Baton Rouge news

• LSP crime lab scours casings for clues

  19-09-2017 21:18
  BATON ROUGE - Examining bullet casings for the unique marks a gun produces when it is fired has long been a staple of forensic analysis, but successfully pulling DNA from the small, smooth, metal surfaces that might be left behind at a crime scene is a much more recent development.State Police crime lab investigators pieced together much of the evidence that led to Tuesday's arrest of Kenneth Gleason in two murders and in shots fired at his neighbor's home.They can't talk about the Gleason&
  
  Read more

• Mississippi teacher on leave after racist Facebook post

  19-09-2017 20:16
  BATESVILLE, Miss. - A Mississippi teacher is out of the classroom after a racist Facebook post.  The post on Cammie Rone's page said: "If blacks in this country are so offended no one is forcing them here. Why don't they pack up and move back to Africa where they will have to work for a living." It also said the government will "pay for it."  Rone claims her page was hacked. In a second post, she writes, "If anyone knows me I post about cows, recipes, and hom
  
  Read more

• Three members of Congress arrested at Trump Tower street protest

  19-09-2017 20:15
  NEW YORK - Three Democratic members of Congress have been arrested on disorderly conduct charges at a protest outside Trump Tower.  U.S. Reps. Raul Grijalva, of Arizona; Luis Gutierrez, of Illinois; and Adriano Espaillat, of New York, were among a small group of demonstrators who sat down in the street on New York's Fifth Avenue on Tuesday and refused to move.  The lawmakers were handcuffed and led away. Police say they were issued desk appearance tickets and
  
  Read more

• Cuba again denies role in 'health attacks' on US diplomats

  19-09-2017 20:14
  NEW YORK - The Cuban government has again denied any involvement in or any knowledge of a mysterious series of health incidents that have affected American diplomats in Havana.  At a meeting on law enforcement cooperation in Washington on Tuesday, Cuba's top diplomat for the Americas said Cuba has never and would never commit or allow what Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described as "health attacks."  In a statement, the Cuban embassy in Washington says
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Two families displaced after apartment fire on Newcastle Avenue

  19-09-2017 18:36
  BATON ROUGE - Photos from an apartment complex on Newcastle Avenue shows the aftermath of a fire that has displaced several people.The burned out apartment at Afton Oaks was spotted around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, no injuries were reported, but two families have been displaced as a result of the fire.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Accidental apartment fire displaces two families

  19-09-2017 18:36
  BATON ROUGE - Photos from an apartment complex on Newcastle Avenue shows the aftermath of a fire that has displaced several people.According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, the fire started around 5:30 p.m. at the Afton Oaks Apartments in the 12000 block of New Castle Avenue.The cause of the fire was later determined to be accidental, according to BRFD. Firefighters arrived on scene to find smoke coming from a downstairs apartment. 4 of the total 16 apartments were involve
  
  Read more

• Neighbor of murder suspect talks about her Baton Rouge house being shot up

  19-09-2017 18:14
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities say a white man shot up a black family's home and killed two black men in a string of attacks last week that police say may have been racially motivated.  Resident Tonya Stephens said Tuesday that she was not home at the time but her two adult sons were there and traumatized by the attack. She says three bullets pierced the front door and struck furniture.  Stephens says her family had seen Kenneth Gleason sleeping in his car or spee
  
  Read more

• Woman featured in On Your Side report now accused of swindling $23,000 out of bank

  19-09-2017 17:42
  BATON ROUGE - The tables have turned for a woman who brought her concerns to WBRZ. Now she's in trouble with the law and facing felony charges.In May, Carol Lafitte called 2 On Your Side claiming she was overcharged by a store in the mall for moisturizer. Lafitte says she was charged about $27,000. When her bank found out she had been talking to WBRZ, her money was credited back to her account. But now, she's on the hook for bank fraud and theft.The Baton Rouge Police Department says Lafitte wa
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• School bus involved in crash on Jefferson Highway

  19-09-2017 15:53
  BATON ROUGE - Police are on the scene of a crash involving a school bus carrying children on Jefferson Highway Tuesday.The crash, which involved at least five vehicles was reported around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday. According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, officers are on the scene of the crash in the 8000 block of Jefferson.Authorities say minor injuries have been reported, however no students were hurt in the crash.One lane of the roadway is closed at the scene of the crash.This is a developing
  
  Read more

• Ascension Sheriff says deputy to be 'counseled' after Facebook post

  19-09-2017 15:49
  ASCENSION PARISH - Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley says he plans to discipline one of his deputies after the officer shared a 'controversial' image on social media.A photo sent to the sheriff's office and WBRZ shows the deputy sharing a photo concerning people who protest during the national anthem.Wiley addressed the photo in an email Tuesday afternoon, noting that that it was the first time he had been made aware of the post. The sheriff says Deputy Matt Johnson
  
  Read more

• Death toll from Mexico earthquake reaches 119

  19-09-2017 14:50
  MEXICO CITY - The death toll in Mexico's magnitude 7.1 quake has risen to 119. That's the largest number of fatalities in a Mexican earthquake since the 1985 quake that killed thousands.  Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told local media that at least 30 people had died in the capital, where buildings collapsed or were badly damaged at 44 points throughout the city. Between 50 and 60 people were pulled alive from the rubble by citizens and rescue workers in the city. &n
  
  Read more

• Death in Oaxaca raises Mexican quake toll to 120

  19-09-2017 14:50
  MEXICO CITY - The government of Mexico's southern Oaxaca state reported one death from a major earthquake that devastated the country's center. The death raised the nationwide toll to 120.  Officials did not provide details of the death in Oaxaca, which is far from the quake's epicenter.  The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 7.1 quake was centered near the Puebla state town of Raboso, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City.
    Perma
  
  Read more

• Buildings crumble, rubble in streets as earthquake rocks Mexico City

  19-09-2017 14:50
  MEXICO CITY - Mexico State Gov. Alfredo del Mazo tells the Televisa news network that the magnitude 7.1 earthquake has killed at least two people in his state, which borders Mexico City.  Del Mazo said a quarry worker was killed when the quake unleashed a rock slide, and another died when hit by a falling lamppost.  The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered near the Puebla state town of Raboso, about 76 miles (123 kilometers) southeast of Mexico
  
  Read more

• Louisiana health secretary: Cassidy bill damages coverage

  19-09-2017 14:41
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's health leader is blasting the proposal pushed by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy to undo President Barack Obama's health law.  Health Secretary Rebekah Gee says the legislation from Louisiana's senior senator would jeopardize health coverage for more than 430,000 people in Louisiana's Medicaid expansion program and force damaging cuts to care for children, the disabled and pregnant women.  Gee posted a letter outlining her criticism to Cassid
  
  Read more

• Newest opponent to Cassidy health bill? Louisiana's governor

  19-09-2017 14:22
  BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is having trouble persuading leaders in his own state to back his proposal to undo President Barack Obama's health law.  Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Tuesday he opposes the Republican senator's legislation. Edwards says it would eliminate Louisiana's Medicaid expansion program that provides health coverage to 430,000 people.  Edwards' opposition came after his health secretary, Rebekah Gee, earlie
  
  Read more

• Official: Hitler speech found at murder suspect's home

  19-09-2017 14:16
  BATON ROUGE - A law enforcement official says a copy of an Adolf Hitler speech was found at the home of white man accused of killing two black men and firing on a black family.  The official spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.  Authorities said at an earlier news conference that Kenneth James Gleason would be charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths last week of a homeless
  
  Read more

• Three members of Congress arrested at Trump Tower protest

  19-09-2017 14:13
  During a recent protest at Trump Tower three members of Congress were arrested.U.S. Reps Raul Grijalva, of Arizona; Luis Gutierrez, of Illinois; and Adriano Espaillat, of New York, were among a small group of demonstrators who sat down in the street on Fifth Avenue Tuesday afternoon and refused to move.The Democratic speaker of New York's City Council, Melissa Mark-Viverito, also was handcuffed and led away.The Congress members, the Democratic speaker and other protesters were outside
  
  Read more

• Racist church shooter can't fire Jewish and Indian lawyers

  19-09-2017 13:51
  COLUMBIA, S.C.- A federal appeals court has denied white supremacist Dylann Roof's request to replace his Jewish and Indian lawyers who are appealing his death sentence for a racist massacre in South Carolina a day after he filed it.The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a one-page, 11-word denial Tuesday.Roof's handwritten appeal was filed Monday. He wrote: "It will be impossible for me to trust two attorneys that are my political and biological enemies."Roof was sentenced to death in Ja
  
  Read more

• Trump's speech at UN singles out North Korea, Iran

  19-09-2017 13:38
  NEW YORK- Israel's prime minister is praising President Donald Trump's address to the U.N. that condemned Iran.Benjamin Netanyahu said, "In over 30 years in my experience with the U.N., I never heard a bolder or more courageous speech." He said Trump "spoke the truth about the great dangers facing our world and issued a powerful call to confront them in order to ensure the future of humanity."Trump said in his speech that Iran's main export is violence. He accused Iran of supporting terrorists
  
  Read more

• Hospital investigating 'outrageous' images of newborns posted on social media

  19-09-2017 13:25
  JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A Florida hospital is investigating after multiple photos surfaced on social media, showing hospital staff posing with newborn babies.Photos obtained by Action News Jax appears to show a nurse making an inappropriate gesture to a newborn, calling the infant a 'mini Satan'. Naval Hospital is calling the images outrageous, unacceptable, and incredibly unprofessional, adding that the staff involved will face legal action. AT 6 Naval Hospital
  
  Read more

• Intact German WWI U-boat found off Belgian coast, 23 bodies still inside

  19-09-2017 13:01
  BRUSSELS - Belgian regional authorities say an intact German World War I submarine has been found off the coast of Belgium and contains the bodies of 23 people.  Western Flanders Governor Carl Decaluwe told The Associated Press Tuesday that the find on the floor of the North Sea "is very unique."  He said the "impact damage was at the front but the submarine remains closed, and there are 23 people still onboard."  Wrak Duitse duikboot type U
  
  Read more

• Parents upset after Baker School Board votes down school resource officer

  19-09-2017 12:32
  BAKER - The Baker School Board voted down a proposal to bring back a school resource officer to Baker High School's campus.A few weeks ago, Tianne Moore talked with us, after her daughter experienced a series of bullying at Baker High School."If you don't have the officer at that school what's going to happen if you had the gun there with the officer there, what else are you going to have now?" Moore said.The school board's decision doesn't sit well with Baker High parents like Sarah Patterson.
  
  Read more

• Campus police searching for missing LSU student

  19-09-2017 09:42
  BATON ROUGE- LSU Police are asking for assistance in locating a missing student.Michael Nickelotte, 21, was last seen at his on-campus apartment by his roommate at 1 a.m. Monday. Campus police say he is believed to have left on his own and may harm himself.Nickelotte is described as being 6'1" with blue eyes and a close-cropped military style haircut.Anyone with information is asked to contact the LSU Police Department at 225-578-3231.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• Cincinnati Zoo welcomes new gorilla one year after the death of Harambe

  19-09-2017 08:49
  One year after the death of Harambe, the Cincinnati Zoo has welcomed a new gorilla.Harmabe, a 17-year-old silverback gorilla, was shot by zoo officials in 2016 after a 3-year-old boy fell into his enclosure. Mshindi, the new gorilla, is a 29-year-old male Western Lowland Silverback. He was moved from the Louisville Zoo to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden.He's the first gorilla to be added to the Cincinnati Zoo since Harambe's controversial death.Permalink| Comments
  
  Read more

• FEMA isn't relying on trailers to house hurricane victims

  19-09-2017 08:10
  BATON ROUGE- The hurricanes that battered Texas and Florida likely spawned the worst disaster-created housing crunch since Hurricane Katrina left hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents without homes more than a decade ago.But the Federal Emergency Management Agency won't be relying on government-issued trailers or mobile homes to shelter residents displaced by hurricanes Harvey and Irma.FEMA Administrator Brock Long says the number of storm-damaged homes exceeds the agency's supply of ma
  
  Read more

• States ask insurers to prioritize non-opioid pain treatment

  19-09-2017 07:47
  CHERRY HILL, N.J.- Attorneys general representing the majority of states are asking the insurance industry to encourage pain treatment through means other than prescriptions for opioid painkillers.Opioid overdoses are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths a year in the U.S.The top government lawyers in 35 states signed a letter sent Monday to the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans. They asked insurers to make coverage of non-opioid treatments such as physical therapy and massage
  
  Read more

• Mississippi seeks to reinstate conviction in 2004 killings

  19-09-2017 06:57
  NEW ORLEANS- Mississippi prosecutors are asking the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to reinstate the conviction of a woman in a 2004 double-slaying.Lisa Jo Chamberlin is white. But she challenged the prosecution's striking of some black candidates from the jury that convicted her in the murders of Linda Heintzelman and Heintzelman's boyfriend, Vernon Hulett.Last March, a 5th Circuit panel voted 2-1 to grant her a new trial, finding that there was evidence of discrimination
  
  Read more

• Vacant house fire on S. Amite Drive declared an arson

  19-09-2017 06:51
  BATON ROUGE - The Baton Rouge Fire Department is investigating the arson of a vacant home on the 16000 block of South Amite Drive near North Stevendale Road.  According to BRFD, the fire broke out around 2:45 Tuesday morning. Firefighters say when they arrived on the scene, flames were through the roof. The house was declared a total loss. No one was injured. Those with information on the house fire are asked to call BRFD A
  
  Read more

Follow @BatonRougeNews_ on Twitter!