The U.S. Senate passes a measure that grants 500 million dollars in federal disaster aid. Emelie Gunn has more…

CUT 1 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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The FBI’s 2015 Uniform Crime Report finds Louisiana once again has the highest murder rate of any state in the nation. Halen Doughty has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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Body cam footage of a police shooting that took the life of an autistic 6-year-old last November has finally been released by the judge overseeing the case. Halen Doughty has more…

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The U.S. Senate passes legislation that grants 500 million dollars in federal disaster assistance. About 400 million dollars of that will go to Louisiana for flood relief. Republican Senator David Vitter says this is just a start, more federal aid is expected in December. He says this is great news for thousands of Louisianans struggling to recover from the historic flooding event.

cut 4  (08)  “in December”

Vitter says the other 100 million dollars of aid will assist other states with natural disaster damage. He says his colleagues from other parts of the country had a hard time understanding the level of destruction that took place in Louisiana.

Cut 5  (10)  “overcome that”

Vitter says this money should first go to homeowners who were not in the flood zone and received water damage. He says it’s not uncommon for a middle to low class family to have over 100-thousand dollars of uninsured damages.

Cut 6 (07) “flood zone”

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New data from the FBI finds Louisiana’s murder rate is once again higher than any other state in the country. The state recorded 10.3 murders per 100-thousand people in 2015, a slight increase from 2014. Louisiana has had the highest murder rate in the country since 1989. Criminologist Dr. Peter Scharf with the LSU School of Public Health says the state’s high incarceration rate contributes to the large number of murders.

CUT 7 (11)  “in the city”

New Orleans has the highest rate in the state, followed by Monroe and Baton Rouge. And the Crescent City ranks 8^th in the country for murder rates among major metropolitan areas. Scharf says there’s a national trend for increasing murder rates, but he believes Louisiana is leading the trend, not following it.

Cut 8 (09) “way it is”

Scharf says a murder costs the state between $1 million and $6 million. He says preventative measures are much more affordable than the costs of violent crimes.

Cut 9 (08)  “well before”

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The body cam video has been released of the police shooting that left a 6-year-old autistic boy dead in Marksville. The graphic video shows deputy city marshal Derrick Stafford open firing into a vehicle, where 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis was seated in the passenger seat. Legal analyst Tim Meche says it doesn’t look good for Stafford.

Cut 10 (10) “thus far”

The video of the shooting that occurred last November was played Wednesday in the courtroom at Stafford’s hearing. Meche says the video probably would have been released sooner, if there was more media attention around the incident.

cut 11 (05) “time ago”

The father, Christopher Few, was critically wounded in the shooting. Defense attorneys have said Few rammed his car into the deputy’s vehicle before he fired, but Meche says the video does not show the vehicle used as a weapon at the time of the shooting.

cut 12 (05) “their bounds”

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A Bossier Parish School Board committee has decided not to let MTV film a TV show at two schools in their system. School Board member Dennis Bamburg is the chairman of the Buildings and Grounds Committee and he says Barcroft Productions wanted to film three students, because they have chosen practice abstinence.

Cut 13 (08) “involved in”

Barcroft has produced shows like Young, Trans and In Love, Inside the Ku Klux Klan, and Body Bizarre. Bamburg says the show would have supposedly centered on the students decision to be celibate, but they didn’t believe that’s how it would air on MTV.

cut 14 (10)  “over that”

Bamburg says anything that uses school facilities has to come before the committee. He says the school system doesn’t want any part of the show, because the movie industry and schools don’t mix.

Cut 15 (08) “school system”

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Louisiana Tech hosts UTEP this Saturday night in Ruston in match-up of 1-and-3 teams. The Bulldogs have lost their last two games, including a 38-34 defeat to Middle Tennessee. Tech Coach Skip Holtz says his team is a work in progress that is working to get better….

Cut 16  (17)  “on Saturday”

Holtz says they don’t have time to lick their wounds as Miners bring one of the top running backs in the country to Joe Aillet Stadium. Aaron Jones is averaging seven yards a carry. Holtz is glad to be back at home after playing on the road the last two weeks…

Cut 17 (20)  “home”

Holtz says the defense needs to play better if they are going to string some victories together. Some fans in Bulldog nation would rather see redshirt fresman J’Mar Smith as the quarterback. But Holtz says Ryan Higgins is his guy, especially after throwing for 504 and three touchdowns last week at Middle Tennessee…

Cut 18 (24) “pretty impressive”

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The Saints seek their first win of the season this Sunday in San Diego where the Black and Gold take on Quarterback Drew Brees’ old team, the Chargers. Brees says it would be great if the team was rewarded for all of their hard work with a win….

Cut 19 (13) “progresses”

The Saints are 0-3 and have lost by a combined 17 points. Brees believes this team is just a few plays away from having a winning record…

Cut 20 (14) “things will happen”

Governor John Bel Edwards tells the newly formed Restore Louisiana Task Force it has the huge responsibility of helping Louisiana flood victims get their lives back together. Michelle Southern has more…

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The creepy clown trend has now reached Louisiana as multiple sightings have been reported to police. Emelie Gunn has more…

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Three people are dead, including a West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Deputy, following a double murder- suicide in Point Coupee parish. Point Coupee Sheriff Bud Torres says a gunfight erupted yesterday afternoon between Deputy Donna LeBlanc and her neighbor, 29-year-old Gregory Phillips. Torres says the deadly shootings took place in the deputy’s yard.

CUT 3 (12)  “on himself”

Phillips, LeBlanc, and 21-year-old Carli LeBlanc were pronounced dead. Torres says they are still not sure exactly how the gunfight began, but the relationship between LeBlanc and her neighbor was strained.

CUT 4 (09)  “pleasant relationship”

LeBlanc is married to a Louisiana State Trooper, and their 9-year-old daughter reported the incident. The deadly gunfight reportedly occurred on LeBlanc’s day off while her husband was at a training exercise. Torres says investigators spent over 9 hours processing the scene, and the investigation is ongoing.

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Around the country there have been many sightings of creepy clowns and now the trend has reached Louisiana. Covington Police Chief Tim Lentz says a group of elementary aged students claimed to see clowns in the woods behind their school. He says it turned out to be a hoax after the kids saw stories online, but authorities are taking incidents like this very seriously.

CUT 6 (10) “terrorizing”

Another clown sighting was reported at a Morgan City business Tuesday night. Capt. Betty Augman says by the time officers arrived on the scene, no one was found wearing a costume but they will investigate all complaints involving creepy clowns.

CUT 7 (06) “to arrest”

The clerk at the Paulina Matherne’s supermarket where the clowns were spotted says she is scared of the clowns returning, because you never know the mindset of the people dressed up.

CUT 8 (05) “do come”

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Governor John Bel Edwards tells the Restore Louisiana Task Force they have the important job of helping flood victims get back on their feet. The task force, which was appointed by the governor, is in charge of determining how federal flood recovery dollars will be spent. The state could receive billions of dollars and Edwards says it must be used appropriately.

CUT 9 (07) “return home”

President Barack Obama has asked Congress to approve two-point-six billion dollars for Louisiana’s flood recovery. Edwards says early estimates show there was $8.7 billion in damage from the August flood, and that doesn’t include public infrastructure. He says another 29-thousand homes were damaged in the March flood. He says the task force has to do something to help these people.

cut 10 (08)  “to flood”

There’s legislation up for debate in the Senate that would provide 500-million dollars in federal flood aid for multiple states. Edwards says it is likely Louisiana will receive the bulk of Community Development Block Grant Funding in the lame duck session after the November election.

Cut 11 (11) “we need”

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State Superintendent of Education John White is eager to make changes to the way public schools are rated as a way to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act. The federal law targets increasing student achievement. White says Louisiana is developing a plan to be approved by the federal government by next year. And one of their ideas is fewer standardized tests…

cut 12 (10) “of tests”

White says to reduce testing they are requiring that state testing never take up more than 2-percent of all instructional minutes in a school year. He says they are addressing that Louisiana students too often graduate without the fundamental skills necessary to succeed in college or the workplace.

Cut 13 (10)  “accountability system “

White says the framework also proposes that the accountability system do more to honor the progress of all students, even if the student doesn’t receive high marks. He adds schools need particular support in identifying specific learning needs early.

cut 14 (09)  “do it”

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A man has been arrested after walking near an elementary school with an assault rifle. Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Don Coppola says they received numerous calls yesterday that 25-year-old Carl Willis was walking down the street carrying an AR-15.

cut 15 (10) “with officers”

Coppola says they aren’t sure why Willis was carrying the gun, and all he told the arresting officers is that he has the right to open carry the assault rifle. Coppola says citizens do have that right, but not on school property.

cut 16 (06) “this was”

Coppola says Willis faces one charge of carrying a weapon on school grounds.

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