Baton Rouge news

• Judge: UPS must pay $247M to NYC and state in cigarette case

  25-05-2017 21:39
  
  NEW YORK - A federal judge has ordered delivery giant UPS Inc. to pay New York City and the state nearly $247 million in damages and penalties for illegally shipping cigarettes.
   U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest handed down the penalty on Thursday after finding the company liable in a civil case in federal court in Manhattan for transporting untaxed cigarettes from Indian reservations.
   New York state and New York City sued Atlanta-based UPS in 2015.
   UPS claims i
  
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• Campus 'free speech' bill wins backing of Louisiana House

  25-05-2017 21:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - A proposal seeking to protect controversial speakers' appearances at Louisiana colleges and calling on campuses to punish students who disrupt them won support from House lawmakers on a second try.
   Rep. Lance Harris, chairman of the House Republican Delegation, says his bill is a response to university decisions to scrap events like Berkeley's canceling of conservative commentator Ann Coulter's speech.
   Harris' proposal would require colleges to establish sanctio
  
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• Lawmakers weighing boost to Louisiana driver's license fees

  25-05-2017 20:14
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers are considering whether to raise driver's license fees by $1 and deposit the estimated $2.4 million raised over five years into a veterans assistance fund.
   The House overwhelmingly supported the measure by Pineville Rep. Chris Hazel, a Republican, in an 81-14 vote. But the idea ran into concerns Thursday in the Senate transportation committee.
   Senators said while they want to support veterans, they objected to charging drivers a fee that doesn't pay fo
  
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• Official: Louisiana man tried to steal Trump's tax info

  25-05-2017 19:24
  
  WASHINGTON - An Education Department watchdog says a Louisiana man has unsuccessfully tried to obtain President Donald Trump's tax information using an online student aid tool.
   Inspector General Kathleen Tighe told a House hearing Thursday that the attempt took place in September, several weeks before the presidential election. The man tried to access Trump's records with the help of a data retrieval tool used by college students applying for financial aid.
   Tighe says the Int
  
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• Roundabouts planned throughout Livingston Parish

  25-05-2017 19:04
  
  LIVINGSTON – Roundabouts are coming to Livingston Parish in an effort to keep traffic flowing.The first of the roundabouts is at the intersection of Eden Church Road and Highway 190 near Walker. The traffic circle replaced traffic lights at the intersection.One commuter, Denise Brasseaux, works at a health clinic at the intersection but lives in Baton Rouge."I used to have to take a right turn out of this intersection, go all the way to Juban to get to Baton Rouge. Now all I have to do
  
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• BRPD: Body found on N. Acadian East likely died from natural causes

  25-05-2017 18:40
  
  BATON ROUGE- Baton Rouge police responded to a body found in the 2500 block of N. Acadian East.According to a spokesperson for BRPD, a call came in around 6:15 p.m.Officials say the body appeared to be that of a 60-year-old male. They say the cause of death appears to be natural causes, and that no signs of foul play were found.Police are still responding. No further details are available at this time.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Councilwoman wants chief to talk about cops involved in Alton Sterling's death

  25-05-2017 17:22
  
  BATON ROUGE – Police Chief Carl Dabadie will be summoned to discuss his department's internal investigation into the officers involved in the shooting death of Alton Sterling at an upcoming Metro Council meeting.Councilwoman Donna Collins-Lewis told WBRZ Thursday, she has filed three pieces of city legislation. Two deal with the Sterling situation and a third deals with how people were removed from a recent council meeting when they wanted to speak about the Sterling case.Collins-Lewis
  
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• Criminal justice bills derailed by Louisiana budget feud

  25-05-2017 17:21
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers have temporarily shelved key pieces of Louisiana's planned criminal justice overhaul after they say Republicans threatened to trounce the proposals because Democrats are holding up an unrelated financing bill.The House was expected to vote Thursday on four bills stemming from a task force's recommendations to decrease the state's highest-in-the-nation incarceration rate and save millions annually.All four bills, however, were postponed.The measures include Rep. Walt Leger
  
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• Flags ordered at half-staff in honor of former secretary of state

  25-05-2017 17:10
  
  BATON ROUGE – Governor John Bel Edwards ordered the flags of the United States and the State of Louisiana to be flown at half-staff in honor of late State Representative and former Louisiana Secretary of State Alan Ater.Ater died on May 21 in Houston Texas at the age of 63. He was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1983. He served two terms before serving as the first assistant to Louisiana Secretary of State Fox McKeithen. After McKeithen's death, Ater became Louisia
  
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• Amid Nakamoto investigation, Council on Aging reviews travel policy

  25-05-2017 17:09
  
  BATON ROUGE – Amid a Chris Nakamoto investigation for the WBRZ News 2 Investigative Unit, the EBR Council on Aging revealed it's changing its policies and procedures dealing with travel policies for its staff.Nakamoto and the WBRZ Investigative Unit filed a public records request – essentially, a formal request to review public documents held by an organization – related to travel expenses to various out-of-state locations and cruises paid for by the Council on Agin
  
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• Wisconsin woman jumps on hood of her SUV to prevent theft

  25-05-2017 16:36
  
  MILWAUKEE - A Wisconsin woman pumping gas near downtown Milwaukee stopped a thief from stealing her SUV by jumping on its hood and clinging to the windshield wipers as the man tried to drive away in her vehicle.Melissa Smith admits it may not have been the best thing to do, but says it was a gut decision to stop the carjacking Tuesday afternoon. Video of the attempted carjacking shows the would-be thief braking in the gas station parking lot as he tries to throw Smith off the hood.The suspect ga
  
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• Sobriety checkpoint to be conducted in Livingston Parish

  25-05-2017 15:37
  
  LIVINGSTON – The Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, along with other local enforcement agencies, will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Friday.The checkpoint is an effort to protect citizens from those who drink and drive.Specifics about the location of the checkpoint will not be released in advance.Grant funds, made available through a federal grant administered by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, will fund overtime pay for deputies involved, according to the Livingston Parish
  
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• Louisiana wants federal OK to expand red snapper fishing

  25-05-2017 15:19
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana wildlife officials are proposing an experiment that could someday enable private recreational fishermen to catch highly sought Gulf of Mexico red snapper any time of year in federal waters.This year, the federal season for recreational red snapper fishing by individuals is only three days. Critics say the short season hurts Gulf tackle shops and marinas.Under the proposal announced Thursday, Louisiana would choose 150 anglers to participate in a pilot program: They could
  
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• Vice President shares WBRZ.com story, says local family is inspirational

  25-05-2017 14:33
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - The Vice President called the story of a Livingston family highlighted in a WBRZ report this week as “inspiring.”Thursday morning, Vice President Mike Pence tweeted a link to the WBRZ.com post featuring the Morgans and included his message about their recovery from the flood. A day earlier, Pence made a surprise visit to the family while he was in the Baton Rouge area.ICYMI: Inspiring to see the Morgan's rebuild after @POTUS & I visited their flo
  
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• Appeals court deals blow to Trump administration travel ban

  25-05-2017 14:26
  
  WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court has dealt another blow to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six Muslim-majority countries.The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that blocked the travel ban. It's the first appeals court to rule on the revised travel ban. Trump rewrote the ban after several legal defeats. His administration will likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.The appeals court decision blocks the administration from suspendin
  
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• City-Parish fixes sinkhole following 2 On Your Side report

  25-05-2017 14:24
  
  BATON ROUGE - The sound of heavy machinery working next to Stephenie Horton's home this morning was music to her ears."I can rest easy knowing that it's taken care of," said Horton. "I'm not going to have to stress about how much worse it's getting in the meantime."The City-Parish filled in a sinkhole next to Horton's Sherwood Forest home. A problem that's been growing along Westbrook Drive for five years has finally been rectified."It was a big problem," she said.The City-Parish went through LA
  
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• Louisiana House snubs call to keep automatic guns from kids

  25-05-2017 14:21
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana lawmakers have spiked a proposal to keep fully automatic weapons away from young children.The House voted 61-21 Thursday against Rep. Barbara Norton's bill to fine, and possibly imprison, people who allow children under 13 to handle fully automatic firearms.The Shreveport Democrat proposed the bill after a 9-year-old Arizona girl lost control of the Uzi submachine gun she was firing and fatally shot her gun range instructor in 2014.Bill opponents said Norton's intentions
  
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• Crews fill in more than 300 potholes in Baton Rouge

  25-05-2017 13:37
  
  BATON ROUGE – Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome dispatched several Department of Public Works street maintenance crews across the parish to fill potholes this month.The eight crews and 24 employees spent ten hours on a weekend filling potholes around the city and in all 12 Metro Council districts, with potholes selected based on issues reported to the City-Parish 311 call center.A total of 315 potholes were filled in one day, with crews using nearly 44 tons of cold mix asphalt to co
  
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• Video shows Southern's Devon Gales walking with robotic exoskeleton

  25-05-2017 13:36
  
  ATLANTA – Family members shared video of Southern University’s running back Devon Gales walking with the help of a powered brace.“Look out world because here he comes!” Tanisha Deans-Gales shared on Facebook Thursday. “He is feeling so good right now!”Tanisha Gales said her son is walking with a “powered orthosis,” which is worn around the legs to allow people with spinal cord injuries to stand and walk.Davon Gales s
  
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• 'Click It or Ticket' campaign underway during Memorial Day weekend

  25-05-2017 13:21
  
  BATON ROUGE – The 'Click It or Ticket' campaign will be taking place during the Memorial Day weekend and police will have an increased presence on the road.The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission has made federal funds available to law enforcement across the state to be on the lookout for drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts. Police will also be focusing on aggressive drivers and speeders.AAA predicts about 34.6 million travelers will be on the roads during the holiday.D
  
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• BREC unveils plans to reimagine Baton Rouge Zoo

  25-05-2017 12:54
  
  BATON ROUGE - BREC laid out the plan to relocate, transform the Baton Rouge Zoo to a state of the art park.People who live in North Baton Rouge believe the trade off is not a fair trade. Opponents shared their thoughts during the public comment section of the meeting. They would rather see improvements done instead of moving the zoo completely.
  "If we were able to bring something of this nature like the regional greenwood as well as a zoo unlike any other zoo in the country. And that's what we'r
  
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• BRPD responding to crash involving motorcycle on Florida Blvd.

  25-05-2017 12:04
  
  BATON ROUGE - Emergency crews are responding to a crash on Florida Blvd. involving a motorcycle.The crash occurred around 9:45 p.m. on Florida Blvd. near Sherwood Forrest Blvd.According to Baton Rouge Police Department officials, two vehicles and a motorcycle could be involved. They say one of the vehicles may have caught fire following the crash.At least one person involved in the crash was injured, but police say their injuries do not appear life-threatening.Officials say eastbound Florida Blv
  
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• Louisiana House speaker expects special session to close gap

  25-05-2017 09:21
  
  BATON ROUGE - The leader of the Louisiana House says he doesn't expect lawmakers to pass tax hikes this session to fill a looming, mid-2018 budget gap. Instead, Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras believes a special legislative session is inevitable to address the shortfall.A more than $1 billion budget hole is projected when temporary sales taxes passed by the Legislature expire on June 30, 2018. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards wants lawmakers to pass tax measures to close the gap.But Barra
  
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• Survey finds US honeybee losses improve from horrible to bad

  25-05-2017 09:08
  
  WASHINGTON - A U.S. survey of beekeepers finds hope for America's ailing honeybees as winter losses were the lowest in more than a decade.The annual survey released Thursday found beekeepers lost 21 percent of their colonies over last winter. That's the lowest winter loss level since the survey started in 2006 and an improvement from the winter before.The U.S. government has set a goal of keeping losses under 15 percent in the winter.Survey director Dennis vanEngelsdorp says the situation has go
  
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• Montana GOP House candidate Greg Gianforte charged with misdemeanor assault of reporter

  25-05-2017 07:50
  
  A reporter said the Republican candidate for Montana's sole congressional seat "body-slammed" him Wednesday, the day before the special election.
  
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• Tattooed 'Joker' accused of pointing gun at traffic

  25-05-2017 06:59
  
  MIAMI - Police in Florida have managed to arrest the Joker without Batman's help following reports of a green-haired man with tattoos on his face pointing a gun at traffic.A Miami-Dade police report says 29-year-old Lawrence Sullivan was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with carrying a concealed firearm. A booking photo shows the word "Joker" and a knife-pierced Batman symbol across Sullivan's forehead, while tattoos of long, stitched cuts are on each side of his mouth. His green hair matche
  
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• Tattooed 'Joker' accused of pointing gun at Miami traffic

  25-05-2017 06:59
  
  MIAMI - Police in Florida have managed to arrest the Joker without Batman's help following reports of a green-haired man with tattoos on his face pointing a gun at traffic.A Miami-Dade police report says 29-year-old Lawrence Sullivan was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with carrying a concealed firearm. A booking photo shows the word "Joker" and a knife-pierced Batman symbol across Sullivan's forehead, while tattoos of long, stitched cuts are on each side of his mouth. His green hair matche
  
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• GOP health bill: 23M more uninsured; sick risk higher costs

  25-05-2017 06:53
  
  WASHINGTON - Nonpartisan budget analysts for Congress have released a largely damaging report on the House-passed health care bill.It says the Republican legislation would leave 23 million more Americans uninsured. Many people with medical problems could face unaffordable coverage options.The Congressional Budget Office says premiums on average would fall compared to President Barack Obama's overhaul, a chief goal for Republicans. The catch is that lower premiums may reflect skimpier benefits an
  
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• GOP candidate charged with misdemeanor assault of reporter

  25-05-2017 06:49
  
  BOZEMAN, Mont. - Thursday's special election for Montana's sole congressional seat got a last-minute twist when the Republican candidate, Greg Gianforte, was charged with misdemeanor assault.Greg Gianforte was cited for grabbing a reporter by the throat and throwing him to the ground in his campaign office Wednesday night. The reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, was asking Gianforte about the Republican health care bill. Three Fox News employees witnessed the attack, which was also captured on
  
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• Lawmaker: Louisiana domestic abuse laws risk nullification

  25-05-2017 06:46
  
  BATON ROUGE - A lawmaker fears Louisiana's domestic violence protections could be declared unconstitutional if his colleagues refuse to widen the safeguards to include same-sex couples.Rep. Patrick Connick wants to remove the requirement that a victim be of the opposite sex of the alleged offender to be considered a victim of domestic violence.The Marrero Republican's bill narrowly passed the House, but fell six votes short Tuesday in the Senate. Seven senators were absent, including five Democr
  
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• Nashville's courthouse gets named after famous actor

  25-05-2017 06:43
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The U.S. Senate has voted to name Nashville's new federal courthouse after former Sen. Fred Thompson, the late actor who appeared in at least 20 movies and in the TV series "Law & Order."Sen. Lamar Alexander announced the Senate vote Wednesday on a resolution already passed by the House, leaving the final decision to President Donald Trump.Thompson died at 73 in 2015.A Tennessee-trained lawyer and prosecutor, Thompson was a hard-driving Senate counsel during the Watergate
  
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• Trump plan to sell off half of oil stockpile sparks debate

  25-05-2017 06:42
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's proposal to sell nearly half the U.S. emergency oil stockpile is sparking renewed debate about whether the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is still needed amid an ongoing oil production boom that has seen U.S. imports drop sharply in the past decade.Trump's budget calls for selling an additional 270 million barrels of oil over the next decade, raising an estimated $16.6 billion.The petroleum reserve was created after the 1970s Arab oil embargo. It guards against
  
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• Texas approves feral hog hunting by hot air balloon

  25-05-2017 06:37
  
  AUSTIN, Texas- Texas lawmakers have approved the hunting of feral hogs and coyotes from hot air balloons.Texas' growing hog population causes millions of dollars' worth of damage to crops every year. Texas has an estimated two million feral hogs. Their high breeding rate and lack of natural predators has seen their population explodeThe state already allows the shooting of feral hogs from helicopters, but that is expensive and has not been very successful because the aircraft often scare the ani
  
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• Jeff Sessions didn't disclose meetings with Russian officials on security clearance form

  25-05-2017 03:16
  
  Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not reveal meetings with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance to serve as the nation's highest-ranking law enforcement official.
  
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• British investigators explore Manchester bomber's links to larger terror cell network

  25-05-2017 02:36
  
  British investigators are hunting for potential conspirators linked to the bombing that killed 22 people in a search that is exploring the possibility that the same cell linked to the Paris and Brussels terror attacks was also to blame for the Manchester Arena attack, two officials familiar with the investigation said Wednesday.
  
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• Subpoenas for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn keep piling up

  25-05-2017 01:35
  
  Subpoenas for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn piled up Wednesday as the House intelligence committee pressured Flynn to cooperate with its investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
  
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• Alton Sterling's family demands officers involved in police shooting be fired

  25-05-2017 01:05
  
  Attorney for Blane Salamoni said experts concluded officer acted "legally and reasonably."
  
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