Baton Rouge news

• Residents can get FEMA rebuilding advice at home improvement stores

  23-09-2016 18:10
  
  BATON ROUGE — As Louisianans repair or rebuild their homes damaged by August floods, FEMA and local hardware stores have teamed up to provide free information on making homes stronger and safer.FEMA mitigation specialists will be on hand to provide information at area Lowe’s stores from Sept. 26 through Oct. 15. They will be available to answer questions and offer home improvement tips and proven methods to prevent and lessen damage from future disasters. Mo
  
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• 26 West Nile cases in Louisiana so far this year

  23-09-2016 17:44
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The number of West Nile virus cases this year in Louisiana has risen to 26. That's up from 24 earlier this month.Details released Friday by Louisiana's health department show that 16 of those cases involve serious infections of the brain or other parts of the nervous system. Eight infections caused the flu-like West Nile fever.Two people who were infected showed no symptoms.There have been no deaths so far this year from the mosquito-borne virus.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Cassidy defends 'hostage' comment about Flint, Michigan

  23-09-2016 17:35
  
  WASHINGTON - Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is defending his comment that people in his flood-ravaged state deserve immediate help and should not be held "hostage" to Flint, Michigan, where residents are struggling with lead-poisoned water.The Republican told National Public Radio that Flint residents can be taken care of after the election, while flood victims in Louisiana need immediate help.Cassidy said lawmakers "shouldn't hold folks who right now still have mud in their house ... hostage to ot
  
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• Argument between friends ends in gunfire on Hanks Drive

  23-09-2016 17:07
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police say a Baton Rouge man has been arrested after an argument between friends ended in a shooting early Wednesday morning.According to arrest records, the victim told Baton Rouge Police detectives that he was returning home around 12:50 a.m. Wednesday after working all day. After pulling into his driveway on Hanks Drive, the victim said he saw 23-year-old Kedrick Glasper talking to another friend.The victim told police that he told the two men to go somewhere else so h
  
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• Veterans meet for last reunion at USS Kidd after 30 years

  23-09-2016 16:30
  
  BATON ROUGE – Five veterans met at the USS Kidd Friday for their last reunion after 30 years.Veterans Don Paulson and Bill Brown said that the day was bitter-sweet as their Veteran Airforce Technical Group has met each year since 1986 in several cities around the nation and Louisiana was their last go-round."It's sad to know it's going to be the last time that we're going to be here," Paulson said. "In recent years, a good many of us have not be able to do our own driving and or travel
  
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• Louisiana Flood of 2016 made worse by growth-focused policies

  23-09-2016 16:00
  
  Decisions to allow development in known flood areas and failure to complete flood mitigation projects increased devastation
  
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• Obama vetoes 9/11 bill, possible override by Congress looms

  23-09-2016 15:40
  
  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.The move sets Obama up for a possible first veto override by Congress. Both chambers passed the bill by voice vote. The House sent Obama the bill just before the 15th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001.Obama says the bill would "upset longstanding international principles
  
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• Leaders break ground on Howell Community Park expansion

  23-09-2016 15:39
  
  BATON ROUGE – Local leaders broke ground on the major expansion to Howell Community Park on Winbourne Avenue Thursday.The new expansion will repurpose the park’s existing 18-hole golf course into 75-acre area for playgrounds, athletic fields, basketball courts and a fishing and paddling pond.The Howell Community Park took on more than eight feet of water during August’s historic flooding. According to BREC, Howell Park was the most severely damaged park in the BREC
  
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• Weekend hours announced for private property debris removal intake centers

  23-09-2016 15:07
  
  BATON ROUGE – Mayor-President Kip Holden announced that a number of the City-Parish's Private Property Debris Removal Program intake centers will be open during the weekend for homeowners impacted by last month's flood.Private Debris Removal Program representatives will be available to discuss the program with residents and allow for them to apply in-person for the program by completing a Right-of-Entry form for their property.Weekend operating hours for each of the intake centers are
  
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• Ne-Yo, Mary Mary added Essence Festival Durban's lineup

  23-09-2016 15:05
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The inaugural Essence Festival Durban in South Africa has added Grammy Award-winning singer Ne-Yo and gospel duo Mary Mary to its lineup.Organizers Friday announced those additions as well as Wizkid, Riky Rick, AKA and Ladysmith Black Mambazo for the Nov. 8-13 event being held at the International Convention Center and the Moses Mabhida Stadium.As the sister event to the annual Essence Festival New Orleans, Essence Festival Durban also will feature local performers including record
  
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• Greensburg daycare license revoked after 'walking excursion' on highway

  23-09-2016 14:23
  
  GREENSBURG - State education officials revoked a license for an early learning center in St. Helena Parish Friday, terminating the center’s public funding.According to the state Department of Education, the termination comes after complaints that employees at Blooming Faces Daycare in Greensburg took children, including infants, on a “walking excursion” on a busy highway with no sidewalk."The decisions made by the individuals at this center were irresponsible and pu
  
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• Springfield High School to reopen on Oct. 3 following August flood

  23-09-2016 13:49
  
  SPRINGFIELD – School officials announced that Springfield High School will reopen to students on Oct. 3 since last month's flood.According to school officials, classes will resume to its usual schedule prior to the flood. Students of Springfield High School have been hosted by the by Springfield Middle School since their return on Sept. 12.Both schools have been on a platoon schedule in order to accommodate the students. Springfield High School withi
  
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• Man wanted for exposing himself to three women on Laurel Street

  23-09-2016 13:36
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police are looking for a Lake Charles man who they say exposed himself to breaking into a dorm on Laurel Street and exposing himself to three different women.According to Baton Rouge Police, 47-year-old Scotty Thompson knocked on the front door of a home on Laurel Street on Sept. 5. After having a brief conversation with a woman, police say Thompson exposed his genitals to her then fled the scene.He then entered a dorm on the same block. Inside the second location, police
  
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• White House not certain Obama would sign Senate GOP budget

  23-09-2016 13:33
  
  WASHINGTON - The White House says it's not certain that President Barack Obama would sign a budget bill unveiled by the Senate's top Republican.Spokesman Josh Earnest says Obama is disappointed the bill doesn't include money to help Flint, Michigan, and other cities deal with lead in their water. Earnest says Obama also has concerns about a provision that would protect the ability of special interests to fund political campaigns without being required to disclose the donations.Senate Majority Le
  
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• Safety fears rein in march for immigrant driver licenses

  23-09-2016 13:17
  
  PROVIDENCE - Immigrants and their advocates are planning to march through a cluster of Rhode Island cities this weekend to push state leaders to allow driver's licenses for people in the country illegally.But in a move that reflects the fragility of their cause during a national backlash against illegal immigration, they're avoiding the places where they need the most support: predominantly white suburbs home to the elected representatives who dominate the state's General Assembly.The Coalition
  
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• Al Capone letter written in prison shows mobster's soft side

  23-09-2016 13:10
  
  BOSTON - Did notorious gangster Al Capone have a soft spot? An intimate letter he penned from prison suggests the ruthless racketeer could handle tenderness almost as skillfully as his Tommy Gun.The three-page letter is being auctioned off next week in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where it's expected to fetch around $50,000.It's addressed to Capone's son, Albert "Sonny" Capone. The mobster signed it, "Love & Kisses, Your Dear Dad Alphonse Capone #85," which was his number at the Alcatraz prison
  
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• 4 dead in shooting at mall near Seattle

  23-09-2016 13:09
  
  SEATTLE - Authorities in Washington state say four people have been killed during a shooting at a mall north of Seattle and that at least one suspect remains at large.
      
  The Washington State Patrol says on Twitter that the four were shot Friday at the Cascade Mall in Burlington, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Seattle.
      
  Sgt. Mark Francis says authorities are searching for a man wearing gray who was last seen walking toward Int
  
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• Police searching for missing Greensburg teenager in danger

  23-09-2016 13:01
  
  ST. HELENA PARISH – Louisiana State Police have issued a Level II Endangered Child alert for a missing teenage girl from Greensburg.The girl is 16-year-old Angel Mason who was reported missing on Friday. Angel is a white female with blonde hair and blue eyes. She is 5'4'' tall and weighs about 160 pounds. She was last seen in Greensburg on Thursday around 9 p.m. wearing gray pants, a red shirt and a gray hooded sweatshirt.Angel is believed to be traveling in a white 2
  
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• Police find missing Greensburg teenager

  23-09-2016 13:01
  
  ST. HELENA PARISH – Police have located Angel Mason after issuing a Level II Endangered Child alert for the missing teenage girl from Greensburg early Friday morning. Police say that Mason was located early Friday afternoon and is safe, resulting in the cancellation of the alert. Angel Mason was reported missing on Friday and was last seen in Greensburg on Thursday around 9 p.m. wearing gray pants, a red shirt and a gray hooded sweatshirt.Angel was b
  
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• GOP lawmaker: FBI gave immunity for Clinton aide's testimony

  23-09-2016 12:37
  
  WASHINGTON  - A congressman says Hillary Clinton's former chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, and two other staff members were granted immunity deals in exchange for their cooperation in the now-closed FBI investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state.Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, tells the Associated Press that Mills gave federal investigators access to her laptop on the condition that findings couldn'
  
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• Medical examiner: Tulsa man's death a homicide

  23-09-2016 12:31
  
  TULSA - The Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office says the man killed by a Tulsa, Oklahoma, officer died from "a penetrating gunshot wound of chest" and his death is considered a homicide.But spokeswoman Amy Elliott says a full autopsy report and toxicology results for Terence Crutcher are not yet complete.Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby was charged Thursday with first-degree manslaughter in Crutcher's Sept. 16 death. An affidavit from District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler's office said the of
  
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• Deputy claims self-defense in 6-year-old's fatal shooting

  23-09-2016 12:20
  
  MARKSVILLE - A deputy city marshal charged with murder after a police body camera recorded him shooting a 6-year-old boy is asking a Louisiana judge to throw out his indictment, saying he acted in self-defense by opening fire on a car driven by the boy's father.A court filing by Derrick Stafford's attorneys says the video recording lacks audio for the first 27 seconds, making it impossible to determine if Stafford started shooting before or after Jeremy Mardis' father raised his hands inside the
  
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• West BR to implement traffic flow measures on LA 1 starting Monday

  23-09-2016 09:30
  
  WEST BATON ROUGE - West Baton Rouge Parish, the City of Port Allen, the Town of Brusly and the Town of Addis in partnership with local law enforcement will implement traffic control measures starting Monday, Sept. 26.The measures are an effort to improve traffic flow on LA 1 during peak traffic times. Measures will include but not limited to:- Barriers on LA 1 Service Road that only allow south-bound traffic between Beaulieu Lane and Walmart- Officer manually controlling the re
  
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• Livingston Parish schools receive $100k in donations, Taylor Swift among donors

  23-09-2016 09:19
  
  LIVINGSTON – Livingston Parish Public Schools have received more than $100,000 in donations and grants to assist with flood recovery efforts.Taylor Swift was one of the donors and donated $50,000 to the district."I know that many in our community are big fans of Taylor Swift's music.  I'm certain this contribution will win over more fans for her – and not just for her music, but for her kindness," Superintendent Rick Wentzel said.
  The district also
  
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• Accident closes lanes of I-10 WB after College

  23-09-2016 09:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - Commuters may want to take an alternate route Friday morning as the left and center lanes are blocked on I-10 westbound after College Drive due to an accident.The delay from this incident has reached the I-10/I-12 split.News 2's Ashley Fruge is monitoring traffic. We will have updates on WBRZ.com and Twitter.Permalink| Comments
  
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• New Roads awarded grant for False River Drive walkway

  23-09-2016 08:50
  
  NEW ROADS – The City of New Roads has been awarded a grant by the Louisiana Office of State Parks to create the False River Drive pedestrian walkway.The grant is a part of the Federal Highway Administration's Recreational Trails Program, which provides funds to states to provide and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both motorized and non-motorized recreational trail use. The project extends the city's walkway along False River Drive from an existing path at
  
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• Indian airline says Samsung Note 2 emitted smoke in plane

  23-09-2016 08:31
  
  NEW DELHI - An Indian airline says a Samsung Note 2 phone emitted smoke and sparks on a flight from Singapore to the southern Indian city of Chennai.IndiGo said the phone was found Friday in the bag of a passenger in an overhead bin after other passengers reported smelling smoke in the plane.The airline said there was no fire but sparks and smoke were coming from the phone.It said in a statement that the crew used a fire extinguisher and placed the Samsung Note 2 in a container filled with water
  
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• Louisiana officials ramp up Shelter at Home program

  23-09-2016 08:25
  
  BATON ROUGE - A top aide to Gov. John Bel Edwards says the Shelter at Home program has "ramped up" in recent days.Julie Baxter Payer and others, including officials of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, issued an update on the flood recovery.Payer touted the Shelter at Home program, which allows families to stay in damaged homes during repairs if the work needed to remain there costs less than $15,000.Single-family homeowners are eligible for work like repairs to kitchen sinks, shower tubs
  
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• Intense bombing campaign targets Syria civil defense centers

  23-09-2016 07:39
  
  BEIRUT - A Syria monitoring group and a rescue worker say an intense bombing campaign has targeted several neighborhoods in the rebel-held part of Aleppo city, including centers of the award-winning volunteer civil defense group known as the White Helmets.The air campaign late last night and this morning comes as Syria's military command announced it is launching operations in Aleppo's rebel-held eastern quarters, raising concerns of imminent ground operations.Rami Abdurrahman, of the Britain-ba
  
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• Several hurt after bus veers into opposite lane in Instanbul

  23-09-2016 07:37
  
  ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's state-run agency says a bus in Istanbul has veered out of its lane and crashed into oncoming traffic, causing a number of injuries.Anadolu Agency said the accident occurred in the city's Acibadem district during morning rush hour on Friday. The bus slammed into another bus and several other vehicles on a main road.Television footage showed at least three vehicles crushed beneath the weight of the bus.The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The private Dogan
  
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• Small tornado touches down in northern Utah

  23-09-2016 07:35
  
  SALT LAKE CITY - The National Weather Service says a small tornado touched down south of Ogden in northern Utah.Meteorologist Monica Traphagan said the tornado hit the city of Washington Terrace about 3:45 p.m. Thursday. She says it wasn't immediately clear if the tornado caused any damage.Other storms in the area that produced winds in excess of 70 mph caused damage to trees and other property near the city of Layton. That's about 15 miles south of Washington Terrace.Traphagan says tornados are
  
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• Bomb kills 3 police in Thailand's troubled south

  23-09-2016 07:30
  
  HAT YAI, Thailand - A homemade bomb planted in a road has killed three police officers in insurgency-plagued southern Thailand.Police in Yala province said the bomb was detonated as the officers' car passed over it, wrecking the vehicle and killing the three instantly. Another officer was taken to a hospital with injuries. Police believe Muslim separatist insurgents were behind the attack.More than 6,000 people have been killed since the insurgency flared in 2004 in Thailand's three southernmost
  
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• Marriott buys Starwood, becoming world's largest chain

  23-09-2016 07:26
  
  NEW YORK - Several of the best-known names in travel are now united in one hotel company.Marriott International closed Friday morning on its $13 billion acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, bringing together its Marriott, Courtyard and Ritz Carlton brands with Starwood's Sheraton, Westin, W and St. Regis properties.In total, 30 hotel brands now fall under the Marriott umbrella to create the largest hotel chain in the world with more than 5,800 properties and 1.1 million rooms
  
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• Assumption sheriff's police dogs get bulletproof vests

  23-09-2016 07:12
  
  GONZALES - The four police dogs of the Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office now have bulletproof vests, thanks to a national nonprofit organization.Sheriff Leland Falcon said in a news release Diesel, Isa, Major and Vickie were sized for its made-to-order vest that arrived this week.Falcon said the vests are stab-resistant and bulletproof, and will protect dogs that are a priceless asset in police work.The sheriff says Canine Wounded Heroes partners with the K9 Tactical Gear company to provide ves
  
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• Tulsa police officer charged in man's death released on bond

  23-09-2016 06:18
  
  TULSA, Okla. - The Tulsa, Oklahoma police officer charged with killing an unarmed black motorist has turned herself in to authorities.Officer Betty Shelby was then released on $50,000 bond.Shelby has been charged with first-degree manslaughter for shooting and killing 40-year-old Terence Crutcher. Prosecutors say Shelby "reacted unreasonably" when she shot Crutcher, who wasn't listening to police commands and was walking away from her with his hands held up.Permalink| Comments
  
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• 2 administrative positions filled at Louisiana-Lafayette

  23-09-2016 03:16
  
  LAFAYETTE - Two administrative posts at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette have been officially filled.The university says in a Thursday news release that the University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors recently approved the appointment of David Danahar as interim provost.Danahar fills the seat vacated by Jim Henderson, who became vice president for Academic and Student Affairs for the University of Wisconsin System.The board also approved the appointment of Bobbie DeCuir as dean of the U
  
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• Payton: Williams expected to recover fully from head hit

  23-09-2016 03:06
  
  METAIRIE - New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton says cornerback P.J. Williams is expected to make a full recovery by this offseason from a traumatic blow to the head that occurred during Sunday's game against the New York Giants.Payton, who discussed Williams' health on Thursday, says the decision to place Williams on injured reserve this week was "an easy one" because doctors made it clear that Williams would require significant rest to recover from a concussion the coach describes as one of th
  
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• Saints, Falcons meet on 10-year mark of Superdome reopening

  23-09-2016 03:03
  
  METAIRIE - Saints coach Sean Payton sees Monday night's matchup with rival Atlanta as a separate event from the 10th anniversary of the Superdome's reopening after Hurricane Katrina.The game and the celebration will be going on in the same place at the same time, and the same two teams will be playing.Yet Payton sounds wary of blurring the line between the two, if for no other reason than out of respect for the unique, transcendent qualities of the Saints' first true home game after being displa
  
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• Louisiana flood forces dairy to close

  23-09-2016 02:56
  
  MOREAUVILLE, La. - Recent floods in Louisiana have forced a Moreauville dairy to close after 15 years in business.The Advertiser reports that WesMar Family Farm is ceasing operations because floodwaters impacted their goats' feeding routine, making them unable to produce milk.The farm's owner, Marguerite Constantine, says floodwater remained on the pasture for weeks following August's floods, and prevented their 50 dairy goats from feeding. She says her family had no choice but to end p
  
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• East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputies justified in fatally shooting man, DA says

  23-09-2016 00:57
  
  An attorney for Travis Stevenson's family, said they are disappointed nobody was indicted.
  
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