The Acadiana Advocate 02-26-2025

Budget bill stakes high for the state

La. has one of highest per-capita percentages of residents on Medicaid

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON As Republicans look to cut more than a trillion dollars out of the federal budget, some state leaders and health care officials worry that steep cuts to Medicaid could be on the table, which could blow a hole in the state budget and cause deep cuts in services to the 1.6 million Louisiana residents on the program.

“The Medicaid cuts that are being discussed by think tanks and in Washington, without a doubt, would harm our ability to provide lifesaving care for Medicaid patients across Louisiana,” said Ryan Cross, vice president for government affairs at the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, which operates seven regional medical centers and urgent care centers scattered throughout Louisiana But some, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Benton, and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, say those fears are overblown.

ä See BUDGET, page 5A

Cajun Industries announces plans to locate assembly yard at Iberia port, employ 600

BY ADAM DAIGLE

Acadiana business editor

A Baton Rouge-based manufacturer will open a location at the Port of Iberia to build modules for petrochemical plants, a move that will employ 600, officials announced Tuesday morning

Officials with the port and Cajun Industries, along with Gov Jeff Landry and state and local elected officials, ushered in the development Tuesday morning, which will cover 66 acres at the port and allow the company to use increased access to the Gulf of Mexico for transportation.

Cajun’s move is also a big win for manufacturing in the region and the state, Landry said, as part of the Trump administration’s emphasis on growing manufacturing jobs in the United States.

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BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer

As Louisiana tries to stay competitive in a new college athletics landscape in which players can get paid, it could soon join other states that are considering a new strategy: tax breaks for athletes who get money from NIL deals.

“Name, image and likeness” refers to arrangements in which athletes are paid to appear in advertising, merchandise and other media. Such agreements became legal in recent years, opening up an arms race for athletics programs seeking to attract top players with lucrative deals. Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, said he is preparing to file a bill for this year’s legislative session that would exempt compensation student athletes earn from NIL deals from state income tax.

ä See TAX, page 4A

Port of Iberia Director Craig Romero, left, greets Andy Shealy and Brad Norris at the Tuesday event, where Cajun Industries announced it will lease 60 acres at the port for an assembly yard

PHOTOS By LEE BALL

Port of Iberia Director Craig Romero, from left Gov. Jeff Landry and Cajun Industries Senior Vice President Andy Lopez talk Tuesday in New Iberia as the company announced its expansion at the port.

See CAJUN, page 4A

Planets in solar system line up at end of month

NEW YORK Seven planets grace the sky at the end of February in what’s known as a planetary parade, though some will be difficult to spot with the naked eye

These planetary hangouts happen when several planets appear to line up in the night sky at once. They’re not in a straight line, but are close together on one side of the sun. The astronomical linkup is fairly common and can happen at least every year depending on the number of planets. A parade of four or five planets visible to the naked eye happens every few years, according to NASA.

A similar parade took place last June, but only two planets could be seen without any special equipment. Six planets were visible in January — four to the naked eye — and now a dim Mercury joins the gang.

This month, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are visible to the naked eye. A faint Saturn and Mercury are close to the horizon, making them hard to spot. Uranus and Neptune can be glimpsed with binoculars and telescopes.

Starbucks to cut ‘less popular’ drinks

NEW YORK Starbucks is making cuts to its menu, with some of the coffee giant’s “less popular beverages” set to take their final bow next week.

In an announcement Monday, Starbucks outlined plans to remove a selection of its drinks — including several blended Frappuccino beverages, the Royal English Breakfast Latte and the White Hot Chocolate starting on Tuesday, March 4.

Starbucks says these cuts will reduce wait times, improve consistency and “make way for innovation.” The chain says it will continue to introduce a handful of other new items and seasonal specials, such as its Cortado beverage introduced last month and a new “Iced Cherry Chai” set to debut in the spring.

The menu changes arrive amid wider restructuring at the Seattle-based company. Starbucks also said that it would be laying off 1,100 corporate employees globally this week with CEO Brian Niccol citing needs to “operate more efficiently.” Niccol joined the chain as CEO in August.

Woman injured on theme park ride awarded $7M

LOS ANGELES A federal jury has awarded $7.25 million to a 74-year-old Arizona woman for a spine injury she suffered in a fall while exiting the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Pamela Morrison was getting seated on the popular attraction with her grandson in September 2022 when she was asked to exit after her harness failed to secure properly Morrison slipped and fell when stepping from a moving walkway onto solid ground, according to her lawsuit.

Her attorney, Taylor Kruse, argued that Morrison’s fall which caused a spinal compression fracture — was due to employees’ failure to halt the moving walkway and allow the woman to exit safely

“It would have cost them four seconds to stop it, but instead they wanted to keep the ride moving no matter what, to make its quota of 1,800 riders per hour,” Kruse said Tuesday Lawyers for Universal Studios Hollywood argued that Morrison was focused on her grandson and not on where she was stepping, so the fall was her fault.

Medics say babies are dying from cold in Gaza

BY WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH Gaza Strip At least six infants have died from hypothermia in the last two weeks in the Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousands of people are living in tent camps and war-damaged buildings during a fragile ceasefire, Palestinian medics said Tuesday

The coastal territory experiences cold, wet winters, with temperatures dropping below 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night and storms blowing in from the Mediterranean Sea. The last few days have been especially cold.

Yusuf al-Shinbari woke up in his family’s tent just after midnight on Tuesday to find that his 2-month-old daughter, Sham was cold to the touch. He could feel no heartbeat

“Yesterday, I was playing with her,” he said. “I was happy with her She was a beautiful child, like the moon.”

Dr Ahmed al-Farah, the head of the pediatric department at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where her body was taken, said she did not have any illness but died from severe cold because she was in a tent. He said the hospital treated another two infants for frostbite.

Saeed Salah, of the Patient’s Friends Hospital in Gaza City, said five infants aged one month or younger have died from the cold over the last two weeks, including a 1-month-old who died on Monday He said another child has been placed on a ventilator

Zaher al-Wahedi, head of the Gaza Health Ministry’s records department, said it has recorded 15 deaths from hypothermia this winter, all of them children.

The ceasefire that paused 16 months

of war between Israel and Hamas militants has allowed a surge in humanitarian aid, mainly food, but residents say there are still shortages of blankets and warm clothing, and little wood available for fires.

There’s been no central electricity in Gaza since the first few days of the war, and fuel for generators is scarce. Many families huddle on damp sand or bare concrete.

“It’s incredibly cold,” Rosalia Bollen, a spokesperson for the United Nations children’s agency, said earlier this month. “I have no clue how people can sleep at night in their makeshift tents.”

Israel’s military offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, was among the deadliest and most destructive in recent history It pounded large areas of Gaza into rubble. The hundreds of thousands of people who have been able to return to northern Gaza under the ceasefire have settled wherever they can amid the ruins.

The ceasefire’s first phase will end on Saturday and may not be extended. If fighting resumes, the current flow of humanitarian aid is expected to drop dramatically Even if the truce endures, it’s unclear when anything in Gaza will be rebuilt.

The World Bank has estimated the cost of reconstruction at over $50 billion, and it could take years just to clear the rubble.

Israel blames the destruction on Hamas because the militants positioned tunnels, rocket launchers and other military infrastructure in residential areas.

Hamas has accused Israel of delaying the entry of mobile homes and tents in violation of the ceasefire. Israel denies the allegations and accuses Hamas of violating the agreement.

French fugitive extradited to France after arrest in Romania

BY STEPHEN MCGRATH and VADIM GHRIDA Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania A notorious French fugitive who staged a deadly escape that killed two guards last year was extradited Tuesday from Romania to France, days after his arrest in Bucharest ended a nine-month international manhunt. Mohamed Amra, nicknamed The Fly,” was arrested near a shopping center in Bucharest on Saturday after being identified by Romanian police, despite having dyed his hair red, possibly to evade detection. The Bucharest Court of Appeal approved his extradition request on Sunday

CORRECTIONS

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White House says it ‘will determine’ which news outlets cover Trump

BY LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press

The White House said Tuesday that its officials “will determine” which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close — a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf of regular Americans.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the changes would rotate traditional outlets from the group and include some streaming services. Leavitt cast the change as a modernization of the press pool, saying the move would be more inclusive and restore “access back to the American people” who elected Trump. But media experts said the move raised troubling First Amendment issues because the president is choosing who covers him.

“The White House press team, in this administration, will determine who gets to enjoy the very privileged and limited access in spaces such as Air Force One and the Oval Office,” Leavitt said at a daily briefing. She added at another point: “A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly of press access at the White House.”

Leavitt said the White House will “double down” on its decision to bar The Associated Press from many presidential events, a departure from the timetested and sometimes contentious practice for more than a century of a pool of journalists from every platform sharing the presidents’ words and activities with news outlets and congressional offices that can’t attend the close-quarter events.

Traditionally, the members of the pool decide who goes in small spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One.

“It’s beyond time that the White House press operation reflects the media hab-

burglary, and also face charges in other cases, including murder, attempted murder and escaping from custody

arrest, while French investigators alerted counterparts in other countries after they suspected Amra had left France.

An official at Romania’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the legal case was still ongoing, confirmed to The Associated Press that Amra was handed over to French authorities for extradition Tuesday at an airport near Bucharest — where he arrived in handcuffs, flanked by armed police officers. Upon arrival in France, he was taken to the main Paris courthouse, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. He will be ordered to carry out the sentence he escaped last year, for

The high-profile search for Amra began last May when armed assailants ambushed a prison convoy in Normandy, killing two guards and seriously wounding three others in the process of aiding his escape.

Amra fled after being sentenced for burglary in the Normandy town of Evreux. He was also under investigation for an attempted organized homicide and a kidnapping that resulted in death, French prosecutors said.

The international police organization Interpol issued a notice for his

After his arrest on Saturday French President Emmanuel Macron hailed his capture a “formidable success” and praised European colleagues who had ended the long crossborder hunt.

Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau has said that Amra had connections with Marseille’s organized crime syndicates and was suspected of heading a drug trafficking network.

As of Monday night, 25 people had been detained in multiple countries suspected of some role in his escape or the aftermath, the Paris prosecutor said.

its of the American people in 2025, not 1925,” Leavitt said.

The change said one expert on presidents and the press, “is a dangerous move for democracy.”

“It means the president can pick and choose who covers the executive branch, ignoring the fact that it is the American people who through their taxes pay for the running of the White House, the president’s travels and the press secretary’s salary,” Jon Marshall, a media history professor at Northwestern University and author of “Clash: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis,” said in a text.

Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, said the organization consistently expands its membership and pool rotations to facilitate the inclusion of new and emerging outlets.

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States. It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president,” Daniels said in a statement. “In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.” The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press called it “a drastic change in how the public obtains information about its government.”

“The White House press pool exists to serve the public, not the presidency,” Bruce D. Brown the group’s president, said in a statement.

Leavitt spoke a day after a federal judge refused to immediately order the White House to restore the AP’s access to many presidential events. The news outlet, citing the First Amendment, sued Leavitt and two other White House officials for barring the AP from some presidential events over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” as Trump ordered. AP has said its style would retain the “Gulf of Mexico” name but also would note Trump’s decision.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI

Members of Abed family warm up by a fire at a tent camp for displaced Palestinians at the Muwasi, Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By VADIM GHIRDA Mohamed Amra, nicknamed ‘The Fly,’ is brought handcuffed by police officers at the Court of Appeals in Bucharest, Romania, on Sunday, following his arrest the day before.

Nearly 40% of canceled contracts expected to produce no savings

BY RYAN J FOLEY Associated Press

Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that President Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.

The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than onethird of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.

That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.

“It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law “Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn’t accomplish anything for saving money.”

An administration official said it made sense to cancel contracts that are seen as potential dead weight, even if the moves do not yield any savings. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity The Trump administration says it’s targeting fraud, waste and abuse in the government. DOGE said Monday that its cost-cutting efforts have saved an estimated $65 billion, including canceling leases and grants, cutting employees and selling assets. That figure has not been independently verified.

Some of the canceled contracts were for research studies that have been awarded, training that has taken place, software that has been purchased and interns who have come and gone. Dozens of them were for already-paid subscriptions to The Associated Press, Politico and other media services that the Republican administration said it would discontinue.

Other canceled contracts were to purchase a wide range of goods and services.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a contract in September to purchase and install office furniture at various branches While the contract does not expire until later this year federal records show the agency had already agreed to spend the maximum $567,809 with a furniture company

The U.S. Agency for International Development negotiated a $145,549 contract last year to clean the carpet at its headquarters in Washington. But the full amount had already been obligated to a firm that is owned by a Native American tribe based in Michigan. Another already-spent $249,600 contract went to a Washington, D.C., firm to help prepare the Department of Transportation for the recent transition from President Joe Biden’s administration to Trump’s.

“It’s too late for the government to change its mind on many of these contracts and walk away from its payment obligation,” said Tiefer, who served on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tiefer said DOGE appeared to be taking a “slash and burn” approach to cutting contracts, which he said could damage the performance of government agencies He said savings

Federal technology staffers resign

BY BRIAN SLODYSKO and BYRON TAU Associated Press

could be made instead by working with agency contracting officers and inspectors general to find efficiencies, an approach the administration has not taken.

DOGE says the overall contract cancellations are expected to save $9.6 billion, an amount that has been questioned as inflated by independent experts.

Some of the canceled contracts were intended to modernize and improve the way government works, which would seem to be at odds with DOGE’s cost-cutting mission.

One of the largest, for instance, went to a consulting firm to help carry out a reorganization at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which led the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The maximum $13.6 million had already been obligated to Deloitte Consulting LLP for help with the restructuring, which included closing several research offices.

DOGE’s data update came the same day The Associated Press appeared in court as part of its lawsuit against three White House officials as it seeks to restore the AP’s access to presidential events. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose.

WASHINGTON More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.”

“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”

The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The mass resignation of engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers is a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president’s tech-driven purge of the federal workforce. It comes amid a flurry of court challenges that have sought to stall, stop or unwind their efforts to fire or coerce thousands of government workers out of jobs. In a statement, White

House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was dismissive of the mass resignation.

“Anyone who thinks protests, lawsuits, and lawfare will deter President Trump must have been sleeping under a rock for the past several years,” Leavitt said. “President Trump will not be deterred from delivering on the promises he made to make our federal government more efficient and more accountable to the

hardworking American taxpayers.” Musk posted on his social media site X that the story was “fake news” and suggested that the staffers were “Dem political holdovers” who “would have been fired had they not resigned.”

The staffers who resigned had worked for the United States Digital Service, but said their duties were being integrated into DOGE. Their former office, the USDS, was

established under President Barack Obama after the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov, the web portal that millions of Americans use to sign up for insurance plans through the Democrat’s signature health care law

All previously held senior roles at such tech companies as Google and Amazon and wrote in their resignation letter that they joined the government out of a sense of duty to public service.

Getready,outdoor enthusiasts. Thehighly anticipatedLouisianaSportsmanShowpresented by Shellismakingits waytoSt. John Parish March 28-30for thefirsttime. It promises to be acelebration like no other. Whether you areadedicated hunter,anavidfisherman, or simplysomeone whovaluesnature, this event offersthe chance to experience whylifeinthe

“Sportsman’s Paradise”offersadventure and delight.

Thereisfreeadmission on Friday,March 28 forall membersofthe armedforces, veterans, police officers,EMS andfirefighters.

TheSportsman Show features Louisiana vendorsand craftsmenwithindoorand outdoor exhibits,family-oriented activities,and afood courtofferingawidevariety of Louisiana-flavoreddishes.

“Louisiana Sportsmanwas foundedinthe RiverParishes, andweare excitedtobring theshowtothe St.Johnthe BaptistParish CommunityCenterand theadjacentThomasF DaleyMemorialParkinLaPlace,” says SportsmanShowDirectorCraig Cuccia.“This year, it is more than aweekend focusonsportsand

boating; it represents resilience.The Center washit hard by HurricaneIda andfaced three yearsofextensive repair andrenovation.

“The LouisianaSportsman Show is a re-openingand celebration,”saysSt. John Parish CapitalProjectsDirectorDaron Cooper “Thisisthe Center’s first eventafter Hurricane Idaand thefirsttimeour parish hashostedan eventofsuchmagnitude.Welookforward to showcasingour multi-purposefacilityalong with theeconomicboost.”

Cooper points outthatthe facility’s location, largeatrium, andhigh-ceilingmainauditorium were significant sellingpointsfor accommodating theLouisiana SportsmanShow. “We’re directly in betweenNew Orleansand Baton Rouge, notfar from Hammond, at theepicenter of majorareas,” he says.“TheCenterisona main highwaywitheasyaccessfromseveral directions andlotsofroomfor free parking.” Sporting equipment, from hand-crafted fishinglures to luxuriousfishingboats,are traditional highlightsofthe show,along with awidevariety of family activities,including a largekids’ zone with severalinflatables. The LouisianaSportsman Show haspartnered with TheUnitedCajun Navy andTEAMUP 4ALL to offer afreekids’ fishingtournament

wherethe first 100kidstosignupwillreceive fishingrodsand tackle packs. Retrievercompetitionswillalsotakeplace throughout theshow, so attendees areinvited to bringtheir dogs to take part

OnSaturdayandSunday,theWetlandWatchers willbeavailable to allowkids–and adults –to viewandtouchbabyalligators,snakes,andother reptiles for auniqueeducational experience Satisfying theappetiteisnever aproblem at theSportsman Show.River Parishes chefswill be on hand forseafood,barbecue, Cajun-inspired dishes,and Asianfood. “There’s aNetflix connection with food andour facility,” notes Cooper. “The CommunityCenterhas been used as amovie setsoundstagewithnumerous Netflix movies filmedright here in LaPlace. SportsmanShowattendees canenjoy ameal from BigPapi’sSmokehouse, ownedbyGerald VinnettJr.,who wasafinalistonNetflix’s BarbecueShowdown.”

TheLouisiana SportsmanShowoccurs at theSt. John theBaptist CommunityCenterand Thomas F. DaleyMemorialParkonHighway 51 Show timesare Friday,Noon–7 p.m.,Saturday, 9a.m.–7p.m andSunday, 10 a.m. –5p.m VisitLouisianaSportsmanShow.comfor additional details, times, anddirections.

“When we think about the great opportunity we have right now, it really is unbelievable,” Landry said. “President Trump’s Make America Great plans fits right into this. He wants to see domestic manufacturing onshore in America. These are the projects that help us build Louisiana and America.”

The company’s module assembly yard will offer multidiscipline design and engineering services along with extensive direct-hire construction resources It would allow Cajun to offer turnkey engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction solutions, a status that company officials say is the only one of its kind in Louisiana.

Modularization has become the norm in industrial construction over the past 10 years, said Cajun senior vice president Andy Lopez

The move allows the company to be among a handful of companies in the U.S. that can offer EPFC solutions.

Iberia Director Craig

Cajun

“This is a significant moment not only for the state of Louisiana and the Port of Iberia but for all of us at Cajun Industries,” Lopez said. “The reality of this project is a long time in the making. This new service line will further solidify Cajun as a nationally recognized construction leader that brings innovative and oldfashioned work ethic to

execute world-class projects throughout the United States.”

The improved access to the Gulf, which the Trump administration recently renamed the Gulf of America, via the Acadiana Gulf of Mexico Access Channel was instrumental in the company’s decision to locate at the

income taxes.

port.

It has no height restrictions, and the Freshwater

Bayou bypass channel is expected to be operable in the near future, according to Cajun officials, which allow large offshore barges to access the port. It will also have capability of shipping large truckable modules via U.S. 90.

As an incentive for locating at the port, the state offered Cajun participation in the Quality Jobs program, which offers payroll benefits as an inducement for businesses to expand in the state, a Louisiana Economic Development spokesman said.

“Cajun Industries’ new facility at the Port of Iberia is a testament to how Louisiana’s business ecosystem is a place where both new and established businesses can grow and thrive,” LED Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “From supporting thousands of jobs to working major projects across statewide, Cajun Industries has a rich legacy in Louisiana, and we are so thankful it chose to further

its imprint and impact here at home.”

The manufacturing jobs are the latest to be scheduled to arrive in Iberia Parish, said Parish President M. Larry Richard. Cajun joins Delta Biofuels, which employs 275 at its plant in Jeanerette, and First Solar which Richard said could exceed its 700 job total and reach close to 1,000 when it begins operations next year Still in progress are negotiations for a biopharmaceutical manufacturing cluster that could employ 400 in conjunction with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center “I am so blessed to be the parish president at this time,” Richard said. “This is a big deal for Iberia Parish. Five years from — of course, I won’t be the parish president — but this parish is going to look a lot different.”

Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1A

It’s both a matter of attracting athletes to Louisiana and of guarding against other universities luring students away from the state, he said.

“Other states — Illinois, Alabama and Georgia — have bills right now to make it where NIL compensation is exempt from state income tax,” McMakin said. “We will be competing with those other states, and we’re not gonna let them outcompete us.”

But the idea of tax breaks for student athletes with major NIL deals — some of whom earn millions of dollars — doesn’t sit well with some experts, who warn that doing so uses the tax code to pick winners and losers McMakin said the proposed NIL income tax exemption would be for both college and high school student athletes. He said he initially learned of the idea on Twitter and was then contacted by LSU about it shortly after Other Louisiana universities also contacted him about the idea, he said. LSU declined to comment on the idea Tuesday.

The idea behind exempting NIL compensation from state income tax is aimed at creating either a recruiting advantage — or an even playing filed with states that don’t levy any income tax at all like Florida or Tennessee, said Mit Winter, a business attorney with expertise in college sports and NIL matters.

“I’m sure that has been used before as a recruiting pitch. Whether it’s effective or not, I don’t know,” said Winter, referring to universities in no-income-tax states that can use tax policy as a selling point.

“If some of these bills pass

in states where they’re pending, I guess it would alleviate the concern that that could be a deciding factor in recruiting,” he said.

The money at play is not inconsequential.

Explained Winter: “Especially in football and men’s basketball, there are lots of athletes making high six-figures, mid six-figures, low sixfigures, and some are making seven figures a year in NIL compensation.”

Athletes with lucrative brand endorsement deals like LSU’s Livvy Dunne can also find themselves in those income brackets, he said.

But Winter acknowledged legislation aimed at competitive recruitment may not necessarily amount to sound tax policy

Manish Bhatt, a senior policy analyst for the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan Washington-based think tank, echoed that sentiment.

“Strong, sound policy does not carve up the income tax and create a bunch of exemptions and loopholes such that it prevents broader reform structurally sound reform — from taking root,” Bhatt said.

Lawmakers should consider whether potential exemptions for NIL compensation would place an undue burden on other taxpayers, said Bhatt, who advised Gov Jeff Landry ahead of a recent overhaul of Louisiana’s tax structure, which ultimately reduced and flattened state income taxes.

“Good policy does not necessarily pick winners and losers in the market,” he said.

Lawmakers should consider whether potential exemptions for NIL compensation would place an undue burden on other taxpayers, said Bhatt, who advised Gov Jeff Landry ahead of a recent overhaul of Louisiana’s tax structure, which ultimately reduced and flattened state

“Good policy does not necessarily pick winners and losers in the market,” he said.

Regardless of the approach to taxing NIL compensation, Winter called NIL “the most important factor in recruiting.”

“If you don’t have sufficient NIL funding to offer to athletes and pay athletes, you’re gonna be at a severe disadvantage in recruiting,” he said.

Recent court rulings have opened up a flood of money for players in college sports. Major universities are preparing to pay players directly for the first time this year through a settlement in three antitrust cases, which must be approved, but there will be a $20.5 million limit to the total each school can pay annually

In the new era, NIL deals could allow universities with prominent athletics programs — like LSU — to attract players with millions of dollars on top of what they will be paid by the school.

How much LSU players get in NIL money is not publicly reported But its athletic department has a formal NIL collective, Bayou Traditions, and struck an amended contract with Playfly Sports. The agreement, which would take effect July 1, allows Playfly to find and organize deals for athletes.

A recent fundraiser for Bayou Traditions raked in $2.3 million, including $1.23 million from fans and another $1 million from an anonymous booster Head football coach Brian Kelly matched with his own $1 million donation to the Tiger Athletic Foundation’s scholarship fund, since he is barred from directly contributing to NIL collectives.

Email Alyse Pfeil at alyse. pfeil@theadvocate.com.

PHOTO By LEE BALL Gov. Jeff Landry signs a shovel Tuesday that will be used at a

ceremony as

Romero, from

Rev. Zack Mitchell, former state Sen. Fred Mills

on.

Everybody is committed to preserving Medicare benefits for those who desperately need it and deserve it and qualify for it. What we’re talking about is rooting out the fraud, waste, and abuse,” Johnson said. “We can eliminate all these fraudulent payments and achieve a lot of savings. What you’re doing with that is you’re shoring up the program and you’re making sure that the people who rely upon that have it and that it’s a better program.”

The stakes are particularly high for Louisiana, which has one of the highest percapita percentages of residents on Medicare — more than a third of them. The program pays for health care for pregnant women, children, elderly disabled and working adults who rely on the state-federal health care insurance.

Health care accounts for $21.4 billion or 43.4% of the state’s total budget. Louisiana taxpayers will be expected to put up $3.23 billion of that amount through the state general fund during the next fiscal year Any decrease in federal funding would require the state to pay more.

What would get cut?

Johnson and Scalise are pushing for “one big, beautiful bill” that contains Trump’s agenda for tighter border security, increased energy production, more defense, and continuation of tax breaks that are soon to expire. The legislation would add $5 trillion to $11 trillion to the nation’s $36 trillion debt.

Trump said Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security “would not be touched.”

The bill requires the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut at least $880 billion. Those reductions could come in the form of eliminating regulations for refineries. But some — including some Re-

publicans — are concerned that, given the magnitude of the amount needed, Medicaid will be main target Some have raised the expectation of cutting Medicaid spending through a series of moves, such as reducing federal matching payments. That would increase the amounts the state must pay, wreaking havoc on Louisiana’s budget House Appropriations Chair Jody Arrington, R-Texas, detailed in a Jan. 25 memo the possibilities of lowering the 90% share the federal government pays for health care provided to states that expanded Medicaid rolls.

The memo also discussed the possibility of increasing assessments on hospitals and capping care costs by basically giving states a set amount rather than paying for each service performed.

State Rep. Jack McFarland, who as chair of the Louisiana Legislature’s House Appropriations Committee is just now starting to draft the state’s budget, said he has been receiving worried calls from across the state. And while unsure exactly what, if any, changes are in store, he is preparing for the worst.

Last week, he asked the Louisiana Department of Health to look at the various congressional proposals and estimate how much each could cost the state, then look at what services could be cut and what populations would be impacted.

“It would create some significant challenges,” said McFarland, R-Winnfield

Basically, the state would have to cut services, reduce Medicaid rolls and find ways to come up with the money

“I don’t know how we would continue to look at reducing income taxes on the state level,” McFarland said Louisiana health care providers are also watching nervously

“Such proposals would place immense financial pressure on healthcare providers across the state, particularly small and rural hospitals that often serve as their communities’ primary healthcare providers and

is purely procedural and the first step in a lengthy process of preventing tax increases on families and small businesses,” she said in a statement. “Committees have not drafted legislation, and this is the start of a conversation to ensure programs like Medicaid will always be sustainable.”

Scalise said the budget bill was being misrepresented.

“This bill doesn’t even mention the word Medicaid a single time,” he said.

“And yet all Democrats are doing is lying about what’s in the budget because they don’t want to talk about the truth of what we’re voting to start.”

least,” Fields said Tuesday A state senator until joining Congress in January, Fields added that state government won’t raise taxes to cover its larger share.

“They’re going to move people off the rolls,” he said.

“This is going to dramatically affect health care in Louisiana.”

Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, agreed.

leading employers,” Paul A. Salles, president of the Louisiana Hospital Association, wrote Johnson on Feb. 17. “Given that hospitals directly and indirectly support more than 308,000 jobs in Louisiana, the broader economic repercussions would be substantial.”

Jeff Reynolds, executive director of the Louisiana Rural Hospital Coalition, said Tuesday he’s telling hospital administrators that the only talk in Congress, so far, has been about the need to reduce Medicaid costs No details have been released on just how that might be achieved.

But administrators worry that efforts to reduce the Medicaid rolls creates a larger population of uninsured who can’t pay but the hospitals still have to treat in emergency situations.

“It’s all speculative talk and that’s the problem, with so much unknown everyone is anxious,” Reynolds said.

‘I’m not concerned’

Others, however, say there’s no reason for alarm.

“I’m not concerned about the reconciliation bill one bit,” state Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said Tuesday “There’s not one mention of the word Medicaid in the entire bill, there are no cuts to Medicaid in the bill, so all of the

lying and fearmongering is just that — lies and fearmongering.”

Republican Rep. Julia Letlow, from Start, represents a district with one of the nation’s highest percentage of Medicaid enrollees.

“The budget resolution

But Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields, of Baton Rouge, said it’s disingenuous for Republcians to say they don’t know how the House Energy and Commerce Committee would cut $880 billion when the only item being discussed is Medicaid.

“That’s exactly what they say they’re going to do. It’s unconscionable to say the

“Local legislators will either need to come up with significant new sources of funding to fill the hole left by Republican cuts or more likely — find ways to cut Medicaid spending in Louisiana,” Carter said Tuesday. “In my district, there are 291,555 people on Medicaid at risk of losing their health care under their plan. That includes 128,121 children under the age of 19 and 33,000 seniors over 65. That’s unacceptable. That’s not a solution.”

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

Trump: Canada, Mexico tariffs are ‘going forward’

BY JOSH BOAK and FABIOLA SANCHEZ Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that his tariffs on Canada and Mexico are starting next month, ending a monthlong suspension on the planned import taxes that could potentially hurt economic growth and worsen inflation.

“We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly,” the U.S. president said at a White House news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

While Trump was answering a specific question about the taxes to be charged on America’s two largest trading partners, the U.S. presi-

dent also stressed more broadly that his intended “reciprocal” tariffs were on schedule to begin as soon as April.

“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule,” Trump said.

Trump has claimed that other countries charge unfair import taxes that have come at the expense of domestic manufacturing and jobs. His near constant threats of tariffs have already raised concerns among businesses and consumers about an economic slowdown and accelerating inflation. But Trump claims that the import taxes would ultimately generate revenues to reduce the federal budget deficit and new jobs for workers.

“Our country will be ex-

tremely liquid and rich again,” Trump said.

In a interview on the Fox News show “Special Report” late Monday, Macron said he hoped he had convinced Trump to avoid a possible trade war, noting the difficulty of taking on a traditional ally such as Europe while simultaneously using tariffs to challenge China’s industrial might.

“We don’t need a trade war,” Marcon said. “We need more prosperity together.”

Most economists say the cost of the taxes could largely be borne by consumers, retailers and manufacturers such as auto companies that source globally and rely on raw materials such as steel and aluminum that Trump is already, separately, tariffing at 25%.

Mother of Palestinian American boy slain in hate crime testifies at trial

BY SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press

JOLIET, Ill. — A suburban Chicago Muslim mother described to jurors Tuesday how she hid in a locked bathroom and called 911 after her landlord brutally attacked her with a knife and then fatally stabbed her Palestinian American son in another room.

Hanan Shaheen was the first witness to testify at the murder and hate crime trial of 73-year-old Joseph Czuba. He is charged with wounding Shaheen and killing her six-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi in October of 2023. Authorities said Czuba targeted the family because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas that erupted on Oct. 7, 2023 with a Hamas attack on southern Israel. Prosecutors played the emotional 911 call Shaheen made to report the crime that happened just days after the war started.

“The landlord is killing me and my baby!” she screamed to the dispatcher multiple times, according to a recording of the call played in court. “He’s killing my baby in another room!”

Czuba has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, one

BY JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio Vivek Ramaswamy, the Cincinnatiborn biotech entrepreneur who departed the Department of Government Efficiency initiative on President Donald Trump’s first day, launched his bid for Ohio governor Monday with promises to institute work requirements for Medicaid and merit pay for all public school teachers and administrators.

count of attempted murder and other charges. He wore a suit and tie to court, his greying hair falling past his shoulders. Later it was tied into a bun. Czuba did not speak as he watched the proceedings.

Will County Public Defender Kylie Blatti urged jurors to consider each piece of evidence carefully because key parts were missing.

“Go beyond the emotions to carefully examine the evidence,” Blatti said during opening statements. “It is easy to get lost in the horror of those images.”

The family had been renting two rooms from Czuba and his wife, who also lived at the home where the murder happened in suburban Plainfield, nearly 40 miles (65 kilometers) from Chicago.

Prosecutor Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors they’d hear explicit details about the crime including how Czuba removed a knife from his belt holder and attacked the family Fitzgerald described each of the 26 stab wounds to the boy’s body

“He could not escape,” Fitzgerald said facing jurors during opening statements.

“If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body.”

Shaheen testified at the courthouse in suburban Joliet, about 45 miles from Chicago, that she had not previously had any issues in the two years they had rented from the Czubas. They shared a kitchen and living room with the Czubas in the home.

Then after the start of the war, Czuba told her that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. She urged him to “Pray for peace.” Later, he confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.

“He told me ’You, as a Muslim, must die,” said Shaheen, who mainly testified in English but had an Arabic translator on standby in her primary language. She occasionally turned to the translator for clarification while testifying. But during cross examination, she sought more direct translation often addressing her translator who sat next to her instead of attorneys.

Defense attorney George Lenard asked detailed questions about conversations she had with police at the scene and while she was in the hospital, but Shaheen said she didn’t remember specifics. At times it appeared as though she had trouble understanding what Lenard was getting at

Ramaswamy, 39, kicked off his campaign in Cincinnati joining the 2026 Republican primary just a month after presumed front-runner and then-Lt. Gov Jon Husted left the running to take a U.S. Senate appointment.

Ramaswamy sought the GOP nomination for president in 2024 before dropping

out to back Trump, who later tapped him to co-chair the efficiency initiative with billionaire Elon Musk. A nearbillionaire himself, Ramaswamy has promoted his ties to Trump as he lines up key endorsements and donors in the governor’s race. The president posted his endorsement of Ramaswamy Monday night on social media

“I spent most of last year working tirelessly to help send Donald Trump back to the White House because it was a fork in the road,” Ramaswamy said to loud cheers from the crowd. “It was a fork in the road for the future of the country.”

On his Truth Social site, Trump lauded Ramaswamy as “something SPECIAL.”

“He’s Young Strong and Smart!” Trump wrote. “Vi-

Still, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared confident Monday that her administration would reach agreements with the U.S government before the deadline set by Trump.

“We would need to be reaching important agreements this Friday,” Sheinbaum told reporters Monday morning before Trump’s remarks. “On all of the issues there is communication and what we need is to complete this agreement, I believe we’re in a place to do it.”

If necessary she said she would seek to speak directly with Trump again In highlevel discussions between both governments, Mexico has insisted that the U.S. also take a hard look at the drug distribution and con-

sumption in its own country rather than pointing only at production in Mexico, Sheinbaum said.

Companies like Walmart have warned about uncertainty, while the University of Michigan’s latest consumer sentiment index plunged by roughly 10% over the past month in part due to fears about tariffs and inflation worsening. In the 2024 presidential election, voters backed Trump on the belief that he could cool inflation that had spiked to a four-decade high in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic during President Joe Biden’s time in office. But Trump has persistently threatened tariffs and kept up those calls even as Macron, standing beside him, had previously sug-

gested that talks on trade had produced some common ground. “We want to make a sincere commitment towards a fair competition where we have smooth trade and more investments,” Macron said at the news conference, according to a translation of his French remarks.

Macron said the idea is to help the U.S. and Europe both prosper saying that further talks would be carried out by their respective teams to flesh out their ideas.

Investors, businesses and the broader public are still trying to determine whether Trump is merely threatening tariffs as a negotiating tool or if he sincerely backs the tax hikes as a way to offset his planned income tax cuts.

Court throws out Okla. inmate’s murder conviction, death sentence

BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the murder conviction and death penalty for Richard Glossip, an Oklahoma man who was found guilty in the killing of a motel owner but has steadfastly maintained his innocence and averted multiple attempts by the state to execute him

Glossip’s wife, Lea, called the decision “an answered prayer.” Glossip, now 62, has spent nearly half his life behind bars for his role in a 1997 killing at a motel in Oklahoma City Prosecutors’ decision to allow a key witness to give testimony they knew to be false violated Glossip’s constitutional right to a fair trial, the justices ruled in a case that produced a rare alliance of his lawyers and the state’s Republican attorney general in support of a new day in court for Glossip.

“Glossip is entitled to a new trial,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for five justices.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, voting to uphold the conviction and death sentence, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett would have allowed a state appeals court to decide how to proceed. Thomas wrote that the ma-

jority had “cast aside” the interests of victim Barry Van Treese’s family The victim’s relatives had told the high court that they wanted to see Glossip executed. A message left with Van Treese’s brother, Ken Van Treese, was not immediately returned Tuesday Don Knight, Glossip’s attorney, said the court was right to overturn the conviction because prosecutors hid critical evidence from the defense team. “Today was a victory for justice and fairness in our judicial system,” Knight said in a statement.

“Rich Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for 27 years, will now be given the chance to have the fair trial that he has always been denied.”

Glossip’s wife wrote in a text to The Associated Press: “Rich and I opened the decision together on the phone this morning, knowing it would be a life-changing moment. To say that we are overcome with emotion is an understatement. We are deeply grateful. Today is truly an answered prayer.”

Glossip, who currently is housed at the maximumsecurity Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, is expected to remain in prison, at least until the state decides whether to retry him, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said at

a news conference following the Supreme Court decision.

“I do not believe Richard Glossip is innocent,” Drummond said, though he sought and praised the court’s ruling. He also conceded it might be difficult to put Glossip on trial again after so many years. Drummond and Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna, a Democrat, plan to confer about what will happen next. Behenna has previously said she would not consider the death penalty in the case. Oklahoma’s top criminal appeals court had repeatedly upheld the conviction and sentence, even after the state sided with Glossip. Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death in the killing of Van Treese, who owned the motel where he was beaten to death with a baseball bat, in what prosecutors have alleged was a murder-for-hire scheme. Glossip was an employee. He has always denied killing Van Treese, although he acknowledged misleading investigators in the aftermath of the crime. Another man, Justin Sneed, admitted robbing and killing Van Treese but testified he only did so after Glossip promised to pay him $10,000. Sneed received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony and was the key witness against Glossip.

vek is also a very good person, who truly loves our Country. He will be a GREAT Governor of Ohio, will never let you down, and has my COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT!”

Ramaswamy joins a competitive GOP primary field to succeed Republican Gov Mike DeWine, 78, a veteran center-right politician who is term-limited.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced a bid for the seat in January and Heather Hill, a Black entrepreneur from Appalachia, also is running Dr Amy Acton, the former state health director who helped lead Ohio through the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, is running as a Democrat They will compete in a former bellwether state that has tacked reliably red in recent years, having voted for Trump three times by more than 8 percentage points.

Officials: Ukraine, U.S. have agreed on an economic deal

BY SUSIE BLANN, HANNA ARHIROVA and VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine

— Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday

The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that Ukraine urgently needs.

The agreement could be signed as early as Friday and plans are being drawn up for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to travel to Washington to meet Trump, according to one of the Ukrainian officials.

Another official said the agreement would provide an opportunity for Zelenskyy and Trump to discuss continued military aid to Ukraine, which is why Kyiv is eager to finalize the deal.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, said he’d heard that Zelenskyy was coming and added that “it’s okay with me, if he’d like to, and he would like to sign it together with me.” Trump called it “a very big deal,” adding that it could be worth a trillion dollars. It could be whatever, but it’s rare earths and other things.”

According to one Ukrainian official some technical details are still to be worked out. However, the draft does not include a

contentious Trump administration proposal to give the U.S. $500 billion worth of profits from Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv

Instead, the U.S. and Ukraine would have joint ownership of a fund, and Ukraine would in the future contribute 50 percent of future proceeds from state-owned resources, including minerals, oil, and gas. One official said the deal had better terms of investments and another one said that Kyiv secured favorable amendments and viewed the outcome as “positive.”

The deal does not, however, include security guarantees. One official said that this would be something the two presidents would discuss when they meet

The progress in negotiating the deal comes after Trump and Zelenskyy traded sharp rhetoric last week about their differences over the matter

Zelenskyy said he balked at signing off on a deal that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed during a visit to Kyiv earlier this month, and the Ukrainian leader objected again days later during a meeting in Munich with Vice President JD Vance because the American proposal did not include security guarantees.

Trump then called Volodymyr Zelenskyy “a dictator without elections” and claimed his support among voters was near rock-bottom.

But the two sides made significant progress during a three-day visit to Ukraine last week by retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

BY JOSEF FEDERMAN and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press

JERUSALEM Israeli and Hamas officials said Tuesday they have reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of dead hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, keeping their fragile ceasefire intact for at least a few more days.

Israel has delayed the release of 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas.

The militant group has said the delay is a “serious violation” of their ceasefire and that talks on a second phase are not possible until they are freed.

The deadlock had threatened to collapse the ceasefire when the current sixweek first phase of the deal expires this weekend.

But late Tuesday Hamas said an agreement had been reached to resolve the dispute during a visit to Cairo by a delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya, a top political official in the group.

The breakthrough appeared to clear the way for the return of the bodies of four more dead hostages and hundreds of additional prisoners scheduled to be released under the ceasefire.

The prisoners previously slated for release “will be released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners who were agreed to be handed over,” along with the release of a new set of Palestinian prisoners, the Hamas statement said.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, confirmed an agreement to bring home the bodies in the coming days. He gave no further details.

But Israeli media reports said the exchange could take place as soon as Wednesday The Ynet news site said

have said the ceremonies were humiliating to the hostages, and Israel last weekend delayed the scheduled prisoner release in protest. The latest agreement would complete both sides’ obligations of the first phase of the ceasefire — during which Hamas

the Israeli bodies would be handed over to Egyptian authorities without any public ceremony Hamas has released hostages, and the bodies of four

dead hostages, in large public ceremonies during which the Israelis were paraded and forced to wave to large crowds. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials,

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Charter fishing profits from new Gulf name

Outfitting company started in 2023

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

When President Donald Trump in January changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, a Lafayette business was already ahead of the name game.

“This is huge for us,” Adam Peterson recalled thinking when about 40 friends and clients texted him about Trump’s shoutout.

Nun got vulgar emails, officials say

Man charged in St. Landry with cyberstalking

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

A man who once stayed in a St. Landry Parish-area monastery has been arrested and charged with cyberstalking after allegedly pretending to be a priest and sending a nun more than 100 vulgar emails since 2018.

John William Modler Jr., 57, of Ellicott, Maryland, was arrested in Texas and extradited to St. Landry Parish, according to a news release from St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz. Reports from Pennsylvania, California, Ohio, Kentucky and Arizona suggest Modler frequented religious establishments across the country, living with them for days without paying for his accommodations and sometimes leaving numerous offensive emails and voicemail messages after departing.

The St. Landry Parish investigation, Guidroz wrote, began in May 2024 when a sister with the Catholic Church reported that since 2018 she had been receiving vulgar and improper emails allegedly from Modler

Guidroz said Modler and the nun were at a monastery in the St. Landry Parish area at the same time. When they left, Modler allegedly used deceitful tactics like pretending to be a priest to find out where the sister was as she traveled, he wrote. There are multiple active arrest warrants from several states, Guidroz wrote, implicating Modler in larceny and fraud. In May, police reported possible outstanding warrants for Modler’s arrest in Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

The Servants of the Father of Mercy in Ventura, California,

Peterson, a Lafayette resident, and Joseph Crookshank started Gulf of America Outfitters, a charter fishing business, in 2023, two years before Trump’s executive order assigning a new name to the body of water bounded to its north by the United States and to the south by Mexico.

The partners knew they had the right name for their business when a brainstorming exercise hit on Gulf of America, Peterson

said. It was a name they could brand, he said, that speaks to where they operate and set them up well against their competition.

People who work on the Gulf Coast loved it.

“We’ve always felt like Gulf of America represents the guys that go out on rigs and work, the conservation agencies down here, trying to make the Gulf better,” Peterson said. “We feel a level of ownership for the Gulf. We surround the Gulf way more than Mexico does, from South Padre to the tip of Florida. So much of

what we do as coastal communities is built around that Gulf.”

Tr ump’s executive order has been nothing but good for Gulf of America Outfitters. Interest in the company’s Tshirts, already popular, exploded, he said. Peterson sold out of 1,500 shirts in three weeks totaling about $45,000.

“It’s about as American as you can get,” Peterson said He runs the T-shirt operation out of his Lafayette garage, with his children and parents pitching in.

The charter fishing business, which operates mainly out of Venice but also out of Fourchon and is expanding soon to Lake Charles, also blew up after Trump’s late January proclamation. Gulf of America Outfitters’ slow months usually are January and February, Peterson said. In January 2024, the company booked about $42,000 in trips compared with $67,000 this January

offers a variety of drinks, pantry items, hot carryout snacks and produce in a cozy space behind Pop’s Poboys.

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Downtown Lafayette’s newest food business occupies a niche spot in the neighborhood’s foodie ecosystem. Doc’s Pop-In opened on Monday at 734 Jefferson St. and

The corner store falls “somewhere between Tammy’s and Wild Child” in its range of goods, according to owner Collin Cormier. Cormier, who also operates Lafayette restaurants Viva La Waffle, Pop’s Poboys, Central Pizza and The Flats, felt there was an underserved market between the convenience store staples available at Tammy’s Grocery in Freetown, and the high-end wines, tinned fish and breads on offer at Wild Child Wines.

“We have quite a lot of Louisiana stuff, but other than that, just cool brands that you don’t necessarily see everywhere,” said Cormier on the shop’s opening day “We might have it,” is Doc’s Pop-In’s tonguein-cheek slogan, and items include goods from Oregon’s Heyday

Mississippi River rising; precautions put in place

Spillway opening unlikely

BY MIKE SMITH Staff writer

The Mississippi River has been on the rise, as tends to happen this time of year, but while relatively minor precautions are being put in place by the Army Corps of En-

gineers, an opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway seems unlikely so far

The river has risen to over 11 feet at New Orleans’ Carrollton gauge, which translates roughly to 11 feet above sea level. Rising above 11 feet triggers what the Corps calls a phase 1 flood fight, which means increased levee checks in coordination with local authorities and restrictions on certain work near them.

The Corps announced Monday it had entered phase 1, which is likely to last a couple of weeks or so.

“The increased patrols help ensure our ability to respond quickly to any problem areas that may develop along the levee system because of the elevated water levels,” the Corps said in a statement.

A spillway opening can be triggered to keep river flow below

1.25 million cubic feet per second, which the Corps says tends to correlate to 17 feet on the Carrollton gauge. National Weather Service forecasts show the river rising to 12.3 feet at Carrollton from the current 11.3 feet by March 4 before gradually falling, though those estimates can change significantly

STAFF PHOTO By JOANNA BROWN

Doc’s Pop-In opened on Monday at 734 Jefferson St., Lafayette, behind Pop’s Poboys. Operated by the Cormier Restaurant Group, which includes Pop’s Poboys and Central Pizza in downtown Lafayette, the new shop will offer a little bit of everything, from shelf-stable pantry items to hot foods, such as breakfast tacos and meat pies

Auditors flag school project; district disagrees with finding

BY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer

An annual audit of the Lafayette Parish school system found some deficiencies in the district’s systems for keeping in compliance federally, including claiming the district failed to properly bid an elevator upgrade project.

The audit, completed by Kolder, Slaven and Company, claimed there were four instances where the district did not have control policies in place to prevent the staff

from finding errors before it was out of compliance.

One of the auditor’s findings said the district had a contract for an elevator upgrade project that was greater than $250,000 that was not properly bid in compliance with state law There also were four instances where projects were performed at various locations and not aggregated together so quotes ere obtained, but the auditor said bids should have been used.

The district replied to the finding and said the elevator

project, which was a repair and not a new installment, was treated as a public service rather than a public work. Public services do not have to be bid out.

“The service appeared to be service related, but because the project (cost) more than $250,000, the auditors believe the project should have been bid out,” the district said. “Going forward, similar projects may be bid out unless circumstances warrant a different process.”

Another instance claimed

the district did not properly amend its special revenue budget fund when total budgeted revenues and other sources changed by more than 5%.

The district replied that it was one revenue line that was not updated, a symptom of a complex budget report and the loss of three accountants during that time period. Going forward, the district said it will split the budget report in two to allow for better oversight.

The audit flagged the dis-

trict’s fixed asset list, claiming in some cases it contained items that had been transferred for disposition but that those items couldn’t be found and there was no paper trail showing they were properly disposed.

Those items included old technology serves and old copiers, according to the district. It said staff would be better educated about how to handle capital assets and warehouse staff, who auction off disposable items, would start itemizing their auction

lists. The last item has continually showed up on the district’s audit since 2006.

Bogalusa mayor says arrest is ‘politically motivated,’ denies allegations

Truong: Drug allegations are not true

BY WILLIE SWETT Staff writer

In his first interview with a reporter since his Jan. 7 arrest, Bogalusa Mayor Tyrin Truong said Tuesday he believes his arrest was “politically motivated” because as mayor he has sought to upend the status quo in the Washington Parish city “The charges are not true. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m not a drug dealer,” he said by phone.

Louisiana State Police arrested Truong, 25, on counts of transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses, unauthorized use of a movable, and soliciting for prostitutes. He was released later that night from Washington Parish jail in Franklinton after posting $150,000 bail.

On the day of the arrest, northshore District Attorney Collin Sims said Truong allegedly “organized entertainment with a prostitute” at an Airbnb in Atlanta where he was attending a mayor’s conference Sims said Truong arranged the

alleged Atlanta “entertainment” while still in Louisiana. Sims also accused Truong of purchasing drugs in Louisiana.

“No, I did not. That’s not true,” Truong said of the solicitation charge.

State Police have refused to share the initial report of Truong’s arrest in response to a records request, citing an ongoing investigation.

Truong said he is working to secure legal counsel. Some supporters started an online fundraiser to help him pay for legal fees. It had $4,204 as of Tuesday

When Truong became mayor in 2022 at 23 years old, he was the city’s first Black male mayor, the youngest mayor in Bogalusa history and tied for the youngest in Louisiana state history

“What’s not lost on me in American politics and Louisiana politics and Bogalusa politics is the fact that there is a clear pattern of when minorities receive representation, it’s always attacked,” he said.

“Our leadership has been focused on making the quality of life better for the average Bogalusan,” he said He said he has put more police on the streets to reduce crime, revitalized some of

Bogalusa’s parks and hosted a mayor’s camp for youth over the summer

“He was not the target of the investigation,” Sims said by phone Tuesday, saying the investigation was conducted by multiple agencies and led by State Police. “His involvement was not anticipated.”

Truong said his bigger concern is the possible appointment of a fiscal administrator to take control of the city’s finances — the second in six years.

The state Fiscal Review Committee in January recommended a fiscal administrator take control of Bogalusa’s troubled finances. The city owed over $1 million to the IRS, the state Legislative Auditor’s office found, and did not have enough revenue to cover its expenditures. The city also has not completed its 2022 audit, which is preventing it from completing the 2023 or 2024 annual audits and stopping it from accessing state funding.

Truong initially expressed support of the appointment of a fiscal administrator, saying the city needed a “neutral third party” to help the administration achieve its goals. The mayor has frequently clashed with the City Council over the city’s

budget.

But on Tuesday, Truong said he changed his mind after the state recommended Robert Neilson, an accountant with offices in Bogalusa

and Covington, to serve as fiscal administrator Neilson was the city’s auditor for years until Truong took over in 2022, when Truong said he “fired” Neilson.

Neilson, meanwhile, said his firm was initially going to serve as auditor for Truong, but withdrew from the 2022 audit because bookkeeping was “chaos” under Truong.

OPINION

The tale of New Isle should be a warning for La.

For years, the few dozen residents of Isle de Jean Charles saw firsthand the effects that rising sea levels are having on coastal Louisiana Located in lower Terrebonne Parish, the island was gradually but unmistakably disappearing. What once was 35 square miles is now less than one.

State government, with a $48 million grant from the feds, launched a radical solution: It built a new community, New Isle, further inland and on higher ground The state offered to resettle residents there for free, giving them houses as a pilot program that made islanders the nation’s first “climate refugees.”

Many of the residents who accepted the offer were given new and more valuable houses less threatened by rising seas. But that came with new and higher costs. For some, like retired carpenter Wallace “Johnny” Tamplet, it’s the tax bill that has them worried.

Tamplet told reporter Alex Lubben that he was planning to sell his truck to clear his $4,000 property tax bill. Health issues had left him unable to pay his taxes in 2023, and a Nebraska company purchased a lien on his home that will allow it to claim the house if he doesn’t pay his taxes within three years

Tamplet isn’t alone. As of last year, at least five other households in New Isle were behind on tax payments. Residents have also noted that utilities are more expensive in the new settlement And there is the insurance. The Louisiana Office of Community Development estimates that when residents there are required to begin paying for their own insurance next year, the average yearly premium will be almost $4,100. That’s a daunting prospect for many. It may seem as if what has happened to the residents of Isle de Jean Charles is extreme, but it’s a situation that many more Louisianans may confront in the next couple of decades The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that about one-fifth of the state’s homes, more than 300,000, may face chronic flooding problems by 2045. And homeowners across South Louisiana are already familiar with rapidly rising insurance costs We are gratified to see OCD exploring ways to solve the problems in New Isle, such as seeking permission to give the last $1.4 million left in the original grant to a local development district that is looking for ways to help the relocated residents adjust to their new reality. Creative solutions will certainly be needed. The cost of relocating approximately 37 households has been almost $50 million That level of investment is a nonstarter when we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people or more. We know this project was envisioned as a learning experience. We hope that one of the lessons learned is that projects to rebuild the coast or address climate change before relocation is required are not only cost-effective, but wise.

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Invest in expanding access to early education, which pays off

Education Superintendent Cade Brumley is right — anyone who still believes Louisiana is last in education “isn’t paying attention.” The state’s steady rise in national education rankings reflects bold policy choices and a commitment to early learning, particularly for 4-year-olds.

As Elena Lotano highlighted in a recent guest column, Louisiana has made remarkable strides in expanding public preschool and Head Start access, ensuring that over 80% of 4-year-olds benefit from quality early education. This success is worth celebrating. But to sustain and accelerate Louisiana’s progress, we must take the next step: investing in our youngest learners, from birth to age 3. Research is clear the foundation for lifelong learning is built in the first three years of life, a period of rapid brain development that shapes future success. Yet, unlike the widespread access we’ve achieved for 4-year-olds, families with younger children face an entirely different reality. Less than 16% of children under 4 in economically disadvantaged

As a fellow physician, I am mad as hell at U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who is a socalled doctor He voted to confirm Robert Kennedy Jr as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

He did so in hopes that the president would back him for reelection instead of representing and protecting the citizens of the United States, especially our children who are our future.

He knew that Kennedy is an anti-vaxxer and that his medical beliefs have no scientific proof; they’re only conspiracy theories.

I wrote Cassidy several times on this issue, and neither he nor his staff ever

According to Merriam-Webster, ethnic cleansing is defined as “the expulsion, imprisonment or killing of an ethnic minority by a dominant majority in order to achieve ethnic homogeneity.” Recently, convicted felon Donald J. Trump has expressed support for the forcible relocation of Palestinians from Gaza to an unspecified location. This proposal fits the definition of ethnic cleansing. History provides numerous examples of ethnic cleansing. In the United States, the Trail of Tears forced tens

families have access to any publicly funded program. High-quality early education for infants and toddlers is scarce and expensive, leaving many families without options. Without greater investment, too many children enter preschool already behind — a gap that can persist through K-12 and beyond.

Lotano’s column rightly points out that high-quality preschool yields strong economic returns, particularly for lowincome children. The same is true for birth-to-3 programs. The sooner we invest, the greater the impact on academic achievement, workforce readiness and economic mobility. Louisiana has proven it can build highquality early childhood programs. Now, it’s time to complete the puzzle. Sustainable funding for birth-to-3 programs will ensure every child, regardless of age or family income, has access to the opportunities they need to thrive. Louisiana has led the way before let’s do it again.

SARINTHA STRICKLIN executive director Jefferson Ready Start Network

responded. In addition, Kennedy has no medical background. This would be like taking someone off the street to do your brain surgery Cassidy broke his Hippocratic Oath that says do no harm. He should lose his medical license and privilege to be called doctor Now that Kennedy is in office, Cassidy will have the health issues, especially any deaths, of Americans on his hands because he knew better by his medical training. I hope the people of Louisiana wake up and do not reelect Cassidy

DAVID W. SPRIGGS, M.D New Orleans

thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands under government policy The Armenian Genocide saw the Ottoman Empire forcibly remove and massacre Armenian Christians. The Nazi regime systematically removed and exterminated Jews across Europe during the Holocaust. The Bosnian Genocide involved the mass expulsion and killing of Bosnian Muslims by Serbian forces. Forced relocation is ethnic cleansing.

DOMINIC MARCELLO Baton Rouge

Second Harvest leaders should return to its mission

Second Harvest Food Bank is a shining example of functional philanthropy, providing food to people who need it across south Louisiana. It does not define “need” with reference to religion or race, circumstance or condition.

And while it is true that Second Harvest came into being (over 40 years ago) under the wing of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, it has functioned, fundraised and fed as a stand-alone, independent, transparent and wholly accountable nonprofit corporation for decades. It serves 23 civil parishes in Louisiana, from St. Tammany to Cameron, most of which are not located within the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Archbishop Gregory Aymond should rescind his Jan. 30 firing of CEO Natalie Jayroe and three leaders of the board of directors, return control of Second Harvest Food Bank to its board of directors and completely withdraw from any involvement with, control of or claims against the assets of Second Harvest, allowing Second Harvest to return its finances and focus back to its only mission: feeding the hungry PATRICIA WEEKS New Orleans

President Trump has imperialistic ambitions

President Donald Trump wants to return to the 19th century and those years of acquisitive, imperialistic greed. In that century, the U.S. acquired the Louisiana Purchase, half of Mexico, the Oregon Territory Hawaii, Alaska, the Philippines, Guam, Samoa and Guantanamo Bay

Trump now covets Greenland, Canada, Panama and the Gaza Strip. What’s next? I suggest he invite his handler Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who has already bought some of the U.S. government (including the presidency) and is dismantling what is left, to purchase his home country of South Africa and then to donate it to the U.S. Make Imperialism Great Again!

EARL HIGGINS River Ridge

If you’re African American or in certain organized or social groups, you know there’s a national DEI boycott planned for Friday If you haven’t heard about it, know that some Black folks — along with allies — will be living their normal lives without buying breakfast, lunch or dinner out, without buying coffee, snacks and soda at a neighborhood convenience store and without going to a local or big box store to shop for clothes or groceries. The idea is for enough Black people to withdraw from commerce while standing together in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion and against companies that have moved away from DEI, a valuable business approach and strategy that works to make things better for everyone.

It’s not clear where the idea started, but it caught on like a piece of tinder lit by a match and spread like a wildfire

In recent days, I’ve received calls, texts, emails and social media notes from Louisiana and across the nation inviting me or reminding me to participate. There is the targeted 40-day Target Fast pitched by Atlanta Pastor Jamal Bryant. Some of them suggested a total financial boycott: Don’t spend any money anywhere so business people will feel the impact of losing Black customers for even one day Some say spend with Black, small and local businesses and not the group of companies that have announced that they’re stopping DEI efforts.

After the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, businesses rushed to be more diverse, equitable and inclusive At different points last year and in the short few weeks of this year, some of these same companies announced they don’t want anything to do with DEI. They include Amazon, Ford, HarleyDavidson, John Deere, McDonald’s, Meta, Microsoft, Target and Walmart. Some companies, like JPMorgan Chase, have expressed an ongoing commitment to diversity while changing corporate employee diversity filing language from “diversity, equity and inclusion” to “workforce composition.”

Still other companies, like Costco, have doubled down on their diversity commitments. National Action Network founder and president Al Sharpton quickly organized a “buy-in,” or “buy-cott,” to support Costco and to send a message that diversity matters. There was a lot of Costco attention and support. Conservative red state

attorneys generals, including our own Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, sent the company’s CEO a January letter suggesting that it stop all DEI efforts and programs. A general boycott of the major brands is commendable, though misguided.

In a recent interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, a network weekend anchor until a few days ago, Sharpton expressed support for Friday’s boycott, though he didn’t say which one. Though he didn’t slam the lack of clarity, specifics and strategy for the growing boycott idea, he noted that he had announced on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr.’s federal birthday holiday and inauguration day for President Donald Trump’s second presidential term, that he would lead a 90-day assessment of companies dropping DEI and companies sticking with it then an announce a more specific company boycott strategy New Orleans businessman Troy Henry favors more DEI business efforts, but he doesn’t think Friday is likely to be successful.

“I’m not sure what good that does,” he told me. “I think it’s more strategic to select a company and boycott that company.”

Henry is one of four Equity Media owners of WBOK, a Black talk radio station. His Henry Consulting company is best known as one of the Bayou Phoenix investors remaking the old Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans

East. His consulting company staffs about 200 people with private and public businesses and companies. One of his companies owns nine Shell gas stations. Another owns nine companion Sterling Express convenience stores.

“I’m not worried,” he said. “If people don’t buy gas on Friday, they’re going to buy gas Saturday.”

The companies shifting away from DEI have taken the temperature of the country and the Trump administration. Watching the slew of executive orders and actions that resent diversity, equity and inclusion, they’re making changes to stay in favor and to stay in line with the law I get it. No good business professional wants the government to knock down something they’ve built to be financially successful.

Rather than an unmeasurable “boycott,” I suggest an individual “Buy Black Day.” Be intentional.

I’ve been a diversity advocate for decades, in its various forms. Though I have issues with diversity and affirmative action efforts being compared to DEI and with DEI I’ll honor the spirit of the day and look forward to a more thoughtful, specific, actionable and measurable boycott or buy-cott before we’re taken back to 2020 — or worse. Costco, here I come.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

Academia finally got schooled

The Trump administration is not just trying to get the government under control or save taxpayers money It is mounting a frontal assault on every center of left-wing institutional power it can reach: academia, the civil service, nonprofits. The object is to break these institutions so badly that the next Democratic administration will not be able to put them back the way they were. I probably don’t have to tell our readers why this is bad They understand that the slash-and-burn approach to the bureaucracy will leave it understaffed, demoralized and mired in chaos, endangering services that voters depend on. They know that many nonprofits do valuable work, often for society’s most vulnerable. They’re aware that a research project is not like a car, which can be safely turned off and started again when you’re ready to use it, so making ham-fisted cuts to science funding risks setting society back by years. Since you know that, let me make a less obvious and probably less welcome point: The left, not the right, picked this fight. Too many institutions set themselves up as the “Resistance” to Trump and tried to make a lot of mainstream political opinions anathematic, while expecting to be protected from backlash by principles such as academic freedom that they were no longer honoring. This was politically naive and criminally stupid for institutions that rely so heavily on U.S. taxpayer support Academia at least should have known better, given that it has entire departments devoted to studying how politics works. It has long been clear that cuts to research funding could be the first

step if Republicans were so minded. The student loans and Pell Grants that subsidize tuition could be slashed, the tax rules that let elite institutions accumulate massive endowments could be changed, and in red states, government aid to public schools could be reduced. The resulting budget holes would be calamitous in many cases and would filter through the ecosystem even to schools that survived: If small schools stop hiring new faculty, that means fewer jobs for graduate students from large research universities.

Nonetheless, school administrations began issuing left-wing hot takes on news that played to the culture war, and students agitated, often successfully, to de-platform rightwing speakers and punish students or faculty who deviated from progressive orthodoxy Milquetoast professional opinions and legitimate research were retracted under pressure from activists. Scientists marched against Trump — not as private citizens but as scientists, as if lab work gave them some special moral authority Public health experts issued a “get out of lockdown free” card to George Floyd protesters, and the American Anthropological Association issued a statement explicitly conceiving its discipline as a form of progressive activism. What was going on in the rest of academia made it clear anthropologists weren’t alone in thinking that way Even if you think this was a move in the right moral direction, it was dangerous behavior By presenting their expertise as part of a political fight, academics were not only squandering their credibility They were asking to

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE

be treated like political adversaries. And in a real political fight, the ability to get your opponent’s journal article retracted is way less important than his ability to cut off your supply lines. This danger has been evident for years, yet when I asked academics if this was really wise, most were curiously oblivious to the risks. Though they complained about stingy state legislatures and meddling Republican politicians, many bizarrely took them as evidence that there was little cost to politicizing academia essentially, “They’re already attacking us, so there’s no point in trying to placate them.” They did not seem to grasp how much worse it could get.

Fundamentally, they took their prestige and public support for granted and seemed unable to imagine a world where the word “education” no longer conjured reverent deference among most of the population. Like children throwing rocks from an overpass, they felt protected by their elevated position, assuming their targets could do little but yell back. They weren’t expecting one of the drivers to get out of the car and grab a baseball bat from the trunk.

None of which justifies what Republicans are doing now It is crude, destructive and — like a baseball bat unconscionably disproportionate. But complaining about Republicans, while emotionally satisfying, isn’t very useful. The institutional left can’t control what Republicans do. It can only control its own behavior And that behavior, however well-intentioned, was reckless in the extreme.

Megan McArdle in on X, @asymmetricinfo.

After four disorienting first month, the Trump administration’s foreign policy has become crystal clear: Screw the rest of the world, allies and adversaries alike.

Who cares if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin gets to keep the wide swath of Ukraine’s territory he seized in a brutal, unprovoked invasion? Why should the Ukrainians even be at the table when we talk to the Russians about a peace deal? After all, President Donald Trump promised to quickly end the war; he and Putin can decide the terms. Maybe the United States would be more concerned about Ukraine’s sovereignty if we were given half of the country’s valuable mineral resources. Does that make us sound like mobsters running a protection racket? Well, the world is a tough place.

Who cares if the newly contemptuous U.S. stance toward the democracies of Europe makes them feel abandoned and vulnerable? Who cares if the leaders of wealthy, technologically advanced nations such as Britain, France, Germany and Italy — effectively demilitarized, beneath the U.S. umbrella, since the apocalypse of World War II decide they now have no choice but to massively rearm? What if Europe is soon bristling with weapons, and what if Putin sees this buildup as a threat? What could possibly go wrong?

Who cares if the Palestinians are permanently denied their dream of an independent state? Now that more than a year of scorched-earth Israeli bombardment — in response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack and hostage-taking has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, why doesn’t the United States just seize that seafront property and turn it into a lucrative Rivierastyle resort? The Palestinians can go live elsewhere, all 2 million of them, and we don’t care where, as long as it’s not here.

Who cares if children die in regions of Africa ravaged by war, famine and disease? Trump promised to cut federal spending, and although foreign aid is just 1% of the budget, the U.S. Agency for International Development is an easy target for Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency.”

Who cares if our allies in the Western Hemisphere are alarmed by sudden new demands for territory and tribute? Trump insults Canada, our most steadfast partner in war and peace for more than a century, by calling it “the 51st state” and referring to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “governor.” He threatens Canada and Mexico, our biggest trading partners, with crippling tariffs. Displeased with the way the Panama Canal is being run, he vows to “take it back.”

All Americans should care about these radical departures from long-established policy toward the rest of the world. Trump promised to make America great again, but he is doing the polar opposite. His bellicose chest-thumping makes this nation smaller, weaker, more isolated and negates the concept of American exceptionalism

Bullying is a behavior that can intimidate, as anyone who has spent time in a schoolyard knows. But it does not project genuine strength. Trump’s foreign policy is that of a paper tiger, not a real one.

Since the postwar Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe was launched in 1948, generations of U.S. leaders have been guided by the principle that encouraging the spread of democracy and free markets makes our own nation safer and more prosperous. We have made terrible mistakes along the way — the Vietnam War, interventions in Latin America, the invasion and occupation of Iraq — but we have never abandoned the idea of the United States as a “shining city on a hill.” Presidents from John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama have used that metaphor to describe America’s place in the world. Trump evidently has a meaner, more constricted vision. He reduces the United States to just another cynical player in a zero-sum game. For us to win, in this view, others must lose. This is an abdication, not an assertion, of American leadership, and it invites other nations to fill the vacuum. China is the obvious main beneficiary European Union officials have already talked about expanding trade with Beijing in light of Trump’s myriad tariffs. China has spent years expanding its influence in Africa and reportedly has offered to take over halted USAID projects in Nepal, Colombia and the Cook Islands. The BRICS trade group founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has grown to include 10 nations including Indonesia, which joined in January Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spends his time uselessly trying to end diversity efforts in the U.S. military rather than planning to counter the Chinese military’s growing power and sophistication.

Trump is leading us not toward greatness, but toward surrender Eugene Robinson is on X, @Eugene_Robinson.

FILE PHOTO

The Rev. Al Sharpton in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome during the 2017 Essence Festival in New Orleans.

Mega McArdle

Eugene Robinson

Will Sutton

GIANT IN HER SPORT

Payton: Rizzi is head coach material

INDIANAPOLIS

When Kenny Brooks arrived at Kentucky last year, he called its women’s basketball program a “sleeping giant.”

It’s a popular aspiration Shoot for the moon, land among the stars, get a new and more lucrative contract That type of thing.

And maybe it will happen one day for UK women’s basketball under Brooks, an excellent coach with 500-plus career wins to his credit.

On Sunday, Kim Mulkey ran her record to 5-0 against Brooks in two games at Baylor and now three at LSU. That includes a win over his best Virginia Tech team in the 2023 Women’s Final Four semifinals.

While Brooks, and many other coaches strive to prod their potential giants to life, Mulkey already has done it Twice.

In a sports world where criticism is king and detraction is dogma excellence often goes underappreciated Which is why taking a moment to recognize Mulkey’s bril-

ä LSU at Alabama.

8 P.M.THURSDAy SEC NETWORK

liance on the stiletto heels of yet another milestone victory — Sunday’s 65-58 win at Kentucky was her 750th feels appropriate.

There have been questions for centuries asking how William Shakespeare could have possibly written all those plays and sonnets on his own. You could almost say the same for Mulkey How could one person win so much?

Her records aren’t lost in the mists of time, though. They are verifiable fact.

In her four varsity seasons at Hammond High School, she led the girls basketball team to four straight state titles and a 1365 overall record. She also was her class valedictorian. She helped Louisiana Tech win the last AIAW national championship in 1981 and the first NCAA women’s national title in 1982. She was the point guard for the United States’ first Olympic gold medal women’s basketball team in 1984, then returned to Louisiana Tech and was an assistant coach on the Lady Techsters’ 1988 NCAA championship squad.

When Mulkey went to Baylor in 2000, the women’s program had never even been to the NCAA Tournament. She made it there and won 21 games during her first season in Waco, Texas. None of her teams at Baylor or LSU have won less than 24

Cook catalyst of UL men’s identity change

Jackson St. transfer giving Cajuns energy, toughness

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

UL senior forward Zeke Cook didn’t grow up playing on travel ball teams with dreams of becoming a basketball star He grew up on a farm in rural Pheba, Mississippi, and wasn’t really into sports as a youngster “We owned a lot of cows,” Cook said. And Starkville High School was a good 20 minutes away Eventually, enough prodding from coaches, family and friends persuaded Cook to join the team during his sophomore year

“My first day, I was a defender and a rebounder,” the 6-foot-6 senior said.

That mindset never left the Jackson State transfer and it’s a good thing for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns.

With UL’s season at a crossroads, Cook’s toughness led a renaissance of defensive play that has injected optimism into the final weeks of the regular season.

The Cajuns are on a three-game winning streak heading into their 7:30 p.m. home finale Wednesday against Arkansas State at the Cajundome.

“I didn’t know how to score,” Cook said. “I didn’t worry about scoring. I just wanted to defend, rebound and win.”

When UL interim coach Derrick Zimmerman decided to change the team’s approach by starting Cook against ULMonroe on Jan. 11, the team’s approach changed.

“When I get told my role, I try my very best to do my role,” Cook said. “I think I’m one of the best defenders and rebounders, and I just try my best every single game and try to be the most vocal and the toughest defender every night.”

When Zimmerman took over the team after coach Bob Marlin was fired before the McNeese State game Dec. 22, the defense-first message was new to some, but not Cook.

“My high school coach was the same

ä Saints hire Cal’s Sirmon as linebackers coach. PAGE 3C

job, but Payton also had been holding open a job on his staff for special teams coordinator Not long after the Saints hired Kellen Moore to be their next head coach Payton hired Rizzi to coordinate his special teams, making him the latest coach who worked with Payton in New Orleans to join him in Denver Payton hired Rizzi in 2019 to coordinate his Saints special teams units, and the two worked together for three seasons before Payton stepped away after the 2021 campaign. Their relationship started, in part, because of a recommendation from Payton’s friend, the late Tony Sparano.

“You had to know Tony, but for him to rave about somebody, that might be once every three years,” Payton said. “I know how Tony felt about him He’s a tremendous teacher, he’s thorough.

“With respect to the process, he was a very serious candidate (in New Orleans) and I think he will be a head coach in our league as well.”

Allen enlightened

The new coaching staff for the Chicago Bears has a lot of ties to the New Orleans Saints, none bigger than how they now employ the former head coach of the Saints. Bears coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday he and former Saints coach Dennis Allen “share the same mindset” as they look to upgrade at pass rusher in Chicago. Allen, who the Saints fired in November, landed in Chicago as its defensive coordinator last month after the Bears hired Johnson from the Detroit Lions. Johnson was asked about possibly trading for Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett when he brought up Allen’s influence on his decision-making.

“Listen, talking with DA has been very enlightening because we share the same mindset when it comes to defense overall, which is we want to affect the passer,” Johnson said. “And there’s a lot of different ways you can do that.” Allen had a less-than-successful tenure with the Saints as he went just 18-25 in two-plus seasons at the helm. But he has had a strong track record as a defensive coordinator Allen isn’t the only person on Johnson’s staff with connections to the Saints. Johnson hired Declan Doyle a protege of Payton — to be his offensive coordinator, as well as Dan Roushar (offensive line) and Matt Giordano (assistant defensive backs). All three had

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL forward Zeke Cook shoots against Kent State guard Jalen Sullinger on Nov. 4 in Lafayette. Cook has excelled on the defensive end for the Cajuns, who have won three straight.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

LSU coach Kim Mulkey yells from the bench area during a game against Mississippi State on Feb 2 at the PMAC.

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Abbeville pushes past St. Martinville

Cats fight off rival Tigers for victory in regional round

BY NEAL MCCLELLAND

Contributing writer

All season long, the Abbeville High girls basketball team has striven to be the toughest and scrappiest team on the court.

On Monday night, they showed it. After trailing by five points after one quarter, taking a halftime lead and seeing their District 5-3A rival tie the game in the fourth quarter, the No. 5 Cats pulled away for a 4740 win over No. 12 St. Martinville in the Division II nonselect regionals in Abbeville.

“We were able to stick to the game plan, settle and and execute for the most part,” coach Myles Hutchinson said. “We are the hardest-playing team on the court. That’s the message we sent to St. Martinville or any other team we play on the court.

“We have to be the hardest-playing team on the court at all times.”

Abbeville advances to play at No 4 seed Iowa in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday with the winner headed to the state tournament in Hammond next week.

Abbeville had beaten St. Martinville twice earlier this season.

“It was hard playing them for the third time this season,” Hutchinson said. “They were prepared for almost everything we could throw at them, so it came down to who was going to execute the most.”

In the end Abbeville executed best, something not lost on St. Martinville coach Ervin Mitchell.

“Execution, boxing out, and size,” Mitchell said. “They definitely hurt us with that When the game was getting tight, their bigs were crashing the boards and we didn’t block out.”

It started out well for St Martinville, which led 16-11 after one period while not allowing Abbeville to find an offensive rhythm

But Abbeville held the Tigers to four points in the second quarter in taking a 21-15 halftime lead.

Bengals plan to make Chase top-paid receiver

INDIANAPOLIS — The Cincinnati

Bengals plan to make All-Pro wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

“He is going to end up being the No. 1 paid non-quarterback in the league,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine.

Chase led the league in receptions (127), yards receiving (1,708) and touchdown catches (17) this season, becoming just the sixth wide receiver in the Super Bowl era to achieve the receiving triple crown. The Bengals picked up his fifth-year option of $21.816 million, but will give him a long-term deal in the range of $40 million per year The Bengals have finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

Browns GM is adamant about not trading Garrett

INDIANAPOLIS Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry insisted the team is not interested in trading star defensive end Myles Garrett despite his request to be dealt.

Garrett went public with his trade request just over three weeks ago, saying he wanted “to compete for and win a Super Bowl.” The Browns finished last in the AFC North at 3-14 this past season.

Garrett, the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, was a finalist for the award again. His 14 sacks ranked second in the league, and he became the first player in NFL history to have 14 or more sacks in four consecutive seasons. He holds the franchise record with 1021/2 sacks.

Commanders give Allen permission to seek trade

The Washington Commanders have given two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen permission to seek a trade.

“In the second quarter, they made a run and the crowd got into the game and gave them momentum. We got too low on the lows and started feeling sorry for ourselves and that got us out of sync.”

“You have to play all four quarters,” Mitchell said. “You can’t win the game in the first, second or third quarters. You have to play all four quarters.

Neither team led by more than four in the second half before the Tigers tied it at 31 with six minutes remaining.

The Cats slowly pulled away for the final seven-point margin.

“They were forced to go to man (coverage),” Hutchinson said. “I’ve been saying all year that it’s hard to match us in man coverage. We have an offense that is one of the best and it came down to execution, layups and making free throws and we do that well.”

North Vermilion ousts LaGrange with defense

Patriots advance to quarterfinals vs. Albany

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

North Vermilion has relied on defense all season to win girls basketball games. That formula worked again Monday when the Patriots hosted LaGrange in a Division II nonselect regional playoff game. No. 2 North Vermilion used its relentless defensive pressure to surge past No. 15 LaGrange 39-31 and advance to the quarterfinals.

“People looked at this as a No. 2 and No. 15 matchup, but LaGrange is not a 15 seed,” Patriots coach

Jack Leblanc said “LaGrange is a traditional powerhouse, and they should be a top-eight seed We knew it would be a tough game, but I’m happy we had it at home.”

North Vermilion (26-2) extended its win streak to six games and will host No. 7 Albany at 5:30 p.m. Thursday with a berth in the state tournament on the line.

“To get to the quarterfinals in 4A, you have to have a special season,” Leblanc said. “Win or lose (Monday), we still have had a successful season. But getting there solidifies all the hard work that’s been put in and to be able to host it that’s amazing.”

On Monday, the two teams combined for nearly 60 turnovers with the Patriots defense forcing 37 of those.

“That’s been our game all season,” Leblanc said. “We rely on our defense to win. That was a game between two defensive teams that were getting after it. It was a battle. Any time it is a close game, we rely on our defense to help us pull it out.”

After the Gators took their first lead on a Marleigh Alexis 3-pointer for a 31-28 advantage with 6:40 remaining in the game, the Patriots went on an 11-0 run to end the game.

“I thought we were getting a little tired, but I just told them to take a breath,” Leblanc said.

“They are a good team, and we knew they’d make a run. But we would make a run to end the game We had some big-time defensive plays to end the game.”

The Patriots were led by Stevie Brasseaux, who finished with a team-high nine points and eight rebounds Ashante Rose, Reagan Semien, Kenzie Marceaux each added six points for North Vermilion.

“Stevie has come such a long way in a year,” Leblanc said. “She picks up a lot of trash buckets and she rebounds well. I told her when there is a loose ball on the floor, that’s your season on the line. You have to go get it. And she did.”

Alexis finished with a game-high 10 points for the Gators.

WNBA scoring leader Taurasi retires after 20 seasons

BY JOHN MARSHALL and DOUG FEINBERG AP basketball writers

PHOENIX Diana Taurasi is retiring after 20 seasons, ending one of the greatest careers in women’s basketball history

The WNBA’s career scoring leader and a three-time league champion, Taurasi announced her retirement on Tuesday in an interview with Time magazine. The Phoenix Mercury — the only WNBA team she played for — also confirmed her decision.

“Mentally and physically, I’m just full,” Taurasi told Time.

“That’s probably the best way I can describe it. I’m full and I’m happy.” With her taut hair bun and supreme confidence, Taurasi inspired a generation of players while racking up records and championships. Taurasi led UConn to three straight national titles from 200104 and kept on winning after the

Mercury selected her with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 WNBA draft.

Taurasi

“It’s hard to put into words, it really is, what this means. When someone’s defined the game, when someone’s had such an impact on so many people and so many places You can’t de-

fine it with a quote,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.

“It’s a life that is a novel, it’s a movie, it’s a miniseries, it’s a saga.

It’s the life of an extraordinary person who, I think, had as much to do with changing women’s basketball as anyone who’s ever played the game.”

The 42-year-old won her sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games and finishes her WNBA career with 10,646 points, nearly

3,000 more than second-place Tina Charles.

“I thank Diana for everything that she has brought to the WNBA — her passion, her charisma and, most of all, her relentless dedication to the game,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a statement. “She leaves a lasting legacy and the future of the WNBA is in a great position because of her impact.”

In addition to her three WNBA championships with the Mercury, Taurasi won six Euroleague championships while playing year-round most of her career She was the 2009 WNBA MVP and is one of four players to earn WNBA Finals MVP honors more than once (2009, 2014).

“Diana is the greatest to have ever played the game. I’ve been a fan of her my entire life, she is the ultimate leader and teammate,” Mercury owner Mat Ishbia said in

a statement. “She’s had an incredible impact on our franchise, our community and the game of basketball. Her name is synonymous with the Phoenix Mercury and she will forever be part of our family.”

Taurasi made the all-WNBA first team 10 times and was on the first or second team a record 14 times. She’s also an 11-time WNBA AllStar, four-time USA Basketball female athlete of the year and was the 2004 WNBA rookie of the year

“In my opinion, what the greats have in common is, they transcend the sport and become synonymous with the sport,” Auriemma said.

“For as long as people talk about college basketball, WNBA basketball, Olympic basketball, Diana is the greatest winner in the history of basketball, period I’ve had the pleasure of being around her for a lot of those moments, and she’s the greatest teammate I’ve ever coached.”

General manager Adam Peters confirmed the decision at his news conference Tuesday in Indianapolis at the NFL scouting combine. Peters said he wanted to give Allen and agent Blake Baratz a chance to figure out the best path forward.

“We just talked about and said they wanted to be able to explore opportunities,” Peters told reporters. Allen is going into the final season of a four-year, $72 million extension signed in 2021. There is no guaranteed money owed to the 30-year-old veteran, making him a candidate to be released this spring if an extension is not in place to reduce Allen’s 2025 salary

Davis gets extension, hires Tanner as Tar Heels’ GM North Carolina coach Hubert Davis has two more years on his deal and a new general manager to help the blueblood men’s basketball program deal with the changing landscape of college athletics. Davis has signed a two-year extension running through the 2029-30 season to lead his alma mater And on Tuesday, the school announced Davis had hired basketball agent Jim Tanner as the program’s first executive director and GM UNC also posted an updated contract for Davis on its official athletics website, with that deal reached in July and signed in December

It pays Davis an average of $3.2 million in base salary and supplemental pay, up from about $2 million on the previous deal.

Finnegan agrees to deal to return to Nationals

Closer Kyle Finnegan agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract to return to the Washington Nationals, pending the successful completion of a physical exam, two people with knowledge of the deal confirmed on Tuesday

Finnegan, a first-time NL AllStar in 2024, became a free agent in November when the Nationals failed to offer him a contract. He had a $5.1 million salary last year and was projected to earn about $8.5 million had he remained eligible for arbitration. The 33-year-old right-hander went 3-8 with a 3.68 ERA and 38 saves in 43 chances and 60 strikeouts across 631/2 innings last season. Finnegan

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

St Martinville guard Roneshia Allen brings the ball up court against Abbeville guard Lyric Joiner on Monday in Abbeville.

Acadiana’s McCullough stepping down

Wreckin’ Rams coach taking position with school system; Dotson named replacement

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

For the first time in seven years, the Acadiana High School football program will be under new leadership.

Matt McCullough is stepping down as head coach after accepting a position with the Lafayette Parish School System.

“It was time,” McCullough said.

“I’ve been in it for 20 years, got my master’s (degree) and had the chance to move up. It’s a good opportunity and it was the right time to do it.”

McCullough, who had been at Acadiana High for 11 years, will be the district’s new school security, compliance and event coordinator

“It’s a bunch of different things,” said McCullough, when asked

COOK

Continued from page 1C

way,” he said. Cook has a slender build, but once he’s on the court, he plays tougher than his size no matter the competition.

“I’ve been doing it all my life,” Cook said. “When we’re on the court, I really just think it’s a heart thing the toughness. When I’m on the court, I’m the toughest on the court every game, every night. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, I feel like I’m the toughest.”

That mentality is exactly what Zimmerman used to turn UL’s fortunes around.

“He leads us with his emotion, his energy and his effort,” Zimmerman said. “He never asks for a play to be run for him. He never asks for any preferential treatment. All he says is, ‘Coach, I just want to

Matt McCullough went 77-15 as Acadiana’s coach, including six District 3-5A championships and two state championships.

what his new role will entail. “But the biggest thing is school safety is the No. 1 concern for the district. My position is about helping

play hard and help the team win.’

You don’t have too many guys like that in college basketball today.”

Cook said he believes the turning point has more to do with Zimmerman’s influence.

“It was downing, for sure,” Zimmerman said of Marlin’s departure. “I was thinking, ‘What’s next?

Who is going to be our next coach?’

Then all of a sudden, coach Z just put on his superhero cape and grabbed us all by his wings and said, ‘Hey let’s go.’

“He told us he would need all of us to come together to bring this team together and win games.”

The duo worked together to transform the Cajuns into a defensive squad A win at Texas State on Jan. 30 really stands out to Cook.

“I always had faith in my team, but I really saw it really mature in the Texas State game,” Cook said.

“We just played well as a group.

We defended well. It was just fun. It went back to being fun it had

keep our schools safe from intake, throughout the school day and at our events.”

Doug Dotson — the son of Bill

been a while since basketball was fun, and it was fun that day.”

Cook’s career-best performance of 15 points and 11 rebounds in a road win over Troy last week spearheaded the three-game winning streak to get the Cajuns to 8-8 in Sun Belt play

“If you go back and watch the Troy game, he was everywhere in that game,” Zimmerman said of Cook. “He told the guys before we came out for the second half, ‘Hey it starts on the defensive end. That’s the only way we’re going to get back into this game.’ ” Cook appreciates the surge the Cajuns are enjoying.

“I call it a blessing,” he said. “A lot of people didn’t think we’d be here, and we just continue to grow and get better by the day each and every practice and each and every game.”

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE

Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk goes against New England Patriots defensive end Keion White on Oct. 8 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. Ramczyk has not said whether he will retire, but signs are pointing that way

RIZZI

Continued from page 1C

Johnson also branched out to hire a number of other coaches from different backgrounds, whether that’s hiring former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to coach running backs or hiring former Dallas Cowboys defensive backs coach Al Harris to do the same thing in Chicago. He also brought some other assistants with him from Detroit to Chicago, such as wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El.

“What’s so beautiful about the coaching staff we put together is I didn’t hire a bunch of my friends,” Johnson said. “I went outside of my circle, on purpose, because I wanted to collect a different mix of experience, energy, ideas. And we’re all going to make it come together for the Chicago Bears moving forward.”

Retirements coming?

For years, Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk served as anchors on the New Orleans Saints offensive line. Now it’s possible they both retire in the same offseason. Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tuesday the team is operating as if Armstead won’t be back with Miami next season, but he added the former Saints tackle has yet to make a formal decision about retirement. And hours after McDaniel spoke to reporters, the NFL Network reported that Armstead — who has

SAINTS HIRE CAL’S SIRMON AS LBS COACH

The Saints are in the process of hiring University of California defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon to be their linebackers coach, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

Sirmon would replace Michael Hodges, who left the team this offseason to take the same role with the Cincinnati Bengals. Sirmon, 48, had been the defensive coordinator at Cal since 2020. He becomes the latest Saints assistant to leave a college program to work under first-year coach Kellen Moore.The Saints hired Terry Joseph to be their defensive backs coach after he held the same position at the University of Texas. Moore has spent the week filling out his defensive staff after he hired former Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley as his defensive coordinator last week.

been with Miami since leaving the Saints in 2022 — reduced his $28.6 million base salary to the league minimum of nearly $1.3 million, a move that typically proceeds a player’s retirement to lessen the burden of his salary-cap hit.

“I think we have to operate as though he won’t play just because you have to prepare for things that you can’t control,” McDaniel said.

The pay reduction is also what the Saints did with Ramcyzk, who cut his pay in January to the league minimum in 2025 and 2026 after missing all of last season because of a chronic knee injury Ramczyk has not said whether he plans to retire but he has appeared noticeably slimmed down from his playing days and was seen loading boxes into his car at the Saints’ practice facility after the season.

Armstead, a third-round pick in 2013, spent nine seasons with

Dotson, who the Rams’ stadium is named in honor of — was named McCullough’s successor

Dotson, who graduated from Acadiana, has been part of McCullough’s coaching staff for the past four years. He has worked as a coach at Walker, Comeaux, Erath and Central.

“Doug is going to do a good job,” McCullough said. “He’s been a head coach at a bunch of different places.

“He is familiar with Acadiana High and with what we run on offense. I have faith he is going to do a good job.”

Under McCullough, the Rams were 77-15, won two state championships, finished as a state runnerup, qualified for the postseason seven times and won six District 3-5A championships.

The Rams went 9-2 last season, including a 28-27 playoff loss to John Curtis.

“I don’t have any regrets,” McCullough said. “Some losses sting more than others, but I felt like we competed at a high level and kept the tradition going. I did every-

thing I could to help the kids have a better future.”

McCullough said he appreciates his time on the Rams’ sideline.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” he said of coaching. “The last seven years we have won two state titles and played for a third. It was a fun time, and I wish Acadiana High nothing but the best.” When asked what he’s going to miss the most about coaching, McCullough quickly replied “the kids.”

“That’s why we do it,” he said. “To be able to watch the kids grow, become better athletes and go to college, that’s why we do it The kids are what I’m going to miss the most.”

McCullough said he’s excited to begin the next phase of his career starting Saturday “I’m ready to start,” McCullough said. “It’s a new job, a new journey I’m ready to get in and do all that I can and all that they would like for me to do.”

Email Eric Narcisse at enarcisse@theadvocate.com.

the net as her daughter

top, and son Kramer, right, look on after winning the national championship over Michigan State on April 5, 2005, in Indianapolis.

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

MattParasandLukeJohnson

the Saints, six of which overlapped with Ramczyk — a 2017 first-rounder He left to join the Dolphins on a five-year, $75 million contract in 2022, a year after Ramczyk signed his five-year $96 million extension. They were both among the league’s top linemen until injuries hampered their careers. Though Armstead played in 15 games last season, he missed 11 games across his first two years in Miami and played in only eight during his final year in New Orleans. Ramczyk’s knee injury forced him to miss the the last five games of the 2023 season, and he was unable to return after undergoing surgery the following offseason.

If Ramczyk waits until June to retire, the Saints can spread his $23 million dead cap hit over the next two seasons rather than take it all at once.

games since. She has four NCAA titles between the two programs, and oh yes, she’s the only men’s or women’s basketball coach to win NCAA titles at two different schools. Rick Pitino did it at Kentucky and Louisville, but the Cardinals’ 2013 championship was vacated because of NCAA violations. Mulkey has been to five Final Fours, 22 NCAA tournaments (plus one WNIT). She’s had 12 30-win seasons and won 12 Big 12 regular-season and 11 Big 12 Tournament titles at Baylor Last season she quietly passed former LSU coach and fellow Naismith Hall of Famer Sue Gunter (708 career wins). Going into Thursday’s game at Alabama (8 p.m., SEC Network), she’s the 14th-winningest coach in NCAA women’s Division I history (a victory will tie her with retired North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell for 13th) and fifth among active coaches. Every coach ahead of Mulkey on the all-time list coached 31 or more seasons. The only D-I coach with a better winning percentage than Mulkey’s .862 is Geno Auriemma (.882). It’s easy to get lost in the glare of her purposely outlandish on-court outfits, the withering glares, the flinty moments with the media when Mulkey wants to not answer questions but instead control the narrative. But you can’t ignore the winning. Find someone who has been a bigger winner? I’ll wait. Sleeping giants? How about forgotten giants? LSU went to five straight Women’s Final Fours from 2004-08, but the program’s championship banners had grown dusty by the time Mulkey arrived. As she noted at

her introductory news conference, the Tigers never had been to an NCAA final, much less won it all.

“That’s what I came here to do,” Mulkey said that day She did. And she’s not done. At 62, it’s fair to ask how long she will coach. Mulkey shows her frustration at times, like last year when she was on the receiving end of ridiculous criticism from Gov Jeff Landry about her team not being on the court for the pregame national anthem.

Mulkey’s team, by the way, is still in the locker room for the anthem, having a team prayer Another unofficial win in her column.

Her fire seems unabated.

The same for her success. This year’s team is 27-2, having already tied the school record for single-season victories in the Southeastern Conference era (since 1982) and is projected to be a No. 2 NCAA tourney seed. The Tigers have a far less than ideal point guard situation, but in a wide-open year for the NCAA title — LSU, Texas, South Carolina, USC, UCLA, UConn and Notre Dame all have legitimate net-cutting hopes the Tigers have a shot. If not this year? Well, Mulkey and her staff have the No. 1-ranked recruiting class inbound this fall.

I’ve covered absolute coaching greatness at LSU twice before with Skip Bertman and Nick Saban.

Mulkey makes three, someone who would deserve a place on a “Swamp Rushmore” of greatest sports figures in Louisiana history if there were ever such a thing.

Appreciate her while she’s here. Her kind, her quality, is exceedingly rare.

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

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By MICHAEL CONROy Baylor coach Kim Mulkey holds

Makenzie,

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA

‘WHAT’S GOING ON’

La. drama teacher created a talk show by, for teens

BY RACHEL MIPRO Contributing writer

Anthony Bean, surrounded by play brochures, student pictures and awards, points to the motto that centers it all: “It’s more than a theater, it’s culture.”

Bean, a long-standing figure in the New Orleans dramatic arts landscape, just celebrated the second season of his teen TV talk show, a 12-segment initiative that began airing in January

“What’s Going On” is Bean’s attempt to tackle in-depth discussions on issues impacting youth in New Orleans, such as systemic racism, mental health and local politics.

Teens from his community theater interview local community leaders and politicians during themed sessions such as “Issues and Challenges Faced by Black Teens,” and “Bearing the Brunt of the School-to-Prison Pipeline.”

Bean

Much o f Bean’s work interweaves community engagement and acting, uplifting Black theater in a city often dominated by other voices.

“It’s something I’m compelled to do,” Bean said of his work.

“It’s almost like a religion, it’s like a ministry You introduce kids to themselves.”

Awards and accolades

Bean has been acknowledged periodically for his years of work in the community theater space given awards such as the Theater Lifetime Achievement Award from Big Easy Entertainment. Most recently, Bean won the 2024 WYES Celeste Seymour Judell Arts Award, an award given annually by WYESTV to prominent figures in the local arts and drama scene.

Bean founded his school, known officially as the Anthony Bean Community Theater and Acting School, in 2000. He’s been kept busy in the years since with coaching actors, producing plays and teaching, juggling all of these ventures on a tight budget.

Sitting at a table in his Tchoupitoulas Street studio, Bean talked about the art of coaching young Black actors. Bean’s teaching style, as he describes it, ties emotion with the Stanislavski method, an acting style that emphasizes authenticity and emotional depth.

“They go backward, right into the cusp of what happened, the climax,” Bean said of his students’ approach to acting.

“They go to the dramatic, the gut, the punch.”

After observing his students’ learning style, Bean decided to tailor his teaching to an approach that centers on the emotional heart of each play

“I find that my kids are not only receptive to my approach, but they do more with their character,” Bean said. “They’re freer, because I gave them the opportunity to ride on their emotions.”

‘He builds characters’

While he scouts for a more expansive school space, he’s working out of relatively tight quarters — his own renovated home on Tchoupitoulas Street

Uptown. When Hurricane Ida caved in the roof, Bean decided to knock down the walls of the house and turn the space into a studio with classrooms

LIVING

| Wednesday, February 26, 2025 5Cn

ON A ROLL

Lafayette baker builds community with rolls ‘like your Cajun Mawmaw made them’

BY JOANNA BROWN Staff writer

Dessie Malone wants her customers to really be able to taste the love that she kneads into every batch of rolls that comes out of her home kitchen in downtown Lafayette.

That’s why she mostly works by hand, eschewing tools for all but the most onerous mixing tasks.

Her methods have led to some especially sweet success for this home baker: Malone recently outfitted her cottage with a larger-capacity stove and KitchenAid mixer, saved for and bought with profits from Mother Made Rolls — the specialty business that she started on her birthday in 2023.

Malone was 10 days into a 100day bread roll making challenge that she set for herself as a way to master the art. On that 10th day, her birthday, she spontaneously decided to move the goalposts from “bread maker” to “business owner” — and Mother Made Rolls was born “I called a friend and was like, ‘I’m starting my own business.

Mother Made Rolls — but, your mother is not your maid,’” she said.

“I just laughed and said, ‘and that’s my slogan.’”

Mother Made Rolls produces a boutique line of classic and sweet rolls, including cinnamon rolls and, for a limited time, king cake. Her product list includes the 10inch Rick Roll (a large, ooey-gooey cinnamon roll) or Little Johnny Wick rolls, which is a 10-inch pan of individual cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese glaze. Swayze Rolls, which can be ordered with a side of Swayze Spread, are Texas Roadhouse-style dinner rolls. Malone also makes pans of cafeteria-style and Japanese milk rolls, and on special occasions sells the decadent Johnny Bravos a lemon and blueberry roll with a sweet, deep purple glaze on top. She says her products often contain fun references to family life. Malone’s kids are fans of the “John Wick” movies, which inspired the Little Johnny Wicks. Swayze rolls are a reference to Patrick Swayze’s

Whether for lunch or dinner,

and olive oil cake at Carpe Diem Cafe and Wine Bar in Lafayette

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Dessie Malone, of Mother Made Rolls, poses with one of her king cakes while selling decadent homemade rolls at the Fightinville Farmers Market in Lafayette for the first time.

PROVIDED PHOTO FROM MOTHER MADE ROLLS/FACEBOOK

Swayze Rolls, with Swayze Spread, is one of the specialty bakes made by Mother Made Rolls in Lafayette.

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 26, the 57th day of 2025. There are 308 days left in the year

Today in history

On Feb. 26, 1993, a truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. (The bomb failed to topple the North Tower into the South Tower as the terrorists had hoped; both structures were destroyed in the 9/11 attack eight years later.)

On this date: In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the Island of Elba, sailing back to France in a bid to regain power In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act making the Grand Canyon a national park In 1987, the Tower Commission, which had probed the Iran-Contra affair, issued its report, which rebuked President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff

In 1998, a jury in Amarillo, Texas, rejected an $11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey’s talk show for a price fall after

a segment on food safety that included a discussion about mad cow disease. In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he acted in self-defense. (Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder.)

In 2013, a hot air balloon burst into flames during a sunrise flight over the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and then plummeted 1,000 feet to earth, killing 19 tourists. In 2017, At the Academy Awards, “Moonlight” won three Oscars, including best picture of 2016; in a startling gaffe, the musical “La La Land” was mistakenly announced as the best picture winner before the error was corrected. Today’s birthdays: Singer Mitch Ryder is 80. Singer Michael Bolton is 72. Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Mullen is 68. Actor Greg Germann is 67. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is 67 Singer Erykah Badu is 54. Filmmaker Sean Baker is 54. Football Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk is 52. Olympic swimming gold medalist Jenny Thompson is 52. Singer Corinne Bailey Rae is 46

BEAN

Continued from page 5C

Utilizing this space and sourcing other venues to perform, Bean and four staff members work with about 42 students during the school year, with additional staff added during the summer to accommodate approximately 100 students. Seventeen-year-old Jordan Bates has been one of Bean’s students for about 10 years.

“We don’t only learn acting here, we learn how to love ourselves and how important it is to know your history as an African American,” Bates said. “He doesn’t just train actors, he builds characters.”

Bates, who plans on continuing a career in the dramatic arts, highlighted the importance of having a diverse space to grow and learn.

“Where else would I go?” Bates questioned. “There’s nowhere else I can go and I’ll be a lead or a supporting character or even have any type of say-so creatively.” Bates added: “I feel like if I go anywhere else, I will not be appreciated the way I am here.”

‘So many creative choices’

For Bean’s nephew and adopted son, Floyd Bean, the theater provides plenty of creative choices, as well as a welcoming atmosphere. Floyd got involved at the age of 7.

“There’s so many choices to choose from and the staff and everyone who’s working with the children, that’s family,” Floyd Bean Jr said.

Fifteen-year-old student Rori George has discovered a love of behind-the-scenes work like directing actors, over about a year of working with the studio.

“This is one of my favorite places to be,” George said. “You get to have so many creative choices.”

Write a better one?

Bean’s own journey to acting began at a similarly young age, when he was in junior high at Joseph S. Clark High School in the 7th Ward. Bean followed a girl he liked into the drama club He felt the play the club was working on, “The Christmas Spirit,” wasn’t relevant to his experience as a Black kid in New Orleans.

When Bean expressed this thought, his teacher challenged him, telling him to write a better one if he thought he could do it. He sat down and wrote his first play a play he styled, “I Ain’t Dreaming of No White Christ-

Egg yolks come out darker color

Dear Heloise: I recently bought a dozen eggs, and the yolks were a much deeper yellow — in fact, an almost orange color Are they OK to eat, or is something wrong with them? — Cassie J., Forest Grove, Oregon Cassie, a deeper color of yolk simply means that the hen had a diet high in “carotenoids.” The hen may have had a varied diet but specifically one that was rich in

yellow corn and alfalfa. However the nutritional value of the egg remains basically the same as eggs that contain paler yolks. — Heloise Spinach drawback

Dear Heloise: I love spinach and used to eat it almost daily However, I have learned that spinach is not good for people with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Apparently, it contains oxalates that makes it hard for the calcium to be absorbed. I wish my doctor had told me this. — Joan B. Kenosha,Wisconsin Joan, yes, this is correct. Some other foods containing oxalates are dried figs, kiwi, oranges, grapefruit and pineapple. There’s also tofu, black olives, dark beer, beets, rhubarb, green beans, cashews, peanuts, cocoa and chocolate milk, to name a few Heloise Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.

MOTHER MADE

mas.”

“I can’t really say I wanted this girl,” Bean said, turning reflective. “I wanted to be something. I wasn’t good at sports.”

He reminisced about trying out for sports. Assuming the audition would include meeting with the coach he tried out for basketball in a suit.

‘They laughed me off the court and of course, I was wounded. I was really trying to find myself,”

Bean said

Bean’s play proved popular with his classmates, sparking his lifelong interest in theater In 1973, at 17, Bean started the Ethiopian Theater in New Orleans.

“We learned as we went, it was on-the-job training,” Bean said. “I read every book there was on acting and approached acting directly I had people come in to help us build sets. Then my older brother got involved, and we had a full-fledged theater company.”

‘Come back home’

Bean studied drama communications at the University of New Orleans, and credits his own mentors in drama, like Ted Gilliam, who founded The Dashiki Project Theatre, and Pat McGuire Hill, a former teacher But Bean also stressed the importance of self-knowledge and self-tutelage, along with continual practice, in shaping his craft.

Bean went to Los Angeles in 1985 to pursue acting, where he said he taught drama, auditioned and hosted some award shows, and stayed, “just involved in the theater scene, or lack thereof. It was really, really boring, but I was trying to do my thing.”

Ten years later, feeling the call of home, Bean returned to New Orleans.

“I kept getting tugged to come back home,” Bean said. “I knew there’s a big void whenever I visited. A void in our kids, in something for our teens to do.”

Today Bean is still advocating for more investment in New Orleans’ youths, working with few grants and a tight budget. Bean described the importance of uplifting these voices through the arts and stressed the need for more targeted funding.

“They have to know that not only do we care, but that we’re willing to invest. Everything is possible if you throw money at it,” Bean said. “We don’t invest in our youth. They say midnight basketball, they say this and that, we need to invest more in our youth.”

Contact Rachel Mipro at rachelmipro1234@gmail.com.

role in “Road House,” which played on repeat in the background after her first son was born. The Rick Roll is also an inside joke, and thanks to having sons that love to “Rickroll” people, they all get a laugh when an order comes in for the large cinnamon roll.

Her king cake, offered this season by popular demand, is moist and gooey with a deep layer of caramelized sugar on the bottom, just the way Malone and her customers like it. For all of her products, the development and baking process is deeply focused on texture, taste and methods sourced from Acadiana’s cadre of unsung bakers.

She says, “I talked with some Cajun lunch ladies in Delcambre, and they would give me tips, like, ‘you need to dip your hands in the oil. You don’t need to mess with the dough so much.’ They were giving me their gifts. My customers also

give me feedback, and I apply it

So, the community is the standard.

When I have a customer say, ‘This reminded me of my mom,’ it’s such a compliment to me.”

Now, Mother Made Rolls sells to people from across Acadiana and as far away as Ohio — visitors to Lafayette who told Malone her rolls were a “destination,” according to the baker As her mouth-watering rolls spread across social media, Malone says that the real gift has been in how the business has helped her spread her wings.

“Because of my business, I’m able to become part of the community,” said Malone. “I never had that until now I lost my mom, I lost my dad, and it’s like Acadiana itself has taken me in — I’ve found mother figures, and aunts and sisters and people who support me because they see something of themselves in me, and they just want to help. It gives me hope.”

For this homeschooling mother of three, intentional, meaningful growth has been the path forward. She just attended her first area

farmers market last week, over a year into her roll-making journey — and she sold out. Malone says that she chose to partner with the Fightinville Fresh market in Lafayette’s La Place neighborhood thanks to its accessibility both for vendors and the public.

“They’re doing great things for the community,” Malone said. “They get people who may not be able to afford such a large vendor price, which gives people an opportunity to share their homemade things or produce at a low price, which is great for people. That’s more important to me than anything.”

Malone will be a vendor at upcoming Fightinville Fresh farmers markets, selling Mother Made Rolls from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays at 315 W. Simcoe St., Lafayette. Orders can also be placed from her Facebook page, “Mother Made Rolls.”

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

literally melts in your mouth and is a perfect complement to a nice espresso or cappuccino.

— Kristin Askelson, managing editor, Acadiana Advocate

Chargrilled oysters, a po-boy and gumbo

n Phil’s Oyster Bar, 4335 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge

Mondays at Phil’s means it’s oyster night, as the restaurant offers $1 raw oysters and $2 draft beer all night.

While I didn’t fully indulge in the deal (I only had three), I did take part in ordering a half-dozen chargrilled oysters with garlic butter sauce for an appetizer Since I tend to prefer chargrilled oysters over raw, I should’ve delighted in the restaurant’s Wednesday deal: buy a dozen chargrilled oysters and get a half-dozen for free. Nonetheless, this particular night satisfied my craving for oysters. Each shell included a decent-sized oyster in sauce that spilled from the shells onto the platter For my meal, I chose “The Macie,” which allows you to pick half a po-boy with a cup of soup.

I ordered the fried catfish po-boy, served on locally made French bread and dressed with shredded lettuce, tomatoes and pickles, and the shrimp and crab gumbo. The catfish tasted like it was caught that morning crispy and perfectly breaded. I can’t wait to go back for the Wednesday deal.

— Lauren Cheramie, features coordinator Spanish Dates and Braised Beef Cheeks n Solera, 4205 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, my husband and I made reservations at Solera on Saturday the 15th to bypass the crowds and spend the day together It was our first time at the tapas and wine restaurant, and everything was delightful. We started with two small plates, the Spanish dates and the tuna crudo, the perfect mix of salty and sweet. The dates were

stuffed with manchego cheese and chorizo and wrapped in jamón. They were topped with a sweet reduction. My husband and I could have eaten a bowl of them. The tuna hit the salty notes with greens and gribiche sauce on toasted brioche.

Our large plates came out soon after and the presentation and flavors of each surpassed our expectations. I got the braised beef cheeks, which are served with creamy grits, wild mushrooms and onion marmalade. Once again, the balance of sweet and savory was delicious. My husband ordered the Solera double cheeseburger, which was layered with a fried egg, cheddar and onion bacon jam. We both said it was the best burger we had tasted in a while.

Overall, the lunch was sublime, and I’m already making a list of the next small and large plates I want to order next time. Joy Holden, Louisiana Inspired coordinator

Hints from Heloise

STAFF PHOTO By JOy HOLDEN

Braised Beef Cheeks from Solera, 4205 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By LAUREN CHERAMIE

Chargrilled oysters with a garlic butter sauce from Phil’s Oyster Bar in Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE

Andre Angelle, right, and Christy Adams, center buy three boxes of rolls from Dessie Malone, of Mother Made Rolls, as she sells decadent homemade rolls at the Fightinville Farmers Market in Lafayette.

PHOTO By JEFF STROUT

Students at the Anthony Bean Theater work on a scene from ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Standing alone isn't necessary, but knowing how to pick your allies is. Walk away from those who lead you astray. Focus on expanding your vision through learning from and communicating with people.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Today is not the time to engage in arguments or to let anyone test your patience. While working diligently to declutter your life, take a long, hard look at how you want to direct your energy.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Strengthen your ties with the people who matter to you. Refrain from letting emotional situations control your mind. Put yourself and your needs first.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You'll meet with opposition. Refuse to let anyone put you in a vulnerable position. Saying yes when you know you should decline will cause tension between you and your loved ones.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) Raise the bar and study how to outmaneuver any competitor You have the edge to get ahead if you are willing to step outside the norm. Use the element of surprise to your advantage LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Look at trends and consider modifying how you present yourself. Updating your skills or qualifications and taking a heartfelt approach to handling money, emotions and health matters will make a difference.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Note who's watching from the sidelines. You want to send the right impression. Stick to

facts and figures, and call on experts when necessary to avoid sticky situations.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Think big, but budget wisely. How you handle matters will be important. You don't have to impress anyone; enforcing moderation, insight and ingenuity will give you the wiggle room you need.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Change will beckon, but before making a move, determine if your decisions are coming from a place of emotion or reason. Socialize, communicate, pick experts' brains and think about what's best and right for you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Work toward a goal, but don't take shortcuts. A domestic problem will spin out of control if it becomes impossible to find common ground with the people you're dealing with.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) The opportunity to get ahead is within reach. Put your energy into partnerships, your home environment and how you earn your living. Protect yourself against injury and health risks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Be open with your allies and secretive with those prying into your affairs. Look for alternatives that you can quickly implement if the going gets tough.

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

TODAy'S

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

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

In “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Commander Deanna Troi said, “Higher emotions are what separate us from the lower orders of life. Higher emotions and table manners.”

This week we are looking at defenders leading high or low cards from various holdings. The general principle is to lead low from length when you have at least one honor in that suit. With no honor, you lead an unnecessarily high card. But, as I mentioned yesterday, the most common exception occurs when you lead partner’s suit.

Then, if you have not supported that suit, giving length information is more important than strength information.

In this example, what should West lead against two spades when he has or has not raised hearts?

Should West bid two hearts? It is a borderline decision. The pluses are showing support and some values, and perhaps making North’s rebid more awkward

The minuses are the scant values and the lack of a heart honor; if North becomes the declarer, East might make a losing heart lead.

If West has not supported hearts, he should lead the three: low from length. But if he has raised, he should start with the nine: top of nothing.

Moving on, how can East-West defeat two spades? The defenders must take

Average

Time

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

Forever 21 could shutter 178 stores

Forever 21 stores in Denham Springs, Lafayette and Lake Charles could close as the popular fashion retailer is headed toward its second bankruptcy filing. The chain filed for bankruptcy Sunday and said it could potentially close 178 stores.

The retailer will try to renegotiate deals with landlords to keep the stores open but will close them if no deal is reached.

If the Lafayette Forever 21 store closes, it would be another big-name retailer to leave the Acadiana Mall. Macy’s announced in last month it will close its 200,000-square-foot anchor space some time this spring.

The three Louisiana stores were slated for closure in 2019 following Forever 21’s first bankruptcy filing.

Shareholders reject Apple DEI proposal

Apple shareholders rebuffed an attempt to pressure the technology trendsetter into joining President Donald Trump’s push to scrub corporate programs designed to diversify its workforce.

The proposal drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research — a self-described conservative think tank — urged Apple to follow a litany of high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives currently in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

After a brief presentation about the anti-DEI proposal, Apple announced shareholders had rejected it without disclosing the vote tally The preliminary results will be outlined in a regulatory filing later Tuesday The outcome vindicated Apple management’s decision to stand behind its diversity commitment even though Trump asked the U.S. Department of Justice to look into whether these types of programs have discriminated against some employees whose race or gender aren’t aligned with the initiative’s goals.

Tuesday’s shareholder vote came a month after the same group presented a similar proposal during Costco’s annual meeting, only to have it overwhelmingly rejected.

Small-business owners

uncertain about future

Small-business owners felt more uncertain about the future in January, as they continue to deal with labor challenges and lingering inflation.

According to a monthly poll of small-business owners from the National Federation of Independent Business, the uncertainty index in January rose 14 points to 100 — the third highest recorded reading, after two months of decline. The NFIB said small-business owners are feeling less confident about investing in their business due to uncertain business conditions in the coming months.

In the NFIB poll, optimism fell by 2.3 points in January to 102.8, but remained high. Optimism surged after the presidential election, and the index still topped the 51-year average of 98 for the third month in a row

Consumer confidence drops in February

BY MATT OTT AP business writer

WASHINGTON U.S. consumer con-

fidence plummeted in February, the biggest monthly decline in more than four years, a business research group said Tuesday with inflation seemingly stuck and a trade war under President Donald Trump seen by a growing number of Americans as inevitable.

The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index sank this month to 98.3 from 105.3 in January That’s far below the expectations of economists, who pro-

jected a reading of 103, according to a survey by FactSet.

The seven-point drop was the biggest month-to-month decline since August 2021.

Respondents to the board’s survey expressed concern over inflation with a significant increase in mentions of trade and tariffs, the board said.

The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.3 points to 72.9. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a

potential recession in the near future.

The proportion of consumers expecting a recession over the next year jumped to a nine-month high, the board said.

Consumers’ view of current conditions tumbled 3.4 points to a reading of 136.5 this month, and views on current labor market conditions fell again.

“Views of current labor market conditions weakened,” the group said Tuesday. “Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pes-

simism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a 10-month high.”

Consumers appeared increasingly confident heading into the end of 2024 and spent generously during the holiday season. However, U.S retail sales dropped sharply in January, with cold weather taking some of the blame for a dent in vehicle sales and at retail stores.

Retail sales fell 0.9% last month from December, the Commerce Department reported last week The decline, the biggest in a year, came after two months of healthy gains.

Carlyle Group founder pledges $1B to end nursing shortage

Bill Conway dedicates record numbers to range of programs

BY MARIA DI MENTO Chronicle of Philanthropy

Bill Conway didn’t start out wanting to make a big impact on the nursing profession. In 2011, the financier announced he would give away $1 billion to create jobs for the poor and asked the public to send him ideas. In came around 2,500 suggestions. Most were sob stories, but some people had good ideas, he said, and several suggested backing bachelor’s degree nursing programs.

“It was along the lines of: If we support potential students to get a nursing degree, then they’ll always be able to get a job and take care of themselves, their families, and the rest of us,” Conway said. “My wife and I thought that sounded pretty good.”

Currently, private giving for the nursing profession accounts for only one cent of every dollar given for health care, according to a report from the foundation arm of the American Nurses Association. And giving to nursing isn’t a popular cause among most wealthy donors.

But there are exceptions. Leonard Lauder has given $177 million to nursing schools at the University of Pennsylvania and Hunter College, and Mark and Robyn Jones donated $100 million to expand Montana State University’s nursing program

Yet no other wealthy donor has dedicated as much money to such a wide range of nursing programs as Conway, the 75-yearold co-founder of the private equity giant the Carlyle Group, and his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway, who died in January 2024.

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK Some of Wall Street’s brightest stars lost more of their shine Tuesday after another report said U.S. households are getting more pessimistic about the economy.

The S&P 500 fell. It was the fourth straight drop for the main measure of the U.S. stock market’s health after it set an all-time high last week

The Nasdaq composite sank as several influential Big Tech companies lost momentum and screeched lower But the majority of stocks nevertheless rose, which helped the Dow Jones Industrial

Co-founder of The Carlyle Group, Bill Conway, center plans

nursing programs across the country. He’s pictured here with nursing

from the Catholic University of America in Washington, one of the

nonprofit currently supports.

Those efforts are destined to grow, with Conway only about a third of the way toward his target of giving $1 billion to nursing.

So far, he has donated $325.6 million to support student aid, new buildings, efforts to recruit and retain faculty, and more at 22 nursing schools in the Eastern and mid-Atlantic regions. He also is backing a pediatric nursing program at Children’s National Hospital, in Washington, D.C.

Over the past decade, that money has helped produce more than 7,000 nurses. Now he said, he wants to take his support of nursing programs nationwide

“I expect that of most of the money I leave to charity will go to continuing this mission,” said Conway, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $4 billion. “I see that

Average close higher

The U.S. stock market has been generally struggling since the middle of last week after several weaker-than-expected reports on the economy thudded onto Wall Street. On Tuesday, the latest said confidence among U.S. consumers is falling by more than economists expected.

The U.S. economy still appears to be in solid shape, and growth is continuing at the moment. But for the first time since June, a measure of consumers’ expectations for the economy in the short term fell below a threshold that usually signals a recession ahead, according to The Conference Board. The increase in pessimism was broad-based and

that

we’re starting to make a difference in some places, and I’d like to make more of a difference over time.”

In 2013, the Conways gave $4 million to Catholic University’s nursing school. Since then, their giving to the institution — now named the Conway School of Nursing — has grown to more than $64 million, expanding full scholarships, largely paying for a new nursing school building and backing graduate nursing programs.

The Conways also have supported mentoring efforts and a review course to prepare students for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses.

“Calling his donations transformational is not saying enough,” said Marie Nolan, dean of Catholic’s nursing school.

carried across both higher- and lower-income households, as well as older and younger ones.

“There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019,” according to Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at The Conference Board “Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses.”

For its part, President Donald Trump’s White House said the lower confidence reflects the overhang of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden. It also pointed to recent announcements of investment for new U.S. facilities by Apple and of improving

CEO confidence as indicators of upcoming growth.

Wall Street tracks confidence among consumers because solid spending by them has been helping to keep the U.S. economy out of a recession. And Tuesday’s report echoed what an earlier report from the University of Michigan suggested: Consumers see the current situation as OK, but they’re worried about the future.

The pessimism hit high-momentum areas of the market in particular, those that had seen waves of euphoric investors pile in during recent years Nvidia fell 2.8%, for example, while Tesla tumbled 8.4%. They were the two heaviest weights on the S&P 500.