Senator David Vitter announces he’s raised $4 million dollars for his bid to become governor of Louisiana. Lapolitics-dot-com publisher Jeremy Alford says a Vitter-friendly Super PAC has raised another 3.9 million dollars. He says Vitter is raising money through his Senate finance campaign account, which can’t be used directly on his gubernatorial campaign, but can be donated to the Super PAC…

cut 11 (10) “it’s unprecedented”

He says Vitter is re-writing the book on campaign finance in Louisiana.

State Police is requesting a 30% pay increase for many troopers. Some have been critical of the timing of the increase as the state faces budget woes and the price of oil is so low, but Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson says this has been a long time coming…

cut 14 (10) “they’ve done that”

He says the money is coming from a special fund approved in last year’s legislative session.

Two young siblings were killed in a house fire in Bastrop Monday and now their mother is facing criminal charges for leaving them unattended. Authorities say 21-year-old Ciarria Johnson left her children alone in the home while she was having her hair styled. Investigators also determined that Johnson made no arrangements for the care of her children while she was gone. Johnson is charged with two counts of negligent homicide.

Researchers from the LSU Health Sciences Center are encouraged that a new drug derived from sea moss could be used to treat Alzheimer’s. Scott Carwile has the story…

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Nearly 400-thousand people here in Louisiana have dealt with the flu during this season…
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Senator David Vitter has announced he has 4 million dollars for his Louisiana gubernatorial campaign with 3.5 million dollars cash on hand. Vitter’s office says that 88 percent of campaign contributions are from over 25 hundred in-state donors. Vitter announced his candidacy last January.
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It’s a very sad story out of Bastrop, as two young children who authorities believe were left home alone, died in a house fire. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says the blaze, which ignited Monday afternoon, was likely started by a gas space heater inside the wood-framed home…:
CUT 3 (10) “home alone”
The mother of the 4 year-old and 3 year-old, – 21 year-old Ciarra Johnson – reportedly was getting her hair done.

A Monroe stand-off this morning at an assistanted living complex has ended tragically, as the resident courtesy officer died after he was allegedly shot by a resident . Monroe Police Detective Reggie Brown says they got the call from the complex about shots fired from the apartment of 64 year-old Adam Spillman…
CUT 11 (10) Q: ‘is in question’
Seventy-six year-old Alton Sutter died at a local hospital.

Two young children from Bastrop, who authorities believe were left home alone, have died in a house fire. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says if they do find out that the mother left these young ones alone, negligent homicide charges could be coming for 21 year-old Ciarra Johnson…:
CUT 5 (10) Q: ‘we’re gonna do that”
Her dead children are idenitified as four year-old Tashae Johnson and 3-year-old Clifton Johnson.

Louisiana’s flu season is here, and officials say, it’s serious…
CUT 6 (11) Q: ‘as well’
That is Doctor Frank Welch, the medical director for the state’s immunization program, who adds an estimated 400-thousand people have come down with the flu statewide.
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A stand-off at an assisted living complex in Monroe this morning has ended with one man dead. Monroe Police Detective Reggie Brown says a resident courtesy officer at Frances Towers reported shots fired from the apartment of 64-year-old Adam Spillman. That officer was shot in the leg…
CUT 10 (09) Q: ‘local area hospital’
Some witnesses said that Spillman may have had some mental issues.

Some state audits of life insurance companies have uncovered more than $31 million in unclaimed property for beneficiaries in the past eight years. State Treasurer John Kennedy says they found that some insurance companies violated their life insurance contracts. So, if you think you are owed money, just go to the website…
CUT 14 (08) Q: ‘at your leisure’

Sad story out of Bastrop, as two young children who authorities believe were left home alone while their mother was getting her hair done, died in a house fire…:
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Senator David Vitter has announced he has 4 million dollars for his Louisiana gubernatorial campaign with 3.5 million dollars cash on hand. Vitter’s office says that 88 percent of campaign contributions are from over 25 hundred in-state donors.
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Louisiana State Treasurer John Kennedy announces that audits have uncovered more than $31 million in unclaimed property for life insurance companies’ beneficiaries in the past eight years. He says some insurance companies are reluctant to pay benefits, and they want to help…
CUT 13 (11) Q: ‘her a check’
Kennedy says check their website for more information at latreasury dot-com

If you think there’s a lot of flu going around, you would be right. Most estimates have the numbers around 400 thousand in the state…
CUT 8 (10) Q: “of the flu”
That’s Doctor Frank Welch, medical director for the state’s immunization program, who says you still to get a flu shot.

State Treasurer John Kennedy announces that audits of life insurance companies have uncovered more than $31 million dollars in unclaimed property for beneficiaries in the past eight years. He says the audit found that some insurance companies violated their life insurance contracts…:
CUT 12 (11) “keep the money”
Kennedy says the audits are necessary because families are often unaware that an insurance policy exists. He says you can search their website to see if you’re due money at latreasury.com.

US Senator David Vitter reports his campaign for Governor was able to raise $4 million dollars in 2014. They say there’s nearly $3.5 million in the bank and 88 percent was collected from 2,500 Louisiana donors. Public Service Commission Scott Angelle reported last week he raised $1.5 million in just the final quarter of last year.

This flu season is awful and the numbers point that out. Doctor Frank Welch, medical director for the state’s immunization program, says nearly an estimated 400-thousand people have come down with the flu this season. He says they are still seeing an extraordinarily large number of cases reported each week, but:
CUT 7 (10) “anymore”
Even though the flu vaccine is not a direct match with the flu strain going around, Welch still advises getting an influenza shot.

State Police say a 30-year-old man from Delhi died last night when he stepped out of his truck in the lane of travel and into the path of a pickup. They say it happened on Louisiana Highway 865 near Winnsboro. Investigators believe Michael Earl was hit by 25-year-old Kelly Armstrong who reported she tried to avoid striking the man but wasn’t able to do so. Earl was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nearly 400-thousand people in Louisiana have dealt with the flu bug during this influenza season. Jeff Palermo has more…:
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US Senator David Vitter today announced he raised $4 million dollars for his Louisiana gubernatorial campaign for this year’s election and has $3.5 million cash on hand. Of the money raised they say 88 percent of the contributions came from more than 2500 in-state donors.

The Monroe Police Department says a stand off situation at an elderly assisted living complex has ended with one man dead. Detective Reggie Brown says a resident courtesy officer at Frances Towers reported shots fired from the apartment of 64-year-old Adam Spillman. Brown says the courtesy officer and a police officer went to make contact with Spillman…:
CUT 9 (10) “victim to safety”
Spillman shot the courtesy officer, 76-year-old Alton Sutter, in the leg and he later died from the injury. It’s not clear what charges Spillman will face at this time.

The current statewide average for a gallon of regular gasoline now according to the American Automobile Association is $1.95.

Authorities in Bastrop say two children died in a house fire and they believe their mother was getting her hair done away from the home at the time. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says criminal charges are anticipated if they find out the children were home alone…:
CUT 4 (12) “require supervision”
He says they believe a gas space heater could have started the fire.

It’s a bad flu season and the numbers prove it. Doctor Frank Welch, medical director for the state’s immunization program, says nearly an estimated 400-thousand people have come down with the flu during this season and it’s sent up to four-thousand people to the hospital…:
CUT 6 (11) “as well”
Welch says this year’s flu vaccine is not perfect but it’s still important to get a flu shot.

Louisiana State Police say they are looking for a 30 percent pay raise for many of its troopers. Col Mike Edmonson says the raise would apply to rank-and-file troopers under the rank of major. The Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget is scheduled to vote Friday on the increases Friday.

Officials in northwest Louisiana plan to meet with the EPA today over plans to conduct an open burn of the 15 million pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 1 (29) “reporting”

A sad story out of Bastrop as two young children who authorities believe were left home alone while their mother was getting her hair done, died in a house fire. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning says the blaze, which ignited Monday afternoon, was likely started by a gas space heater inside the wood-framed home…

cut 3 (10) “home alone”

He says criminal charges are anticipated if they confirm that there was nobody responsible for supervising the children when the fire started.

Louisiana”s newly selected Higher Education Commissioner, Joseph Rallo, is embarking on a statewide tour to introduce himself to communities and school leaders. Rallo says he wants all of the system presidents to be on the same page when it comes to dealing with issues facing higher ed…

cut 10 (04) “vitally important”

Rallo says he plans to engage with leaders who share the common goal of creating a stronger economy through higher education.

A federal judge has ordered former Saints safety, Darren Sharper, to be brought to New Orleans to face federal drug charges. This ruling puts the federal case ahead of the separate state rape charges Sharper faces in Arizona, California, and Louisiana. In December, Sharper, along with former St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s deputy Brandon Licciardi, was charged with three federal narcotics counts related to drugging women in order to sexually assault them.

This year’s New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival promises another stellar lineup including huge acts like Elton John, Keith Urban, JImmy Buffett, Ed Sheeran, and many many more. Festival Producer Quint Davis says says they strive to have something for everyone…

cut 15 (13) “like anything”

Other exciting names playing this year are Widespread Panic, Jerry Lee Lewis, Galactic and Pitbull. The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival runs April 24th through May 3rd. Tickets are on sale now.

Applications are currently being accepted for Louisiana’s scholarship program, also known as the voucher program. Ann Duplessis, president of the Louisiana Federation for Children says not only are parents satisfied, but they are seeing results in the classroom as student proficiency on the LEAP and I-LEAP grew more than two percent from 2013 to 2014…

Cut 9 (10) “and support”

The deadline to apply is February 27th.

Officials in northwest Louisiana will meet with the EPA today to discuss plans to conduct an open burn of the 15 million pounds of M6 propellant at Camp Minden. Minden Representative Gene Reynolds says he’s looking from one thing from the EPA: data that an open burn is safe…

cut 6 (11) “of this stuff”

The EPA says they are working to assure the safety and effectiveness of onsite, controlled open-burning of the propellant.

KNOE-TV reports a stand off situation at the Frances Towers retirement community in Monroe has left at least one dead. Officials say the suspect began firing shots in his apartment early this morning and when the victim went to check on the suspect, he was shot. Authorities say the stand off has now ended. We’ll have more details in future newscasts.

The 2015 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is in its 46th year and the lineup once again includes huge acts. Michelle Southern reports.

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