Baton Rouge news

• FEMA auctioned disaster trailers as Harvey made landfall

  15-09-2017 19:07
  Just before Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, the federal government was auctioning off used disaster-response trailers at fire-sale prices.
   Now Federal Emergency Management Agency officials say Harvey could become the agency's largest-ever housing mission.
   Critics say that mission has been hindered by the auction of trailers that could be refurbished.
   Harvey damaged or destroyed about 210,000 homes. FEMA says grants will be available for qui
  
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• Mold creeping back into flood-damaged home, new buyer wants answers

  15-09-2017 18:00
  DENHAM SPRINGS - A flood victim is reliving the August 2016 flood all over again after she found mold growing up the walls.Kristi Hunt says she bought a house in February after her apartment flooded. She was told then, that less than an inch of water got inside the Denham Springs house. Assured the previous owner had taken the necessary steps to clean the house and replace what needed to be replaced, she closed and moved-in February 13."I mean, it was like my dream home," she said.Two weeks ago
  
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• Key Equifax executives departing after huge data breach

  15-09-2017 17:26
  NEW YORK - Equifax announced late Friday that its chief information officer and chief security officer would leave the company immediately, following the enormous breach of 143 million Americans' personal information. It also presented a litany of security efforts it made after noticing suspicious network traffic in July.
   The credit data company said that Susan Mauldin, who had been the top security officer, and David Webb, the chief technology officer, are retiring from Equifax. Maul
  
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• UN Security council condemns North Korea's test

  15-09-2017 17:06
  SEOUL, South Korea - The U.N. Security Council is condemning North Korea's "highly provocative" ballistic missile test that flew over Japan and urging Pyongyang to take immediate action to demonstrate its commitment to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.
   The U.N.'s most powerful body stressed in a press statement after an emergency council meeting Friday that all 193 member states must "fully, comprehensively and immediately" implement all U.N. sanctions.
   The council "stres
  
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• Angola inmate shot and killed after charging at officers

  15-09-2017 15:32
  ST. FRANCISVILLE - An inmate at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola was shot and killed by officers after aggressively running towards them, according to Louisiana State Police.The incident occurred around 6:30 a.m. Friday. Troopers say officers were transporting inmates from Camp C to their work area, when 35-year-old Brandon Lizotte charged at one of the officers. The officer fired his service weapon, striking the inmate.Lizotte was transported to the West Feliciana Parish Hospital where h
  
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• EBRSO locate man originally reported missing

  15-09-2017 14:46
  UPDATE: Clifford Ray Williams has been found in good health, according to EBRSO officials.BATON ROUGE - Detectives are asking for the public's help in locating a missing man.Clifford Ray Williams was last seen on Sumrall Drive around 5 a.m. on August 26, according to an East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office spokesperson.Detectives say they believe Williams may have traveled towards New Orleans in a silver or white 2017 Nissan Titan, with Louisiana license plate C708355.https://www.facebook.com/plug
  
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• EBRSO detectives searching for missing man

  15-09-2017 14:46
  BATON ROUGE - Detectives are asking for the public's help in locating a missing man.Clifford Ray Williams was last seen on Sumrall Drive around 5 a.m. on August 26, according to an East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office spokesperson.Detectives say they believe Williams may have traveled towards New Orleans in a silver or white 2017 Nissan Titan, with Louisiana license plate C708355.<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Febrsheriff%2Fposts%
  
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• Trump to work on building US business ties at UN assembly

  15-09-2017 13:55
  WASHINGTON- A top U.S. national security official says President Donald Trump will work to build business ties between the U.S. and other nations during the United Nations General Assembly next week.National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster tells reporters the president will stress his "ironclad commitment to free, fair and reciprocal trade" as the "bedrock" of his economic talks.Also on the agenda: the Iran nuclear deal, Mideast peace, and U.N. reform efforts.The president's schedule will inclu
  
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• Former lawmaker has money lead in Louisiana treasurer's race

  15-09-2017 13:51
  BATON ROUGE- A former state House member has the most to spend heading into the final stretch of campaigning in Louisiana's treasurer's race ahead of the Oct. 14 election.Republican John Schroder reported $614,000 in his campaign account, including a personal loan, in a report filed Thursday covering the latest fundraising period.Schroder raised $80,000, less money than his closest competitors.Republican contender Neil Riser, a state senator, took in $107,000 and reported $145,000 on hand. GOP
  
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• Louisiana lawmaker to pay $37K fine for campaign misspending

  15-09-2017 13:33
  BATON ROUGE- A Louisiana state lawmaker will pay a $37,000 fine over three years, in an agreement acknowledging he misspent the dollars from his campaign account to "fund a gambling habit."Lafourche Parish Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard must amend his campaign finance documents and won't be able to withdraw money on his own from his campaign account, under the settlement reached with the Louisiana Board of Ethics.The board approved the settlement - known as a consent opinion - on Friday without obje
  
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• Nicholls State University president resigning at end of year

  15-09-2017 13:29
  THIBODAUX- A Louisiana university president is leaving at the end of the year.The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors says Bruce Murphy told the board he's resigning from Nicholls State for other work in higher education.The board announced Murphy's resignation on its website Thursday.System President Jim Henderson says that student success improved and the university's accreditation made "extraordinary progress" improved under Murphy.Officials say a presidential search committe
  
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• School principal surrenders to police

  15-09-2017 13:24
  UPDATE: As of 6p.m., Shamsid-Deen was released after posting bond.BATON ROUGE -- The charter school principal accused of locking a 5-year-old in a closet at the school last month has surrendered to police.Shafeeq Shamsid-Deen, 31, will be booked with cruelty to a juvenile and false imprisonment, according to his arrest warrant.Police said earlier this week that Shamsid-Deen was scheduled to surrender Thursday but began searching for him when he did not.He has been suspended fr
  
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• Man arrested in weekend balloon release shooting

  15-09-2017 12:43
  BATON ROUGE - A man suspected of shooting at people leaving a memorial balloon release Sunday has been arrested, according to police records.One person was shot in the hand by a man who got out of a pink Dodge Challenger and approached the group leaving the balloon release at 2339 Carolina St., police records say. The gunman also shot at several others.Patrick Reed drove to a police station in a pink Dodge Challenger and reported that he was driving in the same area and someone shot up his car,
  
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• Man arrested for threatening victim and law enforcement

  15-09-2017 12:31
  BELLE ROSE- A man was arrested for disturbing the peace after verbally threatening a victim and deputies.On Thursday, deputies from the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office responded to a call where the victim said Darian Williams had threatened her with a brick.Deputies located Williams away from the victim’s home. When he was approached by deputies, Williams threatened to kill the victim and burn her house down. Williams also threatened law enforcement at the scene.Williams
  
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• University High collect supplies for 2016 flood victims

  15-09-2017 12:21
  BATON ROUGE - University High students are collecting household items for 2016 flood victims.This evening, they held a donation drive for basic household items. Faculty, staff and students came up with the idea this week and asked if students and parents could bring donations to their game against Catholic High.They teamed up with a local charity, Catholic Charities, who are continuing their effort to help Baton Rouge flood victims. "I think after Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma ca
  
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• Authorities searching for man accused of home improvement fraud

  15-09-2017 12:07
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities are searching for a man accused of home improvement fraud after failing to complete home repairs on a house damaged in the floods of August 2016.According to the arrest warrant, 55-year-old Glendon Wilkinson Sr. entered a verbal agreement with the 69-year-old victim and was paid $15,000 to complete the repairs. The agreement also allowed Wilkinson to live in the residence while the repairs were being made.The victim checked on the residence and found that no work had b
  
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• Argument between brothers ends in shots fired

  15-09-2017 09:46
  BATON ROUGE- A man has been arrested for shooting at his brother multiple times after an argument over a jacket, authorities say.Deputies from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence at 21372 Scenic Highway on a call of a man who had shot at his brother nine times.The shooter was identified as Ronnie Tennart Jr.On Thursday, deputies said the brothers had previously argued over a jacket. Shortly after the argument, the victim left the residence and observed Tenna
  
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• Trump demands ESPN apologize for anchor's tweets

  15-09-2017 09:23
  WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump is calling on ESPN to apologize days after one of the sports network's anchors called him a "white supremacist" and "bigot."Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has largely surrounded himself w/ other white supremacists.— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 11, 2017ESPN said Thursday it had accepted the apology of its "SportsCenter" host Jemele Hill for her tweets about Trump Monday. Hill said Thursday she was sorry for causing her employer troubl
  
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• Vatican diplomat recalled amid child porn investigation

  15-09-2017 08:54
  VATICAN CITY- A Vatican diplomat working in the Holy See's embassy in Washington has been recalled after U.S. officials flagged possible violations of child pornography laws.The Vatican declined to identify the diplomat, but said Friday he was currently in Vatican City and that Vatican prosecutors have launched their own probe.The State Department confirmed that it had asked the Vatican to lift the official's diplomatic immunity. It said that request was denied.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Cambodian leader, angry with US, wants Peace Corps out

  15-09-2017 08:21
  PHNOM PENH, Cambodia- Cambodia's leader has escalated his feud with the United States, calling Friday for U.S. Peace Corps volunteers doing development work to be withdrawn.Prime Minister Hun Sen's demand was part of an anti-American tirade in a speech to garment workers on the outskirts of the capital, Phnom Penh. It came a day after he told a pro-government newspaper that he will order the withdrawal of U.S. military-led teams that search for the remains of Americans missing-in-action from th
  
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• Trump uses London incident to defend travel ban

  15-09-2017 07:28
  WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump says the United States must be "proactive" and "nasty" against the Islamic State group.On Twitter Friday Trump says: "We have made more progress in the last nine months against ISIS than the Obama Administration has made in 8 years." He adds: "Must be proactive & nasty!"Trump was tweeting after a homemade bomb exploded on a packed London subway train during rush hour on Friday. The incident left 18 people injured but no one seriously hurt. Police
  
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• Two sentenced in fatal Gretna shooting

  15-09-2017 06:48
  GRETNA-Two men have been sentenced in connection with crimes in suburban New Orleans that left one man dead and another paralyzed.Sentenced Thursday were 25-year-old Corey Flag of Marrero and 18-year-old Emmett Garrison of Gretna.A Jefferson Parish District Attorney news release says they were convicted last week of crimes including the second-degree murder of 34-year-old Bruce Lutcher who was shot outside his apartment in November 2015. They also were convicted in the robberies and attempted r
  
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• Inmate dies after accidental fall in Louisiana prison

  15-09-2017 06:31
  PLAIN DEALING- Authorities say an inmate who accidentally fell while under medical watch at a Louisiana prison has died.News outlets report 24-year-old Collin James Fletcher, of Seneca Falls, New York, died at the Bossier Maximum-Security Facility in Plain Dealing, Louisiana during the early morning hours of Sept. 8.The Bossier Parish Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday that Fletcher accidentally fell, which resulted in a head injury. He was alone in a cell and under medical watch at
  
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• Man charged with negligent homicide after 2015 crash

  15-09-2017 05:49
  BATON ROUGE- A man has been charged with negligent homicide after an incident that took place in 2015.On November 8, officers from the Baton Rouge Police Department said Alvin Bracken was driving in the 7300 block of Airline Highway and he was speeding. Bracken drove his 1995 Chevy Silverado into the intersection of Airline Highway and Winbourne when he ignored a red-light traffic signal.When he ignored the red-light, Bracken struck the driver side of a 2013 Honda Accord.The driver of the Honda
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: Crash blocks two lanes on MSR Bridge

  15-09-2017 05:09
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge’ has you covered with live updates for your Friday morning commute.Beat the traffic every time using WBRZ's advanced traffic tracking technology. Click here to go to our traffic center. Tweets by WBRZtrafficPermalink| Comments
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: Crash blocking left lane on I-10 eastbound

  15-09-2017 05:09
  BATON ROUGE - News 2's Ashley Fruge’ has you covered with live updates for your Friday morning commute.Beat the traffic every time using WBRZ's advanced traffic tracking technology. Click here to go to our traffic center. Tweets by WBRZtrafficPermalink| Comments
  
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• Police declare London Tube train explosion a terrorist attack

  15-09-2017 04:34
  LONDON (AP) - The Latest on an incident at a subway station in London (all times local):  10:25 a.m.  London's Metropolitan Police says a fire on the London subway has been declared a "terrorist incident."  The force says counterterrorism officers are leading the investigation into the incident at Parsons Green station, where "a number" of people have been injured.  Passengers reported an explosion in a carriage of the trai
  
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