February 2020

NASA’s record-setting Koch, crewmates safely back from space

MOSCOW (AP) — NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who has spent nearly 11 months in orbit on the longest spaceflight by a woman, landed safely in Kazakhstan on Thursday along with two of her International Space Station crewmates.

The Soyuz capsule carrying Koch, along with station Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and the Russian space agency Roscosmos’ Alexander Skvortsov, touched down southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 3:12 p.m. (0912 GMT).

Passengers say crumpled plane landed fast in Istanbul

ISTANBUL (AP) — Passengers who lived through the crash landing in Istanbul that killed three people and left a Turkish airliner crumpled into pieces say the plane’s descent felt unusually fast.

Engin Demir, who was injured in the crash, told NTV television that he really noticed the speed as the Boeing 737 operated by low-cost Pegasus Airline landed at Sabiha Gokcen Airport on Wednesday evening.

China opens new hospitals for virus patients, deaths top 560

BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday finished building a second new hospital to isolate and treat patients of a virus that has killed more than 560 people and continues to spread, disrupting travel and people’s lives and fueling economic fears.

A first group of patients was expected to start testing a new antiviral drug, as China also moved people with milder symptoms into makeshift hospitals at sports centers, exhibition halls and other public spaces.

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Optimist Walk For a Cure

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Above: The Lake Arthur High School Baseball team participated to show their support for Isaiah Holman, a local childhood cancer fighter. Team members took turns pushing Holman to the finish line. Far left: The overall male winner was Joby Richard of Creole.

Left: The overall female finisher was Kaitlyn Sawyer of Jennings.

Below: Children from Union Baptist Church are shown warming up before the race.

LDWF boating course set for April 25

LAKE ARTHUR - A boating safety course has been scheduled in Lake Arthur.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in conjunction with Jeff Davis Parish Fire District No. 4 and Lake Arthur Police Department will hold a boating safety course on April 25 at the Fire District 4 station on La. 26.

The class will begin at 8 a.m. that day and seating is limited to 35.

Door prizes will be provided.

To register online, visit the website https://la-web. s3licensing.com/Events

Anyone 10 years of age and older may attend.

California may pause student fitness tests due to bullying

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to pause physical education tests for students for three years due to concerns over bullying and the test discriminating against disabled and non-binary students. The move also comes after annual test results show a growing percentage of students scoring not healthy.

Mayor: ‘Joy ride’ driver arrested on Super Bowl parade route

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An impaired driver taking a “joy ride” Wednesday along the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade route was put into a forced spin by law enforcement officers who then arrested the driver and another person at gunpoint, according to officials and video footage of the incident.

Police: Man left woman in bed covered in animal feces

PLAQUEMINE (AP) — A Louisiana man left a woman in her 70s confined to a bed covered in the feces of more than a dozen pets, authorities said.

Galen Marcantel, 54, was arrested Thursday and charged with suspicion of cruelty to persons with infirmities and five counts of aggravated animal cruelty, news outlets reported.

Plaquemine police and the Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office were performing a wellness check on the woman after neighbors said they hadn’t seen her in several months.

US conducts test flight of unarmed Minuteman 3 missile

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from California early Wednesday on a test flight to a target in the Pacific Ocean, the Air Force Global Strike Command said.

The missile blasted off at 12:33 a.m. from Vandenberg Air Force Base and its reentry vehicle traveled 4,200 miles (6,759 kilometers) to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands as part of a developmental test, the command said from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.