The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another widespread blackout. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

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The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action day at the Capitol to advocate for increase cancer funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.  Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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A statewide ban on kratom is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming reality. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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The ULM School of Education earned an A+ rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its elementary math teacher preparation, one of only four Louisiana universities to achieve this distinction.  School of Education Associate Director Dr. Shalanda Stanley says the NCTQ evaluated 17 programs, focusing on time dedicated to key math content and math pedagogy.

Cut 4 (11) “…very proud of it.”

This follows ULM’s prior A+ rating in Reading Foundations. With 25-percent of Louisiana’s 4th graders lacking basic math skills, per the National Assessment of Education Progress, ULM’s rigorous, CAEP-accredited programs, led by Stanley, prepare teachers to address critical educational needs.

Cut 5 (10) “…student performance.”

Stanley says the difference is shortening the gap between learning how to do it and actually practicing implementation with students getting hundreds of hours of field experience prior to full-time teaching.

Cut 6 (12) “…are the students.”

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The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another massive outage like the one New Orleans experienced Sunday night. The alliance’s clean grid manager, Yvonne Cappel (cah-PELL)-Vickery, says MISO should not be the ones to blame; one factor behind the outage was poor transmission planning among the utilities.

Cut 7 (10) “…us in Louisiana.”

The weather in the New Orleans area Sunday was considerably warmer than forecast; and as such, MISO was forced to order the blackouts to preserve energy. Earlier, Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis blamed the DOGE cuts on the inaccurate forecasts. Cappel-Vickery says it’s imperative that the National Weather Service be fully staffed to prevent blackouts like this.

Cut 8 (13) “…such as this.”

Cappel-Vickery says accurate weather forecasting is essential for utility companies to determine how much load is necessary to meet the demand.

Cut 9 (09)  “…we have available.”

Cappel-Vickery is also urging regulators to continue to ask the hard questions in order to fully understand how this happened so that they can enact measures to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

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The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action Day at the Capitol. Louisiana Government Relations Director for the ACS CAN Alice Kline says the rally was to advocate for increased funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Cut 10 (10) “…so heavily.”

Kline says advocates met with lawmakers to stress the importance of investing tobacco tax revenue in initiatives to prevent youth tobacco use and help smokers quit.

Cut 11 (10) “…long-term Medicaid costs.”

Kline urged for sustained funding for the Louisiana Breast and Cervical Cancer Program and the Louisiana Tumor Registry to enhance early detection and reduce cancer burdens.

Cut 12 (10) “…each year.”

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A ban on kratom in Louisiana is now one signature from Governor Landry from becoming law. The State House has followed the Senate’s lead in overwhelmingly voting to ban the supplement sometimes known as “gas station heroin.” The House vote on West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ bill was 86-to-6. Kenner Republican Debbie Villio presented the bill in the House. She said kratom is cloaked in deception.

Cut 13 (08)  “…routinely do so.”

Villio says kratom is highly addictive and potentially fatal.

Cut 14 (11) “…bad, bad stuff.”

Covington Republican Peter Egan offered up an amendment that would have allowed the sale and use of only naturally-occurring kratom. That, along with another amendment, were voted down. Egan argued that more than six-percent of Louisiana’s population uses kratom.

Cut 15 (13) “…that consumes it.”

Egan says when used properly, naturally occurring kratom has its benefits.

Cut 16 (14) “…an addicted need.”

The Senate vote earlier this month was 26 to 11. Again, it now heads to Governor Landry’s desk for his signature.

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LSU Baseball is hosting its 28^th Regional this weekend and its first since 2023. Designated Hitter Ethan Frey from Rosepine was a freshman on that team and is excited to experience postseason baseball at the Box once again….

Cut 17 (12)  “…every game.”

The Tigers offense has looked better at the Box than on the road and Frey says that’s not a coincidence….

Cut 18 (18)  “…looks like so.”

Frey was a two-time state champion at Rosepine High and was on the 2023 LSU national championship team. The junior says losing in the Regional last year helped motivate him this year…

Cut 19 (15) “…season again.”

A ban on kratom in Louisiana is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming law. The House has followed the Senate’s lead in overwhelmingly voting to ban the supplement sometimes known as “gas station heroin.” The House vote on West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ bill was 86-to-6. Kenner Republican Debbie Villio presented the bill in the House. She said kratom is cloaked in deception.

Cut 13 (08)  “…routinely do so.”

Covington Republican Peter Egan offered up an amendment that would have allowed the sale and use of only naturally-occurring kratom. That, along with another amendment, were voted down. Egan says when used properly, naturally occurring kratom has its benefits.

Cut 16 (14) “…an addicted need.”

The Senate vote earlier this month was 26 to 11. Once again, it now heads to Governor Landry’s desk for his signature.

One bill that’s not going to Governor Landry’s desk – not yet, at least – is one by Senator Blake Miguez that would ban ultra-processed foods from being served and sold in public schools. Lafayette Republican John Carlson presented the bill in the House and agreed to return it to the calendar for further discussion. On the House floor, Carlson said scientific research shows that these additives are harmful.

Cut 25 (17) “…in our schools.”

Once again, Carlson has returned the bill to the calendar for further discussion.

The warning from Louisiana State Police was swift and direct – if you help any of the ten escaped Orleans Parish Jail inmates in any way, you will be held accountable. Well, LSP was not messing around. So far, they have arrested 14 accomplices, including five people for helping Lenton Vanburen, who was captured in Baton Rouge yesterday. Currently, two of the ten escapees remain on the loose.

The Public Service Commission is looking for answers following Sunday’s massive blackout in southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans, which were ordered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. The outages were triggered when an Entergy nuclear plant unexpectedly went offline. Commissioner Eric Skrmetta says MISO would not go into further detail.

Cut 9 (10)  “…that you can’t tell me.”

Cleco says it will investigate the outage, and Entergy says they want to understand the directive from MISO.

Monroe tourism officials are remembering “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, who passed away Sunday at the age of 79. “Duck Dynasty” aired on A-and-E for 11 years, but Sheila Snow with Discover Monroe-West Monroe says the show’s impact on the community has lasted a lot longer.

Cut 7 (09) “…their offerings there.”

The Speaker of the House gets high praise from one of his predecessors. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was on Mornings with Brian Haldane on LRN affiliate WBRP in Baton Rouge, and he said Speaker Mike Johnson has been a steady hand in a deeply divided Congress. Gingrich says Johnson did a magnificent job in getting President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” approved in the House.

Cut 4 (09) “…and doing this.”

The bill, however, faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

The Public Service Commission is looking for answers following Sunday’s massive blackout in southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans, which were ordered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. The outages were triggered when an Entergy nuclear plant unexpectedly went offline. Commissioner Eric Skrmetta says MISO would not go into further detail.

Cut 9 (10)  “…that you can’t tell me.”

Cleco says it will investigate the outage, and Entergy says they want to understand the directive from MISO.

Eight down, two to go. Three more escapees from the Orleans Justice Center were captured yesterday. Lenton Vanburen was arrested in Baton Rouge, and Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Houston. That leaves Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey as the last two escapees still on the run. 20-thousand dollars in reward money for each inmate is still on the table.

Monroe tourism officials are remembering “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, who passed away Sunday at the age of 79. “Duck Dynasty” aired on A-and-E for 11 years, but Sheila Snow with Discover Monroe-West Monroe says the show’s impact on the community has lasted a lot longer.

Cut 7 (09) “…their offerings there.”

The Speaker of the House gets high praise from one of his predecessors. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was on Mornings with Brian Haldane on LRN affiliate WBRP in Baton Rouge, and he said Speaker Mike Johnson has been a steady hand in a deeply divided Congress. Gingrich says Johnson did a magnificent job in getting President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” approved in the House.

Cut 4 (09) “…and doing this.”

The bill, however, faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave high praise to current Speaker Mike Johnson during an appearance on a Baton Rouge radio morning show. The 81-year-old Gingrich told Brian Haldane on LRN affiliate WBRP that Johnson is the most remarkable Speaker of the House in his lifetime for how he has led a 435-member body with a slim Republican majority…

Cut 3 (12) “…people complain.” 

Monroe tourism officials say Phil Robertson and his family provided a huge boost in visitorship to the area. Sheila Snow with Discover Monroe-West Monroe says that was spurred in large part to “Duck Dynasty.”

Cut 6 (11) “…family called home.”

Phil Robertson passed away Sunday at the age of 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

One public service commissioner says one big culprit of the New Orleans blackout could be massive cuts in federal staffing. Commissioner Davante Lewis says power companies anticipate how much electrical load they need based on that day’s weather forecast; and lately, forecasts from the National Weather Service have been well off.

Cut 13 (08)  “…what it was.”

Lewis is blaming the inaccurate forecasting on the DOGE cuts that President Trump and Elon Musk carried out this year.

Today, the Senate takes up Representative Troy Hebert’s bill that would codify a rule put in place last year that allows employers to report a job applicant collecting unemployment who fails to show up for a job interview. Hebert says in the current pilot program, only a very small number of people reported to the Louisiana Workforce Commission were deemed to have violated the conditions of their unemployment benefits.

Cut 10 (08) “…they were given.”

One public service commissioner says there could be more blackouts like the one in New Orleans Sunday, and he says one culprit could be massive cuts in federal staffing. Commissioner Davante Lewis says this was not the first time this year that a part of Louisiana was subject to rolling blackouts.

Cut 12 (07) “…second day in April.”

The patriarch of “Duck Dynasty” has died. Phil Robertson passed away Sunday at the age of 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Greg Hilburn is a reporter with USA Today who has gotten to know the Robertson family very well. He says Robertson was the starting quarterback at Louisiana Tech until he quit the sport before his senior season, forcing the Bulldogs to turn to their backup quarterback – a kid from Shreveport by the name of Terry Bradshaw.

Cut 16 (06) “…see that connection.”

Plans for a public memorial are underway. That will be followed by a private funeral and burial.

The legislative session ends in 16 days, and lawmakers are close to passing auto insurance reform bills that they hope can bring down rates. Jeanne (“zhahn”) Burns reports.

Cut 1 (43) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

The LSU Tigers are a six national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which means they’ll not only host the regionals, but also the  Super Regionals, should they get that far.

More than 100-thousand people in and around New Orleans were thrust into darkness in a series of rolling blackouts Sunday. This was not the first such blackout in the state this year, and Commissioner Davante Lewis says he doubts this will be the last, and he’s pointing the finger at President Trump and Elon Musk.

Cut 14 (11) “…forecasting as well.”

Today, the Senate will take up Representative Troy Hebert’s bill that would codify a rule put in place last year that allows employers to report a job applicant collecting unemployment who fails to show up for a job interview.  Another component would increase the number of required weekly work searches from three to five. Hebert says, however, that he would like to see the rules better defined.

Cut 11 (08) “…us for approval.”

Eight down, two to go. Three more escapees from the Orleans Justice Center were captured yesterday. Lenton Vanburen was arrested in Baton Rouge, and Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald were arrested in Houston. That leaves Derrick Groves and Antoine Massey as the last two escapees still on the run. 20-thousand dollars in reward money for each inmate is still on the table.

LSU has received a coveted Top 8 national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Jeff Palermo has more on the Tigers’ road to Omaha…

Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Just over two weeks left in the legislative session, and several bills aimed at bringing down Louisiana’s extremely high auto insurance rates are nearing final legislative passage. Before taking a break for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the State Senate approved several tort reform bills. Senate Insurance Chairman Kirk Talbot says among them is a medical transparency bill…

Cut 5 (11) “…medical bills.”

But Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau is not a believer that tort reform legislation is the answer to lower auto insurance rates…

Cut 6 (10) “…insurance rates.”

Another bill nearing the governor’s desk would say if a driver is found to be 51-percent or more at fault for a wreck, he or she is not entitled to any damages in a civil lawsuit.

One public service commissioner says one big culprit of the New Orleans blackout could be massive cuts in federal staffing. Commissioner Davante Lewis says power companies anticipate how much electrical load they need based on that day’s weather forecast; and lately, forecasts from the National Weather Service have been well off.

Cut 13 (08)  “…what it was.”

Lewis is blaming the inaccurate forecasting on the DOGE cuts that President Trump and Elon Musk carried out this year.

The patriarch of “Duck Dynasty” has died. Phil Robertson passed away Sunday at the age of 79. Greg Hilburn is a reporter with USA Today who has gotten to know the Robertson family very well. He says he will never forget the time when he was a kid when he asked for Robertson’s autograph when he was a quarterback for Louisiana Tech.

Cut 15 (09) “…as a child.”

The legislative session ends in 16 days, and lawmakers are close to passing auto insurance reform bill that they hope can bring down rates. Jeanne (“zhahn”) Burns reports.

Cut 1 (43) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

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One public service commissioner implies that Sunday’s rolling blackouts in and around New Orleans could have President Trump and Elon Musk’s names all over them. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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LSU has received a coveted Top 8 national seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. Jeff Palermo has more on the Tigers’ road to Omaha…

Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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There are a little over two weeks left in the legislative session, and several bills aimed at bringing Louisiana’s extremely high auto insurance rates are nearing final legislative passage. Senate Insurance Chairman Kirk Talbot led the effort on the Senate floor to pass a bill that would give the insurance commissioner more authority to reject rate increases. Talbot says an amendment was added to the legislation that would require insurance companies to make their rate filing requests public…

Cut 4 (13) “…propriety or not.”

Insurance companies and Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple oppose the bill that’s backed by Governor Jeff Landry.

And before taking a break for the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Louisiana Senate approved several tort reform bills. Talbot says that includes a medical transparency bill…

Cut 5 (11) “…medical bills.”

But Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau is not a believer that tort reform legislation is the answer to lower auto insurance rates…

Cut 6 (10) “…insurance rates.”

A tort reform bill that needs House concurrence to Senate changes before reaching the governor’s desk would say if a driver is found to be 51-percent or more at fault for a wreck, they are not entitled to any damages in a civil lawsuit. Luneau says it’s a bad bill…

Cut 7 (09) “…going to be difficult.”

Luneau says he has two bills that will go before House Insurance on Wednesday that he believes will help to lower rates. One of them makes it illegal for insurance companies to adjust an adjuster’s report without the knowledge of the adjuster or policy holder. He says this was a big problem following the hurricanes in 2020.

The senator also has a bill that prohibits the use of credit scores when factoring insurance rates…

Cut 8 (08) “…poor credit.”

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Today, the Senate will take up Representative Troy Hebert’s bill that would codify a rule put in place last year that allows employers to report a job applicant collecting unemployment who fails to show up for a job interview. Hebert is a Republican from Lafayette and says employers getting ghosted by their applicants has become more prevalent.

Cut 9 (13)  “…not show up.”

Hebert says in the current pilot program, only a very small number of people reported to the Louisiana Workforce Commission were deemed to have violated the conditions of their unemployment benefits

Cut 10 (08) “…they were given.”

Another component of Hebert’s bill would increase the number of work searches required to collect unemployment from three to five. He says, however, that he would like to see the rules better defined.

Cut 11 (08) “…us for approval.”

Hebert says by codifying this pilot program into law, it would remain in place regardless of future administrations. Earlier this month, Hebert’s bill passed the House on a vote of 73-to-24.

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One public service commissioner says there could be more blackouts like the one in New Orleans Sunday, and he says one culprit could be massive cuts in federal staffing. More than 100-thousand people in and around New Orleans were thrust into darkness in a series of rolling blackouts Sunday. Commissioner Davante Lewis says this was not the first time this year that a part of Louisiana was subject to rolling blackouts.

Cut 12 (07) “…second day in April.”

Lewis says they anticipate how much electrical load they need for a particular day based on that day’s weather forecast; and one day last month, the forecast from the National Weather Service was significantly off.

Cut 13 (08)  “…what it was.”

Lewis says if you want to point your finger at someone for that, two people that he implied could be to blame would be President Trump and Elon Musk.

Cut 14 (11) “…forecasting as well.”

Lewis says he will be fully investigating the blackout in New Orleans and will work to ensure that it does not happen in the future.

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The patriarch of “Duck Dynasty” has died. Phil Robertson passed away Sunday at the age of 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Greg Hilburn is a reporter with USA Today who has gotten to know the Robertson family very well. He says he will never forget the time when he was a kid when he asked for Robertson’s autograph when he was a quarterback for Louisiana Tech.

Cut 15 (09) “…as a child.”

Just before his senior season at Tech, Robertson quit football, forcing the Bulldogs to turn to their backup quarterback – a kid from Shreveport by the name of Terry Bradshaw.

Cut 16 (06) “…see that connection.”

Hilburn says Robertson never felt that he was being pushed out of football by the emergence of the future four-time Super Bowl champion and NFL Hall of Famer.

Cut 17 (14)  “…that Bradshaw did.”

Robertson founded the Duck Commander hunting company in 1972, 40 years before starring in “Duck Dynasty” on A-and-E. A public memorial service is being planned; the funeral and burial will be limited to family and close friends.

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The LSU Tigers are seeded sixth in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, which means they will not only host the regionals, but they will also host the Super Regionals. Coach Jay Johnson expected to receive a national seed…

Cut 18 (14)  “…playing here.”

LSU is 30-5 at home this season. And the Tigers offense can use some home cooking to get the bats going. The Tigers had just two hits in the final 15 innings at the SEC Tournament. Johnson says SEC pitching can lead to struggles at the plate…

Cut 19 (18) “…back to work”

LSU will open the Baton Rouge Regional at 2 PM by hosting Little Rock. The Trojans won the Ohio Valley Conference as an eight-seed. Little Rock is 24-32, the second worst record among the teams that made the 64-team field. Dallas Baptist and Rhode Island are the other two teams in the Baton Rouge Regional. Starting Pitcher Anthony Eyanson says playing at home the next two weekends was more interesting to him….

Cut 20 (12) “…at a time.”

Today is Memorial Day, a day in which we honor true American heroes. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Charlton Meginley says this country owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, including more than 11-thousand Louisianans.

Cut 14 (12) “…we enjoy today.”

Meginley calls this the most important holiday of the year.

This is the time of year when termites rear their ugly head. As such, there are things you need to do to protect your properties. LSU entomology professor Aaron Ashbrook says in Louisiana, there are two types of homes – homes that have termites and homes that will eventually have termites.

Cut 4 (11) “…within the state.”

The Louisiana Department of Health is responding to an overdose crisis in pregnant women with Project M.O.M, which stands for Maternal Overdose Mortality. MOM Program Director Carrie Templeton says in addition to increasing screening and improving access to care, connecting hospital and clinic providers is important for referral to rapid outpatient treatment. She says one valuable resource is the presence of Peer Navigators in some emergency rooms.

Cut 8 (12) “…that’s very popular.”

The patriarch of “Duck Dynasty” has died. Phil Robertson passed away yesterday at the age of 79 following a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. 40 years before “Duck Dynasty” premiered on A-and-E, Robertson founded Duck Commander in 1972. Even before then, Robertson was the starting quarterback for Louisiana Tech. His backup – Terry Bradshaw.