The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus believes white supremacy is behind legislation seeking to protecting confederate monuments. Halen Doughty has more…

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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A measure to increase the gas tax by 17 cents passes out of the House Ways and Means Committee. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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The Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus is offended over legislation aimed at protecting the state’s confederate monuments that has been approved by the House. Chairman and  New Orleans Representative Joseph Bouie says this bill is a Trojan horse designed to supersede the authority of local municipalities who have voted to remove such statues.

Cut 3 (08) “white supremacy”

Bouie notes some people testified in committee that the South is rising again. He is disappointed his colleagues would support such a divisive piece of legislation. He called it a failure of legislative leadership and says lawmakers have more important issues facing them.

Cut 4  (12) “our citizens”

Bouie says there has to be some healing after the 65 to 31 vote. The amended measure still has to win approval in the Upper Chamber. The Black Caucus is calling on senators and the governor not to pass this bill.

Cut 5  (08)  “and legislator”

But Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says his bill would allow the public to decide which monuments to keep and which ones to remove. He says the proposal is all about allowing voters to have some input on the matter.

Cut 6 (11) “people decide”

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An Allergist with LSU Health Sciences Center says in all his years as a doctor, this is the worst allergy season he’s ever seen. Dr. Sanjay Kamboj (San-jay Kam-bozh) says there has been a 10 to 20-percent increase in the number of patients coming in with allergies that were once able to be treated with over the counter medications.

Cut 7 (07)  “the office”

Kamboj says with virtually no winter, there were only two days in the season where there was no pollen count.

Cut 8 (08) “late January”

Kamboj advises people who get the symptoms of a runny nose or a post nasal drip to cover up when going outside by wearing a hat or a mask. He also recommends washing your face immediately when coming back inside to remove the pollen.

Cut 9 (10)  “the nose” 

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A Slidell man is facing a first-degree murder charge after he allegedly beat his 7-week-old son to death. St. Tammany Sheriff Randy Smith says deputies responded to a call about an infant who was not breathing last Wednesday. He says after seeing the severe head injuries on Karter Smith, deputies questioned his father, 25-year-old Anthony Dearmas.

Cut 10 (09) “the ground”

Smith says the infant was transported to a local hospital, where doctors later determined the 7-week-old was brain dead. Dearmas was initially charged with cruelty to a juvenile, but that was later upgraded to a charge of first degree murder.

Cut 11 (08) “to live, folks”

The parish coroner says Karter sustained 7 fractures to his skull and had bleeding inside his brain. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, and the manner of death is child abuse homicide. Smith says Dearmas told detectives why he killed his child.

Cut 12 (07) “sad excuse”

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A proposal to increase the state’s gasoline tax by 17 cents won approval from the House Ways and Means committee. State Representative Steve Carter says his bill would help fund a new Interstate 10 Mississippi River Bridge and improved roads across the state. Carter says the tax hike will bring in an additional 510-million dollars a year.

Cut 13 (10) “unaddressed”

The bill passed on a 9 to 7 vote. Department of Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson also spoke out in support of the tax hike and says the state’s current gas tax has lost 57-percent of its value since it was instated decades ago. He says Louisiana spends less on our roads than we do on LSU’s football program.

Cut 14 (09) “the country”

But Lake Charles Representative Stephen Dwight spoke out in opposition. He says if this hike is signed into law, surrounding states will have a significantly lower gas tax than Louisiana.

Cut 15 (09) “a jump”

Eunice Representative Phillip Devillier says a 17 cent increase would make Louisiana have the 9^th highest gasoline tax in the country. He says residents in his district would gladly pay a little bit more in taxes if they actually saw construction on roadways.

Cut 16  (08)  “have now ”

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Baton Rouge Police are seeking a gunman who fatally shot the McKinley High School quarterback just days before graduation. Don Molino has more…

Cut 1 (29) “I’m Don Molino”

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A 7-year-old “innocent bystander” was accidentally shot and wounded this morning at Moss Bluff Elementary School in Lake Charles. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 2 (31) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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A home invasion in Ouachita Parish ends badly for the suspect. Glen Springfield with the Sheriff’s Office says around 5 p.m. on Sunday deputies responded to a report of an intruder in Swartz.

Cut 3 (10) “threatened em”

Springfield says the suspect was fatally wounded and pronounced dead at the scene. The identities of the suspect and the elderly couple have not been released. He says the investigation is ongoing.

Cut 4  (07) “any charges”

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The St. Helena Parish Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation after a body was discovered. Chief of Detectives Joe Chaney says someone came in to report what appeared to be a shallow grave in a wooded area.

Cut 5  (10)  “white female”

Chaney says the Sheriff’s Office and State Police Crime Lab are conducting an investigation to determine the identity of the woman. He says they’re asking citizens to come forward with any information they have that could help with this investigation.

Cut 6 (10) “state police”

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Just days before graduation, a McKinley High School senior was fatally shot and authorities are looking for the gunman. Cpl. L’Jean McKneely with the Baton Rouge Police Department says they received a call of shots fired around 2 a.m. Friday. He says officers found 18-year-old Bryant Lee when they arrived.

Cut 7 (09)  “Saturday afternoon”

The McKinley High School quarterback was reportedly one of three people shot in the incident, and police are still trying to piece together what happened. This is the second time this school year Lee has been shot, after a drive by shooting in November. McKneely says Lee had a bright future ahead of him.

Cut 8 (09) “taken from him”

McKneely says at this point they do not have a suspect or a motive. He says there were at least 100 people at what they believe was a high school graduation party. He says BRPD is asking anyone who saw what happened to come forward.

Cut 9 (08)  “yet to call” 

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A 7-year-old “innocent bystander” was accidentally shot and wounded this morning at Moss Bluff Elementary School in Lake Charles. Kim Myers with the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says the child is being treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Cut 10 (10) “at this”

The child had surgery and is reportedly in stable condition. Myers says they know that another child brought the gun to school…:

Cut 11 (10) “a third child”

Investigators are working to determine if charges will be brought on the parents of the child who brought the gun.

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LSU’s head football coach Ed Orgeron is helping spread the word about how flood victims can get federal assistance. The governor’s spokesperson Richard Carbo says Coach O said he wants to be as helpful as possible during the recovery process. The newly-minted head coach will be the voice of PSAs about the ongoing recovery efforts.

Cut 12 (10) “to Louisiana”

The survey can be found online at restore.la.gov, and beginning Tuesday will be a series of events around the state to help flood victims fill out the survey. Carbo says a lot of folks have a great deal of respect for the head coach of the Fighting Tigers. He hopes this will help spread the message about the survey.

Cut 13 (08) “our survey”

Carbo says about 20,000 flood victims have already completed the survey. He says while that’s a great start, they need more people to complete the form. He’s hoping they can get those signup numbers up with a little help from Coach O.

Cut 14 (08) “billion years”

To find the survey or learn more about places to get help completing the survey, visit restore.la.gov.

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A Senate bill would give financial assistance to police and firefighters who are catastrophically injured during a targeted attack in the line of duty. The proposal comes as East Baton Rouge Deputy Nick Tullier continues to recover from the ambush on Baton Rouge police last July. His mother, Mary Tullier, spoke before the Senate Finance committee.

Cut 15 (07) “day to day”

Mary says Nick is worried about his medical bills, and with his father being retired, it’s unclear how the bills will get paid. Some agencies require officers to have health insurance, but after a year of being off work for an injury, that coverage ceases. She says police officers don’t make enough money to cover this kind of unexpected expense, and this is the least we can do for those who protect and serve us.

Cut 16  (11)  “to protect us”

Senate Finance is expected to vote on the bill this week, and then it will head to the Senate floor. It will need House approval as well.

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