LRN PM Newscall January 5

A person very close to the late Luke Letlow, may run for the 5th district Congressional seat that remains vacant following his death form COVID-19. Brooke Thorington has more.

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Unemployed workers are receiving an extra 300-dollars a week on top of the 247-dollars they receive from the state. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 2 (30) ….I’m Jeff Palermo”  

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A new law took effect this year that requires health insurance companies to cover newly developed precision genetic treatments for cancer patients.

River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot authored the law which was signed last June. He says it fills a coverage gap for cancer patients wanting to try new procedures.

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The bill passaged unanimously in both chambers.

Talbot says the new law was inspired by the experience of one of his friends who had breast cancer.

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Talbot says before this law went into effect most cancer patients couldn’t get health insurance coverage for these types of treatments without putting up a serious fight.

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Talbot says cancer patients who were denied coverage for this treatment as recently as last month should now be eligible to have it covered.

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The wife of the late Congressman-elect Luke Letlow is reportedly considering a run for the 5th Congressional district seat. USA Today Network reporter Greg Hilburn broke the story that 41-year-old Julia Letlow has been asked to run. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says it’s a personal decision for Julia Letlow.

Cut 6 (11) “…public service.”

It wouldn’t be a first for Louisiana. in 1973 Lindy Boggs successfully ran for her late husband’s, Hale Boggs, Congressional seat.

Stockley says former Congressman Ralph Abraham is also a possibility to run for the seat, even though he’s publicly stated he’s retired from Congress.

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Stockley says if Julia Letlow does run, the campaigns of her opponents will take on a different tone.

Cut 8 (11) “…tragic loss.”

Qualifying for the March 20th special election is January 20th through the 22nd.

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Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy are splitting on tomorrow’s Congressional vote to certify the Presidential Election results with Cassidy for and Kennedy against.

President Trump has called on Republicans to reject the election results, calling them fraudulent. LSU Poli Sci Professor Robert Hogan says that call has GOP members in a bind…

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Courts have rejected Trump Administration lawsuits challenging the election results and Louisiana’s head of election Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says there is no evidence of cheating.

Hogan says it’s not surprising Kennedy is rejecting the results. He says while Cassidy is safe for another six years, Kennedy is up for reelection in two years and may have greater ambitions…

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Kennedy has joined with a faction of Congressional Republicans that want a commission to review vote results in battleground state’s lost by the President and seek to establish a commission to investigate allegations of voter fraud.

Hogan says it will be interesting to watch how the state’s House Republican Delegation votes given how conservative those districts are…

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Unemployed workers are receiving an extra 300-dollars a week. Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Ava Dejoie says the extra money is the result of the COVID relief bill approved by Congress…

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The maximum an unemployed worker gets from the state is 247-dollars per week. Dejoie says unemployed workers have been trying to live off of that for months because additional federal assistance was not available

Cut 13 (11)“…manner.”

The additional 300-dollar a week benefit is expected to last until March 13th. She says since the onset of the pandemic, the state has distributed about seven billion dollars in funds to nearly 700-thousand Louisianans…

Cut 14 (12) “…uptick in cases”