Cold weather is on the way. State Climatologist Barry Keim says don’t expect the temperature to go up as the day goes on….
cut 7 (11) “…afternoon hours” (2x)
Tomorrow high temperatures will be in the 50s for south Louisiana and upper 40’s for the northern half of the state. Even colder weather arrives at the middle of next week.

Sunday marks Veterans Day and there are 278-thousand veterans in Louisiana. The state’s Veterans Affairs Secretary, Colonel Joey Strickland, says when soldiers return to civilian life, it’s important the transition is seamless as possible…
cut 13 (11) “…of Veteran’s Affairs”
Strickland says if Louisiana Veterans and their families are experiencing financial hardships, they can apply for help through the state’s Military Family Assistance Fund. Go to vet-affairs-dot-la-dot-gov.

Louisiana’s public school report card is out, with fewer As and more Fs than last year. Matt Doyle has more.
Cut 3 (30) “…Matt Doyle”

Morehouse Parish superintendent David Gray says their school system is broke and they are looking at closing two elementary schools in the parish. Morehouse schools are facing a one-point-five million dollar deficit and laying off 50 employees is also on the table. Gray says a decision on school closures must be decided next month.

Louisiana’s public school report card is out, and the number of schools scoring “A”s is down while “F”s are up, with 40 percent of schools ordered to submit plans to improve their performance, but there’s a catch, standards were raised this year. Superintendent of Education John White says the bar was raised in several areas.
Cut 10 (11) “…students earn“
13 percent of schools scored an A, while 12- percent of schools nabbed an F rating.

Veterans Day is Sunday. A few years back, there were mounting complaints against V-A hospitals, but Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Colonel Joey Strickland, says medical needs for vets have improved…
cut 14 (10) “…to address that”
Two Republican-run states raised their minimum wage Tuesday, and advocates say that’s great ammunition for Louisiana’s upcoming attempt in 2019.
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

An employee at McDonald’s in Columbia is facing gun and drug charges after she allegedly dropped a gun in the restaurant. The weapon went off and a bullet hit a water line in the ceiling. There were no injuries, but Caldwell Parishes deputies arrested the worker and the McDonald’s was closed to fix the water line.

Two Republican run states voted this week to increase their minimum wage. Arkansas’ wage will go up to 11 dollars an hour by 2021, and Missouri’s minimum wage will rise to 12-dollars by 2023. Efforts to raise the minimum wage in the Bayou State have failed, but New Orleans Senator Troy Carter believes what happened in Arkansas will help convince lawmakers in Louisiana that our minimum wage of $7.25 is to low…
Cut 4 (09) “…and wrong.″
The National Federation of Independent Businesses opposes raising the wage as they say an increase at entry level jobs would necessitate pay raises at higher positions, something businesses can’t afford.

Shreveport Police are trying determine who killed a couple that was found in a burning car. It’s believed the victims earlier in the night gave a man a ride home from Mall St. Vincent.

School performance scores are out and the percentage of public schools that received an “A” went down, while the percentage of “Fs” increased. Schools are judged by a more rigorous scoring system and there’s also nearly 40-percent of schools who will have to submit an improvement plan. Education Superdintendent John White….
cut 12 (09) “…our kids”
The report labeled the public education system as a whole in Louisiana as “B”.

Sunday is Veterans Day a chance to honor the 278-thousand veterans who live in our state. Veterans Affairs Secretary Colonel Joey Strickland says his office is working to make sure younger veterans have the education skills they need to make sure they succeed as a civilian…
cut 15 (10) “…foundation for that”

The Louisiana Department of Education has released school performance scores. Education Superintendent John White says over 500 schools have been identified as struggling and must submit an improvement plan to the state…
cut 11 (10) “…those plans”
13-percent of schools received an “A” grade while 12-percent of schools statewide received an “F” grade.

On election day, Missouri and Arkansas voters agreed to raise their state’s minimum wage above the federal minimum wage. Louisiana is now one of just five states that still goes by the federal minimum wage of $7.25. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter has been a proponent of raising the wage…
cut 5 (10) “….fair wage”
Carter says he’ll once again file legislation next year to raise the wage.

Sunday marks Veterans Day and there are 278-thousand veterans in Louisiana. The state’s Veterans Affairs Secretary, Colonel Joey Strickland, says its important to remember our country is still at war and when our soldiers return to civilian life, it’s important the transition is seamless as possible…
cut 13 (11) “…of Veteran’s Affairs”
Strickland says if Louisiana Veterans and their families are experiencing financial hardships, he advises them to apply for help through the state’s Military Family Assistance Fund. Go to vet-affairs-dot-la-dot-gov.

Rain is falling across a good portion of the state and once the rain moves out, cold air will move in. State Climatologist Barry Keim says temperatures will be just above freezing in north Louisiana tomorrow morning…
cut 9 (11) “…event”
Even colder weather is in the forecast for the middle of next week.

Get ready for a cold weekend. Temps today will be in the 50s for most of the state and tomorrow we’ll see high temperatures in the upper 40s for the northern half of the state, mid 50s for south Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the polar vortex is pushing cold air into our region…
cut 8 (09) “….ugly head”
Even colder temperatures are expected in the middle of next week.

Voters in Arkansas have approved raising the minimum wage to 11- dollars by 2021, so will we see another effort next year to increase the hourly salary for Louisiana’s lowest paid workers. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter has been pushing a higher minimum wage and he says he’ll be even more ambitious when the session begins in April…
cut 6 (09) “…getting worse”
Business groups have successfully fought back any attempt to raise the minimum wage in Louisiana.

Louisiana’s public school report card is out, with fewer As and more Fs than last year. Matt Doyle has more.
Cut 3 (30) “…Matt Doyle”

The US Coast Guard announces it will conduct a formal investigation into the crane barge crash that’s closed the Sunshine Bridge in St. James Parish. A formal investigation means the federal agency will likely hold public hearings with witnesses and parties of interest.

Two Republican-run southern states raised their minimum wage Tuesday, and advocates say that’s great ammunition for Louisiana’s upcoming attempt in 2019.

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

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Fall will arrive with a vengeance at the start of this weekend. Connor Ferrill has the story.

Cut 2 (26) “Im Connor Ferrill”  

If Georgia doesn’t make the four-team playoff or if the Bulldogs do not finish higher than LSU in the college football playoff rankings, than LSU will end up at the Sugar Bowl.

Palm predicts LSU will play in the Fiesta Bowl, where they’ll face off against a Group of Five school, most likely U-C-F11

Cut 17 (12) “Fiesta Bowl”

ESPN and Sports Illustrated predicts LSU will end up in the Peach Bowl. Palm says the Tigers will be in one of these big bowls, as long as they win out…

Cut 18 (10) “group of teams”

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The Saints newest acquisition, Dez Bryant, spoke with media for the first time since inking a deal with the black and gold to finish out the season.  He joins a depleted receiving core that’s lost Ted Ginn, Tommy Lee Lewis, and now Cameron Meredith for the year.  The former All-Pro Bryant says he’s excited about to opportunity to work with his new squad.

Cut 19 (13)   “…with these guys.”

The Saints make the trip to Arlington later this month to take on Bryant’s former team.  Bryant was asked if it would be emotional for him to return to the stadium he called home for so many years.

Cut 20 (14) “…the opponent now.”

Saints coach Sean Payton spoke today about the team’s new acquisition, former Cowboys star Dez Bryant.  Payton says the former All-Pro wide receiver is about five pounds heavier than he should be, but that’s to be expected.

Cut 12 (08)   “…that process today.”
Bryant has been known as a problem child. But Payton says the Saints have a special culture and it will be a good fit for Bryant.
The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is celebrating a record breaking number of adoptions from foster care, with 912 children finding homes in the Federal Fiscal Year of 2018.  It’s an 18% increase from the previous record set last year.  DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters credits additional staffing support as well as families wanting to take in more than just one child.

Cut 9 (08) “…a big chunk.”

A Gonzales woman was killed last night in an eleven vehicle pile up on Interstate 10 in Ascension Parish. State Trooper Bryan Lee says an 18-wheeler caused the chain reaction crash.  Lee says the driver of the semi-truck, 56-year-old John White from Mississippi, has been booked into the Ascension Parish Jail for Negligent Homicide and 18 counts of Negligent Injuring.

Cut 4 (10) “…major task″

Turnout for the midterm elections in Louisiana was 48 percent.  That’s in comparison to the only 40 percent of eligible voters who participated in the 2015 governor’s race run-off between David Vitter and now Governor Edwards.  It tough to answer exactly why Louisianans have grown less engaged with state issues over the decades, but LSU Public Policy Research Lab Director Mike Henderson says it could be due to a media climate that’s increasingly focused on high profile races for federal seats.

Cut 8 (08) “…the papers”

A Gonzales woman was killed last night in an eleven vehicle pile up on Interstate 10 in Ascension Parish. State Trooper Bryan Lee says 18-wheeler caused the chain reaction crash. Lee says the 18-wheeler encountered traffic on Interstate 10 near Gonzales that was stopped because of a previous accident…
Cut 5 (05)  “…that crash.” 
The driver of the semi-truck, 56-year-old John White from Mississippi, has been booked into the Ascension Parish Jail

The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services is celebrating a record breaking number of adoptions from foster care, with 912 children finding homes in the Federal Fiscal Year of 2018.  It’s an 18% increase from the previous record set last year.  DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says the agency is seeking out families that will adopt groups of siblings over just one child at a time.
Cut 10 (11)   “…only want one.“

Turnout for the midterm elections in Louisiana was 48 percent. Only 40 percent of eligible voters participated in the 2015 governor’s race run-off between David Vitter and now Governor Edwards. LSU Public Policy Research Lab Director Mike Henderson says it’s a notable number, considering Louisiana lacked any high profile statewide elections, but it’s only a bit higher than the last major midterm in 2014.  While Louisiana’s federal election participation is going up…

Cut 7 (09) “…early 80s.”
Louisiana’s next statewide election is in December for the Secretary of State’s run-off.

Could we ever see a Blue Wave in Louisiana? Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat doubts that will happen, because the national party has moved too far to the left…
Cut 30 (09) “…Democratic Party’
Pinsonat says the number of white Democrats is dwindling in Louisiana.