Masks and shots: The Chronicle of Higher Education today waded into the tumultuous COVID-19 mitigation discussion at LSU with a new feature about employees’ efforts to enact more stringent policies and President William Tate’s recent pledge to mandate vaccinations following full FDA approval. As of Monday, just 36% of students reported being vaccinated against COVID-19. Read the full story.
#FreeBritney: Britney Spears’ father said in a court filing Thursday that he is planning to step down from the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money for 13 years, but his departure is not imminent. The document gives no timetable for Jamie Spears’ resignation from his role helping oversee his daughter’s finances, but comes after a pair of speeches before the court in June and July, in which Britney Spears called the conservatorship “abusive.” Read the full story.
Home loans: Mortgage rates rose this week for the first time after six weeks of declines amid signs of strong economic recovery. Average rates for home loans remain historically low, however, at under 3%. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average for the 30-year mortgage jumped to 2.87% from 2.77% last week. The benchmark rate, which reached a peak this year of 3.18% in April, stood at 2.96% a year ago. See the report.
On the delta front …
• Gov. John Bel Edwards will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. today to talk about how Louisiana is grappling with the fourth surge of COVID-19. Watch it here.
• The LSU football team is one player away from being fully vaccinated. (The Daily Advertiser)
• To watch the New Orleans Saints at the Caesars Superdome this year, attendees will have to show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test. All attendees will be required to wear masks.
