Baton Rouge news

• LWF trying to catch elusive 'gator some residents say is too close to home

  29-03-2016 21:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Residents living in the Springlake Bluebonnet Highlands area have spotted an alligator lurking in Lake Longwood.Wildlife & Fisheries has been called but have not caught the reptile. The alligator has been spotted for the last couple of weeks, since a big rain event. The Bluebonnet Highlands Homeowners Association says emails have been sent out to let people know and to keep an eye on small animals and children.Many people have seen the alligator, including Lee Bullard."On the s
  
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• Dylan Moses has lunch with LSU DC Dave Aranda Tuesday

  29-03-2016 21:48
  
  Moses visiting LSU spring practice Tuesday.
  
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• FEMA opens shop in Livingston; Ascension is next

  29-03-2016 18:38
  
  SATSUMA - The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center opened its doors Tuesday in Livingston Parish.. The center is located at the Satsuma Village mall just off of I-12.After floodwater covered areas of Livingston Parish and surrounding areas, residents like Megan Willis are ready for recovery efforts to begin."It was water throughout the whole entire house," she told News 2's Ambria Washington. The home she and her parents lived in received about a foot of water. "We've already had to go in and
  
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• Giant snail poses danger to Louisiana rice farmers

  29-03-2016 17:28
  
  BATON ROUGE -Scientists fear the Giant Apple Snail could destroy rice crops in west Louisiana. The snail is an invasive species from South America that is slowly eating up aquatic plants across the southern part of the state."They're considered one of the worst invasive species in the world," Jacoby Carter with the US Geological Survey says. "They are in the top 100 list of bad invasive species," he added.The snails live in fresh water and can grow as large as a person's fist. Right now
  
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• Woman arrested in Monday night stabbing altercation with boyfriend

  29-03-2016 16:49
  
  BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office arrested 45-year-old Maria Nalasco responsible for stabbing her boyfriend during an altercation on Monday night.The incident occurred Monday around 8:20 p.m. at an apartment complex in the 1200 block of West Chimes Street.According to the EBR Sheriff’s Office, the victim stated that he and Nalasco were involved in a verbal altercation that led to Nalasco becoming angry and aggressive towards him.The victim stated that Nalasco gr
  
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• State demands answers from water company over unhealthy amount of chemicals

  29-03-2016 16:21
  
  DONALDSONVILLE- State health leaders had strong words today for People's Water in Donaldsonville.
  "We don't have a trust at this point," Dr. Jimmy Guidry said. "In order to build that trust they have to do their job, and we have to check and make sure they're doing their job."The water company was supposed to notify the state about problems with any water testing but didn't last year. People's Water blames a faulty meter for not detecting high levels of chlorine dioxide in the water last week. T
  
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• Contractor's mishap means more construction on west side

  29-03-2016 16:10
  
  ERWINVILLE - A contractor will pay for mistakes made after imperfections were found along Highway 413 that runs through West Baton Rouge and Pointe Coupee Parishes.Driving down Highway 413, you may notice hundreds of white circles from Department of Transportation and Development inspectors marking the imperfections. Coastal Bridge Company recently laid asphalt along the nine-mile stretch that runs from Rosedale Road to Highway 416, but DOTD says the contractor had problems with its asphalt mixt
  
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• DSNAP sites for Ascension Parish and others to begin on Wednesday

  29-03-2016 15:41
  
  ASCENSION -  The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) will open Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (DSNAP) sites starting Wednesday.DSNAP benefits are for the residents impacted by flooding due to severe weather earlier this month.Over the weekend, Jackson, Rapides, Red River and Sabine parishes were added to the DSNAP sites.The following DSNAP locations will be open Wednesday, Mar. 30, through Sunday, Apr. 3, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.:Allen Parish: Al
  
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• Former LSU RB Terrence Magee re-signs with Ravens

  29-03-2016 14:52
  
  Gets exclusive rights free agent deal for $525,000.
  
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• Cyclist hit by car near LSU campus

  29-03-2016 14:22
  
  BATON ROUGE - Emergency crews responded to a pedestrian hit by a vehicle on Perkins Road near LSU’s campus while on her bicycle Tuesday afternoon.According to BRPD Sgt. Don Coppola, the bicyclist was on Perkins Road and wanted to avoid stopping for a traffic light at Stanford Avenue. The bicyclist turned on to the sidewalk at Standford Avenue instead and then tried to cut across traffic.
  BRPD was on the scene and the pedestrian was transported from the scene by EMS.
  This is a developin
  
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• DOTD warns of possible week-long outage of traffic data

  29-03-2016 14:20
  
  BATON ROUGE - A network outage will cut off traffic data along heavily congested areas of I-10 and Airline Highway, DOTD revealed Tuesday afternoon.In a tweet, state traffic officials said the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) could be down for a week starting Tuesday. The ITS is a system of cameras and other tools used to monitor traffic flow and provides data that allows the state to warn drivers of problems and respond to incidents on the highway.The outage will impact traffic cameras a
  
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• Medicaid expansion could lessen, not stop cuts

  29-03-2016 14:12
  
  BATON ROUGE - The chief financial officer of Louisiana's health department says Medicaid expansion could save the state $124 million next year to help lessen the blow of budget cuts.
      
  Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration says Louisiana could take advantage of enhanced federal financing to produce savings if it expands Medicaid to cover the working poor.
      
  But even with those savings, Jeff Reynolds told a House budget committee Tuesday
  
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• US judge to allow further digging in Clinton email lawsuit

  29-03-2016 14:08
  
  WASHINGTON - A second federal judge says he will allow a conservative legal group to seek more documents and depositions in a lawsuit over access to emails sent or received by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
      
  U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth issued an order Tuesday granting limited discovery to Judicial Watch. The group sued in 2014 over whether the State Department properly responded to public records requests related to Clinton's time as the
  
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• Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke dies at 69

  29-03-2016 13:55
  
  NEW YORK - Patty Duke, who won an Oscar as a teen for "The Miracle Worker" and maintained a long and successful career throughout her life, has died at the age of 69.
      
  Duke's agent, Mitchell Stubbs, says the actress died early Tuesday morning of sepsis from a ruptured intestine.
      
  She built on her success in teenhood by playing identical cousins on the popular sitcom, "The Patty Duke Show."Permalink| Comments
  
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• Walker Police looking for truck involved in hit and run on Walker South Road

  29-03-2016 13:30
  
  WALKER - Walker Police Department are looking for a Dodge pickup truck involved in a hit and run accident on Walker South Road.According to the Walker Police Department, the incident occurred on Monday around 7:45 p.m. near the intersection of Walker South Road and Vincent Place.A man and woman were riding on a motorcycle northbound when it was hit from behind by a blue Dodge pickup truck. Both the man and woman on the motorcycle were injured.
  According to the Walker Police Department, the truck
  
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• EBRSO looking for suspect in Subway robbery

  29-03-2016 13:10
  
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s detectives are looking for a suspect responsible for robbing a Subway in the 5800 block of Sherwood Forest Blvd. on Mar. 25.The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. when a white male suspect entered the Subway demanding the employees to open the register while waving a knife.According to the sheriff’s office, the employees ran to the back of the business where the suspect jumped over the counter and stole an undisclosed amount of mo
  
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• State hopes to use technology to ease traffic trouble

  29-03-2016 13:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - Since most proposed fixes to solve Baton Rouge's traffic problems, like a new bridge or a loop are too costly, the state Department of Transportation and Development is looking at more affordable options like improving technology.One example is signs on each side of the river providing drivers with estimated drive times over both the old and new bridge, as well as on other congested roads. Also in the works, an upgrade for DOTD's smart phone app that will give driver's updated driv
  
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• Fire investigation underway at home on Amarillo Street

  29-03-2016 12:50
  
   BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Fire Department is investigating the cause of a fire on Amarillo Street Tuesday night.The fire broke out just before 9 p.m. Tuesday night. It took crews about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze. Fire investigators believe it originated on an unattended pot on the stove. Two people were home at the time. According to the fire department, one was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.Around $40,000 worth of damage was caused to the h
  
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• Police charge Trump campaign manager with battery of a reporter

  29-03-2016 12:41
  
  WASHINGTON - Florida police have charged Donald Trump's campaign manager Corey Lewandowski with battery in connection with an incident earlier in the month involving a reporter.
      
  Police in Jupiter, Florida issued Lewandowski a notice Tuesday to appear before a judge on May 4 for the misdemeanor charge. A surveillance video released by the police appears to show Lewandowski grabbing a reporter for Breitbart News as she tried to ask Trump a question during a March 8
  
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• GM recalls nearly 6,300 police cars for steering problem

  29-03-2016 09:09
  
  DETROIT - General Motors is recalling nearly 6,300 police cars in the U.S. because the electric power-assisted steering can fail.The recall covers Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit vehicles from the 2014 to 2016 model years. GM says corrosion on a connector causes the problem. If it happens, the cars still have manual steering, but that requires more effort to turn the wheels and increases the risk of a crash.GM says no crashes or injuries have been reported. The company says the problem happens
  
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• Home health care assistant arrested for stealing patient debit cards

  29-03-2016 09:03
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Police Department arrested 24-year-old Allison Taylor for stealing an elderly woman’s debit cards while being her home health care assistant.The victim reported to BRPD that there were many unauthorized charges to her Chase Bank debit card and Louisiana Purchase debit card.According to BRPD, the victim suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and kidney disease which requires her 24-hour home health care assistance.The victim suspected that Taylo
  
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• March 29, 2016 Morning News Pop

  29-03-2016 06:54
  
  Here are today's top stories:Victims crash car, try to make getaway on foot after shootingMcDonald's considered 'total loss' after Monday fire State to list travel times on some congested roads Unsettled weather arrives tomorrowUpdates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• Obama to address nation's growing problem with opioids

  29-03-2016 06:32
  
  WASHINGTON- The Obama administration is issuing a proposed rule that aims to increase medication-based treatment for tens of thousands of people dealing with addiction to opioids.
      
  The proposed rule, along with a commitment from 60 medical schools to heighten training for prescribing opioids, will coincide with President Barack Obama's visit today to Atlanta where he will address a conference for treatment providers, counselors, lawmakers and law enforcement office
  
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• Ascension Parish to start cleaning up debris Tuesday

  29-03-2016 06:14
  
  GONZALES- Trucks are getting ready start picking up debris left behind by recent flooding in Ascension Parish.Parish officials are asking residents to keep a few things in mind when setting debris out on the street. The Ascension Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Director Rick Webre said if residents place their debris near utility poles, the grapple truck will disconnect them along with phone and cable lines. Officials will be patrolling th
  
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• Louisiana House votes to curb state spending on public art

  29-03-2016 03:28
  
  BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana House wants to scale back a 17-year-old program that requires state agencies to spend a portion of their construction dollars on public art.
      
  Lawmakers in the House voted 86-4 on Monday to put new restrictions on the program, with supporters saying the state has to curb spending amid continued budget gaps.
      
  Under the Percent for Art Program created in 1999, state agencies are required to spend 1 percent of t
  
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• Egyptian plane hijacked, forced to land in Cyrus

  29-03-2016 02:55
  
  CAIRO- Egypt's civil aviation authority says an EgyptAir plane has been hijacked while flying from the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo.
      
  A Cypriot government official says the hijacked plane landed on Tuesday morning at the airport in Larnaka and that there are suspicions of a bomb on board.
      
  A second Cypriot official says there "seems like there's more than one hijacker." He says there have been no demands o
  
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• More severe weather, heavy rain possible Wednesday and Thursday

  29-03-2016 01:08
  
  Expect 2 to 4 inches of rain, chance of tornadoes, high winds, hail, lightning, forecasters say
  
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