With Common Core testing scheduled for March, some families have decided on opting their kids out of taking the tests. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 2 (28) “reporting”

Congressman Bill Cassidy has introduced legislation today that would ban taxpayer funds from being used for oil paintings of elected officials including the president, vice president or members of Congress. Cassidy says tax dollars should go to building roads or improving schools, not oil paintings very few people ever see or care about.

Four are dead after an overnight fire in Avoyelles Parish. State Fire Marshall Butch Browning says a father, grandmother, son, and daughter all perished in the blaze. The victims’ ages range from 10 to 73-years-old. Browning says firefighters tried to do a search of the mobile home, but the flames were too intense…:
CUT 7 (10) “the fire starting”
Browning says they believe the four victims were asleep at the time of the fire. The cause is under investigation.

High school principals vote to keep the current split between public and private schools that exists with the football playoffs and allow the new executive director of the LHSAA, Eddie Bonine, to develop solutions that could possibly bring the classes back together. Bonine says his first step will be to organize a committee to examine the issues that caused the split…:
CUT 12 (10) “many, many years”

With Common Core testing scheduled for March, some families have decided on opting their kids out of taking the tests. BESE member Lottie Beebe says, according to information provided by the Department of Education, this will cause negative implications…:
CUT 3 (09) “and school systems”
So far, only a handful of families have opted their kids out of Common Core testing, but more are expected to join so Beebe says BESE needs to hold a special meeting to address this issue.

A proposal to split postseason play between other sports than just high school football failed at today’s Louisiana High School Athletic Association annual converence. The proposal tried to convince fellow members of the LHSAA that the problems that led to the split in football exist with other sports. But new LHSAA executive director Eddie Bonine urged schools to give him more time to come up with a solution that keeps seeks to keep everyone happy.

Political pundits say Governor Bobby Jindal is likely happy to hear that Mitt Romney has decided not to seek the White House spot in 2016. Romney, who would have been running for president for the third time, made the announcement to supporters today. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says anytime one of the main candidates drops out of a presidential race it’s a victory for all of the remaining contenders…:
CUT 11 (11) “to go”

Checking on today’s gas prices, it’s now been an entire week that they’ve stopped dropping. The American Automobile Association says the current statewide average for a gallon of regular is still $1.87.

Mitt Romney announced Friday he’s decided not to run for president next year, so what could that mean for Governor Bobby Jindal? 2016 would have been Romney’s third run at the White House. UL-Lafayette Political Science professor Pearson Cross says this is one less main-stream contender that Jindal has to compete with…:
CUT 9 (10) “conservative wing”
Cross says Romney also didn’t want Jindal as a Vice President so this might make the Governor a more viable contender to the new Republican nominee.

The Louisiana Lottery says we’ve now hit the biggest Powerball jackpot of 2015 with tomorrow’s drawing worth a whopping $298 million dollars. They say we haven’t had a big jackpot winner in Louisiana since May 2013 so we’re due. Players are reminded that there are many prizes on the Powerball ticket and it only takes one to win. The current jackpot has a cash value of about $198.4 million dollars.

State Fire Marshal’s officials are investigating a Thursday night mobile home fire in Marksville that has left four dead. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

Louisiana 6th District Congressman Garret Graves was named Vice Chair for the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week. Graves will have jurisdiction over the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agencies — both of which oversee programs of concern to the Subcommittee.

After more Louisianians have been hospitalized and even died as a result of synthetic marijuana, Governor Bobby Jindal has announced the ban of multiple new synthetic marijuana compounds. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 1 (28) “reporting”

US Senator David Vitter says he’s introduced legislation called the Steve Gleason Act of 2015 in the US Senate. He says the bipartisan proposal, which is endorsed by Team Gleason, would help patients diagnosed with ALS live more independent lives. Gleason was Vitter’s guest earlier this month at the President’s State of the Union in Washington D.C.

State Fire Marshal’s officials are investigating a fire in Avoyelles Parish that has left four dead. Fire Marshall Butch Browning says the fire occurred just before midnight Thursday night at a mobile home in Marksville…:
CUT 6 (07) “in this fire”
The victims’ ages range from 10 to 73-years-old. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Super Bowl is Sunday and a study out of Tulane finds that cities who have teams playing in the big game see a spike in flu deaths. Researcher Charles Stoecker says an interesting aspect of the study found the host Super Bowl location does not see an increase in flu…:
CUT 9 (10) “Super Bowl contenders”
He says based on county-level stats, there was an 18-percent increase in flu deaths among those over the age of 65 and in cities whose teams were in the Super Bowl.

A new study shows, on a per-capita basis, Louisiana ranks third nationally for inappropriate teacher-student relationships. Terry Abbott, a former chief of staff at the US Department of Ed and now chair of Drive West Communications, says school district leaders need to get serious about this problem and so do lawmakers, who can pass legislation to create stronger penalties for offenders…

cut 15 (07) “jail time”

Abbott says there’s already been six reported cases in 2015, which is disturbing.

A huge $298 million jackpot is up for grabs in tomorrow night’s Powerball drawing. Louisiana Lottery spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says when the jackpot gets high like this they find a lot of people play who don’t normally buy tickets…

cut 12 (09) “one to win”

Saturday night’s jackpot has a cash value of $198.4 million dollars.

The Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man after the shooting injury of his son. Authorities say, during an altercation, 41-year-old Rendaill Proffit of New Iberia allegedly fired a gun at his son striking him in the leg. The victim was later treated and released from a local hospital. Proffit is facing charges of attempted second degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and illegal discharge of a firearm.

A study from Tulane suggests residents in Boston and Seattle better take steps to protect themselves from the flu. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 2 (30) “reporting”

A study looking at inappropriate teacher-student relationships finds Louisiana has the third highest number of cases in the country on a per-capita basis. Scott Carwile has the story…

cut 3 (30) “reporting”

The State Fire Marshal’s is investigating a fire in Avoyelles Parish that has left four dead. They say the fire occurred just before midnight last night at a mobile home in Marksville. Authorities have confirmed a father, grandmother, son, and daughter all perished in the blaze. The identity of the victims have not been released. The fire remains under investigation.

Governor Bobby Jindal has announced the ban of three new synthetic marijuana compounds, “PX 1″, PX 2″, and “MDMB-CHMICA”. Dr. Mark Ryan, Director of the Louisiana Poison Control Center, says if you are concerned that a product contains an illegal substance, just look for the words “Not For Human Consumption” on the back of the package…

cut 6 (06) “drug in it”

He says there have been several deaths in the state in the last few months related to synthetic marijuana, sold under names like “Blue Diamond” and “Mojo”.

Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is worth a whopping $298 million dollars. Louisiana Lottery spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says the last big jackpot winner in Louisiana was from a May 2013 drawing. She says since the match 5 prize has increased to a million dollars we’ve had plenty of those winners in Louisiana…

cut 11 (09) “one million dollars”

She says the current jackpot has a cash value of about $198.4 million dollars.

After more Louisianians have been hospitalized and even died as a result of synthetic marijuana, multiple new synthetic marijuana compounds have now been banned. The new banned compounds are called “PX 1″, PX 2″, and “MDMB-CHMICA”. Dr. Mark Ryan, Director of the Louisiana Poison Control Center, says there have been several deaths in the state in the last few months related to synthetic marijuana…

cut 5 (06) “in particular”

Ryan feels Louisiana is one of the most pro-active states in the nation in quickly regulating these substances once they are identified.

Louisiana ranks third nationally on a per-capita basis for inappropriate teacher-student relationships according to a recent study. Terry Abbott, a former chief of staff at the US Department of Ed and now chair of Drive West Communications, says there’s also a higher percentage of inappropriate relationships involving female teachers than the national average….

cut 14 (08) “other states”

He says they found 23 reported cases of inappropriate teacher-student relationships in the state in 2014.

The Louisiana Lottery says we’ve now hit the biggest Powerball jackpot of 2015 with tomorrow’s drawing worth a whopping $298 million dollars. Spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says the current jackpot has been running since the end of November. She says the last big jackpot winner in Louisiana was from a May 2013 drawing so we’re due…

cut 10 (07) “Powerball game”

Chopin says the current jackpot has a cash value of about $198.4 million dollars.

A Tulane University study discovers that cities who have teams in the Super Bowl see a spike in flu deaths. Researcher Charles Stoecker, says study also reveals the effect is worse in years when the flu strain is more vicious like this year’s strain…

cut 8 (03) “Super Bowl”

The study showed, based on county-level statistics, there was an 18-percent increase in flu deaths among those over the age of 65 in cities whose teams were in the Super Bowl that year.

Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday and former LSU wide receiver Brandon Lafell goes after his first Super Bowl ring. Lafell and the rest of the Patriot receivers will go up against the best defensive secondary in the NFL. Plus the Seahawks like to talk, but Lafell says this isn’t a trash talking contest…

cut 16 (22) “this offense”

Other Louisiana connections to the Super Bowl: Former Louisiana Tech punter Ryan Allen is also a Patriot. Northwestern State product Jeremy Lane and former LSU Tiger cornerback Tharold Simon are Seahawks.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees and former LSU star and Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Junior set the Guiness World Record for the most one-handed catches in one minute. Beckham caught 33 passes with one hand from Brees as part of ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage.

Lousiana Tech climbed back into a first place tie in Conference USA with a 69-56 win over Western Kentucky last night in Ruston. Raheem Appleby and Alex Hamilton each scored 17 as the Bulldogs are now in a dead heat with the Hilltopper atop the conference standings with a 7-1 league record. Tech, who have won 23 straight home games, will host Marshall, Saturday afternoon.

In the Sun Belt, UL-Lafayette has now lost 5 of their last six games after they blew a 10 point halftime lead to lose to South Alabama 89-85. Shawn Long scored 26 and Kasey Shepherd came off the bench to add 20 as the Ragin’ Cajuns fall to 11-10 overall and 5-5 in league play. The Cajuns travel to San Marcos to take on Texas State Saturday.

ULM overcame a 10 point half time deficit to defeat Troy 58-55 in overtime last night. Majok Deng and Mack Foster scored 15 points apiece for the Warhawks who are now tied for second in the league. ULM will host South Alabama Saturday.