Baton Rouge news

• See the TOPS changes Louisiana lawmakers want to make

  07-03-2016 23:48
  
  The state's budget problems are threatening TOPS for next year. Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration has said Louisiana may have to significantly raise its ACT cutoff score for the scholarship if not enough is done to plug the state's projected $2 billion shortfall in funding that starts July 1.
  
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• Live updates from Les Miles' first spring press conference Monday, 6 p.m.

  07-03-2016 23:00
  
  Tigers open spring practice with first of 15 workouts.
  
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• Just how high are Louisiana's car insurance rates?

  07-03-2016 21:43
  
  New report from insure.com ranks Louisiana as fourth-most expensive in U.S.
  
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• Naked, dancing woman causes Texas traffic nightmare

  07-03-2016 18:38
  
  HOUSTON - Traffic woes aren’t uncommon in Texan metro areas, but things got a little weird when a dancing naked woman brought traffic to an abrupt standstill in Houston on Monday.Traffic on US-290 near Houston was already at a standstill due to an earlier accident, but the gridlock certainly wasn’t helped as an unidentified, unclothed woman climbed on top of a truck and started dancing erratically. She refused to come down and an hour long stand off ensued before she was fina
  
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• Louisiana House GOP leadership at odds on tax increases

  07-03-2016 18:38
  
  House Speaker Taylor Barras wants to take up a tax bill Monday afternoon (March 7). But state Rep. Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, says more tax bills aren't necessarily needed.
  
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• Settlement reached over state's multi-million dollar melting ice whistle-blower case

  07-03-2016 18:28
  
  BATON ROUGE - A fired state worker will settle his whistle-blower lawsuit.Bruce Ellis believed he was fired from his job at the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness after speaking up about what he thought was waste in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. Ellis said the state spent millions of dollars on ice before the storm but it was never used. Instead, Ellis said in previous WBRZ reports, the ice was allowed to melt."I'm a taxpayer... I have some responsibility to ma
  
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• Former LSU WR Rueben Randle likely done with Giants, report says

  07-03-2016 18:08
  
  Randle just finished fourth season with Giants.
  
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• Sportscaster Erin Andrews awarded $55 million in lawsuit

  07-03-2016 17:06
  
  NASHVILLE - A jury has awarded Erin Andrews $55 million in her lawsuit over a secretly recorded nude video that a stalker took of her in a hotel room and posted online.
      
  The jury came back with its decision Monday after about a day of deliberations.
      
  Andrews works for Fox Sports and co-hosts TV's "Dancing with the Stars." She maintained that the stalker and two hotel companies were to blame for the video. She tearfully testified that
  
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• Livingston Parish replacing more bridges

  07-03-2016 16:34
  
  LIVINGSTON - Another batch of bridges will be replaced in Livingston Parish as the state battles its deteriorating bridge problem.Livingston Parish has a total of 259 bridges, and around a dozen are deemed structurally deficient. Livingston Parish ranks among the best parishes when it comes to structurally sound bridges.Livingston Parish leaders have placed a lot of attention on replacing old wooden bridges across the parish. In the past two years the parish replaced seven bridges with concrete
  
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• Crisis Action Team to activate Tuesday due to flooding threat

  07-03-2016 16:15
  
  BATON ROUGE- The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness plans to activate the Crisis Action Team tomorrow as the threat of flooding looms over Louisiana.The team will be on standby to answer requests from parishes in need of assistance."We are pretty much ready to support and monitor all 64 parishes for anything they may need region by region," GOHSEP Deputy Director Chris Guilbeaux said.Guilbeaux said the state is ready to provide any assistance parishes may need like
  
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• Father accused of forcing toddler to kneel on Lego blocks until knees bled

  07-03-2016 15:56
  
  BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn - A 23-year-old father from Brooklyn is accused of torturing his three-year-old son by burning and whipping him before forcing him to kneel on Lego blocks.WPIX-TV reported the toddler’s grandmother called to report the child abuse at the family’s home over the weekend.Police said the child had “multiple injuries from his father.” They said he was severely malnourished and was taken to the hospital where he is in stable condition at th
  
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• Mayor Holden warns of likely strong storms headed for area

  07-03-2016 15:07
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The National Weather Service says a large storm system could bring heavy rain and the possibly of tornadoes to the Deep South this week.
      
  Greg Carbin is a forecaster at the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. He says some areas from Louisiana to Alabama could see up to a foot of rain, and that forecasters expect to issue flash flood watches and warnings.
      
  Some showers and a few thunderstorms are expected to deve
  
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• Man accused of exposing himself to kids after offering them candy, R-rated movie

  07-03-2016 14:46
  
  BATON ROUGE - Sheriff’s deputies say they arrested a Baton Rouge man after he was accused of luring a group of kids into his house with the promise of candy and an R-rated film before exposing himself to them.
  49-year-old Herman Lewis was booked on charges of indecent behavior with juveniles and contributing to delinquency of a juvenile after he was arrested Saturday morning.Deputies say Lewis allowed four children under the age of 14 into his home and let them choose whatever movie th
  
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• Ascension Parish readies sandbag stations ahead of possible flooding

  07-03-2016 14:41
  
  GONZALES - Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa said Monday that parish drainage, public works and emergency management departments are ready and monitoring weather forecasts for the immediate area in anticipation of predicted stormy weather for later this week.“Our departments are poised and ready should the need arise," Matassa said. "We will also be providing pre-filled sandbags at various locations throughout the parish."Bill Roux, director of East Ascension Gravity Drainage Di
  
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• Pair of Scotlandville teens arrested for bringing drugs, guns to school

  07-03-2016 14:20
  
  SCOTLANDVILLE - Two Scotlandville teens were arrested last week at their high schools after they were accused of bringing firearms and drugs onto school property.The Baton Rouge Police Department says 18-year-old Dalon Veals was arrested after officers found marijuana and a BB gun in his car parked in the Scotlandville Magnet parking lot. At around 10 a.m. on Mar. 4, officers were checking vehicles parked in the school's parking lot and noticed a black handle under a pair of slippers, s
  
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• BR detox center employee accused of raping patient

  07-03-2016 13:58
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police reported the arrest of an Independence man who was accused of raping a female patient at the detox center by which he was employed.25-year-old Julius Williams was booked into the parish prison on one count of second degree rape.Police said they responded to the scene in the 200 block of S. Foster after a 20-year-old victim reported she was raped there. The location is a detox center, and the victim was under court order to be there. The victim said Williams entered her room
  
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• LSU's Kappa Sig frat to demolish 1930s-era house

  07-03-2016 13:43
  
  BATON ROUGE - Campus officials at LSU have given approval to the Kappa Sigma Fraternity for permission to demolish its current fraternity house on Dalrymple Drive.The house was deemed uninhabitable in August 2015. An inspection of the house performed earlier in the year confirmed what many alumni already knew, which was that the house suffered from unsustainable foundation and structural damage. It was built in the 1930s.Demolition will now begin within the next four weeks, taking five to six we
  
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• 8 LSU players to watch during spring practice

  07-03-2016 13:42
  
  LSU begins 15 practices Monday over the next during the next six weeks.
  
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• Former Ascension deputy accused of pulling gun in daiquiri store fight

  07-03-2016 13:07
  
  PRAIRIEVILLE - Deputies in Ascension Parish say they arrested a man accused of brandishing a pistol during a fight at a daiquiri shop on Highway 73 late last month.37-year-old Mike Renaud, of Geismar, was arrested Friday and booked on charges of possession of a firearm on premises of an alcoholic beverage outlet and aggravated assault with a firearm.Deputies said they responded to Southpaws Daiquiri Shop in Prairieville on Feb. 26 where a fight was reported. Witnesses said Renaud pulled out a ha
  
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• Corps checking some levees twice a week

  07-03-2016 13:03
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The Army Corps of Engineers has begun twice-weekly checks of Mississippi River levees south of Baton Rouge because the river is 11 feet and rising at New Orleans.
      
  Spokesman Ricky Boyett (boy-ET) says the patrols are a standard precaution under these conditions. Other precautions include a ban on subsurface work within 1,500 feet of the levees, hauling heavy loads over the levees, and other work that might damage them.
      
  
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• Part of Corporate Boulevard to be temporarily closed this weekend

  07-03-2016 13:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - An upcoming closure of one lane of Corporate Boulevard could be the source of additional backups at a heavily trafficked intersection this weekend.The westbound outside lane of the roadway at College Drive will be closed on Saturday, Mar. 12 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to traffic officials.Construction crews will be overlaying patch in the street during the closure.Traffic officials say that no detour will be necessary during the work hours.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Proposed BR streetcar to run early morning, late nights; more released today

  07-03-2016 12:56
  
  BATON ROUGE - The city released more information about a $100 million proposed streetcar line through Old South Baton Rouge that will connect downtown and LSU. The line, called TramLinkBR, has been the topic of a series of meetings as engineers work on an environmental plan ahead of a sizeable project plan and schedule. Construction would not start until 2018 and the city hopes to have the tram running by 2021.Monday, project coordinators said they envision stops in the downtown area at
  
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• Wednesday session deadline near with no tax deal reached yet

  07-03-2016 12:53
  
   BATON ROUGE - With a Wednesday deadline fast approaching, the House and Senate are trying to strike a deal to keep from cratering this year's budget and forcing widespread cuts on health care and colleges.
      
  But House Republicans have rejected several tax measures the Senate, House Democrats and Gov. John Bel Edwards had hoped could be used to drum up new money for the treasury.
      
  The House late Sunday rejected bills that woul
  
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• Commuter train derails, at least 14 hurt

  07-03-2016 12:39
  
  SUNOL, CA - The Alameda Fire Department says 14 people were injured, four seriously, when a commuter train traveling from Silicon Valley to Stockton in Central California derailed Monday night.
      
  The department says all passengers have been evacuated from the derailed train and are being checked by paramedics.
      
  It says the uninjured passengers will be transported to the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton.
      
  
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• Lawmakers race against the clock to close budget gap

  07-03-2016 12:19
  
  BATON ROGE - The special legislative session ends Wednesday and lawmakers now have less than 48 hours to sort out the state's budget mess. Monday, they discussed raising the sales tax an extra cent until the end of the current fiscal year.There's no official proposal yet, but republicans and business lobbyists are pushing for the highest sales tax in the country so businesses don't have to pay more.House republicans have shot down a number of tax hikes over the past week, particularly those aime
  
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• High court reverses conviction of Louisiana death row inmate

  07-03-2016 12:12
  
  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has reversed the 2002 murder conviction of a Louisiana death row inmate after ruling prosecutors failed to disclose evidence that could have helped his defense.The ruling on Monday came in the case of Michael Wearry who was convicted in the 1998 death of a 16-year-old pizza delivery driver from Albany. The victim, Eric Walber, was carjacked and killed. His body was found in Tangipahoa Parish, just across the Livingston Parish line. In archived WBRZ reports about th
  
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• North Baton Rouge receives federal grant to fund crime fighting efforts

  07-03-2016 12:01
  
  BATON ROUGE - The City of Baton Rouge and community partners announced they’ll hold a series of meeting in the coming weeks as part of a new federal grant program aimed at reducing crime in six North Baton Rouge communities.The Bryne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Grant is one of the Department of Justice’s signature programs under the White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative that seeks to decrease criminal activity in communities by reshaping the factors which
  
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• First Mid-City Jazz Festival to be held at BRCC

  07-03-2016 11:22
  
  BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge will hold its first annual Mid-City Jazz Festival later this month in the Magnolia Theater on Baton Rouge Community College’s Mid-City campus. Dr. Charles Brooks, head of the BRCC’s audio engineering department, is hosting the event as a part of the school’s 10th annual Arts Festival.The event will kick off on March 24th at 9 a.m. and end by 5 p.m. It is open to all middle and high schools in the state. The festival will present high school
  
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• Out of office, Jindal looms over Louisiana budget crisis

  07-03-2016 11:02
  
  BATON ROUGE, La.- Bobby Jindal left the governor's office nearly two months ago, but his legacy permeates a special legislative session aimed at digging Louisiana out of deep financial troubles.
      
  Louisiana's worst budget crisis in nearly 30 years is threatening public colleges with cuts that could shutter campuses mid-semester and putting health care services for the poor and disabled at risk of elimination.
      
  State leaders blame the R
  
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• Opening statements to begin in Hulk Hogan, Gawker lawsuit

  07-03-2016 07:50
  
  ST. PETERSBURG, FL.- Opening statements are scheduled to begin in the civil trial between pro wrestler Hulk Hogan and a popular news website.
      
  Proceedings will start Monday morning in a St. Petersburg courtroom.
      
  Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, is suing Gawker for $100 million for publishing a sex tape of him and the wife of a Tampa radio personality.
      
  A six-member jury will determine whether Gaw
  
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• March 7, 2016 Morning News Pop

  07-03-2016 06:55
  
  Here are today's top stories:Louisiana House supports alcohol tax increase for budget Peyton Manning announces plans to retire Devon Gales returns homeMon. dry, 6-10 rain possible by Sat. Updates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• John Bel Edwards wants more business taxes before a higher sales tax

  07-03-2016 06:55
  
  The Louisiana House Republican leadership is pushing a proposal that would raise the sales tax to 1.25 or 1.75 cents per dollar of sales for up to two years.
  
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• OSHA cites biofuel company over hydrogen gas explosion

  07-03-2016 05:19
  
  GEISMAR- The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Geismar biodiesel plant $70,000 and has cited a biofuels company over a September hydrogen gas explosion.
      
  OSHA also cited Renewable Energy Group, an Iowa-based biofuels producer, on Thursday with three willful safety violations over the company's alleged failure to ensure that a flammable chemical was no longer in a plant pipeline that was under repair.
      
  An O
  
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• Marco Rubio: A candidate still searching for a viable base

  07-03-2016 04:22
  
  BOISE, Idaho- Marco Rubio finds his Oval Office ambitions squeezed by Donald Trump's outsider ambush and the Republican Party's resulting identity crisis.
      
  The Florida senator has struggled to reconnect with the kind of voters who sent him to Capitol Hill six years ago as a tea party favorite, instead watching them fuel Trump and his closest challenger to winning the GOP presidential nomination, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
      
  Yet, left to depe
  
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• Louisiana House passes new alcohol tax, which heads next to the state Senate

  07-03-2016 04:13
  
  The new alcohol taxes would produce $4.4 million before June 30 to modestly help close Louisiana's $900 deficit in the current budget.
  
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• Jimmy Carter says he no longer needs cancer treatment

  07-03-2016 02:49
  
  Carter was diagnosed with melanoma that spread to his brain
  
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• Psychologists and massage therapists are reporting 'Trump anxiety' among clients

  07-03-2016 02:35
  
  Hand-wringing over Trump's rapid climb, once confined to Washington's political establishment, is now palpable among everyday Americans.
  
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