New Orleans Congressman Troy Carter and Senator Bill Cassidy are the only members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation that supported the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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Louisiana Department of Health officials reveal a new business plan for “Building a Stronger LDH and a Healthier Louisiana.” More on that from Kevin Gallagher…:

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

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Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain could be looking at life in prison following his trial on accusations that he raped multiple children. More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 3 (33) “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

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The state Department of Health releases its first new business plan in nearly a decade. It’s called “Together: Building a Stronger LDH and a Healthier Louisiana.” Health secretary Courtney Phillips says the plan calls for achieving 17 initiatives and over 40 goals; all under four major commitments…:

Cut 4 (14) “…accountability and compliance. “

She says the plan was drawn up after much research and discussions with health partners, stakeholders, and Louisiana families. In laying out some of the 17 initiatives in the plan, Phillips says attention will be given to improving care for persons with serious mental illness…:

Cut 5 (11) “…pregnancy to childhood.“

Phillips says the plan places emphasis on better access to dental care, an opioid treatment program, a crisis care response team, and more. She says the details may be viewed online at “ldh.la.gov”. Phillips says this is a one-year plan that will be revisited at the end of its term for review of progress made and fine-tuning. She says a lot of fine minds came together to forge the program…:

Cut 6 (10) “…most importantly.”

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The house passed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill Friday night and Louisiana Democratic Congressman Troy Carter says the bill is life-changing and will finally put funding towards severely overlooked projects like expanded broadband and the upkeep of our roads and bridges that can’t be ignored any longer.

Cut 7 (06) “…US Senate.”

Carter says he’s proud to stand with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who co-authored the bipartisan bill in the Senate. Cassidy says passage of the bill is a major victory for Louisiana and the nation.

Cut 8 (13) “…flood resiliency.”

Carter and Cassidy are the only two members of the Louisiana delegation that supported the bill. Republican Congressman Clay Higgins issued a statement claiming the bill is socialist garbage and says the bill will cost nearly $4 trillion. Carter says otherwise.

Cut 9 (12)  “…their share.”

Republican Congressman Mike Johnson issued a statement saying House Democrats have connected this bill with their separate bill to spend trillions more taxpayer dollars on programs they’ve yet to define. Cassidy however says the bipartisan bill only focuses on much-needed infrastructure.

Cut 10 (10)  “…we need.” 

The bill now goes to the president’s desk for signature.

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It will be much darker on your drive home from work this evening thanks to the time change. Triple-A spokesperson Don Redman says with rush hour traffic in the dark now you’ll need to be extremely mindful on your drive home, and the time change can also impact your sleeping patterns.

Cut 11 (11) “…drowsy.”

Not only will drivers in Louisiana have to contend with darkness on the commute home now, but Redman says drivers also need to be aware of wildlife in both rural and metropolitan areas during the hours of dusk and dawn as temperatures begin to cool.

Cut 12 (08) “…most active.”

Redman also reminds motorists to check their headlights now that they are driving in the dark more. He says with 50-percent of crashes happening in the evening, yellowing and deterioration of headlight bulbs can decrease your visibility at night.

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Closing arguments are set to begin today in the child rape trial of former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain. Five male accusers took the stand, leveling graphic charges of sexual assault against him while they were children. Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino:

Cut 13 (07) “…about and reject.”

Strain did not take the stand in his defense and if convicted could face life in prison.

Ciolino suspects the defense will counter in their closing arguments that the allegations against Strain are not to be taken for granted.

Cut 14 (11)  “..an ulterior purpose.”

Ciolino says it’ll be difficult for the jury to diminish the damning testimony against Strain since it has come from five accusers and not just one or two.

Cut 15 (09)  “…and over again.”

Ciolino can’t predict how long it’ll take the jury to reach a verdict, but that the panel is being sequestered and was told by the judge to bring extra clothing as they work to determine Strain’s fate.

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The LSU football team nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in program history on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa as the Tigers nearly defeated Alabama. But the Crimson Tide survived with a 20-14 victory over the Bayou Bengals. LSU had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but failed to score when they had it first and goal from the eight. Coach Ed Orgeron says the coaches didn’t help the players…

Cut  16 (14) “..to win”

The Tigers defense played their heart out, holding Alabama to just six rushing yards and it’s the first time the Tide had not scored more than 30 points in 34 straight games, which is an FBS record. LSU will play its final three games at home, starting this Saturday night against Arkansas. Orgeron says he wants to see similiar effort the rest of the way…

Cut 17 (16) “ ..play well” 

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The Saints nearly pulled off an unbelievable come from behind victory on Sunday but Atlanta kicked a game-winning field goal on the final play of the game for a 27-25 win in the Caesars Superdome. New Orleans scored 22 fourth-quarter points to rally back from a 24-6 deficit, but Coach Sean Payton says their sloppy play during the first three quarters is what cost them the game…

Cut 18 (22) “..starts with me” 

The Saints committed ten penalties and turned the ball over once. Plus there were numerous dropped passes. Payton says he was pleased with starting quarterback Trevor Siemian’s performance as he threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns…

Cut 19 (24)  “..frustrating” 

The loss drops the Saints to 5-and-3, a full game back of Tampa Bay for first place in the NFC South. There are nine games left as New Orleans is at Tennessee this Sunday. Safety Malcolm Jenkins says the team needs to be more consistent during the second half of the season…

Cut 20 (30) “…losing obviously” 

Federal lawsuits are flying as President Biden moves towards mandating COVID-19 shots for many employees. More from Dave Brannen.

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The state recorded its lowest number of hospitalizations Friday since spring of 2020 with 226. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 2 (31)…I’m Jeff Palermo.”  

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Drugmaker Pfizer says their experimental antiviral pill for COVID cuts the rates of hospitalization and death by nearly 90-percent in high-risk adults. Dr. Julio Figueroa, Chief of Infectious Diseases at LSU Health New Orleans says if the data holds true the drug is noteworthy.

Cut 3 (12) “….significant, very significant.”

Pfizer will reportedly be asking the FDA to authorize use of the pill as soon as possible. A similar drug, by Merck, targeted at the same demographic has already been approved in the UK. Figueroa says for the Pfizer pill to be effective high-risk adults need to begin taking the medication early in their COVID diagnosis.

Cut 4 (10) “…would fit.”

Figueroa says being able to treat COVID patients outside of the hospital with the convenience of a pill versus the current option is a huge advance in treatment.

Cut 5 (07) “…those patients.”

Pfizer data indicates of the 775 adults in the study, those who received the drug, along with another drug after showing symptoms had an 89-percent reduction in their combined rate of hospitalization and death after a month compared to those taking a placebo.

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Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is leading a multi-state lawsuit to derail President Biden’s executive vaccine mandate order for federal contractors and a separate suit challenging the vaccine mandate for businesses with more than 100 employees. Landry pulls no punches in his opposition to the requirement.

Cut 6 (08) “…but vastly overreaching.” 

Landry says the mandate will directly impact the Bayou State, noting that about 60 percent of the state’s budget is federal money, impacting both local governments and institutions of higher learning.

Landry says when he first heard President Biden’s vaccine mandate announcement, he thought perhaps Biden had forgotten that we are a republic and not a monarchy.

Cut 7 (07) “….his to make.”  

Landry says that as the state’s chief legal officer, he’s suing to forbid the federal government from making medical choices for the state’s residents.

Brian Trosclair, who employs nearly 500 people at 15 grocery stores he owns in Louisiana and Mississippi, is among those suing in federal court to strike down the Biden vaccine mandate on private-sector employees. He notes those workers were hailed as heroes during the height of the pandemic.

Cut 8 (08) “…for their families.”

Trosclair says the vaccine mandate goes beyond the federal government intervening in the health choices of his workers and potentially losing employees because of the mandate.

Cut 9 (10) “…gonna get worse.”

The Biden Administration says the mandatory vaccine requirement for many businesses and federal contractors will result in more people getting vaccinated, which will help end the pandemic.

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The state marked another critical COVID milestone today, the lowest number of hospitalizations since spring of 2020. On Thursday the lowest was 235 and today it’s 226. Chief of Hospital Medicine at Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport, Dr. Mike Sewell says he believes an increase in vaccinations is largely responsible.

Cut 10 (10)  “…contributed.”

Sewell says it’s been difficult to care for non-COVID patients, especially acute ones, like heart attacks, strokes, and traumas when the hospital is at max capacity with COVID patients.

Cut  11 (10)  “…COVID patients.”  

In the past the state has noted an increase in COVID cases after major holidays, Sewell says that’s most likely a combination of gatherings and an emergence of new variants. With Thanksgiving only weeks away Sewell says he’s cautiously optimistic that this holiday season with the vaccine we won’t see a surge and thus keep hospitalizations down.

Cut 12 (10) “…surge arise.”  

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The winner of last Saturday’s one-point-three million-dollar Louisiana Lotto drawing is from Laura-devastated southwest Louisiana. So says lottery spokesman Dennis Annison who says the lucky ticketholder came forward Monday.

Cut 13 (08) “…thousand after taxes.”

No word on what the winner plans to do with his winnings.

Annison says the store that sold the ticket won its largest commission ever for selling the winning ticket.

Cut 14 (10) “…the jackpot prize” 

Annison says the store was very happy with the more than 13-thousand-dollar commission it’s receiving.

Cut 15 (08) “…operating the store.”