Updated LRN AM Newscall to reflect a third lawsuit from the Trump campaign

The Trump campaign files election lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Matt Doyle has the story.

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An LSU Health New Orleans Study in conjunction with John Hopkins finds the rates of myocarditis and COVID are not as prevalent and previously reported.  Brooke Thorington explains.

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Home insurance rates will go up next year due to the historic hurricane season Louisiana suffered. Matt Doyle has more

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President Trump’s campaign has filed lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia over concerns poll watchers are not getting enough access to make sure votes are properly counted and raise absentee ballot concerns. Tulane Law Professor Stephen Griffin says it appears the Trump campaign opposes the counting of certain ballots.

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The suits also seek greater access for campaign poll watchers into the locations where ballots are being counted. The campaign also wants to be given access to verify the legitimacy of already counted ballots.

The campaign has insinuated there’s been an issue with the counting of votes, but Griffin says unless they can demonstrate a clear violation they don’t really have a case.

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Suits by local party groups are ongoing in other swing states, along with an inquiry into poor postal service delivery rates for mailed-in ballots in key states.

Griffin says even if courts oppose this initial wave of lawsuits it is likely this election will end up being very litigious…

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Because states do not have to certify their results for weeks Griffin warns this legal battle could drag out for quite some time.

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The 2020 football season for several NCAA schools was in jeopardy after reports of myocarditis linked to COVID-19. In an abundance of caution, some schools chose to delay or sit out the season altogether. But an LSU Health New Orleans study shows COVID attacking the heart is not as prevalent as once thought. Professor Richard Vander Heide…

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LSU Health New Orleans and researchers at John Hopkins gathered reported data of cardiovascular pathological findings from patients in nine countries. Previous studies with larger rates of myocarditis were from MRI data only, not autopsies. Dr. Vander Heide says their study found rates between one and seven percent.

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However, Vander Heide says low rates of myocarditis doesn’t mean individuals infected with COVID are not having cardiovascular issues as a result.

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The authors of the study also created a checklist for pathologists to use going forward when evaluating COVID in an autopsy for consistency in reporting findings.

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In the Bayou State, women represent 30 percent of candidates overall, and according to Louisiana Women Lead, just a third of those female candidates stand for center-right ideals. Renee Amar Executive Director of Louisiana Women Lead says that needs to change.

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Amar says while research shows women win races as much as men, women only make up 18-percent of the legislature in the state. Amar says recruiting female candidates is difficult.

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Amar says young mothers face barriers running for office such as lack of adequate childcare and many females lack the guidance on how to enter the political ring, Women Lead is working to make that easier.

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Women Lead is hosting an online event to recruit right-centered women to run for office on Friday, November 6th For more information visit LouisianaWomenLead-dot-org.

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Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon warns this year’s incredibly active hurricane season will result in home insurance price increases of up to ten percent. Donelon says the last devastating season in 2005, statewide home insurance premiums went up 12 percent in 2006.

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Donelon says unfortunately there was no avoiding the increases given the scale of the damage.

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Donelon says 15 years ago when rates went up after 2005 they rose for three to four years before settling. So, should we expect that to happen again?

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The Ragin Cajuns play their first home game since October 14th when they host Arkansas State for homecoming on Saturday. Louisiana is 5-1 while the Red Wolves are 3-and-4 and have lost two in a row and scored just 17 points in those two defeats. But Cajuns Coach Billy Napier says Arkansas State is more than capable

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Layne Hatcher and Logan Bonner have been sharing the quarterback duties for Arkansas State. Napier says both guys have experience and have shown the ability to move the ball down the field…

cut 17 (15)      on that”  

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The LSU Tigers are using the bye week to work on themselves after suffering a 37-point loss to Auburn. Coach Ed Orgeron still believes he can bring another championship to Baton Rouge, but they need to fight through this difficult time…

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The Saints are preparing for a big Sunday night matchup versus their division rival, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  The Bucs have one of the top defenses in the entire NFL and Coach Sean Payton explains what makes that unit so good.

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The Saints beat Tampa Bay 34-23 in the season opener. Payton says the Bucs offense has improved since then.

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4:45 LRN Sportscast November 4

Voters in 55 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes voted for the ballot measure that legalizes sports wagering in their parish. So for sports betting to become a reality, the Louisiana Legislature will have to determine how the activity will be taxed and where the money will go…
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That’s Ryan Berni with Louisiana Wins a lobbying group in support of legalized sports betting. He says a Louisiana Economic Development Department study found the state is losing as much as 330-million dollars in taxable revenue by not allowing legalized sports wagering.

The Athletic is reporting the Pelicans are having trade talks with several contending teams about Jrue Holiday. The 30-year-old averaged 19 points and seven assists in 61 starts last season. He’s set to make 25-million dollars next season and he could exercise a player option worth 26 million for the 2021-22 campaign.

Injured LSU Quarterback Myles Brennan is expected to practice today for the first time in 3.5 weeks. Coach Ed Orgeron says they want to see how much Brennan can do after throwing on his own on Monday…
cut 29 (12) “…far he can go”
Orgeron and the Tigers hope Brennan is healthy enough to play November 14th against Alabama.

No LSU football game on Saturday, but the Tigers baseball team will begin its purple-and-gold world series at Alex Box Stadium tonight. Coach Paul Mainieri says the team has been practicing since September 30th and it looks they have a club that can play in Omaha next June…
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10:30 LRN newscast November 4

The Secretary of State’s Office says two-point-one million ballots were cast in Louisiana for the November 3rd election, one-point-one million people voted yesterday, 817-thousand early voted and 167-thousand voters cast an absentee ballot. President Trump received 58-percent of the Louisiana vote and Senator Bill Cassidy won re-election to a second term.

Two Republicans are headed for a runoff in the 5th Congressional District race…
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Five of the seven constitutional amendments on the ballot passed. Amendment one, an anti-abortion measure, received the most support at 64-percent. But La-Politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says amendment four which would create a new state budget spending limit failed…
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Also failing was Amendment Five which dealt with creating a new category for tax breaks for manufacturers.

55 of the state’s 64 parishes approved the November 3rd ballot measure that legalizes sports wagering. Ryan Berni of Louisiana Wins says over 65-percent of the voters statewide voted for the legalization of sports betting and now it’s up to the lawmakers and the gaming control board to approve the rules and regulations…
cut 10 (10) “….other states”
Berni says the Louisiana Legislature will develop a framework for sports wagering in the 2021 legislative session.

9:30 LRN Newscast November 4

Two-point-one million Louisiana voters participated in the November third election, a voter turnout of 69-percent, slightly higher than 2016. The highlight of the election in the Bayou State was Senator Bill Cassidy’s victory without the need of a runoff. Cassidy told his supporters last night he’ll continue to uphold conservative ideals…
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Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins finished a distant second in the race. The Democrat, who ran his first statewide race, told his supporters to pray for Cassidy and encouraged a united front…
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The open fifth district Congressional race is headed to a run-off between Luke Letlow and Lance Harris. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley is expecting a tight race between two conservative Republicans….
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The runoff is December fifth.

Five of the seven constitutional amendments on the ballot have been added to the state’s constitution….
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8:30 LRN Newscast November 4

The Secretary of State’s office says voter turnout for the November 3rd election was 69-percent, which is up slightly from the 2016 election. A total of two-point-one million voters in Louisiana turned in a ballot. President Donald Trump received 58-percent of the vote, the same percentage he received in 2016.

Senator Bill Cassidy avoided a runoff and was re-elected to a second six-year term. Brooke Thorington has more…
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There’s still one more election to be held in Louisiana this year and that’s the December fifth runoff. The Fifth District Congressional race will be on the ballot in northeast and central Louisiana, along with portions of the Florida parishes. Republicans Luke Letlow and Lance Harris are in the runoff. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley…
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The seat came open when Congressman Ralph Abraham decided against another term.

Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins has been elected to a third term as he defeated three candidates. Higgins says it’s a humbling, overwhelming feeling to secure the confidence of the people during a difficult time for our nation and state…
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Louisiana’s four other House members who also ran for re-election, also secured victories.

7:30 LRN Newscast November 4

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy has won a second six-term year in office as he cruised to a victory last night over 14 challengers. Cassidy celebrated his victory in his hometown of Baton Rouge and vowed to return to DC to fight for his constituents….
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Cassidy’s main challenger from the Democratic Party, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins received 19-percent of the vote.

But it was not all bad news for Democrats. Foster Campbell retained his north Louisiana Public Service Commission seat, edging out Republican Shane Smiley 53-47 percent. La-politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford…
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Two Republicans are headed for a runoff in the 5th Congressional District race that covers a sprawling northeast, central, and Florida Parishes district. Matt Doyle has the story.
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Five of the seven constitutional amendments on the ballot passed, including amendment one a largely symbolic anti-abortion measure. Amendments Four and Five did not pass. And the Sports betting proposition passed in 55 of the state’s 64 parishes. The Louisiana Legislature will develop a framework for sports wagering in the 2021 legislative session.

6:45 LRN Sportscast

The Saints return to work today and as they get ready for Sunday night’s big matchup with Tampa Bay. The game will go a long way towards deciding who will win the NFC South and get at least one home playoff game. The Buccaneers are a half-game ahead of the Black and Gold for first place in the division. Wide receiver Antonio Brown is expected to make his debut for Tampa Bay on Sunday.

LSU Baseball begins its Purple and Gold Series tonight and Coach Paul Mainieri says several freshmen are looking good in fall ball. Mainieri says Dyan Crews is his likely starter in right field…
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Mainieri says freshman Will Safford has a chance to start at third base, while Tre Morgan from Brother Martin in New Orleans has looked good at first base, which would move Cade Beloso to the outfield.

We’ll get an update today from LSU Coach Ed Orgeron on whether Quarterback Myles Brennan is making any progress. Orgeron will speak during the SEC Coaches teleconference at 10 AM. Brennan has been sidelined the last two games with a reported abdominal injury and his hoping to play November 14 versus Alabama.

Because of Tuesday’s election, college football teams did not practice yesterday. ULM coach Matt Viator says he’s not sure of the status of senior running back Josh Johnson, who injured his hamstring last Saturday…
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The Warhawks are at Georgia State on Saturday.

Lousiana Tech Football Coach Skip Holtz is not saying who will start at quarterback this Saturday at North Texas. Aaron Allen came off the bench last weekend to lead the Bulldogs to a come from behind 37-34 double-overtime win over UAB. Luke Anthony has started the last six games.

6:30 LRN newscast

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy has won a second term as he easily avoided a runoff in a race that featured 14 challengers. Cassidy received 59-percent of the vote and his closest competitor; Democratic Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins garnered 19-percent. Cassidy told supporters last night he’ll continue to uphold conservative ideals.
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Perkins thanked his supporters during his concession speech for their work on his campaign that started in July…
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The five members of Louisiana’s House delegation up for re-election easily won last night. Republican Clay Higgins beat out three other opponents to win a third term. Higgins, a former law enforcement officer who was first elected in 2016, is humbled by the support he’s received…
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The open fifth district congressional race is headed to a runoff between two Republicans, Luke Letlow and Lance Harris.

The anti-abortion amendment, Constitutional Amendment one on the ballot, easily won last night. But two constitutional amendments failed, Four and Five. La-Politics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says Amendment Five dealt with creating a new category for tax breaks for manufacturers. He says it just didn’t have enough support…
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63-percent voted against Amendment Five.

4:45 LRN Sportscast November 3

At the halfway point of the 2020 season, the defending national champion LSU Tigers are 2-and-3 and with difficult games remaining against Alabama, Florida, and Texas A-and-M, the Bayou Bengals could have their first losing season since 1999. But Coach Ed Orgeron still likes the direction of the program
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LSU continues to do well on the recruiting trail. According to 24-7 sports, the Tigers have the fourth-best 2021 recruiting class as LSU picked up two commitments from Acadiana over the weekend, Lafayette Christian Safety Sage Ryan and St. Thomas More’s Jack Bech, who is a three-star wide receiver who just de-committed from Vanderbilt.

A proposition to allow sports betting by the parish is on today’s ballot. Brooke Thorington has more.
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The Saints are off today and they’ll get back to work tomorrow as they will face Tampa Bay on Sunday night. The Buccaneers avoided an upset last night as they defeated the Giants 25-23 to move to six and two, a half-game ahead of the Black and Gold for first place in the NFC South. Wide receiver Antonio Brown is expected to make his debut for Tampa Bay.

LRN PM Newscall November 3

Voters could elect a new member to the U-S House of Representatives today. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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A new law to allow Louisiana election officials to count absentee ballots four days in advance anticipates delivering results sooner than later. Brooke Thorington explains.

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Voters in northeast and central Louisiana and the Florida parishes will select a new Congressman for the 5th district today. There are nine candidates seeking to replace Republican Ralph Abraham, who did not seek re-election. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says Abraham’s former chief of staff Luke Letlow has run a strong campaign

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Stockley says the question is whether Letlow will end up in a run-off with a Republican or Democrat or win outright. Stockley says state representative Lance Harris, a Republican from Alexandria could get enough support to force a runoff…

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Stockley says it appears Martin Lemelle, who is the chief operating officer at Grambling State, has the best chance as a Democrat to get in a runoff…

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The other Democrats in the race are Candy Christophe, Jesse LaGarde and Phillip Snowden. The other Republicans in the race are Allen Guillory, Matt Hasty, and Ouachita Police Juror Scotty Robinson.

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Assistant State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says due to the extensive COVID-mitigation measures in place it is safe to go to the polls today.

Kanter says the risk level is about equivalent to going to the grocery but just like the grocery everyone who attends must mask up. He has this message for those who refuse to wear a mask in line…

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Kanter says it’s vital that you keep at least six feet away from everyone else in line, and limit your exposure by knowing what’s on the ballot before you go in to vote.

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The Secretary of State recommends you download the GeauxVote Mobile App, read and then fill out your ballot on the app then bring it into the booth with you.

Kanter says he early voted and was very impressed by how much effort is going into making sure the voting experience is safe for everyone.

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Polls are open until 8 PM today but as long as you are in line by 8 PM you will be allowed to vote.

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Mail ballots are up an estimated 165-percent for this election in Louisiana, compared to the last Presidential election in 2016. But state officials are hoping this will not lead to a delay in getting complete results thanks to a law passed in the most recent special session, authored by Slidell Senator Sharon Hewitt.

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Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin says it’s a time-consuming process to verify absentee ballots by names and signatures. But Hewitt says election workers got a head start with the ability to prep absentee ballots four days in advance

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As of Monday, before the 4:30 p.m. deadline, 180-thousand absentee ballots have already been returned to the registrar of voters, almost double the record set in the July 11th election.  Hewitt received input from election officials to change absentee ballot procedures.

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Officials anticipate the only delay with results tonight would be if precincts close late due to a long line of voters still waiting to cast their ballot after polls close at 8 p.m. Everyone in line before polls close will be allowed to vote.

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It’s Election Day and the roughly half of voters nationwide who haven’t already cast a ballot are flocking to the polls for the Trump vs. Biden Presidential election.

JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says we may know a winner tonight but if it’s close there are a few swing states that could really drag this out.

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Those states adopted heavy vote by mail programs for this election, and most of them have little to no experience processing that volume of mail-in ballots.

Couvillon says avid poll watchers should keep a close eye on the results out of North Carolina and Florida tonight which could give us an early idea of who will win…

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Both Florida and North Carolina are polling within the margin of error.

Couvillon says Biden is favored to win because the President has the tougher task in that he’s unlikely to expand his 2016 electoral map and is playing defense across a wide range of states.

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The final polls of the cycle show the President facing substantial deficits in the “Blue Wall” northern Midwest states and running neck and neck in the traditionally red Georgia.