LRN PM Newscall August 4

The Colorado State University hurricane forecast team has released their updated forecast for the 2015 hurricane season and it’s not much different than their June forecast. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (30)  “I’m Eric Gill”

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The price of US crude oil has fallen to its lowest price in four months and LSU economist Dr. Loren Scott says it’s having a negative impact on economies in Louisiana. Jeff Palermo reports…

CUT 2 (30)  “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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The Colorado State University hurricane forecast team has released their updated forecast for the 2015 hurricane season and it looks very much the same as their June forecast. Researchers originally predicted eight named storms with three hurricanes and one major hurricane. Lead author, Dr. Phil Klotzbach, says this update actually lowers the number of expected hurricanes this season…

CUT 3 (09)  “or five hurricane”

The new forecasts calls for five more named storms, two hurricanes, and one major hurricane. Klotzbach says the primary reason for the below-normal season is because of very strong vertical wind shears because of a strong El Nino…

CUT 4 (08)  “the storms”

He says the probability of a major hurricane making landfall along the Gulf Coast is just 12-percent, well below the full-season average of 30-percent. Klotzbach says although a below-average hurricane season is forecast, that doesn’t mean a storm won’t impact Louisiana…

CUT 5 (10) “the United States”

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The price of US crude oil has fallen to its lowest price in four months and it is having a negative impact on economies in Louisiana. The current price for a barrel of US crude is just $45 a barrel, down from $61 a barrel on June 10th. LSU economist Dr. Loren Scott says the drop in price has caused job loss in communities heavily tied to oil and gas, like Lafayette and Houma…

CUT 6 (08)  “them at all”

As oil prices continue to plummet, some of the best paying jobs in the state are lost. He says job losses are spread throughout the oil and gas industry, from supply boats to helicopters to the drilling rigs themselves. Scott believes, as we get into the fall, there will be a significant drop in oil production in the US…
CUT 7 (06) “in the shale play”

He says the number of working rigs has dropped by nearly half of what they were a year ago. Scott says it’s difficult to forecast oil prices but expects the price of crude to turn around in the near future…

CUT 8 (08)  “back up, again”

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Terrebonne Parish deputies arrested a mother in Houma for leaving her child unattended in a hot car for several minutes at a carwash. Major Malcolm Wolfe says  33-year-old Sumer Lynn Boudloche was charged with child desertion once officers arrived on the scene after receiving a call about a small child walking alone in the parking lot without adult supervision.

CUT 9 (09)  “vehicle alone”

Wolfe says  Boudloche left her two year old son in her running car while she went inside the business to use the restroom. He says once officers spoke with Boudloche, she slurred her speech and seemed to be under the influence of drugs.

cut 10 (09)  “car asleep”

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A woman was killed around 9 this morning after being hit by a Kansas City Southern Freight train close to the Lincoln-Bienville Parish line. Bienville Parish Sheriff John Ballance says train engineers sounded the horn multiple times to alert the woman to move away from the tracks.

cut 11 (10)  “struck her”

Ballance says the accident occurred on the railway that runs parallel to Highway 80. He says the woman was killed instantly and police are still investigating the accident.

cut 12 (05)  “is deceased”

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Public schools are reopening and it’s another year for the Common Core standards. The public has an opportunity to suggest changes to Common Core and a hearing to discuss new standards is set for August 19th. The president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, Hollis Milton, is one education leader who doesn’t want to see big changes with Common Core

cut 13 (11)  “with it”

The department of education has a portal on its website that’s taking public comment on Common Core. Milton says one change he suggests is to dump the PARCC standardized test for Aspire, which is associated with the A-C-T exam…

cut 14 (06)  “political football”

Milton also believes the Aspire exams, would be a better standardized test for third through eighth graders than PARCC

cut 15 (10) “in the nation” 

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