February 2020

Reports: Tariffs hurting state's biggest ports

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The impact of trade wars negatively affected Louisiana’s biggest ports last year, according to reports from their governing bodies.

The recently released reports say bulk cargo volumes dropped by 25% at the Port of New Orleans in 2019, and the much larger Port of South Louisiana just upriver saw a decrease of 15%, The New Orleans Advocate/ The Times-Picayune reported.

“You can’t hide the numbers,” the Port of South Louisiana’s executive director Paul Aucoin told the newspaper. “It was a tough year.”

Dems have no caucus results, blame 'coding issue'

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democratic party officials in Iowa worked furiously Tuesday to deliver the delayed results of their first-in-the-nation caucus, as frustrated presidential candidates claimed momentum and plowed ahead in their quest for the White House.

La. judge accused of ethical misconduct suspended

SHREVEPORT (AP) — Authorities in Louisiana suspended a judge who’s accused of being involved in a romantic relationship with a young woman who had criminal cases pending in his court.

Shreveport City Court Judge Lee Irvin, 64, was suspended indefinitely with pay in an order from the Louisiana Supreme Court filed last week, news outlets reported. A retired judge was brought back this week to help with city’s court docket.

US adds 'low yield' nuclear weapon

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has deployed a new addition to its nuclear arsenal — a long-range missile armed with a nuclear warhead of reduced destructive power. The so-called low-yield missile joins other, more powerful weapons aboard stealthy submarines prowling the oceans.

Hong Kong reports virus death as workers strike at hospitals

BEIJING (AP) — Hong Kong hospitals cut services as thousands of medical workers went on strike for a second day Tuesday to demand the border with mainland China be shut completely, as a new virus caused its first death in the semi-autonomous territory and authorities feared it was spreading locally.

Holocaust survivor seeks teens to bear witness for future

DRANCY, France (AP) — The girls and boys in the room were just a little older than Victor Perahia was when he was finally freed in 1945, his body wracked with tuberculosis and typhus, his mind anguished by the suffering and death he had seen. After 40 years of selfimposed silence, he now returns time and again to bear witness at Drancy, the transit center from where the French government deported tens of thousands of Jews into the hands of Nazis.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

Calendar Guidelines

Report: JDP job growth slightly down over last year

The latest employment figures show job growth in the parish is slightly down over last year.

Grammy Winner: Third time’s a charm for band director

SULPHUR (AP) — It looks like the third time really is the charm for Micky Smith Jr. who was recently named the 2020 Grammy Music Educator Award winner. After a “disappointing loss” in the 2019 finals, Mickey said the win feels absolutely “surreal.”

STATE BRIEFS

Seven of Winston Churchill’s paintings on view at UL-Lafayette