Pope Francis is in Washington DC today for his first full day in the United States. During a speech at the White House, Pope Francis spoke about protecting religious freedom. Doctor Tom Ryan, director of the Loyola Institute of Ministry, says even though President Obama was present for the speech, it was not directed at him or even conservatives for that matter…:
CUT 10 (07) “deep faith commitment”
Tomorrow, the US Senate and House will have a joint session to hear from Pope Francis as he’ll make his first-ever address to Congress.

Two members of actress and beauty queen Ali Landry of Breaux Bridge have reportedly been murdered after being kidnapped earlier this month in Mexico. The online publication Latin Times says Landry’s husband’s father and brother were being held for ransom and the money was delivered, but the pair was never released. Landry, who is also known as the Doritos girl, is married to director Alejandro Monteverde.

Louisiana Tech reports the highest enrollment it’s ever had for the 125-year history of the school. The headcount is at 12,414 students for the fall quarter, a 10-percent increase over last year. University spokesperson Dave Guerin says a strong student retention effort is helping to build a larger and stronger student body…:
CUT 5 (08) “they graduate”
He says a big key to the record enrollment is that 81-percent of first-time, full-time freshman in 2014 are back at Tech this year.

State Police say a DOTD vehicle and a Trooper patrol car were badly damaged when a suspected drunk driver drove through a barricade as cops were working another crash in Gonzales. They say the Trooper vehicle had its lights activated while DOTD was clearing the accident and that’s when 36-year-old Rickey Denny Jr. drove through the scene crashing into both unoccupied vehicles. Nobody was injured. Cops say Denny’s BAC registered nearly three times the legal limit.