Baton Rouge news

• Mother arrested in murder of daughter, 8, Livingston Parish sheriff says

  21-08-2016 23:57
  
  An 8-year-old girl is dead and her 30-year-old mother accused of murdering her in Livingston Parish, authorities there said Sunday
  
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• 'Ben-Hur' crashes, 'Suicide Squad' stays on top for 3rd week

  21-08-2016 21:58
  
  NEW YORK - A big-budget remake of "Ben-Hur" was trampled under a herd of holdovers and new releases at the box office, the latest casualty in a bruising summer for Hollywood.The Paramount Pictures release, which cost about $100 million to make, debuted with just $11.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. That makes it one of the season's more pricy flops, albeit one that never had anything like the ambition of 1959's Charlton Heston epic.Instead, Warner Bros.'s much-maligned DC Comics
  
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• Gas prices up by half a cent to $2.17 a gallon

  21-08-2016 21:54
  
  CAMARILLO - The average price of gasoline in the U.S. is up by over half a cent to $2.17 a gallon for regular grade.Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday higher crude oil prices are causing refiners and retailers to bump up their prices.Still, the average price is 54 cents lower than a year ago.The Lundberg Survey found the average price of midgrade unleaded is $2.46 a gallon, and the average price of premium is $2.67 a gallon.The highest average price for regular gas in the contiguous U.
  
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• Debris removal coming soon to Ascension Parish

  21-08-2016 21:50
  
  GONZALES – Inside homes across Ascension Parish, materials and memories are being ripped from walls and thrown into the street.“It’s just like a nightmare that won’t end, can’t wake up from,” Brandon Settoon said. “It’s everything we had and bought over the last 25 years is gone.”Settoon bought flood insurance after Katrina, but it didn’t cover the contents of his home. Most of his neighbors are i
  
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• Church services return to Livingston Parish after historic floods

  21-08-2016 21:28
  
  LIVINGSTON – Residents in Livingston Parish were glad to return to mass Sunday morning, setting their worries aside and taking a break for God.Melinda Mayeux never misses Sunday mass, except for last Sunday when her church was flooded.“It was good, to be back home.” Mayeux said. “Of course, it was a little emotional. Some of the sermon and some of the prayers and music made me cry.”Mayeux’s home was destroyed in last week’s fl
  
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• Homeless awareness campaign breaks fist-bumping record

  21-08-2016 21:08
  
  ANCHORAGE - Three hundred people in Alaska looking to raise awareness of homelessness are the new world record holders in fist-bumping.KTVA-TV reports a Guinness World Records representative verified each of the fist bumps passed along a line of registered participants in a fenced-off area Saturday.An improper fist bump could have meant disqualification.The United Way of Anchorage organized the event. Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, Alaska First Lady Donna Walker and people who work with homeless youth w
  
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• Sombreros restaurant reopens in Livingston Parish

  21-08-2016 20:57
  
  WALKER - Wanda Elder spent Sunday afternoon with a relaxing meal at Sombreros Mexican Restaurant in Walker. It was the first time she and her family has had a break since being forced from their home because of rising flood waters.Sombreros is one of the first restaurants to reopen for business after the flooding. And it was a busy day Sunday. "We've just been trying to deal with all of this," Elder said. "So we came out to get something to drink, something to eat, to get away."Elder li
  
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• Man killed, trooper wounded in New Orleans shooting

  21-08-2016 20:55
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Police are searching for two suspects after two separate officer involved shootings ended in one man dead and a Louisiana State Trooper shot in his arm.According to a WWLTV report, the incidents happened Sunday evening near the intersection of Law and New Orleans streets. Louisiana State Police Colonel Mike Edmonson said Troopers were on patrol looking for stolen vehicles when they tried to make a traffic stop.Edmonson said that is when one man got out of
  
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• SNAP recipients can apply for replacement EBT cards

  21-08-2016 18:08
  
  BATON ROUGE – Residents who receive SNAP and lost their Electronic Benefits Transfer cards do to flooding can still make purchases using an EBT card number and pin.According to state officials, SNAP recipients who lost their card should contact the EBT call center at 1-888-997-1117 for a replacement card. Those recipients will be given a new card number and will have to set a new PIN.Recipients can make purchases using this method until Sept. 6, 2016.The Louisiana Department of Childre
  
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• Livingston Parish consolidates to single POD site in Walker

  21-08-2016 17:35
  
  WALKER – Emergency officials in Livingston Parish said Sunday that the National Guard will consolidate food and water distribution to a single site in Walker starting Monday.Starting Monday, Aug. 22, Livingston Parish will have a single “point of distribution” at Sydney Hutchinson Park on Ball Park Road in Walker, La.That site will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting Monday, according to LOHSEP.A point of distribution is a place where residents can pick up food a
  
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• Obama is down to the final hours of his summer vacation

  21-08-2016 17:02
  
  EDGARTOWN - President Barack Obama is down to the final hours of his summer vacation.Obama is due back at the White House late Sunday after spending 16 days on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, with his wife and daughters.He played plenty of golf, but also took his family to the beach and dinner. Obama also helped raise money for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.Obama is set to visit flood damaged south Louisiana Tuesday.A busy September awaits the president. There are negotiati
  
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• WATCH: UofSC returns the favor, band plays LSU alma mater

  21-08-2016 16:24
  
  COLUMBIA – After historic flooding ravaged South Carolina, and a USC home game was moved to Baton Rouge, the Golden Band from Tigerland learned their SEC rival’s fight alma mater and fight song.Former LSU Director of Bands Roy King said the gesture portrayed the one of the many symbols of an SEC family.“I’m quite certain the South Carolina folks would do the same thing for us if the tables were turned.” King said.He was right.The University of So
  
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• Commission blames Army Corps of Engineers for diversion canal delay

  21-08-2016 16:19
  
  BATON ROUGE – In a letter released Sunday, the Amite River Basin blames US Army Corps of Engineers for not completing the Comite River Diversion Canal on time.“We have feared that sooner or later another historic flooding event will strike again with the Amite River and Comite River basins,” the release said. “It happened sooner.”In the statement, the Amite River Basin Commission said that if the diversion canal had been completed, floodwaters wo
  
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• FEMA opens disaster center in Tagipahoa, St. Helena

  21-08-2016 14:37
  
  HAMMOND - FEMA has opened two disaster recovery centers. One center is located in Hammond at 42271 S. Morrison Blvd.  The other is located in Greensburg at the St. Helena Environmental Center at 53 N. 2nd St.Both centers will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.Permalink| Comments
  
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• NIH official: Gulf Coast states most vulnerable to Zika

  21-08-2016 14:24
  
  MIAMI - A National Institutes of Health official says the Zika virus could "hang around" the United States for a year or two.Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that other Gulf Coast states, besides Florida, are most vulnerable to the spread of the disease.Mosquito-borne Zika cases have been found in two neighborhoods of Miami-Dade County. They are the first areas on the U.S. mainland where health officials determined mosquitoes were transmitting Zika.Meanwhile the mayor of Miami
  
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• High water in South affecting US rice crops

  21-08-2016 14:22
  
  BATON ROUGE - High water in Louisiana and Arkansas has put a damper on the nation's rice harvest.While much of Louisiana's crop was in before record floods this month, Arkansas farmers had just started harvesting before rainy weather began last weekend.So far, the biggest losers are farmers whose fields are inundated and may not be able to harvest. Those who do succeed will find slightly higher prices. But economists say that the weather isn't bad enough to push up consumer prices for food rice,
  
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• Edwards: Trump visit "helped shine a spotlight" on Louisiana

  21-08-2016 14:19
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards says people around the U.S. are just starting to pay attention to the extent of flooding that killed at least 13 people in the state.Edwards tells CNN's "State of the Nation" on Sunday that the disaster has received less attention because it wasn't a hurricane or named storm. Edwards also thanked Donald Trump for his visit to Louisiana to survey the massive flood damage first-hand."It helped shine a spotlight on Louisiana and the dire situat
  
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• LPSO: mother killed 8-year-old daughter then tried to kill herself

  21-08-2016 13:35
  
  WALKER - Deputies in Livingston Parish say an 8-year-old girl is dead Sunday after she was found unconscious with wounds to her throat at her Walker home.According to Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, deputies arrived at the scene on Gaylord Road around 9 a.m. Sunday and and found firefighters performing CPR on the girl. Investigators learned that the girl had deep lacerations on her throat area.In a statement released Sunday, Sheriff Jason Ard said information at the scene r
  
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• Livingston Sheriff working Sunday morning death investigation

  21-08-2016 13:35
  
  WALKER - The sheriff's office is working a death investigation, WBRZ learned Sunday.Sources labeled the investigation as a homicide but the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office would not immediately confirm specifics.  Both the sheriff and a spokesperson said more will be released in a news release Sunday afternoon.While authorities provided no information when asked by WBRZ, the sheriff did reveal the death happened earlier Sunday morning.The situation unfolded in the Walker are
  
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• 19-year-old found shot in the head in Ponchatoula

  21-08-2016 13:02
  
  PONCHATOULA - A 19-year-old was found shot in the head by family members and police are looking for leads in the case.The murder was reported Sunday, although it happened Friday, news partner ActionNews17.com posted on its website.  The unidentified male was found on Methvin Drive when family members walked in the house.Police said they are investigating but no information about a possible motive or suspect was released.The murder was the first of two apparently unrelated shootings in t
  
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• La. teen gains online attention for serenade on debris-filled street

  21-08-2016 12:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - Bringing beauty amongst the chaos, pianist Mark Chasuk is gaining viral attention online after a video showing him playing piano in the middle of a debris-covered road was posted.16-year-old Chasuk found a piano next to a pile of debris."I was wondering if it was still playable," he said, "so I went up to it, and I sat down and I started banging out the piece."The song featured in the video is "Tarantella" by Albert Pieczonka. Chasuk says "it's a lot of fun to play."In the video, y
  
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• Trump camp mulling accepting debate schedule

  21-08-2016 12:11
  
  WASHINGTON - Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway says Donald Trump's team is still discussing whether to agree to the debate schedule announced by the independent Commission on Presidential Debates.Trump has voiced criticisms of the scheduled debates on Sept. 26, Oct. 4 and Oct. 9, including complaining that two debates coincide with football games.Conway says on ABC's "This Week" that Trump is "very engaged" with debate prep.She says the GOP nominee is a "natural communicator, natural co
  
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• Young Islamic State suicide bomber attacks Turkey wedding party; 51 dead

  21-08-2016 01:29
  
  The blast during the wedding in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, was a terror attack, Gaziantep Province Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said.
  
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• 30 dead in Turkey after 'barbaric' bomb attack on outdoor wedding party

  21-08-2016 01:29
  
  The blast during the wedding in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, was a terror attack, Gaziantep Province Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said.
  
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• 22 dead in Turkey after 'barbaric' bomb attack on outdoor wedding party

  21-08-2016 01:29
  
  The blast during the wedding in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, was a terror attack, Gaziantep Province Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said.
  
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• Terrorist bomb in Turkey blamed for 'barbaric attack' on outdoor wedding party

  21-08-2016 00:32
  
  The blast during the wedding in the city of Gaziantep, near the border with Syria, was a terror attack, Gaziantep Province Gov. Ali Yerlikaya said.
  
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