Scattered heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to roll through Louisiana this weekend. Eric Gill reports…:
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A man was killed and two juveniles were injured in a downtown Shreveport shooting early this morning. Police say the deaceased, 52-year-old Robert Swenson, was likely an innocent bystander when he was gunned down in the Best Western Parking lot after the teens had just been kicked out of a Christmas Party for fighting. The shooting remains under investigation.

US Senator David Vitter sent a letter to campaign supporters Friday morning urging them to go see the movie the Interview. The cyber-attack on Sony Pictures, apparently from communist North Korea, has the conservitive Republican inviting people to see the film to send a message that Americans don’t tolerate such actions. Vitter says please keep in mind that the movie is rated “R” and some people may consider it crude.
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Vitter has also asked President Obama to screen the film at the White House for Congress.

If you’re returning some gifts today there are a few things you shuold know. Cynthia Albert with the Better Business Bureau says they get a lot of calls after Christmas with complaints about stores not taking back items like that sweater that didn’t fit…:
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She says know the return policy beforehand and if you need help you can call the BBB.

Scattered heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to roll through Louisiana this weekend. Gavin Phillips, with the National Weather Service in Slidell, says a Flash Flood Watch is being placed in effect for a majority of southeast Louisiana starting at midnight tonight…:
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Two to five inches of rain is expected, with locally higher amounts possible.

It’s unhappy Christmas present return time and another busy few days at stores and malls as folks exchange or bring back gifts they didn’t like. Cynthia Albert, with the Better Business Bureau says there are a few things to be aware of if you’re making a return. She says first of all you need to find out what the store’s policy is…:
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She says if you’re having trouble returning something and you think you’re entitled to a refund, you can call your local BBB.

US Senator David Vitter is asking Louisianans to go see the movie “The Interview”. The film depicts the assassination of North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and had originally been pulled from release after Sony was hacked apparently by the country. It is now being shown in select theaters and Vitter says it’s important that ALL Americans stand up to dictatorship:
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Vitter says he will be seeing the movie with adult members of his family at Chalmette Movies on Monday.

The Duck Commander Independence Bowl kicks off Saturday afternoon in Shreveport. This year’s matchup sees South Carolina facing off with the University of Miami. Media Relations Director, Stefan (STEF-an) Nolet (NO-lay), says the excitement level has been high for this game since they made the announcement…:
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The game will kickoff at 2:30 and be televised on ABC.

Christmas is over but that doesn’t mean shoppers are done with finding great deals. Michelle Southern reports…

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In Alexandria, a local artist is under arrest accused of shooting and killing his son-in-law. The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office says 64-year-old Tony Forrest is charged with second degree murder in the Wednesday morning death of 45-year-old Tommy Thompson of Alexandria. Authorities say the shooting stemmed from an argument the two men had the previous evening.

After being called a Chihuahua twice by Opelousas State Senator Elbert Guillory, Baton Rouge Representative Ted James decided to create a fake caucus named for the dog. James says members of the Chihuahua caucus simply wore their dog pins for the Louisiana Legislature’s annual holiday party…

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The name calling incident happened on The Jim Engster Show.

Many people are still celebrating on this day after Christmas and experts advise us to continue to take it easy. Michele Many, a clinical social worker with the LSU Department of Psychiatry says it’s perfectly fine to “get away” from the festivities if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed…

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She also says too much alcohol can contribute to seasonal blues.

We’re still in the middle of the Holiday season and experts advise us to continue to take it easy. Michelle Southern reports…

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Lafayette Police say a Christmas Day shooting has left one man dead and injured another. When officers arrived, they found one victim, a 21-year-old male, having been shot in the foot and transported him to a local hospital. A second male victim was found with two gunshot wounds to the torso. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Christmas is over but that doesn’t mean shoppers are done with finding great deals. Louisiana Tech Marketing Professor, Barry Babin, says, if you’re still hunting, you can still find great deals on electronics…

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He says you can still find deals because retailers need to make up for lost sales, if they had a sub par Christmas season, and make room for new merchandise that will arrive in the spring.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs face the University of Illinois in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl on ESPN this afternoon. Senior quarterback Cody Sokol feels the Bulldogs are ready for today’s matchup. Sokol says this football team has done a great job this season responding to losses…

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Kickoff is at noon.

After Opelousas State Senator Elbert Guillory called Representative Ted James a Chihuahua, the Baton Rouge lawmaker decided to create a fake caucus named for the dog. James says the name calling gives elected officials a bad image which is why he wanted to make light of the matter with the chihuahua caucus…

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James passed out about 20 chihuahua pins that were worn at the Louisiana Legislature’s annual holiday party.

It’s the day after Christmas many will hit the stores to return unwanted gifts, but some shoppers aren’t done with looking for great deals. Louisiana Tech Marketing Professor, Barry Babin, says the true post-Christmas shopper knows where to find the best deal…

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He says with the day after Christmas falling on a Friday this year, this is a potentially big weekend for retailers.

With the holiday spirit in full swing folks have plenty of reason to raise their glass in happy toasts, but with that celebration comes a note of caution. Michele Many, a clinical social worker with the LSU Department of Psychiatry says alcohol can contribute to seasonal blues…

cut 6 (13) “and emotionally”

Many says it’s perfectly fine to “get away” from the festivities if you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Louisiana Tech take on the University of Illinois today in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Bulldogs are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Marshall in the Conference USA championship game. Head Coach Skip Holtz says this game is about Tech playing up to their potential…

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Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon and you can watch on ESPN.

Christmas is over but that doesn’t mean shoppers are done with finding great deals. Louisiana Tech Marketing Professor, Barry Babin, says the day after Christmas is a big day for retailers. He says most retailers have a couple of objectives…

cut 3 (12) “in the spring”

Babin says, if you’re looking, you can still find great deals on electronics.

In response to a comment made by Opelousas State Senator Elbert Guillory in which he called Representative Ted James a Chihuahua, the Baton Rouge lawmaker decided to create a feign caucus named for the dog. James said he’s passed out about 20 chihuahua pins but, to be clear, the chihuahua caucus is not an official caucus…

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The incident happened on The Jim Engster Show.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs hit the gridiron this afternoon to take on the University of Illinois in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl. This is Tech’s first bowl appearance since the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl. Head Coach Skip Holtz says his team is focused for today’s game…

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The Illini come into the contest with a 6-6 record after finishing their schedule with two big wins over Penn State and Northwestern. The Bulldogs are 8-5 and coming off a heartbreaking loss to Marshall in the Conference USA championship game. Tech is looking for their first bowl win since 2008. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon and can be seen on ESPN.

2014 will be a year to remember in Louisiana politics. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says it’s his feeling that Edwin Edwards political career was over when he went to federal prison. He says the fact that the former Governor made the runoff had nothing to do with his popularity, but that there was no other significant Democratic candidate in the 6th District race…:
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He also says there were many political careers that ended this year along with Mary Landrieu’s.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office says the suspect in yesterday’s deadly shooting at the Oakwood Center Mall in Gretna has been taken into custody. 25-year-old Gary Francois has been arrested in the death of 24-year-old James Vaughn. Authorities say Vaughn had just made a purchase and turned to walk away when the suspect approached and fired three shots at him.

Soldiers that can’t be home for Christmas are sending wishes to their family in Louisiana like U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Adam Nguyen is stationed at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska…:
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Hunting is a big activity on Christmas Day across Louisiana and there is now a mobile app for hunters. HuntSoft, the App for Hunters, is now available for free in the Apple App Store. HuntSoft’s developer, Randal Nachman, says this started as a website app where hunters could create a map of their property, enter game log data, and more…:
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Nachman says their mission is to help hunters be more successful by helping them capture the data that impacts their ability to be successful.

On this Christmas Day State Police are urging motorists to be extra careful on the road. Many people will be on Louisiana roadways today visiting friends and family. Sgt. Nick Manale says they want this to be a safe time of year for everybody…:
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The 2014 year in Louisiana politics will be one for the history books. Among the notable points — the Republican party finished its return to dominance, Mary Landrieu lost her US-Senate seat and former Governor Edwin Edwards finally ends his hopes of being in public office again. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says then there’s the 5th District Kissing Congressman Vance McAllister…:
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There are many Louisiana soldiers fighting overseas who will not be home with their families today for Christmas, and they’d like to send a message home. Tech Sgt James Lewis sends a holiday greeting to his friends and family in Acadiana…:
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Gas prices dropped another two cents last night to $2.19 cents a gallon statewide for regular according to the American Automobile Association. AAA says this time last year we were paying $3.10.