Baton Rouge news

• Accounting firm takes blame for Oscars flub

  27-02-2017 21:41
  
  LOS ANGELES - The accounting firm responsible for correctly tallying Academy Award winners says its team didn't move quickly enough to correct the incorrect announcement of the best picture winner at Sunday's Oscars.PwC, formerly Price Waterhouse Coopers, says in a statement released Monday night that it accepts full responsibility for "the series of mistakes and breaches of established protocols."The firm says partner Brian Cullinan mistakenly handed an envelope with the best actress winner to
  
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• Suspect arrested following apparent road rage incident

  27-02-2017 21:06
  
  IBERVILLE PARISH - A man was arrested on I-10 Monday evening following an apparent road rage incident, according to the Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office.The victims reported seeing two shots fired, but no injuries were reported.Upon searching the suspect's vehicle, officials discovered marijuana but no gun, according to the Sheriff's Office.Officials said it was possible the man tossed the gun out of the vehicle prior to being stopped.The suspect was arrested and charged with reckless operation
  
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• Paraplegic woman stuck to mattress after left in bed for two years

  27-02-2017 20:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - A paraplegic woman was transported to the hospital with infections after she was improperly cared for over the past two years.According to a report from the Advocate, 53-year-old Quintin Harris and 75-year-old Barbara Harris were arrested by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office Sunday after it was determined the two did not properly care for the woman. Deputies investigated the two after the victim reportedly called for transportation from the home she shares wit
  
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• Editor who pushed for justice in civil rights killings dies

  27-02-2017 20:46
  
  GULF BREEZE, Fla. - Mississippi editor Stanley Dearman, who pushed for justice in the murders of three civil rights workers, died on Saturday in Florida. The death of the 84-year-old was announced by the newspaper in Philadelphia, Mississippi, that he once published.Dearman wrote articles and editorials in The Neshoba Democrat that helped lead to conviction of a former Klansman in the 1964 killings.The civil rights workers - Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner - disappeared on June
  
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• 4 dead, 2 injured as plane hits California homes

  27-02-2017 20:39
  
  RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Authorities say four people are dead and two are injured after a small plane crashed into two homes and sparked a huge fire in Southern California.Riverside Fire Chief Michael Moore says the Cessna's occupants, a husband, wife and three teenagers, were returning to San Jose on Monday after a weekend cheerleading conference at Disneyland.Moore says one of the teenagers, a girl, was thrown from the plane on impact and had only minor injuries. She was able to talk to firefighter
  
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• Federal appeals court rejects egg-labeling lawsuit

  27-02-2017 20:34
  
  SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit that sought to require labels on egg cartons indicating the conditions in which the chickens were raised.A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that several federal agencies had acted reasonably in rejecting the labeling regulations.The plaintiffs - two animal advocacy groups and six egg consumers - wanted the cartons to bear the terms "Free-Range Eggs," ''Cage-Free Eggs" or "Eggs from Caged Hens
  
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• Caskets remain unearthed at cemetery months after flooding

  27-02-2017 20:10
  
  LIVINGSTON - Two caskets have been sitting above the ground for more than five months at the Rayborn Family Cemetery.The Caskets were forced out of the ground in August, when floods swept through the area. More than five months later, the caskets are still out of the ground, covered in blue tarps to keep rain from getting inside.Randall Starkey lives across from the cemetery and sees the caskets everyday."It's pitiful, it really is. Hell, I'll pay for it," Starkey said. "I got a little
  
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• Republicans block bid to force Trump to release tax returns

  27-02-2017 19:57
  
  WASHINGTON - House Republicans have blocked an attempt by Democrats to force President Donald Trump to release his tax returns to Congress.Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey said Monday that Congress has a responsibility to hold the executive branch "to the highest standard of transparency to ensure the public interest is placed first."Pascrell and other Democrats said the tax returns also would help lawmakers and the public determine whether Trump has any investments in Russia.Trump ha
  
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• Senate confirms billionaire investor as commerce secretary

  27-02-2017 19:52
  
  WASHINGTON - The Senate has confirmed billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary as President Donald Trump adds to his economic team.Breaking with Republican orthodoxy, Ross said the Trump administration will work quickly to re-do the North American Free Trade Agreement. That's the massive trade pact with Canada and Mexico that has boosted trade but still stings laid-off workers across the Midwest.Senators from both political parties were deferential to Ross at his nearly four-hour c
  
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• Report: Uber exec out after failing to disclose allegation

  27-02-2017 19:23
  
  NEW YORK - A top engineering executive at Uber, Amit Singhal, is out five weeks after his hire was announced. According to a report in the tech blog Recode, he failed to disclose that he'd left his previous job at Google because of a sexual harassment allegation.Singhal denies the allegation and says he left Google a year ago for his own reasons. In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, he said that "harassment is unacceptable" and that he has "not committed such behavior."According to Re
  
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• Reward now $22,500 for suspect in woman's death

  27-02-2017 19:16
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - Authorities in Mississippi have announced a large increase in the reward for information leading to the arrest of a 28-year-old man suspected in the death of his girlfriend.Police are seeking Alex Bridges Deaton in connection with the death of 30-year-old Heather Robinson. Robinson was found dead Friday at her apartment in Rankin County.Her car, a white 2012 GMC Arcadia sports utility vehicle, was missing.The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said in a Monday news release
  
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• Did Twitter cause last night's Oscar gaffe?

  27-02-2017 19:00
  
  LOS ANGELES - Moments before he handed out the wrong envelope in one of the worst gaffes in Oscar history, PwC accountant Brian Cullinan tweeted a behind-the-scenes photo of winner Emma Stone holding her statuette. "Best Actress Emma Stone backstage!" the tweet read.It's one potential clue in the whodunit that Sunday's ceremony became after presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty mistakenly proclaimed "La La Land" as the best-picture winner instead of "Moonlight."Cullinan was one of two accoun
  
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• Gov. Edwards to give update on tornado, flood relief meeting with Trump administration

  27-02-2017 17:43
  
  BATON ROUGE – Governor John Bel Edwards will hold press conference on Tuesday afternoon upon returning from his visit from Washington, D.C.Edwards will provide an update on his meetings with officials from President Trump's administration as the state seeks an additional $2 billion in flood and tornado relief.The press conference will be held at 3 p.m. at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Denham Springs Police change policies after trusties confess to stealing evidence

  27-02-2017 17:41
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS- The Denham Springs Police Department is changing procedures after two trustees managed to take counterfeit cash and drugs from the police station.Now, no trusties are allowed in the building. The theft happened weeks ago, but policies are now being changed."There was an area they could get access to, and it was found property and stuff like that," Captain Patrick Knab said. "We were cleaning the flooded property out to destroy it."The trustees, James Hood and William Scott, were
  
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• Norman to miss remainder of 2017 LSU baseball season due to injury

  27-02-2017 17:26
  
  BATON ROUGE – Doug Norman, LSU baseball pitcher, will miss the remainder of the 2017 season due to an elbow injury.LSU baseball head coach Paul Mainieri announced the news on Monday. Norman's injury happened while he threw a pitch in the seventh inning of Sunday's game against Maryland.Norman will undergo surgery to repair his elbow and will begin the rehabilitation process."Doug is a great competitor, and he will meet head-on this next challenge in his life. Our thoughts and prayers a
  
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• Muslim effort to aid vandalized Missouri, Philadelphia cemeteries

  27-02-2017 17:08
  
  MISSOURI - A Muslim crowdfunding effort to support a Jewish cemetery in Missouri has raised more than $136,000, and organizers say they will use some of the money for a Philadelphia cemetery where similar vandalism occurred.The fundraising effort began last week after 154 headstones were tipped over at the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery in University City, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb. The money raised so far is nearly seven times more than the original $20,000 goal and will be used to help repair d
  
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• Land eroding around lake, no one taking responsibility

  27-02-2017 17:06
  
  ST. GABRIEL - Some people are worried their homes are going to be washed away. Backyards are eroding into a neighborhood lake and no one is taking responsibility.Some homeowners say they bought in Spanish Lakes because it's quiet and far enough away from traffic gridlock in Baton Rouge."It's a beautiful area," said Sean Sanders.Tucked away in the St. Gabriel neighborhood is a lake, which many homes back up to. Sanders has lived on that lake for over four years and says during that time he's seen
  
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• Mississippi kills bill to collect internet tax, earmark for roads

  27-02-2017 16:29
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves says the Mississippi Senate will kill House legislation that would enforce taxation on internet sales and earmark the money for road and bridge work.Reeves told reporters Monday that House Bill 480 will die in committee Tuesday, at the deadline for committees to act on bills originating in the opposite chamber.A Republican, Reeves says he opposes the bill because it defies decades of U.S. Supreme Court precedent saying states can't tax sales from companies w
  
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• STPSO seeking suspect in Abita Springs robbery

  27-02-2017 15:42
  
  ABITA SPRINGS - The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office is searching for a suspect in the Friday robbery of a Dollar General store.According to STPSO, the man walked around the store on LA Highway 59 for about 20 minutes before approaching the counter around 3:30 p.m. He then told the cashier he had a weapon under his shirt and demanded the cashier give him money.The suspect stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the register before driving off in a gold Nissan Altima. The car appeare
  
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• STPSO seeking suspect in Abita Springs Dollar General robbery

  27-02-2017 15:42
  
  ABITA SPRINGS - The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office is searching for a suspect in the Friday robbery of a Dollar General store.According to STPSO, the man walked around the store on LA Highway 59 for about 20 minutes before approaching the counter around 3:30 p.m. He then told the cashier he had a weapon under his shirt and demanded the cashier give him money.The suspect stole an undisclosed amount of cash from the register before driving off in a gold Nissan Altima. The car appeare
  
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• Lawyer: White House to no longer contest Texas' voter ID law

  27-02-2017 15:01
  
  AUSTIN, Tx. - An attorney for a voting rights group says President Donald Trump's administration has told her that the federal government no longer plans to challenge Texas' strict voter ID law.Danielle Lang, of the Washington-based Campaign Legal Center, said Monday that plaintiffs in the case were told by the U.S. Justice Department that it will be filing documents to formally drop its opposition to the Texas law. She called the decision an "extraordinary disappointment."The move marks a stark
  
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• Police charge driver shot by officer with attempted murder

  27-02-2017 14:24
  
  CLARKSVILLE, Md. - Police in Maryland have filed criminal charges against a man who was shot by an officer last week after he drove a car toward the policewoman.Howard County police say 38-year-old Tremayne Dorsey has been charged with attempted murder, assault and driving with a suspended license.Police say Dorsey drove his car toward Police Officer First Class Amy Frasier on Feb. 24, at which point she fired one shot, striking Dorsey. Frasier was uninjured.Police say during the investigation t
  
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• Maryland police charge driver shot by officer with attempted murder

  27-02-2017 14:24
  
  CLARKSVILLE, Md. - Police in Maryland have filed criminal charges against a man who was shot by an officer last week after he drove a car toward the policewoman.Howard County police say 38-year-old Tremayne Dorsey has been charged with attempted murder, assault and driving with a suspended license.Police say Dorsey drove his car toward Police Officer First Class Amy Frasier on Feb. 24, at which point she fired one shot, striking Dorsey. Frasier was uninjured.Police say during the investigation t
  
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• Trump Tower climber pleads guilty, can't contact president

  27-02-2017 14:11
  
  NEW YORK - A 19-year-old man who scaled Trump Tower in New York City in August has pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.A judge told Stephen Rogata, of Great Falls, Virginia, on Monday that he's prohibited from any contact with President Donald Trump. The Daily News says that includes mail, Facebook and Twitter.Rogata used suction cups, a harness and ropes to climb from the fifth floor to the 21st floor when Trump was the Republican presidential nominee. Trump lived in
  
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• EBRSO finds 50-year-old woman and 1-year-old safe

  27-02-2017 13:40
  
  UPDATE: The woman and child were located in Baton Rouge in good health, according to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office. 
  BATON ROUGE – East Baton Rouge Sheriff's detectives are searching for a missing woman and child last seen near Southpark Drive.Detectives are searching for 50-year-old Shalanda Bennett and 1 year-old Ja'quarious Stewart.According to reports, both left the Southpark Drive area in a 2004 blue Dodge Ram on Feb. 25 around 11 p.m. The two were going to an add
  
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• Man injured in fall from float during Mardi Gras parade

  27-02-2017 13:17
  
  NEW ORLEANS- Police say a man fell off a float and injured himself near the end of a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.New Orleans police told The Times-Picayune the man was riding in the Krewe of Thoth parade around 5:10 p.m. Sunday. The man fell near Gravier and Tchoupitoulas Streets. A krewe representative says the man suffered a head injury.Krewe spokesman Penny Larsen says the man had a concussion but was reported to be responsive.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Armed robber gives up, pays for item instead

  27-02-2017 13:13
  
  ST. MARTINVILLE - The St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office arrested a man after he attempted to rob a store Sunday morning.According to the Sheriff's office, 35-year-old Homer John of Breaux Bridge attempted to rob a store on Henderson Highway with a firearm around 8 a.m. When the clerk did not immediately comply with John's demands, he instead purchased an item and left the store.Deputies searched the nearby area and found John at a casino on Grand Point Highway. He attempted to escape o
  
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• Man arrested for crashing into home, causing fire in Donaldsonville

  27-02-2017 12:39
  
  DONALDSONVILLE – A man has been arrested after he crashed his vehicle into a Donaldsonville home on Sunday night and caused a house fire.According to the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, the incident occurred on Sunday around 10 p.m. when deputies tried to make a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Brandon Payton.Deputies say Payton lost control and crashed into a home on Highway 308, causing the home to catch fire. The home is considered a total loss.No one was injured in the incide
  
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• Man wanted for vehicle burglary on Lanier Drive

  27-02-2017 12:06
  
  BATON ROUGE – East Baton Rouge Sheriff's detectives are searching for a man who broke into a vehicle at a home in the 5800 block of Lanier Drive.The incident occurred on Feb. 24 when responding deputies found forced entry into the vehicle with its contents scattered about inside.The suspect was seen on surveillance video and is described as a black man, wearing a purple jacket, blue jeans, purple gloves and white Pittsburgh hat.Anyone with information concerning this incident or the id
  
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• Court may strike law barring sex offenders from social media

  27-02-2017 12:06
  
  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court appears likely to strike down a North Carolina law that prohibits sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites.At least five justices suggested during argument Monday they would rule for North Carolina resident Lester Packingham Jr. He was convicted of violating a 2008 law aimed at keeping sex offenders off internet sites children might use. Packingham used Facebook to boast about beating a traffic ticket.Justice Elena Kagan pointed out that
  
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• Court may strike down law barring sex offenders from social media

  27-02-2017 12:06
  
  WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court appears likely to strike down a North Carolina law that prohibits sex offenders from using Facebook and other social networking sites.At least five justices suggested during argument Monday they would rule for North Carolina resident Lester Packingham Jr. He was convicted of violating a 2008 law aimed at keeping sex offenders off internet sites children might use. Packingham used Facebook to boast about beating a traffic ticket.Justice Elena Kagan pointed out that
  
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• Steve Harvey to Beatty: 'I can help you get through this!'

  27-02-2017 12:02
  
  LOS ANGELES - If Warren Beatty needs someone to talk to following Sunday night's epic award mix-up at Sunday night's Oscars, Steve Harvey is open ears.While hosting the Miss Universe pageant in 2015, Harvey accidently named the wrong woman as the winner during the live broadcast. Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned Harvey's mistake after an apparent envelope mix-up led Beatty and co-presenter Faye Dunaway to hand out the best picture award to "La La Land" instead of the real winner, "Moonlight."H
  
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• China's coal consumption falls for 3rd year in a row

  27-02-2017 11:34
  
  BEIJING - China says that its coal consumption fell in 2016 for a third year in a row.Preliminary data released Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics shows that coal consumption fell by 4.7 percent. The bureau says the share of coal in China's total energy consumption mix fell to 62 percent in 2016 from 64 percent the year before.Coal is the biggest source of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that are the primary cause of global warming.While China is the world's biggest consumer of coal, it
  
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• British songwriter accuses U2 of stealing song

  27-02-2017 11:32
  
  NEW YORK - A British songwriter and guitarist is claiming that rock band U2 and lead singer Bono stole one of his songs for their 1991 album "Achtung Baby."In a lawsuit filed Monday in Manhattan federal court, Paul Rose says U2 lifted elements of his song "Nae Slappin" for their song "The Fly" while they were looking for new inspiration.The lawsuit says U2 heard his song after signing on with Island Records in 1989, the same year Rose provided a demo tape to recording studio executives.Rose is s
  
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• Hotel valet driver arrested after downtown joyride in sports car

  27-02-2017 11:23
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police arrested a hotel valet driver accused of taking a guest's expensive sports car on a late-night joyride downtown.Kenneth Smith, 22, posted bond and was released charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and aggravated assault with a firearm.The incident occurred Feb. 11 around 4 a.m. outside the Hotel Indigo on Convention Street in downtown Baton Rouge.The owner of a McLaren MP4-12C said he woke up, saw his car was gone and ran downstairs.Video shows the owner in a hea
  
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• WBR work release inmate captured after escape, car chase

  27-02-2017 11:09
  
  WEST BATON ROUGE – Authorities say a West Baton Rouge work release inmate is back in custody after an escape and car chase overnight.According to the sheriff's office, Rickey Lake, 34, went missing after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday. Lake did not appear for the 12:30 a.m. headcount and deputies discovered blankets lumped up to appear that he was in bed.Deputies say security video shows Lake climbing through a window at the West Baton Rouge work release facility. The escape prompted a
  
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• White House: Trump budget will hike defense spending by $54B

  27-02-2017 09:53
  
  WASHINGTON - The White House says President Donald Trump's upcoming budget will propose a whopping $54 billion increase in defense spending and impose corresponding cuts to domestic programs and foreign aid.White House budget officials outlined the information during a telephone call with reporters given on condition of anonymity. The budget officials on the call ignored requests to put the briefing on the record, even though Trump decried on Friday the use of anonymous sources by the media.Trum
  
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• Edwards meets with President Trump Monday

  27-02-2017 09:29
  
  BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards joined governors across the country to talk with President Donald Trump Monday.Edwards traveled to Washington D.C. this weekend for the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting. He took advantage of the trip to meet with federal emergency officials, including acting FEMA administrator Robert Fenton Jr., to discuss flood recovery efforts.Monday, President Trump said that his administration will do all that it can to resto
  
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• Gaffe again: Oscars' 'In Memoriam' includes living producer

  27-02-2017 08:48
  
  LOS ANGELES - The best picture mix-up apparently wasn't the only gaffe at Sunday night's Academy Awards.An Australian film producer says she's "alive and well" despite her photo's inclusion in the "In Memoriam" tribute at the Oscars.Jan Chapman's photo was shown during the montage next to the name of Janet Patterson, an Australian costume designer who died in 2015.Chapman tells Variety that prior to the awards, she urged Patterson's agency to "check any photograph which might be used." Chapman s
  
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• George W. Bush on Trump and Russia: "We all need answers"

  27-02-2017 07:57
  
  WASHINGTON - Former President George W. Bush says "we all need answers" on the extent of contact between President Donald Trump's team and the Russian government, and he defended the media's role in keeping world leaders in check.In an interview on NBC's "Today" show, Bush says he would trust Senate Intelligence panel Chairman Richard Burr to decide if a special prosecutor is necessary. But, Bush says, "I think we all need answers ... I'm not sure the right avenue to take. I am sure, though, tha
  
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• Minnesota officer expected to plead not guilty in man's death

  27-02-2017 07:49
  
  ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Minnesota police officer is expected to plead not guilty to manslaughter and other charges in the July shooting death of a black man.St. Anthony Officer Jeronimo Yanez is expected to enter his plea during a Monday hearing.Prosecutors say Yanez shot 32-year-old Philando Castile during a July 6 traffic stop after Castile told him he was armed. Castile's girlfriend was in the car and streamed the shooting's aftermath live on Facebook. Authorities later discovered Castile had a p
  
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• Ex-congregants reveal years of ungodly abuse

  27-02-2017 07:46
  
  SPINDALE, N.C. - Forty-three former members of an evangelical church in western North Carolina say they were subjected to years of emotional and physical abuse.Ex-congregants of the Word of Faith Fellowship tell The Associated Press in on-the-record interviews that instead of finding inner peace and eternal life, they were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in the name of the Lord.They say even young children and babies were abused.The church denies
  
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• Money being raised to restore vandalized Jewish cemetery

  27-02-2017 06:49
  
  PHILADELPHIA - Money is being raised to repair and restore more than 100 headstones that were vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia.A man visiting Mount Carmel Cemetery on Sunday called police to report that three of his relatives' headstones had been knocked over and damaged. The discovery came less than a week after similar vandalism in Missouri.Police say approximately 100 additional headstones were knocked over, apparently sometime after dark Saturday. Police are conducting a crimi
  
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• New anti-IS strategy may mean deeper US involvement in Syria

  27-02-2017 06:46
  
  WASHINGTON - A new military strategy to meet President Donald Trump's demand to "obliterate" the Islamic State group is likely to deepen U.S. military involvement in Syria. That possibly includes more ground troops, even as the current U.S. approach in Iraq appears to be working and will require fewer changes.Details are sketchy. But recommendations due at the White House on Monday are likely to increase emphasis on non-military elements of the campaign already underway.Gen. Joseph Dunford, chai
  
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• Pediatricians warn against pot use: Not your dad's marijuana

  27-02-2017 06:41
  
  CHICAGO - An influential doctors group is beefing up warnings about marijuana's potential harms for teens amid increasingly lax laws and attitudes on pot use.Many parents use the drug and think it's OK for their kids, but "we would rather not mess around with the developing brain," said Dr. Seth Ammerman.The advice comes in a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, published Monday in Pediatrics. The group opposes medical and recreational marijuana use for kids. It says emphasizing t
  
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• LIVE UPDATES: Monday's commute

  27-02-2017 05:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge has you covered with live updates for your Monday morning commute.Beat the traffic every time using WBRZ's advanced traffic tracking technology. Click here to go to our traffic center.Tweets by WBRZtrafficPermalink| Comments
  
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