Life expectancy in the US has decreased by one month over the past year, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Jeff Palermo has more…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Governor John Bel Edwards discussed his priorities for 2017 during a speech at the Council for a Better Louisiana annual conference. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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President-elect Donald Trump will speak in Baton Rouge today to support Republican John Kennedy in the US Senate race. Halen Doughty has more…

Cut 3 (27) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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Life expectancy has decreased in the US for the first time in more than 20 years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The report found that overall life expectancy dropped by one month from 2014 to 2015. Doctor Ben Springgate with LSU Health New Orleans Internal Medicine and Public Health says this may be due to an increase in heart disease.

cut 4  (10) “to this”

The report found that the death rate from heart disease rose by nearly 1-percent last year. Springgate says life expectancy has increased in years past, because of medical advances. But he says health outcomes are declining because of people’s lifestyles.

Cut 5  (11)  “our diet”

Springgate says obesity leads to things like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. According to the report, male life expectancy decreased from 76.5 over the last year, while it fell from 81.3 to 81.2 for females. He says there are steps we can take to boost life expectancy.

Cut 6 (10) “the trend”

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It’s a chilly day across the Bayou State. Tim Humphrey with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles says Louisianans will want to bundle up when they head out the door this morning.

CUT 7 (10)  “below freezing”

Humphrey says this is the first real cold snap we’ve seen all season, as much of the state has been unusually warm so far. He says it won’t get much warmer as the day goes on.

Cut 8 (07) “40s”

Humphrey says although Friday morning will be the coldest day of the weekend, we’re also in store for more chilly temperatures tomorrow.

Cut 9 (11)  “low 30s”

Humphrey says things will start to warm up again early next week, getting into the 50s and 60s around the state.

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Governor John Bel Edwards talked about some of his priorities for 2017 during a speech at the Council for a Better Louisiana annual conference. Edwards says his big goal is to ensure the state uses money from the Transportation Trust Fund in the right places, like improving the daily congestion in Baton Rouge near the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge…  

Cut 10 (10)  “street exit”

Edwards also says the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge will be widened, along with other sections of I-10 in Baton Rouge. The governor’s task force on transportation will likely support a higher gasoline tax in order to improve our highways. Edwards says our interstate system needs to be upgraded, as we saw portions of our major highways closed because of flooding this year.

cut 11 (10) “happen again”

The governor says he’s proud some of the successes the state has had this year, like Medicaid expansion. Edwards added he’s looking forward to working with President-elect Trump to help address Louisiana’s needs. He says next year we’ll have the chance to enact criminal justice reform.

cut 12 (10) “have done”

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President-elect Donald Trump will be in Baton Rouge today to support Republican John Kennedy in the US Senate race. The visit comes after Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence endorsed the State Treasurer. Kennedy says he’s humbled by Mr. Trump’s visit.

Cut 13 (07) “obviously”

Kennedy has been leading in the polls since the primary, but he says he’s not taking anything for granted. He hopes the visit from the President-elect will encourage voters to get out to the polls on Saturday.

cut 14 (10) “for me”

Trump will speak in the Dow Chemical Hangar at the Baton Rouge Airport this afternoon. Democrat Foster Campbell isn’t worried Trump’s visit will give his opponent an edge on Election Day.

Cut 15 (07) “to death”

Campbell says anytime a president comes to a state it’s good for the state, so he doesn’t mind Trump visiting the Capital City. The Public Service Commissioner says he agrees with plenty of things Trump will push for after taking office.

Cut 16 (08) “that too”

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The non-select state football championships begin today in the Mercedes Benz Superdome. One of the more anticipated match-ups is tomorrow afternoon’s Class Four-A championship as Karr takes on Neville in a rematch of last year’s title game won by Neville. Karr Head Coach Brice Brown says they need a good game from running back Santee Marshall

Cut 17 (18)    “off balance”

In the Class 3-A state championship game, Lutcher is seeking to go back-to-back for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs will face Amite and Lutcher Head Coach Dwain Jenkins says they haven’t played their best football in the postseason…

Cut 18 (15) “week out”

The Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Classic concludes Saturday night with the Class 5A championship game as Landry-Walker faces West Monroe. Landry-Walker Head Coach Emmanuel Powell expects an intense game…

Cut 19 (18)   “dangerous situations”

West Monroe Head Coach Jerry Arledge says they need to win the time of possession…

cut 20 (14)   “this year”

There are two U.S. House seats remaining on the ballot for this Saturday’s election. Jeff Palermo has more on the competitive races…

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Secretary of State Tom Schedler would like to end December elections in Louisiana because they usually have a low turnout. Michelle Southern has more…

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The two remaining U.S. House races in Louisiana are heating up as the election is only two days away. In the 3^rd Congressional District, two Republicans are facing off for the open seat. ULM Political Science Professor John Sutherlin says Clay Higgins has taken to social media portraying himself as the Cajun Donald Trump and that’s brought in supporters.

Cut 3 (10) “Angelle”

Sutherlin says Higgin’s opponent, Scott Angelle, is far more moderate and he expects African Americans will be drawn to him. He says Higgins has been so successful because he’s riding a wave of anti-establishment politicians.

cut 4  (08) “career politician”

There seems to be less excitement in the northwestern part of the state in the 4^th Congressional District race with Republican Mike Johnson and Democrat Marshall Jones. Sutherlin says Johnson is projected to win this seat.

Cut 5  (10)  “white democrats”

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Secretary of State Tom Schedler says based on the likelihood of low turnout on Saturday’s elections, he would like to have a conversations with the legislature about ending December elections. He says it might make more sense to have the primary for federal elections in early October and the runoff in November.

Cut 6 (11) “and seniority”

Schedler says Louisiana is the only state that still has elections looming in December. He says it’s difficult to get voting machines delivered during the holiday season because so many trucks are being used to deliver Christmas cards and presents from online orders. He says they also have a hard time finding commissioners to work December elections.

CUT 7 (07)  “can’t attend”

Schedler says having the runoff in December leads to lower voter turnout because people are so fed up with elections by this time. He says he’ll talk to legislators more about this next year in the hopes of moving up the federal elections in 2018.

Cut 8 (10) “this year”

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An Affordable Housing Expo will be held in Baton Rouge this weekend for flood victims. Mike Steele with GOHSEP says there are people at different stages of recovery, so there will be a variety of housing options on display. He says people can come see manufactured and modular homes, park trailers and pre-fab housing.

Cut 9 (09)  “their recovery”

Another housing option featured at the expo will be the newly popular tiny houses, which are less 500 or less square feet and they contain a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Steele says while a lot of people use these as permanent homes, they will also work as temporary housing options while people rebuild.

Cut 10 (10) “they’re made”

The free expo will be held at Celtic Studios, where the disaster recovery center is set up. Steele says they’ll have a kids area with activities to keep children entertained while parents tour the homes. He says other services will also be available at the expo.

cut 11 (09) “on hand”

The expo will be open from noon until 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. until 3 pm Saturday.

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Louisiana is seeing the coldest temperatures of the season so far and many folks are finding themselves becoming more in the holiday spirit as a result. That’s according to Dr. Michelle Moore, clinical psychologist with LSU Health Sciences Center. She says you could even argue the cold weather Christmas Spirit is good for the economy…:

cut 12 (06) “while it’s cold”

Moore says for kids and even grownups, since Santa lives in the North Pole, we feel closer to Ole Saint Nick when we’re cold. She says there are many Christmas traditions centered around cold weather…:

Cut 13 (10) “not as fun”

Moore says we’ll even become more in the holiday spirit the colder it gets…:

cut 14 (08) “in a good way”

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