It’s Halloween and Louisiana State Police have some tips on how to make it a safe one for trick-or-treaters. Brooke Thorington has more.

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Governor John Bel Edwards will spend this week highlighting the successes of  criminal justice reform legislation approved five years ago. Don Molino has the story…

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Early Voting for the November 8^th election ends tomorrow, and we offer a closer look at one of the 8 constitutional amendments on the ballot. Amendment 8, which affects disabled homeowners…:

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Trick-or-treaters will be out and about tonight, and Louisiana State Police want to remind motorists to be extra alert and they have a few tips for parents to help keep their children safe. Trooper Javier Leija says to turn on your car lights at dusk tonight, stay off your cell phone while driving and don’t drink and drive.

Cut 4 (08)  “…in front of them.”

And if you witness a reckless driver, call local authorities to prevent other trick-or-treaters from possibly being injured.

Before you take your kids around the neighborhood, Leija says to be sure they are dressed in brightly colored costumes or have them wear a glo-stick, so they are visible in the dark and put their name and address in their costume in case you are separated.

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It’s against state law for sex offenders to participate in Halloween festivities that includes the handing out of candy. Leija says you can check for registered sex offenders in your neighborhood by visiting L-S-P-org…

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Leija says to monitor your children and don’t let them eat any candy before you check to see they are individually wrapped and toss any out if they aren’t.

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The Pelican Institute for Public Policy has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Administration on behalf of Louisiana Attorney Tommy Badeaux (bad-oh) claiming student loan debt cancellation is illegal. Pelican Institute’s special counsel James Baehr…

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The Biden Administration cites the 2003 HEROES Act as its authority to cancel student loan debt, but Baehr says the HEROES Act is designed to help members of the military dealing with war or a national emergency…

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Baehr says the Biden Administration cites the COVID pandemic as the emergency to grant student loan debt forgiveness for civilians.

And while those who would benefit from the debt forgiveness don’t want to see a lawsuit filed, Baehr says they are challenging the process the Biden Administration used to cancel the debt not the act of forgiveness itself.

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He says a number of lawsuits have been filed by different people over student loan debt forgiveness on the grounds of a variety of theories.

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Governor John Bel Edwards will hold a series of events this week to mark the five-year anniversary of bipartisan criminal justice reforms becoming law. The governor’s communications director Lauren Leist says the state’s recidivism rate has fallen 26-percent in the last five years.

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The landmark legislation reduced the state’s prison population and over 100-million dollars was reinvested into crime prevention and anti-recidivism programs. Leist says today the governor will visit an organization that helps domestic violence victims and he has more events planned later this week…

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Ten criminal justice reform bills were approved during the 2017 regular session and Leist says many of those bills went into effect five years ago on November 1st…

Cut 12 (12) “…made a difference.” 

But there are some Republican lawmakers who say the criminal justice reforms passed in 2017 were soft on crime and have led to a rise in violent crime.

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Early Voting for the November 8^th election ends tomorrow, and – in addition to state and local races – voters face 8 proposed constitutional amendments to decide. Today, a look at Amendment 8. Public Affairs Research Council (PAR) President Steven Procopio says C.A. 8 would freeze the property value assessment for disabled persons. He says the state already does this for the elderly and others…:

Cut 13 (10) “…recertify every year.”

Voting YES on C.A. 8 would remove the requirement that permanently disabled homeowners recertify their income every year in order to get a property tax freeze. Their property value may rise, but their tax assessment would not. Persons 65 and older currently enjoy this exemption. Procopio says there are reasons why one may want to vote NO…:

Cut 14 (10)  “…to provide services.”

Procopio says additional tax breaks and exemptions do ad up and limit the ability of local governments to provide services. He says PAR does not recommend how one should vote, but offers information to help make that decision. He says you can always read more, in depth, on their website…:

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The Saints finally put it all together on Sunday and it resulted in a 24-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara had three touchdowns, two receiving and one rushing after urging his teammates to play with more swagger after losing to Arizona in their last game….

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Saints Quarterback Andy Dalton, who was recently named the starter going forward, played well, 22 of 30 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Head Coach Dennis Allen says after a slow start to the season, the offense has hit midseason form…

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The Saints were 7-of-12 on third down and had the ball for nearly 35 minutes.

The Black and Gold defense recorded its first shutout at home since 2012. The Raiders didn’t cross the 50-yard line until there was two minutes left in the game. The Saints defense had four sacks and Tyrann Mathieu intercepted his second pass of the season. Allen says it was a strong performance by the defense….

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New Orleans is now 3-and-5, one game back of 4-and-4 Atlanta for first place in the NFC South. The Saints will host the Ravens next Monday night.

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Now that it’s Monday, the hype can really start for this Saturday’s LSU-Alabama game. The winner will be in the driver’s seat when it comes to winning the SEC West. Former LSU Tiger and ESPN football analyst Marcus Spears says LSU’s offense is peaking at the right time with Jayden Daniels at quarterback…

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Spears says the LSU-Alabama game has always been about which team’s playmakers play better. He says the Tigers’ skill position players need to make plays….

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The U-S Coast Guard is providing more details about Wednesday night’s rescue of two crew members from a fatal helicopter crash 46 miles offshore from Morgan City. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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Ferriday native and Rock n Roll and Country music hall of famer Jerry Lee Lewis has died at the age of 87. Brooke Thorington has more….

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The US Coast Guard is providing more  details on the dramatic Wednesday night rescue of two helicopter crew members from the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard says they were among the three people on a helicopter that went down about 40 miles from Morgan City. Lt Commander Sean Di George says they put out a call for help from any boats that might be in the area.

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He said the oil rig crew boat Captain Ron found two severely injured crewmembers clinging to a life raft and pulled them from the water. A third was found deceased in the cockpit of the sunken helicopter. Then a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter sent a medical team to evaluate the two men.

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He said the nighttime Search and Rescue operation was unusually challenging. The Jayhawk was in the middle of a training operation when it was diverted to the rescue and was low on fuel. He said they had to make decisions without as much information as they’d like.

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The names of the rescued crew members were not released. They are reported to be in critical condition.

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While Halloween is generally a fun holiday for both children and adults, it has the potential to be extremely dangerous for pets. President of the Louisiana Humane Society Jeff Dorson says to place candy out of the reach of pets, especially chocolate which can be toxic to dogs.

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And it’s not just chocolate, Dorson says while the kids tend to get hyped up on sugar in general it’s harmful to your pets and he suggests that you keep pets out of the same room while your trick-or-treaters sort their candy.

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And now is a good time to make sure your pet’s ID tag is up-to-date, and they are wearing them in case they escape while you are passing out candy. Dorson suggests keeping your pets inside in a secure location due to out-of-the-norm noises on Halloween and other possible dangers.

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And you might want to take your dog out for a long walk before the trick-or-treating begins so they’ll be tired and more likely to rest during the night.

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The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s office announces the arrest of 18 year old Blayne  Terrebonne of Larose in connection with the suspected drug overdose death of a 15 year old girl and the hospitalization of a 16 year old boy. Both are from Galliano. Captain Brennan Matherne says it’s a tragic situation…

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Matherne says that within a few minutes of releasing Terrebonne’s name and photo to the public investigators received information that led to his arrest.

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Both victims were found early Thursday morning. Matherne says the 15-year old girl’s sister is the one who found her. He says the role of all family members is vital in protecting their children from drug use.

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A Louisiana legend has passed away. Ferriday native Jerry Lee Lewis died today at the age of 87 at his Mississippi home south of Memphis. Baton Rouge Attorney Jim Brown knew Lewis from his days in Ferriday and says the piano player who called himself Killer had audiences dancing when he came on the scene in the 1950s…

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Lewis won three Grammys. His popularity took a major hit in the late 1950s once it was learned he married his 13-year-old cousin and Lewis was still married to his first wife. But Brown calls Lewis a survivor who re-made himself as a country music star…

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Lewis had several top ten country hits between 1967 and 1970, like What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me) and “She Still Comes Around.”

Lewis’ first public performance was at a car dealership in Ferriday in 1949. A few years later he began to make a name for himself performing rock and roll songs at clubs in and around the Ferriday, Natchez, Mississippi area. Brown says even though Lewis was a rock n’ star, he was a down-to-earth person when you met him

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Lewis’ most famous song is “Great Balls of Fire” released in 1957…

Cut 15 (24) “…fades out after Great Balls of Fire.”

Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (entire live performance)

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