A Senate-approved bill that would prohibit a driver from holding a cell phone gets rejected in the Louisiana House. Brooke Thorington has more…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Brooke Thorington”
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A mysterious illness linked to COVID-19 in young adults and children claims its first life in Louisiana. Matt Doyle has more.
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Today the House considers legislation that would direct a portion of the state’s federal CARES Act money towards small business grants. Matt Doyle has more.
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The Louisiana House has rejected a proposal that would have banned handheld cell phone use while behind the wheel. The measure failed on a 40-59 vote. New Orleans Representative Gary Carter voted against the legislation over concerns it could lead to racial profiling
Carter says if the bill became law, a police officer could pull over a vehicle just because he saw the driver holding a cell phone. He’s worried that would lead to bias against African-American motorists
Cut 5 (10) “..really disturbing”
Texting while driving is already illegal in Louisiana.
Other lawmakers also complained the legislation is a violation of our civil liberties. Haughton Representative Dodie Horton…
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Louisiana reports its first death linked to a rare disease, believed to be caused by COVID-19, in children and young adults.
Governor Edwards says the state has reported 13 cases with patients ranging in age from 0-19 years old.
No information will be shared about the victim due to their age.
Edwards says multisystem inflammatory syndrome can occur up to four weeks after a young person gets COVID-19.
The Louisiana Department of Health has shared two health alerts telling providers in Louisiana to be on alert and report any illnesses that meet these criteria.
Edwards says the development is concerning, but it’s important to note fatal outcomes are rare.
Of those who have taken ill with MIS seven are black, three are white, and three fall under the “other” ethnic category.
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The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in conjunction with the Helis Foundation have pooled funding to help support humanity organizations impacted by COVID-19. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities President and Executive Director Miranda Restovic says a variety of organizations are eligible to apply for the grants.
Cut 10 (12) “…varied festivals”
Restovic says so far they have tallied a loss of $30-million from 60 applications that have been submitted. She anticipates that number will grow as closures continue.
The grants range between $3,000 and $20,000 and Restovic says so far 42 humanities organizations in the state have been awarded funding.
So far $375,000 has been distributed to humanities organizations in 18 parishes.
Restovic says the grants are designated for operational expenses.
For information on how to apply visit the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities website at www.leh.org. The deadline is June 30th.
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The House will take up a bill allocating 200 million dollars of the 1.8 billion dollar CARES Act federal funding for the state to small business grants.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses backs the legislation. State Director Dawn Starns says many small businesses are still at risk of going under.
But Governor John Bel Edwards says that money needs to be set aside to help local governments cover revenue losses from the shutdown. Edwards says it is the intent behind those federal funds.
Edwards mentioned Senator John Kennedy is working on an effort to give states even more flexibility about how their CARES Act money is used.
The Governor says the feds could allocate additional funds dedicated to businesses in the future, but may not offer any more for local governments, so…
But Starns says without swift action many businesses may close, permanently damaging local tax bases.
The bill cleared the Senate unanimously and is awaiting final passage today in the House.
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Cut 18 (26) “…double team Ja’Marr”
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