An Orleans Parish criminal court judge rules that the jury in the Cardell Hayes murder trial will be sequestered. Hayes is accused of killing former-Saints player Will Smith after a car accident on April 9th. Legal analyst Chick Foret says there will be a lot of media coverage of the trial, and the judge wants to prevent any potential bias…:
Cut 9 (11) “the evidence”
The trial is set to begin December 5th.

The critically injured East Baton Rouge Parish deputy shot in a July ambush has been moved to a state-of-the-art rehab hospital in Texas. Deputy Nick Tullier was one of six officers hit during the attack in Baton Rouge on July 17th that claimed the lives of three other cops. Wednesday morning, Tullier received a police escort to the airport in Baton Rouge where he was taken to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston — one of the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals.

The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State plan to cover the TOPS shortfall for recipients next semester. Emelie Gunn has more…:
CUT 1 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

There has been lots of talk on social media about the name change of the Triple-A Minor League baseball team, The New Orleans Zephyrs to the Baby Cakes. Team General Manager Cookie Rojas says the reaction has been both positive and negative on social media. But he says he wants people to be passionate about minor league baseball…:
cut 14 (08) “been fantastic”

The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State say they will cover the 60-percent of tuition TOPS students will be required to pay for next semester. NSU President Jim Henderson says they’ve identified some resources from donors to cover all of TOPS the way students were promised:
CUT 7 (10) “is sacrosanct”
Henderson, who will become the U-L System President in January, says many universities are doing what they can to lessen the damage on students.

Officials with Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge say Deputy Nick Tullier has been discharged and is now at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston — one of the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals. Tullier was critically injured in the July ambush on officers that claimed the lives of three other cops. His family says TIRR is the next phase of his recovery.

Some lawmakers don’t agree with the Office of Motor Vehicles new policy of “no cash” as a form of payment. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Most of the reaction on social media to the new nickname of the Triple-A Minor League baseball team in New Orleans has been negative. They are now called the Baby Cakes instead of the Zephyrs.

An infant is in critical condition and a mother is facing charges following an accidental shooting in a vehicle. Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean McKneely says 23-year-old Crystal Kinchen of Baton Rouge left two small children unattended in a parked car.

Cut 3 (12) “the face”

McKneely says the mother has been charged with second degree cruelty to a juvenile.

For the first time ever, TOPS recipients are preparing to pay almost 60-percent of their spring tuition, which raises questions about the future of the program. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says TOPS needs to be a bigger priority in the next session, because last time there was a push to fund public-private hospitals.

Cut 8 (08) “11-percent”

Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to discuss TOPS on his call in radio show today at 2pm.

Some lawmakers are fuming over the Office of Motor Vehicles’ decision to no longer accept cash payments. OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain says not accepting cash saves the OMV 500-thousand dollars because it costs money to handle and securely transport the cash.

Cut 15 (08) “that cash”

Some state legislatures have requested that the Governor’s Office reverse the change because not everyone carries cash.

CSRA has just opened a new facility in Bossier City, which means more jobs coming to northwest Louisiana. LED Secretary Don Pierson says CSRA may not the household name like IBM, but it’s still a major IT company.

Cut 10 (10) “homeland security”

Pierson hopes the new integrated technology center will attract more IT giants to Louisiana.

TOPS recipients are preparing to pay nearly 60-percent of their tuition for the spring semester, and state leaders say they are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen again next year. Jeff Palermo has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

TOPS is expected to be a topic on the governor’s monthly call-in show. The governor will take your calls on many of these same stations at 2 PM. Joining him in the studio will be the first lady, Donna Edwards.

Before the show, there’s a court hearing regarding the L-G-B-T executive order dispute between the governor and Attorney General Jeff Landry.

Some state lawmakers are upset the Office of Motor Vehicle is no longer accepting cash as a form of payment. OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain says accepting cash has become a burden for OMV workers, because they are on the hook if they come up short. Jonesboro Senator Jim Fannin says this is not a valid reason for why the change was made…
cut 14 (11) “…the cash”

The I-T service company called C-S-R-A has moved into its new 96-hundred square foot facility at the National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson hopes this new high tech center will attract more cyber companies to Louisiana…
cut 12 (11) “….also security”
C-S-R-A already employs 400 individuals, but plan to increase its workforce to 800 by June 2018.

The Baton Rouge Police Department says the mother of the 2-year-old who accidentally shot his 1-year-old sister in the face has been arrested. Cops say the woman was not properly supervising the toddler when he managed to grab the weapon and she’s been booked with 2nd degree cruelty to juveniles. The baby is in critical condition.

Weather in Louisiana is going to be on a wild swing this week and the potential for severe weather as a cold front moves in has even caused some high school football games to be moved to Thursday. But State Climatologist Barry Keim says rain chances are fairly low…:
Cut 6 (10) “some problems”
He says temperatures this week are in the 80s, but we can expect morning lows in the 30s by Monday.

CSRA has opened a new integrated technology center in Bossier City, which is good news for economic development in northwest Louisiana. LED Secretary Don Pierson says Louisiana is funding a 10-year $14 million higher education initiative with colleges in northwest Louisiana to help the company expand its workforce…:
cut 11 (12) “great company”.
The 96-hundred square foot facility anchors the 3-thousand acre National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City.

It’s likely LSU running back Leonard Fournette’s final game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday. The junior from New Orleans is expected to be a Top Five pick in next spring’s NFL draft, but he admits it will be hard to leave college early…:
Cut 16 (10)” Coach O”
Fournette says the juniors on the team will meet with Coach Ed Orgeron after the season to determine whether they should return for their senior season.

Many parents and students are wondering about the future of the TOPS scholarship program now that they have the letter letting them know only about 40% of their tuition will be covered in the spring. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says he supports throwing more money to fund TOPS, but he will not vote to raise more taxes…:
CUT 9 (11) “spend less”
Edwards issued a statement saying he hopes the legislature is more willing to work with him on the budget in the next session so that that Louisiana’s students are not left to shoulder the burden of the state’s financial problems.

There’s been a horrible tragedy in Baton Rouge. Police say a 2-year-old child somehow got a hold of gun inside a car, and shot a 1-year-old sibling in the face by mistake. Officials said the victim was taken to the hospital in a personal vehicle in extremely serious condition. More on this as it develops.

Good news for IT workers in northwest Louisiana, as CRSA just opened their new integrated technology center in Bossier City. Halen Doughty has more…:
cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

Temperatures in Louisiana are expected to be all over the place in the coming days. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’re looking at 80s this week, but we’ll see minimum temperatures in the 30s across most of Louisiana by Sunday and Monday.
CUT 5 (11) “of time”

TOPS recipients are preparing to pay nearly 60-percent of their tuition for the spring semester, and state leaders say they are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen again next year. Jeff Palermo has more:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Baton Rouge Police Department is investigating an incident in which a 2-year-old shot a 1-year-old sibling in the face by mistake while inside a vehicle, leaving the baby in serious condition. Details are limited at this time, but cops confirm the family drove the injured infant to the hospital and it’s not yet known how the 2-year-old was able to obtain the weapon.

Some lawmakers are not happy with the Office of Motor Vehicles decision to stop accepting cash as a form of payment. The OMV announced the new policy as a way to save money and prevent theft by state workers. Jonesboro Senator Jim Fannin says many senior citizens do not have credit cards and they shouldn’t have to suffer because employees might steal cash…:
Cut 13 (09) “the agency”
OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain says the new policy saves the state 500-thousand dollars.

CSRA has opened a new integrated technology center in Bossier City, which is good news for economic development in northwest Louisiana. LED Secretary Don Pierson says CSRA isn’t a household name like IBM and CenturyLink, but it’s still a major information technology company…:
Cut 10 (10) “homeland security”
Pierson says now employs 400 people in Shreveport-Bossier but will expand to 800 by June 2018.

TOPS students will pay nearly 60-percent of their tuition for the spring semester, so what does the future hold for the popular scholarship program? House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says if the governor makes TOPS more of a priority in the next session, it will be funded at a higher level…:
CUT 7 (09) “just not”
Governor Edwards issued a statement saying he hopes the state can restore funding to TOPS because too many students depend on the program.

Louisiana will experience some roller coaster temperatures this week. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’ll see high temperatures in the 80s across the state over the next two days, but a significant cold front will come in on Friday…:
cut 4 (10) “on Monday”
Keim says Saturday will be relatively cool and breezy, with temperatures in the 50s in the morning and reaching the mid 60s in the afternoon.

Some lawmakers don’t agree with the Office of Motor Vehicles new policy of “no cash” as a form of payment. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Today Governor John Bel Edwards will appear on his monthly call in radio show “Ask the Governor” beginning at 2pm. The governor’s guest today wll be First Lady Donna Edwards.