District 1 Congressman and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise passed his Lower Energy Costs Act in the House last week, and now looks to getting it through the Senate…:

Cut 1 (31)  “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

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Covington Senator Patrick McMath files legislation that would prohibit minors from having a social media account unless the minor receives consent from a parent or guardian. Teiko Foxx has more…

Cut 2 (26)  “…I’m Teiko Foxx.”

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Legislation has been filed to add the exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s abortion ban and for the lawmaker who’s sponsoring the bill it’s personal. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 3 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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Congressman Steve Scalise is happy his Lower Energy Costs Act has passed the U.S. House, and he’s optimistic the Senate will follow suit. Scalise’s House Resolution 1 passed by a narrow 225-204 margin last Wednesday. He says the bill drew some bipartisan votes in the House and he expects likewise in the Upper Chamber…:

Cut 4 (12)  “…getting that done.”

Scalise says the bill is intended to help consumers make ends meet, and that shouldn’t draw partisan resistance to a GOP bill. He says he’s already spoken with some Democrat in the Senate who are interested in debating the measure…:

Cut 5 (11) “…in the end.”

The Lower Energy Costs act would increase domestic energy production, clear red tape in the permitting process and increase energy exports. Scalise says it’s in the best interests of the American taxpayers and the White House to support the bill…:

Cut 6 (12)  “…ultimately sign it.”

Scalise says 60 senators (about 11 of them Democrats) will have to vote to bring the bill up for debate. Once that’s done, it will need a simple majority of “yeas” in order to pass and go to President Biden.

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Kim Mulkey and the LSU Lady Tigers are national champions of women’s basketball. LSU scored a championship game record 102 points in a 102-85 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Angel Reese had 15 points and ten rebounds, giving her an NCAA record 34th double-double for the season. Reese was also named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament…

Cut 7 (15) “…right now”

Reese sat out the second quarter because of foul trouble. But her teammates stepped up as Jasmine Carson had 22 points. Alexis Morris scored 19 of her 21 in the second half and LaDazhia Williams had 20 points. Reese says her teammates had her back all season…

Cut 8 (10) “…played big”

This is Mulkey’s fourth national championship as a head coach and she delivers LSU’s first national title in just her second season in Tiger Town. Mulkey says she left Baylor to win a national title in her home state…

Cut 9 (15)  “…over the hump.”

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As a father of four young kids, Covington Senator Patrick McMath has seen enough evidence on social media to file a measure that would require a minor can only have a social media account if they get parental consent.  McMath says we’re not banning anyone; we’re just giving parents the chance to make informed decisions.

Cut 10 (10)  “…about it.”

Research reported in the journal JAMA Psychiatry found that adolescents who use social media more than three hours per day may be at risk of internalizing problems. The Republican from St. Tammany Parish says the social media curfew would be from 10:30 pm to 6:30 am and would give parents a path to take companies to court who they believe were negligent in children being harmed.

Cut 11 (10)  “…about it.”

The proposal also outlaws companies from storing data of minors, advertising to minor account holders, and prohibits direct contact from accounts that are not associated with the minors account. McMath says his bill is modeled after Utah’s laws passed this month but overall is designed to guardrail developing minds.

Cut 12 (09)  “…its role.”

The bill would place age and time restrictions only on social media platforms that have five million or more users. Congress has so far been unable to pass national privacy laws and restrictions, leaving some states to take action.

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Among the bills filed for the legislative session, which begins next Monday, would add the exceptions of rape and incest to the state’s abortion ban.  New Orleans Representative Delisha Boyd says girls as young as nine could be forced to carry a child.

Cut 13 (12) “…soaking wet.” 

Since the state’s trigger ban went into effect, Boyd says there have already been cases of young girls having to go out of state for an abortion and women with ectopic pregnancies whose physicians refused to end their life-threatening pregnancies.

For Boyd, the abortion issue is a personal one. Her mother was only fifteen years old when she gave birth and Boyd’s father was then 28.

Cut 14 (10)  “…she was 30 years old.”

Boyd argues without exceptions there is no protection for children who are victims of rape and the forced trauma, mentally and physically, of giving birth before they’ve matured. And with a Republican Super Majority in both chambers, she’s hopeful the bill will receive bipartisan support and lawmakers will leave religion out of the debate.

Cut 15 (12)  “…own mental health.”

She believes such decisions should be left up to the family and not lawmakers. Boyd says being the child of a child she was forced to face adult issues long before she should have because of her mother’s own trauma.

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The top-ranked LSU baseball team missed out on sweeping ninth-ranked Tennessee on Saturday as they lost to the Volunteers 14-7. The Volunteers scored the first 10 runs as starter Thatcher Hurd couldn’t get an out. Coach Jay Johnson…

Cut  16 (16)  “…actually is.” 

Dylan Crews continues to swing a hot bat as he had four more hits and he’s hitting an astonishing .543 for the season. Crews expects the Tigers will rebound…

Cut 17 (16) “…in the future” 

This week LSU hosts Nicholls on Tuesday and then travels to South Carolina for a three-game series against the Gamecocks. Carolina is off to an 8-and-1 start in SEC Play. Johnson says the SEC is loaded this year….

Cut 18 (19) “…I think”

State lawmakers are accused of coming up with nutty ideas, well this one might make sense as a central Louisiana lawmaker wants to make the pecan the official state nut. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (30)  “…I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Governor Edwards releases a Public Service Announcement urging Medicaid recipients to update their contact information with the program as eligibility checks are re-starting in April. Don Molino has the story…

Cut 2 (32)  “….I’m Jeff Palermo” 

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Alexandria Representative Lance Harris has authored a bill that would designate a little taste of Louisiana – the pecan as the official state nut and authorize its use on official state documents and with the insignia of the state. Harris says in a quest to identify the state nut he realized one did not exist and a constituent requested he propose the bill.

Cut 3 (12) “…state nut”

Louisiana harvests an average of 17.7 million pounds of pecans annually and ranks top five among pecan-producing states. Harris says the only nut produced in the state has been overlooked and this measure will add candied benefits for Louisiana growers.

Cut 4 (11)  “…that designation” 

Harris says the state sports one of the largest crops of pecans in the south – Louisianans love them and it’s time to make it official.

Cut 5 (10) “…produce them”

Lawmakers will hear the bill in the legislative session that begins April 10.

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It’s another great week for crawfish consumers with an average 15-cent drop in prices this week. That’s according to Crawfish App co-founder Laney King. She says the drop in prices wasn’t at the dock this time, it was retailers who dropped their prices.

Cut 6 (09)  “…crawfish season.” 

Which of course is Easter weekend.  You can expect to pay about $2.64 a pound this weekend for live crawfish. As we approach Easter weekend, King says you’ll want to start planning now if you haven’t already and reserve your sacks as soon as possible. And even though there’s been a consistent weekly drop in crawfish prices this season King predicts that’s about to change.

Cut 7 (10)  “…quarter a pound.” 

And if you’re hankering for some crawfish this weekend and aren’t in the mood to boil them yourself, King says you’ll pay about $4.00 a pound.

Cut 8 (08)  “…can expect.” 

The Crawfish App compiles data from more than 16-hundred Louisiana vendors and prices this weekend are down 20-cents a pound compared to the same weekend in 2022

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Governor John Bel Edwards urges Medicaid recipients to take action and check their eligibility status, to avoid losing coverage. Eligibility reviews typically happen annually but were paused due to the COVID pandemic. In a public service announcement released earlier today, Edwards says this will be an important and critical process for many Louisianans.

Cut 9 (11) “…their coverage.”

The massive outreach effort will cost nearly $196-million. Medicaid eligibility reviews will begin in April but it will take up to 14 months to complete. Edward says renewal packets and information letters will be mailed to more than two million members – who should reply right away.

Cut 10 (09) “…contact information” 

The process is expected to continue into the next fiscal year with an $89.2-million budget. Edward says this is a top priority for his administration and LDH and they will do everything they can to remove practical barriers and meet members where they are.

Cut 11 (08)  “…your coverage”

LDH estimates more than 300-thousand people will be taken off of Medicaid during the re-eligibility process. Visit Louisianaradionetwork.com to view resources on where to update contact information.

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District 1 Congressman and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise says the indictment of former President Donald Trump is a political maneuver. Scalise says the New York City D.A. Alvin Bragg is abusing his power…:

Cut 12 (13) “…after Donald Trump.” 

Trump has been indicted for alleged illegal use of campaign dollars as hush money to cover up an alleged affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He is the first former (or seated) U.S. President to ever be formally accused of a crime. Scalise says the New York district attorney is pretty obviously acting in the best interests of his political party; not his constituents…:

Cut 13 (11) “…politically-charged.”

Scalise says the charges are alleged violation of federal law, and federal prosecutors have not seen fit to indict Trump. He questions why a local D.A. would press the issue…:

Cut 14 (08)  “…standard in America.”

Scalise says it’s “clear to anyone who looks at it impartially” that the Trump indictment is politically-motivated to hurt Trump’s 2024 election plans.

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