As recovery efforts continue in Lafourche Parish after Hurricane Ida, Sheriff’s spokesman Brennan Matherne says things are getting better for some, while others are still struggling with little things that are piling up. That includes educational needs.

Cut 3 (12) “….a half weeks.”

Sixteen hospitals in the state that deliver babies have met new standards designed to improve the state’s poor maternal death rate. Medical Director of the Louisiana Perinatal Quality Collaborative Dr. Veronica Gillespie-Bell says they are working to reduce maternal death rates in which hypertension and hemorrhage are the leading causes.

Cut 6 (12) “…and outcomes.” 

A wedding attended by about 150 people in Abbeville is drawing more attention to such gatherings being potential super-spreader events for the coronavirus.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

The number of COVID patients in the hospital has fallen below 700 statewide, which is the lowest total since July 18th when the fourth surge was just starting to ramp up. The Louisiana Department of Health reports 82-percent of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.

Disaster relief funding has been approved by Congress and Senator Bill Cassidy says there’s about $600-million allotted for southwest Louisiana. As for Hurricane Ida funding, Cassidy estimates there’s around a billion for the state.

Cut 5 (11) “…December.”

A wedding of 150 attendees in Abbeville on September 25^th has been confirmed as a COVID outbreak. State health department Region 4 Medical Director Dr. Tina Stefanski says the best way to protect yourself in group gatherings like a wedding is to get vaccinated, especially if you are elderly or have underlying health conditions.

Cut 9 (09)  “…your best protection.”

All attendees are encouraged to get tested and quarantine to prevent spreading.

Astra Zeneca’s first-of-its-kind preventative antibody treatment is seeking emergency use authorization.  Assistant Dean for Translational Science at LSU Health New Orleans, Doctor Lucio Miele says AZD7442 will not be marketed as a substitute for the vaccines but more of an ancillary for those who are unable to be vaccinated because they have cancer or a compromised immune system…

Cut 11 (09) “…the vaccine.”

A Baton Rouge medical center is leading the nation in using innovative robotic technology to diagnose lung cancer. Baton Rouge General pulmonologist Dr. Michael Sanchez says the new Monarch Platform can mean earlier, more accurate detection of lung cancers and it can move in ways a human guiding a scope simply cannot.

Cut 15 (05)  “…lot more precision.”

The long-anticipated disaster relief funding receives passage in DC. Kevin Gallagher has more

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

A Marksville casino will be the first venue to open sports betting in the Bayou State. “The Draft Room” at Paragon Casino will allow bets to start being placed at 3 pm today. Other casinos are expected to follow once state police have approved their operations.

If you attended a September 25^th wedding in Abbeville state health officials say you need to be tested for COVID. LDH says several people have since developed Covid symptoms and tested positive for the virus.  Dr. Tina Stefanski, medical director for Region 4 of the Office Public Health says there’s concern that some 150 wedding attendees could further spread what has been an all too often deadly virus.

Cut 8 (10) “…home get tested.”

Another offering in the fight against COVID is seeking Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. Astra Zeneca’s first-of-its-kind antibody treatment is used as a preventative. Assistant Dean for Translational Science at LSU Health New Orleans, Doctor Lucio Miele says data from AZD7442 is promising.

Cut 10 (06)  “…months.” 

The company won’t be marketing the drug as a substitute for the vaccine

A wedding attended by about 150 people in Abbeville is drawing more attention to such gatherings being potential super-spreader events for the coronavirus. More from Dave Brannen.
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

Power is finally coming back on in Grand Isle over a month since Hurricane Ida made landfall. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng says Entergy has set up a temporary generation plant that is supplying power to some residents. But Sheng says water and sewage are still down.

Senator Bill Cassidy says a spending bill signed by President Biden last week will send 600-million dollars in hurricane recovery money to southwest Louisiana to help rebuild homes and other infrastructure after last year’s hurricanes. Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter has said that’s not enough and Cassidy says the chances of getting additional funding are not good…
cut 6 (06) “…shall do so”
Cassidy says the bill approved last week contains one billion dollars for Hurricane Ida recovery.

Lung cancer makes up about 25-percent of all cancer deaths, but Baton Rouge General is one of the first hospitals in the U-S to use innovative robotic technology for lung cancer diagnosis. Pulmonologist Doctor Michael Sanchez says the Monarch Platform robot will lead to safer and quicker diagnoses…
cut 14 (08) “….different lesions”
He says a quicker diagnosis leads to greater potential for curing lung cancer.

During a weekly conference call with reporters, Senator Bill Cassidy said 600-million in hurricane recovery dollars are headed towards southwest Louisiana as a result of a funding bill signed by the President last week…
cut 4 (11) “…not enough”
Cassidy believes it will be difficult to get another allotment for southwest Louisiana. He says the same spending bill also has one-billion dollars for Hurricane Ida recovery.

State health officials are asking unvaccinated individuals who attended a wedding on September 25th at L’Eglise in Abbeville to quarantine until Saturday as several people who attended the wedding have tested positive for COVID-19. Doctor Tina Stefanski, medical director for Region Four, says 150 people were in attendance and they consider all attendees exposed to COVID-19…
cut 7 (08) “….importantly get tested”

AstraZeneca is hoping their monoclonal antibody treatment will receive emergency use authorization in the effort to help end the pandemic. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

We are 13 months away from next year’s November election and Senator John Kennedy finally has an announced challenger. Luke Mixon is a 42-year-old Democrat from Baton Rouge, who grew up in Avoyelles Parish. Mixon is a political newcomer who is a former Navy pilot and currently flies commercial planes.

So how much money is Louisiana getting from the recent funding bill approved by Congress that contains hurricane recovery dollars? Kevin Gallagher has more…
cut 1 (33) “….I’m Kevin Gallagher”

The number of COVID patients in the hospital has fallen below 700 statewide, which is the lowest total since July 18th when the fourth surge was just starting to ramp up. The Louisiana Department of Health reports 82-percent of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.

Drugmaker AstraZeneca, has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize emergency use of what’s been called a first-of-a-kind antibody treatment to prevent COVID-19. The drug would be for individuals with compromised immune systems and need more protection to go along with the vaccine…
cut 12 (10) “…SARS-cov-2”
That’s Assistant Dean for Translational Science at LSU Health New Orleans, Doctor Lucio Miele, says late-stage human trials show that AstraZeneca’s antibody drug reduced the risk of developing COVID symptoms by 77-percent.

A medical center in Louisiana is leading the nation in using innovative robotic technology to diagnose lung cancer. Baton Rouge General pulmonologist Dr. Michael Sanchez says the new Monarch Platform can mean earlier, more accurate detection of lung cancers or pre-cancerous nodules. He says manual bronchoscopes can only be guided so far into the body…:
Cut 13 (11) “…without it.”
Use of Monarch was recently approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration

The small community of Lafitte in Jefferson Parish is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ida. Mayor Tim Kerner said this morning that the town’s housing stock suffered a major loss when Ida roared ashore more than a month ago. he’s taken steps to get 300 temporary housing units to the town as soon as possible. Kerner indicates the residents of Lafitte are a resilient bunch.

Cut 4 (08) “…they inspire me.”

Monday’s Facebook outage, along with the other social media platforms owned by the company, has many asking what happened and was the company hacked. Host of Tech Gumbo Haggai Davis says it was an internal issue and says only large service providers, like Verizon and companies like Google, work with BGP, and the six-hour outage was reminiscent of a Three Stooges episode.

Cut 7 (11) “…down.”  

Republican Senator John Kennedy has a challenger for re-election with Democrat Luke Mixon of Baton Rouge announcing he’s throwing his hat in the ring.  Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Mixon has his work cut out for him in an attempt to unseat Kennedy.

Cut 10 (07)  “…in his favor” 

Louisiana-founded Waitr announced today that LSU All-American cornerback Derek Stingley will promote the food delivery app on his Instagram account. Waitr spokesperson Dean Turcol says they also have similar deals with LSU first baseman Tre Morgan and Alabama linebacker Christian Harris, who is from Baton Rouge. He says Waitr is proud of Louisiana athletes who are starring on the college level and they are thrilled they can now partner with them

Cut 14 (08) “…their friends” 

Republican U.S. Senator John Kennedy has a challenger for re-election as Democrat Luke Mixon of Baton Rouge announces he’s throwing his hat in the ring.  Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Mixon has his work cut out for him in an attempt to unseat Kennedy…:

CUT 09                  (09)        “…officials in Louisiana”

Mixon is a commercial pilot, who also flew jets in the U.S. Navy.

Everyone has seen – at one time or another – a balloon release; perhaps to mourn the loss of loved one or commemorate and event. Lafayette Parish is considering legislation to ban such practices. Parish Environmental Quality Manager Bess Foret says balloons eventually deflate or burst and litter the land and waterways; negatively affecting the environment, wildlife, and marine life. Animals can become entangled in the balloon strings and even die from ingesting the broken balloons. She suggests flying kites, blowing bubbles or other earth-friendly gestures.

Social media users were distraught for more than six hours Monday when they were unable to access Facebook and its other platforms, Brooke Thorington has more…:

CUT 01                  (31)        “…Thorington”

The Louisiana Department of Health has confirmed a COVID-19 outbreak stemming from a recent Abbeville wedding, and is urging anyone who attended to take precautions now – including getting tested. The wedding was held at L’Eglise event venue on September 25^th. Approximately 150 people were in attendance.

Were you one of the many Louisianans missing your Facebook fix yesterday? Thousands want to know what happened, and tech whiz Haggai Davis, host of the Tech Gumbo radio show in Baton Rouge, says Facebook was doing a system upgrade to the Border Gate Protocol when everything went dark. He says this sort of thing doesn’t happen often, but programmers are human and it will happen again…:

CUT 08(10)      “…a good thing”

Facebook and subsidiaries like Instagram were down for over six hours Monday.

The small Jefferson Parish town of Lafitte is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ida. Mayor Tim Kerner said this morning that the town’s housing stock suffered a major loss from Ida more than a month ago…:

CUT 03(07)      “…major damage.”

He says some residents could be out of their homes for nearly a year.

U.S. Senator John Kennedy has an announced challenger for the 2022 election. Democrat Luke Mixon, a 42-year-old commercial pilot, says he can unseat the Republican incumbent Kennedy. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says that’s a mighty big task for an unknown candidate…:

CUT 11(07)      “…already endorsed him”

Mixon contends Kennedy has cast votes to block billions of dollars to improve our infrastructure and protect the state from natural disasters. Kennedy defends his votes as not wasting taxpayer dollars.

LSU cornerback Derek Stingley has an endorsement deal. New NCAA rules allow college athletes to accept such deals and Stingley’s is with WAITR, a Louisiana-founded restaurant delivery service. WAITR’s Dean Turcol says Stingley will give out a delivery discount code on his social media next week…:

CUT 13(08)      “…promotional activities”