Baton Rouge news

• Senators vote to expand Louisiana experimental treatment law

  31-05-2017 21:31
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana lawmakers have agreed to expand the state's Right to Try Act, which gives terminally-ill patients access to experimental drugs and treatments. Passed in 2014, the act allows terminally-ill patients with permission from their doctors to use treatment methods that aren't approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Insurers don't have to cover the costs.A bill that won final passage Wednesday with a 38-0 Senate vote will include robotic devices that help peop
  
  Read more

• Drainage ditch problems plague Plaquemine residents

  31-05-2017 21:21
  
  PLAQUEMINE - A man says a ditch that won't drain is overflowing every time it rains. Resident Gegory Pierre said the problem has been happening for years and that water is creeping onto the property of others living in Pointe Pleasant. Pierre said he's seen tons of junk come flowing across the ditch. Two weeks ago, the parish pulled a telephone pole from the culvert thinking that would solve the problem, but it wasn't enough for the ditch to drain normally."But why does it back
  
  Read more

• Teen arrested in Ascension Parish car burglary

  31-05-2017 21:11
  
  GEISMAR - Deputies have arrested a 17-year-old who is suspected of committing a vehicle burglary in Ascension Parish.According to the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, Juan Barajas of Prairieville was arrested on simple burglary and criminal trespassing charges Tuesday.The sheriff's office say Barajas was identified after deputies obtained surveillance footage from a May 25 vehicle burglary on Cypress Place Avenue. Deputies say one other suspect was seen in the video, but authorities were unabl
  
  Read more

• Authorities arrest Burger King worker accused of pepper spraying customer

  31-05-2017 21:02
  
  ZACHARY - A pregnant woman says she was pepper sprayed by an employee while waiting for her food at a Zachary Burger King overnight Friday.Staci Bell says she waited for her food for more than 30 minutes. When she reached the drive-thru and asked what was taking so long, the employee threw her money back at her.That's when Bell says she was pepper sprayed."I heard my mom choking. I'm coughing," Bell said. "I knew exactly what it was once I started coughing and burning. I went from being
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• One hospitalized in shooting on Washington Avenue

  31-05-2017 19:53
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police are on the scene of a reported shooting on Washington Avenue.The shooting was reported around 7:20 p.m. in the 5500 block of Washington Avenue near Paulson Street. Authorities say one person was transported to the hospital with moderate injuries.This is a developing story. We will update it with more information as it becomes available.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• One dead after shooting on Washington Avenue

  31-05-2017 19:53
  
  BATON ROUGE – One man is dead after a shooting in the 5500 block of Washington Avenue on Wednesday night.The shooting occurred around 7:20 p.m. and claimed the life of 25-year-old Donovan Robinson. Police say Robinson was shot while inside his vehicle.Robinson was transported to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The motive for the shooting is not known at this time.
  (Image: Donovan Robinson)Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to call the Baton R
  
  Read more

• Governor Edwards calling precautionary special session

  31-05-2017 17:01
  
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards is calling a special legislative session to start next week, a precaution for the possibility he won't reach agreement with lawmakers on Louisiana's budget.The session begins 30 minutes after the regular legislative session wraps up June 8 and could run through June 19. If the budget deals already have been reached, lawmakers could immediately adjourn.Special session parameters will include debate over Louisiana's operating and construction budgets, but not ta
  
  Read more

• Cox customers reporting outages due to cable damage on Bluebonnet Blvd.

  31-05-2017 16:52
  
  BATON ROUGE - Several customers of Cox Communications are reporting outages after equipment destroyed several of the communications provider's cables Wednesday.According to Cox, another telecommunications provider was using boring equipment near Anselmo Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard and accidentally tore multiple lines of fiber cables. The damage reportedly impacted several commercial and residential transport lines feeding the surrounding area.The company could not provide an
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Mosquitoes infected with West Nile found in West Baton Rouge Parish

  31-05-2017 16:26
  
  PORT ALLEN - Mosquito experts are warning residents in West Baton Rouge Parish to take precaution after some area mosquitoes tested positive for the West Nile virus.The infected mosquitoes were trapped near Highway 415 near Kahns Road.Three out of 104 samples tested positive for the disease."There's no telling how severe this seasons going to be," said George Bragg, director for the West Baton Rouge Mosquito Control.Bragg says it's normal to see positive results during mosquito season,
  
  Read more

• Street flooding causes traffic delays in Baton Rouge area

  31-05-2017 16:01
  
  UPDATE: DOTD says traffic has returned to normal on I-10, I-110, and I-12.BATON ROUGE - A flood advisory has been issued for the Baton Rouge area Wednesday afternoon.According to the Department of Transportation and Development, there are heavy delays on I-10, I-110, and I-12 in the Baton Rouge area. It has also confirmed high water in the following areas:Iberia Parish: LA 997, four mile from the LA 75 junction.Lower St. Martin Parish: LA 70, about two mile from the St. Mary Pa
  
  Read more

• La. senators reject Confederate monument protection bills

  31-05-2017 15:48
  
  BATON ROUGE - Decisions on the fate of Confederate monuments erected in towns and cities around Louisiana will be left to local governments.An effort to make it harder to remove the monuments was spurned Wednesday by state senators.The Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 4-2 to scrap the House-backed bill from Rep. Thomas Carmody, a Shreveport Republican, and a second proposal by Sen. Beth Mizell, a Franklinton Republican.All four senators who voted against the bills were black. Two
  
  Read more

• WBRSO: Man wanted for robbing truck stop in Port Allen

  31-05-2017 15:45
  
  PORT ALLEN – Deputies in West Baton Rouge Parish are searching for a man who they say robbed a truck stop.The robbery occurred on May 28 around 4:25 a.m. when a man entered the Lucky Louie's truck stop located on North River Road in Port Allen. According to the sheriff's office, the man asked for a carton of Camel cigarettes, told the clerk he had a gun and would kill her if she followed him outside.The man then took the cigarettes and left in a red Mercedes-Benz sedan. The sheriff's o
  
  Read more

• Teenage girl charged with fatally stabbing Uber driver in Illinois

  31-05-2017 15:33
  
  LINCOLNWOOD, Ill. - Prosecutors say a teenage girl used a stolen machete and a knife during a fatal attack on a suburban Chicago Uber driver.Eliza Wasni is charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of Grant Nelson of Wilmette. A Cook County judge on Wednesday ordered the 16-year-old Wasni of Chicago held without bond.Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Cunningham says the 34-year-old Nelson picked up the girl near a Walmart in Skokie, from which she stole the machete. Wi
  
  Read more

• 3 killed in shooting after fugitive confronted at Texas car dealership

  31-05-2017 15:29
  
  DALLAS - A private investigator says a shooting at a Texas car dealership that left three men dead involved two investigators who had confronted a fugitive wanted in Minnesota on several felony charges.Stew Peters, a bail investigator with the private Minnesota-based company U.S. Fugitive Recovery and Extradition, said Wednesday the two men had tracked 49-year-old Ramon Michael Hutchinson to a Nissan dealership in Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas.Peters says Hutchinson had been sou
  
  Read more

• 13 Turkish troops die in helicopter crash near Iraq border

  31-05-2017 15:06
  
  ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's military says 13 soldiers have died in a helicopter crash near the border with Iraq.A military statement said the AS532 Cougar helicopter crashed Wednesday shortly after taking off from a base in the region of Senoba in Sirnak province. It is said initial information idicated that the helicopter hit a high-voltage transmission line. Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Alton Sterling protest lawsuit nears cash settlement

  31-05-2017 15:04
  
  Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson is one of nearly 80 arrested protesters who are eligible for cash payments ranging from $500 to $1,000 if the settlement gets the court's final approval.
  
  Read more

• Louisiana gas tax hike proposal dies without House debate

  31-05-2017 14:59
  
  BATON ROUGE - The man who sponosred a bill to increase the the state's gas tax says the proposal will not pass the House of Representatives.On Wednesday, Representative Steve Carter said there would be no debate over the proposed 10 cent gas tax hike after it failed to gain the majority necessary for approval.Carter says the bill was about 10 votes short of the necessary two-thirds majority.Rep. Steve Carter confirms there will be no debate/vote on gas tax. Says he was abt 10 votes short of 2/3
  
  Read more

• Spicer says 'small group' understands strange, late night Trump tweet

  31-05-2017 14:51
  
  WASHINGTON - White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer claims that "a small group of people know exactly" what President Donald Trump meant when Trump posted a seemingly unintelligible tweet early Wednesday morning.Trump tweeted shortly before 1 a.m. that "Despite the constant negative press covfefe." The tweet ended there.The tweet remained up for over an hour before it was finally deleted, prompting jokes and questions over the meaning of "covfefe".The best part of waking up is #covfefe in your
  
  Read more

• Police: Racial slur sprayed on LeBron James' Los Angeles home

  31-05-2017 14:46
  
  LOS ANGELES - Police are investigating after someone spray painted a racial slur on the front gate of Lebron James' home in Los Angeles on the eve of the NBA Finals.It happened Wednesday morning in the Brentwood neighborhood.Capt. Patricia Sandoval, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, tells The Associated Press that James wasn't home at the time. She says the property manager told officers they believe the incident was captured on surveillance video.Police are investigating it a
  
  Read more

• Man charged with attempted murder in Gardere shooting

  31-05-2017 14:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - A man has been charged with attempted murder after a shooting that occurred in the Gardere area Monday.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, 25-year-old Courtney Lanaute was arrested for shooting at another man after an argument on Skysail Avenue Monday.Deputies say the victim was talking with a relative in front of his home when Lanuate engaged him in a verbal altercation. The victim says Lanaute approached him with a handgun before leaving the area.According to arre
  
  Read more

• Cassidy receives pushback on health care at town hall

  31-05-2017 14:14
  
  COVINGTON - Sen. Bill Cassidy is getting pushback on health care and other issues at a town hall in Louisiana.More than 200 people jammed a meeting hall in Covington, north of New Orleans, on Wednesday to question Cassidy.Dozens more had to wait outside.Cassidy had supporters who applauded when he said former President Barack Obama's health care law isn't working. But he met jeers from others skeptical of his promise that a bill he is pushing with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine will improve coverag
  
  Read more

• Denham Springs to receive nearly $2.8 million in FEMA funding for debris removal

  31-05-2017 13:51
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS – Denham Springs will receive nearly $2.8 million in FEMA disaster funding to assist with citywide debris removal following the August 2016 flood.The funding marks about $8.5 million in federal reimbursements for debris removal in the city, according to FEMA. The agency has also awarded more than $83 million for debris removal statewide since the flood.Eligible debris categories include household garbage, construction debris, household hazardous waste, appliances and ele
  
  Read more

• Louisiana criminal justice revamp edges closer to passage

  31-05-2017 13:46
  
  BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards' goal of significantly reducing Louisiana's incarceration rate is closer to reality after some of the package's more controversial proposals passed a tough test.The House criminal justice committee approved three Senate-backed bills Wednesday to expand probation and parole opportunities and shrink sentences for offenders, mainly those jailed for non-violent crimes."The passage of these criminal justice reform bills marks an important step in our w
  
  Read more

• Report: Three, including toddler, shot on I-10 in New Orleans

  31-05-2017 13:28
  
  NEW ORLEANS – A man, woman and toddler were injured on Tuesday night during a shooting on I-10 in New Orleans.The shooting occurred on I-10 east near the Poydras exit, WWL reports.Police said the victims were traveling east bound when another vehicle approached and its occupants opened fire on them around 9:30 p.m.According to WWL, police initially said a man and woman were shot and, on Wednesday, an overnight crime log indicated that a third victim, possibly a one-year-old, was also s
  
  Read more

• Man faces charges after holding family at gunpoint, shooting at deputies

  31-05-2017 13:27
  
  KENTWOOD - A man is facing multiple charges Wednesday after he held several people at gunpoint, shot at police, and fled into a wooded area Monday afternoon.According to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office, 26-year-old Bryan Menard led deputies on a brief manhunt after he allegedly committed a series of crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, and attempted murder of a police officer. The sheriff's office says deputies were called to a home on Highway 1054 around 11:30 a.
  
  Read more

• CNN cuts ties with Kathy Griffin over video

  31-05-2017 13:10
  
  WASHINGTON - CNN says it has cut ties with Kathy Griffin after she posted a video that showed her holding a likeness of President Donald Trump's severed head.The network says it has terminated its agreement with the comedian to appear on its New Year's Eve programs. For a decade she had co-hosted the annual special with CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper.Her future with CNN had been in doubt since the video appeared on Tuesday. CNN initially called it "disgusting and offensive."In addition to her
  
  Read more

• Deputies find 16-year-old reported missing from Erwinville

  31-05-2017 12:54
  
  UPDATE: The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office reported that Andrew Varnado was found safe.ERWINVILLE – West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office deputies are searching for a missing 16-year-old last seen in Erwinville.According to the sheriff's office, the teen is identified as Andrew Varnado, who was last seen on Tuesday around 7 a.m. in the area of North Palmer Road.Varnado is described as having blue eyes and light brown hair. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with a design on the fr
  
  Read more

• FEMA-funded hotel program ending for flooded families

  31-05-2017 12:53
  
  BATON ROUGE – FEMA-funded hotel rooms for people who flooded in August ended Wednesday, with anyone left on the program requiring to check out of their rooms or begin paying the costs of housing themselves.FEMA has paid for rooms at area hotels, and in some cases, out-of-town, for people who lost their homes in the flood. FEMA said it extended it's program nine times, allowing people to stay in rooms for the last nine months. Typically, the federal government said, the standard is six
  
  Read more

• Zachary police warn residents about vehicle burglaries and peddlers

  31-05-2017 12:47
  
  ZACHARY – The Zachary Police Department is warning residents of vehicle burglaries in the area, along with peddlers without a license.The police department posted the warnings on its Facebook page Tuesday morning.According to police, the department has received several reports of vehicle burglaries in the Redwood Lakes areas and reminds residents to lock their vehicles.Additionally, the police department advised residents that no person or business has an active peddler's license in Za
  
  Read more

• Fire crews dispatched to possible hazmat situation in Baton Rouge

  31-05-2017 09:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - Fire crews were dispatched to a possible nitric acid leak from a chemical trucking facility Wednesday morning.There were no road closures and no immediate evacuations or other announced precautions.  The issue appears isolated to the business where crews were sent around nine o'clock.Crews were dispatched to 6735 Airline Highway in reference to a hazmat situation.  The address is listed as the address of at least two chemical transportation companies.  A
  
  Read more

• Comedian Kathy Griffin apologizes for 'sick' joke involving President Trump

  31-05-2017 07:26
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump says celebrity Kathy Griffin "should be ashamed of herself" for appearing in a video holding what looked like Trump's bloody, severed head.In a post on his Twitter account Wednesday morning, the president says, "My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!"Griffin, who helped with CNN's New Year's Eve coverage, has apologized, saying that the brief video was "too disturbing" and wasn't funny."I went too far," she
  
  Read more

• Domestic abuse protection for same sex couples

  31-05-2017 07:16
  
  BATON ROUGE, La.  - Louisiana is closer to becoming the 49th state to allow same-sex couples to receive domestic abuse protections.With six senators reversing their opposition from last week, the Senate voted 25-13 Tuesday in favor of removing the requirement that a victim be of the opposite sex of the alleged offender to be considered a victim of domestic violence.Marrero Rep. Pat Connick's proposal is headed to Gov. John Bel Edwards' desk for review.The Senate had rejected the bill on
  
  Read more

• More than a dozen arrested after overnight warrant sweep

  31-05-2017 05:38
  
  BATON ROUGE - Thirteen people are behind bars this morning after an overnight warrant sweep.Members of the Baton Rouge Police Department, Brave, East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Public safety, as well as the District Attorney's Office all came together to execute the warrants.Law enforcement was seeking 45 people for violation for parole. Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Man confesses to Portland train stabbings, says, 'I'm happy now. I'm happy now.'

  31-05-2017 03:22
  
  "Get out if you don't like free speech!'' Jeremy Joseph Christian shouted, adding a short time later: "Death to the enemies of America!" and "You call it terrorism. I call it patriotism.''
  
  Read more

• Man accused in Portland train attack confesses to stabbing, says 'I'm happy now'

  31-05-2017 03:22
  
  "Get out if you don't like free speech!'' Jeremy Joseph Christian shouted, adding a short time later: "Death to the enemies of America!" and "You call it terrorism. I call it patriotism.''
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!