6:30 LRN Newscast October 12

Louisiana’s delegation of first responders are just east of Panama City, Florida, where the eyewall of Hurricane Michael came ashore, bringing untold amounts of devastation. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says they spent much of Thursday getting hurricane victims out of their storm ravaged homes and into shelter.
Cut 4 (08) “…they need”
The team is working with a task force comprised of first responders from Mississippi and Florida.

Congress has approved legislation that begins the process of moving the Army Corps of Engineers out from the Department of Defense and turning it into a civilian agency tasked with administering massive domestic projects. Baton Rouge Congressman Garret Graves says nothing against the D-O-D, but they have a lot of overseas concerns these days…
cut 11 (08) “….deal with”
Graves believes this fundamental change will speed up construction on backlogged flood and coastal protection projects.

42-year-old Melvin Amar of Baton Rouge is in the East Baton Rouge Parish Jail after he allegedly threatened to kill Troopers and other law enforcement officers. State Police spokesperson Bryan Lee says during a traffic stop conducted by a Trooper, Amar referenced the 2016 ambush on police in Baton Rouge that resulted in the deaths of three officers…
cut 15 (08) “….safety of others”
Lee says Amar has a history of making threats towards law enforcement and now faces numerous charges.

Federal prosecutors accuse a US post office manager in Kenner of stealing 630-thousand dollars in stamps and selling them on eBay to support his gambling addiction. 46-year-old Ryan Cortez also allegedly stole 10-thousand dollars from a church where he served as a treasurer. It’s considered one of the largest internal postal thefts in Postal Service history.