Baton Rouge news

• Baton Rouge Lee High name debate is a self-inflicted controversy

  10-06-2016 21:54
  
  The name of the new magnet high school in Baton Rouge was not supposed to be tied to the Confederate general.
  
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• EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: inside look of LSU fire

  10-06-2016 18:13
  
  BATON ROUGE- Clean-up crews will work through the weekend at the LSU Student Health Center. A fire ruined the front half of the building Thursday night.The blaze started in an office and spread to the main lobby where a large clock on the wall was melted. The clock still reads 8:35pm, exactly eleven minutes after a person walking by outside first dialed 911.LSU President F. King Alexander said he hopes to reopen a part of the clinic Monday. The back half the of the building was virtuall
  
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• No license required! Fish without a license this weekend

  10-06-2016 16:43
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says Louisianans and non-residents can participate in this year's free fishing weekend on June 11-12.Free fishing weekend provides an opportunity for anglers to fish without a fishing license on any of the state's public waters.The department hopes the weekend will help recruit new anglers and encourage those who haven't been fishing recently to enjoy one of Louisiana's most popular sports.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Governor's new task force to take on state's transportation woes

  10-06-2016 16:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards and state traffic officials with LA DOTD announced the formation of the Governor’s Task Force on Transportation Infrastructure Investment on Friday.The Governor signed an executive order this week, officially creating the task force.“For years, the Transportation Trust Fund has been raided to pay for other priorities, leaving a $12 billion backlog in critical infrastructure projects,” said Gov. Edwards. “Those days are o
  
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• Edwards administration trying to change GOP minds on taxes

  10-06-2016 15:44
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration is trying to revive its stalled tax proposals in the House, hoping to flip votes by focusing on the cuts proposed for next year's budget.Administration leaders Friday emphasized the threat of slashing to health, education and public safety programs. They say deep reductions will be required if lawmakers only agree to the $220 million in tax bills supported by the House, rather than the $600 million sought by the governor for the financial year
  
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• Shooting outside Dallas airport causes long delays

  10-06-2016 14:35
  
  DALLAS - People are streaming out of Dallas Love Field and hours-long delays are being reported after police shot a man outside the airport during a domestic disturbance.Some travelers were on airplanes when the shooting occurred Friday afternoon but were ordered off when the terminal was cleared. They said Transportation Safety Administration officials were estimating it would take five hours to get through security.Assistant Dallas Police Chief Randall Blankenbaker says the incident started wh
  
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• Motorcycle engine malfunction causes fire at business on Airline Highway

  10-06-2016 13:56
  
  BATON ROUGE - A spokesperson for the Baton Rouge Fire Department says an electrical malfunction in a motorcycle engine caused a fire at a business on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge Friday night.Crews were called to Audio & Security Systems in the 9500 block of Airline Highway at 9:47 p.m. They say a motorcycle was one fire inside the business and the flames had extended up a wall. The fire was extinguished around 10:22 p.m.BRFD says two cars and a boat in the building also sustained smoke da
  
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• Gawker Media files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

  10-06-2016 13:56
  
  NEW YORK - Gawker Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, about three months after pro wrestler Hulk Hogan won a $140 million lawsuit against the online gossip and news publisher.The New York company says in the filing that it has as much as $500 million in debt and up to $100 million in assets.Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a video of him having sex with a friend's wife. Hogan was awarded $115 million in compensatory damages plus an added $25.1 million in punitive damages.It wa
  
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• Edwards signs bill to let students use college IDs to vote

  10-06-2016 13:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana college students will be able to use their university ID cards to vote in state elections in 2019.Gov. John Bel Edwards' office announced this week that the governor signed the proposal into law this week.The bill by Rep. Randal Gaines, a LaPlace Democrat, calls for the higher education system governing boards to ensure that the student identification cards they issue meet voter ID requirements within less than three years.Louisiana's community and technical colleges are
  
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• 'Raise the Age' passes, but years remain to phase-in changes

  10-06-2016 13:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - Juvenile justice advocates have hailed Louisiana's lawmakers for agreeing to raise the state's adult prosecution age. But the switchover won't happen as soon as Gov. John Bel Edwards signs the bill into law.Instead, 17-year-old offenders will be phased into the juvenile justice system over several years, completely by 2020.After a significant planning stage, Louisiana's criminal justice system will begin transitioning to handle cases for minors charged with non-violent crimes on Ju
  
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• Governor approves separated courtroom seating for victims

  10-06-2016 12:54
  
  BATON ROUGE  - Crime victims, crime witnesses or their family members will soon have the choice to sit separate from defendants, defendants' family members or defense witnesses in Louisiana courtrooms.The governor's office said Wednesday that Gov. John Bel Edwards had signed the bill from Sen. J.P. Morell, a New Orleans Democrat, to allow the seating division.The new law takes effect Aug. 1.Morrell said his proposal will help to protect victims of domestic violence, who often testify ag
  
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• BRPD: Man waited hours to bring daughter shot in the face to hospital

  10-06-2016 12:53
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police arrested a man Thursday after they say he waited two hours to bring his three-year-old daughter to the hospital after she was accidentally shot in the face.Baton Rouge Police arrested 25-year-old Hollis Clark on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, second-degree cruelty to juveniles and obstruction of justice.On May 14, BRPD received a complaint from the Baton Rouge General hospital about a three-year-old victim suffering from a gunshot wound to
  
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• Complete times, TV schedule for upcoming NCAA Super Regionals

  10-06-2016 12:50
  
  BATON ROUGE - With LSU taking to the field on Saturday for their Super Regionals meeting with Coastal Carolina, we've compiled a collection of times and TV listings for NCAA baseball action coming up this weekend and early next week.The 2016 NCAA Baseball Super Regionals begin Friday and will run through Monday, June 13.Like the Regionals, the Super Regionals feature best-of-3 series. The winners will advance to the College World Series from June 18-28/29 in Omaha, Nebraska. LSU, Florida, Missis
  
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• Spit, chairs and hot grease fly during Texas Taco Bell tantrum

  10-06-2016 12:41
  
  HOUSTON - A woman says she was spit at and had a drink thrown at her outside of a Texas Taco Bell after the restaurant’s manager accused her of throwing a bottle on the ground in the drive-thru. That’s the end of the abuse 19-year-old Haronisha Alexander says she encountered after she was accused of littering while attempting to make a chalupa run. She also said one of the store’s employees stabbed her friend, and they threw hot grease at her boyfriend.Alex
  
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• Missing woman's best friend sheds light on relationship

  10-06-2016 12:34
  
  BATON ROUGE - The best friend of missing woman and mother Lyntell Washington says she is passionate, knowledgeable and trusting.For more than 20 years, Melissa Mason has called Washington her friend and sister, spending holidays and important events together like the birth of their children.Thursday morning, Mason got a phone call from Brookstown Middle School. The caller said Washington didn't show up to work."That's not like her, she's dependable," said Mason.The last time th
  
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• Man arrested after four malnourished pit bulls found in yard

  10-06-2016 09:44
  
  BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s deputies say they arrested a man after they received numerous complaints reporting that he was keeping malnourished dogs in his backyard.28-year-old Justin Wimms was booked into the parish prison on one count of simple cruelty to animals.Deputies said the backyard of Wimms’ Aspen Place residence was overgrown with tall grass and weeds and pit bulls of various colors were chained in the yard. All appeared to be malnourished, according t
  
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• DEA warns law enforcement about handling dangerous drug

  10-06-2016 09:04
  
  WASHINGTON - The Federal Drug Enforcement Agency has released a nationwide warning concerning the dangers of improperly handling fentanyl and its potentially deadly consequences.The DEA has released video all law enforcement agencies, urging them to take the powerful narcotic they encounter directly to a lab.According to the DEA, fentanyl is a dangerous, powerful Schedule II narcotic that has been responsible for an epidemic of overdose deaths in the country. Over the past two years, the distrib
  
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• I-10 West, I-110 South back open after Friday morning crash

  10-06-2016 05:45
  
  BATON ROUGE - Traffic officials say I-10 West and I-110 South are back open after a wreck on the Mississippi River Bridge kept the roads closed for more than three hours Friday morning.The closures went into effect at around 5 a.m. after three 18-wheelers and four cars crashed on the bridge. Two people were taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries.I10 W NOW CLEAR! HEAVY DELAYS REMAIN: I110 N from N 22nd Street to Airline Highway. pic.twitter.com/KYKGgzUFz8— WBRZ Traffic (
  
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• Louisiana House votes for tax package worth about a third of what John Bel Edwards wants

  10-06-2016 03:36
  
  The governor wants lawmakers to agree to raise that extra $600 million by June 23.
  
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• House passes construction budget to Senate, bringing lull to controversy

  10-06-2016 01:28
  
  The House has been fighting over the construction budget all week.
  
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