At this hour, Interstates 49 and 220 in the Shreveport area are closed until further notice, as a winter weather advisory remains in effect for the I-20 corridor through 9 pm. National Weather Service forecaster Charlie Woodrum, in Shreveport, says ice accumulations will be mainly less than a tenth of an inch…:

CUT 03(09)      “…this evening.”

An Alexandria psychiatric nurse practitioner is under arrest; accused of trading prescription drugs for sex. Rapides Sheriff’s spokesman Tommy Carnline says 40-year-old Mark Declouet (dih-CLOUT) Jr. paid men to introduce him to women – often drug addicts – who’d go for his trade. Carnline says the women are victims, and they suspect there are more out there..:

CUT 14(11)      “…too long.”

The cost for a barrel of oil could rise to nearly $100 later this year. Increased demand as more and more Americans take to the roads and airways has caused the spike. However, economist Dr. Loren Scott says Louisiana should reap some financial benefits from those higher oil prices, both for the state’s coffers and for businesses…:

CUT 11(13)      “…gas extraction employment.”

He says OPEC is stepping up production which will mean lower oil prices, hence decreasing gas prices.

The state Department of health reports just over 5300 new cases of COVID today; mostly Omicron. Of those, 1890 are in the hospital, and about 70-percent of THEM are not fully vaxxed. LDH also reports another 61 COVID deaths, bringing the pandemic total for the state to 15,841; roughly 1 & 1/2 percent of infections.