The Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery Center at University Medical Center New Orleans has expanded to meet the rising demand. Sean Richardson has the story.

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Owners of pets battling cancer now have an innovative place to go for radiation treatment. Colleen Crain reports…

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A tremendous honor for Centenary College in Shreveport. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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University Medical Center New Orleans is expanding its Center for Weight Loss and Bariatric Surgery to meet the rising demand. The program added three new physicians and opened a new 16-bed Transitional Recovery Unit. Director Dr. Michael Cook says the center will provide specialized care for bariatric surgery and elective surgery patients.

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Cook says the new unit aims to create a focused, supportive environment that promotes optimal recovery for patients.

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UMC’s multidisciplinary team includes bariatric surgeons, dietitians, behavioral therapists, and nurse practitioners, all working together to support patients in achieving their weight loss goals. Cook says the expansion will allow the Center to provide more comprehensive care, addressing surgical and non-surgical needs to ensure patient success.

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The expansion of the Center will see around one thousand patients annually.

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Owners of pets who have cancer now have a place to go to for specialized treatment. The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine acquires a new linear accelerator to provide more advanced radiation treatment for the treatment of cancer in pets. Ginger Guttner with the LSU School of Medicine says previously, the machines would be the same ones to perform radiation treatment on humans.

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Guttner says these new machines are tailored specifically for household pets.

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Guttner says this new linear accelerator will ultimately allow for faster treatment for pets, who have to go under anesthesia in order for them to stay still.

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LSU is the only place that has a linear accelerator on site; as such, the hospital sees patients from across the state and beyond.

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A tremendous honor for Centenary College. U.S. News and World Report has designated the private Shreveport school as a Top National Liberal Arts College. Schools in this category award at least half of their degrees in the arts and sciences. School President Dr. Christopher Holoman says he hopes this recognition will drive up applications among graduating high school seniors.

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Dr. Holoman says the school has many things going for itself – things that graduating high school seniors look for in choosing a college to attend.

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Dr. Holoman says what sets Centenary apart is that the liberal arts program changes with the changing times.

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The publication also ranked Centenary 35th in its list of Top Performers in Social Mobility, which ranks schools in graduation rates among students receiving federal Pell Grants.

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Brutal loss for the Saints in Atlanta on Sunday as the Falcons kicked a a 58-yard field goal with two seconds left for a 26 to 24 win over New Orleans. It’s the second straight loss for quarterback Derek Carr and the Saints…

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The Saints gave the Falcons two touchdowns. One game came on a muffed punt, the other was a pick six. A pass interference call against Paulson Adebo also set up the game winning field goal. Coach Dennis Allen says it’s tough lose a game like that…

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The Saints defense did not allow a touchdown and Adebo led the way with 12 tackles and three passes defensed….

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The Saints are at Kansas City for a Monday night game a week from tonight.

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LSU set the tone against South Alabama as early as early as can be, scoring on the first offensive play of the game and cruising to a 42-10 win at Death Valley. The opening score came on a 71-yard touchdown run by Caden Durham. Head Coach Brian Kelly says it was a great play call by Offensive Coordinator Joe Sloan.

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In fact, Durham nearly had a second long touchdown run on LSU’s second play from scrimmage, but he was stopped at the one yard like. Garrett Nussmeier punched it in one play later for the first of two rushing touchdowns on the night, to go along with two touchdown passes and a career-high 409 yards passing. He, however, did throw two interceptions, the second of which led to a stern talking-to by Coach Kelly that went viral. Nussmeier said after the game he had no problem with Kelly’s approach after that second pick.

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On the defensive side, Greg Penn the Third led the team with 14 tackles, including seven solo tackles. He said it was important that the defense get off to a good start, and that’s exactly what they accomplished.

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LSU has the week off next week and returns to action October 12th against Ole Miss at Tiger Stadium.

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The ULM Warhawks are 3-and-1 for the first time since 2014 after going on the road and defeating two-time Sun Belt Conference Champion Troy 13 to 9. The only touchdown of the game came in the fourth quarter on Ahmad Hardy’s one-yard touchdown run. Coach Bryant Vincent says his team is believing they can win anywhere…

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The Warhawks will host undefeated James Madison on Sunday.

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Louisiana Tech dropped its conference opener as the offense continues to struggle, despite the defense keeping them in games. FIU defeated the Bulldogs 17 to 10. But Coach Sonny Cumbie was encouraged by the play of quarterback Evan Bullock, who was making his first start. Bullock threw for 217 yards and Cumbie says he led the offense well…

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Tech doesn’t play again until October 10th at home against Middle Tennessee.

A Laplace man arrested over 40 times in St. John the Baptist Parish, was apprehended again this week, and was out on bond less than three hours later.  Sean Richardson has the story.

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Lafayette Congressman Clay Higgins is coming under fire for a social media post about Haitians, with Democrats demanding that he be censured. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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A man  arrested over 40 times in St. John the Baptist Parish, was apprehended again this week. Sheriff Mike Tregre (treg) says this arrest stemmed from a St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Division investigation that began in June, targeting Casey Spies for suspected involvement in distributing methamphetamine.

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Spies’ criminal record dates to 2008 and includes charges such as aggravated and simple burglary, possession of methamphetamine and heroin, battery of law enforcement officers, false imprisonment, obscenity, and theft. Tregre says the hardest part is keeping morale up for himself and his deputies…

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Judge Vercell Fiffie (fee-fee) set Spies’ bond at $10,500, which he posted after paying a 10-percent cash bond of $1,050, resulting in his release two and a half hours later.  Tregre says this is a reoccurring issue with Fiffie…

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Spies was booked at the Sherman Walker Correctional Center on charges of resisting an officer, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

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Lafayette Congressman Clay Higgins is coming under fire for a post on X he made about Haitians. After a Haitian nonprofit sued Former President Donald Trump and running mate J.D. Vance over their claims of them eating pets, Higgins repeated that claim in his post, saying, in his words, “All these thugs better get their mind right and their (behinds) out of the country on January 20th,” using a more colorful synonym for the word “behinds.” ULM Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says that’s basically Higgins being Higgins.

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Democrats, including the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, have called on the house to censure Higgins. Cross says it’s unlikely, however, that Higgins’ fellow Republicans will hold him accountable.

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Cross says Higgins displayed this kind of behavior even before he was elected to Congress, which he was a law enforcement officer with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office…

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Even though Higgins has deleted the post, he told CNN that he does not regret his comments.

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The Louisiana Department of Health launches a new pilot program aimed at increasing opportunities for pregnant women to get tested for syphilis. Dr. Stephanie Taylor, the medical director of the STD/HIV program for LDH, says the state has had significant challenges with congenital syphilis which cause severe complications, including fetal death and miscarriage. Dr. Taylor says it’s a rapid test.

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Dr. Taylor says when the test was first developed, one of the main trials was done in Africa.

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Taylor says there’s no scheduled end date to this pilot program.

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Taylor says currently, only 50-percent of pregnant women get adequately screened.

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Hours after Higgins’ now-deleted X post sparked an uproar, he seemed to walk back those comments. Reporters caught up with him at the Capitol and asked him about it, and Higgins said it was never meant to be a dig against Haitian people as a whole.

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Higgins said he realized his words hurt several people, and that’s why he took the post down.

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That’s a far cry from what he told CNN earlier in the day, in which he said he had no regrets. He says his social media record is, for the most part, a good one.

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