The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee is in the process of approving a series of tax bills that passed in the House which raise an estimated 615 million dollars. The bills help stave off large cuts to public colleges and health care. Some of them reduce rebate and tax credit programs for businesses. Benton Senator Robert Adley on why these bills need to pass…:
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All of these tax bills head to the Senate Finance Committee for more discussion.

Authorities say the Baton Rouge woman who’s been missing since April was found buried in St. Helena Parish over the weekend and four people, including her ex husband, are arrested in connection with the murder. Detectives believe 64-year-old Hamid Ghassemi paid an employee and two other men $10,000 to kill 54-year-old Tahereh Ghassemi. An autopsy reveals cause of death was gunshot wound to the head. The four suspects are being held without bond.

Governor Bobby Jindal has formed an exploratory committee in efforts to help him in deciding whether or not to make a presidential run in 2016. Eric Gill reports…:
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Ruston Police say an 11-year-old boy died after being trapped in a car swept away during flash flooding which has plagued most of north Louisiana. He was apparently being driven to school by his grandmother who was able to escape the car along with another 7-year-old but the 11 year old did not make it out. Flash Flood warnings are posted throughout north Louisiana.

Governor Bobby Jindal has formed an exploratory committee in efforts to help him in deciding whether or not to make a presidential run in 2016. Jindal has stated he will make a final decision by the end of June. Michael Henderson, Director of LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, says this is not a surprising move…:
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This is seen as a sign of how serious Jindal is about running for the GOP presidential nomination.

East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Beau Clark says the cause of the death of Tahera Ghassemi, who has been missing since early April, is a gunshot wound to the head. Detectives believe the woman’s ex husband paid three men $10,000 to murder her. State Police Col Mike Edmonson says this is pathetic…:
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The four are being held without bond.

Cops say an 11-year-old died in flood waters in Ruston today as the area deals with flash flood watches and warnings issued across north Louisiana. Jason Hansford with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says there have been reports of up to 5 inches of rain already in the Monroe area…:
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He says there were reports the Shreveport area got up to six inches of rain this morning.

Officials in Tangipahoa Parish say a tornado that touched down Sunday in Tickfaw injured three people and damaged several homes. The National Weather Service says the twister had wind speeds of up to 110-miles-per-hour. They say three homes were destroyed or had major damage.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s office arrests four including the ex-husband of a 54-year-old woman who has been missing sine early April in an apparent murder for hire plot. Detectives believe 64-year-old Hamid Ghassemi hired a man who worked for him, 33-year-old Daniel Richter of Walker and two other associates, to kill Tahereh Ghassemi. State Police Col Mike Edmonson says the confessions were chilling…:
CUT 9 (06) “no remorse”
Apparently the three suspects who shot and killed the woman split $10,000 paid to them by Hamid Ghassemi to kill his ex-wife. They are all being held without bond.

Governor Bobby Jindal announces the formation of a presidential exploratory committee to examine his chances at The White House. The committee also launched BobbyJindal.com seeking donations and supporters. On the web page Jindal says “we must fight to make sure the next generation is not the first generation to inherit fewer opportunities than their parents.

Flash Flood Watches and Warnings have been issued across north Louisiana as heavy rains have pounded the area throughout the morning. Cops say an 11-year-old drowned when his grandmother’s car got caught up in flood waters in Ruston. Jason Hansford with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says they’ve had reports in the Shreveport area of up to six inches of rain this morning…:
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May is Foster Care Month which is why the Department of Children and Family Services is making an extra push to recruit foster families. Scott Carwile reports…:
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The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office says the body of a woman who’s been missing since early April has been found in St. Helena Parish and four people, including her ex husband, have been arrested in an apparent murder-for-hire plot. Investigators believe 54-year-old Tahera Ghassemi’s former husband, 64-year-old Hamid Ghassemi, paid three men $10,000 for the murder. Additional details are being released at this hour.

The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee meets this morning to talk about the revenue generating bills sent to them from the House. Among items up for discussion are reductions in business tax benefits and a scaling back of film and solar tax credits. Jeremy Alford of La-Politics.com says the Senate will likely look at limiting those two programs further and putting a higher amount on the cigarette tax..:
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The House passed 11 bills that would increase revenues by 615-million dollars.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission begins a statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaign today focusing on back seat passengers, pickup trucks, and low compliance areas. Eric Gill reports…:
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Governor Bobby Jindal announces W.R. Grace & Co. announced Advanced Refining Technologies will make a capital investment of $135 million dollars to build a residue hydro-processing catalyst production plant at the existing Grace manufacturing facility near Lake Charles. The company will retain 295 jobs and the project will create 30 new direct jobs.

May is Foster Care Month which is why the Department of Children and Family Services is making an extra push to recruit foster families…

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State Police say a three vehicle crash on I-49 in Evangeline Parish killed a Covington couple. They say one car became disabled in the roadway after being struck by lightning. A wrecker truck following that car stopped in time to avoid a collision, but a third car ran into the wrecker. The driver of that car, 22-year-old Austin Jones, and a passenger, 24-year-old Destinee Jones, died as a result of their injuries. A 1-year-old in their car was restrained in a child safety seat and suffered minor injuries.

Today begins a statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaign focusing on back seat passengers, pickup trucks, and low compliance areas. Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Executive Director Lt. Col. John LeBlanc says they provide extra funding for law enforcement to increase patrols through the campaign…

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Their 2014 seat belt survey showed 84-percent of Louisiana motorists buckled up, the highest rate to date.

17-year-old Koryn Hawthorne of Abbeville will compete in the finals of NBC’s “The Voice”. Hawthorne had to battle another contestant to advance and a Twitter vote moved her into tonight’s finals. Hawthorne’s principal at Lighthouse Christian School, Tiffany Spraggins says their students were showing teachers how to set up Twitter accounts so they could all vote for #TeamKoryn…

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The finals are tonight at seven.

Today, the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee will take up the revenue generating bills that were approved by the House. La-politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says with less than a month to go in the session, there’s a lot of work ahead for lawmakers…

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He says while lawmakers are busy looking at ways to raise revenue, they also have to find a tax offset to satisfy Governor Bobby Jindal’s concerns about increased taxes.

This is Foster Care Month and the Department of Children and Family Services is recruiting foster families. DCFS Policy Advisor Karen Hebert says children do best in families and by having foster homes in all areas of the state, children in foster care can stay close to home and in the same school…

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They’re especially looking for homes who can take larger sibling groups or children with special needs.

Officials in Tangipahoa Parish say a tornado that touched down Sunday in Tickfaw injured three people and damaged several homes. The National Weather Service says the twister had windspeeds of up to 110-miles-per-hour. They say three homes were destroyed or had major damage. Two people received what is described as minor injuries. A third injured person was transported to a local hospital. It’s reported that more than two dozen people were displaced because of the tornado.

17-year-old Koryn Hawthorne of Abbeville performs tonight in the finals of NBC’s “The Voice”. Michelle Southern reports…

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Today, the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee will discuss the revenue generating bills approved by the House. The tax bills up for debate would reduce tax breaks businesses currently enjoy and scale back the film tax and solar tax credit programs. Jeremy Alford, with la-politics-dot-com, says the Senate will likely look at limiting those two programs further, plus raising the cigarette tax to a higher amount than agreed upon by the House….

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The lower chamber passed 11 bills that would increase revenues by 615-million dollars.

17-year-old Koryn Hawthorne of Abbeville performs tonight in the finals of NBC’s “The Voice”. Her principal at Lighthouse Christian School, Tiffany Spraggins, says the excitement on campus ranges from the youngest in class to the oldest adult…

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The show airs at 7pm.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission begins a statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaign today that runs through the end of the month. Executive Director Lt. Col. John LeBlanc says this campaign is designed, in part to raise the compliance rate for back seat passengers. He says since the state expanded its seat belt law to cover back seat passengers in 2009, the compliance rate has doubled to 55-percent…

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He says you should expect to see extra law enforcement patrols throughout the campaign.

May is Foster Care Month and the Department of Children and Family Services is recruiting foster families. DCFS Policy Advisor Karen Hebert says this month, more than 4300 children will be served by Louisiana’s foster care system and just 2,000 certified foster homes are available. She says that’s a huge deficit for their agency…

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To find out more about becoming a foster parent, visit www-dot-dcfs-dot-la-dot-gov-slash-foster.

The Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee will discuss today the revenue generating bills that were approved by the House. The lower chamber passed 11 bills that would increase revenues by 615-million dollars. Jeremy Alford, with la-politics-dot-com, says Senate leadership wants to raise even more revenue to offset a one-point-six billion dollar budget gap…

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He says with less than a month to go in the session, there’s a lot of work ahead for lawmakers.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission announces a statewide “Click It or Ticket” campaign focusing on back seat passengers, pickup trucks, and low compliance areas. Executive Director Lt. Col. John LeBlanc says this is a statewide campaign, but they will focus efforts in areas of the state where seat belt compliance is the lowest…

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Seat belt compliance was lowest in the Alexandria area, 71-percent, followed by Monroe with a 75-percent seat belt use rate.

The Department of Children and Family Services is recruiting Foster Families, especially those who can take larger sibling groups or children with special needs. DCFS Policy Advisor Karen Hebert says because of unsafe living conditions at home, they regularly have children who need a new place to stay. She says children enter foster care almost daily…

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May is Foster Care Month which is why an extra push to recruit families is made. To find out more about becoming a foster parent, visit www-dot-dcfs-dot-la-dot-gov-slash-foster.