The Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings today on the nomination of Metairie native and Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US Supreme Court. Louisiana Senator John Kennedy sits on the panel and expects Democrats will obstruct and get personal.
Cut 13 (12) “baby.”
Democrats have said the hearings should be delayed as two Republican members on the panel have tested positive for COVID-19.

The LSU Football team is not ranked for the first time since 2017 after they were upset by previously winless Missouri on Saturday. Coach Ed Orgeron says the performance on defense was embarrassing….
cut 7 (12) “….get it fixed”
LSU is at 10th ranked Florida on Saturday.

Operation Blue Roof has been restarted in six southwest Louisiana parishes. Governor John Bel Edwards says Hurricane Delta did more damage to roofs in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Jefferson Davis and Vernon Parishes….
cut 12 (08) “….Delta”
Residents in those parishes who need a blue roof can call 1-888-ROOF-BLU.

And homeowners who suffered damage from Hurricane Delta and already have met their deductible for Hurricane Laura do not have to pay a second named storm deductible thanks to a law passed a decade ago. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon also says keep your expenses incurred for securing your damaged home ahead of Delta…
cut 6 (11) “….repairs’

Saints All-Pro wide receiver Michael Thomas will not play in tonight’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers after he reportedly punched another teammate during an altercation at practice. Thomas has not played since week one because of a high ankle sprain and was listed as questionable. Sunday’s injury report said Thomas was out and his absence will be non-injury related.

On the other side of the ball, the Saints defense will attempt to make it a long night for Chargers rookie Q-B Jason Herbert (Her-bert). Saints Safety Malcolm Jenkins says the former Oregon star can throw the deep ball…
cut 16 (23) “….this league’

After getting upset by previously winless Missouri, LSU is no longer ranked in the Top 25 polls and there are serious questions about the defense after giving up 586 yards of offense. Fans are pointing the finger at defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, but Coach Ed Orgeron still supports Pelini…
cut 8 (06) “…get better”
It’s the first time LSU has not been ranked since 2017. The Cajuns are ranked 21st heading into Wednesday night’s game against Coastal Carolina.

Louisiana Tech is 2-0 in Conference USA after beating U-TEP 21-17. Coach Skip Holtz says they won despite not having their starting offensive tackles because of COVID…
cut 19 (16) “….second half”

Delta has weakened to a Depression over Western Mississippi, but it has left about half-million customers without power. Hurricane Delta made landfall as a Category Two hurricane with top winds at 100-miles per hour near Creole in Cameron Parish. 90-mile per hour plus wind speeds were recorded in Lake Charles, Lake Arthur, and New Iberia. Delta is the tenth named storm to make landfall this year in the United States, which is a record.

Governor John Bel Edwards is holding a Unified Command group meeting this morning and then he’ll conduct a flyover of the damage and will make a stop in Jennings. The Jefferson Davis town has numerous trees down.

Mandatory evacuations were issued for Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Jeff Davis, and most of Cameron. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso says their deputies have completed initial assessments and he says it’s safe for Calcasieu Parish residents to return to their homes.

Several roads are closed in southwest and central today as a result of high water. Delcambre took on a significant storm surge and many of the town’s streets are flooded.

Entergy says it has 292-thousand customers without power. At last report, Cleco says at the height of the storm 132-thousand of its customers were without power and 12-thousand of them have seen their electricity restored. The Pineville-based utility company says they have 21-hundred contractors working to clear debris, repair system damage, and restore power.

The governor’s office says peak power outages for Hurricane Delta appear to be around 688-thousand. After Hurricane Laura, it was around 615-thousand customers without power. The governor’s spokesperson Christina Stephens says Delta’s bands went over some more populated areas, despite it being a weaker storm than Laura.

Delta has left downed trees and power lines across the state and about a half-million utility customers are without power. Entergy is facing another massive restoration operation as they have 308-thousand customers without electricity. Cleco says 125-thousand of its customers are in need of power.

Delta made landfall in Cameron Parish at around six PM last night as a Category Two hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 100 miles per hour.

The highest rainfall totals can be seen from a stretch of land from Lake Charles to Alexandria. Allen Parish Sheriff Doug Hebert tells K-A-L-B TV that Highway 165 is impassable north of Oberlin. Portions of Highway 14 in Iberia and Vermilion Parish are underwater. Several streets are underwater in Delcambre as a result of storm surge.

With estimated 500-thousand utility customers in Louisiana without power, many Louisiana residents will use generators to keep their refrigerator cold and an air conditioner running. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says the generator should be at least 20 feet away from your home and never plug the generator into a wall outlet because that could cause a fire…
cut 4 (08) “…like that”
Rodrigue says generator users should use a heavy-duty, outdoor extension cord to plug appliances into generators.

The highest wind speed recorded last night was in Lake Arthur at 96-miles per hour. Lake Charles had a wind speed of 95, 90-miles per hour in New Iberia, and 89 in Jennings. Preliminary data shows a wind speed of 75-miles per hour in Opelousas and Lafayette and 63-miles per hour in Alexandria.

Tropical Storm Delta is nearly out of Louisiana, but it has left hundreds of thousands without power after coming ashore as a Category Two hurricane last night in Cameron Parish. The center of Delta is in northeast Louisiana, but moving north-northeast at 16 miles per hour.

Many people are starting their day without power. Entergy reports 320-thousand customers are without power. Cleco says they have 125-thousand customers with no electricity. SLEMCO says its restoration process began at 5 AM as 98-thousand customers are without power. SWEPCO says they have 22-thousand outages.

Since we are seeing widespread power outages, the state department of transportation is reminding motorists that if you arrive at an intersection with traffic signals that have no power, it should be treated as a four-way stop sign. The first vehicle to arrive at the intersection proceeds first.

This morning, Governor Edwards will hold a Unified Command Group briefing to get updates on what happened in southwest Louisiana and elsewhere last night. He’s scheduled to flyover affected areas, weather permitting.

As Delta pushes away from Louisiana, the National Weather Service says wind gusts of 35 miles per hour are still possible into the early afternoon for portions of central Louisiana and the Ark-La-Miss.

The highest wind speed recorded last night was in Lake Arthur at 96-miles per hour. Lake Charles had a wind speed of 95, 90-miles per hour in New Iberia and 89 in Jennings. Preliminary data shows a wind speed of 75-miles per hour in Opelousas and Lafayette and 63-miles per hour in Alexandria.

Delta was the fourth named storm to make landfall in Louisiana, which ties a record for the state set in 2002. Delta’s eye made landfall just 12 miles to the east of where Laura came ashore six weeks ago.

For the second time in 43 days, a hurricane made landfall in Cameron Parish. Hurricane Delta roared ashore last night near Creole as a Category Two storm with 100-mile per hour winds. Laura made landfall as a Category Four storm about 13 miles to the west of Creole on August 27th.

Delta is now over Northeastern Louisiana. Heavy rains and Tropical Storm Force Winds continue near its path. Delta’s maximum sustained winds are still at 40 miles per hour as it moves north-northeast at 16 miles per hour.

Entergy Louisiana is reporting 318-thousand of its customers are without power. As of six AM, Cleco says 125-thousand of its customers are without power, with 55-thousand outages in Rapides and Iberia parishes.

High water has resulted in numerous road closures.

With Delta making landfall last night in southwest Louisiana that means ten storms have made landfall in the United States, which is a new record. The old record of nine was set in 1916. Also, four of the storms made landfall in Louisiana, Marco, Cristobal, Laura, and Delta. That ties a record set in 2002.

For the first time ever, LSU plays a football game in Missouri today. The Tigers are coming off a dominant victory over Vanderbilt, while Mizzou is 0-2 under first year coach Eliah Drinkwitz. Missouri will start a freshman quarterback today as Connor Bazelak takes over for Shawn Robinson, who was pulled last week in a loss to Tennessee. Kick-off is at 11 AM.

Louisiana Tech hosts UTEP tonight. The Bulldogs would like to get senior running back Justin Henderson going. He was a second-team All-Conference USA player last season, but this year he’s only averaging 58 yards a game.

And ULM looks for its first win today at Liberty. The Flames are 3-0.

Hurricane Delta is now Tropical Storm Delta and the center of the storm is near Monroe. The heaviest rains from Delta are now in Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama, but northeast Louisiana is experiencing tropical storm-force winds at his hour.

There are widespread power outages. Entergy is reporting 313-thousand customers are without power. Cleco is reporting widespread outages in the Alexandria and New Iberia areas.

Delta came ashore last night as a Category Two hurricane in the town of Creole, which is located in Cameron Parish. Lake Charles reported wind speeds of 96-miles per hour. New Iberia recorded a wind speed of 90 miles per hour. The Lafayette and Opelousas areas recorded wind speeds of 75 miles per hour. Alexandria saw wind speeds at 45-miles per hour. And in Monroe, a 63-mile per hour wind gust was recorded at 1:30 this morning.

Not only is power out, but many roads are flooded from Hurricane Delta. A flash flood warning continues for Monroe, Ruston and West Monroe until 8:45 this morning. Natchitoches, Jena and Colfax are under a flash flood warning until 9 AM.

There have been some impressive rainfall totals from Delta even into Central and North Louisiana. Catahoula in Grant Parish has recorded 12 inches of rain. Jena almost ten inches, Natchitoches eight inches, and Monroe has seen over five inches of rain.

You have numerous roads closed because of flooding. The state department of transportation is reporting that I-10 West is closed on the Calcasieu River Bridge until further notice due to multiple incidents.

If you are using a generator, State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue reminds users to let the generator cool down before refueling…
cut 5 (08) “….on and active”
Rodrigue also recommends the use of carbon monoxide detectors when using generators.

Hurricane Delta is expected to make landfall early tonight on the eastern side of Cameron Parish as a Category Two hurricane. State Climatologist Barry Keim says Delta will weaken once its eyewall reaches land, but hurricane-force winds are possible in central Louisiana…
cut 6 (10) “…stout storm”
Delta’s maximum sustained winds are at 115 miles per hour and it’s moving north at 13 miles per hour. It’s expected to move diagonally across the state and maintain tropical storm strength into northeast Louisiana. Mike Steele, with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, says they anticipate widespread wind damage..
cut 10 (09) “…for that”

Utility providers are prepping for yet another hurricane in an area still compromised by Laura just six weeks ago. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (31) “ I’m Brooke Thorington”

A person who works in the governor’s office has tested positive for COVID-19. The governor’s office says the person did not have close contact with Governor John Bel Edwards. But two additional staff members who were deemed to have close contact with the person are quarantining for 14 days per C-D-C guidance.