Cristobal is now a tropical depression after making landfall as a tropical storm near Grand Isle yesterday afternoon. Cristobal flooded a few roads, but the impacts to Louisiana were minimal. The center of the storm is currently 50-miles south-southeast of Monroe and heading north-northwest at 10-miles per hour.

Disaster food stamps are not needed for Cristobal, but state officials say eligible individuals should still register for this hurricane season. Matt Doyle has more…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

It’s the first day on the job for Louisiana’s new Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley who will oversee public schools following the departure of John White. The 39-year-old grew up in Sabine Parish and says as a young kid he wanted to be an educator and this is the opportunity of a lifetime.
Cut 7 (10) “…way to go.”
Brumley most recently was at the helm of the Jefferson Parish school system.

A week ago, the regular legislative session ended and we are waiting to see if Governor John Bel Edwards will veto the tort reform bill that supporters say will lead to lower auto insurance rates. The bill’s author, River Ridge Senator, Kirk Talbot says the ongoing special session gives them a chance to make the legislation better…
cut 6 (07) “…want”
The Governor has yet to indicate if he will veto the legislation.

Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall late yesterday afternoon near Grand Isle with maximum sustained winds at 50 miles per hour. State Climatologist Barry Keim says Cristobal produced a storm surge of six feet in St. Bernard Parish…
Cut 13 (11) “…right hand side”
More rainfall is expected today.

Disaster food stamp assistance is not needed for Cristobal, but the Department of Children and Family Services is still asking the public to pre-register for what is known as DSNAP assistance. DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says D-SNAP helps people who have lost food as a result of a disaster.
Cut 10 (11) “…snap process”
Walters says go to www.dcfs.la.gov/dsnap to register.

It’s the first day on the job for the state’s new superintendent of education, Cade Brumley. The 39-year-old says the long-range goals are to produce more college-ready graduates ready for college and providing quality pre-K education. Brumley acknowledges the most immediate challenge is the upcoming academic year and he’s considering several possibilities…
cut 9 (13) “….those two places”

ULM is investigating racially insensitive social media posts that were allegedly made by two of their faculty members. According to the Monroe News Star assistant nursing professor, Mary Holmes referred to former President Barack Obama as a monkey and biology instructor Dennis Bell used a racial slur on his Facebook page. ULM says it condemns the stunningly bigoted and racist language in social media posts by select faculty members.

After making landfall near Grand Isle yesterday, Cristobal is now a tropical depression near Natchez, Mississippi. Cristobal brought street flooding and high winds to southeast Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it goes down as the second earliest named storm to make landfall in Louisiana…
cut 14 (12) “….Atchafalaya Basin”

The special session continues in Baton Rouge this week. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says they need to pass legislation to fix a mistake in the tort reform bill aimed at lowering auto insurance rates, which passed in the regular session. Talbot says the bill has wording that would allow people who suffer minor injuries to collect huge settlements…
cut 4 (09) “..afford”
There’s a strong possibility the governor will veto the tort reform bill anyway.

Today is the first day on the job for Louisiana’s new superintendent of education, Cade Brumley…
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

Today is the first day on the job for Louisiana’s new superintendent of education, Cade Brumley…
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

Tort reform supporters say they’ll use the special session to fix one unpopular aspect of a bill that passed in the regular session that aimed to lower auto insurance premiums. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the bill included some unfortunate wording that would allow people who suffered minor injuries to collect major settlements.
Cut 4 (09) “…afford.”

That one issue appears to have been a potential reason the legislation passed without a veto-proof majority. Governor Edwards is still considering whether he will veto it.

Public defenders say the COVID shutdown hammered their budgets and they are requesting 28 million dollars in state funds to fill the gaps. Public defender Meghan Garvey says by failing to properly fund public defenders, the state is failing to uphold its responsibility under the 6th amendment to provide zealous, competent counsel
Cut 8 (11) “…system.”
Lawmakers largely agreed with the need for the additional funding and will attempt to allocate more money as they work on the budget, which is up for debate in the House on Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Cristobal is in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and moving towards Lousiana’s coast. As of the 10 AM update from the National Hurricane Center, Cristobal was 345 miles south of the Mississippi River and heading north at 12 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center is predicting a landfall near Morgan City on Sunday night.

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Tropical Storm force winds are expected late tonight along the northern Gulf coast from the central part of Louisiana’s coast to the western Florida Panhandle.

Inland tropical storm warnings are now in effect for all of southeast Louisiana. That means 25 to 35 mile per hour winds with gusts of up to 55-miles per hour near the center of the storm.

Cristobal is expected to maintain tropical storm strength as it moves over central Louisiana Monday morning. The center of the storm is expected to be near Little Rock, Arkansas by Monday night.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees made headlines again last night for his social media comments directed to the President. Donald Trump said on Friday that Brees should not have taken back his original stance on honoring the American flag and there should be no kneeling during the national anthem. Brees responded on Instagram by saying he now realizes this is not an issue about the American flag and it never was. Brees received a mountain of blacklash from several black athletes when he said Wednesday that he would never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag by kneeling during the national anthem. Even his own teammates were critical, including safety Malcom Jenkins. But Jenkins released this video since Brees made two apologies, one written and one on video…
cut 30 (11) “…big part of it”

Tropical Storm Cristobal is a little bit stronger this morning with 50-miles per hour maximum sustained winds. The storm is moving north at 12-miles per hour. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 9 (09) “…up several hours”
It appears southeast Louisiana will get the worst of it. Governor John Bel Edwards on the potential impacts…
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Tropical-storm-force winds are expected late tonight in southeast Louisiana. A tropical storm warning is in effect for this area. A storm surge warning is in effect from the mouth fo the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Voluntary evacuations have been ordered for areas of Jefferson Parish. Grand Isle State Park is closed.

Closed courts have led to a lack of fees that fund a substantial portion of the budgets for public defenders. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Hammond Police have arrested 41-year-old Walter Allbritton III of Ponchatoula on terrorism charges. Authorities say Allbritton drove his vehicle through the entrance of a Target Store and left fake explosive devices in the area. No injuries were reported. A motive has not been given.

The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Cristobal is getting a little stronger as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico towards Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says models show a landfall near St. Mary Parish Sunday afternoon or Sunday night…
cut 11 (10) “….in southwestern Louisiana”
The National Hurricane Center says rainfall totals in excess of ten inches will be possible in southeast Louisiana and at least minor coastal flooding will be possible, with more significant impacts dependent on Cristobal’s eventual track and intensity.

Drew Brees gave a strong response to Donald Trump last night after the President said on Friday that the Saints quarterback should not have taken back his original stance that we should stand to honor the flag during the national anthem. In a social media post directed to the President, Brees says we can no longer use the flag to turn people away or distract them from the real issues that face our black communities.

It was a chaotic scene at a Target in Hammond yesterday when a man rammed his vehicle through the entrance of the store. No one was injured but the incident resulted in people running away from the scene as fast as they can. The suspect has been arrested, 41-year-old Walter Allbritton the third of Ponchatoula. He faces a slew of charges including terrorism and terrorizing. Authorities also say he dropped a fake explosive device at the scene and at a nearby Sanderson Farms and Dollar General.

Acadia Parish Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 21-year-old man for the stabbing deaths of two elderly relatives found dead in their home two weeks ago. Sheriff K.P. Gibson says Detrick Guillory faces two first degree murder charges for the deaths of John and Lois Guillory, both 71, of Richard.
Cut 12 (09) “in this case.”
A motive has not been made public.

Tropical Storm Cristobal is heading towards Louisiana, with maximum sustained winds of 50-miles per hour. It’s currently 365 miles south of the Mississippi River, moving north at 12-miles per hour. Storm surge warnings and watches are up for parts of Louisiana and so are tropical storm warnings and watches. Governor Edwards says the National Hurricane Center is projecting a late Sunday, Monday morning landfall and we’ll see wind speeds greater than 50 miles per hour in southeast Louisiana…
cut 16 (10) “..as well”
The National Hurricane Center forecasts the center of Cristobal will be a depression in north Louisiana on Monday afternoon.

Authorities say an eight-year-old boy and his 10-year-old brother are dead after a swimming incident around seven o’clock last night in Grand Isle. Their 12-year-old cousin and an adult man were airlifted to a hospital. It happened in a similar spot where another person died last week.

21-year-old Detrick Guillory of Basile is in jail on two counts of first-degree murder after authorities say he killed his grandfather and godmother, John and Lois Guillory. They were found dead in their home last month. Acadia Parish Sheriff K-P Gibson says they are still investigating…
cut 14 (08) “…person involved”
Gibson would not disclose a motive for the crime.

Public defenders say the COVID shutdown hammered their budgets and are requesting 28 million dollars in state funds to fill the gaps and address a staffing shortage. The closure of courts has led to a lack of court fees being collected that fund a significant portion of public defender’s budgets. Meghan Garvey is a public defender and says they may not have the money to operate once courts reopen.
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Lawmakers are discussing a 33-billion dollar budget during the ongoing special session and looking at how they can send more money to fund public defenders.