Legislation allowing lawmakers to strip state construction funds from municipalities that cut their police budget in an attempt to “Defund the Police” advances to the Senate floor. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

The Ka’Mauri Harrison bill is on it’s way to the Governor’s desk for signature. House Bill 83 unanimously passed in both chambers. The bill is a result of Harrison, and fourth-grader in Jefferson Parish being suspended for having a BB Gun in his bedroom during a virtual class.  The law would change public-school discipline rules and widen appeal rights of students and parents.

NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal is having to update his resume, he is now a Special Reserve Deputy with St Martin’s Parish Sheriff Office.  Shaq dropped by the office while the boss was away at training Wednesday and now Sheriff Becket Breaux is having to make budget adjustments.

Cut 3 (12)  “…get it covered”  

Shaq will act as a mentor for the staff and Breaux warns he might occasionally show up for a call.

Legislative Republicans await Governor Edwards’ decision on a potential veto of legislation they passed that would allow the Legislature to overturn parts of a public health emergency. Edwards says he hasn’t had a chance to talk to the bill’s author or Legislative leaders yet, but he already has a blanket policy about attempts to undermine his emergency authority…

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Compared to other southern states, Louisiana is doing better COVID-19 wise, but Governor Edwards doesn’t want COVID fatigue to set in. Brooke Thorington has more
Cut 1 (31) “ I’m Brooke Thorington”

The number of Louisianans who have cast early ballots for the November third election has surpassed 430-thousand. Only the governor’s run-off election last year and the presidential election in 2016 have exceeded a turnout of 430-thousand voters. Early voting ends next Tuesday.

A House-approved bill that would allow state lawmakers to take state construction dollars away from local governments that reduce their police department’s budget by 25-percent or more has received approval from the Senate Finance committee. Shreveport Senator Gregory Tarver objected saying local budgeting decisions are none of the Legislature’s business.
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Alexandria Republican Lance Harris filed the bill in an effort to prevent the defund police movement from taking place in Louisiana.

The LSU football program is reducing its number of available scholarships by eight over the next two years and it’s banned former star wide receiver, Odell Beckham Junior, from the team’s facility for the next two years for handing out cash to players following the national championship game. Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins…
cut 16 (11) “>…game too”
The school has also admitted a former booster made payments to a former player’s family.

While most of the country is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, Louisiana’s numbers have remained steady, but in the last week, daily averages are showing an upward trend. The state reported 744 additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday and hospitalizations increased by 22, Governor John Bel Edwards says it’s troublesome.
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The White House has Louisiana in the “orange zone” for per capita cases, while most states are in the “red zone.”

A bill that would allow legislators to take state construction dollars away from a city that defunds its police department by 25-percent or more has received approval from the Senate Finance Committee. But the measure faces opposition, Lafayette Senator Gerald Boudreaux…
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The House approved measure heads to the Senate floor.

LSU imposes penalties on its football program after a former Booster paid the father of a former player and Odell Beckham Jr. handed out cash to players. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

One person died last night when a single-engine plane crashed in a wooded area near the Slidell Municipal Airport. Authorities believe there may have been more than one person on the plane so they are searching the area for possible survivors. Slidell police are using drones and ATVs in their search.

New data from the White House shows Louisiana is one of 15 states in the orange zone for new coronavirus cases per capita while most states in the country are in the red zone. Governor John Bel Edwards…
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And the number of COVID-19 patients has climbed past 600.

The Senate Finance Committee has narrowly approved a bill that would allow the Legislature to strip municipalities of state construction funds should they reduce their police budgets by 25 percent. Alexandria Representative Lance Harris says the bill is a response to the “Defund the Police” movement. He says the government’s most important function is providing for public safety…
Cut 10 (10) “…forefathers”
Opponents of the bill say the state legislature shouldn’t dictate how local governments spend their tax revenues.

Five people have been arrested for allegedly stealing money from the state unemployment trust fund via fraud and identity theft. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry…
Cut 7 (12) “,…million dollars”
Two of those arrested, Kayla Giles and Teri Thibodeaux allegedly ran a massive fraud scheme targeting unemployment programs in multiple states using 25 stolen identities to siphon off 300,000 dollars in total.

LSU has admitted its football program has committed rules violations and they are reducing the number of scholarships they hand out by eight over two years and Odell Beckham Junior has been banned from the facility for two years. Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins says the self-imposed penalties are in hopes of reducing what the NCAA would impose for infractions…
cut 15 (14) “….pretty good actually”

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announces the arrest of five people for allegedly receiving unemployment benefits they should not have received. Landry says more arrests are likely to come…
cut 9 (13) “…trust fund”
Landry says the fraudsters stole another person’s identity and filed for benefits on their behalf.

A House-approved bill that would allow legislators to take state construction dollars away from local governments that defund their police department has been approved by the Senate Finance Committee. But the threshold for when the legislation would kick in was raised from ten to 25-percent. Evangeline Parish Senator Heather Cloud supports the change in the proposed law…
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The state reported 744 more coronavirus cases yesterday and deaths increased by 12 to 5,584. Also, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized has increased by 22. But Governor Edwards says Louisiana is doing much better compared to other southern states and our mitigation efforts are working.
Cut 6 (13) “…the disease”

The LSU football program is reducing its number of available scholarships by eight over the next two years and it’s banned former star wide receiver, Odell Beckham Junior, for the next two years for handing out cash to players following the national championship game. Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins…
cut 16 (11) “>…game too”
The school has also admitted a former booster made payments to a former player’s family.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry has announced the arrest of five individuals who fraudulently received COVID-19 unemployment claims. Landry says this is just the beginning of a crackdown on those who attempt to scam the state in trying to collect unemployment benefits…
cut 8 (09) “…trust fund”
Landry says the suspects stole more than 300-thousand dollars since the pandemic began in March.

LSU is imposing self-penalties on its football program after a two-year investigation revealed a booster paid the father of a former player for a no-show job. Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins says the penalties include a reduction of eight scholarships over two years, plus eliminating a percentage of official and unofficial recruiting visits.
Cut 14 (08) “…is a killer”

Legislation allowing lawmakers to strip state construction funds from municipalities that cut their police budget in an attempt to “Defund the Police” advances to the Senate floor. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Compared to other southern states Louisiana is doing better COVID-19 wise, but Governor Edwards doesn’t want COVID fatigue to set in. Brooke Thorington has more

Cut 1 (31) “   I’m Brooke Thorington”

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Legislation allowing lawmakers to strip state construction funds from municipalities that cut their police budget in an attempt to “Defund the Police” advances to the Senate floor. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

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LSU reportedly imposes self-penalties after a Booster paid the father of a former player and Odell Beckham Jr. handed out cash to players. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 3 (31)  “…I’m Brooke Thorington”  

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While most of the country is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases, Louisiana’s numbers have remained steady, but in the last week, daily averages are showing an upward trend.  The state reported 744 additional COVID-19 cases Wednesday and hospitalizations increased by 22, Governor John Bel Edwards says it’s troublesome.

Cut 4 (07) “…me right now”

Edwards points out that while Louisiana is one of 15 states in the “orange zone” for per capita cases most states are in the “red zone” meaning 100 cases per 100-thousand people.

Cut 5 (14) “…our tests”

Governor Edwards says Louisiana is doing much better compared to other southern states and that our mitigation efforts are working.

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Edwards says he remains in contact with the Coronavirus Task Force and continues to follow White House mitigation guidelines.

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Five people have been arrested for allegedly stealing money from the state unemployment trust fund via fraud and identity theft.

The unemployment trust fund is so low on cash the state is having to borrow money from the feds just to keep the checks coming. Attorney General Jeff Landry says it takes money from those who need it.

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Two of those arrested, Kayla Giles and Teri Thibodeaux allegedly ran a massive fraud scheme targeting unemployment programs in multiple states using 25 stolen identities to siphon off 300,000 dollars in total. Giles was already awaiting trial on a 2nd-degree murder charge related to a 2018 incident where she allegedly shot and killed her fiance in a Walmart parking lot. The three others alleged combined to steal about 20,000 dollars.

Landry asks the public to report anyone they suspect of committing insurance fraud to the National Center for Disaster Fraud at 866-720-5721.

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Landry says more arrests are likely to come…

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Senate Finance narrowly approves a bill that would allow the Legislature to strip municipalities of state construction funds should they reduce their police budgets by 25 percent.

Alexandria Representative Lance Harris says the bill is a response to the “Defund the Police” movement. He says government’s most important function is providing for public safety…

Cut 10 (10) “…forefathers”

Under the bill, any municipality that reduces the police budget by 25 percent could be summoned to testify in front of a Legislative committee. Should that committee decide the reduction significantly harms public safety that municipality could be blocked from receiving state construction funds in the next fiscal year.

Shreveport Senator Gregory Tarver objected to the bill saying local budgeting decisions are none of the Legislature’s business.

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And Lafayette Senator Gerald Boudreaux opposed the bill on the grounds that it creates a precedent wherein the Legislature could claim further control of local budgets on other issues…

Cut 12 (08) “government”.

When the bill left the House the threshold was set at a ten percent reduction but Evangeline Parish Senator Heather Cloud says in small towns police budgets can see major fluctuations year to year.

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Harris, who wrote the bill, agreed to the amendment to raise the limit to 25 percent with no argument. It heads to the Senate floor next, and if approved there would have to return to the House for concurrence on this amendment.

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Sports Illustrated reports LSU is imposing self-penalties after a two-year investigation revealed a booster paid the father of a former football player for a job he never showed up for. Tiger Rag Magazine Editor Ron Higgins says penalties include a reduction in scholarships, eliminating a percentage of official and unofficial recruiting visits.

Cut 14 (08) “…is a killer”

LSU has also self-imposed a 21-day reduction of the normal 168 days of allowable off-campus contacts.

Higgins says the self-imposed penalties are in hopes of reducing what the NCAA would impose for the infractions.

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And former LSU star Odell Beckham Junior is been banned from the program for two years after handing out cash to players following the national championship. Higgins says it could have been worse.

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Last October, John Paul Fumes, the former CEO of Our Lady of the Lake Foundation was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for stealing 555-thousand dollars from the foundation. Prosecutors say 180-thousand dollars went to the father of former LSU lineman Vadal Alexander.

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La Tech will look for its seventh straight win over UTSA when the two teams meet in the Alamodome on Saturday in San Antonio. Bulldogs coach Skip Holtz says even though Tech has dominated this series as of late, there’s been some close games between the two teams…

cut 17 (20)    anything less”

Last year, Tech defeated the Roadrunners 41-27 in Ruston. The Bulldogs are coming off a 35-17 loss to Marshall. Tech’s offense only produced 267 total yards and the defense allowed the Thundering Herd to convert on third down 13 times. But Holtz says after watching the film the players realize if they play fundamentally sound, they could be a really good team…

cut 18 (13) ” getting better” 

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LSU Coach Ed Orgeron calls starting quarterback Myles Brennan very questionable to play Saturday versus South Carolina. Brennan suffered a torn abdomen according to The Athletic. Max Johnson or T-J Finley will start at QB if Brennan can’t play. Gamecocks coach Will Muschamp says there’s not a dropoff in talent between Brennan and the true freshmen

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Muschamp doesn’t expect to see LSU make adjust its playing calling just because they are playing a freshman at quarterback

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Senate Finance narrowly approves legislation that would allow the Legislature to strip municipalities of state construction funds should they reduce their police budgets by 25 percent. Alexandria Representative Lance Harris says the bill is a response to the “Defund the Police” movement. He says the government’s most important function is providing for public safety…

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Shreveport Senator Gregory Tarver objected…

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When the bill left the House the threshold was set a ten percent reduction but Evangeline Parish Senator Heather Cloud says in small towns…

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The House and Senate agree on legislation allowing lawmakers to strike down specific public health restrictions without overturning the Governor’s entire public health order. Erath Representative Blake Miguez says his constituents demanded action on loosening pandemic health restrictions and this bill gives lawmakers a tool to do that.

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The bill is headed to the Governor and if signed would allow certain limitations like stadium capacity to be struck down while maintaining orders like mask mandates. The Governor has previously indicated he would veto efforts to undercut his public health authority. Under the bill, the Governor would still be allowed to issue an emergency order but 30 days later when it came time for a renewal a majority vote in the House and Senate could remove certain parts of it.

The Ka’Mauri Harrison act, legislation inspired by the suspension of a Jefferson Parish 4^th grader who had a BB gun briefly visible in view of his webcamera during an online class has been approved in the Senate and House and is headed to the Governor’s desk.