Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announces BP has settled up with Gulf States for the 2010 Gulf Oil spill for $18.7 billion dollars. He says Louisiana gets a total of $6.8 billion dollars going toward natural resource damage, economic losses and Clean Water penalties…:
CUT 4 (10) “16 years”
Caldwell says this finally and fairly resolves all issues associated with the disaster.

Shreveport Police say a 3-year-old is in critical condition after shooting himself in the head. They believe the boy was playing with the gun when it went off. Authorities say both parents were home at the time of the incident and rushed the child to a local hospital. Police think the toddler got the gun from a holster hanging on the parent’s bed. The investigation is ongoing.

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission announces their Independence Day “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign begins today. Deputy Director Ken Trull says their goal is to remove impaired drivers from the roadway and save lives. He says during last year’s 4th of July holiday period, there were 374 fatal and injury crashes in Louisiana…:
CUT 6 (08) “alcohol related”
He says if you’re going to drink, choose a designated driver because essentially cops will be everywhere.

The Reelz cable network has announced that they will televise the Miss USA Pageant live from Baton Rouge on July 12th. NBC pulled the pageant from their schedule over objections to pageant co-owner Donald Trump’s controversial comments on Mexican immigrants. Reelz CEO Stan Hubbard says they acquired the rights because they believe the pageant is an integral part of American tradition.