PM Newscall, March 23rd, 2015

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has officially announced that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination, but Governor Bobby Jindal says he will wait until the legislative session ends in June before announcing whether he will enter the race. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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Gas prices are once again starting to fall. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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Texas Senator Ted Cruz has officially announced that he is running for the Republican presidential nomination, but Governor Bobby Jindal says he will wait until the legislative session ends in June before announcing whether he will enter the race. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says it’s smart for Jindal to wait…

CUT 3 (09)  “to Louisiana”

Cruz made his announcement in a Twitter message just after midnight and formally launched his campaign at an event in Virginia this morning. Cross says Cruz, along with Rick Santorum and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, will have some impact on a Jindal candidacy due to their similar political stances…

CUT 4 (08)  “as the vice-president”

Cruz is the first major presidential hopeful to officially declare his intent to run. Cross says he fully expects the governor to enter the race and make a run of it…

CUT 5 (07)  “after that”

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Gas prices are once again starting to fall. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular is $2.22 which is down three cents from this time last week according to the American Automobile Association. AAA fuel analyst Don Redman…:

CUT 6 (09)  “spring transition”

Redman attributes the falling price at the pump on a very healthy supply. He says a forecast from the US Department of Energy indicates that the national average won’t get above $2.50 a gallon for the entire year…:

CUT 7 (07)  “a gallon”

Redman says a lot of refineries are wrapping up the transition of the winter to summer blend which they are required to have complete by May. He says they are working on those maintenance programs which may cause a hiccup in the price here and there before summer, but it won’t be anything major…:

CUT 8 (07)  “which is great”

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Baton Rouge Police say 58-year-old Eldridge Dukes is facing attempted manslaughter charges after he allegedly shot his son during an argument over orange juice. Cpl. Don Coppola says officers were dispatched to a disturbance at Dukes’ home early Sunday morning…

CUT 9 (11)  “threatening injuries”

He says 18-year-old Brentin Dukes was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Coppola says the situation began over an argument about a lack of orange juice in the home. He says the altercation escalated when Brentin broke a porcelain vase…

cut 10 (11) “in the buttocks”

He says Eldridge chased Brentin outside the home and fired several shots at him, striking Brentin in the buttocks. Coppola says the elder Dukes was taken into custody… (Dukes is charged with attempted manslaughter and illegal use of a dangerous weapon.)

cut 11 (07)  “of a weapon”

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Former New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper, who entered a global plea deal to resolve sexual assault charges in four states including Louisiana, was sentenced today. He will get 8 years in jail in Nevada and he was sentenced to 9 in Arizona. Legal analyst Doug Sunseri says it’s likely the sentences in all states will not run consecutively…:

cut 12 (11)  “is concerned”

The charges involve drugging and sexually assaulting women. Sunseri says Sharper a global plea deal means he essentially agreed to have one punishment for all of the charges…:

cut 13 (07)  “four jurisdictions”

Sunseri says this is likely a good move for all parties involved. He says if Sharper were convicted on one of these crimes he could get life in prison, and it’s also probably better for the victims because rape cases are extremely hard to prove without a reasonable doubt…:

cut 14 (08)  “took the plea deal”

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