Baton Rouge news

• Crews responding to crash near Coursey Blvd.

  08-09-2017 20:52
  BATON ROUGE - Crews are responding to a potentially dangerous crash on Coursey Blvd.Sources tell WBRZ the crash happened before 8:30 p.m. Details were limited, but sources described the incident as "bad."WBRZ has learned the victims of the crash did not suffer major injuries, and were stable after being treated by emergency responders on scene.WBRZ News 2 has a crew en route to the scene.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Southern grows closer to cultivating medical marijuana

  08-09-2017 19:50
  BATON ROUGE - Southern University’s Board of Supervisors called a special meeting Friday to approve a medical marijuana contractor/vendor for the university.The school will be one of two medical marijuana producers in Louisiana. The committee assigned to researching the seven companies who applied to grow the plants presented their findings Friday.“The companies that we brought to the board today were selected based on their overall applications that were submitted, based on
  
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• LSU freshman refuses to let cancer keep him out of school

  08-09-2017 18:22
  BATON ROUGE - An LSU freshman is living out his dream of being an Tiger.Kayne Finley was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer late last year, but it hasn't stopped him from going to school. While he says some days are harder than others, he's trying to do as much as he can to spread awareness.The last few months have been quite an adjustment for Kayne, who celebrated his 18th birthday last Saturday. He's always been the one to help others."Asking for help has never been my thing," he said
  
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• New Orleans police arrest 42 suspected drug dealers

  08-09-2017 17:57
  NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans police say 42 suspected drug dealers have been arrested after an investigation that lasted months and investigators are looking for as many as 26 more.  Superintendent Michael Harrison says in a news release Friday that undercover New Orleans officers worked on the case while Louisiana State Police were on patrol.  The investigation brought 70 warrants. A list of 44 served by Friday showed two duplicated names.  Har
  
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• New company takes over waste management for Pointe Coupee Parish

  08-09-2017 16:20
  POINTE COUPEE PARISH - A new garbage contractor is taking over waste management for Pointe Coupee Parish.Officials say Republic Services will take over garbage pickup starting Monday, adding that service is expected improve.The pickup schedule is expected to remain the same. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Troy Gentry of Montgomery Gentry dies in helicopter crash

  08-09-2017 15:45
  NEW YORK - Troy Gentry, one half of the award-winning country music duo Montgomery Gentry, has died in a helicopter crash. He was 50.  The group's website says Gentry "was tragically killed in a helicopter crash" that occurred around 1 p.m. Friday in Medford, New Jersey. The group was supposed to perform Friday at the Flying W Airport & Resort in Medford. The statement says details of the crash are unknown.  Gentry was born on April 5, 1967 in Lexington,
  
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• Former city marshal to serve a week in jail for trip to US Virgin Islands

  08-09-2017 14:44
  MARKSVILLE - A former Alexandria city marshal will spend a week in jail for not notifying authorities about his trip to the US Virgin Islands. According to KALB-TV in Alexandria, Norris Greenhouse Jr. will have to report to the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office on Monday by 2 p.m. to start his sentence. Greenhouse was one of four city marshals involved in a shooting in 2015 that killed a six-year-old boy and injured his father. In November 2
  
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• DOTD delays reopening of Airline Highway on-ramp in Ascension Parish

  08-09-2017 14:14
  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development says the reopening of the US 61/I-10 West on-ramp in Ascension Parish has been delayed.The project had previously been delayed due to weather throughout August and was expected to be completed by Sept. 8. However, testing showed that the concrete safety barrier did not meet strength requirements. DOTD says the barrier is in place as a safety precaution to prevent serious injury or death should a
  
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• Four killed in medical helicopter crash in North Carolina

  08-09-2017 14:04
  BELVIDERE, N.C.- The North Carolina Highway Patrol says four people have been killed in the crash of a medical helicopter.Patrol spokesman Master Trooper Christopher Knox said the Duke Life Flight helicopter went down around 11:45 a.m. Friday near the town of Belvidere, close to the Virginia border and about 160 miles east of Raleigh.Knox said it's not known where the helicopter was headed when it went down and authorities have no idea what caused the crash. He said the Federal Aviation Adminis
  
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• Immigrants scramble to complete paperwork amid hurricanes

  08-09-2017 13:48
  HOUSTON- Young immigrants in Houston and Miami are scrambling to complete their renewal applications for a program shielding them from deportation while dealing with hurricanes bearing down on their states.An Oct. 5 deadline announced this week by the Trump administration set off an immediate scramble among many of the nearly 800,000 people protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program - most notably in Texas and Florida.In Texas, one DACA recipient took a backpack with her im
  
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• Ben Hur Road reopens after gas leak causes closure

  08-09-2017 13:35
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities have reopened Ben Hur Road after being shut down for part of the day due to a gas leak.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, a gas leak in the 700 block of Ben Hur Road has shut down the roadway Friday afternoon. Authorities say the road will remain closed in both directions while a Haz Mat team addresses the situation.Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Kansas town celebrates Christmas early for dying boy

  08-09-2017 13:30
  WICHITA, Kan. - Christmas trees are popping up in a small Kansas town as residents prepare to celebrate the holiday early for a 3-year-old boy with terminal cancer.  The Wichita Eagle reports that the town of Lebo will celebrate Christmas on Sunday as a tribute to Christian Risner.  Christian has been diagnosed with Rhabdoid kidney cancer, which has created tumors in his kidneys and lungs. He was placed in hospice last month. Doctors say he has less than thre
  
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• Football is back at Tiger Stadium, and so is contraflow

  08-09-2017 13:27
  BATON ROUGE - Another season of LSU football at Tiger Stadium is set to begin. With the Tiger's home opener also comes the return of postgame contraflow."We take it as a practice," Baton Rouge Police spokesman L'Jean McKneely said. "We shut it down for everybody."So where should you park on gameday? If you park north of Tiger Stadium, expect to head north on Nicholson towards downtown. If you park south of the stadium you have a few options.Parking in a levee
  
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• Expert: Equifax website raises security concerns

  08-09-2017 13:16
  A security expert says a website created by credit monitoring company Equifax to help its customers find out if their personal information was stolen after a massive data breach raises its own security questions.  Georgia Weidman, the founder and chief technology officer for security firm Shevirah, says the website Equifax created looks like the kind of website set up by attackers to trick people into disclosing information.  Weidman says it's teaching people
  
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• House heads toward backing Harvey aid bill, debt hike

  08-09-2017 13:13
  WASHINGTON  - Republican conservatives are grumbling, but the House is poised to back a $15.3 billion disaster aid package that President Donald Trump and Democrats have married to a temporary increase in America's borrowing authority.  Friday's House vote would send the measure to Trump for his signature, replenishing rapidly dwindling disaster accounts as Hurricane Irma tracks toward Florida this weekend.  The must-do legislation would also provide
  
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• Man wanted on murder arrested while hiding in garbage can

  08-09-2017 13:09
  LAFAYETTE - A Tennessee man wanted in a Mississippi killing was captured while hiding in a garbage can in Louisiana.  Officers captured 37-year-old Nicky Joe Johns after a car chase that led to a foot chase Thursday in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Police Capt. William Jackson of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, says the pursuit started on Interstate 10. Johns abandoned the car he was driving and started running. He was arrested after authorities found him in a garbage c
  
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• Customer with lighter ignites gas pump blaze

  08-09-2017 13:07
  ROBERT - A customer firing up a lighter caused a huge gas station fire at the Louisiana Sportsman's Paradise Store in Robert.According to the Louisiana Sportsman's Paradise Store's Facebook Page the fire broke out late Thursday night. The owner of the gas station says a customer at one of the pumps tried using a lighter while pumping gas, which led to the blaze.The 8th Ward Fire Department was quick to respond to the inferno and had it under control before long.No inj
  
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• Mayor's office responds to violent two days in Baton Rouge

  08-09-2017 13:04
  BATON ROUGE- Less than a week after Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome promised to address the skyrocketing murder rate, another six people were shot with three killed in the city.Broome's Chief Administrative Officer James Llorens told WBRZ Friday the violence is not a sign their efforts are in vain."Of course this administration can pull it off, and yes it is the right way to do it," said Llorens. "It's not a single approach or just one individual, it's the Mayor leading that effort and get
  
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• Police identify victim killed in Seneca Street shooting

  08-09-2017 12:18
  BATON ROUGE - One man is reportedly dead after a shooting took place on Seneca Street Friday night.According to Baton Rouge Police, the shooting occurred in the 3600 block of Seneca Street near N. Acadian Thruway E around 9:45 p.m.The victim, David Walker, 68, of Baton Rouge, was observed behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Impala suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, according to BRPD.Walker died at the scene, BRPD said.Anyone with any information is urged to contact t
  
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• Hurricane Irma's confirmed death toll up to 20

  08-09-2017 12:16
  MIAMI- The death toll from Hurricane Irma has increased to 20 with four more deaths reported in the British Virgin Islands.The other lives lost include nine on the French Caribbean islands of St. Martin and St. Barts, four in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and one each on the islands of Anguilla, Barbuda and the Dutch side of St. Martin.The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency gave no details about the latest confirmed deaths in the British territory of about 40 small islands, where Irma ca
  
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• Miss LA wins swimsuit portion of Miss America Competition

  08-09-2017 09:59
  Thursday night, Miss Louisiana won the lifestyle and fitness portion of the 2017 Miss America Competition.Laryssa Bonacquisti of Shreveport, along with women from Minnesota, Texas and Utah, took home wins in the second night of the preliminary competition.Bonacquisti also won the talent portion on the first preliminary night. The next Miss America will be crowned in Sunday night's televised finale on WBRZ Channel 2. Permalink| Comme
  
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• Two dead in double shooting near Thomas H. Delpit Drive

  08-09-2017 09:58
  BATON ROUGE - BRPD says two people are dead after a double-shooting near the 2500 block of Thomas H. Delpit Drive. The shooting happened around 9:30 Friday morning. BRPD spokesperson L'Jean Mckneely says the two men were working on a house when they were shot. The victims have not been identified. Police are searching for suspects. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. This leaves two people
  
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• Body discovered near Highway 442 in Tickfaw

  08-09-2017 09:48
  TICKFAW - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating a body found beside a vehicle on Stafford Road near Highway 442. According to TPSO, the body of a 25-year-old black male was discovered Thursday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. A deputy found the victim on the ground with a single gunshot wound to the head. Authorities are investigating what lead up to the shooting. They say foul play has not been ruled out at this time. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Hunters, anglers, boaters: Help limit coastal cane die-off

  08-09-2017 09:10
  BATON ROUGE- Louisiana authorities are asking waterfowl hunters, anglers and boaters not to carry off any roseau cane, either on purpose or in debris on their boats.Several state agencies are asking for those steps because cane has been dying along the coast. A tiny invasive insect called roseau cane scale may be contributing to the die-off.A news release Thursday asks boaters not to tie up their boats to roseau cane, to remove all cane debris from their boats before leaving local marinas, and
  
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• Geismar man arrested with 23 pounds of marijuana

  08-09-2017 08:37
  GEISMAR - Ascension Parish Sheriff's Deputies have arrested a man caught with 23 pounds of marijuana in a plastic container. According to APSO Chief Deputy Bobby Webre, multiple agencies partnered to conduct an investigation on an unspecified residence. Authorities learned that illegal drugs were being transported from Baton Rouge to Gonzales. On September 7, authorities witnessed 26-year-old Jeremy Gustave leaving the suspected home. They conducted
  
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• Earthquake shakes up Mexico

  08-09-2017 06:51
  MEXICO-Breaking over night Southern Mexico was hit by a strong earthquake. At this time five people were reported dead and the area is under a risk of a tsunami.Waves three feet high have been spotted off the coast. According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake as been recorded as an 8.1 in magnitude.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Doctor pleads guilty in Oxycodone, money laundering case

  08-09-2017 06:34
  NEW ORLEANS- A New Orleans physician has pleaded guilty to money laundering and illegally dispensing drugs.The U.S. Attorney's Office in New Orleans says in a Thursday news release that 58-year-old Frederick Floyd had been arrested in July.Prosecutors said he illegally dispensed - and worked with others to dispense - Oxycodone and other drugs. Floyd pleaded guilty Thursday. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier set sentencing for Dec. 28.The U.S. Attorney's Office says Floyd faces a mandatory 10-yea
  
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