Baton Rouge news

• In Alton Sterling shooting, police chief refuses 'premature' firing of officer

  02-06-2017 23:59
  
  Mayor and Sterling's relatives urge dismissal of officer Blane Salamoni
  
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• Suspect dead, 3 police officers wounded in Texas shootout

  02-06-2017 21:29
  
  LAREDO, Texas - A murder suspect has been killed and three police officers wounded in a shootout at a Laredo convenience store.Detective Joe Baeza, the Laredo police spokesman, said officers had been searching all day Friday for 55-year-old Antonio Geraldo Rodriguez. He was suspected in the fatal shooting of his 50-year-old girlfriend, Reyna Gonzalez Zamora, at her apartment.Baeza said three officers spotted a vehicle matching the description of one driven by Rodriguez outside a convenience stor
  
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• Kelly Barnhill throws 2-hitter, leads Florida past LSU 7-0

  02-06-2017 21:06
  
  OKLAHOMA CITY - Kelly Barnhill threw a two-hitter and struck out eight in top-seeded Florida's 7-0 victory over LSU on Friday night in the Women's College World Series.Barnhill (26-3), USA Softball's Player of the Year, helped put the Gators (57-8) within one victory Sunday of a spot in the championship series. On Thursday, Florida opened with an 8-0 victory over Texas A&M.Chelsea Herndon doubled to score two in the top of the fourth. Janell Wheaton hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth a
  
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• Mattis: North Korea a 'clear and present danger' to world

  02-06-2017 21:05
  
  SINGAPORE - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is calling North Korea a "clear and present danger" to the world.Speaking at an international security conference in Singapore, Mattis says the North Koreans are increasing the pace and scope of their efforts to develop nuclear weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them. He calls for international cooperation to de-nuclearize Korea.Mattis notes what he calls China's renewed commitment to helping solve the North Korea problem. And he says he
  
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• Funding concerns push new bridge plans back

  02-06-2017 20:58
  
  BATON ROUGE - Plans for a new Mississippi River bridge are being pushed back again after the gas tax failed to gain support in the state's legislature.It's no secret that bad traffic is widespread in the Capital Region. But the traffic along the current Mississippi River bridge is some of the worst."I know some people who sit in traffic for up to four hours a day trying to make it across the bridge," one driver said."In the evenings getting off from work when you're going into Plaquemine and in
  
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• 2 former prison guards sentenced in inmate beating cover-up

  02-06-2017 19:59
  
  GREENVILLE, Miss. - Two former guards at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman must serve short jail stints for covering up an inmate beating.U.S. District Judge Debra Brown on Friday sentenced 24-year-old Deonte Pate of Charleston, and 44-year-old Romander Nelson of Drew.Both pleaded guilty last year to charges in 2014's beating of prisoner Kerrus Hunter by other guards. The beating broke a bone in Hunter's eye socket, permanently damaging his vision.Pate, who pleaded guilty to conspir
  
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• Autopsy: Drugs taken by Chris Cornell didn't cause death

  02-06-2017 19:58
  
  DETROIT - Autopsy reports show Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell had sedatives and an anxiety drug in his system on the night he died by hanging himself in his Detroit hotel room.The reports say the drugs didn't contribute to the cause of death but don't elaborate. The reports were released Friday by the Wayne County medical examiner, two weeks after the 52-year-old was found dead.Dr. Theodore Brown says a resistance band was around Cornell's neck, and the other end was attached to a clip over
  
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• Louisiana's film tax credit program to continue, with a cap

  02-06-2017 18:39
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers have reached a deal to place a long-term cap on, but not get rid of, spending for Louisiana's film tax credit program, which is both derided as wasteful spending and championed as an economic driver.With a 33-2 vote Friday, the Senate gave final passage to a compromise reached with industry representatives.The deal will continue a $180 million limit on the amount of money that taxpayers will spend each year on the tax credits doled out to film and TV productions.In additi
  
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• Man blocks sewage drainage to property, Gravity Drainage fires back

  02-06-2017 18:23
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Fed up with neighbors dumping sewage on his property, a man built a dam to block off access.Terry Soileau moved into his Denham Springs home a few years ago, with knowledge that a drainage ditch ran through his property. Early on, Soileau says he noticed this drainage ditch often backed up or overflowed into a pond he's stocked with fish to eat.He first built up a wall of dirt blocking access to his next door neighbor's drainage and then build a second dirt wall at the drainage
  
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• UN votes to add 15 North Koreans, 4 entities to UN blacklist

  02-06-2017 18:15
  
  UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution adding 15 North Korean individuals and four entities linked to the country's nuclear and missile programs to a U.N. sanctions blacklist.The U.S.-drafted resolution doesn't impose any new sanctions over North Korea's latest missile tests as the U.S. and its Western allies had sought because China, the country closest to North Korea, was opposed.But U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley said after Friday's vote that "the Securi
  
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• Special counsel's Trump probe adds Manafort case

  02-06-2017 18:10
  
  WASHINGTON - The Associated Press has learned that the special counsel running the U.S. investigation into possible ties between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia's government has assumed oversight of an ongoing investigation involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.The investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller may also expand to look into the roles of the attorney general and deputy attorney general in the firing of FBI Director James Comey.The Justice Department'
  
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• Deputy AG: Push for tough sentences is not reviving drug war

  02-06-2017 17:53
  
  WASHINGTON - The Justice Department's No. 2 official says a new policy urging harsher punishments for most criminals is meant to target the worst criminals, not fill prisons.Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein tells The Associated Press that federal prosecutors will sometimes charge lower-level criminals to take down entire gangs but adds "that's the exception, not the rule."Attorney General Jeff Sessions' policy urges federal prosecutors to seek the steepest penalties for most crime suspects
  
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• Pickup truck crashes into house, killing 1 in Dallas suburb

  02-06-2017 17:41
  
  MESQUITE, Texas - Authorities say a man died and a woman was injured when an 18-year-old drunk driving suspect crashed into the bedroom of a home in the Dallas suburb of Mesquite.Mesquite police say the driver of the pickup truck crashed into the house Thursday night. The driver, Steven Tutt, was arrested on an intoxication manslaughter charge. He remained in jail Friday morning. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.Police say said 42-year-old Jose Reyes died from injuries sustained in
  
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• Leaders pledge to boost climate efforts

  02-06-2017 17:38
  
  PARIS - World leaders are pledging to boost their efforts to curb global warming in response to President Donald Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accord.German Chancellor Angela Merkel calls Trump's move "extremely regrettable," and adds: "that's putting it very mildly." But she said the move "can't and won't stop all those of us who feel obliged to protect the planet."The president of the European Council says the EU and China are convinced that the U.S. decis
  
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• Are Confederate monuments causing controversy elsewhere in Louisiana?

  02-06-2017 17:32
  
  Baton Rouge, which did so in 2012, is only La. city other than New Orleans to remove one
  
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• Judge rejects suit over Mississippi governor's budget cuts

  02-06-2017 16:11
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - A judge is rejecting a lawsuit by two Democratic Mississippi legislators who claimed a law letting governors make midyear budget cuts is unconstitutional.Hinds County Chancery Judge Patricia Wise ruled Friday, only two weeks after Rep. Bryant Clark of Pickens and Sen. John Horhn of Jackson had sued.Her quick ruling came after lawyers for both sides agreed in a Wednesday hearing to allow Wise to rule on the merits of the case immediately.The ruling could lead to an appeal to the
  
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• Suspect in February attempted murder arrested

  02-06-2017 15:44
  
  IBERIA PARISH - Deputies with the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office have arrested a 23-year-old suspect wanted for attempted murder.According to the Sheriff's Office, Jashawn McCoy of New Iberia shot a 41-year-old male victim nine times during an argument on Shot St. near the intersection of Mississippi St. on February 8.McCoy is being held in the Iberia Parish Jail on a $100,000 bond, according to the Sheriff's Office.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Immediate special session? House leaders think it's unlikely

  02-06-2017 15:34
  
  BATON ROUGE - House leaders are talking confidently about reaching a budget deal to keep lawmakers out of a special session.Gov. John Bel Edwards set parameters for a session that would begin next week, 30 minutes after the regular session ends Thursday evening. But the Democratic governor said it was only precautionary, in case budget negotiations fall apart.Republican House Speaker Taylor Barras says he believes that the special session will be unnecessary and says he told Edwards that.The Rep
  
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• Police attempting to identify two individuals accused of using fraudulent check

  02-06-2017 15:32
  
  BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge Police detectives are trying to identify two individuals who are accused of purchasing items at a store on Airline Hwy. with a fraudulent check.According to BRPD, the incident occurred on May 25 at Home Building Materials in the 7800 block of Airline Hwy.Anyone with information on these individuals is urged to contact the Financial Crimes Division at 389-3871.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Louisiana's traffic cameras should be marked, lawmakers say

  02-06-2017 15:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers want cities and towns that use cameras to catch speeders to post signs notifying drivers they're being monitored by the devices. A bill by Sen. Troy Carter, a New Orleans Democrat, requires the signs to be posted between 250 feet and 500 feet of the location of a speed camera. If the sign isn't posted, the local governing authority wouldn't be able to use the images to ticket motorists.Senators gave final passage to the measure with a 35-0 vote Friday, sending it
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: Jackknifed 18-wheeler blocks two lanes on I-12

  02-06-2017 12:39
  
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge’ has you covered with live updates for your Friday 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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• Popular Livingston Parish eatery suffers damage after grease fire, closed for repairs

  02-06-2017 12:28
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - A popular eatery in Livingston Parish experienced a grease fire Friday evening. Linda's Chicken and Fish reportedly suffered damage as a result of a grease fire that took place in the kitchen of the restaurant, according to the restaurant's Facebook page. The chicken joint located on LA-16 will be will be closed "for a little while" to repair damages caused by the fire, according to the Facebook post.No one was believed to have been injured during the
  
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• Trump asks Supreme Court to reinstate travel ban immediately

  02-06-2017 09:13
  
  The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to immediately reinstate its ban on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries and refugees from anywhere in the world, saying the U.S. will be safer if the policy is put in place.
  
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• Trump pulls U.S. out of Paris Climate Agreement; Weather forecasts have vastly improved in recent years (10 Things to Know for Friday)

  02-06-2017 08:41
  
  Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Friday.
  
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• City of Kenner approves ride-sharing law

  02-06-2017 07:58
  
  KENNER - A Louisiana city has enacted a law to govern ride-booking companies that includes passenger fees for trips to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
   The Kenner City Council approved rules on Thursday governing companies such as Uber and Lyft. The vehicle-for-hire ordinance, which set rates for airport-bound trips in Kenner, was adopted despite protests from the companies and the airport.
   Kenner's new law includes an additional $15 per person fee for all t
  
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