Baton Rouge news

• District Attorney wants Supreme Court to reinstate Wilbert Jones' rape conviction

  01-12-2017 21:37
  BATON ROUGE - Weeks after Wilbert Jones was released from prison following spending 46-years there on a rape conviction, prosecutors have urged the Supreme Court to reinstate the man's conviction.Jones was released on bail November 15 after a judge ruled prosecutors held back evidence from the defence during the original trial. In an appeal, the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office stated that was not the case.A jury found Jones guilty of raping a Baton Rouge General nurse twice i
  
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• Holiday magic returns downtown at the Festival of Lights

  01-12-2017 21:14
  BATON ROUGE - Hundreds of people gathered on North Blvd. to watch the mayor kickoff the holiday season with the annual lighting of the 35-foot tree,"This is my first year lighting the tree and I couldn't be more excited about it," said Mayor Sharon Weston Broome. "I love the Christmas holidays and I'm so looking forward to it."The lighting was immediately followed by a dazzling display of fireworks over the main stage area, and one woman was definitely feeling the fireworks when her boy friend
  
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• Police investigating shooting at California hospital

  01-12-2017 20:51
  BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Police say there's been a shooting at a hospital in Bakersfield, California, and a suspect has been shot by police.
   Police say in a Facebook post Friday that officers are investigating the shooting at Bakersfield Heart Hospital.
   Investigators say the hospital is on lockdown and officers are checking for other potential threats.
   Police provided no other information.
   A woman who answered the phone at the hospital hung up.Permalink| Com
  
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• Alabama GOP head pushes Trump rally as Senate vote nears

  01-12-2017 20:34
  MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The head of the Alabama Republican Party is urging people to attend a Florida rally with President Donald Trump as Alabama's heated U.S. Senate race draws to a close.
   Republican Party Chairwoman Terry Lathan on Friday urged people to attend the Dec. 8 rally with Trump in Pensacola, which is just a few miles from the Alabama border.
   Republican Roy Moore faces Democrat Doug Jones in the Dec. 12 Senate election.
   The White House has said Trump would
  
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• Report: Audit says former LSP superintendent lived life of luxury off taxpayer money

  01-12-2017 18:17
  BATON ROUGE - According to a Louisiana state investigative audit, former State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson used taxpayer money to provide luxuries for himself and his family, possibly illegally. According to an early copy of  the audit obtained by the Advocate, Edmonson allegedly used his position to live rent-free at a Department of Public Safety compound for the past nine years. This benefit was reportedly estimated to be worth $423,720. Edmons
  
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• Governor takes LGBT rights battle to state Supreme Court

  01-12-2017 17:40
  NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's governor is going to the state's Supreme Court in hopes of reviving his executive order aimed at protecting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in state government.  Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, issued an order in April 2016 banning discrimination in state government and state contracts based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry challenged the order.  A stat
  
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• Hole in pipeline leaks oil into Louisiana marsh

  01-12-2017 17:33
  NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Coast Guard says a hole in a pipeline has leaked oil into a marsh about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of New Orleans.  XTO Energy spokesman Jeremy Eikenberry said Friday that the leak occurred Nov. 22 on a flow line, which transports product from wells to a nearby storage facility. The Fort Worth, Texas-based XTO owns the pipeline.  The Coast Guard reports that about 1,260 gallons (4,679 liters) of oil have been recovered from the mars
  
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• Unusual number of returned property tax notices in Livingston Parish

  01-12-2017 17:30
  LIVINGSTON PARISH - A high number of returned tax notices in Livingston Parish may become a problem in the near future.Tax notices were sent out, but the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office says they've received an unusual number of returned notices."Some people are still not back in their homes. Mail is being forwarded, and those tax notices could have gotten lost in the shuffle. So we're asking folks to communicate with us because taxes are due on December 31st," said Lori Steele, LPSO's spoke
  
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• Woman sponsors 125 kids from Boys and Girls Club for Christmas

  01-12-2017 15:45
  TAMPA, Fla. - A Florida woman has 'adopted' 125 kids from the Boys and Girls Club in Tampa after learning they didn't have an annual holiday party planned. Carolynn Smith tells ABC Action News she recently learned that The Wilbert Davis Branch Boys and Girls Club did not have a sponsor to adopt the kids this year. Smith mentors at the facility located in Belmont Heights,  just minutes from Seminole Heights. "I know it's a strong calling in m
  
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• Jackson Police: Brother stabs younger brother multiple times

  01-12-2017 15:31
  JACKSON, Miss. - Jackson Police say a 17-year-old boy was stabbed multiple times apparently by his brother.  Sgt. Roderick Holmes, in a news release, says it happened Friday shortly after 11:30 a.m.  Holmes says officers were called to a home in Jackson about a domestic assault and found the teenager with cuts to both his hand and leg.  Investigators say the stabbing occurred after an altercation between the victim and his 21-year-old brothe
  
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• Man arrested for exposing himself to 13-year-old, sending inappropriate texts

  01-12-2017 14:24
  BATON ROUGE - Police have arrested a local man after they learned of an inappropriate encounter he had with a teen back in 2015.According to the Baton Rouge Police Department, 40-year-old Jerry Lodge was arrested Friday after the teenage victim came forward. The girl, who was 13 years old at the time of the incident, told police she was staying with family at a hotel on Sherwood Forest Boulevard in early January  2015. She says she woke up around 3 a.m. to find Lodge fondling
  
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• Man accused of uploading video of child rape online

  01-12-2017 13:57
  BATON ROUGE- A man accused of uploading video of a young child being raped has been arrested on child pornography charges.Michael Gonzalez, 35, was booked into Parish Prison with one count of pornography involving juveniles, arrest records show.The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted state authorities to a video allegedly uploaded by Gonzalez to an online video storage service in early August. The video appears to show a man raping a girl who authorities say appears to be
  
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• Man accused of uploading child pornography

  01-12-2017 13:57
  BATON ROUGE- A man accused of uploading video of a young child being raped has been arrested on child pornography charges.Michael Gonzalez, 35, was booked into Parish Prison with one count of pornography involving juveniles, arrest records show.The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children alerted state authorities to a video allegedly uploaded by Gonzalez to an online video storage service in early August. The video appears to show a man raping a girl classified by authorities as bein
  
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• Authorities searching for missing twins last seen in St. Tammany Parish

  01-12-2017 13:40
  SLIDELL - Authorities on the Northshore are looking for twin, teenage boys who were last seen with their non-custodial mother.According to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, 13-year-old William Hardin and David Hardin were last seen Wednesday. They were seen with 46-year-old Shelly Hardin, their non-custodial mother.Anyone who has information on these three individuals is asked to call (985) 898-2338 or 911.Permalink| Comments
  
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• 2 sentenced in meth conspiracy

  01-12-2017 13:30
  NEW ORLEANS - Federal prosecutors say a New Orleans man received a five-year prison sentence, and his California co-defendant got a 10-year sentence for their roles in a methamphetamine conspiracy.  Acting U.S. Attorney Duane Evans says in a news release that 38-year-old Trung Pham of Los Angeles was sentenced to 10 years on Wednesday; 40-year-old Tommy Wells of New Orleans drew the five-year sentence. Both had pleaded guilty to charges involving possession and conspiracy to d
  
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• NTSB: Bird carcasses found in medical helicopter wreckage

  01-12-2017 12:56
  DeWITT, Ark. - A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report says several bird carcasses were found in the wreckage of a medical helicopter that crashed last month in eastern Arkansas, killing all three people aboard.  The cause of the Nov. 19 crash remains under investigation, but local officials have suggested that a large number of geese in the area may be to blame.  The NTSB report says residents near the accident site reported hearing a boom
  
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• Money stolen in two separate incidents at Lafourche casino

  01-12-2017 12:48
  LAFOURCHE PARISH- Deputies from the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office are offering a reward of information leading to the arrests in separate incidents wherein cash was stolen from an area casino.The first incident occurred Nov.24 at the Raceland casino on U.S. Highway 90. Through their investigation, detectives learned an unidentified male subject had been gambling inside the casino for some time. At one point, the man approached the cashier's counter, distracted the cashier
  
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• Michael Flynn to plead guilty to lying to the F.B.I.

  01-12-2017 11:57
  WASHINGTON - Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is to plead guilty Friday to making false statements to the FBI, the fourth former Trump adviser charged so far in a wide-ranging investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.  Court documents show Flynn, an early and vocal supporter on the campaign trail of President Donald Trump whose business dealings and foreign interactions made him a central focus of Mueller's investigation, will admit to lying a
  
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• NCAA hits Ole Miss football hard with sanctions

  01-12-2017 11:44
  OXFORD, MS - The NCAA hit the Ole Miss football program Friday with multiple sanctions following a five-year investigation into the program while lead by former head coach Hugh Freeze. The National Collegiate Athletics Association handed Ole Miss a two-year bowl ban, docked 13 scholarships and levied a $179,000 fine. Additionally, the coaches named in the investigation will be forbidden from coaching in the NCAA for a period of time. The uni
  
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• Early morning school bus crash

  01-12-2017 09:29
  BATON ROUGE- Authorities were on the scene of an early morning school bus crash.The crash occurred at Burbank Drive and Pecan Tree Drive. The accident involved a school bus at a vehicle.At the time of the crash, the bus did have children onboard, but no injuries were reported.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Authorities looking for missing New Orleans teen

  01-12-2017 09:24
  NEW ORLEANS- Authorities are asking for the public's help to find a missing teen who was last seen leaving her home her Bywater neighborhood home.According to WWL-TV, the New Orleans Police Department said 13-year-old Diamond Lawrence was last seen around 6:30 a.m. Thursday as she left for school in the 1200 block of Kentucky Street in New Orleans.When she did not return at the usual time that evening, her mother called police.Lawrence is described as black female standing abo
  
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• Man found shot to death off Scenic Hwy. Friday

  01-12-2017 07:57
  UPDATE: Authorities say they are investigating the shooting death of an unidentified black male. The man was found in the 6500 block of Scenic Highway around 5:25 a.m. Friday.The motive and suspect(s) are unknown at this time.*****BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge detectives were called out to a suspicious death Friday morning near Scenic Highway. A BRPD spokesperson tells WBRZ that they were initially called to the scene located in the 6600 block of Kaufman Street a
  
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• Colleges review honors amid sexual misconduct allegations

  01-12-2017 07:34
  Some U.S. universities are reviewing whether to revoke honorary degrees given to prominent men accused of sexual misconduct.North Carolina State, Oswego State and Montclair State are reviewing honorary degrees given to news anchor Charlie Rose, who has been accused of harassment.Dozens more have yet to announce the fate of accolades given to men including Democratic congressman John Conyers and Pixar executive John Lasseter.Experts say it's rare for schools to revoke honorary degrees but that o
  
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• Child calls 911; police find adults sprawled on floor

  01-12-2017 07:27
  WOODWORTH- Louisiana police say after an 11-year-old called 911, police found two adults sprawled on the floor in a house filled with smoke from the oven and evidence of weeks without water or sewer service.Woodworth Police Chief James Gonzales tells the Town Talk children aged 13 and three also were there when he arrived about midnight Monday.He says he called the state family services department, but relatives called by the 11-year-old took custody of the children. The Rapides Parish Clerk of
  
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• Man accused of fraud in Louisiana arrested in Alabama

  01-12-2017 06:59
  ALEXANDRIA- A man who promised to bring a $1.5 billion aluminum plant to Louisiana has been arrested in Alabama in a separate Louisiana fraud case.News outlets report that the Mobile County Sheriff's Department arrested Roger Boggs on an Alexandria Police Department warrant accusing him of fraud.The warrant accuses him of trying to defraud a local bank by mortgaging a piece of property he owned in another state, then transferring the property to a relative.Boggs was CEO of Revolution Aluminum,
  
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• Baton Rouge Police looking for woman missing since February

  01-12-2017 06:03
  BATON ROUGE- Detectives from the Baton Rouge Police Department are attempting to locate a missing woman.Anna Hubbert, 45, was last seen wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes and a peach shirt. Hubbert hasn't been seen since Feb. 27.Police believe foul play might be a reason for her disappearance.Anyone with information on Hubbert's whereabouts is urged to contact the Missing Person Division at 389-8617.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Fiery 18-wheeler crash jammed morning commute

  01-12-2017 05:42
  BATON ROUGE- An 18-wheeler crashed and caught fire early this morning on I-10 East at Perkins Poad.The accident took place around 4:45 Friday morning.I-10 East at Perkins Road was temporarily closed, and traffic delays had reached past LA 415 in Lobdell.Hazmat was on the scene to investigate. The scene was deemed safe.  This is a developing story. Check back for updates.The right and center lanes remain blocked on I-10 East at Perkins Road due to vehicle recovery oper
  
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