As President Donald Trump’s administration considers slashing federal funding, and as Louisiana waits to see if voters will approve a constitutional amendment to rewrite the tax code, uncertainty clouds the state’s financial situa-
tion as it prepares its budget for the next fiscal year
“We normally know how much we have to spend right now and we don’t, and we won’t until May, said Taylor Barras, the commissioner of administration and Gov Jeff Landry’s top budget official.
Though it’s normal for the state’s revenue forecast to change through the spring, the added wild
cards could spell a tumultuous regular session for legislators, who must set the state budget by June. But for now Landry’s administration has proposed what it calls a “standstill” budget, keeping state spending as close to last year’s levels as possible. Total spending including state and federal funds — would hover around $45 billion, decreasing by about 1%.
State spending would decrease from about $23.3 billion to about $22.2 billion, according to official estimates.
In a video address released this week, Landry said the budget “continues the trend of decreasing the overall amount of money we spend” and is “a tremendous step forward for fiscal responsibility.”
The proposal does not mean agencies across the board would have the same amount of money to spend as last year Instead, some
agencies would see budget reductions, while others would see budget increases.
The state has only so much discretion in determining how to use what’s in its coffers. By law, it must fund certain obligations, such as contractual payments
Trump eyes cuts to staff in disaster recovery
Louisiana likely to see fallout in future funding
BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer
by
by
Since 2021, Louisiana
aftermath
ä See DISASTER, page 7A
Service aims to treat conditions at home
BY ALENA MASCHKE Staff writer
Acadian Health, a division of Acadian Companies that provides home-based health services, is launching a pilot program designed to keep patients out of hospital emergency departments if their condition can be treated in a home environment. Approximately 20% of the state’s Medicaid patients visit local emergency rooms on average 17 times per year, making them “super-utilizers” in the Louisiana Department of Health’s lingo, often for non-life-threatening situations or due to social factors, such as a lack of transportation, according to recent data gathered by the Health Department’s Bureau of Health Services Financing
“We took a close look at emergency room use by ‘super-utilizers’ over a oneyear period and found opportunities to meet patient needs more effectively,” said Health Secretary Michael Harrington. “Through this project, we will increase access and simplify care delivery while helping hospital emergency
Acadian Health
patients, said Acadian Health Director
rooms to remain highly
exible and accessible.”
Many patients are “excessively using the ER, almost as a primary care clinic,” said Acadian Health Director of Business Development Rob
billion through the federal long-term disaster recovery program to help residents in the
Boat capsizes in Congo, killing 22
KINSHASA Congo A boat carrying people fleeing the ongoing rebel advance in eastern Congo has capsized, killing 22 people, authorities said Thursday
The boat was carrying people from Vitshumbi on the southern shore of Lake Edward towards Virunga National Park on the northern side of the lake when it capsized late Wednesday, said Delphin Malekani, the president of the local civil society in Kyavinonge.
The majority of victims were people fleeing the ongoing advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. Authorities didn’t immediately say what caused the boat to capsize. There were eight survivors, officials said.
M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s mineral wealth. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts, and at times have vowed to march as far as Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, more than 1,000 miles away
This week, the rebels seized another provincial capital in Goma’s south, Bukavu, near Burundi. The region is rich in gold and coltan, a key mineral for the production of capacitors used in most consumer electronics such as laptops and smartphones.
Court drops charges for 3 in singer’s death
BUENOS AIRES Argentina A court in Argentina dropped charges of criminal negligence against three of the five people indicted in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last October according to a ruling obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday In its decision issued Wednesday, the Argentine federal appeals court ordered the other two defendants in the case to remain in custody They are facing prosecution on charges that they supplied the famed British boyband star with narcotics.
The ruling drops charges against three key defendants: Rogelio Nores, an Argentine businessman with U.S. citizenship who had accompanied Payne during his trip in Buenos Aires; Gilda Martin, the manager of the CasaSur Hotel in the trendy neighborhood of Palermo where Payne died on Oct 16; and Esteban Grassi, the hotel’s main receptionist.
The charge of negligent homicide carries a sentence of one to five years in prison in Argentina.
A toxicology report from tests taken after an autopsy revealed that Payne, 31, had alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he fell from the balcony Prosecutors argued that Nores had failed to comply with his duties of care by leaving Payne alone while inebriated. The court sided with defense attorneys who contended that Nores had no legal, moral or social duty to care for Payne. He also was outside the hotel at the time of his friend’s death.
Teens arrested in Czech stabbing deaths
PRAGUE An assailant attacked and killed two women with a knife Thursday at a shopping center in the Czech Republic, officials said, and a Czech teenager later was arrested for the crime.
A motive was not immediately known for the attack in the city of Hradec Kralove, some 60 miles east of Prague. Police said on X there was no indication of a “terror attack,” and that the attacker apparently chose victims at random.
The victims were not immediately identified. Reports initially said they had been injured, one of them seriously, but police later confirmed that both died.
Police detained a 16-year-old Czech national less than a mile from the scene, shortly after the attack. A knife was found nearby
Prime Minister Petr Fiala offered his condolences to relatives of the dead. “What has happened in Hradec Kralove today is an absolutely incomprehensible and horrible act,” he posted on X.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG
No injuries reported in Israeli bus explosions
Authorities suspect militant attack
BY JOSEF FEDERMAN and OHAD ZWIGENBERG Associated Press
BAT YAM, Israel
A series of explosions
Thursday on three parked buses has rattled central Israel in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported
The explosions happened on a day when Israel was already grieving after Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages from Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal. The bus explosions were reminiscent of bombings during the Palestinian uprising of the 2000s, but such attacks are now rare.
Explosives were found on two other buses but did not detonate, police spokesman Asi Aharoni told Channel 13 TV Israeli police said the five bombs were identical and equipped with timers, and said bomb squads were defusing the unexploded bombs.
Investigators in white coveralls searched for evidence inside the burnedout metal shells of the buses, which blew up in a parking lot in Bat Yam, a city outside Tel Aviv
The city’s mayor, Tzvika Brot, said it was a miracle no one was hurt. The buses had been parked after finishing their routes, he said.
The head of the bus company said they immediately ordered all bus drivers to stop and conduct a “thorough inspection.” They resumed their routes once they were found to be safe, Ofir Karni said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Ne-
Vatican says pope ‘improving slightly’
BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
ROME Pope Francis’ overall clinical condition is “improving slightly” and his heart is working well as he battles pneumonia, the Vatican said Thursday, as some of his cardinals cheered him on and insisted that the Catholic Church was very much alive and well even in his absence.
In a late update, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis has no fever and that his key heart parameters “continue to be stable.”
The 88-year-old pope was admitted to the hospital on Feb. 14 after a case of bronchitis worsened; doctors later diagnosed the onset of pneumonia in both lungs on top of asthmatic bronchitis and prescribed “absolute rest.”
“If you really want him to rest, you have to hospitalize him,” quipped Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, the archbishop of Marseille, France, referring to Francis’ work ethic.
Aveline was speaking at a Vatican news conference about a Mediterranean youth peace initiative alongside his counterpart from Barcelona, Cardinal Juan Josè Omella. But given the limited amount of information about Francis’ condition, they were peppered with questions about the pope’s health and whether he might decide to resign if he doesn’t recover fully
“Everything is possible,” Aveline said.
tanyahu’s office said he was receiving updates from his military secretary and following the events. The Shin Bet internal security agency was taking over the investigation, police said.
“We need to determine if a single suspect placed explosives on a number of buses, or if there were multiple suspects,” police spokesman Haim Sargrof told Israeli TV Sargrof said the explosives used Thursday matched explosives used in the West Bank, but he declined to elaborate.
Israel’s military has repeatedly carried out raids on suspected Palestinian militants in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack sparked the devastating war in Gaza. As part of that crackdown, Israel has greatly restricted entry into Israel for Palestinians from the occupied territory
A group identifying itself as a branch of Hamas’ military wing the Qassam Brigades, from the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem, posted on the messaging app Telegram: “We will never forget to take vengeance for our martyrs as long as the occupation is on our lands.”
The group did not appear to claim responsibility for the attack.
Tulkarem and two refugee camps in the city have been a focus of Israel’s broad military offensive in the West Bank since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on Jan. 19.
The Israeli military said early Friday it had imposed restrictions on Palestinian movement and sealed off parts of in the West Bank amid its ongoing security operations there.
Brot, the mayor of Bat Yam, urged residents to stick with their routines but also stay vigilant, telling Channel 13 TV that schools will be open Friday and public transport will be operating.
News conference with U.S. envoy, Zelenskyy canceled
BY JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine A news conference that was planned to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was canceled Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the almost threeyear war with Russia.
The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity where the two posed for journalists. They did not deliver statements or field questions as expected. The change was requested by the U.S. side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.
Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv coincided with recent feuding between Trump and Zelenskyy that has bruised their personal relations and cast further doubt on the future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort.
Dozens of journalists gathered at Ukraine’s presidential office in Kyiv after being invited to take photos and observe a news conference with Zelenskyy and Kellogg As the meeting began, photographers and video journalists were allowed into a room where the two men shook hands before sitting across from each other at a table.
Journalists were then informed that there would be no news conference with remarks by the leaders or questions from reporters.
Nikiforov gave no reason for the sudden change except to say that it was in accordance with U.S. wishes.
The U.S. delegation made no comment. The White House did not respond to questions about why the news conference was called off.
The two men were due to speak about Trump’s efforts to end the war Zelenskyy had previously said he
looked forward to explaining what was happening in Ukraine and showing it to Kellogg.
Kellogg, one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book laying out an “America First” national security agenda, has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues. Writing on his Telegram channel, Zelenskyy said the meeting with Kellogg was a “good conversation, lots of details.” He said they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine and the return of Ukrainian prisoners from Russian custody “We can and must make peace reliable and lasting so that Russia can never return with war again,” he wrote. “Ukraine is ready for a strong, truly beneficial agreement with the President of the United States on investments and security.”
Zelenskyy and Trump have traded rebukes in recent days.
The spat erupted after Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. With that, Trump abruptly reversed the three-year U.S. policy of isolating Russia. Zelenskyy was unhappy that a U.S. team opened the talks without inviting him or European governments that have backed Kyiv When Trump claimed Zelenskyy was deeply unpopular in Ukraine, the Ukrainian president said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space,” suggesting he had been duped by Putin.
Trump also accused Zelenskyy of being “a dictator without elections” and suggested that Ukraine was to blame for the war. Due to the fighting, Ukraine has delayed elections that were scheduled for April 2024. Zelenskyy “retains a fairly high level of public trust” in Ukraine — about 57% according to a report released Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology
Regardless, Omella insisted that the life of the church continued even with Francis in the hospital.
“Popes change, we bishops change, priests in parishes change, communities change. But the train continues being on the move,” Omella said.
Another cardinal, Gianfranco Ravasi, had commented earlier in the day on the possibility of resignation when asked if Francis might decide to follow in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI and step down if he becomes too ill. Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to retire when he concluded in 2013 that he didn’t have the physical strength to carry on the rigors of the globe-trotting papacy
“There is no question that if he (Francis) was in a situation where his ability to have direct contact (with people) as he likes to do was compromised, then I think he might decide to resign,” Ravasi was quoted as telling RTL 102.5 radio.
Francis has already confirmed that shortly after being elected pontiff he wrote a resignation letter in case medical problems impeded him from carrying out his duties. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated.
An Israeli police officer inspects the scene Thursday of one of a series of bus explosions in what authorities said appeared to be a militant attack in Bat yam, central Israel.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO
People walk Wednesday in front of the main entrance of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, where the Pope Francis has been hospitalized since Feb 14.
Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages
BY MELANIE LIDMAN, MOHAMMAD JAHJOUH and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press
TEL AVIV, Israel Hamas on Thursday returned the bodies of four hostages to Israel, prompting a nationwide outpouring of grief as flag-waving crowds lined highways on a rainy day to pay respect to a convoy carrying the coffins and thousands packed a Tel Aviv square in an emotional nighttime vigil
The dead hostages included an elderly man who had been a journalist and peace activist along with three others said to be a mother and two young boys who became international symbols of the nation’s pain following the Hamas attack that triggered Israel’s war with the militant group in October 2023.
Many people wiped away tears and softly sang the national anthem as the caravan wound through southern Israel — a stark contrast to the celebratory return of 24 living hostages in recent weeks under a tenuous ceasefire that has paused over 15 months of war
The handover was a grim reminder of those who died in captivity and could provide momentum for the second stage of the ceasefire negotiations. The first phase of the month-old truce be-
tween Israel and Hamas is set to end at the beginning of March.
The remains released Thursday were presumed to include Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir — and the Israeli government confirmed that one of the bodies returned was of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted. Kfir, who was 9 months old when he was kidnapped, was the youngest captive Hamas has said that all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Lifshitz was killed in captivity by the Islamic Jihad militant group.
Militants who handed over the bodies displayed four black coffins on a stage in the Gaza Strip surrounded by banners, including one depicting Netanyahu as a vampire. On each coffin, a photo of one of the hostages was stapled to the side.
Large numbers of masked and armed militants looked on as the coffins were loaded onto Red Cross vehicles before being driven to Israeli forces The military later held a small funeral ceremony, at the request of the families, before transferring the bodies to a laboratory in Israel for formal identification using DNA.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OHAD ZWIGENBERG
Police officers salute as a convoy carrying the coffins of four Israeli hostages, including a mother and her two children, arrives Thursday at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel. The bodies were handed over by Palestinian militant groups in Gaza.
In Tel Aviv where the bodies were transported, a double rainbow unfolded across the sky just before sunset. Thousands of people gathered at the city’s Hostage Square and recited traditional mourning prayers. Some held orange balloons, in honor of the Bibas boys, and the crowd swelled after sundown as musicians performed subdued ballads, matching the nation’s grief.
“Our hearts — the hearts of an entire nation — lie in tatters,” Israeli President Isaac
Herzog said. “On behalf of the State of Israel, I bow my head and ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness for not protecting you on that terrible day Forgiveness for not bringing you home safely.”
Lifshitz’s family said after the handover that his remains had been officially identified. His son, Yizhar, told an Israeli TV station that it had brought some closure to the family He said they did not yet know the cause of death.
“On a certain level it clos-
N.Y. prison guards charged in beating death
BY MICHAEL HILL and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press
UTICA, N.Y Six New York prison guards have been indicted for second-degree murder in the beating death of an inmate who was handcuffed, while four corrections workers were charged with lesser crimes.
The beating of Robert Brooks by multiple officers at Marcy Correctional Facility in December was caught unintentionally on bodyworn cameras, triggering widespread outrage and calls for justice.
Some of the corrections officers appeared in a Utica court in handcuffs while a judge heard pleas and considered bond.
Prison guards Nicholas Anzalone, David Kingsley, Anthony Farina, Christopher Walrath and Mathew Galliher were among the people charged with second-degree murder, according to court documents. The name of the sixth person was redacted because they’ll appear in court at a different time All six were also charged with first-degree manslaughter, meaning prosecutors believe they are criminally liable for the conduct of others.
The special prosecutor, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, said Thursday that he’ll prove in court that the guards thought the body-worn cameras were off, raising concerns about a culture among guards in which a group beating of an
inmate could be carried out with an apparent “sense of normalcy.”
Robert Brooks Jr., the victim’s son, said after witnessing court proceedings that those system issues must be rooted out, and higher authorities held accountable.
“These men killed my father it was on video. The whole world got to see it. Waiting a month for these charges has been incredibly hard. But these men must be prosecuted and convicted of the crimes they made,” the younger Brooks said.
After some of the corrections officers were released, one man said, “This is not justice, judge — These people killed a Black man,” as he left the courtroom. One woman was removed after
shouting “murder, murder.”
Body-camera video shows officers pummeling Brooks, whose hands are cuffed behind his back. Officers strike him in the chest with a shoe and lift him by the neck and drop him. The video recorded on the night of Dec. 9 has no sound, but the guards meting out the punishment and watching it appear unconcerned. Brooks, 43, died the next day
An autopsy report issued by the county medical examiner’s office in January concluded that Brooks’ death was caused by compression of the neck and multiple blunt impact injuries and that the manner of death was determined to be a homicide, according to Brooks’ family attorneys.
es the small chance that we had thought about,” he said.
“It is also closure that he will be buried back on the kibbutz. It’s a difficult day.”
The four bodies were the first of eight hostages that Israel believes are dead and to be returned during the current phase of the cease-
fire.
Kfir Bibas was a redheaded infant with a toothless smile when militants stormed the family’s home on Oct. 7, 2023.
BY ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press
NEW YORK Gov Kathy Ho-
chul won’t immediately remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead push for increased oversight of City Hall as he faces intense scrutiny over his bribery case and his relationship with the Trump administration.
Hochul announced Thursday that she has, for now, decided against using her
authority to remove Adams over concerns that such a move could result in “disruption and chaos” and would ultimately be undemocratic
“New York is facing a grave threat from Washington,” she said at a news conference in Manhattan. “The Trump administration is already trying to use the legal jeopardy facing our mayor
as leverage to squeeze and punish our city.”
The decision came after she solicited opinions this week from a roster of New York political figures over questions about whether Adams could independently govern following the Justice Department’s move to drop his federal corruption case so he could help with Republican President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
Rather than remove Adams, Hochul said she plans to propose legislation that would require City Hall to
operate within new guardrails meant to “reestablish trust.”
The proposals include establishing a new deputy inspector general focused on New York City; creating a mechanism for the city’s comptroller, public advocate and council speaker to launch lawsuits against the federal government; and providing more money for the state comptroller to increase oversight of the city.
The measures, if approved, would be “subject to renewal” in the future, Hochul said.
McConnell
Her husband, Yarden Bibas, was taken separately and released this month.
Relatives in Israel have clung to hope, marking the boys’ birthdays. The Bibas family said Wednesday it would wait for “identification procedures” before acknowledging that their loved ones were dead.
A cousin of Shiri Bibas who lives in Buenos Aires, told the local Radio Con Vos station she has been reliving the trauma of the abduction. Romina Miasnik said she hoped her loved ones “can become a symbol of something new, of coexistence, of hatred no longer having a place.”
Supporters throughout Israel have worn orange — a reference to the two boys’ hair color — and a popular children’s song was written in their honor Like the Bibas family, Oded Lifshitz was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved, who was freed early in the war as an apparent humanitarian gesture.
Hamas-led militants abducted 251 hostages, including about 30 children, in the Oct. 7 attack, in which they also killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
His brother, Ariel, was 4. Video from that day showed a terrified Shiri swaddling the boys as militants led them into Gaza.
won’t seek reelection in 2026
BY BRUCE SCHREINER and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press
WASHINGTON Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell announced on Thursday that he won’t seek reelection next year ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump. McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he addressed colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor
career as a master strategist, one in which he helped forge a conservative Supreme Court and steered the Senate through tax cuts, presidential impeachment trials and fierce political fights. Yet with his powerful perch atop committees, and nearly two years remaining in his term, McConnell vowed to complete his work on several remaining fronts.
“I have some unfinished business to attend to,” he said. McConnell walked gingerly to the podium, sporting a walking boot. Senators from both sides of the political aisle seemed to listen most intently as he told themthatwhilethereareany number of reasons for pessimism, the strength of the Senate is not one of them.
“Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate,” McConnell said, as aides lined the back chamber and senators listened from seats.
“Every day in between I’ve been humbled by the trust they’ve placed in me to do their business right here.
Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last.”
His announcement begins the epilogue of a storied
“The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence,” he told them.
As he concluded, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., motioned for the audience of senators, staff and Capitol visitors be allowed to applaud, which is usually not allowed under Senate rules. McConnell, first elected in 1984, intends to serve until his term ends in January 2027. The Kentuckian has dealt with a series of medical episodes in recent years, including injuries sustained from falls and times when his face briefly froze while he was speaking.
U.K. official challenges Lavrov at G20 meet
Foreign secretary questions Russia’s ‘appetite’ for peace
BY MOGOMOTSI MAGOME, MICHELLE GUMEDE and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he saw no appetite for peace from Russia in Ukraine after listening to a speech by Russia’s top diplomat at a tense Group of 20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday
Lammy was speaking to reporters after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed other senior diplomats in a closed-door session at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg
“I have to say when I listened to what the Russians and what Lavrov have just said in the chamber this afternoon, I don’t see an appetite to really get to that peace,” Lammy said.
Lammy said Lavrov left his seat in the meeting room when it was Lammy’s turn to speak. No details of Lavrov’s speech were released.
The two-day G20 gathering on Thursday and Friday comes days after landmark bilateral talks between the United States and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Those talks sidelined Washington’s European allies and Ukraine, who weren’t involved.
U.S. President Donald Trump has further upended the West’s position by criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and falsely blaming Ukraine for the full-scale invasion by Russia. The war’s third anniversary is next week.
“At the moment, we’ve had talks effectively about talks,” Lammy said. “We’ve not got anywhere
near a negotiated settlement.”
In his own speech, which was released by the U.K. Foreign Office,
Lammy criticized Russia for what he called “Tsarist imperialism.”
“You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and their wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries,”
Lammy said, according to the transcript from the U.K. Foreign Office. “But I’m afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing.”
“I was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression. I was hoping to hear some readiness to seek a durable peace. What I heard was the
time expense.
their plan to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
In an interview, Barras said several one-time educational expenses from last year stayed in the budget
Those included high-dose tutoring and differential teacher pay.
But roughly $7 million allotted to domestic violence shelters did not make the cut, upsetting state Rep Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge.
“I certainly want to make sure that we’re not going backwards in that area,” she said during the meeting, adding that women seeking shelter do not care whether the $7 million was considered a one-
ACADIAN
Continued from page 1A
A lot of these patients simply don’t have a ride,” he pointed out
That’s why Acadian is hoping to bring care directly to them.
The pilot will focus on a cohort of 7,000 Medicaid beneficiaries in Southwest Louisiana, a majority of whom will be referred to Acadian by their managed care organization the insurance company that administers their Medicaid bene
fits
Landry wants to put $93.5 million toward his signature education initiative: a scholarship program to cover the cost of private school tuition and other approved education expenses, like tutoring and textbooks.
The amount is more than double what the state spends on its existing school voucher program, which pays for low-income students to attend private schools. The new LA GATOR scholarship program, which launches this year, will replace school vouchers and eventually will be available to all families regardless of financial need.
About half of the $93.5 million would come from phasing out the voucher program The other $50 million is a new expense.
Those patients will then be scheduled for a visit from an Acadian Health community paramedic, with follow-up visits as needed to prevent unnecessary trips to the emergency room
“If they don’t have a primary care physician, a lot of them have chronic conditions — diabetes, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure — that are left untreated,” Burnell said of the target demographic. “So what happens is those chronic conditions exacerbate.”
Almost all of Louisiana is considered a Health Professional
logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik, and I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.”
Lammy referred to Lavrov’s speech as “the Russian gentleman’s tired fabrications.”
Tensions at the meeting were underlined when a photo opportunity for the foreign ministers to pose together for pictures was canceled with no reason given.
The United Kingdom, France, Germany and the European Union have all pledged continued support for Ukraine and were expected to reinforce that position at the G20 meeting.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco
The potentially huge cost of universal scholarships was a major sticking point last year when Landry was urging wary lawmakers to establish the program. They landed on a compromise: The program would expand over time until all families were eligible, but the number of scholarships would depend on how much money the Legislature allocates.
Landry’s proposal would pay for just over 11,000 students to receive scholarships next school year Just under 6,000 of the grants would go to students who currently receive vouchers, leaving about 5,300 scholarships for everyone else. Students who attended public school this year, are entering kindergarten this fall or whose families earn up to 250% of the federal
Shortage Area, a designation that includes a lack of primary care doctors. The Cicero Institute, a conservative Austin think tank, projects that by 2030, the state will be short almost 5,000 doctors, nearly 400 of them primary care physicians, to meet the medical needs of its residents.
For those who have a primary care physician, the program offers an acute care alternative that can provide urgent care services to patients at home within an hour, after being referred by their doctor Whether the program will have a noticeable impact on emer-
Rubio, who led those talks with Lavrov in Saudi Arabia this week, was a high-profile absentee from the meeting. Rubio boycotted amid U.S. tensions with host South Africa over some of its policies, which the Trump administration has labeled anti-American. The U.S. was represented by Dana Brown, its acting ambassador to South Africa. The G20 is made up of 19 of the world’s major economies, the European Union and the African Union. Others attending the meeting in South Africa included EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and French Foreign Minister
poverty line, roughly $78,000 for a family of four, are eligible for the scholarships — a group numbering in the hundreds of thousands. However, priority will be given to current voucher recipients, children from low-income families and students with disabilities. Still, it is likely that many more families will apply than the available 5,300 scholarships for non-voucher students. Just how many will start to become clear after March 1, when the application system opens. Meanwhile, whether a $2,000 teacher pay raise included in the budget last year becomes permanent depends upon the outcome of the March 29 election, when voters will decide on Amendment 2, a complex amendment that would change the constitution.
gency departments’ workloads, which can lead to long wait times during peak hours, remains to be seen, said Zach Barnhill, director of emergency services at Our Lady of Lourdes. “I’m excited to see where this program is going to go and what it’s going to do for our area,” Barnhill said. “I think it’s going to have a positive impact on the patients it’s going to serve.”
According to Barnhill, one of the most common non-emergent conditions patients visit the emergency room for is pain, such as back pain or pain caused by a variety
Jean-Noël Barrot, who repeated France’s condemnation of Russia in an op-ed published by several media outlets.
The Russian Foreign Ministry did release details of a bilateral meeting Lavrov held with China’s Wang Afterwards, Lavrov said Russia’s relations with China “have become and remain an increasingly significant factor in stabilizing the international situation and preventing it from sliding into total confrontation,” according to a statement from the ministry
The G20 is supposed to bring developed and developing countries together to foster global cooperation. But the grouping often struggles to reach any meaningful consensus because of the disparate interests of the U.S., Europe, Russia and China. Cooperation was further undermined by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
South Africa holds the G20’s rotating presidency this year and in a speech opening the meeting, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that it was an opportunity for the G20 “to engage in serious dialogue” against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and war, climate change, pandemics and energy and food insecurity
“There is a lack of consensus among major powers, including in the G20, on how to respond to these issues,” Ramaphosa said.
Rubio’s decision to boycott and his pledge to also skip the main G20 summit in South Africa in November threatens to further undermine the G20’s effectiveness.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said that he won’t attend a G20 finance ministers meeting in South Africa next week because of commitments in Washington, which many saw as another indication of Trump’s indifference to international collaboration in favor of his “America First” policy
That amendment would fund the pay raises by paying down $2 billion in teacher retirement debt. It would also make a $1,000 raise for school support personnel permanent. The amendment goes beyond teacher pay raises. It would make it more difficult to create new tax breaks down the line, take most property tax exemptions out of the constitution and give legislators control over them and cap annual spending.
The homestead exemption and sales tax exemptions for groceries, residential utilities and prescription drugs would stay in the constitution.
Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan.friedmann@ theadvocate.com.
of chronic conditions. Patients in pain will likely be a large portion of those served by the Acadian pilot, Burnell anticipates.
“The patient doesn’t really know what’s going on until we get there,” he said. Should the source of the pain require treatment in a hospital, paramedics can still call an ambulance, but, according to Burnell, that is rare — only roughly 5% of patients, he estimates, actually need to be transported to an emergency room.
Email Alena Maschke at alena. maschke@theadvocate.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEROME DELAy
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, center arrives at the opening session of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg South Africa, on Thursday.
BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS
Applications
for jobless benefits tick up
Slightly more Americans applied for jobless benefits last week, but layoffs remained in the same recent healthy range.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose by 5,000 to 219,000 for the week ending Saturday, the Labor Department said Thursday Analysts projected that 215,000 new applications would be filed
The four-week average fell by 1,000 to 215,250.
Some analysts say they expect layoffs ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency to show up in the report in the coming weeks
The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for the week of Feb. 8 rose to 1.87 million, an increase of 24,000 from the previous week.
30-year mortgage rate slips to 8-week low
The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. eased for the fifth week in a row to its lowest level since late December, a welcome boost for prospective homebuyers in what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for home sales.
The average rate fell to 6.85% from 6.87% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday A year ago, it averaged 6.9%.
Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also eased this week. The average rate fell to 6.04% from 6.09% last week
Rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept many prospective home shoppers on the sidelines, especially first-time buyers who don’t have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase.
Stellantis pauses work on Jeep Compass
Stellantis NV said Thursday it has paused work at its Brampton Assembly Plant in Ontario as the automaker reevaluates plans for its next-generation electrified Jeep Compass SUV that was scheduled to start production there early next year
The carmaker said all work on the future compact crossover, which has included retooling and other preparations at Brampton, had halted immediately It was not immediately clear if any temporary layoffs were underway, and the company did not specify how long the work pause would last Stellantis is reassessing its strategies and product plans following the departure of CEO Carlos Tavares late last year, other leadership shakeups and uncertainty around President Donald Trump’s efforts to stop EV policy support and implement tariffs on goods coming from Canada and Mexico Ford has delayed the launch of next-generation gas and hybrid F-150 pickups, according to AutoForecast Solutions, which tracks vehicle production and launches It had the vehicle set to begin production in calendar year 2027 but has moved to 2028.
Wall Street pulls back from highs
Treasury yields edge lower
BY STAN CHOE Associated Press
NEW YORK — A sharp slide for
Walmart on Thursday helped pull
Wall Street off its record.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.4% for its first drop after setting all-time highs in each of the last two days
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 450 points, or 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.5%.
Walmart drove the market lower after falling 6.5%, even though the retailer reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected Palantir Technologies was an-
other weight on the market. It fell 5.2% to follow its 10.1% drop from the day before, after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he wants to cut $50 billion in spending next year The software company got 55% of its $2.9 billion in revenue last year from government customers. They helped offset an 8.5% jump for Baxter International, which reported better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It credited strength for its pharmaceuticals business, as well as for its medical products and therapies.
Burger chain Shake Shack rallied 11.1% after likewise reporting a stronger profit than expected CEO Rob Lynch said sales trends remained solid during the quarter Chinese e-commerce giant Ali-
baba saw its stock that trades in the United States climb 8.1% after reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also talked up its artificial-intelligence developments. In the bond market, Treasury yields edged lower after a report showed more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected.
It’s an indication the pace of layoffs could be worsening, but the number still remains relatively low compared with history
A separate report said manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region is still growing, but not as strongly as economists expected.
While lower rates can boost the economy and prices for investments, they can also give inflation more fuel And Fed officials were discussing at their last meeting how Trump’s proposed tariffs and mass deportations of migrants, as well as strong consumer spending, could push inflation higher this year
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.50% from 4.54% late Wednesday The yield on the twoyear Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for upcoming Fed moves held steadier. It remained at 4.27%, where it was late Wednesday
Such numbers are likely to keep the Federal Reserve on hold when it comes to interest rates. Last month, the Fed refrained from cutting its main interest rate for the first time at a policy meeting since it began doing so in September
Walmart had strong sales, profits
Company gives measured guidance for 2025
BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK Walmart delivered another year of strong sales and profits as its competitive prices became a strong magnet for inflation-weary shoppers. Yet uncertainty about the state of the American consumer and the potential impact of tariffs have seeped into expectations for 2025.
The financial outlook from nation’s largest retailer which has thrived amid stubborn inflation, delivered a jolt across the retail sector Walmart sees per share profit over the next year coming inasmuch as 27 cents below analyst projections. Its sales outlook was also mild, potentially a reflection of challenges ahead as consumers pull back on spending and President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China and other countries threaten the low-price model that is the core of Walmart’s success.
Walmart’s Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said shoppers remain resilient while cautious, but there is no apparent change in behavior related to tariffs. There is more uncertainty about what lies ahead, and Rainey said Walmart’s measured guidance reflects that.
“We are one month into the year, and there’s a lot that we don’t know,” Rainey said, citing the new tariff increases.
Walmart did not incorporate tariffs into its financial outlook, but Rainey acknowledged that the company’s isn’t immune to their impact.
“We’re going to work really hard to keep prices low for our members and customers,” Rainey said. “We will do the things that we can.” That means being nimble with sourc-
ing. Walmart, for example, is exploring new sourcing for microwave ovens given increased tariffs on aluminum and steel. But Rainey said some goods may have price increases.
Tariffs in the headlines have fueled concern and some more shopper retrenchment in Walmart’s Mexico business, Rainey said.
Walmart has built in hedges against some tariff threats. Two-thirds of Walmart’s merchandise is sourced in the U.S., with groceries driving much of that. Groceries account for roughly 60%, of Walmart’s U.S. business. Still, Walmart shares took a hit, and other
big retailers fell, too.
Walmart is among the first major U.S. retailers to report financial results, and the numbers can provide a hint as to the mood of the American shopper Over the past year Americans have focused increasingly on necessities rather than big TVs, furniture or appliances. They’ve become much more discerning because of higher costs for credit as well as for groceries.
Walmart has flourished in that environment. It’s gained market share, notably among households with incomes over $100,000. Walmart’s online offerings and paid membership, Walmart+, have also drawn wealthier customers.
EU official meets with Trump counterparts to resolve tariff threats
BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON Hoping to head off a potential trade conflict, a top European Union official stressed the importance of active engagement and fairness in trade during a fourhour meeting with Trump administration officials.
“The top objective as it was presented to us yesterday by our American partners is reciprocity,” Maroš Šefcovic, the European commissioner for trade and economic security, told reporters at a Thursday briefing.
Šefcovic met on Wednesday with Commerce Secretary Howard
Lutnick, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. trade representative. Trump has thrown the decadeslong partnership between the U.S. and Europe into turmoil by pledging to charge higher taxes on imports from Europe that he says would match the tariffs faced by American products.
But Trump’s plan for fair tariffs would also include the value added tax — which is akin to a sales tax — charged in Europe that could drastically push up import taxes and potentially trigger a broader trade conflict if the EU imposed
retaliatory measures. A broader trade war risks both an economic slowdown and higher inflation that could create financial challenges for millions of families and potentially hurt political support for Trump, as voters in 2024’s election specifically wanted him to lower price pressures.
Trump has also proposed separate sectoral tariffs on autos, pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips, in addition to having already imposed 25% steel and aluminum tariffs with no avenues to provide exceptions or exemptions.
At Thursday’s White House news briefing, Hassett said that a Mexican delegation had talks with Lutnick and him about resolving the issues. “We want trade to be fair,” Hassett said.
The EU official tried in his conversation with White House officials to equate the value added tax as similar to a sales tax as its paid by the final consumer, but he said that the issue had not been resolved
The U.S. president also has tariffs ready on Mexico and Canada over his claims that more should be done on illegal immigration and drug smuggling, though he suspended those tariffs for 30 days for ongoing talks The import taxes that could potentially harm the U.S. auto sector and other industries could potentially begin in March.
if there would be larger changes to the process. There are also concerns related to the oversight role the office plays in limiting fraud and abuse among entities that receive the funding, officially known as Community Development Block Grants — Disaster Recovery
While Louisianans may not be familiar with the office itself, the money it oversees has featured heavily in the state’s disaster recovery Louisiana has been allocated $21 billion through the program since 2001, according to the Policy allocations.
Separate through com ing, mies
Amou Congress tributed
PA
Continued from pag
provided by the states themselves.
The money is intended to cover “unmet needs” that insurance and FEMA do not — supplying a vital lifeline as communities seek to bring residents back after disasters. While the process of approving and distributing the money has been seen as overly politicized, unpredictable and slow cutting staff could introduce further uncertainty, those familiar with the program say
The Times quoted a HUD spokesperson as saying the department is “carrying out President Trump’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to serve the American people at the highest standard.”
agency and the Louisiana citizens we serve is unclear at this time,” it said. The longtime head of that office until January 2024 Pat Forbes, said he was concerned cuts could further delay the process of distributing the funding as well as reduce oversight nationally “What this does is effectively reduce the number of people who are looking out for fraud, waste and abuse,” Forbes said. “This clears the path for that across the country, everywhere that we have these grants.”
He noted a recent allocation to Louisiana of $118 million related to Hurricane Francine, which is yet to be paid out, and questioned takes after a , this is going to make that R-Baton ent has saster D-New
Orleans, meanwhile, called the plan “deeply alarming and shortsighted.”
“In Louisiana, we know all too well the devastating impact of hurricanes and flooding,” he said in a statement. “This office has played a critical role in our state’s recovery from disaster Cutting it to the bone will leave our communities vulnerable and unprepared for future catastrophes.”
The two other members of the New Orleans area’s congressional delegation U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, and U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
flaws over the years, the money fills a gap that states would otherwise struggle to address, said Andy Winkler, director of the housing and infrastructure project at the Bipartisan Policy Center If handing states a more direct role is the ultimate outcome, that may speed the process, but present practical problems, particularly concerning oversight, he said. While Louisiana has long experience in dealing with such funding, other states do not and may struggle to handle the process on their own.
senior bureau officials and made a highly unusual de mand sands ticipated related riot desire cha ing W emphas traditional duties telligence-gathering that mandate dec threats
American taxpayer.”
Democrats complained
fi
rmed, go backwards,” Patel
said as he vowed that there would be “no politicization at FBI” and “no retributive taken.”
said at the hearing that “the only thing that will matter if I’m confirmed” is “de-weaponized, depoliticized system of law enforcement completely devoted to gorous obedience to the Constitution and a singular standard of justice.”
‘People will just leave’
The program has proved key in rebuilding after disasters ranging from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Laura and Ida to the 2016 flooding in the Baton Rouge area, among others. It has prioritized low- and middle-income families without the wherewithal to rebuild on their own.
While certainly not without its
Regardless, it may be a heavy burden for any state to manage properly Winkler said there was much at stake when it comes to a true recovery from disaster — a situation
“If you’re waiting even longer than CDBG-DR takes for your home to be rebuilt, or roads and bridges, peopl will just leave,” won’t come back.” Staff Writer Alex Lubben contributed to this report.
investigated the Capimove seen as a lude to broader denied having knowledge of discussions about potential firings, but a letter from Durbin last week that cited information that he said had come from insiders suggested that Patel may have been covertly involved in that process
Trump has said that he expects some of those agents will be fired.
Patel is a former federal defender and Justice Department counterterrorism prosecutor He attracted Trump’s attention during the president’s first term when, as a staffer on the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee, Patel helped produce a memo that showcased surveillancerelated errors during the FBI’s investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign. Patel later joined Trump’s administration, both as a counterterrorism official at the National Security Council and as chief of staff to the defense secretary
Trump’s stated desire for re prisal Democrats fore he Tr federal media.
In a statement posted after the vote on the social media platform X, Patel wrote that he was honored to be confirmed as the ninth director of the FBI, an institution he said had a “storied legacy.”
“The American people deserve an FBI that is transparent, accountable, and committed to justice. The politicization of our justice system has eroded public trust — but that ends today,” he wrote. He said his mission as director was to “let good cops be cops and re build what forcement servatives mi Bide as in hind son the aga tation his ment, R-Io ate said
son who will completely
ciary Committee gathered outside FBI headquarters earlier Thursday in a lastditch plea to derail his confirmation.
“This is someone we cannot trust,” said Sen Adam Schiff of California. “This is someone who lacks the character to do this job, someone who lacks the integrity to do this job. We know that our Republican colleagues know that.”
Patel’s eyebrow-raising remarks on hundreds of podcasts and in other interviews over the past four years in
Patel was selected in November to replace ChristoWray, who was picked by ump in 2017 and who resigned at the conclusion of the Biden administration make way for his chosen successor Wray infuriated Trump throughout his tenure, including after FBI agents searched his Mar-aLago estate in Florida in August 2022 for classified documents in one of two federal investigations that resulted in indictments against Trump that were dismissed after his election win.
FBI directors are given 10-year terms as a way to insulate them from political influence and keep them from becoming beholden to a particular president or administration But Trump fired the FBI director he inherited, James Comey, after Comey had spent over three years on the job and replaced Wray after more than seven years in the position.
Since Wray’s resignation,havedemands ts
Federal teacher-training grants cut Programs worth
BY PATRICK WALL Staff writer
The Trump administration has cut off federal funding to several teacher-training programs in Louisiana, dealing a blow to efforts to reduce shortages and increase diversity in Louisiana’s educator workforce.
This month, the U.S. Depart-
$23 million in Louisiana
ment of Education terminated over $600 million in grants previously awarded to universities and nonprofits across the country for the purpose of recruiting and training teachers.
Part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping crackdown on diversity initiatives, the agency said that grant-funded programs had trained teachers on “divisive
ideologies” related to race and used race-based recruitment strategies. At least three cancelled grants worth over $23 million had gone to several Louisiana universities, including Tulane, Xavier and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and a national nonprofit working in Louisiana. The grants helped fund programs that aimed to pre-
pare hundreds of teachers to work in local public schools and attract more people of color to the profession — a goal long shared by Louisiana policymakers and reiterated last year by a state task force.
The Tulane-led grant, which started in 2022 and is worth more than $10 million over three years, sought to develop a pipeline of diverse, well-trained teachers for New Orleans schools by recruiting local high schoolers, college students and classroom aides. The
program helps pay for them to earn degrees and gain classroom experience.
Jahquille Ross, chief of talent at New Schools for New Orleans, a nonprofit that helps run the program, said a major focus is nurturing homegrown educators with backgrounds similar to their students.
“Those are the people who are staying and who are invested in
MARDI PREP
City workers place barricades along the Mardi Gras parade route in downtown Lafayette on Thursday The Krewe de Canailles Walking Parade rolls on Friday night at 7 p.m. See map, 4B STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Committee to focus on tech industry
founder and CEO Ben Johnson and CGI Federal vice president
of Believe Entertainment
n John Collier, CTO at VieMed
BY MEGAN WYATT Staff writer
BY ADAM DAIGLE Acadiana business editor
A group of technology executives and community leaders in the region will form a tech council to help develop and retain top talent and promote the region to other companies. Techneaux Technology Services
Will LaBar will serve as chairman and vice chair of the Lafayette Regional Technology Council, officials announced Tuesday The group will launch with a 15-member steering committee of representatives of private sector technology companies, academia, economic development and the startup ecosystem Other committee members will include:
n Marcus Lyle Brown, partner at Digital Twin Studios & Founder
n Bruce Greenstein, chief innovation & technology officer at LHC Group
n Alex Lanclos, staff software engineer at Skylight
n Bryan MacDonald, CEO at SchoolMint
n Martin Margala, director of the School of Computing and Informatics at UL-Lafayette
n Destin Ortego, executive director at Opportunity Machine
n Jared Quoyeser, chief growth officer at QCerris
n Missy Rogers, president at Noble Plastics n Michael D. Soileau, director at LUS Fiber n Hunter Thevis, president at S1 Technology n Andre Breaux, VP, Policy & Strategic Initiatives at One Acadiana (ex of
diana’s Leadership Exchange visit to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
BY MEGAN WYATT Staff
OPINION
It’s time to rethink how we talk about vaccines
The public health community did a remarkable job during the worst days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are aspects of our response that could’ve been better, starting first and foremost with public health communication.
Public health officials responded to the pandemic at the population level but overlooked that individuals make up the population.
We made declarations from a distance and assumed everyone would fall in line When we realized fear and history and, yes, even politics, were at play leading to vaccine hesitancy we only doubled down on our messaging.
It’s time for a reset.
Vaccines are typically discussed in absolute yes or no terms But very little in public health is ever absolute. We in the public health community need to provide up-to-date scientific research and the best available information along with a clear risk analysis.
In the early 20th century, a polio diagnosis was a devastating blow to children and their families, often leading to a lifetime of pain, paralysis and breathing difficulties — even death. There is no cure for polio
and it’s highly contagious. According to physician and virologist Dr Paul Offit, Americans’ fear of this disease was second only to the atomic bomb.
We no longer fear polio. The vaccine for poliomyelitis has made this debilitating disease almost entirely a thing of the past, so much so that hardly anyone alive remembers the dread that polio provoked. And we keep that risk low only due to continued widespread vaccination.
There were issues with the initial polio vaccine. Vaccines manufactured by one individual laboratory were not safe, which directly led to many of the regulatory processes that now ensure vaccines are both safe and effective.
We hope we don’t have to relearn the lessons we learned decades ago. Polio cases peaked at nearly 58,000 cases in the United States in 1955, the year the polio vaccine was discovered. Polio vaccination mandates for school children were implemented in the ensuing years. The vaccine regime has been so successful that in 2024 there were only 672 polio cases reported across 39 countries.
Even with strict safety regulations (which were followed for COVID-19 vac-
Proper dental health is a key foundation to children’s health
Nothing captures innocent joy like a child’s smile. As a dentist and a new dad, this is especially true for me.
Yet far too many young smiles are put at risk every day because the importance of oral health to overall health remains overlooked within our health system and the barriers to care faced by our underserved communities remain overwhelming for so many February marks National Children’s Dental Health Month, but the conversation shouldn’t be tied to a holiday We must examine why such a critical aspect of a child’s healthy future is so often overlooked and how we can make sure all Louisiana children get the dental care they need to thrive.
First, let’s acknowledge that simply having insurance coverage does not ensure access. I see the systemic barriers to access firsthand in my work as the dental director for DentaQuest, one of the organizations managing the state’s Medicaid dental program
Many different things contribute to difficulty accessing oral health care, but all demonstrate how social determinants of health drive oral health disparities. From living in a dental desert — nearly every parish is designated as a federal dental health professional shortage area — to difficulty finding culturally competent care or transportation challenges, food insecurity and poor nutrition, lowerincome families and communities of color face significant barriers to oral health care
But we can address the gap between having benefits and using benefits by focusing on two key areas: education and access.
Many parents assume that because baby teeth are temporary, they don’t need to worry about the dentist yet, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While we may lose our baby teeth, we do not lose the elements that make our mouths ripe for cavities: bacteria, dietary habits, hygiene habits, and even underlying medical conditions.
Experts agree children should see a dentist as soon as their first tooth comes in. This is so families can establish relationships with their primary dentist, dental professionals can ensure a child’s mouth is structurally healthy,
and children can make positive associations with the dental office. It is also a chance for families to learn healthy hygiene and nutrition practices, hopefully reducing the need for restorative dental services in the near future. Cavities are one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the United States. Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that by age 9, half of American children have had a cavity in at least one of their teeth. The CDC also highlights that 34 million school hours are lost due to emergency dental care needs, which can be far less risky with regular dental care. Poor oral health, including cavities and gum disease, impacts nutrition, school attendance, selfesteem, and many other aspects of a person’s well-being.
The good news is, there are things we can do in Louisiana to improve access for those who need it most. For one, we can meet people where they are. This means taking advantage of existing innovations such as teledentistry and mobile dentistry, methods that have proved extremely popular and successful in overcoming barriers to oral care. EXCELth community health center in New Orleans, for example, is rebuilding its mobile dental unit to bring oral health care to more people in Orleans and surrounding parishes.
Other programs go beyond traditional care. DentaQuest’s case management program, for example, works with Medicaid-enrolled families and individuals to help them find a dental home (a dental version of a primary care provider) and connects them with additional resources to overcome other access barriers. That may include identifying transportation options or helping the family find a provider who can competently care for a child with disabilities. There’s no question that social determinants of health, including oral health, can change the trajectory of a child’s life. So, as we look to build a healthy future for all Louisianans, we must ensure that oral health is not left behind
Damien Cuffie is the Louisiana dental director for DentaQuest
cines), a wide variety of factors can make a specific vaccine a risk factor for a particular individual. The factors vary from vaccine to vaccine but could include a weakened immune system or a history of allergy to some vaccine components.
The critical issue is risk and weighing your risk of contracting a disease against the potential risks of a vaccine.
In the vast majority of cases, the risk of disease and the consequences resulting from disease — far outweighs any potential danger from a vaccine. But we need to listen to and address concerns rather than dismissing them.
Another way we have fallen short in communicating about vaccines is by neglecting to correct the belief that a vaccine prevents disease entirely Vaccines imitate disease and trigger antibodies to fend off disease.
Having antibodies of a virus gives the body a valuable tool to fight disease-causing microbes. In the best case, you will not get sick at all. But if you do, the vaccine will keep you from getting as sick as you ordinarily would have and will help you to recover faster
Finally we need to do a better job of explaining what herd immunity is — and what it’s not.
Herd immunity means that a large enough percentage of a given population
has adequate immunity to a disease to protect those who don’t have immunity
The percentage of the population needed to achieve herd immunity varies depending on the infectiousness of a disease. For instance, 95% of the population needs to be immune to measles to protect the other 5%. For polio, an 80% immunity protects the other 20%.
Achieving herd immunity against a disease like COVID-19 or influenza is very difficult with vaccines and nearly impossible without vaccines because both of these viruses change or mutate frequently That’s why there’s an annual flu vaccine and why the COVID-19 vaccine has been updated multiple times to address currently circulating strains. A well-vaccinated community protects everyone, including those who can’t get vaccinated. We need to actively listen and respond to those who are hesitant, and provide clear, easy-to-understand information that will allow them to make informed decisions.
Thomas A. LaVeist is the dean and Weatherhead Presidential Chair and Pierre Buekens is the former dean and W.H. Watkins Professor at the Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
New Orleans’ love for people, life should fuel its care for all
There is no city that celebrates life like New Orleans does.
A lot of people only think of “Girls Gone Wild” or Bourbon Street when they think of New Orleans. Others recall images of Mardi Gras parades This year they’ll think of the Super Bowl.
But what makes the city truly great — and unique — is its unflagging love for the people who live and visit there. When I first moved to New Orleans while playing for the Saints, people from the neighborhood dropped homemade food off on our porch for weeks. They embraced us as family We quickly learned an old saying that in our experience holds true:“You can leave New Orleans, but New Orleans never leaves you.”
We met a couple at church who happened to have the same baby stroller we did, and we’re still good friends to this day When I flew back from an away game, the fans greeted the team at the airport even when we landed in the rain at two o’clock in the morning, whether we had won or lost.
There aren’t many gated communities in New Orleans, either Everybody lives next to everybody else, for better and for worse. This cuts across political divides, social divides and economic disparities. In a visual emblematic of a culture with such vivid contrasts, I once even saw a pregnancy center that shared a parking lot with a Planned Parenthood; a striking picture of life and death.
This sense of life and warmth comes despite obvious, deeply entrenched social and political problems: New Orleans struggles with crime. It also struggles with poverty Marriage rates are slowing, and many families are broken.
A history of discriminatory policies and practices looms ominously in the shadows of the welcoming smiles, unparalleled cuisine and jubilant celebrations.
While it’s situated in a state with some of the strongest pro-life laws in the nation, it’s also a city where mothers face frighteningly high levels of maternal mortality and low levels of economic opportunity
They need more of New Orleans’ characteristic warmth and willingness to help. Frankly,
New Orleans needs help providing it to them. That support must come through policy — but it must also come from us, our families, our churches. In New Orleans, we see profound resilience. You look around the street in New Orleans and everywhere there are unlikely alliances coming together in real, durable human joy You see families, churches and neighborhoods already engaged in the support and uplift of the most vulnerable among them. You see a whole city that in the wake of catastrophe or terrorism intentionally sets aside differences, grievances and sorrows to celebrate together every year You see a city that in the spirit of her native daughter Ruby Bridges continues to overcome.
If we want to honor and protect life, we must embrace and support all of its facets. We can do justice for the marginalized. We can compassionately feed our neighbors. We can be courageous voices for the voiceless. We can be both witness and friend to the would-be mothers, fathers, husbands and wives in our lives. We can be or become the family that vulnerable mothers need and rely on to choose life for their children.
In a profound way, New Orleans taught me the importance of people over possessions. When much has been lost, one learns to hold tightly to relationships and loosely to the things. As my barber explains, “Things can be replaced. People can’t.” Through their words and deeds, my friends in New Orleans showed me that life matters. From womb to tomb this sentiment represents the very best of our movement. So if you became one of the over 120 million viewers who watched the Super Bowl this year, I hope you enjoyed the game. But remember that the only reason football games are worth watching — and crawfish boils are worth having — is that human life is always, and always has been, worth determined and joyful communal uplift and celebration.
Benjamin Watson is a former Super Bowl champion and author of “The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice.”
COMMENTARY
ROOM FOR DEBATE WAR IN UKRAINE
President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week and vowed to begin talks to end the war in Ukraine.The news alarmed European leaders, who appear to be cut out of the negotiations.They see worrying signs that the Trump administration is not on the same page about the threat Russia poses. Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country won’t accept any deal about its future without being included in talks. Is the Trump administration pursuing a path that will lead to peace or is it playing a dangerous game by ignoring history? Here are two perspectives:
Spurious U.S. ‘realism’ about Ukraine flirts with catastrophe
“The Czechs,” murmured Chamberlain. He had lit a cigar and pushed back his chair “We have rather forgotten about the Czechs.” — “Munich,” by Robert Harris
In Robert Harris’s meticulously researched novel about 1938, the leaders of four nations Germany, Italy, France, Britain — settled the fate of a fifth, Czechoslovakia. “Realism” dictated its dismemberment.
A Czech official: “The Germans will be able to cut our country in half within a day.” British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s aide: “I am not responsible for the realities of geography.
Ninety percent of your country will remain intact and you will not be invaded.”
In 1938, in Munich, four nations worked their wills at another’s expense. Trump told Ukraine about the call with Putin, and European leaders learned about it afterward.
Putin is waging what Johns Hopkins scholar Hal Brands calls (in his new book, “The Eurasian Century”) “a quasigenocidal war.” But a revanchist and expansionist Russia worries Europeans more than it worries Donald Trump.
Last week in Munich, a city closer to Ukraine than Washington is to Atlanta, Vice President JD Vance told Europeans that the principal security threat they face is insufficient free speech, exemplified particularly by the refusal of other German political parties to govern in coalition with Alternative for Germany, a fascist-adjacent party sympathetic to Ukraine’s would-be executioner, Vladimir Putin.
Vance spoke two days after President Donald Trump’s 90-minute phone conversation with Putin. The day of that call, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared it “unrealistic” to hope for peace negotiations through which Ukraine regains pre2014 territories (before Russia’s seizure of Crimea) or gains NATO membership
Perhaps those two outcomes are unattainable. But Kaja Kallas, Estonia’s former prime minister and the European Union’s foreign policy chief, tartly questioned the realism of giving the Russians “everything that they want even before the negotiations have been started.”
Konstantin Malofeyev, a “tycoon who runs several Russian volunteer units fighting in Ukraine” (per the Financial Times), says of the E.U. and Ukraine: “Their opinion doesn’t matter anymore Ukraine is just the pretext for a grand dialogue between two great countries.”
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“Look,” he said on Feb. 3 regarding Europe, “we have an ocean in between. They don’t. It’s more important for them than it is for us.”
But the ocean was there in 1941. And someone should explain to Trump the acronym “ICBM.” Vance, who has said “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine,” might someday care.
Hours before Chamberlain signed the Munich agreement an aide told him (per Harris) that Hitler “plans a war of conquest to gain living space for the German people.” Hitler had said so. Chamberlain: “You need to learn a few lessons in political reality.” Realities such as the reluctance of democratic publics to face unpleasant realities Particularly for the benefit of (as Chamberlain had described the Czechs) people in “a far away country,” “of whom we know nothing.” We know Putin’s thinking about who should be Russians, and what Russia should be. He has told us.
Trump says he does not care “much about anything” other than “peace.”
“Peace for our time,” Chamberlain said triumphantly when he landed in London from Munich. Peace lasted 336 days, until Sept. 1, 1939, the first of the European war’s 2,077 days. The road to war in 1939 was paved with spurious “realisms.” Today, the road to a wider war is being paved by U.S. leaders’ ignorance of history, and by nonsense from people who are paid to make sense of things.
Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.
History teaches there is no substitute for victory
In his 1951 farewell address to Congress and the American public (known as the “old soldiers never die, they just fade away” speech), Army General Douglas MacArthur said something the Trump administration should recall as it seeks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine: “... once war is forced upon us, there is no other alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War’s very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In war there is no substitute for victory.”
While MacArthur was referring to wars engaged in by the U.S., his philosophy could also be applied to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
cessions before talks formally begin. And to exclude Ukraine, the victim of the invasion, at least in initial talks, is like allowing an opponent in poker to have an extra ace.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appeared to let the cat out of the bag when he wrongly stated even before peace negotiations begin that Ukraine should not expect to regain territory lost to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the sovereign nation. Putin has said he won’t give an inch of Ukrainian land he has seized. European leaders have expressed alarm that they have not been consulted or included in negotiations, even while President Donald Trump wants them to “do more” when it comes to helping Ukraine while simultaneously assisting in ending the war Has everyone forgotten what Neville Chamberlain told Adolf Hitler at their 1938 meeting in Munich? Chamberlain delighted the cunning Hitler, saying the fuhrer could keep the Sudetenland (now the Czech Republic) he had invaded, thinking that would satisfy his ravenous territorial yearnings and bring “peace for our time.”
World War II came in large part because Hitler regarded the West as weak, preferring an illusory “peace” rather than his defeat. When negotiating, especially with an evil adversary — Nazi Germany then and Russia’s Vladimir Putin now — the worst strategy is to make con-
President Donald Trump promised to end the war on his first day in office, which seemed presumptuous, as well as impossible. It’s now approaching his 30th day in office and the fighting continues. Being a successful negotiator in business is one thing, as Trump thinks he has been. Doesn’t he immodestly say that about himself? On the world stage it is quite different and more dangerous because lives are in danger, not just in Ukraine, but in other countries should Putin diagnose the West as lacking resolve and effectively giving him, as he might see it, a green light to invade other sovereign states in pursuit of his stated goal of “re-claiming” Russian territory lost following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn is right when he asks “Will Ukraine be Trump’s Vietnam? Consider the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. (National Security Adviser Henry) Kissinger won a Nobel Prize, but Saigon fell.”
If victory is not the goal, what else is there? General MacArthur characterized anything short of victory as “prolonged indecision.” That lane only invites the spread of evil and harm to other nations if Ukraine’s “allies” refuse to stand in the gap, or don’t contribute enough to Kiev’s protection.
If the Trump administration is not cautioned by what happened in 1938 when an evil monster was allowed to have his way with one state before invading others and launching the Holocaust, perhaps it needs another reminder of what occurred in 1973. Accommodating evil never ends well. Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditorstribpub.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By OLEG PETRASIUK
Ukrainian servicemen fire an MRLS BM-21 ‘Grad’ towards Russian army positions near Chasiv yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Saturday
George Will
Cal Thomas
SCHOOLS
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high school grades. The project hit a snag during Tuesday meetings of the City and Parish councils. A resolution to approve $175 million in bonds for Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy in Youngsville died during the Lafayette Parish Council meeting Council member Bryan Tabor offered a motion to adopt the resolution, but no other council member offered a second motion.
TECH
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Stakeholders there cited their tech council as a catalyst that helped transform that region into a thriving technology hub, accelerating
Upon learning that information, the council voted to defer indefinitely a similar resolution to approve $175 million for the Youngsville charter school along with $100 million for the Lafayette charter school.
“The deferral, I think, is welcomed,” said LPTFA Executive Director Alex Lazard. “I do think that there’s an opportunity to still discuss the matter, so if you all would continue with the direction we’re going, I think that is best for now.”
If approved by the councils at a later date, the bonds would allow the Friends of
job growth and helping the region become one of the fastest-growing areas in the state.
Grand Rapids officials boasted of their job growth in the tech sector during that trip last fall It is now home to nearly 40,000 tech jobs, and job listings indicate com-
the Lafayette Charter Foundation to finance the acquisition of existing facilities at LRCA at 205 Vienne Lane in Lafayette and ARCA at 600 Savoy Road in Youngsville. Currently, the schools lease buildings from Red Apple, a sister company of Charter Schools USA.
The move would save the schools millions of dollars a year, according to Gary McGoffin, the lawyer who represents the charter schools.
“It’s about $230 million over the next 35 years that would have been paid for facilities that is going to be put into classrooms, teach-
panies are seeking another 6,000 positions that offer an average salary that tops $80,000.
The committee will unveil its initiatives with a launch event during next month’s Innovate South, which it aims to eventually expand into a more robust Tech Week simi-
ers and kids,” McGoffin said.
The bonds would be used to finance only established charter school facilities at the Lafayette and Youngsville campuses. They would not be used to finance Lafayette Charter Foundation facilities currently under construction, including the middle school at LRCA and Broussard Charter Academy, McGoffin said.
“We’ve got a 10-year history of operating, so that gives investors some comfort that we know what we’re doing,” McGoffin said. “We’ve grown, we still have waiting lists, and we’re delivering a
lar to the annual event held in Grand Rapids.
The launch event will feature networking, a panel discussion with committee members and a guest from the Technology Council of West Michigan.
“Bringing together the top minds in technology under
good product.”
The LPTFA contributes to community projects — such as Moncus Park and the Acadiana Center for the Arts — that enhance the overall experience of life for Lafayette residents. It has a broad mission that supports everything from medical, educational and housing proposals to industrial, environmental and jail projects. Typically, LPTFA bonds must be approved by only the City Council. Because this project involved a school in Youngsville, it also required approval from the Parish Council.
a shared mission will create new opportunities and fuel long-term success,” Johnson said. “The timing couldn’t be better Our state is focused on ensuring innovators have the resources they need, and with LRTC, Lafayette is ready to take its place as a leader in the tech sector.”
St. John St. The move to a single office is expected to come at a savings of 15% per square foot.
“Being at the core of downtown is more than just a prime location — it’s about making a lasting impact,” Boulet said in a
The move will place LUS Fiber near the Lafayette International Center, the Downtown Development Authority, One Acadiana and Opportunity Machine, which supports early-stage technology companies The relocation underscores LCG’s commitment to fostering business growth and positioning Lafayette as a hub for technological advancement.
GRANTS
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our children’s future,” he said. Last week, a U.S. Education Department official notified the program’s administrators that their grant was being terminated. The official said the grant had been used to promote diversity equity and inclusion, or DEI, and “other initiatives that unlawfully discriminate” based on race or other factors, according to a Feb. 10 letter obtained by The Times-Picayune and The Advocate Michael Strecker a Tulane spokesperson, said the university would appeal the agency’s decision. He added that Tulane remains “steadfast in our mission to improve schools and address the teacher shortage by preparing highly skilled teachers and school leaders.”
The U.S. Department of Education press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stances on diversity
Boosting teacher diversity has traditionally been a nonpartisan policy goal driven by research showing that some students’ test scores and attendance improve when they are taught by teachers of color
In Louisiana, where about only about 30% of publicschool teachers are people of color compared with 60% of students, the state Education Department has made it a priority to develop a diverse teaching workforce. And last year, a task force of state legislators, policymakers and education groups issued a report promoting recruitment programs “designed to attract and support aspiring teachers, particularly candidates of color.”
But the Trump administration has recently attacked federally supported efforts to promote diversity On his first day in office, the president ordered federal agencies to end all DEI programs. And on Feb. 14, the U.S. Education Department gave schools and universities two
weeks to stop factoring race into decisions involving employees or students, including in admissions, hiring and training.
The notice said schools have “toxically indoctrinated students” by teaching that racism is embedded in the country’s institutions, and universities discriminated against White and Asian students by using “repugnant race-based preferences” in admissions.
On Wednesday, Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley issued a memo affirming the federal guidance, adding that Louisiana schools should promote “meritocracy of student achievement.” He also thanked Gov Jeff Landry, a Republican closely aligned with Trump, for helping the state education department stop “inherently divisive concepts” like DEI from “infiltrating” Louisiana schools.
It is unclear whether Louisiana education officials will continue to promote teacher diversity Brumley did not address the issue in his memo, and a state Education Department spokesperson did not respond when asked whether establishing a diverse teacher workforce remains an agency goal.
Loss of funding
The abrupt termination of the training grants sent shockwaves through the ed-
statement. “LUS Fiber’s move improves access for customers, attracts top talent and brings cutting-edge technology and innovation to the heart of Lafayette. This shift energizes our downtown and reinforces our commitment to building a thriving, connected community with more opportunities for businesses, employees, and residents alike.”
ucation world.
The cuts targeted two federal programs: the Teacher Quality Partnerships program, which Congress allocated $70 million last year, and Supporting Effective Educator Development, or SEED grants, which got $80 million. The grants support traditional teacher-education programs at colleges, as well as alternative pathways that help aspiring teachers earn degrees while working in schools.
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said scrapping the grants would have “dire consequences” for efforts to train high-quality teachers.
“Eliminating funding for this vital work threatens student success, weakens community education systems, and undermines the nation’s long-term educational progress,” she said in a statement.
One of the terminated grants provided $3 million to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to help schools in the Acadiana region “create new pathways for aspiring teachers, especially those from underrepresented communities,” according to a university press release last November The university planned to partner with several school districts and a community college.
A $9.9 million grant went
With nearly 24,000 square feet of space, the new office will accommodate the current 85 employees while allowing for continued growth. This move will also enhance public accessibility and visibility with utility service payments available at the new location.
“LUS Fiber is a fantastic addition to our downtown community,” said Lemoine CEO Leonard “Lenny”
to Reach University a California-based nonprofit university that helps school paraprofessionals, or classroom aides, earn teaching degrees while continuing to work full-time. Reach, which is partnering with Delgado Community College, was using the grant to help 80 school employees in Jefferson Parish become teachers.
Reach University President Joe E. Ross said he rejected the suggestion in the grant termination letter that
Lemoine in a statement. “Their presence in such a prominent location not only showcases local innovation but also strengthens our tech landscape here in Lafayette.”
LUS Fiber expects to transition to the Lemoine Building in late spring or early summer
Email Megan Wyatt at mwyatt@theadvocate.com.
the program discriminated against anyone.
“We fling open our doors” to any school staffers who want to become teachers, Ross said in a statement, adding that the program “is a merit-based, discrimination-free application of federal funds.”
Ross said the university will appeal the grant cancellation while continuing “to support every school employee in completing their apprenticeship degree with Reach.”
Saints tap Nussmeier as OC
Moore’s longtime colleague has NFL, college experience and Louisiana ties
BY LUKE JOHNSON Staff writer
For almost as long as Kellen Moore was a candidate to be the next head coach of the New Orleans Saints, Doug Nussmeier was considered a favorite to join his staff as the offensive coordinator That move will soon become official, ac-
UL hoping to elevate game ahead of series vs. Nebraska
No, the UL Ragin’ Cajuns haven’t looked anything like a Top 25 club so far this season.
On one hand, the season is only four games in, so it’s too early to make any sweeping judgements on coach Matt Deggs’ squad just yet.
On the other hand, it might be a good time to play more aggressively with the No. 23-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in town, opening up a threegame series at 6 p.m. Friday at Russo Park
ä Nebraska
“For us, mindset is everything,” Deggs said “I want to see some short memories. I want to see the same guys every day not predicated on a result, but based on your commitment and passion and love for the game and love for Cajun baseball.”
That got challenged in Tuesday’s midweek game against Texas Southern, which led 8-1 by the second inning, and the Cajuns eventually responded with a 14-11 win
“I knew it would take us a minute to get caught up and when we do, it’ll be exciting,” Deggs said of the team’s outlook for the season.
Certainly, it’s early, but what have we seen — or not seen — that’s the most concerning so far
Is it the lack of hitting in most of the 34 innings played so far this season?
Yes, it’s still too early to be concerned about anyone’s batting average four games into it. But it’s pretty clear we shouldn’t expect any Kyle DeBarge-like seasons coming out of this group.
True freshman Brooks Wright (.571) is off to a great start, but predicting a freshman’s season totals is a futile process.
Luke Yuhasz’s approach at the plate looks better The other veterans will have to make some noise early to make decisions on playing time for freshmen easier for the coaching staff.
One good early sign that some fans may have missed over the first four games is the team is averaging 6.5 walks per game — which would be a huge improvement over 3.4 walks a game last season, if it lasted.
“Overall, we don’t have the numbers we’d like to have yet, but I tell you what, we may have eclipsed our walk total from last year already,” Deggs joked Continuing that trend will be critical for
cording to a league source, with Nussmeier filling out the last remaining spot on the Saints’ offensive coaching staff. NFL Media was the first to report the hire. The 54-year-old Nussmeier comes to the Saints from the Philadelphia Eagles, where he served as the quarterbacks coach under Moore last season. Before their shared time in Philadelphia, Nussmeier also worked un-
der Moore with the Los Angeles Chargers (2023) and the Dallas Cowboys (2019-22). Moore has already said he intends to call the offensive plays as head coach, meaning Nussmeier’s job should center around building out the offense and creating the game plan every week.
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
Jay Johnson took his time filling out his first lineup card before the season started.
He wanted to be patient. LSU has a deep pool of positional players, and he believed that getting a full picture of what they were capable of before slotting guys into certain spots in the lineup was necessary
“I didn’t want my brain to go somewhere that wasn’t the most productive,” LSU’s baseball coach said in his last news conference before the start of the season. “And I actually feel like by doing that on the position player side, for sure, I feel like I have much better feel for this team this year than last year.”
Johnson acknowledged that “might sound crazy.” LSU had more returning players heading into last year than this year Twelve players who played in a game last sea-
son return to the 2025 team, as opposed to the 21 who played on the national championship-winning team and came back in 2024.
But, by the time the last season began, and especially once the Tigers reached Southeastern Conference play, Johnson had trouble figuring out what his best team should look like, regardless of the matchup.
“I think I maybe tried to force some things last year that I don’t want to say guys weren’t ready for,” Johnson said, “but like I wanted them to be able to do something so bad when it wasn’t going to happen.”
The lineup, though talented, was overly reliant on home runs and skewed more right-handed than Johnson would’ve preferred. Younger players thrusted into larger roles couldn’t fill the void left behind by Dylan Crews, Tre Morgan and company
ä See LSU, page 3C
LSU coach Jay Johnson walks on the field on opening day before first pitch against Purdue Fort Wayne last Friday at Alex Box Stadium. STAFF PHOTO By HILARy
Star-studded tournament returns to New Orleans in April
BY JEFF DUNCAN Staff writer
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will return to defend their crown at the Zurich Classic of
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
UL right fielder Luke yuhasz showed some positive signs at the plate in the opening series against San Jose State.
Kevin Foote
ä See SAINTS, page 3C
ä See ZURICH, page 3C
ä See FOOTE, page 3C
LSU coach Johnson has ‘a better feel’ for this season’s team
SCHEINUK
OMAHA AT LSU • 4 P.M. FRIDAy • SEC NETWORK+
Doug Nussmeier AP FILE PHOTO
BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS
3
‘We’re
embracing this journey together’
Pels look to make most of second half of difficult season
BY ROD WALKER Staff writer
The hole is way too deep to climb out of.
The New Orleans Pelicans, with a 13-42 record, are much closer to a chance at drafting Duke sensation Cooper Flagg than they are to sniffing a play-in spot.
But that doesn’t mean the Pelicans, fresh off the All-Star break, aren’t looking forward to the final stretch of the season that begins Friday night on the road against the Dallas Mavericks
“Our guys have been incredible all season,” said Pelicans coach Willie Green. “I know the results aren’t there. They know the results aren’t there. But they are steady every day taking care of the opportunities in front of them.”
The Pelicans hope to pick up where they left off before the break. In their last game, they pulled out a gutsy overtime
victory over the Sacramento Kings, thanks in part to a 43-point effort from CJ McCollum and some major contributions from Trey Murphy, Jose Alvarado and role players like Jeremiah Robinson-Earl. That win snapped a 10-game losing streak, one of several lengthy losing streaks this season.
“It’s tough, it’s really tough,” Zion Williamson said about the struggles. “I mean, we had a lot of things not really go our way But all you can do is make the most of the situation you’re in at the moment.”
The moment finds the Pelicans with the second worst record in the NBA. They are on pace to win just 20 games, which would be the second worst record in franchise history Teams in this situation usually focus more on player development. But because of all the injuries the Pelicans have faced, they’ve been in player development mode all season.
“Unfortunately for us, the injuries have brought about player de-
velopment in a way that we never would’ve wanted them to,” said David Griffin, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations. ”So to some degree, we just need to keep doing what we’re doing. We need everybody to continue to grow in the way that they are. As we’re going through what we are, the turmoil will reveal some very positive things.”
The biggest positive so far this season has been the growth of Trey Murphy, who has blossomed into a star Murphy’s emergence made the trade of Brandon Ingram much easier for the Pelicans to make.
“There’s actually several players along the lines of Trey that have shown incredible growth,” Griffin said. “I think what makes Trey’s explosion as a player so significant to us is it happened at the time where we really needed to know what he was capable of. The injuries may have provided the opportunity to show us that.”
The same goes for rookie center Yves Missi, the first-round draft pick who became a promising starter sooner than anyone expected.
“One of the things that excites us the most coming down the stretch is that we get to lean into some of that growth that’s already taken place,” Griffin said.
In addition, the Pelicans now get to see how their two newest pieces (Bruce Brown and Kelly Olynyk) will fit. Brown and Olynyk were acquired in the Ingram trade. Brown has played in two games for the Pelicans, while Olynyk has yet to make his debut.
“We’re really excited about both of these players from the standpoint of what they offer us moving forward,” Griffin said. “This is not viewed as a short term situation with either player in our minds and we hope as the season unfolds, they grow to feel the same about us.”
There are just 27 games remaining in what has been a disappointing season, especially on the heels of winning 49 games a year ago. Despite the woes, Green expects his team to continue to compete until the end.
“Everybody has stayed together and continued to work,” Green said. “We’re embracing this journey together.”
LSU to back McMahon with more funding
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
Amid speculation about Matt McMahon’s future as LSU’s men’s basketball coach near the end of a difficult third season with the program, the school is committed to coming up with more NIL funding to help with roster building going forward, a source familiar with the situation said. That would appear to significantly increase the likelihood that McMahon will return for a fourth season in 2025-26, but the source would not speculate on that. LSU’s men’s basketball program is reportedly one of the least-funded programs in the Southeast-
ern Conference in terms of NIL money that helps coaches attract top-shelf high school and transfer talent.
A report Monday on the website On3.com said LSU was backing McMahon and making growing the NIL budget for men’s basketball a priority That report went on to say that LSU and South Carolina are the least well-funded SEC programs in terms of NIL. LSU improved to 14-12 overall with Tuesday’s 81-67 victory over South Carolina, still tied for 14th in the SEC with Oklahoma at 3-10. South Carolina is last at 1016 and 0-13 in the SEC, the only program in the 16-team league with an overall losing record. Asked Monday about the On3. com report, McMahon said that
he is grateful for the support he has already received from the athletic department and is most focused on coaching this team to a successful close to the regular season. The Tigers have five regularseason games remaining, all against ranked opponents, starting with a home date Saturday against No. 2 Florida (5 p.m., SEC Network). McMahon, 46, is in his third season at LSU and 10th season as a collegiate head coach overall. He is 45-47 with the Tigers and 14-35 in Southeastern Conference play He went 154-67 in seven seasons at Murray State, including a 31-3 mark in 2021-22 before taking the LSU job. McMahon took over at LSU
after Will Wade was fired in March 2021 following the school receiving a notice of allegations from the NCAA detailing significant misconduct. Most of Wade’s tenure at LSU was shrouded by a nation-wide federal investigation into college basketball improprieties that became public in September 2017.
At one point after Wade’s departure, LSU’s roster had zero players on it. McMahon put together a team for the 2022-23 season that included 15 players, but those Tigers were only able to go 14-19 and 2-16 in SEC play In 2023-24, McMahon’s second team went 17-16 but a respectable 9-9 in SEC play. LSU received an NIT bid but lost in the first round.
Wembanyama expected to miss rest of season
San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama’s season is likely over after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his right shoulder, a condition that will sideline one of the league’s brightest stars. Wembanyama is beginning treatment immediately and the Spurs are working under the expectation that the 7-foot-3 center from France will fully recover said a person with knowledge of the situation who spoke to The Associated Press. Wembanyama’s condition — deep vein thrombosis — was diagnosed this week after he returned from the All-Star Game, the Spurs said Thursday It is almost always treated with blood-thinning medication, and players in contact sports such as basketball have long been advised to avoid playing while using such medication because of the heightened chance of bleeding.
Texas coach Sarkisian gets raise, extension
The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a raise and contract extension for football coach Steve Sarkisian on Thursday after the Longhorns advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals for the second consecutive season
The new deal extends Sarkisian’s contract by one year through the 2031 season. It raises his salary this year from $10.4 million to $10.8 million. Annual raises will push his salary to $12.3 million by the final year
The regents also approved raises and one-year contract extensions for special teams coordinator Jeff Banks and linebackers coach Johnny Nansen. Banks is extended to 2027 when he will earn $1.3 million. Nansen was extended to 2026, when he will earn $1.2 million.
Mavericks star Davis out at least two more weeks
Newly traded Anthony Davis was dominant in the first half of his only game with the Mavericks against Houston on Feb. 8, but pulled up lame late in the third quarter of Dallas’ 116-105 victory
The 10-time All-Star had missed his last two games with the Lakers because of an abdominal injury before the seismic trade that sent fellow superstar Luka Doncic to Los Angeles. Davis then sat the first two games he could have played for Dallas before suiting up against the Rockets. The groin injury only intensified criticism of Dallas general manager Nico Harrison over a trade that infuriated many Mavericks fans. Doncic was out the last five-plus weeks of his Dallas career with a calf injury that has plagued the 25-year-old the past few seasons, but the 31-year-old Davis has a much longer history of injuries.
Police detain man who caused Raducanu distress
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai police detained a man who caused Emma Raducanu distress by exhibiting fixated behavior” toward the British star at a tennis tournament. The 22-year-old Raducanu had been approached by the man at the Dubai Championships where he left her a note, took her photograph, and engaged in behavior that caused her distress, the government of Dubai’s media office said Thursday The 2021 U.S. Open champion saw the man in the stands during her second-round match against Karolina Muchova on Tuesday night. At one point she was in tears and stood behind the umpire’s chair
Longhorns hoops coach Schaefer gets extension
AUSTIN, Texas The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a three-year contract extension for women’s basketball coach Vic Schaefer through the 2029-2030 season on Thursday Schaefer, 63, is in his fifth season at Texas and has led the Longhorns to three Elite Eight finishes. Texas (26-2) is ranked No. 2 and tied for first in the Southeastern Conference as the Longhorns contend to be one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Schaefer’s current annual base salary of $2.3 million remains the same through the 2026-27 season, then goes up $100,000 each year of the extension to $2.6
and 2018.
STAFF PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
New Orleans Pelicans guards CJ McCollum, left, and Trey Murphy celebrate after McCollum scored against the Sacramento Kings during overtime on Feb 13 at the Smoothie King Center
Cajuns softball hoping to find consistency
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
There were good and bad things throughout UL coach Alyson Habetz’s first 10 games with the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Starting at 1 p.m. Saturday against Houston, Habetz is hoping to see more consistency in all areas during their four games in the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational II.
The highlight of the first two weekends was the 6-5 win over Ole Miss in nine innings. UL followed that with an 8-2 loss to Sam Houston.
“When I say consistent play some days we’re going to hit and some days we aren’t going to hit, but our defense needs to be consistent, and pitching needs to be consistent in the sense of not giving up freebies,” said Habetz, whose Cajuns (6-4) are scheduled for doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday
“Against Sam Houston, we gave up 14 freebies. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’re not going to win games if you give up 14 freebies. I think our pitching staff learned from that and I think our defense learned from that.”
Two five-game weekends in a row were a challenge for UL, which was down three pitchers. It’s still unclear if or when Sage Hoover and Lexie Delbrey will be available. Tyra Clary suffered a knee injury in the first weekend and could be back soon.
That means Habetz and pitching coach Shelbi Sunseri learned a lot about true freshman Mallory
SAINTS
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This will be Nussmeier’s first time serving as an offensive coordinator at the NFL level, though he does have significant experience coordinating offenses at major college football programs, such as Alabama, Florida and Michigan.
Nussmeier is a former Saints quarterback himself the team selected him in the fourth round out of the University of Idaho in 1994. He appeared in five games with the Saints and spent some time with both the Colts and Broncos before finishing his playing career in the CFL.
While his playing career took
ä Houston at UL 1 P.M. SATURDAy, ESPN+
Wheeler senior Sam Ryan and junior transfer Bethaney Noble.
Wheeler threw all nine innings in the win over Ole Miss.
“When she first came out there, they were hitting her pretty good,” Habetz said. “Usually as a freshman, they might get a little on your heels and be a little nervous and maybe even a little intimidated even, but she just got better She really went after them and finished the game and did a great job.
“She did not want to come out of the game. After each inning, I’d ask her how she was doing and she’d give me a look like, ‘You’re not taking me out of this game.’
She’s fearless. She’s not afraid.”
Pitching Ryan two days in a row didn’t work, so that’ll likely be avoided in the future. Noble earned some more opportunities with seven strikeouts and only two walks in the loss to the Rebels.
“She had not done that,” Habetz said. “We needed to see that and that was exciting to see from her.”
There are areas of improvement offensively as well.
“Offensively, I want to do more execution and creating some chaos,” Habetz said. “I hate stalling innings — we get two hits and then we don’t do anything.
“As the season progresses, we’re going to get really good pitching. We just have to continue to compete in the box.”
Cecilia Vasquez may have settled
him out of Louisiana decades ago, Nussmeier has maintained a strong connection to the state
He married a Louisiana native, Christi Nussmeier, who is a former member of the Saints dance team And his son, Garrett Nussmeier, is LSU’s starting quarterback.
Nussmeier is the final piece of the offensive staff assembled by Moore. He joins three coaches he’s worked with in the past (offensive line coach Brendan Nugent, tight ends coach Chase Haslett and quarterbacks coach Scott Tolzien) as well as two coaches with prior Saints ties (running backs coach Joel Thomas, receivers coach Keith Williams)
Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
UL shortstop Cecilia Vasquez has been among the Cajuns’ most consistent performers over the first 10 games.
in the 3-hole for the Cajuns, showing the ability to move runners and drive them in from that spot.
“She just seems very comfortable and confident in that position, coming up with a home run and some RBIs,” Habetz said. “She’s been a leader from that position.”
LSU
Continued from page 1C
LSU was versatile on the mound with nine left-handers, but many of them struggled while the staff as a whole had trouble consistently throwing strikes. They lacked reliable arms outside of Luke Holman, Gage Jump and Griffin Herring and were missing a third starting pitcher
The Tigers eventually pulled it together in time to make the SEC tournament championship game and be two outs away from advancing to a super regional But their uneven play from start to finish was a factor in why 14 players decided to enter the transfer portal.
“Some guys that were here didn’t need to be here because they couldn’t understand that at a place like this, it’s not about you,” Johnson said at the LSU First Pitch Banquet in January “it’s about something much bigger than yourself.
“Oncewekindofmovedthewrong guys off the bus, then we started to get the right guys on the bus.”
Getting “the right guys” meant raiding the transfer portal for more depth and versatility on offense, while adding more than a handful of strike throwers to a pitching staff that lost 12 of its top 14 arms in terms of innings.
Johnson also brought back 12 players 13 including redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores who was out for all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery He also added 10 freshmen, a class he feels better about than any incoming group he’s had at LSU before.
This early in the season, there’s still value in some failures. For instance, true freshman slugger Emily Smith left some key runners on base, but Habetz isn’t discouraged by those results at all.
“She needs to experience that against good pitching because
that makes her work harder and makes her figure things out,” Habetz said. “Based on the pitcher adjustments need to be made. If she takes her same swing and has success, then come postseason and we face a really good pitcher, she can’t make the adjustment then.
“This forces her to figure out what to do when we face that type of pitcher.”
Three of the four games are against Houston, which has played a lot of high-scoring games. In starting out 8-2, the Cougars are averaging 7.8 runs a game, but giving up 6.6 a game. Houston has two wins over ULMonroe – 13-10 and 15-11.
The team ERA is 5.13 and the lineup is hitting .293, led by Brooke Wells with four homers and 14 RBIs.
On the flip side, UL’s offense has been led by redshirt freshman Gabbie Stutes (.545, 5 RBIs) and Kayla Falterman (.481, 3 RBIs).
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” Habetz said of Falterman. “I thoughtshemayshowupsomething, butman,she’sbeenonfire.She’sconsistent in the 2-hole and that’s what we need out of that position.”
Something for fans to monitor this weekend is how the staff will try to get Stutes’ hot bat into the lineup. A middle infielder by trade, Stutes may need to play a different position with shortstop Vasquez and second baseman Mia Liscano shining defensively so far this season.
RANKINGS: LSU is No. 3 by D1Baseball; Omaha is unranked
Continued from page 1C
McIlroy is coming off a highly successful 2024 season in which he won four times and finished second four other times, while earning his sixth DP World Tour Order of Merit. He posted seven top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour and eight on the DP World Tour, while finishing tied for fifth in the 2024 Olympic golf competition in Paris. Since joining the PGA Tour in 2010, McIlroy has won 27 times and added 11 victories on the DP World Tour His résumé includes wins at the Tour Championship (three times), DP World Championship (three times), The Open Championship (twice), U.S. Open, PGA Championship and The Players Championship. He has finished in the top 10 at the Masters seven
times in the last 10 years and has been named PGA Tour Player of the Year three times.
Lowry meanwhile enjoyed one of his best years on the PGA Tour in 2024. In addition to his Zurich Classic victory, he posted six top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including a solo sixth in the PGA Championship and a tie for sixth in The Open Championship. He also posted three top 10 finishes on the DP World Tour last year, including a tie for third in the DP World Championship that McIlroy won.
Lowry won The Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush in his native Ireland, firing a course-record 63 in the third round to win by six shots over Tommy Fleetwood. He has won six other titles, four on the DP World Tour and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2015 that earned him his PGA Tour card.
from page 1C
the of-
the
While it’s not been the best start for UL’s pitching, the majority of the pitchers the Cajuns would be relying on if they were playing a Sun Belt series this weekend have done fine. Dylan Theut, Tate Hess, Riley Marcotte and Wil Taylor are all at 0.00, ace lefty Chase Morgan is at 1.80, James Trimble (2.25) and Matthew Holzhammer at 2.45. JR Tollett has pitched better than his 7.71. Depending on An-
Derek Curiel was an outfielder Johnson had been recruiting since he was in seventh grade. Lefthander Cooper Williams was committed to Texas A&M before flipping his pledge over the summer to LSU These were high school players Johnson and his staff targeted and recruited, not prospects they inherited from the previous regime.
“I think we recruited better And there’s several reasons for that. I could talk for a long time about that,” Johnson said. “... We had the full runway with this class, like full runway from start to finish.”
As a result of Johnson’s offseason work, LSU’s lineup can match up better against left-handed and right-handed pitching. The Tigers have been more patient at the plate and are faster than they were last year, utilizing that attribute on the basepaths this past weekend.
They can score runs in more ways than one, and their improved depth has also allowed Johnson to hone in on further developing
drew Herrmann’s health moving forward, newcomer Parker Dillhoff (9.00, 2 IP, 4 BB) will have something to prove, as will Matt Gaither (18.00, 1 IP). The most interesting case is Blake McGehee (12.00 ERA, 3 IP), who had an ERA over 5.00 last season. He’s healthy now and time will tell how well he transfers training camp results to the mound.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Anderson threw a five-inning shutout in his first start of the year against Purdue Fort Wayne. He surrendered just four hits and had eight strikeouts. Omaha earned its first win of the season on Tuesday over Nicholls State after getting swept by Tulane to start the year
each player within their role on the team.
“There’s the depth to be able to look ahead and go like, ‘This will work for this player,’ “ Johnson said, “We were kind of locked into ‘You better hit the ball over the fence’ (last year), and it just, it wasn’t my style of a team.”
Meanwhile, the pitching staff has thrown a plethora of strikes. The Tigers only walked two batters last weekend as opposed to last year when they surrendered 22 walks in their opening three games. LSU’s depth on the mound was something that stood out to ju-
nior first baseman Jared Jones throughout the preseason.
“I think the biggest difference from this year’s team and last year’s team is on the mound,” Jones told The Advocate “I don’t think it’s even close.”
When Johnson decided his lineup for Friday’s season opener, he said it came together more easily than it ever has before.
He isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or not, but it’s hard to imagine a coach who isn’t confident in his team saying such a thing.
“I will say, I really like going to the field every day with this team,” Johnson said.
Or is it the defense that could present the most long-term issues? So far, there’s a case to be made for that. But typically, players calm down after the first weekend and the coaches can solve issues there with personnel changes. Nebraska should answer many of these questions. So far, the Huskers are 2-2 as well with wins over No. 16 Vanderbilt 6-4 and San Diego State 13-0 and losses to UC Irvine 10-5 and Grand Canyon 3-1. UL’s expected starters are Morgan on Friday, McGehee on Saturday and to be announced Sunday Nebraska counters with righthander Mason McConnaughey (0-1, 14.73 ERA, 3.2 IP, 9 K), righthander
Koki Riley
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Rory McIlroy, left, and Shane Lowry make their way off the 10th green during the second round of the Zurich Classic on April 26 at TPC Louisiana in Avondale.
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON LSU coach Jay Johnson talks with batters Derek Curiel, left, and Chris Stanfield during the fifth inning against Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium. LSU defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 8-1.
4 places to watch Spanish Town Parade
BY LAUREN CHERAMIE
Staff writer
Come Saturday, March 1, downtown Baton Rouge will be covered in pink. The Spanish Town parade is coming!
Starting at noon, the parade will roll on Fourth Street and Spanish Town Road, to Ninth, North, Fourth, Main, Ninth, Laurel, Fourth, Florida, Seventh to Convention streets and River Road, ending at North Street.
If you’ll be participating in the revelry, arrive early, bring a chair and have fun. Here are four places to watch the flamingo-filled procession:
Capitol Park Museum
Join the Friends of Capitol Park Museum for its 11th annual Spanish Town parade party at 9 a.m. at 660 N. Fourth St., Baton Rouge. The family-friendly Mardi Gras event will include prime front-street viewing, indoor restrooms, a food and drink bar, face painting, activities and more. Ticket prices vary depending on age, available for purchase at eventbrite.com. All proceeds from the event support the Capitol Park Museum’s educational programs, public offerings and volunteer efforts.
Spanish Town Road
Anywhere along Spanish Town Road makes for a great spot. Walk around the neighborhood before the parade to see what makes the place special. The houses are sure to be decked out in all things pink and flamingo
St. Joseph Cathedral
Catch the parade at the cathedral and purchase
a po-boy from the Knights of Columbus at 401 Main St River Road, North Street
To witness the aftermath of the chaos, watch the parade at your preferred spot and then make your way to the end of the parade at the corner of River Road and North Street. While the riders may not have any throws left, it may be fun to watch.
Email Lauren Cheramie at lauren.cheramie@ theadvocate.com.
PHOTOS + FLOWERS
The Baton Rouge Garden Club and the Louisiana Photographic Society team up for “Picture This! A Tablescapes Event” from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Baton Rouge Garden Center
The show will feature both photography and floral design. $5 admission goes to a scholarship fund.
Staff report
ODE TO IRELAND
Traveling dance production jigging through La. next week
JUDY BERGERON
writer
next
sweep through
including a Thursday
mance at the Raising Cane’s River Center Performing Arts Theater in Baton Rouge. The show is presented by Pace Live.
“The show is basically a story It’s like the timeline of Ireland,” lead performer Cian Walsh 25, said last week. “We tell that story through the Irish music and dance, from Ireland’s creation and the Vikings coming over, through the tumultuous times of the famine and the Easter Rising right up to modern-day Ireland.”
ä See IRELAND, page 6C
‘A TASTE OF IRELAND’ n 7:30 p.m.Thursday: Raising Cane’s River Center Performing Arts Theater, Baton Rouge ● $30.45 and up ● raisingcanesrivercenter.com/eventstickets/ n 7:30 p.m. Monday: Coughlin-Saunders Performing Arts Center,Alexandria n 7:30 p.m.Tuesday: Strand Theatre, Shreveport n 7 p.m.Wednesday: Lake Charles Event Center n 7:30 p.m. Feb 28: Jefferson Performing Arts Center Metairie ● atasteofirelandshow.com/
The Baton Rouge Mardi Gras Festival is returning for its 12th year, and once again, it’s a two-part celebration
A pre-party will take place from 7 p.m. to midnight on Thursday at Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 2733 North St. The main festival will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at North Boulevard Town Square, 222 North Blvd
The pre-party will offer a sneak peek of some of the talent scheduled to play on the Town Stage on Saturday Admission is $30 and includes a buffet and no-host bar Performers expected to appear are Henry Turner Jr & Flavor and the Listening Room All-Stars. The main event features continuous live music, a vendor’s village and a food court. It’s family-friendly and free to the public. There’s lawn seating so bring chairs organizers say
This year’s festival lineup on the Town Lawn Stage will include blues, soul, R&B, reggae, gospel, jazz, pop/rock, spoken word, comedy and Mardi Gras Indians. Scheduled to appear are Henry Turner Jr & Flavor; the Listening Room All-Stars including Ervin “Maestro” Foster Kevin White, Kelton ‘Nspire Harper, King Solomon and comedian Eddie “Cool” Deemer; the Phoenix Rouge Dance Troupe; Big Queen Tanya Sylvas; Wyanda Paul and John “The Boss Man” Hall. Screenings of “We’re Going Down to the Mardi Gras: The Making of Henry Turner Jr.’s Mardi Gras Festival” will be shown at 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the River Center Branch Library, 250 North Blvd. right next to the festival grounds. The 44-minute documentary is narrated by Turner and was produced by Michele Barnes for her Rebirth Shield Film Productions. For more information, including VIP packages with covered seat-
and food and drink tickets, go to www.batonrougemardigrasfestival.com or call (225) 802-9681. The event is presented by Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room Museum Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
PHOTO By MICHAEL DUNLAP
STAFF FILE PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Anywhere along Spanish Town Road makes for a great spot to watch the Krewe of Spanish Town Parade.
By The Associated Press
Today is Friday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2025. There are 313 days left in the year
Today in history
On Feb 21, 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York. Three men identified as members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled. (The convictions of two of the men were dismissed in November 2021, when prosecutors said new evidence had undermined the case against them.)
On this date:
In 1885, President Chester Arthur dedicated the Washington Monument.
In 1911, composer Gustav Mahler, despite a fever, conducted the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in what turned out to be his final concert (He died the following May.)In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle of World War I, began in northeastern France.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began a historic visit to China, where he met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines
Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 people on board
In 1975, former Attorney General John N Mitchell, former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and former White House Domestic Affairs Adviser John D Ehrlichman were sentenced to 21/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. (Each ended up serving less than two years.)
In 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States won the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Albertville Winter Olympics; Midori Ito of Japan won the silver, Nancy Kerrigan of the U.S. the bronze Today’s birthdays: Film and music executive David Geffen is 82. Actor Tyne Daly is 79. Actor Anthony Daniels is 79. Actor William Petersen is 72. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 70. Country musician Mary Chapin Carpenter is 67. Baseball Hall of Famer Alan Trammell is 67. Actor William Baldwin is 62. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona is 61. Actor Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is 56. Musician Rhiannon Giddens is 48. Actor Tituss Burgess is 46. Actor Jennifer Love Hewitt is 46. Filmmaker-comedian Jordan Peele is 46. Singer Charlotte Church is 39.
SHOWS TO WATCH — BATON ROUGE
FRIDAY
SHANE MADERE: The Colonel’s Club, 6 p.m.
HISTORICAL HAPPY HOUR
FEATURING KASEY BALL: West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen, 6 p.m.
ORIGINAL MUSIC GATHERING: La Divina Italian Café, 6 p.m.
GARRETT REMSON: Le Chien Brewing Co., Denham Springs
6:30 p.m.
STONE SOBER: El Paso, Denham Springs, 6:30 p.m.
THE LEE SERIO BAND: T’Quilas Denham Springs, 6:30 p.m.
JOEY HOLAWAY: 18 Steak at L’Auberge, 7 p.m.
BACKLIT STEREO: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 7 p.m.
CYNDER ROAD DUO: Bin 77, 7 p.m.
HENRY TURNER JR. & ALL-
STARS: Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 8 p.m.
SAMANTHA FISH: L’Auberge Event Center, 8 p.m.
2 DOMESTIC 1 IMPORT: O’Haras Irish Pub, 8 p.m.
ISSY/THE BLOOMIES: Brickyard South, 8 p.m.
KRISTIN DIABLE/MARY BROUSSARD: Red Dragon Listening Room, 8 p.m.
FAVORITE FRIEND/RAMBLE
PREAMBLE/FIZZY: Mid City Ballroom, 8 p.m.
THE BAND LOUISIANA: Icehouse Tap Room, 8 p.m.
THE COVERLY BROTHERS: Phil Brady’s, 8:30 p.m.
PETTY BETTY: The Edge Bar at L’Auberge, 9 p.m.
BRENT COBB: The Texas Club, 9 p.m.
CORNERPOCKET: Churchill’s, 9 p.m.
HONKY TONK PLAYBOYS: Southern Rhythm, Denham Springs, 9 p.m.
JOEL COOPER & SCOTT JOR-
DAN: Fat Cat Saloon, Prairieville, 9 p.m.
CHRIS PRYOR & THE MAIN EVENT: Fred’s on the River, Prairieville, 9 p.m.
KENDALL SHAFFER: Moonlight Inn, French Settlement, 9 p.m.
SCOTT RIGGS: Jack’s Place, Port Allen, 9 p.m. THE DUPONT BROTHERS: The Vineyard, 9 p.m.
WHISKEY BENT: Swamp Chicken Daiquiris, St. Amant, 9 p.m.
SATURDAY
FLORIDA STREET BLOWHARDS: Em & Lizzie’s Gift Shop, Slaughter, 2 p.m.
OPEN JAM SESSION: The Smokey Pit, 4 p.m.
RUSTY YATES: The Colonel’s Club, 5 p.m.
BRITTON MAJOR: Sullivan’s Steakhouse, 5:30 p.m.
CONNER UNDERWOOD: The Colonel’s Club, 5:30 p.m.
DON POURCIAU & KONSPIRACY: Pedro’s Siegen, 6 p.m.
PAPO Y SON MANDAO: Pedros Juban, 6 p.m.
Continued from page 5C
As opposed to traditional Irish dance in which performers keep their arms stiff and to their sides, the audience will see the loosearms style of dance This more relaxed variation caught on during the height of popularity for Michael Flatley and his “Riverdance” productions.
“There’s a lot of history and there’s a lot of culture in the sport,” according to Julia O’Rourke, 25, another lead performer ‘We try to really maintain a lot of the traditional aspects in the show as well, just besides loose arms, just to keep it a little bit more fun for the audience.”
There are many theories on why stiff arms were a constant in earlier Irish dancing, the most likely being that 18th-century dance teachers thought the style to be more dignified.
The two-act show lasts about an hour and 40 minutes and includes 14 dancing and musical numbers. In each number, the performers play a different character
“So, there is a lot of acting involved, I would say especially with the leads,” O’Rourke said, in discussing the walk through history that is “Taste of Ireland. “We have a little happier second half, but the beginning of Ireland was
STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
Blues guitarist and vocalist Samantha Fish, seen here at 2023’s Jazz Fest, will play L’Auberge Event Center at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets start at $25.
PERIQUE: Pizza Art Wine, 6 p.m. THE ROUX TONES: T’Quilas Zachary, 6 p.m. UNITED WE JAM: T’Quilas, Denham Springs, 6 p.m. BARRETT MORGAN: Le Chien Brewing Co., Denham Springs, 6:30 p.m. THE LONGNECK SOCIETY: El Paso, Denham Springs 6:30 p.m. MATT TORTORICH: 18 Steak at L’Auberge, 7 p.m.
CAM PYLE: Bin 77, 7 p.m.
JOVIN WEBB: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 7 p.m.
ACOUSTIC NIGHT W/HENRY TURNER JR.: Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room, 8 p.m.
BUCKCHERRY: L’Auberge Event Center, 8 p.m.
MINK KONTROL/SUNSCAPE/ DREW FRANK: Mid City Ballroom, 8 p.m. A NIGHT HONORING STEVE
JUDICE: Red Dragon Listening Room, 8 p.m.
RIVER RAIN: Chuck’s Fishbowl, Addis, 8 p.m.
UNSELFISH LOVERS OF THE BLUES: Phil Brady’s, 8 p.m.
JUSTIN BURDETTE TRIO: Superior Grill MidCity, 11 a.m.
ROBERT CALMES: Cocha, 11 a.m.
FLORIDA STREET BLOWHARDS: Jubans, 11 a.m.
WILLIE STONEMORE: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 11 a.m.
ERIC GAUTREAUX: Red Stick
Social, noon
JOEL COOPER: Locals, Central, noon
MOM AND DAD: Icehouse Tap Room, 3 p.m. RIVER RAIN: Fred’s on the River, Prairieville, 3 p.m.
OPEN MIC JAM: Fat Cat Saloon, Prairieville, 7 p.m.
MUSCLE/WHITEMOTH/NECROMIRE/DEVOTOUS: Mid City Ballroom, 8 p.m.
MONDAY
VICTOR, SKIP & CARRIE: Phil Brady’s, 6 p.m.
a little rough.”
“The first half is definitely a lot darker The two leads are battling against each other and it’s that kind of conflict and tension in the first half,” Walsh agreed.
“But then in the second half it gets lighter and the audience is definitely jumping and dancing on their feet by the finale.”
Two risers at the rear of the stage provide more dancing and jumping options for the actors.
Having both begun dancing at an early age O’Rourke at 5 in Malverne, New York, and Walsh at 6 in Riverstick, County Cork, Ireland the pair have experienced their share of injuries.
“Oh, we just might be here a while,” said O’Rourke. “… I had a back injury that took me out for a year but this was like in my competition days. Recently, on my first Christmas tour, I tore my hamstring. That was kind of rough. Ankle sprains, I mean, that happens probably like every couple weeks. I’ve broken all bones in my foot.”
Walsh has gone through knee issues and partly attributes those to dancing on stages that kind of feel like concrete under their feet.
“You’ll get your shin splints and then different things like that. You could be as fit as possible, but still the conditions, things happen,” Walsh said. “The intensity of the show and especially if you have like a couple of weeks off at home
where if you’ve been touring for six months and then you’re home for two or three weeks, you kind of want to chill out as well.” Returning to the show after for instance, a two-week break, makes injuries more likely during the first couple of weeks or so, he said.
“You definitely have to look after yourself or else, from personal experience, you definitely will get injured and then it’s a long way back from there,” said Walsh.
The current tour puts the troupe on the road for four months, traveling by bus from city to city Walsh won’t have time to return home to Ireland during the brief pauses in the schedule, while O’Rourke, living in the States, may make a quick trip home at Easter
When asked about any stories from the road that were shareable, they burst into laughter.
“Yeah. I mean, we all, like, especially on a long tour like this, we all get super close. I mean, we’re basically living with each other,” O’Rourke said.
“If you’re living with a cast of 20 people like that, you’re going to have tensions brew up, there’s gonna be different things like that,” Walsh added. “But, we’ve got a really good cast. Everyone’s like one big family.”
Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate.com.
SHOWS TO WATCH — ACADIANA
FRIDAY
LIVE MUSIC: Cane River Pecan Company Pie Bar, New Iberia, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY NIGHT JAMS: City of Scott, 6 p.m.
JACK WOODSON: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
JASON MATTE: Naq’s-n-Duson, Duson, 6 p.m.
MARLON G.: Prejean’s, Broussard, 6 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC: Jim Deggy’s Brick Oven Pizza & Brewery, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
BRITTON MAJOR: Wicked Daiquiris, Denham Springs, 8 p.m.
THURSDAY
RUSTY YATES: The Colonel’s Club, 5 p.m.
DUSTIN LEE GUEDRY: Don’s Seafood, Gonzales, 5:30 p.m.
KYBALION: El Paso, Sherwood, 6 p.m.
OPEN MIC W/AMANDA JO
HESS: Istrouma Brewing, St. Gabriel, 6 p.m.
THE STARDUST BOYS: The Brakes Bar, 6 p.m.
BRANDON RINGO: T’Quilas, Denham Springs, 6 p.m.
BRENT ARMSTRONG: T’Quilas, Zachary, 6 p.m.
CLAY PARKER & JODI JAMES: La Divina Italian Café, 6 p.m.
DON POURCIAU & KONSPIRACY: Pedros Juban, 6 p.m.
RALPH DAIGLE: El Paso, Gonzales, 6 p.m.
THE ROUX TONES: Pedro’s Siegen, 6 p.m.
JOSIE OLIVA: On The Half Shell, Prairieville, 6:30 p.m.
PEYTON FALGOUST: Bin 77, 6:30 p.m.
THE BISHOP ELLIS TRIO: Hayride Scandal, 7 p.m.
BACKSTREET: Swamp Chicken Daiquiris, St. Amant, 7 p.m.
Compiled by Marchaund Jones. Want your venue’s music listed? Email info/ photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper
CARMEN LYNCH: DoubleTree by Hilton Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.
CAZAYOUX (9 PIECE BAND)
W/”THE POINT”: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.
THE MINTLLY ILLBILLIES: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 8 p.m.
CAJUN FRENCH MUSIC JAM: Vermilionville, Lafayette, 1 p.m.
ROBIN IN THE WOODS: Bayou Teche Brewing, Arnaudville, 4 p.m.
THE GOOD DUDES: Adopted Dog Brewing, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
JON CLEARY — LES CONTES DE GALLERIE: Johnson’s Boucaniere, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
PROVIDED PHOTO By RUNE LUNDO Catch Grammy-winning New Orleans artist Jon Cleary takes the Les Contes de Gallrie (Stories on the Porch) stage at Johnson’s Boucaniere in Lafayette at 6 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $100 for the intimate show, which includes music, stories and a three-course dinner
AUDREY BROUSSARD: Charley
G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
PAUL PIAZZA: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.
KEN HOLLOWAY: Agave, Youngsville, 6:30 p.m.
RADIO ZYDECO: Hideaway on Lee, Lafayette, 8 p.m.
DYLAN AUCOIN & THE JUDICE
RAMBLERS: La Poussiere Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.
ANDREW WAIN QUARTET: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 8 p.m.
ALBERT CASTIGLIA: The Grouse Room, Lafayette, 9 p.m.
THE DEBTORS: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.
THE TAILGATORS: Toby’s Lounge, Opelousas, 8:30 p.m.
LIVE MUSIC: Cowboys Nightclub, Scott, 10 p.m.
SUNDAY
LIVE MUSIC: Tante Marie, Breaux Bridge, 11 a.m.
PATRICIO LATINO SOLO: Cafe Habana City, Lafayette, 11 a.m. SAM SPHAR: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
THE GREG GORDON PROJECT: The Brass Room, Lafayette, 7 p.m.
TUESDAY
TERRY HUVAL & FRIENDS: Prejean’s Restaurant, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
”DIRTY DANCING IN CONCERT”: Heymann Performing Arts Center, Lafayette, 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
ETHAN HUNT: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
DAVE TRAINER: Charley G’s Seafood Grill, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
CAJUN JAM: Blue Moon Saloon, Lafayette, 8 p.m.
THURSDAY
JILL BUTLER: Whiskey & Vine, Lafayette, 6 p.m.
THE TROUBADOUR: Agave, Youngsville, 6 p.m.
KIP SONNIER: SHUCKS!, Abbeville, 6:30 p.m.
Compiled by Marchaund Jones. Want your venue’s music listed? Email info/ photos to showstowatch@ theadvocate.com. The deadline is noon FRIDAY for the following Friday’s paper
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Let your personality shine. Engage in chatter and enjoy the company of those who spark your imagination, but don't feel obligated to buy anyone's love. Say no to temptation.
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Take care of tasks you've let slip. Call an expert and get the lowdown on how to deal with matters that are holding you back. Sign up for something that offers insight into where you want to be.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Put muscle behind your plans and rearrange your residence to make room for developing projects. Be secretive about your plans; when the time is right, you'll blow everyone's socks off with what you reveal.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Take a realistic look at your lifestyle and the lessons you've learned. Today is not a day for daring ventures — tread carefully, especially when in groups.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Push yourself; you can accomplish plenty if you are quick to respond and eager to implement your desires. Satisfaction comes from doing the best you can.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Learn from change. Observation will help you decipher whether following or leading the way is in your best interest Keep your thoughts to yourself until you have a thorough plan in place.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Embrace life and attend events that help you put
situations in perspective. Take your time and refuse to let insecurity result from criticism or bullying.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Gather information, test your faculties and map out a plan. Travel, group participation and events that bring you in contact with people you'd like to get to know better will lead to interesting prospects.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Communication is the path to understanding and moving forward. Test your imagination and creative strengths, and discover a pastime that brings you peace and joy.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) A friendly demeanor will help ward off anyone trying to pick a fight or take advantage of you. Keep active. It's up to you to invest in yourself and build opportunities.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You'll have many unique ideas. Apply your skills to manifest what you want and attract support. Use pent-up energy by participating in physical activities.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Take time to reflect. Get your thoughts in order before making a big decision. Be open and receptive to what others say while following the path that suits your needs and budget.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
TODAy'S CLUE: K EQUALS F
CeLebrItY CIpher
For better or For WorSe
And erneSt
SALLY Forth
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon
bIG nAte
Sudoku
InstructIons: Sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the Sudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.
Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer
THe wiZard oF id
BLondie
BaBY BLueS
Hi and LoiS CurTiS
BY PHILLIP ALDER
Benjamin Franklin said, “If a man could have half of his wishes, he would double his troubles.”
Atthebridgetable,sometimesadouble can increase an opponent’s troubles. In this deal, if East does not double North’s five-diamondBlackwoodreply,Westwill lead the club queen against six spades. But if East doubles, West will start with the diamond four. What should South do in each case?
When North responded with a threespade game-invitational limit raise, South launched Blackwood. This was a theoretical error because he had two immediate heart losers. If North had shown no aces, South would not have knownwhattodo.Southshouldhavecontrol-bid (cue-bid) four clubs, showing a first-roundcontrolthereandexpressing slaminterest.Then,whenNorthcontrolbidfourhearts,Southcouldhavejumped straight to six spades.
After a club lead, South wins, draws trumps, and runs the heart jack. The finesse loses, but declarer has 12 tricks. When West leads a diamond, though, South must be careful. There will be a tendency to assume that the heart finesse is winning, but that line leads to trouble. Declarer should play low from the board and capture East’s diamond queen with his ace, draw trumps, and play three rounds of clubs, ruffing the last in his hand. Then South casts adrift with his last diamond.
