Baton Rouge news

• New Jersey Transit says Penn Station derailment is 'minor'

  06-07-2017 21:25
  
  NEW YORK - New Jersey Transit says one of its trains has been involved in a "minor" derailment at New York's Penn Station, the nation's busiest train station.
   It says train service is suspended in and out of Penn Station and Midtown Direct trains will be diverted to Hoboken, New Jersey.
   Fire department officials say they were called about a derailment involving one train car Thursday night.
   There are no reports of injuries.
   The Metropolitan Transportation
  
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• Georgia police release names of father, 4 kids killed

  06-07-2017 20:16
  
  LOGANVILLE, Ga. - Authorities have identified the father and his four children who were fatally stabbed in a home outside Atlanta.
   Gwinnett County police Cpl. Michele Pihera identified the victims in a statement Thursday night as 33-year-old Martin Romero, 10-year-old Isabela Martinez, 7-year-old Dacota Romero, 4-year-old Dillan Romero and 2-year-old Axel Romero.
   The children's mother, 33-year-old Isabel Martinez, has been arrested and charged in the slayings.
   The c
  
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• NYPD mobile command centers to be retrofitted

  06-07-2017 19:29
  
  NEW YORK - The New York Police Department says it plans to add bullet-resistant glass and armor to its mobile command centers after the fatal shooting of a police officer as she sat in one.
   NYPD spokesman Peter Donald said Thursday the department plans to begin retrofitting 72 of the RV-like vehicles as a safety measure.
   The original program had the nation's largest police department adding the protection only to its roughly 3,800 marked and unmarked patrol cars and not the c
  
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• Louisiana lawmaker ends treasurer bid after cancer diagnosis

  06-07-2017 18:28
  
  BATON ROUGE - A Louisiana state lawmaker says she's dropping out of the state treasurer's race because she's been diagnosed with breast cancer.Rep. Julie Stokes, a Jefferson Parish Republican, announced her decision and her diagnosis Thursday with a statement posted to her campaign website.Stokes says she'll have at least five months of chemotherapy treatment. She said: "So, instead of running for state treasurer to help get our state's fiscal house in order, I will focus on fighting an
  
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• INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: White Castle outsources payroll, costs town thousands

  06-07-2017 16:43
  
  WHITE CASTLE- The Town of White Castle is spending thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to outsource its payroll and human resources for fewer than 40 employees.
  It comes after a bad audit that was released this year that showed about $10,000 went to employees who weren't entitled to it. There was travel without any record of a business purpose, charges for Apple iTunes and co-pays for employees medical charges.
  Mayor Jermarr Williams said outsourcing the payroll should clean up some of the is
  
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• Cosby's retrial on sex assault charges is set for November

  06-07-2017 16:31
  
  NORRISTOWN - Bill Cosby's retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago is set for November.  An order signed Thursday by Judge Steven O'Neill says all parties must report to the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 6.  Prosecutors found themselves back to square one June 17 after the judge declared a mistrial. The jury failed to reach a verdict in more than 52 hours of deliberations over six days.&n
  
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• City crews clean up litter along Bluebonnet Blvd.

  06-07-2017 16:15
  
  BATON ROUGE – A City-Parish crew cleaned up litter that was sprawled along Bluebonnet Boulevard on Monday. The city's Litter Response Team, a crew dedicated within the Department of Maintenance focused on cleaning East Baton Rouge Parish, conducted the cleanup just before noon on Wednesday. According to city officials, the Litter Response Team has been working for the past few months to keep the city clean. Permalink| Comments
  
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• In first interview, educator says he didn't kill pregnant girlfriend

  06-07-2017 15:57
  
  BATON ROUGE - Outside a Baton Rouge courthouse Thursday morning, a former school administrator maintained his innocence over an alleged role in a murder plot that took the life of Lyntell Washingon.Washington's body was found in a field 25 miles west of Baton Rouge. Police have accused Robert Marks of killing the woman in a rage over the woman refusing to abort the child she was carrying, reportedly fathered by Marks. Marks was dating Washington.Though, Marks disagrees with the case against him.
  
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• 5-year-old boy drowns in Holden

  06-07-2017 15:52
  
  HOLDEN – A five-year-old boy drowned in Holden on Wednesday night. According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, the boy has been identified as Michael Morino. The incident occurred on Wednesday around 10:30 p.m. in the 30000 block of Sydney Woods Road. The sheriff's office says that no foul play is suspected however the incident is still under investigation. 
  This story will be updated as more information becomes available. Permalink| Comment
  
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• Attorney General Jeff Landry dropping lawsuit against governor

  06-07-2017 15:42
  
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's attorney general is dropping his lawsuit against Gov. John Bel Edwards over a multimillion-dollar escrow account, after lawmakers negotiated a compromise ending the budget dispute.Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry filed paperwork Thursday in district court to dismiss the lawsuit. Landry had sued the Democratic governor's administration in April, accusing it of improperly withholding money owed to Landry's office for operations.L
  
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• Downtown street to close Friday to cleanup illegal street racing mess

  06-07-2017 15:36
  
  BATON ROUGE – City crews will close part of 3rd Street through downtown Baton Rouge Friday to clean tire marks from the roadway.The cleanup will take about five hours, the city said, in an advisory about the road closure. Third Street will be closed from Florida to Laurel from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.Business owners in the area told WBRZ, the tire marks are skid marks from an illegal street racing maneuver that happened before bars closed Wednesday morning. At least one driver kept t
  
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• Four arrested on I-10 during drug bust

  06-07-2017 15:22
  
  PORT ALLEN – An overnight drug bust on I-10 netted the arrests of four people and prescription pills and marijuana being confiscated.State Police said troopers stopped an SUV for a traffic violation and became suspicious. After being told they could search the vehicle, the troopers found 15,000 dosage units of Xanax and nine pounds of marijuana.Jacob Guidry of Independence, Chord Addison of Denham Springs, Allen Bennett of Independence and Kevndrae Roberts of Independence were arrested
  
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• Man charged in beating death of infant

  06-07-2017 15:00
  
  HAMMOND – A 28-year-old man is charged in the death of an infant.Benjamin Joseph Carter, Sr., was booked into jail after the child died Monday. Carter was charged with second degree murder.Sheriff's deputies released details of the arrest Thursday, though the child died days earlier. Investigators said they were called to a house in Hammond regarding an unresponsive nine-month-old. The child could not be revived, authorities said.An autopsy found blunt force trauma as the cause of deat
  
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• One man arrested in two different checkpoints with drugs, deputies say

  06-07-2017 14:48
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS – One man was arrested two times in two different sobriety checkpoints recently.Livingston Parish Sheriff's deputies said Anthony Chinn, 27, of Central, was arrested with drugs at a Friday night/early Saturday morning checkpoint on Magnolia Beach Road. Then, on Monday, deputies said Chinn was found with more drugs at a checkpoint on Florida Boulevard.“It’s something you don’t come across very often,” Livingston Sheriff Jason Ard sa
  
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• Denham Springs splash pad remains closed amid reports of skin infection

  06-07-2017 14:17
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS – A splash pad in Denham Springs remains closed to the public amid reports of a skin infection being contracted by children after visiting the location. The Kidz Korner Playland in Denham Springs is closed after reports of children becoming infected with Impetigo, a bacterial infection that creates sores on the body. Mayor Gerard Landry says the park is being cleaned again on Thursday afternoon and the surfaces in the park will be bleached down.&nbs
  
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• Security camera deters suspects trying to break-in vehicle in Livingston

  06-07-2017 14:10
  
  LIVINGSTON – Livingston Parish detectives are seeking the public's assistance in identifying individuals that are targeting unlocked vehicles in the area. According to the sheriff's office, the latest incident occurred on Duff Road just after midnight on Thursday. The vehicle the individuals were trying to get into was locked. Security cameras deterred the individuals, their faces can been seen on the surveillance video. The sheriff's office is also asking fo
  
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• LSU gates being relocated, reconstructed

  06-07-2017 13:16
  
  BATON ROUGE – LSU's gates, located at the corner of Nicholson Drive and West Chimes Street, are being relocated. According to university officials, the gates are being relocated and restored as a part of the Nicholson Gateway Project. The Lemoine Company began taking down the two entry gates to relocate and reconstruct them on new foundations at a safer distance from the street, officials say. The project is to improve and protect the original gates.The new entry gate
  
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• 3 arrested after 10 pounds of marijuana found in suitcase at New Orleans airport

  06-07-2017 12:38
  
  KENNER- Authorities in Louisiana arrested three people after a woman tried to claim a suitcase filled with marijuana in an airport's lost and found section.  NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune reports deputies found about 10 pounds of marijuana in the suitcase at Louis Armstrong International Airport on June 29. The next day 38-year-old Safiya Zina attempted to claim the suitcase.  Zina told the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputies she was paid $1,000 to take the bag
  
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• Man arrested for leaving child in Shreveport casino parking garage

  06-07-2017 12:17
  
  SHREVEPORT - A man who authorities say left an eight-year-old child in a vehicle while he went inside a casino has been arrested.  The Shreveport Times reports 28-year-old Jakebrian Jones was charged with child desertion.  Shreveport police said in a news release that casino employees flagged down officers after they discovered the child in a parking lot Tuesday. Investigators worked for nearly two hours to locate a guardian for the child, but were unsuccessfu
  
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• Out-of-towners appear to have led disturbance outside police HQ Wednesday

  06-07-2017 07:26
  
  BATON ROUGE - New details surrounding the arrests of seven protestors outside of the Baton Rouge Police headquarters were revealed Thursday morning.According to the affidavits of probable cause, around 1 p.m. Wednesday, protestors tried to enter police headquarters on Airline Highway, but were met by officers at a gate. The demonstrators, who were identified as members of the New Black Panther Party in multiple police reports, were given several loud commands to leave the premises, but the prote
  
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• Mississippi confirms 2nd human case of West Nile this year

  06-07-2017 06:29
  
  JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi State Department of Health has confirmed its second human case of West Nile virus this year.
   The case is in Rankin County. The first case was reported in Forrest County.
   The state epidemiologist, Dr. Paul Byers, in a news release Wednesday notes that people throughout the state are at risk of the disease and should be protecting themselves against mosquito bites.
   The department reports only laboratory-confirmed cases to the public. I
  
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• State agents arrest 5 boaters over weekend for DWI

  06-07-2017 06:15
  
  BATON ROUGE - State officials say agents arrested five boaters on drunk-driving charges over the holiday weekend.
   The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says four men were arrested around the state on Saturday and one on Sunday. Locations were the Ouachita River in Ouachita Parish; False River in Pointe Coupee Parish; the Amite and Tickfaw rivers in Livingston Parish; and Grassy Lake in St. Martin Parish.
   Enforcement division spokesman Adam Einck said in a news release Wedn
  
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• Rain coverage increasing, new tropical system

  06-07-2017 05:50
  
  A wetter pattern will begin to materialize through the end of the week and especially this weekend.THE FORECAST: Today and Tonight: Thursday will be partly sunny before isolated showers develop by the afternoon hours. Isolated is the key word; not all locations in the 13 Parish, 3 County forecast area are expected to receive rain. Highs will climb into the low 90s before any activity flares. Overnight lows will be in the mid 70s beneath mostly clear skies.  As expected, rain coverage ti
  
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