Deputies in Iberville Parish say they have made the largest gas pump skimmer arrest in the state’s history. Emelie Gunn has more…

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It’s a beautiful weekend for a crawfish boil and there are plenty out there. Jeff Palermo reports…:

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This Sunday high school seniors have the opportunity to receive free professional assistance in filling out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s called College Goal Sunday. Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance Spokesperson Gus Wales says any soon to be high school graduate can get help at 15 locations around the state.

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Doors open at 1:30 and the program runs until 4:00 p.m. and students are encouraged to pre-register at www.osfa.la.gov to ensure there are enough professionals to assist. The 15 sites are located in every region of the state at select community colleges, technical schools and universities. Wales says this allows for a painless application process.

cut 4  (08) “free event”

Wales says this event is specifically for high schools seniors but juniors are welcome to attend to get general information about the process. He says a brief informational session takes place before the program begins.

Cut 5  (11)  “the FAFSA”

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A Phillips 66 employee remains unaccounted for after a pipeline explosion that took place in St. Charles Parish on Thursday night. The company says six people were working at the site in Paradis when the blast occurred. Todd Denton with Phillips 66 expressed his sorrow for those involved at a press conference Friday morning

Cut 6 (12) “those impacted”

The missing person has not been identified. Denton says regular maintenance was taking place at the time of the explosion. Phillips says three workers were treated at the scene and one other worker is listed in fair condition at Baton Rouge General….

CUT 7 (06)  “second remains hospitalized”

Phillips says the pipeline is blocked and so is the valve and the remaining product will continue to burn off. There is a very large flame coming out of the damaged pipeline and it could take days before it’s extinguished. State Police Trooper Melissa Matey says the evacuation has been lifted, but there are still some closures on Highway 631

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Iberville Parish authorities say they have made the biggest gas skimmer arrest in the state’s history. Sheriff Brett Stassi says deputies arrested Serafin and his son, Juan Fuentes, of Miami, Florida, during a traffic stop on Interstate 10 where they discovered illegal equipment in the vehicle.

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Stassi says there is the potential that 2 million dollars was illegally collected on the Fuentes’ skimmers. He says they are issuing search warrants to find out how many credit card numbers were stored on the devices but detectives believe this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Cut 10 (08) “criminal families”

Stassi advises drivers to use credit cards when pumping gas or run their debit card as credit because skimmers can pick up pin numbers. He also says to alert an attendant if things don’t seem right at the pump.

cut 11 (10) “correctly”

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It’s a beautiful weekend to have a crawfish boil and the good news for restaurants, farmers and consumers is that the supply of mudbugs continues to be great for this time of year. LSU AgCenter aquaculture specialist Mark Shirley says the catch is only going to get better..:

cut 12 (08) “about everyday”

Shirley says you’re starting to see the prices come down big time from the January high…:

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Shirley says while the mild winter has kept the crawfish a bit larger than usual for this point in the season, they’re still in the small-medium range right now…:

cut 14 (10) “nice size crawfish”

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LSU basketball will look to avoid its 11th straight defeat on Saturday when they host Arkansas at the Maravich Center. Coach Johnny Jones team is 9-14 overall, 1-and-10 in the SEC. During an appearance on the Jim Engster Show, LSU President F King Alexander was asked about whether a coaching change is needed

Cut 15 (10) “the year”

During the 10-game losing streak, all but two of the defeats have been double digits. Alexander admits it’s been a tough season for the Tigers, but any decisions on Jones’ future will be made later this year

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A recent survey by insurance Quotes finds 39-percent of motorists have never looked around for a cheaper policy. Don Molino has more…

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Valentine’s Day sales are expected to be about 18.2 billion dollars this year, compared to 19.7 billion dollars last year. Emelie Gunn has more…

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A UNO survey finds most Louisiana residents blame former Governor Bobby Jindal for the state’s current budget problems. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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A survey by insuranceQuotes finds 39-percent of drivers in the U.S. have never shopped around to find cheaper auto insurance. State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says looking for the best policies and rates is a great idea given that auto insurance prices are on the rise….

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Donelon says an easy way for drivers to save money on auto insurance is to increase your deductible or lower your coverage limits. He says this is considered self-insuring and taking as much risk as a motorist can reasonably afford.

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The survey also finds over half of drivers haven’t switched auto insurance companies in at least eight years and 6-percent of motorists have stuck with the same provider for over 30 years. Donelon says there is a comparison rate guide on the department of insurance’s website to view different policies.

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The National Retail Federation finds this Valentine’s Day consumers are expected to spend 18.2 billion dollars. That’s down from 19.7 billion dollars last year. LSU Marketing Professor Dan Rice says we might be seeing a shift in how people celebrate this romantic holiday as couples are doing more things for each other around the year.

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The report also finds the number of people who celebrate the holiday has dropped by nearly 10-percent from 2007 to 54-percent this year. But Rice says this is still a big holiday for retailers.

Cut 8 (10) “for them”

Consumers are expected to spend about 85 dollars on their significant other or spouse. Rice says many couples are moving away from the chocolates and jewelry and giving their partner experimental gifts.

Cut 9 (10)  “the rush”

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U.S. Representative Clay Higgins urges new Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to use social media as a way to vet immigrants. Higgins made the comments during a Homeland Security Committee meeting. The Republican from St. Landry Parish says the Obama administration failed to use this publicly available data…

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Higgins believes a good way to prevent a terrorist from entering the U.S. is to review the social media use of immigrants who apply for a visa…

Cut 11 (10) “domestic terrorists”

Higgins says he is encouraged with the direction of the Homeland Security Department after hearing Secretary John Kelly speak. He says a visa applicant should also be required to provide their social media accounts and passwords

Cut 12 (04) “their intent”

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A UNO statewide poll finds six-out-of-10 Louisiana residents blame former Governor Bobby Jindal for the state’s budget problems. The Louisiana legislature is set to begin a third special session to correct a budget deficit since Jindal left office. UNO political scientist Ed Chervenak says the state’s fiscal troubles started early in Jindal’s term

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Chervenak says even though legislators are set to enter another special session where budget cuts will be required, Governor John Bel Edwards continues to have a strong approval rating of 49-percent…

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The telephone survey interviewed about nine-hundred Louisiana residents earlier this week. Chervenak says two-thirds of respondents say there is a need for a special legislative session…

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The Saints will stay in Louisiana for training camp this season. The NFL team will train at their facilities in Metairie after holding camp in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia the last three seasons. Saints analyst Mike Detillier says it’s good news for the fans

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Coach Sean Payton was very complimentary of the setup at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virgina. But the team let the contract expire after three years and three straight non-playoff seasons. Detillier says practicing at the resort was not the reason for the losing seasons

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Detillier says the team’s indoor facility is a reason why the Saints might have elected to stay home for training camp

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Marvel has selected Louisiana as their filming location for a new TV series to air on the Freeform network. Halen Doughty has more…

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Flu season in Louisiana is in full swing. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Filming is underway in Louisiana for a new TV series from Marvel. Louisiana Entertainment Executive Director Chris Stelly says they’re very excited to have the Marvel brand in Louisiana. He says the new show is a spinoff from a Marvel classic, The Spectacular Spider-Man.

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Stelly says crews began filming the pilot episode this week, and they’ll continue production for a 10 episode run. He says they’ll be filming in New Orleans and likely in other areas of the state as well. He hopes this encourages more production crews to choose the Bayou State as their filming destination.

cut 4  (07) “to have it”

Stelly says television production tends to be in the state longer than a feature film. He adds that they employ Louisiana residents for a longer period of time, usually 8 to 10 months out of the year. He says there’s also the potential to pick up year after year.

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Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger will air on Freeform after production is completed.

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The flu season in Louisiana is ramping up and as the Bayou State has surpassed other states with the number of influenza cases. The state’s flu bug expert, Dr. Frank Welch, says five out of 100 visits to the doctor are for flu like symptoms. He says there is a very nasty stain of flu going around this year.

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An elementary and middle school in the Shreveport area are closed for the next two days because of the number of kids absent due to the flu. Welch says swine flu along with Influenza B are other popular strains but are not as dominate as H3N2. And he says the flu can lead to other serious illnesses.

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Welch says this bad flu season will likely last from six to eight weeks. But he says it’s still not too late to protect yourself…

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As many residents are picking up the pieces after tornados ravaged south Louisiana, Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon advises tornado victims not to hesitate to file a claim.  He says some policyholders do hesitate for fear that their premiums would go up or they would be non-renewed by their insurer.

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Donelon says residents should not begin permanent repairs until an inspector has come to assess the damage. But he says temporary repairs should be made because policy holders have a legal obligation to minimize their damage.

Cut 10 (11) “further damage”

Donelon encourages policyholders to document their loss with pictures of the damage. He says while it’s important for consumers to know what their coverage is, there won’t be any flood versus wind controversy with this event.

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A contractor in Ascension Parish has been arrested amid allegations he defrauded more than dozen homeowners who flooded in August. That’s according to Sheriff Jeff Wiley who says the suspect, 39-year-old Matthew Morris, is the owner of Complete Construction Contractors. He says they would complicate agreements to rack up thousands in claims:

cut 12 (08) “price gouging”

Wiley says Morris faces a number of charges including residential contractor fraud, 11 counts of engaging in the business of contracting without authority and 6 counts of theft of aged persons. He says some of these victims were elderly and it’s disgusting that someone would take advantage of people who are stressed and had just lost everything…:

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Wiley suspects there are more victims in other parishes where homeowners may only think they have a civil complaint, but this is a criminal matter. He says any other contractors who are doing the same thing need to take heed…:

cut 14 (07) “to operate”

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The Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s office has released the names of the three victims killed in Wednesday’s explosion at a packaging plant near DeRidder. 32-year-old William Rolls,  40-year-old Sedrick Stallworth and 40-year-old Jody Goch were working at the plant when two tanks exploded. State Police Sergeant James Anderson says they do have a preliminary cause…

Cut 15 (10) “ensued”

Seven other workers were injured by the blast, but Anderson says only one of them remains hospitalized. He says welding activity was taking place near the tank that exploded and they have an idea what was inside the tank…

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