Weekend fallout: The CEO of drugmaker Merck & Co quit President Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council today as a matter of “personal conscience” over Trump’s statements following a deadly gathering of white nationalists in Virginia over the weekend. Bloomberg reports Kenneth Frazier, Merck CEO, said he had a “responsibility to to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.” Trump drew criticism over the weekend for saying “many sides” were involved in the violence, and responded almost immediately to Frazier’s statement with a Twitter attack this morning accusing Frazier of “RIPOFF” drug prices. Bloomberg has the story.
Recovery tour: On the anniversary of last year’s devastating floods, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson will be in Baton Rouge today touring areas that were hard-hit to review recovery efforts. Carson, along with Sen. John Kennedy, Rep. Garret Graves and Denham Springs Mayor Gerard Landry, will tour Denham Springs and hold a press conference at the offices of the Livingston Parish News this afternoon, HUD says in a news release. Tomorrow, Carson will join Gov. John Bel Edwards in touring New Orleans public housing developments built after Hurricane Katrina. Read Business Report’s recent cover package on the one year anniversary of the August flood.
Birthday bash: Edwin Edwards may have gone to federal prison for corruption, but the four-term former Louisiana governor can still pack a room. The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports more than 500 people—including current Gov. John Bel Edwards, former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and a smattering of state politicos—packed the Renaissance Hotel Saturday to celebrate Edwards’ 90th birthday. “It’s one of the highlights of my long career,” Edwards told USA Today Network. “I’ve had a great life.” The legendary former governor noted that while he is 90 years old, he took his 4-year-old son Eli to preschool the day before. Edwards is raising Eli with his wife Trina, who is a half-century younger than Edwards. Read the story and check out photos from the Monroe News Star.
