A recent survey by insurance Quotes finds 39-percent of motorists have never looked around for a cheaper policy. Don Molino has more…

Cut 1 (26) “I’m Don Molino” 

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Valentine’s Day sales are expected to be about 18.2 billion dollars this year, compared to 19.7 billion dollars last year. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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A UNO survey finds most Louisiana residents blame former Governor Bobby Jindal for the state’s current budget problems. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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A survey by insuranceQuotes finds 39-percent of drivers in the U.S. have never shopped around to find cheaper auto insurance. State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says looking for the best policies and rates is a great idea given that auto insurance prices are on the rise….

Cut 4  (10) “cell phones”

Donelon says an easy way for drivers to save money on auto insurance is to increase your deductible or lower your coverage limits. He says this is considered self-insuring and taking as much risk as a motorist can reasonably afford.

Cut 5  (11)  “calamity”

The survey also finds over half of drivers haven’t switched auto insurance companies in at least eight years and 6-percent of motorists have stuck with the same provider for over 30 years. Donelon says there is a comparison rate guide on the department of insurance’s website to view different policies.

Cut 6 (10) “.gov”

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The National Retail Federation finds this Valentine’s Day consumers are expected to spend 18.2 billion dollars. That’s down from 19.7 billion dollars last year. LSU Marketing Professor Dan Rice says we might be seeing a shift in how people celebrate this romantic holiday as couples are doing more things for each other around the year.

Cut 7 (07)  “Valentine’s Day”‘

The report also finds the number of people who celebrate the holiday has dropped by nearly 10-percent from 2007 to 54-percent this year. But Rice says this is still a big holiday for retailers.

Cut 8 (10) “for them”

Consumers are expected to spend about 85 dollars on their significant other or spouse. Rice says many couples are moving away from the chocolates and jewelry and giving their partner experimental gifts.

Cut 9 (10)  “the rush”

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U.S. Representative Clay Higgins urges new Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to use social media as a way to vet immigrants. Higgins made the comments during a Homeland Security Committee meeting. The Republican from St. Landry Parish says the Obama administration failed to use this publicly available data…

Cut 10 (09) “social media”

Higgins believes a good way to prevent a terrorist from entering the U.S. is to review the social media use of immigrants who apply for a visa…

Cut 11 (10) “domestic terrorists”

Higgins says he is encouraged with the direction of the Homeland Security Department after hearing Secretary John Kelly speak. He says a visa applicant should also be required to provide their social media accounts and passwords

Cut 12 (04) “their intent”

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A UNO statewide poll finds six-out-of-10 Louisiana residents blame former Governor Bobby Jindal for the state’s budget problems. The Louisiana legislature is set to begin a third special session to correct a budget deficit since Jindal left office. UNO political scientist Ed Chervenak says the state’s fiscal troubles started early in Jindal’s term

Cut 13 (08) “institutional”

Chervenak says even though legislators are set to enter another special session where budget cuts will be required, Governor John Bel Edwards continues to have a strong approval rating of 49-percent…

Cut 14 (09) “the situation”

The telephone survey interviewed about nine-hundred Louisiana residents earlier this week. Chervenak says two-thirds of respondents say there is a need for a special legislative session…

Cut 15 (10) “wants to do”

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The Saints will stay in Louisiana for training camp this season. The NFL team will train at their facilities in Metairie after holding camp in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia the last three seasons. Saints analyst Mike Detillier says it’s good news for the fans

Cut 16 (15) “for that”

Coach Sean Payton was very complimentary of the setup at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virgina. But the team let the contract expire after three years and three straight non-playoff seasons. Detillier says practicing at the resort was not the reason for the losing seasons

Cut 17 (17)      ” talent “

Detillier says the team’s indoor facility is a reason why the Saints might have elected to stay home for training camp

Cut 18 (18) “in Metairie”

Marvel has selected Louisiana as their filming location for a new TV series to air on the Freeform network. Halen Doughty has more…

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Flu season in Louisiana is in full swing. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Filming is underway in Louisiana for a new TV series from Marvel. Louisiana Entertainment Executive Director Chris Stelly says they’re very excited to have the Marvel brand in Louisiana. He says the new show is a spinoff from a Marvel classic, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

Cut 3 (11) “their own thing”

Stelly says crews began filming the pilot episode this week, and they’ll continue production for a 10 episode run. He says they’ll be filming in New Orleans and likely in other areas of the state as well. He hopes this encourages more production crews to choose the Bayou State as their filming destination.

cut 4  (07) “to have it”

Stelly says television production tends to be in the state longer than a feature film. He adds that they employ Louisiana residents for a longer period of time, usually 8 to 10 months out of the year. He says there’s also the potential to pick up year after year.

Cut 5  (07)  “the state”

Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger will air on Freeform after production is completed.

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The flu season in Louisiana is ramping up and as the Bayou State has surpassed other states with the number of influenza cases. The state’s flu bug expert, Dr. Frank Welch, says five out of 100 visits to the doctor are for flu like symptoms. He says there is a very nasty stain of flu going around this year.

Cut 6 (11) “flu season”

An elementary and middle school in the Shreveport area are closed for the next two days because of the number of kids absent due to the flu. Welch says swine flu along with Influenza B are other popular strains but are not as dominate as H3N2. And he says the flu can lead to other serious illnesses.

CUT 7 (10)  “pneumonia”

Welch says this bad flu season will likely last from six to eight weeks. But he says it’s still not too late to protect yourself…

Cut 8 (10) “fired up”

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As many residents are picking up the pieces after tornados ravaged south Louisiana, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon advises tornado victims not to hesitate to file a claim.  He says some policyholders do hesitate for fear that their premiums would go up or they would be non-renewed by their insurer.

Cut 9 (09)  “that category”

Donelon says residents should not begin permanent repairs until an inspector has come to assess the damage. But he says temporary repairs should be made because policy holders have a legal obligation to minimize their damage.

Cut 10 (11) “further damage”

Donelon encourages policyholders to document their loss with pictures of the damage. He says while it’s important for consumers to know what their coverage is, there won’t be any flood versus wind controversy with this event.

cut 11 (08) “homeowners policy”

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A contractor in Ascension Parish has been arrested amid allegations he defrauded more than dozen homeowners who flooded in August. That’s according to Sheriff Jeff Wiley who says the suspect, 39-year-old Matthew Morris, is the owner of Complete Construction Contractors. He says they would complicate agreements to rack up thousands in claims:

cut 12 (08) “price gouging”

Wiley says Morris faces a number of charges including residential contractor fraud, 11 counts of engaging in the business of contracting without authority and 6 counts of theft of aged persons. He says some of these victims were elderly and it’s disgusting that someone would take advantage of people who are stressed and had just lost everything…:

Cut 13 (08) “of greed“

Wiley suspects there are more victims in other parishes where homeowners may only think they have a civil complaint, but this is a criminal matter. He says any other contractors who are doing the same thing need to take heed…:

cut 14 (07) “to operate”

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The Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s office has released the names of the three victims killed in Wednesday’s explosion at a packaging plant near DeRidder. 32-year-old William Rolls,  40-year-old Sedrick Stallworth and 40-year-old Jody Goch were working at the plant when two tanks exploded. State Police Sergeant James Anderson says they do have a preliminary cause…

Cut 15 (10) “ensued”

Seven other workers were injured by the blast, but Anderson says only one of them remains hospitalized. He says welding activity was taking place near the tank that exploded and they have an idea what was inside the tank…

Cut 16  (09)  “this time”