Baton Rouge news

• A whole new look, for a whole new NBA game experience

  21-07-2020 19:58 via wbrz.com
  
  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — There’s no bench. The courtside broadcasters will not be courtside. And the stat crew will be doing their work inside what loosely can be described as an oversized hockey penalty box.The NBA comes back Wednesday with a very different look.The league’s marketing motto for the restart of the season at Walt Disney World is “Whole New Game,” and in many respects, that’s very true. The arenas that will be used
  
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• Mobile coronavirus testing comes to smaller Livingston Parish communities

  21-07-2020 19:56 via wbrz.com
  
  ALBANY - Henry Dantzler of Albany is being tested for the coronavirus for a second time."I took it once, but I didn't get any results. So I came out to take it again to make sure," Dantzler said.He was the first to get tested at the mobile testing site at Albany High School Tuesday morning. There was no long line of cars of people there, making it easy for him to get in and out."I really thought I was going to show up here and there was going to be a line all down the street and I'd be here for
  
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• Deputies: Woman punches man over mask dispute at Baton Rouge Walmart

  21-07-2020 18:53 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - A woman punched a man over a dispute about wearing a mask inside a Walmart on Burbank Drive Tuesday evening.According to East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, the man confronted the woman for not wearing a mask as they were both walking out of the store. As they approached near the exit, the woman punched the man in the face where he sustained injuries but denied medical treatment.The woman was issued a summons for battery.Permalink| Comments
  
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• With Southern football season delayed, business owners face tough fall outlook

  21-07-2020 18:33 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Business owners who shut down when the coronavirus outbreak started are now heartbroken there won't be any Southern football fans to drive business this fall."We're going to miss those dollars that would normally be trickling in on our home games,"  Chicken Shack General Manager Troy Carter said.There will be no cheers from Mumford Stadium at Southern University until at least the spring.The Southwest Athletic Conference put a pause on fall sports, in turn making the foot
  
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• Deputies looking for thief who stole from bank account using fraudulent checks

  21-07-2020 17:06 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office is looking for a thief who used illegitimate checks to steal money from a victim's bank account.The sheriff's office said the thief wrote multiple counterfeit checks and used them to withdraw money from the victim's account. The suspect was last seen on video making a fraudulent withdrawal at a bank along Coursey Boulevard on Dec. 24, 2019.Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office at 225-389-5009.Permalink| Comments
  
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• DA: Man faked death to avoid jail but typo gave him away

  21-07-2020 16:42 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A Long Island criminal defendant tried faking his death to avoid a jail sentence, but the phony death certificate his lawyer submitted had a glaring spelling error that made it a dead giveaway for a fraud, prosecutors said Tuesday.Robert Berger, 25, of Huntington, New York, now faces up to four years in prison if convicted in the alleged scheme. That’s in addition to pending sentences for earlier guilty pleas to charges of possession of a stolen Lexus and att
  
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• INVESTIGATIVE UNIT: Ghost employee collected taxpayer money for 12 years, no record of any work done

  21-07-2020 16:36 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ROADS - A disturbing discovery has been made at the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office after former Sheriff Bud Torres vacated office at the end of June. Under his watch, a ghost employee collected a salary and billed taxpayers for a lot of gas with no record of any cases being worked.The ghost employee, blacked out on documents with a handwritten job title as "intelligence officer" collected a salary and benefits from 2008, until he left with the outgoing sheriff a couple of weeks ago.
  
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• Ascension Parish bracing for potential heavy rainfall this week

  21-07-2020 15:20 via wbrz.com
  
  Officials announced Tuesday that Ascension Parish is taking steps to mitigate flood risks as a potential tropical system develops in the Gulf of Mexico.Ascension Parish Clint Cointment says the parish's public works department will close the gates at the Marvin Braud Pump Station and begin drawing down water levels in preparation for potential heavy rainfall. Crews will also begin monitoring the Sorrento and Henderson Bayou pump stations. Officials said the state could start seeing rai
  
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• Deputies looking for possible gang member accused of killing 19-year-old

  21-07-2020 14:34 via wbrz.com
  
  AMITE - Sheriff's deputies are looking for a dangerous suspect who allegedly murdered a teenager last month.The St. Helena Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that Jaylohn T. Mitchell is wanted for second-degree murder for the killing, which happened June 21 on McDaniel Road in Amite. No other details surrounding the killing were immediately available.The sheriff's office believes Mitchell may be affiliated with a gang and should be considered "armed and dangerous."Anyone with information is asked to
  
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• Trump to send federal agents to Chicago, maybe other cities

  21-07-2020 14:27 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is planning to deploy federal agents to Chicago and possibly other Democrat-run cities as he continues to assert federal power and use the Department of Homeland Security in unprecedented, politicized ways.DHS is slated to send about 150 Homeland Security Investigations agents to Chicago to help local law enforcement deal with a spike in crime, according to an official with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity becau
  
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• EBR Schools making 'update' to restarting school; News conference set for Wednesday

  21-07-2020 14:22 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE – The East Baton Rouge Parish School System is exploring the possibility of delaying in-person classes on campus by a few weeks.New school district superintendent Leslie Brown spent Monday and Tuesday talking with board members about options. People involved with the conversations told WBRZ, suggestions have been made to keep kids at home until after Labor Day.The school system announced a news conference will be held Wednesday (July 22) to discuss changes and said it was
  
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• New Orleans schools will stay all-virtual through Labor Day

  21-07-2020 13:27 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS - Schools in Orleans Parish will not start the fall semester with any in-person classes, officials announced Tuesday.According to WWL-TV, the parish school system will stay entirely remote when students begin classes in August. Courses will remain virtual until at least after Labor Day, when officials are hoping for a proper return to classrooms.The announcement comes about three weeks before the school year is set to begin.New Orleans was the area in Louisiana hit hardest by the co
  
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• St. Louis couple charged for pulling, waving guns at protest

  21-07-2020 13:24 via wbrz.com
  
  ST. LOUIS (AP) — St. Louis’ top prosecutor on Monday charged a husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion.Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who are white, are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner told The Associated Press that their actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise nonviolent protest last month.“It is illegal to wave
  
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• Arrest made in June O'Neal Lane shooting incident

  21-07-2020 13:12 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Deputies with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office arrested a man tied to a shooting incident that took place during a suspected drug transaction on O'Neal Lane and left one person injured. According to an official document completed by an EBRSO investigator, 22-year-old Kendall Albert and an unidentified man were driven by a third man to a residence located within the 1600 block of O'Neal Lane on Friday, June 19.Authorities say the three were headed to the home i
  
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• Walmart to close its stores on Thanksgiving Day

  21-07-2020 13:05 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart Inc. said that it will be closing its namesake stores and Sam’s Clubs on Thanksgiving Day this year, saying that it wants to have its employees spend time with their families during the coronavirus.The move, announced Tuesday, marks the first major indication of how COVID will affect Black Friday store shopping, which for almost a decade kicked off with big crowds on the turkey feast and expanded into Friday. However, given safety concerns, stores are
  
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• Motorcyclist killed in Tangipahoa Parish crash

  21-07-2020 12:17 via wbrz.com
  
  INDEPENDENCE - A Kentwood man was killed in a Tangipahoa Parish crash on Monday night, police said.Troopers with Louisiana State Police released a statement regarding the tragic crash, stating that a motorcyclist by the name of Christopher J. Acosta lost his life during the incident.Police say Acosta was traveling northbound via LA 1054 while on a Harley Davidson. But as the roadway curved to the right, his motorcycle continued straight and went off-road where it hit a drainage culvert.Acosta w
  
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• Local scientists search for volunteers to participate in COVID-19 Prevalence Study

  21-07-2020 09:50 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Researchers in Baton Rouge are looking for volunteers to participate in a study that offers participants free COVID and antibody testing. The Baton Rouge COVID-19 Prevalence Study released new information regarding their project Tuesday (July 21) stating their research will continue throughout this week and possibly into the weekend. The study, led by researchers at Ochsner, in cooperation with Pennington Biomedical, provides both free COVID-19 testing and free a
  
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• Stocks climb on Wall Street after Europe agrees on virus aid

  21-07-2020 09:37 via wbrz.com
  
  Energy companies and banks are leading stocks broadly higher on Wall Street in early trading Tuesday, extending the market’s recent run of gains.The S&P 500 was up 0.6%. The gains followed strength in markets overseas as investors welcomed news that European leaders have agreed on a budget and coronavirus relief fund worth more than $2 trillion. The move comes as the pressure intensifies on Congress and the White House to reach a deal on another economic aid package before the end
  
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• Middle-aged Navy veteran beaten by militarized federal agents during Portland protest

  21-07-2020 09:14 via wbrz.com
  
  SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Navy veteran stands passively in Portland, Oregon, amid swirling tear gas. One of the militarized federal agents deployed by President Donald Trump swings a baton at him with full force. With both hands. Five times.Under the assault, 53-year-old Christopher David seems like a redwood tree — impervious to the blows. But in a video shot by a reporter, another officer — wearing green military camouflage, a helmet and gas mask — sprays
  
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• NFL, players agree to daily COVID-19 testing for first 2 weeks of training camp

  21-07-2020 08:53 via wbrz.com
  
  Weeks before training camps are scheduled to open, the NFL and its players reached an agreement on COVID-19 precautions in relation to the regular testing of players and NFL employees.According to ESPN, the NFL and the NFL Players Association will require daily COVID-19 testing for the first two weeks of training camp. After two weeks, if the positive test rate is below 5%, the league would scale back to testing every other day. If the positive test rate is not below 5%, they will continue with
  
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• Multiple agencies issue statements in support of BRPD Chief, BR Mayor

  21-07-2020 07:55 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - More than ten organizations and prominent individuals with ties to Louisiana's Capital City issued statements Tuesday (July 21) morning, detailing their support of Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul and East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome. The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives distributed a statement via email, saying, "Like Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, we have a great amount of confidence in Chief Paul’s work an
  
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• Prairieville firefighters called to early morning blaze caused by electrical problem

  21-07-2020 07:13 via wbrz.com
  
  PRAIRIEVILLE - Firefighters in Prairieville were dispatched to a house fire early Tuesday morning and linked the cause of the fire to an electrical problem.The Prairieville Fire Department reported the incident via its social media account Tuesday, explaining first responders were sent to a house fire on West Hillside Drive earlier that morning.Firefighters said, "first units arrived to find light smoke inside the residence." Crews used a Thermal Imaging Camera to quickly pinpoint the
  
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• 'Founding father' of Louisiana coastal program dies at 84

  21-07-2020 06:45 via wbrz.com
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A geologist, geographer and archaeologist who devoted his life to studying Louisiana’s rapidly eroding coastline and helping the state develop a restoration plan, has died.Dr. Sherwood M. “Woody” Gagliano died Friday at the age of 84, news outlets reported.“Dr. Gagliano was truly one of the founding fathers of Louisiana’s coastal program and his work marked a turning point on how we approach the problem both informed
  
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• Ex-comptroller pleads guilty in $250,000 community college fraud scheme

  21-07-2020 06:40 via wbrz.com
  
  SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A former comptroller for a Louisiana community college has pleaded guilty in a $250,000 fraud scheme that went on for years, federal prosecutors say.Carol Bates, who also had been charged on 12 counts of wire fraud, entered the plea Monday to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud between 2013 and 2016 at Bossier Parish Community College, U.S. Attorney David Joseph said in a news release.He said Bates admitted at the plea hearing that she faked entrie
  
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• Michael Brooks, political commentator and podcast host, dies at 37

  21-07-2020 06:29 via wbrz.com
  
  A popular podcast host and political commentator has passed away at only 37 years of age.According to Variety, Michael Brooks, host of the web series “The Michael Brooks Show” and “The Majority Report,” died of a “sudden medical condition,” the show’s Twitter account announced on Monday. “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the unexpected passing of Michael Brooks: a son, brother, fr
  
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• EBR Housing Authority donates COVID-care packages to families in need

  21-07-2020 06:08 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - As Baton Rouge residents continue to battle the impact of novel coronavirus, The East Baton Rouge Parish Housing Authority (EBRPHA) is taking steps to offer support and practical help.The organization is spearheading an initiative to provide local families in housing communities with care packages as part of COVID response measures.J. Wesley Daniels, EBRPHA Chief Executive Officer, issued a statement regarding the initiative, saying, "This is more than just a 'health and wellness'
  
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• Dr. Fauci to throw out first pitch of delayed MLB season, Thursday

  21-07-2020 05:55 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON - Within the last four months, Dr. Anthony Fauci has become a household name. As the country's top infectious disease expert, his advice regarding the nation's response to the novel coronavirus pandemic is often thoughtfully considered and repeated by well-respected figures. But this week, Dr. Fauci agreed to take on a more lighthearted task  ABC news reports that the nationally acclaimed researcher will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the first gam
  
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• BR Mayor urges residents to get tested at one of the city's five free COVID testing sites

  21-07-2020 05:36 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome is encouraging members of the public to take advantage of her "Geaux Get Tested" initiative by getting tested for COVID-19 at one of the five drive-thru testing sites she and collaborators have set up across the Parish.Monday afternoon, the mayor's office issued a reminder regarding the testing locations, stating, "Free COVID Tests will continue at the five main sites while supplies last."All of the locations operate seven days
  
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• Investigators: Overnight house fire on Ontario Street is the work of an arsonist

  21-07-2020 05:00 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Firefighters were dispatched to a vacant home on Ontario Street twice within 24 hours, and during their second visit to the unoccupied duplex they found significant fire damage that is believed to be the work of an arsonist.Shortly after 2 a.m. on Tuesday, first responders with The Baton Rouge Fire Department were sent to a home within the 2900th block of Ontario Street where they quickly quelled a blaze that had been set in the rear of the house.No one was injured during the inci
  
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