Over a dozen Louisiana public school districts have passed resolutions that ask the state not to enforce penalties for students who decide not take to the Common Core standardized tests. Louisiana School Boards Association executive director Scott Richard says as it stands now, school systems will receive a “zero” for every student who opts out…

cut 13 (09) “not to test”

Richard says if a school or school system has a large number of opt-outs, it will result in a lower school performance score or letter grade, as part of the state’s accountability system.

Tonight’s Powerball jackpot has reached a massive $485 million which is the third largest prize in the game’s history. Kimberly Chopin with the Louisiana Lottery says the odds of winning any prize on Powerball are one in 32, the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 175 million..

cut 10 (06) “smaller prizes”

The cash value of tonight’s jackpot is $327 million.

Research from LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans finds that a psychedelic drug prevents the development of allergic asthma in mice. Lead researcher Dr. Charles Nichols says currently asthma is treated with inhalers and steroids. He says the result of this research is a real breakthrough…

cut 4 (12) “in the mice”

He says the psychedelic drug, (R)-DOI, prevented the development of asthma in mice allergic to the condition. Although the drug is a psychedelic, the doses administered to the mice were lower than what would produce any type of behavioral effect.