Baton Rouge news

• DCFS employee violated policy, rehired by Department of Health

  22-12-2016 21:33
  
  BATON ROUGE - An audit by the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services revealed details of a former employee who violated department policy.According to the audit, the employee falsified applications for a member of their family, as well as family members of another employee. The employee also took action on a case regarding a family member.The employee resigned from DCFS in May 2016.  She then accepted a position in the Louisiana Department of Health's Medicaid Eligibility Sec
  
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• 1 arrest in hunt for robbery suspect who shot Texas officer

  22-12-2016 20:44
  
  BRYAN, Texas - One man has been arrested on multiple charges for a convenience store robbery in which a southeast Texas police officer was shot.
      
  Police in Bryan aren't saying if 31-year-old Rafeal Antione Ginn was the gunman in the early Thursday holdup. Among the charges he faces are aggravated robbery and attempting to take a weapon from a peace officer.
      
  The officer who was shot was wearing a ballistic vest and suffered minor inju
  
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• White nationalists raise millions of dollars via tax-exempt charities

  22-12-2016 19:37
  
  They hope Donald Trump's popularity gives them larger platform to spread their ideology
  
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• Judge orders state to keep 3 death row inmates cool

  22-12-2016 19:19
  
  BATON ROUGE - A federal judge has ordered prison officials to continue using new measures for controlling dangerous heat levels for three medically vulnerable inmates on Louisiana's death row.He stopped short of requiring the installation of air conditioning - saying the low-tech remedies officials experimented with last summer have worked.
      
  U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson in Baton Rouge issued the order Thursday, making sure the state keeps the inmates cool in s
  
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• What's the most common corporate crime in federal court? You might be surprised

  22-12-2016 17:56
  
  It's not fraud or money laundering
  
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• Pilot injured when small plane flips while landing

  22-12-2016 17:24
  
  SHREVEPORT - The pilot of a small plane was injured when the plane flipped while landing at Shreveport's downtown airport.Shreveport news media reported that the accident happened shortly after 2 p.m. Thursday.Authorities said the pilot was hospitalized with injuries described as serious but not life-threatening.The pilot was the only person aboard the plane. A witness told KTBS-TV the plane had just touched down on the runway when it bounced and flipped.KSLA-TV reported that witnesses at the sc
  
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• Chlorine leak reported at parish water facility

  22-12-2016 15:14
  
  CHENEYVILLE – Louisiana State Police Hazmat investigators are on the scene of a chlorine leak at a parish water company facility.The facility is located on Blackwater Road and the road is shut down. Baton Rouge Fire Department Hazmat and Louisiana State Police are at the scene.NEW: Blackwater road just south of Highway 64 has now been shut down. @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/LlXxQ2oid1— Brett Buffington (@BrettBuffington) December 22, 2016According to the Cheneyvill
  
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• Blackwater Road reopened following chlorine leak

  22-12-2016 15:14
  
  CHENEYVILLE – Louisiana State Police Hazmat investigators are on the scene of a chlorine leak at a parish water company facility.The facility is located on Blackwater Road, which reopened after 10 p.m. after being closed for hours. Baton Rouge Fire Department Hazmat and Louisiana State Police are at the scene.NEW: Blackwater road just south of Highway 64 has now been shut down. @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/LlXxQ2oid1— Brett Buffington (@BrettBuffington) December 22
  
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• Couple faces rape, drug charges after search of trailer

  22-12-2016 14:21
  
  SLAUGHTER – Deputies in East Feliciana Parish say a couple faces rape and drug charges after a search at a trailer Wednesday night.Clinton W. Villagomez and Debroah Villagomez were both charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm while in possession of drugs.East Feliciana Parish Sheriff Jeff Travis said Clinton Villagomez was also charged with two counts of first degree rape of a female under the age of 12-years-old, possession of a firearm by a convicted fe
  
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• No injuries after car strikes ambulance on Jefferson Highway

  22-12-2016 13:58
  
  BATON ROUGE – Authorities say no one was hurt when a car struck an ambulance Thursday afternoon on Jefferson Highway in Baton Rouge.The two vehicle crash happened around 1:50 p.m. in the Bocage area of Jefferson Highway.Photos from the scene show a blue Sherwin Williams van with significant damage to its front side. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Germans search sites tied to truck suspect

  22-12-2016 13:37
  
  BERLIN - German federal prosecutors say they have searched properties in western Germany and in Berlin where truck attack suspect Anis Amri is believed to have spent time.Prosecutors' spokeswoman Frauke Koehler told reporters there were searches at "various locations" in North Rhine-Westphalia state and in the capital on Thursday. Authorities also checked a bus in the southwestern German city of Heilbronn after receiving a tip. They haven't yet made any arrests.Koehler said Amri's fingerprints h
  
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• Will Forte, Jim Caviezel among Mardi Gras 2016 royalty

  22-12-2016 13:22
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Two of the glitziest parades in New Orleans' Mardi Gras season have tapped Hollywood for their royalty.A news release says the Krewe of Orpheus is bringing in Will Forte and the cast of his Fox sitcom "The Last Man on Earth," as well as HBO's "Westworld" stars Jimmi Simpson and Evan Rachel Wood.The parade rolls Feb. 27, the night before Mardi Gras.The group's "Orpheuscapade" party will feature rock star Bret Michaels, The Temptations and The Party Crashers.The Krewe of Bacchus will
  
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• Expect heavier than normal traffic today, possibly tomorrow

  22-12-2016 13:18
  
  BATON ROUGE – The holiday rush has arrived.State traffic monitors advised drivers shortly after lunch that the Thursday evening rush would start early and last longer due to travelers passing through the city ahead of Christmas. Drivers should expect heavy delays.Christmas is Sunday and many offices are closed Friday. People are taking advantage of extra travel time, congesting the interstate system.At 1 p.m., eastbound delays already reached into Iberville Parish. Traffic was heavy be
  
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• Trump will keep using 'drain the swamp' mantra

  22-12-2016 12:49
  
  WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump says he's sticking with his "drain the swamp" campaign mantra after a top supporter suggested otherwise.Trump tweets, "Someone incorrectly stated" that he was no longer using the phrase. Trump says, "Actually, we will always be trying to DTS."Someone incorrectly stated that the phrase "DRAIN THE SWAMP" was no longer being used by me. Actually, we will always be trying to DTS.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016
  That s
  
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• Police investigating Thursday shooting on West Chimes

  22-12-2016 11:50
  
  BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge Police Detectives are investigating a shooting that occurred on West Chimes Street that left one 29-year-old man injured. Investigators say that a suspect entered a man's home to possibly rob him. A struggle ensued and the suspect shot the man.The man was transported to the an area hospital.According to BRPD, the man is expected to survive.Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Shelter at Home finishing on time and in budget

  22-12-2016 11:45
  
  BATON ROUGE- Governor John Bel Edwards wanted his flood program wrapped up by Christmas and it looks like it's going to happen. As of Thursday, about 10,500 houses have received temporary repairs in the Shelter at Home program with a few hundred still left to be done."A lot of those are the more complicated cases that have taken more time to iron out the details," said Mike Steele with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security.As the program wraps up, contractors are getting p
  
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• Girl gets handwritten reply from Santa

  22-12-2016 11:29
  
  CENTRAL - A mother made her daughter write a letter to Santa Claus to teach her a lesson in kindness.  She never expected to get a reply.7-year-old Gracie Viccellio was forced to write the letter as punishment for "not being nice" to her sister.Their mail carrier told Gracie she could deliver the letter to Santa. Days later, she got a response.The entire family was shocked."I went to get the mail," Gracie's mom Olivia said, "and I saw the envelope, and I just thought it was a postcard f
  
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• Attorney: German man reaches plea deal in Auburn tree fire

  22-12-2016 11:26
  
  OPELIKA - - A court document shows a German man has reached a deal with Alabama prosecutors and wants to plead guilty to setting fire to a landmark oak tree at Auburn University.An attorney for 29-year-old Jochen Wiest filed a document in Lee County Circuit Court on Wednesday saying her client has reached an agreement with authorities.The lawyer, Margaret Brown, is asking a judge to set a hearing for Wiest to plead guilty.The judge didn't immediately set a hearing date. But he refused to return
  
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• Trump denounces attack, vows tough immigration plan

  22-12-2016 11:22
  
  PALM BEACH - President-elect Donald Trump is renewing his vow to stop radical terror groups and appeared to suggest a willingness to move ahead with his campaign pledge to temporarily ban Muslim immigrants from coming to the United States.Trump proposed the Muslim ban during the Republican primary campaign, drawing sharp criticism from both parties. During the general election, he shifted his rhetoric to focus on temporarily halting immigration from an unspecified list of countries with ties to
  
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• $8.5 billion natural gas project to create 250 jobs

  22-12-2016 11:18
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Officials say a liquefied natural gas project being planned for Plaquemines Parish is expected to create 250 new jobs.Gov. John Bel Edwards and executives from Venture Global LNG announced the project on Wednesday.They said the company will invest $8.5 billion to develop the natural gas liquefaction facility and LNG export terminal.The governor and the company said in a news release that Plaquemines LNG will be Venture Global's second major natural gas liquefaction and export proje
  
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• Two people injured in shooting near North Boulevard

  22-12-2016 11:17
  
  BATON ROUGE - BRPD is investigating a shooting that left two people injured near North Blvd.According to BRPD, it happened around 9:30 p.m. near North Blvd. and 14th Street.Officials say the two victims suffered from non-life threatening injuries.Police say they do not have any information on a shooter or a motive at this time, and are asking for assistance from people in the area to identify a suspect.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Waste Management donates $200,000 grant to Livingston for flood recovery

  22-12-2016 11:01
  
  LIVINGSTON – Livingston Parish has received a $200,000 grant from Waste Management for flood recovery.The donation was made to Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard's Christmas Crusade, a non-profit dedicated to helping those in need within the parish. The funds will be placed into a "Louisiana Rises" account, officials say. Residents who wish to receive funds from the grant must apply. Residents must provide an address for their flood-damaged home, a reason as to why the funds
  
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• WWII veteran's stolen Purple Heart mysteriously reappears

  22-12-2016 09:19
  
  PLYMOUTH - A Massachusetts man says his father's World War II Purple Heart stolen earlier this year has been returned, perhaps by a thief who had an "attack of conscience."Paul Curtis tells The Patriot Ledger that the medal was stolen along with computers, jewelry and musical instruments during a break-in at his Plymouth home in April.It mysteriously reappeared on his front walkway several weeks ago.The medal was earned by his father, Army 1st Lt. Robert Curtis, during the Battle of the Bulge in
  
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• Obama dumps registry for some immigrant men, mostly Muslims

  22-12-2016 09:14
  
  WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is officially ending a post-9/11 era registration system for immigrant men from mostly Muslim countries.The decision to scrap the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System comes amid growing international terror fears and President-elect Donald Trump's suggestions that he could ban Muslim immigrants from the United States.Trump said Wednesday, "You know my plans."The NSEERS program was widely derided by civil libertarians as an effort to profile peopl
  
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• Michigan governor doesn't expect to be charged over Flint water

  22-12-2016 09:12
  
  LANSING - Gov. Rick Snyder says he has "no reason to be concerned" about being charged in the Flint water investigation.Snyder's comments to the Detroit Free Press occurred as the bill for his legal fees reached $4.9 million - all paid by taxpayers. The governor says much of the money has been spent on producing documents requested by Attorney General Bill Schuette's investigators.Snyder says investigators "keep on asking" and his lawyers "keep on responding."Schuette filed charges against four
  
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• Michigan governor doesn't expect to be charged over Flint

  22-12-2016 09:12
  
  LANSING - Gov. Rick Snyder says he has "no reason to be concerned" about being charged in the Flint water investigation.Snyder's comments to the Detroit Free Press occurred as the bill for his legal fees reached $4.9 million - all paid by taxpayers. The governor says much of the money has been spent on producing documents requested by Attorney General Bill Schuette's investigators.Snyder says investigators "keep on asking" and his lawyers "keep on responding."Schuette filed charges against four
  
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• Tourism official: Adult video shared on Instagram a mistake

  22-12-2016 09:06
  
  WEBSTER - A tourism official on business in Baton Rouge says she had no intention of sharing an adult video with nudity on the Instagram account of her employer, the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau.The Minden Press-Herald reports that the video with nudity went live on the tourism bureau's public Instagram account Monday night, and sent notifications to followers. It lasted about 30 minutes.Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lynn Dorsey tells the newspaper it was a "
  
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• Last group to be evacuated from Syria's Aleppo within hours

  22-12-2016 08:05
  
  BEIRUT - The International Committee of the Red Cross says the evacuation of the last remaining civilians and fighters from a rebel-held enclave in eastern Aleppo will be completed soon.A spokeswoman says the few thousand remaining people will be evacuated today in 40 buses and hundreds of private cars.She says another four buses will leave the two besieged government-held villages in the northwestern Idlib province.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Fire marshal: Politics unlikely motive in 'Vote Trump' arson

  22-12-2016 07:58
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi fire marshal says investigators don't see politics as the motivation for the burning of an African-American church that was also spray-painted with the words "Vote Trump" a week before the presidential election.But Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who's also state fire marshal, says there are signs it may have been done to appear that way.A 45-year-old man who's a member of the church and has a prior criminal record was arrested Wednesday and charg
  
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• McCrory blames left-wing groups for no repeal

  22-12-2016 07:57
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. - Outgoing North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory blamed left-wing groups for scuttling an agreement that would have repealed an anti-LGBT law.The Republican called the special session Wednesday, but it ended without approved legislation to get rid of House Bill 2.McCrory said in a release that "bipartisan good faith agreements" were again blocked by the political left.Gay rights groups and others who pushed for repeal blamed Republican lawmakers for failing to keep its promise to act aft
  
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• Berlin market reopens

  22-12-2016 07:54
  
  BERLIN - The Berlin Christmas market where 12 people were killed in a truck attack Monday has reopened.Organizers decided to reopen the market today without party music or bright lights, and crowds are coming by to lay candles and flowers in tribute.Meanwhile, authorities across Europe are trying to track down a 24-year-old Tunisian man considered the prime suspect in the assault that also injured 48 people.German media are reporting that the fingerprints of suspect Anis Amri have been found on
  
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• Cancer-stricken 'Jeopardy!' player wins $103K before death

  22-12-2016 07:52
  
  LOS ANGELES - A woman who died of cancer just days before her appearance on "Jeopardy!" aired won six contests in a row and more than $103,000, some of which she donated to cancer research.Cindy Stowell's run ended when she finished second in her seventh appearance that aired Wednesday. The 41-year-old Texas woman taped the episodes in August and September while battling Stage 4 colon cancer. She died Dec. 5."Jeopardy!" says Stowell was sent advance copies of her first three episodes and watched
  
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• Kellyanne Conway to serve as counselor to the president

  22-12-2016 07:49
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway will be working at the White House in January, as a counselor to the president. The Trump transition team says she'll "work with senior leadership" in the White House "to effectively message and execute the administration's legislative priorities and actions." Conway served as Trump's third campaign manager and is widely credited with helping guide him to victory. She's also a frequent guest on TV news programs.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Kellyanne Conway is heading to the White House

  22-12-2016 07:49
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway is headed to the White House, where she'll serve as counselor to the president.The announcement was made by the president-elect's transition team early Thursday.Conway served as Trump's third campaign manager and is widely credited with helping guide him to victory.She is also a frequent guest on television news programs.Conway had said previously that she planned to move her family to Washington to serve Trump, either inside or outsi
  
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• At least 140 buildings on fire in wind-swept blaze in Japan

  22-12-2016 07:40
  
  TOKYO - A restaurant fire whipped by high winds spread to at least 140 buildings Thursday in a small Japanese city on the Japan Sea coast.The blaze started in the morning at a ramen shop in Itoigawa city, Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. Fanned by winds gusting to 56 kilometers (35 miles) per hour, it had reached about 140 houses and other buildings by mid-afternoon.There were two reports of minor injuries, one woman who inhaled smoke and another who fell, the fire and disaster
  
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