Department of Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says people don’t seem to be dismissing the idea of a gas tax increase. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

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A Raycom Media Poll on the U.S. Senate race puts Republican John Kennedy and Democrat Foster Campbell in the runoff if the election were held today. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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State Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson says, after meeting with residents in each region of the state, there seems to be growing support for increasing the state’s gasoline tax. He says the public realizes a bigger financial investment is needed…:

Cut 3 (09) “and improving infrastructure”

Governor John Bel Edwards named the task force charged with coming up with recommendations on how to repair Louisiana’s transportation problems. Wilson says there is a $13 billion dollar plus backlog in projects that need to be improved throughout the state, but that doesn’t include new infrastructure…:

cut 4  (09) “transportation”

The task force’s proposals are due by the first of the year, and a boost in the gas tax is expected to be one of the key suggestions. Wilson says 19 states link their gas taxes to inflation and other things, and the response from the electorate is most often a positive one because people care about quality transportation. He says they welcome all ideas…:

Cut 5  (11)  “possibly inflation”

(It’s been almost 29 years since the state has adjusted the gas tax, and Wilson says it’s lost almost 50% of its value.)

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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is trying to figure out how a 23 foot whale washed up on Little Florida Beach in Cameron Parish. Marine Biologist Mandy Tomlin says whales are in the Gulf of Mexico, but very rarely seen near the coast, so it appears this young whale got separated from its mother…

Cut 6 (11) “very very young”

Tomlin says the whale did not appear to be in good health and they also know a whale washed up recently on a Florida beach. She says they did extensive evaluation of the whale in the hopes of finding out how this happened…

CUT 7 (11)  “worked on”

Tomlin says they took several samples from the whale’s body in the hopes they can figure out why this animal died and they hope to learn more about the sperm whale itself…

Cut 8 (09) “as well”

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A Raycom Media Poll on the US Senate race has Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy and Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell leading the large field of candidates. In the survey of 625 registered voters, 24 percent say they plan on voting for Kennedy, while 19 percent say Campbell is their choice. ULM Political Science Professor John Sutherlin…

Cut 9 (06)  “likely scenario”

The poll has Republican and former KKK leader David Duke receiving five-percent of the vote, which means he receives an invite to a televised debate on November second. Sutherlin says Duke, who ran for US Senate and Governor in the early 90s, still has good support in rural areas…

Cut 10 (06) “right now”

Democrat Caroline Fayard finished third at 12-percent, followed by Republican Congressmen Charles Boustany and John Fleming, who are at 11 and 10 percent respectively. Sutherlin says it’s unlikely this threesome can make a big jump with election day just over two weeks away…

cut 11 (11) “Kennedy Campbell runoff”

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Three people riding in a dump truck that was towing a trailer are lucky to be alive after it careened over the guardrail into water on Interstate 55 near the Ruddock exit. State Police Trooper Jared Sandifer says only two people were slightly hurt….

cut 12 (12) “ended up being”

Witnesses told a New Orleans TV station that Good Samaritans pulled a woman and child from the water and helped them get to safety. Sandifer says State Police is still following up to confirm those reports…

Cut 13 (10) “above and beyond”

Sandifer says they believe a pickup truck that was pulling a trailer, cut off the dump truck, forcing it over the side of the road. He says the search for that vehicle is ongoing…

cut 14 (09) “law enforcement agency”

60% of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, according to a new Gallup poll. Jeff Palermo reports…:

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Attorney General Jeff Landry is asking a state judge to determine if Governor Edwards executive order that seeks to protect LGBT workers from discrimination in the workplace is constitutional. Don Molino has more…

Cut 2 (25) “I’m Don Molino”

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According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend a record-high 8.4 billion dollars on Halloween candy and costumes this year. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 3 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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A new Gallup poll shows 60% of Americans support the legalization of marijuana, almost double the amount of people who thought pot should be legal in 2000. David Brown is the director of a group called Sensible Marijuana Policy for Louisiana, or SMPL. He believes this signifies that a lot of changes are taking place within the US electorate…:

cut 4  (08) “many other drugs”

Nine states are slated to decide whether to expand legal access to pot in the November election. State officials are currently hammering out a plan to get medical marijuana into the hands of patients who suffer certain specific ailments. But Brown feels that Louisiana will be one of the very last states to get on board with recreational legalization…:

Cut 5  (10)  “at the very end”

Brown says the fact that the Legislature passed a bill that would put a mechanism in place to get patients in need medical marijuana indicates many Louisiana lawmakers are approaching the matter with more of an open mind. He said that’s not happened on accident…:

Cut 6 (10) “patients themselves”

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Attorney General Jeff Landry has filed a lawsuit that seeks to have a state judge declare Governor John Bel Edwards’ executive order that protects L-G-B-T individuals from discrimination in the workplace as unconstitutional. Landry believes the governor is circumventing the Legislature to create his own law…

CUT 7 (07)  “of language”

Landry argues the state legislature has rejected several proposed laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Republican A-G says he’s protecting the will of the legislature…

Cut 8 (07) “objecting to”

The executive order says state employees can not be fired or harassed at work if they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The order extends to businesses that have state contracts and Landry has already refused to sign legal contracts with the anti-discrimination clause. Edwards believes he has the authority to issue such an order…

Cut 9 (08)  “executive order”

Edwards says the attorney general is putting his own political interests ahead of Louisiana’s needs. He disagrees with Landry’s stance that’s it okay for businesses to discriminate…

Cut 10 (03) “Louisiana values”

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Spending on Halloween costumes, decorations and candy will reach a record high 8.4 billion dollars this year. That’s according to the National Retail Federation. Spokesperson Ana Serafin Smith says more than 171 million Americans are planning to partake in Halloween festivities this year…

cut 11 (10) “greeting cards”

Smith says millennials and their use of social media are the reason why the popularity Halloween is growing…

cut 12 (12) “on twitter”

Smith says the Presidential election is also driving up costume sales as many people are dressing up as either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

Cut 13 (09) “political characters”

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A much anticipated cool front has made its way through the state and temperatures are much more fall-like. Freddie Ziegler, with the National Weather Service in Slidell, says the temps are about 10 to 15 degrees cooler than they were the day before…

cut 14 (11) “upper 50s”

Ziegler says the humidity is also much lower. He says we expect high temperatures in the 70s this weekend and we’ll see the lows dip into the 40s for the northern part of the state….

Cut 15 (07) “below normal”

A little bit of rain fell as the cold front moved across the state. Ziegler says rain is out of the forecast this weekend and much of next week…

Cut 16  (07)  “      the state” 

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Ole Miss brings the best pass offense in the SEC to Baton Rouge on Saturday night when they visit the LSU Tigers. The Rebels have five receivers who have caught 15 passes or more, but they had some critical drops in a loss last week to Arkansas. Rebels Coach Huge Freeze expects them to bounce back…

Cut 17 (18)” they know that”

LSU is looking to go 3-0 under interim head coach Ed Orgeron. Freeze says it appears that Coach O has made some changes that have worked…

Cut 18 (20) “the field”

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Louisiana Tech takes its high powered offense to Miami tomorrow where they’ll face the F-I-U Panthers in a Conference USA contest. Both teams have won three in a row, but the Bulldogs have averaged 56 points a game in their last two contests. Tech Quarterback Ryan Higgins says the offense has bought into what the coaches have taught them….

Cut 19 (14)   “want to be”

Higgins ranks second in the country in passing yards per game. Wide receiver Trent Taylor has 75 catches for 987 yards, Carlos Henderson had 326 yards receiving last week. And running back Jarred Craft has rushed for over 700 yards this season. But Higgins says none of the players are competing for the numbers…

cut 20 (20) “about it”