August 2019

Magnet Monday

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Local youth got the chance to handcraft colorful magnets at the Lake Arthur Library for Magnet Monday.

DOTD announces La. 395 lane closures

For the next month several miles of La. 395 will see lane closures while state crews perform utility work.

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) recently announced intermittent lane closures from milepost 16 to milepost 19 on La. 395 in Jennings.

The closures will take place starting this week and continue through Friday, Sept. 20 with weather permitting. The lane closures can take place from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day, according to DOTD Public Information Officer Tammy York.

STATE BRIEFS

State plans new cybersecurity center for threat response

Saints defensive tackle Rankins returns to practice

METAIRIE (AP) — The “Sheldon Shimmy” was the dance of choice at Saints practice on Monday evening.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, known for his shoulder-shaking sack dance, returned to practice for the first time since tearing his Achilles tendon in New Orleans’ divisional round playoff victory over Philadelphia last January.

Dogs, Hounds set for Jennings Jamboree Thursday night

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Ready to Rumble

The Jennings Bulldogs and Welsh Greyhounds will showcase their final tune-up here at Jerry Simmons Stadium Thursday evening at the Jennings Jamboree. The Hounds will do battle with the South Beauregard Golden Knights at 5:30 p.m., while the Bulldogs will test fellow district rival Iowa immediately following the conclusion of the first contest. Both Welsh and Jennings have competed in the larger Sulphur Jamboree over the past few seasons, however the move seems more fitting to keep things inside the parish.

Iranian president: First lift sanctions, then let’s talk

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president back-pedaled Tuesday on possible talks with Donald Trump, saying the U.S. president must first lift sanctions imposed on Tehran, otherwise a meeting between the two would be a mere photo op.

Hassan Rouhani’s change of heart came a day after Trump said Monday that there’s a “really good chance” the two could meet on their nuclear impasse after a surprise intervention by French President Emmanuel Macron during the G-7 summit to try to bring Washington and Tehran together after decades of conflict.

China ban on some textbooks seen as aimed at Uighur culture

BEIJING (AP) — For 15 years, Yalqun Rozi skillfully navigated state bureaucracies to publish textbooks that taught classic poems and folk tales to millions of his fellow minority Uighurs in China’s far western region of Xinjiang.

That all changed three years ago when the ruling Communist Party launched what it says is a campaign against ethnic separatism and religious extremism in Xinjiang. Suddenly even respected public figures like Rozi were being arrested, caught up in a crackdown that critics have said amounts to cultural genocide.

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NATIONAL BRIEFS

Cameras catch woman using saw to break into Botox clinic

SUGAR LAND, Texas (AP) — Police in suburban Houston are looking for a woman who used a power tool to break into a Botox clinic and steal anti-aging products.

Sugar Land police say surveillance cameras captured the burglary Friday night at the Botox RN MD Spa.

The footage shows a woman approaching the locked door of the spa and trying unsuccessfully to open it. She then retrieves a battery-powered grinding saw from a light-colored Mercedes SUV and uses it to cut into the clinic’s front door.

G-7 nations pledge $40M to fight Amazon fires

PORTO VELHO, Brazil (AP) — The Group of Seven nations on Monday pledged tens of millions of dollars to help fight raging wildfires in the Amazon and protect its rainforest, even as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro accused rich countries of treating the region like a “colony.”

The international pledges at a G-7 summit in France included $20 million from the group, as well as a separate $12 million from Britain and $11 million from Canada. Ottawa has also offered to send firefighting planes to Brazil.