Senator Bill Cassidy says the White House botched the handling of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that crossed the USA last week. More from Jeff Palermo…:
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Upon word that their beloved alligator Hardhide could be euthanized, the town of Ponchatoula rallied to keep her alive. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (31) “….I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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Louisiana’s senior Senator Bill Cassidy says the White House botched the handling of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the whole USA last week. During his weekly press teleconference, Cassidy says President Biden should have ordered the balloon intercepted far earlier than he did…:
Cut 3 (08) “…our southern border.”
Cassidy feels the president’s failure to react to the first balloon makes us look vulnerable to foreign powers, and places our national security at risk…:
Cut 4 (09) “…to our airspace.”
Cassidy and other senators were briefed by the Defense Department on the balloon last week, as well as four other unidentified objects shot down in the days since. He says, at least U.S. air defenses are much more alert to such incursions going forward…:
Cut 5 (07) “…pick up these objects.”
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Mandeville Representative Paul Hollis has filed a bill for the upcoming regular session that he calls the Public Library Accountability Act. Hollis says his legislation gives power to municipalities and parishes to make sure their library system operates the way they want it to…
Hollis says he wants to give local governments the ability to remove individuals from library control boards…
Cut 7 (11) “…local communities”
State Attorney General Jeff Landry issues a legal opinion stating local governments have the authority to remove members of Library Control Boards. But Hollis says 21 years ago the attorney general at that time, Richard Ieyoub, issued an opposite opinion on that question.
LGBTQ advocates say the efforts to control the type of reading material found in libraries is an effort to censor certain books dealing with homosexuality and gender identity. But Hollis says taxpayer money should not be used to acquire some of the books he’s seen in libraries
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A silent alarm at the Rapides Area Drug Enforcement unit building, Sunday night, alerted deputies of a break-in. Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tommy Carnline says when they inspected the RADE unit nothing was taken but the backdoor was propped open. Then they heard a noise at a nearby building.
Cut 9 (11) “…use the restroom.”
The RADE building houses individual offices and evidence rooms. Matthews was taken into custody and Carnline says she faces several charges.
The dog was impounded. As for a motive, Carnline says the suspect told them she thought the building was a Sheriff’s Office substation. He says the door where the suspect entered is never used and serves as a fire exit.
Cut 11 (07) “…happening again.”
Matthews is being held at the Rapides Parish Detention Center.
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After a complaint to state wildlife and fisheries the Strawberry Capital of the World went into a frenzy upon news that their beloved alligator Hardhide could be put down. Owner T-Mike Kliebert (Klee-bear) says she was hatched by his grandfather in 1957 and she’s lived at the Ponchatoula Country Market for 13 years.
Kliebert says he’s very thankful that Hardhide will be moving to the family farm after inspections and permits were cleared. The controversy even spawned a Facebook group “Save Old Hardhide.”
The nine-foot 350-pound gator has become somewhat of a mascot for Ponchatoula. Kliebert says the community rallied for Hardhide to keep her from being euthanized. He says many questioned why she couldn’t be released back into the wild instead.
The average life span of an American alligator is 30 to 50 years and up to 70 years in captivity. Kliebert says he along with the community is relieved that she’ll be able to spend her golden years where she was born on the family farm.
At the request of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, her retirement date is not being released to avoid crowds during the retrieval process.