The Lafayette Catholic diocese has placed Father Jody Simoneaux of Jeanerette on administrative leave after learning of allegations of improper behavior with minors that took place decades ago. The case has been turned over to law enforcement.

Louisiana receives an F-grade in the March of Dimes latest report on rates of preterm birth. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”

Governor Edwards returns from Israel today and his first stop is Washington Parish to survey damage from Thursday morning’s storm.

Getting a hotel room this weekend in Baton Rouge will be difficult as the city is full of college football fans for Saturday’s huge match-up between top ranked Alabama and third ranked LSU. ESPN’s College Gameday is in the Capitol City and the popular TV show will air Saturday morning from the Quad on the LSU campus. Visit Baton Rouge president Paul Arrigo…
cut 11 (09) “…exposure”

If eating is more of your thing, then check out the Giant Omelette Celebration, which will take place Saturday and Sunday in Abbeville. Festival president Ray Trahan says the omelette starts with a 12-foot skillet and five-thousand eggs…
cut 7 (07) “…5,034 eggs”
On Sunday at 1:00, it’s the Procession of Chefs and Eggs through the streets of Abbeville and the cracking begins shortly after.

ESPN has named southeast Louisiana the center of the football universe this weekend with the two best games of the week being played in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Number three LSU takes on number one Alabama in Tiger Stadium, and President of Visit Baton Rouge Paul Arrigo says the hotels are packed.
Cut 10 (09) “…three team“
ESPN’s College Gameday is in Baton Rouge for tomorrow night’s SEC showdown in Tiger Stadium and on Sunday the Saints host the undefeated Rams. New Orleans and Company spokesperson Kristian Sonnier says they also have Alabama fans staying in their city and there’s also a lot of excitement about the big game against L-A…
Cut 13 (09) “…are coming”

March of Dimes gives Louisiana an F-grade in its annual report on pre-term births. In 2017, 13-percent of babies born in Louisiana were premature and that’s higher than the national rate, which is at 10-percent. March of Dimes President Stacy Stewart explains why Louisiana has more premature births than the rest of the nation….
cut 5 (09) “….pregnant ideally”
Stewart says there needs to be policy changes on all levels of government to improve the preterm birth rate.

Governor Edwards returns today from his week long trip to Israel. The governor met with business leaders in the areas of energy and cybersecurity. Edwards also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an effort to grow trade between Israel and Louisiana.

Louisiana has received an F-grade in the March of Dimes latest report which grades all 50 states on their rates of preterm birth.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 1 (30)  “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”

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Looking for an egg-cellent time this weekend?  The long running Giant Omelette Celebration in Abbeville may be just what you are looking for.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 2 (30) ”I’m Kevin Barnhart.” 

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ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast live from Baton Rouge tomorrow. Kevin Barnhart has more.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart.”

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Thousands are expected to attend the Giant Omelette Celebration in Abbeville this weekend.  The festival was started in the 1980s with the determination to bring the community closer to its French Heritage.  Celebration president Ray Trahan says the omelette starts with a twelve-foot skillet and 5000 eggs.

Cut 7 (07) “…5034 eggs.”

Trahan says the omelette gets served up to those in attendance.

Cut 8 (11) “…and help yourself.” 

Trahan says the history of the celebration dates back to Napoleon, the emperor of the French in the early 1880s, as he had an omelette following a battle and loved it.

Cut 9 (12) “…happened with Napoleon.”

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ESPN has named southeast Louisiana the center of the football universe this weekend with the two best games of the week being played in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Number four LSU takes on number one Alabama in Tiger Stadium, and President of Visit Baton Rouge Paul Arrigo says the hotels are packed.

Cut 10 (09)   “…three team“

Baton Rouge saw 87 percent occupancy in hotels for Georgia.

And to top things off in BR the College GameDay broadcast will be live on LSU’s campus Saturday for the big matchup. Arrigo says the iconic program will give the city a chance to show off to the rest of the nation, and hopefully inspire a few trips.

Cut 11 (09)   “…exposure”

LSU Bama kicks off at 7pm Saturday.

And New Orleans expects to see 92 percent occupancy for Saturday as the Tide floods the Big Easy looking for something fun to do before zooming up I-10 to watch their team lose in Baton Rouge. New Orleans and Company spokesperson Kristian Sonnier says with frequent trips to the Sugar Bowl and bi-annual trips to Baton Rouge, the city is used to seeing Crimson…

Cut 12 (10)  “…vacation”

And after that ESPN will be broadcasting live from New Orleans for the Saints Rams game that has huge implications for both teams playoff seeding. Los Angeles is a new fan base, so you never know what to expect but…

Cut 13 (09)   “…are coming”

Saints Rams kicks off at 325PM Sunday.

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The Saints are two point favorites against the only undefeated team in the league Sunday as the 8-0 Rams charge into the Dome to take on the 6-1 Saints. Drew Brees told reporters he’s never seen an interior pass rush duo as fearsome as LA’s Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh. Saints Analyst Mike Detillier says that might be the case, but…

Cut 14 (11)   “pass protection.”

The Rams are 2^nd best defense in football per Pro Football Focus.

Los Angeles comes to town behind the top rated rushing attack in all of football, and unlike most teams it’s no running back committee. Former Georgia Bulldog Todd Gurley is just off pace to break Ladainian Tomlinson’s TD rushing record, and Detillier says his dominance this year has been astounding.

Cut 15 (11)   “…receiver.”

But the Saint favored for a reason, with the dome at their back and possibly the most balanced roster in the league, Vegas likes them to take down LA. Mike Thomas and Alvin Kamara have been the featured guys this year, but Detillier says he expects this to be a different kind of game.

Cut 16 (11) “.Mark Ingram”

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Louisiana Tech gets another chance at Mississippi State tomorrow. Last year the two teams met in Ruston and State won 57-21 as Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith had a rough day. Smith fumbled a couple of times and threw an interception. Coach Skip Holtz says his quarterback learned a valuable lesson that day…

Cut 17 (13)  “winning football”

This year’s Mississippi State team has one of the best defensive lines in the country. Holtz says they’re talented and deep…

Cut 18 (19) “…for sure” 

Offensively, the 21st ranked Bulldogs are led by quarterback Nick Fitzgerald. When he rushes for over 100 yards, State is 15-and-3. But Holtz says holding Fitzgerald down is difficult to do…

Cut 19 (20) “.very elusive”

There’s been growing support for the number two amendment option on the November ballot, but not all District Attorneys are on board with the move to require unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases. Supporters of the amendment say non-unanimous jury laws are racist Jim Crow relics, but Tangipahoa, Livingston, and Helena Parish District Attorney Scott Perrilloux says the US Supreme Court declared them constitutional, and disallows racial rigging of juries.

Cut 4 (06) “…years ago″

There’s another month left of the hurricane season, but State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s highly unlikely we’ll be hit by a notable system in the next 30 days. Keim says if we do get hit, it would be a historic event.

Cut 10 (07)   “…of Louisiana“

The overnight hours saw wild weather passing through the bayou state and brought significant damage to areas across Louisiana, with downed trees, closed roads, and debris.  Among the areas impacted, Washington Parish, where Chief Deputy Mike Haley says two elderly men were injured when the mobile home they were in was turned over by the force of the winds and says the area is fortunate to not have seen a worse impact.

Cut 7 (06) “…report of fatalities.”

Thousands lost power in central Louisiana today as the result of the nasty post-Halloween storm that moved through the area early this morning. Cleco spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says they’re calling in extra help to get the lights back on.

Cut 13 (09) “…restoration efforts.“

There’s been growing support for the number two amendment option on the November ballot, but not all District Attorneys are on board with the move to require unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases. Tangipahoa, Livingston, and Helena Parish District Attorney Scott Perrilloux says he’s concerned it would delay justice for victims.

Cut 3 (09) “…done again”

DAs in four of Louisiana’s largest parishes, along with both Republican and Democratic state parties have come out in support of the initiative.

There’s another month left of the hurricane season, but State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s highly unlikely we’ll be hit in the next 30 days. Keim notes there’s always a chance of some development, but the late season climate just isn’t suited to producing hurricanes.

Cut 11 (11) “…can be defeated.”

Louisiana has not been hit by a November hurricane in the 167-year-old record.

The overnight hours saw wild weather passing through the bayou state and  brought significant damage to areas across Louisiana, with downed trees, closed roads, and debris.  Among the areas impacted, Washington Parish Chief Deputy Mike Haley says two elderly men were injured when the mobile home they were in was turned over by the force of the winds.

Cut 6 (10) “…the mobile home.”

One of the men sustained minor injuries, while the other suffered a broken arm.

And downed trees mean downed powerlines, as Thousands lost power in central Louisiana today as the result that nasty post-Halloween storm. Cleco spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says they’re calling in extra help to get the lights back on.

Cut 13 (09) “…restoration efforts.“

She says there’s a chance that many customers will still be without power tonight, so if you are medically disabled or have children, you may want to make some arrangements.

The Diocese of Lafayette announces Reverend Jody Simoneaux is on administrative leave because he allegedly engaged in improper behavior with minors while assigned to churches in Eunice and Youngsville 30 years ago. Simoneaux has been serving as a pastor at St. Jones the Evangelist Church in Jeanerette. The Diocese says the allegations have been turned over to law enforcement.

Not all DAs support the November amendment option that would require unanimous jury verdicts in felony trials, including the 21st Judicial District…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

As of Wednesday afternoon, over five-thousand Cleco customers are without power in central Louisiana as result of that wicked overnight storm. Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says they have outages in Rapides, Avoyelles and Grant parishes. Cahill says they are working as fast as they can to get the power to restored, but….
cut 14 (11) “…arrangements”
Strong winds are to blame for the knocked down power lines and trees. Captain Tommy Carnline with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s office says in areas where they have a lot of destruction, they are asking for area residents to stay off the roads…
cut 9 (09) “…area”
There have been six reported injuries as a result of the storm, four in Concordia and two in Washington Parish. The injuries are not considered serious.

The overnight hours saw some wild weather pass through the Bayou State. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (32) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

There have been reports of minor injuries. Four people were hurt in Concorida Parish, and two others in Washington Parish. In both cases, strong winds flipped over mobile homes. Thousands are still without power. Cleco says they hope to have the power restored by the end of the day, but they are still assessing the situation.

There’s been very little vocal opposition to Constitutional Amendment Two on the November 6th ballot. That’s the one dealing with unanimous juries to secure a conviction in a felony case. During the legislative session, Baton Rouge Senator and former prosecutor Dan Claitor came out in support of the amendment saying he knows attorneys would game the system and seek harsher sentences because non-unanimous juries made them easier to try. But District Attorney Scott Perriloux says that’s not true.
cut 5 (09) “…that such”
Perrilloux is the D-A for Livingston, Tangiaphoa and St. Helena Parishes and is one of the few vocal opponents to Constitutional Amendment Two.

There’s one more month left in the hurricane season and State Climatologist Barry Keim says we are almost out of the woods…
cut 12 (08) “…east coast”
Ida in 2009 is one of the few examples of a Gulf hurricane in November.

We saw some harsh weather this morning as folks across the state woke up from their Halloween sugar highs. A nasty system brought down trees and scattered debris, shutting down roads, including in Washington Parish, where Chief Deputy Mike Haley says a mobile home was flipped by winds. He says that resulted in minor injuries for two men, but thankfully they’ve been spared the worst…

Cut 7, 6 seconds, report of fatalities.”

Four people were also hurt in Concordia Parish as a result of the storm.

A Department of Public Safety Police officer has been fired and arrested for Malfeasance in Office and Filing False Public Records.  On Monday, Officer Chandler LeGrange reported his involvement in a pursuit and shots fired by a motorcyclist on Juban Road in Livingston Parish.  LSP Detectives looked into the case and found several inconsistencies with the officer’s report.

DAs in four of Louisiana’s largest parishes are backing the number two amendment option on the November ballot to require unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases, but Tangipahoa, Livingston, and Helena Parish DA Scott Perrilloux is voicing opposition, saying contrary to advocates claims, non-unanimous juries are not discriminatory, and have been upheld by the US Supreme Court.

Cut 4 (06) “…years ago″

Both Republican and Democratic state parties have come out in support of the initiative.

There’s another month left of hurricane season, but State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s highly unlikely we’ll be hit by a notable system in the next 30 days. Keim says if we do get hit, it would be a historic event.

Cut 10 (07)   “…of Louisiana“

He says if a system does develop, chances are it will head east, away from Louisiana.