Baton Rouge news

• Trump to nominate Gen. Mattis to lead Pentagon

  01-12-2016 21:27
  
  WASHINGTON- President-elect Donald Trump says he will nominate retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to lead the Defense Department.
      
  Trump made the announcement during a post-election victory rally Thursday in Cincinnati.
      
  Mattis retired in 2013 after serving as the commander of the U.S. Central Command.
      
  In a tweet Sunday, Trump referred to Mattis by his nickname "Mad Dog" and described him as "A true
  
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• Two children ejected from vehicle after crash off Airline

  01-12-2016 18:47
  
  BATON ROUGE – Three children were taken to the hospital Thursday night after a crash off Airline Hwy.The crash happened after 6 p.m. at the intersection of Airline Highway and Bicentennial. First responders say a 3-year-old and 5-year-old was ejected from the vehicle during the crash.Here's the wreck on Airline at Bicentennial. 3 yr old and 5 yr old both ejected during crash, 3 children total take to the hospital. @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/sp0rErGK4P— Brett Buffington (@BrettBuff
  
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• SpaceX shooting for mid-December launch, 1st since blast

  01-12-2016 18:42
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX is shooting for a mid-December launch, its first since a dramatic rocket accident on the pad.Iridium Communications Inc. said Thursday that 10 of its satellites will be aboard the SpaceX Falcon rocket tentatively scheduled to take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Dec. 16. That would end a 3 ½-month launch hiatus by SpaceX.The Federal Aviation Administration must first sign off on the accident investigation. SpaceX says the investigation is ne
  
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• Texas governor vows to cut funds to 'sanctuary' campuses

  01-12-2016 18:40
  
  AUSTIN - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is promising to cut funds to public universities that become what he described as "sanctuary" campuses for immigrant students. The Republican provided no other details.Abbott tweeted the vow Thursday in response to a story about Texas State University students urging school leaders to declare the campus a "sanctuary" as immigrant students nationwide fear deportation under President-elect Donald Trump.Trump pledged during his campaign to launch a "deportation force
  
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• Former Amite cop found guilty of third-degree rape

  01-12-2016 17:38
  
  AMITE – A former Amite Police officer has been found guilty of third-degree rape and simple kidnapping, according to WWLTV.In 2014, two women accused Grant Carruth of handcuffing and attacking them in separate incidents. Investigators say Carruth claimed to be a narcotics agent, tricked the women into being placed under arrest then assaulted them.Investigators said Carruth took the women to a location in Tangipahoa Parish and forced them to perform sexual acts before releasing
  
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• Orgeron to collect $675,000 cash for being interim head coach

  01-12-2016 17:36
  BATON ROUGE – LSU will pay Ed Orgeron a lump sum of $675,000 for serving as interim head football coach for most of the season.Details of the compensation were revealed in the upcoming LSU Board of Supervisors agenda. The board meets seven times a year. Before being named interim coach, Orgeron was set to collect $600,000 a year. He'll now earn a total of $1,275,000 in 2016. Terms of his contract as permanent head coach were not revealed. Orgeron was named head football coach, official
  
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• Denham Springs High campus repairs to be complete by Jan. 5

  01-12-2016 17:23
  
  LIVINGSTON – Workers are putting in their last efforts to finish the repairs of five Livingston Parish schools that were flooded during August.After three months of restoring and rebuilding, progress has been made."We're working on a temporary fix which would include putting the flooring back in, putting doors up, installing ceiling tiles and going back with some of the floor tile and the walls will be re-done and painted," Joe Murphy, Livingston Parish assistant superintendent, said.D
  
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• White House announces support for women in military draft

  01-12-2016 17:09
  
  WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is announcing its support for requiring women to register for the military draft.The administration has been deliberating for roughly a year about whether to back such a change to the Selective Service. White House National Security Council spokesman Ned Price says that because previous barriers to military service are being removed, it makes logical sense for women to be required to register for the draft.But Price says the Obama administration remains comm
  
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• Former NFL player, Joe McKnight, fatally shot in Terrytown

  01-12-2016 16:45
  
  NEW ORLEANS – Former NFL football player Joe McKnight was shot and killed during an apparent road rage incident on Thursday afternoon. The incident took place near an intersection in Terrytown, located on west bank of the Mississippi River near New Orleans, WWL reports.The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office currently took a man, 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, in custody and was being questioned.McKnight played at John Curtis Christian High School and the University of South Califor
  
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• New Orleans wants notice on monuments decision, cite unrest

  01-12-2016 16:44
  
  NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans says it's worried about unrest when an appeals court decides the future of Confederate-era monuments in the city and is asking the court for advance notice when a decision is imminent.In a letter, the city's attorney, Rebecca Dietz, asks the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for 24 to 48 hours' notice before the court releases its decision.The letter was received and made public by the court Thursday.Dietz says the case has received intense public scrutiny. They want the pol
  
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• C. Denise Marcelle endorses Weston Broome for mayor

  01-12-2016 16:05
  
  BATON ROUGE – Former Baton Rouge mayoral candidate C. Denise Marcelle announced Thursday that she is endorsing Sharon Weston Broome for mayor.Marcelle said she will continue to work with Weston Broome as a Louisiana legislator to help East Baton Rouge Parish residents rebuild after August’s historic flooding.“Sharon and I share a common vision for the future of Baton Rouge,” Marcelle said. “This vision will ensure economic diversity and
  
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• Iberville's 'Killing Fields' to premiere 2nd season Jan. 3

  01-12-2016 15:37
  
  IBERVILLE - "Killing Fields," a Discovery Channel true-crime reality series that digs into cold cases and current ones in the small community of Iberville Parish, will return on Jan. 3.The series follows the work of Detectives Rodie Sanchez, Aubrey St. Angelo and the rest of the experienced team of detectives led by Major Ronnie Hebert, under the leadership of Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi.
  The first season of series highlighted the cold case murder of Eugenie Boisfontaine, an LSU gradua
  
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• Man charged with threatening, cyber stalking estranged wife

  01-12-2016 15:33
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police say a Baton Rouge man was arrested after they say he stalked and threatened his estranged wife in September.Baton Rouge Police charged 41-year-old Letrois Danvet Watson with simple assault and cyber stalking charges Thursday.According to arrest documents, Watson’s wife – a CATS bus driver – said she was driving her bus route on Sept. 10 when began following the bus and using his car horn. The victim told police that Watson continued to
  
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• Navy's Zumwalt back underway after Panama Canal breakdown

  01-12-2016 14:27
  
  The largest and most expensive destroyer built for the U.S. Navy has resumed its voyage after a breakdown in the Panama Canal.The Navy said Thursday that the USS Zumwalt departed Panama after repairs to the propulsion system by the ship's crew and a team from General Electric and the Naval Sea Systems Command.Lt. Julie Holland says the ship resumed its journey to its homeport Wednesday evening and will arrive in San Diego "in coming weeks."The 610-foot destroyer built by Maine's Bath Iron Works
  
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• Buzz Aldrin, 2nd to walk on moon, evacuated from South Pole

  01-12-2016 14:10
  
  Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is recuperating at a New Zealand hospital after being evacuated from the South Pole.Aldrin, who's 86, was visiting Antarctica as a tourist when he fell ill. He was flown to Christchurch from McMurdo Station, a U.S. research center on the Antarctic coast.Tour company White Desert says Aldrin has fluid in his lungs, but is responding well to antibiotics and in stable condition. He'll remain hospitalized overnight for observation.Aldrin and Neil Arms
  
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• Board upholds suspension for NC teacher who stepped on flag

  01-12-2016 13:46
  
  FAYETTEVILLE - A North Carolina school board has upheld the 10-day suspension of a high school teacher who stepped on an American flag during a First Amendment lesson.The Cumberland County Board of Education voted 5-2 Wednesday to support Superintendent Frank Till's decision. Board members considered Lee Francis' appeal for more than eight hours behind closed doors.Whether Lee returns to his job teaching history at Massey Hill Classical High School rests with Till.Lee has been working in the dis
  
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• Bolivia suspends airline after deadly crash in Colombia

  01-12-2016 13:42
  
  MEDELLIN - The Bolivian Civil Aviation Authority is indefinitely suspending permission for LaMia airline to operate following the deadly crash of one its charter planes in Colombia.Officials made the announcement Thursday, and not provide additional details. The LaMia charter flight crashed while approaching Medellin, Colombia, killing all but six of the 77 people on board.The airline was founded in Venezuela in 2009 but operates in Bolivia.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Two Gonzales men arrested for child exploitation

  01-12-2016 12:24
  
  GONZALES – Two Gonzales men have been arrested for child exploitation, according to the attorney general's office.
  Treyon Gray-Reider, 19, was arrested on one count of indecent behavior with juveniles and one count of computer aided solicitation of a minor.
  Sean Sherlock, 47, was arrested on 300 counts of possession of sexual abuse images and/or videos of children under the age of 13.
  The Louisiana Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crime Unit, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, the Wes
  
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• Charleston church shooting trial set to begin next week

  01-12-2016 12:17
  
  COLUMBIA - A trial has been scheduled to begin next week for the white man charged with the shooting deaths of nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church.U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled Thursday that the federal death penalty trial of Dylann Roof will start next Wednesday in Charleston.Roof faces dozens of federal charges, including hate crimes, in connection with the June 2015 slayings at Emanuel AME Church. He is representing himself in his federal trial.Jury selection is ongo
  
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• Judge asked to approve settlement over protest arrests

  01-12-2016 12:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - Attorneys have asked a federal judge to approve a settlement that awards up to $45,000 in cash payments to dozens of protesters arrested in Baton Rouge following a black man's fatal shooting by police.A court filing Wednesday spells out details of the settlement agreement with the city, the local sheriff and district attorney and the head of the Louisiana State Police.The deal includes $500 payments to approximately 90 protesters arrested on charges of obstructing a highway. Those
  
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• Bayou Country Superfest 2017 announces New Orleans lineup

  01-12-2016 12:11
  
  NEW ORLEANS –Event organizers announced the lineup for the 2017 Bayou Country Superfest which will be held in New Orleans on May 26.Saturday, May 27Sunday, May 28Miranda LambertBlake SheltonBrooks & DunnThomas RhettRascal FlattsHank Williams Jr.Brett EldredgeOld DominionJon PardiDan + ShayChris LaneMaddie & TaeThe concert will take place May 26-28 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. There will also be a kick-off celebration with Easton Corbin on Friday, May 26 at Cha
  
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• Patriots' Rob Gronkowski to undergo back surgery Friday

  01-12-2016 11:43
  
  FOXBOROUGH, Mass.- Rob Gronkowski's season is likely over.
      
  The New England Patriots tight end was scheduled to have surgery for a herniated disk in his lower back, the team said in a statement Thursday night.
      
  He's likely to be out for eight weeks or more. The Super Bowl is scheduled for Houston on Feb. 5, should the Patriots get that far.
      
  Gronkowski sat out practice Wednesday with what listed as a bac
  
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• New York City woman finds lost wedding ring in trash dump

  01-12-2016 09:27
  
  NEW YORK - It took two hours of sifting through more than 200 bags of garbage at a New Jersey trash-transfer station before a New York City woman was reunited with three rings she mistakenly discarded.The New York Daily News reports the 34-year-old woman was preparing Thanksgiving dinner at her Tribeca apartment when she removed the rings and placed them on a paper towel by the sink.The jewelry, which included the woman's diamond-studded wedding band and engagement ring, accidentally wound up in
  
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• LeBron James chosen Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of Year

  01-12-2016 09:20
  
  INDEPENDENCE - LeBron James has been chosen Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year after leading the Cavaliers to an NBA title and ending Cleveland's 52-year championship drought.James rallied the Cavs in the NBA Finals to defeat the favored Golden State Warriors, who won 73 games during the regular season. James was selected finals MVP for the third time in his career after Cleveland became the first team to overcome a 3-1 deficit.James scored 41 points in Games 5 and 6 and made a key bl
  
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• Obama talks with Tennessee governor about fires

  01-12-2016 09:04
  
  GATLINBURG, Tenn. - President Barack Obama has spoken with Tennessee's governor to offer support for residents gravely affected by recent wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains.A statement from the White House says Obama asked Republican Gov. Bill Haslam for an update on the ongoing response to the wildfires, which destroyed hundreds of buildings and killed seven.The White House says Obama expressed his condolences for the lives lost in the fire. He also offered his sympathies to those residents
  
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• Men convicted in deadly crashes want early prison release

  01-12-2016 09:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - Two men who are behind bars for separate alcohol-related crashes that killed eight people are each asking for an early release.The Advocate reports Brett Gerald and Joseph Branch filed a lawsuit earlier this year against the state Department of Corrections.Gerald was sentenced to 35 years in prison for a 2012 crash near Slaughter that killed seven people.Branch is serving 7 1/2 years for killing a bicyclist in a 2012 crash in Baton Rouge.Gerald and Branch's attorneys argue
  
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• British experts to investigate Colombia crash boxes

  01-12-2016 08:33
  
  MEDELLIN, Colombia - British aviation experts will investigate the black box and flight data recorder from the plane carrying a small-town Brazilian soccer team that crashed in Colombia.The Air Accidents Investigation Branch says that the key instruments offering clues to what happened to the jetliner will be brought to Britain in the coming days for study. The plane, a BAE 146 Avro RJ85, crashed Monday and killed 71 people.The chartered plane crashed while ferrying the team to the finals of a p
  
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• Dolly Parton sets up fund for wildfire victims

  01-12-2016 08:31
  
  GATLINBURG, Tenn. - Country music legend Dolly Parton says she's establishing a fund to help victims of the wildfires that burned hundreds of homes and businesses in the Great Smoky Mountains area and left seven dead.She says The Dollywood Company and The Dollywood Foundation are establishing the My People Fund, which will provide $1,000 monthly to Sevier County families who lost their homes.More than 14,000 people were evacuated from Gatlinburg on Monday night and many of them are still nervous
  
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• Park superintendent says fires may have been caused by humans

  01-12-2016 08:30
  
  GATLINBURG, Tenn. - The superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National park says the wildfires that devastated parts of eastern Tennessee were likely human-caused.Cassius Cash's comments, made Wednesday afternoon, were reported by The Washington Post. Seven people have been killed in the wildfires which destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses, many in the Gatlinburg area.Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner said officials were discussing the possibility of re-opening the town Friday, which woul
  
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• Presidential election recount set to begin in Wisconsin

  01-12-2016 08:28
  
  MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin begins recounting nearly 3 million ballots from the presidential election today.A recount in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania comes at the request of Green Party candidate Jill Stein.Wisconsin is a state that Donald Trump won by less than a percentage point over Hillary Clinton, but almost no one expects Stein's push to result in a Clinton victory over Trump.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Trumps's victory lap

  01-12-2016 08:27
  
  NEW YORK - President-elect Donald Trump today visits the Carrier Corp. in Indianapolis, where he, Vice president-elect Mike Pence and company officials will announce a deal to keep hundreds of jobs from moving to Mexico.Then Trump heads to Ohio to begin his "Thank You Tour" to honor the supporters in states that gave him his stunning victory.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Prince Harry joins Rihanna at celebration in Barbados

  01-12-2016 08:25
  
  BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - Britain's Prince Harry has joined Rihanna in celebrating 50 years of independence for her native Barbados.The prince and the singer shared the stage with the prime minister during a concert and dance performance marking the date the island broke away from Britain. He read a message from Queen Elizabeth II congratulating Barbados and saying that the island should be "rightfully proud" of a vibrant culture and natural beauty. He spoke Wednesday night before a crowd of about
  
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• Mariah Carey headlines New Year's Eve lineup in Times Square

  01-12-2016 08:23
  
  NEW YORK - Mariah Carey is set to ring in 2017 with a live performance in Times Square as the headliner for "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" on ABC.The show's producers say Carey will take the midtown Manhattan stage moments before the ball drops to mark the new year. Carey also performed at the annual celebration in 2005. Also on the musical lineup: pop-rock band DNCE, country star Thomas Rhett, Gloria Estefan and the cast of her Broadway musical, "On Your Feet!"Seacrest
  
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• Deadly storms add to drought, flood and fires plaguing South

  01-12-2016 07:54
  
  BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The National Weather Service confirms that at least 13 twisters damaged homes, splintered barns and toppled trees in parts of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, killing five people in two states.
      
  At least a dozen more people were injured early Wednesday, adding to a seemingly biblical onslaught of drought, flood and fire plaguing the South.
      
  The storms tore through just as firefighters began to get cont
  
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• Police: 6 shot, 2 fatally, in front of Baltimore store

  01-12-2016 07:00
  
  BALTIMORE - Police say six people have been shot, two fatally, in front of a northwest Baltimore store.Spokesman T.J. Smith said at a news conference near the Stop 1 Convenience Store in the Windsor Hills neighborhood that a lone gunman fired on people standing in front of the store at about 6 p.m. Wednesday.Smith says one man was pronounced dead at the scene; a second was pronounced dead at a hospital. Police say a third man was critically wounded, and a fourth man and two women had non-life-th
  
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• Officer and suspect wounded amid gunfire

  01-12-2016 06:53
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. - Authorities say an officer and a suspect have been wounded in an exchange of gunfire after police went to investigate reports of a break-in at an apartment complex.A statement from the city of Raleigh said officers responded to reports of a break-in Wednesday afternoon. It says the suspect and one officer were taken to a hospital with gunshot wounds.It wasn't clear how serious the wounds were. Police didn't immediately respond to emails and phone messages seeking more information
  
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• 4th California fugitive inmate arrested after standoff

  01-12-2016 06:51
  
  SAN JOSE, Calif. - A fourth inmate who escaped from a county jail in California has been captured after a standoff with police that lasted more than seven hours.
  Rogelio Chavez and three other prisoners broke out of jail by cutting through the bars covering a second-story window and then rappelling to the ground on a bedsheet rope.The others are back in custody.Rogelio Chavez is back in custody! #captured pic.twitter.com/ol4R6T97O2— SantaClaraCoSheriff (@SCCoSheriff) December 1, 2016Pe
  
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• Suspect in fatal shooting of Tacoma officer dead

  01-12-2016 06:49
  
  SEATTLE - Authorities say the suspect in the fatal shooting of a Tacoma, Washington, police officer has been shot and killed by officers after a lengthy barricade situation.Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer says the suspect was shot at approximately 3:30 a.m. Thursday, ending an 11-hour standoff. The suspect has not been identified.Troyer says a girl and a boy, have been found unharmed, and have been taken from the house. He says officers found multiple weapons in t
  
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• Gunman accused of killing officer is dead

  01-12-2016 06:49
  
  SEATTLE - Authorities in Tacoma, Washington, say the suspect in the shooting death of a police officer is dead. Authorities this morning say a SWAT team shot and killed the gunman, who had been holed up in a house with two children. The children are safe. A Tacoma police officer was shot and killed yesterday afternoon after he went to the home on a domestic violence call.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Baton Rouge man charged with killing, dismembering parents in Tennessee

  01-12-2016 00:52
  
  A 28-year-old Baton Rouge man has been arrested on charges of killing and dismembering his parents at their home in West Knox County, Tennessee.
  
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