Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction. 

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others.

Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”

That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history Thursday as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism.

Cut 7 (09) “…this float.”

Not only will it be the longest, but New Orleans native and the jazz artist to receive the most Grammy nominations ever at 11, Jon Batiste will be performing on the $1.3 million float.

With folks preparing to fix their Thanksgiving meals, the USDA’s Meredith Caruthers outlines some safety protocols to stick to during the process. Two of them deal with cleaning and separating.

Cut 3 (12) “…to eat food.”

She also advises to heed the cooking directions and then to properly chill any leftovers to additionally avoid the possibility of food poisoning.

If Lt Governor Billy Nungesser gets his wish, the state’s first float to appear in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will steal the show. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations – which is currently 16 and older. However, Baton Rouge area state Senator Bodi White says mandating shots for any age group is wrong…:

Cut 10 (07)  “…forced to opt out.”

The LDH proposal would allow parents to opt-out of their kids having the shots, by signing a statement of exemption.

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others. Triple-A’s Don Redman says for those traveling by air, there are bargains to be found for the flight itself, but you may face higher expenses elsewhere.

Cut 15 (09)  “…about four percent.”

As for gas prices, they are holding mostly steady in Louisiana right now, with the statewide average price of regular at around three-12 a gallon compared to a dollar-84 last year at this time.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest seasonal over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October. Cates says construction jobs in the state went up by 82-hundred in October.

Cut 5 (13) “…a great thing.”

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history tomorrow as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism. He says because Louisiana knows a thing or two about parades, he wanted to make sure Celebration Gator has that wow factor. And while in the Big Apple the float will make several media appearances promoting the Bayou State.

Cut 8 (09) “…been through.”

Thursday’s appearance in the parade is the first of a three-year commitment.

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations. However, Senator Bodi White who sits on the Senate Health & Welfare which will soon review the LDH COVID proposal and also chairs the Senate Finance Committee says if LDH insists on giving unproven shots to small kids, the committee can spend their budget elsewhere…:

Cut 12 (09) “…have to do that.”

Triple-A’s Don Redman says the Thanksgiving travel volume predicted this week is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. Redman advises those traveling by car to make sure they’re aware of what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place along their route and destination.

Cut 14 (09)  “…on your highway.”

He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share dinner with others.
Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”
That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the state added 34-thousand jobs from September to October as the Bayou State began to recover from Hurricane Ida. L-W-C Secretary Ava Cates says this also shows the state’s workforce is bouncing back from the pandemic too, but there are still a lot of vacant jobs…
cut 6 (10) “….for jobs there”

State Republican lawmakers are coming out against a Health Department proposal to require COVID shots for kids to attend schools. More from Kevin Gallagher…:
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says 13-hundred travel trailers have been deployed to the parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Ida. Families are occupying 820 of those units, including 284 in Terrebonne. Lafourche and Jefferson parishes have a total of 265 units occupied.

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations – which is currently 16 and older. However, Baton Rouge Senator Bodi White says mandating shots for any age group is wrong…:
Cut 10 (07) “…forced to opt-out.”
But Governor Edwards says it would be dangerous not to require vaccines for kids to attend schools once the FDA gives full approval.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the state’s workforce grew by 34-thousand non-farm jobs from September to October…
cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990”
L-W-C Secretary Ava Cates says the number of construction jobs increased by 82-hundred from September to October.

If Lt Governor Billy Nungesser gets his wish, the state’s first float to appear in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will steal the show. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

The Natchitoches Christmas Festival begins Saturday and the city is increasing security in response to Sunday’s tragedy in Wisconsin where a driver of an SUV drove through the Waukesha holiday parade, killing six and injuring dozens. Mayor Ronnie Williams Junior says they must be proactive in their plans to ensure the safety of residents and tourists alike.

Republican legislative leaders are not happy about the Edwards’ Administration’s plan to require students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus or present a written dissent to attend school. Senate Finance Chairman Bodi White believes the vaccines are in an experimental stage and mandating injections for kids without knowing the possible negative side effects is unwise…
cut 11 (09) “…..by doing it also”
But Edwards says it would be unfortunate and dangerous not to add the coronavirus vaccine to the list of required vaccines, once it receives full FDA approval to give to children.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is in New York City as Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly promote tourism to Louisiana in tomorrow’s Macy Day parade…
cut 7 (09) “…this float”

Tens of millions of people are traveling away from home, or perhaps to home, this Thanksgiving holiday weekend with the highways guaranteed to be crowded as they do. More from Dave Brannen.
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

The Louisiana Department of Health is proposing to add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of required shots for some students. It’s a move Governor John Bel Edwards supports.

Cut 9 (08) “…the covid vaccines.”

Edwards says it will be mandated to the extent that other vaccines are mandated but only when the FDA gives the vaccine full authorization for children.

It’s said that parents could opt out of the requirement for their child by simply signing a statement of exemption.

Attorney General Jeff Landry is clearly opposed to the COVID-19 mandate for students.

Cut 10 (08)  “…abuse and bullying.”

The proposal will be reviewed by the state’s Health and Welfare Committee before a decision is made to move forward. A date for the committee meeting has not been set.

President Biden orders 50 million barrels of oil to be released from the strategic reserve in an effort to reduce gas prices, but if you’re hoping this will impact your Thanksgiving travel, it won’t. The barrels won’t hit the market until mid to late December. LSU Center for Energy Studies, Executive Director David Dismukes says prices were already on course to correct themselves.

Cut 4 (08) “…administration’s part.”

As the pandemic continues to wane, the cruise business is picking back up in places like New Orleans. Jessica Ragusa, communications director with the Port of New Orleans, says next year should be a record year for cruising out of the Big Easy.

 Cut 6 (07) “…ever had there.” 

By comparison in 2019, there were 251 cruises out of New Orleans, involving both ocean-going vessels and river cruises.

If Lt Governor Billy Nungesser gets his wish, the state’s first float to appear in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will steal the show. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

___________________________________

State Republican lawmakers are coming out against a Health Department proposal to require COVID shots for kids to attend schools. More from Kevin Gallagher…:

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

___________________________________

Tens of millions of people are traveling away from home, or perhaps to home, this Thanksgiving holiday weekend with the highways guaranteed to be crowded as they do.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

_________________________________________

Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction. The jobless rate for October was five-point-four percent, a decline of point-four-percent.

Cates says construction jobs in the state went up by 82-hundred in October, a month-over-month gain coupled with a year-over-year gain of nearly six-thousand jobs.

Cut 5 (13) “…a great thing.”

While a lot of people are shrugging off going back to work because of the pandemic or other reasons, Cates notes the Workforce Commission has a laundry list of job openings up for grabs.

Cut 6 (10) “…for jobs there.”

She says New Orleans and Baton Rouge added the most jobs September to October than any other metro areas in the state, with Alexandria the only MSA to lose jobs, 200 of them during the same period.

___________________________________________

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history Thursday as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism.

Cut 7 (09) “…this float.”

Not only will it be the longest, but New Orleans native and the jazz artist to receive the most Grammy nominations ever at 11, Jon Batiste will be performing on the $1.3 million float.

Nungesser says because Louisiana knows a thing or two about parades, he wanted to make sure Celebration Gator has that wow factor. And while in the Big Apple the float will make several media appearances promoting the Bayou State.

Cut 8 (09) “…been through.”

Louisiana has lost millions in tourism revenue due to the pandemic and now with people itching to travel again, Nungesser says Celebration Gator is our new mascot to lure visitors back.

Cut 9 (11)  “…with Macy’s.”

Thursday’s appearance in the parade is the first of a three-year commitment. The parade starts at 9 AM Thanksgiving and can be seen on CBS and NBC.

___________________________________________

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations – which is currently 16 and older. However, Baton Rouge area state Senator Bodi White says mandating shots for any age group is wrong…:

Cut 10 (07)  “…forced to opt out.”

The LDH proposal would allow parents to opt-out of their kids having the shots, by signing a statement of exemption. Senator White feels the vaccines are still in an experimental stage, and mandating injections for huge numbers of kids without knowing the possible negative side effects is un-wise…:

Cut  11 (09)  “…by doing it also.”  

White sits on Senate Health & Welfare which will soon review the LDH COVID proposal. He also is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and says, if LDH insists on giving unproven shots to small kids, the committee can spend their budget elsewhere…:

Cut 12 (09) “…have to do that.”

_____________________________________

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others.

Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”

That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

Redman advises those traveling by car to make sure they’re aware of what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place along their route and destination.

Cut 14 (09)  “…on your highway.”

He says the height of highway travel for the holiday weekend should begin this afternoon into the evening hours.

Redman says for those traveling by air, there are bargains to be found for the flight itself, but you may face higher expenses elsewhere.

Cut 15 (09)  “…about four percent.”

As for gas prices, they are holding mostly steady in Louisiana right now, with the statewide average price of regular at around three-13 a gallon compared to a dollar-81 last year at this time.

__________________________________________

Before the 23rd ranked Ragin Cajuns host Appalachian State in the Sun Belt championship game, they’ll host ULM this Saturday, looking for their eleventh straight win. Cajuns Coach Billy Napier says they are not looking past their matchup against the Warhawks…

Cut  16 (20) “..play for”

The Ragin Cajuns beat ULM 70-20 last season for their third straight win over the Warhawks. Napier says they have a much different team this year under first-year head coach Terry Bowden…

Cut 17 (25) “ some games” 

__________________________________________________

Two teams that can use a win will face off tomorrow night in the Superdome when the Saints host the Bills. New Orleans has lost three in a row, while Buffalo has lost three of its last five and quarterback Josh Allen is coming off a bad performance in a 41-15 defeat to the Colts. Allen threw for 209 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Saints defensive end Cam Jordan on defending Allen…

Cut 18 (15) “..the game”  

The Saints defense allowed over 240 yards rushing to Philadelphia last Sunday and Jordan says they have to be a better run defense from this point forward…

Cut 19 (19)  “…on that”  

____________________________________________________

It should be an emotional night inside Tiger Stadium on Saturday night when LSU hosts Texas A-and-M. It will be the final game for Ed Orgeron as coach of the Tigers inside Death Valley and it’s also the final home game for many players like defensive tackle Glen Logan. Logan wants to win for Coach O…

Cut 20 (14) “.to us” 

The Louisiana Department of Health is proposing to add COVID-19 vaccines to the list of required shots for some students. It’s a move Governor John Bel Edwards supports…:

CUT 11(09)      “…age 16 and above.”

Kids as young as 5 are getting the shots now, under the Emergency Use Authorization, but the pandemic seems to be waning. Attorney General Jeff Landry says adding COVID shots to the state’s immunization requirements amounts to “bullying” and vows to fight it.

A three-vehicle crash along Highway 1 in Avoyelles Parish Monday took the life of an eight-year-old, and is now under investigation. Trooper Casey Wallace says it happened just before 8 am Monday when a car waiting to turn left across traffic was struck from behind by a commercial vehicle…:

CUT 13(09)      “…exact road.”

Three others in the car were injured. So far, no charges for the driver.

In an effort to reduce gasoline prices President Biden orders 50 million barrels to be released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. But is it too little, too late? Here’s Brooke Thorington…:

CUT 01(31)      “…Thorington.”

There have been a rash of carjackings in the city of New Orleans in the past week; seven to be precise – making for a total of 240 so far this calendar year. These are often at gunpoint and can happen at traffic lights, or even when pumping gas. This comes as the city proclaims the city a safe place to visit for the holidays.

President Biden orders 50 million barrels of oil to be released from the strategic reserve in an effort to reduce energy costs. LSU Center for Energy Studies, Executive Director David Dismukes says the move is a classic example of do-nothing politics…:

CUT 03(11)      “…past January.”

The barrels of oil to be released will not hit the market until mid to late December, so any lower price you may see when pumping gas may be closer to Christmas.

You’re going to be hearing a lot about this: a state Department of Health proposal to require kids have the COVID vaccine to get into schools. Among those strongly opposed to the idea is state Attorney General Jeff Landry, who accuses Governor Edwards of overreach for supporting a mandate for kids 16 and older to have the shots…:

CUT 12(09)      “…parents, not bureaucrats.”

The cruise business is ramping back up in New Orleans as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ease. More from Dave Brannen…:

CUT 02(34)      “…Brannen.”

Deputies in Ouachita parish are seeking a man who fakes being disabled while burglarizing cars in the Monroe area. The guy gets around in a wheelchair, but has been caught on video walking and even running from some of the cars and trucks he’s broken into. The Ouachita sheriff’s Office will gladly take tips that help catch this low-life.