A community organization is requesting the release of an 11 year old girl after murder charges were dropped in connection to fatal shooting last November. Teiko Foxx reports the child still faces an obstruction of justice charge…
_______________________________________________
A study shows prenatal care in Louisiana is being delayed due to the state’s abortion ban. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 2 (34) “I’m Brooke Thorington.”
____________________________________________
A bill has been filed that would let all families apply for state dollars that could help pay for private school tuition, tutoring, and other education-related expenses. Colleen Crain has more.
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain”
____________________________________________
The Village 337, a civil rights organization, is demanding the release of an 11-year-old girl in custody after the state dropped a first-degree murder charge on Thursday. The minor was charged last November in the shooting death of 36-year-old Kameron Bedsole at a home in New Iberia. The child still faces an obstruction of justice charge and Vice President Angela Eaglin believes she should be released due to a lack of evidence.
Under the plea deal, Eaglin says the young girl could serve a seven-year sentence with three and a half suspended. The minor has been in detention for more than 100 days. There is great concern for her mental health during this time.
Eaglin says the juvenile 15-year-old brother faces murder charges in connection to the death of Bedsole. Her mother faces charges of accessory after the fact. She says the child is innocent.
Sentencing will be held April 16th at the New Iberia courthouse. The attorneys involved are involved in a court-ordered gag order and are not allowed to discuss the case.
__________________________________________
A new study indicates prenatal care in Louisiana is at risk because many obstetricians are refusing to see patients in their first trimester, when miscarriages are highest, due to the state’s abortion ban for fear of being prosecuted. Lift Louisiana Executive Director Michelle Erenberg says the report was conducted in mid-2023.
Cut 7 (12) “…extremely alarming.”
The report entitled Criminalized Care: How Louisiana’s Abortion Bans Endanger Patients and Clinicians was a joint study by Lift Louisiana, Physicians for Human Rights, Reproductive Health Impact, and the Center for Reproductive Rights. Thirty healthcare providers and thirteen patients participated in the study.
Erenberg says the report highlights the dire need for clarification of the state’s abortion ban for the treatment of ectopic, nonviable pregnancies, and miscarriages.
Another alarming finding in the report was a physician performing a Cesarean-section on a patient versus what before was considered standard of practice of care for a pregnancy complication, so it’s not deemed an abortion.
Erenberg hopes the study will enlighten lawmakers on how the state’s abortion ban is crippling pre-natal and maternal care in Louisiana.
In Louisiana, a healthcare provider can face up to 15 years in prison and $200,000 in fines for performing an abortion.
Requests to speak to Louisiana Right to Life and the Louisiana Department of Health went unanswered.
________________________________________________________
A bill that would ban TikTok or force its China-based parent company, ByteDance to sell it has passed the US House. Senator Bill Cassidy talked about the problem with a China-based app doing business in the US
Cut 10 (10) “…their information.”
Cassidy expressed concern for young Americans who engage with the app because of where control of the app is originates.
____________________________________________________________
The House Transportation Committee has approved legislation that would prevent the state or local governments from placing restrictions on buying or selling gas-powered vehicles. It’s to prevent government mandates that a certain percentage of vehicles on the road should be electric. Lake Charles Representative Phillip Tarver is the author of the proposal
Jaqueline Lindsey with ABATE, a motorcycle rights organization, testified that California has already passed legislation that bans the sale gas-powered vehicles by 2035…
Cut 13 (11) “…follow their lead.”
This measure heads to the House floor.
_____________________________________________________________
The landmark education bill of the legislative session has been filed. Carencro Representative Julie Emerson is the author of the Louisiana Gator Scholarship program, which seeks to give all families an opportunity to receive taxpayer dollars to send their child to a private school. Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin says Governor Jeff Landry has touted school choice…
Erwin says in the first couple of years, the proposed program would resemble the state’s current voucher program, which uses public dollars to help low-income families send their children to a private school. He says after three years, the program would be available to all parents regardless of financial need…
Cut 15 (10) “…serious debate about this.”
Cost is a major question. About six-thousand students currently receive vouchers in Louisiana, costing the state more than 45-million dollars. Erwin says this proposal calls for eligibility limits to be eliminated in the fall of 2027 and it’s unclear how much money the state is willing to pay for this program and will it take away from other state services?
The bill has yet to be scheduled for debate in the House Education Committee.
_________________________________________________________________________
Grambling State will make its first appearance in the Big Dance tonight as the Tigers face Montana State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Tigers Coach Donte Jackson says he’s ready to introduce the rest of the country to Grambling basketball…
Cut 17 (17) “…in this tournament”
If Grambling wins, they’ll advance to play Purdue on Friday in Indianapolis. Jackson has been at Grambling since 2017 and he’s never had a losing record in SWAC play. He’s trying to change Grambling’s reputation that it’s just not a football school…
Cut 18 (19) “..in seven years”
Montana State has won four straight and they enter tonight’s game 17-17. They’ve won the Big Sky Conference Tournament three consecutive years and Jackson says they have multiple guys who can knock down three pointers…