LRN PM Newscall January 30

Bittersweet Confections bakery social media post reminded followers of operating hours to purchase their sweet treats but one individual paid the bakery a visit on his own time. Teiko Foxx explains…

Cut 1 (31)  “…I’m Teiko Foxx”

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Despite opposition from truckers, the House and Senate Transportation Committees approve of Governor Jeff Landry’s funding plan for a new I-10 Calcasieu River Bridge in Lake Charles. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (32)  “…I’m Jeff Palermo” 

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Bittersweet Confections bakery motto is “Let them eat cake” but not without paying for them. A king cake thief broke into the New Orleans bakery last week and stole cash, a case of vodka, and seven king cakes with the plastic babies inside. Owner Cheryl Scripter says watching her surveillance video gave her an uneasy feeling…

Cut 3 (10) “….and creepy”  

King cake thieves also hit up King Cake Drive Thru in New Orleans Monday night.

Scripter says she was alerted of the burglary after 5 pm after she closed the store to visit her second location. She says she’s not flattered the thief returned for her tasty rings of pastry with purple, green, and gold sugar.

Cut 4 (12) “…king cakes.”

Scripter says the bakery social media post received more than 100 likes of support. And while the action is disheartening, she says the support from individuals who stop by the store is overwhelming…

Cut 5 (12) “…my face.”  

Scripter encourage all king cake lovers to visit bittersweetconfections dot com to order their favorite flavor.

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We’re seeing a slight uptick in gas prices with the statewide average for a gallon of regular gas at $2.82, that’s up two cents from the day before and seven cents from a week ago. Triple A fuel analyst Don Redman says the increase is linked to the price of crude.

Cut 6  (10) “…a barrel.” 

As we approach spring, which typically begins sooner in the Gulf South compared to the rest of the country, Redman says we usually see an increase in gas prices as refineries transition to summer-grade gasoline and demand goes up.

Cut 7 (11) “…the summer.” 

Redman is quick to point out that the oil market is also reactionary to world news and depending on the United States’ response to three servicemen being killed in a drone attack in Jordan, we could see prices impacted as a result.

Cut 8 (12) “…world stage.” 

This time last year regular gas was $3.25 a gallon.

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The defending champion LSU women’s basketball team has its first two-game losing streak since 2022 as the Lady Tigers lost last night to Mississippi State 77-73. Coach Kim Mulkey says they are not executing defensively…

Cut 9 (12) “…doing it”

The loss drops LSU’s record to 18-4 and 5-3 in the SEC. The Lady Tigers returned two starters from last year’s national championship team. Mulkey says the team is missing that experience that last year’s championship team possessed…

Cut 10 (10) “…things get tough.”

The ninth-ranked Lady Tigers next game is Sunday at home against Florida.

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While Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy says he’s not making a formal announcement, he does plan to seek re-election in 2026. The moderate Republican will have to win his party primary with new election laws in effect then.  He says changing to party primaries is too costly with an estimated price tag of $61 million over three years and $135 million over ten years.

Cut 11 (11) “…$60 million.”

About 28 percent of Louisiana voters who are unaffiliated will be able to vote in the party primary of their choice but not both. Individuals who are registered as an Independent, Libertarian, or Green Party will not be allowed to vote in the primary elections, only the general election. Cassidy says this excludes thousands of voters from the primaries.

Cut 12 (09)  “…the election.”  

Cassidy says there’s a point-four-five cent state sales tax that will sunset next year. He says this is not the time to add expenses to the state budget when they could potentially lose income.

Cut 13 (12) “…pocket.” 

The change to party primaries will only apply to Congressional, state school board, Public Service Commission, and state Supreme Court judicial elections.