Baton Rouge news

• Tourist sues Louisiana State Police over 2015 arrest

  07-10-2016 20:28
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Five Louisiana State Police troopers and the agency's leader have been sued for an alleged unconstitutional stop and arrest last year of a 17-year-old tourist in New Orleans' French Quarter.
      
  The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court by Lyle Dotson, of Muncie, Indiana, and his father, Olon Dotson, a professor of architecture at Ball State University. Attorneys Jim Craig and Emily Washington of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at N
  
  Read more

• Carbon monxide from generator kills Florida couple riding out storm

  07-10-2016 20:23
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Authorities say an elderly couple appears to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning while running a generator after Hurricane Matthew, raising the U.S. death toll from the storm to 4.
      
  A post on the St. Lucie County Fire District's Facebook page says rescuers responded to couple's home Friday morning after neighbors found them not breathing. They were taken to a nearby hospital, where county spokesman Erick Gill says they later died.
  &n
  
  Read more

• 7-year-old dead, four injured in Ascension Parish crash

  07-10-2016 18:37
  
  DONALDSONVILLE – State Police say a 7-year-old is dead and four others are injured after a single vehicle crash in Ascension Parish Friday night.According to Louisiana State Police spokesperson Bryan Lee, the single vehicle crash happened on LA 405 near LA 1.The 7-year-old, Thaddeus Johnson Jr, was ejected from the vehicle during the crash. Johnson was not wearing his seat belt. He was announced dead at the scene by the Ascension Parish Coroner's Office.Delacy Howard, 35, was the drive
  
  Read more

• Authorities report 2nd death in US from Matthew

  07-10-2016 17:25
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL - Authorities are now saying two people have died in the U.S. because of Hurricane Matthew.The Putnam County, Florida, Sheriff's Office reported Friday that a woman was killed and a man was injured near Crescent City when a tree fell on their camper during the storm.A post on the sheriff's office Facebook page says the two adults were attempting to ride out the storm when high winds apparently caused the tree to fall. The man escaped with minor injuries, but the woman was
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Video from 2005 shows Trump making lewd comments about women

  07-10-2016 16:07
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump is issuing a rare apology after a video showed him making lewd, sexually charged comments about women in 2005. He called it "locker room banter."The Republican nominee said that "I apologize if anyone was offended." He issued the statement after The Washington Post revealed the video of Trump caught on a hot mic while talking with Billy Bush of "Access Hollywood."Trump is heard saying he "did try and f--- her," referring to an unknown woman. He also used graphic terms t
  
  Read more

• Louisiana flood recovery: 6 things to know about housing

  07-10-2016 15:18
  
  Thousands of people are still living in hotels nearly two months later.
  
  Read more

• More than 1 million without power in Florida

  07-10-2016 15:16
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The steady march of Hurricane Matthew has left more than 1 million customers in Florida without power.State officials released updated totals on Friday that showed that the powerful Category 3 storm had knocked out electricity over a wide stretch of the state's eastern coast. Most of the customers in Flagler and Volusia County - the home to Daytona Beach - were without power. Other hard hit areas include Brevard and Indian River counties.The storm was strong enoug
  
  Read more

• US accuses Russia of hacking political sites

  07-10-2016 15:01
  
  WASHINGTON - The U.S. is accusing Russia of hacking political sites, saying it is trying to interfere with the upcoming presidential election.Intelligence officials say they are confident that the Russian government directed the recent breaches of emails from American people and institutions, including U.S. political organizations.The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security have released a joint statement saying that based on the "scope and sensiti
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Part of Jones Creek Road to close Friday, through weekend

  07-10-2016 14:57
  
  BATON ROUGE – Jones Creek Road between Tiger Bend Road and 7 pines Avenue will be closed starting Friday afternoon, according to city-parish officials.The closure will start at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 and will continue until 5 a.m. Monday, Oct. 10. City-parish crews will be working to install a storm drain pipe.The Department of Transportation and Drainage says drivers should detour to Coursey Boulevard to Stumberg Lane to Tiger Bend Road.For up to date traffic alerts every day, follow W
  
  Read more

• Authorities get over 1,200 fraud complaints since La. floods

  07-10-2016 14:46
  
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities have received more than 1,200 disaster fraud complaints related to August's historic flooding in south Louisiana.U.S. Attorney Walt Green announced that tally Friday during a press briefing at the National Center for Disaster Fraud's offices on the Louisiana State University campus in Baton Rouge.Green said the Justice Department-created center has received more than 68,000 fraud complaints related to more than 40 disasters since Hurricane Katrina in 2005- and referred
  
  Read more

• LSU AgCenter to host forum on medical marijuana program

  07-10-2016 14:44
  
  BATON ROUGE – The LSU AgCenter will host a forum to discuss outside investment opportunities for its state licensed medical marijuana program.The LSU AgCenter has opted to be a licensed producer for Louisiana’s medical marijuana program, but due to state budget constraints will seek outside investments to finance the operation.University officials said the forum provide a place for interested parties to discuss the AgCenter’s business plan.The event is scheduled to
  
  Read more

• Settlement talks could resolve suit over La. protest arrests

  07-10-2016 14:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - Settlement talks that one attorney describes as "fruitful" could resolve a lawsuit that Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson and others filed against the city of Baton Rouge over their arrests during protests of a deadly police shooting.A court order Friday says attorneys have reached an "agreement in principle to amicably resolve the matter," but plaintiffs' attorney Roy Rodney Jr. disputed that characterization of the negotiations. Rodney said "fruitful discussions" with ci
  
  Read more

• St. Tammany council approves $133M bond issue for Causeway

  07-10-2016 14:13
  
  COVINGTON - The St. Tammany Parish Council has approved a Lake Pontchartrain Causeway bond issue that would pay for $103 million in safety improvements and require a toll increase to pay off the debt.The funding would allow the Causeway to beef-up railings on the southbound span and add sections of shoulder on both bridges.Prior to Thursday's 9-4 vote, council members heard from 15 citizens, who argued that the spending of such a large amount was unwarranted and that citizens should be allowed t
  
  Read more

• SC governor issues final warning to evacuate

  07-10-2016 14:12
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL - South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says the forecast for the state appears to have gotten worse: There are now hurricane warnings for the entire coast and the latest projections from the National Hurricane Center show the center of the storm very close to the coast near Charleston early Saturday morning. Earlier projections had the hurricane farther offshore.At a news conference Friday, Haley warned residents that South Carolina is now looking at major winds, major storm s
  
  Read more

• Study: taking a lot of selfies could be sign of mental health issues

  07-10-2016 14:11
  
  ATLANTA - If you are addicted to taking selfie photos, researchers in Thailand say it may mean you are lonely or have mental health problems.Researchers at the National Institute of Development Administration asked 300 students, the majority being between the ages of 21 to 24, to see why some people "like to take selfies more than others."They say the results show that "the degree of selfie-liking" was positively associated with narcissism, attention-seeking behavior, self-centered beha
  
  Read more

• Service at damaged station to resume after crash

  07-10-2016 13:53
  
  NEWARK, N.J. - Rail service at a New Jersey transit station damaged after a deadly train crash will resume next week.New Jersey Transit says a portion of the Hoboken Terminal will reopen Monday morning.Investigators say the train was traveling twice the speed limit when it crashed into the station Sept. 29, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 people.Service on the commuter line into the busy station that connects travelers to trains headed for New York City has be
  
  Read more

• Lauren Holiday, U.S. soccer player, gives birth weeks before brain surgery

  07-10-2016 13:33
  
  BATON ROUGE – Lauren Holiday, a soccer player of the U.S. women's national team and wife of NBA player Jure Holiday, gave birth this week, just weeks away from brain surgery.It was revealed earlier last month that Lauren would need brain surgery to remove a tumor, but surgery had to wait until after the birth of the couple's first child. At a press conference on Friday, Jrue's teammates said that he and Lauren welcomed a healthy baby girl this week. Holiday will have
  
  Read more

• Slain Officer Matthew Gerald inducted into Central High Hall of Fame

  07-10-2016 13:04
  
  CENTRAL- Central High School honored one of the officers killed in July's attack on law enforcement at their football game Friday.
  Officer Matthew Gerald graduated from Central back in 1994. During halftime of the school's football game against Walker High, Gerald was officially inducted into the Central High School Hall of fame.
  Gerald's pregnant wife, mother and two kids attended the special halftime ceremony, reflecting on the legacy he left on the community."He would be so proud of this," sa
  
  Read more

• Central street closed by sheriff's deputies

  07-10-2016 12:41
  
  CENTRAL - A handful of sheriff's deputies cordoned off the street in front of a house Friday morning as they investigated a situation inside the home.A crime scene investigator was among the group that gathered on Northeast Drive and Core Lane.  The area is between Joor and Blackwater.  It was unclear what the investigation was about.Authorities were initially dispatched to the area for a possible crime but nothing official had been released as of this post.A WBRZ news crew is
  
  Read more

• Man dies after driving wrong way, crashes into 18-wheeler in Covington

  07-10-2016 09:48
  
  COVINGTON – A suspected impaired driver was killed after traveling the wrong way and colliding with an 18-wheeler head-on on I-12 in Covington.Around 1 a.m. on Friday, State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash involving an 18-wheeler on I-12 between LA 59 and US 190.Troopers learned that 55-year-old Perry Nunez was driving a Buick Century eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-12. Nunez crashed head-on into an 18-wheeler traveling westbound driven by 38-year-old Justin Lamar Flood.N
  
  Read more

• Man on motorcycle dies after running off LA 308, struck tree

  07-10-2016 09:15
  
  RACELAND – State Troopers responded to a single-vehicle fatality involving a motorcycle on LA 308 in Raceland early Friday morning.The crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. Friday when 44-year-old Ross Callias was traveling north on LA 308 on a Harley Davidson motorcycle when he entered a left hand curve in the roadway. For unknown reasons, Callais traveled off of the highway and struck a tree. He sustained fatal injuries as a result of the crash.Callias was pronounced dead at the scene by t
  
  Read more

• State wants stripper age case moved to Baton Rouge

  07-10-2016 08:42
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana officials want a new location for a federal lawsuit challenging the state law aimed at making 21 the minimum age for working as a stripper.The suit was filed in New Orleans, but lawyers for the state's alcohol control commissioner - the defendant in the suit - say it should be moved to Baton Rouge. That's where lawmakers approved the law earlier this year.The state notes the commissioner is based there and that two of the three dancers challenging the law work there. The
  
  Read more

• 1.5M cubic yards of flood debris collected in Baton Rouge

  07-10-2016 08:30
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials say approximately 75 percent of the debris from the August flood has been collected from Baton Rouge and unincorporated areas of East Baton Rouge Parish.The mayor-president's office said Thursday in a news release crews have completed their first sweep of the city but will return to flooded areas a total of three times to try to collect everything.Adam Smith, interim environmental services director, said officials believe the flood created 1.8 million to 2 million cubic y
  
  Read more

• Lawyer: I-12 safety wall could have aggravated flooding

  07-10-2016 08:26
  
  WALKER - An attorney representing the city of Walker says as many as 100,000 people in East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes may have received additional flooding because of the concrete safety wall built along the median of Interstate 12.Joshua Palmintier spoke to a group of some 50 residents Thursday about a possible class-action lawsuit against the state Department of Transportation and Development and others who worked on the interstate improvement project.He says a hydrologist has been h
  
  Read more

• All lanes open on LA 1

  07-10-2016 07:20
  
  BATON ROUGE - All lanes on I-10 east before LA 1 in Port Allen are opened after officials cleared an accident.The delay has reached LA 415.News 2 is monitoring the roadways this morning. We will have updates on WBRZ.com and Twitter.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• All lanes now open on LA 1

  07-10-2016 07:20
  
  PORT ALLEN - All lanes are now open on I-10 eastbound. Friday morning, the left lane of I-10 eastbound was closed before LA 1 due to an accident.The delay remains to LA 415.News 2 is monitoring the roadways this morning. We will have updates on WBRZ.com and Twitter.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Suspect charged in shooting death of St. Louis County officer

  07-10-2016 06:55
  
  GREEN PARK, Mo. - An 18-year-old man has been charged in the shooting death of a St. Louis County, Missouri, police officer during an early hour exchange of gunfire that wounded the suspect.Prosecutors on Thursday charged Trenton Forster with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of 33-year-old officer Blake Snyder while Snyder was responding to a report of a disturbance.Forster was wounded by another officer and prosecutors say he's hospitalized in stable condition
  
  Read more

• British pound's 6 percent "flash crash" baffles traders

  07-10-2016 06:52
  
  HONG KONG - The beleaguered British pound has plummeted briefly to a fresh 31-year low amid intensifying concerns about Britain's exit from the European Union.The pound tumbled nearly 6 percent in early Asian trading Friday, falling as low as $1.1789, according to FactSet data.The British currency, which had been trading at around $1.26 the day before, recovered minutes later. It was recently trading around $1.24.Market watchers were baffled by the pound's "flash crash."Some attributed it to a t
  
  Read more

• Many fatalities in Minnesota helicopter crash

  07-10-2016 06:50
  
  LINO LAKES, Minn. - A Minnesota sheriff's official says "multiple fatalities" are likely following a helicopter crash in the Twin Cities suburb of Lino Lakes.The aircraft crashed in a field near a residential area Thursday evening. Anoka County Sheriff's Cmdr. Paul Sommer says it's too early to say who was traveling in the helicopter because "it's basically charred-up debris."No one on the ground was hurt.Sommer says witnesses reported seeing the helicopter's blade stop turning before it went do
  
  Read more

• Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wins Nobel Peace Prize

  07-10-2016 06:48
  
  OSLO, Norway - Colombians are just waking up to the news that their president has won the Nobel Peace Prize.President Juan Manuel Santos won the prize for his efforts to end a civil war that has killed more than 200,000 Colombians.Although citizens narrowly rejected the peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the Norwegian Nobel Committee says that doesn't mean the peace process is dead.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• La Medicaid to pay for breast-matching op after mastectomy

  07-10-2016 04:38
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health says women who need a mastectomy for cancer in one breast can now get coverage for plastic surgery in the other, so the two breasts match.The department said in a news release Thursday that expanded breast cancer coverage also will include tests for two genetic mutations that make people much more likely to develop breast cancer. Coverage for the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations will be available for people who have cancer or are at high risk for breast
  
  Read more

• State opens red snapper season

  07-10-2016 04:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission is allowing recreational anglers to harvest additional red snapper in state waters beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday.But the opening is only during weekends - Friday, Saturday and Sunday.The commission, in a news release, announced the opening after receiving a red snapper landings update from the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Preliminary estimates from the department's LA Creel Program indicate Louisiana's recreational fishermen
  
  Read more

• Reworked deal for LSU Shreveport, Monroe hospitals signed

  07-10-2016 03:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - All parties have agreed to the renegotiated terms Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration has reached with the operator of the university's hospitals in Shreveport and Monroe.The Edwards administration released the signed paperwork Thursday.Edwards' executive counsel Matthew Block announced earlier this week that a deal had been struck with the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, known as BRF.The renegotiated arrangement appears to address most of LSU's ongoing dis
  
  Read more

• Trump, Clinton campaigns watch for Matthew's impact on Fla.

  07-10-2016 03:19
  
  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Like other Americans, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are steering clear of battleground Florida, where Hurricane Matthew threatens to wreak havoc on the final stretch of presidential campaigning.The campaigns have rushed to move staff and volunteers, close offices and cancel events in the path of the storm. And as many Floridians heed calls to evacuate, both candidates have begun the delicate and difficult task of pursuing votes during a crisis.Clinton's campaign has asked
  
  Read more

• Tulane gets $1.1M to study how age affects blood vessels

  07-10-2016 03:07
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Tulane University researchers will get $1.1 million over four years to study why aging impairs the growth of new blood vessels.The National Institutes of Health is giving the grant to Walter Lee Murfee, an associate professor of biomedical engineering, and Bruce Bunnell, director of the Tulane Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine.Murfee said in a news release Thursday that they hope to identify molecular and cellular causes of the change.Blocking growth of new bl
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!