Baton Rouge news

• Embattled New Orleans conference sold; to be nonprofit event

  27-12-2017 21:17
  NEW ORLEANS - A New Orleans cocktail conference whose founders were criticized for racial insensitivity is being sold.
   News outlets reported Friday that two New Orleans business owners recently signed a letter of intent to buy Tales of the Cocktail. They say they plan to run the six-day event as a nonprofit organization to benefit the city and industry.
   In March, conference founder Ann Tuennerman, who is white, was widely criticized after posting video of herself in blackfac
  
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• Texas authorities nab murder suspect with cigarette butt

  27-12-2017 20:45
  BAYTOWN, Tx.- A breakthrough in a long-stalled murder case in Baytown, Texas, has come in the form of a discarded cigarette butt.The Beaumont Enterprise reports that Byron Lloyd Collins was picked up by authorities last week at the same complex where 50-year-old Natalia Shal was discovered slain on May 8, 2016.Crime scene DNA didn't initially match anything in police databases.In early 2017, investigators learned about using familial DNA testing to help identify suspects not already in the syst
  
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• Heightened security expected in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve

  27-12-2017 19:56
  LAS VEGAS- An unprecedented number of law enforcement officers and National Guard members will be on duty when tens of thousands of people gather to ring in 2018 on the Las Vegas Boulevard.The heightened security measures come just three months after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history took place in Las Vegas.The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will have every officer working Sunday, while the Nevada National Guard is activating about 350 soldiers and airmen after lawmak
  
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• Fire crews respond to St. Francisville house fire

  27-12-2017 19:38
  ST. FRANCISVILLE- The West Feliciana Fire District responded to a house fire Wednesday evening.According to fire officials, the incident took place around 7 p.m. in the 7000 block of Solitude Road.Sources say the fire has been contained. Injuries are still unknown at this time.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Repairs gone wrong leave Prairieville man battling for new home

  27-12-2017 19:18
  PRAIRIEVILLE- The State Fire Marshal's Office is looking into complaints by a man who says the contractors he hired to repair his brand new mobile home didn't do the work properly, and may be violating some safety standards."I don't feel safe with this trailer with these walls coming loose," Jonathan Carpenter told WBRZ.Carpenter's bathroom wall is coming apart. "It's pulling the shower loose right here where the doors aren't able to close," he said.And those aren't the only problems C
  
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• Missing paperwork keeping flood victims from potential Restore LA funding

  27-12-2017 18:21
  LIVINGSTON - A family in Livingston Parish is having trouble providing proof of home ownership following the August 2016 flood. They need proof in order to move forward with their Restore LA application.Cathy Sanchez says the water came up fast and reached the doorway to her parent's home. She says the flood water drenched everything, seeping up through the floor and walls."All the insulation in the floors, gone," she said.Sanchez tells 2 On Your Side the price tag to fix everything was more th
  
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• Thibodaux man arrested for kidnapping, beating ex-girlfriend

  27-12-2017 18:18
  LAFOURCHE PARISH- A man arrested Wednesday has been accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and beating her.According to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office, 34-year-old Van Andre of Thibodaux was arrested and charged with simple kidnapping and domestic abuse battery.Deputies responded to a call of a kidnapping on Dec. 23 on Waverly Road. Authorities learned that Andre had made contact with his ex-girlfriend at her residence and a verbal altercation occurred. He reportedly f
  
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• Court upholds $90K award to family over botched police raid

  27-12-2017 16:22
  ASSUMPTION PARISH- A Louisiana appeals court has upheld a judge's decision awarding more than $90,000 to family members whose home was mistakenly raided by police.A ruling last Thursday by a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal concluded state District Court Judge Katherine Tess Stromberg didn't abuse her discretion.Earlier this year, the judge presided over a trial without a jury for the family's lawsuit against the Assumption Parish Sheriff's Office and Louisiana Stat
  
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• Woman accused of trying to snort cocaine in police station

  27-12-2017 14:39
  LEDYARD, Conn.- A woman has been accused of trying to snort cocaine inside a Connecticut police station while waiting to be booked on unrelated charges.Police say Nicole Hunter was charged on Christmas Day with possession of narcotics, interfering with an officer and disorderly conduct.Hunter was arrested after a confrontation at her home in Ledyard while investigating a report of an erratic driver. They say the vehicle involved matched the one in Hunter's driveway.While in a waiting area of th
  
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• Man arrested for stealing timber valued over $18k

  27-12-2017 14:01
  CALDWELL PARISH- A man arrested Friday is accused of stealing seventeen loads of timber valued at $18,222.54.According to a press release from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry, 41-year-old Charles Mason Adkins of Grayson, Louisiana was booked for stealing timber following an investigation led by LDAF enforcement agents.Investigators say that during the months of January and February, Adkins, a Caldwell Parish logger, cut and hauled seven
  
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• Crash on new bridge causing major delays westbound on I-10

  27-12-2017 13:59
  BATON ROUGE- All lanes are back open on I-10 travelling westbound.An earlier accident on the Mississippi River Bridge blocked two left lanes. Sources say there were minor injuries.Delays remain on I-10 westbound all the way to Essen Lane. Congestion is minimal on I-110 South.Use alternate routes if possible.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Authorities searching for suspect who stole two TVs in Watson

  27-12-2017 13:13
  LIVINGSTON PARISH- Detectives are asking for help in identifying a suspect who stole two televisions in Watson.According to the Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office, the suspect walked into a retail store in Watson on Nov. 10 and took two 65 inch TVs.The suspect walked out without paying, and drove away in an older model, white Chevrolet Suburban.Anyone with information regarding this crime is urged to call LPSO at 225-686-2241.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Suspect steals $4,000 worth silver from area business on Christmas

  27-12-2017 12:23
  DENHAM SPRINGS- Detectives with the Denham Springs Police Department are investigating a Christmas morning burglary.Authorities say at 3:30 a.m. a suspect entered a business located in the Antique District of Dehman Springs.The male, armed with a hammer, entered Heritage House through the back entrance. Authorities say the suspect filled a bag with an estimated $4,000 worth of sterling silver items.Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the Denham Springs Police Department
  
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• Burglar steals $4,000 worth silver from area business on Christmas

  27-12-2017 12:23
  DENHAM SPRINGS- A burglar smashed display cases and made off with about $4,000 worth of silver Christmas morning from an antique store.Security video shows the man breaking into Heritage House shop about 3:30 a.m. He was wearing a hoodie, mask and gloves and had brought a hammer and a duffel bag.He used the hammer to smash display cases to get to the sterling silver inside.Anyone with information on the incident can contact the Denham Springs Police Department at 225-665-5106.Permalink
  
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• Baker requests extension for annual audit

  27-12-2017 12:02
  BAKER- Some councilmembers were not thrilled Wednesday when city officials first announced the annual audit would not be ready by the end of the year."The financial part is about 95 percent complete," said Baker's financial director Mary Sue Stages.Some councilmembers feared a repeat of last year's embarrassing audit which wasn't completed because the city lacked several accounting records."It seems to be a repeated pattern like last year," said Councilwoman Brenda Jackson.However, after extens
  
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• Fishermen in Mexico shoot down environmental group's drone

  27-12-2017 11:11
  MEXICO CITY- The environmental group Sea Shepherd says fishermen fired 25 shots at one of its night-vision drones in Mexico's Gulf of California, bringing it down.Various drones have been employed to patrol the Gulf, also known as the Sea of Cortez, to combat illegal fishing and save the critically endangered vaquita marina, the world's smallest porpoise.Sea Shepherd has been the target of demonstrations by fishermen in the past, but said the Christmas Eve shooting represented "a new level of v
  
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• US pending home sales rose a slight 0.2 percent in November

  27-12-2017 09:53
  WASHINGTON- Slightly more people signed contracts in November to buy homes - with pending sales rising just 0.2 percent as the housing market copes with a dwindling supply of properties on the market.The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its index of pending home sales was 109.5 in November. The modest increase follows a 3.5 percent increase in October.The pending sales index has improved just 0.8 percent over the past year, as would-be buyers are finding that fewer homes are
  
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• Driver stuck on tracks rescued just before train hits car

  27-12-2017 09:29
  CONGERS, N.Y.- Good Samaritans rescued a woman whose car got stuck on railroad tracks in a New York City suburb on Christmas Eve just before a freight train demolished her vehicle.Police in Rockland County say the woman told them she got confused trying to make a turn near a rail crossing and wound up on the tracks in Congers around 6 p.m. Sunday.Richie Dononvan told news outlets he joined others in trying to move the car off the tracks. He then got the driver out of the vehicle just before a s
  
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• Florida man says he punched ATM for giving too much cash

  27-12-2017 08:50
  COCOA, Fla.- A Florida man told investigators he punched an automatic teller machine because it gave him too much cash.An arrest report says 23-year-old Michael Joseph Oleksik man caused about $5,000 in damage to an ATM at a Wells Fargo bank branch in Cocoa on Nov. 29. He was arrested Dec. 22 on a criminal mischief charge after bank officials decided to press charges.News outlets report surveillance video captured Oleksik pummeling the touch screen.An arrest report says that Oleksik told a bank
  
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• West Main Street in New Roads closed after house fire

  27-12-2017 08:33
  POINTE COUPEE-  A portion of West Main Street in New Roads is closed after firefighters responded to an early morning fire.The fire took place at a home in the 1000 block of West Main Street at around 5:20 a.m. Authorities say no one was home at the time of the fire and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.Authorities say West Main Street is closed from Berthier Street to Olinde Street. Traffic is being rerouted to Parent Street. Authorities say the road will be
  
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• Lifelong best friends discover they're actually brothers

  27-12-2017 07:44
  HONOLULU - Two Hawaii men who grew up as best friends have recently learned that they're actually brothers.Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane have been friends for 60 years. Born in Hawaii 15 months apart, they met in the sixth grade and played football together at a Honolulu prep school.Macfarlane never knew his father. Robinson was adopted.A Honolulu news station reports that the men learned they're related through a family history and DNA website. They revealed the discovery Saturday.Macfar
  
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• Icy conditions allow young boy to skate on the street

  27-12-2017 07:33
  NEWINGTON, Conn.- On Dec. 23 freezing rain hit Newington, Connticut. One little boy took advantage of the slippery conditions and attempted to skate on the ice-covered street.Jaxon figure skating on the road#Glacier #Newington #SkatingRink@themattcast @RachelFrank_CT #Share61 @bobmaxon pic.twitter.com/aoATkeGiLu— eric madel (@EricMadel) December 23, 2017According to Yahoo, the video was taken by Eric Madel. He filmed his Jaxon trying to figure skate near their home in Newingt
  
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• Pregnant woman, boyfriend attacked by ex-lover

  27-12-2017 06:47
  BATON ROUGE - Authorities have arrested two women for attacking a pregnant woman and shooting at her boyfriend. On Dec. 6 around 6:49 p.m., a Baton Rouge Police Officer was patrolling near the 700 block of Julia Street when shots were fired. Moments later, a victim flagged down the officer to report the incident.The victim told the officer that two women had followed him and his girlfriend from Shopper's Value on Government Street after an altercation in the parking lot. The women were
  
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