We should get a sense after today whether the third special session called by Governor John Bel Edwards will be successful. Votes on sales tax bills that would generate 500-million dollars in revenue will take place today. Also, the governor’s monthly call-in show is at 2 PM, where he’s expected to announce the future of Louisiana National Guard troops at the Mexico border.

And at 1:30 this afternoon, one of the nation’s top high school products announces where he’ll attend college. Derek Stingley Junior from Dunham High School in Baton Rouge will make his decision known on Twitter at 1:30 PM. His Dad, Derek Stingley Senior, says his son wants a college where he’ll be comfortable on the football field and off…
cut 8 (08) “…these majors”
Stingley was recently ranked as the top prospect overall by Rivals-dot-com.

A Monroe man who spent 41 years in prison serving a life sentence for murder is now a free man. Kevin Barnhart has more…
voicer 1 (32) “…Kevin Barnhart”

A major employer near the town of Simsboro in Lincoln Parish is expected to lay off about 200 employees next month. Ardagh Glass says the layoffs will take effect July 23rd. Simsboro Mayor Sybil Foster says the move will hit the community hard.
Cut 3 (04) “…some effect of it.”
Ardagh Glass produces glass containers and many of the manufacturers they work with are switching to plastic.

It’s day three of the special session and it’s reached a critical stage. The House Ways and Means Committee meets at 11 this morning to vote on various sales tax proposals that would generate at least 500-million dollars and renew a half-cent of an expiring one-cent sales tax. It’s unclear if the votes are there for it to pass.

It’s also a big day for the LSU football program, as the nation’s top cornerback in the country announces his college choice today. Michael Farrar has more on Dunham High School’s Derek Stingley Junior…
voicer 2 (30) “…I’m Michael Farrar”

College students are set to rally at the State Capitol later today, demanding that the state legislature fully fund TOPS and higher education. LSU Student Government President Stewart Lockett says the uncertainity is really frustrating as a new school year is two months away…
cut 11 (11) “…faculty and staff’
Lockett encourages fellow college students to contact their local legislators and let them know you want TOPS and higher ed fully funded.

It’s Christmas time in downtown-Lafayette as a holiday-themed independent film is shooting. The movie is called The Christmas Cupid and Executive Director of Louisiana Entertainment Chris Stelly says with fake snow, holiday lights and Santa, it’s a festive atmopshre in Lafayette…
cut 15 (10) “…on the faces’
Stelly says the independent feature film is spending 300-thousand dollars in Louisiana, including 211-thousand dollars on state resident payroll.

One of the top high school prospects in the country will decide today whether he’ll attend LSU, Florida or Texas. Cornerback Derek Stingley Junior of Dunham High School in Baton Rouge was recently ranked by Rivals.com as the nation’s top recruit for the Class of 2019. His father, Derek Stingley Senior, calls his son a freakish athlete with a will to win…

Cut 7 (11) “…that explosive”

Derek Stingley Junior will make his decision known on Twitter at 1:30.

When the Saints head to California to play the Los Angeles Chargers in a preseason game on August 25^th, they’ll first compete against the Chargers in a couple of practices. Since Sean Payton’s arrival in New Orleans, the Saints have routinely participated in joint training camp practices with other teams. Still no word on when training camp will start for the Black and Gold.

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The Pelicans will need to hire a new assistant coach. Jamelle McMillan has left for an assistant job with the Phoenix Suns. The 29-year-old is considered an up and comer in the coaching ranks and his dad is current Indiana Pacers Head Coach Nate McMillan.

Anthony Davis has been elected into the Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame. The NBA All-Star led the Wildcats to a national championship in 2012 and was a consensus national player of the year that season.

At the College World Series, it seems like there’s no stopping Mississippi State. The Bulldogs pounded North Carolina 12-2. They took a 4-1 lead in the 2^nd inning on a grand slam by freshman Jordan Westburg. The Texas native drove in seven runs for Mississippi State, who is now just one win away from reaching the championship series of the C-W-S.

And Florida avoided elimination by ending Texas’ season with a 6-1 win over the Longhorns. Jackson Kowar struck out a career-high 13 and Jonathan India hit a three-run homer.

Votes will come Wednesday in the House Ways and Means Committee on different sales tax bills. Jackson Representative Kenny Havard’s proposal would renew a half-cent of an expiring one-cent sales tax and generate 507-million dollars in revenues, which would be enough money to prevent cuts to college campuses, TOPS and public safety programs. Some Republicans prefer to renew less than a half of a penny, but Havard says it doesn’t make sense to raise taxes and also cut the budget at the same time…
cut 13 (05) “….at us”
Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee heard from state health department officials on Tuesday. Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala says their budget has grown 56-percent over a ten-year period…..
cut 14 (05) “…control this”
The state health department is not slated for any cuts next fiscal year.

LSU Student Government will host a rally at the State Capitol Wednesday afternoon to call for full funding of TOPS and higher education. If lawmakers do not act before the end of the fiscal year on June 30th, then students will face a 30% cut to TOPS and a $21 million dollar reduction in funding for LSU. LSU Student Government President Stewart Lockett says they want to give students a voice about their future.
Cut 10 (09) “…as a whole”
Lockett says their message for lawmakers is simple and that is to stabilize higher education and TOPS. All public university systems are looped into this rally and the turnout is expected to be high.
Cut 12 (12) “…different stories”
To learn more about potential cuts to TOPS and higher ed, visit www.lsu.edu/budget.

A House committee heard testimony on tax bills during the first full day of the latest special session, but took no votes. That frustrated Jackson Representative Kenny Havard, who has authored a bill to renew a portion of the one-cent sales tax that expires June 30th
Cut 12 (05) “…thank you.”
Most of the legislative action today, took place in the House Appropriations Committee, where state health officials defended their spending, while higher ed and department of corrections discussed what budget cuts would mean to them.

The escalating trade war with China is not good news for Louisiana’s Agriculture Industry. President Trump is now threatening an additional 200-billion dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods, after China said they would place tariffs on US imports. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says despite the negative impact to Louisiana, he understands the President’s position…
cut 8 (08) “other priorities”

The curtain call of the crawfish season is approaching. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Voicer 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Southern Poverty Law Center has filed a complaint with the state’s ethics board accusing a handful of district attorneys of violating the state ethic’s laws. The Center claims D-As are hiring off-duty police officers to write traffic tickets and then treathen motorists with prosecution, unless they pay hundreds of dollars to the D-A’s office to dismiss the tickets. So far the claims are just an allegation.

On this first full day of the special session, the House Appropriations Committee heard testimony from the state health department and higher education leaders. Louisiana is facing a 500-million dollar revenue shortfall next fiscal year and many Republicans like Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala says the state can find savings within the state health department, which has seen its budget grow substantially over the last 10 years…
cut 14 (05) “….control this”
The state health department is not slated for any cuts next fiscal year.

There are over two thousand nursing programs throughout the United States, but only one can be ranked number one. That distinction belongs to Louisiana Tech University’s Division of Nursing. Chair of the program, Dr. Donna Hood, credits the latest accolade to the determination of both the faculty and students.
Cut 3 (08) “…of this program.”
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing ranks programs based on the rate at which graduates pass the licensing exam, which is 100-percent at Tech.

The escalating trade war with China is not good for Louisiana’s Agriculture Industry. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says Louisiana has done a lot of work to open up China to rice, beef and poultry exports…
Cut 7 (10) “52-percent”
President Trump initially proposed tariffs on 50-billion dollars in Chinese imports, because of an estimated 375-billion dollar trade deficit with China. And now the Trump administration is looking at imposing tariffs on another 200-billion dollars worth of Chinese goods as the trade war worsens.

The 2018 crawfish season is coming to a close after getting off to a slow start, because of a cold January. David Savoy with the Louisiana Crawfish Famers Association says For those that may have noticed smaller than normal mudbugs this year, it was because the harvesting began a little early in the developmental process of the crawfish.
Cut 11 (12) “…pretty darn good.”

Tomorrow the House Ways and Means Committee will vote on tax bills that the governor is asking for the legislature to approve so the state is not forced to make cuts to state services. Jackson Representative Kenny Havard is seeking to renew one-half an expiring one-cent sales tax, which would generate 507-million dollars. Havard says if the state going to raise taxes, he’d rather raise enough so no cuts have to be made…
cut 13 (05) “….at us”

The escalating trade war with China is not good news for Louisiana’s Agriculture Industry. Ag Commissioner Mike Strain says the Bayou State has the largest trade suprlus with China….
cut 6 (10) “….go to China”
Soybeans are among the hundreds of U.S. products China has singled out for tariffs.

Louisiana Tech has been recognized as having the top nursing program in the country as all of their recent graduates passed the licensing exam to be a nurse. Chair of the Division of Nursing at La Tech, Doctor Donna Hood, says it’s worthy recognition and it’s great because there’s a need for nurses…
cut 5 (11) “…that’s what they do”
The curtain call of the 2018 crawfish season is approaching. David Savoy with the Louisiana Crawfish Farmers Association says there is still some harvesting, but most of the crawfish may not find their way into boiling pots this year.
cut 9 (07) “…for next year.”
Savoy says the 2018 season got off to a late start, because of a cold January, but was able to meet demand by the time Easter rolled around.

A House committee heard testimony on tax bills during the first full day of the latest special session, but took no votes. That frustrated at least one lawmaker, Jackson Representative Kenny Havard, who has authored a bill to renew a portion of the one-cent sales tax that expires June 30th
Cut 12 (05) “…thank you.”
Over in the House Appropriations Committee, the state’s Health Secretary Rebekah Gee testified in front of the panel to discuss her agency’s budget. Many Republicans say the governor’s decision to expand the Medicaid program in 2016 is costing the state way too much money. But Gee says Medicaid has led to better health care for the state’s working poor, which is a cost savings
Cut 15 (07) “….too late.”
The state health department is not slated for any cuts next fiscal year.

There are over two thousand nursing programs throughout the United States, but only one can be ranked number one. Kevin Barnhart tells us who.
Voicer 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

The Southern Poverty Law Center is asking the state’s ethics board to investigate allegations of Louisiana district attorneys padding their budgets by using off-duty police officers to write traffic tickets that can eventually be dismissed for 175-dollar fee. The law center says it’s against the state’s ethics code for D-As to profit off the threat of prosecution.