Baton Rouge news

• Fifth annual robotics competition looks to spark interest in students

  26-08-2017 21:59
  BATON ROUGE - For the fifth time, students from all around Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas gathered to pit their brains and robots against each other Saturday morning.  In this year's Red Stick Rumble, 24 robots stepped into the arena. Each of the 24 teams who helped assemble the machines hoping theirs is the one to claim victory. Woodlawn High School played host to the state's largest robot competition. A fitting setting as all competing machines were made
  
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• Gov. Edwards advises residents to continue taking Harvey seriously

  26-08-2017 19:13
  BATON ROUGE - Although Harvey has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm, Gov. John Bel Edwards says it's still a threat to Louisiana. At least 18 parishes in the state have been declared a state of emergency. "This a large powerful storm and the rain bands will cross over into Louisiana," Edwards said at his press conference Saturday afternoon. He also expressed that this is not a time for residents to become complacent. "It could be a week before that
  
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• Police: Child and stolen vehicle found, police still searching for suspect

  26-08-2017 17:55
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities have located the stolen vehicle and kidnapped child in this afternoon's carjacking. Police say they were found safe on Plank Road near Sycamore Street. Baton Rouge Police and East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs are searching for a man who stole a vehicle from the Bennie's Package Liquor store on Highland Road. According to authorities, a 2007 black Saturn Vue with a temp tag was stolen around 5:30 Saturday afternoon. P
  
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• Cheerleading coach fired after forcing student into split

  26-08-2017 17:09
  DENVER - An East Denver High School faculty member was fired after a video surfaced of a girl on his team being forced into a painful split. A cell phone video went viral of screaming 14-year-old Ally Wakefield being forced into a split by fellow camp-goers and cheerleading coach, Ozell Williams. The teen appears to be in serious pain as other squad members held her legs down.Wakefield wasn't the first to be forced into a split. At least seven other girls wer
  
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• Baby sperm whale washes ashore in Grand Isle

  26-08-2017 16:52
  GRAND ISLE - Tourists and natives at a beach in Grand Isle witnessed a bizarre scene Saturday morning as a baby sperm whale washed ashore. Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle said he started getting calls about the whale around 8:30 a.m. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries arrived on scene shortly after the initial call and determined the whale was dead despite some witnesses saying they saw a tail move. It took two tractors and multiple machines
  
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• Man shot after failed attempted robbery

  26-08-2017 16:49
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office arrested a man after his attempt to rob a friend backfired.  According to police documents, 30-year-old Frank Johnson flagged down the victim for a ride on Old Scenic Hwy Friday evening. Once in the vehicle, he pulled out a gun from under his clothing. Before Johnson was able to fire, the victim pulled out a hidden revolver and shot Johnson in the left leg, pushing him out the moving vehicle. Police found Johnson on
  
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• Police investigating body found near Highway 19

  26-08-2017 16:21
  ZACHARY - Emergency crews responded to reports of a dead woman found along Hwy. 19 Saturday.Zachary Police Chief David McDavid says ZPD responded to the 4300 block of Hwy 19 near Lower Zachary Rd. While on scene, emergency crews contacted the coroner, requesting their presence at the scene.Authorities are unsure if she died at that location or was left there to be found. No other information on the condition of the body or the manner of death was made immediately avai
  
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• One dead, multiple injured from Tropical Storm Harvey

  26-08-2017 15:24
  ROCKPORT, Texas - The Austin American-Statesman reports that judge confirms one death from Harvey in Rockport, Texas, and 12 to 14 injured .Harvey, which came ashore Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane, has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.  Harvey delivered a direct blow to Rockport, a city of about 10,000 people.  City leaders said at a news conference that their coastal community has been turned into a debris field and that the storm damaged a
  
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• US man killed in South Sudan; army says 'caught in fighting'

  26-08-2017 14:50
  JUBA, South Sudan - The U.S. Embassy in South Sudan confirms that an American man has been killed in the conflict-torn nation.  South Sudan army spokesman Col. Domic Chol Santo tells The Associated Press the man was killed Saturday morning when opposition rebels attacked the town of Kaya on the Ugandan border.  He says the man was "caught in the fighting" that also left 15 rebels dead.  The opposition says it is looking into the reports.&
  
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• Grant for Louisiana's 2nd oyster reef from recycled shells

  26-08-2017 14:21
  NEW ORLEANS - The program that turned oyster shells from New Orleans-area restaurants into an oyster reef has received $250,000 to build its second reef.  The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana says the new one will be off Jefferson Parish, along the western edge of Barataria Bay. It will be about a half-mile long, like the reef completed in November off St. Bernard Parish.  Coalition spokesman Jimmy Faircloth says researchers found tiny oyster larvae cal
  
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• Proposal: Move rebel statue or add black history monument

  26-08-2017 13:56
  GREENWOOD, Miss. - A Mississippi county is being asked to either move a Confederate monument or put a black history monument nearby.  The Greenwood Commonwealth reports that a local father and son plan to speak to Leflore County supervisors about their request Monday.  The statue of a Confederate soldier has stood outside the Leflore County Courthouse since 1913. It is among dozens of similar monuments in Mississippi.  Officials in Attala Co
  
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• GOHSEP deploying EMAC Advance Team, LDWF Agents to Texas

  26-08-2017 13:42
  BATON ROUGE - The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, GOHSEP, has deployed two Emergency Management Assistance Compact, EMAC, and Advance Team personnel to Texas in response to Hurricane Harvey."Louisiana and GOHSEP stand ready to help our friends in other states when they face this type of disaster," GOHSEP Director James Waskom said. "Texas has historically been one of our strongest emergency partners. GOHSEP employees have a vast amount of knowledge and experie
  
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• Hurricane Harvey hits Texas coast hard, rain to continue through weekend

  26-08-2017 13:32
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas coast Friday night and continues to pound the southern portion of the state with rain and wind.The massive storm made landfall as a category 4 around 10 p.m. Friday just 30 miles away from the coastal city of Corpus Christi.As Harvey pummeled Texas overnight, reports emerged of structural damages, power outages and injuries, according to ABC News.Video from Corpus Christi shows Harvey's powerful winds tossing a corrugated ir
  
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• Harvey's rain freezes traffic near Galveston

  26-08-2017 13:11
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The rain was so torrential along Interstate 45 coming out of Galveston as Hurricane Harvey settled over southeast Texas that motorists had to stop under bridges to avoid driving in whiteout conditions.  The downpour on Saturday has also caused minor street flooding along a highway in Dickinson, about 25 miles northwest of Galveston.  Harvey, the fiercest hurricane to hit the U.S. in more than a decade, made landfall Friday night about
  
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• Harvey cuts power to nearly 300K Texas customers

  26-08-2017 13:00
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Hurricane Harvey has knocked out power to nearly 300,000 customers along the Texas coast and has dumped nearly 20 inches (half a meter) of rain in some places.  The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages about 90 percent of the state's electric grid, says there were 211,000 outages in the few hours after Harvey made landfall Friday night as a Category 4 hurricane.  That figure rose to 293,000 on Saturday, when the hurrica
  
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• Texas mayor says Harvey devastated his city

  26-08-2017 12:58
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A Texas mayor says Hurricane Harvey hit his coastal community "right on the nose" and left "widespread devastation."  Rockport Mayor Charles "C.J." Wax told The Weather Channel on Saturday that some homes and businesses were heavily damaged or even completely destroyed. Schools were also damaged.  He says emergency response system for the city of about 10,000 people has been hampered by the loss of cellphone service and other forms of
  
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• Authorities searching for escaped work release inmate

  26-08-2017 12:31
  ZACHARY - Multiple agencies are searching for an East Feliciana Parish Prison work release inmate who walked away from his job Saturday afternoon. East Feliciana Sheriffs say 39-year-old Alvin Dixon was working at Premiere Produce in Zachary off of Highway 19 when he disappeared. Anyone with information on Dixon's whereabouts is asked to call the EFPSO at 225-683-3113. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Coast Guard trying to rescue 3 tugboat crews in Texas waterway

  26-08-2017 12:28
  CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Coast Guard has sent two helicopters to try to rescue the crews of three tugboats in distress near the Lydia Ann Channel near Port Aransas, Texas.  The Coast Guard at Corpus Christi says it received a mayday notification Saturday from crew members aboard the Belle Chase, Sandy Point and Sabine Pass.  Two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews have been sent to rescue the crews.  Texas is being pounded by Hurricane Harv
  
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• Parts of Houston see flooding Saturday as Harvey threatens the city

  26-08-2017 08:46
  HOUSTON – Highways became impassible Saturday morning as water started to fill streets in the Houston area, media outlets reported early in the day. Soon after sunrise Saturday, people started seeing water covering streets and flooding cars. Water in some places had reached the tires or hoods of small vehicles.Major flooding is expected in southeast Texas over the next few days due to Harvey. Between 24” to 35” of rain is possible.As of 8:30 Saturday morni
  
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