Baton Rouge news

• Meltdown: Louisiana House, Senate at odds as session ends

  06-06-2016 23:32
  
  It also doesn't look great when the Senate and House openly complain about each other.
  
  Read more

• Louisiana's 'first draft' budget: Winners & losers

  06-06-2016 21:25
  
  The Louisiana Legislature passed an initial version of the state budget Sunday (June 5). Who got what they wanted -- and who didn't.
  
  Read more

• Man arrested after strangling wife to death in home on Castle Hill Drive

  06-06-2016 19:11
  
  BATON ROUGE- East Baton Rouge Sheriff's detectives arrested a man on Monday after he admitted to strangling his wife to death.Deputies responded to a call of a homicide around 10 a.m. Monday morning in the 12000 block of Castle Hill Drive.When deputies arrived, they found 41-year-old Nicole Jones dead at the home.Detectives learned that 42-year-old Donald Germany, II, contacted family members and confessed to killing Jones, who was his wife, and asked that they pick up his daughter from the home
  
  Read more

• Lawmakers urging Gov. Edwards to fund ER for North BR

  06-06-2016 18:40
  
  BATON ROUGE- State legislators are urging Governor John Bel Edwards to fund a project that would bring an emergency room to North Baton Rouge. On Monday, legislators met with the governor to discuss plans to open an emergency department a Champion Medical Center by the end of January 2017.However, Governor Edwards did not agree to fund the project in the regular session.According to Senator Regina Barrow, the project would be an opportunity to expand health care services at an affordable cost, c
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• House fire on Wenonah caused by arson, BRFD says

  06-06-2016 18:14
  
  BATON ROUGE- A house fire caused by arson occurred Monday afternoon in the 2700 block of Wenonah Street.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, firefighters arrived on the scene to find a vacant house engulfed in flames.According to BRFD, seven units were used to bring the fire under control. The house is considered a total loss with estimated damage worth $50,000.
  BRFD says the fire was determined to be caused by arson. Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Lanes of I-110 South at Chippewa now open after blocked from accident

  06-06-2016 17:18
  
  BATON ROUGE – All lanes of I-110 South at Chippewa Street are now open after the left and center lanes were blocked on Monday afternoon.
  The blockage was due to an accident. According to DOTD, congestion has reached passed Mohican Street.
  Stay updated with traffic through WBRZ on Facebook and Twitter.All lanes are now open on I-110 South at Chippewa Street. Traffic congestion has reached past Mohican Street.— Baton Rouge Traffic (@BR_Traffic) June 6, 2016
  Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• House leaders stall construction budget bill

  06-06-2016 16:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana House leaders have blocked a vote on a $4 billion bill to finance state construction projects, like roadwork and building repairs.House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Neil Abramson has refused to bring the measure, which he sponsored, up for a vote. House Speaker Taylor Barras supported the move Monday, saying Senate changes to the bill put it in such disarray that it can't be cleaned up easily.Barras asked lawmakers to wait until the special session that starts Monday
  
  Read more

• Dog owner uses old tennis shoe to create prosthetic paw

  06-06-2016 16:35
  
  After his paw was amputated due to a tumor, Sunny the Golden Retriever has had to wear a prosthetic paw that was constantly breaking.No longer though, as the dog’s owner stepped in to create a custom prosthetic out of a retired tennis shoe.With a bit of duct tape and an old Nike Zoom Vapor9, dog owner Don Chernoff created a stand-in paw for Sunny that works much better. Chernoff posted a video to YouTube of his furry friend walking and playing the snow with his new paw equipped."Now Su
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Residents claim neighborhood sewage is holding them hostage in their homes

  06-06-2016 16:19
  
  SPRINGFIELD- Neighbors in the Riverscape subdivision claim they are being held hostage by acrid smell of sewage that hangs in the air.It caused them to contact the Investigative Unit. Neighbors are fed up. The smell is enough to make your eyes water. They claim they've contacted the state and parish leaders for years. They've also contacted MODAD, the company responsible for the sewer. They feel like their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.The quiet, quaint and comfortable Riverscape
  
  Read more

• $750k bond set for man accused of dumping wife's body in Whiskey Bay

  06-06-2016 16:06
  
  IBERVILLE PARISH - Bond has been set for a man who was arrested in connection with the death of his wife after her body was found in Whiskey Bay in April.28-year-old Jonathan Allee was taken into custody by local sheriff's deputies after the naked body of his wife, 28-year-old Elizabeth Ferrell, was discovered by a fisherman in the water underneath I-10. The coroner confirmed that she'd been strangled to death with a later autopsy revealing she also suffered blunt force trauma to the he
  
  Read more

• Bill to create electronic driver's licenses sent to governor

  06-06-2016 14:04
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana drivers pulled over by police could soon show identification with a driver's license app, under a proposal sent to the governor.The bill to create electronic driver's licenses from Rep. Ted James, a Baton Rouge Democrat, received final passage with a 95-0 House vote and a 31-2 Senate vote Monday.The electronic licenses could only be used for driving and not for identification at bars or other private establishments.A person may still have to show a physical license if ask
  
  Read more

• No charges against mom of boy in gorilla exhibit

  06-06-2016 14:03
  
  CINCINNATI - An Ohio prosecutor says he isn't seeking charges against the mother of a 3-year-old boy who got into the Cincinnati Zoo's gorilla exhibit, resulting in the shooting of an endangered gorilla to protect him.
      
  Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced the decision Monday. He says the child's mother had three other children with her, and she was attending to them when the 3-year-old "just scampered off."
      
  The Cincinnati
  
  Read more

• Victim describes 'state of shock and fear' in police chief sexual assault

  06-06-2016 13:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman who says a Louisiana police chief sexually assaulted her inside his small town's police station in 2013 has testified that the encounter left her in a "state of shock and fear."
  A federal judge heard the 44-year-old woman's testimony Monday during the first day of a trial for her civil lawsuit against former Sorrento Police Chief Earl Theriot and the town, which abolished its troubled police department last year.
  Theriot was sentenced to two years of probation after he plea
  
  Read more

• Judge finds police chief violated woman's rights in sexual assault lawsuit

  06-06-2016 13:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - A federal judge has ruled that a former Louisiana police chief violated the civil rights of a woman who accused the man of sexually assaulting her in his office while she was drunk and he was on duty.
      
  U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick didn't immediately rule Monday on whether former Sorrento Police Chief Earl Theriot owes the woman any monetary damages for her claims. Dick also put off a ruling on whether Sorrento is liable for her claims against the t
  
  Read more

• EBRSO investigating possible homicide on Castle Hill Drive; one in custody

  06-06-2016 13:54
  
  BATON ROUGE – The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office is investigating a death on Castle Hill Drive.Deputies responded to a home in Castle Hill Drive Monday morning. The death of the victim found is a possible homicide. One person is currently in custody.More details are expected to be released soon.Stay with WBRZ on Facebook and Twitter for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Meet the legislative players preparing to tackle state's budget holes

  06-06-2016 13:47
  
  BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards often says Louisiana is in the worst budget crisis of a generation facing the largest state deficit in all its history. Simply put, the state does not have enough money to pay for critical and popular services like hospitals and the TOPS college tuition scholarship program. During the years of Governor Bobby Jindal, funding for state agencies was cut and recurring expenses were paid with one-time money. Also, a downturn in oil prices have cost oil-rich Lou
  
  Read more

• Authorities responding to shooting on 71st Avenue

  06-06-2016 13:42
  
  BATON ROUGE – Authorities are responding to a shooting in the 2400 of 71st Avenue Monday around 11:30 a.m.EMS is responding to the scene. There are two reported victims at the time of this post.A News 2 crew is on the way to the scene to gather more details. Stay with WBRZ on Facebook and Twitter for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• EBR school board to revisit the renaming of Lee High School

  06-06-2016 13:41
  
  BATON ROUGE – The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board will host a community forum on renaming of Lee High School this week. Last week, a school committee came up with recommendations for possible new names for the school in an attempt to distance the school from its confederate namesake, Robert E. Lee.The community forum will be held on Thursday, June 9 in an effort to offer members of the community an opportunity to share their thoughts on potential names for the school.The school bo
  
  Read more

• Louisiana continues fight over Planned Parenthood funds

  06-06-2016 13:27
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A lawyer for Louisiana's attorney general has asked a federal appeals court to overturn a judge's ruling that barred Louisiana from taking Medicaid funding away from two Planned Parenthood clinics.
      
  State lawyer Jimmy Faircloth asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday to let a state administrative appeals process decide whether Planned Parenthood should be funded.
      
  Last August, then-Gov. Bobby Jindal cut Medica
  
  Read more

• Florida issues emergency declaration ahead of Tropical Storm Colin

  06-06-2016 13:00
  
  TALLAHASSEE - Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in 34 Florida counties as Tropical Strom Colin approaches the state from the Gulf of Mexico.
      
  Scott signed the order Monday morning.
      
  A large swath of Florida is under a tropical storm warning. The counties included in the governor's declaration include the Tampa Bay region, much of the Panhandle, central Florida and the counties along the Atlantic beaches in nort
  
  Read more

• Istrouma High renovations expected to begin this summer

  06-06-2016 12:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - Renovations to get Istrouma High School back open are expected to begin in a couple of months.A committee, primarily made up of Istrouma alumni met Monday night to discuss school colors, mascots and igniting excitement for the school to reopen.The renovation designs are about 90 percent complete and the bidding process begins soon, followed by construction. The bones of the school will remain the same but the guts, including HVAC and electrical will be removed and replaced.The East
  
  Read more

• Louisiana legislative session ending, as another one begins

  06-06-2016 09:48
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers are in the final hours of their regular legislative session, wrapping up a handful of outstanding disagreements over bills.But they'll get no reprieve when the session ends at 6 p.m. Monday.Instead, they'll get a half-hour break before they start another session, this one on taxes, called by Gov. John Bel Edwards in an effort to raise money to stave off budget cuts.The House and Senate struck a compromise Sunday on the $26 million operating budget for next year. But the d
  
  Read more

• Louisiana legislative session ending, as another 1 begins

  06-06-2016 09:48
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers are in the final hours of their regular legislative session, wrapping up a handful of outstanding disagreements over bills.But they'll get no reprieve when the session ends at 6 p.m. Monday.Instead, they'll get a half-hour break before they start another session, this one on taxes, called by Gov. John Bel Edwards in an effort to raise money to stave off budget cuts.The House and Senate struck a compromise Sunday on the $26 million operating budget for next year. But the d
  
  Read more

• June 6, 2016 Morning News Pop

  06-06-2016 07:01
  
  Here are today's top stories:Tropical Storm Colin forms in the GulfNew Orleans police officer injured in traffic accidentLSU Baseball tops Rice 4-2, advances to Regional FinalsFewer showers, Tropical Storm Colin approaching FloridaUpdates all day, every day:FACEBOOK | TWITTERPermalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Police: Man urinating along highway leads to fatal crash

  06-06-2016 04:31
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Authorities say a man has been killed and two others, including a Louisiana state trooper, have been injured following two crashes that occurred after a driver pulled over to urinate.Citing a police statement, the Associated Press reports the incident happened early Sunday when Louis R. Hernandez, of Meridian, Mississippi, pulled his vehicle onto the shoulder of Interstate 10 in St. Charles Parish.Police say another driver, 42-year-old Joel Ybarra of Little Rock, Arkansas, veered t
  
  Read more

• Legislature passes 'first draft' of budget that leaves TOPS, hospitals short

  06-06-2016 03:50
  
  Look for major changes over the next two weeks.
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!