The Times-Picayune 03-12-2025

Federal judge halts La. execution

Ruling pauses first usage of nitrogen gas

BY ANDREA GALLO and JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writers

A federal judge in Baton Rouge has issued a preliminary injunction to stop Louisiana from moving forward with its first nitrogen gas execution March 18, though the

state immediately moved to appeal her ruling.

U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick granted the preliminary injunction Tuesday after a daylong hearing last week in which attorneys for condemned inmate Jessie Hoffman Jr argued that the state’s plan to kill him with nitrogen

amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, which is forbidden under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. She also wrote that she was persuaded by arguments that death by a firing squad would be a quicker and more humane method, though it is not currently legal in Louisiana.

“Now, after an expedited hearing, and absent a fully developed record, this Court must answer the ultimate question: is nitrogen hypoxia cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment?” Dick wrote in her ruling. She said Hoffman’s attorneys had proved enough to warrant a delay until she can fully consider the issue.

“Plaintiff has shown that nitrogen hypoxia superadds psycho-

Report details roof impacts

La. homes with fortified coverings can

BY SAM KARLIN Staff writer

The benefits of getting a fortified roof in south Louisiana — including lower insurance premiums and fewer hurricane losses — generally outweigh the cost of putting the roof on, according to a new study by state auditors.

The report, released Monday by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office, found most people who have taken advantage of a state grant program to install a stronger roof have seen insurance pre-

miums drop. The median recipient saw a 22% discount, saving them $1,250 a year

The findings are a boost to the state’s fortified roof program as lawmakers consider whether to continue funding it. High insurance premiums are wreaking havoc in hurricane-prone communities in south Louisiana.

Still, the report found that Louisiana is behind the curve in widespread adoption of fortified roofs, and adding more of them could make the state more attractive to the reinsurance market and lower insurance costs. Reinsurers, which offer

insurance for insurance companies, play an outsized role in deciding how much Louisiana homeowners pay in premiums. And strengthening Louisiana’s buildings en masse could ultimately result in bigger drops in premiums.

Fortified roofs, which involve stronger fasteners and water sealant, are more wind resistant, making it less likely a home will take on serious damage if a hurricane hits. Louisiana, which began offering grants to help build them in 2023, has

logical pain, suffering, and terror to his execution when compared to execution by firing squad,” Dick added. “He has shown that execution by firing squad is a feasible and readily available alternative that the State has no legitimate penological reason for not adopting.” Attorneys for the state filed a notice of appeal within minutes of Dick releasing her ruling Tuesday

More than 1,300 workers laid off

BY COLLIN BINKLEY and MORIAH BALINGIT Associated Press

WASHINGTON The Education Department plans to lay off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the organization’s staff — a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

The Trump administration had already been whittling the agency’s staff, though buyout offers and the termination of probationary employees. After Tuesday’s layoffs, the Education Department’s staff will sit at roughly half of its previous 4,100, the agency said.

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies.

The department is also terminating leases on buildings in cities including New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, officials said. Department officials said it would continue to deliver on its key functions such as the distribution

BESE adds Gulf of America to school social studies standards

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Louisiana’s state board of education voted unanimously Tuesday to align the state’s fourth- and fifthgrade social studies standards with President Donald Trump’s

executive order mandating that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed to the Gulf of America

The board’s embrace of the name change, which sparked controversy when Trump announced it in January, means that Louisiana teachers will be encouraged to

refer to the body of water between Mexico and North America by the new name in classroom lessons, and all new fourth- and fifth-grade social studies materials — the two grades whose standards mention the Gulf in units on world history — will be required to reflect the

change moving forward. However, schools will not be required to replace their existing textbooks, state officials said.

To ensure Louisiana is aligned with the president’s order, “I recommend striking the name ‘Mexico’ and replacing it with ‘America’

in reference to the Gulf in Louisiana’s standards for social studies education,” state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, who has periodically dipped his toes into the U.S.’s education culture

ä See GULF, page 4A

STAFF FILE PHOTO By BILL FEIG

A fortified roof in south Louisiana can mean fewer hurricane losses, according to a new study by state auditors.

Chopper reported issue before crash killed 3

CANTON, Miss A medical helicopter that crashed in a wooded area in Mississippi reported “a flight control problem” shortly before a Monday crash that killed all three people on board, federal authorities said.

The pilot was going to attempt to land the helicopter in a field, according to radio traffic from the chopper to its company’s communications base. It crashed shortly after that and caught fire, authorities said.

Investigators found marks in trees consistent with the aircraft’s rotor striking them, National Transportation Safety Board member J. Todd Inman said at a Tuesday briefing near the crash site.

Killed were crew members Jakob Kindt, 37, of Tupelo, Mississippi, and Dustin Pope, 35, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, the University of Mississippi Medical Center said in a statement. The pilot, Cal Wesolowski, 62, of Starkville, Mississippi, also died. Wesolowski worked for MedTrans Corp., which partners with health care systems and agencies to provide medical flights.

The helicopter was returning to its base in Columbus, Mississippi, from a patient transport when it crashed in Madison County around 12:30 p.m. Monday, the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s vice chancellor for health affairs, Dr LouAnn Woodward, said at a news conference.

Pope doctors say he’s out of imminent danger

ROME Pope Francis participated remotely in the Vatican’s spiritual retreat Tuesday after getting good news from his doctors: They upgraded his prognosis and say he is no longer in imminent danger of death as a result of the respiratory infection that has kept him hospitalized for nearly a month in the longest and gravest threat to his 12-year papacy

The 88-year-old pope isn’t out of the woods yet, however Doctors are still cautious and have decided to keep him hospitalized for several more days to receive treatment, not to mention a period of rehabilitation he will likely need.

Dr Carmelo D’Asero, an infectious diseases specialist and expert in geriatric diseases, said Francis was clearly making slow and gradual progress, but still had not recovered fully. He said it remains to be seen how and when he can return to the Vatican, and whether he will need supplemental oxygen to breathe going forward “We must not forget that he has been hospitalized for one month,” said D’Asero, who is not involved in Francis’ care. He noted that the arrival of spring in Rome should help. Francis’ bronchitis typically flares during the winter months. Francis, who has chronic lung disease, is still using supplemental oxygen during the day and a ventilation mask at night to help him breathe.

TSA finds live turtle hidden in man’s pants

NEWARK, N.J A Pennsylvania man who was going through security at a New Jersey airport was found to have a live turtle concealed in his pants, according to the federal Transportation Security Administration.

The turtle was detected Friday after a body scanner alarm went off at Newark Liberty International Airport. A TSA officer then conducted a pat-down on the East Stroudsburg man and determined there was something concealed in the groin area of his pants. When questioned further, the man reached into his pants and pulled out the turtle, which was about 5 inches long and wrapped in a small blue towel. He said it was a red-ear slider turtle, a species that is popular as a pet.

The man — whose name was not released — was escorted from the checkpoint area by Port Authority police and ended up missing his flight. The turtle was confiscated, and it’s not clear if the turtle was the man’s pet or why he had it in his pants.

Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, said the incident remains under investigation, and it wasn’t clear if the man would face any charges or penalties.

U.S. resumes aid, info sharing with Ukraine

BY MATTHEW LEE Associated Press

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia.

The administration’s decision marked a sharp shift from only a week ago, when it imposed the measures to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces. The suspension of U.S. assistance came days after Zelenskyy and President Donald Trump argued about the war in a tense White House meeting.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the U.S. delegation to the talks in Jeddah, said Washington would present the ceasefire offer to the Kremlin, which has thus far opposed anything short of a permanent end to the conflict without accepting any concessions.

“We’re going to tell them this is what’s on the table. Ukraine is ready to stop shooting and start talking. And now it’ll be up to them to say yes or no,” Rubio told reporters after the talks. “If they say no, then we’ll unfortunately know what the impediment is to peace here.”

Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, added: “The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace.”

Tuesday’s discussions, which lasted for

nearly eight hours, appeared to put to rest, for the moment at least, the animosity between Trump and Zelenskyy that erupted during the Oval Office meeting last month.

Waltz said the negotiators “got into substantive details on how this war is going to permanently end,” including long-term security guarantees. And, he said, Trump agreed to immediately lift the pause in the supply of billions of of dollars of U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing.

Senior officials began meeting only hours after Russia shot down over 300 Ukrainian drones. It was Ukraine’s biggest attack since the Kremlin ordered the full-scale invasion of its neighbor Neither U.S. nor Ukrainian officials offered any comment on the barrage.

Trump said he hoped that an agreement could be solidified “over the next few days.”

“I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,” Trump said. He did not elaborate.

The Kremlin had no immediate comment on the U.S. and Ukrainian statements Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said only that negotiations with U.S. officials could take place this week.

Trump ‘s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected to travel later this week to Moscow, where he could meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly The person cautioned that scheduling could change.

Philippine ex-leader Duterte being flown to The Hague to face charges

BY JIM GOMEZ Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines Phil-

ippine police arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte in Manila on Tuesday and sent him by plane to the Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, President Ferdinand Marcos said.

The global court in The Hague had ordered Duterte’s arrest through Interpol after accusing him of crimes against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office, Marcos said in a latenight news conference.

Duterte had been arrested at the Manila international airport Tuesday morning when he arrived with his family from Hong Kong.

Walking slowly with a cane, the 79-year-old former president turned briefly to a small group of aides and supporters, who wept and bid him goodbye, before an escort helped him into the plane.

His daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, said she sought entry to the airbase where her father was held but was refused.

She criticized the Marcos administration for surrendering her father to a foreign court which currently has no jurisdiction to the Philippines.

Marcos said Duterte’s

arrest was “proper and correct” and not an act of political persecution, since the Philippines is a member of Interpol.

Among the most feared leaders in Asia while in power, Duterte became the first ex-leader from the region to be arrested by the global court.

Clad in a dark jacket, an irate Duterte protested his arrest after arrival in Manila and asked authorities the legal basis of his detention. His lawyers immediately asked the Supreme Court to block any attempt to transport him out of the Philippines

“Show to me now the legal basis for my being here,” Duterte asked authorities in remarks captured on video by his daughter, Veronica Duterte, who posted the footage on social media.

“You have to answer now

Columbia University under pressure as White House seeks to deport activists

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK The White House complained Tuesday that Columbia University is refusing to help federal agents find people being sought as part of the government’s effort to deport participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, as the administration continued to punish the school by yanking federal research dollars.

Immigration enforcement agents on Saturday arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Palestinian activist who played a prominent part in protests at Columbia last year He is now facing possible deportation

President Donald Trump has vowed additional arrests. In a briefing with reporters in Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said federal authorities have been “using intelligence” to identify other people involved in campus demonstrations critical of Israel that the administration considered to be antisemitic and “pro-Hamas.”

She said Columbia had been given names and was refusing to help the Department of Homeland Security “to identify those individuals on campus.”

“As the president said very strongly in his statement yesterday, he is not going to tolerate that,” Leavitt said.

A Columbia spokesperson didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it was pulling $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia, accusing the school of failing to stop antisemitism on campus. As part of those cuts, the National Institutes of Health late Monday it was cutting more than $250 million in funding, which included more than 400 grants.

X. Edward Guo, director of Columbia’s Bone Bioengineering Laboratory, posted a screenshot on X of an email he received notifying him that one of his NIH awards had been canceled “We understand this may be shocking news,” the email reads.

The university was wracked last spring by large demonstrations by students calling for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza and a recognition of Palestinians’ human rights and territorial claims. The university ultimately called in police to dismantle a protest encampment and end a student takeover of an administration building Khalil, 30, had been a spokesperson for the protesters He hasn’t been charged with any crimes, but Leavitt said the administration had moved to deport him under a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that gives the secretary of state the power to deport a non-citizen if the government “has reasonable ground to believe” the person’s presence could have “serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” As of Tuesday, Khalil was being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana. Civil rights groups and Khalil’s attorneys say the government is unconstitutionally using its immigration-control powers to stop him from speaking out. A federal judge set a hearing for Wednesday and ordered the government not to deport him in the meantime. Trump, a Republican, has suggested that some protesters support Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251. Israel responded with bombardment and other military offensives that have left over 48,000 Palestinians dead in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israel says more than 17,000 were militants.

Trump heralded Khalil’s arrest as the first “of many to come,” vowing on social media to deport students the president described as engaging in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic anti-American activity.” Immigration agents also tried to arrest another international student at Columbia, but they weren’t allowed into an apartment where she was, according to a union representing the student.

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for the deprivation of liberty.”

The surprise arrest sparked a commotion at the airport, where Duterte’s lawyers and aides protested that they, along with a doctor, were prevented from coming close to him after he was taken into police custody “This is a violation of his constitutional right,” Sen. Bong Go, a close Duterte ally, told reporters.

The ICC has been investigating mass killings in crackdowns overseen by Duterte when he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

Estimates of the death toll of the crackdown during Duterte’s presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ROMAN CHOP

Soldiers of Ukraine’s 100th Mechanised Brigade hold posters saying thanks to the U.S. for support during a flash mob at a U.S.-made APC Bradley on the front line near Toretsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By AARON FAVILA

Supporters rally outside Villamor Air Base after former President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested on Tuesday near Manila, Philippines.

Cassidy wants more info on vaccine efforts

BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer

WASHINGTON –

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said Tuesday that he needs more information before he can comment on a string of Trump administration efforts to marginalize the use of vaccines to protect the public.

Cassidy, as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, was instrumental in Robert F. Kennedy Jr winning confirmation as President Donald Trump’s secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

A doctor who passionately believes vaccinations save lives, Cassidy said he extracted promises from Kennedy, one of the nation’s most prominent vaccine skeptics, that access to vaccinations would be protected and that vaccine criticism would be downplayed.

The past couple of weeks raise questions about those promises.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week another study into possible links between vaccinations and autism, a connection that Cassidy has said has been thoroughly disproven in many past studies. And the National Institutes of Health announced Monday eliminating funding for vaccination-related research.

Meanwhile, Kennedy has downplayed vaccines during a measles outbreak that has seen 222 cases of measles reported in 12 states Instead, Kennedy suggested alternatives, like taking Vitamin A and cod liver oil. He did not recommend parents vaccinate their children.

Kennedy says some research shows that the vaccine against the measles, mumps and rubella causes autism. Cassidy has said those studies were debunked.

The percentage of children being inoculated against measles has been dropping each year since 2019. More and more parents have opted to cite religious or philosophical reasons to exempt their children from the vaccination usually required to go to elementary school.

A passionate promoter of vaccinations — he created a private-public partnership to vaccinate 36,000 Baton Rouge area children against Hepatitis B at no cost — Cassidy recently has used his position to urge

Landry urges voters to approve tax changes

BY BOB WARREN Staff writer

Gov. Jeff Landry urged a probusiness audience in St. Tammany Parish on Tuesday to back the four constitutional amendments on the March 29 ballot.

But of the four, the governor especially touted Amendment 2, the linchpin of the multifaceted tax reform package hammered out by the governor and Legislature during a special session last November

$1,000 raise. But the money for those raises would come at the expense of other educational programs, which has prompted some criticism.

Landry told the audience Tuesday that the tax code changes have been embraced by big business. He noted the recent announcements of a multibilliondollar artificial intelligence center from Facebook parent Meta and an $18 billion expansion of the Venture Global liquefied natural gas terminal in Plaquemines Parish.

parents to immunize their children, particularly as the number of measles cases grow.

When asked about Kennedy’s actions, Cassidy said, “Until I know the backstory, I’m not going to comment.”

During a hearing last week when the CDC autism research first came up, Cassidy quipped that some people still believe the earth is flat

On Tuesday, Cassidy said he needs to do more research on what is being reported.

“Frankly, I’ve gotten conflicting signals on that,” he said.

He said some have told him that the CDC is beginning studies while others have said it’s just an idea being advanced.

And Monday, an internal NIH memo announced the National Institutes of Health would eliminate or drastically curtail grants that pay for research involving vaccinations, The Washington Post reported.

The Post published the email, which listed “awards that need to be terminated today.”

The termination notice should include the following language, according to the email: “It is the policy of NIH not to prioritize research activities that focuses gaining scientific knowledge on why individuals are hesitant to be vaccinated and/or explore ways to improve vaccine interest and commitment. Therefore, the award is terminated,” the Post reported.

“I’ve not spoken to him about this

particular headline this morning,” Cassidy said Tuesday, adding that sometimes the facts are different than reflected in a headline.

“I have found that people rush things out and then it’s just different when you find out more things. And that’s why I’ll wait to react to the headline,” Cassidy said.

As head of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee and a physician for more 30 years before becoming politician, Cassidy played a key role in Kennedy’s confirmation. Several Republicans were vacillating, and Kennedy’s nomination was in peril until Cassidy announced his support.

To win his vote, Cassidy said Kennedy agreed to maintain a vaccination advisory board, work within established vaccine safety systems, and give Cassidy increased access to department decision-making.

“I will carefully watch for any effort to wrongfully sow public fear about vaccines between confusing references of coincidence and anecdote,” Cassidy said in a speech explaining his decision. Cassidy is running for reelection next year He faces competition from the far right because he voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges in 2021 and because he has been willing to negotiate with Democrats.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate.com.

“It will lock in tax reform” and send “a clear message to the world we are ready do business,” Landry told a lunchtime gathering at Tchefuncta Country Club put on by the St. Tammany Parish Chamber of Commerce’s political arm, St. Tammany ChamberPAC.

During a wide-ranging speech of nearly 40 minutes, Landry ran through a list of government actions since he became governor in January 2024, ranging from his criminal justice overhaul to the LA GATOR scholarship program to his push to have the Ten Commandments posted in public school classrooms.

But it was clear that pushing for support of Amendment 2, which he touted as “the largest tax cut in the history of the state,” was foremost in his thoughts.

The Legislature on its own was able to reduce income taxes, raise the sales tax and abolish the corporate franchise tax. But for the rest of the tax overhaul to be written into the Constitution, the state’s voters must give their blessing at the polls.

Among other things, the amendment would lower the maximum rate of the state’s income tax and increase income tax deductions for residents over 65. It also provides for a “government growth limit” that restricts how much lawmakers can increase spending from one year to the next and gives parishes the option of repealing the property tax on business inventory One of the highest-profile components of the amendment would give teachers a $2,000 pay raise and school support workers a

Landry said the dramatic changes to Louisiana’s tax policies will help it compete with other southern states for business investment. He noted that much of the tax overhaul architecture was the work of state Revenue Secretary Richard Nelson, a former Mandeville-based legislator who was in the room.

Landry said the overhaul would improve Louisiana’s ranking from the Tax Foundation, a Washington-based think tank favored by fiscal conservatives, from 42nd in the U.S. to 25th. “I tell you, business is coming to Louisiana,” the governor said. The amendments have been challenged in court. New Orleans attorney William Most, representing a pastor and two teachers, argues in a lawsuit challenging the tax overhaul in Amendment 2 that wording of the ballot measure is illegally slanted in favor of the proposition. And Voice of the Experienced, a statewide advocacy group, has filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of Amendments 1 and 3.

A Baton Rouge church leader has also argued that Amendment 2 could lead to the elimination of some church property tax exemptions. Amendment 1 would give the Louisiana Supreme Court authority to discipline lawyers from out of state who do legal work in Louisiana. Amendment 3 would expand the list of crimes in the Constitution for which juveniles could be prosecuted as adults. Amendment 4 would require using the earliest election dates to fill judicial openings.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By ROD LAMKEy JR.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. right, President Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services, talks with Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy R-Baton Rouge, following his testimony during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing for his pending confirmation on Capitol Hill on Jan. 30 in Washington.

of federal aid to schools, student loan management and oversight of Pell Grants.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said when she got to the department, she wanted to reduce bloat to be able to send more money to local education authorities.

“So many of the programs are really excellent, so we need to make sure the money goes to the states,” McMahon said in an interview Tuesday on Fox News.

McMahon told employees to brace for profound cuts in a memo issued March 3, the day she was confirmed by the Senate She said it was the department’s “final mission” to eliminate bureaucratic bloat and turn over the agency’s authority to states.

The department sent an email to employees Tuesday telling them its Washington headquarters and regional offices would be closed Wednesday, with access forbidden, before reopening Thursday

The only reason given for the closures was unspecified “security reasons.”

Trump campaigned on a promise to close the department, saying it had been overtaken by “radicals, zealots and Marxists.”

At McMahon’s confirmation hearing, she acknowledged only Congress has the power to abolish the agency but said it might be due for cuts and a reorganization.

Whether the cuts will be felt by America’s students — as Democrats and advocates fear is yet to be seen. Already there are concerns the administration’s agenda has pushed aside some of the agency’s most fundamental work, including the enforcement of civil rights for students with

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wars since his appointment in 2020, told the board Tuesday The president’s order has spurred a partisan debate, with some states and school districts embracing the name change, saying it promotes Trump’s “America first” platform, as others vocally reject it. In Louisiana the Jefferson Parish Council voted against adopting the name on district maps last month, calling the resolution “inherently divisive.” Meanwhile, the majorityRepublican state board’s move falls in line with views expressed by Gov Jeff Landry, who said in February that Louisiana would “absolutely” adopt the name change on state maps and other documents.

“I think it’s a good thing,” board member Kevin Berken said.

While teachers are encouraged to refer to the new name during lessons, the board’s vote does not mean schools will be required to replace their current teaching materials, department spokesman Ted Beasley said. However, he said the agency is working with publishers of fourth- and fifthgrade social studies materials to ensure the updates are incorporated into new

The U.S

disabilities and the management of $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.

McMahon told lawmakers at her hearing that her aim is not to defund core programs, but to make them more efficient.

Even before the layoffs, the Education Department was among the smallest Cabinet-level agencies.

Its workforce included 3,100 people in Washington and an additional 1,100 at regional offices

“It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes.”

President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico

materials.

School systems are free to choose which curriculum materials to use, but they are required to teach the state’s learning standards. The state also administers annual tests that assess students’ knowledge of the standards.

It’s not the first time Louisiana’s education chief has aligned with the president’s conservative agenda. In April, Brumley supported a lawsuit brought by Gov Jeff Landry and state Attorney General Liz Murrill against former president Joe Biden over a new law banning discrimination against students based on their gender or sexual identity Brumley, who was one of a handful of names floated in January to lead the country’s Education Department under Trump, ordered schools to ignore the directive — a move that earned him praise from conservative groups.

off more than 1,300 of its employees as part of an effort to halve the

across the country, according to a department website.

The department’s workers had faced increasing pressure to quit their jobs since Trump took office, first through a deferred resignation program and then through a $25,000 buyout offer that expired March 3. Jeanne Allen, of the Center for Education Reform, which advocates for charter school expansion, said the cuts were important and necessary

“Ending incessant federal interference will free up state and local leaders to foster more opportunities to give schools and educators true flexibility and innovation to address the needs of students, wherever they are educated,” Allen said.

Some advocates were skeptical of the department’s claim that its functions would not be affected by the layoffs.

“I don’t see at all how that can be true,” said Roxanne Garza, who

was chief of staff in the Office of Postsecondary Education under President Joe Biden.

Much of what the department does, like investigating civil rights complaints and helping families apply for financial aid, is labor intensive, said Garza, who is now director of higher education policy at Education Trust, a research and advocacy organization. “How those things will not be impacted with far fewer staff I just don’t see it.”

A month later, Brumley announced that Louisiana teachers would be allowed to show their students videos created by PragerU, a right-wing media nonprofit known for its “pro-America” content. The state also adopted new social studies standards, which Brumley referred to as the “Freedom Framework.”

In a statement, the superintendent said Louisiana was the first state to adopt standards “that teach students about American exceptionalism and our quest for a more perfect union.”

This month, Brumley expressed support for Trump’s bid to shut down the U.S. Department of Education.

Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico refers to its influential role in the U.S. economy, noting that the basin is one of the “most prodigious oil and gas regions in the world.”

“It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation and ensure future genera-

tions of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our American heroes,” the order says.

Most countries still refer to the Gulf by its original name, which it has kept for over 400 years, along with international news organizations, including The Associated Press.

Other states have made legislative moves to switch to using the Gulf of America in schools.

In Tennessee, a lawmaker proposed a resolution encouraging teachers to use that name when speaking with students.

In Alabama, Iowa and Florida, some bills are taking it a step further mandating that districts update their classroom materials to align with the federal order

Email Elyse Carmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate. com.

Department of Education on Tuesday announced plans to lay

organization’s staff — the first step in President Donald Trump’s effort to dismantle the agency.

afternoon.

“We disagree with the district court’s ruling and are prepared to appeal swiftly to the 5th Circuit,” Attorney General Liz Murrill said Cecelia Kappel, one of Hoffman’s attorneys, said they were grateful that the court recognized the risks to Hoffman’s constitutional rights posed by a “new and untested” lethal gas execution method.

“This order gives everyone a chance to have a full trial on the merits before Jessie is executed, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue presenting the court with evidence proving that this method risks inflicting torture on Jessie at the time of his death,” Kappel said.

Hoffman, 46, testified at Friday’s hearing, asking the state to find a different method to put him to death. He described being a Buddhist and using Buddhist meditation and breathing techniques to calm himself down.

His attorneys argued that being forced to breathe nitrogen gas would affect Hoffman’s ability to practice his religion at his time of death, but Dick rejected that argument.

State officials sought to convince Dick that breathing in nitrogen gas amounted to a relatively quick and painless death, noting that the state cannot find pharmaceutical companies willing to supply drugs for executions.

They said Louisiana closely followed Alabama’s execution protocol for nitrogen gas. Alabama is the only state to have tried the method, using it on four death row inmates since last year Federal courts in Alabama have declined to stop those executions.

But Dick ruled that a key difference between the two states was that Alabama waited about five months

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awarded less grant funding per coastal household than Alabama, North Carolina and Florida, according to the report. And the program continues to be a challenge for many low-income households, given that homeowners must come out of pocket for typically thousands of dollars and meet other requirements.

Louisiana’s fortified roof program, which doles out $10,000 grants to homeowners, has emerged as a widely agreed on solution to the state’s insurance crisis. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple is expected to advocate for a permanent funding source for the program during the legislative session this spring And Gov Jeff Landry has indicated an

between finalizing its nitrogen gas protocol and using it to put someone to death.

Louisiana served Hoffman with a death warrant shortly after finalizing its execution protocol on Feb 7. “Here, Louisiana finalized its protocol in the eleventh hour, allowing Hoffman virtually no time to seek redress,” wrote Dick, who was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama.

She also referenced the state’s decision to cloak the execution protocol in secrecy, which meant that Hoffman could not review it until a few days before Friday’s hearing. The state moved to seal the execution protocol from public view, but later agreed to have it unsealed, in redacted form, after an attorney for The Times-Picayune | The Advocate asked about intervening in the case.

“The public has an interest in knowing how its government operates,” Dick wrote. “The obfuscation of the protocol by the State is deleterious to the public’s interest.”

Louisiana has retrofitted its execution chamber at Angola with exhaust fans and oxygen monitors for the new method State officials

plan to strap Hoffman to a gurney, fit a full-face respirator mask onto him and pump pure nitrogen gas into the mask at a flow rate of 70 liters per minute, according to the state’s newly unsealed protocol.

The gas will flow for either 15 minutes or until Hoffman’s heart rate reaches a flatline on an EKG for five minutes, whichever is longer

Two anesthesiologists testified at the hearing. Dr. Joseph Antognini, a clinical researcher from California, testified for the state that nitrogen gas would lead to a fairly quick and painless death.

But Dr Philip Bickler, the chief of neuro-anesthesia at the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center, testified for Hoffman’s team about how the execution method would feel to Hoffman as if he was drowning.

Bickler, who studies hypoxia, testified that the nitrogen gas would make someone feel like they are being asphyxiated and cause psychological terror

Dick wrote that she credited Bickler’s testimony over Antognini’s, saying that the latter’s opinions “are untest-

ed scientific hypotheses.”

“The Court is convinced by Dr Bickler’s testimony and by common sense that the deprivation of oxygen to the lungs causes a primal

urge to breathe and feelings of intense terror when inhalation does not deliver oxygen to the lungs,” she wrote. Hoffman made two other arguments that Dick rejected.

He argued that he had the right to have an attorney present at the time of his execution, but Dick rejected it, citing 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals precedent.

Hoffman also argued that another, more humane way to die would be using the same cocktail of drugs that are used in physician-assisted suicide in states where it’s legal.

Dick found that the state would encounter the same problems trying to obtain those drugs as with lethal injection drugs Many pharmaceutical companies have banned the state from using their drugs in executions and have threatened to withhold their other drugs if Louisiana were to ignore those orders.

Dick ruled that Hoffman would suffer irreparable

harm without the preliminary injunction.

“The Court finds that the balance of equities and public interest weigh in favor of enjoining Hoffman’s March 18, 2025 execution through nitrogen hypoxia until the matter can be resolved at a trial on the merits,” Dick wrote.

“The Fifth Circuit holds that an injunction does not disserve the public interest when it prevents constitutional deprivations. Stated another way, injunctions preventing the violation of constitutional rights are ‘always in the public interest.’” Hoffman is on death row for the 1996 abduction, rape and killing of Mary “Molly” Elliott, who was walking to her car in New Orleans when Hoffman came upon her Elliott’s dead body was found by a duck hunter near the Middle Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish. Hoffman was 18 when he committed the crime and has spent most of his life on death row

openness to requiring insurers to provide certain discounts to people who put the roofs on, something Temple, a fellow Republican, has opposed “The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program is a vital part of building resiliently in Louisiana, and I believe the program is off to a great start,” Temple said in a statement He noted that 3,800 people have gotten a fortified roof outside the grant program, up from under 900 a year ago.

The state’s insurance market has been in tumult since a series of hurricanes rocked the state in 2020 and 2021, causing 12 insurers doing business here to collapse. Some other insurers pulled out of the market.

Thousands of people were forced onto the rolls of Citizens, the insurer of last resort, which charges higher premiums.

The resulting crisis has

threatened residents’ ability to stay in their homes, especially in coastal areas most at risk from hurricanes.

While the insurance crisis has also taken root in other parts of the U.S especially California and Florida, the legislative auditor’s report found Louisiana is uniquely hard-hit among Southern states.

Louisiana households spent 2.1% of their income on insurance, more than all southeastern states, including Florida. Fortified roofs are gaining traction here, according to the report, even if the pace needs to pick up dramatically to cover a significant share of homes.

Most of the roofs are going to populous parishes in south Louisiana Orleans ranks first with nearly 1,500 fortified roofs. Orleans, St. Tammany and Jefferson parishes account for 70% of the 5,400 fortified roofs in the state.

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U.S. District Court Judge Shelly Dick granted a preliminary injunction Tuesday stopping Louisiana from moving forward with its first nitrogen gas execution.

Trump halts doubling of tariffs on Canadian metals

BY JOSH BOAK, ROB GILLIES and MICHELLE PRICE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump ‘s threat on Tuesday to double his planned tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25% to 50% for Canada led the provincial government of Ontario to suspend its planned surcharges on electricity sold to the United States.

As a result, the White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said the U.S. president pulled back on his doubling of steel and aluminum tariffs, even as the federal government still plans to place a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports starting Wednesday

The drama on Tuesday delivered a win for Trump but also amplified concerns about tariffs that have roiled the stock market and stirred recession risks. Tuesday’s escalation and cooling in the ongoing trade war between the United States and Canada only compounded the rising sense of uncertainty of how Trump’s tariff hikes will affect

the economies of both countries.

Trump shocked markets Tuesday morning by saying that the increase of the tariffs set to take effect on Wednesday had been a response to the 25% price hike that Ontario put on electricity sold to the United States.

“I have instructed my Secretary of Commerce to add an ADDITIONAL 25% Tariff, to 50%, on all STEEL and ALUMINUM COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM CANADA, ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD,”

Trump posted on Truth Social.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Tuesday afternoon that U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called him and Ford agreed to remove the surcharge. He said he was confident that the U.S. president would also stand down on his own plans for 50% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum

“He has to bounce it off the president but I’m pretty confident he will pull back,” Ford said on Trump’s steel and aluminum tariff threat.

“By no means are we just going to roll over What we are going to do is have a constructive conversation.”

After a brutal stock market selloff on Monday and further jitters

Tuesday Trump faces increased pressure to show he has a solid plan to grow the economy. So far the president is doubling down on tariffs and can point to Tuesday’s drama as evidence that taxes on imports are a valuable negotiating tool, even if they can generate turmoil in the stock market.

Trump suggested Tuesday that tariffs were critical for changing the U.S. economy, regardless of stock market gyrations.

The U.S. president has given a variety of explanations for his antagonism of Canada. He has said that his separate 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada, some of which are suspended for a month, are about fentanyl smuggling and voicing objections to Canada putting high taxes on dairy imports that penalize U.S. farmers. He also continued to call for Canada to become part of the United States as a solution,

Republicans advance a government funding bill

BY KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON House Republicans passed a critical test of their unity Tuesday on legislation to avoid a partial government shutdown, teeing up a final vote in the afternoon for a measure that keeps federal agencies funded through September Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., moved ahead on the bill despite the lack of buy-in from Democrats essentially daring them to oppose it and risk a shutdown that would begin Saturday if lawmakers fail to act. Republicans needed overwhelming support from their members on the procedural vote, and they got it. Next, they’ll look to pass the measure and send it to the Senate, where it will likely need support from at least eight Senate Democrats to get to President Donald Trump’s desk. It’s one of the biggest legislative tests so far of the Republican president’s second term, prompting Vice President JD Vance to visit Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning to rally support.

“We have to keep the government in operation,” Johnson said as he emerged from the House Republican meeting. “It’s a fundamental responsibility of ours. The vice president echoed that sentiment. It was very well received and very well delivered.”

The strategy has the backing of Trump, who is calling on Republicans to “remain UNITED — NO DISSENT — Fight for another day when the timing is right.”

Lawmakers said the bill would trim $13 billion in non-defense spending from the levels in the 2024 budget year and increase defense spending by $6 billion, which are rather flat chang-

SCOTT APPLEWHITE

which has infuriated Canadian leaders.

“The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State,” Trump posted Tuesday “This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”

Tensions rise

Incoming Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government will keep tariffs in place until Americans show respect and commit to free trade after Trump threatened historic financial devastation for his country Carney, who will be sworn in as Justin Trudeau’s replacement in coming days, said Trump’s latest tariffs are an attack on Canadian workers, families and businesses.

“My government will keep our tariffs on until the Americans show us respect and make credible, reliable commitments to free and fair trade,” Carney said in a statement.

Canadian officials are planning retaliatory tariffs in response to

Trump’s specific steel and aluminum tariffs. Those are expected to be announced Wednesday

Carney was referring to an initial US$21 billion worth of retaliatory tariffs that have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.

Trump also has targeted Mexico with 25% tariffs because of his dissatisfaction over drug trafficking and illegal immigration, though he suspended the taxes on imports that are compliant with the 2020 USMCA trade pact for one month. Asked if Mexico feared it could face the same 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum as Canada, President Claudia Sheinbaum, said “No, we are respectful.”

Trump was set to deliver a Tuesday afternoon address to the Business Roundtable, a trade association of CEOs that during the 2024 campaign he wooed with the promise of lower corporate tax rates for domestic manufacturers.

es for both categories when compared with an overall topline of nearly $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending. The bill does not cover the majority of government spending, including Social Security and Medicare. Funding for those two programs is on autopilot and not regularly reviewed by Congress.

Democrats are mostly worried about the discretion the bill gives the Trump administration on spending decisions They are already alarmed by the administration’s efforts to make major cuts through the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk. And they say the spending bill would fuel the effort.

Spending bills typically come with specific funding directives for key programs, but hundreds of those directives fall away under the legislation, according to a memo released by Senate Democrats So the administration will have more leeway to reshape priorities.

For example, the Democratic memo said the bill would allow the administration to steer money away from combating fentanyl and instead use it on mass deportation initiatives.

“This is not a clean CR. This bill is a blank check,” said Rep Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee “It’s a blank check for Elon Musk and President Trump.”

Normally, when it comes to keeping the government fully open for business, Republicans have had to work with Democrats to craft a bipartisan measure that both sides can support. That’s because Republicans almost always lack the votes to pass spending bills on their own.

This time, Republican leaders pushed for a vote despite overwhelming Democratic opposition. Trump is showing an ability this term to hold Republicans in line He met with several of the House chamber’s most conservative members last week.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, right, departs a news conference, joined by, from left, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, after discussing the interim GOP spending bill that would keep federal agencies funded through Sept. 30, at the Capitol, in Washington on Tuesday.

Uganda deploys special forces to South Sudan

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda Uganda has deployed an unknown number of troops to South Sudan in a bid to protect the fragile government of President Salva Kiir as a tense rivalry with his deputy threatens a return to civil war in the east African nation.

Ugandan special forces have been deployed to Juba, the South Sudanese capital, “to support the government of South Sudan” against a possible rebel advance on the city said Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye, a spokesperson for the Ugandan military “We sent a force there two days ago,” he said. “We are not there for peacekeeping.”

In deploying Ugandan soldiers to Juba, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni moved as a guarantor of the peace process that keeps Kiir and Machar together in a delicate government of national unity Kulayigye told The Associated Press

al leaders and the international community, Kiir and Machar signed a peace deal in 2018 and Machar returned to Juba as South Sudan’s first vice president.

But the political rivalry between South Sudan’s top two leaders — with Kiir suspicious of his deputy’s ambitions and Machar calling Kiir a dictator — remains an obstacle to lasting peace. Both men have been accused of violating multiple ceasefires.

Kiir and Machar are under pressure from the U.S. and others to more quickly implement the 2018 peace deal and prepare for elections.

BY MICHAEL HILL Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y New York

fired more than 2,000 prison guards Monday for failing to return to work after a weekslong wildcat strike that crippled the state’s correctional system, but said enough officers had come back on the job to declare the illegal work stoppage over

“After 22 days of an illegal strike, the governor and I are happy to report it is now ended,” Commissioner Daniel Martuscello said during a virtual press briefing.

The state and the guards’ union struck a new deal to end the strike this weekend, but it was contingent on at least 85% of staff returning to work by Monday morning Although the number returning fell short of the 85% goal, Martuscello said the state would honor the deal’s overtime and some other provisions. He said the National Guard would remain in place at prisons in a support position while the department undertakes an aggressive recruiting campaign to attract additional employees. About 10,000 security staff are available to work in prisons across the state, he said, down from about 13,500 before the wildcat strike.

“Termination letters have been sent to over 2,000 officers who remained on strike. Officers and sergeants who did not have preapproved medical leave and didn’t return by this morning, 6:45 a.m. deadline, have been terminated effective immediately,” Martuscello said.

An email seeking comment was sent to the guards’ union, the New York State Correctional Officers & Police Benevolent Association.

Guards upset over working conditions began illegally walking off the job Feb. 17 at many state prisons, forcing Gov Kathy Hochul to send National Guard troops in to maintain

operations Inmates have complained about deteriorating conditions behind bars since the walkout. And the death of a 22-yearold man this month at a prison near Utica is being investigated by a special prosecutor

The walkout violates a state law barring strikes by most public employees and was not sanctioned by the guards’ union Two previous deals aimed at ending the strike failed to coax enough guards back to end the crisis.

Like the other deals, this one addresses a key complaint of the striking guards with a 90-day suspension of a provision of a state law that limits the use of solitary confinement.

Guards will work 12-hour shifts and the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will not discipline officers who participated in the strike if they returned by the Monday deadline. Multiple inmates have died since the walkouts began, though it was unclear if strike-related prison conditions played a role in the deaths.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick is investigating the death of Messiah Nantwi at Mid-State Correctional Facility on March 1 as a special prosecutor Authorities have declined to provide details, but a court filing by the attorney general’s office said there is “probable cause to believe” that as many as nine correctional officers either caused or could be implicated in his death.

Fifteen prison staffers were placed on leave following Nantwi’s death It is the second criminal investigation into a state prison inmate death in recent months.

Six guards were charged with murder last month in the December death of Robert Brooks, who was incarcerated at the Marcy Correctional Facility, across the street from the Mid-State prison

Tuesday Kiir and Museveni are allies, and Museveni has in the past intervened in the South Sudan conflict to keep Kiir in power

The deployment of Ugandan troops to South Sudan underscores rising tensions in the oil-producing country that has been plagued by political instability and violence since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

The U.S. on Sunday ordered nonemergency government personnel to leave Juba. The U.N. is warning of “an alarming regression that could erase years of hard-won progress” in South Sudan.

The latest tensions stem from fighting in the country’s north between government troops and a rebel militia, known as the White Army, that’s widely believed to be allied with Machar

Last week a South Sudanese general was among several people killed when a United Nations helicopter on a mission to evacuate government troops from the town of Nasir, the scene of the fighting in Upper Nile state, was shot at. Earlier in the week, after the White Army overran the military garrison in Nasir, government troops surrounded Machar’s home in Juba and several of his allies were arrested. Deputy army chief Gen. Gabriel Duop Lam, who is seen as loyal to Machar was among those detained.

Kiir had angered Machar’s group earlier in the year by firing officials seen as loyal to Machar, who has charged that “persistent violations through unilateral decisions and decrees threaten the very existence” of their peace pact.

Kiir urged calm after last week’s helicopter incident, saying in a statement that his government “will handle this crisis and we will remain steadfast in the path of peace.”

Civil war erupted in South Sudan in late 2013 when a rift between Kiir and Machar escalated into fighting along

ethnic lines. Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, accused a group of soldiers loyal to Machar, an ethnic Nuer, of trying to take power by force.

Machar escaped Juba, and later rebels loyal to him came close to capturing

Juba but were repulsed by a combined force of South Sudanese soldiers loyal to Kiir and Ugandan special forces. More than 400,000 people were killed in the 5-year civil war that followed.

With the support of region-

Challenges include the government’s failure to implement promised reforms such as completing the unification of the army command.

Presidential elections, repeatedly postponed, are now scheduled for 2026.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By SAM MEDNICK

South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir, left, and vice-president

Riek Machar, right, shake hands after meetings in Juba, South Sudan, on Oct. 20, 2019, to discuss outstanding issues to the peace deal.

PHOTO By KEVIN RIVOLI

Musk eyes Social Security, benefit programs for cuts

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security on Monday while describing federal benefit programs as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste needed to be cut.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk told the Fox Business Network. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

The comments on the popular program and other benefits provided to Americans could rattle politicians on both sides of the aisle as Musk works to downsize the federal government, especially as he already faces blowback for his chainsaw-wielding approach to laying off workers and slashing programs.

Musk’s estimate for the level of fraud in entitlements far outpaces figures from watchdogs like Social Security’s inspector general, who previously said there

was $71.8 billion in improper payments from fiscal years 2015 through 2022. That’s less than 1% of benefits paid out during that time period.

Musk also said there were “20 million people who are definitely dead marked as alive in the Social Security database.” However, the leader of the agency has rejected claims about widespread payments to dead people.

“These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits,” said Lee Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner

The interview with Fox Business was a reminder of Musk’s deep skepticism and even hostility toward the program, which provides monthly benefits to retirees and some children Trump has promised to defend Social Security from cuts, but Musk has described it as “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” and the administration is shutting down some of the agency’s offices.

Musk said Monday that federal entitlements are “a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.”

The allegation echoed the “great replacement” theory, which claims that politicians are trying to expand their power by reshaping the country’s racial demographics.

The interview was conducted in the White House complex by Larry Kudlow, who served as an economic adviser to Trump during his first term During the conversation, Musk seemed to acknowledge the unusual nature of his role in the administration.

“Frankly, I can’t believe I’m here doing this,” Musk said “It’s kind of bizarre.”

Musk is the world’s richest person and still runs his private enterprises as he advises the president on ways to overhaul the federal government. He also thanked Trump for his confidence, saying, “Without the president’s support, we couldn’t make any progress here.”

Trump has publicly backed Musk and given him extraordinary influence over the federal government. However, the Republican president has indicated a shift in approach, saying that Musk’s team would use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet.”

Musk has not often spoken pub-

licly since joining the administration, preferring instead to present a stream of consciousness on X, his social media platform. On Monday, he accused Democrats of attacking Tesla dealerships; bragged about X being “the top source for news on Earth;” and accused Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, of being a traitor for visiting Ukraine over the weekend.

Musk’s sitdown with Kudlow was his third interview since joining Trump’s administration, and he hasn’t strayed from his ideological safe space. He previously did a joint interview with the president and Sean Hannity of Fox News, and he sat down with Joe Rogan, a podcaster who endorsed Trump last year Republicans have spent decades trying to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, and many have cheered Musk’s work.

“The American people are sick of the swamp. They’re sick of waste, fraud and abuse,” said Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee. “For the first time ever, we finally have the tools to affect it. So I think the voters are going

to reward us.”

But there are signs of backlash and skepticism. Some Republicans have even boasted of blocking budget cuts.

Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole issued a statement saying three federal offices in his state — the National Weather Center in Norman, the Social Security Administration Office in Lawton and the Indian Health Services Office in Oklahoma City — would stay open.

“I am thrilled to announce that common sense has prevailed,” he said. Cole added that “all three of these places provide vital and valuable services to Oklahomans and I am so proud to have advocated for them.”

About half of Americans said it’s “a bad thing” that Trump has given Musk a prominent role in his administration, according to a mid-February CNN/SSRS poll Only a third saw it as “a good thing.”

Another mid-February survey by The Washington Post and Ipsos found that Americans were divided on whether Musk is mainly cutting wasteful spending or necessary programs, with about a third falling into each camp. Another quarter said they weren’t sure

BY ELLEN KNICKMEYER and FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A union for U.S.

Agency for International Development contractors asked a federal judge Tuesday to intervene in any destruction of classified documents after an email ordered staffers to help burn and shred agency records.

Judge Carl Nichols set a Wednesday morning deadline for the plaintiffs and the government to brief him on the issue A person familiar with the email who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal verified that it was sent to at least some essential personnel. It comes as the Trump admin-

istration has been dismantling USAID, cutting off most federal funding and terminating 83% of humanitarian and development programs abroad, pulling all but a few hundred staffers off the job, and shutting down the agency’s Washington headquarters.

Lawsuits are mounting over the abrupt shutdown of most U.S foreign assistance and the targeting of the aid agency In the latest court challenge, Personal Services Contractor Association, representing thousands of contractors now furloughed or fired from USAID, asked the judge to stop any document destruction to preserve evidence.

The email was sent under the name of Erica Carr — the acting executive secretary at USAID —

and bears a USAID logo.

“Thank you for your assistance in clearing our classified safes and personnel documents” at USAID headquarters in Washington, it begins.

It directed staffers to report to work starting Tuesday “Shred as many documents first,” then stuff remaining classified material into designated bags for burning if the demand on the shredder becomes too great, the email instructed. Staffers were told to write “secret” on the bag with a marker

The State Department did not immediately respond to questions about the email, including whether officials were following the legally required procedures in any destruction of documents.

The collection, retention and

disposal of classified material and federal records are closely regulated by federal law

Improper handling or disposal can be charged as a crime.

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the Trump administration of not complying with federal records law

“Haphazardly shredding and burning USAID documents and personnel files seems like a great way to get rid of evidence of wrongdoing when you’re illegally dismantling the agency,” Meeks said in a statement.

A group representing USAID workers, the American Foreign Service Association, said in a statement that it feared documents be-

ing destroyed could be relevant to the ongoing lawsuits over USAID’s firings and program terminations.

The classified documents at USAID emerged last month when the Trump administration put the agency’s top two security officials on leave after they refused to grant members of Elon Musk’s government-cutting teams access to classified material.

The Associated Press reported that the classified material included intelligence reports. Kate Miller, who serves on an advisory board for DOGE, said at the time that no classified material was accessed “without proper security clearances.”

The wide firings at USAID have left relatively few staffers with access to agency systems.

Report: Majority of world’s population breathes dirty air

BY SIBI ARASU Associated Press

BENGALURU, India Most of the world has dirty air, with just 17% of cities globally meeting air pollution guidelines a report Tuesday found.

Switzerland-based air quality monitoring database IQAir analyzed data from 40,000 air quality monitoring stations in 138 countries and found that Chad, Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India had the dirtiest air India had six of the nine most polluted cities with the industrial town of Byrnihat in northeastern India the worst.

Experts said the real amount of air pollution might be far greater as many parts of the world lack the monitoring needed for more accurate data. In Africa, for example, there is only one monitoring station for every 3.7 million people.

More air quality monitors are being set up to counter the issue, the report said.

This year, report authors were able to incorporate data from 8,954 new locations and around a thousand new monitors as a result of efforts to better monitor air pollution.

But last week, data monitoring for air pollution was dealt a blow when the U.S. State Department announced it would no longer make public its data from its embassies and consulates around the world.

Breathing in polluted air over a long period of time can cause respiratory illness, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer, said Fatimah Ahamad chief scientist and air pollution expert at Malaysia-based Sunway Centre for Planetary

Health. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills around 7 million people each year

Ahamad said much more needs to be done to cut air pollution levels. The WHO had earlier found that 99% of the world’s population lives in places that do not meet recommended air quality levels.

“If you have bad water, no water, you can tell people to wait for half an hour a day, the water will come. But if you have bad air, you cannot tell people to pause breathing,” she said.

Several cities like Beijing, Seoul, South Korea, and Rybnik in Poland have successfully improved their air quality through stricter regulations on pollution from vehicles, power plants and industry They’ve also promoted cleaner energy and invested in public transportation.

Another notable effort to curb severe air pollution was the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreement on transboundary haze pollution Even though its had limited success so far ten countries in the region pledged to work together to monitor and curb pollution from large forest fires, a common occurrence in the region during dry seasons.

Shweta Narayan, a campaign lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said many of the regions witnessing the worst air pollution are also places where planet-heating gases are released extensively through the burning of coal, oil and gas. Slashing planet-warming emissions to slow the heating up of the planet can also improve air quality, she said.

BY MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

OKUMA, Japan The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant’s radiation levels have significantly dropped since the cataclysmic meltdown 14 years ago Tuesday Workers walk around in many areas wearing only surgical masks and regular clothes.

It’s a different story for those who enter the reactor buildings, including the three damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. They must use maximum protection — full facemasks with filters, multilayered gloves and socks, shoe covers, hooded hazmat coveralls and a waterproof jacket, and a helmet.

As workers remove melted fuel debris from the reactors in a monumental nuclear cleanup effort that could take more than a century, they are facing both huge amounts of psychological stress and dangerous levels of radiation.

The Associated Press, which recently visited the plant for a tour and interviews, takes a closer look.

A remote-controlled extendable robot with a tong had several mishaps including equipment failures before returning in November with a tiny piece of melted fuel from inside the damaged No. 2 reactor

That first successful test run is a crucial step in what will be a daunting, decadeslong decommissioning that must deal with at least 880 tons of melted nuclear fuel that has mixed with broken parts of internal structures and other debris inside the three ruined reactors.

Akira Ono, chief decommissioning officer at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which manages the plant, says even the tiny sample gives officials a lot of information about the melted fuel. More samples are needed, however to make the work smoother when bigger efforts to remove the debris begin in the

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reactor, which is one of two reactors that survived the tsunami. It has an identical design as No. 2.

Radiation levels are still dangerously high inside the No. 2 reactor building, where the melted fuel debris is behind a thick concrete containment wall. Earlier decontamination work reduced those radiation levels to a fraction of what they used to be. In late August, small groups took turns doing their work helping the robot in 15- to 30-minute shifts to minimize radiation exposure. They have a remotely controlled robot, but it has to be manually pushed in and out.

2030s.

A second sample-retrieval mission at the No. 2 reactor is expected in coming weeks.

Operators hope to send the extendable robot farther into the reactor to take

samples closer to the center, where overheated nuclear fuel fell from the core, utility spokesperson Masakatsu Takata said. He pointed out the target area as he stood inside the inner structure of the No. 5

“Working under high levels of radiation (during a short) time limit made us feel nervous and rushed,” said Yasunobu Yokokawa, a team leader for the mission. “It was a difficult assignment.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By EUGENE HOSHIKO

A worker in hazmat suit walks around Feb 20 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, in Okuma town, northeastern Japan.

DOW

41433.5

North La.’s Fibrebond being sold to Eaton

Minden-based Fibrebond, a company nationally known for its electrical modules that power utilities, industry and data centers, is being sold.

The new owner will be Eaton Corporation, a multinational business whose corporate headquarters is in Dublin, but whose primary administrative duties are handled in Beachwood, Ohio.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Eaton Company, founded in 1911, has multiple U.S. facilities and services electrical, aerospace and vehicle industries — in 160 countries worldwide.

Fibrebond is undergoing a $150 million expansion at its Minden facility and that work will continue, according to the company After the sale closing, the Minden facility will remain open and the current leadership team will remain in place, according to Fibrebond’s news release.

Southwest: Checked bags no longer free

Southwest Airlines will begin charging customers a fee to check bags, abandoning a decadeslong practice that executives had described last fall as key to differentiating the budget carrier from its rivals.

Southwest, which built years of advertising campaigns around its policy of letting passengers check up to two bags for free, said Tuesday that people who haven’t either reached the upper tiers of its Rapid Rewards loyalty program, bought a business class ticket or hold the airline’s credit card will have to pay for checked bags.

The airline did not outline the fee schedule but said the new policy would start with flights booked on May 28.

Less than a year ago, the Dallas-based airline announced it was doing away with another tradition, the open-boarding system it has used for more than 50 years Southwest expects to begin operating flights with passengers in assigned seats next year

As recently as Southwest’s investor day in late September, airline executives described the bags-fly-free as the most important feature in setting Southwest apart from rivals. All other leading U.S. airlines charge for checked luggage, and Wall Street has long argued that Southwest was leaving money behind.

The airline estimated in September that charging bag fees would bring in about $1.5 billion a year but cost the airline $1.8 billion in lost business from customers who chose to fly Southwest because of its generous baggage allowance.

Nissan chief executive steps down

Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Corp.’s chief executive, Makoto Uchida, is stepping down after the company reported dismal financial results.

Nissan said in a statement Tuesday that Ivan Espinosa, the company’s chief planning officer, will take Uchida’s place, effective April 1. Nissan said the company leadership needed to be “renewed” to achieve long-term growth. Uchida, who remains as a director, expressed confidence in Espinosa as “a real car guy,” and stressed he was handing over the baton of leadership to better unify company ranks.

Speculation about Uchida’s future was rife after he called off talks last month with Japanese rival Honda Motor Co., announced late last year, to set up a joint holding company to integrate its businesses. At the time, he told reporters the focus of the talks had changed to making Nissan into a Honda subsidiary, which he denounced as unacceptable

BARREL OVER A

Bourbon makers face fallout as Ky. businesses contend with trade war

BY BRUCE SCHREINER and DYLAN LOVAN Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Ky. With a new distill-

ery set to open soon, the makers of Brough Brothers bourbon in Kentucky were ready to put their business plan into action. They were looking to ramp up whiskey production to break into lucrative new markets in Canada and Europe.

Now the on-again off-again threat of tariffs has disrupted those plans.

Efforts by the Black-owned distiller to gain a foothold in Canada are on hold, as are plans to break into Germany and France, said Brough Brothers Distillery CEO Victor Yarbrough. That’s because the iconic American spirit’s widening global appeal is caught in the crossfire of trade conflicts instigated by President Donald Trump.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” said Yarbrough, who started the Louisville distilling company with his

brothers, Bryson and Chris. “We are collateral damage.”

For distillers looking to sell to consumers of all political stripes, talking politics can be as distasteful as discussing Prohibition. But along with the turmoil and uncertainty over tariffs, bourbon makers and other U.S. firms trying to do business in Canada are confronting public relations challenges still reverberating from the president’s blunt-force “America First” approach to international relations.

With Canadian hockey fans booing the U.S. national anthem and some liquor stores north of the border clearing American spirits from their shelves even before there’s clarity over tariffs, businesses like Brough Brothers are watching to see how the trade conflict plays out.

In the building being converted into the new distillery near the Ohio River drywall dust covers the floor of the project that the brothers hope will raise the company’s

profile in the ultracompetitive bourbon world.

“I believe there’s going to be some type of repair of the relationships that needs to happen,” said Yarbrough, who was hoping, before the trade war erupted, to introduce his bourbon in New Brunswick and later expand to Ontario and other parts of Canada. “So I think some type of media blitz, PR blitz is definitely going to have to take place.”

The trade wars pose an immediate threat to an American-made success story, built on the growing worldwide taste for bourbon, Tennessee whiskey and other products.

Kentucky Democratic Gov Andy Beshear said the president’s zigzagging tariff policy is hurting the American economy and will lead to higher consumer prices while disrupting business.

“It’s not just the imposition of tariffs, it’s this month-to-month, ‘I may do it to you at any moment’ policy,” said Beshear, a potential presidential candidate in 2028. “You can’t create stability.”

Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on some imports from Canada for a month amid fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war Yarbrough said his company’s expansion plans are still in limbo.

President buys Tesla vehicle to support Musk

BY CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump shopped for a new Tesla on the White House driveway on Tuesday, selecting a shiny red sedan to show his support for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company as it faces blowback because of his work to advance the president’s political agenda and downsize the federal government.

“Wow,” Trump said as he eased his way into the driver’s seat of a Model S. “That’s beautiful. Musk got in on the passenger side and joked about “giving the Secret Service a heart attack” as they talked about how to start a vehicle that can reach 60 miles per hour in a few seconds

Trump told reporters that he would write a check for the car, which retails for roughly $80,000, and leave it at the White House so his staff can drive it. The president also said he hopes his purchase will boost Tesla which is struggling with sagging

sales and declining stock prices.

“It’s a great product,” he said. Referring to Musk, Trump said “we have to celebrate him.”

It was the latest and most unusual — example of how Trump has demonstrated loyalty to Musk, who spent heavily on his comeback campaign last year and has been a key figure in his second administration. Tesla’s stock price increased nearly 4% on Tuesday after dropping almost 48% since Trump took office in January

The Republican president announced on social media overnight that he was going to buy a new Tesla as “a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”

But if Trump’s intention is to help reverse the frightening plunge in Tesla’s stock he could have the opposite effect by turning off even more buyers.

“Tesla is becoming a political symbol of Trump and DOGE, and that is a bad thing for the brand,” said Wedbush Securities financial analyst Dan

Wall Street falls in manic day

Drop briefly totals more than 10% below its record

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEW YORK The U.S. stock market fell further Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s latest escalation in his trade war, briefly pulling Wall Street 10% below its record set last month. And like it’s been most of the past few weeks, the market’s slide on Tuesday was erratic and dizzying. The S&P 500 fell, after careening between a modest gain and a tumble of 1.5%. At its bottom for the day, the index was more than 10% below its all-time high and on track for what Wall Street calls a “correction.”

Other indexes likewise swung sharply through the day The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite both ended the day down. Such head-spinning moves are becoming routine in what’s been a scary ride for investors as Trump tries to remake the country and world through tariffs and other policies. Stocks have been heaving mostly lower on uncertainty about how much pain Trump is willing for the economy to endure in order to get what he wants.

And moves by Trump and comments by his White House on Tuesday didn’t clarify much.

Stocks began tumbling in the morning after Trump said he would double planned tariff increases on steel and aluminum coming from Canada. The president said it was a response to moves a Canadian province made after Trump began threatening tariffs on one of the United States’ most important trading partners.

Ives, referring to the advisory group in charge of cutting government spending. “You think it’s helping, but it’s actually hurting.”

Analysts have said Musk’s shift to right-wing politics doesn’t appear to sit well with potential Tesla buyers, generally perceived to be wealthy and progressive consumers.

Tesla sales are falling precipitously in California, the company’s biggest U.S. market, and the company recorded its first annual global sales decline last year Similarly, Tesla sales plunged 45% in Europe in January, according to research firm Jato Dynamics, even as overall electric vehicle sales rose The sales numbers were particularly bad in Germany and France.

The latest auto sales figure from China show that Tesla sales there have been nearly halved from February a year ago, although the decline is largely due increased competition from domestic EV companies.

But sales in the U.S. have fallen due to competition, and a country sharply divided about Trump.

Trump has acknowledged the economy could feel some “disturbance” because of the tariffs he’s pushing. Asked on Tuesday just how much pain Trump would be willing for the economy and stock market to take, right about when the market was nearing its lows for the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to give an exact answer But she said earlier in a news briefing that “the president will look out for Wall Street and for Main Street.”

For his part, Trump said earlier on social media, “The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”

Stocks pared their losses later in the day, even eliminating them all briefly after Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he had agreed to remove the surcharge on electricity that had enraged Trump so much. Ford said he was confident that

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON CHERRy

Victor yarbrough, CEO of Brough Brothers Distillery, walks through the under-construction facility in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday.

BY TODD RICHMOND Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Twenty years before the Titanic changed maritime history another ship touted as the next great technological feat set sail on the Great Lakes.

The Western Reserve was one of the first all-steel cargo ships to traverse the lakes. Built to break speed records, the 300-foot freighter dubbed “the inland greyhound” by newspapers was supposed to be one of the safest ships afloat. Owner Peter Minch was so proud of her that he brought his wife and young children aboard for a summer joyride in August 1892.

As the ship entered Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay between Michigan and Canada on Aug. 30, a gale came up With no cargo, the ship was floating high in the water

The storm battered it until it cracked in half. Twenty-seven people perished, including the Minch family The only survivor was wheelsman Harry W. Stewart, who swam a mile to shore after his lifeboat capsized.

For almost 132 years, the lake hid the wreckage In July, explorers from the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society pinpointed the Western Reserve off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The society announced the discovery Saturday at the annual Ghost Ships Festival in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

“There’s a number of concurrent stories that make this important,” the society’s executive director, Bruce Lynn, said in a telephone interview “Most ships were still wooden. It was a technologically advanced ship. They were kind of a famous family at the time. You have this new ship, considered one of the safest on the lake, new tech, a big, big ship. (The discovery) is another way for us to keep this history alive.”

Two-year search

Darryl Ertel, the society’s marine operations director and his brother, Dan Ertel, spent more than two years looking for the Western Reserve. On July 22, they set out on the David Boyd, the society’s research vessel.

Heavy ship traffic that day forced them to alter their course, though, and search an area adjacent to their original search grid, Lynn said.

The brothers towed a side-scanning sonar array behind their ship. Side sonar scans starboard and port, providing a more expansive picture of the bottom than sonar mounted beneath a ship. About 60 miles northwest of Whitefish Point on the Upper Peninsula, they picked up a line with a shadow behind it in 600 feet of water. They dialed up the resolution and spotted a large ship broken in two with the bow resting on the stern.

Confirmation day

Eight days later, the brothers returned to the site along with Lynn and other researchers. They deployed a submersible drone that returned clear images of a portside running light that matched a Western

Reserve’s starboard running light that had washed ashore in Canada after the ship went down. That light was the only artifact recovered from the ship.

“That was confirmation day,” said Lynn, the society’s executive director

Darryl Ertel said that discovery gave him chills and not in a good way

“Knowing how the 300foot Western Reserve was caught in a storm this far from shore made a uneasy feeling in the back of my neck,” he said in a society news release. “A squall can come up unexpectedly… anywhere, and anytime.”

Lynn said that the ship was “pretty torn up” but the wreckage appeared well-preserved in the frigid fresh water

The Great Lakes

The Great Lakes have claimed thousands of ships since the 1700s. Perhaps the most famous is the Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier that got caught in a storm in November 1975 and went down off Whitefish Point within 100 miles of the Western Reserve. All hands were killed. The incident was immortalized in the Gordon Lightfoot song,

the lakes begins in November, when warm water meets cold air and winds blow unimpeded across open water, generating waves as high as 30 feet

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Assistant Wisconsin State Climatologist Ed Hopkins said that storm season on

The lakes at that time can be more dangerous than the oceans because they’re smaller, making it harder for ships to out-maneuver the storms, he said.

Brittle steel

But it’s rare to see such

gales form in August, Hopkins said. A National Weather Service report called the storm that sank the Western Reserve a “relatively minor gale,” he noted. A Wisconsin Marine Historical Society summary of the Western Reserve

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Tulane faces scrutiny over protests

U.S. Education Department warns 60 schools

school had failed to adequately protect Jewish students from discrimination and harassment.

BY MARIE FAZIO Staff writer

The U.S. Department of Educa-

tion warned Tulane and dozens of other colleges and universities Monday that they could face consequences if they fail to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus. All 60 schools that received warning letters are under investigation by the department’s Office for Civil Rights, according to a department news release

Trash contract dispute resolved

Still unclear which company will work French Quarter

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

The contract dispute that forced City Hall to find a new trash collector for the French Quarter and the Central Business District last year is over, but there is still uncertainty over who will perform the work in the months ahead.

Troy Henry whose firm Henry Consulting in July won a $73.2 million contract that the City Council refused to vote on, told the council at a committee meeting on Tuesday there’s no reason to stall his deal any further, now that he’s mended fences with subcontractor Richard’s Disposal.

“All we’re asking you guys to do, ultimately, is your job,” Henry said.

Richard’s, owned by Alvin Richard, had sued Henry’s firm, alleging that it had changed agreed-upon payment terms. The two sides have now reached an undisclosed settlement, although the litigation will remain pending until a contract is executed.

But Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s sanitation director, Matt Torri, and council members JP Morrell and Freddie King said Tuesday that the firm who stepped in to do the work in Henry and Richard’s absence — IV Waste, owned by Sidney Torres IV — has gone above and beyond IV Waste, under a one-year emergency contract in December, was only required to pressure wash area sidewalks three days per week, according to Torri. Instead, it’s performing that task every day, in addition to its work to haul garbage and remove graffiti in one of the city’s busiest areas.

The office is investigating potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which protects students against discrimination based on race or national origin, including Jewish ancestry

Last week, the Trump administration said it was pulling $400 million in federal funds from Columbia University because the

President Donald Trump has promised to crack down on universities that he says have done too little to combat antisemitism in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests that erupted last year on college campuses, including Tulane’s.

“U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement Monday

“That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal anti-discrimination laws.” Tulane University spokesperson

Keith Brannon said in a statement Tuesday that the open investigation at Tulane referenced by the U.S. Education Department stemmed from a student complaint in December 2023 related to antisemitism. He said the university promptly responded to the complaint at that time by condemning antisemitism and with “vigorous efforts to protect our Jewish students.”

Park sites on list for termination

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

The Trump administration’s plan to terminate leases of federal offices part of a broader push to cut government spending — has set off shock waves nationally and in New Orleans, as critics point to public parks jobs and others that could be on the chopping block.

In New Orleans, a building at 916 North Peters St. appears to have already shuttered for day-to-day operations. Once the home of National Park Service’s New Orleans Jazz

National Historical Park visitor center, that shop has moved to 419 Decatur St. The park service had made use of both spaces in recent months, according to the park’s website and social media pages. The North Peters Street building is currently used only for special events, according to the park’s website, with exhibitions and daily programming instead held at the park’s main facility at 419 Decatur St. It is unclear what the impact of terminating the lease would be for that building. The “secondary site” of the New Orleans Jazz Historical Park was locked with the lights off on Tuesday, with a sign directing visitors to Decatur It’s unclear how long the park has been relying only on the Decatur Street space. The National Park Service did not respond

to a request for comment.

The General Services Administration’s move to include 34 park service sites on its list of possible lease terminations, which is not final, incensed national parks advocates, who said last week the moves could harm park visitor experiences across the country

U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, joined that chorus in a Friday statement.

“It is an attack on history,” Carter said in a statement Friday “It is an attack on culture. It is an attack on the fundamental promise that our national parks and historic sites are for EVERYONE I will not stand by while our shared legacy is dismantled.”

Inspector general gets four more years in job

Reappointment comes after sexism claims

BY BEN MYERS Staff writer

New Orleans Inspector General Ed Michel, who has focused on increasing his office’s output but has been dogged by accusations of sexism and unprofessionalism, will spend another four years on the job. The Ethics Review Board, which oversees the Inspector General’s Office, voted unanimously to keep Michel, whose office is charged with rooting out waste, fraud and

abuse in city government. Members did so after Michel cited a laundry list of achievements over his tenure, including over 50 public reports or initiatives.

“We have identified millions of dollars in cost savings, and are one of the most effective IG offices in the nation,” Michel said.

Board member Patrice Sentino said her vote was based on Michel’s work product, and not on any personal grievances against him.

“It is based on what has come out of the Inspector General’s Office and the work that has been done to mitigate fraud, waste and abuse in this city,” Sentino said, adding “that is, basically as a board, what we can do.”

School Board to vote Wednesday on bump

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Airline Park Academy in Metairie, whose parents have been begging the School Board for months to help revive their aftercare services. Costs for after-school care could increase $10 weekly

STAFF PHOTO By BRETT DUKE

Orleans, once the home of National Park Service’s New Orleans Jazz National

Park visitor center Recently, the site had been used by the service for

Henry

3rd suspect arrested in hazing death

Police: Southern student punched

BY QUINN COFFMAN and AIDAN McCAHILL Staff writers

Baton Rouge police on Tuesday arrested a third suspect in the death of Southern University engineering student Caleb Wilson during a fraternity hazing ritual on Feb. 27.

Isaiah Smith, 28, turned himself in to police about 11 a.m. Smith was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a count of felony hazing, a Baton Rouge police spokesperson said.

Smith’s defense attorney, Franz Borghardt, said Tuesday his client is a Southern University graduate student.

Smith held the title “dean of pledges” for Southern’s chapter of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, according to arrest records. Witnesses of the fraternity hazing Wilson, 20, a Kenner native, participated in told police Smith was in charge of the pledges at the ritual.

TRASH

Continued from page 1B

King said Torres has “set the bar high,” and should be allowed to keep continue working through the duration of the one-year term. And Morrell said the contract ought to be rebid to match IV Waste’s level of service — which he said residents and business owners will expect to continue.

“The only way you’re going to get that level of service is if you bid a contract that addresses that level of service,” Morrell said. Henry found allies in council members Eugene Green and Oliver Thomas, as well as in City Attorney Donesia Turner who echoed his view that he should get the work.

Green plans to introduce a motion to approve Henry’s contract at Thursday’s full council meeting. Any switch would require 90 days notice under the emergency contract terms.

It’s not clear if Cantrell could trigger the termination of Torres’ contract without the council, or if she would do so while council support for the Henry contract is uncertain.

The Cantrell administration did not respond to a question on Tuesday and the other three council members either declined to comment or took no position.

The dispute over pay with subcontractor Richard’s Disposal Inc. wasn’t the only reason Henry’s contract didn’t move forward.

Some council members, including Morrell, also called foul over errors in Henry’s bid, which they said should have been disqualifying, as well as an expanded scope of services and increased compensation given to Henry after bidding closed.

Complicating matters is Civil District Court Judge Paulette Irons’ ruling in December that the council has no right to sign off on competitively awarded contracts to begin with, a power the council gave itself in ordinances in 2022 and 2023, with no opposition from Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Irons’ ruling, which ordered the council to approve Henry’s contract, followed Henry’s lawsuit challenging those ordinances. Judge Jennifer Medley recently issued a similar ruling in a different case. The council is appealing both rulings, so its contracting authority remains in place for now Turner on Tuesday agreed with Irons’ ruling and advised the council to move forward with Henry’s contract. Turner’s refusal to defend the council’s contracting authority in court has drawn ire from Morrell, who has accused Turner of abdicating her duty That argument flared again on Monday, when Turner said she would never take a legal position that she considers “adverse” to the city’s interest.

“Henry Consulting properly won the contract and it should have been awarded to Henry Consulting,” Turner said. Morrell said Cantrell should have vetoed the contracting ordinances if she disagreed with them.

“The City Council is not adverse to the law we passed,” Morrell said.

Email Ben Myers at bmyers@ theadvocate.com.

Smith’s father, Todd Smith, leases the warehouse at 3412 Woodcrest Drive where the fraternity ritual took place His business California Hardwood Floors operates out of the building.

Baton Rouge police think the younger Smith is the owner of the black Dodge Charger Wilson was transported in to the Baton Rouge General-Bluebonnet hospital, where police were called about 2:40 a.m. Feb. 27.

Surveillance footage from the hospital shows Smith exiting the vehicle before removing an unresponsive Wilson from the passenger seat with the help of hospital staff.

Baton Rouge Police Chief Thomas Morse Jr said Friday Wilson’s death was the “direct result” of being punched “while pledging” to join Omega Psi during a ritual at the Woodcrest Drive warehouse.

Morse also said at that time police were preparing warrants to arrest two additional suspects.

On Monday, police arrested Kyle Thurman, 25, the second suspect arrested in the 20-year-old Kenner native’s hazing death. Thurman

TULANE

Continued from page 1B

Saying that Tulane complies with federal laws, he added that the university has increased campus security; expanded resources for students, faculty and staff experiencing antisemitism or any form of harassment; and “holds accountable” anyone who violates the student code of conduct. The university also began requiring students to undergo “antisemitism education.”

“Tulane University stands unequivocally against antisemitism,” Brannon said, adding that Tulane was among the first Southern universities to accept Jewish students and has a large Jewish student population.

“It has no place on our campus and is fundamentally opposed to our values.”

He added that the university is “committed to fostering an environment where all students — regardless of background — are respected, supported, and safe in their cultural and religious identities.”

Pro-Palestinian protests spread across college campuses last year in response to the Israel-Hamas war, with some protesters setting up encampments for days or

PARKS

Continued from page 1B

Informed on Tuesday of the North Peters Street building’s status, Carter did not respond to a request for comment.

The list of proposed lease terminations also included three buildings in Jefferson Parish.

The General Services Administration has singled out three offices there leased by the Bureau of Minerals Management Service, a former federal department that split into three other departments in 2011.

Regional branches of two of those departments the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management —are now housed in a single office on Elmwood Park Boulevard in Harahan, per those departments’ websites

It’s unclear whether the federal government is using the other two offices the administration is eyeing, located on Commerce Road and Clearview Parkway, also in Elmwood.

The possible lease terminations, which the administration posted online on March 4 — and later deleted has spurred confusion.

They have come as Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency has called for cuts across various areas of the federal gov-

CARE

Continued from page 1B

was booked into the West Baton Rouge Detention Center after he was arrested in Port Allen by West Baton Rouge sheriff’s deputies and the U.S. Marshals Service, a West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.

Thurman was transferred to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, and also is accused of a count of felony hazing.

On March 6, former Southern University student Caleb McCray 23, surrendered to Baton Rouge police, marking the first arrest following the death of the Southern student, who was a trumpet player in the university’s famed Human Jukebox marching band.

McCray was booked into East Baton Rouge prison on one count each of manslaughter and felony hazing. McCray made his initial court appearance Friday afternoon, where his bail was set at $100,000, his attorney Phillip Robinson, said, noting his client is innocent.

According to his arrest affidavit, McCray delivered the final blow before Wilson collapsed to the floor and began having a seizure. Frater-

nity members did not call 911 after Wilson experienced the medical episode, and waited to bring him to a hospital, sources said. An autopsy report mentioned in the arrest affidavit revealed a small bruise to the right side of Wilson’s chest.

During the Omega Psi pledging ritual, pledges were brought to the Woodcrest Drive warehouse and forced to change into gray sweatsuits. With Wilson and eight other hopefuls lined up according to height, McCray, Thurman and Smith took turns punching them in the chest using a pair of black boxing gloves, according to McCray’s arrest warrant affidavit.

Each punch represented one of the fraternity’s ”four cardinal principles”: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift, a source close to the investigation told The Advocate.

Smith punched at least one pledge, but it wasn’t Wilson.

Wilson’s full autopsy report is not yet complete, Baton Rouge Coroner’s Office chief of investigations Shane Tindall said Friday. The cause and manner of his death remain undetermined pending ad-

Pro-Palestinian protesters sit in a barricaded encampment in front of Tulane University on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans in April. The U.S. Department of Education warned Tulane and dozens of other colleges and universities Monday that they could face consequences if they fail to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus.

weeks.

In New Orleans, some protesters clashed with police at Tulane and pitched tents on a campus lawn before they were forcibly removed by Louisiana State Police troopers.

ditional tests, which likely will take several months, Tindall said. In Louisiana, hazing can be a felony under the Max Gruver Act, passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2018 and named after the LSU Phi Delta Theta fraternity pledge who died in a hazing incident in 2017. Louisiana’s antihazing law prohibits hazing regardless of whether the targeted person voluntarily allowed it. Violators face a $1,000 fine and six months behind bars.

Southern University Board of Supervisors Chair Tony Clayton, who is the 18th Judicial District Attorney in West Baton Rouge, said Friday in an interview he’s pushing for the Omega fraternity to be removed from the university In 2005, Omega Psi Phi was kicked off Southern’s Baton Rouge campus, archives from The Advocate | The Times-Picayune show The university ordered a threeyear expulsion, after university officials found “overwhelming evidence” a fraternity pledge was severely beaten, with injuries that led to internal bleeding.

violent after pro-Palestinian protesters allegedly tried to burn an Israeli flag.

Other Tulane students have alleged anti-Palestinian discrimination Several filed their own complaint with the office last year saying the university failed to protect Palestinian students from harassment.

In response to the complaint last July, Tulane spokesperson Michael Strecker said “Islamophobia, antisemitism and other forms of bigotry and hate have no place at Tulane University.”

Last week, the U.S. Education Department said it would prioritize “resolving the backlog of complaints alleging antisemitic violence and harassment.”

Pedalino originally proposed increasing aftercare costs at just Airline Park Academy to $60 per week But he plans to amend the proposal at Wednesday’s meeting to implement a districtwide increase at a lesser rate, in response to criticisms that it’d be unfair to raise wages at only one school. At a School Board meeting last month, Shasta Hosli, a mom of

Law enforcement arrested more than a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters, including some students from Tulane and Loyola University, but all were later acquitted by a judge. Many Tulane students and faculty members described the protests as peaceful But some Jewish students reported facing threats and harassment.

The letters sent Monday to universities follow an executive order by Trump in January that said the Department of Justice would act quickly to “investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism” at colleges and universities.

In December 2023, the civil rights office opened an investigation after a Tulane student said in a complaint they felt “frightened and discriminated against” at a protest near campus that grew

On Saturday, a Palestinian activist who helped lead protests at Columbia University was arrested and flown to an immigration detention center in Louisiana, according to reports. The activist, Mahmoud Khalil, was a graduate student at Columbia who is in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident with a green card, the reports said.

ernment.

In a statement, a General Services Administration spokesperson said that the initial list prompted “an overwhelming amount of interest” in the properties, and that the agency expects that “the list

two students at Airline Park, said the school’s carpool line has gotten out of control from the influx of parents who can no longer send their children to aftercare while they work. Another parent claimed the school bus system fails to provide reliable transportation on a daily basis.

will be republished in the near fu-

ture after we evaluate this initial input and determine how we can make it easier for stakeholders to understand the nuances of the assets listed.” The lease terminations are part

of an effort “optimize our footprint and building utilization,” an agency spokesperson said.

Email Sophie Kasakove at sophie.kasakove@theadvocate. com.

with multiple children. He said he would like to see the district survey families enrolled in aftercare to better understand the potential adverse impact of a cost increase before passing new rates.

Even with the districtwide amendment, opposition for Pedalino’s proposal remains.

School Board member Clay Moise said Tuesday he’s concerned that the increase will make aftercare too expensive for low-income families, particularly those

“Every day, parents are scrambling to find somewhere to put their kid, or someone to pick up their kids,” Hosli said. “They never know who’s going to do it.” Other parents lamented to the board how off-site aftercare programs can cost upward of six times higher than the public school system One mother estimated she’d have to pay $800 per month to send two of her children to an alternative aftercare program if services at her school don’t return. Cost prohibitive?

“We have families that can’t afford what they’re paying now,” Moise said. “We have families that are behind on their payments.” Jefferson Parish has the largest school system in the state with more than 70,000 students at 76 schools.

Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.

STAFF

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER

Former first lady dies

Foster credited with revamping La. Governor’s Mansion

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Alice Foster, who as Louisiana’s first lady oversaw a refurbishment of the Governor’s Mansion and a statewide anti-litter campaign, died Thursday She was 84.

The wife of former Gov Mike Foster, she lived in Oaklawn Manor, the plantation house on Bayou Teche just outside Franklin in St Mary Parish.

She and her husband, who died in 2020, had lived at Oak Lawn since before his election as governor in 1995.

Alice Foster accompanied Mike Foster during that campaign but didn’t seek the spotlight then or over the next eight years.

Leo Honeycutt, a morning talk show host on WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, got to know the Fosters from Mike Foster appearing on the program and Alice Foster accompanying him. Honeycutt attended prayer breakfasts at the Governor’s Mansion with the Fosters and others.

“I’d have to coach her be-

at 84.

fore an interview to relax,” Honeycutt said, adding that Alice Foster was “very kind and lovely.”

Alice Foster performed the traditional role of first lady, hosting receptions at the Governor’s Mansion.

“She was quiet and retiring but was always available at political gatherings to support Mike in his efforts,” said Bernie Boudreaux, a former longtime district attorney for St. Mary, St. Martin and Iberia parishes before serving as Mike Foster’s executive counsel.

Alice Foster also threw herself into renovating her grand new home in Baton

Rouge.

“When Mike and I walked into the Governor’s Mansion, it was with a heavy heart that I beheld this beautiful, stately building so lacking in the grandeur of what my perception of a Governor’s Mansion should reflect and represent,” Alice Foster wrote years later “I asked Mike, ‘Can you afford to redo this place’?

The Governor laughed and said, ‘No, I can’t, and neither can the state of Louisiana. I agree the work is necessary and I agree it needs a lot of work, but we don’t have the money in the state budget. You’ll have to find it yourself.’”

Alice Foster created an executive board, raised money and hired designers to “return the Mansion to its original splendor,” as she put it.

As first lady, she also promoted an anti-litter campaign known as Keep Louisiana Beautiful. The organization honors her work with an annual award in her name for an individual “whose life’s work has left a legacy in their community.”

A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Alice Foster was married for 40 years to her husband.

She worked for her husband’s construction company, Bayou Sale Contractors, before he was elected governor

Alice Foster had two children in a previous marriage — Paul West and Troy West — and two stepchildren who were a product of Mike Foster’s previous marriage. They are Murphy Foster III and Ramelle Foster

A gathering of family and friends will be held at 10 a.m Wednesday at St Mary’s Episcopal Church, followed by a funeral service there and burial next to her husband at Franklin Cemetery

Email Tyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate. com.

Murder-suicide suspected in deaths

BY MICHELLE HUNTER Staff writer

Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating a suspected murder-suicide after an elderly couple was found dead in their Grand Isle home Tuesday morning Authorities have not

INSPECTOR

Continued from page 1B

The vote of confidence came despite a former employee’s complaint that Michel made sexist comments about female public officials and amid opposition from community activists who have called for Michel’s ouster Former employees who spoke to The Times-Picayune also said Michel routinely made derogatory comments about women and insulted staff members behind their backs.

Michel denied those claims at Monday’s meeting. Ten of his employees, including seven women also defended him publicly, telling board members he has been a supportive boss and determined public watchdog. Allison Broyles, the chief of audits, said Michel had restored order to an office that has seen its share of chaos since it was created after Hurricane Katrina.

“Ed has gotten our office to a place where we can finally focus on our work to be productive Ed is also a very understanding boss who values work and worklife balance,” Broyles said The reappointment was blasted by members of the citizens group New Orleans United Front, who have pointed to the complaint’s detail of comments Michel allegedly made about Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson.

“Any disparaging comments about a woman and her personal space is not acceptable for me,” Annette Cranford said. The board dismissed the complaint in November after an independent law firm, the Transcendent Legal Group, investigated its allegations. The firm delivered its findings to the board verbally in a closed-door session. It’s unclear if a written report was produced.

Michel’s track record

Michel, a New Orleans

GRAND ISLE

yet released the names of the couple, an 82-year-old woman and her 79-year-old husband, according to Capt. Jason Rivarde, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office. They are waiting for relatives to be notified.

native and former FBI agent who helped lead the bureau’s Houston office, replaced former Inspector General Derry Harper as the city’s top watchdog in 2020.

Michel was initially tapped to lead the office on an interim basis, after Harper resigned amid revelations that he rarely showed up to work.

The board appointed Michel to his first four-year term in 2021, though the vote wasn’t unanimous.

Former board member To rin Sand er s vote d against him, citing an allegation that Michel had called the workplace of a former staffer who criticized him on social media.

Grand Isle police were called to a home in the 2300 block of La. 1 about 11 a.m.

Tuesday Police requested the assistance of Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives after the bodies were discovered, Rivarde said. The Sheriff’s Office typically handles homicide investi-

Hutson has said that Michel’s “pursuit of accountability has been overshadowed by a personal, unprofessional and deeply troubling agenda.”

The complaint also states he made a similar comment about Michelle Woodfork, the former interim New Orleans police chief, as well as offensive comments about Independent Police Monitor Stella Cziment’s appearance.

In a public statement after the complaint was dismissed, the Ethics Review Board said its chair at the time, Dawn Broussard, had “discussed the board’s employment-related concerns” with Michel. The statement did not say if the allegations has been substantiated.

gations in Grand Isle.

Detectives suspect the man killed his wife before taking his own life, Rivarde said.

No other details were immediately available.

Email Michelle Hunter at mhunter@theadvocate. com.

said Michel took it personally when a staffer left that summer

At staff meetings, Michel said employees he had disputes with “didn’t appreciate him, and didn’t appreciate what he was giving them,” Randolph said. “He acted like he was just this blessing to the Inspector General’s Office.”

Another former employee said Michel “would get fixated on people” in the office.

“Those people seemed to mostly be women,” she said.

Michel, addressing the board Monday, said he had been targeted by former employees with sour grapes. He said he had “no sustained complaints” against him.

New Orleans Area Deaths

Bienert, Nadyne

Faciane, Eloise Farrier,Albert Flatley, Mary Griffin, Betty Johnson, Barbara Kendrick, Wilhelmina Lanza, Landon Lewis, Monica Milazzo Jr., Joseph Mouton, Russell Perez, Lynn Poynot, Emmett Schneider Orellana, Emilio Tooker Jr., William Tullier, Lawrence Wilson, Caleb Winchester, Herman Windsay Sr., Michael

Wink,Ann E Jefferson

Garden of Memories

Faciane, Eloise

Johnson, Barbara

Milazzo Jr., Joseph

Richardson FH

Wilson, Caleb

New Orleans

Boyd Family

Windsay Sr., Michael Charbonnet

Kendrick, Wilhelmina

Gertrude Geddes

Griffin, Betty

Greenwood

Lanza, Landon

Mouton, Russell

Lake Lawn Metairie

Perez, Lynn

Schneider Orellana, Emilio

Wink,Ann River Parish

Patrick H Sanders

Lewis, Monica St Tammany

Grace Funeral

Bienert, Nadyne

West Bank

Davis Mortuary

Grant T. Smith.She is also survived by her siblings Gordon Wilson (Linda), Robert Wilson, III (Cheryl), and ChristinePleshinger (John), as well as numerous nieces andnephews. Nadyne is preceded in death by her former husbands Frederic J. Cantrelle and Thomas H. Bienert. Relatives andfriends are invited to attend the funeral services at Grace Funeral Home, 450 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington, LA 70433 on Friday, March 14, 2025, at 11:00 AM with visitation beginning at 9:00 AM. Burial will take place in St. Louis Cemetery No. 3, New Orleans, LA at alater date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Nadyne may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Donationsmay be either mailed to National MS Society, P.O. Box 91891, Washington,D.C. 200901891, or canbemade at https://www.nationalmsso ciety.org/. The family invites you to share fond memories and condolences online at www.gracenorthshore.co m.

Before Monday’s vote, Michel pointed to his office’s flurry of reports last year, including investigations into Sewerage & Water Board billing errors and wasteful spending by the Orleans Parish Communication District and by the Sheriff’s Office. His office also contributed to significant criminal indictments, including that of electrical inspector Randy Farrell for fraud, and state charges against Tyrell Morris, former director of the Communication District.

All told, his office has uncovered over $38.6 million the city could have saved if not for wasteful or fraudulent practices in the past four years, according to its annual reports.

But the complaint at issue, filed January 2024, casts him as a difficult person to work with who often used inappropriate language when describing targets of the inspector general’s investigations.

When looking into Hutson’s use of hotel rooms during Mardi Gras, Michel allegedly told staffers that “we’re going to stick it up Susan Hutson’s (expletive),” referring to female genitalia.

“I feel very certain that the comments that were brought to this board, complaints that have been brought to the board, have been thoroughly vetted and investigated,” board member Holly Callia said on Monday before the vote, adding that the board hadn’t been able to substantiate the allegations.

A month after the complaint was filed, the board voted to give Michel an 18% annual salary raise, from $215,000 to $255,000. Employees speak out

Several former employees this week told The Times-Picayune that they confirmed the details of the complaint with investigators and to Ethics Review Board members.

The former employees said Michel often acted unprofessionally at work, disparaging staffers he didn’t like and bragging about his own physique and professional stature. They said Michel retaliated against staffers who challenged him by freezing them out of meetings and cutting off communication.

Madison Randolph, an intern who worked for Michel in summer 2022,

“That includes complaints made by former disgruntled employees who refuse to adhere to an environment that is conducive to professionalism,” Michel said.

Sarah Lewis, an Inspector General’s Office evaluator, said the allegations against Michel “could not be further from the truth.” She said he is especially supportive of family and child care obligations, unlike other bosses she has had in previous public service jobs.

“This office is so much more conducive to thriving as a woman in the workplace than any of those environments were,” Lewis said.

Email Ben Myers at bmyers@theadvocate. com.

LOTTERY

MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2025

PICK 3: 1-9-9

PICK 4: 7-5-6-3

Winchester, Herman Mothe

Tullier, Lawrence

Obituaries

Bienert, Nadyne Elizabeth Wilson

Nadyne Elizabeth (Wilson) Bienert, age 82, of Covington,LApassed away on March 7, 2025. She was born on January 17, 1943, in New Orleans, LA to Robert James andEllen (Rodriguez) Wilson. Nadyne is survived by her longtime companion Norman Bourque, Sr.; her children Marc J. Cantrelle, Suzanne C. Frosch (Mark) and Wendy E. Norlin (Kevin); her grandchildren Ashley Smith (Michael), Hannah Frosch,Casey Norlin andAndrew Norlin; and her great-grandchildren Jackson P. Smith and Grant T. Smith. She is also survived by her siblings Gordon Wilson (Linda), Robert Wilson, III (Cheryl), and ChristinePleshinger (John), as well as numerous nieces andnephews.

grandchildren,and a host of relatives and friends. Visitation will be held on March 15 from 9-11 AM at Doyles Funeral Home, followed by funeral services.

Flatley, Mary Susan Mary Susan "Sue" Jewett Flatley, abeloved mother andgrandmother, passed away peacefully on December 31, 2024 at the age of 82. Shewas happily married to thelate William "Bill" Flatley for 53 years. Sue is survived by her two children, Mary SueFlatley and William "Jay" Flatley (Nicole), as well as her grandson, Cooper James Flatley. Sheisalso survived by herbrothers, Edwin Jewett (thelate Dottie) andPatrick Jewett (Gloria), along with numerous nieces, nephewsand cousins. Sue was predeceased by her parents, Edwin and Mary Susan "May" Jewett. Visitation for Sue will be from 11:00 AM until 12:00 PM and Mass at 12:00 PM on Friday, March14, 2025 at

FILE PHOTO By STEVEN FORSTER

Alice Foster left, widow of former Gov. Mike Foster died Thursday

Hutson

Faciane, Eloise Gidiere 'Tiffany'

Farrier, Albert Quinn

Albert Q. Farrier, 61, of Slidell, LA, passed away on March8,2025, surrounded by his lovingfamily. Born in New Orleans, Albert was adedicated businessman and abeloved family man. He is survived by his children,

OUR

Interstate fix at College Drive shows government sometimes works well

When big projects find the right road to success, perhaps it’s good to give the driver some credit

The driver in this case is the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development. From early anecdotal reports, the department seems to have succeeded with its new system merging westward traffic on Interstate 10 and I-12 near the College Drive exit in Baton Rouge.

The flyover project features I-12 lanes now going underneath a new I-10 overpass, with an additional exit lane at College Drive to more easily serve drivers from both interstates. It allows I-10 drivers to avoid a rapid triple-lane crossing, against merging I-12 traffic, to reach College Drive

The overpass itself opened in April 2024, but the I-12 traffic shift just opened on Feb 22. The new system allows traffic to move both more quickly and considerably more safely It fixes a problem of congestion and unsafe access that has plagued the interchange for the better part of half a century

The flyover project is part of a much larger, $1.1 billion widening of I-10 and I-12 to four lanes in both directions from Essen Lane all the way to the Lobdell exit. The overall widening is desperately needed, as the current corridor was constructed in the 1960s for about 80,000 cars per day, but now serves well over twice that many Work on the larger project began in February 2023 and is expected to continue through 2029. Yet, in an example of common sense that critics say government too often is lacking, officials separated the College Drive project from the more comprehensive interstate widening, thus allowing distinct construction contracts for the former so that it could move faster without being bogged down Indeed, officials even began the College Drive project sooner back in April of 2021. While the nearly four years of construction wasn’t exactly rapid, it was comparatively quick for major road work these days, and without an obscene amount of further disruption in the meantime to an already congested merge system.

Meanwhile, in a complementary project, the government of East Baton Rouge Parish is working on a project to widen College Drive itself near the interstate, along with new service roads and traffic-signal updates, which will further ease congestion from the 49,000 cars that drive daily through its intersection with Perkins Road.

This is all good news for motorists who live in or drive through Baton Rouge. It also is a testament both to common sense and to focused diligence. There’s wisdom in the old saying that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. Likewise, the way to fix traffic problems is one discrete chunk at a time. If DOTD officials apply that wisdom statewide, Louisiana might really get “on the move.”

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.

Why do we need a do-nothing Congress?

With the selection of Robert Kennedy Jr to head the Department of Health and Human Services, Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence, Kash Patel to head of the FBI and Linda McMahon as the head of the soon-to-be defunct Department of Education, the conservative side of Congress (House and Senate) have earned a new name: Republicants. A Republicant is defined as a person who cannot uphold his or her oath to the Constitution or to the American people. In fact (soon to be made mandatory by another executive order), the oath taken by the Republicants will read as follows: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I cannot support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I cannot bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I can-

not take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion because it might affect my loyalty pledge to Donald Trump; and that I cannot well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

Furthermore, considering DOGE’s directive to cut spending and close or defund government agencies, it is recommended DOGE fire 99% percent of all congressional staff and cut the budget for both the House and the Senate Musk can leave one person to answer the telephone and one person to cast the party line votes. Since Republicants rubber-stamp Trump’s agenda, and the Democrats are powerless to stop them, this will greatly reduce the budget as well.

DANIEL NODURFT Chalmette

Support would make big difference for UNO, SUNO

With reference to an article in the newspaper Jan. 17 titled “UNO to furlough hundreds of employees,” I find it amazing that this has not come more to the forefront We hear of wealthy folks making donations to hospitals and many other similar charitable donations by corporations, etc. Many students cannot afford tuition at private or out-of-town universities; and seemingly, cannot afford UNO.

Total silence from Baton Rouge and our elected leaders relative to support for building maintenance and making public education affordable at our public universities. UNO has combined colleges, laid off folks and deferred main-

tenance and more. Now it needs help. This metro area has precisely two public universities: UNO and Southern University at New Orleans. Two longstanding and wonderful institutions, providing this area with many future leaders. Where are Gayle Benson, Drew Brees and the Manning family as well as corporations, speaking about the needs of these two institutions? Crickets, so far UNO was always a highly regarded institution. It must be brought back to its former glory RAYMOND H. NOLAN SR. Metairie

Photos of nutria rodeo unnecessarily cruel

Failure of school voucher program ought to be a lesson

The headline says it all: “Vouchers fall short of state promises” for students. After 10 years and $500 million spent, it looks like the promises to help children get a better education have failed. The numbers don’t lie. Whereas 24% of students in public schools met state achievement targets, only 14% in the private school voucher program met those targets. What a waste of taxpayer money Just think, if the half-billion had been spent to improve public schools, provide raises for teachers, administrators and support staff, upgrade equipment and maybe even air condition buses what would our public schools look like today? Better I bet.

We live in a constant state of dystopia. Our politicians feed worthless red meat to their base just to garner votes. It all sounds so good until the chickens come home to roost, and we all find out, much later, just how much the false promises cost us all and how the pathetic programs fail. Our birth rate is below our death rate, young people and professionals are moving away and we just spent a half-billion on a failed program.

WILLIAM FAULK Baton Rouge

To reverse outmigration, focus on what matters

TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE

The decision to feature such graphic images on the front page with the article “By Tooth and Tale” on the Venice nutria rodeo is not only in poor taste but also raises serious ethical concerns. While the nutria may be considered an invasive species and the rodeo aims to manage its population, showcasing the brutal aftermath of such a hunt in such a sensationalized manner is disrespectful to both the animals and the values we hold regarding humane treatment of wildlife. This type of coverage can desensi-

tize the public to the suffering of animals and trivializes the importance of finding balanced solutions to invasive species management. It’s crucial that discussions around wildlife control are conducted with respect and compassion, rather than sensationalism. The media has a responsibility to educate and inform without resorting to shocking imagery that could promote a culture of cruelty or disregard for life.

KEN RABALAIS Lafayette

Yet another article was in the paper recently about Louisiana losing population. Can we talk about some things that are not going to attract people to stay here, especially young people who want a good life for their families? Ignoring climate change would be No. 1, and it will result in our children and grandchildren living in a more and more hostile environment. Attacking librarians. Arresting and vilifying doctors. Making gun laws more lax than ever — none of this is going to bring back our best and brightest.

Until our political leaders can focus on what makes Louisiana special (and there’s a lot —our abundant natural resources, our innate joie de vivre, our acceptance of people different than ourselves) the drain will continue.

CAROLYN RAULT Mandeville

N.O. doesn’t need overhaul, but city services sure do

The city of New Orleans is a city so many love, for so many reasons.

Will Sutton

We just want it to work Tourists and visitors come and go. We who live in one of the nation’s most fun cities and one of the best food cities love it enough to stay and make the best of this culturally rich, urban paradise. But we would like to see red lights and street lights working, we’d rather not know there are places where streets will flood with normal and heavy rainfalls. We certainly want the Sewerage & Water Board to work.

Project Director Pres Kabacoff, Policy Director David Marcello, Project Coordinator Emma Trunkle and about 30 prominent business and civic leaders called the City Services Coalition are taking stock of residents’ dissatisfaction and recommending ways to change it.

A December survey by coalition member and pollster Ron Faucheux showed that 65% of city voters think New Orleans is on the “wrong track.”

Though 53% said they plan to stay in the city in the next five years, 40% expect to move out of New Orleans into another Louisiana community (11%) or to move out of the state (29%).

The city’s quality of life is viewed negatively by 69%, with only 19% of Whites and 18% of Blacks believing things have gotten better in the last several years.

That’s disheartening.

New Orleans had more than 600,000 people just a few decades ago. The city has fewer than 385,000 people today.

Imagine about 150,000 people up and leaving. Going somewhere. To Jefferson, St Bernard, Plaquemines or St. Tammany parishes Or to eastern Texas, southern Mississippi or southern Arkansas.

Baton Rouge has more than 200,000 Shreveport has just short of 200,000 Metairie pushed above 140,000 recently People aren’t moving because the city has bland food, few festivals and a weekends-only nightlife. People die, take new jobs, move to join family And some move because the city they love can’t seem to get things done.

Perhaps the biggest, most outrageous proposal by the coalition is that the city cooperate with neighboring parishes to create a regional water purification operation on land the city purchased in St Charles Parish some years ago. It would cost at least $1 billion.

That’s a big ask. Financially Politically I can’t imagine all the key parties coming together and agreeing to create

something over which they would have limited control as the coalition suggests.

But, hey, after the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina and levee failures nearly 20 years ago, we set aside cultural and political differences and philosophies to protect lots of people with a 10-year storm surge protection levee system, and prevention efforts continue with regional cooperation. With a city focus, the coalition has suggested changes that would require city charter, state Legislature and maybe state constitutional changes. There are many, and it’s worth taking time to review what they’ve suggested.

The group looked at governance structure, streets and infrastructure, drainage and water management, permitting, public safety and justice and trash and clean public spaces. Nearly no one would argue with that list. We’re likely to debate what and how to get it done.

I’m pleased to see the coalition stick with a strong mayor form of government, though it wants to give the chief administrative officer greater authority and responsibility I struggle to understand why any elected mayors would willingly relieve themselves of veto power over CAO personnel decisions.

In fall 2023, Orleans Parish Assessor Erroll Williams and former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy floated the idea of creating a city manager job to run the day-to-day city department operations, leaving overall leadership and vision to the mayor

“Should the position of chief administrative officer be expanded? Should professional qualifications and management experience for this job be spelled out in the city charter?” they wrote in a November 2023 guest column in this newspaper “Is a city manager form of government, along with the Mayor-Council, a more efficient and proactive way to operate in today’s world? It works for Jefferson Parish, would it work equally well here?”

Orleans and Jefferson are different culturally and politically I’m all for looking at government operations elsewhere to consider how New Orleans might improve.

Coalition representatives have reviewed the report with the current crop of prominent would-be mayoral candidates: City Council Vice President Helena Moreno, former Judge Arthur Hunter and City Council member Oliver Thomas. Former 911 leader Tyrell Morris announced his bid on Thursday; they plan to offer him the same courtesy They’ve talked with members of City Council, too. Incumbent Mayor LaToya Cantrell can’t run for re-election, but she’s had nearly eight years of experience. She should be included.

New Orleans is a great city, and it needs an update. But let’s not make it Atlanta, Minneapolis or Nashville.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@ theadvocate.com.

Trump’s uplifting speech to the nation

It was a partisan speech It was an optimistic speech. It was a speech that laid the blame for inflation and the massive number of migrants and illegal drugs that entered the country during the previous administration at the feet of Democrats. It was an uplifting speech about the future. It was a deliberately divisive speech when it came to policies pushed by the Democrats as opposed to policies endorsed by Republicans And it was at times a funny speech as President Donald Trump pointed to Democrats and the silly signs raised by some, blasting them for all sorts of things when they had the power It was a long speech. One commentator said it eclipsed the longwinded speeches of Bill Clinton. It was also full of empathy for victims of migrant crime. Trump brought some of the widows and daughters whose husbands and fathers were taken from them by gang members who had repeatedly committed crimes but were let go after being arrested in Democrat states with “sanctuary cities.” As if to rile Senate Democrats, none of whom would vote for a bill protecting women’s sports from men who claim to be transgender Trump invited a woman who suffered traumatic brain injury after being hit with a volleyball by a biological man playing with women on the opposite team.

Perhaps the sweetest moment of the night was when Trump authorized the Secret Service to bestow the title of “agent” on a young boy who was given five years to live after being diagnosed with brain cancer He always wanted to be a police officer The boy hugged the agent who gave him an official identification card. His proud father lifted him up for all to see. Incredibly, all the Democrats remained seated andt stoic and would not applaud anything, not the boy with brain cancer not families of murder victims, not even the first lady when she entered the chamber So deep is their hatred for Trump who is running circles around them with the speed of his policy initiatives. Some held up signs, reminiscent of that TV ad for a pharmaceutical company that treats depression. The woman in the ad carries a round sign with an upside-down smiley face. That appears to be the face of today’s Democrat Party They are being beaten by Trump at every turn. Polls show the public are mostly with him, especially in his quest to downsize bloated government

That’s where Democrats are these days. They participate in a political ad that looks like a video wall with everyone saying the same thing about the still struggling economy and throwing in a vulgarity as if that will win them votes. The video looks like an expanded version of the old FBI “Ten Most Wanted” list we used to see in

post offices.

A lowlight for Democrats was when Rep. Al Green of Texas began yelling and interrupting Trump’s speech. Green, who has filed articles of impeachment against Trump that are going nowhere, was escorted out of the chamber by the sergeant at arms as Speaker Mike Johnson pounded his gavel and called for decorum.

It is supremely ironic that Democrats are criticizing the economy when it was the previous administration that caused inflation and accompanying high prices. It took Ronald Reagan two years to turn around the bad economy of Jimmy Carter The headline was kept until almost the end of the speech. Trump announced he had received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying he is ready for negotiations to end the war with Russia, including the mining of Ukrainian minerals to help repay the U.S. for its $350 billion contribution to the war Trump said he has heard “strong signals” from Russia that Vladimir Putin is “ready for peace.” We’ll see about that.

It was a good night for Trump and Republicans. All the Democrats and their media allies could do is look like they were attending a funeral. They have nothing else to show the country except policy failures from the last four years.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@ tribpub.com.

Democrats try performative politics

My advice to congressional Democrats: If you’re going to embrace performative politics, be sure you give a good performance.

Instead, the Dems at President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress looked like an angry and lonely clown car

They looked the very portrait that they have become in Donald Trump’s second term: angry gloomy, ripped off and deeply offended that, having lost both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the White House, they have no options left but to make noise.

So that’s what they did. Some of the Dems protested by waving signs the size of ping-pong paddles bearing remarks like “Elon Steals.” Stole what? Never mind. It’s the thought that counts.

And that apparently was good enough for Rep. Al Green, the widely respected Houston Democrat. Having heard enough of Trump’s braggadocio, he rose to his feet.

“Mr President, you don’t have a mandate,” Green shouted as he pointed his cane. After repeated warnings, House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the sergeant at arms to escort Green out of the chambers.

“I’ll accept the punishment,” Green told reporters afterwards. “It’s worth it to let people know that there’s some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.”

Indeed, just days before Trump’s address to Congress, the Social Security Administration announced plans to reduce its workforce by 14%.

The same day, Elon Musk, the head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, went on Joe Rogan’s podcast and opined, “Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”

In other words, it’s easy to see in Trump’s and Musk’s words and deeds the signs of an incipient monkey-wrench operation. Unfortunately, this message was nowhere evident in Green’s outburst. Not surprisingly, the Republican-controlled House voted Thursday to censure Green for disrupting Trump’s address by a vote of 224-198. As a formal statement of disapproval, censure is about the worst punishment for a misbehaving House member short of removing them from office. What surprised some was that 10 Democrats crossed party lines to vote in favor of censure, revealing how deeply the divide within Democratic ranks had become.

Breaches of decorum have become a recurring trend that many members of Congress no doubt dislike. Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert set a new bar for hecklers by repeatedly interrupting then-President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address in 2022. Greene did it again during Biden’s 2023 and 2024 State of the Union addresses.

Unlike President Trump’s view expressed at the end of his infamously contentious Oval Office exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — “This is going to be great television” — Democrats came away from the congressional address without much to celebrate.

Ever since the party managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in last year’s presidential race, Democratic leaders and key influencers have reverted to the circular firing squads of blame to which losing campaigns inevitably return.

Yet, when it comes to performative politics, we saw both parties engage in a vigorous round of it in their face-off over the widely misunderstood — and therefore politically exploitable — issue of “sanctuary cities,” or as Chicago calls them, “welcoming cities.”

It has survived 40 years, seven presidents and five mayors. As Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson testified, under friendly questioning by U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents a large swath of Chicago’s suburbs, the policy was set forth in a 2017 state law signed by Republican Gov Bruce Rauner

But Republicans in the era of Trump’s presidency have promoted the narrative that cities run by Democratic mayors are just boiling over with an invasion of lawbreaking immigrants.

As a result, we were treated once again to Republican alarm over criminal immigrants and “hellhole” Chicago, as one downstate Republican gubernatorial candidate constantly whined.

As often happens with congressional hearings that generate more heat than enlightenment, the session held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee turned into something of an inquisition of Johnson and his fellow Democratic Mayors Eric Adams of New York, Mike Johnston of Denver and Michelle Wu of Boston.

Johnson dutifully refuted “hellhole” stereotypes with an array of sunnier statistics, particularly those that describe promising declines in the city’s violent crime rates.

But then the grandstanding went off the rails, as some lawmakers accused Johnson and other mayors of violating federal law and threatened to call for their arrest warrants.

I would be lying if I did not confess to my own pro-Chicago, pro-urban and pro-law enforcement prejudices. I also appreciate our Gov J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat considering his own possible presidential run, for his rejoinder to our visiting critics: “Unlike Donald Trump,” he observed, “Illinois follows the law.”

Right on, Gov

Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail. com.

Clarence Page

Cal Thomas

STAFF FILE PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER

Temporary barricades and fencing block access to homes on Spain Street in the St. Roch area in May.

New Orleans Forecast

LSU teams will face big hurdles in March

The soothsayer who warned the eponymous emperor in “Julius Caesar” to “beware the Ides of March” must have also foretold a thing or two about LSU basketball. The LSU men limp into their first — and likely only — Southeastern Conference Tournament game Wednesday evening against Mississippi State. First (only?) tip will be 6 p.m. in Nashville, Tennessee.

The LSU women are getting their traditional and this year much-needed — nearly two weeks off between the end of the SEC Tournament and the start of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Resting up, healing up and counting the hours until the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed sometime after 7 p.m. Sunday

The LSU men (14-17, 3-15 SEC) have no hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament other than to go on a Cinderella five-game run through the SEC tourney and win its automatic bid. You are probably more likely to find gold or crude oil under your front lawn. Still, the Tigers probably aren’t going to be done even if they’re one-and-done against State ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently projects a whopping 13 of 16 SEC teams to earn NCAA Tournament bids. With the SEC’s next two teams left out of the NCAA field guaranteed NIT berths, it would appear that 15th-seeded LSU is going to play someone next week

This isn’t quite the achievement the Tigers pulled off last year when they hosted and lost to North Texas in the first round of the NIT Personally, I don’t think a team with a losing overall record unless it wins its conference tournament’s automatic bid — deserves to get in the NCAA or NIT fields. But even in our current political environment, inclusion is not completely out of date

Assuming LSU gets in the NIT, it’s hard to imagine anything the Tigers do there will move the needle of LSU fandom much. Not with a No. 1-ranked LSU baseball team entering SEC play this weekend, the LSU women trying to put their puzzle pieces back together for a deep run, spring football, gymnastics, softball you get the gist. No, the eye is to the future of the program. By every indication, coach Matt McMahon will return in 2025-26, with what sources and reports say will be more rosterbuilding financial support to field a more competitive program How competitive is the question. LSU has more basketball tradition than Auburn, which will be a No. 1 regional seed and won the SEC regular-season title, but can LSU be what Auburn is now? LSU should start by accomplishing what its first-round SEC tourney opponent Mississippi State has done this year — 20 wins, projected to be a No. 8 NCAA seed and see where it goes from there

The LSU women have greater ambitions, of course, set in place by the fact that the Tigers won the NCAA championship in 2023 and reached the Elite Eight last season.

LSU has gone into the postseason under Kim Mulkey under better circumstances. The Tigers are 28-5 but have dropped three of their past five games and four of the past seven, results affected by the shin injury to star guard Flau’jae Johnson that has kept her out of three straight games. Layered upon that is the foot injury that star forward Aneesah Morrow suffered in LSU’s

ä See RABALAIS, page 5C

Saints sign Chiefs safety Reid

N.O. agrees to terms with former

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

The Saints sure seem to love players who have played for the Kansas City Chiefs, and they’re banking on another to improve

their secondary The Saints agreed Tuesday to a three-year, $31.5 million deal with former Chiefs safety Justin Reid, a source with knowledge of the situation said. Reid started the last three seasons for Kansas City and won two Super Bowls. He had 87 tackles and two interceptions last season.

Saints re-sign

Reid’s contract, which includes a $22.5 million signing bonus, represents a splash for the Saints. When the NFL’s negotiating window opened Monday ahead of free agency New Orleans appeared to prioritize their own by agreeing to terms with Chase Young and Juwan Johnson. But Reid’s addition required

New Orleans to dip into the market, and his presence should help a defense that disappointed in 2024. Last season, the Saints allowed the third-most yards. The Saints also mark a homecoming for Reid. The brother of former LSU star Eric Reid, Justin Reid is a native of Prairieville and starred at Dutchtown High. The 28-year-old figures to start opposite Tyrann Mathieu

HITTIN’ THE BRAKES

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Starting quarterbacks rarely take pay cuts in the NFL.

Pardon stating the obvious, but doing so feels necessary after the Saints opted to restructure

Derek Carr’s contract rather than the two sides agreeing to reduce the quarterback’s salary

And agree, in this case, is the key word here, because any reduction would have required Carr’s involvement — some-

thing he made clear was a nonstarter earlier this offseason.

“I wouldn’t take a pay cut,” Carr told ESPN. “Yeah, I wouldn’t do that. Especially with what I put on tape. Would I restructure? Absolutely I’ll always help the team that way But there’s some things that you put out there that you earned.” Carr’s comments, predictably, didn’t sit well with a fan base that has clamored for the franchise to make major overhauls — particularly at quarterback and in the front office. And the Saints’ decision to bring the four-time Pro Bowler back for 2025 did no favors to ease the

BY ROD WALKER Staff writer

anger at least among the fan base’s vocal contingent online.

But Carr’s desire to keep the entire $40 million owed to him this year was well within his right. And frankly, why would he take less? Getting a player to accept a pay cut usually comes down to leverage, and the Saints’ leverage was less than ideal in this situation.

Cutting Carr would have left New Orleans with a $50 million dead cap hit. And while the team could have lessened that figure with a trade, Carr had control

The Los Angeles Clippers came into Smoothie King Center on Tuesday night with the thirdbest defensive rating in the NBA.

Zion Williamson wasn’t fazed by it one bit.

Williamson put on a show, recording his second career tripledouble to lead the Pelicans to a 127-120 victory Williamson finished with 22

points, 10 rebounds and a careerhigh 12 assists.

Forget what the records say Forget where the Pelicans and Clippers are in the Western Conference standings. The Pelicans, next-to-last in the West, once again found a way to beat the Clippers.

“The challenge anytime you face an elite defense is how can you get easy baskets,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said before the game.

“How can you make it easier for yourself?

:For us, getting out in transition is important. Zion has done a great job all season of picking his moments where he will attack and trusting his teammates when he doesn’t have anything.” Williamson did just that, follow-

STAFF PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD

1

5:30

6

Mathieu returning to Saints in 2025

BY LUKE JOHNSON and MATTHEW PARAS Staff writers

Tyrann Mathieu will be back with the New Orleans Saints in 2025 on a reworked contract.

Mathieu agreed to a new deal with his hometown team to lower his 2025 salary-cap number, according to a league source.

The 2025 season will be Mathieu’s fourth with the Saints and 13th in the NFL The New Orleans native has started each of the 51 games he’s been able to play in since signing with the Saints before the start of the 2022 season, recording at least three interceptions in each of his first three seasons with the team.

The three-time Associated Press All-Pro ranks second among active NFL players with 36 career interceptions, trailing only Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith Mathieu will turn 33 in May and he has expressed his desire to finish his career in New Orleans. This is the second consecutive offseason that Mathieu has agreed to an amended contract with the Saints. Last year, Mathieu took a modest pay cut while the team added an additional year to his contract.

Three years for Johnson Juwan Johnson is returning to the Saints on a three-year deal, and he is earning a nice pay raise in the process. According to a Fox Sports report, the Saints will pay him $30 million, making him the NFL’s 11th-highest paid tight end. According to an NFL Media report, the deal includes more than $21 million in guarantees. The last contract Johnson signed paid him $12 million over two years.

New Orleans initially signed Johnson as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon, and he spent his first season playing wide receiver But the Saints transitioned him to tight end prior to the 2021 season, and since taking over as the regular starter in 2022, Johnson has averaged 43 catches for 475 yards and five touchdowns per season.

Last year, Johnson established career highs in receptions (50) and receiving yards (548) while appearing in all 17 games. Those figures ranked 19th and 15th, respectively, among NFL tight ends.

Los Angeles Chargers running back J.K. Dobbins, left, is tackled by New Orleans

on Oct 27. The Saints and Mathieu reworked his contract Tuesday to ensure he

New Orleans had some additional incentive to bring Johnson back: If he had not agreed to a new contract by the start of the new league year Wednesday, the team would have incurred a $6.5 million dead cap charge, as Johnson’s contract was set to void and the prorated bonus money from previous restructures would have accelerated onto the 2025 salary cap.

Saints lose a safety Will Harris is leaving the Saints to join the Washington Commanders on a two-year deal, a source with knowledge of the situation said, creating a void for the Saints at safety Harris, 29, started 13 games last season. He emerged as the starter opposite Mathieu after a crowded competition in training camp, but he played well when called upon. He proved to be one of the team’s better bargain signings in free

Ironically, Reid once served as Mathieu’s replacement in Kansas City after the Chiefs elected to not re-sign Mathieu in 2022 This time, Reid will take the place of Will Harris, the veteran who left for the Washington Commanders earlier in the afternoon. Harris signed a two-year deal worth up to $10 million.

The Saints have undergone a makeover in recent months in the secondary The team sent Marshon Lattimore to the Washington Commanders at the trade deadline in November, and in free agency cornerback Paulson Adebo departed for the New York Giants. Under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, New Orleans also will implement a different scheme next season — one that likely will require their defensive backs to play more zone coverage instead of man.

“We’re going to try to be flexible enough to be able to defend all the different types of offenses that you have to play against,” Staley said Monday “And we want to be specific in the matchup; we want to make sure that we go into every game with a plan to win

agency after joining the team on a one-year, $1.2 million deal in 2024. Harris’ new contract is reportedly worth $8 million, but it can grow to $10 million with incentives. Harris becomes the second Saints starter to leave in free agency Cornerback Paulson Adebo agreed to a three-year, $54 million deal with the New York Giants on Monday.

In Washington, Harris will reunite with cornerback Marshon Lattimore, whom the Saints traded in November for several draft picks.

Harris, who spent his first five seasons in Detroit, had 74 tackles, five passes defensed and an interception last season. He missed four games with a hamstring injury Turner to Dallas

Injuries derailed Payton Turner‘s time with the Saints, and now the

former first-round pick will try to realize his potential elsewhere. Turner, whom the Saints selected out of Houston with the No. 28 pick of the 2021 draft, is signing a free agent contract with the Dallas Cowboys, according to an ESPN report. A separate NFL Media report indicated Turner is signing a one-year, $3 million deal with Dallas. In four seasons with the Saints, Turner appeared in 31 of a possible 68 games — 16 of which came last season. A shoulder injury ruined much of his rookie season; multiple ailments limited him to eight games in 2022; and a turf toe injury robbed him of nearly his entire 2023 season. He had five sacks and 11 tackles for loss during his career with the Saints.

Email Luke Johnson at ljohnson@theadvocate.com.

“But a lot of what we’re going to do is centered on who this group of guys is that we’re going to be coaching.” Reid, who is 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds, began his NFL career with the Houston Texans after he was drafted in the third round of the 2018 draft. He spent four seasons with the franchise, starting 53 of his 57 games. The Saints have signed multiple players from the Chiefs over the last few years. In

Chio wins SEC freshman gym honor for eighth time

Perhaps Kailin Chio will get an award for the most awards. On Tuesday the LSU gymnast received her eighth Southeastern Conference freshman of the week award this season and her sixth straight. It’s the most in SEC history, tying Florida’s Kayla DiCello in 2023.

Chio scored a 9.925 or better in all four events on Friday leading LSU to a program-record team score in a 198.575-197.175 victory over Georgia. Chio won the allaround with a personal-best 39.800 and also shared first on vault (9.95) and floor (9.975).

The Henderson, Nevada, native now has 19 titles this season, is ranked fifth nationally in the allaround and second on vault. LSU wraps up the regular season at 7 p.m. Friday at Auburn.

Woods ruptured Achilles tendon, out of Masters

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla Tiger

Woods had a less invasive surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon on Tuesday, which will keep him out of the Masters and leaves in question whether he can play in any other major championship the rest of the year

Woods posted the development on his social media accounts without saying how long he expected to be out or any other details except that the surgery went well. He said he had a minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon that the doctor said went smoothly Such surgeries involve smaller incisions, and the recovery time is quicker But most recoveries take at least a month before someone can even put weight on their foot.

West Virginia coach bans team from TikTok dancing MORGANTOWN,W.Va. — West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez wants his players to show up on time, work hard and play their best. Also, don’t dance on TikTok. “They’re going to be on it, so I’m not banning them from it,” he said Monday “I’m just banning them from dancing on it. It’s like, look, we try to have a hard edge or whatever and you’re in there in your tights dancing on TikTok ain’t quite the image of our program that I want.”

Rodriguez is beginning his second stint as Mountaineers coach He said he has talked to his players about emphasizing the individual rather than the team, and that banning TikTok dancing is something he can do to put the focus where it belongs.

Red Sox RHP Bello not ready for season opener FORT MYERS, Fla. — Boston Red Sox right-hander Brayan Bello won’t be ready for the start of the season, manager Alex Cora told reporters Tuesday Bello, the opening day starter last season, has been dealing with soreness in his shoulder this spring. The Red Sox have been taking a cautious approach with him. The 25-year-old was 14-8 last season with a 4.49 ERA. He had 153 strikeouts over 1621/3 innings. The pitcher from the Dominican Republic agreed to a $55 million, six-year contract last March after originally signing with the Red Sox in 2017 for $28,000. This will be his fourth season in the majors with Boston. Bello is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday

A national panel of sports editors and writers judged the contest.Results were announced last week This is the sixth consecutive year Louisiana’s largest newspaper was honored as one of the 10 best sections in the APSE’s “A Division,” the tier of largest organizations that includes papers such as the Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News and Newsday Since 2013, The Advocate has earned 53 overall top 10 awards and honorable mentions.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By CHARLIE RIEDEL

talks with the media during a Feb 5 availability event for

Orleans Marriott.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By RyAN SUN

Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu

remains with the Saints. Notebook

Philadelphia

Eagles safety

C.J GardnerJohnson holds a newspaper after the Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX on Feb 9 at the Caesars Superdome.

AP PHOTO By GEORGE WALKER IV

Eagles trade Gardner-Johnson as NFL moves keep on coming

BY ARNIE STAPLETON

AP pro football writer

The Philadelphia Eagles’ topranked defense is getting a major makeover a month after ending Patrick Mahomes’ bid to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a third consecutive Super Bowl title.

A day after defensive tackle

Milton Williams and edge rusher

Josh Sweat agreed to leave Philly via free agency, the Super Bowl champs agreed to send safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Houston Texans for guard Kenyon Green and a swap of late-round draft picks, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday

Like free agent contracts, trades will become official with the start of the new league year on Wednesday Green, who was the 15th overall pick in the 2022 draft, started 23 games for Houston over two seasons. He didn’t play in 2023 because of a shoulder injury

The Texans also agreed to trade left tackle Laremy Tunsil to Washington on Monday They have big holes up front on an offensive line that struggled to protect C.J. Stroud last season. On Monday when the league’s 52-hour legal tampering window opened, Williams agreed to a deal with New England worth $26 million annually and Sweat is heading to the Arizona Cardinals on a four-year, $76.4 million contract

The terms of the deals are all according to people familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because teams generally don’t announce contract terms and the deals can’t be signed until Wednesday, the start of the new league year

The Minnesota Vikings continued an aggressive reconstruction of the interior lines on Tuesday by agreeing to terms on contracts with former Washington defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (three years, $60 million) and former In-

dianapolis guard Will Fries (five years, $88 million) who followed center Ryan Kelly from the Colts to the Vikings.

Allen missed half of last season after tearing a pectoral muscle, but he returned for the final four games, including the playoffs as the Commanders reached the NFC championship game.

Because Allen was released last week for salary cap savings before the expiration of his previous contract, the Vikings were allowed to host the two-time Pro Bowl pick on a visit to team headquarters and announce the deal ahead of the signing period.

With the addition of Fries and Kelly, the Vikings have taken two big steps toward smoothing out the expected debut of quarterback J.J. McCarthy after his rookie season was waylaid by a knee injury and Sam Darnold departed for Seattle Fries will bring instant chemistry with Kelly a four-time Pro Bowl pick over nine seasons with the Colts whose arrival might well mean the end of Garrett Bradbury’s six-year tenure as Minnesota’s starting center

The Vikings have had one of the best tackle tandems in the league with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill, but interior pass protection has hurt them often.

That was never more apparent than in their wild-card round loss to the Rams two months ago, when Darnold was sacked nine times.

QB moves

Challenging Anthony Richardson for the starting quarterback job in Indianapolis will be Daniel Jones, who agreed to a one-year, $14 million contract.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard projected this sort of move was in the works when he told reporters at the NFL’s annual scouting combine Indy would have an “open” competition for the job.

“I think it’s good for the team, I

value that still ranks 16th in the NFL. That’s middle of the pack among starters.

think it’s good for Anthony,” Ballard said in late February “Look, we drafted Anthony high, knowing it was going to take some time, and we knew there was going to be some hiccups along the way.”

Jones, the No 6 overall pick in 2019 by the Giants who went 2444-1 in New York with one playoff victory, will get a chance to prove he can still be a starter in the league. He finished last season as a backup for the Vikings after the Giants released him. Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft but has struggled with both injuries and accuracy in his first two NFL seasons. He’s just 8-7 as a starter and last season had the lowest completion rate, 47.7%, of any starting quarterback in the NFL. In two seasons, Richardson also has 11 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions.

Other deals

The 49ers added some depth at safety a day after losing Talanoa Hufanga to Denver San Francisco agreed to a one-year deal with former Atlanta second-round pick Richie Grant, who started 33 games for the Falcons but was mostly a backup and special teams player last season.

The Cowboys retained free agent DT Osa Odighizuwa (four years, $80 million) and shored up their thin interior defensive line by adding former Jets DT Solomon Thomas (two years, $8 million).

The Falcons’ first free agent addition is LB Divine Deablo (two years), who had 63 tackles in 14 games with the Raiders last season and 106 in 15 games in 2023.

The Chiefs have agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract with former Titans and Chargers cornerback Kristian Fulton. His size physicality and versatility will help to free up All-Pro CB Trent McDuffie.

Carolina released veteran running back Miles Sanders.

LSU softball puts beating on UL

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

An LSU-UL softball game usually can be counted on for an intense atmosphere and competitive battle, but the red-hot No. 4 Tigers quickly took away all of that at Tiger Park on Tuesday

LSU scored six runs in the first inning, and Jayden Heavener just missed a no-hitter as the Tigers dominated the Cajuns 14-0 in a fiveinning mercy rule victory

It was the fourth consecutive fiveinning win and 11th this season for LSU, which won its ninth straight game while snapping a two-game UL winning streak.

Heavener took a no-hitter into the fifth before Mia Liscano led off with a sharp grounder to shortstop Avery Hodge, who made a diving stop but couldn’t get the ball to first base in time.

The game was long decided by then as Tori Edwards drove in four runs with a two-run single up the middle in the first inning and her ninth homer of the season in the fourth.

LSU (24-1) banged out 11 hits with McKenzie Redoutey getting three, and Edwards and Danieca Coffey two each. Coffey had a tworun double in the first.

“Our offense is able to apply pressure through the game to a ton of our opponents,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “We’re scoring early and scoring often. The at-bats they’re having, the base running, they continue to apply pressure. It’s hard to play defense and pitch against us.”

It was a disappointing loss for the Cajuns (13-10), who have played well against a tough schedule and were coming off of a victory

ZION

Continued from page 1C

ing up on his first career tripledouble recorded two weeks ago against the Phoenix Suns.

Trey Murphy, who moved into 10th on the franchise’s all-time scoring list Tuesday, finished with 21 points.

CJ McCollum scored 23 points and had seven assists on a night the 3-pointers were falling for the Pels They made 17 of 31 3-pointers. The Pelicans (18-48) now have won 11 of their last 14 games against the Clippers (35-30).

They lost the first meeting this season in December 116-113 in a game Pelicans rookie center Yves Missi missed a free throw with 4.3 seconds left that could have sent it into overtime. This time, they finished the deal.

The Pelicans used their 34th different starting lineup: Williamson, McCollum, Murphy, Bruce Brown and Missi.

Brown, who has struggled since the Pelicans acquired him in the Brandon Ingram trade, had his best game since arriving in New

against Alabama under first-year head coach Alyson Habetz. Starting pitcher Bethaney Noble allowed three hits and a walk to the first five batters she faced before getting pulled in favor of Mallory Wheeler

“We didn’t have the fight we normally have,” Habetz said “It all starts in the circle. We were giving up freebies, not as sharp as we normally are and it kind of snowballed from that. Taking third strikes is now our way of hitting.

“We’re better than that. This will hopefully do something to us when we start conference this weekend. Turn the page and work on getting better.”

LSU added six runs in the fourth, highlighted by Edwards’ line drive over the left-field wall on the first pitch from the third UL pitcher, Sam Ryan, on a screwball inside.

“It was a pitch I saw earlier in the game and wasn’t liking it,” Edwards said. “I adjusted a little bit, and when I got it, I was ready for it.

“(In the first inning), I was trying to see a pitch I could do something with. Knowing our team has been rolling and not try to do too much. I saw a pitch I knew I could send the opposite way or up the middle and kept it simple as possible.”

Heavener continued to show improvement from some bouts of wildness in the past couple of weeks. She walked four but pitched around the baserunners and finished with six strikeouts.

“I think I was hitting my spots a little bit better than the last couple of games I had,” Heavener said. “It could have been better; it can always be better But it worked and I got the outs I needed to, so I’m proud of myself for allowing the defense to get some outs.”

Orleans.

He converted on a three-point play to start the game and scored 10 points in the first eight minutes. He finished with 12 points, his most with the Pelicans.

The Pelicans led by as many as 21 points in the first half but took just a 61-51 lead into halftime. The Clippers were 0-12 this season when trailing by 10 or more points at the half before Tuesday That trend continued as the Pelicans withstood the Clippers’ thirdquarter rally Mo Bamba, who the Pelicans signed to a 10-day contract on Monday, made his team debut. He didn’t score but grabbed seven rebounds.

The Clippers were without coach Ty Lue, who missed his second straight game because of back issues. Assistant coach Brian Shaw filled in for Lue as the Pelicans snapped the Clippers’ three-game winning streak.

Karlo Matkovic scored 15 points and Jose Alvarado scored 14 for the Pelicans, who will host the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.

That’s

over that process with a no-trade clause. There’s a separate argument to be made that the Saints would have been better off taking that hit now to reset for the future, but the team’s brass did not view that as a palatable option, which further strengthened Carr’s leverage Remember, the Saints went 0-7 when Carr was injured last season. Carr also might have been fine if he had been released. ESPN reported the 33-yearold was open to the idea of hitting the market for quarterback-needy teams. And given the landscape, Carr likely would have been one of the more notable names available.

Would he have been able to make back his $40 million? That’s unclear But Sam Darnold joined the Seattle Seahawks on a threeyear, $100.5 million contract with $55 million guaranteed, while Justin Fields agreed to join the Jets on a twoyear, $40 million deal with $20 million guaranteed.

As it stands, Carr’s original four-year, $150 million deal signed in 2023 carries an average annual

Saints coach Kellen Moore said the team had “conservations” about Carr’s contract before restructuring the deal, but he did not directly respond when a reporter asked whether New Orleans asked Carr to take a pay cut. He also sidestepped a question about whether Carr wanted to be traded or was open to hitting free agency instead focusing on how the Saints wanted him.

“We just talked about our, obviously, confidence in this situation and the ability for him to have success here,” Moore said. There have been instances in which quarterbacks do their teams a legitimate favor Tom Brady, for years, took less than his market value to help the New England Patriots maintain their dynasty — though that is notably different from accepting an outright pay cut Others, such as Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes and Buffalo’s Josh Allen, have locked in extensions that arguably don’t maximize their earning potential, but in those cases, they’re still often paid near (or at the top) of the market. But the NFL rarely sees

quarterbacks ripping up their contracts to take noticeably less. The one rare recent exception was Aaron Rodgers in 2023 after he was traded to the New York Jets. Rodgers sacrificed a whopping $35 million on a reworked two-year, $75 million deal. Rodgers’ old deal had $110 million in guarantees, but that included a $107.6 million cap hit for 2024 upon being traded to New York from Green Bay, which was the driving factor for the deal to be redone.

Other than that, quarterback pay cuts are few and far between. Jimmy Garoppolo lowered his $24.6 million non-guaranteed base salary in 2022 to stay with the San Francisco 49ers at a guaranteed salary of $6.5 million plus incentives.

Jameis Winston and Taylor Heinicke also reduced their salaries when opting to stay with the Saints and Falcons in 2023 and 2024, respectively The Falcons ended up trading Heinicke to the Los Angeles Chargers before the start of the 2024 season anyway

In those cases, however, all three were facing backup roles and weren’t entrenched as starters like Carr

Despite it all, Carr’s re-

structuring can help the Saints add in free agency, as it frees up more than $30 million in cap room. The obvious trade-off to that is shifting that money around

now makes Carr even more expensive in 2026 with a $69.2 million cap hit. That’s not impossible to move on from if need be but costly nonetheless.

THE VARSITY ZONE

McAllister turns his coach into prophet

onds left. It was the final push the thirdseeded Cajuns needed to claim a dramatic 54-53 victory over The Dunham School in a Division III select semifinal on Wednesday at the LHSAA boys basketball tournament.

BY ROBIN FAMBROUGH Staff writer

LAKE CHARLES Mike McGuire

spoke it into existence.

The veteran Country Day coach told his team to expect a one-point game. Freshman guard Curtis McAllister made it a victory

The son of former Saints running back Deuce McAllister sank a jumper in the lane with 31.1 sec-

“We talked about Dunham being a championship (caliber) team they’re here every year,” McGuire said. “We’ve played them a lot of times.

“I told my guys we want to win by one point It doesn’t matter how we do it. We have to find a way to win by one point because we know those guys (Dunham) won’t back down.”

The second-seeded Tigers (19-6) rallied from a 15-point, third-quarter deficit and took the lead for the

first time with 3:21 left. The Cajuns held their ground on defense in the closing seconds as Gavin Blanton’s short-range shot bounced just off the mark. With the win, Country Day (25-6) advances to play the winner of the late Wednesday semifinal between Calvary Baptist and Rosepine at 4 p.m. Friday at Burton Coliseum. The Cajuns will be seeking their eighth LHSAA title.

Kellen Brewer led the Cajuns with 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Junior Herman Dyson added 14 points and eight rebounds for the winners.

AJ Olivier and Elijah Haven had 12 points each to pace Dunham

The Tigers shot better than Country Day from the field, 52% (23 of 44) to 44% (19 of 43) but had five

more turnovers (17 to 12) than Country Day and shot 10 fewer free throws. It was the third semifinal loss in a row for Dunham (19-6).

“This hurts between our 17 turnovers and them shooting 10 more free throws than us you see a difference,” said Dunham coach Chad Myers, who was flanked by Haven and Olivier at the postgame news conference. “We’ve been down by 15 points and won before. We talked about that.

“These guys gave us everything they could. (The Dunham players) all did. We’ve got to find a way to get over the hump.”

Dunham and Country Day met in the postseason for first time since 2019. The Cajuns beat the Tigers to win titles in 2017 and 2019.

Country Day raced out to a 7-0 lead and led 13-8 after the first quarter The Cajuns led by 10 at one point in the second quarter Dunham whittled the lead down to three points, at 27-24, before MPCD senior Andrew

SOFTBALL

BY SPENCER URQUHART Staff writer

Chapelle won its first softball state championship last season and has a young team in 2025 that was tested by Dominican to begin district play

It was all Chapelle early after a nine-run first inning, but the sizable lead was erased after Dominican tied the game in the fourth and took a one-run lead in the fifth. Chapelle rallied back with two runs in the sixth for an 11-10 win Tuesday at Butch Duhe Park.

Chapelle’s Taylor Allen led off the sixth inning with a single and scored on an RBI single by first baseman Mia Impastato. Shortstop

Addy Robin then delivered an RBI double to break the 10-10 tie.

“This is exactly what I expected from a great Dominican team,” Chapelle coach Scott O’Brien said.

“We knew 9-0 meant nothing to them because they were going to just keep coming at us. We’re very young. We have one senior and one junior and we just have to keep working.”

A sophomore, Robin redeemed herself after multiple fielding errors. She had a strong afternoon at the plate, going 3 for 4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored.

“I had two strikes (during the sixth inning at-bat) and knew I had to lock in,” Robin said. “I was like, I have to do this for my team. After those errors, I had to shake it off. I was so happy when I hit a line drive.”

Chapelle has been tasked with replacing last year’s ace pitcher Kayla Giardina, who’s now at Southern Mississippi. Sophomore Liv Nevels was in the circle against Dominican and threw a

“This is exactly what I expected from a great Dominican team. We knew 9-0 meant nothing to them because they were going to just keep coming at us We’re very young We have one senior and one junior, and we just have to keep working.”

SCOTT O’BRIEN, Chapelle softball coach

complete game. Nevels faced adversity in the middle innings but allowed no runs in the sixth or seventh. Only four of the 10 runs allowed were earned because of multiple errors.

“We need to make plays behind (Nevels),” O’Brien said. “That’s been our vice so far as a young team.”

Dominican senior third baseman Ava Lusco hit a pair of home runs, including a solo shot in the fifth inning to give her team the lead. Lusco finished 3 for 4 at the plate with a team-high three RBIs.

“We had a very slow start and had too many errors in the first inning,” Dominican coach Dawn Benoit said.

“Once we settled down and everything was rolling, we just focused on chipping away and getting runs back. Unfortunately we couldn’t seal the deal.”

Chapelle (4-2) was No. 12 in the Division I select power ratings heading into the district opener The Chipmunks will be back at the Butch Duhe Park on Thursday against Houma Christian. Dominican (4-4) was No. 7 in the power ratings and has another district matchup at Karr on Thursday

TOP: Mount Carmel’s Saige Vichot makes a throw to first base against John Curtis on Tuesday in River Ridge.

RIGHT: Kinsley Mcinnis of John Curtis, left, is greeted by cheers after scoring a run against Mount Carmel. This game was in extra innings at press time. Mount Carmel won 6-5 in 13 innings. For a story on the game, go to nola. com.

STAFF PHOTOS By JOHN MCCUSKER

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

SEC gauntlet arrives in Music City

BY TERESA M. WALKER AP sportswriter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Southeastern Conference brings its expanded men’s tournament to Nashville — with Texas and Oklahoma visiting Music City for the first time as league members — and even a neutral court can look like a cage match after the meatgrinder of a regular season

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes certainly wants his team’s fans to make the short drive and paint Bridgestone Arena orange and white. Any advantage helps, and his Vols lost three road games by a combined five points.

With six of the SEC’s seven ranked teams inside the top 15, the league never has been stronger An unprecedented 13 members are hoping to grab NCAA Tournament berths and two likely No. 1 seeds as well.

The SEC’s 16 teams will play 15 games over five days starting Wednesday with No. 9 seed Arkansas and coach John Calipari kicking it off against 16th-seeded South Carolina. Regular-season champion Auburn is looking to repeat as the tournament champion, but Alabama won the 2023 title and Tennessee took the trophy home in 2022. Barnes makes clear he wants to see his fourth-seeded Vols win after being one-anddone last year

“Right now, there’s a lot of teams fighting for their lives to try and get to the NCAA Tournament,” Barnes said. “We’re fighting to get better and that’s what’s on our agenda that we have got to continue to grow And otherwise, right now, we’ve got two games left if we don’t get better And so right now it’s up to us as a program to see how long of a run in terms of games that we want to make here.”

Auburn (27-4) won’t play until Friday along with Tennessee, No 2 seed Florida and No. 3 seed Alabama. Auburn likely needs to repeat to be atop the No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament after the Tigers’ overtime home loss to Alabama to wrap up the regular season. That’s just fine with coach Bruce Pearl.

“Winning championships are things you’re going to celebrate your whole life,” Pearl said. “That’s never going to get taken away

RABALAIS

Continued from page 1C

We won’t know until Sunday but that defeat may well have cost LSU a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The latest bracketology from ESPN and HerHoopStats com have the Tigers as a No. 3 seed for the fourth straight season under Mulkey That isn’t a huge problem — again, LSU won the whole thing as a 3 seed in 2023 and would get to host first- and second-round games but it does put a No. 2 seed in your path to try to even get to the Elite Eight Before worrying about any of that, the Tigers just have to get right. Johnson sat out the regular-season finale against Ole Miss and the SEC Tournament but was hobbling before that, going 2 of 12 from the field with just six points at Alabama. LSU won’t play before March 21, and Mulkey has said confidently that will give Johnson and Morrow time to get ready

That’s a must for LSU. The Tigers will be vulnerable even in a 3-14 NCAA matchup if any of its Big Three (also including Mikaylah Williams) is reduced to a spectator’s role. As for LSU’s chances of still being a 2 seed, never count out the NCAA selection

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BUTCH DILL Auburn forward Johni Broome dunks against Alabama on Saturday in Auburn, Ala. The top-seeded Tigers are looking to repeat as SEC Tournament champions, but will have a tough road to the title.

SEC

from you. We’re in postseason now, and postseason is all about step-up.”

Star big man Johni Broome agrees with his coach

“We’re going to Nashville to win a tournament championship,” Broome said.

Florida also may have a grip on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama can make its own argument by beating No. 2 Florida in the semifinals.

The SEC’s newcomers get to see the party just steps from Nashville’s honky-tonk district. Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington went from taking James Madison to the NCAA Tournament to the verge of ending the Commodores’ NCAA drought for a program that last went dancing in 2017.

Calipari has been here many times but faces far different expectations in his first season at Arkansas. He’s trying to get the Razorbacks back to the NCAAs after missing out last year Mark Pope, his replacement at Kentucky (21-10), earned a firstround bye and the sixth seed, though expectations of a 32nd tournament title likely are tempered this time around for the Wildcats.

against Georgia on Feb 20 in the PMAC. Johnson, who sat out the regular-season finale against Ole Miss and the SEC

committee doing the unexpected, but it seems unlikely

The only likely hope is that the NCAA values LSU as a 2 seed over NC State, a team the Tigers drummed 82-65 back in November in The Bahamas. The Wolfpack (26-6) finished better than LSU, reaching the ACC Tournament final, but the Tigers have a significantly better NET ranking (10) to NC State’s 16.

I’m probably thinking about this more than Mulkey is. I imagine if her Tigers are at full strength by next weekend, she’ll be ready to take her chances against anyone.

LSU hoping to have long stay in Nashville

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Staff writer

Fans inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center chose to beat the traffic. They gradually vacated the basketball arena before the five-game losing streak became official. The LSU men trailed by as many as 16 points with eight minutes left and only made six field goals in the second half of a 66-52 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday

The Tigers ended the regular season 15th in the Southeastern Conference with a 14-17 overall record and a 3-15 conference record.

“Obviously, disappointed with where we’re at in the standings and where we finished in league play,” coach Matt McMahon said Saturday

Disappointment won’t be the frame of mind it will enter the SEC Tournament with when it faces Mississippi State at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Nashville, Tennessee. The third-year coach described this time as a “reset.”

Regular-season records are meaningless in a single-elimination tournament. Winning the next game is all that matters.

To survive the first round against the SEC’s 10th seed, the Tigers will need to forget the past and improve on their shortcomings.

Mississippi State is a good team but not a juggernaut, possessing the 32nd best Net rating on KenPom.

LSU also had a two-point halftime lead over the Bulldogs in the teams’ first matchup on March 1. The Tigers ended up losing that game 81-69.

Josh Hubbard was most responsible for thwarting LSU the first time. The 5-foot11 guard scored 30 points, including 20 in the second half, on 50% shooting. Limiting his production will be at the heart of the Tigers’ game plan.

“We know Hubbard put on a show there in the second half. We’ll have to figure out a way to contain him better,” McMahon said.

He also mentioned improved rebounding and management of fouls as important aspects. Both loom large, especially because the team may be without its best rebound-

ä LSU vs. Mississippi State. 6 P.M.WEDNESDAy,

er Corey Chest and third-leading scorer Vyctorius Miller because of injuries

What also could prolong the Tigers’ SEC Tournament run is the continued resurgence of Jordan Sears.

LSU’s margin of error is slim, but Sears is an X-factor who can widen it significantly after his second-best showing in conference play Against Texas A&M, he had 21 points on 6-of-13 shooting and only two turnovers. The fifth-year senior scored 16 of the team’s 32 first-half points. He was not as effective after halftime, partially because he rolled an ankle in the second 20 minutes Either way the 5-11 point guard was a steadying presence as leading scorer Cam Carter had seven points on a season-worst 2 of 12 from the field.

Sears was impressive at attacking mismatches after screens and getting uncontested layups against the Aggies, which have the seventh-best defensive rating in the country, according to KenPom. He went 3 of 8 from the 3-point line and excelled at reaching the free-throw He made 6 of 7 attempts and contributed to Texas A&M having two players with four fouls.

Sears has a knack for drawing shooting fouls above the 3-point line and getting three points that way as an 86.8% freethrow shooter His offensive juice alongside Carter elevates LSU’s odds greatly Two offensive weapons clicking at once rarely has happened this season and can alleviate the pressure put on the rest of the team, which has been offensively challenged. LSU is 121st in offensive rating on KenPom, which is 15 spots below the secondworst SEC team South Carolina. Carter performed well against the Bulldogs in the first meeting, totaling 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. Some semblance of that along with Sears’ resurgence give LSU a chance for an extended stay in Nashville.

Email Toyloy Brown III at toyloy.brown@ theadvocate.com

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson takes a shot

A return to form

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

Is it a diner or fine dining? This tiny new Metairie restaurant is a bit of both

BY IAN McNULTY Staff writer

Dr. Jones is a shoeboxsized Metairie restaurant that feels like a diner You can see the whole operation from any seat, with just a handful of tables, five seats at the dining counter and an open kitchen

What you don’t see, but can vividly taste, are the steps that go into this short menu to make its dishes sing.

Dr Jones is what happens when chefs with the bona fides to run high-end restaurants instead turn the sourcing and flavor-building techniques of upscale kitchens into their own take on comfort food

Much of it tastes like New Orleans

cooking, but it’s different from anywhere else, and that makes unpacking a meal at this casual, affordable spot more exciting.

The gumbo is ostensibly a chicken and andouille version, common enough. Left unsaid are how tomatoes and okra are roasted overnight to join the dried scallops and shrimp invisibly worked into the roux, plus a dose of djon djon, a type of Haitian black mushroom. Remarkably, it tastes like gumbo, but unlike any I’ve had before, and every spoonful is a major umami bomb.

The basic-sounding, kid-friendly “crispy chicken bites” have a hot sauce honey butter But they start by caramelizing that honey on its way to becoming a glaze for these twobite chunks. The dish is generally in

the neighborhood of General Tso’s chicken, though with deeper flavor and the American Chinese food connection has at least one reference to the backstory of Dr Jones Who is Dr. Jones?

The chefs here are David Rouse and Billy Jones, two northshore natives who have long worked in each other’s orbits. That included time in Chicago, cooking in that city’s Michelin star restaurant realm. Back in New Orleans, they would each eventually hold chef de cuisine posts at Donald Link restaurants — Rouse at Herbsaint, Jones at Cochon. Jones later left to co-found Blue Giant, the American Chinese restaurant that has since closed. The two started working together again with a catering business,

After more than a decade, the Franklin closed its doors over the Mardi Gras weekend, drawing a chorus of dismay from its fans. Very soon, though, its stylish old home in the Marigny will become a new restaurant bringing together a cast of pros who long worked together with that local culinary hitmaker, the Link Restaurant Group. It’s also the comeback for one chef who has been out of the dining scene for a few years.

The new restaurant is called Evviva (2600 Dauphine St., at Franklin Avenue) and is scheduled to open an early April. It takes its name from the Italian word for “hurray,” or maybe “yippee!” Those familiar with the names behind it will likely be saying the same.

The new operators are Heather Lolley and Humberto Suazo, who together spent decades working for chef Donald Link’s company, she as operations director, he as chief financial officer Today they run the Bywater taco hot spot Galaxie.

STAFF PHOTOS By IAN McNULTy

Gumbo, onion ring fritters and mirliton cabbage salad fill a table at Dr Jones restaurant in Metairie.

Crispy sweet potatoes are topped with pecorino and a crunchy chile topping at Dr Jones.

Billy Jones, left, and David Rouse are experienced fine dining chefs working a different niche at their casual Dr Jones restaurant in Metairie.

Storing spices correctly

Dear Heloise: Spices can now get exposed to the light (and maybe the heat of the fridge’s motor), but my recollection is that spices, like medications, should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place to preserve its freshness. Yes or no? —

Gaye W., via email

Gaye, yes, in an ideal situation, spices last longer in a cool, dry and dark place. However, not every kitchen is set up to provide an ideal place to store items in a cool, dry and dark space. Many apartment kitchens have very small storage spaces, so some people just make the best out of having limited options. — Heloise Makeup debate

Hints from Heloise

Dear Heloise: I always read with interest the do’s and don’ts of washing makeup off at night Science is science, but we are all different, so we have to decide our own process for ourselves. I met my husband on a blind date when I was 33. My home was on his way to work, so he would stop by and have coffee with me. I was busy getting my teenage daughters up for school and getting myself ready for work, so I had to cut “time corners” somewhere. I stopped washing my makeup off at night so that I had some on in the

morning It wasn’t much, but it did the trick. I am now almost 81 and have been with my husband for almost 48 years. He says that I look just fine with or without makeup, and no one can believe my age because I have very few winkles. So, we are all different, and I would caution women to use very mild cleanser — not soap — on their faces. Stay out of the sun and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize! It also helps to marry a great guy

— Nancy L., Simi Valley, California

Nancy I consulted with two dermatologists and the representative of a major cosmetic manufacturer, and all three said to never sleep in your makeup. When you sleep on your side, you grind makeup into your skin, along with any dirt or perspiration that you picked up during the day By the end of the week, your pillowcase has stale makeup and bacteria on it.

Yes, we are all different, but washing your face with a mild soap and water to remove makeup and dirt is still the best habit to get into before bedtime. You should cut time corners in other ways. Heloise

Send a hint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAY IN HISTORY

the murders of 33 men and boys.

A mother’s heartache: Reaching out to my son

Dear Annie: I’m reaching out with a heavy heart and a mind full of memories. My oldest son, who once called me frequently and with whom I shared countless stories over long phone calls, now seems a stranger He’s married, has two wonderful children and lives out of state. Recently, family drama something entirely unrelated to me — has cast a long shadow over our relationship. He accused me of visiting his house and acting as if nothing was wrong, a claim that left me in tears because I have no recollection of any such act. I cherish the memories of our warm conversations and the simple joys of staying connected, even from afar I’ve tried to reach out — leaving calls, sending texts and even mailing a card to my granddaughters — in hopes of rekindling the closeness we once shared. But now, he’s made

Annie Lane DEAR ANNIE

it clear that he’s determined to shield his wife and daughters, even going so far as changing their contact information, which makes me feel completely cut off. I’m at a complete loss. The relationship we had is now shrouded in misunderstanding and silence, and it’s hard not to feel that this rift might be irreparable. I’m torn between continuing to extend my hand in love and stepping back to protect my own heart from further pain. What do you think I should do? Is there a way to bridge this distance again, or should I accept this painful separation? Your guidance in this tumultuous time would mean more to me than words can say — Hurting Mother and Grandmother Dear Hurting: I’m truly sorry you’re caught in such a painful situation with your son. It sounds as though

your heart — filled with love and care — is being met with accusations and silence, and that’s simply not right. Family matters are often messy, and while your intentions might be good, misunderstandings can lead to hurt feelings. Write him a letter calmly explaining how his words and actions have hurt you, and ask for clarity on what you did wrong because you want to work on it. Let him know that your love and concern have never wavered, and that you’re confused by this sudden estrangement. Family relationships can be delicate and complex, but healing is possible when both sides are willing to engage. Stay strong, and remember that you have always been, and will always be, a loving presence in his life — even if he’s not ready to see it now

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@creators. com.

By The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, March 12, the 71st day of 2025. There are 294 days left in the year

Today in history

On March 12, 1930, Mohandas Gandhi began his 24-day, 240mile “Salt March” to the Indian village of Dandi (then called Navsari) as an act of non-violent civil disobedience to protest the salt tax levied by colonial Britain.

On this date:

In 1912, the Girl Scouts of the USA had its beginnings as Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Georgia, founded the first American troop of the Girl Guides.

In 1928, the St. Francis Dam north of Los Angeles, California, failed, sending over 12 billion gallons of water into San Francisquito Canyon and killing over 400 people.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the first of his “fireside chats,” a series of evening radio broadcasts to the American public.

In 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria, as German troops crossed the border into the country

In 1947, President Harry S Truman announced what became known as the “Truman Doctrine” to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism during the Cold War.

In 1980, a Chicago jury found John Wayne Gacy Jr guilty of

‘TODAY’

Continued from page 1D

a float, and later, Alla’s King and Queen, James Carter and Gian Durand, made Roker, Melvin and Dreyer the honorary king and queens of the “Krewe of the ‘3rd Hour.’” Notably, this is also the first time any of “Today” has filmed in New Orleans since Hoda Kotb retired. Her presence, however was felt through a video message for Roker, Melvin and Dreyer

“You will enjoy what I believe is the best city on Earth,” Kotb said. “Y’all have so much fun without me. Wah wah. Happy Mardi Gras!” Kotb, who was once a reporter at WWL in New Orleans, has been a strong champion for the city that continues to support her Roker shared a story about the time he rode on a float with Kotb during Mardi Gras and said it was like riding with royalty

In addition to well wishes, Kotb also encouraged her former colleagues to eat some good food while they were in town

And that they did while taping and on some adventures around town. The crew sampled Dong Phuong king cake, beignets and a Pat O’Brien’s hurricane at 8 a.m. Friday Then, they showed off their adventures from the day before, including a ride on the streetcar and a crawfish-eating demonstration at the French Market by chef Isaac Toups.

(The next day, Gacy was sentenced to death; he was executed in May 1994.)

In 2003, Elizabeth Smart, the 15-year-old girl who vanished from her bedroom nine months earlier, was found alive in a Salt Lake City suburb with two drifters, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. (Mitchell is serving a life sentence for kidnapping Smart; Barzee was released from prison in September 2018.)

In 2009, disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty in New York to the largest Ponzi scheme in history, having defrauded his clients of nearly $65 billion; he would later be sentenced to 150 years behind bars.

(Madoff died in prison in April 2021.)

In 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a civil lawsuit from George Floyd’s family over Floyd’s murder by police.

Today’s Birthdays: Politician and civil rights activist Andrew Young is 93. Actor Barbara Feldon is 92. Actor-singer Liza Minnelli is 79. Politician Mitt Romney is 78. Singer-songwriter James Taylor is 77. Author Carl Hiaasen is 72. Actor Lesley Manville is 69. Singer Marlon Jackson (The Jackson Five) is 68. Actor Courtney B. Vance is 65. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is 57. Actor Aaron Eckhart is 57. TV journalist Jake Tapper is 56. Actor Jaimie Alexander is 41.

Soon, chef Edgar “Dook” Chase IV started setting up some classics like the red beans and gumbo to, as he said, give them a taste of what New Orleanians will be eating on Mardi Gras “whether on the neutral ground or at home.”

After a full morning of filming, the “3rd Hour” hosts headed over to the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute to host their first food event. Dreyer explained that they wanted to be able to share with viewers a taste of the cooking demonstrations they usually do on air

So, with the help of Ti Martin and chefs Toya Boudy, Alon Shaya, Zoe Chase and “Dook” Chase, the fans of the “Today” show either from New Orleans or visiting for Mardi Gras were able to enjoy demonstrations on how to make gumbo, succotash with blackened redfish, bread pudding and a sazerac.

“New Orleans has been a food city for 300 years and we aren’t going to stop now,” Martin said to kick off the luncheon.

While this “Today” show visit was filled with firsts, including Dreyer’s first time ever coming to the Crescent City, Melvin explained that this was the fourth straight year that a show has been taped here and that this is the only city that can say that.

The show was sponsored by New Orleans & Company

“Invite us back; we want to keep coming,” Dreyer said.

“We look for any excuse to come to New Orleans,” Roker added.

Email Chelsea Shannon at cshannon@theadvocate.com.

DR. JONES

Continued from page 1D

and leased the small space on Vets as a homebase (it was previously the first location of Yakuza House before that sushi standout moved to much bigger digs nearby).

But chefs will be chefs, and as they started messing around with dishes beyond the catering repertoire, they started building a menu, and then a restaurant plan, and thus Dr Jones opened late last year

The name combines Rouse’s initials with Jones’s surname, conjuring a character that doesn’t exist There is no doctor in the house nor behind the scenes as an investor It’s the two of them usually with another cook and one waiter What’s on the menu

During a recent lunch, I kept adding to our order because after the

first dishes I needed to try more.

Their blackened eggplant is unexpectedly complex, its texture just cooked, not overcooked, its softly bitter notes preserved under pepper jelly imbued with fish sauce, and with cilantro bringing a flurry of freshness.

In the barbecue shrimp you taste all the expected butter and pepper, but something else cutting through its richness That’s the earthy influence of berbere, the Ethiopian seasoning blend, heavy with cumin and ginger and garlic.

The mirliton salad is the opposite of the stuffed, stewed, casserole contender comfort food the mirliton usually becomes. Here it’s shredded into a slaw with cabbage amped up with fish sauce, citrus and chiles, all crunchy fresh and light

Onion ring fritters turn a basic snack into little golden crisp nests that bring to mind pakoras.

A side dish of sweet potatoes have the texture I always want, but rarely find, from the tapas staple patatas bravas — crisp-shell cubes

with fluffy interiors. A crunchy, spicy salsa seca (a “dry salsa,” very much like garlic chile crisp) ignites the mellow bites; a slowly melting lace of pecorino gives a creamy, salty contrast.

Affordable, BYOB

I want to come back with a four top and order the entire menu, and that’s easily done here. The small opening menu has about 10 dishes and a few sides. Smaller dishes might be between $7 and $12; larger ones between $15 and $22.

Dr Jones is BYOB, and though right now it serves dinner only on Saturdays, I can totally see certain people (like myself) stopping at Martin’s or Dorignac’s nearby for a bottle to pair with lunch. The format is built to expand, so the schedule could increase in the future. There’s also a monthly dinner series in the works, set to begin March 28 with a seafood menu.

Email Ian McNulty at imcnulty@theadvocate.com.

Continued from page 1D

the partner in the Franklin. He said the former restaurant needed new energy, and for ideas he approached Lolley and Suazo, who are his business partners at Galaxie. They in turn recruited Wilcomb, who had been out of the restaurant business since departing Gianna in 2021. She’s since started a family and entered a new chapter of life. Today she says she’s eager to get back to

STAFF PHOTOS By IAN McNULTy

Dr Jones is a shoebox-sized restaurant with the feel of a diner between its counter and open kitchen.

The blackened eggplant has pepper jelly fish sauce and fresh herbs at Dr Jones.

Barbecue shrimp has an earthy undercurrent from berbere seasoning

n Tail of the City

“The fabulous Elves of Oberon made their first appearance four nights after the great snow of 1985.” So wrote Arthur Burton La Cour He continued, relating the frolics of the mischievous sprites and their pranks, especially those of Puck, which hark back to Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and the realm of Oberon, King of Fairyland, and Titania as his queen. The most recent bal masqué staged by the Elves of Oberon took place 34 days after the “great snow of 2025” and continued the fun of frolicking. This time, in the Orpheum Theater the tableau marquee was “Every Dog Has His Day” and featured our beloved Houdini hound, Scrim As the theatrics unfolded, Puck befriended on-the-run Scrim by bringing him to the embrace of Oberon, Titania and the merry Elves.

Setting doggone aside, it was time for dazzle.

This was rendered by Miss Sarah Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Brian Christopher Fitzpatrick, who reigned. Maids to queen Sarah were Misses Carolyn Taylor Bienvenu, Marguerite Lisette Breaux, Elizabeth Gale Brooks Annabelle Baldwin Brown, Carolyn Grace Burton, Charlotte Anne Galloway, Katie Paige Gardes, Madison Elizabeth Hales and Celia Shane Hardin Also, Misses Emma Claire Morton,Victoria Livaudais Nieset, Julia McLain Pilant, Eleanor McCall Plauché, Ella Smith Schneidau, Laura Elise Vickery, Margo Irene Gilthorpe Weese and Caroline Burke Zvonek. Four of them wore crowns recently for other Carnival balls: Misses Breaux, Athenians; Hales, Nereus; Morton, Dorians; and Vickery, Twelfth Night Revelers (and as a sub-deb, Squires.)

Nell Nolan SOCIETY

Contact: nnolan@theadvocate.com

n A Centennial Salute

Two of the maids have past royal connections within the Oberon realm, starting with Madison Hales. Her mother, Mrs. Stephen Benjamin Hales was the 1995 queen as Miss Elizabeth Kendall Goodier, and her grandmother, Mrs. Glenn Gill Goodier reigned in 1969 as Miss Nicette Louise Gensler Celia “Cici” Hardin’s aunt wore the 1992 crown as Miss Patricia Brousseau Hardin The pages to their majesties which, of course, included the king, dubbed Oberon, who ruled with elegant élan — were Masters Nicholas Jude Fleming Jr.,Thomas Cutting Mead, Bayne Hopkins Robertson and John McEnery Robertson III. Miss Barbara Ann Geary, now also Mrs.Thomas Gerard Diano, held the Oberon scepter 50 years ago. Both she, and the 2024 queen, Miss Marguerite Conery Schmidt, daughter of Mr and Mrs. Justin Burton Schmidt, were recognized at the ball. They curtsied before the monarchs and received flowers from the Oberon captain. More history occurred sartorially The queen’s heirloom gown was created for, and worn by, her cousin Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, when she held the Proteus scepter two decades ago. The original diamond shape pattern of beading was influenced by a famous portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. Royal Design House carefully restored and reimagined the regal dress. Violet is both the Oberon flower and the organization’s color. As a chromatic tribute, a number of the ladies in the audience wore ball gowns of similar hues, bedecked with the king’s pin and/or the krewe favor — both by Adler’s of Puck holding a pearl. Pearl was the familiar name of the late Mrs. Michael Quirk Walshe, née Aline Andry, and grandmother of the 2022 majesty Katherine Grace Walshe Noted in prominent seating with Mrs. Fitzpatrick, Carolyn, and royal sister Mary Kathryn Shelton Fitzpatrick, a former Oberon maid, were Mmes. O Miles Pollard Jr., Barbara Ewin Fitzpatrick, Carr Van Brocklin (née Elizabeth Fitzpatrick), John Peter Labouisse III,Waldo Carré Otis,Alfred Jackson Rufty, and Pamela Georges Dongieux with daughter Anita Also, Mrs.Terry Creel, Liz, who with husband Dr Creel, held the Queen’s Reception before the ball at their beautiful Garden District home. Decorations above the door provided a cheerful welcome. Still others, many tapping a toe to the music of the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra, were Mmes. Edward Hart Bergin,William Hugh Hines,William Courtade Carrere, Jacques Hazard Carrere, Kerry Steven Milano Jr., Nicholas A.Van der Vink, Clay Parker Kearney,Theodore Gugert Kennedy, Sean Patrick Laughlin, Andrew Ellender Stall and Sergei Hillery.

“Her Majesty The Queen of Oberon” headed the soft lilac colored Scriptura invitation for both the reception at the Creel residence and the post-ball supper in a private club. Decorations included the entrance design by Katie Rafferty; floral design by Pamela Dennis; and lighting by Calfee Productions. The chromatic palette was pink, lilac and lavender Breakfast was the fare, with special logo cookies as sweet delights. As for the sounds, the Phunky Monkeys rallied the crowd with gusto to the checker-board dance floor Upon royal reflection, queen Sarah expressed gratitude at her honor and her family’s Oberon longevity She concluded saying, “It was so special to be part of this tradition.” Somewhere, Scrim might have wagged his tail in accordance.

“Childrens 100th Anniversary” worded the cover of the circular ball program, which featured the colors of purple and gold. Atop was a drawing of a crown. The first Children’s Carnival Club ball unfolded in 1926 in the Gold Room of The Roosevelt Hotel with Raymond Harris Salmen and Elizabeth McClellan as King and Queen Once Upon a Time. It was only fitting to return to the venerable location for the centennial celebration that hailed in those royal roles Mr Connor Fredrick Langston and Miss Amelie Marie Sharp Their respective parents are Mr and Mrs. Shane Fredrick Langston, of Southlake, Texas, and Dr and Mrs. Cary Jason Sharp, of Baton Rouge. Last year, and returning in majestic glory, were Mr Shane Aubrey Langston and Miss Gabrielle Marie Dennis. Among the many past kings were Leon Irwin III, cartoonist Byron McClellan Humphrey, Edward F. LeBreton III, Gary Hyder Brewster Joseph M. Rault III, brothers John August “Jay” Batt and actor Bryan Mackenroth Batt, and Keith C. Marshall, who married his Queen Once Upon a Time Mildred Porteous Ball. Maids and dukes to the 2025 royalty were Misses and Messrs. Elizabeth Abigail Childress and Bennett Clarence Childress; Jules Marguerite Donaldson and Luke Jackson Connell; Elizabeth Ramsey Goldman and Jackson Carneal Goldman; Mary Claire Hodnette and Mason Bradley Hayes; Caroline Best LaCour and James Beauregard Kessler; Amelie Ann Alvarez and Bennett Dalton Matrana; and Emery Grace Alvarez and Anthony Roberto Rocha. Additional court members were pages Henry Joseph Alvarez, Michael Westley Johnsey Jr., Mark Joseph LaCour and Johan Alexander Larsson, Mattias Vincent Larsson and Daniel Louis Poche; captains James Hollis Holiday, Lane Sarah Connell, Landry Claire Hayes,Ann Frances Hodnette, Charlotte Spencer LaCour,Alicia Eva Rocha and Kiera Janley Vollman; and princesses Charlotte Kerstine Bartomeo,Abigal Grace Ann Goldman,Adelaide Rose Houser, Julia Jane Ruddock, Samantha Josephine Sharp, Natalie Florence Sharp, Mathilde Eugenie Waldron, Shea Marie Sheridan and Quinn Lainey Sheridan. In lieu of a themed tableau and its cherished characters (whoever they might be), the ball featured returning majesties. Former queens included Florence O’Connor Onstad (1940), Irlee LeClere Redmann, Antoinette Salmen, Betty Hanemann Miles, Schuyler T. Ruhlmann, Eileen Comer Gambel, Gayle Comer McNamara,Ashley Louise Salmen Brendel, Connie LaNasa Shannon,Adrienne M Roth,Adele S Dauphin,Allison Russell Waldron, Celeste Louapre Houser, Catherine Mann Bartomeo, Meredith Hotard McCune-Alvarez, Mariana Barry Boyd, Caroline “Kara” Mann Pietrok (who just married Mr Geoffrey Pietrok two days before the ball), Hillary Hotard Mauro, Katherine M. Bickham,Alston A. Bagot, Cecelia F. Zimmermann, Colleen E. Daly, Kristina S. Bickham, Catherine M. Zimmermann, Mackenzie L. Langston, Rebecca G. Langston, Eleanor H. Curtis,Alexandra Livingston and Gabrielle M. Dennis The initial returning king was J. Louis Costa of 1951, the son of Myldred Masson Costa, the first CCC captain and there have been only three in its 100 years. Other kings were Charles Farris III, Henry F. Owsley III, Matthew J. Hedrick III, Richard G. Ellis, Charles F. Childress III, Scott P. Beatty, Gregory S Killian, Edwin A. Geoghegan III, George A. Coiron IV,Austin G. Brackett,Trent R. Pouey,Thomas P. Bagot,Andrew G. Carter, Michael P. Karl, Philip J. Maier,Alexander P. Maier, Joseph W. Zimmermann, C Wilhelm Adriance and Aubrey L. Langston. Plus the 2024 monarchs. Committee notables were Messrs. Charles Childress Jr., Mark Bickham,W Kenneth Mann Jr., J Warren Browning, Marvin R. Russell and David DeGenova. Royal entertainment from the Maria and Joseph Giacobbe School of Dance (ballet master Richard Rholden), presentation of royal proclamations, presentation of a royal gift to St. Michael Special School and received by Master Peter Nalty the presentation of the honored guest (this columnist), acknowledgments to Messrs. Alan Brackett and Arthur S. Mann followed, as did the grand march, court dance, krewe drill, finale and general merriment. All praised adult captain Naomi S. Mann, who succeeded Bette Magne. After the ball and all its centennial celebration, the entourage moved to another vast space in The Roosevelt. Second-line white umbrellas fringed in gold and scripted, respectively King and Queen, reserved the monarchs’ tables. Lots of 100-year decorations; food loved by multi generations: sliders, pizzas, mac and cheese, French fries, and M&Ms; and a huge anniversary cake, in white and gold and surrounded by Mardi Gras beads, added to the fun. So did rounds of compliments to their majesties and the entourage, and the music by DJ Turk that got the golden groove going.

PHOTOS By JEFF STROUT

Sarah Fitzpatrick

Elizabeth Brooks, Taylor Bienvenu, Marguerite Breaux

Caroline Zvonek, Odom Heebe Jr., Ella Schneidau, Margo Weese

Livy Nieset Celia Hardin, Emma Morton, Ellie Plauche, Lainie Pilant

Elise Vickery, Stephen Schonberg, Madison Hales

Carolyn Burton, Charlotte Galloway, Katie Gardes, Annabelle Brown

Jude Fleming, Tomas Mead, Bayne Robertson, Jack Robertson

C.C. Langenstein, Carolyn Fitzpatrick, Barbara Diano, Nancy Walshe

PHOTOS By JEFF STROUT

Amelie Sharp, Connor Langston

Seated: Charlotte Bartomeo, Julia Jane Ruddock, Mathilde Eugenie Waldron; standing: Lane Connell, Ann Frances Hodnette, Charlotte LaCour

Caroline LaCour, Mary Hodnette, Elizabeth Childress, Jules Donaldson

Seated: Jimbeau Kessler Luke Connell, Jack Goldman; Standing: Gatlin Klein, Adam DeGenova

Seated: Mark LaCour, Mattias Larsson, Henry Mauro, Michael Johnsey; standing: Johan Larsson, James Holliday, Daniel Poche

Deborah Sharp, Jacqueline Magne, Kenneth Mann, Rebecca Langston

PIsCEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Take the plunge and participate in something challenging. Strive for positive change, and you will exceed your expectations. Trust your instincts.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help you make the right choices. A give-and-take situation with people you can barter with will pay off. Use your intelligence, attributes and skills to get ahead.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Take care of domestic issues and update anything that's pending regarding your home, finances or health. A proactive approach will help you avoid penalties or maintenance expenses.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Offer your time and input but not your cash. Paying for someoneelse'smistakewillleadtosticky situations. Prepare, upgrade and move forward fearlessly.

CAnCER (June 21-July 22) A high-energy attitude and a bold presentation will outshine anyone trying to undermine you Trust and believe in your ability, and the people you want to impress will follow suit. Look out for your health and financial security.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) A learning experience will turn into something tangible. Get involved in something you feel passionate about, and you'll feel the excitement of making a difference.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) The process of looking back will help you make better

choicesmovingforwardandgiveyouthe couragetomakeyourdreamscometrue. Don'tsitidlybywhenyoushouldbemaking things happen. Embrace change. LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) It'stimetobroaden your outlook, circle of friends or qualifications. The less time you spend worrying and fretting, the better it will be for you. Focus on the present and the future, and let the past go.

sCoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Attitude is everything when you want to make a pointorgetotherstojoinyourteam.Plan a trip that encourages a healthy lifestyle and long-term plans, and you will ensure personal growth and happiness.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Bypass negativity and people trying to manipulate you. Don't engage in indulgent behavior or promote uncertainty. Look for opportunities to have some fun.

CAPRICoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take nothing for granted; oversee whatever you want done to your expectations, and you won't be disappointed. High energy, insight and experience will put you in your own league.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Putyourtalents to work. An opportunity to bring in extra cashispossibleifyouarewillingtoputin the time and effort. Get to work!

The horoscope, an entertainment feature, is not based on scientific fact. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By 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: o EQuALs B

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

SALLY Forth

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is a number-placing puzzle based on a 9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1 to 9 in the empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box contains the same number only once. The difficulty level of the sudoku increases from monday to sunday.

Yesterday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oF id

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

CurTiS

By PHILLIP ALDER Bridge

Bridge is full of suit combinations that can be played in different ways, dependingonthenumberoftricksneededorthe circumstances in a particular deal. Taken in isolation, how should South handle today’s heart suit for either five tricks or four? And in the full deal, how should South play in six hearts after West leads the diamond queen?

In the auction, North’s three-heart rebid was game-forcing. South’s three spades was a control-bid (cue-bid) indicating a maximum, the spade ace and slam interest if North had a sufficiently strong hand. Four clubs and four diamonds were also control-bids, showing the aces of those suits.

To play the heart suit without loss, declarer should cash dummy’s king before finessing his jack. If South can afford one loser, he should cash his ace, play low to dummy’s king, and lead back toward his jack. (This would be the right play in six hearts if West had led a spade, not a diamond.)

In this deal, though, if South loses an early trump trick, the opponents will cash two diamond winners. The best line of play is to take the heart king and ace immediately. Here, the queen drops and declarer can claim an overtrick. But if the queen remains elusive, South plays on clubs, hoping to discard both of his diamond losers. If hearts are 3-2, declarer needs the defender with the queen to have at least three clubs. If hearts are 4-1 without giving South two unavoidable losers, the key defender must hold at least four clubs. © 2025 by nEa, inc., dist. By andrews mcmeel syndication

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 — WInDsoCK: WIND-sok: A cloth cone open on both ends and elevated to indicate wind direction.

Average mark 21 words

Time limit 30 minutes

Can you find 27 or more words in WINDSOCK?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD — GoALIEs

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles hidato

dIrectIons: make a 2- to 7-letter word from the letters in each row. add points of each word, using scoring directions at right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter have no point value. all the words are in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition.

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 thorugh 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners. 3 Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner. HErE is a

the number of

Puzzle Answer

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe iS roSe animal crackerS

DuStin

Drabble

Wallace the brave

breWSter rockit

luann

Note:

Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING. Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans RB 22 CITY OF NEW ORLEANS 504-658-4346 ANNA T. LEE The N.O. Advocate Date

By virtue of a Writ of Fieri Fa‐cias directed to me by the Hon‐orable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Or‐leans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on March 13, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 969 PORTEOUS ST NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70124 LOT: A, SQUARE: 155 SECOND MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1129334 WRIT AMOUNT:

$183,868.91

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

GH 6 DEAN MORRIS LLC 318-388-1440 CANDACE A COURTEAU

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 2/5/2025 & 3/12/2025

FEB 5-MAR 12-2T $88.77

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 2423 ELMWOOD PARK DRIVE THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER ENTITLED: FED‐ERAL HOME LOAN MORT‐GAGE CORPORA‐TION AS TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE FREDDIE MAC SEASONED CREDIT RISK TRANSFER TRUST, SERIES 2020-1 VERSUS ALAN JUDE CLAVO C I V I L

Case No: 2024-5668 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on March 13, 2025 at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 2423 ELMWOOD PARK DR NEW ORLEANS, LA 70114

2423 ELMWOOD PARK DR NEW ORLEANS LA 70114 LOTS: 48 AND 49, SQUARE: 96 FIFTH MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 810847 SECTION A, ELMWOOD SUB‐DIVISION WRIT AMOUNT: $40,933.40

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks. FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 4 DEAN MORRIS LLC 318-388-1440 ZACHARY GAR‐RETT YOUNG

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 2/5/2025 & 3/12/2025 FEB 5-MAR 12-2T $95.13

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 35153517 SECOND STREET, THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER ENTITLED: PRO‐JECT RENEW LLC VERSUS LIN‐COLN GROVE 2 LLC C I V I L

Case No: 2024-10764

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 3515-3517 SEC‐OND ST NEW ORLEANS LA 70118 LOT: 9 SQUARE: 451 FOURTH MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1412008 WRIT AMOUNT: $121,188.00

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks. FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

27 SIMPLE TITLE LAW OFFICE 504861-7123 KENNETH JEF‐FERSON JONES

‐

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 28102812 SECOND STREET, THIS CITY IN THE MATTER ENTITLED: PRO‐JECT RENEW, LLC VERSUS LIN‐COLN GROVE 2, LLC

Case No: 2024-10764

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the following described prop‐erty to wit:

2810-2812 SEC‐OND STREET NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118 LOT 18, SQUARE: 389 FOURTH MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1412008 WRIT AMOUNT: $121,188.00

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks. FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

26 SIMPLE TITLE LAW OFFICE 504861-7123 KENNETH JEF‐FERSON JONES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025

mar 12-apr 16-2t $87

rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: described prop‐erty to wit: 1501 INDEPEN‐DENCE ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 3713-13 1/2 N. ROBERTSON ST NEW ORLEANS LA SQUARE 660, LOT S THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ

MIN:1421844 WRIT AMOUNT: $2,610.00

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

BT 5 CITY OF NEW ORLEANS 504-658-4346 ANNA T. LEE

cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Or‐leans

BD 3 CITY OF NEW ORLEANS (504) 658-4346 ANNA T. LEE

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $87.71

PUBLIC NOTICE -

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 814 N GALVEZ STREET THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS VERSUS CHARLEEN M MABON OR HER SUCCESSORS, HEIRS AND AS‐SIGNS IF DE‐CEASED

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $89.30 ‐

PUBLIC NOTICE

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT

THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NO 3301 LAMARQUE STREET, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS VERSUS AN‐DREW N HOLMES AND PAMELA WASSO LOVE

By virtue of a Writ of Fieri Fa‐cias directed to me by the Hon‐orable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Or‐leans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 814 N GALVEZ ST NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70119 SQUARE 267, LOT 4 MUNICIPAL SEC‐OND DISTRICT ACQ MIN:1402220 WRIT AMOUNT: $1,710.00

GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NO 901-03-05-07

PIETY STREET, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS VERSUS 901 PIETY STREET LLC AND JEF‐FREY S HARRISON

Case No: 2021-7931

By virtue of a Writ of Fieri Fa‐cias directed to me by the Hon‐orable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Or‐leans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 901-03-05-07 PIETY STREET LOT 14, SQUARE 285, THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQUIRED MIN 1369451 WRIT AMOUNT: $16,629.56

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

BD 1 CITY OF NEW ORLEANS 504-658-4346 MARSHALL G. GRIES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025

mar 12-apr 16-2t $87.18

ORLEANS, LA 70118 LOT: 10, SQUARE: 419 FOURTH MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1412008 WRIT AMOUNT: $121,188.00

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans 25 SIMPLE TITLE LAW OFFICE 504861-7123 KENNETH JEF‐FERSON JONES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $87

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 18231825 ST ANN STREET, THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: PRO‐JECT RENEW, LLC VERSUS LIN‐COLN GROVE 2, LLC C

Case No: 2022-6020

By virtue of a Writ of Fieri Fa‐cias directed to me by the Hon‐orable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Or‐leans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 3301 LAMARQUE STREET LOT 1, SQUARE 10, FIFTH MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT, TUNISBURG ACQUIRED MIN 1256395 WRIT AMOUNT: $1,255.00 Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans BT 4 CITY OF NEW ORLEANS 504-658-4346 ANNA T. LEE

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $87.18

Case No: 2024-10764

LOTS: 48 AND 49, SQUARE: 96 FIFTH MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 810847 SECTION A ‐PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 2516 SOUTH ROMAN STREET, THIS CITY IN THE MATTER ENTI‐TLED: PROJECT RENEW, LLC VERSUS LIN‐COLN GROVE 2, LLC

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the following described prop‐erty to wit: 2516-2518 SOUTH ROMAN STREET NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118 LOT: 10, SQUARE: 419 FOURTH MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1412008 WRIT AMOUNT: $121,188.00 Seized in the above suit

S Case No: 2024-10764 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 1823-25 SAINT ANN STREET NEW ORLEANS, LA 70119 LOT: 6, SQUARE: 225 SECOND MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1412008 WRIT AMOUNT: $121,188.00

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

GH 24 SIMPLE TITLE LAW OFFICE 504861-7123 KENNETH JEF‐FERSON JONES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $87

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 16091611 SOUTH LIB‐ERTY STREET THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: PRO‐JECT RENEW LLC VERSUS LIN‐COLN GROVE 1, LLC

Case No: 2024-10763

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 1609-1611 S LIB‐ERTY ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118 SQUARE 353, LOT 5 FIRST MUNICI‐PAL COURT WRIT AMOUNT: $155,180.85

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

BT 23 SIMPLE TITLE LAW OFFICE 504861-7123

KENNETH JEF‐FERSON JONES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025

mar 12-apr 16-2t $87

Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit:

1129 SOUTH‐LAWN BD NEW ORLEANS, LA 70114 LOT 33 - SQUARE 3 5TH MUNICIPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 828515

Check, Certified

Check or Money Order No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

Case No: 2024-10763 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 2033-2035 GOV‐ERNOR NICHOLLS ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118 SQUARE 258, LOT A SECOND MUNIC‐IPAL DISTRICT WRIT AMOUNT: $155,180.85

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

BT 14

SIMPLE TITLE LAW OFFICE 504861-7123 KENNETH JEF‐FERSON JONES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $87

SOUTHLAWN SUBDIVISION WRIT AMOUNT: $66,457.21 Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans RB 13 JACKSON & MCPHERSON, LLC 504-5819444 RACHEL BREAUX

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025

mar 12-apr 16-2t $93

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 1721 PACE BD, CITY OF NEW OR‐LEANS, IN THE MATTER ENTITLED: NEW ORLEANS FIRE‐MEN S FEDERAL CREDIT UNION VERSUS JAIME MACK POLLARD, THE INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRA‐TOR OF THE SUCCESSION OF BENJAMIN WAL‐TER ANTHONY JR

RB 33 VEGA JONES & DUBOIS, APLC 504-469-6699 JEFFERY JONES

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $92.48

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 1447 BENTON ST, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, IN THE MATTER EN‐TITLED: ADMIN‐ISTRATOR, U S SMALL BUSI‐NESS ADMINIS‐TRATION, AN AGENCY OF THE UNITED STATES GOV‐ERNMENT VER‐SUS NEW OR‐LEANS APOS‐TOLIC HAVEN

Case No: 2024-10592

Case No: 2023-1639 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit:

Case No: 2024-9440

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the following described prop‐erty to wit: 1721 PACE BD NEW ORLEANS, LA 70114 LOT 7 - SQUARE 16 5TH MUNICIPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 202221742 PACE PARK AD‐DITION SUBDIVI‐SION WRIT AMOUNT: $108,720.65

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, P i h f

Case No: 2024-7578

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 1447 BENTON ST NEW ORLEANS, LA 70117 LOTS 14 & 15SQUARE 572 3RD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1386788 WRIT AMOUNT: $223,035.00

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

RB 32 TREVATHAN LAW FIRM, APLC 225-334-9222 ALLISON N. BEASLEY

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $90.36

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

GH 9 DWYER, CAM‐BRE & SUFFERN RYAN M MC‐CABE

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

GH 15 LAW OFFICES OF KEVIN P KLIBERT

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $159.18

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NUMBER 4734 GALLAHAD ( ALSO KNOWN AS GALAHAD) DRIVE, THIS CITY IN THE MATTER ENTI‐TLED: U S BANK TRUST COM‐PANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR VELOCITY COM‐MERCIAL CAPI‐TAL LOAN TRUST 2022-5 VERSUS CO‐LETTE INVESTMENTS LLC

Case No: 2023-13605

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 4734 GALLAHAD DR NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70127 LOT 32, SQUARE 5 THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT ACQ MIN: 1399400 CASTLE MANOR SUBDIVISION WRIT AMOUNT: $112,871.03

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the following described prop‐erty to wit: A CERTAIN LOT OR PORTION OF GROUND, TO‐GETHER WITH ALL THE BUILD‐INGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON, AND ALL THE RIGHTS WAYS, PRIVI‐LEGES, SERVI‐TUDES AND ADVAN‐TAGES THERE‐UNTO BELONG‐ING OR IN ANY‐WISE APPER‐TAINING SITUATED IN THE FOURTH DISTRICT OF THE CITY OF NEW ORLEANS, PARISH OF ORLEANS STATE OF LOUISIANA, IN SQUARE 167, BOUNDED BY CAMP, THIRD CHESTNUT AND SECOND STREETS, AND ACCORDING TO A SKETCH OF SURVEY MADE BY D.M BROS‐NAN, CITY SUR‐VEYORS, DATED JANUARY 29, 1886, AND AN‐NEXED TO AN ACT PASSED BE‐FORE FREDERICK ZENGEL, NO‐TARY PUBLIC IN THIS CITY, ON THE 20TH DAY OF AUGUST, 1901, SAID LOT OR PORTION OF GROUND FORMS THE CORNER OF CAMP AND SEC‐OND STREETS, AND MEASURES, IN AMERICAN MEASURE, 64 FEET 9 INCHES AND 2 LINES FRONT ON SECOND STREET, BY A DEPTH BE‐TWEEN EQUAL AND PARALLEL LINES AND A FRONT ON CAMP STREET OF 118 FEET, 10 INCHES AND 3 LINES, AND IT‐FORMS THE CORNER OF SEC‐OND AND CAMP NSTREETS AS AFORESAID. IN ACCORDANCE WITH SURVEYS BY GILBERT, KELLY & COU‐TURIE, INC., SURVEYING AND ENGIEER‐ING, DATED MARCH 14, 1989, REDATED AND CERTIFIED JULY 18, 1992 AND APRIL 8, 1998, SAID PROPERTY HAS THE SAME LO‐CATIN AND DI‐MENSIIONS AS ABOVE SET FORTH. THE IMPROVE‐MENTS THEREON BEAR THE MUNICIPAL NO 1206 SEC‐OND STREET BEING THE SAME PROP‐ERTY ACQUIRED BY KARYN GOLDBERG, WIFE OF/AND GARY M. STEIN FROM JERRY L. MAYO ON JULY 28, 1992, REGIS‐TERED UNDER CONVEYANCE INSTRUMENT NO 55699, AND FURTHER AC‐QUIRED BY GARY M STEIN BY CONSENT JUDGMENT ON COMMUNITY PROPERTY PAR‐TITION REN‐DERED JANUARY 28, 1997 IN PROCEEDING ENTITLED “GARY M. STEIN VS. ‐QUIRED BY GARY M STEIN BY CONSENT JUDGMENT ON COMMUNITY PROPERTY PAR‐TITION REN‐DERED JANUARY 28, 1997 IN PROCEEDING ENTITLED “GARY M. STEIN VS. KARYN MARSHA GOLDBERG” BEARING #94 14530, CDC FOR THE PARISH OF ORLEANS REGISTERED UNDER CON‐VEYANCE INSTRUMENT NO. 157091. WRIT AMOUNT: $439,030.25

Susan Hutson

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $93.10

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT CERTAIN PORTION OF GROUND BEAR‐ING MUNICIPAL NO 1523 TITA STREET, CITY OF NEW ORLEANS IN THE MATTER ENTITLED: U S BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION VERSUS LARRY BROOMFIELD AND WILHEMENA BROOMFIELD

SHIRLEY DR NEW ORLEANS, LA 70114 LOT F, SQUARE 3 FIFTH DISTRICT ALBERNA PLACE SUBDIVISION ACQ#1293921 WRIT AMOUNT: $117,671.43

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser

Case No: 2018-6255 By virtue of a Writ of Fieri Fa‐cias directed to me by the Hon‐orable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Or‐leans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 1523 TITA STREET LOT 20, SQUARE I, FIFTH MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT VICTORY PARK SUBDIVISION ACQUIRED MIN 884116 WRIT AMOUNT: $132,648.67 Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING. Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 29 THE LAW OF‐FICES OF HER‐SCHEL C. AD‐COCK JR. L.L.C. (225) 756-0373 STACY C WHEAT The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $88.24

Checks. FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING. Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 31 THE LAW OF‐FICES OF HER‐SCHEL C. AD‐COCK JR. LLC (225) 756-0373 COREY J.

PUBLIC NOTICE

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT PORTION OF GROUND BEARING MU‐NICIPAL NUM‐BER 20159 OLD SPANISH TR, THIS CITY IN THE MATTER ENTI‐TLED: FREEDOM MORTGAGE CORPORATION VERSUS RYAN L LABAUVE AND NICOLE CODY LABAUVE

C

Case No: 2022-9428

2022-9428

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit: 20159 OLD SPANISH TR NEW ORLEANS, LA 70129 LOT 3, SQUARE 43, VENETIAN ISLE SUBDIVISION, ACQ MIN: 1176340 WRIT AMOUNT: $250,056.28

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a

chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 12 JACKSON & MCPHERSON LLC 504-5819444 CRIS JACKSON

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $88.24

SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT PORTION OF GROUND BEARING MU‐NICIPAL NO 9920 E ROCKTON CIR‐CLE THIS CITY IN THE MATTER ENTITLED WILM‐INGTON SAV‐INGS FUND SO‐CIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES AC‐QUISITION TRUST 2018-HB1 VERSUS VER‐DENE TAYLOR THOMAS

I S

R

to wit: 9920 E ROCKTON CR NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70127 LOT 3 SQUARE F THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT LAKE FOREST SUBDIVISION NO. 6 ACQ#1066931 WRIT AMOUNT: $160,804.17

Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 11 JACKSON & MCPHERSON, LLC 504-5819444 CRIS JACKSON

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $91.95

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit:

The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

When

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans

GH 12

20159 OLD SPANISH TR NEW ORLEANS, LA 70129 LOT 3, SQUARE 43, VENETIAN ISLE SUBDIVISION ACQ MIN: 1176340 WRIT AMOUNT: $250,056.28

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING. Susan Hutson Sheriff Parish of Orleans GH 12 JACKSON & MCPHERSON, LLC 504-5819444 CRIS JACKSON

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $88.24

JACKSON & MCPHERSON, LLC 504-5819444 CRIS JACKSON

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $88.24

PUBLIC NOTICE - -SALE BY SHERIFF JUDICIAL ADVERTISE‐MENT THAT PORTION OF GROUND BEARING MU‐NICIPAL NO 9920 E ROCKTON CIR‐CLE THIS CITY, IN THE MATTER ENTITLED WILM‐INGTON SAV‐INGS FUND SO‐CIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES AC‐QUISITION TRUST 2018-HB1 VERSUS VER‐DENE TAYLOR THOMAS

Case No: 2020-1136

By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon, the following described prop‐erty to wit:

9920 E ROCKTON

CR NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70127 LOT 3 SQUARE F THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT LAKE FOREST SUBDIVISION NO. 6 ACQ#1066931 WRIT AMOUNT: $160,804.17

Seized in the above suit TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans

GH 11 JACKSON & MCPHERSON LLC 504-5819444 CRIS JACKSON

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025

mar 12-apr 16-2t $91.95

A N S Case No: 2020-1136 By virtue of a Writ of Seizure and Sale di‐rected to me by the Honorable Judges of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans, in the above entitled cause, I will pro‐ceed to sell by public auction, on the ground floor of the Civil District Court Building, 421 Loyola Avenue, in the First Dis‐trict of the City on April 17, 2025, at 12:00 o'clock noon the following described prop‐erty to wit:

9920 E ROCKTON CR NEW OR‐LEANS, LA 70127 LOT 3 SQUARE F THIRD MUNICI‐PAL DISTRICT LAKE FOREST

SUBDIVISION NO. 6 ACQ#1066931 WRIT AMOUNT: $160,804.17

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter

Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash, Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 11 JACKSON & MCPHERSON, LLC 504-5819444

Seized in the above suit, TERMS - CASH The purchaser at the moment of adjudication to make a de‐posit of ten per‐cent of the pur‐chase price, and the balance within thirty days thereafter Note: The pay‐ment must be Cash Cashier's Check, Certified Check or Money Order. No Per‐sonal Checks FACE MASKS AND TEMPERA‐TURECHECKS ARE REQUIRED UPON ENTERING BUILDING.

Susan Hutson Sheriff, Parish of Orleans GH 11 JACKSON & MCPHERSON, LLC 504-5819444 CRIS JACKSON

The N.O. Advo‐cate Date (s): 3/12/2025 & 4/16/2025 mar 12-apr 16-2t $91.95

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