Baton Rouge news

• Trump promises health insurance for all

  15-01-2017 20:29
  
  WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump says his plan to replace the nation's health care law will include "insurance for everybody."Trump made the comment in an interview with the Washington Post published on Sunday.The president-elect says: "We're going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can't pay for it, you don't get it. That's not going to happen with us."Trump declined to reveal any details.An embrace of universal health care woul
  
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• Obama speaks on Israel, Trump in last White House interview

  15-01-2017 18:47
  
  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says the increase in the number of Israeli settlements is inhibiting the possibility for an "effective, contiguous Palestinian state."Speaking in his final interview as president, Obama dismissed the idea that there is a "major rupture" in the relationship between the United States and Israel after last month's decision by the U.S. to abstain from a United Nations vote condemning Israeli settlements.The outgoing president reflected during the hourlong intervie
  
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• John Lewis books sell out on Amazon day after Trump's tweets

  15-01-2017 16:59
  
  New York - Two of John Lewis' books have sold out on Amazon after the Democratic congressman claimed the top spots on the retailer's best-seller list.Sales of the civil rights leader's graphic novel "March" and his 2015 memoir "Walking With the Wind" skyrocketed following his feud with President-elect Donald Trump over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. After Lewis questioned the legitimacy of Trump's victory, Trump tweeted that the 16-term Georgia representative "should spend more time
  
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• Former pro wrestler Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka dies at 73

  15-01-2017 15:46
  
  PHILADELPHIA - Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, a former professional wrestler who earlier this month was found not competent to stand trial in the 1983 death of his girlfriend, has died. He was 73.A lawyer representing Snuka said family members told him that Snuka died Sunday afternoon at his son-in-law's home near Pompano Beach, Florida.A Lehigh County judge on Jan. 3 dismissed the murder case against the retired WWE star in the death of Nancy Argentino, whose body was found in their Whitehall Township
  
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• Packers-Cowboys will be 8th playoff meeting

  15-01-2017 15:30
  
  There should be good vibes at AT&T Stadium for Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers and NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott of Dallas.The divisional playoff game between the Packers and Cowboys is Rodgers' first game in the $1.2 billion retractable roof stadium since winning the title as Super Bowl MVP in a 31-25 victory over Pittsburgh to conclude the 2010 season.Rodgers, who has thrown 19 touchdown passes without an interception during a seven-game winning streak, had 304 yards passing wit
  
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• Catch by Cook sets up winning kick for Packers

  15-01-2017 15:30
  
  Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are headed to the NFC championship game for the first time since the 2014 season after a thrilling finish in Dallas.Mason Crosby kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired, and the Packers edged the NFC's top-seeded Cowboys 34-31 on Sunday. The kick was set up by a Jared Cook 35-yard reception as he was sliding out of bounds.Rodgers threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns as the Packers (12-6) won their eighth straight.The Cowboys (13-4) rallied twice, fir
  
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• Arkansas tries to strip Gen. Lee from Martin Luther King Day

  15-01-2017 14:39
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Every third Monday in January, Arkansas state offices are closed in observance of an unlikely holiday: the shared birthdays of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.Now Arkansas' Republican governor is reviving an effort to remove Lee from the holiday. But he faces resistance from opponents who complain the move belittles the state's Confederate heritage and from black lawmakers worried about a plan to set aside another day to hon
  
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• Officials: Unfilled border tunnels in Mexico a security risk

  15-01-2017 14:18
  
  SAN DIEGO - U.S. officials say Mexico's inability to fully seal up border tunnels dug by drug smugglers poses a security risk and is an "open invitation" for cartels to carve out new tunnels.On the U.S. side, drug tunnels have been filled with concrete since 2007, after the Los Angeles Times reported that they were being left unfilled because of budget constraints within Customs and Border Protection.Mexican authorities say they lack the money to fill the tunnels completely. Only the openings ar
  
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• SC teen abducted as a Florida newborn meets birth parents

  15-01-2017 13:32
  
  WALTERBORO, S.C. - An 18-year-old South Carolina woman abducted from a Florida hospital hours after her birth is meeting her biological family for the first time.Multiple media organizations report that Kamiyah Mobley met her birth parents on Saturday at the police department in Walterboro, the city 50 miles west of Charleston where she was raised under a false name.Craig Aiken said after the 45-minute meeting he is still in shock about suddenly being reunited with his long-lost daughter, but th
  
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• Gunman who killed football player gets 25 years to life

  15-01-2017 13:32
  
  WALTERBORO, S.C. - An 18-year-old South Carolina woman abducted from a Florida hospital hours after her birth is meeting her biological family for the first time.Multiple media organizations report that Kamiyah Mobley met her birth parents on Saturday at the police department in Walterboro, the city 50 miles west of Charleston where she was raised under a false name.Craig Aiken said after the 45-minute meeting he is still in shock about suddenly being reunited with his long-lost daughter, but th
  
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• 'Hidden Figures' keeps orbit at top; Affleck, Scorsese flop

  15-01-2017 13:18
  
  NEW YORK - The crowd-pleasing NASA drama "Hidden Figures" has topped the box office for the second straight week, while a pair of high-priced prestige releases sputtered.Estimates on Sunday say "Hidden Figures," a tale about African-American mathematicians in the 1960s space race, sold $20.5 million in tickets in North American theaters over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Fox anticipates it will make $25.3 million when Monday is included.In a crowded field that included the "Star Wa
  
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• Envoys urge Israel, Palestinians to back peace

  15-01-2017 13:15
  
  PARIS - More than 70 countries have called on Israel and the Palestinians to restate their commitment to a peace settlement and to refrain from unilateral actions.The closing statement at a Mideast peace conference in Paris on Sunday was meant to send a powerful message to Israel and the incoming Trump administration to keep hopes alive for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.Trump's campaign platform made no mention of Palestinian independence - the solution favored by the
  
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• Red Cross staffer freed in Afghanistan weeks after abduction

  15-01-2017 13:13
  
  BERLIN - The International Committee of the Red Cross says a staff member who was abducted in northern Afghanistan last month has been released.The ICRC's head of delegation in Afghanistan, Monica Zanarelli, said Sunday that the man is "safe and sound" and is now with its team in Kunduz. The agency said it wouldn't comment on the identity of the abductors or their motives or give any details of the release.The ICRC staffer, whose nationality wasn't specified, was snatched on Dec. 19 in the north
  
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• Kerry backs "2-nation" solution for Mideast

  15-01-2017 13:09
  
  PARIS - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is defending an international call for renewed efforts at Mideast peace.Kerry, speaking to reporters after taking part in a peace conference Sunday in Paris, rejected Israeli criticism of the meeting, saying the concept of a two-state solution to the conflict is "threatened" and must be reinforced if it is ever to happen. The conference's final communique, he said, endorses a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians without imposing a resoluti
  
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• Sanders says Comey should consider stepping down

  15-01-2017 13:06
  
  WASHINGTON - Sen. Bernie Sanders is so steamed about the FBI director that he thinks James Comey may want to find another job.The Vermont senator - who ran against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination - is among the lawmakers still angry about how Comey handled the election-year inquiry into Clinton's private email practices.And now Comey is refusing to say whether the FBI is investigating possible links between President-elect Donald Trump's campaign and Russia.Sanders tel
  
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• 2 semis crash on icy interstate in Nebraska

  15-01-2017 13:05
  
  KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Officials believe icy conditions contributed to a fiery crash involving two semitrailer trucks on Interstate 80 in central Nebraska.The accident happened as the latest wave of sleet and drizzle was glazing parts of the central U.S. on Sunday.The Nebraska Roads Department closed 15 miles of I-80 after the trucks crashed shortly before 9 a.m. The crash happened about 9 miles west of Kearney.Pictures of the crash show the trucks on fire along the road, but the Nebraska State Patr
  
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• 6 killed in stampede during Hindu festival in India

  15-01-2017 13:03
  
  KOLKATA, India - An official says at least six people have been killed in a stampede during a Hindu religious festival in eastern India.West Bengal state Development Minister Mantu Ram Pakhira says the stampede took place Sunday as hundreds of thousands of people had assembled on the banks of the Buriganga river.Pakhira says the stampede occurred as people were trying to get into a crowded boat. Six women were killed and seven other people were injured.The area where the stampede occurred is abo
  
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• CIA director says Trump tweeting harms security

  15-01-2017 13:00
  
  WASHINGTON - CIA Director John Brennan says Donald Trump's "talking and tweeting" is not in the nation's interest and that the president-elect lacks a full understanding of the threat Russia poses to the U.S.Brennan said Sunday the national security questions Trump will face after becoming president on Friday are not "about him." Brennan addedthat Trump needs to understand that "he's going to have an opportunity to do something for our national security as opposed to talking and tweeting." Such
  
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• Trump team calls on Obama to stop attacks

  15-01-2017 12:58
  
  WASHINGTON - Donald Trump's team is still plenty steamed after a leading House Democrat described Trump as an illegitimate president - and there are now calls for President Barack Obama to act.Trump's incoming White House chief of staff says the congressman, civil rights leader John Lewis of Georgia, is being "irresponsible" and has started a "firestorm."Reince Priebus tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that Obama should "step up" and "call it what it is - it's wrong what is happening, it's wrong how
  
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• Loyola University hosts panel discussion on Trump presidency

  15-01-2017 12:55
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Experts from New Orleans' Loyola University are hosting a panel discussion this week about Donald Trump's upcoming presidency.The discussion will be held on Thursday at the university's Nunemaker Auditorium.History professor Behrooz Moazami says the event will discuss some of the major issues that came up during the election cycle.The discussion will touch on issues such as the role of gender and race in the coming years, environmental and foreign policies and immigration.Moazami,
  
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• 3-parish African-American museum opening Feb 4 in Houma

  15-01-2017 12:52
  
  HOUMA - A segregation-era high school for black students will reopen next month as a museum celebrating African-American history in Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes.The Courier reports that the Finding Our Roots African American Museum in Houma will be dedicated Feb. 4.The 9 a.m. ceremony will be followed by a book fair and entertainment at the building once called The Academy.The museum will open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission is $7.Finding Our Roots vice
  
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• New Orleans police chief to meet with Paul Ryan

  15-01-2017 12:45
  
  NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison will meet with House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday about new approaches police departments are taking on police training regarding de-escalation, decision-making and use of force tactics.Harrison's office, in a news release, said the meeting will take place in Janesville, Wisconsin and focus on the Police Executive Research Forum's new Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics training guide. PERF introduced the guide at a
  
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• White House urges Trump to mend ties with Lewis

  15-01-2017 12:42
  
  WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's chief of staff says Donald Trump should mend relations with civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis to send a message to the American people and the world.The president-elect tore into Lewis on Saturday for questioning the legitimacy of his White House victory, intensifying a feud with the black congressman days before the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, told CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump should ad
  
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• Police investigate if restaurant worker contaminated food

  15-01-2017 12:39
  
  COLUMBUS, Miss. - Columbus police have launched a criminal investigation into whether a fast-food worker intentionally served contaminated food.The Commercial Dispatch reports that a Tupelo resident who may have received contaminated food contacted Police Chief John Lewis.The state Health Department and Jack's Family Restaurants of Homewood, Alabama, say they've already started investigating. A woman claims her daughter saw a fellow restaurant worker lick and wipe bodily fluids on an or
  
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• Russian security chief says country seeing more cyberattacks

  15-01-2017 12:36
  
  MOSCOW - The head of the Russian Security Council says the country recently has seen a marked increase in attempted cyberattacks from overseas.The comments by Nikolai Patrushev, quoted by Russian news agencies Sunday, come amid tensions over the allegations by United States' intelligence agencies of a Kremlin-directed effort to interfere in the U.S. presidential elections and bolster support for President-elect Donald Trump using stolen information. .The alleged cyberattacks included penetration
  
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• Military: Mosul University fully liberated by Iraqi troops

  15-01-2017 12:33
  
  BAGHDAD - An Iraqi military spokesman says government troops have fully liberated the sprawling complex of Mosul University, a major step in the massive operation to retake the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.The spokesman of the Joint Military Command, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, declared Sunday that the campus was under the full control of Iraqi special forces, officially known as the Counter Terrorism Service, who raised the Iraqi flag over its buildings.Iraqi forces entered the university grou
  
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• Flood victim said trailer "exploded" after attempting to lighting cigarette inside

  15-01-2017 12:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man set his trailer on fire and was transported to a hospital after it "exploded" when he tried to light a cigarette inside.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, emergency crews were called around 1:50 a.m. Sunday morning to a reported trailer firein the 2000 block of Park Circle.Firefighters arrived at the scene to find the trailer fully engulfed in flames, according to BRFD.According to BRFD, the resident was living in the trailer while remode
  
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• Flood victim said trailer "exploded" after attempting to light cigarette inside

  15-01-2017 12:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man's trailer reportedly "exploded" when he tried to light a cigarette inside.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, emergency crews were called around 1:50 a.m. Sunday morning to a reported trailer firein the 2000 block of Park Circle.Firefighters arrived at the scene to find the trailer fully engulfed in flames, according to BRFD.According to BRFD, the resident was living in the trailer while remodeling his house from flood damage. He was trans
  
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• Firefighters respond to Sunday morning strip mall fire on Jefferson Hwy

  15-01-2017 11:57
  
  BATON ROGUE - Baton Rouge and St. George Firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze in a Strip Mall on Jefferson Hwy. Sunday morning.According to BRFD, the fire started around 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning in a strip mall in the 12000 block of Jefferson Hwy.Firefighters were able to control the blaze by 5:15 a.m., according to BRFD.Investigators believe the fire started in the business of "Tax Free Entertainment", according to fire officials. Most of the fire damage was in the attic&
  
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• Firefighters respond to strip mall fire on Jefferson Hwy

  15-01-2017 11:57
  
  BATON ROGUE - Baton Rouge and St. George Firefighters worked to extinguish a blaze in a Strip Mall on Jefferson Hwy. Sunday morning.According to BRFD, the fire started around 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning in a strip mall in the 12000 block of Jefferson Hwy.Firefighters were able to control the blaze by 5:15 a.m., according to BRFD.Investigators believe the fire started in the business of "Tax Free Entertainment", according to fire officials. Most of the fire damage was in the attic&
  
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• State Police: Motorcyclist killed in Lafourche Parish crash

  15-01-2017 11:33
  
  RACELAND - A single vehicle crash claimed the life of a 37-year-old man shortly after 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning just north of Raceland.According to State Police, the crash took the life of Jacob Kraus, 37, of Houma. State Police said a preliminary investigation of the crash revealed Kraus was traveling north on LA 1 driving a 2013 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic. Kraus entered a right curve in the roadway, and for unknown reasons, crossed the centerline, accordin
  
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