His designs are drawn by hand on white card -- he disdains AI and ultra-realist renderings that remove the joy of discovering the final product

RUSTON - The Diamond 'Dogs (27-18, 14-7 CUSA) secured their second-straight CUSA sweep at home downing Missouri State (26-15, 14-7 CUSA), 9-8, with a seven-run ninth inning to walk off the Bears.

Sunday's win marked the largest ninth-inning comeback for LA Tech since April 28, 2008, when the 'Dogs entered the ninth inning trailing 9-3 and won 10-9. The Bulldogs have not seen consecutive home sweeps in CUSA play since the 2024 season, securing three-win weekends over Sam Houston (Apr. 26-28) and Western Kentucky (May 10-12).

Missouri State had not been swept in a conference weekend series on the road since April 12-13, 2019, when they were swept at Illinois State as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Bulldogs managed just one baserunner-a two-out walk in the second-through the first four frames of the game before a two-out double in the fifth from Cade Patterson broke up the no-hitter.

Missouri State held a 1-0 lead through the top of the sixth with their lone run coming from a solo homer in the second inning. Trey Hawsey drew a two-out walk on a 3-2 count followed with a Colton Coates double for the 'Dogs' second hit and scoring Hawsey to tie the game at 1-1.

Luke Nichols managed to keep the Bears lineup at bay, tossing three scoreless frames while allowing a hit, walk and striking out a batter. Missouri State led off the seventh with a walk and a single before a sacrifice bunt and an error allowed the Bears to take a 2-1 lead.

Missouri State pressed on in the frame, taking a two-run advantage on an RBI groundout before an RBI double and a two-run single capped off a five-run seventh for the Bears. Coates cut into the deficit with a two-out first-pitch RBI single in the eighth, but Tech was unable to push across any additional runs before entering the final frame.

The Bears added a pair of runs in the ninth to cap off Sunday's finale on an RBI groundout and an RBI single. A pair of singles from Sebastian Mexico and Wesley Scott led off the home half before a wild pitch and an error allowed Mexico to score and close the gap to 8-3.

Matt Houston picked up a knock to load the bases with one out and the top of the batting order coming to the plate. Colby Lunsford then followed up with a bases-clearing triple to bring the 'Dogs to within just two runs of tying the game. Two pitches later, Hawsey brought it even with his team-leading 13th homer of the season off of the right field videoboard.

With the momentum drastically shifting to the home side, the Bears made a pitching change with Coates coming to bat. The second baseman delivered a knock past a diving shortstop before Eli Berch delivered a hit through the same spot as Coates to put the winning run 90 feet from home plate.

Mexico, with a chance to win the game, drew a 1-2 count with the second strike coming on a foul ball that fell close to the first base line. A barrage of shouts from the stands wanted a hit, but after a challenge and review the call of foul ball was upheld.

With the Missouri State infield drawn in to prevent the winning run, Mexico split the gap between the first baseman and second baseman, scoring Coates to win the game and clinch the weekend sweep.

With Sunday's win, head coach Lane Burroughs now has 450 career wins in 14 seasons. Hawsey (14 games) and Lunsford (12 games) extend their hitting streaks while Berch's reached base streak is pushed out to 18 games.

The Bulldogs now look ahead to a midweek road test at ULM on Tuesday, April 28 in Monroe before traveling to Dallas, Texas for a three-game slate with DBU set for May 1-3 at Horner Ballpark.

Quotables

Head Coach Lane Burroughs:

"What do you say, where do you start? We did not start the game off very well. Tip the cap to their starter, he had all three of his pitches working and kept us off-balance. I thought we looked fatigued at home plate, I was not happy about that. We didn't get a hit until the fifth inning with Cade's double, and we just kept hanging in there. The top of the seventh was a disaster for us. But our guys hung in there and kept going. We had some huge hits in that last inning-Mexico and Scott got it started, Casey McCoy drove in a run and then the triple from Lunsford. And then obviously Hawsey tying the game with the homer. It was just incredible. I thought Joey Wittig had a good inning, he had not been in for quite some time. Landon was good enough to get us through four innings and then turned it over the bullpen, which wasn't as good today as it had been recently, but they did enough for us to get the win. And that last inning-I told the guys that's old-school Louisiana Tech baseball and what we call Love Shack magic. I have a ton of respect for Missouri State, not just for this year's team but the history of their program. Not only to win the series at home, but to get the sweep in that fashion-I couldn't be prouder of this team. We've been to some dark places this year, and it takes a toll. It's hard on everyone involved-coaches, players, fans, season ticket holders. But the guys kept getting out of bed, coming to practice and getting to work. We knew sooner or later we'd break through, but we haven't completely gotten there yet. I told the team they're in a war, and the first battle was Missouri State, and we won that battle. Now, we have a midweek game at ULM and then DBU and Liberty on the road. I want the guys to enjoy this because this is special, but we have a lot of baseball in front of us. But we needed this series, and to get it in that fashion was incredible. I'm proud of Sebastian Mexico-he's been through a lot. He addressed the team on Thursday and it went well. I felt like it was pretty appropriate for him to come to the plate with a chance to win the game, and he got it done for us, so very proud of him."

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(The Center Square) - Democrat and Republican candidates are clamoring to fill an open seat in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District.

The district, which stretches across central-east Georgia, is open because Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., is running for the U.S. Senate.

Lexy Doherty, a Democrat candidate in the district, told The Center Square she wants to flip the seat. Doherty ran against Collins in 2024, winning 63.4% of the vote.

Doherty said she hopes to capitalize on President Donald Trump’s waning popularity and the open seat to flip the district.

“We just kind of feel like we have the wind at our back,” Doherty said. “We were able to do a lot more and raise a lot more right off the bat.”

Doherty will face challengers for the Democratic nomination from Pamela Delancy and John Dority. They did not respond to an interview request from The Center Square.

Delancy told Ballotpedia that she will bring her experience with chronic disease to the forefront of her healthcare platform.

I will fight for accessible, affordable healthcare that works for every family,” Delancy wrote in Ballotpedia’s candidate connection survey.

Candidates vying for the Republican nomination are Jeff Baker, Houston Gaines and Ryan Millsap. The candidates did not respond to The Center Square's request for an interview.

Gaines, a Georgia state representative, secured an endorsement from President Donald Trump. 

“An Eighth-Generation Georgian, Houston has served as a State Representative since 2019, authoring more than 20 bills that have passed the Georgia Legislature, and championing our AMERICA FIRST Policies,” Trump wrote on social media.

Millsap is a film producer and Baker is a small business owner, according to their websites. Millsap said he supports a national voter ID law, similar to the SAVE America Act.

Millsap also supported a ban on congressional stock trading. Several pieces of legislation have been introduced to ban congressional stock trading, including one from Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.

“Career politicians have used their positions to trade stocks and profit off information the American people don’t have,” Millsap wrote. “Public office is for service, not self-enrichment.”

Baker said he is taking an America First approach to the economy and jobs, saying granting amnesty to law-abiding migrants would "level the playing field."

"Everyone pays taxes, everyone earns fair wages and American workers are no longer undercut," Baker said on his website. 

Brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick surrendered a four-stroke lead but combined to birdie the final hole in a dramatic victory at the PGA Tour's Zurich Classic pairs event on Sunday.

The English duo posted a one-under 71 in the final-round alternate shot format in New Orleans, with world number three Matt bagging his second PGA Tour title in as many weeks after winning the RBC Heritage.

Alex, a DP World Tour regular, earned PGA Tour playing status through 2028, including an exemption to play in the upcoming PGA Championship, the second men's major of the year.

Alex Fitzpatrick, 27, made the winning putt after Matt fired a bunker shot within two feet of the cup as they finished 31-under par for the tournament.

"I'm still shaking," Alex Fitzpatrick said "It was crazy."

The duo of Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer and the Norwegian team of Kristoffer Reitan and Kris Ventura shared second place, both teams on 30-under.

Reitan and Ventura had seized a share of the lead with an eagle at the 18th, where Reitan's shot into the green left Ventura a seven-foot putt.

Smalley and Springer were tied for the lead until a bogey at 17 but birdied 18.

The Fitzpatricks had begun the day with a four-stroke advantage and were three-under through their first 11 holes.

A double bogey on the 12th and a bogey at 14 saw their lead evaporate.

"I felt like we played great for the first 11 holes," Matt Fitzpatrick said. "We were really, really, really steady, really solid and didn't really put a foot wrong.

"Just the one hole on 12, you've made that, and you quickly are sort of scrambling a little bit.

"From then on I felt like I struggled with my game, and I didn't play well. Alex played fantastic. He really sort of managed to keep us in it."

bb/ksb

Global military spending reached nearly $2.9 trillion in 2025, marking an 11th consecutive year of growth, researchers said Monday, as insecurity and rearmament fuelled defence budgets.

The three top spenders -- the United States, China and Russia -- spent a combined total of $1.48 trillion, just over half of global expenditure.

Spending rose by 2.9 percent compared with 2024, despite a reduction by the US, the world's biggest spender, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Researcher Lorenzo Scarazzato told AFP the decrease from the US was more than offset by increases in Europe and Asia, as the world marked "another year of wars and increased tensions". 

Scarazzato said this was also reflected in the global "military burden" --  the share of worldwide GDP devoted to military spending -- which reached its highest level since 2009.

"Everything points to a world that feels less secure and is spending on its military to compensate for the global landscape," he said.

The US spent $954 billion, 7.5 percent less than in 2024, largely because no new financial military aid to Ukraine was approved. By contrast, Washinhton pledged a total of $127 billion to Kyiv over the previous three years. 

But the decrease is expected to be short-lived as the US Congress has approved spending of over $1 trillion for 2026, which could rise to $1.5 trillion in 2027 if US President Donald Trump's budget proposal passes.

The main driver of the global increase was Europe -- including Russia and Ukraine -- where spending surged 14 percent to $864 billion.

"That is driven by two major factors. One is the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the other is the decreased US engagement with Europe," Scarazzato said.

He explained that the US is "pushing for Europe to take more care of its own defence".

Germany, the fourth-largest spender, raised expenditure by 24 percent in 2025 to $114 billion. 

Spain also recorded a 50 percent jump to $40.2 billion, pushing military spending above two percent of GDP for the first time since 1994. 

- Middle East tensions -

The ongoing war in Ukraine saw both Russia and Ukraine increase their military spending, with each recording the highest share of government spending allocated to the military.

Russia's spending rose 5.9 percent to $190 billion, equivalent to 7.5 percent of GDP.

Ukraine meanwhile boosted spending by 20 percent to $84.1 billion -- a staggering 40 percent of GDP.

Despite persistent tensions in the Middle East, expenditure in the region rose only marginally, by 0.1 percent, to $218 billion.

While most countries in the region increased spending, Israel and Iran actually recorded declines.

In Iran, it fell 5.6 percent to $7.4 billion, but this was mostly due to high annual inflation of 42 percent. In nominal terms, spending actually rose.

Israel's 4.9 percent drop to $48.3 billion reflected a reduced intensity in the Gaza war after a January 2025 ceasefire deal, the researchers explained, while noting Israeli spending was still 97 percent higher than in 2022.

In Asia and Oceania, spending reached $681 billion, an 8.5 percent increase from 2024 -- the region's largest annual increase since 2009.

Scarazzato said the "major player" in the region was China, which has been increasing spending every year for the past three decades, and spent an estimated $336 billion in 2025.

"But perhaps what's interesting is the reaction of some other states, such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, reacting to the threat perception," he said.

Japan raised military expenditure by 9.7 percent, to $62.2 billion in 2025, equivalent to 1.4 percent of GDP -- its highest share since 1958 -- while Taiwan increased its spending by 14 percent to $18.2 billion.

jll/po/rh/jj

Nelly Korda rolled to a five-stroke victory in the LPGA Chevron Championship on Sunday, capturing her third major title to assure her return to the world number one ranking.

The 27-year-old American took a five-shot lead into the final round and carded a two-under par 70 to win the first women's major of the year with China's Yin Ruoning and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit sharing second.

Korda completed an impressive wire-to-wire victory at Memorial Park in Houston, becoming the third player in the last 50 years to win a major championship after leading by multiple strokes after each round.

"Honestly, having that big of a lead, it's not easy," Korda said. "It was definitely one of the hardest things I've had to do mentally. Just happy to get it done."

Korda, whose 2024 Chevron triumph was her second major after a victory in the 2021 Women's PGA, had matched the tournament's 54-hole scoring record with a 16-under total and opened the final round with an up and down birdie at the par-five first.

She nabbed another birdie at the par-five third, where her long eagle attempt just missed.

Playing partners Patty and Yin tried to keep some pressure on, both posting three birdies on the front nine, but the American was still up by five at the turn.

A three-putt bogey at the 12th saw Korda's lead cut to four, but she answered with birdies at the 13th and 14th -- bombing a drive at 13 and sticking her approach within three feet of the pin.

A bogey at 17 didn't even dent her lead as Yin made bogey as well.

Both of Korda's bogeys were three-putts, and she missed a couple of birdie chances as well.

"What I kept telling myself was I really want to hoist this trophy because I want to show the kids at home that it's OK to miss short putts and still win a major championship," she said. 

"You're going to make mistakes, but you have to mentally still be in it 100 percent.

"I want to show it to myself, and I wanted to show it to everyone also looking up to me."

There may have been some miscues on the green, but Korda hit 12 of 13 fairways in regulation and 16 of 18 greens.

Yin finished with four birdies in her three-under 69 and Patty had three birdies and a bogey in her 70 -- coming home with 10 straight pars.

The victory continued a strong 2026 campaign that has seen Korda win the season-opening Tournament of Champions and finish second in her three other starts.

She will rise from number two in the world to number one, supplanting Thailand's Jeeno Thitikul who missed the cut this week.

bb/gj

(The Center Square) - Republican candidates running for U.S. Senate in Georgia debated healthcare policies, access to abortion and congressional stock trading on Sunday.

The Atlanta Press Club hosted former football coach Derek Dooley, John Coyne, retired brigadier general Jonathan McColumn and Reps. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and Mike Collins, R-Ga., for a debate centered on campaign issues ahead of early voting on Monday.

The candidates said there is an affordability crisis nationwide and called for expanded access to healthcare while lowering prices. Dooley called for greater price transparency in healthcare access.

“We need a lot of changes in our healthcare system as it relates to transparency, as it relates to putting patients and doctors first, and as it relates to innovation because the system we’re in now is not working,” Dooley said.

Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness and Equality Act, often referred to as the “heartbeat law,” bans abortions once fetal heart activity is detected. When pressed on his support for the law, Dooley said it was “not the way I would have written it.”

“That’s the law of the land, it’s been that way for six years and I just don’t think the U.S. Senate and federal government should weigh in on it,” Dooley said.

The former football coach reiterated his support for the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade and asserted that states have a right to decide guidelines.

Dooley criticized the Affordable Care Act and said it has been used to provide government-backed health insurance for individuals who “make plenty of money.”

McColumn proposed increased competition to lower healthcare costs. He said the competition in the insurance industry would benefit patients and doctors alike.

“We can expect those people who need insurance to have to compete with more or have access to more competitors,” McColumn said.

Carter also called for reform to the healthcare industry. He highlighted work in Congress to reform insurance and pharmacy benefit managers, as well as President Donald Trump’s efforts through TrumpRx to establish a database that provides pharmaceuticals at lower prices.

“We can bring prices down through competition,” Carter said. “We’re having to subsidize the affordable care act. Any time you have to subsidize a federal program it tells you it ain’t working.”

All candidates in the debate were asked whether they would support a ban on congressional stock trading. Collins said he was a staunch supporter of bans on congressional stock trading and pointed out that he is a cosponsor of the Restore Trust in Congress Act, a bipartisan bill that would ban members of Congress from insider trading.

“Let’s ban that and get on with what we’re supposed to be doing up there and that is getting this place back on track and getting the federal government under control,” Collins said.

Coyne, Dooley and McColumn also said they would support a ban on members of Congress trading stocks. Carter said he would support the ban but warned a it may deter individuals from running for office.

“We’re a citizen legislature and we have different people from all walks of life and from all levels of income,” Carter said. “Some of the people, it will deter them in a way and it frightens me a little.”

Carter said he owns stocks, but they are managed by a third party, as required by the law. Carter has $11.53 million in stock trading volume, according to publicly accessible data.

“I don’t have any control over it, that’s the decision I made personally,” Carter said.

Georgia’s primary election is May 19 and early voting begins on Monday, April 27. Sunday's debate was part of the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series featuring statewide candidates. 

BOZEMAN, Mont. — An official U.S. Postal Service notice said the lease for the Babcock Station Post Office at 32 E. Babcock St. in Bozeman would not be renewed and the agency was considering a new retail location within the 59715 ZIP code.

The notice said USPS planned to send a postcard about the proposed relocation. It listed USPS Real Estate Specialist Robb Groetzinger with the project.

According to the notice, the Postal Service was considering leasing an existing building with about 4,800 square feet and 44 or more parking spaces for retail operations and employees. The agency said the new site would be as close as reasonably possible to the current location.

The notice said retail services would remain at the current Babcock Station site until preparations were finished at a replacement location.

USPS invited the public to submit comments on the proposal within 45 days to United States Postal Service, Attn Bozeman MT Babcock Station Relocation, PO Box 27497, Greensboro, NC 27498-1103.

The notice also said the Postal Service does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses and funds its operations through postage, products and services.

A Syrian court conducted the first hearing Sunday in the trial of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and senior figures from his government, one of whom appeared in person. 

Assad and his brother Maher have fled Syria and will be tried in absentia, but one of their relatives, former security official Atif Najib, was in the dock in handcuffs.

"Today we begin the first trials of transitional justice in Syria," judge Fakhr al-Din al-Aryan declared as he opened the session.

"This includes a defendant in custody, present in the dock, as well as defendants who have fled justice," he said.

A judicial source, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the proceedings marked the beginning of preparations for the trials of Assad, his brother and other prominent figures, such as Najib.

Najib, who was arrested in January 2025 in the aftermath of the collapse of the Assad government, appeared in court in Damascus in a striped prison jersey. 

He previously headed Syria's political security branch in the southern province of Daraa, where Syria's 2011 uprising first erupted.

He is accused of having led a broad campaign of repression and arrests there.

Syria's 13-year civil war killed more than half a million people and displaced millions of others. Tens of thousands of people disappeared, some into the country's brutal prison system.

Syria's new authorities have repeatedly vowed to provide justice and accountability for Assad-era atrocities, while activists and the international community have emphasised the importance of transitional justice in the war-ravaged country.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on X on Sunday that justice would remain "a major goal that the state and its institutions strive to achieve".

The judge did not question Najib during Sunday's session, which was dedicated to "preparatory administrative and legal procedures", and announced that a second hearing would be held on May 10.

The judicial source said in-person trials will include Wassim al-Assad, another relative of the ousted president, former grand mufti Ahmed Badreddin Hassoun, as well as military and security officials arrested by the new authorities in recent months.

Assad fled to Moscow with only a handful of confidants as Islamist-led forces closed in on Damascus in December 2024, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom reportedly went abroad or took refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad's Alawite minority.

mam-lk/lg/jj

Missouri softball kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive with an upset over No. 6 Arkansas 3-1 Sunday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Tigers improved to 26-26 with just four games remaining on the schedule.

Sidney Forrester’s three-run home run in the top of the fourth proved the decisive blast, as the freshman gave Missouri a lead it would not surrender. The home run came off Payton Burnham, who shutout the Tigers earlier in a 4-0 loss in Game 1.

Starting pitcher Marissa McCann struggled early, throwing 66 total pitches in just 2⅓ innings. After walking back-to-back hitters in the third, head coach Larissa Anderson subbed her out for Cierra Harrison. McCann finished with one earned run, four walks, three hits and zero strikeouts.

Harrison dominated Arkansas’ batters in the circle once she took the mound, finishing with zero earned runs through 4⅔ innings pitched. Harrison retired the Razorbacks in order in the fourth and fifth innings and worked out of trouble in the sixth, stranding two runners.

Arkansas scored its lone run in the first inning. Brinli Bain doubled off the center field wall before Ella McDowell hit a blooper to right field that allowed Bain to round third and score. Forrester dove for the ball but couldn’t corrall it, giving Bain enough time to make it home.

Behind Harrison and McCann, Missouri’s defense continued to shine. Leading the nation in fielding percentage at .988, the Tigers had a number of plays against Arkansas to make a highlight reel.

Kayley Lenger gunned down a runner at home from center field in the third inning to prevent Arkansas from extending its lead. In the sixth, defensive replacement Linny Ramsey raced toward the left-center gap and made a running catch on a ball that appeared destined for extra bases.

At the plate, Missouri had its most productive offensive day of the weekend, finishing with seven hits. Saniya Hill, who was one of just two batters to get hits Saturday, finished with two more today, including a double in the second inning.

With the victory, Missouri needs to win two of its final four games to reach the .500 mark required to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers host Kansas City at 5 p.m. Tuesday before closing the regular season with a three-game home series against No. 9/11 Tennessee.

Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram scored 23 points apiece as the Toronto Raptors held off the Cleveland Cavaliers 93-89 on Sunday to knot their NBA playoff series at 2-2.

A tight, back-and-forth battle came down to the wire in Toronto, where the Raptors trailed by five with 2:10 left to play but powered to the lead with a 9-0 scoring burst and held on for the win.

"We want it so bad," Barnes, who added nine rebounds and six assists, told broadcaster ESPN. "We're hungry. We're fighting."

Both teams struggled offensively, the Raptors enduring a particularly dismal day from three-point range, making just four of 30 attempts from beyond the arc.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points to lead the Cavaliers and James Harden added 19.

But neither could connect in the final minute, Mitchell missing two attempts in the final 30 seconds as Barnes made six free throws down the stretch to seal it.

The best-of-seven Eastern Conference series now shifts back to Cleveland for game five on Wednesday. The home team has won every game so far.

bb/mw