10:30 LRN Newscast August 23rd

President Barack Obama is on his way to Louisiana today to see the devastation from the flood first hand. UL-Lafayette political science professor Pearson Cross says from a political standpoint, it would have been better if the President had come sooner…
cut 7 (09) “…do anything”
Cross says right now the real question is if Congress will give Louisiana more federal support and the President will play a critical role in that decision.

LSU AgCenter economist Kurt Guidry says the flooding has resulted in a 110-million loss to the state’s ag industry. Soybeans and rice are the two crops hit the hardest and Guidry says hundreds of cattle were lost…
cut 6 (07) “…latest event”
The AgCenter will update the damage assessment in a few weeks, but they don’t expect it to come close to the damages from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which were around one billion dollars.

Louisiana’s Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says about 80-percent of the flood victims in the 20 affected parishes did not have flood insurance. Republican Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves says they are working on legislation that could provide government aid for homeowners who lost everything…
cut 14 (08) “….core needs”
Graves admits they could get push back from federal lawmakers, because three members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation voted against a Hurricane Sandy relief package.

The Humane Society of Louisiana is partnering with animal shelters around the country to help rescue and find homes for animals left behind when the flood waters rose. HSL executive director Jeff Dorson says people can find out more and make monetary donations at Humane-la-dot-org…
cut 12 (10) “…help everybody”