A legal analyst says the man accused of injuring more than two dozen Endymion parade goers in New Orleans may only face 5 years in jail. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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Sneezing more than normal? Itchy/watery eyes? Experts say allergy season is hitting Louisiana with a bang this year. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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Volunteers from around the country are coming together to help Louisiana flood victims get back into their homes. Louisiana Launch volunteer Shanna Forrestall says a lot of families either aren’t getting what they need from insurance or there’s delays on getting help from FEMA. She says Let’s Rock is collecting donations to help cover the cost of the sheetrock needed to make their homes livable.

Cut 3 (10) “their houses”

Forrestall credits the hard work of Melissa Armand and Janet Rhodus for getting the campaign moving, and giving her a way to get involved, as the Gonzales native now lives in Los Angeles. She says through the donations, flood victims are given a gift certificate to cover the cost of their drywall, and 100-percent of the donations go directly to flood victims.

cut 4  (10) “those walls up”

Forrestall says the donations are going to families who need it the most, those with elderly, disabled and special needs members. She says donations can be made at LaunchLouisiana.com and encourages everyone to share the link on social media to raise awareness for the cause.

Cut 5  (10)  “that are hurting”

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The man accused of drunkenly plowing into parade goers at Endymion in New Orleans may not face much jail time. That’s according to legal analyst Tim Meche, who says 25-year-old Neilson Rizzuto is only charged with negligent vehicular injury, a hit and run with serious injury, and reckless operation after police say he crashed his truck into a crowd and sent 21 people to area hospitals.

Cut 6 (10) “five year sentence”

New Orleans police say Rizzuto’s blood alcohol content was .232, nearly three times the legal limit. A judge reportedly says if the suspect can make his $125-thousand bond, he’ll be put on house arrest and not allowed to drive. Meche says Rizzuto’s circumstances aren’t really that bad.

CUT 7 (11)  “jail time”

Despite at least 28 reported injuries, Rizzuto only faces two counts of negligent injuring for two serious injuries named in the police report. But Meche says more charges could be added as the investigation unfolds. He says Rizzuto’s public defenders will likely try to play the sympathy card in court.

Cut 8 (11) “of this guy”

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Allergy season is in full swing a little early this year, and experts say because Louisiana had such a mild winter, there never really was a low pollen period. Dr. Kenneth Paris, head of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at LSU Health New Orleans, says warm winters typically mean pollen season will peak earlier, and last longer…:

Cut 9 (09)  “when we don’t have rain”

Paris says people who have seasonal allergies are typically bothered by itchy, drippy and sneezy symptoms. But he says the pollen season really impacts kids and adults with asthma a great deal…:

Cut 10 (10) “respiratory symptoms”

Paris says there are plenty of effective medications on the market to help people keep their allergy symptoms under control. He recommends oral antihistamines that are non-sedating, and a now-available over the counter intranasal steroid sprays…:

cut 11 (10) “the burden of illness”

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A Mansfield man has been arrested for fatally shooting a man who was allegedly vandalizing his car on Sunday night. Mansfield Police Chief Gary Hobbs says 34-year-old Cody Parker saw 50-year-old James Hewitt near his car and came outside with a firearm and shot Hewitt multiple times as he was fleeing the scene….

cut 12 (11) “pronounced dead”

Hobbs says Parker is charged with second-degree murder. He says based on the evidence, Hewitt was doing nothing other than committing the crime of property damage before he was shot.

Cut 13 (09) “deadly force“

Hobbs says detectives are working to determine if Parker and Hewitt had a previous connection. He says recently, Parker has had other issues with vandalism, as he filed multiple reports with the police department about someone vandalizing his vehicle.

cut 14 (11) “of it”

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It’s been a warm February for the Bayou State and it could turn out to be the warmest on record since 1932. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 1 (26) “I’m Emelie Gunn” 

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Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3^rd Congressional District has been appointed to a task force to stop terrorists from entering the country. Halen Doughty has more…

Cut 2 (27) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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US Senator John Kennedy believes its time for the Commander of the State Police to go. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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A new study out of London finds stress may be linked to obesity. Dr. Amanda Staiano (Sty-AH-no) with LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center says chronic stress can promote fat accumulation on the body. She says while it could be a physiological reason, it might also be because people change their behaviors when they’re stressed.

Cut 4  (07) “obesity”

Staiano says the 4 year study linked obesity to a stress hormone called cortisol. She says people who were obese through the entire study showed higher levels of stress hormones. She says while some stress is out of our control, there are ways people can try to reduce their stress levels.

Cut 5  (09)  “long term health”

Staiano says over two-thirds of Louisiana adults and half of the children in our state are overweight or obese, so this is an important study for the Bayou State. She hopes to see more research in this area.

Cut 6 (09) “citizens healthier”

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This February could go down as the warmest on record since 1932 for the Bayou State. That’s according to State Climatologist Barry Keim who says the average temperature in Louisiana this month is floating right around 61 degrees and the current record is 61.2 degrees.…

Cut 7 (10)  “1895″

Keim says so far for February, we’re averaging eight degrees above normal and he attributes this to a lot of warm air moving in from the coast.

Cut 8 (06) “and humid”

Keim says although Louisiana has seen a few cold fronts the last few weeks, not much Canadian air moved down south this winter…

Cut 9 (06)  “February”

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US Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana’s 3^rd Congressional District has been appointed to the Homeland Security Task Force, which seeks to close gaps in terrorist screenings and vetting procedures. Higgins says their most valuable resource is the human resource, and they want to hear what the people have to say about securing our borders.

Cut 10 (12) “to stop it”

Higgins says he wants to get a boots-on-the-ground perspective from the people directly involved in vetting the people who enter our country. He says it’s far past time for us to control our southern border. He says they’re going to explore every possible option to make our country safe.

Cut 11 (08) “for it to stop”

Higgins says the task force will search for solutions to eliminate terrorist entry into the country. But he says immigrants and visitors who come into the US legally have nothing to worry about. He says they want to take a balanced approach to ensure that those who do not mean us harm are still welcomed.

Cut 12 (08) “put in place”

The panel will begin working in March and hopes to provide their final report later this year.

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Colonel Mike Edmonson has no plans to resign even though U-S Senator John Kennedy is calling on the head of the L-S-P to step down as result of four troopers charging the state overtime and hotel expenses while taking a side trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.  Edmonson says Kennedy doesn’t have the facts

Cut 13 (08) “those changes”

Kennedy says enough facts have already come out and he’s disgusted as a Louisiana taxpayer over what happened….

Cut 14 (11) “get an award”

The controversial trip to the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in San Diego occurred last October. The governor has auditors within the Division of Administration looking into the incident and Edmonson says State Police is conducting its own probe…

Cut 15 (05) “change those”

But Kennedy says if Governor Edwards wants to restore taxpayer confidence he’ll call in the legislative auditor to perform an independent investigation

Cut 16 (10) “not right”

Kennedy is disappointed the legislative auditor is not being used for this investigation….

Cut 17 (06)  “find the truth”

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LSU rallied back from an early 3-0 deficit to beat Maryland 9-5 on Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep of the Terrapins. Right-handed sophomore Caleb Gilbert earned the win as he struck out all six hitters he faced in relief and LSU took control of the game with five runs in the 3rd inning. Coach Paul Mainieri…

Cut 18 (18) “mistaken”

LSU’s pitchers struck out 15 in the game, but also walked seven. Reliever Doug Norman left the game after throwing a pitch and Mainieri says that was tough to see…

Cut 19 (15)   “on it yet”

LSU is now 7-1 on the season. One of the big surprises so far has been freshman Rankin Woley from Atlanta. He’s 5-for-11 at the plate and Mainieri says Woley is making the case for more playing time…

Cut 20 (19)   “about that”