Louisiana is near the bottom in state health rankings. Kelley Ray has more on the United Health Foundation’s report…
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U-S Senator John Kennedy believes former State Police leader Mike Edmonson owes the state back taxes for free housing and other benefits. Emelie Gunn has more…
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A recent report from the Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy gives Louisiana a “D” for financial literacy education. Jeff Palermo spoke with a legislator who recently passed a financial literacy law…
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo .”
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Louisiana once again ranks 49th out of 50 states in a health ranking report. America’s Health Rankings Annual Report analyzes 35 health guidelines. CEO of United Health Care of Louisiana Joe Ochipinti (Occa-pin-ti) says the Bayou State ranks near the bottom because a quarter of it’s residents smoke and that in turn raises other health related problems…
Ochipinti have seen some positive health developments in the Bayou State. He says obesity and premature death rates have decreased over the last year. Ochipinti says another good factor in the report is the number of uninsured in Louisiana has seen a substantial decrease…
Ochipinti says education and healthy lifestyles are the key to lowering sickness and death rates, and people need to take this report seriously in order to make improvements…
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A Tulane researcher has received a 414-thousand-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health to study why males have more impulse control issues than females. Director of the Tulane University Brain Institute Jill Daniel says if are able to determine why males are more vulnerable to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and addiction, it will lead to better treatment…
Daniel says they know impulsive behavior issues start when a person is a child and continue into adulthood. She says their study will look at how the prefrontal cortex of the brain produces undesired behavior…
Cut 8 (11) “organized differently.”
There are potential sex differences in the connection between the pre-frontal cortex and the area of the brain that control impulses. She says they believe that is what makes a person, male or female, more impulsive…
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Col. Mike Edmonson is under public scrutiny for how he spent taxpayer money during his time as the leader of state police. Governor John Bel Edwards says the investigation continues and the legislative auditor has released a preliminary report.
Edmonson retired in March after a travel-scandal involving four of his troopers. That incident is still under investigation. The state legislative auditor has also released a preliminary report that shows Edmonson may have received special taxpayer funded treatment for housing, food and chauffer service for his wife. Edwards says when the report from the auditor is final, he will address all findings. He says the people of Louisiana should have confidence in the State Police.
U.S. Senator John Kennedy sent a letter to the state Department of Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson asking to collect Edmonson’s unpaid state income taxes for the alleged fringe benefits he received while serving as the LSP Superintendent. He says Edmonson received over 400-thousand dollars of freebees from Louisiana taxpayers.
Kennedy says Governor John Bel Edwards raised taxes on the residents of Louisiana but not a member of his own cabinet. He says he wrote the letter to Secretary Robinson strictly regarding the information he found in the legislative auditor’s report.
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A “Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools” gives Louisiana schools a “D”, down from a “B” grade just two years ago. Minden State Representative Gene Reynolds authored a 2016 law that requires financial literacy to be taught in high schools, but it appears some schools are only teaching personal finance as another existing course of study…
Reynolds believes financial literacy is not being taught as extensively as it should, because schools are judged on how well students achieve in math and English…
Reynolds says he plans to discuss with the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to make sure students are receiving adequate financial literacy education…
Only three other states Montana, Vermont and Wyoming got a “D” grade while the District of Columbia got the lowest grade of an “F”.
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LSU starting Q-B Danny Etling is familiar with the Tigers bowl opponent, Notre Dame. Etling grew up in Indiana, attended games in South Bend as a kid and also played against Notre Dame, while at Purdue. Etling says it is a little bit ironic his final college game will be against the Golden Domers…
LSU has several draft-eligible juniors who could enter the NFL draft. Cornerback Donte Jackson knows a decision has to be made soon, but right now the focus is on the Fighting Irish…
Jackson says he speaks with former LSU players who are now in the NFL, like TreDavious White, about whether he should come back for his senior season…
Cut 19 (24) “thinking about it”