January 2020

Hong Kong halts trains from mainland China as virus spreads

BEIJING (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader announced Tuesday that all rail links to mainland China will be cut starting Friday as fears grow about the spread of a new virus.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam, wearing a green surgical mask, said both the highspeed rail station and the regular train station would be closed.

She stopped short of a total closing of the border but said that flights from the mainland would also be reduced.

NY, feds sue ‘Pharma Bro’ for ‘scheme’ to keep drug price up

NEW YORK (AP) — State and federal authorities sued imprisoned entrepreneur Martin Shkreli on Monday over tactics that shielded a profitable drug from competition after a price hike made the so-called “Pharma Bro” infamous.

Shkreli was scorned as the bad-boy face of pharmaceuticals profiteering after he engineered a roughly 4,000 percent increase in the price of a decades-old medication for a sometimes life-threatening parasitic infection.

California tests find illegal vapes tainted with additives

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California officials announced Monday that marijuana vape cartridges seized in illegal shops in Los Angeles contained potentially dangerous additives, including a thickening agent blamed for a national outbreak of deadly lung illnesses tied to vaping.

Officials also found that the illegal vapes confiscated in the December raids typically were not as potent as advertised, and sometimes contained just a fraction of the THC claimed on the labels, according to state testing results. THC is the chemical in marijuana that makes users feel high.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Calendar Guidelines

Stay safe and secure

Last week the parish saw a number of burglaries in Jennings and throughout Jeff Davis Parish.

As drug use and addiction continue to plague many parishes, it is not surprising to see crimes like theft and burglary on the rise.

In Lake Charles, police are launching a new initiative called the Safe & Secure Program in an effort to reduce the occurrence of burglaries and theft in the area, according to the American Press. This is definitely something we could use here in Jeff Davis.

Berry returns as NFL’s youngest general manager

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Browns have a new general manager, and they don’t any need time to get to know him.

Andrew Berry was named Cleveland’s GM and executive vice president on Tuesday, returning to the team after a one-year stint in the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office. Berry was the Browns’ vice president of player personnel from 2016-18, when the team went 1-31 over two seasons and was mired in dysfunction.

Bradford sparks Southern to 67-46 win over Alabama A&M

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Micah Bradford had 13 points and six assists as Southern easily distanced Alabama A&M 67-46 on Monday night. Lamarcus Lee had 11 points and six rebounds for Southern (8-13, 5-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference), which earned its fifth straight victory. Darius Williams added eight rebounds. Cameron Alford had 11 points for the Bulldogs (5-13, 2-5), whose losing streak stretched to four games. Southern plays Alcorn State at home on Saturday. Alabama A&M takes on Texas Southern at home on Saturday.

Fundraiser to help offset memorial costs

Article Image Alt Text

LAKE ARTHUR - The community here has continued to show great support for the family of Clay Leblanc, a bronc rider who tragically lost his life due to an accident back in July 2019.

Family members and friends have rallied together to help raise funds needed for a gravesite memorial in honor of the young rodeo star.

“We are currently selling raffle tickets to help defray the cost for his memorial,” said organizer Julia Cormier. “A number of great prizes will be up for grabs.”

The tickets are on sale for $1 each. The drawing will be held on Saturday, March 7.

Use your staycation to explore locally

Article Image Alt Text

Each year, the U.S. Travel Association recognizes National Plan for Vacation Day in January as a day to encourage people to plan their vacations days for the year.

More than half of workers in the United States failed to use all their time off in 2018, creating a stockpile of 768 million unused vacation days, up from 705 million unused days in 2017.

Louisianans failed to use nearly 8.9 million vacation days in 2018, leaving more than 25 percent of their earned time off on the table.

La. Medicaid dispute lingers into new term

Article Image Alt Text

The contracts at the center of a Louisiana Medicaid dispute are worth billions, accounting for onequarter of the state’s annual operating budget and covering services to one-third of its residents. With that much money at stake, Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration was certain to face intense monitoring of how it chose contractors to manage health care for 1.5 million people.

But in a review of the work, Louisiana’s top official overseeing the bid process determined the administration didn’t meet the challenge of handling one of state government’s largest set of contracts.