Baton Rouge news

• Police: Uber driver kidnapped, assaulted passenger in Maryland

  29-10-2016 20:23
  
  COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Police say an Uber driver is facing kidnapping and assault charges after taking an unconscious female passenger to a Maryland hotel.Prince George's County Police said Uber driver Westagne Pierre picked up a female passenger at a bar in the District of Columbia and took her to a hotel about 10 miles northeast in College Park instead of dropping her off at home in Virginia. At the hotel, police say Pierre carried the woman from the car into a hotel room.The Washington Post repo
  
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• One person shot in leg on Ozark Street

  29-10-2016 19:58
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police say one person was shot in the leg on Ozark Street in Baton Rouge Saturday.The shooting happened at the intersection of Ozark Street and North Acadian Thruway shortly after 7:30 p.m. Saturday. According to Baton Rouge Police Sgt. L'Jean Mckneely Jr, the Major Assaults Division was called to the scene.Mckneely said the preliminary information indicates that the victim did not suffer live threatening injuries. Details about the shooting are still limited at
  
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• WWII museum adds senior historian to staff

  29-10-2016 15:36
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The National WWII Museum in New Orleans says it has hired a senior historian designed to strengthen its research and education endeavors.The museum says in a news release that Robert M. Citino has held positions at the University of North Texas, Eastern Michigan University, Lake Erie College, the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Army War College.He's also published nine books and numerous articles on World War II and other 20th century military subjects.One of Citino's areas of e
  
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• Angelle expected a lock on runoff spot in 3rd District race

  29-10-2016 15:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, the third-place finisher in last year's governor's race, is expected to easily reach the runoff for Louisiana's open 3rd District U.S. House seat in the Nov. 8 election.But it's not clear who he'll face in that December runoff.Angelle, a well-known Republican, has been the race's front-runner among the dozen candidates vying for the seat. He's raised from donors nearly as much as all his competitors combined.Considered possibilities for re
  
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• Autopsy: Marlins pitcher had cocaine, alcohol in his system

  29-10-2016 14:33
  
  MIAMI - Toxicology reports show Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez had cocaine and alcohol in his system when his boat crashed into a Miami Beach jetty.The cause of death was listed as "boat crash" in the autopsy report released Saturday by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner's Office.Associate Medical Examiner Kenneth Hutchins wrote in the report that the 24-year-old Fernandez had suffered blunt force injuries to his head and body.The Sept. 25 crash killed Fernandez and two of his friends,
  
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• Russia blames US for near-collision of planes over Syria

  29-10-2016 14:28
  
  MOSCOW - A Russian military spokesman is blaming the United States for a near-collision of the countries' warplanes in Syrian airspace.Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement Saturday that the Oct. 17 incident involved a Sukhoi-35, Russia's most advanced fighter jet, and an American E-3 radar plane near the city of Deir al-Zour. Konashenkov said Russia had informed the U.S. military of the Su-35's intent to fly in the area.But , Konashenkov says the American plane unexpectedly descend
  
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• Witnesses: Bomb blasts kill 8 in northeastern Nigerian city

  29-10-2016 14:17
  
  MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Witnesses say twin explosions from suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed at least eight people in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri.The first blast outside a refugee camp came around 7 a.m.Witness Inuwe Sula says he saw six bodies evacuated near Bakassi refugee camp and several wounded survivors "drenched with blood."Civilian self-defense fighter Dan Batta says two suicide bombers tried to enter the camp that holds more than 16,000 refugees from Boko Haram'
  
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• Intoxicated driver involved in fatal pedestrian crash early Saturday morning

  29-10-2016 14:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man died after being struck by a vehicle while attempting to cross Florida Blvd. early Saturday morning.Officials said William Thompson, 48, was attempting to walk across Florida Blvd. around 3 a.m. when he was struck by a vehicle. Arrest records note that Thompson was killed instantly. The driver of the vehicle, Quentis Johnson, 36, was intoxicated and speeding at the time of the incident, officials said. Police observed Johnson with slurred speech, swaying balance and
  
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• No clear path forward on Louisiana budget deficit yet

  29-10-2016 14:00
  
  It's not even clear how big the problem is at this point.
  
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• Found emails? Clinton aide didn't delete old messages

  29-10-2016 13:49
  
  WASHINGTON - The longtime Hillary Clinton aide at the center of a renewed FBI email investigation testified under oath four months ago she never deleted old emails.Huma Abedin also promised in 2013 not to take sensitive files when she left the State Department.FBI Director James Comey notified Congress on Friday the emails had led agents to re-examine whether classified information was mishandled.That was the focus of its earlier criminal inquiry into Clinton's use of a private email server.The
  
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• AgCenter: Weather-related losses hurt sweet potato farmers

  29-10-2016 13:22
  
  CHASE - Louisiana sweet potato growers are experiencing a tough harvest period following record rains that hit the state in August.Myrl Sistrunk, LSU AgCenter extension associate in Chase, an unincorporated community in Franklin Parish, said in a news release many growers in north Louisiana took a double hit from wet weather, first in March and again in August.Sistrunk says the wet weather in the spring had a negative impact on the planting, and the August and early September rains are causing l
  
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• Investigators assess FedEx plane after Florida airport fire

  29-10-2016 13:01
  
  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Officials say National Transportation Safety Board investigators have arrived at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, where a cargo plane caught fire upon landing.Broward County Aviation Department spokesman Greg Meyer told The Miami Herald (http://hrld.us/2f0keqE ) the airport's north runway would remain closed while investigators assess the FedEx plane.The airport's south runway has reopened. Officials said there were 43 delayed flights and six cancelled fli
  
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• Choice Aire to begin New Orleans, Honduras non-stop service

  29-10-2016 12:51
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Choice Aire will begin year-round, non-stop service from New Orleans to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, beginning in mid-December.Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport says the new flight will begin Dec. 17. Acting Director of Aviation Walter Krygowski says the addition gives the airport non-stop service to seven international destinations.Choice Aire, operated by XTRA Airways, will use a 150-seat Boeing 737-400 for the approximately three-hour flight. Round-trip fares start
  
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• Traffic trouble for small businesses as Coursey Blvd construction begins

  29-10-2016 12:29
  
  BATON ROUGE – The Jones Creek Café and Oyster Bar on Market Street sits right in the middle of the new construction project on Coursey Blvd.The road is shut down at Jones Creek Road for 12 days to add double left turn lanes. During that time, city leaders promised that access to local businesses would not be interrupted.The owner of the Jones Creek Café said construction is causing a traffic jam and turning away business.“Last night we looked at our figu
  
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