Baton Rouge news

• Alton Sterling police officers 'relieved' no federal charges filed against them

  03-05-2017 23:50
  
  Attorneys for Blane Salamoni, Howie Lake II prepare for state criminal investigation
  
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• Alton Sterling family lawyers: Officer said 'I'm gonna kill you'

  03-05-2017 21:26
  
  The lawyers said they believe that statement -- which they said was made by Officer Blane Salamoni -- and other evidence that's come to light in the Sterling case will convince Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry to pursue criminal charges against the officers.
  
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• Together Baton Rouge group on Alton Sterling decision: 'Disappointed and frustrated'

  03-05-2017 21:18
  
  Community group calls for release of all video footage from Sterling shooting while demanding police reform.
  
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• On Alton Sterling decision, Together Baton Rouge 'disappointed and frustrated'

  03-05-2017 21:18
  
  Community group calls for release of all video, demands police reform
  
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• Crews battle large house fire in Brownsfield

  03-05-2017 20:39
  
  BATON ROUGE - Emergency responders are working to extinguish a large house fire in the Brownsfield area.The fire broke out around 10900 Malcom Drive near Price Avenue.Details are very limited at this time. The cause of the fire and the extent of damage or any injuries is unknown.This is a developing story. Check back for details as they come in.Permalink| Comments
  
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• GALLERY: Storms sweep through Baton Rouge area

  03-05-2017 20:09
  
  BATON ROUGE - Heavy rains fell as a tornado watch was issued for the Baton Rouge area until 5.p.m Wednesday afternoon. Several photos sent in by viewers show storm clouds overhead as the rain took a break in the late afternoon. Tonight, a flash flood watch is in effect for the Baton Rouge area and will remain until 7 a.m. Thursday morning. A severe thunderstorm watch has also been issued toward the west of the WBRZ viewing area.Rain is expected to con
  
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• BRFD: Lightning strike starts house fire on Melrose Boulevard

  03-05-2017 19:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Crews responded to a house fire that on Melrose Boulevard Wednesday night. The fire was reported around 7:45 p.m. in the 5100 block of Melrose Boulevard. Upon arrival, homeowners informed firefighters that lightning had hit the house and started the fire. According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, the house sustained heavy smoke damage.Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control aroun 8 p.m.. No injuries were reported.This is a developing story. We w
  
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• Lanes reopen on I-110 South at Airline Highway after accident

  03-05-2017 18:43
  
  UPDATE: All lanes have reopened on I-110 South at Airline Highway.BATON ROUGE - All lanes of I-110 South are blocked at Airline Highway due to an accident.Traffic is currently passing on the shoulder. Congestion from the crash is approaching Harding Boulevard.Drivers are advised to use an alternate route. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Lanes reopen on I-110 South at Airline Highway

  03-05-2017 18:43
  
  UPDATE: All lanes have reopened on I-110 South at Airline Highway.BATON ROUGE - All lanes of I-110 South are blocked at Airline Highway due to an accident.Traffic is currently passing on the shoulder. Congestion from the crash is approaching Harding Boulevard.Drivers are advised to use an alternate route. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Singer John Legend meets with Louisiana lawmakers

  03-05-2017 18:09
  
  BATON ROUGE - Singer-songwriter John Legend visited the Louisiana Capitol to advocate for a rewrite of the state's criminal sentencing laws.Legend spoke to a House judiciary committee Wednesday and met with Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration and lawmakers to talk about the legislative effort to overhaul the state's criminal justice system.A study group recommended a sweeping rewrite of the state's approach to crime and prisoner rehabilitation. The effort is aimed at lessening Louisiana's high
  
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• Court rejects ex-NFL star Sharper's rape sentence appeal

  03-05-2017 17:26
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court has dismissed former NFL star Darren Sharper's appeal of his sentence for drugging and raping women.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' two-sentence order Wednesday came less than a month after a three-judge panel heard arguments. The court granted a prosecution motion to dismiss.Sharper's lawyers contended that U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo did not adequately explain the consequences of Sharper's guilty plea.Sharper had pleaded guilty or no con
  
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• Texas community college on lockdown amid 'intruder' report

  03-05-2017 14:17
  
  IRVING - A Dallas-area community college says it's on lockdown following reports of an intruder, possibly armed.North Lake College issued an alert to students late Wednesday morning telling them to barricade themselves in the nearest room and wait for further instructions from police.Irving Police said on Twitter that there was an "active shooter."North Lake College is a two-year school in the Dallas suburb of Irving.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Police: 2 die in shooting at Dallas-area college

  03-05-2017 14:17
  
  IRVING - A Dallas-area community college says it's on lockdown following reports of an intruder, possibly armed.North Lake College issued an alert to students late Wednesday morning telling them to barricade themselves in the nearest room and wait for further instructions from police.Irving Police said on Twitter that there was an "active shooter."North Lake College is a two-year school in the Dallas suburb of Irving.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Police officer who shot and killed Texas teen is fired

  03-05-2017 13:11
  
  BALCH SPRINGS - Police in suburban Dallas have fired the officer who shot and killed a black 15-year-old boy riding in a vehicle leaving party, and the family of the teenager wants criminal charges filed against the officer.Balch Springs, Texas, Police Chief Jonathan Haber says the officer, identified as Roy Oliver, was terminated on Tuesday for violating department policies in the shooting death of Jordan Edwards.Edwards, a high school freshman, was leaving the party with his two brothers and t
  
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• Brad Pitt talks Angelina Jolie divorce, giving up alcohol

  03-05-2017 13:05
  
  LOS ANGELES - Brad Pitt is opening up for the first time about his pending divorce from Angelina Jolie and his relationship with their children.Pitt tells GQ Style magazine that the recent chaos in his personal life was "self-inflicted." Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in September, days after it was reported that Pitt was abusive toward their 15-year-old son on a plane. Pitt was eventually cleared by authorities.The 53-year-old actor says he has quit drinking since then and is seeing a therap
  
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• Bible study switches focus following Sterling decision

  03-05-2017 12:54
  
  BATON ROUGE - A normal Wednesday night bible study shifted it's focus following the reveal of the federal government's decision in their investigation into the Alton Sterling shooting.Star Hill Baptist Church is about two blocks from the store Sterling was shot and killed at in July 2016. Tonight, the handful that gathered did not want to focus on the Justice Department's decision, but instead, focus on a message of turning to a higher power."People are distressed," Pastor Raymond Jetson said. "
  
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• Second weekend of Jazz Fest kicks off with a sunny forecast

  03-05-2017 12:49
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Sunshine is projected for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival's final weekend, which returns Thursday through Sunday.That's good news for fest-goers, who saw rain force a partial closure Sunday. More rain hit the Fair Grounds Race Course on Wednesday, so organizers suggest fans prepare for a muddy Thursday, the start of the festival's second weekend.Artists on tap this weekend include Stevie Wonder, whose performance was canceled last year because of rain, Darrius Rucker,
  
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• Thousands briefly lose power as severe weather passes

  03-05-2017 12:23
  
  BATON ROUGE – More than 5,000 people briefly lost power in East Baton Rouge Parish Wednesday morning as severe thunderstorms pass over the Baton Rouge area.According to Entergy’s power outage map, 5,215 customers lost power around 10:20 a.m. Power was restored to the area shortly after. The outages were concentrated mostly in the Westminster area in the area off of Airline Highway and Bluebonnet Boulevard between I-10 and I-12.As of 10:40 a
  
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• Facebook to hire 3,000 to review videos of crime and suicide

  03-05-2017 09:14
  
  NEW YORK - Facebook says it will hire another 3,000 people to review videos of crime and suicides following murders shown live.That's on top of the 4,500 people Facebook already has for such reviews.The announcement comes from CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a blog post Wednesday.Facebook has been criticized recently for not doing enough to prevent videos - such as a murder in Cleveland, a killing of a baby in Thailand - from spreading on its service.Videos and posts that glorify violence are against Fac
  
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• Senators to hear from Comey amid FBI's Russia investigation

  03-05-2017 08:13
  
  WASHINGTON - FBI Director James Comey is facing hours of questioning from a Senate committee - and he's bound to be asked about the bureau's investigation into potential coordination between President Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia.It's not clear how much of that investigation Comey may discuss in testimony Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee.Trump took to the Twitter late Tuesday to say "the phony Trump/Russia story was an excuse used by the Democrats as justification f
  
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• FBI chief defends actions in Clinton email probe

  03-05-2017 08:13
  
  FBI Director James Comey is strongly defending his decision to alert Congress that agents were revisiting the Hillary Clinton email investigation less than two weeks before the November election.Comey tells the Senate Judiciary Committee that he concluded it would have been "catastrophic" to have concealed that development from Congress.What led the FBI to revisit the investigation was the discovery of thousands of emails on a laptop belonging to the former congressman who was married to a top C
  
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• Comey defends Clinton choice; says he had limited options

  03-05-2017 08:13
  
  FBI Director James Comey says that revealing the reopening of the Hillary Clinton email probe just before Election Day came down to a painful, complicated choice between "really bad" and "catastrophic" options.He told a Senate panel Wednesday he'd felt "mildly nauseous" to think he might have tipped the election outcome but in hindsight would change nothing.During the lengthy hearing, Democratic senators grilled him on the seeming inconsistency between the Clinton disclosure 11 days before the e
  
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• FACT CHECK: Budget not a down-payment on new border wall

  03-05-2017 06:57
  
  WASHINGTON - The Trump administration says its budget compromise with Congress includes hundreds of millions of dollars in border wall funding. Those funds might be for the border, but they're not to build the new "big beautiful wall" that President Donald Trump has promised.An AP Fact Check finds that the White House is claiming that the budget deal provides more than it really does. The funds included in the bill for border security can be used to repair existing fencing and barriers along the
  
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• Ballistic missile test-fired from California coastal base

  03-05-2017 06:55
  
  VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - The U.S. has test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile from California for the second time in seven days.The Air Force says an unarmed Minuteman 3 blasted off from a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base Wednesday morning and delivered a mock warhead to a target at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean after a 4,000-mile flight.The test of the nuclear missile took 10 months to plan. Another Minuteman 3 was launched from the same base exactly a week earlier.T
  
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• Yates to say she expressed alarm to White House on Flynn

  03-05-2017 06:51
  
  WASHINGTON - Former acting attorney general Sally Yates is expected to testify to Congress next week that she expressed alarm to the White House about President Donald Trump's national security adviser's contacts with the Russian ambassador.That could contradict how the administration has characterized her counsel.Yates is expected to recount in detail her Jan. 26 conversation about Michael Flynn and to say that she saw discrepancies between the administration's public statements on his contacts
  
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• Royal Caribbean cruises are returning to New Orleans

  03-05-2017 06:48
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Royal Caribbean International has announced it will resume weeklong cruises from New Orleans to the Bahamas and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.News outlets report Royal Caribbean said in a news release Monday that their 2,435-passenger Vision of the Seas cruise ship will relocate in December 2018 to the Port of New Orleans after a three-year hiatus. The company announced the move as part of an overview of its 2018-2019 fleet plans.After a two-year agreement with the Port of New Orleans
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: Heavy delays on I-10 eastbound from an earlier breakdown

  03-05-2017 06:09
  
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge’ has you covered with live updates for your Wednesday morning commute.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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• Three protesters detained near BRPD headquarters early Wednesday

  03-05-2017 04:43
  
  BATON ROUGE - At least three protesters were detained early Wednesday morning after an attempt to close Airline Highway near Baton Rouge Police Headquarters.A witness told News 2's Brett Buffington that one person poured beer on a responding officer, escalating the situation.WATCH: Several protestors detained after attempting to close Airline Hwy near @BRPD HQ. @WBRZ pic.twitter.com/tggr4EqO8j— Brett Buffington (@BrettBuffington) May 3, 2017#BREAKING Police called after protestor shut
  
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