Baton Rouge news

• Ex-soldier accused of threatening Fort Hood shooting rampage

  15-03-2017 21:20
  
  WACO, Texas - A former soldier from Texas has been accused of making threats to go on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood.
      
  A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Thomas Anthony Chestnut on one count of using interstate communications to threaten injury. The 28-year-old man is jailed without bond pending a March 22 detention hearing. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison.
      
  His attorney declined to comment.
   
  
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• Judge: Trump has power to ban foreign travelers

  15-03-2017 20:54
  
  WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court judge says President Donald Trump has the authority to block foreign travelers and courts must defer to the president's judgment in decisions about who should be allowed in the United States.Judge Jay Bybee of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in court documents filed Wednesday that his appeals court colleagues were wrong when they refused to immediately reinstate Trump's original travel ban.The Trump administration later revised the ban. A federal j
  
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• Police: Bullets fly because of wrong pizza toppings

  15-03-2017 19:39
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville police say a car of teenagers opened fire at a market because they were served the wrong pizza toppings.Police say suspects ages 16, 17 and 18 were arrested Tuesday afternoon after guns were fired toward the D.B. Todd Market. No one was hurt.Police say an undercover detective witnessed the gunfire, followed the car to a house and called backup. The car was reported stolen.One suspect told police the shots were fired because they received a pizza with the wrong toppin
  
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• Jury selection continues in murder trial of Louisiana deputy charged in child's shooting: report

  15-03-2017 18:57
  
  Five jurors and two alternates still needed in case that's shocked the city of Marksville.
  
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• In Marksville officer's murder trial, 7 jurors are chosen: report

  15-03-2017 18:57
  
  Five jurors, two alternates still needed to hear case of 6-year-old killed by gunfire
  
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• What is La. State Police Col. Mike Edmonson walking away with?

  15-03-2017 18:39
  
  BATON ROUGE – As Louisiana State Police Superintendent Mike Edmonson is stepping down from his position after years of service, some are questioning what he is walking with.
  Edmonson spent nine years as superintendent and will retire with more than 36 years as a trooper.For the first 25 years of his service, he was on the old trooper retirement system. Reportedly, that means that Edmonson will make at least $79,000 a year in retirement based on that system. Then nine years ago, Edmonso
  
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• Four hospitalized after crash that closed I-10 on the westside

  15-03-2017 17:50
  
  PORT ALLEN – Four people were hospitalized after a crash that closed eastbound lanes of I-10 outside Port Allen Wednesday.  WBRZ's advanced traffic-tracking technology showed significant slowdowns in the area. The traffic was part of region-wide gridlock Wednesday.    > CLICK HERE to see live traffic flowThe crash happened just west of the La. 415 exit on I-10 E. The crash involved two 18-wheelers and a few cars, authorities said. Inj
  
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• Justice for woman who hired contractor accused of scamming victims

  15-03-2017 17:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - One of the dozens of victims allegedly taken advantage of by Complete Construction's Matthew Morris, has some good news.Last month, 2 On Your Side visited the gutted Denham Springs home of Courtney Stricklin. Then, she was dealing with a lien on her home that prevented her from moving forward with her flood recovery. Friday, all that changed."Now I am finally able to move forward with my house," said Stricklin.At the time Stricklin hired Complete Construction, she was also working
  
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• Driver crashes into building on Government Street

  15-03-2017 17:32
  
  BATON ROUGE – A driver crashed into a building on Government Street at South 14th on Wednesday afternoon.The crash caused the Baton Rouge Police Department to close the east bound lane. Traffic coming out of downtown on to Government Street is heavy due to the crash.
  There are no reports of injuries at the time of this post. However, sources say the driver was possibly impaired at the time of the crash.
  Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Woman's headphones catch fire midflight to Australia

  15-03-2017 17:17
  
  AUSTRALIA - A sleeping woman midflight was startled to find her battery-operated headphones had caught fire leaving burns on her face.According to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, it is unknown how severe the woman's injuries were, but she later told investigators that she heard a loud explosion while she was sleeping.“As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” the woman was quoted as saying in a statement from the agency. “I just grabbed m
  
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• INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Noose discovery prompts officer's suspension

  15-03-2017 16:17
  
  WALKER- A high-ranking Walker Police officer was suspended after admitting to placing a noose inside the squad room of the department, the WBRZ Investigative Unit learned.The sergeant was suspended for three days without pay, but has since returned to policing the streets."We looked at [security video] to see who did it," Police Chief David Addison said. "We found the officer who was responsible."
  Addison declined to identify the officer, but said he's been with the department for about
  
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• TPSO: Suspicious death on I-55

  15-03-2017 16:05
  
  TANGIPAHOA - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating the suspicious death of a man whose body was found on I-55 Wednesday.According to Sheriff Daniel Edwards, the body was found in a parked car on the shoulder of I-55 South near the Tangipahoa exit Wednesday afternoon.Edwards says the body is that of an unidentified black male.TPSO detectives are on the scene and the Lousiana State Police Crime Lab is en route.This is a developing story. We will update it with more infor
  
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• Man pleads guilty to mailing threats to government offices

  15-03-2017 15:56
  
  LAFAYETTE - A Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to sending threatening letters to government offices, including one addressed to Gov. John Bel Edwards.Federal prosecutors say 33-year-old Kyle Dore, of New Iberia, sent white powder in four of the nine letters that he mailed in December 2015 and January 2016. The letters implied the substance was toxic, but tests later showed it wasn't dangerous.Dore pleaded guilty on Tuesday to five counts of mailing threatening communications and four counts of f
  
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• Judge denies bond reduction for 14-year-old Scotlandville shooter

  15-03-2017 15:42
  
  BATON ROUGE – A 14-year-old student accused of attempted second-degree murder after shooting a gun on Scotlandville Magnet High School's campus was denied a reduction in bond.The student, Jermaine Moore, also faces charges of aggravated assault and carrying a gun on school property. Moore's current bond is set at $110,000. He is accused of firing multiple shots in the school's breezeway and then leaving the school.Moore's defense attorney requested a reductio
  
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• Traffic stop leads to drug bust in Ascension

  15-03-2017 14:56
  
  GONZALES – A man was arrested for drug possession following a traffic stop in Ascension Parish on Monday night.The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office arrested 24-year-old Dexter Brown for improper left turn, illegal tint, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, drug paraphernalia and operating a vehicle with a suspended license.Deputies initiated a traffic stop on Brown's vehicle for making an illegal turn and noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. Deputies
  
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• McDonald's worker jumps through drive-thru window, rescues officer

  15-03-2017 14:49
  
  DORAL, Fla.- A McDonald's employee rescued a police officer Tuesday after she became unconscious at the restaurant's drive-thru window.Surveillance footage shows the employee, Pedro Viloria, jumping through the window as he sees a customer slowly pull away.Viloria said the customer, an off-duty Miami-Dade police officer with two children in her backseat, was having a medical emergency. He said she pulled up and paid for her food, but he noticed she was having trouble breathing when went to give
  
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• Louisiana gets third credit downgrade since February 2016

  15-03-2017 14:23
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's credit has taken a hit, with a national rating agency downgrading the state. That makes it more expensive to borrow money for roadwork and construction projects.S&P Global Ratings announced Wednesday it dropped Louisiana's rating one notch. That's the third national rating agency to downgrade the state's credit since February 2016, as Louisiana continues to struggle with financial gaps.In its analysis, S&P declared Louisiana's financial outlook "negative."The ra
  
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• Morgan City Police looking for missing man

  15-03-2017 13:45
  
  MORGAN CITY – Police in Morgan City are looking for a man reported missing by family last week.Police say Robin Carbin was last seen in the Morgan City area within the last two weeks. Carbin is known to frequent both Lafayette and Morgan City areas.Investigators described Carbin as a black man that is approximately 5’6” tall and weighs about 115 pounds. H has brown eyes and black hair.Anyone with information on Carbin’s whereabouts is asked to contact Morg
  
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• Morgan City Police locate missing man

  15-03-2017 13:45
  
  UPDATE: Robin Carbin has been safely located by Morgan City Police.MORGAN CITY – Police in Morgan City are looking for a man reported missing by family last week.Police say Robin Carbin was last seen in the Morgan City area within the last two weeks. Carbin is known to frequent both Lafayette and Morgan City areas.Investigators described Carbin as a black man that is approximately 5’6” tall and weighs about 115 pounds. H has brown eyes and black hair.Anyone with inf
  
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• Poland seeks arrest of Minnesota man accused of Nazi war crimes

  15-03-2017 13:13
  
  MINNESOTA - A court in eastern Poland has issued an arrest warrant for a Minnesota man sought in a Nazi massacre, opening the way for Poland to seek his extradition from the United States.The Associated Press had previously identified the man as 98-year-old Michael Karkoc, an ex-commander in an SS-led unit that burned Polish villages and killed civilians in World War II.Earlier this week, prosecutors said evidence shows that American citizen Michael K. was a commander of a unit in the SS-led Ukr
  
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• East Feliciana teacher accused of slapping student

  15-03-2017 13:09
  
  EAST FELICIANA PARISH – An East Feliciana teacher is on paid leave after he was accused of assaulting a student during school hours.Sheriff Jeffery Travis confirmed that Jaworski White was arrested Tuesday by Clinton Police and charged for slapping a student. Sources say the incident happened at East Feliciana Middle School last week. White is a physical education teacher who has spent more than 5 years working with East Feliciana schools. He will be on admin leave with pay pe
  
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• Bishop clears Catholics to eat meat Friday

  15-03-2017 13:09
  
  BATON ROUGE – Going along with neighboring dioceses, the bishop here granted dispensation to Catholics who wish to eat meat as part of traditional feasts on St. Patrick's Day – Friday.Catholics abstain from eating meat on the Fridays of Lent. It puts the religious at odds with tradition on the rare occurrence that St. Patrick's Day is also a Friday. Among the dishes usually prepared on the feast of the “Apostle of Ireland” are corned beef and shepherd's pi
  
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• Broome rolls out plan for $11 million disaster recovery

  15-03-2017 13:04
  
  BATON ROUGE – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced a plan for the $11 million in disaster recovery for Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish.The money was awarded last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Community Development Block Grant funds following the August flood. Kip Holden's administration previously developed a plan, however Mayor Broome's team amended the plan to help "leverage the dollars more effectively and efficiently."The
  
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• Five years before murder of teenager, suspect was deported

  15-03-2017 12:38
  
  BATON ROUGE – The suspect in the shooting death of a teenager on his birthday this week was deported five years before the deadly altercation.In March 2012, Octavio Bringas was deported to Mexico after a drug arrest. District Attorney Hillar Moore released the information Wednesday. Monday, Bringas was charged with the killing of Darius Plummer at an apartment complex on Southpark Drive near Airline Highway.For the shooting, Bringas was arrested in Lake Charles after fleeing Baton Roug
  
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• East Baton Rouge School Board will vote to rename Istrouma High School

  15-03-2017 11:47
  
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge School System is planning to vote on renaming Istrouma High School to Istrouma High School Technology and Magnet. The school systems wants to This $21 million project will house high school and middle school students. The middle school magnet will be housed on the first floor while the high school student will be on the second floor. "It will be the middle school magnet component that will come, the digital arts and construction trades and all
  
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• House intel leaders see no evidence on wiretap

  15-03-2017 11:45
  
  WASHINGTON - The Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Intelligence Committee say they have seen no evidence supporting President Donald Trump's claim that the Obama administration wiretapped him last year.GOP Rep. Devin Nunes and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff say they're still waiting for evidence from the Justice Department backing up that claim. Schiff says he and Nunes are willing to take steps to compel the department to comply with their request if it refuses by the March 2
  
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• Matassa's lawyer pens letter to council ahead of calls for resignation

  15-03-2017 11:37
  
  GONZALES – The Ascension Parish council is set to discuss a resolution calling for the resignation of Parish President Kenny Matassa on Thursday. Additionally, a petition calling for Matassa's resignation was filed with the state. Matassa's attorney wrote a letter requesting several bits of information from the council before the meeting.Matassa was indicted by a grand jury on charges of public bribery on Friday. He is accused of offering a bribe to get a man running
  
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• Matassa's lawyer pens letter to council ahead of call for resignation

  15-03-2017 11:37
  
  GONZALES – The Ascension Parish council is set to discuss a resolution calling for the resignation of Parish President Kenny Matassa on Thursday. Matassa's attorney wrote a letter Wednesday requesting several bits of information from the council before the meeting.Matassa was indicted by a grand jury on charges of public bribery on Friday. He is accused of offering a bribe to get a man running for office in Gonzales to drop out of the race.Matassa bonded out of jail on a $5,00
  
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• Yoga pants, cozy clothes may be key source of sea pollution

  15-03-2017 11:24
  
  KEY LARGO - Gulf Coast researchers say comfortable clothes are emerging as a source of plastic that's increasingly ending up in the oceans and potentially contaminating seafood.The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium is launching a two-year study of microscopic plastics in the waters from south Texas to the Florida Keys. The project will expand on a year's worth of data collected around the state of Florida that predominantly found microfibers - shreds of plastic even smaller than microbead
  
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• Trump tweets dig at Snoop Dogg over mock shooting in video

  15-03-2017 08:45
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is firing back at Snoop Dogg days after the release of a music video in which the rapper points a toy gun at a clown dressed like Trump and pulls the trigger.Trump tweeted Wednesday morning: "Can you imagine what the outcry would be if SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail time!"Can you imagine what the outcry would be if @SnoopDogg, failing career and all, had aimed and fired the gun at President Obama? Jail t
  
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• 1,000 flights canceled by Northeast storm

  15-03-2017 08:41
  
  NEW YORK - The air tracking service FlightAware.com says airlines have canceled more than 1,000 U.S. flights on Wednesday after grounding more than 6,200 flights on Tuesday, most of them because of the storm in the Northeast.Most of Wednesday's cancellations are morning flights.FlightAware CEO Daniel Baker predicts "relatively normal" operations on Thursday. The airlines have cancelled nearly 9,000 flights in the last three days.The storm dumped 2 feet of snow in some places. The big No
  
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• 7 Louisiana wildland firefighters helping in Oklahoma

  15-03-2017 07:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry has sent seven wildland firefighters to Woodward, Oklahoma, to fight wildfires there.Commissioner Mike Strain said Tuesday that they'll be in Oklahoma for about three weeks.Oklahoma Forestry Services said late Monday that more than 1,200 square miles have burned, and the fires in northwestern Oklahoma and southwestern Kansas were 63 percent contained. It said the fires have killed one person in each state and destroyed "vast acre
  
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• US argues to reinstate convictions in 'Hollywood South' case

  15-03-2017 07:47
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Federal prosecutors have filed their arguments for reinstating criminal convictions against two people they said fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in tax credits from a program that helped build Louisiana's film industry into "Hollywood South."Many of the counts on which attorney Michael Arata and producer Peter Hoffman were convicted were thrown out in December 2015 by a federal judge who was highly critical of prosecutors.U.S. attorneys in New Orleans filed more than 100
  
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• Unattended stove caused fire on Sycamore Street

  15-03-2017 06:50
  
  BATON ROUGE – Firefighters say an unattended pot stove caused a fire on Sycamore Street in Baton Rouge Wednesday morning.The fire happened around 2:41 a.m. in the 4500 block of Sycamore Street Wednesday. According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, firefighters arriving at the scene discovered the home’s kitchen on fire.Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames before it could spread to other parts of the home. BRFD reports the home did receive some moderate smoke dama
  
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• Heavy traffic around Baton Rouge due to several accidents

  15-03-2017 05:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge has you covered with live updates for your Wednesday 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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