15:30 LRN Newscast October 3rd

What Houma natives Holly and Tracy Pitre thought would be an evening of fun at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas turned into a night of terror. Holly Pitre says she was hit with an intuition that Las Vegas could be a target for a terror attack. So as Jason Alden’s show started they backed away from the stage and that’s when gunshots rang out…
Cut 3 (10) “going wild”
Holly Pitre says they were the lucky ones who happened to be at the right place at the right time to avoid being killed or injured.

Two State Troopers have been demoted as a result of an investigation into a taxpayer funded side trip to Las Vegas. Derrell Williams and Rodney Hyatt were among State Troopers who attended a work conference in San Diego last year, but an investigation into that trip found the troopers racked up 19-thousand dollars in costs by also stopping in Las Vegas and at the Grand Canyon.

Saints Coach Sean Payton says current gun laws are flawed and frustrating as he spoke about gun control in light of the massacre that occurred in Las Vegas. In a conference call with beat reporters, Payton says the current system in our country right now is not working…:
Cut 10 (10) “better that way”
Payton says if people don’t like his position for common sense gun control, that’s tough.

Police arrested a man in his underwear after he allegedly crashed through a fence at the Slidell Municipal Airport and hit utility pole. Slidell Police Detective Daniel Seuzeneau says 43-year-old Kevin Bolton told his authorities he was on his way to see a voodoo doctor….
cut 9 (11) “…of work”
Bolton has been charged with careless operation and hit and run.

LRN Newscast 14:30 October 3rd

Tracy Pitre of Houma had never been to Las Vegas and he’ll obviosly remember his first trip. Tracy and his wife were at country music festival when a gunman started opening fire on the crowd on Sunday. Tracy says the gunshots were echoing off the buildings….
cut 5 (10) “….wouldn’t end”
The Pitre’s safely got back to their hotel hours later.

A broad area of low pressure has formed over the southwestern Caribbean Sea and it’s expected to move into the Gulf of Mexico by the weekend. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it has a medium chance of developing into a tropical depression by this weekend and they are also watching a trough of low pressure over Cuba….
cut 7 (09) “…tropical activity”

Saints Coach Sean Payton says it’s obvious the US needs common sense gun control after the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas. Michelle Southern reports…:
Cut 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

An arrest affidavit says the driver of a vehicle was fatally shot in Ouachita Parish during a traffic stop yesterday afternoon. The report says the driver pulled a gun from his waistband and one of two deputies at the scene fired a fatal bullet killing the suspect. State Police Troooper Michael Reichardt….
cut 14 (09) “….their job”

LRN PM Newscall October 3rd

A Houma couple was attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival when their night of fun turned into terror. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 1 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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Saints Coach Sean Payton says it’s obvious the US needs common sense gun control after the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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What Houma natives Holly and Tracy Pitre thought would be an evening of dancing and fun at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas turned into a night of terror. Holly Pitre says she was hit with an intuition that Las Vegas could be a target for a terror attack during the concert. So as Jason Alden’s show started they decide to back away from the stage and that’s when gunshots started ringing out…

Cut 3 (10) “going wild”

Holly Pitre says they were the lucky ones who happened to be at the right place at the right time to avoid being killed or injured.

Cut 4  (12) “our life” 

Tracy Pitre had never been to Las Vegas before. Pitre says he’s thankful he and his wife weren’t drinking at the concert because it took a clear mind to get out of a situation like that. He says the gunshots were echoing in the buildings.

Cut 5  (10)  “wouldn’t end”

The Pitre’s were able to safely get back to their hotel, the Luxor, hours later.

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State Climatologist Barry Keim says forecasters are keeping an eye on a broad area of low pressure down near the Yucatan peninsula, as the National Hurricane Center gives it a 30% chance of developing into a tropical cyclone…:

Cut 6 (07)  “should be”

Keim says there is also another wave that’s moving into Florida right now from the east, and heading toward the Gulf of Mexico. But he says there is a zero percent change this system will develop over the next five days…:

Cut 7 (09)   “tropical activity” 

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A Mississippi man, who told authorities he was on his way to see a voodoo doctor, has been arrested after crashing through a fence at the Slidell Municipal Airport. Detective Daniel Seuzeneau with the Slidell Police Department says police received a call yesterday morning of a vehicle that ran into a utility pole. He says when authorities arrived 43-year-old Kevin Bolton told them he thought he was being chased by police.

Cut 8 (10) “Slidell”

Seuzeneau says Bolton has been charged with careless operation and hit and run. He says when they found Bolton, he was barely clothed.

Cut 9 (11)  “of work”

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Saints Coach Sean Payton says current gun laws are flawed and frustrating as he spoke about gun control in light of the massacre that occurred in Las Vegas during a country music concert. In a conference call with beat reporters, Payton says the current system in our country right now is not working…:

Cut 10 (10) “better that way”

Payton says he made these same statements after the shooting of former Saints player Will Smith, who was tragically killed in a road rage incident. He says it seems like incidents like this keep coming up over and over, and it’s not good when you draw parallels with other countries..:

Cut 11 (08) “and it’s obvious”

Payton says if people don’t like his position for common sense gun control, that’s tough. He says you can either quietly sit and do nothing, or speak up about what he calls a clear problem in our country…:

Cut 12 (06) “it’s madness” 

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State Police are investigating an officer involved shooting in West Monroe that left one person dead yesterday afternoon. Trooper Michael Reichardt says a Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s deputy made a vehicle stop on Guyton Road…

Cut 13 (06)  “fatal injuries”

Reichardt says no one else was injured during this incident. He says they are working to determine what happened leading up to the fatal shooting.

Cut 14 (09) “their job”

(The arrest affidavit says the driver pulled a gun from his waistband and one of two deputies fired his weapon, killing the driver.

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11:40 LRN Sportscast October 3rd

Tiger Nation is frustrated over LSU’s 3-2 start and some already are calling for the firing of Head Coach Ed Orgeron. Coach “O” says he’s unaware the fan base has put him on the hot seat….
cut 17 (20) “….my control”
Orgeron says he will start Danny Etling at quarterback and the anticipation is that he’ll play all four quarters.

Saints Coach Sean Payton says current gun laws are flawed and frustrating as he spoke about gun control in light of the massacre that occurred in Las Vegas during a country music concert. In a conference call with beat reporters, Payton says the current system is not working and we as a society owe to our children to do better. Payton says if people don’t like his position for tougher gun control, he says tough.

UL Lafayette is coming off its bye week with a one and three record. They had the same record in 2014 and the Cajuns still finished with nine victories, including a bowl win versus Nevada. Coach Mark Hudspeth is hoping for the same kind of turn around….
cut 20 (18) “…can happen”
The Cajuns are at Idaho this Saturday.

ULM is at Texas State. The Warhawks are the best rushing team in the Sun Belt as they have rushed for over 200 yards in three consecutive games. Texas State is struggling offensively, they are averaging just 12 points a game.

The Pelicans preseason opener is tonight as New Orleans hosts the Chicago Bulls. Dante Cunningham will get the first chance to start at small forward.

10:30 LRN Newscast October 3rd

State Police is investigating an officer involved shooting in West Monroe. Authorities say a driver was fatally shot by a Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s deputy around 5:30 yesterday afternoon on Guyton Road. The shooting occurred during a traffic stop and no one else was injured.

Lapolitics.com Publisher Jeremy Alford says many voters do not know there is a state treasurer race coming up this month and even fewer care. Michael Farrar reports….
voicer 1 (30) “….I’m Michael Farrar”

The three candidates running for Public Service Commission for the district that includes Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Houma appeared at a forum yesterday. Former state representative Lenar Whitney says she’s the most conservative candidate in the race and says Louisiana needs to keep its low rates…
cut 11 (11) “….enterprise”
The other two candidates are Interim PSC Commissioner Damon Baldone and Doctor Craig Greene.

The inaugural Flambeu Music Festival takes place at the Lamar Dixon Center in Gonzales this weekend and Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley hopes no one decides not to attend given the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas….
cut 8 (12) “….Lamar Dixon”
The festival’s main stage performers include Sam Hunt, Hank Williams Junior, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

LRN AM Newscall October 3rd

LaPolitics.com Publisher Jeremy Alford says many voters don’t know there is a state treasurer race coming up this month, and even fewer care. Michael Farrar reports..:

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Michael Farrar”

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Ascension Parish Sheriff Jeff Wiley is reassuring those attending Flambeau Fest that it will be a safe weekend. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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A Baton Rouge business owner tells the story of her horrifying experience when a gunman opened fired on a country concert in Las Vegas. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Early voting for the October 14th election is underway, and most people still don’t know about the race for state treasurer. That’s according to LaPolitics.com Publisher Jeremy Alford who says even donors aren’t writing checks the way the normally do. He says that’s partly because wealthy leaders and activists have just been through an active three year election cycle…:

Cut 4  (09) “on TV”

Alford says since the state treasurer candidates don’t have very big war chests, they are limited in what they can spend on exposure which leads to lack of voter engagement. He also says those in the running aren’t actually talking about the job, because it’s boring…:

Cut 5  (09)  “the race for treasurer”

Secretary of State Tom Schedler predicts turnout for this race will be below 20%. Alford also doesn’t see interest in this election spiking during the runoff. He says voters might start seeing some more commercials from the candidates now until election day…:

Cut 6 (07) “voters’ attention”

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This weekend’s Flambeau Music Festival takes place in Ascension Parish and authorities are assuring ticketholders that safety will be of the utmost importance after Sunday night’s attack at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas. Sheriff Jeff Wiley says preparation is the best plan for a safe and enjoyable concert.

Cut 7 (10)  “somewhere else”

Wiley says it is their responsibility to move forward and reassure that the concert at Lamar Dixon Center in Gonzales will be a safe place. He hopes no one decides not to attend given what happened in Las Vegas.

Cut 8 (12) “Lamar Dixon”

Wiley says recently, Ascension Parish hosted the balloon festival and is up to the task of protecting concertgoers. He says security will be widespread and obvious.

Cut 9 (07)  “or two”

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The three candidates for the south Louisiana Public Service Commissioner seat faced off at a forum at the Baton Rouge Press Club. Dr. Craig Greene, an orthopedic surgeon from Maringouin, has never held political office and is running for the position. He says his goal is to represent the ratepayer and provide reliability and affordably to customers.

Cut 10 (11)  “every year”

Former state Representative from Houma Lenar Whitney proudly stated at the forum that she is the most conservative in the race. Whiney says there is a serious need for good conservative rulings and legislation. She says Louisiana needs to keep its low rates.

Cut 11 (11) “enterprise”

Interim Public Service Commissioner Damon Baldone of Houma says he is the candidate most committed to the job. Baldone was appointed by the governor four months ago and is ready to continue his service as an elected official.

Cut 12 (11) “this term”

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A Baton Rouge business owner was in a shuttle near the Mandalay Bay Hotel as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on a country music concert. Allie Wester, owner of Weddings by Allie, says she’s in town for a wedding planning conference and was Snapchatting when all of a sudden her shuttle driver started driving at a high rate of speed.

Cut 13 (10) “Paris Hotel”

Wester says at the time she didn’t realize how serious this situation was. She says once she and her friend got settled at their hotel, they walked outside to hundreds of people running down the street screaming active shooter. She says they ended up separated so she followed employees to the staff parking lot to take cover.

Cut 14 (11) “your rooms”

Wester says she was not able to return into her hotel room until after 5 am. She says when she saw people running down the street, she saw the fear of God in their eyes.

Cut 15 (10) “of me”

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There are many problems with the LSU football team, but a recurring issue for the last several years has been the lack of consistent production from the offense. Head Coach Ed Orgeron asked offensive coordinator Matt Canada to simplify the offense before the upset loss to Troy, now Coach “O” says he’s backing away

Cut 16  (20)  “clean up”

Tiger nation is frustrated over the Tigers 3-2 start and some already calling for the firing of Ed Orgeron. Coach “O” says he’s unaware that the fan base has put him on the hot seat…

Cut 17 (20)  “my control” 

Defensive end Christian LaCouture says it’s disrespect and absurd for fans to say Orgeron should be fired after just five games

Cut 18 (15) “it’s us” 

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After a bye week, the Ragin Cajuns get back to work as they’ll face Idaho for a four PM kick-off. UL-Lafayette started its season with a win over Southeastern Louisiana, but they’ve lost three straight, including a double-overtime defeat in their last game against ULM. Coach Mark Hudspeth says the bye week came at a good time…

Cut 19 (20)  to Idaho “

In 2014, the Cajuns started 1-3, but finished with nine victories, including a bowl win versus Nevada. Hudspeth is hoping for the same kind of turn around…

cut 20 (18)  “can happen” 

18:30 LRN Newscast October 2nd

An arrest has been made in last night’s shooting death of a Lafayette police officer at convenience store. 28 year old, Ian Paul Howard was arrested in connection with the death of Officer Michael Middlebrook. Howard is charged with one count of first degree murder of a police officer. State Trooper Brooks (DAH-VEED) David says two people inside the convenience store sustained non-life threatening injuries.
Cut 7 (05) “….still fluid.”
Howard was a nine-year veteran of the police force.

Former FBI agent and current Tulane Professor Jim Bernanzini says the FBI will learn all they can about the alleged Las Vegas mass shooter, 64 year old Stephen Paddock. He says investigators will also want to know how Paddockto so many firearms into his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino without the hotel staff noticing suspicious activity.
Cut 14 (12) “…do it.”

State Police say two of their own troopers have been demoted in rank for the expensive road trip they took to a law enforcement conference in San Diego last year. It was determined the troopers took a side trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon, paid for by taxpayers. The trip cost a reported 19-thousand dollars.

Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham says it doesn’t look like there is much hope for LSU football this season. Michelle Southern reports…:
Voicer 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

17:30 LRN Newscast October 2nd

Lafayette Police Corporal Michael Middlebrook is dead following an exchange of gunfire at the Big Boy Discount Zone convenience store. State Police Trooper Brooks David says the Lafayette Police Department was dispatched shortly after 10 PM last night in reference to an aggravated assault with a gun. David says minutes later the call was upgraded to a shooting…

Cut 6 (10) “…by Lafayette PD”

David says 28-year-old Ian Paul Howard of Lafayette is the suspected shooter and charged with one count of first degree murder of a police officer, along with other charges.

KTBS-TV in Shreveport is reporting former mayor of Stanley and current alderwoman of the DeSoto Parish town has died as a result of home explosion that occurred on September 18th. 92-year-old Dwena Henry suffered extensive burns and was at the University Health in Shreveport.  The home exploded as a result of a natural gas leak.

The FBI says the man who is accused of killing 58 and injuring over 500 concertgoers in Las Vegas had no connection to an international terrorist group. The alleged shooter has been identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock…:

Cut 13 (12) “at a concert”
That’s former FBI agent and current Tulane Professor Jim Bernanzini.

A “Save LSU Football” GoFundMe campaign has been set up to buy out Coach Ed Orgeron and Athletic Director Joe Alleva. But Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham says getting rid of Coach O would cost the program $12 million dollars and they’re still paying Les Miles $9 million dollars — plus former men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones and his assistants are also getting buyout money…:

Cut 11 (11) “any donors happy”
The Tigers football team is off to a disappointed 3-and-2 start.

16:30 LRN Newscast October 2

The FBI says the man who is accused of killing 58 and injuring over 500 concertgoers in Las Vegas had no connection to an international terrorist group. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but former FBI agent and current Tulane Professor Jim Bernanzini says ISIL is using the mass shooting as a propaganda tool…:
Cut 12 (10) “…later on”
The alleged shooter has been identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock…:

A self-inflicted gunshot to the head is the cause of death listed on the East Baton Rouge Coroner’s autopsy report for the LSU student whose body was found on Friday evening. 21 year old, Michael Nickelotte Junior was found by hunters on September 29th. The student had gone missing on September 18th. The Louisiana State Police Crime Lab used DNA tests to make a positive ID of the remains today.

Authorities arrested and charged 28 year old Ian Paul Howard with the murder of Corporal Michael Middlebrook. The Lafayette officer was killed in the line of duty last night shortly after 10 pm in a gunfight at a convenience store. The Lafayette P-D says Middlebrook leaves behind a wife, their three year old daughter and two step-daughters. State Police Trooper Brooks David says this is a tragedy:
Cut 8 (10) “their families”
Officer Middlebrook was dispatched to a reported aggravated assault with a gun at a store on Moss Street at Van Buren Drive

One person died and another person was seriously wounded in a shooting on Interstate-20 in Shreveport shortly after midnight. Shreveport P-D Corporal Angie Willhite says they believe the victims were shot by someone with a rifle..:
Cut 4 (08) “beside them”
The driver, 22-year-old Kenyon Frazier, was shot multiple times and doctors say he has life-threatening injuries. The deceased person has not been identified.

16:45 LRN Sportscast

This LSU football season is not turning out the way anyone had hoped, and Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham says fans have every right to be upset. He says the 24-21 non-conference loss to Troy on The Bayou Bengals turf Homecoming night is historic for the program…:
Cut 9 (08) “against UAB”
Here’s what Head Coach Ed Orgeron had to say today…
cut 30 (05) “….to fix em”
Orgeron says the plan is to play Quarterback Danny Etling all four quarters this Saturday, so no more rotation with freshman Myles Brennan. Orgeron also says he has not paid attention to the talk among the fan base that he should be fired.

LSU is at 21st ranked Florida this Saturday. Gators Head Coach Jim McElwain says leading receiver Tyrie Cleveland will not play because of a high ankle sprain.

ULM is 2-0 in the Sun Belt for the first time since the 2014 season after beating Coastal Carolina 51-43. Coach Matt Viator likes how his team is playing…
cut 19 (10) “…playing with”
1992 was the last time the Warhawks scored 50 or more points in back-to-back games. ULM is at Texas State this Saturday.

Louisiana Tech senior safety Secdrick Cooper has been named Conference USA defensive player of the week. Cooper has two interceptions in the Bulldogs 34-16 win over South Alabama. Tech is at UAB this Saturday.

The Saints are 2-and-2 as they head into the bye week thanks to yesterday’s 20-0 win over the Dolphins in London. New Orleans next game is against the 3-and-1 Detroit Lions on October 15.