First Lady Jill Biden will be in New Orleans visiting the Louisiana Cancer Research Center. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
_______________________________________________
The La Nina streak of hurricanes has ended as spring season moves in. What does that mean for Louisiana weather? Teiko Foxx has more.
_______________________________________________
Stephen Waguespack has stepped down as the leader of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry to run for governor. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
_____________________________________________
First Lady Jill Biden is making her first trip to the Bayou State today and visiting the Louisiana Cancer Research Center in New Orleans. Her visit underscores Cancer Moonshot, the initiative to cut the cancer death rate in half over the next 25 years. Dr. Prescott Deininger (dinning-grr) is the Director of the Tulane Cancer Center
Biden will be joined by Senator Bill Cassidy and his wife Dr. Laura Cassidy, who will highlight the importance of colorectal cancer screenings and investing in cancer research.
The Louisiana Cancer Research Center is a consortium of LSU Health New Orleans, Tulane Health Center, Ochsner Health, and Xavier University. Deininger says the LCRC was funded by the state more than two decades ago.
Cut 5 (09) “…about 20 years ago.”
President Biden will ask congress to allocate more than $2.8 billion to fund Cancer Moonshot.
Deininger says one of their top scientists will talk with the First Lady about vaccines that are helping eradicate some forms of cancer like cervical cancer.
Cut 6 (09) “…on clinical trials.”
Deininger says the key to Cancer Moonshot is that it’s a big ambitious push to unite conglomerates like the LCRC together with other consortiums to make even bigger strides in cancer research.
_____________________________________________
No La Nina or El Nino means neutral weather conditions for Louisiana. The La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity is no longer a threat to the state. State Climatologist Barry Keim says an El Nino is less threatening than its counterpart.
El Nino is warmer in the northern U.S. and cooler than normal in the south. A trend in weather forecasts suggests a 60% chance of an El Nino taking charge this fall.
Over the last three years, the U.S. has been hit by 14 hurricanes and tropical storms that caused a billion dollars or more in damage, totaling $252 billion in costs.
Cut 9 (09) “…here in Louisiana.”
Neutral weather conditions are expected to continue through spring and early summer.
_______________________________________________
Stephen Waguespack stepped down as the leader of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry on Thursday and launched his gubernatorial campaign, becoming the fifth major Republican to enter the race. J-M-C analytics pollster John Couvillon says Waguespack lacks name recognition among voters, but he should be able to raise campaign funds…
Waguespack served as the L-A-B-I president since 2013 and he was also a key figure within former Governor Bobby Jindal’s administration. The way Jindal governed has drawn criticism from even members of the Republican Party, but Couvillon doesn’t think that will hurt Waguespack…
Cut 11 (10) “…eight years ago.”
Waguespack’s entrance means there are now seven major candidates running for governor. Five Republicans, Democrat Shawn Wilson, and independent Hunter Lundy. Couvillon expects the candidates will stay in the race for at least a few months. But he says the next campaign finance report will be telling,…
______________________________________________
When you set your clocks ahead this weekend, the State Fire Marshal’s Office is reminding the public to change the batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms in their home. Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says it only takes a couple of minutes to make life-saving changes.
In 2022, nearly 80 Louisianans lost their lives in residential fires. Rodrigue recommends upgrading smoke or CO alarms older than 10 years to 10-year sealed battery alarms.
Operation Save-A-Life, a statewide initiative, was created to increase awareness and educate households about the dangers of fire.
Cut 15 (10) “…fire department.”
To register for a free smoke alarm, visit lasfm.org.
____________________________________________
LSU began spring football practice yesterday as Coach Brian Kelly and the staff got some of their first looks at what his second year in Baton Rouge will look like. The Tigers have many key players from last year’s offense returning but had to resort to the transfer portal to fill some holes on the defensive side of the ball. Kelly praised the cornerback room after their first day…
The Tigers are thin at running back to start spring practice with John Emery out to focus on academics and Josh Williams and Armoni Goodwin out with injuries. Kelly said freshman four-star back out of Union Parish Trey Holly saw a lot of touches. Holly set the state record for career rushing yards this past season, but even he isn’t immune from freshman mistakes. Kelly says he has a promising future at LSU…
The SEC has debated a new scheduling format with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma in 2024. The most recent conversations have been around a nine-game conference schedule with three permanent opponents. The Tiger’s projected opponents are Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M who they play every year already. Kelly says he’s in favor of more conference games…
_________________________________________________________________________
The Louisiana Tech Baseball team heads to Fayetteville this weekend to take on eighth-ranked Arkansas in the final weekend series before conference play. The Razorbacks bullpen has struggled this year after losing projected ace Jaxon Wiggins just a week before opening day. Arkansas has lost to more pitchers in recent weeks but Bulldogs Coach Lane Burroughs says Arkansas is still Arkansas…
The Bulldogs are coming off a weekend sweep of Big 10 opponent Northwestern which featured a 16-9 comeback win Sunday. Starting pitcher Reed Smith left the game in the first inning after being hit on the hand by a batted ball, but Burroughs says he should be good to go against the Razorbacks…