On Capitol Hill, a House-approved funding bill is headed to the Senate that contains 28-billion dollars in disaster relief money for states like Louisiana, but the measure also raises the debt ceiling. Dave Brannen has more from Senator Bill Cassidy
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Dave Brannen.”

DCFS says since Monday they’ve received 11-thousand calls from residents who are applying for disaster food stamps. There’s an alphabet system for when people in certain parishes should apply, but officials say some folks are calling on the wrong day. The DCFS website has the schedule.

Entergy representatives have told state lawmakers that utility customers can expect to see additional fees to help pay for all of the damage done to their power system during the last two hurricane seasons. Thibodaux Representative Bryan Fontenot suggests the utility provider dedicate a portion of their $700 million annual profits to an escrow account to pay for catastrophic repairs. He also questioned Entergy representatives about their preventative maintenance of utility poles and equipment.
Cut 6 (11) “…the payer.”
Entergy says they do replace poles and other infrastructure as it ages.

Summer’s gone and fall is here and as State Climatologist Barry Keim tells us temperatures are falling right in line with the first day of fall…
Cut 7 (11) “…in some cases.”
Keim says humidity levels will rise again over the weekend.

The U-S House has passed a funding bill that contains 28-billion dollars in disaster relief funds that would go to states like Louisiana, but the measure also raises the 28-trillion dollar debt ceiling. The Senate is expected to block the legislation because Republicans do not want to raise the debt ceiling. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy…
cut 11 (11) “…disaster relief”
Senator John Kennedy says he’ll vote for the bill because he says his state needs the help.

A cold front has moved through Louisiana, creating cooler, breezy, and drier conditions. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 8 (08) “….be glorious outside”
There are also no tropical threats for the Gulf of Mexico.

Entergy Louisiana customers can expect higher fees that will go towards paying for the rebuilding of the power distribution system following last year’s hurricanes. The utility provider is proposing a five-dollar surcharge for the next 15 years and Entergy Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs Mark Kleehammer told a legislative hearing that they expect a similar surcharge for Ida in the future…
cut 5 (12) “….this year”

LSU football players have cooling fans in their helmets thanks to an invention by a tech startup company based in Baton Rouge called Tigeraire…
cut 14 (11) “….their best”
Tigeraire CEO Jack Karavich says the Cyclone consists of dual blowers that fit between the padding inside a football helmet. A firm from Silicon Valley has made a major investment into Tigeraire.

Governor Edwards is in Washington D-C to meet with members of Congress to explain to them the urgent need for federal assistance to help residents recover from the numerous natural disasters the state has experienced over the last 13 months. GOHSEP Deputy Director Casey Tingle says there’s been four hurricanes, a damaging freeze, and spring flooding…
cut 15 (12) “…recently”

After extensive power outages from Hurricane Ida, Entergy is now facing a class-action lawsuit from customers. As many as 902-thousand lost power following the storm. Juan LaFonta is one of the attorneys’ representing plaintiffs in the case.
Cut 3 (10) “…went down.”
Entergy has no comment on the litigation.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and other Republican Attorneys General are threatening to sue the Biden Administration if the President follows through with a plan to require private employers with more than 100 employees to mandate the COVID vaccine…
cut 11 (07) “…to court”
So far the Biden administration has not issued the exact rules for his plan to make vaccines mandatory for employees at many large businesses.

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is conducting its first COVID vaccination trial. They are evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the Moderna vaccine in children. Principal Investigator Dr. Daniel Hsia (Shaw) says participants can expect a minimum of two blood draws.
Cut 7 (10) “…actual vaccine.”
Hsia (Shaw) says they’ve already enrolled enough children ages six to eleven and by the end of the month, they’ll register ages two to five.

At least two dozen attorneys general, including Louisiana’s Jeff Landry, are joined together in opposition to President Biden’s plan to mandate private sector companies of more than 100 employees require workers to get a Covid-19 shot, submit to weekly testing, or be fired. Landry believes Biden has forgotten the U.S. is a republic, not a monarchy.
Cut 10 (09) “…and protect ourselves.”
Governor John Bel Edwards says he favors doing the right thing when it comes to protecting the public from COVID
Cut 12 (07) “…thing to do.”

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Entergy, claiming the energy provider was negligent in making sure its infrastructure can withstand a powerful hurricane. About 25-thousand utility customers remain without power from Ida.

Cedar Creek in Ruston is facing a lawsuit from the parents of a former student who claim the school did not do enough to stop the bullying that took place against their child for months. The suit alleges the bullying reached the level of sexual battery on multiple occasions in 2020 and 2021. The school acknowledges the plaintiff was bullied but says there’s no evidence of a sexual battery. The attorney for the plaintiff Wes Bearden…
cut 6 (10) “…jury”

LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center is participating in a study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in children. Associate Professor Daniel Hsia (Shaw) says the trial will last one year…
cut 8 (11) “….side effects”
Hsia says so far side effects among those ages six to eleven in the Moderna trial are similar to those observed in adults.

Governor Edwards is in Washington DC asking for urgent federal assistance for residents impacted by hurricanes since 2020 along with other natural disasters. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

A phone number set up to take calls from families seeking Disaster food stamps was overwhelmed yesterday making it difficult for many Ida storm victims to apply. DCFS assistant secretary Shavana Howard says they were receiving 250 to 350 calls per second. DCFS says they have addressed the issue.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 23 of his fellow attorneys general is calling on the President to reverse his plan to require large private-sector companies to mandate the COVID vaccine to their employees. Landry says Americans should have choices, but Governor John Bel Edwards says…
cut 13 (11) “…from others”

A Ruston private school is being sued by the parents of a former student who alleges being victimized by bullies for months. Attorney Wes Bearden says the abuse his clients’ son sustained while attending Cedar Creek School went on for more than eight months, and was both physical and psychological.
Cut 4 (12) “…the rear end.”
Cedar Creek says as soon as they became aware of the bullying, the school launched an investigation that resulted in the expulsion of five students.