Baton Rouge news

• Baton Rouge man arrested for 55th time: report

  04-04-2017 22:34
  
  District attorney considers using habitual offender law, adding to possible prison time
  
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• Baton Rouge man arrested for 55th time after allegedly beating man: report

  04-04-2017 22:34
  
  BR District Attorney considers using habitual offender statute, adding to possible jail time.
  
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• Former head of Baton Rouge police union retires amid internal affairs probe

  04-04-2017 21:40
  
  BATON ROUGE - The former leader of the Baton Rouge Police Department's union retired last month after being on paid administrative leave since February.46-year-old Sgt. Chris Stewart closed his two-decade long career with the agency amid an internal affairs investigation over allegations he stalked and harassed his ex-girlfriend.His retirement took effect on March 13 and averted any disciplinary action that could be taken against him by BRPD, according to The Advocate. It also closed the ongoing
  
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• US comment terse on latest North Korea missile

  04-04-2017 21:15
  
  SEOUL, South Korea - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says "the United States has spoken enough about North Korea" in reaction to North Korea's latest missile launch.The State Department issued a terse statement from America's top diplomat acknowledging "yet another" launch and saying "We have no further comment."U.S. and South Korean officials said earlier that North Korea fired a ballistic missile into its eastern waters Wednesday.The launch came amid worries that the North might conduct
  
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• Kendall Jenner's protest Pepsi spot prompts online backlash

  04-04-2017 21:12
  
  NEW YORK - Model and Kardashian clan member Kendall Jenner's turn as a Pepsi-wielding protester has some on social media decrying the imagery as appropriation of the Black Lives Matter movement.The "Live for Now Moments" video released Tuesday has Jenner in a platinum wig on a photo shoot when protesters amble by. She rips off her wig, smears away her lipstick and joins them, eventually handing an officer on the demonstration line a can of Pepsi.Reaction on social media ranged from some saying t
  
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• North Korea fired medium-range ballistic missile

  04-04-2017 21:06
  
  SEOUL, South Korea - The U.S. Pacific Command says North Korea fired a medium-range ballistic missile at 6:42 a.m. Wednesday Seoul time from a spot on its east coast near the city of Sinpo.The command says it tracked the missile until it landed at 6:51 a.m. in the Sea of Japan.The command says it believes the missile was a KN-15 medium range ballistic missile.In a statement, the agency said: "U.S. Pacific Command is fully committed to working closely with our Republic of Korea and Japanese allie
  
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• Alabama governor declares emergency

  04-04-2017 20:59
  
  ATLANTA - Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has declared a State of Emergency that will last until severe weather expected to hit the state Wednesday subsides.He says the warning goes into effect at 6 p.m. Tuesday.Bentley said in a press release that 50 National Guard soldiers will also be deployed in the state.Multiple Alabama schools have also announced that they will be closed Wednesday.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Neighbors working together to hunt down lawnmower thief

  04-04-2017 20:08
  
  BATON ROUGE - Jeff Kuehny was just about to mow his lawn when he realized he was the target of thieves in Beauregard Town."When I came out here to look, it was gone," Kuehny said. "I had a lawnmower stolen, a gas can, and he even made off with a gas can and even my pruners."Thanks to a surveillance camera, Jeff has the entire act on video."I looked on the cameras, saw there was somebody that was back in the garage," Kuehny said. "Got on his cell phone and called somebody, looked in the garge, pu
  
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• Police arrest man for killing woman on busy Atlanta street

  04-04-2017 19:31
  
  ATLANTA - Authorities have arrested a man who they say shot and killed a woman on a busy Midtown Atlanta street.The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports 39-year-old Raylon Browning, of Roswell, is accused of shooting 40-year-old Trinh Huynh just before 8 a.m. Monday at an intersection. Huynh was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where she died from her injuries.Huynh lived about a block from where she was shot and worked as an attorney.Atlanta police Lt. Ricardo Vazquez says investigators haven't
  
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• Historic cemetery in need of help

  04-04-2017 17:47
  
  BATON ROUGE - Every few months, volunteers donning gardening gloves meet at Lutheran Cemetery to help pull weeds, bring branches to the curb and do what they can to help spruce up the area.Following the most recent volunteer effort last weekend, volunteers found a growing problem that needs to be addressed. The ground is eroding under multiple tombs and some of those grave sites are falling into a drainage ditch.The Historic Lutheran Benevolent Society Cemetery sits on
  
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• One bidder proposes to remove Confederate monuments

  04-04-2017 17:38
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A lone contractor submitted a proposal to take down three Confederate monuments in New Orleans Tuesday.According to a report from WWL, Cuzan Services Limited submitted a $600,000 bid to remove the monuments of Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard and Jefferson Davis. However, the city says the budget estimate for the monument removal is well below that bid at $170,000.The deadline for the bid to remove the monuments, which opened Tuesday afternoon, was set for 2 p.m. The purchasing dep
  
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• Audit finds pornography on Mississippi school-issued computers

  04-04-2017 17:14
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Auditor Stacey Pickering says his office has found pornography and other explicit material on computers that some public schools issued to middle school and high school students.In a report issued Tuesday, Pickering recommends that the state Department of Education require all school districts to monitor school-issued laptops or tablets when the electronic devices are off-campus.The auditor's office reviewed 150 devices issued to students in nine of the 144 school di
  
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• Southern University employee arrested for misusing state gas card

  04-04-2017 16:41
  
  BATON ROUGE- A Southern University employee was arrested after police say he misused a state gas card.Deputies arrested 47-year-old Eric Breaud after it was discovered he used his state gas card to purchase fuel for his personal vehicle.According to the arrest report, Breaud checked out a Fuel Trac gift card to put fuel in the lights on the university's farm. Authorities say Breaud then went to an Exxon gas station and pumped more than $28 of gas into his own vehicle.A Southern University superv
  
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• Head of local movie studio resigning

  04-04-2017 16:31
  
  BATON ROUGE – The man who spearheaded a competitive production schedule that filled Baton Rouge with celebrities will leave his post as head of the city's large film studio in the coming months.Patrick Mulhearn posted on Facebook, he is resigning from Celtic Studios at the end of June. Mulhearn was a force in the local production scene, managing a facility that brought Tom Cruise, the cast of Twilight and many others to the city for blockbuster movies.For those in the scene, Mulhearn's
  
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• 8 arrested for burglaries, drugs in Ponchatoula

  04-04-2017 15:12
  
  PONCHATOULA - Eight suspects have been arrested in connection to multiple residential burglaries that occurred in Ponchatoula last week. According to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office, the suspects were arrested after three burglaries were reported on Beach Road Mar. 27. Deputies say several firearms were reported stolen in the burglaries.The Sheriff's Office later received information leading to the arrest of eight indivduals for burglary and drug charges.Deputies announced the ar
  
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• Report: car crashes into canal after officer involved shooting in Jefferson Parish

  04-04-2017 15:08
  
  TERRYTOWN – Deputies say a car crash into a ditch after fleeing the scene of an officer involved shooting in Jefferson Parish, local media reports.According to WWLTV, the crash happened on Wright and Cedarwood avenues. JPSO said deputies felt threatened by two men in a Honda Accord parked at a gas station with weapons in the car.WWLTV reports that the driver of the car, Ryan Jackson, was shot in the upper back and arm. Jackson was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threateni
  
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• Hidden cash? Louisiana Senate leader tries to track accounts

  04-04-2017 14:59
  
  BATON ROUGE - As Louisiana struggles with budget woes, lawmakers are realizing millions remain socked away in savings accounts that agencies, boards and commissions never told them existed.Senate Finance Committee Chairman Eric LaFleur has been trying to get an accounting of what's out there.In the legislative session that starts Monday, LaFleur is proposing to make it tougher to create these escrow accounts and special bank accounts, to require more uniform policies governing them and to enact
  
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• Louisiana governor backs bills targeting opioid abuse

  04-04-2017 14:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards is backing legislative proposals aimed at reducing opioid deaths in Louisiana.The governor's office announced Tuesday that Edwards supports legislation to limit first-time prescriptions of opioids for acute pain to a seven-day supply for adults, with some exceptions.The measure by New Orleans Rep. Helena Moreno and River Ridge Rep. Kirk Talbot also would restrict all acute pain prescriptions of opioids for children to seven days.Edwards also backs a proposal b
  
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• One in critical condition after shooting on Elmer Avenue

  04-04-2017 14:34
  
  BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge Police are investigating a shooting off Scenic Highway that reportedly left a young man in critical condition Tuesday afternoon.The shooting happened around 12:30 p.m. in the 400 block of Elmer Ave. Authorities say the victim is in "very critical" condition.Police say the shooting was the result of a dispute. No suspect is currently in custody. Stay tuned to WBRZ News 2 online and on Facebook and Twitter for updates as new information becomes
  
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• Woman charged in Oklahoma intruder deaths pleads not guilty

  04-04-2017 14:30
  
  WAGONER, Okla. - An Oklahoma woman has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of three teenagers during an attempted home burglary.Court records show 21-year-old Elizabeth Rodriguez entered the plea Tuesday in Wagoner County District Court.Rodriguez is charged in the March 27 deaths of Maxwell Cook, Jacob Redfern and Jakob Woodruff. Prosecutors say Rodriguez drove the three to a home near the Tulsa suburb of Broken Arrow where they broke into the residenc
  
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• Trump says he'll only fund shovel-ready infrastructure jobs

  04-04-2017 14:24
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says he only wants to fund infrastructure jobs that are shovel-ready.At the start of a town-hall style event with CEOs, Trump says: "if you have a job that you can't start within 90 days, we're not going to give you money for it ... because it doesn't help us."Trump touted the plan he says is in the works, telling the room, "We're talking about a very major infrastructure bill of a trillion dollars, perhaps even more."Trump faulted his predecessor for spending
  
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• Facebook loses search warrant challenge in New York court

  04-04-2017 14:22
  
  ALBANY - Facebook has lost a legal fight against a New York City prosecutor who sought search warrants for hundreds of user accounts.The New York state Court of Appeals on Tuesday sided with lower courts by ruling that the social media giant didn't have the right to challenge the warrants.Prosecutors in Manhattan sought search warrants in 2013 for the accounts of 381 people in connection with a disability benefits fraud case against New York City police and fire retirees.Menlo Park, California-b
  
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• NOAA's biggest ship comes home after longest voyage

  04-04-2017 13:53
  
  SOUTH CAROLINA - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's largest oceanographic research vessel has returned to its homeport after the longest deployment of any ship in the agency's history.NOAA Ship Robert H. Brown spent almost 800 days at sea during the 3½-year deployment. NOAA says the ship traveled almost 130,000 miles conducting scientific research and servicing buoys that collect environmental data.The agency says the ship's tasks included a rapid response mission t
  
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• APSO: Two wanted for mugging man outside Geismar home

  04-04-2017 13:51
  
  ASCENSION – The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office is requesting the public's assistance to identify two people wanted for mugging a man outside his Geismar home.The incident occurred on March 18 around 3:45 a.m. when two unknown suspects attacked the man at his home on Deck Boulevard. The suspects took his wallet, containing cash and credit card, and then fled the scene on foot.Surveillance video shows the two suspects running on Deck Boulevard toward Highway 74.Anyon
  
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• Teen riding skateboard struck by car in Metairie

  04-04-2017 13:37
  
  METAIRIE - Authorities say a 14-year-old boy riding his skateboard was struck by a car and thrown into a canal in Metairie.Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Col. John Fortunato told the Times-Picayune that the body is currently listened in "grave" condition after the accident occurred Monday evening. Fortunato says a 29-year-old woman was driving her vehicle when she hit the boy.Fortunato says charges have not been filed against the woman. The woman told investigators she thought she h
  
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• Deputies arrest man for attempted murder, discover he has 54 previous arrests

  04-04-2017 13:34
  
  BATON ROUGE - Deputies arrested a man for attempted murder Monday after reports say he violently beat another man with a board.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a hospital Mar. 3 in reference to a batttery that reportedly occurred on Byron Street. There, the victim told deputies he got into an argument with 61-year-old Kenneth Sheppard of Baton Rouge over a dryer. Deputies say the victim was having difficulty regaining his memory after the incident.Officer
  
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• Police investigating murder on Bourbon Street, one in custody

  04-04-2017 13:28
  
  NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Police Department is investigating a murder in the 800 block of Bourbon Street in New Orleans.The department tweeted about the investigation on Tuesday around 11:30 a.m. Officers have one person in custody, however their identity has not been released at the time of this post. #NOPD is investigating a homicide in the 800 block of Bourbon St. 1 person is deceased, 1 in custody. #NOPDALERT— NOPD (@NOPDNews) April 4, 2017The department&
  
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• Lane closures I-110 south this weekend

  04-04-2017 13:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – Two lanes on I-110 south in Baton Rouge will be closed this weekend for bridge repairs.According to DOTD, the closures will close from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The point of closure is just west of North 2nd Street and directly under the Scenic Highway overpass.DOTD said signs will be posted and flaggers will be present to direct traffic through the work zone.“LA DOTD appreciates your patience and reminds you to please drive with caution near the wor
  
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• Residents concerned with dangerous neighborhood traffic in Sherwood Forest

  04-04-2017 12:40
  
  BATON ROUGE - It is easy to see that traffic backs up in Sherwood Forest during rush hour. But some drivers have found an easy way to get around all the congestion.Unfortunately, residents who call this neighborhood home told News 2 that drivers are taking to the neighborhood road like it's a highway.The traffic in the area could be a sign of the city's growing population. For some trying to navigate their way around the traffic, a cut through the Sherwood Forest neighborhood used to be the road
  
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• Gov. Edwards to speak at US House hearing on flood response

  04-04-2017 12:09
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards is returning to Washington to talk about last year's massive flooding in south Louisiana.Edwards will testify Wednesday morning before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The committee is holding a hearing on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's response to the August floods that hit the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas.The Democratic governor's office says Edwards plans to talk about where the federal government's response has bee
  
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• Georgia officials hope to repair interstate bridge by June

  04-04-2017 12:06
  
  ATLANTA - Georgia transportation officials hope to finish rebuilding a key interstate bridge by mid-June after a large fire caused its collapse last week.Authorities have said the fire was started by a man under the bridge in an area north of downtown Atlanta. The collapse on Thursday forced the closure of a portion of Interstate 85 and workers are continuing to remove scorched debris from the area.Georgia Department of Transportation officials said they will offer financial incentives to contra
  
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• Baltimore Police ready for overhaul despite call for pause

  04-04-2017 12:04
  
  BALTIMORE - Baltimore's police commissioner says they're "ready to roll" with a proposed overhaul of the troubled department despite the Department of Justice's request for time to review the agreement.Commissioner Kevin Davis said at a news conference Tuesday that the department knows it must get better and a consent decree will make the department better.On Monday, the Department of Justice requested a 90-day continuance of a hearing on its proposed overhaul of the police department,
  
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• House measures rebuke North Korea for belligerent behavior

  04-04-2017 08:48
  
  WASHINGTON - The Republican-led House has voted overwhelmingly to condemn North Korea's development of long-range ballistic missiles and urge that the reclusive Asian nation be put back on the terrorism blacklist.Speaker Paul Ryan says the two measures approved Monday by wide margins are "concrete actions" that hold Pyongyang accountable for its belligerent and destabilizing behavior.Ryan mocked the Obama administration's policy of strategic patience toward North Korea as a "total failure."Lawma
  
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• Popular New Orleans Restaurant branches out

  04-04-2017 08:12
  
  GULFPORT, Miss. - A popular seafood restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter is about to branch out.The owner of Felix's Restaurant & Oyster Bar in New Orleans says he plans to bring all the eatery's popular dishes to a second location on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.Danny Conwill tells The Sun Herald he plans to put a Gulfport Felix's in a building where Coast restaurateur Thomas Genin opened Ajax Seafood Kitchen & Bar 10 months ago.The Ajax property went on the market after Genin decide
  
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• WATCH: Utility worker saves man who fell onto NYC subway tracks

  04-04-2017 07:40
  
  NEW YORK - A utility worker is being credited with saving a man who fell onto a New York City subway track just before a train pulled into the station.Cellphone video taken by a Seattle teenager shows Jonathan Kulig, of Queens, picking up a young man who had fallen off a Manhattan station's platform and landed between the rails.The 29-year-old Consolidated Edison engineer then places the disoriented man on the platform and guides him to a nearby bench.A minute later a subway train rumbled into t
  
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• Babies Romeo and Juliette make debut in Florida hospital

  04-04-2017 07:06
  
  LEESBURG - Two sets of new parents were surprised to learn that their babies were part of a Shakespearean connection at a Florida hospital.The Orlando Sentinel reports Juliette Crouch was born Friday morning at Leesburg Regional Medical Center. Hours later, Romeo Kidd made his debut down the hallway.Hospital privacy laws almost kept the drama from playing out. A nurse asked Carolyn Kidd her baby's name and said a Juliette was born the same day. But she couldn't tell them where Juliette's parents
  
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• Inventor of World Wide Web wins computing's 'Nobel Prize'

  04-04-2017 07:02
  
  SAN FRANCISCO - Most people who search on Google, share on Facebook and shop on Amazon have never heard of Sir Tim Berners-Lee. But they might not be doing any of those things had he not invented the World Wide Web.Berners-Lee, 61, is this year's recipient of the A.M. Turing Award, computing's version of the Nobel Prize.Tuesday's award announcement by the Association for Computing Machinery marks another pinnacle for Berners-Lee, a British native, who has already been knighted by Queen Elizabeth
  
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• White House officials offer change to health care bill

  04-04-2017 06:57
  
  WASHINGTON - White House officials hoping to resuscitate the failed House Republican health care bill are offering a change in hopes of winning support from conservatives who helped derail it.Vice President Mike Pence and two top White House officials met late Monday with members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus. White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and budget chief Mick Mulvaney were also there.A meeting participant says the officials offered to let states apply to the federal governm
  
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• Ryan confirms talks underway on health care bill

  04-04-2017 06:57
  
  WASHINGTON - Speaker Paul Ryan says Republicans are talking about reviving the failed health care bill, but he declined to offer a timetable for a vote.Speaking to reporters Tuesday, the Wisconsin Republican said there are ongoing talks that are "at the concept stage right now." He said it would be premature to say where the legislation stands or how much support it could garner.Two weeks after the GOP bill crashed spectacularly, the White House made an offer to conservatives to resuscitate the
  
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• Report: deadly crash involving several 18-wheelers closes I-10 in NOLA

  04-04-2017 05:36
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Three people were hurt and at least one person was killed in a crash on I-10 west in New Orleans Tuesday morning, local media reports.According to WWLTV, I-10 west at the Veterans Boulevard exit was closed for hours after a crash around 5 a.m. involving four cars and four 18-wheelers. The roadway was cleared around 10:30 a.m.La State Police say 3 people injured in traffic ax this morning. They say it could be hours before lanes are open for drivers.— Duke Carter II (@dcar
  
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• Jackknife cleared; La. 1 opened after morning snarl

  04-04-2017 05:10
  
  PORT ALLEN – LA 1 between the Intracoastal Canal and I-10 closed due to a jackknifed semi for about an hour Tuesday morning.The truck was wedged between both shoulders of the southbound lanes. Traffic was blocked headed toward Brusly and authorities had closed the ramp from I-10 to LA 1 southbound at times.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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• Tennessee supports President Tump's strict stance on immigration

  04-04-2017 04:21
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A deeply conservative state, Tennessee voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump and his tough stance on immigration.
   And yet, some Republican lawmakers are pushing a proposal that would allow public colleges to offer in-state tuition states to students whose parents brought them into the country illegally.
   If the lawmakers succeed, Tennessee would follow the lead of Washington, D.C., the only other local government to pass such an ordinance sinc
  
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• Senate headed for a showdown in confirmation of Neil Gorsuch

  04-04-2017 04:09
  
  WASHINGTON- Headed toward a partisan showdown over Senate rules, Republicans and Democrats are set to open a floor debate on whether to confirm President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court.Democrats secured the necessary support Monday to block Judge Neil Gorsuch from a high court seat, leaving Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell short of the 60 votes he needs. But the victory will only be fleeting, as McConnell is ready to lead the GOP in a unilateral floor procedure change so signi
  
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