The University of Louisiana Monroe is looking to bring a new medical school to northeast Louisiana. Halen Doughty has more…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”
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A synthetic drug called ‘pink’ has made its way to Bayou State and is more potent than heroin. Emelie Gunn has more….
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The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival gets underway today in the Big Easy. Jeff Palermo has more on this year’s big attractions…
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Northeast Louisiana could become the future home of a new medical school. University of Louisiana Monroe President Dr. Nick Bruno says the university is actively engaged in discussions with a private medical school they hope to partner with, but they still have to work out a lot of details.
Bruno says the school could begin accepting students as early as the fall of 2019. The school would have about 200 students on campus after two years, with 200 more doing clinical rotations in the community. He says this new med school could offer a lot of opportunities to students.
Bruno says this partnership could help improve the health sciences programs already offered at ULM. He says it also has a tremendous potential impact on economic development if it brings more health professionals to the area.
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A new drug called ‘pink’ is hitting the streets in Louisiana and is more deadly than heroin. East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. Beau Clark says pink is a synthetic opioid combined with Fentanyl. He says this drug has all of the same effects as heroin.
Pink originally gained media attention when a child overdosed from the drug in Colorado. Clark says drug dealers aren’t concerned with what they are selling so the buyer is unaware of the drug’s potency.
Clark says opioid addiction typically starts with abuse of prescription drugs. He says addicts are patients and need to be treated but access to these illicit drugs needs to be shut down.
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Music lovers from all over the country are gathering in New Orleans for the Jazz & Heritage Festival that kicks off today. Producer Quint Davis says they have 580 musical acts over a two-weekend period. Harry Connick Junior, Maroon 5, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are headliners this weekend and 2nd weekend performers are just as good.
Davis says they have a new attraction this year called Cuba Comes to Jazz Fest, which features 150 Cuban musicians and artisans with their own stage and tent. He says there’s even a kids food area that serves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He says keeping Jazz Fest family friendly is one of the secrets to its success for the last 48 years.
Davis says the two-weekend festival has a $300 million annual economic impact. He says since the festival ends at 7 PM each day, French Quarter restaurants benefit in a big way. He says the festival at the Fairgrounds Race Track really is like a mini version of the Big Easy.
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The House overwhelmingly approved a measure to allow children to bring sunscreen to school and apply it themselves. It would also allow parents to designate someone at the school to help their children put on the sunblock. The lone dissenting vote came from Baton Rouge Representative Patricia Smith, who raised concerns about teaching putting lotion on students.
Baton Rouge Representative Barry Ivey says he’s always amazed at the items that become controversial on the House floor. He says there are spray and stick sunscreen that could be easier for young children. But he says nowadays young kids can work iPhones, so they can surely apply sunblock.
Students are not currently allowed to apply sunscreen at school. It must be administered by a nurse because it’s categorized in the same way as prescription medications. Ivey was upset a bill like this was even necessary.
The measure was approved on a 99-1 vote and now heads to the Senate.
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Many analysts say the Saints used their first pick in the first round to take the top cornerback in the draft. Ohio State’s Marshon Lattimore was expected to be a top 10 pick, but fell to the Saints, who took him with the 11th overall pick. Lattimore says he’s ready to make the jump to the NFL…
The Saints had a big need at cornerback. They had a lot of injuries at that position last season and he’ll team up Delvin Breaux as the team’s starting cornerbacks. Lattimore believes he can get up to speed quickly when it comes to learning what it takes to play in the NFL…
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