State Police say two Town of Franklinton employees are under arrest, accused of stealing over $22,000 in water and utility payments from residents. Eric Gill has the story…

CUT 1 (31) “reporting”

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Former Saints safety Darren Sharper has been indicted by an Orleans grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape. Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 2 (31) “reporting”

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State Police say two Town of Franklinton employees are under arrest, accused of stealing over $22,000 in water and utility payments from residents. Master Trooper Greg Marchand says town officials noticed some irregularities in how town utility bills were being collected and called them to investigate…

CUT 3 (09)  “a town account”

He says 39-year-old Carmen Freemen and 42-year-old Caprice Dawson processed over 230 payments that were never deposited into the town’s account. Marchand says Freeman’s and Dawson’s official duties included processing the billing and payments of all customers utilizing the town’s water services…

CUT 4 (07)  “own personal gain”

Marchand says they were able to collect enough evidence to acquire arrest warrants on the pair on several charges, including felony theft and malfeasance in office…

CUT 5 (06)  “in Franklinton”

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Former Saints safety Darren Sharper has been indicted by an Orleans grand jury on two counts of aggravated rape. Sharper allegedly drugged and raped women in New Orleans — accusations he also faces in multiple states. He is currently held without bond in Los Angeles. Legal analyst Tim Meche says rape is typically “he-said-she-said”…:

CUT 6 (13)  “about this case”

Meche says even though Sharper is accused in other states he will likely face a trial in New Orleans because aggravated rape carries a life sentence, so he probably won’t plead guilty…:

CUT 7 (12) “tried first”

A New Orleans arrest warrant says witnesses report that Sharper and co-defendant Erik Nunez acknowledged they had non consensual sex with two women. Sharper was part of a successful championship run while with the Black and Gold. Even though he is so well known, Meche doesn’t think the trial will be moved from Orleans…:

(Sharper was also indicted today on federal drug charges.) 

CUT 8 (10) “anywhere else”

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State Police is investigating a fatal accident that happened this morning on I-20 which claimed the life of a woman who was not buckled up. Trooper Michael Reichart says 35-year-old Candace Henderson was traveling west on the interstate near a rest area in Lincoln Parish went she says she hit something in the road…:

CUT 9 (08)  “lane of travel”

Reichart says the vehicle was then hit by an 18 wheeler…:

CUT 10 (08)  “died at the hospital”

A passenger in Henderson’s vehicle, 28-year-old Kimberly Henderson of Monroe, was not restrained and was ejected and died as a result. Reichart says he can’t stress enough the importance of buckling up…:

cut 11 (05)  “event of a crash”

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LSU’s ticket office says they have about seven-hundred tickets left for the Music City Bowl on December 30th. On that day the 22nd ranked Tigers will take on Notre Dame in Nashville and LSU ticket office manager Brian Broussard is expecting to sell its allotted eight-thousand tickets

cut 12 (11) “over that time”

LSU sold only six-thousand tickets for last year’s Outback Bowl against Iowa. Broussard says an intriguing match-up with Notre Dame and a great bowl destination is helping ticket sales this year

cut 13 (05) “to visit”

Broussard says you can also purchase tickets through Ticketmaster, but the tickets LSU is selling are in a better location…

cut 14 (10) “100 level”

The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing separate storm surge warnings with next year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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Louisiana is below the national average when it comes to percentage of public high school seniors who fill out paperwork to receive financial aid to attend college or a technical school. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 2 (31) “reporting”

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The National Hurricane Center will begin issuing separate storm surge warnings with next year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season. Storm surge is often cited as the greatest threat to life and property from a tropical cyclone. Storm Surge Specialist, Jamie Rhome, says this has been many years in the making…

CUT 3 (10)  “with wind”

He says the threat from storm surge needed to be put on par with wind and that required a dedicated storm surge warning. Storm surge often strikes at different times and places than a storm’s winds. Rhome says the information in these alerts will be short and to the point…

CUT 4 (06)  “life threatening conditions”

Earlier this year, NHC debuted color coded maps showing where and how high water could rise as storms approach land. Rhome says these storm surge alerts will also give you an indication of when the threat could impact an area. He says a storm surge warning is nothing to be taken lightly…

CUT 5 (08)  “to do something”

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If Senator David Vitter is elected governor next year, 4th District Representative John Fleming wants to succeed him in the Senate. In a written statement, Fleming says his focus is on serving the residents of the 4th district, but he would be interested in running for the seat Vitter would vacate. Political analyst Elliot Stonecipher says it’s a little early to start speculating on who will fill Vitter’s Senate seat…

CUT 6 (09)  “being a fact”

If Vitter is successful, a replacement will be appointed by the governor to fill out his Senate term. Stonecipher says as we get deeper into the governor’s race the entire picture will become more clear, but it’s still too soon to get a real grasp on the issue…

CUT 7 (08) “his successor”

Fleming has stated that he’s receiving a lot of encouragement to consider a Senate run in 2016. Stonecipher says there are too many things in the air to make any kind of prediction on whether or not a new Senator will even need to be appointed…

CUT 8 (09) “selection gets made”

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In a story first reported by LaPolitics.com, Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy may consider a run against Republican incumbent Buddy Caldwell in a race for Attorney General. Editor Jeremy Alford says not only is Kennedy thinking about running for AG, but he’s actively been seeking advice from donors…:

CUT 9 (13)  “excel at”

Alford says should Kennedy switch jobs, money won’t be a problem for him. He says next year Kennedy will report that he has $3.5 million dollars in the bank…:

CUT 10 (10)  “right now”

Alford says former Congressman Jeff Landry, also a Republican, could be the wild card in the AG race as sources say he’s already had a few six-figure fundraisers this year. He says given all this combined with a dip in popularity, Caldwell could be in trouble next year…:

cut 11 (12)  “couple of years”

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State education Superintendent John White is concerned only 44-percent of public high school seniors fill out the paperwork required to receive federal financial aid to attend college or a technical training school. White says Louisiana students are missing out on millions of dollars in federal assistance

cut 12 (10) “receive today”

White says all high school seniors should fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which helps determine if a student is eligible for financial aid…

cut 13 (11) “FASA form”

White says he’ll talk with school systems about ways to improve the application rate. He says in some cases, students don’t know about the form and they are missing out on the opportunity to receive federal aid

cut 14 (11) “financial aid”

####Corrected version. Corrected Vadal Alexander’s position and year in school####

So now that all of the major Democratic candidates lost their elections this year, where does that leave the party going forward? Michelle Southern reports.

CUT 1 (31) “reporting”

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Former Governor Edwin Edwards loses for the first time in a runoff election. Michelle Southern reports.

Cut 2 (29) “reporting”

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In January, Louisiana will have two republican US Senators as a result of Billy Cassidy’s victory over Democrat Mary Landrieu in the US Senate race. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “reporting”

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So now that all of the major Democratic candidates lost their elections this year, where does that leave the party going forward? LSU Media Professor Bob Mann, who is a former Democratic staffer, says the party needs to have some serious and honest reflection…:

cut 4  (09)  “in the south”

Mann says there are many in the Democratic party who may feel that the answer is to moderate its message and start leaning more conservative. He says that’s what Mary Landrieu tried to do and it’s one of the reasons she did so poorly in the election…:

Cut 5  (10)  “here’s how we’re different”

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Former Governor Edwin Edwards says even though he lost the election to Republican Garret Graves, his campaign in the 6th Congressional District race was not run in vain. This is the first time the 87-year-old has ever lost in a runoff. Edwards says this doesn’t mean he’s going to retire…:

Cut 6 (12)  “(laughter)”

Edwards was defeated by Graves 62-37. Edwards says he’s happy and he feels like he’s fulfilled his role in life…:

CUT 7 (08)  “not given up”

Edwards says while he was hoping for a better result, this is not unexpected…:

Cut 8 (12)  “willing to accomplish” 

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For the first time in 82-years, an incumbent US Senator has lost a re-election in Louisiana. Republican Congressman Bill Cassidy easily defeated three-term Democrat Mary Landrieu. Cassidy says the voters spoke loudly that they want less interference from the government

Cut 9 (10)  “to do”

Cassidy received 57-percent of the vote to Landrieu’s 43-percent. Cassidy had this message for those who have supported Landrieu throughout the years….

Cut 10 (08) “applause” 

With Cassidy’s victory, Senator Mary Landrieu’s 18-year run as US Senator is over. Landrieu says it’s been a great honor to serve the state of Louisiana

cut 11 (13)  “so much”

Many political analysts say Landrieu’s vote for the Affordable Care Act, which is unpopular in Louisiana, played a significant role in her defeat. But Landrieu says she doesn’t regret that vote

cut 12 (11)  “healthy workforce”

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Two new congressmen have been elected in the 5th and 6th Congressional Districts. In the 6th District, Republican Garret Graves defeated Democratic former four-term governor Edwin Edwards. Graves says this election result is an emphatic statement from the voters of Louisiana…

Cut 13 (11)  “for this country”

Graves will fill the seat left vacant by now Senator-elect Bill Cassidy. Graves feels voters are not happy with how government is working and they want that to change…

Cut 14 (12)  “for this country”

Republican political newcomer Dr. Ralph Abraham easily won in the 5th Congressional District race over Democratic Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo. The seat was lost last month by Republican Vance McAllister. Abraham says voters in his district know he’s one of them…:

Cut 15  (09)  “so to speak”

Mayo received 35% of the vote at Abraham got 64-percent. The physician from Richland Parish says when he gets to Washington D.C. he’s going to work on bringing more jobs and infrastructure to his district…:

Cut 16  (10)  “5th District”

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Pathetic, terrible, horrendous, all of those adjectives describes the Saints 41-10 loss to the Carolina Panthers yesterday in the Mercedes Benz Superdome. It’s the fourth straight loss at home and the largest margin of defeat for the franchise since 2007. Saints Coach Sean Payton didn’t sugarcoat the performance when he spoke with reporters after the game

Cut 17  (10)   “it was awful”

Carolina jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and the Saints didn’t do much to get back in the game. Payton calls it an embarrassing performance

Cut 18 (17) “it was awful”

The LSU football team will play Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl on Tuesday, December 30^th.  It’s the 15^th straight season the Tigers will play in a bowl game and it’s their first meeting against the Fighting Irish since beating them 41-13 in the 2007 Sugar Bowl. Offensive guard Vadal (vuh-Dall) Alexander is excited to face Notre Dame…

Cut 19 (18)   “play em”

Kick-off for the game is set for two PM in Nashville. It’s been a down season for Notre Dame as they are 7-and-5, but LSU defensive tackle Chrisitan LaCouture (Lock-uh-chur) says it’s exciting to play one of the most recognizable names in college football

Cut 20 (16)  “excited for the challenge”