Governor John Bel Edwards has unveiled his plan for resolving a $304-million midyear budget deficit. The governor’s Communications Director Richard Carbo says the proposal calls for using money from the rainy day fund, a large cut to the Department of Health’s budget, and state elected officials would also make cuts to their budgets, but…
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The Governor’s deficit elimination plan will be debated in the special session that begins next week.

The man accused of killing former NFL star Joe McKnight in an apparent road rage incident is slated to be arraigned today. 55-year-old Ronald Gasser is charged with second-degree murder. The suspect’s lawyers say their client was acting in self defense, but legal analyst Chick Foret says there are still a lot of unanswered questions:
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A class action lawsuit filed today claims Governor Edwards and the state public defender board are doing a poor job funding public defenders. The suit states Louisiana relies mostly on court fees to fund public defender legal services, which includes a fee assessed against indigent defendants. One of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, Mark Cunningham, says that means public defender offices receive more funding for losing cases than winning.
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State Education Superintendent John White says increasing the benchmarks for a school to achieve an A in the state’s rating system is one way to raise expectations and help the state comply with a federal education law. He says currently, students only have to earn basic math a literacy test scores for a school receive an A rating.
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The state Department of Education has revised its plan to bring public schools in compliance with the Every Child Succeeds Act. Superintendent John White says the federal law will provide additional dollars to help students get a well-rounded education.

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Other plans include grading schools based on students’ academic growth and raising the requirements for schools to be graded an A school.

A Scotlandville High School student has been arrested after deputies say he fired a gun in a school hallway. East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Casey Rayborn Hicks says detectives took the juvenile into custody along with the weapon about 10 minutes after the shooting was reported.

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Hicks says no one was injured.

Brittney Spears’ niece is reportedly in stable but critical condition after an ATV accident in Tangipahoa Parish. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Two Cameron Parish men have been sentenced after authorities say they illegally collected more than 500 alligator eggs. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spokesperson Adam Einck…

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48-year-old Paul Canik and 25-year-old Christopher Trahan were both fined, and Canik’s egg collection privileges have been suspended for 18 months.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Governor John Bel Edwards for failing to adequately fund the state’s public defender system. Deputy Legal Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Lisa Graybill, says the US Constitution requires that all accused be provided a suitable defense. But she says that’s not happening in Louisiana…:
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They want a monitor to supervise the public defense system.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office says a juvenile suspect is in custody in connection with a shooting this morning at Scotlandville High School. Spokeswoman Casey Hicks says it happened today just before noon…:
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Hicks says thankfully they were able to take the suspect into custody within minutes and nobody was injured.

The 55-year-old man facing a possible life in prison sentence in the shooting death of a former NFL player Joe McKnight, entered his plea today in Jefferson Parish. Ronald Gasser pleaded not guilty to a charge of second degree murder. His lawyers say this is a case about self-defense and reasonable use of force. Authorities have said the 28-year-old McKnight, who was black, and Gasser, who is white, were driving erratically and yelling at each other on the Crescent City Connection bridge prior to the shooting.

Superintendent of Education John White proposes plans on how to improve public schools to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act that requires states to show how they plan to measure student achievement as part of their grading system. White says for the first time ever schools will be judged by how well a student improves over the course of a year…:
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He says one way to raise expectations is to increase the benchmarks for a school to achieve an A grade in the state’s rating system.

Superintendent of Education John White proposes plans on how to improve public schools to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. White says one way to raise expectations is to increase the benchmarks for a school to achieve an A grade in the state’s rating system. He says right now students only have to earn “basic” scores on math and literacy tests for the school to be rated an A…:
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White says they hope to have these new policy changes in place by the 2017-18 school year.

The man who is facing charges in connection with the death of former NFL player Joe McKnight in an apparent road rage incident has formally entered a plea of not guilty to second degree murder. 55-year-old Ronald Gasser’s lawyers have said they believe the shooting was justifiable homicide.

Two men have been sentenced in Cameron Parish for their role in the theft of over 500 alligator eggs. Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says 48–year-old Paul Canik took the eggs illegally, and 25-year-old Christopher Trahan transported them
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Trahan was ordered to pay a $293 fine. Canick’s fine is $593 and he’s had his egg collection privileges suspended for 18 months.

We’re expected to find out some time this afternoon what Governor John Bel Edwards plans to propose to the legislature in the upcoming session, on ways he believes the state can close a $304 million dollar budget hole. Edwards says he wants to tap into the Rainy Day Fund, and when it comes to cuts — sparing services like those provided by DCFS and higher ed.

A budget deficit eliminating special session begins next week. Jeff Palermo reports we are waiting to hear how the governor proposes to cover the midyear shortfall…:
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The Lafayette Police Department has made an arrest in the case of a man who crashed through the front doors of a church this morning. They believe 47-year-old Christopher Guillot was high on drugs when he struck Fatima (Faa-Teh-Mah) Church around 7am, and he’s been charged with driving while intoxicated and Aggravated Criminal Damage to Property.

Two men from Cameron Parish must pay hundreds of dollars in fines for stealing over 500 alligator eggs. That’s according to Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He says 48-year-old Paul Canik and 25-year-old Christopher Trahan, both of Grand Chenier, have been sentenced in the July 2015 incident…:
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Trahan was ordered to pay a $293 fine. Canick’s fine is $593 and he’s had his egg collection privileges suspended for 18 months.

Tulane Medical School has been implementing culinary medicine as part of their curriculum for years, and now schools all over the country are picking it up…:
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That’s the Executive Director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane, Dr. Tim Harlan.

It’s expected more information about how the governor wants to close the $304 million dollar mid year deficit will be revealed today. Governor Edwards says he’d like to use the Rainy Day Fund, and minimize cuts to services like higher ed, DCFS and waivers for families who care for the elderly and disabled, but this won’t be easy…:
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The special session will begin in one week.

The man accused of killing former NFL player Joe McKnight in an apparent road rage incident was arraigned today. 55-year-old Ronald Gasser pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. The suspect’s lawyers say their client was acting in self defense, but legal analyst Chick Foret says there are still a lot of unanswered questions:
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Schools around the country are using Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine as a model for their medical curriculum. Don Molino has more…:
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One person is dead and 8 others are injured as a result of a three vehicle crash in Central. State Police say the unidentified driver who died is the one who crossed the center line in the roadway, sideswiping one vehicle and then hitting an SUV head on. There were 7 occupants in the SUV and they sustained injuries. The initial unidentified driver died in the crash.

It’s expected more information about how the governor wants to close the $304 million dollar mid year deficit will be revealed today. Governor Edwards says he’d like to use the Rainy Day Fund, and minimize cuts to services like higher ed, DCFS and waivers for families who care for the elderly and disabled, but this won’t be easy…:
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The special session will begin in one week.

The man accused of killing former NFL star Joe McKnight in an apparent road rage incident is slated to be arraigned today. 55-year-old Ronald Gasser is charged with second-degree murder. The suspect’s lawyers say their client was acting in self defense, but legal analyst Chick Foret says there are still a lot of unanswered questions:
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Gasser’s attorneys assert that McKnight tried to open Gasser’s car door, and their client feared for his life.

Schools around the country are using Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine as a model for their medical curriculum. Don Molino has more…:
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One person is dead and 8 others are injured as a result of a three vehicle crash in Central. State Police say the unidentified driver who died is the one who crossed the center line in the roadway, sideswiping one vehicle and then hitting an SUV head on. There were 7 occupants in the SUV and they sustained injuries. The initial unidentified driver died in the crash.

Governor John Bel Edwards today will reveal how he proposes to close a $304 million dollar budget deficit during the special session that begins a week from today. He wants to tap into the Rainy Day Fund, which would still leave $185 million to plug the entire hole. But the governor does want to protect certain sectors…:
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Edwards says he’ll also ask legislators to minimize cuts to higher ed.

For the past 7 years, Tulane medical students have been learning the ins and outs of healthy cooking as part of their curriculum, and now schools around the country are following suit. Dr. Tim Harlan, with the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, discusses the classes for med students:
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Tired of political rants on Facebook? Halen Doughty reports on how to get it out of your newsfeed…:
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According to reports, the 8-year-old niece of pop-star Britney Spears was in an ATV accident in Kentwood and is in critical condition. Sources say Jamie Lynn Spears’ daughter was riding the 4-wheeler while on a hunting trip, when it flipped — and she is now on life support at a nearby hospital.

A budget deficit eliminating special session begins next week. Jeff Palermo reports we are waiting to hear how the governor proposes to cover the midyear shortfall…:
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Many people complain about seeing too many political social media posts from their friends these days, but there’s a plugin for Facebook that filters those out. Matt Kruse (Krew-zee) developed the app Social Fixer. He says a lot of users don’t like to see political rants from friends and family members…:
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He says you can download the filter at SocialFixer.com.

Tulane University’s School of Medicine has become a model for new culinary medicine courses that are being taught around the country. Executive Director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, Dr. Tim Harlan, says other medical universities are following suit with the cooking classes for future doctors…:
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He says the idea for requiring culinary courses began seven years ago.

For the 5th time in as many weeks, Tiger Stadium was broken into and five juveniles were cited for unauthorized entry into a place of business, according to LSU officials. The teens were released after the Saturday incident. No damage was reported in the latest incident.

Governor John Bel Edwards has sent a letter to President Donald Trump seeking his support for an additional $2-billion in federal flood aid. State officials expect the first round of funds will get into the hands of low income flood victims by April or May.