Gas prices rose another seven cents from yesterday. Jeff Palermo reports 4-dollar a gallon gasoline could be possible this summer…
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”
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The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab is dealing with a major backlog. David Grubb has more on how they’re tackling the problem.
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According to Triple-A, the statewide average for a regular gallon of gasoline has jumped seven cents over the last 24 hours to $3.48. Triple-A fuel analyst Don Redman says Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is pushing prices higher…
The highest recorded average price for Louisiana is just above four dollars a gallon and Redman says we could hit that mark again soon…
Redman says if gas prices approach four-dollars a gallon, people will begin changing their behavior dramatically…
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Jetsetters flying in and out of Alexandria will have fewer flight options beginning next month and even fewer in June. Executive director of the Alexandria International Airport, Sandra McQuain, says American Airlines will temporarily all Alexandria-Charlotte flights in April, and in June United will cut service to AEX, due to the pilot shortage.
McQuain says Alexandria is the second Louisiana market where United has discontinued service. United stopped flights to Monroe back in January. American routes to Charlotte are expected to return in the fall at AEX. American flights to Dallas will continue at AEX.
McQuain says the pilot shortage is not unique to Alexandria. United has parked at least 100 regional jets due to the lack of pilots and this month American has eliminated about 10,000 flights from their schedule
McQuain says since the announcement she’s been actively trying to fill those routes with new ones. She says while they hate to lose a carrier and or routes to AEX it does create the opportunity to recruit new ones.
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State and local crime labs across the country face tremendous backlogs in testing DNA and the problem is only getting worse. Even with the federal government spending at least $1 billion since 2004 to reduce the delays, backlogged requests nationwide are up by 85 percent. The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab currently has 25-hundred DNA cases awaiting testing. Lieutenant Melissa Matey says that one of the biggest hurdles LSP faces are vacancies at key positions.
Cut 9 (11) “…training right now.”
Unlike what viewers may see when watching their favorite crime procedural, analyzing DNA evidence doesn’t happen overnight. It can be a painstaking process in order to ensure that the evidence is handled and examined properly. Matey points to the loss of staff along with a surge in demand for extending the timeline for even the most expedited requests.
Cut 10 (12) “…the response time.”
LSP says an aggressive push in 2018 cut the backlog down to 150 cases, but that sparked the mass departures of staff. With the increase in violent crimes, the lab now receives more than 5000 testing requests each year. Lieutenant Matey says State Police understands how vital accurate DNA results are for law enforcement and believes once the staffing issue is resolved, the lab can begin to make a dent.
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The number of new COVID cases continues to drop. The Louisiana Health Department reported 607 new cases today and statewide hospitalizations fell by another 17 to 394. Many are hoping we are done with Covid, but Tulane Epidemiologist Doctor Susan Hassig says unfortunately another surge is possible….
Hassig says they are monitoring a variant of Omicron that’s spreading through some parts of Europe…
Some have the belief that the Covid variants will get weaker, but Hassig that’s not a guarantee…