Senator John Kennedy slams the bipartisan infrastructure agreement that appears set for a vote tomorrow. The trillion-dollar plan is partially funded by taxes, some of which Kennedy says target Louisiana’s vital industries…

Cut 5 (11) “…Louisiana”

Senator Bill Cassidy celebrated the plan, saying it would provide us with six billion dollars in funding. Cassidy also voiced his feelings about the ongoing 4^th surge of COVID. Cassidy says this surge is all the more tragic because it could have been prevented if more people had gotten vaccinated.

Cut 12 (11) “..dead” 

Roughly 90 percent of new cases and 84 percent of COVID-related deaths were unvaccinated individuals according to data captured at the end of July.

The 4^th surge in COVID cases has prompted the cancellation of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. New Orleans and Company Spokesperson, Kelly Schulz says the cancellation of Jazz Fest this year is a blow the state shouldn’t have to take.

Cut 7 (10) “…this situation” 

The traditional spring event was postponed originally this year to October but now has been canceled again for the second year due to the pandemic.

The LSU Vet School announces the school’s live mascot Mike the Tiger has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The second dose was administered on Friday. Vet School Spokesperson Ginger Guttner says an animal health company called Zoetis donated the vaccine

Cut 9 (12) “…free vaccines”

Guttner says it was important for Mike to get vaccinated because it has been determined that Tigers can, in fact, contract the virus.

The Delta COVID surge does not appear to be slowing down. Senator Bill Cassidy says this surge is all the more tragic because it could have been prevented if more people had gotten vaccinated. The percentage of fully vaccinated Louisianans is at 38 percent. Cassidy says there is a lot of misinformation about the vaccine’s development.

Cut 13 (13) “…minimal”

The LSU Vet School announces the school’s live mascot Mike th Tiger has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The second dose was administered on Friday. Spokesperson Ginger Guttner says it was important for Mike to get vaccinated because it has been determined that Tigers can, in fact, contract the virus.

Cut 10 (10) “…for sure.”

Senator John Kennedy opposes the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill, citing the legislation’s cost, lack of infrastructure focus, and limited offerings for Louisiana. Kennedy says only about a quarter of the bill funds traditional hard infrastructure, and he bemoaned the disproportionate amount bigger cities will receive, like 40 billion for “big city mass transit systems”.

Cut 4 (08) “…bills” 

The 4^th surge in COVID cases is already prompting the cancellation of major events, like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. New Orleans and Company Spokesperson, Kelly Schulz encourages those in the tourism industry to remain optimistic.

Cut 6 (08) “…we can.”

Schulz says this year’s cancellation was completely preventable and is a result of individuals refusing to be vaccinated.

Senator John Kennedy slams the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill, calling it an inflationary bomb. Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 1 (29) “ …I’m Matt Doyle” 

The Louisiana Department of Health reports 16,541 new COVID cases and more than 27-hundred hospitalizations.  91-percent of those hospitalized are reportedly unvaccinated and 90-percent of the cases are among the unvaccinated.  Fifty new fatalities were also reported today.

The 4^th surge in COVID cases has prompted the cancellation of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. New Orleans and Company Spokesperson, Kelly Schulz says the cancellation of Jazz Fest this year is a blow the state shouldn’t have to take.

Cut 7 (10) “…this situation” 

The traditional spring event was postponed originally this year to October but now has been canceled again for the second year due to the pandemic.

The LSU Vet School announces the school’s live mascot Mike The Tiger has received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The second dose was administered on Friday. Spokesperson Ginger Guttner says an animal health company called Zoetis donated the vaccine

Cut 9 (12) “…free vaccines”

Guttner says it was important for Mike to get vaccinated because it has been determined that Tigers can, in fact, contract the virus.

The state reports more than 16-thousand 500 new COVID cases and more than 27-hundred hospitalizations.  91-percent of those hospitalized are not vaccinated. Fifty new fatalities were also reported. Numbers on Mondays include those from the weekend.

LSU’s live mascot Mike the Tiger has received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. Jeff Palermo on how this came to be…

Cut 2 (30)…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

Senator John Kennedy opposes the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill, citing the legislation’s cost, lack of infrastructure focus, and limited offerings for Louisiana. The trillion-dollar package will increase deficits by 256 billion dollars over ten years per the Congressional Budget Office. Kennedy says that’s more than the GPD of Louisiana.

Cut 3 (08) “…tax.” 

Senator Bill Cassidy is one of the leading bipartisan negotiators of the bill.

The 4^th surge in COVID cases is already prompting the cancellation of major events, like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. New Orleans and Company Spokesperson, Kelly Schulz encourages those in the tourism industry to remain optimistic.

Cut 6 (08) “…we can.”

Schulz says this year’s cancellation was completely preventable and is a result of individuals refusing to be vaccinated.

Louisiana hospitals are clogged with COVID patients leading to 50 facilities to formally request aid from the state. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”

The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will not take place in October this year. The Louisiana staple event announced the cancellation on Sunday scheduled for October 8-17^th. The exponential growth of new COVID cases are cited as the reason for cancellation and they plan to return to a traditional spring timeframe in 2022.

The ongoing pandemic is also taking a mental toll on healthcare workers. Louisiana State Nurses Association President Ecoee (E-coy) Rooney encourages nurses who are starting to burn out or suffer poor mental health to visit the American Association of Critical Care Nurse’s website for a range of useful tools…

Cut 9 (08) “…things.”

The increased rates of burnout are also causing a nursing shortage across the country.

Ochsner Health says they now have over one thousand COVID-19 patients hospitalized across their system, 90-percent are unvaccinated. Some people have decided not to get vaccinated because they already had COVID, but Ochsner CEO Warner Thomas says the vaccine remains your best protection…

cut 11 (07) “….vaccinated”

Last week seven cases of the Lambda variant were reported in Northwest Louisiana.

Louisiana’s nurses haven’t had many breaks since the pandemic began in early 2020, and now many are starting to burn out. Matt Doyle has more…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.” 

Mike VII, LSU’s live tiger mascot has been vaccinated for COVID. The University says he received his doses of the July 16h and August 6^th and so far, Mike has not shown any adverse reactions. The vaccine was donated by Zoetis. Last year there was a COVID outbreak at the Bronx Zoo among lions and tigers.

Some who’ve had COVID are reluctant to be vaccinated believing their antibodies will protect them, but Ochsner Health Director of Infection Control and Prevention Dr. Katherine Baumgarten says their antibodies might not be enough for the growing variants.

Cut 10 (12) “…of COVID.”

Blood tests have indicated that protection drops against worrisome variants like Delta and Lambda.

A fourth marker will be unveiled along the Louisiana Civil Rights Trail today. The newest one commemorates the 1967 Bogalusa to Baton Rouge Civil Rights March. The trail also features an interactive website at Louisiana Civil Rights Trail -dot-com. And Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says the trail is not only meant to draw tourists…

Cut 15 (08)“…country.”

The state health department says over the past two weeks about one percent of Louisiana residents have become infected with COVID-19. Governor John Bel Edwards says more than six thousand children have tested positive this week, which is why children five and up should wear a mask in schools

Cut 7 (12) “…young people” 

LSU faculty and staff members expressed concerns Friday with a 100-percent capacity return to the classroom during the fourth pandemic surge. History Professor Meredith Veldman questioned school leaders when a statement on the school’s website says they follow CDC guidelines, yet their actions show otherwise.

Cut 13 (12) “.occupancy”

Another COVID-19 variant has been detected in Louisiana. LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport has found the Lambda variant in seven cases in northwest Louisiana. But LSU Health Shreveport Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Jeremy Kamil says there’s no reason to believe that this new variant will bypass the vaccines that are available…
cut 11 (08) “….well”
Canadian-based Interfor Corporation announces plans to invest eight million dollars to restart an idle sawmill near DeQuincy. Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance CEO George Swift says the revived plant will support significant logging and logistics activity in the region…
Cut 5 (08) “…this industry”
The project is expected to create 170 new jobs.

The Delta variant has apparently prompted more unvaccinated individuals to seek out the COVID vaccine. Governor John Bel Edwards says the number of people being vaccinated now has grown by 300-percent during this surge…

Cut 8 (07) “..some time”

Because of this record surge in cases, LSU faculty want the school to either mandate vaccines or allow teachers to go all online for the semester. History Professor Meredith Veldman the pandemic is at worse levels now than it ever was in spring 2020 when the school went entirely remote.

Cut 14 (09) “…conditions”

On Friday President Tate said he would mandate vaccines once they receive full FDA approval. Otherwise, there was no official response from the board to faculty members

Seven Lamba COVID variants have been sequenced in Louisiana so far, all clustered in Northwest Louisiana. LSU Health Shreveport Professor of Microbiology and Immunology Jeremy Kamil says Lambda is not an offshoot of the now-dominant Delta variant.

Cut 9 (08) “…Peru”

The Lambda variants most likely crossed the border from Texas.

The Lambda variant, first discovered in Peru, has now been found in Northwest Louisiana. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “ …I’m Matt Doyle” 

In Shreveport, an accident on I-20 leaves three dead and three others in critical condition. Shreveport Police says the accident happened about 2 am this morning after a truck lost a tire traveling west on I-20 and pulled over. A car then hit the truck causing it to cross two lanes of traffic and into the path of five motorcyclists, killing two of them and the car passenger.

For the fourth straight day, Louisiana has set a record for the number of COVID patients in the hospital. On Friday it was up to 2,421 and according to health officials, 90-percent of the hospitalized are unvaccinated. Governor John Bel Edwards says the state is at the leading edge of this fourth surge

Cut 6 (12) “..even close.”

LSU faculty expressed their concerns on Friday over the return of in-person teaching especially with only 34-percent of the students reportedly vaccinated. They want the option to teach classes virtually or limit in-person capacity to 50-percent. Kevin Yua Coordinator of LSU World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures says previous mitigation rules were not always followed.

Cut 12 (12) “..enforced” 

The Lambda variant, first discovered in Peru, has now been found in Northwest Louisiana. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “ …I’m Matt Doyle” 

The state reported more than six thousand new COVID cases today.

The weekly winners of the state’s Shot at A Million vaccine lottery today were announced today. Coty Hemperley of Shreveport won the $100,000 cash prize and Nevada Charity of New Orleans is the scholarship winner. The million-dollar grand prize and remaining scholarship winners will be announced on Friday, August 13^th.

LSU faculty and staff members expressed concerns this morning with a 100-percent capacity return to the classroom during the fourth pandemic surge. History Professor Meredith Veldman questioned school leaders when a statement on the school’s website says they follow CDC guidelines yet their actions show otherwise.

Cut 13 (12) “.occupancy”

LSU President William Tate said today he plans to issue a vaccine mandate once the vaccine receives full FDA approval.

Interfor Corporation will invest eight million dollars to revive the idled Georgia Pacific sawmill near DeQuincy. Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance CEO George Swift says the Canadian-based company is one of North America’s largest lumber producers…

Cut 4 (09) “…viable.”