Baton Rouge news

• Mike Johnson elected to Louisiana's 4th District

  10-12-2016 21:54
  
  BATON ROUGE - Republican Mike Johnson will head to Washington in January to represent Louisiana's 4th Congressional District.The state lawmaker from Benton won Saturday's runoff election for the open seat, defeating Democrat Marshall Jones, a lawyer from Shreveport.Johnson focused on his conservative record, both his decades as a constitutional attorney and his nearly two years in the Louisiana Legislature pushing social and fiscal conservative issues.Jones ran as an anti-abortion, pro-
  
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• Polls have closed; Get election returns here

  10-12-2016 19:54
  
  BATON ROUGE – Polls have closed for the runoff election featuring decisions on federal and local political races.Saturday's election also decided tax propositions and liquor laws in some areas.Click HERE for a list of all races in the area and the latest election returns.Watch WBRZ Channel 2 all evening for live coverage. Live reports can be seen on the WBRZ.com live stream and the WBRZ Channel 2 Facebook page.*****************Follow the publisher of this post on Twitter: @treyschmaltz
  
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• Congress Oks more than $1.25B for Louisiana flood recovery

  10-12-2016 18:23
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Congress has approved more than $1.25 billion for Louisiana's flood recovery.The additional allocation approved Friday means Congress has dedicated between $1.8 billion and $1.9 billion, including an initial $438 million in disaster relief funds, for Louisiana's long-term rebuilding. Still, that's short of the at least $2.6 billion requested.Republican U.S. Sen. David Vitter says now that money has been secured, it's time to focus on making sure the funds are allocated quickly.A fl
  
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• Dylann Roof's confession and journal detail racist beliefs

  10-12-2016 17:24
  
  CHARLESTON - Prosecutors are using the Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof's own words to portray him as a cruel angry racist at his death penalty trial.Roof's two-hour confession to killing nine people at a church Bible study, recorded the day after the shooting, was introduced as evidence Friday, along with a handwritten journal found in his car."How could our faces, skin color and body structure be so different, but our brains exactly the same?" Roof wrote in one of the less offensive passa
  
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• Closing arguments Sunday in Will Smith shooting

  10-12-2016 16:53
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The defense has rested in the Will Smith shooting death case and the judge has set closing arguments for Sunday.On trial in New Orleans is Cardell Hayes, charged with second-degree murder in Smith's April 9 death. Hayes told the jury Saturday he fired only after Smith grabbed a gun from his damaged SUV during a dispute following a traffic accident. He also said he heard a sound like a gunshot before firing.Prosecutors say the evidence doesn't support Hayes' contention that Smith wa
  
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• Dylan expresses awe over Nobel Prize, alludes to Shakespeare

  10-12-2016 16:47
  
  STOCKHOLM - Bob Dylan has expressed awe at receiving the Nobel Prize in literature and thanked the Swedish Academy for including him among the "giants" of writing.Dylan was absent from Saturday's award ceremony and banquet in Stockholm. But in remarks read by the U.S. ambassador, he alluded to the debate about whether the award should go to a songwriter.Dylan said when Shakespeare wrote "Hamlet," he probably was thinking about which actors to pick and where to find a skull.In his words: "I'm sur
  
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• Trump edges toward Tillerson for State

  10-12-2016 15:55
  
  NEW YORK - President-elect Donald Trump is moving closer to nominating Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state, following a private meeting with the business leader.That's according to several people who have spoken with Trump and his transition team.Trump has privately signaled to associates that he plans to tap Tillerson for the powerful Cabinet post, but had not formally offered him the job as of Saturday afternoon. Some advisers worry that Tillerson's ties to Russia
  
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• Trump team challenges intel on Russian election influence

  10-12-2016 14:23
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's presidential transition team is challenging the veracity of U.S. intelligence assessments concluding that Russia was trying to tip the November election to the Republican.A senior U.S. official says the CIA has determined with "high confidence" that Moscow's interference in the presidential race was intended to help Trump. The assessment was based in part on evidence that Russian actors had hacked Republicans as well as Democrats but were only releasing information ha
  
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• Orlando shops designate themselves 'safe places' for gays

  10-12-2016 14:19
  
  ORLANDO - Officials in a Florida city are launching a program allowing businesses to designate themselves as safe places for gays and lesbians if they feel threatened.Orlando officials will begin distributing decals Monday to local businesses to post in their windows identifying them as places members of the LGBTQ community can go if they feel they are in jeopardy.The rainbow-colored decals are in the shape of a police badge and say, "Safe Place."The program is starting on the six-month annivers
  
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• Mexican drug cartel leader's son arrested in western state

  10-12-2016 14:19
  
  MEXICO CITY - Mexican police have arrested the son of a drug cartel leader who was extradited to the United States.Federal Police say via their official Twitter account that the man was arrested Friday in the western state of Jalisco along with four others on suspicion of drug trafficking, kidnapping and murder.His full name is not given, but a police official confirmed Saturday that it was Alfredo Beltran Guzman. The official was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on conditio
  
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• Islamic State militants re-enter Syria's historic Palmyra

  10-12-2016 13:29
  
  BEIRUT - Syrian activists say the Islamic State group has re-entered the historic city of Palmyra in central Syria, nine months after they were expelled by Syrian and Russian forces in a highly publicized campaign.The activist-run Palmyra Coordination Collective reports that the militants seized the city's military warehouse and its northern and western neighborhoods after taking several government positions, oil fields, and strategic hilltops in the surrounding countryside in a lightning three-
  
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• Non-OPEC oil producers to cut output 558,000 barrels a day

  10-12-2016 13:26
  
  VIENNA - OPEC has persuaded 11 non-member countries to cut their oil production in an attempt to raise low prices that have put pressure on government finances in resource-dependent countries.Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said Saturday that non-members agreed to cut 558,000 barrels per day, less than the 600,000 OPEC had hoped for.Those non-member cuts would come on top of an OPEC decision Nov. 30 to reduce member output by 1.2 million barrels a day.Major oil producers such a
  
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• Man found passed out in car arrested for huffing air dusters

  10-12-2016 13:06
  
  BATON ROUGE - 31-year-old Lance Boyd was arrested after he was found passed out in a vehicle intoxicated from huffing air dusters, police said.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Department, on Friday Dec. 9, authorities were dispatched to North Mall Drive in reference to a complaint about a male passed out at the wheel of a vehicle.The complainant, Boyd's wife, told authorities she found her husband in the driver seat of his vehicle huffing air dusters, according to police. She said tha
  
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• General Motors to recall nearly 50,000 police SUVs

  10-12-2016 12:39
  
  General Motors plans to recall nearly 50,000 sport utility vehicles made for police departments and other government agencies because of a hazard in the cooling system.The problem affects the 2010 through 2014 models of the Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit SUV.A GM notice sent to government regulators warned that the affected vehicles' cooling fan could trigger an electrical short circuit due to corrosion from fluids leaking into the system. The notice says the short circuit could cause a fire, bu
  
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• Smith shooter's trial resumes in New Orleans

  10-12-2016 12:36
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The trial of the man who shot retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith has resumed in New Orleans.Among the spectators Saturday was Saints coach Sean Payton.The defense began by calling Brian Cain, the latest in a string of witnesses who said defendant Cardell Hayes was in a good mood in the hours before the shooting.Hayes is charged with second-degree murder in Smith's April 9 death. The fatal shooting happened after a car crash.Hayes' lawyers have said Hayes fired in self-defen
  
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• Shooter insists Will Smith was armed

  10-12-2016 12:36
  
  NEW ORLEANS  - The man who fatally shot retired New Orleans Saints star Will Smith in April has told a jury he did so only after Smith struck him several times and grabbed a gun following a traffic crash.Prosecutors say Smith was unarmed but Cardell Hayes insisted Saturday that Smith threatened to get a gun from his damaged SUV - and then did so.Hayes, who is charged with second-degree murder, said an irate and drunken Smith threw a cup of alcohol at him, hit him numerous times
  
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• 3 children die in fatal house fire in Attala County

  10-12-2016 12:31
  
  KOSCIUSKO, Miss. - Attala County Coroner Sam Bell has confirmed that three children were killed in a house fire overnight.Bell tells WLBT-TV that authorities were called to the scene about 12:30 a.m. Saturday.Further details, including the children's ages and what might have caused the fire, were not immediately available.A message left by The Associated Press with the sheriff's office was not immediately returned.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Texas group to save Fort Polk horses

  10-12-2016 12:28
  
  FORT POLK - A Texas animal welfare group has stepped forward to take in hundreds of horses that roam Fort Polk in hopes of saving their lives.The Humane Society of North Texas is relocating nearly 400 horses from the Vernon Parish Army post to its location in Decatur, Texas. The Army announced in August it would remove the horses from training areas on and around the base, saying they presented a safety risk.The Town Talk reports the group has relocated about 50 horses so far and will take more
  
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• New Orleans adding 240 trees to neighborhood landscapes

  10-12-2016 12:21
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The city of New Orleans is adding 240 trees to neighborhoods around the city this month - restoring greenery lost to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Isaac in 2012.In a Friday news release, the city says New Orleans lost nearly 20 percent of its urban forests to the three storms.In addition to this month's plantings, the city Parks and Parkways Department gave away 1,100 trees recently.The planting is being done in cooperation with a group of nonprofit organizations.Meanwhil
  
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• State-run insurer shifts 10K policies to private companies

  10-12-2016 12:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's state-run property insurance company of last resort is planning to shed more than 10,000 policies, shifting the coverage to private insurers.Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon announced this week that eight insurance companies have agreed to take over 10,304 residential coverage policies from the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.Policyholders have 60 days after getting notification to stay with Citizens if they'd prefer.The state-backed insurer has been
  
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• Louisiana runoff to decide nation's last congressional seats

  10-12-2016 12:05
  
  BATON ROUGE - The campaign season is ending in Louisiana a month later than the rest of the country.Voters Saturday are deciding the nation's final three congressional seats in runoff elections.Top of the ballot is the competition for an open U.S. Senate seat between Republican John Kennedy, the state treasurer, and Democrat Foster Campbell, an elected state utility regulator.Kennedy is the front-runner in a state where Donald Trump won 58 percent of the vote. But Campbell has been getting a fun
  
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• Supreme Court weighs lawyers' actions in 2 death row cases

  10-12-2016 12:01
  
  WASHINGTON - Seven years before Thomas Sims defended Sammie Stokes in a South Carolina death-penalty trial, he had prosecuted Stokes for assaulting his ex-wife.The trial record shows Sims never told the judge in the murder case about that earlier prosecution, not even when the ex-wife took the stand against his client to recount the assault.Stokes' case is one of two the Supreme Court is weighing in which death-row inmates are raising questions about the actions of their lawyers. In the other, J
  
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• Trump says CNN reporting 'rediculous' fake news

  10-12-2016 11:55
  
  NEW YORK - Donald Trump is tweeting about television again - this time accusing CNN of reporting "rediculous" fake news and asserting that he won't let his television show conflict with his presidency.Trump's Saturday morning tweets follow an announcement by Mark Burnett, the creator of "The Apprentice," that the president-elect remains an executive producer on the show.Trump's spokeswoman, Kellyanne Conway, said on CNN Friday that Trump's ties to his reality show are being reviewed for potentia
  
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• Voters deny property tax for road work in EBR

  10-12-2016 11:52
  
  BATON ROUGE – Despite approving one of two tax measures dealing with road repairs in East Baton Rouge, the proposal for expanding the Green Light program failed since the entire package did not pass.Both proposals tied to the Green Light project had to be approved by voters Saturday.  Only one was - the one dealing with rededicating the existing sales tax for road projects.  A property tax proposal was defeated.  About 53% of voters rejected it. The
  
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• Voters say no to mental health tax

  10-12-2016 11:45
  
  BATON ROUGE – Voters denied a property tax to fund a mental health center in East Baton Rouge.A 10-year, 1.5-mill property tax would have generated about $6 million to fund a center for people who experience mental health issues. Supporters argued the tax would help fund a program to deal with a mental health crisis in the city-parish. Those who pushed for the tax believed it would deter many people from being booked into jail on low-level charges when instead they should be admitted i
  
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• Suicide bomber kills 23 in southern Yemeni city of Aden

  10-12-2016 11:42
  
  SANAA, Yemen - Yemeni officials say a suicide bomber has blown himself up inside an army base in the southern city of Aden, killing 23 soldiers.They say the bomber detonated his explosives amid hundreds of soldiers lining up to collect their salaries in the Solban army base. They say at least 30 soldiers have been wounded.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida.The terror network's branch in Yemen is thought to be the world's most activ
  
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• Death toll in Yemen suicide bombing rises to 45

  10-12-2016 11:42
  
  SANAA, Yemen - Yemeni officials say the death toll from a suicide bombing in the southern city of Aden has risen to 45.They say the Saturday bombing in an army base in Aden also wounded 50 people.They say a suicide bomber detonated a belt of explosives he was wearing near hundreds of soldiers who were standing in line inside the base to collect their salaries.The officials had earlier put the death toll at 23.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak
  
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• 7 killed, 29 injured in Bulgarian tanker train explosion

  10-12-2016 11:38
  
  SOFIA, Bulgaria - A derailed tanker train exploded Saturday and decimated a village in northeastern Bulgaria, killing seven people and leaving least 29 injured, many with severe burns, the Interior Ministry said.Authorities said about 50 buildings in the village of Hitrino were destroyed when containers of gas exploded at 5:40 a.m.Video footage showed many houses in the village of 800 on fire and ambulances taking the injured to hospitals. Hitrino Mayor Nuridin Ismail told reporters that childre
  
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• 4 killed in Bulgarian explosion following train derailment

  10-12-2016 11:38
  
  SOFIA, Bulgaria - Firefighters in Bulgaria say at least four people were killed and 23 injured when a train derailed and containers of gas exploded.Nikolay Nikolov, who heads the country's firefighting department, said at least 20 buildings in the village of Hitrino in northeastern Bulgaria were destroyed in the blast early Saturday as containers carrying liquefied petroleum gas exploded.Nikolov says the immediate surroundings of the site have been evacuated, and that the cause of the disaster w
  
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• Congress averts shutdown, backs spending bill

  10-12-2016 11:35
  
  WASHINGTON - Congress has averted a government shutdown - with less than hour to spare.The vote in the Senate late Friday night was 63-36 for a stopgap spending bill that will keep the government operating through April 28.The bill provides disaster relief to Louisiana after summer flooding and $10.1 billion in emergency war-fighting money for the Pentagon. It expedites the process for confirming President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis.Passage of t
  
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• West Baton Rouge voters approve education proposals

  10-12-2016 11:28
  
  BATON ROUGE - Two taxes passed Saturday evening that dedicates funds to the ten schools in West Baton Rouge Parish and the teachers who work in them.  From the 20 year bond, The school system will use that money to build multipurpose buildings and replace temporary buildings with permanent ones.      The 12 millage property tax will give teachers a $5000 boost in pay. Superintendent Wes Watts says, ".....we are going to work as hard
  
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• Voters settle six Metro Council seats in Dec. runoffs

  10-12-2016 11:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish settled six East Baton Rouge Metro Council seats that went into runoff elections in November.With all precincts reporting, Chauna Banks defeated Bones Addison for Metro Council district 2. Banks received 58 percent of the vote (4,973) to Addison’s 42 percent (3,607).In Metro Council district 5, Erika L. Green defeated opponent Linda Dewy. Green received 58 percent of the vote (5,054) to Dewy’
  
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