LRN AM Newscall November 13

“Born to Fly” – a documentary about the greatest pole vaulter of all time Mondo Duplantis will make its way to Lafayette on Saturday at 6:45 pm. Teiko Foxx has more…

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Teiko Foxx.”

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 Louisiana Tech announces an enhancement to their Online learning. Colleen Crain has the story…

Cut 2 (32)  “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

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A federal appeals court orders Louisiana’s Legislature to approve a new Congressional district map with two majority-minority districts by January 15th. Jeff Palermo has the story

Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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A screening for the documentary “Born to Fly” about former LSU and world champion pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis rise to fame will be held Saturday at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette. Filmmaker Brennan Robideaux says he documented Duplantis journey for six years.

Cut 4 (12) “…around him.”

Robideaux reached out to then-17-year-old Duplantis after he broke the high school pole vaulting record while attending Lafayette High School.

Duplantis is from Lafayette but began receiving offers from the Swedish Athletics Association in 2015 to compete for the Scandinavian country. Robideaux says he’s always asked why Mondo wears the yellow and blue colors for Sweden and not red, white, and blue.

Cut 5 (13) “…the film.”

The documentary was also nominated for the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the Austin Film Festival. The Louisiana premiere will take place at the New Orleans Film Festival this weekend.

Rodideaux says the goal now is to get the film distributed across the U-S.

Cut 6 (11) “…watch it.”

Duplantis currently holds the world record for pole vaulting at 20 feet five and a fourth inches.

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After more than a six-month blackout, the lights are set to go back on in Hollywood South as a deal was reached between the actors union and studios. Director of Louisiana Entertainment Chris Stelly says it’s good news for the businesses and citizens who depend on film production in Louisiana.

Cut 7 (13) “…motion pictures.”

The new three-year contract was valued at more than one billion dollars and included increases in minimum salaries, and benefits, as well as a new residual for streaming programs. Stelly expects production to resume within a few weeks.

Cut 8 (10) “…we’re ready.” 

Stelly says the camera was rolling on four to five productions before being halted by the longest strike ever for actors. He says the true impact of the strike is unknown.

Cut 9 (11)  “…so recently.”

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Louisiana Tech is launching Tech Online, an enhancement to its online and distance learning. Director of Online Learning Initiative, Jerona Washington is excited about the services they can offer students seeking degrees or certifications…

Cut 10 (09) “…their organization.”

Tech Online offers programs including graduate degrees up to doctorates. Washington says they even accommodate programs that require internships…

Cut 11 (12) “…supervision from.” 

Washington says one of the most popular programs has attracted students from all over…

Cut 12 (08) “…the country.” 

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A big development in the lawsuit against Louisiana’s current Congressional District map. The U-S Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is ordering state legislators to draw a new Congressional map by January 15th. A map that has two majority-minority districts. The current map has one. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says this is a difficult assignment as a new legislature is sworn in on January 8th….

Cut 13 (11) “…so many implications”

Governor-elect Jeff Landry says he’ll call a special session on January 8th, Inauguration Day, so the new Legislature can redraw a Congressional district map that must feature two districts in Louisiana that favor a Black candidate winning. Pinsonat says redistricting is a difficult process and freshmen lawmakers will need to get caught up to speed quickly…

Cut 14 (10) “…period.”

Louisiana’s Constitution says the earliest a special session can start is seven days after one is called. So if it’s January 8th, the special session can not start until the 15th. Pinsonat says you could say this will be Governor-elect Landry’s first big challenge…

Cut 15 (12) “…Jeff Landry”

It’s possible Governor John Bel Edwards will call a special session to address this. A spokesperson for the governor says it’s to be determined if he’ll call a redistricting special session.

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For the fifth straight game, the Saints started slow and could not come back from a 24-3 halftime deficit as they ended up losing in Minnesota 27-19. New Orleans gave up nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half and backup quarterback Jameis Winston could not lead the Black and Gold all the way back. Coach Dennis Allen…

Cut 16 (16) “…all the time.”

Winston came in for an injured Derek Carr who suffered both a shoulder injury and a concussion on a hard hit. The shoulder injury is reportedly not serious. Marshon Lattimore and Michael Thomas also suffered injuries. The Saints head into the bye week and Allen wants his players to get away from football for a little bit…

Cut 17 (17) “…be successful”

The Saints are now 5-5 and in first place in the NFC South heading into the bye week.

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LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels put on a performance in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night that’s never been accomplished in FBS college football. Daniels threw for more than 350 yards and rushed for more than 200 yards in the Tigers 52-35 win over Florida. Daniels says he could not do it by himself…

Cut 18 (18) “…opponent”

Daniels threw for 372 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 234 yards on 12 carries and had two scores. Coach Brian Kelly says that type of performance should make Daniels the favorite to win the Heisman…

Cut 19 (25) “…most popular player” 

There was another controversial call involving targeting that went against LSU on Saturday. Senior safety Andre Sam was ejected from the game in the second quarter while trying to tackle Florida running back Montrell Johnson. After a lengthy review, it was determined Sam was guilty of targeting. Kelly begs to differ…

Cut 20 (16) “..play football”