Baton Rouge news

• Pentagon: One al-Qaida leader killed in Afghanistan airstrike

  25-03-2017 21:24
  
  WASHINGTON - The Pentagon says a U.S. counterterrorism airstrike earlier this month in Afghanistan killed an al-Qaida leader responsible for a deadly hotel attack in Islamabad in 2008 and the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team.In a statement Saturday night, U.S. defense officials confirmed the death of Qari Yasin.Officials say Yasin is a senior terrorist figure from Balochistan, Pakistan, had ties to the group Tehrik-e Taliban and plotted multiple al-Qaida terror attacks.O
  
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• Pedestrian hit by vehicle on Jefferson Ave.

  25-03-2017 20:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle on Jefferson Avenue Saturday night.EMS was called to the scene around 8:30 p.m. Sources say the pedestrian's injuries didn't appear to be life threatening.The pedestrian also refused to be taken to the hospital.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Municipal election wraps up

  25-03-2017 20:25
  
  BATON ROUGE -Voting has concluded in the March municipal elections around Louisiana.Statewide voting concluded Saturday afternoon for residents in East Feliciana, Livingston, East Feliciana, St. Helena and Tangipahoa parishes. Full results from the polls can be viewed here.Permalink| Comments
  
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• N. Carolina father accused of killing newborn, toddler

  25-03-2017 20:14
  
  RAEFORD, N.C. - A North Carolina father is accused of stabbing his infant and toddler daughters to death.Hoke County Sheriff Hubert Peterkin says 30-year-old Tillman Freeman III of Fayetteville is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of 4-day-old Genesis Freeman and 2-year-old Serenity Freeman. Their bodies were found early Saturday near an intersection near Raeford.Peterkin tells the Fayetteville Observer the children were stabbed multiple times with what appears to be
  
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• Man arrested for cyberstalking after sending threatening messages to ex-wife

  25-03-2017 19:42
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man was arrested Friday after he sent several harassing text messages to his ex-wife in October.According to the victim, 42-year-old Jack Collins Jr. sent 30 threatening text messages over the course of three days. Deputies say the two had been separated since Jan. 2013.Deputies checked the victim's phone and found several messages from Collins that mentioned the victim's location, suggesting he'd been following her. Collins was arrested by East Baton Rouge Pari
  
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• Man who bound dog's muzzle with tape sentenced to 5 years

  25-03-2017 17:15
  
  CHARLESTON, S.C. - A South Carolina man who wrapped electrical tape around a dog's muzzle to stop her from barking has been sentenced to five years in prison.Media outlets report William Dodson's sentence Friday represented the state's maximum for animal cruelty. However, it will run simultaneously with a 15-year sentence on a federal gun charge. Dodson's treatment of Caitlyn won't extend his prison time.Judge Markley Dennis told the 43-year-old North Charleston man, "I wish I could give you mor
  
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• One dead after shooting on Vegas Strip; Suspect surrenders

  25-03-2017 16:18
  
  LAS VEGAS - The gunman in a fatal shooting on the Las Vegas Strip who barricaded himself inside a public bus has surrendered peacefully after shutting down the busy tourism corridor for hours, police said.The standoff began about 11 a.m. Saturday with a shooting that killed one person and injured another. It happened on a double-decker bus stopped on Las Vegas Boulevard near the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino.Two people were taken to the hospital after the shooting, University Medical Center spokeswo
  
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• Man carrying a sword, dressed as Joker arrested in Virginia

  25-03-2017 14:38
  
  WINCHESTER, Va. - Police in Virginia have arrested a man who was dressed as comic book villain the Joker and reportedly carrying a sword.Winchester Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hall said in a news release that the department got several 911 calls Friday afternoon reporting a man made up as Batman's nemesis. He was wearing a cape and carrying a sword.Thirty-one-year-old Jeremy Putman has been charged with wearing a mask in public, a felony that can result in a year in jail.It wasn't imm
  
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• Geismar man arrested for second-degree rape

  25-03-2017 14:06
  
  BATON ROUGE - A 23-year-old man was arrested for second-degree rape after he allegedly sexually assaulted a victim inside a vehicle. According to arrest records, the incident occurred on Oct. 23, 2016.The victim contacted police from a local hospital and stated the accused man, Jean Walston of Geismar, had met up with her at a friend's house that day.The victim said she was at the residence with Walston for about 1 and a half hours before he asked her to walk him to his car.Walston then
  
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• Self-driving Uber SUV struck during Arizona accident

  25-03-2017 13:55
  
  TEMPE, Ariz. - Officials say a self-driving Uber SUV was operating on its own when it was struck by another vehicle making a left turn at an intersection in Arizona, where the company is testing autonomous vehicles.No one was seriously injured. Uber says its vehicles have been grounded as it investigates.Police in Tempe say the self-driving SUV was obeying the law and the driver in the other car who didn't yield was cited for a moving violation after the Friday night crash.An Uber statement Satu
  
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• 15-pound boxes of catfish from Mississippi company recalled

  25-03-2017 13:52
  
  DUNDEE, Miss. - A Mississippi catfish processor is recalling 1,700 pounds of fish after the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that it contained chemicals banned in fish farming.The Food Safety and Inspection Service said Friday that a Thursday inspection found the fish contain residues of a fungicide called malachite green above allowed levels.The contaminated products are 15-pound boxes of frozen raw whole catfish, fillets, nuggets, steaks and labeled as Lake's Farm Raised Catfish, with lot
  
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• Exotic livestock: Slovakian students learn of gator farming

  25-03-2017 13:47
  
  BATON ROUGE - Students from the Slovak University of Agriculture learned a bit about alligator farming and uses for 'gator hides during an eight-day visit to Louisiana State University.One visiting student, Lukás Sýkora, said he was surprised that an exotic predator could grow on a farm.The LSU AgCenter's coordinator of international programs, Ivana Tregenza (tray-GEN-zuh), says alligator farming is an example of how to come up with innovative solutions in a changing indust
  
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• Roadside bomb kills 3 policemen in Egypt's Sinai

  25-03-2017 13:43
  
  EL-ARISH, Egypt - Egyptian security officials say a roadside bomb planted by suspected Islamic militants has hit a police armored vehicle in the north of the Sinai peninsula, killing three members of the security forces.They say the Saturday blast south of the city of el-Arish injured six other policemen.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.The attack came two days after Sinai militants killed 10 army soldiers and two policemen in Sina
  
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• Study: New Orleans tourism records: 10.45M tourists, $7.4B

  25-03-2017 13:34
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A new study says New Orleans has broken a tourism record set before Hurricane Katrina, with nearly 10.5 million visitors in 2016. The record had stood at 10.1 million since 2004, the year before the hurricane struck.University of New Orleans' Hospitality Research Center says last year's visitors spent $7.41 billion dollars. That's 51 percent more than the amount spent in 2004, and 5.1 percent above the spending record set in 2015.The study, made for the New Orleans Convention and V
  
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• Strong storms roll through Baton Rouge area

  25-03-2017 12:33
  
  BATON ROUGE - A thunderstorm is rocking the Baton Rouge area, bringing with it lightning and hail.  These pictures of hail sent to us by 2 News Reporter Mark Armstrong.  Mark shot the video near downtown Baton Rouge just before 11 AM.Some Saturday events are canceled because of the storms including the Cancer Services annual spring party for children and families affected by cancer.#Hail video taken off of Brightside Dr. in #BatonRouge... sent in via the @WBRZweather A
  
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• Lightning strike sparks house fire in Baton Rouge

  25-03-2017 12:18
  
  BATON ROUGE - A lightning strike sparked a small house fire in Baton Rouge Saturday morning.According to the St. George Fire Department, firefighters were called to the 3800 block of Blecker Drive at 8:47 a.m.Firefighters then discovered a fire in the attic of the home as the result of a lightning strike.The fire was contained to the attic and the home suffered minor damage, according to St. George fire officials. No injuries were reported.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Abandoned next-door property keeps flood victim from returning home

  25-03-2017 11:51
  
  BATON ROUGE - A bent and broken chain link fence is the only thing separating one woman's home of 21 years and the blighted property next door."It needs to be a safe neighborhood, and it's not safe right now, not with the doors wide open and abondoned. That's not safe," Patricia Battiste said. Patricia's flooded home is 90 percent complete, but getting to this point wasn't easy. During the construction, she was the target of thieves, stealing her "shelter at home" belongings on
  
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• WBRZ wins five awards in Mississippi-Louisiana AP Competition

  25-03-2017 11:28
  
  JACKSON, Miss. — WBRZ News won five awards in the 2016 Mississippi-Louisiana Associated Press competition.Winners of the 2016 Mississippi-Louisiana Associated Press broadcast, newspaper college competitions were announced Saturday at an awards presentation in Jackson.AP-member broadcasters and newspapers in both states submitted nearly 2,000 entries in the contests conducted by the Mississippi and Louisiana AP Broadcasters and the Louisiana-Mississippi AP Media Editors. Winner
  
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• BRPD holds open house for new recruits

  25-03-2017 11:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Police Academy opened it's doors Saturday to show what the department has to offer.It was well attended with people like Tykisha Knighten, who has a degree in criminal justice, but a personal experience inspired her to come here."I had an uncle who was killed. And after seeing the way that they handled the case and the situation and everything, it made be want to become more involved with BRPD," Knighten said.And Gardell Palmer, who has a family me
  
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• Marksville officer convicted of manslaughter in 6-year-old boy's death

  25-03-2017 03:24
  
  A Louisiana law enforcement officer was convicted Friday on a lesser charge of manslaughter in a shooting that killed a 6-year-old autistic boy.
  
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• Louisiana officer convicted of manslaughter in boy's death

  25-03-2017 03:24
  
  A Louisiana law enforcement officer was convicted Friday on a lesser charge of manslaughter in a shooting that killed a 6-year-old autistic boy.
  
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