Now that winter has officially begun, lots of folks may start experiencing Holiday Blues. Michelle Southern reports.

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The State Fire Marshall’s Office is still investigating what caused a fire that killed twin two-year-old girls in Alexandria on Saturday. Eric Gill reports…

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Baton Rouge Police are currently looking for a suspect accused of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl after taking her from a local park. Sgt. Mary Ann Godawa (ga-DOW-wa) says the incident happened on December 13 when the girl was lured near the car of the suspect…

CUT 3 (08)  “sexually assaulted”

Godawa says the suspect forced the girl into the car and drove her to another location where the assault took place. She says the suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6 feet tall with a medium to heavyset build. Godawa says information is limited at this time, but detectives have been working non-stop to find this suspect…

CUT 4 (11)  “release any information”

She says they are also searching for a gold or tan four-door Nissan Maxima that was seen around the park at the time of the incident. Godawa asks anyone with information on this case to please contact Crime Stoppers…

CUT 5 (07)  “to anyone else”

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Now that winter has officially begun, lots of folks may start experiencing Holiday Blues. Michele Many (Main-EEE), a clinical social worker with the LSU Department of Psychiatry says it’s very common to become depressed during the Christmas season. She says this happens, in part, because we’re getting less UV exposure due to the shorter winter days…:

CUT 6 (11)  “have more of it”

Many says if there have been some losses during the year, Christmas can be a painful reminder that a person isn’t here with us. She also says other people may have sadness around the fact that they don’t get a long with certain family members or relationships are a little strained…:

CUT 7 (12) “Steve Scalise”

Many says one of the best ways you can battle the “bah humbugs” is to take care of yourself physically and try not set standards that are impossible to live up to. She says the Holidays are a prime time people develop impractical views about what our life should look like…:

CUT 8 (09) “unrealistic expectation”

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The State Fire Marshall’s Office is still investigating what caused a fire that killed twin two-year-old girls in Alexandria on Saturday. Firefighters responded to the deadly blaze just before 2:30 Saturday afternoon. Fire Marshal Butch Browning says this is still a very active investigation…

CUT 9 (07)  “in the home”

He says they do not have a conclusive cause of the blaze at this time. The children were at home with their father when the fire broke out. Browning says firefighters were able to remove the children, named Annaya and Makaya, from the home…

CUT 10 (10)  “from the fire”

Autopsies are pending on both girls. Browning says it will be after the Christmas holiday before the investigation is complete. It is unknown at this time if the home had working smoke detectors. Browning says it appears the fire started near a bedroom…

cut 11 (08)  “the fire, together”

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Over one-hundred workers at a processing plant near New Iberia that produces yams will have to find new work. McCall Farms told employees at the facility they are shutting operations down in south Louisiana and moving all sweet potato processing to a plant in South Carolina. Mike Tarantino is the director of the Iberia Industrial Development Foundation

cut 12 (11) “will be necessary”

Tarantino says about 140 people work at the plant, most of those are seasonal employees. He says the state is assisting the soon to be laid off workers…

cut 13 (10) “be affected”

An exact date on when the facility will close has not been given, but it’s expected to occur early next year. Tarantino is hopeful the workers at the plant will find other job opportunities soon…

cut 14 (07) “quickly”

It’s the first full day of winter. Michelle Southern tells us if we can expect cold and freezing precipitation like last winter…:

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A new Southern Media and Opinion Research poll shows Republican Senator David Vitter’s change in position on Common Core will benefit him. Scott Carwile reports…

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Here in the final days of 2014, there are some things taxpayers can do to help them financially. Michelle Southern reports.

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Today is the first full day of winter and many have not forgotten last year’s winter, which saw colder than normal temperatures and a few rounds of frozen precipitation.  State Climatologist Barry Keim says the climate prediction center’s forecast for the next three months indicates we could see a repeat..:

cut 4  (07)  “normal rainfall”

Keim says the wildcard right now is the El Nino which has been in the forecast for a while, but hasn’t formed yet. He says the climate prediction center is giving the system a 60% chance of forming sometime this winter…:

Cut 5  (10)  “the rain chances”

Keim says if the El Nino does form the way they think it will this winter, we’ll get more rain and even possibly some freezing rain like we saw last winter…:

Cut 6 (12)  “above normal”

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A new poll shows that Republican Senator David Vitter’s change in position on Common Core is popular with voters. Vitter announced earlier this month he opposes the new educational testing standards and a Southern Media and Opinion Research survey found that 64-percent agree with Vitter. Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says Vitter made the right move, politically…

CUT 7 (08)  “with Common Core”

Pinsonat says opposing Common Core will help Vitter in his quest to become Louisiana’s next governor. He says the testing standards will be a main issue in the governor’s race…

Cut 8 (09)  “in Louisiana” 

Another Republican gubernatorial candidate, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, says he supports the controversial education standards. Pinsonat says Common Core will make next year’s race interesting…

Cut 9 (11)  “will be Common Core”

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Here in the final days of 2014, there are some things taxpayers can do to put them in a better financial position in 2015. John Theriot is an accountant with the Louisiana Society of CPAs and he says business owners should accelerate expenses, because anything they can pay before year’s end will get the 2014 deduction.:

Cut 10 (09) “should do that” 

Theriot says now would also be a good time to let your employer know you want to up your contribution on your 401K or change your filing status on your W4. He says before the new year, you also might want to think about making charitable donations, so you can deduct it on your 2014 tax form…

cut 11 (10) “deduction also”

Theriot says if know you’ll have a big federal or state tax bill in the spring, you can begin paying those taxes off…

cut 12 (10)  “file your return”

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The LSU Tigers are back at practice this week as they continue preparations to play Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl. Even though the Bayou Bengals have some extra time to prepare for this game, Coach Les Miles says don’t expect many changes when it comes to game planning for this game

Cut 13 (19)  “game day”

The other issue hanging around the LSU football program….Is how many underclassmen will leave for the NFL? There’s a report LSU cornerback Jalen Collins plans to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, but Miles is optimistic they won’t see as many juniors leaving for the pros early as previous seasons

Cut 14 (17)  “football team”

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For the fourth straight season, the Ragin Cajuns have ended the year by winning the R-and-L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. U-L Lafayette defeated Nevada 16-3 on Saturday in the Mercedes Benz Superdome. Coach Mark Hudspeth has now led the Cajuns to four straight…nine-win seasons

Cut 15  (21)  “solid defense”

Senior quarterback Terrance Broadway set the tone early as he completed his first 14 passes, which is an NCAA Division One bowl record. Broadway finished with 227 yards passing and a touchdown in his final game as a Cajun

Cut 16  (15)    next level”  

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Louisiana Tech holds its first practice in Dallas today leading up to its game against Illinois in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas bowl. Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz says the team is looking forward to bowl week preparations…

Cut 17  (20)   “work done”

Holtz says the message to his team is that playing in a bowl game is great, but winning it, is even better…

Cut 18 (17) “uniform”

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The Saints had a chance to win the NFC South on Sunday, but instead the Black and Gold’s season came to an end with a bitter 30-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. What makes it hurt even more is that, New Orleans finishes the year with five straight losses at the Dome. Coach Sean Payton on the lack of wins at home this year

Cut 19 (14)   “pretty obvious”

The loss reflected the Saints disappointing season. They had four turnovers and the defense had trouble getting off the field on third down and ended up allowing Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan to throw for 322 yards. It’s the first time a Payton coached team has missed the playoffs since 2008

Cut 20 (09)  “consistently enough”

A group called Senate Conservatives Action is sponsoring radio ads that target Republican Metairie Congressman Steve Scalise. Eric Gill reports…

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New employment numbers are out and Louisiana’s labor force grew to a record 2,179,837 in November. Michelle Southern reports.

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The fall shrimping season comes to a close on some state waters Monday and shrimper are calling this an average season for fishermen. Daren Martin, owner of Martin’s Fresh Shrimp in Chauvin, says this was a fair season for shrimpers…

CUT 3 (12)  “rather abruptly”

Martin says there were those early cold fronts that came through the state, but the water stayed in the marsh allowing shrimpers to continue to work. He says he’s seen better seasons and worse seasons…

CUT 4 (06)  “seasons have”

Martin says the price of shrimp fluctuated a bit during the fall season, but, on average, was a little better than they are used to getting. He says, now that shrimpers will have to go into the Gulf of Mexico to get shrimp, consumers should expect to see a bit of a price hike…

CUT 5 (07)  “and whatnot”

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A group called Senate Conservatives Action is sponsoring radio ads that target Republican Metairie Congressman Steve Scalise. The ads accuse Scalise of siding with President Obama instead of standing on the conservative platform. LaPolitics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says this attack stems from the Congressman’s efforts to help pass a $1.1 trillion dollar spending bill…

CUT 6 (12)  “from shutting down”

Alford says this is interesting since Scalise was able to capture the whip position because he was a favorite of the tea party movement, where the Senate Conservatives Action finds its roots. He says there is a bit of political intrigue here as this group supported Rob Maness in his run for the US Senate…

CUT 7 (05) “Steve Scalise”

Rumors are circulating that Maness may challenge Scalise in 2016. Alford says these kind of threats cannot be taken lightly. He says the big question is whether the Senate Conservatives Action is going to continue to hammer away at Scalise…

CUT 8 (11) “what’s coming next”

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After working several fatal crashes last weekend that resulted in nine deaths, State Police troopers are urging drivers to use extra caution while on the highways during this holiday period. Sergeant Nick Manale says driver error is responsible for many of the wrecks they are seeing

CUT 9 (09)  “distractions alone”

Manale says since Thanksgiving week, State Police have worked fatal wrecks that resulted in 66 deaths…

CUT 10 (05)  “unrestrained occupants”

Manale says in most of the fatal wrecks they’ve investigated, the victims were not buckled up

cut 11 (08)  “in a crash”

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New employment numbers are out and Louisiana’s labor force grew to a record 2,179,837 in November. The number of people employed in the state jumped by 59,419 over the year. LWC Executive Director Curt Eysink says people are responding to Louisiana’s strong and sustained job growth by joining our workforce in record numbers…:

cut 12 (11) “great jobs”

Eysink says, over the month of November, we added about 7,000 people working in Louisiana. He says this is outpacing a national trend..:

cut 13 (09) “to November”

Louisiana’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent in November which is a .9 percent increase from last year. But Eysink says the main reason our unemployment rate has risen is because of the speed of the growth of the labor force. He says industrial announcements keep coming and people from around the nation are paying attention…:

cut 14 (07) “for the future”