Qualifying for the US Senate race is only 10 days away for the November election. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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It was a very tense weekend in Baton Rouge with numerous protests taking place over the police shooting of Alton Sterling. Jeff Palermo has story…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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A St. John the Baptist Parish Deputy who was injured in a 2012 shooting will get a new kidney today, courtesy of a brother in blue. Halen Doughty has the story…

Cut 3 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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There’s only 10 days left before the qualifying for the US Senate race and just under four months before the election. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Democrat Foster Campbell has the support of Governor John Bel Edwards, which gives him an advantage over the other Democrat in the race, Caroline Fayard.

cut 4  (11)  “votes”

Pinsonat says State Treasurer John Kennedy the Republican front-runner, as fellow GOP candidates Rob Maness and Congressmen Charles Boustany and John Fleming seek to cut into Kennedy’s lead. He says Kennedy’s name recognition poses a challenge for his opponents.

Cut 5  (08)  “sit around”

Pinsonat says with qualifying next week, the race should heat up soon, but it will be an expensive run for all the candidates.

Cut 6 (06) “of them”

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The recent acts of violence across the country have many people asking what can be done to improve race relations in a country that seems more and more divided. LSU associate sociology professor Dr. Lori Martin says resolving the problem starts with acknowledging that there is one. She says what we need is an open and honest dialogue about racial issues.

CUT 7 (10)  “the issue”

Martin says racial problems are real, and they have real consequences because tragedies like the Dallas attack are occurring far too often. But she says the racial issues are part of a larger social problem.

Cut 8  (09)  “and disadvantage”

Martin says we as a society have the chance to turn the recent horrors into something positive, if we can come together and make a change.

Cut 9 (12)  “traumatic events”

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A St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s deputy is donating his kidney to a fellow officer. Robert Ardeneaux is scheduled to have the surgery today to donate his kidney to Jason Triche, a St. John the Baptist Parish Deputy whose kidneys are failing due to health problems from a 2012 shooting. Ardeneaux says he looked into becoming an organ donor after a conversation with a friend sparked his interest.

Cut 10 (09) “just phenomenal”

Triche was injured in s shooting that took the lives of two officers, Jeremy Triche (no relation to Jason Triche) and Brandon Neilson. Triche has struggled with health problems since the shooting. Ardeneaux says once he found out who would get his kidney, it made the decision a lot easier.

cut 11 (11) “to do”

Ardeneaux says he hopes this shows people that police officers are still human. He says they are just like everyone else, but at the end of the day they have a job to do and that’s to protect their community.

cut 12 (10) “have families”

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Well over 100 protesters were arrested over the weekend in Baton Rouge as there were several tense exchanges between law enforcement and individuals angry who are angry over the shooting death of Alton Sterling. Here’s the reaction of the crowd after one of the protesters was taken into custody in the middle of the street…

Cut 13 (08)  “let him go”

For the last six days, people took to the streets to express their frustration with the shooting of a black man by a white Baton Rouge police officer. Most of the arrests were for obstruction for allegedly standing in the street. Governor John Bel Edwards is glad violence has not broken out at the protests…

cut 14 (11)  “incite them”

There’s been concerns that people outside of Louisiana will come here to cause trouble at one of these demonstrations. Edwards says law enforcement will be quick to respond to any unlawful action…

Cut 15 (06) “in Louisiana”

This group of protesters stood their ground on one side of the street, while on the other side there was a large of police and SWAT team members in riot gear looking to disperse the crowd…

Cut 16  (09)  “don’t shoot” 

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SEC Media days begin today in Hoover, Alabama as this annual event is considered the unofficial kick-off to the football season. Alabama is the defending national champs and they go into this season as a favorite to win the SEC West, but Lyn Scarborough of Lyndy’s Magazine says the Crimson Tide has a question mark at quarterback…

Cut 17 (11)  “spring game”

Scarborough says Tennessee is the clear cut favorite to win the East Division. He says the Volunteers return 19 starters from a team that went 9-4 and they have a favorable schedule…

Cut 18 (09) “Florida at home”

Many believe LSU has a good chance to get back to the SEC Championship game. The Tigers return most of their skill position players, add a defensive coordinator that is highly thought of and they host Alabama. Dennis Dodd of C-B-S-sports-dot-com says after nearly losing his job last year, Coach Les Miles enters this season on the hot seat…

Cut 19 (12) “administration”

Dodd says quarterback Brandon Harris’ play will likely determine how for LSU goes this season. Dodd says Harris has to be more accurate as a passer this year….

Cut 20 (13) “great things”

Police around the state are preparing for a possible attack in Louisiana following the tragic shooting in Dallas that took the lives of five police officers and left seven others wounded. Jeff Palermo has more…

CUT 1 (31)  “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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The funeral for 40-year-old Shannon Labit, who was shot and killed by an Iberia Parish Sheriff’s deputy, is today. Emelie Gunn has more on the case…

CUT 2 (31)  “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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Law enforcement around the state are gearing up for a potential threat in Louisiana following the Dallas attack that left five police officers dead and seven injured. State Police Col. Mike Edmonson says there is concern that something similar could happen in Louisiana because a suspect in the Dallas shooting told police he was upset about the police violence in Baton Rouge and Minnesota.

CUT 3 (07)  “for that”

Edmonson says police have been investigating riot threats that have been made on social media and asks the public to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. He says police are preparing to handle any situation that may arise. He says they will monitor any protests this weekend to protect citizens’ right to protest peacefully.

CUT 4 (07)  “called upon”

Edmonson says they are working on race relations between law enforcement and the public. He says in order for people to respect authorities, they have to be able to trust them. He says that starts with transparency and communication.

CUT 5 (06)  “individual effort”

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With multiple videos surfacing, many people are wondering was the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling justified. LSU Criminal Law Professor Ken Levy says no it wasn’t. He says based on the two videos released by bystanders, things aren’t looking good for the two Baton Rouge police officers.

CUT 6 (07) “that basis”

Levy says police did have reason to believe that Sterling was armed, but just having a gun doesn’t give police the right to shoot. He says given the position Sterling was in, officers could not have reasonably believed that he posed a threat to them.

CUT 7 (10) “for it”

Levy says from watching the videos, he believes a manslaughter charge is warranted here.

CUT 8 (09) “much better“

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Funeral services are today for 40-year-old Shannon Labit (La-beet) of New Iberia who was fatally shot early Sunday during a standoff with Iberia Parish Sheriff deputies. Labit’s nephew, Jeremy Randazzo, says the lack of specialized training to handle encounters with individuals suffering from mental illness led to his uncle’s unnecessary death.

CUT 9 (10) “different occasion”

State Police is currently conducting the investigation into the shooting. Trooper Brooks David says they know one deputy fired at least one round striking Labit after he approached deputies with a knife. Randazzo says Labit has struggled from paranoid schizophrenia since he was a teenager but would never go up to police with a weapon in his hand. He says the amount of officers that showed up to respond to the stabbing in the area is what caused Labit into a manic episode.

cut 10 (11)  “on him”

Randazzo says witnesses are coming forward telling his family the incident shouldn’t have gone this way. He says they’re hoping to get the federal government to investigate the shooting.

Cut 11 (10) “this point”

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Governor John Bel Edwards is urging the public to let the Justice Department take the time it needs to conduct a thorough investigation into the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling. He says the agency will be professional and transparent during the process and wants everyone to be patient because the investigation may take a while…

cut 12 (09) “put together”

The governor says this investigation team is extremely professional and there will be no leaks of information.

Cut 13 (10)  “be patient”

Edwards says we’re now going to have a renewed focus on training and retraining police officers. He says new standards of behavior will be developed between law enforcement and citizens.

cut 14 (10)  “to be”

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Tangiaphoa Parish Sheriff deputies arrest five individuals after they allegedly kept an autistic 22-year-old woman locked up in a cage at a residence in Amite. Jeff Palermo has more on this disturbing story…

CUT 1 (27) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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A former teacher and assistant basketball coach at Fontainebleau High has been arrested for having sexual relations with a student. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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President Barack Obama hopes the fatal police shootings this week in Louisiana and Minnesota will lead to a renewed effort to improve the trust between law enforcement and black communities. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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Statistics published by Huffington Post show that since 2005, 13 officers have been convicted of murder or manslaughter in on-duty fatal shootings, even though there have been hundreds of police shootings during that time. Legal Analyst Tim Meche says it’s too early to tell if there will be a conviction in the Alton Sterling case but the cell phone videos of the shooting are not good for the officers…

cut 4  (10)  “whole story”

The shooting of Sterling, who is black, has led to public outrage from many African Americans. Meche says there is tremendous pressure on the Justice Department to bring forth charges.

Cut 5  (08)  “what happens”

Meche says we haven’t seen a lot of convictions when it comes to fatal police shootings, but that’s all changed now with cell phone videos.

Cut 6 (10) “certain ways”

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President Barack Obama says Americans should be deeply troubled by the fatal police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. Mr Obama says the deaths of Alton Sterling of Baton Rouge and Philando Castile of St. Paul are not isolated incidents and they reflect racial disparities that continue to plague this country…

CUT 7 (10)  “under the law”

The President says there’s a lack of trust between law enforcement and their communities….

Cut 8  (10)  “the same”

The President created a task force in 2014 that came up with modern policing guidelines and he urges police departments to implement these recommendations which would replace the misunderstandings many African-Americans have with their local authorities…

Cut 9 (09)  “these recommendations”

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A former Fontainebleau High School teacher and coach has been arrested for having sexual relations with one of his students. Capt. Daniel Seuzeneau with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office says 37-year-old William Leto made contact with the student through social media and then began grooming her to trust him. He says the victim confirmed she and Leto had sexual contact multiple times…

Cut 10 (10) “a juvenile”

Seuzeneau says right now there is only one victim that police are aware of…

cut 11 (09) “come forward”

Seuzeneau says the victim was not on the basketball team, where Leto was an assistant coach but she was in one of his classes at Fontainebleau. He says they will not tolerate this kind of behavior and Leto will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

cut 12 (08) “a teacher”

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Houston-based Kinder Morgan plans to expand its pipeline operation in the Bayou State which will mean 300 construction jobs in northeast Louisiana. Vice-president of public affairs, Allen Fore, says this project will help the state build upon its energy industry….

Cut 13 (09)  “state of Louisiana”

Kinder Morgan currently employs nearly 650 workers in Lousiana. He says jobs of these new construction jobs will start out between 20 and 30 dollars an hour …

cut 14 (10)  “very active industry”

Pipelines and natural gas connectors will be built in Madison, Richland, Franklin and Rapides parish. In addition to Louisiana, Fore says construction jobs will be available in 2017 and the project will be finished in 2018 …

Cut 15 (09) “in other states”

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