March 2021

APSO seeking Jennings man

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CROWLEY - The Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on the whereabouts of a Jennings man accused in a February shooting. Damarien Lance Simon, 19, is facing four counts of attempted seconddegree murder, suspected of shooting into a vehicle on Interstate 10 Feb. 18. One woman was injured in the shooting.

Prosecutors: 19 convictions so far in mariner testing scheme

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Federal prosecutors say they now have 19 convictions in connection with a scheme to post phony passing test scores for people taking mariner exams at a U.S. Coast Guard station in Louisiana.

Louisiana school board asks lawmakers for larger K-12 boost

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana’s top school board Wednesday sent state lawmakers a nearly $4 billion public school financing proposal that would double the spending increase sought by Gov. John Bel Edwards.

Music? Yes. Dancing? No, as New Orleans eases virus rules

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Live indoor music can resume in New Orleans beginning this weekend, city officials announced Wednesday, but dancing will remain prohibited, while venues, performers and audiences will be under strict requirements to employ measures to control the spread of the coronavirus.

Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Congress riven along party lines approved a landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a triumph on a bill that marshals the government’s spending might against twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation.

Security camera hack exposes hospitals, workplaces, schools

(AP) - Hackers aiming to call attention to the dangers of mass surveillance said they were able to peer into hospitals, schools, factories, jails and corporate offices after they broke into the systems of a security-camera startup.

Senate confirms Merrick Garland to be US attorney general

WASHINGTON (AP) —The Senate has confirmed Merrick Garland to be the next U.S. attorney general with a strong bipartisan vote, placing the widely-respected, veteran judge in the post as President Joe Biden has vowed to restore the Justice Department’s reputation for independence.

Stability in bond market helps lift major US stock indexes

Major U.S. indexes are moving higher Wednesday as stability in the bond market translates into gains for stocks.

Attorneys in ex-cop’s trial probe jurors’ views about police

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Attorneys in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s death probed potential jurors Wednesday about their attitudes toward police, trying to determine whether they’re more inclined to believe testimony from law enforcement over evidence from other witnesses to the fatal confrontation.

La. student standardized testing to restart in spring

BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana public school students will resume their traditional standardized tests in math, science, English and social studies in the spring, a year after those exams were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. The state hasn’t settled, however, whether those LEAP 2025 test results will be used to assign letter grades to schools and districts and determine school performance scores. The Advocate reports the testing may be the subject of new legislative debates when the regular session begins in mid-ApriL The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will discuss the test plans Tuesday, though it’s not clear members will reach conclusions on how the results will be used.