Baton Rouge news

• Owners of half million polluting VWs can sell them back, under settlement

  21-04-2016 23:24
  
  But deal announced by federal judge doesn't say how much the company will pay to buy, repair cars.
  
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• New Orleans is the target of efforts to punish 'sanctuary cities' in Louisiana Legislature

  21-04-2016 23:22
  
  The bills are a direct response to New Orleans adopting a policy in February to not cooperate with federal immigration officials anymore.
  
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• LSU passing game needs significant improvement by Sept. 3: Podcast

  21-04-2016 22:08
  
  Tigers move into the summer workout portion of the year.
  
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• Leonard Fournette and Derrick Henry: Looking back and looking ahead

  21-04-2016 19:31
  
  The two running backs will be linked by the 2015 season.
  
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• Louisiana bucks the independent school district national trend in K-12 education

  21-04-2016 18:33
  
  East Baton Rouge Parish is something of a Louisiana anomaly when it comes to public school districts. Rather than having a single, parishwide district -- as is the case in almost every other parish -- voters in East Baton Rouge...
  
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• Lawmakers working to outlaw "sanctuary cities" for immigrants

  21-04-2016 18:17
  
  BATON ROUGE- Attorney General Jeff Landry got behind a bill that would end “sanctuary cities” for illegal immigrants.The bill by Rep. Valarie Hodges, a Denham Springs Republican, targets so-called "sanctuary cities" - jurisdictions that don't enforce immigration law without court order. Landry fears that if local law enforcement doesn’t seek out illegal immigrants, it will lead to more crime.“We have a compelling interest to make sure that our cit
  
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• Sears to close 68 Kmart, 10 Sears stores this summer

  21-04-2016 17:18
  
  NEW YORK - Sears Holdings Corp. is announcing Thursday that it will close 68 Kmart stores and 10 Sears stores as it struggles to restore profitability.    The ailing company had said in February that it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores. The move is expected to generate a "meaningful level" of cash from the liquidation of store inventories and from the sale or sublease of some of the related real estate, it said.
      
  The cl
  
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• Plastic bag tax? Decision to remain with La. local officials

  21-04-2016 16:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Decisions on whether to ban or tax disposable plastic bags will remain with Louisiana's local government leaders.A St. Tammany Parish lawmaker Thursday scrapped his effort to create roadblocks for such restrictions.Republican Rep. Paul Hollis, of Covington, initially proposed to prohibit city and parish governments from being able to adopt the plastic bag ordinances. He rewrote the bill to require local voters to authorize any restrictions on the bags used by grocery stores and ret
  
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• I-10 West/East delays after College Drive crash

  21-04-2016 16:11
  
  BATON ROUGE - All lanes are open now I-10 West past College Drive after an accident Thursday afternoon. Traffic from the accident has reached Siegen Lane on I-10 and Drusilla Lane on I-12.Be sure to check out our traffic cams before you head home from work, and check back with this story for updates.Interstate is a mess! Congestion has reached Siegen Lane on I-10 West and Drusilla Lane on I-12. pic.twitter.com/GW9ZkHInr8— Brittany Weiss WBRZ (@MsBWeiss) April 21, 2016
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• Crash past College Drive causes I-10 West/East delays

  21-04-2016 16:11
  
  BATON ROUGE - Thursday commute traffic woes are mounting as an accident on I-10 West past College Drive is causing interstate delays.As of 4 p.m. the left lane remained blocked on I-10 West with congestion stretching back to Bluebonnet Blvd. on I-10 West and Essen Lane on I-12 West.Be sure to check out our traffic cams before you head home from work, and check back with this story for updates as crews work to clear the wreck.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Canadian border agents arrest man posing as teen to play high school hoops

  21-04-2016 15:55
  
  WINDSOR, Ontario - Officials at the Canadian border have taken an African man, believed to be 30 years old, after he spent the last six months posing as a teenager while attending a Catholic high school so he could play basketball.Jonathon Nicola, who was allowed in the country on a student visa, is currently in a Canadian detention center despite making a name for himself recently on the hardwood for the Catholic Central Comets senior boys’ basketball team.Nicola was arrested for alle
  
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• To keep many on food stamps, state to offer job training

  21-04-2016 15:32
  
  HAMMOND - The governor said he plans to require able-bodied adults ages 18-49, who have no dependents, to get workforce training for food stamps Thursday.The new regulation would keep 47,000 people on the food stamp program if they all participate. The individuals faced being kicked off food stamps when the previous administration chose not to accept federal money for food stamps months before Governor John Bel Edwards took office.Edwards reversed the order when he took office and Thursday annou
  
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• State to require job training for food stamps

  21-04-2016 15:32
  
  HAMMOND - The governor said he plans to require able-bodied adults ages 18-49, who have no dependents, to get workforce training for food stamps Thursday.The new regulation would keep 47,000 people on the food stamp program if they all participate. The individuals faced being kicked off food stamps when the previous administration chose not to accept federal money for food stamps months before Governor John Bel Edwards took office.Edwards reversed the order when he took office and Thursday annou
  
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• Former tax official accused of defrauding health company out of $7M

  21-04-2016 15:12
  
  BATON ROUGE - A former tax official at a Baton Rouge-based home health and hospice care company pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge Thursday in connection with a scheme to defraud the company out of more than $7 million.The Department of Justice reports 40-year-old Michael Pitts was responsible for corporate tax matters including the preparation of state and federal tax returns along with the payment of state income taxes in states where the company operated. Pitts was employed by the company,
  
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• Ascension opens waterways, Livingston still floating decision

  21-04-2016 15:08
  
  GONZALES – Friday, waterways in Ascension Parish will reopen to recreational boaters.On April 16th, the Amite River and Diversion Canal were closed in Ascension Parish due to high water. The closed areas will open at 6 a.m. Friday, the parish said in a news release.Livingston Parish also closed waterways within the parish boundaries there. The parish said it was still evaluating high water risks and would make a decision as early as the end of the day Thursday. **********************Fo
  
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• Ascension, Livingston will open waterways Friday

  21-04-2016 15:08
  
  PORT VINCENT – Waterways in Ascension and Livingston parishes will reopen to recreational boaters Friday.On April 16, both parishes closed waterways due to high water. The closed areas will open at 6 a.m. Friday, parishes said in a news release.For business owners who count on boaters, closed waterways mean a loss of thousands of dollars."I 100 percent understand that it's people homes and property. With this high water boaters go up and down and put those wakes out. That's much more i
  
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• Man arrested for drunk driving and crashing into State Police car

  21-04-2016 14:32
  
  MORGAN CITY - A man was arrested after driving drunk and crashing into a Louisiana State Police car.On Wednesday at around 8:30 p.m., 45-year-old Duane McClendon of Morgan City was traveling eastbound on I-10 near Breaux Bridge when he ran off of the right side of the road and struck a marked Louisiana State Police Chevy Tahoe.A State Trooper was inside the SUV at the time of the crash. McClendon was arrested for DWI, reckless operation of a vehicle and vehicular negligent injuring.He w
  
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• FBI head suggests agency paid more than $1M to access iPhone

  21-04-2016 14:21
  
  WASHINGTON - FBI Director James Comey has hinted that the FBI paid more than $1 million to break into the locked iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers.At an Aspen Security Forum event in London on Thursday, Comey said the FBI had paid an unidentified third-party more money than he'll earn in his remaining seven years as FBI director.He did not reveal the precise amount.The Justice Department last month revealed that an outside entity had approached it with a method that could hack i
  
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• Cursive writing requirement heads to full Senate for debate

  21-04-2016 14:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's public schools would have to teach cursive writing, if lawmakers agree to a bill advancing in the state Senate.
      
  Sen. Beth Mizell, a Franklinton Republican, says she's worried students are spending too much time on keyboards and are losing their own signatures.
      
  She says the bill was prompted by a land surveyor who told her he was having trouble finding younger people who could read the cursive on historic la
  
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• Human remains found in St. Gabriel identified

  21-04-2016 14:14
  
  PLAQUEMINE- The human remains discovered along the levee bank in St. Gabriel last week are those of a 38-year-old woman who jumped off the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge in February.Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi said Thursday that the LSU FACES Lab confirmed that the woman was Marlena David Kauffman of Grosse Tete. Stassi says the woman jumped from the bridge Feb. 7.The sheriff's office launched an investigation after a fisherman walking along the levee discovered the bones near
  
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• Sheriff says Prince was unresponsive in elevator

  21-04-2016 14:09
  
  CHANHASSEN, Minn. - Sheriff's officials in Minnesota say deputies found music superstar Prince unresponsive in an elevator after they were summoned to his suburban Minneapolis compound.Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson says first responders tried CPR but couldn't revive the 57-year-old musician. Olson says Prince was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. Thursday, about half an hour after deputies arrived.Olson says the death is under investigation.Hundreds of fans have gathered outside Prince's
  
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• Man wanted for using stolen credit card from car burglaries

  21-04-2016 13:49
  
  BATON ROUGE- Baton Rouge Police Burglary detectives are investigating several car burglaries that occurred on Apr. 8. in the early morning.During the burglaries, a credit cards was stolen.The stolen card was used at the Circle K located at 5505 Airline Hwy around 3:50 a.m. the same day.The video from the Circle K showed the suspect using the card to buy cigarettes.Anyone with information on the identity of this individual is urged to contact the Burglary Division at 389-3845. Permalink| Comments
  
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• WBR councilwoman arrested after 'issue' with bus driver

  21-04-2016 13:47
  
  PORT ALLEN – West Baton Rouge Parish Councilmember Charlene Gordon acknowledged Thursday that she was arrested after an incident with a school bus driver.Sources told the Investigative Unit that Port Allen Police arrested 53-year-old Charlene C. Gordon Wednesday afternoon.Gordon, before referring WBRZ to her lawyer, confirmed that she was arrested and said she "had an issue with a bus driver with my grandbaby" and now the bus driver is afraid of her.&nbsp
  
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• Councilwoman arrested after 'issue' with bus driver

  21-04-2016 13:47
  
  PORT ALLEN – West Baton Rouge Parish Councilmember Charlene Gordon acknowledged Thursday that she was arrested after an incident with a school bus driver.Sources told the Investigative Unit that Port Allen Police arrested 53-year-old Charlene C. Gordon Wednesday afternoon.Gordon, before referring WBRZ to her lawyer, confirmed that she was arrested and said she "had an issue with a bus driver with my grandbaby" and now the bus driver is afraid of her.&nbsp
  
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• Uber settlement keeps drivers as contractors in 2 states

  21-04-2016 13:36
  
  SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Uber says it has settled a pair of major class-action lawsuits in California and Massachusetts that will keep its drivers independent contractors instead of employees.The settlement announced by the ride-hailing company Thursday night is a major step toward keeping its current thriving business model that has been threatened as drivers sought more rights.Under the deal Uber will pay $84 million to the plaintiffs in the two states and another $16 million if the company goes pu
  
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• Death toll rises to 24 in Mexico petrochemical explosion

  21-04-2016 13:31
  
  COATZACOALCOS, Mexico - Mexico's state oil company has raised the death toll from an explosion at a petrochemical plant to 24.Petroleos Mexicanos had reported 13 deaths earlier in the day.Pemex says 19 other people injured in Wednesday afternoon's blast remain hospitalized. Thirteen are in serious condition.The explosion happened in the industrial port city of Coatzacoalcos on Mexico's southern Gulf coast.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Florida officer kills Louisiana man who had woman in trunk

  21-04-2016 13:27
  
  MIAMI - Police say a Florida officer fatally shot a shotgun-wielding man who had kidnapped a woman and forced her into the trunk of a vehicle.
  Miami-Dade Police Detective Jennifer Capote said in a statement that the woman was forced into the trunk Wednesday evening by an estranged domestic partner who drove from Louisiana in a stolen vehicle.
  Officers found the vehicle in a wooded area. Capote says a K-9 officer was searching the area when he was confronted by the suspect, who pointed a
  
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• Florida officer kills Baker man who kidnapped woman

  21-04-2016 13:27
  
  MIAMI - Police say a Florida officer fatally shot a shotgun-wielding man from Baker, La., who had kidnapped a woman and forced her into the back seat of a vehicle.According to early information, 41-year-old Francis Scot Dufore drove from Louisiana in a stolen vehicle and made contact with a woman at a Florida grocery store. Early reports said that Dufore forced the victim into the trunk of the vehicle. Miami-Dade Police Detective Jennifer Capote described Dufore as an estranged
  
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• Man wanted for stealing money bag from College Drive Walmart

  21-04-2016 13:24
  
  BATON ROUGE- East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Detectives are looking for a suspect that stole a money bag from Walmart on College Drive.The incident occurred on Apr. 18 when a customer service manager was collecting money from the self-checkout registers and mistakenly left a money bag at the register.The suspect took the money bag and left the store.Anyone with information concerning this incident or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Of
  
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• Bill to criminalize 'sanctuary cities' advances in La. House

  21-04-2016 13:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - A bid to criminalize jurisdictions that don't follow federal immigration law has advanced in the House, and turned lawmakers' attention to New Orleans.The bill by Rep. Valarie Hodges, a Denham Springs Republican, targets so-called "sanctuary cities" - jurisdictions that don't enforce immigration law without court order.Attorney General Jeff Landry advocated for the proposal, saying such cities invite terrorists and cause financial, legal and medical concerns.Hodges' bill would keep
  
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• Solar-powered plane leaves Hawaii for California

  21-04-2016 13:22
  
  KAPOLEI, Hawaii - After some uncertainty about the weather, the Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 airplane has taken off from Hawaii as it continues its journey around the world.The aircraft is heading to California as part of its circumnavigation of the globe using only energy from the sun. Its departure was delayed briefly Thursday by the wind.The plane took off in March from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.The crew landed on Oahu last July but was forced to stay in the islands aft
  
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• Trump wants to keep Andrew Jackson on $20 bill

  21-04-2016 13:16
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump says he opposes replacing President Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. The Republican presidential front-runner calls it an act of "pure political correctness."Trump - during a town hall Thursday on NBC's "Today Show" - said he'd prefer to leave Jackson on the bill and place Tubman's image on another denomination instead.As he puts it: "Maybe we do the $2 bill or we do another bill."He says Tubman is "fantastic," but that Jackson has "been on t
  
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• US applications for jobless aid fall to four-decade low

  21-04-2016 13:11
  
  WASHINGTON - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to a four-decade low last week, a sign that employers are unconcerned about weak economic growth in the first three months of 2016.The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 247,000, the lowest reading since November 1973. The four-week average, a less-volatile figure, dropped 4,500 to 260,500.Applications are a proxy for layoffs. The historically low figures indicate
  
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• Renting in Baton Rouge could become cheaper this year or next

  21-04-2016 13:08
  
  BATON ROUGE - Sky-high rent could be falling for many people sometime this year, industry insiders suspect after looking into the number of apartments coming on the market.More than one-thousand new units are on the market, and Craig Davenport of Cook Moore and Associates said in presentation Thursday, more are on the way. An additional 2,929 units are under construction - once complete, adding 4,460 new apartment homes to the market. Nearly 4,000 are planned - although Davenport wouldn't be sur
  
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• Renting in Baton Rouge could become cheaper soon

  21-04-2016 13:08
  
  BATON ROUGE - Sky-high rent could be falling for many people sometime this year, industry insiders suspect after looking into the number of apartments coming on the market.More than one-thousand new units are on the market, and Craig Davenport of Cook Moore and Associates said in presentation Thursday, more are on the way. An additional 2,929 units are under construction - once complete, adding 4,460 new apartment homes to the market. Nearly 4,000 are planned - although Davenport wouldn't be sur
  
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• Judges want to move juvenile court to downtown Baton Rouge

  21-04-2016 13:05
  
  BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Parish's juvenile court judges are pushing to move their court to downtown Baton Rouge.Judges Pamela Taylor Johnson and Adam Haney made their pitch to the 19th Judicial District Court Building Commission Wednesday to move their court from Veterans Memorial Boulevard to the unfinished fifth floor of the 19th Judicial District Courthouse.Johnson cited mold, mildew issues and security concerns. Haney added that he once had to remove a live opossum from his current cou
  
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• Trump: transgender people should use whichever bathroom they want

  21-04-2016 12:57
  
  Donald Trump says he believes transgender people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose.Speaking at a town hall event on NBC's "Today" Thursday, Trump said North Carolina's so-called "bathroom law," which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificates, has caused unnecessary strife."There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble,"
  
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• Officers chase down fugitive on Leonidas Drive

  21-04-2016 12:51
  
  BATON ROUGE- On Wednesday night, K9 Officers responded to a home in the 12000 block of Leonidas Drive to assist 4th District Officers in arresting a wanted fugitive, according to BRPD.The fugitive officers were looking for was 35-year-old Craig Tate. Tate was a confirmed fugitive who was wanted for second degree battery and damage to property.Officers knew Tate as someone who resists when trying to be apprehended, according to BRPD.Officers took position at the back door of the home while Unifor
  
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• Texas police say stolen steaks lead to high-speed chase

  21-04-2016 12:36
  
  LONGVIEW, Texas - Police say a man stole steaks from an East Texas Wal-Mart then tossed some of the meat from his vehicle as authorities pursued him in a high-speed chase.Police say the pursuit began around 11 a.m. Wednesday after the suspect fled the store in Longview, in Gregg and Harrison counties, about 130 miles east of Dallas.East Mountain Patrol Sgt. Marc Nichols who was one of the officers pursuing the man tells TV station KLTV that the suspect was throwing the meat out of his vehicle. H
  
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• Treasury uncovers unclaimed $45M

  21-04-2016 12:20
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of the Treasury has found nearly $45 million in death benefits that should have been paid to Louisiana residents.
      
  State Treasurer John Kennedy, in a news release Wednesday, said that kind of discovery is why they check insurance company records. The department has been conducting such audits since 2009.
      
  All of the money goes into the department's Unclaimed Property Program, where it remains unt
  
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• Second Elayn Hunt cadet arrested for smuggling drugs to inmates

  21-04-2016 09:44
  
  ST. GABRIEL - A second cadet at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center was arrested Wednesday for attempting to smuggle drugs into the jail, according to St. Gabriel Police.The cadet, 26-year-old Tierra Lewis, was booked on charges of introduction of contraband into a correctional facility and malfeasance in office after she was arrested.A security supervisor at Elayn Hunt said a suspicious package was discovered in the facility’s parking lot on Wednesday. When the package was examine
  
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• Gray skies threaten start of 2016 Jazz Fest in New Orleans

  21-04-2016 08:53
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Friday's start of the 47th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival might be wet.Meteorologists say scattered showers likely will fall, but then, they're predicting sunshine through the rest of the weekend.Festival producer Quint Davis says he's been keeping his fingers crossed in the days leading up to the festival, watching the clouds and monitoring weather forecasts, while hoping for the best.Friday's headliners include singer Janelle Monae, 70s rock band Steely Dan, with a
  
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• Supreme Court considers whether police may force warrantless blood alcohol tests

  21-04-2016 08:45
  
  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether law enforcement is required to get a warrant before forcing a driver to submit to breath or blood alcohol tests.Currently, all 50 states revoke the driver’s license in the event they refuse such tests. 12 states and the federal government have laws in place that allow for jail terms when drivers refuse.Louisiana law requires you to take a breath, blood, or urine test if you are arrested for a DWI. Louisiana’s
  
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• Former New Orleans teacher pleads guilty to child porn charges

  21-04-2016 08:14
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Federal prosecutors say a former New Orleans school teacher has pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography.
  U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite said in a news release 45-year-old Don Francis Jr., of Metairie, admitted Wednesday to possessing 5,378 images and 362 videos showing the sexual victimization of children.
  Prosecutors said he admitted that he was sexually attracted to children and had searched for child pornography since 1997.
  Francis faces a mandatory 15-year sentence
  
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• UnitedHealth to pull out Affordable Care Act coverage

  21-04-2016 07:59
  
  BATON ROUGE- UnitedHealth is pulling out of the Affordable Care Act health coverage in Louisiana next year. That will force about 29,000 people to find a new insurance provider under the federal health care law.
      
  The nation's biggest health insurer notified Louisiana Insurance Department officials last week that in January it will end its participation.
      
  UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley said the company has been reviewing its health c
  
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• April 21, 2016 Morning News Pop

  21-04-2016 06:45
  
  Here are today's top stories:Mayor Holden nixes north Baton Rouge development idea New NCAA sanctions make Southern teams ineligible for postseason Harriet Tubman to replace Andrew Jackson on $20 billBetter bet for showers Updates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
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• Pro-Kennedy PAC has less than expected in campaign account

  21-04-2016 04:54
  
  BATON ROUGE- A super PAC supporting state Treasurer John Kennedy in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race has missed the fundraising mark it expected to reach.
      
  Make Louisiana Proud PAC had previously announced that it expected to have more than $2.3 million in the bank to bolster Kennedy's candidacy for the fundraising quarter that ended in March.
      
  But when the fundraising report was filed with the Federal Election Commission last week, it on
  
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• Stop ticketing lemonade stands, Louisiana's senators say

  21-04-2016 04:05
  
  BATON ROUGE- Looking for someone to ticket? Steer clear of those neighborhood children selling lemonade.
      
  Louisiana's state senators came down squarely on the side of the local lemonade stand Wednesday, voting 37-0 for a bill that would exempt minors engaging in sales of less than $500 a year from having to pay an occupational license tax.
      
  Sen. Gary Smith, a Norco Democrat, says he introduced the proposal after municipal officials ha
  
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• Treasury uncovers almost $45M for insurance beneficiaries

  21-04-2016 03:39
  
  BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana Department of the Treasury has found nearly $45 million in death benefits that should have been paid to Louisiana residents.
      
  State Treasurer John Kennedy, in a news release Wednesday, said that kind of discovery is why they check insurance company records. The department has been conducting such audits since 2009.
      
  All of the money goes into the department's Unclaimed Property Program, where it remains unti
  
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• 1990s WWE wrestling star Chyna dies at age 45 in California

  21-04-2016 02:25
  
  REDONDO BEACH, CA.- Chyna, the WWE star who became one of the best-known and most-popular female professional wrestlers in history, has died at age 45.
      
  Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz says Chyna, whose real name is Joan Marie Laurer, was found dead in Redondo Beach on Wednesday. Dietz said his investigator was still at the location with the body late Wednesday night, and he had no further information on the death.
      
  The t
  
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