Social Security recipients won’t be getting an increase in benefits next year. The federal government cited the main reason is because gas prices are so low right now adding money to citizens bottom line. But Brenda Hatfield with Louisiana AARP says many seniors don’t even drive…:
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She says this is especially devastating because Medicare costs are going up in 2016. This is the third time in 40 years that benefits remain flat.

A woman from Lake Charles was sentenced to three years in prison on negligent homicide charges handed down after an infant died in her care while she was high on cocaine and meth. 26-year-old Brittney Woodcock placed 6-month-old Kaden Reed in an adult bed to sleep and he died after becoming wedged between the mattress and the wall. Woodcock’s husband was sentenced to one and a half years for accessory to negligent homicide.

Most of the state is dealing with extreme drought conditions as the dry weather continues. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the US Drought Monitor report shows that 51-percent of Louisiana is suffering from extreme drought conditions. He says this problem is most severe in the north-central part of the state…:
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Keim says El Nino tends to send rain across Louisiana, but that pattern has yet to kick in.

The US Attorney’s Office says a man from Amite has been sentenced to over 12 and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of heroin distribution. US District Judge Martin Feldman gave 25-year-old Coye Dotey 151 months. Prosecutors said Doty sold heroin in Hammond three times during an undercover investigation last year.