Baton Rouge news

• Louisiana 'surge' testing sites extended as state sees testing shortages

  16-07-2020 21:09 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE- Since July 6, at least 20,577 people have been tested at one of the five federally-funded surge testing sites in the capital area, Gov. John Bel Edwards said during his weekly COVID-19 briefing Thursday.That total is a far cry from the 5,000 daily testing goal. With plenty of the allotted tests remaining, the sites, originally expected to close Saturday, will remain open."They will remain open now until we use all 60,000 of those tests," Edwards said. "We are also going to be able
  
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• School board to vote on renaming Lee High School Thursday

  16-07-2020 20:02 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE- Members of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board are voting to rename Lee High School Thursday evening during a virtual board meeting.The decision to rename Lee High follows years-long concern over the school being named after a confederate general, Robert E. Lee.There were over 5,000 responses to an online survey that asked for new school name suggestions. Among the top names in the suggested responses were "Southdowns," "Lee High," "PBS Pinchback," and "Sadie
  
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• Lee High School renamed 'Liberty High School,' EBR Parish School Board votes

  16-07-2020 20:02 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE- Members of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted to rename Lee High School "Liberty High School" Thursday evening during a virtual board meeting.The decision to rename Lee High follows years-long concern over the school being named after confederate general Robert E. Lee.There were over 5,000 responses to an online survey that asked for new school name suggestions. Among the top names in the suggested responses were "Southdowns," "Lee High," "PBS Pinchback," and "
  
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• Local hospitals oppose efforts to end statewide mask mandate, restrictions

  16-07-2020 19:18 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Some Louisiana legislator are pushing back against measures being taken by Governor Edwards to combat the coronavirus.At hospitals across Louisiana, health care workers are on the front line of the coronavirus crisis. The current emergency health declaration from the governor is aimed to help ease their burden and slow the spread.But not everyone is in favor of the governor's declaration. Edward's recent orders to close bars and mandate masks revived attention from Republican lawm
  
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• CDC extends US ban on cruise ships through September

  16-07-2020 17:09 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials are extending the U.S. ban on cruise ships through the end September as coronavirus infections rise in most U.S. states, including Florida.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that it was extending a no-sail order that had been scheduled to expire July 24.Major cruise lines that belong to an industry trade group had already canceled cruises until Sept. 15 because of ongoing discussions with federal officials over
  
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• State expected to hit limit on coronavirus hazard pay applications by Saturday

  16-07-2020 15:31 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The state announced Thursday that it expects to reach its limit on applications from front-line workers eligible for COVID-19 hazard pay by the weekend.Governor Edwards said during a news conference that the program had already surpassed about half of its capacity as of Thursday afternoon, about a day after the application first launched. The state will likely reach its limit on applications by Saturday, according to the governor.125,000 applications so far for Frontline Worker fu
  
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• Governor announces emergency rental assistance program for residents impacted by pandemic

  16-07-2020 15:02 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Governor John Bel Edwards announced a state program to provide assistance to renters struggling through the coronavirus outbreak.The governor says the Louisiana Emergency Rental Assistance program will provide about $24 million to help renters facing financial hardship because of the pandemic. The program is specifically designed to help households financially impacted and struggling to pay rent as a result of shutdowns, closures, layoffs, reduced work hours or unpaid leave due to
  
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• Alex Trebek gives update on cancer treatment, announces 'Jeopardy!' to air reruns amid COVID-19 pandemic

  16-07-2020 14:47 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE- Alex Trebek announced a 'Jeopardy!' first while updating fans on his health from the comfort of his home on Thursday.The 79-year-old game show host was featured in a video where he announced for the first time ever, 'Jeopardy!' will air vintage episodes in a series that will broadcast for the remainder of the summer. The show took a break due to the COVID-19 outbreak."For the first time ever, we are going to open the Jeopardy vaults and take another look at some of our favorite epi
  
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• Target joins list of major retailers mandating masks

  16-07-2020 14:46 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Target has joined a list of the nation’s largest retailers that will require customers to wear masks as cases of COVID-19 spike.The policy will go into effect Aug. 1. More than 80% of Target’s 1,800 stores already require customers to wear masks due to local and state regulations.Target said Thursday that it will hand out masks at entrances to those who need them.The nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, announced this week that masks would
  
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• George Washington statue vandalized outside New Orleans library

  16-07-2020 14:33 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS - A statue portraying the first U.S. president, George Washington, is the latest monument to be vandalized in the New Orleans area.WWL-TV reports the statue was defaced using red spray paint, including the letters "BLM", shorthand for "Black Lives Matter", at the base. The statue is located outside the New Orleans Public Library on Loyola Avenue.The incident is the latest in a rash of seemingly politically-motivated acts of vandalism around the city. Most previous incidents have tar
  
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• Court drops split-jury verdict in road rage killing of NFLs Joe McKnight

  16-07-2020 14:31 via wbrz.com
  
  GRETNA — An appeals court has granted the killer of NFL player Joe McKnight a new trial because his manslaughter conviction was delivered by a split jury.Ronald Gasser’s 30-year sentence and manslaughter conviction were vacated Wednesday by the Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, news outlets reported.The panel’s decision comes after the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed split-jury verdicts in April. The ruling was retroactive for all cases with convictions currently
  
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• TRAFFIC ALERT: Jackknifed 18-wheeler blocking I-10 west at Essen Lane

  16-07-2020 14:17 via wbrz.com
  
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• Arkansas to require face masks to combat coronavirus surge

  16-07-2020 14:14 via wbrz.com
  
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an order Thursday requiring people to wear face masks in public throughout the state, which has had a surge in coronavirus cases over the past several weeks.The Republican governor had resisted a statewide mask mandate and opposed issuing a stay-at-home order earlier in the pandemic, but he signed the order requiring masks when social distancing isn’t possible in the hopes of slowing the disease’s rapid s
  
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• Vatican says bishops should report sex abuse to police

  16-07-2020 14:07 via wbrz.com
  
  VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican told bishops around the world on Thursday they should report cases of clergy sex crimes to police even when not legally bound to do so, in its latest effort to compel church leaders to protect minors from predator priests.The Vatican issued a long-awaited manual for bishops and religious superiors on conducting in-house investigations into allegations of priests who rape and molest minors and vulnerable adults. While the Vatican has had detailed canonic
  
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• Zion Williamson leaves Pelicans for family medical matter

  16-07-2020 13:30 via wbrz.com
  
  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans say top overall draft choice Zion Williamson left the club on Thursday to attend an urgent family medical matter.The Pelicans say Williamson intends to rejoin the team in the Orlando area for the resumption of the season, but the club did not specify when he would be able to return or whether he’ll miss any games.Williamson will have to quarantine again when he returns to Central Florida, a period that will last at least
  
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• Report: College football players will require virus testing before every game, exposed athletes could miss 2 weeks

  16-07-2020 13:26 via wbrz.com
  
  College football players who test positive for COVID-19 will have to sit out more than a week, according to a list of requirements drafted by some of the top college sports conferences.Sports Illustrated reports the Power 5 conferences have been working out a list of minimum standards for coronavirus testing and response procedures alongside the NCAA. The document is not final but is expected to be released soon by the conferences and the NCAA.A draft of the document obtained by SI says players
  
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• Baton Rouge mayor issues scathing response to ominous police union billboards

  16-07-2020 12:59 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome released a statement Thursday criticizing the Baton Rouge police union over billboards that warned visitors to enter the city "at your own risk." The statement comes after billboards went up Wednesday seemingly criticizing the city's response to a rise in violent crime. Last week, Police Chief Murphy Paul said the city was outpacing last year's homicide rate at this same time by more than a dozen.On Wednesday, another shooting left
  
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• United Way will distribute groceries and other supplies to single mothers, Saturday

  16-07-2020 12:51 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE -  Capital Area United Way’s Women United, an affinity group of Capital Area United Way, will distribute fresh produce boxes and other resources to single mothers in the Baton Rouge area. Capital Area United Way’s Women has partnered with The Life of a Single Mom to bring this event to the Capital area. On Saturday, July 18 the event will be held at the Pelican Chapter Associated Builder and Contractors, Inc. located on 19251 Highland R
  
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• US executes 2nd man in a week; lawyers said he had dementia

  16-07-2020 12:44 via wbrz.com
  
  TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The United States on Thursday carried out its second federal execution in three days following a hiatus of nearly two decades, killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia and was unfit to be executed.Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was sentenced to be executed for kidnapping and killing a 16-year-old girl, Jennifer Long, before dismembering, burning and dump
  
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• Number of laid-off workers seeking jobless aid stuck at 1.3M

  16-07-2020 09:49 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits remained stuck at 1.3 million last week, an historically high level that indicates many companies are still cutting jobs as the viral outbreak intensifies.The elevated level of applications for jobless aid is occurring as new confirmed cases of coronavirus are spiking across much of the Sunbelt, threatening to weaken the economic recovery. Case counts are rising in 40 states and 22 states have either paused
  
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• Stocks open lower on Wall Street; Twitter sinks after hack

  16-07-2020 08:52 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening broadly lower on Wall Street Thursday, extending weakness in overseas markets. The S&P 500 index gave up 0.6% in the early going, led by losses in technology companies. Twitter sank after a breach in its security allowed hackers to break into the accounts of technology moguls, politicians and other major figures. Bank of America also fell after reporting that its profits were chopped in half in the latest quarter as the bank set aside billions of
  
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• Select OMV locations add online appointment scheduling after recent closings

  16-07-2020 08:06 via wbrz.com
  
  PLAQUEMINE - Select Office of Motor Vehicles locations will now offer online appointment scheduling starting Thursday. Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Karen St. Germain announced on Wednesday that seven OMV locations in Louisiana will be able to take appointments. Online scheduling is "an effort to increase efficiency and precautions related to the COVID-19 response", says Commissioner St. Germain.This announcement came, after multiple OMV locations were temporarily shu
  
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• Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys host mobile blood drive in BR

  16-07-2020 07:40 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE -Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys is asking the community to come out and donate blood.Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys has partnered with Vitalant, one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit community blood service, to host a blood drive on Thursday, July 16.The blood drive will be held at the company's Baton Rouge office located at 5656 Hilton Ave from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Due to COVID-19 supplies have reached an all time low. Since emergencies never stopp
  
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• New COVID-19 testing site located in Livingston

  16-07-2020 07:31 via wbrz.com
  
  LIVINGSTON - A new COVID-19 testing site has been set up at the Livingston Parish Governmental Complex.The new testing site will offer free testing starting Thursday, July 16th until Sunday, July 19th from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. The site is located in one of the parking lots at the Courthouse on 20300 Government Blvd.You must be 5 years of age or older to get tested. A doctor's order is not required and you do not have to show any symptoms in order to get tested. Pre-registration with an appo
  
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• TRAFFIC UPDATE: Crashes along I-110 South cleared; all lanes now open

  16-07-2020 05:23 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Two separate crashes caused I-110 South to close Thursday morning.The first accident involved multiple vehicles near Evangeline Street around 4:30 a.m.An hour later a second accident left one person injured near Harding Blvd. EMS transported the person to a nearby hospital for treatment. According to DOTD, congestion is minimal. All lanes are now open on I-110 South at Airline Hwy. Congestion is minimal.— Baton Rouge Traffic (@BR_Traffic) July 16, 2020I
  
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• 4 animals killed in house fire near N. Foster Drive

  16-07-2020 05:08 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Officials are investigating a house fire that killed one dog and three cats Wednesday night. Around 10 p.m. the Baton Rouge Fire Department arrived in the 5300 block of Sherwood St. near N. Foster Drive.When firefighters arrived on scene the front of the house was engulfed in flames.Even though the blaze was contained, the residence still received heavy smoke damage. According to a report, one dog and three cats were found in the house that did not make it out. N
  
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• Suspect shot after on-foot pursuit by Lafayette police

  16-07-2020 04:44 via wbrz.com
  
  LAFAYETTE - The Lafayette Police Department requested assistance from the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Investigations in regards to an officer-involved shooting that happened in Lafayette Wednesday evening.Around 5:30 p.m. a Lafayette police officer was conducting a traffic stop, which led to a foot pursuit. The foot pursuit continued to the area of St. Bernadette Drive near E Pont Des Mouton Road.In that area an altercation took place between officers and the suspect. During the altercatio
  
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