Baton Rouge news

• Woman impersonated lawmaker's wife, snuck into GOP retreat

  28-01-2017 21:13
  
  WASHINGTON - A woman impersonated the wife of a GOP lawmaker and snuck into the congressional Republican retreat in Philadelphia Thursday - the same day President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence appeared.
      
  That's according to the president of the Congressional Institute, the nonprofit group that hosts the annual retreat. The official, Mark Strand, disclosed the information in an email to lawmakers obtained by The Associated Press.
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• Proposed Merryville curfew aims to curb mischief, theft

  28-01-2017 19:13
  
  MERRYVILLE - Merryville has always been a quiet Louisiana town, but lately, that hasn't been the case.
      
  Mayor David Eaves says authorities have received vandalism, theft and overall mischief complaints that might be linked to the number of children they're seeing out late at night.
      
  Eaves tells local news sources that there's no need for children to be roaming the town between midnight and 6 a.m. So, he's proposing a curfew for childr
  
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• Trump sets 5-year and lifetime lobbying ban for officials

  28-01-2017 17:34
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is imposing a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for foreign governments, and a five-year ban for other lobbying.
      
  Trump used his executive authority Saturday to put in place the bans - fulfilling part of his campaign pledge to "drain the swamp" in Washington.
      
  Trump has said that those who want to work for him should focus on the job they'll be doing for the American people, and not
  
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• Closing arguments begin in trial against former BRPD officers

  28-01-2017 16:48
  
  BATON ROUGE - The defense and prosecution have rested their cases and are making their closing arguments regarding three former BRPD officers accused of abusing their power.Isacc Bolden surrendered to police in November 2014, days after he was accused of getting a women to perform oral sex in a Baton Rouge park.Two other officers, Emerson Jackson and Travis wheeler, allegedly acted as a lookout for Bolden.Bolden had resigned earlier in the same year. Jackson and Wheeler were placed on administra
  
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• Accidental fire destroys Baton Rouge home

  28-01-2017 15:16
  
  BATON ROUGE - An accidental fire destroyed a home overnight.Firefighters received calls from people living on the 500 block of Hadley Drive around midnight. The first unit arrived just after 12 p.m. to find the rear of the house in flames and heavy fire showing upstairs, according to officials.  When first responders arrived they searched for people inside the home but no one was there. The house was deemed a total loss.
  Investigators with the St. George Fire Department conclud
  
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• 10 shot, injured in Tennessee at National Guard Armory

  28-01-2017 15:02
  
  BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. - Authorities say 10 people in western Tennessee were injured in a shooting at a party at a National Guard Armory.Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Susan Niland says the shooting in Brownsville occurred before midnight Friday when a fight broke out at the armory. Authorities believe the facility had been rented out for a party.Niland says the victims ranging from juveniles to young adults were transported to Jackson General Hospital. Two are expected to be transpor
  
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• Mississippi confirms first pediatric flu death of season

  28-01-2017 14:13
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi State Department of Health reports the first confirmed pediatric influenza death for the 2016-2017 flu season.Officials say it happened to someone who lived in Central Mississippi.Including this reported death, there have been 15 total pediatric flu deaths reported in Mississippi since such deaths became reportable in the 2007-2008 flu season. Flu symptoms include fever, cough, and often, extreme fatigue. Pediatric deaths are defined as deaths of those under 18 y
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: All lanes of I-10 East past LA 415 reopened following accident

  28-01-2017 13:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - All lanes have reopened I-10 East past LA 415 (Lobdell) following an accident, according to the DOTD. A dually truck was reporedtly carrying granite when the accident occured. Officials are working to clear the roadway. Traffic was forced to pass on the right shoulder, but congestion has reached beyond LA 415 approximately seven miles in length.Here's a view from @La_DOTD of the wreck on I-10. Appears a truck lost it's load. Watch out for WB delays due to
  
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• Granite hauler lost load on I-10

  28-01-2017 13:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - All lanes have reopened I-10 East past LA 415 (Lobdell) following an accident, according to the DOTD. A dually truck was reporedtly carrying granite when the accident occured. Officials are working to clear the roadway. Traffic was forced to pass on the right shoulder, but congestion has reached beyond LA 415 approximately seven miles in length.Here's a view from @La_DOTD of the wreck on I-10. Appears a truck lost it's load. Watch out for WB delays due to
  
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• Puerto Rico gets more time to propose fiscal plan

  28-01-2017 13:28
  
  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A federal control board is giving Puerto Rico's government more time to figure out how to confront its financial crisis.Saturday's action gives the territorial government a little more time to negotiate with creditors and stave off possible lawsuits. The deadline for presenting a fiscal plan moves to Feb. 28 instead of Jan. 15. And the moratorium on lawsuits now extends to May 31 instead of Feb. 15.Gov. Ricardo Rossello says in a statement that the measure shows the gover
  
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• Texas mosque destroyed in early-morning blaze; cause unknown

  28-01-2017 13:25
  
  VICTORIA, Texas - An early-morning fire has destroyed a Texas mosque that had been a target of hatred in the past.The Victoria Advocate reports that a convenience store clerk spotted smoke and flames billowing from the Islamic Center of Victoria at around 2 a.m. Saturday and called the fire department.Jeff Cowan, battalion chief for the city's fire department, says firefighters and police officers found the mosque completely consumed in flames when they arrived.The blaze was extinguishe
  
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• Iran suggests it will limit issuing of US visas

  28-01-2017 13:19
  
  CAIRO - Iran's foreign ministry is suggesting the country will limit issuing visas to American tourists in retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump's suspension of immigration and visas for nationals from Muslim countries including Iran.The official IRNA news agency Saturday carried a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry that says Iran will resort to "counteraction" to Trump's executive order.The statement says: "Iran, to defend the dignity of the great Iranian nation, will implement the
  
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• 1 dead, 2 injured in New Orleans shooting

  28-01-2017 13:01
  
  NEW ORLEANS - One woman is dead and two others wounded after a triple shooting in a New Orleans neighborhood.Police say officers responded to a call at about 11:50 p.m. Friday. When they arrived, investigators found three women with multiple gunshot wounds inside a car with Texas license plates.Authorities said Saturday that the back seat passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and front seat passenger were taken to an area hospital for treatment. Their conditions were not immedia
  
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• Estimate: More than $1 million in timber damaged by tornado

  28-01-2017 12:16
  
  HATTIESBURG, Miss. - More than $1 million worth of timber was destroyed by last week's tornado in Lamar, Forrest and Perry counties.The Mississippi Forestry Commission announced the estimate Friday based on aerial damage assessments.The commission says the tornado, which had estimated top winds of 145 mph and cut a 31-mile path, damaged 1,453 acres of privately owned land. The twister also damaged 118 acres of public lands managed by the commission.Estimates show damage to private forestland was
  
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• Report shows number of voided standardized tests down

  28-01-2017 12:14
  
  BATON ROUGE, La. - A Jefferson Parish middle school threw out 145 of its students' state standardized LEAP tests in the 2015-16 school year, the highest number of tests tossed at a single school.Those were among the findings of the state education department's annual testing irregularity report.Overall, 186 Louisiana schools voided 885 tests, a smaller number than the 1,271 tests voided the year before.Superintendent of Education John White says the decline in voided tests show that increased tr
  
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• Louisiana sets 2017 recreational red snapper season

  28-01-2017 12:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission says the 2017 recreational red snapper fishing season in state waters will begin on Feb. 1 and remain open until further notice.The season will run seven days a week, with a daily bag and possession limit of two fish per person at a 16-inch minimum total length.Last year, Louisiana anglers had 272 days for red snapper fishing during a combined state and federal season.State officials remind anglers that a Recreational Offshore Landing
  
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• State Police: Paincourtville man dies after being ejected in Ascension Parish crash

  28-01-2017 11:58
  
  DONALDSONVILLE - A man was ejected from his vehicle and died after he crashed off the side of the road on LA 308 at LA 943 in Ascension Parish.According to State Police, the crash claimed the life of 42-year-old Louis Davis of Paincourtville.The crash occurred around 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning.State Police said an initial investigation revealed that Davis was traveling southbound on LA 308 in a 1998 Chevrolet S-10.Then, for reasons still under investigation, Davis fail
  
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• First would-be migrants to US grounded in Cairo

  28-01-2017 11:26
  
  CAIRO - Cairo airport officials say seven U.S.-bound migrants - six from Iraq and one from Yemen - have been prevented from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York's JFK airport.The officials said the action Saturday by the airport was the first since President Donald Trump imposed a three-month ban on refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.The officials said the seven migrants, escorted by officials from the U.N. refugee agency, were st
  
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• Oscar-nominated Emmanuelle Riva dies in Paris, age 89

  28-01-2017 11:24
  
  PARIS - Emmanuelle Riva, a French star of screen and stage nominated for an Academy Award for best actress in 2013, has died. She was 89.Riva died Friday afternoon in a clinic in Paris after a long illness, her agent, Anne Alvares Correa, told The Associated Press.Riva was Oscar-nominated for her role in "Amour, " Michael Haneke's brutal depiction of an aging couple.With Riva starring alongside another French movie legend, Jean-Louis Trintignant, it won the Academy Award for best foreign languag
  
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• Serena Williams wins record 23rd major with win over Venus

  28-01-2017 11:17
  
  MELBOURNE, Australia - Serena Williams has won her record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over her older sister Venus in Saturday's Australian Open final.With her record seventh Australian title, the 35-year-old Williams moved ahead of Steffi Graf for the most major titles in the Open era. Margaret Court won 24 majors, but collected 13 of those before the Open era.The victory at Rod Laver Arena also ensured Serena Williams will regain the top ranking, which she lost in Sept
  
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• Video shows roaring fire, firefighters battling morning blaze

  28-01-2017 09:03
  
  BATON ROUGE - Numerous fire departments helped each  other work an early morning fire that consumed a home in northeast Baton Rouge Saturday.The District Six Fire Department originally responded to the blaze on Prescott Road around 6:45 a.m.. Firefighters arrived to flames bursting out the roof of the house.  Eventually, other departments responded.  Central's fire department assisted, which is typical in mutual aid responses, and shared information about the fire on s
  
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