May 2020

What we still don’t know about the Flynn case

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The Michael Flynn case will soon be over. It began on Jan. 24, 2017, just four days into the Trump administration, when two FBI agents went to the White House to interview Flynn, then the brandnew national security adviser. Ignoring protocol, they questioned him about a phone call he had a few weeks before, during the transition, with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. By the end of the year, Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in that interview.

Restarting the economy shouldn’t be a life or death decision

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My mother texted me a photograph on Sunday. That doesn’t sound like a newsworthy occasion, but mom had never texted anything to me or anyone else, ever. It was a photo of the flowers I sent her for Mother’s Day. The picture was a little grainy and out of focus, but that’s what a 15-yearold flip phone will get you.

“Does this mean you’re going to start texting now?” I asked when I called her.

“No. I don’t text.”

“Why not?”

“If you want to talk to me, you call me so I can hear your voice.”

Elton cuts trees over town property

ELTON — The town here is eradicating trees and limbs that present a hazard to residents.

Mayor Tony Laughlin said that any trees or limbs hanging over town property must be trimmed.

Recently, the town spent $900 taking down a tree that was on private property. However, the tree was hanging over a public right-of-way.

Councilwoman Brandilyn Soileau, who voted against paying to take the tree down, said she talked to the property owner who said she was already planning to take down the tree herself.

See You Soon

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The Golden Age of Welsh Nursing Home residents enjoyed a drivethrough parade Tuesday afternoon.

State to name nursing homes where outbreaks happen

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration Monday will start releasing the names of nursing homes where residents have tested positive for the coronavirus and where there have been deaths from COVID-19.

The administration initially released that information early in the outbreak, but later stopped providing details, offering only numbers of nursing home residents statewide who have tested positive and who have died.

That raised questions about whether family members of nursing home residents who aren’t infected were told what was happening in the facility.

64K deemed ineligible stay on La. Medicaid because of virus

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana is keeping 64,000 people in the Medicaid program who otherwise would have been kicked off the rolls, because of a federal aid requirement enacted for the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s unclear when they’ll be removed from the coverage, the state health department said Wednesday.

AGs in 14 states to Trump: Hold China accountable

Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) — Republican attorneys general in 14 states asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to form a state-federal partnership to hold China accountable for damages caused by the spread of the new coronavirus.

The letter to the president says “the Chinese communist government” may have failed to provide information or provided misinformation about the virus that led to its spread.

GOP lawmakers look to limit car accident claims in La.

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana’s Republican lawmakers Tuesday advanced proposals to limit damage claims against businesses in car wreck lawsuits, pushing ahead with the pre-coronavirus priority as Democrats argued the debate was inappropriate amid a pandemic.

House and Senate committees approved “tort reform” measures that would make sweeping changes to Louisiana’s civil litigation system, aimed at lessening liability of insurance companies and other businesses. The bills would change the rules for accessing the courts and suing over injuries.

Republican wins House seat in heavily Dem California

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Long-suffering California Republicans finally have something to celebrate.

Former Navy fighter pilot Mike Garcia captured an open U.S. House seat north of Los Angeles on Wednesday, giving Republicans a rare victory in one of the nation’s most Democratic states.

Garcia defeated Democrat Christy Smith in a special election to complete the remainder of the term of former Democratic Rep. Katie Hill, who resigned last year. Garcia’s win marks the first time in over two decades that a Republican captured a Democraticheld congressional district in California.

NFL teams eyeing West Virginia resort as training facility

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Several NFL teams are eyeing a resort owned by West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice as a potential training facility during the coronavirus pandemic, a spokesman for the retreat said Wednesday.

The Greenbrier, a lavish resort in southern West Virginia, has previously hosted training camps for New Orleans Saints and the Houston Texans. Although several teams have contacted the resort, no franchise has officially signed on to practice there this year, hotel spokesman Cam Huffman said.