Baton Rouge news

• 2 shot on Eddie Robinson Sr. Drive; non-life threatening injuries

  23-11-2016 19:30
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police are investigating a shooting that left two men with non-life threatening injuries Wednesday.A BRPD spokesperson says the shooting occured around 6:00 p.m. in the 800 block of Eddie Robinson Sr. Drive near South Blvd.Police say 2 men were shot. Both had non-life threatening injuries. One was transported to the hospital, while the other was treated on scene and refused additional medical assistance.This is a developing story. Check back for any updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• McKinley High football player recovering after drive-by shooting

  23-11-2016 18:50
  
  BATON ROUGE- McKinley High School quarterback Bryant Lee was home Wednesday recovering from a gunshot wound to the leg according to family. The 17-year-old was standing in front of a house with friends Tuesday night on 73rd Avenue in North Baton Rouge when the drive-by occurred.The homeowner, Sheree Harris said her house was the likely target and Lee was in the wrong place at the wrong time. "The young men who did the shooting saw the group in front of my house and started firing," she said.Harr
  
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• Trump calls for unity in Thanksgiving address

  23-11-2016 18:07
  
  WASHINGTON -President-elect Donald Trump is calling for unity in a Thanksgiving address posted on social media.In the message released Wednesday, Trump says the nation has just finished a "long and bruising" campaign and that "tensions don't just heal overnight."Trump says he is praying that on Thanksgiving the country will "begin to heal our divisions and move forward strengthened by shared purpose."He adds that with the political campaign over, it's time for a "great national campaign to rebui
  
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• Kid charged with lighting school on fire

  23-11-2016 17:56
  
  BATON ROUGE - A teenager has been arrested for setting fire to a flood-damaged school last week, the fire department announced Wednesday evening.The teen, who was not being identified because of his age, set Brookstown Middle Magnet on fire November 18th. The two-alarm fire caused $495,000 in damages to the school's structure and contents. Investigators identified the boy, who is 14, on surveillance video and arrested him November 23.The school had been vacant since the August flood and no stude
  
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• McKinley alumni cook for flood victims ahead of Thanksgiving

  23-11-2016 17:37
  
  BATON ROUGE - Many flood victims are still sleeping in hotels this holiday season and don't have access to a kitchen to cook their Thanksgiving turkeys.So instead, the McKinley High School class of 1997 cooked for about 300 people Wednesday at the Red Roof Inn.The grill was fired up around 11 a.m. Darick Washington, the manager of Red Roof Inn and member of the McKinley class of 1997 says they're doing their part."They've been going through a whole lot, you know, these past 90 days," he said. "W
  
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• Edwards, family move back into Louisiana Governor's Mansion

  23-11-2016 17:30
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and his family have moved back into the Governor's Mansion after three months of being displaced by the August flooding in Baton Rouge.The flood waters damaged security and heating and air-conditioning units kept in the basement of the 53-year-old residence. The Edwards family had hoped to be back in the mansion by the Thanksgiving holiday. They had been staying in a Louisiana State Police facility in East Baton Rouge Parish while repairs were made.
  
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• Four workers remain in critical condition after Exxon fire

  23-11-2016 16:47
  
  BATON ROUGE- Four workers burned during a fire at Exxon refinery Tuesday remain in critical condition at the Baton Rouge General Burn Unit.
  Exxon is mum on what caused the fire.
  A watchdog group over the petro chemical industry is blasting Exxon tonight. That group is making bold claims saying Exxon isn't saying much because it doesn't want the public to really know what happened yesterday.
  Raford Varnado was inside his home when his house shook.
  "I heard a big loud boom and it rattled the house
  
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• Men wanted following fight, shooting in Donaldsonville

  23-11-2016 16:18
  
  DONALDSONVILLE – Police are searching for two men following a fight that led to a shooting Monday in Donaldsonville.The Ascension Parish Sheriff's office is searching for Michael Lewis of Belle Rose and Joshua Hebert of Donaldsonville.The fight between the two took place on Monday, Nov. 21 near St. Patrick Street and Marchand Drive in Donaldsonville. Lewis began shooting at Hebert as he tried to flee from the scene.Lewis also fled the scene before deputies arrived.Lewis is wanted for a
  
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• Juban Crossing stores reopen in time for Black Friday

  23-11-2016 15:46
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Three months after the historic August flooding, stores in the Juban Crossing shopping center are opening for the second time."The irony in that is amazing," Belk store manager Joshua Ballay said. "We actually just opened this store 26 months ago, almost to the exact day."Juban Crossing took at much as four feet of water during the August flood. For the last three months, contractors have been working to get things back in place. According to Ballay, work to ge
  
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• President Obama pardons his last Thanksgiving turkeys

  23-11-2016 15:29
  
  WASHINGTON - It's another last-time for President Barack Obama -- who today took part in his final traditional pardoning of the national Thanksgiving turkey.And there was also a first -- with Obama's nephews standing in for daughters Malia and Sasha.The light-hearted ceremony in the Rose Garden also featured Iowa-raised turkeys Tater and Tot, with the latter receiving the formal reprieve."Freedom!" @POTUS says as "Tot" the turkey celebrates presidential pardon. https://t.co/bJStXpl94S pic.twitte
  
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• Early voting for Dec. 10 runoffs begin Saturday

  23-11-2016 14:19
  
  BATON ROUGE – Early voting for the December 10 general elections begins this Saturday.Statewide early voting will be last for one week starting Saturday, Nov. 26 through Saturday, Dec. 3. According to the Louisisana Secretary of State's Office, residents can vote at the Registrar of Voters office in each parish and at other designated locationd between 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.Click here to view polling locations or sample ballotsAmong local proposals and property taxes, voters will decide r
  
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• Memoir of slain soldier's father Khizr Khan to be published

  23-11-2016 13:51
  
  NEW YORK - Random House says it plans to publish a memoir by Khizr Khan, the immigrant from Pakistan who spoke at the Democratic National Convention about his Army captain son's combat death in Iraq and criticized the anti-Muslim rhetoric of then-Republican nominee Donald Trump.The company said Wednesday in a news release that the untitled memoir is to be published in the fall of 2017. It also said Khizr Khan's wife, Ghazala Khan, will contribute.In his convention speech, Khan told how his son,
  
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• Holiday traffic jams slow travel through Baton Rouge

  23-11-2016 13:20
  
  BATON ROUGE – Traffic slowed to a crawl Wednesday around lunchtime.The usual pre-Thanksgiving Day gridlock started around 11 a.m. when DOTD reported that the left lane of I-10 West on the Mississippi River Bridge was blocked due to an accident. Around 12:36 p.m., DOTD reported that all lanes opened but delays were too extensive to resolve themselves.  Quickly, traffic reached Siegen Lane on I-10 West and Airline Highway on I-12 West.  By the end of t
  
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• Edgar 'Dooky' Chase, of legendary N.O. restaurant family, dies at 88

  23-11-2016 12:41
  
  NEW ORLEANS – Edgar "Dooky" Chase, Jr. husband of Leah Chase who together built their famous New Orleans restaurant, has died. Chase was 88 years old.WWLTV reports that Mr's Chase's daughter, Stella Reese, said her father passed away Tuesday afternoon.Chase was the second child of Edgar Lawrence "Dooky" Sr. and Emily Tennette Chase. The family opened up the Treme sandwich shop in 1939, which is now known as a New Orleans staple to Creole cuisine. Leah Chase, Chase's wife, remains a con
  
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• Gissel endorses Sharon Weston Broome for Mayor-President

  23-11-2016 12:17
  
  BATON ROUGE – Former independent Mayoral candidate and businessman Darryl Gissel says he’s endorsing Sharon Weston Broome for mayor.Gissel made the announcement alongside Weston Broome Wednesday morning outside his downtown Baton Rouge office.“If we are going to serve the needs of our whole community, it is essential that we elect a Mayor-President who is an inclusive and unifying leader,” Gissel said. “That is why I ran for Mayor-Presid
  
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• 5 Trump business ties that pose conflicts

  23-11-2016 11:54
  
  NEW YORK - After Ivanka Trump appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes" wearing a $10,800 bracelet from her jewelry line, someone at her company sent photos from the interview to fashion writers to drum up free publicity. A firestorm of criticism erupted over the impropriety of profiting off the presidency, and the company apologized.If only the bracelet brouhaha was the end of it.Experts on government ethics are warning President-elect Donald Trump that he'll never shake suspicions of a clash between his
  
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• St. Vincent de Paul to host turkey carving contest

  23-11-2016 11:49
  
  BATON ROUGE – St. Vincent de Paul will host its 7th annual turkey carving contest.The contest features community leaders to see who is best at carving turkeys.This year's participants will feature District Attorney Hillar Moore, Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie, Constable Reginald Brown, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, LSU Head Gymnastics Coach D.D. Breaux and Councilwoman Tara Wicker.The event will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 p.m. at the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Room locate
  
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• Pumpkin-flinging TV special canceled after explosion, injury

  23-11-2016 11:49
  
  BRIDGEVILLE, Del. - The Science Channel has canceled its planned TV special on a Delaware pumpkin-launching competition after a woman was critically injured during the event earlier this month.Science Channel spokesman Paul Schur said in a statement that the network has canceled the Saturday night three-hour "Punkin Chunkin" special. The show was also going to air on the Discovery Channel.Delaware State Police said in a statement that an air cannon's trap door ripped off the machine after the ca
  
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• DA Hillar Moore crowned turkey carving champ

  23-11-2016 11:49
  
  BATON ROUGE – Judges determined that District Attorney Hillar Moore is the best at Thanksgiving turkey carving.Moore's carving skills won out over Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie, Constable Reginald Brown, Sheriff Sid Gautreaux, LSU Gymnastics head coach D.D. Breaux and Councilwoman Tara Wicker at St. Vincent de Paul's seventh anual turkey carving contest.The event took place Wednesday afternoon at the St. Vincent de Paul dining room located at 220 St. Vincent de Paul Place. The
  
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• Twitter accidentally suspends CEO Jack Dorsey's account

  23-11-2016 11:47
  
  SAN FRANCISCO - Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey says the social media platform accidentally suspended his account.Dorsey tweeted Tuesday night , "just setting up my twttr.again (account suspension was an internal mistake)." The post was an echo of his first-ever tweet , which came in 2006.San Francisco-based Twitter suspended the accounts of several prominent members of the so-called "alt-right" in an apparent crackown on accounts tied to hate speech or threats of violence. Twitter declin
  
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• PHOTOS: US Navy serves up turkey alongside sorties on Thanksgiving

  23-11-2016 11:43
  
  ABOARD THE USS EISENHOWER - While millions of Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with family and home-cooked meals, the 5,200 sailors aboard the USS Eisenhower are busy launching fighter jets to strike Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria.The crew is spending their second Thanksgiving on duty, and will be carving their own roasted turkeys when their duties aboard the thousand-foot long American aircraft carrier allow. Some will spend part of the day flying over the Middle East, dropping precisi
  
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• Premade Thanksgiving meals big seller for flood victims

  23-11-2016 11:30
  
  BATON ROUGE - If you are looking for a fried turkey, Chris Specialty Meats in Baton Rouge is sold out. No smoked hams either. The cornbread and rice dressings are also flying off the shelves. As for giblet gravy, forget about it."It's crazy" business owner Twyla Lachaussee said. "People are in coming all day long. It's great, but it's hectic and very busy."It's been non-stop business at the meat market since it opened this morning. The owner of the market says that's because of customers like Mi
  
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• Amazon removes negative reviews of Megyn Kelly's memoir

  23-11-2016 11:26
  
  Amazon has suppressed a number of negative reviews of Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly's new memoir.The Los Angeles Times reports more than 100 negative reviews of Kelly's "Settle For More" appeared on the online retail giant's site within hours of its release Nov. 15. The newspaper reports many of the comments came from a link from a pro-Trump Reddit forum.Seattle-based Amazon removed some reviews from users it couldn't verify had purchased the book.Company spokeswoman Angie Newman says in a stateme
  
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• Amazon flooded with negative reviews of Megyn Kelly's memoir

  23-11-2016 11:26
  
  Supporters of President-elect Donald Trump have flooded Amazon with negative reviews of Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly's new memoir.The Los Angeles Times reports over 100 negative reviews of Kelly's "Settle For More" appeared on the online retail giant's site within hours of its release Tuesday. The newspaper reports many of the negative comments came from a link from a pro-Trump Reddit forum.Kelly and Trump had a contentious relationship during the campaign.Tina Andreadis, an executive with the bo
  
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• World's tallest waterslide to be demolished after boy died

  23-11-2016 11:25
  
  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas water park operator says the world's tallest waterslide will be demolished following the death of a state lawmaker's 10-year-old son on the ride in August.Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts said in a statement Tuesday that the "Verruckt" ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kansas, will be permanently removed once an investigation into the Aug. 7 death of Caleb Thomas Schwab is complete.Two women also on the ride were injured.A person familiar with the inv
  
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• Trump stance on illegal immigration may aid private prisons

  23-11-2016 11:22
  
  BOISE, Idaho - President-elect Donald Trump's promise to deport millions of immigrants in the country illegally and his selection of tough-on-crime Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general could mean big money for the private prison industry.Some analysts believe the prison population could jump under the Trump administration, and the stock market seems to agree.A day after the election, CoreCivic Co., formerly Corrections Corporation of America, saw the biggest percentage gain on the New
  
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• Many Thanksgiving travelers hoping to leave politics behind

  23-11-2016 11:13
  
  CHICAGO - Many Americans are hitting the road for Thanksgiving, hoping to leave behind the rancorous election and focus on what unites them: family and tradition.AAA says almost 49 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more for the holiday, the most since 2007. For many, it will be the first time since the election of Donald Trump that they've come face to face with people they might have vehemently disagreed with on social media.Arlene Anjos of Roselle Park, New Jersey, supported De
  
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• Original Gerber Baby, Ann Taylor Cook, turns 90

  23-11-2016 09:49
  
  The original Gerber baby has turned 90.The baby food maker says Ann Taylor Cook celebrated her 90th birthday on Sunday.Cook was about 4 months old in 1927 when her image was sketched in charcoal by a family friend. The drawing was submitted to Gerber a year later when Gerber put out a call for images to be used in its new baby food advertisements. Cook's picture became the company's official trademark in 1931.Cook became a mother of four and taught literature and writing in Tampa, Florida, for 2
  
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• Thanksgiving holiday travel to be busy; State Police to patrol highways

  23-11-2016 09:21
  
  BATON ROUGE – Louisiana State Police reports that the Thanksgiving holiday is the busiest and most traveled time of the year and urges drivers to travel safely.According to State Police, last year during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, more than 200 injuries were reported in the state following several crashes. Additionally, ten people were killed in fatal crashes.State Troopers will be patrolling the state highways this holiday weekend and will be focusing on seat belt use and drive
  
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• Crews to replace culverts in Ascension starting Nov. 28

  23-11-2016 09:01
  
  ASCENSION – The Ascension Department of Public Works will begin to replace several culverts in Gonzales and Britanny areas on Monday, Nov. 28.Crews will replace culverts on both ends of Bart Street in Brittany with the first on being replaced at Bart Street and Highway 941. The second culvert will be replaced at Bart Street and Jeff Street.The work is expected to be completed in two days.Crews will replace culverts under Depen Street off Highway 74 in Gonzales. A temporary road will be
  
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• 4 Boston officers injured when car flees traffic stop

  23-11-2016 08:49
  
  BOSTON - Four Boston police officers investigating a report of a man with a gun have been taken to the hospital after two were dragged and two were narrowly missed by a fleeing car.Superintendent Randall Halstead says two plainclothes officers approached the vehicle in the city's Dorchester neighborhood at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. As they tried to speak to the driver, the vehicle sped away, dragging the two officers.Two uniformed officers providing backup were narrowly missed by the fleeing v
  
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• Division III football player faces murder charge

  23-11-2016 08:33
  
  KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A football player at Division III Maryville (Tennessee) College faces a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl.Knox County Sheriff's Office officials announced Wednesday that William Riley Gaul, a freshman wide receiver, was arrested in connection with the death of Emma Walker. Officials said Gaul was being held at the Knox County Jail on $750,000 bond.Sheriff's officials said Walker was found dead of a gunshot wound inside her house Monday morn
  
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• Trump picks SC Gov. Haley to be UN ambassador

  23-11-2016 08:31
  
  WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump says he intends to nominate Republican Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.The job requires Senate approval. If that happens, Haley would become the first female - and first nonwhite - Cabinet-level official in his administration. She's the daughter of Indian immigrants.Trump says in a statement that Haley is "a proven dealmaker and we look forward to making plenty of deals." Trump says Haley "will be a
  
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• In flood zone, many Louisiana families yearn to return home

  23-11-2016 08:27
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Thousands of Louisiana families are still relying on the government for housing three months after catastrophic flooding drove them out of their homes.For many, Thanksgiving is just another reminder of how far some families made homeless by the deluge still have to go before life returns to normal.More than 72,000 families have received some form of housing assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency since August's historic flooding.FEMA is currently paying for more
  
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• East Baton Rouge prison to get private health care company

  23-11-2016 08:21
  
  BATON ROUGE - A private company will start running the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison's health care operations next year.The Advocate reports the possibility of privatizing the prison's medical operations has been on the table for months now, but a group of prison health care workers helped to stall the process after telling Metro Council members they were getting a bad deal. But on Tuesday, the Metro Council approved a contract to privatize the prison's health care.CorrectHealth LLC will take o
  
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• Gold medalist Laurie Hernandez wins 'Dancing with the Stars'

  23-11-2016 07:27
  
  LOS ANGELES - Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez can add a "Dancing with the Stars" crown to her 2016 haul after winning the 23rd season of the ABC reality competition.The 16-year-old gymnast took home the Mirrorball Trophy after the conclusion of a two-episode finale Tuesday night. Hernandez and partner Val Chmerkovskiy received a perfect score for one of their dances during the finale and 38 points out of a possible 40 for another.They beat out Canadian race car driver James Hinchcliffe an
  
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• Police speaking to man about officer's shooting

  23-11-2016 06:59
  
  DETROIT - Wayne State University police officer is recovering after being shot in the head, and authorities in Detroit say they're questioning a man about the attack.Police say 29-year-old Officer Colin Rose had radioed Tuesday evening to say he was investigating possible thefts of navigation systems from cars and SUVs, and was about to speak to someone apparently on a bike.Officers arriving at the scene found Rose on the ground.Permalink| Comments
  
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• At least 4 hurt in fire at ExxonMobil refinery

  23-11-2016 01:10
  
  At least four people were injured when a fire broke out at the ExxonMobil refinery in Baton Rouge.
  
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