In the final televised debate before Saturday’s election, the gubernatorial candidates were not afraid to go after each other. Republican Congressman Ralph Abraham slammed the governor for what he believes is a slow, setback riddled 2016 August flood recovery…
cut 5 (11) “…the money”
Republican Eddie Rispone went after Abraham for not keeping his promise to donate his Congressional salary to charity. Abraham says it’s an untrue statement.

Another warm day today, but a strong cold front will push through the state tomorrow, bringing with it a chance of rain…
cut 14 (10) “…chance of thunderstorms”
That’s Andrew Tingler with the National Weather Service.

State Police say they arrested a double homicide suspect out of Houston at a casino in Lake Charles. 46-year-old Reymundo Luis Valdez was taken into custody without incident.

L-S-P has arrested 50-year-old Jeffery Green of Baton Rouge on child exploitation charges. Authorities say Green tried to use a social media app to solicit a child for sexual purposes, but his conversation was with an undercover State Trooper posing as a kid.

Halloween costume experts say expect to see a lot of Pokémon, Adams Family, and referee costumes, but if you want to stand out, be bold and plot out your own unique outfit. Kevin Barnhart has more.
Cut 2 (28) “…I’m Kevin barnhart”

The gubernatorial candidates shared the stage last night for the final debate before Saturday’s election. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Halloween is three weeks from today and costume shop owners say grab your outfit early before the most popular options fly off the shelves. DeeDee Daniels of Humbug Costumes in Kenner says a popular costume this year goes back to the NFC Title game…
Cut 7 (05) “…with it”

An Associated Press story has brought to light that about 1500 immigrant detainees are held at the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield. It’s one of eight jails in the state to house immigrants. The Winn Parish Sheriff’s Department runs the facility and Sheriff Cranford Jordan says they started detaining migrants in May and they have the room for them, because the state has fewer prisoners because of the criminal justice reform package approved in 2017…
Cut 10 (11) “…inmates has decreased.”
Jordan says the contract with ICE has pumped an additional 35 to 40-million dollars into the local economy as the 275 employees at the prison have seen their hourly wage nearly double.

Congressman Ralph Abraham, who is also running for governor, has filed a resolution that seeks to remove Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker. Abraham says Pelosi’s vicious crusade against our lawfully-elected president President is nothing more than a politically-motivated witch hunt and it must be stopped. Political Analyst Clancy DuBos…
cut 4 (07) “…a publicity stunt”
Abraham and the other two gubernatorial candidates, Democratic Incumbent John Bel Edwards and Republican Eddie Rispone will appear in a debate tonight that begins at 7 PM.

The Lafayette Police Department has released images of a truck that could have been involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash on October 1st that took the life of 19-year-old Kirk Brossuard. Corporal Bridgette Dugas says they are looking for a dark colored pick up truck…
cut 9 (08) “….little bit”
Dugas says the image of the vehicle released was traveling on Acadian Hills Lane when Broussard was hit and later pronounced dead.

The Department of Children and Family Services is calling the “On the Road Again” program a huge success. It lets parents who lost their license for falling behind on child support to catch up and get their license reinstated. DCFS Regional Administrator for Child Support Enforcement Sandra Broussard says they saw an 85% increase during the two-month long reinstatement program.
Cut 14 (13) “…$360,456.42.”

Folks in New Iberia are gearing up to host the 30th annual Gumbo World Championship Cookoff this weekend. Greater Iberia Chamber CEO Janet-Faulk Gonzales says she’s been part of crowning several winners and surprisingly past champs have not included one old-school ingredient…
cut 8 (07) “…okra”
And she says they don’t favor tomatoes either.

An ex-employee in the governor’s office who accused a former top aide to Governor John Bel Edwards of sexual harassment says she wanted to keep her job, but the governor said no. Edwards Deputy Executive Counsel Tina Vanichchagron (Vuh-nish-a-gorn) says Juanita Washington’s story is false…
cut 10 (09) “….to do that”
Vanichchagron also says Johnny Anderson was dismissed within hours of the accusations coming to light.

Congressman Ralph Abraham who is in third place in the recent gubernatorial polls introduces a resolution calling for the expulsion of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and for the Speaker’s Office to be vacated. Political analyst Clancy DuBos says it appears to be an 11th hour effort to drum up support….
Cut 3 (10) “…connect those dots.”

A national transportation research group known as TRIP says traffic congestion in Louisiana is worsening, causing up to 58 annual hours of delay for drivers in the most congested areas and costing the state’s drivers a total of two-point-five billion dollars annually in lost time and wasted fuel. TRIP spokesperson Rocky Moretti says a longer commute also limits job opportunities…
cut 13 (07) “…they can employ”
The TRIP report shows nearly half of major locally and state-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition.

The U-S Coast Guard says a man is in critical condition after a nearly 16-feet fall on a Carnival cruise ship off the coast of Louisiana. It’s unknown what led to the 23-year-old man falling.

An ex-employee in the governor’s office who accused a former top aide to Governor John Bel Edwards of sexual harassment says she wanted to keep her job, but the governor said no. Edwards Deputy Executive Counsel Tina Vanichchagron (Vuh-nish-a-gorn) says Juanita Washington’s story is false…
cut 10 (09) “….to do that”
Vanichchagron also says Johnny Anderson was dismissed within hours of the accusations coming to light.

The Department of Children and Family Services says its two month-long driver’s license reinstatement program designed to get deadbeat parents to make payments on their overdue child support, generated over 360-thousand dollars. DCFS administrator Sandra Broussard says the money benefits 365 families..
cut 16 (09) “…to our families”
The cost of driving on Louisiana roads is estimated to cost up to almost $2300 per driver annually according to new research. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
cut 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

St. Mary Parish Sheriff deputies have booked an undocumented worker for allegedly raping a child under the age of 13. 36-year-old Martin Humberto Montes Dimas of Amelia is facing a first-degree rape charge.

The Caddo Parish Coroner’s office has identified the burned body found in a deep drainage ditch in Shreveport. No other information has been provided on the death of 23-year-old Kenneth Taylor.

Governor Edwards’ former employee Juanita Washington is suing Edwards to get access to documents related to former Deputy Chief of Staff Johnny Anderson, who allegedly sexually harassed and assaulted her…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

The final gubernatorial debate before Saturday’s election takes place tonight in Shreveport. You can see it on Gray owned TV stations at seven PM. Governor Edwards is hoping to win the election without a run-off. While Republicans Ralph Abraham and Eddie Rispone are hoping to force a run-off and finish second in the jungle primary.

A national transportation research group known as TRIP says traffic congestion in Louisiana is worsening, causing up to 58 annual hours of delay for drivers in the most congested areas and costing the state’s drivers a total of two-point-five billion dollars annually in lost time and wasted fuel. TRIP spokesperson Rocky Moretti says the longer commutes also limit job opportunities…
cut 13 (07) “…they can employ”

A two-month long driver’s license reinstatement program put in place to get deadbeat parents to regain their driver’s license if they make an effort to pay their child support has resulted in 291 payors paying 360-thousand dollars in current and past-due child support. D-C-F-S administrator Sandra Broussard…
cut 15 (11) “…my have ordered”
Last year the program, resulted in 193-thousand dollars in child support payments.

The final televised gubernatorial debate before Saturday’s election is tonight from Shreveport. Republican Eddie Rispone has risen from third place in the polls to second and in position to be in a November run-off with Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards. LSU-Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeff Sadow says Rispone has been attacking both Edwards and fellow Republican Ralph Abraham and he’ll likely continue to do so tonight…
cut 5 (12) “…voters”
The debate begins at 7 PM.

Two suspects from Louisiana wanted in connection with the homicide of, Joshua Brown, a key witness in the recently completed murder trial of a former Dallas police officer, have been apprehended and a third remains on the loose. The second of the two suspects arrested ws taken into custody last night in Marksville. 22-year-old Thaddeous Green is still at large.

Juanita Washington, the woman who accused Governor Edwards’ former aide, Johhny Anderson of sexual harassment, says she was forced to resign from her position after she made the accusation.
Cut 7 (12) “…said no”
Washington with the help of lawyers from Truth in Politics, has filed a public records lawsuit seeking documents, texts, and emails associated with Anderson. Executive Counsel for the Edwards administration, Tina Vanichchagorn, says TIP requested 15 different items pertaining to the case on August 8th. She says each request takes time to prepare.
Cut 9 (12) “…go thru”
And Vanichchagorn says Washington was given the opportunity to return to her job at the governor’s office, but she declined.