PM Newscall, January 21st, 2016

A cold front moving across Louisiana is bringing the possibility of severe weather and even the chance of snow for some areas of the state. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (29)  “I’m Eric Gill”

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South Louisiana serial killer Derrick Todd Lee has died. Jeff Palermo reports…:

CUT 2 (30)  “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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A cold front moving across Louisiana is bringing the possibility of severe weather and even the chance of snow for some areas of the state. Alek Krautmann, with the National Weather Service in Slidell, says the chance of severe weather in south Louisiana will begin this afternoon and continue into the night…

CUT 3 (09)  “wind gusts”

He says severe storms passing through south Louisiana could bring the possibility of tornadoes, large hail, and damaging wind gusts. Krautmann says you can expect heavy rains as the storms pass, but it shouldn’t last very long…

CUT 4 (07)  “of the area”

Jason Hansford, with the NWS in Shreveport, says there is a strong chance for snow and a rain/snow mix tonight in north Louisiana. He says the wintry precipitation is expected in the extreme northern part of the state…

CUT 5 (06)  “and Tallulah”

He says a wintry mix of precipitation is forecast for areas along and north of the I-20 corridor. Hansford says if they see any snowfall, it will likely be just a dusting at most…

CUT 6 (09) “of accumulation”

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South Louisiana serial killer Derrick Todd Lee has died, according to the state Department of Corrections. Lee was 47. He was convicted in the murders of two women and suspected in the brutal slayings of at least five other women. Lee was sentenced to death in 2004 and had been at Angola since. Corrections spokeswoman Pam Laborde…:

CUT 7 (11) “area hospital”

Multiple sources reported this week that Lee was suffering complications with a pace maker. Laborde could not confirm any additional details on the death of Lee. She says he was transported from the Louisiana State Penitentiary for emergency care on Saturday, January 16th…:

CUT 8 (05) “when appropriate”

Lee received the death sentence for a conviction in the 2002 killing and mutilating of 22-year-old LSU graduate student Charlotte Murray Pace at her Baton Rouge home. John Sinquefield was the lead prosecutor in the case. He hopes the death of Lee provides closure and relief to the surviving victims and family members of the deceased victims…:

CUT 9 (15)  “is closed”

Lee received a separate life sentence after a jury convicted him for second-degree murder in the 2002 killing of 21-year-old Geralyn Barr DeSoto, of Addis. Lee also is suspected in the slayings of Trineisha Dené Colomb, of Lafayette; Randi Mebruer, Zachary; and Pam Kinamore, Carrie Lynn Yoder and Gina Wilson Green, all of Baton Rouge. Sinquefield says Lee deserved the death penalty…:

cut 10 (08)  “no sadness”

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The LSU Professor who was fired for allegedly creating a hostile learning environment held a press conference today to announce she’s suing the university. Teresa Buchanan says she was wrongfully fired for expressing academic freedom. She says it’s a professor’s job to stimulate students thinking and to get them to question assumptions.

Cut 11 (08) “some success”

Buchanan taught teacher education classes for 20 years and was dismissed in the summer after accusations of using vulgar language in the classroom. Buchanan denies that her teaching methods resulted in sexual harassment and she says she would never do anything to hurt LSU…

cut 12 (11) “love LSU”

LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard says LSU takes their responsibility to protect their students’ from abusive behavior very seriously and will vigorously defend students’ rights to a harassment-free environment. Buchanan says she’s filing this lawsuit to protect our most cherished value of freedom.

cut 13 (10)  “forever LSU”

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Higher education leaders from across the state met with Governor John Bel Edwards to plead their case against further cuts as Louisiana deals with a massive budget deficit. The state is facing an estimated $750 million dollar mid-year budget shortfall. State Commissioner of Higher Education, Joe Rallo, says the governor told them he is fully supportive of higher ed but has a very stark reality in terms of the state budget…

cut 14 (09)  “dramatic numbers”

In the past eight years, higher ed has been cut more than $700 million. Rallo says Governor Edwards assured them that if there are cuts to higher ed, they would be part of sweeping budget cuts across the board…

cut 15 (08)  “all of us”

He says college campuses across the state are preparing for potential budget cuts. Rallo says they cannot assume that “business as usual” continues…

cut 16 (07)  “February 13th”