Baton Rouge news

• Baton Rouge mayor's new top administrator claims college degree he doesn't hold: report

  21-04-2017 23:22
  
  University officials say Troy Brown didn't complete coursework, owes the college money
  
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• New York's mayor blasts Sessions' 'soft on crime' statement

  21-04-2017 21:04
  
  NEW YORK - New York City's mayor and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions are battling over a Department of Justice statement accusing the city of being "soft on crime."
      
  The department said Friday in a statement New York "continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city's 'soft on crime' stance."
      
  The statement was part of an ongoing dispute between Republican President Donald Trump and cities in
  
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• Smaller tax: Estimates for Edwards' business tax plan plunge

  21-04-2017 20:40
  
  BATON ROUGE - Changes that Gov. John Bel Edwards made to his business tax plan in hopes of lessening criticism have cut in half the estimate of what the tax will raise.
      
  That makes his budget-stabilizing tax package hundreds of millions of dollars short of what Edwards wanted to generate.
      
  When the Democratic governor first introduced a plan to tax companies' gross receipts, the administration expected it to bring in $800 million to $
  
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• Louisiana payrolls slump in March, reversing February gain

  21-04-2017 20:23
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Payroll employment fell sharply in Louisiana in March, reversing a strong gain in February.
      
  At the same time, a separate survey showed the state's jobless rate fell to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent in February. The unemployment rate was also below March 2016's level of 6.2 percent.
      
  The surveys usually converge over the long run, but diverged widely in Louisiana in March.
      
  Payrolls fell by
  
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• All unstable artillery propellant at Camp Minden burned

  21-04-2017 20:17
  
  MINDEN - The Louisiana National Guard says a burn chamber used to dispose of thousands of tons of explosive material will not be used again at Camp Minden.
      
  Friday the guard said the company responsible for burning the materials, Explosive Service International, is conducting cleanup activities, which will take approximately 30 days.
      
  The Baton Rouge company burned all 7,800 tons of the unstable artillery propellant and 160 tons of ni
  
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• Volunteers help to restore flood-damaged photos

  21-04-2017 18:23
  
  Flood victims have volunteers to thank, for saving some precious memories. Operation Photo Rescue, a non-profit that began during Hurricane Katrina aftermath, is at the Goodwood Library. They’re helping make damaged photos look brand new, free of charge. This process, an emotional one for flood victims, as they revisit memories and damage left from the flood. “These pictures, you can’t just ‘get back.’ The number of tears I&
  
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• I-10 east lane closed due to 18-wheeler crash; comes days after fiery 5-vehicle wreck

  21-04-2017 17:40
  
  PORT ALLEN – A crash involving an 18-wheeler has closed one lane of I-10 east at LA 415 on Friday afternoon. The crash comes just days after an 18-wheeler caused a fiery crash involving five vehicles that left one man dead.Authorities say that one person was ejected as a result of Friday's crash, however they are in stable condition. That driver has been identified as Alfred Gaytan. Authorities say that Gaytan was driving a maroon 18-wheeler and crashed into a blue 18-wheeler
  
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• Another rear-end crash with 18-wheelers closed I-10 Friday

  21-04-2017 17:40
  
  PORT ALLEN – A crash involving two semis closed lanes of I-10 east at LA 415 on Friday afternoon. The crash came just days after an 18-wheeler caused a fiery crash involving five vehicles that left one man dead in the same area. Authorities say that one person was ejected as a result of Friday's crash, however they are in stable condition. That driver has been identified as Alfred Gaytan. Authorities say that Gaytan was driving a maroon 18-wheeler and crashed into a b
  
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• Second disaster hits family within a year, waiting on insurance

  21-04-2017 17:33
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - First flood then fire. Two disasters a Denham Springs man has lost nearly everything to.During the night of Valentine's Day, John Cooper Fore says his paradise in the making burnt to a crisp. It was a design project years in the making his family had worked on, collecting antiques from neighboring states."Our doors, we had eleven antique doors," he said.Fore says he had recently installed the clay tile shingles on the roof and had arranged the kitchen cabinets the day b
  
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• George HW Bush to stay through weekend in Houston hospital

  21-04-2017 15:43
  
  HOUSTON - A spokesman for former President George H.W. Bush says the nation's 41st president will remain in a Houston hospital through the weekend while he recovers from a mild case of pneumonia.Family spokesman Jim McGrath posted Friday on Twitter that doctors will keep the 92-year-old Bush at Houston Methodist Hospital "to ensure a fully clean bill of health."McGrath said Bush "feels terrific," and Bush's vice president, Dan Quayle, talked with him by phone on Friday.Bush was hospitalized Apri
  
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• Killer's release from prison rescinded after WBRZ report highlights concerns

  21-04-2017 15:37
  
  BATON ROUGE – Following a lengthy investigative report by WBRZ Thursday, the parole board rescinded a convicted killer's scheduled released. Samuel Galbraith was sentenced to 71 years for the death of Karen Hill, a 21-year-old woman he kidnapped, tied to at tree, raped and shot in the head. Hill was found dead in the Kitsatchie National Forest in Vernon Parish. She'd been abducted from a business near a military base close to the National Forest.Galbraith served 20 years of th
  
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• Masked victim identified in Plank Road shooting

  21-04-2017 15:23
  
  BATON ROUGE – A victim who was shot in the 3200 block of Plank Road on Wednesday has been identified.According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, 36-year-old Letroyed Brown was found lying on the ground with a ski mask and handgun, suffering from several gunshot wounds.Police say Brown was running with a black male suspect, who police believe shot and killed him. The masked suspect was last seen fleeing the area in a dark-colored vehicle.Brown died at the scene.This incident is stil
  
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• Three wanted for robbing, shooting stranded motorists on I-10

  21-04-2017 14:02
  
  ST. CHARLES PARISH – Deputies are looking for three men who they say robbed and shot at passengers stranded on I-10 east near the Bonnet Carre Spillway early Friday morning.
  On Friday around 12:48 a.m., deputies responded to a report of a shooting on the interstate. It was discovered that three men were on the shoulder of the road because their vehicle stalled.While the victims were inspecting the stalled vehicle, a green-colored Pontiac sedan stopped behind the vehicle and a man offer
  
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• 'Felony Lane Gang' members arrested for vehicle burglaries, thefts

  21-04-2017 13:43
  
  BATON ROUGE – Deputies arrested four men who are believed to be members of the Florida based "Felony Lang Gang."According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, the gang burglarizes vehicles to steal womens' ID's, checks and debit cards. Then, female gang members go to the victim's bank and write a check stolen from another victim in a previous burglary.Deputies say the gang will travel to an area in large groups and will split up to commit vehicle burglaries. Acco
  
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• Justice Dept. tells 9 sanctuary cities grant money at risk

  21-04-2017 13:33
  
  WASHINGTON - The Trump administration is moving beyond rhetoric in its effort to crack down on so-called sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.The Justice Department is forcing nine communities to prove they are complying with an immigration law to continue receiving coveted law enforcement grant money.The department sent letters Friday to places its inspector general previously identified as having rules limiting the information that can be provided to f
  
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• Saints announce 2017 season schedule

  21-04-2017 13:27
  
  NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Saints released their schedule for the 2017 season.The team will open their season on the road on September 11 when they play Minnesota in a Monday Night Football match up.Following the season opener, the Saints will play at home and host the New England Patriots on September 17. The Saints will then go back on the road for the debut of their NFC South slate in Week 3 and then will go overseas to face the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium on October 1. Aft
  
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• Trump says he will release tax reform package next week

  21-04-2017 13:19
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says businesses and individuals will receive a "massive tax cut" under a tax reform package he plans to unveil next week.In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump says the plan will result in tax cuts for both individuals and businesses. He would not provide details of the plan, saying only that the tax cuts will be "bigger I believe than any tax cut ever."The president says the package will be released on "Wednesday or shortly thereafter" - just before
  
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• Trump says dreamers should 'rest easy'

  21-04-2017 13:14
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says young immigrants shielded from deportation - often referred to as "dreamers" - should "rest easy" about his immigration policies.In an interview with The Associated Press, Trump says he is "not after the dreamers, we are after the criminals." He says "that is our policy."President Barack Obama changed enforcement priorities to protect many young people brought to the country illegally as children from deportation.Attorneys say 23-year-old Juan Manuel Mont
  
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• United misses deadline to answer senators on dragging

  21-04-2017 13:12
  
  WASHINGTON - United Airlines and Chicago airport officials missed a deadline for answering questions from by key U.S. senators about the dragging incident aboard a United Express plane.The company and city say they want more time.Four leaders of the Senate Commerce said Friday they were disappointed and found it unacceptable that the airline and city failed to answer questions about the April 9 incident by the senators' deadline of Thursday.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Endangered bongo and twin monkeys born at Baton Rouge Zoo

  21-04-2017 13:01
  
  BATON ROUGE – BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo announced the birth of three animals, a female bongo and Golden Lion Tamarin twins.The female bongo was born to a 3-year-old mother in the zoo's Africa loop. According to zoo officials, eastern bongos are classified as endangered African Antelopes.The Golden Lion Tamarin twins were born on April 12 to a 6-year-old mother in the zoo's "Birds of the World" exhibit area. According to the zoo, the female Golden Lion Tamarin typically carries the babies
  
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• Lane closures from BR to Lafayette on I-10W start Friday

  21-04-2017 12:23
  
  BATON ROUGE – The inside lane on I-10 west from the Mississippi River Bridge to the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge will be closed starting Friday afternoon.According to DOTD, the closure will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday and will last until 6:30 a.m. Monday morning. Traffic officials say the closure is needed for asphalt rehabilitation.Drivers are urged to avoid I-10 west between Baton Rouge and Lafayette and use US 190 as an alternate route.Beat the traffic everytime using WBRZ's advanced traf
  
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• Pence says US will honor refugee deal

  21-04-2017 12:15
  
  SYDNEY - Vice President Mike Pence says the United States will honor a refugee resettlement deal with Australia that President Donald Trump once dubbed "dumb."
      
  Pence told reporters on Saturday that he had reassured Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the U.S. will honor the agreement struck by the Obama administration - even if the U.S. doesn't "admire" the deal.
      
  In January, Trump and Turnbull got into a spat over the ag
  
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• 6th-grade girl launches social media dress code protest

  21-04-2017 09:26
  
  PORTLAND - A Maine sixth grader has prompted her middle school to review its dress code after her Instagram posts triggered widespread attention.Molly Neuner tells WSCH-TV she believes the dress code at Portland's King Middle School is "unfair and sexist." The code prohibits students from wearing "short or tight-fitting skirts or shorts" and also outlaws "thin-strapped tops."The 11-year-old says sixth graders were told such outfits could be a "distraction" to boys.Hearing about the code, the gir
  
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• Restore Louisiana Task Force to give update on flood aid

  21-04-2017 08:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - The latest update on how the Congressional appropriation of $1.6 billion dollars for flood recovery will come Friday morning.The Restore Louisiana Task Force will meet at 9:30 a.m. at the State Capitol. Task force members will be updates on the homeowner assistance program's initial survey, which opened to the public on April 10th. More than 13,00 flood victims have completed the survey.The state anticipates signing a contract soon with IEM, the firm selected to m
  
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• Soldier charged after 24 dead animals found in S.C. apartment

  21-04-2017 08:09
  
  RICHLAND, S.C. - An Army staff sergeant has been arrested after police found 24 dead animals in his abandoned apartment in South Carolina.The State reports 36-year-old Kurt Hafner was being evicted from his apartment April 10 when Richland County Sheriff's deputies found the carcasses of a bearded dragon, two alligator snapping turtles, a variety of snakes and a dog.An animal abuse investigator for the department, Sgt. Joe Clarke, says the apartment floors were covered in dog feces, gar
  
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• Arkansas carries out its first execution since 2005; Ledell Lee goes quietly

  21-04-2017 08:05
  
  Arkansas carried out the first execution since 2005 after three other lethal injections planned by the end of the month were scrapped in the face of court challenges.
  
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• Islamic State group claims Champs-Elysees attack; Berkeley flip-flops on Ann Coulter speech (10 Things to Know for Friday)

  21-04-2017 07:45
  
  Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday.
  
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• Arkansas carries out its first execution since 2005

  21-04-2017 07:44
  
  Arkansas carried out the first execution since 2005 after three other lethal injections planned by the end of the month were scrapped in the face of court challenges.
  
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• Port Allen man ejected from pickup in deadly LA 983 crash

  21-04-2017 07:42
  
  PORT ALLEN – Louisiana State Police say a Port Allen man died in an early morning single vehicle crash in West Baton Rouge Parish Friday morning.According to Louisiana State Police, the crash happened around 4 a.m. on LA 983 north of LA 620 in West Baton Rouge Parish. The crash took the life of 35-year-old Travis Edwards.Investigators say Edwards was traveling northbound on LA 983 when “for unknown reasons” crossed into the southbound lane, overcorrected,&a
  
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• Researchers to look for CTE evidence in Hernandez's brain

  21-04-2017 07:22
  
  BOSTON - Boston University researchers will study Aaron Hernandez's brain to determine if the former NFL star suffered from the same degenerative brain disease as Hall of Famer Junior Seau and former Bears defensive back Dave Duerson, who also took their own lives.Hernandez hanged himself in prison early Wednesday, days after winning an acquittal in a 2012 double homicide case. He was already serving a life term in a 2013 killing.After a brief public dispute between Massachusetts authorities and
  
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• Singer Cuba Gooding Sr. found dead in car in Los Angeles

  21-04-2017 07:18
  
  LOS ANGELES - Cuba Gooding Sr., who sang the 1972 hit "Everybody Plays the Fool," has died.Authorities say the 72-year-old singer and father of Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. was found dead in a car Thursday in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles.Coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter says the cause of death is under investigation, but drug paraphernalia and alcohol were found in the car parked on a busy street.The elder Gooding rose to fame for "Everybody Plays the Fool," which he sang with t
  
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• Father of missing Tennessee teen says she was brainwashed

  21-04-2017 07:16
  
  COLUMBIA, Tenn. - The father of a 15-year-old Tennessee girl who was found in northern California with a teacher after being missing for more than a month says he thinks his daughter was brainwashed.Speaking Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," the father said his daughter will need therapy and that her family will be patient with her and get her the help she needs.The Associated Press is not naming the girl or her family members because she is an alleged victim of a sex crime.In the
  
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• Trump says China could solve the North Korea 'problem'

  21-04-2017 07:06
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says that if China wants to solve "the North Korean problem, they will."Trump has been pressing China both publicly and privately to ramp up pressure on Pyongyang over its nuclear ambitions.In a tweet Friday morning, Trump said that China is the "economic lifeline" to North Korea. He conceded that "nothing is easy" regarding the tense situation with Pyongyang.Trump's recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping focused in part on North Korea's nuc
  
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• Louisiana to receive $8.1M to help combat opioid addiction

  21-04-2017 06:42
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana is slated to receive 8.1 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help combat the opioid epidemic.News outlets report the grant is part of $485 million the federal government has set aside to help states with prevention, treatment and recovery services.The money was distributed to states based on their rates of overdose deaths and unmet need for opioid addiction treatment.According to research from the Institute for Healthcare Informatics, Louisian
  
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• Firefighters investigating late night vacant house fire on Sherwood Street

  21-04-2017 05:07
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded to a vacant house fire in the 4000 block of Sherwood Street shortly before 10:30 p.m. Thursday.The house was vacant due to the August flood. When firefighters arrived on scene, the blaze was coming out of the rear of the house. It was contained around 10:45 p.m.The house received $20,000 worth of fire and smoke damage. BRFD said the fire was caused by arson. No suspect information has been released at this time.Permalink| Comments
  
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