Baton Rouge news

• Hundreds of Gap and Banana Republic stores closing

  06-09-2017 19:35
  Hundreds of Gap and Banana Republic stores will be shutting their doors in the very near future.Gap, the parent company of the two brands, said it plans to close about 200 "underperforming" Gap and Banana Republic locations.There are currently about 2,000 Gap and Banana Republic stores worldwide, according to public filings, so the closures would likely impact about 10% of them. Gap declined to specify how many of each brands' stores will close or which locations would be shut down.Permalink| C
  
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• Buyer beware of flood-damaged vehicles

  06-09-2017 18:02
  DENHAM SPRINGS - The used car market can be tough to navigate. Hank Keith says he had no idea what he was getting into after he bought his 2004 Dodge Ram.Keith tells 2 On Your Side he doesn't remember signing anything that said he was buying a flood-damaged vehicle. He also says the word "flood" never came up when he bought his truck. For the past few months, Keith says he's had a tough time fighting what he says isn't fair."I've been through you know what and back," he said.Keith bought his tr
  
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• LSU eliminating pat-down searches at Tiger Stadium

  06-09-2017 17:59
  BATON ROUGE - LSU is putting an end to pat-down searches at Tiger Stadium during LSU home games.On Wednesday, LSU Student Government announced that it had worked with the university president's office to eliminate pat-down searches at the entrance to the LSU student section. Student Government reps told LSUNow.com that the pat-downs were an unnecessary hold up for students trying to get into Tiger Stadium. University Spokesperson Ernie Balla
  
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• Hurricanes Jose, Katia form within minutes of each other

  06-09-2017 16:47
  The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Katia has formed in the Gulf off the coast of Mexico with sustained winds of 75 mph.The government of Mexico has issued a hurricane watch for the coast of the state of Veracruz from Tuxpan to Laguna Verde. Katia is anticipated to drift toward the coast on Thursday.The announcement of Hurricane Katia came minutes after the NHC said Hurricane Jose had formed in the open Atlantic, far from land and well east of Hurricane Irma.Jose has winds of 75 mph an
  
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• Longtime Pointe Coupee teacher cleared to sue school system by EEOC

  06-09-2017 16:45
  NEW ROADS- A teacher who has spent the past two decades dedicated to the education of students claims her classes were cut and she was sidelined unnecessarily.
  Joy Nelson was a teacher at the new STEM academy. She is certified to teach business. After the year ended, she said she was called in and told her services there were no longer needed.
  "All they told me was Ms. Nelson the courses are not going to be offered at all to the students," Nelson said. "Thus it eliminates your position, and we
  
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• Home Furniture donates $100,000 to Harvey relief efforts

  06-09-2017 16:19
  LAFAYETTE - A furniture business based out of Lafayette, Louisiana has announced a large donation to aid the Harvey relief effort in Texas.The Home Furniture Company says it is donating $100,000 to help those affected by Harvey and the ensuing floods. The company says it will work closely with the American Red Cross through coordination efforts of local agencies and organizations to meet the needs of those most affected by the overwhelming flooding in our region.“We are deeply saddene
  
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• Report: Louisiana is home to the world's last Popeyes buffet

  06-09-2017 15:54
  LAFAYETTE - The Popeyes buffet is more than just a myth, and according to a report from Southern Living, the last one in the entire world resides in Lafayette, Louisiana.Open from 10 to 8 o'clock every day, the Popeyes on West Pinhook Road has everything you'd expect from the fried chicken merchants. But the key difference is how all of the restaurant's famous entrees and sides are served.Only in Lafayette ???? #popeyesbuffet pic.twitter.com/uxU2FKcQ36&md
  
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• Houston cleanup has little crime and lots of helping hands

  06-09-2017 15:14
  HOUSTON - For many people in the Houston area, the real takeaway from Hurricane Harvey has not been misery, but kindness.  In the storm's aftermath, the generosity takes many forms: Neighbors wading through the floodwaters with elderly residents in their arms. Boaters going door to door to rescue strangers of every race. Impromptu barbeque feasts for weary refugees. People lined up for a block outside a downtown shelter to volunteer.  The crime and opportunis
  
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• EBRSO: Man accused of sexually assaulting runaway teen

  06-09-2017 14:56
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities arrested a 37-year-old man after he was accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on multiple occasions and then threatening her family. According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, Norman Battley was arrested Wednesday after the victim described her encounters with him to deputies.The victim told authorities that she first met Battley at a barbecue on July 15. Battley then took the victim to a friends home where he asked her t
  
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• Gonzales man charged with animal cruelty over severely neglected horse

  06-09-2017 14:43
  GONZALES - Authorities say a man has been charged with animal cruelty after a horse on his property was found to be highly neglected and in desperate need of medical attention.According to the Humane Society of Louisiana, the owner was arrested after animal control and the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office responded to a report of animal cruelty in Gonzales.The sheriff's office confirmed that 32-year-old Kenneth Corley was arrested and charge with cruelty to animals Tuesday af
  
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• Two suspects wanted for vehicle burglary and fraud

  06-09-2017 14:36
  BATON ROUGE- The West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office is seeking help from the public in identifying two individuals.The men are wanted for simple burglary and access device fraud. On August 27 at 3:20 a.m, the two suspects arrived at the Tiger Trax Exxon Gas Station in Erwinville, in a red Monte Carlo.One of the men exited the passenger side of the car and then presented a stolen credit card, to the cashier to buy $296.50 in cigarettes. The card  had been stol
  
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• Airlines charging Irma evacuees sky-high prices

  06-09-2017 14:05
    MIAMI - Florida law prohibits extreme price hikes for commodities such as food, water, hotels and lumber in the event of a potentially catastrophic storm like Hurricane Irma. But Florida law doesn't cover airlines tickets - that's up to federal regulators. And some people are shocked at what they call sky-high price-gouging.  Steve MacQueen was shocked to learn he had to pay $1,725 to fly his 87-year-old mother from Fort Myers to Charlotte, North C
  
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• Woman carjacked at gunpoint on Pecue Lane

  06-09-2017 13:52
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is seeking a suspect after he stole a woman's vehicle at gunpoint Saturday.The sheriff's office says the victim was vacuuming her vehicle at a car wash in the 6500 block of Pecue Lane around 8:30 p.m. when she was approached by a black male armed with a handgun.The suspect demanded the keys to the victim's black Cadillac SUV, and the victim complied. The man then left without further incident.The suspect is described as a bla
  
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• Police officer delivers son in hotel parking lot

  06-09-2017 13:38
  ROCKFORD, Ill. - An Illinois police officer has delivered his son in a hotel parking lot.  The Rockford Register Star reports Rockford officer James Nachampassack was on duty early Sunday morning when his girlfriend called to say she was going to give birth. Nachampassack rushed home to find Phenh Thammavong screaming. He says her water had broken and she was going into labor.  During the 20-minute drive to the hospital, Nachampassack says Thammavong told him
  
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• Fire breaks out at New Orleans S&WB's main power plant

  06-09-2017 13:30
  NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans firefighters responded to the Sewerage and Water Board's main power plant after a spike in voltage caused circuit breaker to catch fire.According to a report from WWL, the fire broke out around noon at the SW&B Carrollton PowerPlant.Paul Rainwater with the S&WB’s emergency interim management team told WWL that testing Turbine No. 4 caused the explosion at the plant. Rainwater said that the explosion will not impact the city's water,
  
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• Governor Edwards seeks disaster loan change in Harvey bill

  06-09-2017 13:28
  BATON ROUGE- Gov. John Bel Edwards is asking Congress to tweak federal law governing disaster loans as part of the Hurricane Harvey aid legislation being rushed to passage.The governor sent a letter Wednesday to U.S. House and Senate leaders seeking an adjustment to language governing Small Business Administration disaster loans that Edwards says harmed victims of Louisiana's 2016 flooding and can harm Harvey survivors.Under federal rules, those who were approved for SBA loans, whether they use
  
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• WANTED: Man ditches stolen car in Wal-Mart parking lot

  06-09-2017 13:21
  BATON ROUGE - Detectives with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office are seeking a man who abandoned a stolen car in a Wal-Mart parking lot.According to the sheriff's office, the vehicle in question was stolen from an Exxon Mobil on Gulf States Utilities Drive Aug. 12. Deputies say the stolen car was spotted again on Aug. 20, when the suspect dropped it off in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart at 10200 Sullivan Road.The suspect is described as a white male wearing a black shirt a
  
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• House passes nearly $8 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief

  06-09-2017 13:18
  WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives approved nearly $8 billion in Hurricane Harvey relief funds Wednesday in an overwhelming bipartisan vote, the first of several expected installments to aid recovery in areas devastated by the massive storm.The bill was approved in a 419-3 vote, with three Republicans voting against the proposal: Reps. Justin Amash, R-Mich., Andy Biggs, R-Ariz, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.The measure now heads to the Senate, where GOP leaders are expected to at
  
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• Dudley DeBosier and New Orleans Saints new partnership

  06-09-2017 12:48
  New Orleans- Dudley DeBosier, a personal injury law firm, has entered into a new exclusive partnership with the New Orleans Saints.Chad Dudley along with partners Steven DeBosier and James Peltier are proud to be the official injury lawyers for the Saints.“We are excited, honored, and humbled to be the official injury lawyers of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are a part of New Orleans, and a part of Louisiana,” said Dudley. “We look forward to this partnership
  
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• Dudley DeBosier and New Orleans Saints announce new partnership

  06-09-2017 12:48
  New Orleans- Dudley DeBosier, a personal injury law firm, has entered into a new exclusive partnership with the New Orleans Saints.Chad Dudley along with partners Steven DeBosier and James Peltier are proud to be the official injury lawyers for the Saints.“We are excited, honored, and humbled to be the official injury lawyers of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints are a part of New Orleans, and a part of Louisiana,” said Dudley. “We look forward to this partnership
  
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• Zachary planning board approves huge subdivision

  06-09-2017 12:46
  ZACHARY- People living near Highway 964 and Rollins Road could be getting 600 more houses in their area. The city's Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a new subdivision Wednesday night called Zachary Trails."I think it's a well-rounded project that needed to pass," said Michael Clegg, a Baton Rouge attorney representing the developers.Clegg said if the city is serious about economic development it needs more houses for people to live. He's at odds with some residents who hope t
  
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• Arrest made in deadly Ponchatoula crash

  06-09-2017 12:17
  PONCHATOULA- A man has been arrested and charged with negligent homicide after a deadly crash last month.Authorities said on August 29 a man identified as Justin Settoon had a green light and was crossing West Pine Street in the crosswalk on his bike. At the same time David Brunet was driving his Dodge pickup truck Eastbound on West Pine Street and failed to stop at the red light at the intersection of West Pine Street and South 8th Street.Brunet’s truck was unable to stop and ended u
  
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• Convent man sentenced to 15 years after indecent behavior with a juvenile

  06-09-2017 09:16
  CONVENT- A man charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile in 2014 was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor with credit for time served.On Tuesday, Jermaine White entered a guilty plea after an agreement with prosecutors.White was arrested in October 2014 for touching a 10-year-old girl in his neighborhood. A judge ordered that White serve at least two years in prison without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.White had a prior conviction for carnal knowledge of a juv
  
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• Pence swears in new surgeon general

  06-09-2017 08:04
  Vice President Mike Pence swore in a familiar face as America's new surgeon general on Tuesday.Jerome Adams, who previously served as health commissioner for the state of Indiana, was sworn in by Pence just three years after being named to his former position by the same man. He will serve as the country's 20th surgeon general.Sylvia Trent-Adams had filled the role as acting surgeon general since Vivek Murthy was relieved of the position by President Donald Trump. Adams was approved by the Sena
  
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• DACA announcement sparks protests nationwide, dozens arrested at Trump Tower

  06-09-2017 06:53
  NEW YORK-Dozens of protesters were arrested in front of Trump Tower in New York in one of many nationwide protests after Tuesday’s announcement that the Trump administration is ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, five years after it was introduced.A total of 34 people have been arrested, according to the New York Police Department. No injuries to protesters or police officers have been reported, and the crowd has thinned since it started.If protesters were coope
  
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• Gas lines, shortages as Floridians prepare

  06-09-2017 06:32
  KEY LARGO, Fla.- Expect to wait in line for gasoline in South Florida - if you can find a station that still has gas.Lines stretched around 50 cars deep at a gas station in Cooper City, which is southwest of Fort Lauderdale, by 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.The station had been out of fuel on Tuesday night, but received an overnight delivery. Workers at a station in Doral, near Miami, put yellow caution tape around pumps Wednesday morning after running out of gasoline.Local news outlets reported both lon
  
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• House to vote on $7.9B Harvey relief bill

  06-09-2017 06:16
  WASHINGTON- The House is swiftly moving to pass President Donald Trump's request for a $7.9 billion first installment of relief for victims of Harvey.GOP leaders also hope to use the urgent Harvey aid bill to solve a far more vexing issue: Increasing the U.S. debt limit to permit the government to borrow freely again to cover its bills.Wednesday morning's vote comes as the government's response to Harvey is draining existing disaster reserves, with Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster
  
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