The Acadiana Advocate 03-04-2025 by The Advocate

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

Courir des Enfants

Opposition to carbon capture growing

Rural, conservative residents in state have concerns about leaks, property rights

BY DAVID J MITCHELL Staff writer

Louisiana’s emergence as a hotbed for new technology to store carbon emissions deep underground has long been opposed by environmentalists. But pushback from an unlikely source is now also gaining momentum.

Rural and conservative residents in corners of the state where oil and gas tends to be a familiar and often welcomed presence are increasingly voicing their opposition to carbon-capture and sequestration projects. Industry backers, however, say the residents are being misinformed and fed scare tactics

BY KASEY BUBNASH

Fueled by lucrative federal tax credits, companies are eying southwestern and western Louisiana for big projects to store hundreds of millions of tons of carbon under tens of thousands of acres of timberland, state wildlife areas and much smaller homes and farms, state permit summaries and company materials say The companies include carbon-capture arms of Occidental Petroleum and ExxonMobil, carbon ventures CapturePoint and Trace Carbon, natural gas pipeline company DT Midstream and Aethon Energy, permit documents say This “gold rush,” as one legislator put it, has stirred distrust in southwest Louisiana of industry and academic promises of its safety, echoing the opposition a few years ago in Livingston Parish over a carbon-capture proposal for Lake Maurepas.

Residents say they have concerns over damage to underground aquifers and accidental surface leaks, fears about encroachment on their properties through pipeline expropriation and other access methods granted to companies. They have been angered that federal taxpayer dollars are behind what they view as putting a dangerous waste permanently under their feet.

Critics point to a pipeline break and leak in Satartia, Mississippi, that hospitalized at least 45 people and forced 200 to evacuate from an asphyxiating gas cloud that hung along the ground, according to an investigation by the federal pipeline regulator A pumping station that is part of the same company’s network, Denbury, had a leak April 3 in Sulphur and forced a nearly two-hour shelter-in-place order for residents living within a quartermile, according to state and federal

ä See OPPOSITION, page 4A

Ruby-June Newland, 7 smiles proudly after catching a chicken on Monday.

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

des Enfants in Breaux Bridge on Monday.

ABOVE: Joyce Valenti wears a

Mardi Gras costume on Monday.

Courir des Enfants on

Germany: 2 killed after driver rams into crowd

BERLIN A driver rammed a car into a crowd Monday in the southwestern German city of Mannheim, and authorities said two people were killed and 11 others injured, ﬁve of them severely

A 40-year-old German from the nearby state of RhinelandPalatinate was detained and in a hospital after being injured, State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl of Baden-Württemberg, where Mannheim is based, told German news agency dpa.

He later told reporters in Mannheim that “as far as the speciﬁc motivation of the crime is concerned, we have no indication of an extremist or religious background at the moment. The motivation could rather be based in the person of the perpetrator himself.”

German police and prosecutors said Monday at a joint news conference that the driver intentionally rammed his car into people and is being investigated for murder and attempted murder

They said the driver shot himself in the mouth when he was arrested and had to undergo medical treatment at a hospital. He could not yet be questioned. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the driver may suffer from psychological problems.

Texas official warns against measles parties

DALLAS A Texas health official is warning against “measles parties” as an outbreak grows in West Texas, resulting in the death of at least one unvaccinated school-aged child

In a news brieﬁng Friday, Dr. Ron Cook, chief health officer for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, urged families to avoid such gatherings and instead get vaccinated.

“We can’t predict who is going to do poorly with measles, being hospitalized, potentially get pneumonia or encephalitis, or potentially pass away from this,” he said, according to multiple news reports. “It’s a foolish thing to go have measles parties.”

It is not known if measles parties are actually popping up in West Texas. Asked for more information, Cook said, “It’s mostly been social media talk.”

Measles parties echo chickenpox parties from decades ago, when people would deliberately expose themselves or others to someone with a conﬁrmed case in an attempt to spread the virus in a controlled environment. The chickenpox vaccine was introduced to the public in 1995, largely ending the practice.

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world and spreads mostly among unvaccinated people. Symptoms include a cough, fever red eyes and the telltale skin rash. Since late January, 146 cases of measles have been identiﬁed in Texas, including 20 hospitalizations and one death.

U.N. food program closes office in Africa

CAPETOWN,SouthAfrica

The United Nations’ World Food Program is closing its southern Africa ofﬁce in the wake of the Trump administration’s aid cuts, a spokesperson said Monday Tomson Phiri said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press that the U.N. food agency had launched a multiyear plan to streamline its structure in 2023 but as “the donor funding outlook becomes more constrained, we have been compelled to accelerate these efforts.”

Phiri said the WFP would consolidate its southern and East Africa operations into one regional office in Nairobi, Kenya. The southern Africa ofﬁce in Johannesburg will close.

Phiri said food programs would continue.

“Our commitment to serving vulnerable communities is as strong as ever, and WFP remains committed to ensuring our operations are as effective and efﬁcient as possible in meeting the needs of those facing hunger” he wrote.

The WFP didn’t say how much funding it had lost from USAID, but it received $4.4 billion in assistance from the United States last year

Trump says tariffs start Tuesday

25% duties will affect goods from Mexico, Canada

BY JOSH BOAK, ZEKE MILLER and ROB GILLIES Associated Press

WASHINGTON President

Donald Trump said Monday that 25% taxes on imports from Mexico and Canada would start Tuesday, sparking renewed fears of a North American trade war that already showed signs of pushing up inﬂation and hindering growth.

“Tomorrow tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters in the Roosevelt Room. “They’re going to have to have a tariff.”

Trump has said the tariffs are to force the two U.S. neighbors to step up their ﬁght against fentanyl trafﬁcking and stop illegal immigration. But Trump has also indicated that he wants to eliminate the Americas’ trade imbalances as well and push more factories to relocate in the United States.

His comments quickly rattled the U.S. stock market, with the S&P 500 index down 2% in Monday afternoon trading It’s a sign of the political and economic risks that Trump feels compelled to take, given the

possibility of higher inﬂation and the possible demise of a decadeslong trade partnership with Mexico and Canada as the tariffs would go into effect at 12:01 a.m.

Tuesday

Yet the Trump administration remains conﬁdent that tariffs are the best choice to boost U.S. manufacturing and attract foreign investment. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Monday that the computer chipmaker TSMC had expanded its investment in the United States because of the possibility of separate 25% tariffs.

In February, Trump put a 10% tariff on imports from China. He reemphasized Monday that the rate would be doubling to 20% on Tuesday

Trump provided a onemonth delay in February as both Mexico and Canada promised concessions. But Trump said Monday that there was “no room left for Mexico or for Canada” to avoid the steep new tariffs, which were also set to tax Canadian energy products such as oil and electricity at a lower 10% rate.

“If Trump is imposing tariffs, we are ready,” said Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. “We are ready with $155 billion worth of tariffs and we’re ready with the ﬁrst tranche of tariffs, which is $30 billion.”

Joly said Canada has a very strong border plan and explained that to Trump administration officials last week. She said the diplomatic efforts are

continuing. She spoke after Trump made his comments

Tuesday

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum went into Monday waiting to see what Trump would say

“It’s a decision that depends on the United States government, on the United States president,” Sheinbaum said ahead of Trump’s statement. “So whatever his decision is, we will make our decisions and there is a plan, there is unity in Mexico.”

Both countries have tried to show action in response to Trump’s concerns. Mexico sent 10,000 National Guard troops to their shared border to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal immigration. Canada named a fentanyl czar even though

smuggling of the drug from Canada into the United States appears to be relatively modest. As late as Sunday, it remained unclear what choice Trump would make on tariff rates. Lutnick told Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the decision was “ﬂuid.”

“He’s sort of thinking about right now how exactly he wants to play it with Mexico and Canada,” Lutnick said. “And that is a ﬂuid situation. There are going to be tariffs on Tuesday on Mexico and Canada. Exactly what they are, we’re going to leave that for the president and his team to negotiate.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Mexico has also offered to place 20% taxes on all imports from China as part of talks with the United States.

Bessent told CBS News on Sunday that China would “eat” the cost of the tariffs, instead of passing them along to the U.S. businesses and consumers that import their products in the form of higher prices.

But companies ranging from Ford to Walmart have warned about the negative impact that tariffs could create for their businesses. Similarly, multiple analyses by the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Yale University Budget Lab suggest that an average family could face price increases of more than $1,000.

Trump slams Zelenskyy for war comments

Ukrainian leader: End of Russia conflict ‘very,

very far away’

BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday for suggesting that the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine likely ”is still very, very far away.”

The comments come as prominent Trump allies escalate pressure on Zelenskyy to dramatically change his approach to the U.S. president, who has made quickly ending the war a top priority, or step aside.

The long complicated relationship between the leaders has reached a nadir following a disastrous White House meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance excoriated Zelenskyy for not being sufficiently thankful for U.S. support for Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion.

“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and

America will not put up with it for much longer!”

Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform about the comments Zelenskyy made late Sunday while speaking to reporters in London.

Trump at an event at the White House later on Monday referred to Zelenskyy’s reported comments, and asserted the Ukrainian leader “better not be right about that.”

“If somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long,” Trump added. “That person will not be listened to very long.”

Trump took issue with Zelenskyy suggesting it would take time to come to an agreement to end the

war The Ukrainian leader also tried to offer a positive take on the U.S.-Ukraine relationship in the aftermath of last week’s White House meeting.

Asked by a reporter about the outlines of a new European initiative to end Russia’s war Zelenskyy said: “We are talking about the ﬁrst steps today, and, therefore, until they are on paper, I would not like to talk about them in great detail.”

“An agreement to end the war is still very very far away, and no one has started all these steps yet,” he added.

But Trump was only further irritated by Zelenskyy’s suggesting it will take time for the conﬂict to come to a close.

Pope suffers new breathing crises, is back on noninvasive ventilation

BY NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press

ROME Pope Francis suffered two new acute respiratory crises Monday and was put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation in another setback to his battle to ﬁght pneumonia, the Vatican said. Doctors extracted “copious” amounts of mucus from his lungs during two bronchoscopies, in which a camera-tipped tube was sent down into his airways with a sucker at the tip to suction out ﬂuid. The Vatican said the mucus was

his body’s reaction to the original pneumonia infection and not a new infection, given laboratory tests don’t indicate any new bacteria. Francis remained alert, oriented and cooperated with medical personnel. The prognosis remained guarded. Doctors didn’t say if he remained in stable condition, though they referred to the crises in the past tense, suggesting they were over The crises were a new setback in what has become a more than twoweek battle by the 88-year-

old pope, who has chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed, to overcome a complex respiratory infection.

Dr John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said the episodes were more concerning than the last one on Friday, in which Francis had a coughing ﬁt, inhaled some vomit that needed to be extracted and then was put on the noninvasive mechanical ventilation for a day and then didn’t need it anymore.

“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated ﬂatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Trump added in his post. “What are they thinking?” Zelenskyy took to social media soon after Trump’s latest criticism. He did not directly refer to Trump’s comments, but underscored that

it “is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.” “We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns,” Zelenskyy added. “We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.”

Trump’s national security adviser said Zelenskyy’s posture during Friday’s Oval Office talks “put up in the air” whether he’s someone the U.S. administration will be able to deal with going forward.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PAUL SANCyA

President Donald Trump said Monday that 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada would start Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BEN CURTIS

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy right, is greeted by President Donald Trump on Friday at the White House in Washington.

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HURRICANE

at every interval, from 12 to 120 hours out from predicted landfall, broke records for accuracy, meaning performance was the “best in history,” NHC ofﬁcials said. That means last season’s storms held closer than ever to the routes meteorologists predicted they’d take through the Atlantic and, sometimes, over land.

“I would deﬁnitely credit technology as the No. 1 advancement in general,” said John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC.

But Cangialosi said the NHC’s track forecasts were also more consistent, changing less from cycle to cycle, compared to the global models. For that, he credited the NHC’s experts and forecasting strategies.

While track forecasting accuracy often varies greatly year to year, data collected by the NHC shows that track errors have been steadily decreasing since 1990.

Intensity forecasting has be-

reports. Leaving a recent town hall at the Allen Parish Civic Center on carbon capture Kinder crawfish farmer Stewart Harrell, 42, said he’s worried what a CO2 leak could do to the Chicot Aquifer which he uses to supply his crawﬁsh ponds

“If it’s contaminated, it ain’t no good,” he said. CO2 mixed with water can form an acid that is corrosive to pipes.

“It’s our drinking water, you know,” added Doug Sonnier, 73, of Oberlin. “They wouldn’t have put this in some big, rich parish. They come out here in the woods.”

Some, like Sonnier blamed the Biden administration and Democrats, but tax credits to support carbon capture and storage have been backed by successive administrations predating him.

The oil and gas industry has been lobbying the second Trump administration, which has been unraveling other climate and clean energy initiatives, to keep the credits in place.

Though carbon capture has been discussed for years and Louisiana proposals have gone through required public notice procedures several residents, like Harrell, said it seemed the push for carbon storage has been “slipped in” recently Sherry Coleman, 66, of Oberlin, told the town hall that carbon capture has taken root only because “no one knew anything about it.”

“This cannot be a done deal. We’re not the top of the heap, but we don’t deserve to be the fertilizer for the rest of the heap,” she said ‘I would say livid

Several parish police juries in the region have formed their own coalition. Some of its representatives, including a leader of the movement, Allen Parish Juror Roland Hollins, have been traveling to Baton Rouge to speak in hearings and privately press their case.

A small group of legislators representing these areas are promising bills for the legislative session beginning April 14 to rein in carbon capture and even to block it outright through local parish-by-parish votes. Some of these legislators

come increasingly accurate since then, too, but the 2024 season proved to be a tough one for forecasters to nail down.

There were 34 episodes of rapid intensiﬁcation recorded during the 2024 hurricane season, according to the NHC, nearly

double the average of the last 10 years. Errors in the NHC’s storm intensity forecasts were up in 2024

compared to a couple of years prior, and no records were set for accuracy

NHC officials said rapid intensification, an unpredictable process that can supercharge storms, poses “one of the most significant challenges in hurricane forecasting.”

Rapid intensiﬁcation is deﬁned by the NHC as a 35 mph increase in maximum wind speeds in 24 hours, and forecasters are still working to understand all the factors that aid that kind of fastpaced strengthening.

“It’s hard to predict because it depends on lots of factors that are both big and small,” Cangialosi said.

While bigger factors like seasurface temperatures and atmospheric conditions are easier to track, it’s not always clear how or why storms develop the tight core also needed for rapid intensiﬁcation.

“The models struggle with this,” he said. “This has always been a challenge.”

But, he said, it’s a mystery that forecasters are slowly trying to chip away at.

Email Kasey Bubnash at kasey bubnash@theadvocate.com.

also supported unopposed legislation in 2020 giving the state the ability to regulate carbon sequestration Louisiana was granted that power by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2024 — but now say they’re hearing from residents as projects have become closer to reality

Rep. Charles Owen, RLeesville, said his 2020 vote happened before he and his constituents understood what carbon capture would mean.

He said he and his legislative colleagues had been told it was simply a measure to help the oil and gas industry

“I just know that my citizens are very much up in arms in the two parishes I represent. I would say livid,” said Owen, whose House District 30 includes central parts of Vernon and Beauregard parishes.

Owen has pre-ﬁled the bill that would allow parish councils or police juries to decide whether to allow carbon dioxide injection wells in their parishes.

HB4 would also give those governing authorities the ability to call a special election to allow voters to decide, as the video poker local option elections of 1996 did across the state. Residents could also petition parishes to call the election.

“Locals have the option of saying they don’t want gambling or alcohol in this state,”

Owen said in an interview

“This bill that I am proposing will give the parish police or governing authorities the ability to say, ‘We don’t want that.’”

Other legislators who have pre-ﬁled bills or are considering them include Rep. R. Dewith Carrier, R-Oakdale; Rep. Jason DeWitt, R-Tioga; and Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn, R-Hornbeck.

Among the proposals being discussed are an end to caps on damages from CO2 incidents that injure or kill people, an end of companies’ expropriation power for CO2 pipelines and an expansion of safety distances around schools and hospitals.

Though local opponents of carbon capture and storage might have common ground with environmental groups, the two are coming at it from different directions. Environmental groups want to ﬁght climate change and oppose extending oil and gas production.

During the town hall last week in Oberlin, however opposition to carbon cap-

ture was rooted in property rights. State Rep. Danny McCormick, R-Oil City, who spent his career in the oil and gas business and has been its steady backer in the House, told residents in Oberlin he would back them.

McCormick, who represents the Ark-La-Tex corner of the state, said, “You’ve got to get motivated You’ve got to get activated. You’ve got to do what you’re doing here tonight.”

Despite the coming effort from his colleagues, Rep. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, an ardent supporter of carbon capture with projects in his northeast corner of the state, said he believes majorities in the House and Senate remain behind the practice.

Louisiana is ‘the place’

CO2 emissions lead to climate change, and carboncapture projects aim to address that problem while still allowing the oil and gas and petrochemical industries to operate.

The process sees carbon dioxide gas compressed nearly into a liquid state. It’s injected thousands of feet down into formations that various geologic experts have said can hold it permanently keeping those heat-trapping emissions out of the atmosphere.

Advocates, industry officials and these geologists point out that companies have been moving CO2 by pipeline and pumping it underground for decades to push up oil from depleted fields. They say they know how to do it safely

“CCS is a proven technology that has been successfully deployed for decades. We are conﬁdent in our ability to sequester CO2 safely and permanently in compliance with stringent regulations,” said Margot Armentor, a spokesperson for ExxonMobil.

The oil company is pursuing carbon capture in southwestern Louisiana, St. Helena Parish outside Baton Rouge and elsewhere through two carbon-capture arms, including Denbury, which has a key CO2 pipeline across the state.

Several geologists have noted that Louisiana’s geology, with its layers of sand and impermeable shale, provide “almost perfect” storage areas not far from the industries that need it.

“If they were going to plan a place to do CCUS (carbon capture utilization and storage), Louisiana would be the

place to do it,” LSU petro-

leum engineering professor Richard Hughes said in a video-recorded interview for TJC Group, a Baton Rouge lobbying ﬁrm that represents industrial clients.

Hughes said the state’s review process and oversight should prevent problems or catch them on the small chance they develop.

Though no projects have been permitted in the state yet, critics note an Environmental Protection Agency model storage project in Illinois leaked last year, escaping from one layer to another but not into groundwater

And opponents of carbon capture and storage have raised fears of surface leaks, pointing to a catastrophic natural CO2 leak from the volcanic Lake Nyos in Cameroon that killed more than 1,700 people and thousands of cattle in the 1980s.

In an email, Hughes said the likelihood of a surface leak from deep underground is low It would occur slowly because of the state’s layered subsurface and likely be caught by regulators before it breaks through. Any leak would also happen at volumes and concentrations far below what happened in Cameroon.

“I would simply say that I lean towards the idea that a Lake Nyos type of release is extremely unlikely given our

geology,” Hughes said.

Published last month, an Allen Parish risk assessment found the highest risks of leaks would come from old oil and gas wells, monitoring wells and CO2 pipelines. The state is requiring old wells be found and sealed in carbon storage areas.

Economic risk?

Companies with a stake in the region’s carbon capture and storage potential contend blocking the nascent industry would put Louisiana behind other states looking to be ﬁrst.

Ofﬁcials with an important lobby at the State Capitol, the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association, said they will “vigorously oppose any legislation that threatens industry efforts to create jobs, produce more energy and support American energy independence.”

“Louisiana’s investments in CCS have played a vital role as we enter the next phase of America-first energy dominance, with major economic development projects, including the highly anticipated data center (planned for north Louisiana), expected to take advantage of Louisiana’s early lead in carbon capture and storage technology,” said Tommy Faucheux, the group’s president.

Citing a McNeese State University study, Allen Parish’s risk assessment noted the financial benefits possible.

The Oxy Magnolia Sequestration Hub proposed in the parish, the assessment notes, would generate more than $81 million in labor income from construction and operations over 12 years. Local governments in Allen would see up to $4.4 million in tax collections between 2026 and 2035. The ﬁgures don’t include conﬁdential landowner lease payments, the McNeese study found.

CapturePoint is looking at storage in Vernon Parish. The company plans to share millions of dollars in revenue, besides the hundreds of jobs a CO2 hub could mean over the next decade. Company ofﬁcials say they respect Owen, with whom they’ve met when they announced investments in local schools a year ago, for representing his constituents.

“Unfortunately many of the things that he is hearing and saying right now are simply not accurate,” said Kris Roberson, chief operating ofﬁcer for CapturePoint. David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@ theadvocate.com.

KreweofBonaparte

Coronation Ball 2025

“Bonaparte’s Expedition 25:52”

RoyalMaids:MicheleDoucet French,BrittanyPoole Eskridge RoyalDukes: Dr.JacobEdwardLandry, LanceAlfredMigues

TheKreweofBonapartehelditsﬁfty-secondAnnual“Le BalDuCouronnement” Monday evening, March3,2025, in the LafayetteCajundomeConventionCenter Thetheme of this year’s celebrationwas “BONAPARTE’S EXPEDITION 25:52.” EmperorNapoleonXLVIII,DuaneFrancisDelhommeand EmpressJosephine XLVIII,SandraMahfouz Delhomme, ruledoverthisyear’sfestivities

TheAmericanﬂag waspresented by theUniversityofLouisiana at Lafayette ColorGuard whilethe Star-Spangled BannerwasperformedbyKatherineJoy Hotard.AMardiGrasblessingwasgiven by Monsignor JeffersonDeBlanc.Atthe soundofthe Captain’swhistle,the crest oftheKreweofBonapartewaspresented andthe questfor “JoieDeVivre”began LaPremièreoftheKrewefor2024-2025, Ashley Trahan Guidry andher husband Neal Blaine Guidry,werepresented to thecrowd.The past forty-sevenyears ofNapoleonsandJosephinesmadetheir entrance in grandMardi Gras style. Bonaparte’sMarquisedeLafayette 2025,theCaptainoftheBall,wasTiffany Whittall Harris.She made herentrance as theExpeditionCaptain,emergingon thestage throughacloud of smokeand laserlightsinafantastical time travelingmachine. Theleader of this worldly expeditionwelcomedthecrowdandwas ready to explore thefar cornersofthe globetoﬁnd hercourt members.

Suddenly,all attentionturnedtothe arrivalofHis Imperial Majesty, Napoleon XLVIII,Duane Francis Delhomme.TheKingworeatailored,royalblueNapoleonic riding coat with whiteridingpants andblack leatherboots.The Emperor’scoatfeatured antique goldbullion metallic trimsofthe Napoleonic era. His Napoleonic hatwas adornedwithavintage regalred cockadeand he carriedamilitarysword EmpressJosephineXLVIII,SandraMahfouz Delhommedressedforthecoronationinawhitesilkand lacegownthatwasaccentedwithhandbeadedbullion trim,auroraborealisrhinestones, andbugle beads. ThegownfeaturedaJosephine-inspired,scalloped necklineandempirewaisttowhichherroyalbluesilk trainwasattached,alledgedinexquisitesilverbeaded trim.EmpressJosephine wore aMettaggicollarof silver lace andrhinestones. Sheworeanoriginal reproduction of theroyal crownwornbyJosephine andcarried aFrenchinspiredregal scepter. MonarchsNapoleonand Josephinewereseated

on theirroyal thronesastheywereentertained by Bonaparte’sexpeditionCaptain andcourt members from around theworld!

TheCaptain’sexpeditionbeganonthesmallisland ofBali,withitsbreathtakingwaterfallsandwhitesand beaches, whereRoyal Maid MicheleDoucetFrench wasdiscovered. They traveled to Scandinaviatoﬁnd theperfectmatch.TheretheyfoundRoyalDukeJacob Edward Landry,M.D.Thisdukeloves history, so ﬁghtinglikeaVikingwas rightuphis alley! Thetwo courtmembers danced andstomped to themusic as thecrowdscheered Most womenlovebeautiful jewelryand silk fabric in rich colors. Ournextdestination hadeverything RoyalMaidBrittanyPooleEskridgewanted!Located inSouthAsia,BonapartevisitedtheRepublicofIndia Searchingforunusualmusictoaddtothetableau,the Captaintraveledtothe Highlands of Scotland where RoyalDukeLance Alfred Migueswas founddressed infullkilt.Ascustomary,ourdukeserenadedhismaid withbagpipemusicandlefteveryonewonderingwhat

menreallywearunder theirkilts! UniquewomenmakeuptheCaptain’s courtand RoyalMaidKay Karré Gautreauxwas no exception! Shewas foundinSamoa,wherethe“Samoanway of life”includesmanytraditionsthat have remained virtuallyunchanged, especially thenativegrass skirtand featherheaddress. In contrast to the naturalcolorsofSamoa,theynextvisited theCzech Republic wherecolorsare alive. RoyalDukeRichard Nathaniel Hotardappearedintheculturallycolorfuloutﬁt of theBohemianpeople, who areknown forfriendliness, modesty andhandkerchief waving!

RoyalMaidSarah Breaux Darouse wasdiscoveredinVenice, thecapital of northern Italyknown as theCityof Canals,the Floating City,wearing the famous carnival mask andcolorful ﬂowing gown.Our ﬁnal RoyalDuke, EdwardMichaelBienvenu,wasfoundin CentralAmericawherehewasamember of theEagle Warriors, thebravest of theAztec warriors!The eaglewas a sacred creature to theAztecsand was believed to have beenpresent at the birthofthe sun.

AftertheRoyalCoupleswerepresented, NapoleoncrownedhimselfasSovereign ofhisEmpireandEmperoroftheKrewe ofBonaparte. Hethenturnedtocrown Josephinetobehis beautifulQueen

ThePresidentoftheGreaterSouthwest LouisianaMardi Gras Association, Joseph Charles Giglio,IIIandhislovelywifeMargaret“Peggy”Perry Giglio,werepresented.The maidsand dukesofthe GreaterSouthwestLouisianaMardiGrasAssociation were also acknowledged King GabrielLXXXVI, John Albert Guillot, D.D.S. andQueen Evangeline LXXXVI,Bella Elisabeth Cortez,wereintroducedtotheaudience.Themonarchs toastedeachother,the court, andtheir guests.The heralds, Audrey Marieand ChloeRoseDelhomme andLaneand Jack Landry traveled to thethrones to deliveraninvitationtothe Krewe’sroyal rulers for MardiGrasDay 2025

EmperorNapoleonXLVIIIandEmpressJosephine XLVIII,theCaptain,andtheRoyalCourtentertained thecrowd forthe GrandMarch.GTO provided music for theevening. RebeccaLandrydirectedthe tableau andthe stageand royalcostumesweredesignedby TedViatorandconstructedbyViatorandAssociates, Inc.,Karen Guidry,and Cheryl Nevils.

EmperorNapoleonXLVIII, DuaneFrancis Delhomme EmpressJosephineXLVIII, Sandra MahfouzDelhomme La Marquise de Lafayette, TiffanyWhittallHarris

RoyalMaids:Sarah Breaux Darouse, KayKarré Gautreaux

RoyalDukes: Edward MichaelBienvenu,Richard NathanielHotard

Storms, possible twisters to threaten the South

BY JEFF MARTIN and JACK BROOK Associated Press

Powerful storms with a threat of tornadoes are expected to punch through Louisiana and other parts of the South on Tuesday just as huge parades and costumed revelers are set to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans and other southern cities.

The alarming forecast will be one of the ﬁrst big tests for the National Weather

Senate confirms Linda McMahon

Wrestling exec to run Education Department

BY ANNIE MA Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Senate

voted Monday to conﬁrm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle.

McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”

The Senate voted to conﬁrm McMahon 51-45. A billionaire and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, McMahon, 76, is an unconventional pick for the role. She spent a year on Connecticut’s state board of education and is a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University but otherwise has little traditional education leadership.

McMahon’s supporters see her as a skilled executive who will reform a department that Republicans say has failed to improve American education. Opponents say she’s unqualified and fear her budget cuts will be felt by students nationwide.

“Americans believe in public education,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said before the confirmation vote. “They don’t want to see the Department of Education abolished. If the Trump administration follows through on cuts to education, schools will lose billions in funding.”

At her conﬁrmation hearing, McMahon distanced herself from Trump’s blistering rhetoric. She said the goal is to make the Education Department “operate more efﬁciently,” not to defund programs.

She acknowledged that only Congress has the power to close the department, and she pledged to preserve Title I money for low-income schools Pell grants for low-income college students, and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Yet she suggested some operations could move to other departments, saying Health and Human Services might be better suited to enforce disability rights laws.

Service after hundreds of its forecasters were ﬁred last week under President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees say the ﬁring of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts across the U.S could put lives at risk.

Multiple weather threats loom this week for the U.S., starting with dust storms that brought near-zero visibility to parts of New Mexico and west Texas, prompt-

ing the National Weather Service to issue Dust Storm Warnings, the agency said. “Widespread blowing dust,” was expected Tuesday said the weather service office covering Midland and Odessa, Texas. A strong weather system this week will bring “a threat of blizzard conditions, high winds, flash flooding, severe weather, dust storms, and critical to extreme ﬁre weather conditions to the nation’s heartland,” the weath-

er service said in an update Monday

On Tuesday, twisters, damaging winds and large hail are all possible as a strong storm system moves across the nation’s midsection into Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, the federal Storm Prediction Center warns. The bullseye is a zone designated at an enhanced risk of severe weather — an area stretching from east Texas to Alabama that’s home to

more than 7 million people

The area under threat includes Baton Rouge and Shreveport; Jackson, Mississippi; and Mobile, Alabama.

Large crowds were expected Tuesday for Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama. Police there said they were continuing to monitor the forecast and would let the public know if plans for the celebration change.

Other cities hosting large Mardi Gras events included Biloxi, Mississippi, where an

annual Mardi Gras parade was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Tuesday In downtown Pensacola in the Florida Panhandle, organizers are planning a Big Easy-style Mardi Gras festival that includes food trucks, dancing, live entertainment and a low country seafood boil.

Associated Press Writers Sara Cline in Baton Rouge, and Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.

Man pleads guilty in shooting at July 4 parade

7 killed, dozens hurt in 2022 attack in Illinois

BY SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press

WAUKEGAN, Ill

An Illinois man pleaded guilty Monday to killing seven people and injuring dozens more when he opened ﬁre on a 2022 Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb, a stunning development moments before opening statements in his trial on murder and attempted murder charges.

Appearing in a Lake County circuit courtroom, Robert E. Crimo III, 24, withdrew his earlier not-guilty plea in the Highland Park shooting.

Prosecutors initially charged him with 21 counts of first-degree murder — three counts for each person killed — as well as 48 counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors dropped 48 less serious counts of aggravated battery before jury selection last week.

On Monday, Judge Victoria Rossetti read the charges to Crimo and asked questions to be sure he understood before accepting the plea. He was sitting next to his lawyers wearing a dark suit.

“Is that what you went over with your attorneys?” Rossetti asked.

“Yes,” Crimo replied. He gave mostly one-word answers to her follow-up questions. His mother, Denise Pesina, had a brief outburst at the news and the judge gave her a warning.

“We’re going to move forward,” the judge said to her “You are not a party to this proceeding. If you would like to stay in the courtroom please have a seat and be quiet.”

She was allowed to stay

The judge said with the plea change, there would be no trial or further motions. Jurors were never even let into the courtroom.

the sentencing. Crimo didn’t further address the court before leaving the courtroom. His public defenders did not address reporters after the hearing.

Security was tight at the courthouse, with bag checks and observers required to lock up their phones. The change of plea shocked those gathered in the courtroom, including survivors and their families.

Ashbey Beasley, who attended the 2022 parade with her son, said it was a huge relief She said they had to run for their lives and even though they weren’t injured, they have had to heal. Seeing Crimo at hearings has added to their trauma.

The legal proceedings have moved slowly, partly due to Crimo’s unpredictable behavior Last year, Crimo was expected to accept a plea deal and give victims and relatives a chance to address him publicly but changed his mind at the last minute, shocking even his attorneys. He also ﬁred his public defenders and said he would represent himself. Then he abruptly reversed himself As potential jurors were questioned last week, he sporadically appeared in court, at times refusing to leave his jail cell.

“He has knowingly and voluntarily waived those rights and pleaded guilty,” Rossetti said Monday

Prosecutors read the names of all those killed in the shooting and of those injured, with the judge stopping to ask questions to make sure Crimo understood. They went over the substantial evidence, including DNA samples and a videotaped confession to police.

“Our community may nev-

inmate

put

death Man had been held in Louisiana prison

By The Associated Press

Federal prison officials transferred an inmate to Oklahoma custody so that he can be executed for a 1999 killing, following through on President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order to more actively support the death penalty George John Hanson, 60, was moved from a federal prison in Louisiana to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, over the weekend, Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kay Thompson conﬁrmed Monday. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sought Hanson’s transfer earlier this year, and Trump’s new Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered his transfer last month. Drummond said his office is expected to request an execution date for Hanson later this year

Hanson’s attorneys in the Federal Public Defender’s Ofﬁce in Oklahoma sought to prevent his transfer from federal custody They also have argued that Hanson should not be executed because he is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the killing occurred on the Cherokee Nation Reservation, and neither tribe supports Hanson’s execution. Hanson was sentenced to death in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, after he was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping and killing Mary Bowles after he and an accomplice kidnapped the woman from a Tulsa shopping mall.

Hanson, whose name in Oklahoma court records is listed as John Fitzgerald Hanson, had been serving a life sentence in federal prison in Louisiana for several federal convictions, including being a career criminal, that predate his state death sentence.

“For the family and friends of Mary Bowles, the wait for justice has been a long and frustrating one,” Drummond said in a statement.

er heal from the defendant’s calculated and heinous actions that destroyed so many lives,” Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart told reporters after court.

“He received nothing in exchange for his plea. We were 1000% ready to go to trial and prove him guilty to the jury We have been working for years to prepare our evidence.”

Sentencing will come April 23, but Crimo is certain to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Each count of ﬁrst-degree murder carries a maximum natural life prison sentence. Prosecutors said survivors would get the chance to address Crimo at

“Every single time I see him, it’s stressful. It’s upsetting for everyone in our community,” she told reporters after court “We all just wanted this to be over.” A spokesperson for a law firm representing dozens of survivors in a lawsuit said they were ready to “pursue civil justice.” Survivors and their families have filed multiple lawsuits, including against the maker of the semi-automatic rifle used in the shooting and against authorities they accuse of negligence.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By NAM y. HUH

Robert E. Crimo III arrives Monday for his trial in Judge Victoria A. Rossetti’s courtroom in Waukegan, Ill. Crimo pleaded guilty Monday to killing seven people and injuring dozens more when he opened fire on a 2022 Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb

McMahon

With ceasefire in limbo, Israel pushes new plan

BY JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press

Israel this week introduced what it said was a new U.S. ceasefire plan — different from the one it agreed to in January — and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to it as the “Witkoff proposal,” saying it came from U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. But the White House has yet to conﬁrm that, saying only that it supports whatever action Israel takes.

Netanyahu’s remarks came a day after the ﬁrst phase of the negotiated ceaseﬁre ended, with no clarity on what would come next since the agreement’s second phase has not yet been hammered out.

The new plan would require Hamas to release half its remaining hostages — the militant group’s main bargaining chip — in exchange for a ceaseﬁre extension and a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Israel made no mention of releasing more Palestinian prisoners — a key component of the first phase.

Hamas has accused Israel of trying to sabotage the existing agreement, which called for the two sides to negotiate the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceaseﬁre. But no substantive negotiations have

been held. On Sunday, Israel halted all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s population of some 2 million people and vowed “additional consequences” if Hamas did not embrace the new proposal.

Arab leaders are meanwhile finalizing a separate plan for postwar Gaza to counter Trump’s suggestion that its population be relocated so it can be transformed into a tourist destination.

But all bets are off if the war resumes Agreement in limbo

The ceasefire reached in January, after more than a year of negotiations mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar laid out a three-phase plan to return all the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and ending the war triggered by the attack.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people that day, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostage More than 100 were released in an earlier ceasefire. Israeli forces rescued eight and recovered dozens of bodies before the current ceaseﬁre took hold.

During the ﬁrst, six-week phase, Hamas released 25 living Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces withdrew from most of Gaza and allowed an inﬂux of desperately needed humanitarian aid Each side accused the other of violations, but the deal held.

Phase 2 was always going to be far more difﬁcult because it would force Israel to choose between securing the return the hostages and annihilating Hamas — two of Netanyahu’s main war goals. Hamas, which remains in

control of Gaza, has said it will only release the remaining hostages if Israel ends the war But that would leave the militant group intact and with major influence over the territory, even if it hands over formal power to other Palestinians, as it says it is willing to do.

New plan favors Israel

Hamas still has 59 hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead. Under the socalled Witkoff plan, it would release half the hostages on the first day apparently without getting anything new in return.

The sides would then have around six weeks — through the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish Passover holiday ending April 20 — to negotiate a permanent ceaseﬁre and the return of the remaining hostages.

But with fewer hostages, Hamas’ hand would be weakened, and Israel and the United States are already speaking about new conditions — like the disarmament of Hamas or the exile of its leadership — that were not part of the original agreement.

Political lifeline

Netanyahu’s narrow coalition is beholden to far-right allies who want to eliminate Hamas, depopulate Gaza through what they refer to as “voluntary emigration” and rebuild Jewish settlements in the territory Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu enters Phase 2 of the exist-

ing agreement and does not resume the war

The new plan would buy Netanyahu six weeks of breathing room and enough time to pass a budget by the end of the month — something he must do to keep his government from automatically falling. If it falls, elections would be held roughly a year and a half ahead of schedule and could see him removed from power

Opposition parties say they would ensure Netanyahu’s government is not brought down over a deal that returns the rest of the hostages. But that would still weaken him politically

American position unclear

Netanyahu says his government has “fully coordinated” its approach with the Trump administration, which has publicly endorsed Israel’s war goals, including the eradication of Hamas. But Witkoff has not said a word in public about the plan that supposedly bears his name, and U.S. ofﬁcials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday

Trump himself has sent mixed signals about Gaza.

As a candidate, he pledged to end wars in the Middle East, and he took credit for pushing the ceaseﬁre agreement past the ﬁnish line just before his inauguration.

But he has also expressed revulsion at Hamas’ treatment of the captives and suggested that “all hell” should break loose if they are not immediately returned, while leaving that decision to Israel.

Hegseth suspends cyberoperations against Russia

BY LOLITA C. BALDOR and DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press

WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, rolling back some efforts to contend with a key adversary even as national security experts call for the U.S. to expand those capabilities.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, on Monday conﬁrmed the pause.

to be an essential weapon of the modern arsenal.

Hegseth’s decision does not affect cyberoperations conducted by other agencies, including the CIA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency But the Trump administration also has rolled back other efforts at the FBI and other agencies related to countering digital and cyber threats.

The Pentagon decision, which was first reported by The Record, comes as many national security and cybersecurity experts have urged greater investments in cyber defense and offense, particularly as China and Russia have sought to interfere with the nation’s economy, elections and security Republican lawmakers and national security experts have all called for a greater offensive posture. During his Senate confirmation hearing this year, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said America’s rivals have shown that they believe cyberespionage retrieving sensitive information and disrupting American business and infrastructure —

“I want us to have all of the tools necessary to go on offense against our adversaries in the cyber community,” Ratcliffe said. Cyber Command oversees and coordinates the Pentagon’s cybersecurity work and is known as America’s first line of defense in cyberspace. It also plans offensive cyberoperations for potential use against adversaries. Hegseth’s directive arrived before Friday’s dust-up between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. It wasn’t clear if the pause was tied to any negotiating tactic by the Trump administration to push Moscow into a peace deal with Ukraine. Trump has vowed to end the war that began when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago, and on Monday he slammed Zelenskyy for suggesting the end to the conﬂict was “far away.”

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Hegseth’s order Cyber warfare is cheaper than traditional military force, can be carried out covertly and doesn’t carry the same risk of escalation or retaliation, making it an increasingly popular tool for nations that want to contend with the U.S. but lack the traditional economic or military might, according to Snehal Antani, CEO of Horizon3.ai, a San Francisco-based cybersecurity firm founded by former national security ofﬁcers.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By LEO CORREA Buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensives stand Sunday in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel.

Hegseth

Revelers party at Brazilian town’s traditional Carnival

BY THIAGO MOSTAZO and MAYCRON ABADE Associated Press

SAO LUIZ DO PARAITINGA Brazil During Carnival, the small Brazilian town of Sao Luiz do Paraitinga’s calm everyday life transforms into a joyful party known for its deep-rooted traditions, giant puppets and songs known in Portuguese as “marchinhas.” Carnival in the big Brazilian cities like Rio de Janeiro is a combination of worldfamous parades by samba schools who spend all year preparing and eccentric street parties, each with their own theme, aesthetic or musical style. But in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, thousands of revelers, families and tourists sing and dance through scenic streets in the Sao Paulo countryside to the sound of traditional Carnival marches.

“It’s the best celebration that exists in the interior of Sao Paulo state,” said Dayana Martins Galan, 39, on Sunday “It’s the old kind of Carnival.” Surrounded by green hills, Sao Luiz do Paraitinga has roughly 10,000 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist desti-

PENNER

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ANDRE

Revelers dance Sunday during Carnival in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga, Brazil.

nation thanks to its colored, colonial buildings and vibrant cultural events dotted throughout the year

Gheisa Gomes used to travel from Guarulhos, in Sao Paulo’s metro area, to Sao Luiz do Paraitinga before she became pregnant. She stopped for a while, but this year decided to bring her daughter to partake in the festivities with her “It’s very family oriented, quiet, no ﬁghts You can enjoy it, (my daughter) can dance. Understanding a bit about Carnival culture is really nice,” said Gomes. Street parties have bal-

looned in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and many are packed with scantily clad revelers, jostling with street vendors who provide thirsty partygoers with water and lots of alcohol.

And while Carnival marches can also be heard in megacities’ street parties, they rarely take center stage as they do in Sao Luiz do Paraitinga.

“Everyone should have this experience one day, should enjoy marchinhas,” said Marcela Antunes Ceneviva, 43. “It’s more traditional. And I think it’s worth reviving that too.”

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES Two alleged leaders of a criminal organization suspected of smuggling 20,000 people without permanent legal residency into the U.S. from Guatemala have been arrested in Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said Monday Eduardo Domingo RenojMatul, known as “Turko;” and his lieutenant, Cristobal Mejia-Chaj, were taken into custody Friday and have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to smug-

gling migrants across the border over ﬁve years, the U.S. Attorney’s Ofﬁce said. A federal judge ordered the men, who themselves are in the country illegally, jailed without bond until their trial in April. The indictment names Renoj-Matul as the head of a vast human smuggling ring operating for at least a dozen years that primarily transports people to the U.S. from Guatemala. The criminal network was responsible for the deaths of seven immigrants without

legal status — including a 4-year-old child — who were killed in a November 2023 vehicle crash in Oklahoma, prosecutors said. A driver who’s been in custody in Oklahoma since that crash, Jose Paxtor-Oxlaj, was also charged in the California indictment, according to the court documents. Another man, Helmer ObispoHernandez, a lieutenant in the organization and a supervisor of a team of drivers, faces charges as well. He’s believed to be in Guatemala, ofﬁcials

Courts weigh release of execution protocol

Stay sought in Jessie Hoffman’s scheduled March 18 death

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN and JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writers

A court battle is gearing up over whether Louisiana’s nitrogen gas execution protocol is a public record as the federal courts weigh a case that could determine whether the state performs its ﬁrst execution using the method later this month

Lawyers for Jessie Hoffman,

Weather forces parade changes

2 to roll early; Independent canceled

BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer

Two Lafayette Mardi Gras parades will roll early and a third is canceled because of anticipated high winds and severe weather

Le Festival de Mardi Gras a Lafayette, the carnival and musical entertainment at Cajun Field, is canceled Tuesday, it announced on its Facebook page.

The ﬁrst parade in Lafayette on Fat Tuesday, the King Gabriel’s parade will roll an hour early, at 9 a.m., according to the Greater Southwest Mardi Gras Association and Lafayette Police Department.

“Mardi Gras rolls, rain or shine,” Joseph Giglio III, of the Greater Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association, said Monday

The Mardi Gras Festival parade will immediately follow King Gabriel, he said.

The Independent Parade is canceled, according to Sgt. Robin Green, spokesperson for the Lafayette Police Department. Lafayette will be under a high wind advisory starting around 6 a.m. Tuesday with winds of about 30 mph anticipated, she said. The wind and severe weather are expected to get worse as the day progresses.

The decision to move the parade start times and cancel the Independent Parade, Green said, is “due to the prediction of bad weather expected to come our way starting at noon.”

“With the high wind and thunderstorms, it’s not going to be safe for the Independent Parade,” she said, because many of the ﬂoats are two stories high. Roads along the parade route will be shut down at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday

Paradegoers are urged not to erect tents or canopies, Green said, because they may become airborne and injure people or damage property

Those attending the parades also are asked to be on the lookout for ﬂying debris and unsecured lightweight items like signs, banners and flags that may become airborne.

Rainfall and wind that could gust up to 54 mph in the Lafayette area, including Iberia, lower St. Landry, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes, are expected between noon and 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast calls for a 100% chance of rain and severe weather from noon to 6 p.m. in Lafayette.

Sustained winds of 20-30 mph are expected Tuesday with gusts between 40 and 50 mph or higher Some parts of Acadiana could experience up to 60 mph wind gusts.

Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@ theadvocate.com.

who is scheduled to be executed on March 18, have asked U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick of Louisiana’s Middle District to unseal the state’s execution protocol so that the public can see it. Hoffman is also seeking a stay of execution

“This is a public record under the Public Records Act,” said Cecelia Kappel an attorney for Hoffman. “It is created by a public body, the Department

of Corrections. And it relates to the most solemn government action that the government can take, which is to take somebody’s life.” “That document should be subject to public scrutiny,” she added.

Hoffman’s attorneys have been allowed to review an unredacted version of the execution protocol, Kappel said, adding that she is not allowed to share it or com-

ment on it.

Dick, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, issued an order last week that instructed Louisiana’s Department of Public Safety and Corrections to ﬁle a redacted execution protocol under court seal into the court record. She also said Hoffman’s attorneys could ﬁle a motion asking that the protocol be unsealed. The state recently denied a public records request for the protocol from The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, saying that state statute exempts it from

release. And the state argued against Hoffman’s motion to unseal the protocol in court ﬁlings late Monday, saying that keeping the protocol secret ensures the safety of all involved in the execution, including Hoffman himself.

“It is no secret that the State’s use of nitrogen hypoxia is the subject of considerable and passionate debate within Louisiana and across the country,” the state’s ﬁling states. “To avoid the

ONE WITH THE RUN

MARDI GRAS 2025 FOR MORE, THEADVOCATE. COM

ABOVE: Kids take off to catch a chicken tossed into the air at the Courir des Enfants, a Mardi Gras chicken run for children, hosted by the Teche Center for the Arts on Monday in Breaux Bridge.

LEFT: Musicians and other revelers prepare to start.

3 Acadiana students

for honor

Staff report

The ﬁnalists for the 2025 Louisiana Students of the Year competition have been named, and Acadiana is well represented on the list. The honorees include a ﬁfth grader, an eighth grader and a 12th grader from Acadiana, according to a news release from the Department of Education Finalists will convene May 16 in Baton Rouge for an awards ceremony and the announcement of the Louisiana Students of the Year winners from each grade. Acadiana finalists for 2025 Louisiana Students of the Year are: n Fifth grade: Anniston Elizabeth Guidry, Teche Elementary School, St Martin Parish n Eighth grade: Rylann Renee Viator, Erath Middle School,

Vermilion Parish n 12th grade: Walker John Prejean, Lafayette High School, Lafayette Parish Students are selected based on criteria that measure academic achievement, leadership skills, character and service to their schools and communities, ofﬁcials said. Regional selection committees also use electronic portfolios of accomplishments, along with student writing samples and interviews to assess the communications and critical thinking skills of each candidate. Finalists were selected among Student of the Year winners from schools across the state. All Louisiana schools were eligible to submit one candidate. Students compete with their peers at the school system level and may advance to the zone and regional competitions.

Sheriff’s deputy accused of cruelty to a minor

CRIME BLOTTER Advocate staff reports ä

A neighbor called 911 just after midnight to report the house was on fire. When emergency

Louisiana State Police arrested a Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy accused of cruelty to a juvenile. Matthew Frost, 28, of Lafayette, wa s arrested Monday and faces two counts of cruelty to a juvenile, according to an State Police statement. Frost is accused of harming the victim on two occasions in June. In February,the Sheriff’s Office contacted the State Police Bureau of Investigations regarding the allegations against Frost. An investigation is ongoing. Frost was booked into the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center and was released on bail. The Sheriff’s Office said he is on leave without pay pending results of the investigation. Second person dies from Saturday house fire A house fire early Saturday morning in Lafayette has claimed a second victim. Katrina Jeanbatiste Nathan, 52, who was injured in the house fire on South Orange Street, died from her injuries, according to a news release from the Lafayette Fire Department. She had been listed in critical condition. The fire also claimed the life of Ronald J. Williams, 44, who was pronounced dead Saturday A dog in the house in the 100 block of Orange Street also died in the fire.

STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK

OUR VIEWS

Mardi Gras defies restraint; it can be

no other way

Editor’s note: This editorial, slightly modiﬁed, has appeared during previous Carnival seasons in this newspaper

If Mardi Gras is so great, one might ask as another Fat Tuesday arrives today then why hasn’t it been copied across the land?

Maybe it’s because any effort to duplicate Mardi Gras beyond Louisiana would surely lead to efforts to improve it, making it into something no one would recognize.

The charm of Mardi Gras — and its maddening complication — is its monstrous inefficiency. The parades are longer than any prudent planner would make them. The distribution of beads and other trinkets is random, excessive, profligate — in short, a reveler’s rebuke to any student of logistics. As for the Mardi Gras diet king cakes, cocktails, gumbo and goodnessknows-what-else — suffice it to say that it’s a running revolt against restraint.

One can only imagine how a prudent reformer might reﬁne Mardi Gras if it were attempted in some saner city like Portland, Oregon, say, or Peoria, Illinois. The parades would be shorter, no doubt, more punctual, with an eye toward keeping everyone on schedule. Transplanted to tamer places, a Mardi Gras menu might replace king cake with bran mufﬁns, bourbon with herbal tea, gumbo with tofu.

But the magic of Mardi Gras — the one we know and love is that it transcends the mean arithmetic of means and ends, the arid geometry of the straight line, the grim insistence that hard fact is somehow invariably better than heady fantasy Yes, Mardi Gras is too much too much noise, too much food, too much togetherness. But like all holidays, it makes a meaning from its heedless plenitude.

Whether it’s the over-the-top feast of Thanksgiving or the overdone celebration of Christmas, most of our holidays indulge excess as a civic creed. It’s our way of afﬁrming abundance our simple faith that life’s fortune, even spent generously, bears the seeds of its own renewal.

Mardi Gras arrives at just the right time each year — after the merriment of yuletide has passed, and a weary world needs a bridge between the cheer of Christmas and the promise of Easter

Though we hesitate to count more than the number of beads we collect each year, we know that the economic impact of Mardi Gras has been put at hundreds of millions for the city of New Orleans alone. We know that celebrations statewide attract millions more to cities and towns around the state.

But Mardi Gras isn’t solely about money Part of the joy for Louisianans is sharing the good times, and they are always good times, with our friends from around the world

So let the good times roll, and Happy Mardi Gras to all

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE ARE OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’s city of residence The Advocate | The Times-Picayune require a street address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@ theadvocate.com.

OPINION

YOUR VIEWS

Officials are complicit in allowing government chaos

I don’t even know where to begin to describe my distress over how President Donald Trump and his high-ranking appointees have unleashed their nonsense, cruelty and chaos upon the federal government, the American public and the world over the past few weeks.

At the outset, I was absolutely horriﬁed at Trump’s pardons of the Jan. 6 criminals.

My parents both served in World War II, and I know what the U.S. and its allies were faced with and what they accomplished in defeating Hitler and the Axis powers. Even before Trump won the 2024 presidential election, I knew he was capable of repeating Hitler’s reign of terror here in the United States. I see those pardons as igniting this objective. Republican elected ofﬁcials

who supported these pardons have forgotten whom they serve. The actions of the Trump administration thus far have been one lit match after another, continuing to push the United States toward that hell.

I have watched our Louisiana (and many other) Republican elected ofﬁcials condone and enable this trajectory, through their actions and inaction, for years. My hope lies with elected ofﬁcials, both Democrat and Republican, who are willing to work from within government to stand up to this frightening onslaught of irresponsible and dangerous governance, and with American voters to elect individuals of good character and integrity who will defend the Constitution and govern seriously and responsibly LIA THOMPSON Prairieville

Cuts to federal workforce a long time coming

The task of cutting government spending is painful and disruptive but necessary In 2024, the U.S. government spent $6.75 trillion, but revenues were only $4.9 trillion, resulting in a deﬁcit of around $1.8 trillion. Present U.S. taxpayers refuse to pay enough taxes for all of the junk programs, but the government has been unable to say no to the programs’ recipients choosing to borrow and have later, even unborn, generations pay for the trash for which their ancestors

refused to pay If the programs are good enough, shouldn’t we pay as we go?

After President Donald Trump’s purging has been completed, the citizens can decide whether or not they want to go further and trim the untouchable entitlements in a further attempt to balance the budget or whether they want to impose further taxes on themselves.

SIDNEY MARCHAND Donaldsonville

Why is state fighting overdetention lawsuit?

It was with bewilderment that I read an article in the Feb. 7 edition, where it was reported that our attorney general is arguing that our state should continue to retain prisoners beyond the end of their sentence. I often ﬁnd myself in disagreement with the leaders of our state, but I can at least follow their logic. In this instance, however, I am at a loss. Not only is it unconstitutional and morally wrong to continue such a practice, but practically it incurs an unnecessary cost to the taxpayers. I assume the attorney general has some reason for her opposition, and I call on her to explain why she would spend state time and money in supporting rather than correcting the problem of keeping people locked up after they have served their time

Carnival should be about more than consumption

My daughter and I recently had the extraordinary privilege of visiting the city of Pontevedra in Spain. We were struck by many similarities with New Orleans, including the oldstyle Spanish architecture, the Catholic inﬂuence, the emphasis on seafood in the local cuisine, the magnolias and oaks and a vibrant Carnival tradition. We met many wonderful people on this trip, including one man who became a sort of spiritual guide to the region. He told us that many ancient practices are preserved in the Carnival celebrations of Galicia and the Basque country He regards Carnival as a celebration of nature, citing Carnival characters who dance and make noise to wake Mother Earth from her winter sleep. Similar characters are still alive in other parts of northern Spain, and also in Sardinia, Slovenia and Bulgaria, to name a few I confessed these roots can be hard to see in New Orleans. Much of our attention is diverted to gaudy displays of conspicuous consumption. Sustainable throws are great but not nearly enough. My friend in Spain says that given our current ecological crisis, perhaps it’s time to reverse Carnival’s wake-up call. Maybe it’s time to listen to the cries of Earth and wake up humanity BART EVERSON New Orleans

If Ten Commandments are important, why reinstitute death penalty?

Our political leaders have made a big issue of the importance of putting the Ten Commandments in every classroom, presumably to inﬂuence our children to have Christian values.

I read recently that they now want to reinstitute the death penalty Does anyone else see the hypocrisy of this? Do our leaders believe Christian values are only appropriate for children, or was posting the Ten Commandments just a political ploy all along just to appear to support Christian values?

RON PERRITT Baton Rouge

‘promotion of public scandal’ and ensure the State and its ofﬁcials can carry out its duties safely and efﬁciently under the law, the protocol should thus remain sealed.”

Hoffman’s lawyers argue the protocol is a public record, despite a new law passed last year that added more secrecy to state executions.

That law provided for the “absolute confidentiality of the identifying information of any person, business organization, or other entity directly or indirectly involved in the execution of a death sentence within this state.”

It forbids, for example, the identiﬁcation of manufacturers providing supplies for an execution. It also gives any person identiﬁed as a participant in an execution the right to sue whomever disclosed the information.

Still, Hoffman’s team says the law does not exempt the entire protocol from public record. They wrote in court ﬁlings that it’s appropriate for the state to redact identities of people and entities listed in the new nitrogen gas protocol if they are exempted from the state Public Records Act.

“Otherwise Mr Hoffman requests that all other redactions be removed and that version of the protocol be unsealed so as to allow the public access to this public record,” the court ﬁling states.

Like Louisiana, many states have laws protecting the identities of members of the execution team, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. A number, such as Arizona, Oklahoma and Mississippi, also protect the names of drug suppliers

Alabama sets the stage

The only state to have successfully carried out an execution by gas in the modern era is Alabama, which has moved forward with those executions without courts standing in the way Many expect Louisiana’s game plan to hew closely to that of Alabama, which has publicly released a redact-

ed version of its protocol. Failed legal challenges over whether Alabama could use nitrogen hypoxia to put inmates to death could also provide a hint as to whether Hoffman’s lawsuit will succeed.

Hoffman’s bid to avert a March 18 execution date includes a claim that his execution by nitrogen gas would violate the U.S. Constitution’s Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Dick will consider Hoffman’s request for a preliminary injunction at hearing Friday Federal judges in Alabama have rejected similar arguments in allowing four executions to go forward by lethal gas since 2024. Witness accounts of those executions described prolonged anguish from what has been dubbed “conscious suffocation.”

week applied for clemency.

bag them.

Hoffman has come up against the state before in another federal case that remains open. He and other death row inmates sued the state 12 years ago over its execution protocols. Dick also handled that case In 2022, then-Attorney General Jeff Landry asked Dick to dismiss the case as moot because of the state’s difﬁculty obtaining lethal injection drugs. Dick dismissed the case but alreopen again came relevant.

crews arrived on scene, heavy smoke was coming from the wood-framed dwelling. Firefighters entered the dwelling to discover the ﬁre in the kitchen area. First responders searched the dwelling and found the two adult occupants in a bedroom. Both were taken to a hospital.

Police said Stein stole multiple bags of crawﬁsh from Crowley and Ebenezer-area farms last week.

Stein was located with the assistance of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce.

Stein is being held at the Acadia Parish Correctional Facility

Officer arrested on child porn counts

In the most recent case, U.S. District Judge Emily Marks of Alabama’s Middle District chastised death row inmate Demetrius Frazier for delaying his legal challenge, and she rejected his plea to receive a sedative before his gassing.

“A state’s administration of capital punishment, which remains constitutional subject to the Eighth Amendment’s protections, presumes the prospect of some pain,” wrote Marks, who was nominated to the federal bench by President Donald Trump.

Other pending actions Hoffman sits on death row for the 1996 rape and execution-style killing of 28-year-old Mary “Molly” Elliott. He kidnapped her the night before Thanksgiving as she walked to her car in New Orleans after work, then took her to the Middle Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish. Hoffman raped and killed her, then left her body. He was 18 at the time of the crime.

If his execution goes forward, Hoffman would be the ﬁrst person put to death in Louisiana since 2010, when Gerald Bordelon volunteered Hoffman’s attorneys say he had a “transformation” during his time in prison and is respected by prison staff and fellow inmates alike. He is a devout Buddhist, according to his lawsuit. His attorneys last

Hoffman’s team moved to reopen the case last governor, announced the state had a protocol in place for execution by nitrogen hypoxia. St. Tammany judge si ed Hoffman’s death warrant shortly afterward.

The dwelling sustained heavy ﬁre damage Fire officials determined the fire originated in the kitchen on the stovetop.

Dick then agreed to reopen Hoffman’s long-running case But at the behest of state Attorney General Liz Murrill, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Dick’s decision to reopen the case. Murrill’s team also argued that Hoffman should not be allowed to proceed with reopening his old case while also litigating his new one

Email Meghan Friedmann at meghan. friedmann@theadvocate. com.

Investigators determined that both occupants were in the bedroom when the fire started. There were no indications that smoke alarms were in the dwelling. The cause of the fire was ruled an accident.

Deputies: Crawfish thefts lead to arrest

The Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce arrested a man in a set of crawﬁsh thefts in the parish.

Scott Stein, 53, of Lawtell, faces two counts of theft, according to a Sheriff’s Ofﬁce announcement.

Deputies said crawfish theft has begun to rise in the parish, with several farmers reporting the crustaceans being stolen from their fields as they

Mardi Gras Day parades Tuesday, Mar 4

The St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested a Jeanerette police ofﬁcer accused of child pornography and animal sexual abuse.

Javon Charles, 31, was arrested Friday and faces charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, pornography involving juveniles and the sexual abuse of animals, according to a Sheriff’s Office release.

Charles recently worked for the Patterson Police Department and is employed by the Jeanerette Police Department.

A Jeanerette police spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

On Feb. 14, deputies were notified of possible malfeasance of a Patterson police officer The investigation led to the search of Charles’ phone, where police said child and animal pornography were

SPORTS

Kim Mulkey is playing the long game

It isn’t as though she has much choice right now

With one of the LSU women’s basketball team’s brightest stars, Flau’jae Johnson, suffering from shin inﬂammation, Mulkey shut her down for Sunday’s regularseason ﬁnale against Ole Miss. She also plans to keep Johnson tethered to the LSU bench for the duration of this week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

Cajuns not taking Warhawks lightly in Sun Belt tourney opener

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

There’s no time to look ahead

Sure the UL Ragin’ Cajuns defeated UL-Monroe in both games this season — ﬁrst 71-68 in Lafayette and then 65-60 in Monroe a week later

But when the No. 11-seeded Cajuns take on the last-place Warhawks at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the opening round of the Sun Belt Tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida, interim coach Derrick Zimmerman certainly doesn’t want his club focusing on those results.

BY JIM KLEINPETER

Contributing writer

It wasn’t perfect, but the No. 5 LSU softball team put in another strong weekend while taking four of ﬁve games at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California, including a takedown of No. 4 UCLA on the ﬁrst day

The Tigers (18-1) are back in action at 6 p.m. Wednesday at

“Monroe is a team where you might look at their record and you might tend to overlook them, but you can’t,” Zimmerman said. “They have enough tal-

ent on their team to beat anybody in this league.”

For example, the Warhawks (7-24, 3-15) swept two games against top-seeded South Alabama this season.

“You go back and watch the Arkansas State game and they were up on Arkansas State in the second half a week ago,”

home against UL-Monroe and have their ﬁnal nonconference weekend series with the LSU Round Robin, two games each against South Alabama and Minnesota.

Mulkey’s decision may have cost her Tigers an 85-77 upset loss to the Rebels. It definitely reduces LSU’s chances of cutting down the nets in Greenville. And, if the Tigers go one-and-done with a quarterfinal loss — likely to an Alabama team that just beat LSU in overtime on Thursday — it could cost the Tigers a spot on the No. 2 seed line in the NCAA Tournament. The selection committee will not look favorably on an LSU team on a three-game losing streak. Still, it looks like this is what Mulkey must do. A healthy Johnson makes for a healthy chance of LSU going on another deep NCAA Tournament run. Without Johnson at or near her best? Well, it could be 2022 all over again for the Tigers. LSU was the surprise of women’s basketball that season as Mulkey’s first team motored toward the end of the season ranked in the top 10 and stood second in the SEC to eventual NCAA champion South Carolina. But point guard Alexis Morris, LSU’s secondleading scorer, suffered an MCL sprain in the Tigers’ second-to-last regularseason game against Alabama. Morris sat out the season finale at Tennessee, which LSU managed to win 57-54, and then the SEC Tournament, where the Tigers were bounced 78-63 in the quarterfinals by Kentucky LSU still got to host NCAA first- and second-round games as a regional No. 3 seed, but with Morris limited the Tigers were ripe for a fall. They had to rally from 10 points down in the first round to beat Jackson State 83-77 but trailed most of the second-round game against Ohio State and were eliminated 79-64 Morris scored a total of 11 points in the two games. Johnson last played Thursday at Alabama. The earliest LSU would open the NCAA Tournament is March 21. That would give her three weeks to get right for “the playoffs,” as Mulkey refers to the tournament. Given the opponent and game flow, the Tigers might even be able to get by that first-round game using Johnson sparingly Eventually, LSU will need her Forward Aneesah Morrow has been a double-double machine, mitigating the loss of Angel Reese’s scoring and rebounding. Sophomore Mikaylah Williams has morphed into a Magic Johnson-like doeverything player, going from shooting guard to bringing the ball up court to ä ULM at LSU, 6 P.M.WEDNESDAy SECN+

Sydney Berzon won twice last week to improve to 7-0, including a 2-1 win against UCLA

when she scattered five hits, struck out four and walked one. She also tossed her third shutout with a 10-0, ﬁve-inning win vs. Notre Dame. LSU’s only loss was 6-5 to Cal State Fullerton. Freshman left-handed Jayden Heavener struggled with four walks before exiting in the second inning. She bounced back to ﬁre a two-hit shutout against Utah the next day

“Overall, we played well and saw a lot of good things” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “We had a lot of players step up, Syd Berzon especially She was very prepared in the UCLA game. We had a lot of girls that swung well. Sierra Daniel and Jadyn Laneaux had big weekends. A lot of people did exactly what we’ve been asking them to do.”

page 3C

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

FRISCO, Texas LSU baseball made the most of its four-game trip to Texas, defeating Dallas Baptist 7-3 on Wednesday before winning all three of its matchups at the Frisco College Baseball Classic. LSU took down Kansas State 8-5 in 10 innings on Friday, came back from a 5-0 deﬁcit to beat Nebraska 11-6 on Saturday and defeated Sam Houston State 12-8 on Sunday Here are five takeaways from the Tigers’ long road trip.

Leadoff hitter found LSU tried a few different combinations at the top of the order through its ﬁrst eight games. Auburn transfer Chris Stanﬁeld

ä North Dakota St. at LSU, 6:30 P.M.TUESDAy, SECN+

got the first crack at it. Junior-college transfer Tanner Reaves slid into the role twice. Utah Valley State transfer Daniel Dickinson hit there once. After last weekend, it looks like coach Jay Johnson won’t have to search for an answer anymore. Freshman Derek Curiel made his first appearance in the leadoff spot Wednesday and started playing his best baseball yet. He reached base in five of his six plate appearances against the Patriots, and he finished the weekend by getting on base during 16 of his 24 trips to the plate.

“Hitting in the leadoff spot, my job is to get on base,” Curiel said.

“I got Jared Jones behind me, so

coach Johnson and I talked about not going up there and getting out on one pitch or out in two pitches.

“It’s better for me to work the count, and I have conﬁdence in myself to be able to swing the bat in any count, whether it’s two strikes or one strike.”

Hitting the ball to the opposite

ﬁeld has been a key component of Curiel’s success. His double and single on Wednesday, triple on Friday ﬁrst single on Saturday and double on Sunday were hit the other way “At LSU, we teach a 10-inch plate, and that’s the middle (of the plate) to the other half, and we want the pitcher to try to beat us in,” Curiel said. “If he can do that three times, then good for him, but we’re looking for the ball away and trying to smash up another way.”

Scott Rabalais

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

LSU center fielder Chris Stanfield, left, greets left fielder Derek Curiel at home plate after they both scored against Southern on Feb 18 at Alex Box Stadium. Curiel may have cemented himself as the team’s leadoff hitter after last weekend.

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL guard Mostapha El Moutaouakkil, center, hopes to get hot for the Cajuns in Pensacola, Fla.

BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS

Angeles. USC won the Big Ten regular-season title with the win.

center, celebrates

Southern Cal climbs to No. 2

Highest ranking for Trojans in 39 years; LSU women No. 9

BY DOUG FEINBERG

AP basketball writer

Southern California has its best ranking in 39 years after moving up to No. 2 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll on Monday

The Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title Saturday, beating then-No. 2 UCLA for the second time this year That victory vaulted USC up two spots for its highest appearance in the poll since the team was second on Jan. 5, 1986. USC garnered six firstplace votes from a 31-member national media panel.

“A goal was to come here and bring USC back to what it was at one point,” coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a phone interview “Recognition of our history and admiration of the history and it’s a neat feeling in the present moment.” Texas remained the top choice after receiving the other 25 ﬁrstplace ballots. The Longhorns beat

Georgia, Mississippi State and Florida last week to wrap up a share of the Southeastern Conference title with South Carolina. The Bruins fell to fourth with UConn right in front of them. South Carolina, which won a coin ﬂip to get the top seed in the SEC Tournament, was fifth. Notre Dame dropped three places to six after losing to Florida State last week North Carolina State and TCU were seventh and eighth. The Wolfpack shared the ACC regular season crown with Notre Dame while the Horned Frogs won their ﬁrst Big 12 title after beating Baylor on Sunday LSU fell to ninth after the Tigers dropped both of their games, losing to then-No. 20 Alabama in overtime and to Ole Miss. The Tigers also will be without star Flau’jae Johnson for the SEC Tournament as she recovers from shin inflammation. Oklahoma rounded out the top 10.

Ranked Rabbits

South Dakota State entered the poll for the ﬁrst time this season, coming in at No. 25. It’s the ﬁrst time the Jackrabbits are ranked since the preseason poll in 2022. The team went 16-0 in conference play and has gone undefeated in the Summit League three straight years. The Jackrabbits have won 63 straight regular-season conference games and are 81-1 dating to the beginning of the 2020-21 season. The team’s three losses this season are to Duke, Georgia Tech and Texas.

Conference breakdown

The Southeastern Conference has seven ranked teams The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 each have ﬁve. The Big East has two and the Summit League one.

Games of the week

All four of the major conferences begin their tournaments this week with the championship games on Sunday

Auburn makes it eight straight weeks at No. 1

BY JOHN MARSHALL Associated Press

Auburn and Duke remain atop the AP Top 25. The rest of the poll was a big jumble.

Auburn was the unanimous pick at No. 1 for the second straight week, receiving all 61 votes from a media panel in the poll released on Monday

The Tigers held the top spot for the eighth straight week following lopsided wins over Ole Miss and then-No. 17 Kentucky

Duke was No. 2 for the second straight week after blowing out Miami and Florida State despite playing without guard Tyrese Proctor who has a bone bruise in his left knee. No. 3 Houston moved up a spot after beating Texas Tech and Cincinnati, while Tennessee climbed to No. 4 following Jahmai Mashack’s last-second 3-pointer from well beyond halfcourt to beat Alabama 79-76. Florida rounded out the top ﬁve,

dropping two places after losing to Georgia and beating Texas A&M.

No 8 Michigan State joined Auburn and Duke as the only teams to have the same ranking as last week.

Rising Red Storm

St. John’s has pulled off quite a turnaround in its second season under coach Rick Pitino.

The Red Storm (26-4, 17-2 Big East) has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but are pretty much a lock to end the drought after clinching their ﬁrst Big East regular-season title in 40 years with Saturday’s 71-61 win over Seton Hall.

“We’re just getting started,” Pitino told the Madison Square Garden crowd after the win.

St. John’s also beat Butler last week and moved up a spot in this week’s poll to No 6, its highest ranking reaching No. 5 in 1990-91.

In and out

No teams moved in or out of this

week’s poll.

Rising and falling No 14 Louisville made the biggest move of the week, climbing ﬁve places after wins over Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh. No. 13 Maryland moved up three places after losing to Michigan State by three on Tre Holloman’s last-second heave from beyond midcourt and beating Penn State. No. 22 Texas A&M had by far the biggest drop, losing 10 places after losing to Vanderbilt and Florida, stretching its losing streak to four straight. No other team dropped more than two places. Conference watch The SEC continued its dominance with three of the top ﬁve and eight total in the Top 25 this week. The

Johnson retires from Fox Sports’ NFL coverage

Jimmy Johnson has announced his retirement from Fox Sports after being a part of its NFL coverage for 31 years. The 81-year-old Johnson made the announcement during an appearance on “The Herd With Colin Cowherd.”

He said he had been thinking about retiring for four or five years. He said he would miss the people he’s worked with and called it a great 31-year run.

Johnson worked alongside hosts Curt Menefee and Terry Bradshaw and analysts Howie Long and Michael Strahan.

As a coach, he won consecutive Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and the college football national championship with Miami in 1987.

Bengals place franchise tag on receiver Higgins

CINCINNATI The Cincinnati Bengals have placed the franchise tag on Tee Higgins for a second time, as the team hopes to work out a long-term deal with the star wide receiver

If the Bengals can’t reach a contract with the 26-year-old Higgins before July 15, his salary for the 2025 season would be $26.2 million.

Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin reiterated last week at the NFL scouting combine that one of his top priorities is to get a deal done with Higgins. Higgins is the second player to receive a franchise tag, joining Kansas City guard Trey Smith. Teams have until 3 p.m. Tuesday to tag players. Higgins was tied for sixth in the league this past season with 10 touchdown catches. He also had 73 receptions for 911 yards.

Astros manager says Altuve to play in outfield WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Houston Astros are planning to play erstwhile second baseman Jose Altuve mostly in left ﬁeld this season. Manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle that’s the plan. The 2017 AL MVP has played all but two of his 1,767 major league games at second base.

The idea of moving Altuve to left was ﬁrst broached when the team was looking to keep third baseman Alex Bregman, a former LSU standout.

Altuve said at the team’s FanFest in January he would do whatever it takes to keep his longtime teammate Even after Bregman signed with Boston, moving Altuve to the outfield still made sense to the team.

Yankees pitcher Gil starting season on injured list

Yankees right-hander Luis Gil will start the season on the injured list because of a high-grade lat strain in his pitching shoulder that will prevent him from throwing for at least six weeks. Manager Aaron Boone says “it’s at least a six-week no throw We know that for sure.” Boone said the Yankees hope Gil will return this season. The 26-year-old Gil cut short a bullpen session Friday He was 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA in 29 starts last year striking out 171 and walking 77 in 1512⁄3 innings.

He was projected to be part of a starting rotation that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt.

Source says ACC, Fla. St., Clemson reach settlement

A person familiar with the situation says the Atlantic Coast Conference, Clemson and Florida State have reached a proposed settlement that would end their legal ﬁght and change the league’s revenue-distribution model.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because neither the league nor the schools have publicly addressed their settlement. The proposed agreement requires approval from the league and the schools. Trustees at the two schools have scheduled meetings for Tuesday

The ACC’s Board of Directors made up of university presidents and chancellors will also have a call Tuesday on the settlement. The upside could be $15 million or more for top-earning schools, could also result in a decline of about $7 million for others, the person told the AP

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MARK J. TERRILL

Southern California women’s basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb,

with her team after they defeated UCLA on Saturday in Los

UL guard Lafayette wins league’s newcomer award

BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer

UL senior guard Erica Lafayette made an immediate impact on the Ragin’ Cajuns women’s basketball team, and the Sun Belt coaches around the league noticed

Lafayette was voted as the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year on the 2025 All-Sun Belt women’s basketball team announced Monday by the league ofﬁce.

Lafayette was also a secondteam selection on the team.

The Baton Rouge native who came to UL after three seasons at Rutgers quickly became one of the league’s most productive 3-point shooters.

Lafayette averaged 14.8 points a game, thanks mostly to the former McKinley High standout making 40.7% of her 3-pointers on the season. In Sun Belt play, her scoring average went even higher at 16.8 points per game. She also averaged 4.6 rebounds a game, as well as adding 25 steals during the season.

FIRST TEAM

Zay Dyer Troy

ALL-SUN BELT WOMEN’S TEAM

Aislynn Hayes, Marshall

Jakayla Johnson, UL-Monroe

Kseniia Kozlova, James Madison

Peyton McDaniel, James Madison

SECOND TEAM

Savannah Brooks, Coastal Carolina

En’Dya Buford, Old Dominion

Melyia Grayson, Southern Miss

Erica Lafayette, UL

Zyion Shannon,Arkansas State

THIRD TEAM

Ashanti Barnes, James Madison

CC Mays, Marshall

Alancia Ramsey, Coastal Carolina

Crislyn Rose,Arkansas State

Mikyla Tolivert, Georgia State Player of the Year: Peyton McDaniel

James Madison Defensive Player of the Year: Mahogany Matthews, Georgia State Sixth Woman of the Year: Ro Scott, James Madison

Newcomer of the Year: Erica Lafayette, UL Freshman of the Year: Trinity Rowe, Southern Miss Coach of the Year: Sean O’Regan, James Madison

South Alabama contest.

BASEBALL

Continued from page 1C

least 11 hits in every game, including 17 against Nebraska And they did it against better competition.

“Any park is a good park for us to hit in,” sophomore Steven Milam said.

So why has LSU suddenly started smacking the ball around like it’s 2023?

For one, the conditions it was playing in were ideal for offense. The weather was warmer than it was in Baton Rouge, and the wind in Frisco allowed a few balls to travel farther than they would have otherwise.

Additionally, the batter’s eye in center ﬁeld at Globe Life Park and Rider’s Field may have made a difference. Curiel noted on Wednesday how the black wall in center ﬁeld at Globe Life helped LSU see the ball better out of Dallas Baptist pitchers’ hands. The green wall in center at Rider’s Field is also a solid backdrop and isn’t the mesh see-through material that makes up the batter’s eye at Alex Box Stadium.

SOFTBALL

Continued from page 1C

Daniel had six hits in 11 atbats with six RBIs. She drove in the decisive run with a two-out single in the sixth inning against UCLA after Tori Edwards had broken a scoreless tie with a base hit. Daniel also had two hits and two RBIs against Cal State Fullerton. In a rare display of power, the Tigers hit three home runs in the finale, a 9-1 victory against Weber State. Daniel hit the first home run of her career a tworun shot. Danieca Coffey had a grand slam and five total RBIs, and Maci Bergeron hit her fourth homer.

Overall, LSU had a productive weekend in its ﬁrst experience this season away from Tiger Park.

“It was interesting. There were moments when I thought, ‘This feels weird,’ ” Torina said “It’s always good to go on the road in a different environment, a little more uncomfortable than in Tiger Park.

“(Daniel) has worked really hard to add the swing piece to her game. She’s doing a good job of using all of her tools and making the most of her opportunity.” With UL-Monroe, LSU faces a similar opponent to Southeastern Louisiana. The Warhawks (14-7) have won 12 consecutive games using slap hitting and speed as their main offensive force.

PREVIEW

Continued from page 1C

Zimmerman said. “They also played JMU tough they have talent. They’ve been bit by the injury bug all season.

“We have to take this game with a one-game approach and have our ‘A’ game and be ready to play.” The winner will play No 10-seeded Old Dominion at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday In the first game against UL,

Lafayette and the No. 7-seeded

Cajuns will begin play in the Sun Belt Tournament in Pensacola, Florida, at 2 p.m. Thursday against the Game 4 winner. That game will take place at 2 p.m. Wednesday between No. 10 Texas State and the winner of Tuesday’s Marshall-

Lafayette reached double digits in 21 of the 28 games she played, and she was the ﬁrst Cajuns player to post a 400-point season since Jaylyn Gordo and Simone Fields in 2016-17.

Lafayette’s recognition is the program’s ﬁrst major award winner since Ty Doucet was named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. Yolanda Jones was the last Cajun to win Newcomer of the Year honors in 2006.

Email Kevin Foote at kfoote@ theadvocate.com.

ON DECK

WHO: North Dakota State (1-9) at LSU (11-1)

WHEN: 6:30 p.m.Tuesday

WHERE: Alex Box Stadium

ONLINE: SEC Network+

RADIO: WDGL-FM, 98.1 (Baton Rouge); WWL-AM, 870 (New Orleans); KLWB-FM, 103.7 (Lafayette)

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 1 by D1Baseball; NDSU is not ranked

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU — TBA; NDSU — TBA

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: LSU is preparing to play its second consecutive

ﬁve-game week.The Tigers nearly ran out of bullets on the mound last week, surrendering eight runs to Sam Houston State on Sunday North Dakota State’s lone win came two Sundays ago against Texas Rio Grande Valley.The Bison were swept by Alabama last weekend. Koki Riley

Bullpen thoughts

After a nearly perfect ﬁrst two weeks, the LSU bullpen started showing cracks in Texas. LSU relievers allowed nine earned runs in 162/3 innings after surrendering just six earned runs through the ﬁrst eight games. They walked 15 batters and only struck out 14. But so far in 2025, Johnson has yet to have his best bullpen at his disposal.

Junior right-hander Gavin Guidry hasn’t pitched yet, in part due to a midbody injury that kept him out the last two weekends. Junior-college transfer and left-hander Conner Ware has been tasked with starting midweek games. Once conference play begins, he’ll almost certainly be a big part of the Tigers’ pitching plans. Johnson also has been limited in his ability to use talented freshman right-hander William Schmidt in relief. He only threw one inning over

LSU second baseman Sierra Daniel tracks a shallow pop ﬂy by Penn State on Feb 21 at Tiger Park. Daniel’s bat sprung to life during a weekend road trip in California.

Left fielder Megan Brown leads the team with a .469 batting average while center ﬁelder Brooklin Lippert is hitting .444 with 14 stolen bases. Second baseman Morgan Brown is batting .415 with four homers and 27 RBIs. The Warhawks top pitcher is

Dakota Lake with a 6-2 record and 1.37 ERA. “They have a ton of short game and speed we have to defend,” Torina said. “They present some different challenges than we’ve seen this year Even more so like SLU, bunts and speed players.”

UL-Monroe post standout Makai Willis scored 17 points with eight rebounds. In the rematch, the Cajuns limited Willis to two points on 1-of-7 shooting The Warhawks’ leading scorers are Jalen Bolden (12.9 pts, 6.1 rebs), Coltie Young (12.1 pts, 3.2 rebs) and Tyree Watson (11.9 pts, 3.2 rebs).

“We really have to lock into defending and rebounding,” Zimmerman said. “We have to keep Willis off the boards, as well as their other two bigs. We also have to control their guards. Young is a very

the weekend in part because he threw 60 pitches in a start Monday Johnson said after Sunday’s game that the Tigers were running out of arms. Seven of their 15 walks and four of the nine runs the relievers allowed came against Sam Houston State.

“We kind of tapped out with a good amount of guys,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of guys that were just scratched off, not available today.”

Flashing leather

Once again, LSU was fabulous in the ﬁeld. The Tigers had more highlight-worthy plays than errors, committing only two Dickinson had an errant throw Sunday and Jones had an uncharacteristic drop at ﬁrst base Wednesday

The Tigers’ most memorable play was Dickinson’s ﬂip to Milam in the sixth inning of Saturday’s game. It was a moment that perfectly encapsulated how Milam’s move to shortstop has transformed the inﬁeld defense.

“Nobody’s playing shortstop better on the planet right now than this guy,” Johnson said Saturday of Milam. “There’s the fancy play with the ﬂip and the throw but his ability to pick the right hop, go get it (and)

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

playing small forward in spots.

But Johnson is the Tigers’ “huge spark,” as Morrow put it during Sunday’s postgame news conference. She embodies LSU’s fast-break culture and can turn a game with a long-armed steal, a Eurostep drive to the basket and her pure emotion.

If Johnson can return at her best — a fairly large “if” at this moment — LSU has a nucleus in her, Morrow and Williams that every other team in the nation would envy Still, Johnson doesn’t cover all of the Tigers’ blemishes. Their point guard situation is barely adequate split between Shayeann Day-Wilson and Last-Tear Poa. Contributions from forwards Sa’Myah Smith, Jersey Wolfenbarger and Aalyah Del Rosario are erratic as well.

catch a short hop right on time with the clock has been spectacular.”

Third time’s not a charm

Kade Anderson has been a strikeout machine through three starts.

The sophomore left-hander leads the Tigers with 26 punch-outs in 152/3 innings He struck out 10 batters on Friday against Kansas State, including nine through ﬁve innings.

Clearly the stuff and command are there for him to be an excellent top of the rotation arm, but Anderson has had some problems going through opposing orders a third time.

After surrendering two runs on two walks and two singles to Omaha in the sixth inning the previous week, Anderson allowed a pair of solo home runs to Kansas State in the sixth Friday He still ﬁnished Friday’s start allowing just three hits in 51/3 innings. He only has a 2.30 ERA. But for Anderson to take the next step in his development, getting through six or seven innings and pitching better as the game goes along will be key

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

And yet, Flau’jae performing as Flau’jae — the basketball star, not the rap artist — gives LSU a shot at another national title. The Tigers picked a good year for some uncertainty in the women’s game, a year without a lead-pipe national championship favorite. UConn is the current betting choice; Texas looks like the No. 1 overall seed; and South Carolina is South Carolina. But USC, UCLA, Notre Dame and LSU are also in that mix. Any of those seven could be the last team standing in Tampa, Florida, on April 6 and no one would be a bit surprised.

That’s the tack Mulkey is taking. She risked defeat against Ole Miss and is in effect punting on the SEC Tournament to keep her eyes on the biggest prize. One that requires Johnson be as healthy as she can be to get through the sixgame gauntlet that is the NCAA Tournament.

It’s the only sound course of action for Mulkey and LSU to take.

move the

streaky shooter who can get hot and make six or seven 3s in a row

“The point guard Watson is also talented and can hurt you with his midrange jump shot.”

The Warhawks have lost seven of their last eight games, but before that they had the wins over South Alabama. Their three most recent losses were two to Arkansas State and one to James Madison. The Cajuns (11-20, 8-10) is led by Mostapha El Moutaouakkil (13.8 pts, 5.2 rebs) and Kentrell Garnett (10.5 pts, 2.5 rebs).

“We just have to continue to

have a

“We’ve

and

have to take care of the

game to

ourselves a chance. We need to get on the offensive glass and execute our set plays.” Shooting sometimes can be a problem during the ﬁrst game in Pensacola. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve never had a shoot-around in the actual

LSU coach Kim Mulkey talks with guard Flau’jae Johnson during an Auburn foul shot on Jan. 5 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

STAFF PHOTO By BRAD KEMP

UL guard Erica Lafayette was honored as the Sun Belt Newcomer of the year

LCA continues push for fifth straight title

AREA PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

BY ERIC NARCISSE Staff writer

The Lafayette Christian Academy girls basketball program is in the state semiﬁnals for the ninth consecutive year And Knights coach Errol Rogers has enjoyed the journey of the previous eight. However Rogers admittedly has enjoyed this year a lot more.

“I’ve enjoyed this one a lot more because so many people said before the season that we were done,” Rogers said “Because we lost Jada (Richard), Eve (Alexander) and Indeara (Hebert), that we wouldn’t be that good But we have a great culture here. We have great kids that work hard, and they do what we ask them to do. They just love winning.”

LCA (27-5) will put its 22-game winning streak on the line when they face ﬁfth-seeded De La Salle at 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Division III select semiﬁnals at Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center in Hammond.

“We just want to keep winning,” Rogers said. “The work isn’t done just because we get back to the ﬁnals. We want to get there and ﬁnish the job.”

The Knights have won four consecutive state championships across two divisions and seven of the past eight state titles across three divisions. However, despite that success, Rogers said “there is no pressure on the Knights.”

“I try not to put pressure on

them,” said Rogers, whose Knights are hoping to advance to the ﬁnals for the ninth consecutive season.

“We take it one game at a time. We treat every team we play like they are the best in the country I’ve always done that.” Offensively, the Knights are led by Kaliyah Samuels with 19 points per game, Shanna Simien (12 ppg) and Peyton Dean (10 ppg). How-

ever Rogers said the Knights’ offensive ﬁrepower goes beyond the trio.

“We have really come together as a group,” Rogers said. “We don’t have any superstars, and every game anyone of our players can lead the team in scoring. We are completely different on the court this year compared to last year Last year, we were looking for Jada. But we are looking for whoever is open now They trust

SCOREBOARD

Missouri State 11, UL-Monroe 9 Memphis 7, Louisiana Tech 3 UNO 3, Stephen F. Austin 2 UC Irvine 12, UL 5 Tulane 7, Pepperdine 4 McNeese 14, Nicholls 3 LSU 12, Sam Houston 8

Monday’s games Tulane at Long Beach State, n

Tuesday’s games UL-Monroe at Arkansas, TBA Dillard at McNeese State, 1 p.m.

Xavier (LA) at Southern, 6 p.m.

Nicholls at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m.

LeTourneau at Northwestern State, 6 p.m.

Wiley at Grambling, 6 p.m.

North Dakota State at LSU, 6:30 p.m.

Southeastern at Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday’s games UL-Monroe at Arkansas, TBA

UNC-Wilmington at UL-Lafayette, 6 p.m.

Nicholls at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m.

Incarnate Word at Grambling, 6 p.m.

UNO at Jackson State, 6 p.m.

North Dakota State at LSU, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday’s games No games scheduled. Friday’s games South Alabama at Louisiana Tech, 4 p.m.

Southeastern at Memphis, 4:05 p.m.

Southern at Mercer, 5 p.m.

Dallas Baptist at UL-Lafayette, 6 p.m.

Texas-Arlington at UL-Monroe, 6 p.m.

Texas-Rio Grande Valley at UNO, 6:30 p.m. North Dakota State at Tulane, 6:30 p.m. Texas A&M-Corpus

3-8 0-0 1-4 3 1 8 Matkovic 19:49 3-5 0-2 2-5 1 4 6 Totals240:0053-102 7-1313-48 3515128

Percentages: FG .520, FT .538.

3-Point Goals: 15-44, .341 (McCollum 5-12 Olynyk 3-4, Murphy III 3-13, Hawkins 2-6, Brown 1-2, Alvarado 1-5, Matkovic 0-1, Williamson 0-1). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 5 (Matkovic 2, McCollum, Missi, Murphy III). Turnovers: 11 (Murphy III 4, McCollum 3 Hawkins 2, Olynyk, Williamson)

Steals: 8 (Brown 2, Murphy III 2, Williamson 2, Missi, Olynyk). Technical Fouls: None. FGFTReb UTAH Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Juzang 18:24 3-9 1-1 0-2 1 2 8 Martin 25:54 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 3 5 Filipowski 27:37 5-12 0-1 2-11 7 2 12

Collier 28:51 3-8 5-5 0-2 8 2 11

Sensabaugh30:42 9-18 0-0 1-2 4 0 21 George 31:07 9-21 5-6 0-3 6 1 28 Potter 21:54 3-7 0-0 1-6 3 0 8 Tshiebwe 20:23 8-9 0-0 4-13 1 1 16 Springer 17:50 2-4 2-4 0-0 3 3 7 Williams 17:18 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 5 Totals 240:00 46-9613-17 9-41 35 14 121

Percentages: FG .479, FT .765.

3-Point Goals: 16-44, .364 (George 5-11, Sensabaugh 3-9, Filipowski 2-4, Potter 2-6, Williams 1-1, Martin 1-2, Springer 1-2, Juzang 1-7, Collier 0-2). Team Rebounds: 10. Team Turnovers: 2. Blocked Shots: 4 (Collier 2, Potter, Springer). Turnovers: 11 (Filipowski 3, George 3, Martin 3, Juzang, Sensabaugh). Steals: 4 (Collier, Martin, Potter, Tshiebwe). Technical Fouls: None. New Orleans30362537—128 Utah26313430121

A_18,175 (18,206). T_2:10. College basketball

Men’s state schedule

Sunday’s games No games scheduled.

Monday’s games

Southern at Florida A&M, n Incarnate Word at Northwestern State, n Southeastern at Texas-Rio Grande Valley, n Stephen F. Austin at McNeese, n Nicholls at Lamar, n Grambling at Bethune-Cookman, n UNO at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, n Tuesday’s games

LSU at Kentucky, 6 p.m

Men’s national scores

Women’s state schedule

Sunday’s games

Ole Miss at LSU 3 p.m.

Monday’s games No games scheduled.

Tuesday’s games

UNO at McNeese, 11 a.m. Tulane at UAB, 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 5 Texas A&M-Commerce at Northwestern State, 6:30 p.m.

Women’s national scores

Monday’s games

SOUTH Howard 89, SC State 39

Norfolk St. 96, NC Central 57

College baseball

Sunday’s games

Southeastern 6, Northwestern State 5

each other this year Last year, I think they only trusted a couple of kids.”

Another player who has been instrumental to the Knights’ success has been senior guard Taelyn Taylor, who will be making her ﬁfth appearance in the state tournament after playing some as an eighth grader

“Taelyn can shoot the basketball pass it, rebound and defend,” Rogers said. “A lot of what she does isn’t shown in the box score. A lot of times she may have two or four points, but people don’t see the assists, the steals or the amount of charges she take. She means a lot to this team.” In De La Salle (16-9), the Knights are going to face a team that is going to consistently apply pressure similar to an Iowa team that defeated LCA 64-61 in December

“De La Salle’s a young and athletic team,” Rogers said. “They are full of energy They can shoot it, they do a good job of rebounding and their bigs can bring it down They are going to push the ball up and down the court and try to turn us over on defense. They are going to be one of the better teams that we have played in a while. It’s going to be an interesting matchup.” Rogers said the key to victory is simple: LCA “must play defense.”

“How well we play defense is going to determine whether we win this game or not,” Rogers said. “If we play defense the way we are supposed to play defense, then we’ll have a chance to be playing in the game on Friday.”

STAFF PHOTO By ROBIN MAy

Kaliyah Samuels, left, and the Lafayette Christian Knights are two wins away from another state title.

Sounds of the season

Classic Carnival albums on vinyl offer deeper appreciation of Mardi

BY KEITH SPERA Staff writer

Gras music

Everyone in New Orleans knows the essential Mardi Gras songs. The likes of “Carnival Time,” “Mardi Gras Mambo,” “Go To the Mardi Gras,” “Big Chief” and “Second-Line, Pt. 1” are as baked into the Carnival season as king cake. But what if your Fat Tuesday-adjacent frolicking requires a turntable and a full-length vinyl album?

Here are some classic Carnival albums to get you in the spirit

Donald Harrison Jr.

“Indian Blues”

Donald Harrison Jr does double duty as an internationally renowned modern jazz saxophonist and a big chief in the Black Masking Indian tradition. For the May 1991 “Indian Blues” recording sessions in New York, he was joined by his jazz band, Mac “Dr John” Rebennack and members of the Guardians of the Flame, the Mardi Gras Indian tribe led by his father, Big Chief Donald Harrison Sr The percussion-heavy opening “Hu-Na-Nay” is an Indian song, but the piano break and alto sax wouldn’t be out of place in a jazz club In “Shallow Water,” the ensemble wades once again into Indian territory Rebennack fully inhabits “JaKi-Mo-Fi-Na-Hay.”

ä See ALBUMS, page 6C

STAFF FILE PHOTO By MATTHEW HINTON

Donald Harrison Jr is both an internationally renowned modern jazz saxophonist and a Big Chief in the Black Masking Indian tradition. He brought those worlds together on his landmark ‘Indian Blues’ album

As easy as 1-2-3? Simple steps can lighten landscape maintenance

Picture this: a lush landscape brimming with plants that stay attractive year-round without you, the gardener, having to lift a ﬁnger There’s no grass to cut, and weeds are kept at bay through clever use of groundcovers and hardscaping. Sounds great, right? We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a lowmaintenance landscape like this is virtually impossible to achieve in Louisiana. Our warm, wet climate and long growing season promote explosive weed growth. Even desirable plants can quickly outgrow

ä See MAINTENANCE, page 6C

ALL IN A GOOD TIME

Happy Fat Tuesday, Baton Rouge! The good times have rolled and will continue to roll in some places. Each year, Mardi Gras allows us to bask in the revelry, spend time with friends and appreciate the traditions of Louisiana. In the words of Franklin Alvarado, “It’s a great party, and anyone who doesn’t enjoy Mardi Gras is not of this world.”

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

The Madison Prep drum major leads the marching band as the Krewe of Orion parade rolls through downtown on Feb 22.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

Noah shows off his king of Mardi Gras costume for the judges at the CAAWS Mystic Krewe of Mutts Parade and Bark in the Park on Feb 16.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

The Golden Grannies dance through River Road as the Krewe of Orion parade rolls through downtown on Feb 22.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS Riders on the Santa Maria float toss beads as La Krewe Mystique de la Capitale parade rolls through downtown on Feb 22.

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS Revelers cheer for throws from the Mambo Mamas float as the Krewe of Artemis parade rolls through downtown on Feb 21.

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2025. There are 302 days left in the year Today in history

On March 4, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated for a second term of ofﬁce. With the end of the Civil War in sight, and just six weeks before his assassination, Lincoln declared:

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with

Continued from page 5C

“Indian Red” is ostensibly a traditional Indian song, but Harrison reimagines it as a lovely, at times majestic, seven-minute jazz exercise.

“Two-Way-Pocky-Way,” by contrast, is barely two minutes of voice and percussion. The instrumental “Hiko Hiko” contains the soul of “Iko Iko,” but the bass and piano breakdown showcase the inherent swing of Harrison’s jazz band.

The eight-minute “Uptown Ruler,” another modern jazz instrumental, scoots along as Harrison’s sax soars over a bed of piano, bass and Howard “Smiley” Ricks’ congas.

Rebennack’s voice jumps right into “Big Chief” and stays on track as Cyrus Chestnut handles the piano

Rebennack’s undulating New Orleans piano duets with Harrison’s alto on the instrumental “Walkin’ Home.”

Rebennack is front and center again for the concluding “Shave ‘em Dry,” a ﬁnal distillation of pure New Orleans. Originally released by Candid Records in 1992, the landmark “Indian Blues” was reissued by the Tipitina’s Record Club in 2023 as a sumptuous double album on smoke-colored vinyl. The whole album still sounds fresh and innovative — during Carnival or any other time of year

The Wild Magnolias

“The Wild Magnolias

As a Tulane University undergraduate in the late 1960s, future New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festi-

MAINTENANCE

Continued from page 5C

maintenance. Wind, rain, wildlife and mowing would carry dirt particles and weed seeds into rocks and around pavement. We simply can’t escape the reality of proliﬁc weed growth here in Louisiana. So what is a busy person without much time for lawn and garden maintenance to do? While it’s not feasible to eliminate all landscape chores, you can lighten the burden by following the three steps outlined below If you choose the right plants and place them carefully, you can create a landscape that looks nice and reduce the amount of upkeep you have to ﬁt into your hectic schedule.

Step 1: Tree placement

Take note of where you have trees or decide where you would like to plant some. Trees have a profound effect on the look and feel of landscapes, as they take up quite a bit of space and can live for many years They need regular watering during establishment and in times of drought, but otherwise, trees aren’t incredibly demanding plants. They also provide beneﬁts such as wildlife habitat, shade and improved property values.

Whether you have a spacious yard or a small lot, there are trees of all shapes and sizes to choose from. You may want to select species with innate storm resistance such as bald cypress, pond cypress, Southern magnolia and live oak. Some trees have ornamental qualities for example, Japanese maple leaves turn brilliant hues of red and orange in the fall, and Taiwan cherries sport magenta ﬂowers in late winter and early spring.

firmness in the fight as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan — to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

On this date: In 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the ﬁrst Federal Congress met in New York.

val producer Quint Davis booked concerts at the student union. One show featured jazz/funk keyboardist Wilson “Willie Tee” Turbinton and his band, the Souls, as the headliner, plus gravelly voiced Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias tribe Turbinton’s gear was already set up on the stage when the Magnolias kicked off their opening set. As the Indians performed their rhythms and chants, Turbinton got onstage and improvised with them.

That was arguably the genesis moment for modern Mardi Gras Indian funk In 1970, Davis produced the Wild Magnolias’ ﬁrst single, “Handa Wanda.”

Four years later, the Wild Magnolias released their seminal self-titled debut album. Dollis and Monk Boudreaux, Big Chief of the Golden Eagles, fronted a combination of Indian percussionists and Tee’s New Orleans Project, featuring Earl Turbinton Jr on sax and clarinet, Snooks Eaglin on guitar, Larry Panna on drums, Alfred “Uganda” Roberts on congos and Julius Farmer on bass.

Together, they synthesized “Handa Wanda,” the churning “(Somebody Got) Soul, Soul, Soul” and Willie Tee’s “Smoke My Peace Pipe.”

A second Wild Magnolias album, 1975’s “They Call Us Wild,” boasted such Mardi Gras Indian funk classics as “New Suit” and “We’re Gonna Party.”

A later CD reissue combined both albums and included previously unreleased songs. Regardless of

If you don’t want to rake a bunch of leaves, opt for evergreen selections over deciduous ones. Place smaller trees closer to structures that can shield them from strong winds. Make sure to leave plenty of space around larger trees to avoid branches encroaching on your home or other structures.

Step 2: The foundation

After you’ve figured out tree placement, the next point to consider is shrubs. We refer to shrubs as foundation plantings for a few reasons. They often are near the foundation of homes, structures and other built items like driveways and fences. They soften the transition between nature and the built environment. And, like trees, shrubs are long-lived plants that form the backbone and influence the flow of gardens. They’re a constant in the landscape. When deciding what shrubs to plant, think about what your garden looks like in the middle of winter, when deciduous shrubs and trees lose their leaves but evergreens remain vibrant. If the balance seems off and your winter landscape is a collection of leafless sticks and stems, you may want to plant a few more evergreen shrubs. A good mix to aim for is 75% evergreen and 25% deciduous. Focus on tough plants that thrive in sun or shade whatever conditions you have in your yard — and that don’t require frequent pruning. Try to select shrubs with different bloom times to keep the landscape lively year-round.

Camellias are a great foundation planting for Louisiana landscapes, particularly the sasanqua and hiemalis species. They tolerate full sun or part shade, and their fall and early winter ﬂowers provide forage

In 1801, Thomas Jefferson became the ﬁrst president to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated for his ﬁrst term as president; he was the last U.S. president to be inaugurated on this date. In his inaugural speech, Roosevelt stated, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

In 1966, John Lennon of The Beatles was quoted in the London Evening Standard as saying, “We’re

more popular than Jesus now,” a comment that caused an angry backlash in the United States.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had “deteriorated” into an arms-forhostages deal.

In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that workplace sexual harassment laws are applicable when the offender and victim are of the same sex.

In 2015, the Justice Department cleared Darren Wilson, a White former Ferguson, Missouri, police ofﬁcer, in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a Black 18-year-old, but also issued a scathing report calling for sweeping changes in city law enforcement practices, which it called discriminatory and unconstitutional.

In 2017, President Donald Trump wrote a series of Twitter posts accusing former President Barack Obama of tapping his tele-

all time.

the

phones

the format, these recordings are bedrock New Orleans Mardi Gras music.

The Meters

“Fire On the Bayou”

The cover of the 1975 album “Fire On the Bayou” depicts the five Meters — by this point, Cyril Neville had joined big brother Art, George Porter Jr., Leo Nocentelli and Zigaboo Modeliste in the lineup — posing in the Atchafalaya Basin. The color of the photo is intentionally washed out.

But there is nothing washed out about the music. It is straight-up latter-day New Orleans funk and soul, a 13th Ward house party committed to vinyl.

The title track, with its distinctive opening guitar line and complex percussion, would later become a standard of Art and Cyril’s subsequent band, the Neville Brothers. “Talkin’ ‘Bout New Orleans” is one of the great underappreciated songs about the city Side 1 of the original vinyl album concludes with “They All Ask’d for You” (mis-

for honeybees and other overwintering pollinators.

Other foundation planting options to consider include Japanese yew which can be used to form a living privacy screen; Florida sunshine anise, which brightens shady areas with chartreuse foliage; and dwarf hollies, which work great for short hedges.

Step 3: Mulch, groundcovers

For effective but passive weed control, you can rely on mulch and groundcovers. Construct wide mulch beds around your trees and foundation plantings. Don’t feel pressured to ﬁll your mulch beds with annual color plants or trim them with border grass. The mulch itself offers enough of a color and texture contrast from the lawn and other features of the landscape. It also is an effective strategy for suppressing weed growth, retaining moisture and adding organic matter to the soil — all of which beneﬁts the health of your plants.

If you would rather plant groundcovers instead of applying mulch, keep in mind that common shorter species such as dwarf mondo grass will still allow a few weeds, vines and tree saplings to sprout through them meaning they will require occasional maintenance. For an easier-care groundcover, you can try a taller, more vigorous plant like aspidistra, also known as cast iron plant. You also can incorporate elements like gravel, pavers, concrete and decorative rocks into the landscape to limit the amount of grass you must maintain. Just keep in mind that weeds will inevitably sprout in and around these items. Be prepared to hand pull them or treat with herbicides to maintain an orderly appearance.

titled on the album’s back cover as the awkwardly formal “They All Ask’d About You”). Though it technically has nothing to do with Mardi Gras, the irresistible ditty about various critters at the Audubon Zoo is a standard of the season. The Meters cut “They All Ask’d for You” at the very end of the recording session; the clapping at the song’s conclusion is the musicians celebrating being done with the record. They based their version on a traditional, naughtier song they’d heard at parties. In that original version, the lyric wasn’t “the monkey asked, the tigers asked” it was “the monkey’s ass, the tiger’s ass.” The Meters cleaned it up at Sea-Saint Studio and ended up with one of their most popular songs.

Bringing the Carnival connection full circle, the last track on “Fire On the Bayou” is the Meters’ version of “Mardi Gras Mambo,” which Art Neville had ﬁrst sung 21 years earlier with the Hawketts.

Rebirth Brass Band

“Feel Like Funkin’ It Up”

The Rebirth Brass Band’s 1989 release “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” is one of the greatest New Orleans brass band recordings of all time. Given brass bands’ close kinship with parades, that also makes it one of the great Mardi Gras albums of

Rebirth released its debut album, “Here to Stay,” in 1984, barely a year after the band formed. By the time the young musicians tracked “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up” ﬁve years later they’d gelled into an airtight unit, one that was equally at home with traditional New Orleans standards and brassy arrangements of pop songs. They channeled their youthful energy and exuberant sense of fun — personiﬁed by a baby-faced Kermit Ruffins on trumpet into “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up.”

The opening “Do Whatcha Wanna (Part 2)” and the title track were both destined to become modern Mardi Gras favorites. The band also puts a brassy spin on “Big Chief” and Fats Domino’s “I’m Walkin,” then fast-forwards to Michael Jackson’s “Shake Your Body Down to the Ground.”

In 2024, the Tipitina’s Record Club reissued “Feel Like Funkin’ It Up,” making it available again on vinyl for the ﬁrst time since its original 1989 pressing. It still sounds and feels as fresh, vital and fun as it did 35 years ago.

Neville Brothers “Neville-ization”

The Neville Brothers’ legendary late-night gigs at Tipitina’s and Jimmy’s Music Club are the stuff of Carnival legend. More than one Broth-

er has described the 1984 Black Top Records release “Neville-ization” as the best representation of the band ever captured on vinyl That’s because it wasn’t recorded in a studio. Instead, tapes rolled during a show at Tipitina’s on Sept. 24, 1982. In addition to the four brothers — Art, Aaron, Charles and Cyril — the band boasted Aaron’s son Ivan Neville on keyboards and vocals plus bassist Darryl Johnson, drummer “Mean” Willie Green and guitarist Brian Stoltz.

The Brothers’ music has many textures, and “Nevilleization” isn’t just about the funk. The Brothers open the album with the harmonies of “Fever” and slow down for Aaron to showcase his 1966 classic ballad “Tell It Like It Is.”

But when they dig into “Mojo Hannah,” “Fear, Hate, Envy, Jealousy” and the ﬁnal “Africa,” the grooves are thick. And their take on “Big Chief” ranks among the deﬁnitive live versions of the Carnival classic.

To emphasize the Nevilles’ Carnival connection, the late Bunny Matthews made sure purple, green and gold were prominent in the cover artwork of the original Black Top album. But the Nevilles’ music was what really made that connection clear Email Keith Spera at kspera@theadvocate.com.

during

2016 election; an Obama spokesman declared that the assertion was “simply false.” Today’s birthdays: Film director Adrian Lyne is 84. Author James Ellroy is 77. Musician-producer Emilio Estefan is 72. Actor Catherine O’Hara is 71. Actor Mykelti Williamson is 68. Actor Patricia Heaton is 67. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., is 67. Actor Steven Weber is 64. Rock musician Jason Newsted is 62. Author Khaled Hosseini is 60.

STAFF FILE

Guitarist Leo Nocentelli, left, and singer Cyril Neville, of The Meters, perform during the 2015 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Simplify your life. If someone asks for too much, say no; if offered too little, ask for more. Upfront communication is your best path forward.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Make today about caring and sharing. Lift others up, and they will reciprocate. Choose peace and love over anger and discord. Look for alternatives that satisfy your soul and accommodate loved ones' wishes.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Envision what you want, develop a plan and execute your intentions Turn your thoughts into something concrete and put a dent in your to-do list. Stop thinking about what you want, and begin your journey.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Tone down your plans to fit your budget and abilities. Gauge your time and effort carefully. Your success depends on accuracy, attention to detail and your ability to deliver.

cANcER (June 21-July 22) Haste makes waste. Slow down, nurture what's important to you and change only what's necessary. Channel your energy and passion into something meaningful.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Resolve issues in a civil fashion. If you want to be an honorable leader, act like one. Treat everyone, even your rivals, with dignity. Tact will be necessary.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept 22) A change of scenery will help you put your life in

perspective Distance yourself from uncertainty, aggravation and temptation; you'll recognize the best path forward.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Live, learn, love and explore what life has to offer Socializing, sharing information and meeting new people will lead to personal growth, positive change and opportunities.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-Nov. 22) Put your best foot forward. Change is within reach if you follow your passion. Get the ball rolling by sharing your innovative ideas and plans.

sAGIttARIus (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Think before you act. Take everyone and everything into account before you make a move. Don't spend money on things you don't need or can't afford. Salt away some cash if you can.

cAPRIcoRN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Make changes to your living space that can help you save money. Updating your home, downsizing to make your life easier and exploring other possibilities will pay off

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Spend more time learning about something you want to pursue. Choose a healthy lifestyle that will protect you from injury or illness. Be ready to do something interesting.

Andrews McMeel Syndication

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE: X EQuALs c

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

And erneSt

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

SherMAn’S LAGoon

dooneSbUrY

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

nea CroSSwordS La TimeS CroSSword

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

At the bridge table, we try to use the knowledge gleaned from the bidding and the play (as it progresses) to make informed decisions. How should the play go in this three-no-trump contract after West leads the spade queen? What is the key piece of knowledge declarer wants and East must keep hidden?

South starts with seven top tricks: two spades, one heart, three diamonds and one club. He could attack either hearts or clubs, but the minor suit offers much better chances for three tricks.

Declarer ducks the first trick, takes the second spade with his king, plays a diamond to dummy’s queen, and leads a club to his nine West wins this with say, the queen (he should vary his play in this situation) and continues with another spade to dummy’s ace.

Now comes dummy’s last club. What happens next?

If Eastcarelessly plays his eight,South should put up his ace, dropping West’s king and collecting11 tricks. Whyshould he drop the king?

Given that East is known to have the club 10 from the first round of the suit, when East plays the club eight second, he started with 10-8-5 or K-10-8-5. In the second case, the contract is unmakable. However,onthesecondroundofclubs, Eastshouldfollowtheexcellentprinciple of playing the card he is known to hold If he puts up the 10, declarer will place him with K-10-5, finesse his club jack, and go down three. © 2025 by NEA, Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

wuzzles

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

Previous answers:

word game

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

toDAy’s WoRD — WIDGEoN: WIJ-in: Any of several freshwater ducks.

Average mark 18 words Time limit 25 minutes

Can you find 23 or more words in WIDGEON?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD — APHEsIs

aphis apish apse apsis ashes pass passe phase hasp heap hiss sash sepia shape shea shies ship spies

today’s thought

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard fillmore

BUSINESS

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Taiwan chipmaker to expand manufacturing

Chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to invest $100 billion in the United States, President Donald Trump said Monday, on top of $65 billion in investments the company had previously announced.

TSMC, the world’s biggest semiconductor manufacturer, produces chips for companies including Apple Intel and Nvidia. The company had already begun constructing three plants in Arizona after the Biden administration offered billions in subsidies. Its first factory in Arizona has started mass production of its 4-nanometer chips.

Trump, who appeared with TSMC’s chief executive ofﬁcer C.C. Wei at the White House, called it a “tremendous move” and “a matter of economic security.”

“Semiconductors are the backbone of the 21st-century economy And really, without the semiconductors, there is no economy,” the president said. “Powering everything from AI to automobiles to advanced manufacturing, we must be able to build the chips and semiconductors that we need right here in American factories with American skill and American labor.” Wei said the investment will be for three more chip manufacturing plants, along with two packaging facilities, in Arizona Treasury to end small-business rule

The U.S. Treasury Department announced it will not enforce a Biden-era smallbusiness rule intended to curb money laundering and shell company formation.

In a Sunday evening announcement, Treasury said in a news release that it will not impose penalties now or in the future if companies fail to register for the agency’s beneﬁcial ownership information database that was created during the Biden administration.

Despite efforts by small businesses to undo the rule in the courts, it remains in effect.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump on his Truth Social media site praised the suspension of enforcement of the rule and said the database is “outrageous and invasive.” Supporters of the database raised alarm.

Ian Gary, executive director of the FACT Coalition, an advocacy group for transparency in government and business, said “with one tweet the Administration has contradicted 15 years of bipartisan work by Congress to end the scourge of anonymous shell companies – which are a favorite tool of our nation’s global adversaries and criminals including fentanyl trafﬁckers, money launderers, and tax cheats.”

In September 2022, the Treasury Department started rulemaking to create a database that would contain personal information on the owners of at least 32 million U.S. businesses as part of an effort to combat shell company formations and illicit ﬁnance.

Kroger CEO resigns following investigation

Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen has resigned after an internal investigation into his personal conduct.

Kroger, the nation’s largest grocery chain, said Monday the investigation into McMullen’s conduct was unrelated to the business, but was found to be inconsistent with its business ethics policy McMullen, 64, began his career with Kroger in 1978 as a part-time stock clerk and bagger at a store in Lexington, Kentucky He worked his way up through the company becoming chief financial officer in 1995 and chief operating officer in 2009. McMullen was named Kroger’s CEO in 2014 and became the company’s chairman the following year

announces plan for ‘strategic

BY ALAN SUDERMAN Associated Press

Cryptocurrency prices briefly jumped after President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement he wants the U.S. government to purchase and hold a variety of digital assets in a strategic reserve fund, an announcement that highlights Trump’s growing attempts to use volatile cryptocurrency prices as a barometer of his public support.

Trump said on social media Sunday that his administration is working toward creating a “Crypto Strategic Reserve” that will include lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, Solana, and Cardano. He

later followed up with another post saying his planned reserve would also include bitcoin and ether, the two most popular cryptocurrencies.

The announcement helped crypto prices enjoy a brief rebound after recent sell-offs.

Bitcoin shot up to about $95,000 after dipping below $80,000 last week. XRP, Solana and Cardano saw massive spikes in their prices after Trump’s announcement Sunday

But by Monday afternoon, prices had fallen roughly back to where they were before Trump’s announcement. Advocates for the government holding a crypto reserve said it would help diversify government holdings and hedge against ﬁnancial risks. Critics say the volatility of cryptocurrencies makes them a poor choice as a reserve asset.

On the campaign trail, Trump

pledged support for a “strategic national bitcoin” stockpile, which would include bitcoin the U.S. government has previously seized in law enforcement actions Sunday’s announcement was the ﬁrst time he advocated for the government to hold other types of cryptocurrencies.

The inclusion of cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin is likely to face sustained pushback among some corners of the heavily divided cryptocurrency industry Bitcoin is the oldest and by far most popular cryptocurrency, and accounts for more than half of the world’s global crypto market cap.

Some of Trump’s major allies in the industry expressed surprise and some skepticism of Trump’s plan.

“Just bitcoin would probably be the best option simplest, and clear story as successor to gold,” said Brian Armstrong, the CEO of

the crypto exchange Coinbase.

The White House did not immediately provide additional details, including how much of each type of cryptocurrency Trump wanted the U.S. to hold, and how the government would acquire them, and whether he favored including other types of cryptocurrencies as well.

The president has cast himself as hero to the crypto industry, which he said in his announcement had been the target of “years of corrupt attacks by the Biden administration.”

The crypto industry felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration and spent heavily to help Trump win the election. The ﬁrst several weeks of his administration have seen several moves to boost crypto, including ending or pausing high-proﬁle enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK U.S stocks tumbled Monday and wiped out even more of their gains since President Donald Trump‘s election in November, after he said that tariffs announced earlier on Canada and Mexico would take effect within hours.

The S&P 500 dropped after Trump said there was “no room left” for negotiations that could lower the tariffs set to begin Tuesday for imports from Canada and Mexico. Trump had already delayed the tariffs once before to allow more time for talks

Trump’s announcement dashed hopes on Wall Street that he would choose a less painful path for global trade, and it followed the latest warning signal on the U.S. economy’s strength. Monday’s loss shaved the S&P 500’s gain since Election Day down to just over 1% from a peak of more than 6%. That rally had been built largely on hopes for policies from Trump that would help strengthen the U.S. economy and businesses

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite both slumped. Monday’s slide punctuated a rocky couple of weeks for Wall Street. After the S&P 500 set a record last month following a parade of fatter-than-expected proﬁt reports from big U.S. companies, the market began diving following weaker-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy, including a couple showing U.S. households are getting much more pessimistic about inﬂation because of the threat of tariffs.

The latest such report arrived Monday on U.S. manufacturing. Overall activity is still growing, but not by quite as much as economists had forecast. Perhaps more discouragingly, manufacturers are seeing a contraction in new orders. Prices, meanwhile, rose amid discussions about who will pay for Trump’s tariffs.

BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Commerce

Secretary Howard Lutnick said government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn.

“You know, that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They count government spending as part of GDP So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.”

Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the U.S. economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because changes in taxes, spending, deﬁcits and regulations by the government can impact the path of overall growth. GDP reports already include extensive details

“Demand eased, production stabilized, and destafﬁng continued as panelists’ companies experience the ﬁrst operational shock of the new administration’s tariff policy,” said Timothy Fiore, chair of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing business survey committee.

The hope on Wall Street had been that Trump was using the threat of tariffs as a tool for negotiations and that he would ultimately go through with potentially less damaging policies for the global economy and trade. But Trump’s going forward with the Mexican and Canadian tariffs hit a market that wasn’t certain about what would happen next.

the economy at large.

The market’s recent slump has hit Nvidia and some other formerly high-ﬂying areas of the market particularly hard. They fell even more Monday, with Nvidia down 8.8% and Elon Musk’s Tesla down 2.8%.

The commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Musk’s arguments made Friday on X that government spending doesn’t create value for the economy

“A more accurate measure of GDP would exclude government spending,” Musk wrote on his social media platform. “Otherwise, you can scale GDP artiﬁcially high by spending money on things that don’t make people’s lives better.”

The argument as articulated so far by Trump administration officials appears to play down the economic benefits created by Social Security payments, infrastructure spending, scientific research and other forms of government spending that can shape an economy’s trajectory

Bureau of Economic Analysis published its most recent GDP report on Thursday, showing that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.3% in the ﬁnal three months of last year

on government spending, offering a level of transparency for economists. Musk’s efforts to downsize federal agencies could result in the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal workers, whose lost income could potentially reduce their spending, affecting businesses and

“If the government buys a tank, that’s GDP,” Lutnick said Sunday “But paying 1,000 people to think about buying a tank is not GDP That is wasted inefﬁciency, wasted money And cutting that, while it shows in GDP, we’re going to get rid of that.” The Commerce Department’s

The report makes it possible to measure the forces driving the economy, showing that the gains at the end of last year were largely driven by greater consumer spending and an upward revision to federal government spending related to defense. Still, the federal government’s component of the GDP report for all of 2024 increased at 2.6%, slightly lower than overall economic growth last year of 2.8%. In the GDP report, government spending accounts for almost oneﬁfth of people’s personal income, which totaled more than $24.6 trillion last year This includes Social Security payments, benefits for military veterans, Medicare and Medicaid and other programs. But the report also measures the amount of people’s personal incomes that are paid in taxes to the government.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By SETH WENIG

U.S. stocks tumbled Monday and wiped out even more of their gains since President Donald Trump’s election in November, after he said that tariffs announced earlier on Canada and Mexico would take effect within hours

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick