The New Orleans Police Department report the bodies of a missing mother and her two children were found in a car in New Orleans East. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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The Louisiana House overwhelmingly approves legislation that would ban “sex-selection abortions” in Louisiana, but not without some concerns. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office has charged a substitute teacher on counts of producing and possessing child pornography and carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Lt. Bill Davis says 26-year-old Christopher Kerr of Bossier City not only used his position as a teacher and umpire to get access to children, he used social media as well. Davis says a prior arrest of Kerr lead to an investigation where these charges were filed…

CUT 3 (06)  “of young girls”

Authorities have identified at least four female victims, aged 13-16, that Kerr either exchanged nude photos and videos or had sexual relations with over the last three years. Davis says they are working to identify even more victims…

CUT 4 (11)  “have unidentified”

Davis says they have at least 30 photos of victims they have yet to identify. He encourages these victims to come forward so they can levy the appropriate charges against Kerr. Davis says this is another reminder to be careful of what you post online…

CUT 5 (06)  “able to see”

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The New Orleans Police Department report the bodies of a missing mother and her two children were found in a car in New Orleans East. They say 25-year-old Michelle McCullum and her children, 5-year-old Caden and 3-year-old Cylie, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison says they received a call from family concerned about the safety of McCullum and her kids…

CUT 6 (10)  “her own life”

Harrison says McCullum told family members she was feeling homicidal and suicidal and was armed with a firearm with the intent to kill her children and herself. He says someone found a vehicle matching McCullum’s this morning with people inside. Harrison says when officers arrived, they found all three shot dead inside the vehicle…

CUT 7 (02)  “very tragic”

A firearm was found at the scene. Authorities are trying to learn more about McCullum’s mental health history. Harrison says the investigation is in its initial stages but they are determined to find out what exactly happened…

CUT 8 (05)  “with the family”

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The Louisiana House approves legislation that would prohibit gender based abortions. The bill’s author, Houma Representative Lenar Whitney, says there have been no documented cases in Louisiana. But she cited an article from Forbes Magazine about pregnancies ending early in US Asian communities because the sex of the unborn child was a girl…

CUT 9 (08)  “bear sons”

Whitney’s legislation passed on an 84-2 vote. New Orleans Representative Walt Leger voted “yes”, but he’s concerned language in the legislation will lead to frivolous lawsuits against abortion doctors

cut 10 (12) “this procedure”

The bill heads to the Senate for more debate. New Orleans Representative Helena Moreno was one of two House members to vote against the measure. She doesn’t like a provision that  requires a woman to know the sex of the fetus, if possible, before an abortion

cut 11 (10)  “more children”

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State Police say one person is dead and another three injured after a pickup truck struck a school bus head-on in Beauregard Parish this morning. Sgt. James Anderson says there were no children hurt in the crash and the investigation reveals a truck crossed a median and hit the school bus despite efforts of the driver to avoid the vehicle….:

cut 12 (11)  “serious injuries”

Anderson says the truck was driven by 21-year-old Vernon Player of Benton and he sustained serious injuries. A passenger in the truck, 22-year-old Terric Glover of Benton died in the crash and another passenger, 25-year-old Gustavo Rodelo-Espinal of Bossier City was ejected from the vehicle and sustained serious injuries. Anderson says the bus was driven by 52-year-old Jess Mullican of DeRidder…:

cut 13 (05)  “of the crash”

Anderson says there were no children on the school bus at the time of the fatal crash. He says they have no idea why the truck crossed the median…:

cut 14 (06) “investigation”

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n a 21-16 vote, the state Senate advances New Orleans Senator Ed Murray’s equal pay bill to the House. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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The House Education Committee approves legislation that could put an end to the controversy over the Common Core education standards. Jeff Palermo has more…

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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In a narrow vote, the state Senate advances an equal pay bill to the House. New Orleans Senator Ed Murray’s legislation would ensure that all employees receive the same pay for the same kind and quality of work. It also lays out a course of legal action if a worker is underpaid. Mandeville Senator Jack Donahue says this bill puts another nail in the coffin of business…

CUT 3 (07)  “pay fair wages”

The bill passed the Senate on a 21-16 vote. According to recent Census data, Louisiana has the largest gender pay gap in the nation. New Orleans Senator Karen Carter Peterson says this bill is about shrinking the gender pay gap, not promoting lawsuits…

CUT 4 (07)  “all it does”

Data shows, on average, women in Louisiana are paid about two-thirds of what men are paid. Metarie Senator Conrad Appel questions the validity of those statistics…

CUT 5 (08)  “a real problem”

The measure is expected to run into problems in the House Labor Committee, which killed two similar equal pay bills this legislative session. Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor says it’s time for Louisiana to close this pay gap…

CUT 6 (06)  “pay for everyone”

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A Louisiana based oil company is set to drill near the site of the BP well blowout that killed 11 workers and caused the nation’s largest offshore oil spill. LLOG (log) Exploration Offshore has been approved to drill into the Macondo reservoir. Associate Director of the Tulane Energy Institute, Professor Eric Smith, says this shouldn’t cause people to be concerned…

CUT 7 (08)  “up with LLOG”

Smith says LLOG has drilled the well closest to the Macondo blowout without any incident. He says the BP blowout was the cause of human error and the reservoir is safe to drill. Smith says people shouldn’t worry about another blowout…

CUT 8 (10)  “company like LLOG”

LLOG’s permit to drill was approved by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Smith says many companies have drilled in the region over the years without any problems. He believes LLOG will do a good job and it’s time to get production going in the area…

CUT 9 (09)  “except for BP”

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Supporters and opponents of Common Core have come together on legislation that puts a process in place that could lead to new public school education standards.  Lake Charles Representative Brett Geymann, an outspoken critic of Common Core, says the compromise legislation, which was approved by the House Education committee today, allows for more public input in developing academic standards…

cut 10 (08) “embrace”

Geymann says under the proposed compromise, BESE will begin a comprehensive review of English and Math standards this summer and the process will also involve public meetings across the state

cut 11 (10)  “ended up”

The plan calls for BESE to approve new education standards in March 2016, but the next governor will have the authority to reject them.  A member of Governor Jindal’s staff expressed some concerns with the plan and so did members of the public who were there to testify…

cut 12 (08)  “playoff series ended”

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Governor Bobby Jindal’s approval rating in Louisiana is at an all time low according to a new survey. Bernie Pinsonat conducts the Southern Media and Opinion Resarch Poll. He says they found Jindal got a 31.8% positive job performance rating from likely Louisiana voters…:

cut 13 (08)  “more Republican”

Pinsonat says President Barack Obama remains unpopular in Louisiana, but not as unpopular as Governor Jindal. He says in the poll 42.1% rate the president’s job performance as positive and 57.3% negative…:

cut 14 (05) “square that”

Pinsonat says if Jindal does decide to run for president, low approval numbers like this won’t be very helpful to him…:

cut 15 (07) “popular you are”

State Treasurer John Kennedy says the state needs more oversight over state government contracts in light of a report by the Legislative Auditor. Eric Gill reports..

CUT 1 (31) “reporting”

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An image in Champions Square that has Darren Sharper on it will be coming down soon. Jeff Palermo reports…:

CUT 2 (29) “reporting”

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State Police announce the arrest of the driver of a vehicle wanted in a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist last week in Terrebone Parish. 53-year-old Toni Friloux (FREE-lou) of Houma faces charges in the death of 46-year-old Robert Clowder, Jr. Trooper Evan Harrell says they received a tip from a concerned citizen about the vehicle they were looking for in this incident…

CUT 3 (09)  “that night”

Harrell says Friloux admitted to officers that she was driving the vehicle in question the night Clowder was killed. He says when they found the vehicle, it still had damage to the front fender and windshield as a result of the crash. Harrell says Friloux faces a number of charges…

CUT 4 (08)  “jail process”

Friloux faces charges including hit-and-run and negligent homicide. Harrell says this is a prime example how public assistance can help law enforcement bring criminals to justice…

CUT 5 (08)  “benefit, this time”

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A bill by Gonzales Representative Johnny Berthelot that would double littering fines is full Senate approval away from going to the governor’s desk. The measure passed the House last week and advanced in the Senate Environmental Committee today. Berthelot says the additional revenue would go toward the arresting officers retirement…

CUT 6 (09)  “retirement systems”

Under the measure, first offense fines for simple littering would increase to $150, while subsequent offenses would result in a $1000 fine. Fines for intentional littering would climb to anywhere from $500 to $2500. Livingston Senator Dale Erdey questioned Berthelot about how much money the increased fines would raise…

CUT 7 (12)  “dollars a year”

In this bill, fines for the improper disposal of large litter, like furniture and appliances, could reach up to $10,000. Jennings Senator Dan Morrish wanted assurances this additional money would only be used for law enforcement retirement benefits…

CUT 8 (11)  “the general fund”

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State Treasurer John Kennedy says the state needs far more oversight and transparency in state government contracts in light of a recent report by the state Legislative Auditor. The report found that Louisiana has nearly 15,000 contracts worth about $21 billion with no real way to keep track of many of them. Kennedy says this is a sign of incompetence or subterfuge…

CUT 9 (10)  “nobody can find”

The audit found that nearly 4,600 consulting contracts totaling over $250 million were not included in the tracking system. Kennedy says it’s time to completely reform the way contracts are handled by the state. He says having this many state contracts out there is unacceptable…

cut 10 (12) “billion dollars”

Kennedy says many of these contracts are wasteful spending and millions could be saved with better oversight. He says House Bill 30 by Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard would create more legislative input into these contracts. Kennedy is hopeful the bill will fare better this year than last year when it was vetoed by Governor Jindal…

cut 11 (11)  “his signature”

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The New Orleans Pelicans have fired head coach Monty Williams after five seasons. In a statement, Pels Vice President Mickey Loomis says this wasn’t an easy decision to make, but now was the time and they wish nothing but the best for Williams in the future. Jake Madison, writer with Bourbon Street Shots, says this is a shocking development…:

cut 12 (08)  “playoff series ended”

The Pelicans finished the 2014-2015 season with a record of 45-37 and the 8th position in the Western Conference, earning New Orleans its first postseason berth in four seasons. Madison says we know there was, at times, a power struggle between GM Dell Demps and Williams…:

cut 13 (14)  “now out of a job”

Madison says the team could be eyeing a change in philosophy as Williams has been known to be bull headed and wants things to go his way. He believes Williams never adapted to his players the way some other coaches do…:

cut 14 (14) “never gonna do that”

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