AM Newscall January 8,2016

Bobby Jindal will end his two terms as governor when John Bel Edwards is sworn into office on Monday. Jeff Palermo has more on Jindal’s eight years in office…

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The red snapper season begins today and there are new regulations that are sure to make anglers happy. Emelie Gunn has more…

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The Powerball jackpot reaches the highest mark for a lottery prize in US history at $700 million dollars. Michelle Southern reports…:

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A new law is in effect in Louisiana that cracks down on marriage fraud, especially in cases where illegal immigrants attempt to fraudulently gain US citizenship. Denham Springs State Representative Valarie Hodges, who sponsored the measure, says state marriage licenses haven’t been updated for about 40 years. She says these changes protect the institution of marriage…

cut 4  (09)  “to fraud”

The changes will bar anyone from receiving a marriage license without a birth certificate, valid international ID, or passport and require the couple to attest, under oath, that they did not lie on their paperwork. Hodges says these new requirements not only protects the reliability of information, it also tackles a bigger issue…

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She says marriage fraud is a common way for foreign nationals to gain permanent residency in the United States. Hodges says this legislation really tightens marriage laws in Louisiana ensuring immigrants are here legally before getting married…

Cut 6 (06)  “agree with me” 

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The red snapper fishing season opens today and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has extended the limit from three to nine miles offshore for recreational fishing. Assistant Secretary Randy Pausina says Texas and Florida have always had nine nautical miles and they worked hard to get the same boundary here…

CUT 7 (10)  “a start”

Pausina says it’s also unique to open the season in January as they’ve been able to prove that a longer season will not hurt the population….

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Pausina says for years the red snapper season didn’t begin until June 1st because of federal regulations. But he says the department worked hard to change those rules with the help of anglers who recorded how much red snapper they caught…

Cut 9 (11)  “do that”

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Bobby Jindal’s two terms as governor ends on Monday as Governor-elect John Bel Edwards is sworn in. U-L-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says Jindal came into office as a bright young man with the promise of making Louisiana a better state. He says the soon to be ex-governor had early success in ethics and education.

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Cross says Jindal is leaving on somewhat bad terms because the people of Louisiana got sick of his absence during the end of his eight years in office.

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Cross says budget problems led to deep cuts to higher education during his two terms, which is how many will remember him. He says the governor also tried to put Louisiana government on smaller footing.

Cut 12 (08) “to Louisiana”

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It’s clear that more people than ever are playing the Powerball as it reaches the highest mark for a lottery prize in US history at $700 million dollars. The cash value is $428.4 million and Louisiana Lottery spokeswoman Kimberly Chopin says the prize could go even higher before Saturday’s drawing. She says this has shattered all records…:

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In Wednesday’s drawing, a ticket at a New Roads gas station matched 5 for $1 million dollars and so did a ticket sold in New Iberia.  Chopin says when they have a huge playership and coverage of the numbers at this level, more than likely when the jackpot does get hit there will be multiple winners…:

Cut 14 (07) “something to behold”

Chopin says when the jackpot gets this big, more people play, which causes the prize to get larger and larger. She says it’s happening at historic levels and sales are ridiculous…:

Cut 15  (09) “$4.2 million dollars”

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The LSU Tigers look to keep their good play going on Saturday when they visit Florida in SEC hoops action. The Tigers are 2-0 in the SEC and they’ve won five of their last six. It was six games ago, when sophomore Craig Victor became eligible to play after transferring in from Arizona State. Coach Johnny Jones says Victor has provided a boost

Cut 16  (10)  “lot of areas”

LSU beat Florida twice last year, including an 18 point victory in Gainesville. Jones says it’s not easy to win on the Gators home court

Cut 17 (20) “extremely talented”

Florida is 9-5, 1-1 in SEC play under first-year head coach Mike White, who is the former head coach at Louisiana Tech. White took over for the highly successful Billy Donovan and Jones says Florida’s style of play hasn’t changed drastically…

Cut 18 (17) “of the floor”