Hello friends. Per a request, here is a running list of those who have gone missing in East Texas. As a journalist in this area, these are the individuals I have noticed as part of the missing groups I frequent. Please feel free to direct me to more. As it is my line of work, I care deeply. Some of these individuals I know about, some I do not know much about. There are many more, but this first post is just the time range of 2000-2020. I will do other time periods if there is interest, although older cases are harder to track.
They are organized alphabetically.
Albright, Alwin- last seen 7/6/19 walking away from his home on Scott Street in Gilmer in Upshur County. He is 74 years old with grey hair and blue eyes. He’s 5’10” and 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a red shirt and blue jeans. Mr. Albright has medical issues and is without the medications he needs. There is a $1000 reward for information regarding his whereabouts. Anyone with information should contact the Upshur County Sheriff.
Alvarado, Eric “Slow”- Last seen 11/20/18. Disappeared from Atlanta, Texas, he is 6’5” and 180 pounds. He was 32 years old, and now would be 34. He was last seen wearing camouflage pajama pants, a white t-shirt, and a gray zip-up jacket. He also may have the glasses he was wearing. He has tattoos on his arms, chest and neck. There is a $10,000 reward for information on his whereabouts. Anyone with information should contact the Atlanta, TX police.
Birdwell, Jerrod- Last seen 1/6/14. Missing from Tyler, Jerrod was 17 at the time he disappeared. His height is listed as 5’5” and weight as 170 pounds, but he may have grown. He is white, with short black hair and brown eyes. There are no more details available about him. Anyone with information should contact the Smith County Sheriff.
Boehm, Frederick “Lil Joe” Joseph- Last seen 1/25/01. 6’0”, 130 pounds, white male with hazel eyes and brown hair missing from Marshall. He has a rebel flag tattoo on his upper arm. His sister Jolene is searching for answers and offering a $5000 reward. Anyone with information should contact the Harrison County Sheriff.
Cannon, Heather Danielle- Last seen 8/27/09. The 15-year-old disappeared from Athens, Texas. Authorities believe she left of her own accord, and she was last seen in the company of her biological father, Jerral Allen Whitley. Whitley refused to take a polygraph test after Heather's disappearance and was later incarcerated in Florida for drug offenses and grand theft. He was imprisoned for 18 months before being released in October 2014. Police have since completed excavations of a property on County Road 4837, near Larue. Anyone with information should contact the Henderson County Sheriff.
Childress, Antoinette Renee- Last seen 10/13/15. Missing from Henderson at her trailer home. About a month before Childress went missing, her sister, Patricia Nichols, began receiving strange Facebook messages from her. The first message said there was an emergency and Childress needed her phone number. Three weeks later Nichols got another message that just said "Sister where are I, what's going on." On October 6, Nichols got a voice message from Childress's Facebook account. The message said something about guardian angels, but the voice wasn't Childress's. Nichols left home after that and didn't return until November 6, by which time Childress was missing.
Two women contacted Nichols after Childress's disappearance and said they knew what had happened to her. The women stated Childress had been involved in using and selling drugs, and gotten some bad people angry, and was tortured and killed as a result. This information has not been verified.
Childress was seeing Felipe Villanueva at the time of his disappearance. He is considered a person of interest in her case and has multiple warrants for his arrest on drug-related charges and driving without a license. His current whereabouts are unknown and it's unclear whether he's still in the area.
A few days after Childress was reported missing, police found her car being driven by a man in Henderson. He was arrested on an unrelated charge, and stated Childress had sold him the vehicle, something her family finds difficult to believe.
Childress has a warrant out for her arrest, but she's considered a missing person rather than a fugitive. Childress had just gotten off probation at the time and was trying to clean up her life. Her case remains unsolved and foul play is suspected. Anyone with information should call the Henderson County Sheriff
Combs, Donnie “Bon Jovi” and Cynthia Arnold (went missing together)- The pair was last seen 9/26/18 in Linden, near Atlanta, Texas in Cass County. Combs called Arnold and asked her to come pick him up in Cass Countyand she left home to do so. A little while later she contacted her mother and said Combs hadn't arrived and she was still waiting at the meeting spot. Neither of them has ever been heard from again. A few days after they were last seen, Arnold's truck was found abandoned and burned in Marion County, Texas. While Kevin Dewayne Shepard Jr. and his uncle, Gary Edward Shepard were charged in Oct. 2020 with capital murder of the pair, their bodies have never been found. They face the death penalty if convicted. Anyone with information should contact the Cass County Sheriff.
Culberson, Larry- Last seen 9/4/13. Larry went missing from his home on County Road 4320 in Emory. Larry had been having some medical issues shortly before his disappearance. Larry was last known to be wearing camouflage-style gray pants, a white T-shirt and he might be wearing high-top tennis shoes. He was 56 at the time of his disappearance. An extensive search was conducted in the area without any result. His medical condition causes him to walk with a limp. Anyone with information should contact the Rains County Sheriff.
Dunn, Hartford Hunter- Last seen 8/5/04. Vanished from his home in the 200 block of Private Road 4002 in Marshall in the early morning hours, his daughter said she woke up at 7:30 a.m. and found the door open and her father gone. At 76 years old, he was in the beginning years of dementia. He has not been seen since. Anyone with information should contact the Marshall Police.
Flint, Kimberly Carter- Last seen 9/29/18. Kim’s car was found partially crashed and abandoned in the roadway of State Highway 154 near the rural community of Rekaw, in Rusk County. Her purse ID, as well as other possessions, were at her home, according to Kim’s son James. Picture evidence of the wreck shows damage to the front and side panel of the grey four-door sedan. "The vehicle it was found still in the roadway partially crashed," her son said. "She just wasn't there." Two searches, both immediately after the crash and 170 days later, turned up nothing. A witness believes he saw her speaking with someone in a white pickup truck, but as any local knows… there are a lot of white pickup trucks in East Texas. Kim was featured on “The Vanished Podcast.” Anyone with information should contact the Rusk County Sheriff.
Farrell, Justin Kyle- Last seen 05/11/04. Farrell disappeared from Nacogdoches, Texas. In March 2015, his skeletal remains were found near Cushing in Nacogdoches County, Texas. They were identified in April 2015. Farrell's death remains under investigation and has not yet been ruled a homicide. Anyone with information should contact the Nacogdoches County Sheriff.
Fleisher, Steven Miller- Last seen 9/14/16. Missing from Troup, he was last seen around 6:15 a.m. in the 1200 block of Noble Street. Police say Fleisher did not take any of his belongings with him and his family has been unable to contact him. He was 53 years old at the time of his disappearance. Anyone with information should contact the Smith County Sheriff.
Flores, Lydia- Last seen 10/11/20. Reported missing on Oct. 19 by her Shreveport, LA boyfriend, who said he had not heard from her since Oct. 11. She is a 40-year-old Hispanic female, and has two tattoos: a barbed wire on her bicep and a playboy bunny on her lower back. She is 5’1” and 115 pounds. She has brown eyes and auburn hair. She is from Longview, but anyone with information should contact the Shreveport Police Department.
Franklin, Johnny William- Last seen 10/21/08. The black male, 5'9" tall and 150 pounds was last seen in Tyler. His vehicle was located in a church parking lot at 3009 N. Grand Ave. on October 21, but police said they saw no signs of foul play. He was 53 at the time of his disappearance. Anyone with information should contact the Smith County Sheriff.
Gallegos, Veronica- Last seen 01/11/05. Missing from Gun Barrel City at the age of 19, Her live-in boyfriend said she packed a suitcase and left; he speculated she'd returned to her native Mexico. She has never been heard from again. Gallegos left behind her purse, her Mexican identification and her six-month-old child. Her boyfriend is considered a person of interest in her case and has stopped cooperating with investigators. Foul play is possible in her disappearance, but few details are available in her case. Anyone with information should contact the Henderson County Sheriff.
Gipson, Tyress- last seen 8/22/20. Missing from Jacksonville, Texas in Cherokee County, Tyress had just turned 18 and graduated. He is 6’0” and weighs 180 pounds. He has tattoos of the name “Lavance,” “BG$” and prayer hands. He is an African American man, wears his hair in dreads, and has braces. Anyone with information should contact the Jacksonville Police Department.
Gutierrez, Marquita Leanna- Last seen 11/11/19. Some report her as missing out of Canton, while others report her as missing out of Wood County. Marquita Gutierrez was reported missing after borrowing her mom's pickup that morning to go to a doctor's appointment, but the doctor's office said she never showed up. Her husband told police she was last seen in the Dallas area and was possibly heading toward Laredo. Her husband has been named a person of interest in her case. Anyone with information should contact the Wood County Sheriff
Hunt, Shirley Mae- last seen 6/17/07. Missing from Henderson, Shirley was last seen walking on County Road 454 near her home in rural Rusk County. She had alzheimers at the time of her disappearance. She is 5’4”, 140 pounds with hazel eyes, white hair and a partial denture plate. She wears eyeglasses with a gold wire frame, and was 72 at the time of her disappearance. Sheriff’s deputies believe she got in someone’s car, due to scent dog tracking. Anyone with information should contact the Rusk County Sheriff.
Jackson, Cole Duane- last seen 07/13/06. Missing from Timpson, Jackson was last seen near FM 1645 and CR 4230. The truck he was driving came out of a private pasture and rammed into a fence. He stopped and spoke to the elderly man who owned the land. Jackson apologized and said he would pay $120 for the damage, but said he had to run to get away from the "bad people" who were chasing him. He abandoned his Dodge half-ton pickup with minor damage and left his two inhalers, which he needed, in the vehicle. The driver’s side door was open and the truck was still in four-wheel drive. Jackson's wife was three months pregnant with their first child at the time he went missing. Anyone with information should contact the Shelby County Sheriff.
Lee, Anthony Tyrone- last seen 6/25/11. Anthony was planning to go to the rodeo with his mother on the evening of June 25. When his mother came to pick him up for the rodeo, she found his home deserted. The ironing board was set up with the clothes Lee had planned to wear to the rodeo. His pants were on the ironing board with one leg dangling, as if he'd been interrupted while ironing and left in a hurry. His mother said he would not leave the house in his “house shoes” (a very East Texas thing lol) and he had $600 untouched in his bank account. About three weeks after Lee was reported missing, his mother got strange phone calls. A "death song" played on the line, then someone said, "that's what he gets for snitching." His mother noted that he had been associated with a known drug dealer and this person had wrecked Lee's car about a week before Lee disappeared. Anyone with information should contact the Texas Department of Public Safety (State Troopers).
Marshall, Kimberly Ann- last seen 3/17/17 after she spent one night in the Salvation Army womens’ shelter in Tyler, Texas. She was never seen again. Thirty-one years old at the time, Kimberly had cuts and scars on her arms, wrists and back. She also has upper dentures. She is 5’5” and approximately 105 pounds, although she fluctuates in weight. She has brown hair and brown eyes. Few details are available about her. Anyone with information should contact the Tyler Police Department.
Martin, David Michael- last seen 1/14/10. He was a truck driver based in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and came home to Louisiana most weekends to visit his family. On January 14, Martin called to say he wouldn't make it home that weekend because his truck had broken down. He never contacted his loved ones again. The last person known to have seen him was the mechanic in Longview, Texas whom Martin took his truck to for repairs. They had dinner together, then Martin said he was going to wait on a friend to get truck parts. The mechanic left to do more work on the truck. Martin has never been heard from again. Anyone with information should contact the Sand Springs Police.
Martinez, Gregoria Jacobo- last seen 8/13/09. Martinez was last seen in Nacogdoches. She was born in Mexico and was living in the United States without documents at the time of her disappearance. Her two young children, both of whom are U.S. citizens, and they were visiting their grandmother in Mexico when Martinez disappeared. She had asked the father of one of her children for money to help bring her children home from Mexico. He agreed to meet her and lend her money shortly before she disappeared.Martinez planned to go to the Nacogdoches County courthouse on July 13 to pick up copies of her children's birth certificates, but she never arrived there. She has never been heard from again. She was reported missing on July 16. That same day, her vehicle was found abandoned on the side of County Road 525, near the intersection of U. S. Highway 59 south. There were no obvious indications of a struggle at the scene. Martinez may have gotten a ride south with a truck driver in order to find her children; however, her family never saw her. Both the fathers of her children have been questioned and neither of them have been named as suspects. Authorities believe Martinez was taken against her will. Anyone with information should contact the Texas Department of Public Safety (State Troopers).
Marquez, Erin Raquel- last seen 8/30/14. The 17-year-old disappeared as she was leaving the Longview Baptist Church in Hallsville, near Longview. She has long dark hair that was dyed red, and 5’6”, 130 pounds, and has brown eyes. Anyone with information should contact the Harrison County Sheriff.
McKay, Melissa Darling- last seen 6/10/11. At 1:35 a.m., Melissa walked out of the Choctaw Casino in Grant, Oklahoma with a white male companion, Jeremy Upchurch, of Lamar TX and was never seen again. Upchurch continues to be a person of interest due to his criminal background. Properties in Oklahoma, Delta and Lamar counties were searched, but came up empty. I can’t find an independent source to corroborate, but a personal conversation I had with law enforcement indicates they have found her vehicle in Oklahoma and presume she is dead, possibly due to drug involvement. Anyone with information should contact the Hopkins County Sheriff or Sulphur Springs Police.
Meadows, Beverly Lofton- Last seen 12/26/08. Beverly walked away from the Community Cares Nursing Home in the 200 block of west Merritt Street in Marshall, Texas and has never been seen again. Meadows had lived in the nursing home for about six years prior to her disappearance. She was supposed to wear an identification bracelet that would have activated the nursing home's door alarms, but she took it off before she left. She left without taking any personal belongings. Her mother, who lives 15 miles from the nursing home, believes Meadows was trying to walk to her residence. She was 48 years old at the time of her disappearance, 5’3”, and 240 pounds with short brown hair. She requires daily medication, and she doesn't have her medicine with her. Anyone with information should contact the Marshall Police.
Morton, Sheila- last seen 6/2/14. Missing from Center, Texas, Sheila’s behavior and personality changed drastically in the weeks leading up to her disappearance, according to her mother Joan. She had recently quit a restaurant job she had for seven years, moved out of her residence, and began hanging out with an old group of friends. Additionally, the last purchase Sheila was known to make was for a 9mm handgun, which was left behind when she disappeared. She was last seen at her ex-boyfriend’s house. Her phone was turned off the same day she vanished, and she has never been seen or heard from again. Sheila’s family members do not believe she would voluntarily leave her son behind. Anyone with information should contact the Angelina County Sheriff.
Pierce, Ashley- last seen 3/10/20. Disappeared from the Longview area, she is 5’3” and has a Hello Kitty tattoo on her thigh and a scorpion on her shoulder. She has long brown hair. Anyone with information should contact the Gregg County Sheriff.
Salazar, Rosemary “Rose” Rodriguez- Last seen 10/6/19. Attended a family birthday party at the Golden Corral in Kilgore, and was supposed to report to work the next morning at the Kilgore Walmart, but no-show, no-called. She has several distinctive tattoos, including a heart with a fishing hook, a deathly hallow, and the inscription “my person” next to a rose. She is a 5’4”, 185 pound Hispanic woman with brown eyes and brown hair, and it is not known what she was wearing when she disappeared. Her lime green 2014 Chevrolet Sonic is also missing. Anyone with information should contact the Gregg County Sheriff.
Stewart, Harry Edward- Last seen 11/30/11. Harry was traveling from Springtown, Texas to Alabama and was last seen in Hallsville, Texas. His age was 65 and he is white, 5’10”, and weighs about 170 pounds. Sheriff’s deputies determined he was driving when he hit something and had to leave his vehicle after his radiator overheated. Harry told the responding officer he would wait at the Dairy Queen on Farm-to-Market Road 450 near mile marker 604 for a ride. He was never seen again.
Thompson, Lauren Colvin- Last seen 1/10/19. At 1:53 p.m., Lauren made a frantic but coherent call to her mother. At 2:01 p.m., Lauren called 911 and told Panola County dispatch she was being followed. The call lasted for 21 minutes before disconnecting. Lauren’s family says it “abruptly ended,” police say the “cell phone died.” Lauren’s phone and shoe were found in the Rock Hill community, a rural area with less than 200 residents and more than 2000 acres of woods. A search by multiple law enforcement agencies turned up nothing. A $10,000 reward is offered for information on Lauren’s whereabouts. Anyone with information should contact the Panola County Sheriff.
Tidwell, James “Jimmy” Lamar- Last seen 2/15/12. Family members found his rural cabin in Rusk County abandoned, and later found his vehicle abandoned on Farm Road 95, approximately five miles from his home, without a battery. "I do not believe for one minute that he left this property of his own free will," his sister Lynn Akin said. The road was a route he took frequently. He was 58 at the time of his disappearance. The truck showed no signs of foul play, according to Sheriff’s deputies. Anyone with information should contact the Rusk County Sheriff.
Valdovinos, Gustavo Baldovi- Last seen 7/11/12. Missing from his maternal aunt's home on Houston Street in Tyler. He told his family he was an alcoholic and had decided to go into treatment, and he left with a group of people who promised to get him some help. The group he left with is described as a Caucasian male and two Caucasian females driving a white Chevrolet Z71 or Silverado pickup truck. Anyone with information should contact the Smith County Sheriff.
Wells, Brandi- Last seen 8/3/06. Was leaving the Graham Central Station nightclub in Longview at around 12:30 a.m. Her damaged car was found on Interstate 20 near the Brownsboro exit with her personal belongings inside. She was wearing rust-colored gaucho pants and a floral tube top, and is 4’11, 130 pounds with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was 23 in 2006, she would be 36 now. She was featured on Investigation Discovery’s “Disappeared.” Anyone with information should contact the Henderson County Sheriff.
Witt, Jana Mann- last seen 8/17/05. Missing from Glen Rose in Somervell County, Ms. Witt displayed personality changes several weeks prior to her disappearance. She has also gone by the names Jana Holstin, Jana Howard and Jana Branch. She was 44 years of age at the time of her disappearance, and 5’3”, 160 pounds with blue eyes and dyed red hair. The missing persons database notes that foul play is possible. Anyone with information should contact the Somervell County Sheriff.
Sources: News reports, Charley Project, Missing Eight East Texas and more
https://www.news-journal.com/news/local/police-searching-for-husband-of-missing-wc-woman/article_7c5144ee-8434-5e12-9829-360d060c510a.html
https://www.ketk.com/news/vanished-hartford-hunter-dunn/
https://www.panolawatchman.com/news/still-no-answers-in-lauren-thompson-case-a-year-after-she-went-missing-from-panola/article_07d707bc-4d15-11ea-8c84-af4fb2d30b79.html

Louisiana is backed in Phase 2 (modified)

LINKS TO WATCH

• https://gov.louisiana.gov/
• Facebook - LouisianaGov
• YouTube - Louisiana Public Broadcast 👉 Direct Video Link
• WWLTV

This conference was announced last Thursday

Pre-Conference Question - What do you think he'll announce?

• A harsher lecture on being a GOOD NEIGHBOR?
• Modified Phase 3 ala New Orleans?
• Moving back to Phase 2 or 1?
• Or will it be an unexpected Stay At Home order?
• Some other option?

Summary

^{NOTE: The summary of this press conference is transcribed LIVE. The summary may contain spelling and grammatical errors which until it is able to be corrected once the conference concludes.
NOTE: The summary may contain spelling and grammatical errors.}
Gov JBE

• Anyone who has been paying attention to the news whether internationally, nationally, or state you know COVID-19 is going in the wrong direction unmoving very fast in the wrong direction.
• Louisiana is experiencing the third surge of COVID-19.
• Nov alone the US has had more new cases than in any other months and hospitalizations are at a record high nationally. Higher than other surges.
• Yesterday the US added more than 169,000 new cases in one day and 898 deaths.
• This week's WH Coronavirus Taskforce Report shows 474 new cases per 100,000 people last week we had 172 new cases per 100,000 people. The national average is 356 cases per 100,000.
• So this is the first week in many weeks that LA has had more new cases than the national average.
• Today we report ___ new cases and sadly 39 additional people have lost their lives to the virus for a Toal amount of ___ deaths. Reporting 1,052 hospitalizations, not the first of the month we had less than 600. Today we are up 40 than yesterday with more than 350+ net new COVID19 hospitalizations. 113 patients on mechanical ventilators.
  • When we see what's happening in state and across all regions we have to be very cautious about hospitalizations and maintain the capacity to give life-saving care to covid and non-covid patients.
  • Trajectory we are on it is imperative we take action now.
• If we could flip a switch and get 100% adherence to mitigation measures to all measures we are still 2 weeks from seeing changes.
• We are in for a rough patch, and the degree we flatten the curve and are successful will depend on eery Louisianan.
• We are stepping a step back to a revised Phase 2. So Phase 2 with some modifications.
  • We got out of the prior surge by moving to Phase 2.
• What does that mean?
  • Will get into that later...
• Wants to get ahead of the Thanksgiving Holiday and the extended holiday season.
• Data includes info thru Friday, Nov 20.

Dr Kanter

• Thanks National Guard, GOSHEP, and the LDH for working very hard and working over the holiday.
• Gating Criteria Slides:
  • What we are seeing is as concerning as it has ever been. We were lucky to have a reprieve from the rest of the countries rise in cases for a few weeks we are now where a large portion of the country is.
  • Top left shows % of patients coming into ER departments across the state with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 you can see the prior spikes and now it is increasing again.
  • Top right show new cases on a rolling 7-day average you can see the first and second spikes and now the increase we are on which is almost identical to where we were going up in the second spike and clearly we have not hit the top yet.
  • Bottom left you can see the % positivity dated back to the date of collection and that is increasing as well up to 8.1% now will be posted on the dashboard tomorrow. You will see testing volume is also increasing. There is more COVID so more people are getting tested due to more exposure plus the increase around testing around the holiday. An increase in testing volume has no bearing on testing positivity. An increase in positivity and testing volume is a strong signal we are experiencing a lot of COVID.
  • Bottom right is the amount of hospitalized patients with COVID19 you can see the two spikes and now a sharp increase. It is a rate of increase that our hospitals cannot stand for very much longer.
• Region analysis - every region across the state are seeing similar increases.
  • Region 1 Orleans - increase across the board.
  • Region 2 EBR - increase across the board.
  • Region 3 River parishes - increase across the board.
  • Region 4 - increases across the board.
  • Region 5 Lake Charles - increases across the board.
  • Region 6 Can LA - increases across the board with a very sharp increase in new cases and hosp.
  • Region 7 - increase across the board.
  • Region 8 - increase across the board.
  • Region 9 - increases across the board.
• A month ago it was a mixed bag with some areas plateauing or increasing.
• Now the entire state for all gating criteria is increasing, (only Can LA is plateauing for COVID-like illness reports).
• Still have capacity across the state but this is a lagging indicator so if you act when hospitals are at capacity it is too late.
  • People waiting a long time to get a bed. One ER had to use recliners in the ER while people waited for a bed to open up.
  • Rural/smaller hospitals are having a difficult time transferring patients to other locations. Not every ICU bed is equal and some conditions require more expertise from an advanced center. Only a handful exist across the state. Even if a rural hospital has an ICU available if a patient presents with needing an advanced team and there are none available they may have to wait a couple of days before they get transferred in. That's a delay of care and has consequences.
  • Hospitals are stretched and already at staffing capacity. A nurse may typically care for 4-5 patients may now be caring for 6-7.
  • These things have consequences and it is just the beginning because we haven't hit capacity yet. This is a warning we have to act now. There are things we are working to preserve in the state and the ability to access normal hospital care is one of those priorities. We do not want to have to delay scheduled procedures.
• The path ahead is dangerous. This is a dangerous time for Louisiana.
• The trajectory we are on is dangerous. We are on a similar trajectory as before.
  • Now it is flu season so we have extra patients in the hospital.
  • Weather turning cold so more people indoors = more transmission.
  • Peak of the holiday season coming up so there's a temptation to gather. Gathering = more transmission.
  • Previous increases we were not in lockstep with the rest of the country. Every other state is seeing runs on hospital care and demands of their hospital staff at the same time we are. If we need to ask for help, it may not be there this time. In fact, we don't think they will be available because they will be caring for their own state's patients.

Questions for Dr Kanter about data

Related to Halloween? Seems people are willing to gather for Thanksgiving. Are we going to see a worsening 2 weeks after Thanksgiving
We are already seeing just about as steep of an increase as we can get it really can't get much steeper than that. I don't know, looking back to Halloween, it was part of it. I think increases from other states was bleeding over into our particularly in Northern LA. Plus we are tired, COVID fatigue is real, and it's easy to get complacent. Even without Thanksgiving coming ahead we will continue to get worse. I don't know how much worse it gets with Thanksgiving. I cannot emphasize this more than enough if you need to make a decision for your family talk to someone who has had it, experiencing the disease, or someone who has worked in the affected healthcare facilities during those two surges.
How much is being driven by small gatherings indoors and if so it doesn't seem restrictions matter than much
Small gatherings have been a larger component than months ago, there is no question about that but that is just one slice. We continue to see a lot of cases tied to bars, restaurants, events, and churches as well. Mitigation measures are going to be significant in their effect but not absolute. The other side is that people really need to make responsible decisions when no one is looking. No one will police who parities but I want families to take it seriously and know what the real risks are and make an informed decision. The more families are informed the more they will be likely to say for this year, for my family, it is just not worth it.
Gov. JBE

• We have already been told that for example if we will request help from he Fed gov in respect to medical care to Louisiana there are 12 individual and discrete things we have done first before we can be considered.
  • Strong indication we cannot count on that.
  • Difference between Spring and Summer surges when we did have medical personnel available from requests to the Federal government at that time.
  • Partially important for Northern and Central LA. I do not know how hard it will be to go back in the gating criteria for those regions but if you go to Region 6. If you look right at the summer surge we never got those numbers as far down as we wanted to we never got those numbers down to where we wanted to. So the baseline of going into the third surge is much higher relatively speaking to the state as a whole. So we are already in a much more difficult place.
  • Statewide the non-COVID patient population is higher now than it was in the Spring or the Summer.
  • Region 7 you will see the right of the summer surge the numbers did not come down to be even close to where they were before the summer surge started. So they have a very high baseline of cases.
  • Region 8 the same thing.
• Our numbers are worse and they are getting worse everywhere so I hesitate to bring up regions 6,7, and 8 because people might think that's the only places we need to be focused on. That is not true, but I will tell you its a particular concern if you are in Central or Northern LA because you have such a high baseline going into this.
  • While we need adherence to restrictions everywhere it is particularly acute in Regions 6,7, and 8.
• Breakdown of Phase 2 (modified) will become effective tomorrow and last 28 days (4 weeks) expiring on Dec 23:
  • Statewide surge requiring a statewide effort.
  • Follows the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommendations.
  • Last time we had such a large single-day increase was in July -- which is when we took action through implementing Phase 2 and the mask mandate -- and collectively the people across Louisiana responded and we bent the curve.
    • Time for us to rise again and meet the challenge before us.
    • With the Holiday season before us we really gotta pay attention to this now so we do not overburden our hospitals to not deliver care. I do not want to have hospitals have to cancel elective surgeries or medical procedures want. Delayed non-emergency procedures and surges often transmit into emergencies later on. Do not want doctors to have to make crisis care decisions pitting cases against one another due to a lack of resources.
    • We have avoided crisis care during our previous waves because we worked together to flatten the curve.
    • If there was ever a time to step up and be a good neighbor, whether it is to your actual neighbor or to someone in LA you have never met, that time is now.
    • People do not stop having car accidents because of a pandemic. There are still critical care needs apart from COVID.
    • Do it for the medical professionals as well who have been overworked since March.
    • To keep schools open.
    • Encouraging all employers public and private to maximize the use of telework where possible.
    • Ask families to engage in safe holiday-related activities. When you gather with those outsides from your household the more times you do it the more you roll the dice and the more likely it is that you or multiple people get sick. With community spread the dice are loaded against you. I ask you not to do this, especially during the holidays. It is what the CDC and LDH recommend.
    • Start planning now for a safe Christmas and Hanukkah.
  • Reduction in gathering sizes for businesses & houses of worship
    • 50% for occupancy with social distancing and masks for restaurants, coffee shops, cafes, gyms, casinos, and video poker, and non-essential retail businesses.**
      • Essential is determined by the Dept. of Homeland Security.
    • 75% for occupancy with social distancing and masks for churches and places of worship.**
  • Reduction in gathering sizes at bars other restrictions remain in place.
    • Bars in parishes with greater than 5% must close to indoors consumption can have outdoor seating of up to 50 people, seated and spaced out, and masks mandated.
    • Bars in parishes with less than 5% can allow indoor consumption up to 25% occupancy seated and spaced out; outdoor consumption encouraged and masks mandated.
  • Reduction in gathering sizes at event centers
    • Indoors limited to 25% occupancy, make required up to 75.
    • Outdoors limited to 25% occupancy, masks required, up to 150 where social distancing is not possible.
  • Reduction of sporting event occupancy
    • Limited to 25% occupancy.
• When LDH updates the two-week case incidence numbers tomorrow there will be some parishes where bars close, that were going to happen regardless of these changes because those parishes would have exceeded the 10% that was previously required.
  • Now allowing outdoor seating.
• Statewide mask mandate remains in effect
  • It was a critical part of slowing the spread in the summer and is a critical part now.
    • Now we know wearing a mask also reduces transmission to you as well as those around you.
• Doing everything we can to keep schools open.
  • Local decision how schools do this.. if they are in person, vertical, or hybrid.
• Do not have an expectation that by Dec 23rd we will reduce restrictions a couple of days ahead of Christmas.
  • All data indicates we in for a couple of rough months.
  • No one should believe we will relax restrictions around that time.
  • I hope and pray, and believe, we will not have to put more restrictions in place before then.
    • Will be dependent on if the people of Louisiana embrace the mitigation measures and flatten that curve again. If we stay on the current trajectory we will be forced to put more restrictions in place.
• Everyday households need to stick together and reduce interaction with those outside of their household.
  • Any activities that do take place should take place outside rather than inside.
  • Odds are 20x higher to catch the virus indoors than outdoors when the same activity takes place.
• We are expecting rain this week perhaps staying with us through Thanksgiving and after.
  • Even if you planned the safest possible event with it intended to be outdoors there is a good chance you will not be able to do that.
    • Now is your opportunity to adjust your Thanksgiving plans.
    • Do not have people from different households come indoors together. The virus doesn't care if you are a relative.
• If you want a Christmas without loved ones in the hospital, or worse, you need to be extremely careful on Thanksgiving and every day.
• Next few weeks would normally be holiday party time - office, block, family, etc.
  • Holiday parties are a recipe for disaster now. Asking people to forgo those parties.
• There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it is not a high-speed train heading in our direction, I believe in a few months we will be able to put the pandemic behind us. Next month we can start vaccinating in small numbers and will take some time to get to the general population. Do not get in your mind we will have to mask up and physically distance forever. There is an excellent chance that next Thanksgiving will be the best one ever. While there is COVID fatigue and I know it is real, it is also real that we are looking for renewed interest and compliance for a finite amount of time. I hope it inspires people to do what is required and know they won't have to do it forever. The next few months are critical. We need everyone to be on the same page.
• Holidays are about showing your love for those you care about. The best way to love someone right now is to give them COVID. So like it says, "pass the pie and not COVID" that is our mission. That is the mission for everybody in Louisiana.
  • Follow the commonsense public health measures, the restrictions, and mitigation measures.
    • They work and have worked before.
    • Mitigation measures: wear a mask, stay 6ft apart from that outside of your household, wash your hands for 20 seconds, stay home when sick, and protect the most vulnerable from this disease (65+ in age and those with co-morbidities).
• Thanks to all public health workers.
  • Owe a debt of gratitude for those who have worked so hard for months now. We should not make it harder than it needs to be. We should all do our part.

Questions

Epidemiologists in Louisiana say we may be getting diminishing returns on our introduction of restrictions than what we previously saw. Are you concerned that the impact of the introduction of these restrictions will be more gradual and the implications that may have
I am concerned about an awful lot as it is related to COVID19 and this pandemic. There is not one easy decision I have made nor one that has brought me joy. I am convinced that if the people of Louisiana will embrace these mitigation measures and restrictions, be patient and selfless, and ensure compliance that we will flatten the curve again. That is what I know. There are no magic tricks to be worked here. The only way to stop a surge is with restrictions and mitigation measures. So with the numbers increases here and around the country as they are the sense of urgency that you see coming out of leaders in Washington right now, as seen with Vice President Pence and the Coronavirus Task Force the other day, everyone should understand that this a very very serious situation. We have to do our part in order to slow the spread. It has to be a collective effort. No one should say is 99% of the people do it that's good enough I don't have to personally do it... that doesn't work. We all have to see it as a common effort that we all play our part. If someone would have presented a better option to flatten the curve I would have taken it. I know we have COVID fatigue here and around the country. If there was something other than wearing masks, washing your hands and staying home when you are sick, and so forth I would embrace it. It doesn't exist. That is why you hear this coming out of Washington and all the other healthcare workers how important these are. So let's do it. Let's flatten the curve again. I feel very comfortable that in several months, not sure when we will have enough of our population vaccinated that I believe we can start putting in the rear view mirror. Until now and then we have to do what is necessary. I do not know if there is another surge after this one, I pray not, but we know we are surging now.
Are you trying to change the way enforcement has been handled on these public health issues. Obviously the problem is people aren't following previous guidelines.. so are you making changes to enforcement?
We will continue to work with businesses of all types and venues to ensure that they understand that the restrictions are what rules they have to abide by. Individuals and businesses can get more information at opensafely.la.gov and you will get more information. Will there be enforcement? Yes, there will be, but I am going to say what I've said back in March and every time since then, if the people in Louisiana insist we enforce our way through this we are doomed to failure. There are 4.66 million Louisianas and 10s of thousands of business and quite frankly we cannot enforce our way through this. We are going to be asking people to comply, do compliance visits, respond to complaints, and where people refuse to come int o compliance you can expect enforcement. That will not get us through this surge. That will not protect the health of our fellow Louisianans, it is better than not doing any enforcement. We need to have people doin this because it is the right thing to do. They need to embrace it, not because it is pleasant but at the end of the day this about people's lives are talking about. We are doing our very best to strike the balance between lives on one hand and livelihoods on the other. When it comes to economy, to business, to employers, to livelihoods, the best thing we can do is put this virus behind us.
Are the rules for temporary conditional permits allowing bars to operate as restaurants remain in effect?
Yes and we currently have 372 bars using conditional permits to operate as restaurants. They are not a hybrid, they are not part bar or part bar. They operate as restaurants if they are operating properly and they follow all rules for restaurants. For other establishment that continue to operate as bars they need to follow the way we outlined bars operate today.
What are you doing for your Thanksgiving celebration. You have a son who is coming home from college because LSU is going virtual for Thanksgiving
Yeah I have a son who actually lives here in Baton Rogue and he will likely be coming home to spend some time with us. I will tell you we will stay in baton Rogue at the mansion and have a Thanksgiving meal that consists of the immediate household. We will gives thanks because even during this pandemic which has been so tough on people, even after the 3 hurricanes that hit this year, we have so much to be thankful for. God has truly blessed us. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks and that is important to me and my family and we are going to do it, but last year I remember my 84 year old mother came, my 6 siblings all came with their spouses and children and grandchildren. We had 80 or 90 people. You will not be seeing that this year and you will not see it at Christmas either. I hope and pray that if you are with me on Thanksgiving Day of 2021 you will see that. I believe that you will, but between now and then we all have to do our part.
Did you tell Legislative leaders about these new restrictions before you came out here today? What was their response?
Yes, I did. You need to know that I routinely send data and information to the Speaker and to the President. We have complete transparency on the data we are relying on because we update it every day aside for Saturday. We also have sent Legislative leadership, and I believe every member of the Legislature, every White House Coronavirus Task Force report whenever we get them. This morning in a addition to those things we presented all gating criteria slides to the Speaker and the President. We talked about where we were especially in light of our hospital capacity and our need to go back to a modified Phase 2 in order to flatten the curve again. They asked some questions, expressed concerns to makes sure whether the Fire Marshall or ATC will work with proprietors and bar owners to maximum extend possible so they can know hat is expected of them and be given an opportunity, if they are operation in good faith -- of which the overwhelming majority of businesses are -- to come into compliance. That has been our approach throughout the pandemic. We have always bent over backwards to make sure individuals know what the rules give them every opportunity to come into compliance and only after persistent shortcomings/refusal to do any real enforcement actions like citations take place. I assured him our approach would not change.
Does the influx of new vaccines change our prognosis at all
We have a draft plan in Louisiana that we continue to update and revise daily. The reason it is a draft plan is that we still don't know the day that we will get the first vaccines nor the number of doses that will be there. I have every expectation that around mid-December we should receive some doses of the Pfizer vaccines first. We don't know how many it could be as few as 30,000 or might be 60,000 we do not know for sure. We think the first doses of the Moderna vaccines would come weeks later, perhaps with a smaller number available initially. We continue to work with our federal partners. We were on the phone with Azar yesterday and talked about the logistical aspects of Project Warpspeed. Once the vaccine gets the EUA from the FDA we will have the vaccine in route to our location(s) of choice in 24 hours. The first shipment will be prioritized to healthcare workers, then high-risk groups (nursing homes, assisted living centers, congregated shelters), then the list expands from there out. Ultimately we want to get to a place where we put a call out to the general population they can go to their health unit (hospital, doctor's office, or pharmacy) and get the vaccine. This is not a one and one vaccine, it requires a second dose, depending on the manufacturer that could be between 21-28 days later. More vaccines may come only over time and some of these things may change. I do not want talk of the vaccine, it is critically important and no one is more excited than I am, but I do not want the talk of the vaccine to cause people to not pay attention to what is imperative right now. That is why you hear Dr. Birx, Dr. Fauci, Azar, talking about the term of bridging to the vaccine and needing to double-down on measures until the vaccine is widely available. The vaccine will not be here in the numbers we need soon enough to reverse the trajectory and numbers we went over today.
I do want to mention I have every confidence that when the FDA issues that EUA that that vaccine will be safe and effective. I hope my fellow Louisiana will embrace the vaccine. A vaccine saves 0 lives but vaccination can save a lot of lives. The vaccination requires the vaccines and an individual to receive that vaccine in two injections. So please understand the FDA has not cut out any steps required to evaluate the safety and efficacy of these vaccines. In fact, the trial sizes were 5x-6x more than one would normally see in a trial. They took steps consecutively instead of sequentially to make this vaccine thereby shortening its time for production. They started the mass production while trials were still happening. So if that authorization comes they have the vaccine to distribute and more to be distributed and you don't have to start that manufacturing process up from the beginning. So I really want people to embrace this and understand they will be safe and effective once the call goes out to start vaccination.
Does the state have enough cold storage for the vaccines or does the state have to put in some money for that?
We've identified the cold storage capacity that we need pursuant to our plan to administer the Pfizer vaccine. Its a combination of cold storage capacity and dry ice. We will be in good shape there. This is why you have to have really good hard work going on hard in advance. That way working with hospitals and universities you are able to identify all the cold storage you have, where is available for these vaccines and then you plug that into your plan. That will not be a limiting factor in terms of receiving the vaccine. Logistically it makes it more complicated because you have to receive it at those sites and distribute it from there. They are still evaluating how long the vaccines remain stable once they thaw out. We will be all over that so we will make sure if that vial falls out it will be administered while it is stable and making sure that people come and get the second dose as well.

Closing remarks

• Thank you for continuing to cover this. We do not anticipate another press conference until next week, date unknown.
• As I mentioned awhile ago, despite how difficult this year has been for all of us both individually and as a state, there is a lot for us to be thankful for. That is always the case. So Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for the blessing we enjoy and I would encourage people to find ways to have a celebration that is safe so we can be thankful for the blessings we have while being mindful of the dangers of this pandemic. There are dangers if we insists on celebrating the holidays as we have in past. I cannot strongly encourage people to be patient. I know you are tired of this but be patient and love your loved ones by making sure you do not expose them to unnecessary risk. We close to them through the phone, FaceTime, and other ways. Let's look forward to getting together without restrictions and mitigation measures. Unless between now and then we are too risky with our behaviors and we'll be lamenting the fact that we didn't do what we were asked to do. That some of our loved ones won't be with us when the time comes to celebrate in person. When that next birthday, Thanksgiving, or Christmas happens. I encourage everyone to do their part. You've done it before. We can do it again. I am not asking for you to do this forever. There is finite time I am asking for. I cannot tell you when, but I believe in several months we will be putting this in our rearview mirror, but it is not today. In fact, it is not in our rear-view mirror it is in our grill and it is a nasty nasty situation here in Louisiana like it is around the country. We do not have a moment to waste. Everyone has to do their part. If we do, and I'm sure we will, we will get through this. I have every confidence of the people in Louisiana. They have always inspired by their kindness, goodness, and generosity and I believe they will do it again. So let's work together. Let's save lives. God bless and thank you.

Welcome to Lost in the Sauce, keeping you caught up on political and legal news that often gets buried in distractions and theater… or a global health crisis.
Title refers to: The Trump admin is blocking IGs from getting info on over $1 trillion in relief spending, including corporation bailouts. The admin is also withholding PPP info from Congress, meaning we don't know if Trump or his family took taxpayer money. Additionally, we learned that at least 4 members of Congress have benefited from PPP money, but aren't required to disclose it.
Housekeeping:

• HOW TO SUPPORT: I know we are all facing unprecedented financial hardships right now. If you are in the position to support my work, I have a patreon, venmo, and a paypal set up. No pressure though, I will keep posting these pieces no matter what.
  
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Coronavirus

Inspectors general warned Congress last week that the Trump administration is blocking scrutiny of more than $1 trillion in spending related to the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the previously undisclosed letter, Department of Treasury attorneys concluded that the administration is not required to provide the watchdogs with information about the beneficiaries of programs like the $500 billion in loans for corporations.
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin refused to provide Congress with the names of recipients of the taxpayer-funded coronavirus business loans. After criticism, Mnuchin began to walk back his denial, saying he will talk to lawmakers on a bipartisan basis “to strike the appropriate balance for proper oversight” of PPP loans “and appropriate protection of small business information.”
At least 4 lawmakers have benefited in some way from the Paycheck Protection program they helped create. Politico has been told there are almost certainly more -- but there are zero disclosure rules, even for members of Congress.

• Republicans on the list include Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest. The Democrats count Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada, whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell of Florida, whose husband is a senior executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.

Mick Mulvaney dumped as much as $550,000 in stocks the same day Trump assured the public the US economy was 'doing fantastically' amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Mulvaney unloaded his holdings in three different mutual funds, each of which is primarily made up of US stocks. The next day, the value of the mutual funds tanked.

Cases rising in many states

Good summary: There was supposed to be a peak. But the stark turning point, when the number of daily COVID-19 cases in the U.S. finally crested and began descending sharply, never happened. Instead, America spent much of April on a disquieting plateau, with every day bringing about 30,000 new cases and about 2,000 new deaths. This pattern exists because different states have experienced the coronavirus pandemic in very different ways…The U.S. is dealing with a patchwork pandemic.
As of Friday, coronavirus cases were significantly climbing in 16 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
Oklahoma is experiencing a massive increase in coronavirus cases just days before Trump’s planned rally in Tulsa. In Tulsa county itself, 1 in roughly 390 people have tested positive. Yet Trump plans on cramming 20,000 people in an event with voluntary face mask policy and no social distancing. Attendees must sign a waiver that absolves the president’s campaign of any liability from virus-related illnesses.

• On Monday, Pence lied saying that Oklahoma has “flattened the curve.” As you can see at any of the resources immediately below, this is not even close to true. Over the past 14 days, the state has seen a 124% increase in cases and reports 65% of ICU beds are in use.
  
• Tulsa World Editorial Board: This is the wrong time and Tulsa is the wrong place for the Trump rally. "We don't know why he chose Tulsa, but we can’t see any way that his visit will be good for the city...Again, Tulsa will be largely alone in dealing with what happens at a time when the city’s budget resources have already been stretched thin."
  
• Earlier in the day, Trump tweeted that he is a victim of double standards when it comes to perception of his decision to resume campaign rallies in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, declaring that attempts to “covid shame” his campaign “won’t work!”
  

Resources to track increases: There are many different sites with various methods of visualizing the spread of coronavirus. Here are some that may be particularly useful this summer… Topos COVID-19 compiler homepage and graphs of each state since re-opening. How we reopen Safely has stats on each state’s progress towards meeting benchmarks to reopen safely (hint: almost none have reached all the checkpoints). WaPo has a weekly national map of cases/deaths; the largest regional clusters are in the southeast.
On Monday, Trump twice said that “if we stop testing right now, we’d have very few cases, if any,” (video). Aside from the fact that cases exist even if we don’t test for them, we cannot explain the rising number of cases by increased testing capacity: In at least 14 states, the positive case rate is increasing faster than the increase in the average number of tests.

• Reminder: In March Trump told Fox News that he didn't want infected patients from a cruise ship to disembark because it would increase the number of reported cases in the US. "I like the numbers being where they are," Trump said at the time. "I don't need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn't our fault."

Fired scientist Rebekah Jones builds coronavirus dashboard to rival Florida’s… Her site shows thousands more people with the coronavirus, and hundreds of thousands fewer who have been tested, than the site run by the Florida Health Department.

Equipment and supplies

More studies prove wearing masks limits transmission and spread of coronavirus… One study from Britain found that routine face mask use by 50% or more of the population reduced COVID-19 spread to an R of less than 1.0. The R value measures the average number of people that one infected person will pass the disease on to. An R value above 1 can lead to exponential growth. The study found that if people wear masks whenever they are in public it is twice as effective at reducing the R value than if masks are only worn after symptoms appear.
Meanwhile, Trump officials refuse to wear masks and Trump supporters copy his behavior… VP Mike Pence, leader of the coronavirus task force, published a tweet showing himself in a room full of Trump staffers, none wearing masks or practicing social distancing. Pence deleted the tweet shortly after criticism. A poll last week showed that 66% of likely-Biden-voters “always wear a mask,” while 83% of likely-Trump-voters “neverarely wear a mask.”

• Trump’s opposition to face masks hasn’t stopped him from selling them to his supporters, though. The online Trump Store is selling $20 cotton American flag-themed face masks.
  
• Yesterday, we learned that South Carolina Republican Rep. Tom Rice and family have tested positive for the coronavirus. Just two weeks ago, Rice was on the House floor and halls of the Capitol without wearing a mask.
  

Internal FEMA data show that the government’s supply of surgical gowns has not meaningfully increased since March… The slides show FEMA’s plan to ramp up supply into June and July hinges on the reusing of N95 masks and surgical gowns, increasing the risk of contamination. Those are supposed to be disposed of after one use.
Nursing homes with urgent needs for personal protective equipment say they’re receiving defective equipment as part of Trump administration supply initiative. Officials say FEMA is sending them gowns that look more like large tarps -- with no holes for hands -- and surgical masks that are paper-thin.
More than 1,300 Chinese medical-device companies that registered to sell PPE in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic used bogus registration data… These companies listed as their American representative a purported Delaware entity that uses a false address and nonworking phone number.
Florida is sitting on more than 980,000 unused doses of hydroxychloroquine, but hospitals don’t want it… Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered a million doses of the drug to show support for Trump, but very few hospitals have requested it.

Native American communities struggle

The CARES Act money for Native American tribes, meant to assist people during the pandemic, came with restrictions that are impeding efforts to limit the transmission of the virus. For instance, the funds can only be used to cover expenses that are "incurred due to the public health emergency." On the Navajo Nation, the public health emergency is inherently related to some basic infrastructure problems. 30% of Navajo don’t have running water to wash their hands, but the money can’t be used to build water lines.
Federal and state health agencies are refusing to give Native American tribes and organizations representing them access to data showing how the coronavirus is spreading around their lands, potentially widening health disparities and frustrating tribal leaders already ill-equipped to contain the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has turned down tribal epidemiologists’ requests for data that it’s making freely available to states.
A Hospital’s Secret Coronavirus Policy Separated Native American Mothers From Their Newborns… Pregnant Native American women were singled out for COVID-19 testing based on their race and ZIP code, clinicians say. While awaiting results, some mothers were separated from their newborns, depriving them of the immediate contact doctors recommend. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that state officials would investigate the allegations.

Personnel & appointees

Former IG Steve Linick told Congress he was conducting five investigations into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the State Department before he was fired. In addition to investigating Pompeo's potential misuse of taxpayer funds and reviewing his decision to expedite an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Linick’s office was conducting an audit of Special Immigrant Visas, a review of the International Women of Courage Award, and another review "involving individuals in the Office of the Protocol."

• Pompeo confidant emerges as enforcer in fight over watchdog’s firing: Linick testified that Undersecretary of State for Management Brian Bulatao, a decades-old friend of Pompeo’s, “tried to bully [him]” out of investigating Pompeo.

Trump has empowered John McEntee, director of the Presidential Personnel Office, to make significant staffing changes inside top federal agencies without the consent — and, in at least one case, without even the knowledge — of the agency head. Many senior officials in Trump's government are sounding alarms about the loss of expertise and institutional knowledge.
Trump’s nominee for under secretary of defense for policy, retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, has a history of making Islamophobic and inflammatory remarks against prominent Democratic politicians, including falsely calling former President Barack Obama a Muslim.
Amid racial justice marches, GOP advances Trump court pick hostile to civil rights. Cory Wilson, up for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, has denied that restrictive voting laws lead to voter suppression and called same-sex marriage “a pander to liberal interest groups.”
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has indefinitely extended the terms of the acting directors of the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service, sidestepping the typical Senate confirmation process for those posts and violating the Federal Vacancies Reform Act,

Courts and DOJ

The Supreme Court declined on Monday to take a closer look at qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields law enforcement and government officials from lawsuits over their conduct. Developed in recent decades by the high court, the qualified immunity doctrine, as applied to police, initially asks two questions: Did police use excessive force, and if they did, should they have known that their conduct was illegal because it violated a "clearly established" prior court ruling that barred such conduct? In practice, however, lower courts have most often dismissed police misconduct lawsuits on grounds that there is no prior court decision with nearly identical facts.
The Supreme Court ruled that federal anti-discrimination laws protect gay and transgender employees. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the court’s liberals in the 6 to 3 ruling. They said Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex,” includes LGBTQ employees.

• Alito, writing more than 100 pages in dissent for himself and Thomas, accused the court's majority of writing legislation, not law. Kavanaugh wrote separately: "We are judges, not members of Congress...Under the Constitution and laws of the United States, this court is the wrong body to change American law in that way."
  
• Just days before the SCOTUS opinion was released, the Trump administration finalized a rule that would remove nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people when it comes to health care and health insurance. The SCOTUS ruling may make it easier to challenge the changes made by Trump.
  

The Supreme Court also declined to take up California’s “sanctuary” law, denying the Trump administration’s appeal. This means that the lower court opinion upholding one of California's sanctuary laws is valid, limiting cooperation between law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the Court's conservative members, supported taking up the case.
A federal appeals court appeared unlikely Friday to stop a judge from examining why the Justice Department sought to walk away from its prosecution of Michael Flynn. "I don't see why we don't observe regular order," said Judge Karen Henderson. "Why not hold this in abeyance and see what happens?" Judge Robert Wilkins told Flynn's lawyer that if Sullivan doesn't let the government drop the case, "then you can come back here on appeal."

Other

Good read: Fiona Hill on being mistaken as a secretary by Trump, her efforts to make sure he was not left alone with Putin, and what the US, UK and Russia have in common. “It’s spitting in Merkel’s face,” said Vladimir Frolov, a former Russian diplomat who’s now a foreign-policy analyst. “But it’s in our interests.”

• Russia’s Foreign Ministry welcomed Trump’s plan to withdraw more than a quarter of U.S. troops from Germany.
  
• Op-Ed: Why cutting American forces in Germany will harm this alliance
  

According to a new book, the Secret Service had to seek more funding to cover the cost of protecting Melania Trump while she stayed in NYC to renegotiate her prenup - taxpayers paid tens of millions of dollars to allow her to get better terms. Additionally, NYPD estimated its own costs conservatively at $125,000 a day.
Georgia election 'catastrophe' in largely minority areas sparks investigation. Long lines, lack of voting machines, and shortages of primary ballots plagued voters. As of Monday night, there were still over 200,000 uncounted votes.
Fox News runs digitally altered images in coverage of Seattle’s protests, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Fox News Mocked After Mistaking Monty Python Joke for Seattle Protest Infighting
In addition to holding a rally on the day after Juneteenth (originally scheduled the day of), Trump will be accepting the GOP nomination in Jacksonville on the 60th anniversary of “Ax Handle Saturday,” a KKK attack on African Americans.
Environmental news:

• Ruling against environmentalists, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the federal government has the authority to allow a proposed $7.5 billion natural gas pipeline to cross under the popular Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.
  
• Trump administration has issued a new rule blocking tribes from protecting their waters from projects like pipelines, dams, and coal terminals.
  
• The EPA published a proposal in the Federal Register that critics described as an assault on minority communities coping with the public health legacy of structural racism. The rule would bar EPA from giving special consideration to individual communities that bear the brunt of environmental risks — frequently populations of color.
  
• The Trump administration is preparing to drill off Florida’s coast, but says it will wait until after the November election to avoid any backlash from Florida state leaders.
  

Immigration news

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection used emergency funding meant for migrant families and children to pay for dirt bikes, canine supplies, computer equipment and other enforcement related-expenditures… The money was meant to be spent on “consumables and medical care” for migrants at the border.
  
• ACLU files lawsuit against stringent border restrictions related to coronavirus that largely bar migrants from entering the United States.
  
• Under Trump’s leadership, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has mismanaged its finances so badly that it has sought an emergency $1.2 billion infusion from taxpayers. When Trump took office, USCIS inherited a budget surplus. A large amount of funding is drained by its deliberate creation of more busy work for immigrants and their lawyers — as well as thousands of USCIS employees. These changes are designed to make it harder for people to apply for, receive or retain lawful immigration status.
  
• Asylum-seeking migrants locked up inside an Arizona ICE detention center with one of the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases say they were forced to clean the facility and are 'begging' for protection from the virus
  
• ICE plans to spend $18 million on thousands of new tasers and the training to use them
  

During the last press conference, Governor Edwards stated that the next conference would take place the same time next week, and as of 9:30 AM, there hasn't been an announcement stating otherwise. I will update this post if the time changes.
LINKS TO WATCH

• https://gov.louisiana.gov/
• Facebook - LouisianaGov
• YouTube - Louisiana Public Broadcast
• WWLTV Direct Link updated

SUMMARY

Gov. John Bel Edwards

• We have had 3 weeks going in the wrong directions with cases and hospitalizations. Whatever we discuss today does not reflect what happened this weekend. Why do I mention this? We know Memorial Day was when our numbers stopped getting better and started getting worse. I pray the same is not the same for 4th of July.
• We have lost all progress made in June and are seeing some numbers that rival our peak in April.
• Today we report 1,891 new cases and case positivity is slightly over 10% (*Mod note: it is 10.4%).
• 95% of cases today are community spread with only 5% coming from a congregate setting.
• Reporting 20 additional deaths for a Toal of 3,231 deaths from COVID-19 for the state of Louisiana.
• There is a slight dip in hospitalizations (only 3 less than yesterday) but we are very concerned about the numbers we are currently seeing. We are also concerned with the conversations we are having with the hospital CEO's and Medical directors.
• The total of hospitalized with COVID-19 is 1,022, the last time we over this was on May the 19th.
• Hospitalizations have doubled since June the 13th.
• Recent case growth reflects the majority of cases are young people, with the majority of cases coming from those below 30 years of age.
• Difference between today and 2.5 months ago, is 2 months ago our numbers were driven by the New Orleans area, particularly Orleans and Jefferson parishes as well as the river parishes. [Back then] it was only one region of the state that was fueling rapid growth and high numbers. The rest of the state did not see cases to that extent. [Now] we are seeing more even growth in hospitalization and cases across the state. We are beginning to look like Texas.
• We have a statewide epidemic, not one that driven by a couple of Regions
• Testing sites are slow to get test results returned. Today the delay is due to a lack of reagent in the Commercial Labs. Because they do not have the amount of the necessary component they cannot report their results in a timely manner. This is being worked on as we speak.
• We are concerned about the delays because we want to know if people are positive, people may be asymptomatic, may not be taking the proper precautions by quarantining, and be unnecessarily exposing others to the virus.
• It is critical for anyone who has been exposed to someone who has tested positive to the virus to self-quarantine for 14 days while you wait for your test results.
• If you have been in close contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive, EVEN IF YOU TEST NEGATIVE YOU NEED TO QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS you may have contracted the virus but may not have had the appropriate viral load to be detected when you were tested.
• Some good news with testing surge testing in Baton Rouge got up and running yesterday, but was short-lived due to the bad weather. The White House Task Force chose 3 cities in the United States for this type of testing. This should tell you all you need to know about whether we have a serious situation and if it is getting worse. WE do and it is.
• The goal is to test 5,000 people above the baseline and get a better idea of just how many cases are in the Baton Rouge area.
  • You do not need to a resident of BR you can live by a nearby parish and get tested.
  • You can be tested if you are symptomatic, or been exposed.
  • You can also be tested if you are not symptomatic.
  • [LIST OF 5 SITES]
  • Testing will run until July 18th.
  • Pre-register DoINeedACovidTest.com (registration is not required).
  • More info can be obtained by calling 2-1-1.
• This morning there was a conference call with about 20 hospital CEO and medical directors from across the state to get an update directly from the field.
• Nearly every CEO and MD on the call reported sustained increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations. We have completely lost the gains we made over the past couple of months and its all happened in less than 3 weeks. Very concerning.
  • Some people continue to believe this state of Louisiana continues to do better, that is not the case.
• Some regions have more hospitalizations than they ever saw in March or April.
  • The two hospitals in Lafayette each have more patients than they saw during the previous surge.
• Good News: Patients they are seeing are in the hospital are younger and the illness is not quite as acute. Stays are not quite as long, and a smaller percentage of these patents are in the ICU or on ventilators.
• Access to Remdesivir is been reduced, no one is out, but with the current caseload, they are concerned about not having adequate supplies.
• Hospital capacity is not strictly related to COVID-19. Just because we are in a pandemic does not mean fewer people are going to have strokes, motor vehicle accidents, etc.
• The biggest concerns center around staffing and keeping testing supplies and treatments in stock.
  • Staffing issues are exacerbated by pronounced community spread, causing more staff members to call out because they are positive.
• We are seeing a slight change in COVID-19 hospitalized patient demographics as they skew a little more white and male than the previous cases, and as previously mentioned, the average age is down.
  • Patients are more white, male, and young than before.
  • Appears now, at least anecdotally, that the hospitalized patients reflect our state demographics as a whole.
• FOLLOW MITIGATION MEASURES.
• We simply have to wear a mask when we are outside of our homes and interacting with people who are closer than 6 ft.
  • Everything we are learning from in this country, and around the world, indicate that mask usage is incredibly important to cut down the rate of infections.
• Dept. of Health is sharing an additional breakdown of race by parish to be published weekly.
• 41% of cases are from Black Residents and 29% from White Residents.

The "Great Doctor" Billioux - LDH continues to try to publish more and more data weekly. They have added more information such as the percent of positive cases by regions and hospitalization breakdown by region to the Dashboard. - The difference between this rise in cases and what we saw earlier on is that we have significantly more data which allows us to communicate to you a lot more early warning signs. - We haven't yet seen real big rises in ventilator usage like our neighbors in Texas, but if these curves continue we will probably see these numbers go up. - More individual information was added this week regarding race data. * Louisiana was one of the first states to provide race data for people dying by COVID-19. - LDH now feels comfortable putting out race data by cases. * There is still 19% of cases that they do not have race data. Whether it is from lack of information taken when someone is tested or inability to get information from contact tracing. - Still see there is a disproportionate number of African Americans who are contracting COVID-19 when compared to their white counterparts. * This is also true for our Latin-X communities. - The disparity is starting to narrow, at least for deaths. - It is important that we know where COVID-19 is and how to protect ourselves. - At the regional level, we can see other races beyond the Black and White races available for parish data. - Where is COVID Spreading?

Outbreak Setting	Number of Outbreaks	Cases	% of Cases
Food Processing	11	423	30%
Bar	36	393	27%
Industrial Setting	16	117	8%
College/University	3	84	6%
Restaurant	16	68	5%
Construction Site	3	48	3%
Casino	4	38	3%
Social Event - Private	3	38	3%
Office Space	8	36	3%
Wedding	7	31	2%
Gym/Fitness Setting	3	26	2%
Ship/Boat	1	25	2%
Other Worksite	8	24	2%
Social Event - Public	1	24	2%
Child Daycare	7	17	1%
Religious Services/Event	2	17	1%
Recreation	2	10	1%
Retail Setting	3	8	1%
Camp	1	5	0%
Grand Total	135	1,432	100%

• This is the information we are able to get through contact tracing or reports. This represents a significant underestimation of these different settings in the overall cases. Many people are unable to call specifically where they may have been able to pick up the virus, or if they were in a particular bar.
• If you go to any setting, whether it is on this list or not, and you do not feel comfortable because people are not following safety standards leave, walk out, protect yourself, and protect your family because that is what is most important. This will allow us to keep as many sectors of the economy open.
• These new parts of the Dashboard will be updated every Wednesday.

Questions by Dr. Billioux

Explain the 14-day quarantine...
Gov referenced the need to quarantine for 14 days. As we do contact tracing and tell them they may have been exposed, we know that some people's initial urge is to go out get tested. More often than not its been several days since your exposure, so testing is reasonable. If you know you have been exposed today it is not advisable to get a test today. Regardless of being tested, 5 days after exposure and it is negative, you can still turn positive on day 13 or 14. Quarantining is for 14 days regardless of your test result. If you ae been exposed you need to do whatever you can to isolate yourself from other members of your household and certainly do not go out.
Why we are seeing cases in college universities when they are currently closed?
So there is a couple of data points that we have around that. One is that for the last week or so more than 1/3 have been from 18-29 certainly 29 or less. So that is the same population we would see around college campuses. The other point that I may is that even though the universities may not be open hey still remain centers of our community were people of this age group reside. A university draws a large group from that age range so it is not surprising to see an increase in those locations. Note it is 3 we have identified out of 84 cases. We are trying to engage college students to make sure our message is clear to inform them on the best ways to keep themself safe. Even though are seeing very few people are needing hospitalization and even fewer are dying but if you increase the number of people who are exposed in this age group the number of people who will be hospitalized or who die will also increase. We now have 25,000 active cases statewide, even if these individuals are in a low-risk group for bad outcomes for COVID, but anywhere anyone else goes there is a higher chance of being exposed to COVID-19 whether they are going to bar or a gym the likelihood of catching the virus is higher.
Cannot hear question - will update later
We definitely see most cases coming from population centers but from the beginning, we have seen cases coming from rural settings. If you look at the map every parish has cases, as we increase testing in smaller parishes we see increases in cases. Some of our smaller parishes rank highest in the amount of COVID cases and deaths in the nation. It is a problem that is truly statewide. This is not a New Orleans or EBR problem, we have COVID cases rises spreading everywhere across the state in the way we did not in March.
Are you tracking cases in prisons and correctional facilities? Why isn't this reported on the Dashboard.
We track cases wherever they come from. We want to know if they are from individuals that are residing in the setting or staff that work in a setting. We recently partnered with the CDC to do more comprehensive testing in a prison int he North, we work with the DEpt. of Corrections with their testing procedures, same on the parish level to help them support their testing. Individuals' locations are not identified to the public unless they are posing a risk to the public. If we take an example of the bars in Baton Rouge and were not able to identify everyone who had been there we did make a public statement. It is not mandated by the Federal government to be reported like nursing homes are.
How can we make restaurants safer
We always look at how we can make any setting safer. Recently we are looking at how we can increase enforcement. Having people in these settings to makes sure staff and patrons are doing what they can reduce their risk in these settings. Bars produce a particular risk. You may be leaning in closer to yell over sounds or if you are slowly drinking a drink you are not taking a mask on and off. We are visiting those sites.
How many new citations or violations have been given from the LDH
Data is not available. Normally we give a warning and then a follow-up visitation and if that is not corrected by the followup visit a citation is not ordered.
Are you planning to break up COVID-location exposure by regions
No. Anyone one of these settings you should assume it is going on in your neighborhood. What is more important is to make a self-assessment when you enter a setting if it is safe for you to be there or not.
Gov. John Bel Edwards

• As you can see with the known outbreaks the majority are associated with bars.
• Food processing settings dominate those numbers but those individuals work and often times live in close proximity with one another as well.
• No matter how you slice and dice the numbers, COVID-19 is probably more present in Louisiana today than it has ever been
• Need the people to step up, pay attention, and do their part.
• One number that was not previously highlighted, is the amount of per capita cases in the country. We were as high as number 2. AS things got better we were number 10 in per capita cases. *Today we are #5 in country for highest amount of cases per capita
  • More known COVID-19 in Louisiana today than we have had at any point up to now.
• Another number that Gov. Edwards forgot to give is we are in the 8th day and we have reported 137,000+ tests already. The monthly goal set forth by the White House Coronavirus Taskforce is 200,000 tests per month. WE are working hard to know what is going on in Louisiana and get in front of it.
• Everyone in Louisiana you have a role to play. Let's take care of one another by wearing a mask. When you wear a mask you are not protecting yourself so much as you protecting others from you, and when they wear a mask they are showing the same courtesy you are.
  • Wear your mask anytime you re outside of your home, interacting with people who are not part of your household. Stay 6 feet away. Stay home when you re sick. Wash hands with soap and water frequently.
• The next press conference will be next week, with no set date or time yet.

Question by Gov Edwards

Earlier you compared us to Texas. Texas is limited crowd size, cracking down on restrictions, and adding a statewide mask mandate. Are you considering limiting crowd sizes, adding restrictions, or instituting a mask mandate?*

• We discuss everything I am not currently contemplating a statewide mandate. We are not up to 4 local mandates, Orleans, Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, and Shreveport (he misses Kenner), these are the largest populations of the state.
  • We want to be fully consistent with the White House Coronavirus Taskforce guidance which recommends that mask mandates be declared by local governments.
• Whether we have a mandate or not, we cannot be clearer in the messaging we have been stating for months. **If you are interested in having more customers in stores and in restaurants, then you want mask usage because it decreases the number of cases. Anything that reduces the case count and flattens the curve is ultimately going to be very very helpful. The single most important thing people can do is wear a mask. Gathering sizes are being looked at, in regards to venue capacity right now we may be more liberal with that than Federal guidance we are getting.

Other states are considering closing bars and indoor dining. Seeing the surge in cases have you reconsidered the current restrictions on restaurants and bars?
I will tell you that we are getting the guidance directly from the cOronavirus task force as well we have done over 3,100 site visits over the last 10 days or so. Primarily working through the Free Marshall Office we are trying to gain more compliance with existing restrictions and are having success in almost every case. We will be starting our followup visits and if there are repeat violations actions will be taken there. In regards to 50% occupancy for on-premises dining, we are on par with what Texas is doing now. Our decision not to go into Phase 3 was the right decision. I can only imagine what the case would be if we removed to Phase 3. We are paying attention to all of these things and maybe making some adjustments to the restrictions. Currently, we remain focused on getting compliance with existing restrictions. If this proves to be insufficient to get our numbers under control we whatever is necessary to not put a strain on our hospitals. We are not there today but we are on-trend to get there.
President Trump says he wants all students returning to school for in person instruction, do you have guidance on what you would like to see with schools reopening?
First of all, I would hope aspirationally we want to see our schools open 5 days a week for in-person instruction, but at the same time, we have to balance the interest of preserving the health of students, staff, and faculty. We need to look at what situation is at any given time of the situation, particularly in advance of when that school year will commence. You will see school districts implementing even more measures to protect students, staff, and faculty. Under no circumstance do we anticipate a return to pre-COVID normal. Even if we have in-person instruction on campus it will not look like how it was prior to COVID. Not like to see school assemblies, students eating in lunch, students will not be coming into contact with people who are not their immediate cohorts. It is important to get students back onto campus not just for education but for nutrition, social well being, mental health services, and we have to remember that teachers and school counselors are mandatory reporters when they suspect a child has been subject to abuse or neglect. For all these reasons we ant them back on our campuses but we ate to do it safely. Only recently the CDC related a plethora of guidance. K-12 leaders are pouring over that now to make sure it is incorporated into our plans of reopening. Impossible to know on July 8th what it will look like or whether it will even be possible to open schools a month from now.
Question about fall sports and Senators Fields request that K-12 sports be cancelled for the Fall
It is a little too early to say on July 8th what this will look like. I appreciate the concerns of Senator Fields, that decision may be a prudent decision but we are not at the time where that decision needs to be made. WE need to know al little more and get a little deeper into the calendar before the decision is made.
Question about how Gov. Edwards feels about then comparison of wearing a mask to the holocaust
It is utter nonsense and sad. My best advice to anyone who wants to talk about any person or situation today and compare it back to the nazis or the holocaust is not appropriate. Certainly not in this circumstance where mask-wearing is recommended across the world now, including by our own Federal Govern and White House to wear masks to stop a disease that is highly contagious and highly lethal. It just misses the boat on all fronts to compare that to something related to the holocaust.
cannot hear question
Dr. Birx called me last week they were looking at certain hot posts across the country where you had increases in cases and positivity that were very pronounced. They wanted to assist going into those areas with additional testing, with the hopes of identifying more people with the coronavirus, put them into quarantine, and cool off these hot spots. In EBR we may be seeing this because of the younger demographic, we are a college town, we do not know why we are seeing it but we appreciate the help and hope to get the 5,000 additional tests today between now and July 18th. This is the only federally sponsored testing taking place in Louisiana presently. If you have questions about this testing or how to take advantage of it call 2-1-1 doineedtogetacovid19test.com to pre-register. [location of testing sites]