Baton Rouge news

• Report: US sought to monitor Trump adviser last summer

  11-04-2017 21:53
  
  WASHINGTON - A published report says the FBI obtained a court order to monitor communications of an adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump last summer.The Washington Post reported Tuesday the application to a special court to monitor Carter Page was part of the investigation into potential links between the Republican's presidential campaign and Russia. The newspaper cited unnamed law enforcement and other U.S. officials.Page tells The Associated Press he believes the basis for the court order w
  
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• UNICEF: Boko Haram increasingly using children as bombers

  11-04-2017 21:49
  
  DAKAR, Senegal - The U.N. children's agency says Islamic militants from Boko Haram are increasingly forcing children to carry out bombings, with the number of attacks since January already nearly reaching the total for all of last year.UNICEF says in its report Wednesday that at least 117 attacks have been carried out by youth in the Lake Chad basin region since 2014, with nearly 80 percent of the bombs strapped to girls, who were sometimes drugged before their missions.Marie-Pierre Poirier, UNI
  
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• Official says hunger strike over at south Mississippi prison

  11-04-2017 20:57
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - An official says a hunger strike is over at a south Mississippi prison.The Mississippi Department of Corrections made the announcement Tuesday, eight days after officials said 11 inmates had begun refusing meals. Relatives supporting inmates said they were protesting conditions at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville. Corrections spokeswoman Grace Simmons Fisher said an inmate caught with contraband encouraged unrest.At least two inmates whom supporters
  
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• Yahoo accused of mismanaging fund for dissidents in China

  11-04-2017 20:52
  
  SAN FRANCISCO - A new lawsuit accuses Yahoo of turning its back on Chinese dissidents that it had promised to help as penance for previously turning over information about other activists to the Chinese government.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in a Washington, D.C., federal court by a group of Chinese dissidents, contends that Yahoo mismanaged a $17 million fund it set up to provide financial aid to them.Yahoo created the human rights fund a decade ago. That gesture followed a humiliating scandal d
  
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• Alabama ends death penalty by judicial override

  11-04-2017 20:32
  
  MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey has signed a bill ending the state's one-of-a-kind practice of allowing judges to sentence a person to death when a jury has recommended life imprisonment.Ivey spokeswoman Eileen Jones confirmed the move Tuesday. Alabama was the last state in the country to allow judges to override a jury when sentencing capital murder cases.Montgomery Republican Sen. Dick Brewbaker sponsored a version of the bill and says it is in the interest of justice. It passed the H
  
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• Spicer apologizes for 'insensitive' reference to Holocaust

  11-04-2017 20:24
  
  WASHINGTON - White House press secretary Sean Spicer is apologizing for making an "insensitive" reference to the Holocaust in earlier comments about Syrian President Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons.Spicer says in an interview with CNN that he mistakenly used "an inappropriate, insensitive reference to the Holocaust." He says there was no comparison and "it was a mistake to do that." He adds, "It was my blunder."Spicer said during a White House briefing Tuesday that Adolf Hitler "didn't ev
  
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• Lt. Governor denies accusations from former museum manager

  11-04-2017 20:10
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser denied allegations Tuesday that he misused his power.The accusations came from Nungesser's former museum manager, Timothy Chester. Chester shot off a scathing accusation letter this week, one he says he's never had to write in decades of museum work. "Everything he says is absolutely not true," Nungesser said.In the letter, Chester accuses Nungesser of using public property for his personal needs, as well as attempting to move state-owne
  
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• Bacon bust: 4 charged with illegally selling wild hogs

  11-04-2017 20:04
  
  TYLERTOWN, Miss. - Ever heard of a hog-dog rodeo?The attraction, and hog hunting, are popular activities in Mississippi and Louisiana - and apparently lucrative ones as well.Maj. Lane Ball is an official with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. He says department officers caught four people illegally trapping and selling wild hogs last month.The department cited the four on March 29, when officers raided a location that had once been used as a hog-dog rodeo arena and fou
  
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• Pineville man's body pulled from Indian Creek Reservoir

  11-04-2017 19:44
  
  ALEXANDRIA - The body of an 18-year-old Pineville resident has been pulled from the Indian Creek Reservoir in Rapides Parish.Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents say emergency personnel recovered Orlando Banks' body around 5:30 p.m. Monday.Witnesses say Banks was one of four people in a vessel as they approached a rope swing on the bank around 2:30 p.m. One of the occupants jumped into the water and swam to shore near the swing. Banks followed but struggled to stay a
  
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• Trump wants regulations streamlined in infrastructure bill

  11-04-2017 19:39
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump wants to offer a two-for-one deal on infrastructure.The Trump administration intends to propose a package of tax breaks meant to help spur $1 trillion in new spending on roads, bridges and other construction over the next decade. As part of that bill, Trump also wants to introduce measures to drastically shorten approval times for projects.The strategy appears aimed at building support for an effort with little momentum in Congress. Democrats are critical of T
  
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• Man convicted of triple murder at Houston car lot, gets life

  11-04-2017 19:37
  
  HOUSTON - A Houston man will serve life in prison after being convicted of capital murder in a shooting rampage at a used car dealership that left three men dead.Jurors in Harris County deliberated more than three hours Tuesday before returning its verdict on James Tinsley IV. Since prosecutors weren't seeking the death penalty in Tinsley's case, he automatically was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the January 2015 shooting deaths.The attack happened at Immac
  
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• Report: Prosecutor jailed crime victims to enforce testimony

  11-04-2017 18:35
  
  NEW ORLEANS  - A new report says New Orleans prosecutors jailed at least six crime victims to make them testify last year, including a rape victim who was held for eight days.Court Watch NOLA says judges approved at least nine other material witness warrants for victims, but those people couldn't be found.The nonprofit wants District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro to reduce requests for such warrants, and to drop them entirely for sexual assault or domestic violence victims.Assistant District
  
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• River Center prepping for NCAA Women's Bowling Championship

  11-04-2017 18:26
  
  BATON ROUGE – The Baton Rouge River Center is being transformed to host thousands of visitors coming to town for the NCAA Women's Bowling Championship.It has taken eight weeks to set up the bowling lanes for the tournament."44 lanes, custom built score board, custom sound, and seating, everything in here custom designed," Gregory Moore, of The United States Bowling Congress, said.Moore oversees every detail involved, from planning to the technology used. He says that it takes a village
  
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• Sculptures seen downtown meant to promote diversity

  11-04-2017 16:52
  
  BATON ROUGE – Twenty-two cast iron and aluminum figures are scattered across areas of downtown as part of a year-long display by an Icelandic sculptor.Baton Rouge is the latest city to feature the display – called Borders – by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir. Previously, the androgynous figures were seen outside the UN headquarters in New York City, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago and Indiana.The figures are situated in various mirrored forms – sometimes standing, sitti
  
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• EBRSO: Man arrested for leaving son in locked horse trailer overnight as punishment

  11-04-2017 16:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – A man has been arrested after deputies say he locked his son inside a horse trailer overnight as a punishment.The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office arrested 71-year-old Douglas Oneal on one charge of cruelty to juveniles.The incident occurred on April 10 when deputies responded to a call of a 13-year-old boy locked in a horse trailer. According to arrest documents, the boy's aunt called deputies and stated she saw him in the trailer.The boy had been removed from the trail
  
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• Authorities dispel threats at Denham Springs school

  11-04-2017 16:13
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office and Livingston Parish Public School System responded to reported threats at a local school Tuesday.On Monday, several students and parents reported possible threats directed at the school on social media.The school system released a statement Tuesday saying that it is working with Denham Springs Police to investigate any threats made at the school. At this time, it claims there is no credible evidence to back up a
  
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• BRPD: Man wanted for bribing 10-year-old for sex act

  11-04-2017 15:52
  
  BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge Police detectives are attempting to locate 39-year-old Eric Strawder for indecent behavior with a juvenile.According to BRPD, the incident occurred between the dates of August 12 and September 9, 2016 when 39-year-old Eric Strawder offered to perform oral sex on a 10-year-old girl and bribed her with money to keep it a secret.Strawder is also a registered sex offender wanted by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office for failing to update his registration as an
  
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• BRPD: Man arrested for bribing 10-year-old for sex act

  11-04-2017 15:52
  
  BATON ROUGE – Baton Rouge Police have arrested a man Tuesday after he attempted to bribe a 10-year-old for sexual favors.According to BRPD, the incident occurred between the dates of August 12 and September 9, 2016 when 39-year-old Eric Strawder offered to perform oral sex on a 10-year-old girl and bribed her with money to keep it a secret.Strawder is also a registered sex offender who was wanted by the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office for failing to update his registration as an offe
  
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• Police: Thieves ram truck through Florida gun store

  11-04-2017 15:20
  
  ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. - Police in Florida say thieves rammed a truck into a Florida gun shop to steal firearms and ammunition.The Zephyrhills Police Department posted surveillance video on its Facebook page that shows the blue truck smashing through the front of Sunshine State Armory early Sunday.The video shows three people running in after the truck and grabbing guns and ammunition from cases as the truck backs out of the store. They ran to the truck and fled before police arrived.The Facebook pos
  
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• Suspect sought after house fire kills 89-year-old woman in Tangipahoa Parish

  11-04-2017 14:33
  
  TANGIPAHOA – The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating the murder of an 89-year-old woman after deputies say her house was set on fire.According to the sheriff's office, the incident occurred on April 10 around 9:15 p.m. at the home of Dorothy Poche located on School Section Road in Ponchatoula. Neighbors reported hearing a loud "boom" noise and looked outside to find Poche's house on fire. Neighbors also saw lights coming from a vehicle exiting a nearby roadway.The home
  
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• Woman sues ex-prosecutor accused of trading sex for leniency

  11-04-2017 14:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - A victim's mother is suing a former Louisiana district attorney accused of extorting sexual favors from at least 22 women in exchange for favorable treatment from his office.The racketeering lawsuit was filed Monday by a woman whose daughter was a key witness in an FBI investigation of the sex abuse allegations against former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel.Although Morel hasn't been charged with any sex crimes, he is serving a three-year prison sentence after plea
  
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• United CEO issuing new apology for passenger dragging

  11-04-2017 13:52
  
  CHICAGO - The CEO of United Airlines has issued a stronger apology about a passenger who was dragged off a United Express flight, calling the confrontation "truly horrific."Oscar Munoz said in a note to employees Tuesday that he continues to be disturbed by the events Sunday night in Chicago.He said, "No one should ever be mistreated this way."Munoz was widely criticized for two statements Monday about the altercation in which he described the 69-year-old man taken off the plane as "dis
  
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• Sean Spicer suggests even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons

  11-04-2017 13:50
  
  WASHINGTON - White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested Tuesday that Adolf Hitler didn't use chemical weapons.Hitler killed Jews during the Holocaust using gas chambers at concentration camps.Spicer, comparing Hitler to Syria's Bashar Assad, said Hitler "didn't even sink to using chemical weapons."Earlier: Spicer claims that even someone "as despicable as Hitler" didn't use chemical weapons https://t.co/5BSu9nzn5W— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) April 11, 2017
  An April 4 chemical w
  
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• Separate juries for men accused in Baton Rouge couple's murder

  11-04-2017 13:39
  
  BATON ROUGE –  Two men accused of killing a Baton Rouge couple in 2015 will have separate juries for the same trial set later this year.Ernesto Alonso, 42, and Frank Garcia, 48, were arrested in connection to the kidnapping and murders of Denis and Suzanne Duplantier. District Attorney Hillar Moore said that the trial is set for November 27.The Duplantiers were taken from their home on Highland Road in Oct
  
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• Louisiana attorney general sues governor over money transfer

  11-04-2017 13:13
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is suing Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration, accusing it of improperly withholding money owed to the attorney general's office for operations.Landry filed the lawsuit Tuesday, the latest in a string of feuds between the Republican attorney general and the Democratic governor.The lawsuit says Edwards' Division of Administration has refused to transfer $4 million in an escrow account that belongs to the attorney general's office. Landry's law
  
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• San Bernardino school closed following shooting

  11-04-2017 13:03
  
  SAN BERNARDINO - An elementary school in San Bernardino that was the scene of a murder-suicide is closed for the time being.School district officials say classes at North Park Elementary are canceled for at least Tuesday and Wednesday.Counselors are being made available at a nearby middle school for students, family and staff.The closure comes a day after a man walked into his estranged wife's classroom and opened fire, killing her and an 8-year-old student. He then fatally shot himself.A 9-year
  
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• Louisiana House committee starts vetting tax rewrite ideas

  11-04-2017 13:00
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers in the House tax committee have launched their work on the main debate of the legislative session, whether and how to rewrite Louisiana's tax laws.The House Ways and Means Committee began vetting tax proposals Tuesday, a day after the two-month legislative session opened.More than 140 House tax bills have been filed.Tuesday's hearing concentrated on personal income taxes. Later hearings this week will focus on business and sales taxes. No votes are expected this week.Comm
  
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• Pecan Acres residents frustrated with buyout plan

  11-04-2017 12:12
  
  NEW ROADS - Homeowners in a Pointe Coupee Parish neighborhood nicknamed "flood city" are getting help from a local university.The Police jury met Tuesday night to discuss a possible buyout for Pecan Acres.After last year's August flood, the subdivision received federal attention. The plan was to fix the issue through a buyout by the Natural Resouces Conservation Services. Southern University will cover homeowners' legal fees for the buyout process. "We will issue them a packet
  
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• Google refutes charges, says there is no gender pay gap

  11-04-2017 12:08
  
  NEW YORK - Google says it's "taken aback " by the government's claim that it doesn't compensate women fairly.The company says it conducts "rigorous analyses" that its pay practices are gender-blind. It says analysts who calculate suggested pay don't have access to employees' gender data. Google says it analyzed 52 major job categories last year and found "no gender pay gap."The U.S. Department of Labor had accused Google of shortchanging women doing similar work to men, saying it found "systemic
  
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• Bill O'Reilly taking a break amid sponsor backlash

  11-04-2017 12:07
  
  LOS ANGELES - Bill O'Reilly told viewers he's going on vacation, saying everyone needs a little "R&R."O'Reilly's announcement on his Fox News Channel show Tuesday came amid sponsor defections over a report of harassment allegations made against him.O'Reilly said he usually takes a break this time and that his travel plans were made last year.He recommended that everyone take two trips a year, saying everyone deserves a break.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Musician John Warren Geils Jr. dies in Massachusetts at 71

  11-04-2017 12:05
  
  GROTON, Mass. - Musician John Warren Geils Jr., founder of The J. Geils Band, has died in his Massachusetts home. He was 71.Groton police confirmed Geils' death Tuesday night. They say it does not appear to be suspicious.The J. Geils Band was founded in 1967 in Worcester, Massachusetts, while Geils was studying at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.The band's first big hit "Love Stinks," a rant against unrequited love, was the title song on their 1980 album.Their song "Centerfold," from the album "
  
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• Teen's quest for Wendy's nuggets gets huge Twitter support

  11-04-2017 09:33
  
  RENO - A teen's Twitter stunt to win a year of free chicken nuggets from Wendy's might become the platform's most retweeted post of all time.Carter Wilkinson asked the fast food chain on Twitter last week how many retweets it would take for him to get free nuggets for a year. Wendy's replied, "18 million." The 16-year-old from Nevada took up the challenge, writing: "Consider it done."Wilkinson's screenshot of the exchange has since been retweeted nearly 2.5 million times and is getting closer to
  
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• Putin wants UN investigation of Syria attack

  11-04-2017 08:14
  
  WASHINGTON - President Vladimir Putin says Russia will appeal to the United Nations to investigate last week's chemical attack in Syria.Moscow has dismissed suggestions that the Syrian government that it backs could be behind the attack in Idlib province.Putin told reporters on Tuesday that Russia would appeal to a U.N. agency in the Hague, urging it to hold an official probe.Putin also said Russia has received intelligence about planned "provocations" using chemical weapons that would
  
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• Putin likens US action in Syria to Iraq in 2003

  11-04-2017 08:14
  
  WASHINGTON - Russia's President Vladimir Putin says Washington's accusations against the Syrian government over a chemical attack resemble the claims made before the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.Putin, speaking Tuesday after talks in Moscow with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, said the U.S. invaded Iraq based on false allegations that it had chemical weapons.He says the U.S. missile strikes on a Syrian air base following accusations that Syria's government's used chemical weapons that killed d
  
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• USS KIDD hosts remembrance ceremony for Kamikaze attack

  11-04-2017 08:06
  
  BATON ROUGE – The USS KIDD will host a remembrance ceremony for 72nd anniversary of the day a kamikaze aircraft struck the ship in World War 2.The ceremony will be free and open to the public and will begin at 1:55 p.m., the exact time that the attack began on April 11, 1945, off the coast of Okinawa.After fighting off three aerial raids earlier in the day, a kamikaze aircraft crashed into the hull of the USS KIDD during another attack. According to the USS KIDD Veterans Museu
  
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• Trump to China: Help on North Korea for a good trade deal

  11-04-2017 07:42
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says he gave his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping an ultimatum in their meeting last week: solve the North Korea crisis and you'll get a good trade deal.Trump tweeted Tuesday, "I explained to the President of China that a trade deal with the U.S. will be far better for them if they solve the North Korean problem!"In a second tweet he wrote, "North Korea is looking for trouble. If China decides to help, that would be great. If not, we will solve the problem witho
  
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• Twitter users mock United over overbooked flight incident

  11-04-2017 06:53
  
  CHICAGO - A day after viral videos of a bloodied man being dragged off an overbooked United flight by aviation security fueled criticism of the airline, Twitter users are using the platform to poke fun at the airline's tactics."We overbooked but you pay the price," ''We Put The Hospital In Hospitality" and "We'll drag you all over the world" are among the faux slogans being offered up on social media under #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos .United had offered vouchers worth $800 to anyone who would volun
  
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• House race in heavily GOP Kansas surprisingly competitive

  11-04-2017 06:51
  
  WICHITA - A Democratic civil rights attorney running in the nation's first congressional election since President Donald Trump's November victory has made the race surprisingly competitive for a Kansas House seat held by Republicans for more than two decades.The special election Tuesday between Democrat James Thompson and Republican Ron Estes to fill the seat vacated by CIA Director Mike Pompeo is being watched across the nation for signs of a backlash against Republicans.Trump won 60 percent of
  
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• Toddler somehow gets onto Louisiana road, is killed by truck

  11-04-2017 06:47
  
  SLIDELL - Authorities are trying to determine how a 17-month-old girl wound up in a road where she was struck and killed by a truck.NOLA.com ' The Times-Picayune reportsthat the girl was struck Monday afternoon in St. Tammany Parish, while the toddler was visiting her grandmother's home in the Slidell area.St. Tammany Parish sheriff's Capt. Daniel Seuzeneau said investigators were not yet sure how the toddler wound up in the path of oncoming traffic.Seuzeneau said witnesses told officers that Ko
  
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• State's 1st wild-hatched whooping crane since 1939 turns 1

  11-04-2017 06:42
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's first wild-hatched whooping crane since 1939 is out on her own, chased off by her parents so they could embark on their second nesting season.The big white bird with black wing-tips officially turns 1 year old Tuesday.Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Sara Zimorski says the youngster is "doing all the right things," foraging and making short flights.The bird was banded earlier this year with the code LW1-16, for Louisiana Wild No. 1 of 2016.Her pa
  
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