May 2019

D-Day memories fade as war witnesses die

PARIS (AP) — One more funeral, one less witness to the world’s worst war.

Bernard Dargols lived almost long enough to join the celebrations next month marking 75 years since the D-Day, 75 years since he waded onto Omaha Beach as an American soldier to help liberate France from the Nazis who persecuted his Jewish family.

Just shy of his 99th birthday, Dargols died last week. To the strains of his beloved American jazz, he was laid to rest Thursday at France’s most famous cemetery, Pere Lachaise.

NATIONAL BRIEFS

House shelves bid for governor, lieutenant governor ticket

Elizabeth A. Bollich

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Funeral services for Mrs. Elizabeth A. Bollich, 83, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11, 2019, in First Baptist Church, with Dr. Jeff Cook and Rev. Brian Wells officiating.

Visitation will be in First Baptist Church Friday from 5-8 p.m.

Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery under the direction of Miguez Funeral Home of Jennings.

Mrs. Bollich died at 4:25 p.m. Sunday, May 5, 2019, in Lake Charles Memorial Hospital.

US, China wield threats going into high-stakes trade talks

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Chinese negotiators are to resume trade talks Thursday just hours before the United States is set to raise tariffs on Chinese imports in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

In Beijing, Chinese officials said they will retaliate if President Donald Trump goes ahead with more tariff hikes, adding to the heated rhetoric from both sides that was shaking stock markets around the world.

Senate subpoenas Trump Jr. over earlier testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate intelligence committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr., calling him in to answer questions about his 2017 testimony to the panel as part of its probe into Russian election interference.

That’s according to two people familiar with the subpoena who discussed it on condition of anonymity. It’s the first known subpoena of a member of President Donald Trump’s immediate family, and a new sign that the Senate panel is continuing with its own Russia investigation even after the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on the same subject.

Facebook auto-generates videos celebrating extremist images

WASHINGTON (AP) — The animated video begins with a photo of the black flags of jihad. Seconds later, it flashes highlights of a year of social media posts: plaques of anti-Semitic verses, talk of retribution and a photo of two men carrying more jihadi flags while they burn the stars and stripes.

It wasn’t produced by extremists; it was created by Facebook. In a clever bit of self-promotion, the social media giant takes a year of a user’s content and auto-generates a celebratory video. In this case, the user called himself “Abdel-Rahim Moussa, the Caliphate.”

N. Korea fires 2 suspected missiles in possible new warning

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired two suspected short-range missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korean officials said, its second weapons launch in five days and a possible warning that nuclear disarmament talks with Washington could be in danger.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons flew 420 kilometers (260 miles) and 270 kilometers (167 miles), respectively. It said it is working with the United States to determine more details, such as the types of weapons that were fired.

Doyle too much for Hounds in semi-final

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SULPHUR - The Welsh Greyhounds’ storybook run came to an end Wednesday night, as the No. 2 Doyle Tigers upended the Hounds by a final of 5-2 at McMurry Park in a Class 2A state semi-final contest. The Hounds say goodbye to seven seniors in Austyn Benoit, Parker Primeaux, Ryan McKenzie, Dylan Degeyter, Alec Iguess, Macey Hicks and Kaiden Richard. The group was part of two Welsh clubs to make the first trips to the state baseball tournament.

Brantley, Peacock help Astros blank Royals

HOUSTON (AP) — After struggling recently while pitching out of the stretch, Brad Peacock went to a full windup Wednesday night and found a little something extra.

Michael Brantley homered twice, Peacock pitched seven innings and Josh James completed the three-hitter in Houston’s 9-0 win over the Kansas City Royals.

Med Express able to operate in parish

A second ambulance service is now allowed to operate in Jeff Davis.

The police jury approved a permit from Med Express in an 11-1 vote Wednesday allowing the company to begin providing ground services in the parish. Juror Bradley Eastman passed the dissenting vote. Additionally, Air Evac will be working with Med Express to provide air services to residents here from their Kinder station.

Med Express President Mark Majors thanked the team from both companies for their work on getting the permit secured.