The U.S. House approved a tax reform bill, which Republicans say will lower tax rates at all income levels and lower the corporate tax rate. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise says this legislation will also make it easier for everyday Americans to do their own taxes.
Cut 3 (11) “so complicated”
The lone no vote from Louisiana’s U-S House delegation came from Democrat Cedric Richmond.

A Florida educator with ties to south Louisiana has been named to be the next president of Nicholls State University. Jay Clune, a Houma native, is a Nicholls alum and says he wants students coming to the Thibodaux school to learn in a modern environment…:
Cut 6 (07) “some programs”
Clune becomes the sixth Nicholls State president.

Baton Rouge Police have made an arrest in the 2014 killing of West St. John High School coach Juan Joseph. Sgt. Don Coppola says they originally booked another man for the murder, but those charges were later dropped after the DA’s office said the shooter was misidentified. Coppola says now Jamarcus Goodman is charged with second degree murder…:
CUT 9 (05) “through DNA”
Copolla says Goodman was living in Texas and had faced other charges there, but is now in the East Baton Rouge Parish jail.

Natchitoches unveiled its newly renovated riverfront today, which cost four million dollars. Mayor Lee Posey says they’ve added a new festival stage, amphitheater seating and a new Santa Claus house…:
Cut 11 (10) “weekend”
He says restrooms and handicap ramps have also been added along the Cane River. Saturday the Festival of Lights begins its run over the next seven weekends.

Louisiana’s delegation votes along party lines for the House tax reform bill that was approved today. Jeff Palermo has more…
Voicer 1 (32) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Louisiana National Guard says over 300 of their soldiders and airmen have returned from a deployment to Puerto Rico to help the island nation recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The Guard says the soliders cleared roads and helped electric companies restore power.

Houma native Jay Clune has been named as the next president of Nicholls State. Clune graduated from Nicholls and will begin serving as the leader of the Thibodaux school after the new year. Clune says he’s ready to take ideas on how to make Nicholls an even better university…
cut 8 (11) “…and staff”

And later today in Natchitoches a dedication ceremony will take place for the city’s newly renovated riverfront that cost four million dollars. Mayor Lee Posey says the riverbank was torn up until about a mongh ago with the renovations. He says once sod was put down, everything started to come together…
cut 12 (11) “…it better”
This Saturday begins the 91st Christmas Festival of Lights.

65-year-old Wilbert Jones became a free man today after serving over 45 years in jail in connection with a 1971 rape and kidnapping of a Baton Rouge nurse. State District Judge Richard Anderson threw his conviction out, because he determined the case against Jones was weak and the prosecution withheld evidence. Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino…:
Cut 6 (10) “prosecutional misconduct”
The Innocence Project worked for 15 years to free Jones.

The TSA has put in a new policy for those who fly out of Baton Rouge or New Orleans. Effective immediately, any electronic larger than a cellphone must be taken out of a carry-on bag when going through security. TSA Spokesperson Sari Koshetz says if your traveling with an I-Pad or lab top, take it out of the bag and place it into its own bin to help the security checkpoint run efficiently…
Cut 10 (10) “through again”

State officials are gradually introducing 23 juvenile whooping cranes from Wisconsin, Maryland and Canada to the wild in Louisiana as part of the state’s effort to grow the population of the rare, endangered birds. State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Sara Zimorski says 12 of the birds were brought to Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge on the southwest Louisiana coast where three cranes recently hatched…
cut 14 (10) “…the parents”

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine says Mike Seven, the school’s live mascot that arrived on campus in August, has added 100 pounds of weight during his first three months in Baton Rouge. The 14-month old Tiger now weighs about 270 pounds and the Bengal-Siberian mix is expected to keep growing until he’s about four or five years old.

Sixty-five-year-old Wilbert Jones, who spent almost 46 years in prison was set free today after his conviction for kidnapping and raping a Baton Rouge nurse was recently overturned. A judge said there was evidence withheld by the prosecution that could have exonerated him. The group the Innocence Project worked for 15 years to free Jones. Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino says prosecutors approach these type of cases without much merit and Jones is fortunate to be released after so long…:
Cut 7 (09) “justice system”

The U.S. House has legislation to overhaul the National Flood Insurance Program, but it does not have the full support of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation. Representative Ralph Abraham from Richland Parish says the measure doesn’t help with rising premiums and he’s concerned…
Cut 4 (08) “to happen”
Abraham hpes the Senate passes a better bill.

The holiday season is approaching and many will take to the skies to visit family. Emelie Gunn has more on new rules from the TSA….
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

According to the Associated Press, Governor John Bel Edwards recent trip to Puerto Rico to discuss ongoing hurricane recovery cost taxpayers 51-hundred dollars. Much of the cost went towards security detail.

The governor attended a ribbon cutting ceremony today for a new emergency room in north Baton Rouge. It cost the state over five-million dollars to build the facility.

A Baton Rouge man who has been behind bars for almost 50 years had his conviction overturned, and is now a free man. Michelle Southern reports…:
Voicer 1 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy says he’s successfully added an amendment to the Senate’s tax reform legislation that would provide 200-million dollars in tax relief for thousands of Louisiana residents who were impacted by last year’s August flood. The legislation still needs approval from the entire Senate and House.

Members of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation are not happy about a bill the House passed to overhaul the National Flood Insurance Program. Richland Parish Representative Ralph Abraham says the measure would mean higher premiums and doesn’t make strong enough reforms to mitigate flood risk. He hopes the Senate has a better bill…:
Cut 5 (07) “and foremost”
The state has added 23 juvenile whooping cranes to the Louisiana flock as part of an effort to re-grow the population, after the large white birds disappeared from the Bayou state in 1950. Louisiana Department of Wildlife Fisheries Wildlife Biologist Sara Zimorski says these young birds join 49 other cranes. She says they re-introduced whooping cranes to Louisiana to 2011.
Cut 12 (10) “big step”
Zimorski says last year, for the first time, a young pair of birds hatched and raised a chick.

Wilbert Jones walked out of prison today, a free man after spending nearly 46 years behind bars for a conviction that was thrown out by a Baton Rouge judge because the prosecution hid evidence that could have exonerated him. There is a law that allows wrongly convicted individuals to receive compensation, but Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino says Jones’ case may not qualify…
cut 8 (12) “….is innocent”

The U-S House has voted to renew the flood insurance program, but Congressman Ralph Abraham voted against it, because it will lead to higher flood insurance premiums for many property owners…
cut 3 (10) “…more than that”
Abraham hopes the U-S Senate will make changes to the legislation, so homeowners are not hit with double digit premium increases.

The busy holiday travel season starts next week and the Transportation Security Administration is asking passengers to make sure they don’t pack guns in their carry-on travel bags. T-S-A spokesperson Sari Koshetz says so far this year, six guns have been confiscated at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport and 52 from Louis Armstrong in New Orleans….
cut 11 (11) “…unloaded”

Twenty-three juvenile whooping cranes have been added to the Louisiana flock as part of the state’s effort to reestablish the population of the large white bird. LDWF Biologist Sara Zimorski says some of the new birds are the result of donations from the Audubon Nature Institute and Chevron…
cut 13 (11) “…few years’

A Louisiana man convicted of a 1971 kidnapping and rape of a Baton Rouge nurse is set to walk out of prison today as a free man after a judge overturned his conviction. State District Court Judge Richard Anderson called the case against 65-year-old Wilbert Jones weak and authorities withheld evidence that could have exonerated him decades ago. Jones’ family says they’ll have gumbo ready for him when he gets out.

The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is holding a large nuclear Prevention Exercise today on the Mississippi River near the Port of Baton Rouge. GOHSEP spokesman Mike Steele says Operation Great River aims to find out how well Louisiana is prepared should we face this type of emergency…:
Cut 6 (10) “the most”
He says the event will test state and federal resources.

The Cost of Living Index shows Shreveport and Monroe are among the lowest cost of living cities in the country. President of the North Louisiana Economic Partnership Scott Martinez says the report shows if you earned 50-thousand dollars in Denver, you’d only need just over 40-thousand in Monroe or Shreveport…
cut 15 (10) “…much difference”
Martinez says having a low cost of living can also encourage economic development.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser is re-engergizing the state’s effort to attract golfers from around North America to play the courses on the state’s Audubon Golf Trail. Nungesser says Louisiana should be an attractive option for golfers in cold weather states….
cut (11) “…in Louisiana”
The Audubon Golf trail was established over 15 years ago.