Two Tigers are expected to start their NFL careers tonight in the first round of the NFL draft. Jeff Palermo has the story.
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The LSU AgCenter will begin using zebrafish to research the effect different compounds derived from canabis has on epileptic seizures. Matt Doyle talked to the AgCenter researcher who created the study…
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Governor Edwards is calling for three televised debates with his opponents in the governor’s race. Connor Ferrill has more.
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Connor Ferrill”
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The House Agriculture Committee will hear a bill today that would legalize, and regulate the growth of industrial hemp in Louisiana. The product was OK’d by the USDA, but Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says it’s still off limits here.
The plant is featured in 50,000 different products and can be turned into hypoallergenic fabrics, concrete, has nutritional value, and more.
Hemp is considered pest resistant, and can mature in 8-12 weeks, and proponents argue it is far less water needy, and has a mechanism that detoxifys soil. But it’s often confused for it’s cousin plant, pot. Strain says if legalized, they’ll be picking out seeds that won’t do anything if you smoke them.
The first few drafts of the Declaration of Independence were thought to be written on hemp paper, which was commonly grown and used in colonial North America. It was also used in American paratroopers parachute webbing in WW2.
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The LSU AgCenter will begin studying to effects of cannabis based compounds on epileptic seizures, using the common zebrafish as a lab rat.
AgCenter researcher Chris Green developed the “zebrafish model”, and says the test starts by filming, and measuring the movements of the seizing fish…
Then, he’ll introduce purified extracts of compounds found in marijuana and hemp into fish tanks to see how it reacts in the seizing fish.
When most people think of animal clinical trials, they think of the iconic white rat, a fellow mammal. But Green says even though we’re millions of years of evolution removed from the pet store staple, it’s still a valid test subject.
The funding for the research comes courtesy of a yearly 500,000 dollar cannabis research grant from the AgCenter’s medicinal pot partner GB Sciences to help further cannabis related research. Now that testing is legal, Green says scientists are looking forward to seeing what the plant has to offer.
The AgCenter will also receive 10 percent of the gross revenue from medical pot sales, or 3.4 million dollars a year, whichever is greater, for five years as part of an agreement.
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The Louisiana Public Service Commission will host a meeting tomorrow in Baton Rouge with telephone companies to talk about an influx in “robo-calls.” Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell says he and the rest of Louisiana are tired of the phone calls…
Campbell says the calls are a violation of Louisiana’s ‘Do Not Call’ law that prevents telemarketers from calling numbers that have signed up on a do not call registry. He says because these callers are breaking the law he wants them to receive severe fines…
Campbell says some of these calls are fraudulent and want to steal information. He says anyone who gets these calls should contact the public service commission…
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Governor Edwards calls for three televised debates against his GOP gubernatorial rivals sometime after the 1st of September. UL Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says the Democratic governor is clearly confident in his record, and isn’t planning on playing defense.
One challenger, Congressman Ralph Abraham, is calling for six, one in each Congressional District. The other, Eddie Rispone, says he likes the idea of three debates.
Many incumbents shy away from debating their opponents. Cross says it’s a strategy that certainly has a cold logic behind it.
Only candidates who have received at least 5,000 donations, or poll at 10 percent or more will be invited to participate.
It’s reportedly the first time a gubernatorial incumbent has called for a peak election season debate since the early 1990s. Cross says while debates historically have not had much of an impact in a candidate’s election chances, previous candidates refusal to face their challengers has contributed to the public’s distrust of politicians.
The debates are expected to run one hour long.
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Tonight at 7PM it’s the NFL Draft and Two former Tigers are expected to go in the first round. One of those is one of the most beloved players in LSU history, linebacker Devin White. In his three years, White was showered with All-American selections and national honors. NFL Draft analyst Mike Detillier says he enters as one of the best middle linebacker prospects in draft history.
White grabbed 183 tackles, 28.5 of them for a loss in his three years at LSU, and remains the only player in SEC history to be named defensive player of the week four weeks in one season.
Cornerback Greedy Williams is also expected to be selected before the end of the night, but the ball hawk has had a sharp tumble down draftboards. Detillier says Williams may have to wait before hearing his name due to the glut of coveted defensive linemen that are expected to go ahead of him.
Williams nabbed eight picks in his two years at LSU, and was the first freshman defensive player to ever be named to an All-SEC first team.
While he will not get drafted tonight, tight end Foster Moreau has seen his stock rise significantly since declaring for the draft, and could go tomorrow. That might be a surprise to some, considering he only caught 52 passes in four collegiate years, but Detillier says NFL scouts have come to realize number 18 was seriously underutilized at LSU…
Moreau graded out as one of the most athletic tight ends at the NFL Draft Combine, running a 4.66 40 yard dash.
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