The Acadiana Advocate 03-18-2026

NFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST: IRAN KEEPSUPATTACKS

WARM WELCOME

LouisianaNationalGuardsmen return afteryearlongdeployment

Louisiana National Guardsmen from the 256th InfantryBrigade Combat Team and the 156th InfantryRegimentreturned to Lafayette Tuesdayafter ayearlongdeployment overseas

Approximately1,000LouisianaNational Guard soldiers are currently deployedoverseas, split between U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command and U.S. European Command, according to spokespersonLt. Col. Noel Collins

The group that returned Tuesdayhad been deployedinKosovo. More photos, 1B

Author says book is finalwordon Long assassination

McGuire believes hisdecades of researchled to definitive answer

BY ROBINMILLER Staff writer

Jack B. McGuire’sgoal for his new book, “Killing the Kingfish,” is to be the final word on the assassination of Huey P. Long. But is it?

“I believe it will be,”the Mandeville authorsaid at abook release talk and signing Mondayatthe Louisiana State Archives.“But that won’tstopother people from writing about it.They’rewriting things about it on the internet rightnow.”

Still, McGuiresaid he believes his six decades of research, which took him down every conspiracy theory path, has led to abook withthe definitive

ä See BOOK, page 8A

2025 federal shutdown costly for crawfish plants

Visa applications formany didn’t getapproved, creating ashortageofworkers

BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

Last fall, Don Benoit had been making plans to hire 80 seasonal migrantlaborers to workathis crawfish processing plant during theupcoming spring season, and he was applying for guestworker visasjust like he hadfor thepast eight years.

But the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history would soon throw his plans —and his business —into disarray

It’snow March, and Benoit, whoownsD &TCrawfish in Abbeville,doesn’thaveany migrant workers at his plant to peel and boil crawfish and prepare tail meat to sell at grocery stores. He just has his small, year-round crew of about 30 local employees, which can’tprocess near the volume the business typically does.

“You lose awhole season,” and the ability to process about 2million pounds of crawfish, Benoit said.

“The problem is bigger than us. We just arefeeling it because it’s creeping intoour local economynow.”

DANIELLE TOUPS yOUNG, attorney whospecializes in temporaryworkvisas

The government shutdown, which started Oct. 1and ended Nov.12, created delays in the H-2B temporary work visa program right as Louisiana crawfish processors were readying their applications. And, at the end of January,when the federal government finally announced it was making thousands of extra visas available as in years past, it did so with new requirements.

Only paperworklisting workerstart datesin Januaryand beyond wouldbeconsidered forvisas, leaving out awhole group of businesses that had prepared applications seeking laborers to begin work in November and December

“Wewere in apanic,” said Danielle Toups Young, Benoit’sattorney, who ownsalaw practice in Eunice and specializes in temporary work visas.

ä See SHUTDOWN, page 6A

ELECTION 2026

U.S.SENATE

Cassidy, Fleming ready to square offonTV

BY TYLERBRIDGES Staff writer

U.S. Rep.Julia Letlow has continued to duck callsfor TV debateswithher main Republican opponents, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy andstate Treasurer John Fleming, as she campaigns to be Louisiana’snext senator On March6,Cassidy challenged Letlow to debate himthree timesin advance of the May 16 Republican primary. Letlow hascountered by offering to

participate in adebate only on the program of conservative radiotalkhost Moon Griffon, who regularly calls Cassidy “Psycho Bill.” Cassidy has sought to up the ante on Letlow by taunting her daily Tuesday,his campaign noted, marked the 11th day since Cassidy called for the three TV debates. It then referred to news accounts that Letlow failedto follow congressionalrules when she was morethan ayear late in reporting 210 individual stock trades. Letlow blamedher financial advisers for the late disclosures.

“Senator Cassidy is ready for a

ä See DEBATE, page 8A

Pipe bomb suspectsays pardon applies to him

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’ssweeping act of clemency for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol also should apply to aman charged with planting pipe bombs near the national headquarters of the Democratic and Republican parties on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, the suspect’sattorneys argue in abid to get his case dismissed In acourt filing Monday,defense attorneys assert that Trump’sblanket pardonsextend to the charges against BrianJ ColeJr. becausehis allegedconduct on Jan. 5, 2021,is“inextricablytethered” to what happened at theCapitol on the following day.They’re asking U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to throwout the case before trial. Justice Department prosecutorsdidn’timmediately respond to the defense’srequest. In aprevious court filing, prosecutors said Cole, under questioningby FBI agents, denied that his actionswererelatedtothe Jan. 6 proceedings at theCapitol.

On his first day back in the White House last year,Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentencesand orderedthe dismissal of all1,500-pluspeople charged in the attack by amob of his supporters.

Hiroshima survivor Shigeaki Mori dies

TOKYO— ShigeakiMori, aJapanese atomic bomb survivorin Hiroshima and ahistorian but best known for abig hughe was given by then President Barack Obama during hishistoricvisit to the city adecade ago, hasdied. He was 88.

Born in 1937, Mori was 8years old when he survived the Aug. 6, 1945, U.S. attack only 11/2 miles away from the blast. About 30 years later,helearned alittle known fact —that American prisoners of warheld in Japan were among those killed by the atomic bomb droppedbytheir owncountry Working as afull-time company employee, Mori researched U.S. and Japanese official documents and tracked down 12 American POWs. He wrote letters to their bereaved families in the U.S. who didn’tknowhow their loved ones had died. The U.S. atomic attack on Hiroshima instantly destroyed the city and killed tens of thousands. The death toll by the end of that year was 140,000. Asecond bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed another 70,000. Mori authored abook, “The Secret of the American POWs Killed by the Atomic Bomb,” published in Japanese in 2008. The book won him aprestigious Kikuchi Kan Prize, and was later translated into English

2men charged with smuggling ants in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya— AChinesenational and aKenyan man were charged Tuesday with unlawfully dealing in wildlife species afterthey were found in possession of hundreds of live ants stored in specialized tubes.

The case was the latest focused on the alleged smuggling of ants in the East African country, where authorities last year described agrowing trend in the trafficking of ants to markets in Europe and Asia. Officialshave not said if the ants are sought after as pets or for other purposes.

The suspects, identified as Zhang Kequn and Charles Mwangi, appeared in acourtroominthe Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday.They were also charged with conspiracy to commitafelony. Prosecutors say Kequn had beensourcing the ants from Mwangi, allegedly paying $463 for an initial batch of 600 ants and $540 for another batch of 700

CORRECTION

Astory published Monday about therenovation of ahistoric hall in Donaldsonville incorrectly stated that it wasthe oldest benevolentsocietyhallinLouisiana.The incorrect information came from apacket detailing the renovation plans. Abenevolent society hall in St. Francisville was built beforeitin1883. The Advocate regrets the error

Iran keepsupattacks on neighbors

Israel kills2 top Iranian officials

BY JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, MIKE CORDER and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Israel killed twosenior Iranian security officials in amajor blow to the Islamic Republic’sleadership as it facesits greatest testin decades.

CO IN T MI EAST NFLICT HE DDLE AS

Ali Larijani, secretaryof Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was considered one of the most powerful figures in thecountrysince

Sup reme

Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on the first day of thewar.Gen. Gholam Reza Soleimani was the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteerBasij.

Both men were key to Iran’s violentcrackdown on protests in January that challenged thetheocracy’s 47-year rule Iran, which confirmed both killings, fired salvos of missilesand drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors and Israel Dubai, amajor transit hub for international travel, briefly shut its airspace, the second disruptiontoflights in the city in as many days as the war showed no signs of abating.

With concerns growing about aglobalenergy crisis, an Iranian official said Tehran had no intention of relinquishing its tight grip on shipping through the

Strait of Hormuz, acrucial waterway for oil.

President Donald Trump saidNATOand most other allies have rejected hiscalls to help secure thestrait.

The Israeli military said it hadbegun a“wide-scale wave of strikes” across Iran’scapital and was stepping up strikes on Iranbacked Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, whobegan firing rockets into thenorthern Israel after the joint U.S.and Israeli airstrikes on Iran began lastmonth.

IsraeliDefense Minister Israel Katz saidLarijani andSoleimani“were eliminated” in overnight strikes. TheIsraelimilitarysaid it also struck more than 10 Basij postsacrossTehran.

IsraeliPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killings were aimed at “undermining this regime to give theIranian people theopportunitytoremove it.” Therehavebeen no signs of anti-government protests sincethe warbe-

gan, as many Iranians are sheltering from the American and Israeli strikes.

TheIranian judiciary’s news agency,Mizan, quoted the Revolutionary Guard as confirming thekilling of Soleimani. OtherIranianstate mediaconfirmedLarijani’s death.

Larijani,a former parliamentaryspeaker and senior policy adviser,advised the late Khameneionstrategy in nuclear talks with the Trump administration.He was sanctionedbythe U.S. TreasuryinJanuaryfor his role “coordinating”Iran’s violentsuppressionofnationwide protests.

Soleimaniwas also sanctioned by the U.S., theEuropean Unionand other nations, over his role in suppressing dissent for years through the Basij The reported killings of Larijani and Soleimani cameonthe eveof“ChaharshanbeSouri,” or the Festival of Fire, shortly beforethe Persian new

year.Authorities have sent threatening textmessages telling the public not to celebrate the festival, warningthe rowdy celebrations could be used by “rioters.” State media aired footage Tuesdayofpro-government demonstrations, including images of men in plainclothes brandishing assault rifles and shotguns on the back of motorcycles —signaling the government’sintent of preventing protests against the theocracy

Statetelevisionlater showed crowds of women wrappedinblack and older men waving flags andportraits of the late Khamenei.

In Iraq, two drones were shot down by the U.S. Embassy’sdefensesystem in Baghdad, whilea third dronecrashedinsidethe compound, according to two Iraqi security officials whospoke on conditionof anonymity because they werenot authorized to comment. An Associated Press jour-

nalist saw amassive fire that appeared to be engulfinga structure in thecompound. There was no immediate comment from the embassy

In the United Arab Emirates, an oil facilityinFujairah was hit, and aman was killedinAbu Dhabi by debris from an intercepted missile —the eighth person to dieinthe UAEsincethe start of the war,authorities said.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted drones, while air defenses could be heard targeting incoming fire over Qatar’scapital, Doha Iran’sgriponthe Strait of Hormuz, through which afifth of the world’soil is transported, is sparking concerns about tightening energysupplies—unnerving the world economy. Ahandful of ships have crossed through the strait, and Iran hassaid the waterway technically remains open —just not for the United States, Israel and theirallies. About 20 vessels have been struck. With oil prices rising, Trump said he had demanded that roughly ahalf-dozen countriessendwarships to ensure ships can pass through the strait.

Trump fumed Tuesday that the U.S. is notgetting support “despite thefact that almostevery country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot” be allowed to secure anuclear weapon. The European Union’stop diplomat says the 27-nation bloc does not want to be draggedintothe conflict with Iran. “This is not Europe’swar,” Kaja Kallas told EU lawmakers. “We were notconsulted.”

Topcounterterrorismofficialresigns over Iran war

Kent says Iran posedno imminent threat

BY SEUNG MIN KIM and DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON— Joe Kent, thedirector of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on Tuesday,citinghis concerns aboutthe justification for military strikes in Iranand saying he “cannot in good conscience”back the Trump administration’s war “Iranposed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerfulAmerican lobby,” Kent saidinastatement posted on social media, making claims President Donald Trump hasdenied.

Kent, aformer Green Beret and political candidate with connections

to right-wing extremists, was confirmedlastJuly on a52-44 vote. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing anddetecting terrorist threats

Hisresignationdemonstrates that the une ase aboutthe warwithin Tr um p’s base extends to at least one senior member of his Republican administration

The leadership change comes at atime of heightened concern aboutterrorism followingseveral recent violentattacksin the U.S.

Kent’sdecision came down to thereasoning behind thestrikes on Iran, he wroteinhis resignation letter

Trumphas offered shiftingreasonsfor thestrikes

and has pushed back on claims that Israelforced the U.S. to act.House Speaker Mike Johnson has suggested the WhiteHouse believed Israel was determined to strike on itsown, leaving the Republican president witha“very difficult decision.”

Speaking with reporters in theOval Office on Tuesday,Trumpsaid he always thought Kent was“weak on security” and if someone in his administration did not believeIran was athreat, “we don’twantthose people.”

“They’re not smart people, or they’re not savvy people,” Trump said. “Iran was atremendous threat.”

Ayear ago, in nominating Kent, Trump praised him as aman whohad “hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life.”

DirectorofNational Intelligence TulsiGabbard, whoseoffice oversaw Kent’swork,wrote in a social media post Tuesday

Trumppostpones Chinatrip

BY COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press

WASHINGTON President DonaldTrump is delaying adiplomatic trip to China that had been planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijingand other world powers to use their military might to protect theStrait of Hormuz.

Trump said Tuesday while meetingwith Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval Office thathewould be going to China in five orsix weeks’ time insteadofatthe end of the month. He said he would be “resetting” his visitwithChinese President Xi Jinping. “We’re workingwith China —theywere finewith

it,” Trump said. “I look forwardtoseeing President Xi. He looks forward to seeing me, Ithink.”

Trump’svisit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on afragile trade truce betweenthe two superpowers, but it has become tangled in his effort to find an endgame to thewar in Iran. Soon after pressing China and other nations to send warships to secure access to Middle Eastern oiloverthe weekend, Trump indicated his travel plans depended on Beijing’sresponse, though he addedTuesdaythatthe U.S.didn’tneed help from the allies who rebuffed his request In aSunday interview withthe Financial Times, Trump said he wanted to

know whether Beijing wouldhelpsecurethe straitbefore he departed for the late-March summit. On Monday,hetold reportersthathehad requested adelay of aboutamonth because of the demands of the war

“I think it’simportant that Ibehere,” Trump said. “And so it could be thatwedelay alittle bit. Not much.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent,who met with Chinese Vice Premier He LifenginParis this week for anew round of talks meant to pave the way for Trump’strip, saidany changes to the schedule would be because of logistics,not becauseTrump was trying to pressure Beijing.

that it was up to Trumpto decide whether Iran posed a threat.

“After carefully reviewing allthe information before him, President Trump concluded that theterroristIslamist regimeinIran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,”Gabbard wrotein the post. She did not mention her own views of the strikes. Democratsstrongly opposedKent’sconfirmation because of his past tiesto far-right figures and conspiracy theories. But following his resignation, Sen. Mark Warner,ofVirginia,the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Kent’s concernsabout the war in Iranwere justified.

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Trump, Rubio call for new Cuban leaders

Latest

blackout underscores deepening economic crisis

BY MILEXSY DURÁN Associated Press

HAVANA President Donald Trump on Tuesday pledged imminent action against Cuba’s socialist government as his moves against the island bring the U.S.’ longtime opponent deeper into crisis.

A day after Trump’s sanctions on Venezuela, including a stop to vital oil exports to Cuba, contributed to Cuba’s latest nationwide blackout, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said that the administration sees the island nation as the next country where the U.S. can expand its influence.

“Cuba right now is in very bad shape,” Trump said.

“And we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon,” he added.

Until recently, Trump’s comments on change in Cuba might have been considered remarkable But they come after his administration’s

military raid that captured then-President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela and the launch of U.S. military strikes against Iran.

The Trump administration is looking for President Miguel Díaz-Canel to leave as the U.S. continues negotiating with the Cuban government, according to a U.S official and a source with knowledge of talks between Washington and Havana. No detail has been offered about who the administration might like to see come to power

Many Cubans do not believe that Díaz-Canel holds much power in Cuba, anyway, as opposed to revolutionary founding father Raúl Castro and his family

With little reliable information trickling out of Havana or Washington, experts are watching closely for clues about what’s in the works.

“Some pieces of this story as they’re trickling out, don’t add up to me,” said Michael Bustamante, a Cuba expert and associate professor of history at the University of Miami. “I can’t quite figure out what the end game is here for either side.”

Electricity was slowly being restored to hospitals and

A

some homes Tuesday afternoon, but officials warned that the crumbling power network could fail again.

The government blames its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

Rubio, who is of Cuban heritage, said the island “has an economy that doesn’t work in a political and governmental

system. They can’t fix it.”

A Cuban official said Monday that Cuba is open to trading with U.S. companies, but such promises have been made before.

“So they have to change dramatically,” Rubio said.

“What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It’s not going to fix it.”

The Trump administration is also demanding that Cuba

release political prisoners and move toward political and economic liberalization in return for a lifting of sanctions. Trump has also raised the possibility of a “friendly takeover of Cuba.”

While Cuba produces 40% of its petroleum and has been generating its own power, it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand as its aging electric grid continues to crumble.

Cuba’s Ministry of Energy

and Mines said on X that the island had restored the electrical system in the western town of Pinar del Rio and the southeastern province of Holguin and that some “microsystems” were beginning to operate in various territories.

State-owned media reported that by late Monday power had been restored to 5% of residents in the capital, Havana, representing some 42,000 customers.

U.S. sanctions and economic pressure have exasperated the misery many Cubans are experiencing.

Pedro Rámos, a 75-yearold retired mechanic who shares a modest apartment in Old Havana with his wife, was boiling three pieces of chicken in an attempt to save them from spoiling with the power out.

“I want to see if we can rescue some food,” he said.

“Two people older than 70 live here. This is terrible.”

“The power outages are driving me crazy,” said 48-year-old Dalba Obiedo. “Last night I fell down a 27step staircase. Now I have to have surgery on my jaw I fell because the lights went out.”

Employee hospitalized after shooting at Ga. VA clinic, police say

Gunman was killed, officials say

BY EMILIE MEGNIEN and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press

JASPER, Ga. — There was a shooting Tuesday at a Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in a small town at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia, and the gunman was shot and killed, police said.

A Veterans Affairs employee was taken by helicopter to a hospital after the gunfire Tuesday afternoon, VA spokesman Peter Kasperowicz said.

Jasper police responded to the scene about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the city said in a statement. Outside the VA clinic, the officers confronted the gunman, who was shot and killed, authorities said. The gunman was from the Jasper area, Jasper Police Chief Matt Dawkins told reporters at the scene. But details about him were not immediately released.

“We don’t know what led up to it,” Dawkins said.

Jimmy Mooney was shopping at a nearby Goodwill store when he heard gunfire

“We heard the gunshots going off,” he said. “There was probably 17 of us inside the Goodwill that was shopping, and, they had come and told us to get in the back of the store and during that time we could see the officers running down the hill. Gunshots started going off.”

The Jasper police chief said the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be investigating the shooting along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

When asked about the suspect’s background, a Pickens County sheriff’s spokesman said he did not know whether he had a military background.

The clinic will remain closed for the rest of the week, Kasperowicz said.

“VA is rescheduling appointments as necessary and ensuring Veterans and staff have access to counseling and chaplain services in the wake of this tragic event,” he said in an email.

The VA’s Office of Inspector General will assist local authorities in the investigation, he added.

The outpatient clinic in Jasper offers services that include primary care and specialty health services, including laboratory, telehealth and mental health care, according to its website. Jasper, a town of about 5,000 people, is roughly 60 miles north of downtown Atlanta. Signs on a highway through the town call it Georgia’s “First Mountain City” as the Blue Ridge Mountains come into view as motorists from Atlanta head north

Photos from the local newspaper, the Pickens Progress, showed more than a half-

cers responding to the scene, wearing tactical vests near a strip mall in the town The clinic opened in the

summer of 2020, the U.S. De-

Outdoorlifestyle takescenter

stageatLouisiana Sportsman Show March20-22

This spring, celebrateeverythingthatmakes ourstate “Sportsman’s Paradise“atthe LouisianaSportsman Show,presented by Shell, March20–22 at theSt. John theBaptist Parish CommunityCenterinLaPlace

TheSt. John theBaptist CommunityCenter offersspaciousareasfor exhibits,crafts, anda Food Courtfeaturing Louisianafavorites.The easily accessiblefacilityhas ampleroomfor free parking.

That’s notall—you canalsomeetAmerica’s Favorite Fisherman, JimmyHouston,for photos, autographs,and expert fishingtips.

On Friday,March 20,activemilitarypersonnel, veterans,and first responders receivefree admission in honoroftheir service.

Fuel Your Outdoor Obsession Explorethe latest rods,reels andbait, boats builttochase open water, ATVs made forthe mud, plus tractors,golfcarts, mowers andseriouspower equipment. If it powers your hunt, your ride,oryourfishingtrip– you’ll seeithere. Cast it.Catch it.Win Learnwinningtactics from seasoned captains

during interactiveseminarsatthe bass tank, then putyourskillstothe test in astocked pond

$1,000 FishingChallenge Official Rules:

•RegistrationRequired: Youmustregister to participate.

•Childrenmustbeaccompaniedby anadult

•Event Start: FishingbeginsSaturday, March21at12:00 p.m.

•Event Ends:FishingendsSunday, March 22 at 3:00 p.m.

•Catch ataggedfish foryourchanceat

$1,000 cash or many othergreat prizes

•Winners willbeannounced andprizes awardedat4:00p.m.Sunday. Meetthe Legends In addition to outdooriconJimmy Houston, rubshoulders with othertop fishingpros.Snap a photo. Hear thestories.Talkfishingall weekend long Dogs areWelcome Retrievercompetitionswilltakeplacethroughoutthe show,soattendees areinvited to bring theirdogstotakepartortojust watch.

Family FunThatHooks Everyone

This isn’tjust ashow– it’s an experience.The funand active Kid’sZoneisperfect for families

•STEMactivitieswithLouisiana Educators willbeatthe show on Saturday from 11:00a.m.to3:00p.m

•The HarryHurst WetlandWatcherswill be thereonSundayfrom10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Kids andadultscan view andtouch baby alligators, snakes,and otherreptiles througha unique educationalexperience

Otherhighlightsinclude afreefishingtournament forkidsSaturdaymorning,inflatables, hands-on demosand interactiveexhibits. SeeYou in LaPlace, March20-22

TheLouisiana SportsmanShowwillbeheldat theSt. John theBaptist CommunityCenterand Thomas F. DaleyMemorialParkonHighway 51 Show timesare:

•Friday, Noon–7:00p.m

•Saturday, 9:00 a.m. –7:00p.m

•Sunday, 10:00a.m 5:00 p.m.

Fordetails,schedules,and tickets, visitwww louisianasportsmanshow.com.

Senate Republicanslaunchdebateonvotingbill

Effort couldlast days or weeks

BY MARYCLARE JALONICK Associated Press

WASHINGTON Republicans launchedanunprecedented effort on Tuesday to hold the Senate floor and talkfor days about abill that they know won’tpass —anattemptto capture public attentionon legislation requiring stricter voter registration rules as President Donald Trump pressures Congress to act before November’smidterm elections. The talkathon could last aweek or longer,potentially through theweekend, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune tries to navigate Trump’sinsistence on theissue and Democrats’ united opposition. Trump has urged Thune to scrap the legislative filibuster,which triggers a60-vote thresholdin the 100-member Senate, or find another workaround to pass the bill, but Thune has repeatedly said he doesn’t have the votes to do that. Instead, Republicans intend to make along, noisy show of support for the legislation, whichwould require Americans to prove they are U.S. citizens before they register to vote and to show identification at the polls, among other things. It’s arisky strategy,with no guaranteeitwillbeenough for Trump, who has said he won’tsign other bills until the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act —also known as the SAVE America Act or the SAVE Act —is passed.

The floor debate is expected to eventually end with afailed vote. Republicans need 60 votes to advance the bill to afinal vote, but they hold53 seats, andall 45 Democrats and bothindependents,who caucus with the Democrats, oppose it The debate will “putDemocrats on the record,” Thune said. He added that “how it endsremainstobeseen.”

The Senatevoted51-48

Tuesday to begin the debate, with AlaskaSen. Lisa Murkowski the only Republican voting against moving forward on the bill.

In asocial media post on Tuesday morning, Trump issued awarningto any Republican who doesn’t support thebill: “I WILL NEVER (EVER!) ENDORSE ANYONE WHOVOTES AGAINST‘SAVE AMERICA!!!’”

Trump says, withoutevidence, that Democrats can only win in the midterms if they cheatand explicitly said Republicansneed the SAVE AmericaAct to win in November.The Housepassed the legislationearlier this year, but the Senate turned to other issues as itbecame clearthat Republicans didn’t have the votes to pass it.

But Trump made clearhe wasn’t satisfiedand pushed the Senate to act. The Republican president hassaid he won’tsign otherlegislation,including abipartisan housing bill backed by the WhiteHouse, untilthe votingbill passes.

Thebill contains aslew of provisions that Trump andhis most loyal supporters havepushed as part of a broadeffort to assert feder-

al control over elections. It would require voters nationwide to provide proof of citizenship when they register and to show accepted voter identification when casting aballot.

It would also create new penaltiesfor election workers who register voters withoutproof of citizenshipand require states to hand voter data over to the Department of Homeland Security so federalofficials could screen for voters who are in the country illegally

Trump alsowants new provisions added to thebill, including aban on mostmailin ballots.

“It’llguarantee the midterms,” Trump said of the bill last week.“If youdon’t

get it,big trouble.” Democratsand many groups that champion voter access say there is little evidence of noncitizens voting and say thebill would disenfranchise millions of voters —including Republicans— by creating newburdens to prove citizenship. It is already illegal to vote if you are not aU.S. citizen, but the bill would lay outstrict newrulesfor paperwork that most people would have to present in person to register to vote. Opponents of the measure say those documentsare not always readily available for manypeople and argue that it would kill voter registration efforts andunfairly penalize young people who are

registering to vote forthe first time, married women who change their name and people who cannot travel to present their documents, among other groups.

While Republicans have focusedonthe bill’snew requirements to show identification when they show up to vote, Democrats say they are mostconcerned that the legislation would allow the federal government to take voters off the rolls.

SchumersaidthatDemocrats are not opposed to voter identification but “this is about purging the voter rolls in amassive way,soyou never even get the chance to show avoter ID when you showed up to vote.”

Trump, backed by Repub-

lican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, has pushedfor atalking filibuster,which would force Democrats to talkfor days or weeks to delaypassage of the bill. But Thune and thelarger GOPconference rejected that idea,arguing that it would endinfailure after giving Democrats a stage and the opportunity to offer endless amendments, potentially adding their priorities to the bill.

Republicans are instead taking over the floorwith their own speeches,proceeding underregularorder but operating outside the normal time limits that arecustomary when debating legislation. Democrats are expected to answer with their own procedural hijinks, potentially forcing Republicanstocome to the floor at allhours forvotes, meaning they will need to stay close to the Senate for the duration.

Lee said last weekthat it’s unclearhow it will allplay out. He said he thinks Trump “understands that we need to put in an aggressive effort here.”

“And alot of that,” he said, “is going to have to be determinedinreal timeaswego about it.”

The extent of Trump’s satisfaction with the process, Lee said, “will depend on whether, in his view,we gave it everything we have.” On Monday night, Lee was rallying Trump’sbasevoters on X.

“Once we’re on this bill,” he wrote, “we must stay on it until it’spassed into law.” Associated Press writer Lisa Mascarocontributed to this report.

Vaticanappeals court declares mistrial in case againstcardinal

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME The Vatican appeals tribunal declared amistrial Tuesday in the Holy See’s big “trial of the century,” a stunning blow to both Pope Francis’ legacyand Vatican prosecutorswho had puta cardinal and several other people on trial over alleged financial crimes.

In a16-pageruling, the appeals court ruled that Francis and Vatican prosecutors both made procedural errors that nullified the original indictment against CardinalAngelo Becciu and the others and re-

quired anew trial. Thecourt set aJune 22 as thedate for thenew trial to begin.

Defense lawyerssaid such aruling was significant if not historic, since it amounted to aVatican court declaring that an act of the pope had no effect.

Therulingwas awin for thedefense and ahuge setbacktoVatican prosecutors, whohavebeen scrambling to salvagetheir case. The prosecution and 2023 convictions against Becciu and others had been held upby the Vatican and late pope as evidence of his willingness to crack down on financial

misconduct in theHoly See. Becciu’s lawyerssaidthe ruling showed they were right in arguing thatthe defense was put at an unfair disadvantage from the start.

“It shows that from the first moment, we were right to raise the violation of the right to defense and to request that the law be respected to have afair trial,” Becciu’slawyers Fabio Viglione and Maria Concetta Marzo said in astatement.

The case had as its mainfocus the Vatican’sinvestment of $413 million in aLondon property. Prosecutorsalleged brokers and Vatican

Zelenskyy, Starmerurgecontinuing supportfor Ukraineagainst Russia

BY JILL LAWLESS Associated Press

LONDON Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia andIran “brothers in hatred” on Tuesday as he sought support from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a time when the Iran war hasrobbed momentumfromU.S brokered talkstoend Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyyurged Ukraine’sallies not to forget about his country,and suggested the U.S. and others should make use of Ukraine’s anti-drone technology duringaMiddleEast war that hasalsorevivedRussia’sailing economy through increased oil revenue and could soon limit Kyiv’s access to vital Western air defense systems, which are needed in the Middle East. “The regimes in Russia and Iranare brothersinhatred and that is why they arebrothersinweapons,” Zelenskyytoldlawmakers in Britain’sParliament.“And we wantregimes built on hatred to never,never win in anything.” Holding talks with Zelenskyy at 10 Down-

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomes Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyyto DowningStreet in London on Tuesday.

ing Street, Starmer said “(RussianPresident Vladimir) Putin can’tbethe one who benefits from the conflict in Iran, whether that’soil prices or thedropping of sanctions.”

The meeting came days after theU.S.temporarily waived some Russian oil sanctions in abid to ease pressure on global supplies triggered by the war in the Middle East, which was sparkedbythe joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting Feb. 28.

monsignors fleeced the Holy See of tens of millions of euros in fees andcommissions to acquire theproperty, and then extorted theHolySee for $16.5 million to cedecontrolofit.

The originalinvestigation spawned two main tangents involving Becciu, once a leading Vatican cardinal and future papal contender.He wasconvicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 51/2 years in prison. The tribunal convicted eight other defendants of embezzlement, abuse of office, fraudand other charges and imposed

tens of millions of euros (dollars) in restitution to the Holy See.

All defendants maintained their innocence and appealed after atwo-year trial that opened aPandora’sbox of unwanted revelations about papal ransom payments to Islamic militants, Vatican vendettas,espionage and other dirty laundry of the Holy See.

During the initial trial, Becciu’slawyers in particularhad complainedthatprosecutors hadn’tturnedover allthe evidencetothe defense, violating their right to

afairtrial. Prosecutors had redacted somedocuments, withheld the cellphone records of akey prosecution witness andredacted texts amongthe players, arguing that such omissions were necessary to protect the secrecyofother investigations Defense lawyers also alleged that four secretdecrees Francis signed giving prosecutors wide-ranging powers to investigate violated the defendants’ right to afair trial. They only learned aboutthe decrees just before thetrial began, sincethe decrees were never published.

Employers whohad been looking for workerstostart in November and December were essentially cut outofthe visa pool, Young said.

“The crawfish industry had a massive scramble of,‘What dowe do?’” said Andy Brown,national affairs director for Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.

“Ultimately,itdidn’tmatter,”he added. “If you hadastartdate in October,November or December, you didn’tget workers.”

TheU.S.for yearshas granted far fewer H-2B visas thanthe number that businesses apply for,and employer interest in the program has been growing recently.But this time, the shutdown and policy changes added more turmoil, businesses and attorneys said

“The numbers ran outmuch quicker than we’ve ever seen it,” said LoanHuynh, an employment-based immigration attorney in Minneapolis and expert on temporary work visa matters.“There are more employers using the H-2B program.”

Huynh, Brown and Young all said that while Louisiana’scrawfish processors are just now having ahard time getting the workers they need through the visa program, that problem has been around foryears—eventhough there is great demand forseasonal migrant labor among American businesses.

“The problem is bigger thanus,” Young said. “Wejust are feeling it because it’screeping into ourlocal economy now.”

What happened?

The H-2B visa program allows businesses to bring migrantworkerstothe UnitedStates tofill temporary,nonagricultural jobs that American workers are not taking. Crawfish processing, which happens afterharvest, is considered nonagricultural underthe program.

Congress set ayearly cap of 66,000 visas under the program, which hasn’tbeen updated since the1990s. But the Department of Homeland Security,which includes immigration enforcement, has discretion to issue “supplemental” visas every year.This year,itreleased nearly 65,000 extra visas, the same amount released in the three years prior

Louisiana crawfish processors start H-2B visa applications in the fall so workers getapprovalfrom thefederal government to start work in winter andearly spring.

Crawfish plantstypically need workers to start arriving in December,with thebusinessescontinuing to bring in workers in January,February and Marchfor aharvest season that lasts roughly from January through June.

Accordingto Louisiana Farm Bureau estimates, the state has20to 25 crawfishprocessingbusinesses, all of which have some need for seasonal migrant workers.

At least 15 crawfish plants didn’t get any of thetemporary work visas they applied for this year, Farm Bureau datashows.

Young said that,ofthe 20 clients she has withcrawfish plant operations, 11 did not get temporary work visas approved this year

That’s abig differencefrom years past. Since she startedher own practice in 2018, Young said she canrecall just one crawfishindustryclientthat did not get the H-2B visa application it sought

Butthe problem doesn’tjust affect processing plants. It alsoaffectsfarmers,who raisecrawfish in giant ponds spanning tensof acres, where they areharvested before beingsent to processors.

“Myconcern is nowIwon’t be

able to sell my product,” said Ben Deshotels, acrawfish farmer “These processors haven’tgot their labor,sothere’sabig portion of my crop that’sgonna stay in the field that’ll never get sold.”

Processors turn crawfish into tailmeat that gets soldingrocery stores. “That portion of our crop is gonna go unharvested andhave to stay in the fields,”Deshotels said.

Many farmers like Deshotels and Adlar Stelly use their ponds to raise bothcrawfish and rice.

“We’re growing rice at aloss to feed thecrawfish we won’tbeable to sell,”Stelly said. What canbedone?

In the immediate term, Huynh, theimmigration attorney,said that Congresscan “absolutely” address theproblem by releasing additional H-2B visas.

“But that’s gonnatakelegislation,and that’sgonna take political will,” she said.

Because Congress has not yet finalized thebudget for DHS, she said, “there’sstill hope” for federal lawmakerstodosomething this year

She added: “There is no reason for us to do this to U.S.employers, to makeitsodifficult for them to hire labor that they so desperately need,and it really is politics stand-

ing in the wayofallowing the U.S. economy to grow.”

Brown, of the Louisiana Farm Bureau, said the H-2B program has been broken foralong time.

“Weneed our federal delegation to exercise their leadership positionsand to fix this for Louisiana and fix it for the country,” he said.

There’sahost of ways Congress could fix theproblem,Brownsaid, one of theeasiest being that it could remove the cap on the number of H-2B visas.

Young said asolution targeting thecrawfish industry would be to grant crawfish processors an exemption fromthe cap on H-2B visas. For the visa program as a whole, lawmakers could look at increasing thetotal numberofvisasinthe program,orthey could allowemployers returningtothe program not to be subject to the cap, she said.

What does Congress say?

Once Benoit,the crawfish plant owner,learned in February that his application for worker visas wasrejected,heorganized aFeb 18 meeting at UncleT’s Oyster Bar in Scott to bringthe problem to the attention of Louisiana officials and see if there wasany waytofixthe problem

In attendance were U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, representatives

from U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy’soffice, state Rep. Rhonda Butler, representatives fromthe Louisiana Farm Bureau and LSU, along with Young and crawfish processors, Benoit said.

Benoitisstill without theseasonal migrant workers he applied for. Higginsand Cassidydid not respond to requests for commentfor this story

Aspokesperson forU.S. Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge,said she “is continuing to evaluate ways we can assist” regarding Louisiana’sshortage of seasonal migrant workers. U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields, DBatonRouge,also said he is “workingtofind asolution”tothe problem and last weeksent aletter to DHSurging immediate action.

“These businesses followed the standard applicationprocess, as they have every year,and were still left without the workers they depend on,” Fields said.

DemocraticU.S.Rep Troy Carter,ofNew Orleans, had asimilar view

“When Louisiana crawfish processors are reporting zero seasonal workers approved through the H-2B visa program, it’sclear something is broken,” Carter said.

U.S. House Speaker MikeJohnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise didnot return requests forcomment.

Demand forworkers

Business owners, immigration attorneys andadvocates notedthat employers only use the H-2B visa program after they’ve shown the DepartmentofLabor that there aren’tenough American workers available to do acertain job.

Young said the H-2B program is expensive forbusinesses, many of whom use it as “a last chance, a last resort.”

“Crawfish processing is very seasonal,” Benoitsaid. “It’sa three-month job. It’shard to get an American to come to work forjust threemonths. And thenit’shard, you’re on your feet allday peeling crawfish. It’s just not ajob that mostAmericans want.”

Thefederal government also has wagerequirements foremployers using theprogram. Benoit would have to pay migrant workers at his plant about $14 an hour this year

“All of these jobs are advertised andavailable to anyAmerican citizen that wants to comeand do them,” saidBrown. “It’snot displacing American workers, and we’ve proven that fordecades now.”

answer to the cause of Long’s death.

“Dr Weiss shot him,” the author said. “There is no doubt in my mind.”

McGuire knows his conclusion will rankle some Long assassination enthusiasts who have formed their own theories, but his book is based solely on facts.

Author Robert Mann, a former senior aide to senators Russell Long and John Breaux and LSU communications professor, complimented McGuire on not only chasing down conspiracies but addressing every book that’s been written on the subject.

“I think that was a brilliant approach that you took to thoroughly examine every other scenario and demolish it,” Mann said.

So, why, after almost a century, will this book — which McGuire believes will be a definitive work be controversial? Mann probably summarized it best by pointing out how past authors have written about the subject based on their admiration or lack thereof for Long.

The former Louisiana governorturned-U.S. senator died on Sept. 10, 1935, in Our Lady of the Lake Hospital two days after he was shot in the executive corridor of

the newly constructed Louisiana State Capitol. Baton Rouge physician Carl Weiss was pegged as his assassin.

McGuire said some writers have theorized that Weiss punched Long’s bottom lip, triggering the bodyguards’ rain of bullets, one of which hit Long. Others say Weiss wasn’t carrying a gun at all, and the bodyguards retrieved the gun from the doctor’s car in the parking lot and placed it by his body as

a cover-up. Still others believe Weiss was part of an assassination plot cooked up among an Anti-Long crowd at the DeSoto Hotel, now the La Pavillon Hotel, in New Orleans before Long was assassinated. McGuire donated records from that Anti-Long meeting to the Louisiana State Archives.

McGuire bought the papers from a collector, all files from Brig. Gen. Louis Francis Guerre’s investiga-

tion into the assassination. Guerre headed the Louisiana State Police at the time.

The papers are on display in exhibit cases for now and will be available to the public for research purposes. And, yes, some of the papers do discuss possible assassination scenarios.

“There are 665 papers in the Guerre Papers in the State Archives, and I’m donating 339 pages to those files,” McGuire said. “That

conference took place on July 20 and 21. Some people say that Carl Weiss was part of it, but there’s no way that he could have been there. He and his wife Yvonne had taken their 3-year-old son to Opelousas during that time.”

Opelousas was home to Weiss’ inlaws, specifically his father-in-law, powerful Anti-Long Judge Benjamin Henry Pavy, whose district Long was seeking to gerrymander Yet another theory places Weiss at the Capitol to confront Long’s action against Pavy

“I do believe that Carl Weiss went to the Capitol that night to confront Huey Long, and I believe all the evidence would indicate that he did shoot Long. Some people say he wasn’t political, but Carl Weiss was political,” McGuire said.

McGuire added that Weiss’ son, Carl Weiss Jr., filed for an IRS deduction of $250,000 after donating his father’s gun to the Louisiana State Archives on the grounds that it was the gun that belonged to his father who used it to shoot Long.

As for the discussions of assassinations at the Anti-Long conference in New Orleans, McGuire said Guerre took no action.

“Nothing was ever carried out, so he didn’t pursue it,” the author said.

“Killing the Kingfish” was published by the University Press of Mississippi. It is available at Cavalier Books in Denham Springs.

Continued from page 1A

televised debate anytime — the only question is whether Letlow will finally show up for the pot of gold,” Cassidy’s campaign said in the statement. “Based on her stock trading violations, we do know she has an eye for treasure.” In an interview Tuesday, Fleming said he’ll participate in a debate with the two other candidates anytime, anywhere.

James Carville, the famed Democratic political strategist who lives in New Orleans, said Letlow is following a standard strategy for a perceived ca mpa ig n front-runner “She’s in a prevent defense,” Carville said, using a football term for a team trying to sit on a lead. “She doesn’t want to expose herself.”

Scheduling debates?

Louisiana Public Broadcasting and Leaders for a Better Louisiana scheduled a TV debate on April 16 at LPB’s studios in Baton Rouge. But Letlow said she couldn’t appear because the House was scheduled to be in session that day Barry Erwin, chief policy officer for a Better Louisiana, said his group responded by telling Letlow’s office

on March 5 that they would reschedule the debate but haven’t heard back from Letlow KTBS-TV in Shreveport, which has offered to host a debate for Nexstar stations in Louisiana, also hasn’t gotten a response from Letlow, anchor Jeff Beimfohr said. The debate question comes at a time when Cassidy and a super PAC supporting him have been assaulting Letlow’s record, thanks to a big money advantage. She has yet to hit back forcefully

Cassidy a stomach doctor from Baton Rouge, is seeking a third term. He is facing a restive Republican electorate because he voted to convict President Donald Trump on impeachment charges of inciting an assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021

Letlow jumped into the race two months ago after Trump endorsed her She was a top administrator from the University of Louisiana at Monroe who ran for the House in 2021 after her husband Luke won the seat, then died of COVID-19. Fleming, pointing to his voting record during eight years in the U.S. House representing northwest Louisiana, has said repeatedly that he is the most conservative candidate in the race. He was elected state treasurer in 2023.

Cassidy, Letlow and Fleming have all released polls showing themselves in the lead. The top two finishers on May 16 will advance to a June 27 runoff The winner of that race will face one of three Democrats in the November general election: Nick Albares, Jamie Davis or Gary Crockett.

Pearson Cross, a political science professor at ULMonroe, questioned Letlow’s decision not to engage in debates.

“She’s the person who is

not very well known,” he said.

Limited media interviews

Besides eschewing a TV debate, Letlow has also been limiting interviews with Louisiana-based media since she qualified for the Senate race in mid-February

Her campaign did not make her available for this article.

A spokesperson said she has conducted six TV or radio interviews since the qualifying period five weeks ago. In contrast, Cassidy briefs reporters weekly on his latest activities and then takes questions. He also has done other interviews with Louisiana-based reporters in Washington and in Louisiana.

Fleming makes himself available to reporters on a daily basis.

During his call with reporters Tuesday Cassidy called on Senate Democrats to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security Democrats say they will do so once Republicans agree to limits on immigration agents to prevent the violence in Minneapolis that led to the deaths of two protesters.

Cassidy also called on Democrats to approve the SAVE America Act. It aims to prevent voting by noncitizens, although critics point out that it is already illegal and extremely rare.

Asked about Letlow’s refusal to agree to a TV debate with him, Cassidy said, “In this election, I think a debate is important. The people of Louisiana want to know who has delivered for the people of Louisiana. I have delivered.”

He continued: “I have delivered over $16 billion to the state overall, including $13 billion from the bipartisan infrastructure bill. I

have passed dozens of pieces of legislation. Congresswoman Letlow has no record like that.”

Make Moon the ref?

In a statement, Letlow’s campaign said she is willing to debate Cassidy

“In a Republican primary that debate should happen on a conservative platform where Republican voters are already tuned in,” the campaign said “The Moon Griffon Show is an obvious place to start.”

But Cassidy said a statewide televised debate at night would reach a much bigger audience than an appearance on Griffon’s morning radio program, saying “his listenership is pretty small.”

Griffon said he would treat

Cassidy fairly but added, “I call him Psycho Bill because he’s all over the place. He was for Trump before he was against Trump, and now he’s with Trump once again. That’s kind of psychotic.”

Griffon added that Cassidy hasn’t appeared on his program since he voted to convict Trump.

Cassidy also was asked why he didn’t agree to a debate during his 2020 reelection campaign.

“I was going to win that race,” he said. “Frankly, that’s a debate where a debate would not have made a difference.”

While Cassidy mentioned only Letlow when he issued his debate challenge earlier this month, he said he welcomes Fleming appearing on the stage.

Fleming said he would like to debate Letlow and Cassidy

“It’s our job to show up and take questions,” he said “We have an obligation to do so. I’m big on transparency and accountability Candidates should be most accessible to the general public. If they’re not accessible now, they never will be.”

For 27 years, KEDM-FM, the public radio station in Monroe, interviewed members of Congress who represented the 5th Congressional District. Letlow ended that practice when she took office in 2021, said Jay Curtis, the station’s general manager “We’ve been unable to reestablish that connection with our listeners and the member of Congress,” he said.

and that at thesaidelection therewillbesubmitted to allregisteredvotersin theParishqualified and entitled to vote at the said election under the Constitution andLawsof theState of Louisiana andthe Constitution of theUnitedStates, thefol‐lowing proposition, to-

with

a14-0 parish record.Coach Lelia Brooker thanked BroussardMiddle’sfaculty and staff, the parents and Coach Fabian Carrington for volunteering to help coach the team.

2.2 BOARD: BroussardMiddle -Middle School District ChampionsBoys Basketball -Jeffers/LeBlanc BroussardMiddle’sboys basketball team compiled aseason recordof26-2 while repeating as Parish Champions and being undefeated in the parish for the second year in arow.The eighth grade group has a3 year recordof69-8 overall and 42-2 against parish opponents. Coach Jeremy Whittington stated the group has excelled in the classroom over the three year span maintaining ateam GPAof3.2 with not one player in three years receiving a failing grade.

3. CONSENT AGENDA

3.1 ACADEMICS:Discussion and/or action concerning Magnet Academy ProcedureChanges -Richard/Gardner/Broussard Updates and changes to the Magnet Academy Procedures Magnet Academy Procedures Revised 2_5_26.pdf

That the Boardapprove updates and changes to Lafayette Parish School System Magnet Academy Procedures.

Motion Carries

3.2 BOARD: Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02-0262157 Black History Month -Touchet Amy Trahan read aloud Resolution 02-026-2157 Black History Month RESOLUTION 02-026-2157 Black History Month.docx.pdf

That the Boardadopt Resolution 02-026-2157 recognizing Black History Month attached to this agenda item.

Motion Carries

3.3 BOARD: Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02-0262158 National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month, February 2026 -Latiolais National Teen Dating Violence Awareness &Prevention MonthResolution 02-026-2158.pdf

That the Boardadopt Resolution 02-026-2158 National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month attachedtothis agenda item.

Motion Carries

3.4 BOARD: Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02026-2161 National School Resource Officer Appreciation DayTouchet/Gardner Jeremy Hidalgo read aloud Resolution 02-026-2161 National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day National School Resource Officer Appreciation -Resolution 2.12.26.pdf

That the Boardadopt Resolution 02-026-2161 National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day as attached to this agenda item.

Motion Carries

3.5 BOARD: Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02-0262159 School BoardMember Training -Touchet Agenda item pulled by JoshuaEdmond for further discussion. 2025_School BoardMember LSBA Training Resolution (1).docx. pdf

That the Boardadopt Resolution 02-026-2159 School Board Member Training as attached to this agenda item.

Moved by: Jeremy Hidalgo

Hidalgo,

3.7 FACILITIES: Discussion and/or action concerning aConstruction Manager at Risk (CMAR) forthe New Wing Additions at Westside and Milton- Rabalais/Touchet

That the Boardapprove the recommendation of The Lemoine Company as the ConstructionManager at Risk (CMAR) forthe new wing additions at Westside Elementary and MiltonElementary/ Middle.

Motion Carries

3.8 FACILITIES: Discussion and/or action concerning Hand Dryer Installation at Multiple Schools for$225,000 from Self-Funded Construction Fund Contingency -Rabalais/Touchet

That the Boardapprove the recommendation to transferfunds in the amount of $225,000 from Self-Funded Construction Fund (Fund 45) Contingency to anew account within the Self-Funded Construction Fund (Fund 45) for

Motion Carries

3.9 FINANCE: Discussion and/or action concerning the February Budget-to-Actual/Revisions for FY 25-26 -Mouton/LeBlanc FY26 Capital Improvement Fund BTA-Revision #7.pdf FY26 Self-Funded Construction Fund BTA-Revision #7.pdf FY26 2025 Bond Construction Fund BTA-Revision #2.pdf FY26

That the Boardapprove the February Budget-to-Actual/Revisions forFY25-26 as attached to this agenda item

Motion Carries

3.10FINANCE: Resolution 02-026-2163 Amend 2002 1/2% Sales and Use TaxOrdinance -Mouton/Mason Lafayette Parish Resolution and Ordinance Amendment 20020.5% -Repairs Exemption.pdf

That the Lafayette Parish School Boardamend the Lafayette Parish School Board’s1/2% Sales and Use TaxOrdinance -1201-1362 effective January 1, 2002 as declared in Resolution02026-2163 that is attached above in the agenda item description.

Motion Carries

3.11 FINANCE: Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02026-2164 to Amend the Lafayette Parish School Board’s1/2% Sales and Use TaxOrdinance -12-01-1362 Effective 1965Mouton Lafayette Parish Resolutionand Ordinance Amendment 19651.0% -Repairs Exemption.pdf

That the Lafayette Parish School Boardamend the Lafayette Parish School Board’s1/2% Sales and Use TaxOrdinance -1201-1362 effective 1965 as declared in Resolution02-026-2164 attached above in the agenda item description.

Motion Carries

3.12 FINANCE: Resolution 02-026-2165 Amend 1988 1/2% Sales and Use TaxOrdinance -Mouton/Mason Lafayette Parish Resolutionand Ordinance Amendment 19880.5% -Repairs Exemption.pdf

That the Lafayette Parish School Boardamend the Lafayette Parish School Board’s1/2% Sales and Use TaxOrdinance -1201-1362 effective March 1, 1988 as declared in Resolution02026-2165 attached above in the agenda item description.

Motion Carries

3.13 INSURANCE: Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02-026-2162 Directing the Superintendent to Amend the Medical and Pharmacy Plan Document that results in neither an increase or decrease in benefits compared to prior plan years -Gardner/ LeBouef 2.12.26 LPSB Resolution 02.026.2162

Motion

3.19 STUDENTSERVICES:Discussion and/or action concerning Resolution 02-026-2160NationalSchool Counseling WeekRichard/Hebert/Hartley DavidLeJeune read aloud Resolution 02-026-2160National School Counseling Week. Resolution 02-026-2160 NationalCounselingWeek.pdf That the Boardadopt Resolution 02-026-2160 recognizing NationalSchool Counseling Week as attached to this agenda item.

Motion Carries

3.20 SUPERINTENDENT:Discussion and/or action to authorize the Superintendent to ImplementaReduction-In-Force (RIF)Touchet/Rabalais/Gardner Agenda itempulledbyDavidLeJeune for furtherdiscussion. When faced with circumstances whichmay necessitatea reduction of personnel, File: GBNA requires the School Boardto authorizethe Superintendent to implement the reduction in force andrequires the Superintendenttoimplement it in accordance with Boardpolicy. The Superintendenthas notified the School Boardthatareduction in force of personnelmay be necessary.

PolicyGBNA- Reduction of Personnel.pdf

That the Boardauthorizethe Superintendenttoimplement a Reduction-In-Force (RIF) of existing personnel, if necessary.

Movedby: DavidLeJeune

Secondedby: Britt Latiolais

Yes: Britt Latiolais, HannahSmith Mason,Amy Trahan JeremyHidalgo, Joshua Edmond, Chad Desormeaux, andDavidLeJeune Motion Carries 7-0

3.21 SUPERINTENDENT:Discussion and/or action concerning the MinutesofNovember5,2025, January 8, 2026 andJanuary 16, 2026 -Touchet LPSB -Board Insurance_Finance CommitteeMeeting (Wednesday, November5,2025) (1).pdfLPSB-RegularBoard Meeting (Thursday January 8, 2026) .pdf LPSB -Board Training -Jan 16 2026 -Minutes- Html

That the Boardapprove the minutesofNovember5,2025, January 8, 2026 andJanuary 16, 2026 as attached to this agenda item. Motion Carries

3.22 Approvalofall Action Consent Items

That the Boardapprove allAction Consent agenda items with the exception of items pulled.

Movedby: Britt Latiolais

Secondedby: ChadDesormeaux

Yes: Britt Latiolais, HannahSmith Mason,Amy Trahan JeremyHidalgo, Joshua Edmond, Chad Desormeaux, andDavidLeJeune Motion Carries 7-0

4. ADJOURN

4.1AdjournMeeting

Therebeing no furtherbusiness, the meeting is adjourned.

/s/Hannah Smith Mason HannahSmith Mason President

/s/Francis Touchet, Jr Francis Touchet, Jr., Secretary-Treasurer

WELCOME HOME

Dads surprise kids after yearlong deployment

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

Members of the Louisiana Army National Guard returned to Lafayette on Tuesday, reuniting with their families in emotional scenes filled with hugs and tears.

Hundreds of guardsmen arrived home after deployments overseas, including two Lafayette fathers who planned a surprise for their children at J. Wallace James Elementary School.

Rick Domec and Johnathan Brasse-

aux hid quietly inside cardboard boxes on the school auditorium stage after more than a year away from their families. The two were stationed in Kosovo and share a combined 35 years of military service.

They had just arrived back in Lafayette about 1 p.m. Tuesday after being up since 2 a.m., Brasseaux said.

Behind the curtain, they imagined the moment: what their children’s faces would look like when they saw them.

“I’m ecstatic about it,” Domec said.

When the curtain opened, the two men burst from the boxes as their children rushed the stage to hug them.

Domec said the rest of the day would be simple: crawfish and dirt bikes.

For Brasseaux, the moment had been a long time coming.

“It’s amazing, man,” he said. “You’re

just ready to be home. See your kids, eat familiar foods, just sit in your chair.”

Supporters protest Comeaux High closure

Group hopes district will be transparent, reconsider move

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

A small group of protesters gathered outside the Lafayette Parish school system’s central office Tuesday afternoon, less than a week after the School Board voted to take Comeaux High School offline at the end of the year

The group of students, alums and Comeaux supporters said they hoped the district would reconsider its decision and be more transparent.

“As a senior, it hurts seeing underclassmen who don’t have a place to come next year,” Brenna Bonton said. “I feel like the School Board doesn’t care about us.” Comeaux freshman Mckieren Johnson said he felt like the board already had its mind made up about closing the school before it voted last week. He was frustrated that the board held the vote the same day students around the district took the ACT He said Comeaux students were fretting about where they would attend school next year rather than focusing on the test. “The next day (at school) was just traumatic,” he said. “The school was so sad.” Mckieren, who runs track for Comeaux, said he’s zoned to attend Acadiana High next year but isn’t sure what he’s going to do. The

Health officials: 21,000 to lose Medicaid

Work requirements coming next year

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

Louisiana health officials expect about 21,000 people in the state will lose Medicaid coverage when new work requirements for the program take effect next year, a projection that is lower than estimates from outside groups of far larger coverage losses.

The rule that certain people receiving Medicaid demonstrate they are working, in school, in job training or volunteering to keep their coverage was part of the recently passed federal law H.R. 1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” In Louisiana, about 1 in 3 people rely on Medicaid for health care coverage.

The state Health Department’s estimate, announced at a budget meeting Monday, is based on how many people the requirements apply to and how many people are already meeting work requirements, said Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein, who called some sharply higher estimates “the absolute worst-case scenario.”

Some of those analyses, drawing on national data and past state experiences, estimated coverage losses in Louisiana could reach tens of thousands more — in some cases over 100,000 people — if people who are eligible for Medicaid lose coverage because of paperwork issues.

The state is already seeing a sharp decline in Medicaid enrollment following the end of pandemic-era protections, which kept

OUR VIEWS

Don’trushto declareschool desegregation casesdead

Recent rulings in long-running school desegregation cases highlight whywebelievethe continuing oversight by federal courts of these cases is important and should not beshortcircuited.

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion ruled thatSt. James Parish schoolswere still significantly segregatedafter 60 years and that district officialshad largely failed to comply with the measures outlined in a 2017 consent decree to remedy thatfact. Papillion, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, urged the two sides to gettogether on asolution. That came after asimilarrulingina desegregationcaseout of St.Johnthe Baptist Parish in January,where U.S. District Court Judge Jay Zainey,nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bush, said that its school district still haswork to do before he would dismiss itsdesegregation order,though he expressed opennesstolifting it at some point. Both cases are headedfor appeal. We would argue that these twofederal judges are doing what we hope all federal judgesdo in cases where the future of ourchildrenisat stake. They are evaluatingevidenceand not rushing to make decisions just so we can closea chapter in ournation’shistory andmoveon. Make no mistake, that isthe pressuretheyare facing these days. The Department of Justice under the Trump administration hasstatedit wants to get rid of the desegregation cases, which date back to the 1960s when Black families and civil rights groups filed suit to make districtscomplywith the1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board ofEducation that“separate but equal”was unconstitutional.

About adozen Louisiana school districts still have active desegregation orders, and Attorney General Liz Murrill, with Gov. Jeff Landry’s blessing, is aggressively seekingtheir dismissal. So far they have notched victories in Plaquemines and DeSoto parishes, which were released from federal oversightinrecent months.But asidefromthe cases mentioned above,judgeshave been reluctant to dismiss the cases in Concordia and St. Maryparishes Someargue that theseorders hamper school districts’ abilitytooperate as they mustmeet strict requirementsfor adding new programs and submit regular reports to theJustice Department. Others say the cases havedraggedon toolong and federal oversight wasnever meant to be permanent.

Those arguments have some validity.But thedistricts have known fordecades what benchmarks they need to meet.Itisa slap in the face to school districts whohave met them to dismiss desegregation orders against those who haven’t.

And let’skeep in mind thegoal. We want every Louisiana student to havethe opportunity to attend aschool where theycan succeed.If districts are providing that, they should easily be able to show it to the courts, whosedemands have been very reasonable so far.Whatthey should not be allowed to do, however, is run out the clock on their obligationstostudentsbecause it’sjust too hard to meet them.

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OPINION

Democratsirresponsible in blocking DHSfunding

Democrats need to end the DepartmentofHomeland Security shutdown, now morethan ever.TSA agents, Coast Guard, Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection agents,FEMA staff and other necessary personnel who are essential for homeland security must be fully funded now.There is no doubt that multitudes of Iranian and other terrorists were allowed to enter theU.S. during theBiden years. It will probably not be if additional terrorist attacks in the USA happen, but rather when. President Donald Trumpshould be applauded for being proactive instead of being reactive to somenew 911 catastrophes orchestrated by theregime that perpetually screamed, “Death to America,” and murdered and maimed so manyAmericans over the past 47 years. Defanging the No. 1sponsor of terror in theworld needed to be done eventually.Years of kicking thecan down theroad only emboldened the evil Iranian regime to spreadits terror acrossthe region and around the

world. The U.S. and the world now have asafer future forour children and grandchildren to pursue happiness. Pure evil only understandsstrength, not appeasement. Democrats agreed that Iran must not have nuclear weapons. However,they were always afraid to do anything about it, further emboldening this evil regime. President Joe Biden’spathetic warning of, “don’t” to Iran, regarding its threats to further attack Israel after the Oct. 7massacre of Israeli citizens was particularly empty and weak. It took President Trumptofinally act upon Biden’shollow warning of “don’t.” It would be easier forthe Iranian people to takeback their country if their population had been allowed to bear arms. This is aperfect example of why respecting and supporting the Second Amendment must always be a part of the U.S. to arm its citizens for self-defense from arogue police state, terroristsand criminals.

WADE PERRIN Marrero

Letlow’s stocktradesa legitimate campaign issue

Icouldn’tbelieve these three politically astute columnists, Ron Faucheux, Stephanie Grace and Quin Hillyer, used an entire page and tiptoed around theelephant (pun intended) plaguing Rep.Julia Letlow’scampaign. The newspaper even covered the story of her failure to file stock purchases within the required time. Under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, members of Congress are generally required to disclose financial transactions such as stocks, bonds and commodity futures exceeding $1,000 —within 45 days of the transaction. While some rules suggest a30-day window after

notification of atrade, the absolute maximum deadline is 45 days. According to theStock Trading Report,Letlow waited over ayear to file notification. According to the congresswoman’soffice, the error was due to athird-partyinvestment firm Columnist Stephanie Grace did say, “Cassidy supporters are trying to associateher with Nancy Pelosi, which is comical, if you think about it.” No, it isn’t, not if you elaborate aboutthe comparison with Pelosi’sincreased wealth from trades she said were madebyher husbandand not her LORRE LEI JACKSON River Ridge

Ihate to disappoint Duke Truby,but Idon’tbelieve that the majority of his statistics nor his statementsabout the newspaper are correct. Iama 78-yearold White woman who has have always read the newspaper.While Ihaven’t agreed with everything that was printed, Ialways thought the articles were factual and fair

The section now labeled “Your Views” is exactly that —the readers’ views. Ihave written manyofmyopinions to the newspaper,but only one has been published. Whatever you consider liberal commentary is someone’sviewpoint LYNEDWARDS Jackson

The recent story,“How Trump’s Medicaid, food stamps overhaul could squeeze Louisiana’sbudget,” expertly detailed the financial strain facing our state. However,asanoncologist, Iamequally concerned by the logistical barriers these changes, specifically the 80-hour monthly work requirement, will create for our patients and their families facing alifealtering diagnosis of cancer Ihave had the privilege of caring for patients in Louisiana for over 20 years. For nearly adecade, Ipracticed in Acadiana before returning to New Orleans. Ihave seen firsthand how cancer treatment renders some patients physically unable to care for themselves independently,let alone meet work or volunteer mandates. Between recovery from surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation, many patients struggle simply to get out of bed, regardless of their background or political leanings. Studies show nearly three-quarters of cancer patients miss work due to their diagnosis; for them, awork requirement isn’tjust ahurdle —it’samedical impossibility

While federal law allows for “medically frail” exemptions, Louisiana must now define who qualifies. People with cancer and their caregivers should not be forced to fight awar of paperwork while they are fighting for their lives. We all know someone whose life has been impacted personally by cancer,either directly or through afamily member. Our state is disproportionately burdened by this malady.May we cometogether and urge our Louisiana lawmakers to ensure that cancer patients are automatically exempted from these requirements to prevent life-threatening disruptions in care.

CHANCELLOR DONALD NewOrleans

The DeepState has never been deeper The Swamp (along with the East Wing) are gone, replaced by the cesspool of crime and corruption. Hail to the felon!

PATRICK TOOLE NewOrleans

‘Sinners,’ MichaelB.Jordanwin forthe culturewithLa. talent

NewOrleanian makeup artist Allison LaCour wasn’tonthe stage at theAcademy Awards program, and her name wasn’t called. But she was in theDolby TheatreinOvation Hollywood Sunday night when Louisianafilmed “Sinners” won an Oscar,then another,then another and yet another

andcrew stand up….Youguys are amazing….You all are winners in my book.” LaCourstood proudly,accepting the praise and thanks.

The highly acclaimed movie had fourOscar winners:

n Best Actor: Michael B. Jordan, for his dual roles as identical twins Smoke and Stack, the sixth Black man to win that award category

n Best Original Screenplay:Ryan Coogler,the movie’sdirector and producer who wrotethe script,won his first Oscar n Best Cinematography:Autumn Durald Arkapaw, aBlack Creole-Filipino photographer,isthe first womanto win the award

n Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson, aSwedish composer,musician and producer who hasearned his third Oscar in this category

The cast andcrew celebrated with Coogler,Jordan, Arkapaw and GöranssoninCalifornia and here at home

LaCour was on her waytothe Dolby Theatre at the Ovation Hollywood,a shopping center,inHollywood,whenI caught up withher before theprogram started. She was riding in stylewith Sherri Hamilton, Lana Mora andTene Wilder,all membersofthe Sinners hair and makeup team.

“We’re pulling up to the theater now,” shesaid, quickly interruptingthe conversation to check on thedrop-off spot. “It’ssoexciting to be here.”

When producer,directorand screenwriter Coogler accepted hisOscar for screenwriting, he said, “All my cast

New Orleans actors Gralen Bryant Banks, Aaydn Encalarde and Sam Malone wereinLouisiana. Banks caughtclips. Encalarde was at an Oscars watch party with her mom and friends. Malone was catching pieces of the show while getting acouple of kids ready for bed. Banks, from Uptown, played Patterson, the first customer the nightthe new dance and music joint opened. He spent six weeks filming with “Sinners.”Encalarde played the teen whotook money to watch a carand turned in the thieves who were trying to steal it. Malone played one of those thieves, the one who got shot in the butt.

“Yeah, I’m watching,” Malone texted me as he watched someofthe program, “kinda bitterly because Iwas really hoping Delroy (Lindo) and Ms. Ruth would win. Really all categories.”

Many ofuswere hoping for more wins. Thoughthe academy got it wrong in the Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and other categories, Coogler Jordan andour locals were winners before this filmaward season.

“It’sbeen abeautiful run. It’sbeen abeautifulyear,” LaCour told me the next morning as she prepared to catch an early flightback to New Orleans. As akey makeup artist on the movie, LaCour didajob that anumber of big studios normally have one of their own fly in to handle.

Aself-described “7th Ward baby,” Encalarde was 13 years old when “Sinners” was made. She’ll be 15 next week.“Ididn’t realize theimpact that the role would have, but I’m beyond grateful,” sheshared with me.

Malone got his jollies from his three

days of shooting, not Sunday night Banks, ahospitality expert, culture bearer and WBOK radio host,called themovie “an instant classic,” amovie he paid to see eight times I’m elated for Coogler,Jordan, Arkapaw and Göransson. I’mhappy for Banks, Encalarde, LaCourand Malone. Sinners is aphenomenal movie that digs deeper than surface-level horror, twistingplotsand surprises. Even if it is unintentional on the part of some who see it, Coogler successfully uses thescript and “Sinners” charactersto challenge our thinking about systematic White oppression and supremacy that continue to attack, and threaten, Black people, Black joy and Black love. How could aBlack man do that? It’s aWarner Bros. movie with adifferent deal. Coogler’sWBdeal with Proximity Media, his company,gives him firstdollar gross revenue rather than waiting to reap financial benefitsonce the production company recoups expenses; full creative and final-cut control and, amazingly,complete ownership rights after 25 years. That is special. For thosewho haven’tseen the movie, watch it. For those who saw the movie and missed this context,watch it again.

“Sinners” is an instant classic. Movie buffs, cinematographers, fans, scholars,writers will be watching it, teachingfrom it and using its themes to challenge evil, naive oppression, especially for those who don’tsee them among those groups.

Coogler led our Louisianacreatives and others to makeanimpactful movie. Ihave aquestion: Will we watch, listen and be better? Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate.com.

If Iranianbombs hadnuclear warheads

The single biggest reason Donald Trump won the last election boils downtotwo words: gas and groceries. Joe Biden’sfailure to control prices on those key commodities enabled Trump, whohas never wonamajority of the popular vote, to capture asecond term.

Now, Trumpishanding his enemies the identical issue he used to defeat them. His attack on Iran has spread chaos throughout the Middle East and ignited cost increases in fuel and food that threaten to dislodge his control of Congress in next fall’selections and decimate the remainder of his presidency

Tanker traffic has virtually shut downinthe region while both sides are pummeling drilling sites, storage facilities and shipping ports. “Weare looking at what is by farthe biggest disruption in world history in termsofdaily oil production,” energy historian Daniel Yergin told The Wall Street Journal. “Ifitgoes on forweeks, it will reverberate across the global economy.”

The average price Americans pay at the pumphas shot up to $3.54 agallon, as of this writing, an increase of 44 cents in just aweek and 62 cents over the last month. Diesel fuel, used mainly to power heavy trucks and farm machinery,has risen even moresharply

As Democrats discovered in 2024, this issue is particularly powerful —and painful —because folks know exactly what it costs to fill their tanks. Even when they’re not stopping forgas, they pass stations blaring the inflated prices on brightly lit signs. Moreover,this blow lands as voters are already upset over the cost of living, with 62% disapproving of Trump’shandling of inflation in anew NBCpoll, while only 36% approve.

Much remains unknown, primarily how long the war will last and how much damage it will do to oil supply chains. But Trumpcontinues to send contradictory signals about his goals and intentions. In the sameday he declared, “We’ve already won in manyways,” but then insisted that the war will continue “until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”

Criticism of President Donald Trump’sbombingcampaign against the Iranian regime continues from most Democrats anda few Republicans. Therewas atime in America —unknown to younger generations —when once American troops were involved in awar the nation mostly unified behind them

Today,there are no restraints as awar is seen as merely acontinuation of politics as usual. Criticism emboldensthe enemy and puts more American military personnel in danger.That appears to be of little concern to the critics.

Anew poll by NPR/PBSNews/Marist found 56% of those surveyed oppose, or strongly oppose, military action against Iran. Forty-fourpercent support, or strongly support, the announced intention by the administration to render Iran incapable of developing nuclear weapons.

Have they considered avictory by the U.S. and Israel would likely decapitate the ayatollah regime and replace it with agovernmentthatisnot only more friendly to the U.S., Israel and the West, but also allows for freedoms now denied the Iranian people?

One wonders whether answers might have been different had respondents been asked aquestionrelated to asuccessful outcome and the threat of failure?

Another question pollsters should ask is this:Ifweand the Israelis had done nothing and Iran managed to develop anuclear weapon, what would critics say?

Consider the indiscriminatebombing of countries, including Arab and Muslim countries,throughout the region. If nuclear warheads had been on those missiles andif the Iranian regime had been allowed todevelop ICBMs capable of reaching America’s East Coast, what then? It would be too late to do much about it and millions might die in anuclear holocaust

This is the case the Trump administration has failed to sufficiently make to help shape public opinion in his direction.

The president needs to deliver an

ASSOCIATED

Residents watch as smokerises from anearbybuilding during an Israeli strikein central Beirut,Lebanon, last week.

Oval Office addressinwhich he says this is apre-emptive strike designed not only to save lives in theregion, but to save American lives which would be in jeopardy should the ayatollahs manage to remain in power

Thereissomething else about which the administration —and previous administrations —have not given the attention it deserves.

Thatisthe religious component.The ayatollahs and their supporters don’t fear death. Their twisted theology has convinced them that they will be transported to Heaven should they die at the hands of “infidels.” This is not asecret.Itispart of their religious doctrine. They have been preaching it for centuries.

Thelatescholar of Islam Bernard Lewis viewed the historical goal of Islam as a“comprehensive, divinely sanctioned mission to bring theworld under Islamic law (Sharia) through jihad(armed struggle).” Its goal, he wrote, was toobtain asingle, unified

Islamic polity …viewing thefaith as a “total,all-encompassing system of life rather than just apersonal, spiritual, or legal sector.” He wrote that it is an “obligation for all Muslims to make war against (infidels) and against those whofollow them. (especially Jews)” The extremists, he wrote, are for heaven and those whoare not with them are for hell. How does one negotiatewithpeople who hold such beliefs?Defeat must be theonly goal —either theirs, or ours.

For more Lewis quotes go to Goodreads.com and search for BernardLewis.

Victory over the ayatollahs might quickly turn public approval around, as would returning gas prices to their previous low level. Victory might come more quickly if more of the public got behind thewar effort.

Email Cal Thomasattcaeditors@ tribpub.com

This uncertainly aggravates uneasiness in world markets. “This warstarts underwater, and it’sonly going to grow moreso, which is going to hurt Republicans on the ballot,” Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher told The New York Times.“Perhaps one could inoculate some of that if they had acentral message that resonated, but they have anew rationale every other day —way too manymixed messages, which only adds to voters’ confusion and suspicions.” Trumpinsisted on social media that oil prices “will drop rapidly” once Iran is defeated, and he argues that the short-term pain is “a very small price to pay forU.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINKDIFFERENTLY!”

Safety and peace are certainly noble goals, but they remain highly intangible and difficult to convey.The price voters pay,however,is all too real. And Trumphas largely failed to convince manyAmericans that the sacrifice is worth it —not only in higher prices but in lost lives.

“Presidents have this power,and if they use it and they don’teducate the public, the public gets very angry and disenchanted and turns against the government,” warns presidential historian Michael Beschloss in the Times Complicating Trump’sproblem is that his foes know precisely how vulnerable he is politically and are trying to maximize the cost he endures by deliberately crippling oil exports.

“Iran is wagering it can outlast the United States and Israel —not militarily,but by grinding the war into abrutal contest of endurance,” writes Reuters. “Its strategy is stark: Unleash drones and missiles, cut vital energy routes and jolt global markets hard enough to force Washington to blink first.”

The potential economic fallout from aprolonged conflict only starts at the gas pump. American farmers, already suffering from Trump’stariff and immigration policies, are particularly vulnerable.

“Nearly athird of the world’sfertilizer travels through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz,” reports Semafor.“As farmers across the Northern Hemisphere prepare to plant spring crops, they fear supply chain disruptions will send their costs soaring.”

Awide range of goods and services —from airline tickets to fabrics and plastics made from petroleum —could be impacted. And virtually every consumer item that’sshipped by truck or air would have to reflect higher fuel costs. Starting with groceries.

Elections are eight months away.But Trump has armed his foes with an arsenal of lethal weapons that will be used against him

Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.

Senate confirmsnominee forjudgeship

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT Staff writer

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved President Donald Trump’snominee, Anna St. John,asa federal judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana, based in New Orleans, on a51-45 vote. Both of Louisiana’ssenators voted for St. John and praised her nomination

“Anna stood up for Americans in court,” Sen. BillCassidy,R-Baton Rouge, saidin anews release.“Becauseof this, we can trust her to put the Constitution and Louisianans first.”

Sen.John Kennedy, R-

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“They have to start all over again. Comeaux is their home.” He also said he wants the district to be more

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charged with twocounts of felony cruelty to juveniles and one count of false swearing forthe purpose of violating public health and safety Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said the investigation began after an anonymous report from aschool to the Department of Children and Family Services suggested possible cruelty involving two children under the age of 10. Guidroz said Enriquez initially accused a17-yearold girlofcommitting the abuse “Enriquez initially implicated a17-year-old female as the perpetrator of the cruelty. The thorough investigationbyDCFS and our juvenile detectives uncovered the deceit and will facilitatejustice,” Guidroz

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people from being kicked off the program until April 2023.

Louisiana’sMedicaid rolls grew from around 1.5 million in February 2020 to 1.9 million inMarch 2023, then dropped to 1.4 million by November 2025,according to federal data compiled by Kaiser Family Foundation

That decline leaves enrollment 6% below prepandemic levels, making Louisiana one of arelatively small number of states with fewer enrollees than before COVID-19.

Calculated estimate

In an interview,Greenstein and Medicaid Director Seth Gold saidabout 320,000 of 1.51 million Louisiana Medicaid enrollees would fall into the group required to meet the work requirements, meaning they are not exempt through disability, age or having young children.

To get to their estimate, stateofficials subtracted people who are already meeting the requirements or are expected to qualify for exemptions. About 132,000 people are already working, basedonwage data. About 18,000 meet similar requirements through SNAP,and others mayqualify for exemptions based on medical conditions.

After those adjustments, officials estimate roughly 125,000 to 130,000 people may needtotake an additional step to verify work, training or volunteer activity

Thestate then applied nationalestimates of how many people typically comply with similar requirements to arrive at the projected 21,000people who could lose coverage.

Greensteinsaidthe state expects losses to be lower than in earlier work requirement experiences in

Madisonville, praisedher as well. “I knowthe Eastern District of Louisiana isingood hands withAnna St. John on thefederal bench,” he said in astatement. “She knows ourConstitution like the backofher hand and has the smarts and experiencetobe agreat, fair judge.”

St. John, a46-year-old Gulfport native, graduated from LSUand Columbia Law School, and clerkedfor 5thCircuitAppeals Court Judge Rhesa H. Barksdale, also based in New Orleans. She is counselina boutique New Orleans lawfirm and is general counsel with the

transparent about where it spends its money

“These School Board members forgetthey were hiredfor us,” he said.“Every cent of our money needs to be accountedfor.”

Tracy Wirtz, aspokespersonfor the school system, said the district and its

said. Tenchildrenwereremovedfrom thehomeby the agency,authorities said. Deputies confirmed the children were in Enriquez’s custody through the foster care system.

Anyone with information about the caseisasked to contact the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Officeat (337) 948-6516 or Crime Stoppers at (337) 948-8477. Tips can also besubmitted through the P3 app or by dialing **TIPS on amobile phone All tips are anonymous, and callers may beeligible for a cash reward if theinformation leadstoanarrest

Seven arrested,teen suspect still sought Twoadditional suspects have turned themselves in to Port Barre police following adrive-by shooting in the area. Brayden Brown, 17, is charged with attempted

other states, such as Arkansas,becauseLouisiana plans to rely more on automatic verification.There were several logistical issues with Arkansas’ setup, such as awebsite that was only operable from 9 a.m. to 5p.m.

“Wejustdon’t think that extrapolating the Arkansas experienceisworth much more than extrapolating the performance of the Flintstones’ family car to aTesla today,” Greenstein said. “It’snot even apples andoranges. It’slikepebbles and fruit.”

The state plans to expand outreach, including through social media, to make sure people understand thenew requirementsand deadlines. Louisiana is working with its workforce development systemtoprovide jobplacement, resume assistance and training programs

“The goal isnot to get rid of people from Medicaid,” Greenstein said. “It’stohelp Louisianians move from dependence to independence.”

MichaelKarpman,aresearcher at the Urban Institute who hasauthored reports on the workrequirement impacts, describeda loss of 21,000 as “very optimistic.”

“It’slower than the coverage loss that we project underour high-mitigation scenario,” Karpmansaid, referringto modelingthat accountsfor states taking keysteps, like automatic verifications, to keeppeople from falling off the Medicaid rolls unnecessarily In an analysisreleased in April, the UrbanInstitute estimated up to 132,000 adultsinLouisiana would lose Medicaid under work requirements. National estimatesfrom the Congressional Budget Office said the requirements would result in 4.8 million people without healthinsurance by 2034

Karpman said the work requirement will resultin peoplewho still qualify losing coverage because of

Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute, aWashington-based conservative think tank.

In herworkfor theinstitute,St. John fought against what shehas called unfair class-action settlements Her nomination was more controversial thanthose of some other recent Louisiana judges. Democrats criticized her comments and “friendofthe courtbriefs” in politically charged cases.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat of the House Judiciary Committee, said during acommittee hearing over her nomination that“Ms. St. John’srecord reflects apartisan ideology

staff understand theemotions being felt in thecommunityafter theboard vote andthatit’s“focusedon helping students and staff transition.” She also said the principals of Acadiana, Lafayette andSouthside high schools were all working with thetransferstu-

second-degree murder,illegal use of afirearm and possession of afirearm by aperson under 18. Koby Levier,21, is chargedwithaggravated assault with afirearm and principal to attempted second-degree murder

A14-year-old boy remainsatlarge in connection with the shooting. Authorities previously arrested five others in the case

Police Chief Deon Boudreaux said officers responded to ashots fired call about5:30 p.m. Saturday on East Courtableau Drive, where they found multiple bullet holes in a mobile home. No injuries werereported.

Boudreaux said surveillance video helped identify two vehicles involved andthe people inside. He said the shooting stemmed fromanearlier argument. Theinvestigation is ongoing.

stricter paperwork policies

“Many people are projected to losecoverageeven though theyare working or could potentially qualify for an exemption,” Karpman said.

Effortstoautomate

Louisiana plans to verify eligibility and work activity using existing datasources, including wage dataand medical claims, to reduce the need forpeople to submit paperwork.

Officials said about 40% to 50% of Medicaid renewals are already completed automaticallyusing existing data.

Under the new system, information about income or medical conditions could be pre-filledduringthe renewal process. For example, wage data couldbeused to confirm employment, and medicalclaimscould be used to identify people who qualify for exemptions.

If the statealready has thatinformation,beneficiaries wouldnot need to take additional steps

Officials said the work requirement will also be built into thestandard application and renewal process, rather than requiring separate monthly reporting.

‘Weworry abouteveryone’

Research from the postCOVIDperiodhas shown that many people lose coveragebecause of administrative issues rather than ineligibility,including missed notices or difficulty completing paperwork.

In Louisiana, sometimes that’sbecauseaperson moves around alot or is displaced because of ahurricane.

Greenstein said the state is tryingtostop that from happening through automation. But it’snot clear how many people might drop off who still qualify, he said.

“Wedon’t know the answer,totell youthe truth, and it’s concerning,” Greenstein said. “Weworry about everyone on the program.”

Martin,Jan FountainMemorialFuneralHome, 1010 PandoraStreetinLafayette,at11 a.m.

and raisesserious questions about her ability to impartially administer justice.”

Criticsalso faultedher for testifying against alaw passed in 2022 with bipartisan support thatexempted victims of sexual harassment in theworkplace from having their complaints considered behind closed doors in forced arbitration. St.Johnsaidshe wantedto make clear to lawmakers thatarbitration can often lead to victims getting more money

St.John’sconfirmation leaves only onevacancy on the 12-judge Eastern Districtbench.

dentsand families they’ll welcome next year

Wirtz said families will receive information this week about ameeting with the Louisiana High School Athletic Association about transferring student-athletes affected by Comeaux’s closure.

Mother,son found dead in home

Jennings police are investigating thedeathsofa mother and son after officersfound them dead inside ahome Sunday afternoon.

Police Chief Denny Semms saidofficerswere called for awelfare check about3 p.m.Sunday at a home in the 300 block of Alice Street after family members reported they had notheard fromorseen the pair in nearly aweek.

When officers entered the home,they foundaman and womandeadwith gunshot wounds.Semms said two firearmswere recovered at thescene.

Police believe thedeaths stemmed from adomestic situation between the two.

The causeofdeath has not been released pending autopsy andforensicresults. Their identities are being withheldpending notification of family

Officials said more detailed information about how theprogramwill work will be released over the next year as the state prepares for its start in January.

Staff writer Meghan Friedmann contributed to this report

Email Emily Woodruff at ewoodruff@theadvocate. com.

LOTTERY

MONDAY,MARCH 16, 2026

PICK 3: 5-7-6

PICK 4: 8-9-1-7

PICK 5: 6-4-1-3-2 POWERBALL: 7-10-2047-52 (20)

Obituaries

Martin,Jan McCarthy

Jan McCarthyMartin, 69. Visitation will be observed at FountainMemorial Funeral Home in Lafayette, LA on Wednesday, March 18, 2026, from 9:00 am until theLiturgyofthe Word at 11:00 am. Online obituary andguest book may be viewed at www.fountainm emorialfuneralhome.com. FountainMemorialFuneral Home andCemetery,1010 Pandora St.337-981-7098 is in charge of arrangements.

Whipple, Madeline V.

MadelineV.Whipple 87, of Broussard, beloved mothertosix children, passedawaypeacefullyat herhomeonFriday, March 13, 2026 leaving avoid her familywill struggle to fill.

MadelineMary Vidrine wasborninFenton,Laon April 11, 1938 to Dewey Vidrine andthe former Mary Reed.She wassister to six siblings. Madeline attendedFenton High School through hersophomoreyear when she transferred andgraduatedfrom Lafayette High in 1956. She briefly studied Secretarial Sciences at McNeese State Collegewhere she was placed on thePresident's Honor Roll.After herfirst semester,she wasoffered ajob with United Gas (later Pennzoil)where she workedassecretary for 17 years. In 1960, whileat United Gas, Madelinecompletedthe BusinessShorthand degree of the Louisiana Adult Education program. In 1974, she left herjob at Pennzoil to marry Thomas G. "Jerry Whipple,Sr. andmoved to Houston. Shedevoted the rest of herlifetothe love andcareofher family.

Madelinewas adevoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Her familyfelther love in the

all.She took special joyinher relationship with theLordand was an active member of the SacredHeart of Jesus communityinBroussard as both amember and volunteer Madelinewas preceded in death by herparents, herlovinghusband Jerry, son Michael, andbrothers Robert Vidrine,Clifton Vidrine,and Alfred "Benny" Vidrine Madelineissurvivedby daughterDiane,and sons Thomas (Laura), Timothy (Martha), Paul(Dawn), and Mason(Amanda); and by herbrother Dewey "Stephen"Vidrine(Tina), andsistersLynda Vidrine Songy (Lance)and Leta Vidrine LeFranc. She also leaves behindeight grandchildrenNicholasWhipple, Taylor Torres,Dakota Whipple,Noah Rhoades, Jennifer Whipple,James Whipple,Thomas Whipple, andAubreyWhipple Madelineisalso survived by threegreat grandchildren Victoria,Audrey, and George Torres Visitation willbeat Delhomme Funeral Home of Lafayette on Friday March20from4:00 pm until8:00 pm andSaturday from 8:00 am until12:00 pm. ARosarywillberecited Saturdaymorningat 10:00 am in thefuneral home. AFuneral Mass will be held Saturday March21at 1:00 pm at SacredHeart of Jesus ChurchofBroussard with final interment in Lafayette Memorial Parkto follow Pallbearers will be Thomas Whipple,James Whipple,Steve Vidrine, Brian Vidrine, Matt Vidrine andAndreSimoneaux. Readings will be by Taylor Torres,Jennifer Whipple, andAubreyWhipple TheWhipple family wouldliketothankDr. Britni Hebert,Sheila Calais, Mitzi Romero, Twhana Louviere, andMorgan McGee for theirloving care of Madeline in herwaning days. We wouldalso like to thank Judy Dupuis for all of herhelp DonationstoNational Breast CancerFoundation, MealsonWheels, and SacredHeart Church in her name are appreciated Personal condolences may be sent to the Whipple familyatwww.del hommefuneralhome.com. Delhomme Funeral Home, 1011 BertrandDrive, Lafayette, LA is in charge of funeral arrangements.

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SPORTS

Questionspersist forCajunsafter roughweekend

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

No week during UL’s softball season hasbeencompletely comfortable this season.

ä Texas State at UL. 6P.M. FRIDAy,ESPN+

Early on,the pitching didn’tlook good. In other weeks, thehittingstruggled andthe defense has been aroller coaster No week, though, has sentmore Ragin’ Cajuns fans hunting for thepanic button more than last weekend’sseries losstoSouthern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference opener

The Cajuns (17-12, 1-2 SBC) dropped theFriday opener 6-1, beat theGolden Eagles 9-1 in thesecond game and lost

“This weekend wasdefinitely not what we anticipated, and definitely not the standard of Ragin’ Cajuns softball.”

ALySON HABETZ,ULcoach

therubber match 9-1.

“Thisweekend wasdefinitely not what we anticipated,and definitely not thestandard of Ragin’ Cajuns softball,” coachAlysonHabetz said.“It needs to get betterand that starts with me. So we plan to do that. That’sthe goal —toget better.”

There’salot to work on. The hitting wasn’tgood enough, thepitching

wasn’tgood enough, the defense wasn’t good enough andthe baserunning wasn’tgood enough. The first question heading into this weekend’shome series against Texas State, starting 6p.m. Friday at Lamson Park, is in the circle.

Sage Hoover started Friday and Bethaney Noble on Saturday.Neither pitched well Sunday, so it’s hard to know which one should get two starts moving forward.

“I believeinSageand Ibelieve in Bethaney,” Habetz said. “I believe in allofour pitchers. Ibelieve Bethaney and Sage are the most consistent at throwing strikes and attacking the strike zone.”

WhyLSU couldkeep McMahonafter missing NCAA Tournament4 times

BY TOYLOYBROWN III Staff writer

We all know the reasons Matt McMahon could be fired.

Analysis

LSU basketball’sdisappointing season end has become routine forthe fourth-year coach. His team wasn’tcloseto earning an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament again. After an 87-82 losstoKentucky in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, McMahon’s record sits at a60-70 overall and 17-55 in the SEC.

LSU (15-17, 3-15 SEC)finished last in the SEC and has been among the bottom two teams in the league standings three times in four seasons.

Patience is not often afforded to highmajor coaches with this résumé. Despite the uninspiringtrack record, the university hasn’tmade achange, perhaps opting not to pay the roughly $8 million buyout for the remaining three years on McMahon’scontract.

With each passing day,the pool of coaching candidatesshrinks. Even as rumors swirl around Will Wade’sreturn, leaving NC State after one season, LSU hasn’tcreated acoaching opening and hasn’tcontacted him,Wade said. The decisiontochangeleadership isn’tone made in avacuum. Verge Auseberry,who was hired as athletic director in November 2025, has already agreed to dole out large amountsofdollars in football

LSU hired Lane Kiffin to asevenyear,$91 million deal, making him among the highest-paid college football coaches. He and Georgia’sKirby Smart are the only football coaches who will earn at least $13million per year before incentives. LSUalso has to pay the buyout for fired coach Brian Kelly, agreeing to payhim $54 million. If the school wants anew coach, it’ll havetopay McMahon’s buyout and the millions it would take for anew hire —which could be pricey ifit’snot a

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

New OrleansPelicans center Yves Missi joined an exclusive club Mondaynight, putting him in company with some of the best bigmen in franchise history

Missi finished with10rebounds, five blockedshots andfiveassistsinthe Pelicans’129-111 victory over theDallas Mavericksatthe Smoothie King Center

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Cam Jordan said he went back to theNew Orleans Saints locker room recently to grab afew items “onthe offchance”hedoesn’t return to the black and gold next season.

That’show his free agency has gone. Jordan remains unsigned after hitting the market last week, and after appearing on former teammate TerronArmstead’s podcast,the 36-year-old said he has threeoptionsthat he andhis wife have talked over “There’saset value Ihave in my mind,” Jordan said. “Value is to theeye of the beholder at this point. Valuemeansposition, rotation, —monetary,sure, but more along thelines of, ‘If Iwant to get 10, 12, 13 sacks this next season, then Ineed to be in the best position to do so.’

He joined David West, Demarcus Cousins, Anthony Davisand Zion Williamson as theonly players in team history to grab 10 rebounds with fiveassists and five blocked shots. Davis did it five times and Cousins did it twice.

Missi’sthoughts on hearing his name listed with those other four?

“Itmeans alot,” Missisaid. “Justbeing able to helpmyteammates. We gotthe win and that’sthe most important thing.

Ididn’teven know Ihad five assists until someone mentioned it at the end of the game.” The five assists wereacareer high for Missi.The five blocks tied hiscareer high, set last year when he was arookie. Even more impressive is Missi is only 21, making him the youngest player in this exclusive club to hit the 10-5-5bench-

That value, he said,could be in

offseason,saidhe’d even consider acoldweather city for“the right price.” Jordansaidhe’d love to stay withthe Saints, but wouldn’tjust

NCAA is full of top NBA prospects

Freshmen Dybantsa, Acuff among the stars

BY AARON BEARD AP basketball writer

It was early in the final week before March Madness when BYU’s AJ Dybantsa opened his Big 12 Tournament run by scoring 40 points, breaking a freshman singlegame record held by NBA great Kevin Durant.

“I’m just trying to win games,” Dybantsa said afterward

By Selection Sunday, Darius Acuff Jr had completed a threegame tear through the Southeastern Conference Tournament that secured Arkansas’ first title in 26 years.

“Downhill was working all weekend and today,” he said.

And that’s how this freshman class stocked with high-end NBA talent rolled all year, making the extraordinary look routine — so much so that the NBA is concerned about teams tanking to improve their chances at landing one of these talents in June.

From Dybantsa and Acuff to Duke’s Cameron Boozer and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson as headliners, the potential class of draft prospects is considered among the deepest in years if all go the oneand-done route as expected.

And they’ve arrived at the NCAA Tournament to play in the sport’s marquee event. It’s now the March of the freshmen, possibly all the way to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

“I know most of those guys. They’re all having great years,” Acuff said during his SEC run.

“They’re playing special. It’s great to see all the young guys playing great.”

Filling the bracket

Start with the East Region, where top overall tournament seed Duke has the 6-foot-10, 250-pound Boozer (22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds) as the leading force in an often-withering inside-out attack.

The East also has a potential top overall pick in Peterson, a 6-6 guard averaging 19.8 points even while being in and out of the lineup all year for the fourth-seeded Jayhawks; and a potential top-10 talent in 6-5 guard Mikel Brown Jr. from sixth-seeded Louisville.

In the West, the 6-foot-9 Dybantsa did nothing to harm his status as the long-running favorite to go No. 1 overall in the NBA draft while averaging a national-best 25.3 points for the sixth-seeded Cougars. Acuff is there, too, the 6-3 point guard who just set an SEC Tournament record

by averaging 30.3 points — and getting anywhere he wanted — while playing 117 of 120 possible minutes for the fourth-seeded Razorbacks.

Arizona tops the West, led by its own promising NBA freshmen prospects in 6-4 guard Brayden Burries (15.9) and 6-8 forward Koa Peat (13.6).

South No. 2 seed Houston is led by 6-4 guard Kingston Flemings (16.4 points), while third-seeded Illinois found a star in four-star prospect Keaton Wagler a 6-6 guard averaging a team-best 17.9 points.

In the Midwest, sixth-seeded Tennessee has slender 6-10 forward Nate Ament, who has averaged 20.3 points since mid-January while coach Rick Barnes has pointed to his gains in playing through contact.

And the tournament list could’ve been even longer if not for South 6-seed North Carolina losing 6-foot10 freshman Caleb Wilson (19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds) to a seasonending thumb injury in early March.

Tuesday’s release of The Associated Press All-America teams reinforced the freshman surge. Boozer was a unanimous first-team pick, joined by Dybantsa and Acuff on that top quintet. Wagler and Wilson were second-team picks, Flemings a third-teamer

“You knew they were extremely talented, but you just never know how they’re going to adjust moving to this level,” Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said of the freshman class. “I know a lot of people think going from high school to playing at this level, the transition is easy It is not.”

Productive rookies

Freshmen made it look that way all year, even beyond the spotlightseizing pro prospects.

This year, 24 freshmen are averaging at least 16.0 points on the NCAA’s leaderboard as of Tuesday. That’s nearly triple the annual average from the 2011-12 season through last year (8.8), with no more than 15 reaching that mark in any season during that span.

The numbers had been particularly low in recent years, when the sport got older with players who competed during the COVID-19 pandemic sticking around college with an extra year of eligibility to play five seasons. During that time, only 17 freshmen hit that 16-point threshold in the past three seasons combined.

Yet this year, freshmen accounted for 10 40-point games, up from seven in the previous seven seasons combined.

Acuff led that list with 49 in a

double-overtime loss at Alabama, while Wagler scored 46 against eventual Big Ten champion Purdue. Louisville’s Brown dropped 45 on N.C. State to break the Atlantic Coast Conference freshman singlegame record — set by last year’s No. 1 overall NBA draft pick in Duke’s Cooper Flagg — and Flemings had 42 against NCAA-bound Texas Tech.

Dybantsa did it twice, first with 43 against Utah in January before last week’s 40 points against Kansas State He later broke Durant’s overall scoring record for a single Big 12 Tournament in a loss against Houston.

“I coached six years in the NBA,” Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson said. “So I sat on the front of that bench and watched everybody from Allen Iverson to Rip Hamilton, to LeBron, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Dubinski, Jason Kidd, all of those guys.

“You know, some of them just have the bucket gene. I don’t think you can teach that. For us, we have to recruit it. For the NBA, they have to draft it But Dybantsa has got the gene.”

Evaluating draft potential

ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla figures this freshman-led draft class could be the best since the 2003 group that had LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade among the top five picks.

“If you don’t get a top-3 pick, there’s going to be a lot of consolation prizes for the tankers right down to probably 8 or 9 or 10,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

Fraschilla has Dybantsa, Boozer and Peterson as his top prospects, while Acuff — with potential he compares to NBA star Damian Lillard and Wilson and Flemings are next in a top tier set to offer “instant production” at the next level.

He also said Burries and Brown could develop into all-star talents, and he’s high on Ament’s long-term prospects as he gets stronger to handle physical play.

Fraschilla figures most NBA teams are “75% of the way home” in their evaluations of potential draft prospects, though he notes: “There are still guys that can help themselves.”

“A piece of it is the NCAA Tournament, a piece of it will be interviews and background, a piece of it might be talking to these kids at the combine,” Fraschilla said. “Here’s the way I’d put it: the NCAA Tournament is like getting an extra-credit question on your final exam. You can go from a B to an A.” Maybe so, but it sure looks like this freshman class has long since been on the Dean’s List.

Freshmen stars fill out All-America first team

BY DAVE SKRETTA AP basketball writer

Duke forward Cameron Boozer

BYU star AJ Dybantsa and Darius Acuff Jr of Arkansas arrived this season as part of what could go down as one of the most heralded freshman classes in college basketball history

They lived up to their billing, too, and were announced Tuesday as first-team AP All-Americans

Boozer was a unanimous choice among the 61 voters that select the weekly Top 25 for The Associated Press, following in the footsteps of Cooper Flagg, who also was a unanimous choice as a freshman for the Blue Devils last season. Dybantsa was a first-team pick on all but four ballots, while Acuff was a first-team selection on 47 of the ballots.

Yaxel Lendeborg of Michigan and JT Toppin of Texas Tech rounded out the five-member first team. “He’s all about his teammates,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said of Boozer, who was the AP’s national player of the week twice during the season. “He’s not about numbers. He’s about winning. And I think when your best player’s that way, it becomes contagious, and it

has a big effect on the rest of the group.”

Such a team-first attitude was on display by all the first-team picks; each helped their team to the NCAA Tournament

Boozer took the Blue Devils to ACC regular-season and tournament titles and helped them earn the top overall seed. Lendeborg also helped the Wolverines earn a No. 1 seed. Arkansas is seeded fourth, Texas Tech seeded fifth and BYU seeded sixth

“This has been the best year of my life, honestly. I’ve had so much fun,” said Lendeborg, the first Michigan first-team All-American since Trey Burke in 2012-13. “Just how much I’ve learned this year in general has really helped me out, and is really molding me to be better in the future no matter what I’m doing in my life.”

Arkansas had not had a firstteam pick since Sidney Moncrief in 1978-79 before Acuff was chosen. Dybantsa, the nation’s top scorer at 25.3 points per game, joins Jimmer Fredette and Danny Ainge as the Cougars’ only firstteam selections.

“When I left the NBA to come to college,” BYU coach Kevin Young said, “one thing I noticed is just a lot of guys, their processing speed

New Orleans signs former Vikings RB Chandler

The Saints signed veteran running back Ty Chandler to a oneyear deal, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed. Chandler, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick, spent four seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. Chandler’s deal is worth the league minimum (roughly $1.2 million), a source said. Chandler appeared in only three games last season, rushing for 47 yards on 17 carries. He missed most of the year with a knee injury

The Saints’ agreement with Chandler provides depth after they made a splash to begin free agency last week by signing running back Travis Etienne.

Coach Kellen Moore has been non-committal to longtime starter Alvin Kamara’s future.

Charlotte fires men’s basketball coach Fearne

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte 49ers fired basketball coach Aaron Fearne on Tuesday after he went 47-51 in three seasons at the helm.

Charlotte was 17-17 this season and lost 86-64 to South Florida in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The 49ers finished tied for fifth in the regular season AAC standings with a 9-9 record.

After going 19-12 in Fearne’s first season in 2023-24, the 49ers lost several players through the transfer portal and were 11-22 the following season.

Charlotte athletic director Kevin White said “while difficult, making a head coaching change is necessary to allow for greater success.”

Another WNBA negotiation drags on with no deal

NEW YORK Another marathon negotiating session between the WNBA and its players union didn’t end with a new collective bargaining agreement.

The two sides met for the eighth consecutive day on Tuesday, and while they said progress was being made heading into Monday’s negotiating session, there was still work that needed to be done when the sides ended discussions for the night around 3:30 a.m. EDT Neither side spoke to reporters after the session, but both had said earlier Monday that progress had been made over the last few days.

The WNBA and union have met face-to-face for around 90 hours since the first in-person bargaining session last Tuesday

Cole set to return from Tommy John surgery

AP ALL-AMERICA TEAM

First Team Cameron Boozer, Duke, 6-9, 250, Freshman; Miami, Florida; 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists (61 of 61 first-place votes, 305 points) AJ Dybantsa, BYU, 6-9, 210, Freshman; Brockton, Massachusetts; 25.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists (57, 295) Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan, 6-9, 230, Senior; Pennsauken, New Jersey; 14.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists (47, 273) Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas, 6-3, 190, Freshman; Detroit, Michigan; 22.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists (47, 264) JT Toppin, Texas Tech, 6-9, 230, Junior; Dallas, Texas; 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists (12, 163)

Second Team Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State, 6-9, 240, Senior; Las Vegas, Nevada; 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists (15, 162) Braden Smith, Purdue, 6-0, 170, Senior; Westfield, Indiana; 14.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.0 assists (12, 150) Jeremy Fears, Michigan State, 6-2, 190, Sophomore; Joliet, Illinois; 15.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists (10, 139) Keaton Wagler, Illinois, 6-6, 180, Freshman; Shawnee, Kansas; 17.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists (8, 131)

was way slower AJ’s is extremely high. So I can tell him something in the game, or in a film session, and he’s going to carry it over.”

Toppin was a second-team AllAmerican for the Red Raiders last season, when he helped them reach the Elite Eight. Now, he is the only first-team pick in Texas Tech history, even though his season ended in February with a torn ACL in his right knee.

Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 6-10, 215, Freshman; Atlanta, Georgia; 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists (4, 119)

Third Team Kingston Flemings, Houston, 6-4, 190, Freshman; San Antonio, Texas; 16.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists (8, 111) Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama, 6-4, 185, Sophomore; Mobile, Alabama; 21.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists (5, 109) Thomas Haugh, Florida, 6-9, 215, Junior; New Oxford, Pennsylvania; 17.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists (1, 101) Christian Anderson, Texas Tech, 6-3, 180, Sophomore; Atlanta, Georgia; 18.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.6 assists (5, 68) Graham Ike, Gonzaga, 6-9, 250, Senior; Aurora, Colorado; 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds 2.4 assists (0, 67) Honorable Mention Michael Ajayi, Butler; Jaden Bradley, Arizona; Brayden Burries, Arizona; Rueben Chinyelu, Florida; Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s; PJ Haggerty, Kansas State; Ebuka Okorie Stanford; Darryn Peterson, Kansas; Bennett Stirtz, Iowa; Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State.

“JT Toppin is genuine. He’s an unbelievable competitor He’s real,” Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland said following the injury “You know how much JT loves our team and how hard he competed and how much he cared about that group. To understand that this is difficult and JT has a long road, to watch him weep and see how much this meant to him is hard.”

TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is set for his spring training debut in the latest step in the New York right-hander’s recovery from Tommy John elbow surgery Cole is scheduled to throw one inning as the starter Wednesday in an exhibition against the Boston Red Sox at Steinbrenner Field. The 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner pitched in two spring training games last year before the surgery that sidelined him the entire 2025 season. Cole threw a 35-pitch bullpen session Thursday and has reached 97.5 mph with his fastball while also throwing breaking pitches. Boone reiterated the Yankees’ plan for the 35-year-old to make his season debut in late May or early June.

Bucks’ Antetokounmpo out with knee issues

MILWAUKEE Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t available for the Milwaukee Bucks’ game against Cleveland on Tuesday night after leaving a victory over Indiana two days earlier

The Bucks said the two-time MVP had a hyperextended left knee and a bone bruise.

Antetokounmpo didn’t play in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 134-123 win over the Pacers after landing awkwardly when he dunked late in the third period. Antetokounmpo downplayed the injury after the game.

“I’m just going to go back home, sleep, see how I feel tomorrow, try to lift some weights,” Antetokounmpo said. “If I have a little bit of discomfort, then I’ll go from there. As of now I’m not really bothered.”

Cajuns startTexas road trip at Houston

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

The No. 25-ranked UL Ragin’ Cajunsgot off to a15-5 start,largely on the strengthofflourishing at home. With that said, the Cajuns are 3-1 on the roadaswell andthe next test away from home is a 6:30 p.m.gameatHouston on Wednesday at Schroeder Park.

The Cougars (12-7) are coming off aBig 12 weekend series against Kansas State, which UL defeated 1-0 and 3-2 in 11 innings earlier thisseason in Lafayette.

Kansas State defeatedHouston 20-8 in eight innings, 16-1 in seven innings and then the Cougars won

the finale16-6 in eight innings.

“Wellit’swarm, so thewindis going to be blowing out of both places,” UL coach Matt Deggs said of Houston andthis weekend’sSun Belt series at Texas StateinSan Marcos,Texas

“Both parks face in the same direction, which is the north meaning aprevailingwind …so it’sgoingtobea helping wind (for hitters).”

UL’s Ty Roman (1-2) is expected to make his second straight midweek start. Roman has a6.97 ERA after giving up 23 hits and eight walks while strikingout 22 in 202/3 innings

Houston is expected to start 6-foot-7 freshmanright-hander

ä UL at Houston. 6:30 P.M.WEDNESDAy,ESPN+

Caden Cooper (1-0, 1.69 ERA).

Cooper has made seven appearances, but has only thrown 102/3 innings with eight hits, fivewalks andnine strikeouts.

“You just have to execute pitches and it’s just like at DallasBaptist, but you’re going to give up a(home run) or two,” Deggs said. “Just don’tmake amultiple-run jacks.”

The Cajuns have mostlygotten to 15 wins based on their pitching, but Deggs is OK with that.

“You’vegot to be able to play a specificbrand of baseball consistently in this ballpark, and that

MISSI

Continued frompage1C

mark in agame.

“I thought he was fantastic,” saidinterim coach JamesBorrego. “Really all of our bigswere. But Yves specifically in impacting the rim. The way he’srebounding out there. He affects our defense in so many ways. Ilove his energy, his spirit. He’s becomingthat rim protector for us.”

The Pelicans finishedwith 12 blocks in the game. The previous high this season was 11, which they had done five times. Herb Jones, Derik Queen and Jordan Poole hadtwo eachand Trey Murphy had one.

“Just havingeach other’sback and being there for each other,” Missi said about the defensive effort. “That’sthe main thing. Defense is something that has been emphasized lately.Being able to rebound and get some stops and be in position.” The emphasis on defense, coupled with the Pelicans finally beingfully healthy, hastranslated to more wins. The Pelicans (23-36)

CAJUNS

Continued from page 1C

Habetz said the coaching staff hasn’tyet decided on Friday’s starter,but warned not to read too much into the first weekend’s results.

“I just feellike they watched more film on Sage, anticipating

are 8-4 over their past 12 games.

They have won their past five games in theSmoothie King Center and will trytomake it six in a row Wednesday night when they host the Los Angeles Clippers in thefirst of back-to-back games.

ThePelicans are in the middle of astretch wherenineof10opponentsare teams that will be either in the playoffs or the play-in tournament. They are1-1 againstthose teams bound for thepostseason, beating theToronto Raptors and losing to the Houston Rockets in a nail-biter

Monday’s win over the Mavs was the one game against anonpostseason team. Now they get the gauntlet.Theyplaythe Clippers twice, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.After that is athree-game roadtrip to face the New York Knicks,Detroit Pistons andRaptors again

ThePelicans’ successwilldepend on how wellthey can defend.

“It’sabout getting more stops andgettingmore possessions than the other team,” Missisaid. “Whoever gets the most possession is mostlikely going to winthe game.”

Missi is averaging 5.5 points and5.6 rebounds this season.His

they’re going to see her, andI think hitters were more prepared for Sage,” shesaid Regardless of who pitches, the Cajuns must improve defensively UL has given up25unearned runs in 29 games this season. “Those things can’thappen,”Habetz said. “That’ssix runs we gave up on pop-ups. That can’thappen.” Forexample, the sun was afac-

is, you have to be able to throw strikes and pitch it,” Deggs said of Russo Field. “You’ve got to make teams earntheir wayonthe base and thenyou’ve got to be able to execute. Fortunately, we’ve just doneenoughlatelytofind away to win.” With the Cajuns hitting the road for four games, they will findout if their bats can support their pitching staff.

“We’re amuch better hitting ball club than what we’ve showninthe last few games,” Deggs said. “Dallas Baptist,wehit anybody they threw outthere forthe most part.

The (home) ballpark, you know,it can wear on you, but we can’tforgetwho we are andour style of

MCMAHON

Continued from page1C

lesser-knownmid-major name. There’salsothe issueofthe transfer portal if McMahahon is gone, especially if the majority of the nine LSU playerswith more eligibility leave with a coachingchange. Topplayer Dedan Thomas has said part of his reason to transfer to LSU was McMahon’shistory of coachingNBA point guards like Ja MorantatMurrayState. Ausberry could alsodecide that the staff is better off unchanged.McMahon already has apotentially important voice for his cause. Francis Missionaries of Our Lady Health System president and CEO E.J. Kuiper was one of sixonthe search committee, including Ausberry,that resulted in the hiring of Kiffin. He publicly backed McMahon following LSU’s106-99 double overtime winatOle Misson Feb. 25.

“LSU MBB beats OleMiss in Oxford!! Matt McMahon is agood coach,” Kuiper wrote in an Instagram story.“Took over aprogram that was in shambles and had to deal with key injuries all season long. He deserves another chance.” Ausberry may alsoaccount for the role injuries played in how this season unfolded. The Tigers opened 12-1 in their nonconference schedule, including an impressive 12-point win over SMU, aNo. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Everything shifted the day before the SEC opener.Thomas injured his left foot and only played three conference games

play.”

The Cajuns are hitting .258 as a team with 112 runs, 35 doubles, 11 homeruns and 40 stolen bases.

The only Cajuns hitter over .300 is freshman catcher Colt Brown at .347 with nine doubles and 11 RBIs.

On the doorsteps, though, is Blaze Rodriguez (.294, 10 RBIs) and Rigoberto Hernandez(.292, three HRs, 13 RBIs).

“Both timeswe’ve gone on the road so far, we’ve done pretty well,”Deggs saidabout the 3-0win over Rice and then beating Dallas Baptist twice in three games. Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

The lastnotable point the program mayconsider if it keeps McMahon is the hiring of general manager Ronald Dupree. The 2025 LSU Hall of Famer was hired on April7,which was 14 days after the transfer portal window opened. Dupree, the former director of global scouting for the Milwaukee Bucks,was tasked with lightening the load of team-building on McMahon’s shoulders.

numbers aredown from last season when he averaged 9.1points and8.2 rebounds on his wayto being named second team on the All-Rookieteam. He’sstarted just nine games this season, compared to 67 ayear ago, but the improvementhe’sshown has been evident His blocks are slightly up.

“We’re using him anumberof ways defensively,” Borrego said. “Thenhegetsout and runs. He’s all over the offensive glass. He’s madetremendous strides.”

With just 12 games remainingin the season,Missi is hoping to finishstrong.Although the Pelicans haven’tbeen eliminated from the play-in tournament, it’s pretty much outofreach. Butthere’sstill somethingtoplay for “Building good habits, defensively and offensively,” Missi said. “Move the ball. Be therefor each other.Build that chemistry for the team. We arebuildingsomething up for next year.That’sthe main thing. We know the record is not thebest. Just go out there and play andget some winsand getready for next year.”

Email RodWalker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

tor at Southern Miss, whichisnot thecase in home games.

“(Mia Norwood) had told Dayzja (Williams),‘Look, if youcan get anything, you get it,’ becauseshe was afraidbased on howithappened at Oklahoma. She was afraid that she wouldn’tbeable to see it. So theball’shit,and sheseesit. But Deja thinks, ‘That’smyball.’ ” On offense, Southern Miss pitcher KaylaGiardina quicklycur-

The junior averaged ateamhigh 16.2 points on 49.3% shooting, an SEC-high 7.1 assists and only 1.8turnoversper gamein nonconference play His absence compounded the lossofforward Jalen Reed, the team’sexpected secondbest player,toaseason-ending Achilles tendon injuryinthe sixth game. The trend continued in this season’sfinal gamewhen backup center Robert Miller was out for the first time in his career The Tigers’ top defender “was suspended for violation of team rules,” McMahon said after the Kentuckyloss.

JORDAN

Continued from page1C

seemingly ledtoacomplicated negotiation after Jordan took a significant pay cut last offseason. He said in January thathe couldn’t“do that again.”

There’salso the matter of playing time. Jordan ranks 17th alltime with 132 sacks, but wants to climb higher up the list to solidify his Hall of Fame credentials. The Saintshave used Jordan as arotational pass-rusherthe past two seasons, anddepending on what elsethe team does in the offseason, there’sachance his snaps coulddecreasefurtherifhewere to return

He’s expected to lead NIL negotiations with players, form relationships with agents and evaluate prospective talent. Dupree was hired too late in the offseason to have abig impact. Dupree told The Advocate last year that he wasn’t involved in the five transfer portal additions the Tigersmade up to that point. The lastthree playersadded while Dupree was on staff were starting forward Pablo Tambaand bench guards PJ Carter and Ron Zipper Dupree should have his fingerprints on the entireroster construction this time to make McMahon’swinning team. That processhas begun, not counting the high school recruiting class. LSU gained the commitment of 22-year-old Australian professional guardOwen Foxwell in late February From the financial realities, injurymisfortune and ageneral manager primed to be more involved, McMahon mayhave enough in his favor to afford him afifth season at LSU.

“I think we have an elite leadership team, administrative team, and I’ll certainly respect whatever decisions they make moving forward,” McMahon said.

“The city hasand always will, but I’mjust simply saying.” That said, Jordan soundedasif he wereafan of what the Saints have done in free agency.Asked to putonhis “media hat,” Jordan said he thinks theSaints have had the bestoffseason so far.He praisedthe additions of linebacker KadenElliss, running back Travis Etienne andguard David Edwards.

“They got some great additions,” Jordan said.

Buttellingly,sincehe’snot under contract, Jordan referred to the Saints as “they,” not “we.”

“I know what Iwant to do, what Iwanttoaccomplish,”Jordan said. “If that doesn’tline up (with the Saints), that’sfine as well. Just becauseI love the cityand the organization, doesn’tmean the organization or the city has to love me back.

Email Matthew Parasatmatt. paras@theadvocate.com

tailed anyhopesUL’sbattingorder had withtwo convincing wins. “It was just the spin,” Habetz said of Giardina. “That was justenough to make us hit fly balls.Ifyou look Friday’sgame, Ithought we had shots—wehad hard outs, but just right at people, some were at the fence.” Perhaps abig adjustment wasn’t needed Sunday “The adjustmentwecouldn’t make is to hit ground balls (inthe opener),” Habetz said. “That’s what we wentinto (Sunday) trying to do, and Ithink we overexaggerated that too much, anditturned into pop-ups. When you’re trying to hit ground balls somewhat the wrongway,itoftentimes cango straight up.”

Email KevinFoote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

Charlot resigns as Beau Chene coach

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Beau Chene boys basketball program will be looking for a new head coach.

Chris Charlot, who has been roaming the Gators sideline for the past nine years, has resigned Charlot, who informed Beau Chene’s administration of his decision, told his players that he’ll be leaving during a team meeting Tuesday

“I just think that it is the right time,” Charlot said. “We have had a good nine years here But with the direction the athletic program and the school is going, I’m not the person for the job. At this point in my career and in life, I’m not the person for it.”

It wasn’t an easy decision for Charlot, a Beau Chene alum who graduated in 2004.

“It was a really tough decision,” he said. “When I came here, I wanted to spend the rest of my career here. When I took the job, I planned on doing 30 years here and wanted to retire here. But sometimes God has a different plan for you. Being a graduate from here, this was my dream job.”

“It’s bittersweet,” said Charlot, who spent 10 years at Sunset Middle School before arriving at Beau Chene. “The plan when we took the job was to do all of things that we’ve done and more. So not letting all those things come to fruition, that’s the part that’s bitter.”

Charlot said he’s proud of what he and his coaching staff accomplished.

“It’s been fun,” Charlot said.

“I’ve gotten the chance to coach kids that I’ve seen in the area growing up for the longest. I got a chance to coach both of my sons this year It’s been a really good time. The good times and the bad times, I appreciate them all.”

Although he doesn’t know what the future holds, Charlot said he’s confident he will be coaching somewhere in the Acadiana area.

Broncos get star WR Waddle from Dolphins

BY ROB MAADDI AND ARNIE STAPLETON AP pro football writers

The Denver Broncos’ offseason is no longer muted. The Broncos are acquiring standout wide receiver Jaylen Waddle in a blockbuster deal that sends three draft picks to the Miami Dolphins, including a first-rounder, two people with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday Both spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hasn’t been announced The Dolphins will receive the 30th-overall pick in next month’s NFL draft along with picks in the third and fourth rounds. Denver will get Miami’s fourth-rounder along with Waddle The Broncos were the only team not to sign a free agent outside of retaining their own players before making this deal.

Waddle gives Bo Nix another main playmaker along with Courtland Sutton, boosting a passing offense that finished 11th in the NFL last season.

Denver’s defense was one of the league’s best and produced an NFL-high and franchise-record 68 sacks, led by Nik Bonitto’s 14. The Broncos’ offense was another story, often sputtering until Nix’s fourth-quarter heroics. Denver won a dozen one-score games in 2025 and had 10 comebacks during an 11-game winning streak. Nix has gone 25-11 in his two seasons, including the playoffs. But he’s done it largely without a true No. 1 receiver or top-tier tight end. Denver’s offense also lacked a playmaker in the backfield after J.K. Dobbins suffered what turned out to be a seasonending foot injury in mid-November Waddle, a first-round pick in 2021, had three straight 1,000yard receiving seasons to begin his career but hasn’t reached that total since 2023.

“The school has only won three district times in school history and we’ve won two of them,” Charlot said. “So we came in and we did some really good things.”

This past season, the Gators were 13-20 overall and missed the playoffs for the first time in Charlot’s tenure.

During his tenure, the Gators won two district championships, qualified for the playoffs eight times and reached the state quarterfinals twice.

“There are some options,” Charlot said. “A couple of people have reached out because there were some rumors about this may be my last year I know there is going to be more people reaching out and more opportunities, so that’s the sweet part. The sweet part is knowing that this isn’t the end for me.

“I’d prefer to stay in the Acadiana area, but if there’s opportunities that present itself and that’s where God calls us, then that’s where we’re headed.”

Waddle’s arrival will give the Broncos a bona fide top wide receiving duo for the first time since the late Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, who helped propel Denver to a Super Bowl championship a decade ago. The Broncos were the AFC’s No. 1 seed last season but lost to New England in the snowy AFC championship game without Nix, who broke his ankle in a game against Buffalo in the divisional round.

SCOREBOARD

College basketball Men’s NCAA Tournament Tuesday’s games

EAST UNC Wilmington at Yale, n SOUTH Liberty at George Mason, n South Alabama at Auburn, n MIDWEST UMBC vs. Howard at Dayton, Ohio, n Wyoming at Wichita State, n Texas vs. North Carolina State at Dayton, Ohio, n SOUTHWEST Davidson at Oklahoma State, n Stephen F. Austin at Tulsa,n FAR WEST St. Thomas at Seattle, n UNLV at UC Irvine, n Wednesday, Mar. 18 SOUTH Navy at Wake Forest, n MIDWEST Prairie View A&M vs. Lehigh at Dayton, Ohio, n Kent State at Illinois State, n Dayton at Bradley, n Miami (OH) vs. SMU at Dayton, Ohio ,n FAR WEST George Washington at Utah Valley, n Sam Houston at New Mexico, n Murray State at Nevada, n Saint Joseph’s at Colorado State, n UIC at California, n Thursday’s games

III18:50 4-7 0-0 6-9

Poulkids 17:50 1-5 0-0 0-2 0 3 3 Middltn 17:40 2-9 0-0 0-4 1

Powell 12:31 0-0 1-2 1-3 1 3 1 Johnson 12:11 2-5 0-0 0-2 1 2 4 Williams 5:11 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Smith 4:59 1-3 1-2 0-1 0 0 3 Totals240:0044-104 9-14 13-512722111 Percentages: FG .423, FT .643. 3-Point Goals: 14-39, .359 (Christie 4-6, Washington 4-8, Marshall 2-4, Middleton 2-7, Bagley III 1-1, Poulakidas 1-5, Johnson 0-1, Nembhard 0-2, Smith 0-2, Flagg 0-3) Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 3 (Flagg, Johnson, Williams) Turnovers: 11 (Flagg 4, Nembhard 3, Middleton 2, Johnson, Smith). Steals: 10 (Christie 2, Flagg 2, Middleton 2 Bagley III, Poulakidas, Smith, Washington) Technical Fouls: None. FGFTReb NOLA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS Bey 35:00 8-18 6-6 1-6 3 1 23 Willimsn 28:31 11-13 5-9 1-4 1 1 27 Missi 28:10 1-4 2-4 3-10 5 1 4 Jones 28:39 4-9 1-1 1-3 4 3 10 Murphy 32:44 7-15 1-2 0-7 7 2 17 Fears 24:41 7-14 0-2 1-6 5 2 17 Queen 20:44 2-4 4-4 1-6 2 1 9 Matkvc 19:50 5-7 1-1 2-10 1 2 13 Poole 18:11 2-9 0-1 0-1 2 3 4 Hawkins 1:45 1-1 2-2 1-2 0 0 5 Peavy 1:45 0-1 0-2 1-2 1 0 0 Totals240:0048-9522-3412-573116129 Percentages: FG .505, FT .647. 3-Point Goals: 11-35, .314 (Fears 3-7, Matkovic 2-2, Murphy III 2-9, Hawkins 1-1, Queen 1-1, Jones 1-3, Bey 1-6, Poole 0-6) Team Rebounds: 9. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 12 (Missi 5, Jones 2, Poole 2 Queen 2, Murphy III). Turnovers: 14 (Fears 3, Missi 2, Murphy III 2, Queen 2, Bey, Jones, Peavy, Poole, Williamson). Steals: 7 (Murphy III 2, Bey, Fears, Matkovic, Queen, Williamson). Technical Fouls: None. Dallas26283225—111 New Orleans32353626—129 A_16,787 (16,867). T_2:07.

College baseball

State scores, schedule Monday’s games No games scedhuled. Tuesday’s games Northwestern State at Southern, n Oklahoma at Southeastern, n Southern Miss at Nicholls, n UNO at Tulane, n Grambling at LSU, n Wednesday’s games UNO at ULM, 6 p.m. UL at Houston, 6:30 p.m. Northwestern State at Tulane, 6:30 p.m.

College softball

State scores, schedule

Monday’s games LSU 7, Texas A&M 2 Tuesday’s games Nicholls 10, Alcorn 0 Southeastern Louisiana 9, Jackson State 0 Wednesday’s games Louisiana Christian at Southern (DH), 1 p.m.

SOUTH South Florida vs. Louisville at Buffalo, N.Y.

1:30 p.m. Siena vs. Duke at Greenville, S.C., 2:50 p.m.

McNeese vs. Vanderbilt at Oklahoma City

3:15 p.m. VCU vs. North Carolina at Greenville, S.C 6:50 p.m. Saint Louis vs. Georgia at Buffalo, N.Y., 9:45 p.m.

MIDWEST TCU vs. Ohio State at Greenville, S.C., 12:15 p.m Troy vs. Nebraska at Oklahoma City, 12:40 p.m. High Point vs. Wisconsin at Portland, Ore., 1:50 p.m. North Dakota State vs. Michigan State at Buffalo, N.Y., 4:05 p.m Pennsylvania vs. Illinois at Greenville, S.C 9:25 p.m.

SOUTHWEST Hawai’i vs. Arkansas at Portland, Ore., 4:25 p.m. Idaho vs. Houston at Oklahoma City, 10:10 p.m FAR WEST Texas A&M vs. Saint Mary’s at Oklahoma City, 7:35 p.m. Kennesaw State vs. Gonzaga at Portland, Ore., 10 p.m. Friday’s games

EAST Furman vs. UConn at Philadelphia, 10 p.m. SOUTH Santa Clara vs. Kentucky at St. Louis, 12:15 p.m. Wright State vs. Virginia at Philadelphia, 1:50 p.m. Hofstra vs. Alabama at Tampa, Fla., 3:15 p.m.

The 27-year-old Waddle has averaged 81 receptions, 1,098 yards receiving and six touchdowns over his five-year career He had a career-high 104 catches as a rookie and had 1,356 yards receiving in 2022, when he led the NFL with 18.1 yards per catch. Overall, Waddle has 373 receptions for 5,039 yards and 26 TDs. The rebuilding Dolphins previously released five-time All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. They fired coach Mike McDaniel after going 7-10 last season and hired Jeff Hafley to replace him.

Miami invested $45 million guaranteed in Malik Willis to replace Tagovailoa.

Canada, def. Jay Clarke, Britain, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Women’s Singles Qualification Anastasia Zakharova (5), Russia, def. Rebecca Sramkova (22), Slovakia, 6-3, 6-2. Linda Fruhvirtova (24), Czechia, def. Varvara Lepchenko, United States, 6-3, 6-2. Talia Gibson (19), Australia, def. Kamilla Rakhimova (6), Russia, 6-3, 6-4. Katie Volynets (10), United States, def. Bianca Andreescu, Canada, 7-5, 6-2. Aliaksandra Sasnovich (21), Belarus, def. Renata Zarazua (7), Mexico, 6-3, 6-4. Kimberly Birrell (1), Australia, def. Yuan Yue (23), China, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Lulu Sun (12), New Zealand, def. Donna Vekic (14), Croatia, 6-3, 6-3. Elvina Kalieva, United States, def. Diane Parry (18), France, 6-4, 6-0. Rebeka Masarova (17), Switzerland, def. Ella Seidel (3), Germany, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5. Sinja Kraus (16),

Steepedin tradition

Production of mezcal is alongand involved process

BY CLAUDIA ROSEL Associated Press

SANTAMARIA ZOQUITLAN, Mexico—

Mexico’sagave spirit mezcal is still produced much as it has been for generations. The work is slow and physical, guided by knowledge passed down within Indigenous families.

In many villagesinthe Mexican state of Oaxaca, the country’slargest mezcal producer,the spirit has long been used as ahome remedy and offered as agestureofhospitality.Itisatevery wedding, funeral and communitycelebration. It remains not only adrink, but part of daily life. Here is how it’smade:

Harvesting agave

The process beginsinthe fields. Workers knownasjimadores cut mature agave, locallyknown as maguey,byhand, often on steep hillsides. Usingmachetes and sharp blades, they slice away the spiny leavestoreveal thepineapple, which can be carried by trucks or donkeys to the distillery

The work is physicallydemanding and sometimesdangerous. The terrain can be uneven and remote, and the agave’s pointed spines can easily injure workers

About 40 species of agave can be used to make mezcal, out of roughly 200 that exist. The species known as espadin is the most common because it matures faster than many wild varieties, and it is often cultivated in monoculture.

Cookingthe agave

Plants are buried in pits lined with hot stones and covered with soil. Firewood heats the stones beneaththe ground, and the agave roasts for several days. The slow cooking gives mezcal its distinctive smoky flavor

“Since Iwas alittle girl, Ispent days helping my fatheratthe distillery,” said Elena Aragón Hernández, referred to as a“mezcal master” thanks to her expertise, from Santa Maria Zoquitlan.“Women have always been part of the process and we are now demanding our place in this industry.”

Crushing theagave

Once cooked, the agave is crushed beneath amassivecircular stone known as atahona. In many towns, ahorse pulls the stone in circles, grinding the agave into afibrous mash.

Some producershave begun using mechanical shredders to speed up the process.While industrial equipment makes the work easier some traditional producers say the tahona breaks the fibers differently and produces aflavor that cannot be replicated by machines.

“When Igrew up, Irealizedmaking mezcal was much harder and physical than Ithought,” said Luis Cruz Velasco,who learnedthe craftfromhis family in SanLuis del Rio. “Wespend all day at the palenque working from sunrise to sunset, Monday to Sunday.”

Fermentation

The crushed agave is transferred to open wooden vats andmixed with water by hand. Fermentation can take days or weeks depending on temperature and humidity Mezcal production requires significant amounts of water andfirewood.

Localcompany harvests sought-after caviar from Louisianawaters indulgence Bayou

BY JOANNABROWN Staff writer

Caviar is known as aluxury good something that celebrates exceptional moments. Whenitcomes to seafood, there’snothing more luxurious (and exceptional)than making some-

thing unforgettable fromthe native fish swimminginLouisiana’smuddy waters.

Bowfin, known locally as choupique, can be wild-caught using nets for three monthsout of the year,Decemberthrough February,inthe Atchafalaya Basin. Processing their eggs

yields adelicate, distinctly Louisiana caviar with amildtaste andbouncy texture thatcan be served with bites of toast and crème fraîche, or even heaped on top of aperfectly crispy Zapp’schip.

Staff report

Casablancachicken and redbeans with fried chicken

n ZeaRotisserie &Bar, 235 Doucet Road, Lafayette

This restaurant hasbeen a Louisianastandard for so long, I’ve had more birthday, graduation and it’s-Friday-night dinners there than Ican recall— and it’sjust as good as thelast time, every single time. Zeaknowshow to serve a crowd, and during thislarge

Sundaylunch, everything was perfectlypresented and prepared. Case in point— my parents andI orderedtwo entrees to split, the Casablanca chickenand redbeansand rice with smoked sausage and afried chickenbreast. Everything arrived perfectly portionedfor ourindividual plates. The beansweresoflavorful andtenderand wentperfectly with each bite of juicy sausage andcrispy fried chicken.I’m also ahuge fan of asimple platter of hummus, Moroccanspiced grilled chickenand pita wedges, andZea’sCasablanca

chickenisone of those simple, hugely flavorful entrees that begs to be shared. Nexttime you’re debating over where to bring your family for lunch, don’tstress, and graba table at Zea’s. —Joanna Brown, staff writer

Grilled GulfFish

n ElizaRestaurant, 7970 Jefferson Highway,Baton Rouge

It was my first time at Eliza Restaurant, and Ihad aheavenly experience

ä See BEST, page 6C

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, March 18, the 77th day of 2026. There are 288 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On March 18, 1925, nearly 700 peopledied when the TriState Tornado struck southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana; it remains the deadliest single tornado in U.S history

Also on this date:

In 1922, MohandasK.Gandhi was sentenced in India to six years’ imprisonment for civildisobedience. (He was released after serving two years.) In 1937, in America’sworst school disaster,nearly300 people —most of them chil-

TODAYINHISTORY

dren —were killed in anatural gas explosion at the New London Consolidated School in Rusk County,Texas. In 1942, President Franklin D. Rooseveltsignedan executive order authorizing theWar Relocation Authority,which forced Japanese Americansinto internment camps during World WarII. In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court,inGideonv.Wainwright, ruled unanimously that statecourts were required to provide legal counsel to criminal defendants who could not afford to hire an attorney on their own. In 1965, thefirst spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov went outside his Voskhod 2capsule, secured by atether In 1990, two thieves posing

Anxiousand needinghelp to feelingsafe

as police officers subduedsecurityguards at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Art in Bostonand stole 13 works of art valued at over $500 millioninthe biggest art heist in history; the works have not been recovered. In 2014, RussiaunderPresident Vladimir Putin illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, abold land grab thatset the stage for Russia’seventual fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In 2018, aself-driving Uber SUV struck and killed apedestrian in Tempe,Arizona, in the first death involving afully autonomous test vehicle.

In 2025, NASA astronauts ButchWilmore and Suni Williamsreturned to Earthona

SpaceX capsule after spending more thannine months aboard the International Space Station; their mission was supposed to last about a week but was prolonged, in large part, by problems with the Boeing Starliner capsule thatdelivered themtothe station.

Today’sbirthdays: Composer John Kander is 99. Actor BradDourif is 76. Jazz musician BillFrisell is 75. Filmmaker Luc Bessonis67. TV personalityMike Rowe is 64. Singer-actor Vanessa L. Williamsis63. Olympic speed skating gold medalist BonnieBlair is 62. Rapperactor Queen Latifah is 56. Actor-comedian Dane Cook is 54. Singer AdamLevine (Maroon 5) is 47. ActorLily Collins is 37.

Howtouse an electric faninthe kitchen

CAVIAR

Continued from page5C

Wilson

That’sone of the ways AmyWilson lovestoserve her company’ s signature pro duc t —Cajun Caviar— fished from theswamp at the heart of Louisiana’snaturalmystique Choupique areprehistoric bottom dwellers, notnecessarily known for their taste. However,the roe creates aversatile caviar that chefs across the Gulf Coast have picked up on, according to Wilson.

“They’re allblown away by the taste of it,” she said.

“Theyalso love theconsistency. It’s thesamefrom jar to jar,because we have one person that’sbeen producing it since 1986.”

Wilson referred to as a “gateway drug.”

“I really love theclean profile of it,” shesaid.

“The eggs really separate in your mouth, they pop, they aren’t too fishy —it doesn’tlinger. Youjust get the salty goodness of it, the creaminess of the eggs, and it’sreally delicious. I actually just had some on topofa hashbrown, just outofthe airfryerwith a little crème fraîche,and some of the spicycaviar right on top.”

Zapp’schips are another vehicle for the caviar,as are deviled eggs —oreven apiece of Popeye’sfried chicken, Wilson said. The company’sOriginal Cajun Caviar is harvested from wild-caught choupique The spicyversion is carefully balanced with ahint of ghost pepper,and it adds paddlefish caviar,which is popularwith American chefs, harvested from Arkansas rivers.

Lately,my anxiety has beenkeeping me up at night, scaring me away from windows, crowded places, public transportation and tall buildings, and causing excessive overthinking. With recent developments between the United States and countries like Iran, Iam afraid all the time. Social media doesn’thelp by simply mocking all this seriouspoliticalunrest with memes joking about World WarIII.Itmakes everything feel more chaotic and unpredictable.

Ifind myselfconstantly checking the news for updates, then regretting it because it sends me into aspiral of worst-case scenarios. My friends tell me I’m overreacting, but the fear feelsreal in my body.How do Istay informed without becoming consumed by anxiety? How canIground myself when the world feels unstable? Idon’twant to live in fear,but I’m struggling to feel safe. —AtWar

Dear At War: Your feelings are normal. The world is in chaos right now,and there’s atremendous amount of uncertainty about everyone’shealth and safety.It would be abnormal for you to be nonchalant about these times. That said, you don’twant to let these circumstances consume you. Here’swhere spiritual practice and generally tending to your body can be helpful. Remember to breathe deeply,especially when you are feeling anxious. Meditate or pray,and ask for blessings for yourself, yourloved ones and the world.Connect with people you love. Talk about uplifting topics. Don’tdwell on things you cannot control. In terms of paying attention to the news, check in with areliable news source each morning so you have

Continued from page5C

My friend and Iboth or-

dered the grilled Gulffish

The redfish was served on top of seasonal risotto, which has spinach, scallions and mushrooms from Mushroom Maggie’sFarm.When we took abite, we both said, “Whoa,” followed by silence as our forks reached for more. The seasoning on the redfish was excellent, and asqueeze of lemon brought it to zesty perfection. Somehow it got even better with the risotto, which was creamy,comforting and delicious. Ireally enjoyed the addition of mushrooms, especially because they were sourced locally.What

asense of what’sgoing on in the world. Don’tcheck before you go to bed. Keep pleasantthoughts topof mind then.

Dear Harriette: Recently,my 13-year-old stepson and his friend were hanging out at my house after school. When Ipoppedinto my stepson’sroom to check on them, Icaught themwith an inappropriate magazine XXX content, if youknow what Imean? When Itried to press them, his friend claimed that the magazine was hisand thatmystepson hadno cluethat he’d brought it. Honestly, Ican’ttell if that’sthe truth orifhe’scovering for my stepson. Iasked them where they got it, and they refused to tell me. Ispoke to my husband about it, and he downplayed it with asort of “boys will be boys”philosophy and said he would speak to themabout this phase. Istill feel obligated to speak with the other boy’s mother,but my husband says Ishouldn’tblow it out of proportion. Should Idefy my husband in the interest of the other parent? —BoysWill Be Boys Dear Boys Will Be Boys: Iam siding with your husband on this. It doesn’tmatterwhere they got the magazine.Teenage boys sneaking to look at pornography is almost arite of passage. They are doing it the old-school way. These days,childrenyoungerthan them have access to online pornography,including graphicvideos.

Begin to have conversations about sexuality,honoring the body and the difference between pornography and intimacy.Your husband should start these conversations.

If you bring it up to the otherparents, do so from the perspective that it’stime to talk to children about sex rather than finding the culprit who gave themthe magazine.

Send questions to askharriette@harriettecole com

atreat this was. —MaddieScott, features reporter Chicken Parmesan sandwich n Jabby’s Pizza, 18303 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge Iheard about theJabby’s sandwich specials from various socialmedia posts, so my son andI went to try outthe March special —a chicken Parmesan sandwich. Itold him Ithought we may need to share one, but he insisted on hisown. He is 12, to be fair The sandwich “bread” is pizza crust, baked in amassivepizza oven, folded over atasty breaded chicken cutlet, fresh mozzarella, tangy marinara and finishedwith asplash of pesto. Thepizza crust

Dear Heloise: Ihave several hintsfor multiple ways to use a5-inch electric fan on akitchen counter Youcan use it to cool off closed containers of warm food before storing them in afridge or freezer.You can placea papertowel underacolanderand use thefan to dry washedgrapes, tomatoes etc. Youcan also use the fan to blow fumes away from your eyes when you’re slicing an onion or to cool off your face and neckwhen you’re having ahot flash. —SandraM., in Temple,Texas

Onyx surfaces

Dear Heloise: Can you tell me thebest way to clean onyx countertops, sinks and showers? Ilove my newbathroom,but I’m afraid Iwill scratch the surface. My contractor highly recommendedit, but Iread that youmust be careful with the products you use for cleaning. Thank you for your columns and advice. —Ruth M., via email Ruth, use asoft microfibercloth with warm water and agentle pH-neutral soap, or aspecialcleaning productthat is designed for stone. Never use anything harsh on onyx such as abrasive scrubbing agents, vinegar or lemon, and please seal the onyx on aregular basis. Before agreeing to use aproduct,always do your homework. Youcan also research what it takes to keeponyx looking like newfor manyyears. A contractor may mean well, but they don’thave to do the cleaning or care for what’sinyour home

—Heloise

Calcium-scale cleaning

Dear Heloise: For the person who’s trying to getrid of calcium-scale deposits in their shower,mix 1cup of Epsom salt, 1/2 cup of baking soda, and a 1/4 cup of liquid dish soap together.(No harsh chemicals or nastysmells to worry about.) It’sgreat for hardwater stains but also for

complemented the cheesy chicken and bright tomato from themarinara, and the fresh pesto added another level of flavor.The portions were huge, and in fact, we could have split it. This way,though, we got to bring it home and share with the rest of our family —Joy Holden, features reporter

calcium scale. Put the pasteonthe calcium scale and let it sit for afew minutes. Thenuse a goodscrub brush, which will start to loosen the calcium. It took afew times to getrid of it all, but the mixture was not harmful to thealuminum. Now Iuse it whenever Isee calcium starting to build up again. It does makealarge amount, so Iusually make half as it will start to dry out if left for too long. Hope it helps! —Denise, via email Denise, here’s another hint: Youcan use lukewarm water and baby shampoo with avery soft cloth on your pearls to clean them. Never use hotwater,ultrasonic cleaners, harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners. Don’t use atoothbrush either; it’s too rough on delicate pearls.

—Heloise

Strong passwords

Dear Heloise: Becky from Ohio suggested using old phone numbers or old street addresses for passwords. Having workedinITfor close to 30 years, Iassure youthat although thesepasswords are easy to remember, they can be easily hacked, too. Istrongly suggest using apassword manager programthat can be installed on your phone,mobile device or computer.Some examples are 1Password and Keeper The password manager programs only require you to remember one strong password. Theycan create strong passwords for you and can even be configured to autofill your username and password in aweb browserorfromyour mobile device

Howeverfor thosewho are reluctant to purchase apassword manager program, you can substitute various characters for regular letters (@ instead of Aor$instead of S).You can also makeuse of the special characters above thenumberkeys by using the“shift”key.(For example, !=1,@=2,#=3,etc.).

—Stephen H., in NewJersey

Send ahint to heloise@ heloise.com.

That’swhen founder John Burkestarted Louisiana CaviarCo., which he later sold to Wilson, aNew Orleans entrepreneur,and her partners. Wilson wanted to elevate the brand’sunique sellingpointsinthe world of caviar —its affordability,one-source consistency and accessible flavor profile.

Wilson, who is nowthe sole owner and operator of Louisiana Caviar and Cajun Caviar,said that caviar connoisseurs will find it milder thanothers on the market, and the addition of ghost pepper in the popular Spicy Cajun Caviar creates abolderversion, which

Customers can purchase CajunCaviaronline, find it on the shelves at Rouses Markets acrossLouisiana, or it’s availablefor purchase at anumber of specialty marketsinthe New Orleans area. Wilson said that this year was agreat harvest, and she is hoping to expand over the coming year

“We’re so lucky to have so manydifferent seafood delicacies in Louisiana,” Wilson said, “and caviar just really fits in with all the other great seafood we have to offer here.”

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

MEZCAL

Continued from page5C

Somehave also begun buying certifiedwood, and installing systems to cool andreuse water,aswell as biodigesters to treat waste from fermentation anddistillation.

Armando MartínezRuiz, aproducer from Soledad Salinas, said his distillery usesroughly 7,925 gallons of waterand more than 15 tons of firewood each month to produceabout 1,320 gallons of mezcal.

Distillationand tasting

The fermented mash is distilled in small batches in copper stills, amethod commonly known as ar-

tisanal mezcal. Asmaller number of producers continue to distill in clay pots, known as ancestral mezcal, aslowerand older technique

The spirit goes through two rounds of distillation before it’sreadyfor drinking. It is measured by sight, smelland taste rather thantools, shapedasmuch by tradition as by the land where it is made.

Every year,thousands of visitors travel to Oaxaca to taste the spirit at local bars known in Spanish as mezcalerias. Mezcal is typically sipped slowly rather than taken as ashot, allowing drinkers to experience the differences between its many varieties.

Season Premiere 7PM

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Take your time, explore the possibilities, reveal your plans and keep communication flowing. Gather information and get the lowdown on someone or something you want to pursue or learn more about.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Lock onto something tangible, and work away until you are satisfied. Discarding clutter will give you a fresh perspective. Refuse to let emotional ties stand in the way of reason and doing what's best for you.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Size up situations and launch changes necessary to reach your goals. Call on experts for a quick lesson on do-it-yourself tactics that will help you stick to your budget.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Keep busy. Idle time is the enemy, and overreacting will create controversy. It's better to take on a physical project that will tire you out and help you accomplish a personal goal.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Express yourself and wait for a response. You may not like everything you hear, but it will help you fine-tune your plans and give you a fighting chance to come out on top.

LEo (July 23-Aug 22) Pick up the pace, and don't stop until you are happy with what you achieve. A financial gain looks promising, and the option to expand your interests will ease stress and boost confidence.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Embrace what life has to offer. Stretch yourself to

meet demands and show everyone what you can do. High energy, enthusiasm and empathy will carry you forward with gratitude.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Fixate on getting things done. A lifestyle change will encourage you to trust your judgment over others' and to make choices that ease your stress and enhance your comfort.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Put a positive spin on your day. Being true to yourself and saying no to temptation will pay off. Don't complicate your life or your relationships. Honesty is crucial.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Financial, medical and contractual matters will require discussions. Avoid overspending on something you don't need. Don't bother trying to persuade someone to see things your way.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan 19) Size down, simplify, rethink and start over. A change is overdue, but first, you need a budget-friendly plan. A partnership will help lower your overhead and ease stress.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Redesign your budget to fit your income. A heartto-heart talk with someone will shed light on the possibilities and how you can make the most of whatever situation you face.

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

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe 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 PuzzleAnswer

By PHILLIP ALDER

Denis Waitley, afounding member of the National Council on Self-Esteem, said, “Success is almost totally dependent upon drive andpersistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.”

That is true, but sometimes, at the bridgetable,tryingforanextratrickcan prove very expensive. Still, occasionally adefender can dangle atempting carrot thatleavesdeclarerthinkinghehasanocost shot at an overtrick.

In this deal, South is in three no-trump, andWest leads the heart 10. How might West tempt declarer into an indiscretion?

South should open oneno-trump. Yes, theclub holding of two honors doubleton isaminus,butthefive-cardsuitisacompensating plus.

Declarer starts with seven top tricks: threehearts(giventheopeninglead),one diamond and three clubs. Obviously, he will attack clubs. However, West can set anasty trap for South.

Declarertakesthefirsttrickinhishand and cashes the club king. West should playhisfive.Then,whenSouthcontinues with the club queen, West should drop hiseight. He is trying to make it look as though he started with J-8-5 and East with the 6-4-doubleton (and was starting ahigh-low with his six).

Wuzzle is

Previous answers:

word game

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

toDAy’sWoRD HEREuPon: HEER-uh-pon: Immediately after this.

Average mark 22 words Time limit 35 minutes

Can you find 31 or more wordsinHEREUPON?

yEstERDAy’sWoRD —LAnGuoR

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Amazon offers new deliveries for a charge

NEW YORK Amazon said Tuesday that it has started offering faster U.S. deliveries of selected products for a fee, including pantry staples, clothing, overthe-counter medications, cleaning supplies and electronics.

The announcement comes as Amazon is seeing increased competition from Walmart and is also looking to satisfy shoppers’ increasing demands for faster delivery

The e-commerce colossus said customers in more than 2,000 cities, towns and suburban areas can now choose to have orders from its speedyshipment inventory of 90,000 items delivered in three hours

The charge is $4.99 for Amazon Prime members and $14.99 for nonmembers.

One-hour delivery slots are available in hundreds of places, including major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, and smaller cities such as Des Moines, Iowa and Boise, Idaho, the company said. Prime members will get charged $9.99 for the service, which costs nonmembers

$19.99, Amazon said.

BBC asks court to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit

LONDON The BBC filed a motion Monday asking a U.S court to dismiss President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against it, warning that the case could have a “chilling effect” on robust reporting on public figures and events.

The suit was filed in a Florida court, but the British national broadcaster argued that the court did not have jurisdiction, nor could Trump show that the BBC intended to misrepresent him.

Trump filed a lawsuit in December over the way a BBC documentary edited a speech he gave on Jan. 6, 2021 The claim seeks $5 billion in damages for defamation and a further $5 billion for unfair trade practices.

Last month a judge at the federal court for the Southern District of Florida provisionally set a trial date for February 2027.

The BBC argued that the case should be thrown out because the documentary was never aired in Florida or the U.S In a 34-page document, the BBC also argued that Trump failed to “plausibly allege facts showing that defendants knowingly intended to create a false impression.”

The document further claimed that “the chilling effect is clear” when Trump is “among the most powerful and high-profile individuals in the world, on whose activities the BBC reports every day.”

The documentary, titled “Trump: A Second Chance?”, was aired days before the 2024 U S. presidential election

Closing arguments begin in Twitter trial

SAN FRANCISCO Closing arguments kicked off Tuesday in a trial pitting Elon Musk against Twitter shareholders who say the world’s richest man engaged in a pattern of deceptive behavior that misled investors as he attempted to back out of his $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform in 2022.

The civil trial in San Francisco centers on a class-action lawsuit filed just before Musk took control of Twitter which he later renamed X, in October 2022, six months after agreeing to buy the embattled company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share. The price represents a sliver of the Tesla CEO’s fortune, now estimated at $839 billion.

Much of the trial focused on Musk’s claims about the number of bots on Twitter Musk testified, as he long contended, that Twitter had a much higher number of fake and spam accounts than the 5% it disclosed in regulatory filings. He used what he called Twitter’s misrepresentation of the number of fake accounts on its service as a reason to retreat from the purchase

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

Oil prices rise, but stocks steady

U.S. crude surpasses $96 a barrel

BY STAN CHOE Associated Press

NEW YORK Oil prices continued to climb on Tuesday because of the war with Iran, but U.S stocks held steadier this time around.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to add to its gain from the day before, which was its biggest since the war began.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 46 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.5%.

It’s a break, for now at least, from the usual playbook since the start of the war, where stock prices have tended to go in the opposite direc-

tion of oil prices. The fear in financial markets has been that a longterm disruption to the global flow of oil could send prices so high for so long that it damages the global economy Not only would higher gasoline prices sap households’ budgets, it could also push companies to pass on their own higher transportation costs to customers.

On Tuesday, the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.9% to settle at $96.21. Brent crude, the international standard climbed 3.2% to $103.42. But they pared even bigger gains from earlier in the morning, and they’re either roughly where they were at the end of last week or below Delta Air Lines offered an encouraging signal about the

strength of the economy after raising its forecast for revenue for the first three months of 2026. It said it’s seen demand to fly accelerate into March from both businesses and households. And that looks to be enough to offset higher prices for jet fuel because of the spike in oil prices.

Delta said it still expects to report a profit for the start of 2026 that’s in line with its earlier forecast.

Delta’s stock flew 6.6% higher, and it helped other airline stocks trim their own sharp losses for the year so far United Airlines climbed 3.2%, and Southwest Airlines rose 2.2%.

American Airlines gained 3.5% after saying it’s also likely to report stronger revenue growth for

the start of this year than it had forecast earlier

Another big winner was Uber Technologies, which drove 4.2% higher after announcing an expansion of its partnership with Nvidia. They plan to launch a fleet of autonomous vehicles using Nvidia’s technology, beginning with Los Angeles and San Francisco in the first half of next year

Some beaten-down stocks in the financial industry, meanwhile, recovered losses from earlier in the year That includes several that got swept up in worries about whether software businesses and others potentially under threat by AI-powered competitors will pay back all their loans. Blue Owl Capital gained 4.5%, and Ares Management rose 6.6%.

Flight cancellations, delays continue after storms dump snow, head east

Winter weather snarled schedules across country

BY EMIILIE MEGNIEN and RIO YAMAT Associated Press

ATLANTA Travel disruptions continued Tuesday in the U.S. as airlines worked to recover from a powerful storm system that had already snarled flight schedules a day earlier

Carriers canceled more than 1,000 U.S. flights on Tuesday and delayed about 4,200 others, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. The disruptions were most severe at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with over 200 flights canceled and roughly 450 delayed.

The disruptions follow a chaotic Monday for air travel, triggered by powerful storms that dumped snow by the foot in the Midwest and swept through the eastern half of the country leading to thousands of cancellations at major hubs, including in New York, Chicago and Atlanta Gusts approached 50 mph in parts of New York, the National Weather Service said.

Kelly Price, who was trying to get home to Colorado after a family vacation in Orlando, Florida, said her Sunday night flight wasn’t canceled until early Monday

“By that time, the only place for us to sleep was the airport floor So we’re all tired and frustrated,” she said, adding that the soonest flight she and her family could book doesn’t leave until Tuesday afternoon.

Air travel was already under pressure before the storms. A partial government shutdown that began Feb. 14 has thinned staffing at some security checkpoints, at times leading to longer lines. And airports are crowded with spring break travelers and fans heading to March Madness, the annual NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.

On Monday alone, more than 4,800 U.S. flights were canceled Delays topped 12,800. They included about 600 canceled flights at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, more than 500 at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson and roughly 450 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, according to FlightAware. The Federal Aviation Administration also issued ground stops and delays at several major airports as conditions worsened.

The storms also unfolded just as airport security screeners missed their first full paycheck over the weekend. The ongoing shutdown affects only the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Transportation Security Administration.

Democrats in Congress have said Homeland Security won’t get funded until new restrictions are placed on federal immigration operations following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this year

It is the third shutdown in less than a year to leave TSA workers temporarily without pay Once the government reopens, employees will have to wait for back pay

Some airports have reported longer security lines due to staffing shortages as more TSA workers take on second jobs, can’t afford gas to get to work or leave the profession altogether Homeland Security has said more than 300 TSA agents have quit since the shutdown began.

In Atlanta, Mel Stewart and his wife arrived four hours earlier than usual on Monday for their flight out of Hartsfield-Jackson to make up for longer TSA lines.

“I think it’s being politicized way too much

— way too much,” Stewart said of the shutdown. “And these people are working. They work hard, and for TSA people not to get paid, that’s silly.”

Outside the Atlanta airport, TSA union leaders held a news conference Monday warning that air travelers could face increasingly long wait times as the shutdown continues. Supporters held signs reading, “We want a paycheck, not a rain check.”

Many TSA workers “are coping with eviction notices, vehicle repossessions, empty refrigerators and overdrawn bank accounts,” said Aaron Barker, a local leader with the American Federation of Government Employees. Even so, he said many officers continue reporting to work despite mounting financial strain.

Yamat reported from Las Vegas. Associated Press reporters Margery A. Beck in Omaha, Nebraska, and Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu contributed to this report.

BY LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK Bank of America has tentatively settled a lawsuit claiming it ignored suspicious financial transactions involving Jeffrey Epstein while he was sexually abusing hundreds of girls and women.

The proposed settlement was revealed in filings in Manhattan federal court on Monday, the same day that billionaire financier Leon Black was originally scheduled to be deposed in the case. Terms were not disclosed. The bank declined to comment through a spokesperson.

Though not a defendant, Black was recently described as a “critical witness” in the case by Sigrid McCawley, a lawyer for Epstein victims. During a hearing last week,

a lawyer for Black persuaded Judge Jed S. Rakoff to postpone Black’s deposition for 10 days on the grounds that the parties were close to settling. The lawyer Michael Carlinsky, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday

In a statement, McCawley paid tribute to the “brave and fearless voices” of Epstein victims, saying their “road to justice” has been long and trying, but the Bank of America settlement “is one more step on the road to much deserved justice.”

The October lawsuit accused the bank of ignoring $170 million Black paid from a Bank of America account to Epstein purportedly for “tax and estate planning advice.”

It said the bank ignored “numerous red flags” of improper finan-

cial dealings, and “went far beyond what a non-complicit bank would have done and instead assisted Epstein in setting up the necessary financial structure to operate his sex-trafficking venture.”

The lawsuit, brought on behalf of a woman identified in court papers only as Jane Doe and “all others similarly situated,” said the woman was living in Russia when she met Epstein in 2011 and was “coerced into a cultlike life.”

It said she was paid by Epstein through a Bank of America account as she was controlled “financially, emotionally, and psychologically” by Epstein from 2011 through 2019 as he sexually abused her on at least 100 occasions, including raping her and forcing her to engage sexually with other women for his sexual gratification.

The lawsuit alleged that Epstein paid her rent and income from a phony job through a Bank of America account, and held her immigration status “over her head, until her ultimate escape when Jeffrey Epstein died.” Epstein died in a federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide. He was known for his connections with wealthy and powerful men, and the lawsuit said he used it to his advantage in his attacks on women.

The recent Justice Department release of millions of pages of documents from law enforcement probes of Epstein show he had regular contact with CEOs, journalists, scientists and prominent politicians long after his 2008 conviction in state court in Florida on sex crimes charges.