The Tax Foundation released data on which state imposes the highest combined state and local sales taxes and Louisiana comes in first at 9.98-percent. Don Molino has more…

CUT 1 (26) “I’m Don Molino”

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Operation We Care has shipped 300 king cakes overseas to soldiers to celebrate Mardi Gras. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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LSU heads into national signing hoping a few big-time recruits choose to play for the Purple-and-Gold. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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14 individuals have been arrested after an extensive burglary investigation by the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office. Capt. Tommy Carnline says each time a search warrant was conducted, it led detectives to find more information or the recovery of stolen property. He says the suspects were part of what seems to be a huge burglary ring.

cut 4  (09) “big ring”

Carnline says three additional suspects are still wanted. He says this group of people burglarized at least six locations, where a variety of items were stolen, including body armor.

Cut 5  (10)  “into cash”

Carnline says some of these burglaries started back in the fall, but the bigger break ins took place in January.

Cut 6 (09) “recover them”

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The Tax Foundation releases data on what each state imposes when it comes to state and local sales taxes, and Louisiana leads the nation with a rate of 9.98-percent. Vice President for State Projects Joe Henchman says having a high rate is okay for states if it’s managed well and residents can afford it. But he says that’s not the case in Louisiana.

CUT 7 (10)  “of complexity”‘

Louisiana is facing a 304 million dollar budget deficit and Henchman says the Tax Foundation has recommendations for state lawmakers to fix problems with its tax system. He says the rate is so high because what the tax applies to is so narrow…

Cut 8 (11) “everything else”

Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Washington are ranked behind Louisiana in the top five. Henchman says Louisiana certainly deserves its number one ranking.

Cut 9 (10)  “this point”

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The group, Operation We Care out of St. Tammany Parish, has shipped 300 red, white and blue king cakes to U.S. soldiers overseas to celebrate Mardi Gras. Public Relations Director Colleen Smith says these cakes were specially made by Randazzo’s Camellia City Bakery in Slidell for the troops. She says it’s all about putting a smile on the soldiers’ faces.

Cut 10 (10) “very happy”

Smith says names of soldiers are gathered by Louisiana people, so typically most soldiers who receive a cake are from the state, but anyone from anywhere can receive a king cake.

cut 11 (10) “like that”

Operation We Care has been sending troops king cakes for 14 years. Smith says they chose to send the red, white and blue cakes rather than traditional Mardi Gras colors to be a little more special and patriotic. She says they are able to send the soldiers these packages strictly though donations.

cut 12 (09) “for us”

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President Donald Trump nominates federal appellate judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado to the Supreme Court. Several Democrats have said they will try and block Trump’s nominee from U.S. Senate confirmation. Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana is disappointed Democrats started voicing their concerns, before they knew who the nominee would be

Cut 13 (11) “gonna be”

Senate Democrats have already been slow to confirm many of Mr. Trump’s picks for cabinet secretaries. Scalise points out that most of former President Barack Obama’s cabinet scretaries were already confirmed during his first week in office…

cut 14 (06) “to do”

Meanwhile on the House side, Scalise says legislators are set to pass bills this week to bring jobs back to America…

Cut 15 (12) “moving again”

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It’s national signing day and the LSU Tigers hope to secure a top five recruiting class. Several top recruits have yet to publicly say where they’ll play college football, including Marvin Wilson, the nation’s number one defensive tackle. Sonny Shipp with Geaux  24-7 says Wilson is also very interested in Florida State, but LSU might have an edge over the Seminoles for the Texas product

Cut 16 (12) “trek”

LSU enters national signing day with the sixth best recruiting class in the country, according to 24-7. Shipp says highlighting the class are two quarterbacks, Lowell Narcisse from St. James and Myles Brennan of Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi. Shipp says the class also contains five-star defensive back JaCoby Stevens

Cut 17 (11)   “this class”

LSU also needs to sign linebackers and they hop to get a couple of them to sign today. He says they already have a verbal pledge from the country’s top inside linebacker Jacob Phillips

Cut 18 (10) “beef inside”

Several Republican lawmakers have voiced their opposition to using money from the Rainy Day Fund to solve a 304 million dollar budget shortfall and there is at least one democrat who supports that, as well. Shreveport Senator Greg Tarver says revenue will begin to increase soon as the state’s economy is improving as a result of rising oil prices.
cut 10 (10) “…experts says”

Case data has recently been released on the number of human trafficking reports received in Louisiana in 2016 and it shows a significant increase. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 104 cases of human trafficking were called in last year, compared to 75 in 2015. State Police Col Mike Edmonson credits a strong awareness campaign…:
cut 12 (09) “listen to us”

 
Although many main stream media outlets have produced critical reports of President Donald Trump’s travel ban, multiple polls show quite a bit of support for the executive order. A survey from the University of Quinnipiac finds between 42 and 48-percent of people support the order. LSU Political Communications Chair Martin Johnson says he expected this, especially with Louisianans.
Cut 3 (09) “the policy”

Entergy Louisiana broke ground today on a new power plant that the company says will save customers one-point-three-billion dollars over the next 30 years, because it will be able to more efficiently produce electricity. Spokesperson Michael Burns says the power station will also produce jobs…
cut 7 (10) “….the plant”

Burns says they expect the plant to begin running in 2019.

Many Republican state lawmakers do not want to use the Rainy Day Fund to solve the 304 million dollar budget deficit and there is also a Democrat opposed to it, as well. Jeff Palermo has more…

CUT 1 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Case data has recently been released on the number of human trafficking reports received in Louisiana in 2016, and it shows a significant increase. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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Although most main stream media outlets have produced critical reports of President Donald Trump’s travel ban, multiple polls released show quite a bit of support for the executive order. A survey from the University of Quinnipiac finds between 42 and 48-percent of people support the order. LSU Political Communications Chair Martin Johnson says he expected this, especially with Louisianans.

Cut 3 (09) “the policy”

Johnson believes a lot of the outcry comes from how quickly the ban was issued bringing a lot of confusion. A survey by Rasmussen finds 57-percent of people polled support the ban but Johnson says that poll is skewed because they only call landlines.

cut 4  (08) “you have”

Johnson says Rasmussen also finds voters support President Donald Trump at over 50-percent and every other survey that calls cell phones finds Trump has about a 43-percent approval rating.

Cut 5  (05)  “his policies”

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Entergy Louisiana broke ground today on an 869-million dollar power plant in St. Charles Parish. Michael Burns with Entergy says this new power station will provide Louisianans with affordable and reliable electricity. He says it will be one of the cleanest and most efficient natural gas plants.

Cut 6 (10) “for customers”

And Burns says over the next 30 years, customer savings will total 1.3 billion dollars. He also says the power plant will produce jobs.

CUT 7 (10)  “the plant” 

Burns says the plant will begin operations in June of 2019. He says this power station is an excellent example of Entergy’s commitment of modern facilities and customer service.

Cut 8 (08) “generation fleet”  

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Several Republicans in the state legislature have voiced opposition into using money from the Rainy Day Fund to solve a 304 million dollar budget deficit, but there is at least one Democrat who also opposed it. Shreveport Senator Greg Tarver told News Radio 7-10 KEEL that there are other days to eliminate the shortfall without tapping into this fund.

Cut 9 (06)  “that money”

Tarver says even though the Rainy Day Fund was used multiple times during the Jindal administration, we’re not as desperate now, because there are signs the state’s economy is improving as a result of rising oil prices.

Cut 10 (10) “experts says”

A special session will likely begin on February 13^th to address the budget shortfall. Governor Edwards is recommending a combination of cuts and Rainy Day dollars to eliminate the deficit. Tarver says he wants to avoid cuts to public education but there are other areas of the budget that could be cut.

cut 11 (09) “these credits”

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Case data has recently been released on the number of human trafficking reports received in Louisiana in 2016 and it shows a significant increase. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 104 cases of human trafficking were called in last year, compared to 75 in 2015. State Police Col Mike Edmonson credits a strong awareness campaign…:

cut 12 (09) “listen to us”

Louisiana ranked 20th in the nation for the most human trafficking cases reported in 2016. California topped the list with 1323 calls last year. Edmonson says getting victims to come forward begins with compassion and not treating them like criminals…:

Cut 13 (08) “the things you’re doing “

The Polaris data indicates that more victims than ever are reaching out for help. Of the more than 100 cases reported in Louisiana last year, 74 were cases of sex trafficking and 21 of labor trafficking. Edmonson says he’s talked to victims who felt like this was the only life that they were going to ever have…:

cut 14 (09) “somebody else”