The legislative session comes to a close at 6:00 tomorrow night and legislators are meeting behind closed doors to put the finishing touches on a budget proposal that will need to receive final legislative approval. Sports betting, fantasy sports, and a proposed minimum marriage age are among the bills that remain undecided.

Louisiana’s medical marijuana patients would be allowed to inhale cannabis through an inhaler under a bill heading to the governor’s desk. Matt Doyle has more.
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Matt Doyle”

At this hour we are seeing heavy rainfall in southwest Louisiana and the northshore region of the state in southeast Louisiana. Flash flood watches are posted across south Louisiana. Stephen Carboni with the National Weather Service in Lake Charles says if you are in an area where there’s street flooding, follow this advice….
cut 5 (06) “….turn around don’t’ drown”
Heavy rainfall will be in our forecast through Friday.

A Taco Bell in Slidell ran out of both soft and crunchy taco shells on Monday. So one patron called Slidell Police. Slidell Police spokesperson Daniel Seuzaneau says initially officers thought it was a joke, but the caller insisted it was a valid complaint in need on law enforcement’s attention.
Cut 12 (12) “…ironic in itself.”
Slidell P-D posted their account of the story to Facebook, which has since gone viral with over 2,000 shares.

There are less than 29 hours to go before the legislative session ends. Proponents for sports betting at the state’s casinos are still hoping to get their bill approved that would give voters a chance to legalize the activity. Gretna Representative Joe Marino says this is something the public wants…
cut 8 (06) “…not listening”
But the author of the sports betting bill, Kenner Senator Danny Martiny, says the legislation is barely alive for this session.

Legislation allowing those with a medical marijuana prescription access to an inhalable form of the treatment is headed to the governor’s desk. Baton Rouge Representative Ted James says the pill or oil-based forms of the treatment sometimes are not fast-acting enough to respond, such as an episode of PTSD…
Cut 9 (05) “….relief”

The governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness encourages Louisiana residents to prepare for heavy rainfall. National Weather Service Lake Charles forecaster Stephen Carboni says southwest Louisiana will get the worst of it today.
Cut 3 (08) “…ten inches plus.”
Carboni says southeast Louisiana is under more of a threat for flooding tomorrow.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees is missing Organized Training Activities this week, because he’s reportedly at a trial in San Diego. Last year, Brees filed a lawsuit against a California based jeweler that he and his wife bought diamonds from. In a statement to TMZ last year, Brees says they paid nine million dollars more than what the diamonds are worth.

After a couple of weeks of dry weather, tropical moisture is invading the Bayou State…
cut 5 (11) “…two weeks”
The U-S Army Corps of Engineers says the tropical rainmaker is not expected to affect the opening of the Morganza Spillway. The structure is still scheduled to open Sunday.

With the legislative session set to end on Thursday at 6 PM odds of a sports betting bill passing are not good. The proposal hit a roadblock in the House Appropriations and Chairman Cameron Henry says in this late hour, it’s not wise to push through…
cut 7 (07) “…two days”
Supporters of the legislation point to a recent LSU poll that says 59-percent of Louisiana residents support legalized sports betting.

A bill seeking to ban hand-held cellphones while behind the wheel has failed to pass in this legislative session. Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval was not able to get his legislation passed in the Senate, after getting House approval. Huval says his bill mirrored a law recently passed in Georgia…
cut 15 (08) “…have been saved”
Opponents of the legislation call Huval’s bill a government overreach.

Senator John Kennedy files legislation to address what he calls raw deals small news media outlets are getting from social media giants who use their content. Kennedy wants to empower small media outlets by temporarily suspending antitrust laws for them. He says this would allow them to collectively negotiate for more profit sharing from companies that use their content.
cut 10 (11) “…better deal on profit share”
Kennedy’s bill does have bipartisan support.

The legislative session ends on Thursday at 6 PM and it seems unlikely a bill to bring legalized sports betting to the state’s casinos will pass. Metairie Senator Danny Martiny blames House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry for leading the effort to kill his sports betting bill. Henry says every legislator knows what it’s like when the other chamber doesn’t go along with one of your bills…
cut 6 (12) “…you lose”

A proposal to ban hand-held cell phones while driving has failed in this legislative session. Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval’s bill passed the House, but he could not get the legislation out of a Senate committee. In the time since the bill failed, Huval has filed a House resolution to conduct a study on safe driving while using a cell phone.
Cut 14 (08) “…of our state.”

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says prepare for heavy rains this week…
voicer 1 (28) “….I’m Matt Doyle”

The Colorado State University hurricane forecast team has revised its initial forecast and they are now calling for 13 more named storms this year. The report also says there is a 31-percent chance for a major hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast this year. Researcher Jhordanne Jones says have your hurricane preparedness plans in place
cut 9 (08) “….of damage”

A bill seeking to ban hand-held cellphones while behind the wheel has failed to pass in this legislative session. Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval was not able to get his legislation passed in the Senate, after getting House approval. Huval says his bill mirrored a law recently passed in Georgia…
cut 15 (08) “…have been saved”
Opponents of the legislation call Huval’s bill a government overreach.

Flash flood watches have been posted across south Louisiana as several inches of rain are expected to fall over the next few days, because of an influx of tropical moisture. The US Army Corps of Engineers says they still plan on opening the Morganza Spillway on Sunday and State Climatologist Barry Keim says this rainfall will not have much of an effect on the Mississippi River level…
cut 6 (07) “…very very small”

The Colorado State University hurricane forecast team has revised its initial forecast and they are now calling for 13 named storms this year. The report also says there is a 31-percent chance for a major hurricane to hit the Gulf Coast this year. Researcher Jhordanne Jones says have your hurricane preparedness plans in place
cut 9 (08) “….of damage”

US Senator John Kennedy has co-authored a bill that has bipartisan support that seeks to help newspapers get some of the advertising revenue from Google and Facebook who are getting clicks from posting stories from local media outlets. Kennedy says he’s not trying to demonize successful American companies, instead it promotes a more competitive negotiating situation between social media, and the people who create content for it.
Cut 12 (11) “not bad.”
Several Democratic presidential candidates have called for using anti-trust laws to “break up” social media giants.

After a couple of weeks of dry weather, tropical moisture will invade the Bayou State starting today…
cut 5 (11) “…two weeks”
The U-S Army Corps of Engineers says the tropical rainmaker is not expected to affect the opening of the Morganza Spillway. The structure is still scheduled to open Sunday.

Colorado State University hurricane researchers have slightly increased their initial forecast issued in early April. The research team calls for 13 more named storms this season. Researcher Jhordanne Jones says conditions in the Pacific could impact the Atlantic season.
Cut 7 (12) “…favor hurricane development.”
A weak El Nino is expected to persist through most of the hurricane season, which helps tear apart hurricanes as they try to form.

For a second year in a row, a bill from Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval to ban handheld cellphone use behind the wheel fails to make it to the Governor’s desk. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
voicer 3 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

The legislative session comes to a close tomorrow at 6 PM. Lawmakers still need to approve a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1st and there’s still a chance they can approve the legislation that would help bring sports betting to Louisiana. The fantasy sports tax and regulation bills also need to pass for residents to participate in online fantasy sports contests.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness says prepare for heavy rains this week…
voicer 1 (28) “….I’m Matt Doyle”

State Police say the man who was shot on Bourbon Street last Thursday by a State Trooper was more than five times over the legal limit for alcohol. Authorities say 42-year-old Eric Kullander of New Orleans was driving against traffic towards pedestrians and refused to comply with commands to stop his vehicle, which led to an officer firing his weapon. Kullander continues to receive treatment for his injuries at a local hospital.

U-S Senator John Kennedy is co-authoring a bipartisan bill that’s attempting to help local media outlets receive more ad revenue from Facebook and Google…..
cut 11 (12) “….advertising”
If the legislation passes, antitrust laws would be suspended for four years to give media outlets a chance to negotiate with Facebook and Google for a bigger share of the profits.

Colorado State University researchers are bumping up their projected total of named storms this hurricane season to 14. We’ve already had one named storm, so 13 more are expected. Researcher Jhordanne Jones says the season could be even more active than that, if a weak El Nino does not develop in the Pacific…
cut 8 (08) “….more hurricane activity”
The C-S-U report also notes that Tropical sea surface temperatures have warmed up slightly faster than normal.

A flash flood watch is posted for the southern half of the state as a tropical system is expected to bring two to four inches of rain through Saturday. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a trough has formed along the coast, and is expected to bring rains across the entire state.
Cut 4 (09) “…next week”
The U-S Army Corps of Engineers says the potential of flash flooding does not affect the opening of the Morganza Spillway, which is scheduled for Sunday.

A proposal to ban hand held cell phones while driving has failed in this legislative session. Breaux Bridge Representative Mike Huval’s bill passed the House, but he could not get the legislation out of a Senate committee. In the time since the bill failed, Huval has filed a House resolution to conduct a study on safe driving while using a cell phone.
Cut 14 (08) “…of our state.”

Senator John Kennedy files legislation that would allow small news media outlets to band together to bargain for better profit sharing from social media giants like Facebook and Google.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”