The Louisiana National Guard is mobilizing to assist local, parish, and state emergency officials in advance of flooding threats due to near record crests expected along the Mississippi River. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 1 (28) “I’m Eric Gill”

Lottery history has been made. There were no jackpot winners last night which means the Powerball grows to an estimated $675 million for Saturday. It’s the largest jackpot in US history. There are already some lucky Louisianians as two tickets sold in last night’s drawing hit the Match 5 for $1 million dollars. They are in New Roads and New Iberia.

The Corps of Engineers announces they will open the first Morganza gate on Monday and the spillway will be fully operational by January 13th until approximately January 21st, according to Congressman Garret Graves.

Sean Payton remains the head coach of the Saints, despite weeks of speculation that he may want to coach for another NFL team. Payton spoke with reporters for about an hour talking about his love for the fans, the franchise and the city, despite all of its faults…:
Cut 14 (12) “it is home”

Louisiana ranks 49th in the US in public academic achievement for the second year in a row according to the 20th edition of Quality Counts, a study compiled by Education Week magazine. The report shows the Bayou State ranking 47th in both fourth-grade math proficiency and reading, 50th in eighth-grade math, and 48th in eighth grade reading.