The sentencing is today for, Cardell Hayes, the man who shot and killed Former Saints defensive end Will Smith in April of 2016. Emelie Gunn has more…
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A proposal heading to the House floor would shorten the waiting period for a divorce to be finalized for couples with minor children. Jeff Palermo has more…
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Southeastern Louisiana University is launching a new program that will guarantee incoming freshmen won’t see a tuition hike. Halen Doughty has more on the Southeastern Promise…
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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Cardell Hayes, the man who shot and killed former Saints star Will Smith, will be sentenced today after being convicted of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino expects Judge Camille Buras already has a sentence in mind for Hayes and it’s most likely a lengthy one.
Hayes was originally charged with second-degree murder in the road shooting of Smith but a jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Ciolino believes Buras will keep in mind that Hayes did not have much of a criminal record before this incident.
The shooting happened on April 6, 2016 when Hayes rear-ended Smith, which then resulted in the fatal shooting of Smith and the injuring of his wife, Racquel. Ciolino says this is a serious crime, but it’s not murder and Hayes is not a habitual offender.
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A proposal to shorten the waiting period to be granted a divorce for couples with children under the age of 18 moves to the House floor. Homer Representative Patrick Jefferson would reduce the waiting period from a year to six months. Jefferson says resolving a difficult situation sooner helps the kids.
House Bill 136 was approved by the House Judiciary committee on Tuesday. But Southern University law Professor Michelle Ghetti says living in a broken home is actually detrimental to children. She says a majority of runaways and violent criminals come from broken homes. She says it also makes them vulnerable to abuse.
President of the Louisiana Family Forum, Gene Mills also opposes the measure. He says the current one year waiting period gives couples more time to resolve their issues if possible.
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But Jefferson doesn’t think people are filing for divorce hastily. He says it’s a tough decision to make, but once it gets to that point, it may already be too late.
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Southeastern Louisiana University is issuing a promise to incoming freshmen not to raise their tuition, if they commit to completing their degree in four years. University President John Crain says they’re seeing students taking longer and longer to earn a bachelor’s degree, and the Southeastern Promise encourages students to graduate in four years.
Crain says as part of the Southeastern Promise the university will guarantee that students have access to required courses to enable degree attainment within four years. He says by guaranteeing that a student’s tuition will remain the same, it gives students and their families the ability to budget the exact cost of higher education for four years.
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Crain says this ground-breaking program is the only one of its kind of Louisiana and it will help with student recruitment and retention. He calls the Southeastern Promise a game-changer in Louisiana.
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Agricultural Commissioner Mike Strain has delayed the sale of Kaput feral hog bait in Louisiana, because of the danger it poses to other animals. Kaput is a poison that can kill wild pigs, but Strain says the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has found black bears can overturn the feeders containing the bait and dump the contents.
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Louisiana is home to an estimated 600,000 feral hogs, which are prolific breeders. Strain says they are looking into different kinds of feeders that cannot be accessed by other animals. He says another option would be to use a food that bears and other animals don’t want to eat.
Strain says they are also working to develop a vaccine that would make the feral pigs infertile to address the growing problem of wild hogs. He says feral swine are an invasive species that results in $40 to $60 million in damages to Louisiana agriculture and forestry every year.
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LSU fans will get their first glimpse on Saturday of what the Fighting Tigers offense will look like next fall when the Tigers compete in the Spring Game. Senior offensive tackle K.J. Malone of Ruston says it will look a lot different…
The Spring game will get underway on Saturday night at seven o’ clock. Malone says there’s definitely a different feel about this spring game and it’s not just because it will be played under the lights in Death Valley