Southeast Louisiana is recovering from the fifth named storm to make landfall in the state this year, the near category three Hurricane Zeta. Power is out to 469-thousand customers in Louisiana, but Governor John Bel Edwards says the good news is preliminary estimates show it won’t be weeks before the lights come on for most customers.

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Hurricane Zeta was still a Category One storm when the center of the storm reached St. Tammany Parish.  Parish President Mike Cooper says that even though the storm had weakened by the time it got there, St. Tammany still felt some significant winds.

Cut 6 (12) “…trees down”

Zeta made landfall around 4pm Wednesday near Cocodrie, which is located in Terrebonne Parish. Lieutenant Brennan Matherne with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s office says the southern end of their parish took quite a big hit.

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There’s reported property damage in Golden Meadow and Leeville.

St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis says winds of 100-miles per hour were clocked at their emergency operations center in Chalmette.

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Due to the extensive damage in St Bernard, the Sheriff’s Office is imposing a strict curfew tonight from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Friday

Governor John Bel Edwards is once again surveying damage following a powerful hurricane that struck the state. Matt Doyle has more…
Cut 1 (32) “ I’m Matt Doyle”

The numerous power outages also mean traffic lights are not working. St. Tammany Parish President Mark Cooper says if you don’t have to drive anywhere, stay home…
cut 7 (07) “…power outages”

The Secretary of State’s Office says the total number of ballots that have already been cast for Tuesday’s election is 964-thousand. That’s an 81-percent increase from the early vote in 2016. JMC Analytics Pollster John Couvillon estimates an overall turnout of 73-percent for the presidential election. He disagrees with analysts who say early voting is indicative of total participation…
cut 26 (07) “….turnout”
Voter turnout for the 2016 presidential election was 68-percent in Louisiana.

Jacket weather has arrived in Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says after a chilly morning, high temperatures are struggling to get above 65-degrees today…
cut 14 (12) “….high temp” (2x)

Zeta slammed into Louisiana as an unexpectedly strong category two, near three hurricane and a near half million households in the state are still without power.

Most of the damage appears to be wind related but three breaches have been reported in the Burrito Levee in Grand Isle. CPRA is on the scene assessing the damage. Governor Edwards surveyed the damage by air this morning and says…

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1,940 National Guardsmen have been activated in support of emergency operations in the state.

Zeta ripped through the state at 25 miles an hour, maintaining category one strength as far inland as St. Tammany Parish. Parish President Mike Cooper says his residents took a beating…

Cut 6 (12) “…trees down”

An LSU-Health Sciences Center study shows more women in the state are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner due to Medicaid expansion. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”  (AM)

Southeast Louisiana is recovering from the fifth named storm to make landfall in the state this year, the near category three Hurricane Zeta. Governor Edwards says unfortunately we are reporting the first storm-related death, a 55-year-old New Orleans man who died from electrocution due to a downed powerline.

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The only levee failures from Hurricane Zeta occurred in Grand Isle as the Category Two storm caused three breaches in what is known as the burrito levee, a large roll of plastic filled with sand. Jefferson Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Joseph Valiente says the breaches have led to flooding in the coastal town…

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The governor’s office says they have pumps trying to drain the water.

To say the Bayou State is experiencing weather extremes is an understatement, after a Category Two hurricane strikes the state, now we are experiencing much cooler temperatures in less than 24 hours. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s a very odd one-two punch.

Cut 13 (12) “…time of year”

469-thousand customers are without power according to the PSC and Entergy is hoping to have the majority restored for their customers by the weekend. Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardgili says a Category Two storm on average means 7 to 10 days without power. Entergy has 4,500 crew members working to bring the lights back on and hopefully, the worst-case projection won’t be true for most.

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The PSC reports 469-thousand are without power in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Zeta which made landfall just after 4 PM yesterday near Cocodrie. Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardgili says the immediate post-storm period can be dangerous and if you see any compromised electrical equipment keep your distance.

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In St Bernard Parish, Parish President Guy McInnis says winds of 100-miles per hour winds were clocked at their emergency operations as the Category Two hurricane swept over the area. McInnis says there were no serious injuries during the storm and he would like to keep it that way…

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Nearly one million early votes have been cast in Louisiana for the November 3^rd Presidential Election. JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says the early vote was marginally more Democratic than in past years, showing an increase in Democratic enthusiasm relative to Republicans, but not substantially so.

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An LSU-Health Sciences Center Study shows more women in Louisiana are receiving breast cancer diagnoses and treatment because of Medicaid expansion. Lead Author Dr. Quyen (Quinn) Chu says they compared breast cancer rates before and after ACA expansion in 2016 and it’s led to a 27-percent increase in early-stage diagnosis.

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Hurricane Zeta delivered a massive punch to southeast Louisiana. According to the Public Service Commission, 531-thousand customers are without power as there are hundreds of utility poles down and widespread wind damage. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis says winds of 100-miles per hour were clocked at their emergency operations center…
cut 8 (11) “….power lines” (2x)
Earlier this week the expectation was for Zeta to be a weak Category One hurricane when it made landfall in southeast Louisiana, instead, it nearly grew to a Cat 3 storm. State Climatologist Barry Keim says there was good reason to believe Zeta would be a tame system…
cut 11 (09) “…back down”
Zeta is responsible for one death in Louisiana. A New Orleans man died after touching a downed power line.

Nearly one million early votes have been cast in Louisiana for Tuesday’s Presidential Election. JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says between early voting and mail-in ballots 964,000 votes have been cast, shattering the 2016 record of 531,000…
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An LSU-Health Sciences Center study shows more women in the state are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner due to Medicaid expansion. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

Hurricane Zeta roared ashore near Cocodrie, Louisiana yesterday afternoon packing maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. Zeta was moving so fast it was able to maintain much of its strength as it crossed southeast Louisiana, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, uprooting trees, damaging property, and killing at least one person.

Early voting has wrapped up in Louisiana and nearly a million votes have been cast ahead of Tuesday’s election. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “ I’m Matt Doyle”

A forthcoming LSU Health Sciences Center study finds that the Medicaid expansion in 2016 resulted in many more women getting breast cancer screening which led to a 27-percent increase in the early-stage diagnosis of breast cancer. Lead author, Doctor Quyen Chu says Medicaid expansion also lowered the uninsured rate for the state below the national average of eight percent…
cut 8 (11) “…is 17.7 percent”

Getting back to Hurricane Zeta, many are surprised by how fast it was able to strengthen, climbing from a tropical storm to nearly a Category Three hurricane when it made landfall. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the truth is forecasters are not very good at predicting how powerful a system will become…
cut 10 (07) “…years”

Hurricane Zeta steamrolled through southeast Louisiana yesterday destroying property and uprooting trees. Zeta is responsible for at least one death in Louisiana. A person was electrocuted in New Orleans’ Gert Town neighborhood. The Orleans Parish coroner says a 55-year-old male died as a result of electrocution from downed power lines.

48 hours ago forecasts projected Zeta would be at a category one, but when it made landfall near Cocodrie yesterday afternoon it was nearly a Cat 3. Matt Doyle on what happened…
Cut 3 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Hundreds of thousands are without power. Entergy is reporting more than 400-thousand outages and spokesperson Brandon Scardigli warns there could be prolonged outages…
cut 13 (11) “….range”
Scardigli says they have 45-hundred workers trying to restore power.

An LSU Health Sciences Center study finds more women in Louisiana are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner and better access to care and treatment since Medicaid was expanded in Louisiana in 2016…
cut 9 (08) “…impact lives”
That’s the lead author of the report, Quyen Chu, who says because of Medicaid expansion, 91-thousand women in Louisiana received breast cancer screenings, many for the first time. Eleven-hundred were diagnosed with breast cancer.

Hurricane Zeta didn’t last long in southeast Louisiana after making landfall in Terrebonne Parish yesterday afternoon, but the Category Two storm still produced a lot of damage. Zeta ripped off roofs, toppled trees, and knocked down power lines. Entergy says 426-thousand of its customers are without power and spokesperson Brandon Scardigli says with a Category Two storm, it could take up to ten days before power is fully restored…
cut 14 (10) “…two”
Zeta just kept getting stronger as it approached Louisiana’s coast yesterday and nearly made landfall as a Category Three storm. Early projections had Zeta making landfall as either a Cat one or a tropical storm. State Climatologist Barry Keim says forecasters were at least right on a projected landfall…
cut 12 (07) “….at that”

An LSU-Health Sciences Center study shows more women in the state are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner due to Medicaid expansion. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

Make sure you leave the house today with a jacket as it will be a chilly and breezy day.

Early voting has wrapped up in Louisiana and nearly a million votes have been cast ahead of the November 3^rd election. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “   I’m Matt Doyle”

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An LSU-Health Sciences Center study shows more women in the state are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner due to Medicaid expansion. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington” 

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48 hours ago forecasts projected Zeta would be at a category one when it made landfall. It made landfall near Cocodrie yesterday as a near cat 3. Matt Doyle asks a climatologist what happened…

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

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Nearly one million early votes have been cast in Louisiana for the November 3^rd Presidential Election.

JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says between early voting and mail-in ballots 964,000 votes have been cast, shattering 2016’s record of 531,000. He says there’s a number of reasons why…

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146,000 of those early votes were by mail. Couvillon anticipates about another 40,000 mail-in ballots have yet to be counted which would put us above a million total early votes cast.

Couvillon says the early vote was marginally more Democratic than in past years, showing an increase in Democratic enthusiasm relative to Republicans, but not substantially so.

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Early voting ended on Tuesday.

Couvillon estimates that we could see 73 percent total participation for the November 3^rd election. He disagrees with analysts who say early voting isn’t indicative of total participation.

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That would put early votes at 45 percent of the total vote.

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An LSU-Health Sciences Center Study shows more women in Louisiana are receiving breast cancer diagnoses and treatment because of Medicaid expansion. Lead Author Dr. Quyen (Quinn) Chu says they compared breast cancer rates before and after ACA expansion in 2016 and it’s led to a 27-percent increase in early-stage diagnosis.

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Chu says the data is additional evidence that Medicaid expansion works. Chu says the national average of uninsured is 8.9-percent, after ACA expansion in Louisiana the uninsured rate for the state is below the national average at 8-percent.

Cut 8 (11) “…is 17.7 percent.”

The study compared breast cancer data among women in Louisiana from 2012 to 2018. It showed after Medicaid expansion in 2016 more than 91-thousand women received breast cancer screenings for the first time and more than a thousand were diagnosed with breast cancer as a result.

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Chu says they plan to compare data of other common medical conditions before and after Medicaid expansion.

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Zeta’s rapid and unexpected strengthening caught a lot of people off guard, going from an expected weak category one at landfall on Tuesday forecasts to a near cat three by landfall Wednesday.

State Climatologist Barry Keim says the truth is forecasters just aren’t very good at predicting how powerful a system will become.

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Keim says there was good reason to believe Zeta was going to remain a relatively tame system.

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Keim says despite missing the call on how strong Zeta would be forecasters did nail the fact that it would make landfall in southeast Louisiana as far back as this weekend when it was in the Caribbean.

Cut 12 (07) “at that”.

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500-thousand are without power* in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Zeta which made landfall just after 4 PM yesterday near Cocodrie.

Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardigli warns there could be some prolonged outages.

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Scardigli says they have 4,500 workers springing into action to bring the lights back on and hopefully those worst-case projections won’t be true for most.

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Scardgili says the immediate post-storm period can be dangerous and if you see any compromised electrical equipment keep your distance.

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After ending UAB’s 21-game home winning streak last Friday, U-L Lafayette is back on the road this Saturday for a matchup with Texas State. The Cajuns are 4-and-1 on the season, but Coach Billy Napier says there is still room for improvement…

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Texas State comes into the game with a 1-and-6 record and their only win came against ULM. They play two quarterbacks, Tyler Vitt and Brady McBride. Napier says McBride started his college career at Memphis

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Now that Hurricane Zeta is out of here, the Saints will continue preparations today for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. The Bears 5-and-2 and they’ve defended the pass well this season. Coach Sean Payton says Chicago has an excellent secondary…

cut 18 (16) ” and they are smart” 

No precipitation is in the forecast for Sunday, but it’s expected to be very windy inside Soldier Field on Sunday.

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LSU will play the Auburn Tigers on the road Saturday and freshman T.J. Finley may lead the offense again.  Coach Ed Orgeron says Myles Brennan’s injury continues to keep him on the sidelines.

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Finley seems to have earned the trust of the team after his stellar performance against South Carolina, and Orgeron says what stood out the most was the poise that the young quarterback showed.

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