Free Republic

The Massachusetts Public Health Department announced Thursday that the state would lower its COVID-19 death count by 3,700 due to new measuring criteria being implemented.The department said in a statement the new death definition is following the guidance (pdf) of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create a standardized approach for states to count COVID-19 deaths.“Our approach proved to be too expansive and led to a significant overcount of deaths in Massachusetts,” Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke told the State House News Service.Massachusetts deemed COVID-related fatalities those which...

Harry Lee, Jefferson Parish's irrepressible sheriff since 1980, died Monday at Ochsner Medical Center, losing a five-month battle to leukemia. He was 75.

It was 20 years ago that Sheriff Harry Lee said black people in white neighborhoods were probably up to no good and threatened to pull them over if they were driving there. Now, with a murder rate in Jefferson Parish that is almost double what it was last year, Lee said deputies will soon begin stopping black people in violent neighborhoods and searching them. Deputies have said it has become like a war zone on the Westbank of Jefferson Parish. Violence has spread to neighborhoods that had very little pre-Katrina crime and has exploded in others. They blame it on...

<p>BATON ROUGE - Spouses can become an issue in politics.</p> <p>Just look at Hillary Rodham Clinton.</p> <p>"Rarely does a spouse make a difference," said LSU political scientist Wayne Parent. "But if an issue is made of the spouse, it can."</p>

Jindal’s New Ad Condemns Blanco’s Negative Attacks Press Release: After two straight weeks of attacks by Kathleen Blanco, Gubernatorial candidate Bobby Jindal today released a new television ad urging voters to reject the negative politics of the past and focus on the issues facing Louisiana this election. Jindal said, “I’m still hopeful that we can focus on the issues. There is still time for Kathleen to refocus her campaign.” Jindal went on to say, “Every candidate has the right to defend themselves against lies, distortions and half-truths, but we shouldn’t be distracted by the negative politics of the past.” Blanco...