Baton Rouge news

• California police seek more suspects after violent rallies

  17-04-2017 21:24
  
  BERKELEY, Calif. - Northern California officials say they are seeking suspects involved in violent clashes over the weekend between supporters and detractors of President Donald Trump in downtown Berkeley.City spokesman Matthai Chakko says officials will seek to arrest and prosecute anyone involved in crimes last Saturday. He says they are evaluating photographs and video of the skirmishes. Among the videos that have drawn attention is one posted online showing a man punching a female protester
  
  Read more

• Trump order would target high-skilled worker visa program

  17-04-2017 21:02
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is planning to sign an executive order that seeks to make changes to a visa program that brings in high-skilled workers.Trump is heading Tuesday to Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he plans to sign an order dubbed "Buy American and Hire American." That's according to administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity despite the president's frequent criticism of the use of anonymous sources.The officials say the order will ask federal departments to off
  
  Read more

• Arkansas AG to appeal 1 of 2 execution stays

  17-04-2017 20:54
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge says she won't appeal an execution stay set for an inmate whose attorneys say he's mentally ill. But she says she has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate a stay issued for another inmate, Don Davis, who was scheduled to die Monday night.An Arkansas Supreme Court stay remains in place for Davis, who was sentenced to die for the death of a woman shot at her home in northwest Arkansas during what appeared to be a robbery.Rutledge says
  
  Read more

• Boeing to issue layoff notices to hundreds of employees

  17-04-2017 20:50
  
  EVERETT, Wash. - Boeing will issue hundreds of layoff notices to engineers in Washington state this week.The Daily Herald reported Monday that a memo from the company's vice president of engineering for Boeing Commercial Airplanes John Hamilton says the cuts are necessary to stay competitive.Hamilton also said in the memo that more cuts in engineering could come later this year.In just over the past year, Boeing Commercial Airplanes reduced its workforce by more than 9,000, mainly through buyout
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Proposed Louisiana law to better track cancer

  17-04-2017 20:30
  
  BATON ROUGE- Residents in the community of Alsen wish they knew how prevalent cancer was in their community.The small neighborhood is just north of Baton Rouge on Scenic Highway and is surrounded by heavy industry."We have a high rate of miscarriages, we have a high rate of cancer deaths, and the water hasn't been fit to drink for years," said Moses Evans, who has lived in Alsen his whole life.The residents of Alsen are in the dark about the prevalence of cancer in their neighb
  
  Read more

• Bills to lessen tax breaks to be debated by State Senate

  17-04-2017 20:29
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Senate will consider proposals to whittle away at Louisiana's tax break programs to keep more money in the state treasury for spending.The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee advanced a handful of bills Monday to the full Senate that would lessen or eliminate tax breaks.One measure would get rid of a personal income tax credit parents can take up to $25 per child for educational expenses. Committee Chairman J.P. Morrell, a New Orleans Democrat, says he wants t
  
  Read more

• Vigil held for Facebook shooting victim

  17-04-2017 20:17
  
  CLEVELAND - A vigil has been held in Cleveland for the victim of a deadly shooting that was videotaped and then posted on Facebook.Dozens of family, friends and community members gathered Monday evening to remember 74-year-old Robert Godwin Sr. They carried flowers and balloons and hugged and comforted each other, while urging an end to the violence on their city streets.Police say 37-year-old Steve Stephens killed Godwin Sunday afternoon in what appeared to be a random shooting while the retire
  
  Read more

• Search continues for 2 missing at Grand Canyon

  17-04-2017 20:11
  
  GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - Family members say one of hikers swept away while crossing a remote creek in Grand Canyon National Park is the wife of the founder of the Merrell Boot Company.The uncle of the missing teen from Tennessee told The Associated Press that the boy, his mother and his stepgrandparents were crossing a water trail Saturday evening when he and his stepgrandmother fell in and were swept away by the water.Mark McOmie identified the step-grandparents as Randy Merrill, fou
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Is Baton Rouge DA only 'pretending' to embrace criminal justice reform? Slate asks

  17-04-2017 20:08
  
  Hiller Moore's reform words aren't matched by actions, Fair Punishment Project writer says
  
  Read more

• South Carolina homeowner finds 9-foot alligator on porch

  17-04-2017 19:43
  
  MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. - It wasn't the Easter bunny that startled a South Carolina homeowner and his family. It wasn't even a burglar.The Post and Courier of Charleston reports Susie and Steve Polston were worried that someone was trying to get into their home on Sunday. Instead, Polston's 16-year-old son found the intruder: a nine-foot alligator crawling on their second-story porch.The family says the alligator climbed a back stairwell to the porch, crunched through the aluminum screen door and n
  
  Read more

• Crew pumping concrete buckled Atlanta highway

  17-04-2017 19:36
  
  DECATUR, Ga. - Authorities are releasing more details about what caused the carpool lane of Interstate 20 in Atlanta to buckle and break apart on Monday.Atlanta Gas Light spokeswoman Melissa Clontz says its contractor was working in the area.Dekalb County Police spokeswoman Shiera Campbell says concrete was being pumped under the highway when a rupture forced the material upward, buckling the pavement.A man riding a motorcycle in the carpool lane hit the rising pavement at high speed and was sen
  
  Read more

• Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office gets advanced license plate readers

  17-04-2017 18:55
  
  IBERVILLE – The Iberville Parish Sheriff's Office got new automated license plate readers this week.The new gadgets will help with finding out who is driving without insurance in the parish."This is done so the citizens and people who ride on the roads pay for insurance that's required by law," Iberville Sheriff Brett Stassi said.The readers are cameras that are mounted on the deputies' units and will snapshot the license plate and send the information to a database. The information ta
  
  Read more

• Sheriff seeking suspects for vandalism at East Feliciana cemetery

  17-04-2017 17:39
  
  EAST FELICIANA – The East Feliciana Parish Sheriff is looking for suspects who caused damage to an old cemetery.The cemetery, Scott Cemetery, is located deep in the woods of the parish and some of the graves date back to the 1830's.However, vandals knocked down the cemetery's brick fence that has stood for more than 150 years."One day we are all going to pass on. This is supposed to be a final resting place and it's very disrespectful," East Feliciana Sheriff Jeff Travis said.The vanda
  
  Read more

• Alligator seen near home, others spotted Monday

  17-04-2017 17:32
  
  BATON ROUGE – Alligators seemed to be on the move Monday in various areas of South Louisiana.Among the sightings and calls for help was a situation outside a home on Plains-Port Hudson Road. Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to a home east of Hwy. 61 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. where someone reported an alligator and a snake taking refuge in a ditch.Deputies said the alligator was about four feet long. Deputies called from the Wildlife and Fisheries. The wildlife agents collected the an
  
  Read more

• FEMA dirt pile creating mess for property owner

  17-04-2017 17:12
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Large mounds of dirt have been creating an issue for a homeowner who recently moved back into his home following the August flood.Donald Spencer says the dirt washes from the property next door onto his yard every time it rains and sits on his property. The dirt is now caking his yard, preventing him from mowing his lawn."It's aggravating, it's a nuisance," he said. "It's annoying more than anything."Following each rain, he says three to four inches of muddy water sits in his ya
  
  Read more

• Police: Pharmacy employee in Thibodaux arrested for stealing medicine

  17-04-2017 16:53
  
  THIBODAUX – A woman was arrested after police say she stole medicine from the pharmacy she was an employee of in Thibodaux. The Thibodaux Police Department arrested 20-year-old Cammie Michelle Seago for theft of goods and distribution of oxycodone.On Thursday, April 13 around 12:30 p.m. Seago used her security access to steal 100 oxycodone pills from the pharmacy she worked at, located in the 1700 block of Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux. According to police, Seago acces
  
  Read more

• Deputies seeking suspects in Amite Quickway burglary

  17-04-2017 16:36
  
  AMITE - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is seeking three suspects connected to a burglary that took place at a Quickway Thursday.According to the sheriff's office, the three unidentified suspects entered the Quickway Food Store on Highway 16 between midnight and 3 a.m.. Upon entering, the three grabbed cigarettes and alcohol before running out of the store and leaving the area on foot.Sheriff Edwards is asking anyone who is able to identify the subjects in these photographs to contact&
  
  Read more

• How to handle tax filings for 401K, retirement plan

  17-04-2017 16:05
  
  NEW YORK – Individuals that are 52 to 70 years old are either planning for retirement, beginning retirement or already into retirement and with each of those options there are tax incentives to consider."You can't just make a blanket assumption that just because you're retired you don't have to pay taxes anymore," Katherine Pickering, executive director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block, told ABC News.If individuals are retired and their income is only social security, their income
  
  Read more

• Priest reported missing found

  17-04-2017 15:55
  
  BATON ROUGE – A Catholic priest was found hours after his phone “pinged” in Baton Rouge near LSU and also showed up in St. Landry Parish.The “ping” shows where a cell phone was with some accuracy. A cell phone provider assists authorities in the process.The “ping” performed this weekend was for the phone of Father Juilus Ohiaege, a Nigerian who is assigned to St. Leo the Great Church in St. Landry Parish. Father Ohiae
  
  Read more

• Police: Child, mother strangled to death in Atlanta suburbs

  17-04-2017 15:51
  
  LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A man faces charges of felony murder and aggravated assault after police say he choked a woman and her 2-year-old son at a home in suburban Atlanta.Gwinnett County Police spokeswoman Cpl. Michele Pihera says the homeowner called 911 around 11 p.m. Sunday and said his son had choked the pair. Police arrested 32-year-old Brandon Williams at a gas station a short time later.The toddler died soon after the attack and his mother, 30-year-old Natalie Nation, died Monday morning at
  
  Read more

• Mayor Broome selects chief administrative officer for city-parish government

  17-04-2017 15:37
  
  BATON ROUGE - Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has selected Troy Bell to be chief administrative officer for the city-parish.Bell is taking over the position most recently held in the interim by William Daniel, who will now be the city-parish’s permanent director of environmental services. As chief administrative officer, Bell will manage the day-to-day operations at city hall, and will supervise the three assistant chief administrative officers already in place. He will j
  
  Read more

• Southwest pilot charged after loaded gun found by baggage screeners

  17-04-2017 15:18
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. - A Southwest Airlines pilot has been arrested on a weapons charge in New York after airport security officers found a loaded handgun in his carry-on bag.Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says 55-year-old Erik Gibson was slated to pilot a flight to Tampa, Florida, on Monday morning when Transportation Security Administration officers found the gun during routine screening.Apple says Gibson, who's from Louisiana, told authorities he forgot he was carrying the gun. He had flown to Alb
  
  Read more

• Trump to sign bill extending veterans' health care program

  17-04-2017 14:58
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump plans to sign legislation to extend temporarily a program that gives veterans access to private-sector health care.White House spokesman Sean Spicer says Trump will sign the bill Wednesday at the White House.The extension will provide stopgap services while Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin develops a longer-term plan to allow veterans to more easily go outside the VA medical system for care. Under the bill, the VA will be allowed to operate its Choice
  
  Read more

• Arkansas judge barred from death penalty cases after participating in protest

  17-04-2017 14:25
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Arkansas Supreme Court is barring a judge who blocked the state's multiple executions plan from taking up any death penalty related cases after he participated in a protest where he appeared to mimic an inmate about to receive lethal injection drugs.Justices on Monday reassigned the cases from Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen. The judge last week prohibited the state from using a lethal injection drug a supplier said was misleadingly obtained. Griffen particip
  
  Read more

• TPSO: Four arrested for selling stolen beer to gas station

  17-04-2017 14:02
  
  HAMMOND - Four people were arrested in Tangipahoa Parish after deputies say they were selling several cases of stolen beer.The Tangipahoa Sheriff's Street Crimes Unit received a tip that an individual was en route to the Quicks Red & White convenience store to sell cases of stolen beer. As detectives approached the store, two individuals were seen talking near a parked vehicle. One person then removed cases of beer from the vehicle and sold them to a man later identified as the stor
  
  Read more

• Firefighters battle accidental fire in West Feliciana on Easter

  17-04-2017 13:36
  
  WEST FELICIANA – Firefighters in West Feliciana responded to a fire which took about four hours to extinguish Sunday.According to Fire Chief James Wood, the fire took place on US 61, just north of Highway 965. The blaze reportedly began in a shed attached to a home.According to the West Feliciana Fire Department, the residents were not home at the time of the fire. An individual passing by saw smoke and called authorities.The shed was severely damaged and the
  
  Read more

• Army helicopter with 3 aboard goes down in Maryland

  17-04-2017 13:34
  
  LEONARDTOWN - A northern Virginia Army base says one of its helicopters with three crew members on board went down in southern Maryland, and one crew member was evacuated from the scene.Fort Belvoir said in a post on its Facebook page that the UH-60 helicopter made a "hard landing" around 1:50 p.m. Monday near Leonardtown, Maryland.There was no immediate word on the condition of the crew member who was medically evacuated or the other two who were aboard.Fort Belvoir referred further questions t
  
  Read more

• FEMA program delegates $10 million to EBR and Ascension schools

  17-04-2017 13:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – FEMA has delegated $10 million to four East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parish schools for recovery efforts following the August flood.FEMA's Public Assistance program awarded more than $3.3 million to the East Baton Rouge School Board for remediation at Park Forest Middle School and Park Forest Elementary School. Additionally, the Ascension Parish School Board will receive $3.5 million for St. Amant High School and about $2.8 million will help the Central Community School
  
  Read more

• Court sides with reptile keepers against giant snake ban

  17-04-2017 13:17
  
  MIAMI - An appeals court has ruled the federal government cannot legally stop trade of Burmese pythons and other giant exotic snakes within the continental U.S.However, snake owners are cautioned not to move their reptiles just yet as other legal challenges may remain.The United States Association of Reptile Keepers sued in 2013 to overturn a nationwide ban on importing eight constrictor species or taking them across state lines.In an April 7 decision, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a
  
  Read more

• Police: 8-year-old suspect in Michigan toddler's home day care death

  17-04-2017 12:57
  
  MUSKEGON - An 8-year-old is suspected in the death of a 1-year-old boy who was left unsupervised in a home day care in Michigan.Muskegon Police Chief Jeffrey Lewis tells MLive.com for a story Monday that the toddler's body was found concealed Friday morning in a bedroom. He says the primary witness is only 5 years old. He did not yet know a cause of death.He said the 1-year-old had been crying and "the 8-year-old dealt with the baby crying."Bryanna Reasonover told WOOD-TV and WZZM-TV that she fo
  
  Read more

• One person stabbed during attempted robbery

  17-04-2017 12:36
  
  ZACHARY- Sheriff's deputies are investigating after a person was stabbed at a mobile home park near Zachary, Monday night.The victim has been taken to the hospital, according to sources with in EMS. The extent of the victim's injuries is unknown.The stabbing happened inside the Sweetbriar Mobile Home park, in the 18000 block of Highway 61. The original call to the scene was for an attempted robbery.News 2 is working to learn more about this developing story.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Infowars host Alex Jones argues persona in custody dispute

  17-04-2017 12:15
  
  AUSTIN - A lawyer defending right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a child custody dispute says Jones is a "performance artist" whose on-air persona differs from the private man.Attorney Randall Wilhite said at a recent pretrial hearing that evaluating Jones based on his on-air comments is like judging Jack Nicholson based on his role as the Joker in "Batman."The Austin American-Statesman reports that Kelly Jones described her ex-husband at a recent pretrial hearing in Austi
  
  Read more

• Painkiller prescribed for Prince in another name

  17-04-2017 09:56
  
  MINNEAPOLIS - A court document says a doctor prescribed oxycodone for Prince under the name of the musician's friend to protect his privacy.Prince was 57 when he was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park home on April 21.Autopsy results showed he died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic drug 50 times more powerful than heroin.According to search warrants unsealed Monday, authorities searched Paisley Park, cellphone records of Prince's associate
  
  Read more

• Two hurt in crash on I-110 near Evangeline Street

  17-04-2017 09:36
  
  BATON ROUGE – First responders say two people were hurt in a crash on I-110 near the Evangeline Street Exit Monday morning.The crash happened before 9:15 a.m. Monday morning and closed two leftl lanes for more than an hour.  Sources tell WBRZ that one person is in “very serious” condition. A second person is in stable condition.Details about the crash are limited at this time.Photos from the scene show significant damage to the front of a red pickup truck.
  
  Read more

• Lawmakers talk tax bills in second week of legislative session

  17-04-2017 09:29
  
  BATON ROUGE - A busy Monday starts the second week of the legislative session. Nearly a dozen proposed bills are up for discussion in the Senate Committee on Revenue and Fiscal Affairs.Two of them deal with the flooding events last year, and tax breaks.Under current state law, tax deductions are only provided for individuals or corporations who received benefits from a hurricane recovery entity.The proposed bill broadens the deduction to include disaster benefits received from any state or feder
  
  Read more

• Classes to resume a week after shooting at California school

  17-04-2017 08:37
  
  SAN BERNARDINO - An elementary school in San Bernardino that was the scene of a murder-suicide is reopening.School district officials say classes at North Park Elementary will resume Monday, a week after the killings.Security will be tightened, and counselors will be made available for students and staff.North Park has been closed since April 10, when 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-old
  
  Read more

• Kenya's Kiplagat wins her Boston Marathon debut

  17-04-2017 08:35
  
  BOSTON - Edna Kiplagat has won her Boston Marathon debut.The Kenyan policewoman opened up a big lead heading into the Newton hills, and she cruised to victory in an unofficial 2 hours, 21 minutes, 53 seconds in Monday's 121st running of the race.It's the first time Kiplagat, a two-time world champion, has raced Boston.She's won in London, New York City and Los Angeles.Rose Chelimo of Bahrain was second, 59 seconds behind and American Jordan Hasay was third in her marathon debut. Desi Linden, who
  
  Read more

• Boston marathon athletes begin trek in waves

  17-04-2017 08:35
  
  BOSTON - The 121st running of the Boston Marathon is getting underway in waves for the 30,000 athletes.Mobility impaired athletes - the blind and those with prostheses or other challenges - started at 8:50 a.m. Monday.They were followed by the men's push rim wheelchair athletes at 9:17 a.m., and the women two minutes later.The elite women start at 9:32 a.m., and the elite men and the rest of wave one get underway at 10 a.m.There are three more waves that set up a staggered start: wave t
  
  Read more

• Pennsylvania-based teen retailer Rue 21 closing 400 stores

  17-04-2017 08:12
  
  CRANBERRY - Teen clothing retailer rue21 is closing about one-third of its stores nationwide as it focuses more on its online business.The privately held company is shuttering nearly 400 stores, leaving it more than 700 stores in 48 states.The company is based in Cranberry, north of Pittsburgh. In a Facebook post , it called the decision to close the stores "difficult but necessary." Like many brick-and-mortar retailers, it has been battling declining mall traffic amid strong competition online.
  
  Read more

• Baton Rouge Rue21 among 400 store closures

  17-04-2017 08:12
  
  CRANBERRY - Teen clothing retailer rue21 is closing about one-third of its stores nationwide as it focuses more on its online business.The privately held company is shuttering nearly 400 stores, leaving it more than 700 stores in 48 states.The company is based in Cranberry, north of Pittsburgh. In a Facebook post , it called the decision to close the stores "difficult but necessary." Like many brick-and-mortar retailers, it has been battling declining mall traffic amid strong competition online.
  
  Read more

• Zoo owner: April the giraffe's baby is 'very independent'

  17-04-2017 08:04
  
  HARPURSVILLE - The long-awaited offspring of internet sensation April the Giraffe is being described as strong and "very independent."The owner of Animal Adventure Park in upstate New York says the not-yet-named baby boy was on its feet within an hour after its birth Saturday - and galloping around its mother within three hours.Jordan Patch says he was so excited that he was shaking when he made the calls to assemble the delivery team.More than a million online viewers watched April deliver her
  
  Read more

• Supreme Court , including Gorsuch, to hear church-state case

  17-04-2017 06:45
  
  WASHINGTON - An important case about the separation of church and state comes up in Justice Neil Gorsuch's first week on the Supreme Court bench.The outcome could make it easier to use state money to pay for private, religious schooling in many states.The justices on Wednesday will hear a Missouri church's challenge to its exclusion from a state program that provides money to use ground-up tires to cushion playgrounds. Missouri is among roughly three dozen states with constitutions that explicit
  
  Read more

• More than 21,000 expected at Trump's first Easter Egg Roll

  17-04-2017 06:42
  
  WASHINGTON - Thousands of children are heading to the White House for its biggest social event of the year: the annual Easter Egg Roll.There had been some hand-wringing over whether President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, would be able to pull off a successful "egg-stravaganza." Both the president and first lady have been slow to fill White House staff jobs.But a downsized version of the 139-year-old event is kicking off early Monday on the South Lawn.The White House is expecting more than
  
  Read more

• Federal tax bill hits hardest in District of Columbia

  17-04-2017 06:37
  
  WASHINGTON - Americans are preparing to meet the Tuesday deadline for filing their federal income tax returns.Data from the IRS and the Census Bureau show that three states - Delaware, Minnesota and Massachusetts - on average paid the most per person in federal income, payroll and estate taxes in 2016.The three states that paid the least per person are New Mexico, Mississippi and, at No. 50, West Virginia.But the residents of the District of Columbia paid more per person than those in any of the
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!