The State Department of Health predicts the mumps outbreak in Louisiana will get worse. Michellle Southern reports…:
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As federal lawmakers devise a plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, US Senator John Kennedy says he will vote for any plan that’s better than Obamacare. Halen Doughty has more…
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The Louisiana Department of Health confirms 12 mumps cases, and a state health official predicts this developing outbreak will only get worse before it gets better. Medical director of the state Immunization Program Dr. Frank Welch says mumps has a long incubation period, which means it can be two to three weeks after someone is exposed before they show symptoms.
The first cluster of cases has been identified on the LSU campus in Baton Rouge. The university is taking extra precautions to prevent the spread among students and faculty. Welch says you can protect yourself by receiving two doses of the mumps vaccine and know the symptoms of mumps.
Welch says if you see anyone exhibiting those symptoms, tell them to self-isolate and avoid other people. He says following these precautions will slow the mumps outbreak. He says with this being St. Patrick’s Day weekend, there’s a concern the disease will spread.
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US Senator John Kennedy says there are problems with the House Republican’s plan to overhaul the nation’s health care law, but he’s confident it will be improved as it moves through the legislative process. Kennedy likes that the House bill is not as generous with tax credits as Obamacare, but it’s not ungenerous either.
Giving states more flexibility with how they operate Medicaid is one of the changes Kennedy would like to see with the GOP health care plan. He also wants to see more healthcare assistance for those that need it.
Opponents of the proposal say more people will become uninsured. But Kennedy says that’s because their plan repeals the individual and employer mandates. He says at least some people will decide not to purchase insurance and give up their coverage.
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A Washington Parish man is behind bars after police say he shot and killed five abandoned puppies in February. Chief Deputy Mike Haley with the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office says a concerned citizen contacted the Humane Society after seeing the abandoned puppies on the side of the road.
Haley says they launched an investigation, and a tip led them to 25-year-old Shawn Glen Jones of Angie. He says initially, Jones denied knowing anything about the puppies, but as the questioning continued, the truth eventually came out.
Haley says Jones still denied shooting the puppies, until detectives learned he had obtained a .22 caliber rifle just before the shooting. He says the suspect did not have the weapon with him when he dropped off the puppies, but…
Jones is booked on five counts of cruelty to animals, and he’s being held in the Washington Parish Jail on a $15,000 bond.
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There have been three arrests made in the case of a noose that was found hanging at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Landry Parish. Sheriff’s Office spokesman Major Eddie Thibodeaux says detectives began investigating the incident on March 7th. He says two juveniles and one 18-year-old, Judah Barber of Opelousas have been charged with…
The incident began after three black boys and three white boys were arguing on the baseball field. Thibodeaux says even though hanging the noose was meant as a joke, it is humiliating and hateful.
Thibodeaux says one of the juveniles involved performed well in school but made a very bad decision when participating in hanging the noose.
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