Data from the first five days of Louisiana Early Voting indicates black voters are “sitting this one out.” Kevin Gallagher has more…:

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

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A man in Arnaudville has been charged with negligent injury after attempting to shoot his neighbor’s dog. Whitney Thomas has more…

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Whitney Thomas”

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Today marks the five-year anniversary of when Governor Edward’s Criminal Justice Reform and Justice Reinvestment legislation went into effect. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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Early Voting for the November 8^th election ends this afternoon, and it looks like low turnout among Louisiana’s black voters. Pollster John Couvillon, with JMC Analytics and Polling in Baton Rouge, says information collected through Saturday (the 29^th) indicates only 24 percent of that was by black voters…:

Cut 4 (07)  “…that have early voted.”

Couvillon says blacks make up just over 30 percent of Louisiana voters and most are Democrats. Historically, when Democrats have gotten out the vote in Early Voting, it led to victories for their party. In 2008, when Mary Landrieu and Barack Obama won in Louisiana by big margins, and in 2015 & 2019, when John Bel Edwards won both his terms in office…:

Cut 5 (07) “…Georgia and North Carolina.”

Couvillon says when the black early vote slips below 25 percent, Republicans generally win substantially. He also notes that it’s possible we’ll see a surge among black voters when all the mail-in ballots are counted, as that’s become a “thing” since the pandemic made it necessary…:

Cut 6 (07)  “…spiked to 15 percent.” 

Couvillon says data indicates this could be a bad election cycle for Democrat candidates, but says anything can happen once all the votes are counted. The election is a week from today.

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The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s office has charged an Arnaudville man with negligent injury after deputies say he accidentally shot his neighbor while trying to shoot a dog. Sheriff Bobby Guidroz says 42-year-old Joshua Boudreaux shot at his neighbor’s dog after the dog came onto his property.

Cut 7 (08) “…his property.”

After Boudreaux called in the incident, deputies reviewed his home security system and arrested him, setting his bond at $4,500. Guidroz says the neighbor was willing to make a deal with Mr. Boudreaux.

Cut 8 (09)  “…do that.”

Guidroz says Boudreaux told authorities the dog had been on his property multiple times and was concerned about the dog acting aggressively towards his son with disabilities, but the sheriff says there was no justification for him to shoot the dog. 

Cut 9 (08)  “…other animals.”

 The neighbor was picking up trash when he was shot.

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Five years ago, today Governor John Bel Edwards’ landmark legislation of Criminal Justice Reform and Justice Reinvestment went into effect. House Criminal Justice Chairman, Representative Joe Marino says, while it’s hard to tell how much the state has benefitted from the reforms, due to the pandemic, he believes it’s made a positive impact.

Cut 10 (11) “…the state.” 

Of the $152 million savings, Marino says $45 million went to the general fund, $18 million to juvenile justice, almost $18 million to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, $26 million to reentry programs, and almost $44 million into the back to the Department of Corrections.

And while critics of Criminal Justice Reform say it’s the cause of the recent spike in crime in Louisiana. Marino says the reforms addressed how the state treats non-violent offenders.

Cut  11 (11)  “…didn’t happen.”

When it comes to addressing the spike in juvenile crime, Marino says he thinks the legislature should pass similar reforms.

Cut 12 (10) “…non-violent offenders.” 

Marino says the recidivism rate among criminals has also decreased and with parole officers having their caseloads reduced they are able to be more effective in redirecting offenders to a better path in life.

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The LHSAA will allow Bogalusa High School to host a football game this Friday after originally saying they would have to be moved because of a fatal shooting outside of the stadium during their October 14th homecoming game. Bogalusa Mayor Wendy Perrette says they’ve assured all the schools in their district of a security plan that would prevent gun violence.

Cut 13 (11) “…as well.”

Perette says the reversed decision was important for seniors and the team because they’re on a winning streak.

Cut 14 (10)  “…championship game.”

Bogalusa high will be facing Albany this Friday, Perrette says she’s happy an agreement was reached.

Cut 15 (10)  “…be safe.”

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LSU coach Brian Kelly finds out what the LSU-Alabama rivalry is all about this Saturday when the 15th-ranked Tigers host the sixth-ranked Crimson Tide. Kelly has squared off against Nick Saban on two previous occasions and both times Bama beat Kelly while he was at Notre Dame. Kelly is looking forward to his first matchup with Saban as SEC rivals

Cut 16 (25)  “…what we are doing.” 

LSU has had the habit of starting games slowly this season, something they can not afford to do against Alabama. Kelly says over the last couple of weeks at practice, they’ve started physical contact drills earlier…

Cut 17 (25) “…sharp mentally.” 

Alabama has the reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young and Kelly says once again he’s playing at a high level…

Cut 18 (17) “…he’s elite.” 

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Saints running back Alvin Kamara’s speech to his teammates following the loss to Arizona might have sparked the team’s performance on Sunday as they shut out the Raiders. Kamara urged his teammates to play with more swagger and that’s what happened against Las Vegas. Now he wants to see it for the rest of the season…

Cut 19 (18) “…and the next week.”

Today is the NFL trade deadline, and Kamara’s name has come up in rumors, but he’s not paying attention to them…

Cut 20 (17) “…your thing.”

Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins Twitter post in response to the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked with a hammer last week has raised eyebrows. The tweet read, “The moment you realize a nudist hippie male prostitute LSD guy was the reason your husband didn’t make it to your fundraiser.” The post was deleted last night, and ULM Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says a staffer for Higgins likely took it down…

Cut 10 (09) “…the moment”

Louisiana’s agriculture industry is not laughing about the low Mississippi River levels. Director of the LSU Center for River Studies Clint Wilson says lower water levels means barges transport fewer goods and businesses that service ports are also hurting…
Cut 4 (08) “…being impacted.” 
Apple has updated its latest operating system to 16.1 and Haggai Davis, Customer Success Manager at General Informatics says when previous iOS versions were released there were complaints of batteries draining faster on iPhone but the newest version appears to have remedied that.

Cut 14 (11)  “…a lot of improvements.” 

Davis is also the host of the podcast Tech Gumbo.

Tonight’s Powerball Jackpot has reached one billion dollars, that’s a billion with a B, and Louisiana Lottery Spokesperson Dustin Annison says it has a cash value of $497-point-three million.

Cut 6 (09)  “…jackpot ever.”

You have until 9 PM to purchase your Powerball ticket for tonight’s drawing at 9:59 PM.

Tangipahoa Parish deputies shot and killed a man Sunday, during a 2-hour standoff. They were called to the residence by a woman saying her estranged husband was going to burn her house down. After the standoff, the man got out his pickup and fired a shot at officers. They returned fire, killing him. The matter is under investigation.

The Powerball Jackpot reaches one-billion dollars. Have you bought tickets for tonight’s drawing..?

CUT 02(31)      “…Thorington.”

The record low level of the Mississippi River has been a novelty for sightseers – especially in Baton Rouge where the U.S.S. Kidd is fully out of the water and a 100-year-old shipwreck has been revealed…but it’s wreaking economic havoc on trade. LSU Center for River Studies Director Clint Wilson says barges cannot carry full loads…:

CUT 03(09)      “…to it.”

He says about all man can do is hope for more rain.

Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins posted a joke on Twitter about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband and then removed it last night. Authorities say Paul Pelosi suffered a skull fracture inside his San Francisco home last week. Higgins Tweet was a joke about the Assailant being a “nude hippie LSD guy”; suggesting he was not an intruder. U.L. Monroe political science professor Pearson Cross says it may have been a tasteless joke but it likely will not hurt Higgins re-election bid…:

CUT 11(09)      “…Congressional seat.”

District 3 Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins is drawing criticism for making a joke about last week’s attack on the 82-year-old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Tweet has been taken down, but it reportedly was a picture of Nancy Pelosi holding her hands to her face and over the picture Higgins wrote, “The moment you realize a nudist hippie male prostitute LSD guy was the reason your husband didn’t make it to your fundraiser.” U.L. Monroe political science professor Pearson Cross imagines it was a staffer – not Higgins – who took the post down…:

CUT 10(09)      “…the moment.”

Cross says this will likely not hurt Higgins chances of winning the election.

Deputies in Vernon Parish say a bloodhound led them to the remains of 63-year-old Ronald Lopez, a hunter from the town of Scott, who fell out of his tree stand and died. He’d been missing over a day. They say it appears a chain on the tree stand broke causing him to fall and be fatally injured.

Experts say the record low Mississippi River levels are hurting the nation’s economy, from the upper Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Marsanne Golsby has more…:

CUT 01(31)      “…Golsby.”

The Powerball jackpot is now at a Billion dollars for tonight’s drawing. Louisiana Lottery spokesman Dustin Annison says that’s meant a huge spike in ticket sales…:

CUT 08(12)      “…jackpot.”

Get yours before 9pm tonight.

The record low level of the Mississippi River may be making for some cool sightseeing for folks, but it’s having some negative economic impacts. Barges have to limit their loads so they don’t sit too deep and that limits commerce from cargo. And then there’s the threat of saltwater intrusion from the Gulf.  LSU Center for River Studies director Clint Wilson says there’s not a lot we CAN do about, but hope for more rain. However he says the forecast is for a drier-than-average winter…:

CUT 05  (05)        “…snow events.”

60-percent of U.S. agriculture exports go down the Mississippi.

Congressman Clay Higgins is taking some flak for posting a joke about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband last week. The joke appeared on Twitter but was taken down a short time later. UL-Monroe political science professor Pearson Cross says, given Higgins’ history, it comes as small surprise…:

CUT 09  (09)        “…like this one.”

The joke alluded to Paul Pelosi’s attacker being a “nudist hippie male prostitute.”

Have an iPhone? Apple’s latest operating system, 16.1, is out. Haggai Davis, tech expert with General Informatics in Baton Rouge, says one of the first things you’ll notice is a change to your iPhone’s “lock screen’…:

CUT 13  (12)        “…to you now.”

An Arnoudville man is under arrest; accused of shooting his neighbor in the leg while trying to shoot the man’s dog. 42-year-old Justin Boudreaux was charged with negligent injuring and illegal use of a weapon. Boudreaux says the dog is aggressive and had threatened his child, so he wasn’t tolerating it in his yard anymore. The bullet missed the dog and ricocheted off concrete; hitting the neighbor, who will recover.

Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins posted a joke on Twitter in response to the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked with a hammer by an intruder that broke into their San Francisco home. The tweet read, “The moment you realize a nudist hippie male prostitute LSD guy was the reason your husband didn’t make it to your fundraiser.” The post was deleted last night. ULM Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says a staffer for Higgins likely took it down…
cut 10 (09) “….the moment”

Louisiana’s agriculture industry is not laughing about the low Mississippi River levels. Clint Wilson, director of the LSU Center for River Studies, says lower water levels means barges transport fewer goods and businesses that service ports are also hurting…
cut 4 (10) “…being impacted”

The Powerball Jackpot reaches one-billion dollars. Brooke Thorington has more on this historic jackpot.
Cut 2 (31) “…Brooke Thorington”

Apple has updated its latest operating system to 16.1 and Haggai Davis, Customer Success Manager at General Informatics says they never recommend someone go to a full upgrade for example 15 to version 16, he advises waiting for the first update of a new version before you download it.
Cut 12 (06) “….worked out.”

Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins posted a joke on Twitter about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband and then removed it last night. Authorities say Paul Pelosi suffered a skull fracture inside his San Francisco home when he was attacked by an intruder Friday. ULM Political Science Professor Pearson Cross

Cut 9 (09)  “…like this one.”

The tweet was a picture of Nancy Pelosi holding her hands to her face and over the picture, Higgins wrote, “The moment you realize a nudist hippie male prostitute LSD guy was the reason your husband didn’t make it to your fundraiser.”

Tonight’s Powerball is one billion dollars and Louisiana Lottery Spokesperson Dustin Annison says it has a cash value of $497-point-three million. It’s the second-largest jackpot in the game’s history and if it rolls over again, will it be the largest Powerball Jackpot ever? Annison says it still has a way to go.

Cut 7 (06) “…in 2016″

Experts says the record low Mississippi River levels are hurting the nation’s economy, from the upper Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. Marsanne Golsby has more.

Cut 1 (31)  “…I’m Marsanne Golsby”

It’s been five years since a package of state criminal justice reform laws went into effect. The legislation lowered the state’s prison population, which allowed the state to re-invest that money elsewhere. The governor’s communications director Lauren Leist says today the governor will visit an organization in Lafayette that helps domestic violence victims and he has more events planned later this week…
Cut 11 (09) “…re-investment”

Experts say the record low Mississippi River levels are taking a big toll on the economy. Clint Wilson is the director of the LSU Center for River Studies says the impact is being felt from Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico as barges can’t carry full loads.
Cut 3 (09) “..to it”
Accuweather estimates the economic loss at around 20-billion dollars.

It’s Halloween and Louisiana State Police have some tips on how to make it a safe one for trick-or-treaters. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Tonight’s Powerball Jackpot has reached one billion dollars, that’s a billion with a B, and Louisiana Lottery Spokesperson Dustin Annison says it has a cash value of $497-million dollars
Cut 6 (09) “…jackpot ever.”
Tonight’s drawing is just before 10 PM.