11:40 LRN sportscast Feb 3rd

The Pelicans put an end to Atlanta’s 19-game winning streak last night by beating the Hawks 115 to 100. Anthony Davis led all players with 29 points and 13 rebounds. It was Atlanta’s first loss since December 26th. For New Orleans, its record improves to 26-and-22, one game back of Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Pels host the Thunder tomorrrow night.

The LSU Tigers received a verbal commitment last night from four star Georgia defensive end Arden Key. He’s six-foot-five, 230 pounds and chose the Tigers after visiting LSU a couple of weeks ago.

ULM has received a verbal commitment from Delhi Charter Quarterback Frank Maxwell.

In NFL news, Saints offensive guard Jahri Evans reportedly had surgery on his wrist, but the procedure was classified as a minor and he’s expected to be available for organized team activities.

LSU shortstop Alex Bregman has been named to Baseball America’s preseason All-America first team. Bregman and the Tigers missed out on the College World Series last season, because they were upset by Houston in the Regionals. He says the team is very determined to get back to Omaha this year…
cut 17 (21) “….Kansas on opening night”
LSU begins its regular season on February 13th against Kansas.

In college basketball last night…McNeese State won in Hammond for the first time since 2005 as they beat Southeastern Louisiana 73-60. Nicholls State upended UNO 67 to 55. And Grambling lost to Mississippi Valley State.

LRN Sportscast 16:45 February 2nd

Louisiana Tech released its football schedule today and it features six home games, starting with the season opener against Southern. The Bulldogs will also host F-I-U, U-L Lafayette, Middle Tennessee, North Texas and Southern Miss. The Bulldog road games are against UTEP, Rice, Texas-San Antonio, Mississippi State, Kansas State and Western Kentucky.

A billboard that honors former LSU standout and New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Junior is on display in Times Square in New York City. It’s scheduled to run Thursday and it features Beckham’s one-handed catch against Iowa in the 2014 Outback Bowl. The slogan “Born on the Bayou” can be found on it as well. Beckham was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year this past weekend.

Louisiana Tech men’s basketball player Speedy Smith has been named Conference USA player of the week. Smith had double-doubles in wins over Western Kentucky and Marshall last week.

Super Bowl 49 had the highest-ever TV Rating as the game between the Patriots and Seahawks drew a 49.7 rating. The city of New Orleans had the second highest viewership when compared to all other major metro cities. New Orleans had a 55.7 local rating, only Boston had a higher TV rating.

There should be a good television audience for tonight’s Pelicans game. New Orleans hosts Atlanta, the Hawks are trying to win their 20th straight game. The Pelicans are expected to have All-Star Anthony Davis avaiable tonight. He missed Friday’s win over the Clippers with a groin injury.

In college basketball action tonight…Southeastern Louisiana will host McNeese State. The Lions are looking to snap a three-game losing streak, while the Cowboys are coming off a win against U-N-O and begin a three-game road trip in Hammond tonight. U-N-O is at Nicholls State tonight. For the Colonels it’s there stuff Stopher game and fans are encouraged to wear red. Tip-off is at 6:30.

PM LRN Newscall February 2nd

According to Gasbuddy-dot-com, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose in Louisiana for the second week in a row. So, have seen the end of the four-month-long drop in prices at the pump? Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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There is a buzz today surrounding the Nationwide Super Bowl commercial last night in which a little boy dies at the end. So is it good for the Insurance Company? Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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New Iberia’s Cajun Groundhog Day event ended with everyone in attendance expecting a long pleasant spring. Daily Iberian Publisher Will Chapman says when the prognosticating nutria, Pierre C. Shadeaux, emerged from his home, he did not see his shadow…

CUT 3 (07)  “heat and humidity”

When Pierre does not see his shadow, it means a longer spring for South Louisiana. Chapman says the good residents of south Louisiana shouldn’t have to depend on the forecast of Punxsutawney Phil…

CUT 4 (08)  “something to us”

He says south Louisiana is more concerned about spring and summer than winter. Chapman says he’s unsure if they’ve actually kept a record of Pierre’s past predictions, but he’s willing to bank on the forecast…

CUT 5 (05)  “pretty accurate”

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The Allen Parish Sheriff’s Department says they have discovered the remains believed to be that of a pregnant Lecompte woman, missing since 2011, and the woman arrested in connection with her disappearance now faces murder charges. Sheriff Douglas Hebert says the Oakdale Police Department received information about 22-year-old Victoria Perez from a juvenile informant…

CUT 6 (09)  “she went missing”

The informant told officials they witnessed their mother, 32-year-old Pamela Causey-Fregia (fre-JEE-ah), kill Perez around the time she went missing. Hebert says Causey-Fregia, with one of her children, picked up Perez, who was seven to eight monts pregnant, at a local hospital telling the victim that she would give her some baby clothes. He says they believe Causey-Fregia killed Perez as part of a plan to win back her estranged husband…

CUT 7 (11)  “she was pregnant”

They believe Perez was killed by blunt force trauma while the suspects children were present. Hebert says the body was then burned in an effort to dispose of it. He says it is unknown at this time if Causey-Fregia attempted to remove the fetus from Perez. Hebert says Causey-Fregia is facing upgraded charges… (Causey-Fregia faces first degree murder, first degree feticide, and other charges.)

CUT 8 (06)  “after the fact”

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According to Gasbuddy-dot-com, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose in Louisiana for the second week in a row. Senior Petroleum Analyst Gregg Laskoski says we may have seen the end of the four-month-long drop in prices at the pump….

CUT 9 (07)  “a week ago”

Louisiana’s average price for a gallon of regular is $1.86, which is up two cents a gallon from a week ago. Laskoski attributes the rise in price to a transition period between the winter blend and summer blend of gasoline. He says the price of wholesale gasoline is another indicator that the price drop has ended…

cut 10 (10)  “the retail side”

He says wholesale prices have increased by more than 20 cents a gallon, and those increases will, eventually, get passed on to consumers. Laskoski says you can expect a steady climb in gas prices as we approach the spring and summer driving seasons…

cut 11 (08) “happen this year”

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There is a buzz today surrounding the Nationwide Super Bowl commercial last night in which a little boy dies at the end. Some are saying the spot was inappropriate and too depressing to be played during the big game. Jensen Moore-Copple is an assistant professor of strategic communication with LSU’s Manship School. She doesn’t think this is good for the company:

cut 12 (07)  “Super Bowl advertising”

Nationwide issued a statement explaining the intention of the ad was to bring awareness to the issue of preventable injuries and deaths among children. Moore-Copple says instead the football fan conversation today is about what commercials are acceptable during the Super Bowl. She says that audience wants to see Payton Manning singing the cute Nationwide jingle:

cut 13 (09)  “that they wanted”

In less than 12 hours, the Make Safe Happen commercial had been viewed 1.44 million times on YouTube. But Moore-Copple says there is a huge negative reaction and backlash on social media…:

cut 14 (07)  “wanted it to be”

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The Shreveport Police Department says the little girl that was run over while she was on her bicycle by a suspected drunk driver passed away this morning. Cpl Breck Scott says just after 2pm Saturday, 46-year-old Randy Presentine lost control of his red Dodge Avenger on Youree Drive and drove onto the shoulder…:

cut 15 (08) “7-year-old juvenile”

Scott says Presentine’s charges were upgraded to vehicular homicide along with having no insurance and driving under suspension. He says after the impact, the 7-year-old was taken to a hospital with life threatening injuries…:

cut 16 (08) “was declared deceased”

11:40 LRN sportscast February 2nd

A native from Vicksburg, Mississippi, is a surprise hero of Super Bowl 49. Undrfated cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted Russell Wilson’s pass at the goal line with less than a minute to go to preserve New England’s 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Butler played college football at West Alabama and joined the Patriots last May.

Now that the Super Bowl is over, the Atlanta Falcons can finally introduce their new head coach. The Dirty Birds have reportedly reached a five-year deal with Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to become Atlanta’s new head coach. He’s 44-years-old and expected to be introduced at a press conference tomorrow.

And there’s a report out that former Saints wide receiver Lance Moore is looking to be released from his current contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Wednesday is national signing day. LSU will find out tonight if they’ll get four-star defensive end Arden Key out of Atlanta, Georgia. He’s choosing between LSU, South Carolina and Auburn.

The Pelicans will try to do something tonight that no other NBA team has been able to do in 2015 and that’s beat the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks are 17-0 in 2015 and have won 19 straight. Atlanta’s last loss was December 26th. New Orleans is 16-and-6 at home and should get Anthony Davis back tonight after he missed Friday’s victory over the Clippers because of a groin injury.

In college basketball tonight….Southeastern Louisiana hosts McNeese. UNO is at Nicholls State. All four of those teams, each have two wins in conference play. And Grambling hosts Mississippi Valley State. Tigers still looking for their first SWAC win. And the Lady Tigers host Missouri. LSU is 5-and-3 in the SEC.

Over the weekend, the LSU men’s basketball team had a bad loss on the road against Mississippi State. The Tigers host Auburn and Alabama this week. Louisiana Tech, who is tied for first in Conference USA, is at UAB and Middle Tennessee this week.

AM LRN Newscall February 2nd, 2015

There is a new, free app for your smart phone that puts the health reports for local restaurants at your fingertips. Scott Carwile has more…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

______________________________________

BESE President Chas Roemer will not follow Governor Jindal’s executive order regarding Common Core exams. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “reporting”

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There’s apparently mixed signals coming out on whether New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will run for governor. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 3 (30) “reporting”

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LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center launches an initiative to provide doctors in Louisiana with proven strategies which would reduce and treat obesity in children. The project is lead by Dr. Amanda Staiano (stye-an-no) who says the Child Obesity Treatment Toolkit helps primary care physicians determine who’s at risk for obesity…:

cut 4  (05)  “in clinic settings”

Staiano says childhood obesity is a very serious issue in Louisiana with half of our kids being overweight or obese. She says they have fantastic national recommendations on how to treat obesity and screen for it in clinics, but they find many physicians aren’t using them…:

Cut 5  (12)  “and families”

Staiano says they have over 2,000 hard copies of the toolkit they plan to distribute throughout the state or doctors can download it online at www.pbrc.edu/obesitytoolkit. She says Louisiana ranks near the top of obesity prevalence even in preschoolers…:

Cut 6 (09)  “good self-esteem”

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Amid reports that some families are opting out from having their child take standardized tests that are part of Common Core, the chairman of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Chas Roemer, is encouraging parents to have their child take the test in March…

CUT 7 (12)  “weaknesses”

Based on news reports, only a handful of families have decided that their children will not take the Common Core-aligned tests, because they believe its harmful to their children. Roemer says the new standardized tests are more rigorous than previous ones, but it will help determine a student’s strength and weakness…

Cut 8  (09)  “their student” 

Governor Bobby Jindal has issued an executive order that calls on BESE to have an alternate test for those students who opt-out of the Common Core exam. But Roemer says Jindal doesn’t have the constitutional authority to do that and he accuses the governor of creating chaos…

Cut 9 (09)  “the course”

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There is a new, free app for your smart phone that puts the health reports for local restaurants at your fingertips. The app is called “What the Health” and is the brain-child of Chris Peoples and Jake Van Dyke of Modern Appsolutions. Van Dyke says the app is very user friendly…

Cut 10 (08)  “health inspection” 

Louisiana is one of just eight states, along with Washington DC, serviced by the app. Van Dyke says the idea came from a dinner conversation he had with Peoples. He says the app will show you a letter and number grade for each restaurant along with any actual violations they received during their last inspection…

cut 11 (09) “the salad stuff”

The app is available for both iPhone and Android phones. “What the Health” will give you a list of the 100 restaurants nearest to you. Van Dyke says this app is really just a tool to help you judge your risk in eating out…

cut 12 (06)  “in the morning”

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Many are waiting to see if democratic New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will get in the governor’s race. Jeremy Alford, publisher of la-politics-dot-com, says Landrieu only has about 40-thousand dollars in campaign money in the bank, so if he’s getting in, he’ll need to make a decision soon…

Cut 13 (06)  “wanted too”

Alford says some Democratic operatives say Landrieu will pass on the governor’s race, so he can have a major influence on the presidential race…

Cut 14 (04)  “the Clintons”

Alford says he’s also heard that Mayor Landrieu has yet to completely rule out a run for governor

Cut 15  (07)  “more of an interest”

LRN Newscast 10:30 January 31

State Fire Marshal’s officials are investigating a Thursday night mobile home fire in Marksville that has left four dead. Eric Gill reports….
cut 1 (29) “…reporting”

Governor Bobby Jindal issues an executive order calling on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to supply an alternative standardized test for those students who opt-out from taking an exam that’s tied to Common Core. BESE President Chas Roemer says the executive order has no constitutional authority.

State Police say a Duson man has been charged with vehicular homicide and it’s his second DWI arrest in less than 24 hours. Troopers say 47-year-old Michael Fontenot was involved in a fatal two-vehicle wreck in Evangline Parish yesterday afternoon. Authorities learned Fonenot was also arrested on Thursday for D-W-I. He posted bond six hours before the fatal crash took place.

A study looking at inappropriate teacher-student relationships finds Louisiana has the third highest number of cases on a per-capita basis. Scott Carwile has the story…
voicer 5 (30) “…reporting

LRN Newscast 09:30 January 31

Governor Bobby Jindal has issued an executive order that calls on BESE to have an alternate test for those students who opt-out of the Common Core exam. But BESE President Chas Roemer says Jindal doesn’t have the constitutional authority to do that and he accuses the governor of creating chaos…
cut 9 (09) “…the course”
Concerns with Common Core testing has resulted in some parents opting out of standardized tests that will be given to students in March.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Saints Owner Tom Benson is in complete control. Goodell made the statement after he was asked about the lawsuit that claims the 87-year-old owner is not mentally fit to make important business decisions….
cut 30 (11) “…what he’s doing”
Goodell called the family dispute unfortunate.

With Mitt Romney making the official announcement he is NOT running for president, what does that mean for Governor Bobby Jindal who may run for President or one day seek an executive job in federal government ? ULL Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says Romney passed on Jindal as a vice- presidential contender in 2012 saying the two never really connected…
cut 10 (09) “Romney does”
And Cross adds when a potential marquis candidate drops out, it helps all the remaining candidates.

The forecast looks good for today as you can expect party cloudy skies with high temperatures in the low to mid 60s. But rain is in the forecast for Super Bowl sunday. High temperatures tomorrow in upper 60s, much colder for Monday, with highs near 50.

LRN Newscast 08:30 January 31

The investigation continues today into a fatal fire in Avoyelles Parish that has left four dead. State Fire Marshall Butch Browning says the fire occurred just before midnight Thursday at a mobile home in Marksville…:
CUT 6 (07) “in this fire”
The victims’ ages range from 10 to 73-years-old.

Governor Bobby Jindal has issued an executive order that gives parents the ability to opt-out of the controversial standardized exam that’s part of Common Core. It also orders BESE to come up with an alternate test for those students who opt-out of the Common Core exam. But BESE president Chas Roemer says the executive order has no constitutional authority…
cut 20 (07) “…do anything”

Investigators are trying to determine what led to a fatalitiy at the International Paper Red River Mill in Natchitoches Parish. The sheriff’s office says 57-year-old Phillip Whitehead of Winfield fell 15 feet yesterday, suffering serious injuries. Whitehead was airlifted to a hospital in Shreveport, where he later died.

The LHSAA already has split playoffs between public and private schools for football, but the association is not ready to implement a split for other sports. That proposal, by Many principal Norman Booker, was defeated in a vote by high school principals. Booker says he’s eager to see what new LHSAA Director Eddie Bonine can come up with to make it more equal for public and private schools to compete for championships…
cut 13 (09) “…drawing board”

LRN Sportscast 07:30 January 31

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says Saints Owner Tom Benson is in complete control. Goodell made the statement after he was asked about the lawsuit filed against Benson by three of his family members who claim the 87-year-old owner is not mentally fit to make important business decisions….
cut 30 (11) “…what he’s doing”
Goodell called the family dispute unfortunate.

In the NBA last night….the Pelicans were without All-Star Anthony Davis, because of a groin injury, but New Orleans still defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 108 to 103. Eric Gordon stepped up in Davis’ absence as he scored a season-high 28 points and hit five three-pointers. New Orleans is off the rest of the weekend and they’ll host Atlanta on Monday, who has won 18 straight.

The LHSAA will once again have nine state championships in football in 2015. But new executive director of the LHSAA, Eddie Bonine, plans to form a committee after the first of March to see if there is a way they can bring public and private schools back together again in the high school football playoffs…
cut 12 (10) “…many, many years”
Many principal Norman Booker had a proposal that would have split the playoffs in additional sports, but that measure failed in a vote by high school principals.

In college basketball…LSU is at Mississippi State. The Tigers are five and two in the SEC, the Bulldogs are two and five. LSU has won four straight over State. Tip-off is at 1 PM.

Louisiana Tech hosts Marshall at 4:30. The Bulldogs are tied for first in Conference USA and have won 23 in a row at home.

U-L-M hosts South Alabama at four o’ clock. The Warhawks are a half-game back of Georgia Southern for first place in the Sun Belt.

LRN Newscast 17:30 January 30

With Common Core testing scheduled for March, there are reports some families have decided on opting their kids out of taking the tests, which has some BESE members concerned. Eric Gill has more…
cut 2 (28) “…reporting”

The Louisiana National Guard wants to get the word out that smoke coming from Camp Minden next week has nothing to do with the disposal of 15-million pounds of M6 propellant. The guard says the smoke is actually the result of a prescribed forestry burn. Residents near Camp Minden are concerned about plans to burn M6 propellant.

A mobile home fire on Thursday night in Avoyelles Parish has claimed the lives of four people. State Fire Marshall Butch Browning says a father, grandmother, son, and daughter all perished in the blaze. The victims’ ages range from 10 to 73-years-old. Browning says firefighters tried to rescue them, but the flames were too intense…:
CUT 7 (10) “the fire starting”
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson is in complete control, and a positive force in the league…
CUT 30 (11) Q: ‘what he’s doing’
Goodell was asked about the lawsuit filed by three of Benson’s family members who claim he’s not mentally fit to make important business decisions.