Baton Rouge news

• Utility companies prepare for Tropical Storm Nate

  05-10-2017 21:51
  BATON ROUGE - Crews from DEMCO and Entergy are getting ready in the event Tropical Storm Nate enters the gulf.Utility companies are preparing for any potential impact that may affect Southeast Louisiana."Ensuring that our fuel tanks are full...to be able to provide fuel, for any large emergency where outside crews are coming in," DEMCO's David Latona said. "But also every bit of equipment is ready."Demco serves seven parishes surrounding Baton Rouge. Latona said they do not kn
  
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• Nate may be first real test for Central drainage project

  05-10-2017 19:34
  CENTRAL - Heavy machinery began clearing debris from creeks and bayous in Central back in August and officials say they are seeing progress."We've had some significant rains since it started, and it seem things are moving pretty well," Central Mayor Junior Shelton said.Tree limbs, leaves and a lot of man-made obstructions are being removed from the creeks."Some property owners have put fences up. They put bricks in the canal," Shelton said.Scott Browning lives in a neighborhoo
  
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• One in critical condition after motorcycle crash on N. 39th Street

  05-10-2017 19:04
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities say one person sustained critical injuries in a motorcycle crash on N. 39th Street Thursday evening.The crash was reported after 5 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of North Street and N. 39th Street. Sources tell WBRZ, one person was transported to the hospital in critical condition. This is a developing story. Check back for more updates. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Sandbags available this weekend

  05-10-2017 17:22
  WALKER - The city of Walker will have sandbags available ahead of Tropical Storm Nate's landfall.On Friday, bags, shovels and sand will be made available for citizens to make their own sandbags. They will be limited to 25 per person.The sandbags can be found at Sidney Hutchinson Park off of Corbin Avenue starting at 1 p.m. Friday.Also, Ascension Parish announced sandbags are available there.  Sandbags can be found at the following locations:7th District Fire Departmen
  
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• Sandbags available in Walker

  05-10-2017 17:22
  WALKER - The city of Walker will have sandbags available ahead of Tropical Storm Nate's landfall.On Friday, bags, shovels and sand will be made available for citizens to make their own sandbags. They will be limited to 25 per person.The sandbags can be found at Sidney Hutchinson Park off of Corbin Avenue starting at 1 p.m. Friday.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Costa Rica raises death toll from Nate to 7

  05-10-2017 16:58
  MEXICO CITY - Authorities in Costa Rica have raised that country's death toll blamed on flooding fed by Tropical Storm Nate to seven and say 15 others are missing.  Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organism updated the toll from an earlier two on Thursday.  President Luis Guillermo Solis said earlier that more than 5,000 residents were being housed in shelters due to flooding.  Tropical Storm Nate, which formed Thursday off the c
  
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• Oil platforms in Gulf of Mexico being evacuated

  05-10-2017 16:53
  A U.S. federal agency says oil and gas companies have begun evacuating production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico in anticipation of Tropical Storm Nate.  The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's New Orleans office said in a news release that as of midday Thursday, six production platforms, out of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf, had been evacuated. No drilling rigs were evacuated, but one moveable rig was taken out of the storm's path.  The
  
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• Sex offenders among inmates allowed to leave prison to play in band

  05-10-2017 16:27
  BATON ROUGE – WBRZ has learned there is an internal investigation into why some of the most hardened inmates at the Dixon Correctional Institute were given trusty status to play music on various occasions in public places recently.The investigation comes after WBRZ recorded video of the group – made up of 12 inmates, all but three serving time for various violent crimes or sexual offenses – playing at a park, mingling with children and performing at a nursing home
  
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• WATCH: Surveillance video shows early-morning burglary in Livingston Parish

  05-10-2017 14:59
  WALKER - Authorities are seeking multiple individuals responsible for burglarizing and stealing several vehicles in Livingston Parish.The burglars were captured on surveillance video early Tuesday morning as they burglarized vehicles in the area of Achord Lane and Gaylord Road. According to the Walker Police Department, the burglars rummaged through three unlocked vehicles and smashed the window of a fourth before making off with several valuables. Police say they are currentl
  
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• Judge intends to dismiss 2nd suit against Black Lives Matter

  05-10-2017 14:47
  BATON ROUGE - A federal judge says he intends to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses Black Lives Matter and several movement leaders of inciting violence that led to a gunman's deadly ambush of law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge last year.  U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson issued that warning in an order Wednesday, less than a week after ruling Black Lives Matter is a social movement that can't be sued.  Last Thursday, Jackson threw out a police officer's la
  
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• NRA open to regulation of bump stocks after Vegas shooting

  05-10-2017 14:39
    WASHINGTON - The National Rifle Association says the 'bump stocks' device that the Las Vegas shooter used to turn semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons should be "subject to additional regulations."  In a statement on Thursday, the NRA says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law.  The organization which holds a powerful sway over
  
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• Governor activates State Emergency Operations Center ahead of Nate

  05-10-2017 14:35
  BATON ROUGE - The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is activating the State Emergency Operations Center as Tropical Storm Nate moves toward the central gulf coast.The governor's office says the EOC will move to level one operations at 6:00 am Friday morning.  Level one is the highest activation level with all state agencies, support organizations and the Federal Emergency Management Agency joined in the response.On Tuesday, Ascension and Living
  
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• EBRSO: Elementary student arrested for bringing unloaded gun to school

  05-10-2017 14:19
  BATON ROUGE - An 11-year-old elementary school student was arrested after she brought an unloaded gun to school Thursday, authorities say.According to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, its school drug task force responded to La Belle Aire Elementary around 9:30 a.m. Thursday after receiving reports of a student playing with a gun and a lighter off campus before the start of class.The principal told deputies that the student was searched after she arrived at school with he
  
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• Grand Isle asks people to evacuate ahead of Nate

  05-10-2017 14:00
  GRAND ISLE – The popular camp and fishing community along Louisiana's Gulf Coast has called for a voluntary evacuation.The city said it issued a state of emergency Thursday and asked people to consider leaving ahead of tropical system Nate, which is forecast to enter the Gulf and likely impact parts of Louisiana.CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FORECAST“Please secure or remove all small watercraft, campers, RV's and clear your property of items that may be carried away in 75+mph wi
  
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• Family seeks video recorded prior to Alton Sterling shooting

  05-10-2017 13:49
  BATON ROUGE - Attorneys representing the family of Alton Sterling have requested video and audio of the moments leading up to his fatal shooting.The family attorneys filed a request Thursday for the recordings, which had previously been described to them ahead of the Department of Justice's decision to not pursue charges against the two officers involved in the shooting. Video capturing the moment Sterling was shot had surfaced online shortly after the incident, however the video mentioned in t
  
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• Law firm offering free rides home after LSU vs. Auburn game

  05-10-2017 13:47
  BATON ROUGE - The Dudley DeBosier personal injury law firm is offering free rides to locals looking to get home safely after the next LSU home game. The law firm has teamed up with Lyft to offer free rides following the Oct. 14 game against Auburn at Tiger Stadium.To get the free ride, all fans have to do is pre-register for a Lyft promo code at www.dudleydebosier.com/LSU. Those who register can then go to the desi
  
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• LSU allows more Greek activities in weeks after death of pledge

  05-10-2017 13:27
  BATON ROUGE – LSU is loosening its grip on regulations for Greek organizations that were swiftly implemented after the death of a fraternity pledge in September.Thursday, LSU agreed to allow more activities but kept its ban on overnight events and new member meetings such as study groups or study hours and a cleanup hours where new members do chores.Search warrants uncovered by WBRZ and first reported on WBRZ.com show investigators suspect the 18-year-old who died last month died duri
  
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• Official: Vegas shooter booked room overlooking Chicago festival

  05-10-2017 13:24
  LAS VEGAS - A full two months before he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas from a 32nd-floor room of a hotel and killed 58 people, Stephen Paddock booked a room at a Chicago hotel that overlooks a park where a major music festival was held that weekend, a law enforcement official said Thursday.  The official said that law enforcement found no evidence that Paddock ever came to Chicago during the weekend of Lollapalooza - a music festival that attracts hundreds
  
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• Southern, SLU and other colleges announce weekend sports changes due to Nate

  05-10-2017 12:40
  HAMMOND - Southeastern is one of a few colleges in Louisiana making changes to its weekend sports plans ahead of tropical trouble expected here from Nate.Southeastern's Saturday football game has been moved to 10 a.m. from Saturday at 4 p.m.  Homecoming events, including tailgating, scheduled for Saturday has been postponed until October 28."Students who can travel home are encouraged to do so," the University Police department posted on its Facebook page. Similarly, 
  
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• SLU, other colleges announce weekend sports changes due to Nate

  05-10-2017 12:40
  HAMMOND - Southeastern is one of a few colleges in Louisiana making changes to its weekend sports plans ahead of tropical trouble expected here from Nate.Southeastern's Saturday football game has been moved to 10 a.m. from Saturday at 4 p.m.  Homecoming events, including tailgating, scheduled for Saturday has been postponed until October 28."Students who can travel home are encouraged to do so," the University Police department posted on its Facebook page. Likewise, Tulane ann
  
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• New Orleans- area college sports announce changes due to weather

  05-10-2017 12:40
  NEW ORLEANS – The potential for tropical weather in southeast Louisiana this weekend has forced changes to collegiate sports this weekend.Tulane announced its football game against Tulsa will be played at 11 a.m. Saturday. The game was moved earlier in the day due to the threat of storms.A Tulane volleyball game scheduled for Sunday will be rescheduled.There has been no change to LSU's football game in Florida.Click HERE for the latest forecast.  ******************Fo
  
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• Report of gunshot prompts school lockdown Thursday

  05-10-2017 12:12
  BATON ROUGE – Sounds similar to a gunshot heard in woods near a school caused a scare Thursday morning.The Runnels School was on lockdown at the main campus after a sound was heard in woods near the school. The sheriff's office was called to investigate, the school said in a news release.The lockdown happened around 8:30 Thursday morning.“A substantial law enforcement presence was called,” the school said. A search proved nothing and operations resumed about an hou
  
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• Archaeologists may have discovered Santa Claus remains

  05-10-2017 07:41
  ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish archaeologists believe they may have discovered the remains of St. Nicholas - from whom the legend of Santa Claus emerged - beneath a church at his birthplace in southern Turkey.  St. Nicholas was born and served as a bishop of what is now the Turkish Mediterranean town of Demre, near Antalya, in the 4th century. He was buried there, but his bones were long believed to have been taken to the southern Italian town of Bari.  Cemil Karab
  
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• Man caught stealing copper from New Orleans FBI site

  05-10-2017 06:42
  NEW ORLEANS - It was a case that hit close to home for the New Orleans office of the FBI.  The agency says in a Wednesday news release that a man was spotted outside its New Orleans field office removing copper from the site where a visitor center is under construction.  Security guards spotted him around 6 p.m. on Sept. 22.  Surveillance cameras recorded him pulling up in a white pickup truck and grabbing copper wire belonging to a federal
  
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• Man pleads guilty to theft of disaster aid

  05-10-2017 06:38
  BATON ROUGE - A Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to stealing disaster aid linked to last year's flooding in Baton Rouge.  Acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson says 65-year-old Joe W. Jones, of Baton Rouge, entered the plea Tuesday to theft of government funds in the amount of $13,806 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  Amundson, in a news release, said Jones filed a fraudulent claim with FEMA seeking disaster assistance following the 2016 flooding t
  
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• Louisiana tweaks flood aid program for small businesses

  05-10-2017 06:33
  BATON ROUGE - Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration is boosting the size of loans available to small businesses damaged by last year's flooding and extending the deadline for applications.  The Restore Louisiana Small Business Program offers interest-free, partially forgivable loans to businesses harmed by the March and August 2016 floods. Twenty percent of the loan is forgiven when the other 80 percent is repaid.  Under the changes announced Wednesday, the l
  
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• Flambeau Fest official to discuss increased safety measures

  05-10-2017 05:32
  BATON ROUGE - Gonzales' country and rock music festival, Flambeau Fest is kicking off this weekend, but after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, some are concerned about festival safety. Flambeau Fest producer Mark Miller will sit with WBRZ's Malary Pullen in an exclusive interview discussing how festival organizers are raising security measures. You can catch that interview at 6:45 a.m. on our website, WBRZ Channel 2, Cox Cha
  
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• Woman stabbed on Cadillac Street overnight

  05-10-2017 05:19
  BATON ROUGE - Emergency crews responded to a stabbing on Cadillac Street overnight. Sources say one woman was stabbed multiple times around 12:15 Thursday morning. She was transported to the hospital in stable condition. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Permalink| Comments
  
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