Baton Rouge news

• BRPD: Officer okay after crash on Siegen Lane

  11-12-2016 20:02
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police are currently investigating an officer involved crash on Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge Sunday afternoon.The crash happened around 7:45 p.m. at the intersection of Siegen Lane and Rieger Road.Baton Rouge Police spokesperson L’jean McKneely said that details are still limited but that the officer is okay.Stay tuned to WBRZ News 2 online and on Facebook and Twitter for updates as new information become available.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Surging Bucs hold off Saints 16-11 for 5th straight victory

  11-12-2016 19:46
  
  TAMPA - The streaking Tampa Bay Buccaneers bolstered their playoff hopes by building an early lead and holding off Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints 16-11 for their fifth straight victory on Sunday.Doug Martin scored on a 1-yard run, Roberto Aguayo kicked three field goals and an improving defense intercepted Brees three times while holding the NFL passing leader without a touchdown pass.Brees began the day leading the league in completions, attempts, completion percentage, passing yards and
  
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• Orlando marks 6-month anniversary of nightclub massacre

  11-12-2016 16:39
  
  ORLANDO - Survivors, staff and family members of victims who were killed during the Orlando nightclub massacre are gathering outside Pulse to mark the six-month anniversary of the rampage.They are gathering in the early hours Monday for a moment of silence at 2:02 a.m., the exact time gunman Omar Mateen started shooting inside the gay nightclub.The early-morning memorial at Pulse is not open to the public but just those with a direct connection to the shooting.Later in the day, local officials a
  
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• Police: Drunk Alabama teen punched man, damaged pickup

  11-12-2016 15:45
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police say an Alabama teen faces battery charges after he drunkenly broke into another person’s truck then punched someone Sunday morning.According to arrest documents, the incident happened around 2:14 a.m. on East Boyd Drive. 19-year-old Ross Pollet, of Spanish Fort Alabama, was charged with second-degree battery, damage to property and disturbing the peace/intoxicated.Police say Pollet mistook a 2004 Dodge pickup truck as his own 2008 Ford pickup tru
  
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• 'Moana's reigns, 'La La Land' sings in limited release

  11-12-2016 14:20
  
  LOS ANGELES - Disney's "Moana" has continued to sit pretty atop the box office for its third consecutive weekend, but Damien Chazelle's musical "La La Land" was what really had audiences singing this weekend.Playing in only five theaters, the lively and well-reviewed "La La Land" grossed a staggering $855,000 for Lionsgate, according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $171,000 per theater average is an all-time high for a 5-theater release and for 2016 in general. Starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosli
  
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• Woman in critical condition after shooting on Nicholson Drive

  11-12-2016 14:15
  
  BATON ROUGE – One woman is in critical condition after a shooting off Nicholson Drive Sunday afternoon, sources tell WBRZ.First responders say the shooting happened around 1:45 p.m. near the intersection of Nicholson Drive and West Garfield Street.Baton Rouge Police say a homicide detective was called to the scene. Details are still limited at this time. This is a developing story. Stay tuned to WBRZ News 2 online and on Facebook and Twitter for updates as new information beco
  
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• Police expect Trump to lift limits on surplus military gear

  11-12-2016 14:12
  
  HAGERSTOWN - If president-elect Donald Trump keeps his promise, surplus military grenade launchers, bayonets, tracked armored vehicles and high-powered firearms and ammunition will once again be available to state and local U.S. police departments.National police organizations say they'll hold Trump to that promise.Fraternal Order of Police Executive Director James Pasco says he expects Trump to honor a commitment he made in September to the organization to rescind President Barack Obama's 2015
  
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• Kennedy says his election represents change

  11-12-2016 14:05
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's newly elected U.S. senator, Republican John Kennedy, says his campaign was about change in Washington.Kennedy, the state treasurer, won Saturday's runoff election to fill the nation's last Senate seat.Speaking to supporters, Kennedy said "Washington insiders" have taken the country in the wrong direction. But he added: "That's about to change, folks."Kennedy's win over Democrat Foster Campbell, a state utility regulator, gives the GOP a 52-48 edge in the Senate when the
  
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• Suspect arrested in connection to shooting, police pursuit that ended in Brownfields

  11-12-2016 13:56
  
  BATON ROUGE - A suspect has been arrested in connection to shooting incident that led to a police pursuit ending in Brownfields.Officials said Donovan Davenport, 21, is accused of shooting at another vehicle on Plank Road, leading police on a pursuit and fleeing his vehicle.According to the East Baton Rogue Parish Sheriff's Office, on Dec. 5 around 10:05 p.m., deputies were called to the 9600 block of Plank Road in reference to a shooting investigation. Upon arrival, deputies located two bullet
  
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• Texas to launch massive youth-athlete concussion study

  11-12-2016 13:52
  
  AUSTIN, Texas - Texas is about to launch what state officials believe is the nation's largest effort to track brain injuries among middle and high school athletes.The governing body for public high school sports in Texas is partnering with the O'Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center to track to track the brain injuries.Researchers say they hope to use the data to gauge whether rules or equipment changes are improving player safety, as well as what more can be done to protect
  
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• Entergy to more than double energy efficiency spending

  11-12-2016 13:48
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi's largest private utility plans to more than double spending on energy efficiency next year.The Public Service Commission Tuesday voted 2-1 for Entergy Mississippi to increase spending to $8.75 million in 2017 from $3.75 million this year.Southern District Commissioner Sam Britton, a Republican, voted against the measure, saying he opposes subsidies to individual utility customers.Entergy Mississippi in 2017 aims to spread efficient light bulbs and residential applia
  
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• Prosecutor to jury: Ex-Saints star was 'executed'

  11-12-2016 12:21
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Former Saints star Will Smith was "executed" by an irate driver as Smith's wounded wife lay nearby during the chaos that followed an April 9 traffic accident, a prosecutor told a New Orleans jury Sunday during closing arguments in the shooter's trial.Cardell Hayes, 29, was on trial for second-degree murder in Smith's death, and attempted second-degree murder in the wounding of Smith's wife, Racquel.Racquel was hit first when gunshots rang out that night, a bullet tearing through he
  
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• Deliberations near in trial of ex-Saints star's killer

  11-12-2016 12:21
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Former Saints star Will Smith was "executed" by an irate driver as Smith's wounded wife lay nearby during the chaos that followed an April 9 traffic accident, a prosecutor told a New Orleans jury Sunday during closing arguments in the shooter's trial.But a defense attorney said the defendant, Cardell Hayes, 29, was the victim of a rushed investigation by police reacting to the death of a beloved football star. And he insisted Hayes' fired in self-defense."This young man tried his b
  
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• Republicans sweep Louisiana runoffs, ending 2016 elections

  11-12-2016 12:20
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's extra-long election cycle has ended with a Republican sweep.The GOP has cemented its U.S. Senate majority and is holding onto the two remaining House seats that were still undecided before Louisiana's runoff election Saturday.Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy won Louisiana's open U.S. Senate seat, giving the GOP a 52-48 edge in the chamber starting in January.Kennedy defeated Democrat Foster Campbell, a state utility regulator whose chances were seen as such a lon
  
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• Warren Buffett documentary will air on HBO in January

  11-12-2016 12:16
  
  OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaire Warren Buffett's life and the way he made his fortune as an investor will be the focus of a new documentary on HBO next year.The "Becoming Warren Buffett" documentary will debut Jan. 30.The film uses Buffett's own words and interviews with friends and family members to explore what allowed him to become so successful at picking stocks and companies to buy.Buffett's lifestyle in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, also will be highlighted. Buffett routinely drives himself t
  
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• Trump says execs will run business with kids

  11-12-2016 12:13
  
  WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump is pushing back against charges that his businesses create a conflict of interest when he takes control of the White House, saying his "executives will run it with my children."Trump tells "Fox News Sunday" that he will "have nothing to do with management."Trump has said he will leave his businesses and is planning a news conference on Thursday to outline how he will separate himself. But his transition team has not yet said what the structure would look
  
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• GOP senators join Dems to condemn Russian political hacking

  11-12-2016 12:11
  
  WASHINGTON - The Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee are joining with Democrats in calling for an examination of reports that Russia interfered in the presidential election.Chairman John McCain, incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and others said in a joint statement Sunday that the CIA's report of Russia's efforts in the election "should alarm every American."The leaders said they will push "to unify our colleagues around the goal of investigating and stopping the gra
  
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• World's biggest LNG supplier Qatar merges 2 gas producers

  11-12-2016 12:09
  
  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Qatar is merging its two government-controlled liquefied natural gas companies, streamlining distribution of the fuel as the OPEC nation grapples with a slump in energy prices.The Gulf country is the world's largest producer of LNG, which is natural gas chilled to liquid form for shipment on tanker ships.Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, president and CEO of state oil company Qatar Petroleum, said Sunday the plan to combine Qatargas and the smaller RasGas will create a "unique
  
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• Relief coming for drivers waiting for Jones Creek widening

  11-12-2016 11:59
  
  BATON ROUGE- A project that has been years in the making finally has a completion date. The area of Jones Creek Road between Coursey Boulevard and Tiger Bend is expected to wrap up in May. It was originally scheduled to finish in March, but the weather this year pushed it back. On a daily basis, drivers deal with dilemmas as they sit in traffic. The section of the road that's being widened borders one of the largest subdivisions in the state, and is full of businesses.&nbsp
  
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• Kurdish militant group claims Istanbul bombings

  11-12-2016 11:50
  
  ISTANBUL - A Kurdish militant group has claimed responsibility for twin bombings that killed 38 people outside an Istanbul stadium and wounded scores of others.In a statement posted on its website, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK, said two of their comrades had sacrificed their lives.The Turkey-based group is an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.The TAK said Saturday's attack shortly after the conclusion of a soccer match was reprisal for violence in the southeast and the on
  
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• Syrian activists say IS has seized Palmyra

  11-12-2016 11:47
  
  BEIRUT - Syrian opposition activists say the Islamic State group has regained control of the ancient town of Palmyra nine months after it was driven out by Russian-backed Syrian government forces.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Palmyra Coordination group say IS militants fought their way into the town on Sunday, forcing government forces to retreat to the south.Russia had earlier said that it helped Syrian troops repel an attack on the town by launching more than 60
  
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• Blast at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral kills 5

  11-12-2016 11:46
  
  CAIRO - Egypt's official news agency says a blast at Cairo's main Coptic Christian cathedral has killed five people.It says Sunday's blast at St. Mark's Cathedral in central Cairo wounded another 10 people.St. Mark's Cathedral is the seat of Egypt's Orthodox Christian church and is home to the office of its spiritual leader, Pope Tawadros II.The agency says a bomb was lobbed inside a chapel that is adjacent to the cathedral's outer wall.On Friday, six policemen were killed in a bomb attack in Ca
  
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• Reported shooting at Ritterman Ave. and Addison St. leaves one dead

  11-12-2016 11:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities say a reported shooting at Ritterman Ave. and Addison St. left one person dead Sunday morning.Around 9:22 a.m. Sunday morning, authorities arrived at the scene of an apparent shooting that left one individual dead.Coroner's office officials were called to the scene.Information is limited at this time. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Police identify victim in Ritterman Ave. shooting

  11-12-2016 11:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police identified the man who was killed in a shooting on Ritterman Avenue Sunday morning.According to Baton Rouge Police, 37-year-old Juan Montgomery was killed on Ritterman Avenue around 9:30 a.m.Police spokesperson L'jean McKneely said that two black males forcefully entered Montgomery's home, shooting him multiple times. Montgomery died at the scene.Investigators say the two suspects fled the home before police arrived. The motive for the shooting is not known at this time.Anyo
  
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• Baton Rouge elects Sharon Weston Broome to heal divided parish

  11-12-2016 05:46
  
  New leader takes over city trembling from summer of bloodshed, racial tension, flooding
  
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