The restaurant industry welcomes today’s transition into Phase Three of economic reopening. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 1 (29) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

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An LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center two-year weight loss program aimed at helping low-income residents finds great success. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

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President Trump has come under fire for audio recordings of him in March privately acknowledging the danger of coronavirus at a time when he was publicly downplaying the threat. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

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The state’s move into Phase 3 means relaxed occupancy restrictions on restaurants.  Louisiana Restaurant Association President Stan Harris says the increase from 50% to 75% capacity is a welcomed change.

Cut 4 (09)“ …more work hours.” 

Harris says the industry still faces hurdles in rebuilding the trust with patrons and workers that the dine-in atmosphere is a safe place to be.

Cut 5 (11)  “…that work there.”

Further details about what Phase Three will look like, such as the status of bars, will be provided during a press conference this afternoon.  Harris says the association will continue to advocate on their behalf.

Cut 6 (13) “…said not now.”

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Louisiana patients who enrolled in a Pennington Biomedical weight loss study tailored to low-income residents maintained at least a five percent decrease in body weight over a two year period. Lead researcher, Dr. Peter Katzmarzyk, says health coaches had weekly sessions with 452 patients on solving their biggest barriers to weight loss.

Cut 7 (11) “…issues”

A control group was given “usual” care that was not personalized, and only lost a half a percent of their body weight.

Katzmarzyk says the program sent health coaches to the patients’ primary care clinics and conducted zoom calls so that participants didn’t have to travel far for help.

Cut 8 (08) “…lived in.”

The program was conducted at 18 Louisiana primary care clinics in both urban and rural areas.

Katzmarzyk says a major emphasis was showing patients that eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive.

Cut 9 (09) “…store”

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Senator Bill Cassidy defends President Trump after an audio recording from March was released of the President saying he wanted to “play down” the coronavirus.

Audio has the President privately acknowledging how deadly the virus was at a time when he was publicly comparing it to the flu, but Cassidy says the President’s actions show he took it seriously.

Cut 10 (09) “phase.”

In the recording, the President explains he did not want to create a panic.

Cassidy says the President tends to speak a little loosely and in ways he sometimes regrets, but he doesn’t regret the way the nation responded.

Cut 11 (11) “…unprecedented.”

Cassidy says right now he’s not concerned the revelations will impact the President’s reelection chances.

Cut 12 (11) “…loud.”

The audio was captured by famed reporter Bob Woodward and was released ahead of his new book that chronicles conversations the two had between late 2019 and early 2020.

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Governor Edwards is warning residents in the areas impacted by Hurricane Laura to be cautious with the heat.  The state reports 28 storm-related deaths and many of those are linked to the intense temps.  Edwards says those working in the sweltering conditions need to pace themselves.

Cut 13 (06) “…get in to.”

So far 6000 homeowners who had their dwelling damaged by the storm have registered to get a blue roof from the state.  Edwards says anyone who is in need of the temporary patch job needs to act fast on signing up.

Cut 14 (10) “…cover damaged rooves.” 

Nearly 13,000 residents are being sheltered in the state of Louisiana at 42 hotels, 36 of which are in New Orleans.  Edwards says that number has been growing nightly, but only slightly.

Cut 15 (09) “…4,800 Louisianans.” 
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Three Louisiana college football teams kick off their seasons on Saturday. For the first time ever, ULM will battle against one of the United States service academies when they visit Army in West Point at 12:30 central time. The Black Knights blanked Middle Tennessee 42 to nothing last week. Warhawks Coach Matt Viator says Army’s triple-option run-oriented offense is tough to stop

Cut 16 (21) “…offensively” 

The Ragin Cajuns are at 23rd ranked Iowa State for their first ever visit to Ames. Kick-off is set for 11 AM. U-L Lafayette is coming off its best season in program in history as they were 11-3 and they return eight starters on offense. Third-year head coach Billy Napier says the make-up of this year’s team is different to go along with the preparation for the season

Cut 17  (21) “…of problems” 

Tulane will begin its 127th season on Saturday night at South Alabama. It will be the second time these two schools have met and it’s the first game ever at Hancock Whitney Stadium. The Jaguars opened the season with a 32-21 road win over Southern Miss. Green Wave coach Willie Fritz says South Al looked impressive

Cut 18  (24) “…extremely well    

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The Saints will begin another NFL season on Sunday in which they enter the year with one of the more talented rosters in the league. The Black and Gold have suffered playoff heartbreak the last three seasons and Quarterback Drew Brees says he’s got nothing to lose as he gets set to begin his 20th season in the NFL

cut 19 (25) “…ultimate prize”  

The Saints will host Tampa Bay on Sunday as New Orleans has prepared for the season without the benefit of any preseason games. There will also be no fans in the Dome but linebacker Alex Anzalone says they’ll be ready

cut 20 (20) “ others”  

Louisiana will move to Phase Three tomorrow. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

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Hurricane Laura propelled swarms of mosquitos into pastures, leading to scores of dead cows and horses across southwest Louisiana. Brooke Thorington has more…

cut 2 (30) “I’m Brooke Thorington”  

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Governor John Bel Edwards says the state is ready to move into the next phase of reopening. Edwards said at a Thursday morning press conference that after analyzing COVID-19 data for the last two weeks, the state is ready to move forward.

Cut 3 (10)  “…tomorrow.”  

Edwards admits it was a difficult decision because not all of the data has come in on whether school resuming, the Labor Day holiday weekend and how recovery from Hurricane Laura is impacting the spread of the coronavirus.

Edwards says just because we’re moving into Phase Three doesn’t mean we’ve moved out of the public health emergency.

Cut 4 (11)“ …capita.” 

Moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 means there will be fewer restrictions on the number of people that can gather and occupancy at businesses. But Edwards says the mask mandate will stay in effect in phase 3.

Cut 5 (12)  “…wear masks”

Further details about what Phase Three will look like, such as the status of bars, will be provided during a Friday afternoon news conference.

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Entergy has successfully restarted one of its power plants in Calcasieu Parish.  Entergy spokesperson David Freese says crews brought the plant online by repairing a  transmission line damaged by Hurricane Laura.

Cut 6 (11) “…couple thousands initially.”

Freese estimates that around 13,000 storm restoration workers are on the ground.  While it is possible they have wrapped up work near a location still without power, there is more work that is needed to get power restored.

Cut 7 (06) “…is a rebuild.”

Freese says the customers outside of southwest Louisiana already have their lights back on.

Cut 8 (13) “…can Cameron Parishes.”

The Louisiana Public Service Commission estimates 122-thousand customers are still without power two weeks after the storm. Over 87-percent of the customers in Calacasieu Parish are still without electricity.
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Swarms of mosquitos terrorized livestock in southwest Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura, causing the deaths of horses, deer, and cows.

Evangeline Parish Veterinarian Craig Fontenot says the swarms were so thick that they could bite an animal to death, or worse.

Cut 9 (08) “…noses.”

The mosquitos swarming livestock can cause the animals to struggle to get enough oxygen as they struggle to remove the mosquitos, and are slowly drained of blood.

Reports indicate a large part of the swarm was pushed out of the marsh by Hurricane Laura. Fontenot says that plus the rains that came after made a tough situation worse.

Cut 10 (10) “…we had.”

Fontenot says in Evangeline Parish alone he estimates 40 to 60 head was lost.

Fontenot says the swarm is likely going to cost ranchers more than just their initial losses…

Cut 11 (05) “…calves.”

In recent days parish governments have begun running mosquito planes over affected areas, making the problem less severe.

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The National Hurricane Center is monitoring six different tropical disturbances today. There are two named storms in the middle of the Atlantic, a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico and another tropical wave could enter the gulf next week. State Climatologist Barry Keim says to have six have systems at one time is rare…

Cut 12 (09) “…right now”

Keim says the good news is that none of the tropical disturbances are a major threat to the U-S coastline…

Cut 13 (11) “…wrenching”

The National Hurricane Center gives the tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico a low chance of development, but another wave moving towards the gulf has a medium chance of developing into a tropical depression in the eastern Gulf over the next five days. Keim says it’s not a surprise the tropics are super active…

Cut 14 (10) “…ridiculous”