PM Newscall March 12th, 2015

Eglin Air Force Base officials say the wreckage of the Army helicopter that crashed Tuesday night over the Florida Panhandle, killing all eleven on board, has been found. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (27) “reporting”

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Candidate for Lt. Governor & Baton Rouge Mayor-President Kip Holden issued a statement today in response to sexual harassment claims made in a suit by a woman in Kansas City. Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 2 (29) “reporting”

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An allegation has been made that members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Louisiana Tech sang a racist song during a pledge event in 2010. A Louisiana Tech spokesperson says there has been no evidence of it and they have zero tolerance for that type of behavior. But Dr. Reginald Owens, head of Tech’s journalism program, says he wouldn’t be surprised if it did happen…

CUT 3 (05)  “time to time”

A former student says he witnessed the racist chant, similar to the song which resulted in the shuttering of the fraternity on the University of Oklahoma campus. But Owens, who is a Tech alum, says race relations between students on the Ruston campus is good…

CUT 4 (07)  “to be done”

A Tech spokesman says the university is looking into the matter. Owens says the one good thing about the incident at Oklahoma is that it brings the up topic of race relations, once again…

CUT 5 (06)  “that we have”

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State Police have redeployed additional troopers to patrol in New Orleans. The funds for the extra support are provided by The Big Easy’s business community and members of the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau who raised $2.5 million dollars. State Police Col Mike Edmonson…:

CUT 6 (08)  “patrol presence”

Edmonson says they developed a strategy with the CVB funds, based on the needs of the New Orleans PD and requests from business leaders. He LSP came up with a plan to use this extra money, but not take patrol efforts away from the rest of the state…:

CUT 7 (11)  “not gonna happen”

Edmonson says New Orleans is one of the top places in the nation that people want to visit and number 5 in the world. He says it’s important we protect the tourism industry…:

CUT 8 (05)  “parts of Louisiana”

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Eglin Air Force Base officials say the wreckage of the Army helicopter that crashed Tuesday night over the Florida Panhandle, killing all eleven on board, has been found. Eglin Col. Monte Cannon says the wreckage was located yesterday in about 25 feet of water…

CUT 9 (08)  “safety investigation”

He says the search and rescue mission is now a recovery mission. Four Louisiana National Guard soldiers based out of Hammond were on the chopper and officials say two victims have been recovered. The remaining soldiers are believed to be located in the wreckage. Cannon says, due to the Department of Defense’s 48-hour grieving period, the names of the deceased soldiers have not been released…

cut 10 (10) “tragic event”

While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, Eglin Fire Chief Mark Giuliano says it appears that this was a violent crash…

cut 11 (06)  “lot of debris”

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Lt Governor hopeful Kip Holden is involved in a sex scandal as a four-year-old lawsuit has surfaced claiming the Baton Rouge mayor repeatedly sexually harassed a woman who was in Louisiana on business. The lawsuit does not name Holden as a defendant and it’s actually targeted at her former employer. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the allegation hurts Holden’s chances at becoming the state’s next Lt. Governor

cut 12 (06)  “this allegation”

In a statement, Holden denies the accusations that are made in the 2011 lawsuit, which was filed in Kansas City. Holden ended the statement by saying both he and his wife know the truth on this one. Pinsonat says it’s difficult for politicians to overcome harassment claims

cut 13 (10)  “what they can”

A poll was released this week showing Holden in good position to make the run-off in the lieutenant governor’s race. Pinsonat says Holden made a wise decision by responding to the claims quickly

cut 14 (10)  “type of defense”

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