Military officials report the bodies of nine of the eleven servicemen killed after Tuesday night’s Army helicopter crash in Florida have been recovered and identified. Recovery crews have found the remains of two of the four Hammond based soldiers from the Louisiana National Guard and the seven Marines based out of North Carolina. The bodies of the other two Guardsmen are believed to still be inside the helicopter. The families of all 11 troops have been notified. Officials have not released the names of the deceased.

A new Centers for Disease Control study shows that two out of every three people diagnosed with cancer in the US survive five years or more…

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Bogalusa Representative Harold Ritchie files a bill that would increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes from 36-cents to the national average of $1.54 per pack. Ritchie says the goal of his legislation is to raise revenue for the state and stop people from smoking…

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The legislative session begins April 13th and Ritchie expects his tax proposal will be one of many that will be discussed by lawmakers.

A recent Cowen Institute at Tulane University report shows Louisiana has the highest estimated percentage of unemployed youth in the country. Cowen Institute Director Vincent Rossmeier says there is a huge economic boost coming to Louisiana and we need to come up with ways to connect our young people to those jobs…

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The study also found that New Orleans is third in the nation for the percentage of young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who aren’t working or in school.