Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne told state lawmakers today that the state finished last fiscal year with a 313-million dollar deficit and the budget gap could keep growing, because tax collections continue to lag. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says it looks like the state’s budget problems are not going away, but the governor has put together a panel to try to come up with a way to stabilize the budget…
cut 14 (07) “…Louisiana budget”
Cross says Edwards has blamed much of the state’s budget woes on the previous administration, but eventually the public will start putting the blame on him.

The US Justice Department is providing a one-million dollar grant to Baton Rouge law enforcement agencies to help them pay for all of the overtime costs that were incurred as a result of the police shooting protests. Police officers and sheriff deputies worked long hours after the shooting of Alton Sterling.

A Korean War veteran, who died over 65 years ago, is being laid to rest at this hour just outside of Crowley. Army Sergeant First Class Lawrence Smith died 65 years ago as a prisoner of war. Alex Juan, with the state department of Veteran’s Affairs says Smith is receiving full military honors…
cut 8 (06) “…away gets”
Juan says it’s a tedious process when it comes to identifying and transporting the remains of US soldiers who died in military camps.

The Republican Party in Louisiana has volunteers in Florida this weekend to help campaign for Donald Trump. The Sunshine State is looking at an extremely close race between Trump and Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Louisiana GOP Chair Roger Villere…:
CUT 4 (08) “we have to win Florida”
Villere says they aren’t worried about Trump not getting the nomination in Louisiana.

A University of New Orleans Survey Research Center Poll found 64-percent of Republicans are unhappy with the direction the state is headed, compared to only 32-percent of Democrats. UNO Pollster Ed Chervenak..:
Cut 10 (09) “going well”
Overall 51-percent are pessimistic about the state’s future.

More bad budget news for Louisiana as another round of cuts could be coming. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Republican Party in Louisiana is so sure Republican Donald Trump has locked up the votes here, they are sending its volunteers to Florida — a battleground which accounts for 29 electoral votes. Party chair Roger Villere says they’ve already had GOP members from Louisiana in the Sunshine State rotating in and out…:
Cut 5 (10) “for their country”
He says they believe it’s important to be there because the best path to a Trump presidency is to win Florida.

Relatives of a 6-year-old autistic boy who was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Marksville filed a federal lawsuit against the central Louisiana town where two deputy city marshals opened fire on his father’s car. The suit claims Marksville city officials didn’t properly train deputies on the use of deadly force. It also says the accused didn’t go anything to help Jeremy Mardis, they just searched for gloves. The city of Marksville has no comment on the suit.

Just over half of the Louisiana residents polled say the state is heading in the wrong direction. A University of New Orleans Survey Research Center surveyed about 600 likely voters and 51-percent are pessimistic about the state’s future. But UNO Pollster Ed Chervenak says 35-percent say the state is moving in the right direction and that’s a 15-percent increase over last year…:
Cut 9 (09) “a result”
The survey also found Governor John Bel Edwards’ approval rating is at 56-percent.

The Baton Rouge Police Department says the man they believe shot and critically injured his wife before killing himself had been suffering from depression. They say 34-year-old Tyronne Cincore fired several rounds into his wife’s chest, then shot himself once in the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Cincore’s wife was transported to a local hospital with life threatening injuries.

A Korean War veteran who died 65 years ago has finally been returned to Crowley to be laid to rest. Emelie Gunn has more…:
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

A Jena mother has been arrested for the death of her six-year-old daughter who perished in a house fire earlier this week. The state Fire Marhsal’s Office says they’ve learned the mother was shooting up drugs in an abandoned house when the fire started. Twenty-nine-year-old Wendy Blasingame has been charged with negligent homicide.

The Republican Party in Louisiana is sending volunteers to Florida to help campaign for Donald Trump. The Sunshine State is looking at an extremely close race between Trump and Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. Louisiana GOP Party Chair Roger Villere…:
CUT 4 (08) “we have to win Florida”
Villere says they aren’t worried about Trump not getting the nomination in Louisiana.

In a University of New Orleans poll on the US Senate race, Republican John Kennedy still leads at 22% and fellow GOP candidate Charles Boustany is tied with Democrat Foster Campbell for second place at 15-percent. UNO pollster Ed Chervenak says if Campbell wants to surpass Boustany and get in the runoff, he’ll have to take votes away from Democrat Caroline Fayard..:
Cut 1 (10) “his side”

The Baton Rouge Police Department is investigating an apparent attempted murder-suicide incident where a husband allegedly shot and critically injured his wife, then killed himself. They say the husband is identified as 34-year-old Tyronne Cincore, and the wife is 35-year-old Sereathia.

A Korean War veteran from Crowley is finally laid to rest in his Louisiana hometown today. Army Sgt. First Class Lawrence Smith died 65 years ago in a prisoner of war camp in North Korea. Alex Juan with the State Department of Veteran’s Affairs says they are so happy to welcome Smith home. She hopes this brings his family peace…:
Cut 6 (08) “some peace”
Juan says they are able to identify remains by using DNA testing now.

Louisiana agencies and colleges are once again being asked to prepare for budget cuts of up to 10% of their state financing to close a $313 million dollar deficit. The shortfall is from the budget year that ended June 30th.

The Republican Party in Louisiana is so sure Donald Trump has locked up the presidential votes here, they are sending its volunteers to Florida — a battleground which accounts for 29 electoral votes. Party chair Roger Villere says it’s part of a nationwide effort among GOP members to go door to door in the Sunshine State…:
cut 3 (09) “…win Florida”

The LSU AgCenter will be talking to potential private investors today about its plan to grow medical marijuana. LSU Vice President for Agriculture, Dr. Bill Richardson, says it will take just over $11 million total to grow the prescription cannabis…:
Cut 9 (10) “to do this”
The AgCenter is not using state dollars to finance the growing process.

A Jena mother has been arrested for the death of her six-year-old daughter who died in a house fire earlier this week. Chief Deputy of the State Fire Marshal’s office, Brant Thompson, says they’ve learned the mother was shooting up drugs in an abandon house, when the fire started…
cut 12 (08) “…methamphetamine”
Twenty-nine-year-old Wendy Blasingame has been charged with negligient homicide.

The first of three controlled burns to get rid of explosive material stored at Camp Minden in Webster Parish takes place at 11 AM this morning. Colonel Ed Bush, with the Louisiana National Guard, says they do not anticipate any problems with any of these explosions…
cut 15 (10) “…is safe”
The first burn will consiste of 820 pounds of Clean Burning . A second burn is scheduled for Sunday.

The LSU AgCenter will pitch its plan to grow the state’s medical marijuana today at a public meeting that will be attended by potential private investors. LSU Vice President for Agriculture, Dr. Bill Richardson, says they need outside businesses to assist with the growing, shipping, storing, and securing of the medical cannabis…:
Cut 8 (09) “going on”
The AgCenter is not using state dollars to finance the growing process.

Tragic story out of Jena. The State Fire Marshal’s Office says a 6 year old little girl died in a fire, and her mother has been arrested in connection with the death. Chief Deputy Brant Thompson says Ayla Breeland’s mom wasn’t home at the time, and investigators were only able to speak to her hours after the fire had been put out…:
cut 11 (10) “intoxication”
29-year-old Wendy Blasingame is booked with negligent homicide.

Workers at Camp Minden will begin burning off volatile explosives stored in three bunkers, the first one going today. Col. Ed Bush with the Louisiana National Guard Facility in Webster Parish says they expect the unstable CBI to ignite and burn up quickly, but they are ready for anything…:
cut 14 (10) “after the fact”
The second bunker will be burned on Sunday, and the third will be ignited November 5.

Jefferson Parish District Attorney Paul Connick says a grand jury has returned an indictment for first-degree murder against Joshua Every for the killing of Raising Canes manager Taylor Friloux in Kenner. He said in a news release that his office has decided to seek the death penalty. Friloux died on June 29th after being stabbed multiple times during an armed robbery of the business.

At a public meeting today, the LSU AgCenter will pitch its medical marijuana plan to potential investors. Halen Doughty has more…:
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

Records continue to be broken in Louisiana after three days of early voting in the 2016 Presidential election. According to JMC Analytics, as of yesterday, previous early voting periods don’t even compare to the nearly 230,000 people who have thus far already cast a ballot. That’s a 67% increase over 2012.

Republican John Kennedy is shown in another poll to have a strong lead in the US Senate Race at 22-percent. It’s out of the University of New Orleans and UNO pollster Ed Chervenak says in order for Republican Charles Boustany to make the runoff over #2 in the poll, Democrat Foster Campbell, he’ll likely have to go on the attack…:
CUT 5 (08) “Boustany campaign”
Boustany and Campbell are tied for second at 15-percent in the UNO poll.

Today, Camp Minden officials will begin burning off volatile explosives that are stored in three bunkers at the Louisiana National Guard Facility in Webster Parish. Col. Ed Bush says they plan on burning one of three bunkers today….:
Cut 13 (08) “the bunker”
He says there are 200-thousand pounds of explosives left of the 320-thousand pounds that have been stored at Camp Minden. Today’s explosion will be conducted between 11 am and 1 pm.

The LSU AgCenter will be talking to potential private investors today about its plan to grow medical marijuana. LSU Vice President for Agriculture, Dr. Bill Richardson, says it will take just over $11 million total to grow the prescription cannabis…:
Cut 9 (10) “to do this”
The AgCenter is not using state dollars to finance the growing process.

Louisiana agencies and colleges are once again being asked to prepare for budget cuts of up to 10% of their state financing to close a $313 million dollar deficit. The shortfall from the budget year that ended June 30th is due largely in part to lower than expected business tax collections. The Edwards Administration says it hasn’t yet decided how to deal with the hole, but they want to hear from different departments about what cuts of that size would make their operation look like.

A mother has been arrested in the death of her 6-year-old daughter who perished in a fire in Jena early Wednesday morning while her mom was gone shooting up drugs, according to investigators. Chief Deputy Brant Thompson with the State Fire Marshal’s Office says they found illegally energized electrical wires where Ayla Breeland was sleeping…:
CUT 10 (08) “Ayla’s”
29-year-old Wendy Blasingame is charged with negligent homicide.

Another statewide poll has Republican John Kennedy as the front-runner in Louisiana’s US Senate race. Jeff Palermo reports…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”