Baton Rouge news

• Overturned vehicle bursts into flames in Central

  28-11-2017 21:10
  CENTRAL - Emergency crews responded to an overturned vehicle that was on fire on Hooper Road Tuesday evening.According to the Central Fire Department, crews responded to Hooper Road near Devall road around 6:45 p.m.Video from Central FD shows the vehicle engulfed in flames. Authorities initially thought someone was trapped inside the vehicle.However, there was no entrapment and no injuries reported from the scene. There was "plenty of fire" though, according to Central FD.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Bali airport closed 3rd day due to volcanic ash

  28-11-2017 20:51
  KARANGASEM, Indonesia - The international airport on the Indonesian island of Bali is closed for a third day due to an erupting volcano.  Bali airport spokesman Arie Ahsannurohim said the airport would be closed until Thursday morning.  He said Wednesday morning that volcanic ash has not been detected at the airport yet, but observations show it has reached an altitude of 25,000 feet and was being blown southward and southwestward toward the airport.&nbsp
  
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• Kennedy: 'Zero confidence' in Louisiana corrections agency

  28-11-2017 20:42
  BATON ROUGE - U.S. Sen. John Kennedy slammed Gov. John Bel Edwards' criminal justice overhaul, saying he doesn't believe the corrections department can properly administer the changes to protect public safety.  The Republican senator released a video and statement Tuesday from Washington, where the Democratic governor participated in an event championing the law changes.  Kennedy cited "numerous scandals" at the corrections department, including allegations o
  
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• Feds, ex-Louisiana congressman working on resentencing deal

  28-11-2017 20:17
  McLEAN, Va. - Federal prosecutors and lawyers for a former Louisiana congressman who famously hid $90,000 in his freezer are working on an agreement for his resentencing on corruption charges.  Former Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was convicted in 2009. He received a 13-year sentence, but was released earlier this year after a Virginia judge dismissed seven charges based on a Supreme Court ruling that made it more difficult to convict public officials on bribery-relat
  
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• Court tie means Louisiana Planned Parenthood keeps funding

  28-11-2017 20:14
  NEW ORLEANS - A tie vote among 14 federal appeals court judges in New Orleans allows Planned Parenthood facilities in Louisiana to keep receiving Medicaid funding.  The money in question goes to health services other than abortion for low-income women. However, abortion opponents have opposed any government funding for the organization.  In 2015, a federal judge blocked a move by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration to cut off the funding. A three-judge pa
  
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• LSU rises in latest CFB Playoff rankings

  28-11-2017 19:13
  BATON ROUGE - The LSU Tigers have moved up to take the no. 17 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.The Tigers, who were ranked no. 18 last week, climbed after this weekend's regular-season finale victory over the Texas A&M Aggies.The Tigers beat the Aggies by a score of 45-21 Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.Another notable shake-up in the rankings affected the Alabama Crimson Tide, which fell out of its no. 1 spot and landed in fifth after a loss to Auburn Saturday. Auburn in tur
  
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• Man wanted for allegedly raping woman who passed out in Tigerland

  28-11-2017 18:05
  BATON ROUGE - Police are seeking a 37-year-old Baton Rouge man after he allegedly raped a woman following a night of drinking at a popular bar near LSU's campus.According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, the victim met up with a friend at JL's Place in Tigerland on Sept. 2 and proceeded to have a number of alcoholic drinks. The victim said she blacked out after a while, and the next thing she remembered was waking up on a stranger's couch with a man's ge
  
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• Longer than expected headstone order preventing family from finding peace

  28-11-2017 17:57
  WALKER - A woman who ordered a headstone from a Livingston Parish company says she's having a tough time putting her father to rest since her order from May hasn't been completed.Krystle Walker buried her father at Vickers Cemetery months ago. Soon after his death, she ordered a double headstone for her mother and father from Louisiana Memorials and Signs. She wrote a check for the full amount of $2,295 and says the check was cashed two days later. Walker says she was quoted a 6-8 week delivery
  
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• Rare twin tiger cubs being hand-raised at Pittsburgh Zoo

  28-11-2017 17:36
  PITTSBURGH - Two rare tiger cubs whose mother didn't bond with them are being hand-raised at a Pittsburgh zoo.  Zoo keepers at The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium on Tuesday showed off the twin male and female endangered Amur cubs, which were born Sept. 25. The keepers had noticed the cubs' mother wasn't caring for them 24 hours after their birth and decided to remove them.  In a few weeks the cubs will transfer to one of the zoo's cat buildings, where they
  
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• Popular Louisiana TV host Tony Fontenot dead from apparent suicide

  28-11-2017 17:15
  THIBODAUX- Police are investigating a Monday morning suicide at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center that claimed the life of a local TV personality and businessman.According to the Thibodaux Police Department, Tony Fontenot, 59, shot himself to death shortly before 7:30 a.m. with a small-caliber weapon in one of the hospital's public bathrooms."Basically he went to the hospital and walked into the restroom near the emergency room area and shot himself," Chief Bryan Zeringue said
  
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• Popular Louisiana TV host found dead from apparent suicide

  28-11-2017 17:15
  THIBODAUX- Police are investigating a Monday morning suicide at Thibodaux Regional Medical Center that claimed the life of a local TV personality and businessman.According to the Thibodaux Police Department, Tony Fontenot, 59, shot himself to death shortly before 7:30 a.m. with a small-caliber weapon in one of the hospital's public bathrooms."Basically he went to the hospital and walked into the restroom near the emergency room area and shot himself," Chief Bryan Zeringue said
  
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• Embattled Council on Aging Director's mom finally recuses herself from controversial case

  28-11-2017 16:35
  BATON ROUGE- State District Judge Janice Clark, the mother of embattled East Baton Rouge Council on Aging Director Tasha Clark Amar, has recused herself from a high-profile case involving the will of her daughter's deceased client.
  It took eight months for Judge Clark to remove herself from Helen Plummer's tutorship proceedings. That is a piece of the case that would allow the Plummer family to settle her estate. With Clark not taking any action on the court order for eight months, the
  
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• Fired DOC employee files lawsuit, claims harassment allegations are false

  28-11-2017 16:25
  BATON ROUGE - A recently-fired employee at the Louisiana Department of Corrections has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging that the accusations that led to his termination were false.According to lawsuit filed Monday by Dr. Raman Singh, the former medical director for the DOC, is seeking damages from the department after he was fired earlier in November. An employee accused Singh of sexually harassing her at a conference last month in Lake Charles. Singh has strongly
  
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• Charges considered against hunter who fatally shot woman

  28-11-2017 16:13
  SHERMAN, N.Y. - Authorities say a grand jury will decide whether to bring criminal charges against a western New York hunter who shot and killed a neighbor he mistook for a deer. Mourners, meantime, are saying their final goodbyes to a woman described by her husband as an angel.  The Chautauqua County sheriff's office says Rosemary Billquist was killed Thanksgiving eve while walking her dogs behind her home after sunset, when hunting is illegal.  District Att
  
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• Louisiana man accused of putting deputy in chokehold

  28-11-2017 15:54
  MARRERO- Authorities say a Louisiana man who put a sheriff's deputy in a chokehold has been arrested.Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Jason Rivarde tells NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune 29-year-old John Haaff is charged with several offenses including battery of a police officer with injury.An arrest report says deputies were called out Saturday evening to a fight at Haaff's residence in Marrero.The report says Haaff slapped one deputy and punched another in the face before a third a
  
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• Man arrested Tuesday after erratic driving kills one

  28-11-2017 15:25
  BATON ROUGE- A man arrested Tuesday has been accused of second-degree murder after a May 5th car crash left one person dead.Justin Ainsworth, 30, was booked with one count of attempted second-degree murder, one count of second-degree murder, and three counts of reckless operation, booking records show.On May 5, a head-on collision occurred at the intersection of Florida Boulevard and Green Oak Drive. Authorities say Ainsworth was erratically driving a 2013 Chevrolet Equinox and traveli
  
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• Japan UN ambassador criticizes NK after launch

  28-11-2017 14:30
  WASHINGTON - Japan's U.N. Ambassador Koro Bessho says the government has told the North Koreans "that we criticize their behavior in the strongest terms possible" following a new missile launch.  He told reporters Tuesday at U.N. headquarters that "we are very concerned and we have condemned them publicly."  U.N. Security Council President Sebastiano Cardi says he has been in contact with key U.N. members, but no request has been made yet for a meeting.&n
  
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• Man arrested after admitting to running over victim following argument

  28-11-2017 14:24
  KENNER- Authorities arrested a man they say intentionally ran over another man with his car following an altercation.The incident took place early Monday morning outside a bar on Williams Boulevard in Kenner. WWL-TV reports the victim is listed as stable at University Hospital with a broken leg, broken ribs and lacerations to his face and head.Authorities said incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. outside El Noa Noa restaurant and bar in the 3600 block of Williams Boulevard. Jose Mejia-Ju
  
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• Trump celebrates committee passage of tax plan

  28-11-2017 14:22
  WASHINGTON - The White House is celebrating the Senate Budget Committee's passage of the Republican tax plan, which will advance the sweeping tax package to the full Senate.  Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Tuesday that President Donald Trump is applauding the committee for "taking an important step toward passing historic tax relief and reform and clearing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this afternoon."  She says the president "looks fo
  
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• Trump talks Alabama with Senate GOP -- Football, that is

  28-11-2017 14:15
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump briefly discussed Alabama at the Senate GOP luncheon. That's Alabama football, not Senate candidate Roy Moore.  Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby told reporters Tuesday after the closed-door luncheon that there was no mention of Moore, the divisive GOP candidate. Trump has all but endorsed Moore, while Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have called for him to step aside amid allegations of sexual misconduct. &
  
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• Homeless Samaritan to get house, dream truck, trust funds

  28-11-2017 14:02
  PHILADELPHIA - A New Jersey woman has raised more than $385,000 for a Philadelphia homeless man who came to her roadside aid - enough to buy him a home and his dream truck, and provide him with a small annual salary.  Kate McClure said on her GoFundMe page Tuesday that an attorney and financial adviser helped 34-year-old Johnny Bobbitt Jr. come up with the plan.  McClure, of Florence Township, ran out of gas on an Interstate 95 exit ramp late one night in Phi
  
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• Louisiana schools receive additional $14 million in flood recovery funds

  28-11-2017 13:11
  BATON ROUGE - Area schools flooded in last year's dramatic flood will soon receive an additional $14 million in federal disaster aid.Some schools in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and Tangipahoa parishes will be getting supplementary support funds after the August 2016 flood, FEMA announced Tuesday.The following schools will benefit from the FEMA reimbursement: -Amite West Side Middle Magnet School-Baker High School-Brookstown Magnet Middle Sc
  
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• Sex assault victims billed for rape kits will be reimbursed

  28-11-2017 13:09
  NEW YORK - New York's attorney general says dozens of sexual assault survivors were improperly billed for their rape exams by a New York City hospital.  Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Tuesday that under an agreement with his office, the Brooklyn Hospital Center will reimburse patients who paid out of pocket for a rape kit.  Schneiderman says the hospital will inform rape survivors that under New York state law the rape kits can be billed to the state
  
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• Pentagon: Missile launched by North Korea was an intercontinental ballistic missile

  28-11-2017 13:08
  WASHINGTON - The Pentagon says it detected and tracked a single North Korean missile launch and believes it was an intercontinental ballistic missile.Pentagon spokesman Col. Rob Manning said Tuesday that the missile was launched from Sain Ni, North Korea, and traveled about 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan.Manning says the Pentagon's information is based on an initial assessment of the launch. He says a more detailed assessment was in the works.A U.
  
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• Deputies: Mother threw infant at father's feet during fight

  28-11-2017 12:49
  NEW ORLEANS- Authorities say a Louisiana mother threw her infant son at his father's feet, fracturing the baby's skull.Nola.com/The Times-Picayune reports the infant's father said he had been arguing with 24-year-old Heidy Rios, of Terrytown, when she threw the 3-week-old baby at his feet and uttered an expletive, telling him to "take" his son.The father took the child to a New Orleans hospital on Thursday, and doctors determined the infant had fractured his right temporal bone. Authorities say
  
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• Police seek 11-year-old missing from New Orleans-area home

  28-11-2017 12:44
  NEW ORLEANS - Police are asking for the public’s help to find a missing 11-year-old who was last seen leaving her New Orleans-area home Sunday.According to the New Orleans Police Department, Ketasha Lincoln was last seen around 5 p.m. Nov. 26 after she lefte her home on Simon Bolivar Avenue.Investigators say Lincoln was last seen wearing a white t-shirt, black tights and a royal blue jacket with “Flag Team” written on the back and “Renew&rdqu
  
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• Overturned cement truck leaves mess on Greenwell Springs Road

  28-11-2017 12:20
  CENTRAL - Firefighters say they didn't have to go far after a cement truck overturned and spilled its load right in front of a Central fire station Tuesday morning.The Central Fire Department responded to reports of a crash on Greenwell Springs Road near Donnybrook sometime before 9:30 a.m. There, firefighters found an overturned cement truck, with its load spilling into a nearby ditch.The driver of the vehicle was not injured, however crews had to remove the back gla
  
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• Devos: Mobile app coming for federal student aid application

  28-11-2017 11:38
  WASHINGTON- Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says college students will soon be able to file their applications for federal student aid through a mobile app.Speaking Tuesday at a conference of student aid professionals in Orlando, Florida, DeVos pledged to make the financial aid process "modern, streamlined, more accessible and simply easier" for all.DeVos says that today one can order food, get a ride home and even find a romantic partner on one's phone, so the Free Application for Federal Stud
  
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• NKorea says it successfully tested new missile

  28-11-2017 11:12
  WASHINGTON - North Korea says it successfully tested a new, nuclear-capable intercontinental-ballistic missile that could target the entire U.S. mainland.  The North's state television said Wednesday the new ICBM was "significantly more" powerful than the previous long-range weapon the North tested.  The report called the weapon a Hwasong 15. The launch was detected after it was fired early Wednesday morning from a site near Pyongyang.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Victim in Friday night shooting succumbs to injuries

  28-11-2017 11:05
  BATON ROUGE- Detectives from the Baton Rouge Police Department are investigating a shooting that left one man dead Friday.The shooting occurred in the 1400 block of North 30 Street around 6 p.m.The victim was identified as 20-year-old Keyonandre James. James suffered from apparent gunshot wounds and was taken to a local hospital by a private vehicle, according to authorities. He later succumbed to his injuries.There are no known suspects at this time. Investigators believe the incident
  
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• EBRSO looking for suspect who stole lottery tickets from Tiger Mart

  28-11-2017 09:51
  BATON ROUGE- Detectives from the East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office are looking for a man they say stole lottery tickets from the Tiger Mart.The incident took place Sept. 16 at a the Tiger Mart at 11693 Nicholson Drive at approximately 5 p.m.According to reports, the suspect ordered $335 worth of PICK 3 and PICK 4 Louisiana Lottery tickets from the clerk. The clerk put the tickets on the counter and counted them. At some point, the suspect took the new tickets and replaced them with old ones. The
  
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• Over $3,000 in quarters stolen from car wash

  28-11-2017 09:11
  ASCENSION PARISH- Deputies from the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office are actively seeking information in reference to a theft of over $3,000 in quarters stolen from a car wash.The date of the incident and the location were not released.Authorities said the suspect appears to be a white male driving a truck. The suspect is also wanted by the Baton Rouge Police Department for a similar crime at a car wash in Baton Rouge.Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the Ascension
  
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• Edwards to host series of regional human traffic summits

  28-11-2017 08:30
  BATON ROUGE- Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Governor's Office Human Trafficking Prevention Commission will be hosting a series of regional summits, starting today, on human trafficking.According to a release from Edwards' office, the summits will be a collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services, the Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers, State Police and HP Serve. The release also stated that the summits will highlight pertinent information from key stakeholders
  
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• Arby's buying Buffalo Wild Wings in deal worth over $2.4 billion

  28-11-2017 08:12
  ATLANTA, Ga.- In a deal worth about $2.4 billion, Arby's is buying casual dining chain Buffalo Wild Wings.According to ABC 7, Arby's Restaurant Group Inc. said Tuesday that it will pay $157 per share. That is a seven percent premium to Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.'s Monday closing price of $146.40.Including debt, both companies put the transaction's value at $2.9 billion. ABC 7 also says, Buffalo Wild Wings will become a privately held subsidiary of Arby's and will continue to operate as an independ
  
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• Christmas tree prices rise amid post-recession scarcity

  28-11-2017 07:35
  ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Nearly a decade after the recession began, Christmas tree aficionados are feeling the pinch.News outlets report a nationwide Christmas tree shortage is the result of farmers planting fewer trees when demand plummeted in 2008, or going out of business altogether. North Carolina is the nation's second-largest Christmas tree exporter, after Oregon, producing more than 20 percent of the country's supply.North Carolina Christmas Tree Association Executive Director Jennifer Greene s
  
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• Authorities looking for missing 14-year-old out of New Orleans

  28-11-2017 06:55
  NEW ORLEANS- Officers from the New Orleans Police Department are searching for a 14-year-old boy who was last seen two days ago.WWL-TV reports that Chaz Harris was last seen by his mother on Nov. 25 around 11:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Mary Jane Lane in New Orleans.Harris is described as a black male, 5'11'' and weighing 167 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray sweatshirt with the logo "RSN Entertainment" on the front and wearing black jogging pants.Anyone with information on Harris'&nb
  
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• CNN's Blitzer fights back against president's attack

  28-11-2017 06:38
  NEW YORK - CNN fought back Monday against President Donald Trump's latest attack, with anchor Wolf Blitzer saying that no matter how many insults, "even the loudest critics can't silence the facts."The president over the weekend took a shot at CNN International with a tweet that the network is a source of fake news and poorly represents the United States to the world.Blitzer narrated a segment Monday that featured four minutes of clips with CNN reporters on dangerous reporting assignments in Ir
  
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• Man arrested for shooting outside home in October incident

  28-11-2017 06:07
  BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge Police Officers have charged a man with attempted first-degree murder after connecting him to an incident in October. On Oct. 8, officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2900 block of Shelley Street for a shooting. At the scene, officers learned that multiple people were fired upon by a black male after an ongoing dispute.The male was identified as Brandon Randolph.Authorities conducted an interview on Nov. 8 with one of the victims. During the interview
  
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