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Two years after his election, U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields chose not to run again this year for a simple reason. Republican state legislators redrew his 6th District’s boundaries in May, and Fields, one of the

state’s best-known Democrats, didn’t think he could win a congressional district that remains anchored in Baton Rouge but now strongly favors a Republican. That has not stopped three Democrats from running for the seat. They are Chauna Banks, who served 12 years on the East Ba-

ton Rouge Parish Metro Council; Pat Forbes, who spent 20 years in highlevel state government positions for three governors; and Lindsay GarFields cia, a former social studies teacher in New Orleans who obtained a law degree from Southern University

last year. The three are facing an uphill battle in an open primary that includes state Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge; state Sen. Blake Miguez, R-Erath; and Larry Davis III, an elected member of the Livingston Parish Republican Parish Executive Committee. The election will be an open primary on Nov. 3 in which the top two ﬁnishers, regardless of party,

will advance to a runoff in December. The runoff is likely to pit the top Republican and Democrat vote-getters in the primary. The six House elections were supposed to take place in May and June, but Gov. Jeff Landry canceled them after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that invalidated the existing congres-

ä See 6TH DISTRICT, page 5A

National Guard to withdraw from N.O. City officials confirm soldiers will roll out soon

BY MISSY WILKINSON, RICH COLLINS and WILLIE SWETT Staff writers

STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK

Students board their bus in October 2022 at Lafayette High School in Lafayette. The start of the 2026-27 school year saw Lafayette Parish putting the district’s new tracking application to the test as officials work through crowding and delays.

It’s ‘like a big puzzle’

Officials, parents deal with crowding, routing issues as buses roll in Lafayette BY JOANNA BROWN

dates, buses are at quarter capacity the first week, and half capacity the second week. Around the third week issues come More than 20,000 Lafayette Parish stu- out and we’re able to quickly spot them,” dents are riding school buses this year, Cloteaux said. During the first and second weeks of putting the district’s transportation system to the test as officials work through early school, parents have reported crowding issues with crowding, delays and a new on some routes, delayed arrivals and techtracking app. nical issues with using My Ride K-12 — a Lafayette Parish schools welcomed new app used by LPSS this year that allows 28,000 students for the 2026-27 school year parents and students to view real-time bus last week, with 242 buses taking to the road tracking and see when individual students across the district. get on and off the bus. The number of bus riders fluctuates Principals have until Aug. 28 to distribute throughout the year, but especially so at special ID tags for students to scan when the beginning, when buses start to reach they enter and exit their bus, which feeds typical use around the third week of the the data to My Ride. year, according to transportation operaRandi Edwards, whose son is a freshman at Lafayette High School this year, said tions manager Ross Cloteaux. “Parents don’t put kids on the bus at that they missed the bus on his first day the start of school — with staggered start — it arrived and left his stop 10 minutes

Staff writer

earlier than the app reported. “We got there a lot earlier the next day,” she said. “There’s always problems at the start, but I think the app will be a great beneﬁt once it’s all worked out.” LPSS communications director Tracy Wirtz said it’s important for parents to go to their child’s school and tag them as a bus rider if they are using the system. When students get on buses other than the one assigned — a problem that can arise when students use alternate routes to travel to satellite sites for magnet academies, or simply want to jump on a bus that might get to their stop faster — it causes unpredictable overcrowding, she said. “We’re not allowed to deny anyone access to transport, but if students are jumping on pell-mell it causes problems,” said Wirtz.

ä See BUSES, page 5A

The Louisiana National Guard will leave New Orleans starting next week, ending a nearly eight-month deployment that featured federally funded soldiers on patrol in downtown areas as part of an effort by state and city leaders to prevent crime. City Hall spokesperson Jonah Gilmore conﬁrmed Friday that the troops’ ofﬁcial orders end Monday and that they would begin rolling out Aug. 31. Louisiana National Guard director of public affairs Lt. Col. Noel Collins said more information would be available next week. “We are incredibly grateful to the men and women of the Louisiana National Guard,” Mayor Helena Moreno said in a Friday statement. “While this deployment is ending, our partnership is not. The guard has always been an integral part of major events like Mardi Gras, working alongside our public safety agencies to keep our city safe.” The National Guard arrived on a federally funded deployment in late December after President Donald Trump approved a request from Gov. Jeff Landry to send hundreds of troops to the city to tamp down crime and assist with security for major events, including New Year’s Eve, the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras. Before that, Landry in September 2025 requested federal support to activate up to 1,000 Louisiana National Guard troops statewide. Though they were initially scheduled to remain through February, the operation was later extended through August. In a statement on Friday afternoon, Landry credited his administration

ä See GUARD, page 5A

La. federal judge holds ICE official in contempt in rare rebuke

mounting tensions between the gally and earned asylum but was Ruling stems from repeated attempts to deport Ethiopian man judiciary and President Donald convicted of child sexual abuse.

BY JAMES FINN

orders as it repeatedly sought the man’s deportation after his release Staff writer from immigration detention at the A Louisiana-based federal judge Louisiana State Penitentiary at Anheld a senior U.S. Immigration gola. and Customs Enforcement official Federal officials were ordered to in contempt Wednesday, finding pay Ibrahim Mohammed, 43, attorthe agency violated an Ethiopian neys’ fees stemming from his most detainee’s rights and defied court recent arrest by ICE on July 28, as

WEATHER HIGH 99 LOW 78 PAGE 6A

well $180 for “compensatory damages,” according to court records. The order from U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles, which applies to an ICE ﬁeld ofﬁce director in Mohammed’s home state of Maryland, marks a rare case of a judge holding the federal government in contempt — even amid

Trump’s administration’s immigration crackdown. DeGravelles has accused federal ofﬁcials of violating due process laws while trying to deport Mohammed, whom ICE wants to send to a “third country” because he has shown he could be tortured in his native Ethiopia. Mohammed entered the U.S. le-

Business ......................3B Deaths .........................2B Nation-World ................2A Classified .....................2B Living............................5C Opinion ........................4B Comics-Puzzles .....7C-9C Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C

He was released under GPS monitoring from the “Camp 57” immigration lockup at Angola on a February order from deGravelles. The judge found ICE was letting him languish there without plans to deport him. Mohammed was rearrested two

ä See CONTEMPT, page 5A

102ND yEAR, NO. 53

2A ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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FROM WIRE REPORTS

Man with sword attacks school in Sweden

GENEVA — An 18-year-old man with a sword attacked a school Friday in central Sweden, leaving one person dead and at least two others seriously injured, a police chief said. Police Chief Tommy Alriksson told a news conference that the suspect had been arrested following the attack at the school in the central town of Fagersta, northwest of the capital, Stockholm. Police confirmed that shots were fired during the arrest. It was not clear whether the suspect had been injured, but he was being held in custody — not treated in a hospital. The attack took place at the Brinell School in Fagersta while classes were in session, with about 400 to 500 students, officials said. There was no immediate word on the attacker’s possible motive. “We have no reason at this time to believe that there are multiple perpetrators,” Alriksson said, adding that an investigation was continuing. Sweden’s national police said investigators have already carried out two house searches in connection with the suspect. Many witnesses were expected to be interviewed as part of the investigation. “That’s why we can’t give out too much information, because we don’t want to influence witnesses,” Alriksson said.

Court slashes judgment against Alex Jones

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas court on Friday slashed a $50 million judgment that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre over his false claims that one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history was a hoax. The Infowars founder can only be forced to pay about $6 million, the Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled in a unanimous opinion, citing state laws that limit lawsuit damages. The ruling does not affect a separate $1.25 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, where he was also found liable for defaming and causing emotional distress to relatives of the 20 ﬁrst-graders and six educators killed in the Newtown shooting. The punishing financial verdicts against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction and led to him leaving his Infowars platform. For decades, he used the platform to push conspiracy theories about the United Nations, the federal government, gun control and more. Sandy Hook families have yet to collect any money from Jones, who has waged lengthy appeals in state and bankruptcy courts as his company faces liquidation. He remains on air after moving onto new websites and streaming platforms. Friday’s ruling did not throw out the trial court’s finding of defamation against Jones. Still, he called it “a gigantic victory for the First Amendment,” and said he will continue to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court to get the remaining damages thrown out.

U.S. to pay $850M of $5B it owes to U.N.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has notiﬁed Congress of its plans to pay $850 million of the several billion it owes to the United Nations, the largest payment the Trump administration would make to the world body since it demanded sweeping reforms in exchange for continued support as its largest donor. The State Department laid out its plans to transfer $725 million as part of its dues to the regular U.N. budget and $125 million toward U.N. peacekeeping operations in Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to notiﬁcations sent to lawmakers this month and obtained by The Associated Press. The U.S. is behind on about $5 billion in dues related to its U.N. membership, with more than $2 billion owed toward the regular budget and $3 billion for peacekeeping operations, the United Nations says.

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Ballroom building allowed to continue Roberts signs temporary order as high court weighs case

BY LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday allowed the White House to continue construction on President Donald Trump’s $400 million ballroom project for now, as the Supreme Court considers the Trump administration’s emergency request to intervene in lawsuits over the project. The temporary order came hours before lowercourt rulings would have forced a halt to aboveground construction of the project because Trump didn’t get congressional approval. It will remain in place until the Supreme Court issues a more durable decision, though the one-page document does not detail Roberts’ reasoning or indicate when another ruling will be handed down. Roberts signed the order because he oversees emergency appeals of cases ﬁled in the capital. The case is coming before the nation’s highest court as Trump, a Republican, exercises unparalleled assertions of presidential power and increasingly seeks to mold the capital in

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By TIERNEy L. CROSS

Construction continues on Aug. 5 on a helipad and the White House Ballroom on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. his own image. The administration has argued that the president has total authority to renovate the White House and other federal buildings as he sees ﬁt and that the ballroom project must be completed due to national security concerns. When Trump first announced the plans for a new ballroom, he did not emphasize national security. He said the project would be funded by private donations, including from himself. The National Trust for Historic Preservation argues that Trump has no

unilateral authority to undertake the work, which has included demolishing the East Wing. Lawyers for the preservation group accused the White House of trying to “outrun the courts” by accelerating construction. A spokesperson for the trust said Friday that the order from Roberts is not a ﬁnal decision and the group is awaiting further action. The full Supreme Court will likely weigh in next on whether construction can continue for the potentially long duration of the lawsuit. Trump said his adminis-

tration is grateful for Friday’s decision, writing in a social media post that the project is “under budget and ahead of schedule.” The Trump administration says 65% of the work has already been completed on the planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom, where the East Wing stood before the president ordered its demolition. Crews are working 20 hours a day, seven days a week, on the project, where about $200 million in private donations has been spent or committed, according to court documents ﬁled by the Justice

Department. The work has proceeded against the backdrop of the litigation winding through the courts. In April, a district court judge ordered a stop to the aboveground construction of the planned ballroom. That ruling was briefly suspended, then upheld by an appeals court panel. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington allowed work to continue only belowground on bunkers and military installations. Leon was nominated by President George W. Bush, a Republican. Leon’s decision was upheld by an appeals court panel, as two judges appointed by Democratic presidents found the project was for Congress to decide and “not a matter for Executive self-help.” A third judge, appointed by Trump, found that the preservationist group challenging the project had no legal standing to sue. Solicitor General D. John Sauer picked up on that argument, calling the decision halting the work “extraordinary and unlawful.” He said the completion of the project was “vitally required by national security.” The Trump administration has scored a series of victories on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket, though the justices have ruled against some of the president’s signature policies after fuller review.

Officials: Russian drones kill 15 at Ukraine mall By The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones struck a shopping center in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine on Friday, killing at least 15 people and wounding scores more, authorities said. The shopping mall strikes, plus two other separate Russian attacks in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions, left a total of 21 people dead across Ukraine on Friday, authorities said. Kryvyi Rih is the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described the attack as a double-tap strike, in which an initial wave of drones hit the area, followed by a second wave as rescue workers responded. “Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. In a video address several hours later, he said Ukraine would respond to the shopping mall attack. Oleksandr Hanzha, who heads the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said Friday evening that the attack on the mall killed at least 15 people and injured 130, including 23 children. Kryvyi Rih has been hit multiple times during the

chronic shortage of U.S.- military airfield in Russia’s made Patriot air defense in- Volgograd region, he said. The Russian online news terceptors, the sole weapon in its arsenal able to shoot outlet Astra reported that the Ukrainian drone had set down the missiles. A Ukrainian drone attack ablaze a Lukoil-operated killed one person and wound- oil refinery in Perm. Local ed four others when a car officials said damage was was struck Friday in Russia’s recorded at an unidentified Belgorod region near the vil- “industrial facility.” Russia’s Defense Ministry lage of Razumnoye, local officials said, adding that two of said its air defenses overthe injured were in serious night intercepted 325 Ukraicondition. nian drones over 15 Russian Earlier, Zelenskyy said a regions, as well as Crimea. PHOTO PROVIDED By UKRAINIAN EMERGENCy SERVICE separate Ukrainian drone The peninsula was illegally attack hit an oil refinery in annexed by Moscow in 2014. Firefighters battle a blaze at a shopping mall on Friday following a Russian drone attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Perm, about 995 miles from Later Friday, it said its his country’s border. Also defenses shot down another struck was the Marinovka 211 drones. more than 4-year-old war, just 24 hours after Ruswith one of the deadliest sia pounded the capital of GET IN TOUCH occurring in April 2025, Kyiv with scores of miswhen 20 people, including siles and drones in a nightCustomer Service: HELP@THEADVOCATE.COM or 337-234-0800 nine children, were killed. time aerial attack that News Tips / Stories: NEWSTIPS@THEADVOCATE.COM Earlier on Friday, a killed 16 people. Obituaries: 225-388-0289 • Mon-Fri 9-5; Sat 10-5; Closed Sun Russian drone attack on Large-scale Russian Advertising Sales: 337-234-0174 • Mon-Fri 8-5 Ukraine’s Kharkiv region strikes have become a regClassified Advertising: 225-383-0111 • Mon-Fri 8-5 killed two women, aged 73 ular occurrence this sumSubscribe: theadvocate.com/subscribe and 66, and wounded two mer. Just over two weeks E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition others, said regional head ago, a Russian attack on Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com Oleh Syniehubov. Kyiv and its surrounding Another Russian attack region killed 17 people, The Acadiana Advocate (USPS # 25-866) is published daily by Capital City Press, LLC at 203 W. Third St., Lafayette, LA 70501. Periodicals postage paid at Lafayette, LA ISSN 2643-7252 and additional mailing offices. on Friday evening killed and nine were killed in POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Acadiana Advocate, Circulation Accounting, P.O. Box 588, Baton four people, including the city two days before Rouge, LA 70821. Newspaper carriers are independent contractors and not employees of Capital City Press. three children, in Ukraine’s that. The United Nations All home delivery subscription sales are non-refundable. Should you discontinue your southern Mykolaiv region, said last week that Kyiv subscription during term, the subscription will end with the expiration date on your emergency services said. was one of the hardest hit subscription, and there will not be a refund of a prorated amount. Subscribers who Ukraine shot down or cities in July, with at least purchased their subscription before Feb. 1, 2023 and wish to cancel can request suppressed 107 out of 135 54 civilians killed and 202 a refund of a remaining balance at https://www.nola.com/app/forms/refund-redrones launched by Russia injured. quest-form/. Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of overnight, according to a Moscow’s forces have Capital City Press, LLC or its designee. All subscriptions purchased that include a statement from Ukraine’s recently intensified their special edition will have the special edition value deducted prior to any refund providair force on Telegram. ballistic missile attacks on ed to subscriber upon cancellation of service. Standard subscription rates may be effective upon renewal. All standard subscriptions include digital access and e-Edition, Friday’s attacks came Kyiv, exploiting Ukraine’s

Israeli settlers kill Palestinian teen in clash in West Bank By The Associated Press A 17-year-old Palestinian was killed and another man wounded by Israeli settler gunﬁre after rocks were thrown Friday in Sa’ir, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The ministry identiﬁed the teenager as Karim Sanad Raja Shalaldeh. The teenager’s father told The Associated Press at the hospital that Israeli settlers had killed his son. The Israeli military said soldiers were dispatched

to Sa’ir after Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli civilians who were in the area without prior authorization. Some Israelis were injured and a security official opened fire. Separately, the Palestinian General Authority for Civil Affairs informed the Health Ministry that 58-year-old Fathi Khazem was fatally shot by Israeli forces early Friday in Jenin. An Israeli army official speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military rules said Kha-

zem attempted to stab an Israeli soldier during an overnight operation. No Israeli soldiers were injured. The Israeli ofﬁcial said Khazem was the father of Raed Khazem, who shot and killed three people in Tel Aviv in April 2022. Violence has escalated in the West Bank where at least 87 Palestinians have been killed in almost 1,500 attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year, according to Palestinian ofﬁcials. Three Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in 2026.

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Enrollment in SNAP aid drops faster than expected BY GEOFF MULVIHILL and MIKELLA SCHUETTLER Associated Press

PHOENIX — Enrollment in the biggest federally funded food aid program in the U.S. dropped by more than 13% in a 12-month span — a decline far steeper than the government estimated as work requirements and other provisions of President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill” take hold. Those losing coverage in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, include people who don’t meet the tightening requirements to participate, and, advocates say, some who qualify for the help but are rejected because they miss deadlines or don’t have the needed documentation handy. It’s too early to tell exactly how many fall into each group. It’s also unclear how many have lost coverage because some state agencies that run the programs are overwhelmed trying to keep up with changes. That was the case in Arizona, which saw the nation’s largest enrollment drop. Tia Fields, who analyzes social safety net policies at the advocacy group Invest in Louisiana, said the main reason she’s seeing people lose coverage is not failure to meet work requirements. “A lot of it is administrative paperwork,” she said. Proponents of welfare reform hope the roll reductions are driven by people earning too much to keep qualifying — a sign that policy changes are behaving as intended for a program they assert is riddled with fraud. “If there are people that

are leaving the welfare rolls because they’re working and they’re moving forward,” said Rachel Sheffield, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, which pushed for stricter requirements for SNAP, “that would be a step forward.” Arizona has had the steepest decline so far, with a 12-month drop of more than 50%, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs SNAP. The decline was more than 20% in Georgia, Louisiana and Nevada — and in Florida, where the Department of Children and Families said in a statement that the decreasing number “is reflective of the state’s strong focus on advancing opportunities for Floridians and their families to achieve economic self-sufficiency.” SNAP helps more than 1 in 10 people in the U.S. buy food. Most of the beneficiaries have incomes below the poverty line. The monthly benefit, which is delivered on debit cards that can be used only for groceries, is $344 per household on average. Newly released federal data found SNAP enrollment fell from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May, a drop of more than 13% in a year. The May data are preliminary and could be revised. Since 2010, the average number of monthly beneficiaries has been below 40 million for only two years — 2019 and 2020. The rolls started dropping after a recent peak of 43.3 million in October 2024. They’ve fallen much faster since implementation began last year for Trump’s “one big beautiful bill,” which cut taxes and

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By NAM y. HUH

Enrollment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the U.S. dropped by more than 13% in a 12-month span — a decline far steeper than the government estimated as work requirements and other provisions of President Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ take hold. overhauled social safety net programs. The expanded SNAP work requirement has now kicked in for most of the country, but it won’t begin in some places until next year. Many adults 54 and younger without minor children have long been required to work to get SNAP benefits. The new law requires most people who previously had been exempt from requirements to either work, volunteer or go to school to get benefits. It now includes those ages 55 to 64, and those with children ages 14 to 17. Those 65 and older or with children younger than 14 remain exempt, as do those with health limitations. Some other groups that had been exempted from the requirement — including homeless people — no longer are. In February, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the new requirements

and other factors would push SNAP enrollment down over the next decade, falling below 34 million by 2036. But the nonpartisan office did not expect the drop to be as fast as it’s been. By May, the number of people receiving the benefits was about as low as it was forecast to go in 2030. Experts expect another impact when states are required to pay part of the cost of benefits if their rate of payment errors — when recipients receive more or less than they should — is above 6%. Advocates for recipients say states may deny benefits to some people entirely rather than risk errors. The cost-sharing is scheduled to start in October 2027, though Congress has considered a delay. In Arizona, enrollment plummeted by 55% from April 2025 to April 2026 — the biggest drop in the country, with more than 400,000 fewer

people getting benefits now. The state said the drop was driven largely by the state’s own struggles putting new federal requirements in place. “Implementing the federally mandated changes triggered unprecedented call volumes and administrative hurdles, including additional verification requirements, creating real barriers for applicants,” said Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Bezio said that hiring more staff members and introducing ways for people to submit their documents online have stemmed the enrollment drop in recent months as the state has reduced the chance for people who qualify to lose benefits. In Phoenix, LaDiamond Lopez lost her benefits in January, with officials telling her she needed more docu-

mentation about her income and household — something that’s needed for officials to determine whether enrollees meet work requirements. She’s been skipping meals and some bill payments to ensure her children have enough to eat. In her quest to be reinstated, she had previous employers sign forms confirming she no longer worked for them and added her children — ages 3 and 9 — to her apartment lease. She expected payments to resume in August, but she doesn’t know if they’ll last. “I was approved at the end of May, but now they’re asking me for more documents,” she said. “It’s a panic.” The Heritage Foundation’s Sheffield says that some of the drop in SNAP use is likely a natural decline after peaks in the coronavirus pandemic era. Paco Velez, the president and CEO of Feeding South Florida, said the 22% oneyear enrollment drop in Florida is driven partly by immigrants who are in the U.S. legally but fear being targeted by Trump’s immigration crackdown if they’re seeking government benefits. Invest in Louisiana’s Fields said SNAP enrollment declines have broader consequences. For instance, children in households that receive the benefit can be automatically enrolled in free school lunch programs or in the SNAP for Women, Infants and Children program for low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents if they meet the other criteria. “What happens when that child can’t pay for lunch?” she asked.

Mother of Hind Rajab seeks independent probe into killing Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in 2024

“I couldn’t physically reach interview at the Red Cres- was my voice. My voice was Hind, embrace her or help cent headquarters in Ramal- with her, and it might have her feel safe,” she said in an lah, West Bank. “All I had comforted her.”

BY SAM METZ

FIND OUT WHAT YOUR HOME

Associated Press JERUSALEM — The mother of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed after Israeli forces fired on her family’s car in Gaza City wants an independent inquiry into her death, saying an Israeli military investigation announced this week is insufficient. Wesam Hamada said her daughter Hind Rajab’s final pleas still haunt her. “All I remember is her voice pleading, ‘Mama, I’m scared. Mama, I’m hungry. Mama, I’m hurt,’ ” she said. “Her voice keeps repeating in my ears.” The widely publicized recording of Hind’s January 2024 phone call with her mother and emergency dispatchers made her one of the Israel-Hamas war’s most prominent casualties. Israel’s military this week admitted to firing at the family’s car as it fled an Israeli invasion and firing toward an ambulance dispatched to help them. It said it would launch a criminal investigation into its troops’ conduct. All six people in the car and two paramedics were killed. But both Rajab’s family and emergency responders from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society doubt the Israeli investigation can deliver justice. “Why did the investigation

FINF OUT WHAT

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By GIANNIS PAPANIKOS

Wesam Hamada, the mother of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza City in January 2024 after the car she was in with relatives came under Israeli fire, looks out a window on Friday at an office building. and the acknowledgment of the shooting at Hind’s car and at the paramedics come only after more than two years?” Hamada said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It’s an attempt to distract from what’s happening in Gaza and improve the (Israeli) army’s image to the world. That’s it.” The story of their deaths drew international outcry after the Palestinian Red Crescent Society released recordings of Hind and her 15-year-old cousin Layan Hamada calling for help. It was further amplified by “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a film that excerpted the recordings and was nominated for an Oscar. On the recordings, as audible gunfire erupts around them, Hamada asks for help and tells Red Crescent dispatchers that her family had been killed. Seconds later, more gunshots are heard, and Layan’s screaming stops. Ambulance dispatchers

called back and found Hind on the other end of the line. She told them Layan was dead and Israeli tanks were advancing. The Red Crescent sent an ambulance and stayed in contact with Hind until the call dropped. Hind and five relatives were found dead in the family car 12 days later. The two medics sent to rescue her were also found dead nearby, their ambulance blackened and destroyed. Israel initially said its troops were not in the area. A U.N. commission of inquiry and an investigation by the research group Forensic Architecture found evidence placing Israeli forces near the car and attributed the attack to them. Rana Al Faqih, a dispatcher who was in contact with Hind for more than three hours, said the day remains seared in her memory. She tried to calm Hind and eventually patched her mother onto the call.

Court asked to block Kennedy Center from returning Trump’s name to building BY STEVEN SLOAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Rep. Joyce Beatty made an emergency request on Thursday that a federal court block the Kennedy Center from returning President Donald Trump’s name to the building. The Trump-aligned board at the Kennedy Center voted earlier this month to inscribe the president’s name on the venue’s facade so it would read “The John

F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump.” If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, another inscription would be added reading “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund.” The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would also be renamed to recognize Trump. The Kennedy Center has said it wouldn’t attempt to

engrave Trump’s name on the building before Sept. 8 to allow for legal arguments to unfold. Beatty, an Ohio Democrat and ex ofﬁcio member of the Kennedy Center, has led the effort to prevent Trump from memorializing himself there. In asking for the court’s intervention, her lawyers, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, wrote that the board’s actions amounted to “clear violations” of an earlier court order.

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4A ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Lindsay Clancy’s defense rests at her murder trial BY LEAH WILLINGHAM and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

BOSTON — The defense rested its case Friday in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after eliciting several days of testimony about her mental state before and after she strangled her three young children. Prosecutors then began calling rebuttal witnesses in the trial, which is likely entering its ﬁnal days. Closing arguments are expected next week. Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of her children Callan, Dawson and Cora Clancy, who ranged from 8 months to 5 years old. They were found in the basement of the family’s home in coastal Duxbury, Massachusetts. Clancy jumped from a second-story window after strangling the children and remains paralyzed from the waist down. Prosecutors argue that Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse, planned the killings. Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, hasn’t disputed that she killed the children but says she should not be held criminally responsible

because she had postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth. He sought to bolster that defense by having the jury hear from more of Clancy’s family members, who detailed her worsening mental health and attempts to fix it through psychiatric treatment and medications before the January 2023 killings. The jury also heard from a psychologist and a hospital chaplain who met with Clancy after the killings. For his final witness on Friday, Reddington called Dr. Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist and expert in filicide, or the killing of a child by a parent. Resnick testified that Clancy was “clearly psychotic” on the day she killed her children and was not in control of her actions. “It was almost like she was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings,” said Resnick, who testified for the defense in the 2006 trial of Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her five children in 2001. Resnick said he spent hours interviewing Clancy

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK CHAVOUS

Defendant Lindsay Clancy watches as her attorney Kevin Reddington prepares to interview a witness Friday during proceedings in her murder trial in Plymouth, Mass. four months after the killings and believed she tended to minimize rather than exaggerate her symptoms. He said she suffered from severe depression, showed evidence consistent with bipolar disorder and reported hearing a voice commanding her to kill her children.

Resnick described several categories of ﬁlicide, including killings involving abuse. Others involve psychosis or what he calls “altruistic” ﬁlicide — a killing committed “out of love rather than hostility.” He said he found Clancy’s case involved both of the latter categories, but

he didn’t find evidence of abuse. Resnick said Clancy had a delusional belief that if social services took the children or if she killed herself, her children would suffer without her, and believed that they would be better off dying with her and going to

heaven. “She believed that she was doing what was right for her children,” he said. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Jennifer Sprague, Resnick acknowledged that Clancy did not disclose thoughts of harming her children to medical providers who asked, but said that was “very common because people fear their children will be taken away.” “So it’s better to kill them than have them taken away?” Sprague asked. The judge struck the question. Prosecutors argue that Clancy contrived to get her husband out of the house the day of the killings. They have attempted to show that while she was getting treatment for anxiety, insomnia and depression, she wasn’t suffering from psychosis or bipolar disorder. After the defense rested, prosecutors called forensic psychiatrist Dr. Avram Mack as a rebuttal witness. Mack agreed that Clancy suffered from a major depressive episode but said he found no evidence of mania or hypomania to support a bipolar diagnosis — or of psychosis — leading up to the killings.

Plane crashed on second attempt to land in fog in Alaska Officials say all 8 aboard killed BY BECKY BOHRER and JOSH FUNK Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — A small plane crashed on its second attempt to land in heavy fog at a remote military airport in Alaska, killing all eight people aboard, federal investigators said Friday. The National Transportation Safety Board said the pilots could not see the runway and had to rely entirely on instruments as they tried to land Thursday at the Cape Newenham Long Range Radar Site Airport about 450 miles west of Anchorage.

The two pilots and six passengers who died in the crash around midday Thursday were not immediately identified. Two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees were among those killed. The radar site was built in the 1950s as part of a network designed to provide early warning of a missile attack by the Soviet Union. Today, it monitors the skies off the coast in the direction of Russia, North Korea and China. The site has a gravel airstrip built on the slope of a mountain. The Federal Aviation Administration recommends that pilots use GPS and other instruments when they land there. Those on board were “ded-

icated professionals carrying out a vital mission in a demanding environment,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Davis, commander of Alaskan Command, the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Eleventh Air Force, said in a statement. “This is a devastating loss for our military family and the communities we serve,” Davis said. Weather conditions were changing Thursday as heavy fog rolled through the area. An automated observation system not far from the airport reported a low cloud ceiling, fog and visibility of about 10 miles in the minutes before the crash, but the next update about

Prince Harry, 6 others must pay $13M over failed invasion of privacy case BY PAN PYLAS

Associated Press LONDON — Prince Harry and six others, including Elton John, have been ordered to pay an initial $13 million to the publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper following their failed invasion of privacy case — and could face an additional $34 million in legal costs. In a judgment Friday, Justice Matthew Nicklin said in a written statement that the payment to Associated Newspapers Ltd. will have to be made by Aug. 28. The payment is at the upper end

of expectations and marks a vindication for the journalists at the Daily Mail and a defeat for the losing claimants and their lawyers. The claimants lost a High Court case in London last month during which they had alleged malpractice, such as the illegal hacking of phones, on the part of Associated Newspapers. The other high-profile figures behind the case were Doreen Lawrence, the anti-racism activist whose son Stephen was stabbed to death in 1993 as he waited for a bus; Elton John’s ﬁlm producer hus-

band David Furnish; actors Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley; and politician Simon Hughes. Lawrence’s costs are expected to be covered by the others. In excoriating comments accompanying his award, Nicklin said “several features” were important in his decision, including the “speculative” nature of the claims and the failure of the claimants to “voluntarily” withdraw serious allegations that could no longer be backed up. “The conduct was unreasonable to a high degree,” he said.

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15 minutes after the crash showed visibility reduced dramatically to less than one-quarter mile, according to Carrie Haisley, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s Alaska sector operations center. The airport is a private military site managed by the Paciﬁc Air Forces Regional Support Center. It’s part of a network of remote radar sites that tracks aircraft operating in Alaska’s airspace and along its borders,

the statement from Alaskan Command said. The outpost at Cape Newenham closed in 1983 after a new radar was installed, and now the site is visited only occasionally by civilian contractors who perform maintenance on the system. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the two employees who died were part of a “project delivery team en route to a project site in support of the U.S. Air Force.” The statement did not provide additional de-

tails about the work. National Transportation Safety Board investigators were traveling to the scene Friday. Investigators will want to know whether the pilots declared an emergency or whether the plane simply went missing before the crash, as well as the weather conditions at the time, said Mike O’Donnell, who oversaw airport safety programs and accident investigations for much of his 17 years at FAA.

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The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● 5A

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6TH DISTRICT Continued from page 1A

sional map. Freed from having to consider race in their deliberations, Landry and legislators then redistricted the boundaries in a way that cost Fields his Black-majority district. Nearly half of the newly designed 6th District voters live in East Baton Rouge Parish, while nearly 20% live in Livingston Parish, 15% are in Ascension Parish, and the rest live in Assumption, Iberville, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. John, St. Martin and West Baton Rouge parishes. The 6th District now has more Republicans (41%) than Democrats (30%), and Donald Trump carried it with 65% of the vote in the 2024 presidential election, according to John Couvillon, a Baton Rouge-based political analyst. An early survey by New Orleans pollster Greg Rigamer, taken on Aug. 1213, showed that nearly half the voters hadn’t yet chosen a candidate.

‘The race is open’ Banks led with 18.8%, followed by Edmonds with 15.6%, Miguez 8.6%, Forbes 8.4%, Davis 6% and others 1%. A whopping 40.4% of voters were undecided. “The race is open,” said Rigamer. He did not include Garcia in the poll of 500 registered voters, which had a margin of error of 4.4%. Super lob-

byist Alton Ashy paid for the survey along with another individual whom Rigamer would not identify. The latest campaign finance reports cover donations through July 17, which was three weeks before candidates had to formally qualify for the race. Forbes and Banks hadn’t raised anything, while Garcia had collected $65,000 and had $36,000 on hand. Miguez had easily raised the most money, $6 million, with a personal loan of $3 million accounting for half of that money. He had $2 million in hand. Edmonds had raised $530,000 (including a $155,000 personal loan) and had $320,000 on hand. Davis had raised $21,000 and had $1,000 on hand.

What the candidates say

Banks, 64, said she believes she can win the race because she has a deep set of contacts through the district. She said the main issues are making housing and healthcare more affordable. Forbes, 65, said he believes he can win because he has a long history of working with Republicans and Democrats, while in state government, to improve the lives of Louisiana citizens. “The 6th District and Louisiana need someone who will represent them, not the president and not a party,” he said. Garcia, 40, said she spent 10 years working as a social studies teacher in New Orleans before pivoting to ob- Email Tyler Bridges at tain a law degree from South- tbridges@theadvocate. com. ern University last year.

CONTEMPT

Gov. Jeff Landry, left, and former Attorney General Pam Bondi walk to the entrance of Camp 57 at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola on Sept. 3, 2025.

Continued from page 1A months later after ICE officials said they found two potential countries that had agreed to accept his deportation: Eswatini and Equatorial Guinea. He was released again after deGravelles found ICE failed to properly serve him papers saying where he would be deported, among other allegations raised by Mohammed’s attorneys. Immigration agents arrested him for a third time last month. Again, they failed to serve Mohammed with proper documents, according to an Aug. 6 hearing in which deGravelles demanded federal officials show why he should not hold them in contempt for appearing to violate his multiple orders. “The issue is not whether I can make a contempt finding, but whether I should,” he said then. Mohammed’s legal team lauded Wednesday’s contempt ruling as much-needed accountability. “Today’s decision makes it clear that ICE, like all law enforcement agencies, must follow the law,” said Gracie Willis, a National Immigration Project attorney representing Mohammed, in a statement. “Though Mr. Mohammed will never get back the time he lost to repeated, unlawful detentions, the compensation the court ordered today is important recognition of the very real harm he suffered.” A DHS spokesperson in an emailed statement highlighted Mohammed’s prior conviction, saying he had overstayed a visa after arriving in the country.

BUSES

Continued from page 1A “If a bus is overcrowded, we might not have known all the students that would be on that bus. It’s difﬁcult to fix a problem we don’t know exists, so tagging them correctly is the best way we can get ahead of these problems.” The closing of Comeaux High School at the end of last school year put some additional stress on routing, with the majority of Comeaux students now being bused further away to Lafayette High School. “The Lafayette High zone is now pushed out almost to Youngsville Highway, and you know what that can look

“We need to get back to the system of checks and balances and reafﬁrming rule of law,” Garcia said, adding, “Congress needs to rein in Trump on Iran.” Edmonds, 69, a Christian minister, is in his 11th year in the Legislature. He sponsored the legislation to create LA GATOR, which allows parents to use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private schools. “We need someone elected to this seat who knows this district, serves this district and lives in this district,” said Edmonds, making a pointed reference to Miguez, who owns a house in Baton Rouge but lives miles outside of the district. Davis, 29, said he is running “because we have elected the same individuals who have said they would carry out positive change to people’s lives, but that has not been done, not due to an unwillingness or capability but a lack of actual beliefs in what they are saying.” He said his biggest issue is working for the complete ban on abortion. Miguez did not return phone calls. Other candidates in the race include Monique Appeaning, a Republican from St. George; Michael Mebruer, a Republican from St. Francisville; Stephen Wagley, a Republican from Baton Rouge; and Rufus Craig, a Libertarian from Baton Rouge.

GUARD

Continued from page 1A for the troops’ presence in the city. He criticized Moreno for thanking “everyone for the National Guard’s presence in New Orleans — except the two people responsible for it: President (Trump) and me.” “I will continue doing everything within my authority to help keep New Orleans safe, but there are clear limits to the state’s responsibility,” Landry added. “Local leaders must step up and do their part.” At an NOPD meeting in the 8th District earlier this week, Capt. Sammy Palumbo said that the guard could return to assist with special events, including Mardi Gras. “Hopefully, this isn’t the last time,” he said.

Help with crime The guard’s presence was welcomed by the city’s leadership, especially by New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, who previously called the partnership “the gold standard” for security. Although soldiers are not police ofﬁcers and do not have arrest powers, the NOPD and some other civic leaders have said that their presence deters crime. Throughout their deployment, guard officials have touted evening patrols in the French Quarter and enhanced security in the historic neighborhood. Recently, NOPD credited their presence with an incident-free Red Dress Run on Aug. 8. The arrival also came amid an ongoing slide in violent crime that began in mid-2023 and has continued to decline to historic levels not seen since the 1960s. As of Aug. 12, New Orleans had seen 52 homicides compared with more than 170 at the same time in 2022, a year of record bloodshed. Rafael Goyeneche of the Metropolitan Crime Commission — a law enforcement watchdog group — said the guard’s departure doesn’t come as a surprise,

STAFF FILE PHOTO By ENAN CHEDIAK

Members of the National Guard wait at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon streets in New Orleans on Jan. 23. and he expects troops may return later this year. “They’ve been deployed here for decades, especially after hurricanes and for special events,” he said. “They usually come every fall around Thanksgiving and stay through New Year’s.” Goyeneche said the guard, when activated, serves as a visual deterrent, freeing up NOPD ofﬁcers and the State Police’s Troop Nola to respond to 911 calls or make arrests. Christian Pendleton, the general manager of Brennan’s restaurant and a commissioner of the French Quarter Management District, agreed, saying he felt the troops helped to curb crime just by being visible throughout the Quarter. “For the very small percentage of people who want to do nefarious activities, it was somebody there watching, and it just gave them pause,” he said during a phone interview Friday.

‘Not upset that it’s going’ The deployment has not come without pushback, however. Critics of the National Guard’s New Orleans operation, including some downtown residents and workers, said the presence of armed guards didn’t make them feel any safer. Diane Hintz, 61, a muledrawn carriage operator who has lived in the French Quarter near St. Louis Cathedral for 25 years, said that with crime at such a low in New Orleans, she felt like the National Guard wasn’t needed in New Orleans and would prefer to

see them somewhere else. “They are very nice people, they’re doing their job, but the crime has been at the lowest it’s ever been in 20 years,” she said in an interview. She said she felt the guard sometimes caused unnecessary concern among tourists. “I had a lot of people ask, ‘Why are they here? Do we need to be worried?’ ” Trey Monaghan, operator of Molly’s at the Market on Decatur Street, said he doesn’t think the guard’s presence has “moved the needle” on crime one way or the other. “I’m a huge supporter of the National Guard in general and would love to see them out west working on forest ﬁres instead, but crime has been trending down in New Orleans,” Monaghan said. “If crime ticks up again, then bring them back.” Nathan Chapman, president of the Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents and Associates, said that for the neighbors he’s talked to, there was a feeling among some that the guard’s presence was a little “over the top.” “There were some people that were turned off — here’s the military that were walking around with guns in the French Quarter — but others said they gave them some extra sense of security,” he said. “We appreciate these young people that did the duty that was asked of them,” Chapman added. “But we’re not upset that it’s going.”

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK “Under President Trump and DHS Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences,” the statement said. The recipient of deGravelles’ contempt order is Vernon Liggins, an ICE field office director in Maryland who ordered Mohammed’s arrest in both cases. DeGravelles’ order found that Liggins violated two of his judicial orders — first in February when deGravelles ordered Mohammed released from Angola, and then in April when the judge ordered ICE to honor his due process rights in its attempts to deport Mohammed. Liggins testified this month that Mohammed may have not been properly served because of a high volume of arrests ICE has been making. “We try to get all detainees served as quickly as possible, but we’re arresting a lot of people nowadays,” Liggins said in the Aug. 6 hearing. Judges have issued contempt rulings against federal officials involved in im-

migration enforcement in select cases amid the administration’s crackdown. A federal judge in California this month held the government in contempt for slow-rolling her order to provide digital copies of devices used by immigration agents during sweeps in the Los Angeles area. DeGravelles, who was appointed by Democratic former President Barack Obama, became a target of attacks from Republican Trump administration ofﬁcials over his handling of the case. DHS leaders blasted his initial February order to release Mohammed and other petitioners as a “lawless abomination.” Pushback to the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics has spanned judges appointed by presidents of both political parties. Last spring, a Trump-appointed federal judge in north Louisiana castigated the government for deporting a 2-year-old U.S. citizen to Honduras “with no meaningful process.”

like with Lafayette traffic. We are seeing this year an uptick in riders going to LHS and the Edgar Martin area,” said Cloteaux. “It’s a very complicated process that looks like a big puzzle. You try to mesh everything together so it fits appropriately, and don’t fix one problem and create another.” Cloteaux pointed out that creating a smooth transportation experience includes taking care of drivers, some of whom were getting home around 7 p.m. in previous years after completing long runs. The system always has a need for more qualified drivers, he said. “We want to show drivers we care enough to not overload their buses, and get them back home to their families at a decent time,”

he said. “We’ve seen a decrease in struggles to retain drivers, but it’s not just a local problem; it’s nationwide. We’re always in a place to actively recruit drivers and substitute drivers — if you know how hard it is to find a sub in general, it’s much harder to find one that is CDL certified.” Information related to My Ride K-12, transportation policies and regulations, and the bus stop change request form can be found online on the LPSS transportation page. The public can call the LPSS transportation line at (337) 521-RIDE (7433) to report any issues and expect a response within 24 to 48 hours.

Email James Finn at jﬁnn@theadvocate.com.

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

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6A ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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TODAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Hot; a stray afternoon t-storm

A t-storm around in the p.m.

Humid with variable clouds

Some rain and a thunderstorm

A couple of afternoon t-storms

HIGH

LOW

HIGH

99° 78°

LOW

101° 78°

LOW

96° 77°

Beaumont 99/75 Port Arthur 98/77

Baton Rouge 99/75

Lake Charles 100/78

New Orleans 97/79 Houma 97/77

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Hattiesburg 99/73

Alexandria 103/76

Lafayette 99/78

10s

20s

30s

40s

50s

HIGH

95° 78°

LOW

91° 76°

TEMPERATURE Jackson 101/73

Many 104/73

LOW

YESTERDAY

TODAY

READING 55 MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

MAIN POLLUTANT Particulates

Lafayette through 5 p.m. Friday

Longview 107/78

-0s

94° 78°

Monroe 103/75

Shreveport 105/75

-10s

LOW

There are two areas of disturbed weather in the Atlantic with some potential for development into tropical systems, neither of those is a threat to the U.S. We got some rain and storms yesterday, and we’ll see more of those storms again today. Extreme heat will be an issue for many of us. We are under either a major or an extreme heat risk. Take frequent breaks in shade and stay hydrated to avoid heat illnesses, as temperatures will be in the mid- to upper 90s with the heat index up to 112 or higher.

60s

70s

80s

90s 100s 110s

High/low Normal high/low Last year’s high/low Record high Record low

Sunrise today Sunset tonight Moonrise today Moonset today FULL

AUG 27

City

Austin Boston Dallas Fairbanks Honolulu Las Vegas Louisville Miami Nashville

Shown are areas of precipitation and high temperatures for the day.

PRECIPITATION

98°/80° 92°/75° 93°/75° 103° in 1925 61° in 1940

TODAY’S TIDES Lake Pontchartrain (Tchefuncte River) Shell Beach South Point, Marsh Island Cypremort Point Grand Isle (Barataria Pass) Mississippi River (Southwest Pass) Wine Island

24-hour total Month to date Normal month to date year to date Normal year to date

HIGH

4:02p 9:34a 4:33a 6:21a 5:52a 5:01a 7:00a

6:39 a.m. 7:42 p.m. 4:16 p.m. 1:20 a.m.

LAST

NEW

SEP 4

106 70 107 66 90 108 85 93 93

TODAY Lo

74 66 82 48 79 87 63 79 65

FIRST

SEP 10

s sh t c pc s t t pc

SEP 18

105 75 108 64 89 108 82 93 88

MODERATE

SUN. Lo

76 66 84 43 77 85 63 80 63

s sh s c sh s s t s

FT.

LOW

0.00” 1.18” 4.16” 41.97” 41.58”

FT.

HIGH

0.8 3:50a 0.0 1.6 10:33p 0.0 2.0 5:30p 0.0 2.0 9:38p 0.3 1.4 5:49p 0.1 1.7 4:03p 0.0 1.7 6:51p 0.1

---------------

FT.

---------------

SOURCE: LOUISIANA DEQ AND AIRNOW.GOV

LOW

---------------

FT.

---------------

The solunar period schedule allows planning days so you will be fishing in good territory or hunting in good cover during those times. Major periods begin at the times shown and last for 1.5 to 2 hours. The minor periods are shorter. MAJOR MINOR MAJOR MINOR

Today 7:39a Sunday 8:25a Monday 9:11a Tuesday 9:55a Wednesday 10:38a Thursday 11:21a Friday 12:05p

City

New Orleans Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Raleigh St. Louis San Diego Tampa

1:27a 8:05p 2:13a 8:51p 2:58a 9:35p 3:43a 10:19p 4:26a 11:01p 5:10a 11:44p 5:54a ----

TODAY

97 94 79 114 80 84 86 82 92

79 76 73 91 61 69 67 70 79

t t t c t t pc s t

GOOD

100 92 85 112 73 87 83 85 90

1:52p 2:38p 3:23p 4:07p 4:50p 5:32p 6:16p

SUN. Lo

79 75 68 89 56 63 66 70 78

MISSISSIPPI Memphis Vidalia-Natchez Red River Landing Baton Rouge Donaldsonville Reserve New Orleans OHIO Cairo COMITE Near Olive AMITE Near Darlington Denham Springs Port Vincent TICKFAW Montpelier Holden ATCHAFALAYA Simmesport Melville Krotz Springs Butte La Rose Bayou Sorrel Morgan City

t t t pc t pc pc pc t

Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

FLOOD STAGE

34 48 48 35 27 22 17

FRI. 24-HOUR STAGE CHANGE

10.90 20.53 22.57 8.44 4.29 3.29 2.23

+0.59 +0.51 +0.37 +0.34 -0.31 +0.07 -0.88

28.30

+0.83

-1.68

-0.16

18 29 8

-1.21 10.04 1.16

-0.21 -0.02 -0.07

13 15

1.39 0.82

-0.02 -0.01

47 34 29 20 12 6

8.24 5.20 3.75 3.82 2.80 1.52

none -0.01 +0.09 +0.05 -0.10 -0.01

data as of 7 a.m. Friday

Tornadoes touch down in Delaware, N.Y.’s Long Island Cleanup underway after storms

By The Associated Press NEW YORK — Cleanup efforts and damage assessment were underway Friday in Delaware’s capital and on Long Island, New York, after tornadoes touched down during storms that battered the Northeast with heavy rains and left dozens of people stranded in their cars during ﬂash ﬂooding. Officials said there were no reports of any serious injuries. The National Weather Service said a trained spotter reported a tornado in Dover, Delaware, during Thursday’s storms. Photos

and video on social media show the roof of a motel being blown off and damage to other buildings along U.S. 13 northeast of downtown. In Atlantic Beach on Long Island, images posted on social media show a large funnel cloud over the water and small buildings torn apart at a beach club. The weather service conﬁrmed a tornado touched down on the shore, saying it started as a waterspout over the Atlantic Ocean. Weather service crews were going to view the Delaware and Long Island damage on Friday to determine the strengths and paths of the tornadoes. Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen said a state of emergency was lifted Friday morning to allow residents and businesses to resume

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MINGSON LAU

Hotel residents return to the tornado-damaged Days Inn by Wyndham Dover Downtown hotel after picking up food and supplies Friday in Dover, Del. normal activities. Police “There is still debris urged residents to be patient throughout the city, and and set aside extra time for crews will be out working on travel. cleanup, repairs, and restor-

ing services. You may encounter blocked lanes, utility crews, emergency personnel, and other delays,”

police said on social media. On Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said first responders rescued people trapped in their vehicles during flooding. In other parts of New York, flooding caused part of the Long Island Expressway in Queens to close in both directions, according to New York City Emergency Management. Photos on social media showed lines of stopped cars as emergency crews traversed the water. In Jersey City, New Jersey, emergency crews rescued 69 people trapped in cars that were overtaken by flash flooding, said Mayor James Solomon. Emergency crews used small inflatable boats to reach people who were stranded.

Moke forms on track to bring heavy rain, winds to Hawaii By The Associated Press HONOLULU — Tropical Storm Moke formed Friday in the Paciﬁc Ocean, the National Hurricane Center said, on track to bring another round of heavy rain and wind to Hawaii as residents are still recovering from Hurricane Lala. Moke was located about

660 miles southeast of Hilo and was moving west-northwest at 9 mph. Maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph, according to an advisory from the Miami-based hurricane center. Like with Hurricane Lala, the Big Island is again expected to bear the brunt of the storm. It battered Hawaii last weekend without mak-

ing landfall, downing trees and leaving roads covered in mud and rocks. Rain and heavy winds from Moke are expected to hit the Big Island late Saturday, with the storm continuing to move west across the islands through early Tuesday, said Casey Oswant, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

“There will still be impacts, especially to the windward and southeast sides of the Big Island, but it will probably be a little bit more limited than what we saw with Lala,” she said. The northeast coast of the Big Island saw the heaviest rainfall from Lala, at 43.54 inches, according to the weather service. The result-

ing flooding swept dozens of homes from their foundations and damaged roads and bridges. About 11,630 customers on the Big Island remained without power Friday, according to poweroutage.us. Rainfall predictions for this weekend for the southeast and windward sides of the Big Island were 5 to 10 inches

of rain, with isolated amounts up to 15 inches, Oswant said. Across the rest of the island chain, 1 to 2 inches of rain was expected to fall, though parts of east Maui could see up to 4 inches, she said. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect Friday morning, but people were urged to closely monitor the storm’s progress.

2 organizers of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigils convicted in national security case Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders HONG KONG — Two former of the Hong Kong Alliance in organizers of Hong Kong’s Support of Patriotic Demoannual vigils in remem- cratic Movements of China, brance of the 1989 Tianan- were charged in 2021 with men Square crackdown were inciting subversion under convicted Friday for what a China-imposed national the government-approved security law that has effecjudges ruled was inciting tively crushed the city’s preothers to overthrow China’s viously thriving pro-democcommunist leadership. racy movement. They face a By The Associated Press

maximum prison term of 10 years. The alliance was also found guilty. The three judges ruled that the alliance’s call to “end oneparty dictatorship” aimed to end the ruling Communist Party’s leadership status under the constitution, and that the “end” in the phrase carried the meaning of “overthrowing” and “undermin-

ing.” In the verdict, they wrote that the defendants persisted in the call after the law’s introduction, neglecting that it was in breach of the constitution, which states the party’s leadership is a deﬁning feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. That falls within “other unlawful means” under the security

law, the judges said. The defendants “intentionally encouraged supporters of the alliance to wait for the right time to carry out the goal to ‘end one-party dictatorship’ by unlawful means,” they said. “They did not genuinely believe their words and deeds had not violated the national security law. They just re-

fused to pull back from the brink,” wrote the judges, who insisted they weren’t tried because of political views. Lee and Chow smiled and waved at the public gallery before they left the courtroom. They are expected to be sentenced at a later date. They will plead for lesser sentences next week, one of the judges said.

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Algae bloom seen at Henderson Lake People warned to avoid water there

BY KRISTIN ASKELSON

Staff writer

The Louisiana Department of Health is urging residents and visitors to avoid areas of Henderson Lake in St. Martin Parish where a blue-green algae bloom has been observed. The bloom was confirmed through satellite imagery, according to the department. While

some algae are harmless, certain types of cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae, can produce toxins harmful to people and animals. Testing is needed to determine whether toxins are present. Because algae blooms can move and change quickly, health officials recommend avoiding areas where a bloom is visible or suspected. It is not possible to deter-

mine by sight whether a bloom is producing toxins. “If you see or smell an algal bloom, stay out of the affected water and keep children and pets away,” LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein said. “When you’re unsure, please avoid all contact with the water.” Algae blooms are rapid growths of algae on the surface of the water. They may appear blue, bright green, brown or red and can produce a strong odor similar to rotting plants. Foam or scum may

also form on the surface. Cyanobacteria are a common cause of harmful algae blooms in freshwater lakes and rivers. Bluegreen algae thrive in warm, calm and sunny conditions, particularly when water temperatures are above 75 degrees. Blooms are more common during the summer and fall but can occur at any time of year. Residents who see or smell an algal bloom should avoid swimming, wading, boating or other recreational activities in affected

areas and should keep pets away from the water. People and pets that come into contact with affected water should be washed promptly with soap and clean water. Water from areas experiencing an algae bloom should not be used for drinking, cooking or preparing food. Exposure to harmful algal toxins can cause rashes, stomach cramps, coughing, nausea,

ä See ALGAE, page 2B

Trial continues in defamation case Grandmother describes confrontation with judge

BY DAVID J. MITCHELL Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By BRAD BOWIE

MAKE YOUR MOVE Members of the Bienvenue Krewe assist incoming freshmen as they move into their dorms on Thursday ahead of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s fall 2026 semester. Move-In Week at the university started on Wednesday and will continue through Sunday.

A woman who received an apology letter from state Supreme Court Justice Jeff Hughes III in a custody case when he was a district judge took the witness stand Friday to describe a 1999 confrontation with him during a protest outside his parish courthouse. Brenda Nicholson testiﬁed she organized the demonstration to focus attention on Hughes’ handling of her grandson’s custody case, which plays a key role in the ongoing trial of his defamation claims against Hughes The Advocate. She told jurors that Hughes, wearing his judicial robes, tore up placards calling for “Justice for Austin” and took down the license plate numbers of vehicles that bore the signs. Hughes, at the time a state district judge in Livingston Parish, had recently granted custody of Nicholson’s 6-year-old grandson — over her objections — to her daughterin-law, whose husband had been accused of abusing the boy. Nicholson told jurors that when Hughes headed toward her car, she stood in his path. “I told him not to touch my vehicle,” she said. When he responded, “Who are you?”, Nicholson testiﬁed, she explained she was the boy’s grandmother. The judge laughed, turned around and walked away, she said.

ä See TRIAL, page 2B

Lake Charles police get new facilities Space renovated for SWAT, training divisions

BY COURTNEY PEDERSEN Staff writer

The Lake Charles Police Department’s facility hosting its SWAT and training divisions has a new permanent location six years after the former property sustained damage from the 2020 hurricanes. On Monday, the Lake Charles Police Department leadership, city officials, members of Chief Don Dixon’s family, law enforcement officers and area community members cut the ribbon on the city’s new Don Dixon Law Enforcement Center at 4909 Common St., according to a statement from the city of Lake Charles. Dixon served as Lake Charles Police Chief from 2002 until 2019 when he retired; before he joined the department, he had a 30-year career with the FBI. “Chief Don Dixon dedicated his life to public service, and he left an enduring mark on the Lake Charles Police Department and our community,” Lake Charles Mayor Marshall Simien said in a statement. “This is a fitting place to honor his legacy because this facility

ä See FACILITIES, page 2B

2B ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Upcoming Ye concert in New Orleans sparks concern Officials, Jewish community wary of Superdome show

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, is scheduled to perform in New Orleans for the ﬁrst time in 13 years on Aug. 28 at the Caesars Superdome. But the local appearance of the controversial star is raising concerns in the area’s local Jewish community, with some members worried about the potential for Ye’s concert to promote antisemitism and hate. Ye has made antisemitic and racist comments in recent years, promoted Nazi symbols and released various forms of a song called “Heil Hitler,” which Ye sampled an Adolf Hitler speech. In January, he took out a fullpage ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize for his offensive comments and behavior. He blamed them on bipolar disorder, which he said resulted from an undiagnosed brain injury sustained in a 2002 car accident. “I am not a Nazi or an antisemite,” he stated in the letter addressed “To Those I’ve Hurt.” “I love Jewish people.” Ye’s apology was “a good step,”

TRIAL

Continued from page 1B Her recounting of the episode came on the third day of testimony in the defamation case, which stems from an editorial The Advocate wrote about Hughes’ alleged ethical lapses as a jurist. Hughes, seeking $10 million in damages, claims The Advocate mispresented the timing of a romantic relationship he had with an attorney for the parents of Nicholson’s grandson and rulings he made in the case. Hughes has testified he didn’t start dating that attorney, Berkley Durbin, until after she stepped down from the custody cases in late August 1998. The custody case led to an FBI inquiry that resulted in no charges, an investigation by the state commission that disciplines judges and a letter of apology from Hughes to Nicholson ﬁve years later in which he called his own actions “inimical” to the pursuit of justice.

FACILITIES

Continued from page 1B will help prepare the men and women who serve and protect our city while also providing a place where, in the future, residents will be able to access critical police services.” The Lake Charles City Council approved a resolution to dedicate and name the facility in Dixon’s honor in May 2024, over two years after he died on Christmas Day in 2021. “I had the privilege of serving alongside Chief Dixon and learning from his leadership,” Lake Charles Police Chief Shawn Caldwell said in the city’s news release. “He cared deeply about this department, the officers who served here and the community we are entrusted to protect. It is especially meaningful to see his name on a facility dedicated to training and preparing the next generation of ofﬁcers. His inﬂuence on this department continues, and I’m honored to see his legacy carried forward in this way.” The center houses the Lake Charles Police Department’s Training and SWAT Divisions, which recently moved into the newly renovated space after operating out of

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said Aaron Bloch, the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans’ director of Jewish-Multicultural and Government Affairs. That mental health may have played a role in Ye’s behavior should also be taken into consideration, Bloch said. “But when you go that far into a ‘Heil Hitler’ song, it may take more time to convey it was a sincere apology,” Bloch said. “Also, there’s concern that what you put out into the world can’t fully be taken back. There is damage that is irretractable.”

Coordinated response The Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans and the Anti-Defamation League, South Central collectively sent an email to members of the local Jewish community acknowledging “real concern” about the upcoming Ye concert. The goal was not to cancel the show, Bloch said. “But we don’t want the concert to be a breeding ground for hate.” They also sent a letter to Legends Global, the company that manages the Superdome, which responded by saying there are contracts that prevent antisemitic rhetoric, songs or merchandise; the company is monitoring the other tour dates for concerning statements and actions; and the ADL Center on Extremism will train Dome staff on how to recognize symbols associated with ex-

tremist groups. Legends Global Superdome General Manager Evan Holmes spoke about the issue during a Thursday board meeting of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, the state agency that oversees the Dome. He confirmed he had met with representatives of the Jewish community and that Dome staffers would receive additional training. “We wanted to understand more of what to look out for,” Holmes said. Ye, Holmes acknowledged, “comes with some challenges, given some of his statements and positions he’s taken. “We’ve been really mindful of this event. We wanted to make sure, if we were even going to consider this event, that we weren’t going to have any issues.” Meanwhile, the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience is offering what amounts to counterprogramming the weekend of Ye’s concert. It will offer free admission Aug. 28-30 at its facility at 818 Howard Ave. to “welcome a broader audience to learn from, engage with, and celebrate Southern Jewish life.”

A turbulent history Kanye West ﬁrst made a name for himself with his 2004 album “The College Dropout.” His 2005 follow-up, “Late Registration,” contained the massive hit “Gold Digger” and established West as one of the most respected and successful new voices in hip-hop. Over the next nearly two de-

cades, he branched out into lucrative side hustles, including his Yeezy sneaker partnership with Adidas. His personal life, including a tumultuous marriage to media personality and reality TV star Kim Kardashian, provided continuous fodder for tabloid news. Ye was still going by Kanye West when he headlined what was then called the New Orleans Arena in 2013 during his Yeezus Tour. He previously performed at the Essence Festival in the Superdome. More recently, his erratic public behavior, racist and antisemitic statements and promotion of Nazi symbolism damaged his brand. Adidas cut ties with him in 2022. In his Wall Street Journal mea culpa, he described being in a “fractured state” mentally, during which he “gravitated toward the most destructive symbol I could ﬁnd, the swastika, and even sold T-shirts bearing it.” He suffered “disconnected moments” that “led to poor judgment and reckless behavior that oftentimes feels like an out-of-body experience. I regret and am deeply mortified by my actions in that state, and am committed to accountability, treatment, and meaningful change. It does not excuse what I did though.” In early 2025, he writes, he “fell into a four-month long manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.” He released “Heil Hitler” in May

2025. He eventually sought help, with his wife’s encouragement. With the aid of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living, he said, he has a “newfound, much-needed clarity. I am pouring my energy into positive, meaningful art: music, clothing, design and other new ideas to help the world. “I’m not asking for sympathy, or a free pass, though I aspire to earn your forgiveness.”

‘No issues’ so far He was to have headlined the Wireless Festival in London in July. But organizers canceled the festival after the British government denied Ye entry into the country and several festival sponsors pulled out of the event. He headlined two sold-out shows this spring at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium without incident. In June, he performed twice in Tampa, despite a public campaign by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to cancel the concerts at the at Raymond James Stadium, which, like the Superdome, is publicly funded. On the current tour, he performs atop a LED screen sphere set in the middle of the stadium floor. The available capacity for Ye’s concert at the Superdome is closer to a Saints game’s 70,000-plus rather than the 43,000 or so seats available for the Essence Festival of Culture. Based on Ticketmaster’s seating chart, many thousands of tickets are still available.

Jurors heard from Nicholson that she asked Hughes in July or August 1998 to recuse himself from the custody case because the family had learned about his relationship with Durbin. “He said he wasn’t stepping down,” she said. “He said he thought he could do it without stepping down.” The day Hughes awarded full custody to the boy’s mother, Nicholson testiﬁed, she picked up the child from school at the direction of her son, the boy’s biological father. Her son, who objected to the stepfather’s presence in the home because of the alleged abuse, took the boy out of state, she said. She was jailed 11 days for contempt of court until the boy was returned, she testiﬁed. Suzy Montero, an attorney for The Advocate, had Nicholson review the 2004 apology letter from Hughes. Asked why she had kept it, Nicholson replied: “It was like a slap in the face.” She added that when she first read it, she felt “he thinks he’s untouchable.”

Nicholson was among the first witnesses The Advocate’s attorneys called Friday to the stand. Lawyers for Hughes rested their case Thursday. Hughes claims the original investigative story portrays him in a false light that has not been corrected. He also contends a subsequent editorial two days later had factual ﬂaws that the newspaper took roughly three years to clarify. Eighteenth Judicial District Judge Kevin Kimball has focused the trial on the editorial itself but has allowed some of the news stories about Hughes into evidence. Hughes argues the original story had a “secret lie.” That story downplayed when Durbin dropped out of the child custody case, while a related timeline failed to mention it at all, leaving a false impression, his lawyers claim. Called to the stand by Hughes’ attorneys Thursday as a media expert was Woody Jenkins. A local Republican Party

official who owns Central City News and other publications, Jenkins testified that an ethics expert was quoted in the newspaper based on a false premise. Jenkins said the original story buried the timing of when Durbin removed herself from the case, calling it a “hit piece.” He also criticized the editorial for not running down facts. In its original story The Advocate quoted an expert as saying that a judge in a romantic relationship with an attorney should recuse himself because the situation presents “a classic conflict of interest, an obvious source of bias.” The last part of the quote was the headline of a story about Hughes. Court records presented at trial show Durbin on Aug. 14, 1998, filed a request to drop out of the Nicholson case, and an order granting it was signed Aug. 27 by another judge. The Advocate issued a clarification of the editorial, saying it failed to note that Durbin had left the Nicholson case in August 1998 and

that her departure preceded Hughes’ final ruling in it the following year. The clarification also said objections raised by child welfare advocates about Hughes’ final custody decision didn’t happen until after he ruled in late March 1999. On Wednesday, Montero went line-by-line with Hughes through part of the editorial, asking if the facts were true. “In 1999, while on the state bench in Livingston, Hughes was romantically involved with lawyer Berkley Durbin, according to several people familiar with the situation,” Montero read, asking him if that was accurate. Hughes agreed. The next line of the editorial said that despite the relationship, Hughes didn’t recuse himself from a custody case and related legal matters involving the boy. Hughes argued that wasn’t exactly true. He said he tried to have another judge consider his recusal, but the parties seeking it didn’t show up for the hearing, which was set a

temporary facilities near the department’s headquarters for years. In the future, the facility is also planned to be a location for residents to access police services like filing reports, according to the city. The center is part of the city of Lake Charles’ ongoing hurricane recovery efforts, with FEMA funding part of it through a cost-share agreement. Lake Charles spokesperson Katie Harrington said that the project cost around $4 million and was paid for by FEMA and the city in a 90% and 10% split. “The SWAT/Training Divisions were previously located at a site on Country Club Road,” Harrington said. “This building was damaged beyond repair by the storms of 2020.” The city sold the property that housed the pre-storm structure. The release states that the renovations to the new facility include a new fire alarm, sprinkler and HVAC systems; the installation of a new elevator; electrical upgrades to accommodate the new layout of the office; renovations to the rear vehicle bay; and additional security improvements. “I had the opportunity to work with Chief Dixon throughout his 17-year tenure

as Chief, and I saw ﬁrsthand the leadership he brought to the department,” City Administrator John Cardone said in a statement. “He led with strength and compassion,

particularly during some of the most challenging times our community faced, including our response to Hurricane Rita in 2005. Just as important as the way he led the

department was the heart he showed to the people of this Funerals Today community. He cared deeply about Lake Charles, and that LeBlanc, Jeanette care was evident in the way St. Edmond Roman Catholic Church at 9:40am. he served.”

Residents who develop symptoms after exposure Continued from page 1B should contact a healthcare provider. For health questions or concerns, LDH’s diarrhea and vomiting. Section of Environmental High levels of exposure can Epidemiology and Toxicolaffect the liver and nervous ogy can be reached at (888) system, according to LDH. 293-7020.

day before his ﬁnal ruling in the case. Hughes acknowledged, under Montero’s questioning, that he could have recused himself, but said he wasn’t going to let litigants fail to show up for court on a last-minute recusal motion and delay the other side, who was there. He said that would be “an insult to the judiciary system.” Pressed further by Montero on the recusal, Hughes replied: “A half-truth is a whole lie if you include it with that, but I did refer it to another judge and that would be true.” Testimony in the trial continued into Friday evening. David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

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Stars and Stripes editor fired for insubordination

The Pentagon on Friday ﬁred the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, as well as its publisher and a reporter, the editor said. He said he was dismissed for insubordination after an interview he gave that objected to potential censorship by the U.S. military. Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of the military newspaper that is partly funded by the Pentagon but has a long legacy of editorial independence, told The Associated Press that he and the others had received notices of separation. Trump or other parts of the executive branch have also, in policy and in the courts, grappled with The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press and The New York Times in addition to using the FCC to target broadcast networks. Slavin said he was being ﬁred “for stating in a CBS interview that hypothetical censorship of news for service members would constitute a red line.” He said he stands by the principle “that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent.” Earlier this week, publisher Max Lederer announced his retirement effective at the end of September. He too received a separation notice, according to Slavin, as did Middle East reporter Lara Korte, who was cited for the same CBS interview as Slavin. Neither Lederer nor Korte immediately responded to requests for comment. Lederer made his announcement a few weeks after the Pentagon installed a new deputy publisher, an active duty service member, under Lederer at the newspaper without his prior knowledge.

Alfalfa sprouts linked to poisoning outbreak NEW YORK — U.S. health officials say a food-poisoning outbreak tied to alfalfa sprouts and involving multiple germs has sickened people in 15 states. State officials announced the outbreak earlier this week, saying they documented more than three dozen cases in Minnesota and Wisconsin. On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the agency is aware of 55 cases nationally, including four people who have been hospitalized. Of 34 sick people interviewed, 26 reported eating alfalfa sprouts, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Food poisoning outbreaks tend to be defined by one type of germ, but this outbreak involves people with salmonella and different strains of E. coli. Officials are linking cases to alfalfa sprouts produced by Everything Sprouts, a Minnesota grower, and sold under the Calco and Everything Sprouts brands to restaurants and grocery stores. The company has yet to issue a recall, the FDA said. Last year, the FDA sent a warning letter to Everything Sprouts, saying inspections the year before identified several points of concern, including a leaking roof that was dropping water onto bean sprouts and workers’ smocks. The Associated Press left messages for Everything Sprouts seeking comment.

Tesla recalls nearly 3M vehicles in China HONG KONG — Tesla and other Chinese carmakers are making a major recall over safety concerns mostly related to their door handles, according to Chinese authorities on Friday. The U.S. carmaker is recalling about 2.98 million Chinamade and imported EVs including Model 3, Model Y, Model X and Model S over door handle safety risks, according to China’s State Administration for Market Regulation. The recall comes a few months after Chinese authorities said in February that starting next year, it would be banning hidden car door handles that are commonly seen on Tesla electric vehicles and many Chinese EV models.

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Bond market puts pressure on stocks BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Friday and trimmed their losses from a shaky week. That was even though the bond market, which has been the center of Wall Street’s action, remained jumpy and continued to add pressure. Ross Stores helped lead the way and rose 4.4% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Jim Conroy said it saw both an increase in new cus-

tomers and more interest from existing customers, while the offprice retailer at the same time benefited from refunds on tariffs. Most U.S. companies have reported bigger profits for the spring than analysts expected, which has helped drive stocks to records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term. Hopes for continued profit growth got a boost from a preliminary report by S&P Global suggesting growth for U.S. business activity hit a 52-month high. But the other big lever that helps set

stock prices, interest rates, has been much shakier. After soaring through the summer and then hesitating following this week’s surprise move by the U.S. Treasury Department to repurchase more U.S. government bonds, yields climbed further on Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.73% from 4.69% late Thursday. It’s back above its level from before the Treasury market made its move, which analysts said at the time would likely have only a temporary effect. The 30year Treasury yield also rose and

is near its highest level since 2007. Contributing to Friday’s gains for bond yields was continued uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow oil tankers to freely exit the Persian Gulf again. One of the biggest beneficiaries of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s move to try to get longer-term yields lower is bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies often rise when interest rates are lower and more money is flowing through the ﬁnancial system. Bitcoin has climbed above $77,000 from less than $63,000 a week ago.

Cattle producers, rural Republicans balk at Trump order on beef imports President says reduction of tariffs will lower beef prices

BY SEUNG MIN KIM and JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration will allow more beef to be temporarily imported into the U.S. without triggering higher tariffs, which drew swift pushback from cattle producers and conservative rural-state Republicans. Beef prices have climbed to record highs amid a drop in the number of U.S. cattle, consistent consumer demand and limits on cattle from Mexico, where the animals are facing a ﬂesh-eating pest. The U.S. president has also imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil, a major beef exporter. Trump remains under pressure to cut costs and address affordability issues ahead of November’s midterms. But ranchers, normally some of the president’s biggest supporters, are enjoying some rare profitable years and worry cheap Trump beef imports will reduce cattle prices — and with it, the incentive to increase herd sizes. “We all want lower grocery prices, but as I’ve said for months, we cannot do it at the expense of American producers,” Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., said in a statement. “Flooding the market with foreign beef hurts our livestock industry and undermines the long-term solution: growing the U.S. cattle herd to meet demand.” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., said in a social media post just hours after Trump’s announcement that the president’s “heart is in the right place,” but importing beef will “harm our ranching families who feed the nation.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JACK DURA

Beef prices have climbed to record highs amid a drop in the number of U.S. cattle. And Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., said that while he appreciates the administration’s focus on grocery prices, “short term policy shifts do not equal long term solutions.” The deal, Trump said, allows up to 300,000 metric tons of ground beef to be imported into the U.S. for the next 90 days without activating an “out of quota” tariff, which is a tax that goes into effect once a certain quantity of that product enters the country. The president said on social media that he had committed to ensuring the imported beef would be sold at 25% below current market rates, making it cheaper for American consumers. A White House ofﬁcial said the deal is with foreign beef exporters who have agreed to the discount on beef. “You don’t put America first by putting U.S. cattle producers last,” U.S. Cattlemen’s Association President Justin Tupper said in a statement. “This move will weaken our markets and gamble with food safety in the process.”

The president’s announcement and other market interventions sacriﬁce “long-term stability for short term messaging,” Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said in a statement. Glynn Tonsor, a professor at Kansas State University who focuses on the cattle and beef industry, said he would like to see more details about the latest deal but that his immediate assessment was that it wouldn’t have a big effect on prices. That’s because 300,000 metric tons amounts to roughly 3% of what Americans eat yearly, he said. “The relative magnitude we are talking about is pretty small.” David Anderson, professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University, said he was skeptical other countries could redirect so much beef to the U.S. in such a short time period. “Is that even achievable?” he questioned in a phone interview. The White House ofﬁcial, who spoke on condition of anonym-

ity to discuss a plan that has yet to be ﬁnalized, said the beef in question is lean beef trimmings that are used for ground beef production. Trump plans to sign an executive order formalizing the directive within two weeks, the ofﬁcial said. The administration made a push last year to buy more beef from Argentina to try to bring down prices. The president said Friday that his plan would help grow the U.S. cattle supply, which is the smallest it’s been in decades. Some ranchers and experts said the opposite effect was more likely. “Imports have been a major contributor to the decline in the U.S. cattle inventory,” said Bill Bullard, the CEO of the RCALF USA, which represents independent cattle producers. “Using more imports today will exacerbate that decline and will prevent herd expansion.” Associated Press writers Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta contributed to this report.

MAHA activists oppose promotion of coal to power data centers BY ALI SWENSON Associated Press

NEW YORK — Nearly 200 activists in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement are criticizing President Donald Trump’s promotion of coal to fuel the rise of artificial intelligence data centers, according to a letter sent Friday. The letter, signed by at least two former staffers from Kennedy’s 2024 presidential campaign, marks the first major MAHA movement mobilization over fossil fuels and the latest in a series of rifts between the diverse group of activists and the Trump administration over environmental policy. The letter to Trump, Kennedy and various other Cabinet officials, first obtained by The Associated Press, laments a 2025 executive order that aimed to boost coal to power data centers over pollution concerns and asks the administration to consider renewable options, including solar and geothermal energy. “We understand the importance

of American leadership in artificial intelligence, national security, innovation, and economic growth,” the letter reads. “But American AI leadership should not come at the cost of a more toxic burden for American children.” In response, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers noted that greenhouse gas emissions dropped to a 30-year low during Trump’s first term and said Trump “was given a mandate to roll back the radical climate policies that are burning a hole through taxpayers’ wallets.” The agencies receiving the letter didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Although it may not reflect the views of all MAHA activists, the new line of criticism against one of the administration’s signature policies less than three months before November’s midterm elections could present another challenge for Republicans as they seek to win over the voting bloc in key races. As health secretary, Kennedy has carried out several policy changes that cater to the MAHA

movement, including attempting to scale back childhood vaccine recommendations, a central priority for some activists. He also has sought to remove artificial dyes from food and encouraged Americans to have healthy diets free of ultraprocessed foods. But many in the MAHA movement, which Trump credits with helping him win back the White House two years ago, say they have grown frustrated with the administration over its embrace of pesticides such as glyphosate and its deregulatory environmental agenda. Some have said they plan to vote on issues over party this fall, raising the political stakes of their increasingly public tensions with the Republican administration. As president, Trump has enthusiastically embraced what he calls “big, beautiful coal” despite outcry from environmentalists about planet-warming greenhouse gases and toxic chemicals released by coal-ﬁred power plants. His administration has moved to reverse tighter Biden-era standards on greenhouse gas emissions,

which, in addition to their climate impacts, can harm brain development in children and increase rates of heart attacks in adults. He also has been a vocal advocate for data centers, which power artiﬁcial intelligence and cloud computing, framing them as a necessary component of winning the AI race against China. “If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in, an AI plant or a data center,” Trump said this week, “I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous and the money paid, the taxes paid, are just enormous.” Voters across the political spectrum have criticized data centers for jacking up electricity bills, draining water supplies, and creating unhealthy amounts of air and noise pollution. Friday’s letter asks the administration to require transparent review of data center location and power sourcing decisions, and respect existing environmental review requirements in the permitting process.

4B ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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OPINION T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M/opinions

ANOTHER VIEW

Democrats try to crack the presidential primary calendar code Changes made to the political system are usually motivated by self-interest. But that doesn’t mean the changes produce expected results. New campaign finance rules that Congress enacted in the 1970s and afterward were supposed to take money out of politics. Obviously, that didn’t happen. The amount of money flooding into campaigns since then has increased astronomically. The latest major change to Louisiana election law, passed by the Legislature in the early days of Gov. Jeff Landry’s term, brought back party primaries, the system under which the current U.S. Senate race is being run. This time, there wasn’t even a good-government pretext. Everybody knew it was meant to defeat Sen. Bill Cassidy, and it did. The most recent change in the election process came last week, when the national Democratic Party adopted a new presidential primary schedule. State parties fight over the calendar because early primaries get more attention and have outsized influence on nominations. For decades, New Hampshire held the nation’s first presidential primary. Beginning in 1972, the Iowa caucuses emerged as a competitor, but procedural mishaps in recent caucuses have diminished Iowa’s credibility. Ron In 2024, Democrats cast aside New HampFaucheux shire as its first primary and gave that honor to South Carolina. Why? President Joe Biden wanted it that way. First, it was a thank you to South Carolina Democrats and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn for the decisive primary victory they handed Biden in 2020. Second, it was meant to open the 2024 primary season with a guaranteed win for Biden. Third, it was recognition that New Hampshire lacks racial diversity; only about 1% of New Hampshire’s electorate is Black, compared to 26% in South Carolina. The third reason lives on, even now that Biden is out of the picture. Here’s another important fact: Black voters make up 26% of South Carolina’s overall electorate, but they made up 56% of the state’s Democratic primary electorate in 2020, according to exit polling. Why the difference? Most Black voters are Democrats. So, while Black voters represent a bit more a quarter of all voters in South Carolina, they represent more than half of the voters who participate in the Democratic primary. Under the newly adopted rules for 2028 Democratic delegate selection, South Carolina’s primary remains first, on Jan. 22. Nevada moves into second place, on Feb. 1. New Hampshire follows on Feb. 8, then New Mexico on Feb. 15, Michigan on Feb. 22 and Virginia on Feb. 29. New Mexico and Nevada make the early states’ list largely because of diversity and their location in the West: 43% of New Mexico’s eligible voters are Hispanic and nearly a third of Nevada’s are Hispanic or Black. Virginia — 19% Black, 5% Hispanic and 5% Asian — houses numerous federal employees, an important voter group for Democrats. Don’t discount the fact that Virginia is close to the nation’s capital, making it convenient for campaign consultants and party activists to go back and forth during the primary. It’s also a reward for Virginia’s shifting from red to blue in federal elections. Michigan’s electorate is 18% Black, Hispanic or Asian, and home to powerful labor unions. Moreover, it’s a voterich swing state. Which raises the question: Why didn’t Democrats select swing states for all six of their early presidential primaries? Wouldn’t that give Democratic candidates valuable familiarity in the states most likely to determine the general election? Why aren’t Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona in the first tier, alongside Michigan and Nevada? South Carolina isn’t a swing state; it voted Republican in the last 12 presidential elections, and Trump carried it by 18 points in 2024. Neither New Hampshire nor New Mexico are considered swing states; the former voted Democratic in the last six elections, and the latter in the last five. Did party leaders put identity politics ahead of generalelection strategy? You could make that case. But there’s another explanation: Putting all the early primaries in swing states would expose Democratic candidates to attacks from one another in the very states they would later need to win the general election. Those wounds could hurt more than the early exposure would help. According to T.S. Eliot, “The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason.” In politics, it’s sometimes hard to know the right deed — and whether the reason is right or wrong. Even taking selfinterest into account, it’s still hard. Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst, pollster and writer based in Louisiana.

YOUR VIEWS

Insulin is not a luxury; legislation would cap the monthly cost

What will donors to Trump’s ballroom expect in return? A recent letter to the editor argued that ”no government money” is being used for the new White House ballroom. While the letter’s focus on accuracy is appreciated, official records show the claim is not entirely factual. Private donors are covering a substantial share of the ballroom itself, estimated at roughly $600 million. But that sits inside a greater effort. The Washington Post reporting from August 2026 puts total White House grounds construction, the ballroom, an underground complex, a new helipad, Lafayette Square and a visitor screening center at upward of $900 million, mostly taxpayer-funded. Roughly $500 million was transferred from the U.S. Secret Service and the White House Military Office, both taxpayer-funded agencies, and put into an account called ”White House Repair and Restoration” that normally holds about $2.5 million a year for routine upkeep. Since Trump took office, the administration has funneled $875

million into that account. The remaining funding comes from a small group of billionaires and corporations. Donors include Stephen Schwarzman, Harold Hamm and the Adelson family, as well as tech giants such as Amazon, Google and Meta. These “private” contributions raise serious ethical concerns. Nearly all corporate donors, including defense contractors like Lockheed Martin and Palantir, have significant business before the federal government. These companies hold multi-billion-dollar contracts or face major antitrust litigation and regulatory reviews. By using a nonprofit to funnel these gifts, these contractors have largely avoided disclosing these payments in lobbying filings. Hundreds of millions in tax dollars are being spent alongside money from billionaires seeking government favor. This is what oligarchy in America looks like.

For more than two decades as a pharmacist in New Orleans East, I have seen how difﬁcult it can be for patients to afford the insulin they need to survive. Some have told me they take only half their prescribed dose to make a vial last longer. That is not a budgeting strategy; it is a medical emergency waiting to happen. People across Louisiana are being forced to choose between insulin, utility bills, groceries and gas. As a heart health advocate, I also know that the stress of affording lifesaving medication can place an additional burden on people who are already managing diabetes. Congress can help by passing the bipartisan Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now Act of 2026. The INSULIN Act would cap monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for people with private insurance and establish a pilot program to provide low-cost insulin to uninsured patients. I thank U.S. Sen. John Kennedy for supporting this legislation and urge other elected ofﬁcials to help move it forward. Insulin is not a luxury. Congress must act so that no Louisianan has to ration the medication that keeps them alive.

KARL ALBRITTON Central

Behind political fights, a disturbing trend I recently read a few articles that have upset me. I read that the governor was not talking to the mayor of New Orleans. I found it hard to understand why the governor was not speaking to the mayor of the most visited city in the state. As I read, it became obvious that some people believe the mayor has the ability to control a grand jury. It bothered me because I thought a grand jury was not under the control of the mayor but was an independent body of citizens who were empaneled to look at evidence and decide whether to move forward with indictments. I became upset as I read articles and learned that my brother, retired Judge Calvin Johnson, was, according to the attorney general, an innocent bystander. I could not understand why the attorney general felt the need to mention my brother, because he was only doing what the law allowed.

Today, with all the things going on, I am becoming very afraid for my people, especially as I see those in power constantly believe that only they have the sense and ability to make decisions, and the rest of us are incapable of reading and understanding what we read and are not capable of making decisions. I am afraid that students in school will not understand the three branches of government as I was taught and understand them. I am afraid that students in school will not develop the desire to participate in those branches of government because they will become discouraged. According to Lord Acton, in his correspondence with the historian Bishop Mandell Creighton: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” I pray we are not there.

ALISHA REED New Orleans

Why did Trump abandon staff on plane? So, is everyone else just live bait? If President Donald Trump believed there was a credible threat to his life, why did he sneak off Air Force One and leave everyone else to suffer the consequences? Hmmm.

LINDA JOHNSON Plaquemine

JOSEPH SPEARS JR. New Orleans

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Coaching cohesion helps Weis with LSU transition

S at u r d ay, au g u S t 22, 2026

1CN

P R E S E A S O N • S A I N T S A T R A M S • 3 P. M . S A T U R D A y • K A T C

BY JON BLAU Staff writer

Charlie Weis Jr. is no stranger to this strange land. The 33-year-old play-caller entered LSU’s offensive meeting room Friday morning and saw several familiar faces from his days at Ole Miss. Eight staff members in all followed Lane Kifﬁn to Baton Rouge, including six on the offensive side. Weis has the unenviable task of coaching up quarterbacks and receivers who have spent as little time in the Bayou as him. But he’s not coaching up the coaches, whether that’s George McDonald (receivers), Kevin Smith (running backs) or Joe Cox (tight ends). “I could come in and go, ‘Hey guys, we’re going to run this. Remember we ran this in 2024 against whoever?’ ” Weis said. “And they could be like, ‘Yeah. Got it. Let’s go.’ “ The institutional knowledge that’s migrated from Oxford, Mississippi, to Baton Rouge has helped Weis play a game of catch-up. Not only was LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt limited in the spring as he recovered from a foot injury but Weis’ offense also has been pitted against a Tigers defense that heads into Year 3 under coordinator Blake Baker.

‘ S TA R ’

TURN

ä See LSU, page 3C

Saints safety Jonas Sanker runs through drills on Aug. 3 at training camp in Metairie. AP PHOTO By GERALD HERBERT

Saints put second-year pro Sanker in Staley’s featured position BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL running back Anthony Reagan goes through a practice drill in preparation for the upcoming season.

Camp giving Cajuns more options on depth charts

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

When August camp began, it seemed UL had its three-headed monster set in the backfield with Steven Blanco, JJ Garner and Darrell Smith. With camp nearing its end, another viable candidate has entered the picture in Howard transfer Anthony Reagan. “After the spring, I wasn’t sure,” UL coach Michael Desormeaux said of Reagan. “I felt like he was clearly the fourth out of the four guys, but he’s had a really good camp. “He mixes in there really well. You’ve got four of them that are playing really well.” The 5-foot-9, 185-pound junior showed his grit in the Cajuns’ first scrimmage with 17 tough yards on five carries. “Anthony has done a tremendous job,” Desormeaux said. “The things that we’ve asked them to do — make the physical run, not just the bounce, understand when to put your foot in the ground and get vertical. “He’s been much better in pass pro(tection) and his blocking. So he has made a really conscious effort with the things that we’ve given him and said, ‘Look,

ä See CAJUNS, page 3C

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — This isn’t where the star was born, but it is where it took off — and where, currently, we are seeing its latest iteration take shape. Brandon Staley’s ﬁrst opportunity to call defensive plays in the NFL came here, with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. At that point, he’d spent only three seasons as an NFL position coach, all under Vic Fangio with the Bears and Broncos. Staley’s defensive structure was heavily supported by that Fangio tree, but he also incorporated a bit from his time coaching Division III John Carroll University. Staley, now the New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, carried the star position with him from John Carroll. It’s not just a slot cornerback; Staley calls it a “featured position” in his defense, a sort of hybrid player who can

cover like a corner but bring a linebacker’s thump to run support. This year, Staley is trying out a new player in his featured position: Second-year defensive back Jonas Sanker, who impressed when pressed into duty early in his rookie season — at safety. It’s a big transition, but nothing that has transpired since the Saints took the field this summer has convinced Staley the job is too big for Sanker. “He’s a player,” Staley said. “And what you really need in there is you need a player. You need a guy that can play and figure things out quickly, and he has that.” The Saints need Sanker to figure it out fast, but he has help, because he’s far from the only player on his own team who has made the transition from safety to star. He’s not even the first to have done it under Staley —

ä See SANKER, page 3C

ANALYSIS

RB Miller, kickers among Saints’ points of interest BY MATTHEW PARAS

Staff writer

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — Earlier this month, New Orleans Saints running backs coach Joel Thomas was asked about Kendre Miller and whether the oft-injured running back faced any pressure to return as fast as he could from the back injury that had him sidelined. The assistant coach didn’t disagree with the premise. “Well, the pressure should be on himself,” Thomas said Aug. 11. “The NFL doesn’t stop for anybody.” Miller would miss another week, marking a 13-day absence amid a competitive battle at his position. But after returning to practice Tuesday, the 24-year-old has a chance to prove that he still belongs in the NFL. And he’ll get to make his latest argument in Saturday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams. With the starters resting, Miller is in line to get ample opportunities. But so are Devin Neal and Ty Chandler, two other running backs ﬁghting for

mara, if he can avoid injured reserve with his sprained MCL, ﬁgures to be as well. That leaves Miller, Chandler, undrafted rookie C.J. Donaldson and veteran Audric Estime — who won’t play Saturday because of a foot injury — to vie for one or two spots. The pressure is on. Here are four other topics to consider entering Saturday’s exhibition.

Smyth’s footing The kicking competition has been tight throughout training camp, but STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Charlie Smyth is at risk of falling behind if he can’t generate some posiSaints running back Kendre Miller tive momentum against the Rams. runs a drill during training camp on Smyth missed a 52-yard ﬁeld goal in last week’s game against the JackJuly 29 in Metairie. sonville Jaguars and has been in a bit a roster spot. of a slump over the last two weeks. How the Saints sort out their runTanner Brown, challenging Smyth, ning back room is one of the biggest hasn’t run away with the job in that remaining questions before they’ll stretch. But he has been the more make cuts to set their initial 53-man consistent of the two. Neither got a roster by the Aug. 30 deadline. Will lot of opportunities to kick during they keep four backs or just three? ä See SAINTS, page 3C Travis Etienne is a lock. Alvin Ka-

2C ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS On TV

AUTO RACING 8 a.m. NTT IndyCar: Practice FS1 9 a.m. Formula 1: Qualifying Apple TV 9:30 a.m. NASCAR Cup: Practice TRUTV 10:35 a.m. NASCAR Cup: Qualifying TRUTV Noon NTT IndyCar: Practice FS2 Noon Pro Motocross: Budds Creek NBCSN 12:30 p.m. Truck Series: Team EJP 175 FS1 2:30 p.m. Pro Motocross: Budds Creek NBC 4 p.m. NTT IndyCar: Qualifying FS2 BIG3 BASKETBALL Noon Week 10: All-Star Game CBS CFL 6 p.m. Hamilton at Toronto CBSSN WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL 3 p.m. Wisconsin vs. Louisville Fox 6 p.m. Texas vs. Arizona State FS1 GOLF 10 a.m. LIV Golf: Third Round Fox Noon PGA: BMW Championship Golf 2 p.m. PGA: BMW Championship CBS 2 p.m. Korn Ferry: AdventHealth Champ. Golf

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Champions: Rogers Charity Classic Golf LPGA: CPKS Women’s Open Golf HORSE RACING 11:30 a.m. Saratoga Live FS1 1:30 p.m. Saratoga Live FS2 5 p.m. Alabama Stakes Fox 6 p.m. America’s Day at the Races FS2 8 p.m. Pacific Classic FS1 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL WORLD SERIES Noon Vancouver (B.C.) vs. TBD ESPN 2 p.m. Bridgewater, Mass. vs. TBD ESPN 4 p.m. Santiago (D.R.) vs. TBD ESPN 6 p.m. Phenix City, Ala. vs. TBD ESPN MIXED MARTIAL ARTS 8 p.m. PFL: Main Card ESPN MLB 1:10 p.m. Atlanta at Milwaukee MLBN 3:10 p.m. Washington at Miami FS1 6:15 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Seattle Fox NFL PRESEASON Noon Buffalo at Cleveland NFLN 3 p.m. New Orleans at Los Angeles KATC 3 p.m. N.y. Giants at Miami NFLN 6 p.m. Philadelphia at New England NFLN

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Dallas at Arizona NFLN RODEO 6:30 p.m. PBR: Team Series CW MEN’S SOCCER 8:55 a.m. Wolves at Preston CBSSN 9 a.m. Leeds at Nottingham Forest NBCSN 9 a.m. Crystal Palace at Everton USA 9:55 a.m. Sevilla FC at Athletic Club ESPN2 11:30 a.m. Como at Udinese CBSSN 11:30 p.m. Spurs at Brentford FC NBC 1:30 p.m. Bayern at Dortmund USA 2 p.m. Cagliari at Parma CBSSN 2:25 p.m. Real Madrid at Espanyol ABC 9 p.m. Tulsa at Orange County CBSSN WOMEN’S SOCCER 5:30 p.m. Seattle at Kansas City ION 7:45 p.m. Denver at Portland ION SOFTBALL 6 p.m. Team Landry vs. Team Klinger ESPNU TENNIS 10 a.m. Cincinnati-ATP/WTA Tennis WNBA 6 p.m. Indiana at New york Prime 8 p.m. Connecticut at Los Angeles Prime

NCAA gets win on eligibility rule

Shelquist issued a statement callcollege eligibility ended last sea- this summer. Federal appeals court son While some players hope to ing the appeals court ruling proand who were not included controversial new land back at their schools, what- cedural and “not a decision on the pauses extra year inrulethe—NCAA’s less than 2 months old — ever the impact on the rosters, merits of the athletes’ antitrust that grants most Division I ath- how that works isn’t at all clear in claims.” of eligibility for some letes “We are exploring every availﬁve years of eligibility over many cases. The judge in the case ﬁve years but doesn’t take effect involving the Ole Miss players, able option given the split in the Class of ’22 athletes until for example, gave them a week to panel’s ruling and remain comnext season.

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

DENVER — The NCAA notched an important win in federal court Friday over its much-disputed ﬁve-year eligibility rule, though it fell short of shutting down the last-minute shufﬂing threatening to upend college sports rosters with football season fast approaching. A 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals halted, for now, a judge’s order that would have granted thousands of athletes an extra season of eligibility. But it did nothing to resolve dozens of other lawsuits and court orders piling up across the country that allow players in the same situation to join teams for the upcoming season. Virtually all these lawsuits involve players who graduated from high school in 2022, whose

“There’s a reason we saw so many state-court lawsuits ﬁled” after the now-paused federal court ruling that came down July 31, said Sam Ehrlich, a former lawyer who now works at Boise State and operates the College Sports Litigation Tracker. “It was a ‘just in case.’ They did it just in case what we just saw happen actually happened.” Among the many athletes watching this unfold and wondering where it winds up are defensive linemen Kellan Wyatt and Stephan Daley, both members of the national championship team at Indiana last season who decided to return after the lower-court decision. So are former Ole Miss starters Dae’Quan Wright, Zxavian Harris and Wydett Williams, who won a ruling from a Louisiana state court giving them another season of eligibility even though they had signed with NFL teams

enter the transfer portal, which for football players is only open in January. In appealing the state court cases, the NCAA is expected to invoke parts of Friday’s ruling, which agreed with NCAA arguments that it was likely to win the case when it’s heard in full — probably several months from now — and that the NCAA would suffer more harm than the players if the court didn’t pause the order. The NCAA can also take heart in an Ohio appeals court that paused a similar injunction involving Xavier basketball player Filip Borovicanin and others. But other than those two cases, Ehrlich said, judges across the country “are unanimous that the NCAA is in the wrong” on the ﬁve-year eligibility issue when it comes to the Class of 2022. Plaintiffs’ attorney Rob

mitted to fighting for these college athletes whose opportunities and eligibility have been unfairly restricted,” he said. The NCAA’s chief legal officer, Scott Bearby, sent a memo to schools telling them they would not be subject to NCAA punishment for allowing any player to compete between the time the July 31 ruling came down and Friday. But he reiterated that those players are no longer eligible. Bearby also acknowledged that the NCAA would continue to defend lawsuits around the country — a signal that the NCAA knows Friday’s ruling offers no guarantees of an end to the roster chaos. “If anything, I do wonder if there’s a part of the NCAA that’s, like, ‘Maybe we’d have been better off not getting the stay because, boy, there’s going to be a lot of lawsuits filed over the next couple of weeks,’ ” Ehrlich said.

Texas Tech eyes repeat of Big 12 championship ByU looks to continue momentum after 12-win season BY STEPHEN HAWKINS

Less than two weeks after coach Will Wade added Skyy Clark to LSU’s roster, his former teammate joins the program. UCLA transfer Donovan Dent is the latest to commit to LSU, the point guard announced on Instagram on Friday. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound point guard played his senior season last year and is eligible to play another season. The UCLA transfer was among more than 70 players granted a temporary restraining order in an age-based eligibility lawsuit ﬁled in California against the NCAA, according to the Texas Trial Group, which represented these players. Dent averaged 13.3 points on 49% shooting from the ﬁeld, 7.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.

ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ to attend LSU-Ole Miss

ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew will be on location in Oxford, Mississippi, for LSU’s Week 3 contest at Ole Miss, the network announced Friday. The game will be Lane Kiffin’s return to the stadium where he coached six seasons. Kiffin stirred up controversy by leaving Ole Miss ahead of a College Football Playoff run to become LSU’s head coach. This means two of the Tigers’ first three games will have the national spotlight because “GameDay” is already slated to be in Baton Rouge for LSU’s opener against Clemson. Kiffin is under immense pressure to perform in his debut season following LSU’s decision to relieve Brian Kelly of his duties with $54 million remaining on his contract.

Top-ranked Sinner exits U.S. Open with knee injury

NEW YORK — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner withdrew from the U.S. Open on Friday, unable to recover from a right knee injury that has sidelined him since winning the Wimbledon title. Sinner beat Alexander Zverev last month for his second straight title at the All England Club, but then pulled out of the hard-court tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati that serve as a warmup for the U.S. Open. The 25-year-old Italian wrote in a post on X on Friday that he won’t be ready when the main draw begins on Aug. 30. It will be the ﬁrst time Sinner has missed a Grand Slam tournament since making his major debut at the U.S. Open in 2019.

DeRozan, Nuggets agree on 1-year deal for $3.9M

Associated Press

The Big 12 Conference has had six different champions in the past six seasons. While 12th-ranked Texas Tech seeks a repeat after winning its ﬁrst Big 12 title and making the College Football Playoff, teams like No. 14 BYU, No. 21 Utah and No. 23 Houston could make a push to extend the league’s streak to seven. “We want to do something that very few teams have been able to do, and that’s to win the Big 12 championship again,” Tech coach Joey McGuire said. The Red Raiders reloaded again through the transfer portal after setting school records with 12 wins and nine NFL draft picks. Will Hammond is healthy after an ACL injury last season and will start at quarterback after the offseason legal saga surrounding transfer Brendan Sorsby, who was declared ineligible by the NCAA because of gambling. BYU is coming off its ﬁrst 12win season since 2001, and both its losses were to Texas Tech, 29-7 in Lubbock, then 34-7 in the Big 12 title game. “We know that last year was some really cool things, some awesome success,” 11th-year Cougars coach Kalani Sitake said. “At the same time, we know what we can do better.” The Cougars return Big 12 rushing leader LJ Martin (1,305 yards, 12 TDs rushing) and QB Bear Bachmeier, who threw for 3,033 yards, ran for 527 and accounted for 26 TDs (15 passing, 11 rushing) after being thrust into the starting role as a freshman. Houston went from four wins to 10 in its second season with coach Willie Fritz and returns dualthreat QB Conner Weigman (3,405 total yards and 36 TDs.) Utah has 82% of its total offense back (QBs Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin,

LSU men’s hoops gains fifth-year UCLA transfer

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By GEORGE FREy

ByU quarterback Bear Bachmeier, left, hands the ball off to running back LJ Martin during a game against Utah on Oct. 18 in Provo, Utah. and RB Wayshawn Parker) from son with a 1-8 conference record. an 11-win team, but two offensive He is 16-21 overall with the Buffs. linemen were first-round NFL draft picks and coach Kyle Whit- New faces tingham left after 22 seasons for The Big 12’s four new head Michigan. coaches include Kansas State’s Collin Klein and Utah’s Morgan Out west Scalley at their alma maters reArizona quarterback Noah Fifi- placing their former bosses. Jimta, the national active leader with my Rogers took over at Iowa State 73 TD passes, is a rarity going into when Matt Campbell left after 10 his fourth season starting for the seasons for Penn State, and Eric same team. With him back and Morris is at Oklahoma State. Klein had been gone for two the unexpected return of leading rusher Ismail Mahdi, the Wildcats seasons as Texas A&M’s offensive hope to build on a 9-4 finish and be coordinator when Chris Klieman suddenly retired from K-State. a Big 12 contender. Arizona State won the Big 12 title Scalley was Utah’s defensive and made the playoff in its league coordinator when Whittingham debut in 2024. The injury-plagued resigned. Rogers won an FCS naSun Devils weren’t able to repeat tional championship three seasons last year and now are without QB ago as head coach at his alma maSam Leavitt (transfer to LSU) and ter, South Dakota State, and was at receiver Jordyn Tyson (first-round Washington State last year. NFL pick by New Orleans). Oklahoma State’s 88 newcomers Deion Sanders, who last year include 21 who came with Morris had surgery for bladder cancer, from North Texas, which lost to said he feels like his old self going Tulane in the American Conferinto his fourth season at Colorado. ence championship game to miss He hired new offensive and de- out on a CFP berth. Among the fensive coordinators after a five- Mean Green transfers were QB game losing streak to end last sea- Drew Mestemaker, the national

passing leader with 4,379 yards as a freshman, RB Caleb Hawkins (1,434 yards and FBS-best 25 TDs rushing as a freshman) and WR Wyatt Young (70 catches, 1,264 yards, 10 TDs). This is the ﬁrst time since 2004 the Cowboys enter a season without Mike Gundy as their head coach. They have lost 19 conference games in a row, with consecutive 0-9 conference records since a 49-21 loss to Texas in the 2023 Big 12 championship game.

Making a playoff statement After making the 12-team playoff and getting a ﬁrst-round bye last season, Texas Tech lost 23-0 to Oregon in the Orange Bowl quarterﬁnal. That dropped the Big 12, which has never had multiple playoff teams, to 1-8 in CFP games. “There’s an obligation as programs in this conference that we play at a high level, and then I think it’s really important that we win in the playoffs,” McGuire said. “Until we do that as a conference, then we’re going to continue to have the same narrative that we have right now.”

DENVER — DeMar DeRozan has agreed to sign a one-year contract with the Denver Nuggets worth the veteran minimum of $3.9 million, a person with knowledge of the deal said Friday. It will be DeRozan’s fifth team in his 18th season for a six-time AllStar looking for his first championship. The addition of DeRozan gives the Nuggets a veteran backcourt presence after sending young, versatile wing Peyton Watson to Cleveland as part of a four-team trade. DeRozan, the ninth overall pick by Toronto in 2009, spent his first nine seasons with the Raptors, only to get traded to San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard as his former team won the title in Leonard’s only season in 2018-19.

Mavs buy out Thompson, who intends to join Heat

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks and Klay Thompson have agreed on a contract buyout, ending a twoyear tenure that was wrecked by the shocking trade of Luka Doncic. Thompson intends to sign with the Miami Heat once he clears waivers, according to a person familiar with the ﬁve-time All-Star’s plans. Assuming he is not claimed by another club, Thompson may be able to sign with the Heat as early as Sunday. The buyout announcement comes after the Mavericks missed the playoffs in both of Thompson’s seasons, which came after Doncic led Dallas to the NBA Finals in 2024. Thompson joined Dallas in a sign-and-trade with Golden State, giving the Mavericks one of the league’s all-time great 3-point shooters to complement Doncic.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● 3C

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SANKER

Continued from page 1C

quickness is what matters most while covering receivers in the slot. “I never would have thought this was a good idea if I didn’t think he could cover,” Staley said. “I would never even consider it. I think that he’s an outstanding slot cover player because he has the physical characteristics and then the skill set to be a very good slot defender.” Judging by Staley’s history, it’s probably worth trusting his judgment. He’s typically put the best player in his secondary in this role, and they’ve all had success. When Staley started out with the Rams, that meant Pro Bowler Jalen Ramsey moving from the outside — where teams could avoid him if they wanted — right in the mix near the line of scrimmage. When Staley took the Los Angeles Chargers job, it was safety Derwin James who played the star. Both Ramsey and James earned All-Pro honors under Staley. Last season, Taylor matched his career highs in interceptions (two) and tackles for loss (seven) while adding 11 pass breakups, two sacks and 83 tackles. He turned that into a rich free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans. Staley did not invent the concept of the star — it has its roots in the Cleveland Browns defenses of the 1990s, coached by Bill Belichick and Nick Saban. A lot of his own inspiration came from watching Hall of Famer Charles Woodson during his time with the Green Bay Packers. “When Charles went to Green Bay, (then-Packers defensive coordinator) Dom Capers put him at nickel and he was the Defensive Player of the Year,” Staley said. “He gave you, as a play-caller, way more options and then put way more pressure on the offensive coaches because of what you could do. “He could play man-to-man, he could blitz, he could play zone. If you did play base defense, he could go play corner or safety and start because he was that good of a player.” That, Staley thought, was revolutionary. It informed the way he wanted to call defenses. Now he’s putting a young and relatively untested player in his unit’s most crucial spot. If Staley has faith in him, that’s as good of a sign as any that he can ﬁgure it out — maybe in an evolved way. “What I’ve told him from the jump when we decided to do this in the winter time was the way that you’re going to play this is going to be different than a lot of other people in the league are doing it,” Staley said. “Your body type’s different, your engine’s different. Your skill set’s different, and we’re going to really coach to that, design to that.”

Terrell Burgess also played some star under Staley in 2020. Burgess’ advice is simple: “Just play free.” “He’s still a kid at heart,” Burgess said. “I remember where I was my second year in the league, still trying to figure things out. With the way he played last year, it’s giving him confidence to go in there and play just as well in the slot and make a lot of plays.” Starting safeties Justin Reid and Julian Blackmon have also, at various stages of their careers, dropped down from safety to fill in as the starting nickel. Calling back on his own experience, Reid said the biggest adjustment is not in coverage but in how fast things happen when you’re closer to the line of scrimmage. “The closer you get to the ball, you have to react more,” Reid said. “You have to see the puller and just go, and you’ve got to just trust it. Because if not, you’re going to get sealed, you’re going to get caught, right? And if you want to make a play, you got to have that quick trigger and just kind of go and let it happen.” Sanker needs to be instinctive and decisive. Burgess compared the position to the quarterback of the defense, not because the star is making the call but because the rest of the back end is keying off the way he’s reacting. That is where these training camp practices and joint practices have been invaluable, and it is why there has not been much cross-training at other positions to this point. Sanker is putting learned experience in the bank, figuring out the best way to align against certain looks — is it better to be 5 yards off the line or 6? And he’s getting a feel for how fast things happen. “Now he can start to solidify how he wants to play, how he’s going to feel best playing,” Staley said. “And so I think that you’re seeing that with him. He’s been able to absorb all this knowledge from different people and then get out here and play his game.” Sanker is a willing and aggressive tackler, and he should be an upgrade over last year’s star, Alontae Taylor, against the run game. He is also going to have different responsibilities in coverage than he did a year ago at safety, but Staley is not concerned about how he is going to handle that aspect of the job. When Staley looks at Sanker, he sees someone with the ideal build (6-foot-1, 211 pounds) and the right set of physical attributes. Staley noted that Sanker’s 10-yard split during the 40-yard dash — an easy way to gauge acceleration — was among the best in his class. Though Sanker has Email Luke Johnson at long speed, too, the short-area ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

LSU

Continued from page 1C Reading between the lines of Kiffin’s statements in camp, it appears the defense is ahead of the offense. But there was a rally by Weis’ unit, Kiffin said, after some struggles early in last Saturday’s scrimmage. Leavitt, who couldn’t push off of his surgically repaired foot with full force in the spring, is starting to make some “adult throws” that show off his arm strength, Kiffin said. The process of rebuilding the LSU offense has been as efficient as the inefficiencies of a rehabbing quarterback, completely revamped receiving corps and slightly reworked offensive line have allowed. But the continuity of the coaching staff has helped. “There’s still work to be done in terms of establishing the depth chart … and that moves throughout the season, too, as players step up and make plays,” Weis said. “But in terms of the scheme and kind of knowing who we’re gonna be, I do feel pleased in where we’re at.” It’s not hard for Kiffin and Weis to be on the same page. They go back to 2015 when Kiffin was the offensive coordinator at Alabama and Weis, formerly a manager at Kansas under his dad, joined the Crimson Tide as an offensive analyst. They’ve periodically parted ways, Weis joining Steve Sarkisian with the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 before he rejoined Kiffin at Florida Atlantic as offensive coordinator. Weis didn’t tag along initially when Kiffin went to Ole Miss, spending a couple of seasons at South Florida before he landed in Oxford in 2022. “His wife holds that against me at times,” Kiffin joked Thursday. Kiffin made things a bit stress-

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. watches a drill on Friday at the team’s practice facility.

LSU adds fifth-year DE after court ruling BY JON BLAU

free agent. Unlike Pyburn, Tuihalamaka wasn’t rostered by an NFL team, though the judge’s order said an athlete can return to the college ranks if his contract was terminated and he paid back whatever he earned as a pro. The judge’s ruling also demanded the NCAA allow the plaintiffs access to the transfer portal, which closed for football players on Jan. 16. It also nullified NCAA penalties against programs signing “ghost transfers” who hadn’t entered the portal previously. LSU coach Lane Kiffin declined Thursday to discuss the newly eligible seniors from the Louisiana lawsuit, which also includes three players who started for Kiffin at Ole Miss in 2025. But he did hint that a move could be coming when he answered another question about the Tigers’ depth along the offensive line. “Normally we’d say our team is our team, and so it’s what we got. But I guess that potentially changed yesterday,” Kiffin said with a laugh. LSU had an obvious need at defensive end. Aside from transfers Princewill Umanmielen (Ole Miss) and Jordan Ross (Tennessee), the Tigers are looking at a five-star recruit, Lamar Brown, to potentially play meaningful snaps as a freshman. The defensive end rotation became shallower when Gabriel Reliford tore his ACL in the spring; the Ti-

gers also have been without redshirt freshman Damien Shanklin, though Kiffin has not explained why he’s been absent from preseason camp. Tuihalamaka would add depth, but it remains unclear how everything will work out in court. A federal, class-wide restraining order for Class of 2022 athletes out of Colorado was just stayed Friday by an appeals court. That means fifth-year athletes who used up their four seasons are no longer eligible — unless a state court, like in Louisiana, granted them a restraining order. But the restraining order in Louisiana is temporary, and an Aug. 31 hearing in Baton Rouge will allow the NCAA to argue its side and bring up the stay granted in the Colorado case. During basketball season, Alabama was able to make former G League center Charles Bediako eligible via a court ruling, but that held up for only five games before he was deemed ineligible again. Kiffin was asked Thursday how much clarity he needed on an athlete’s eligibility to add them to the roster. “There’s a lot into that and the questions that come from that,” Kiffin said. “Fair question, but I’m not going to comment on any of it because there’s just too many directions of questions I can go to.” A day later, Kiffin made a move. Notre Dame didn’t bring back Tuihalamaka because head coach Marcus Freeman doesn’t think it makes sense to add athletes this late.

ond overall pick has done enough to secure a spot, even if the Saints Continued from page 1C stick with Rattler at QB2. The Saints opted not to keep three quarterbacks on cutdown this week of joint practices, with day last year, preferring to have Smyth and Brown each getting five roster flexibility elsewhere. But reps Tuesday and none Thursday. as a franchise, New Orleans has “I’m really bringing my best shown it’s plenty comfortable every day, stepping up and just keeping three quarterbacks. focusing on making the next kick and not worrying too much about WRs look to step up anything else,” Brown said. “That’s The Saints’ first snap of Thursreally it.” day’s practice saw Bryce Lance, Kevin Austin and Barion Brown Wilson’s surge line up at wide receiver. New Orleans could end up needSaints coach Kellen Moore declined to state whether Wilson or ing all three in 2026. Chris Olave, Jordyn Tyson (when Spencer Rattler would start Saturday’s contest. But there was a notable healthy) and Devaughn Vele are shift in Thursday’s practice, when clearly the top receivers, but injuWilson was the first quarterback up ries and rest days have pushed the after Tyler Shough. The swap came other three into expanded roles. Like running back, the wide redays after Wilson outperformed Ratceiver room faces a fascinating tler against the Jaguars. Will Wilson become Shough’s numbers crunch. If Tyson (hamprimary backup? That depends on string) opens the season on injured how the rest of the preseason goes. reserve, that may help Austin’s But the more interesting question chances of making the roster. But might be whether the former sec- can any of the other wideouts —

such as Bub Means or Ronnie Bell — make enough of an impression in the last two preseason games to cause a change on the depth chart?

Staff writer

Just two days after a Louisiana court ruled 16 former college football players eligible for another season of competition, LSU has added one of them for the 2026 season. Former Notre Dame defensive end Junior Tuihalamaka announced Friday on his Instagram account that he has committed to the Tigers. Tuihalamaka collected 61 tackles, including nine for loss, in four seasons with the Fighting Irish from 2022-25. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound Californian played in 12 games for Notre Dame last season, including three starts. Prior to this year, NCAA athletes had five years to play four seasons, barring medical redshirts or additional years granted after the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA recently changed its eligibility model, allowing athletes five years to play five seasons. But the NCAA didn’t offer another year to the Class of 2022 recruits who had exhausted their eligibility. That prompted another wave of lawsuits, including Wednesday’s filing in Baton Rouge that resulted in a judge granting a temporary restraining order against the NCAA. Four ex-LSU athletes were among the plaintiffs, including defensive end Jack Pyburn, who is currently on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster as an undrafted

SAINTS

Building chemistry with a remade roster takes time, though. Especially with the LSU quarterbacks, who are on a headset with Weis and Kiffin before every play. That’s where Leavitt’s experience as a two-year starter at Arizona State has helped. “He likes to be very involved,” Weis said. “It’s really fun being in the quarterback room when you’ve got a really veteran, experienced guy that understands football at a really high level and you can kind of bounce things off of each other.” In turn, Leavitt has been finding a connection with his top target, Trey’Dez Green. “He’ll just go all day if you let him,” Weis said of the 6-foot-7 tight end’s work ethic. “What’s cool, too, is how much he can handle mentally putting on his plate, which allows us the ability to put him in a lot of different positions and do some really cool things with him.” The other particulars of the offense are a bit opaque heading into a Sept. 5 opener against Clemson. Weis likes the depth of the LSU receivers, but he’s still waiting to “iron out” who will be their top contributors. Jordan Seaton afforded the offensive line a pillar at left tackle, but left guard Bo Bordelon and right tackle Weston Davis aren’t especially proven and Kiffin has expressed concerns about the depth behind the top five. This season will reveal where the Tigers stand, and Weis is ready for it. And he’s definitely ready to match wits against somebody other than the LSU defensive coordinator. “I’m about ready to start working on somebody else other than coach Baker,” Weis said, “because we’ve been going at it, it feels like, for 50 practices.”

ful when he left Ole Miss before the College Football Playoff and Weis contemplated staying or leaving. Weis was too focused on the here and now Friday to reminisce on a tumultuous season that probably aged him 10 years. This season’s task could age him as well. The LSU offense was dreadful last season, ranking in the bottom third of college football at just under 23 points per game. Expectations for this season far exceed that because Ole Miss averaged 36 points per contest in Weis’ four years alongside Kiffin in Oxford. Those years also included Smith, McDonald and Cox, as well as quarterbacks coach Dane Stevens, who helped mold the likes of Jaxson Dart and Trinidad Chambliss. “I can trust them to get it done the right way,” Weis said. “Very, very fortunate to have the staff Email Jon Blau at that we have.” jon.blau@theadvocate.com

CAJUNS

Rookie DBs T.J. Hall picked off Rams quarterback Ty Simpson in Thursday’s practice, which quietly provided a reminder that the Saints drafted two young cornerbacks in April. Have they been lost in the shuffle? Much has been made about Jayden Price’s potential path to locking down a roster spot. Martin Emerson, who signed in free agency, looks like a great fit in Brandon Staley’s defense. Kool-Aid McKinstry has taken a leadership role in the secondary. But fifth-rounder Lorenzo Styles — who has played inside cornerback and special teams on the second and third units — and Hall haven’t been talked about nearly as much. Is that because they’re flying under the radar? Or because they haven’t done enough to be noticed? The last two games should answer that.

passing game also needs a boost from the tight ends. Continued from page 1C “As tight ends, we have to catch everything,” Gawllik said. “Yeah, we’re blocking too, but hey, if the if you want to play here, you have ball comes to you, you have to make the play. You have to catch it to do these things better.’ “I’ve been really impressed with and do something with it.” his camp.” Offensive line coach Steve Impressive D-line Farmer thinks he knows what has The defensive line has been one changed about Reagan’s play. of the most consistently praised “I think Anthony was so zoned in units for the Ragin’ Cajuns. on just not screwing up his read (in “I’ve been pleased with our dethe spring),” Farmer said. “He’s fi- fensive line since the spring,” nally getting back to being the ath- Desormeaux said. “Those guys, I lete that we recruited off of tape, if saw them all summer, always dothat makes sense.” ing work, always out there, doing extra and working together and Gawlik progressing doing all these things. “There’s no secret to it, the hard Desormeaux has made no secret of the fact he challenged the re- work shows up. I think that’s been serve tight ends to rapidly climb the fun thing to see. Those guys have played really well, and I think the ladder prior to August camp. Among those who received that it goes back to the work they’ve message was redshirt sophomore put in.” Much of that centers around Teddy Gawlik. “Yeah, you see what he’s seeing,” redshirt senior Fitzgerald West, Gawlik said of the post-spring crit- a preseason second-team All-Sun icism. “We didn’t do this or that, so Belt honoree, but it also includes you know ... just a blocking assign- the redshirt sophomore duo of ment or a mental bust. You try to Priest Ashe and Ashton Wright, and breakout candidate Chase Edeliminate those things.” Gawlik has seen the progress wards. Offensive line coach Steve for himself and fellow reserve tight ends Emiliano Soldevilla and Farmer also has noticed Tarleton State transfer Brodrick Stewart. Quandre Coates. “Brodrick’s another one who has “On film, there’s definitely been progress made,” Gawlik said. “It had a great camp,” Farmer said. being a competition, I hope it’s “He’s got another skill set, because me. I want to be out there. It’s just he’s such a physical, heavy pass about being consistent throughout rusher and he knocks you back in the run game.” the rest of camp.” Farmer has noticed the defenNot nearly as big as starting tight end Caden Jensen (6-6, 266), sive line as “active and consistent” Gawlik still sees himself as an ex- as a group. “At defensive tackle, they have tension of the offensive line. “In the tight end room, we like wildly different body types beto say, ‘Run the ball behind us, between Chase Edwards (6-7, 295) cause that’s what we want,’ “ he and Fitz(gerald West at 6-2, 300), said. “We’re an extension of the of- but they’re both really, really talfensive line. It really comes down ented in their skill sets.” to technique and being as physical as possible to get the job done.” Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ As important as blocking is, the theadvocate.com.

4C ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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PREP FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW

St. Martinville

2026 SCHEDULE Date

Opponent

Sept. 4 Sept. 11 Sept. 18 Sept. 25 Oct. 2 Oct. 9 Oct. 16 Oct. 23 Oct. 30 Nov. 6

Franklin Breaux Bridge NEW IBERIA Cecilia NORTHSIDE WOODLAWN-BR AVOyELLES Kaplan ERATH Abbeville

PLAYERS TO WATCH Jamion James WR/DB, Junior James led the team in receiving last year, hauling in 19 receptions for 401 yards and six touchdowns in his final two games. A vocal leader, he’ll play cornerback and receiver. Myles Martin WR/DB, Senior Martin, who can play safety or cornerback, will also be counted on to make big plays on offense as a receiver. “New year, new us,” Martin said. Coach Dartez said the rangy athlete doesn’t know how good he can be.

HOME GAMES IN CAPS

PAST FIVE YEARS 2025: 3-8 2024: 2-7 2023: 4-8 2022: 7-5 2021: 11-3

Christian Gedward QB/DB, Junior Dartez, who works with the quarterbacks, can’t say enough good things about Gedward, who appreciates the connection with his new coach. “He teaches me the fundamentals of playing quarterback,” said Gedward, who hasn’t played the position in several years.

STAFF PHOTO By MIKE COPPAGE

PROJECTED STARTERS Offense WR Jamion James Jr.* WR Myles Martin Sr. WR Landon Guye So. OT Eli Leblanc So.* OT Authur Ledet Fr. C Harry Williams Jr. OG Ja’Tyran Boudreaux Sr.* OG Sam Coleman Sr.* QB Christian Gedward Jr. TB Trae Williams Jr. HB Torien Hebert Sr.* Defense DL Torien Hebert Sr.* DL Sam Coleman Sr. DL Jatyram Boudreaux Sr.* LB Torrian Jones Sr. LB Terrian Simon Jr. LB Aiden Savoy Jr. DB Myles Martin Sr.* DB Andon Smith So. DB Harlon Potier Fr. DB Darrell Harris Jr.* DB Landon Guye So. * RETURNING STARTER

COACHES Head coach: James Dartez Assistant coaches: Katerrio Penny, Travien Benjamin, Taylor Latiolais and Jordan Guidry

St. Martinville offensive leaders, from left, include Sam Coleman, Trae Williams, Jamion James, Torien Hebert, Landon Guye and Christian Gedward. college. He just wants to help his team.”

What we know

James Dartez has a motto of “Restore the Roar” in his first year as St. Martinville’s coach. The 15-year coaching veteran was there when Baton Rouge power Madison Prep first built its program, and he led Baker to its first home playoff game in almost two decades at his previous stop. Dartez said he likes his team’s work ethic and the fact that he inherited a group well-versed in the fundamentals of the game. Dartez “Oh, man, I feel great about these kids,” said Dartez, who replaced Garrett Kreamer. “A lot of times, you end up teaching football before coaching football. There is a great youth system here. They came with a knowledge base. “That base, their hard work and their talent is what we’re going to hang our hat on this year.” Quarterback Christian Gedward, a starting defensive back last season, has a fleet of receivers with wideouts Jamion James, Landon Guye and Myles Martin and H-back/tight ends Torien Hebert and Charles Lee. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Lee is a transfer from Comeaux who could also be a standout at defensive end. “Charles will be a big help in multiple sports,” Dartez said of the senior, who is also a standout basketball player. “He’s going to be a force off the edge. He’s big, physical and understands the game.” Though Guye is a sophomore, Dartez has high expectations for the receiver and defensive back. The Tigers also have Armani Davis, a 6-4 junior transfer from Westgate. James, a junior, is already a three-year starter. “you can’t tackle him in a phone booth,” Dartez said of the 5-foot-9, 165-pound James, who along with Gedward has taken on a leadership role for a team with only six seniors. “Christian is really an athlete who will play (defensive back) in college, but we don’t have (another quarterback),” Dartez said. “He stepped up to be a leader. “That says a lot about him. He’s not worrying about

What we don’t know

With a small senior class and a roster of only 35 players, Dartez is eager to see how the inexperienced Tigers do when thrown into the fire. St. Martinville has a freshman starting on the offensive line in Arthur Ledet and in the secondary (Harlon Potier). “We don’t have a ton of numbers,” Dartez said. “My biggest question mark is how our youth playing varsity for the first time — or getting substantial minutes for the first time — do with the learning curves, bumps and hiccups that come with how to finish games or (adjust to) how fast game speed is.” The Tigers scrimmaged West St. Mary on Thursday and will play Lafayette Christian in the Kiwanis Jamboree at Cajun Field next week.

Trae Williams RB, Junior One of the few Tigers not projected to go both ways, Williams gives the Tigers power and speed at running back. “Trae is a hardnosed runner with good top-end speed,” Dartez said.

How we see it

The Tigers replaced Westgate, Lafayette High, Jeanerette and Parkview Baptist on the nondistrict schedule with New Iberia, Northside, Franklin and Avoyelles. Last year, the four nondistrict games listed above were losses. The Tigers should finish the eight-game nondistrict slate — which also has Cecilia, Breaux Bridge and Woodlawn-Baton Rouge — with more than the two total wins they had in 2025. St. Martinville began last season with an impressive win over Cecilia, which hosts the Tigers in Week 4 this fall. The Tigers, who finished 3-8, lost by four points to Kreamer’s former school, Lafayette. The Tigers have size and a good group of skill players on offense, although many will pull double-duty in the secondary. The three-team district (Erath, Abbeville and Kaplan) should expect Erath to be the favorite since the Bobcats have been recent champions. Promising sophomore defensive back (rover) Andon Smith and Hebert, a two-way starter at end on defense, will be important players, along with Guye, who has a goal of 50 catches and seven touchdowns.

Sam Coleman OL/DL, Senior The team’s strongest player, Coleman bench presses 405 pounds and is like a coach on the field. “We’re trying to lead the younger guys the way they should be led,” said Coleman, who teams up with another experienced lineman in Ja’Tyran Boudreaux.

Mike Coppage

SCOREBOARD Odds

Los Angeles Seattle

x-clinched playoff spot Thursday’s Games

Sports Betting Line NFL Saturday

FAVORITE OPEN at DETROIT 1½ at MIN 2½ at CLE 1½ at IND 2½ NY Giants 1½ New Orleans 1½ Chicago 3 Philadelphia 1½ at TAMPA BAY 3 at ARIZONA 1½

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 1½ (36½) Wash 3½ (36½) Baltimore 3 (36½) Buffalo 3½ (36½) Atlanta 3½ (36½) at MIAMI 2½ (37½) at RAMS 1½ (36½) at CIN 1½ (36½) at NE 5½ (37½) Knsas City 1½ (37½) Dallas

FAVORITE OPEN at TENNESSEE 3

TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 4½ (37½) Seattle

Sunday

MLB

24 30

.333 17½ .189 23

UNDERDOG LINE Toronto OFF LA Angels +125 Tampa Bay OFF Athletics +161 at KANSAS CITY +101 UNDERDOG Atlanta Washington St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati

LINE OFF OFF OFF +202 OFF

UNDERDOG N.Y Mets at SEATTLE San Francisco Cleveland Minnesota

LINE OFF -105 OFF OFF OFF

Pro basketball

Dallas 91, Indiana 85 Las Vegas 101, Connecticut 78 Atlanta 124, Los Angeles 88

Friday’s Games

Golden State at Chicago, n Minnesota at Washington, n Portland at Toronto, n

WNBA Glance EASTERN CONFERENCE Indiana Atlanta Washington New York Chicago Toronto Connecticut

W 24 23 21 22 14 10 9

L 13 13 14 15 22 25 26

Pct .649 .639 .600 .595 .389 .286 .257

x-Minnesota x-Golden State x-Las Vegas Dallas Portland Phoenix

W 30 25 25 21 15 13

L 7 10 13 16 20 23

Pct GB .811 — .714 4 .658 5½ .568 9 .429 14 .361 16½

WESTERN CONFERENCE

GB — ½ 2 2 9½ 13 14

Pro football NFL Glance Thursday’s Games

.383

Friday’s Games

Saturday’s Games

Toronto (Cease 7-5) at N.Y. Yankees (Weathers 5-7), 12:35 p.m. L.A. Angels (Johnson 2-7) at Texas (Bradford 0-1), 6:05 p.m. Tampa Bay (McClanahan 9-6) at Baltimore (Young 9-3), 6:05 p.m. Athletics (Lopez 5-4) at Houston (Brown 3-3), 6:10 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Scott 4-3) at Chicago White Sox (Castillo 4-9), 6:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Peterson 7-7) at Seattle (Anderson 0-0), 6:15 p.m. Detroit (Anderson 4-4) at Kansas City (Wacha 6-8), 6:15 p.m. San Francisco (Tidwell 0-0) at Boston (Sandoval 1-2), 6:15 p.m. Cleveland (Bibee 4-13) at Colorado (Hughes 0-4), 7:10 p.m. Minnesota (Kremer 2-4) at San Diego (Mize 5-7), 7:40 p.m.

N.Y. Jets at Pittsburgh, n Carolina at Jacksonville, n Green Bay at Denver, n

Saturday’s Games

Washington at Detroit, 11 a.m. Atlanta at Indianapolis, noon Baltimore at Minnesota, noon Buffalo at Cleveland, noon N.Y. Giants at Miami, 3 p.m. New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 3 p.m. Chicago at Cincinnati, 6 p.m. Philadelphia at New England, 6 p.m. Kansas City at Tampa Bay, 6:30 p.m. Dallas at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Sunday’s Games

Seattle at Tennessee, 7 p.m.

Major League Baseball

National League East Division

American League Tampa Bay New York Boston Toronto Baltimore

W 76 72 68 63 61

L 51 55 59 66 67

Pct .598 .567 .535 .488 .477

GB — 4 8 14 15½

Chicago Minnesota Cleveland Detroit Kansas City

W 66 63 62 61 55

L 61 65 66 66 74

Pct .520 .492 .484 .480 .426

GB — 3½ 4½ 5 12

Houston Texas Seattle Los Angeles

W 64 63 60 51

L 64 65 68 77

Pct .500 .492 .469 .398

GB — 1 4 13

Atlanta Philadelphia Miami Washington New York

W 75 70 64 61 58

L 53 58 64 68 70

Pct .586 .547 .500 .473 .453

GB — 5 11 14½ 17

Milwaukee Chicago St. Louis Pittsburgh Cincinnati

W 79 74 66 63 61

L 49 54 63 66 67

Pct .617 .578 .512 .488 .477

GB — 5 13½ 16½ 18

Pct .602 .531 .523 .409 .394

GB — 9 10 24½ 26½

Central Division

West Division Los Angeles San Diego Arizona San Francisco Colorado

W 77 68 67 52 50

Thursday’s Games

L 51 60 61 75 77

St. Louis 10, Cincinnati 9 Cleveland 5, San Francisco 2 Atlanta 2, Chicago White Sox 0 Milwaukee 7, Seattle 4 Texas 2, Washington 0

Milwaukee 2, Atlanta 1 St. Louis at Philadelphia, n San Francisco at Boston, n Washington at Miami, n N.Y. Mets at Chicago White Sox, n Cleveland at Colorado, n Cincinnati at Arizona, n Minnesota at San Diego, n Chicago Cubs at Seattle, n Pittsburgh at L.A. Dodgers, n

Saturday’s Games

Friday’s Games

West Division

Friday’s Games

Indiana at New York, 6 p.m. Connecticut at Los Angeles, 8 p.m. Atlanta at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Central Division

Thursday’s Games

Toronto at N.Y. Yankees, n San Francisco at Boston, n Tampa Bay at Baltimore, n N.Y. Mets at Chicago White Sox, n Athletics at Houston, n Detroit at Kansas City, n L.A. Angels at Texas, n Cleveland at Colorado, n Minnesota at San Diego, n Chicago Cubs at Seattle, n

Saturday’s Games

East Division

Athletics

Cleveland 5, San Francisco 2 Toronto 5, Tampa Bay 1 Atlanta 2, Chicago White Sox 0 Kansas City 6, Athletics 2 Milwaukee 7, Seattle 4 N.Y. Yankees 6, Baltimore 1 Texas 2, Washington 0 L.A. Angels 18, Houston 3

Las Vegas 22, Houston 20 San Francisco 41, L.A. Chargers 17

Saturday

American League FAVORITE LINE at N.Y YANKEES OFF at TEXAS -142 at BALTIMORE OFF at HOUSTON -184 Detroit -115 National League FAVORITE LINE at MILWAUKEE OFF at MIAMI OFF at PHILA OFF at LA DODGERS -234 at ARIZONA OFF Interleague FAVORITE LINE at WHITE SOX OFF Chicago Cubs -109 at BOSTON OFF at COLORADO OFF at SAN DIEGO OFF

12 7

Atlanta (Elder 8-7) at Milwaukee (Henderson 7-2), 1:10 p.m. Washington (Irvin 2-7) at Miami (Pérez 6-9), 3:10 p.m. St. Louis (Pallante 12-6) at Philadelphia (Painter 2-8), 5:05 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Scott 4-3) at Chicago White Sox (Castillo 4-9), 6:10 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Peterson 7-7) at Seattle (Anderson 0-0), 6:15 p.m. Pittsburgh (Jones 2-5) at L.A. Dodgers (Skubal 7-7), 6:15 p.m. San Francisco (Tidwell 0-0) at Boston (Sandoval 1-2), 6:15 p.m. Cincinnati (Lowder 4-8) at Arizona (Soroka 8-3), 7:10 p.m. Cleveland (Bibee 4-13) at Colorado (Hughes 0-4), 7:10 p.m. Minnesota (Kremer 2-4) at San Diego (Mize 5-7), 7:40 p.m.

Golf BMW Championship Friday

At Bellerive Country Club Saint Louis, Mo. Purse: $20 million Yardage: 7,448; Par: 70 Second Round Wyndham Clark 64-64—128 Gary Woodland 64-65—129 J.J. Spaun 64-66—130 Chris Gotterup 64-67—131 Sungjae Im 67-64—131 Patrick Cantlay 67-65—132 66-66—132 Michael Thorbjornsen Russell Henley 67-66—133 Rory McIlroy 64-69—133 Maverick McNealy 67-66—133 68-65—133 Collin Morikawa Michael Brennan 69-65—134 Viktor Hovland 71-63—134 Kristoffer Reitan 67-67—134 Justin Thomas 67-67—134 Akshay Bhatia 67-68—135 Eric Cole 67-68—135 Ryo Hisatsune 65-70—135 Ryan Gerard 70-66—136

-12 -11 -10 -9 -9 -8 -8 -7 -7 -7 -7 -6 -6 -6 -6 -5 -5 -5 -4

Justin Rose Xander Schauffele Adam Scott Cameron Young Ludvig Åberg Matt Fitzpatrick Robert MacIntyre Matthew McCarty Scottie Schefﬂer Alex Smalley Jacob Bridgeman Sam Burns Alex Fitzpatrick Tommy Fleetwood Si Woo Kim Jake Knapp Aaron Rai Rickie Fowler Ryan Fox Kurt Kitayama Hideki Matsuyama Alex Noren J.T. Poston Ben Grifﬁn Tom Kim Min Woo Lee Sepp Straka Bud Cauley Nicolas Echavarria Sahith Theegala Nicolai Højgaard

69-67—136 70-66—136 68-68—136 71-65—136 66-70—136 65-72—137 68-69—137 70-67—137 72-65—137 69-68—137 66-72—138 71-67—138 66-72—138 69-69—138 70-69—139 67-72—139 68-71—139 71-69—140 71-69—140 72-68—140 72-68—140 71-69—140 70-70—140 68-73—141 72-69—141 69-72—141 73-68—141 73-69—142 69-74—143 71-72—143 73-71—144

-4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -2 -2 -2 -2 -1 -1 -1 E E E E E E +1 +1 +1 +1 +2 +3 +3 +4

Transactions Major League Baseball

American League ATHLETICS — Transferred 1B Nick Kurtz to the 60-day IL. Placed SS Jacob Wilson on the 10-day IL. Selected the contract of 2B Michael Stefanic from Las Vegas (PCL). Recalled RHP Kade Morris from Las Vegas. Optioned RHP Taylor Rashi to Las Vegas. Claimed OF Johnathan Rodríguez off waivers from Pittsburgh. BALTIMORE ORIOLES — Designated RHP Albert Suárez for assignment. Recalled RHP Anthony Nunez from Norfolk (IL). HOUSTON ASTROS — Optioned LHP Bryan King to Sugar Land (PCL). Recalled RHP KaiWei Teng from Sugar Land. KANSAS CITY ROYALS — Placed 3B Maikel Garcia on the 10-day IL. Sent RHP Beck Way on a rehab assignment to Omaha (IL). Recalled RHP Jose Cuas and OF Matthew Lugo from Omaha. Optioned RHP Carlos Duran to Omaha. NEW YORK YANKEES — Placed 3B Ryan McMahon on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 20. Recalled OF Max Schuemann from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (IL). TORONTO BLUE JAYS — Reinstated RHP Spencer Arrighetti from the 15-day IL. Placed 2B Josh Smith on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 20. Recalled OF Davis Schneider from Buffalo (IL). Optioned LHP Brendan Cellucci to Buffalo. National League CINCINNATI REDS — Reinstated RHP Tony Santillan from the 15-day IL. Optioned RHP Zach Maxwell to Louisville (IL).

LIVING

T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M

S at u r d ay, au g u S t 22, 2026

5CN

Terry Robinson FAITH MATTERS

New senior pastor not new to Camphor United Much has changed for Tiffanie Postell since she last served at Camphor United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge. For one, Postell, 45, is now fully ordained. “It feels good, but it feels different,” said Postell, who left Camphor seven years ago as an associate pastor and recently returned as the new senior pastor. “I’ve been taking time to reintroduce myself to them. When they knew me in 2016 to 2019, I had just entered ministry and was serving as an associate pastor for the first time. I was new to Louisiana. ... They met me in a different way. I wasn’t Postell ordained yet.” She now has years of pastoral leadership, denominational service and personal growth. The United Methodist Church uses an itinerant system, in which bishops assign pastors to serve specific congregations. Postell initially left Camphor for her first senior pastorate at Newman United Methodist Church in Alexandria, where she served for about three years. She then spent the past four years as the senior pastor of Hartzell Mount Zion United Methodist in Slidell prior to her return to Camphor. “We love each other, but it is also an understanding that I’ve been gone and now I’m back. And I want to show them why the conference and the bishop chose to send me back here,” said Postell, a Georgia native who worked as a biologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta before answering her call in ministry. During her first tenure at Camphor, Postell also served as the director of the Wesley Foundation at Southern University, connecting college students to Camphor through worship and community projects. She won’t hold that dual role this time, but she hopes to see that partnership continue between the university and the church at 8742 Scenic Highway. “I built a bridge, and my students were present here at the church,” she said. “I’ve been sent back to strengthen a connection between the church and the school. That’s one of the reasons why they chose me to come back here, but not to do both.” For Postell, ministry begins with relationships. She embraces technology as a tool to engage younger generations while staying committed to relationships with older members. “I’m all about building and connecting across the ages,” she said. “I love to sit with 80and 90-year-olds because I love their stories.” She added, “Wisdom is not defined by age. You can sit with someone who is 5 years old, and they would give a little piece of wisdom if you allow them to.” Connecting with people has seemingly always been one of Postell’s gifts. It was one of the qualities that helped Postell recognize her calling in ministry during her 16 years at the CDC. Her CDC background would become an unexpected ministry years later during the COVID pandemic. She remained connected with former CDC colleagues, and churches and hospital officials

ä See MATTERS, page 6C

Pianist River Eckert at his home studio in New Orleans on Aug. 3 STAFF PHOTOS By CHRIS GRANGER

BY KEITH SPERA

Staff writer

Is 16-year-old River Eckert the next great piano player from New Orleans?

iver Eckert will never delete the Instagram message he received as a Willow School eighth grader on Oct. 27, 2023. It read, “Hey River. You sound great. I have a question for your mom and dad.” The sender? Harry Connick Jr. The star of stage and screen had watched online videos of the River Eckert plays on a piano in his home studio in New then-13-year-old A fleur-de-lis necklace Orleans. By 3 years old, Eckert was plinking away at keys. around the neck of pianist Eckert playing New River Eckert Orleans-style piano — As a former piano prodigy himself who’d been tutored by troubled genius think Professor Longhair, James Booker, Fats James Booker, Connick was curious. Who was this new kid and how had he learned Domino, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Art Neville, to play like that? etc. — with the ﬂuency and feel of a much older Now 16, River Eckert has burst onto musician. ä See RIVER ECKERT, page 6C

‘THE GREAT FOOD TRUCK RACE’

LSU alum credits degree with family success Stuph’d Beignets and Burgers’ team member Dionne Lewis competes on season 19 of ‘The Great Food Truck Race.’ PROVIDED PHOTO By JAKE GILES NETTER/ THE FOOD NETWORK

BY JOY HOLDEN Staff writer

LSU got a big shoutout when Dionne Lewis, a contestant on season 19 of the “Great Food Truck Race,” showed off her graduation pictures from LSU. The former Tiger, her mother and father run a stuffed beignet business, Stuph’d Beignets & Burgers, in New Orleans. The Louisiana parents and their daughter are still

in the “Great Food Truck Race” after four episodes. On episode three, “Sweet and Savory: Knoxville Part 1,” which aired on Food Network on Aug. 9, the food trucks stopped at the University of Tennessee, their ﬁrst location of a “three-legged race.” When the food truck teams got their instructions from host Tyler Florence, Lewis threw up the

ä See STUPH'D, page 6C

6C ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

lll

MATTERS

mother died. However, Postell said it wasn’t until Continued from page 5C the chaplaincy program ended that she was able to grieve. She eventually moved to Delaware, where turned to her for guidance she lived near an old coland perspective. “That was my first career. lege friend and found I just found that I was good work as a behavioral interat talking to people, and ventionist at an alternative people liked talking to me,” school. said Postell, who earned That helped Postell get her undergraduate biology her life back on track. degree from Hampton Uni“I hadn’t grieved because I spent a year helping other versity in Virginia. “I was good at science. I loved my people start their grieving job, but I used to always tell process,” she said. After eight months in people that I’m not going to Delaware, Postell relocated retire there. I just always felt there was more. I didn’t to Baton Rouge to become the associate pastor at know the move was conCamphor and director of nected to ministry.” the Wesley Foundation. Postell, who was con“God opened the door firmed in the United Methfor me to come down odist Church at 12, finally here,” she said. acknowledged her call to Seven years later, the ministry at 29. She had door opened for her return been active in the church, to Camphor, an appointteaching and participating in various other ministries. ment she admits was bitIn 2010, she was named tersweet because of her the children’s minister, the deep relationships with same year she started at the Hartzell Mount Zion Gammon Theological Semi- congregation. “We had become famnary in Atlanta. “There’s a whirlwind of ily,” she said. “We just did change that happened in life together, and when I my life that was no denytold them I was leaving to come here, it was the ing that God had called saddest time. ...You never me,” she said. “I believe see it coming, but you live that sometimes in life, with it, you say yes, and when God is ready for you then go from there.” to move to the next level Meanwhile, Postell is or destination, he does it getting reacquainted with so fast that you don’t have Camphor. time to question it.” “I have all the love in the She graduated from world for my Camphor peoGammon in 2014 with a master of divinity. Three ple,” she said. “I know we months later, she resigned will find our way, and I’m from the CDC to complete just living in that space.” a chaplain residency program in Wilmington, Contact Terry Robinson North Carolina. at terryrobinson622@ One month later, her gmail.com.

TODAY IN HISTORY By The Associated Press Today is Saturday, Aug. 22, the 234th day of 2026. There are 131 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 22, 1851, the schooner America outraced more than a dozen British vessels off the English coast to win a trophy that came to be known as the America’s Cup. Also on this date: In 1791, the Haitian Revolution began as enslaved people of Saint-Domingue rose up against French colonizers. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, which remained under Japanese control until the end of World War II.

STUPH’D

Continued from page 5C “L” and said “Geaux Tigers” multiple times. “She just graduated from LSU this past May,” her mom, Duana Lawrence, the head chef and owner of Stuph’d, said. “The Great Food Truck Race” followed that up with graduation pictures of Lewis in purple. Having just graduated from LSU, Lewis said she loved being back on a college campus. The show showed photos of Lewis in a cap and gown outside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. She explained that she graduated with a degree in chemistry,

In 1968, Pope Paul VI arrived in Bogota, Colombia, for the start of the ﬁrst papal visit to South America. In 1989, Black Panthers co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, California. In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed welfare reform legislation that ended guaranteed cash payments to the poor and demanded work from recipients. In 2003, Alabama’s chief justice, Roy Moore, was suspended for his refusal to obey a federal court order to remove his Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of his courthouse. In 2007, a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq,

killing all 14 U.S. soldiers aboard. In 2016, a bomb attack targeting an outdoor wedding party in Turkey killed at least 30 people and wounded 94 others. The attack came as the country was still reeling from a failed coup attempt weeks earlier. In 2022, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease expert who became a household name — and the subject of partisan attacks — during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced he would be leaving the federal government in December after more than ﬁve decades of public service.

Today’s birthdays: Author Annie Proulx is 91. Baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski is 87. Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells is 85. Writer-producer David Chase is 81. International Swimming Hall of Famer Diana Nyad is 77. Baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor is 70. Rock guitarist Vernon Reid is 68. Country singer Collin Raye is 66. Rock singer Roland Orzabal (Tears For Fears) is 65. Singer Tori Amos is 63. International Tennis Hall of Famer Mats Wilander is 62. Rapper GZA/The Genius is 60. Actor Ty Burrell is 59. Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis is 56. Actor Rick Yune is 55.

business administration/entrepreneurship. “The business administration and entrepreneurship comes back to trying to bring it back to my mom’s business — to take it to the next level,” Lewis said on the show. As the Stuph’d team came up with their menu and prices for the college leg of the race, Lewis reminded her mom and dad that college students love a good deal. “I reﬂect on the days I was in college, and I just remember always wanting something free or feel like I was getting something out of the deal,” Lewis said on the show. Lewis said that one thing she learned in studying business at LSU was to limit the menu to just a few items and price them strategically — a practice that worked

out well for LSU alum Todd Graves and Raising Cane’s. “Pricing and understanding my customer came from textbook learning from school,” Lewis said. “My mom feels like we need 100 menu items, but I learned in business classes to give (the customer) small things so that you can focus on something. It’s less wait time. It’s less decisiveness.” In a phone interview Friday, Lewis said that when it comes to advice for future entrepreneurs, she recommends capitalizing on opportunities and paying attention in class. Because she frequently went home to New Orleans to work at Stuph’d, she missed networking events. “LSU is such a huge opportunity for everybody,” Lewis said. “It’s people from

all over the world. Always interact with these people. Email your professors. Always go to the career fairs.” Lewis offered a ﬁnal suggestion for business majors. “As boring as it gets, sometimes you really do have to pay attention because you never know what is necessary in your life,” Lewis said. “I struggled in accounting, but I run our payroll now. Take in all of these tools because you really may need them down the line.”

RIVER ECKERT Continued from page 5C

the New Orleans music scene seemingly out of nowhere. His self-titled debut was one of the best-selling albums during the 2026 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He earned a standing ovation in the Blues Tent. His high-profile hometown appearances span Mayor Helena Moreno’s inauguration to WWOZ’s Piano Night to White Linen Night. This summer, he traveled to California for the first time to perform at the High Sierra Music Festival and accept its Emerging Artist Award. He also made his first trip abroad for a two-week tour of France. The novelty of his age partly explains River’s rise. But he’s also a legitimately gifted piano player with a natural feel for the nuances of the New Orleans style. “He’s something special,” said Ivan Neville, the Dumpstaphunk keyboardist and scion of a New Orleans music dynasty. “Out of the gate, he’s playing piano like nobody’s business, sounding like Professor Longhair and Dr. John and all those guys, just killin’ it. “And his work ethic is impressive. That will take him a long way.” Neville lobbied to be on the “River Eckert” album. He appears on a song called, fittingly, “Pass That Torch.” “This kid has got some swag to say that, and he’s actively doing it,” Neville said “He’s grabbing that torch. And he’s just getting started.”

Backstage in the womb A bunker-like recording studio dominates the Eckert family’s Carrollton backyard. It’s where River made his ﬁrst album and where he recently started recording his second album a week before his junior year at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts commenced. River’s father, Jake Eckert, is a guitarist and producer who spent years in the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and co-founded the New Orleans Suspects. His mother, Jen Eckert, is a fourth-grade teacher. River, their only child, grew up immersed in New Orleans music. “I was backstage at Dirty Dozen concerts since I was in the womb,” he said. “I was always aware of New Orleans music and what my dad does.” Not that he fully appreciated it. When River was 3 or 4, his father tried to introduce him to the legend Allen Toussaint. River yelled “No!” and ran away. Sitting on the stage steps watching the Dirty Dozen at Tipitina’s one night, he refused to move as Dr. John came up the stairs. He was, in his own words, a “stubborn” little kid. By 3, he was plinking away at an upright piano. Jake showed him how to play the melody of Bill

STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Pianist River Eckert, left, and his dad, Jake, work on one of River’s songs in the control room at their home studio in New Orleans. Withers’ “Lean On Me” with one ﬁnger. The Ukrainian woman who gave River classical piano lessons at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School was “very strict” about technique. He remembers being “real scared” of her. Classical music bored him. While practicing Bach, he’d shift into a 12-bar blues: “I’d see my dad onstage playing funk music and be like, ‘I want to get into that.’ ” In hindsight, River realized his classical foundation “was a very important part in me being able to learn the New Orleans stuff on my own, not needing a lot of help from teachers.”

Cleary gave him ‘Flu’ One teacher who did help — unknowingly — was Jon Cleary, the British-born, Bywater-based pianist and singer who is a proﬁcient practitioner of the New Orleans style. During the COVID shutdown, Cleary livestreamed “One Finger At a Time” piano lessons on Facebook. Jake suggested River, a bored 10-year-old stuck at home, check them out. River absorbed Cleary’s lesson about Huey “Piano” Smith’s New Orleans rhythm and blues classic “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu.” It rocked his world. “That’s how I got deep into New Orleans piano,” River said. “From Cleary’s lessons. “That put me down the rabbit hole of New Orleans R&B, which progressed into the funk of The Meters and the Neville Brothers. Now I’m stuck in that rabbit hole. I’m happy to be there.” Pianist and composer Michael Pellera taught at Loyola University and NOCCA for a combined 36 years. He first encountered 13-year-old River at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation’s Don “Moose” Jamison Heritage School of Music, an intensive program for gifted young musicians.

“I was astonished that such a young person had such a commanding knowledge of scales and chords,” Pellera said. “After a few weeks of saying, ‘Can anyone other than River answer the question,’ I had him moved to a more advanced class.” Watching River in a piano lab, Pellera recalled, “it was clear that he had a solid technique and a real love of the classic New Orleans style of piano, especially Professor Longhair and James Booker.” Pellera, who also taught Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and Jon Batiste, continued to work with River during holiday breaks. They’d analyze pop songs such as “Let It Be” and “House of the Rising Sun;” River would transpose them to alternate keys or new chord progressions. After ﬁnishing eighth grade at Willow, he entered NOCCA as a full-time Jazz Department student who could compose, arrange and record his own songs. “From a young age, I would look at my dad and try to picture where I would be when I grew up,” he said. “I could only picture myself doing music. As I got older, I got more into music and found more love for it. And here we are today.”

Consulting with Connick His earliest gigs involved sitting in with his father at Seither’s Seafood in Harahan. Eventually, River took over the gig. Meters bassist George Porter Jr. sometimes showed up at Seither’s and dropped a $100 bill in the tip jar. “He’d make sure I got it, not my dad,” River said, grinning. Porter became one of River’s main mentors. Cyril Neville, an alum of both the Meters and the Neville Brothers, is another one. Jake and River bonded as a father/son duo with Cyril and Cyril’s son, Omari, a drummer and bandleader. Omari and River are bandmates in the New Orleans Legacy Coalition, a group of second-generation musicians.

River was in third grade when he met Trombone Shorty at the House of Blues. Seven years later, he joined Shorty on the bill at Moreno’s inauguration. “Those were both things I would not expect to happen at this age,” River said. “I’ve looked up to Troy since I was very young, so that was a dream come true.” Seeking insight, he had deep conversations with acclaimed pianists Josh Paxton and Tom McDermott. And Harry Connick Jr. Four days after he reached out via Instagram, Connick visited the Eckerts’ home studio on Halloween afternoon in 2023. He and River sat at a piano, talking shop. “He showed me some of what Booker showed him as a kid,” River recalled. “He kept saying, ‘Me and you, we’re not very different.’ ” For River, Connick’s 1994 New Orleans funk album “She” is an important touchstone. He considers Connick “a beast. I look up to him just as much as James Booker, Dr. John and Professor Longhair.” That pivotal afternoon with Connick “was the ﬁrst time I ever really sat down with a person to talk about New Orleans piano. He had a lot of inspirational advice.”

Standing on his own

The fifth episode of “The Great Food Truck Race” airs on Food Network at 8 p.m. on Sunday. The episodes are also available the next day on HBO Max. Email Joy Holden at joy. holden@theadvocate.com.

out there what he’s hearing and living. He’s starting to experience things.” During such new experiences as his summer tour of France, River was grateful that Jake was there as his guitarist and more. “Me and my dad have lots of fun playing together. We’re more than father/son. We’re more than musicians. It’s something higher than that.”

School vs. schedule For all his youthful energy, River has not accepted every offer. He declined an invitation to be an “American Idol” contestant. The televised singing competition “may be, for many young people, their big chance,” Jake said. “That’s not the world we live in. This is a steep, long, emotional climb if you want to stay in the game.” For River, the decision came down to, “Do I want to be known as ‘River Eckert’ or ‘River Eckert from American Idol’ ”? He recently signed with Mint Talent Group, the booking agency that represents several prominent New Orleans acts. He’ll occasionally miss school for out-oftown gigs. In January, he’ll spend a week aboard the Big Easy Cruise alongside Samantha Fish, Galactic, Jon Cleary and John Boutte. His parents are trying to balance his schooling and tour schedule in such a way that keeps his options open. “You don’t want to deprive anybody of any opportunities academically, career-wise, financially,” Jake said. “We’re looking at the road signs to point us in the most positive direction. “Music is a long road — you don’t ﬁgure it out in two years, or three or four or ﬁve or 50 years. But you can see the signs of somebody that has natural abilities from a very young age. What they do with them, that’s up to them.” Jake knows the hazards of the music business as well as anybody. “I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I’ll tell you what not to do. I have a Ph.D. in what not to do. River has watched all that. He was there. That’s the most organic way of learning.” What River knows for certain is that the stage is his happy place. While traveling in France, he thought about how he’d never been so far from home. “Looking forward to more of those trips is something that will keep me going.” At 16, he’s full of ideas. Maybe he’ll record a traditional rhythm & blues album, or a Duke Ellingtonstyle album, or a Dumpstaphunkinspired funk album, or a solo piano album. “I have all these creative avenues that I want to run down but I can only run down so many at once. “Over time, I’ll touch them all.”

Released this spring, the “River Eckert” album is, in its namesake’s words, “my roots meets me.” His pleasant singing voice suits the tone and temperament of the songs he co-wrote with his father. He also revisits the traditional “Stack-A-Lee,” which Dr. John recorded for his “Gumbo” album, and “Tico Tico,” a Brazilian-flavored solo piano showcase that both Booker and Connick covered. Nineteen veteran local musicians contributed to the album. River was only 14 when the project started. He and his father are both credited as producers; Jake served as River’s guide throughout the process. “I would have felt almost irresponsible not giving him some guidance,” Jake said. For River’s second album, the music will flow mainly from him. He compiled a couple hundred song snippets and another 300 or so lyrical ideas on his phone. This summer, he fleshed out songs in his bedroom on a keyboard and two laptops. He wrote with The Revivalists singer David Shaw and Andriu Yanovski, the keyboardist in The Rumble. One person River didn’t write with was his dad. Jake didn’t even hear the songs-in-progress until River downloaded them to the backyard studio’s hard drive a few days before they started recording. “I intentionally didn’t get involved,” Jake said. “I wanted to let him walk on his own feet, because I know he can.” River’s first album “was the community stepping forward,” Jake Email Keith Spera at kspera@ said. “This one is River putting theadvocate.com.

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● 7C

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FrAnK And erneSt

roSebUdS

zItS

For better or For WorSe

zodIAC LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) You know how to play the game, so don't sit on the sidelines. Look for every opportunity to display your skills and to reach your goal. A positive change will come from the connections you make. VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) You may crave change, but don't jump too quickly. Ask questions, be resourceful and set up a time frame and budget that ensure you are doing what's best for you. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Take the back roads, be observant and when in doubt, stick close to home. How you deal with others will make a difference in what you get in return. Be specific, realistic and ready to honor your promises. scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Your options show promise and despair. Take the time to sort through the pros and cons and to eliminate anything that may pose a problem for you. Speak on your behalf. sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Close in on what you want. You have plenty to gain if you trust and believe in yourself and you recognize how you can use your skills and experience to get ahead. cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) If you express your honest opinion, you'll spare yourself turmoil. Addressing issues instead of letting them fester and grow will help you remove yourself from unsavory situations. AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Step up, make things happen and celebrate your success. It may seem impossible, but once

you take the first step, you'll discover how to sprint toward happiness. PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Redefine what you want and what you've already got. It's time to shake up your routine, rethink your future and consider what truly makes you happy. Engage in pastimes that encourage you to be physical. ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Be specific. Leave nothing to chance or up to someone you aren't sure you can trust. Be resourceful, research and source information carefully. Refuse to let anger surface. tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Learn from past mistakes. Don't indulge or get involved in joint ventures. Be true to yourself, stick to your budget and choose pastimes that help you get ahead and put you on a path to self-improvement. GEMInI (May 21-June 20) A change will turn into a learning experience. Get into the nitty-gritty of whatever is being offered, and expand your plans to meet your demands. Life is about growth. cAncER (June 21-July 22) A steady pace is your best bet. Taking on too much will lead to frustration and regret. Don't limit what you can do; instead, focus on what's most important to you. Face facts when it comes to your current situation. The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

WonderWord

peAnUtS

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY CeLebrItY CIpher Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

toDAy's cLuE: K EQuALs o

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon FAMILY CIrCUS

dooneSbUrY

8C ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

CurTiS

Hi and LoiS

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Sudoku InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday. Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

BaBY BLueS

BLondie

THe wiZard oF id

nea CroSSwordS

La TimeS CroSSword

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● 9C

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B.C.

Bridge By PHILLIP ALDER Alfred Hitchcock said, “I am a typed director. If I made ‘Cinderella,’ the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach.” Which one of the ugly stepsisters would it be? It couldn’t be Cinderella; you cannot kill off the heroine. In most bridge deals, declarer must start on his campaign immediately. If he waffles early, his contract will die. How should South play in this four-heart contract after West leads the diamond queen? Many Norths would have jumped straight to four hearts. “Partner, we had 10 trumps, so I had to bid to the 10-trick level as advocated by the Law of Total tricks.” I am not fond of that bid, especially in an uncontested auction, with a balanced hand containing so many losers. South has four losers: two spades, one heartandoneclub.Buthehas10winners: one spade, five hearts, two diamonds and two clubs. So it will be tempting to take the first trick and play a trump. However, East will win and shift to the club queen. Then the defenders can defeat the contract. Declarer must establish his spade trick immediately, so that he can dispose of his club loser. At trick two, South leads his spade queen. East wins with his king and switches to the club queen. Declarer carefully wins with his ace and plays the

garfield

Pearls Before swiNe

hagar the horriBle

spade 10. When in dummy with the club king, South discards his last club on the spade jack. Then West will wonder how he might have found a club lead (or a heart lead with East’s shifting to the club queen), which would have given the defense the edge. © 2026 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

PiCKles

Previous answers:

mallard fillmore

word game InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters 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 words are not allowed.

toDAy’s WoRD — VInEGAR: VIN-ih-ger: A sour liquid made from fermented

Bizarro

marmaduKe

alcohol. Average mark 28 words Time limit 50 minutes Can you find 44 or more words in VINEGAR? yEstERDAy’s WoRD — BALsAMIc bail balas balm balsa balsam basal basic basil bias acai alas

alias alms laic lama lamb limb sail salami samba scab scam

slab slam slim mail mica iamb cabal calm claim clam climb

loCKhorNs hidato Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

today’s thought “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” Joshua 9:14

Be sure to check in with the Lord before you make that decision. — G.E. Dean

10C ● Saturday, August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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Redesigned + reimagined. Best app ever?

Best app ever.

Y’all see Stephen Marcantel’s new story?

We did! On the new Acadiana Advocate app!

Wait, you’re reading it on the app?

We are!

Best app ever?

Best app ever!

DOWNLOAD

HERE

The Acadiana Advocate ● theadvocate.com ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● 1S

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2S ● Saturday,August 22, 2026 ● theadvocate.com ● The Acadiana Advocate

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