Baton Rouge news

• WATCH: Airport employee videos polar bears on snowy runway

  16-12-2017 20:53
  BARROW, Ak.- An airport employee captured footage of two polar bears on an Alaskan runway.Scott Babcock was wrapping up an early morning runway inspection at America's farthest north airport when he saw what he thought were a couple of wolves, he said in a Facebook post.He took a closer look and saw something a bit bigger: two young polar bears ran away when they saw the worker's truck approach.He made sure to videotape their departure."Well, it’s just another day at the Wile
  
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• College Drive cleanup kicks off massive city-wide beautification project

  16-12-2017 20:19
  BATON ROUGE- In efforts to improve the appearance of many streets in the area, officials have kicked off the "Corridor Beautification Initiative."A huge 4-wheel backhoe contraption was deep into a canal Saturday on College Drive near I-10. "This is a Menzi Muck. We use it to clean out drainage ditches, canals, place hard to get to," Public Works Dirctor Kyle Huffstickler said.The street-cleanup is a joint city, parish, state and civic project.Mayor-P
  
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• New artificial reef to aid fishing created in Louisiana lake

  16-12-2017 19:51
  BATON ROUGE- Louisiana's wildlife and fisheries department has created a new freshwater artificial reef for a Vernon Parish reservoir. The aim is to boost fishing opportunities there.The agency deployed the reef into Vernon Lake on Thursday, saying it will provide additional habitat for juvenile fish. The structure - the wildlife and fisheries department's 69th artificial reef across Louisiana - was built with PVC pipe that otherwise would have been trashed.Vernon Lake is a 4,200-acre reservoir
  
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• Louisiana doctors slowly applying for medical marijuana permit

  16-12-2017 19:18
  BATON ROUGE- The number of doctors who have applied for permission to dispense medical marijuana is edging upward, as the estimated summer start of the program gets closer.In October, only two doctors had submitted applications for the permit required to offer medical-grade pot to patients. Two months later, that has increased to six doctors.According to the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, three of those applications have been approved. None have been denied. The rest are pending.Th
  
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• Victim in serious condition after shooting at barbershop

  16-12-2017 17:26
  BATON ROUGE- Police are responding to a reported shooting near McClelland Drive.Authorities say the incident happened at a barbershop in the 5000 block of Maplewood Drive around 5:15 p.m. Saturday evening.Sources say the victim is in serious condition and is being transported to a nearby hospital.A News 2 crew is at the scene. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Ski lift malfunction strands dozens, 5 have minor injuries

  16-12-2017 17:15
  BOALSBURG, Pa.- A ski lift malfunction on opening day at a Pennsylvania ski resort stranded dozens of people and left five with minor injuries.Around 10 a.m. Saturday, a chair carrying skiers and snowboarders slipped along the haul rope and slid backward into another chair, officials with Tussey Mountain ski resort in Centre County, around 82 miles northwest of Harrisburg, said. That caused a domino effect to several other lift chairs.Officials said the lift was stopped and the ski patrol and e
  
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• Child asks for blanket and food in heartbreaking letter to Santa, donations pour in

  16-12-2017 16:27
  EDINBURG, TX- Donations are flooding in after a first-grader wrote a letter to Santa Claus and asked for a blanket and food.A teacher at Monte Cristo Elementary school in Texas asked her students to write a letter to Santa this Christmas season. In an attempt to teach her first-graders the difference between "wants" and "needs," Ruth Espiricueta asked her students to be specific.One student's letter left Espiricueta heartbroken, so she took to social
  
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• One person killed in Livingston Parish crash

  16-12-2017 15:38
  LIVINGSTON PARISH- Authorities say one man has died after a crash happened early Saturday morning.According to Louisiana State Police, the incident occurred just before 6 a.m. Saturday on LA 43.Troopers say Chad Purvis, 34, was traveling northbound on LA 43 when his vehicle stalled. Purvis began directing traffic around his vehicle using a flashlight. 79-year-old Bobby Stewart of Albany was also traveling northbound. For reasons still under investigation, Stewart fail
  
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• California man gets stuck in chimney during burglary attempt

  16-12-2017 14:50
  CITRUS HEIGHTS, Ca.- Authorities say a Northern California man tried to burglarize a business by entering through the chimney only to become stuck.Police in the Sacramento-area city of Citrus Heights said Friday that 32-year-old Jesse Berube was uninjured but now faces one count of burglary.According to police, Berube slid down the chimney of the business Wednesday and then found himself lodged inside.The Rocklin man was able to reach his cellphone and dial 911 for help.The Sacramento Fire Depa
  
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• Teacher fired after arrest; case involves texts to student

  16-12-2017 13:46
  SARDIS, Miss. - A northwest Mississippi teacher has been fired after he was arrested and accused of sending inappropriate text messages to a student.  Gregory Kennedy was charged Thursday with enticing a child for concealment. He's free on $1,500 bail. It's unclear if he has a lawyer to speak for him.  WREG-TV reports Kennedy had been a history teacher and coach at North Panola High School for about a year before his firing.  Panola County S
  
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• Trump defends tax cuts as good for middle class

  16-12-2017 13:40
  WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is defending the Republicans' tax cut plan, pushing back against criticism that it will benefit the wealthy more than the middle class.  Speaking to reporters at the White House Saturday before leaving for Camp David, Trump said the middle class will benefit because the tax cut will draw companies back from overseas, creating jobs.  The GOP plans to muscle the bill through Congress next week.  Trump touted
  
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• Inside 'Roseanne's' return to television

  16-12-2017 13:14
  NEW YORK - They're back! The cast of ABC's groundbreaking, Emmy-winning family sitcom "Roseanne" will return to the network in an hour-long premiere on March 27.The gang's all here: The revival series again stars Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner, John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner."The Big Bang Theory" star Johnny Galecki, who used to play David, Darlene's guy back in th
  
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• One killed in single-vehicle crash on Coursey Boulevard

  16-12-2017 13:10
  BATON ROUGE - A 24-year-old was killed in a single-vehicle crash on Coursey Boulevard early Saturday morning.According to Baton Rouge Police, the crash occurred around 3:30 a.m. in the 12200 block of Coursey Boulevard.The crash claimed the life of Ebony Rogers, 24, of Baton Rouge.Through the initial investigation, BRPD determined Rogers was traveling eastbound on Coursey Blvd. in a 2003 Toyota Camry. Rogers failed to negotiate a curve and the vehicle traveled off the roadway and struck a pole.
  
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• Ex-wife of Lorenzen Wright charged with murder in 2010 death

  16-12-2017 12:43
  MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Authorities say the ex-wife of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright has been charged with first-degree murder in his death more than seven years ago.  Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said Saturday that Sherra Wright faces charged in the death of her ex-husband, a Memphis native who played for five teams over 13 seasons as a forward and center in the NBA.  Police records show she was arrested in Riverside County, California on Friday nig
  
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• California fire now state's 3rd-largest ever

  16-12-2017 12:39
  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Officials say the massive wildfire that California has been battling since early December is now the third-largest in the state's history, with 259,000 acres burned so far and the flames only 40 percent contained.  In terms of acreage consumed, the fire that started on Dec. 4 now exceeds the devastating Rim Fire in 2013 by 2,000 acres.  Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Association says the region has had "red flag" conditions
  
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• California fire growing toward celebrity enclave

  16-12-2017 12:39
  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Santa Ana winds are again driving an enormous wildfire that's now surging toward a wealthy community in the coastal mountains northwest of Los Angeles.  The Thomas Fire is burning toward Montecito, home to Oprah Winfrey and many other celebrities.  No new evacuations have been called but the National Weather Service says winds in the area are gusting at around 30 mph. State fire officials say the blaze is spreading rapidly west.&nb
  
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• Investigator: Rural death scene faked, man killed elsewhere

  16-12-2017 12:29
  VAUGHAN, Miss. - Investigators say a central Mississippi accident scene appears to have been staged - and the dead man found there was likely murdered.  The body of 44-year-old Roger Lee Scruggs Jr. was found Dec. 2 under a bridge in a rural area of Yazoo County west of Vaughan. An overturned all-terrain vehicle was found in a creek, making it look as if the Brandon man crashed into the creek and was tossed off the ATV.  But Yazoo County Sheriff's Department
  
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• The one that got away: Not the fish, but the $2.8M prize

  16-12-2017 12:22
  OCEAN CITY, Md. - A Florida man is fighting a protracted battle with a fishing tournament over $2.8 million in prize money.  Phil Heasley caught a 6-foot fish at the White Marlin Open off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, last year. But he was denied the winnings because he and his crew failed to pass lie detector tests about whether they followed tournament rules.  A federal judge ruled against Heasley in June after a nine-day trial. The judge said Heasley
  
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• Mental health agency paying $7M to settle fraud claims

  16-12-2017 12:20
  JACKSON, Miss. - One of Mississippi's regional mental health boards is paying nearly $7 million over claims that it bilked Medicaid for services to preschoolers that were either substandard or not provided at all.  U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst announced the settlement of the whistleblower lawsuit Thursday.  Region 8 Mental Health Services will pay the money after a former employee, Julie Farmer, filed the False Claims Act lawsuit on behalf of the government in 20
  
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• Saturday morning apartment fire caused by heater

  16-12-2017 09:28
  BATON ROUGE - A fire broke out at an apartment complex that was flooded in the August 2016 flood Saturday.The St. George Fire Department said a blaze broke out at the Chateau Wein Apartment complex near the Siegen Lane overpass in the area around Siegen Marketplace.  The fire was reported just after 7 o'clock Saturday morning and took firefighters just less than 30 minutes to get it under control.Twelve people lived in the two-story eight-unit apartment build
  
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• Man wakes to arrest after violent attack on ex-girlfriend and her kids

  16-12-2017 09:18
  BATON ROUGE – A woman's ex-boyfriend was arrested Friday after a near two-week ordeal where authorities said he threatened the victim, kidnapped her and her kids and abandoned them in an unsafe area of the city.DaCarie Jones, 26, was charged with kidnapping, child desertion, illegally using the woman's vehicle, breaking into her home, home invasion and stalking. Jones was arrested Friday after a second break-in where he fell asleep inside the victim's Florida Boulevard apartment, auth
  
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• Man's drunken tirade over restaurant tab ends in arrest

  16-12-2017 09:07
  BATON ROUGE - A man was arrested for a suspected drunken tirade over a less than $50 bill at a restaurant on Florida Boulevard.Authorities said when Patrick Guerin, 54, was informed by staff at El Rancho Mexican Grill that they were calling police after he refused to pay his bill, Guerin yelled and screamed.  In an arrest report, authorities said Guerin told workers he was a police officer and would have the situation taken care of.  Later, authoriti
  
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