Baton Rouge news

• Shelter at Home deadline extended to October 21

  14-10-2016 20:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - FEMA has approved the state's request to extend the deadline to apply for the Shelter at Home program to October 21.The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says the need to extend the deadline was noticable after hundreds of Louisiana flood survivors registered for the program during the last week.As of Thursday, GOHSEP says the number of Shelter at Home applicants has climbed to 20,897.6,512 homes already enrolled in the program are in progress. 2,590
  
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• Now 30 West Nile cases in Louisiana

  14-10-2016 17:36
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Health says there are now 30 confirmed cases of West Nile virus in Louisiana, up four from Sept. 23.A news release says 17 cases involve serious infections of the brain or other parts of the nervous system. Another 10 are flu-like West Nile fever, and three were diagnosed by blood tests of people who did not have any symptoms.The department says nobody has died of the disease this year.At this time last year, 56 people had been diagnosed, 35 of those ill
  
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• Employee fired after inmates escape

  14-10-2016 17:36
  
  BATON ROUGE - At least one person working for a private work release management company was fired over the escape of two offenders Thursday.Specifics about the employee's firing were not release, but company officials told WBRZ Friday - the day after the escape - issues with how the two men got out were resolved by the personnel decision. Louisiana Workforce LLC runs the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office work release program. The facility is located near the jail. It housed Douglas Elliso
  
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• Russian television warns of nuclear war amid US tensions

  14-10-2016 17:27
  
  MOSCOW - With diplomatic relations between Moscow and Washington at their lowest point since the Cold War, turning on Russian television can be an alarming experience. For the past month, Russian media outlets have been punctuated with reports asking people whether they are ready for nuclear war."If it should one day happen, every one of you should know where the nearest bomb shelter is. It’s best to find out now," according to one particularly fevered report on the Russian state-owned
  
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• Flood survivors may be eligible for FEMA reimbursement for temporary lodging

  14-10-2016 16:56
  
  BATON ROUGE – Flood survivors who have registered with FEMA may be eligible for reimbursement if they had to pay out-of-pocket for temporary lodging due to flood damage to their home.FEMA officials say that residents are eligible for lodging expense reimbursement if they:- Register with FEMA- Pass identity verification- Verify occupancy in a primary residence within a declared parish- Verify that their primary residence is uninhabitable or inaccessible- Incurred disaster-related tempor
  
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• BRPD working crash involving school bus, dump truck

  14-10-2016 16:44
  
  BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge Police are working a bus crash involving a school bus and a dump truck in Baton Rouge Friday afternoon. The crash happened around 4:40 p.m. at the intersection of Scenic Highway and East Mason Avenue. Wreck involving Scholar's First Transportation school bus and dump truck at Scenic and Mason. pic.twitter.com/DJlEOd0qbf— Brittany Weiss WBRZ (@MsBWeiss) October 14, 2016Details are limited at this time. A WBRZ News 2 crew is en route
  
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• Baton Rouge woman says city won't help with drainage issue

  14-10-2016 16:42
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman is worried her yard will be washed away. After multiple pleas with the city, she's been told it's not their problem.A drainage canal behind her house is growing and eating away everything in it's path.Melba Weiss has lived in her Kenilworth home for nearly 50 years. Lately, every time it rains she holds her breath."Please don't get any worse," said Weiss.Each time the canal fills with water, it takes dirt, rocks and anything it's path along with it. Dirt fence along her bac
  
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• One dead, three hurt in multi vehicle crash near Livonia

  14-10-2016 15:59
  
  LIVONIA – One person is dead and three others were taken to the hospital after a multi car crash near Livonia Friday afternoon, sources tell WBRZ.The crash happened after 3:40 p.m. Friday on US 190 between Erwinville and Livonia. US 190 has been closed in both directions due to the crash. Traffic is being diverted, but drivers should expect delays.190 is closed in both directions near Livonia, due to deadly crash. @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/hdkm1x5WnK— Brett Buffington (@BrettBuff
  
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• Glasses off in passport photos, State Department says

  14-10-2016 15:45
  
  Beginning next month, travelers applying or renewing their passports must take off their glasses for their passport photo, the U.S. Department of State announced.The policy will go into effect on Nov. 1. Last year, more than 200,000 travelers submitted poor quality passport photos that could not be accepted because they couldn't be clearly identified due to their glasses.For travelers whose passports have not yet expired and their photos have been taken with them wearing glasses, the U.S. Depart
  
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• Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones banned from planes

  14-10-2016 15:20
  
  WASHINGTON - The Transportation Department is issuing an emergency order banning passengers and flight crews from bringing Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones on airline flights in response to reports of the phones catching fire.The order goes into effect Saturday at noon eastern time. It says the phone may not be carried on board or packed in checked bags on flights to and from the United States or within the country. The phones also can't be shipped as air cargo.JUST IN: DOT, FAA and PHMSA issue
  
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• Man arrested for accidentally shooting mom

  14-10-2016 15:19
  
  BATON ROUGE – A 20-year-old man was arrested for negligent homicide after he claimed that he accidentally shot his mom following an argument.On Oct. 13 around 6 p.m., the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office responded to the 4100 block of East Brookstown in regards to a woman who had been shot.When officers arrived they found the woman on her living room floor suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. Her son, 20-year-old Dexter Clay, was applying pressure to the wound. Clay told offic
  
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• Former Sen. Mary Landrieu picks Fayard in La. Senate race

  14-10-2016 15:05
  
  BATON ROUGE - Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Caroline Fayard has received the backing of former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, as heavyweights in the party continue to split support between Fayard and Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell.Landrieu, a Democrat who lost her re-election bid in 2014, announced her endorsement of Fayard on Friday, talking of the New Orleans lawyer's enthusiasm and energy. Landrieu also described the 38-year-old Fayard, who has never been in elected office, as a fre
  
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• Jeopardy! contestants don't know news terms; Do you? Take the quiz!

  14-10-2016 14:55
  
  BATON ROUGE - This week, Jeopardy! asked contestants to define news terms.  Of the five answers, contesants only knew two of the correct questions to ask.  Only the $400 and $800 answers were won.  Contestants could not guess the ones valued at $1200, $1600 or $2000.Try it for yourself:Watch Jeopardy! weekdays on WBRZ Channel 2 at 4:30; just after WBRZ News 2 at 4:00 and before WBRZ News 2 at 5:00.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Key pretrial hearing in Cosby criminal case set for November

  14-10-2016 14:35
  
  PHILADELPHIA - A key pretrial hearing to determine what evidence prosecutors can use in Bill Cosby's Pennsylvania sex assault case has been scheduled for early November.Prosecutors hope to call 13 other accusers to show the comedian had a pattern of drugging and molesting women. The criminal charges involve an encounter with Andrea Constand in 2004.Prosecutors also want to use Cosby's deposition from Constand's 2005 lawsuit. Cosby acknowledges under oath that he had sexual encounters with a seri
  
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• 'Apprentice' contestant says Trump kissed her

  14-10-2016 14:32
  
  WASHINGTON - A former contestant on "The Apprentice" says Donald Trump made unwanted sexual contact with her at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2007.Summer Zervos appeared at a news conference Friday with attorney Gloria Allred. Zervos is among several women who have made sexual allegations against the Republican nominee. He has strenuously denied them.Zervos was a contestant on Trump's show in 2006. She said she later contacted Trump sbout a job.Zervos said after their initial meeting, Trump kissed he
  
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• Email: Clinton campaign sought to cancel Wall Street speech

  14-10-2016 14:30
  
  WASHINGTON - Newly released emails show Hillary Clinton's aides asked former President Bill Clinton to cancel a planned speech to a Wall Street investment firm because of concerns the Clintons might appear too cozy with Wall Street just as Hillary Clinton was about to announce her campaign for president.Hacked emails released by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks show that Hillary Clinton did not want her husband to cancel the speech, but was eventually convinced that canceling was the right step.
  
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• Trump again claims election is being rigged

  14-10-2016 14:08
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump is claiming that "this whole election is being rigged."Trump, speaking Friday in North Carolina, repeated his incendiary claim that the November election was not being conducted honestly. That's an unprecedented assertion that challenges America's tradition of peaceful democracy.The Republican nominee said "the process is rigged" and declared that "the whole thing is one big fix."Trump also again blasted the media, claiming the coverage of him has been biased.
  
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• Deep South states high in accidental shootings with minors

  14-10-2016 13:57
  
  NEW ORLEANS -A 3-year-old boy dies when his grandmother's gun accidentally discharges underneath her pillow in her New Orleans home, hitting the boy in the chest. A 2-year-old boy accidentally shoots and kills his own father inside their Alabama home.New data compiled and analyzed by The Associated Press and the USA TODAY Network shows that such cases are tragically common: A child is shot to death every other day somewhere in America, on average. Accidental shootings involving children are part
  
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• There is a shortage of FEMA trailers in La.

  14-10-2016 13:46
  
  CENTRAL - State and Louisiana-elected federal leaders are frustrated with word that FEMA is scrambling to find more Mobile Housing Units; the common house trailers that have been towed to flood victims across the region.Central Mayor Jr. Shelton told WBRZ Friday, an early-morning meeting with FEMA is where information was revealed that there is a shortage of trailer inventory in Louisiana. More of the units, labeled "MHUs" for short, could be trucked in from Texas.  FEMA told W
  
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• FEMA might be running out of MHUs for flood victims

  14-10-2016 13:46
  
  CENTRAL - State and Louisiana-elected federal leaders are frustrated with word that FEMA is running out of Mobile Housing Units; the common house trailers that have been towed to flood victims across the region.A source with knowledge of the news told WBRZ Friday, an early-morning meeting with FEMA is where information was revealed that there is a shortage of trailer inventory in Louisiana. More of the units, labeled "MHUs" for short, could be trucked in from Texas. Though, Congressman Garret Gr
  
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• Dirty water in small Livingston Parish system

  14-10-2016 13:41
  
  ALBANY- Four-hundred families who use a small water system in Livingston Parish dealt with brown drinking water this week. One of those customers Lacie Dorris said it's not uncommon to have dirty water or to be notified there's a problem."We spend more money a month on filtration and bottled water than our water bill," said Dorris.She's one of about 1400 customers with the Livingston Parish Fourth Ward Water Association. It's president Sid Kinchen said the small association can only afford part-
  
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• US Death Toll From Hurricane Matthew Climbs to 42

  14-10-2016 13:29
  
  Hurricane Matthew continues to claim more victims.This morning Virginia officials confirmed to ABC News the state's second storm-related death, saying that a Suffolk man who disappeared during Hurricane Matthew was found dead on Oct. 12.The U.S. death toll from Matthew has now climbed to 42 as five states are still reeling more than a week after the storm ravaged the South.Hard-hit communities are now focused on re-building and overcoming extreme flooding.In some areas of North Carolina, floodwa
  
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• 2010 suspect in high-profile murder cleared to face death penalty

  14-10-2016 13:21
  
  BATON ROUGE - A judge found the man suspected of a 2010 high-profile murder in Beauregard Town isn't intellectually disabled, clearing the way for a death penalty case.The judge ruled Friday morning in the motions hearing dealing with Aramis Jackson. Jackson is the lone suspect in the killing of Alexandra Engler, 42, and the shooting injury of her daughter, Ariana. Jackon's DNA was found at the scene, investigators said. Early on, investigators said Jackson was after a TV in Engler's house. The
  
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• Man escapes Shreveport Police custody at University Health

  14-10-2016 13:13
  
  SHREVEPORT – Shreveport Police are searching for a prisoner who managed to escape from custody early Friday morning while being transported to University Health.Police are searching for 24-year-old Ralphell Young around the hospital area. Police say that Young escaped on Friday around 3:30 a.m. He was last seen wearing a Shreveport City Jail orange jumpsuit.
  Young is described as being 5'10'' to 5'11'' in height, 190 pounds and has a tattoo on his neck. He has a possible address at a h
  
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• Tax bill assessments delayed until February due to flood

  14-10-2016 13:03
  
  BATON ROUGE – The East Baton Rouge Tax Assessor has announced that due to the August flood some tax assessments are null and void and will require reassessment, delaying when residents will receive them. At this time, the tax assessor anticipates that reassessments will be completed by the first part of February 2017. The Tax Assessor has up to an additional 6 months to complete the property reassessments following the flooding.Upon completion, the tax assessor will d
  
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• Man on the run after robbing Gonzales auto parts store

  14-10-2016 13:03
  
  GONZALES – Deputies in Ascension Parish are searching for a Baton Rouge man who robbed an Advance Auto Parts store in Gonzales Thursday.According to the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office, the robbery happened at the Advanced Auto Parts on Highway 44 just before 9 p.m.Chief Deputy Bobby Webre said 38-year-old Derick Shelbia robbed the store at gunpoint and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.Deputies were able to locate Shelbia on a nearby street, but he fled prompting a p
  
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• Audit: despite promise, Trump made No 9/11 donations in year after attack

  14-10-2016 12:45
  
  NEW YORK - The New York City Comptroller’s Office has found no evidence that Donald Trump donated to 9/11 charities in the months after the attacks, the agency said.Trump had promised weeks after the 2001 attack to donate $10,000 to the Twin Towers Fund as part of a charity effort by “The Howard Stern Show.”“My office has reviewed the donations made in the nearly 12 months following the attacks – and we didn’t find evidence tha
  
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• Three women arrested for Medicaid fraud

  14-10-2016 12:43
  
  BATON ROUGE – The attorney general announced the arrests of three Louisiana women on Medicaid fraud charges.Kaitlyn Hamilton, 30, along with 49-year-old Kerri Morrison, were arrested for submitting falsified service documents. Additionally, 49-year-old Jennifer Franklin was arrested for submitting time sheets and service logs for a patient she did not provide services to.All three were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish prison on the above charges.To report Medicaid fraud or abuse
  
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• Mom: 'Uncertainty' after surgery on twins joined at head

  14-10-2016 12:34
  
  NEW YORK - The mother of a set of conjoined twins who were attached at the head says they have been separated following a procedure at a New York City hospital.Nicole McDonald wrote in a Friday morning Facebook post that her 13-month old sons, Jadon and Anias, were separated following 16 hours of surgery at Montefiore Medical Center. She later posted a picture of Jadon alone in a hospital bed. She said Anias was still undergoing surgery.McDonald describes the atmosphere as "one of celebration mi
  
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• Doctors successfully separate twin boys joined at the head

  14-10-2016 12:34
  
  NEW YORK - Forty medical experts at a New York hospital have worked for 20 hours to successfully separate conjoined twins attached at the head.Officials at Brooklyn's Montefiore Medical Center say 13-month-old boys Jadon and Anias McDonald are recovering after the marathon procedure, which ended Friday before dawn.Hospital officials say the twins have "a long road of recovery and rehabilitation ahead of them."The twins' mother, Nicole McDonald, posted a picture of the first twin on Facebook whil
  
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• Effort to strip Confederate emblem off Mississippi flag is failing

  14-10-2016 12:31
  
  JACKSON - An effort to erase the Confederate battle emblem from Mississippi's flag is failing because sponsors haven't collected enough signatures to put an initiative on the 2018 ballot.The petition drive started in response to the June 2015 slayings of nine black worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and was part of a movement across the South to rethink the public display of Confederate images.It appears certain to end Friday with insufficient signatures.Mississippi has had t
  
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• Lawsuit highlights difficulties for lesser-known candidates

  14-10-2016 09:41
  
  BATON ROUGE - Three candidates trying to force their way into a TV debate in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race weren't successful. But their court hearing this week underscored the troubles for lesser-known contenders to gain the attention needed to win statewide.Judge Tim Kelley refused to stop the Oct. 18 debate or to force Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Council for A Better Louisiana to add any other candidates.But the hearing into the injunction request from Senate candidate Troy Hebert, B
  
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• US removes limits on bringing in Cuban rum, cigars

  14-10-2016 09:03
  
  The Obama administration says it is eliminating a $100 limit on the value of Cuban rum and cigars that American travelers can bring back from the island.Cuban rum and cigars will now be subject to the same duties as alcohol and tobacco from other countries, meaning most people will be able to bring back as many as 100 cigars and several bottles of rum. High-end Cuban cigars can sell for more than $100 apiece outside Cuba, meaning every U.S. traveler can now legally bring back many thousands of d
  
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• City-Parish urging residents to check contractors are licensed

  14-10-2016 08:55
  
  BATON ROUGE – City-Parish officials are urging residents to use licensed contractors and to check their credentials before they perform their construction work as repairs and rebuilding are in full swing following the August flood.To determine whether or not a contractor is licensed, residents can go to the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors website here or by using the app and clicking on the "Contractor Search" button. Residents can search for the contr
  
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• 2 boys accused of causing extensive damage to graves

  14-10-2016 08:38
  
  INDEPENDENCE - Two boys have been accused of vandalizing dozens of graves in an Independence cemetery.The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office says both children, ages 14 and 12, were arrested on multiple charges involving damage caused at Colonial Cemetery on Wednesday.Arriving deputies found more than 50 grave sites desecrated, 32 of them broken into and seven structures housing human ashes opened and dumped onto the concrete walkway.Sheriff's office spokeswoman Dawn Panepinto says numerous pers
  
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• Teens in clown mask accused of trying to scare people

  14-10-2016 08:33
  
  MANDEVILLE - Police in Mandeville have accused two teenagers of trying to scare people while wearing a clown mask.An arrest report shows 18-year-old Ryan Bailey of Mandeville and a 16-year-old were given a summons Wednesday for wearing prohibited masks in public places.The report shows officers received a call about scary clowns in a car frightening people. According to the report, one clown would get out of the passenger side of the car and try to scare people.Arriving officers spotted the car
  
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• Honda recalling 2016 Civic for faulty parking brakes

  14-10-2016 06:59
  
  DETROIT - Honda Motor Co. is recalling 350,000 Civics in the U.S. because their parking brakes may not function properly.Civic coupes and sedans from the 2016 model year are affected by the recall. The recall only impacts Civics sold in the U.S.Honda says the electric parking brake may not work if it's applied immediately after turning the ignition off. If it can't be applied, the "brake" warning light will blink in the instrument panel.If the parking brake isn't working and the driver doesn't s
  
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• United Airlines systems outage causes delays globally

  14-10-2016 06:56
  
  LONDON - United Airlines has suffered an hours-long problem with its computer systems that resulted in delays and cancellations globally.Passengers travelling last night and early today took to social media to complain about delays as long as six hours.United posted a statement on its Twitter account saying "we're aware of an issue with our system & are working to resolve it." By 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT), United officials claimed to have fixed it and said delayed flights were resuming.Flight tr
  
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• Thailand king dies at age 88

  14-10-2016 06:54
  
  BANGKOK - A public holiday has been declared for today in Thailand, following Thursday's death of 88-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch.The holiday was declared after people already had left for work. And the stock market and banks remained open, as did Thai embassies worldwide.But the government has urged people to refrain from organizing entertainment events for a month.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Kendall Jenner testifies against stalker

  14-10-2016 06:52
  
  LOS ANGELES - Kendall Jenner says she was terrified when a man followed her up the driveway of her Hollywood Hills home - and began banging on the window of her car. The reality TV star testified yesterday at the trial of a man accused of stalking her. Jenner also testified that the defendant, Shavaughn McKenzie, was the same person who accosted her twice while she was driving outside a condo she owns elsewhere in the Los Angeles area. McKenzie could get up to six months in jail if convicted of
  
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• Melania Trump threatens to sue People Magazine

  14-10-2016 06:49
  
  WASHINGTON - Melania Trump says portions of a People Magazine story alleging a sexual assault by her husband are "false and completely fictionalized." She is demanding a retraction and apology and threatening to sue the publication.The story was a first-person account by Natasha Stoynoff of an interview she did with Donald and Melania Trump at their home in Mar-a-Lago. Stoynoff says that when Melania Trump left the room, her husband pushed Stoynoff against a wall and sexually assaulted her. The
  
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• Judge refuses to cancel or change Senate debate

  14-10-2016 04:14
  
  BATON ROUGE - The first statewide TV debate in Louisiana's U.S. Senate race will go on as planned - without a judge adding anyone to the participant list.Judge Tim Kelley refused Thursday to stop the debate or to force Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Council for A Better Louisiana to add candidate Troy Hebert to the Oct. 18 debate stage.Hebert, a former state lawmaker running without party affiliation, filed a lawsuit challenging the criteria as unfair. Two other candidates who didn't make
  
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• Airlines add 'fire containment bags' for overheating phones

  14-10-2016 04:12
  
  NEW YORK - Some airlines are taking extra steps to prevent a disaster in case a passenger's device powered by a lithium ion battery catches fire during flight.At least three U.S. airlines are adding new fire-suppression equipment to fleets in case a cell phone or laptop battery overheats, catches on fire and can't be extinguished.The issue has taken on new urgency following incidents of overheating Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones, including one on a Southwest Airlines flight earlier this month.The
  
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• Florida IDs new Miami neighborhood as Zika zone

  14-10-2016 04:11
  
  MIAMI - Florida health officials have identified another Miami neighborhood where mosquitoes have spread the Zika virus to people.Gov. Rick Scott's office announced Thursday that five people have been infected with Zika in a 1-square-mile area of the city just north of the Little Haiti neighborhood.According to the statement, four of the cases were previously announced by Florida's Department of Health as being under investigation. The fifth case was confirmed Thursday. Scott's office says that
  
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• Samsung says Note 7 recall to cost another $3 billion

  14-10-2016 04:06
  
  SEOUL, South Korea - Samsung Electronics says the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7 would cost the company about $3 billion during the current and next quarters.The company says the Note 7 discontinuation will cost in the mid-2 trillion won range during the October-December period and another 1 trillion won ($884 million) during the January-March quarter.Samsung has already slashed its third-quarter profit forecast by $2.3 billion earlier this week, an amount that could wipe out its entire mo
  
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