New Orleans-based data analyst Jeff Asher says about half of the state’s population 70 and older have received at least the first dose of the COVID vaccine. Asher says 12-percent of the state’s population has been vaccinated and that percentage could increase quickly once Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine receives FDA approval…
cut 5 (07) “….safe”

Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins is challenging the Biden Administration to live life without using products that the oil and gas industry helps develop. He says you can’t…
cut 11 (12) “….wearing”
President Biden is pushing for a 100-percent carbon-free energy sector by 2035.

The USA Today and The Advocate report that former LSU Football coach Les Miles allegedly sexually harassed student workers during his time in Baton Rouge…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

Crowley Police Chief Jimmy Broussard is facing malfeasance and obstruction of justice charges. Broussard was booked into the Acadia Parish Jail and released a short time later. His attorney says Broussard is not guilty of these crimes. Broussard is accused of intentionally performing duties in an unlawful manner and tampering with evidence.

Congressman Clay Higgins has filed a resolution challenging the Biden Administration to operate without the use of any oil and gas energy or petroleum-based products. In doing so, Higgins wants to bring attention to the importance of the industry.
Cut 10 (10) “…industry.”
The President is pushing a goal of a 100-percent carbon-free energy sector by 2025.

In 2013, Les Miles, who was the football coach at LSU at the time, reportedly sexually harassed a student worker. The Advocate reports Miles reached a settlement with the student. Miles attorneys deny the claim. USA Today Network Reporter Glen Guilbeau says a private firm is investigating about 60 different sexual misconduct cases that the school may not have acted properly on…
cut 9 (05) “…to come”

50 percent of the 70 and older population in Louisiana has received at least one dose of their COVID vaccine. Matt Doyle has more on this vital milestone…
Cut 1 (29) “…Matt Doyle.”

Governor Edwards holds a COVID-19 briefing today at 2 PM.

50 percent of the 70 and older population in Louisiana has received at least one dose of their COVID vaccine. Matt Doyle has more on the achievement of this vital milestone…

Cut 1 (29) “…Matt Doyle.”

_______________________________

Reports by USA Today and The Advocate reveal allegations that former LSU Football coach Les Miles sexually harassed student workers during his time in Baton Rouge. Matt Doyle has more…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.” 

____________________________

To highlight the importance of the oil and gas industry a Louisiana Congressman issues a challenge to the Biden Administration.

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

____________________________

According to New Orleans-based data analyst, Jeff Asher over half of Louisianans 70-years-old and older are estimated to have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine so far.

Nearly 70 percent of all COVID-related deaths have come from that age group and Asher says due to this we could see a permanent, significant reduction in new COVID deaths.

Cut 4 (10)“…seeing.”

12 percent of the total population in Louisiana has been vaccinated.

Asher says the new, faster pace of vaccinations may mean we won’t experience a fourth wave of the pandemic especially given the seemingly imminent approval of Johnson and Johnson’s vaccine.

Cut 5 (07)“…safe.”

New COVID cases and COVID-related hospitalizations have fallen by about seventy percent since the all-time peak in early January.

Authorities believe the pandemic will be under control once 70 to 80 percent of the population is vaccinated, but Asher says that’s still many months away…

Cut 6 (08) “…population (x2)”

According to the Louisiana Department of Health COVID Dashboard, 60 percent of those vaccinated so far have been women.

________________________

USA Today and The Advocate uncover allegations that former LSU Football head coach Les Miles sexually harassed student workers during his time running the program.

The allegations were detailed in a 2013 investigation ordered by LSU and conducted by an outside firm. USA Today sports writer Glenn Guilbeau says they are suing to get access to the full report, but so far…

Cut 7 (10)  “…the law.”

Miles’ attorneys say the report should remain confidential because disclosure would cause Miles to suffer “serious injury to his reputation and personal life” and “irreparable loss.”

USA Today reports LSU deemed Miles’ behavior inappropriate but the coach faced no public repercussions. Guilbeau says LSU has a history of covert behavior…

Cut 8 (10) “…Duke.”

The Advocate reports Miles offered a secret settlement to an LSU student who accused him of “hitting on her”, but Miles’ attorney said that a description of a settlement is discernibly incomplete and inaccurate.

LSU has hired a private firm to investigate about 60 different sexual misconduct cases involving the school from 2016 to 2018 and the US Department of Education is also investigating the school…

Cut 9 (05) “…to come.”

Miles coached at LSU from 2005 until 2016 when he was fired for football-related reasons and now coaches at Kansas.

_____________________________

Congressman Clay Higgins issued a challenge to the Biden Administration to operate without the use of any oil and gas energy or petroleum-based products. In doing so Higgins wants to bring attention to the importance of the industry that is a staple of Louisiana’s economy.

Cut 10 (10) “…industry.”

Higgins says many people don’t realize that everyday products contain petroleum and restriction on the oil and gas and petroleum industry impact items beyond gasoline.

Cut 11 (12) “…wearing.”

Higgins says the oil and gas industry is the cleanest and most efficient in the US, compared to other countries, and with our dependence on products from the fossil fuel industry, bans from the Biden Administration are not logical.

Cut 12 (06) “…live it.”

The Biden Administration says these restrictions on domestic oil and gas production are key to helping the country hit carbon neutrality by 2050, thus limiting catastrophic levels of future global temperature increase.

_____________________________

Last week’s winter storm didn’t only impact the power grid and water systems in the state it also slowed down the crawfish industry. Wild Crawfish Fisherman Jody Meche says the cold temps reduced the number of crustaceans that could be harvested.

Cut 13 (11) “…considerably.”

But Meche is hopeful that the freeze was too detrimental to the crawfish population that that warmer temps will enable them to bounce back.

Cut 14 (10) “…ok.” 

Meche says crawfish are pretty resilient and he’s optimistic that the industry will rebound quickly, and we’ll have a plentiful crop and everyone can still enjoy the crawfish boils this year.

Cut 15 (11)“…you know.”

Utilities reported to the Public Service Commission this morning on last week’s winter storm response. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (29) …I’m Matt Doyle.”  

Senator Bill Cassidy responds to the State GOP’s decision to censure him over his vote to convict former President Donald Trump. Cassidy says he’s taken a lot heat for the decision, but also received a lot of support.

Cut 10 (11) “…went into it” 

It is not mandatory to send your child to kindergarten in Louisiana, but Chairman of the Senate Education Committee Senator Cleo Fields is filing legislation to change that. Fields wants children to learn sooner than later.

Cut 4 (11) “…first grade.” 

Fields then wants to work towards making Pre-K mandatory.

A former well-known Monroe staple passed away Monday at the age of 72. Shirley was the sole elephant at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo for 22 years after she arrived in 1977.  As requirements changed for keeping elephants in captivity, Zoo Director Tom Pearson says they opted to let Shirley retire in 1999.

Cut 12 (12) “…years.” 

Utility companies were asked about their failure to communicate with customers ahead of last week’s mid-winter storm rolling blackouts. Entergy CEO Phillip May says Tuesday the grid faced significantly more demand than it had supply and they were given 30 minutes by a regional regulator, MISO, to begin cutting back distribution due to the potentially catastrophic strain on the grid…

Cut 6 (10) “…resort”

Monroe’s beloved 72-year-old elephant Shirley passed away Monday at the Louisiana Purchase Botanical Gardens.  Zoo Director Tom Pearson says after a hard life in the circus Shirley was able to roam the sanctuary with other elephants and had little human interaction. In 2018 one of her former caretakers in Monroe, Solomon James, was allowed to visit on her birthday.

Cut 14 (11) “…thrilled”

In an effort to have children educated sooner, one lawmaker files a bill to make kindergarten mandatory in Louisiana.  Brooke Thorington explains

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

The USA Today and Advocate report that former LSU head coach Les Miles allegedly engaged in sexual harassment while he was in charge of the Tiger’s football team. The Advocate reports Miles offered a secret settlement to an LSU student. Miles attorney said that a description of a settlement is discernibly incomplete and inaccurate.

Senator Bill Cassidy stands behind his decision to vote to find former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection on January 6^th. He was censured by the state Republican Party for the move, but Cassidy says the facts show Trump was guilty…

Cut 11 (10) “…consequences.”

At this morning’s Public Service Commission Zoom meeting providers warned that gas prices were far higher than usual in February and those prices will be passed on to customers. Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta asks that providers come up with a plan to not dump that full cost on customers next month…

Cut 8 (09) “…before then”

Providers also indicated that a lack of natural gas supply was the supply problems they faced last week.

Currently, it is not mandatory to send your child to kindergarten in Louisiana, but one Senator wants to change that to get more children enrolled in pre-K education. Baton Rouge Senator and Chairmen of the Senate Education Committee Cleo Fields has pre-filed legislation to make kindergarten a requirement.

Cut 3 (10)  “…the state.” 

Shirley was the sole elephant at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo for 22 years passed away Monday. Zoo Director Tom Pearson says Shirley then went to the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee where she able to roam. He says about 10 years ago one of her former Monroe caretakers, Solomon James, visited on her birthday.

Cut 14 (11) “…thrilled”

Shirley was 72.

Senator Bill Cassidy responds to the State GOP’s decision to censure him over his vote to convict former President Donald Trump. He says the facts showed the President was guilty of attempting to incite an insurrection and he had a constitutional duty to vote in favor of conviction. Cassidy says he’s taken a lack of flak for the decision, but also received a lot of support.

Cut 10 (11) “…went into it” 

Utilities spoke at this morning’s Public Service Commission meeting and explained why they had the string of power outages that impacted 131,000 customers at the winter storm event’s peak. Entergy CEO Phillip May says they saw historic demand coupled with lower supply due to weather impacts on natural gas providers…

Cut 7 (10) “…supply”

Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields wants to mandate that children attend kindergarten in Louisiana. Fields proposed legislation that would do just that for the upcoming spring session and says beginning the education process earlier in children’s lives is crucial for their development, and this is a good first step…

Cut 5  (11)  “…through twelve.” 

If the bill is approved children who turn age five on or before September 30^th will be required to enroll in kindergarten.

Monroe’s beloved 72-year-old elephant Shirley passed away Monday at the Louisiana Purchase Botanical Gardens.  Zoo Director Tom Pearson says Shirley had a rough life until she was rescued from the circus. Afterward, she spent time at sanctuaries in Tennessee and Monroe…

Cut 13 (08)“…circus.”

Utilities reported to the Public Service Commission this morning on last week’s winter storm response. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (30) …I’m Matt Doyle.”  

Senator Bill Cassidy spoke with members of the members to discuss his vote to impeach President Donald Trump.  Despite some criticism, Cassidy says he’s at peace with his decision.

Cut 9 (08) “…people objecting”

It is not mandatory to send your child to kindergarten in Louisiana, but Chairman of the Senate Education Committee Senator Cleo Fields is filing legislation to change that. Researchers say birth to five years of age is critical for brain development so Fields wants children to learn sooner than later.

Cut 4 (11) “…first grade.” 

Fields then wants to work towards making Pre-K mandatory.

A former well-known Monroe staple passed away Monday at the age of 72. Shirley was the sole elephant at the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo for 22 years after she arrived in 1977.  As requirements changed for keeping elephants in captivity, Zoo Director Tom Pearson says they opted to let Shirley retire.

Cut 12 (12) “…years.” 

At this morning’s Public Service Commission Zoom meeting providers warned that gas prices were far higher than usual in February and those prices will be passed on to customers. Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta asks that providers come up with a plan to not dump that full cost on customers next month…

Cut 8 (09) “…before then”

Providers also indicated that a lack of natural gas supply was the supply problems they faced last week. 

Senator Bill Cassidy stands behind his decision to vote to find former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting an insurrection on January 6^th. He was censured by the state Republican Party for the move, but Cassidy says the facts show Trump was guilty…

Cut 11 (10) “…consequences.”

In an effort to have children educated sooner, one lawmaker files a bill to make kindergarten mandatory in Louisiana.  Brooke Thorington explains

Cut 1 (32) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

Utility providers went before the Public Service Commission today to explain last week’s power outages and the poor communication to customers about those outages. Entergy CEO Phillip May says Tuesday the energy grid faced significantly more demand than it had supply and they were given 30 minutes by a regulator to begin rolling blackouts.

Cut 6 (11) “…resort”

Regulator, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, operates in 15 states throughout the center of the country and most of those were impacted by the storm.

Currently, it is not mandatory to send your children to kindergarten in Louisiana, but Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields wants to change that to get more children enrolled in pre-K education.

Cut 3 (10)  “…the state” 

Oil City Representative Danny McCormick introduces legislation that would allow Louisianans to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. Currently to concealed carry in Louisiana, you need to take a nine-hour course and pay a $125 fee for a five-year license. Proponents of the license argue it provides gun owners with vital training. McCormick says training is good, but the mandate is not.

Cut 11 (07) “…anything.”

To assist the citizens of Shreveport as the city enters a second week with a collapsed water system Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder along with other lawmakers helped collect 150-thousand bottles of water.

Cut 4 (13)“…issues.”

The storms last week paralyzed the city’s water system which serves approximately 200-thousand citizens.