It’s expected Governor Edwards will issue today the call for a budget re-balancing special session to begin on February 13th. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Meanwhile the governor announced Thursday that his chief of staff, Ben Nevers, is retiring after a year with the administration. The 70-year-old former state lawmaker from Bogalusa will be replaced by one-time homeland security secretary, Mark Cooper. Nevers leaves at the end of the month, following the special session.

The man accused of killing former pro football player Joe McKnight in an apparent road rage incident has been indicted on second degree murder charges in Jefferson Parish. 54-year-old Ronald Gasser was originally charged with manslaughter. Legal analyst Tim Meche says once Gasser goes to trial, the verdict will come down to one key point…:
Cut 15 (11) “the victim”
Gasser is being held on $750,000 bond.

Clydesdales from Louisiana will be in a Budweiser commercial during Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Patriots and the Falcons. Clay Harper of Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish owns the horses. He says they filmed the ad several weeks ago in various locations in New Orleans…:
Cut 8 (10) “the commercial”
He says you can spot his Clydesdales before the 40 second mark of the minute long ad.

The man who shot and killed former NFL player Joe McKnight during an apparent road rage incident has been indicted for second-degree murder. 54-year-old Ronald Gasser was originally charged with manslaughter. Legal analyst Tim Meche says this is not good for the defendant…:
cut 14 (08) “a coffin”
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said the indictment came down after a review of more than 160 interviews and surveillance tape.

It’s expected Governor Edwards will issue today the call for a budget re-balancing special session to begin on February 13th. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says Republican lawmakers will likely propose large cuts to the state health department after a recent audit found the state agency has mismanaged millions of dollars…:
cut 12 (09) “be accomplished”
The legislature must close a $304 million dollar mid-year gap.

Louisiana Clydesdales will be in a Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial. Clay Harper of Pearl River owns the soon-to-be-famous horses. He says it all started when he got a call from a producer looking for Clydesdales near New Orleans for a commercial…:
CUT 7 (10) “United States”
Budweiser’s signature Clydesdales cameo will be seen by millions this weekend just before the 40-second mark of the 60-second spot.

Patterson in St. Mary Parish is the safest city in Louisiana, according to Value Penguin’s 2016 Safest Places in Louisiana. Associate Editor Andrew Pentis says rural towns typically rank better than big cities…:
cut 4 (07) “maintaining safety”
Harahan, St. Gabriel, Mandeville, and Minden round out the top 5 on the list.

Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to issue the call for a rebalancing the budget special session that would begin February 13th. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says the governor will push the use of 119 million dollars from the Rainy Day Fund to address the $304 million dollar budget gap…:
Cut 10 (10) “and see”
He says the other items in the call will allow legislators to make cuts throughout the budget.

The man accused of killing former-NFL player Joe McKnight has been indicted for second-degree murder. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand says the upgraded charge against 54-year-old Ronald Gasser comes after the grand jury looked at all of the evidence…:
Cut 13 (11) “other witnesses”
Gasser was originally arrested for manslaughter on December 5, four days after the apparent road rage incident in Terrytown.

Clydesdales from Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish will be featured in Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial. Halen Doughty has more…:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

Governor John Bel Edwards announced Thursday the retirement of his Chief of Staff, former State Senator Ben Nevers. The governor wishes Nevers a happy, relaxing and well-deserved retirement.

Newly elected Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announces new policies aimed towards preventing unnecessary lethal force by police officers.

Cut 6 (12) “when possible”

Broome says these policy changes stem from the officer involved shooting of Alton Sterling.

The next time a tropical storm or hurricane approaches the coast the National Hurricane Center says they will issue storm surge watches and warnings. Storm surge specialist Jamie Rhome says the alerts will be tailored to the locations most at risk for storm surge flooding.

Cut 14 (08) “handle that”
A storm surge watch will be issued when there’s the possibility of life-threatening rising water moving inland within 48 hours.

A Lake Charles doctor has created a new FDA-approved pain relief cream. Dr. Craig Morton has been treating patients at the Center for Orthopedics for years and says many of his patients have been using more than one pain relief cream. He says that’s why he teamed up with chemists to develop Aculeve.

Cut 9 (12) “works the best”

The cream is available at his clinic or online at Aculeve.com.

On this Cajun Groundhog Day, the nutria rat Pierre C. Shadeaux did not see his shadow, which means a nice spring is coming to Louisiana. That’s a different outcome than Punxsutawney Phil delivered this morning, but Daily Iberian Publisher Christina Pierce says it’s much more appropriate for Acadiana.

Cut 4 (07) “our region”
Pierce says this is the 19th year the Daily Iberian has celebrated Cajun Groundhog Day.

Clydesdales from Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish will be featured in Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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It’s expected Governor Edwards will issue today the call for a budget re-balancing special session  to begin on February 13^th. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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A grand jury has indicted the man accused of fatally shooting former-NFL star Joe McKnight on a charge of second-degree murder. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

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Patterson in St. Mary Parish is the safest city in Louisiana, according to Value Penguin’s 2016 Safest Places in Louisiana.  Harahan, St. Gabriel, Mandeville, and Minden round out the top 5 on the list. Associate Editor Andrew Pentis says it’s not a surprise towns ranked better than big cities.

cut 4  (07) “maintaining safety”

Minden was the largest city in the top 5, with a population just shy of 13-thousand. All of the top 5 cities had populations up to 15-thousand. Gretna, Zachary, Kenner, Slidell, and Houma were ranked the safest large cities.

Pentis says they looked at data from FBI crime report and graded cities based on how many crimes were reported for a year. He says they are broken down into property crime and violent crime.

Cut 5  (11)  “property crime can”

Pentis says this is the second year in a row Patterson tops their list.

Cut 6 (09) “both years”

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Louisiana Clydesdales will be in a Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial. Clay Harper of Pearl River owns the soon-to-be-famous horses. He says it all started when he got a call from a producer looking for Clydesdales near New Orleans for a commercial.

CUT 7 (10)  “United States”‘

Budweiser’s signature Clydesdales cameo will be seen by millions this weekend just before the 40-second mark of the 60-second spot. Harper says they filmed the ad several weeks ago in various locations in the Big Easy.

Cut 8 (10) “the commercial”

Harper says people would stop and watch them go by, and some even came over for a photo op. He says the horses were great during filming, but he had to make sure they had plenty of hay and water.

Cut 9 (10)  “kind of thing”

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Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to issue the call for a rebalancing the budget special session that would begin February 13^th. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says lawmakers have to address a 304 million dollar budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 30^th and Edwards will push the use of 119 million dollars from Rainy Day Fund to offset that shortfall.

Cut 10 (10) “and see”

Edwards has said he will allow legislators to propose higher taxes and fees during this special session but he will not recommend any himself. He says the other items in the call will allow legislators to make cuts throughout the budget.

cut 11 (10) “New Orleans”

Alford says Republican lawmakers will likely propose large cuts to the state health department after a recent audit found the state agency has mismanaged millions of dollars.

cut 12 (09) “be accomplished”

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The man accused of killing former-NFL player Joe McKnight has been indicted for second-degree murder. 54-year-old Ronald Gasser was originally arrested for manslaughter on December 5, four days after the apparent road rage incident in Terrytown. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand says the upgraded charge comes after the grand jury looked at all of the evidence.

Cut 13 (11) “other witnesses”

Legal analyst Tim Meche says it’s not surprising the grand jury upgraded the charge, but it’s bad news for the defendant. He says while manslaughter carries a sentence up to 40 years, if convicted of second degree murder, Gasser will serve life.

cut 14 (08) “a coffin”

Meche says from here Gasser will be given an arraignment date where he will enter a plea, and then they’ll set a motion date and a trial date. He says once Gasser goes before the grand jury, the verdict will come down to one key point.

Cut 15 (11) “the victim”

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Three players who have strong ties to Louisiana will find out Saturday night if they’ve been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Former Saints kicker Morten Andersen and ex-LSU standouts Alan Faneca and Kevin Mawae (Muh-why) are among the 15 finalists for the Class of 2017. NFL analyst Mike Detillier believes this Andersen’s best chance to get in

Cut 16 (18) “football player”

Andersen is the NFL’s all-time scoring leader with over 25-hundred points and he’s the only player to lead two franchises in scoring, the Saints and the Atlanta Falcons. Mawae and Faneca had long careers in the NFL as offensive linemen, but Detllier believes Faneca has a better chance to get into the Hall, than Mawae

Cut 17 (09)   “the Steelers”

Faneca is a six-time first-team All-Pro selection and helped Pittsburgh win a Super Bowl in 2006. Out of the 15 finalists, Detillier believes former San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson is the lone lock to make the hall of fame…

Cut 18 (23) “this year”

The National Hurricane Center will issue storm surge watches and warnings during the 2017 hurricane season, which will be a first. Storm Surge Specialist Jamie Rhome says the amount of water that a named storm can push into a coastal area can be as destructive and deadly as damaging winds..:
cut 12 (10) “appropriate action”
A storm surge watch will be issued when there’s the possibility of life-threatening rising water moving inland within 48 hours, for a warning 36 hours.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana filed Freedom of Information request today with its local U.S. Customs and Border Protection office to expose how Trump administration officials are interpreting and executing the president’s immigration ban. The filing today is part of a coordinated effort from 50 ACLU affiliates.

New Orleans Police say a mother of 5 young children was gunned down and killed this morning in a hail of bullets at an apartment complex. The 29-year-old victim has not been identified.

The Acadiana-version of Groundhog’s Day Punxsutawney Phil, Pierre C Shadeaux, did not see a shadow today which means a nice spring can be expected in Louisiana. The Cajun Groundhog event is put on by the Daily Iberian and Publisher Christina Pace says a nutria is far more appropriate here…:
CUT 4 (07) “our region”
Pierce says this is the 19th year the Daily Iberian has celebrated Cajun Groundhog Day.

LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron has made some staff changes. Coach O says running backs coach Jabbar Juluke has been re-assigned to a position within the athletic department, and wide receiver coach Ameyune Craig has been released. Orgeron added he will start an immediate search to find replacements for the two former coaches.

Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome has laid out new policies for the Police Department that require officers to try to de-escalate situations before using physical or deadly force. The changes stem from the officer involved shooting of Alton Sterling. Broome says many of these methods are taught to police officers at the academy…:
CUT 7 (10) “accountability”

A Lake Charles doctor has created a new FDA-approved pain relief cream. Dr. Craig Morton has been treating patients at the Center for Orthopedics for years and says many of his patients have been using more than one pain relief cream. He says that’s why he teamed up with chemists to develop Aculeve…:
Cut 9 (12) “works the best”
He says the cream is available at his clinic or online at Aculeve.com.

It’s Cajun Groundhog Day in Acadiana, and things are done a little differently down south than in Punxsutawney. Halen Doughty has more…:
CUT 1 (29) “I’m Halen Doughty”

FEMA announced today that now a total of about $60 million dollars has been committed to schools in Louisiana damaged by the August flood.

Newly elected Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announces new policies aimed towards preventing unnecessary lethal force by police officers. Broome says this stems from last July’s officer involved shooting of Alton Sterling…:
Cut 6 (12) “when possible”
Broome says officers are also prohibited from shooting at a moving vehicle unless the vehicle or people inside pose an immediate threat to others.

Today is Groundhog Day, and that means something a little different in Acadiana. Daily Iberian Publisher Christina Pierce says unlike our neighbors in the north, we celebrate Cajun Groundhog Day with a nutria rat named Pierre C. Shadeaux…:
Cut 3 (08) “we’re sweating”
Today Pierre did not see his shadow, which means a nice spring is coming to Louisiana.

Louisiana received a top rating when it comes to highway safety laws by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. Emelie Gunn has more…:
CUT 25 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

On the first day lawmakers could file bills for the upcoming legislative session, Covington Representative Paul Hollis produced a measure that would take away penalties under the Affordable Care Act. He says you shouldn’t put a mandate on people to buy a product…:
Cut 26 (11) “one of them”
Hollis expects a great deal of support from the legislature when they convene in April.