Baton Rouge news

• LSU Greek task force looks to implement training program to combat hazing

  14-11-2017 21:38
  BATON ROUGE - LSU President F. King Alexander's task force on Greek life held its second meeting Tuesday evening. The take away - possibly implementing "Bystander Intervention Training", or Tiger BITes, for all Greek chapters.The program gives people the training they need to properly intervene in a situation where someone needs help. D'ann Morris with the LSU Student Health Center says although the program was not created specifically to combat hazing, she sees it wo
  
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• Suspect in stabbing at Mississippi casino arrested

  14-11-2017 20:41
  BILOXI, Miss. - Federal marshals have arrested a Mississippi man sought for a stabbing at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel.  Biloxi Police Maj. Christopher De Back said Tuesday that marshals arrested 29-year-old Hallis Wayne Russ Jr., of Vancleave, and his girlfriend, 37-year-old Brandi Delaine Ratliff, of Louisville, at the home of an acquaintance.  The Sun Herald reports Russ faces an aggravated assault charge for stabbing a man during an argument in the casino's
  
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• Police: Workers saved lives with school lockdown

  14-11-2017 20:27
  RED BLUFF, Calif. - Authorities say a gunman tried to get into rooms at a California elementary school with the intent of shooting children but that workers initiated a lockdown that saved lives.  Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston says school officials heard shots being fired and immediately locked down Rancho Tehama School in a tiny, rural town Tuesday.  He says it was "monumental" that school workers took the action they did and there is no doub
  
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• Opioid addiction treatments face off in US trial

  14-11-2017 20:26
  CHICAGO - The first U.S. study to compare two treatments for opioid addiction finds a monthly shot works as well as a daily drug to prevent relapse.  The shot requires days of detox first and that proved to be a stumbling block for many. For those who made it, the shot Vivitrol worked about the same as an older treatment, Suboxone.  Both drugs had high relapse rates and there were overdoses, including fatal ones, in the experiment in 570 adults. It's the firs
  
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• Baker family tries to buy back car for father battling Parkinson's disease

  14-11-2017 20:19
  BAKER- A local family is trying to buy back a 1940's yellow coupe for their beloved father's 65th birthday.Bill Mosely of Baker, Louisiana has struggled with Parkinson's disease for over a decade. His son, Hunter Mosely, says his disease has take a turn for the worse within the past two years. Bill opened up Baker Glass in 1979. He soon began restoring cars, and the yellow coupe was his first."Dad had multiple cars that he restored, but this was his first one, this wa
  
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• One injured in shooting on Sharon Hills Street

  14-11-2017 19:32
  BATON ROUGE - One person was injured in a shooting on Sharon Hills Street early Tuesday night.According to authorities, the shooting took place in the 9000 block of Sharon Hills sometime before 7:20 p.m.The person was shot in the leg and is in stable condition, authorities said.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Local high school student earns perfect score on the ACT

  14-11-2017 18:07
  ST. AMANT - A high school senior in Ascension Parish is being lauded for a rare accomplishment after she made a perfect score on the ACT exam.According to Andrea Broussard with the Ascension Parish School Board, student Blaire Peterson earned a perfect 36 on the ACT. In 2017, the national average for the test is a 21, according to scholarprep.com. Peterson is also a National Merit Scholar finalist and participates in a number of extracurricular activ
  
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• Endangered whooping cranes released in Louisiana in efforts to avoid extinction

  14-11-2017 18:01
  GRAND CHENIER- The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced on Tuesday that a group of 12 juvenile whooping cranes were released into LDWF's Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge on the coast of South Louisiana.The juvenile cranes will join 49 other whooping cranes that are a part of an experimental population being monitored by LDWF.Of the 12 cranes, seven were reared at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, two were raised at Calgary Zoo in Canada, and three were hatch
  
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• Miscommunication may force rebuilding flood victim to start over from scratch

  14-11-2017 17:58
  BATON ROUGE - As people rebuild from last year's flood, they're making sure all their paperwork is in order. One woman says she's done that, but the City-Parish says she missed a step. That step is halting her from pulling permits to proceed with the rest of the work she needs to do.Rhenda Love has put up her walls and she's ready to move onto the flooring. But the City-Parish says she missed an electrical inspection and Love fears she'll have to take down those new walls and start over.Love re
  
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• Recent mass shootings compel churches nationwide to arm themselves

  14-11-2017 17:10
  TEXAS- The November massacre at a Texas church has obliged one church's pastor to carry a gun, and fellow clergy members plan on protecting their congregants by arming themselves as well."Churches are more vulnerable than ever before," Pastor Joe Worley of First Baptist Church in Groves, Texas, said.Worley's congregation is about three hours east of Sutherland Springs, where Devin Kelley allegedly blasted his way into a church Nov. 5 with a high-powered rifle, killing 26 people and wou
  
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• House passes bill to renew flood insurance program

  14-11-2017 16:44
  WASHINGTON- The House has passed legislation that will increase flood insurance premiums for many property owners to help firm up a program under stress from ever-more frequent and powerful storms.The bill's passage Tuesday was secured when sponsors agreed to accommodate lawmakers determined to protect constituents from steeper rate hikes.The measure passed 237-189. Opposition largely came from Democratic lawmakers, but some Republicans also argued that recent changes to the bill didn't go far
  
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• Louisiana parishes designated disaster areas after Harvey

  14-11-2017 14:55
  BATON ROUGE - The federal government has designated several Louisiana parishes disaster areas due to damages caused by flooding from Hurricane Harvey.Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain says the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency recently gave Cameron, Grant, Natchitoches and Rapides parishes that designation. On Tuesday, Strain said additional areas were named as contiguous disaster areas. They are Allen, Avoyelles, Bienville, Calcasieu, DeSoto, Evangeline, Jeff
  
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• Deputies looking for suspected drunk driver who hopped out of ambulance

  14-11-2017 14:16
  ST. BERNARD PARISH- Deputies from the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office are looking for a suspected drunk driver who they say hopped out of an ambulance while he was on the way to the hospital.The suspect has been identified as 34-year-old Renzoll Marrero.WWL-TV reports that Marrero crashed his vehicle into a pole near Chalmette Avenue while he was driving east on St. Bernard Highway on Nov. 11. At the time of the crash, authorities said that Marrero had three children--ages 7, 5, and 2--in his vehi
  
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• Sessions unfamiliar with FBI 'black extremists' report

  14-11-2017 14:02
  WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he is unfamiliar with an FBI report about black "extremists" that is alarming some lawmakers.The 12-page FBI intelligence assessment describes "black identity extremist" groups the FBI says are targeting law enforcement after police killings of black men. Foreign Policy first reported on the assessment, which drew outrage from some black lawmakers.Democratic Rep. Karen Bass pressed Sessions on the report during a Tuesday oversight hearing before
  
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• Woman attacks man with frying pan over his singing

  14-11-2017 13:53
  SIOUX FALLS, S.D.- A Sioux Falls woman is facing an aggravated assault charge after police say she hit a man in the head with a frying pan.Police say the 49-year-old woman apparently didn't like the man's singing and struck him at her home Saturday afternoon. The victim and a friend left and called police.KSFY-TV reports that the victim's injuries weren't serious. The woman has been identified as Bernita Josette Skyes.There is no word on what song the victim was singi
  
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• Court won't re-impose death sentence in child rape-murder

  14-11-2017 13:45
  NEW ORLEANS- The Louisiana Supreme Court has refused to consider re-imposing the death penalty for a man serving life for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in 1985, when he was 21.John Francis Wille was sentenced to death for first-degree murder of Michele Lopatta. However St. John the Baptist Parish prosecutors agreed in 2014 that the sentence should be life, and that Wille could continue appeals arguing he's innocent.After a new district attorney was elected, she asked courts to reins
  
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• Series of California shootings kill 5, wound child at school

  14-11-2017 13:41
  RED BLUFF, Calif. — A gunman killed four people and wounded a number of others at random Tuesday at multiple locations in rural Northern California, including an elementary school, before police shot him dead, authorities said.Two hospitals said they were treating seven people, including at least three children.Details were still sketchy hours after the shooting and authorities didn’t have a firm count of the wounded due to the number of places where the gunman opened fire i
  
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• At least five dead in shooting at California elementary school

  14-11-2017 13:41
  TEHAMA COUNTY, Calif. – At least five people are dead, including the shooter, and at least two children injured in a shooting at a Northern California school Tuesday morning.According to a report from Fox 5, shots were fired at Rancho Tehama Elementary School around 8 a.m. The gunman was reportedly shot and killed by police.“Multiple shots were fired in Rancho Tehama, with multiple victims. I am told the suspected shooter is deceased from
  
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• Ex-marketing executive: Fox Sports involved in soccer bribes

  14-11-2017 13:31
  NEW YORK- A former marketing executive has testified that Fox Sports partnered with his firm to pay bribes to soccer officials to secure broadcasting rights to major soccer tournaments.The accusation came Tuesday at the U.S. trial of three former South American soccer officials accused of taking bribes in a sprawling corruption investigation of FIFA, sport's governing body.Alejandro Burzaco, the former CEO of a marketing firm based in Argentina, testified that Fox was among several media compan
  
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• WATCH: Gorilla at Louisville Zoo wants man to swipe right on his photos

  14-11-2017 13:22
  A cute moment was caught on camera at the Louisville Zoo as Jelani the Western lowland gorilla appears to ask a man to swipe right as he scrolls through pictures on his cell phone.“I thought it was awesome!” Sierra Anderson, who took the video, wrote to ABC News on Twitter of the animal’s impressive gesture. “Gorillas are very intelligent animals and it reminded me how they are a lot like humans. Very weird but awesome! I took the video and posted it just
  
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• Family pet shot with arrow in Iberia Parish

  14-11-2017 13:10
  NEW IBERIA - The Humane Society of Louisiana is seeking information after a family's cat was impaled with an arrow over the weekend.The owners say 'Sox' was found Saturday night with an arrow going through her left shoulder, all the way to her backside. Thankfully, the arrow didn't strike any major organs and Sox is now recovering at an area animal hospital.The Humane Society says Sox's owners have filed a complaint with the local sheriff's office. The HSL says it's also offer
  
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• Brown water in Pointee Coupee Parish caused by hydrant testing

  14-11-2017 13:02
  POINTE COUPEE PARISH- Pointe Coupee Fire District 5 is conducting annual hydrant flow testing.It is necessary to test all hydrants to make sure they are in working order, as well as obtain adequate flow rates and pressure, according to Fire District 5.During the test, large volumes of water are moved through the system causing the water to become brown or discolored.Authorities say, when the water from resident's tap is brown, it indicates the disturbance in the water main. There is no health h
  
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• Louisiana man to be freed after 1971 conviction tossed

  14-11-2017 13:00
  BATON ROUGE- A Louisiana man will be freed after nearly 50 years in prison for a rape conviction recently thrown out by a judge who concluded authorities withheld evidence.State District Court Judge Richard Anderson overturned Wilbert Jones' conviction on Oct. 31, saying the case against him was "weak, at best." He also says authorities withheld evidence that could have exonerated Jones decades ago.Anderson scheduled a hearing Tuesday to hear arguments over whether Jones should be released. Def
  
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• Louisiana man seeks freedom after judge tosses decades-old rape case

  14-11-2017 13:00
  BATON ROUGE- A Louisiana man could be freed after nearly 50 years in prison for a rape conviction recently thrown out by a judge who concluded authorities withheld evidence.State District Court Judge Richard Anderson overturned Wilbert Jones' conviction on Oct. 31, saying the case against him was "weak, at best." He also says authorities withheld evidence that could have exonerated Jones decades ago.Anderson scheduled a hearing Tuesday to hear arguments over whether Jones should be released. De
  
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• WATCH: Women thwart robbery attempt at D.C. restaurant

  14-11-2017 12:56
  WASHINGTON, D.C. - A robbery didn't go quite as planned for one thief after a group of women behind the counter decided to fight back.Video from Tony's Breakfast in Washington, D.C. shows the encounter between the large suspect and three employees. The man was seen entering the restaurant around in the early morning hours sometime last week. After hovering around in the background for a while, the man makes his way to the counter and makes a grab at the register as one of the
  
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• Police: 3-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head in Kentucky

  14-11-2017 12:46
  LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Police say a 3-year-old accidentally shot himself in the head in Kentucky and is listed in grave condition.News outlets report the boy shot himself with a gun that was inside a vehicle while his parents were at a used-car lot on Monday. The unidentified child was rushed to a hospital and immediately taken into surgery.Louisville police spokesman Dwight Mitchell says the victim, his mother and a sibling were inside the car when he found the gun and accidentally shot himself.Mitc
  
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• Trump taps acting immigration director to serve permanently

  14-11-2017 12:24
  WASHINGTON- President Donald Trump is nominating the acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to serve in the post permanently.The White House says Thomas Homan's nomination will be sent to the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate must approve the nomination by a majority vote.Homan is an outspoken proponent of Trump's immigration policies, making several appearances in the White House press briefing room to highlight the administration's efforts to deport people in the U.S. ill
  
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• DCFS on officer-involved shooting: police escorts 'not unusual'

  14-11-2017 11:46
  BATON ROUGE - Officer Darrell Carter of the Baton Rouge Police Department was escorting a state social worker Monday night when he shot and killed a man under investigation for child abuse.The head of Louisiana's Department of Children and Family Services would not go into the details of the investigation Tuesday, but Secretary Maketa Garner Walters said a police escort is not unusual."We very often call them when we are going into a situation where we have any understanding of a criminal backg
  
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• Coach accused of providing alcohol to minors rearrested

  14-11-2017 11:26
  METAIRIE - A Louisiana coach and referee accused in August of serving alcohol to juveniles at a party he hosted has been rearrested for allegedly lying in bed with the minors.News outlets report a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office report says 55-year-old Allen Joseph was booked Nov. 9 on a charge of indecent behavior with a juvenile, in addition to the three counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile accompanying his Aug. 10 arrest.Lt. Jason Rivarde says the new charge stems from t
  
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• Judge rejects self-filed appeal from ex-Subway pitchman

  14-11-2017 11:07
  INDIANAPOLIS- A federal judge in Indianapolis has rejected an appeal that former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle filed himself in an attempt to overturn his child pornography and sex abuse convictions.An order from District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt calls Fogle's claim that the court didn't have jurisdiction to convict him "frivolous" with "no conceivable validity in American law."News outlets report that Fogle's motion filed Nov. 6 was done without the high-profile attorneys who repr
  
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• 'Super invader' tree hits South, but flea beetle may be hero

  14-11-2017 09:57
  NEW ORLEANS- Southern states appear to be losing ground to the Chinese tallow, a highly invasive tree overtaking forests from Texas to Florida.Tallows are dangerous because they grow three times faster than most native hardwoods, outcompeting southern maples, oaks, elms and cypress for space and resources. Tallows also have no known insect predators in the U.S. At least not yet. Scientists are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the possible release of a beetle that eats tallow r
  
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• No changes planned for Louisiana Medicaid deal extensions

  14-11-2017 09:30
  BATON ROUGE - Despite pushback from House Republicans, Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration isn't making changes to contract extensions sought for companies that manage care for 1.5 million Medicaid patients.The health department is presenting the same contract terms to lawmakers for consideration Friday that already were rejected by House GOP lawmakers this month. The Democratic administration instead hopes more education about changes it has already made to the deals will help sway votes.Hea
  
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• Multi-car crash CLOSES I-10 westbound at Mall of Louisiana

  14-11-2017 07:34
  BATON ROUGE-***UPDATE: Two right lanes now open, left lane remains blocked.A multiple car crash, involving an overturned vehicle closed I-10 West at the Mall of Louisiana. The crash spanned across all lanes of interstate 10 around 7:30 Tuesday morning.NEW CRASH: I-10 W CLOSED at Mall of LA westbound. Multiple cars involved, one overturned. pic.twitter.com/ZTLYNzORvW— WBRZ Traffic (@WBRZtraffic) November 14, 2017Permalink| Comments
  
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• Multiple agencies capture kidnapping, rape suspect

  14-11-2017 06:35
  ALEXANDRIA-Officers from the Alexandria Police Department were called to an area hospital on Nov. 1 in reference to a rape investigation.The victim told authorities she had been sexually assaulted in her home and forced to stay with the suspect.The suspect was identified as 40-year-old Edward Williams.Williams allegedly forced the victim into the trunk of a car. The victim said Williams beat her before driving her to another location. The victim told authorities she was eventually able to escap
  
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• Retired judge's son released early from prison under new law

  14-11-2017 05:57
  BATON ROUGE- A retired judge's son who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing cocaine and guns from an evidence vault inside the courthouse where he and his mother worked has been released after serving five years.News outlets report the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections spokesman Ken Pastorick said Monday that 35-year-old William Bates Colvin was released Nov. 1. Colvin was one of more than 1,900 convicted inmates released under new Louisiana law Act 280, which re
  
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• Trial date set for man charged in pregnant colleague's death

  14-11-2017 05:49
  BATON ROUGE- A school's assistant principal accused in the 2016 shooting death of a pregnant colleague will stand trial in August 2018.News outlets report that a Baton Rouge state judge set 40-year-old Robert Jovantie Marks' trial date for Aug. 6 on Monday. Marks is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree feticide in the death of 40-year-old Lyntell Washington and her unborn child.Police have said Marks was the father of the unborn child.Marks and Washington worked at Brookstown Midd
  
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• The next cold front and a peek at Thanksgiving week

  14-11-2017 05:41
  Cool morning and pleasant afternoons are ahead. Skies will remain mostly clear.THE FORECAST:Today and Tonight: Tuesday should feel great with high temperatures in the low 70s beneath mostly sunny skies. Winds will be light and northeasterly. Another cool and clear night is on tap with low temperatures slated for the low 50s.Up Next: Wednesday will bring more weather that is seasonable before a slight warming trend begins on Thursday and Friday. Humidity may notch up a bit as well. These changes
  
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