There may be hope for an extension of the teacher stipend. Governor Landry and legislative leaders will hold a news conference at 11:30 this morning and the topic is teacher pay. D’Shay Oaks, the president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, says given how teachers have helped students improve academically, the legislature should reward them accordingly.

Cut 13 (07)  “…the stipend statewide.”

According to the Louisiana Illuminator, Landry will announce at the press conference that he’s looking to take 150-million dollars from the general school district fund and use that to pay teachers.

There’s a week to go in the legislative session and Jeremy Alford of Lapolitics-dot-com says there is a lot of work left for lawmakers…

Cut 29 (03) “…final days”

And that bill actually received final legislative passage last night and it will result in an additional 50-million dollars to help homeowners pay for a fortified roof.

The SEC spring meetings kick off today, and doubling the size of the College Football Playoff will be a major topic. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 2 (25) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

LSU football coach Lane Kiffin could be reprimanded for what he told Vanity Fair. Kiffin told the magazine that when he was coaching at Ole Miss, recruits told him their grandparents did not want them to live in Oxford because of it’s ties to the Confederacy. Kiffin has defended his comments by saying that people are not reading the actual words in the article and those comments came from family members of recruits and that is not his own opinion

Governor Jeff Landry and legislative leaders will hold a press conference later this morning to discuss teacher pay. Public school teachers are in jeopardy of losing a two-thousand-dollar stipend because Constitutional Amendment Three failed on the May 16^th ballot. According to the Louisiana Illuminator, Landry is proposing that 150-million dollars that normally is dedicated to K-through-12 school operations replace the two-thousand dollar stipend.

We spoke with D’Shay Oaks, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, before the governor announced this morning’s press conference and she told us if state government was NOT going to supply the two-thousand-dollar stipend, it would be left up to local school districts…

Cut 14 (11) “….local school districts.”

We will have more on this developing story as the day progresses.

Men at high risk for prostate cancer will soon have fewer barriers to get prostate cancer screenings. A bill that would eliminate cost-sharing for prostate cancer screening for high-risk men is now awaiting Governor Landry’s signature. Alice Kline, the Louisiana government relations director at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, says this will make it a lot easier for those men to get those life-saving screenings.

Cut 10 (11) “…with that screening.”

Kline says prostate cancer is a major concern among men, particularly over the age of 50.

After missing the NCAA Baseball Tournament last season, the Ragin Cajuns are in a Regional this year, as they are the three-seed in the Starkville Regional. Coach Matt Deggs…

Cut 16 (13) “…the expectation”

U-L Lafayette will play Friday night against Cincinnati.

It’s Memorial Day. Louisiana Veterans Affairs Secretary Charlton Meginley says it’s a day to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice…

Cut 5 (08) “…live in America”

More than 11-thousand flags are planted on the Capitol grounds, with each flag representing a life lost in the line of duty.

State lawmakers have one more week left before the regular session must come to close. A bill nearing final legislative passage would give the Republican and Democratic parties the option of allowing “no party” voters to vote in their primaries. In Senate Governmental Affairs, New Iberia Senator Blake Miguez asked Secretary of State Nancy Landry if the parties closed their primaries to just their voters, can the state effectively educate voters…

Cut 15 (11) “…resources.”

The full Senate still has to vote on this bill.

A bill that would designate Shreveport as the Stuffed Shrimp Capital of Louisiana is nearing final legislative passage. The bill’s, author Shreveport Representative Joy Walters, was asked in Senate Governmental Affairs, how do you cook stuffed shrimp…

Cut 6 (12) “…deep fried.”

The legislation is awaiting a vote by the full Senate before it heads to the governor’s desk.

Willis Knighton Health in Shreveport is the first hospital in the region that’s performing a new liver cancer treatment that uses high-frequency waves to selectively destroy liver tumors. Director of Willis Knighton Advanced Surgery Center, Doctor Gazi Zibari, says he’s hopeful this kind of technology can one day be used to treat other forms of cancer…

Cut 11 (11) “…here to stay”

“No Party” voters are allowed to vote in either the Republican or Democratic party primaries, but that might not be the case in the future. There is a bill that is close to final legislative passage that will allow each party to decide if registered “No Party” voters can vote in their primary. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow opposes the idea…

Cut 12 (13) “…paying taxes.”

Secretary of State Nancy Landry understands the logic behind allowing a political party to decide who can vote in the primary…

Cut 14 (12) “…party”

Landry says her office needs some type of resolution on this issue before the 2028 Presidential primary, because the state does not want different types of primaries on a single ballot.

More than 11-thousand flags are planted in front of the state capitol in remembrance of the more than 11-thousand Louisiana military personnel who gave the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives fighting for our country. There’s an organization where families can bond over immediate relatives of U-S military service members who died in the line of the duty and they are called Gold Star families. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Charlton Meginley recently spent time with them…

Cut 4 (10) “…course their recover”

The Ragin Cajuns will be the only team from Louisiana in the NCAA Baseball Tournament when the bracket is unveiled at 11 AM this morning. Coach Matt Deggs team solidified its spot by winning five games in six days at the Sun Belt Tournament…

Cut 19 (10) “…all about”

The Cajuns are expected to be a three seed in a Regional.

There are several ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day today. Jeanne Burns reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

It’s also selection Monday for college baseball. For the first time since 2011, LSU will not be in the NCAA Tournament, but the Ragin Cajuns should be headed to the Regional after a great run in the Sun Belt Tournament, where they went 5-and-2 and made it to the Tournament championship game where they lost to Southern Miss.

Willis Knighton Health in Shreveport is the first health organization in the region to offer a breakthrough liver cancer treatment. It was performed by Dr. Gazi Zibari, the director of the Willis Knighton Advanced Surgery Center. He says it’s a robotic histotripsy (HISS-to-trip-sy), which is a non-thermal, non-invasive ultrasound-based ablative therapy that destroys tissue through focused cavitation.

Cut 9 (09)  “…the tumor microenvironment.”

Dr. Zibari says this new technology allows for this treatment to be done on an outpatient basis – no need for the patient to be admitted for days.

Shreveport wants to be known as the stuff shrimp Catpital of Louisiana and there’s legislation close to final legislative passage that would give Shreveport that designation. State Representative Joy Walters says the history of stuffed shrimp in Shreveport dates back to the 1950s and 60s…

Cut 8 (09) “…dish”

The legislation is awaiting a vote by the full Senate before it heads to the governor’s desk.