12:30 LRN Newscast Dec 22

Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge is requiring all to wear face masks. Infectious disease specialist at the Lake Dr. Catherine O’Neal while there are reports that symptoms from the Omicron variant aren’t as bad as Delta and not as many are being hospitalized, it’s still too early to know the impacts of the newest variant.

Cut 7 (12) “…everybody has it.”  

And another reason to mask up is because the monoclonal antibody infusion treatments they have are only for the Delta variant.

State epidemiologist Theresa Sokol says the CDC recommends indoor masking for everyone regardless of vaccination status in areas with high or substantial community transmission.

Cut 13 (10) “…of transmission.”

Today the state reports 2,205 new COVID cases and 272 are currently hospitalized an increase of 33-percent from this time last week.

The Census Bureau says Louisiana is continuing to lose people to other states, a trend that’s been going on for years.

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

11:40 LRN Sportscast

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week today. Jordan had two sacks and a forced fumble in the shutout win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

The Saints didn’t get any help last night in their chase for the final playoff spot in the NFC.

With Philadelphia beating Washington 27-17 last night, the Saints are now in ninth place in the NFC Standings. They need to move ahead of the Eagles and Vikings to grab the final playoff spot in the NFC.

In other NFL news…former LSU Tiger and Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette is expected to be placed on I-R and miss the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury.

LSU defensive tackle Neil Farrell Junior has announced he will not play in the Texas Bowl against Kansas State on January fourth. He’s the first Tiger to indicate he’s opting out. The fifth-year senior had 45 tackles this past season and recorded a career-high 9.5 tackles for a loss.

The 16th ranked LSU basketball team hosts Lipscomb tonight in the Tigers final game before a short Christmas break. The Tigers are one of six teams in Division one that’s still unbeaten after rallying back from a first-half double-digit deficit to beat Louisiana Tech on Saturday. A week earlier they trailed by 15 to Georgia Tech before rallying to win by 16. LSU Coach Will Wade would rather not have to rally from big deficits to win…
Cut 16 (16) “…fall off”
Tip off is at 7:00.

Double-digit losses for several Louisiana schools last night. Texas A-and-M topped Northwestern State 80-61, Iowa slammed Southeastern Louisiana 93-62, Kansas State clobbered McNeese 74-59 and Oregon State knocked off Nicholls 83-61. But the Pelicans won their third straight last night, a 111-97 win Portland.

11:30 LRN Newscast Dec 22

A Louisiana businessman’s legal fight to stop the White House COVID vaccine mandate for employers is going to the U.S. Supreme Court. More from Kevin Gallagher…:

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

 

In addition to state offices returning to indoor masking requirements, Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge is requiring all to wear face masks. Infectious disease specialist at the Lake Dr. Catherine O’Neal says the rapid increase in cases forced them to return to face masks.

 Cut 6 (12) “…home for 10 days” 

 

Governor Edwards extended the indoor mask mandate for state agencies on Tuesday.

 

Louisiana faces several challenges in its efforts to address domestic violence, according to a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report. In 2017 Louisiana had the second-highest number of female homicides with more than half killed by an intimate partner. Performance Auditor Kristen Jacobs says adequate shelter for victims is a major issue.

Cut 10 (11)  “…the state.”

 

Louisiana is continuing an unfortunate trend of losing population to other states according to Census Bureau data.  Demographer Greg Rigamer says economic factors primarily played a role in the Bayou State ranking fifth in out-migration comparing 2020 to 2021 figures.

Cut 3 (10) “…doing much better.”

Louisiana’s percent of population decline for the year-long period was six-tenths of a percent, sixth highest in the nation.

10:30 LRN Newscast Dec 22

As COVID cases begin to tick upwards again Governor Edwards puts indoor face masks back in effect for state offices and State epidemiologist Theresa Sokol says you should wear a mask indoors to reduce transmission, especially for those who are more susceptible to the virus.

Cut 15 (09)  “…individuals as well.”

 

 

Louisiana businessman Brandon Trosclair is asking the U-S Supreme Court to hear his lawsuit that seeks to stop President Biden’s vaccine worker mandate for businesses that have more than 100 employees. Attorney Sarah Harbison with the Pelican Institute says the 5th circuit federal appeals court agreed to suspend the mandate, but that ruling was recently dissolved by another appeals court

Cut 7 (09) “…evaluate the case.”
There’s an improvement to report in Louisiana’s job market. So says Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates, who notes some of the improvement that’s taken place since Hurricane Ida struck, and despite COVID-19.

Cut 4 (08) “….over the year.”
The leisure and hospitality sector gained 27-hundred jobs from October to November.

Louisiana faces several challenges in its efforts to address domestic violence, according to a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report. Performance Auditor Kristen Jacobs says while the state has added a number of very strong domestic abuse laws, knowledge of the laws and oversight is an issue.

Cut 12 (08) “…next session.”

 

Adequate shelters for abuse victims is another ongoing issue in the state.

9:30 AM LRN Newscast

Governor Edwards extends the state’s public health emergency order requiring face masks to be worn inside state agencies due to the increase in Omicron cases. State epidemiologist Theresa Sokol says going into the holidays there are fears it will only make things worse and we need to return to indoor masking to reduce transmission.

Cut 14 (11)  “…indoor public setting.”

Louisiana businessman Brandon Trosclair is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to end the Biden Administration’s COVID vaccination mandate for private businesses. Pelican Institute Attorney Sarah Harbison is representing Trosclair.

Cut 8 (16) “…their personal physicians.”

There’s improvement to report in Louisiana’s job market. Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission Ava Cates says seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs show a gain of 85-hundred and an estimated gain of just under 35-thousand jobs from November of 2020. She says job gains are being seen in a broad range of industries.

Cut 5 (08) “…mining and logging.”

The unemployment rate has dropped for eight consecutive months with an over-the-year employment gain.

Louisiana faces several challenges in its efforts to address domestic violence, according to a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report. Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director Mariah Wineski says while there are numerous challenges in the state, she says the report highlights the dire ones.

Cut  11 (12)  “…statistic.”  

 

8:30 LRN Newscast December 22

Governor Edwards is once again requiring indoor masking in state offices and health officials say it’s a good idea that the public starts to mask up again as what appears to be the fifth surge of COVID begins.
Cut 3 (32) “….I’m Brooke Thorington.”

The Omicron variant will not stop Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Mayor LaToya Cantrell says parades will return to the Big Easy in 2022, but many parade routes will change because of a shortage of police officers. The parading season begins February 18th.

There’s improvement to report in Louisiana’s job market. So says Louisiana Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates, who notes some of the improvement that’s taken place since Hurricane Ida struck, and despite COVID-19.
Cut 4 (08) “….over the year.”
The leisure and hospitality sector gained 27-hundred jobs from October to November.

Businessman Brandon Trosclair is asking the U-S Supreme Court to hear his lawsuit that attempts to stop President Biden from putting into a place vaccine mandate for employees who work for employers who have over 100 workers. Attorney Sarah Harbison with the Pelican Institute represents Trosclair and says the expense of the mandate is unrealistic…
cut 9 (10) “….set up to do that”
Right now the vaccinate mandate is set to go into place on January 10th.

7:30 LRN Newscast December 22

Governor Edwards has extended Louisiana’s Public Health Emergency order related to COVID-19 and state agencies in the governor’s cabinet is requiring masks of employees and visitors. State epidemiologist Theresa Sokol says the CDC recommends indoor masking for everyone regardless of vaccination status in areas with high or substantial community transmission.
Cut 13 (10) “…of transmission.”

Louisiana businessman Brandon Trosclair is asking the U-S Supreme Court to hear his lawsuit that seeks to stop President Biden’s vaccine worker mandate for businesses that have more than 100 employees. Attorney Sarah Harbison with the Pelican Institute says the 5th circuit federal appeals court agreed to suspend the mandate, but that ruling was recently dissolved by another appeals court
cut 7 (09) “….evaluate the case”

The employment situation is continuing to improve in Louisiana since the beginning of COVID-19 and post-Hurricane Ida. More from Dave Brannen.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

New census data shows Lousiana lost 27-thousand residents from July 1st 2020 to this past July. That’s the fifth-highest number in the country. New York leads the way with 319-thousand residents lost, followed by California, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Texas had the highest numeric growth.

6:45 LRN Sportscast

The 17th ranked LSU men’s basketball team looks to stay undefeated tonight when they host Lipscomb at 7 PM. The Bisons are 6-and-7, while the Fighting Tigers are 11-and-0, the first time LSU has won 11 straight to begin a season since the 1999-2000 season. Coach Will Wade says putting together a double-digit win streak is very difficult…
cut 17 (18) “…different challenge”

The Pelicans have a three-game winning streak as New Orleans outscored Portland 30-19 in the fourth quarter to top the Trail Blazers 111 to 97 last night. Forward Brandon Ingram had 28 points. Since starting the season 3-and-16, the Pels are 8-and-5.

With Philadelphia beating Washington 27-17 last night, the Saints are now in ninth place in the NFC Standings. They need to move ahead of the Eagles and Vikings to grab the final playoff spot in the NFC.

In other NFL news…former LSU Tiger and Tampa Bay running back Leonard Fournette is expected to be placed on I-R and miss the rest of the regular season with a hamstring injury.

LSU defensive tackle Neil Farrell Junior has announced he will not play in the Texas Bowl against Kansas State on January fourth. He’s the first Tiger to indicate he’s opting out. The fifth-year senior had 45 tackles this past season and recorded a career-high 9.5 tackles for a loss.

In college basketball last night, Texas A-and-M topped Northwestern State 80-61, Iowa slammed Southeastern Louisiana 93-62, Kansas State clobbered McNeese 74-59 and Oregon State knocked off Nicholls 83-61, despite 26 points from Ty Gordon.

The 21st ranked Lady Tigers defeated Texas Tech 74-60 for its 10th straight win. Khayla Pointer had 19 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

6:30 LRN Newscast

Louisiana faces several challenges in its efforts to address domestic violence, according to a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report. Performance Auditor Kristen Jacobs says adequate shelter for victims is a major issue.
Cut 10 (11) “…the state.”
Jacobs says another issue is that state laws intended to protect victims, such as protective orders, are not consistently implemented across the state.

The Louisiana Workforce Commission says the state has added nearly 35-thousand jobs from November of 2020 to November 2021 and the state’s unemployment rate has fallen nearly three percent during that time to 5.1 percent. L-W-C Secretary Ava Cates admits the workforce is changing…
cut 6 (09) “….work-life balance”

A Louisiana businessman’s legal fight to stop the White House COVID vaccine mandate for employers is going to the U.S. Supreme Court. More from Kevin Gallagher…:
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Governor Edwards says given the fast-spreading Omicron variant masks will be required in most state offices. He encourages the unvaccinated to get the jab and those who are vaccinated to get their booster shots if it’s been six months since your last shot.

AM Newscall Dec 22

AM NEWSCALL

The employment situation is continuing to improve in Louisiana since the beginning of COVID-19 and post-Hurricane Ida. More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

___________________________________

A Louisiana businessman’s legal fight to stop the White House COVID vaccine mandate for employers is going to the U.S. Supreme Court. More from Kevin Gallagher…:

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

___________________________________

Governor Edwards renews calls for indoor masking at state agencies and state health officials are calling on residents to mask up as what appears to be the 5th surge of COVID begins. Brooke Thorington has more

Cut 3 (32) “….I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

___________________________________

There’s improvement to report in Louisiana’s job market. So says Ava Cates, Secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission, who notes some of the improvement that’s taken place since Hurricane Ida struck, and despite COVID-19.

Cut 4 (08) “….over the year.”

Cates says the November jobless report shows a slight decline from October, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate now at five-point-one-percent.

Cates says the job gains are being seen in a broad range of industries.

Cut 5 (08) “…mining and logging.”

Secretary Cates says the seasonally-adjusted total nonfarm gain of 85-hundred jobs last month to one-million-365-thousand-300 jobs is the highest since March 2020, the beginning of the COVID pandemic, and she says there are still more people to put back to work.

Cut 6 (09) “..work-life balance.”

The unemployment rate has dropped for eight consecutive months with an over-the-year employment gain.

__________________________________________________

A Louisiana businessman asks the U.S. Supreme Court to end the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate for private businesses. Sarah Harbison, an attorney with the Pelican Institute, is representing Brandon Trosclair in the suit. She says a 5th Circuit federal appeals court agreed to suspend the mandate, but the 6th Circuit Appeals court tossed that out; allowing the White House mandate to continue…:

Cut 7 (09) “…evaluate the case.”

Under President Biden’s orders, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will oversee the mandate that all companies with 100 or more employees have them all vaccinated or face stiff penalties. Justice Kavanaugh has asked the High Court to respond no later than December 30th. Harbison says her client hopes the justices will agree the OSHA mandate is a government overreach…:

Cut 8 (16) “…their personal physicians.”

If the court upholds the president’s orders, employers will have to create or sub-contract a whole new level of bureaucracy to monitor workers’ health and enforce the mandate. Harbison’s client runs two grocery store chains; employing about 500. She says the expense of the mandate is unrealistic for many…:

Cut 9 (10)  “…set up to do that.”

A January 10th deadline with OSHA to comply is looming.

_____________________________________________

Louisiana faces several challenges in its efforts to address domestic violence, according to a Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s report. In 2017 Louisiana had the second-highest number of female homicides with more than half killed by an intimate partner. Performance Auditor Kristen Jacobs says adequate shelter for victims is a major issue.

Cut 10 (11)  “…the state.”

Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence Executive Director Mariah Wineski says while there are numerous challenges in the state, she says the report highlights the dire

Cut  11 (12)  “…statistic.”  

The report found while there is a domestic violence training requirement for law enforcement officers there’s not a requirement for judges and district attorneys.

Jacobs says while the state has added a number of very strong domestic abuse laws, knowledge of the laws and oversight is an issue.

Cut 12 (08) “…next session.”

To view the full report, you can visit lla.LA.gov or at LRN.com

_____________________________________________________

Governor Edwards extends the state’s public health emergency order requiring face masks to be worn inside state agencies due to the increase in Omicron cases. State epidemiologist Theresa Sokol says the CDC recommends indoor masking for everyone regardless of vaccination status in areas with high or substantial community transmission.

Cut 13 (10) “…of transmission.”

State Health Officials say the significant uptick in COVID hospitalizations and cases are indicative of the beginning of a fifth surge. Sokol says going into the holidays there are fears it will only make things worse and we need to return to masking to reduce transmission.

Cut 14 (11)  “…indoor public setting.”

Sokol says if you are attending a private indoor gathering with people outside of your immediate household you should mask to reduce transmission, especially for those who are more susceptible to the virus.

Cut 15 (09)  “…individuals as well.”

_______________________________________________________

The 16th ranked LSU basketball team hosts Lipscomb tonight in the Tigers final game before a short Christmas break. The Tigers are one of six teams in Division one that’s still unbeaten after rallying back from a first-half double-digit deficit to beat Louisiana Tech on Saturday. LSU Coach Will Wade would rather not have to rally from big deficits to win…

Cut  16 (16) “…fall off”

Lipscomb is six and seven, while LSU is 11-and-0. It’s the first time the Tigers have started the season with 11 straight victories since the 1999-2000 season. Wade says putting together a double-digit winning streak is very difficult…

Cut 17 (18) “ different challenge” 

LSU has three players averaging in double figures. Tari Eason, who comes off the bench and averages a team-high 16 points a game. Darius Days is averaging 15 points and nine rebounds a game and Xavier Pinson has transferred in from Missouri to average 10 points and five assists a game. Wade says Pinson has been a great addition out of the transfer portal

Cut 18 (19) “ ..get”