January 2020

Justice Department: Too late to pass Equal Rights Amendment

BOSTON (AP) — The Justice Department has thrown a roadblock into efforts to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, finding that an expired pair of deadlines imposed by Congress on ratification of the measure means it’s too late for additional states to ratify it now.

The memo by Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel comes as Virginia is poised to become the decisive 38th state to approve the ERA nearly four decades after Congress sent it to states in 1972, attaching a 1979 ratification deadline to it.

Moon river: Rocket part ferried on the mighty Mississippi

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With a brass band playing and a parade of workers sporting Mardi Gras beads, a huge component of a new rocket system was wheeled slowly from a New Orleans spacecraft factory on Wednesday to a barge that will float it up the Mississippi River for testing.

Jeffrey Bihm

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A Celebration of Life service for Jeffrey Bihm, 54, of Lake Charles will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, at First Baptist Church in Welsh, with Rev. Rod Aguillard officiating.

The family will receive friends at the church from 2 p.m. Sunday until time of services. Burial will be private in Thornwell Cemetery under the direction of Johnson Funeral Home of Lake Charles.

Mr. Bihm died Wednesday in a Lake Charles hospital.

STATE BRIEFS

Vermilion Parish Schools names interim superintendent

ABBEVILLE (AP) — A Louisiana parish school district has named an interim superintendent, less than a month after a lawsuit by the former system leader was dropped.

Iran sends mixed signals as tensions with US ease

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran sent mixed signals Thursday as tensions with the U.S. appeared to ease, with President Hassan Rouhani warning of a “very dangerous response” if the U.S. makes “another mistake” and a senior commander vowing “harsher revenge” for the killing of a top Iranian general.

McConnell, Pelosi stand firm as impeachment remains frozen

WASHINGTON (AP) — The standoff over President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial deepened as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there will be “no haggling” with Democrats as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demands for more details and witnesses.

McConnell’s Senate majority has the leverage Republicans need to launch Trump’s trial toward swift acquittal of the charges, but Pelosi’s reluctance to transmit the articles of impeachment leaves the proceedings at a standstill.

Facebook again declines to limit political ad targeting

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook has decided not to limit how political ads can be targeted to specific groups of people, as its main digital-ad rival Google did in November to fight misinformation. Neither will it ban political ads outright, as Twitter did last October. And it still won’t fact check them, as it’s faced pressure to do.

Instead, it is announcing much more limited “transparency features” that aim to give users slightly more control over how many political ads they see and to make its online library of political ads easier to use.

Uproar in UK over Harry and Meghan’s step back from royals

(AP) - Britain’s royal family scrambled Thursday to contain the fallout from the surprise announcement by Prince Harry and Meghan that they plan “to step back” from royal duties, a shift that ignited media outrage and public unease in the U.K.

The couple’s declaration that they planned to forge a “progressive” new path for royals in the modern world clearly upset senior royals — who apparently weren’t told of the decision in advance.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

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Welsh seeks LED lights for interstate ramps

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WELSH - Aldermen are requesting that the Louisiana Department of Development and Transportation (DOTD) conduct a feasibility study regarding the replacement of the Interstate 10 lighting system near the town’s exit and entrance ramps.

Officials adopted a resolution on the matter this week. According to Mayor Carolyn Louviere, if the lighting replacement comes to fruition, DOTD would pay 90 percent of project costs while the town would cover the remaining 10 percent. The current system would be replaced with LED bulbs, and Welsh would assume maintenance operating costs.