For the second year in a row, Louisiana voters emphatically say no to all proposed constitutional amendments. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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Two political analysts say it was not a surprise to see Republican Incumbent Bill Cassidy not make the runoff in the primary. Jeff Palermo has the story

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Tragedy in Lafayette over the weekend, as a toddler drowns in a bathtub and the woman who was in charge of caring for him is arrested. Lafayette Police Senior Corporal Ken Handy says officers found three-year-old Khaine Natto unresponsive inside the bathtub.

Cut 3 (05) “…inside the bathtub.”

Corporal Handy says the guardian, 50-year-old Dawn Lee, left the bathroom to conduct some other business in the home and returned to the horrifying sight.

Cut 4 (04) “…inside the bathtub.”

Khaine was rushed to a hospital but was ultimately pronounced dead. Handy says Lee was booked into jail.

Cut 5 (04) “…of negligent homicide.”

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For the second year in a row, voters said no to every constitutional amendment on the ballot by a wide margin. All five amendments failed by a minimum of 16 points, with the one to remove certain employees from the civil service division failing by a whopping 56 points. Melinda Deslatte with the Public Affairs Research Council says there are several reasons why voters turned aside all five amendments.

Cut 6 (14) “…every election cycle.”

Deslatte says voters do not have the time to research these issues to make informed decisions.

Cut 7 (11) “…on in life.”

Governor Landry posted on social media today that since Amendment Three failed, if the legislature does not come up with a way to fund a pay raise for teachers, no public employee will get a pay raise. Deslatte says she doesn’t know exactly what Landry means by that.

Cut 8 (11) “…get pay raises?”

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Republican Bill Cassidy’s third place finish in Saturday’s Senate Republican Primary likely means the end of his political career. The 68-year-old from Baton Rouge failed to make the run-off as he was seeking a third term in the U-S Senate. UNO political science professor Ed Chervenak is not surprised Cassidy finished behind Julia Letlow and John Fleming…

Cut 9 (08)  “…momentum.”

Chervenak does not expect Cassidy will run for political office again. Before he was a politician, Doctor Cassidy practiced medicine and Chervenak says Cassidy performing policy work in the health care arena could be his next move…

Cut 10 (11) “…health policy.”

Cassidy will serve the remainder of his term which will end just after the new year. Chervenak says Cassidy’s political future actually ended when he voted to convict Trump for his role in the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

Cut 11 (12) “…endorse Cassidy.”

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Attorney General Liz Murrill announces that 60 registered sex offenders in the greater Baton Rouge area have been arrested as part of a major internet sex crimes operation called “Operation Restricted Domain.” Murrill says these offenders violated sex offender registration laws and engaged in unlawful online activity by communicating with children through various apps…

Cut 12 (08) “…Roblox.”

Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre says state law is clear, if you are a registered sex offender as a result of a crime against children, you can not use social media platforms, chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks…

Cut 13 (09) “…at all.”

Murrill urges parents to closely monitor their children’s online activity…

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A bill awaiting Governor Landry’s signature aims to crack down on a new way to skirt Louisiana’s seafood labeling laws. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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Andrew Greenstein has analysis of what went down in the primaries on Saturday.

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It will be Congresswoman Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming in a June 27^th run-off in the US Senate Republican primary, while Bill Cassidy’s political career is likely over. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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A bill seeking to crack down on a way to skirt Louisiana’s seafood labeling laws is awaiting Governor Landry’s signature. It’s called co-mingling – mixing imported shrimp with domestically-caught shrimp and passing the whole lot off as domestic shrimp. Lafitte Representative Tim Kerner, who filed House Bill 857, says this is no oversight – those who are doing it are doing so maliciously.

Cut 4 (07) “…off as domestic.”

Cheri Blanchard, a Louisiana board member of the Southern Shrimp Alliance, says it’s sometimes unclear exactly who is doing this to sell the shrimp at a premium price and keep the profits.

Cut 5 (10) “…be doing that.”

House Bill 857 passed both houses of legislature without a single dissenting vote. Kerner says those caught mixing foreign shrimp with domestic shrimp will face substantial penalties.

Cut 6 (04) “…third offense 50-thousand.”

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LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says Bill Cassidy’s third-place finish in the Senate Republican primary has Donald Trump’s name written all over it.

Cut 7 (12) “…longer supported him.”

Furthermore, Julia Letlow, who got into the race in January after Trump endorsed her, easily outpaced both Cassidy and John Fleming with 45-percent of the vote. Hogan says the results of this primary election proves that for Republican voters, it seems like there’s only one thing that matters.

Cut 8 (11) “…for other elections.”

As for the constitutional amendments, Hogan says this was an instance where Democrats, who are greatly outnumbered at the Capitol, were able to have a great deal of influence in defeating all five.

Cut 9 (07)  “…education funds altered.”

Senate President Cameron Henry had previously said if the amendment fails, teachers shouldn’t count on the legislature to extend the stipend to them once again, effectively resulting in a pay cut.

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Republican Bill Cassidy is the second U.S. Senator in Louisiana’s history not to be re-elected in the last 94 years. Cassidy finished third in the Senate Republican Primary, while Congresswoman Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming advance to a June 27th run-off. Cassidy told supporters on Saturday it was a privilege to represent Louisiana….

Cut 10 (16) “…stolen.”

Letlow, who had the support of President Trump, won the Senate Republican Primary with 45-percent of the vote. The Congresswoman says the President’s support helped her withstand 26-million dollars in negative advertisement against her…

Cut 11 (11) “…negativity.”

President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that it is nice to see that Cassidy’s political career is over.

In his concession speech, Cassidy did not mention Trump’s name, but said the country is not about one individual. Louisiana’s outgoing US Senator added he was loyal to the welfare of U-S and Louisiana citizens and the Constitution.

Cut 12 (14) “…be a leader.”

Letlow was asked about the impact of Cassidy’s vote to convict Trump in 2021 and how that impacted the results of Saturday’s primary…

Cut 13 (11)  “…tonight’s result.”

The two other Louisiana U-S Senators to lose their re-election since 1932, Mary Landrieu in 2014 and Edwin Broussard in 1932, who like Cassidy, lost in a closed primary.

It will be Letlow and Fleming in the June 27 primary runoff. Fleming did several interviews with media outlets across the state and is already on the attack…

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Fleming doesn’t have the endorsement of President Trump, but he did serve in his first administration. And the State Treasurer’s campaign has been mostly self-funded…

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LSU got swept again over the weekend to finish SEC play at 9-and-21 and pitching is one of the main reasons why it’s been such a bad season. The Tigers have the highest team ERA in the Southeastern Conference at 5.86. In Saturday’s regular season finale, LSU scored double digit runs but still lost 15-11. Coach Jay Johnson…

Cut 16 (15) “…work to do.”

Johnson says he still has belief in pitching coach Nate Yeskie and the rest of his coaching staff and the group of pitchers that are planning on returning next season…

Cut 17 (17)  “..can be.”

LSU will play Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament on Tuesday in the last game of the day, scheduled for 8 PM.

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The Ragin Cajuns finished off the regular season on a high note by taking two of three from Coastal Carolina to finish 16-and-14 in Sun Belt play. Coach Matt Deggs says after a slow start in league play, his guys rebounded well…

Cut 18 (18)  “…get better.”

The Cajuns are the seven seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, which means they will play 10^th seeded Marshall tomorrow afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama. Deggs wishes they could have avoided the single elimination round, but the plan is to stay in Montgomery as long as possible to build up their NCAA Tournament resume…

Cut 19 (11) “…get a shot.”