April 2021

Reversing Trump, Pentagon releases new transgender policies

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Wednesday swept away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military, issuing new rules that offer them wider access to medical care and assistance with gender transition.

Detectives find cause of Tiger Woods crash but won’t reveal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County sheriff said detectives have determined what caused Tiger Woods to crash his SUV last month in Southern California but declined Wednesday to release details, citing unspecified privacy concerns for the golf star.

France to close schools, ban domestic travel as virus surges

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced a three-week nationwide school closure and a month-long domestic travel ban, as the rapid spread of the virus ramped up pressure on hospitals.

Migrants freed without court notice, no paperwork

MISSION, Texas (AP) — Overwhelmed and under-prepared, U.S. authorities are releasing migrant families on the Mexican border without notices to appear in immigration court or sometimes without any paperwork at all — time-saving moves that have left some migrants confused.

Scientists: Grizzlies expand turf but still need protection

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators.

The right time to think about life

Spring has sprung and life is anew everywhere. Sadly, we also see lives ending. Some of these endings could be prevented if more people were willing to give the gift of life when theirs is over.

The pension bailout hidden within the COVID relief bill

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The $2 trillion in new spending just enacted by congressional Democrats is a COVID relief bill in name only. It’s plenty of money all right, but so little of it goes to fighting the pandemic it brings to mind an observation attributed to Benjamin Franklin concerning an ox that had been mistaken for a bull.

Where do we go next? What do we do now?

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Those are the questions I found myself asking after I spoke to a panel of gun violence reduction activists this week It was two nights after the murders in Boulder, a week after the rampage in Atlanta, and hours after the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee played out a drama so reliably scripted that it felt like even the players involved knew they were playing a role.

Jeff Davis Parish graduation dates announced

The time to bid farewell to the Class of 2021 will be here in just over a month’s time.

Some benefits exempt from state income tax

The first $10,200 of unemployment benefits paid to Louisiana residents who received them in 2020 are exempt from Louisiana state income tax, according to a press release this week from the Louisiana Department of Revenue.