A special session to address the state’s huge budget issues starts on Sunday. Jeff Palermo has more…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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The massive burn chamber that was built to dispose 16 million pounds of explosives at Camp Minden begins its slow trek through four parishes in northwest Louisiana today. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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US representative Ralph Abraham of Richland Parish introduces legislation to help out farmers. Michelle Southern has more…

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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Republican Congressman Ralph Abraham introduces legislation aimed at stimulating agribusiness. The proposed FAME act changes the depreciation schedule for farm equipment. Abraham says it makes a simple adjustment to the tax code to shorten the depreciation schedule on farm equipment to five years rather than seven…

cut 4  (10)  “businesses”

Abraham says other businesses typically have a five year depreciation schedule for their durable equipment. He says this will help put money in the farmers’ pockets…

Cut 5  (10)  “at all”

Abraham says often times farm equipment breaks down and stops working before seven years. He says the FAME act already has eight other co-sponsors in the U.S. House…

Cut 6 (09)  “win-win” 

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Jeremy Alford of La-politics-com says to expect the unexpected during a special session that will start Sunday. Legislators will meet for 3 and half weeks looking at proposed cuts and tax increases to fix the state’s massive budget issues. Alford says Governor Edwards has released a broad call when it comes to taxes and to no one’s surprise, Republicans aren’t pleased.

CUT 7 (10)  “of requests”

Alford anticipates Governor Edwards will work with Republicans to try to find a balance between budget cuts and tax increases. He says Republicans will go into the session looking for ways to reduce spending.

Cut 8  (11)  “the day”

Alford says it’s a possibility that the governor and the House will come to an agreement on how to move forward during the session. He says there is a lot of pressure on the House to perform and the magic number to remember is 70 votes….

Cut 9 (10)  “next week”

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The burn chamber created to burn 16 million pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden will begin making its way to Webster Parish through four northwest Louisiana parishes today. The Department of Transportation is advising drivers to prepare for delays. DOTD Spokesperson Cindy Dorfner says because of its size, the chamber can only go 15 miles per hour.

Cut 10 (09) “just humongous”

Dorfner says the chamber will be transported on a truck through Natchitoches, Red River, Bossier until it finally reaches Camp Minden in Webster Parish on Thursday. She says traffic will be especially bad when the chamber reaches south Bossier on Wednesday because it will close down an intersection.

cut 11 (08) “not possible”

Motorists can check the chamber’s travel schedule on DOTD’s website. She says electricity could also be disrupted along the chamber’s route and electric companies will be out to ease power outages. Dorfner says they ask for people not to cluster around to watch the massive load pass.

cut 12 (10) “the traffic”

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Now that Super Bowl 50 is in the books, it’s time to take a hard look at what the Saints need to do to get back in the postseason. NFL analyst Mike Detillier says fixing the defense should be the Saints first priority this offseason…

Cut 13 (12)  “three years”

Detillier says the Saints will look to either draft or sign a pass rusher, a run stuffing defensive tackle and a cornerback to replace Brandon Browner, who could be officially released on Monday. He says hopefully the Saints will make some better decisions when it comes to their free agent signees…

Cut 14 (11) “across the board”

On offense, Detillier expects the Saints to sign Quarterback Drew Brees to a contract extension, which could free up more salary cap space for the upcoming season. He says expect the Black and Gold to also bolster the offensive line and look for them to provide Brees with another pass catching target

Cut 15  (08) “Marques Colston”

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The LSU Tigers are in first place in the SEC after beating Mississippi State 88-77 on Saturday. Antonio Blakeney led the way with a career-high 31 points, Keith Hornsby had 25 points and Ben Simmons chipped in with 16 points. Coach Johnny Jones liked that the Tigers had 25 assists to go along with 32 made field goals.

Cut 16  (19)  “basketball team”

After a rough go during the nonconference schedule, the Tigers are now
8-2 in the SEC, one game ahead of three other teams in the league. Jones
likes the direction the team is heading…

Cut 17 (11) “ways to go”

This week the Tigers will face two of the teams that are one game back
behind LSU for first place, South Carolina on Wednesday and Texas A&M on
Saturday. Senior guard Keith Hornsby is looking forward to it…

Cut 18 (14) “be consistent”

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Discussions are underway about forming a new organiziation to rival the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 1 (29)  “I’m Eric Gill”

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Chevron North America has informed the Louisiana Workforce Commission about possible layoffs at five office locations in Covington and Lafayette. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 2 (29)  “I’m Eric Gill”

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New Orleans attorney Caroline Fayard is the first Democrat to enter Louisiana’s US Senate race. Fayard has never held political office, but did run for Lt. Governor in 2010. Fayard says she’s running for the Senate because she doesn’t want the rest of the country to take Louisiana for granted and that starts in Washington, D.C….

CUT 3 (10)  “to the table”

A release from her campaign describes Fayard as a “pro-life, pro-business Democrat.” She believes there are too many career politicians in Congress and voters are upset with the level of service they’re getting from their government…

CUT 4 (07)  “American families”

She says this election isn’t about politics, it’s about what is right for the people of Louisiana. Political pundits have said Fayard’s chances of winning would be greatly increased if she remains the only major Democrat in the race. But Fayard welcomes the competition…

CUT 5 (08)  “as a country”

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Chevron North America informs the Louisiana Workforce Commission of possible layoffs at five office locations in Covington and Lafayette. A total of 385 employees could be affected, 340 at the office locations and 45 offshore workers. Eric Smith, Associate Director at the Tulane Energy Institute, says the low oil prices initially impacted independent oil producers, but now major companies are feeling the affects…

CUT 6 (10) “some cutbacks”

Chevron says the cuts will begin April 4th and should be complete by June 7th. Smith believes the layoffs are primarily coming in upstream business, which is what they call the process of drilling and operations in getting oil out of the ground…

CUT 7 (10) “pretty well”

The company says they will help laid-off employees find jobs in other Chevron locations and offer severance packages to those unable to find one. Smith expects even more layoffs are coming…

CUT 8 (07) “count on, today”

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Discussions have started about forming another high school athletic association. It’s in response to a vote by member principals of the LHSAA who decided to expand the championship split to basketball, baseball and softball. Former commissioner of administration, Paul Rainwater, organized a meeting with several high school principals and A-D’s to discuss what it would take to form a new organization…

CUT 9 (06)  “with a budget”

One possible hurdle is that the National Federation of State High School Associations recognizes just one high school association in each state and that’s currently the LHSAA. Rainwater says that’s a challenge they can overcome…

cut 10 (10)  “sort of process”

Rainwater says more meetings will take place in the coming weeks. He plans to have a constitution and structure ready to present to interested schools in May…

Cut 11 (08) “use of money”

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It’s a big Mardi Gras weekend across Louisiana and State Police want it to be a safe one, especially on our highways. Trooper Melissa Matey says they have zero tolerance for drunk drivers, so make sure there’s a sober driver at the wheel…

cut 12 (10) “in festivities”

Matey says if you are enjoying the parades with your children, have a plan in place in case you get separated from your kids…

cut 13 (10)  “was wearing”

Matey says they are also asking the public to take advantage of the see something, send something app in case you spot something that doesn’t seem right….

cut 14 (11)  “immediately”

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