Saturday is Election Day in the 5^th and 2^nd Congressional District special elections. Matt Doyle has more on the state of both races.

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Governor Edwards announces essential workers can begin receiving vaccines on Monday. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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The health department is launching an awareness campaign to make sure every corner of the state access to and knowledge of the vaccine. Brooke Thorington explains.

Cut 3 (32)  “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

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Voters in the 5^th and 2^nd Congressional Districts head to the polls Saturday to pick their next representative.

Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the 5^th District race should be a blowout with Republican Julia Letlow comfortably clearing the 50 percent margin needed to avoid a runoff.

Cut 4 (10)“…husband.”

The 5^th District special election was called after Julia Letlow’s husband, Congressman-elect Luke Letlow, died of COVID-19 less than a week before he was set to be sworn into office. Luke won the 5^th District runoff in early December.

In the 2^nd Pinsonat says Democratic New Orleans State Senators Troy Carter and Karen Carter Peterson are favorites to make it to a runoff.

Cut 5 (11)“…District.”

Internal campaign polling shows Baton Rouge activist and Democrat Gary Chambers running in third with a strong enough showing to basically guarantee a runoff.

Pinsonat says turnout for both races is expected to be very, very low, and Saturday’s results in the 2^nd could give us a good idea of just how competitive the April runoff will be.

Cut 6 (07) “…for you.”

The 2^nd Congressional District special election was called after Cedric Richmond joined the Biden Administration.

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Beginning Monday all Essential Workers will be eligible for the COVID vaccine. Governor John Bel Edwards made the announcement Thursday. The list includes grocery store, food service, and postal workers.

Cut 7 (09)  “…eligible.”

The list of professions also includes hotel, construction, manufacturing, energy, emergency preparedness workers, and media.

Edwards says this is the last group to be eligible before the vaccine is available for all residents 16 and older and he believes that will happen before President Biden’s May 1^st directive.

Like all other eligible groups for the vaccine, essential workers will have to schedule appointments and also identify themselves as eligible workers and provide documentation.

Cut 8 (10) “…eligible

Edwards announced that the state positivity rate is at 2.9-percent the lowest it’s been since the pandemic began. He also praised the hard work of the health department and vaccine partners, allowing the state to set an example.

Cut 9 (04) “…on time.”

Edwards also shared that he himself is now fully vaccinated because it’s been two weeks since his last shot. He plans to hug his mother this weekend, something he has not done in a year because they are both fully vaccinated.

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The state and federal tax filing deadline has been extended to June 15^th in Louisiana for all individuals and businesses.

Postlethwaite and Netterville Associate Tax Director Kathryn Pittman says this is because of the federal disaster that was approved for Louisiana as a result of last month’s winter storms.

Cut 10 (09) “…tax payers.”

The IRS also extended the deadline for all individual filers a month to May 15^th due to the pandemic and recent legislation passed that could impact their return.

Despite the one-month state extension and two-month federal extension, Pittman says it’s still a good idea to not procrastinate.

Cut 11 (11) “…refund.”

Pittman says Louisiana is no stranger to getting disaster-related extensions…

Cut 12 (10) “…thing”

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State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter announces the launch of a statewide campaign aimed at providing the opportunity to be vaccinated and the ability to ask questions about the vaccine in all pockets of the state.

Cut 13 (05) “…right now.”

Kanter says to speed up the process of reaching herd immunity and bring back a sense of normalcy, the goal of “Bring Back Louisiana” is to increase vaccine awareness, provide the space and opportunity to discuss hesitancy, and sign people up for appointments.

Cut 14 (11) “…next week.” 

So far the greatest obstacle with vaccinations has been the limited supply. Kanter says the White House indicated weekly allotments will increase significantly in April.

Just this week the CDC released a study that communities more vulnerable to the virus, as measured by the social vulnerability index, to date, are less likely to get vaccinated. Kanter says that is the focus of “Bring Back Louisiana.”

Cut 15 (09)“….like this.”

Kanter also pointed out that the CDC social vulnerability index to gauge how at-risk a community is in periods of disaster was created after Hurricane Katrina.

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LSU quarterback Myles Brennan spoke to the media for the first time since suffering an abdominal injury against Missouri early last season.  Brennan missed the entire season due to what he called the strangest injury he’s ever had.

Cut 16 (13) “…an injury like this.”

This injury was so rare that very few surgeries had been performed on this area of the body.  Brennan says that’s ultimately why he decided to let the injury heal on its own.

Cut 17 (18) “…the time.” (x2)

Brennan is now back on the practice field and battling with quarterbacks Max Johnson, TJ Finley, and Garrett Nussmeier for the Tigers’ starting job.  New offensive coordinator Jake Peetz will surely keep a close eye on the competition.  Brennan says he’s developed a relationship with Peetz that goes beyond football.

Cut  18 (14) “…very nice.” (x2)

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The 19th ranked LSU baseball team opens SEC play tonight with a big weekend series against third-ranked Mississippi State. The Tigers lead the nation in home runs with 35, but the Bulldogs rank sixth in the country in team ERA at 2.34. LSU Coach Paul Mainieri says State has a lot of good arms…

Cut 19 (20) “..this weekend.” 

Jaden Hill will start for the Tigers on the mound and Mainieri says he goes into conference play with freshman right-hander Garrett Edwards from Pitkin as his closer

Cut 20  (20) “…eighth inning.” 

Devin Fontenot went into the season as the closer but he has struggled at times this season.

Former LSU and current Oregon State President F. King Alexander is on probation for his alleged mishandling of sexual assault and harassment reports during his tenure at LSU. He’s accused of being fully aware of allegations against former coach Les Miles but failing to act. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow says probation is a surprisingly light sentence.

Cut 9 (12) “…LSU”

So far Southwest Louisiana has the lowest vaccination rate of 7.8-percent. That’s almost half of the 13-percent rate of the New Orleans region. Southwest Louisiana Medical Director Lacey Cavanaugh believes the numbers are misleading since many have evacuated from the area after two hurricanes last summer.

Cut 4 (08) “…then” 

Drew Brees says he’s ready for his next career in football as a football commentator for NBC Sports. Taylor Sharp has more…

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Taylor Sharp” 

The state reports that nearly a million in Louisiana have received at least one dose of their COVID vaccination.

In addition to storm recovery, it also appears that southwest Louisiana is battling two COVID issues, a higher concentration of the UK variant and a lower per capita vaccination rate. Medical Director for the area Lacey Cavanaugh says while they are concerned about the more transmissible variant, they also have a lab to test for it.

Cut 3 (09)  “…by us.”  

Drew Brees will be a studio analyst for “Football Night in America” on Sunday nights with NBC Sports and a color analyst for Notre Dame football games.  Brees says he hopes fans can learn something about the game from his analysis.

Cut 6 (13) “…game now”

The attorney representing the family of Tommie McGlothen Jr., the black man who died after an incident with police officers, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Shreveport, the police chief and officers involved Tuesday. Attorney James Carter says the four officers named in the suit, were charged by a grand jury in Caddo Parish last fall with negligent homicide and malfeasance.

Cut 11 (07) “…oversight.”

McGlothen, who had a known mental condition, passed away after the incident in April.

Neighboring states Texas and Mississippi have done away with their mask mandates and instead are merely recommending their citizens wear masks when necessary. But Governor John Bel Edwards says that approach doesn’t work…

cut 7 (08) “….part”
Edwards says masks are still necessary as not enough people are vaccinated yet.

The attorney representing the family of Tommie McGlothen Jr., the black man who died after an incident with police officers, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Shreveport, the police chief and officers involved Tuesday. Attorney James Carter says he tried to settle the matter amicably.

Cut 10 (12) “…very end.”

McGlothen who had a known mental condition died last April after his arrest. Cater offered a $25-million settlement last fall to the city.

Louisiana residents will receive extra time to pay off their high winter power bills after the back-to-back winter storms last month produced a huge demand for heat. Public Service Commission Chairman Craig Greene says this will help those customers who are having difficulty.

Cut 4 (08)“…for people.”

The PSC told the state’s utility providers to give customers extra time to pay off their bill from the February freeze.

The World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee retired Laura from the storm name rotation and decided the Greek alphabet will no longer be used to name systems. Along with Laura, State Climatologist Barry Keim says the committee retired Dorian, a devastating 2019 storm that hit the Bahamas, and Eta and Iota, two major storms that landed last year in Central America.

Cut 13 (04) “…Louisiana.”

93 names have now been officially retired from the storm name six-year rotation.

Will the Superdome and college football stadiums be filled next fall as they would be pre-pandemic? Governor John Bel Edwards believes so…
cut 9 (08) “…it can”
Edwards says for full stadiums to return, people need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

COVID numbers are way down but Governor Edwards says the mask mandate will likely be here to stay for a while longer. Matt Doyle has the story.

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A federal lawsuit was filed this week on behalf of the family of Tommie McGlothen, Jr, the black man who died after an altercation with Shreveport Police. Brooke Thorington has more.

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The World Meteorological Organization made some big changes to storm naming at their recent meeting. Matt Doyle has more.

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Louisiana residents will receive extra time to pay off their high winter power bills after two historic winter storms last month produced a huge demand for heat. Public Service Commission Chairman Craig Greene says this will help customers who are having difficulty.

Cut 4 (08)“…for people.”

The PSC told the state’s utility providers to give customers extra time to pay off their bill from the February freeze.

North Louisiana P-S-C member Foster Campbell says many customers were caught off guard when they received their power bill and are unable to a large payment all at once.

Cut 5 (06)“…for it.”

Campbell says they are working with utility providers to make sure those who received high bills are allowed to spread the payments out over six to 12 months from the February Freeze.

Cut 6 (05) “…can be.”

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The state may be seeing some of the lowest COVID numbers since the pandemic began but Governor Edwards says that doesn’t mean the mask mandate is going away any time soon.

Neighboring Mississippi and Texas have dropped their mandate and instead offered recommendations to mask when necessary. Edwards says that doesn’t work.

Cut 7 (08)  “…part.”

The number of new COVID cases has dropped by over 75 percent since mid-January. New daily deaths have also fallen to near average single digits this week after averaging over 50 in mid-January.

Edwards says the state vaccination campaign is going well and our ticket out of the pandemic but until most of the population is fully vaccinated the virus is still a major threat.

Cut 8 (09) “…transmission”

Over 900,000 Louisianans have received at least one dose of a vaccine and over half a million have completed their series.

But Edwards is optimistic that at our current rate of vaccination we will see a fully packed Superdome and Tiger Stadium next fall…

Cut 9 (08) “…it can.”

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The attorney representing the family of Tommie McGlothen Jr., the black man who died after an incident with police officers, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Shreveport, the police chief and officers involved Tuesday. Attorney James Carter says he tried to settle the matter amicably.

Cut 10 (12) “…very end.”

McGlothen who had a known mental condition died last April after his arrest.

Carter is representing McGlothen’s daughter and two sons on behalf of McGlothen’s widow who died this year. Carter says the four officers named in the suit, were charged by a grand jury in Caddo Parish last fall with negligent homicide and malfeasance.

Cut 11 (07) “…oversight.”

Carter says the family is seeking justice and the judicial system speaks to monetary compensation as a form of an attempt to get justice in cases like this.

Cut 12 (08) “…life.”

Carter says he offered the city a settlement of $25-million in October.

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The World Meteorological Organization’s Hurricane Committee retired Laura from the storm name rotation and decided the Greek alphabet will no longer be used to name systems.

Along with Laura State Climatologist Barry Keim says the committee retired Dorian, a devastating 2019 storm that hit the Bahamas, and Eta and Iota, two major storms that landed last year in Central America.

Cut 13 (04) “…Louisiana.”

93 names have now been officially retired from the storm name six-year rotation.

Keim says they ditched the Greek alphabet for a number of reasons including that the names being a distraction, the alphabet’s poor translation into other languages, and…

Cut 14 (03) “…letters.” 

Only twice in hurricane season history, 2020 and 2005, have there been over 21 named storms resulting in overflow to the Greek alphabet.

A new “overflow” list has been selected instead of the Greek alphabet…

Cut 15 (08)“….the line.”

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The LSU basketball team is staying at a hotel in Indianapolis as they get ready to take on St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon in a first-round NCAA Tournament game.  Head Coach Will Wade says his team arrived on Monday and had to quarantine for two days and they have been confined to their hotel.

Cut 16 (11) “…for practice today.”

Since the team hasn’t been outside much, Wade says some of his players have turned to video games for entertainment.

Cut 17 (18) “…I have no clue.”

While the bubble is certainly a unique experience, Wade says he rather be in Indy than in Baton Rouge preparing for next season.

Cut  18 (11) “…excited to be here.”

Severe weather is making its way across the state spurning thunderstorms and tornado warnings. Several areas of the state mainly north and central Louisiana are also under wind advisories. Flash flood warnings have also been issued in spots as the cold front that stretches from Louisiana all the way to Wisconsin makes it way eastward.

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association and Governor Edwards are asking President Biden not to extend the 60-day oil and gas lease sale moratorium put into place in January.

Cut 2 (29) …I’m Matt Doyle”  

Metairie-based MedPharmics is conducting clinical trials on children with the Moderna vaccine, MedPharmics President Dr. Robert Jeanfreau believes in the vaccine and says his company has been part of the research since the beginning of the pandemic.

Cut 5  (08)  “…do it.” 

Irish bars in New Orleans agreed to close today on St. Patrick’s Day out of concern for patron’s safety. Owner of Finn McCool’s Sean Kennedy says he made the decision for his pub after witnessing a group on Saturday flagrantly violating COVID guidelines. He says that made the risks for today clear…

Cut 9 (10) “…rules”

Kennedy says when the patrons who were violating COVID rules were asked to correct their behavior, they not only refused but argued with staff.

A Church Point man is charged with negligent homicide after St. Landy Parish sheriff’s deputies say he failed to supervise his 9-month-old child in the bath who drowned as a result.

Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says Nicholas Lee Ducote placed his 9 month and two-year-old children in the bath and then left the room. Thibodeaux says even though accidental it’s a heartbreaking case and that could have been avoided.

Cut 14 (04) “child.” 

A Gulf oil lease sale that was set to be sold today in New Orleans won’t happen due to the 60-day lease sale moratorium issued in January by President Biden. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Mike Moncla says the jobs of 50,000 Louisiana oil and gas workers are in long-term danger.

Cut 6 (12) “…market”

Louisiana is taking part in clinical trials for children and the Moderna COVID vaccine. President of MedPharmics Dr. Robert Jeanfreau, which is conducting the trial in the Bayou State, says like all medications the vaccine must be tested in every population group.

Cut 3 (12)  “…be done.”  

Call MedPharmics if you’d like to participate.

Irish pubs in New Orleans agreed to close today on St. Patrick’s out of concern for patron’s safety because many people are ignoring COVID protocols. Owner of Finn McCool’s Sean Kennedy says staying closed on one of the biggest days of the year for Irish bars is tough but it’s the right thing to do.

Cut 11 (11) ”  wrong”

A 30-year old Church Point man is charged with negligent homicide after St. Landy Parish sheriff’s deputies say an infant drowned in his bathtub. Deputy Chief Eddie Thibodeaux says they determined that on March 4^th, Nicholas Lee Ducote placed his 9 month and two-year-old children in the tub, left the room to do chores, and then…

Cut 12 (11) “ …unresponsive” 

The two-year-old was found unharmed sitting next to the tub.

Metairie-based MedPharmics is conducting clinical trials on children and the Moderna vaccine, MedPharmics President Dr. Robert Jeanfreau believes in the vaccine and says his company has been part of the research since the beginning of the pandemic.

Cut 5  (08)  “…do it.” 

A Gulf oil lease sale set to be held today in New Orleans is canceled due to the 60-day lease sale moratorium issued in January by President Biden. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Mike Moncla disputes the moratorium and says oil and gas taxes have generated 280 million dollars over the past few years to support coastal restoration projects.

Cut 7 (06) “…that.”

Irish bars in New Orleans agreed to close today on St. Patrick’s Day out of concern for patron’s safety. Owner of Finn McCool’s Sean Kennedy says he made the decision for his pub after witnessing a group on Saturday flagrantly violating COVID guidelines. He says that made the risks for today clear…

Cut 9 (10) “…rules”

Louisiana is taking part in clinical trials on children with the Moderna COVID vaccine. President of Metairie-based MedPharmics Dr. Robert Jeanfreau says the trial is broken into two groups and it’s the same vaccine adults receive, what they are testing is the most effective dose.

Cut 4 (12) “…part two.” 

They are looking for participants age 12 and under and as young as six months.

Border crossings have hit a 20 year high as more immigrants are arriving at the southern border. President Joe Biden vowed to reverse many of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies and Republicans are pointing the finger at those policy changes including Senator Bill Cassidy.

Cut 13 (10) “…immigration.”

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association and Governor Edwards are asking President Biden not to extend the 60-day oil and gas lease sale moratorium put into place in January. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (29) …I’m Matt Doyle”  

Hail, strong winds, and tornadoes are possible as a strong cold front will sweep across the state today. A tornado watch is already up for northwest Louisiana until 1 pm and more watches and warnings are expected to be posted as the day goes along. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s just the beginning.

Cut 9 (05) “…spring.”

Attorney General Jeff Landry along with other elected officials will push a bill in the legislative session that would take money collected from opioid settlements with drug companies to help fund Louisiana drug courts which can help those who suffer from addiction and substance abuse. Baton Rouge Judge Don Johnson says it would be money well spent…

Cut 11 (09) “.. crime.” (x3)

The bill would pump an additional 15 million dollars a year into the program.

Border crossings have hit a 20 year high as increasing numbers of immigrants are arriving at the southern border. President Joe Biden vowed to reverse several Trump Administration immigration policies and Senator Bill Cassidy says this is not the right way to handle immigration policy.

Cut 15 (07)“….channels.”

Congressional Democrats have vowed to pursue comprehensive immigration reform to address the situation.

The Louisiana Department of Corrections is seeking an additional $21.5 million in next fiscal year’s budget. DOC Undersecretary Thomas Bickham says the figure represents what the department usually spends on overtime.

Cut 4 (10)“…have.”
The $21.5 million figure also includes a ten percent pay raise for entry-level correctional officers in hopes of attracting new employees.