President Donald Trump is warning the government could be shut down, starting at midnight, “for a very long time” if Congress does not include 5.7 billion dollars for a border wall in its end of the year spending bill. Senator Bill Cassidy says they had the votes for an extension to February 8th, but…
A quarter of the government would close in the event of a shutdown, meaning furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, and mandatory, unpaid work time for those deemed “essential”.
Louisiana’s longest-serving Supreme Court justice has died. Former Chief Justice Pascal Calogero was 87. He was first elected to the state’s highest court in 1972, serving for nearly 36 years. For 18 years, he was chief justice, before retiring in 2008. Clancy DuBos, who once served as clerk for Calogero, says he had a tremendous impact on the judicial system.
Cut 6 (08) “…almost 45 years.”
The holidays aren’t always cheery for everyone. Studies show depression increases during holiday seasons, and Office of Behavior Health Medical Director Dr. James Hussey says weight gain from winter celebrations, increased holiday workplace demands and deadlines, and social isolation can to spiraling in depression prone people.
He says depression can lead to people shutting themselves in, when the best thing they could be doing is getting out and helping others who may be struggling by volunteering.
The National Retail Federation says they are seeing procrastination in holiday shopping and expect around 61% of holiday shoppers to wrap up with gift buying this week leading up to Christmas. NRF spokesperson Katherine Cullen says this year, people are putting things off a little bit more than normal for the final Saturday before Christmas known as “Super Saturday.”