Governor John Bel Edwards has issued a State of Emergency as severe weather across the southern part of the state is causing historic flooding. Weather experts are saying this is similar to tropical storm rains without the wind. In East Baton Rouge, Central Mayor Jr. Shelton says one of the biggest problems is everything keeps changing….
Cut 4 (08) “we can.”

Entergy reports about 75-hundred people are without power.

Reports says a 68-year-old Zachary man drowned today while trying to escape his flooded home. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Spokesperson Adam Einck says a stalled out system is right on top of us producing a lot of rain in a short period of time. He says they’re urging people who are prone to flooding to leave to avoid needing rescue.
cut 14 (10) “get out”

The Drug Enforcement Administration says marijuana will stay a schedule 1 drug. This leads to concern as to what will happen in Louisiana along with 24 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. Author of Louisiana’s legalization legislation Parks Senator Fred Mills says this ruling should not affect Louisiana’s ability to dispense medical cannabis to the patients who need it. But he says he is still not pleased with the feds’ decision.
Cut 11 (08) “it right”

State Superintendent of Education John White is proposing a plan to lawmakers that would allow the voucher students that were placed on a waiting list, to go ahead and enroll in the nonpublic school. He says the schools would agree to accept the potential of a small payment of $100 from the state per child for the year…:
CUT 15 (11) “public schools”

Police and fire stations throughout southeastern Louisiana are offering sandbags to those affecting by the heavy rains. Schools, state offices, and businesses are closed today in many southern parishes. In east Baton Rouge Parish, Central Mayor Jr. Shelton says they had over 10 inches of rainfall in just 6 hours.

Cut 3 (09) “new territory now”

Entergy has reported 95-hundred outages.

A 68-year-old man from Zachary drowned today while he was trying to escape floodwaters at his home, according to reports. Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says in just 6 hours agents have rescued over 100 people and pets, and the efforts are ongoing:

Cut 13 (10)  “as we speak right now”

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Marijuana will remain a Schedule I drug under federal law, which has many people asking what will happen in the 25 states that legalized medical marijuana. Don Molino has more…

CUT 2 (30)  “I’m Don Molino”

State Senator Troy Brown has issued a statement in response to Governor John Bel Edwards and others calling for the senator’s resignation following two domestic abuse arrests in less than a year. Brown characterized those calling for him to resign as “political opportunists” who pretend they are moral enough to cast the first stone. He emphasized that he will not resign from office.

Ongoing rain and storms in south Louisiana have caused widespread flooding unlike some officials say they’ve ever seen before. Emelie Gunn reports…:
CUT 1 (36) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says they’ve rescued over 100 stranded people and pets…:
CUT 1 (07) “ongoing”

Marijuana will remain a Schedule I drug under federal law, the DEA announced Thursday – so what does this mean for Louisiana’s medical cannabis law? Parks Senator Fred Mills authored the medical marijuana legislation and says there is no chance the state will face any repercussions from the federal government because of this ruling:
cut 12 (10) “in Louisiana”
Mills says Louisiana is on track towards dispensing the drug to patients, and they should have the regulations in place by next year.

Much of the rain has begun flushing towards Lafayette and into the Acadiana region. Officials in Vermillion Parish are asking those that are prone to flooding to consider leaving now to avoid the need for rescue.

Governor John Bel Edwards has declared a state of emergency as severe
storms continue to cause widespread flooding across south Louisiana. Frank
Reviette with the National Weather Service in Slidell, says this is a very
slow moving system and, unfortunately, we’re looking at more rain and
flooding through Saturday. He says there might be some slight progression
to the northwest into the weekend…:
CUT 9 (08) “away from the region”
East Feliciana Parish OEP Deputy Director Jim Parker says they’ve gotten
hundreds of calls from stranded people looking for help and they are doing
everything they can to help residents…:
CUT 6 (08) “fast”
Officials in Vermilion Parish are asking those who live in flood prone
areas to consider temporary evacuation now in order to avoid the need for
rescue.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announces marijuana will remain a
Schedule I drug under federal law, which begs the question as to what will
happen in Louisiana and the 24 other states that legalized medical
marijuana. Parks Senator Fred Mills authored Louisiana’s medical marijuana
legislation, and he says he’s not worried because they planned for this
when they wrote the bill…:
cut 10 (10) “Schedule II”
Mills says this ruling should not affect Louisiana’s ability to dispense
medical cannabis to the patients who need it.

State Senator Troy Brown has issued a statement indicating that he does not
plan to step down despite calls by state leaders to do so because of his
domestic abuse arrests. He characterized recent calls for him to resign as
“chatter from political opportunists” who pretend they are moral enough to
cast the first stone. He says he’s made mistakes for which I am deeply
sorry, but my personal issues are just that – personal.

Several police and fire stations are offering sandbags to those residents being inundated by rain today. Schools, offices and businesses in many south Louisiana Parishes are closed today, and thousands are without power. Weather experts say this is similar to a tropical storm rain-wise, but the wind factor is not there. In East Baton Rouge Parish, Central Mayor Jr. Shelton says one of the biggest problems is that the issues related to these storms are ever changing…:
CUT 4 (08) “we can”
Frank Reviette with the National Weather Service in Slidell, says they’ve been getting reports of street flooding and water in homes…:
CUT 8 (12) “close attention to that”
The rain is not expected to end anytime soon so authorities are urging residents to stay home and off the roads if they can.

An officer-involved shooting left one suspect critically injured in Plaquemine. Halen Doughty has more…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The American Cancer Society released their annual report on how each state is making progress on cancer fighting policies and Louisiana still has some work to do. ACS Director of Government Relations for Louisiana Lydia Kuykendal says we fall short big time when it comes to tobacco control:
Cut 1 (08) “cigarettes”

Rain like they’ve never seen before. That’s what several state emergency officials are saying about the massive storm that is slowly churning over Louisiana. East Feliciana Parish OEP Deputy Director Jim Parker says he’s dealt with flooding before, but nothing like this…:
CUT 2 (10) “people getting stranded”

Frank Reviette with the National Weather Service in Slidell says southeast Louisiana saw a ton of rain, in a very short period of time…:
CUT 7 (08) “in some of that area”
He says this event is far from over, and now almost the entire bottom half of the state is under a flash flood watch through Saturday evening. Thousands remain without power, and DEMCO and Entergy says they are working to restore power as soon as it is safe to do so.

Louisiana is the third worst state for underprivileged children, according to a new study from WalletHub. Don Molino has more…:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Don Molino”

Louisiana ranks in the top ten lowest gas prices in the country, according to AAA. Fuel analyst Don Redman says they predicted a summer average of about $2.25, and we stayed well below that all summer…:
cut 12 (07) “immensely”
The current statewide average for a gallon of regular is $1.97.

There are now about 8,000 Entergy customers without power, and over 1500 with DEMCO in the dark, as a severe storm churns over southeast Louisiana, and moves slowly west. Massive flooding has been reported throughout the region. In East Baton Rouge Parish, Central Mayor Jr. Shelton says they’ve had close to 10 inches of rain since midnight…:
CUT 1 (09) “new territory now”
He says they’ve received hundreds of calls from people requesting help and sandbags, and that’s the case in many areas. Forecasters are urging residents to watch for rising streams, creeks ditches and other low lying areas. More flooding is expected tonight and the flash flood watch remains in effect until 7am for all of Southeast Louisiana and most of Acadiana. Most schools are closed today, as are state and city offices. Officials are continuing to monitor this fluid situation.

A suspect is in critical condition following an officer-involved shooting in Iberville Parish. Sheriff Brett Stassi says the suspect apparently beat his mother around her head, and later allegedly pulled out a gun on responding deputies…:
CUT 15 (10) “buttocks area”
Stassi says the suspect was critically wounded and transported to a hospital in Baton Rouge. He says none of the deputies were injured.

Louisiana ranks in the top ten lowest gas prices in the country, according to AAA. Fuel analyst Don Redman expects what motorists pay at the pump will remain below average into September and October…:
CUT 11 (08) “since 2004”
Redman says the demand usually goes down close to Labor Day, so prices could get even lower.

There are many schools throughout southeast Louisiana that are closed today due to flooding in the area as a massive, slow moving storm continues to dump rain on the state. Entergy is reporting nearly 6,000 customers are without power, and about 1,500 DEMCO customers are in the dark. Many roads are flooded and more are expected to take on water as this system doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. Forecasters say this is similar to a tropical storm rain-wise, but the wind factor is not there.

A suspect is in critical condition following an officer-involved shooting in Iberville Parish. Sheriff Brett Stassi says deputies responded to a call involving a fight between a mother and her son in Plaquemine…:
Cut 13 (07) “her car”
He says the suspect allegedly pulled out a gun on responding officers, and that’s when he was shot in the buttocks area by cops. The matter is under investigation.

The American Cancer Society released a progress report on how states are shaping up when it comes to cancer fighting policies. Emelie Gunn has more on how Louisiana scored…:
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

A new study from WalletHub finds that Louisiana is the third worst state for underprivileged children. Jill Gonzales with WalletHub says about 11% of Louisiana teens aged 16 to 19 are not in school or working, which can contribute to the crime rate. She says the state’s graduation rate is also much lower than other states…:
cut 4 (08) “75-percent”