Police in Independence tell multiple media outlets that a man shot and killed his estranged wife and another man before killing himself in an apparent “love triangle.” They say the double murder, suicide happened at Angie’s Bar in Tangipahoa Parish just before 10:30 Tuesday night. That’s when, according to police, 35-year-old Thomas Ransom entered the bar shot his 38-year-old wife, April, and 43-year-old Joseph Cormier, multiple times before turning the gun on himself.

Firearm dealers are sending out some notes of caution to consumers who are planning to buy a gun for somebody else for Christmas this year. Federally licensed dealers require background checks for anyone buying a gun — and it’s against the law for customers to purchase a weapon for someone who wouldn’t pass a background check. Blake Boudreaux is the general manager at Lafayette Shooters…:
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Congress wrapped up a deal late Tuesday that included a provision that would lift the four-decade ban on most exports of oil. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association President Don Briggs says this is a huge help to the industry…:
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Opponents of lifting the ban say more drilling would harm the environment.

The Louisiana Tech football team has arrived in the Big Easy in advance of Saturday’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Eric Gill reports…:
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Firearm dealers are urging people buying guns as Christmas presents to be cautious. Emelie Gunn has more…

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A Prairieville woman has pleaded guilty to collecting Veterans’ Affairs benefits that were intended for her mother who died in 2011. 45-year-old Michelle Akridge confessed to taking more than $77,000. Authorities say Akridge did not report her mother’s death and illegally collected Veterans’ Affairs Dependency and Indemnity Compensation checks for four years.

Disturbing reports that forced labor is being used to shell shrimp being imported from factories in Thailand is raising concerns in the US. Thomas Hymel with the LSU Ag Center Sea Grant program says it’s a shame that the product is coming in from such despicable factories who use practices such as child slave labor — and it appears to be gaining more scrutiny…

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Hymel says there are many countries who export products to us that engage in slave labor for a bigger profit and, the majority of the time, nobody knows it’s going on.

Entergy Louisiana warns customers to be alert for energy bill scams this holiday season. They say the scam usually begins with a person claiming the customer’s bill is past due and their power will be shut off if payment isn’t made immediately. Entergy reminds customers that their courtesy calls are recorded calls and the company never demands immediate payment. If you believe you are a victim of this scam, you should notify authorities.

There’s been a big buzz this week over disturbing reports that forced labor is being used for the shelling of shrimp being imported into the US from factories in Thailand…

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A murder-suicide in Tangipahoa Parish has left three people dead. Independence Police say, when they arrived at the scene, they found three people dead on the floor of a bar. Authorities say that 35-year-old Thomas Ransom walked into the bar and shot both 38-year-old April Ransom and 43-year-old Joseph Cormier before turning the gun on himself. Authorities say no other injuries were reported and their investigation is ongoing.

Two Louisiana plantations have been nominated by USA Today in the 10 Best Historic Home Tours. Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie and Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow are among 20 historic houses on the list. Houmas House owner Kevin Kelly says the gardens and seasonal changes bring many people to visit the Darrow plantation more than once…

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Oak Alley Plantation is known as one of the most photographed plantations in Louisiana.

The Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office says a traffic stop led to the arrest of a Eunice woman on drug charges. They say during the stop, officers noticed the aroma of burnt marijuana. As they were about to search the vehicle, they noticed 36-year-old Jennifer Schaefer shuffling in the back seat. When asked what she was doing, Schaefer replied, “hiding marijuana”. Deputies did find pot in Shaefer’s purse and booked her with second offense possession of marijuana.

Firearms dealers are urging you to be cautious not to participate in straw purchasing if you’re planning to buy a gun for someone else for Christmas this year. Blake Boudreaux, general manager at Lafayette Shooters, says during the holiday season it’s often hard to discern between a gift buyer and a person purchasing a gun for someone who couldn’t pass a background check…

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He says people who participate in a straw purchasing face serious consequences.

Concern have been raised over disturbing reports that forced labor is being used to shell shrimp being imported into the US from factories in Thailand. LSU Ag Center Sea Grant program’s Thomas Hymel says, as consumers, we can start paying better attention to where the seafood we buy comes from and make sure that it’s a Louisiana product..

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The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs have arrived in the Crescent City in advance of Saturday’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The 8-4 Bulldogs will face the 9-3 Sunbelt Conference champion Arkansas State Red Wolves. Tech coach Skip Holtz says Arkansas State is a talented team, especially on the defensive side of the ball where they lead the nation in creating turnovers and interceptions…

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Saturday’s game kicks off at 8PM in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow and Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie have been nominated for the 10 Best Historic Home Tours by USA Today. Houmas House owner Kevin Kelly believes their variety of unique experiences along with the historic house helped to place them in the top 10…

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Houmas House is currently ranked number three while Oak Alley Plantation is ranked number 9.

The Louisiana Tech football team has arrived in the Big Easy in advance of Saturday’s R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. The 8-4 Bulldogs will face the 9-3 Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State Red Wolves in the game that kicks off at 8PM in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Tech head coach Skip Holtz says now that game week is here, the team is ready to get going…

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A-State comes into the game with an eight game winning streak and a defense that leads the nation in takeaways and interceptions. Saturday’s game will be televised on ESPN.

Willie Fritz has been officially introduced as the new football coach at Tulane. The former Georgia Southern head coach has 193 career victories to his name according to the NCAA and is the 4th winningest active head coach in the FBS.

Tulane’s 2016 home football schedule features two Louisiana schools. The Green Wave will host Southern on September 10th and UL-Lafayette on September 24th.

It was a rough night for Louisiana’s colleges on the hardwood…

Bryce Alford scored a season high 27 points leading the 22nd ranked UCLA Bruins to an 89-80 win over UL-Lafayette. Shawn Long led the way for the Cajuns with 26 points and 16 rebounds.

Ole Miss hands Louisiana Tech their second loss of the season 99-80. The Bulldogs were led by Erik McRee’s 20 points, followed by Alex Hamilton’s 16.

Southern was edged by Memphis 72-67. The Jags’ Jared Sam led all scorers with 26 as Southern falls to 7-3 on the season.

And Southeastern Louisiana hung tight, but couldn’t get past Florida A&M 67-64. Up next for the Lions, a Monday trip to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.

Tonight LSU welcomes Gardner-Webb to the P-MAC, UNO plays UMass, McNeese State hosts LSU-Alexandria, Nicholls State is at 18th ranked SMU, and Tulane tangles with number 11 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

There’s a big buzz this week over disturbing reports that forced labor is being used for the shelling of shrimp being imported into the US from factories in Thailand. Thomas Hymel with the LSU Ag Center Sea Grant program estimates that more than 90% of our food is imported. He says most of the shrimp and seafood we eat, comes from places like Thailand…

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Hymel says there are many countries who export products to us that engage in slave labor.

Two plantations in Louisiana have been nominated for the 10 Best Historic Home Tours by USA Today. Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in Darrow and Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie are among 20 historic houses on the list. Kevin Kelly is the owner of Houmas House. He says they are thrilled to have been selected…

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You can vote once a day, every day through December 21st online at 10-Best-dot-com.

If you’re planning on buying a gun for someone else for Christmas this year, firearm dealers are urging you to be cautious. Federally licensed sellers are required to perform background checks and customers who purchase a gun for someone who couldn’t pass face serious consequences. Blake Boudreaux, general manager at Lafayette Shooters, advises people to really know the person they’re buying for.

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Boudreaux says the federal government takes the crime of straw purchasing extremely seriously.

WWL-TV is reporting that the death of a man who was fatally shot by a New Orleans Police Officer early Monday has been ruled a homicide. The report indicates the coroner also identified the deceased as 33-year-old Calvin McKinnis and said he’d been shot twice by Officer Fredrick Carter. NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison earlier stated they believe McKinnis fired first then Carter returned fire. More on this as it develops.

Governor Bobby Jindal says, as he looks back on his 8 years in office, one of the things he feels he will regret is that his administration didn’t try to do more. But, Jindal says there is one specific issue he wishes they could have pushed through…:
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Jindal says he’ll never regret the things they tried to do, even if they weren’t successful.

Two former Destrehan High School teachers accused in a juvenile student sex case, have been formally charged in Jefferson Parish 14 months after the alleged encounter. 25-year-old Rachel Respess is charged with failing to report the commission of a felony, while 33-year-old Shelley Dufresne faces two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Legal analyst Chick Foret…:
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Both women were originally charged with two counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and it wasn’t immediately clear why the Jefferson Parish case resulted in different charges.

The Baton Rouge Police Department says they are trying to identify a man they believe placed a video camera in a men’s urinal at an office building. Police say the camera was discovered by a man going to the bathroom and cops analyzed the footage and were able to capture a photo of the individual as he was placing it in the urinal.