A House Committee approves a bill that would give members of the state legislature a hefty pay raise, to $40-thousand…:

CUT 02(31)      “…Jeff Palermo.”

The House Education Committee advances a bill that would hold back certain 3^rd graders who are way behind in literacy skills, and then get them the help they need to catch up. The same bill was proposed last year, but ran out of time for consideration before the session ended. It goes to the full House floor next.

The fatal shooting of a man in downtown Alexandria Sunday night sparks concern about public safety before its annual AlexRiverFete event. The shooting occurred near the intersection of Third Street and Johnston Street. Alexandria Police Chief Chad Gremillion says security will be beefed up at and around the festival…:

CUT 07(12)      “…presence in place”

AlexRiverFete is Alexandria’s largest downtown event and is this weekend.

Minden Police say they’re close to an arrest of two suspects who ran over a 9-year-old child while fleeing a carjack attempt at a truck stop Monday night. Chief Jared McIver says security cameras caught everything and the footage is hard to watch…:

CUT 13  (10)        “…deserve.”

The child is expected to recover.

A police officer was shot when gunfire erupted this morning at a gas station in Bossier City. Brooke Thorington reports…:

CUT 01(28)      “…Thorington.”

A Church Point man is arrested for the weekend hit & run killing of a bicyclist from Sunset along state Highway 93 in St. Landry Parish. State Police Trooper Tom Gossen says a citizen’s tip led to the arrest…:

CUT 14(07)      “…under suspension.”

A 16-year-old was killed Monday evening in Natchitoches and two other teens were injured. Natchitoches Police spokesman Cpl. John Greely with says they received several calls of gunshots in the area of Stella and Northern Streets at around 8:15…:

CUT 03(07)      “…gunshot victim.”

Two other teens were found shot and wounded just blocks away. Police ask anyone with knowledge of what happened to contact NPD or Crimestoppers.

The pay raise for lawmakers moves forward, as the House Appropriations Committee sends the bill the full House for debate. It would raise base salary for lawmakers from $16,800 to about $40k plus per diem and expenses. Some lawmakers say their constituents support the idea. Here’s Marrero Rep. Rodney Lyons…:

CUT 09(10)      “…vast and vary.”

Lawmakers voted themselves a pay hike in 2008, but it was vetoed by Governor Bobby Jindal.

The search is on for the hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a bicyclist last weekend in St. Landry Parish. State Police Trooper Tom Gossen says it happened Friday night on state Highway 93 near Sunset…:

CUT 09  (11)        “…in the ditch.”

59-year-old Randy Thibodeaux is the victim. Gossen says they seek a 2013-to-2015 Honda Accord 2-door; metallic colored or gray. Call State Police with any tips.

The website MoneyGeek places 3 Louisiana cities among the nation’s Ten Most Dangerous; using 2021 FBI crime data. LSU New Orleans criminologist Dr. Peter Scharf says it needs to be addressed or it will just balloon…:

CUT 06  (05)        “…lost cities.”

New Orleans ranks 8^th, Shreveport 9^th and Baton Rouge 10^th.

Owners of Mandina’s Restaurant in New Orleans decided to reopen today; three days after one of their employees was gunned down outside the restaurant Friday evening…:

CUT 01(30)      “…Teiko Foxx.”

The popular retail chain Tuesday Morning announces they are closing all their locations – including stores across Louisiana – within the next few weeks. “Going Out of Business” signs are already posted at most locations and prices are chopped by 30-percent or more. Tuesday Morning has been in business for nearly 50 years.

At the State Capitol, discussion of a different way to put more money in the hands of school teachers. The idea? Instead of putting cash into raises, paying down debt in the teachers’ retirement system; freeing up funds for local school systems to give teachers a raise. While speaking to the Baton Rouge Press Club, Governor Edwards got word of what House Republicans are proposing…:

CUT 13(08)      “…in the process.”

The proposed budget sent to the House floor does NOT include million for the teacher pay raises Edwards asked for.

Lawmen in St. Landry Parish seek the person who hit and killed a bicyclist, then drove away. State Police Troop I spokesman Thomas Gossen says based on evidence collected at the scene, they are seeking a metallic-colored or gray Honda Accord 2-door, likely model year 2013-to-2015…:

CUT 11(12)      “…law enforcement agency.”

The victim is ID’ed as 59-year-old Randy Thibodaux of Sunset.

New Orleans, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge rank 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th in MoneyGeek’s list of America’s Most Dangerous Cities. Brooke Thorington reports…:

CUT 02(31)      “…Thorington.”

IN New Orleans, the famous Mandina’s restaurant, on Canal Street, has reopened after one of their waiters was gunned down in front of the eatery last Friday night. The Louisiana Restaurant Association is assisting Mandina’s staff by connecting them with trauma counseling services.

Lawmen in St. Landry Parish seek the person who hit and killed a bicyclist, then drove away. State Police Troop I spokesman Thomas Gossen says it appears to have happened Friday evening along state Highway 93, near Sunset…:

CUT 09(11)      “…in the ditch.”

Gossen says 59-year-old Randy Thibodeaux was last seen Friday by family members. Authorities were notified, after he was located alongside the highway Sunday by a family member who’d been searching for him. LSP seeks a 2013-to-2015 Honda Accord 2-ddoor; metallic colored or gray, with damage to the right side and the right door mirror missing. Call Troop I with tips.

About 12-thousand customers in Caddo and Bossier parishes were, or are, without power at this hour, and SWEPCO has not yet identified the reason why. The utility says, power should be coming back on very soon, if it has not already. Again, the reason for the outage is not immediately apparent.

Mandina’s Restaurant in New Orleans re-opened today as New Orleans Police Officers continue to search for gunmen involved in the murder of one of their employees Friday night. Twenty-three-year-old Hilbert Walker III was killed outside the popular eatery located on Canal Street. NOPD Superintendent Michelle Woodfork says it’s important to know this wasn’t a random event…:

CUT 04(10)      “…the festival.”

A female tourist from Chicago was inside the restaurant when she was hit by a stray bullet.

New Orleans is one of three Louisiana cities list among the nation’s Ten Most Dangerous by financial website MoneyGeek.com. The Crescent City is 8, followed by Shreveport at 9 and Baton Rouge at 10. LSU Health New Orleans Criminologist Dr. Peter Scharf says addressing poverty is addressing violent crime…:

CUT 07(11)      “…level of crime.”

St. Louis topped the list of the most dangerous cities, followed by Mobile, Birmingham, Baltimore, then Memphis, Detroit, and Cleveland.

The coroner in Jefferson Parish releases his preliminary cause of death findings for Bella Fontanelle, the 6-year-old girl whose body was found stuffed in a ten-gallon bucket this week. Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich says Bella died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. 43-year-old Hannah Landon, the girlfriend of Bella’s father has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Cvitanovich says the case has been difficult on everyone involved including first responders and his staff…:

CUT 13(07)      “…young girl.”

Video footage from cams in the neighborhood show Landon pulling a wagon Tuesday night with that bucket inside.

Has your infant had its shots? This is National Infant Immunization Week, and Shreveport pediatrician Dr. Nikki Humphries says vaccines ARE safe and guard your baby from numerous illnesses…:

CUT 10(10)      “…pneumonia, polio…”

A New Orleans teen has set a record by receiving more than $9-million in scholarships and 180 college acceptance letters. 16-year-old Dennis Maliq Barnes holds the Guinness World Record title as the top senior accepted by the most colleges with the most scholarships. Barnes, a senior at the International High School of New Orleans, says his intent was just to get into college…:

CUT 06(12)      “…really fast.”

Barnes has a 4.98 GPA and was promoted early to 10^th and 11^th.

We have some chances of rain in the Louisiana forecast today, as a line of showers and thunderstorms moves across the state. Some of those could get intense at times. Some areas may see next to nothing. However, the rain is expected to move out to the east and northeast during the overnight hours. We should wake up Sunday to clearing skies and cool temperatures, with afternoon highs reaching into the mid-to-upper-70’s.

A Friday morning car crash in Grant Parish takes three lives. State Police say a Toyota sedan was trying to pass multiple vehicles on Highway 71, when it crashed head-on into a SUV. The victims are identified as 24-year-old Joseph Kirk of Boyce, 30-year-old Brittney Johnson of Colfax and an un-named 10-year-old child. The crash is under investigation.

The Jefferson Parish coroner release his preliminary findings in the murder of 6-year-old Bella Fontanelle this week in Harahan. Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich says she died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. He says rumors she was dismembered are NOT true. He says dealing with death is routine for he and his staff, but it IS different when the victim is a child…:

CUT 14(11)      “…all of us.”

The girl’s father’s girlfriend, Hannah Landon, has been arrested for Bella’s murder.

Two Breaux Bridge men are under arrest in a major drug bust. St. Martin Parish deputies executing a search warrant found sizeable amounts of crystal meth, powder and crack cocaine, heroin, weed and numerous kinds of pills. Brothers Travis and Dwayne Calais are in custody facing a long list of charges.

A Shreveport pediatrician says National Infant Immunization Week is the perfect time to make sure your baby has his or her necessary shots. Dr. Nikki Humphries is a pediatrician at Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport. She says an “anti-vaccine” sentiment has surfaced in recent years, after a now-discredited study linked them to autism and other childhood ailments. The COVID pandemic and pressure to get that vaccine added to public paranoia. As a result, diseases like measles and rubella and others are seeing an uptick in the U.S.  Humphries urges parents to disregard the hype and follow the science for their child’s sake…:

CUT 11(08)      “…decades and decades.”

The coroner in Jefferson Parish releases his preliminary cause of death findings for Bella Fontanelle, the 6-year-old girl whose body was found stuffed in a ten-gallon bucket this week. Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich says Bella died from strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. 43-year-old Hannah Landon, the girlfriend of Bella’s father has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Cvitanovich says the case has been difficult on everyone involved including first responders and his staff…:

CUT 13(07)      “…young girl.”

Video footage from cams in the neighborhood show Landon pulling a wagon Tuesday night with that bucket inside.

Has your infant had its shots? This is National Infant Immunization Week, and Shreveport pediatrician Dr. Nikki Humphries says vaccines ARE safe and guard your baby from numerous illnesses…:

CUT 10(10)      “…pneumonia, polio…”

A New Orleans teen has set a record by receiving more than $9-million in scholarships and 180 college acceptance letters. 16-year-old Dennis Maliq Barnes holds the Guinness World Record title as the top senior accepted by the most colleges with the most scholarships. Barnes, a senior at the International High School of New Orleans, says his intent was just to get into college…:

CUT 06(12)      “…really fast.”

Barnes has a 4.98 GPA and was promoted early to 10^th and 11^th.

We have some chances of rain in the Louisiana forecast today, as a line of showers and thunderstorms moves across the state. Some of those could get intense at times. Some areas may see next to nothing. However, the rain is expected to move out to the east and northeast during the overnight hours. We should wake up Sunday to clearing skies and cool temperatures, with afternoon highs reaching into the mid-to-upper-70’s.

The preliminary cause of death of a 6-year-old Harahan girl who was murdered Tuesday night has been released. Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich says he wanted to stop rumors that are circulating about the shocking death of Bella Fontenelle….:

CUT 12(10)      “…involved.”

Jazz festival is now underway in New Orleans, and coinciding with that major event is a walk-out of ride share drivers; just when they’re needed most. Dozens of Uber & Lyft drivers are refusing to work until they get a bigger share of the money made from fares. One driver said a trip from Armstrong Airport to downtown costs almost $150…of which they make less than $30. Drivers say it costs more to gas up and maintain a vehicle and they need a pay increase to offset that.

At the state Capitol, a bill to reduce the number of hours required for cosmetology students passes in the full House…:

CUT 01(29)      “…Thorington.”

It’s National Infant Immunization Week, and Shreveport pediatrician Dr. Nikki Humphries says getting those shots for baby is crucial…:

CUT 09(08)      “…illness and injury.”

The Saints held steady with the 29th NFL Draft pick and chose Clemson defensive tackle Bryan Bresee (bruh-ZEE). The six-foot-five, 298 pounder had 51 tackles and nine sacks in 26 games in three seasons at Clemson. Saints coach Dennis Allen says Bresee was a good get…:

CUT 30(08)       “…a position in need.”

Bresse’s 2021 season ended early because of a torn ACL and last year he only played in ten games because of a severe case of strep throat. Plus he lost his baby-sister last September to brain cancer.

No LSU Tigers were selected in the first round, but defensive end B-J Ojulari (O-juh-lar-e) is expected to be selected in today’s second round. New Orleans has two picks today, one in the second round and in the third round.

Top-ranked LSU begins a three-game SEC series tonight at home against the Crimson Tide. Alabama enters the game with a 9-9 SEC record, 30-12 overall. The Tigers are 12-5 and in first place in the SEC West and they are 32-8 overall. LSU leads the SEC in hitting and they’ve scored a league-high 397 runs. Coach Jay Johnson points out that Bama has won six of its last seven…:

CUT 16(20)      “…a lot of fun.”

Also this weekend, the Ragin Cajuns host sixth ranked Coastal Carolina, Louisiana Tech is at Middle Tennessee, ULM visits Georgia Southern, Northwestern State hosts Southland leader Nicholls and Grambling hosts Prairie View.