December 2019

Christmas typhoon leaves 20 dead in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A strong typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines left at least 20 people dead and forced thousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Catholic country.

Tenn. boy, 11, gets new mechanical hands for Christmas

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee boy born without functioning hands asked Santa for a new pair last year, and his community came together this Christmas to make the gift possible.

Gavin Sumner, 11, was gifted his new prosthetic hands Monday at the Montgomery County Mayor’s Office in Clarksville during a ceremony he didn’t know was organized just for him, The Leaf-Chronicle reported.

“This is a huge leap forward ... I want to go to school and be independent for the first time,” he said.

State officials are at the core of 2020 election security

SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AP) — Inside a hotel ballroom near the nation’s capital, a U.S. Army officer with battlefield experience told 120 state and local election officials that they may have more in common with military strategists than they might think.

These government officials are on the front lines of a different kind of battlefield — one in which they are helping to defend American democracy by ensuring free and fair elections.

“Everyone in this room is part of a bigger effort, and it’s only together are we going to get through this,” the officer said.

U.S. stocks open higher; retailers rise on holiday shopping

(AP) - Stocks edged higher early Thursday as U.S. markets reopened for trading after the Christmas holiday.

Technology, banks and companies that rely on consumer spending led the gainers. Utilities, materials and industrial stocks lagged the most.

Amazon and other retailers rose after data showed a last-minute surge in online shopping helped holiday sales.

The modest gains had the major indexes on track for more record highs.

Sandra Lynn Johnson

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Sandra Lynn Johnson Trahan, 79, passed peacefully away at her daughters’ home in Youngsville surrounded by her loving family on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2019, at 9:14 p.m.

Family and friends are invited to attend Sandy’s funeral services in Jennings at Miguez Funeral Home so we may together express our final goodbyes.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019, in Miguez Funeral Home chapel, with Markham Ray Trahan, Jr., officiating.

West Coast fishery rebounds in rare conservation ‘home run’

WARRENTON, Ore. (AP) — A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast.

After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen — those who use nets to catch rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish — are making a comeback here, reinventing themselves as a sustainable industry less than two decades after authorities closed huge stretches of the Pacific Ocean because of the species’ depletion.

Christmas festival winners announced

Jennings Christmas Parade and Battle of the Roux Cook-off winners announced

The Jennings Christmas Festival was held on Saturday, Dec. 21. Dozens of decorated vehicles, bikes, and marching units filled historic Main Street during the annual parade. Winners were selected for various categories.

“First place float and a $100 prize went to Theresa Seaux,” said city event coordinator Lin Fake. “Second place winners, Upward Sports of Jennings, were awarded $50.”

Bethel Christian School’s Homecoming Court came in third place with their float, Fake said.

GOP lawmakers want to enact new limits on lawsuits

BATON ROUGE (AP) — After an election season in which conservative Republicans made Louisiana’s high car insurance rates a campaign issue, GOP lawmakers expect efforts to try to limit damages awarded in car wreck lawsuits to be front and center in the 2020 legislative session.

Business groups are pushing the “tort reform” proposals, saying Louisiana’s legal climate encourages people in car accidents to sue insurance companies, driving up automobile insurance rates.

Running car stolen with child inside

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A running car was stolen with a 4-year-old boy inside, but the child was found safe in the car, which was abandoned about five blocks away, New Orleans police said Tuesday.

Police spokesman Juan Barnes said the child’s father left the boy in the running car while he visited relatives, and a teenager apparently drove off in it.

The unidentified youth is wanted on a kidnapping charge. The boy’s father was not cited for leaving the child in the car, Barnes said. He said he did not have any other details about the incident.

State readying the rules for industrial hemp farming

BATON ROUGE (AP) — With industrial hemp promoted as a new cash crop for struggling farmers, Louisiana’s agriculture department is fast-tracking the regulations for the newly legal commodity, with the first grower licenses expected to win approval in February.

Interested farmers are packing orientation sessions to learn about the lengthy paperwork, licensing, testing and reporting requirements the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry is enacting to govern industrial hemp production in Louisiana, under a program overwhelmingly backed by lawmakers earlier this year.