AM Newscall 02/06/2020

An LSU researcher is beginning a two-year study of the impacts of vaping on people who were previously non-smokers. Matt Doyle has more.

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Some Louisiana conservatives are rethinking capital punishment by announcing the formation of a new group known as Louisiana Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

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Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy vote against removing President Trump as impeachment ends with a 52-48 not guilty vote in the Senate…

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As vaping rates soar LSU assistant professor of Comparative Biomedical Sciences Alexandra Noel is looking into how vaping impcats the lungs of people who were previously non-smokers.

Noel says a lot of the previous vaping related studies looked at the effects on people who had smoked cigarettes previously, but the craze is beginning to impact a large number of previous non-smokers.

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Part of her study will be measuring to make sure what vape companies say is in their product is actually what ends up in your lungs after it’s inhaled.

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She hopes her research can help inform public policy on the issue as more and more kids take up vaping without having ever touched a cigarette.

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The legal age for vaping has now been raised to 21 in the US, but there’s still confusion as to whether it’s legal to sell to those 18-21 in Louisiana.

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Some Louisiana conservatives are rethinking capital punishment by announcing the formation of a new group known as Louisiana Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty.  The organization’s national manager Hannah Cox says a recent study indicates the death penalty cost the state’s taxpayers nearly $16 million more annually than life without parole.

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Louisiana becomes the thirteenth state to join the national organization.  Conservative activist and member of the St. Tammany GOP Parish Executive Committee Col. Rob Maness says the death penalty doesn’t go along with the fiscal or pro-life perspective of the Republican party, adding sometimes the government gets it wrong.

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Cox says they’ve had lots of conservative movement on the issue in other states, but with the state’s death penalty high-usage history, Louisiana’s handling on the death penalty could be very compelling to the rest of the country.

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Louisiana last executed an inmate in January 2010.  The lack of access to the drugs needed for lethal injection has been credited for gap.

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Impeachment comes to an end as the Senate votes to acquit President Donald Trump in a nearly party-line 52-48 not guilty vote on both articles of impeachment.

Both Louisiana Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy voting against removal. Kennedy gave the reasoning for his acquittal vote, attacking House Democrats impeachment proceedings as a partisan exercise.

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The only Republican to vote in favor of removal was Utah Senator Mitt Romney.

Kennedy attacked the House’s impeachment proceedings, saying Democrats did not give the President a fair shake and broke procedurals norms to push an impeachment vote.

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The House impeachment vote was a mostly party-line, with three Democrats voting against and no Republicans voting for.

The Senator believes impeachment was a Democrat plot thought out long before any allegations of wrongdoing involving Ukraine surfaced.

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Democrats allege the President threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless the country investigated Joe Biden’s son’s business dealings in the country.

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Governor John Bel Edwards warns local government officials of the headaches that can be created by not being ready to withstand a cyberattack.  Edwards says recent cyberattacks across the state are likely to happen again in other areas.

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Ransomware attacks have been the issue faced in the most recent attacks.  The hackers will hold data ransom until a ransom is paid with cryptocurrencies.  Edwards says he doesn’t want anyone trying to pay that tab.

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Edwards urges officials to take precautionary steps to avoid an attack by backing up data and protecting it behind a firewall.

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LSU football signed three more players to its 2020 recruiting class on Wednesday. 24-7 sports ranks the Tigers incoming group of players as the fourth-best in the nation. Coach Ed Orgeron says there are great character and athletes in this class

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LSU can still sign three more players. They can use those scholarships on transfers or use them in next year’s recruiting class. Orgeron also needs to find a new passing game coordinator to replace Joe Brady, who came from the Saints. Coach O would like to get another NFL coach on his staff…

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Orgeron also announced the Tigers are moving to a four-three front on defense with new defensive coordinator Bo Pelini. Orgeron says Pelini will install a defense that will create more negative plays for opposing offenses…

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