Baton Rouge news

• Nation's biggest refinery starts revving up

  05-09-2017 21:51
  HOUSTON - The nation's largest oil refinery is starting to reboot after shutting down ahead of Harvey's onslaught.  Motiva Enterprises says its Port Arthur, Texas, refinery should be running at 40 percent of capacity by Monday, producing more fuel than other refineries running at full throttle. At full capacity, the Saudi company's Port Arthur facility can process more than 600,000 barrels of oil per day - equivalent to 25.2 million gallons (95.4 liters).  Sa
  
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• 570K-plus in Texas have applied for FEMA grants

  05-09-2017 20:11
  HOUSTON - The number of families asking for FEMA money after Harvey inundated much of Houston and Southeast Texas has increased to more than 573,000.  A spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that 180,000 of those Texas families have been approved to receive grants that can be used to make home repairs or replace property damaged in a natural disaster.  FEMA's Tiana Suber said residents who aren't approved for FEMA grants can app
  
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• Trump decision on immigrants leads to protests

  05-09-2017 20:01
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has begun dismantling a government program that shields from deportation hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.  The Trump administration announced Tuesday it's phasing out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and leaving it to Congress to come up with an alternative.  Trump says he has a "great love" for the young immigrants protected by the DACA pro
  
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• Mayor-President releases tax details on BTR Plan

  05-09-2017 19:53
  BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has released details on the tax proposition for the Better Transportation and Roads Plan.The proposed 5 mill property tax and 1/2 cent sales tax would contribute to the $540 million needed to complete all projects in the plan, according to Broome.The property tax, which would go towards transportation and mobility improvements, would accumulate a total of $22 million in annual revenue. The sales tax, which would go towar
  
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• Animals in desperate need of foster homes due to storms

  05-09-2017 18:51
  LIVINGSTON PARISH - Evacuees of another kind are needing shelter in Louisiana. Animals rescued from rising water and flooded shelters in Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana are getting help, but the demand is high.“As soon as we saw Harvey approaching, we started moving dogs,” said Lisa Riggins, a volunteer and part of ‘Dog People of Livingston’.It’s been an around-the-clock effort for the volunteers, non-profits, local and state shelters, r
  
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• Report: 'Minor' disciplinary action taken for troopers' side trip

  05-09-2017 18:04
  BATON ROUGE – Two of four State Police troopers connected to a questionable “side trip” while driving halfway across the country to attend a conference received minor discipline, The Advocate reported Tuesday.The lengthy road trip from Louisiana to San Diego featured stops at the Grand Canyon and a Las Vegas resort and casino. The drive cost the state agency thousands of dollars in unnecessary overtime. Questions about the trip were first made in reporting by New O
  
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• WANTED: Suspect burglarizing vehicles in Denham Springs

  05-09-2017 17:27
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Authorities are on the lookout for a suspect who was captured on video, burglarizing vehicles in Dehnam Springs.According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, the burglar was seen rummaging through vehicles in near Eden Church Road on Aug. 27. In surveillance video captured at one of the burglaries, the suspect can be seen going into unlocked cars and digging through the items inside. Deputies say the suspects face was partially obscured during
  
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• Louisiana officials hold hurricane preparation session

  05-09-2017 16:55
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana officials walked through how they will respond if the state gets hit by a major hurricane while parts of the Gulf Coast are recovering from Hurricane Harvey.  Tuesday's "tabletop exercise" came as Hurricane Irma and Tropical Storm Jose lurked in the Atlantic Ocean. Gov. John Bel Edwards called for the preparation exercise.  The Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says the exercise envisioned a Category 3 h
  
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• Leaking water pipe fixed following call to 2 On Your Side

  05-09-2017 16:51
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Water that's been leaking from a pipe for a year in Livingston Parish was capped off and secured following a call to 2 On Your Side.The pipe is off Thunderbird Lane, in a neighborhood off of Highway 16 in Denham Springs. Crystal Hall says the pipe had been leaking since the August 2016 flood, likely run over by a truck working construction in the area."It's a nasty mess," said Hall. "I mean it's muddy, it stinks."For the past year, the leaking pipe made the center of a cul-de-s
  
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• City officials address spike in violent crimes across Baton Rouge

  05-09-2017 14:59
  BATON ROUGE - On Tuesday, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome held a press conference to discuss the sharp increase in violent crimes in the Baton Rouge area.Mayor Broome held the conference alongside a number of officials, including Interim Police Chief Jonny Dunnam and District Attorney Hillar Moore. Majors from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office were also in attendance in lieu of Sheriff Sid Gautreaux.At the conference, the mayor acknowledged
  
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• Mississippi passes its 2016 total of West Nile virus cases

  05-09-2017 14:28
  JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi has more confirmed cases of West Nile virus this year than last.  The state Health Department reported four new cases of the mosquito-borne illness Tuesday - two in Lee County and one each in Calhoun and Clay counties. Those bring this year's total so far to 45 cases, which include two deaths.  In 2016, the state had 43 cases with two deaths.  So far this year, there have been eight cases in Hinds County; six in
  
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• Lafayette Sheriff's daughter, babysitter found safe after overnight search at lake

  05-09-2017 14:25
  BROUSSARD - Tuesday morning, deputies and volunteers found Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mark Garber's 7-year-old daughter and her 21-year-old babysitter covered in mud, shielding themselves from mosquitoes after the two went missing in a waterway overnight.Officials said the two disappeared near a wooded area off Garber Road after they had gone out on Lake Martin around 5 o'clock Monday afternoon. According to a report from KATC, the two had launched the boat from the sheriff's nearby prop
  
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• Police: Dating app led to sexual assault on Southeastern University campus

  05-09-2017 14:20
  HAMMOND - Police have launched an investigation after an alleged sexual assault on Southeastern University's campus this past week.According to the Southeastern University Police Department, the alleged sexual assault occurred on campus Thursday.Police say the two involved met on a dating app before later meeting in person. Officers believe the sexual assault then occurred in a residence hall after the two met for the first time.The university has released little info regardin
  
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• Florida Keys evacuations readied ahead of Irma

  05-09-2017 13:48
  Officials in the Florida Keys are gearing up to get tourists and residents out of the possible path of Hurricane Irma.  Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark says in a news release that a mandatory evacuation for tourists will begin at sunrise Wednesday. An evacuation plan for residents is also under way but a timetable hasn't been determined.  Clark says government offices, parks and schools will close and there will be no shelters in Monroe County. The coun
  
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• Zachary man arrested for 6th DWI after weekend crash

  05-09-2017 13:27
  BATON ROUGE - A man was booked on his sixth DWI charge after he allegedly caused a car crash Saturday.According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, 38-year-old Shannon Bennett was driving in the city Saturday night when he failed to yield as he turned left onto Plank Road.Police arrived on scene and spoke to Bennett, who had a strong odor of alcohol emanating from his breath. Police also noticed a small plastic bag of a "green, leafy substance" in the vehicle.Police noted that Bennett perform
  
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• Texas evacuees in Louisiana shelters being moved to Dallas

  05-09-2017 13:13
  BATON ROUGE - Hundreds of Texas residents who have been sheltered in Louisiana after evacuations forced by Hurricane Harvey are heading back to their home state this week.  The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services announced Tuesday that Texans staying in shelters in Shreveport and Alexandria will be transported to a shelter in Dallas. The move started Tuesday morning and will continue through Thursday.  The Texas residents are being taken firs
  
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• Police investigating body found on Polk St.

  05-09-2017 08:44
  BATON ROUGE-  Deputies from the Baton Rouge Police Department are investigating a case of a dead body that was found on a bench.Authorities responded to a call for an individual down in the 1300 block of E. Polk Street. At the scene authorities say they found a body of a man with a head wound. The investigation is still on going.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Merkel says North Korea solution can only be peaceful

  05-09-2017 07:47
  SEOUL, South Korea- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test as a "flagrant violation" of international conventions, but also said there can only be a "diplomatic and peaceful solution" of the crisis.Merkel, who was speaking to the German parliament on Tuesday, said North Korea's distance from Germany should not keep the country from helping to end the crisis. Merkel also talked to U.S. President Donald Trump late Monday to discuss the latest provocation b
  
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• Were charter schools funded properly? High court to decide.

  05-09-2017 07:33
  NEW ORLEANS- A case affecting funding for more than 30 Louisiana charter schools is set for arguments before the state Supreme Court.Charter schools are tax-funded public schools operated by independent organizations under charters approved by state or local education officials. At issue in Tuesday's hearing is whether a group of charter schools that were granted authority to operate by the state's education board are getting money meant for local school districts.The money is distributed to th
  
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