The Acadiana Advocate 04-15-2025 by The Advocate

Landry focuses on auto insurance

Governor seeks middle ground but faces legislative opposition

BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer

Gov Jeff Landry on Monday pinned the blame for Louisiana’s car insurance crisis on both trial lawyers and insurance companies, saying “a dark cloud continues to linger in the halls of this Capitol” over the issue.

But as Landry opened the 2025 regular legislative session, it was not clear that the 144 House and Senate members sitting in front of him agree with his approach Landry was animated as he gave an unusually long 63-minute speech, pounding the podium and jabbing his ﬁnger for emphasis.

“Year after year after year, we come here to argue about excessive insurance rates,” Landry told lawmakers. “Year after year, people from both sides show up to gaslight us.” But while legislators applauded him while seated from time to time, the two biggest standing ovations he received came from his senior legislative staff and Cabinet seated in one corner of the House chamber

A few House Democrats stood to applaud at one point when Landry said a person’s credit score shouldn’t inﬂuence their insurance rates.

Landry faces opposition from many Republican House members, led by a group of 15 freshmen. They are pushing for changes that would tilt car insurance laws against trial lawyers and their clients in ways that Landry opposes. That is putting Landry at odds with a key part of his political base.

The House leadership is acting quickly on those bills by taking up a batch of them in the Civil Law and Procedure Committee on Tuesday and the Insurance Committee on Wednesday

“We are committed to staying focused on our goal,” Speaker Pro Tem Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, said in an interview He predicted that the two committees would pass most of the bills on those two days and that the full House would take them up next week

Besides the House conservatives, Landry also faces opposition from Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple on some measures that favor trial lawyers

ä See LANDRY, page 4A

Bill would shorten time to executions

Legislation may overhaul post-conviction process

BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer

As the state resumes executions of death row prisoners, a bill in the Legislature aims to cut back on the time people convicted of crimes can spend trying to reduce or overturn their sentences, and it would vest more power over the process with the Attorney General’s Ofﬁce.

The move also comes seven months after state lawmakers took action against Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams over deals he made through the post-conviction relief process to reduce the sentences of long-serving inmates.

Attorney General Liz Murrill, a conservative Republican with a staunch pro-death penalty stance, says House Bill 572 would prevent victims from waiting decades to see justice done She has long

ä See EXECUTIONS, page 4A

BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer

Louisiana coastal damage cases mount against oil industry

Landmark verdict found company liable for $745 million

BY ALEX LUBBEN Staff writer

A landmark verdict holding the oil industry responsible for Louisiana coastal damage was more than a decade in the making. It may only be the beginning of a much

bigger ﬁght.

After a monthlong trial in Plaquemines Parish that ended earlier this month, a jury found Chevron liable for $745 million in damages, which, by law, must be used to restore coastal wetlands.

The company immediately promised to appeal, a stance that Chevron has emphasized in the days since the trial ended.

Perhaps more important than the outcome of this case, however is the fact that it sets a precedent for

the 40 other lawsuits that attorney John Carmouche has ﬁled on behalf of coastal parishes, all seeking damages from oil companies to restore areas along Louisiana’s eroding coastline.

“This is one of the largest verdicts ever won by a local government for environmental damage — not only in the

United States, but globally,” said Michael Gerrard, the founder of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University in New York. “In addition to its effect on the numerous other similar lawsuits pending in Louisiana, it may inspire similar lawsuits in this country and around the world.”

Since 2013, Carmouche has led the charge on 42 lawsuits, each claiming that oil and gas companies polluted areas of the coast and contributed to Louisiana’s land loss crisis. Across the state, more than 2,000 square miles of land has washed away over the

“It’s not the end of anything,” noted Mark Davis, director of the Tulane Center on Environmental Law “It’s almost inevitable that the appeals process will commence. And I think settlement discussions will probably commence, too.”

HILARy SCHEINUK

Gov. Jeff Landry addresses the Legislature on the opening day of the 2025 session on Monday

Speaker of the House Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, gavels in on the opening day of the legislative session on Monday at the State Capitol.

Gen. Caine tapped as Joint Chiefs chair

WASHINGTON Air Force Gen.

Dan Caine has been sworn in as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after a ﬂurry of paperwork was

finished to allow him to fill the job nearly two months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor A formal White House ceremony is expected to take place this week.

In a message to the force posted on the Joint Staff website, Caine said “the most important thing you should know from me is that I trust you. I trust you — to make hard decisions, to persevere in adversity and to do the right thing.”

He added that the U.S. military needs to be properly armed, globally integrated and ready to ﬁght and win the nation’s wars. And to do so, he said, the force must keep pace with technological and strategic changes, foster innovation and be ready to adapt.

Caine, a decorated F-16 ﬁghter pilot and well-respected officer took over on Saturday after Trump signed the necessary documents. He will serve the remainder of the fouryear term of Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr who was fired by Trump as part of a broader purge of military ofﬁcers believed to endorse diversity and equity programs.

Hungary amendment bans LGBTQ+ events

BUDAPEST, Hungary Hungary’s parliament on Monday passed an amendment to the constitution that allows the government to ban public events by LGBTQ+ communities, a decision that legal scholars and critics call another step toward authoritarianism by the populist government. The amendment, which required a two-thirds vote, passed along party lines with 140 votes for and 21 against. It was proposed by the ruling FideszKDNP coalition led by populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Ahead of the vote — the ﬁnal step for the amendment opposition politicians and other protesters attempted to blockade the entrance to a parliament parking garage. Police physically removed demonstrators, who had used zip ties to bind themselves together

The amendment declares that children’s rights to moral, physical and spiritual development supersede any right other than the right to life, including that to peacefully assemble. Hungary’s contentious “child protection” legislation prohibits the “depiction or promotion” of homosexuality to minors aged under 18. The amendment codiﬁes a law fast-tracked through parliament in March that bans public events held by LGBTQ+ communities, including the popular Pride event in Budapest that draws thousands annually

That law also allows authorities to use facial recognition tools to identify people who attend prohibited events — such as Budapest Pride — and can come with ﬁnes of up to $546.

Hamas sending envoys to Qatar for Gaza talks

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip A Hamas official said Monday that the Palestinian militant group is sending a delegation to the Gulf state of Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in Gaza, as the territory’s Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day

The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas free eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. But the Hamas official said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as part of any new deal. The talks in Qatar are meant to take place later this week or next, the official said.

The Hamas ofﬁcial spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media Ofﬁcials from Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment.

El Salvador won’t

send Md. man to U.S.

Bukele, Trump advisers say no basis to return wrongly deported man

BY SEUNG MIN KIM and MARCOS ALEMÁN Associated Press

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s top advisers and Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, said Monday that they have no basis for the small Central American nation to return a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there last month. Bukele called the idea “preposterous” even though the U.S. Supreme Court has called on the administration to “facilitate” Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return Trump administration ofﬁcials emphasized that Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notorious gang prison in El Salvador, was a citizen of that country and that the U.S. has no say in his future. And Bukele, who has been a vital partner for the Trump administration in its deportation efforts, said “of course” he would not release him back to U.S. soil.

“The question is preposterous. How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele, seated alongside Trump, told reporters in the Oval Ofﬁce Monday “I don’t have the power to return him to the United States.”

Should El Salvador want to return Abrego Garcia, the U.S. would “facilitate it, meaning provide a plane,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

But “ﬁrst and foremost, he was illegally in our country, and he had been illegally in our country,” she said. “That’s up to El Salvador if they want to return him

That’s not up to us.”

The refusal of both countries to allow the return of Abrego Garcia, who had an immigration court order preventing his deportation over fears of gang persecution, is intensifying the battle over the Maryland resident’s future. It has also played out in contentious court ﬁlings, with repeated refusals from the government to tell a judge what it plans to do, if anything, to repatriate him.

The judge handling the case, Paula Xinis, is now considering whether to grant a request from the man’s legal team to compel the government to explain why

it should not be held in contempt.

The ﬁght over Abrego Garcia also underscores how critical El Salvador has been as a linchpin of the U.S. administration’s mass deportation operation.

Since March, El Salvador has accepted from the U.S. more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants whom Trump administration ofﬁcials have accused of gang activity and violent crimes — and placed them inside the country’s maximum-security gang prison just outside of the capital, San Salvador That prison is part of Bukele’s broader effort to crack down on the country’s powerful street gangs, which has put 84,000 people behind bars and made Bukele extremely popular at home.

“I want to just say hello to the people of El Salvador and say they have one hell of a president,” Trump said as he greeted Bukele, who was wearing a black mock turtleneck sans tie.

Bukele struck a deal under which the U.S. will pay about $6 million for El Salvador to imprison the Venezuelan immigrants for a year

But Democrats have raised alarm about the treatment of Abrego Garcia and other migrants who may be wrongfully detained in El Salvador Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland is pushing for a meeting with Bukele while he is in Washington to discuss Abrego Garcia’s potential return and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the administration to release Abrego Garcia and others “with no credible criminal record” who were deported to the maximum-security prison.

“Disregarding the rule of law, ignoring unanimous rulings by the Supreme Court and subjecting individuals to detention and deportation without due process makes us less safe as a country,” Shaheen said.

Though other judges had ruled against the Trump administration, this month the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to use the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th century wartime law, to deport the immigrants. The justices did insist that the immigrants get a court hearing before being removed from the U.S. Over the weekend, 10 more people who the administration claims are members of the MS-13 and Tren de Aragua gangs arrived in El Salvador, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday

U.S. Army to control land on Mexico border as part of base

Migrants could be detained, officials say

BY TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A long sliver of federal land along the U.S.-Mexico border that President Donald Trump is turning over to the Department of Defense would be controlled by the Army as part of a base, which could allow troops to detain any trespassers, including migrants, U.S. ofﬁcials told The Associated Press.

The transfer of that border zone to military control — and making it part of an Army installation — is an attempt by the Trump administration to get around a federal law that prohibits U.S. troops from being used in domestic law enforcement on American soil.

But if the troops are providing security for land that is part of an Army base, they can perform that function. However, at least one presidential powers expert said the move is likely to be challenged in the courts.

The ofﬁcials said the issue is still under review in the Pentagon, but even as any legal review goes on, the administration’s intent is to have troops detain migrants at the border The National Security

Council did not respond to a request for comment.

The land transfer is the furthest the Trump administration has gone yet to use the military for border security Up until now, the military’s involvement has been limited largely to helping build or fortify sections of the border wall and operating deportation ﬂights to send migrants back to their home countries or, in some cases, to the detention facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The military also has assisted U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents by conducting surveillance or performing backup administrative tasks.

The corridor, known as the Roosevelt Reservation, is a 60-foot-wide federal buffer zone that ribbons along the border from New Mexico to California, except where it encounters tribal or privately owned land. It had been run by the Interior Department until Trump directed control be transferred to the Defense Department in a presidential memo released Friday night.

For the next 45 days, the Defense Department will test taking control of a section of the Roosevelt Reservation in New Mexico, east of Fort Huachuca, which is an Army installation in Arizona, one of the U.S. ofﬁcials said. During that period, the Army will put up additional fencing and signs warning people not to trespass.

Suspect in Pa. governor’s mansion arson hospitalized

Police: Medical event unrelated to crime

BY MARC LEVY and MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press

HARRISBURG Pa A man who allegedly scaled an iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded police and set ﬁre to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion was in police custody at a hospital after an unrelated medical event, state police said Monday

Cody Balmer, 38, told police he had planned to beat Gov Josh Shapiro with a small sledgehammer if he encountered him after breaking into the building, according to court documents. He was being treated at the hospital, which police said was “not connected to this incident or his arrest.”

A motive for the attack, including whether it had anything to do with Shapiro’s politics or religious beliefs, wasn’t immediately clear

Balmer’s mother told The Associated Press on Monday that she had tried in recent days to get him assistance for mental health issues, but “nobody would help.” She said her son had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. The AP was not able to verify that information.

“He wasn’t taking his medicine, and that’s all I want to say,” Christie Balmer said, speaking at the family home in Harrisburg.

The ﬁre caused signiﬁcant damage and forced Shapiro, his family and guests, including other relatives, to evacuate the building early

Sunday The residence, built in 1968, did not have sprinklers, Harrisburg Fire Chief Brian Enterline said He estimated the damage could be in the millions of dollars.

Balmer, who was arrested later in the day, faces charges including attempted homicide, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault, authorities said. Shapiro said he, his wife, their four children, two dogs and another family had celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover in that very room Saturday night along with members of Harrisburg’s Jewish community They were awakened by state troopers pounding on their doors about 2 a.m. Sunday They ﬂed and ﬁrefighters extinguished the fire, officials said No one was injured.

Balmer had walked an hour from his home to the governor’s residence, and during a police interview “admitted to harboring hatred towards Gov Shapiro,” according to a police afﬁdavit that did not expand on that point Afterward, he returned home, where police said they later found clothing he wore at the time and a small sledgehammer Balmer turned himself in at state police headquarters after confessing to his “exparamour” and asking her to call police, which she did, the afﬁdavit said. Authorities did not say whether he has a lawyer He is expected to be arraigned once he is released from the hospital. Hours after the fire, an emotional Shapiro, who is viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028, said the intruder could not deter him from doing his job or observing his faith.

Fire damage to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion remains after authorities say a man set fire to it Sunday in Harrisburg, Pa

E-Edition: theadvocate.com/eedition Archives: theadvocate.newsbank.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON

President Donald Trump greets El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele as he arrives Monday at the West Wing of the White House in Washington.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Caine

past century.Studies have shownthat oil andgas operations have contributed signiﬁcantly

The case in Plaquemines was the first of Carmouche’slawsuits to go to trial; his team reached a settlement with oil companies for an undisclosed sum of money in Cameron Parish last year

Each lawsuit alleges that oil and gas companies failed to meet their obligations under astate law that went into effect in 1980, which required them to get permits for their operations in the state’scoastal areas. Carmouche’steam argued at trialthatthe companies didn’t receiveor abideby the permitsthat the state required.

Chevron wasaccused of contributing significantly to coastal land loss in the area in which it operated, and not restoring the coast to its original condition. At its core, Carmouche’sargument wassimple: The oil companiesmade amess and didn’t clean it up.

To Davis, the case also suggestsabroader shift in Louisiana’srelationship with the oil and gas industry “The most significant development in thecase is that it happened. It was brought by alocal government, andultimatelythe administration supported it,” he said, referring to the fact that Gov.Jeff Landry’sadministration joined Plaquemines Parish as aplaintiff in the lawsuit.

“Thatsuggeststomethat questioning the practices and legacy of oil and gas activityinLouisiana is no longer the third rail it once was.”

The case has garnered national attention, particularly from conservative public figures and media outlets who have argued that the litigation will drive business outofLouisiana.The Wall Street Journal and Fox

EDUCATION

Continued from page1A

Last month, voters overwhelmingly rejected a jam-packedconstitutional amendment championed by Gov.Jeff Landry that would have, alongside severalother taxpolicy changes, provided funding for teacher pay increases. Now, some lawmakers are proposing bills that would attempt again to revise the constitution in order to fund teacher pay raises. With the sessionset to run through June 12, here are some of key education bills to watch.

Teachers

House Bill 321: Requires teachers to undergo training in how to teach numeracy

House Bill 391: Prohibits the inclusion of certain studenttest scoresinteacher evaluations.

House Bill 466: Requires school systems to provide asalary increasefor teachers andother school employees using savingsthat stem from the paymentof debts related to the Teachers’ Retirement Systemof Louisiana.

Students

House Bill 486: Requires public schoolstooffer amental health assessment to students in fourth through 12th grades at the beginning of each school year

Senate Bill 117: Prohibits the serving and selling of ultraprocessed foods in public schools.

Senate Bill 121: Requires public schools to offer annual mental health screenings for students and notify parentsofavailable resources if students need them.

House Bill 201: Expands student eligibility for participation in the Reading Enrichment and Academic Deliverables program, a state-funded programthat provides free books and other literacy materials for Louisiana kids.

Timeline of oiland gas lawsuits

Since lawsuits were first filed in 2013, oil companieshaveappealed them to federalcourtrepeatedly.

July 2013: NewOrleans leveeauthority fileslawsuit seekingtorecoupdamages from oil firmsfor thedamagetheydid to coastalwetlands. Thelandmarklawsuit is the firstofits kind to seek restitutionfromoil companiesfor coastallandloss.

Nov. 2013: Plaquemines fileslawsuit,represented by Talbot,Carmouche and Marcello,against oilcompanies.They're immediately 'removed'tofederal court.

Dec. 2014: Federaljudge sendsPlaquemines lawsuitbacktostate court.

Feb. 2015: Afederal judgedismisses New Orleans' leveeauthority lawsuit.

Oct. 2017: TheSupreme Courtdeclines to hear appeal on New Orleans' levee authoritylawsuit,dealingita finalblow.

May2018: Oilcompanies appeal parish casestofederal courtfor asecondtime, alleging that oiland gasactivitywas conductedunder federaloversight during WWII

May2019: Federaljudge sendsparishlawsuitsbacktostate courtfor asecond time.Oil companies will appeal

Sept.2019: Talbot,Carmouche,and Marcello settle with oilcompany Freeport McMoRan for$100million

Aug. 2020: U.S. FifthCircuit Courtagain sendsthe parish lawsuits back to state court.

Aug. 2021: Oilcompanies appeal thecases to federalcourt forathird time Dec. 2022: Afederal courtofappeals againdeterminesthe casesbelonginstate court.

Jan. 2023: Oilcompanies appeal ruling to theU.S.Supreme Court, whichdeclines to take thecase, settingthe stagefor thetrial in PlaqueminesParish.

Dec. 2023: Oil firmssettlewithCameron Parish,the firstofthe 42 lawsuits to settle.Details of thesettlementare notmadepublic.

Mar.2025: Trialbeginsinone of thelawsuitsbrought by PlaqueminesParish, the firsttrial in the42cases filedsince 2013

News ran stories critical of thelawsuits

Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr wrote aletter opposing the state’sinvolvement in the lawsuits, which prompted asharp rebuke from Louisiana AttorneyGeneral Liz Murrill, who said while she has “great respect” for Barr,heis“unfortunately wrong aboutthe facts and thelaw” in this case. She stressedthat “Louisiana is and will continue to be aleading energyproducer for the nation.”

Carmouche has said that thelawsuits aren’thostile to theoil and gas industry and hasrejected thenotionthat it would drive business out of thestate.“Our goal from the beginning hasbeen to free the coast of Louisiana of past liability,” he said. “Ifwedon’tget rid of the liability,wecan’tbringin newbusiness.” Still, aresolution in this case, as well as theother

HouseBill 478: Requires informationabout pregnancy, adoption andneonatal care to be postedathealth centers in public high schools and public colleges and universities.

Senate Bill 198: Authorizes nonpublic school students to participatein public school activities.

Testingand curriculum

HouseBill 614: Requires students to attain aminimum ACT scoretograduate high school while prohibiting state-administered, end-ofcourse exams.

HouseBill 243: Adds accountability measures to the LA GATORprogram,the state’s newschool voucherprogram

Senate Bill 105: Requires schools to useanationally recognized assessment in place of Louisiana’sLEAP test for the purpose of school and district accountability

House Bill 52: Requires high schoolerstotake a financial literacy course thatincludes instruction on how toapply forscholarships, grants and other ﬁnancial opportunitiesto pay for postsecondary education.

HouseBill372: Addscomputerscience as ahigh school graduation requirement.

SenateBill180: Establishes a pilotprogram,called FarmEd,that allows for theintegration of controlled environment grow chambers and related curriculum in K-12 classrooms.

Senate Bill 81: Requires parental access to instructionalmaterials in public schools.

TOPS scholarships

HouseBill70: Revises initial academiceligibility requirements for aTOPSTech award.Students are eligible if they meet at least two of three requirements.

HouseBill 77: Revises award amountsfor the TOPS program andadds an awardcategoryfor stu-

coastal lawsuits, is aways off —and so is any future efforttorestoreLouisiana’s coast that might result from Carmouche’slitigation.

Lengthyappeals process

The oil company insisted even afterthe verdictthat the lawsuits are baseless and suggested that it would appealthemall the wayup to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary “Chevron will appeal this verdict to address thenumerouslegal errors that ledtothis unjust result,” said the company’slead attorneyinthe trial, Mike Phillips.

Phillips argued the company was deniedthe opportunity to present evidence it believes would have swayed the jury.Henoted that Chevronsold the oil fieldoperation to another company,which, Phillips said, “was responsible for the condition of the oilﬁeld at the end of operations.”

dents with an ACT scoreof 31 or above.

House Bill 275: Authorizes students whoqualify for aTOPS award but graduate from an out-of-state college to apply unused award amounts to medical or dentalschool in Louisiana. Requiresrepayment unless certain conditions are met.

HouseBill378: Lowers the ACT score required for initial qualiﬁcation for aTOPS award for students who completeapproved home study programs.

Finance

HouseBill 185: Requires districtstosubmit quarterly attendancedatatodetermine howmuchstate funding they receive.

Discipline

HouseBill225: Authorizes public school staff to conducta weaponssearch of students when they enter a school campus.

House Bill237: Updates rules for secluding or physically restraining students with disabilities.

House Bill 384: Updates penalties for students in sixth through 12th grades found in possessionof marijuana or any chemical derivative.

Senate Bill 178: Allows for 14 separate updates to the School Employee Bill of Rights.

Higher education

HouseBill279: Requires studentswho aremembers of certain organizations at a postsecondary institution to complete an anti-hazing course.

Senate Bill202: Transfers the UniversityofNew Orleans to theLSU system

Senate Bill 200: Requiresa cap on athletic scholarships awarded to citizens of aforeign country andplacesrestrictions on international intercollegiate athletes and athletic scholarships.

Email ElyseCarmosino at ecarmosino@theadvocate. com.

But overturning the jury’sverdictcould be along shot, according to legalexperts whohavebeen watchingthe case.

“Theyhave amajor uphill battle on appeal,”said Blaine LeCesne, aprofessor and associatedean at the LoyolaUniversity New Orleans College of Law

“They arefar more likely to settle this case rather than have it go all the way through theappeals process.”

Bill Goodell, aprivate attorney who was previously aLouisiana assistant attorney general for environmental enforcement, also questioned whether theappeals would be successful.

“It’snot unexpected for industry to take an appellate challenge allthe way to theSupreme Courttosee what the law is,” he said. “If it doesn’t go their way, then they go to thelegislature and try to change the law. That’satried andtrue tactic.”

Indeed,lawmakers will consider at least two bills this sessionaimedatlimiting landowners’ ability to ﬁle lawsuits against oil and gas companies over pollution.

Before the case can be appealed,Judge Michael Clement, who presided over the trial in Plaquemines Parish, will have to confirmthe amount of legal interest to be addedtothe jury-awarded damages. That sum could be sizable —Carmouche’s teamhas suggested the damages plus interest could top $1 billioninthis casealone, whichChevron’sattorneys have disputed. It will also be up to Clement to determine how much to awardCarmouche and his team in attorney’sfees.

For acase like this one, which has draggedonfor over adecade, that could also be alarge ﬁgure.

Carmouche emphasized that he’d devoted ahuge amount of time andmoney to the case and had not been paid for his efforts. “I don’t know anybody who’d agree to work for 12 years and notbepaidadollar, while spending amillion dollars to prosecute acase,” Carmouche said. “Some people call me stupid.”

Wherethe moneygoes

Despite the fact that the lawsuitsstandtobring in billions of dollars to the state to restore Louisiana’s eroding coastline,some of the results so far have been kept secret.

One of the cases, in Cameron Parish, hasalready settled.Ajudge has issued an order sealing the details of that settlement.

The Times-Picayune has filed numerous public records requests seeking information aboutthe size of the settlement and the intended use of the funds, but hasnot been successful in obtaining details. Several state agencies have cited the judge’sorder in declining to release the information. “In Cameron, we were

asking for$7billion. That was alarge case,” Carmouche said. “I think it’s fair to assume it settled forover $1 billion.”Hedid notprovide an exact ﬁgure, citing the court’sprotective order,and The TimesPicayune has not been able to independently verify his claim.

TheCoastal Protection and Restoration Authority saidthat the fundswill be deposited intothe state’s coastal trust fund, aconstitutionally protected pot of moneythat can only be usedfor coastal restoration, hurricaneprotection and related spending. The agency didnot say whether it received any funds through this litigation to date, even though there have been settlements.

Carmouchealsonoted that parish governments will have input into which projects the funds are used for,aslong as the uses are alignedwiththe state’s coastal master plan, which is overseen by the CPRA. What is clear,however, is that addressing the land loss crisis will require ahuge sum of money. The coastal master plan calls for$50 billionover 50 years, an amount that does not account for inﬂationand will only rise as the coastline continues to erode.

“If someone’sresponsible fordamage and they violatedthe law, eitherwe make them pay for it or we as taxpayers pay forit,” Carmouche said. “I think thepublichas ﬁnallyrealized, why should we pay for it? We didn’tdoit.”

LANDRY

“I don’tbelieve we’re exactly on the same page,” Temple said in an interview in the Capitol’sMemorial Hall after Landry’saddress.

Temple said he supportstwo bills ﬁled by freshmenlegislators that Landry has told the legislators he opposes.

One is House Bill 435, sponsored by Rep. PeterEgan, R-Covington. It would cap thedamages award for pain andsufferingat$5million. While Louisiana has no cap today,Temple noted that Mississippi’slimit is $1 million

The other one is HouseBill 431 by Rep. Emily Chenevert, R-Baton Rouge, and involves alegal theory known as “modiﬁed comparative fault.”

That bill would make it harder forbig payouts when apportioning blame in an accident where several people are at fault.

Trial lawyers say no evidence exists to show that making it harder for them to sue and winlargepayouts for their clients would actually lower car insurance rates.

“I’mstill waitingfor @JeffLandry,@TimTtemple, and @BlakeMiguezLA to givemethe name of one, just one,large automobile insurance company in Louisiana thatagreestoreduce their rates if any of your laws pass,” tweeted MorrisBart, who operates thebiggest personal injury law firm in Louisiana Miguez is aRepublican state senatorfrom New Iberia.

Landry kicked off his second regular session after suffering his biggest political defeat on March 29 when voters rejected four proposed amendments to the state

constitution

He is also facing skepticism from restive freshmen of what he calls his “balanced” approach on car insurance rates. They are working with Johnson and Rep Gabe Firment, R-Pollock,the House Insurance Committee chair

The governor entered the House chamberMondaytoamoresubdued reaction fromlegislators than ayear ago.

“Wewerecollectively elected to bringchange, reform and arenewed sense of public service to Louisiana’sgovernment,” he said, referringtochanges they adopted last year witheducation,insurance and anti-crime laws.“Ican saywithpride andexcitement we aredoingso.”

In his speech, Landry twice blamed progressivebillionaire George Soros for funding the campaign that defeated the four amendments but has yet to provide theevidence.

Landry also touted his LA-DOGE program, saying it is “eliminating wasteful spending.”

Butthe two Democraticmembers of the task force thathecreated in January —Rep.Adrian Fisher, of Monroe, and Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, of Lafayette —said Monday that thegrouphasn’tmet since The Advocatereported in February that it was not publicly advertising its meetings.

Landry took up carinsurance about two-thirds into his speech, emphasizing repeatedly that he

sides with people who pay high insurance rates, believed to be the steepest in the country

“I travel around Louisiana more than anyone else,and I don’tsee insurance companies or plaintiff lawyers going broke,” he said. “But Isure do see way toomany peopleand businesses struggling ﬁnancially because of both.”

On someissues, Landry sided withinsurance companies and business interests, saying he would sign abill that would reduce how much an injured driver could collect if they didn’thavecar insurance. He also said he supports House Bill 34 by Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, that would allow insurancecompanies in court to

relief

complained that familiesof victims must wait too long to see death row inmates executed due to lengthy appeals processes. In Louisiana, death row inmates have sat in prison fordecades awaiting execution.

“Victims of crime deserve ﬁnality,but our system does not provide it,” Murrill said in astatement. “The decades of inaction perpetuated by lawyers and individuals convicted of heinous crimes and perpetuated by this system is cruel and unjust.”

The bill would apply to all inmates seeking to change theirsentences,not just those on death row Some criminal justice advocates argue the bill would increase the odds thatinnocent people stay in prisonor are executed. Critics also say the bill sets overly harsh deadlines for the post-conviction relief process and could keep peopleinprison under illegal sentences.

“This bill may prevent a factually innocent person from ever getting outof prison,” said JeePark, executive director of the Innocence Project New Orleans, an organizationthat works to exonerateinnocent inmates.

HB572would reshapethe process of post-conviction relief, which defendants use to try to get their sentences shortened or overturned after they have ﬁnished with their direct appeals. They can either raise ﬂaws in the process of theirconviction or argue they are actually innocent of the crime Republican lawmakers already clamped down on post-conviction relief last year,setting strictertimelinesand procedural rules throughAct 10 of the special legislative session on crime. That act also allowed the attorney general to appeal judicial orders granting relief for prisoners.

Thebillwould prevent prisoners who pleaded guilty to crimes fromasserting factual innocence claims.

“If they pleadguilty,they areadmitting to the factual predicate, theyare admitting that they committedthe crimeand they arewaiving allofthese rights to appeal,” Murrill said. “Nobody is required to plead guilty to a crime.”

But Park argues innocent people sometimes take plea dealsand pleadguiltyto crimes to avoid theriskofa harshersentence.

Foraninnocent person whoisfacing life inprison but gets offered a20-year sentence, and who is uncomfortable with risk,“you might be inclined to take the20years instead of life,” Park said.

Acknowledging those concerns, thebill’ssponsor, state Rep. Brian Glorioso, RSlidell, said he wants to pull from the bill the provision that would prevent people who plead guilty from asserting they are innocent

“Our entire systemright nowisstructuredwhere peopleare incentivized to plead guilty to lesseroffenses,” he said. “There are times whenpeopleplead guilty to something they didn’tdo, because they’re facing charges and they don’tfeel they have adequaterepresentation or means” and they wanta lesser sentence.

He expects there will be a lot of changestothe billbefore it goes to aHouse committee forapproval,hesaid.

Glorioso wants to ensure “we’re protectingthose people that have legitimate rights and need to make sure that they’re abletopresent their case and bringnew evidence,” he said. “Wenever wanttohaveany innocent person in jail ever.”

But, Glorioso said, the statealso needstoaddress “abuses in the system”that allow post-conviction relief casestoremainstatic for

long periods of time.

When Louisianaexecuted JessieHoffman Jr.last monthusing nitrogen gas —the state’sfirst execution in 15 years —Murrill saidshe would attempt to “clear the underbrush” on long-dormant death penalty cases. Weeks later,she backed two death warrants for Caddo Parish inmates whose attorneys argued that theystill had not exhausted all of theirpost-conviction appeals.

The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled in favor of the inmates last week, recalling their death warrants and ordering astate district judge to hear their post-conviction reliefclaims before setting execution dates.

Murrill arguedthatitwas an example of the need to change the law

“The state has funded appealsinthese cases with millions of dollarsfor the last 20 years and has little to nothing to show for it,”she said in astatement about theCaddo cases. “This is thereason we need comprehensive reform of post-conviction relief.Lawyers for theseindividuals obtained delay after delay then did nothing.District attorneys and judgeslet these cases falter as well.”

Currently, it’s up to local district attorneys to respond to post-conviction relief petitionsasthey see ﬁt.

For example, Williams, the progressive-mindedNew Orleans district attorney,used thatpower in recent yearsto make deals withhundreds of prisoners, citing shoddy police workorsuspect tactics by prosecutors.

The stricter post-conviction relief rules passedlast year wereexpected to hamper that work, and it is unclearwhetherWilliamshas been able tomake such deals since.A spokespersonfor Williams’ofﬁce didnot return arequest for comment.

If HB572 passes, the attorney generalcould take over any post-conviction re-

liefcase from adistrictattorney, shutting down deals like the ones Williams’ ofﬁce made. She also would automatically get control over post-conviction relief cases for death row inmates.

Currently, theconstitutionprevents the attorney generalfrom intervening in criminal cases unless a districtattorney recuses themselves or givesexpress permission. She does have the authority to intervene in civil cases, and HB572 would move post-conviction relief to thecivil code.

So far,district attorneys have nottaken apublic stance on the bill.

TheLouisiana District Attorneys Association “is reviewingHB572 closely,” said Executive Director Zach Daniels,but has not yet voiced support or opposition.

Thebillwould also set stricter timelines forprisoners seeking post-conviction

challenge whatthey consider to be excessive medical bills forinjured drivers.

But Landry also said studies show insurance companies earn excessive proﬁts in Louisiana and said the companies should not be allowedtorecouptheiradvertising costs in theformofhigher premiums.

Rep. MatthewWillard, who heads the House Democratic Caucus, applauded the governor for urging that “this is notatime to pick sides.”

“We’ve heard promises from the insurance industry forseveral years,” Willard said, but rates have not gone down.

The House DemocraticCaucus is focusedonproviding reliefto Louisiana insurance ratepayers. The caucus has ﬁled legislation that would eliminate the use of credit scores or education attainmentindetermining insurance rates, limit excessive rate ﬁlings by insurancecompanies,bring transparency to insurance companies’ use of algorithms in rate setting, andprovide taxcredits for high property andauto insurance premiums.

Landrysparked concernamong business interests by meeting at a Texashunting lodge twoweeks ago with keylegislators andprominent trial attorneys whomade substantial donations to his campaign.

Landry dismissed the concern in abrief interview after his speech

Monday

“I’ve takenhunting trips and campaign contributions from a lot of people,” he said. “Itdoesn’t mean they’re favoredinany particular way.I just laid out apretty balanced approach.The question is: Can we balance the scales?” Capitol bureau reporter Alyse Pfeil contributed to this article.

All defendants would have to ﬁle within oneyear of a conviction;currently,they have twoyears, and capital defendants have unlimited time, said Cecelia Kappel, an attorney fordeath row inmates.

Defendants would also be required to ﬁle substantive motionsmore frequently, and judges would have deadlinestomakecertain rulings.

Murrill said post-conviction relief procedures “have long been abused.”She argued defense attorneys draw out cases by repeatedly amending post-conviction reliefpetitionstoget around timelimits.

“The delays also do not serve acriminaldefendant’s interest eitherbecause legitimate claims falter from inaction, forgotten on district court dockets for years,” she said.

Murrill also wants to cut back on “shell petitions,” where attorneys file barebones petitions and then return months later to ﬂesh them out. In capital cases, tighter deadlineswould be problematic, saidKappel, as it can take years to get the records necessary fora postconviction application. It couldalso harm averageprisoners without outside resources whostruggle to get the records for their cases,said Park, of theInnocence Project. Though state courts are the first line of appeal for death rowprisoners, they can also ﬁle federalhabeas corpus claimstoreview their sentences. The bill also would prohibit death row inmates from filing applications within oneweek of their execution, aprovision Kappel slammed.

STAFF PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

Rep. Joseph Orgeron, R-CutOff, greets Gov. Jeff Landry, center,asLandry leavesthe House Chamber after speaking on the opening dayofthe legislativesession on Monday.

5.2-magnitudeearthquake shakes Southern California

BY JULIE WATSON Associated Press

SAN DIEGO— A5.2-magnitude earthquake shook Southern California on Monday morning, sending boulders tumblingonto rural roadways outside San Diego, items rattling off shelves andelephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park scrambling to encircle their young. Ofﬁcialsreported no injuries or major damage. The quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, struck at 10:08 a.m., and was centered in San Diego County only acouple miles from Julian, amountain town of about1,500 people that is knownfor its apple pie shops.Itwas felt as far north as Los Angeles County,about 120 miles away The quake was followed by several aftershocks

“I thought the singlepane windows were going to crack because they were shaking pretty good, but

they didn’t,” said Paul Nelson, owner ofa formergold mine that operated in the 1870s in Julian He said some picture frames on the counter at thegift shop fellover at the EagleMiningCo.,but the tunnels that tourists can explore suffered no damage. On Sunday,Nelson said asmaller quake hitwhen about twodozen visitors were touring the defunct mine but everyone stayed calm.Noone wasinside the old mine when Monday’s temblor rocked the ground for alonger time. Transportation officials warned motorists to watch outfor rocks that tumbled downhillsidesand onto roads andhighways, including State Route 76 northwest of Julian. Crews were assessing roadways for potential damage, the California Department of Transportation in San Diego County said. At theSan DiegoZoo Safa-

ri Park, aherd of African elephantswas caught on video running over to protect their young by encircling them during thequake. Elephants have the ability to feel sound through theirfeet, and the behaviorisknown as an “alert circle.”The herd consisting of Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi, and youngstersZuli and Mkhaya, appeared to relax after several minutes, thepark said.

North County Transit Districttrains were delayed so crews could inspect the tracks forany potential damage, spokesperson Mary Doversaidinanemailto The Associated Press. Schoolchildrenwereescorted outside of buildings as aprecaution when the ground started moving, said Capt. Thomas Shoots of the CaliforniaDepartment of Forestry and Fire Protection for SanDiego County He gotashake alertand then started feelingthings rolling and banging.

BY LORNE COOK Associated Press

BRUSSELS Russia on Monday claimedits deadly missile attackonUkraine’s Sumy that killed andwounded scores including children had targetedagathering of Ukrainian troops,while European leaders condemned the attack as awar crime Ukrainian officials have said two ballistic missiles on Palm Sunday morning hit the heart of Sumy,acity less than 20 miles from Ukraine’s border with Russia, killing at least 34, including two children, and wounding 119. It was the second large-scale attack to claim civilian lives in Ukraine in just over aweek.

Asked aboutthe attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s military only strikes military targets Russia’sDefense Ministry saidthe strike targeted a gathering of senior military ofﬁcers andaccusedKyiv of using civiliansasshields by holding military meetingsin the city’scenter. The ministry claimed to killover 60 troops. Russia gave no evidencetobackits claims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for aglobal response to the attack, saying the ﬁrst strikehit university buildings and the second exploded above street level.“Only real pressure on Russia canstop

this. We need tangiblesanctions against those sectors that ﬁnancethe Russian killing machine,” he wroteMonday on social media.

Polish Foreign Minister RadekSikorski, whose country holds theEuropean Union’srotating presidency, called theattacks “Russia’s mocking answer”toKyiv’s agreement to aceasefire proposed by the U.S. over a monthago.

“I hopethatPresident Trump, theU.S.administration, see thatthe leader of Russia is mocking their goodwill, and Ihope the right decisions are taken,”Sikorskitold reporters in Luxembourg, where EU foreign ministersmet

JanRisher

LOUISIANA AT LARGE

Army reachesout with video games

Ms. Pac-Man is more my speed, but last week, Ifound myself playing Mortal Kombatinadark trailer straight out of asci-ﬁﬁlm.

With eerie greenlighting, the trailer had gaming towers, giant surround-style screens and reclining chairs along eachside of the interior.Itwas “equipped with the latest for competitive multiplatform gaming,” according to the U.S. Army On the surface, it’stricked out for fun and an esports fan’snirvana.

Esports —competitive multiplayer video games often played for spectators —may seeman unlikely recruiting tool, but the Army has ﬁgured out that the hand/ eye coordination required for video games is askill that transfers well to defend the country.Video game wizards can transfer their skills to operatingdrones, working with other emerging threats or put them to use in anotherarea of technology

To be clear,the Army will not be recruiting me for my mad video gaming skills.

“These are going to be your buttons thatyou use the highpunch, low punch, high kickand low kick,” Sgt. Scott Brooks explained to me, despite my neverhaving played Mortal Kombatbefore.

WhileMortal Kombat is brutal fantasy,Brooks’ real-world missions have takenhim to places with ﬁrsthand views of unpixelated life and death. Brooks has traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan, Qatar, Kuwait, Italy,Belgium, Cameroon, Germany and more.

Now,he travels with the esport trailer 280 to 310 days ayear

“Before Ijoined, Ididn’teven know you could be aphotographer in the military,” he said as we prepared to play Mortal Kombat.

Once Iwas settledinto arecliner Brooks asked me to pick acharacter “Is this one agood guy?”Iasked. His answer conﬁrmed parallels between video gamesand real life.

“Well, whetherthey’re agood guy or not in the story mode doesn’t matter whenyou’re ﬁghting each other,” Brooks said. “’Cause the goal is to beat the otherperson.You know what I’m saying?”

Itried, but the carnage in the game was so realistic that Icouldn’t force myself to look much.Brooks tried hisbest to give me a ﬁghting chance.

Finally,hesaid, “Miss, you’re going to have to look at the screen if you want to hit me.”

As realistic as the graphics are, the game concept is completely unrealistic regarding life anddeath. After the sergeant would bust my on-screen character’shead into athousand pieces, my character would jump back up and go at it again.

While Icould not ﬁnishthe video game part of the experience quickly enough, many of the students appreciate the fancy video game setup.

Capt. Terron Riggins said the esports trailersheds anew light on the military for some.

“A lot of people just go off what they see on social media and what they see in the movies,” Riggins said. “As far as the gaming opportunities we offerthrough the military,itkind of widens the scope of what they see the Army as.”

In short, Riggins said the concept works. Gaming canopen the door for some kids who may have never consideredthe military —gaming can be agood place to start the conversation. Denham Springs High freshman Christopher Villagomezand his friend William Dupas signed up to play the gamesunder asmall tent near the gaming trailer.Then, the pair climbed the steps into the heavily air-conditioned trailer Once there,Villagomez soundly

Lawmakersseekfederal floodinsurance Budget battlesput programatrisk

BY MARKBALLARD Staff writer

LouisianaHouse

WASHINGTON—

members from both parties have teamed up with aMississippi Republican to trytokeep ﬂood insurance from expiring on Sept 30

Legislation ﬁled Monday would addmore than ayeartothe life of theprogram that providesin-

surancefor damage from rising waters —policies that ﬁnancial institutionsrequire many property owners to buy before agreeing to lend mortgage money.

Filing thebill were Democratic Reps. Troy Carter,ofNew Orleans, andCleo Fields, of Baton Rouge;Republican member Julia Letlow, of Start, whosenortheast Louisiana-based district includes some neighborhoods in

the Baton Rouge area; and GOP Rep. Mike Ezell, whose Mississippi congressional district represents that state’spopulous Gulf Coast.

The House legislation is acompanion to asimilar measure ﬁled by Louisiana’stwo U.S. senators, both Republicans,Bill Cassidy, of BatonRouge, andJohnN Kennedy,ofMadisonville.

Louisiana property owners held about 400,000 food insurance policies as of theend of March, according to FEMA.

Theauthority forthe Federal Emergency Management Agency to oversee the sale of flood insurance policies expired last year.Extensions have been attached to the resolutions that maintain funding forthe government.

In fact,during thepast decade, Congress hadtopass33shortterm authorization extensions to keep theNationalFlood Insurance Program operating. Had

HOLyWEEK BEGINS

ABOVE: Families carrying palms enter during PalmSunday services at the Cathedral of St.John the Evangelist on Sunday.

RIGHT: The Most Reverend J. Douglas Deshotel, bishop of Lafayette, holdsapalm before thePalm Sundayservice.

Work to beginsoon on Swig in Lafayette

Second location planned for youngsville

BYADAMDAIGLE Acadiana business editor

The planned Swigstore could be open by the end of the summer, but it will be the ﬁrst of two locationsinLafayette Parish. Florida-basedfranchisee Chase Herbert was granted a buildingpermit Monday with Lafayette Consolidated Government for the space in The Forum at 4533 Johnston St., Suite100. The project is valued at $100,000. Herbert, whose Swig locations are all in theOrlando, Florida, area, will also open a locationinYoungsville in the

Cane Centre at the roundabout of Bonin Road andMilton Avenue Construction on the Lafayette location will begininMay and could be completebyearly September. Work on theYoungsville location would be later with opening expected for earlynext year,hesaid.

“I’vecome to knowLafayette alittlebit,and I’ve really liked what I’ve seen,” Herbertsaid. “With the people,Lafayette is different thanthe rest of Louisiana —ina goodway.Ijust felt this would be really good in Lafayette and just really madea push to allowcorporate to let us put astore there.”

Swig mixes classicsodas with avariety of syrups,creamsand fruit purees.Its more popular

New Iberia police arresteda 15-year-old in ashooting that lefta 14-year-old dead at the city’s annual Spanish Festival. The boy was arrested Sunday and faces one countofseconddegreemurder, illegal possession of ahandgun by a juvenile and illegaluse of aweapon, according to aNew Iberia Police Department announcement. On Saturday,police responded around 10 p.m. to reportsofa shootinginthe 100 block of West Main Street. Upon arrival, police found a14-year-old victim He was taken to ahospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police were able to identify the suspect through video

surveillance footage of the area. The identity of the victim has not been released. The suspect is being held at ajuvenile facility Man arrested in connection with killing NewIberia police arrested aman in aSaturdaykilling only after theman led authorities on amultiparish chase.

Marklin Reaux,36, wasarrested Saturday and faces one count of first-degree murder, violation of protective orders, possession of Schedule Iand II drugs,aggravated flight from an ofﬁcer and theft of a vehicle, according to aNew Iberia Police Department

STAFF PHOTOSByBRAD KEMP

OPINION

OUR VIEWS

Scandals proliferatein small-town Louisianaasno one watches

Nearly

ﬁve years ago, theLeesville City Council gathered in ameeting alongwithMayor Rick Allen. At that meeting, Allen said that heand thecity manager would be askingthe council to approve alegal settlement ﬁled by apairofdisgruntled city employees. Allen told them thecourthad sealed thecase, so he couldn’tdiscuss it. There was no public notice for the meeting, as is required under the open meetingslaw,nor were anymembersofthe public present.

At its next meeting, days later,the council gave unanimous go-ahead forLeesville’s taxpayers to foota$175,000 settlement. Another $124,000 was paid by an insurance agency connected to theLouisiana Municipal Association

What Allen did not tell theCityCouncil, and what remainedlargely secret until revealed last week by reporter Tyler Bridges in this newspaper,isthat it was agreeing to settle alawsuit broughtbyawoman who alleged thatshe had been sexually harassed by hersupervisor and that for ayear,she had carried on aconsensual relationshipwiththe mayor Allen had never revealed that hewas at the center of the allegations,and it is unclear whetherany councilmemberasked.

This is abreakdownoflocal governmentatits most basic level. No council member objected to thesecret meeting, and they voted unanimously to approve the settlement.

The agenda item that included the settlement was read and approvedina little morethana minute at aSeptember 2020 meeting Leesville’selected leaders showed ashocking disregard for basic principles of transparency and ﬁscal responsibility.For Allen,the reason was clear:tokeepcovered upallegations thathe didn’twant aired. For thecouncil, it waseither laziness, indifference or fear of Allen. None are acceptable explanations

What credit there is shouldgotocouncil member Nicole Ybarra who, after almost ﬁve years, wasatleast willing to speak on therecordto Bridges. None ofthe other cityofﬁcialswould discussthe matter

We can’thelp but note that this might not have happenedhad Leesville had avitallocal paper,asitdid into the 2010s. TheLeesville Daily Leader at one time published ﬁve days per week, and its reporters did not shyawayfrom hard news stories when warranted

Theonly media to report on thesettlement from Alexandria TV station KALB, whichpublished ashort itemand then removeditfromthe station’swebsite earlier this year

The factors that made thispossible in Leesville are not uncommon across Louisiana.Sadly, similarscandals have erupted in recentmonths in DeRidder and Pineville as well.

We know we are always going tohavebad politicians.Inthe absenceofmedia,Louisiana communities rely on elected ofﬁcials to take theirroles seriously.Sadly,that didnot happen in this case.

LETTERSTOTHE EDITOR ARE WELCOME. HERE AREOUR

GUIDELINES: Letters are published identifying name, occupation and/or title and the writer’scity of residence

TheAdvocate |The Times-Picayune require astreet address andphone 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 A LETTER, SCANHERE

Autoinsurance ratesshould notbebased on credit scores

As aretired militaryveteran and Louisiana resident,I’ve always valued fairness and accountability —principles challenged by our state’sexcessively high auto insurance premiums. Louisiana consistently ranks as the most expensive statefor car insurance, signiﬁcantly outpacing our neighbors Mississippi, facing similar hurricane risks, hassubstantially lower premiums, showing storms aren’tthe sole reason for our inﬂated costs. The insurance industry blamed Louisiana’slitigation environment, prompting substantialtortreforms in 1996, 1997, 2003 and, mostrecently,in2020, aimed at reducing premiums. Yet, premiums haven’tdecreased; instead, they’ve continuedrising. Clearly,litigation alone wasn’tthe main driver of our insurance crisis.What’s moretroubling is insurers’

The argument thatparishes should not contributetoclergy abuse settlements is aconvenient way to absolve the laity of responsibility.Itignores afundamental truth: The Catholic Church runs on the ﬁnancial support of itsmembers. Aslong as Catholics continue tithing without demanding real reform,they are enabling an institutionthat has protected predators and fought survivors for decades. The church is not acollection of independent parishes; it is ahierarchical system whereevery priest,bishop and layperson operates under its authority. Abuse happenedinchurches, schools and confessionals —places where Catholics worshipped, donated and trustedchurch leaders to protect them. That trust was betrayed.

The ArchdioceseofNew Orleans,like many others, has fought survivors in court while spending millionsonlawyers and bankruptcy proceedings to shield assets. It has not declared bankruptcy out of repentance —itisa legal maneuver to

use of credit scores to set rates. Unlike driving records or claimshistory,a credit scoreoften reﬂects circumstances unrelated todriving safety.Veterans transitioning to civilianlife, families facing medical debt or workers temporarily unemployed can unfairly experience soaring premiums. Otherindustries —employment, housing, lending —already limit credit-based discrimination. It’stimeLouisiana’s Legislatureand insurance regulators mandate insurers to base premiums on actual driving behaviorand claimshistory,not economic proﬁles.

If tort reform didn’tdeliver relief, addressing discriminatory credit-based pricing may ﬁnally bring fairness to Louisiana drivers.

WAYNE HORNING Prairieville

limit ﬁnancial accountability. If the laity wantstrue reform, it must stop funding the church’sdefense against justice. Some claim settlements will “destroy” the church. Nonsense. TheCatholic Church has survived warsand ﬁnancial crises. What truly threatensitisthe moraldecay of prioritizingwealthover justice. If Catholics believe in justice, they must act.Donot donate to achurch that refuses transparency.Donot fund bishops who cover up abuse. Do notenable an institutionthat treats survivors as liabilities.

The only language the Church hierarchy understands is money.Until it stops protecting itself at the expense of victims, Catholics mustwithholdtheir ﬁnancial support.Justicewon’t come through emptyapologies —itwill come when the laity refuses to bankroll corruption. Stop tithing until real changehappens. SCOTT “ALEX” PEYTON Opelousas

As manyofusrunners prepare for the fun annual Crescent City Classic 10K in New Orleans on Holy Saturday,April 19, Ifondly recall running in the first event, held in 1979 ,when Iwas fast,and it used to end at the wonderful Audubon Park. As Ilook forward to the upcoming CCC (I’m nowa“slow mode runner” and the race nowhas its finish in the beautiful CityPark.), Iwant to thankall the friendly Esplanade Avenue onlookers whoprovide freerefreshments to us geezers as we strive to finish ourstrides. And there are many charitable agencies that benefitfrom theCCC, so whatever your agemay be,pleaseparticipate in this great health promotionalevent KEITH HORCASITAS Baton Rouge

It’stime to ﬁle my 2024 tax return, and Ihaven’treceived my tax refund for my 2023 ﬁling. In July 2023, Idownloaded the IRS2Go app to inquire about my refund status. It stated that my tax return has been received and is being reviewed. By September, Istill had not received my refund, so Iwent to the app again and was told the same thing. This time I asked to speak with an agent. After holding for several minutes, I was told that my refund was being reviewed and no other information was available. Since Iinquired with an agent, Iwas told that Ihad to wait 180 days before inquiring again if Ihad not received my refund. If Iinquired before 180 days, the 180-day wait would start over On March 30, Icalled that same number and extension and spoke with an agent who told me to call that same number and use adifferent extension, whichshe gave me At that number and extension, an agent gave me adifferent number to call. Arecording at this number directed me to the same number and extension with whichIbegan this process, so Irequested and got to speak with an agent. After several minutesand being put on hold three times, this agent informed me that she had put in arequest that Ireceive my refund or receive acall with another agent to discuss my claim.This could take up to 90 days, and if Ihaven’treceived my refund or acall within 90 days, I should call again. An hour and a half on the phone and the problem is unresolved. This is why we need DOGE. BUTCH POLITO Hammond

Rosa Parks was notprotesting the bus. Gandhi wasnot protesting the food. Colonists were not protesting tea. Players are not protesting the ﬂag or the anthem Palestinian supporters are not protesting the Jews.

They are all protesting injustice. MARYLARSON Baton Rouge

SidEdwards’newness is agoodthing

Three months in, Sid Edwards is still apolitical rookie.

The coach-turned-candidate-turnedmayor-president has gone from leading his Istrouma High football team into theplayoffs last fall to running thestate’smostpopulous parish, ajob with its share of pitfalls —and political pitbulls —just waiting for him to stumble.

Faimon Roberts

They didn’thave to wait long. It took Edwards just over amonth to stumble into a ﬁght when he proposed aplan to rededicatethe library millage to help pay for police raises. It was abad plan, and Edwards’ rollout made it appear asifhewas asking voters to choose between cops or libraries. Edwards’ response is worthnoting. And —Iknow this is apipe dream— emulatingbyother leaders.

Faced with immediate blowback,Edwards recalibrated his plan, eventually coming to acompromise with library leaders. And when he sat down to talk about his term so far,hetook responsibility for how it played out.

“That was on me,” Edwardstold The Advocate’sPatrickSloan-Turner for a story reflecting on his first 100days in office. “Me being arookie andputting it out there there’salearningcurve.”

Think about that. An elected ofﬁcial worked with his opponents to ﬁnd a compromise, then took the blamehimself.

Faced withthat same scenario —a negative reaction from constituents —Edwards could have doubleddown. He could have warned of the chaos and cuts that would hit the Baton Rouge Police Department if voters didn’t go along with his plan. He could have loudlytrumpeted his electoral “mandate” and tried to cow other ofﬁcials into toeing the line. He could have pointed the ﬁnger at his political enemies for stirring up trouble.

Those are all well-known moves, used by far more seasoned politicians than Edwards. After voters resoundingly beat back four constitutional amendments that Gov.Jeff Landry championed, for example, the governor blamed “far-left liberals” and“George Soros” for the defeat.

Never mind that the coalition that opposed theamendments included liberals, yes, but alsoplenty of conservatives. No one would call Woody Jenkins, who chairsthe East Baton Rouge Republican Party,aSoros operative. One of the amendmentseven failed in St.TammanyParish, not exactly abastion of leftist thought. This playbook is not party-speciﬁc. Democratic New OrleansMayor LaToya Cantrellhas routinely reacted with disdain toward theall-Democratic New Orleans City Council and any others she perceives as challenging her leadership.

Edwardsdidn’tdoany of that. Not only did hetake the blame for how the planwas rolled out, he also credited library leaders for coming to the table.

“This part ended very well withus working together,” he said. Maybe thereason Edwards has reacted so differently than others is because he’snot been in politics for very long. He was an outsider candidate who actually won. Now he’sa newbie mayor-president And certainly,these ﬁrst few months have beenacold-water baptism. The reason Edwards put forward the library planinthe ﬁrst place is that East Baton Rouge Parishisfacing a

yawning budget gap estimated at $40 million-$50 million due to theformation of the city of St. George. Edwards didn’tcreatethe problem,but now he has to solve it.His ﬁrst pass was not a good one, but credit tohim for adjusting on the ﬂy.

With Edwards, it’seasy to makefootball analogies. He makes them himself, frequently

In this case, he took over ateam already facing adeﬁcit, and then he took amajor loss in one of the ﬁrst games in theseason.

Butheresponded like acoach, not a politician. Coaches know you will take the“L” everynow and then. It’show you respond to it that will define your tenure. Edwards didn’tlash out at nameless boogeymen or malevolent forces at work. He looked at himself, figured out what he and his team could do better, and then went out and did it. Whether or not you agree with his final proposal, theway he has handled this is worth respecting.

The question is whether other elected ofﬁcials will adopt this winning strategy

Faimon A. Roberts III can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com.

Congress needsa SupremeCourt jolt to rein in arampant presidency

AMadisonian moment has arrived Power vested in the judiciary by the Constitution’sArticle III might yet prod Congress into exercising itsatrophied Article Ipowerstorestrain today’srampant presidency,whose Article II powers can only be checked by the courts, and by aCongress reinvigorated by the courts. This processmight advance when the Supreme Court considers the constitutionalityof ararely noticed item in your phone bill. The Federal Communications Commission hopes the court willoverturn an excellent appellate-courtruling about some FCC mischief. Until antitrust policy in the1980s ended AT&T’smonopoly of telephone services, Congress encouraged “universal” telecommunications service by allowing AT&T to charge extra-high rates to urban customersinexchange for also serving high-cost rural customers. After AT&T’sbreakup, Congress mandated vague “mechanisms” to advance universal service but did not stipulatehow the FCC should ﬁnance these mechanisms.

Taking Trump seriously

President Donald Trumpsays he’s“not joking” about possibly running forathird term

But the Constitution clearly forbids such a move. So what’sgoing on?

It’s hard to know what Trumpisreally thinking. But here is what he’scertainly not joking about: ruling as if all the guardrails designed to restrain presidential power, including the Constitution, do not exist.

tribution” amounts, which contribute to your phone bills.

Validating George Orwell’sdictum that “thegreat enemy of clear language is insincerity,” theFCC says “fees” make up what it mincingly calls the “contribution factor.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the5th Circuit, with Judge Andrew S. Oldham writing for the majority,briskly says: “Wecall it what it is” —a tax

George Will

The FCC chose to levy “contributions” (beware suspiciously delicate language) from telecommunications carriers for aUniversal Service Fund to be distributed to schools, libraries, health care facilities and low-income individuals. The FCC delegated the administration of all this to aprivate company: the Universal Service Administrative Co., managed byrepresentatives of “interest groups affected by and interested in universal service programs.”

The USAC is composed of representatives of private, for-proﬁtcarriers eager for Universal Service Fund subsidies to expand universal service programs. The USAC decides the“con-

The power to tax is, Oldham writes, “a quintessentially legislative power” that cannot be delegated.Here it is doubly delegated:tothe FCC, its discretion not inhibited by intelligible principlesarticulated by Congress, and then to anongovernmental entity,the USAC, which has a financial incentive to see that universal service subsidiesgrow Unsurprisingly,the Universal Service Fund tax rate has increased ninefold since 1998, and the almost $10 billion raised by the tax in 2021 was nearly 20 times the FCC’sannual budget So,amultibillion-dollar social programis operated outside thecongressional appropriations process. And without any semblance of supervision by an executivebranch agency:“Contributions” assessed by the USAC take legal effect, without formal FCC approval,unless the FCC objects within 14 days, which had never happened before this litigation. Imagine, writes Oldham,Congress saying: “The defense budget is whatever Lockheed Martin wants it to be, unless Congress intervenes to revise it.” Oldham, who is 46 and merits promotiontoahigher court, notes that Congress’s amorphous language hardly guidesthe FCC: It is to raise “sufficient”funds to advance “universal service,” which Congress left undefined. This, says Oldham,amountsto

the“suggestion” that the FCC exact as much tax revenue as the FCC thinks is good. Cellphone use is inelastic because it is “essential to participation in the modernworld.” Andusers are, Oldham wrote, “subject to amultibillion-dollar tax nobody voted for.The size of that tax is defacto determined by atrade group staffed by industry insiders.”

Today,Congress is evidently unembarrassed about being mostly aspectator in thebleachers at the game of government. Anditprobably regretsthe court’smajor questions doctrine, which is: If Congress intends to authorize executive agencies to make decisions with large economic and political consequences, it must clearly say so. The court can further discomﬁtCongress, constructively,bycurbing itspower to delegateits core powers.

The vexing problem, inescapable when power is vested in asingle executive, is how to circumscribe his or her discretion. Hence, thetitle of Harvard political philosopher Harvey C. Mansﬁeld Jr.’s1989 study of executive power: “Taming the Prince.” Today’s challenge is to “recage the executive lion,” says University of Virginia law professor Saikrishna Prakashin“The LivingPresidency” (2020).

The tamingand recaging will advance if oral argumentspersuade the court to limit Congress’sdelegation of its legislative powers to executive agencies and, especially,todisapprove double delegation to privateentities. The court has rightly called this “delegation in its most obnoxious form.” The presidency will cease casting a dark shadow across the nation only if Congress ceases to be ashadow of its former self.

Email George Will at georgewill@washpost.com.

The latest example of his drive fordomination is an executive order requiring voters to prove their citizenship while curtailing their right to vote by mail. This is an invidious answer to an invisible problem.Voter fraud barely exists, and it is already afelony.But Trumpisfollowing the classic tyrant’splaybook: Create afraudulent problem and use it to justifyanextremecounterattack.

“The president’sexecutive order is an unlawfulaction that threatens to uproot our tried-and-tested election systemsand silence potentially millions of Americans,” said Danielle Lang, senior director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center,which has already moved to block Trump’sorder in federal court. “Itissimply not within the president’sauthority to set election rules by executive decree, especially when they would restrict access to voting in this way.”

This is aproven strategy followed by many autocrats Trumpadmires, strongmen whohave trashed legal obstacles to maintain their grip on power: Russia’sVladimir Putin (20 years), Hungary’sViktor Orban (15 years) and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan (11 years).

“It’sworth considering whyTrumpcontinually praises dictators,” historian Ruth BenGhiat wrote forCNN on the eve of the election. “Someofitisnodoubt Trumpairing his fantasies of the kind of authority he could exert as president. He praises Hitler,Chinese leader Xi, Russian President Putin and others because of their absolute power,not in spite of it.”

Indeed, Trumpattimes sees himself as a divinely ordained monarch, not just an elected leader.Heoften boasts about being chosen by God,after his narrow escape from an assassin’sbullet. He eagerly shared afake magazine cover of himself wearing agolden crown and grinning broadly at the tagline, “LONGLIVE THE KING.”And he’sposted this on social media: “He whosaves his Country does not violate any Law.”

Over the years, Trumphas talked frequently about running forathird term.His allies have usually dismissed it as aclever trolling trick, designed to irritate foes and generate attention, and that’sobviously part of his motivation now Afew words to NBC’sKristen Welker andthe wholepolitical world wentnuts.

There’salso the lame-duck problem that plagues all second-term presidents. As their power to reward friends and punish enemies diminishes, so does their leverage. If folks fear athird Trumpterm, that might slow the decline of his inﬂuence. And remember: Trumpisareality TV star One key to success in that format is maintaining suspense, and here’sthe president playing his part to the hilt after the election: “I’ve raised alot of money forthe next race that I assume Ican’tuse formyself,but I’mnot 100% sure because Idon’tknow.I think I’mnot allowed to run again. I’mnot sure. Am Iallowed to run again?” All good fun. Until it’snot. As this CNNheadline put it: “Trumpsounds dead serious about athird term,nomatter what’sinthe Constitution.” He told NBCthat “there are methods” he could employ to defythe law,but he did not elaborate.

Steve Bannon, alongtime Trumpconfidant, was moreexplicit on NewsNation, saying: “I’m a firm believer that President Trumpwill run and winagain in 2028.” When host Chris Cuomo asked fordetails, Bannon replied: “We’re working on it. Ithink we’ll have acouple of alternatives.” It’s timetotake Trumpseriously,warns Susan Glasser,aNew Yorker writer whohas studied Putin’srise to power in Russia. “Don’t underestimate Donald Trump’swillingness not only to socialize the unthinkable in American politics, but actually to act on it,” she told CNN. “What’sreally remarkable here is the willingness to flout the law,totest the basic normsof settled governance.” Altering the election law is only one of those tests. So are Trump’scalls to impeach judges and ice out law firmsthat dare to thwart him We don’tknow yet if Trumpisserious. But if he does aspire to run again, this is exactly what he’d be doing: using his power to tear downthe barriers that might stand in his way.

Email Steven Roberts at stevecokie@gmail. com.

Steve Roberts

STAFF PHOTO By HILARySCHEINUK East Baton RougeMayor-PresidentSid Edwards mingles before thestart of anews conference last month at CityHall in downtown Baton Rouge.

Congress failed to pass any of the contentious government funding bills —several times they have comewithin hoursofit— it would halt flood insurance policiesfrombeing issued or renewed, which in turn could shutdown real estate actions.

According to the National Association of Realtors, alapse of NFIP could impact1,360home sale closings daily,translating to approximately41,300 affected monthlytransactions nationwide.

Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noemhas said she wants to close FEMA and move many of its major functions to state governments. FEMA has moved to lay off personnel and hasended one pre-disaster mitigation grant programand paused taking applications for another Noem heads apresidential task force with an eye on recommending changes to FEMA’s operations, funding, duties and mission.

Cartersaidthis bill would lock in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program through 2026

SWIG

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without furtherlegislative action needed.Should both chambers of Congress approve thebill, and President DonaldTrump sign it, flood insurance would remain operational while Congress works to “strengthen and modernize” the program.

Carteraddedthe bill is astraight-up reauthorizationthat would allow “uninterrupted access to ﬂoodinsurance across the country.”

“Givenour state’shistory with extreme weather events,wemustensure that flood insurance remainsaccessible to all,” Fields said. Ezell, R-Pascagoula, said passage of theact would deliver stabilityincommunities that arebeing impacted more and more by severe weather.

“For far too long, families, businesses, and entire communities along ourcoasthavelived with the uncertaintycaused by short-term extensions of the National Flood Insurance Program,” Ezell said. Lou i sia na le ad ers praisedthe idea

“A two-year reauthorizationwill provide a runway for Congress and stakeholders to hold conversationsand hearings around catastrophic insurance and towards highly demandedcompre-

hensive NFIP reform, like ameans-testedbenefitfor affordability,a third-party review of the Risk Rating 2.0methodology,and proper incentivization of flood risk mitigation,” said Michael Hecht, president of New Orleans businessand economic development organization GNO Inc In RiskRating 2.0, Hecht is referringtothe new premium-setting system Congresswanted FEMA to implement. Taxpayers havetopick up thecosts when the flood insurance funds areexhausted.

The goal of Risk Rating 2.0 is to better align the cost of policies with the covered property’slikelihood of flooding. Those rates have been lower for manypolicyholders, but aresignificantly higher for others in closer to the Gulf Coast —including many in Louisiana.

“For many Louisianans, ﬂood insurance is notjust apolicy —it’salifeline,” Letlowsaid in astatement. “Giventhe frequent storms and flooding our state endures,I’m astrong advocate for renewing the National Flood Insurance Programand making sure it serves those who depend on it.

Email Mark Ballard at mballard@theadvocate. com.

RISHER

Continuedfrom page 1B

defeated Dupas in Mortal Kombat. Between classes, Villagomez came forthe games not theArmytalk —but he left thinking about both. Norma De Leon, ajunior at Denham Springs High, entered thetrailerasthe freshmen were leaving. De Leon said shehas already decided to join themilitary.She wants to workinthe medical ﬁeld. Her friend Carter Heggins joined her forthe video games.Hesaid he’sconsideringjoining themilitary too —and that he loves to play video games “I’m anerd,”Heggins said Meanwhile, camouﬂageclad soldiers stood along the edge of theshadows of the small tent outsidethe trailer, waiting for other studentsto approach.

Obituaries

Abarbellwas in the center of the tent. Oneofthe soldiers explained thatrecruits need to be able to deadlift at least 150 pounds. Another soldier made acomment abouta woman in adress and heels trying to deadlift andIcouldn’tresist trying.

So, Idid. Turns out,brutestrength may be more my military asset thanpixelatedpunches. Like the students, Icame for the experience and left with questions —about war, work andthe strange places conversations begin.

Management,retiringas

options include theDr Spice, which includes Dr Pepper,cinnamon, coconut, cinnamon stick, and half and half; the Cinnamon Cider,which features ginger ale, lemonade, cinnamon, apple and cinnamonstick; andthe Autumn Blush, which features a blend of water,mango puree, apple, raspberry and vanillacream Swig traces itsroots backtosouthern Utahand the Mormon community, which requires members to refrainfrom hotcaffeinated products like coffee and tea, reports indicate, leaving thedoor open for cold caffeinated beverages.

CRIME

Continued from page 1B

announcement. On Saturday, police responded around 9a.m. to ahome in the 200 block of Pollard Avenueinreferencetoa welfare check. Upon entering,the body of an unidentiﬁed man was discovered. Further investigation ledpolice tolearn the victim’svehiclehad been taken off the property.Police said the vehicle was laterfound being driven by Reaux along West Main Street and Landry Drive at 10:19 a.m. Police attempted atraffic stop and Reaux sped off. The chase lasted several miles and ended on Poydras Place in Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parishafter apolice unit disabled the vehicle Reaux was arrested shortly after without incident.

It was later discovered that Reaux and the victim were related.

Agencies assisting with the pursuit included the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce, St. Martinville Police Department and Breaux Bridge Police Department.

Reaux is being held at the Iberia Parish Jail with bail set at $10.15 million.

Ex-school leader faces charges

Aformer Comeaux High administrator is facing

more charges after an undercover investigation led by theLafayette Police Department’snarcoticsunit. James Corkisfacinga charge of obscenity and sexualbattery after the investigation, police spokespersonSgt. Robin Green said.His arrestwas not relatedtoa juvenileand did not involve the school, she said.

The narcotics unit launched an undercover operationtoinvestigatereported lewd acts and drugactivity on March20after multiple complaints, Green said.

Corkwas arrested atthat timeand booked on acount of obscenity.OnSaturday morning, he was booked into the Lafayette Parish CorrectionalCenter on a count of sexual battery

The 47-year-old bonded outofthe correctional centeronSunday morning, according to jail records.

Cork was placed on administrative leaveFeb. 13 forreasonsunrelated to his arrest,aLafayette Parishschool system spokesperson said. He resigned on Friday Cork previously was an assistant principal at Breaux Bridge Senior High andaformer assistantbanddirectorat Lafayette High, accordingtoaFacebook page that appearstobelongto Cork.

Washington man arrested in shooting

An arrest hasbeen made in aSt. Martinville

“It seemed to be something fun and trendy,” said Herbert, aUtah native who also ownsCrumbl Cookiefranchises. “We ﬁnd thatpeople gravitate towarditmultiple times aweek. Ithink themenu has such awide variety, and it keeps people coming back.”

shooting and crash that leftone person dead and threeothershospitalized, including the shooting suspect.

Michael Zachary Jr., 19, of Washington, was alreadyincustody Thursday when he was booked on acount of second-degree murder,according to the St. MartinParish Sheriff’s Ofﬁce

The personkilled in theshootingwas 20-yearold Javeuin Williams, of Breaux Bridge Investigatorssaidthe shootinghappened about 10:15 p.m. March22inthe 1600 block of Smede Highway Police said Zachary ﬁred shots into acrowd after an argument broke out between several people, leaving Williams dead and two othersinjured, before driving off.

According to deputies, Zachary was involved in acrash with another vehicle ashort timelater He was taken to ahospital for the injuries he suffered in the crash and waslater booked on a count of possession of illegal weapons, deputies added.

13,

EthelHazel Leger, 92. Visitation willbeon Tuesday, April 15, 2025, from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm and resumes on Wednesday, April16, 2025, from 10:00 am until the CatholicFuneralService at 1:00 pm. Online obituary and guest bookmay be viewedatwww.fountainm emorialfuneralhome.com. Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1010 Pandora St. 337-981-7098 is in chargeofarrangements.

LeaNewsom, 72, passed away peacefullyathis home in Lafayette, LA, surroundedbyhis loving family after acourageousbattlewith liver cancer Alifelongoutdoorsman, Leafound joyin huntingand fishing. He cherished thepeace of life on thewater.For him, it wasneverabout thecatch, butthe time spentwith familyand friends. He oftensaid,"That's whythey call it fishingand not catching!"

Leahad avibrantpersonality, asharp sense of humor, and nevermet a stranger. He enjoyedcard games, Dominoes, andthe One-Armed Bandit. There wasn't acasinohedidn't enjoy!Hehad asuccessful career in SupplyChain

Director of International Procurement for Global Industries after years of travelingthe worldand making friends everywhere. He is survived by his wife, Lisa Sarradet Newsom; children: Christopher (Natalie),LauraBroussard (Cullen), and Patrick (Alyssa); brother, Jess (Janet); and eightgrandchildren: Tyler, Braeden, Emma, Harrison, Quentin Jacques, Sutten, andC.J. He waspreceded in death by hisparents, "Bob" and Emma "Lou" Newsom. Serviceswill be held at St.Johnthe Baptist Catholic Church in Brusly on Wednesday, April 16, with visitation beginning at 9:30 AM andMass at 11:00 AM with burialtofollowinchurch cemetery Celebration of Life meal at theBrusly Lion's Den, 202 E St Francis St.at12:15 PM. Thefamilyextends heartfelt thanks to all who visitedLea in his final months. Special gratitude to Hospice of Acadiana andCalcutta House,and thestaff at OurLady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center

STAFFPHOTO By JANRISHER

Norma De Leon and Carter Heggins, juniors at Denham Springs High School,try theirhand at Mortal Kombat in the U.S. Army’sesports travelingtraileronThursday.

Newsom, Calvin Lea

Leger,Ethel Hazel

Pelicans fire Griffin after21-61 season

BY RODWALKER Staff writer

The New Orleans Pelicans are making a change at the top. The Pelicans ﬁred executive vice president of basketballoperationsDavid Grifﬁn, the team announced Monday

“After considerable thought and evaluation, Ihave decided to relieve David Griffinofhis duties as executive vice president of basketball operations,” Pelicansowner Gayle Benson said in astatement. “This was adifficult decision, butone that Ifeel is necessary at thistime to bring afresh approachtoour front office andbuild aculture that will deliver sustainable success, on and off the court.”

The firing came afterthe Pelicans concluded adisappointing seasonSunday with aloss to the Oklahoma Cityatthe Smoothie King Center.The Pelicans finished 21-61, the second-worstrecord in an 82-game season in franchise history.The 2004-05 team finished 18-64.

Grifﬁnspent six seasons in charge ofthe team’sbasketball operations after replacing

BY MATTHEW PARAS Staff writer

7P.M.

The New Orleans Saints are at an interesting crossroads when it comes to thelinebacker position. Demario Davis, their35-year-old longtime star,arguably started to show his age last season, even while playingatanoverall productive level. Pete Werner,their otherstarter,doesn’t fill up the stat sheet —hefailed to record aninterception or a sack— butthe Saints badly missed his presence in the four games he sat out because of an injury. Even so, the pair’splay badlywas overshadowed by what Zack Baun did in Philadelphia. The Eagles linebacker was aDefensive Player of the Year finalista year removed from sitting on the bench in New Orleans. The mixed results put the Saintsina spot in which linebacker isn’tadesperate need, though it would be understandable if the franchise tries to add more talent. Let’s take alook at this year’slinebacker classand see who might be an option forthe black and gold. Can the Saints find the next Baun?

SPORTS

NEWPAINT JOBS

BY REED DARCEY Staff writer

On Thursday, theLSU women’s basketball team held its annual banquet for fans and boosters. Nine players showed up. Amongthemwas Jersey Wolfenbarger,a 6-foot-5 forwardwho drewacompliment in aspeech by universitypresident William F. Tate IV He saidhewas eager to see howWolfenbarger would develop hergame. Now Tate will have to watch anotherteam to ﬁnd out the answer Not even aday later, Wolfenbarger entered the transfer portal, only heightening the need for coach Kim Mulkeyand herstaff to overhaultheir frontcourt. The Tigers have so far lost seven contributors from their2024-25 team,and ﬁve of themplayedinthe post. Tworan outofeligibility,and three hit the portal. Mulkey must nowgive agroupcomprised entirely of newcomers themost important responsibilities in hersystem. Defensive rebounding. Offensive rebounding. Help defense. Rim protection.

UnpackingLSU’s lost

BY KOKI RILEY Staff writer

The end of LSU’sseven-game road trip couldn’thave come sooner.

LSUgot swept for the ﬁrst timethis seasonover the weekend by Auburn, falling 8-4 on Friday,4-2 on Saturday and3-2 on Sunday

Here are ﬁve takeaways from the sour ﬁnish to theroad stand. What’s up with thebats?

Jay Johnson didn’tsugarcoat it.

TheLSU position players didn’thave a good weekend, driving in only eight runs in three games and committing multiple mistakes defensively

“It’sa collection of issues,” the LSU coach said. “It’spretty hard 37 games in to be critical of anything the position player group hasdone, (but) we were notvery good this weekend and we will be better.”

The lack of production at the plate was the most startling aspect of their performance. LSU had just four hits on Sunday, oneextra-basehit on Saturday and three hitsthrough the ﬁrst six innings on Friday Fly outs were aconstant problem. LSU

ﬂew out 38 times across the series, including in 15 at-bats Saturday.Johnsonbelieves his hitters expanded the strike zone on too many occasions, swinging at balls or pitches they couldn’tdrive.

That’swhat Johnson thought happened during the ﬁfth inning of Sunday’sgame when LSU had runners on second and third with nobody out and couldn’tscore.

“The pitchers are good enough where, if you help them out, it’sgoing to make their job easier,” Johnson said. “And we just didn’t have thecaliber of at-batswe needed, that we’ve gotten this year.”

Good bullpen showing Lost in the shufﬂeofLSU’s struggles at the plate, the bullpen arguably had its best weekend of the season. Against an Auburn lineup that didn’t have muchtrouble roughing up the LSU starters, the bullpenallowedjust one earned run in 122/3 innings in the series. LSU relievers not named Zac Cowanor

ANALYSIS

STAFF FILE PHOTO By DAVID GRUNFELD Pelicans executivevice president of basketball operations David Griffinwas fired on Mondayafterthe second-worst seasonin the franchise’s history.

LSUcoach Kim Mulkey

Play-in teams seek path to playoffs

Fifth full season of the NBA tournament

starts on Tuesday

BY TIM REYNOLDS AP basketball writer

Steve Kerr, the basketball fan, raves about the play-in tournament and the drama that it creates down the stretch of the NBA’s regular season and leading into the ofﬁcial start of the playoffs. Kerr, the basketball coach, doesn’t like it so much.

“I haven’t loved it because we’ve been on the wrong end of it,” said Kerr, the Golden State Warriors coach. “We’re 0-3 in these play-in games. And so, you ﬁnish in the top eight, you feel like you should be in the playoffs. On the other hand, it’s been great for the league. If you’re eighth and-or seventh, well, you had 82 games to do better — and you didn’t do better.”

This is where the Warriors — and seven other teams now ﬁnd themselves. They’re in the postseason. They’re not in the playoffs. And six games this week all will have either a playoff berth, season elimination, or both on the line

The ﬁfth full season of the NBA’s play-in tournament starts Tuesday: No. 7 Orlando hosts No. 8 Atlanta in the Eastern Conference, and No. 7 Golden State hosts No. 8 Memphis in the Western Conference.

The winners of those games make the playoffs with the MagicHawks winner earning the chance to play Boston and the WarriorsGrizzlies winner off to play Houston For Tuesday’s losers, all is not lost. The Magic-Hawks loser will host either No. 9 Chicago or No. 10 Miami on Friday in an elimination game to see who faces No. 1 Cleveland in the East, while the Warriors-Grizzlies loser hosts either No. 9 Sacramento or No. 10 Dallas to see who’ll take on No. 1 Oklahoma City in the West.

The Chicago-Miami and Sacramento-Dallas games are Wednesday. The losers of those games are eliminated.

“You want to be mindful that you don’t over-clutter the mind,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’re at our best when we have great clarity And we know what our game is at this point. We know what their game is. We’ve played them three times in the last two months. So, we will do a little bit more prep than a normal regularseason game but I don’t want over-saturation of information to slow us down.”

The play-in tournament started in the Walt Disney World bubble in 2020, a way to even out an uneven schedule that year The only game

was Portland-Memphis to decide the ﬁnal playoff spot in the West; Portland won to grab the No. 8 position.

The full tournament started a year later Home teams are 17-7 in those games, which is a good sign for Golden State, Sacramento, Orlando and Chicago

Play-in past performances

Of the eight teams in this year’s play-in tournament, six have been there before. Atlanta is 3-1 in past play-in games, Memphis is 2-1, Chicago and Miami are 2-2, Sacramento is 1-1 and Golden State is 0-3.

“We haven’t fared well in these play-in games,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said. “Got to get locked in and get ready to go.” Dallas and Orlando are there for the ﬁrst time.

“The beauty of it and the blessing of it is being at home, in front of our fans,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.

Atlanta at Orlando, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

(TNT)

Season series: Tied, 2-2.

BetMGM Sportbook: Orlando by 5.5.

At stake: The winner is the No. 7

seed and opens the playoffs Sunday at No. 2 Boston. The loser will host the Chicago-Miami winner in an elimination game on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed.

Outlook: It’s the third meeting in an eight-day span for these clubs, though Sunday’s regular-season finale saw both teams holding out a ton of players because this matchup was already set. In the three other Hawks-Magic games this season, the ﬁnal margins were six, six and seven points. This format seems to work for Hawks guard Trae Young; he’s 3-1 in play-

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Golden State coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors are 0-3 in NBA play-in tournament games.

in games. The good news for the Magic: Teams that enter the playin as the No. 7 seed have made the playoffs every time.

Memphis at Golden State,Tuesday, 9 p.m. (TNT)

Season series: Warriors, 3-1.

BetMGM Sportsbook: Warriors by 6.5.

At stake: The winner is the No 7 seed and opens the playoffs Sunday at No. 2 Houston. The loser will host the Sacramento-Dallas winner in an elimination game on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed.

Outlook: The Warriors looked at this week — Sunday’s regularseason ﬁnale against the Clippers then this game, then potentially Friday — as having three home chances to win one game to get to the playoffs. It’s a healthy way to think. The question is, how healthy are the Warriors? Stephen Curry’s thumb was taped Sunday and Jimmy Butler was hobbling when it was over The Grizzlies

love playing road games; Ja Morant says he feeds off the negative energy Miami at Chicago, Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.

(ESPN)

Season series: Bulls, 3-0.

BetMGM Sportsbook: Bulls by 1.5.

At stake: The winner plays at either Orlando or Atlanta on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed in the East. The loser is eliminated.

Outlook: It’s the second meeting between the teams in a week after the Bulls rallied from a double-digit deﬁcit to beat the Heat in Chicago on Wednesday and essentially lock up No. 9. This will be a pace game. If it’s at Chicago’s faster pace, advantage Bulls. If it’s at Miami’s slower pace, advantage Heat. Miami is seeking a sixth consecutive playoff appearance while Chicago is trying to get to Round 1 for what would be just the second time in the past eight years. Dallas at Sacramento,Wednesday, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Season series: Kings, 3-0.

BetMGM Sportsbook: Kings by 4.5.

At stake: The winner plays at either Golden State or Memphis on Friday to decide the No. 8 seed in the West. The loser is eliminated.

Outlook: It’s the first postseason meeting between the clubs in more than two decades; they played in 2002, 2003 and 2004 with the Kings winning two of those three series. The Mavs went to the NBA Finals last season behind Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving; Doncic is with the Los Angeles Lakers now and Irving is out for the season with an ACL tear Trades changed the Kings’ trajectory as well this season and they won four of their past six to claim No. 9 in the West.

Suns ﬁre Budenholzer after one season

BY DAVID BRANDT AP sportswriter

PHOENIX The Phoenix Suns have parted ways with veteran coach Mike Budenholzer following one dismal season that featured a fast start before a maddening slide out of postseason contention for a high-priced roster that included Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. The Suns made the unsurprising announcement on Monday one day after the franchise finished with a 36-46 record which put them 11th in the Western Conference. They lost nine of their last 10 games, failing to qualify for the play-in tournament.

“Competing at the highest level remains our goal, and we failed to meet expectations this season,” the team’s short statement said. “Our fans deserve better. Change is needed.”

The 55-year-old Budenholzer was hired in May, replacing Frank Vogel, who also had a one-year tenure that ended in disappointment. Coach Bud an Arizona native — won an NBA title with the

went

The

Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, beating the Suns in six games in the Finals, and the hope was he could finally bring a championship to the desert. He didn’t even come close. The season started with optimism after the Suns jumped to an 8-1 record, but Durant went down

Ex-LSU standout Peterson retires as Arizona Cardinal

TEMPE, Ariz. — Three-time All-Pro Patrick Peterson announced his retirement on Monday as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, where he spent the ﬁrst 10 of his 13 NFL seasons as one of the league’s elite cornerbacks. The 34-year-old Peterson was honored at the team’s practice facility with a highlight video and tributes from several former teammates, including receiver Larry Fitzgerald and quarterback Carson Palmer

The No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 draft out of LSU, Peterson made an immediate impact as a rookie and was a Pro Bowl selection in his ﬁrst eight seasons.

He was also a special teams standout early in his career, returning four punts for touchdowns as a rookie, which tied an NFL record.

Scherzer to see specialist concerning thumb injury

TORONTO Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer is still dealing with soreness in his right thumb and will make a second visit to a specialist in the U.S. later this week, manager John Schneider said Monday A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Scherzer received a cortisone injection in his troublesome thumb during a March 31 visit with Dr Thomas Graham. Schneider said the 40-year-old Scherzer played catch several times on Toronto’s recent road trip, doing so most recently Friday at Baltimore.

Scherzer left his debut start with the Blue Jays against Baltimore on March 29 after three innings because of soreness in his right lat muscle.

Guerrero signs 14-year, $500M contract with Jays

TORONTO Calling Canada his “second house,” slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr signed his $500 million, 14-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday Guerrero, 26, was born in Montreal while his Hall of Famer father Vladimir Sr was playing for the Expos.

The younger Guerrero signed with the Blue Jays as a 16-year-old in 2015 and made his big league debut in 2019.

Edward Rogers, executive chair of team owner Rogers Communications, called Guerrero “truly a historic franchise player,” and said the contract represented “an historic deal for Canada and for this club.”

Guerrero is a .288 career hitter with 160 homers and 514 RBIs.

Yankees’ Judge named captain for Team USA

NEW YORK — Aaron Judge will captain a team other than the New York Yankees in 2026.

The reigning American League MVP has also been named captain of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Judge, who has yet to play in the international tournament, announced the decision alongside Team USA manager Mark DeRosa MLB Network on Monday morning. With the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout captaining, Team USA lost the 2023 WBC championship to Japan. Judge will be the second Yankees captain to play for Team USA, as Derek Jeter was on the WBC roster in 2006 and 2009.

Reds stellar fielding IF, manager dies at age 83

The Suns tried to retool at the trade deadline, but Beal’s no-trade clause and the team’s salary cap status above the second apron made making any major moves difﬁcult.

Budenholzer’s departure likely signiﬁes major upcoming roster upheaval for a team that’s underachieved for three straight seasons.

Owner Mat Ishbia has deep pockets and a desire to win, but almost every move he’s made since taking over the team in February 2023 has backﬁred.

Budenholzer has a 520-363 career record over 11 NBA seasons with the Hawks, Bucks and Suns.

with a calf strain that knocked the team into a tailspin. Even after the 15-time All-Star returned to the lineup a few weeks later, Phoenix never could recapture its early momentum. Budenholzer couldn’t seem to settle on a regular playing rotation with rookies Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro playing big minutes one night before being benched the next. Veteran center Jusuf Nurkic had an awful start to the season — and complained about a lack of communication with Budenholzer — before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets. Booker and Durant stayed relatively healthy for most of the season, but Beal had constant injury issues and missed more than 20 games in the regular season for a sixth straight year

CINCINNATI — Tommy Helms, the slick-fielding infielder for the Cincinnati Reds who was the 1966 NL Rookie of the Year and had two short stints as the team’s manager, has died. He was 83. The Reds Hall of Fame and Museum said Helms’ wife, Cathy, told the organization that her husband died on Sunday in Cincinnati. The cause of death was not provided. Helms was known more for his glove than his bat in 1,435 games over 14 seasons. He was an All-Star in 1967-68 and won Gold Gloves as the National League’s top-fielding second baseman in 1970-71. When Helms earned a roster spot to start 1966, the Reds had him replace Pete Rose at second base and had Rose move to third. Rose couldn’t get comfortable at third, so Helms moved to the hot corner after just 20 games and became the NL’s second-leading fielding third baseman.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By MATT ROURKE

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae young reacts during the second half against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday in Philadelphia. The Hawks and the Orlando Magic kick off the NBA’s play-in tournament on Tuesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By CHARLES KRUPA

Phoenix Suns

36-46 this season in Mike Budenholzer’s only year as coach. Phoenix also missed the playoffs.

FRONTCOURT

Continued from page

“That’s hard to do if you don’t work at it every day,” Mulkey told the crowd at the banquet, “especially now when you got a kid for the ﬁrst time. This one transferred in, that one leaves, this one comes.

“It’s hard, people. It’s very, very hard.” Mulkey knows because she’s done it before Faustine Aifuwa and Autumn Newby anchored her first LSU team They both moved on after that season, leading the Tigers to replace them with two transfers and a freshman: Angel Reese, LaDazhia Williams and Sa’Myah Smith. The team they joined wound up winning the 2023 national championship.

A similar offseason makeover is now in store again for Mulkey’s frontcourt.

LSU quickly dipped into the portal to sign Kate Koval, a strong, sturdy 6-5 rising sophomore who can already block shots and rebound. Next season, she’ll share the paint with Grace Knox, a long,

LSU

Continued from page 1C

in solving their biggest issue throwing strikes — by walking only two batters and throwing 79 of 123 pitches in the zone.

“Can’t ask for anything better,” Johnson said Sunday Rough patch in outfield

LSU made a handful of mistakes defensively in the outfield that may have cost them Saturday’s game.

With a runner at second and one out in the fourth inning, freshman Derek Curiel crept in on a ﬂy ball that ultimately went over his head, resulting in a run-scoring double.

The next batter hit a ball to right ﬁeld that popped out of senior Josh Pearson’s glove, producing another run-scoring double. Pearson had to dive for it, but it was the kind of catch LSU outﬁelders have made almost routinely

Additionally, junior center ﬁelder Chris Stanﬁeld probably could have called off Pearson and made the catch himself without exerting as much effort.

“Those balls were hit well and we have a good defensive outﬁeld,” Johnson said. “I really believe if we come up with even one of those, it’s a different game.”

The outﬁeld didn’t make many more mistakes before or after that inning, but the peculiarities of the monstrous left-ﬁeld wall at Plainsman park also caught Curiel in some awkward positions throughout the weekend.

Reevaluating third base

LSU mixed things up a little at third base against Auburn Senior Michael Braswell started against a right-handed pitcher Sunday, drawing two walks before getting pinch hit for by redshirt junior Tanner Reaves in the ninth inning.

Reaves not starting probably wasn’t a result of poor play at the plate He drove in the second run of Saturday’s game with a pinchhit bloop single in the eighth inning. But his defense on Friday left a lot to be desired. He committed two errors that resulted in runs for

SAINTS

Continued from page 1C

JIHAAD CAMPBELL ALABAMA: Projected to be the ﬁrst non-edge linebacker drafted, Campbell excelled at Alabama with his ability to read defenses and get downhill. He also has impressive speed to pair with his intellect: The 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker registered a 4.52 40-yard dash. And though he’s not an edge rusher, Campbell is a threat to rush the passer He had ﬁve sacks last season to pair with his 119 tackles and two forced fumbles.

CARSON SCHWESINGER • UCLA: ESPN praised Schwesinger as this draft’s best tackler noting his “96.6% tackle rate ranked second in the nation among linebackers.” Schwesinger is a fundamentally sound player who has great feel at his position. The 6-2, 242-pound linebacker ﬁnished his career as a ﬁrstteam All-American, concluding a dazzling journey in which he started at UCLA as a walk-on. He could be an intriguing choice for the Saints in the second round, if he lasts that long. DEMETRIUS KNIGHT • SOUTH

athletic 6-2 forward ranked as one of the 10 best recruits in the coun-

try Another transfer or two could soon join them, potentially giving Mulkey a taller, longer frontcourt than the one she employed for most of last season. Smith is only 6-2, and Aneesah Morrow is just 6-1.

“All positions needed to rebound for us to be successful this year,” Mulkey said. “We were really undersized at the post. We really were.”

Yet LSU still grabbed more rebounds per game (46.1) than all but two Division I teams. Its four NCAA Tournament opponents still shot 36% from the ﬁeld, comfortably below Mulkey’s goal of 40% And for the most part, LSU contained 6-7 UCLA center Lauren Betts in the Elite Eight. She ﬁnished with 17 points and seven rebounds against Morrow and Smith.

“But what we have to improve on is our defense,” Mulkey said.

“Because we allowed people on the perimeter to beat us. And we will use that all summer and into the fall to make sure that never, ever happens again.”

If LSU wants to add more size

and experience, then it can reach into the portal to pursue rising seniors such as Wisconsin’s Serah Williams or St. Joseph’s Laura Ziegler Transfer Madina Okot, a former Mississippi State center, has played only one season of U.S. college basketball, but she’s 6-6, and she averaged 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds last year with the Bulldogs.

Williams, a 6-4 forward and twotime member of the All-Big Ten defensive team, is one of the top transfers still uncommitted as of Monday. In her junior season, she scored 19.2 points, grabbed 9.8 rebounds and blocked 2.3 shots per game.

LSU is reportedly on Williams’ short list of suitors, alongside UConn and North Carolina. Adding her could give the Tigers one of the top transfer classes in the country

What do Mulkey and her staff have to sell her?

The opportunity to step in and compete for one of the leading roles in an overhauled frontcourt.

Email Reed Darcey at reed. darcey@theadvocate.com.

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

LSU starting pitcher Jaden Noot ﬂips the

to ﬁrst

for an out against UNO on March 18 at

ON DECK

WHO: LSU (31-6) vs. McNeese State (27-5)

WHEN: 6:30 p.m.Tuesday WHERE: Alex Box Stadium

ONLINE: SEC Network+

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

RANKINGS: LSU is No. 9 by D1Baseball; McNeese State isn’t ranked

PROBABLE STARTERS: LSU — TBA; McNeese State — TBA WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Redshirt sophomore right-hander Jaden Noot and freshman right-hander William Schmidt didn’t pitch over the weekend, suggesting that both should be available for LSU on Tuesday.

McNeese has won 12 straight and is coming off of a sweep over Incarnate Word.

Koki Riley

Auburn.

The ﬁrst mistake helped load the bases for Auburn slugger Ike Irish to hit a bases-clearing triple in the ﬁfth inning. The second error allowed an unearned run to score in

the sixth.

Expecting Reaves to become a Gold Glove defender at third anytime soon isn’t realistic. His experience at the position was scant before arriving at LSU. But for Reaves to maintain regular playing time against right-handed pitching, he’ll need to cut down on the errors.

He leads the team with ﬁve of them. “He’s just got to be wider and lower,” Johnson said.

Starts at the top

After a roaring start, the top of the LSU lineup has taken a step back recently Curiel has furthered his on-base streak to 37, but his batting average is down to .362 after going 4 for 15 over the weekend. Junior Jared Jones struck out six times and went just 1 for 13 against Auburn. Junior Daniel Dickinson had a hit in every game but also moved from third to fourth in the order Sunday

The recent struggles from the top of the order played a big part in Saturday and Sunday’s losses. Curiel Jones and Dickinson combined to go 4 for 25 in those contests.

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

Report: Pelicans eye Dumars to lead franchise

BY RASHAD MILLIGAN Staff writer

Now that the New Orleans Pelicans have fired executive vice president of basketball operations David Grifﬁn, two big questions remain: Who will replace him, and what does the future hold for head coach Willie Green?

A couple of potential answers gained traction Monday after the Grifﬁn news came to light.

According to an ESPN report, Louisiana native Joe Dumars is the lead candidate to take over basketball operations for the Pelicans. The Detroit Pistons legend and former McNeese State basketball star is currently in his third season working in the NBA league ofﬁce as the executive vice president and head of basketball operations.

Dumars, a Shreveport native, was the 2003 NBA Executive of the Year and a 2004 NBA champion while leading the Pistons franchise.

A talented guard in his playing days, Dumars was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 He won NBA titles as a player in 1989 and 1990 with the Pistons.

The Pelicans went 209-263 during Griffin’s six seasons. The Pelicans made the playoffs in the 2021-22 season and also last season.

PELICANS

Continued from page 1C

Dell Demps in 2019. Detroit Pistons legend Joe Dumars, who was the 2003 NBA Executive of the Year and won a championship as the general manager of the Detroit Pistons in 2004, has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Griffin in New Orleans, ESPN reported Monday afternoon. Dumars, who won two NBA titles as a Pistons player, is a Shreveport native who played college ball at McNeese State. Dumars has spent the last three seasons as executive vice president and head of basketball operations for the NBA. His last role with a specific team was in the 2020-21 season when he was the chief strategy officer for the Sacramento Kings. The Pelicans’ 49-33 record last season tied for the second-most wins in franchise history But this season, the Pelicans were hit hard by injuries and never could recover Because of injuries, the Pelicans used 47 different starting lineups this season. The lineup that was supposed to be the starting five this season (Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray and CJ McCollum) never played in a single game together Ingram was traded to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline, while Williamson, Jones, McCollum, Murray and Trey Murphy all had their seasons end early because of injuries.

Grifﬁn, in his ﬁrst year in the job in 2019, orchestrated the Anthony Davis trade and drafted Zion Williamson with the No. 1

Only two Pelicans qualiﬁed for postseason awards by playing a minimum of 65 games this past season: rookie Yves Missi and reserve Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

The team now enters the NBA draft lottery with the fourthworst record in the league at 2161. The decision as to whether Green will remain the Pelicans head coach will be up to whoever is hired as Grifﬁn’s replacement, a source conﬁrmed to The TimesPicayune.

But will Green still be with the organization when that time comes?

While Green is staying put for the moment, the Phoenix Suns may be in play to hire him to succeed Mike Budenholzer, who was ﬁred by the franchise on Monday after one season.

“While Willie Green remains in place as New Orleans’ head coach, he’s been another name, in addition to the recently-extended Chauncey Billups, league ﬁgures have mentioned as a possible replacement in Phoenix,” The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer posted on X. Green served as an assistant for the Suns from 2019-21 under former Pelicans head coach Monty Williams.

“... links between Willie Green and the Suns have been circulating, league sources say, because of Green’s relationships with (owner) Mat Ishbia and (star guard) Devin Booker,” Marc Stein reported.

overall pick.

Griffin fired head coach Alvin Gentry a year later and hired Stan Van Gundy. But after one season, Griffin fired Van Gundy and replaced him with Willie Green, who still remains in place as Pelicans head coach.

The Pelicans saw their number of victories increase in each of Green’s ﬁrst three seasons before plummeting this season.

The Pelicans went 209-263 with Grifﬁn in his six seasons. They were 109-105 during his time in games Williamson played.

Grifﬁn’s last time speaking to the media about the season and the state of the franchise was in February

“When these types of things happen, they really reveal a lot about who you are and what your team represents,” Griffin said. “And unfortunately for us, I think it’s revealed we have a lot of work to do from a front ofﬁce perspective, from a team-building perspective.”

That task now will be left up to someone else. It’s the second major change Benson has made in the past six months. Benson, who is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints, ﬁred head football coach Dennis Allen in November after his team lost seven straight games.

“I am committed to hiring the right person to lead our basketball operations department and deliver an NBA Championship to our city,” Benson said. “That is what our fans deserve. I am truly appreciative of David for his leadership and many contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community over the last six years. We wish David and his wife, Meredith, and their family all the best moving forward.”

He landed at Cal after four years at Cal-Davis. He has a very intriguing 9.62 RAS, thanks in part to an eyepopping 40-inch vertical.

CODY SIMON • OHIO STATE: The Saints hit on their last Ohio State linebacker when they drafted Werner in 2021. Simon could be another solid ﬁnd, albeit one likely to go later than Werner’s second-round selection. Pro Football Focus calls Simon a “traditional insider linebacker who would play best in a 3-4 with a fellow inside linebacker next to him.” The Saints are likely switching to a 3-4 under Staley

Email Matthew Paras at matt. paras@theadvocate.com

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO By JULIO CORTEZ

Texas wide receiver DeAndre Moore, left, drops a pass while being defended by Ohio State linebacker Cody Simon during the Cotton Bowl game on Jan. 10 in Arlington, Texas.

STAFF FILE PHOTO By HILARy SCHEINUK

ball

base

Alex Box Stadium.

Resiliency marks McIlroy’s big moment

BY DOUG FERGUSON

AP golf writer

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy began “the best day of my golfing life” by ﬁnding a note in his locker at Augusta National before he got ready for what turned out to be one of the wildest ﬁnal rounds ever at the Masters.

It was from Angel Cabrera, a thoughtful gesture to wish him good luck.

Cabrera played in the ﬁnal group with him in 2011 at the Masters when McIlroy had the world at his feet and a four-shot lead and one arm in a Masters green jacket. But then he threw it away with an 80 in the ﬁnal round.

“It was a nice touch and little bit ironic at the same time,” McIlroy said of the note. “It’s been 14 long years. But thankfully, I got the job done.”

He did, barely, beating Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff with a gap wedge that spun back to 3 feet for birdie on the 18th hole. Along with a lifelong dream of becoming a Masters champion, McIlroy is now part of golfing immortality as only the sixth player with the career Grand Slam.

“I’ve been saying it until I’m blue in the face: I truly believe I’m a better player now than I was 10 years ago,” McIlroy said “It’s so hard to stay patient. It’s so hard to keep coming back every year and trying your best and not being able to get it done

“It’s been an emotionally draining week for a lot of reasons. Ab-

solutely thrilled to be sitting here at the end of the week as the last man standing.” A ﬁnal round that lasted 4 hours, 45 minutes felt like 14 years, certainly the past 11 years that have been consumed with him getting

the ﬁnal leg of the Grand Slam. Staked to a four-shot lead on the back nine, he hit his worst shot of the week. McIlroy had a big target from 82 yards with a lob wedge but put it into the tributary of Rae’s Creek in front of the par-5 13th

green for a double bogey

This looked like the player who two-putted every green in the ﬁnal round at St. Andrews, who missed two short putts in the closing stretch at Pinehurst No. 2 last summer to watch Bryson DeChambeau hoist that U.S. Open trophy

So much brilliance. Too many blunders.

And ultimately so much determination to keep coming back for more, to not give up on the one prize he was chasing no matter how much it hurt.

Consider this: He set a record for making six straight 3s to start the third round. He set another record for most double bogeys — four — by a Masters champion.

McIlroy famously said two years ago after a runner-up ﬁnish in the U.S. Open left him gutted, “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.”

He won this Masters with that willingness to keep going no matter the setbacks.

McIlroy wasted a superb opening round with two careless double bogeys leaving him seven shots behind. He answered with a 66 the next day

He went from a four-shot lead to trailing by one shot on Sunday when he answered with his best swings — the 7-iron over the pond to 6 feet on the par-5 15th, the 9-iron to a back pin on the 16th to 9 feet, the 8-iron blind shot to 2 feet on the 17th.

When he failed to convert a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th in regulation, he was headed to a playoff

SCOREBOARD

1-0) at Toronto (Gausman 1-1), 6:07 p.m. Detroit (Flaherty 1-0) at Milwaukee (Priester 0-0) 6:40 p.m. N.Y. Mets (Megill 2-1) at Minnesota (Ober 0-1), 6:40 p.m. Houston (Brown 1-1) at St. Louis (Fedde 1-1), 6:45 p.m. Chicago Cubs (Imanaga 2-1) at San Diego (Vásquez 1-1), 8:40 p.m. Colorado (Feltner 0-0) at L.A. Dodgers College baseball Sunday’s games Houston Christian 5, Northwestern State 2 Alcorn at Southern, n UNO 5, North Carolina-Asheville 4 Lamar 9, Nicholls 8 McNeese State 14, Incarnate Word 7 Midle Tennessee 4, Louisiana Tech 3 Prairie View 11, Grambling 4 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 9, Southeastern 2 ULM 3, UL 2 Tulane 8, UAB 7 Auburn 3, LSU 2 Monday’s games No games scheduled. Tuesday’s games Southern at Mississippi State, TBA LSU-Alexandria at Northwestern State, 6 p.m. Louisiana Tech at UL-Monroe, 6 p.m. Southern Miss at Southeastern, 6 p.m. Nicholls at Jackson State, 6 p.m. McNeese State at LSU, 6:30 p.m. Thursday’s games Southern at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, TBA UL-Lafayette at Old Dominion, 5 p.m. Tulane at Texas-San Antonio, 6 p.m. Stephen F. Austin at Nicholls, 6 p.m.

Texas-Rio Grande Valley at Southeastern, 6 p.m. Alcorn at Grambling, 6 p.m. Liberty at Louisiana Tech, 6 p.m.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at McNeese State, 6 p.m.

UL-Monroe at Troy, 6 p.m.

Houston Christian at UNO, 6:30 p.m. Lamar at Northwestern State, 6:30 p.m. Alabama at LSU, 6:30 p.m.

Friday’s games Southern at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, TBA

UL-Lafayette at Old Dominion, 2 p.m.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at McNeese State, 2 p.m. Liberty at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m. UL-Monroe at Troy, 3 p.m. Alcorn at Grambling,

State,n Georgia Southern at UL-Monroe, n East Texas A&M at McNeese, n South Alabama at UL-Lafayette, n Golf

PGA Tour Statistics Through April 13 FedExCup Season Points 1, Rory McIlroy, 2,433. 2, Sepp Straka, 1,308. 3, Ludvig Aberg, 1,268. 4, Scottie Schefﬂer 1,253. 5, Russell Henley, 1,229. 6, Corey Conners, 1,222. 7, Collin Morikawa, 1,161. 8, J.J. Spaun, 1,073. 9, Justin Rose, 1,022. 10, Hideki Matsuyama, 999. Scoring Average 1, Rory McIlroy, 69.163. 2, Scottie Schefﬂer, 69.473. 3, Bud Cauley, 69.881. 4, Alex Smalley, 70.029. 5, Collin Morikawa, 70.111. 6, Michael Kim, 70.148. 7, Jacob Bridgeman, 70.158. 8, Sepp Straka, 70.165. 9, Ryan Gerard, 70.238. 10, Lee Hodges, 70.285. Driving Distance 1, Aldrich Potgieter, 323.9. 2, Niklas Norgaard, 318.5. 3, Rory McIlroy, 317.5. 4, Michael Thorbjornsen, 316.2. 5 (tie), Kurt Kitayama and Min Woo Lee, 315.8. 7, Alejandro Tosti, 315.5. 8, Jesper Svensson, 314.6. 9, Rasmus Hojgaard, 314.3. 10, Gary Woodland, 313.8. Driving Accuracy Percentage 1, Collin Morikawa, 72.94%. 2, Aaron Rai, 72.87%. 3, Takumi Kanaya, 72.38%. 4, Ben Kohles, 72.14%. 5, Lucas Glover, 71.40%. 6, Brice Garnett, 70.00%. 7, Zach Johnson, 68.98%. 8, Paul Peterson, 68.54%. 9, Brian Campbell, 68.02%. 10, Daniel Berger, 67.86%. Greens in Regulation Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. Total Driving 1, Taylor Pendrith, 74. 2, Isaiah Salinda, 75. 3, Rico Hoey, 76. 4, Lee Hodges, 81. 5, Alex Smalley, 83. 6, Kevin Yu, 88. 7 (tie), Daniel Berger, Steven Fisk and Taylor Moore, 91. 10, Victor Perez, 95. SG-Putting 1, Nico Echavarria, .907. 2, Brandt Snedeker, .878. 3, Sam Ryder, .872. 4, Sam Burns, .839. 5, Min Woo Lee, .815. 6, Jacob Bridgeman, .728. 7, Denny McCarthy, .714. 8, Akshay Bhatia .689. 9, Taylor Montgomery, .669. 10, 2 tied with .593. Birdie Average 1 (tie), Collin Morikawa and Sepp Straka, 4.88. 3, Russell Henley, 4.73. 4, Justin Thomas, 4.72. 5, Cam Davis, 4.67. 6, Harry Hall, 4.58. 7, Ludvig Aberg, 4.52. 8, Akshay Bhatia, 4.5. 9, Danny Walker, 4.48. 10, Si Woo Kim, 4.47. Eagles (Holes per) 1, Rory McIlroy, 48. 2, Steven Fisk, 50.7. 3, Ryan Gerard, 68.4. 4 (tie), Patrick Cantlay, Cam Davis and Nicolai Hojgaard, 72. 7, David Skinns, 75. 8 (tie), Kurt Kitayama and Alejandro Tosti, 77.1. 10, 2 tied with 81. Sand Save Percentage 1, 10 tied with .00%. All-Around Ranking 1, Rory McIlroy, 261. 2, Alex Smalley, 270. 3, Sepp Straka, 282. 4, Justin Thomas, 306. 5, Keith Mitchell, 321. 6, Russell Henley, 365. 7 (tie), Patrick Cantlay and Lee Hodges, 366. 9, Collin Morikawa, 377. 10, Isaiah Salinda, 408. LPGA Tour Statistics Through April 13 Scoring 1, Nelly Korda, 68. 2, Yealimi Noh, 68.06. 3, Angel Yin, 68.5. 4, Akie Iwai, 68.6. 5, Jeeno Thitikul, 68.63. 6, A Lim Kim, 68.9. 7 (tie), Lydia Ko and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, 68.94. 9, 2 tied with 69. Driving Distance 1, Julia Lopez Ramirez, 291.69. 2, Ingrid Lindblad, 287.92. 3, Polly Mack, 287.38. 4, Weiwei Zhang, 286.5. 5, Emily Kristine Pedersen, 286.06. 6, Maude-Aimee Leblanc, 285.13. 7, Manon de Roey, 283.63. 8, Nelly Korda, 282.96. 9, Auston Kim, 281.47. 10, Akie Iwai, 281. Greens in Regulation 1, Megan Khang, .82%. 2 (tie), Allisen Corpuz, Yealimi Noh and Haeran Ryu, .81%. 5, Angel Yin, .80%. 6 (tie), Rio Takeda and Rose Zhang, .79%. 8, 3 tied with .78%. Putts per GIR 1, Saki Baba, 1.56. 2 (tie), Sei Young Kim, Cassie Porter and Jeeno Thitikul, 1.66. 5 (tie), Amanda Doherty and Chisato Iwai, 1.67. 7 (tie), Yuka Saso and Ina Yoon, 1.68. 9, Minami Katsu, 1.69. 10, 4 tied with 1.7. Birdies 1 (tie), Celine Boutier, Ayaka Furue and A Lim Kim, 101. 4, Leona Maguire, 90. 5, Angel Yin, 85. 6, Jeeno Thitikul, 84. 7, Allisen Corpuz, 83. 8, Rio Takeda, 81. 9, 3 tied with 79. Eagles 1, Minjee Lee, 5. 2 (tie), A Lim Kim, Stephanie Kyriacou and Rio Takeda, 4. 5,

with Rose as more major disappointment awaited. But then he pounded his drive hit gap wedge to 3 feet and won the Masters.

“There was points on the back nine today I thought, ‘Have I let this slip again?’ But again, I responded with some clutch shots when I needed to,” McIlroy said “And really proud of myself for that.”

Rose was gracious as ever after his second straight time ﬁnishing second in a major, having lost out at Royal Troon last summer

“We saw a part of history today,” Rose said. “Someone won a career Grand Slam. It’s a momentous day in the game of golf.”

It had been 25 years since the last addition to the club, Tiger Woods. Before that it had been 34 years since Jack Nicklaus won all four

“I certainly didn’t make it easy,” McIlroy said.

But when it comes to McIlroy, is there any other way? He had lunch with Nicklaus the previous week and went over how to play the course.

This wasn’t the Nicklaus way, or even the Tiger way When they built leads, they played without mistake and forced players to catch them. That’s not how Rory rolls.

It might have taken longer than he wanted his 17th time playing the Masters, the 11th time with the Grand Slam at stake — but he got what he so desperately wanted. That green jacket is a size 38.

“My dreams have been made today,” he said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHTOTO By DAVID J PHILLIP

Winner Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, holds the trophy at the Masters golf tournament on Sunday in Augusta, Ga

Interrupt life cycleby gettingrid of standing water

Aftersome of our recent rains, you may have noticed areas of your lawn holdingwater.Orperhaps you have some buckets, pots, plastic tarps or other items sitting around that ﬁlled up with rainwater

As temperatures warm up and mosquitoes become more active, puddles and containers full of water provide aplace for these insectstolay eggs. Having standing water for even a short amount of time can give mosquitoes enoughopportunity to breed —and seemingly take over your yard.

“Within three to ﬁve days, they can start to produce mosquitoes in the area,” said LSU AgCenter entomologist Aaron Ashbrook. “And of course, these could potentially be biting you and athreat to yourself as adisease vector.”

If you want to avoid having your time in the garden or on the patio disrupted by itchy mosquito bites, the best solution doesn’tinvolve spraying insecticides. It’sgetting rid of water, which is acritical component of mosquitoes’ life cycle. GOT MOSQUITOES?

LSU AGCENTERPHOTO

Using aeration devices in water features can help deter mosquito breeding

Here are some steps Ashbrookrecommends to help keep the mosquito population in your yard at bay:

1. Use soil or sand to ﬁll in any holes and low-lying areas of the yard that hold water Alternatively,you can try to drain the hole by divertingthe water.Use ashovel to create achannel for water to ﬂow away from the yard. Not only will you eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes, you’ll also remove tripping hazards from your landscape.

2. Empty water from buckets, pots,saucers and other containers. When not in use, store these items in aprotectedarea —likeina shed or under acarport —sothey don’t ﬁll up with water again. Or,ifthey must be keptoutside, turn them upside down or dump them regularly Consider throwing away waterholding items that are rarely or no longer used.

3. Bird baths and water features offer aesthetic appeal, but they can breed mosquitoes. Youcan install an aeration system to keep the water moving and fresh, or simplybesureto change the water every three to ﬁve days.

4. Keep bird baths, fountains and other water features clean. Algae and plant material can build up easily in theseitems, providing an easy source of food for mosquito larvae.Try to locate these features in shaded areas; less sunlight will slowthe photosynthesis process and reduce algae growth. When cleaning bird baths, use amixture of equal parts of water and white vinegar.Rinse thoroughly before reﬁlling with fresh water Do not use soap, which can strip oils from birds’ feathers.

‘Drawn to ... makea difference’ LIVING

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

Around this time lastyear, 9-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr.received $20 forhis good grades. He had spent $19 and was waiting for his dad, Kelvin Ellis Sr., whowas at the optometrist. YoungKelvin walked to aCC’sCoffee Housenext door, where he spotted aman. “Excuse me sir,are you homeless?” he saidtothe man. “‘Cuz if youare, here’sa dollar.”

The man,asitturns out,was not homeless. But touched by this act of generosity,heoffered to buy Kelvin Jr.breakfast.After getting the OK fromhis dad, the pair sat down and ate together

Thenew friends werereunited fora segmentonWBRZwhere Sylvia Weatherspoon revealed who the man was: Matt Busbice, arealityTVshow star and multimillion dollar business owner From there, “CBS Sunday Morning” did asegment on the unlikely friendship. Kelvin Jr.and Busbice chatted again, and Busbice gifted him withashopping spree at his store, Buckfeather,where Kelvin Jr.picked out a$2,000 bike, among

Griddlecakes from the Cozy Griddle, a newbreakfast restaurant which will openon CourseyBoulevard in April 2025.

come up and offer him adollar

“I’m making aliving off this now,” he quipped. He thinks it’sfunny,and plus, Busbice believes thestory of how he andKelvinJr. met was sent fromGod.Though he was initially takenaback by beingmistakenas homeless, he leans into it now

“The ﬁrst thing that goes through your mind is, ‘Wait aminute, how bad do Ilook?’” he said. “Ithits you, and it humbles you.”

But he said the incident bolstered his faith in humanity

“Whenheoffered me that dollar thinking Iwas homeless, Isaid, ‘Wow.There’shope in this world,’ Busbice said.

other things.

Ayear later,Busbice and Kelvin Jr.are still friends, andthey’re hoping to do something to help thoseexperiencing housing insecurity in Baton Rouge.

‘Ithitsyou,and it humblesyou’

Busbice said that he’s still routinely recognized by people in BatonRouge,and he knows it’s because of what happenedwith Kelvin Jr.Hesaid that people don’t simply say hello. Instead, they

Over the past year,they’ve kept in touch. Kelvin Jr.and his father meet up with Busbice when he’sin town, and when he’snot, they text. Over Christmas break, Busbice and Kelvin Jr.went to Winn-Dixie, hoping to surprise people and anonymously pay fortheir groceries. The plan was alittle complicated by the factthat they got recognized, but it’sasweetmemory for Busbice.

BY SERENA PUANG Staff writer

STAFF PHOTOSByJAVIER GALLEGOS

Kelvin Ellis Jr., Matt Busbice and Kelvin Ellis Sr.sit on the steps of the Ellishome frontporchinBaton Rouge.

Kelvin Ellis Jr.plays withone

By OLIVIA McCLURE

Feedingwildanimals

Dear Heloise: GlenAllen from Virginia wrote that he feeds squirrelsand birds smallpieces of regular or butter-topped bread. Glen said that the squirrels like it so much, they request more, and he feeds them more breadpieces. Unfortunately,this is not agood idea. Feeding bread to squirrelsand birds can make them sick or worse. According to the magazine Birds&Blooms (a reputablebird-andgardensource), dishes people consume like breadare generally bad for birds in the same waythat junk food is bad for our systems. Processed foods have very little nutritional value. If birdsconsume bread on aregular basis, thelack of nutrients causes vitamin deﬁciencies that leadtoserious, even fatal health issues.

Cody,inSan Antonio, appears to be doingthe right thing! —Holly C., in Redlands, California

Genealogysections

Dear Heloise: Nearly all public librarieshave agenealogy section that will gladlyaccept school yearbooks. —K.H.M., in Buffalo, New York

Better to refrainfrom oversharingdetails

Hints from Heloise

Back-scratchingtool

Dear Heloise: My first effective back scratcher was abrand-new round-head toiletbowl brush. The only problem with it was that thehandle wasn’tlong enough. Then, one day while at an appliance parts store, Iwaited in line. To my right was adisplay of brushes to clean the dryer. The onethatcaught my eye went from my fingertips to my elbow.The flexible wand allowsmetouse it straight, arched or bent. It feels good! —Anna L.Russell,inTyler,Texas

“Malnutrition is certainly a risk if birds aren’tgetting the food that they need,” says John Rowden, former senior director for bird-friendly communities at the National Audubon Society “They can be undernourished, which makes them more susceptible to disease, so it could cause health or lethal consequences.” With this knowledge, here’s alist of nine nibbles to avoid feeding your feathered friends: raw meat,salted nuts, bacon fat, potato chips, honey, red food coloring, old birdseed (it could be moldy or rancid), and pet food. Recommended foods are a variety of fruits, vegetables (they like chewing on corn cobs), seeds, and unsalted nuts. (Leaving theshells on is good for their teeth.) Feeding squirrels what they normally eat is always the best option.

Preserving cheese

Dear Heloise: Someone asked aboutkeepingmold off their cheese. Soak asturdy paper towel in white vinegar,then wrap thecheese in the paper towel and put it into aplastic bag. It will last for much longer —Joyce Space, Hubbardton,Vermont Cleaning grapes

Dear Heloise: Thisamazing hint needs to be repeated in your column:Cover abig bunch of grapes with water and let them sit for 30 minutes before storing them in the refrigerator.You will ﬁnd black silt in the bottom of thebowl instead of your stomach —J.J., in North Manchester,Indiana

Send ahint to heloise@heloise. com.

TODAYINHISTORY

ticipate in therobbery.)

By The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday,April 15, the 105th day of 2025. There are260 days left in the year

Todayinhistory:

On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland justover two and ahalf hours after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. More than 1,500 people died;710 survived.

On this date:

In 1865, Abraham Lincoln died after being shot by JohnWilkes Booth at Ford’sTheater the previous evening; Andrew Johnson was sworn in as the 17th president hours later

In 1947, Jackie Robinson,baseball’s ﬁrst Black major league player of the modern era,made his ofﬁcial debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on opening day at Ebbets Field. (The Dodgers defeated the Boston Braves, 5-3.)

In 1955, Ray Kroc opened the ﬁrst franchised McDonald’srestaurant in Des Plaines,Illinois.

In 1974, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army held up abranch of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco; amember of the group was SLA kidnap victim Patricia Hearst.(Hearst later said she had been forced to par-

In 1989, acrush of soccer fans at HillsboroughStadium in Shefﬁeld, England,caused 97 deaths and more than 760 injuries.

In 2013,two bombsmade from pressure cookersexploded at the BostonMarathon ﬁnish line, killing two women and an 8-year-old boyand injuring more than260. In 2019, ﬁre sweptacross the top of theNotre-Dame de Paris cathedral during renovation work on thelandmark structure; the blaze collapsed thecathedral’s spire and spread to one of its iconic rectangular towers. (The cathedral was restored and reopened to the public in December2024.)

Today’sbirthdays: Actor Claudia Cardinale is 87. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Cooper is 69. Olympic track & ﬁeld gold medalist EvelynAshford is 68. Actorscreenwriter Emma Thompson is 66. Singer Samantha Fox is 59. Olympic swimming gold medalist Dara Torres is 58.Singer Luis Fonsi is 47. Country singersongwriter Chris Stapleton is 47. Actor Luke Evans is46. Actorwriter Seth Rogen is 43. Actor Alice Braga is 42. Singer-songwriter Margo Priceis42. Actor Samira Wiley is 38. Actor Emma Watson is 35. Actor Maisie Williams is 28.

GRIDDLE

Continued from page5C

play on eggs Benedict with fried chicken and sausage gravy), breakfast pizza, breakfast sandwiches, griddle cakes (pancakes) and shrimp and grits.

“You won’tgowrong with any of our breakfast sandwiches,” said Johnson. “My omelets are really good as well.” He learned to cookfrom his grandmother, his dad’smom, and the interior colors of the restaurant will represent her.Johnson

hopes that the space will provide peoplewithcomfort anda piece of home.

Johnson’sultimate goal is to create ahospitality group of different restaurants that bring peopletogether and make people happy

“TheCozy Griddleisthe start of that,” he said TheCozy Griddle is located at 11445 Coursey Blvd.,SuiteC,Baton Rouge. Once open, hours will be 7a.m. to3 p.m.Monday to Saturday

Email SerenaPuang at serena. puang@theadvocate.com.

Dear Miss Manners: Ihave been takingtime off work tohelp care for my father,who has incurable cancer.Toclients Idon’tknow well, I’ve said, “I’ll be out of town to help my dad, who is sick.” They almost invariably reply,“Ihope he feels better soon.”Iknow they mean well, andIusually managetotake it that way Butthat doesn’tstop it from feeling like agut punch, because Iknow he is only going to feel worse over the few months he has left.

you until they ﬁnd out enough about the situation to show the appropriateamount of sympathy?

The ﬁrst time this happened, I was so gobsmacked that Isaid, “Thanks, but this isn’t agettingbetter situation,”which felt graceless and stopped the conversation.

Telling people “I’ll be out of town to help my dad, who has stage 4cancer” sometimes (not always!) avoids the “feel better”comments, but can feel like oversharing.

I’d love advice on navigating this,and perhaps also areminder to readers that when you don’t know thenature of an illness, “I hope they feel better soon” isn’t necessarily thekind comment you thinkitis.

Gentlereader: What would you suggest?That your clientsprobe

Miss Manners considers it more helpful forher to remind anyone in your sad situation to refrain from conﬁdences that require a sympatheticresponse. Youcould have excused yourselftoyour clients by merely stating that you would be absent on family business —replying, if therewere questions, that it was apersonal matter

Dear Miss Manners: My son and I have agentle disagreement about thehost’sresponsibility at adinner partyorholiday table. As a host,Ilook foropportunities to foster conversations that might involve everyone around the table.

Otherwise, couples or friends will begin their own discussions. This makes it less funfor all, especially for the quiet individuals who don’tengage in conversation with their neighbors.

At one such dinner,myson whispered to me, “You’re being manipulative!” Isaid yes, Iam doing my host duties. Help us settle this, please!

Gentlereader: Youwin.

The late, great sociologist, David Riesman, once told Miss Man-

ners that he had preceded her in the etiquette business, citing his observation of the manners of fellow academics when acting as hosts. They apparently shared your son’sfear of being manipulative. Therefore, they performed no introductions, provided no seating plan and certainly did not attempt to check that everyone wasincluded in conversations.

The result, Riesman said, was perfectly terrible parties, where people talked only with those in their own departments, whom they had seen all day —orthose with whom they had arrived, and would see all night.

Dear Miss Manners: Iwent to aconcert the other night. What’sthe etiquette if the cup holder is in the armrest of everyone’schair, including both end seats? Which cup holder does each person get? Ihad an argument with the guy next to me.

Gentle reader: It’s the one to your right, just as at the table.

Sendquestions to Miss Manners at herwebsite, www missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mailtoMiss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City,MO 64106.

DIFFERENCE

Continuedfrom page5C

“That story(of their meeting) wentaround the world,”Busbice recalledtelling Kelvin Jr.during arecent timethey were hanging out. “(But) have we really done anything withthe story other than, youknow, it’sfun to spread God’s love through it? It’s crazythat it happened, and it reached so many people. It made‘em laugh and cry and all the things.”

ButBusbice pointed out that the attention that they got as aresult hasyet to actually beneﬁtpeople experiencing housing insecurity Collaborationtobenefitcity

According to the city’sPoint in Time counts for the lastfew years, BatonRouge has more than400 people whoexperience homelessness during asingle night in January.But this numberdoesn’t account for those who have lost their homes and areliving with family or friends or in halfway houses.

According to Capital Area United Way, as of 2022, 50% of East Baton Rouge Parish residents are either living in poverty or belowwhat is called the ALICE threshold, which puts them at risk of homelessness if acar breaks down or they miss apaycheck. (ALICE stands for AssetLimited, Income Constrained, Employed.)

“Your heartwas to help ahomeless man…,and Iwasn’thomeless,” Busbice recalled saying to Kelvin Jr.“Do you still have a heart to help thehomeless?”

KelvinJr. readily agreed. The two are now in talks withthe Christian Outreach Center of BatonRouge to ﬁgure out how they can collaborate in the future. Both theEllisesand Busbice have had separate meetings withBrian Sleeth, theexecutive director.The next step, Sleethsaid, is to work out details together

The center runs the Purple Cow thrift stores around town, and it

also provides essentialservices such as bus passes, hygiene kits andmore to those whoare food insecure. On Wednesdays, the center provides home-delivered supplemental groceries to 435householdsinnorth BatonRouge.People enrolled in the grocery assistance program are also provided with ﬁnancialeducationclasses through aprogram.

“I look forward to incorporating them— however they wanttoplug in —with what we’re currently doing,” Sleeth said. “I’m excited aboutthe fact that someone who’s so young feels drawn to want to make adifference andcontribute.”

Sleeth works to help those facing housing insecurity after experiencing it himself.In2009, he left thestate with his family to plant a church in Michigan, but after the recession hit, they lost everything and returned to Baton Rouge to live with family Given thisexperience, he said, seeing ayoung person be proactive andreach out to someone he thought washomeless and strike up afriendship wasexciting.

“WhatI experiencedinmy situationisthat Ihad sort of the reverse: aloss of friendships because of people feeling awkward andnot knowing what to say,”he said.

More than meetsthe eye

In many ways, Kelvin Jr.isan ordinary kid. He hasa messy room, he’s abig fan of action figures, and when asked if he likes school, he freezes with the conflicting knowledge thatyou’re not supposed to say no and that it’sbad to lie.

But, as Sleeth and Busbice noted, there’smore to him than meets the eye.

He values helping people, and he takes joy in the little things in life. Some kids want $500 gaming consoles, Ellissaid, but if Kelvin Jr can buy twoaction ﬁgures, it’slike he’swon amillion bucks.

When asked, Kelvin Jr.saidhis favorite memorywith Busbiceis

when Busbice took him to Barnes and Noble for his birthday earlier this year.Hewas told he could pickout anything he wanted in the whole store, and after walking around, carefully weighing his options, he picked aKing Kongaction ﬁgure that ﬁts comfortably in his hand.

“Itdidn’tcome with the scar,but Iaddedthe scar to make it look cool,” he said while brandishing his new toy

Busbice was shocked that the small toy represented Kelvin Jr.’s favorite memory.

“What about that bike?” he asked.

Willingtogivehis last dollar

KelvinJr. has ambitions to one day work in the toy industry himself, making hyper-realistic toys that can be props in movies. Busbice has been mentoring him in business and sales, and Kelvin Jr has even worked in his store on Perkins Rowetohelp sell bows. This summer,he’sgoing to camp at Tara Wildlife in Mississippi to learntohunt andget his hunter safety certiﬁcate. Afterthat, Busbicehopes to takehim hunting on his family’sranch.

Theirs is asweet friendship, which Busbice said will last for life, but according to Ellis, to leave it there misses the point.

He said most people misinterpretthe meaning of the story of his son giving the dollar to themillionaire. He said the interaction wasa lot morethan that.

“God used my son to send amessage,” he said.“If a9-year-old kid’s willing to give his last dollar, then whycan’t we as adults —aspeople —bemore courteous to each otherand love eachother the way He loves us all?”

If you’d like to join Kelvin Jr and Busbice in partnering with the Christian Outreach Center, they arealways looking for volunteers. Find out more about their programs and work at christianoutreachcenterbr.com.

Judith Martin

MISS MANNERS

STAFFPHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

Matt Busbice, left, and Kelvin Ellis Jr.playwith afootballatthe Ellis home in Baton RougeonApril 2.

PROVIDED PHOTO

Breakfast sandwiches are on the menu at the Cozy Griddle, anew breakfast spotopening in Baton Rougeat the endofApril.

ARIEs (March 21-April 19) Take a moment to observe what's happening before you respond. Expend your energy wisely. Check out innovative fitness activities or equipment, and stick to your routine.

tAuRus (April 20-May 20) Discuss the changes you want to implement with anyone affected by your choices Check into the costs, set a budget and put your plan in motion. Knowledge and support are necessary if you want to reach your goal.

GEMInI (May 21-June 20) Keep an eye on certain matters to ensure that you aren't stuck with something you don't want You must be willing to contribute if you want to have a say.

cAncER (June 21-July 22) Build momentum, initiate change and be efficient in your pursuits. Understanding what's important to the people you are dealing with will be your ticket to winning the support you require to achieve your objective.

LEo (July 23-Aug. 22) Pursueanoutletconducive to overcoming obstacles. Learn by listening to others and watching how they react. Flock to the place that offers the best view of incoming problems.

VIRGo (Aug. 23-sept. 22) Attend meetings, make phone calls and connect with experts in fields of interest. Taking a day trip, getting together with an old friend or seeing firsthand what's necessary to reach your objective will help you.

LIBRA (sept. 23-oct. 23) Gather information and make plans. An open conver-

sation will help you figure out what's possible and whom you can count on. Regarding money matters, take your time, budget wisely and buy only what you need.

scoRPIo (oct. 24-nov. 22) Look for a fun outlet that will get you in the groove and encourage you to mingle and socialize withuniquepeople.Beingwell-informed is the best way to increase your chance of advancement.

sAGIttARIus (nov. 23-Dec. 21) Emotional mind games will leave you at a loss. Leave nothing to chance and do not let anyone scam you. Say no to anything that sounds too good to be true.

cAPRIcoRn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Congregate with people who share your interests. It's up to you to set the rules you live by and the schedules you put in place. A positive attitude evolves from having something to look forward to.

AQuARIus (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Control your emotions and focus on home, family or broadening your interests. An idea you devise has the potential to turn into additional income. Organization and hard work will pave the way to success.

PIscEs (Feb. 20-March 20) Say no to outside influences and people tempting you with grand ideas. You stand to come out on top if you stick to what you do best. Commit to what makes you happy.

FAMILY CIrCUS

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

toDAy's cLuE: K EQuALs V

CeLebrItY CIpher

For better or For WorSe

beetLe bAILeY

Mother GooSe And GrIMM SherMAn’S LAGoon

bIG

Sudoku

InstructIons: Sudoku is anumber-placing puzzle based on a9x9 grid with several given numbers. The object is to place thenumbers 1to9inthe empty squares so that each row, each column and each 3x3 box containsthe samenumber onlyonce. The difficulty level of theSudoku increases from Monday to Sunday.

BLondie

BaBY BLueS

By PHILLIP ALDER

Who wrote this aboutwhom? “In this matter of shimmering into rooms, the chappie is rummy to adegree.”

This week we are going to look at the important topic of entries.Itisnogood having winners in your hand or on the board if you cannot get to them.

In thisexample, howshould South plan theplay in three no-trump after West leads his fourth-highest heart?

The Northhand is too strong for one no-trumpandtooweakfortwono-trump; hence, one spade. South is too weak for atwo-level response; hence, one notrump.

When theopening-lead choice is between amajor and aminor,itisusually right to pick the major because opponentswill look for major-suitfits, but rarely worry about the minors.

South shouldestablish and run his club suit. Butaslong as the opponent withthe club ace learned the game before breakfast thismorning, he will knownot to take thefirst club trick; he will win the second club. Then South will have three winning clubs in hishand and will need an entry. What is his onlyentry?

Theheartqueen.SoSouthmusttakethe first trickwith dummy’s heart king (or ace),not run it aroundtohis hand. Then he immediately attacks clubs. South will collect at leastone spade, three hearts, one diamond and four clubs.

Today’s opening quotation was written by P.G. Wodehouse about Jeeves. If you have never read any of Wodehouse’s books,enter your local libraryorbookstore (concrete or electronic) and buy one. ©2025 by NEA,Inc., dist. By Andrews McMeel Syndication

Each Wuzzle is awordriddlewhich creates adisguised word, phrase, name, place, saying, etc. For example: NOON GOOD =GOOD AFTERNOON

Previous answers:

word game

InstRuctIons: 1. Words must be of fourormore letters. 2. Words that acquire fourletters by the addition of “s,”such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3

Additional words made by adding a“d” or an “s” may not be used. 4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit wordsare not allowed toDAy’s WoRD DIFFIDEnt: DIF-ih-dint: Hesitant in acting or speaking, through lack of self-confidence.

Average mark18words

Timelimit 30 minutes

Can you find 23 or morewords in DIFFIDENT?

yEstERDAy’s WoRD —GRIEVEs

sieve sire

loCKhorNs

marmaduKe

Bizarro

hagar the horriBle

Pearls Before swiNe

garfield

B.C.

PiCKles

hidato

mallard

Getting the IRSonthe

phone is more difficult

Taxpayers calling the IRS for help processing their taxes this ﬁlingseason may ﬁnd it harder than normal to get someone on the phone, experts say,aproblem that is only expectedtoget worsenext year with staffing cuts that could slash the workforce considerably

For this year,data of tax return processing times shows numbers largely in line with those fromlast year.IRS employees involved in the 2025 taxseason were not allowed to accepta buyout offer from the Trumpadministrationuntil after the taxpayer ﬁling deadline of Tuesday,though thousands of probationary workerswere laid off earlier this year

Legal experts in tax compliance say the long wait timesare going to increase as more buyouts and layoffs take effect.

Comparing figures through thefirst week of Aprilfrom 2024and 2025, 101.4 million returnswere processed this year compared to 101.8 milliontax returns last year.Refunds are up, with 67.7 million issued this yearcompared with 66.7 million in 2024.

Former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said even in a normal yearthe IRS’ responsiveness slows the further into tax season it gets.

“Next year,ifthey cut 10,000 or 20,000 employees, they’re headed back to really bad taxpayerservice on thephone,” he said. “And the taxpayer priority line will become an oxymoron.”

Nvidia plans to make AI chips in the U.S. Nvidia announced Monday that it will produce its artiﬁcial intelligence supercomputers in the United States for the ﬁrst time. The tech giant said it has commissioned more than 1million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test its specialized Blackwell chips in Arizonaand AI supercomputers in Texas —part of an investment thecompany said will produce up to half atrillion dollarsofAI infrastructure in the next four years.

“The engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being builtinthe United States forthe ﬁrsttime,” Nvidiafounder Jensen Huang said in astatement. “Adding Americanmanufacturing helpsusbetter meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chainand boosts ourresiliency.”

Nvidia said in apost on its websitethatithas started Blackwell production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. chip plants in Phoenix. The Santa Clara, California-based chipcompany is also building supercomputermanufacturing plants in Texas —with Foxconn in Houstonand Wistron in Dallas Mass production at both plants is expected to ramp up in the next 12-15 months, Nvidia said. The company alsoplans on partnering with Taiwan-based company SPIL and Amkor for “packaging and testing operations” in Arizona.

Pfizer stops obesity pill development

Pﬁzer is ending the developmentofits potential once-daily pill treatmentfor obesitybeforeventuring into the biggest and most expensive level of clinical testing. The drugmakersaid it would stop studying danuglipronafter aparticipant in one of itstrials experienced apossible druginduced liver injury that ended once the person stopped taking the treatment. The once-daily version of the pill was in early-stage testing, with researchers trying to ﬁgure outthe best dose for patients, aspokeswoman said The company intended to move the drug into late-stagetesting, which is generally thelast phase of development before a company submits the potential treatment to government regulators for approval.

THEADVOCATE.COM/news/business

Stocks rallyafter Trumpeases some tariffs

BY STAN CHOE AP business writer

NEWYORK Stocks rose worldwide

Mondayafter President Donald Trumprelaxed some of his tariffs, for now at least,and as stress from within the U.S. bond market seems to be easing. TheS&P 500 climbed, though tradingwas still shaky,and it briefly gave backall of itsbig early gain of 1.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also closed higher Apple and other technology companieshelpedliftWallStreet after Trumpsaidhewas exempting smartphones, computers and other electronics from some of his stiff tariffs, which could ultimately more than doubleprices forU.S

customers of productscoming from China. Such an exemption would mean U.S. importers don’t have to choosebetween passing on the highercosts to theircustomers or taking ahit to their own proﬁts Apple climbed2.2%, andDell Technologies rose 4%.

But suchrelief may ultimately prove fleeting. Trump’stariff rollout has been full of fits and starts, and officials in his administration said this most recent exemption on electronics is only temporary

Thatcould keep uncertainty high for companies, which are trying to makelong-term plans when conditions seem to change by the day.Such uncertainty sent the U.S. stock marketlast week to chaotic andhistoric swings, as investors struggledtocatch up with Trump’s

moves on tariffs, which could ultimately lead to arecession if not reduced.

China’scommerce ministry nevertheless welcomed the pause on electronics tariffs in aSunday statement as asmall step, even as it called for the U.S. to completely cancel the rest of itstariffs. China’sleader Xi Jinping on Monday said no one wins in atrade waras he kicked off adiplomatic tour of SoutheastAsia, hoping to present China as aforce for stability in contrast with Trump’sfrenetic moves on tariffs

Trump noted themoves in the bond market,which suggested investors “were getting alittle queasy,” after he announced a90daypause on many of histariffs last week.

That Trumpacted only after the bond market madeits scary move, but not after the U.S. stock market began trembling, “reveals this administration’sAchilles’ heel,” according to Lisa Shalett, chief investment ofﬁcer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs rose 1.9% after reporting astronger proﬁtfor thelatest quarterthanexpected.Itjoined otherbig banks in doing so,such as JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley Perhaps moreencouragingly for Wall Street, the bond market also showed signs of increasing calm. Treasury yields eased following theirsuddenand scary rise last week, whichseemed to rattle not only investors but also Trump.

BY JOSH BOAK AND MICHAEL LIEDTKE Associated Press

WASHINGTON President DonaldTrump on Monday suggestedthathemight temporarilyexempt theauto industry from tariffs he previously imposed on the sector,to give carmakerstimetoadjust their supply chains.

“I’m looking at something to help someof thecar companieswith it,” Trump told reporters gathered in the OvalOfﬁce. The Republican president said automakers needed time to relocateproductionfrom Canada Mexico and other places,“And theyneed alittle bitoftimebecause they’regoing to make them here, but they need alittle bit of time. So I’m talkingabout things like that.”

Thestatement hinted at yet another round of reversals on tariffs as Trump’sonslaught of import taxes has panicked ﬁnancial markets andraised deep concerns from Wall Street economistsabout apossible recession.

When Trumpannouncedthe 25% auto tariffs on March27, he describedthem as “permanent.” Hishard linesontrade have become increasingly blurred as he hassought to limit thepossible economic and political blowback from his policies

Last week, after abond market selloff pushed up interest rates on U.S. debt, Trump announced that for90dayshis broader tariffs against dozens of countries would instead be set at abaseline 10% to give time for negotiations.

At thesame time, Trump increased the importtaxes on China to 145%, only to temporarily exempt electronics from someof those tariffs by having thosegoodscharged at a20% rate.

“I don’tchange my mind, but I’m ﬂexible,”

Trump saidMonday Trump’s ﬂexibility has also fueledasense of uncertainty and confusion about his intentionsand end goals. The S&P 500 stock index was up Monday, but it’sstill down

nearly 9% this year.Interest rates on 10year U.S. Treasury noteswerealsoelevated at roughly 4.4%

Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for theNorthern Trust global financial firm, said the whiplash had been so great that he might have to “get fitted for aneck brace. Tannenbaum warned in an analysis: “Damage to consumer, business, andmarketconfidence may alreadybeirreversible.”

Maroš Šefcovic,, the European commissioner for trade and economic security, posted on XonMondaythat on behalf of theEuropeanUnion he engaged in tradenegotiations with Commerce SecretaryHowardLutnickand U.S. TradeRepresentative Jamieson Greer

“The EU remains constructive andready fora fair deal —including reciprocity through our 0-for-0 tariff offer on industrial goodsand the work on non-tariff barriers,” Šefcovic said.

BY BRIAN WITTE and BARBARA ORTUTAY AP technologywriters

WASHINGTON Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Mondayinahistoricantitrust trial that couldforcethe techgiant to break offInstagram andWhatsApp, startups it bought more than adecade ago thathave since grown into social media powerhouses. The Federal Trade Commission called Zuckerberg as its ﬁrst witness, as it seeks to prove that Meta

acquired Instagram and WhatsApp to preserve its monopoly in the social networking space. In opening statements, FTC attorney Daniel Matheson saidMeta has used its position to generate enormous proﬁts even as consumer satisfaction hasdropped. He said Meta was “erecting amoat” to protect its interests by buyingthe two startups because the company feared they were athreat to Meta’s dominance. Zuckerberg andother key Metawitnesses will testify throughout the trial.

“We’re going to give them their chance to tell their side of the story,” Matheson said. MarkHansen, an attorneyfor Meta, said the FTCwas making a “grab bag” of arguments that were

wrong. He said Meta hasplenty of competitionand has made improvements to the startups it acquired.

“This lawsuit,insummary,is misguided,” Hansen said, adding: “anyway you look at it, consumers have been the big winners.”

The trial will be the firstbig test of President Donald Trump’sFederal Trade Commission’sability to challenge Big Tech. The lawsuit was filed against Meta —then calledFacebook —in2020, during Trump’s first term.Itclaims the company bought Instagram and WhatsApp to squash competition and establish an illegal monopoly in the social media market. Meta, the FTC argues, has maintained amonopolybypursuing

Zuckerberg’sstrategy,“expressed in 2008: ‘It is bettertobuy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.” Facebook also enacted policies designed to makeitdifficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” theFTC says in its complaint, just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers.

“Unable to maintain its monopoly by fairly competing, the company’s executivesaddressed the existentialthreat by buying up new innovators that weresucceeding where Facebook failed,” the FTC says.

President Donald Trumptold reporters gathered in the Oval Office on Mondaythat

companies with (tariffs).’