The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s office says the deputy who was gunned down in an ambush this morning is in stable but guarded condition. Captain Pat Yoes says 36-year-old Burt Hazeltine was working a school zone crossing when somebody just opened fire at a nearby gas station. He says the shooting appears to be completely unprovoked…:
CUT 8 (04) “off the roadway”
He says motive is unclear at this time but they do have a suspect in custody and are working on getting some answers.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office asks for the public’s help in the search for a missing woman whose vehicle was found intentionally set on fire and destroyed. Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks says 54-year-old Taherah Ghassemi’s welfare is a big concern and it’s important she’s found as soon as possible…:
CUT 10 (09) “sheriff’s office”

Governor Bobby Jindal has been criticized by some for a fiscal policy based on Grover Norquist and the Americans for Tax Reform. But Jindal says he’s always been a supporter of no new taxes on Louisiana residents…:
CUT 13 (08) “to raising taxes”
Jindal feels it would be a mistake to raise taxes even as the state faces a $1.6 billion dollar budget deficit.

Jindal and Dallas-based Monster Moto announce the company will establish a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Ruston…:
CUT 5 (30) “reporting”

The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s deputy who was shot in an apparent ambush this morning has been identified. 36-year-old Corporal Burt Hazeltine was gunned down while directing traffic at a school crossing this morning. Captain Pat Yoes says a passerby drug the deputy behind the police car to safety. He says when other deputies arrived the suspect dropped the gun…:
CUT 7 (05) “university hospital”
The deputy is listed as in stable, but guarded condition. The Sheriff has called a 3pm news conference to release more details on this incident.

The National Weather Service has issued Flash Flood Watches across south-central and southeastern Louisiana through Friday night as rains continue to pound the state. State Climatologist Barry Keim says over the past four to five days anywhere between five and seven inches of rain has fallen over most of south Louisiana and there’s more on the way…:
CUT 11 (08) “south Louisiana”

The Pelicans are in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2011 after last night’s 108-103 win over San Antonio. New Orleans will face Golden State in a first round best-of-seven series beginning Saturday. Coach Monty Williams says Anthony Davis’s play down the stretch was key in this big win…:
CUT 4 (09) “free throws”
Davis scored 31 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the victory.

Motorcycle assembly company Monster Moto announces they will construct a new facility in Ruston that will build go-carts and minibikes. Their corporate offices will also relocate from Dallas to Ruston.

The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s office says a deputy directing traffic at a school crossing in Paradis was shot multiple times in an apparent ambush. Captain Pat Yoes says the victim was helping buses make their way off of Highway 190 around 8:50 Thursday morning when the incident took place…:
CUT 6 (07) “multiple times”
They say a motive is unclear at this time. The deputy is listed in stable but guarded condition at a local hospital.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office asks for the public’s help in the search for a missing woman whose vehicle was found intentionally set on fire and destroyed. Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks says 54-year-old Taherah Ghassemi (ta-HAIR-ay ga-SEE-me) was reported missing by her son on Monday and he hadn’t heard from his mom since Saturday…:
CUT 9 (04) “she had not”
They are very concerned and asking for the public’s help in this case.

Will social media play a large role in the 2016 presidential election? UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross believes it will. Cross thinks social media works better in targeting than just about any other approach…:
cut 11 (07) “using this method”
Senator Marco Rubio’s campaign announcement was shared thousands of times on Facebook.

The Pelicans are in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2011 after last night’s 108-103 win over San Antonio. The Pels will face Golden State in a first round best-of-seven series beginning Saturday. The Pelicans scored 34-points in the first quarter and head coach Monty Williams says that came as a surprise…:
CUT 3 (07) “bench was great”
Games one and two will be played in Oakland before coming to New Orleans for games three and four next Thursday and Saturday.

The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s office says one of it’s deputies has been shot in an apparent ambush. They say the deputy was directing traffic in a Paradis school zone when he was shot multiple times. There is a suspect in custody. Further information will be released as it becomes available.

BESE unanimously approves a process that will be used to review the state’s controversial Common Core academic standards. President Chas Roemer says the goal is to improve current standards where necessary instead of rewriting them. He says the key to this process is to make sure they have people who actually use Common Core participating…:
CUT 7 (10) “for our state”
The Louisiana Association of Educators say they hope the Standards Committee is made up of experienced and qualified teachers.

Governor Bobby Jindal and Dallas-based Monster Moto announce the company will establish a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Ruston. Eric Gill has more…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s office continues to search for a missing woman whose vehicle was found intentionally set on fire and destroyed. They say 54-year-old Taherah Ghassemi was reported missing by her son on Monday and hadn’t heard from his mom since Saturday. Investigators aren’t saying much about what happened over the weekend, but are very concerned and are asking for the public’s help.

As we look ahead to the 2016 presidential election, how big of a roll will social media play? Scott Carwile reports…

cut 3 (29) “reporting”

The Thibodaux Police Department has arrested a man after they found him trying to conceal stolen hubcaps under his shirt. When officers responded to a call about a suspicious person, they found 40-year-old James Myers attempting to hide four hubcaps he had allegedly stolen from decommissioned police cars. During questioning, Myers told officers he was homeless and planned to sell the hubcaps. Myers is charged with felony theft.

BESE unanimously approves a process that will set up a Standards Committee to review the state’s controversial Common Core academic standards. Louisiana Association of Educators President Debbie Meaux says they would like to see a majority of the committee staffed by classroom teachers…

cut 9 (09) “in education”

BESE President Chas Roemer says at least half of the 26-member Standards Committee will be made up of current Louisiana, district and school-based educators.

The non-profit group Oceana has filed a lawsuit against the federal government in an attempt to protect sea turtles from shrimp trawl nets. Oceana Marine Scientist Amanda Keledjian says only 1 percent of the Southeast shrimp trawl fishery’s fleet is monitored for sea turtle by catch in recent years. She says they are named as one of the most wasteful — throwing out almost two-thirds of what they catch and killing tens of thousands of sea turtles every year…

cut 15 (08) “we’re doing this”

The suit alleges that the Endangered Species Act is being violated.

In a unanimous vote, BESE approves a process that will be used to review the state’s controversial Common Core academic standards. Michelle Southern reports…:

cut 2 (31) “reporting”

The Pelicans are playoff bound for the first time since 2011 after last night’s 108-103 win over defending NBA Champion San Antonio. Anthony Davis had another monster performance scoring 31 and pulling down 13 rebounds. The Pelicans begin their first round best-of-seven series against Golden State this Saturday at 2:30. It will be televised on ABC.

UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross believes social media will play a big role in the 2016 presidential election. He says social media is a great way to get out positive feel-good messages, but it’s also effective in spreading negative messages as well. He says you’ll see a combination of both as the presidential race gets going…

cut 12 (08) “bad messages”

Governor Bobby Jindal and Dallas-based Monster Moto, a youth oriented vehicle manufacturer, announce the company will establish a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Ruston. Construction on the facility will begin in June and operations are expected to begin by the end of the year. Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker says Monster Moto is a company that really fits in the community…

cut 5 (07) “City of Ruston”

Monster Moto’s move will create 287 direct jobs for north Louisiana over the next decade.

Oceana files a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to protect sea turtles from shrimp trawl nets. Oceana Marine Scientist Amanda Keledjian says they want the enforcement and strengthening of the use of turtle excluder devices which she says are 97% effective…

cut 14 (09) “these devices”

The suit alleges that the Endangered Species Act is being violated as 53,000 endangered sea turtles are allowed to be killed every year off the Louisiana coast.

BESE unanimously approves a process that will be used to review the state’s controversial Common Core academic standards. President Chas Roemer says this is not about being pro or anti-Common Core, it’s about finding out what should be expected of children who are learning…

cut 8 (09) “in mathematics”

Roemer says at least half of the 26-member Standards Committee will be made up of current Louisiana, district and school-based educators.

Governor Bobby Jindal and Dallas-based Monster Moto announce the company will establish a headquarters and manufacturing facility in Ruston. The project includes a $4 million investment to build a 100,000 square foot facility at the former site of Ruston’s municipal airport. Mayor Ronny Walker says this is a big deal for Ruston…

cut 4 (07) “to come here”

Monster Moto manufactures minibikes, go-carts, and other youth oriented vehicles.

Will social media play a large role in the 2016 presidential election? UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross believes it will. Cross thinks social media works better in targeting people better than just about any other approach…

cut 11 (07) “using this method”

Senator Marco Rubio’s campaign announcement was shared thousands of times on Facebook.

BESE unanimously approves a process that will be used to review the state’s controversial Common Core academic standards. President Chas Roemer says the goal is to improve current standards where necessary instead of rewriting them. He says the key to this process is to make sure they have people who actually use Common Core participating…

cut 7 (10) “for our state”

Roemer says the public will have the opportunity to review and provide input on every standard, and all related meetings will be open to all.

As we look ahead to the 2016 presidential election, how big of a roll will social media play? Both Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz used Twitter to announce they were running. UL-Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says you should expect social media to play a major role…

cut 10 (06) “in the campaign”

He says President Obama showed the importance of social media in his 2008 campaign.

Oceana has filed a lawsuit against the federal government in an attempt to protect sea turtles from shrimp trawl nets. The suit alleges that the Endangered Species Act is being violated as 53,000 endangered sea turtles are allowed to be killed every year in the Southeast Shrimp Trawl Fishery off the Louisiana coast. Oceana Marine Scientist Amanda Keledjian…

cut 13 (11) “throughout the fishery”

A turtle excluder device allows a captured sea turtle to escape when they are caught in a fisherman’s net.