President Barack Obama announced today that the federal government will cover 90-percent of the costs associated with flood relief in south Louisiana, leaving state and local governments to pick up the remaining 10-percent. In a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards, the President says he agrees to increase the feds’ cost share for the “public assistance” projects, which includes debris removal and emergency response expenses.

Four Louisiana universities have been placed on a fiscal watch list. The Board of Regents determined Southern University at New Orleans, LSU Health Shreveport, Grambling State and Southern University at Shreveport are in poor financial standing, and Higher Ed Commissioner Joe Rallo says the schools’ financial challenges are due to a decline in state funding for public universities and low enrollment.

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The Department Of Transportation has released a new Louisiana 511 app for smartphones. Rodney Mallet with DOTD says the app offers a variety of features, like live streaming traffic cameras, notifications, and more.

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Mallett says motorists can also get personalized traffic updates by creating an account at 511LA.org.

Strawberry farmers are struggling to recover from two historic floods this year. Co-owner of Johndales Farm in Ponchatoula, Heather Robertson, says they’re trying to get their fields ready to plant by late September or early October, but there’s a lot that has to be done.

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President Barack Obama sent a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards today indicating that he is going to amend Louisiana’s disaster declaration to include that the federal government is now going to cover 90 percent of costs for disaster related flood relief. Mr. Obama said the federal government has spent more than $660 million to help the state in the aftermath of the floods.

Just over a month after the Blue Lives Matter law went into effect, a man has been arrested in New Orleans and charged with a hate crime against police officers. Police say 28-year-old Raul Delatoba was being booked on unrelated charges, when he used sexist and racial slurs against the arresting officers. Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, Marjorie Esman, says the hate crime charge needs to go…:
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Those who support the Blue Lives Matter law say it was created to give DA’s another tool to provide law enforcement protection.

A 15-year-old girl was killed and her 12-year-old sister was seriously injured while helping their mother take out the garbage in Belle Rose. State Trooper Jesse LaGrange says the two girls were on the tailgate of their mother’s truck. He says the vehicle the kids were riding on was stopped on the highway and facing the wrong way when a truck was approaching…:
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LaGrange says the teenager, Sydny Landry, suffered fatal injuries and her sister was airlifted to to a local hospital in serious condition.

Displaced flood victims who are having a hard time getting around new locations are being given a new navigation tool from DOTD. Spokesman Rodney Mallett says you can create an account at 511LA.org to personalize travel plans and you will be notified of traffic issues on your route…:
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He says they’ve partnered with WAZE to make this happen.

Four Louisiana Universities have been placed on the fiscal watch list by the Board of Regents. It has been determined that Southern University at New Orleans, LSU Health Shreveport, Grambling State and Southern University at Shreveport are all in poor financial standing. Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo explains why they put out this report…:
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He says funding is an ongoing issue and so is enrollment.

The Department of Transportation announces upgrades to their 511 travel information system. Rodney Mallett with DOTD says motorists can now get personalized traffic updates by creating an account at 511LA.org and the system can alert of any traffic disruptions…:
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Louisiana Strawberry farmers are once again dealing with the aftermath of a devastating flood. Halen Doughty has more…:
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LSU Coach Les Miles is not saying whether running back Leonard Fournette has been practicing this week after taking a hit to his lower leg towards the end of the Wisconsin game. Miles did say on Monday that Fournette suffered a contusion.

We’re starting to hear more from the US Senate candidates as election day nears. Republican Congressman John Fleming launched a seven figure statewide TV ad, and Congressman Charles Boustany ads have been running. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says you can expect a big battle in the coming weeks…:
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The election is November 8.

There may not be many FEMA mobile homes set up in Louisiana. Jeff Palermo explains why…:
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Customers could pay more for Louisiana strawberries in the coming months after fields were hammered by two historic floods this year. Heather Robertson and her husband own Johndales Farm in Ponchatoula. Robertson says because strawberries are a specialty crop, there’s not much financial assistance, and a lot of producers will not grow strawberries again…:
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Robertson says they’re trying to get their fields ready to plant by late September or early October, but there’s a lot that has to be done.

State Police say a teenager was killed and a 12-year-old seriously injured as they were on the tailgate of a vehicle involved in a two vehicle Assumption Parish crash. They say 38 Frannie Landry was taking out the trash in her vehicle on the road near her driveway and the two girls were riding on the tailgate to help out. An approaching vehicle could not avoid a collision and the two girls were ejected from the tailgate. The 15-year-old died and the 12-year-old is in serious condition at a hospital.

Governor John Bel Edwards is traveling to Washington, D.C., today to meet with federal officials about getting more assistance for Louisiana flood victims — specifically housing. He says he’s also asking for full funding for the Comite River Diversion Project, which could prevent disastrous flooding in the Baton Rouge area…:
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First Lady Donna Edwards is visiting schools in flood ravaged areas of south Louisiana to distribute school supplies. Edwards has teamed up with the Louisiana School Boards Association to collect thousands of dollars for kids and teachers. She says she will be at Greenbrier Elementary today…:
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To help out again, that GoFundMe account is called the LSBA Fund for Restoring Schools.

You’re probably starting to notice new ads for Republican Congressman John Fleming for the US Senate race. Republican Congressman Charles Boustany has also started running TV commercial and likely Treasurer John Kennedy will soon have ads running too. Jeremy Alford with LaPolitics.com says on the democratic side, there is a big war playing out on urban radio stations:
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He says these ads are playing nice now, but people will really start to pay attention to this race once the Super PACS come in with negative spots.

It doesn’t look like we’ll see a lot of FEMA mobile homes in Louisiana. Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer, Tito Hernandez, says they are a last resort and of the 3,000 people that qualified for a manufactured housing unit were not interested…:
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He says the main focus now is getting aid to people and get them back in their homes.

Today, Governor John Bel Edwards meets with the President and members of Congress in Washington to discuss additional assistance for flood victims in Louisiana. Halen Doughty has more…:
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The Calcaisieu Parish Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who died following a police pursuit involving a stolen RV in Moss Bluff. They say 46-year-old Dennis Deville died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities say they were closing in on Deville when the man turned the wheel of the RV toward a deputy and struck him. Deville kept going and crashed. That’s when cops say they heard a gunshot from inside the RV.

FEMA says they are trying to exhaust every possibility to help flood victims before they choose the last resort manufactured home option. Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer, Tito Hernandez, says over 63-thousand flood victims have received FEMA assistance for rent or home repairs, and 24-hundred are currently in hotels. He says there have been problems with setting up the new mobile homes in someone’s yard…:
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Hernandez says 28-thousand flood insurance claims have already paid $229 million for home repairs.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees will remain in the Black and Gold at least until the 2017 season. The contract extension pays him 44 million dollars. The future hall of famer remains one of the highest paid players in the game…:
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The deal also gives the Saints 13-million dollars in salary cap relief, so the team can make additional roster moves this season.

Governor John Bel Edwards is taking his request for additional aid for flood victims to Washington D.C. today where he’s seeking an additional $2 billion dollars. The governor says he’ll also speak with Congressional leaders who returned from summer recess this week, so they understand the level of damage the historic flood spread across 20-plus parishes…:
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Edwards says his office now has a better understanding of the flood damage and an idea of how much money it will take to repair it all.

It doesn’t look like we’ll see a lot of FEMA mobile homes in Louisiana. Spokesman Tito Hernandez says the temporary housing is a last resort…:
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Hernandez says over 63-thousand flood victims have received FEMA assistance for rent or home repairs, and 24-hundred are currently in hotels.

Republican Congressman John Fleming launches a seven figure statewide TV ad for the U.S. Senate race. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says Fleming is a U.S. Representative for north Louisiana who doesn’t have much name recognition outside of his district. But he says this TV spot gives Fleming the chance to introduce himself to voters and jump start his campaign…:
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Alford says TV and radio commercials are the best way to get the attention of voters.

AAA says we’re seeing the slow drop in gas prices following the Labor Day weekend as the summer driving season officially comes to an end. They also say the switch to the cheaper winter blend gasoline will likely mean prices will move even lower over the next several months. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular in Louisiana stands at $2.02 which is about three cents lower than the prior week.

Governor John Bel Edwards is traveling to Washington, D.C., today to meet with federal officials about getting more assistance for Louisiana flood victims. Edwards says they are asking for $2 billion to help flood victims rebuild their homes…:
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Edwards says he plans to tell Obama administration officials that this is the most significant natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Meanwhile First Lady Donna Edwards is busy at home helping schools affected by the floods. She’s partnered with the Louisiana School Boards Association to collect over 16-thousand dollars with the GoFundMe account called “LSBA Fund for Restoring Schools.” She urges anyone who can to donate…:
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Edwards says the donations not only go to students, but teachers as well.

There may not be many FEMA mobile homes set up in Louisiana. Jeff Palermo explains why…:
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Quarterback Drew Brees will remain the Saints signal caller through at least the 2017 season as a result of a contract extension that pays him 44-million dollars over the next two years. The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer was in the last year of his previous contract heading into this season.