Five North Louisiana Parishes are under a tornado watch until 10:00 P.M. Some in the area are still without power from yesterday’s severe storms. The National Weather Service issued today’s warning for Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, Union, and Webster Parishes. Residents should stay alert and be prepared to move to a safe location should conditions worsen.

A man and a woman are dead following a plane crash near Raceland. Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson says the 1976 Cessna 2010 L owned by Southern Seaplanes went down last night in a remote marsh area. It was located two miles north of Highway 182 near the intersection of Highway 90….

Cut 12 (11) “…wreckage site.”

Authorities have identified the victims as Lyle Pannepinto who was training as a pilot for the company and Lauren Menkemeller, owner of Southern Seaplanes.

There’s at least one group that’s applauding President Trump’s tariffs – at least on one specific import. Andrew Greenstein explains.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

The hurricane forecast team at Colorado State University is calling for an above-average hurricane season with 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Researcher Lauren Beard says ocean temperatures are not as warm as last year but it is above average, so stay updated.

Cut 8 (08) “…for your area.”

Tariffs recently imposed on imported shrimp by President Trump are getting a positive response by at least one group.  Leann Bosard with the Southern Shrimp Alliance, says

the U.S. has been subsidizing direct competitors of the U.S. shrimping industry’s for far too long.

Cut 5 (13) “…allow that anymore.”

Forecasters are calling for an above-average hurricane season. 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes. Colorado State University Hurricane Researcher Lauren Beard says based on their research, there’s a 33-percent chance that a major hurricane will hit the Gulf Coast somewhere between the Florida panhandle and Brownsville, Texas.

Cut 7 (06) “…from that.”

The average price of a gallon of gasoline in up 3 cents since yesterday. Don Redman with AAA says while gas prices are up from last month’s average, compared to this time last year, prices are down, but he says, be prepared for gas prices to keep rising.

Cut 10 (10) “…get into May.”

The defending national champion LSU gymnastics squad begins its NCAA postseason journey tonight and for the first time in program history, LSU is the number one seed. The Tigers are once again led by All-Americans Haleigh Bryant and Aleah Finnegan. Kailin Chio is the SEC Freshman of the Year and Smith says they’ll have to count on a couple of other freshmen during this postseason run…

Cut 15 (11) “…they did just fine”

Two people are dead from a plane crash in south Louisiana. The small aircraft went down near Raceland. Authorities have identified the victims as Lyle Pannepinto and Lauren Menkemeller. Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson says Pannepinto is the owner of Southern Seaplanes and Menkemeller was training as a pilot for the company…

Cut 13 (09)  “…went down.”

The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash.

The new tariffs President Trump has imposed on nearly all of the United States trading partners, means shrimp coming from India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand will have a tariff rate of 26 to 46-percent. Leann Bosard, a board member at the Southern Shrimp Alliance is glad to see the cost of imported shrimp will now be higher…

Cut 4 (13) “…antibiotics”

Bossard hopes this will result in an increase in consumption for domestic caught shrimp.

The statewide average price for a gallon of regular gas jumped three-cents from yesterday to $2.82.  Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

Tulane quarterback TJ Finley, who started his college career at LSU, has been arrested for allegedly driving around in a stolen vehicle. Finley told authorities he bought the Dodge Ram in Atlanta, but police say it’s a stolen truck from Georgia. Finley has been suspended from the Tulane football program. The Ponchatoula native is set to make his next court appearance on June 1^st.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance is applauding President Trump’s imposing of tariffs on imported shrimp. Leann Bosard, a board member at the Southern Shrimp Alliance, says she hopes the tariffs will provide a boost to the U.S. shrimping industry.

Cut 3 (12) “…for decades now.”

The price at the pump has jumped three cents from yesterday, bringing the statewide average price for regular gasoline to 2.79 per gallon. Don Redman with AAA says gas prices rise at this time of the year as refineries shut down operations to switch from a winter blend to a summer blend of gasoline.

Cut 9 (10)  “…closing of refineries.”

The clock is tik-tok’ing for TikTok. Barring a sale, the app will go dark for U.S. users on Saturday. The app got a reprieve in January when President Trump took office, but that’s now set to expire. There are currently two offers on the table – one from a group led by Amazon and one from AppLovin, an app owned by Steve Winn. Tech analyst Haggai Davis says the Trump administration is helping facilitate a sale.

Cut 13 (11)  “…to finalize everything.”

There’s at least one group that’s applauding President Trump’s tariffs – at least on one specific import. Andrew Greenstein explains.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley wants to see more high school students participate in internships and apprenticeships…

Cut 12 (06) “work force ready”

A new accountability system will go into effect next school year and part of the grade for high schools will be on student participation in internships and apprenticeships.

The hurricane forecast team at Colorado State University is calling for an above-average hurricane season. Lead researcher Phil Klotzbach says warm water in the Atlantic will help produce 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes and the chances of an El Nino are quite low…

Cut 6 (06) “…bad for the hurricane”

Klotzbach says based on their research, there’s a 33-percent chance that a major hurricane will hit the Gulf Coast from the Florida panhandle to Brownsville, Texas.

The defending national LSU gymnastics squad begins NCAA postseason journey tonight as they will compete in the Penn State Regional. LSU won the SEC regular season championship, and they won the SEC Gymnastics meet.   Mike Smith who is the announcer at LSU gym home meets says the Tigers are the favorites to repeat as national champs…

Cut 14 (10) “…convincingly”

Tonight’s meet begins at 6 PM and if the Tigers finish in the top two of tonight’s session, they advance to the regional final on Saturday.

The Louisiana Department of Education conducted a study showing fewer high school students involved in internships and apprenticeships than in neighboring states. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley… 

Cut 10 (11) “…seeing those numbers uptick.”

Brumley says the department of education is encouraging schools to promote work-based learning. Also expect to see legislation on this topic.

Parents can now see how taxpayer dollars are being spent on public education. Along with State Treasurer John Fleming, Baton Rouge Senator Rick Edmonds unveiled the Louisiana K-12 School Transparency Project Portal, a website providing financial data on public and charter schools.

Cut 4 (09) “…public charter schools.”

The portal is hosted on the Treasury Department’s website.

With the clock tik-tok’ing for Tik Tok, the race is on to finalize a sale. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

ULM students voting on whether to impose an athletic fee. ULM’s athletic budget is the lowest in the Sun Belt Conference, and adding the per-student fee would help it get in line with other schools in the conference. The proposal is 75 dollars per full-time student per semester. It would generate about 600-thousand dollars in the first year – money that would go towards things like enhanced nutrition programs for student-athletes and a new scoreboard in Fant-Ewing Coliseum. Voting concludes today. 

When the legislature meets in the regular session, one of its jobs is to come up with 200-million dollars to keep teacher and school staff salaries at their current levels. This, thanks to the defeat of Amendment 2. House Appropriations Chairman Jack McFarland says they’ll try again at giving them a permanent pay raise and they’ll have to do a better job in getting the message out to the public and fight misinformation.

Cut 9 (14)  “…how they work.”

TikTok’s owner has until Saturday to sell the app to keep it online in the U.S. The Trump administration is helping facilitate a sale, and there are two willing buyers. Tech analyst Haggai Davis says the big wild card in these negotiations is TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.

Cut 15 (14) “…the ultimate decision.”

Parents who are curious on how their tax dollars are spent on public education can visit the School Transparency Project Portal at the State Treasury’s website. Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

The Kenner Police Department is strengthening its ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The department has joined the 287-G program, which grants state and local police the authority to perform specific immigration enforcement duties. While the move has stoked fears in Kenner’s Hispanic community, Police Chief Keith Conley says a series of horrific crimes led to his decision to join the 287-G program.

A new study by the Louisiana Department of Education shows that fewer Louisiana High School students are involved in internships and apprenticeships than neighboring states. By integrating internships into the educational framework, Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley aims to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world job experience.

Cut 12 (06) “…work=force ready.”

Parents can now see how taxpayer dollars are being spent on public education with the new Louisiana K-12 School Transparency Project Portal. Baton Rouge Senator Rick Edmonds helped unveil it yesterday; he says the site helps parents compare schools’ financial integrity, supporting school choice.

Cut 6 (07) “…those tax dollars.”

Now that Amendment 2 has failed at the ballot box, the question now becomes, what will become of teacher salaries? Jeff Palermo reports.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Tulane University is the latest to shutter its office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. It comes as the Trump administration continues applying pressure to colleges and universities to do away with DEI initiatives. Tulane is restructuring the office, launching the Office of Academic Excellence and Opportunity. The school says it is still committed to gender and sexual diversity, as well as multiculturalism.

Parents can now see how taxpayer dollars are being spent on public education, thanks to the Louisiana K-12 School Transparency Project Portal – a website providing financial data on public and charter schools. The project was mandated by Act 370 from the 2023 Legislation, authored by Baton Rouge Senator Rick Edmonds.

Cut 5 (09) “…kids to be educated.”

A new study shows that fewer Louisiana High School students are involved in internships and apprenticeships than neighboring states. State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley underscores the need for collaboration between businesses, schools, and policymakers to strengthen career education and expand work-based learning programs.

Cut 11 (10) “…before they get here”

With the defeat of Amendment 2 at the ballot box, the legislature will now have to come up with 200-million dollars to keep teacher and school staff salaries at their current levels. House Appropriations Chairman Jack McFarland says in the immediate term, that will be a challenge. And in the long term, the legislature will take another stab at giving teachers and other school staff permanent pay raises, but it will likely not be in the form of a bill as ambitious as Amendment 2.

Cut 8 (14) “…opportunity to pass.”

TikTok could once again go dark in the U.S. on Saturday, if a sale is not finalized. It’s currently owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance. Tech analyst Haggai Davis says China is showing signs that it’s willing to cooperate.

Cut 14 (10) “…tariff questions involved.”

With the defeat of Amendment 2 at the ballot box, the question now becomes – what will become of teacher pay? The amendment would have converted stipends of two-thousand dollars for teachers and one-thousand dollars for support staff into permanent pay increases. It will take 200-million dollars to keep salaries at their current level. House Appropriations Chairman Jack McFarland says the big challenge for lawmakers is finding that money amid a budget shortfall.

Cut 7 (09) “…could come from.”

The clock is tik-tok’ing for TikTok. Barring a sale, the app will go dark for U.S. users on Saturday. Tech analyst Haggai Davis says the Trump administration is helping facilitate a sale.

Cut 13 (11)  “…to finalize everything.”

There are currently two offers on the table – one from a group led by Amazon and one from AppLovin, a similar app owned by Steve Winn.

Parents who are curious on how their tax dollars are spent on public education can visit the School Transparency Project Portal at the State Treasury’s website. Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

A Baton Rouge teenager pleads guilty to conspiring to have her mother killed. 18-year-old Jermyne Lewis admitted to her role in the plot in which her mother, Markeshia Stone, was shot to death. Lewis was sentenced to life in prison; but since she was a juvenile at the time of the crime, she will be eligible for parole in 25 years.