Baton Rouge news

• Despite criticism, Sessions says he's staying on

  20-07-2017 20:50
  
  WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he loves his job and that he plans to stay on as head of the Justice Department.
   The White House says President Donald Trump has confidence in Sessions, a statement that follows a New York Times interview in which Trump criticized his attorney general.
   Trump told the newspaper that he never would have tapped the former Alabama senator for the job had he known Sessions would recuse himself from the probe into Russian meddling i
  
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• Attorney: Ex-deputy will fight federal tax charges

  20-07-2017 19:43
  
  NEW ORLEANS - The former chief deputy of a suburban New Orleans sheriff's department has been indicted on two federal tax charges.
   The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Orleans on Thursday announced that a grand jury indicted Craig Taffaro on one count each of tax evasion and filing a false tax return.
   The 70-year-old Taffaro is a former chief deputy of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The indictment accuses him of falsely reporting business expenses.
   Defense att
  
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• Hwy. 190 project caused unexpected issues for drivers; DOTD installs J-turns as solution

  20-07-2017 18:28
  
  LIVONIA – A project to fix a dangerous stretch of Highway 190 in Livonia was causing problems for residents and businesses nearby.   One business owner, Stephanie Ewing, says in the last year she has seen seven fatalities on the highway. Residents say a construction project to make the highway safer is actually making it more dangerous since it has been blocking the turn to get into their neighbor. "You got to make a U-turn to cross 190. It's danger
  
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• Calendar's Restaurant killer death sentence reinstated

  20-07-2017 18:11
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated Todd Kelvin Wessinger's death sentence in the 1995 double murder at a popular Baton Rouge restaurant.The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2015 decision by U.S. District Judge James Brady that Wessinger had not had an effective lawyer during the penalty phase of his trial. Brady had ordered that the state court re-do the penalty phase.Wessinger's initial attorney was indicted in an unrelated case six months
  
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• Telephone pole busted for months, utility companies waiting on others

  20-07-2017 17:07
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - The aftermath of a car accident that happened three months ago, is a constant reminder for one family. They've been trying to get the telephone pole outside their home fixed since then, but to no avail.Three different utilities companies, DEMCO, COX Communications and AT&T must work together and it's taken some time for that to happen.Ray Rushing sits on the front porch every day waving to cars as they drive by. For the last three months he's been staring at an eyesore. A c
  
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• Suspect wanted for several vehicle burglaries in Hwy. 74 area

  20-07-2017 16:46
  
  ASCENSION – The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office is looking for information on a suspected wanted for several vehicle burglaries that took place last week. According to the sheriff's office, deputies responded to several reports of vehicle burglaries in the Highway 74 area on July 10. The suspect burglarized unlocked vehicles, the sheriff's office says. Surveillance video captured the suspect burglarizing a dark-colored vehicle in the area and was wearing a light-co
  
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• Lawsuit: Prisoners may have been forced to bark for food

  20-07-2017 16:19
  
  BATON ROUGE - A lawsuit accuses state prison officials of blocking attorneys from investigating claims that inmates with disabilities are being neglected and abused at a north Louisiana prison.  The federal suit filed Thursday by the Advocacy Center says the New Orleans-based nonprofit has received "alarming" reports of physical and verbal abuse of mentally ill inmates at David Wade Correctional Center.  The suit cites allegations that prisoners have been sla
  
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• Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington dies in LA at 41

  20-07-2017 15:52
  
  LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County coroner says Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, who sold millions of albums with a unique mix of hard rock, hip-hop and rap, was found dead in his home near Los Angeles on Thursday. He was 41.  Coroner spokesman Brian Elias says they are investigating Bennington's death as an apparent suicide but no additional details are available.  The group sold 10 million copies of their 2000 debut, "Hybrid Theory," and then anothe
  
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• Governor warns of state fiscal cliff

  20-07-2017 15:28
  
  BATON ROUGE – Governor John Bel Edwards said the state is approaching a fiscal cliff and the legislature needs to work together to address a $1 billion shortfall forecast to hit in 2018.The concern was revealed in a letter to State Rep. Taylor Barras, the Speaker of the House.     > READ the letter HERE.The governor said he does not plan to call lawmakers into a special session before the 2018 regular session, but asked that lawmaker
  
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• Person shot possibly in home invasion

  20-07-2017 14:58
  
  BATON ROUGE - Police are investigating whether a person who showed up shot at a hospital Thursday is connected to a reported home invasion in Melrose East.Details were limited just after the shooting, but police were examining at least two crime scenes Thursday afternoon, in addition to the person at the hospital.The person who was shot was taken by car to Baton Rouge General Medical Center Mid-City, which no longer has an emergency room. Paramedics were then sent to that hospital to treat the
  
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• Man shot when confronting person suspected of breaking in his home Thursday

  20-07-2017 14:58
  BATON ROUGE – Vigilante justice likely resulted in two people being injured in a squabble over a home invasion in the Melrose East neighborhood Thursday.Police released some details hours after the shooting, though the situation is still cloudy due to the various crime scenes and people involved. WBRZ.com broke details of the shooting earlier in the day.In the most recent update from authorities, police said one person was taken to a hospital after being shot in the arm and a second p
  
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• A year after being shot in ambush, Bruce Simmons welcomed back to work

  20-07-2017 14:54
  
  BATON ROUGE – Injured East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputy Bruce Simmons was welcomed back to work at a special ceremony Thursday.Simmons was shot and injured in the ambush of law enforcement last year. Three others – two Baton Rouge Police officers and a sheriff's deputy – died in the attack. Sheriff's deputy Nick Tullier was shot and survived, too, though his long road to recovery continues at a hospital in Houston, too.Simmons was also promoted to the rank o
  
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• Angola inmate recovers from West Nile Virus; prison officials taking preventative measures

  20-07-2017 13:29
  
  ANGOLA – An inmate at the Louisiana State Penitentiary has recovered from the first known case of West Nile Virus at the prison, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections confirmed. The inmate, who has not been identified and only described as middle-aged, was diagnosed with the virus after he recently experienced flu-like symptoms and was tested. He has since fully recovered, officials say. Prison officials say they are taking measures to try to prevent any mo
  
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• McCain says he's grateful and will return soon

  20-07-2017 13:03
  
  WASHINGTON - Arizona Sen. John McCain says he's grateful for the outpouring of support after his brain cancer diagnosis. He's promising to be back soon.  In a tweet Thursday, McCain says: "I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support - unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I'll be back soon, so stand-by! " McCain's office said late Wednesday that the 80-year-old senator had been diagnosed with cancer. Doctors in Arizona removed a blood clot above his l
  
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• Ryan Seacrest returns to host 'American Idol' on ABC

  20-07-2017 13:02
  
   Ryan Seacrest is confirmed to return as the host of the iconic music competition series, "American Idol." He announced his return on Thursday on "Live with Kelly and Ryan." Seacrest had a long run with the series serving as host for the franchise since it started in 2002. The series is getting a reboot at its new home on ABC.Seacrest said he is excited and grateful to return to the series. He released the following statement on Thursday:"It's genuinely hard to put into words
  
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• Loved ones speak out against domestic violence at vigil for slain woman

  20-07-2017 12:34
  
  BATON ROUGE - Family and friends gathered to remember a Baton Rouge woman, killed last week in an apparent domestic violence incident.Family and friends lit candles and released balloons in Monique Maxie's memory, and domestic violence victims spoke to the crowd of more than one hundred people about the dangers an abusive relationship."I thank the Lord for sparing me and be able to stand here and tell you guys of my story and what has happened to me," said a domestic violence survivor.Monique's
  
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• Dad arrested for speeding to hospital with wife in labor

  20-07-2017 12:16
  
    PINEVILLE - A Louisiana man who was rushing his wife to the hospital at speeds topping 100 mph missed his child's birth because he was in jail.  KALB-TV reports that Zak Evans was arrested Monday and remained in jail as the couple's daughter was born. His wife, Bridget, received an ambulance ride to a hospital. Evans was given a ticket for speeding, flight from an officer and careless operation.  Creola police Chief Heath Landry says an of
  
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• WATCH LIVE: OJ Simpson parole hearing

  20-07-2017 06:20
  
  LOVELOCK, Nev. - Former football star and convicted felon O.J. Simpson will command the world's attention once again Thursday when he pleads for his freedom on live TV.     > WATCH LIVE: WBRZ.com streaming O.J. Simpson coverage HERE
   Simpson received a 33-year sentence in 2008 for an armed robbery involving two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. The 70-year-old is asking Nevada parole officials to release him in October, when he will
  
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• OJ Simpson granted parole

  20-07-2017 06:20
  
  LOVELOCK, Nev. - Former football star and convicted felon O.J. Simpson will command the world's attention once again Thursday when he pleads for his freedom on live TV.     > UPDATED: O.J. Simpson granted parole. Simpson received a 33-year sentence in 2008 for an armed robbery involving two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. The 70-year-old is asking Nevada parole officials to release him in October, when he will have served
  
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• OJ Simpson draws world attention in plea for freedom

  20-07-2017 06:20
  
  LOVELOCK, Nev. - Former football star and convicted felon O.J. Simpson will command the world's attention once again Thursday when he pleads for his freedom on live TV.
   Simpson received a 33-year sentence in 2008 for an armed robbery involving two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. The 70-year-old is asking Nevada parole officials to release him in October, when he will have served the minimum nine years.
   Simpson made headlines on the football field but th
  
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• Trump's critique of Sessions reflects long-held frustrations

  20-07-2017 06:16
  
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's extraordinary public denouncement of Attorney General Jeff Sessions reflected a long-simmering frustration with one of his staunchest allies, but was not a calculated attempt to force Sessions from the Cabinet. That's according to two Trump advisers.
   For weeks, Trump has seethed about Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the federal investigation into whether Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia during last year's election. On Wednesday,
  
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