May 2021

Flurry of diplomatic contacts fuel Iran deal speculation

WASHINGTON (AP) — A flurry of diplomatic contacts and reports of major progress suggest that indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran may be nearing an agreement. That’s despite efforts by U.S. officials to play down chances of an imminent deal that would bring Washington and Tehran back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

UN program inks Moderna deal on 500M doses, starting in Q4

GENEVA (AP) — U.S. biotech company Moderna will provide up to 500 million doses for the U.N.- backed program to ship coronavirus vaccines to needy people in low- and middle-income countries, but shipments won’t begin until the fourth quarter, the company and program leaders said Monday.

Some immigrants, hard hit by economic fallout, lose homes

NEW YORK (AP) — Sotero Cirilo sleeps in a small blue tent under a train track bridge in Elmhurst, Queens.

Mexico City metro overpass collapses onto road, 23 dead

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent the train plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 23 people and injuring at least 79, city officials said.

House agrees to expand Louisiana’s medical marijuana program

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Patients in Louisiana’s medical marijuana program would be able to smoke raw cannabis, rather than rely on the more processed forms of marijuana currently available, if the Senate agrees to a bill that easily won House passage Monday.

Louisiana Senate agrees to ban discrimination on hairstyles

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana Senate unanimously voted to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against someone because of their hairstyle, a measure striking at tactics that have targeted Black people who wear their hair naturally.

Jail guard accused of indecent behavior with girl, fired

LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — A Louisiana sheriff’s deputy has been fired after his arrest on a charge of indecent behavior with a juvenile, the sheriff’s office said Monday.

LDH: 17 percent of JDP fully vaccinated

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Per the latest numbers provided by the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) on Monday afternoon, almost 17 percent of Jeff Davis Parish’s population has completed their COVID-19 vaccine thus far – falling above the Region 5 average (14.37 percent), but falling below both state (26.6 percent) and national (31.8 percent) averages.

City court, marshal see healthy finances

The City Court and City Marshal showed healthy finances for the year ending June 30, 2020.

Social media bill moves to committee

A bill in the state legislature will be heard by a House committee this week that would up the charges for posting a violent crime on the internet.