The National Retail Federation says spending on Valentine’s Day gifts will exceed last year’s $23.9 billion. Brooke Thorington has more.
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A St. Mary Parish man face numerous charges for illegally taking nutria, to profit from the state’s bounty program. More from Jeff Palermo…:
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Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and while you’ll probably witness some last-minute shopping today, overall shoppers are predicted to spend a whopping $25.9 billion in the US this year. Katherine Cullen with the National Retail Federation says that’s up from $23.9 billion spent last year and the second highest on record.
52% of consumers plan to make purchases for their Valentine’s this year.
And while the majority of those purchases are for significant others and family members, Cullen says the reason for the increase is more consumers showing appreciation for others in their life.
A third of Valentine’s Day shoppers will make their purchases online this year and Cullen says the rest will purchase gifts at department stores, discount stores, or specialty stores like florists.
Cut 5 (11) “…for a loved one.”
Among the most popular gifts are candy, flowers, and greeting cards. Cullen says consumers are also planning to splurge on an evening out or even jewelry. Consumers are expected to spend $4.4 billion on an evening out and more than $5.5 billion on jewelry this year.
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State Wildlife & Fisheries agents arrest a Patterson man for illegally taking nutria, to collect bounties for the invasive species. LDWF spokesman Adam Einck (EYE-nk) says their investigation began with them being alerted to videos posted on social media that showed the cruel acts…:
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They arrested 45-year-old Harris DeHart last week. He is seen in the videos catching nutria by gassing them, cutting off their tails and letting them go; impaired and badly injured. Einck says he faces a long list of charges…:
Cut 7 (11) “…that’s not allowed.”
Einck says the state pays a bounty for the invasive animals, and they pay by how many tails one turns in. However, he says the manner in which DeHart was getting the tails was cruel and in violation of state law for how nutria are to be legally taken. He says DeHart was, in essence, cheating the nutria bounty system…:
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If convicted, DeHart could face stiff fines and serious jail time of up to ten years.
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Baton Rouge Representative Scott McKnight who’s so far the only candidate running for State Treasurer addressed the Press Club of Baton Rouge this afternoon. The insurance executive has been in the legislature since 2020.
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The Republican says the legislature approves the budget, and the treasurer holds onto the funds and makes sure it’s allocated and goes where and when it is needed. As for the remaining funds, McKnight says it’s the treasurer’s job to invest those funds.
McKnight complimented current Treasurer John Schroder on his job performance and says he plans to mirror his tenure and his leadership role on the Bond Commission.
Treasurer Schroder is not seeking re-election and is running for governor.
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Bad news for the Pelicans as All-Star forward Zion Williamson will miss several more weeks after he re-aggravated his right hamstring. Pelicans executive vice president David Griffin says Williamson was set to return soon, but re-injured himself at practice…
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Williamson first suffered the injury on January 2nd and has missed 28 games this season. Zion missed all of last season, but still made the playoffs, so Griffin is confident the team can still play at a high level without their all-star…
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New Orleans is 12 and 16 in games without Williamson this season. They are 29-28 overall and in seventh place in the Western Conference. Williamson has played in 114 games and missed 169 since he was the first pick in the 2019 draft. Coach Willie Green says all they can ask from him is to work hard to get back…
New Orleans is at Oklahoma City tonight.