Baton Rouge news

• Statue of General Lee coming down in New Orleans on Friday

  18-05-2017 21:59
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The city of New Orleans is taking down a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, completing the southern city's removal of four Confederate-related statues that some called divisive.
   Lee commanded Confederacy armies against the United States in the Civil War, and is a revered figure among supporters of the old South. But the Louisiana city will take down a prominent statue of Lee on Friday.
   City officials are trying to divorce New Orleans from symbols celebrat
  
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• WBRZ Crawfish Price Index: boiled price per pound holding steady

  18-05-2017 21:46
  
  BATON ROUGE – Crawfish prices held steady this week, one week after the Mother’s Day holiday.According to the WBRZ Crawfish Price Index, the average price for boiled crawfish sits at $3.58 per pound. That is just one penny lower than last week’s average price.Click here to go to the WBRZ Crawfish Price IndexOnly one surveyed location lowered their price this week: Christian Brother’s Seafood in Gonzales. Customers there can expect to save 10 cents per poun
  
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• Kellyanne Conway tells Trump's supporters to ignore critics

  18-05-2017 21:10
  
  NASHUA, N.H. - President Donald Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway has told supporters in New Hampshire they should "just ignore" his critics and the incessant chatter about the scandals dogging him.
   Conway was guest speaker Thursday at the fundraising Spring to Victory dinner, hosted by the New Hampshire Republican State Committee in Nashua. About 150 people attended.
   The crowd was largely friendly to Conway, applauding when she mentioned Trump's proposed tax plan and effort
  
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• Crews battle house fire on Marylin Drive

  18-05-2017 20:21
  
  BATON ROUGE - Crews extinguished a fire at a home on Marylin Drive Thursday evening.Officials have released few details on the fire or the extent of the damage.This is a developing story. Check back for details.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Bouncer tackled fleeing Times Square driver

  18-05-2017 20:09
  
  NEW YORK - A quick-acting restaurant worker played a key role in stopping a fleeing driver who mowed down pedestrians on a Times Square sidewalk.
   Ken Bradix has been a bouncer at Planet Hollywood for 17 years. He says he was walking toward the eatery Thursday when the car barreled down the sidewalk and hit a pole, and driver Richard Rojas got out and started running away.
   Bradix says Rojas was screaming and swinging his arms and got away from three people who tried to grab hi
  
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• Campus 'free speech' bill falls short in Louisiana House

  18-05-2017 19:12
  
  BATON ROUGE - A proposal calling on Louisiana's public colleges to punish students who disrupt free speech on campus narrowly failed to win House support.
   Republican Rep. Lance Harris says his bill is aimed at protecting free expression on college campuses. He says the measure comes in response to university decisions to scrap appearances from controversial, often conservative speakers.
   Colleges would have to establish disciplinary sanctions for students who interfere with "t
  
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• EBR school officials considering school bus tracking technology

  18-05-2017 18:19
  
  BATON ROUGE – Parents may soon be able to track their child's school bus in East Baton Rouge Parish.School officials are looking into equipping school buses with tracking technology.About 35,000 students ride the bus every day and officials are trying to find ways to help answer the question of "Did my child get off the bus?""Occasionally we'll have a parent that will call that the bus didn't come or something like that to know absolutely where they were," Gary Reese, Chief of Student
  
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• Proposed ban on Louisiana college-affiliated beers ditched

  18-05-2017 18:03
  
  BATON ROUGE - Fans of Bayou Bengal Lager and Ragin' Cajuns Genuine Louisiana Ale can pop open another cold one. Louisiana lawmakers won't be meddling with the university-affiliated beers.Shreveport Rep. Cedric Glover has shelved his bid to prohibit Louisiana's colleges and universities from authorizing an official alcoholic beverage affiliated with the school's brand.Glover presented the bill to the House Education Committee on Thursday, but then pulled it before a vote amid significant oppositi
  
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• House votes to bolster police training after Sterling death

  18-05-2017 17:59
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana lawmakers are moving forward with a proposal to increase police officers' training requirements nearly a year after police fatally shot a black man outside a Baton Rouge convenience store.The House voted 82-5 Thursday in favor of Rep. Ted James' bill, which calls for officers to receive at least 400 hours of basic training and learn more about de-escalation practices, recognizing biases and handling in-custody deaths.James says many departments already exceed 400 training
  
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• LWC: Unemployment rate higher among black teens

  18-05-2017 17:35
  
  BATON ROUGE – This week, the school year will end for several students and summer vacation will begin, which also means that some teenagers will be looking for summer jobs.However, there is a clear distinction in unemployment rates among teens.According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the unemployment rate for white teenagers is 12.2 percent while the unemployment rate for black teenagers is almost 30 percent.For Jewel Jones and her brother Donovan Jones, the search for summer j
  
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• Louisiana to receive another $51M in congressional flood aid

  18-05-2017 16:47
  
  BATON ROUGE- Louisiana's getting another $51 million in federal dollars to help with recovery from last year's floods.U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy announced the latest figure Thursday. He says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released information about how it was divvying up $163 million recently earmarked by Congress for disaster recovery.With this latest allocation, Louisiana has received more than $1.7 billion in congressional block grant aid for rebuilding programs after the Ma
  
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• Motorcyclist killed after crash on LA 36 in Covington

  18-05-2017 16:44
  
  COVINGTON – A man was killed after a two-vehicle crash on LA 36 in Covington on Thursday morning.According to Louisiana State Police, the crash occurred around 6 a.m. when 32-year-old Domario Rodricous Smith was riding a Suzuki motorcycle westbound on LA 36 while 52-year-old Honora Kennedy Richard was driving a Toyota Avalon eastbound on the highway.Richard attempted to turn left from LA 36 to Opelousas Street and as she turned, she crossed into the westbound lane of LA 36 into the pat
  
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• Father, son arrested after accidental shooting of 7-year-old boy in classroom

  18-05-2017 15:29
  
  MOSS BLUFF – A father and son have been arrested after the accidental shooting of a 7-year-old boy while inside a Calcasieu Parish classroom on Monday. According to the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office, the initial investigation revealed a first grader brought a loaded gun to school in his backpack and it fell out in the classroom. Another student picked it up and the gun accidentally fired, striking another student.Detectives learned the gun belonged to 50-year-old Michael D
  
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• Most popular baby names of 2016 in Louisiana announced

  18-05-2017 15:02
  
  BATON ROUGE – Ava and Liam topped the list for the most popular baby names in Louisiana for 2016.The Social Security Administration announced the list for the state on Thursday. Ava topped the list for girls born in Louisiana in 2015 while Mason topped the list for boy names that year. The top five boy and girl names for 2016 in Louisiana are below:Boys1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Mason
  4. Elijah
  5. WilliamGirls1. Ava
  2. Olivia
  3. Emma
  4. Amelia
  5. HarperLast week, the Social Security A
  
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• Autopsy: Chris Cornell killed himself by hanging

  18-05-2017 14:53
  
  DETROIT - A medical examiner has determined that Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell killed himself by hanging in a Detroit hotel room following a concert.A full autopsy report was not yet completed Thursday afternoon.Two Detroit newspapers had earlier cited a police spokesman Cornell was found with "a band around his neck."A different Detroit Police spokesman, Michael Woody, told The Associated Press Thursday that he could not confirm that Cornell died with a band around his neck.The Detroit Free
  
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• Report: Man sentenced to life for New Orleans mall shooting

  18-05-2017 14:26
  
  NEW ORLEANS – A man has been sentenced to life in prison for a fatal shooting that took place in 2014 at the Oakwood Mall in New Orleans, WWL reports.According to the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, 28-year-old Gary Francois was sentenced to life in prison for charges of second degree murder without probation, parole or suspension of sentence.Francois shot and killed James Vaughn while inside the Footlocker store in the Oakwood Mall on Christmas Eve in 2014. Police said Fr
  
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• House panel backs call to keep automatic guns away from kids

  18-05-2017 13:56
  
  BATON ROUGE - Responding to a fatal Arizona gun range accident, Louisiana lawmakers have advanced a measure to keep fully automatic weapons out of the hands of young children.A House criminal justice panel voted 7-6 Thursday for Rep. Barbara Norton's bill to fine, and possibly imprison, people who allow children under 13 to handle fully automatic firearms.The full House will consider the legislation.Norton, a Shreveport Democrat, proposed the bill after a 9-year-old girl lost control of the Uzi
  
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• Congressmen Graves and Richmond called on AG to extend BRAVE fund deadline

  18-05-2017 13:30
  
  BATON ROUGE – Congressman Garret Graves and Congressman Cedric Richmond called on U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to extend the current deadline for the Baton Rouge Area Violence Elimination organization to use the remaining $1.6 million granted to the program.The BRAVE project has been credited with reducing crime throughout communities by bringing law enforcement, community and faith organizations.The remaining grant dollars are set to expire at the end of the summer.Congressman
  
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• Train crashes into vehicle in Boutte; no injuries

  18-05-2017 13:00
  
  BOUTTE – A train crashed into a vehicle that lost one of its wheels in Boutte on Thursday morning.According to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, the crash occurred on Thursday around 7:30 a.m. on Paul Maillard Road. Deputies learned the crash involved a Ford Explorer that was traveling north bound on the road from Highway 90. As the vehicle crossed the railroad tracks, one of the wheels on the vehicle came off, leaving the vehicle partially on the tracks.Moments later, a train t
  
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• Train crashed into vehicle in Boutte; no injuries

  18-05-2017 13:00
  
  BOUTTE – A train crashed into a vehicle that lost one of its wheels in Boutte on Thursday morning.According to the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, the crash occurred on Thursday around 7:30 a.m. on Paul Maillard Road. Deputies learned the crash involved a Ford Explorer that was traveling north bound on the road from Highway 90. As the vehicle crossed the railroad tracks, one of the wheels on the vehicle came off, leaving the vehicle partially on the tracks.Moments later, a train t
  
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• Flynn's lawyer says he won't answer subpoena

  18-05-2017 12:53
  
  WASHINGTON - A lawyer for fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has informed the Senate Intelligence Committee he will not honor its subpoena for private documents. That's according to the panel's chairman, Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.Burr told reporters Thursday about the response from Flynn's lawyer. Burr says the panel's members are not surprised and says, "We'll figure out on Gen. Flynn what the next step, if any, is."The committee is one of several on Capitol Hill
  
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• Study: Bullying persists in school, reports of sex crime up

  18-05-2017 12:49
  
  WASHINGTON - A new study shows that 1 out of every 5 of middle and high school students has complained of being bullied at school. And the number of reports of sexual assault on college campuses has more than tripled over the past decade.The study by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department released Tuesday says that overall instances of bullying have been declining in American schools over the past decade. But 21 percent of students aged 12-18 still reported being
  
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• McDonald's says it removed artificial flavor from soft serve

  18-05-2017 12:42
  
  NEW YORK - McDonald's says it removed artificial flavor from its vanilla soft-serve dessert, which already had no artificial colors or preservatives.The chain says it started switching from artificial to natural vanilla flavor last fall, and the rollout of the change to its more than 14,000 U.S. locations is nearly complete. McDonald's announced the change Wednesday ahead of the summer season and to promote its upcoming limited-time offer of a McFlurry made with the soft serve and Rolo candies.M
  
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• Louisiana litter fines would fall slightly under House bill

  18-05-2017 12:35
  
  BATON ROUGE - - House lawmakers have agreed to lower Louisiana's litter fines.Rep. Johnny Berthelot, a Gonzales Republican, says a doubling of penalties he sponsored in 2015 caused unintended consequences, triggering jury trial provisions. The Louisiana Municipal Association says that made enforcement less likely.Under the proposed changes, fines for simple littering and intentional littering on second offenses would drop from $1,000 to $900. Community service requirements would grow from 16 hou
  
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• Flood-damaged school burglarized

  18-05-2017 12:17
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police are looking for thieves who stole from a school recovering from the August flood.Glen Oaks Park Elementary students have been attending the old Banks School since the flood. Last week, someone broke into the school and stole dozens of tablets and laptops."Whoever's done that were not thinking about children," Principal Bernard Williams said, "because the flood had did enough damage to these children."Bernard said he feels like this was just the latest setback in what has bee
  
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• Roger Ailes, media guru and political strategist, dies at 77

  18-05-2017 08:46
  
  NEW YORK - Roger Ailes, who transformed TV news by creating Fox News Channel, only to be ousted at the height of his reign for alleged sexual harassment, died Thursday, Fox News reported. He was 77.A former GOP operative to candidates including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Ailes later turned his media savvy to running TV networks. In early 1996 he accepted a challenge from media titan Rupert Murdoch to build a news network from scratch to compete with CNN.
   That Oc
  
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• Child attends school with bruises, leading to parent's arrest

  18-05-2017 07:57
  
  A Baton Rouge mom taken into custody after child attends school with several bruises.Jvonta Shavers is booked on counts of cruelty to a minor, after school officials notice a great amount of abuse on a student.Officials say the child missed school for two days this week, then returned with several scratches, bruises, and two black eyes.It was then that the Baton Rouge Police Department was contacted.Shavers admitted to disciplining the child, but says
  
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• Man arrested for raping an 11-year-old

  18-05-2017 07:41
  
  Baton Rouge Police arrest a man for sexual encounters with a minor.Mark Ferguson, was arrested and booked on charges of First Degree Rape.According to officials the incident occurred two years ago and that at the time the victim was 11-years-old.  Police also learned that this was not the first time Ferguson has been arrested for indecent behavior with a minor.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Who is Robert Mueller? Special counsel on Trump-Russia probe no stranger to the spotlight

  18-05-2017 04:29
  
  Robert Mueller took office as FBI director in 2001 expecting to dig into drug cases, white-collar misdeeds and violent crime. A week later was Sept. 11.
  
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