Senator Bill Cassidy has yet another challenger to fend off in next year’s Republican primary. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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The Brian Kelly era is over at LSU. Jeff Palermo reports on why it didn’t work and what happens next…

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Senator Bill Cassidy has yet another challenger for his U.S. Senate seat, as State Representative Julie Emerson has announced her candidacy. The Carencro Republican introduced herself to statewide voters in a four-minute video. 

Cut 3 (10) “…the state legislature.”

Emerson says as chairwoman of the State House Ways and Means Committee, she led the effort to reform Louisiana’s tax code.

Cut 4 (13) “…in economic outlook.”

Emerson heavily touted her conservative credentials in her introductory video.

Cut 5 (13) “…for their children.”

Emerson’s entrance in the race now gives Cassidy five prominent challengers in the Republican primary, who also include John Fleming, Blake Miguez, Eric Skrmetta and Kathy Seiden. So far, no Democrats have announced his or her candidacy.

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics says overall prices rose by three-tenths of a percent from August to September; when highly variable items like food and energy are excluded, prices rose by two-tenths of a percent. Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate, says both of those figures came in lower than expected.

Cut 6 (08) “…August to September.”

While inflation has slowed down last month, it is still up year-over-year. B-L-S says prices are three-percent higher than last year. Kates says that’s higher than normal.

Cut 7 (09) “…higher than that.”

Kates says the way this year started, the three-percent year-over-year inflation is much better than what analysts had been bracing for.

Cut 8 (13) “…down from there.”

Kates says due to the federal government shutdown, no data is being collected for October, so the earliest we will get the next C-P-I report will be December.

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Brian Kelly is out as head coach of the LSU Tigers. Tiger Rag Executive Editor Todd Horne says the situation quickly unraveled on Sunday, following the Tigers embarrassing loss to Texas A&M. Horne says on Sunday athletics director Scott Woodward demanded that coach Kelly make changes to his coaching staff…

Cut 9 (09)  “…from there.”

Kelly’s firing comes in year four of a ten-year contract. His dismissal means LSU owes Kelly roughly 54-million dollars. In a statement, LSU says terms of the separation are still being negotiated. Horne says LSU is looking at how the cost of that buyout can be reduced…

Cut 10 (06) “…right there.”

The Tigers are 5-3 on the season. During Kelly’s time as the head coach of LSU, he went 34-14 and 19-10 in the SEC. Horne says Kelly did not win at a high enough level and his CEO approach of coaching the team resulted in him being late to make necessary changes…

Cut 11 (10) “…ultimately”

LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan has also been fired. Longtime assistant Frank Wilson will serve as the interim head coach. Tight ends coach and run game coordinator Alex Atikins will take over as LSU’s playcaller.

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Despite the ongoing government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reopened all Farm Service Agency offices across the country, including here in Louisiana. While visiting Amite late last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says the move is to ensure that the shutdown does not interrupt America’s food supply.

Cut 12 (14) “…for every day.”

Rollins says she’s glad that F-S-A offices are reopening to serve America’s farmers.

Cut 13 (06)  “…out right now”

Rollins says the USDA will soon announce a plan to provide additional relief to American farmers.

Cut 14 (13) “…government to reopen.”

Louisiana is taking steps to make sure the elderly, disabled and children that are SNAP recipients will continue to receive benefits despite the government shutdown. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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The Louisiana Shrimp Association is hailing Congressman Clay Higgins’ request to halt shrimp imports. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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Drought conditions have been expanding across the Bayou State, but Louisiana is set to receive some much needed rain this weekend. State Climatologist Jay Grymes says two inches of rain could fall across south Louisiana Saturday and Sunday…

Cut 3 (09) “…in places.”

Grymes says the widespread rains should take a bite out of the drought for a number parishes…

Cut 4 (08) “…into Monday.”

Grymes says the rain on Saturday could get in the way of your outdoor plans…

Cut 5 (13) “…rain gear.”

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In a letter to President Trump, Congressman Clay Higgins is asking that all shrimp imports be paused. Higgins says radioactive shrimp on grocery store shelves is a significant public health threat. Acy Cooper, the president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, fully supports a suspension of shrimp imports.

Cut 6 (11) “…changer for us.”

Cooper notes that the FDA prohibits the use of antibiotics in domestically-caught shrimp. He says domestic shrimp is tested more stringently than imported shrimp, and that’s not right.

Cut 7 (06) “…killing our people.”

Cooper says if the government can make it so that shrimpers can earn a living again, there can be enough domestically-caught shrimp to meet the demand coast-to-coast.

Cut 8 (11) “…into the industry.”

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A four-year-old girl is dead after being run over in a convenience store parking lot in Rapides Parish. Tommy Carnline with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office says the 30-year-old driver apparently didn’t realize what had happened.

Cut 9 (14)  “…to the station.”

The little girl was rushed to a hospital, but she died of her injuries. Carnline says while the investigation is ongoing, this appears to be a tragic accident.

Cut 10 (13) “…tests are pending.”

The child was hit by a vehicle in the parking lot of the Y-Not Stop on Highway 71 near Lecompte (Luh-Count) on Tuesday night.

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If you’re going to the LSU game Saturday night, you’ll want to give yourself extra time to get to the stadium, with Baton Rouge and LSU campus police beefing up security starting four hours before kickoff. Baton Rouge Police Lieutenant L’Jean McKneely says depending on which direction you’re coming from, traffic will either be diverted or restricted.

Cut 11 (11) “…areas on campus.”

Many parking passes are downloaded onto mobile phones. McKneely urges you not to fumble with your phone while driving on I-10 at 70 miles an hour to pull that pass out – and there’s no reason to do so.

Cut 12 (13) “…attendants to see.”

If you insist on finding a free parking spot, your one and only option is along the Gourrier Avenue corridor.

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20th ranked LSU is a slight underdog Saturday night as they host third ranked Texas A-and-M. The Aggies are undefeated, and they are looking for their first win in Tiger Stadium since 1994. A&M quarterback Marcel Reed had three rushing touchdowns against LSU last year, and Coach Brian Kelly says they want Reed to run east-west towards the sidelines, instead of north-south.

Cut 13 (10)  “…this week.”

Kick off is at 6:49 on Saturday night, and there’s a decent chance for rain during the game. Kelly says they’ve prepared for the possibility of wet weather.

Cut 14 (15) “…have to execute.”

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The Saints host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of New Orleans’ divisional rivals. Earlier this week, quarterback Baker Mayfield said he didn’t like the Saints. Head coach Kellen Moore says the team knows what Mayfield said, and they are looking forward to Sunday’s matchup.

Cut 15 (14) “…this one.”

With Saints running back Kendre Miller out for the season, New Orleans is relying on their rookie sixth-round draft pick, Devin Neal, to give the team more production moving forward. Moore says Neal is going to get more touches this week.

Cut 16 (10) “…great job.”

Kickoff in New Orleans is at 3:05 p.m.