It’s Cyber Monday but before you click on that too good to be true sale, Brooke Thorington has some tips on avoiding a scam.

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

The St. Landry Sheriff is reporting that an ATV accident late Sunday afternoon left a child dead.  A woman reported the five-year-old was riding in the side-by-side vehicle in a field with her husband when the ATV crashed.  The boy, whose name has not been released, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The crash occurred in the Frilot Cove area. No word on the cause of the accident.

News of the Omicron variant of COVID has health experts concerned as a number of countries have reported cases of the new variant. Governor  Edwards says we should all be concerned about the newest variant and continue to practice mitigation. The governor says he’s hoping and praying the state will not have another surge similar to the one Louisiana experienced in July and August.

Cut 8 (08) “…to use them.”

This year’s 12^th annual Small Business Saturday was a hit nationwide with spending hitting an estimated all-time high of 23.3-billion dollars. Dawn McVea, Louisiana Director of the National Federation of Independent Business, says the figure includes a two percent increase in small business online shopping that increased to 58 percent.

Cut 12 (06) “…good positive trend.”  

McVea says six percent more shoppers opted Saturday to support local independent restaurants around the nation than in 2020.

Today is the deadline to register for FEMA disaster relief if your main home suffered damage during Hurricane Ida. Nathan Custer with the agency says that damage can range from the minor to the catastrophic, but if you haven’t registered with FEMA for assistance, you only have hours left to do so:

Cut 3 (07) “…hear from you.”

To register, call 1-800-621-3362 or visit DisasterAssistance.gov on the web.

It’s early voting time in Louisiana for the December 11^th elections. One of the more noteworthy candidate races is taking place in Orleans Parish where LApolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford says the long-time sheriff finds himself in a battle with a progressive Democrat.

Cut 13 (07) “…battle down there.”

Early voting continues through this Saturday from 8:30 AM to 6 PM.

News of the Omicron variant of COVID has health experts concerned as a number of countries have reported cases of the new variant, including Canada. Governor Edwards says we should all be concerned about the newest variant and continue to practice mitigation. He’s hoping and praying the state will not have another surge similar to the one Louisiana experienced in July and August.

Cut 8 (08) “…to use them.”

Covington State Representative Mark Wright will be chairing the Louisiana House Transportation Committee as lawmakers figure out how to best spend federal infrastructure dollars heading to the Bayou State. Wright says when it comes to improving the state’s roadways, much of what needs to be spent and where has already been decided.

Cut 5 (12) “…the books already.”

Wright says he doesn’t want the state’s ports to be forgotten in doling out infrastructure dollars.

It’s Small Business Saturday this weekend and retailers are hopeful to exceed last year’s profits even with a few hurdles. Brooke Thorington explains.

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

We’re now in the second Holiday shopping season while in the COVID pandemic, and with record-high inflation. LSU Marketing Professor Dan Rice says merchants started their Holiday shopping deals earlier than normal this year, with some advertising Black Friday specials as early as Halloween. Rice says inflation has driven the cost of everything up, so expect the dollars spent to increase accordingly for merchants.

Cut 5 (08) “…the board.”

Rice says holiday shoppers looking for great deals can still find them, but it may take a little research to find them.

State Police continue to investigate a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 90 east of Raceland Thursday evening that claimed the lives of four people. Troopers say two people survived with injuries in the crash at an intersection where the driver of a Kia Optima, 54-year-old Barbara Guidry of Wiggins, Mississippi failed to yield to a westbound pickup truck, the subsequent collision causing the truck to rollover. Also killed were 35-year-old Caitland Leboeuf of Wiggins, and two Raceland residents, 31-year-old Dustin Moore and 30-year-old Michelle Moore.

With tomorrow being the final LSU football game of the season, speculation will begin to really ramp up on who the next coach will be. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.” 

The holiday shopping season begins with record-high inflation. How will that affect your holiday shopping? Kevin Gallagher has that.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday and State director of the National Federation of Independent Business, Dawn McVea says this year it’s more important than ever to shop locally. Last year $19.8 billion was spent at small retailers and they hope to exceed that this year.

With COVID cases decreasing, along with government restrictions and mandates being lifted, McVea says small retailers are hopeful things will return to pre-pandemic levels.

Cut 9 (04)  “…out there.”

If you prefer to shop online McVea encourages you to seek out small retailers as many added online shopping to their business during the pandemic.

Three teenage boys are back with their families after being tossed into Vermilion Bay early today when their boat capsized while on a duck hunting trip. When the water became too rough they tried to return to shore but the boat’s motor failed and the vessel started taking on water. They managed to contact the sheriff’s department by cellphone who arrived at the scene about 6:45. The two 17-year-olds and 18-year-old were found clinging to the boat, checked out by medical personnel and reunited with the families.

The Bayou Classic is back in New Orleans and Dottie Belletto, CEO of N-O-C-C-I, the management company of the event, says they are thrilled to be in the newly renovated Ceasars Superdome. She says besides the game between Southern University and Grambling State there’s plenty to do like…

Cut 10 (10)  “…thrown for that.”

The parade will be followed by Fanfest with bands performing on Champion Square before kickoff which is free to the public.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction. 

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others.

Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”

That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history Thursday as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism.

Cut 7 (09) “…this float.”

Not only will it be the longest, but New Orleans native and the jazz artist to receive the most Grammy nominations ever at 11, Jon Batiste will be performing on the $1.3 million float.

With folks preparing to fix their Thanksgiving meals, the USDA’s Meredith Caruthers outlines some safety protocols to stick to during the process. Two of them deal with cleaning and separating.

Cut 3 (12) “…to eat food.”

She also advises to heed the cooking directions and then to properly chill any leftovers to additionally avoid the possibility of food poisoning.

If Lt Governor Billy Nungesser gets his wish, the state’s first float to appear in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will steal the show. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations – which is currently 16 and older. However, Baton Rouge area state Senator Bodi White says mandating shots for any age group is wrong…:

Cut 10 (07)  “…forced to opt out.”

The LDH proposal would allow parents to opt-out of their kids having the shots, by signing a statement of exemption.

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others. Triple-A’s Don Redman says for those traveling by air, there are bargains to be found for the flight itself, but you may face higher expenses elsewhere.

Cut 15 (09)  “…about four percent.”

As for gas prices, they are holding mostly steady in Louisiana right now, with the statewide average price of regular at around three-12 a gallon compared to a dollar-84 last year at this time.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction.

Louisiana is marking its second-largest seasonal over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October. Cates says construction jobs in the state went up by 82-hundred in October.

Cut 5 (13) “…a great thing.”

Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history tomorrow as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism. He says because Louisiana knows a thing or two about parades, he wanted to make sure Celebration Gator has that wow factor. And while in the Big Apple the float will make several media appearances promoting the Bayou State.

Cut 8 (09) “…been through.”

Thursday’s appearance in the parade is the first of a three-year commitment.

Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations. However, Senator Bodi White who sits on the Senate Health & Welfare which will soon review the LDH COVID proposal and also chairs the Senate Finance Committee says if LDH insists on giving unproven shots to small kids, the committee can spend their budget elsewhere…:

Cut 12 (09) “…have to do that.”

Triple-A’s Don Redman says the Thanksgiving travel volume predicted this week is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. Redman advises those traveling by car to make sure they’re aware of what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place along their route and destination.

Cut 14 (09)  “…on your highway.”

He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

If Lt Governor Billy Nungesser gets his wish, the state’s first float to appear in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will steal the show. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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State Republican lawmakers are coming out against a Health Department proposal to require COVID shots for kids to attend schools. More from Kevin Gallagher…:

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.” 

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Tens of millions of people are traveling away from home, or perhaps to home, this Thanksgiving holiday weekend with the highways guaranteed to be crowded as they do.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

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Louisiana is marking its second-largest season over-the-month increase in employment in decades. That’s the word from Workforce Commission Secretary Ava Cates who says the ongoing recovery from Hurricane Ida has had a large impact on the state’s employment situation with a seasonally-adjusted non-farm gain of more than 34 thousand jobs in October.

Cut 4 (06) “…back to 1990. “

The largest gains were seen in leisure and hospitality, as well as construction. The jobless rate for October was five-point-four percent, a decline of point-four-percent.

Cates says construction jobs in the state went up by 82-hundred in October, a month-over-month gain coupled with a year-over-year gain of nearly six-thousand jobs.

Cut 5 (13) “…a great thing.”

While a lot of people are shrugging off going back to work because of the pandemic or other reasons, Cates notes the Workforce Commission has a laundry list of job openings up for grabs.

Cut 6 (10) “…for jobs there.”

She says New Orleans and Baton Rouge added the most jobs September to October than any other metro areas in the state, with Alexandria the only MSA to lose jobs, 200 of them during the same period.

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Louisiana’s first entry in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade will make history Thursday as the longest float in the parade. Lt Governor Billy Nungesser says Celebration Gator, a 60-foot-long float, will proudly represent the state and promote tourism.

Cut 7 (09) “…this float.”

Not only will it be the longest, but New Orleans native and the jazz artist to receive the most Grammy nominations ever at 11, Jon Batiste will be performing on the $1.3 million float.

Nungesser says because Louisiana knows a thing or two about parades, he wanted to make sure Celebration Gator has that wow factor. And while in the Big Apple the float will make several media appearances promoting the Bayou State.

Cut 8 (09) “…been through.”

Louisiana has lost millions in tourism revenue due to the pandemic and now with people itching to travel again, Nungesser says Celebration Gator is our new mascot to lure visitors back.

Cut 9 (11)  “…with Macy’s.”

Thursday’s appearance in the parade is the first of a three-year commitment. The parade starts at 9 AM Thanksgiving and can be seen on CBS and NBC.

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Republican state legislators are voicing opposition to a Department of Health proposal to require COVID-19 shots for kids to attend schools. The mandate would apply only to age groups approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for non-emergency use situations – which is currently 16 and older. However, Baton Rouge area state Senator Bodi White says mandating shots for any age group is wrong…:

Cut 10 (07)  “…forced to opt out.”

The LDH proposal would allow parents to opt-out of their kids having the shots, by signing a statement of exemption. Senator White feels the vaccines are still in an experimental stage, and mandating injections for huge numbers of kids without knowing the possible negative side effects is un-wise…:

Cut  11 (09)  “…by doing it also.”  

White sits on Senate Health & Welfare which will soon review the LDH COVID proposal. He also is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and says, if LDH insists on giving unproven shots to small kids, the committee can spend their budget elsewhere…:

Cut 12 (09) “…have to do that.”

_____________________________________

The Thanksgiving holiday travel crunch is upon us with experts predicting more than 53 million people will hit the air, roads and waterways to share the love and dinner with others.

Cut 13 (07) “…turn to cruises.”

That’s Triple-A’s Don Redman who says the travel volume predicted is within five percent of 2019 pre-pandemic levels and marks the highest single-year increase in 16 years. He says air travel is up 80 percent over last year to a volume of just over four million passengers.

Redman advises those traveling by car to make sure they’re aware of what COVID-19 restrictions might be in place along their route and destination.

Cut 14 (09)  “…on your highway.”

He says the height of highway travel for the holiday weekend should begin this afternoon into the evening hours.

Redman says for those traveling by air, there are bargains to be found for the flight itself, but you may face higher expenses elsewhere.

Cut 15 (09)  “…about four percent.”

As for gas prices, they are holding mostly steady in Louisiana right now, with the statewide average price of regular at around three-13 a gallon compared to a dollar-81 last year at this time.

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Before the 23rd ranked Ragin Cajuns host Appalachian State in the Sun Belt championship game, they’ll host ULM this Saturday, looking for their eleventh straight win. Cajuns Coach Billy Napier says they are not looking past their matchup against the Warhawks…

Cut  16 (20) “..play for”

The Ragin Cajuns beat ULM 70-20 last season for their third straight win over the Warhawks. Napier says they have a much different team this year under first-year head coach Terry Bowden…

Cut 17 (25) “ some games” 

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Two teams that can use a win will face off tomorrow night in the Superdome when the Saints host the Bills. New Orleans has lost three in a row, while Buffalo has lost three of its last five and quarterback Josh Allen is coming off a bad performance in a 41-15 defeat to the Colts. Allen threw for 209 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Saints defensive end Cam Jordan on defending Allen…

Cut 18 (15) “..the game”  

The Saints defense allowed over 240 yards rushing to Philadelphia last Sunday and Jordan says they have to be a better run defense from this point forward…

Cut 19 (19)  “…on that”  

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It should be an emotional night inside Tiger Stadium on Saturday night when LSU hosts Texas A-and-M. It will be the final game for Ed Orgeron as coach of the Tigers inside Death Valley and it’s also the final home game for many players like defensive tackle Glen Logan. Logan wants to win for Coach O…

Cut 20 (14) “.to us” 

Governor Edwards and other officials today marked the completion of a 125-million-dollar I-10 widening project between I-49 and Breaux Bridge. He says the continuing improvements to I-10 are a plus to business and help ease the commute times for everyone else.

Cut  11 (09)  “…and go traffic.”  

Drivers in Louisiana have something to be thankful for…

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

State Police Trooper Ross Brennan says State Police are investigating a deadly crash that occurred Friday night in Terrebonne Parish. He says this two-vehicle wreck killed four people including the suspected impaired driver, 42-year-old Charles Triggs of Raceland…

Cut 8 (13) “..was killed.”

The three other people killed in this wreck have been identified as 21-year-old Dannon Fulwiley of Raceland, 23-year-old Corey Porter of Raceland, and 25-year-old Ariana Lachico of Houma.

An investigation continues into a deadly officer-involved shooting in Metairie. It happened Sunday night on Airline Highway underneath the Causeway Boulevard bridge.  A state police investigation of the incident remains ongoing with no information released so far on the identity of the person who was shot or the circumstances that led to the shooting.