Baton Rouge news

• Colo. senators to introduce Gorsuch at confirmation hearing

  17-03-2017 21:29 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch will be introduced by Colorado Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet when his confirmation hearing opens Monday.
      
  Judge Gorsuch is from Colorado and sits on the Denver-based 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
      
  Democrat Bennet has not said whether he will support Gorsuch, who was nominated by President Donald Trump on Jan. 31. Conservative groups are pressuring the senator to vote for him.
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• LSU police detain two people in student abduction case: report

  17-03-2017 20:22
  
  Kidnapping was reported on sorority row
  
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• Chaffetz: Intruder was able to rattle White House door handle

  17-03-2017 20:00 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - The chairman of the House Oversight Committee says an intruder on the White House grounds was able to "look through" a White House window and "rattle the door handle" before being apprehended last week.
      
  Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz tells CNN he was told by the Homeland Security Secretary that the person went undetected on the grounds for 17 minutes while President Donald Trump was inside.
      
  Chaffetz calls the incident
  
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• Man arrested in quadruple slaying in Metairie

  17-03-2017 18:36 via wbrz.com
  
  METAIRIE - A 20-year-old man has been arrested in this week's drug-related slaying of four people at a Metairie apartment complex.Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said Friday afternoon that Armande Stephen Tart of Metairie faces four counts of first-degree murder in Wednesday's deaths.Three people were shot to death in one apartment in Metairie, and a fourth victim in a nearby apartment was fatally stabbed in the head.Tart also faces an attempted first-degree murder charge in the shooting
  
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• BR deputy constables buy man bicycle to get to work

  17-03-2017 18:30 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – Two Baton Rouge deputy constables gave a man a bicycle who had been walking to and from work.Deputies initially stopped the man after he was issued a warrant last week. The man told deputies that he had the money to pay his outstanding warrant but had been walking a long distance to and from work and it was difficult for him to walk to the courthouse to clear up the issue.The deputies were able to contact his workplace, along with employees, and realized the man
  
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• Good Samaritans helped console LSU student who sought refuge after being kidnapped, attacked

  17-03-2017 17:44 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – Video obtained by WBRZ Friday showed good Samaritans helping a woman stay safe after her attacker apparently dropped her off at a convenience store following what sources said was a violent, three-hour assault.The video shows the woman who was kidnapped from LSU Wednesday seeking help at a store on Government Street near 17th just east of the railroad tracks.  The woman is seen on security video at the store calmly getting out of the front, passenger&
  
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• Report: Man arrested for shooting, killing litter of puppies

  17-03-2017 17:41 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON PARISH – A man in Washington Parish has been arrested for shooting and killing a litter of puppies.The Washington Parish Sheriff's Office arrested 25-year-old Shawn Glen Jones for shooting and killed five puppies with a .22 caliber rifle, WWL reports.In February, a concerned citizen called the Humane Society to report that five puppies were left at an intersection in the parish. Tips eventually led officers to Jones who had a female dog that was the same breed as the puppies
  
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• Man blames city for years of drainage headaches

  17-03-2017 17:01 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man says the City-Parish started a project in his backyard and never finished. Now, he's worried about his property that's eroding more and more with every rain.Don Landry lives off College Drive on Ormandy Drive in Baton Rouge. Since 1975, he's taken pride in his backyard. The neighborhood came with its share of sewer issues, which the City-Parish fixed in 2011."The new sewer is working wonderfully," said Landry.When it rains, Landry says his yard and his neighbor's property doe
  
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• Broome to host city-wide round table discussion on education

  17-03-2017 16:57 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – Mayor-President Sharon West Broome is hosting a city-wide round table discussion with education stakeholders to help close the education gap in the community.The round table will be held on March 21 and will include East Baton Rouge Parish Superintendent Dr. Warren Drake, East Baton Rouge Parish School Board members, Metro Council members and other educators. The round table will also allow participants to share common goals, express challenges and devel
  
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• More victims come forward in Marine nude photo scandal

  17-03-2017 16:14 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - A Navy investigator says more victims are complaining about explicit photos of them being shared online by active duty and retired members of the Marine Corps.Former and current female Marines say their photographs and those of women in other services have been shared on social media without their consent.The division chief for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Curtis Evans, says upward of 20 female victims have now come forward, and he expects more. He says the investigatio
  
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• Flaring activity at Dow plant in Plaquemine

  17-03-2017 15:49 via wbrz.com
  
  PLAQUEMINE – The Dow plant in Plaquemine has flaring activity taking place on Friday afternoon, officials announced.The issue at the plant that caused the flaring has been resolved and Dow is currently in the process of restarting the plant's production unit.Flaring is the controlled burning of industrial gases and is a safety measure, plant officials say. Burning converts the gases into carbon dioxide and water vapor.Officials say they regret any inconvenience the flaring may have cau
  
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• Cold weather kills many cherry blossom blooms in DC

  17-03-2017 14:49 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - Cold weather has killed half the blossoms on Washington's famous cherry trees just as they were getting to the peak of their bloom.National Park Service officials held a press conference on Friday to describe the damage.The National Weather Service meteorologist Kevin Witt says temperatures in the area dipped to 26 on Tuesday, 22 on Wednesday and 24 on Thursday.Park Service spokesman Mike Litterst had warned before the cold snap that 24 degree temperatures could kill as much as 90 p
  
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• Immigration judges to be sent to border detention centers

  17-03-2017 14:46 via wbrz.com
  
  SAN DIEGO - The Justice Department says it will temporarily transfer immigration judges to six detention centers near the border with Mexico in an effort to put President Donald Trump's immigration directives into effect.The department's Executive Office for Immigration Review said the transfers to four locations in Texas and one each in Louisiana and New Mexico will occur Monday. Judges were previously shifted to two immigration detention centers in California.Trump's executive order on border
  
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• Appeal filed in flood board's suit against oil companies

  17-03-2017 14:42 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Attorneys for a south Louisiana flood board aren't giving up on their attempt to make scores of oil and gas companies pay for damage to the state's coastline.A federal judge dismissed their lawsuit in 2015 and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal unanimously upheld that decision on March 3.On Friday, lawyers for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East have asked the full 15-member 5th Circuit to hear their arguments.The suit seeks to hold clos
  
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• 60-year-old family business robbed for first time; police looking for suspect

  17-03-2017 14:19 via wbrz.com
  
  SLAUGHTER – An armed robbery took place on Friday at Paw Paw's grocery in Slaughter.According to the victims, the suspect took $750 and a pack of cigarettes. The owner's daughter says that Friday's incident was the first time the store was robbed since it opened in 1957.The store is located across from the police station and officers were able to respond in minutes, sources say. A neighboring business called police and a manager from the another store, that was robbed just days ago, wa
  
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• Vehicle fire reported on Plank Road near Baton Rouge airport

  17-03-2017 13:47 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – Firefighters worked to extinguish a vehicle fire on Plank Road near the Baton Rouge Airport Friday afternoon.The fire happened after 12 p.m. Friday. Video from the scene showed dark smoke billowing from the vehicle. First responders closed two the roadway and diverted traffic around the incident.Sources tell WBRZ News 2 that no one was hurt.WATCH: firefighters working to put out a burning truck near the airport. Traffic is backed up in the area, along Plank Rd. @WBRZ pic.
  
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• Boot, wheelbarrow, thimble ousted from Monopoly board game

  17-03-2017 12:46 via wbrz.com
  
  ATLANTIC CITY - Monopoly is making changes: The boot has been booted, the wheelbarrow has been wheeled out, and the thimble got the thumbs down in the latest version of the board game.In their place this fall will be a Tyrannosaurus rex, a penguin and a rubber ducky.Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Hasbro says more than 4.3 million voters from 146 countries weighed in on which tokens they wanted to see in future versions of the property-acquisition board game, which is based on the real-life street
  
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• Police: Tennessee deputy fatally shoots Louisiana man

  17-03-2017 12:37 via wbrz.com
  
  ALAMO - Officials say a Tennessee deputy has fatally shot a New Orleans man who tried to strike deputies with his vehicle.The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that Crockett County sheriff's deputies initially responded Thursday after 37-year-old Rodney James Hess blocked traffic on a highway near Alamo. The statement says Hess was acting erratically, refused to obey orders and tried to strike the deputies at least twice with his vehicle.While events escalated, police say at
  
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• Trump and Merkel's awkward handshake moment

  17-03-2017 12:34 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's first meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel produced a slightly awkward moment when the president didn't shake the German leader's hand in front of photographers in the Oval Office.Trump told photographers to "send a good picture back to Germany, please." He said the leaders had had "very good" talks so far, while Merkel praised the "friendly reception."Photographers then shouted "handshake!" Merkel quietly asked Trump "do you want to have a handshake?"There
  
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• President Trump welcomes German chancellor

  17-03-2017 12:34 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the White House.Merkel arrived Friday morning for a series of meetings with Trump. The itinerary includes discussions on strengthening NATO, fighting the Islamic State group and resolving Ukraine's conflict.Trump spent much of 2016 bashing the chancellor, accusing her of "ruining" Germany for allowing an influx of refugees from Syria.Merkel was originally supposed to visit the White House Tuesday. That m
  
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• No El Nino? No problem. Earth sizzles to near record heat

  17-03-2017 12:33 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - Even without an El Nino warming the world's waters, Earth in February sizzled to its second hottest temperature on record, behind only last year.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration calculated that February 2017 averaged 55.66 degrees (13.08 degrees Celsius). That's 1.76 degrees (.98 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 20th century average.It was also the second hottest winter in the northern hemisphere on record. Records go back to 1880.In the past, Earth doesn't come n
  
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• New Orleans bars stay open for those needing chronic tonic

  17-03-2017 12:29 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The mayor's office in New Orleans says a proposal to require bars to shut their doors at 3 a.m. is being abandoned.The idea was to decrease in-and-out traffic and what Mayor Mitch Landrieu had called an "open pedestrian party" along Bourbon Street and other parts of a city known for all-night bars and legal drinking in the street.Some bar owners questioned whether the policy would diminish crime - and whether it would hurt their income if it slowed the flow of customers.Deputy Mayo
  
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• Electrical fire damages Baton Rouge duplex

  17-03-2017 12:24 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - St. George firefighters have extinguished a blaze that caused significant damage to a duplexSt. George Fire Department responded to a fire in the 8000 block of Starwood Court around 8:15 p.m.Firefighters say the electical fire began in the kitchen and ran up through the wall to the attic, where it did significant damage.Residents from both units were displaced because of damage to electrical systems, as well as smoke and water damage.There were no injuries, according to investigato
  
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• One dead in Thibodaux crash

  17-03-2017 12:10 via wbrz.com
  
  THIBODAUX - A two-vehicle crash on LA 20 has claimed the life of one man.State police say Troop C began investigating the crash near Sugar Ridge Drive around 5:30 p.m.85-year-old Percy Chiasson was pronounced dead on scene.Troopers say Chaisson was traveling north on LA 20 when he ran off the road to the right as he entered a left curve in the highway. They say Chaisson then steered to the left and reentered the highway, striking a vehicle driven by 24-year-old Victoria Zungia-Galvez on Thibodau
  
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• Where to watch the Wearin' of the Green Parade

  17-03-2017 12:09 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Thousands of people will line the Hundred Oaks area in Baton Rouge for the Wearin' of the Green Parade Saturday.The parade will start at the Catholic Life Center on South Acadian Thruway and Hundred Oaks. It will pass down South Eugene, Terrace Avenue and finish on Perkins Road.The Wearin' of the Green Parade officially starts at 10 a.m., but WBRZ's live coverage starts at 9:30 a.m. Join Kylie Dixon and Chris Price will host the special coverage from the route. The special
  
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• Mother Nature putting a damper on parade painter's plans

  17-03-2017 11:40 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - As revelers pass through the streets for the 32nd Wearin' of the Green parade, one man is responsible for the paint that will pave the way.It's a special job every year unique to this parade. The shamrocks along the route are painted on by one man. But this year, Mother Nautre has made it a little more complicated.Dave Thompson's debacle starts with watered down gasoline, that is causing complications with his sprayer.Thompson took over the task in the 1990's. Now, this is his past
  
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• J.C. Penney to close Cortana Mall location, 137 other stores

  17-03-2017 11:25 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – J.C. Penny will officially close its Cortana Mall location along with 137 other stores across the country.The company says most stores will start to liquidate on April 17. About 5,000 posititions nationwide will be impacted by the store closures, most of which will happen in June.The Cortana Mall location is one of three stores in Louisiana that will close. The company will also close locations in Slidell and Deridder.The closures, announced in February, represent about 1
  
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• Law enforcement activity reported around wooded area of Burbank

  17-03-2017 11:06 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – A helicopter and ground deputies circled a wooded area along Burbank Friday during the morning rush, startling drivers who passed by.A search of some sort was happening in a wooded area between Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive around South Kenilworth Parkway and Ben Hur Road.An eyewitness said one or two people may be hiding out in the woods. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office confirmed there was activity in the area and said the search was related to a man w
  
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• Trump says he's '100 percent' behind health bill

  17-03-2017 11:00 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says he wants people to know he's "100 percent behind" the House Republican health care bill.Trump is meeting with Republican lawmakers at the White House Friday morning. Trump says the attendees were "mostly no's, yesterday" and now they're all yes's."Trump says the press is misrepresenting the legislation. He also says some changes have been made to the bill.Lawmakers at the meeting include Rep. Gary Palmer, a Republican from Alabama, who voted agai
  
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• Deadly crash involving several cars, dump truck in Prairieville

  17-03-2017 08:44 via wbrz.com
  
  PRAIRIEVILLE –Louisiana State Police are responding to a major crash involving several cars and a dump truck on Airline Highway in PrairievilleAscension Parish Sheriff's Office Lt. Bobby Webre said the crash happened around 8:18 a.m. at the intersection of Hwy 61 and Post Office Road. APSO, Prairieville Fire Department and Louisiana State Police are responding to the scene.Deputies say firefighters had to extract one person from a vehicle. Louisiana State Police confi
  
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• Crash involving several cars, dump truck in Prairieville

  17-03-2017 08:44 via wbrz.com
  
  PRAIRIEVILLE –Louisiana State Police are responding to a major crash involving several cars and a dump truck in PrairievilleThe crash happened around 8:18 a.m. at the intersection of Hwy 61 and Post Office Road. Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, Prairieville Fire Department and Louisiana State Police is responding to the scene.Deputies say firefighters had to extract one person from a vehicle. Initial reports indicate that one person is seriously hurt.A WBRZ
  
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• Ketchup with the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile

  17-03-2017 07:48 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - On Saturday, an icon of many people's childhoods hits the streets of Baton Rouge.Since the 1930s, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile has been traveling the country coast to coast. This year, the 81-year-old pop culture icon will be front and center in the Wearin' of the Green parade.The drivers, John "Jumbo Dog John" Craft and Mayra "Spicy Mayo Mayra" Ramirez said they have gotten used to all the attention the hotdog-on-wheels brings."Literally everyone is waving and taking pictures," Cr
  
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• State: Seat belt usage at record rate in Louisiana

  17-03-2017 07:22 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's seat belt usage is at a record rate.According to a new study commissioned by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Thursday that the usage rate for drivers and front-seat passengers is at an all-time high of 87.8 percent. That's nearly a 2 percentage point increase over the previous year.LHSC Executive Director Dr. Katara Williams is celebrating the record, but says the state will relentlessly pursue the ultimate goal of 100 percent usage.T
  
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• Mississippi could stiffen penalties for attacks on police

  17-03-2017 07:00 via wbrz.com
  
  JACKSON - A bill being sent to the Mississippi governor says penalties could be doubled for people who intentionally harm law enforcement officers, firefighters or emergency workers.Supporters say they filed the "Back the Badge Act" in response to the killings of police officers last year in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.The House passed the final version of House Bill 645 with no debate Thursday, sending it to Republican Gov. Phil Bryant.The vote came a day after two volunteer firefighters
  
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• Huge fire engulfs apartment building under construction

  17-03-2017 06:28 via wbrz.com
  
  RALEIGH, N.C. - Firefighters have extinguished a massive late-night fire that engulfed an apartment building under construction in Raleigh, North Carolina.News media organizations reported that residents of nearby apartments were jolted awake by noise and light from the flames. Power was reported out in nearby apartment complexes and traffic lights.A witness told the News and Observer of Raleigh that spreading flames caused a construction crane to collapse.There've been no injuries reported.Perm
  
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• EMT struck, killed by stolen ambulance in NYC

  17-03-2017 06:23 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW YORK - Police say an emergency medical technician in New York City has died after she was run over by a stolen ambulance.Authorities say 44-year-old Yadira Arroyo had stopped her ambulance in the Bronx around yesterday evening after being alerted that a man was riding on the back of the vehicle.Police say when she got out to investigate, the man jumped into the vehicle.Arroyo tried to stop the man, but he put the ambulance in reverse, striking her. He then crashed into parked cars and got st
  
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• Some delays heading into Baton Rouge

  17-03-2017 05:18 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge has you covered with live updates for your Friday 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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