The Advocate 02-11-2026

MAHA supporters back Letlow in Senate race

Governor names Emerson chiefofstaff

Carencro legislator giving up senior position in House

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

State Rep. Julie Emerson is giving up her senior position in the House to take on an even moreimportant role as Gov.JeffLandry’schief of staff, the Governor’sOffice announced Tuesday Emerson, 37, will take over next week from Kyle Ruckert, who is leaving to oversee an outside political group that’sworking for Landry’s reelection next year

“Julie Emerson is aproven leader witha deep understanding of Louisiana’speople, our State legislature, and the work that needs to be done to moveLouisiana forward,” Landry said in astatement. “Her experience andcommitmenttoconservative reform makes herthe perfect person to

ä See EMERSON, page 8A

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON After ayear of tension between U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.over vaccines, supporters of Kennedy’sMake America Healthy Again movementare backing U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow’scampaign to unseat Cassidy Tony Lyons, president of the Make America Healthy Again Center, which also runs apolitical action committee called MAHA Action Inc., said this week thathis group is donating $1 million to help elect Letlow,the Republican from the

BY TY O’NEIL and JOHNSEEWER AssociatedPress

TUCSON, Ariz. Aperson has beendetained for questioning in thedisappearance of NancyGuthrie, according to two people familiar withthe matter

Thepeople saidthe person wasdetained in an area south of Tucsonon Tuesday.They did not immediately provide additional details, and it wasn’t clear if the person being questioned is the person captured on surveillance video from outside Guthrie’shouse released earlier Tuesday

The people were not authorized to discuss details of an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press

Monroearea whonow lives in Baton Rougeand is challengingthe reelection of Cassidy,R-Baton Rouge.

Thegroup planstoback Republican candidates who support Kennedy’sMakeAmerica HealthyAgain agenda in theNovember congressional elections, Lyon said. Letlow is the first congressionalcandidatethe group has endorsed.

“Wefound thatthere really are points of contact with her thatare really going to be impressive to the MAHA movement as they get to know her better,” Lyon saidata Heritage Foundation event Monday,

ä See LETLOW, page 10A

on condition of anonymity

The FBI released surveillance images of amasked person with ahandgun holster outside Guthrie’s front door the night she vanished, offering the first majorbreak in acase that has gripped the nation for more than aweek.

The person wearing abackpack and aski mask canbeseeninone of the videostilting their head down and away from adoorbell camera while nearing an archway at thehome of the mother of “Today” show hostSavannah Guthrie. Thefootage showsthe person holdinga flashlight in their mouth andtrying to cover the camera with agloved hand and part of aplantrippedfrom

Nancy Guthrie’syard.

Thevideos— lessthana combined minuteinlength —gave investigators andthe public theirfirst glimpse of who was outside Nancy Guthrie’s home just outside Tucson, but theimages did not show what happened to her or help determine whether the 84-year-old is still alive.

FBI Director KashPatel said the “armed individual” appeared to “have tampered with the camera.” It was not entirely clear whether there was agun in the holster

The videos were pulled from data on “back-end systems” after investi-

ä See PORCH, page 6A

BY CHARLES LUSSIER Staff writer

An A-rated charter school in Slaughter is pushingtoopen anew elementary schoolinthe town despite oppositionbythe East Feliciana Parish School Board.

Slaughter Community Charter School’snew elementary campus would compete directly with Slaughter Elementary,which has historically served as afeeder to the charter school. It would also draw students from three publicschoolsin

ä See CHARTER, page 4A

U.S.-Canada bridge brouhaha deepens

WASHINGTON The White House says President Donald Trump has the right to amend a permit for a new bridge between Canada and Michigan, prolonging the latest dispute between the U.S and its northern neighbor hours after its prime minister signaled there could be a detente.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Ontario and Michigan and would be a vital economic artery between the two countries, is scheduled to open this year. But Trump has now threatened to block the bridge from being opened, calling for Canada to agree to a litany of unspecified demands.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said earlier Tuesday he spoke with Trump and expressed confidence that the spat would be resolved But a White House official later Tuesday said the ownership structure of the bridge remains unacceptable for the U.S. president.

Flag at Stonewall

monument removed

NEWYORK The Trump administration has stopped flying a rainbow flag at the Stonewall National Monument, angering activists who see the change as a symbolic swipe at the country’s first national monument to LGBTQ+ history

The multicolored flag, one of the world’s most well known emblems of LGBTQ+ rights, was quietly removed in recent days from a flagpole on the National Park Service-run site, which centers on a tiny park in Manhattan. It’s across the street from the Stonewall Inn, the gay bar where patrons’ rebellion against a police raid helped catalyze the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

The park service said it’s complying with recent guidance that clarifies longstanding flag policies and applies them consistently. A Jan. 21 park service memo largely restricts the agency to flying the flags of the United States, the Department of the Interior and the POW/MIA flag. LGBTQ+ rights activists including Ann Northrop don’t buy the explanation. “It’s just a disgusting slap in the face,” she said.

Passport revocations for child support to expand

WASHINGTON Parents who owe a significant amount of child support soon could lose their ability to travel internationally as the Trump administration expands and steps up enforcement of a 30-year-old law that allows the federal government to revoke American passports until payments are made, three U.S. officials told The Associated Press. While passport revocations for unpaid child support of more than $2,500 have been permitted under 1996 federal legislation, the State Department had in the past acted only when someone applied to renew their travel document or sought other consular services. In other words, enforcement depended on the person approaching the department for assistance.

Starting soon, however the department will begin to revoke passports on its own initiative based on data shared with it by the Health and Human Services Department, according to the U.S. officials familiar with the plan.

Syria joins anti-Islamic State coalition

BEIRUT — The U.S.-led international coalition to fight the Islamic State group has welcomed Syria in the fight against the extremists, saying the priorities include the swift transfer of IS detainees to Iraq and third-country repatriation of families linked to IS held in two camps in Syria. The State Department also welcomed a recent ceasefire that ended fighting between Syrian government forces and the U.S.backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that were a main force in the fight against IS in Syria. Representatives from Syria — which officially joined the global coalition against IS in November during a historic visit by Syria’s President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s to Washington — attended a meeting on Monday of some officials from the 90-member coalition in Saudi Arabia.

ICE chief defends his officers’ actions

Officials pressed by Congress on protesters’ deaths

BY REBECCA SANTANA and LISA MASCARO Associated Press

WASHINGTON Todd Lyons, the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended his agency’s officers before Congress on Tuesday, standing behind their tactics and saying they would not be intimidated as they carry out the president’s mass deportation plans.

Lyons was one of the three heads of agencies implementing President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda to testify in a hearing called after the shooting deaths of two Americans at the hands of federal officers. They faced fierce questioning from Democrats, and support from most Republicans, over how they are prosecuting immigration enforcement inside American cities.

“Let me send a message to anyone who thinks they can intimidate us. You will fail,” said Lyons, who blamed elected officials and protesters for escalating rhetoric that he said endangered his officers. Lyons, who at various points declined to comment directly on the killings of the two U.S. citizens, said his officers would not be deterred.

“We are only getting started,” he said in opening remarks. Trump’s immigration campaign has been heavily scrutinized in recent weeks, especially after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis The agencies have also faced criticism for a wave of policies that detractors say trample on the rights of both immigrants facing arrest and Americans protesting the enforcement actions. Tuesday’s testimony is unlikely to quell simmering tensions over the centerpiece policy of Trump’s second term Lyons, the acting ICE director, Rodney Scott, who heads U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Joseph Edlow, who is the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, spoke in front of the House Committee on Homeland Security in a hearing that lasted roughly three and a half hours.

This is the first time all three have appeared in Congress since the department received a huge infusion of money from Congress last summer and since immigration enforcement operations intensified across the country

Under Lyons’ leadership, ICE has undergone a massive hiring boom

and immigration officers have deployed in beefed-up enforcement operations designed to increase arrests and deportations.

The officials spoke at a time of falling public support for how their agencies are carrying out Trump’s immigration vision. Their testimony comes as Democratic lawmakers in Congress are demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to fund the Department of Homeland Security The agency heads warned the country would be less safe if federal funds expire at the end of the week

Tuesday’s hearing was called after federal officers shot and killed Alex Pretti and Renee Good, which sparked outrage across the country and demands for accountability and reform. Lyons and Scott said standard operating procedures were being followed in investigations into the January shootings.

Tensions flared and the hearing sparked heated exchanges — the Democrats comparing the enforcement operations to Nazi Germany and questioning how the administration officials will be judged — the chairman at times gaveling the lawmakers back to order

Strike kills 2 cyclists in Gaza as death toll mounts

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press

DEIRAL-BALAH,Gaza Strip An Israeli drone strike killed two Palestinians on bicycles Tuesday, hospital officials said, marking the latest deaths since an October ceasefire that hasn’t halted deadly attacks in the Gaza Strip.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital said the two men were hit near the ceasefire line that divides Gaza, with one half under Israeli military control. They were hit in eastern Deir al-Balah, the hospital said, adding that it also received the body of a woman who was killed by Israeli gunfire in central Maghazi refugee camp.

Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about either strike.

It has previously said its forces respond to ceasefire violations or attacks on its soldiers.

Gaza’s Health Ministry on Tuesday reported 586 Palestinians had been killed since the start of the ceasefire, bringing the cumulative toll to 72,037 killed since the start of Israel’s offensive. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Deadly Israeli strikes have repeatedly disrupted the truce since it took effect on Oct. 10. The escalating Palestinian toll has prompted many in Gaza to say it feels like the war has continued unabated

Yet parts of the agreement outlined in last year’s ceasefire are moving forward.

After a chaotic first week, officials say more Palestinians are entering and leaving Gaza for Egypt via the reopened Ra-

Palestinians carry the flag-draped bodies of two Hamas militants, Ahmed Sweilem, left, and Ibrahim Al-Za’anin, who were killed in an Israeli army strike, during their funeral Tuesday in Gaza City

fah crossing. Plans for an international peacekeeping force meant to provide security in Gaza are also beginning to take shape.

Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country — said Tuesday that its military had begun training personnel to serve in Gaza, specifically for reconstruction and humanitarian response. Its army chief of staff said between 5,000 and 8,000 troops were preparing to deploy Vahd Nabyl Achmad Mulachela, a spokesperson for Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Indonesian troops would not take part in disarmament — one of the most contentious and unresolved elements of the peace plan.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto told the U.N. General Assembly in October that his country planned to contribute troops, even as details about the force’s role and mandate was unclear

Affidavit: FBI search relied on years-old fraud claims

Seizure in Ga. part of 2020 probe

BY KATE BRUMBACK, ERIC TUCKER and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press

ATLANTA The FBI relied on years-old claims about the 2020 presidential election, many of which had been thoroughly investigated and found to have no connection to widespread fraud, to obtain a search warrant for seizing ballots from election offices in Fulton County, Georgia, according to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday that shows the case began with a referral from an administration official who tried to help President Donald Trump overturn his election loss. The affidavit provides the first public justification for an FBI search last month that targeted a county Trump and his allies have long seen as central to their false claim that the 2020 election was stolen. It cites claims that for years have been made by people who assert widespread fraud in the contest, even though audits, state officials, courts and Trump’s own former attorney general have all rejected the idea of widespread problems that could have altered the outcome. The investigation was initiated by a referral from Kurt Olsen who advised Trump as his campaign and supporters lost lawsuits challenging the 2020 election and now serves as Trump’s “director of election security and integrity” overseeing the attempt to investigate Trump’s loss, according to the affidavit. The search of the heavily Democratic county stirred immediate concerns among Democrats that Trump was marshaling the powers of the FBI and Justice Department to pursue retribution over his persistent claims of a stolen election and because of the presence of Tulsi Gabbard, the country’s director of national intelligence. The affidavit makes no mention of any evidence of foreign interference in the 2020 election even though the possibility of such meddling has been a longstanding conspiracy theory among Trump supporters who question the vote count.

Walz expects Minn. operation to end soon

BY STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS Gov Tim Walz

said Tuesday that he expects the federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota will end in “days, not weeks and months,” based on his recent conversations with top Trump administration officials.

The Democratic governor said at a news conference that he spoke Monday with border czar Tom Homan and with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles on Tuesday morning. Homan took over the Minnesota operation in late January after the second fatal shooting by federal officers and amid growing political backlash and questions about how the operation was being

run.

“We’re very much in a trust but verify mode,” Walz said. He added that he expected to hear more from the administration “in the next day or so” about the future of what he said has been an “occupation” and a “retribution campaign” against the state.

While Walz said he’s hopeful at the moment because “every indication I have is that this thing is winding up,” he added that things could change.

“It would be my hope that Mr Homan goes out before Friday and announces that this thing is done, and they’re bringing her down and they’re bringing her down in days,”

Walz said. “That would be my expectation.”

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the governor’s remarks.

Walz said he has no reason not

to believe Homan’s statement last week that 700 federal officers would leave Minnesota immediately, but the governor added that still left 2,300 on Minnesota’s streets Homan at the time cited an “increase in unprecedented collaboration” resulting in the need for fewer federal officers in Minnesota, including help from jails that hold inmates who could be deported.

The governor also indicated that he expects the state will get “cooperation on joint investigations” into the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers, but gave no details. That’s been a point of friction between federal authorities and state investigators, who complain that they have been frozen out of those cases so far with no access to evidence.

Walz called the news conference primarily to denounce the economic impact of the enforcement surge

Democrats say offer from White House on ICE is ‘insufficient’

Homeland Security funding set to expire

BY MARY CLARE JALONICK, KEVIN FREKING and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press

WASHINGTON Congressional leaders said Tuesday that a deal was still possible with the White House on Homeland Security Department funding before it expires this weekend But the two sides were still far apart as Democrats demanded new restrictions on President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

After federal agents fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis last month, Democrats say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs to be “dramatically” reined

in and are prepared to let Homeland Security shut down if their demands aren’t met. On Tuesday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said they had rejected a White House counteroffer that “included neither details nor legislative text” and does not address “the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct.”

“We simply want ICE to follow the same standards that most law enforcement agencies across America already follow,” Schumer said Tuesday “Democrats await the next answer from our Republican counterparts.”

The Democrats’ rejection of the Republican counteroffer comes as time is running short, with a shut-

down of the Homeland Security Department threatening to begin Saturday Among the Democrats’ demands are a requirement for judicial warrants, better identification of DHS officers, new useof-force standards and a stop to racial profiling.

Finding agreement on the charged, partisan issue of immigration enforcement will be exceedingly difficult. But even as lawmakers in both parties were skeptical, a White House official said that the administration was having constructive talks with both Republicans and Democrats. The official, granted anonymity to speak about ongoing deliberations, stressed that Trump wanted the government to remain open and for Homeland Security services to be funded.

Lutnick admits he met with Epstein later than he previously claimed

BY STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press

WASHINGTON Under questioning from Democrats on Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick acknowledged that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein twice after the late financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child, reversing Lutnick’s previous claim that he had cut ties with him after 2005. Lutnick again downplayed his relationship with the disgraced financier, who was once his neighbor in New York City, as he was questioned by Democrats during a subcommittee hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He described their contact as a handful of emails and a pair of meetings that were years apart. “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with him,” Lutnick told lawmakers.

But Lutnick is facing growing scrutiny, including calls for his resignation, from lawmakers after the release of case files on Epstein contradicted Lutnick’s claims on a podcast last year that he had decided to “never be in the room” with Epstein again after a

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick listens during a Feb 2 event with President Donald Trump in the

2005 tour of Epstein’s home that disturbed Lutnick and his wife.

The commerce secretary told senators Tuesday that he and his family actually had lunch with Epstein on his private island in 2012 and he had another hour-long engagement at Epstein’s home in 2011. Lutnick, a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, is the highest-profile U.S. official to face bipartisan calls for his resignation amid revelations of his ties to Epstein. His acknowledgement comes as lawmakers are grasping for what accountability looks like amid the revelations contained in what’s known as the Epstein files.

U.K.’s Starmer averts leadership challenge — for now

By The Associated Press

LONDON Keir Starmer fights another day

After indirect fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files sparked a dramatic day of crisis that threatened to topple him, the U.K. prime minister was saved by a pugnacious fightback and hesitation among his rivals inside the governing Labour Party about the consequences of a leadership coup. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Tuesday that Labour lawmakers had “looked over the precipice and they didn’t like what they saw.”

“And they thought the right thing was to unite behind Keir,” Miliband told the BBC. He might have added: For now Starmer’s authority over his center-left party has been battered by aftershocks from the publication of files related to Epstein — a man he never met and whose sexual misconduct hasn’t implicated him. But it was Starmer’s decision to appoint veteran Labour politician Peter Mandelson, a friend of Epstein, as U.K. ambassador to Washington in 2024 that has led many to question the leader’s judgment and call for his resignation.

Everyone wantstoavoidtax.Whenpeoplethink about avoiding taxes, they usually thinkabout avoiding income tax. But, Louisianaresidents have to be concernedwithseveraltypesoftaxeswhentheyareplanningtheirestates

FederalEstateTax–DidYouKnow?

Everyone wantstoavoid tax. When people thinkabout avoidingtaxes,theyusually thinkabout avoidingincometax. But, Louisianaresidents have to be concerned with severaltypes of taxeswhentheyare planningtheir estates. FederalEstateTax –Did YouKnow?

Thefederalestatetax applies to estatesofpeoplewho areresidents in anyofthe 50 states. When it applies, it is significant.Essentially, when apersondies,wehaveto add up thefairmarketvalue of everythingthe deceased owned–theirhouse,cars, bank accounts, IRA’s, 401(k)’s, lifeinsurance, stock,businessestheyown,realestate andmore. Effective January1,2026, thefederalestatetax exemptionamount is $15,000,000 perperson($30,000,000 formarried couples)for deaths occurring in 2026. Theestatetax rate remainsat 40%.

Thefederal estate taxappliestoestates of peoplewho areresidents in anyof the50states. When it applies, it is significant. Essentially,whena person dies, we have to addupthe fair market valueofeverythingthe deceased owned–theirhouse,cars, bank accounts, IRA’s, 401(k)’s,lifeinsurance, stock, businessestheyown,real estate andmore. Since2013, newfederal estate tax lawswerepassed.Theexemptionamountis$13,610,000fordeathsoccurringin 2024,andtheestatetaxrateis40%.

What About TheSurviving Spouse?

WhatAboutTheSurvivingSpouse?

Before 2010, each spouse hadanestatetax exemption. If theestateofthe first spouse to die did notuse their exemption, it wouldbelostand thesurviving spouse couldnot useany of theexemption of the firstspousetodie.However in 2013, “portability”was kept in place –the survivingspousecan nowincrease their exemptionbythe amount of theunusedexemption amount of thedeceased spouse whodiedafter 2010. Butportability must be exercisedtimely.

HowToAvoid CapitalGains Tax

Before 2010, each spousehad an estatetax exemption. If theestateofthe first spousetodie didnot usetheir exemption, it wouldbelostand thesurviving spousecouldnotuseanyoftheexemptionofthefirstspousetodie.Howeverin 2013, “portability”was kept in place –the survivingspousecan now increase theirexemptionbytheamountoftheunusedexemptionamount ofthedeceased spousewhodiedafter2010.Butportabilitymustbeexercisedtimely HowToAvoidCapitalGainsTax

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Thetaxthatoftencreepsuponpeoplepeopleiscapitalgainstax.Capitalgains is paid when you sell an assetthathas appreciated in value. Example: you buy astockfor$20,000andlatersellthestockfor$100,000.Youwillhave$80,000 ofcapitalgain,andyoumustpaytaxonthis.Howyoustructureyourbequests to your spouseand your family can have a significantimpact on how much capitalgainstaxyourheirswillhavetopay.Whenyoudie,yourassetswillbe “stepped-up”andyourheirswillgetanewvalue

Giftsof$20,000 PerYearPer Person (UsedTo Be $10,000 PerYearPer Person)

Giftsof$18,000PerYearPerPerson (UsedToBe$10,000PerYearPerPerson)

Youmay have heardyou candonateorgive$20,000 each year perpersonwithout gift taxconsequences. Typically, no onepaysgift taxona gift regardlessofthe value of thegift.Asizeable gift will have estate andgift taxconsequences.

Youmayhaveheardyoucandonateorgive$18,000eachyearperpersonwithout gifttaxconsequences.Typically,noonepaysincometaxonagiftregardlessof thevalueofthegift.Asizeablegiftwillhaveestateandgifttaxconsequences

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Clinton and one in Jackson.

“What we’re trying to do is establish acharter that would be an elementary school of choicethroughout the parish,” said Stephanie Goudeau, the director of the charter school.

It’sthe latest in alongstanding conflict between the charter schooland the districtthatagreed to letthe independent school openits doors in 2011 Slaughter Community Charter School has closeto 400 students in grades seven to 12. It has similar racial demographics to Slaughter Elementary —about 60% of the students are White and 30% are Black.

For years, the two schools hadcomparableacademic performance. But since COVID-19, Slaughter Elementary has slipped to aCletter grade,while the charter has improved.

Charter School Board member Melissa Wyatt said Slaughter Community has had to work harder in recent years to catch up students when they arrive in seventh grade. Adding an elementary school would allow it to reach children earlier,she said.

“Weare not trying to shut (Slaughter Elementary) down,” Wyatt said. “Wewant the parents that care to have another option.”

On Jan. 12, the East Feliciana Parish SchoolBoard, without comment,unanimously rejected Slaughter Community Charter’snew charter application. Board members Michael Bradford and Clayton Elkins were absent. The charter school has submitted aletter of intent to appeal itsdenialtothe LouisianaBoard of Elementary and Secondary Education. The application deadline is March 30, and BESE is scheduled to rule by Aug. 18. As aschool with an Aletter grade since 2023, Slaughter CommunityCharterSchool

is in astrong position to win that appealand receivea Type 2charterfromBESE to open aK-6 elementary school. That school would start with asixth grade in fall 2027 and addgrades over time until reaching capacity infall 2032. School leaders are aiming at atotal enrollment of between 420and 480 students, but its chartercould allow it to enrollasmanyas576 students Charter schools are publicschoolsrun privately via charters, or contracts.

TheEastFelicianaSchool Board,throughthe years, hasresisted effortstoexpand Slaughter Community Charter intothe lower grades. In 2017, itrejected an application toconvert SlaughterElementary into acharter school that would be run by Slaughter Community Charter In 2025, Slaughter Charter sought to amend itscontract to addasixth grade. The school districtagreed, but would allow only 15 students to enroll; Slaughter Community Charter normally enrolls about 60 students per grade

Thecharter school then revivedthe idea of starting anew charter elementary school. This time,the new school plans to operate initially on the nearby charter schoolcampus.Last year, 22 acres adjacent to the charter school werepurchased, land that could serveasa permanent location for thenew elementary school.

“No final decisionshave been made,” Goudeau said “The goalis to offer an additionalpublicschool option that meetsthe needs of elementary students and their families inthe community.” Slaughter Elementary, with 472 students, is East Feliciana Parish’slargest public school. It educates 30%ofthe 1,600-plus students in the school district. Slaughter Elementaryand thecharter school in Slaughter combinededucate more than half thestudents in thedistrict. Thealmost800 students in otherdistrict schools are about 84% Black andalmost all qualify for

public assistance programs.

Goudeau saidabout half the students at Slaughter Community Chartercome from theparts of East Feliciana outside the Slaughter attendance zone.

However,manystudents in East Feliciana bypass public schools entirely.The largest school in theparish is the private Silliman InstituteinClinton;Silliman is home to morethan600 students,almostall of them White. At least 250 more studentsregistered last year for homeschool or similar off-the-grid schooling. And even more enrollinonline charter schools or commute south to charter schools in East Baton Rouge Parish

Type 2charter schools can enroll studentsnot just from within the school district where they are located, butfromacross thestate.

SlaughterCommunity charter leaders,however,say the newelementary would enroll students only from within East Feliciana Parish.

Slaughter Community Charter School operates underspecial rules negotiated before it opened withthe federalcourt that oversees East Feliciana’sdecadesold school desegregation order. That agreementsets outapecking order when it comes to admitting new students. Toppreference is given to siblings of current students andtostudents living within theSlaughter attendance zone. Available seats after that areopento studentsliving in the rest of theparish.

“The proposedschool will follow thesametiered approach for enrollment as Slaughter Community

Charter School,” Goudeau explained.

In justifying theirrejectionofthe charterschool’s application last month, East Feliciana Parish school leaders cited athird-party evaluation by Toby Daspit, an educationprofessorat theUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Daspit recommended denyingthe application largely because he found it lacking when it comes to “innovation”and “coherence.”

“Itisunclear what is truly innovative about (the proposed school’s) educa-

tional model, and whatsets it apart substantively from current East Feliciana Parish Schools’ practices, particularly in serving the best interests of economically disadvantaged students and students with disabilities,”

Daspit wrote in his evaluation.

“No coherent, innovative elementary school educational model proven to meet the needs of the targeted population is provided,” Daspit said.

In awritten response, the charter school argued that Daspit failed to credit in-

novation in how it operates, such as extended instructional blocks and “protected”professionaltraining every Friday.Moreover the state has previously approved high performing middle and high schools to expand into elementary grades despite being “unproven” in those earlygrade levels.

“Ourhistory also reflects along-standing commitment to thephilosophy: We do not chase trends or new programs; we refine proven approaches,” according to the response.

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gators spent days tryingto findlost, corrupted or inaccessible images, Patel said

“This will get the phone ringing for lots of potential leads,” said former FBI agent Katherine Schweit. “Even whenyou havea person who appears to be completely covered, they’re really not. Youcan see their girth, theshape of their face, potentially their eyes or mouth.”

By Tuesday afternoon, authorities were back near Nancy Guthrie’sneighborhood, using vehicles to block her driveway.Afew miles away,law enforcement was going door-to-door in the area where daughter Annie Guthrie lives, talking with neighbors as well as walking through adrainage area andexamining the inside of aculvert with aflashlight.

Investigators have said for more thanaweekthatthey believe Nancy Guthrie was taken against her will. She was last seenathome Jan. 31 and reported missing the next day.DNA tests showed bloodonher porch was hers, authorities said.

She has high blood pressure and issues with mobility and her heart, and she needs daily medication,officials have said. Until now,authorities have released fewdetails,leaving it unclear if ransomnotes demanding money with deadlines already passed were authentic, and whether the Guthrie family has had anycontactwithwhoever took Nancy Guthrie.

Savannah Guthrie posted the new surveillance images on social media Tuesday, saying the family believes Nancy Guthrie is still alive and offeringphone numbers for the FBI and county sheriff.Within minutes, the post had thousands of comments.

Investigators had hoped cameras would turn up evidence right away about how Nancy Guthrie disappeared fromher home in an seclud-

ed neighborhood But thedoorbell camera was disconnected early on Feb. 1. While software recorded movement at the home minutes later,Nancy Guthrie did nothave an active subscription, so Pima CountySheriffChris Nanos had initially said none ofthe footage couldberecovered Officials continued working to get thefootage. Heartbreaking messages by Savannah Guthrie and her family shifted from hopeful to bleak as they made pleas forwhoever took Nancy Guthrie. In avideo just ahead of apurported ransom deadlineMonday,Savannah Guthrie appeared alone andspoke directly to the public

“Weare at an hour of desperation,” she said. “We needyourhelp.”

Much of the nation is closelyfollowing the caseinvolvingthe longtime anchor of NBC’smorningshow WhiteHouse presssecretaryKaroline Leavitt said President DonaldTrump watched thenew surveillancefootage and was in “pure disgust,” encouraging anyone with informationto call theFBI.

The FBIthis week began posting digital billboards about the case in major cities from Texas to California. Connor Hagan, aspokespersonfor theFBI, said Monday that the agency was not awareofongoing communication between Guthrie’sfamilyand any suspected kidnappers. Authorities also hadnot identifiedany suspects,hesaid.

Three days after the search began, Savannah Guthrie and her two siblings sent their first public appeal to whoever tooktheir mother,saying, “Wewant to hear from you, and we are ready to listen.” In therecordedvideo, Guthriesaid her family was aware of media reports aboutaransom letter, but they first wantedproof their mother was alive. “Please reach out to us,” they said. The next day,Savannah Guthrie’sbrother again made aplea, saying, “Whoever is outthere holding

our mother,wewant to hear from you. We haven’theard anything directly.”

Then over thepast weekend, the family posted another video —one that was morecryptic and generated even more speculation about Nancy Guthrie’sfate.

“Wereceived your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her,” said Savannah Guthrie, flanked by her siblings. “This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.”

Echols enters Republican primary for House seat

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

State Rep. Michael Echols, of Monroe, announced Tuesday that he will compete for the congressional seat that U.S Rep. Julia Letlow, RBaton Rouge, is vacating to run for the U.S. Senate.

“We are at a turning point in our country,” Echols said in a statement. “President Trump needs more businessmen and builders like him to cut off illegal immigration, protect our farmers and rural communities, and fix the greatest economy in the history of the world that Joe Biden and his autopen tried to destroy.”

Echols becomes the fourth candidate to jump into the Republican Party primary for the 5th Congressional District. The three-day period to qualify for the race begins Wednesday State Sen. Rick Edmonds, of Baton Rouge, and Misti Cordell, who is from Monroe and chairs the state Board of Regents, have already announced plans to run.

So has state Sen. Blake Miguez, of Erath, near New Iberia, who lives outside the district but is running with

EMERSON

Continued from page 1A

help lead this administration as we continue fighting for a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Louisiana.”

A third-term Republican, Emerson has represented Carencro and surrounding towns north of Lafayette since 2016, spending the past two years as chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

Emerson was in the news most recently when she announced last month that she was dropping her bid to be Louisiana’s next senator Emerson said she didn’t see a path to victory once U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow, RBaton Rouge, joined the race after receiving the endorsement of President Donald Trump. Besides Letlow, state Treasurer John Fleming is challenging the reelection of U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge

During her six months as a candidate, Emerson campaigned as a fresh-faced conservative.

Emerson has less experience running an office than Ruckert, who was former U.S. Sen. David Vitter’s chief of staff But she has ample political experience — she works as a political consultant and knocked off a Democratic incumbent in 2015 to win her House seat Landry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, chose her to chair the taxwriting committee in late 2023. In that role, she helped shepherd Landry’s major tax

the endorsement of President Donald Trump and Club for Growth, a powerful Washington, D.C based conservative group Miguez said in an interview Tuesday that he has owned a house in south Baton Rouge since the late 1990s and that his family, which operates an offshore oil and gas business based in New Iberia, has owned “a bulk facility” in Baton Rouge. He did not specify the locations of the house or business.

Miguez also noted that he

graduated from LSU as an undergraduate and obtained a law degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge.

“For the people in Congressional District 5, what they should know is that if I’m fortunate enough to be elected and when I’m elected as their next congressperson — that I will make my Baton Rouge home my primary residence,” he said. “I want to live close to the people that I represent.”

The district includes East Baton Rouge, Livingston and the Florida parishes and

extends up the Mississippi River to northeast Louisiana. It was designed to elect a Republican.

State Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, dropped out of the race Monday because of Trump’s endorsement of Miguez.

Echols said Trump’s endorsement of Miguez does not dissuade him.

“I feel adamant that the person who runs and represents the congressional district needs to live and work in the congressional district,” he said in an interview Tuesday “You shouldn’t have to cross three congressional districts to get to the people you’re supposed to be representing every day.”

Echols, who will be 49 on Wednesday, was first elected to the House in 2019 and has a solid conservative voting record.

In an unusual move, Gov

Jeff Landry backed Echols in December to be chosen as the leader of the House Republican Caucus. Echols defeated state Rep. John Illg, of Metairie, in a close race among House Republicans.

Governors have not traditionally sought to elect caucus chairs, but Landry said Echols would help push his agenda through the Republican-controlled Legislature.

Echols said he won’t step down as caucus chair during the upcoming legislative session, when he will also be campaigning for the congressional seat.

The Republican primary is on May 16. Unaffiliated voters can vote in the primary. The top two finishers, if no candidate receives more than 50%, will compete in a June 27 runoff.

With undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Louisiana at

Monroe, Echols has worked for a health care group and as a developer of historic properties He and his wife Christie, an architect, recently opened the Hotel Monroe in two restored buildings in the city’s downtown. Echols served on the Monroe City Council for one term until his election to the state House.

package through the Legislature in 2024. That package reduced income tax rates while raising the state sales tax for the next five years. Emerson is the first woman to chair a finance committee in the House. Also in 2024, Emerson sponsored legislation pushed by Landry that has created the closed primary system for federal elections beginning this year The three-day qualifying period in those elections begins on Wednesday In yet another measure in 2024, Emerson sponsored the legislation that repealed the corporate franchise tax, which is a levy on corporate assets.

In 2024 Emerson also pushed through the House a measure that gives parents greater opportunities to use public dollars to pay for their children to study at private schools The bill setting up the program, known as LA GATOR, was

sponsored by Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge.

“The last two years have produced some of the boldest reforms Louisiana has ever seen reforms that have led us to climb in education rankings, business friendliness, and economic growth,” Emerson said in a statement “I’m honored to have been a part of many of these reforms as a legislator, and I look forward to continuing to grow Louisiana as Governor Landry’s chief of staff.”

Emerson’s House District 39 likely will be vacant during the upcoming legislative session since it will take time to schedule a special election to replace.

In a text, Emerson said she will be “responsive to anyone who needs help in the interim.” She believes that the district office will remain open.

Even with her departure, Republicans still hold a twothirds majority in the House, as well as in the Senate.

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Democratic legislator passes on U.S. Senate

Carter won’t challenge Cassidy

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

State Sen. Gary Carter Jr.isthe latest prominent Louisiana Democrat to take apassonrunning for theU.S. Senate this year With the three-day qualifying periodfor the race set to begin on Wednesday, it remainsunclear whether amajor Democrat will challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge.

U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow,R-Baton Rouge, and state Treasurer John Fleming have announced plans to try to defeat Cassidy in theRepub-

LETLOW

Continued from page1A

in which Kennedy had appeared. “One of them would be medicalfreedom, that she feels very stronglyon.” Letlow also agreed with the group’sposition on serving healthy lunches at schools and other points, Lyons said.

“I proudly consider myself aMAHA mom and am committed to working with the Trump Administration to ensure children have access to ahealthy lifestyle, starting with the foods they eat,” Letlow said in astatement Tuesday.“My service in Congress is driven by a desire to create abetter life for my children and future generations, and Iwill never back down from that fight.“

“Medical freedom” refers to amovementtoreject government involvement in personal and family health choices, including support for nonpasteurized milk and beef tallow,removal of fluoride fromdrinking water and processed foods, and opposition to mandatory vaccinations

Most medical experts, includingCassidy,who is ahepatologist, argue there are no serious, proven dangers to the shots, and broad vaccinations prevent the spread of deadly diseases.

Cassidy said Tuesdayhe was not angry at Kennedy that the MAHA Center was backinghis opponent.

“When you’ve got courage and you stick up forthe things that matter,there’s going to be people who come after you,” Cassidy said. “MAHA preaches alot of things. If you’respeaking about ultraprocessed food,I think that there has been a real positive emphasis upon needing to do something about ultraprocessed food.”

But Cassidy continued: “On things like vaccines, you can look at the measles outbreak in South Carolina, or the two children who died in West Texas, or the mother wholosther baby when exposed to someone who was unvaccinated. I’m pro-life.Tome, that’sso tragic. And so you can see our fundamental disagree-

lican primary.

Carter said on Tuesday that he took aclose look at running for the seat.

“The Democratic Party has a greatopportunity,but the timing is just notright forme,” said Carter,who represents the west bank of Orleansand Jefferson parishes andPlaqueminesParish. An attorney who owns areal estate title company, Carter,51, has served in theLegislature for adecade.

Carter envisions theRepublican candidates tearing themselves apart in the Senate primary.That and the declining popularity of President Donald Trumpcreate an openingfor aDemocrat who has a unifying message, he said.

“Wecan do so much if we can just set aside the politics,”Carter

Louisiana Treasurer John Flemingisalso running to unseat

Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge.

ment on that.”

Lyons saidthe endorsement of Letlow was thefirst in aplantohelpcongressional candidates, mostly Republicans, who support MAHA and Kennedy’s agenda in the November midterms, which many believe could change control of theU.S. Houseand perhaps the Senate as well. MAHA Action Inc.,based in NewYorkCity, also has endorsed Iowa gubernatorialcandidateZach Lahn in whatisturning out to be a crowded field.

Lyons’ groupwas behind theMike Tysontelevisioncommercial during Sunday’sSuper Bowl LX.

The 30-second spot, duringwhich Tysonrecalled the death of hissister who battledobesity because of herdiet, waspaidfor by wealthy supporters, he said. Lyons and his group raised money for Kennedy’spresidential campaign until the lawyerdropped out and joined forces with President Donald Trump. Long-simmering tensions

Cassidy has been walking apolitical tightrope when it comes to Kennedyand MAHA.

As chairofthe influential Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, Cassidy,more than any other senator,was responsible for Kennedy getting confirmed.

Thesenator said he did so

said. “The pendulum of politics swings back and forth. It’sswinging back (toward Democrats).”

Chasity VerretMartinez, a Democrat,onSaturday handily won astate House race anchored in Iberville Parishthat Trumphad carried by 13 pointsin2024.

Former Gov. JohnBel Edwards and state Sen. Jay Luneau, of Alexandria, said last year that they would bypass theSenaterace. No Democrat,other thanEdwards, has won astatewide election in Louisiana since then-U.S.Sen.Mary Landrieu won reelection in 2008.

Winning this year’sSenate race, Carter said, “is nota kamikaze mission” for aDemocrat.

Three little-known Democrats have said they plan to run for the seat

after Kennedy assured him he would notundermine the nation’svaccination schedules

YetKennedy andthe agencies he controlsreduced therequired vaccinationsfor children to attend school, letting their parents decidemanyofthe ones to take and replacing the vaccine advisers to the department’s Centers for Disease Control andPreventionwith agroup that includesmany vaccine skeptics.

Cassidy hascriticized some of those actions, thoughheusually avoids naming Kennedy specifically

Cassidy is widely seen as vulnerable because of his vote to convict Trump on impeachmentchargesthat thepresidentincited the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S.Capitol by his followers hoping to disrupt thecertification of Joe Biden winning the2020 presidential election

Cassidy was censured by LouisianaRepublicans in a state thatoverwhelmingly supports Trump. Letlow and his other major Republican rival, state Treasurer John Fleming, have blasted him for thevote.

Fleming, aformer congressman who worked in the White House during Trump’s first term, is continuing the race and has also specifically criticized Cassidy for notfully backing Kennedy’sagenda.

Trump endorsedLetlow in aTruth Social post Jan. 17, leading her to jump intothe race soon after TheFederal Election Commission is still processing disclosures from Letlow’ssenate campaign.

Butinher U.S. House war chest,she had $2.4million on hand at theend of 2025. Cassidy reported a$10.1 million balance.

Othercandidates began dropping out of the Senate race soon after Trump weighed in.

State Sen. Blake Miguez, R-New Iberia and aselfdescribedMAHA champion,and state Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, exited the race. Emerson was named Tuesday as Gov.Jeff Landry’schief of staff, and Miguez announced he’d run to replace LetlowinLoui-

the ballotbetween Wednesday andFriday for theMay 16 closed congressional primaries and the Nov.3 generalelection.

Federalofficialsallytofocus on cartels

BY JAMES FINN Staff writer

Anew lawenforcement taskforce aimed at disruptingtraffickingofpeople, drugs and guns through Louisiana has yielded dozens of arrests and seizures of contraband tied to aMexican drug cartel, federal officials said Tuesday More than adozen local, state and federalagencies comprisethe new Homeland Security Task Force, which stems from an executive order President Donald Trump issued last year ordering federalagencies to investigate cross-border crime.

The Louisiana task force, which mirrors similar partnerships the executive order created acrossthe country in recent months, is targeting organizations known for drug trafficking, money laundering and smuggling people across the border, said David Courcelle, the U.S.Attorney forthe Eastern District of Louisiana

The announcement in a news conference Tuesday morning marked Courcelle’s first major initiativeasthe New Orleans area’schief federal prosecutor since his January swearing-in.

By holding the news conference at the U.S. Attorney’sOffice on Poydras Street, the veteran Jefferson Parish litigator, who has little prosecutorialexperience but has practiced in federal court for years, showcasedthe public-facing approach he is attempting to implement at the Justice Department’sNew Orleans outpost.

“Today’slaw enforcement operation announcements are, at their core, about one thing: public safety,” said Courcelle, who Trump nominated to the position last year

In total, the task force’s New Orleans-area operations netted 175 arrests, 114 seized guns and the confiscationof20kilograms of

Attorney General’sOffice and others.

Newchapter

The taskforce also marks the start of anew chapter for New Orleans’ U.S.Attorney’sOffice, which has nothad apresidentially appointed U.S. attorney since 2021. For years, theoffice’s leaders took arelatively quiet approach to publicrelations. Since hisswearing-in, Courcelle hasdirected subordinates to enliven the office’ssocial media presence and ramp up prosecution numbers.

bread-and-butter: prosecuting complexcriminal cases viewedaspunching above the office’sweight compared to other prosecutors’ offices across the country

“Mr.Courcelle is well-liked and well-respected in the legal community and can do a lot to encourage this type of cooperation,” said Michael Magner, aveteran defense attorney and former longtimefederal prosecutor

cocaine, plus various quantities of fentanyl,opioids and marijuana, officials said

An FBI official said the bulkofthe drugs, guns and human trafficking suspects seized by the task force so far haveties tothe Gulf Cartel, apowerful Mexican crime syndicate with roots along the country’sborder with the U.S. Four human traffickingvictims wererescued,the official said.

TheFBI official, Special AgentinChargeJonathan Tapp, of theNew Orleans FieldOffice, declined to provide additional details of cartel operationsthe probe uncovered, citing ongoing investigations. Prosecutors in the Lafayette-based U.S. Attorney’s Office for theWestern District of Louisianaannounced relatedcriminal charges Tuesday.They indicted 11 people accused of distributing cocaine,fentanyland methamphetamineonbehalf of the Gulf Cartel —charges stemming from aprobe by a collection of law enforcement agenciesalso assembled under Trump’sHomelandSecurity Task Force directive, officials said. Task forceone of many Federal agencies have created versions of the thattask force nationwide in response to theadministration’s directive.Even as the administration toutstrafficking investigations as alaw enforce-

ment priority,manyagents who historically focused on uncovering suchcrimes —including within the FBI andHomelandSecurity Investigations, two agencies leading thetaskforce’sinvestigative work —have been reassigned to support the administration’smassdeportation push.

Generalimmigration enforcement is “not thepriority” of thenew task force, saidMatt Wright, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans.

“If thereare crimes that are immigration-related that are connected to those criminal activities, we will certainly enforce them,” Wright said.

Federal and local officials have long usedtask forces to meldfederal expertise and resources with local agencies’ manpower.Collaborationsled by thefeds can also direct funding to local agencies.InLouisiana, suchpartnerships have often focused on intercepting drugs and other illicit goods along the Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 corridors.

Agencies on thenew Homeland SecurityTask Force include U.S.Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration andCustoms Enforcement, theFBI, U.S Customs and BorderProtection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Louisiana State Police, the Louisiana

His news conference Tuesdaymarked thefirst by the U.S.Attorney’sOfficesince last August, when then-acting U.S. Attorney Michael Simpsonaddressedreportersand took questions about thecorruption indictmentof then-Mayor LaToyaCantrell.

Though Trump has been accused of overhauling the Justice Department to pursue his political aims, some New Orleanstrial bar veterans viewed Tuesday’s news conference as asign that Courcellemay hew towardthe office’shistoric

“My sense is that the thrust of this initiative is to address the primaryconcern of the public,namelytostemviolent crimeand drug trafficking, rather than to become embroiled in politics.”

By leading such partnerships, Magner said, theU.S. Attorney’sOffice canhelp “mitigaterivalries among lawenforcementagencies with overlapping jurisdictions.”

The indictments secured by federalprosecutorsin Lafayette, plus additional indictments returned in December in Shreveport,offer moredetails of the kinds of investigations Homeland Security Task Force agents are pursuing.Inthe Lafayette

case, prosecutors said FBI agents seized 25 pounds of meth, akilo of cocaine, 2,000 fentanyl pills and morethan $150,000 in cash andgold froma“neighborhood-based gang” importing drugs from “Gulf Cartel sources.” The indictmentinShreveport accused four people of traffickingfentanyl in Natchitoches Parish. The prosecutors’ news releasedid not mention any ties to cartels in that case. Both investigations were run by local andfederal agents whocollaborated under the Trumpadministration’s Homeland Security Task Force initiative. Officials did not specify Tuesday how long the New Orleans-focused task force would operate.Wright, thelead HSIagent, said the initiative will be “wellresourced andhere forthe long haul.”

James Finncovers federal law enforcementfor The Times-Picayune |The Advocate. Email himat jfinn@theadvocate.com or contact himonSignalat jamesfinn.82.

Stateaudit again findsreview flaws

Inmate releasedatecalculation policy changed

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

For the fifth year in arow astate audit found that Louisiana’sprison system failed to adequately review changes to releasedate calculations forinmates.

However,while the report found that some calculationswere not properly audited, it didnot finderrors in the release dates.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOffice released the report Feb. 4. Department of Public Safety and Corrections officialssaidtheydid nothave enough staff to performas many reviews as their own policies demanded. They have changed their rules to make review requirements more “feasible,” they said As of 2024, agency policies required officials to perform secondary reviews of offenders’release dates each time they were updated, according to the report. Inmates’release datesmust be periodicallyrecalculated because they can receive time off their sentences for good behavior and for completingcertain programs; they can also lose credits dueto disciplinary infractions

Of 30 recalculations performedduring the last sixmonthsof2024, auditorsfound that 11“did not have reviewer initials or other supporttoindicate the change entered in the system was reviewed by someone other than the preparer,” according to their report, which adds that none of those release date changes were wrongly calculated.

Auditors recommended that “due to the complex-

ity of the time computation process, management should ensure Department policies that requirea secondary review of time computations,including all subsequent changes to time computations, arefollowed.”

Instead, thecorrections department has changed its policies to ensureitcomplieswithits own rules, Secretary Westcott said in aletter responding to the report

“The Departmentfound thechangesrequestedby (the auditor) that allsubsequentchanges to aprisoner’s releasedatebeimmediately subjected toasecondlevel reviewwas neither a remotely feasible request of staff nor necessary given technologicaladvances,” which include new software for auditing and calculating release dates, Tiffany Dickerson, aspokesperson for theprisonsystem, said in a statement.

Sheaddedthat therequested changes would doubleworkloads for staff who calculate release dates, callingthem “entirely unnecessary anda wastefuluse of taxpayermoney.”

The agency was “confident” that it hadenough mechanisms in place to prevent inmates from beingheld past their release dates, she said.

Thestate requiresthatall initial release date calculationsare double checked, andthat it double checks calculationsagain prior to release, according to Dickerson’sstatement On Monday,the correctionsdepartment rolledout anew software that performs automated release

datecalculations, Dickerson added. In hisletter to the legislative auditor, Westcott saidthe agency implemented asecond software system to “automate andstandardize the audit process.”

For years, Louisiana’s prison system has been underscrutinyfor regularly holdinginmates past their releasedates,anissue often referred to as overdetention.The practice has drawn criticism from federal judges and investigators, andspurredmultiple lawsuits.

Last year,correctionsofficials said they hadmade major strides toward fixing theissue, and that it would not be aproblemgoing forward.

William Most, an attorney who represents people with overdetention claims, said he believed theissuewas ongoing.

“This report corroborates what we know,” he saidof theaudit. “They stillhave nottaken thesteps necessary to ensure that inmates’ sentences are calculated correctly andinmatesare released on time.”

However, releasedate miscalculations have not been theprimary forcebehind overdetentioninLouisiana, according to previouspublic statements from corrections officials as well as two class-action lawsuits against the state.

They have instead blamed thefact that prisoners are often held so long in pretrial detention that they are eligible for release upon sentencing, but delays in the calculation process prevent thatfromhappening in a timelymanner

BY JON GAMBRELL Associated Press

DUBAI,United Arab Emirates

Atop Iranian securityofficial traveled on Tuesday to Oman,the Mideast sultanate now mediating talks between Tehran and Washington overthe Islamic Republic’snuclear program aimed at halting apossible American strike.

The visit by Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who nowserves as the secretary to the country’sSupreme National SecurityCouncil, likely focused on what comes next after the initial round of indirect talks held last week in Muscat with the Americans. Meanwhile, people chanted against Iran’stheocratic government Tuesday night in the country’scapital Tehran, justahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Larijani’s entourage shared photos of him meeting with Omani Foreign

Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the chiefintermediary in the U.S.-Irantalks, with what appeared to be alettersheathed in plastic and sitting alongside the Omani diplomat.

Iran hasinthe past communicated itspositions in writing whendealing with the Americans —and famously,Japan’s then-

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe tried to hand Iranian SupremeLeader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei aletter from U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019 that he refused to take.

Iranianmedia hadsaid Larijani would deliver an important message. However,Iranian state television hours afterthatmeeting describedal-Busaidi as having “handed over aletter” to Larijani. It did notelaborate from where the letter came.

Al-Busaidi wrote on X that “we discussed recent developments, especially the Iran-U.S. talks.” “Regional peace and security is ourpriority,and we urge restraint and wise

compromise,” he wrote.

Larijani also metwith Oman’sSultan Haitham bin Tariq for nearly three hours, the state-run IRNA newsagency reported. Neither Iran nor Oman offered any details on whathad been discussed in Larijani’s meetings.

Larijani also met an official from Yemen’sHouthi rebels in Oman. The group is amember of Iran’sselfdescribed “Axis of Resistance” that has attacked shipping in the Red Sea and engaged in hostilities against both Israel and the U.S. during the IsraelHamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Larijani was later to travel to Qatar,which hosts a major U.S.military installation that Iran attacked in June afterthe U.S. bombed Iraniannuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war Speaking to Oman TV, Larijani said that before the warnegotiations with theU.S.“hadseengradual progress.”

Health agency watchdog targets fraud Department expanding internal oversight position

BY EMILY WOODRUFF Staff writer

The Louisiana Department of Health is expanding its internal watchdog role, with officials aiming to create closer oversight of how public money is spent and whether the agency’s programs are working as intended. As part of that effort, the department is establishing a chief ac-

Iberville sheriff seeking reelection

Stassi to face off against Hebert, his chief deputy

BY AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writer

Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett

Stassi will seek reelection to a fifth term next year setting up a race against his longtime second-in-command, Chief Deputy Ronnie Hebert Stassi, 64, said Tuesday he is not ready to retire from the office he has held since 2012.

“I have some unfinished business,” Stassi said “I’m healthy; I feel good. I got more to do.” Hebert, 67, has worked in the Sheriff’s Office for over three decades and rose to the position of chief deputy in 2022, the agency’s second highest-ranking job On Monday, he resigned and announced he will challenge Stassi in the October 2027 election.

“I’ve gotten so many requests and calls from employees and the public asking me to run for this office,” Hebert said Tuesday “It’s been in the back of my mind for a while. I just feel like the timing is right.”

“Sheriff Stassi has been good to me. I can’t say anything negative,” he added. “I just feel like I can make a difference in this parish.”

countability officer, a position officials said is modeled after the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the federal Health and Human Services inspector general.

The position is aimed at helping the agency “get the most out of every dollar,” Health Secretary

Bruce Greenstein said at a public meeting last month

The Health Department is the state’s largest agency with a $21.4

billion budget. Most of that — about 70%, or $15.2 billion — is federal money The emphasis on targeting waste at LDH comes as Medicaid and other safety-net programs are under heightened scrutiny from the Trump administration over waste, fraud and whether they are being effectively administered. That includes recent high-profile cases in Minnesota involving publicly

funded day care programs, which have drawn national attention to gaps in fraud detection.

In Louisiana, legislative audits have raised some questions about oversight and internal controls at the Health Department, which state officials say the new accountability role is meant to address.

Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, a nonpartisan good government group, called the new position a “positive step.”

“With health care consuming

Hearts for heroes

such a large share of state spending, taxpayers deserve strong internal controls and clear performance metrics,” Procopio said, adding that driving down waste should be measured by “real improvements” in performance and the state’s health outcomes. The new role will not add staff or funding, department officials said. Instead, LDH plans to beef up its existing compliance office. That includes performance evaluations

Judge allows pollution lawsuit to continue

Groups allege St. James steered plants to Black areas

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

A federal judge on Monday denied St. James Parish’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges it engaged in a longstanding practice of discrimination by steering polluting petrochemical plants toward majority-Black areas

In a sharply worded 34-page ruling delivered less than three weeks after oral arguments, Judge Carl Barbier allowed the case — brought by Inclusive Louisiana RISE St. James and Mount Triumph Baptist Church to move forward to discovery, in which parish officials could be required to turn over internal records and sit for depositions.

Barbier, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton, found that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged

are sufficient to proceed.

“This ruling affirms what we know in our hearts and our faith: God did not create our communities to be sacrificed,” said Sharon Lavigne, the founder of RISE St. James, a local environmental justice organization. “Our prayers, our ancestors and our fight for justice have been heard. We will keep standing for life, dignity and the sacredness of this land.” The lawsuit centers on a stretch of land in St. James Parish along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, part of an area that environmental advocates refer to as “Cancer Alley.” The plaintiffs allege that petrochemical and other polluting industrial facilities have been overwhelmingly concentrated in the majority-Black 4th and 5th Parish Council districts. Barbier allowed all of the plaintiff’s claims to proceed, including constitutional claims under the 13th and 14th Amendments, federal civil-rights statutes and a federal law protecting religious land

Man admits to fatal shooting CRIME BLOTTER staff reports

A man admitted to the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office that he accidentally shot and killed his friend Monday night in the Perkins Rowe parking garage, officials said. Chad Howard, 20, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a count of negligent homicide, possession of stolen things and obstruction of justice. Howard, who remained on the scene of the shooting, told detectives he met his friend, Caleb Carter, in the parking garage at 9:30 p.m. Monday, when he accidentally discharged his

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that emphasize health outcomes and “how the department fights fraud, waste, and abuse, withthe ultimate goal of helping Louisianans move from dependenceto independence,” according to astatement from LDH spokesperson Emma Herrock. Greenstein pointedto several recent anti-fraud efforts as part of the focus. The department’sSNAP fraudunitrecouped $3.4 million last year. LDHidentified and removed duplicate Medicaid enrollees— mostly people enrolled in Medicaid in two states —which the department said resulted in $104 million in savings

The state has also tightened oversight of long-term personal care services in

BLOTTER

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firearm.

Carter,20, died at the scene, the Sheriff’s Office saidinanews release.

Investigators learned that Howard threw the gunintoa lower levelof the parking garage after the shooting. The weapon was confirmed to be stolen through theBaton Rouge Police Department.

Theinvestigation remains ongoing.

Five arrested in alleged ATMstakeout

Five people, with possible ties to larger transnational criminal organizations, were arrested by Louisiana StatePolice forallegedly staking out ATMs in Baton Rouge forfuture “jackpotting” hacks.

These hacks involve installing malware on an ATMtomakeitdispense cash like aslot machine payingout a jackpot

The five suspects were each arrested Feb. 1after allegedly staking out ATMs at the Essential Credit Union in Towne Center Electronic devicesusedin jackpotting, ATMkeys and plans for the theftswere all later found at aresidence being rented by the suspects, according to police records.

Thefollowing suspects were each arrested ona count each of criminal access of an ATMand criminal conspiracy:

n Wildrian Caceres-Bautista, 37 n Mauro Briceno-Caldera, 37 n Wester Dugarte-Goicochea, 43

n Alexis Gonzalez-Rodriguez, 29

n Henry Gonzalez-Gutierrez, 37.

Allfiveare originally from Venezuela and have no U.S. residence listedin their arrest documents.

Thesuspects areallegedly part of acriminal organization that operates out of Houston, and has

Medicaid, flagging providers with high-riskbehavior,suchasthose that often manually enter or edit visits rather than using electronic visit verification. Those changes led to an increase in cases referredfor review, which LDHestimates could result in $2.4 million being returned.

“We’re going to do more of that,” Greensteinsaid. “We’re going to establish an inspectorgeneral inside of LDHtobesurethatour programs are working, bothon thefinancial auditside and on the performance audit side.”

Audits pointout waste

Last year,state auditors flagged weaknessesinthe agency’soversight. Areport fromthe Louisiana LegislativeAuditor’sOffice in August 2025 found thatLDH paid $9.6 million in Medicaid claims for

ties to larger transnational criminal organizations in Mexico, Venezuelaand Spain, according to aspecial agent with theFinancial Crimes Intelligence Center of Texas

The suspects’ organization has been linked to six previous ATMattacks in the greaterHouston area andone in metroNashville, Tennessee, accordingtoarrest records.

That same Texasspecial agent first tipped StatePolice off to the presenceof thesuspects in Louisiana, aftera confidential informant reported thatthe five had rented an Airbnb in Breaux Bridge on Jan.30.

While surveillingthe address, State Police detectives noticed multiple vehicles parked outside which were each spotted thefollowing day in Baton Rouge.

On Jan.31, detectives with State Police and the East BatonRouge Parish Sheriff’s Office surveilled these vehicles as they arrived at the EssentialCredit Union around12:30 p.m.

There, one suspectcould be seenexiting hisvehicle and manipulating a panelonone ofthe credit union’sATMs.The suspect thenreturned to his vehicle, aBMW,and left the area.

According toa Texasspecial agent, thisisatactic used by ATMthievestotest law enforcement response to ajackpotting attempt before proceedingwith the theft.

Detectives also noted threeother vehiclesatthe scene that had been seen at the Breaux Bridgeaddress and were believed to be monitoring policeactivity.All four vehicles were seen returning to the same BreauxBridgeaddress later that day

The following day, State Police executed asearch warrant atthe Breaux Bridgeaddress,wherethey arrested the five suspects involvedwiththe ATM scheme.

Similarhacks wereattempted in Baton Rougein October

1,072 beneficiaries even though they had already died,based on areview of obituaries, Social Security records and state vitalrecords.

Medicaid Director Seth Gold said it remains afocus forthe agency “This is always alittle crazy to me —wecontinue to payfor dead people,and we are in the process of stopping that,”Gold said.

In an April2025financial auditthatlooked at spending in 2024, the auditors also found that LDHkept paying health insurance companies formorethan 50,000 Medicaidpatients, even thoughthose people didn’t useany services for alongtime—insome cases, up to sevenyears.

Medicaid pays managed carecompaniesa monthly fee for each person enrolled whethertheyget care or not. The state spent

LAWSUIT

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use.

“Plaintiffs have traced the parish’scurrent land use patterns directlytoslavery andthe plantation system,” Barbierwrote in his ruling.

During oral arguments on Jan.28, an attorneyfor the parish, Dani Borel, argued that industrial sitesare located where theyare becausethose areasare zoned for suchusesand provide access to the Mississippi River. The parish said zoning decisions weredriven primarily by economic factors, not race, andthe parish officials had to balance industrial development with residential growth.

“They couldn’tprotect everyoneorthere wouldbeno industry,” Borel said.

Aspokespersonfor St. James Parishdid not respond to arequest for commentonMonday.Itwas not immediately clear whether theparishwould seek to appeal Barbier’sruling.

about $1.23 billion covering people whonever went to the doctor or fulfilled aprescriptionduring thattime. Those 50,000 people weren’tnecessarily ineligible,but the audit pointed out that the state wasn’t regularly checking if those enrollees still qualified or if theypotentially hadanotherinsurancetheywere using,leadingtounnecessary spending under the fee-per-person model.

Auditors found that Louisiana’shealth department repeatedly failed to properly document and justifyMedicaid spending Thoughthey didnot find fraud, they said poordocumentation andaccounting put more than $250 millioninfederal funds at risk because in manycases the state could not provide proof thatthe money was spentasintended.

In response, LDH said

Attorneys from the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights and the Environmental Law Clinic at Tulane University,who are representing the plaintiffs, have arguedthatsiting those facilitiesinthose areas has disproportionately exposed residents to health risks, burdened Black churches and allowed industrial development on or near unmarked burial sites of formerly enslaved people.

Majority-Whiteareas, meanwhile, received zoningprotections andbuffer zones that shielded them fromsimilarimpacts, they say The lawsuit seekstostop newindustrialdevelopment in majority-Black areasofthe parish, andwould require changes to theparish’sland-usepoliciesto prevent future discrimination

“This historic decision recognizes what is at stake in this case: adiscriminatoryland usesystem and public healthemergency that originated in slav-

theaudit findings reflect documentation and reporting errors rather than misuse of funds, and that the department is strengtheninginternalcontrolsand review processestoensure Medicaidspending is properly reported going forward.

At the meeting last month, Greenstein vowed thatunder hiswatch, LDH would be moremeticulous in itsaccounting. He was appointed to theposition by Gov.Jeff LandryinApril 2025.

“There should be $0 that arewasted, and any funding that we have needs to produce value,”Greenstein said. “Justdoing it because we always have this constantstreamoffunding is not good enough.”

Email Emily Woodruff at ewoodruff@theadvocate. com.

ery,” said Astha Sharma Pokharel, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rightsrepresentingthe plaintiffs.“We are ready to begin discovery,taketestimony,and get the relief that our clients are entitled to —anend to the siting of toxic plants in their historic Black communities.”

Barbier hadpreviously dismissed much of the lawsuit in 2023 on procedural grounds. Theplaintiffs appealed,and theU.S. Court of Appealsfor the5th Circuit reversed that decision last year,reviving the case and allowing it to moveforward.

Now,the case is back in Barbier’scourt.

With the motion to dismiss denied, the parish must now formally answer the complaint, and the case will moveinto discovery, where both sidescan seek documents and testimony before any trial or summaryjudgment.

Email AlexLubben at alex.lubben@theadvocate. com.

STASSI

Continued from page1B

Stassi said the two remain friends but argued he’sstill thebest candidatefor the job. He said he would continue to provide stability for younger deputies and Iberville Parish residents. Stassi, who started at the Sheriff’s Office after graduating high school, was lastreelected without opposition in 2023. “I walked him up through all theranks to chief criminal deputy,” Stassisaid. “Hopefully, when this wholething is over,heand Iwill still be friends.”

BRIEFS

FROM WIRE REPORTS

Stocks drift to a mixed finish as yields fall

NEW YORK Stocks drifted on Wall Street Tuesday following a mixed set of profit reports from big U.S. companies, as Hasbro jumped but Coca-Cola slipped. Hopes also built that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year to boost the economy following a discouraging report on the strength of U.S. shoppers.

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after briefly rising above its all-time high, which was set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 52 points, or 0.1%, to its own record, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.6%.

The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields fell after a report showed U.S. retailers made less money at the end of last year than economists expected. Shoppers spent roughly the same amount in December as they did in November, less than the modest growth that economists expected.

That could signal a loss of momentum for spending by U.S. households, which is the main engine of the economy It also came ahead of two more anticipated reports coming later in the week. On Wednesday, the U.S. government will give the latest monthly update on the unemployment rate, while a Friday report will show how bad inflation is for U.S. consumers.

Altogether the data should help the Federal Reserve decide what to do with interest rates.

Paramount sweetens offer for Warner Bros. Paramount Skydance has sweetened its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, adding a $2.8 billion “break fee” for Netflix and a payment to shareholders set to increase for every quarter after Jan. 1, 2027, that the transaction does not close.

However, it’s not clear the latest move will do much to sway Warner Bros. Discovery’s board, which has endorsed a rival bid from Netflix

The David Ellison-led company sent notice Tuesday of its revised offer to the Warner Bros Discovery board, adding that it was open to further negotiation.

“While we have tried to be as constructive as possible in formulating these solutions, several of these items would benefit from collaborative discussion to finalize,” the letter states.

“If granted a short window of engagement, we will work with you to refine these solutions to ensure they address any and all of your concerns.”

Paramount’s all-cash offer still stands at $30 a share. In addition to the termination payment and so-called “ticking fee” for shareholders of 25 cents per share which the company said would total about $650 million in cash value each quarter

Paramount also said it would “eliminate” Warner’s $1.5 billion financing cost associated with its debt exchange offer

Coca-Cola demand rises in fourth quarter

Coca-Cola saw stronger demand globally in the fourth quarter but its shares slipped on investors’ concerns about its tepid outlook.

Global unit case volumes grew 1% for the October-December period, led by the U.S., Japan and Brazil, the Atlanta beverage giant said Tuesday Unit case volumes also rose by 1% in North America, reversing several quarters of flat or declining sales.

But Coke’s fourth quarter net revenue was lower than expected, and the company said it expects its organic revenue to rise 4% to 5% in 2026. The company’s organic revenue grew 5% last year, and analysts were expecting close to that this year

Coca-Cola said it’s working to turn around weak demand in China, India and some markets in Europe. Government efforts to curb sugary drink consumption could also weigh on Coke’s sales this year

Louisiana Blue CEO to retire

Camerlinck says role was ‘a privilege’

BY TIMOTHY BOONE Staff writer

Bryan Camerlinck, who took over as president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana two years ago after the nonprofit company shelved plans for Elevance Health to buy the business, announced Tuesday he will retire.

Camerlinck has been with Blue Cross for 33 years, with the last decade in executive leadership roles. He will remain CEO through the end of the year to facilitate the leadership transition.

“It has been a privilege to lead

Louisiana Blue and serve the people of our state,” Camerlinck said in a statement. “I am incredibly proud of the progress our team has made strengthening our commitment to Louisiana, improving the experience for our customers and navigating significant industry challenges.”

hospitals, policyholders and elected officials.

He took over leadership of the company in May 2024, after former CEO Dr Steve Udvarhelyi retired. Udvarhelyi led a controversial and unsuccessful attempt to sell the Baton Rouge-based company to one of the nation’s largest insurers, Elevance Health. He stepped down three months after the sales plan was shelved in the face of opposition from doctors,

Camerlinck provided stability and a renewed focus on keeping Blue Cross local and independent in the aftermath of the sales attempt. He rebranded the company as Louisiana Blue.

“Bryan stepped into the CEO role with deep knowledge of the organization and a steady hand during a period of enormous change in health care,”

Judy Miller, chair of the Louisiana Blue Board of Directors, said in a statement. Camerlinck joined Blue Cross in 2016 as chief financial officer and was promoted to the role of executive vice president and chief oper-

ating officer in 2021, where he had financial and operational responsibility for all lines of business at Blue Cross. He also had strategic oversight of the company’s business operations, information technology, data and analytics, sales, marketing and communications, and customer experience divisions.

Prior to joining Blue Cross, Camerlinck spent more than 20 years as an executive at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City He began his career as an auditor with Ernst and Young, is a certified public accountant and holds a degree in accounting and pre-law from Kansas State University Plans are for the board of directors to launch a formal search for the next CEO.

Opposition grows in Congo over U.S. rare earth minerals deal

Activists say agreement would create more conflict

BY SALEH MWANAMILONGO Associated Press

Opposition to a deal that would allow U.S. companies access to critical minerals in Congo is growing after Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi returned from the U.S. minerals summit last week — with praises from U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S lawmakers. Tshisekedi has offered U.S. companies access to eastern Congo’s rich minerals — mostly untapped and estimated to be worth $24 trillion — as a bargaining chip for U.S. support to help fight off rebels and build critical infrastructure in the region where Rwandabacked rebels seized major cities last year

It comes as the Trump administration seeks to create a minerals trading bloc with its allies, in part to defend against China’s stranglehold on critical elements needed for everything from fighter jets to smartphones. China accounts for nearly 70% of the world’s rare earth mining and controls roughly 90% of global rare earths processing. It is also the most active player in Congo’s minerals sector

On the sidelines of the Feb. 4 Critical Minerals Ministerial in Washington, D.C., Tshisekedi led a Congolese delegation on strategic meetings with senior Trump administration officials and members of the Congress, mostly building on the strategic partnership agreement that both countries signed in December

“We are open for business and we are serious about doing business the right way,” Tshisekedi told members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce during a meeting last week

Discussions with Congolese officials focused on reviewing a list of strategic assets submitted by Congo which will help determine investment opportunities for American companies, the U.S. State Department said last week.

The strategic partnership has been framed as securing supply chains for strategic minerals like cobalt, copper, lithium and coltan for the U.S. while Congo in return receives U.S. support for development of key infrastructure.

In Congo, however, analysts and residents say there are still no signs that U.S. involvement in the country’s minerals sector will help meet its most crucial need: permanent peace and stability particularly in the east where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized territories a year ago.

The rebels also control vast territories rich in minerals, including the Rubaya coltan mine which produces around 15% of the world’s

coltan and where at least 200 miners died recently after a part of it collapsed.

American companies, meanwhile, have long avoided Congo due in part to high levels of insecurity and corruption, a void long filled by Chinese companies.

“The battle between China and the United States for access to and control of strategic minerals will intensify concretely on Congolese soil,” said Josaphat Musamba, doctoral researcher studying conflict and development at Belgium’s Ghent University In the capital of Kinshasa, opposition is growing against the mineral partnerships both from public figures and the civil society leaders, some of whom have accused the Congolese government of underselling the country’s vast mineral wealth.

A group of lawyers and human rights activists in Congo has filed a lawsuit arguing that

the mineral partnership threatens Congo’s sovereignty

“We are assuming our responsibility as Congolese citizens to protect the sovereignty of our country and preserve our heritage for future generations,” said Jean-Marie Kalonji, one of the lawyers.

Within the opposition, there is also the fear that the deal will mainly benefit Tshisekedi. Moïse Katumbi, the main opposition leader, has raised concerns about how it could be implemented given the security situation in the mineral-rich east and has called for a national dialogue as a better approach to investors.

Archbishop Fulgence Muteba, who is president of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, likened the strategic partnership to “selling off the minerals of an entire nation to save a regime or a political system.”

“This clearly amounts to sacrificing the development of the population and confiscating the happiness of future generations,” the Catholic bishop said in December

In the rebel-controlled territories, residents say they don’t see any major commitment by the U.S. to restoring peace and stability

“We think this agreement will generate more conflict instead of actually providing solutions because the actors are not sincere,” said Christopher Muyisa, a youth activist.

For Tshisekedi and his government, “the immediate gain is primarily political: strategic recognition from Washington,” said Yvon Muya, a research associate at Canada’s University of Ottawa.

New Target CEO reshapes leadership team in first big move

‘It’s the start of a new chapter,’ he says

BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer

NEW YORK Target CEO Michael Fiddelke is reshuffling his leadership team and making other changes shortly after stepping into the top job at the retailer that has struggled operationally Rick Gomez, the 13-year Target veteran who oversees the chain’s vast inventory of merchandise, will leave the company And Jill Sando, the chief merchandising officer overseeing a handful of categories like apparel and home and

who has been with the company since 1997, will retire. Lisa Roath, who oversaw food, essentials and cosmetics, will take Fiddelke’s previous job as chief operating officer, the company said Tuesday Cara Sylvester, who had been chief guest experience officer, will become the company’s chief merchandising officer

The changes will allow Target to move with greater speed, Fiddelke said. “It’s the start of a new chapter for Target, and we’re moving

quickly to take action against our priorities that will drive growth within our business,” Fiddelke said in a release. Gomez and Sando will remain with the company for a short time to help with the transition, but the changes become effective Sunday. Also on Tuesday, the company reiterated its profit guidance. It is also increasing investment in store staffing at stores while eliminating about 500 jobs at distribution centers and regional offices, according to a memo sent to employees that Target shared with The Associated Press. The cuts make up just a tiny fraction of Target’s overall employee count of more than 400,000. It is the first substantial change

under Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran who took over for Brian Cornell this month. The company’s decision to choose an insider surprised many industry analysts who believe the company needs new ideas as it tries to revive sales.

Target has struggled to find its footing as many Americans have cut back on spending. Customers have also complained of disheveled stores that are missing the budget-priced niche that long ago earned the retailer the nickname “Tarzhay.”

The company has also been buffeted by consumer boycotts and backlash after it scaled back its corporate diversity equity and inclusion initiatives.

Haydel, Melvin St.Theresa of Avila Catholic Church

1022N.BurnsideAvenue in Gonzales at 10:30 a.m.

Obituaries

Blackwell, Jeffrey Herbert

Jeffrey Herbert Blackwell, Sr., age 65, passed away peacefullyonJanuary 24, 2026. He was born on October 6, 1960, and was preceded in death by hisparents, Robert John and Louella Lee Blackwell. Above all else, Jeff was a devoted and loving father and grandfather. His greatest pride and joy were his three children; Melissa Thomson (William), RebeccaBlackwell, and Jeffrey BlackwellJr. andhis grandchildren, Mark Matthews, Kane Saucier, Madison Thomson,and Liam Blackwell. He andhis former wife, Debbie Stevens, were married for over thirty years and raised their childrentogether. His love for his children and grandchildrenwas constant, deep, and unwavering, and his dedication to his family was evident in everything he did. Jeff is survived by his siblings, John Blackwell (Mary), Emily Kelly, and James Blackwell; his nieces, Kaitlyn and Caroline Kelly; his nephews, Matthew and Jonathan Blackwell; numerousgreat -nephews;his lifelong childhood friend, Kathy Hawkins; many extended family members and friends; and the motherof his children, Debbie Stevens. Family meant everythingtoJeff. In addition to his role as afather and grandfather, he was a proud uncle andGodfather to Kaitlyn and Caroline, whom he loved dearly and was always proud of. Jeff loved LSU sports and Saints football. He was the biggest fan of his children's recreational sports leagues as they grew up, he even spent some time volunteering as asoftball coach. He always had a corny "Dad" joke ready to share and was always willing to lend ahelping hand to family and friends.His lucky number 13 was a special part of his life, chosen intentionally but also appearing in unexpected ways throughouthis journey, woven into the fabric of his story and the life he lived. Visitation will be at Resthaven Funeral Home 11817 Jefferson Hwy, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday, February 13, from 1:30 pm until religious service at 2:30 pm,conducted by Rev. Leslie Hyacinth. Entombment at St. George Mausoleum, 7808 St GeorgeDr, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jeff willberemembered forhis loyalty, love for family, and the joy and laughter he broughtto everyonearound him. His memory will live on through his children and grandchildren and in the hearts of all who knew and loved him. Jeff will be

Coco, Shirley Odom

ShirleyOdomCocodied on February 5, 2026atHolly Court AssistedLiving Home in Baton Rouge,LA. She was 93 years old at her death.She was bornon September18,1932 at her parent's farminBoyce, LA Shirley is survived by 3 sons,RobertCoco of Baton Rouge, LA (Emily Roubique), DavidCocoof Tellico Village, TN (Sandy Megii )and Paul Coco of Holly Springs, NC (Julie Taylor). Sheisalsosurvivedby6 grandchildren, and 3great grandchildren. Sheisprecededindeath by herparents,James and Audrey Odom of Boyce,LA, abrother, BruceOdomof Poland, LA and husband Curtis Coco of Baton Rouge

Shirley graduatedfrom Boyce High Schoolin1950 whereshe was amember of the All State Band and was voted Prettiest Girl in her graduating class. Upon graduation she entered Business School in Alexandria when she met Curtis Cocowho was working in the localtheatre. She and Curtis married on February 3, 1952.She workedatNationalLifeInsurance Company and modeled clothes for Wellan's Department StoreinAlexandria,LAuntil they moved to Baton Rouge in 1967withtheir two olderboys. They moved into anew home in SherwoodForestsubdivisionwherethey spent the remainder ofCurtis and Shirley's married life.Paul was bornduring this period in 1970. Shirley had various secretarialjobsbut ended her careerworking for the Louisiana Dept of Agriculture for 29 years. Sheretired as the Assistant Commissioner's Secretary. Once retired, Shirley and Curtis devoted themselves to their church community,Broadmoor United MethodistChurch. They participated in Sundayschool, worshipand wereactiveinHoly Chow Shirley also organizedseveral group trips around the county including atripto Washington, D.C. Shirley and Curtis had asecond home in Boyce and enjoyed returning to Shirley's childhood home when time allowed. They also enjoyedspending time with their young grandchildren. Shirley's funeralservice willbeheld Thursday Feb 12 at Rabenhorst East Funeral Homeat11000 FloridaBlvd. The viewing will be from 10:30am -12:30pm with aservice held by Rev. Leslie Hyacinth of Broadmoor United Methodist Church. Family and friends areinvited to celebrate Shirley's life withher family. Burial willbeheldFridayFeb 13 at HemphillStar CreekCemeteryinBoyce, LA. Memorial donations may be made to Broadmoor MethodistChurch or BroadmoorMethodist Preschoolinlieuofflowers.

Mr. Marshall Stacy Fulton, 73, of Fayette, passed from this life on Friday, February 6, 2026, at hisresidence withhis loving family by his side.He was born on July29, 1952, in Brookhaven,MS, to Robert and Geroline Fulton.

He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and playing cards. He lovedspending time with his family and his dogs. He was alovinghusband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather,brother uncle, and friend.

Preceding himindeath were hisparents; sister, Jeannetta Mitchell; and great-niece,JoleighCosenza.

Survivorsare his wife of 33 years, Rebecca Fulton; daughter, Stacy RuthHorton(Matthew); grandchildren,Blaise Horton,Gabby Horton,Becca Horton; greatgrandchild, Vera RuthHorton; sister; Lorinda Alford (David); numerous nieces and nephews; hislittledog, Casey; and a host of family and friends.

Honorary pallbearers are Blaise Horton, Scott Bandy, Marty Walker, JasonBandy, Michael Cosenza,Sam Bandy, and Jonathan Walker.

The family request memorialsbemadeinhis name to:UnionChurch Presbyterian Church.

AnativeofBaton Rouge and longtime resident of Torbert,La., he passed away on Monday, February 9, 2026 at 8:25 am in New Roads, La. He was 77 years oldand was aretired Truck Driver. He is survivedbyhis wife of 58 years, Carol David Gonzales; ason and daughter-inlaw, Ronnie Gonzales Jr. (Nicole); sisters,Betty Mooreand PeggyGonzales; grandchildren, Dustin Gonzales (Jessica), Christian Gonzales (Kayla); greatgrandchildren, Aubree and AvaGonzales, and his sweetdog, Molly. Ronnie is preceded in death by his parents, Josephand Eunice Gonzales; father-in-law and mother-in-law, Fieand Vivian David;brothers, Butch Gonzales, Charles Gonzales, Louis Gonzales, Sr.and Robert Wayne Gonzales. A visitationwillbeheldatSt. Frances Cabrini Catholic Church in Livoniaon Wednesday,February 11, 2026 from9 am until religious service in thechurch at 11 am. The interment will follow in the church cemetery. There willbea receptionfor family and friends.Pallbearers willbe Dustin andChristianGonzales,Ryan Chenevert, Tommy Franklin, Dennis Gremillionand Charlie Collins. Honorary pallbearers will be Louis (Man) Gonzales, Jr., AllenHenry, Tommy Boudreaux, Timmy Martin,Jimmy Manfield

and allofthe AG drivers and trucking family.Special thankstoPointe Coupee Health Care and PointeCoupeeHospice.

Terrance McKneely, Sr. of Zachary, Louisiana, peacefully transitioned on January 22, 2026, in Fontana, California. Memorial Service willbeheldFriday, February 13, 2026, 10 a.m. Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church, 330 East Plains Port Hudson Road, Zachary.

CarolLiseBrenner Rosen, known affectionatelyas"Grammy," "GiGi," and "Mom," passed away on Saturday, February 7, 2026 after abrief illness. She was 90 years old.

CarolLisewas adored by everyone who knew her. She believed life was forliving, and she livedit to thefullest. The consummate hostess,she regularly hosted friendsand family to celebrate any and every occasion. It was a treattoattendone of her countless dinnerparties, surrounded by people she cared aboutand ameal she executed with the graceand skillofJulia Child (who she met many years ago). She believed in making guests feelwelcome and at home at her table. She loveda party and was often one of the first to join and last to leavea dance floor.

Dining out at New Orleans' culinary institutions was one of herfavorite pastimes. Many an evening was spent at

Galatoire's, whereshe wouldhave adry Beefeater martini(up,with atwist) deliveredasshe wasseated at hertable, with fried eggplant, soufflé potatoes, and agouté not far behind. Shecould oftenbeseenlunchingat Pascal'sManale, having turtlesoupat Commander's Palace, or havingoysters with brie at Clancy's, and always with acocktail andsmiling group of friends and family. Sheloved to traveland visitedfivecontinents, dozens of countries, and nearly everystateduring herlifetime.She wascuriousabout theworld and imparted that curiosity andlove of traveltoher daughters andgrandchildren.She wasespecially enamored with Paris, whereshe andIrving took eachoftheir granddaughters at ayoung age. She lovedNew York,particularly thetheatre andfinedining. Shetraveled internationallywellinto hereightiesand never lost herdrive to seeand experience the worldoutside of New Orleans. Carol Lise was aforce. Shehad adetermination that she pairedwith exceptional generosity to support manycauses and organizations across New Orleans, including the VieuxCarre Commission Foundation,the Historic NewOrleans Collection theTouro Infirmary Foundation,Tulane University, and Isidore NewmanSchool, among many, manyothers Carol Lise is already deeply missed by her daughters, Beth Murov (Ellis) andEdie Bender (Ralph); hergrandchildren, CarolineCrosby(Tac), Maitland DeGenova (Alex), Becca Haymonds (Alex); Jeffrey Bender(Chelsea), and Ashley Bender (Aaron Anderson); and hergreatgrandchildren, Kateand Tac Crosby,Eli Bender, and Gideonand Kaplan Anderson, as well as many loyal friends. She is predeceased by herbeloved Irving Rosen, to whom she wasmarriedfor nearly 60 years; herparents, who she lost too early; andher grandson, Eli Murov. The familywould like to thank CorrineConerly forover 50 years of friendship and service.Wewould also like to extendour deepest gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and caregivers whotreated and caredfor Carol Lise in herfinal days:

themedical and support staff at TouroInfirmary, theteam at Passages Hospice,and thewonderfulwomen (MeMe Canizales,JeanSelders LeeKing, DeMayo Gomez, Latoya Turner,and Mrs. M. Howard) whokepther companyand made sure she wasneveralone or in pain. Amemorial service will be held in thechapelat Temple Sinai, 6227 Saint Charles Ave. in New Orleans, on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at 11:00AM, with visitation to begin at 10:30AM.The memorial service is both in -personand online viathe Temple Sinai Livestream at https://templesinainola.co m/worship/livestream/ Aprivate burialwas held at Hebrew Rest Cemetery No. III Thefamilyrequeststhat those wishingtohonor Carol Lise'smemory make adonation to The Irving L. RosenMDScholarship Endowed FundatTulane Medical School, P.O. Box 669394, Dallas, TX 752669394, or by goingto giving.tulane.edu To view andsignthe online guest book, please visit LakeLawnMetairie.com

Mr.Dawn Matthew Tonkovich passedawayat hishomeinPortAllen on February 8, 2026, at the age of 73. He wasbornJune24, 1952, in Wheeling,WV, and spent histeen years in Hollywood, Florida wherehe graduatedfromChaminade High School. He then went on to attendLSU from 1970 to 1975 wherehe played basketball. Dawn wasa retiredteacher who taughtatBrusly High and Redemptorist High.Hewas theBoys basketballcoach at Brusly High in 1984 when they wonthe State Cham-

Turner, Tina Marie TinaTurner was bornto Edna and Irby Turner on February 10, 1968. She died suddenly on January 30, 2026. She was loved and adoredbyfamily and friends. Service will be held February 12, 2026 at Saintsville (COGIC)8930 Plank Road Baton Rouge LA, 70811 at 11am.

Watson, NeldaJ.'Nell'

NeldaJ."Nell" Watson was borninWinnfield, LA on September15, 1933, and passed awayinBaton Rouge, LA on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at the age of 92. Shewas aretired banker, whereshe was vice president of branch operations. Shewas the first female bank vice president, atthe time,inthe state of Louisiana.She lovedtotravel with friends in the One Americans Club, absolutely loved andfollowed LSU sports (especially Men's Baseball and Women's Basketball), and adoredflowers and plants (especially poinsettias at Christmas).She also loved reading to younger membersofthe Boys and Girls ClubofLouisiana.She is survived by her son, Lt

Col. Clark Emmett Watson, USMC Ret.; her stepson, Robert LeeWatsonand wife Robin; nieces: Reggie Ann Wyattand JoEllenKasparek; and nephew, Col. Thomas Plunkett.She is precededindeathbyher husband, MajorC.E.Watson, Jr., USMC Ret., her mother and father, Lois Inez Jenkins and Andrew Jenkins; and twosisters, Eloise Plunkettand Emma Jo Carpenter. Visitation willbeonMonday, February 16, at Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 FloridaBlvd, from5:30pm until7pm.Visitation will resume on Tuesday morning at 8:30am until service at 9am in thefuneralhome chapel. Burial willbeat Port Hudson National Cemetery in Zachary, LA at 11am.

Most difficult societal issues require solutions thatare morecomplexthanpolitical rhetoric wouldhaveusbelieve. Such is thecasewith crime and public safety.After the Legislature passed aseries of billsin2024 thatlengthened prisonsentencesand all but eliminatedopportunities for parole, among other “tough on crime” measures, the state is now seeinganincreasein thecost of locking people up

For its 2026-27 budget, thestate Department of Public Safety &Correctionssaysitneeds another $82 million in statefunds, an11% increase over its current budget. While inflationand overtime are part of the reason,state officials cannot deny that our burgeoningprisonpopulation is putting astrain on finances.

Figures show that the number of people in state custody increased bymore than 2,000 from the end of 2023, when state prisons held 28,093 inmates, to Nov.30, 2025, whenthatpopulation reached 30,119.

The Legislature must approvethe budget, and someofficials say the increase could be less than projected. But if any of ourstate leaders are having trouble understandingwhy these increases are necessary now,theyshouldtakea long hard look in the mirror

When Gov.Jeff Landry campaignedfor office in 2023, the state had seena spate of shocking crimes by juveniles and,though crime rates were on the way down, public perceptionwas that crime was out of control.

In such cases, the proper role of political leadersistolook closely at what policiesare working and try to reassure thepublic by supporting thosepolicies, not abandoningthem— even when they go against popular beliefs. Butvowingacrackdown on offenders, thegovernorand state legislators completely changedcourse from 2017 criminal justice reforms, known as the Justice Reinvestment Act, that were having an effect.

The act had passed with strong support from both Democratsand cost-conscious Republicans. It was basedonresearch on what actually affects crime rates, and aimedto reducesentences for nonviolent offenders anduse the savings to invest in rehabilitation programs. In theinterveningyears, Louisiana’sprison population declined. And crime ratesstarted their decline in 2023 in most major cities in our state.

Yetin2024, one of the governor’sfirst actions was to call aspecial session to pass asweeping slate of bills that undid those reforms.

We support strong penalties for violent offenders and understand whypolls showed the governor’sapproach was popular with voters. But as the costs of criminal detentionmount, Louisiana is left with some stark questions: Does the state with the nation’shighest incarceration ratereally need to spend even more money on prisons? Or would we rather ourtax dollars go to schools, hospitals and economic development opportunities?

Thoseare decisions we aremakingevery time we choose sound bites over soundpublic policy.

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When thenews broke that Harvest Freshiscoming to the greater Scotlandville community,manyofusreacted the same way:Finally.Accessto fresh, affordable food is abasic necessitythat has been missing far too long.

“The BLVD at Harding,” amixeduse development in Howell Place off Harding Boulevard, is expected to include retail, medical offices and other commercial space.

The announcement of Harvest Fresh projected toopen as the anchor grocery store is reason for the genuine excitement —excitement that is hardearned. Residents should nothave to drive across town and piece together groceries from corner stores. Southern University students shouldn’thave to plan long commutes just to buy fresh food.

Butthis momentdeserves more than celebration alone; it deserves scrutiny Harvest Freshisn’texpanding from aneighboring parish or similar market.Itisa grocer rooted in McMinnville, Oregon, acity with about 34,493 residents, amedian household income of $70,060 and apoverty rate of 15.4%.

It’sbeen 10 months since Iwrote a letter

I’d sworn off writing because of the vitriol coming from all sides.But Ifelt compelled to write because of something never mentioned.

If Irecall, in the year 2021, there was apresident by thename of Joe Biden. Iremember he gave aspeech where he urged asylum-seekers to cross the border

My question is,why isn’tsome of theanger about enforcement aimed at him?

Thanks to everyoneinvolved in hosting theHistoricCityPark Golf Course’sICEBREAKERClassicon acold, wintry Saturday morning, Jan.24. Despite the weather,itappeared from theturnout that allavailable tee timeslotswere filled.

Course manager Matt Berry and the

McMinnville’spopulation is largely White(76.1%), with Hispanic/Latino residentsmaking up 20.2% and Black residentsjust 0.5%.

Scotlandville, by contrast, is not a standalone Census “city,” but the data is clear.The median household income is approximately $27,064, and the poverty rate stands at 42.7%. The communityisoverwhelminglyBlack across Census-based profiles. These differences matter because buying power, pricing sensitivity, transportation access and food needs are not the same.

AndIalso want Scotlandville to receive the kind of sustained investment that makes “basic access” normal, not newsworthy

So yes, I’m optimistic. But I’malso grounded. Alongwith the community, I’ll be celebrating when the ribbon is cut, but I’ll remain engaged until those doors open and the promises attached to them are fully realized. Because Scotlandville has waited too long to mistakeanannouncement for an outcome.

CHAUNA BANKS Baton Rouge

I’m going to referenceJan 6, 2021. Wasitbad? Absolutely No matter who or whatyou believe, it should not and cannothappen again. What President Biden allowed was an all-out assault not only on our country,but alsoonour safety and social services.I’m just as upset as everyone else about the unrest. But I’m more upset about those turning a blind eye to the true architect of it all —President Joe Biden.

DAVE HEBERT Lafayette

entire staff did amagnificent job of having thecourse in greatcondition for thescramble/best ball event. Built in 1926, CityPark’sgolf course is ahistorictreasure to ourcity.Let’s make sure we keep it that way for the next 100 years.

JAYJACKSON Baton Rouge

To jump-start Early Education Month, Iattended an insightful webinar hosted by the Louisiana Policy Institute forChildren, where Elizabeth Groginsky,New Mexico Secretary forEarly Childhood Education and Care, shared how other states are leading with bold policy action. In NewMexico, lawmakers from both parties came together to pass legislation making the state the first in the nation to offer no-cost universal child care forall families, regardless of income.

They accomplished this by removing incomeeligibility requirements from the state’schild care assistance program and continuing the waiver of family copayments; ahistoric, bipartisan milestone that supports family stability,workforce participation and children’slearning from the earliest years.

Her keynote madeone thing clear: This kind of transformation only happens when early childhood is treated as essential public infrastructure, not aprivate burden for families to navigate alone. When states invest early,families thrive, the workforce growsstronger and children gain the foundation they need forlifelong learning.

Here in Louisiana, groups like the Ready Louisiana Coalition are championing similar investments, reminding us that accessible, affordable early learning is foundational to aprosperous state. Their advocacy highlights the economic and social benefits of expanding access to quality early childhood support forall families.

Equally important is the workof Geaux Far Louisiana, which places family and provider voices at the center of policies that build aresponsive early childhood system.Their vision amplifies the need forequitable and sustainable communitycentric policy

Iurge our state’sleaders to learn from bipartisan advances in other states and fund early childhood education morerobustly.Investing in our youngest learners is an investmentinLouisiana’sfuture.

CRYSTAL ELLIS Baton Rouge

Youdidn’thavetounderstand

BadBunny to love theshow

Idon’t read or speak much Spanish, so I’m one of 250 million Americans who don’tspeakthe nation’ssecond-mostcommon language. Depending on which report you believe, more than 50 million people in this country do.

Ilistened andwatched as Bad Bunnyperformed an extraordinary NFL Super Bowl halftime showSunday night. Precisionexecution.Inless than 33 minutes from the lastplay of the first half to the start of the second half, Bunnyand histeam setupand broke down amultiple-scene visual production that lasted only 13 minutes. But, boy, did he pack in alot.

Joining him were worldwidesuperstars Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, whoperformed. Isaw celebrity entertainers who popped up in one scene or another,including Cardi B,PedroPascal, Young Miko and Jessica Alba.

Iwas amazed and thrilled.Sowas CBS nationalcorrespondent David Begnaud Begnaud, aproud, born-and-bred Louisiana Cajun, told me on WBOK 1230 AM Monday morning that he’saregular guy who watches the Super Bowl on television like millions of others. But he was there, at his first Super Bowl. “I was like akid in acandy store. I got to watchvery little of the game. Ihad adream ticket,got lucky and had the best time.”

Instead of beingone of the135 million watching on NBC, he was one of the nearly 71,000 who were in thestadium. Begnaud missedthe chanceto be apart of the most-watched halftime show ever There’sareason for that viewership. And it wasn’tthe teams.

Bad Bunny is aworldwidesuperstar

Born BenitoAntonio Martínez Ocasio in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he’satalented dancer,rapper,singer and songwriter who hasset the music industry on firewith reggaeton, popand Latin trap music. Youdon’thave to knowthe

George Orwell was on to it almost 80 years ago —the problem of belowreplacement level birth rates. In a short bookwritten for theBritain in Pictures series in 1947, written just as Britain was emerging from wartime rigors into an uncharted postwarfuture, Orwell noted that despiteanupward blip in birth rates during thewar, “the generalcurve is downward. The position is not quite so dangerous as it is sometimes said to be, butcan only be put right if the curve notonly rises sharply but does so within ten or at most twenty years.”

“Otherwise,” he went on,forebodingly,“the population will not only fall, but, what is worse, will consist predominantly of middle-aged people. If that point is reached, the decline may never be retrievable.” Orwell did not live to see it —hedied at the age of 46 in 1950 —but thedanger was averted. Postwar birthrates rose in Britain and parts of Europe, though not so robustly as in the United States, where the baby boom peaked in 1957 and petered out after the introduction of the birth control pill in 1962. The peak U.S. fertility rate, or the projection of how many children the median woman would have if current birth rates continued, hovered above 3.5 and then plunged to 1.74 in thebicentennial year of 1976, justabout the same as 2025’s1.79.

words to lovethe music.

Other than thenames of countries andpeople Irecognized when Bad Bunnysangthem, Iunderstood only three words he said: “God Bless America.”

That was alright with me. As Begnaudwatched the halftime performance, atear dripped from his lefteye. His partner posted it on X. I sawit, prompting me to call him “I gotemotional because thepeople of Puerto Ricohave been treated like second-class citizens for decades. That’s not my opinion. That’s afact,” he said. Begnaudtold me he teared up because hesaw anative Puerto Rican representing his island home, where Puerto Ricans were forced to fight duringthe Spanish-American War, only to be told they cannot be citizens.“Iwas so proud to see (Puerto Ricans), him andwhat they represent on this big stage.”

LikeBegnaud, Ifelt the halftime show was along overdue welcome, and an opportunity for Bad Bunny,Puerto Ricansand other Latinos to be them-

nations’ under-70 populations set to fall by 20% in the next decade, not only in economically stagnant Britain and France, wherebirths are tilted toward immigrants, but also in rapidly growing, low-immigration Poland.

Birth rates have dropped below replacement rates since 2000 in most of Latin America, largely because of lower-incomemothershaving fewer children

China, despite the repeal of itsonechild policy in 2015, saw its fertility rate plunge to 0.9 in 2025.

selves. When Kendrick Lamar,aBlack superstar rapper,singer and songwriter, performed at the Super Bowl, he sang and spoke English and Ihardly understood athing he said. People criticized his performance, too. Imade time to dig in, to read his words, to understand nuances and symbols. His wasn’taperformance for folks like me to grasp immediately.But like watching Bad Bunny on Sunday,it was achance to learnmoreabout what makes America great. Really great.

For thosewho missed aprimepoint with all the controversy,criticism and debate, this was an NFL business decision. The pro football league pissed off some people who didn’twatch Bad Bunny or watched somethingelse. But theleague gained viewership and fans who weren’tdown with the NFL.

Why do you thinkthe NFL is expanding thenumber of games played abroad to NINE next season? The New OrleansSaints will play theCleveland Browns in Paris. Three games will be played in London. Other games will be played in Melbourne, Australia, Germany—and Spain, Brazil and Mexico City, The NFL might want tobelike, or better than, the World Cup.

About 500 million or more people in theworld speak Spanish as their native language, and millionsmore also speak thelanguage. More than 55% of the World Cup’sviewers prefer watching a broadcast in Spanish.

“The message was inclusion,”Begnaud said. “Louisiana is amelting pot of various cultures. If we’re going to celebrate the Cajuns and the Creoles and everything we have in Louisiana, why would we not celebrate aguy who got on stage, as proud as he was, to be Puerto Rican AND to be aU.S. citizen. Iloved the show,and Idon’tspeak Spanish either.”

Don’tbeafraid. Let’scelebrate our individual backgrounds, cultures and experiences and our collective gumbo of cultures that make up Louisianaand theUnited States.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate.com.

In his groundbreaking book, “Private Truths, Public Lies,” political scientist Timur Kuran attacks avexing question: How can official orthodoxies persist for so long even when fewpeople believe them? Iread that book hungrily during the “Great Awokening,” trying to understand why so many institutions quickly abandoned their liberal commitments for radical social justice politics —and reread it as the Trump administration sought to impose its own brand of public truth on issues such as free speech.

nomically developed countries.

It’snot difficult to see why.Young women increasingly tilt left politically and also tend to marry less often, hold jobsoutside thehome, say they don’t want children, and travel more frequently

These behaviors correlate with childlessness or with delaying childbearing, which often results in fewer births than desired.

If births continued at current numbers, thelowest evidently since the 18th century,China’s population would shrink by more than half, from 1.4 billion to 625 million. Elsewhere in East Asia, the latest birth rates have fallen to 0.8 in Taiwan and Thailand, andeven lower in South Korea.

Koreanshave shown the determination to maintain their culture, includingtheiralphabet and independence, in aneighborhood with many more Japanese andChinese. They have risen from abject poverty to becomeworldclass exporters since the1953 armistice.But they may be at risk of disappearing:Atcurrent birthrates, every 100 South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren.

What is behind this worldwide trend?

The gap reflects “systematic differences in family formation between conservatives and liberals,” analyst ZacharyDonnini wrote. Beforethe Great Recession, this was masked by high birthrates among Black women who were heavily Democratic. But Black (and Hispanic) birthrates fell sharply after 2007.

At thesame time, the gap in political and cultural attitudes between young men andwomen has grown wider,on campus (where young men are increasingly outnumbered) and off, and both marriage and premarital sex rates have declined.

Fertility rates remainedlow in the 1980s, then rose and occasionally reached thereplacementrateof2.1 in the high-immigration 1990s through the Great Recession of 2007. The latest rate was an uptick from the1.6 levels of the COVID-19-affected 2020-24 period, leaving the U.S. with something similartothe dilemma Orwell warned Britons against. And it’snot just the U.S.Plunging birth rates are aworldwidephenomenon. Europe’sfertility rates havebeen well below replacement for years, with

LETTERS TO THEEDITORARE

At least one thing is clear about what is happeninginAmerica —and how it’sdifferent from previous periods. It’sthatchildbearing has increasingly becomea partisan activity

As the Institute for Family Studies’ LymanStone pointed out, American conservatives and progressives each had afertility rate of 2.7 in 1980, well abovereplacement level. In the 2020s, conservatives’ fertility rate has dropped marginally to about 2.4, still abovereplacement level. But theprogressives’ ratehas fallen to 1.8, below replacement level, and generally tracks thepattern in eco-

Extrapolate those trends outward, and you see something like the picture revealed in the Census Bureau’s recently released 2026 estimates of states’ populations. They showed two-thirdsofthe national population increase occurring in safe red 2024 states, 21% in the seven seriously contested purple states, and only 11% in thesafe blue states.

Similarly,since children tend to share their parents’ political views, Wall Street Journal contributor Louise Perry wrote, we can “expect the partisan fertility gap to usher in aU.S. that is moreconservative. In fact, thewhole of the developed world is on track to becomemore conservative.”That’s a trend that Orwell, aproud socialist, might well have found even more dangerous than it’ssometimes said to be. Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone

That proved to be excellent preparation for what happened recently.Ajury on Jan. 30 awarded $2 millionindamages to awoman who sued her psychologist and plastic surgeon for their role in a“gender-affirming” mastectomy she got whenshe was16. This verdict does not necessarily implicate all such surgeries. The verdict puts practitioners on notice that there are risks to mindlessly affirming.

Recently,the American Society of Plastic Surgeons issued aposition paper recommending waiting until age 19 to perform transitionsurgeries, saying “there is insufficient evidence demonstrating afavorable risk-benefit ratio for the pathway of gender-related endocrine and surgical interventions in children and adolescents.”Though ASPS policy has been evolving toward caution for some time, this seems to raise questions, not just about surgery for minors but hormone treatments. Shortly after the guidance cameout, the American Medical Association released astatement taking amore cautious stance than its previous recommendations, saying “surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferredtoadulthood.” These might seem like small shifts. But as Kurannotes, whenpublic orthodoxy differs widely from private opinion, orthodoxies areprone to a“preference cascade” where public opinion snowballs. Medical association support hasbeen one of the strongest arguments offered by proponents of pediatric medical transition. Nowthat support seems to be weakening, opening up space for more doubt. Each skeptical voice makes it more likely that further doubts will be raised, triggering arapid shift to anew equilibrium.Ifyou’ve wondered how communism collapsed, that’show And if you’ve wondered why communist regimes are so oppressive, that’salso your answer When you are the custodian of afragile orthodoxy,you cannot afford to allow ahint of dissent. If you have followed the gender wars, youunderstand the parallel I’m drawing.

Starting around 2015, an orthodoxy on transgender issues crystallized, seemingly outofnowhere. Transgender women were women, full stop, and it was transphobic to suggest that some spaces such as locker rooms, prisons or sports —should be reserved for biological females. The prevailing view wasthat gender-dysphoric kids “knewwho they were,” and denying them medicalinterventions to realize their true selves riskeddriving them to suicide. Boilerplate assertions that pediatric medical transition was “evidence-based,” “medically necessary” and even “lifesaving” began appearing everywhere, including journalistic style guides.

It is now clear that the evidence for these assertions wasweak, and it’snot clear why so many medical associations offered such strong endorsements with so little to back them up. But once issued, they all reinforced each other —questions about one could be quelled by pointing to all the others, and who hasany right to question our most eminent medical professionals?

Well, anyone has the right, but that orthodoxy was vigorously protected by freelance thought police who answered even the mildest query with accusations of transphobia. Those accusations could have real costs, like your joboryour friends. This manufactured consensus looked invincible, until it wasn’t.

Now,awhopping malpractice verdictand the shifting stance of the medical societies make it increasingly risky for doctors not to question these interventions. With more of these suits in the offing, malpractice insurers will ask that same question. If they don’tlike the answers, that mayultimately mean the end not just of surgeries for minors, but of hormones and puberty blockers, even in states where they are legal. If that happens, opponents of those interventions will no doubt cheer. Though Ihave questions about whether pediatric medical transition works, Iwon’t.

For one thing, I’m not opposed to pediatric transition. Isimply believe we need better evidence before making it standard medical practice. For another,asI’ve stressed in this columnbefore, a courtroom is the worst place to resolve questions that should have been answered long before. Juries and judges are now handling these questions because so many institutions failed to do their job. And many people will pay aprice for that, most of all the ones whose bodies will neverbethe same Megan McArdle is on X, @asymmetricinfo.

with meteorologist DamonSingleton

The patchyfog that developed latelast nightisstill withusin some parts of the area. If you’re headed east thismorning,there’s aDense Fog Advisoryineffect untilnoon duetovisibility falling to 1mile or less duetofog.Otherwise,expect mostly cloudy skies to become partly cloudytomostlysunnyinthe afternoon. Temperaturestodaywill risetothe mid- to upper 70s. Windswill mostly be light.The chance of rain todayis20%,soscattered showers are possible.Somefog is possible again late tonight.

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LSU catcher Cade Arrambide looks to the dugout between batters against Southeastern Louisiana on April

Box Stadium. LSU is hoping for a big year from Arrambide, who is the only catcher on the roster with SEC experience.

Five areas LSU needs to excel in for repeat shot at national title

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

LSU baseball heads into the season as the reigning national champions and the No. 1 or 2 team in every national preseason poll.

So what possibly could go wrong?

Since this is baseball, the answer is everything. And with the start of another season just around the corner there are plenty of things LSU will need to overcome, or avoid, to repeat last season’s success Here are five keys for LSU to return to Omaha and win a third championship in four years.

Catcher

LSU entered last season with a similar question mark. After losing three catchers with starting experience, how would the Tigers fare behind the plate while relying on an Indiana State transfer with little catching experience, a freshman, a juniorcollege transfer and a Dayton transfer?

Junior shortstop Steven Milam is LSU’s only returning hitter who had more than 10 home runs last season.

Everything worked out in 2025. Luis Hernandez didn’t hit for the same power he showed at Indiana State, but his solid defense proved to be invaluable during the national title run.

But Hernandez is off to professional baseball, and LSU will turn to a new starter behind the plate. The job is now sopho-

more Cade Arrambide’s, and the hope is that his experience starting midweek games and occasionally filling in for Hernandez in SEC play last season can translate into strong results this season.

LSU has a lot riding on Arrambide. He was the top high school catcher who wasn’t selected in the 2024 draft and has the potential to be a middle-of-the-order bat. Last year, Arrambide was a raw freshman. This season, the Tigers need a strong defensive backstop who contributes more with the bat than he did a year ago

After Arrambide, LSU has one less backup behind the plate this season. Freshman Omar Serna is the No. 2, but he is raw Eddie Yamin returns after redshirting last year as a transfer from Dayton.

Power

For the first time in coach Jay Johnson’s tenure, LSU will enter the year without a hitter who’s expected to blast at least 20 home runs.

ä See OMAHA, page 3C

Arkansas routs LSU from tip

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

If Derek Carr comes out of retirement this offseason, as is a reported possibility, the New Orleans Saints still control his rights.

That means if another team wants Carr, the Saints and that team would have to work out a trade for the quarterback as long as he’s under contract. This isn’t entirely new territory for the black and gold. The Saints did the same with their former coach just three years ago when they traded Sean Payton to the Denver Broncos.

Will a repeat scenario unfold with Carr? It’s too early to say But with Carr reportedly healthy from the shoulder injury that caused him to step away, let’s tackle some key questions in the event the former starting quarterback wants to play again. Fits for Carr

There could be somewhere between six and eight teams in the market for a new starting quarterback, but not all of those would be suitors for Carr As much as the 34-year-old seemingly would love to rejoin the Las Vegas Raiders, Carr’s former team is lined up to take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the draft. Cross them off the list. Others, such as the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, might not

have the right situation to entice Carr to get off the couch. Here are three teams that make sense: Minnesota Vikings: Carr did well in a similar offense under Klint Kubiak, and Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has a reputation for being a quarterback whisperer That whispering didn’t exactly go as planned with J.J. McCarthy,

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

Max Mackinnon was face-guarded after running off a pair of off-ball screens. The LSU guard couldn’t get open, leading to a spiraling possession. The team’s last-ditch effort against No. 21 Arkansas was a cut by 6-foot freshman Jalen Reece for a layup attempt. The shot was swallowed up by 6-foot10 Arkansas forward Trevon Brazile, who tied a season-high four blocks. The rejection epitomized the kind of performance LSU had against the Razorbacks, losing 91-62 on Tuesday at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center Arkansas (18-6, 8-3 SEC) tied a season-high for blocks with 10, led by as many as 36 points and never trailed. In the first meeting on Jan. 24, LSU lost 85-81 at Arkansas. Marquel Sutton led LSU (14-10, 2-9) with 18 points and six rebounds. Pablo Tamba added 11 points and seven rebounds.

LSU point guard Dedan Thomas missed a third straight contest and his eighth game overall He reaggravated a left foot injury Jan 28 Arkansas backup guard D.J. Wagner and starting wing Karter Knox also were out.

LSU’s start to the game was among its worst in Southeastern Conference play It missed its first seven field goal attempts, and the offense looked disjointed overall. While a pair of open 3-pointers rimmed out, Arkansas frequently made the Tigers run their offense deep into the shot clock

never trail, ease to victory ä See TIGERS, page 3C

is averaging 13.9 points per game in SEC play on a team scoring 82.1 points per game in league play and 96.6 overall this season.

ä South Carolina at LSU. 7:30 P.M. SATURDAy ABC

The LSU women’s basketball team is threatening to break a 35-year-old NCAA scoring record and shatter a 40-year-old SEC record by the end of the season. The No. 6 Tigers (22-3, 8-3 SEC) are approaching the stretch run of their SEC slate, and they’re still scoring 96.6 points per game. That average leads the country, and it’s only a tenth of a point shy of the highest mark in Division I history which Providence set when it scored 96.7 ppg in 199091. It’s also well ahead of the SEC’s top all-time scoring average. Georgia has held that record (89.2 ppg) since 1985-86. A red-hot start to the season is buoying LSU’s eye-popping scoring average. A productive string of league matchups has kept it stabilized. The Tigers are scoring 82.1 ppg in SEC play which ranks second in the conference. They’ve hit the 90-point threshold four times, and they’ve climbed over the 100-point mark once when they throttled No. 23 Alabama 103-63 on Feb. 1. In their 14 nonconference games, the Tigers scored 108 ppg. They hit the century mark in each of their first eight contests, setting an NCAA record in the process and finished the slate

Campbell talks injury, Super Bowl woes

BY KYLE HIGHTOWER

AP sportswriter

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. New England

Patriots left tackle Will Campbell revealed Tuesday that a torn ligament in his knee sent him to injured reserve for four games late in the regular season.

Campbell, a former standout at LSU, had a disastrous performance in the the Super Bowl, giving up a pair of sacks on quarterback Drake Maye as the Seattle Seahawks sent several blitzes to his side of the line. According to Next Gen Stats, Campbell allowed 14 pressures, the most allowed by any NFL player in a game this season.

“It obviously wasn’t 100%,” Campbell said about his knee. “I mean, I don’t think when you tear a ligament in your knee, it’s not going to be how it was before, but I was healthy enough to go. I’m not going to say that it held me back, but it wasn’t the same as it was before, obviously.” Campbell was carted off the field in the second half of the Patriots’ 26-20 win at Cincinnati in Week 12

That ended the 2025 fourth overall draft pick’s string of 12 straight starts as Maye’s blindside protector But he started the season finale and all four playoff games. He said he understands the criticism he received for his Super Bowl performance.

“It comes with the job when you don’t perform,” Campbell said “Obviously, I was picked high, paid a lot, so people expect a certain thing, and I expect more myself. So, whenever I don’t perform obviously it sucks, but it doesn’t suck for anyone more than it sucks for me.”

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he’s confident Campbell will grow from this season and doesn’t plan to move him to another position.

“He’s 22 years old. He’s our left tackle. He’ll get better He’ll get

New England Patriots tackle Will Campbell, left, and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Derick Hall,

exchange words during the Super Bowl on Sunday in Santa Clara, Calif.

stronger,” Vrabel said. “We aren’t moving Will to guard, center, tight end or anywhere else.”

Maye, who has developed a close friendship with Campbell off the field, said he believes his future is bright.

“The expectations of a first-round pick, I think he’s dealt with so much this year,” Maye said. “It’s going to be great for him in the future. He’s going to be a great player in this league, he already is a great player in this league. I love Will. I look forward to playing with him for a long time.”

Maye also said he doesn’t plan to have any surgical procedures on his throwing shoulder this offsea-

son, after he received a pain-relieving injection before the 29-13 Super Bowl loss.

“Just get some time off. Time’s the best healer Definitely just need time off,” Maye said “Nothing that needs anything to be done. Just some time away and time to get some rest and time away from football.”

The Patriots returned to the team facility to have meetings with the coaching staff and pack up their lockers before heading out for the offseason.

Despite the long playoff run, Maye said he doesn’t think he put any extra stress on his arm this season.

“I think it’s a case of having one hit in the AFC championship game that was just kind of unfortunate,” Maye said. “Unfortunate timing, the two weeks (before the Super Bowl) was great to have off to have a chance to be out there for my guys. You can’t blame things on injuries. Things happen like this all the time in the league. You can’t (blame) it on one little thing, the shoulder I was feeling like I was able to make throws in the game and was myself.”

Maye threw two touchdown passes but was sacked six times, had two interceptions and lost a fumble that Seattle turned into a touchdown.

Seahawks ‘Dark Side’ defense a worthy successor

Seattle has shown that defense can still dominate in the NFL

BY ARNIE STAPLETON AP pro football writer

Undeterred by all the rules favoring the offense and quarterbacks bringing more athleticism than ever to the field, the Seattle Seahawks verified that defense can still dominate the NFL in 2026. Seattle’s Mike Macdonald became the first head coach to win a Super Bowl as his team’s primary defensive play caller when the Seahawks topped the New England Patriots 29-13 on Sunday, a triumph fueled by their “Dark Side” defense — the worthy successor to the “Legion of Boom” that brought home their first Lombardi Trophy 12 years earlier

It may not be a one-off, either

Three teams shifted toward defensive-minded leadership this coaching cycle with a trio of defensive coordinators getting head coaching jobs.

The Tennessee Titans hired former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who used to coach the New York Jets. The Miami Dolphins hired Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and the Baltimore Ravens turned to Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter

Macdonald, 38, who served as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator for two years before replacing Pete Carroll in Seattle two years ago, is the first head coach with primarily defensive roots to lift the Lombardi Trophy since Bill Belichick following the 2018 season. Macdonald’s defense dominated the Super Bowl from the start and

And McDaniels needed to adjust way quicker than he did. Through three quarters, the Patriots had nine punts, five three-and-outs and just 78 yards of offense.

McDaniels never protected his young QB by calling for more handoffs or quick screens, even though rookie left tackle Will Campbell — the fourth overall pick out of LSU in last year’s NFL draft — allowed a whopping 14 pressures in the Super Bowl.

Verlander returns to Tigers with one-year contract

LAKELAND,Fla.— For his 21st season in the majors, Justin Verlander is going back to the very beginning of his career

Verlander returned to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, agreeing to a $13 million, one-year contract with his first big league team. The three-time Cy Young Award winner joins an improved rotation fronted by Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez, who also signed with Detroit in free agency Verlander, 42, went 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA while spending his first 13 seasons in Detroit. He won his first Cy Young Award and was AL MVP when he had a 24-5 record and a 2.40 ERA in 2011.

Verlander was traded to Houston in August 2017 and helped the Astros win the World Series that same year and again in 2022.

Mets shortstop Lindor to visit hand specialist

PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. — New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is being evaluated for a stress reaction in his left hand.

Lindor experienced some soreness in the area around his left hand and wrist over the past couple days. David Stearns, the president of baseball operations for New York, said Lindor is going to visit a hand specialist on Wednesday to check his hamate bone.

“It is possible this will result in hamate surgery If it does, that’s a six-week recovery, which puts us right at opening day,” Stearns said. Lindor, 32, hit 267 with 31 homers, 86 RBIs and 31 steals in 160 games with New York last year. The fivetime All-Star was left off Puerto Rico’s roster for the World Baseball Classic over insurance coverage

LeBron will no longer qualify for All-NBA honors

LOS ANGELES LeBron James sat out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night due to left foot arthritis, a decision that will prevent him from qualifying for consideration for his 22nd straight appearance on an AllNBA team.

James has been on one of the three All-NBA postseason teams in each of his last 21 seasons, but the Spurs game was the 18th he has missed this season. Players must play in at least 65 games to be considered for end-of-season awards under the NBA’s current rules.

James was selected for the AllStar Game this weekend. So was his teammate Luka Doncic, who was the leading vote-getter

Indiana plans for statue of former coach Knight BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana plans to build a bronze statue of longtime coach Bob Knight inside Assembly Hall, where he led the Hoosiers to national championships in 1976, 1981 and 1987.

Calif.

held the Patriots out of the end zone until the fourth quarter The Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times and forced him into a pair of costly turnovers they turned into 14 points. They had three takeaways overall.

Seattle’s defense made sure it didn’t matter that Sam Darnold only threw for one touchdown and couldn’t do much in the red zone.

“It’s insane man,” Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones said. “I’ve never been around a bunch of guys where literally nobody thought it was a Super Bowl. It was just our next game and that’s how we approached it. And defensively, we came out and said it early in the year: To win the Super Bowl, it was going to be on our backs, so like I said, I’ll be damned if we get one game away and this defense doesn’t show up like we’re supposed to.”

In the lead-up to the Super Bowl, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth had high praise for Patriots of-

fensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who stewarded Maye into an MVP-worthy season and helped him navigate a 10-7 win at snowy Denver in the AFC championship despite throwing for just 86 yards. This was McDaniels’ 10th Super Bowl as an assistant and it turned out to be his worst. He never took the pressure off Maye, who had a painkilling injection in his throwing shoulder before the game and was hounded relentlessly throughout. Maye conquered three top-5 defenses on his way to the Super Bowl in his second season, but he wasn’t up to the task against the Seahawks, who sported the NFL’s top-ranked scoring defense.

“We got to be better with the football and make better decisions and I got to make better throws when the game goes like that,” Maye said. “I got to make some throws to help us move the football.”

Given how the Super Bowl played out, there are two other former Broncos head coaches who probably deserve another shot at being a head coach before McDaniels: Vic Fangio and Vance Joseph. Fangio, Philadelphia’s defensive coordinator, helped the Eagles win last year’s Super Bowl by throttling Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22. Joseph, Denver’s defensive coordinator, has seen his stock rise by leading a unit that’s collected an NFL-high 141 sacks over the last two years, including the playoffs. He interviewed with the Raiders, Cardinals, Titans, Falcons, Ravens and Giants this cycle but didn’t get that coveted second chance this year

Other defensive play-callers who might find their phones ringing a year from now, especially if another Super Bowl is dominated by defense like this one was, include Chris Shula of the Rams, Brian Flores of the Vikings and Anthony Campanile of the Jaguars.

Seattle’s dominance Sunday raised the question about where the “Dark Side” ranks among alltime great defenses. Right next to the “Legion of Boom,” maybe?

“I know we’re the best defense this year,” said Seattle cornerback Devon Witherspoon, “and that’s all that matters.”

The announcement came Monday night while the Hoosiers were playing Oregon in a Big Ten game — and on the same night the school celebrated the 1975-76 team that remains the last undefeated national champ in Division I men’s basketball.

Officials say Knight’s statue will be placed next to one honoring the 1975-76 title team and will be funded by a longtime basketball donor who wants to remain anonymous. Knight died in October 2023 and still ranks sixth among all coaches in victories.

Super Bowl, halftime show views fall short of records Sunday night’s Super Bowl and Bad Bunny fell short of setting records for most watched U.S. broadcast and halftime show Seattle’s 29-13 victory over New England averaged 124.9 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, Telemundo, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL+, according to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel rating system. That fell short of the 127.7 million U.S. viewers that tuned in for Philadelphia’s 40-22 victory over Kansas City last year on Fox. Bad Bunny’s halftime show averaged 128.2 million viewers from 8:15-8:30 p.m. Eastern. That would make it the fourth-most watched halftime behind Kendrick Lamar (133.5

and Usher (129.3

Kubiak ready to rebuild Raiders as coach

BY DAVID SCHOEN Las Vegas Review-Journal (TNS)

LAS VEGAS The Las Vegas Raid-

ers introduced Klint Kubiak as their new head coach Tuesday

Kubiak, who turns 39 next week, was the offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks and is coming off a 29-13 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday He also served as the Saints offensive coordinator in 2024.

Kubiak spoke with the media at the Raiders’ practice facility in Henderson and was asked a wide range of questions, from the makeup of his coaching staff to potentially selecting Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Kubiak — whose father, Gary, won the Super Bowl in 2016 with the Denver Broncos — also was asked about being the first fatherson coaches in NFL history to win a Super Bowl.

“Is that a real stat? Is that a real deal?” he asked.

Yes it is.

Kubiak also said he had a cup of coffee with star defensive end Maxx Crosby on Tuesday morning and is looking forward to continuing those conversations.

“We want him to be part of our success going forward,” Kubiak said.

Kubiak said he had a list of candidates for his assistants and is

TIGERS

Continued from page 1C

and take contested shots. They also had a couple of avoidable turnovers.

One was when Tamba threw an open alley-oop pass to Mike Nwoko inside the paint. Nwoko didn’t realize it was a pass, and the basketball bounced off the backboard and was retrieved by Arkansas. On another occasion, Tamba had a turnover by crossing the baseline before inbounding the ball

The Tigers finished the game with 14 turnovers compared to Arkansas’ 10 LSU trailed 10-2 at the 15:49 mark. Coming out of the first media timeout, LSU coach Matt McMahon brought in sharpshooter PJ Carter earlier than usual He immediately drained a corner 3-pointer The basket didn’t spur the LSU attack The Razorbacks’ length and activity level gave LSU issues in the paint. They had five blocks in the first eight minutes. Arkansas also employed full-court pressure early in the game, trying to exploit Thomas’ absence.

Mackinnon, who had 26 points against Georgia on Saturday, was quiet for most of the first half. He was not able to get free with off-ball screens for jumpers of any distance. The Portland transfer was scoreless at halftime and finished with two points and three rebounds Sutton helped pick up some of the slack by scoring in the paint with his short-range push shot. The fifth-year senior had nine points as LSU trailed 4227 at halftime.

Nwoko had the first play to ignite the home arena. He took steps from the free-throw line

OMAHA

Continued from page 1C

Las Vegas Raiders new head coach Klint Kubiak speaks during an introductory news

training facility on Tuesday in Henderson, Nev.

collaborating with general manager John Spytek on building his staff.

“We’re trying to put together a great staff of teachers. I think if we can put together a great staff

and get the players up to date on these playbooks and let the results speak for themselves,” Kubiak said. Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty fell short of expectations

LSU

and finished a one-handed poster dunk over Brazile. The dunk cut LSU’s deficit to 25-14 with 8:11 remaining in the first half.

Atop LSU’s scouting report was Arkansas freshman guard Darius Acuff. He was averaging 22.2 points and 6.5 assists in conference play and had a career-high 31 points in the first meeting against LSU.

Acuff picked up from where he left off. He was an offensive force, scoring nine points in the first eight minutes. He was potent in the pick-and-roll and was difficult to contain for any defenders LSU threw at him. He had 28 points and five as-

In 2022, Dylan Crews hit 22 homers. The 2023 championship season saw Tommy White hit 24 bombs. White and Jared Jones had more than 20 homers the next year, and Jones passed the mark again in 2025 Identifying the next 20-plus homer bat is difficult. LSU’s only returning hitter who blasted more than 10 homers is junior shortstop Steven Milam. Junior right fielder

Jake Brown has pull-side power, but he only hit eight balls over the fence a year ago. Returning starters in sophomore center fielder Derek Curiel and senior left fielder Chris Stanfield combined to hit just eight homers. Curiel hit seven of them. Some of the new faces could pick up some slack, but High Point transfer Brayden Simpson is the only one who has eclipsed the 20 home run mark, and that came at a much lower level. Oregon State transfer Trent Caraway hit six home runs in the NCAA

sists.

Robert Miller and Reece replaced Nwoko and Rashad King to start the second half but little changed. Arkansas remained in control, continuing to use its length to bother shots at the rim and contain dribble penetration from any of the LSU guards.

LSU freshman guard Mazi Mosley got his first minutes with 13:53 left in the game This was his first game appearance since Jan. 28, and he scored five points in nine minutes. The closest LSU was in the second half was down 15 points at the 18:39 mark.

Tournament, but his inconsistent play held him to just 12 all of last season. Grand Canyon transfer Zach Yorke is that schoo’s all-time home runs leader in Division I, but his strongest attribute is getting on base, not hitting balls over the fence.

It’s not impossible that one of these names, or even Arrambide, eclipses 20 home runs and becomes the feared middle-ofthe-order power bat the Tigers have relied on for years. But for the first time under Johnson, LSU heads into a season without an obvious power threat in its lineup.

Health

Health obviously plays a big role in any team’s success throughout a given year. But for LSU a healthy roster will be a little more important this season.

LSU has fewer players on its roster this season. Johnson’s team is still deep with pitching the Tigers have an extra pitcher in 2026 — but their pool of position players has shrunk from 21 to 18.

This means the Tigers can ill afford to lose players such as Brown, Curiel or Milam. They

as a rookie working behind an offensive line that struggled from the start. Kubiak was asked about Jeanty and noted he saw the firstround pick play several times at Boise State.

sixth-rounder Will Howard, but that’s a lot of faith to put in a 24-year-old for a team that wants to compete now Another factor to consider is that the Pittsburgh front office and coaching staff have ties to the Saints, which may make it easier to hammer out a deal.

New York Jets: Before Carr signed with the Saints in 2023, he closely looked at the Jets who ended up trading for Rodgers. Three years later, the Jets (again) desperately need to find competent play at the position.

Coach Aaron Glenn’s tenure depends on it, as he might be entering his second season already on the hot seat.

Potential compensation

The Saints received a 2023 firstround pick and a 2024 second-round pick when they traded Payton to the Denver Broncos.

Don’t hold your breath on such a package for Carr

Even though quarterbacks can fetch a premium, New Orleans likely wouldn’t want to be stuck with Carr’s contract in the event he unretires — especially after Tyler Shough’s emergence. And even with a less-than-enticing free agent class, it’s hard to see any team giving up the farm for a player who hasn’t played in a year and is coming off a serious injury

There have been examples of players fetching compensation after taking time away But the returns rarely have yielded the kind of premium the Saints received for Payton.

With that in mind, here are some templates to get a deal done: 2008, Brett Favre to the New York Jets: After Favre retired and then unretired that same offseason, the Green Bay Packers sent him to New York for a conditional fourth-rounder that eventually became a third-round pick.

Beyond the differences in on-field

don’t have the same depth as they did a year ago with Tanner Reaves, Ashton Larson and Josh Pearson coming off of the bench. LSU has been relatively fortunate with injuries over the past two years. Redshirt junior righthander Gavin Guidry and redshirt sophomore right-hander Deven Sheerin were the only potential contributors who missed extensive time last season. In 2024, LSU didn’t have Chase Shores for the whole year It also didn’t have redshirt junior right-hander Jaden Noot for most of the season and was without Christian Little in the Chapel Hill Regional.

That run of good luck will need to continue for the Tigers in 2026, especially on the position player front. The only player LSU has out to start this year is freshman left-hander Jonah Aase, who is expected to miss the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery

Left-handed pitching

LSU lost a solid group of lefthanders after Kade Anderson and Conner Ware were drafted and Dalton Beck ran out of eligibility

“I’m very excited about his skill set and what he brings I’m very excited about his talent,” Kubiak said.

Kubiak said he is in the process of identifying candidates for his defensive coordinator He noted he is more focused on establishing a physical style of play and wants a defensive coordinator who coaches effort.

He also was asked about Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and whether that played a role in taking the head coach job with the Raiders, who own the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Kubiak did not reference Mendoza by name and said they have “a lot of tape to watch” before determining who the team will select.

“The resources the Raiders have, having cap space, having the first pick, those all go into the decision,” he said.

Kubiak said he had the option to stay in Seattle as the offensive coordinator but called the opportunity to join the Raiders organization a “no-brainer.”

“The main thing is this is no ordinary job. This is the silver and black,” he said.

Spytek joked that Kubiak will get the day off Wednesday to celebrate the Seahawks’ Super Bowl victory

“He’s going to take a one-day hiatus, be in a parade and get back to work on Thursday,” Spytek said.

credentials, Favre hadn’t taken a year off like Carr and there was at least one more team (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) interested in Favre’s services. 2013, Carson Palmer to the Arizona Cardinals: Palmer fetched a first-rounder and more from the Raiders after “retiring” as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011. But the more comparable deal might be the trade that happened two years later, when the Raiders sent the 33-year-old Palmer to the Cardinals for a swap of sixthround and seventh-round selections, plus a conditional seventh-round pick that was met. Though Palmer wasn’t retired when he went to Arizona, he was near Carr’s age. Carr turns 35 in March. 2017, Marshawn Lynch to the Raiders: After retiring in 2015, the Raiders acquired Lynch and a 2018 sixth-round pick from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a 2018 fifth-round pick. Lynch wasn’t a quarterback, but the deal is an example of a late-round pick swap that worked for both sides. 2020, Rob Gronkowski to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Gronkowski netted a fourthround pick when the Patriots sent him and a seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 — a year after Gronkowski had retired. Those were also rare circumstances, as the tight end unretired to reunite with Tom Brady 2022, Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts: Like the Favre deal, this one may be more optimistic. Ryan, unlike Carr, was still active. But the reason this should be mentioned is that Ryan was about to turn 37 at the time, and the Colts were still willing to pay up in an attempt to solve their quarterback problem.

Ryan’s tenure with the Colts didn’t work out, but perhaps another team will be as aggressive. In Indianapolis’ case, the Colts were comfortable parting ways with a third-round pick after getting back an even better haul for Carson Wentz weeks earlier

Email Matthew Paras at matt.paras@ theadvocate.com

The Tigers brought back only two left-handers in sophomore Cooper Williams and redshirt junior DJ Primeaux. Williams is poised to earn a rotation spot and Primeaux’s role in the bullpen has grown, but LSU needed more options. So Johnson went to work over the summer adding North Dakota State transfer Danny Lachenmayer, Oregon transfer Santiago Garcia and junior-college transfer Ethan Plog.

The three new lefties are not the same style of pitcher, which helps Johnson match up against opposing lineups. Lachenmayer relies on a sharp curveball and a highrelease point to fool hitters. Garcia has a more traditional delivery and strong breaking pitches.

Plog has a low arm slot and a fastball with sharp arm-side movement (darting inside to lefthanded hitters and away from righties).

LSU will need at least one or two of these new arms to emerge as reliable relievers Plog, despite posting an ERA over five at Iowa Western Community College, has looked sharp during the preseason. Garcia has had command

issues, but he dominated hitters last summer in the Cape Cod League. Lachenmayer owned a 2.37 ERA and pitched well in the NCAA Tournament last year Transfer bats

LSU will rely heavily on a handful of transfers to produce in the lineup.

Yorke, Caraway, Simpson and Kansas State transfer Seth Dardar were all brought in to fill holes around the infield and at designated hitter after Michael Braswell, Jared Jones, Ethan Frey and Daniel Dickinson all moved on to professional baseball.

LSU’s latest transfers were accomplished hitters at their previous stops, but questions remain about how each newcomer will fare in the SEC. Dickinson, who transferred in from Utah Valley, had to answer the same question mark, and it worked out.

But Johnson is taking more rolls of the dice this year with an array of transfer bats from non-SEC schools.

Email Koki Riley at koki.riley@ theadvocate.com.

MI LA N CO RT IN A

Bilka, U.S. rout Canada

youthful Team USA sweeps GroupA in preliminaryround

BY JOHNWAWROW Associated Press

MALININ LEADSAFTER NEARPERFECT SHORT PROGRAM: Ilia

Malinin playfully threwa couple of jabs at aTVcamera while skating off the ice Tuesdaynight, the pressure of his first Olympics having seemingly vanished following ateam gold medal and anear-perfect shortprogram to begin the men’scompetition.

The American wunderkind, pictured above,landed apair of quadruple jumps, another jaw-dropping backflip and his signature “raspberry twist” for 108.16 points to takea five-point leadoveryuma Kagiyama of Japan intothe decisivefree skate Friday.

SHIFFRIN OUT OF THE MEDALS

AGAIN: Makethat sevenstraight races without amedal for Mikaela Shiffrin at the Winter Olympics.

The American skiing standout was given the ideal platformtowin the newteamcombined event after partner Breezy Johnson led the opening downhill leg on Tuesday. Shiffrin was the last racer out in the slalom and had the 15th-fastest time dropping the U.S. to fourth place.

Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber of Austria wongold, while Americans Paula Moltzan and Jacqueline Wiles took bronze.

KLAEBONEARS GOLD MEDAL

RECORD: Don’t be surprised if Johannes Høsflot Klæbo soon holds the all-time record for gold medals at the Winter Games.The Norwegian cross-countrystar powered to his second straightOlympic gold and seventh of his career by winning the men’ssprint. He was acomfortable 0.8seconds ahead of Ben Ogden of theUnited States.

Klæbo movedtoone gold behind three compatriots, all of whom retired with arecord-tying eight.

SWEDISH SIBLINGS WIN

CURLING’S MIXED DOUBLES: Sweden’sIsabella and Rasmus Wranå wongold in mixed doubles curling by beating U.S. pair Cory Thiesse and KoreyDropkin. Atwo-point playbyIsabella off the final rock of atight match sealeda 6-5 win for the duo.

The Americans wona first medal in Olympic mixed doubles, andThiesse became the first American woman to capture amedal in curling

TAUBITZ ADDS TO GERMAN DOMINANCE IN LUGE: Goldin women’ssingles lugewenttoGermany —again. Julia Taubitz became the 13th winner from Germanyin17 editions, finishing nearly afull second ahead of Elina Bota of Latvia after four runs over twodays.Ashley Farquharson took bronze, the third singles medal everfor USA Lugeat the Olympics and matching the best finish by an American women’sslider An Olympic gold completes Taubitz’s resume.

MILAN HannahBilka scored twice, and the United States’ youthand speedoverwhelmed a Canadian women’shockey team missingits captainina 5-0win at the Milan Cortina Games on Tuesday

Thelopsidedvictoryclinched first place for the U.S. in Group Aentering thequarterfinals and continued confirming why the Americans entered thetournament as favorites. Team USA sweptall four preliminary-round games by acombined score of 20-1 and brought back memories of how aCanadian team in its prime rolled to winning gold at the 2022 Beijing Games.

The tableshave sinceturned, anditwas evident on the scoresheet from aroster that featuresseven players still in college

The University of Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey hadagoal and two assists, with Badger teammatesLaila Edwards and Kristen Simms alsoscoring. The goal was Edwards’ first in her Olympic debut in being the first Black woman to representthe U.S. University of Minnesota captain AbbeyMurphy set up three goals.

Aerin Frankel stopped 20 shots forher third winand second shutout in her first Olympic tournament. And even 36-year-old captainHilary Knight added an assist —the 32nd Olympic point of her career to tie Jenny Potter for most byaU.S. women’shockey player

on TuesdayinMilan.

Canada, meantime, opened tentatively,and then ranintopenalty problemsminus its longtime leader,Marie-Philip Poulin.

Poulin was ruled out about five hoursbeforepuckdrop, and a day after she limpedoff with an apparent lower-body injury in thefirst period of a5-1 win over Czechia. The 34-year-old Poulin is considered day to day,though it’sunclear when the player nicknamed “Captain Clutch” will be available for Canada’sclosing game of the preliminary round against Finland on Thursday AndPoulin’savailabilityisuncertain for Saturday,when Canada is scheduledtoplayits quarterfinal game. The U.S. will open thequarter-

finals against host nation Italy, which went2-2 in clinching the thirdand finalGroup Bplayoff spot. The Americans are two-time Olympic gold medalists. Whatever “O, Canada”buzz there was amidalarge Maple Leaf flag-wavingcapacity crowd quickly dampened on adrizzly day outside the11,600-seat Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. And thesoundtrack instead became the sound of the U.S.goal song, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s“Free Bird.” Harvey opened the scoring 3:45 in by driving in from the left point and snapping ashot beating AnnRenee Desbiens. The Americans’ speed and quick-strike ability were evident on their next goal when Murphy

chased down Harvey’spass in the right corner.Murphy immediatelyspun andsentano-look pass Bilka converted by driving to the net.

Simms made it 3-0byjamming the puck over the line 72 seconds into thesecondperiodand Murphy set up Bilka for another onetimer somesix minutes later Desbiens allowed five goals on 27 shots and was pulled after Edwards scored with 8:07 left. She was replaced by Emerance Maschmeyer,who finished with five saves. The U.S. has now defeated Canada in seven straight meetings, dating to thepreliminary round and gold-medal gameofthe world championships in April.

Eagerlyawaitingthe next miraclemoment

The Olympics are back.

My Olympic flag is up, flutteringonmyfront porch in the unseasonablywarm February breeze

My sleep hours are down. I nodded off while writing this. Iblamethe Games. Happily Andthe seven-hourtime difference between here and Italy

Iwas fortunate enough to attend the1996 Atlanta Olympics and cover the2024 Paris Olympics. Ididn’t want to missanything either time. I still feel that way I’ve always held aspecialawe for Olympic athletes. Yes, more of them are millionaires now, like the NHL players who will start competing Wednesday. But mostofthem are sacrificingand scraping by for the sake of their dreams. For thechance to put it all out there. Forthe opportunity to call themselves Olympians forever “I mademyfirst Olympics in 1976,” former U.S. men’sgymnast BartConner,now agymnastics broadcaster,said. He was here lastweek at the premiere of thedocumentary on former LSUcoach D-D Breaux.

“I ended up placing 46th. I didn’tmedal and Iwasn’tacontender.But Idoremember my coach told me at that moment, ‘For the rest of your life, people will refer to you as an Olympian.’”

U.S. gold medalist Breezy Johnson speeds down the course during the downhill portion of the women’s team combined event on Tuesday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

Conner endured theU.S. boycottofthe 1980 Moscow Olympics and returnedin1984 to win twogold medals.But that first experience taught him everything.

“Winning doesn’talways mean being first,” said U.S. speed skating legend Bonnie Blair who went from short-track dominance at the 1985 National SportsFestival in Baton Rouge to five golds over three Olympics. “Winning meansyou’re doing better than you’ve ever done before.”

Sometimes, the Olympics mean falling. Literally.Like Lindsey Vonn on Sunday in the women’sdownhill. There has been criticism of her and U.S.

skiing officials foreven trying to ski on atorn ACL, but it was her choice. And danger is always lurking behind the next gate in skiing.

“Towin,” three-timeFrench skiing goldmedalist Jean-Claude Killy said, “you have to risk loss.”

Sometimes the losses are what makethe measure of an athlete. LSUgreat Lolo Jones was the best in the world when she hit thesecond-to-last hurdle in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, fell and finished off the podium.She came back in London in 2012 and the2014 Sochi Winter Olympics as well as abobsledder Jones never got an Olympic

OLYMPICS BROADCASTHIGHLIGHTS

medal slipped around her neck. But she’sone of about 140 athletes to have competed in the Summer and Winter Games,an exceptionally exclusive club. Would she have ever madethe Winter Olympics attempt if she’d won gold?

“There’salways apoint where you get knocked down,” Jones once said. “But Idraw on what I’ve learned on the track: If you work hard, things will workout.”

Perhaps in the mostunexpected ways. In one of the greatest sports upsets ever,the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. Idon’tlove getting older,but I love that Iwas alive to witness the Miracle on Ice.

Here in Baton Rouge, that amazing momenthad apeculiar footnote. The gamewas tapedelayed to be showninprime time. No internet. No social media blasts. Maybe aradio report mostofusmissed. But ex-WBRZ sportscaster Andy Leopold (ABC televised the Olympics then) blurted out on anews break between periods that the U.S. had won.

Wherever you may be, Andy, please know there are people here whostill hate you fordoing that. But really,it’sOK. The Olympics are back, and we’re all eagerly awaiting the next amazing moment.

Do Ibelieve in miracles? Every time. Every single time.

Southern GOshodicomes throughthistime

BY CHARLESSALZER

Contributing writer

Fazl Oshodi got another chance at agame-winning shot, and this time he came through.

The sophomore guard for Southern made a28-foot 3-pointer from outside the top of thekey with six seconds left to propelthe Jaguars to a69-68 win over Alabama State on Monday night at the F.G. Clark Activity Center After atimeout, Alabama State needed to go thelengthofthe court to come up with an answer.Tyler Mack’s3-point try from the right wing was too strong, and Southern

cameaway with acome-from-behind win.

“(Jaguars coach Kevin Johnson) drew up theplay and Ijust executed,” Oshodi said. “I was open the whole game, and coach just told me to stay ready and keep shooting. Ijust knockeditdown.”

The win leaves Southern(1113, 7-4) alone in third place in the Southwestern AthleticConference standings behind one-loss Bethune-Cookman and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.SouthernlosttoUAPB 75-74 on Jan.24, agame in which Oshodi

missed apotential game-winning shot at the buzzer

“I had to get it back,” he said. “I didn’tget it done againstPine Bluff,but this game Icame through and executed.”

Southern played the gamewithoutpostplayer Malek Abdelgowad, who sat out with aleg injury AlabamaState (9-15, 4-7) took advantage, outrebounding Southern 43-34.

DaMariee Jones came up with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Southern, his second straight double-double. A.J. Barnes scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting; Michael Jacobs added 11 points; and Terrance Dixon had eight points and eight blocked shots.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Southern fell behind 57-45 midway through the secondhalf. The Jaguarsslowly fought back with 3-point shooting playing akey role For the game,Southern was6 for 23 from behind the arc, but it made four of those in thelast10minutes

Alabama State wasled by Micah Simpson with 19 points and Damarien Yateswith 15.

Southern started fast and led for more than 18 minutesinthe first half. The Jaguars made six of their first nine shots, including 3-pointers from Joe Manning and Barnes. They led 16-5five minutes into the game. The 11-point lead provedtobe the largest of the half, and the 3-pointers were the only ones

Southern would makeasitfell behind 37-35 at the break. After AlabamaState gotwithin 20-15 on Yates’ 3-pointer,Southern surged to a27-18 advantage. Brandon Hardy,Jacobs and Cam Amboree all had baskets during the run. The Hornetsheld Southern to 1-of-9 shooting in the last five minutes of thehalf. They closed with an 11-4 run to take their first lead of thegame at 37-35 on Simpson’sstepback jumper with 25 seconds left. Southern returns to action Saturday when it plays at Prairie View “This one means alot,” Oshodi said.“We just won threestraight, and we’re getting ready to play (Prairie View and Texas Southern) in Texas. “It’sagood winfor us.”

ParkviewBaptist

pitcher Logan Sorrel delivers against Dunham during Game

3ofaDivisionIII select quarterfinalseries on May3atParkview Baptist. Sorrel is a Kentucky signee STAFF

MICHAEL JOHNSON

FULLYLOADED

Tenareahighschoolbaseballpitcherstowatch this season

BY JACKSON REYES

Staff writer

The high school baseball season is rightaround the corner,and top players from the Baton Rougearea are set to take center stage. Last season was loaded with top pitching talent, and several pitchers return ready to continue leaving their mark. The BatonRougeareaisagain home to pitchers with big arms withhigh-profilerecruits Below are 10 areapitchers to watch this season LucasLawrence, Catholic

The Ole Misssignee heads into his senior season as one of the top pitchers on aBearssquad that won astate title last year.Lawrence went 9-2 with a1.20 ERAwith 53 strikeouts in 641/3 innings. The Catholic senior ace, a6-foot-6 left-hander,was also an LSWA Class 5A All-State honorable mentionselection.

CameronDeRoche,Lutcher

The Bulldogs ace entersthe season looking to build on astrong junior campaign.. The Nunez Community College signeewent8-1 with a1.37ERA.A 6-foot left-hander,DeRoche struck out75batters over 61 innings and threw three complete games.Hewas named to the LSWAClass 4A All-State team.

Zant Gurney,LiveOak

The 6-foot-2 senior left-hander will look to send the Eagles on anotherdeep runintothe postseason in his final high school season. The Bossier Parish Community College signee tallied a9-2 recordwith a1.64 ERA last season.

BraydenRay,Brusly

The senior dominated last season en routetobeing named to theAll-Metro team.Ray went 10-2 with a 0.98 ERA in 79 innings. A5-foot-9 right-hander, Ray rackedup48strikeouts and allowed an opponent’s

batting averageof.220 en route to being named to the LSWA Class 4A All-State team.

MillsRichardson, Catholic

The Southeastern Louisiana signeewill bolstera Catholic baseball squad looking to repeat as state champions. A6-foot-2 right-hander,Richardsonwent 8-1 with a2.68 ERA lastseason and looks to build off abreakout junior year

Noah Sullivan, Zachary

The Broncosace will be called upontohelp lead Zacharytoastrong season. ALouisiana Tech signee, the6-foot-1 senior right-hander finished the 2025 season with a6-2 record and had a1.37ERA.

GrantSunstrom, University

Another Louisiana Tech signee, Sunstrom is coming offa strong junior campaign that landedhim on the LSWA Class 3A All-State team. The 6-foot-6 righthander finished witha7-3 record with a1.45 ERA.

SamStewart,FamilyChristian

Stewart comes off astellar junior season where he went 10-3 with a3.09 ERA. The 6-foot-2 right-hander has improved each season statistically and looks to continue trimming down his ERA.

LoganSorrel, Parkview Baptist

TheKentucky signee will be looked to as the acefor Parkview Baptist this season.The 6-foot-4 right-handed hurler went 6-2witha 1.68 ERAin2025. He totaled 59 strikeoutsacross 412/3 innings in his junior year

Adrian Olivier, Walker

Olivier was apart of aWalker baseball team that featured six seniors signing to play college baseball. The Nunez Community College signeeisone of the top pitchers on theWildcats. The 6-foot right-hander will be leaned on for adeep run in the postseason.

Eunice at Catholic-PC, 7p.m.

at SouthernLab, 6p.m.

Friday’s games

St. John at at Dunham, 5p.m. Walker at Dutchtown,5:30 p.m.

St. Joseph satScotlandville,5:30 p.m.

Woodlawn at Zachary,5:30 p.m.

Liberty at Central, 6p.m. Prairieville at Denham Springs,6p.m. University High at Port Allen,6 p.m. Avoyelles Public at East Feliciana, 6p.m.

False River at Catholic-PC, 6p.m.

Archbishop Chapelle at Glen Oaks,6p.m.

Lutcher at A.J. Ellender, 6p.m. BelaireatBroadmoor, 6p.m.

Brusly at McKinley,6p.m. West Feliciana at Istrouma, 6p.m.

Plaquemine at Tara,6p.m.

St. James at Berwick, 5:30 p.m. Donaldsonville at Patterson, 6:30 p.m. Parkview Baptist at Madison Prep, 6p.m.

St. Joseph’s-Plaucheville at Central Private, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday’s game

Walker at Dutchtown,5:30 p.m. Boys basketball

Tuesday’s scores Ascension Episcopal 51, Vermilion Catholic 42 Covington 91, Newman 68 East Feliciana 41, Helix Academy39 East Feliciana 41, Helix Academy39

University 52, St. James 41 East Ascension63, St. Amant 45 Plaquemine 65, St. Michael 49 Opelousas 44, Livonia

SCORING: WHS: Caleb Brandon 20, Tristan

-60

Brown12, Kingston Jarrell 11, Harlem Turner 8, LeoClark 7; SHS: JadenSimmons 21, Joe Tate 14, JK Whitfield 12, Braylen Parker 9, Tory Fleming2,Jaden Bibbins 2 3-POINT GOALS: Woodlawn: 3(Brown2 Clark); Scotlandville: 7(Simmons 4, Tate 2, Parker) RECORDS: Woodlawn 15-13,Scotlandville 14-15 Wednesday’s games Catholic-BRatCentral, 5p.m. Brusly at West Feliciana, 5p.m. Ascension Episcopal at Dunham, 5p.m. GEONext at Madison Prep, 5p.m.

LiveOak at St. Helena College,5 p.m. Istrouma at Broadmoor,5:30 p.m. Walker at Donaldsonville,5:30 p.m. New Orleans Military and Maritime at Ascension Catholic,6 p.m. Collegiate Baton Rouge at Abramson, 7p.m. IndependenceatThriveAcademy, 7p.m. Thursday’s games St. Martin’s Episcopal at Prairieville, 5p.m. Port Barre at Catholic-PC,6p.m.

Northeast at Southern Lab, 6p.m.

Baker at Catholic-PC, 6p.m.

Slaughter Charter at GEONext, 6:30 p.m.

Doyle at Jewel Sumner, 7p.m.

AlbanyatSpringfield, 7:15 p.m.

BY JACKSON REYES Staff writer

Catholic baseball enters the season fresh offtwo straight state titles, but coach Brad Bass said his team is focused on fun.

For Bass, he considers fun more than just aword; it’sanacronym that applies to his team each season.

“Forget unrealistic narratives,” Bass said. “Legacies arereally cool. Buteach year,you start at ground zero. We’ve put our expectations on just having fun.”

The Bearsfinished last season with a37-5 record and asweep of Brother Martin to capture consecutive DivisionI state titles. Thepath to athird straight state title is long, but Bass is focused on seeing histeamgroweach day.

He’salreadyexcited by the hunger shown by his players, especially from guys whowill be expected to step into bigger roles this season.

“There’ll be alot of newfaces out there,” Bass said.“It’s their turn to shine.I’m just really excited about the grit and the tenacity of this team.”

He added that the key to the team finding its identity will be an emphasis on mentality

“I thinkit’llshowupmore between the ears,” Bass said. “When it does that, it’ll start to show up between thelines.”

While newfaces will popup around the field, acore group of seniors will anchor theBears.

Pitchers Lucas Lawrence and Mills Richardson lead arotation that Bass sees as astrength. Lawrence, an Ole Miss signee, finished last year with a9-2 recordwitha1.20 ERA. He struck out53battersacross64.1innings Richardson went 8-1 with a2.68 ERA last season.

“What we’re seeing out of our pitching stafftothispoint is something that’sreally optimistic,” Bass said. “If we continue to pound the strike zone, Ithink pitchingisgoing to be the strong

LSU

Continued from page1C

LSU didn’tplay adifficult nonconference schedule. It did beatNo. 11 Duke on the road in December,but according to WarrenNolan.com, 275 teams hadanoverall tougher prelude to league play thancoachKim Mulkey’sTigers.

Still, LSU has won four of the seven games it’s played against teams ranked in the latest edition of the AP Top25Poll, and it will face three more of those opponents before the regularseason ends March 1. As of Monday, only 11 teams have moreQuad 1wins.

The Tigers also could wind up breakingthe DivisionI total points record,thoughthey’d probably have to reach both the SECTournament title game and theFinal Four to do so.

Iowa set that one when it tallied 3,548 points across 39 games in 2023-24 (91 ppg).

LSUwill enter its clash with No. 3South Carolina on Saturday (7:30 p.m., ABC) with 2,415 points. If the Tigers play 14 more games, includingthe showdown with the Gamecocks, then they’d need to average only 80.9 ppg in those matchups to break the record.

LSU’spursuit of those recordsillustrates the fact that it’s

SCHEINUK

STAFFFILE PHOTOByHILARy

Catholic coach Brad Bassgives the infielders someground ball practice before agame against Central on April15, 2024, in Central.

suit of this team.” Seniors Harrison Kidder and Hayes Segar also provide strong leadership. Kidder hit .324 with 32 RBIsin42games last season.

“Itstarts at the top,” Bass said. “The goal is to have aplayer-led team, and with those guys driving the bus, you have as good of a chance as anybody.”

Lawrence said he is lookingforward to his final season of high school baseball.

“It’ssofun,”hesaid. “Getting to go out there and dominate with someofmybest friends. Me and Mills have knowneach other our whole lives. One-twopunch.

“Pitching, it’sbeen electric these past couple of scrimmages. We’reingood shape to have a very successful season.”

The pair of pitchersalso have been asked to help younger players in practice and games.

“Now thatI’m asenior,it’s crazy to be here,” Richardson, a Southeastern commitment, said. “I want everything forthose little guys. Trying to get it to them all this year.”

With postseason play still months away,the duo knows the present focus is building ateam identity.They also know what loomsinMay

“We’ve got an opportunity to do something that’snever happened before,” Lawrence said. “Go get three in arow.”

“That last game,” Richardson said, “state championship.”

enjoying its best offensive season since Mulkey’stenure began in 2021.

The numbers look impressive no matter howthey are sliced According to Her Hoop Stats, the Tigers arescoring108.3 points per 100 possessionsinSEC play, which would be theirhighest rate of the last fiveyears.

LSUhas scored at that high of aclip even though its top bucketgetter,star junior Mikaylah Williams, is notching only 13.9 ppg in league play.Four Tigers are scoringmorethan10ppg,and eight are scoring morethan fiveppg. That balanced scoring helped LSUsplit its home-and-home series withNo. 4Texas. That’s oneofthe keyreasonswhy it’s entrenched as an NCAA TournamentNo. 2seed in mostbracket projections ahead of the last five games of the regular season.

The Tigersstill can pushfor their first No.1 seed since2006, butthey’llneed to first knock off SouthCarolinaonSaturdaytopreservewhat’s left of thosehopes The Gamecocks have beaten LSU 17 straight times. Five of those wins have comesinceMulkey moved to Baton Rouge.

4-7 0-0 8, Jones 3-11 0-2 8, Murphy III 8-15 0-1 21, Matkovic 4-6 2-2 12, Peavy 0-0 0-0 0, Missi 3-3 1-3 7, Fears 8-14 2-2 20, Hawkins 2-3 0-0 6, McGowens 3-7 0-0 8. Totals 47-87 10-16 120. Sacramento 26 20 21 27 — 94 New Orleans 31 30 31 28 120 3-Point Goals—Sacramento 4-31 (McDermott 1-4, Clifford 1-6, Westbrook 1-6, Plowden 1-7, Eubanks 0-1, Raynaud 0-1, DeRozan 0-2, Carter 0-4), New Orleans 16-39 (Murphy III 5-11, Hawkins 2-3, Matkovic 2-3, McGowens 2-3, Fears 2-4, Jones 2-9, Bey 1-5, Queen 0-1) Fouled Out—None. Rebounds Sacramento 50 (Raynaud 19), New Orleans 39 (Matkovic 9). Assists—Sacramento 19 (Clifford 6) New Orleans 30 (Murphy III 7). Total Fouls Sacramento 13, New Orleans 18 A—16,633 (16,867) College softball Wednesday’s game Louisiana Tech at Southeastern, 5 p.m.

Daria Kasatkina,

Mertens (16), Belgium, 6-4, 6-0. Ann Li, United States, def. Magdalena Frech, Poland, 6-3, 6-4. Maria Sakkari, Greece, def. Jasmine Paolini (6), Italy, 6-4, 6-2. Jelena Ostapenko, Latvia, def. Ekaterina Alexandrova (8), Russia, 6-4, 6-2. Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Italy, def. Coco Gauff (4), United States, 6-4, 6-2. Victoria Mboko (10), Canada, def. Vera Zvonareva, Russia, 6-4, 6-4. Varvara Gracheva, Russia, def. Linda Noskova (9), Czechia, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5. Elina Svitolina (7), Ukraine, def. Dayana Yastremska, Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4. Iga Swiatek (1), Poland, def. Janice Tjen, Indonesia, 6-0, 6-3. Karolina Muchova (14), Czechia, def. Tereza Valentova, Czechia, 6-1, 6-4. Camila Osorio, Colombia, def. Katerina Siniakova, Czechia, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Elena Rybakina (2), Kazakhstan, def. Wang Xinyu, China, 6-2, 6-4. Zheng Qinwen, China, def. Alycia Parks, United States, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2. Anna Kalinskaya, Russia, def. Emma Navarro (12), United States, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. ATP World Tour Dallas Open

Tuesday At Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, Dallas Purse: $2,833,335 Surface: Hardcourt indoor Men’s Singles Round of 32 Marin Cilic, Croatia, def. Learner Tien (6), United States, 7-5, 7-6 (4). Miomir Kecmanovic, Serbia, def. Sho Shimabukuro, Japan, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (3). Alex Michelsen, United States, def.

LIVING

Lauren Cheramie BONVIVANT

Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras specials on themenu

Bon vi·vant /noun/ asociable personwho has cultivatedand refined tastes, especially with respect to food and drink

Newfood on theblock

The February po-boy of the month at Jed’sLocal,672 Jefferson Highway,Baton Rouge, is here! The shrimp BLTpo-boyis made withGulf shrimp, candied bacon, fresh romaine, tomatoes and alemony mayonnaiseon French bread for $17.99. For every order of the poboy,Jed’swill donate money to Companion Animal Alliance, the only open-intake animal shelter in East Baton Rouge Parish that cares for more than 9,000 animals each year

Trythe Carnival menu at RubySlipper,3535 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, through Feb.24. The menu features king cake beignets, stuffed French toast and “Krewe-Berry Margarita.”

PROVIDED PHOTO

Trythe Carnivalmenu at Ruby Slipper,3535 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, through Feb. 24.

Rock-n-Sake,3043 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, released its February roll of the month for Tuesdays: The “Spice is Right” roll is made with tempura shrimp, avocado and asparagus inside, topped with spicy tuna, jalapeño, sesame-chili oil, togarashi, wasabi mayonnaise, eel sauce, purplepickled onions and toasted rice tobiko balls. Dine in to get your choice of aBasilisk Biteroll or tiger roll for $6 when you purchase any regular-priced roll. In theknow

Bin 77,10111 Perkins Rowe, Baton Rouge, has anew chef, Eric Sibley,who will also lead theirnew sister restaurant Southdowns Grille (previously Solera). Sibley also had astint at L’Auberge, where he was chefdecuisine at 18 Steak. Valentine’sDay specials

Select Walk-On’sSports Bistreaux locations are offering bothGalentines and Valentines adinner special:buy any two entrees and receive afree dessert,like the doughnut bread puddingor beignets. Through Feb. 15, Sullivan’s Steakhouse,5252 Corporate Blvd.,Baton Rouge, is offering alineup of features for the holiday: n Valentine’sDay Tomahawk Trio forTwo: aseared 32-ounce AustralianWagyu tomahawk ribeye paired with two North Atlantic cold water lobster tails and abottleofGruet Brut sparkling wine ($199) n Surf and Turf: apairing of 6-ounce filet mignon and 6-ounce North Atlantic cold water lobster tail ($89) n Love Bug: ablend of

ROMANCEIS IN THEAIR

Valentine’sDay date could get.

in Baton Rouge

BYMADDIE SCOTT Staff writer

Valentine’sDay is one of the best days to practice theart of picnicking.

Picnics are flexible, and that’s whatmakes them beautiful. Sure, agreat picnic may include agingham blanket, basket, cheese and wine.But agreat picnic could also be abeach towel, speaker and Trader Joe’ssnacks, or it could be sitting on abench with takeout.

We’ve made alistofscenic spotsinBaton Rouge that create acharming atmosphere for ameal with your valentine. Feel free to mixand match the pairings for endless possibilities.

UmamiJapaneseBistroat

City-BrooksCommunity Park

Candles, awhite tablecloth and afancy dinneraren’t what always make Valentine’sDay special. The winding oak trees and rolling hills of City-Brooks Community Park make for astunning scene. Grab some sushi from Umami,and that’s alovely date right there. The menu hasspecialty rolls, and the Love at First Bite Roll is par-

ticularlyfitting for the day,made with yellowtail, scallions, fried shallot,cucumber and topped with tuna, avocado, passionsauce and microgreens.

City-Brooks Community Park is open daily from 7a.m. to 6p.m., so adaytime visit works best for this spot.

LasagnafromNino’s at theHilltop Arboretum

Acombination of Italian food over asunset is as romantic as a

Open every day from dawnto dusk, the Hilltop Arboretum features 14 acres of scenic views and greenery.Sit next to the pond, stroll through the meadow or admire the wildflowers.

Nino’swas recognized as the newspaper’s2025 Restaurant of the Year,and the lasagna is agreat pick, enough to warm the heart and soul.

Stroube’satthe CapitolGardens

Another beautiful spot in Baton Rouge is the Capitol Gardens, open daily from 8a.m. to 9p.m. Stroube’s is also located downtown, so picking up the food shouldn’tbe ahassle.

The Stroube’smenu includes Southern cuisinelikehand-cut steak, seafood, soups and salads. Be sure to bring sturdy cutlery if steak is the route you choose. Lean into the elevated, romantic energy andpack apicnic blanket, basket and bottle of wine.

This is also the site of the tallest state capitol building in the country at 350 feet.Ifyou catch it before it closes at 4p.m., the

about returning just for this appetizer Looking for apizza with almost everything on it (can’tstand anchovies), we went for the 16-inch pie called The Primo …and it was. The crust was thin but not overly crunchy like some tend to be, and covered with fresh mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, banana peppers, roasted red pepper,Italian sausage and pepperoni. Every bite was the perfect melding of all the fresh flavors, with the red pepper offering a little kick, which set it apart from the rest. The sauce was robust but not sweet All in all, primo.

—Judy Bergeron, Assistant features editor

Coffee, sweet treat

n Scooter’sCoffee, 2492 W. Congress St., Lafayette

As areporter,Ilive on coffee and news tips. When I’m driving around town between interviews,Ilove making astop at Scooter’s Coffee.

Every drink I’ve ordered at Scooter’shas been delicious, and Ilove the limitedtime menu items. This time, Iordered the iced salted caramel waffle latte, amix of brown butter and salted caramel flavors topped with whipped cream and alittle waffle piece. The treats at Scooter’salways hit the spot. Iordered ared velvet cake ball, which was moist and flavorful and the perfect size to not ruin my appetitefor whatever meal comes next. Both cost me about $10.

—Ashley White, education reporter Kolaches andcoffee

n Town’s Donuts &Breakfast, 16565 George O’Neal Road, Baton Rouge

Iwas reporting on a closed restaurant one morning and felt my stomach grumble. Ilook to my

left and see alittle orange building, bearing atitle that was exactly what Isought.

Town’sDonuts &Breakfast is mainly alocal chain, with seven locationsinthe Baton Rougearea, onein Covingtonand one north of Independence. This is agreat, quick breakfast spot if you want to keepthe billlow.The priceshereare affordable,

ahearty kolache running afew bucks each. Iordered thejalapeño kolache ($3.28), which was spicy, hot and delicious. Ialso ordered the smoked brisket kolache ($4.21) because it sounded intriguing, and it was solid for theprice. Iwashed it down with acup of coffee ($2.49) —Maddie Scott, features writer

Dear Heloise: Maybe you can help me. Iinfer from reading your columnthat you have an affinity for pets. This leads me to askyou what may be an unanswerable question.I’m awidowed nonagenarian who yearns for acuddly comfort. Although she’sbeen deceased for nearly seven years, I still feel so attached tomy wife of 63 years that Idon’t want anew romance. ButI love dogs. I’d love to have aminiature Goldendoodle to snuggle up next to me. I would enjoy the companionship and having aloving, nurturing, living being beside me.

ditionally prohibitive for walking outdoors. Ilive in asenior living apartment, so Idon’thave a fenced-in yard. I’manold, retired pastor who doesn’tfeel like he can afford to hire someone to walk the dog. So, is there asolution forme? Or should Igive up the dream?Thank you. You bless alot of lives. —J.Keith C., via email J., it seemsthat at this stage of life, adog is not really the answer.They have vet bills, need to be walked, and need to have acaretaker if you are not there to take care of them.They also need to be bathed and groomed.

night. Another reader said she uses along pillow that is almost as long as she is so that she can wrap herself around the pillow Readers, do any of you know of asolution that works foryou or someone else you know?Write

The problem is that in my old age, Ihave a heart issue that makes it impossible for me to take it for walks. Our winter and stormy times are ad-

However,one of my readers told me that she sleeps with afairly largesized teddy bear so that she can cuddle with it at

CanIshare leftoversthat some people can’teat?

Dear Miss Manners: Iwork at asmall, familyowned business where afew employees have dietary restrictions, some by choice and some by medical necessity Ilove to cook and bake at home, and since it is just myself and my partner, Ioften have extra portions. Is it rude to bring food to share at the workplace that doesn’tmeet the restrictions of ALL employees? For example, Irecently made adelicious apple crisp and had alarge amount left over the next day.But it was neither gluten-free nor vegan, so Ihesitated to bring the extra to work to share —even though the majority of employees would have enjoyed it. Gentle reader: It would be rude to provide ameal that did not have some options that all your guests could eat. But that is not the situation you describe. No one is relying on —or even expecting —apple crisp in the break room. What you propose would not, therefore, be rude. As long as your offerings are clearly labeled, your colleagues can make their own

By The Associated Press

Judith Martin MISS MANNERS

decisions aboutwhether to indulge. Still, MissManners cannot reassure youthat such technical adherence to the law will shield you from therighteous fury of the unfed Dear Miss Manners: I hadlunch with aperson Iconsider to be aVery Good Friend. This is someone Isee afew times each month andwith whom Ihavetraveled

My friend was excited about anew gourmet group they were forming— a rotating dinner party. I told my friend that theidea seemed fun and that Iwas interested.

The next time we met up, my friendraisedthe subject of the group once again.I was shocked and upset whenI was told,in aroundaboutway,thatI would not beincluded.My friendsaid,“Iamgoing to be very selective aboutwho Iinclude because there are some people who seem to think ‘themore, themerrier,’ andwejust can’t have that. The time you asked me to include your mother at Easter,mytable was at its max capacity.”

Iwas shocked. That request was made 10 years

ago and was cheerfully accommodated. Iwould have stayedhome with Mother had Ibeen rebuffed.Tohave this held as atrespass on my part is very upsetting. Inolonger wish to be considered for this “elite” group. Do Ihave achoice, other than complaining or abandoning the friendship?

Gentlereader: Youdohave achoice, but it’s not atasty one. Your Very Rude Friend is expecting that you will promise not to transgress again, after which you will be issued an invitation to thenew group. If you understandably do not wish to eat crow as aprecursor to moregourmet delicacies, you should abandon hope of entry into the new group, abandon the friendship, or both.

Although she generally agrees that guests are not supposed to asktobring additional guests, Miss Manners notes that an advance discussion about amother at an Easter dinner might have been raised in an inoffensive way —and that 10 years is along time to hold agrudge.

Send questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com.

VALENTINE’S

Continued from page1D

floor’sobservation deckis an elevator ride away.Overlook the city with your date and feel on top of the world.

Mansur’s at theLSU Quad

Between the stone buildings, greenery,azaleas and magnolia trees, the LSU Quad embodies Southern beauty.Soak in the sunlight during the daytime bustle or feed into anighttime romance vibe under the soft glow of the lights

If you’re looking for something fun, there’satwo-seat swing setinthe artquad, right behind Atkinson Hall. Mansur’sonthe Boulevard, 5720Corporate Blvd., opened in 1989 andserves Creole cuisine like steak, lobster, soups, saladsand desserts, including mixed berry cheesecake andbread pudding.

RedZeppelin Pizza at theRiverwalk

Stroll with apizza slice andasweetheartalong the river,ortakeaseat at a benchand watch theboats pass by.The Spanish Town Parade rolls Feb. 14 around noon, so theevening is best for this date. There’snoclosing time at the Riverwalk, meaning the whole night is open for this rendezvous. Red Zeppelin Pizza, 4395 Perkins Road,serves pizzas, calzones, appetizers, salads, po-boys and desserts. At the Riverwalk, it maybewindy and wintry next to theriver, so be sure to bundle up to have your Hallmark movie moment.

Today is Wednesday, Feb.11, the 42nd day of 2026. There are 323 days left in the year

Todayinhistory: On Feb.11, 1990, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was freed after 27 years in prison. (Mandela would be elected president of South Africa four years later.)

Also on this date:

In 1847, American inventor Thomas AlvaEdison was born in Milan, Ohio.

In 1937, asix-week-old sit-down strike against General Motors ended, with the company agreeing to recognize and negotiate with the United Auto Workers union.

In 1945, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement, in which

Stalin agreed to declare waragainst Imperial Japan following Nazi Germany’s capitulation.

In 1975, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’sopposition Conservative Party,aprelude to her eventual rise to primeminister in 1979.

In 1990, in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history,underdog Buster Douglas knocked out the previously undefeated heavyweight champion Mike Tyson at Japan’sTokyo Dome

In 2012, on the eve of the Grammy Awards, superstar singer Whitney Houston wasfound dead after she drowned in ahotel room bathtub in Beverly Hills, California; she was 48. The official coroner’s report listed heart disease and cocaine as contributing factors in her death.

In 2013, during aroutine morning meeting of

Vatican cardinals, Pope Benedict XVIannounced he would resign as pope effective Feb. 28; it was the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years. In 2020, the World Health Organization gave the

ficial nameofCOVID-19 to the disease caused by the coronavirus that had emerged in China and was unleashing aworldwide pandemic. Today’sbirthdays:

Unemployed reader strugglestokeephope

Dear Harriette: Iam40years old, and Ihaven’tbeen able to find ajob in ayear.Ihave had to move back in with my parents, and it’s beenadifficult time. Iusedtowork for agood company; I had agreat career, and Iwas doing well financially.Igot laid off at the beginning of last year,and I haven’thad any luck in finding anew role. I’ve been applying everywhere, and I’ve even made it to multiple final rounds, but they have never ended up choosing me. Each rejection feels more personalthan the last, and it’sstarting to wear down my confidence. Iwonder if my age is working against me or if something is wrong with me that employers aren’tsaying out loud. Living with my parents again has only added to the

shame Ialready feel, and Ifind myselfcomparing where Iamnow to where I thought I’d be at this stage in my life. I’m trying to stay hopeful,but some daysit’shard just to keepapplying when thedisappointment feelsendless. How do Icopewith the emotional toll of long-term unemployment,and how do Irebuild my confidence whenitfeels like everything Iworked forhas slipped away? —Out of Work Dear Out of Work: Toomany peopleechoyourexperience rightnow.That means youare notalone. There are many peoplewho are unemployed orunderemployed. What can you do? Look beyond your areaofexpertise. What elsecan you do?Think about everyskill youhave —includinglabor

Youmay need to workin an area that is completely different for you, or maybe somethingyou did years ago. Get creative. Remember that as hard as this period of unemploymentis, it is probably not because of somethingyou did wrong. The economyis tough right now.Begrateful that your parents can allow you to livewith them Somepeople don’thave that. Do your best to stay positive. Findlittle things to be grateful for Dear Harriette: Iwas at aparty with awoman Iwent to high school withbut haven’t seen in years. She spent mostofthe evening telling everybody who would listen embarrassing stories about me as ateenager.Iwas so mad.Wewere not friends back then, but we weren’t enemies either.Why would she choose toactively makemeuncomfortable?

We were at aparty with a lot of people Iknow and a couple of mutual acquaintances. Now all of these people thinkdifferently about me because she told them about me during my mostawkward days. How do Isurvive this?Ifeel like Idon’twant to go around them anymore. —Backlash Dear Backlash: Most people have uncomfortable stories of their youth. Don’tbecome attached to whatever she said. If someonebrings up one of her stories, laugh it off by saying, “High school years can be awkward.”Ifyou don’tmake a big deal out of it,chances are, nobody else will either Send questions to askharriette@ harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

SmirnoffRaspberry vodka,

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Your energy requires direction. Once you grasp what's most important to you, nothing will stop you from reaching your objective. Don't stop when the sky's the limit.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Look, assess and follow through, and the returns will far exceed the stress. The personal growth you gain will take you far beyond your expectations.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Put your energy where it will do some good and be uplifting for you and the people you help. Volunteering your time or services will change how you feel about and manage your finances.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Discipline will help eliminate regret and failure. Pay attention to how you present yourself to others mentally, physically and emotionally. It's essential that you are true to yourself and to those you care about.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Proceed with caution. Your words and actions will have an impact on those on the receiving end. Be kind, not cutting, and you'll gain respect and the support you need to reach your objective.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Pay attention to your needs. Learn from past mistakes; avoid being neglectful of symptoms you shouldn't ignore. Self-improvement will boost your confidence and reputation.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Put more energy into relationships that complement

your attributes and encourage you to do your best. Refuse to let the changes going on around you upset your plans or discourage you from sharing your beliefs.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Unusual people, places and pastimes will attract your attention. Embrace what and who comes your way with an open heart, eyes and ears. What you discover will broaden your awareness and purpose.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Let your imagination lead the way. It's up to you to take the initiative and turn your dream into a reality. Seize the moment, act on instinct and trust your gut.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) You will experience big setbacks if you let anger get in the way of your talent, charm and ability to put your magic to work for you. Stop talking and start moving forward.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Set a plan and budget in place and move forward with vigor. Time is precious, and if you channel it correctly, what you end up with will exceed your expectations.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Be direct, ask questions and bypass anyone who cannot give you a straight answer. Put your plan in place and trust your instincts, knowledge and experience to carry you forward.

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

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. Theobject is to place the numbers 1to9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. Thedifficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

Bridge

By PHILLIP ALDER

When an average golfer gets abirdie (one under par),itisanticipated that he willmakeamessofthenexthole.Butnot apro. However, what do you think is the worst score by apro immediately after making aholeinone?

In golf, you try to place your ball well foryour next shot.This also applies in bridge. Are your cards meshing well or badly with partner’s hand?

Look only at the North hand. South opens one heart, North raises to two hearts, and South rebids twospades. What shouldNorth do now?

Beforeyouanswerthatquestion,what does South’s two-spade rebid show?

Itindicatesahandtoostrongtopassout two hearts, but tooweak to jump to four hearts. He is showing four spades and ahand with six losers(here, one spade, oneheart,threediamondsandoneclub).

Southisasking North to look in particular at hisholdings in the majors.

North has auseful spade queen, four trumps (a nine-card fit is much better than an eight-carder) and an ace. Yes, he has only seven high-card points and 4-3-3-3 distribution, but since his hand has those threepluses, he should jump to four hearts.

Agreed, on abad day, declarer will lose three diamonds and one heart, but the odds make thisgame worth bidding, and it succeeds here.

AfewyearsagoinAustralia,ataEuropean tour event (yes,inAustralia), one golferhadaholeinone.Onthenexthole, apar four withnowater, he had an 11. ©2026 by NEA,Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

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

Previous answers:

word game

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

toDAy’s WoRD IGnoMInIous: ig-nuh-MIN-ee-us: Deserving of shame; despicable.

Average mark22words

Timelimit 45 minutes Can you find 31 or morewords in IGNOMINIOUS?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —BoutIQuEs

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