Baton Rouge news

• Baton Rouge police, sheriff overtime reached $1.6 million after Alton Sterling, police shootings

  28-10-2016 21:32
  
  More than half of the overtime pay costs will be covered by a federal grant.
  
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• Court: Law can shield priests from reporting abuse evidence

  28-10-2016 20:01
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's Supreme Court has ruled that a priest is not required by law to notify authorities after hearing evidence of abuse from a child making a religious confession.Friday's ruling deals with a section of Louisiana law requiring health workers, teachers, clergy and others to report evidence of child abuse to authorities. A lower court held the law unconstitutional because it would force priests to violate their religious beliefs by reporting information from confessions.But th
  
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• Clinton calls on FBI to release info on emails

  28-10-2016 19:24
  
  WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton is calling on the FBI to release more information about its review of emails that may be related to its investigation into her private server.Clinton says "Let's get it out."The Democratic presidential candidate says the American people deserve to have as much information as possible before they vote Nov. 8.Clinton says she's confident investigators won't find information that would cause the FBI to change its decision to close the investigation without filing charge
  
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• BRFD responds to house fire on Pembroke Street

  28-10-2016 18:39
  
  BATON ROUGE – Firefighters responded to reports of a house fire on Pembroke Street in Baton Rouge Friday afternoon.The fire call was issued after 6:20 p.m. at the intersection of 72nd Street and Pembroke Street. Curte Monte with the Baton Rouge Fire Department said upon arrival, about one fourth of the trailer was on fire. Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the fire, Monte said.According to officials, the cause of the fire is still undetermined, but investigators do not suspe
  
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• LSU: Medical marijuana available summer 2018, at earliest

  28-10-2016 16:54
  
  BATON ROUGE - LSU's planned medical marijuana growing operation doesn't expect patients seeking the drug to have access until the summer of 2018, at the earliest.Bill Richardson, LSU's vice president for agriculture, led an AgCenter forum Friday to update the public - including potential contractors and business partners - about plans to start growing the medicinal plant.The university isn't using state funds to produce medical marijuana, so the AgCenter is looking for outside investors to subco
  
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• $1M to help cover Baton Rouge police costs after shootings

  28-10-2016 16:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge law enforcement agencies are receiving a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to help cover summer overtime costs from recent shootings and protests.Overtime for the agencies spiked after the shooting death of a black man, Alton Sterling, by white police officers sparked protests around the city in July - and in response to the ambush-style killings of three law enforcement officers days later.The Legislature's joint budget committee agreed Friday to acc
  
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• OMV offering drivers payment plans

  28-10-2016 16:35
  
  BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles is offering eligible drivers the ability to enter into installment agreements to pay off debt they owe to the office.Drivers would still be able to have their driving privileges while participating in the installment agreement.Installment agreements can only be done in OMV offices located in Shreveport, Bossier City, Monroe, Lake Charles, Leesville, Lafayette, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Slidell, Livingston, New Orleans – Vete
  
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• No injuries after Kaufman Street home burns to the ground

  28-10-2016 16:27
  
  BATON ROUGE – No one was injured after a house fire on Kaufman Street in Baton Rouge Friday.First responders tell WBRZ that early reports show that the home will be considered a complete loss. The house next to the destroyed home also sustained some damage.Photos from the scene show Baton Rouge firefighters spraying the charred remains of the home. The home received flood damages during the August flood and was undergoing renovations.   Details about the fire
  
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• Edwards administration warning $313M budget gap could grow

  28-10-2016 16:14
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards' chief budget architect says he fears Louisiana won't meet its income forecast this year, heaping new financial problems on a state already facing a $313 million deficit from last year.Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne told state lawmakers Friday that economists have been tracking tax collections this year. And he says: "It's not looking real good."The Edwards administration notified the joint House and Senate budget committee that the state closed t
  
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• FAA reports minor injuries in Chicago plane fire

  28-10-2016 16:09
  
  CHICAGO - A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman says an unknown number of minor injuries have been reported after an American Airlines plane caught fire and passengers evacuated on the runway at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro initially said no one was hurt but later said minor injuries were reported. He said he could not give an exact number.Molinaro says the pilot aborted takeoff and everyone evacuated. Television reports showed a large plume o
  
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• Suspect booked in Snapchat police chase, officer-involved shooting

  28-10-2016 16:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - Wearing a hospital gown and a sling holding his arm, Devonte Stewart was escorted from an interrogation room at State Police headquarters to a waiting police car where he'll be transported to jail for charges related to an officer-involved shooting and police chase this week.Stewart is accused of trying to ram Southern University Police officers Wednesday night when they tried to stop him for being at a dorm where he had been banned. Police said since Stewart used his car as a weap
  
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• Two men wanted for Brightside Drive Circle K armed robbery

  28-10-2016 15:35
  
  BATON ROUGE – Two men are on the run after robbing a Circle K on Brightside Drive early Friday morning.According to Baton Rouge Police, the two men entered the store wearing bandanna masks and brandishing a handgun. The men grabbed money from the register and fled on foot.Detectives described the first suspect as a black male in his mid 20’s with shoulder length dreadlocks with light brown tips. The second suspect is a black male, also in his mid 20’s, with a low ha
  
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• Couple's daughter finds mom shot, dad dead in attempted murder-suicide

  28-10-2016 15:32
  
  PONCHATOULA - Police here spent Friday investigating a suspected attempted murder-suicide.Police said Jamey Edwards, 41, shot his wife before shooting himself inside their home on East I-55 Service Road. The woman, Crystal Hope Moore, survived the shooting. Jamey Edwards died, police told the Hammond newspaper, Daily Star.Investigators said the couple's 21-year-old daughter made the discovery around 9:17 a.m. Friday. The shooting happened a few hours after a similar one in Baton Rouge.Police sai
  
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• Former EBR Parish attorney denied new trial

  28-10-2016 14:48
  
  BATON ROUGE - Former East Baton Rouge Parish Attorney Mary Roper lost an appeal in her attempt to get a new trial in a defamation case against Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Chandler Loupe and the city-parish.In her original suit Roper claimed Loupe made false statements about her eventually causing the Metro Council to fire her as Parish Attorney.
  Roper’s petition detailed animosity that she says began in November 2008 with Loupe acting “out of malice and in retaliation&rd
  
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• FBI investigating new Clinton emails

  28-10-2016 14:44
  
  WASHINGTON - The FBI is telling Congress it is investigating whether new emails that may contain classified information have emerged in its probe of Hillary Clinton's private server. The FBI said in July its investigation was finished.The disclosure raises the possibility of the FBI reopening the criminal investigation involving the Democratic presidential nominee just days before the election. Clinton's campaign didn't immediately respond.In a letter sent Friday to congressional leaders, FBI Di
  
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• Jury awards more than $70M to woman in baby powder lawsuit

  28-10-2016 13:24
  
  ST. LOUIS - A St. Louis jury has awarded a California woman more than $70 million in her lawsuit alleging that years of using Johnson & Johnson's baby powder caused her cancer, the latest case raising concerns about the health ramifications of extended talcum powder use.The jury ruling Thursday ended the trial that began Sept. 26 in the case brought by Deborah Giannecchini of Modesto, California. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2012. The suit accused Johnson & Johnson of "neglig
  
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• Community forums to be held on police policy

  28-10-2016 12:23
  
  BATON ROUGE – The City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge will be hosting community forums to discuss and review police policy and provide recommendations for a community action plan.Topics of discussion include community policing, police accountability, body cameras, police civil service rules as well as training, recruitment, retention, residency requirements and pay incentives.The forums will be held on Nov. 1 and Nov. 3 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Baton Rouge River Center i
  
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• Man arrested for double shooting outside of club on North Foster Drive

  28-10-2016 09:37
  
  BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge Police detectives have arrested a man responsible for a double shooting that took place outside of a North Foster Drive night club on Sunday.38-year-old Mack Arthur Smith has been arrested for principal to second degree murder after he shot and killed Christopher Edwards on Oct. 23 around 1:30 a.m. at The Executive Club on North Foster Drive. A woman was also struck and transported to an area hospital where she is expected to live.Detectives were able to get v
  
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• Detectives still searching for one man in North Foster Drive club shooting

  28-10-2016 09:37
  
  BATON ROUGE – Detectives say one man has been arrested and another is on the run after a double shooting outside a North Foster Drive nightclub Sunday.38-year-old Mack Arthur Smith has been arrested for principal to second degree murder after he shot and killed Christopher Edwards on Oct. 23 around 1:30 a.m. at The Executive Club on North Foster Drive. A woman was also struck and transported to an area hospital where she is expected to live.Detectives were able to get video su
  
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• Family sues Amazon over hoverboard that burned $1M house

  28-10-2016 09:02
  
  NASHVILLE - A family is suing Amazon for selling a hoverboard blamed for starting a fire that burned their $1 million home in Nashville.The Fox family's lawsuit says Amazon had information about the dangers of the product before the Jan. 9 fire.The lawsuit was filed in Davidson County Circuit Court late Wednesday. It targets 10 defendants, including Amazon and retailers on its website.The lawsuit says the listed seller of the hoverboard, "W-Deals," is a sham business registered to a New York Cit
  
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• Cost of Interstate 49 near downtown Lafayette: $355-$668M

  28-10-2016 07:38
  
  LAFAYETTE - Depending on the design, a 1.5-mile section of proposed Interstate 49 near downtown Lafayette will cost between $355 million and $668 million.The I-49 Community Working Group received that news Thursday evening from consultants working on the I-49 connector project for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.Several design concepts for the section of interstate were eliminated in August, leaving two series of designs, one featuring an elevated interstate with sligh
  
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• ExxonMobil at full production at aviation lubricants plant

  28-10-2016 07:37
  
  PORT ALLEN - Exxon Mobil Corp. has hit full production at its Port Allen aviation engine lubricants plant.The company says the plant is part of a $200 million investment to expand the company's chemical and lubricants complex in Baton Rouge.The 90,000-square-foot lubricants blending, packaging and distribution facility started shipping product worldwide in August after receiving regulatory approvals.Nancy Carlson, vice president of aviation and marine at ExxonMobil Fuels and Lubricants, said the
  
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• Woman rams squad car while taking topless selfie

  28-10-2016 07:31
  
  BRYAN, Texas - Police say a 19-year-old Texas A&M University student who rear-ended a squad car told an officer she was taking a topless selfie.Miranda Kay Rader posted $200 bond after she was charged with drunken driving and possessing alcohol as a minor.A police report says an officer was checking a reported disturbance when he heard brakes squeal and an SUV slam into the patrol car behind him. Rader told the officer she was taking a topless selfie of herself to Snapchat to her boyfriend.P
  
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• Deep South drought kills crops, threatens herds, dries lakes

  28-10-2016 06:52
  
  ATLANTA - Six months into a drought across much of the South, the weather is killing crops, threatening cattle and sinking lakes to their lowest levels in years.The very worst conditions are in the mountains of northern Alabama and Georgia. But it's spread downhill and across 13 southern states, from Oklahoma and Texas to Florida and Virginia, putting about 33 million people in drought conditions, according to Thursday's U.S. Drought Monitor.It's also causing wildfires, charring more than 12,000
  
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• Philippine leader Duterte says God told him to stop cursing

  28-10-2016 06:49
  
  MANILA, Philippines - The foul-mouthed Philippine president, who once called the pope a "son of a bitch" and told Barack Obama to "go to hell," says he has promised to God he won't spew expletives again.President Rodrigo Duterte's foul mouth has become a trademark of his political persona as he peppered his speeches with profanities.Duterte says that while flying home from a state visit to Japan, he was looking at the sky while everyone was sound asleep and he heard a voice that said "'if you do
  
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• DA to seek death penalty against suspect in stabbing death

  28-10-2016 03:27
  
  GRETNA - A Jefferson Parish grand jury has indicted a man accused of stabbing a restaurant manager to death during a June robbery on first-degree murder charges and the district attorney's office says it will seek the death penalty.District Attorney Paul Connick, in a statement Thursday, said he came to that decision regarding 23-year-old Joshua Every after meeting with the victim's family and consulting with staff.Every and three others are charged in the death of 21-year-old Taylor Friloux, wh
  
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• New rules aim to help students clear loans in cases of fraud

  28-10-2016 03:18
  
  BOSTON - The Obama administration is issuing new rules meant to help students get their federal loans erased in cases where there's been fraud and misconduct by their schools.The Education Department drew up the new rules in response to thousands of claims from former students of the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges chain, which closed or sold all of its campuses last year amid allegations of fraud.The rules set forth the conditions under which students can have their loans erased and put college
  
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• Pence plane slides off runway, no injures

  28-10-2016 03:17
  
  NEW YORK - New York authorities say Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence's campaign plane slid off a runway during a rainstorm at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Thursday.Those aboard said the approach was bumpy and that the plane hit the runway hard before careening into a grassy area. They smelled burning rubber when it was over.Airport officials say the plane was slowed by crushable concrete safety barriers designed to slow aircraft that overshoot the runway.When the plane came
  
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• Alabama's defense faces different test in Fournette, LSU

  28-10-2016 03:14
  
  MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama's defense has changed with the times.The top-ranked Crimson Tide still has 300-pounders clogging the line of scrimmage, but nowadays the biggest stars are the hard-to-block pass rushers like Jonathan Allen, mobile linebacker Reuben Foster and cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick.It's a group tailor made for stopping all those hurry-up, spread-you-out offenses pervading college football while still defending the run as well as any team in the nation. Alabama has an open date t
  
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• Saints' Unger valued in New Orleans, missed in Seattle

  28-10-2016 03:07
  
  METAIRIE - New Orleans Saints center Max Unger finally gets to play against a defense he knows so well in a game that counts."It's just a lot of memories of playing the defense in practice," Unger said when asked what he finds most compelling about the chance to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, the team with which he spent his first six NFL seasons.Unger, who was popular both in the Seahawks' locker room and with Seattle fans, concedes that he was caught off guard by the 2015 trade that
  
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• Louisiana budget deficit to hit $313 million -- bigger than previously thought, meaning more cuts

  28-10-2016 00:02
  
  Higher education and health care service could have to go through another round of cuts
  
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