Louisiana news

• Ascension Parish Schools issuing one-time payments of $1,250 to full-time staff

  13-11-2024 14:18 via wbrz.com
  
  DONALDSONVILLE — Ascension Parish Schools will be issuing one-time payments of $1,250 to full-time professional and support staff.For full-time staff to be eligible for the full amount of the one-time payments, staff must have been employed before Oct. 1. Those full-time staff members who started work after Oct. 2 but before Nov. 1 will receive half of the $1,250 payment. Officials with the school district said Tuesday that part-time staff members working 50% of the hours of
  
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• Maringouin man accused of stealing crossbow scope from sportsman's store arrested

  14-11-2024 11:56 via wbrz.com
  
  MARINGOUIN — A Maringouin man accused of stealing a crossbow scope from a sportsman's store in West Baton Rouge Parish was arrested Thursday. Hunter Gunn, 37, was arrested on felony theft charges by the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.Gunn is accused of going into the sportsman's store on Oct. 25 and removing the scope from a crossbow, placed it in his pocket and leaving without paying. He then left in a truck, deputies added.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Man accused of stealing crossbow scope from sportsman's store in Maringouin arrested

  14-11-2024 11:56 via wbrz.com
  
  MARINGOUIN — A man accused of stealing a crossbow scope from a Maringouin sportsman's store was arrested Thursday. Hunter Gunn, 37, was arrested on felony theft charges by the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office.Gunn is accused of going into the sportsman's store on Oct. 25 and removing the scope from a crossbow, placed it in his pocket and leaving without paying. He then left in a truck, deputies added.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones' Infowars at auction with help from Sandy Hook families

  14-11-2024 11:12 via wbrz.com
  
  CHICAGO (AP) — The satirical news publication The Onion won the bidding for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax.“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long awaited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed
  
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• Man wanted by deputies for cashing fake checks worth thousands of dollars from U.S. Treasury

  14-11-2024 09:44 via wbrz.com
  
  PONCHATOULA — A man is wanted for cashing fake checks worth thousands of dollars from the U.S. Treasury by deputies.In April, Jerome Robinson, 34, is accused of going to multiple branches of The First Bank to deposit and then cash out the fake checks. The first instance of check fraud resulted in a check cashed for $9,334.78 at a First Bank location on LA 190, Tangipahoa Parish deputies said. Robinson is then accused of withdraw two, $7,000 checks at the same branch. Later, a
  
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• Man shot, killed one-year-old daughter before shooting himself following police chase, deputies say

  14-11-2024 08:46 via wbrz.com
  
  CONVENT - Following a police chase Wednesday evening, a man shot and killed his one-year-old daughter before killing himself.Deputies with the St. James Parish Sheriff's Office said the first call came from a woman requesting deputies to oversee a man collecting his belongings from a residence in Paulina, but he did not show up to retrieve them and the deputy left. Almost two hours later, the woman called back and requested a welfare check be performed on the man and her child, who had left.&am
  
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• Power restored in Juban Crossing area after early-morning outage

  14-11-2024 07:45 via wbrz.com
  
  DENHAM SPRINGS - Power is restored after an outage early this morning in the area around Juban Crossing. At around 6 a.m., 1,500 customers were out of power under Entergy in the area around Juban Crossing. Power was restored shortly before 7 a.m..WBRZ has reached out to Entergy for more information on what caused the outage. Permalink| Comments
  
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• Blighted properties on Government Street getting attention from Metro Council

  13-11-2024 21:41 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Along Government Street, not far from Electric Depot, there are a series of buildings with knocked-out windows and ripped-off roofs. Still, relief could be on the way as the East Baton Rouge Metro Council addresses blighted properties in the city-parish.The site, 1706 Government Street, sits vacant. Graffiti covers the interior walls and the roof is long gone. It’s in District 10, Metro Council member Carolyn Coleman’s district, and city records show a complain
  
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• Metro Council approves $6 million in development of 132 new mixed-income and other housing units

  13-11-2024 21:03 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - The Metro Council approved $6 million in development for affordable housing throughout East Baton Rouge Parish Wednesday.The $6 million would go toward 132 units, which includes the Hotel Lincoln Housing Development, the Villas at Mohican near Plank Road, the Dayton Street Housing Development, the Melrose IV Housing Development, the 1335 North Residences Project at the Historic Prince Hall Masonic Temple, and the Melrose III Housing Development.The mayor's office put out a stateme
  
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• One person in serious condition after shooting on Plank Road and Winbourne Avenue

  13-11-2024 20:51 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - One person is in serious condition after a shooting on Plank Road and Winbourne Avenue, according to officials. No other information is available at this time.Permalink| Comments
  
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• One person in serious condition after shooting by Plank Road and Winbourne Avenue

  13-11-2024 20:51 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - One person is in serious condition after a shooting by Plank Road and Winbourne Avenue, according to officials. The shooting took place by the Boost Mobile at Plank Road and Ozark Street. Preliminary reports from police say the victim was a juvenile.No other information is available at this time.Permalink| Comments
  
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• WBR malfeasance trial involving two brothers at State Fire Marshal continues into day two

  13-11-2024 20:35 via wbrz.com
  
  PORT ALLEN - Day two of the trial of the two brothers accused of money laundering in West Baton Rouge resumed Wednesday. Robert McCormick and Thomas McCormick are accused of pocketing more $800,000 from the Office of the State Fire Marshal using statewide emergencies as covers to do so.While the trial was slated to start at 9 a.m., it began late as the defendants parked their RV in front of the courthouse and were made to move it.On Wednesday, Thomas Horne, who works with the Louisiana Legislat
  
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• Two suspected drug dealers arrested, over 60 grams of fentanyl seized in multi-agency drug bust

  13-11-2024 19:11 via wbrz.com
  
  DONALDSONVILLE — Two Donaldsonville men were arrested on multiple drug-related charges Wednesday by the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office.Leroy Manor, 39, and Jeremiah Millien, 44, were detained following a months-long investigation conducted by Ascension deputies, the Gonzales Police Department, the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Baton Rouge DEA’s Office.Manor was arrested for possession of a Schedule II controlled dangerous substance (CDS),
  
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• State senate pushes back measure regarding juveniles tried as adults, could be taken up Thursday

  13-11-2024 18:43 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE -- The Louisiana Senate pushed back two measures that were planned to be taken up Wednesday. These bills come in the middle of a special session focused on tax reform.One of the bills is a proposed constitutional amendment, detailing at what age children can be treated as adults in criminal court. It's called Senate Bill 2. It would change the wording of Article Five, section 19 of the Constitution of Louisiana.Currently, 15 and 16-year-olds, and in some cases 14-year-olds, can alre
  
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• Sorrento man arrested for possession, distribution of child porn

  13-11-2024 18:20 via wbrz.com
  
  SORRENTO — A Sorrento man was arrested for two counts of possession and distribution of child pornography Tuesday, according to Louisiana State Police.Jesse Nigro, 30, was arrested after investigators with the LSP Special Victims Unit, the Attorney General’s office and the Department of Homeland Security conducted a search warrant at his home.Nigro was booked into the Ascension Parish Jail. The case remains under investigation.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Two arrested after allegedly throwing chairs at apartment, beating man with handgun

  13-11-2024 17:16 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE - Two people were arrested after allegedly throwing chairs at a person's apartment, breaking down his door, and then beating him with a gun after punching and kicking the victim, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department.Police say at around 9:53 p.m. on Aug. 23, officers responded to an assault at East Brookstown Drive. The victim had a laceration on his head that required stitches.According to the victim, Damien Catherine and Kayla Georgetown came to his apartment to fight hi
  
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• Residents in Amite, Mississippi neighborhood concerned over noisy outdoor gun range in community

  13-11-2024 16:36 via wbrz.com
  
  AMITE, Miss. — Residents in an Amite, Mississippi neighborhood say they are tired of hearing gunfire from a nearby outdoor gun range regularly.They told WBRZ that the issue has been going on for years now, especially during tournaments. Residents like Tom Burris said they wish they didn't have to plan their day around what goes on at the range."I have to work my study and devotional schedule around their shooting schedule because there is no way to concentrate on my work while hearing
  
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• Louisiana's film production tax incentives could end next year if special session tax bills pass

  13-11-2024 16:23 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Among the tax reforms Gov. Jeff Landry wants to implement during a special legislative session on the state's tax code is the accelerated rollback of film and television production tax credits.One of the bills that includes that change, HB2, passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 79 to 19.The bill would eliminate the state’s film tax credit program by changing the program’s end date from July 1, 2031, to June 30, 2025.Several wid
  
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• Louisiana's film production tax incentives could end next year if special session tax bill is signed

  13-11-2024 16:23 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — Among the tax reforms Gov. Jeff Landry wants to implement during a special legislative session on the state's tax code is the accelerated rollback of film and television production tax credits, legislative filings indicate.Multiple wide-ranging bills that would modify how the state applies certain tax credits and deductions — as well as establishing a flat rate for calculating income taxes for individuals, estates and trusts — would "repeal a sales ta
  
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• Trump reveals nominations for attorney general, secretary of state and director of national intelligence

  13-11-2024 15:28 via wbrz.com
  
  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will nominate Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general, putting a loyalist in the role of the nation’s top prosecutor. He also nominated Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence.In selecting the congressman, Trump passed over some of the more established attorneys whose names had been mentioned as being contenders
  
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• Republican John Thune of South Dakota elected the new Senate majority leader

  13-11-2024 15:26 via wbrz.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Mitch McConnell into a key position as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.Thune, 63, is in his fourth Senate term and has promised to work closely with Trump, despite differences the two have had over the years, and will be a crucial part of the incoming president's efforts to pus
  
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• Second-largest building in downtown Baton Rouge skyline sold at auction for $20 million

  13-11-2024 14:31 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The second tallest office building in the Baton Rouge skyline on Wednesday was sold for nearly $20 million to an investment firm that was suing the building's previous owners over defaulted mortgage payments.Wilmington Trust National Association was the sole bidder at an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office auction for One American Place on Main Street. The building, which was built in 1974 and renovated in 2003 was sold for $19,966,667.The East Baton Rouge Clerk of
  
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• Robert man arrested for drug dealing after deputies, DEA agents seize package of meth

  13-11-2024 14:04 via wbrz.com
  
  ROBERT — A man accused of drug dealing was arrested after deputies and Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized meth, marijuana and guns from a Robert home.Gerald Toney Jr., 24, was arrested for possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances after deputies raided a home on Gemstone Place on Nov. 6. DEA agents and Tangipahoa Parish deputies seized drug dealing materials, as well as marijuana and an AR-15 rifle. The investigation started after depu
  
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• Woman who pleaded guilty to embezzling $1.7 million from BR company sentenced to five years in prison

  13-11-2024 13:40 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — A Georgia woman convicted of wire fraud and unlawful transactions was sentenced to more than five years in prison and to pay nearly $1.7 million in restitution for fraud she committed in Baton Rouge. Thanh Hoa Thi Bui, 42, will also serve three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to embezzling fund from a business she worked at from 2017 to 2020. While she lived in Denham Springs at the time of the crimes, Bui was eventually arrested in Las Vegas i
  
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• I-10 east over Atchafalaya Basin completely closed near Ramah at I-10/I-49 after multi-vehicle crash

  13-11-2024 13:26 via wbrz.com
  
  RAMAH — Eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin are completely blocked near Ramah at I-10/I-49 after a multi-vehicle crash.Additionally, traffic is being diverted from I-49 north to US 190 east, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said.Expect major delays going eastbound, as well as delays in westbound lanes.Permalink| Comments
  
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• Eastbound traffic stuck on Atchafalaya Basin Bridge after multi-vehicle crash

  13-11-2024 13:26 via wbrz.com
  
  RAMAH — Eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin are completely blocked near Ramah after a multi-vehicle crash.According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the crash happened around 12:15 p.m. just past the Ramah exit. Traffic is being diverted from I-49 north to US 190 east.No information about how the crash happened or any injuries was immediately available. Expect major delays going eastbound, as well as delays in westbound la
  
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• Eastbound traffic reopened on Atchafalaya Basin Bridge after multi-vehicle crash

  13-11-2024 13:26 via wbrz.com
  
  RAMAH — Eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin were completely blocked near Ramah after a multi-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon.According to the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the crash happened around 12:15 p.m. just past the Ramah exit. Traffic is being diverted from I-49 north to US 190 east.At around 5:20 p.m., LaDOTD announced the road was reopened. No information about how the crash happened or any injuries was immediately
  
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• DOJ sues over $3.3 billion sale of Baton Rouge-based hospice company; says merger will harm competition

  13-11-2024 13:23 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The $3.3 billion purchase of Baton Rouge-based home healthcare and hospice provider Amedisys may be put on hold after a Department of Justice lawsuit was filed.The DOJ is suing to prevent UnionHealth Group's acquisition of the Baton Rouge company. The suit, filed in Maryland court on Tuesday, says that the acquisition would harm competition in the home healthcare and hospice industry. UnitedHealth's acquisition of the Lafayette-based LHC Group made them one of t
  
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• DOJ sues over $2.3 billion sale of Baton Rouge-based hospice company; says merger will harm competition

  13-11-2024 13:23 via wbrz.com
  
  BATON ROUGE — The $3.3 billion purchase of Baton Rouge-based home healthcare and hospice provider Amedisys may be put on hold after a Department of Justice lawsuit was filed.The DOJ is suing to prevent UnionHealth Group's acquisition of the Baton Rouge company. The suit, filed in Maryland court on Tuesday, says that the acquisition would harm competition in the home healthcare and hospice industry. UnitedHealth's acquisition of the Lafayette-based LHC Group made them one of t
  
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• Plaquemine City Hall closed to public on Thursday, Friday as offices relocate following renovations

  13-11-2024 13:12 via wbrz.com
  
  PLAQUEMINE — Several city services in Plaquemine will be closed on Thursday and Friday as they move back into City Hall following renovations, officials announced.City light and water customer service, the city clerk, the mayor's office, human resources and city court will all be closed to the public before reopening Monday.Services were moved out of City Hall in spring 2023 after structural issues were discovered with the building. Since then it underwent major renovations including
  
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