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

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

60-year-old Louisiana singer Archie Williams is in the finals of America’s Got Talent. Judge Heidi Kulm said Archie, you’ve have had most of your life taken away from you, and I am not going to do it to now. Williams was wrongfully convicted on rape and attempted murder charges and was incarcerated at Angola for 37 years. The Innocence Project aided in his exoneration and release in 2019.

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”

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.

Governor John Bel Edwards says the state is ready to move into the next phase of reopening. 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 but the mask mandate remains in effect.

Entergy restarts one of its power plants in Calcasieu Parish.  Entergy spokesperson David Freese says crews brought the Calcasieu Plant online in part by sending power to the facility by way of a repaired transmission line damaged by Hurricane Laura.

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

The high school football season will kick off October 1st and contact practices can begin today. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine says teams will play an eight-game regular season and playoffs. Bonine says turning the Friday Night Lights back on is huge for many communities…

cut 13 (11) “…of that”

All nine state championship games will be played in the Superdome December 26th to the 28th.

The state is reporting 499 additional COVID 19 cases today and 21 additional deaths.

Today marks the statistical peak of the 2020 hurricane season and it’s been one for the record books with 17 named storms. Three of the storms have made landfall in Louisiana starting with Tropical Storm Cristobal in June. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 6 (09) “…Louisiana”
The National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring six systems, two of them are named storms in the Atlantic and there’s also a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico that has a low chance of development.

Friday night lights are coming back on as the LHSAA announces an eight-game football season will kick-off October 1st through the third. Executive Director Eddie Bonine is confident they can pull the season off, but…
cut 14 (10) “….cases”
The prep classic will be held in the Superdome December 26th thru the 28th.

No football game for Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Baylor because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Bulldogs team. Coach Skip Holtz says they’ve had 36 players test positive since Hurricane Laura. Holtz says if the infected players do not have any complications that show up on an EKG, that up to 30 of the 36 players could return in time to play their next scheduled game on September 19th against Southern Miss.
Cut 12 (12) “…now and then.”

The high school football season will kick off October 1^st and contact practices can resume today. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

Dr Alex Billioux, the state’s public face of the pandemic response is leaving his job at the end of the month.  Billioux the assistant secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Health told his staff Wednesday he’s stepping down to spend more time with his family. Aly Neely, a spokesperson for the department said Billioux is resigning for personal reasons and he will be sorely missed.

Today is the statistical peak of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season and so far it’s been one for the record books. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’ve seen a record-breaking 17 named storms so far this year…

Cut 4 (07)“ …a second” 

Prior to 2020 only 2005 ended with 27 named storms.

LSU is using wastewater samples to track the spread of coronavirus on campus.  COVID patients shed the virus in their fecal matter and testing wastewater from various points in a sewer system can see how many cases exist. Environmental engineering professor Dr. John Pardue says testing can be encouraged quickly upon detection at a certain location.

Cut 7 (09) “…samples next week.”

The science, known as sewer epidemiology, has been used in the Baton Rouge area for COVID tracking since June

High school football teams outside of New Orleans can begin contact practices today and an eight-game regular season is set to kick-off on October 1st, with the state championship games scheduled for December 26th to the 28th in the Superdome. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine believes football can be safely played
Cut 15 (10) “…against you.”

It’s the statistical peak of the hurricane season and 17 named storms have formed a record for this point of the season. State Climatologist Barry Keim says back in June Tropical Storm Cristobal became the earliest C storm to ever form and the records kept falling from there…
cut 5 (08) “….ever had”

LSU researchers will use wastewater tests around dorms and on-campus apartments as a way to detect coronavirus hotspots before students show symptoms. Environmental Engineering Professor John Pardue says wastewater testing can tell the school how many people are shedding the virus or have the disease…
cut 8 (08) “….make an estimate”
Pardue says if there are elevated levels measured in the sewage, the school can conduct robust testing at a particular location.

Louisiana Tech Head Coach Skip Holtz blames Hurricane Laura for the outbreak in coronavirus cases with his football team. The Bulldogs game at Baylor on Saturday has been postponed. Holtz says it is a disappointing development since they were nearly COVID-free before the storm.
Cut 10 (12) “…wasn’t large enough.”

We’ve hit the statistical peak of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Matt Doyle spoke with a state climatologist about the record-breaking season…
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

And the National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring six disturbances, including a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico that has a low chance of development.

At 10:30 this morning, Governor Edwards will announce whether the state will move into phase three or stay in phase two of coronavirus restrictions.

Friday night lights are coming back on as the Louisiana High School Athletic Association announces an eight-game football season will kick-off October 1st through the third. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine is confident they can pull the season off, but…
cut 14 (10) “….cases”
The prep classic will be held in the Superdome December 26th to the 28th.

Louisiana Tech football coach Skip Holtz confirms 36 players have tested positive for the coronavirus since Hurricane Laura. lHoltz says players were trying to find suitable accommodations following the storm and that lead to many of them being infected by the virus.
cut 11 (12) “…the building”
Tech’s game versus Baylor on Saturday has been postponed.

Today marks the statistical peak of the 2020 hurricane season and it’s been one for the record books with 17 named storms. Three of the storms have made landfall in Louisiana starting with Tropical Storm Cristobal in June. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 6 (09) “…Louisiana”
The National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring six systems, two of them are named storms far in the Atlantic and there’s also a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico that has a low chance of development.

The high school football season will kick off October 1st and contact practices can begin today. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine says teams will play an eight-game regular season and playoffs. Bonine says turning the Friday Night Lights back on is huge for many communities…
cut 13 (11) “…of that”
All nine state championship games will be played in the Superdome December 26th to the 28th.

Louisiana Tech Football Coach Skip Holtz blames Hurricane Laura for an outbreak in coronavirus cases within his team that’s led to a postponement of Saturday’s season opener at Baylor. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

There are many who are hopeful Governor John Bel Edwards will announce today the state will move to Phase 3 of the White House’s guidelines for reopening the U-S economy. Edwards has scheduled a 10:30 press conference. The current phase two order expires tomorrow.

Today is the statistical peak of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season and so far it’s been one for the record books. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’ve seen a record-breaking 17 named storms so far this year…
Cut 4 (07)“ …a second”
The record for named storms in a season is 28, set in 2005.

LSU researchers are testing campus wastewater for COVID-19 cases. They’ve also done that around East Baton Rouge Parish and found that cases increased soon after Louisiana moved into Phase 2 and dropped after the city-parish instituted a mask-wearing mandate…
cut 9 (10) “….delay built-in”
LSU Environmental Engineering Professor John Pardue says they will test every on-campus residence and monitor every location once a week.

The LHSAA announces the high school football season will kick off October 1st and contact practices can resume today. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 3 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

LSU announces that redshirt freshman defensive end Ray Parker of Ruston has been suspended for violating team rules. LSU police arrested Parker for battery of a dating partner and simple criminal damage to property.