Baton Rouge news

• EBRSO: Woman left son at Walmart to have sex

  08-04-2016 20:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - According to documents obtained by The Investigative Unit, a woman accused of abandoning a child at the Cortana Mall Walmart Friday morning was served last week with papers in a lawsuit filed by someone trying to take custody of four of her children.Chenetra Washington, 32, was booked with child desertion Friday.According to the arrest report, Washington allegedly brought her 3-year-old son into the Walmart with her. Police say surveillance video shows her leave the store and get i
  
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• Avoyelles Parish added to flooding disaster list

  08-04-2016 20:28
  
  GREENSBURG - Avoyelles Parish was added to the list of parishes deemed a disaster in the wake of wide-spread flooding in March.Avoyelles joins the list that already includes Allen, Ascension, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, DeSoto, East Carroll, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Union, Vernon, Washington, We
  
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• Brandon Harris: You have to get 'obsessed with watching yourself'

  08-04-2016 20:20
  
  Harris has sought counsel from NFL quarterbacks
  
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• Woman injured in shooting in Baton Rouge Friday night

  08-04-2016 19:58
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman was injured in a shooting outside an apartment complex in Baton Rouge Friday night, a BRPD spokesman says.The shooting happened just before 7 p.m. on North Ardenwood Drive near Villa Ashley Drive. Police say a black male walked up to a group standing outside, pulled out a handgun and shot a woman in the arm before fleeing the scene. Investigators believe the suspect was looking for someone.Police say the victim's injuries are non-life threatening, and they do not have any s
  
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• Mother fights for medical marijuana

  08-04-2016 17:46
  
  BATON ROUGE- Nine-year old Connor Corkern's epilepsy is so severe he once had a seizure that lasted 36 hours. To control his condition his mother Katie was forced to put him on a number of prescription medications. She said the medications break her heart because the side-effects are almost as bad as his epilepsy."Some of the medications cause liver damage, they weaken his bone marrow. There was one he took two years ago which side-effect was blindness," said Corkern.The Amite
  
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• Search for new Denham Springs Police chief begins

  08-04-2016 17:03
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - The search for an interim police chief is underway in Denham Springs after the firing of Chief Scott Jones and Captain Steve Kistler.Both Jones and Kistler were fired by the Denham Springs Council Thursday night after an investigating committee looked into the handling of a domestic violence case involving councilman Chris Davis. Denham Springs leaders said that the findings in the report would be made public, but that has not happened yet.Residents who spoke with News 2 say the
  
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• Speedy Noil suspended for Texas A&M season opener

  08-04-2016 16:36
  
  Will miss Aggies game with UCLA.
  
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• Authorities respond to house fire on Kentucky Street Friday afternoon

  08-04-2016 16:31
  
  BATON ROUGE- The Baton Rouge Fire Department has responded to a house fire in the 2000 block of Kentucky Street. The house is located near the corner the corner of Kentucky and East Harrison streets Friday afternoon.A call about the fire was received at 3:11 p.m.Firefighters are currently on the scene tackling the flames.
  This is a developing story and will be updated as more details become available.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Former LSU football player suspended from NFL for 4 games

  08-04-2016 16:04
  
  BATON ROUGE- Former LSU cornerback Jalen Collins, will miss the first four games of the 2016 NFL Season with the Atlanta Falcons.Collins violated the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, according to NFL.com on Friday.The Mississippi native was picked in the second round of the NFL draft by the Falcons after skipping his senior season at LSU.In his first season with the Falcons, Collins played in all 16 games with two starts and getting 11 tackles.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Overturned vehicle blocks lanes on I-12 in Livingston

  08-04-2016 15:34
  
  SATSUMA - Eastbound lanes of I-12 slowed because of an overturned pickup truck Friday afternoon.The truck was flipped on its side, facing on-coming traffic. It was not immediately clear what hapened or if anyone was injured.DOTD has not issued a traffic alert about the situation as of this post.A WBRZ viewer sent the picture to the newsroom around 3:30. In the picture, westbound traffic was also slowing.Check back for updates.*******************
  Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @tre
  
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• Judge orders release of 7 inmates due to lack of funds

  08-04-2016 15:33
  
  NEW ORLEANS- Seven New Orleans jail inmates, including one charged with murder and another charged with rape, have been ordered released by a judge because their cases have stalled amid uncertain funding for their defense.
      
  Release of the seven is not imminent - state Judge Arthur Hunter stayed his own ruling Friday pending review by higher courts. But his order renews attention to the funding problems for indigent defense in New Orleans and Louisiana.
   &a
  
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• Baker named #1 safest city in La.

  08-04-2016 15:20
  
  BATON ROUGE- Baker has been named the safest city in the state by BackgroundChecks.org.Baker tops a list of ten cities the web site ranked.The website is a public safety focused organization committed to increasing public safety, community involvement, transparent government, and education.  The site’s list was compiled based on FBI violent crime states and research data done by the site.According to the site, Baker, home to 13,800 residents, has a violent crime rate of 185.4
  
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• More than 40 changes to La. gun laws proposed by lawmakers

  08-04-2016 15:12
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers are looking to shape Louisiana's gun laws with more than 40 firearm-related changes proposed this session.But while proposals have come from lawmakers in both parties and within each chamber, disagreements lie in how to best curb the state's high incarceration and crime rates while respecting constitutional rights.The proposals have largely originated in the House. The House criminal justice committee has heard some proposals and is expected to weigh-in on a number of oth
  
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• Ascension declares April as Child Abuse Prevention Month

  08-04-2016 14:39
  
  ASCENSION- Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa declared April as “Child Abuse Prevention Month” in the parish.
  Matassa presented the proclamation to Erin Mire, the advocate supervisor with Children Advocacy Services (CAS) Gonzales Regional Office,  at the April 7 parish council meeting in Donaldsonville.Mire said that CAS served 70 children with advocates during March.“These are volunteers who lend their voices to children who have been silenced by abu
  
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• Brooklyn case takes front seat in Apple encryption fight

  08-04-2016 14:36
  
  NEW YORK - The Justice Department says it will continue trying to force Apple to reveal a phone's data in a New York drug case.The government told a Brooklyn judge Friday it still wants an order requiring Apple's cooperation even though it no longer needs the company's help with a phone linked to a mass shooting in California.An Apple lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment.The Justice Department recently dropped a legal fight to compel Apple to help it break into an iPhone used
  
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• Sen. Troy Brown pleads not guilty to simple battery charge

  08-04-2016 14:35
  
  NEW ORLEANS (WWLTV) - State Sen. Troy Brown will stand trial on May 13 in a simple battery case at Orleans Parish Criminal Court after entering a not-guilty plea Friday.Brown, D-Napoleonville, is accused of punching in the face a woman police have dubbed his “side friend.”Brown was not in Judge Laurie White's courtroom for his arraignment. His attorney, former state Sen. Ed Murray, entered the not-guilty plea on Brown’s behalf.The alleged incident happened during a
  
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• EBRSO: Woman who left child alone at Walmart identified

  08-04-2016 14:24
  
  BATON ROUGE – Deputies have a woman in custody after a child was found walking alone in Cortana Mall Walmart Friday morning.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, the child appears to be about three-years-old. He is wearing black sweatpants, a white t-shirt, and red and white Spiderman Crocs. He was found around 10:40 a.m.Deputies released a photo of a woman believed to have left the child at the store Friday. A couple of hours later, deputies told News 2 the sus
  
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• 2016 to be active year for film-making in BR

  08-04-2016 14:20
  
  BATON ROUGE- This year will be another active year for the city’s film-making industry, according to Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden.Holden said that the Baton Rouge Film Commission is working with 12 projects that are “very interested” in filming in Baton Rouge later this year.The projects come along with several other major films that were or currently are filming in the city.They include:Paramount Pictures’ Jack Reacher: Never Ba
  
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• Woman arrested for cruelty to a man with spinal condition

  08-04-2016 13:37
  BATON ROUGE- The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office arrested 23-year-old Roniesha Henderson for cruelty to a person with infirmities after pushing a man with spina bifida out of his wheelchair.According to the EBR Sheriff’s Office, the victim stated that he had been in a physical altercation with Henderson on Thursday.Henderson asked the victim where her daughter was and the victim told Henderson that he did not know.Henderson became upset with the victim and then pushed the v
  
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• Perjury case dropped against former Louisiana health chief

  08-04-2016 13:27
  
  BATON ROUGE- Attorney General Jeff Landry's office is dropping perjury charges against former Louisiana health secretary Bruce Greenstein.
      
  In court documents, Landry's office said there are "deficiencies in the evidence" and lawyers who reviewed the case for the attorney general didn't believe a conviction could be obtained.
      
  Greenstein issued a statement Friday, saying he was relieved "to bring this painful chapter to a close."
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• Scalise to take peers on tour of Gulf's offshore drilling

  08-04-2016 13:24
  
  NEW ORLEANS - House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is taking a batch of congressmen on a tour of the Gulf of Mexico's offshore oil and gas industry.Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, has led energy tours for his peers since he became a House member in 2008. On Friday, he's showing off the industry to seven other congressmen - five Republicans and two Democrat.The politicians will visit an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico, meet and talk with industry leaders and tour Port Fourchon, a
  
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• Construction accident at Shreveport hospital, workers trapped

  08-04-2016 13:14
  
  SHREVEPORT- Authorities are responding to a construction accident at Willis Knighton Hospital in the 2600 block of Greenwood Road.Construction crews were doing work when a building collapsed while at least 18 workers were inside. Reports say that three people have been rescued since the collapse, but others may be trapped. All have been rescued. At a news conference on Friday, fire officials said nine people were treated for non-life threatening injuries.The cause of the collapse is undetermined
  
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• Derrius Guice: 'I felt like a hero' with TD vs. Texas A&M

  08-04-2016 13:00
  
  Guice made big play in big freshman season.
  
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• Baton Rouge Bishop responds to Pope's comments on LGBTQ community

  08-04-2016 12:44
  BATON ROUGE - Bishop Robert Muench is urging Catholics to read the Pope's latest apostolic exhortation, "Joy of Love".Pope Francis made international headlines today after the document was released because of his statements on acceptance, specifically to the LGBTQ community.He did not change the Catholic Church's official doctrine on marriage, that is belongs between a man and a woman, but instead urges members of the clergy and the church to hold judgment on those who have been separated from t
  
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• In Ponchatoula this weekend, it's a strawberry celebration

  08-04-2016 12:29
  
  PONCHATOULA - This quiet small town becomes one of the state's largest cities this weekend, as more than a quarter-of-a-million people converge on southern Tangipahoa Parish for the annual Strawberry Festival.Billed as the state's largest free festival, festival-goers will be welcomed with strawberries of all shapes and sizes and in all kinds of fried and cocktail forms. In addition to food, there are plenty of shops, festival booths and rides a the city's park. Musical headliners include the Ba
  
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• BRPD and BRFD to host benefit basketball game

  08-04-2016 12:20
  BATON ROUGE- The Baton Rouge Police Department and the Baton Rouge Fire Department are hosting a benefit basketball game on Friday.The basketball game is to raise money for the American Heart Association.The game will be held at the former Redemptorist High School Gym on St. Gerard Street at 7 p.m.Tickets for the game are $5 in advance and $6 at the door.Permalink| Comments
  
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• 2 dead in shooting at Lackland Air Force base apparent murder/suicide

  08-04-2016 09:39
  
  SAN ANTONIO- Texas authorities say that 2 are dead in apparent murder-suicide at Lackland Air Force base in Texas after a shooting on Friday morning.    
  Bexar County sheriff's spokesman James Keith said two bodies were found Friday morning inside a room of a building at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.
      
  Keith says it's believed the shooter is among the two dead, but that sheriff's deputies and other law enforcement officers are continuin
  
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• Southern University nursing school to host annual Simulation Day

  08-04-2016 09:11
  
  BATON ROUGE- The Southern University Baton Rouge School of Nursing is set to host its fourth annual Simulation Day on Friday.The school has invited local high school students interested in the field of nursing to visit the campus.Student participating in the event will be introduced to the latest innovations in human simulation, tour the different clinical simulation labs and speak with a representative from the Office of Admissions.The event will be held at J.K. Hall on Southern University&
  
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• CATS to hold town hall meeting on Friday

  08-04-2016 08:55
  
  BATON ROUGE- Capitol Area Transit System (CATS) will hold a town hall meeting on Friday night.
  The meeting is for concerned community leaders and citizens to discuss safety and other issues surrounding the CATS System.
  The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center on Gus Young Avenue.Permalink| Comments
  
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• 3 arrested in fatal hit and run in Terrebonne Parish

  08-04-2016 08:34
  
  GRAY- Resulting from an investigation, Troopers of the Louisiana State Police located and arrested three people responsible for a hit and run accident involving a pedestrian on Wednesday night on LA 24 South. The accident took the life of 53-year-old Troy Jackson.The crash occurred Wednesday around 11:30 p.m. on LA 24 South near the Evergreen Cajun Center when a Chevrolet Silverado truck was traveling in the left lane.Jackson was also in the left when the truck approached and struck him. He sust
  
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• April 8, 2016 Morning News Pop

  08-04-2016 07:17
  
  Here are today's top stories:Denham Springs fires police chief Gov. Edwards takes questions on Medicaid, TOPSWBRZ teams up with law enforcement to promote gun safetyGrab the rye bread and mustard, Grandma because it's a grand salami forecast! Updates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• Grand Isle sunbather struck by police truck on beach

  08-04-2016 06:10
  
  GRAND ISLE- A woman sunbathing on a beach in Grand Isle has been hospitalized after authorities say she was run over by a police officer in a marked patrol truck.
      
  Multiple media outlets report that two women were sunbathing on the beach on Thursday afternoon when a Grand Isle officer was patrolling the area.
      
  Louisiana State Police spokesman Nick Manale says as the truck approached, one of the women was able to jump out of the way, b
  
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• New trial date for Sharper co-defendants

  08-04-2016 03:54
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A new trial date of July 11 has been set for the two Louisiana co-defendants of former NFL star Darren Sharper in a federal drug and sexual assault case.Sharper pleaded guilty in the federal case in New Orleans, as well as to related charges in state courts in Louisiana, Arizona, California and Nevada.But two co-defendants in the Louisiana cases - Brandon Licciardi and Eric Nunez - have pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges. A May trial date in the federal case was pushed
  
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• EBR Head Start Program to hold Recruitment Fun Day

  08-04-2016 03:28
  
  BATON ROUGE- Now is the time to sign your children up for the 2016-2017 East Baton Rouge Head Start Program.
  The Head Start Program helps children develop through comprehensive activities relating to health, education, disabilities and family services. It offers services for all children, including many of those with special needs.
  A Recruitment Fun Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 9, where parents can tour facilities and ask questions about what Head Start leaders have planned for upcoming
  
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• 'American Idol' crowns 15th and final winner as TV show ends

  08-04-2016 02:53
  LOS ANGELES- Trent Harmon is the 15th and final "American Idol" winner.
      
  He was crowned Thursday as Fox TV's singing contest ended its 15-season run.  The runner-up was La'Porsha Renae.
      
  The 25-year-old Harmon worked as a waiter at his family's restaurant before auditioning for the show. He grew up on a farm and described himself as a "dude from Mississippi," from the town of Amory.
      
  Harmon, who
  
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• Louisiana Legislature is considering these TOPS changes

  08-04-2016 02:06
  
  See what changes to TOPS have gotten traction in the Legislature so far.
  
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