A state lawmaker is facing disciplinary action from the state ethics board after using campaign money to feed his gambling addiction. Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard says medication he took for Parkinson’s disease caused the sudden addiction in 2012, as he was not a compulsive gambler:
Cut 13 (12) “caused it”
The Ethics Board will decide Friday what action to take against the legislator.

Rural parishes in Louisiana are struggling more than major cities to combat the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Linda Meredith is the research and development manager for the advocacy group HEROES. She says rural regions account for 15 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases in the state…:
Cut 10 (08) “at diagnosis”
Louisiana ranks first in the country for new HIV infections.

Many Louisianans have likely noticed a serious uptick in the amount of lovebugs we’re seeing. LSU-Shreveport Associate professor of Biological Sciences Beverly Burden says the relatively mild and wet summer can be to blame…:
Cut 7 (10) “moist soil”
Burden expects the population to decline in the next 10 to 14 days.

Hurricane Irma remains at Cat-5 strength as its eye moves off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic early this morning. According to the latest National Hurricane Center track south Florida-Miami will begin to see hurricane conditions during the predawn hours of Sunday before the eye makes landfall as a category 4 storm.