Four girls ranging from the ages of 12 to 14 are under arrest in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old girl inside a Walmart in Lake Charles on Saturday night. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso says one of the juveniles is charged with second-degree murder and the three other girls are charged with principal to second-degree murder. The sheriff is pleading with parents to monitor what their children are doing over their phone…

Cut 4 (05) “…or not” 

Mancuso says the incident played out on social media.

The state has released a COVID contact tracing app that lets you know if you’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says similar services are already working quite well in other states.

Cut 6 (10) “..useful.”

COVID Defense is available on the Apple and Android app stores.

The state has no plans to expand eligibility for those who can get a COVID-19 vaccine because they are not anticipating an increase in allotments. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo” 

Enrollment in Louisiana’s public schools has dropped by 2-percent. According to the Board of Education due to the pandemic, the state is reporting an enrollment decline of approximately 17-thousand. Nearly half the decrease is among students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley says families just aren’t sending their kids to school in these lower grades

Four girls ranging from the ages of 12 to 14 are under arrest in connection with the fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old girl inside a Walmart in Lake Charles on Saturday night. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso is not releasing many details but says the whole crime played out over social media…
Cut 3 (12) “…tolerate it”
Mancuso says the knife used in the murder was stolen from the store.
The state has released a COVID contact tracing app that lets you know if you’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the app is designed to sense nearby phones, and with that data let you know if you’ve been near a positive case.
Cut 24 (10) “…measures.”

Louisiana has been told by the federal government to expect a flat amount of weekly vaccine allocations for the next four to five weeks, which means about 58-thousand doses a week. Governor Edwards says state leaders were previously told that once vaccines became available there would be a steady increase…
Cut 7 (12) “…happening yet.”
Each state receives a percentage of doses based on its population that have been made available to the United States.
The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says the majority of those complaints are related to companies’ failure to communicate with policyholders.
Cut 10 (09) “…resolved.”

The state has released a COVID contact tracing app that lets you know if you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the app requires you to opt in to voluntarily allowing the service to utilize your Bluetooth. Kanter says the state is not saving this information, and your phone will not tell you who the infected person you had contact with was.
Cut 5 (09) “..information.”

Qualifying for the March Congressional special elections is set with 15 candidates running in the 2nd district race and 13 candidates in the 5th.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says of the 28 candidates in the two fields combined it’s unlikely more than a few of them are serious candidates.
Cut 15 (07)“…percent”

Louisiana has been told by the federal government to expect a flat amount of weekly vaccine allocations for the next four to five weeks, which means about 58-thousand doses a week. Each state receives a percentage of doses based on its population that have been made available to the United States. Governor John Bel Edwards says as far as he can tell, Louisiana is receiving its proper share…
Cut 9 (08) “…is flat”

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta.
Smaller insurers have a higher rate of complaints filed against them per policyholder than bigger insurers. State Insurance commissioner Jim Donelon says when it comes to responsiveness bigger companies may have some advantages.
Cut 12 (08) “…contribute.”
Of the major insurers, Liberty Mutual had the lowest complaint rate, while State Farm had the highest.

Slidell Police say two people are injured and a suspect is dead following a stabbing incident at a Circle K gas station in Slidell Sunday afternoon.
Police responded to a call of a stabbing in progress around 4:30 p.m. at the Circle K gas station in the 61100 block of Airport Road.
When officers arrived at the scene, they encountered the alleged suspect. Slidell Police and St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Deputies opened fire on the suspect killing the suspect.
Two people were injured in the stabbing incident before officers arrived.
Louisiana State Police are investigating the officer-involved shooting.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta. If you are having a problem with your insurance company or agent Insurance commissioner Jim Donelon asks you to reach out to his department for assistance.
Cut 11 (09) “….matter”

The state has no plans to expand eligibility for those who can get a COVID-19 vaccine, because they are not anticipating an increase in allotments. Jeff Palermo has more…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”

Qualifying for the March Congressional special elections is set with 15 candidates running in the 2nd district race and 13 candidates in the 5th.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says in the 2nd District New Orleans Democratic lawmakers Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter look most likely to make the run-off. Pinsonat expects this to be a highly competitive race.
Cut 14 (10) “…money.”

Louisiana has a new tool in the fight against COVID-19: an app that lets you know if you have had close contact with a COVID-positive individual. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Saturday night in Lake Charles around 7:30 Calcasieu Sheriff’s deputies arrived at a grocery store on Highway 14 for an alleged stabbing. Investigators say a fight between several girls resulted in a 15-year-old girl getting stabbed. She later died at a nearby hospital. Four female girls were arrested and booked into Juvenile detention. One is charged with 2nd degree murder the other 3 principals to 2nd degree.

The Louisiana Department of Insurance has received 691 formal complaints about home insurance companies related to issues stemming from Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Zeta.
Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says most of those complaints are related to companies’ failure to communicate with policyholders.
Cut 10 (09) “…resolved.”

Qualifying for the March Congressional special elections is set with 15 candidates running in the 2nd district race and 13 candidates in the 5th.
Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s widow, Republican Julia Letow, is a shoo-in to win the 5th and likely to win it outright in the March 20th primary.
Cut 13 (12) “….vote”

The state has released a COVID contact tracing app that lets you know if you’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says the app is designed to sense nearby phones, and with that data let you know if you’ve been near a positive case.
Cut 4 (10) “…measures.”
The app requires you to opt in to voluntarily allowing the service to utilize your Bluetooth.
Louisiana has been told by the federal government to expect a flat amount of weekly vaccine allocations for the next four to five weeks, which means about 58-thousand doses a week. Governor Edwards says state leaders were previously told that once vaccines became available there would be a steady increase…
Cut 7 (12) “..happening yet.”

The field of candidates for the 2nd and 5th Congressional district special elections is now set. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

314-thousand vaccine doses have been deployed in Louisiana but the much-hyped ramp-up of vaccinations won’t be coming for at least another month or more. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter expects the allocation to remain flat for the next four to five weeks…

Cut 14 (15) ” doing that” 

Gas prices have jumped twenty cents in just the last month. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim President Mike Moncla says it’s partly due to the industry foreseeing the Biden Administration’s oil and gas policies like revoking the Keystone Pipeline and halting new leases…

Cut 7 (09) “..goes up.”

The Administration says the moves are needed to help combat catastrophic global warming by lowering the nation’s carbon output. President Biden has pushed for the country to become carbon neutral by 2050.

A St. John The Baptist pastor, and alleged child murderer is running for Congress in Louisiana’s 5^th District. Errol Victor Sr. was convicted of murdering his stepson with the child’s mother and was featured on America’s Most Wanted after fleeing following the alleged murder but is getting a retrial due to a non-unanimous conviction. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley doesn’t give him much of a shot and wonders why he’s running…

Cut 4 (10) “….who knows” 

New Orleans City Park will be hosting “Floats in the Oaks” starting February 7^th to showcase this year’s floats that won’t be rolling due to the pandemic. Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann first came up with the idea and says this allows people to celebrate differently than they normally would.

Cut 10 (13) “…they go”

The third surge of the pandemic seems to be subsiding in Louisiana, but state health officials warn our percent positivity rate on COVID tests statewide is still over ten percent. Governor John Bel Edwards says the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has fallen below 18-hundred, but…

Cut 12 (09) “…delivery system” 

This weekend we will likely surpass the 8,000 total death mark from COVID-19.

New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades may be canceled but you can still catch a hint of carnival at City Park starting February 7^th. It’s Floats in the Oaks, a drive-through experience where floats from major parades will be displayed like they would the park’s famed Christmas decorations.  Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann came up with the idea and it caught fire once he put it on Facebook.

Cut 9 (12) “..went viral”

A controversial figure has joined the race for the 5^th Congressional District: a man who was convicted of murdering his 8-year-old stepson with the help of the child’s mother but is awaiting a retrial in the case. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington”  

Broadcast legend Larry King is dead at 87. King made his name in New York but had a little known four-year stint in Shreveport where he did freelance writing, worked PR, and even was the broadcaster for the short-lived Shreveport Streamer, the World Football League time that set up shop in northwest Louisiana for a spell.