Prostate cancer is on the minds of millions of Americans in light of former President Joe Biden’s diagnosis. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

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The House Appropriations Committee approves a bill that would streamline the post conviction appeals process. Sean Richardson reports Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says death penalty cases in particular are taking too long, because defense attorneys are dragging out the appeals process…

Cut 2 (26) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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There was spirited debate on the Senate Floor but no vote was taken on a bill that would make insurance commissioner an appointed position instead of an elected position. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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New research finds that 31-percent of households in Southwest Louisiana are ALICE households, which means they live paycheck to paycheck but their income is high enough that they do not qualify for government assistance. Tammy Chrisope with United Way Southwest Louisiana says many of these workers are the backbone of the community; they are cooks, personal care aides, fast food workers and food preparation workers.

Cut 4 (09) “…things like that.”

The 31-percent of ALICE households do not include the 15-percent of households in Southwest Louisiana that live in poverty. Chrisope says residents that live below the ALICE Threshold are having to make difficult financial survival decisions.

Cut 5 (09) “…rent that month.”

Chrisope says Louisiana has the nation’s highest financial hardship rate, with 87-percent of single-female-headed households with children struggling.

Cut 6 (12) “…verge of losing it.”

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Prostate cancer is on the minds of many Americans in light of the news that former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. Ochsner Health Oncologist Dr. Brian Halbert says prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers in men; and as such, they need to stay on top of their prostate health.

Cut 7 (13) “…around age 45.”

Dr. Halbert says prostate cancer is a hormone-sensitive cancer.

Cut 8 (14) “…for prostate cancer.”

Halbert says with prostate cancer being sensitive to hormones, the key to treat it is to lower testosterone levels.

Cut 9 (11)  “…three years.”

Another option that prostate cancer patients have is a new advanced treatment that some locations offer called Pluvicto, which is essentially a targeted form of radiation.

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The House Appropriations Committee has approved a bill that would streamline the post conviction appeals process for incarcerated individuals. The measure is part of Attorney General Liz Murrill’s legislative package. Murrill says the legislation is designed to speed up the appeals process in capital murder cases. She says they can still file numerous appeals, but they can’t wait three to four years between appeals…

Cut 10 (12) “…in this system (2x).”

The legislation is making its way through the process at the same time that death row inmate, Larry Roy, also known as the Cheneyville slasher, is still fighting against an execution date and he’s been on death row since 1997. Murrill says this is torture for the family members of the three people Roy killed…

Cut 11 (10) “…going to fix it.”

The bill will cost the state an additional four-million dollars. The Office of the State Public Defender’s office says it needs the additional dollars, because if the post conviction appeals process was sped up, they will need more lawyers to defend the additional cases. Attorney Robert Morris represents death row inmates and expressed his concerns about the legislation…

Cut 12 (10) “…by this bill.”

The bill goes to the House floor for debate.

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After almost 25 minutes of spirited debate, the Senate did not vote on a bill that would make the position of insurance commissioner an appointed position instead of an elected position. That’s something that 39 other states currently do. It was written by New Orleans Democrat Royce Duplessis, who wants to take politics out of the role.

Cut 13 (12)  “…of the people.”

The notion of removing citizens’ ability to choose their insurance commissioner did not sit well with Bossier City Republican Adam Bass, and he confronted Duplessis about it.

Cut 14 (15) “…finding another solution.”

River Ridge Republican Kirk Talbot spoke out against the bill, which he acknowledged was ironic because he wrote a very similar bill in 2019 when he was in the House. Talbot says making insurance commissioner an appointed position would do nothing to lower insurance premiums.

Cut 15 (14) “…not this.”

When Duplessis closed on his bill, he acknowledged that the votes to pass it likely were not there, so he returned it to the calendar.

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U-L Lafayette begins its quest for the Sun Belt baseball championship tonight against Marshall. Both teams finished the regular season 16-and-14 in conference play, with Marshall achieving a better overall record. Cajuns head coach Matt Deggs says his team will have its work cut out against the Thundering Herd.

Cut 16 (17) “…to come by.”

Deggs will counter with Tate Hess, who was 6-and-2 in the regular season with an ERA of 5.17. The Cajuns achieved an overall record of 26-and-29, good enough for the fifth seed in the double-elimination tournament. The top seed is Coastal Carolina, which finished the regular season with an overall record of 44-and-11, 26-and-4 in Sun Belt play. Coach Deggs says his team has nothing to lose.

Cut 17 (20)  “…in this thing.”

First pitch from Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama, is approximately 7:30 tonight.

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Louisiana Tech will face Jacksonville State tonight in the opening round of the Conference USA Tournament. The Bulldogs are 14-and-12 in league play and finished fifth in the standings. Coach Lane Burroughs says his team has enough talent to make a run in the tourney…

Cut 18 (11)  “…do that.”

The Bulldogs lost a series to the Gamecocks earlier this month.

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LSU baseball is ranked number one in all of the polls but have they done enough to be a Top 8 National seed, which puts them in position to host a Super Regional if they win their Regional. But LSU is ranked eighth in the RPI which is a metric the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee relies on when determining seeding. LSU Pitcher Kade Anderson believes the Tigers should be a Top 8 national seed…

Cut 19 (19) “…we will be ready”

LSU plays in the SEC Tournament on Friday night. The Tigers will need to win twice to reach the SEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday. Coach Jay Johnson says they are going to Hoover, Alabama to win…

Cut 20 (18) “…not do that.”

A maintenance worker at the Orleans Parish Justice Center was arrested for aiding in the escape of 10 inmates this past weekend.  Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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One of Governor Landry’s priority bills advances to the Senate. Andrew Greenstein reports it’s quite divisive. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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A 33-year-old Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office maintenance worker, Sterling Williams, was arrested for aiding the escape of 10 inmates from the Orleans Justice Center, as announced by the Attorney General Liz Murrill.

Cut 3 (07) “…period of time.” 

Williams confessed to turning off the water in a cell as instructed by an inmate, enabling the group to escape through a hole behind a toilet. Murrill says he was identified after reviewing footage and interviewing employees who had directly interacted with inmates.

Cut 4 (12) “…assigned to it.”

Williams faces 10 counts of principal to simple escape and malfeasance in office. Murrill says its an ongoing investigation and urges anyone involved to turn themselves in.

Cut 5 (11) “…came forward voluntarily.”

According to an arrest affidavit, Williams said one of the inmates threatened to stab him with a makeshift knife if he didn’t turn off the water.

Four out of the ten inmates have been captured.

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The House has advanced a bill that would prohibit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in state offices and public colleges. The vote was 57-to-32, with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting no. The vote came after two hours of impassioned debate. More than a dozen Black Democrats took to the house floor to denounce Baton Rouge Republican Emily Chenevert’s bill, including Candace Newell of New Orleans, who called it the most racially offensive piece of legislation she’s ever had to debate.

Cut 6 (08) “…or white guilt.”

Edmond Jordan of Baton Rouge says Chenevert’s bill is an anti-Black bill.

Cut 7 (13) “…the Japanese internment?”

A pair of Republicans offered a rebuttal to the Black Democrats’ arguments. Gray Republican Beryl Amedee took exception with the concept of equity.

Cut 8 (09) “…for is equality.”

Chenevert delivered a heartfelt plea in support of her bill. She says her bill does not codify discrimination.

Cut 9 (10)  “…is it doesn’t.”

Chenevert said she filed the bill to keep the state compliant with President Trump’s executive order to retain its federal funding for state universities. The bill now moves to the Senate. Governor Landry is in support of the bill. 

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The House Transportation Committee approves a Senate bill that is attempting to prevent speed cameras that issue cameras from operating outside of school zones. Monroe Senator Stewart Cathey says these cameras are unconstitutional and the citizens of Louisiana agree….

Cut 10 (10) “…go away”

Several local police departments oppose the legislation. They say cameras that issue speeding tickets help with highway safety, but Cathey argues manpower improves public safety…

Cut 11 (09) “…pulling you over.”

Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux testified against the bill. Arceneaux says speed cameras in school zones have helped to reduce speeding in front of schools and the city plans to install speed cameras outside of school zones…

Cut 12 (13) “…local level.”

Cathey’s bill, which has already passed Senate, would result in local officials being charged with malfeasance if speed cameras were used outside of school zones.

Shreveport’s Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark says the city does not have the physical ability to send officers to run radar. He says the speed camera has shown it’s an effective tool to get motorists to drive at the speed limit…

Cut 13 (10)  “…paying attention.”

Cathey’s bill heads to the House floor for more debate.

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The 2025 Louisiana Survey polled one thousand Louisiana adults and once again, the economy is the top concern of the state’s residents.  The director of the Louisiana Survey, Doctor Michael Henderson of LSU, says that’s a shift from a year ago, when crime was the top priority.

Cut 14 (12) “…back on top.”

Henderson says homeowners’ insurance is a challenging issue for current and potential homeowners with rising premiums.

Cut 15 (09) “…just a year ago.”