Governor John Bel Edwards announces plans for a special session to begin on February 13th to fix a 304-million dollar budget deficit. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Louisiana is the third most dangerous state for online dating, according to a report by High-Speed-Internet.com. Michelle Southern has more…

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Governor John Bel Edwards announces he will call a special session so legislators can make what he calls “painful” cuts  to address a 304-million dollar shortfall. Edwards says the 11-day special session would start February 13th…

Cut 3 (12) “so much”

Edwards says he will not ask legislators to raise taxes during the special session, but he will recommend using 119-million dollars in money from the state’s rainy day fund in an effort to soften the cuts….

cut 4  (09) “of Louisiana”

Edwards says he’ll present a budget slashing plan to the legislature by February sixth. The governor says he will NOT recommend cuts to K-through-12 education, prisons and social services. He says during the special session he’d like input from the legislature and the public about how the state should spend its money…

Cut 5  (09)  “will be considered”

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A report released by High-Speed-Internet.com finds Louisiana is the third most dangerous state for online dating. Researcher for the website, Kaz Weida, says the Bayou State received a high ranking because of its high rate of adults with STDs.

Cut 6 (10) “sex with”

Weida says another factor that makes the Bayou State so dangerous for online dating is the extremely high rate of crime.

CUT 7 (08)  “a crime” 

Weida says they are also concerned about Louisiana’s weak policies when it comes to sex education in public schools…

Cut 8 (07) “specifically”  

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A one-month-old infant is in critical condition and an 18-year-old father under arrest amid allegations he shook the baby violently, according to the Mandeville Police Department. Chief Gerald Sticker says they got a call from the hospital reporting the baby’s condition – so deputies began asking questions…:

Cut 9 (09)  “the infant’s brain”

Sticker identifies the teenage father as Stephen Michael Dufresne of Mandeville and he’s been charged with 2nd degree cruelty to a juvenile. He says the baby was airlifted to Children’s Hospital in New Orleans and is in critical condition…:

Cut 10 (07) “homicide”

Dufresne faces up to 40 years in jail if convicted. Sticker says the suspect and baby’s mother live together, but at the time mom was at work. He says the grandmother discovered the baby’s condition and rushed to the hospital…:

cut 11 (08) “difficulty breathing”

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The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival announces the 2017 lineup and it includes Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty, Maroon 5, Snoop Dog, Dave Matthews and Harry Connick Jr. — just to name a few. Jazzfest producer Quint Davis says once again the event has something for everyone…:

cut 12 (09) “who’s an artist”

It all happens at the New Orleans Fairgrounds the last weekend in April and first weekend in May. Much of Jazz Fest was rained out last year which is extremely rare, and Davis had only this to say about a crowd turnout in 2017…:

Cut 13 (06) “really lot of people“

You can find the full lineup online at nojazzfest.com. Snoop Dog and Stevie Wonder were pushed out by the rain in 2016, so Davis says it’s great that they’ve decided to return this year. He says not only is the Jazzfest wildly popular for it’s amazing musical lineup and arts and crafts, there’s no place else you can get a gourmet meal in a field:

cut 14 (09) “trout baquet”

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close friend of the fallen Westwego police officer is raising money for his family on a Go Fund Me Page. Halen Doughty has more…

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LSU basketball suffered its worst loss at home since 1963 and it appears Johnny Jones’ days as the head coach of the Tigers is over. Michelle Southern has more…

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The LSU men’s basketball team suffered a historic loss last night to Florida. It was the Tigers worst loss at home since 1963, as the Gators devoured the Tigers 106-71. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham believes Johnny Jones’ days are numbered as head coach….

Cut 3 (08) “are off”

Last night’s loss is also the fourth time in the season the Tigers have lost by at least 30 points. Worsham says Jones’ job is in danger and it would take a miracle for him to keep it. But he says athletic director Joe Alleva will likely not fire Jones midseason like he did with Les Miles.

cut 4  (11) “and coaches”

The Tigers are 9-10 overall, 1-7 in the SEC, and have lost six games in a row. Worsham says Jones has two more years left on his contract after this season…

Cut 5  (11)  “will do”

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A Go Fund Me page has been set up for Michael Louviere (Lou-v-air), the Westwego police officer who was fatally shot in Marrero. Reese d’Aquin (DAH-can) is a lifelong friend of Louviere and professional film maker who established the page, which features a video of d’Aquin telling the world about his childhood friend. D’Aquin, who now lives in Florida, says he just wanted to do what he could to help.

Cut 6 (12) “heard of”

Louviere served his country as a Marine, completing a tour in Afghanistan. D’Aquin says the money raised on the page will benefit Louviere’s wife, Ashley, and two young children.  He says the page has already raised more than $50-thousand of the $300-thousand goal.

CUT 7 (11)  “leaves behind” 

D’Aquin says Louviere overcame the adversities in his life with love and joy. In that same sentiment, he ends the story on the Go Fund Me page with a plea for people to hug their loved ones, or better yet hug a stranger.

Cut 8 (12) “better place”

Donations to Louviere’s family can be made at GoFundMe.com/michael-louviere-an-american-hero.

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A team of LSU mechanical engineers are in California to test out a pod that can float inside a vacuum tube and travel 500 to 600 miles per hour. LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor and the team’s faculty adviser Aly-Mousaad Aly says the team is eager to see how fast the pod will actually travel.

Cut 9 (10)  “real world”

The Hyperloop team is one of 30 teams selected out of 1,000 to test out their prototype at a competition for a new high-speed transportation system on January 27^th– 29^th. Aly expects the LSU team will perform well in the competition…

Cut 10 (10) “the goal”

If the infrastructure was in place, the pod could travel from Baton Rouge to New Orleans in 10 minutes. Aly says the theory of an underground high speed transportation system might not be practical in Louisiana because of the wet soil, but is happy the students can put their skills to use.

cut 11 (12) “transportation”

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Former state Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham defended his spending practices before a panel of lawmakers who were discussing an audit that accuses Barham of misappropriating BP funds while in office. Barham admits LDWF made extraordinary and unusual purchases, like three metal shark boats…

cut 12 (11) “in Louisiana”

The audit says samples of fish taken after the oil spill sat for days and were not properly tested. But Barham says those samples were frozen and properly taken. He says the department was put in charge of bringing the seafood back into the market.

Cut 13 (10) “a fish“

The critical audit of LDWF’s spending practices looked at purchases made from 2010 to 2015, when Barham was secretary. Barham says suggestions that there were systemic problems couldn’t be further from the truth.

cut 14 (11) “safety program”

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A Carencro man is facing charges for disposing used oil into state waters. Greg Langley with the Department of Environmental Quality says 41-year-old Roshell Darjean changed the oil in an 18-wheeler and decided to pour between 5 and 10 gallons of oil into a ditch that drains into Bayou Carencro.

Cut 15 (12) “or both”

Langley says someone reported seeing oil coming from a storm drain, and hazmat teams were deployed to contain the substance. He says people performing maintenance on their vehicles can recycle used oil at most auto supply stores. He says not only is dumping oil illegal, it’s bad for the environment.

Cut 16  (10)  “drinking water”

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