Baton Rouge news

• Marriage restriction on legal immigrants will be fixed, legislator says

  13-10-2016 23:30
  
  The legislator provided no explanation for why she didn't tweak the law in this last session, despite a fix being on the table.
  
  Read more

• Rival high schools bonded after flood during joint pep rally

  13-10-2016 21:19
  
  GONZALES - Students from East Ascension and St. Amant High School is letting their rivalry be heard, as they come together for a joint pep rally 2 months after the flood.Outside the Lamar Dixon Expo Center, it is not hard to tell, Ascension Parish families are still struggling. Many are still calling campers lining the site their home.Fans from both schools filed in to the center for a pep rally, a spirited contrast to the cleanup the community has faced. It's a tradition even torrential rain an
  
  Read more

• More than 800 Central flood-damaged homes gone unreported

  13-10-2016 21:04
  
  CENTRAL - Central has posted a list of 800 homes with damage worth more than 50 percent of the value of their home, gone without being reported to various government agencies.Two months after the flood, some homeowners say there are various reasons they have not reported the damage to their homes to agencies like FEMA, the Small Business Administration, or the Central government."These are folks we had no contact with," Central Mayor Jr. Shelton said. "We put this out there so they can see that
  
  Read more

• BRPD investigating fatal shooting on E. Brookstown Drive

  13-10-2016 20:16
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman is dead after a shooting on E. Brookstown Drive in Baton Rouge.Baton Rouge Police say they responded to a shooting investigation in the 4100 block of that street shortly before 6 p.m.The 37-year-old woman was struck in the shooting and later died from their injuries, according to police.Police are still investigating this shooting.This is a developing story. Stay tuned for more details.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• More electric bill concerns, overestimating

  13-10-2016 17:32
  
  BATON ROUGE - A Two On Your Side story earlier this week got many viewers talking. WBRZ highlighted an issue about people reporting their seemingly "high" electric bills. Tuesday, we found one man was overcharged by DEMCO.Thursday, another situation about a man being over-charged after Entergy estimated his usage when meter-readers couldn't get to homes following the flood.Doug Prewitt's home is without windows, doors and walls. It's stripped to the studs, after seven feet of water sat in his ho
  
  Read more

• Flu mist vaccination no longer available for flu season

  13-10-2016 17:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - A popular flu mist vaccination is no longer available for patients this flu season.Research from the Center for Disease Control revealed that the nasal spray vaccine was not effective during last year's flu season.The mist gained popularity last year for children who did not want to get the flu shot, but now that option is off the table. One patient, Natasha Hall, choose to get the flu mist vaccine for the last two years for herself, along with her children."We just choose the mist
  
  Read more

• Escaped inmate had violent past; Accused in 2012 murder

  13-10-2016 16:55
  
  BATON ROUGE - One of two men who managed to escape their work release job Thursday has a violent past that includes being connected to a murder in Louisiana's Cajun country, the WBRZ Investigative Unit learned. Elwood Billiot, 33, was serving time for domestic abuse battery charges when he went missing just after lunch. The story behind him initially arriving in the care of the work release program was not immediately known. But, WBRZ uncovered Billiot last ran from the law less than a year ago.
  
  Read more

• Displaced residents staying in motel create own community

  13-10-2016 16:51
  
  LIVINGSTON – Two months since the flood and hundreds of families are still displaced and living off donations however, residents at one motel have formed their own community of support.One resident staying at the motel, Daniel Howell, manages to drag himself and his wheelchair up and down the stairs just to get to his room."I never thought in a million years that this would be something that I would be doing," Howell said.Since the August flood, hotels around the area are book
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Motorcyclist killed in high speed crash in Houma

  13-10-2016 16:22
  
  HOUMA – A crash involving a motorcycle on Valhi Drive in Houma took the life of a 48-year-old man on Thursday morning.The investigation by State Police revealed that 48-year-old Dwayne McClanahan was riding a Harley Davidson motorcycle southbound on Valhi Drive near Equity Boulevard at a high rate of speed. McClanahan entered a slight right curve and for "unknown reasons," crossed the center line. He then crossed the northbound lane and ran off of the road where he was ejected
  
  Read more

• Ascension man arrested on nine counts of internet crimes against children

  13-10-2016 15:54
  
  ASCENSION – A man was arrested on nine counts of internet crimes against children, the attorney general's office announced.25-year-old Justin Sepeda was arrested on eight counts of indecent behavior with juveniles and one count of computer aided solicitation of a minor. Sepeda was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail following a joint investigation between the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit and the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office.Attorney General Jeff Landry urge
  
  Read more

• 3 bunkers of 'clean-burning igniter' to be burned in place

  13-10-2016 15:45
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's environmental secretary says military experts report that material which exploded last month at Camp Minden is so unstable that the rest of it should be burned in place this month.Environmental Quality Secretary Chuck Brown says three bunkers at Camp Minden hold nearly 100 tons of "clean-burning igniter," the compound used to touch off M6 propellant in artillery shells.A bunker of igniter exploded early Sept. 29 at the camp, where a company went bankrupt in 2013 and aba
  
  Read more

• Crash on exit ramp of North I-110 claims life of 61-year-old

  13-10-2016 15:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – A fatal crash on the exit ramp of North I-110 at Highway 19 early Thursday morning that took the life a 61-year-old man.The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. on Thursday when 61-year-old Leonard Jackson was driving a Hyundai Sonata when his car ran off the right shoulder and crashed into a tree.Jackson's car burst into flames with him trapped inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene.The crash is under investigation by the Baton Rouge Police Department. Permalink
  
  Read more

• Aerial mosquito spraying scheduled for east part of EBR

  13-10-2016 14:57
  
  BATON ROUGE – Mosquito aerial spraying will be conducted over the east part of East Baton Rouge Parish on Thursday night.The spraying is in response to large numbers of mosquitoes and a West Nile virus mosquito sample, according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control.The spraying will take place at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13, weather permitting.The area where the spraying will be conducted is below:Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• APSO searching for missing 47-year-old man from St. Amant

  13-10-2016 14:37
  
  ASCENSION – The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office is searching for a man from St. Amant that has been missing since Oct. 5.47-year-old Dennis Kramer, Jr. was last seen driving a red 1999 Chevrolet Silverado truck with an extended cab with a Louisiana license plate: Y107566.The sheriff's office does not suspect foul play at this time.Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Kramer is urged to contact the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office at 225-621-4636.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Vet says he kept promise to not let Mike VI suffer

  13-10-2016 14:13
  
  BATON ROUGE – The veterinarian who treated Mike VI in his finals days released a statement Thursday thanking the LSU community for their support.In the letter, Dr. David Baker said that he kept his promise to make sure that Mike VI would not suffer. Baker and his team made the tough decision to euthanize the tiger on Oct. 11, just one day after he was transitioned into hospice care and taken out of his public yard.The LSU Veterinary School announced last week that Mike VI’s t
  
  Read more

• Periscope extends beyond phones as Twitter ups ante on video

  13-10-2016 13:58
  
  SAN FRANCISCO - Twitter is taking the smartphone shackles off its live-video service Periscope in the struggling company's latest attempt to broaden its audience.The Periscope Producer feature announced Thursday will let media companies and other users pipe live video feeds directly into Twitter, without using a smartphone to record the images. Until now, Periscope had been confined to live video taken through a smartphone.The change means other websites will be able to redistribute live video o
  
  Read more

• Disaster resource fair to be held for flood victims

  13-10-2016 13:58
  
  BATON ROUGE – A disaster recovery resource fair for homeowners and renters who were impacted by the flooding that devastated the state in August.The fair will be a "one stop shop" for information and resources from federal, state and other agencies to assist residents in their recovery efforts. Those who attend will find information about the Shelter at Home program, flood insurance, foreclosure prevention, title issues, successions disaster tax relief, loans, unemployment, housing cou
  
  Read more

• 2016 race devolves into ugly fight over treatment of women

  13-10-2016 13:50
  
  LAS VEGAS - America's campaign for president is quickly devolving into an ugly fight over who has treated women worse: Donald Trump, whose White House bid is floundering, or Bill Clinton, who isn't on the ballot.Trump's campaign is now openly signaling it will spend the election's final month re-litigating Bill Clinton's marital affairs and unproven charges of sexual assault, as well as his wife and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's unverified role in intimidating the women who were involved.
  
  Read more

• First lady says she's 'shaken' by Trump remarks

  13-10-2016 13:43
  
  WASHINGTON - Michelle Obama said she "was shaken to the core" by comments that GOP Republican nominee Donald Trump made in which he is heard on a 2005 tape bragging about how his fame allowed him to "do anything" to women.Speaking at campaign rally in New Hampshire for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Obama called the comments "shocking and demeaning. She also dismissed suggestion that they were simply "locker room talk," saying they were affront to all women and parents.The GOP nomi
  
  Read more

• Louisiana receives $438 million 'down payment' for flood assistance

  13-10-2016 13:19
  
  BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that the state will receive $438 million for flood recovery.Edwards’ announcement comes two months after devastating floods ravaged south Louisiana. The flood recovery money will also go to rebuilding efforts for the severe flooding in March.“Historic flooding in Louisiana nearly crippled communities in every corner of our state, but thanks to the hard work of the entire Louisiana congressional del
  
  Read more

• Former Amedisys officer sentenced for wire fraud

  13-10-2016 12:30
  
  BATON ROUGE - Federal prosecutors say a former vice president for the health services company Amedisys has been sentenced to four years in prison for a wire fraud scheme that put more than $7.6 million of the company's money in his personal bank accounts.U.S. Attorney Walt Green said in a news release Judge John deGravelles handed down the sentence Wednesday for 41-year-old Michael David Pitts.Pitts was vice president of the tax unit at the home-health and hospice services firm when he defrauded
  
  Read more

• Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize in literature

  13-10-2016 12:23
  
  STOCKHOLM - Bob Dylan was named the winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in literature Thursday in a stunning announcement that for the first time bestowed the prestigious award to someone primarily seen as a musician.The Swedish Academy cited the American musician for "having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition."Dylan had been mentioned in the Nobel speculation for years, but few experts expected the academy to extend the prestigious award to a genre such as popula
  
  Read more

• Tips for understanding the flood insurance claim process

  13-10-2016 09:59
  
  BATON ROUGE – State and federal officials are encouraging residents to monitor their insurance claims process after reporting their losses following the August flood.Residents have 120 days from the date of their loss to file a claim in they are a National Flood Insurance Program policyholder in Louisiana.Below are tips to guide residents through the process to ensure they receive all eligible insurance funds for recovery:What to Do Before an Adjuster Visit
  - Take pictures of the damag
  
  Read more

• City-Parish to kick-off electric car initiative for downtown BR

  13-10-2016 09:38
  
  BATON ROUGE – The City-Parish will kick off a new initiative that will bring charging stations to downtown Baton Rouge to accommodate and encourage the use of electrical cars.A press conference will be held on Monday, Oct. 17 at 11 a.m. at the North Boulevard Town Square to announce the initiative.According to the Business Report, the plan is to install 10 charging stations downtown in parking garages as well along some streets. Chargers will be available at designated spots and cars t
  
  Read more

• Last defendant in post-Katrina police shootings seeks delay

  13-10-2016 08:59
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A Nov. 7 trial date has been set for the last remaining defendant among a group of former police officers charged in connection with deadly shootings at New Orleans' Danziger Bridge after Hurricane Katrina.Gerard Dugue was not implicated in those 2005 shootings. However, he faces obstruction of justice and other charges in connection with the cover-up.His trial had been set for Oct. 24 but a federal judge Wednesday granted his request for a delay, pushing the date back two weeks. I
  
  Read more

• Council votes to move forward with Shreveport Aquarium

  13-10-2016 08:53
  
  SHREVEPORT - Shreveport's city council has voted to move forward with bringing a public aquarium to Northwest Louisiana.The council Tuesday voted for a plan that allows the city to lease the empty Barnwell Garden & Art Center to the Planet Aqua Group.The city will bring the historic building up to code using a $1.5 million bond issued in 2011. Once complete, Planet Aqua will invest $2.8 million to improve the Barnwell and move its company headquarters to Shreveport.The city will bring the Ba
  
  Read more

• Charge dropped against man in 2011 baseball beating death

  13-10-2016 08:46
  
  BATON ROUGE - Prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against a man accused of beating a woman to death with a baseball bat five years ago.The charge against 52-year-old Timothy Wayne Washington in Sheena Marie Barnett's death was dismissed after a judge refused Tuesday to delay his trial in the long-running case to give prosecutors more time to locate key witnesses.26-year-old Barnett's body was found inside her burning apartment in 2011. Her head was severely beaten, and a bloody bat
  
  Read more

• Hearing enters second day in lawsuit on Senate race debate

  13-10-2016 08:40
  
  BATON ROUGE - A judge will decide whether to force U.S. Senate candidate Troy Hebert into the race's first televised debate planned for Oct. 18 - or to stop the debate altogether.Hebert, a former state lawmaker running without party affiliation, filed a lawsuit challenging the criteria that excluded him from the debate being held by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Council for A Better Louisiana.A two-day hearing on Hebert's injunction request is expected to wrap up Thursday with a ruling f
  
  Read more

• BRFD investigating fire on a house under construction on Cyrus

  13-10-2016 08:16
  
  BATON ROUGE - Fire investigators are determining the cause of a house fire on the 6000 block of Cyrus Avenue.According to Baton Rouge Fire Department, the house was being repaired from the flood damages. Firefighters arrived to the scene shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday morning and saw the entire structure on fire.The roof collapsed after firefighters came to the scene. The fire was contained before it could spread to nearby houses. Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Two Australian teens arrested in connection to IS

  13-10-2016 06:58
  
  CANBERRA, Australia - Two 16-year-old Australian boys arrested in Sydney after each bought a knife were charged on Thursday with planning a terrorist attack on behalf of the extremist Islamic State group, police said.The two were arrested by the federal-state Joint Counter-Terrorism Team in the western suburb of Bankstown on Wednesday, New South Wales state Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said, as Australia marked the 14th anniversary of extremist bombings in Indonesia that killed 202,
  
  Read more

• German bomb plot suspect kills self in Leipzig cell

  13-10-2016 06:56
  
  BERLIN - Saxony's state Justice Ministry says a 22-year-old Syrian man arrested for a suspected Islamic extremist bomb plot killed himself Wednesday in a prison cell in Leipzig.Justice Ministry spokesman Joerg Herold told The Associated Press that Jaber Albakr killed himself sometime in the evening, but that the incident was still being investigated.Albakr, who had been granted asylum after coming to Germany last year, was arrested Monday in the city Leipzig after three fellow Syrians tied him u
  
  Read more

• La. takes bids on study toward coastal plan's key project

  13-10-2016 03:21
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's coastal restoration agency is taking bids for an environmental impact statement on a project it describes as a cornerstone of Louisiana's coastal master plan.The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says bids will be opened Nov. 16 for the study of the proposed Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion - a controlled opening that would be built through the Mississippi River levee in Plaquemines Parish.A study in 2014 estimated that it could build up to 22 squar
  
  Read more

• Police: Man with assault rifle, body armor shot 2 officers

  13-10-2016 03:19
  BOSTON - Authorities say a man wearing body armor and armed with an assault rifle shot two Boston police officers before being shot and killed by other officers.The two wounded officers were hospitalized in "extremely critical condition" early Thursday morning.Police Commissioner William Evans says the suspect fired at the officers late Wednesday night shortly after they arrived at a home in the city's East Boston neighborhood. Several other officers who were stationed outside ran inside and exc
  
  Read more

• California man charged with murdering police to be in court

  13-10-2016 03:02
  
  RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A gang member who prosecutors say targeted, ambushed and killed two Palm Springs police officers is scheduled to appear in court.Arraignment on first-degree murder and many other charges is scheduled Thursday for 26-year-old John Hernandez Felix in Riverside, California.Prosecutors say an attorney is being assigned to Felix.The district attorney said Wednesday that Felix was prepared to attack the officers who responded to a 911 call from his family's home on Saturday.Prosecu
  
  Read more

• Samsung Note 7 recall in US expands to replacement phones

  13-10-2016 02:59
  
  SEOUL, South Korea - Samsung Electronics says it has expanded its recall of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in the U.S. to include all replacement devices the company offered as a presumed safe alternative after the original Note 7s were found prone to catch fire.The move announced on the company's website Thursday came after Samsung announced it was discontinuing the product because the replacements also were overheating.At first, Samsung said a minor manufacturing error in the batteries for the Note
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!