Today is the last day of the special session and a number of tort reform bills aimed at lowering auto insurance rates are trying to cross the finish line by six o’clock tonight. LaPolitics.com Publisher Jeremy Alford says there are two bills with real traction…
Cut 4 (08)_ “…right now.”

Also, lawmakers have to put the finishing touches on a 34-billion dollar budget. Republican lawmakers are also looking to pass tax breaks for businesses in order to keep employees. But Democrats say the state is not doing enough to help individual citizens. Republican Senator Sharon Hewitt of Slidell…
cut 30 (11) “…light bills”
The House convenes at 10 AM, while the Senate is set to return to their chamber at 10:30.

The US Supreme Court overturns a 2014 Louisiana law requiring abortion clinics to have admitting privileges. Matt Doyle has a reaction from a local advocate and a Congressman…
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart has called a virtual news conference for 11 AM to discuss returns from a grand jury. Shreveport TV stations are reporting eight Shreveport police officers have been indicted for allegedly using excessive force against two men at the conclusion of a traffic chase in January. Six of the officers have been accused of malfeasance.

The special session ends at 6 PM today and lawmakers are still scrambling to pass a tort reform bill aimed at lowering auto insurance rates…
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Jefferson Parish president Cynthia Lee Sheng says starting tomorrow everyone inside a business, must wear a mask or face covering. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell says she’ll shut down grocery stores who don’t require masks. And if you are heading to Florida for the Fourth of July holiday, several beaches are closed.

Louisisana released a jobs report for May and it shows that 320-thousand residents were receiving unemployment benefits. Now there’s word that the trust fund the state uses to pay out unemployment could run dry in 14 weeks. Louisiana Workforce Commission executive director Ava Dejoie…
cut 8 (12) “…is what’s left”
If the state runs out, they’ll have to borrow from the federal government, like other states do.

The C-D-C is now saying pregnant women are more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19 than women who are not expecting. But CEO of LSU’s Healthcare Services Division, Doctor Rebekah Gee says pregnant women are no more likely to die from the virus…
cut 10 (09) “….are not pregnant”

The Louisiana Workforce Commission reports over half of the money in the state’s unemployment trust fund has been spent during the coronavirus pandemic. LWC Executive Director Ava Dejoie says there is growing concern the fund, which was at one time just over one billion dollars, will run dry within 14 weeks
Cut 7 (05) “…state unemployment benefits.”
If the fund runs out of money, Dejoie says the state will have to borrow from the federal government to pay out unemployment benefits.

The C-D-C says pregnant women are at an increased of suffering from severe illness of COVID-19 than women who are not expecting. Doctor Rebekah Gee, CEO of LSU Healthcare Services Division, says pregnant women are five times more likely to be hospitalized and nearly twice as likely to be put on a ventilator…
Cut 11 (10) “…be more careful.”

Louisiana abortion providers will not need admitting privileges as the US Supreme Court has struck down a state law passed in 2014. Congressman Mike Johnson, who served as co-counsel for the state when the law was argued before a federal judge, says the law was designed to protect women from unsafe abortion procedures.
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Civil Rights attorney S.Mandisa Moore-O’Neal says the ruling makes it clear requiring privileges is an undue burden.
Cut 15 (08) “…that”

LSU Health New Orleans researcher Doctor Paul Fidel suggests that the M-M-R vaccine that’s given to children could help prevent severe complications of COVID-19 in adults. Fidel says trials are set to begin soon…
cut 5 (09) “….potentially helping people”
Fidel says the M-M-R vaccine could be a reason why children are mostly not affected by the coronavirus.

Louisiana reported nearly 15-hundred new cases on Sunday. That includes positive tests that came in on Saturday. Louisiana will be in Phase Two until late July, which means school buses can only have a maximum capacity of 50-percent. State Education Superintendent Cade Brumley says that will create issues when it comes to getting students to and from school…
cut 12 (09) “….capacity”

A new report from Center for Planning Excellence and UrbanFootprint ranks Louisiana third in the nation for having a high risk of evictions when federal assistance expires on July 31st. CPEX CEO Camille Manning-Broome says up to 130-thousand households across Louisiana are at risk of evictions
Cut 7 (12) “magnitude.”
Manning-Broome hopes Congress recognizes the problem and provides federal assistance to avoid a wave of evictions.

Meanwhile, the state is close to providing a 250-dollar hazard paycheck to essential workers who make less than 50-thousand dollars a year and were required to report to work in the few weeks of the economic shutdown. New Orleans Senator Troy Carter wishes they could provide more…
cut 15 (10) “…..amount”
The legislation to make this happen is close to final legislative approval.

It may not be an inoculation to the coronavirus, but could a vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella help prevent the most severe complications of COVID-19 in adults? Kevin Barnhart explains.
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LSU epidemiologist Edward Trapido with the LSU School of Public Health tells the Reveille he would not recommend that fans watch games inside Tiger Stadium this season. One of Trapido’s colleagues, Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, calls it a logistical nightmare.

Legislation to give front line workers a 250-dollar check for hazard pay nears final legislative passage. The bill needs House approval on Senate changes before it heads to the governor’s desk. It passed out of the Senate on a 38-0 vote. Monroe Senator Jay Morris says federal coronavirus relief dollars will pay for the stimulus check…
Cut 14 (12) “…of our state”
Front line or essential workers will be eligible for this 250-dollar check if they make less than 50-thousand dollars a year.

Housing advocates are concerned that up to 130-thousand households across Louisiana are at risk of evictions when federal assistance expires on July 31st. Urban footprint CEO Joe Distefano says a wave of evictions at this scale would destabilize communities and strain state services…
cut 9 (10) “….issue”
Distefano is calling on Congress to provide more rental assistance dollars.

The state Department of Education says school bus capacity will be capped at 50 percent if the state remains in Phase Two when classes resume in August. Matt Doyle has more.
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Louisiana has surpassed 56-thousand positive coronavirus cases as the state reported nearly 15-hundred new cases yesterday. That includes both Saturday and Sunday. Governor John Bel Edwards tweeted out that 43-percent of the new cases are from people 29-years old or younger.

A common childhood vaccine might help prevent severe lung inflammation and sepsis if a person is infected with COVID-19. LSU Health New Orleans researcher Dr. Paul Fidel says MMR can help boost an adult’s immune system to mount a more effective defense.
Cut 4 (09)_ “…the severe complications.”
Fidel says animal and human trials are set to start on this theory.

The Center for Planning Excellence and UrbanFootprint says Louisiana ranks third nationally at having a high risk of evictions when federal assistance expires on July 31st. Urban Footprint CEO Joe Distefano says 130-thousand households across Louisiana are at risk of evictions, because of high unemployment in the service and hospitality sectors…
cut 8 (09) “….gap”
Distefano says they are hoping Congress can provide more relief to avoid an eviction crisis.