Oilfield services giant Schlumberger has announced plans to lay off approximately 11,000 additional employees due to the reduction in oil prices. Eric Gill has more…

CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

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A new poll on the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire says Governor Bobby Jindal has the best favorability rating among all the presidential hopefuls. Jeff Palermo reports…

CUT 2 (24) “reporting”

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Oilfield services giant Schlumberger has announced plans to lay off approximately 11,000 additional employees due to the reduction in oil prices. LSU Economist Loren Scott says oil companies are dealing with oil prices roughly half of what they were a year ago and they’re asking these service companies for a break in the fees they charge…

CUT 3 (06)  “what’s going on”

He says the drop in oil prices has led to a decline in exploration and production, mainly on land rigs. When those rigs aren’t drilling, there is less need for service companies. Scott believes a majority of these layoffs will occur in states that depend on drilling on land…

CUT 4 (10)  “and Pennsylvania”

In January, Schlumberger announced they were reducing their workforce by 9,000 employees. There is some land drilling in northwest and eastern Louisiana. But Scott says since most of Louisiana’s oil and gas jobs are offshore, the extent of the layoffs should be less here…

CUT 5 (08)  “planning horizons”

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A new poll on the Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire says Governor Bobby Jindal is someone to keep an eye on after receiving the best favorability rating out of all the presidential hopefuls. Tom Jensen with Public Policy Polling says Jindal’s favorability rating was 43-percent. He says it really stuck out on this poll…

CUT 6 (09)  “him back in”

Jensen says Jindal has recently been excluded from their Republican presidential polls after consistently polling in last place. He says these new favorability numbers could see Jindal’s name thrown back in the mix…

CUT 7 (10) “where he is“

Jindal will speak this weekend at the Republican Leadership Summit in New Hampshire which features other potential presidential candidates. Jensen says Jindal’s stock could rise even more if he touts his conservative agenda at this event…

CUT 8 (08)  “conservative principles”

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Four to six inches of rain fell during a two hour period Thursday afternoon in Alexandria, flooding about 50 homes. Police also say there were numerous car crashes and the fire department participated in about 50 water related rescues. Lance Escude, with the National Weather Service, says more rain is on the way

CUT 9 (10)  “to redelop”

Escude says the southern half of the state remains under a flash flood watch through Saturday afternoon…

cut 10 (08) “definitely possible”

Escude says it looks like this rainy weather pattern will end Sunday as rain chances decrease on that day

cut 11 (06)  “dry out”

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The former Knight Oil Tools employee that authorities say was involved in a conspiracy to plant drugs on another person has turned himself in. Captain John Babin, with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s office, says Russell Manual is the fourth person to be arrested as part of this investigation….

cut 12 (11)  “intimidating witness”

Authorities say Manual, along with a state trooper and a Lafayette Sheriff’s deputy, who have both been arrested, were involved in a plot to have Brian Knight arrested on drug charges. Babin says Knight’s brother Mark, the former CEO of Knight Oil Tools, was also arrested this week….

cut 13 (09)  “the appropriate manner”

An arrest warrant was issued for Manual earlier this week and Babin says he eventually gave himself up to the authorities

cut 14 (05) “eventually booked”

The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s office says a deputy directing traffic at a school crossing in Paradis was shot multiple times in an apparent ambush. Michelle Southern reports..:

CUT 1 (22) “reporting”

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Governor Bobby Jindal has been criticized by some for a fiscal policy based on Grover Norquist and the Americans for Tax Reform, but Jindal says he’s always been opposed to new taxes on Louisiana residents. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

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The Pelicans are in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2011 after last night’s 108-103 win over San Antonio. The Pels will face Golden State in a first round best-of-seven series beginning Saturday. The Pelicans scored 34-points in the first quarter and head coach Monty Williams says that came as a surprise…

CUT 3 (07)  “bench was great”

Games one and two will be played in Oakland before coming to New Orleans for games three and four next Thursday and Saturday. Williams says Anthony Davis’s play down the stretch was key in this big win…

CUT 4 (09)  “free throws”

Davis scored 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the victory. Saturday’s game will be televised on ABC at 2:30. Williams says, because of the circumstances of this game, it may be the biggest win of his coaching career. He says many counted the Pels out of playoff contention six weeks ago, but they decided to take it one game at a time… (Pelicans home playoff tickets are on sale now.)

CUT 5 (07)  “won the game”

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The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s office says a deputy directing traffic at a school crossing in Paradis was shot multiple times in an apparent ambush. Captain Pat Yoes says the victim was helping buses make their way off of Highway 90 around 8:50 Thursday morning when the incident took place…:

CUT 6 (07)  “multiple times”

The deputy is identified as 36-year-old Corporal Burt Hazeltine, a married father of four. Yoes says a passerby drug the deputy behind the police car to safety. He says when other deputies arrived the suspect dropped the gun…:

CUT 7 (05) “university hospital “

The deputy is listed as in stable, but guarded condition. Yoes says there was an exchange of gunfire and the suspect’s vehicle was hit several times, but there are no other injuries in this incident. He says the shooting appears to be completely unprovoked…:

CUT 8 (04)  “off the roadway”

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The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office asks for the public’s help in the search for a missing woman whose vehicle was found intentionally set on fire and destroyed. Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks says 54-year-old Taherah Ghassemi (ta-HAIR-ay ga-SEE-me) was reported missing by her son on Monday and hadn’t heard from his mom since Saturday…

CUT 9 (04)  “she was not”

Very few details are available as this is an ongoing active investigation. Hicks says the big concern is Ghassemi’s welfare and it’s important that she is found as soon as possible…

cut 10 (09) “sheriff’s office”

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The National Weather Service has issued Flash Flood Watches across south-central and southeastern Louisiana through Friday night as rains continue to pound the state. State Climatologist Barry Keim says over the past four to five days anywhere between five and seven inches of rain has fallen over most of south Louisiana and there’s more on the way…

cut 11 (08)  “south Louisiana”

Keim say there is the potential for up to three inches of rainfall per day through Saturday in south Louisiana. He says the biggest risk now is flash flooding and river basin flooding due to over-saturated soil. Keim says the chances for thunderstorms should drop significantly on Sunday…

cut 12 (08)  “to come in”

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Governor Bobby Jindal has been criticized by some for a fiscal policy based on Grover Norquist and the Americans for Tax Reform. But Jindal says he’s always been a supporter of no new taxes on Louisiana residents…

cut 13 (11)  “to raising taxes”

Americans for Tax Reform states that it opposes all tax increases as a matter of principle. Jindal feels it would be a mistake to raise taxes, even as the state faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit. He says the improvements to the state’s job market and economy didn’t come by accident…

cut 14 (05) “government spending”

Although he agrees with ATR’s stance on not raising taxes, Jindal says he has been opposed to tax hikes since he ran for governor back in 2003. The governor says fiscal responsibility by cutting government spending may not be popular, but it is the right thing to do…

cut 15 (07) “been before”

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A transgender Lake Charles man has filed a federal sex discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, Tower Loan. Eric Gill reports…

CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

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Over 100 college students gathered on the steps of the state capitol today to rally against proposed budget cuts to higher education. Jeff Palermo has more…

CUT 2 (29) “reporting”

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A transgender Lake Charles man has filed a federal sex discrimination lawsuit against his former employer. 21-year-old Tristan Broussard alleges he was fired from Tower Loan last year when it was discovered he used to be a woman. One of Broussard’s attorneys, Amy Whelan (WAY-lan), says federal law prohibits employers discriminating against employees based on sex…

CUT 3 (10)  “sex discrimination”

The suit alleges that during a review of Broussard’s employment paperwork, it was noticed that his driver’s licence listed his sex as female. After the company’s vice president found out, Whelan says Broussard was pulled into a meeting…

CUT 4 (10)  “would be fired”

A Tower Loan spokesman says they do not comment on personnel issues or issues involving pending litigation. Whelan says they are open to talk with Tower Loan to settle this case and turn this into a success story…

CUT 5 (11)  “what they did”

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The Natchitoches Police Department says the assistant principal at Frankie Ray Jackson Senior Technical Center is under arrest for allegedly paddling a teacher. Captain Chris Payne says they got the complaint in February that a female teacher at the school had a battery committed upon her…:

CUT 6 (07)  “Vogel”

64-year-old Hugo Vogel of Goldonna was arrested this week for simple battery and was later released on $303 bond. Motive for the alleged battery is unclear. Payne says the investigation was eventually turned over to the department…:

CUT 7 (08)  “Goldonna, Louisiana“

Payne says if anyone has additional information about this alleged battery or knows further details they are urged to contact authorities..:

CUT 8 (04)  “kept confidential”

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The ACLU of Louisiana is calling on the candidates for Governor to address the state’s massive incarceration problem. Executive Director Marjorie Esman says we are the world’s incarceration leader, jailing more people per capita than any place on earth. She says the gubernatorial candidates are talking about fixes for the state’s budget and overlooking a serious crisis…:

CUT 9 (06)  “in the world”

Esman says when we’re facing massive cuts to higher education, hospitals and infrastructure, the conversation needs to get started about how we can get some of that money back. She says this puts us in a terrible position of being the world’s largest incarcerator…:

cut 10 (10) “huge amoutn of money”

Esman says Louisiana wastes millions in tax dollars paying for inmates who pose little to no threat to our society and believes small offenses would be better addressed through alternatives to incarceration. She says she’s not sure why the candidates have so far not addressed this issue and hopes that now that they’ve asked them to they will…:

cut 11 (10)  “not the last”

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Over 100 college students gathered on the steps of the state capitol today to rally against proposed budget cuts to pubilc universities. Nearly all of Louisiana’s colleges were represented and many held up signs that said “No Funding, No Future”. UNO student David Teagle says these cuts equate to the theft of the future of Louisiana…

cut 12 (12)  “currently go to”

Higher ed faces huge budget cuts due to a $1.6 billion budget shortfall. Jesse Elliot, a student at LSU-Alexandria says funding for higher education has been on the chopping block for the last eight years and the state must establish stable funding for colleges and universities. He says the effects of more budget cuts reaches far beyond the schools…

cut 13 (11)  “eight years ago”

Students were joined by a handful of lawmakers who support their efforts. Winnfield Senator Gerald Long, whose district includes Northwestern State and LSU-Alexandria, feels it’s the legislature’s responsibility to enact positive ways to fund higher ed…

cut 14 (09) “failed you”

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