LRN PM Newscall January 24

Winning the national championship results in a big payday for LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo” 

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The killing of 17-year-old Ja’Quarius Taylor in Washington Parish has a civil rights group concerned that he may have been targeted because he was black and gay. Matt Doyle has more…

cut  2 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

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Onlineschoolsreport.com ranks Northwestern State University’s online Bachelor of General Studies as the number two program in the nation. The rankings looked at various factors including student satisfaction and median debt by program. Executive Director of Academic Advising Steve Hicks…

Cut 3 (11)  “…is an honor.” 

Hicks says the general studies program is an appropriate field for those who have an employer that requires a degree for upward mobility.

A majority of the curriculum’s students are over the age of 24, and Hicks says it fits their needs whether full time or part-time.

Cut 4 (07) “…suit their needs.”

Hicks says the positive ranking should help with enrollment…

Cut 5 (08) “…to the region.”

Data sources for the rankings include the National Center for Education Statistics and the US Department of Education’s College Scoreboard.
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After guiding LSU to a national title, head coach Ed Orgeron has agreed to a six-year contract extension worth 42-million dollars. Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins says Orgeron is now among the Top 10 highest-paid coaches in college football…

Cut 6 (11) “…his worth”

The contract extension is pending approval of the LSU Board of Supervisors. The deal keeps Coach O’ in Baton Rouge through the 2026 season. Higgins says there were doubters when former athletics director Joe Alleva hired Orgeron as the head coach in 2016, but it’s turned out to be a perfect fit…

Cut 7 (10) “…college football.”

Higgins doesn’t see the big-money contract slowing down Orgeron’s work ethic…

Cut 8 (10) “…something again.”

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Holden Matthews, the man suspected of setting fire to three African American Churches in St Landry Parish last spring, will have a change of plea hearing next month. The 22-year-old pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, but Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino says the prosecution has a lot of evidence..

Cut 9 (10) “…the arson.”

The U-S Attorney’s office indicted Matthews on three counts of intentional damage to religious property which is considered a hate crime and three counts of arson. Ciolino expects a plea deal will be reached, which will result in a significant sentence. But how much time is hard to figure

Cut 10 (07) “…civil rights violations.” 

Matthews next court date is February 10th. He also faces state charges, but Ciolino expects the son of a law enforcement officer will only spend time in federal prison…

Cut 11 (12) “…dismissed.”
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The hunt for the killer of a gay black teen who was found near a lake in Angie two weeks ago continues, and the Southern Poverty Law Center is concerned it may have been a hate crime.

17-year-old Ja’Quarius Taylor was found shot in the head only an hour after being reported missing by his mother. Washington Parish Sheriff’s chief deputy Mike Haley says it’s their office’s primary focus.

Cut 12 (11) “…FBI.”

Haley adds they’re currently reviewing a key piece of evidence discovered in the lake by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s dive team.

The SPLC is demanding no stone be left unturned in the case given what they say is the history of failure by law enforcement agencies in the Deep South to solve, or even investigate anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.

Cut 13 (10) “…particular”

That’s SPLC Staff Attorney Tyler Clemons. The FBI estimates nearly one in five hate crimes are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias.

But Haley says it’s too early to start labeling the killing a hate crime, and they don’t have the evidence yet to make that determination.

Cut 14 (09) “…don’t know”