The Times-Picayune 04-07-2025 by The Advocate

The projecttorehabilitatethe blighted former navalbase in Bywater and turnthe main buildingintonearly 300 apartments withsubsidized rentshas cleared its final financing hurdles andshould soon begin construction.

FINALHURDLES

Affordable housing projectinBywater with nearly 300apartments to beginconstructionsoonatformernaval base,officialssay

BY ANTHONY McAULEY Staff writer

Along-touted project to rehabilitate the blighted former naval base in Bywaterand turnthe main building into nearly 300 apartments with subsidizedrents hascleared itsfinal financing hurdles and should soon begin construction, according to city and federal officials.

On March 28, the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the key loan guarantee needed to secure part ofthe $166 millionfinancingpackage forthe project. The previous week,Finance New Orleans —apublic beneﬁt organization, formerly known as Finance Authority ofNew Orleans— approved apayment in lieuoftaxes deal that will allow the owners to pay asubstantiallylower rate of property tax than it otherwise would be liable for

The federal loan guarantee and city tax deal mean the project calledNSA East Bank Apartments —can now move to finalize financing and begin construction by the summer,the officials said “Weexpect the initial (financial) closing within 60-120 days,” said Kasey Lovett,spokesperson for HUD, in an email. “Then construction will commence.”

TheNaval Support Activity base at theintersection of Dauphine Street and Poland Avenue hadbeen used forvarious military purposesfor more than acentury until it wasvacated in 2011. In recent years, it has become oneofthe most notorious, grafﬁti-covered eyesores in the city and afocal point of crime, requiring police to conductmultiple sweepsto remove squatters.

The 22-acresitewas taken over in 2016 by thecity, which then tapped aconsortiumofdevelopersled by the late Joe Jaeger to rehabilitate thethree buildings.Jaegerhad told Bywater residentsover theyears that he wanted to convert the massive complex intohundreds of “affordable luxury” apartments for the

ä See PROJECT, page 3A

Louisiana farmers were expected to receivearound $363 million from fiscal year 2025 to 2031 through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Steward Program and other programs, according to data collected by thePolicy Design Lab. Afreeze by President Donald Trump put all current andfuture contracts on hold.

BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer

DeRiddercorn andwheat farmer

David Smith said he wanted to tryout somethingnew this year on his farm. He startedtinkering with theideaofadding cover crops over small acreages but wanted to expand it to hundreds of acres

“It is not amoneymaking thing. In fact, you spend money.You just wanttoimprove your soil,” Smithsaid.

Lawsuit’s luriddetails revealed

Leesville, mayorsettled 2020 case involving harassment, discrimination for$299,000

BY TYLER BRIDGES |Staff writer

Nicole Ybarra received an urgent request from Leesville MayorRickAllen. He needed to meet that evening at CityHallwithYbarra andthe other City Council members. The public was not invited.

Before the six council members and Allen filed into the empty council chamber,the mayor of the small town near the Texas border asked everyone to leave behind their cellphones, Ybarra said. Allenquickly gottothe point: He and the city manager had just returned from amediation session in Baton Rougeand needed thecouncil at its next meeting to approve the settlement of alawsuit filedbywhathedescribed as two disgruntledcity employees.Allensaida court gagorder prevented him from discussing the details with the council or the public,Ybarra recounted in arecent interview

Several days later,ataregularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 14, 2020, the council approved

ä See DETAILS, page 5A

Landry hunting trip includes triallawyers

Legislativechairssay talks focusedonauto insurance

BY TYLER BRIDGES |Staff writer

Five legislative leaders met with Gov.Jeff Landry and twoprominent trial attorneys in Texas last week to hunt turkey and talk legislative business —including whether lawmakers will keep trying to makeitharder forlawyers to collect big payouts for clients injured in car accidents.

Gordon McKernan, one of the two attorneys, flew House Speaker Phillip DeVillier,Senate President Cameron Henry and three committee chairs on his law ﬁrm’s jet to the Tributary Sporting Club near Austin.Landrymet them there. They all returned Wednesday

ä See TRIP, page 3A

receivearound$363million from fiscal year 2025 to 2031 through EQIP,CSP and other programs, according to data collected by the Policy Design Lab. EQIP and CSP are partly funded through the Farm Bill. Former President Joe Biden’sInflation Reduction Act added nearly $20 billion in investments to the USDA conservation programs over afive-year period, with many focusedon climate-friendly initiatives. Theprojects farmers can participate in include improving water quality and retention,reducing soil runoff, andimproving soilhealth by installingfencing for livestock. But the main goal is to help improve efficiency in farming, Michael Deliberto, associate professor in agricultural policy at LSU, said. Louisianafarmers

He couldn’tjustify the cost in the current agricultural economywithits high inputcosts andlow commodity prices. So he looked at applying for aU.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources

Conservation Service program that would have partly covered the cost of seed. The agency helpsfarmers identify conservation concerns on their operationsand works to ensure availability of resources for future generations.

Smithwould have been one of the hundreds of Louisiana farmers whoparticipateevery year in federal programslike the EnvironmentalQualityIncentives Program and the Conservation Steward Program,amongothers. But asweeping freeze by President Donald Trumpput all currentand future contracts on hold as theadministration evaluates that programs are“focused on supporting farmers andranchers, not DEIA programsorfar-left climate programs,” saidU.S.SecretaryofAgriculture Brooke Rollins.

Louisiana farmers were expected to

ä See FUNDS, page 5A

People walk around the abandoned former navalbase in NewOrleans on Saturday

STAFF PHOTOSBySOPHIAGERMER

Allen Ybarra

Landry

BRIEFS FROM WIRE REPORTS

Yemen’s Houthis say U.S. strikes kill 4

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates Suspected U.S. airstrikes killed at least four people Sunday in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa, the Houthi-run health ministry said, while a bombing video posted by U.S. President Donald Trump suggested casualties in the overall campaign may be higher than the rebels acknowledge. The strikes in Sanaa hit a home and injured 16 other people, the ministry said.

Earlier on Sunday, the Iranianbacked Houthis said suspected U.S. airstrikes killed at least two people overnight in a rebel stronghold Saada and wounded nine others. Footage aired by the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel showed a strike collapsing what appeared to be a two-story building. The rebels aired no footage from inside the building, which they described as a solar power shop

The intense campaign of U.S. airstrikes targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters — related to the Israel-Hamas war has killed at least 69 people, according to casualty ﬁgures released by the Houthis.

The Houthis have not acknowledged any casualties among their security and military leadership — something challenged after an online video posted by Trump.

Early on Saturday, Trump posted what appeared to be black-and-white video from a drone showing over 70 people gathered in a circle An explosion detonates during the 25-second video. A massive crater is left in its wake.

Le Pen supporters hold rally in Paris

PARIS Convicted of embezzling public funds and banned from running for office, farright politician Marine Le Pen stood unshaken before a sea of French flags in Paris on Sunday “For 30 years I have fought against injustice,” she told the crowd. “And I will continue to ﬁght.”

Thousands of supporters gathered at Place Vauban, near the golden dome of Les Invalides and the tomb of Napoleon, for what was billed as a protest — but observers said it had all the markings of a campaign rally

The National Rally, Le Pen’s party, organized the event in response to what it calls a politically motivated verdict. But with chants of “Marine Présidente!” and “They won’t steal 2027 from us,” the message was clear: this was more than a protest. It was a show of populist deﬁance aimed squarely at France’s institutions.

At the heart of that charge stood Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé and president of the National Rally His speech was fiery, accusing France’s judges of trying to silence the opposition.

Pope makes surprise appearance at Mass

VATICAN CITY Pope Francis made a surprise entrance to St. Peter’s Square during a special Jubilee Mass for the sick and health workers on Sunday, marking his ﬁrst public appearance at the Vatican since leaving the hospital two weeks ago after a life-threatening bout with pneumonia.

The pontiff waved at the crowd of faithful that stood and applauded as he was pushed in a wheelchair unannounced to the front of the altar in the square. Some exclaimed, “I see the pope!” as his image first emerged on a big screen showing him passing through the Holy Door before being brought down a ramp to the altar

“Good Sunday to everyone,” Francis said, speaking into a microphone, which he tapped to make sure it was working on a second attempt. “Thank you very much.”

The pontiff’s voice sounded stronger than when he addressed well-wishers outside of Gemelli hospital on the day of his release March 23, after a ﬁve-week hospital stay

passes Sunday

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 32

Officials: Mostly women and children slain

By The Associated Press

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip

Israeli strikes in the Gaza

Strip killed at least 32 people including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump about the war

Israel last month ended its ceasefire with Hamas and has seized territory to pressure the militant group to accept a new deal for a truce and release of remaining hostages. It has blocked the import of food, fuel and other supplies for over a month to the coastal territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.

Israel’s military late Sunday ordered Palestinians to evacuate several neighborhoods in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah shortly after about 10 projectiles were ﬁred from Gaza — the largest barrage from the territory since Israel resumed the war

The military said about five were intercepted. Hamas’ military arm claimed responsibility

Police said a rocket fell in Ashkelon city and fragments fell in several other areas The Magen David Adom emergency service said one man was lightly injured. The military lat-

er said it struck a rocket launcher in Gaza.

Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

The body of a toddler took up one end of an emergency stretcher

A female journalist was among the dead. “My daughter is innocent. She had no involvement, she loved journalism and adored it,” said her mother, Amal Kaskeen.

“Trump wants to end the Gaza issue. He is in a hurry, and that is clear from this morning,” said Mohammad Abdel-Hadi, cousin of a woman killed.

Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry

The bodies of seven people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist there.

And a strike in Gaza City hit people waiting outside a bakery and killed at least six, including three children, according to the civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government.

Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for new anti-war protests. Footage on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests,

while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.

There is also anger inside Israel over the war’s resumption and its effects on remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages along with some of those recently freed from Gaza and their supporters have urged Trump to help ensure the ﬁghting ends.

Netanyahu on Monday will meet with Trump for the second time since Trump began his latest term in January The prime minister said they would discuss the war and the new 17% tariff imposed on Israel, part of a sweeping global decision by the U.S.

“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reﬂects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary

The U.S., a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, had expressed support for Israel’s resumption of the war last month.

Hundreds of Palestinians since then have been killed, among them 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later Israel’s military this weekend backtracked on its account of what happened in the incident, captured in part on video, that angered Red Cross and Red Crescent and U.N. ofﬁcials.

Judge: Deportation of Md. man to El Salvador was ‘wholly lawless’

By The Associated Press

GREENBELT, Md. — The U.S. government’s decision to arrest a Maryland man and send him to a notorious prison in El Salvador appears to be “wholly lawless,” a federal judge wrote Sunday in a legal opinion explaining why she had ordered the Trump administration to bring him back to the United States. There is little to no evidence to support a “vague, uncorroborated” allegation that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was once in the MS-13 street gang, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis wrote. And in any case, she said, an immigration judge had expressly barred the U.S in 2019 from deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, where he faced likely persecution by local gangs.

“As defendants acknowledge, they had no legal authority to arrest him, no justification to detain him, and no grounds to send him to El Salvador — let alone deliver him into one of the most dangerous prisons in the Western Hemisphere,” Xinis wrote.

She said it was “eyepopping” that the government had argued that it could not be forced to bring Abrego Garcia back because he is no longer in U.S. custody

“They do indeed cling to the stunning proposition that they can forcibly remove any person — migrant and U.S. citizen alike — to prisons outside the United States, and then baldly assert they have no way to effectuate return because they are no longer the ‘custodian,’ and the Court thus lacks jurisdiction,” Xinis wrote. “As a practical matter, the facts say otherwise.”

The Justice Department has asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to pause Xinis’ ruling.

Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran national who has never been charged or convicted of any crime, was detained by immigration agents and deported last month.

Abrego Garcia had a permit from DHS to legally work in the U.S. and was a sheet metal apprentice pursuing a journeyman license, his attorney said.

Rising rivers threaten U.S. South, Midwest

BY JON CHERRY, KIMBERLEE KRUESI and ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press

FRANKFORT, Ky.— Rivers rose and ﬂooding worsened Sunday across the sodden U.S. South and Midwest, threatening communities already badly damaged by days of heavy rain and wind that killed at least 18 people.

From Texas to Ohio, utilities scrambled to shut off power and gas, while cities closed roads and deployed sandbags to protect homes and businesses.

In Frankfort, Kentucky, rescue crews checking up on residents in the state capital traversed inundated streets in inﬂatable boats.

“As long as I’ve been alive — and I’m 52 — this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Wendy Quire, the general manager at the Brown Barrel restaurant in downtown Frankfort.

As the swollen Kentucky River kept rising on Sunday, ofﬁcials diverted trafﬁc and turned off utilities to businesses in the city built around it, Quire said. “The rain just won’t stop. It’s been nonstop for days and days,” she said.

As of Sunday, the river’s depth had risen above 47 feet and was expected to crest above 49 feet Monday morning to a recordsetting level, according to Frankfort Mayor Layne Wilkerson. The city’s ﬂood wall system is designed to withstand 51 feet of water Forecasters said Sunday that flooding could persist as torrential rains lingered over many states, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. Tornadoes are possible in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, forecasters said

For many, as the rain kept falling, there was a sense of dread that the worst was still to come. The 18 reported deaths since the start of the storms on Wednesday included 10 in Tennessee. A 9-year-old boy in Kentucky was caught up in floodwaters while walking to catch his school bus. A 5-year-old boy in Arkansas died after a tree fell on his family’s home and trapped him, police said. A 16-yearold volunteer in Missouri firefighter died in a crash while seeking to rescue people caught in the storm. The National Weather Service said on Sunday dozens of locations in multiple states were expected to reach a “major flood stage,” with extensive flooding of structures, roads, bridges and other critical infrastructure possible. In north-central Kentucky emergency officials ordered a mandatory evacuation for Falmouth and Butler, towns near the bend of the rising Licking River Thirty years ago, the river reached a record 50 feet, resulting in five deaths and 1,000 homes destroyed. There were 207 domestic and international flights cancelled within the U.S. and more than 5,400 delayed on Sunday according to FlightAware.com. The storms come after the Trump administration has cut jobs at NWS forecast offices, leaving half of them with vacancy rates of about 20%, or double the level of a decade ago. The NWS said 5.06 inches of rain fell Saturday in Jonesboro, Arkansas — making it the wettest day ever recorded in April in the city, dating back to 1893.

His wife is a U.S. citizen.

The White House has described Abrego Garcia’s deportation as an “administrative error” but has also cast him an MS-13 gang member Attorneys for Abrego Garcia said there is no evidence he was in MS-13.

In her order Sunday, Xinis referenced earlier comments from now-suspended Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni in which Reuveni said: “We concede he should not have been removed to El Salvador” and that he responded “I don’t know” when asked why Abrego Garcia was being held.

The Justice Department placed Reuveni on leave after he made the comments.

Attorney General Pam Bondi in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” likened Reuveni’s comments to “a defense attorney walking in, conceding something in a criminal matter.”

“That would never happen in this country,” she said. “So he’s on administrative leave now and we’ll see what happens.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ABDEL KAREEM HANA

man

by the destroyed house of journalist Islam Meqdad, where she was killed along with her son and five other family members in an Israeli army strike in Khan younis, southern Gaza Strip

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By JON CHERRy

Le Pen

PROJECT

Continued from page1A

city’sessential workers and others of moderate or low incomes. But he struggled to line up the ﬁnancing, which the developers have always maintained would require several layers of public grantsand tax breaks to work.

Legacy project

Last year,local builder Brian Gibbs took the leadin the consortium andpledged to see the project through as alegacy for Jaeger.The ﬁnancial pieces now seem to have fallen into place. Under the terms of the city tax deal, the NSA East Bank owners will pay $5,000in

property tax in 2026, rising by 2.5%a year through 2040 fora totalpropertytax payment of just under $90,000 forthe period, accordingto BlakeStanﬁll, Finance New Orleans’ chiefoperating ofﬁcer.

“We’re excited to see this building brought back into publiccommerce andto eliminate blight,” Stanfill said.

Last June, theconsortium securedakey piece of the finance stack: a$20 million federal housing grant that helped to unlock other publicﬁnancing critical to make the dealwork.That grant camefrom apool of $230 million in federal block grants aimedatimproving affordable housing in Louisiana after hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida.

Other sources of ﬁnancing include more than$48 million in federal low-income housing tax credits and $31 million in state historictax credits. The developers were authorized by Louisiana Housing Corporation last Novembertoissue up to $92 million of tax exempt multifamily housing revenue bonds, which carry lower interest rates and will help defray ﬁnancing costs. They have also lined up Walker and Dunlop, a Bethesda, Maryland-based specialist in subsidized housingfinance, as lender for theHUD-guaranteed loan. The consortium is also in talks withLincoln Avenue Communities to joinNSA East Bank as apartner,according to two sources with

direct knowledge of the negotiationswho weren’tauthorized to be quoted. LincolnAvenue Communities, aSanta Monica, California-based owner and operator of more than 30,000 affordable housing units nationally,recently opened Tivoli PlaceApartmentson St.Charles Avenue after a$35 millionrenovation

The building, located on St. Charles Avenue at Harmony Circle (originally Tivoli Circle), was built as ahotel in 1917 andhad fallen into disrepair as alow-income housing complexinrecent decades.The renovation creates 163 new unitsfor seniors and people withspecial needs who meet the income qualiﬁcations. NeitherGibbs norLincoln Avenue Communities

respondedtorequests for comment.

Affordable rents

The ﬁrst phase of the NSA East Bank development plan envisions converting the largest building in the dilapidated complex into atotal of 294 apartments, all of which would be designated as “affordable”or“workforce” housing forpeopleearning between 60% and 120% of thearea median income. It will be comprised of 49 onebedroom, 220 two-bedroom and 25 three-bedroom units, according to documents ﬁled by the developer with the housing agency

The median family income for the NewOrleansmetropolitan area was $86,800 as of June 1, 2024, according to HUD. Rentswould be setat

no morethan 30% of income forqualifying tenants. The project also calls for 38,000 square feet of ground floor retailspace and more than 1,000 parking spaces, according to documents filed by the developers with city planning authorities. Last October,Broadmoor theconstruction manager for the project, started lining up qualified subcontractors for electric, plumbing andotherelements of the project. The developers have scheduled apublic meeting for Tuesday to discuss the plan and timeline of the project with Bywater residents.

Email Anthony McAuley tmcauley@theadvocate. com.

Landry issued the invitations, and Protect Louisiana Values, one of his political organizations, paid for their stay at the hunting resort, lawmakerssaid.

The trip came at atime when business-oriented Republican legislators have been expressing concern privately that Landry willagain favor trial attorneys on major legislation during the upcoming legislative session. Last year,Landry vetoed one major piece of legislation involving alegal doctrine known as “collateral source” that would have limited potential payouts for trial lawyers.Healso insisted that legislators limit several other measures opposed by trial lawyers before agreeing to supportthem

At thetime, he said he rejected the collateralsource bill to ensure that working people and consumers would receive what they deserve in medical costs following an accident caused by others

‘Wetried somethingnew’

When this year’ssession begins later this month, the trial attorneys and lobbyists for businessinterests willresume their longtime political ﬁght.

With that in mind, Henry said the outing to Texas was an attempt to see if legislators could find commonground with the trial lawyers on ways to protect the rightsof people injured in accidents while eliminating frivolous lawsuits.

“The governor’sthought waswhy don’twebring these guys to the table on something that we canpass and bring down rates,” Henry,R-Metairie, said. “Wetried something new to see if we could get abill across the governor’sdesk that he’swilling to support that doesn’trestrict the insurance companies in away that doesn’tmake them want to do business in Louisiana and doesn’tunfairly restrict those who are injured in accidents.”

Henry said they decided to have the discussion at aTexas hunting lodge because, “We’ve trieditaroundthe table in my ofﬁce.” He said that led to compromise leg-

islation on property insurance last year but not auto insurance. “Year after year,we’ve been trying to solve this —balancing what’sgood for the insurance companies, and then we run into the oppositionofthe trial bar,” Henry said. “They’ve been excluded from every conversation. We have to bring allsides in We nowhave abetter understandingof what the sticking points areand what we believethe bad actors onboth sides are doing.”

AlsotravelingtoTexas for themeetingswereSen.Kirk Talbot, whochairsthe Senate Insurance Committee; Sen. Patrick McMath, who chairs the Senate Health and Welfare Committee; Rep. Jack McFarland, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee; Kyle Ruckert,the governor’s chiefofstaff;and Digger Earles, abig-name personal injury lawyer in Lafayettewho is buddies with Landry from when they attendedlaw school together No business lobbyists went on the trip.

Stateethics laws generally prohibit public officials from receiving anything “of economic value” for theperformance of their official duties. Whether that would apply to the McKernan flightsisnot clear.Public officials have to disclose flights on donors’ planes ifthe flights are cam-

paign related.

DeVillier,McKernan and Earles did not return phone calls seeking comment about the trip or the discussions thattook place.

Througha spokesperson, Landry declined to comment Huntingand insurance

Talbot, R-River Ridge, has championed the business point of view during his tenure in theLegislature.

He said the trip didn’t change hisview that to lower autoinsurance rates whichhecalledthe highest in the country —Louisiana must tilt the legalscales away from excessive litigation and excessive payouts. Askedwhether thepurpose of the trip was to try to nail down an agreement on car insurance issues, Talbot said, “I wouldn’tcharacterize it as hammering out a deal. It was more of alively discussiononthe causes of the high rates and howto solve them. Any time Ican talktodifferent people, you hear different perspectives, and that’svaluable. I’m willing to meetanyone anywhere to debateand discuss this.”

Lawmakers saidthey wenthunting onemorning

in Texasbut otherwise devoted their time to discussing how to address high auto insurance rates and the path forwardonthe state budget after voters aweek agorejected overhauling the tax section of the stateconstitution

“Itwas notlikewejust went out there and had a good time,” said McFarland, R-Jonesboro. “Wespent hours in meetings on Monday afternoon, Tuesday and again Wednesday.”

McFarland said he, Landry andhis legislative colleagues discussed the budget situation without McKernan or Earles present.

“Thereare significant budget challenges,” McFarland said. “It gave us the chance to discussthem. I’ll be forced to do thingsthat Jeff won’tlike. Iwon’t be in agreement with everything he wantstodo.”

Last year,McFarland passed legislation long

sought by business interests that prevents injured partiesfromsuing insurance companiesdirectly,a practiceknown as “direct action.” Proponents of the measure believe judges and juries award bigger claims whentheyknowthat deeppocketed insurance companies are on the hook.

But McFarland softened theﬁnalversionatthe behest of Landry and trial lawyers. The governorsigned the legislation into law McMath, R-Covington, saidhewas invited on the trip to lend his perspective on insurance issues.

“Insurance is the No. 1issue our constituents face,” McMath said. “Wehaveto ﬁnd waystocurb costs for homeowners,autos and health.You have to have conversationswiththe people involvedinthe process. Youhave to be educated on the issues.”

Politicalcontributions

McKernan is among the major trialattorneys who contributed heavilyto Landrywhen he wonthe 2023 governor’srace, after he supported Gov. John Bel Edwards, aDemocrat, duringhis eightyears in ofﬁce. McKernan gave $100,000 to

theLouisiana Republican Party in 2023, and his law ﬁrmcontributed $15,000 to Landry McKernan is based in BatonRouge but haslaw offices throughout thestate. In January,hebegan an ad blitz in metro New Orleans to gain clients there. In an interview two months ago, McKernan said he begancontributing to state lawmakers because of “the repeated calls by theinsuranceindustry to reform things that make their side of the table moreproﬁtable. At the sametime, that’sa transactionwhere regular everyday folk, working men andwomen, aregivingup rights that they don’trealize in return for promises that don’tmaterialize.”

In addition to vetoing the legislation last year over the objections of business interests, Landry has also raised hacklesamong conservatives by appointing two trial attorneys, John Carmouche and Rico Alvendia, to positions on the LSU Board of Supervisors. Both have contributed generously to Landry and the Louisiana Republican Party EmailTyler Bridges at tbridges@theadvocate.com.

Trumpsayshe’snot backingdownontariffs

BY ADRIANA GOMEZLICON and FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he won’tback down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S., digging in on his plans to implement the taxes that have sent ﬁnancial markets reeling, raised fears of arecession and upended the global trading system.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he didn’twant global markets to fall, but also that he wasn’tconcerned about the massive sell-off either,adding, “sometimesyou have to take medicine to ﬁx something.”

His comments came as global ﬁnancial markets appeared on track to continue sharpdeclines once trading resumes Monday,and after Trump’saides sought to soothe market concerns by saying more than 50 nations had reached out about launching negotiations to lift the tariffs.

“I spoke to alot of leaders, European, Asian, from all over theworld,” Trump said.“They’redying to make adeal. AndIsaid,we’re not going to have deficits with your country.We’re not going to do that, because to me adeﬁcitisa loss. We’re going to have surpluses or at worst, going to be breaking even.”

The higher rates are set to be collectedbeginning Wednesday,usheringina newera of economicuncertainty with no clear endin sight.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said unfair trade practices arenot “the kind ofthing youcan negotiate away in days orweeks.” The UnitedStates, he said, must see “what the countries

offer and whether it’s believable.”

Trump, who spent the weekend in Florida playing golf, posted online that“WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’tbeeasy.”His Cabinetmembers andeconomic advisers wereout in force Sunday defendingthe tariffs and downplaying the consequences for the global economy

“There doesn’thavetobe arecession. Who knows how themarket is going to react in aday,inaweek?”Bessent said.“What we are looking at is building thelong-term economic fundamentalsfor prosperity.”

U.S. stock futures dropped on Sunday evening as the

tariffs continued to roil the markets. Dow Jones IndustrialAverage and S&P 500 futuresfellnearly4%while Nasdaq futures were down nearly 5%. Even the price of bitcoin,which held relatively stable lastweek, fell nearly 6% Sunday Trump’stariff blitz,announced Wednesday,fulﬁlled akey campaign promise as he acted without Congress to redraw therules of global trade. It was amove decades in themaking for Trump, who has longdenounced foreign trade deals as unfair to the U.S. He is gambling that voters will be willing to endure higher prices for everydayitems to enacthis economic vision.

Countries are scrambling to ﬁgure out how to respond to the tariffs, with China and othersretaliating quickly TopWhite House economic adviser Kevin Hassettacknowledged that other countries are “angry and retaliating,” and,hesaid,“by the way, comingtothe table.” He citedthe Office of theU.S. Trade Representative as reporting thatmorethan 50 nationshad reached out to the White House to begin talks. Adding to theturmoil, the new tariffs are hitting American alliesand adversaries alike, including Israel, which is facing a17% tariff. Israeli

PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahuisset to visit the White House and speak at a news conference with Trump on Monday, withhis office saying the tariffs would be apoint of discussionwith Trumpalong with the warin Gaza and other issues.

Another American ally, Vietnam, amajor manufacturing center forclothing, hasalso been in touchwith the administration about the tariffs.Trumpsaid Vietnam’sleader said in atelephonecall that his country “wants to cuttheir Tariffs down to ZERO if they are able to make an agreement with the U.S.” And akey European partner,Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, said she disagreed with Trump’s move butwas “ready to deploy all the tools —negotiating andeconomic— necessary to support our businesses and our sectors that may be penalized.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick made clear there was no postponing tariffs that are days away

“The tariffs are coming. Of course they are,” he said adding that Trump needed to reset global trade. Buthe committed only to having them “definitely” remain “for days and weeks.”

In Congress, where Trump’sRepublican Party

haslongchampionedfree trade, the tariff regiment has been met with applause but also signiﬁcant unease. Several Republican senatorshavealreadysigned onto anew bipartisan bill that would require presidents to justifynew tariffs to Congress. Lawmakers would then have to approve the tariffs within 60 days, or they would expire. Nebraska GOP Rep. Don Baconsaid Sunday that he would introduce aHouse version of the bill, saying that Congress needs to restores its powers over tariffs.

“Wegave some of that power to theexecutive branch. I think, in hindsight, that was amistake,” said Bacon,adding that getting ameasure passed would be challenging unless the ﬁnancial markets continue to react negatively andother indicatorssuchas inﬂation and unemployment shift.

Wyoming’sJohn Barrasso the No.2member of the Senate’sGOP leadership, said Trumpis“doing what he hasevery right to do.” But, he acknowledged, “there is concern, and there’sconcern across the country.People are watching the markets.” “There’ll be adiscussion in the Senate,” Barrasso said of the tariffs.“We’ll see which waythe discussion goes.”

RFKJr. visits Texasafter 2ndchild dies from measles-relatedillness

BY DEVI SHASTRI and AMANDASEITZ Associated Press

U.S. Health SecretaryRob-

ert F. KennedyJr. traveled to West Texas on Sunday after asecond elementary school-aged child who was not vaccinated died from a measles-relatedillness.

Ahead of a“Make America Healthy Again” tour across southwestern U.S., Kennedy said in asocial media post that he was in Gaines County to comfort the families who have buried two young children.

Kennedy said he was working with Texas health officials to “control the measlesoutbreak.”Seminole is theepicenter of the outbreak,which startedin late January and continues to swell— with nearly 500 cases in Texas alone, plus cases from the outbreak believed to have spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Mexico.

The second youngchild died Thursday from “what the child’sdoctor described as measles pulmonary failure,” and did not have underlying health conditions, the Texas State Department of State Health Servicessaid Sunday in anews release. AaronDavis, aspokesper-

son for UMC HealthSystem in Lubbock, said that the child was “receiving treatment for complicationsof measles while hospitalized.”

This is the thirdknown measles-relateddeathtied to this outbreak.One was another elementary schoolaged child in Texas and the other was an adult in New Mexico; neither were vaccinated It’s Kennedy’sfirst visit to the area as health secretary,where he said he met with families of boththe 6and 8-year-old childrenwho died. He said he “developed bonds” with the Mennonite community in West Texas in which the virusismostly spreading.

Kennedy,an anti-vaccine advocate before ascending to the role of nation’stop health secretary earlier this year,has resisted urging widespread vaccinations as the measles outbreak has worsened underhis watch On Sunday,however,hesaid in alengthy statement posted on Xthat it was “the most effectiveway to preventthe spread of measles.” Themeasles, mumpsand rubella vaccine hasbeen used safely for more than 60 yearsand is 97%effective against measles after two doses.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention teams have been “redeployed,” Kennedy added Sunday,althoughthe nation’s public healthagency neverrelayed it hadpulled back.Neither theCDC nor the state health department included thedeath in their measles reports issued Friday,but the CDC acknowledged it when asked Sunday The number of cases in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and Friday,and 16 more people werehospitalized.Nationwide, the U.S. has more thandouble the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024.

Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy,ofLouisiana, aliver doctor whose vote helped cinchKennedy’sconﬁrmation, called Sunday for strongermessaging from health ofﬁcials in apost on X.

“Everyoneshouldbevaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No beneﬁt to getting measles,” he wrote. “Top health ofﬁcials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.”

Cassidy hasrequested Kennedy to appear before his healthcommittee Thursday, although Kennedy has not publicly conﬁrmed whether he will attend.

ACDC spokespersonnoted

the efﬁcacy of the measles vaccine Sunday,but stopped shortofcalling on people to getit. Departingfromlongstanding public health mes-

saging around vaccination, the spokesperson called the decision a“personal one” and encouraged people to talk with their doctor.Peo-

ple “should be informed about the potential risks and beneﬁts associated with vaccines,” thespokesperson added.

FUNDS

Continued from page1A

‘Theyrelyonprograms’

The number of farmers who apply for these programs vastly outweighs the money available.

In 2023, Louisiana received $25 million in EQIP funds and $28 million in CSP funds distributed across 825 contracts. But more than 3,700 farmers applied. The programs havebe-

come an essential part of incentivizing theimprovement of Louisiana’s farmland,expertssay.Farmers, nowfaced with an uncertain future and increasing costs, will be more likely to push off or forgo those improvements to their land.

Deliberto added that practices arebeneﬁcial to beginner,underserved and veteran farming operations.

“Theproducers Italk to, they rely on theseprograms. It really is the epitome of what apartnership is when

youthink of aboutthe USDA’s roleinhelping ourproducers remainproductive and really remain in business,” he said.

While Smith did notenter acontract for his cover crops, otherfarmersacross the state and nation made improvements to theirland withthe belief they would be reimbursed.The federal government reneging on those contracts could erode trust in the USDA andgovernment programs, said John Coppess, aprofessorat the University of Illinois and

author of the Policy Design

Lab’sdata collection

“You haveafarmer that signedacontract,put his own money into the practice and expects areimbursement.It really shockedmewhenthey froze that reimbursement, essentially breaching the contract,” Coppess said.

He added that it’sunclear how much money is currently owed to Louisiana farmers but said that EQIP alone alreadyobligated north of $1 billion for ﬁscal year 2024.

On Feb.20, theUSDAan-

the lawsuit.

the settlement without divulging the explosive allegations in the lawsuit: that Allen had asexual relationship with acity employee who was demoted twice after the relationship ended and rehired amanager who the city employee said had previously sexually harassed her —and then the sexual harassment resumed.

No media outlet reported the contents of the lawsuit or the cost to taxpayers to settle the case. The public knew nothing.

Life moved on in Leesville, atown of nearly 6,000 residents in Vernon Parish that abuts what was then named Fort Polk and is now Fort Johnson. La. 171, which connects Shreveport and Lake Charles, intersects the town.

What happened nearly ﬁve years ago in Leesvillewould have remained buried but for an anonymous city resident and Ybarra, who were troubled by the actions of the mayor and the othercouncil members. Because of their efforts, word about the lawsuit has begun ﬁltering out in Leesville in recent weeks.

Still, Allen and his allies have tried to keep alid on the story,refusing to discussit or insisting that acourt has sealed the documents.

That is not true. Areview of the docket shows no sealorders. The lawsuit andsettlement are public documents, giventhattheyinvolve taxpayer money.But while the lawsuit has been seen by aselect few recently,practically no one has seen the settlement.

It shows that Allen and the council agreed to pay $299,000 to settlethe case.

Three City Council members who voted for the settlement in 2020 declined three weeks ago to discuss the matter, whilea fourth didnot return phone calls.

Several politicalinsiders who have seen acopy of the lawsuit said the topic wastoo hot to discuss in asmall town where, they said repeatedly, “everybody knows everyone else.”

Apowerfulmayor

At the center of thestory is Allen,who is servinghis third term as mayor after winning election twice with 68% of the vote. He is this year’spresident of the Louisiana Municipal Association, which represents the interests of cities before the governor and the state Legislature. Associatessay Allen has

told themhewants to run for lieutenant governor one day. (Rich Dupree, the second vice president of theLouisiana Municipal Association, resigned from that position and as mayor of Pineville in central Louisiana last year afterhewas forced to acknowledge publicly that he had had an affair with acityemployee there.)

Allenfrequently refers to God in hispublic pronouncements and gets high marks from residents for aggressivelywinning state and federal contracts for projectsin Leesville.

Allenhas declined to answer questions about the lawsuit and settlement but did brieﬂysay after arecent City Council meeting, “You have adisgruntled council member who would like to burn the wholetowndown It’s not about me.”

The City Council member is Ybarra, whoisserving her secondterm andhas stood out by not automatically supporting his agenda. A49-year-old retired pharmacy technician, she defeated a20-year incumbent in 2018 after deciding to run because of aneighborhood sewage problem. Like her colleagues, she earns about $500 per monthonthe council.

Ybarra said Allen has frozen her out of councilgroup texts and stopped responding to herrequests —topunish her for being the one council member to questionhis actions, including thoseinvolving the lawsuit and settlement.

“I’mjust notayes person,” Ybarra said.“Ithink he’sused to having yes peopleonthe council.”

Ybarra also said shebelieves that Allen had the LeesvillePoliceDepartment investigateher,trying to establish that she was behind the disseminationof the lawsuit.

City Council member Willie Mae Kennedy said shefound acopy of it placedonher windshield afew monthsago.

Kennedy looked at it brieﬂy before driving to City Hall to give the document to Patti Larney,the city administrator.

“I didn’tthink it was for me,” Kennedy said during a briefinterviewthree weeks agobefore decliningtoanswer more questions.

Vernon Parish District Attorney Terry Lambright said police ofﬁcialscametohim seekinghis advice on the investigation of Ybarra. Lambright wouldnot disclose what he toldthem, but Ybarra said shedoesn’t believe the policeare still investigating her

Police Chief Beth Westlake did not return phone calls.

An anonymoustip

Thelawsuitand settlement seemed destined to be forgotten, but last year,anunidentiﬁedman called Ybarra and chided her for voting to approve the settlement, Ybarra said in the interview

“Whatare you talking about?”she said she replied

The man beganproviding details of thelawsuit.

“Whereare you getting thisfrom?” Ybarra saidshe was dumbfounded.

The man saiditcame from alawsuit filed in federal court in Lake Charles.He gave herthe docket number.

Ybarra saidshe immediately drove to Lake Charles andrequesteda copyofthe entire ﬁle, all1,200 pages.

The court ﬁling shows that Allenand the cityhad been sued by acity employee named Amanda Stoots, who said she had aone-year affair with Allen andwas laid off after therelationship ended.Stootsalsosaidaseniorcityemployee sexually harassed her,touching her breasts andrear endand repeatedly propositioning her, both before, during and after the allegedrelationshipwith Allen. In the lawsuit, Stoots said the mayor didn’tstop the sexual harassment.

That night, reading it,“I felt sick to my stomach,” Ybarra said.

The lawsuit said Stoots, whoagreedinthe settlement nottodiscuss the case, began working for the cityin April 2018 as agrasscutterat Fort Polk.

The following month,the lawsuit said, Stoots’ supervisor,James Chris Fox, began making lewd commentsto her, in personand through Snapchat, and repeatedly asked hertohavesex with him. She responded thathis comments were “gross,” the lawsuit said, andshe demanded that he stopharassingher

Stoots informedAllen aboutwhatFox was doing.

“Ms. Stoots felt comfortable reporting this sexual harassment to MayorAllen because Mayor Allen expressed aromanticand sexualinterest in Ms. Stoots, andthe two began aconsensual intimate relationship in September 2018,” thelawsuit said. “This relationship continued over the next year.”

Stoots, who hadbeen promotedtoproject manager, was demoted twice afterthe affair ended, the lawsuit said.

In December 2019, Fox laid off Stoots“as part of a‘reduction in force due to budget constraints,’” according to

Stoots ﬁled suit in March 2020 along with Robyn Bassett, who accused Allen, other city ofﬁcialsand the cityitself of discriminating against herbecause she is gay and because she complainedofdiscrimination against other city employees.

Thesettlementwas signed in October 2020, according to acopyobtainedby The Advocate|The TimesPicayunethrougha public records request

It shows that Stoots received $186,875. Of that, $124,582.33 went to her,and hertwo NewOrleansattorneys, Casey Denson and Kerry Murphy,each collected $31,145.83.

Bassettreceived $112,125. Of that, $74,750 went to her, andDenson andMurphy each collectedanadditional $18,687.50.

Denson said neitherStoots nor Bassett could discuss thesettlement.

Of the$299,000 paid to the two women,the cityofLeesville paid $175,000 to Stoots andBassett,withthe additional $124,000 coming from theLouisiana Municipal Risk Management Agency, an insuranceentity that is part of the Louisiana Municipal Association. (Leesville’s budget was $8.1 million that year,according to areport ﬁled withthe Louisiana Legislative Auditor’sOfﬁce.) Fox and Larney did not return phone calls seeking comment.

nounced the release of $20 million in IRAfunding for contracts under EQIP,CSP, and theAgricultural Conservation EasementProgram Themoney,which Rollins said would be released in portions, only represents 0.35% of theNRCS’s$5.7billion budget.

Smith, who has worked on NRCS conservation projects in the past, said that the recent freeze will not affect him, adding thathewill plant cover cropssome othertime He also said he feels that

No questionsasked

Audio from the day in September2020 when thecouncilapproved thesettlement shows that Allen read the resolution, which didnot contain anydetails of the lawsuit or the settlement.

Council memberChris Robertson, an Allenally,offered the motion forapproval.

Council memberPhillip Hunt, anotherally,secondedit.Allen askedifthere was anypublic comment. There was none

The council approved thesettlement unanimously

Itwasoverafter79seconds. It appears to have been the only timethe issue has been addressed publicly Later asked why he voted forit, Robertson said, “We were told not to discuss it because of thecourts.”Hethen walkedaway. Huntdid notreturnphone calls.

Council member Alice Guess would notdiscuss her vote,sayingonlythat Mayor Allen and City Administrator Larney could talk about it.

Ybarra said she voted for the settlement only after receiving assurances from the then-city attorney,Max Antony,that it wasinthe best interests of the city

With the rise of the internet, small towns across Louisiana like Leesville have become news deserts.The mayorand City Councilthere don’tget muchcoverage anymore.

Rick Barnickle covers the meetings as publisherofthe Vernon ParishJournal,a free

this freeze will cometopass andfunding will be restored, whetherit’show Bidenleftit or under anew coat of Trump paint. Still, he believes that thegovernmentshould honor theircurrentcontracts and pay farmers for the work theyhavedone. “If Iwas expecting themto pay Xamount of money,becausetheysaidtheywould, and then all of asudden someonesays, ‘no,’ Iwould have a problem with it.That’swhy we have acontract,” Smith said.

news websitethatpublishes on Wednesdays and Fridays. “All Ihearisrumor and speculation,”Barnicklesaidof the lawsuit, “that they are trying to discredit the mayor and that the case has been sealed and wassettled in 2020.”

KALB-TVinAlexandria published the only account of the lawsuit aboutsix weeks ago. “It went to social media and therewerelots of sharesand comments. But then it was deleted,” said JessicaHerring, who recently stepped down as newsdirectoratKVVP,alocal radio station. Carli Luca, the station’s newsdirector,saidshe removed it from the website because the story needed additional reporting andinvolved a2020 case that had been “dismissed.”(It was dismissed only after the parties agreed to asettlement.) Luca said she made her decision without hearing from Allen or anyone else from Leesville. State Rep. Chuck Owen, a Republican whorepresents Leesville,saidhereceiveda copy of the lawsuit in the mail afew months agobut told his aide that he didn’twant to know the contents. When the KALB-TV report became public,Owensaid, “The mayor said they got the story wrong, that it wasn’t about him. It wasabout someone else. It hit the news and then went away.The very few people whohave come to me arewondering:Why aren’t more people worriedabout this?”

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APRIL2025

State auditors review N.O. shelters

City dinged over homelessness initiative

BY SOPHIE KASAKOVE Staff writer

New Orleans ofﬁcials do not regularly inspect the city’s homeless shelters, according to a report by the state Legislative Auditor’s Ofﬁce that offers a broad review of the city’s homelessness initiatives.

The audit, released in March, also found that the city has infrequently monitored the services homeless residents receive in re-

Jefferson seeks more power over airport

Hurricane Francine flooding sparks dispute

BY LARA NICHOLSON Staff writer

Jefferson Parish leaders are calling on New Orleans ofﬁcials to give them more power over Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport following failures at its $27 million stormwater pump station during Hurricane Francine.

The Parish Council sponsored a resolution seeking a joint session between it, the New Orleans City Council’s Transportation and Airport Committee, Kenner leaders and the New Orleans Aviation Board, which oversees the airport, to give the parish more representation on that board If a compromise can’t be reached, the council is preparing a second resolution asking the state Legislature to intervene.

The council will vote on both measures Wednesday The ﬁrst resolution asks that the joint meeting take place before hurricane season starts on June 1.

The requests come after an engineer’s report, which WVUE-TV surfaced, said the pump station was never properly tested using water The airport requested the report after Hurricane Francine last year, when three of its four pumps did not function correctly as up to a foot of rain fell on parts of the east bank, ﬂooding hundreds of homes.

The report has led Jefferson Parish leaders to question how much flooding could have been prevented had the airport’s pump station worked properly, and whether the drainage system ever functioned in the first place. We deal with their traffic, we deal with big events in the city, we deal with trash, we deal with pollution,” said Jefferson Parish Council member Arita Bohannan, who represents Kenner and authored the resolutions. “We don’t mind doing that, but we have to make sure we’re not being taken advantage of, either.” Airport officials say the engineer’s report contains inaccuracies. They say the pump station operated properly before Francine and underwent routine inspections and maintenance.

They added that the airport’s pump station accounts for only 2% of Jefferson Parish’s overall drainage system.

“We’re a very very small piece of what’s going on in the overall parish,” said Chris Spann, a consultant to the airport. “This is just a storm event that overwhelmed the systems.”

The airport is located in Kenner but is owned by New Orleans and governed by the New Orleans Aviation Board. All nine

cent years, and UNITY of Greater New Orleans, the lead agency for homeless services in the city, is at times nonresponsive to families in need of housing.

That said, the city has made some progress toward housing those in need in recent years, auditors said, housing 275 people from eight of the city’s major homeless encampments between 2023 and 2024 under a process that followed city ordinances and best practices.

Auditors said nonprofits they surveyed that serve homeless residents in the city “indicated that the City and UNITY need to improve communication, including better availability and responsiveness to providers, clarity regarding policies and procedures, and more timely reimbursements.”

City ofﬁcials and UNITY representatives said they agreed with most of the audit’s ﬁndings

“The City of New Orleans takes

these recommendations very seriously and will work continuously with City-funded providers, Louisiana Legislative Auditor representatives, and OHSS (the city’s Ofﬁce of Homeless Services and Strategy) and its providers to ensure compliance with all recommendations and federal requirements,” wrote Tyra Brown, Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s director of housing policy and community development. At the same time, UNITY Director Martha Kegel blasted the Auditor’s Ofﬁce for its attempt to obtain

sensitive client information, which UNITY and other homeless services groups sued the state over in an August lawsuit. Kegel also said the audit left out some of her team’s accomplishments.

“We are very disappointed that this inquiry ate up a tremendous amount of UNITY’s time and money only to produce a report riddled with errors, misleading statements and signiﬁcant omissions,” Kegel wrote. After the homeless services

WILDLIFE SUPPORT

La. rehabilitators, veterinarians experience an influx of animals this time of year

BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer

About a dozen animals around the room watch as Deborah Harris ﬁlls a thin syringe with kitten milk replacement to feed her newest additions: four newborn raccoons.

She has to do this ﬁve times a day and throughout the night for several days until the 3-week-old raccoons can start suckling a bottle on their own.

“It’s just like baby care,” the Baton Rouge wildlife rehabilitator said.

In a room at her house with a “Raccoon Crossing” sign above it, Harris is caring for young raccoons and opossums, a beaver a skunk and ﬁve turtles — as well as the four newborns.

These baby raccoons were found in an attic separated from their mother, so Harris stepped in to ﬁll that role

The intense feeding schedule is a testament to her dedication to animals — and also that not just anyone can take

care of stranded baby animals. As spring arrives in Louisiana, litters of wild baby animals will, as well. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries wildlife rehabilitators and local veterinarians experience an inﬂux of animals during this time. These animal experts recommend leaving the babies’ care to their mothers or the professionals. Harris, who has been rehabilitating animals in Louisiana for nearly 24 years, said if you ﬁnd an uninjured baby animal, you should leave it for a few hours before taking action because chances are the mom could be

Two dead after separate shootings, police say

BY JILLIAN KRAMER Staff writer

Two men were killed early Sunday morning in separate shootings, New Orleans police said. A third man, according to police, was injured in one of the shootings. Shortly before 3 a.m. in Uptown, police found two men suffering from gunshot wounds. One of the men, who was lo-

cated inside a silver sedan that had crashed in the 7700 block of Willow Street, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The second man, who was found near the intersection of Audubon and Jeanette streets, was transported to a hospital with injuries that were not lifethreatening.

BY JILLIAN KRAMER Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOS By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Deborah Harris, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries permitted wildlife rehabilitator for East Baton Rouge Parish, wrestles Robby the raccoon after she went in his cage to clean it as Teddy Bear watches the commotion at her home rehabilitation center recently

Deborah Harris tends to the other animals at her home rehabilitation building as Robby walks around his cage.

Public input sought on City Park’s future

BY JONI HESS Staff writer

More ways to interact with nature. Improved sports facilities. Better recreation spaces. These ideas are a priority for residents engaged in shaping City Park’s future over the next 20 years, park leaders say Those themes and more will be incorporated into renderings for potential projects at a community meeting Wednesday for the ﬁrst time under City Park’s revamped public engagement process

It will be the last gathering before park officials present ﬁnal plans for the

massive public green space on June 25.

“This is a really important meeting, because people can see the fruits of their efforts. They should see their feedback in concept form,” City Park Conservancy CEO Rebecca Dietz said The new concepts will incorporate feedback pulled from hundreds of responses gathered from surveys and previous meetings. They include improvements to existing facilities, such as Tad Gormley Stadium, more nature walking trails and better connecting pathways throughout the 1,300-acre park’s waterways. “It’s a combination of

tilly That shelter closed in March after it had housed 108 people in less than three months.

where are we seeing commonality in the community feedback we’re receiving, and what is feasible,” Dietz said.

Residents can weigh in on those concepts as they did more than a year ago when initial renderings sparked outcry over a roadway that could have displaced the popular Grow Dat Youth Farm.

The meeting will take place over two sessions Wednesday at Pavilion of the Two Sisters in City Park, the ﬁrst at noon and the second at 6 p.m.

Email Joni Hess at joni hess@theadvocate.com.

early on with heating and utilities, residents said.

Continued from page 1B

A third man at the scene was uninjured, according to police.

Neighbors reported hearing the loud revving of a car’s engine before the crash.

Later Sunday morning, workers towed the sedan from the scene, but left behind a black sport utility vehicle the sedan had hit when it crashed shattering the SUV’s front bumper Police put a note on the SUV’s windshield.

groups argued in their lawsuit that they could not turn over the data under federal law, the Auditor’s Office asked a judge to withdraw its request for that data, which included information such clients’ HIV status and mental and physical disabilities.

Though 19th District Court Judge Beau Higginbotham denied the request, the office plans to appeal that denial. In its March audit, the ofﬁce conceded that its ﬁndings were limited because of the lack of data Shelter issues

The audit, commissioned by state lawmakers, comes as New Orleans leaders have faced pressure from Gov Jeff Landry’s administration over the pace of its work to shelter those in need. Landry in recent months created a statesanctioned homeless encampment downtown and then a temporary state-run homeless shelter in Gen-

WILDLIFE

Continued from page 1B

nearby “First and foremost, try to reach a wildlife rehabber Unfortunately, there are not many of us, and it can be hard to make contact,” Harris said.

If an animal is injured, that’s when you should reach out to a veterinarian.

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine expects an increase in animals during every spring, said Kimberly Boykin, assistant professor of wildlife medicine and surgery The animals they receive at the vet school aren’t always injured. Sometimes people bringing in orphaned animals are just trying to ﬁgure out what to do with them, Boykin said.

The school’s biggest offenders are typically baby birds who get injured after their ﬁrst attempts at ﬂying, followed by baby squirrels

AIRPORT

Continued from page 1B

members are appointed by the New Orleans mayor, but two of those members are chosen from nominations provided by the Kenner City Council and St. Charles Parish government. Bohannan hopes the Aviation Board will change that to include four members from New Orleans, three members from Jefferson Parish, one from Kenner and one from St. Charles Parish. She also wants Jefferson Parish to directly appoint its members instead of the mayor, saying that it has previously taken more than a year for Mayor LaToya Cantrell to appoint Kenner’s nominee. New Orleans City Council member Eugene Green, the chair of the council’s Transportation and Airport Committee, said he is open to discussion but is also

UNITY spent more than $216 million on homelessness initiatives between January 2019 and June 2024, auditors found. Just over half of those primarily federal funds were dedicated to providing long-term rent subsidies and supportive services for formerly homeless people who have a disability But auditors said city ofﬁcials don’t properly oversee local homeless shelters to ensure they meet minimum health and safety standards.

Between January 2019 and August 2024, food safety inspections by the state Ofﬁce of Public Health at ﬁve city-funded shelters found that 80% had at least one violation, according to the report.

The city’s low-barrier shelter had been overwhelmed by drug use and security and maintenance issues for months by the time ofﬁcials sought a new operator last year Landry’s state-run shelter also saw drug use and had problems

and bunnies.

However, people can call for advice, consult the internet for information or reach out to a wildlife rehabilitator if the animals are actually orphaned, Boykin said. “The biggest thing that we really want to hone in on and tell people is that mom is going to be so much better at taking care of the baby than we are,” Boykin said. “Their chances of surviving are so much higher if they’re with mom instead of us.”

Harris, the wildlife rehabilitator, said rehabilitating spring babies takes all her time. The number of animals she takes in depends on the amount of help she has. All the state-permitted wildlife rehabilitators do it on a volunteer basis and pay out of pocket for supplies.

Harris said she gets four to six calls a day about rehabilitating baby animals during the springtime, and more if the weather has been bad.

“confident that the Aviation Board itself is functioning well with its present makeup.” He also said that a change to the board would require a vote from New Orleans residents. As for getting the state involved, the Legislature tried once previously to switch up the board in 1983, but the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned it the following year because it wasn’t necessary to protect residents’ “health, morals, safety or welfare.” Bohannan said she thinks such an intervention would be justiﬁed now “The City of New Orleans and the NOAB are able to disregard and ignore the plight of Jeffersonians and Kenner residents because their voice on the Board is so small so as to render it useless,” the resolution reads.

Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana on Sept. 11, dropping an average of 7 to 9 inches of rain on Jefferson Parish’s east bank and ﬂooding at least 300 homes

Brown said the city agreed with the audit’s recommendations on shelter oversight and will “continue to ensure controls are in place” to perform inspections and address maintenance issues.

UNITY programs

Auditors also found that the city, the Louisiana Housing Corporation and UNITY have conducted spotty monitoring of the city’s various homeless services nonprofits since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Auditors said UNITY monitored less than half of the roughly two dozen providers it oversees in the New Orleans area in 2020, 2022 and 2023. It monitored 70% of those providers in 2021.

The groups, when surveyed by auditors, also criticized the city and UNITY’s leadership: Information from the city and UNITY about shelters, food assistance and health care for homeless residents is often difﬁcult to ﬁnd or out of date, they said.

And while families in need of shelter can only be housed if a nonproﬁt refers them, per UNITY’s policy, providers said that “when families call UNITY, no one answers the phone, no one returns their calls, and families cannot always access a shelter after hours or on weekends.”

In response, UNITY director Martha Kegel in an 10-page letter defended the agency’s oversight of its providers, and highlighted its collaboration with city officials to permanently house 275 people from the city’s encampments. What’s more, most family shelters are not available to accept clients on evenings and weekends, even if UNITY staff were available to coordinate entry, she said.

Brown said a 2019 cyberattack and the COVID-19 pandemic impeded the city’s ability to track down providers in those years and that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development gave it a break on some required reporting.

Auditors did also note

that the city and UNITY’s programs kept roughly 3,700 people housed on a given night between 2019 and 2024.

The ﬁndings have drawn mixed reactions in recent days. State Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans, a frequent critic of the city’s homelessness response, said the report “exposes serious inefﬁciencies.”

“We need bold, transformational leadership and structure not the same old leaders with recycled policies, talking points and empty promises,” said Knox.

New Orleans City Council member Lesli Harris, meanwhile, highlighted the city’s successes as noted by the auditors.

“This report makes it clear: Our approach is working,” said Harris. She also said the state should help New Orleans by providing “dedicated money for housing with support, not expensive temporary shelters without a plan.”

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

Harris has over 15 animals she’s rehabilitating at her house, with names ranging from a squirrel called “Sassy” to a raccoon named “Sugar Bear.”

in Kenner and Metairie Jefferson Parish’s drainage department has said that only three pumps at two of its six east bank stations malfunctioned during the hurricane, and one of those was brought back online during the storm.

Meanwhile, at the airport’s pump station, three of the four pumps were starting and stopping, and by 11:30 p.m. all four pumps were “basically” inoperable, according to the parish, which can monitor the airport’s pumps but cannot control them.

A point of agreement for the parish and the airport was that “even at full capacity and no pump issues,” flooding still would have occurred due to the intensity of the rain.

WVUE-TV’s stories on the Nov 7 engineers’ report by power management company Eaton focused on ﬁndings that the airport pump station’s automatic drainage system was “obsolete” and failed

Harris releases the animals into an area full of nature after about six to 12 months of caring for them. When asked if she gets attached to the animals she

to turn the pumps on during Francine

They also highlighted that the report found that the system “is not certiﬁed for warranty and never has been,” and that a manufacturer’s test of the system at full capacity “could not be completed.”

Bohannan said she does not believe the pump station ever worked, based on the ﬁndings, and that her attempts to request information from the Aviation Board have been met with “vague and largely unresponsive answers.”

Spann, the airport consultant, said in an interview the pump station lacked a manual override system before Francine After the storm, the airport repaired the automatic system and added a manual overdrive mechanism.

Airport spokesperson Erin Burns said the leaked engineers’ report was inaccurate and provided a 2017 Eaton letter saying it will certify a warranty for the system “prior to the com-

rehabilitates, Harris replied, “yes, unfortunately.”

Email Claire Grunewald at claire.grunewald@ theadvocate.com.

pletion of the wet/functional test.” Spann said he did not know why Eaton didn’t have its original letter

Spann said the pump station underwent tests at capacity after installation and that all four pumps run during storms on a monthly basis.

He added that the pumps are inspected and the automatic system is tested every week, including the week leading up to Francine.

In addition to the calls for change from the Jefferson Parish Council, the board is also facing a lawsuit seeking class-action status brought by Kenner resident Beulah Robinson, which alleges that the airport is responsible for the flooding Kenner because of the pump station’s failures.

Burns and an attorney for Robinson both declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate. com.

Separately, just after 4 a.m. a man was shot to death near the intersection of Virgilian and Dreux streets in Pine Village. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police did not release any additional details about either shooting, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions Sunday morning.

Email Jillian Kramer at jillian.kramer@ theadvocate.com.

RAPE

Continued from page 1B

She also alleged he choked her When it was over she testiﬁed, she “didn’t want him to be upset or angry.” She stayed the night. The Times-Picayune does not typically name survivors of sexual assaults. The woman did not immediately report Paul to police or submit to a forensic exam because “I didn’t want him to go to jail,” she testiﬁed. The next day the woman called an internal support hotline at the Police Department and recorded her thoughts on her phone. Prosecutors played the recording for jurors, who heard the woman talk about both a consensual encounter with Paul and a painful sexual assault. On the recording, the woman also referred to a conversation she’d had with Paul shortly after the incident, as they sat on his couch talking: He told her that he didn’t want children, she said.

Defense attorney Jeff Hufft argued that revelation made the woman resentful enough to falsely accuse 33-year-old Paul of rape. “He tells her, ‘I’m not interested in having kids. I’m not in a serious enough relationship to have children,’ ” Hufft said. “That upset her That embarrassed her.”

Lead prosecutor William Deiters acknowledged the woman’s delay in filing a report. “She was in shock,” Deiters said of the woman. But he implored the jury to look at evidence beyond the woman’s actions, including marks on her neck that a forensic pathologist testified were consistent with being choked. The jury deliberated for approximately four hours before returning its verdict Friday night.

“After a thorough presentation of the facts, the jury made the right decision,” Hufft said on Sunday “My client has endured a long and painful journey to clear his name, and we are grateful that justice prevailed.”

Following his arrest on May 19, 2021, the NOPD brieﬂy suspended Paul. He was placed back on active duty on June 30, 2021.

Email Jillian Kramer at jillian.kramer@ theadvocate.com.

5, 2025

3: 7-3-3

4: 8-4-7-6

5: 5-4-5-5-4

5: 4-7-15-16-29

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Deborah Harris feeds a baby raccoon with a syringe at her home rehabilitation building recently

PROVIDED PHOTO

New Orleans City Park officials will present final plans for the massive public green space on June 25.

Mausoleum, 8200 Airline Dr., Metairie, LA 70003, A brief Repass will be heldat Seal's ClassAct from 1pm -3 pm, 2169AubrySt., New Orleans,LA70119.

JeffersonSr.,Benjamin Maldonado, Louise Maldonado, Louise T. LeSassier

Martin,Norma NewOrleans Charbonnet

Maldonado, Louise St Tammany

EJ Fielding

Martin,Norma Obituaries

Jefferson Sr., Benjamin James

Benjamin James JeffersonSr. (Crow/BJ),a loving father and grandfather passed away peacefully on March 28, 2025,in Arlington, TX after acourageous battle with cancer. Born on November 26, 1942, in Tylertown, MS, BJ's Dapper Dan persona touched the lives of everyone he met throughout his 82 years. He is survived by his adoring children, Deborah-Walker Spots (Joseph Jr.), Benjamin James Jefferson Jr. (Lisa), Rickey Jefferson, Felicia Jefferson (Takeisha), Tenika Jefferson, Cornell Jefferson, Monique Jefferson, and Trina Jefferson. 20 grandkids 17 great-grandkids and his beloved sister Anna Rose Jefferson Watkins and beloved numerous nieces, nephews and friends He is preceded in death by his son Shaun Christopher Jefferson, parents Buford Jefferson Sr. and Deboria Jefferson Vessell. Brothers Jerome (Ike), Hosie, Buford and sister Ruby J. Singleton. There willbea Gravesite Service April 11th at 11:30 am at Providence Memorial Park &

Louise T. LeSassier Mal‐donadowas born on June 23, 1924 andpassedaway onSaturday, March29, 2025. Shewas raised in the 7th Ward of NewOrleans where shelived allofher life. Louise wasthe ﬁrstof ninechildrenborntothe lateTheodoreand Alma Perch LeSassier.She mar‐riedthe love of herlife, the lateCharles M. Maldonado, Sr. in 1943 andtothis union,three sons were born, Alan Sr., Wayneand the late CharlesMaldon‐ado,Jr. Daughter-in-lawof the late George and Dorothy Berthelot Saucier. Mother-in-law of Judy Val‐let Maldonadoand Sandy Byrd-Maldonado. Grand‐motherofGinaMaldonado Dupart(Robert), Monique Hull(Tony), Alan,Jr.,Kevin, Nedra,Mark, Jason, Paul, Sean, Jade,Nicholasand ToriMaldonado,Jaimie Lewis andKelly Fernandez (Anthony).Alsosurvived bytwentygreat andnine (+one on theway)greatgreat grandchildren, twentyninenieces, nephews andgenerations ofgreat andgreat-great nieces, nephews, cousins, extendedfamily, neighbors and friends. Louise out‐lived allofher siblings Irene(Calvin)Duffaut,Eve‐lyn (Donald Sr.) Haynes Marlene (Archille, Sr.) Duronslet,Diana,Theodore (Josephine),Paul, Sr., Stan‐ley andMilton LeSassier She wasemployedat Haspel’sfactory in her younger yearsand laterin lifeatCorpusChristi School as alunchlady. She was alifelongmemberof CorpusChristi Church and enjoyed MardiGras, Saints Games,CreoleFiesta, GoldenAgers Club,pa‐rades,fairs,cruises,festi‐valsand many other events over thelast100

years. Sheenjoyed life and had ablast at her100th BirthdayCelebration,she never meta stranger and was lovedbyso, so many people. SpecialThanksto the Staff of Chateaude Notre Dame,Hospice Care Staff of NotreDameand all of themanyfamilymem‐bers, friendsand visitors she received while in the Chateau de NotreDamefa‐cility. AMassofChristian burialhonoringthe life and legacyofthe late Louise T. LeSassier Maldonadowill beheldatCorpus Christi/EpiphanyCatholic Church,2022 St.Bernard Avenue,New Orleans, LA 70116 on Tuesday, April8, 2025 at 10 am.Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery Visitation8 am in the church.Pleasesignonline guestbook at www.cha rbonnetfuneralhome.com. Charbonnet LabatGlapion, Directors (504) 581-4411.

NormaJeanFultonMar‐tin,92, of Covington, LA passedawayonApril 4, 2025 at home andinthe careofher loving family. Norma wasborninChris‐man,IllinoisonJuly26, 1932. Normaissurvivedby two daughters, Mary Ann MartinLee andSusan Mar‐tin Priceand son-in-law ThomasJesse Price. Also surviving aregrandchil‐dren, Matthew Leeand Mindy Gremillion,Joshua and Michelle Lee, Jennifer Lee Watson,and John Galante andMikayla Dunne aswellasmanygreatgrandchildren.Norma was precededindeath by her husband of 73 years, HaroldVictorMartin; her parents,Webster Maxwell Fultonand MerylMildred Witt; andher siblings, MaryellenFultonJohnson Craig andbrothers-in-law RobertWilliam Johnson and John WilliamCraig, and WandaMaxineFulton McKnight andbrother-in-

law, JamesMcKnight; her son,Richard Morgan Mar‐tin andson-in-law, Christo‐pherHarry Lee, andgrand‐son-in-law, DavidWatson. Norma graduatedfrom ChrismanHighSchool in 1951 where shewas awarded theActivity Award forparticipating in the most extra-curricular activitiesthroughouther highschool years. Shewas alsothe Carnival Queen, the presidentofher senior class, andthe presidentof the StudentCouncil. She married Harold soon after she graduatedand setup residence in Rockville, Indi‐ana fora shorttimebefore movingtothe Mississippi GulfCoast.She also lived for ashort time in Missouri and Georgia. Normaloved ﬂowersand gardeningand workedina landscape nursery which wasconve‐niently locatednextdoor toher houseinLong Beach,Mississippi.She servedasthe PTApresi‐dentwhile herchildren wereingrade school and was amemberofChris‐man United Methodist Church.She andher family moved to Covington, Louisiana in 1967 where she livedthe rest of her life. Shewas an avid fan of the LSUTigersand theNew OrleansSaintsand espe‐

cially likedtowatch women’s basketball Norma hadsucha kindheart andspent herlife makingthisworld amore beautiful place. In addition togardening,she lovedto helpothers. Sheworked for awhile as anurse’s aideatPleasantMeadows SeniorLivingand Nursing HomeinChrisman, IL Mostly, shewas theper‐fectmotherand granny Her children’s friendswere alwayswelcomedinher homeand treatedasfam‐ily.Her grandchildrentook every opportunitytovisit her andenjoy her“granny loving.”Norma’s life wasa testament to goodwillto‐wardothers, kindness, and devotiontofamilyand friends. Shewillbemissed by allwho knew andloved her.Inlieuof ﬂowers, con‐tributionsinmemoryof Norma maybemadetoSt. JudeChildren’sResearch Hospital, www.stjude.org. All funeralservicesare pri‐vate. E.J. Fielding Funeral Homehas been entrusted withfuneral arrangements The Martin familyinvites you to sharethoughts, fondest memories,and condolences online at E. J. FieldingFuneralHome Guest Book at www.ejﬁeld ingfh.com

– SI NC EI 8 37 –

Martin,Norma Jean Fulton

Cassidyshould haveknown RFKJr.’s promises were worthless

What backstory could U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy possibly need to understand Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’slatest attacks on vaccine research? Here’sthe backstory for Cassidy —though if he had been paying attention to his Democratic colleagues or had any integrity left as amedical professional, he wouldn’tneed areminder thathe conﬁrmed aserial anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist. According to Cassidy,“promises were made” that convinced himKennedy would uphold the safety and efﬁcacy of vaccines. But anyone remotely familiar with Kennedy’slong history of misinformation knows those promises are as hollow as the tunnel left by his brain worm. Need proof? In aconversation with Sean Hannity at aFlorida Steak &Shake, Kennedy falsely claimed that the measles vaccine “causesdeath” —only to contradict himself momentslater, insisting that “we should have transparency” and “informed choice” before admitting that “the vaccine does stop the spread of the disease.” So which is it? If the measles vaccine both “causes death” and “stops the spread of disease,” how exactly is the public supposed to make an informed choice? The reality is that Kennedy’srhetoric isn’tabout transparency —it’sabout manufacturing fear,peddling misinformation and eroding public trust in vaccines. And thanks to enablers like Cassidy,vaccine skepticism is at an all-time high in parts of the country Cassidy is no less deceptive than Kennedy. He can either stand up for science, public health and his medical oath—or he can continue appeasing his fellow Republicans while letting Kennedy “go wild.”

Constituents should be deeply concerned that their representatives are not voting their conscience but instead endorsing unqualiﬁed, dangerous ﬁgures who deliberately mislead the public. Cassidy,while representing a state that no longer prioritizes mass vaccinations, only adds to the public’sskepticism on vaccine safety by backing Kennedy. MEGAN HERRINGTON Arabi

OPINION

NOLA.COM/opinions

Resubmit amendments to voters with greaterclarity

The front page headline on the failed amendments prompts this response. In the recent national elections, theDemocrats underestimated voter concern over the issues and lost. Louisiana’sRepublicans underestimated voters’ respect for our constitution and lost. There is value in those amendmentsthat deserves arewritefor the betterment of our state. Let’s offer Louisiana’svoters amendments with clarity of information and intent.Here are some suggestions Amendment 2was actually several scrambled amendments Amendments with onetopic, clearly deﬁned, give the voters understanding theycan trust.

Sorosdidn’tin

For example, tax cuts are needed to make Louisianainvestment competitive with other states. Millions of Americansare leaving high tax states and moving tolow tax states where they can keep thefruits of theirlabor New businesses would bring good jobs and stop the outﬂow of our kids. This amendmentneeds to be reoffered to voters and the sooner the better Amendment 3was too broadly written. Violent 15-year-old criminals with long records and convicted of ﬁrst-degree murder should be treated as adults to protect the public. An improved rewrite by Gov.Jeff Landry and our Legislature would probably deliver better results.

SIDNEYPULITZER NewOrleans

fluencevoters; common sensedid

Gov.Jeff Landry blames thedefeat of his proposed constitutional Amendment 2onHolocaust survivor and wealthy liberal George Soros, conservatism’s favorite scapegoat and demon.

Landry stated after votes were counted: “Unfortunately,Soros and far left liberals poured millionsintoLouisiana withpropaganda and outright lies about Amendment2.”

Evidence? Maybe thetruthisthat Louisiana’scitizens educated themselves on the attributes of Amendment 2and theothers

and decided they were flawed or not in our best interests. According to thesecretary of state’soffice, all amendments were soundly defeated, withapproximately 65% voting no. Changes to our constitution and tax codes are necessary but shouldn’tbeatthe expense of citizens who can least afford it, by thestate movingtoaflat incometax that reduces tax on higher personal incomes and businesses and seeks torecapture the over $1 billion in revenue through aregressive sales tax increase. Note that someofLouisiana’smost conservative voices were against Amendment 2.

RICHARD HIRSCH Livonia

Landry should learnfromelectoral defeat

Attackson Teslaonly hurt American workers

Once again, the hypocrisy and ignorance of the Democrats and the liberal progressive leftison full display.While complaining and whining that DOGE and Elon Musk are putting Americans out of work, they are doing the samething. Firebombing Tesla dealerships, committing terrorist attacks and calling forboycotting Tesla purchases.

Tesla employs approximately 22,000 workers at the Tesla plant in Texas and manyadditional American workers at Tesla dealerships throughout the country.Ofcourse, the Democrats and the left-wing extremists are unable to makethe connection that their activities are harmfultoAmerican workers and their families.

Elon Musk owns 13% of Tesla. The remaining 87% is owned by individual investors and various ﬁnancial institutions, which fund manyretirement and pension funds. NewYork City pension funds own 1.2 billion dollars of Tesla stock. Who is really going to sufferbydestroying one of America’s mostsuccessful manufacturing companies? It’s the thousands of Americans whowork forTesla and retirees whose pension funds hold Tesla stock, not Elon Musk. Of course, the Democratic leadership will not point out how harmful these activities are because they care moreabout demonizing Musk and the Trumpadministration than protecting their constituents. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer refuse to answer any questions regarding these insane activities nor call foranimmediate cessation of such actions. So much fortheir concern forthe welfare of American workers and their families.

PATRICK BOWEN River Ridge

Domestic violence an issuethat deserves more

attention

OUR GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name and the writer’scity of residence.The Advocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address and phone number for verification purposes, but that information is not published. Letters are not to exceed 300 words. Letters to the Editor,The Advocate, P.O. Box 588, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0588, or email letters@theadvocate.com. TO SEND US ALETTER SCAN HERE

Iagreewith Will Sutton’srecent column:

“Landry needs to slow down.” It properly portrayed therejection of all of hisheavily backed Amendmentsasa “beat down” andawake-up call to the governor

Theplain truth is that Landry is only an 18% governor He just got547,827 votes of a36.3% total turnout of 1,062,498 votes. This gave him a mere 51.5% of the36.3% turnout.

His non-mandateof18% of the then-total voter registration of the stateof2,970,684 makes him one of the least, if not the least, elected person in our state’shistory.He needs to learnfrom therecent sound defeat of all four of his amendments and pay more attention to all Louisiana voters and not just his far-right supporters.

THOMAS

E. GUILBEAU Lafayette

Voters turned thetablesonstate’s Republican rulers

Miracles do happen.

Icompletely agree with acomment made by Gov. JeffLandrywith regards to the failure of theproposed constitutional amendments. With our current Republican gover-

nor and our current Republican-controlled Legislature, Louisianaisconditioned for failure.

DOTTY

SUTHON NewOrleans

While there is agreat deal of public and political debate surrounding transgender participation in women’s sports, Iﬁnd myself wondering whythis issue seems to receive moreattention than the pressing crisis of domestic violence and mental illness in this country Every year,countless lives are lost due to domestic violence, and manymore are affected by the devastating impact of untreated mental illness. These tragedies often go unnoticed or unaddressed at the level they deserve. I’mnot here to take a stance fororagainst any particular side of the sports debate, but Ido question whyweare not seeing the samelevel of urgency and discussion about the names and numbers of those lost to these preventable causes.

KATHY ADERMAN Baton Rouge

STAFF PHOTO By JILL PICKETT

Gov. Jeff Landryspeaks last month during aRotaryClub of Shreveport meeting.

EGG DECORATING

Easter egg painting is funfor the whole family,but this little guy seemstohave launched this group into someserious creativechaos!

So,what’sgoing on in this cartoon? youtell me.Bewitty,funny, crazy,absurd or snarky —just trytokeep it clean.There’s no limit on the number of entries

Thewinningpunchline will be lettered into the word balloon and runonMonday, April 14 in our print editions and online. In addition, the winner will receivea signed print of the cartoonalong with acool winner’sT-shirt! Some honorable mentions will also be listed.

To enter,email entries to cartooncontest@theadvocate.com.

DON’T FORGET!All entries must includeyourname,homeaddressand phone number.Cell numbers are best.

Thedeadline for all entries is midnightonThursday,April 10

Have fun, folks!—Walt

Thestate of thenationiscomplicated

Louisianans have alot of energy —we produce it, we reﬁne it and we export it across the country and the world. As a native Louisianan, it is exciting to have a president and administration in Washington committed to unleashing our state’senergy potential by prioritizing reliable, affordable and secure American energy U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary DougBurgum recently addressed the nation’slargest annual gathering of energy industry leadership, and it’sclear that we are heading into one of the mostsigniﬁcant eras ever in American energy

Notably,the transformative capabilities of artificial intelligence wasone of the mostdiscussed topics. As Secretary Wright noted in his keynote address, it is “simply critical that America leads the AI race.” For the rapid expansion of AI to be possible, however,its massive energy demands must be met AI runs on “hyperscale” data centers that consume enormous amounts of power According to consulting firm McKinsey & Company,the power needs of AI data centers are expected to surge roughly threefold by the end of the decade, going from between 3% and 4% of total U.S. power demand today to between 11% and 12% in 2030. Similarly,according to Barclays, AI demands are expected to morethan double data center electricity needs by 2030. Louisiana will be crucial in helping our nation lead the AI race and achieve our energy dominance goals. In December,it wasannounced that Meta is building a$10 billion artificial intelligence data center in Richland Parish.

As noted by Gov. Jeff Landry,Meta’s investment is establishing northeast Louisiana as an anchor in the state’sexpanding tech sector and is creating opportunities forLouisiana workers to ﬁll high-paying jobs.

If you listen to the media and political campaign ads, you would think that ablack cloud had descended on the United States —and Louisiana. We seem to be living in an ageofpolarization, misinformation, distrust and pessimism. Is that true? What is the real state of the nation? To answer these questions, it would help to have aprogress report, like aschool report card, that measures our nation’ssuccesses and failures.

Irecently led an effort to do just that, partneringwithawideranging group of experts, including appointees and advisers of thepast ﬁveU.S. presidents, both Democrats andRepublicans, including President Donald Trump. We alsoasked for the opinions of arepresentative group of athousand American citizens from across thepolitical spectrum.

Our ﬁrst report focuses on what these groups believe to be the most important measures of our progress. We drew four main conclusions about the state of the nation, focusing on data from 1990-2023. First, the good news.

Our economyispoised for future success. We are the only country near thetop globally in both the total size of the economy and income per person. We also have alarge, growing and welleducated labor force.

We continue to be among the world’s leaders in the number of years of education and in the top-half of countries on the percentage of young adultswho are in school or working. While it is concerningthat our test scores have been decliningsince 2014, other countries have struggled more, especially with COVID, so that our international standing has actually improved. For now,wealso maintain many of the advantages that generated that economic strength —our culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, universities leading on cutting-edge research and policies that generally promote competitive markets and free trade. Many of these economic strengths are nowunder threat from newfederal strategies, but the game is ours to win if we wish.

‘Our risingincomes are no longer translating to greater happiness. Moneyused to buy happiness to somedegree, but that might not be as true anymore.

Several other themes of the report areworrisome, however We are anation of extremes. The economy is really the only area where we are in the top 20% of similar countries. Unfortunately,weare in thebottomthird in alarge number of areas, including citizenship and democracy, inequality, mental health, trust and violence. We are also among the very worsthigher-income countries when it comestoyouth depression, proportion of children with asingle parent and greenhouse gas emissions. In many of these areas, such as violence and the environment, our failures go back well before 1990. It’snot just that we’re doing poorly on mostmeasures, but that ourinternationalstanding is declining further Of the 37 measures we considered, we arefalling behind other countries on 18 of them and only improving on eight. Again, the economy is the main longterm bright spot, along with education. Ourrising incomes are no longer translating togreater happiness. Money used to buyhappiness to some

degree, but that might not be as true anymore. Even as our incomes have risen, every measure of our perceived wellbeing is moving in thewrongdirection. Life satisfaction, youthdepression, adult depression/ anxiety,overdoses and suicide areall worsening. We also see aconsistent rise in social isolation and adecline in howmuch Americans trust other people —ortrust institutionssuch as government,higher education and criminal justice. We cannot measure everything, of course, but these resultsshould give us pause. We are heartened by thefact that our wide-ranging group agreed so much on how to gauge our successes and failures. The fact that large majorities of our board and thepublic agree on how to measure ourprogress provides some hope that we can also ﬁnd agreement on solutions as well.

Douglas N. Harris is professor and chairofEconomics at Tulane University and chair of State of the Nation Project.

In addition to supporting America’sdigital revolution, Louisiana leads among the states forliqueﬁed natural gas exports, boasts four of the nation’sLNG export terminals and holds 6% of the nation’snatural gas reserves. Thanks to recent actions taken by President Donald Trumpand the National Energy Dominance Council ending the LNGexport pause and restoring regular order to federal LNGproject reviews, we are positioned to grow our state’srole as a leading exporter of liqueﬁed natural gas in the coming years.

Just last month, Secretary Wright approved aliqueﬁed natural gas export authorization forthe Venture Global CP2 LNGexport project under development forCameron Parish, which will boost the local economy and is projected to export up to 3.96 billion cubic feet per day of LNG upon completion.

Additionally,Secretaries Wright and Burgum recently joined Gov. Landry and Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel in Plaquemines Parish to announce an additional $18 billion expansion to the Plaquemines LNGExport facility —making the facility the largest of its kind in the United States.

As Louisiana’shighly skilled energy workforce ramps up production to meet the needs of our nation, our industry continues to keep environmental and health impacts top of mind. We remain committed to deploying carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies, which capture emissions and geologically store them safely and securely deep underground. We know that we can support arobust LNG industry,meet the power demands of AI and play acritical role in helping to ensure our national security,all the while reducing our environmental impact.

Louisianans should be proud that we are answering the call of America’senergy production and energy security needs. The natural gas and oil produced in our state, as wellasour neighboring Gulf of America states, touches every sector of the economy and reaches every facet of our lives, from heating our homes and fueling transportation to supporting the manufacture of products we useevery singleday We have got alot of energy in Louisiana —and our country needs us now more than ever

Gifford Briggs is the Gulf Coast region director forthe American Petroleum Institute.

Douglas N. Harris GUEST COLUMNIST

Gifford Briggs GUEST COLUMNIST

STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIAGERMER

NewOrleans Forecast

SPORTS

ANALYSIS

PE T

Huskies back on top

BY DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

TAMPA, Fla. During thefinalsweet momentsofUConn’s 12th national title, Geno Auriemma andPaige Bueckersembraced after the star guard departed herﬁnal game with the Huskies. It wasthe momentthey wanted all along.

“They’ve all been gratifying, don’tget me wrong,” Auriemma said. “But this one here, because of the way it came about and what’s been involved, it’sbeen along time since I’ve been that emotional whenaplayer has walked off the court.”

Bueckers, Azzi Fuddand Sarah Strong led the way as UConn returned to the top of women’scollege basketball by rolling to an 82-59 victory over reigning champion South Carolina on Sunday Fudd, who was named the Most OutstandingPlayer of the Final Four,scored 24 points. Strong had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Bueckers scored 17 points for UConn (37-3).

“Well, it’s amazing to have threeplayers, three people like that on the same team,” Auriemma said. “And Sarah, you would

See HUSKIES, page 4C

LSU pitchers shineon theroad, dominate

Oklahoma series

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

NORMAN, Okla

This weekend was another successful onefor LSU baseball.

TheTigers earnedtheir third sweep through four weeks of Southeastern Conference play.This time they swept No. 10 Oklahoma on the road, winning 2-0 on Thursday, 10-2 on Friday and 3-2onSaturday

With a30-3 record, LSU is off to its best 33-game start since 2013.

Here are ﬁve takeaways from LSU’sbig week over the Sooners:

Eye-poppingweekend forpitchers

This weekendwas basically aperfect one forLSU’spitching staff.

TheTigers onlyused five pitchers didn’tallow anearnedrunin27innings.They struck out35 and held Oklahoma to two extra base hits.

For just thethird time since1992, LSU had gone three straight games without al-

lowing an earned run.

Sophomore left-handerKadeAnderson set thetonefor the Tigers by tossing acomplete game on Thursday,allowingJohnson to save his toprelievers —junior righthanderZac Cowanand freshmanrighthander Casan Evans—for later in the week. Anderson’sabilitytomix pitches and speed set astrongtemplate forFriday starter —juniorright-handerAnthony Eyanson— andEvans. Thetwo combined to strike out 13 Soonersand dominated the bottom half of the strike zone before Saturday starter —redshirt sophomore right-hander Chase Shores —and Cowan took advantage of the series ﬁnale’swintry conditions. Shoresand Cowan only hadeightcombined strikeouts, but they didn’tallow much hardcontact. Shores kept theball on theground, andCowandidn’tallow an extra base hit

ä See PITCH, page 3C

LSU pitcher Kade Anderson delivers apitch against Mississippi State on March 27 at Alex Box Stadium.

JOHNSON

Edge rusher stillaglaring need forSaints

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

Unlike last year’sNFL draft, when “TACKLE” mighthave well been displayed in all caps and ﬂashing neonlights, there’snoobvious position for the New OrleansSaints to take in the ﬁrst round —given their needs across the roster

But pass rusher comes prettyclose to that.

The Saints re-signed Chase Young to athreeyear,$51 million deal this offseason but could still use extra juice at the position. Bryan Bresee, adefensive tackle, led NewOrleans last season with 71/2 sacks. And the Saints haven’t had aplayer reach double-digit sacks since 2021 —making them one of only six teams to not hit that marker over the past three seasons. Fortunately for the Saints, this is agood draft if they do want to bolster their pass rush in Round 1. “Somepositions maybedon’thave that superstar that we have hadinyears

past, but we do have aboatload o ers, particularly the defensive line DanielJeremiah, adraft analyst f Network. “A bunchofreally,reall players.”

BY JIM KLEINPETER Contributing writer

The Saints’ draft hit rate on pas ers, of course, hasn’tbeen partic strong over thelast severalyears rounders Marcus Davenport (201 Payton Turner (2021) ultimately pointed in injury tenures beforelea free agency.Isaia key, a2023 second-r hasn’tbeen able to consistently cra pass-rushing rotation and has don when he has seen theﬁeld. Do theresults require achang thinking? TheSaints have historica big, freakish athletes up front,bu newcoaching staffinplace couldlea thefront ofﬁce open to drafting sma er,bendier edge rushers that have b come en vogue around the NFL.

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL

AP PHOTO By JOHN RAOUX

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Harman handleswindtowin TexasOpen

The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO Brian Harman

handledthe wind andthe chill Sunday with apair of key birdies on the back nine Sunday in the Valero Texas Open, closing with a3-over 75 for athree-shotvictory,his ﬁrst title since the 2023 British Open.

Harman began the ﬁnal round with athree-shot lead and it soon became atight battle with Andrew Novak, who was going for his ﬁrst PGA Tour victory and aspot in the Masters.

Harman never lost the lead, though it dropped to one shot with abogey on No. 6and adouble bogey on the ninth hole when he had to take apenalty drop after a pulled tee shot and still could only advance it to the fairway.

But he holed a15-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to give him some breathing room, andhe got up-and-down from abunker on the par-5 14th andhis lead wasbackto three shots. He followed that with apairof bogeys, butleftthe mistakes at the end to Novak.

“Just so proud of how Ihandled these conditions,” Harman said. “This golf course gave me all I wanted todayand happy to come out on top.”

Novak, two shots behind with two to play,bogeyed the 17thwith abad chip and the par-5 18thwith abad drive. He shot 76 andfell intoatie forthird with Maverick McNealy (72).

Ryan Gerard made his only bogey on the ﬁnal holefor a69toﬁnish runner-up. It was one of only seven rounds under paratthe TPC San Antonio.

Harman was still under pressure with two holes to play,especially coming off back-to-back bogeys. His tee shots bounced throughthe bunker andintothe rough, and he pitched to about 12 feet for astress-freepar Novak drove over the green, but his pitch up the shelf hitthe slope and rolled back to his feet. His birdie chip ran 6feetbyand

he missed the putt to fall three behind. On the 18th, Novak pulled his teeshot in the barren area of trees andscrubbrush.Hepitched back to the fairway,triedtoreach the greenand narrowlywent into the creek. He had to stand on aboulder to play onto the green and he missed the 10-foot parputt. Patrick Fishburnhad an eaglebirdieﬁnish for a68and was part of alargegroupthattied for ﬁfth. The eagle cameonthe 17th hole,

whereFishburnholed a105-foot putt. It was thelongest putt anyone made on the PGA Tour since 2008. Harman had been struggling since hismajor breakthroughat Hoylake and was on the verge of falling out of the top 50. Nowhe heads to theMasters with amuchneeded win. Adding to the difficultofthe conditions was his mindbeing on aclose family friend, Cathy Dowdy.She spent time in acoma

after helping to rescue Harman’s 6-year-old son from arip current in PonteVedra Beach, Florida, last Octoberwhile hisfamilywas on vacation.

“Just playing with aheavy heart today. Ms. Cathy,she’s notdoing so good,” Harman said. “Just thinking about her all day.”

Theconditions were so difﬁcult thatfour players, including Tommy Fleetwood, failed to break 80 and the course played to an average score of 74.8

Verstappen wins fourth straight Japanese GP SUZUKA,Japan Max Verstappenwon Sunday’sJapanese Grand Prix for his ﬁrst victory of the young season and just thethird in 17 races but needed a drivethathis RedBullteam engineer called “perfection”toget it done It wasVerstappen’sfourth straight victory on the Suzuka circuit in central Japan andbreaks the momentum of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who won the season’sﬁrst two races in Australia and China. The four-time reigning Formula 1champion, Verstappen started from pole position after setting a course-record time in qualifying, which he called “insane.” Norris placed second and Piastri third. Ferrari’sCharles Leclerc finished fourth followed by George Russell of Mercedes and teammateKimiAntonelli in sixth.

Clemente Jr.upset Pirates removedfather’stribute PITTSBURGH The Pittsburgh Pirates have angered the family of the late RobertoClemente by removing asign honoring the franchise icon on the right-ﬁeld wallatPNC Park.

Thesign featured Clemente’s nameand his No. 21. Replacing it is an advertisement for Surfside, an alcoholic drink.

The Pirates said thesign, which had been on the wall since 2022, was meant to be atemporary adornment However,Roberto Clemente Jr.expressed his unhappiness on Sunday

“This change was madewithout any communication or consultation with our family.While we appreciate that the Pirates acknowledged theirfailuretoinform us,itreveals abroader issue: alack of meaningful collaborationbetween the organization and on matters that are deeply personal andhistorically signiﬁcant to us and the fans.”

BY DOUG FERGUSON AP golf writer

AUGUSTA, Ga. Jason Day was looking for anew identity with his clothing, having spent his entire career with two of the most famous apparel brandsinsport. He wanted something that would makehim stand out on the golf course and feel fashionable off it He gotevery bitofthat with Malbon Golf last year at theMasters.

Day chose asweater vest,white with large letters stretching across the front that spelled out “No. 313. Malbon GolfChampionship.” He recalls wearing arain suit Fridaymorning on the 14th tee as he resumedthe rain-delayed ﬁrst round alongside Tiger Woods and Max Homa.

“Max and Tiger said, ‘That’s kind of boring,’ ”Day said. He already had been turning heads withhis Malbon Golf attire the past four months, most of it baggy athrowback look in golf.

“I said, ‘Wait until you seewhat Ihaveonunderneath.’I take my jacketoff,and they didn’t know what to say.AsIwas playing, it got crazier and crazier on social media.” Maybe alittletoo crazy forAugusta National. The club determined thelogowas abit over the top and askedthat he not wear it that afternoon.

His agent, Bud Martin at Wasserman Media Group, got word —bythen it was the talk of the Masters and points beyond —on his way to the courseand dreaded the idea of having this conversation in the 30 minutes before Day teedoff for his second round

“I was getting readytomake this speech and he said it wastoo hot and he wasn’tgoing to wear it anyway,” Martin said.

And then there was Stephen Malbon, who founded the company with his wife, Erica, after a creative art career in subcultures from surﬁng to snowboards, fashion, grafﬁti and hip-hop. Behinda passion for designand anewfound addiction to golf, Malbon’sbrand

already was making traction in thegolf world. It exploded that day.

Malbon likes to say that “everyone knows who we are, for better or worse.”

This was alittle of both.

“It had like3 billion impressions those two days on theinternet,”

Malbon said.

“Tiger made the cut.You had Bryson (DeChambeau) andthe Jesus photowhen he pickedupthe sign and putiton his shoulder.Some other player told one of the patrons to (expletive) off. And the only thing they were talking aboutwas Jason and hissweater.”

That was thebetter part of it.

The worse was something Malbonisdetermined to change throughhis streetwear design.

“Golf is intimidating,” he said.

“There was alot of young people who probably looked at Jason that day andsaid:‘Wow, golf might be for me. He looks cool.’ And then he getsmocked and ridiculed and teased by all thecommentators and then they’re like: ‘Nah,I’m not going out there.Ifthey’re mean to him, they can be mean to me.’

“The Master is the Super Bowl of golf,”hesaid. “Thatwas agreat opportunitytoshow golf can be different.”

That was Malbon’sobjective when he launched the brand in 2017 from astudioinLos Angeles.

Theidea was to make golf more appealing to ayounger,style-conscious generation. Day,a37-yearold Australian who once rose to No. 1inthe world, turnedout to be agood ﬁt.

Martin had met Malbona few years earlier andstruck up arelationship. Day’sdeal withNike was up (he waswith Adidas at thestart of hiscareer) and he waslooking for options. For starters, he didn’t likeshowingupata tournament worried that he would be wearing the same scripted clothesasanother Nikegolfer

“That’skind of how it happened,” Day said. “I was going to do my own custom clothes and Budcame to me and said, ‘What about this brand Malbon?’ They

could do anythingfor you, any fabric you want, anystyle you want, any way you want.”

He realizes someofthe apparel can look “wacky.” Day doesn’t care as long as he likes it. He also doesn’tmind the abuse when adesign is rarely seen in golf.

Suchwas thecase on acold day at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this year.Day wore what looked like an old-school, gray sweatsuit. It’scalled “Lost Luggage”sweatpants. They looked like pajamas. Not everyone was crazy about them.

“I remember somebody sent me atextoratweet that ‘JDay hascome outofbed andgoneto thegolf course,’”Day said with alaugh. “It doesn’ttake much to look different. Whenyou look on therange,everything is performance-based, athletic. That’s great,noproblem “But thenext generation are kids picking up golf for the ﬁrst time,” he said. “And fashion is a big part of their world.”

Malbon Golf sincehas added Charley Hull, theLPGA star known for her devil-may-care approach to life and golf, theplayer known last year for having acigarette dangling from her lips as

shesignedautographs at the U.S. Women’s Open. Hull is huge on ﬁtness and fashion

Otheradditions are Minjee Lee with amore classic style, and NataliyaGuseva of Russia. Andnow it’s back to the Masters, where Dayand Malbon have submitted —and had approved —their lineup of clothing for the week. There appears to have been somenegotiating.

“After the first two runs, we were on the same page,” Martin said.

Day wantedhis own clothes and Malbon Golfneeded agolfer to pitch them.Day has an equity stake in Malbon and is involved in some of the design work, where he wants to be edgy without crossing what can be aﬁne line.Thatwas Malbon’sobjective allalong with Day

“He believes in us and he believed in us early,” Malbon said. “KudostoBud for taking it to him. He could have easily not. But it means aton to us. We went from maybe 5% or 10%ofthe golf world who knew who we are to everyone knowing whoweare.” Andthen he paused before adding with alaugh, “For better or for worse.”

Charleston Open setto pay women, men equally CHARLESTON, S.C. The Charleston Open is keeping Credit OneBank as itstitle partnerthrough 2031 along with the tennis tournament paying equal prize money to women and men starting in 2026. Credit One Bank announced the rights extension Sunday on the ﬁnal day of this year’sevent. Prize money for the WTA-500 level event will be the same as the men’sATP500 level event. That will make the Charleston Open thefirst standalone WTA500 tournament to hike prize money before the 2033 goal for all weeklong WTA1000 and 500 events to pay the sameprize money to womenasfor men.

The 2025 Charleston Open prize money will be $1.06 million and had been set to rise to approximately $1.15 million for2026.

Journalismwriteswinning storyinSanta Anita Derby

Journalism won the $500,000 Santa Anita Derby by three-quarters of alength late Saturday to confirm his status as the Kentucky Derby favorite, withtrainerBob Baffert’s duo finishing fourth and fifth in the West Coast’smajor prep. Baffert fared better on the East Coast,with Rodriguez leading all the waytowin the$750,000WoodMemorial by 3 1/2 lengths, earning enough points to move into the 20-horse field for the KentuckyDerby.

Ridden by UmbertoRispoli,Journalism ran 11/8-miles in 1:49.56. Sent off as the even-money favorite, he paid $4 to win.

“You justsaw what aserious, serious racehorse he really is,” winning co-owner Aron Wellman said. “The battles are over.Now we’re going to war.”

Nebraska coachRhule dismisses WR Gilmore

LINCOLN, Neb.— Nebraska receiver HardleyGilmore IV,who transferred from Kentucky in January, hasbeen dismissedfromthe team, coach Matt Rhule announced Saturday The second-year player from Belle Glade, Florida,had come to Nebraska along with former Kentucky teammateDane Key and receivers coach Daikiel Shorts Jr.and had received praise from teammates and coaches for his performance in spring practice.

Rhule did notdisclose areason forremoving Gilmore.

“Nothing outsidethe program, nothing criminal or anything like that,” Rhule said. “Just won’t be with us anymore.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOByMICHAEL THOMAS

Brian Harman holds the trophyafter winning the Valero TexasOpenatTPC San Antonio on SundayinSan Antonio.

LSU, McMahon add Omaha forwardfromtransferportal

BY TOYLOYBROWN III

Staff writer

Omaha’sMarquel Sutton becomes the ﬁfth commitment for LSU men’sbasketball in the transfer portal, according to aposton the player’sInstagram account

The 6-foot-9,225-pound senior forward wasthe Summit LeaguePlayerofthe Year after averaging 18.9 points,on47.9% shootingfrom the ﬁeld and 27.7% from the 3-point line, 7.9 rebounds and 1.2 assistsper game. He also started all 35 games.

“Welove the addition of Marquel Sutton to our program. He is ahighenergy,versatile forwardwho plays with relentless effort on the cour,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said Sunday

“Marquel is astrong ﬁnisher around the rim, skilled on the perimeter,and will impact our rebounding needs. We areexcited to add an experienced winner and college graduate to our roster.”

Sutton was the No.52ranked player in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports

The Tulsa, Oklahoma, native, led Omaha

FINALE

Continued from page1C

Alabama (28-15, 5-7) took control of the game with three runsinthe fourth inning thanks to two LSU errors. Trailing5-1 in thesixth,the Tigers ﬁnally rallied, scoring twiceinthe sixth on basehits by Savanna Bedell and Maddox McKee.

But in the top of the seventh, AudreyVandagriff hit athree-run homer off Jayden Heavener,who won Saturday night’s game and entered the Sunday game in relief in the fourth inning. That proved crucialwhen LSU’sTori Edwards hit atwo-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, her team best 14th. Edwards hadthree hits, including adouble, and Bedell two. The Tigers struggled to get opportunitiesearlier in the game against Alabama starter Catelyn Riley, who they roughed up for six hits in 3 2/3 innings the night before.

“It’s justa reminderthatthisisthe SEC and every game is going to be achallenge,” Edwardssaid. “We’regoing to keep working. Ihave conﬁdence in us. They’rea good team and it’sDay 3. They have achip on (their shoulders), they don’t want to get swept. They came out with some ﬁreand energy.We’re goingtobeOK.”

LSU scoredarun in the first inning withoutahit. Danieca Coffey reached second on an error and came aroundtoscore on fly balls by Jalia Lassiter andMaci Bergeron But Alabama tied it in thesecondoff transferAshley Vallejo,making her first SEC start for LSU.

“Wehadn’tbeenwinning on Sundays and she’s(Vallejo) been throwing well,” Torina said. “She deserved an opportunity and did throw well. She did throw well, did anice jobtoday.”

In the fourth, aCoffey error started the

PITCH

Continued from page1C

Curiel’s adjustment

Derek Curiel made history thisweekend, setting the longest recorded on-basestreak for afreshman in programhistory after his double on Saturday

The hit drove in the game-deciding run and extended Curiel’son-base streak to 33 games. He’sreachedbaseinevery game this season.

However,even though he set arecord, Curieldidn’tbelieve that this weekendwas his best at the plate

“Kind of all weekend, I’vebeen tying myself up,” Curiel said. “I’ve been gettingin between pitchesand kindofreaching.” Curiel said his front shoulder was “ﬂying open” as he swung, resulting inhim rolling the ball over to second base.

“I had opportunities to do damage on some pitches, and my swing didn’t allow me to just because Iwas pulling off the ball alittle bit,” Curiel said. “But I’m going to make sure to see the balla little deeper and givemyself more time to make sureIsee theball.

“Every time you’re grounding outtosecond that’snot good sign for alefty hitter at least.”

He made the proper mechanical adjustment on his double on Saturday.Instead of rolling over,Curiel hit the ball hard down the third base line to drive in junior Chris Stanﬁeld.

“I let that ball travel alittle deeper andsaw it deeper in the zone,” Curielsaid. “I think that helpedmeout.” LSUcapitalizes on park,conditions

L. Dale Mitchell Park is abig andwindy stadium, and LSU took advantage of itbetter than the hosts did. Hitting the ballwas goingtobedifﬁcultall weekend. The wind howled in fromcenter ﬁeld for all three games and temperatures were consistently in the 40s. Factor in the wind chillonSaturday anditwas closer to 20 degrees than 40.

Johnson saidthe seriesﬁnalewas oneof the toughest offensive conditions his team hasplayed in since he’sbeen at LSU.

“This deﬁnitely is probably the top,” Cu-

(22-13) to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. In the Round of 64 matchup against St. John’s,Sutton had11points andfourrebounds.

The senior spent three seasonsatOmaha and started his career at thejunior college level at Connors State. His best gamethis season was a36-point and 12-rebound performance in a93-85 win over SouthDakota StateonFeb. 22.

Sutton is the ﬁfth offseason addition for McMahon andcompany,joining Portland guard Max Mackinnon, UNLVpoint guard Dedan Thomas, Northeastern guardRashad King andMississippi State center Michael Nwoko.

LSUhad six players enter thetransferportal, three of whom are front court players —redshirt freshmanforward CoreyChest, junior center Noah Boyde,and redshirtjuniorDaimion Collins.The other three are guards in freshman Vyctorius Miller,sophomoreMikeWilliams andjunior wingTyrell Ward.

The Tigers ﬁnished this season 14-18 overall and3-15 in theSoutheasternConference.

LSU pitcher Jayden Heavener delivers apitch against Alabama in the sixth inning of their game on SaturdayatTiger Park

Tide’srally.Marlie Giles singled and Torina relieved VallejowithHeavener,who surrendered atwo-run double to No. 9hitter Lauren Johnson, who later scored when Edwards booted agrounder

The bottom three hittersinAlabama’s orderwent 7-for-9 with fourruns scored and four RBI, allRBIs by Johnson.

“Winning the serieswas aconfidence booster but that gamewas areality check of what we need to work on,” Heavener said. “Wedid ﬁght, andwehavehad troublewith that in last games of our series.”

LSUmoves on to aWednesdaynonconference game with LouisianaTechat home before going on the road thenext twoweekends at No. 4Texas A&M and No. 1Texas.

riel said, “like the coldest game I’ve ever played in.”

It wasn’taperfect weekend for LSU offensively,but the Tigers handledthe elements better than Oklahoma. They hit more line drivesand did abetterjob of driving in runs withrunnersinscoring position, keys to overcoming theweather and thepark’sgrand dimensions —410 feet to center ﬁeld and330 feet from home plate to each foul pole.

The Sooners, meanwhile,were 2for 26 with runners in scoring position during the three-game series and rarely hit baseballs on thescrews.

Lineup tweaks

LSUadded afew wrinklestoits lineups this weekend.

None of the adjustments were dramatic, but redshirt junior Tanner Reaves started against aleft-handeronFriday,junior Ethan Freyearned astart against Oklahoma ace and right-hander Kyson Witherspoon on Thursdayand sophomore Steven Milam hit fourth on Thursday Frey has mostly started against left-handers andReaves has almost exclusively been in the lineup against righties. Milam has hit ﬁfth in almost every game since LSU’strip to the Dallas-Forth Wortharea.

Thesmall changes didn’t make amassive difference this weekend, buttheywere proof thatJohnson isn’tafraid to tweak his lineup if —for example —Freygets on arollagainst right-handed pitching or Reaves holds acertain advantage againstaleft-hander.

“It’snot just as black and white as like, ‘Oh, it’sa left handed pitcher.We’regonna start Frey,’ “Jamie Tutko, LSU’sdirector of pitching development, toldThe Advocate. “Westarted Frey against aright-hander on Saturday (against Mississippi State), he had two hits anditworkedout really well for us.” Hernandezhitting SECpitching

SeniorLuis Hernandezhad an excellent weekendatthe plate, going 6for 12 with three doubles while catching every inning.

After aslow start offensively,the Indiana State transfer now has a.310 batting average and a.563 slugging percentage. Four ofhis five home runs have come against SECcompetition andheholds a .340 batting average in conference play.

Notebook H By The

Associated Press

Torpedo bats areall the rage this season, and Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred believes all that chatter is positive for thesport “They’reabsolutely good for baseball,” Ma nfred saidinaQ&A published by The New York Times on Sunday. “I believe that issueslike the torpedobat and the debate arounditdemonstrate the fact that baseball still occupies aunique place in our culture,because people get into acomplete frenzy over something that’s really nothing at theend of theday.”

The interviewcovered multiple topics and included Manfred praising the testing of robotumpires during spring training. He saidhe’d like to see their use expanded tothe regular season soon.

“I hope that we bring it to thebig leagues in short order,” Manfred said.“It won’t be in 2025. It’d be in 2026.”

Torpedo bats drew attention recently when the New York Yankees hit a team-record nine homers in onegame. With several players using astrikingly different model in which wood is moved lower down the barrel towardthe label, shaping the end alittlelike abowling pin, the bat has become baseball’s latest fad.

It’s causedAll-Star and even amateurplayers to want to take their swings with theunusual-looking bat, creating arushofordersfor Victus Sports. The company is theofﬁcialbat maker of MLBand hasseen sales and interest spike in thetorpedo bats.

Manfred highlighted that the bathas been usedfor a few years now, with players suchas Giancarlo Stanton and Francisco Lindor usingtorpedoes last season.

The odd shape of the bat —like makingasausage, themeat is simply pushed down the casing —has little to no effect at Victus on the dynamics of making abaseball bat. The cost is thesame as astandard bat,with asticker price starting at around $200 Only theslogan is punched up: Get your hands on the mosttalked-about bat in thegame.

“Players have actually been moving the sweet spot around in bats for years,” Manfredtoldthe Times. “But it just demonstrates that something aboutthe gameismore important than is captured by television ratings or revenue or any of those things, when you have thediscussions and debates about it.”

Braves-Marlinspostponed

The Miami Marlins’game at the Atlanta Braves on Sundaywas postponed due to rain and rescheduled as part of aday-night doubleheader on Aug. 9aspartof aﬁve-gameseries. Miami already wasscheduled fora four-gameseries in Atlantafrom Aug. 7-10

Thedoubleheader games will start at 1:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m

Atlanta’sgrounds crew covered the inﬁeld with a tarp about2 hoursbefore thescheduledﬁrst pitch Light rain beganabout 30 minuteslater,and heavy rain was forecast through the afternoon.

The teams split the ﬁrst two gamesofthe series, with Atlanta winning its home opener 10-0 on Friday night as Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson hit back-to-back home runs. Matt Mervis hit two homers in Miami’s4-0 win on Saturday night.

Bravesright-hander Grant Holmes was scheduled to face Marlinsright-hander Sandy Alcantara on Sunday

Following the postponement, theBraves announced catcher Sean Murphy (cracked ribs) has been reinstated from the injured list Cardinalscatcher injured St. Louis Cardinals catcher Iván Herrera wasunable to put weight on his left leg andhad to be helped off thefieldafterrunning the bases in the third inning in the first game of aday-night doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday The team announced he had inflammation in his left knee.

Herrera went from ﬁrst to third on asingle into the left-ﬁeld corner by Nolan Arenado When Luken Baker fouled to first to end the inning, manager OliverMarmol andan athletic trainer helped Herrera to the dugout, where he got assistance down the steps to the clubhouse. He was replaced in the bottom of the inning by Pedro Pagés.

In the second, Herrera made anice lunging catch for aforce at the plate on Connor Wong’s grounderto third, keeping afoot on the plate as he dove to his right Mariners’OFcartedoff field Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles injured hisleft shoulder andwas carted offthe field after making adazzling catch in the ninth inning of a5-4 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday Robleswas playing right ﬁeld when he made along dash to chase downafly ball hit by Patrick Bailey He went over thelow railing in foul territory to make the catch, fell over the wall andcrashed intothe netting in theprocess.Robles appeared to be in immediatepain, flipping the ball away with his right hand andgrabbing at his left arm.

Marinersmanager Dan Wilson said Robles hasa shoulder-related injury and was having tests done at Oracle Park.

The31-year-old Robles is hitting.273withthree RBIs andthreestolenbases through10games this season after hitting .328 forthe Mariners lastseason and going 30 for 31 in stolen base attempts.He was the ﬁrst Seattle player with abatting average of over .320 sinceIchiroSuzuki hit .352 in 2009. The Giants, who wonthe gameonthe next pitch on a singleby WilmerFlores, challenged the call that it was a catch, but it was upheld. Centerfielder JulioRodriguez wasthe first to wave over athletic trainers after seeing Robles go down, and he called Robles a“very impactfulplayer for our team,defensively andoffensively.”

“I just noticed that he was in pain and called the trainers immediately,” Rodriguez said. “He madeall that effort. But it was at a high cost.”

STAFF PHOTO By MICHAEL JOHNSON

No 1. seeds Houston, Florida play for title

BY EDDIE PELLS AP national writer

SAN ANTONIO Whoever said there were no great underdog stories left in March Madness, or that the title would go to whichever team spends the most money or amasses the gaudiest collection of big names from the transfer portal — probably never checked out Houston.

And anyone who thought college hoops was leaving behind teams with no NBA-ready stars coached by tart-as-lemon lifers who care more about the size of a player’s wingspan and heart than his 3-point percentage — well, that’s these Cougars, too.

Coach Kelvin Sampson’s squad of defenders and deniers face Florida for the national title Monday night. They wrap up a frontrunner’s Final Four that featured all No. 1 seeds but ends with the two top ones Auburn and Duke — sitting at home.

“We’ve kind of done it our way,” said Sampson who at 69, would surpass Jim Calhoun to become the oldest coach to win the title if his Cougars prevail. “It’s worked out pretty good.”

The Gators have been overlooked in their own way, too Florida, a 1 1/2-point pick in this game per BetMGM Sportsbook, has played underdog in its own way this year

The Gators (35-4) were picked to ﬁnish sixth in their (very good Southeastern) conference and are led by a player, Walter Clayton Jr., whose ﬁrst sport was football.

Their roster is ﬁlled with late bloomers from mid-majors (Clay-

Houston’s

ä Houston vs. Florida.

7:50 P.M. MONDAy CBS

ton, Will Richard, Alijah Martin) and a few more out of high school who were 3-star recruits at best (Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh).

Even so, it would be hard to put Florida, with a rich athletic department, rich history and playing in a rich conference, in the same category as Houston a commuter school in America’s fourth-largest city that gets the side eye from some locals who call it “Cougar High.”

Houston’s transition to Big 12 created new narratives

When Houston (35-4) left the American Athletic Conference in 2023 to join the Big 12, it immedi-

Duke’s Final Four fade puts it among top teams to fall short of title

BY AARON BEARD

AP basketball writer

SAN ANTONIO Duke had spent much of the season looking like like it was headed to a coronation behind Associated Press national player of the year Cooper Flagg and a roster boasting elite efﬁciency at both ends

Instead, the Blue Devils improbably squandered a big lead against Houston and saw their season end in the Final Four And that puts this 35-win Duke team on a select list of elite teams that fell short of winning the NCAA title in the 40 tournaments since expansion to 64 teams in 1985.

Entering the weekend, the Final Four’s all-chalk set of 1-seeds boasted historically elite KenPom numbers when it comes to net efﬁciency, which is based on how much a team’s offensive data outscores that of its defense while factoring in the quality of opponent. All were plus-35 or better, a threshold only six teams had ﬁnished with in KenPom’s history previously going back to 1997.

Duke was the best at plus39.62 for the No 2 rate ever recorded by KenPom. Only now, Duke is joining Auburn on the sideline as Florida faces Houston — in its ﬁrst title game since the Phi Slama Jama teams of the 1980s on Monday night.

“It’s been a special ride,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, “that ended in a heartbreaking way.”

1984-85 Georgetown John Thompson’s reigning champion Hoyas (35-3) made it back to the title game behind AP national player of the year Patrick Ewing, only to become the ﬁnal victim in eighth-seeded Villanova’s improbable title run.

Rollie Massimino’s Wildcats made 22 of 28 shots (78.6%) in the win at Rupp Arena and remain the lowest-seeded team to cut down the nets.

1990-91 UNLV

It seemed Jerry Tarkanian’s Rebels (34-1) were headed for the history as the ﬁrst repeat champion since UCLA’s run of seven straight from 1967-73, along with becoming the ﬁrst unbeaten champ since Indiana in 1976. That team was a wire-to-wire No 1 in the AP Top 25 behind eventual No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Larry Johnson and averaged 97.7 points and outscored opponents by an average of 26.7 points.

Yet a season of romping wins ended when Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke team — which lost by 30 to UNLV in the previous year’s ﬁnal — stunned the Rebels i n the Final

Four in Indianapolis before winning its ﬁrst title.

1992-93 Michigan

The famed “Fab Five” burst on the scene as a cultural phenomenon as an all-freshman unit that unexpectedly reached the title game in 1992. A year later the Wolverines (31-5) made it back and played a compelling finale against North Carolina.

But that one featured a tournament-lore blunder of eventual No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Chris Webber receiving a late technical foul for calling a timeout the Wolverines didn’t have to essentially seal the loss.

1996-97 Kansas

This might have been the best team of Roy Williams’ Hall of Fame career, one led by eventual NBA star Paul Pierce and Raef LaFrentz. But the Jayhawks (342) fell in the Sweet 16 to eventual champion Arizona despite ranking in the top ﬁve in efﬁciency at both ends for KenPom.

That team spent 15 weeks at No. 1 and three weeks at No. 2 in the AP Top 25.

1997-98 North Carolina

The Tar Heels (34-4) played their ﬁrst year under Bill Guthridge after Dean Smith’s retirement with the AP national player of the year in Antawn Jamison and a future longtime NBA star in Vince Carter UNC was an offensive machine that shot 51.8% overall and had a national-best 126.3 points per 100 possessions according to KenPom.

But the No. 1 team in the ﬁnal AP Top 25 poll fell to Rick Majerus and Utah in San Antonio’s ﬁrst Final Four

1998-99 Duke

Statistically this is KenPom’s all-time best team, with the Blue Devils (37-2) posting an adjusted net-efﬁciency rating of plus43.01. The team had AP national player of the year and eventual No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Elton Brand as the headliner among four of that year’s top 14 picks.

But UConn led by Richard Hamilton and Khalid El-Amin — pushed past Duke in the title game for that program’s first title.

2004-05 Illinois

The Fighting Illini (37-2) spent the last 15 polls at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 with a guard-heavy lineup featuring eventual NBA star Deron Williams, Luther Head and Dee Brown Illinois lost a tense ﬁnal against UNC to give Roy Williams his ﬁrst NCAA title.

ately became the school with the smallest athletic budget among the ﬁve (now four) major conferences. But things are changing. It will complete a $150 million expansion to its football facility this summer Athletic director Eddie Nunez said the Cougars are fully committed to revenue sharing under the new rules expected to take over college sports next school year, and that Sampson is evolving as well as anyone.

“Everyone says he’s old-school, but the reality is, he gets it and he surrounds himself with people who can help him with NIL, revenue share, anything that’s laid out,” Nunez said. “Bottom line, he’ll do what he does best He

builds a culture and gets the right kids with the right work ethic.”

Houston’s presence in the Big 12 played into the predominant story line of March Madness this year: From the Sweet 16 on, there were no teams from small conferences and, so, no glass slippers left in a tournament that was losing its soul.

Houston has tradition — everyone remembers Phi Slama Jama and is building a budget. Still, calling Sampson’s program a college basketball monster is missing the point. His biggest portal piece is LJ Cryer the guard who won a title with Baylor in 2021 before transferring and become the Cougars’ leading scorer If Houston is going to place a player in the NBA next

season, Cryer probably is the one.

“I don’t think necessarily that applies to my program,” Sampson said when asked if the portal has changed the nature of his job.

Houston’s long-armed defenders make life hard on opponents

The rest of the roster spends time making life hard on players who certainly will be in the NBA soon. See the last 10 minutes of Houston’s 70-67 win over Duke on Saturday

They are players like J’Wan Roberts, a 23-year-old senior who has played 148 games in ﬁve seasons, all at Houston — a career that was extended because of the coronavirus pandemic. Or Emanuel Sharp, now in his third year with Sampson and averaging about three 3-pointers a game

UConn’s Fudd honored as the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four

BY ALANIS THAMES AP sportswriter

TAMPA, Fla. — This time, Azzi Fudd was healthy And she made a big difference for UConn.

Fudd was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after leading the Huskies to the program’s 12th national championship. The dynamic guard scored 24 points during Sunday’s 82-59 victory over South Carolina in the title game.

UConn also reached the Final Four last season, but Fudd was sidelined by a torn meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. She could only watch as the Huskies were eliminated by Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the semiﬁnals.

Fudd was ready to go this time around. She scored 19 points in Friday’s 85-51 victory over UCLA.

Then, with the Gamecocks trying for a second straight championship, Fudd was terrific She went 9 for 17 from the field. She also had five rebounds, three steals and an assist.

Fudd scored 11 in the third quarter when the Huskies broke the game open. It was the most points in a single quarter of an NCAA title game by a UConn women’s basketball player, and sixth-most by any women’s player in a championship.

“I think all of our mindset was just to be aggressive, stay locked

HUSKIES

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think Sarah was graduating the way she plays, right? All three of them complement each other so well. They all have such unique skill sets.”

Bueckers capped her stellar career with the Huskies’ ﬁrst championship since 2016, ending a nineyear drought for the team. That was the longest period for Auriemma and his program without a title since Rebecca Lobo and Jen Rizzotti led the Huskies to their ﬁrst championship in 1995.

Since then the Huskies have had dominant championship runs, including in the early 2000s led by Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, 200910 with Maya Moore and ﬁnally the four straight from 2013-16 with Breanna Stewart. All were in attendance in Florida on Sunday to see the Huskies’ latest title.

“You just never know if you’ll ever be back in this situation again,” Auriemma said. “And there were so many times when I think we all questioned, ‘Have we been here too long? Has it been time?’ And we kept hanging in there and

in, stay disciplined, stay together,” Fudd said. “And that’s exactly what we did. I happened to score 11 points, but I was doing what the game was giving.”

The cheering crowd for the championship included her parents. Her mother wore a shirt that read “FUDD AROUND AND FIND OUT.”

“I mean, they’re the reason I’m playing basketball,” Fudd said.

“They taught me most of the things I know So shoutout Mom and Dad. But to be able to stand

hanging in there and that’s because these players make me want to hang in there every day.”

Bueckers, the expected No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 14, delivered for the Huskies throughout their championship season.

It was the only thing missing from an incredible UConn career that was slowed by injuries. She was the ﬁrst freshman to win AP Player of the Year before missing a lot of her sophomore season with a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus tear She then tore an ACL before the next season.

UConn closed the ﬁrst half up 10 points and then put the game away in the third quarter, with Fudd, Strong and Bueckers combining for 23 of the team’s 26 points in the period. UConn was up 50-39 with 3:21 left before closing with a 12-3 run. Fudd and Strong got it started with back-to-back 3s, and the rout was on. Auriemma subbed Bueckers, Fudd and Strong out with 1:32 left in the game. Bueckers and Auriemma had a long hug on the sideline, having ﬁnally gotten that championship that he so wanted for her Dawn Staley’s team was trying for a third title in four years and

here, to see all the people that I love in the crowd, people I love here on the stage with me, I don’t even have words to describe this moment right now.”

Fudd led the way against South Carolina, but she got plenty of help. Sarah Strong had 24 points and 15 rebounds, and Paige Bueckers scored 17 points in her final game with UConn.

Healthy again, Fudd paid tribute to her teammates and all the people around her for the championship season.

fourth overall. It would have tied her with Kim Mulkey for third most behind Auriemma and former Tennessee Hall of Fame coach Pat Summitt, who had eight.

“Our kids gave it all they had. When you can understand why you lost and when you’ve been on the other side of that three times, you understand it,” Staley said. “You can swallow it We lost to a very good basketball team.”

UConn had reached the title game only once during its drought since 2016. The Huskies had been eliminated by heartbreaking lastsecond losses in the Final Four on buzzer-beaters. The Huskies’ last title game appearance came in 2022 when Staley’s team beat UConn to start the Gamecocks’ current run of success, a game that ended Auriemma’s perfect record in title games. There seemed to be no nerves early for either team as the game got off to a fast start. The teams traded baskets for the first few minutes before the defenses started to clamp down. The Huskies led 19-14 after one quarter and then extended the advantage to 36-26 at the half. Fudd had 13 points and Strong added eight points and 11 rebounds.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ERIC GAy

J’Wan Roberts reacts during the first half in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in San Antonio.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By BRyNN ANDERSON Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr drives around Auburn guard Miles Kelly during the second half in the national semifi nals in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in San Antonio.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHRIS O’MEARA

UConn guard Azzi Fudd brings the ball up the court during the first half of the Final Four national championship game of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Sunday in Tampa, Fla.

Ovechkin passesGretzky on NHLcareergoals list

BY STEPHEN WHYNO AP hockey writer

NEW YORK Alex Ovechkinﬁred just about the perfect version of his signature one-timer that has defined his remarkable career When the puck hit the net, it made himthe topgoalscorerin NHL history

Ovechkin scored his 895th career goal on Sunday in theWashington Capitals’ game against the New York Islanders, beating fellow Russian Ilya Sorokin on a power play with 12:34 leftinthe second period. He took acrossice pass from longtime teammate TomWilson and ﬁred alaser past Sorokin with defenseman Jakob Chychrun screening.

With the excitement of achild, the 39-year-old belly ﬂopped onto the ice as tens of thousands of fans around him cheered and chanted, “Ovi! Ovi!” while teammates streamed off the bench, mobbing him in celebration.

“Like Ialways said, all the time, it’sateam sport and without my boys —the whole organization, thefans, thetrainers, coaches —Iwould never stand there and obviously Iwould never pass the ‘Great One,’ “Ovechkin said.

Ovechkin hadnever scored on Sorokin before, making his countryman the 183rd different goaltender he has beaten. “Thank youtoSorokintolet me score 895,” Ovechkin said. “I loveyou, brother.” Ovechkin broke arecord that stood for 31 years and appeared to be one of the most untouchable in sports. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made sure

SAINTS

Continued from page1C

Let’stake alook at some options who could break the Saints’ mold —as well as those who wouldﬁt that (previous?) archetype to a tee.

Anew direction?

If he’sstill available at No.9, Georgia’sJalonWalker would be thelitmus test of whetherthe Saints have truly changed their ways. In the past, Walker’s6-foot1, 243-pound would have been too small for the Saints.

But “If he’sthere, Iwould runupthe cardto get him,” Jeremiah said Jeremiah praised Walker, who had 61/2 sacks and 101/2 tackles for loss last season, as adynamic player who can also helpﬁrst-year coach Kellen Moore establish his culture in the locker room.Walker, regarded as the draft’stop rusher after Penn State’sAdbul Carter canalso be usedanoff-ball linebacker while getting after the passer

Elsewhere, Marshall’sMike Green would also representfrom the type of rusher the Saintstypically go after.At6-foot-3 and 251 pounds, Green may be slightlyundersized, but he led the FBS with 17 sacks.

Arethere any‘classicSaints?’ Texas A&M’sShemar Stewart stands at 6-5, weighs 267pounds and has aRelative AthleticScore of 10 (out of 10). Underformer coach Dennis Allen, that would practically make him aSaint already

to point that out whenheopened the 10-minuteceremony

“Wayne, you’ll always be the ‘Great One’ and you had arecord that nobody ever thought would be broken,”Bettman said. “But Alex, youdid it. You’ve been amazing. Youhave been theconsummateplayer representing the NHL extraordinaryonoroff the ice. Thank you for all you have given the game.”

The first to getahug from Ovechkin was longtime equipment managerCraig “Woody” Leydig,thenBrock Mylesand therest of the training andlocker room staff who have been around him so long. Ovechkinwaved to acknowledgethe crowd andwent through ahandshake line with the Islanders as crew members set up forthe 895 ceremonythat has been months in the making.

Ovechkin gota portraitofhimself and Gretzky.Janet Gretzky presented agift to Ovechkin’s wife,Nastya, just as Colleen Howe did to her when herhusband broke Gordie’srecord back in 1994.

Ovechkin got No. 895 in his 1,487th game —the same number Gretzky ﬁnished with.

GretzkyshookOvechkin’s hand, embraced him and congratulated the “Great 8” and his family for the accomplishment.

“There’snothing better than the National Hockey League,” Gretzkysaid. “They say records aremade to be broken, but I’m not sure who’sgoing to getmore goals than that.”

Ovechkin took the microphone from Gretzky like atorch being passedfrom one legend of the

gametoanother.Hethanked injuredteammates Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, withwhom he wonthe Stanley Cupin2018, and expressed his affection for his wife, mother andtwo sons standing nearby “Wedid it, boys. We didit,” Ovechkin said. “And themost important thing,tomymom, my family, my beautifulwife,my father-in-law,mybeautiful kids, thank you. Iloveyou so much, andwithout you, withoutyour supportIwould neverstand here.”

More “Ovi!” chants followed. Plenty more will be coming as he attempts to reach 900. Gretzky’stotal of 894 goals had long seemed unapproachable. Ovechkin passeditevenafter missing 16 games in November and December because of abrokenleftleg,atestamenttohis durability anda knack forputting the puck in the net consistently for twodecades. He surpassed 40 goals this season for a14th time —two more than Gretzky and also the most in league history

Even beforethis, Ovechkin owned the NHL recordsfor power-playgoals,shots on goal and themost goalies scored against, now adding Sorokin to that list Only Gretzkyhas more multigoal games,and Ovechkin earlier this season became just thesixth player with700 goals and 700 assists, joining Gretzky,Howe, JaromirJagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito. Ovechkin last moved up the all-time goal-scoring list Dec. 23, 2022, when he got Nos. 801 and 802 to tie and pass Howe.

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By PHELANM.EBENHACK

Georgia linebackerJalon Walker follows aplayagainst Florida during thesecond half of their game on Nov. 2inJacksonville, Fla.

Stewartislong, explosive and has “untapped upside,” according to theNFL Network’sLance Zierlein. But he might be deﬁned more by his potential. He only had 41/2 sacks over thelast three years, despite racking up alot of pressures. (Again,hemight as well have been with theSaints.)

MykelWilliams, the other Georgia edge rusher,isalso close to theSaints’ prototype. Though he’s comingoff an ankleinjury,hecertainly ﬁts thesizethresholdat6-5 and265 pounds. He’s considered to be arelativelyraw prospect, but that hasn’tstopped the Saints before What aboutpastRound 1?

If the Saints choose to select another position in Round 1, at least this draftisdeepenoughalong thedefensive line for New Orleans to ﬁnd aqualityedge rusher

Hamlin takeslate lead outofthe pits, staves off Byron

BY PETEIACOBELLI

Associated Press

DARLINGTON, S.C. It was Hamlin’s 56th career NASCAR win, his ﬁfth at Darlington Raceway and his second straight this season

“Whenyou think about 56 wins, that’sahuge deal,” said Gibbs, Hamlin’slongtime car owner Hamlin said he hung on throughoutasByronand others looked like they might pull out victory.Instead, Hamlin waited outhis time and then pounced as he broke away during thegreen-white-checkered ﬁnish.

“I can still do it,I can do it at a high level and look forwardtowinning alot of races this year,” Hamlin said. Hamlin wonfor asecond straight week after his success at Martinsville.

Hamlin chose the outside lane for aﬁnal restart and shot out to the lead and pulledawayfromseries points leader Byron and NASCAR wins leader Christopher Bell. Hamlin looked like he’d have astrong ﬁnish, but nota winning oneasRyan Blaney passed Tyler Reddickfor the lead with three laps left.

But moments later,Kyle Larson spun outforcing aﬁnal caution and theextra laps.

It was then time for Hamlin’sJoe GibbsRacing pitcrewtoshine as it got him out quickly and in the lead.

Byron, wholed the ﬁrst 243 laps, wassecondwithHamlin’s JGR teammate Bell in third.

“There are two people Ireally love rightnow,mypit crew and Kyle Larson,” Hamlin said to a

round of boos from those in the stands.

Reddick wasfourth and Blaney wasﬁfth. The rest of the top 10 ﬁnishers were Chris Buescher,Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch.

Hamlin credited thepast two victories to his pit crew

“The pit crew just did an amazing job,” he said. “They won it last week, they won it this week. It’s all about them.”

Blaney had thought he wasclear to his ﬁrst Darlington victory after getting by Reddick late. When he saw the caution ﬂag forLarson’s spin, he said he thought, “Oh, no! I thought we had the race won.”

So did Byron, whohad ashot to becomethe firstNASCAR driver in nearly 25 yearstolead every laponthe waytovictory.Hegot shuffled down the standings during the last round of green-flag pit stops and could not recover

“It was looking like it was going to be aperfect race and we were going to lead every lap,” he said. But once “welost control, it was too late to getback up there,” Byron said.

Badday

Kyle Larson, whowon the Southern 500 here in 2023, had high hopes for asecond Darlington win. But he slid into the inside wall coming off the second turn on lap three and wentright to garage where his team worked the next couple of hours to get him back on track.

Larson returned on lap 164 after falling 161 laps off the pace. Larson ﬁnished next to last in 37th.

Dolphins’Armstead announcesretirement

BY DAVID FURONES

South Florida Sun-Sentinel (TNS)

MIAMI Terron Armstead will always be known fordoing everything in his power to makeitto NFLgame day Sundays through injury

Butthe MiamiDolphins left tackle has decided he has seen the last of those grueling playing days.

Armstead,33, calleditacareer Saturday night, announcing his retirementfrom professional football at aprivate event in Wynwood, near the heartof Miami.

in the ensuing rounds. Arkansas defensive end Landon Jackson, who spent his first year at LSU, clockeda standout-worthy 9.76 RAS. The Athletic’s Dane Bruglerrankedhim as his 45th-rated prospect, putting him in the Day 2 range. He has great size (6-6, 264) and long arms (331/4 inches), Some draftanalystshavetakenissuewith his bend, but he’sfound waystobe productive.

Ohio State’sJack Sawyerand Ole Miss’ Princely Umanmielen also have similarmeasurements andshould slotinthe Day 2range Sawyer can produce big plays, likehis strip sack that resulted in an 83-yardtouchdowninthe College FootballPlayoff against Texas. Umanmielen is coming off a10-sack season.

Email Matthew Paras at matt paras@theadvocate.com

Armstead retires following12NFL seasons, the last three coming with theDolphinsafter he joined theteam by signing afive-year,$75 million contractinfree agency in 2022. He was aPro Bowlselection in his first two seasons in Miami, making it five for his career after coming in with three Pro Bowls in his first nine years with the New Orleans Saints.

Adecision from Armstead was expected soon as coach MikeMcDaniel, at the NFLannual meeting last week, noted the team was in constant communication with him and that wordcould be received within two weeks.The eventinvitation for Saturday’sparty offered apossible hint, with areference to stepping into anext chapter Lastoffseason already presented Armstead with adecision on whether to play the 2024 season. He ultimately decided to return, but the Dolphins begantoshape their future plans at lefttackle, se-

lecting PatrickPaul in the second round of last year’sdraft.

With Armstead moving on, Paul now ﬁgures to slide in to starting duties at lefttackle, opposite Austin Jackson at right tackle. Miami added guard James Daniels in free agency,while re-signing Liam Eichenbergand seeing Robert Jones go to the Dallas Cowboys. With AaronBrewerthe starting center and Larry Borom signed as apossible reserve lineman, the Dolphins can still be projected to add moredepth along the line in the NFLdraftlater this month and maybe another free-agent signing. At theNFL scouting combinein late February,McDanielsaid the Dolphins would operate in the offseason as if Armstead wasn’treturning. That sameday,Armstead brought his salary cap number down to the minimum to give the team cap space to maneuver Armstead has often dealt with injuries in his career,missing an average of more than ﬁve games per season since 2016. Last year he played in all but two games, but there were multiple instances where he had to tap out of agame withhis knee not feelingupto snuff early in the outing. Alasting image wascapturedbyCBS cameras duringa December home game against the New York Jets whenArmstead sat on the bench with alook of disappointment and helplessness over his injuries. One thing that can never be questioned about Armstead, aside from histried andtruecommitment to playing if he physically can, is that, when available, he was asoundand solid blocker both in the run game and pass protection.

Armstead

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ADAM HUNGER

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin,center, celebrates with teammates after scoring against theNew york Islanders during the second periodonSunday in Elmont, N.y. The goal wasthe 895th of Ovechkin’sNHL career,allowinghim to break WayneGretzky’s record.

ASSOCIATEDPRESS

PHOTOBySCOTT KINSER

Denny Hamlin,front, celebrates on victorylane after winning aNASCAR CupSeries race on Sunday at Darlington RacewayinDarlington, S.C.

LIVING

‘SHE WASA ROCK STAR’

PROVIDED PHOTOSByHEATHER LANE

black boots.

Ziggysits happily in the snow, wearing four

RememberingZiggy Stardust,the mascot dogof Saturn Barwho lovedfood, snow andthe Saints

BY POETWOLFE Staff writer

Ona sunlit Wednesday at ahome just off Esplanade Avenue, a50-pound husky mix ate afreshly seared ﬁlettoppedwith paté before bidding farewell to her two owners, her Bywater bar and New Orleans.

ZiggyStardusthad arelentless appetite that was partly enabled by oneofher owners, HeatherLane, who admitted to often slipping the snow-white dog bacon bits. On her last full day of life March 25, Lane and her husband, Phil Yiannopoulos, celebrated Ziggy’ssix years on Earth attheir famed Saturn Bar, where she atehomemadefoie gras and acustom cakecovered in clouds of peanut butterfrosting. She wasnoordinary dog, nor did she live the life of one by the time Lane and Yiannopoulos rescued her AtrueNew Orleansgirl

Ziggy,who wasabout 1, was found in aditch in Franklin, in St. MaryParish, nestled between her puppies, which were all quickly adopted.She was theonlyone left without ahome.

Lane distinctly remembers scrolling on social media when Ziggy’seyes —one icy blue and the other gold —gazed back at hers through the screen. She and Yian-

On March 25, nearly ahundred people gathered at SaturnBar to celebrate the life of Ziggy Stardust.

nopoulos had always wanted adog, but questioned if they should actually getone, fearing they weren’t responsible enough.

Theydecided to rescue Ziggy, whowas namedMagnolia at the time.The couple renamed herafter David Bowie’salter ego.

“She was arock star,” Lane said. New Orleans was theperfect homefor Ziggy.Ina citywhere alocal barheld asecond-line for their mascot cat Mr.Wu, where

people religiouslytracked theescape saga of the famously fugitive dog Scrim,how could it not be? And,likemost New Orleanians, Ziggy loved eating and watching Saintsfootball games. Ziggy alsospent her weekends at bars. On Friday nights, she’d bar hop in theFrench Quarter with her parents. Eventually,Ziggy knew thebartenders andremembered

ä See ZIGGY, page 2D

La.natives advanceinnationalcompetition series

BY JUDYBERGERON Staff writer

Not only can Addis teen John Foster sing, but Carrie Underwood thinks he’s cute. Add that to Foster gifting Underwood andher fellow “American Idol” judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan each aLouisiana care package when he auditioned for the show in Nashville, Tennessee, and he had arecipe for success.

Now Foster,18, and a second-semester freshman at LSU pursuing premed, is competing in the ABC singing contest series’ second phase, Hollywood Week.The ﬁrst of those episodesaired Monday,when Foster sung his way through to the second round.All of theepisodes

aired thus far wereprerecorded, so when we caught up with the Louisianacontestant, he was back home in Brusly Thefollowing interview hasbeeneditedfor clarity and brevity.

Howdid thewhole care package deal for the judges come about? When you’re in acompetition andyou wantthe approvalofthe biggest namesinmusic,you want

to make sure that all of their senses are pleased.SoI wanted to make sure that Isoundedgood,but Ialso wanted to make sure thattheyhad something good to taste,too. Ican give themataste of me musically but also wanted to give them ataste of whereI came from. My family owns Benoit’s Country MeatBlock in Addis. It’s been apillar of my life. Bringing

See TV NOTES, page 2D

What do “Black Box” warningsmean on certain medications?

Black box warnings, also known as boxed warnings, are the most stringent warnings the FDA can mandate for prescription drugs, alerting health care providers and patients to serious or life-threatening risks associated with amedication. The 2005 FDA boxed warning was associated with areduced prevalence of atypical antipsychotic use in elderly patients with dementia and with longterm unintended outcomes that exposed patients to new health risks.

The purpose of black box warnings is to draw immediate attention to the mostserious potential adverse effects of a drug, such as the risk of death, serious injury or permanent disability.The warning box contains asummaryofthe adverse effects and risks associated with the drug, including speciﬁc precautions or restrictions to ensure safeuse.

Some examples of drugs or drug classes that carry black boxwarnings include: opioids (oxycodone/OxyContin),hydrocodone (Vicodin), morphine,codeine, and fentanyl),benzodiazepines(Alprazolam or Xanax), Clonazepam (Klonopin),Diazepam (Valium), Lorazepam (Ativan), and Midazolam), nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDsaspirin,ibuprofen,naproxen, celecoxib, diclofenacand indomethacin) andfluoroquinolone antimicrobials (ciprofloxacin (Cipro), levofloxacin(Levaquin), andmoxifloxacin(Avelox). Black box warnings are crucial forhealth care professionals to makeinformed decisions about prescribing and administering medications, as well as forpatients to understand the potential risks and benefits of their treatment. This boxed warning meansthat there is reasonable evidence of an association of aserious hazard with the drug. Placing the warning in abox meansthat the adverse reaction may lead to death or serious injury

The decision to use an antipsychotic drug needs to be considered with extremecaution. Research has shown that these drugs are associated with an increased risk of stroke and death in older adults with dementia

The FDA has ordered manufacturers to label such drugs with a“black box” warning about their risks and areminder that they are not approved to treat dementia symptoms. Nondrug approaches are preferred instead of using antipsychotic drugs in managing behavioral symptoms. Many of these strategies aim to identify and address needs that the person with Alzheimer’smay have difﬁculty expressing as the disease progresses. Nondrug approaches should always be tried ﬁrst. They include: recognizing that the person is not just “acting mean or ornery,” but is having further symptomsofthe disease; identifying

Treatmentofburns dependsonseverity, takestime

Dear Doctors: Iburned myself on the stove, but it didn’tlookbad so Iwasn’tworried. The next morning, the skin had turned red and the burn was all swollen.What’s the right way to take care of a burn? When do you need tosee a doctor?

Dear reader: Bear withusaswe begin with anerdy science deﬁnition. Aburn is atraumatic injury in which atransfer of energy causes damage to the tissues at and near thesite of contact.The most common source is thermal energy,which is heat, as happened to you. Othersources are chemical, electric and electromagnetic energy.Ineach instance, an excess of energyheats the affected cells to the pointthat they are injured or destroyed.

Continued from page1D

which ones fed her treats.

The mutt —50% husky mixed with Alaskan malamute, chow chow and atouch of Chihuahua —had the bars ranked, Lane laughed. At the bottom of her hierarchy was Chart Room because the bar table was 2inches higher than she could reach, making it difficult for her to mingle with the staff and regulars.

Ziggy needed to be the center of attention, especially at Saturn Bar, where she happily interactedwith everyone who stepped inside.

She also took naps. One day Ziggy —wearing her Saints jersey —fellasleepoutside the building. Without waking her,guests gently put sunglasses over her eyes and placed acan of Modelo beer beside her curled paw

When asked howshe would describe Ziggy’spersonality, Lane responded with just two words: pure joy

“If you had asked me if a dog could smile, Idon’t know if Icould havedescribedit to you,”she said,“Butyou could just see it.”

‘Ziggy’s GrandAdventure’

Unlike dogs, humans are hyper-aware that their existence is ephemeral, so much to the point that we’ll

TV NOTES

Continued from page1D

them food from my family store and from my home was just great.

LukeBryan seemed to really like you bringing him food. Ithought that was pretty fun. He didn’tknow what it was at ﬁrst, and he thought that the beef jerky was foot and Isaid Iwould never bring him ’gator foot. He ended up really likingthe beef jerky.(Also in the judges’ small coolers were boudin and some pork sausage). I’m thinking Carrie’s box also had aCajun corn dishcalled corn maque choux. AndaBenoit Cajun seasoning for them. Tell us alittle bit about how and whenyou begansinging Inever really was aserious singer until Iwas about 15 years old. It was then that my family encouraged me to start karaoke, and Inever took it seriously.Inever thought it would go anywhere, but they just keptencouraging me to keep working on it and building on it. Eventually,Istarted singing with my uncle, Galen Martin (of Brusly) just kind of casually.He’sbeen amusician for all of his life. Andhe also was abig voice saying, “You reallyneed to try and do something with this.” Isat in here and there with different bands, singing alittle bit, and it was just one big procession of people encouraging me. Iowe so much to all of my friends and family who encouraged me. Idid my ﬁrst gig in July of 2022 andit’sjust kind of been uphill since there. Where wasthat first gig? That was at Floyd’s Morley Marina in Brusly How manypeople would you say were at that first show?

Not very many.Myaudience has certainly grown very much, very far since then.

Dr.Elizabeth Ko

Dr.Eve Glazier

ASK THE DOCTORS

This results in awound we commonlyrefer to as aburn. Burnsare categorized by their depthand severity.Superﬁcial burns,known asﬁrst-degree burns,affect only theepidermis, which is the outer layer of skin. Theburn site will often be red, butblisters do not develop. Second-degree burns, also known as partial-thicknessburns,involve

PROVIDED By HEATHER LANE ZiggyStardust, themascotof SaturnBar,peeps out from behind abar table.

even summarize the places we want to go, the goals we want to achieve and the experiences we want to have in an itemized “bucket list.”

Ayear ago, when Ziggy wasdiagnosedwith mammary cancer,Lane and Yiannopoulos knewwhat was at thetop of herbucketlist, based on her playful nature and thethicknessof her fur: to see the snow With Ziggy in the passenger’sseat, the couple got in thecar and drove north, dubbing thejourney “Ziggy’sGrand Adventure”like the title of achildren’sbook. Theydrove thousands of miles to Canada, wherethe dog playedinpiles of cold

Whereelsehaveyou played lately?

IplayatSide Porch Daiquiris inAddis alot, Jack Miller’s(Landing) in Plaquemine and Rio Cantina in Brusly Frequently at Charlie’s Lounge in Addis, also.

Do you strictly singcountry?

Iamacountryartistdown to thebone. Ilove country music,butmusicismusic.I’m apersonwho truly lovesmusic, and so Ienjoy all genres. Idoalittle bit of aswamp pop every now andthen, some Cajun, alittle bit of blues. Really, Ilove everything. Who are some of the musical artists who inspire you?

Willie Nelson is my very favoriteartist of all time. I loveWillie. Ilove his music. I also lovehis attitudeand his spirit. Ilove that he doesn’t care what people think, and he’s going tobehis trueself in every way.That’sthe biggest inspiration Ihave,just to be exactly who Iamand without care of what anyone elsethinks.

Have you gottentosee Williein concert?

Ihave three times, andit was someofthe best times I’ve ever had. Seeinghim in person wasjust amazing.

Do you write anyof your own songs? Ido. Songwritingismyfavorite waytoexpress whatever I’m feeling Walk us throughhow yougoabout writing asong. Usually somethingisgoingoninmylife that pushes me,and Iget alittle idea for something.SoIsit down with aguitar, and Ijuststart to hum. And then the hums turn intowords, the words turninto melodies, the melodies get ﬁt with chords, and soon Ihaveasong Are youbeing recognized in public since you’ve been back home?

Yeah,it’skind of hard to go in Walmart without talking to at least one person,but Ilove it.Ilove talking to people. I love making new friends. So Ienjoyeverysecond Lastly, we have to ask you how you liked Carrie Underwoodsaying you were cute (a cutie patootie to

injury to the epidermis and the dermis, which are theunderlying layers of skin. The burn site will become redand swollen, may appear dry and cracked and will develop watery,thin-skinned blisters.

The mostsevere are thirddegree burns. Alsoknown as full-thickness burns, these occur when both theepidermis and dermis have been destroyed. Tissue damageoften extends to the underlying muscle, fat and connective tissues, and bone may be affected, as well. Severe burns, as well as chemical or electrical burns, need immediate professional medical care. Because even asmall or seemingly minor burn can quickly becomeinfected, it is important

white flakes for the first time. Compared to Laneand Yiannopoulos,who are both used to New Orleans’ humid climate, it seemed like Ziggy found her second home.

“Wewere like,‘Oh God, are we gonna die?’” Lane said. “ButZiggy loved it.It was amazing.”

When thefamilyreturned to New Orleans, Ziggy started chemotherapy and was eventually cancer-free by May 2024.

A‘bonvoyage’ forZiggy

Aweek before 2025 Carnival, Ziggy went toanoncologist for acheck-up appointment. The veterinarian told the ownersthat she was in good health andwouldn’t need another appointment for afew months.

As Mardi Gras day came closer,Ziggy started to limp. Lane and Yiannopoulos initially thought that she had somethingstuck in her paw Butthe cancer had returned, spread intoher bloodstream andenteredher lymph nodes.

The owners chose to focus on fulﬁllingthose ﬁnal moments of Ziggy’slife, just as theyhad done during their longdrive to Canadatosee snow. But thistime, they would do so in theplace that Ziggy lovedmost: home Lane knewthe community would want to take part in celebrating her legacy

“Werealized it was kind

be exact)?

So that actually is pretty interesting because she said that when Ileft, so Ihad no idea until Iwatched theepisode. Iheard it andI looked around and Iwas like, “Oh my gosh, did she say that?” Carrie Underwood, look, Imean, abeautiful superstar called me acutie patootie. That’san instant conﬁdence boost.

“American Idol” airs at 7p.m. Sunday and Monday on ABC and streams afterward on Hulu.

‘Extracted’top 5

While sevencompetitors have been eliminatedonFox survivaladventure competitionseries “Extracted,” Louisiana’sMeagan Delatte continues to make it in the Canadian wilderness.

On last week’sepisode, BatonRouge native Delatte ofﬁcially made the top ﬁve after fellow competitor Jakoben Thomas’ uncle and cousin back at headquarters elected to pull him from the contest.

In the show,a dozencompetitors ﬁght to survive frigid temperatures, treacherous terrainand thethreat of fourlegged predators in aremote forest near Whistler,British Columbia. At headquarters, two family members watch their contestants navigate their surroundings via a24/7 live feed. Each family has the power to decide their loved ones’ fate, with theoption to “extract”their competitor, usually if they’re concerned abouttheir physical and/or mental state

On Monday,Delatte was upbeat after winning a swimming challenge and receiving two supply boxes. “I will prove that Idohave the physical strength, the mental drive,and I’m notgoing to stop until I’m there,” Delatte said. McComb, Mississippi, native Thomas was defeated in the same swimming challenge.Thomas, who revealed in theepisode that he had

to takecare of it right away.The ﬁrst step in caring foraminor thermal burn is to cool the affected area. This helps to dissipatethe excess energy that is causing injury to the tissues. Run cool water over the site for20to 30 minutes. Do not use cold water or ice; these will constrict blood ﬂow to thewound, which can actually compound the damage and delay healing. If the burn is on theface, use asuccession of cool compresses. Once the burn area is cooled, very gentlyclean it with soap and water.Athin layer of ointment, such as aloe vera gel or petroleum jelly,will help keep the burn area hydrated. Useasterile, nonstick bandagetoloosely cover andprotect the area. Youdon’t

of our responsibility,” Lane said. “People weregoing to be real pissediftheydidn’t getachancetosay goodbye. Andsowethrew her a party.”

About 100 guests filled Saturn Bar on Tuesday. People from Ziggy’sfavoriteFrenchQuarter bars— The Schooner Saloon, Turtle Bay,The Abbey, Cosimos, Cafe Negriland beyond showed up to give her treats for thelast time.

“It wasn’tfor us. It was for her,”Lanesaid. “And it was wild, and Ithought Iwas goingtobawl theentire time, but it was just so happy.”

Ziggy hadsteak, an entire packofsalami, processed sausage, foie gras and over half of acustomcakegarnished in crisp bacon bits.

“She went out doing what she lovedbest: eating,” Lane said.

The months leading to Ziggy’slast day, New Orleans happenedtoembody everything she loved most. In January,the citywas cloaked in snow thatbroke records. In February,ithosted aSuper Bowl forthe ﬁrst time in 12 years. Andthis month,she was surrounded by people from her favoritebars with endless food.

By thetime shetook her lastbreath, Ziggy’sbucket list was complete.

Email PoetWolfe at poet. wolfe@theadvocate.com

recently moved to New Orleans, was also acontestant on Netﬂix’s“Squid Game.”

The show returns at 7p.m. Monday on Fox “Withonly five survivalists left, alliances are tested, and newstrategies emerge in HQ as family membersmust choose whichsurvivalist will forfeit acritical supply of their choosing,”the show synopsis states. “Then, acrucial supply box is stranded in the middleofafreezing 48-degree lake, but only one survivalist can claim it in time.Inthe ﬁnalchallenge, the families must guide their survivalists to crates filled with suppliesusing only a compassinthe all-new ‘Mystery Box’ episode.”

Email Judy Bergeron at jbergeron@theadvocate. com.

By The Associated Press

want the bandage to stick to the wound or to shed ﬁbers that may becomeembedded in the area. If blisters form,donot pierce them, as this can lead to infection. Overthe-counter pain medscan help manage discomfort. Even minor burns can take a fewweeks to heal. As they do, take care to protect the area from further trauma. If signs of infection appear,such as inﬂammation, pus or fever,itisimportant to seek medical care.

Sendyour questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla edu, or write: Ask theDoctors c/oUCLA HealthSciences Media Relations, 10880 Wilshire Blvd.,Suite1450, Los Angeles, CA, 90024.

Today is Monday April 7, the 97th day of 2025. There are 268 days leftinthe year

Todayinhistory On April 7, 1994, aday after the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi died in amissile attack on their aircraft, the moderate Hutu primeminister of Rwanda, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, and her husband were killed by Rwandan soldiers; in the 100 days that followed, Hutu extremists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsi and Hutu moderates.

On this date: In 1862, Union forces led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. DonCarlos Buell defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. In 1922, Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall signed asecret deal to lease U.S. Navy petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California to his friends, oilmen Har-

WARNINGS

Continued from page1D

the cause and how the symptom may relate to the experience of the person with Alzheimer’s; and changing the environment to resolve challenges and obstacles to comfort, security and ease of mind. If nondrug approaches fail after being applied consistently,introducing medications may be appropriate forindividuals with severe symptomsor whohave the potential to harm themselves or others. While prescription medications can be effective in somesituations, they must be used carefully and are mosteffective when combined with non-drug approaches.

The FDAisconstantly striving to improve safety processes and methods to serve the public better Thus, the FDAistaking additional steps to identify drugs that may have unac-

ry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny,inexchange forcash gifts; Fall would eventually be sentenced to prison on bribery and conspiracy charges in what becameknownasthe Teapot Dome Scandal. In 1966, the U.S. Navy recovered ahydrogen bombthat the U.S. Air Force had lost in the Mediterranean Sea off Spain following aB-52 crash. In 2022, the Senate conﬁrmed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, securing her place as the court’sﬁrst Black female justice.

Today’sBirthdays: Country musician Bobby Bare is 90. Former California Gov Jerry Brownis87. Film director Francis Ford Coppola is 86. Musician John Oates is 77. Singersongwriter Janis Ianis 74. Actor Jackie Chan is 71. Football Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett is 71. Former boxer James “Buster” Douglas is 65. Actor Russell Croweis61. Actor-comedian Bill Bellamyis60.

ceptable risk profiles. The FDAalso has new communication channels to share drug safety information sooner,more broadly, and moreconveniently These new and direct communication channels will enhance knowledge and understanding of safety issues, and include adrug safety website (https:// www.fda.gov/drugs/ information-health-careprofessionals-drugs/drugsafety-information) where consumers can find new information on specific drug products, including information sheets forpatients and health care professionals, the product’s regulatory history and its labeling.

Dana Territo is an Alzheimer’sadvocate and authorof“What My Grandchildren Taught Me About Alzheimer’sDisease.” She hosts “TheMemory Whisperer.” Email her at thememorywhisperer@ gmail.com.

ARIEs(March 21-April 19) Travel, learn from what you experienceand mix business with pleasure, andsomething positive will transpire. An innovative approach will capture attention and profits.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Concentrate on whatmakesyou feel happy, accomplished or confident. Plan your actions andstick to aset budget. Anetworking event will offer insightinto howtomarketyourskills.

GEMInI (May 21-June20) Ablunt conversation with thoseyou liveorwork with will help resolve unfinished business. It's best to address sensitive information openly to avoid misunderstandings

cAncER (June 21-July22) Use your energy strategically. Focus on progressively applying yourskills, and you'll find new ways to bring in extra cash. Put your time and energyinto growing your assets.

LEo(July 23-Aug. 22) It's awaste of time and money to make unnecessary changes. When in doubt, ask questions. Knowledge is powerful; guessing won't suffice whensituationschange quickly

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Pay attention to financial documents, contracts and investment opportunities.There is plenty to gain if you quickly size up situationsand act. Youare overdue for achange

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct.23) Broaden your vision and connect withknowledgeable people who can giveyou an in-depth

look into new possibilities. Someone you meet will takeaninterestinyou and whatyou are trying to accomplish.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Achange will help yousee situations differently. Communication and compromise will help youcloseagap between someone valuable to you andwhat you want to achieve.

sAGIttARIus (nov.23-Dec. 21) Refuse to let anyone bait youinto an emotionally draining conversation regarding shared expenses or responsibilities.Say no to temptation andindulgent behavior.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Don't be fooled by an exaggerated profile or opinion.Research,fact-finding and trusting your intuition will saveyou time andmoney. Sending aclear-cut message will alleviate misunderstanding.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Designate howand where youwanttoapplyyour cash to ensure you don'tfall short. Let saving for something special take precedence over emotional spending for instant gratification

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Stick to what's affordable and doesn't threaten your lifestyle and personalwell-being. Refuse to let temptation,excess or tryingtoimpress someone take over, leavingyou in aprecariousposition

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Sudoku

InstructIons: sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place the numbers 1to9inthe 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.

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

THe wiZard oFid

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

Hi and LoiS

By PHILLIPALDER

AlbertSzent-Gyorgyi, the Hungarian discoverer of vitaminCwho won the Nobel Prize in physiology/medicine in 1937, said,“Discovery consists of seeing what everybodyhas seen, and thinking what nobody has thought.”

At thebridge table, doing well consists of seeing what everybody has seen, and thinking of the rightplay at the right moment. Thehard part, of course, is having the winning idea pass into your consciousness.

In thisdeal,how shouldEast plan the defense against four spades afterWest leads the heart nine?

When South rebidtwo no-trump to show aminimumbalanced hand, North jumped to what he thought would be the best game contract. Note that three no-trump can be defeated aftera club lead. When three aces are missing, the defenders have several entries, so they canusuallygettheirlongsuitestablished and cashed.

South thought he hadonly three losers, the missing aces. And that was all he lost whenEasttookthefirsttrickwithhisace andplayedbackaheart.Declarerwonon theboardanddroveoutthespadeace.As the cards lay, he could not go down.

East hoped West had led asingleton, but that was impossible, becausethen South would have had four hearts and would have rebid two hearts, not two no-trump. East should have encouraged with his heart 10 at trick one. Then, when West got in with his spade ace, he would have ledhis second heart, received a heart ruff, and cashed his club ace for down one. When drawing aconclusion, ask yourself if it is consistent with what has happened.

wuzzles

EachWuzzle is awordriddle whichcreates adisguised word, phrase,name, place, saying, etc. For example:nOOn gOOD =gOOD aFTErnOOn

Previous answers:

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of four or more letters. 2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,”

Averagemark

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar thehorriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

dIrectIons: make a2-to 7-letter word from theletters in each row. add points of each word using scoring directionsat right. Finally, 7-letter words get 50-point bonus. “Blanks” used as any letter havenopoint value.all the wordsare in the Official sCraBBlE® players Dictionary, 5th Edition. For moreinformation on tournaments and clubs, email naspa –north american sCraBBlE playersassociation: info@scrabbleplayers.org.Visit ourwebsite:www.scrabbleplayers.org. For puzzle inquiries contact scrgrams@gmail.com. Hasbro andits logo sCraBBlE associated logo,the design of thedistinctivesCraBBlE brand gamecard, and thedistinctive letter tile designs are trademarks of Hasbro in

ken ken

InstructIons: 1 -Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1thorugh 4(easy) or 1through 6 (challenging) without repeating. 2 -The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes called cages mustcombine using the given operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners 3 -Freebies: Fill in the single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

Saturday’s Puzzle Answer

WiShinG Well

HErE is aplEasanT liTTlE gamEthat will give you amessage everyday.it’sa numerical puzzledesignedtospell out your fortune. Count the letters in yourfirstname.if thenumber of lettersis6ormore, subtract 4. if the numberislessthan 6, add 3. Theresult is your key number. start at the upperleft-hand corner and check each of your key numbers,left to right. Then read the message the checked figuresgiveyou

Scrabble GramS

Get fuzzy

jump Start

roSe

short nails;fourlongnails I.1992.0515.27 a-I.Worner reproduction;a:bracket iron,painted black, rec‐tangular plate, with holes; b-c: four iron nails; four screws I.1992.0515.28 a-I.Worner reproduction;a:bracket iron,painted black, plate with holes; b-e: four iron nails;fourscrews, rusted

I.1992.0515.30 a-o.Worner reproduction,iron, paintedblack;a:bracket long rectangularplate with holes; b-k: ten screws ﬂat end; four screws with pointedend

I.1992.0515.31.01- 30. John Worner andSon.Repro‐duction, iron,painted black; .1:bolt, roundhole on oneend pointedtip; .2:bar,hexagonal shape, b d ( )

g p bentonone end; (28) nails, iron

T0055.1997.0579. Map. Pocket mapofthe French front. Southern section. A strategicmap of thebat‐tlegroundinnorthern France from St.Mihielto theSwiss border.Rand McNally. 1917. T0055.1997.0579. Map. Mapmounted on cloth, Meuse-Argonne Opera‐tion,AmericanFirst Army /September 26November 11, 1918. United States Army Engi‐neer Reproduction.1927. T0055.1997.0598. Mapof La Rochelle,France. Of‐ﬁce de TourisimeSyndi‐catd'Initiative. 1981. T0055.1997.0600. Map. Paris, France.RATP. 1979. T0055.1997.0609. Map. Gu‐rupy River, SouthAmer‐ica. N. Verissimo. 1936. T0055.1997.0611. Map. Pocket topographical mapofthe easternpor‐tion of Sonora,Mexico, railways,GreeneConsoli‐datedGoldand Copper Companies; mining,Cen‐tral America, transporta‐tion.RandMcNally &Co. 1904

T0055.1997.0612. Map. g Brazil,Huallaga, Ucayali, Rivers,Pampa delSacra‐mento, SouthAmerica.A Hoen andCompany,1830. T0055.1997.0613. Map. MapofPeru. Larraburey Unánue,D.E.1903. T0055.1997.0614. Map. Rivers Huallaga,Ucayali &Amazon, SouthAmer‐

ica, printedonfragile paper; worn andtaped Torn alongfoldlines John Tyssowski.1854. T0055.1997.0615. Mapof Brazil.Seção Car‐tograﬁca da Comp.1942. T0055.1997.0616. Map. Shellacked mapofSouth America,mounted on cloth. Mathews-Northrup Works. 1921. T0055.1997.0629. Mapof Russia.DidierRobertde Vaugondy.1750. T0055.1997.0632. Mapof London,tramways; from booklettitled, "Extended Tape IndicatorMap of London andVisitor's Guide.". C. Smithand Son. 1888.

T0055.1997.0636. Map mounted on craft paper, of Meekatharra, Aus‐tralia.MiningDepart‐ment,Australia.1911. T0055.1997.0637. Geologi‐calmap of theSydney District,Australia.T.L Willan.1925. T0055.1997.0638. Mapof NewSouth Wales, Aus‐tralia.Departmentof Lands[Australia]. 1915. T0055.1997.0639. Mapof NewSouth Wales, Aus‐tralia.Departmentof Lands[Australia]. 1915. T0055.1997.0640. Mapof Victoria,Australia,rail‐ways,schools, water supply,agriculture.A.W Roberts. 1914. T0055.1997.0641. Mapof Victoria,Australia,rail‐ways, schools, water l i l

y supply, agriculture.A.W Roberts. 1914. T0055.1997.0642. Mapof NewSouth Wales. De‐partment of Lands[Aus‐tralia]. 1914. T0055.1997.0705. Skymap of Hally's cometshowing itsellipticalpatharound thesun andplanets and theirorbits. Publishedby Williams,Brown &Earle Philadelphia,1910. T0055.1997.0706. Map. Flat globeofthe world. E. Peary. 1901. T0055.1997.0718. Mapof Japan, Corea(Korea) andManchuria.Issued by Daily States,New Or‐leans, LA,fromHam‐mond's MapofJapan Corea, &Manchuria 1904. T0055.1997.0726. Mapof sacred geographyof know worldand itspeo‐ples.r.W.Seale,scup. NumbersChap. XXXIII. c. 1750. T0055.1997.0727. Mapof Holy Land dividedinto the12tribesofIsraeland marked with thetravels of JesusChrist, circa 1760. R.W. Seale, sculp. Ca.1760. T0055.1997.0728. Mapof kelp groves of thePaciﬁc Coastand Islandsofthe United States andLower California in 46 sheets. United States Depart‐ment of AgricultureBu‐reau.1912. T0055.1997.0837. Softbound geologicatlas of theUnitedStates, Niagra FolioNew York.Frederick

Sanderson. 1913. T0055.1997.0848. Softbound geologicatlas of theUnitedStates, Ratton -Brilliant -Koehler Folio Mexico -Colorado. Geo‐logicAtlas of theUnited States,Barnesboro- Pat‐tonfolio,Pennsylvania. FrederickG.Clapp. 1913 T0055.1997.0849. Softbound geologicatlas of theUnitedStates, Ratton -Brilliant -Koehler Folio Mexico -Colorado. Willis T. Lee. 1922. T0055.1997.0850. Softbound geologicatlas of theUnitedStates, Min‐neapolis St.Paul, Min‐nesota.Frederick Sandeson.1916. T0055.1997.0851.1- 21. Mapin21sheetsofplan andproﬁle of Colorado River. United States De‐partment of theInterior. 1923 T0055.1997.0858. Mapof theEurailTrain system Unidentiﬁed maker. 1979. T0058.1968. Engraving. Portrait,male, in military uniform,breechesand bicornehat,standingin frontofcannon, on ship holdingout atelescope signatureprinted below Johnson, Fryand Com‐pany T0061.1968. Engraving. Portrait,M.Faraday standing,handontable, otherhandholding nar‐rowwood piece, white hair with center part dark coat,vestand tie, whiteshirt,light pants, signature printed.John‐d g p son, Fryand Company. T0062.1968. Engraving. German GeneralVon Mokte. In military uni‐form double-breasted tunic, holdingornatehat turned slightly, elbowon paperontop of surface, wagon