Baton Rouge news

• Louisiana Sen. Troy Brown asks court to stall expulsion effort against him

  15-02-2017 23:25
  
  Napoleonville Democrat pleaded no contest twice in four months to domestic abuse charges
  
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• Biker hurt after plunging into ravine off Plank Road

  15-02-2017 20:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Emergency responders responded to a biker that plunged off the road into a shallow ravine off Plank Road Wednesday night.According to Baton Rouge Police, the man drove off the roadway just before a bridge in the 9600 block of Plank Road around 8:30 p.m. Police, EMS and firefighters from Central and Brownsfield responded to the scene.The Central Fire Department used a stokes basket in order to safely get the biker into a waiting ambulance.Witnesses at the scene tell WBRZ that the ma
  
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• Waitr CEO apologizes for Valentine's Day delivery fail

  15-02-2017 20:08
  
  The CEO of popular food delivery app Waitr is apologizing to customers after a busier-than-expected Valentine's Day rush.CEO Chris Meaux issued the apology Wednesday, saying they did not expect as big of a rush for Valentine's Day 2017 and staffed based on last year's orders."While no excuse is acceptable," Meaux said, "we received 1100% more orders this Valentine's Day than last year and simply said, we were not prepared and for that I take full responsibility!"According to the statement, Waitr
  
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• House Republicans advance budget plans with deeper cuts

  15-02-2017 19:22
  
  BATON ROUGE - House Republicans have started advancing two budget-rebalancing proposals that cut more deeply than Gov. John Bel Edwards wants and hit agencies he wanted to protect.The Appropriations Committee approved both plans Wednesday.The first proposal from Chairman Cameron Henry would use nearly $75 million from Louisiana's "rainy day" fund - $45 million less than Edwards proposes - to close a $304 million deficit.In exchange, it would levy cuts on public colleges and state prisons, areas
  
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• Possible wreckage from missing helicopter found on Wallace Lake

  15-02-2017 19:02
  
  MANY - DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle confirms wreckage has been found on Wallace Lake during a search for a missing helicopter.It's unknown how many people were aboard but he believes there were at least two.KTBS-TV reports the wreckage was spotted from the air. Emergency crews are assembling equipment to get to the site. Arbuckle describes the location as "in the back of Wallace Lake." He says the area is very remote, with a lot of underbrush and cypress trees.The wreckage was discovere
  
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• LSU Professor Melvin DeFleur dies at 93

  15-02-2017 18:12
  
  BATON ROUGE - Renowned mass communication scholar Melvin DeFleur, a Manship School of Mass Communication Distinguished Professor, died Monday at the age of 93.DeFleur and his wife, Margaret DeFleur, joined the Manship School faculty in 2004 after he retired as professor emeritus of mass communication in the College of Communication at Boston University.“Mel DeFleur was a titan of mass communication scholarship,” said Dr. John Maxwell Hamilton, former dean of the Manship Schoo
  
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• ATF Agent: Bombs confiscated from Baton Rouge man designed to kill

  15-02-2017 17:49
  
  BATON ROUGE- A man accused of manufacturing bombs in Baton Rouge will not get out of jail any time soon. That decision came from a federal magistrate judge late this afternoon.A federal agent testified in court that two out of the five bombs were designed to injure or kill. The family of 24-year-old Jordan Sergent says this entire incident has been blown way out of proportion. His attorney said in court his client made the devices five years ago after watching Youtube videos. However, prosecutor
  
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• Sofia Vergara shares picture of king cake, says she's ready for Mardi Gras

  15-02-2017 17:44
  
  NEW ORLEANS – People are freaking out about a picture of a king cake on Instagram.The picture is of an ordinary cake from a popular bakery; one of thousands circulating around right now as Louisiana natives, their friends and visitors snap and share their favorite Carnival snack. But, it's the person in the picture and the one who shared it that's the icing on the top of this publicity: Sofia Vergara.Straight from Nola!!?? King Cake!!! Gracias Lea,Brock, and Brian #therehasnev
  
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• Woman rides wheelchair in street, requesting accessible sidewalk ramps

  15-02-2017 17:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman living downtown is requesting sidewalks have handicap access around her home.Lee Landry is in a wheelchair and cannot navigate over the tall curbs. She once asked for help years ago, but her request has not been granted."We don't have a handicap ramp to cross the street," said Landry.If she wants to get stamps, Landry must enter the busy street and travel along with the cars and trucks to the post office. If she needs to make a trip to the grocery store, Landry risks her li
  
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• Louisiana Sen. Troy Brown goes to court to fight expulsion

  15-02-2017 17:06
  
  Napoleonville Democrat has twice pleaded no contest to domestic abuse charges
  
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• Man becomes lawyer after unjustly imprisoned for 7 years

  15-02-2017 16:50
  
  MADISON, Wis. - A man who spent seven years in prison for a Wisconsin rape before he was cleared is now an attorney trying to clear another man of the same crime.Jarrett Adams was 17 in 1998 when a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student accused him and two friends of sexually assaulting her.Adams was released from prison in 2007, after a federal appeals court agreed with Wisconsin Innocence Project arguments that Adams' attorney failed to call a key witness to the stand during Adams' trial.A
  
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• Is pizza joint Papa Murphy's burned to a crisp?

  15-02-2017 16:20
  
  BATON ROUGE – It appears Papa Murphy's pizza locations in the region have abruptly closed.The restaurant is a “take-and-bake” eatery – customers order pizzas at the store and take them home to bake and eat. Locations in Zachary and two in Baton Rouge at Towne Center and Old Jefferson seemed to have shutdown.  Others in the area closed months ago. Phone lines at all three locations went unanswered and at least one had a message that the li
  
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• BRPD offering 'ladies only' concealed handgun class

  15-02-2017 15:38
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Police Department is offering a ladies only concealed handgun course in March.The class, taught by police firearm instructors, will be open to all women over the age of 21 and cost $100. Participants must provide their own handgun and ammunition for the class.The class will be held at the Joint Law Enforcement Training Center in Zachary on March 11, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Class size is limited to 35 per session, so those interested should regist
  
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• Uber unveils Mardi Gras plan called "The Box"

  15-02-2017 15:37
  
  NEW ORLEANS – Uber unveiled its new plans for Mardi Gras weekend, and it’s called “The Box.”The company says that road closures will make it difficult for its drivers to cross St. Charles Ave. “The Box” is the area designated between St. Charles Ave to the Mississippi River and Napoleon Avenue to Canal Street.Uber riders who want to travel somewhere in that designated zone can requests rides as usual. But, if you want to go to a destina
  
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• FEMA mobile disaster recovery center to open for tornado survivors in Livingston Parish

  15-02-2017 15:02
  
  LIVINGSTON – A FEMA mobile disaster recovery center will open on Feb. 16 in Livingston Parish for homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained damage as a result of last week's tornadoes.The mobile recovery center is located at the Livingston Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness at 20399 Government Boulevard. The center is open on Mondays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.Specialists from the state of Louisiana, F
  
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• Tourism director fired after mis-sent nude live video

  15-02-2017 14:33
  
  MINDEN - A northwest Louisiana tourism director has lost her job after accidentally sending nude live video of herself to a tourism account instead of her husband.News outlets report that the Webster Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau voted 3-2 to fire executive director Lynn Dorsey.She'd been on paid leave since sending the video to the bureau's Instagram account in December. She said then that she meant it for her husband.The board voted after a four-hour closed-door hearing Monday. Two mem
  
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• American Eagle jet hits deer on takeoff, returns to airport

  15-02-2017 13:57
  
  CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Authorities say an American Eagle flight struck a deer shortly after taking off from the Charlotte, North Carolina, international airport, forcing it to turn around and abort a flight to Gulfport, Mississippi.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the pilot of Flight 5320 declared an emergency shortly before noon Wednesday.TV stations showed damage to one of the right front wing flaps of the CRJ700 jet, and emergency personnel sprayed foam on the aircraft
  
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• New info on contractor accused of stealing thousands from flood victim

  15-02-2017 13:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - A contractor is set to be booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail Wednesday after he allegedly took thousands of dollars in payments from a flood victim without completing repairs.According to the victim, she paid 49-year-old Gregory Gager an initial deposit of $2,500, plus an additional $4,500 to pay for new flooring in her home. The money she used was awarded to  her by FEMA after her gome was flooded.She says Gager never returned to complete repairs after
  
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• Institute outlines challenges still facing Orleans schools

  15-02-2017 13:00
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A think tank studying New Orleans public schools says the city's school board faces challenges as it prepares to take back governance of close to 50 schools from the state.All of those schools are now operated by independent charter organizations. And Tulane University's Cowen Institute says the New Orleans school board will assume the "vital responsibility" of ensuring that the charter organizations comply with state requirements on academic standards, finances and serving special
  
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• Firefighters investigating smoke at Old Hammond Hwy. Walmart

  15-02-2017 12:19
  
  BATON ROUGE – Firefighters say a possible electric fire has caused smoke inside the Old Hammond Highway Walmart Wednesday afternoon.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, firefighters are still trying to find the cause of the smoke at this time.A WBRZ News 2 crew is en route to the scene. Details are limited at this time.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Former Gonzales teacher pleads guilty to sexual conduct with teen

  15-02-2017 12:03
  
  BATON ROUGE – A former East Ascension High School health teacher has pleaded guilty to prohibited sexual conduct with a 17-year-old, per reports.According to District Attorney Tyler Cavalier, 34-year-old Louis Carl Aguillard will avoid jail time due to his plea to a lesser charge. He must also pay a $1,000 fine and give 100 hours of community service.Aguillard was arrested last year after a week-long investigation following allegations that he had sexual conduct with a 17-year-old stud
  
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• Young worshipers flock to Denham Springs church for first time since flood

  15-02-2017 11:54
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Songs of praise and worship rang out for the first time since the flood at the youth center of the Abundant Life Church Wednesday.A stage, music, and hundreds of kids flocked to the 180 Youth Center at the church. It was a much different scene six months ago, after the flood damaged most of the church.After months of rebuilding, kids from all over the city were able to enjoy church back in their own space."We had nine buildings on campus and we had to destroy about four of them.
  
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• St. Tammany K-9 rescues missing child with autism

  15-02-2017 11:50
  
  ST. TAMMANY – A St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office K-9 rescued a missing 14-year-old with autism on Tuesday night in Lacombe, La. Deputies were dispatched to a home in Lacombe after the child went missing. Deputies canvassed the area for three hours in efforts to find the child. K-9 Freya, a Bavarian Mountain Hound who specializes in finding lost children, and her handler, Deputy Ron Olivier, were later called to the scene.K-9 Freya took the scent of the missing chil
  
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• Senate votes to block rule on guns and mentally impaired

  15-02-2017 11:36
  
  WASHINGTON - The Republican-led Senate has voted to block an Obama-era regulation that would prevent an estimated 75,000 people with mental disorders from being able to purchase a firearm.The 57 to 43 vote to revoke the regulation now sends the measure to President Donald Trump, who is expected to sign it.The Obama administration rule strengthened the federal background check system by requiring the Social Security Administration to include the names of beneficiaries with mental impairments who
  
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• Disaster recovery fair to be held in Denham Springs Feb. 18

  15-02-2017 11:36
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS – A disaster recovery resource fair will be held in Denham Springs for homeowners and renters.The fair will be held on Feb. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the North Park Auditorium located at 30372 Eden Road. The event is free to the public.The fair is a "one-stop-shop" for homeowners and renters to find information and guidance from federal, state, local and non-profit agencies regarding disaster recovery. Participants include the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel
  
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• National traffic deaths jump to highest level in nearly a decade

  15-02-2017 11:31
  
  WASHINGTON - A leading safety organization says traffic fatalities jumped last year, pushing deaths on U.S. roads to their highest level in nearly a decade.The National Safety Council says fatalities rose 6 percent in 2016, reaching an estimated 40,200 deaths. The group gets its data from states. The last time there were more than 40,000 fatalities in a single year was in 2007, just before the economy tanked.The increase came as Americans drove more last year - a 3 percent increase in total mile
  
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• Man hurt in shooting after possible robbery on Runnymede Ave.

  15-02-2017 11:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police say one person was hurt after a shooting during a possible robbery at an apartment complex near Highway 61 Wednesday night.According to Baton Rouge Police, the shooting happened around 10 p.m. in the 10000 block of Runnymede Avenue and Magna Carta Place. One man was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. BRPD said Thursday morning that the victim's status had changed to life-threatening.Police say the investigation into the incident is still ongoing.
  
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• BRPD responding to shooting on Runnymede Avenue

  15-02-2017 11:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - BRPD officials confirm they are working a shooting at an apartment complex near Highway 61 and Old Hammond Highway.According to a BRPD spokesperson, the shooting occurred around 10 p.m. in the 10000 block of Runnymede Ave. near Magna Carta Place.<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Victim taken from the Runnymede Townhomes with non-life threatening injuries, according to police. <a href="https://twitter
  
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• BRFD: Brandywine clubhouse fire caused by arson

  15-02-2017 08:16
  
  BATON ROUGE – Investigators say arson caused a fire in the abandoned Brandywine Apartment complex clubhouse Wednesday morning.Around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Firefighters found the abandoned clubhouse of the complex on fire. The building, located in the 10900 block of Darryl Drive, once housed Brandywine’s offices and mailroom.Firefighters say the fire caused $25,000 in damages and the building is considered a total loss.Anyone with information is asked to contact the BRFD Fire Inve
  
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• 'Firefall' phenomenon wows visitors to Yosemite's El Capitan

  15-02-2017 07:42
  
  YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - Mother Nature is again putting on a show at California's Yosemite National Park, where every February the setting sun draws a narrow sliver of light on a waterfall to make it glow like a cascade of molten lava.The phenomenon known as "firefall" draws scores of photographers to a spot near Horsetail Fall, which flows down the granite face of the park's famed rock formation, El Capitan.Capturing the sight is a challenge. Horsetail Fall only flows in the winter or spring, w
  
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• Casting Oscar: Foundry builds each statuette as work of art

  15-02-2017 07:36
  
  ROCK TAVERN, N.Y.  - Every Oscar fist-pumped or tearfully cradled by Academy Award winners is first cast, buffed and fussed over at a foundry far from Hollywood.Workers at the Polich Tallix foundry north of New York City spent the last several months making 60 identical Oscars for the Feb. 26 awards on ABC.The foundry, in its second year of making the awards, has tweaked the look of the stylized knight to something closer to the statuettes first handed out in 1929.Each of the statuettes
  
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• Hearing set in case of Minnesota officer who shot Castile

  15-02-2017 07:30
  
  ST. PAUL - A Minnesota judge will hear oral arguments on whether to dismiss the case against the officer who shot and killed Philando Castile during a July traffic stop.St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez is charged with manslaughter and other counts. His attorneys will argue at Wednesday's hearing that the case should be dismissed. They've said in court papers that Castile was reaching for his gun and the shooting was justified.Prosecutors disagree. They've filed documents saying issues r
  
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• Univ. offers in-state tuition if parents attended La. school

  15-02-2017 07:27
  
  LAFAYETTE - The University of Louisiana at Lafayette says it's now offering in-state tuition to anyone with a parent who has at least an associate's degree from any public or private college or university in the state.Until now, the "Louisiana Legacy Scholarship" has applied to anyone who lives out of state but has a parent who graduated from Louisiana-Lafayette. It's worth $13,728 a year.Vice president for enrollment management DeWayne Bowie says the school hopes to attract students with family
  
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• Jamie Lynn Spears' daughter visits school after ATV crash

  15-02-2017 06:57
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The 8-year-old niece of pop star Britney Spears, who was injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident, still isn't well enough to return to school but was able to take Valentine's Day treats to her class in Louisiana Tuesday.Eight-year-old Maddie Spears-Aldridge is the daughter of Spears' sister, actress and singer Jamie Lynn Spears.According to a post on Jamie Lynn Spears' Instagram account, the girl was happy to see her friends again. Jamie Lynn Spears wrote that her daughter still
  
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• Trump denounces 'Russian connection non-sense'

  15-02-2017 06:30
  
  WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump is renewing his attack on the "fake news media" amid the widening controversy surrounding the ouster of his national security adviser and talk of Congress investigations of purported Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election last year.Trump posted a pre-dawn message on his verified Twitter account Wednesday complaining, "The fake news media is going crazy with their conspiracy theories and blind hatred." He said, "This Russian connection non-sense is m
  
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• Report: Harrison Ford has jet run-in at California airport

  15-02-2017 06:28
  
  SANTA ANA, Calif. - NBC-TV says actor Harrison Ford had a potentially serious run-in with an airliner at a Southern California airport.NBC reports (http://nbcnews.to/2kHo2iu ) that Ford, an experienced pilot, was told to land on a runway at John Wayne Airport in Orange County on Monday, but he mistakenly landed on a parallel taxiway, passing over an American Airlines jet holding nearby.NBC says air traffic control recordings have Ford asking: "Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?"America
  
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• Kate Upton three-peats as SI's swimsuit queen

  15-02-2017 06:25
  
  NEW YORK - She's once, twice, three times a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover lady.Kate Upton is once again gracing the cover of the annual issue, becoming only the fourth woman to do so three times. This year, she's making the splash with three different covers.Other women who did the cover three times include Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum and Christie Brinkley, who also is featured in this year's edition with her two daughters. Elle Macpherson holds the record with five cover appearances.Other notabl
  
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• Baker house considered total loss after midnight fire

  15-02-2017 05:26
  
  BAKER - Firefighters responded to a house fire on Comite Drive near Plank Road just after midnight Wednesday morning.Firefighters tell WBRZ that the home was not occupied at the time of the fire. The flames caused significant damage to the home and officials determined it was a total loss.The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Permalink| Comments
  
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