Baton Rouge news

• LSU LB Kendell Beckwith returns to spring practice

  05-04-2016 23:37
  
  Tigers in 10th spring practice Tuesday
  
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• Louisiana's credit downgraded by 2nd of 3 big rating agencies

  05-04-2016 23:14
  
  Fitch Ratings dropped Louisiana's rating Tuesday (April 5), in part because of Louisiana's recent history of "overly-optimistic" revenue expectations and reliance on short-term fixes to balance its budget several years in a row.
  
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• Given Louisiana's spending problem, why are legislators struggling with budget cuts?

  05-04-2016 21:17
  
  How in the name of Grover Norquist is it possible that Louisiana legislators are struggling to balance the state's out-of-whack budget? For years -- which includes earlier this year -- we've heard members of the Grand Old Party self-righteously declare...
  
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• Exclusive: 71-year-old hit by driver who was shot talks about surviving crash

  05-04-2016 19:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - Shortly after being released from a hospital Tuesday, a 71-year-old woman recalled the overnight ordeal where she was hit by a car after the driver was shot. Elouise Nelson was hit after police said the driver of the car that hit her lost control on Dayton Street.  The unidentified driver also hit another car after being shot by someone inside the vehicle Monday night. Nelson was hospitalized after being hit, but was up and walking around a few h
  
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• LSU passing game/video game numbers? Chat in progress

  05-04-2016 18:40
  
  LSU continues with final two weeks of spring practice.
  
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• Legal weed proposals start moving through capitol

  05-04-2016 18:32
  
  BATON ROUGE - Multiple bills related to legalizing marijuana started moving through the capitol Tuesday.There are seven proposed laws dealing with updating, changing or creating new marijuana laws. Among them, is State Representative Ted James' far-reaching proposal.James' proposal was read in the House Tuesday, an introductory move as it works its way through the process of a bill becoming a law. It would establish the Louisiana Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Act, regulating dispensing and policin
  
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• LSU sets Missouri as 2016 Homecoming game

  05-04-2016 17:34
  
  Mississippi State set for Gold Game.
  
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• Doggone: Lawmakers don't throw dog lovers a bone; no human, pet co-burial yet

  05-04-2016 17:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers didn't throw a bone to people who are hoping to be buried with their dogs; instead, at a committee meeting Tuesday, they buried the proposal by Senator Conrad Appel, R- Metairie."People love their pets, I know some people who love their pets more than their family," Appel told WBRZ political correspondent Mark Armstrong."If the option and the timing worked out, I guess ( I would be buried with my dog)," dog lover Michael Ryan said. Ryan was playing with his dog, Pony Boy,
  
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• LSU Tiger Stadium camp out for kids set April 29

  05-04-2016 17:09
  
  Overnight stay includes LSU vs. Ole Miss baseball game.
  
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• Free crawfish boil for flood responders

  05-04-2016 16:51
  
  HAMMOND - Fidelity Bank will host a crawfish boil for first responders who assisted in the aftermath of wide-spread flooding in southeast Louisiana last month.The boil will be Thursday at the bank's Hammond CM Fagan Drive branch from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone is invited to attend; trays will sell for $10 but first responders will eat for free, the bank said.Money raised will be donated to the American Red Cross of Southeast Louisiana.Lower Tangipahoa Parish, just a few miles from the bank where th
  
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• Specialty popsicle shop to open in Perkins Rowe next month

  05-04-2016 16:07
  
  BATON ROUGE- Perkins Rowe will soon be the home to a gourmet “paleteria” or popsicle specialty shop slated to open in May.The new popsicle shop, Rock n' Pops, will be across from Barnes & Noble, near California Pizza Kitchen in Perkins Rowe.The shop will feature 21 flavors of homemade popsicles. The brand is a part of the rock n’roll themed Creole-Mexican fusion restaurant Lava Cantina Baton Rouge.Rock n’ Pops will have seven fruit-based popsicles and
  
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• WEB EXCLUSIVE: White Castle plans to follow judge's order regarding records requests

  05-04-2016 13:17
  
  WHITE CASTLE - White Castle town officials agreed to adhere to orders from a district judge to better handle public records requests in the future after two citizens filed a lawsuit against the town in late 2015.The council, mayor, town clerk and town attorney spent more than two hours in executive session Tuesday night to discuss how to better handle public records requests."We have come to the conclusion that we will develop a new policy and ordinance for public records requests," Mayor Jemarr
  
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• Gov. Edwards to speak on disability rights and oil & gas industry Tuesday

  05-04-2016 12:17
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards will speak at Disability Rights Day along with Oil and Gas Industry Day on Tuesday afternoon.Edwards will first deliver remarks at Disability Rights Day hosted by the Louisiana Developmental Disabilities Council at 12:10 p.m. at the Capitol.Edwards will then speak at the Oil and Gas Industry Day hosted by the Grow Louisiana Coalition at 12:45 p.m.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Southeastern and McNeese players claim baseball weekly honors

  05-04-2016 09:29
  
  BATON ROUGE - Southeastern Louisiana first baseman Jameson Fisher and McNeese State right-hander Kaleb Fontenot have been named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Baseball Players of the Week.
      
  The players were each nominated by their school's respective baseball sports information directors and selected by a statewide media panel.
      
  Fisher, a junior from Zachary, was named the Hitter of the Week for the third time this season. T
  
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• Shots fired in gas station parking lot overnight, police report

  05-04-2016 09:23
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police may have a suspect in an overnight parking lot shooting that was more disturbance than harmful.Baton Rouge Police responded to the Raceway gas station in the 7100 block of Airline Highway north of Greenwell Springs around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Officer said a large crowd had gathered in the parking lot when a man started shooting.No one was hurt, police said."There is a possible suspect in this ongoing investigation," a police spokesperson said in an email when WBRZ inquired about
  
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• Board votes to remove Mississippi state flag from Adams County buildings

  05-04-2016 09:21
  
  NATCHEZ - On Monday, the Adams County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to remove the Mississippi state flag from display at all county buildings.The vote came a day after residents gathered for the One Flag for All rally, calling for the removal of the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.Supervisor Rickey Gray said he was proud of who showed up to the rally and said that he felt the flag divides the community.Supervisor David Carter rejected the motion and said that he would rather see a
  
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• April 5, 2016 Morning News Pop

  05-04-2016 06:55
  
  Here are today's top stories:US judge OKs $20B settlement from 2010 BP oil spillBaton Rouge in 1939: Time capsule opened 77 years laterShaq to be inducted to the Hall of FameInto the 80s with more sunUpdates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• Energy leaders host 2016 Oil and Gas Industry Day

  05-04-2016 05:55
  
  BATON ROUGE- Several state leaders are the 2016 Oil and Gas Industry Day Tuesday to discuss one of Louisiana's most important industries and some of the problems facing it.  The oil and gas industry accounts for one out of every six jobs in the state. Recently, the industry has been plagued by low oil prices. Several companies have had to lay people off to make up for dwindling profits.
  The event will be hosted by several oil and gas organizations in the state.
  "For more than 100 years,
  
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• Police: Man justified in shooting aggressive customer

  05-04-2016 05:15
  
  MANDEVILLE- Authorities say a man was acting out of self-defense when he shot another man whose aggressive behavior had prompted a gas station clerk to call police.
      
  Mandeville Police Department Assistant Chief Ron Ruple tells local media that a customer inside the store on Monday morning shot 42-year-old customer Shawn Breland after being attacked by Breland.
      
  Ruple says the unidentified shooter is a firearms instructor and was weari
  
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• 5 killed in tourist helicopter crash in Smoky Mountains

  05-04-2016 04:36
  
  SEVIERVILLE, TN.- Officials say a sightseeing helicopter crashed near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee, killing all five people aboard.
      
  Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email that the Bell 206 helicopter crashed Monday around 3:30 p.m. near Sevierville. Officials said the tourist helicopter was destroyed by fire after the crash.
      
  Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin
  
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• Ordinance committee to address controversial gravel pit laws

  05-04-2016 03:48
  
  WATSON- An ordinance committee in Livingston Parish is expected to address controversial gravel pit laws Tuesday. Gravel pits have a point of controversy in the parish for the past two years.
  The issue first came to light back in 2014 when Southern Aggregates, a gravel mining company, announced plans to dig a pit behind the Oak Hills Subdivision off of Highway 16 in Watson. The announcement sparked outrage from nearby residents who argued the nearby gravel pit would have a negative impact on the
  
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• Facebook programs computers to describe photos for the blind

  05-04-2016 02:55
  
  MENLO PARK, CA.- Facebook is training its computers to become seeing-eye guides for blind and visually impaired people as they scroll through the pictures posted on the world's largest online social network.
      
  The feature rolling out Tuesday on Facebook's iPhone app interprets what's in a picture using a form of artificial intelligence that recognizes faces and objects. The iPhone's built-in screen reader, VoiceOver, must be turned on for Facebook's photo descriptio
  
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• BP settlement puts Louisiana $200 million closer to plugging budget hole

  05-04-2016 00:44
  
  BP has promised to send the state a check for $200 million.
  
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