Baton Rouge news

• Local florists prepare for busy Valentine's Day

  12-02-2017 21:55
  
  BATON ROUGE - It's that time of year again and local florists are keeping busy with Valentine's Day right around the corner. "I know we've done over 300 red roses themselves," florist Angela Longstreet said.The classic red rose takes the top spot in popularity for another year. But Angela says she's seeing more people buying bears, balloons and chocolates.With business booming, it's all hands on deck at Original Heroman's Florist."It really could turn out to be 20 to 2
  
  Read more

• St. Amant High reopens for the first time since flood

  12-02-2017 21:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - St. Amant High School is ready to open its doors for the first time since the August floods. The school has been shut down for six months. In that same time, Principal Mia Edwards and much of the faculty have also been displaced by the flood.Now she is unloading boxes and getting her office in order."There is nothing like being on your own couch, sleeping in your own bed and this is about how it feels for us," Edwards said.St. Amant is now home to 48 temporary classrooms w
  
  Read more

• St. Amant High ready to reopen after August floods

  12-02-2017 21:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - St. Amant High School is ready to open it's doors for the first time since the August floods. The school has been shut down for six months. In that same time, Principal Mia Edwards and much of the faculty have also been displaced by the flood.Now she's unloading boxes and getting her office in order."There is nothing like being on your own couch, sleeping in your own bed and this is about how it feels for us," Edwards said.St. Amant is now home to 48 temporary classrooms w
  
  Read more

• New Marvel TV series filming in New Orleans

  12-02-2017 20:44
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A new TV series, based on the Marvel comic book series Cloak & Dagger, has started filming in the New Orleans area.Louisiana's economic development department announced Wednesday that production is underway on the series for the Freeform TV network, formerly known as ABC Family.The show focuses on a teen superhero couple: Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen, who fall in love as they adjust to newly-acquired superpowers. The characters first appeared in a Spider-Man comic bo
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ex-drug company CEO Martin Shkreli to speak at Harvard

  12-02-2017 20:33
  
  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Controversial former pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli is set to speak at Harvard while out on bail awaiting his federal securities fraud trial.The former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals is expected to talk about investing and health care at an event organized by the Harvard Financial Analysts Club. The talk on Wednesday is open to the Harvard community only.Shkreli drew sharp criticism after his company purchased the rights to a drug used by AIDS and cancer patients to fi
  
  Read more

• Piglet, 2 rabbits dead in Sac's Western Store fire

  12-02-2017 19:23
  
  GONZALES - Some animals at a popular Gonzales institution did not survive after a fire broke out Sunday evening.The Gonzales Fire Department responded to a fire at Sac's Western Store on Burnside Avenue just before 6:20 p.m.Investigators determined the cause of the fire to be a heat lamp used to keep a piglet warm in the animal sales area. The piglet and two rabbits did not survive the fire. Store employees were able to locate an iguana alive.Over 20 firefighters were called to the scene after a
  
  Read more

• Crews respond to fire at SACS Western Store in Gonzales

  12-02-2017 19:23
  
  GONZALES- Firefighters responded to a blaze at SACS Western Store Sunday night.According to the Gonzales Fire Department, crews received a report about the fire at 125 South Burnside Ave. around 6:20 p.m. Sunday. Crews susccessfully extinguished the fire around 7:30 p.m.One firefighter had minor injuries from heat exhaustion.The building appears to have sustained no structural damage.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Trump, Trudeau to confer on women in workforce

  12-02-2017 18:38
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will participate in a round table discussion about women in the workforce on Monday.The event shows the rising policy influence of first daughter Ivanka Trump, who has stressed her commitment to issues like child care.A White House official says the two countries will launch a task force called the United States Canada Council for the Advancement of Women Business Leaders-Female Entrepreneurs.The official says Trudeau
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Shoppers weigh boycott calls as buying gets more political

  12-02-2017 18:25
  
  ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Buying a shirt or shoes has never been so political.With frequent new calls to boycott Company A or support Brand B, some businesses enter the fray gambling that their customers will support their view. Others tiptoe to avoid a backlash from shoppers on either side.In a charged political climate, even seemingly innocuous Super Bowl ads provoke sharply divided reactions.For many shoppers, factors like price and convenience still rule. Blake Wilhelm of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, says
  
  Read more

• Social media mocks Education Department for misspelled tweets

  12-02-2017 17:03
  
  WASHINGTON - The Education Department is getting social media criticism after misspelling the name of a prominent African-American sociologist.In a tweet Sunday from its official account, the department attributes a quotation to W.E.B. DeBois, incorrectly spelling the last name with an "E."It immediately drew hundreds of responses mocking the department's misspelling of the sociologist's last name, which is correctly spelled D-U B-O-I-S.The Twitter account immediately apologized for the mistake.
  
  Read more

• Woman taken advantage of by contractor, asking victims come forward

  12-02-2017 16:39
  
  PRAIRIEVILLE - A woman says she was taken advantage of by a contractor, filed a report with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, State Attorney General and the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. When she didn't think enough was being done, she took matters into her own hands and tracked down the contractor herself.Months after the August flood, Susie St. Romain's home is still a mess. It was supposed to be back to working order by now, but for the past four months St. Ro
  
  Read more

• Woman admits to smoking meth before crash; two children hurt

  12-02-2017 16:14
  
  BATON ROUGE - Deputies arrested an impaired woman Saturday after she was involved in a crash which injured her two children.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, 55-year-old Rhonda Buche crashed her truck into a tree on Greenwell Springs Road around 2 p.m. Buche was injured along with her two children, ages 7 and 8, who were not properly restrained.All three were transported to Our Lady of the Lake for treatment.During the investigation, deputies found several baggies cont
  
  Read more

• Alleged KKK leader found dead in Missouri

  12-02-2017 15:40
  
  LEADWOOD, Mo. - Authorities are investigating the death of a Missouri man who identified himself as an "imperial wizard" of the Ku Klux Klan.Washington County Sheriff Zach Jacobsen told the Park Hills Daily Journal that the body of 51-year-old Frank Ancona of Leadwood, Missouri, was found near the Big River Saturday by a family fishing in the area.Ancona had been missing since Wednesday. His car was found Friday evening.An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.Ancona
  
  Read more

• Immigrants grow anxious after raids; Trump takes credit

  12-02-2017 15:34
  
  Immigrant communities across America are frightened and confused as federal agents conduct a series of raids aimed at rounding up people who are in the country illegally.Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the arrests are "routine." But President Donald Trump claimed credit on Twitter for the "crackdown on illegal criminals." The president's representatives say he made good on campaign pledges.Federal agents rounded up hundreds of immigrants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, New Y
  
  Read more

• Could Beyonce finally win album of the year at the Grammys?

  12-02-2017 14:44
  
  LOS ANGELES, Ca. - There are few things Beyonce has not conquered, and the Grammy for album of the year is one of them.For the third time, Beyonce is nominated for the coveted trophy, an award given to few R&B-based performers and only two hip-hop acts in the Grammy's 59-year history.She was nominated for the top prize in 2010 with "I Am ... Sasha Fierce" (losing to Taylor Swift) and in 2015 with "Beyonce" (Beck was the surprise winner). Beyonce's "Lemonade" album is competing Sunday, along
  
  Read more

• 'Lego Batman' dominates 'Fifty Shades Darker' at box office

  12-02-2017 14:33
  
  LOS ANGELES - The family-friendly "Lego Batman Movie" has proved to be more of a draw than "Fifty Shades Darker" at the box office.Studio estimates Sunday say the "Lego Movie" spinoff took in a strong $55.6 million over the weekend, while the "Fifty Shades" sequel pulled in $46.8 million.It's a healthy sum, but audiences were less curious to catch up with the exploits of Christian Grey and Ana Steele the second time around. For comparison, "Fifty Shades of Grey" opened with $85.2 million in 2015
  
  Read more

• FEMA details federal aid programs for tornado victims

  12-02-2017 14:13
  
  LIVINGSTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released details on the federal aid programs that will be available to victims of the recent tornadoes in certain parishes.The programs can be made available as needed and warranted under Governor John Bel Edwards declaration as approved by President Trump. As of now, the federal aid declaration has only been approved for Orleans and Livingston Parishes.Assistance for affected individuals and families may include:• Rental
  
  Read more

• Man killed in train accident in Maringouin

  12-02-2017 13:19
  
  MARINGOUIN, LA (WBRZ) - A man was killed this morning after he tried to cross railroad tracks in front of an oncoming train.The victim is identified as 24-year-old Patrick Marshall. Witnesses say Marshall slipped on the tracks. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Iberville Parish Sheriff Brett Stassi says the incident is being investigated.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!