The mayor of New Orleans will be arraigned in a federal courtroom this afternoon. Andrew Greenstein reports.
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Today marks the statistical peak of the hurricane season, and the tropics look more like a day in April instead of at the height of hurricane season. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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The number of people killed on Louisiana roads has dropped to its lowest level in five years. Andre Champagne has the story.
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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is being arraigned in federal court at two this afternoon on charges related to covering up a romantic relationship with her bodyguard. Prosecutors say Mayor Cantrell and retired NOPD officer Jeffrey Vappie (VAA-pee) cheated the city out of 70-thousand dollars for trips they took together under the premise that Vappie was providing security to Cantrell. Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino says Cantrell will plead not guilty.
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Ciolino says Cantrell’s ability to travel will likely be compromised, to a point.
Cantrell’s term as mayor of New Orleans ends January 12th. Indictment or no indictment, she was unable to run for re-election due to term limits. Ciolino says Cantrell’s trial will not start until after she leaves office, and he does not see any pre-trial hearings interfering with her remaining time in office.
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Due to new federal rules, Louisiana is one of 12 states where a prescription is now required to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine. Senator Bill Cassidy says there is a go-around – a blanket prescription issued by State Surgeon General Ralph Abraham.
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Senator Cassidy says such a move is not unprecedented.
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Still, Senator Cassidy says the new rules are completely counterproductive.
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Today is the statistical peak of the hurricane season, and the National Hurricane Center is not expecting a storm to form over the next week. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says there have been six named storms and just one hurricane.
Keim says Bermuda High Pressure has kept storms away from the United States.
Keim says today only represents the halfway point of the season, and there’s still time for a destructive storm to hit the Gulf Coast.
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NOAA predicted 13 to 19 named storms this year. But Keim says we are on pace for just a normal season, which would be 14 named storms. He says it’s unusual to have just one hurricane so far.
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The number of people killed on Louisiana roads has dropped to its lowest level in five years. Last year, 753 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, which is a seven-percent drop from 2023. Mark Lambert with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission attributed the lower number to people wearing their seatbelts more than ever.
In 2024, 261 people who were not wearing seat belts were killed in crashes, compared to 302 in 2023. Lambert stated that drivers can do all the things necessary to be safe drivers, but they cannot control what others do on the road, which is why he says wearing a seatbelt is so important.
DWI arrests also increased by four percent, with law enforcement officers arresting almost 14-thousand people last year. Lambert says that increased law enforcement is also helping keep the roads safer.
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LSU freshman running back Harlem Berry had one of the best plays of the game as he evaded multiple tacklers to break off a 43-yard run late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over Louisiana Tech. Head coach Brian Kelly says that Berry has put the staff on notice after starting to get used to the transition to college.
Florida football will come to Baton Rouge this Saturday with a limited margin for error, as another loss would just about end the Gators’ playoff hopes. Head coach Billy Napier says he is embracing going into Saturday’s matchup against LSU as the villain in a hostile environment.
Napier has a record of 20-and-20 through his first 40 games with the Gators. He’s aware of the criticism he is getting for losing, but he says that it is important that he and his staff respond to adversity.
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UL-Lafayette will travel to Columbia this weekend to take on number 25 Missouri in a sold-out Memorial Stadium. Cajuns head coach Michael Desormeaux (DEZ-er-moe) says that his team does not need to worry about anything outside of football.
Cajuns quarterback Daniel Beale had a quiet game in the 34-10 victory over McNeese, only throwing for 86 yards. Desormeaux says that Beale cannot single handedly win the game and that the Cajuns have to rally around their quarterback in order to defeat number-25 Missouri.