Today is the first day of the 2016 regular legislative session, and after convening today, Governor John Bel Edwards spoke to lawmakers in a joint session. The state is facing an $800 million dollar deficit for next fiscal year, and Edwards says lawmakers are required to deliver a balanced budget…:
CUT 1 (16) “House Bill 62”
He says for that reason, he can’t give final numbers about what cuts were made and what revenue was raised in the special session. Tax measures can not be taken up in the regular session.

Calcasieu Parish Emergency Preparedness director Dick Gremillion says an area about 30 miles along the Sabine River, which is home to roughly 24-hundred residents, could experience major flooding. He says the National Guard is trying to get people to leave…:
CUT 12 (03) “right now”

In southeast Louisiana, the Pearl River is expected to crest at 21 feet today, which is the highest the river has been since the 1980s. St. Tammany parish President Pat Brister says they are getting information out to people in the area so residents can prepare for possible flooding…:
CUT 5 (05) “their homes”

The Louisiana National Guard has nearly 12-hundred Guardsmen in 33 parishes responding to major flooding throughout the state. Halen Doughty has the story:
CUT 1 (29) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The state Department of Transportation says I-59 and I-10 in South Louisiana and Mississippi may close today due to flooding.