The House appropriations committee approves a plan that would allow the state to draw down federal money that can be used to expand Medicaid coverage. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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Former LSU offensive tackle La’el Collins met with Baton Rouge police detectives today. Jeff Palermo has more on what happened…

CUT 2 (28) “reporting”

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The House appropriations committee approves a plan that would allow the state to draw down federal money that can be used to expand Medicaid coverage. House speaker Chuck Kleckley says the plan involves hospitals putting their financial resources together so the state can draw down federal dollars that can be used to provide health care to low income individuals…

CUT 3 (07)  “federal dollars”

Governor Bobby Jindal opposes Medicaid expansion, calling it a bad deal for the state. But Kleckley says this plan could save up to $200 million for the state’s budget. He says this is real money that can be put in the general fund…

CUT 4 (07)  “in Louisiana”

Since this measure is a concurrent resolution, Governor Jindal cannot veto the legislation, but it does need a two-thirds vote of both houses for passage. Kleckley says this measure would set up a mechanism for our next governor to pull from Medicaid expansion money next year…

CUT 5 (09)  “and use it”

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Former LSU offensive lineman La’el Collins met with Baton Rouge police detectives today as part of an investigation into the shooting death of a pregnant woman on April 24th. Collins wore a blue suit for his meeting with investigators and his attorney, Jim Boren, says the All-SEC player cooperated fully…

CUT 6 (07)  “they wanted”

Collins meeting with detectives lasted about an hour and a half. Boren says his client is still NOT a suspect in Brittany Mills’ homicide…

CUT 7 (09)  “lady’s murder”

It’s been reported Collins and Mills had a romantic relationship. Boren would not say whether Collins took a paternity test to confirm whether it was his child that died a week after the shooting. But Boren says the Baton Rouge native is cooperating with the investigation and ready to get his NFL career started…

CUT 8 (08)  “that shortcoming”

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Baker Police arrested a 32-year-old mother of three for allegedly leaving her three children inside a vehicle for up to 45 minutes. Chief Mike Knaps says a witness arrived at a store at the same time as Tesha Thomas and noticed that Thomas left her three children in the car. He says 30 to 45 minutes later, the witness saw the kids still in the car and called police…

CUT 9 (07)  “kids crying”

The children, ages 7-years, 20-months, and 4-months, were left in the vehicle with no air conditioning and the windows rolled up. Knaps says, after officers contacted Thomas inside the store and she told them she only went in to pick up a couple of things. He says Thomas was taken into custody after calling another family member to pick up the kids…

cut 10 (05) “child desertion”

He says when officers found the children, the 4-month-old was screaming and its diaper was soaked. Thomas faces three counts of child desertion. Knaps says it is never safe to leave children unattended in a vehicle…

cut 11 (08)  “of that vehicle”

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State Treasurer John Kennedy announces he’s endorsing US Senator David Vitter for Governor. Kennedy outlined key issues he felt would best be addressed by Vitter…:

cut 12 (11)  “21st century”

Kennedy has previously announced he’ll be seeking re-election in the fall and some speculate he’ll be going after the Senate seat should Vitter become Governor. But Vitter says they have not talked about any other election…:

cut 13 (09)  “being presumptuous”

Kenndy says Vitter respects tax payer dollars and has the ability to take on Louisiana’s fiscal challenges…:

cut 14 (09) “crisis to crisis”

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Shreveport Police are investigating a fatal shooting that claimed the life of a four-year-old boy. Cpl. Marcus Hines says officers were called to a hotel room and and found the boy, identified as Cameron Morris, suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head…

cut 15 (10) “that hotel room”

Hines says it appears Morris was shot accidentally by another juvenile in the hotel room. He says adults were present and detectives are working to determine who was responsible for the children at the time of the shooting. No charges have been filed at this time. Hines says the alleged shooter in this incident is very young…

cut 16 (05) “ten-years-old”

This is National Tourism Week and Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne will tour the state to commemorate the event. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (28) “reporting”

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Three weeks are in the books for the current legislative session and many say lawmakers are still not close to finding a solution to the state’s $1.6 billion dollar budget shortfall. Scott Carwile reports…:

Cut 2 (27) “reporting”

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Planned Parenthood supporters from across the state plan to gather at the Capitol Monday morning to support reproductive heath care access in Louisiana. Michelle Southern reports…:

Cut 3 (29) “reporting”

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This is National Tourism Week and Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne will tour the state to commemorate the event. The purpose of this trip is to celebrate the tourism industry state wide. Dardenne says every part of the state has seen increased tourism numbers…

cut 4  (11) “in Louisiana”

The tour runs through Saturday. Dardenne says almost 29 million people visited Louisiana last year, which is over a million more people than the previous record. He says those tourists spent over $11 billion in the state…

Cut 5  (10)  “visiting our state”

Stops include Lake Charles, Bossier City, Alexandria, and Lafayette. Dardenne says New Orleans remains the state’s biggest tourism draw, particularly for international visitors. But he says the other parts of the state are seeing big increases tourism, particularly in north Louisiana…
Cut 6 (09)  “of the state”

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According to a recent InsuranceQuotes-dot-com study, Louisiana is the fifth most expensive state for car insurance. They say rates in Louisiana are 33-percent higher than the national average. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says high insurance premiums have been a problem in Louisiana for quite a while…

CUT 7 (10)  “No Pay, No Play”

The “No Pay, No Play” law, which was passed in the ’90s, prohibits an uninsured driver involved in an accident from filing an insurance claim, even if they are not at fault. Donelon says the biggest reason for the state’s high auto insurance rates is the state’s litigation rate…

Cut 8  (11)  “of the state” 

Many think the number of uninsured drivers in the state are to blame for the high insurance rates here, but Donelon says that’s not entirely the case. He says when you combine the 15-percent of uninsured motorists with the 40-percent of drivers who only have the minimum amount of insurance required, that’s not good for insurance rates…

Cut 9 (11)  “to be legal”

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Three weeks are in the books for the current legislative session and many say lawmakers are still not close to finding a solution to the state’s $1.6 billion dollar budget shortfall. Jeremy Alford of Lapolitics.com says there is just as much uncertainty today as there was in January…:

Cut 10 (10) “insists upon”

Alford says it’s a misconception that Governor Bobby Jindal is not staying involved in what’s going on at the Capitol because he’s making it very clear to legislators that the budget will have to be balanced in a revenue neutral way…:

cut 11 (05) “following suit”

Alford predicts it’ll be 15 days out of the end of the session before any real plan starts to take shape. He says legislators could go with an inventory tax repeal which business is in favor of and local governments are opposed to or make certain tax credits non-refundable which the administration is pushing but business is against…:

cut 12 (10)   “neutral manner”

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Planned Parenthood supporters from across the state plan to gather at the Capitol Monday morning to support reproductive heath care access in Louisiana. Spokeswoman Raegan Carter says the plan is to talk to our elected officials about the importance of women having access to high quality healthcare they provide in Louisiana…:

Cut 13 (09)  “citizens”

Carter says the Jindal administration has made it clear they plan to launch a full-blown attack on the true needs of the people of Louisiana. She says they believe families deserve access to healthcare no matter who they are or where they live….:

Cut 14 (08) “screenings”

Carter says basic health care rights are the foundation of freedom and opportunity for women and families. She says they want the message to be clear that politics should be left out of reproductive health care and of what Planned Parenthood provides…:

Cut 15  (09)  “those services”

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The Saints used two of their nine draft picks on cornerbacks. In the third round, they selected Florida State All-ACC player P.J. Williams and in the fifth round they picked Damian Swann, who was a three-year starter at Georgia. Coach Sean Payton likes the versatility of both players…

Cut 16  (12)  “with em”

The Saints first pick in the 5th round is a player most football fans never heard of. Linebacker Davis Tull from Tennessee-Chattanooga, who is a three-time Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Payton says they had a high grade on Tull and they were forunate to get him in the 5th round…

Cut 17 (16)  “the nickel”

The saints selected defensive players with six of their nine picks. Payton hopes all of them can contribute in some way..

Cut 18 (17) ”   the draft “‘

The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Beau Chene High School teacher who is also an assistant football coach for allegedly kissing a student inside a classroom. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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LSU students gathered at the state Capitol today to protest cuts to the university. Jeff Palermo reports.

CUT 2 (32) “reporting”

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LSU students rallied at the Capitol today to protest cuts to the university. Officials say the proposed cuts could result in the closing of of satellite campuses and drastic losses of academic programs and faculty on the main campus. LSU President King Alexander says students have every right to be concerned about these cuts…:

CUT 3 (08)  “or three”

Alexander says an LSU degree should be one that’s highly valued in our economy, but if these cuts go through it will affect students ability to get a quality degree…:

CUT 4 (09)  “for our students”

Alexander says there are many scenarios higher ed is looking at in the face of massive reductions. He says cuts need to be mitigated substantially or colleges throughout the state may consider filing for bankruptcy…:

CUT 5 (10)  “for students”

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The St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Beau Chene High School teacher who is also an assistant football coach for allegedly kissing a student inside a classroom. They say 25-year-old Gregory Fontenot is charged with one count of prohibited sexual conduct between an educator and a student. Lt. Clay Higgins says the alleged incident happened around February…

CUT 6 (08)  “years old”

Higgins says the alleged kiss took place in a classroom after school. He says Fontenot denies the allegation…

CUT 7 (07) “by the detectives”

School Board officials say Fontenot has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Higgins says the charge against Fontenot indicates, perhaps, some degree of consent by the student…

CUT 8 (07)  “day in court”

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The Baton Rouge Police Department is now saying that former LSU player and potential first round draft pick La’el Collins will not be interviewed about the murder of a pregnant woman until after the NFL draft. Cpl. Don Coppola says there has been contact between Collins and the police…

CUT 9 (04)  “Mr. Collins”

Authorities say Collins is not a suspect in the murder of 29-year-old Brittney Mills but think he may have some information that can be helpful in their investigation since the two had previously been in a relationship. Coppola says detectives would like to interview Collins as soon as possible…

cut 10 (06) “after the draft”

The NFL Draft begins tonight and runs through Saturday. Police have yet to name a suspect in Mills’ death. Coppola says details of the meeting with Collins are up in the air at this time…

cut 11 (07)  “place and time”

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State Police announce a recent multi-state operation which resulted in the rescue of six missing or exploited children. Lt. JB Slaton says between April 14th-16th, several agencies took part in an initiative which is designed to teach troopers how to recognize at-risk children who are exploited for sexual purposes…:

cut 12 (08)  “endangered children”

Slaton says the participants in the operation included nine states and two municipalities. He says in addition to rescuing the children, the operation also saved one adult victim, made four initial arrests and launched three investigations…:

cut 13 (10)  “other states”

Slaton says two of Col Mike Edmonson’s main initiatives is going after criminals who exploit children for sexual purposes — and partnerships in training to do that…:

cut 14 (09) “but I push on”