Hundreds of millions of dollars have been approved by the state House today as lawmakers work to stave off cuts to higher education and health care. The bills moved through quickly including scale backs of movie and solar tax credit programs. Legislators also approved bills that will result in higher taxes on businesses. House Ways and Means Chairman Joel Robideaux explained the need to do this, even though there’s opposition from business and industry…:
CUT 14 (12) “movie there”
The 32 cent tax increase on a pack of cigarettes bill also passed today.

An additional 201 state vehicles will be sold at auction Saturday and it’s open to the public. The Division of Administration says they’ve already been able to sell 243 underutilized cars through the auctions generating a total of $809,900 for the state.

Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne takes the first jab at an opponent in the Governor’s race. Dardenne issued a statement calling David Vitter an absent US Senator because instead of voting Tuesday, he was drinking beer with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in an effort to boost his gubernatorial bid. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says the more important the job, the more likely it is that jabbing rules are thrown out the window…:
CUT 8 (09) “at one another”

Now that we know that former LSU Tiger La’el Collins was not the father of Brittney Mills’ deceased baby, where does the investigation into the murder go from here? Baton Rouge Police Corporal Don Coppola says the needed Collins to take a paternity test because he was the murder victim’s ex-boyfriend…:
CUT 10 (05) “not the father”
Collins signed with the Cowboys today. The murder investigation is ongoing.