Baton Rouge news

• Trump says relationship with Australia fantastic

  04-05-2017 20:15
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is touting what he calls his "fantastic relationship" with Australia despite an earlier contentious phone call with its prime minister.
      
  Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are meeting aboard a decommissioned World War II aircraft carrier docked in New York to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea.
      
  Trump claims that the reports about the tense February call with Turnbull we
  
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• Receding flood allows I-44 in St. Louis to reopen

  04-05-2017 19:31
  
  ST. LOUIS - Residents of areas hit hard by flooding in eastern Missouri are getting some good news: River levels are subsiding, some evacuated residents will be allowed to go home and a closed interstate is reopening.
      
  Dropping water levels along the Meramec River on Thursday prompted the mayor of Valley Park to lift evacuation orders for levee-protected areas effective at 8 a.m. Friday.
      
  The lower part of the town was evacuated Monda
  
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• Second weekend of Jazz Fest kicks off with 'locals day'

  04-05-2017 19:07
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The second weekend of the seven-day New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is kicking off with performances by Widespread Panic, Darius Rucker and Corinne Bailey Rae.
      
  Thursday is often less crowded than the weekends and is a popular day for New Orleans-area residents to attend the festival.
      
  Widespread Panic, the jam band from Athens, Georgia, is closing out the main stage.
      
  Rucker, who
  
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• Denham Springs High School assistant football coach dies suddenly

  04-05-2017 18:34
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS – Denham Springs High School Assistant Football Coach, Joey Chustz, died on Wednesday, leaving a community in disbelief.Instead of the usual hustle and bustle, the football field remains quiet."It's not something you expect at all," student Carl St. Cyr said. "You're really at a loss for words."Bouquets of roses replace footballs as the Denham Springs High School community mourns the loss of Chustz."It's a loss for what our kids are going to miss here and to me personall
  
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• Denham Springs neighborhood says water has 'nowhere to go'

  04-05-2017 18:13
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - A slope behind homes in Livingston Parish has been catching water for years. The only problem is, there's nowhere for the water to go.Mae Callahan says she's lived along Tuck Lane in her Denham Springs home for about 17 years. Over time the situation has gotten worse and worse. The bottom of her tool shed is rotting from the sitting water. Monday morning, the water came up her yard nearly 15 feet. Whenever this happens, it brings debris and trash from other parts of the neighbor
  
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• House backs budget reduced from Edwards plan

  04-05-2017 17:43
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana House has backed a nearly $29 billion budget for next year that significantly scales back the spending sought by Gov. John Bel Edwards.The 63-40 vote for passage Thursday fell largely along partisan lines, with Republicans supporting the smaller spending plan and Democrats opposed.Republicans cut spending sought by Edwards across agencies. Heaviest hits would be taken by the health, education, prisons, public safety and child welfare departments. They fully funded the
  
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• Police: 14 students hurt in school bus crash in Las Vegas

  04-05-2017 17:33
  
  LAS VEGAS - Authorities say 14 middle school students received moderate injuries and a person in another vehicle was critically hurt in a crash that left a school bus on its side in Las Vegas.Clark County school police Lt. Darnell Couthen says about 40 children were on the full-sized yellow school bus that crashed about 8:30 a.m. Thursday at a busy crossroads northeast of downtown.Deputy Las Vegas Police Chief Chris Jones says the 14 injured children were taken to two hospitals.He didn't provide
  
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• Community focused on calm, moving forward after Sterling decision

  04-05-2017 17:15
  
  BATON ROUGE – The city of Baton Rouge is calm following the Department of Justice's decision not to charge two Baton Rouge Police Department officers in the shooting death of Alton Sterling.Residents may be split about the decision, however they are united in keeping the peace. Patrons at the Donald Dixon's Barber Shop have been discussing the decision."I got to respect their decision," Donald Dixon, owner of the barber shop, said.Dixon said that while he does not agree with the decisi
  
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• Report: Florida University to award posthumous degree to Trayvon Martin

  04-05-2017 16:35
  
  FLORIDA – A slain Florida teen will be awarded a college degree, CNN reports.Trayvon Martin will be awarded a posthumous bachelor's degree in aeronautical science from Florida Memorial University. Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman in 2012 while Martin was walking from a 7-Eleven in Sanford.Martin's parents, Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, will accept the degree on their son's behalf during the university's spring commencement. Fulton is an alumnas of the university.The aeron
  
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• Man indicted for LSU abduction near sorority house

  04-05-2017 15:34
  
  BATON ROUGE – A man has been indicted for the abduction of a woman near a sorority house on LSU's campus.According to court documents, Frank Herrera was indicted on charges of second degree kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated rape.Arrest records say a female LSU student was kidnapped at gunpoint on March 15 after she parked her car behind a sorority house on the campus. After she parked and walked a short distance, police say Herrera forced the victim back into her car.Police said
  
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• WBRZ Crawfish Price Index: price per pound still falling after Easter

  04-05-2017 15:29
  
  BATON ROUGE – Crawfish prices in the Baton Rouge are still falling, reaching their lowest prices since Mardi Gras.According to the WBRZ Crawfish Price Index, the average price boiled crawfish sits at $3.55 per pound. That is another seven cents lower than last week’s average price.Click here to go to the WBRZ Crawfish Price IndexFour locations surveyed dropped their prices by 20 cents this week. Crawfish fans looking for a deal can stop by Tony’s Seafood, Heads &
  
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• US judge won't let El Chapo out of solitary confinement

  04-05-2017 15:08
  
  NEW YORK - Mexican drug lord and escape artist Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman needs to stay in solitary confinement at a New York City lockup to keep him from trying to control his drug-trafficking empire from behind bars, a judge ruled Thursday.In a written decision, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan rejected a request by Guzman's defense team to order him released from an ultrahigh-security wing of a jail in lower Manhattan and be allowed in the general inmate population and receive visitors.Solitary
  
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• Prosecutors: 'Inmate taxi service' let Atlanta prisoners come and go

  04-05-2017 14:49
  
  ATLANTA - Prosecutors say a federal inmate in Atlanta and his fiancée ran an "inmate taxi service," taking inmates around town to restaurants and hotels and returning them to prison in exchange for money.Prosecutors say 41-year-old Deldrick Jackson and 38-year-old Kelly Bass face charges related to helping the inmates escape.Paul Cognac, an attorney for Jackson, said Thursday his client pleaded not guilty and he had no other comment. Brian Mendelsohn, an attorney for Bass, said in an
  
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• Lawmakers kill plan to divert flood aid to diversion canal

  04-05-2017 14:26
  
  BATON ROUGE – State lawmakers in the House of Representatives shot down a funding mechanism for the Comite River Diversion Canal Thursday morning.Earlier this week, the House Appropriations Committee added language to next year’s budget to allocate congressional disaster recovery money to the project. Rep. Valarie Hodges, a Denham Springs Republican, made the proposal that would divert $190 million from aid earmarked to homeowners struggling to recover after last year&rsq
  
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• BRPD encourages residents to use app to report suspicious activity

  04-05-2017 14:09
  
  BATON ROUGE – The Baton Rouge Police Department is encouraging residents to use the "See Something Send Something" app to report information about criminal activity.The app can be accessed on mobile devices and can connect residents to criminal intelligence centers nationwide. The app can be used to submit reports about suspicious activity and to receive important alerts.Tips are routed through a network of State Fusion centers. The app is not intended for emergency situations. Informa
  
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• Jack in the Box cleans up shuttered store after On Your Side report

  04-05-2017 13:57
  
  BATON ROUGE – Jack in the Box is apologizing over a big mess that sat outside one of its old stores on Coursey Blvd. in Baton Rouge for years.Earlier this week, 2 On Your Side reporter Brittany Weiss shed light on the problem outside the store near the intersection of Coursey Blvd. and Stumberg Lane. The grass was overgrown, the building was boarded up and the doors were locked. The building has that familiar Jack in the Box red color and shape with signs that no longer hold the logo.R
  
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• Woman spots her stolen car, chases with Baton Rouge Police

  04-05-2017 13:36
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police say a woman, along with officers, chased her stolen car in a pursuit on Thursday afternoon.Witnesses say the chase ended on Hilltree Drive after 4 people jumped out of the moving car and tried to flee on foot. The car came to rest in a yard just feet from a home.Witnesses say the two men and two women were taken into custody shortly after in the Springhills subdivision.According to Baton Rouge Police, the woman saw her stolen car and followed it on the interstate until offic
  
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• US to seek social media details from certain visa applicants

  04-05-2017 13:28
  
  WASHINGTON - The State Department wants to review social media, email addresses and phone numbers from some foreigners seeking U.S. visas. It's part of the Trump administration's enhanced screening of potential immigrants and visitors.The department is seeking public comment on the requirement. But it's also requesting White House budget office approval so the plan can take effect for 180 days, beginning May 18.People would have to provide five years of social media handles and 15 years of trave
  
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• Texas stabbing suspect told police he didn't remember attack

  04-05-2017 13:04
  
  AUSTIN - An arrest affidavit says the University of Texas student accused of stabbing four students, one fatally, told police he didn't remember attacking anyone.Kendrex J. White, who authorities have said suffered from mental health troubles, was charged with murder in Monday's campus attack. He remained in jail Thursday on $1 million bond. Attorneys listed for him didn't immediately return messages left Thursday.The affidavit says after the 21-year-old was taken into custody he agreed to talk.
  
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• Senator says flyers often treated like 'self-loading cargo'

  04-05-2017 12:42
  
  WASHINGTON - A senator says he thinks the airline industry has become anti-competitive and is hurting the flying public.Florida Sen. Bill Nelson says air travelers often tell him they "feel like they're being treated as self-loading cargo rather than as valued consumers."Nelson is the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee - which is holding a hearing Thursday on airline travel.He says people are so fed up that they're using their cellphones to hold airlines ac
  
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• Driver dies in crash on LA 417 in Pointe Coupee Parish

  04-05-2017 12:42
  
  POINTE COUPEE PARISH – A deadly crash closed LA 417 at Coon Road in Pointe Coupee Parish Thursday morning.The Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office responded to the crash. The driver of a vehicle ran off the road, over-corrected, causing the vehicle to travel across the highway and then hit a tree.The driver of the car died, according to the sheriff's office. Three children in the vehicle were transported to the hospital in stable condition.The identity of the driver has not been relea
  
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• Scaled-back $29B budget up for debate in Louisiana House

  04-05-2017 12:37
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana House is having an all-day debate about a nearly $29 billion state operating budget proposed for next year.Republicans and Democrats have sharp disagreements over spending plans for the year that begins July 1, including over how much money to allocate for programs and services.GOP House leaders crafted a proposal that favors the TOPS college tuition program over health services for the poor and that spends $235 million less in state tax dollars than projected to be a
  
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• Recovery a big topic at District 5 town hall meeting

  04-05-2017 12:30
  
  BATON ROUGE - City leaders discussed recovery at a town-hall style meeting Thursday.Councilwoman Erika Green held the meeting at Antioch A Full Baptist Church. Nearly a dozen people got to ask questions about the city's initiative to get back to normal after a rough year.
  Presentations came from the Department of Public Works, Restore Louisiana Homeowners Program and the city personnel.  District 5 constituents had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about the new things happenin
  
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• Woman pleads guilty to meth possession in Ascension Parish

  04-05-2017 12:15
  
  PRAIRIEVILLE – Prosecutors say a Baton Rouge woman has pleaded guilty to drug charges after she was arrested in December.District Attorney Ricky Babin’s office said Mckinsey Graham, 26, has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and suboxone Monday.Narcotics agents with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested Graham on Dec. 15 outside a gas station near the intersection of US 61 and Hwy 73. Agents had received information that
  
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• 5 who protested inside Supreme Court plead guilty

  04-05-2017 12:07
  
  WASHINGTON - Five protesters have pleaded guilty to causing disruptions in the U.S. Supreme Court.
      
  Online court records show the pleas were entered Thursday in federal court in Washington. Sentencing is set for July 24.
      
  The group had argued a law under which they were prosecuted was unconstitutionally vague for prohibiting "loud" language, or making a "harangue" or "oration."
      
  A federal judge partially
  
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• Guitar left behind due to luggage fee causes security scare

  04-05-2017 09:22
  
  CLEVELAND - Police say an unattended bag that led security officials to temporarily close part of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport was a guitar left behind by a man who couldn't afford the luggage fee for it.A police spokeswoman tells Cleveland.com that prosecutors will decide whether to pursue any charges against the 45-year-old man from Taberg, New York, over the bag abandoned Tuesday in a check-in area.Some passengers were guided into safety zones away from that area, while flights con
  
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• Water heater malfunction causes Baton Rouge duplex fire

  04-05-2017 09:05
  
  BATON ROUGE – Firefighters say a malfunction with a water heater caused a duplex fire on Costello Lane in Baton Rouge Thursday morning.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, firefighters arrived on the scene and found a utility closet and parts of a kitchen in one unit on fire. The fire was quickly extinguished before it could spread.Investigators estimate the fire caused $25,000 in damages. Firefighters say no one was home at the time of the fire. No injuries
  
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• Trump targeting IRS rule on churches

  04-05-2017 07:42
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order targeting a rarely enforced IRS rule that says religious organizations and other non-profits that endorse political candidates risk losing their tax-exempt status.The order also promises "regulatory relief" for groups with religious objections to the preventive services requirement in the Affordable Care Act. Those requirements include covering birth control and the move could apply to religious groups like the Little Sisters o
  
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• Donaldsonville Primary School closed due to power outage

  04-05-2017 07:15
  
  DONALDSONVILLE – Donaldsonville Primary School will be closed Thursday due to a power outage in the area.Ascension Parish School officials say it is unclear when power to the school will be restored.Donaldsonville Primary employees should report and receive assignments from Principal Mary McMahan.Permalink| Comments
  
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• House GOP votes to gut Obama health care law

  04-05-2017 06:52
  
  WASHINGTON - Relieved Republicans have pushed their prized health care bill through the House. The mostly party-line 217-213 vote advances a bill that addresses their longtime pledge to erase the 2010 Obama health care law.Thursday's vote sends the measure to the Senate. Many senators consider the House bill too harsh and it's expected to undergo substantial changes.The House measure collapsed in March due to opposition by conservative and moderate GOP lawmakers. House leaders abandoned another
  
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• GOP revives struggling health care bill and plans House vote

  04-05-2017 06:52
  
  WASHINGTON - Republicans say they're set to push their prized health care bill through the House, after the measure endured several near-death experiences this year.Leaders say they plan to do it Thursday and have the votes to prevail. That would claim a victory for President Donald Trump, six weeks after nearly leaving it for dead and days after support from GOP moderates seemed to crumble anew.House leaders have revamped the bill to attract most conservatives and some GOP moderates since an ea
  
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• Expect heavier delays on I-10 in the Baton Rouge area

  04-05-2017 06:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge’ has you covered with live updates for your Thursday 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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• BRFD responds to late night fire on Glenhaven Drive

  04-05-2017 05:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Fire Department responded to a house fire call in the 11000 block of Glenhaven Drive Wednesday night.Around 10:30 p.m., firefighters arrived on the scene to find the blaze coming from the front of the house.Firefighters were able to get it under control in less than an hour. Red Cross was contacted to assist, but there were no injuries reported. The home suffered $55,000 worth of damage.The cause of the house fire is unknown at this time. BRFD does not suspect foul
  
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