Gov Jeff Landry’s administration, which has boasted about multibillion-dollar investments from social media giant Meta and
automaker Hyundai in recent months, released a new strategic plan for economic development on Wednesday that included a road map for making investments in the technology sector and other growing industries.
The 40-page plan, produced by a team of consultants in partnership with Louisiana Economic Development, bills itself as a blueprint to “build the most robust, innovative, and high growth economy in the Southeast.” It also sought to diag-
nose why Louisiana has struggled to add jobs and what the state can do to stem the flow of residents to other states for better opportunities. Among the recommendations, the report calls for a new incentive program for businesses that offer jobs with wages above the regional benchmarks; creation of a dedicated fund for site development; an increased focus on rural areas and small businesses; and more support for regional economic development organizations. The plan offered broad strategies as opposed to specific policy proposals, legislation or funding
Strategy calls for incentives, focus on high-growth sectors ä See PLAN, page 4A
Beekeepers losing hives at alarming rate
Several factors worsen colony losses
BY HALEY MILLER Staff writer
For Louisiana beekeeper Josh Janway, this March has been one of the worst starts to a honeybee season he can remember Last year he was operating with just under 4,000 hives. Now, a confluence of factors, including pesticide use, Varroa mites and the destruction of the habitats where the bees find food has sliced his colony numbers nearly in half.
“We’re talking about March,” Janway said. “That’s when flowers are supposed to be out, bees are supposed to be growing. And we’re just not see-
ing it.”
Janway and beekeepers across the U.S. have reported unusually severe losses as the 2025 season begins. From June 2024 to February 2025, commercial beekeepers saw a 62% decrease in hives on average, according to results of a survey published by Project Apis m., a nonprofit beekeeping and agricultural research organization.
The ramifications for consumers and the food supply are still unfolding. But considering that roughly 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators, it’s likely that widespread
ä See BEES, page 4A
Gabbard calls Signal chats
Trump officials face grilling over leaked military plan
BY DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press
WASHINGTON Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Wednesday it was a “mistake” for national security officials to discuss sensitive military plans on a group text chain that also included a journalist — a leak that has roiled President Donald Trump’s national security leadership. Speaking before the House Intelligence Committee, Gabbard said the conversation included “candid and sensitive” information about military strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. But as she told senators during testimony on Tuesday, she said the texts did not contain any classified information.
“It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added,” Gabbard said.
“It was a mistake that a reporter was inadvertently added.” TULSI GABBARD director of national intelligence
ä The Atlantic releases the Signal chat showing detailed attack plans. PAGE 5A
Wednesday’s hearing was called to discuss an updated report on national security threats facing the U.S. Instead, much of the focus was on the text chain, which included Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and other top officials. Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was also added, and on Wednesday his publication released more details from the chats, showing the level of detail they offered about the
ä See GABBARD, page 5A
Louisiana Supreme Court to rehear death row inmate’s case
Robinson previously convicted in 1996 slayings of family
BY JOHN SIMERMAN Staff writer
When it comes to death row in-
mate Darrell Robinson, the Louisiana Supreme Court can’t seem to make up its mind. The latest whipsaw in his case came last week, when the court
agreed to reconsider Robinson’s legal challenge to his conviction and death sentence on four counts of first-degree murder over a 1996 quadruple killing in Rapides Parish.
Robinson, now 56, is among 55 prisoners on death row in Louisiana, following the execution last week of Jessie Hoffman Jr., whose death by nitrogen hypoxia was a first for the state, following the lead of Alabama.
Hoffman was the first person executed in Louisiana since 2010,
due to a shortage of lethal injection drugs. Last year, Gov Jeff Landry signed a bill adding nitrogen gas and electrocution to a new menu of methods that opened the door to resuming executions in the state.
The decision to rehear Robinson’s case follows a year in which the court waffled on his fate In January 2024, a majority of justices
found enough failures by prosecutors to warrant a new trial, vacating his conviction and death sentence. The withheld evidence allegedly included a quid pro quo with a jailhouse informant and blood analysis from the crime scene. Chief Justice John Weimer ticked off several areas in which he found prosecutors had railroaded Robinson by failing to disclose exculpatory evidence. But after a rare rehearing, a 4-3 majority of the Louisiana Supreme Court re-
versed that decision, reinstating the verdict and sentence in December
“After further review and careful consideration of the record, we find no merit to the claims raised and we erred in vacating defendant’s conviction and sentence,” Justice Jay McCallum wrote in the majority opinion. McCallum disputed that there was evidence of a deal between prosecutors and the informant,
ä See COURT, page 4A
The queen bee of the hive at Janway Farms is marked with a white dot from a paint pen.
Robinson
STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS
Bees swarm beekeeper Josh Janway as he takes a beehive out of its case at Janway Farms
NATO: 4 missing U.S soldiers have died
WARSAW Poland NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Wednesday that four U.S. soldiers who went missing while training in Lithuania have died, but that he did not yet know the details.
A U.S. official would say only that the four soldiers were involved in a training accident. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, would not comment on the status of the soldiers.
Lithuania’s military said later on X that the deaths were not yet confirmed and that a rescue operation was “intensively ongoing.”
“Four United States soldiers and one tracked vehicle have gone missing during an exercise at a training ground in Lithuania At the moment, there is no evidence or information confirming the death of the troops,” the Lithuanian Armed Forces said in the statement. Rutte said during a trip to Warsaw that he had received word of the deaths of the four soldiers while he was delivering a lecture, and that his thoughts were with their families and with the United States.
A statement from U.S. Army Europe and Africa public affairs in Wiesbaden, Germany said the soldiers were conducting scheduled tactical training at the time.
Niger’s junta leader is sworn in as president
NIAMEY,Niger Niger’s junta leader, Abdourahamane Tchiani, was sworn in Wednesday as the country’s president for a transition period of five years under a new charter that replaces the West African nation’s constitution.
Tchiani an army veteran, was also elevated to the country’s highest military rank of army general and signed a decree dissolving all political parties, cementing his grip on power since June 2023 when he led soldiers in a coup that deposed the country’s elected government.
The move defied attempts by the regional bloc to quicken the return to democracy after a 2023 coup
The five-year “flexible” transition period begins on Wednesday, according to Mahamane Roufai, the secretary general of the government He was speaking at a ceremony in the capital Niamey where the new transition charter recommended by a recent national conference was approved.
The new president would have been in power for about seven years by the end of the transition period in 2030, following similar patterns of prolonged stints in power in Africa’s junta-led countries, including Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
The transition charter also sets out a referendum as one of the conditions for setting up foreign military bases in Niger However, it noted that the president may authorize it through a decree in the event of an emergency
Dozens of Cali. chicks rescued from tree
Dozens of bird eggs and chicks were rescued from nests in a single wind-damaged eucalyptus tree that was dangerously close to collapsing in a California park. Now staff at the International Bird Rescue’s Los Angeles Wildlife Center have been working around the clock to care for the 47 eggs and 12 chicks, all doublecrested Cormorants, in hopes that they will be able to be released back into the wild in a few months.
The tree at a park in Marina del Rey was flagged earlier this month after one of its trunks fell and crushed a trash bin enclosure, explained Nicole Mooradian, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches & Harbors. Its other trunk was showing signs of collapsing as well, threatening not only the birds but anyone on the nearby public walkway or in the parking lot next door
“It wasn’t a question of if this tree is going to fail, it was more of a when,” she said Monday “The cracks were growing wider by the day It was really bad.”
For at least five hours on March 10, tree contractors meticulously removed each of the 20 nests and chopped off branches one at a time. Biologists on the ground put the eggs and hatchlings in egg cartons and boxes with heated blankets acting as temporary incubators
Palestinians protest Hamas in Gaza
BY SAMY MAGDY, FATMA KHALED and SARAH EL DEEB Associated Press
CAIRO Thousands of Palestinians marched between the wreckage of a heavily destroyed town in northern Gaza on Wednesday in the second day of antiwar protests, with many chanting against Hamas in a rare display of public anger against the militant group.
The protests, which centered mainly on Gaza’s north, appeared to be aimed generally against the war, with protesters calling for an end to 17 months of deadly fighting with Israel that has made life in Gaza insufferable.
But protesters also leveled unusually direct and public criticism of Hamas, which has quashed dissent violently in the past in Gaza, a territory it still rules months into the war with Israel.
In the town of Beit Lahiya, where a similar protest took place Tuesday, about 3,000 people demonstrated, with many chanting “the people want the fall of Hamas.” In the hard-hit Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City, dozens of men chanted “Out, out out! Hamas get out!”
“Our children have been killed. Our houses have been destroyed,” said Abed Radwan, who said he joined the protest in Beit Lahiya “against the war, against Hamas, and the (Palestinian political) factions, against Israel and against the world’s silence.”
Ammar Hassan, who took part in a protest Tuesday, said it started as an antiwar protest with a few dozen people but swelled to more than 2,000, with people chanting against Hamas
“It’s the only party we can affect,” he said by phone “Protests won’t stop the (Israeli) occupation, but it can affect Hamas.”
The militant group has violently cracked down on previous protests This time no outright intervention was apparent, perhaps because Hamas is keeping a lower profile since Israel resumed its war against it.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim, in a post on Facebook, wrote that people had the right to protest but that their focus should be on the “criminal aggressor,” Israel.
Family elders from Beit Lahiya expressed support for the protests against Israel’s renewed offensive and its tightened blockade on all supplies into Gaza. Their statement said the community fully supports armed resistance against Israel.
“The protest was not about politics. It was about people’s lives,” said Mohammed Abu Saker, a father of three from the nearby town of Beit Hanoun, who joined a demonstration Tuesday
“We want to stop the killing and displacement, no matter the price. We can’t stop Israel from killing us, but we can press Hamas to give concessions,” he said.
A similar protest occurred in the heavily destroyed area of Jabaliya on Tuesday, according to witnesses.
One protester in Jabaliya, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said they joined the demonstration because “everyone failed us.”
They said they chanted against Israel, Hamas, the Western-backed Palestinian Authority and Arab mediators. They said there were no Hamas security forces at the protest but scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the group.
Later, they said they regretted participating because of Israeli media coverage, which emphasized the opposition to Hamas.
Erdogan accuses opposition of wrecking Turkey’s economy
BY ANDREW WILKS Associated Press
ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president on Wednesday accused the political opposition of “sinking the economy” during the country’s largest protests in more than a decade over the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, the biggest challenger to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 22-year rule.
The opposition has called for a boycott of companies that it says support Erdogan’s government. The Turkish president accused the opposition of being “so desperate that they would throw the country and the nation into the fire.”
In his address to lawmakers with his Justice and Development Party, Erdogan added that “sabotage targeting the Turkish economy will be held accountable before the courts.”
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who was arrested a week ago, faces charges related to corruption and supporting terrorism within the Istanbul municipality alongside 90 other suspects.
Homeland Security Secretary Noem visits El Salvador prison
BY REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press
WASHINGTON Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday will visit the high-security El Salvador prison where Venezuelans who the Trump administration alleges are members of the Tren de Aragua gang have been held since their removal from the U.S.
Noem’s trip to the prison where inmates are packed into cells and never allowed outside — comes as the Trump administration seeks to show it is deporting people it describes as the “worst of the worst.”
The Trump administration is arguing in federal court that it was justified in sending the Venezuelans to El Salvador, while human rights activists say officials have sent them to a prison rife with human rights abuses.
In a post on X Wednesday, Homeland Security indicated it would continue working with El Salvador, saying that Noem was slated to discuss how the U.S. can “increase the number of deportation flights and removals of violent criminals from the U.S.” during her visit with President Nayib Bukele. Since taking office, Noem has frequently been front and center in efforts to highlight the immigration crackdown. She took part in immigration enforcement operations, rode horses with Border Patrol agents and was the face of a television campaign warning people in the country illegally to self-deport. Noem’s Wednesday visit is part of a three-day trip. She’ll also travel to Colombia and Mexico.
The Venezuelans were removed from the U.S. this month after Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and said the U.S. was being invaded by the Tren de Aragua gang. The Alien Enemies Act gives the president wartime powers and allows noncitizens to be deported without the opportunity to go before
an immigration or federal court judge.
A central outstanding question about the deportees’ status is when and how they could ever be released from the prison, called the Terrorism Confinement Center, as they are not serving sentences They no longer appear in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s online detainee locator and have not appeared before a judge in El Salvador The Trump administration refers to them as the “worst of the worst” but hasn’t identified who was deported or provided evidence that they’re gang members. Relatives of some of the deportees have categorically denied any gang affiliation. The Venezuelan government and a group called the Families of Immigrants Committee in Venezuela hired a lawyer to help free those held in El Salvador A lawyer for the firm, which currently represents about 30 Venezuelans, said they aren’t gang members and have no criminal records. The U.S. government has acknowledged that many do not have such records. Flights were in the air March 15 when a federal judge issued a verbal order temporarily barring the deportations and ordered planes to return to the U.S. The Trump administration has argued that the judge’s verbal directions did not count, that only his written order needed to be followed and that it couldn’t apply to flights that had already left the U.S. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that about 261 people were deported on the flights, including 137 under the Alien Enemies Act.
Bukele opened the prison in 2023 as he made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. The facility has eight sprawling pavilions and can hold up to 40,000 inmates. Each cell can fit 65 to 70 prisoners.
The government says the judiciary is free of political influence.
The evidence against Imamoglu has not been officially disclosed.
Many Turkish media outlets have reported that it is largely based on “secret witnesses.”
The use of such testimony has been seen in previous criminal cases against opposition politicians.
The head of the opposition Iyi Party Musavat Dervisoglu, questioned the evidence of corruption in Istanbul municipality “Dozens of inspectors have gone, 1,300 inspections have been
A court ordered him to be imprisoned Sunday A trial date has not been announced. Many consider the case against Imamoglu to be politically motivated.
made, nothing has come out of these inspections,” he told party lawmakers.
Also Wednesday, Istanbul’s municipal assembly voted for a proxy mayor to stand in for Imamoglu. His Republican People’s Party, or CHP, which has a majority in the assembly, selected Nuri Aslan, previously the deputy mayor
While the CHP has said it will no longer organize mass rallies at City Hall, students across Turkey continue protesting.
Demonstrations in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir as well as smaller cities and towns, have been largely peaceful. Protesters demand Imamoglu’s release and an end to democratic backsliding.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JEHAD ALSHRAFI
Palestinians attend an anti-war protest and against Hamas in a rare show of public anger against the militant group that rules the territory, in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By FRANCISCO SECO
Protesters shout slogans during a protest after Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested and sent to prison, in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday.
Executive order on voting similar to La. law
Citizenship question has been added to registration forms
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that he said would require voters across the country to provide proof of citizenship before they can register to vote, which he argues will protect election integrity
The order has already drawn promises of legal challenges from critics who say Trump doesn’t have the authority to make the change, which they argue would unnecessarily block people from voting.
But the policy is already in the process of being implemented in Louisiana.
Anyone registering to vote in Louisiana must include proof of U.S citizenship when submitting a voter registration application.
And Louisiana’s application forms must include the question “Are you a citizen of the United States of America?”
Those rules took effect Jan 1 as part of a law the legislature passed
last year.
However, voters in Louisiana do not yet have to provide citizenship documentation to register to vote as the state is still developing new registration procedures. That will remain the case ahead of the May 3 election, officials said.
Trump’s order says that within 30 days the Election Assistance Commission, a bipartisan commission set up to help states comply with federal voting laws, must begin to update the national voter registration form with his new citizenship requirements.
Under the president’s order, documentary proof of citizenship includes a passport, REAL IDcompliant identification, a military ID indicating citizenship status or a government-issued ID indicating citizenship status
Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry said she backs Trump’s new policy and said it would help Louisiana implement its new law more quickly “I believe this executive order respects the states’ constitutional authority to administer elections while requiring the federal government to give the states the tools they need to keep our elections safe and secure,” Landry said.
Landry spokesperson Joel Wat-
Trump asks court for OK to cut money to train teachers
BY MARK SHERMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Trump administration on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training.
A federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the cuts, finding they were already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage. An appeals court turned away a plea from the administration to allow them to resume.
The government asked the high court to step in, arguing that the order is one of several issued by federal judges around the country wrongly forcing it to keep paying out millions in grant money
The Supreme Court called for a response to the appeal by Friday
It comes after U.S. District Judge Myong Joun issued a temporary restraining order sought by eight Democratic-led states that argued the cuts were likely driven by efforts from President Donald Trump’s administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The Republican president signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the Education Department, and his administration has started overhauling much of its work, including cutting dozens of contracts it dismissed as “woke” and wasteful.
“So long as there is no prompt appellate review of these orders, there is no end in sight for district-court fiscal micromanagement,” acting Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris wrote.
The Justice Department has filed four other emergency appeals of court rulings that blocked administration actions amid a wave of lawsuits that have slowed, at least for now, aspects of Trump’s agenda The Supreme Court has yet to rule on an appeal asking to narrow court or-
ders that have imposed a nationwide hold on Trump’s desire to restrict birthright citizenship. An appeal to halt an order requiring the rehiring of thousands of federal workers is also pending.
The justices previously rejected a bid to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid and did not immediately allow Trump’s firing to proceed of the head of a federal watchdog agency A later ruling from a lower court, though, did force Office of Special Counsel head Hampton Dellinger from his job.
The two education programs at issue — the Teacher Quality Partnership and Supporting Effective Educator Development provide more than $600 million in grants for teacher preparation programs, often in subject areas such as math, science and special education, the states have argued They said data has shown the programs had led to increased teacher retention rates and ensured that educators remain in the profession beyond five years. The administration halted the programs without notice in February. The administration argues the states could at least temporarily draw on their own funds to continue funding the programs. Joun, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, found that the cancellations probably violated a federal law that requires a clear explanation for such cost-cutting moves. The appellate panel that rejected the administration’s request for a stay also was made up of judges nominated by Democratic presidents California is leading the lawsuit and is joined by Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin. The order the administration wants from the high court would allow the cuts to go forward while the legal fight over them plays out.
son said the secretary of state is “still analyzing how this will specifically impact” Louisiana’s implementation of its proof-of-citizenship voting law
Trump’s order is an attempt to enact through executive order a policy Republicans have been trying to pass through Congress. For the past year, the GOP has tried to implement voter proof-of-citizenship requirements as part of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act Pushback
Trump’s move quickly sparked rebuke from voting-rights advocates.
“This executive order pretending to ensure election integrity will actually prevent many Americans from voting,” Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil-rights advocacy group, said in a statement.
“The SPLC will fight this order with every tool that we have — to ensure the constitutional right to vote in this country is protected and accessible to every United States citizen,” said Huang.
Similarly, ACLU Voting Rights
Project Director Sophia Lin Lakin said the directive “threatens to
disenfranchise tens of millions of eligible voters.”
“We will do everything in our power to stop this unconstitutional attack on the right to vote,” said Lakin. “We will see President Trump in court.”
What else does the order do?
Trump’s lengthy order does more than impose citizenship documentation requirements.
It says the secretary of homeland security and secretary of state must make databases that could help verify citizenship or immigration status available for state elections officials.
The Commissioner of Social Security must also make available “the Social Security Number Verification Service, the Death Master File, and any other federal databases containing relevant information” to state and local election officials.
“I thank President Trump for his recent executive order concerning the security of our elections,” Landry said. “By directing agencies under his purview to provide critical data regarding immigration, illegal noncitizen voting, and the Social Security Administration’s Death Index, our state will have the crucial tools it needs to further ensure that our voter rolls are accurate.”
Another section of the order says Department of Homeland Security must coordinate with the Department of Government Efficiency — the controversial group led by Elon Musk that Trump has tasked with eliminating fraud and waste — to review each state’s voter registration lists and other records to make sure they comply with federal law
And the U.S. attorney general should “prioritize enforcement of federal election integrity laws” in states that don’t share information about suspected election crimes with the federal government.
The attorney general must also enter into information-sharing agreements with state election officials to provide the U.S. Department of Justice “detailed information on all suspected violations of State and Federal election laws discovered by State officials.”
Another piece of the policy seeks to require that cast ballots be received by election day in order to be counted Louisiana does not count absentee ballots received after election day, but 18 states and Puerto Rico do
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gunman who killed 23 in Texas offered plea deal
BY JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press
The gunman who killed 23 people in a racist attack targeting Hispanic shoppers at a Walmart near the U.S.Mexico border in 2019 would avoid the death penalty under a plea offer announced Tuesday, abruptly ending years of efforts by prosecutors to see that he face execution by lethal injection.
El Paso County District Attorney James Montoya said during a news conference that his decision in the prosecution of Patrick Crusius, who drove across the state for one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history and posted a racist screed just before opening fire, was driven by a majority of victims’ relatives who wanted the case behind them.
“This is about allowing the families of the 23 victims who lost their lives on that horrific day — and the 22 wounded — to finally have resolution in our court system,” Montoya said in a statement.
“Now, no one in this community will ever have to hear the perpetrator’s name ever again,” he added. “No more hearings. No more appeals. He will die in prison.”
But Montoya also acknowledged at the news conference that not all families agreed with the reversal by his office, which under previous leadership had committed to taking the case to trial and seeking the death penalty
Adria Gonzalez, a survivor who helped panicked shoppers toward exits, said she feels that not pursuing the death penalty is “a slap in the face for all the victims.” Under the offer, Montoya said, Crusius would plead guilty to capital murder and receive life in prison with no possibility of parole. The plea hearing and sentencing is set for April 21, Montoya said, and families will be able to give victim impact statements.
Mark Stevens, an attorney for Crusius, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Crusius, 26, was already sentenced to 90 consecutive life sentences at the federal level after pleading guilty in 2023 to hate crime charges. Under the Biden administration federal prosecutors also took the death penalty off the table.
Montoya said he supports the death penalty and believes Crusius deserves it
But he said he met with the families of the victims and while some were willing to wait as long as it took for a death sentence, there was an overriding desire to conclude the process
“I’m just glad it’s over,” said Elise Hoffmann-Taus, whose father, Alexander Hoffmann was among those killed. “This is the outcome I wanted.”
Montoya, a Democrat who
took office in January after defeating a Republican incumbent appointed by Gov Greg Abbott, is the fourth district attorney to oversee the case.
His predecessor Bill Hicks, said following the announcement that while he had been ready to take the case to trial and pursue the death penalty, he could not fault Montoya’s reasoning behind the plea offer
“It is not the reasoning I would have followed,” Hicks said. “I know that it was very hard for him, and I respect that it was a very difficult decision.”
Crusius, who is White, was 21 years old and had dropped out of community
college when police say he drove more than 700 miles from his home near Dallas to El Paso.
Moments after posting online his racist rant, which warned of a Hispanic “invasion” of the state, he opened fire with an AK-style rifle inside and outside the store.
Crusius was arrested shortly after the shooting and confessed to officers who stopped him at an intersection, police have said.
Prior to the attack, Crusius appears to have been consumed by the immigration debate, posting online in support of building the border wall and other messages praising the hard-line border policies of President
Donald Trump, who was in his first term at the time. He went further in the screed right before the shootings, saying Hispanics were going to take over the government and economy In the federal case, prosecutors did not formally explain their decision not to seek the death penalty, but they did acknowledge that Crusius suffered from schizoaffective disorder, which can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings.
Abbott, a Republican, said Tuesday after the announcement that he thought Crusius deserved to die: “Any shooting like that is what capital punishment is for.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JOSE LUIS MAGANA
President Donald Trump speaks at an education event and executive order signing in the East Room of the White House in Washington on March 20.
The Atlantic releases Signal chat
Text shows Hegseth’s detailed attack plans against the Houthis
BY TARA COPP Associated Press
WASHINGTON The Atlantic on Wednesday released the entire Signal chat among senior national security officials, showing that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided the exact timings of warplane launches and when bombs would drop — before the men and women flying those attacks against Yemen’s Houthis this month on behalf of the United States were airborne.
The disclosure follows two intense days during which leaders of President Donald Trump’s intelligence and defense agencies have struggled to explain how details — that current and former U.S. officials have said would have been classified wound up on an unclassified Signal chat that included Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said no classified information was posted to the Signal chat.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the committee’s top Democrat, plan to send a letter to the Trump administration requesting an inspector general investigation into the use of Signal. They seek a classified briefing with a top administration official “who can speak to the facts” of the episode.
The chat was also notable for who it excluded: the only military attendee of the principals committee, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Adm. Christopher Grady is currently serving in that position in an acting capacity because Trump fired former chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr in February.
National security adviser Mike Waltz was authorized to decide whether to include the Joint Chiefs chairman in the principals com-
mittee discussion, “based on the policy relevance of attendees to the issues being considered, the need for secrecy on sensitive matters, staffing needs, and other considerations,” the White House said in a Jan 20 memo.
The Pentagon said it would not comment on the issue, and it was not immediately clear why Grady currently serving as the president’s top military adviser, would not be included in a discussion on military strikes.
Hegseth has refused to say whether he posted classified information onto Signal. He is traveling in the Indo-Pacific and to date has only scoffed at questions, saying he did not reveal “war plans.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that it was up to Hegseth
to determine whether the information he was posting was classified or not.
Specific texts revealed
What was revealed was jawdropping in its specificity and includes the type of information that is kept under a very close hold to protect the operational security of a military strike. But Hegseth’s spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement Wednesday that “there were no classified materials or war plans shared. The Secretary was merely updating the group on a plan that was underway.”
The Pentagon and White House have tried to deflect criticism by attacking Goldberg and The Atlantic. The magazine and Goldberg, however repeatedly reached out to the White House before and after publication to gain additional con-
GABBARD
Continued from page 1A
strikes. Democrats have demanded an investigation into the sloppy communication, saying it may have exposed sensitive military information that could have jeopardized the mission or put U.S. service members at risk.
The National Security Council has said it will investigate the matter, which Trump on Tuesday downplayed as a “glitch.” Goldberg said he received the Signal invitation from Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, who was in the group chat and has taken responsibility for the lapse.
Even though the texts contained detailed information on military actions, Gabbard, Ratcliffe and the White House have all said none of the information was classified — an assertion Democrats flatly rejected on Wednesday
“You all know that’s a lie,” Rep. Joaquin Castro,
D-Texas, told Ratcliffe and Gabbard, who said that any decisions to classify or declassify military information falls to the secretary of defense.
Several Democrats on the panel said Hegseth should resign because of the leak.
“This is classified information. It’s a weapon system, as well as a sequence of strikes, as well as details of the operations,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois. “He needs to resign immediately.”
Ratcliffe defended his use of Signal as “appropriate” and said questions over the Signal leak have overshadowed the military operation targeting the Houthis.
“What is most important is that the mission was a remarkable success,” he told lawmakers. “That’s what did happen, not what possibly could have happened.”
The discussion at times grew heated as Ratcliffe and Democratic lawmakers spoke over one another At one point, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, an Illinois Democrat, asked whether he knew whether Hegseth was drink-
ing alcohol when he participated in the chat.
“I think that’s an offensive line of questioning,” Ratcliffe angrily replied. “The answer is no.”
Ratcliffe and Gomez then began shouting over each other as Gomez sought to ask a follow-up question.
“We want to know if his performance is compromised,” Gomez said.
Wednesday’s hearing was called to discuss the intelligence community’s annual report on threats to American national security The report lists China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as strategic adversaries, and notes that drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations pose other threats to Americans.
The presentations from top Trump appointees reflect Trump’s foreign policy priorities, including a focus on combating the flow of fentanyl, illegal immigration and human trafficking, and are taking place as Trump attempts to work out a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine three years after Russia’s invasion.
text on the Signal chat and ensure that publishing the full texts would not cause harm. In a response, Goldberg reported Wednesday, Leavitt described some of the information as sensitive and said the White House would prefer it not be published.
In the group chat, Hegseth posted multiple details about the impending strike, using military language and laying out when a “strike window” starts, where a “target terrorist” was located, the time elements around the attack and when various weapons and aircraft would be used in the strike. He mentioned that the U.S. was “currently clean” on operational security.”
“We are currently clean on OPSEC” that is, operational security
A strike package includes the personnel and weapons used in an attack, including Navy F-18 fighter aircraft. MQ-9s are armed drones. Tomahawks are ship-launched cruise missiles.
Goldberg has said he asked the White House if it opposed publication and that the White House responded that it would prefer he did not publish.
Encrypted but vulnerable
Signal is a publicly available app that provides encrypted communications, but it can be hacked. It is not approved for carrying classified information. On March 14, one day before the strikes, the Defense Department cautioned personnel about the vulnerability of Signal, specifically that Russia was attempting to hack the app, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity
One known vulnerability is that a malicious actor with access to a person’s phone, can link his or her device to the user’s Signal and essentially monitor messages remotely in real time.
Leavitt is one of three Trump administration officials who face a lawsuit from The Associated Press on First and Fifth Amendment grounds. The AP says the three are punishing the news agency for editorial decisions they oppose The White House says the AP is not following an executive order to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JACQUELyN MARTIN
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is under scrutiny for providing detailed attack plans in a Signal chat among senior national security officials that a reporter was also part of.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J SCOTT APPLEWHITE Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel, left, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe, testifies as the House Intelligence Committee holds a hearing on worldwide threats on Wednesday.
Landry stumps for Amendment 2
BY HALEY MILLER Staff
WHAT A HOOT
ABOVE: Anne T. Falgout, director of strategic communications, unveils the new mascot, Soleil the owl, at South Louisiana Community College in Lafayette on Tuesday LEFT: College staff members pose for a photo with pictures of the new Soleil the owl mascot on Tuesday
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR
PHOTO PROVIDED By HEATHER DAIGLE
Paws Bakery offers big bones made by Heather Daigle.
OUR VIEWS
$5.8B Hyundai steel plant a major win for Louisiana
The news that auto giant Hyundai is bringing a new steel plant to the west bank of Ascension Parish is undoubtedly an economic boon, not just for the River Parishes and the Baton Rouge region but for the entire state.
The $5.8 billion project will occupy approximately 1,700 acres in Donaldsonville and is projected to provide around 1,300 jobs with an average salary of $95,000. Construction of the mill is expected to begin next year with production beginning around 2030, company officials said.
The new plant will supply car parts for Hyundai and Kia manufacturers in Alabama and Georgia, respectively It may also produce parts for other auto manufacturers.
Importantly, the plant will use what is known as an “electric-arc furnace,” which is designed to emit less carbon than traditional coke-fueled furnaces. Power for the plant will be generated and provided by Entergy, which said its current generating capacity will be sufficient.
The plant is part of a $21 billion investment Hyundai, based in Seoul South Korea, is making in the United States. Company Chair Euisun Chung called the Louisiana facility a “key part” of the company’s plans.
The eye-popping numbers are certainly welcome, and were quickly seized upon by politicians of all stripes.
President Donald Trump and Gov Jeff Landry attended the announcement on Monday, as did U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, of Benton
The three Republicans touted the project as a sign that things are turning around under the “America First” agenda.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter a New Orleans Democrat, argued that it was the Inflation Reduction Act, passed during the Biden administration and signed by the former president, that made the incentives for the project available.
There is plenty of credit to go around Certainly, this is a win for Landry’s economic development team, led by Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bourgeois, who joined the governor on a trip to South Korea last year to help land the deal and put together a compelling incentive package. The plant is the second major project, along with the planned AI data center in Richland Parish, that is helping turn the narrative on the state’s prospects.
Now the hard work of follow-through begins.
State economic development officials must stay engaged to make sure the company meets the rosy job and salary predictions tossed around at Monday’s triumphant announcement.
Perhaps more importantly, environmental regulators must be vigilant in making sure the company respects the surrounding communities and the people who live there. Residents of the River Parishes do not need to be reminded of the high number of polluting industries concentrated in their part of the state, and it is up to us to ensure that the Hyundai plant lives up to its low-carbon claims. We hope this development signals a pivot to cleaner processes
The project is important for the state If it is downsized, abandoned or fails to live up to its commitments, it’s Louisiana residents who will bear the brunt. And that would quickly turn this victory hollow
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OPINION
State’s future hinges on more than carbon capture
As a subscriber, I was disappointed to see the recent letter from an oil and gas industry lobbyist about “Louisiana’s energy future.”
But I ask: Why do we have to be prooil and natural gas to be pro-Louisiana? The oil and gas industry cemented its dominance over Louisiana politics and decision-making during the LBJ administration when the sector provided more than half of the state’s public revenue.
Today, the industry provides just above 4% of Louisiana’s yearly budget. Four percent! This state home to my family for more than six generations — was one of the fastest-growing economies in the country when I was growing up. Today, we rank near the bottom in GDP, population growth and median household income.
Being “pro-Louisiana” means being pro-Louisiana’s people. It means investing in top-notch education for all, funded by a healthy and growing state economy.
Higgins’
To be “pro-Louisiana” is to ensure our families are supported by good-paying, reliable jobs. It means safe homes and communities where we can actually thrive in this beautiful place we call home.
Carbon capture does not provide us with that reality. It only deepens our dependence on a dying industry at our expense. We’d be on the hook for billions of dollars to the oil and gas industry to inject its waste into the ground under our communities. Allowing the build-out of carbon capture in Louisiana makes us less safe, less secure and ultimately less prosperous.
Don’t believe the industry lobbyists. Believe the pro-Louisiana people who are saying no to carbon capture in this state and yes to a livable future in the state we love. We need a future that works for us not for lobbyists and CEOs.
JANE PATTON New Orleans
response on Social Security cold, unhelpful
I retired two years ago. Since then, I’ve had several questions and issues concerning my Social Security.
After hearing about the planned cutbacks in staff to the Social Security Administration, I wrote my congressman, Clay Higgins, about my concerns regarding the proposed cuts and other changes to the SSA.
In my experience, the employees of the SSA have always been helpful and courteous, but reaching them to resolve issues has been a challenge. I have experienced waiting times on the phone of over three hours and had no success with their online driver’s license identity verification system. I outlined these issues in my letter to Higgins. Below is the gist of his response.
“Thank you for contacting me with your comments regarding staffing decisions impacting federal personnel. To the scores of thousands of federal government employees who are facing unemployment, I say to you that I feel
TO SEND US A LETTER, SCAN HERE
President Donald Trump’s latest idea is to encourage wealthy people to immigrate to the U.S. for a fee of $5 million, by offering them a “gold card.” Wealthy people can already invest in the U.S. markets, without immigrating here. The story of immigration to the U.S. is a story of people escaping danger from
your pain, and I wish you well, but your job was no more important than the carpenter, the machinist, the welder, the cop, the trucker, the warehouse worker, the salesman, the waitress, the heavy equipment operator Our federal government bureaucracies are literally cannibalizing our nation. If you’ve lost your job, I’m sorry for your struggle.”
My letter was not about me losing a job. His response did not address my concerns about the Trump administration’s plan to reduce the staff of the already understaffed SSA and move to an online authentication that, in my experience, doesn’t work. This will hurt retirees. The staff of the SSA is providing vital services to, not “cannibalizing” the American people.
Finally his response is an insult to federal employees, who faithfully serve the public, carrying out their congressionally authorized and appropriated missions.
JACOBY
CARTER Lafayette
war, famine and political oppression. This is what makes America great, not billionaires seeking to further enrich themselves. I continue to be amazed at how Trump either ignores history or simply does not know history
PHILIP FRADY New Orleans
Clinton administration had tackled budget problem without chaos
For those of you too young to remember, the federal government under President Bill Clinton had solved the budget problem. His administration balanced the budget and began running surpluses. In fact, according to the National Economic Council and other analysts, this budget would have erased the national debt by 2013.
Instead, George H.W Bush came in, sponsored an unnecessary war with Iraq and at the same time introduced huge tax cuts for the wealthy, squandering the budget surplus along with all hopes of balancing the budget.
Deficit spending was back with a vengeance, and the path was set for the record debt in which the nation now finds itself.
It didn’t take Nostradamus to predict that there would be no “weapons of mass destruction” found in Iraq; that tax cuts would not produce surpluses; that “trickle down” economics would not work; that turning various functions, such as education, back to the states would not work; that the current so-called anti-abortion medical strictures would damage women’s health. Shall I continue? Without the prophetic insight of Nostradamus, I predict that current DOGE activities will produce chaos (this is already happening) and will not produce a better life for the American people, that the Trump administration will in no way solve the budget problems, and indeed, will increase the misery of the American public, including his supporters. It doesn’t take a genius or soothsayer to see that guys running the government on ideological rather than practical grounds will not succeed. Or that the guys on the corner playing with three cards aren’t playing an honest game and will take your money if you play MUHAMMAD YUNGAI New Orleans
COMMENTARY
Don’t gut N.O. levee board reforms
State legislators should make clear to Gov Jeff Landry and his unofficial adviser Shane Guidry that changes to the basic organizational set-up of New Orleans area levee boards are unwelcome. And if Guidry is going to smear current and recent levee board commissioners as “scammers who are just out for themselves,” he should put up or shut up. To cast aspersions without any specifics is to commit calumny of the first degree.
at Guidry’s plans to have levee board police fight crime in the surrounding neighborhoods instead of focusing entirely on protecting the city’s anti-flood infrastructure.
By ordinary standards, the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and its sister levee board, the Flood Protection AuthorityWest, are model agencies in terms of structure and oversight. Consolidated from 10 patronage-heavy, ineffective levee boards in the immediate wake of 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, the two regional flood protection authorities are designed to depoliticize the operations while stocking the board with people with relevant expertise, such as in hydrology or engineering.
The state’s citizens approved the new structure by an 81% vote, with 94% voting in favor in Orleans Parish. Board members are nominated by an independent committee created in concert with the aims of that statewide referendum. The board is supposed to hire the agency’s director, who by statute must have a “minimum of ten years senior executive experience in business, engineering or hydrology, or in the performance of public works functions, related to flood and drainage control.”
Landry, however, seems to have delegated de facto authority over the levee board that oversees flood protection on the Mississippi River’s east bank to Guidry, a New Orleans area businessman. In December Guidry and his hand-picked board president, Roy Carubba, effectively ran off former director Kelli Chandler when she balked
ROLE REVERSAL
Now, Guidry and Landry want to eliminate the independent nominating committees and perhaps even eliminate the position of director itself. In essence, they would undo the essential facets of the postKatrina reforms that have been praised by a host of the state’s well-known, nonpartisan “good government” groups and research outlets.
I reached out to Guidry via text message for comment, but received no reply Suffice it to say that Guidry’s various initiatives have caused abundant turmoil. Four of the nine members of the levee board have resigned in protest against Guidry’s interventions, leaving it one short of the number of members required to lawfully approve any infrastructure projects What Guidry and Landry are doing here is the actual reversal of good government.
Start with the history The multiple levee boards that existed before Katrina were fonts of not-necessarilydefensible patronage — fiefdoms of political power with the Orleans Levee Board particularly flush with resources such as massive real estate holdings, the Lakefront Airport and two marinas. And while the overwhelming fault for the Katrina floodwall failures lies with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the levee boards weren’t exactly diligent in ensuring that the Corps’ work was up to snuff.
“It wasn’t that they did things that were wrong, per se, as much as that their focus was elsewhere,” said John Barry the noted author who served for six years on the post-Katrina levee board. Indeed, Jay Lapeyre, who spent 17
Louisiana’s deep into crawfish season and loving it, but it looks like this guy is in deep trouble and needs some help! What can he possibly say to get outta this predicament?! Be witty, funny, crazy, absurd or snarky — just try to keep it clean. There’s no limit on the number of entries. The winning punchline will be lettered into the word balloon and run on Monday in print and online In addition, the winner will receive a signed print of the cartoon along with a winner’s T-shirt! To enter, email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate com. All entries must include a name home address and phone number Cell numbers are best.The deadline for all entries is midnight on Thursday.
years heading the reformist nominating committee that the governor now wants to shunt aside, said that in checking board minutes from pre-Katrina days, sometimes “they literally spent no time talking about flood protection.”
Hence the post-Katrina constitutional amendment and statutory changes that created the current, much more professionalized system. Result: Several instances where the board’s expertise won the day in fixing construction oversights, such as the discovery of materials in 2023 that were rusting and corroding in the new pumps that drain the outfall canals.
Landry and Guidry could upend all that.
Guidry’s insistence on neighborhood policing harkens back to a time when the levee board actually owned the land now consisting of the neighborhoods he wants to police. But why is that the job of the levee board at all? And why would he want the head of the levee board’s police force effectively to take operational control of most of the functions that the departed director, with expertise applicable to flood control, is supposed to do?
Again, this is supposed to be a floodavoidance agency, not a general civic service provider or, Lord forbid, the equivalent of a mini-protection racket.
“Maintenance of a levee system requires constant investment,” Barry, the former board member, told me. “You need to maintain the locks and gates; you need to have people who are properly trained. If you start focusing your eyes elsewhere, then you make a mistake or you miss things. It’s potentially very dangerous.”
Unless the whole state wants to pay again for flooding in 80% of New Orleans, both directly and through higher insurance premiums, it’s a danger nobody should accept.
Quin Hillyer can be reached at quin. hillyer@TheAdvocate.com.
Trump loves free speech, as long as it’s his
President Donald Trump and the GOP have called themselves the party of free speech. But since taking office, the president has been tightening up his definition of freedom like a hangman’s noose
We could hear it in the White House’s Orwellian decision in February to revoke the Associated Press’ long-held access to the White House, barring it from a news event in the Oval Office because the international news agency would not align its editorial standards with Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America
This is how White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt explained the decision to banish the AP: “We have said we are going to hold lies accountable. And it is a fact that the body off the coast is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that.”
Well, maybe she could have asked AP is a global news organization that reasonably does not want to stir global confusion over the name change.
In January, Trump issued an executive order that renamed the “area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico ” Some digital maps complied with the order. “People using Maps in the U.S will see ‘Gulf of America,’ and people in Mexico will see ‘Gulf of Mexico,’ “ Google said in a blog post “Everyone else will see both names.” Cool. Everybody happy? Not quite. It is “alarming,” said AP, that Team Trump would punish AP for its independent journalism.
Consider its actions against students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. Shortly
after Trump took office, the White House issued a fact sheet reiterating Trump’s promise of a crackdown: “To all the resident aliens who joined in the pro-jihadist protests, we put you on notice: come 2025, we will find you, and we will deport you. I will also quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before.”
On March 4, Trump threatened on social media to deny federal funding to any university that permitted “illegal protests” and vowed to arrest and/or deport so-called “agitators.”
On March 8, immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident of the United States who has been a leader of the Gaza war protests at Columbia University Immigration officials aim to deport him.
In mid-March the administration told Columbia that the federal government would cancel $400 million in funding to the university unless it overhauled its admissions policies and disciplinary rules. It was a stunning move that some legal scholars call unconstitutional, and that many in academia have termed an existential threat to academic freedom, but the immense leverage Trump is bringing to bear may force Columbia to bend to his wishes.
As Politico reported, 60 colleges are being investigated by the Trump administration for allegations of campus antisemitism, 45 for diversity programs, seven for race-based scholarships and related programs, and a handful of others for transgender participation in athletics.
Experts have only themselves to blame for the distrust of institutions
Now they tell us.
“We were badly misled about the event that changed our lives.” So reads the headline on Princeton professor Zeynep Tufekci’s March 16 article in The New York Times. The event was, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the bad misleading came from scientists who purposefully discredited the now widely accepted theory that the virus originated from a leak in the Wuhan Institute of Virology Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, the Times article appeared one day short of five years from the publication in Nature Medicine of an article by five scientists, led by Kristian Andersen, titled “The proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2.” “We do not believe,” the article states, “that any type of laboratory-based scenario is plausible.”
This was a deliberate lie. In April 2020, Anthony Fauci, then the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told his boss, then-National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, that he hoped “proximal origin” would put down “the very dangerous conspiracy theory” that the virus originated from a lab leak. The next day Fauci recommended the paper to reporters as the product of a “group of highly qualified evolutionary virologists” without mentioning that he had commissioned it and dictated its conclusion. The paper “misled me and many others into thinking a lab leak was implausible,” writes science writer Matt Ridley, who was a voting member of Britain’s House of Lords in 2020. Ridley later co-authored the book “Viral” with Alina Chan, arguing for the likelihood of the lab leak origin.
So it’s not surprising that the theory that COVID-19 spread from a lab leak was dismissed as a “fringe theory” by The Washington Post or that the Times mocked former Trump health official Robert Redfield for believing it. Nor that such outlets have shown little interest in the fact that the lab leak theory was accepted early on by the FBI and by the Biden administration Energy Department by early 2023.
Why the frantic opposition to the lab leak theory? “Orange man bad” is one explanation: President Donald Trump seemed open to it, which was enough to convince many people and probably most journalists that it must be nonsense In retrospect, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Fauci, who proclaimed, “I represent science,” purposefully lied and dissembled to conceal the funding of “gain of function” research (that makes viruses more deadly) at Wuhan.
The publication of Tufekci’s article in the Times signals a change in the wind of elite opinion. So does the publication in the Times last October of reporter Nicholas Confessore’s deeply reported account of diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the University of Michigan, aptly subtitled “What Went Wrong?”
In a contentious speech to his new Justice Department, he suggested actions of the mainstream news media should be considered illegal and subject to investigation.
“I believe that CNN and MS-DNC, who literally write 97.6% bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party and in my opinion, they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal, what they do is illegal,” the president said during a contentious speech at the Department of Justice. Is he serious? One must always raise that question with Trump, given his bombastic oratorical style. It’s best described as a stream-of-consciousness that whipsaws from dystopian warnings to light-hearted storytelling and back to veiled threats. He calls it “the weave.”
“You make a speech, and my speeches last a long time because of the weave, you know, I mean, I weave stories into it,” Trump explained to podcaster Joe Rogan.
“If you don’t if you just read a teleprompter, nobody’s going to be very excited. You’ve got to weave it out. So you but you always have to as you say, you always have to get right back to work. Otherwise, it’s no good. But the weave is very, very important. Very few weavers around. But it’s a big strain on your you know it’s a big it’s a lot of work. It’s a lot of work.”
Actually, for a man who clearly enjoys the sound of his own voice, it doesn’t seem like a lot of work. But make no mistake, the real work Trump is about is making sure he gets to police what the rest of us get to say Email Clarence Page at clarence47page@gmail.com.
Confessore documented how the University of Michigan’s DEI programs, the largest and most generously funded at any university, increased rather than decreased racial tensions. Their premise was that systemic White racism was ineradicable and must be fought with indoctrination sessions and racial quotas and preferences. Give the Times credit for publishing Confessore’s article less than a month before the election.
The commitment of major corporations to DEI proved no more sincere than former Soviet bureaucrats’ faith in Marxism-Leninism. The second Trump administration’s efforts to ban DEI in federal agencies have been matched by the abolition of DEI in large corporations.
On DEI, as on COVID-19, it turns out that the experts and the elites were lying and that the people labeled “conspiracy theorists” by the Times were often telling the truth. “This type of thing is exactly why so many on both the left and right are content with burning it all down,” reflected Sean Trende, no Trump fan. “’Gosh, why don’t people trust the experts?”’
One answer is that the experts and the elites have shown miserable judgment. The elites took the death of a suspected convenience store robber in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014 and the death of an arrested fentanyl user in Minneapolis in May 2020 as indications that the nation, in which nearly 53% of voters had elected a Black man president in 2008, was infected with systemic racism in need of constant DEI chastisement.
The experts’ dishonest responses and insupportable remedies to the pandemic were applauded by almost all academic and journalistic voices and imposed by government officials with no thought to their costs. This culminated in June 2020 when the experts and elites agreed that pandemic restrictions should, in view of America’s ingrained racism, not apply to massive Black Lives Matter protests.
Now we hear complaints, some of them plausible, that Trump and Elon Musk are destroying institutions possessed of expert wisdom and elite credentials. It’s understandable, given recent history, that many Americans are putting little stock in those complaints.
Michael Barone is on X, @MichaelBarone.
published. Letters are not
Clarence Page
Michael Barone
Quin Hillyer
BY JOSIE ABUGOV Staff writer
Helicopters descended over thousands of Christmas trees in the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans East on Wednesday morning, spruce needles swirling into the air It was Christmas in March — and a large gift was being given to New Orleans wetlands
As each helicopter hovered above, crew members from the Louisiana National Guard ran underneath and hooked 4,000 pounds’ worth of the trees to them. A few minutes later, the pilots flew to a nearby area in the refuge, where pockets of land meet swampy water
There, they deposited thousands of Christmas trees donated by New Orleanians this holiday season for a marsh restoration project that began nearly 30 years ago.
The annual Christmas tree recycling is a group effort — a collaboration between the city, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Louisiana National Guard and environmental nonprofits providing opportunities for young people.
“Something you could consider small or possibly useless like what could we do with this tree?
— it makes a huge impact,” said Shelley Stiaes, the deputy project leader for the wildlife refuge, a part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
‘Beautiful is the word’
The city collects the trees and gets the word out about the annual program, while the federal wildlife
FACILITY
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industrial grating, flooring and structural solutions using fiberglass reinforced plastic, or FRP, steel and aluminum grating products. It’s unknown if the moves will result in additional jobs.
LANDRY
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Association of Educators, the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, have endorsed the amendment. But the amendment faces opposition from both groups on the left and the right. Some conservatives argue that the changes would make it easier to remove tax breaks for churches, while some on the left have said
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intends to resign, but the Mayor’s Office has not yet received the paperwork. That may happen on Tuesday, James said Once he receives the official documents, James said he will confer with his staff, Padilla and others regarding a replacement.
Louisiana law says the local governing authority, in this case the Board of Aldermen, appoints a replacement because the police chief is elected.
service manages the urban refuge in New Orleans East. The soldiers transport the trees to the restoration site, and members of Louisiana Conservation Corps and Limitless Vistas unhook them from the helicopter ropes and ensure that the bundles are properly submerged.
Northwest of Lake Borgne off Chef Menteur Highway, the restoration project helps slow wave movement and encourage marsh growth. The wetlands protect the city from storm surge, shelters
wildlife and provides habitat for waterfowl within Bayou Sauvage, the second-largest urban wildlife refuge in the country Stiaes noted.
It also serves as an unorthodox opportunity to train new crew members in the Louisiana National Guard for real-life emergencies like hurricanes, 1st Sgt Eddie Perret said. “We have restored hundreds of acres of marsh to the point where we’ve moved the project to another section of the refuge,” Stiaes said.
The new location within the refuge, an area called Joe Madere Marsh, is already showing signs of regeneration. After the helicopters dropped off the new bundles of trees last year, bull rush and cattails grew around them, said Pon Dixson, the project leader for the wildlife refuge and an airboat captain.
“It has changed from open water habitat to emergent marsh,” Dixson said. “Beautiful is the word I can use to describe it.”
‘Particularly lucky’
Orleans Parish collected more than 9,000 Christmas trees this season, a higher figure than the past two years. Cheryn Robles, the environmental affairs administrator for the city, attributes the uptick in recycled trees to new efforts. Usually, the city begins collecting trees after the Epiphany on Jan. 6, but this year it hired a contractor to offer tree pickups beginning right after Christmas.
“Sometimes there’s people who put their trees out on Dec. 26, and so those trees from those first 10 days before Epiphany would just go to landfills,” Robles said.
The early pickup option, as well as two drop-off sites on the East and West Bank, generated over 400 more trees. They collected an additional 800 trees through retailers and around 100 from City Park. The city also worked with Christmas tree sellers — and buyers earlier in the holiday season. Tinseled or flocked trees can’t be recycled, so the city put up signs notifying people that they wouldn’t be able to participate in the program if they bought a frosted tree. Last year, the city collected 8,000 trees and the year before it 4,000 Robles pointed out that the
The move will increase its FRP capabilities, and include precision saws, drill presses and advanced equipment for automation. It will offer molded and pultruded gratings, ladders and ladder cages, handrails, platforms and other items.
“This expansion is a direct result of our continued success and commitment to meeting the growing de-
spending caps would make it harder to fund education, transportation and other programs addressing residents’ needs.
In response to criticism over tax breaks, Landry said the amendment would preserve the homestead exemption and the exemption for religious organizations.
“Now, I just signed the bill to put the Ten Commandments in school,” he said.
“You think I would do anything to harm our religious organizations in the state?”
In his speech, Landry called the election a defin-
mands of our customers,” Lichtgitter USA CEO Chris Sperry said. “With this investment, we are significantly enhancing our FRP capabilities, ensuring we continue to deliver innovative, high-quality solutions with efficiency and excellence.”
Email Adam Daigle at adaigle@theadvocate.com.
ing moment for Louisiana. He said it’s an opportunity for the state to escape its boom and bust cycles, if the people will permit the legislature and Landry himself to “continue the success.”
“I know y’all are not used to so much good news Y’all are like shocked,” Landry said. “That’s the problem we have in this state. We got a group of people out there — they just don’t know how to win.”
Email Haley Miller at haley.miller@theadvocate. com.
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are either made with nonfat Greek yogurt, flour that is whole wheat or made from scratch, goat milk or unrefined coconut oil.
“I always enjoyed baking, so I started making treats for my dogs about two years ago because the store-bought treats have ingredients that didn’t sit well with me,” Heather Daigle said. Her two pit bulls, Kash and Luna, were the first taste testers as they embarked on their mission to start a business selling 100% natural dog treats from their home.
Heather and Kamryn Daigle worked to curate a menu with foods that researchers have found help
dogs live longer healthier lives.
“I wanted the best for my dogs,” Heather Daigle said. The Daigles’ dog treat recipes are all free from additives, preservatives and artificial flavors. They can be stored in the refrigera-
tor for two months or in the freezer for eight months.
“My plan is to serve Acadiana locally and make sure their pups are happy,” Heather Daigle said. To place an order for shipment, customers can visit Pure Paws Bakery on Facebook.
The Sunset Board of Aldermen also will need to call a special election to select a permanent replacement Padilla pleaded guilty last week to a federal charge of willfully using unreasonable force during a Dec. 1, 2023, arrest of an alleged hit-andrun driver He admitted he twisted the suspect’s wrist and thumb while they were in handcuffs.
no jail time but instead be placed on probation. He is scheduled for sentencing on June 17.
Email Claire Taylor at ctaylor@theadvocate.com.
LOTTERY
Because Padilla’s charge was reduced to a misdemeanor per the plea agreement, he faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison or up to five years of probation, a fine up to $100,000 and up to a year of supervised release, according to David Joseph, U.S. District Court judge in the Western District of Louisiana. Federal prosecutors recommended Padilla serve
TUESDAY, MARCH 25, 2025
PICK 3: 5-6-7
PICK 4: 7-0-7-0 PICK 5: 8-0-9-3-9 MEGA MILLIONS: 1-5-17-39-62
MEGA BALL: 8
MEGAPLIER:
PHOTO PROVIDED By HEATHER DAIGLE
Heather Daigle, right, and her mother, Kamryn, opened Pure Paws Bakery this month, specializing in treats that cater to dogs’ taste buds and health.
SPORTS
ARMED AND READY
BY WILSON ALEXANDER Staff writer
Last month, Will Campbell went through a series of bodily measurements at the NFL scouting combine. One of them was for the length of his arms, a factor in the evaluation of an offensive lineman, and Campbell came in at 32 inches, supporting an idea that teams may want to move him from left tackle to guard.
Campbell didn’t believe the measurement, so he had his arms looked at again Wednesday during LSU’s pro day. This time, they were 33 inches Have they magically grown? Campbell, who did not work out Wednesday, said the
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
Neither offense did much until the bottom of the third inning. But once the UL Ragin’ Cajuns scratched for four runs in that inning, it opened the floodgates for the powerful LSU offense.
The No. 3-ranked Tigers responded to those four runs with six in the fourth and five more in the fifth on their way to an 11-4 victory over the Cajuns on Tuesday at Lamson Park.
“I have a lot of confidence in our offense, so I felt like we were never out of it even though we were down,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “We’ve done a good job of answering when things have happened to us all year long.”
number at the combine was wrong.
“I knew my arms were 33 inches,” Campbell said. “Height, weight, wingspan, arm length everybody was kind of deducted at the combine. That’s why I measured in again today, even though I didn’t do anything, because I knew that’s not right.”
The rest of Campbell’s measurements Wednesday were consistent with what was recorded at the combine He was listed just under 6-foot-6 and 317 pounds with 91/2-inch hands and a 771/4-inch wingspan. His wingspan at the combine was reportedly 773/8 inches.
“There were a lot of people at the combine who had messed up measurements,” Campbell said. “That’s why you don’t see
ä UL at Coastal Carolina, 5 P.M.FRIDAy,ESPN+
LSU improved to 30-2 on the season while the Cajuns dropped to 16-15.
The Tigers return to SEC play with a home series against South Carolina on Friday UL hits the road to meet Coastal Carolina on Friday in Sun Belt play
“The game means a lot to our team,” Torina said. “We understand the meaning of this game and the magnitude of this game, so it means a lot and they were going to fight for it
“The fact that they went down didn’t deter them from what they came here to do.”
too much about it other than media people because nobody really bought into it. Quite frankly, nobody really cares.”
Although Campbell is considered a potential top-10 pick in the NFL draft next month, the length of his arms has been scrutinized throughout the pre-draft process perhaps more than any part of his game. NFL teams typically prefer offensive tackles with at least 34-inch arms so they can reach pass rushers.
“For two years, nobody had any measurements on me and nobody said anything about my play,” Campbell said. “So now, all of a sudden, an arm length decides if I’m a good player or not? I think
Cecilia Vasquez, left, tries to tag the Jalia Lassiter during the Tigers’ 11-4 win Tuesday at Lamson
BY KEVIN FOOTE Staff writer
UL baseball coach Matt Deggs felt like Sunday’s 9-3 road win over South Alabama was his team’s best performance of the season.
Naturally, it was followed by a 17-4 run-rule loss at LSU on Tuesday but that was mostly about 12 walks and three hit batsmen.
On the offensive side, Deggs thought UL furthered its progress from the weekend series win over South Alabama.
The Ragin’ Cajuns now get a big opportunity when James Madison visits Russo Park starting at 6 p.m. Friday for a pivotal Sun Belt series.
ä James Madison at UL, 6 P.M.FRIDAy,ESPN+
“I thought our approach at the plate all night was incredible, but you’re facing another team that’s also got a great approach,” Deggs said of the loss to LSU. “It’s nothing short of incredible where they’ve been and what they’re doing right now You look up in the sixth and they’ve got 10 hits and we’ve got 10 hits. The difference is the free passes.”
Much of the damage came with Andrew Herrmann giving up eight runs in less than an inning in the first.
“He went out there trying to miss bats instead of trying to hit them and induce weak contact,” Deggs said of Herrmann. “A guy like him has to get a swing in the first couple two or three pitches.”
Herrmann threw only 36 pitches in the forgettable outing at LSU. He pitched 70-plus pitches in relief in each of the previous two Fridays and may be asked to perform a similar role against James Madison.
“You do whatever it takes to win that first one, especially if you’ve got a good ball club,” Deggs said. “Right now, we’re working to become that.” In Mobile, Alabama, on Friday, ace Chase Morgan hurled four shutout innings before Herrmann handled the last five. It’s similar to how UL used Herrmann and JP Langevin last season on Fridays.
“I don’t necessarily want Herm in that spot, but not having (relief ace Dylan) Theut Theut could easily replace him in that spot in a couple of weeks,” Deggs said. “Then we could start Herm on Saturdays.”
Theut’s ankle injury has a 2-4 week timetable.
“You never know,” Deggs said. “He’s a tough dude. He’s already moving around.”
Matthew Holzhammer, who threw 44 pitches in the LSU loss, has been the Saturday starter
“Where we’re at right now, it’s C-Mo and we’ll see what’s next after that,” Deggs said. “It’ll all depend on how we’re doing and who’s available. You can pencil in C-Mo and other than that, it’s kind of a day-to-day deal.”
JR Tollett threw six shutout innings Sunday and should maintain that role for the Cajuns.
“That was outstanding just continue to put up zeroes and give us a chance to tack on,” Deggs said. “For him to go out and go six strong like he did was
BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer
A saying in baseball is: “Let them hit it.” There’s a lot of truth in that line of thinking. From a pitcher’s perspective, forcing a hitter to put the ball in play and earn his way on base, instead of walking the batter, is logical. But LSU baseball’s biggest issue through 26 games has been limiting free bases. The Tigers are tied for fourth in the SEC in walks. They haven’t hit many batters, but they’re also tied for first in the conference in wild pitches.
Miss. State at LSU, 7 P.M.THURSDAy,SECN
The lack of command is the leading issue with LSU’s staff as conference play continues this weekend when the Tigers host Mississippi State for a three-game series beginning Thursday at Alex Box Stadium (7 p.m., SEC Network).
“We look at everything in terms of strikes,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “There’s a premium on strike one, there’s a premium on two (strikes) out of the first three (pitches), and there’s a premium on executing the strike to finish the
hitter, whether that’s a strikeout or weak contact.” Free passes haven’t been an issue for sophomore left-hander Kade Anderson, freshman righthander Casan Evans or junior right-hander Zac Cowan. As the competition has improved, they’ve elevated with it. But that hasn’t been the case for many LSU pitchers through two weekends of SEC play Pitchers other than Cowan, Anderson and Evans walked nine batters in 121/3 innings last weekend against Texas. Against Missouri
STAFF PHOTO By BRAD BOWIE
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green, center, celebrates a touchdown with offensive lineman Will Campbell, left, and other teammates in the second quarter of a game against Ole Miss on Oct. 12 at Tiger Stadium.
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
Skenes gets first opening-day start
Most MLB teams set to debut in 2025 on Thursday
BY RONALD BLUM AP baseball writer
NEW YORK Juan Soto, Blake Snell and Clay Holmes debut for new teams, Paul Skenes makes his first opening-day start at age 22 and Sandy Alcántara returns from Tommy John surgery
A week after the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers swept an opening two-game series over the Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, 26 other teams get underway Thursday on opening day in the U.S. and Canada.
One day later the Rays and Rockies become the final clubs to take the field, given extra time while Tampa Bay moved into the New York Yankees’ Steinbrenner Field, its temporary home this season after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field’s roof.
With Oakland stripped from its name, the cityless Athletics start the first of at least three years at a makeshift minor league home in Sacramento when they host the Cubs on Monday But first, the A’s start at Seattle with Luis Severino on the mound after he agreed to a team-record $67 million, threeyear contract.
Across the majors, Miami’s Clayton McCullough makes his major league managing debut and Cincinnati’s Terry Francona and Will Venable of the Chicago White Sox start tenures with new teams.
Banged-up Yankees open
Action begins in the Bronx when Carlos Rodón makes his first opening-day start for the reigning AL champion New York Yankees, who are without three-fifths of their starting rotation after injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. In addition, Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu are hurt. Freddy Peralta pitches for Milwaukee, which could see former closer Devin Williams for the first time since he buckled in the ninth inning of NL Wild Card Series Game 3, when he allowed a go-ahead, three-run homer to the Mets’ Pete Alonso.
$765 million reasons
Soto signed a record $765 million, 15-year contract to leave the Yankees and join the Mets, who totaled $1.36 billion in payroll and luxury tax over four years under owner Steve Cohen but remain without a title since 1986 New York is 41-22 in openers, at
.651 the best winning percentage of any franchise After losing their first eight, the Mets have won 41 of their last 55. Holmes left the Yankees for a $38 million, three-year deal with the Mets and will make his first start since 2018 with Pittsburgh. Framber Valdez will be on the mound for the Astros.
Raising the flag
After winning their second title in a five-year span and eighth overall, the Dodgers lift the World Series flag above Chavez Ravine before their home opener against Detroit.
Snell, a 2018 and ’23 Cy Young Award winner, joined Los Angeles for a $182 million, five-year contract that was part of a spending spree in which the Dodgers committed $458.5 million to nine players. AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal starts for the Tigers, who won 15 of their final 20 games last season, then swept Houston in a Wild Card Series and lost to Cleveland in a five-game Division Series.
First of many?
Skenes, the NL Rookie of the Year, will be at 22 years, 302 days when he takes the mound at Miami, the youngest opening day starting pitcher since the Marlins’ José Fernández at 21-243 in 2014. Alcántara makes his first appearance for Miami since Sept 3, 2023.
The 2022 NL Cy Young winner had Tommy John surgery that Oct. 6. Clayton McCullough makes his debut as Marlins manager after replacing Skip Schumaker Sale opens for Braves
NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale starts his sixth opener but first for Atlanta after three for the White Sox and two for Boston. With Yu
Darvish sidelined by elbow inflammation, Michael King start for the Padres — he pitched seven scoreless innings against the Braves with 12 strikeouts in last year’s Wild Card Series opener
New faces with Red Sox
Garrett Crochet starts for Boston at Texas after his offseason acquisition from the White Sox, who started the left-hander in the opener of what turned into a record 121-loss season last year
Alex Bregman takes over at third base after agreeing to a $120 million, three-year contract, while Rafael Devers moves to designated hitter and 22-year-old Kristian Campbell appears set to start at second base in his major league debut
Nathan Eovaldi becomes the first pitcher to make consecutive opening-day starts for Texas since Kevin Millwood from 2006-09. Gallen starts against Cubs
Zac Gallen was picked over Corbin Burnes to start for Arizona against the Cubs, making his third straight opening-day start. Justin Steele makes his second start of the season for Chicago after allowing five runs over four innings in the second game loss to the Dodgers last week.
On the road
Before starting their Sacramento tenancy on Monday against the Cubs, the vagabond Athletics open at Seattle with Severino, the third straight pitcher to make his A’s debut by starting opening day after Kyle Muller and Alex Wood.
Coming off his first All-Star selection, Logan Gilbert starts his first Seattle opener Dan Wilson begins his first full season as Mariners manager after replacing Scott
Servais last August.
Blue Jays seek a sixth win
José Berríos starts his fifth opener and joins Jimmy Key, Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay as the only pitchers to start three for Toronto, who have the longest opening day winning streak in the big leagues
Outfielder Anthony Santander debuts for the Blue Jays. Zach Eflin, acquired from the Rays last summer, will be on the mound for the Orioles and will become the fourth pitcher since 1900 to start consecutive openers against the same opponent for different teams, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The others were Sad Sam Jones, Wes Ferrell and Madison Bumgarner
Another Japanese start
Making his Los Angeles Angels debut, Kikuchi follows opening starts in Japan last week by the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the Cubs’ Shota Imanaga. Wheeler at it again
Zack Wheeler at 34 becomes the oldest Philadelphia pitcher to make consecutive opening-day starts since Halladay pitched his third straight in 2012. MacKenzie Gore at 26 will be the Nationals’ youngest opening-day starter since Stephen Strasburg in 2014.
AL Central clash
Cole Ragans at 27 will be the youngest Kansas City pitcher to start two openers in a row since 27-year-old Jeff Suppan pitched his third straight in 2002. In an AL Central matchup, Tanner Bibee starts for Cleveland after agreeing to a $48 million, five-year contract.
Francona returns
Francona starts his 24th season as a big league manager at age 65 after taking a season off and regaining his health following 11 seasons with Cleveland. Hunter Greene starts for the Reds, who have opened exclusively with right-handers since 1999.
Twins face Cardinals
Pablo López becomes the first Minnesota pitcher to start three openers in a row since Brad Radke’s seven from 1999-2005. Sonny Gray starts his fourth opener and first for St. Louis after outings for Oakland and Cincinnati. The Cardinals open their last season under president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, who has been in charge since October 2007 and will be replaced next fall by Chaim Bloom.
Freshman Chio leads SEC honors for LSU gym
BY SCOTT RABALAIS Staff writer
Kailin Chio may not have been the first freshman everyone was talking about in the Southeastern Conference before the season started, but that’s exactly how it ended up. The LSU standout earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors as well as a place on the All-SEC team Wednesday She was joined on the All-SEC squad by teammates Haleigh Bryant, Aleah Finnegan and Konnor McClain.
A native of Henderson, Nevada, Chio was named SEC Freshman of the Week a record nine times during the Tigers’ 11-week regular season. In the final individual rankings heading into NCAA competition next week, Chio is ranked No. 2 nationally on vault, No. 6 on balance beam and No. 5 as an allarounder Chio competed as an all-arounder in every meet for the Tigers this season, including at the SEC championships last Saturday when she finished in fourth place. Chio has won a total of 20 individual titles so far in 2025, including five allaround titles and a perfect 10 on vault March 14 at Auburn. It is one of just four 10.0 scores by fresh-
STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON
LSU gymnast Kailin Chio finishes
her routine on balance beam against Missouri on Jan. 31 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Chio scored a 9.95 in the event. On Wednesday, she was named SEC Freshman of the year
men nationally this season, and her 39.800 all-around score March 7 against Georgia is the highest by a freshman nationally in 2025. Chio becomes the fourth LSU gymnast to be named SEC Freshman of the Year, joining Bryant (2021), Kiya Johnson (2020) and April Burkholder (2003) Bryant, a fifth-year senior from Cornelius, North Carolina, made it
five-for-five earning All-SEC honors in her much decorated career After starting the season slowly because of an elbow injury suffered in December, Bryant won her second straight SEC all-around title this past weekend as well as a share of the SEC beam title with Finnegan, giving Bryant a school record-tying five SEC individual titles overall. She has 105 career victories, third-most in program history behind Ashleigh ClareKearney Thigpen (114) and Burkholder (108) Finnegan posted a perfect 10 on beam against Georgia, the ninth of her career, and tying for secondmost in LSU history behind Bryant’s 18. The beam title was the first SEC individual crown for the fourthyear senior from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, helping her to her second All-SEC distinction. McClain, a sophomore from Las Vegas, repeated with SEC honors LSU gymnasts now have won a total of 116 All-SEC honors in all. LSU heads into NCAA competition as the No 1 overall seed for the first time ever The Tigers will make their 40th straight NCAA regional appearance April 3 in the Pennsylvania wregional at Penn State. LSU’s
Patriots sign WR Diggs as new target for Maye
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots have signed free agent wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press, giving quarterback Drake Maye a prime target as he heads into his second season.
ESPN reported on Tuesday night that the deal is for three years and $69 million, with $26 million guaranteed.
Diggs’ agents did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking confirmation.
A four-time Pro Bowl selection with the Buffalo Bills, Diggs led the league with 127 receptions and 1,535 receiving yards in 2020. He is coming off an ACL injury that limited him to eight games last year in Houston.
CBS’ Danielson will retire at end of 2025 season
NEW YORK Longtime CBS Sports college football analyst Gary Danielson will retire after the 2025 season. That will be his 36th season on television, making him the longesttenured college football analyst on any network.
“As we enter our second full season of Big Ten football and my 20th at CBS Sports, the timing just feels right,” Danielson said Wednesday in a statement.
Danielson, who will turn 74 in September, played 11 seasons in the NFL before joining ESPN in 1990. He called games for ESPN and ABC for 16 seasons before joining CBS in 2006.
CBS carried the top Southeastern Conference game through the 2023 season.
Bucks say Lillard has deep vein thrombosis in right calf
MILWAUKEE Milwaukee Bucks guard Damian Lillard likely will be sidelined indefinitely with the team announcing Tuesday night that he has deep vein thrombosis in his right calf and is taking bloodthinning medication.
The Bucks provided the update on the seven-time All-NBA guard’s status without offering a target date for his potential return.
Lillard has missed the last three games for the Bucks, who closed a five-game trip Wednesday at Denver Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel.
The Bucks said Lillard’s medication has stabilized the thrombosis and that he will continue with regular testing. Lillard, 34, is the second high-profile player to be sidelined this season because of DVT
Gymnast of the Year: Jordan Bowers, Oklahoma Freshman of the Year: Kailin Chio, LSU Specialist of the Year: Helen Hu, Missouri Newcomer of the Year: Selena HarrisMiranda, Florida Coach of the Year: Shannon Welker, Missouri
semifinal will be against No. 16 Arkansas, Michigan and the Maryland-West Virginia play-in winner from April 2.
There will be more than one Pitino in the Big East next season. Xavier hired Richard Pitino, the son of St. John’s coach Rick Pitino, as its basketball coach on Tuesday night. The school had an opening after Sean Miller left to accept the Texas job on Monday Richard Pitino takes over the Xavier program after four years at New Mexico, where he led the Lobos to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. New Mexico went 27-8 this season and was eliminated by Michigan State 71-63 in the second round of the NCAAs on Sunday The younger Pitino was the Mountain West Coach of the Year this season after the Lobos won the conference’s regular-season title. He went 88-49 at New Mexico and has an overall mark of 247-186.
Hodge of North Texas hired as West Virginia coach
West Virginia hired Ross Hodge of North Texas as its men’s basketball coach on Wednesday The 44-year-old Hodge replaces Darian DeVries, who left after one season for Indiana. Hodge agreed to a five-year deal to become West Virginia’s fourth coach in four seasons.
“Ross Hodge is a proven winner and leader who has demonstrated success at every stop of his career,” West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker said in a statement. Hodge is 46-23 in two seasons as coach of the Mean Green, who are 27-8 this season and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals next Tuesday in Indianapolis. Hodge has been part of staffs that went to three NCAA tournaments, including an upset of Purdue as a No. 13
AP FILE PHOTO By STEPHANIE SCARBROUGH Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during spring training against the Baltimore Orioles on March 1 in Sarasota, Fla.
Payton trying to stick in latest stint with Pels
If you watched Elfrid Payton on Monday night, you wouldn’t have known he hadn’t played significant minutes in an NBA game in more than a month. You also wouldn’t have been able to tell that Payton was on the court playing alongside several teammates who barely touched the floor during his stint with the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this season. Instead, Payton looked like a floor general who hadn’t missed a beat in the Pelicans’ 112-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Payton came off the bench and played 24 minutes, dishing out 14 assists to go with six points and six rebounds. Not bad for a guy who last week signed a 10-day contract with the Pelicans, almost four months after the team waived him in early December Since being waived, he spent time with the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate. He also played on two 10-day contracts with the Charlotte Hornets. He played 12 minutes last week in a blowout road loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, but Monday’s game was the first time he’s played more than 20 minutes in a game since late February when he was with the Hornets Making this one more special is that it came in the Smoothie King Center, right across the river from Payton’s hometown of Gretna. Payton appreciates another opportunity, and he ap-
ä Warriors at Pelicans, 7 P.M.FRIDAy GSN
preciated the cheers he received from the crowd when he checked into the game.
“It felt good,” Payton said. “Felt like I was at home again. I love being here. This is the best thing ever.”
Payton didn’t take long to make his presence felt. He recorded seven assists in his first nine minutes in the game.
“I’ll say it again,” Pelicans coach Willie Green said. “There is no way he shouldn’t be on a roster He is that good. He can pass the ball. He knows how to throw you open sometimes. Even when you don’t know you’re open, the ball is hitting you right in your hands on time and on target. He’s an excellent defender and floor leader We’re glad to have him.”
Payton, who played at John Ehret High School and then at UL, has been in the NBA since 2014 when he was drafted in the first round by the Orlando Magic. The Pelicans, who he played for in the 2018-19 season, are one of five NBA teams to employ Payton. He’s also spent some time playing overseas.
But Payton, who turned 31 in February, never doubted he deserves a spot in the NBA.
“You go through this journey and you have all these things happen to you,” he said. “So it’s easy to have doubt But I stayed confident and remained confident and had the right people in my circle and the work paid off.”
UL BASEBALL
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gigantic.”
The pitching options will be easier if the Cajuns continue to progress at the plate. UL had 10 hits in Tuesday’s loss. Caleb Stelly, Sam Ardoin and Owen Galt each had two hits.
“That’s probably as good as I’ve seen him all year (Sunday) — just his pace and his flow,” Deggs said of Stelly “He was never sped up. He really took the ball well. When he did swing, it was with intent and direction.”
James Madison enters the series 9-16 overall and 4-2 in league play with series wins over UL-Monroe and Marshall
LSU BASEBALL
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the week before, they walked 11 hitters.
“I’m optimistic that the best is yet to come for those guys,” Johnson said Saturday
The walks have created more traffic on the bases, leading to bigger innings and more runs on the board. But throwing strikes won’t solve every issue LSU has. It also needs to limit big hits and big innings, a problem it faced Saturday and Sunday against the Longhorns. The bullpen, besides Evans and Cowan, gave up seven runs, nine hits and two home runs in four innings combined over the two days.
Junior right-handed starter Anthony Eyanson let five of the last nine batters he faced reach base on Saturday and redshirt sophomore right-handed starter Chase Shores
Payton’s 14 assists on Monday give him two of the top three assist games for the Pelicans this season. His 21 assists against the Indiana Pacers are the most Dejounte Murray had 15 assists in a game.
In Payton’s 21-assist game in November, 16 of his assists were to players who didn’t dress out Monday Trey Murphy, on the receiving end of seven of those assists in November is out for the season. CJ McCollum, who scored on six Payton assists in that game, had a rest day Monday Daniel Theis and
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UL’s surge in the third began with a single from Mia Liscano and a sacrifice bunt from Erin Ardoin But Ardoin was called back to the plate because of being ruled out of the box, and then she lined into a double play
Still, the Cajuns collected four runs in the inning. It began with a fielding error and a Dayzja Williams’ single to right ahead of a walk to Cecilia Vasquez.
Emily Smith delivered the big blow with a three-run double to center Sam Roe followed with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead.
“What a great at-bat with the bases loaded with Emily,” UL coach Alyson Habetz said. “Then the challenge was we’re not just going to settle so Sam stepped up and got her in, which was awesome. But then the next inning, I felt like we played not to lose.”
UL starting pitcher Tyra Clary opened the the fourth by walking the leadoff batter for LSU. A ground ball was then booted at
Javonte Green are no longer on the team.
So it was new teammates such as Kelly Olynyk and Lester Quinones benefiting from Payton’s assists. The Pelicans recorded 36 assists, one shy of the seasonhigh 37 assists they had in an overtime game against the Denver Nuggets.
“We were playing with good pace,” Payton said. “Got a couple easy ones, and we did a good job of pushing the ball in transition.”
Now Payton looks to make the most of the rest of this opportunity
second base three batters later
“I know the strike zone was whatever it was, but still, it was a challenge to throw strikes,” Habetz said. “Ball four, I didn’t think was close. We just put up four runs. We’re attacking the strike zone.
“After that, there was a lot of ifs and buts. I thought we attacked the strike zone and we weren’t getting the calls. We need to take control of what we can control.”
LSU then flexed with an RBI double by McKenzie Redoutey, Avery Hodge’s two-run homer to right and Maci Bergeron’s runscoring single to left for a 6-4 LSU lead.
Bergeron finished 2-for-4 with four RBIs. “It’s nice to bring somebody back to their home town and have them do things like that,” Torina said. “It’s always fun. I’m sure there were some people in the stands that don’t get to make it to Baton Rouge every game that got to see her play tonight in front of her hometown.”
In the fifth inning, the UL dugout had a verbal spat with home plate umpire Johnny Paz, who
Green said Payton belongs on an NBA roster, and Payton wants to prove him right.
“He’s somebody that sees the talent and caliber of players on a nightly basis,” Payton said of Green’s assessment. “So I think he would know a little about what he’s talking about and who belongs and who doesn’t. So to get that from him means a lot.
“Obviously, I still have more to show and I’m going to do my best to take advantage of that.”
Email Rod Walker at rwalker@ theadvocate.com.
ejected UL assistant coach Lacy Prejean from the game
“The coach that got thrown out didn’t say a word, which is interesting,” Habetz said. UL reliever Mallory Wheeler walked in two runs to make it 8-4, which led to Bethaney Noble entering the circle Bergeron greeted her with a three-run double to right-center for an 11-4 LSU lead. It was only LSU’s second hit in the five-run inning.
In the circle, McNeese State transfer Ashley Vallejo got the start for the Tigers. She didn’t last long enough to get a decision, giving up four unearned runs on four hits, one walk and one strikeout in 22/3 innings. Jayden Heavener’s relief effort stabilized things for LSU. She limited UL to no runs on two hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 41/3 innings to get the win. Clary ended up allowing four runs on five hits, four walks and three strikeouts in 32/3 innings to get the loss.
Replacing injured left fielder Kayla Falterman, Williams collected two singles to account for UL’s only multihit game.
The Dukes are 4-0 all-time against the Cajuns, including a home sweep in 2023 and a 10-9 comeback win over UL in last year’s Sun Belt Tournament.
The Dukes, who are 2-11 on the road this season, are hitting .204 as a team with 10 homers and 43 stolen bases. On the mound, the team ERA is 5.56 with 123 walks and 221 strikeouts in 2151/3 innings.
Jackson Logar (2-2, 2.70) and Adam Horvath (0-0, 0.90, 2 saves) have been JMU’s top pitchers.
“It’s a matter of us slowing down, not getting sped up, taking our medicine when we have to. With age and maturity, you learn to slow down, play the game and take your medicine,” Deggs said “Then when it’s time to attack, attack.”
surrendered seven hits — including a crucial two-run home run — on Sunday “Ones are better than a crooked number,” Johnson said Saturday Besides the Texas series, LSU has done a good job of limiting contact this season. It’s fifth in the conference in batting average against. But the struggles last weekend will be something to keep in mind as the Tigers face tough lineups throughout the rest of their SEC schedule.
“I think the guys that we put in the game, I definitely believe in them,” Johnson said Wednesday “And just as we’ve constantly talked about with Jared Jones over three years and even three weeks before the season (with) guys getting better like, we’re on top of that.”
Improvement will be the name of the game for the pitching staff moving forward, but the good news for LSU is that it’s missing bats. The Tigers are fifth in the nation
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it’s BS.
“But any decision-makers in the NFL, they don’t really care. It’s all people who don’t coach, and they don’t coach for a reason.”
With Campbell, there’s not much else to nitpick. He was a consensus All-America selection last season, making him LSU’s first on the offensive line since center Ben Wilkerson in 2004.
Campbell received first-team All-SEC recognition twice during his career, and he won the 2024
ON DECK
WHO: LSU (23-3, 4-2 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (16-9, 1-5 SEC)
RANKINGS: LSU is No. 8 by D1Baseball; Mississippi State is not ranked
in strikeouts and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings.
LSU has the pitching talent to excel in the SEC. It’s just a matter of consistently executing pitches and gaining more experience against a higher level of competition.
LSU hardly brought back anyone
SEC Jacobs Blocking Trophy, which has gone to the top offensive lineman in the conference since 1935. Campbell did not participate in the testing or positional drills at pro day, letting his combine numbers stand He ran the fifthfastest 40-yard dash among offensive linemen (4.98 seconds) at the combine, and his standing broad jump of 9 feet, 5 inches was second in the group. Since the combine ended, Campbell said he has gotten “out of the underwear Olympics mindset and back to playing ball.” He feels ready to get on the field again after months of training for specific tests.
PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU — LHP Kade Anderson (5-0, 2.65 ERA); Mississippi State — RHP Evan Siary (0-0, 2.31 ERA) WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Anderson surrendered just two earned runs in six innings last weekend against Texas, his first career SEC road start. Siary will make his second start of the season on Thursday. His longest outing this year is a three-inning appearance against Old Dominion.
Koki Riley
from last year’s pitching staff. The Tigers lost 12 of their top 14 pitchers in terms of innings. Anderson and junior right-hander Gavin Guidry were the pitchers who came back, but Guidry has been out with a back injury since February and hasn’t pitched this season.
But which position will Campbell play? He said he will play “wherever the coach tells me to,” but despite speculation about teams moving him to guard because of his arm length, Campbell said only two of the teams that he has talked to view him as a guard.
“And that’s because they already have tackles,” Campbell said. “Other than that, everybody knows what position I play, and everybody knows my mindset on that.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help the team win and get on the field as early as possible. But everybody knows that I can play tackle.”
“I’ve said this before: The best coach any player ever has is playing time and experience,” Johnson said Wednesday “And it gets lost sometimes because of talented players, but they haven’t been there in a lot of ways.”
The LSU pitching staff improved as last year went along. Christian Little became a key piece in the bullpen. Gage Jump arguably became the best starter after a slow start. Thatcher Hurd and Will Hellmers stepped up with big performances in the Chapel Hill Regional.
Even with an improved offense, LSU will need that to happen again this spring. And like last season’s team, throwing more strikes will have to be a part of that growth.
“Something I tell the team is, most games are lost in college baseball, not won,” Johnson said. “And we just want to be a hard team to play where we don’t really give the other team anything.”
STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK
UL second baseman Sam Ardoin was one of three Cajuns with two hits during Tuesday’s road loss to LSU
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATTHEW HINTON
Pelicans guard Elfrid Payton shoots against Philadelphia 76ers forward Chuma Okeke during the first half of a game at Smoothie King Center on Monday.
Rod Walker
BY LINDA GASSENHEIMER
News Service (TNS)
GRILLED CHICKEN SHAWARMA, SQUASH WITH TAHINI AND A STRAWBERRY DESSERT MAKE A SPRING FEAST
with foil.
2. Place onion in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave 1 minute on high. Remove from microwave and add beef to the bowl. Mix the onion and ground beef together
3. Add rolled oats and Worcestershire sauce. Mix all ingredients together Add 1 tablespoon ketchup, egg and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
4. Place on the baking sheet and shape meat into 2 loaves, about 3 inches by 5 inches. Make sure the oven is at 400 F and add the baking sheet. Bake meat for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, mix the remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup, mustard and sugar together in a small bowl.
6. Remove meatloaf from the oven and spoon the ketchup sauce on top of each loaf. Return the tray to oven for 3 minutes. A meat thermometer should read 145 F. Serve each loaf on a dinner plate.
NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 397 calories (27 percent from fat), 12.1 g fat (4.7 g saturated, 4.6 g monounsaturated), 201 mg cholesterol, 42.0 g protein 28.2 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g fiber, 458 mg sodium.
Garlic Carrots, Peas
Yields 2 servings. Recipe is by Linda Gassenheimer.
2 cups sliced carrots, about ¼-½inch
and freshly ground black pepper
1. Add carrots, peas and garlic to a microwave safe bowl Microwave on high 2 minutes.
2. Remove from microwave; add the oil and salt and pepper to taste. Divide in half and serve with the meatloaf.
NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: 173 calories (39 percent from fat), 7.5 g fat (1.1 g saturated, 3.3 g monounsaturated), no cholesterol, 5.4 g protein, 22.9 g carbohydrates, 7.8 g fiber 84 mg sodium.
STAFF PHOTOS By BRETT DUKE
Easy Chicken Shawarma
the skillet over high medium heat.
Serves 4.
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs Spice rub (see following)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 pitas or 4 flour tortillas
1 container of prepared tzatziki (yogurt sauce)
1. Cut each thigh into about 6 pieces. Place all of the pieces of raw chicken into a large Ziploc bag. Add the spice rub. Close the bag, trying to remove as much air as possible. Press the top closed.
2. With the bag closed, massage the chicken so that all of the pieces are coated with the spice mix. Once they are well coated, place the bag with the chicken pieces in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. When ready to cook, remove the bag from the refrigerator, massaging it from the outside one more time.
3: To grill: Be sure that the coals are hot, but there should be no flame. Oil a perforated pan and heat it on the grill. When the grill pan is hot, add the chicken to the perforated pan and cook the chicken with the cover on the grill. This should take 20 minutes. Check after 10 minutes and stir if needed. Remove the chicken to a plate when it is cooked.
4. To cook in a skillet: Add the oil into
When the oil is shimmering, add the pieces of chicken in one layer Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, uncovered With tongs, flip the chicken and cook for about 7 minutes. Chicken should be done in 15 to 20 minutes, depending on size of the pieces. Remove from the skillet.
5. You can serve this on a plate with tzatziki with pita or tortilla on the side. Or you can serve it as a wrap, using a quarter of the chicken for each tortilla with tzatziki as a garnish or in pitas that have been cut in half.
SPICE MIX
Ground sumac is available in large supermarkets, in Middle Eastern stores, or online. If you do not have sumac, substitute 1 tablespoon of grated lemon zest.
1 tablespoon paprika (use smoked paprika if you like a smoky flavor)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon ground sumac ¼ teaspoon cayenne (use more or less depending on your heat preference) Salt and pepper to taste
Place all of the ingredients into a bowl. Whisk together and pour them into the Ziploc bag with chicken pieces.
BY BETH DOOLEY
When the weather is nice in spring, we want to enjoy being outside. You and your family may barbecue, play badminton or go for a hike. That is no reason not to enjoy really good food that is easy to prepare and packs a wallop of flavor If your family likes the ritual of barbecue — make the fire, allow the coals to get low, and enjoy conversation and drinks around the fire then this chicken shawarma recipe could work for you. Just grill
MORE RECIPES
ä Squash with Tahini Sauce
ä Strawberry and Ice Cream Sundae 6C
Liz Williams TIP OF THE TONGUE
Chicken shawarma
TNS PHOTO By LINDA GASSENHEIMER
Reader writes in with beauty hints
Dear Heloise: Need a few hints on how to keep your skin looking healthy and hydrated? Here are a few of my all-time favorites:
n Take a slice of lime, lemon or orange and rub it all over your face for about 30 seconds. Wait about 3 minutes, then rinse with warm water and pat your skin dry The vitamin C and acids in the fruit will break down dead skin cells.
Strawberry and Ice Cream Sundae Makes 4 to 6 servings.
2 pints fresh strawberries, stemmed
(optional)
Hints
n Bring a pan of water to a boil with the steam rising Then turn off the stove and move the pan somewhere safe. You can set it on a thick wooden cutting board if you wish.
n Next, place a towel over your head to form a closed tent. Let the steam open your pores for about 3-5 minutes. Afterward, wash your face in warm water with a final rinse in cold water This will add moisture to your skin and help you rinse away impurities from your pores
n Want to tighten your skin for smoother makeup application? In a small bowl,
By The Associated Press
Today is Thursday, March 27, the 86th day of 2025. There are 279 days left in the year
Today in history
On March 27, 2022, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, winning the Oscar for best actor just minutes later (Smith later resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and received a 10year ban from the Oscars.)
On this date:
In 1794, Congress approved the “Act to provide a Naval Armament” of six armed ships, which provided the foundation of the permanent U.S. Navy In 1912, in Washington, D.C., first lady Helen Herron Taft and the wife of Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Viscountess
Serves
mix together 1 tablespoon plain yogurt, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, and the white of one egg. (Save the yolk to use in your next shampooing.) Blend well and apply in a circular motion onto your face and neck. Leave on for about 20-25 minutes. Rinse off and pat your skin dry n Invest in one black Tshirt and one white T-shirt. You can always use it under a suit or a cardigan for a simple but classic look A black or white T-shirt always looks good with jeans or slacks and maybe one or two necklaces, but never wear an excessive amount of jewelry And never wear any top that has makeup around the neckline! — A.L., in California
Scraping vegetables
Dear Heloise: My mother and I disagree on something, and we thought you might have the answer She scrapes many vegetables, but I don’t. I wash carrots very carefully and never
TODAY IN HISTORY
Chinda, planted the first two of 3,000 cherry trees given to the U.S as a gift by the mayor of Tokyo. In 1939, the first NCAA men’s Division I basketball championship game was held, with the University of Oregon defeating Ohio State, 46-33. In 1964, Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (still the strongest on record in North America) and tsunamis that together claimed over 130 lives. In 1968, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man to orbit the Earth in 1961, died when his MiG-15 jet crashed during a routine training flight near Moscow; he was 34. In 1973, “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor and, in what
peel cucumbers or eggplant. I also don’t cut the crust off of bread, but my mother does.
I think a lot of vitamins are lost with her method of cooking. My mother is from England, and she says that this is how they prepare dishes in her native country — J.H., in Connecticut J.H., there is very little need to scrape vegetables, especially if you wash them thoroughly In England, many people would take the peelings and scrapings out to a compost pile, along with the crusts from bread. In some countries, the crust is cut off to make the sandwich look nice. Vegetables were also scraped to remove dirt and make the carrots and other fruit or vegetables look “pretty.” But you’re right — lots of vitamins and fiber were lost by this habit. So, go ahead and cook your vegetables with the outer skin intact and leave the crusts on your bread! — Heloise
Send a hint to heloise@ heloise.com.
would become one of the Oscars’ most famous moments, sent in his place actor and activist Sacheen Littlefeather, who spoke out about the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood. In 1975, construction began on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline; the 800-mile pipeline was completed just over two years later
In 1977, in aviation’s deadliest disaster, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off in heavy fog, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on an airport runway on the Canary Island of Tenerife. Today’s birthdays: Actor Michael York is 83. Film director Quentin Tarantino is 62.
Singer Mariah Carey is 56.
Actor Pauley Perrette is 56.
Actor Nathan Fillion is 54. Singer Fergie is 50. Former MLB catcher Buster Posey is 38. Singer Jessie J is 37.
Sunday’s Garlicky Pork Shoulder
and
Serve thickly sliced pork with plenty of juices spooned over roasted new potatoes and baby tomatoes (see recipes) made while the meat is roasting, with hunks of crusty bread for dunking. Mashed potatoes or pasta are delicious sides,
Leftover pork will keep in the refrigerator about four days and freezes easily. Recipe is from Beth Dooley. 3 to
side down in the pot. Cook until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the garlic and set aside.
3. Add the pork and cook until well browned and very crisp on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove the pork and set aside.
when pulled with a fork, about 3 to 3½ hours.
6. Transfer the pork to a cutting board to rest for about 10 to 15 minutes.
1. Process 1½ pints of strawberries in a food processor for about 30 seconds.
2. Place the processed strawberries in a microwaveable bowl. Add the marmalade to the bowl. Add the orange liqueur. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and heat on full power in the microwave for 3 minutes. Remove from the microwave and
snaps.
Squash with Tahini Sauce
¼ cup olive oil
pound spiralized zucchini or a mix of zucchini and yellow squash Tahini sauce (see following)
1. Place the olive oil in a skillet. Heat until it shimmers. Then add the spiralized squash. Cook over medium-high heat until just tender. Allow the squash to develop a few scorch marks, but do not let it burn. This should take about 15 minutes.
2. Transfer the squash to a platter Drizzle tahini sauce over the squash, sprinkle with the nuts, and serve.
SPRING
Continued from page 5C
If you have no desire to fuss over a barbecue, it’s easy to make the chicken shawarma in a skillet on your stove. A cool yogurt sauce, or tzatziki will make that shawarma sing. For a nod to Southern food, mix zucchini with yellow squash for color and variety It is most fun spiralized: You can buy
it that way or make it at home with a spiralizer Serve with a lemony tahini sauce, and it will fit right into a meal of chicken shawarma. And for dessert, take advantage of fresh strawberries. This microwave sauce tastes wonderful and is easy to make. Serve it over ice cream or, for a very elegant treat, pour it over a store-bought plain cheesecake. You can garnish your dessert with sliced or quartered
fresh strawberries. This sauce is also a great way to start your day Spoon a few spoonsful onto your oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast, if there is any left over You won’t be sorry
Liz Williams is founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans. Listen to “Tip of the Tongue,” Liz’s podcast about food, drink and culture, wherever you hear podcasts. Email Liz at lizwillia@gmail.com.
1. Preheat the
Liberally season the
When it begins to
the
4. Add the wine and stock to the pot and stir, scraping up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot Return the pork and garlic to the pot and add the herbs. Cover and transfer to the oven 5. Cook, turning occasionally and adding more stock if necessary, until the pork is very tender and falls apart
Roast Cherry Tomatoes
Serves 4 to 6. Recipe is from Beth Dooley
2 pints cherry tomatoes
1 tablespooon olive oil
Coarse salt
1 Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper Roll the cherry tomatoes onto the baking sheet and drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the salt.
3. Roast until the tomatoes have popped open and are charred, about 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Squeeze 2 of the garlic halves to pop the cloves into the braising liquid and discard their skins as well as the herb sprigs. Remove the fat that forms on the top of the juices.
8. Set the pot over medium heat and simmer until the juices reduce slightly Season to taste. Slice the pork against the grain into thick pieces and serve drizzled with braising liquid on top. Garnish with the remaining garlic halves.
Roast Potatoes
Serves 4 to 6. 1½ pounds potatoes, scrubbed and cut into quarters 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper Lay the potatoes, cut side up, on the baking sheet, drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the salt.
3. Roast until the potatoes are nicely browned and crisp, about 35 to 40 minutes.
from Heloise
STAFF
PHOTO By BRETT DUKE Strawberry and ice cream sundae
ARIES (March 21-April 19) Refuse to give in to someone who or something that isn't in your best interest. Make the effort and advocate on your own behalf. Choose to be efficient, and live life your way.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Take nothing and no one for granted. Look inward for answers and discover purpose and peace of mind. Make your home a place of peace, comfort and rejuvenation.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) Your perspective and choices will change, resulting in easily misinterpreted signals. Be direct, and you'll spare yourself a lot of grief Your power will come from doing what's right.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) Do whatever is necessary without complaint, and you'll outshine any opposition you face. Pay attention to visual appeal; it will help you gain momentum over anyone trying to outdo you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) When the time comes to take the next step, doing so privately is favored to allow for tiny but necessary adjustments. Educational pursuits and travel will offer insight into successful marketing opportunities.
VIRGO (Aug 23-Sept 22) Exercise your rights and negotiate on your behalf. It's best to undersell your skills and overproduce when it's time to present. A change of scenery will boost your imagination and creativity.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Take in what's happening in your neighborhood or
workplace. Put your energy into doing things differently, and you'll capture the attention of someone who can help you advance.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Mix business with pleasure. Attending reunions, trade shows or anything that brings you in contact with people who specialize in something you want to explore will lead to new possibilities and success.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) Put more effort into your surroundings. Think big, but don't underestimate the cost of whatever you plan to do. An enthusiastic performance will capture positive attention that can shape the future.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Take in what others say and do, and rearrange your plans to ensure you maintain the upper hand. A wrong move can cause tension between you and a loved one.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb. 19) Your options will increase, allowing you to dream big, but before you follow through, take inventory. Weigh the pros and cons and take the path that keeps stress levels low.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Keep your thoughts to yourself. Gather information and consider what's necessary. Make a physical change, update your look and do your best to get up to speed with trends.
Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.
TODAy'S CLUE: M EQUALS B
CeLebrItY CIpher
For better or For WorSe
And erneSt
SALLY Forth
beetLe bAILeY
Mother GooSe And GrIMM
LAGoon
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
Leo Szilard, a Hungarian-American scientist who conceived the nuclear chain reaction, the electron microscope, the linear accelerator and the cyclotron, said, “A scientist’s aim in a discussion with his colleagues is not to persuade, but to clarify.”
There will be times when one defender willnotbesureofthelocationofacritical card. Then he will usually have to rely on his partner’s realizing the predicament and clarifying the situation.
In this example deal, how should the defenders card to defeat three no-trump after West leads the club seven?
North, with a low doubleton, reasonably used Stayman to try to find a 4-4 spade fit.
First, let’s look at the deal from declarer’spointofview.Hehaseighttoptricks: two spades, three hearts, two diamonds and one club (the first trick). If diamonds are favorable, he has overtricks in his future. So he wins trick one, plays a diamond to dummy’s ace and calls for another diamond. What should East discard?
Second, let’s go back to trick one. East must play the club jack, bottom of touching honors when playing third hand high. The snag is that West does not know who has the queen; it could be East or South.
Drops for Nvidia, Tesla and other former superstars dragged Wall Street lower on Wednesday
The S&P 500 sank to break what had been a run of calmer trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung from a gain of 230 points in the morning to a loss, while the weakness for Big Tech sent the Nasdaq composite to a market-leading drop
The group of dominant stocks known as the “Magnificent Seven” has been at the center of the U.S stock market’s recent selloff, which earlier this month took the S&P 500 10% below its all-time high for its first “correction” since 2023. Big Tech had rocketed in earlier years amid a frenzy around artificial intelligence technology, and critics said their prices rose too quickly compared with their already rapidly growing profits. Nvidia fell 6% to bring its loss for the year so far to 15.5% It was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500 by far
Other AI-related stocks were also weak, including serverbuilder Super Micro Computer, which fell 8.9%, and power companies hoping to electrify AI data centers.
Tesla has been contending with additional challenges, including worries that political anger at its CEO, Elon Musk, will hurt the electric vehicle maker’s sales. Tesla dropped 5.6% to extend its loss for 2025 to 32.6%.
Dollar Tree offloads
Family Dollar for $1B
Dollar Tree’s decadelong effort to fold the Family Dollar chain into its business is ending after agreeing to sell the bargain store chain to a pair of private equity firms for $1 billion Dollar Tree Inc. bought Fam-
ily Dollar with its over 7,000 stores 10 years ago for more than $8 billion.
Dollar Tree had been scouting options for Family Dollar for a while and said Wednesday that the sale to Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management will allow it to focus on its core business.
Family Dollar carries a range of household staples, from food to laundry detergent. The stores are largely located in underserved, urban areas. Store closings that are underway, and those that may take place under new ownership, are likely to have an outsized impact on customers living in those areas.
Dollar Tree, whose customer base is about 50% middleincome shoppers, is found in many suburban locations Its shelves are more likely to feature seasonal goods, party supplies, crafts and snacks.
Renewable energy
jumps to new high
Installation of renewable energy worldwide hit a record high last year, with 92.5% of all new electricity brought online coming from the sun, wind or other clean sources, an international agency reports Nearly 64% of the new renewable electricity capacity in 2024 was in China, according to Wednesday’s report by the International Renewable Energy Agency Overall, the world added 585 billion watts of new renewable electrical energy, a 15.1% jump from 2023, with 46% of the world’s electricity coming from solar, wind and other green non-nuclear energy sources. But even that big jump does not put the globe on track to reach the international goal of tripling renewable energy from 2023 to 2030, with the world on pace to be 28% short, the agency calculated. The goal was adopted in 2023 as part of the world’s efforts to curb the increasing impacts of climate change and transition away from fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. China added almost 374 billion watts of renewable power — three-quarters of it from solar panels — in 2024. That’s more than eight times as much as the United States did and five times what Europe added last year
Trump imposes 25% auto tariff
U.S. imported nearly 8 million cars, light trucks last year
BY JOSH BOAK Associated Press
WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was placing 25% tariffs on auto imports, a move that the White House claims would foster domestic manufacturing but could also put a financial squeeze on automakers that depend on global supply chains.
“This will continue to spur growth,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll effectively be charging a 25% tariff.” The tariffs could be complicated as even U.S. automakers source their components from around the world, meaning that they could face higher costs and lower sales. Shares in General Motors fell 3% Wednesday Ford’s stock was up slightly Shares in Stellantis, the owner of Jeep and Chrysler,
dropped 3.7%. Trump has long said that tariffs against auto imports would be a defining policy of his presidency, betting that the costs created by the taxes would cause more production to relocate to the United States. But U.S. and foreign automakers with domestic plants still depend on Canada, Mexico and other nations for parts and finished vehicles, meaning that auto prices could increase and sales could decline as new factories take time to build.
“We are going to be doing automobiles, which you’ve known about for a long time,” Trump said
Monday “We’ll be announcing that fairly soon, over the next few days probably.”
The president on Monday cited plans by South Korean automaker Hyundai to build a $5.8 billion steel plant in Donaldsonville as evidence that tariffs would bring back manufacturing jobs. Slightly more than one million people are employed domestically in the manufacturing of motor vehicles and parts, about 320,000 fewer than in 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another 2.1 million people work at auto and parts dealerships.
Founders of Black-owned brands adapt their hopes and business plans
Major U.S. companies end or water down diversity, equity and inclusion programs
BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP retail writer
NEW YORK The co-founders of a company that makes lip products for darker skin tones no longer hope to get their line into Target. A brother and sister who make jigsaw puzzles celebrating Black subjects wonder if they need to offer “neutral” images like landscapes to keep growing.
Pound Cake and Puzzles of Color are among the small businesses whose owners are rethinking their plans as major U.S. companies weaken their diversity equity and inclusion programs The initiatives mostly date from the end of President Donald Trump’s first term and entered a new era with the dawn of his second one.
Some Black-owned brands suspect big retail chains will drop partnerships they pursued after the police killing of a Black
man in 2020 reignited mass protests against racial injustice. In today’s anti-DEI climate, other entrepreneurs worry about personal repercussions or feel pressure to cancel contracts with retreating retailers.
“It becomes a question of, are the big box stores going to be there? Do we even make any attempt to talk to these people?” Ericka Chambers, one of the siblings behind Puzzles of Color, said. “We are really having to evaluate our strategy in how we expand and how we want to get in front of new customers.”
Chambers and her brother, William Jones, started turning the work of artists of color into frameable puzzles the same year a video captured a White Minneapolis police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck. Amid the Black Lives Matter protests over Floyd’s death, a fashion designer challenged large retailers to devote 15% of their shelf space and purchasing power to Black businesses.
The Fifteen Percent Pledge helped bring Puzzles of Color’s creations to Macy’s and Nordstrom’s websites in 2022. Last year, they made it into select Barnes & Noble stores. Chambers said she’s confident in the companies’ commitments but recalled a backlash after news outlets covered the brand, which is based in Texas.
“It does make us think about how we en-
vision ourselves as far as the safety of not wanting to be attacked, because some people are very vocal about being anti-DEI,” Chambers said.
Vibrant depictions of Black women account for many of her and Jones’ puzzles. The pair figured they needed to provide more abstract designs for certain Barnes & Noble locations to give Puzzles of Color “a little bit of a fighting chance.”
Brianna Arps, who founded the fragrance brand Moodeaux in 2021, notices fewer grants available to Black brand creators these days. She used to apply for 10 to 15 every week or two; the number is down to five to seven, Arps said.
“A lot of the organizations that had been really vocal about supporting (Black businesses) have either quietly or outwardly pulled back,” she said.
Moodeaux was the first Black-owned perfume brand to get its perfumes into Urban Outfitters and Credo Beauty which specializes in natural vegan products. In the current environment, Arps is looking to expand her brand’s presence at independent shops and to support other Black fragrance lovers.
“The resiliency of brands like ours and founders like myself will still exist,” she said.
BY TIMOTHY BOONE Business editor
ExxonMobil said it will spend $100 million at its Baton Rouge chemical plant so the facility can produce ultra-pure isopropyl alcohol, which is used to make the advanced computer chips that power artificial intelligence and data centers. The work is expected to create 45 construction jobs, ExxonMobil officials said. Work will begin this year and the plant is expected to begin production in 2027. Baton Rouge is home of the largest isopropyl alcohol manufactur-
ing facility in the world. ExxonMobil has produced the antiseptic at the plant for more than 80 years, said Kate Lightfoot, manager of the chemical plant. “With this investment, we’re enhancing one of our legacy chemical products to meet growing demand in the tech industry,” Lightfoot said. The standard isopropyl alcohol found in consumer products such household cleaners, sanitizers and medical-grade sterilizers is 99.9% pure The industrial isopropyl alcohol that has been manufactured at the plant for more than 30 years and was used in microchips, semi-
conductors and consumer electronics is 99.99% pure. The new product will be 99.999% pure isopropyl alcohol. Manufacturers need the ultra-pure product to clean delicate, tiny computer chip parts before assembly ExxonMobil officials said the extreme purity is needed because some of the chips are so small that 150,000 would fit across a single grain of salt.
ExxonMobil has talked about producing ultra-pure isopropyl alcohol at the Baton Rouge plant since 2023. Officials said the interest in the unit was sparked by the CHIPS and Science Act, federal
legislation that was enacted in 2022 to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
ExxonMobil has agreed to dedicate sales and use taxes generated from the alcohol manufacturing facility to address blight in the neighborhoods surrounding the plant. The expansion and another proposal to establish an advanced plastics recycling facility at ExxonMobil have received property tax breaks totaling $8.6 million under the Industrial Tax Exemption Program.
Email Timothy Boone at tboone@theadvocate.com.
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MIKE STEWART
Brianna Arps, who founded the fragrance brand Moodeaux in 2021, said she has noticed fewer grants available to Black brand creators these days.
