Baton Rouge news

• Trump expected to tap Lighthizer for trade rep

  02-01-2017 20:21
  
  WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate lawyer Robert Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative, according to a transition official.Lighthizer served as deputy USTR under President Ronald Reagan. His responsibilities included industry, agriculture, investment and trade policy, according to his law firm biography.Trump made trade a central issue in his campaign, vowing to pull out of a major Pacific Rim trade pact. He has said he prefers unilateral trade deals that he says
  
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• Officials: Customs system outage causes waits at airports

  02-01-2017 20:16
  
  WASHINGTON - U.S. Customs and Border Protection has issued a statement saying a processing system outage caused delays at various airports.The statement says CBP officers continued processing international travelers using "alternative procedures" until the system came back online Monday but waits were longer than usual at some airports.In Atlanta, CBP public affairs officer Robert Brisley says the outage at the city's airport lasted about an hour from late afternoon into early evening. He said t
  
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• House GOP votes to gut independent ethics office

  02-01-2017 20:02
  
  WASHINGTON - House Republicans have voted to eviscerate the independent Office of Government Ethics, prompting an outcry from Democrats and watchdog groups.The vote Monday night would put the office under the control of the House Ethics committee, which is run by lawmakers. The full House is expected to vote on this change on Tuesday.In a statement, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said Republicans had claimed they wanted to "drain the swamp," an oft-repeated phrase from President-elect Dona
  
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• Twins delivered minutes apart have different birth years

  02-01-2017 19:40
  
  GLENDALE, Ariz. - Twins delivered 10 minutes apart at an Arizona hospital over the New Year's weekend have different birth years.Phoenix TV station KNXV-TV reports that parents Holly and Brandon Shay welcomed their first son, Sawyer, into the world at 11:51 p.m. Saturday at Banner Hospital.Their second son, Everett, arrived one minute after midnight on Sunday.The father joked that Sawyer will tease his brother about being the older sibling.The same thing happened over the weekend in San Diego.Tw
  
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• Trump says North Korean ICBM 'won't happen'

  02-01-2017 19:37
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump insists North Korea won't develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the United States.Trump addressed the issue Monday evening on Twitter. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Sunday in his annual New Year's address that preparations for launching an ICBM have "reached the final stage." He did not explicitly say a test was imminent.Trump tweeted: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.
  
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• Tornado threat shifts east across South

  02-01-2017 19:34
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - Severe weather is exiting Louisiana in time for the Sugar Bowl game Monday night between Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma, but thunderstorms and some tornadoes remain a threat in southern Alabama, southwest Georgia and northwest Florida. Those areas remain under a tornado watch until late Monday, as a storm system that began early Monday in Texas keeps pushing eastward.The system knocked out power to more than 80,000 customers in Louisiana and Mississippi at the
  
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• Round-the-clock federal manhunt underway for escaped inmate

  02-01-2017 19:19
  
  CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. - A round-the-clock state and federal manhunt is underway for an inmate who escaped from a Rhode Island detention center.The Wyatt Correctional Center warden says 35-year-old former Army reservist James Morales fled Saturday by climbing a basketball hoop to reach a rooftop, cutting through a fence and climbing through razor wire.Warden Daniel Martin says it took more than three hours to discover Morales was missing. Two officers have been placed on paid leave.The prison in Ce
  
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• 3 arrested in stadium pipeline protest released

  02-01-2017 19:13
  
  MINNEAPOLIS - Three people are out of jail after being arrested after opponents of the Dakota Access oil pipeline suspended a large banner inside U.S. Bank Stadium during a Minnesota Vikings game.Online records for Hennepin County Jail showed the three were released from custody Monday.A news release says the two climbers - a man and a woman - plan to make a brief statement and answer questions outside of the downtown Minneapolis stadium on Tuesday.A second woman also was arrested, but police ha
  
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• Storm system damages Walmart in Marksville

  02-01-2017 19:08
  
  MARKSVILLE - A storm system moving across the South has blown out skylights in a Walmart in Marksville, Louisiana, sending water and glass cascading onto shoppers.Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon says the Monday storm also picked up a fireworks stand in front of the store and mangled it, tossing it 30 or 40 yards.Bordelon says no one was injured. People inside the store were evacuated and it was closed afterward.A number of other buildings in Avoyelles Parish were damaged, including houses t
  
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• Seattle firetrucks collide, 8 firefighters sent to hospital

  02-01-2017 19:04
  
  SEATTLE - A collision between two Seattle firetrucks responding to a call sent eight firefighters to the hospital.Fire department officials tell The Seattle Times that the firefighters suffered no serious injuries in the Sunday morning crash and were treated and released.Department spokeswoman Alice Kim says a fire engine and ladder truck responding to an automatic fire alarm collided just before 8 a.m.The ladder truck went through an empty parking lot and smashed the storefront of a ma
  
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• Clogged ditches, flooding streets in Walker subdivision creating problems

  02-01-2017 17:01
  
  WALKER - With every rain fall comes a looming problem for residents living in Suburban Acres. Water overflows the banks of ditches and floods streets and front yards."Anytime we get rain," said Kathy Chambers.While the ditches fill with water, some are clogged with debris. After getting four feet of water in her home last August, Chambers says she's tired of the risk."We can't worry every time it rains," she said.She worried over the weekend, when she woke up and saw the same thing she always se
  
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• United investigates after worker spends flight in cargo hold

  02-01-2017 16:53
  
  WASHINGTON - United Airlines says it is investigating after a vendor employee was found unharmed in an aircraft's cargo hold following a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Washington Dulles International Airport.The airline said in a statement to The Associated Press on Monday that United Express flight 6060 operated by Mesa Airlines landed safely at Dulles on Sunday.The statement says once at the gate, an employee of the airline's ground handling vendor was found in the cargo area. The e
  
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• 4 children die in Texas gas poisoning; others injured

  02-01-2017 16:47
  
  AMARILLO - Officials in Texas say four children have died from gas poisoning believed to have been caused by a pesticide sprayed under their Amarillo home.Amarillo Fire Department officials say other people who were in the home are "not out of the woods" yet.Fire officials say a chemical reaction occurred when one person tried to wash off a pesticide that had been sprayed under the house. Poisonous Phosphine gas was released.Capt. Larry Davis said in a statement Monday that crews responded to a
  
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• Man crashes into vehicle, smashes it with hammer, cuts driver

  02-01-2017 16:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – The Baton Rouge Police Department arrested a man after he crashed into a vehicle, smashed it with a hammer and cut the driver.Tony Green, 23, was arrested for attempted second degree murder, attempted simple kidnapping, aggravated damage to property, simple battery and two counts of damage to property.Officers responded to a stabbing following a crash at 5000 Prescott Road on Sunday around 11 p.m. The victim had cuts to his upper thigh that were close to hitting the femor
  
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• Man arrested for breaking into woman's home, threatening to set it on fire

  02-01-2017 15:36
  
  BATON ROUGE – A man was arrested early Monday morning after breaking into a woman's home and threatening to set it on fire.The Baton Rouge Police Department arrested 43-year-old Kadric Wicks for damage to property, home invasion and communicating of false information of planned arson.On Monday around 12:48 a.m. the woman was in bed when she heard a loud sound of glass breaking and felt glass fall onto her bed next to her. A large block of cement was laying next to her pillow.A witness
  
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• A 1-15 record earned Browns top pick in April's NFL draft

  02-01-2017 15:12
  
  NEW YORK - A 1-15 record earned the Cleveland Browns the top pick in April's NFL draft.Since returning to the league as an expansion franchise in 1999, the Browns twice have used the No. 1 overall selection. In their first season, they chose Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch. The next year, they got Penn State defensive lineman Courtney Brown.San Francisco (2-14) will pick second, followed by Chicago and Jacksonville, both 3-13.The Rams (4-12), Jets and Chargers, both 5-11, Carolina (6-10), Cincinn
  
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• Colorado police search for 6-year-old missing since New Year's Eve

  02-01-2017 15:05
  
  AURORA - Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora are searching for a 6-year-old boy who has been missing since New Year's Eve.David Puckett was reported missing on Saturday night after apparently wandering off from his home.Denver-area police agencies and volunteers searched for David on Saturday night and New Year's Day with the help of a helicopter and a bloodhound. Police say he has wandered off in the recent past but was found with the help of the public.He was only wearing a light jacket, not
  
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• Severe weather causes damage, outages across several parishes

  02-01-2017 13:52
  
  Severe weather on Monday afternoon caused several power outages and damage across multiple parishes.Entergy reported outages affecting about 3,262 in Pointe Coupee Parish and reported about 1,781 residents without power in East Feliciana. Additionally, about 613 residents were reported without power in West Feliciana Parish. Outages were reported around 1:30 p.m. East Baton Rouge Parish has experienced 1,524 outages and 1,721 outages in Tangipahoa Parish as of 2 p.m., according
  
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• Judge closes Roof competency hearing to public

  02-01-2017 13:24
  CHARLESTON - A federal judge has shut out the public from a second hearing on the competency of a man charged with killing nine black people during Bible study at a South Carolina church.U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled Monday that Dylann Roof's right to a fair trial could be hampered if jurors mulling his sentence learned the contents of the hearing.Jay Bender, an attorney for The Associated Press and other media outlets, argued against the closure. Bender said closing the hearing to th
  
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• Dylann Roof found competent to represent himself

  02-01-2017 13:24
  CHARLESTON, S.C. - Dylann Roof has been ruled competent to stand trial and to act as his own attorney.U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel made the determination Monday after a daylong hearing. The judge heard about seven hours of testimony in the hearing, which was closed to the public and the media.Roof was also granted an extra day to prepare for his case. The same jury that last month found Roof guilty of 33 federal charges will now return to court Wednesday to begin weighing if he should be s
  
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• 'Rogue One' tops box office for third straight weekend

  02-01-2017 13:12
  
  NEW YORK - The "Star Wars" spinoff "Rogue One" has led the box office for the third straight week, taking in an estimated $64.3 million over the four-day New Year's weekend.The success of "Rogue One" has only further cemented a record year for the Walt Disney Co., which ran up more than $2.7 billion in domestic ticket sales in 2016 and accounted for more than 25 percent of the market. "Rogue One" has grossed about $440 million in North America and nearly $800 million globally.In its second week
  
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• Rose Parade proceeds under clouds with additional security

  02-01-2017 12:29
  
  PASADENA - The Rose Parade is underway under cloudy skies and with additional security.The 128th annual parade got started Monday with an added police presence and measures to prevent a vehicle from barreling into the route.Sturdy barricades are erected at more than 50 intersections to prevent a terrorist attack like ones that happened in Berlin and France last year when trucks plowed into crowds.Flower-covered floats feature waterfalls, a roller coaster and surfing dogs. The AIDS Healthcare Fou
  
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• Deputies searching for man wanted for domestic abuse

  02-01-2017 11:47
  
  BATON ROUGE – The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is looking for a man wanted for domestic abuse.Deputies are searching for 29-year-old Thailand Brooks. Brooks is wanted for the unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling along with domestic abuse battery.Brooks is described as a black man, 5'7'' in height and weighs about 165 pounds.According to EBRSO, Brooks' last known address is located in the 10000 block of Florida Boulevard.Anyone with information on Brooks' whereabouts is urge
  
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• Residents on Burbank stuck in smelly sewage situation

  02-01-2017 11:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - Some residents living in an apartment complex just south of LSU are suffering through quite the stench.Sewage backed up into some of the apartments off of Burbank Drive, and it's causing the smell.With heavy rainfall the past few days, the problem has gotten worse.Workers with DPW blame a pump problem, along with an aging drainage system, for the oder.Passing by Burbank Drive, you probably wouldn't notice a problem. But if you step inside Roy Hernandaz's
  
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• Officials: Storms kill 4 in southern Alabama

  02-01-2017 11:21
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - Emergency officials say four people were killed in southern Alabama when severe storms ripped through the area.Kris Ware, a spokeswoman for the Dothan Houston County Emergency Management Agency, said four people were killed in Rehobeth and structures were damaged in the area.Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement on social media that the sheriff confirmed the storm-related deaths to him.The National Weather Service had issued a tornado warning for Houston County on Monday eveni
  
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• Arson causes early morning house fire on Lupine Avenue

  02-01-2017 11:07
  
  BATON ROUGE – The Baton Rouge Fire Department says that arson was the cause of an early morning house fire on Lupine Avenue.The fire occurred around 12:30 a.m. on Monday at a vacant house located at 2771 Lupine Avenue. Firefighters arrived on the scene to find the house fully engulfed in flames.According to BRFD, seven units were used to extinguish the fire and the house is considered a total loss.EMS was on the scene to assist, however the house was vacant at the time of the fire.Anyo
  
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• Lead found in 20-plus percent of St Joseph homes

  02-01-2017 09:15
  
  ST. JOSEPH - State health officials say nearly 22 percent of the homes in a small northeast Louisiana town have unsafe levels of lead in the drinking water.Gov. John Bel Edwards issued an emergency order Dec. 16 when two routine samples showed similar conditions and two more showed high levels of copper. He ordered the town to start drinking bottled water.The state started testing the drinking water from each of the 470 homes, businesses, and schools on the town's system just before Christmas.Fe
  
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• Louisiana sheriff sued over deadly shooting during drug raid

  02-01-2017 09:10
  
  BATON ROUGE - A federal lawsuit claims sheriff's deputies shot and killed a 27-year-old man in his southwest Louisiana home after investigators improperly obtained a warrant to search his residence for drugs.The Dec. 26 lawsuit accuses a Beauregard Parish sheriff's deputy of relying on false and uncorroborated statements from an informant and anonymous caller to get a "no-knock" warrant to search Eric Senegal's Ragley home.A grand jury ruled out criminal charges against two deputies who shot at
  
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• 29-year-old woman fatally shot Sunday night

  02-01-2017 08:46
  
  BATON ROUGE - According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, detectives are investigating the shooting death of a 29-year-old woman.Asha Davis was found shot to death at 4115 Mohican Prescott Crossover Sunday night around 8:30 p.m.The motive for the shooting is unclear at this time.Anyone with information is urged to call the Violent Crimes Unit at 389-4869.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Medicare launches revamp for heart attacks, hip fractures

  02-01-2017 07:33
  
  WASHINGTON - Medicare wants to start changing how it pays for the treatment of life-threatening conditions.The goal is to promote quality and contain costs by encouraging doctors, hospitals and rehab centers to coordinate care.Ninety-eight metro areas will be involved in a cardiac care experiment, and 67 in a hip surgery test.It's part of a big push under the Obama administration to reinvent Medicare, steering away from paying for services regardless of quality and cost.Permalink| Comments
  
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• GOP will get to work on dismantling healthcare

  02-01-2017 07:31
  
  WASHINGTON - With Donald Trump just weeks away from assuming office, GOP lawmakers plan to open the 115th Congress tomorrow and immediately take steps to repeal President Barack Obama's health care law.Lawmakers will then spend the next few months working on legislation canceling broad swaths of the law, such as the mandate that people buy health insurance or face IRS fines, and its expansion of Medicaid coverage to more lower-earning Americans.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Under 3 weeks left: Obama in closing stretch of presidency

  02-01-2017 07:30
  
  HONOLULU - President Barack Obama is entering the closing stretch of his presidency, an eleventh-hour push to tie up loose ends and put the finishing touches on his legacy before handing the reins to President-elect Donald Trump.Obama returns to Washington at midday today from Hawaii with less than three weeks. His final days will largely be consumed with a bid to protect his endangered health care law, a major farewell speech and the ongoing handover of power to Trump's team.His speech in his h
  
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• Iraq: Suicide bombing kills at least 22 in Baghdad

  02-01-2017 07:28
  
  BAGHDAD - At least 22 people are dead after a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle in a bustling market area in Baghdad.Police say the bomber attacked an outdoor fruit and vegetable market, day laborers and a police checkpoint in Baghdad's Sadr City.Up to 35 other people were wounded.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Reports: Islamic State claims Istanbul nightclub attack

  02-01-2017 07:27
  
  ISTANBUL - A statement from the Islamic State group describes Turkey as "the servant of the cross" and says the Istanbul nightclub attack came because that's where "Christians were celebrating their pagan feast."In claiming responsibility for the attack that killed 39 people, the statement says it was in "revenge for God's religion and in response to the orders" of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."Permalink| Comments
  
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• Dog attacks family trying to dress it in sweater, 3 hurt

  02-01-2017 07:25
  
  TAMPA, Fla. - Police in Florida say an angry dog sent three people to the hospital after one tried to put a sweater on it.Tampa police say the pit bull mix named Scarface bit a 52-year-old woman who was trying to dress him on Friday and her husband was attacked while trying to pull the dog off of her. Police say the couple's 22-year-old son was attacked while trying to stop the dog by stabbing it in the neck and head.The three people escaped the house and left the dog in the backyard.Police say
  
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• Authorities: 4 killed at home in apparent murder-suicide

  02-01-2017 07:23
  
  LEXINGTON, S.C. - Authorities in South Carolina say four people found dead in a home appears to be the result of a murder-suicide.The coroner in Lexington County says a man, a woman and two children were found last night, and it's believed all four died of gunshot wounds.The four have been identified as 26-year-old Marissa Hope Reynoso, her children, ages 4 and 1 and 25-year-old Jorge Luis Chavez, who's believed to be the children's father.An older child was not home at the time.Permalink| Comme
  
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• Police: 7 shot, including 3 teenagers, outside Miami home

  02-01-2017 07:22
  
  MIAMI - One person is in critical condition and six others are stable after police in Miami say a car pulled up to a group of people standing outside a house and opened fire.The shooting happening early Sunday evening in Miami-Dade's West Little River neighborhood.Police tell the Miami Herald that there may be more than one suspect.Permalink| Comments
  
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• 2 blasts reported outside airport in Somalia's capital

  02-01-2017 07:20
  
  MOGADISHU, Somalia - The African Union mission in Somalia is reporting two loud explosions outside Mogadishu's international airport.There are no immediate details on the midday blasts. Somalia's capital has seen frequent bomb attacks at hotels and military checkpoints, with homegrown extremist group al-Shabab claiming responsibility.The attacks have threatened this Horn of Africa nation's attempts to rebuild from decades of chaos. The country's presidential election, a key step toward recovery,
  
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• 17 still missing after Indonesia boat fire kills 23

  02-01-2017 07:18
  
  JAKARTA, Indonesia -At least five ships and a number of speedboats and rubber boats are combing the water off the coast of Indonesia's capital, looking for signs of 17 people reported missing after a ferry fire that left at least 23 dead.Officials say the Zahro Express was carrying more than 260 people, mostly Indonesians to a resort island.Permalink| Comments
  
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• One of Chicago's bloodiest years ends with 762 homicides

  02-01-2017 07:15
  
  CHICAGO - Chicago has ended 2016 with 762 homicides - the most in two decades.Data released by the Chicago Police Department also shows 1,100 more shootings in 2016 than the year before.Police recovered 8,300 illegal guns in 2016, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Coroner: 4 dead in southern Illinois small plane crash

  02-01-2017 07:13
  
  VIENNA, Ill. - Authorities in southern Illinois say four people died New Year's Eve after a single-engine plane crashed in a wooded area.Johnson County Coroner David Rockwell says he pronounced the two men and two women dead at about 8:15 p.m. on Saturday at the scene of the crash. He says the victims all appear to be adults and their identities are unknown. The Federal Aviation Administration says a Piper PA28 small aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances on Saturday night.The FAA says it and
  
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• Search for missing Ohio plane halted for the night

  02-01-2017 07:10
  
  CLEVELAND - Authorities have received multiple reports of debris washing ashore near where a plane carrying six people took off before it vanished Thursday over Lake Erie near Cleveland.On board were a family of four and their two neighbors, who reportedly were attending a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game.The Coast Guard says it plans to continue the search Monday, weather permitting.Permalink| Comments
  
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