The third surge of the pandemic seems to be subsiding in Louisiana, but state health officials warn our percent positivity rate on COVID tests statewide is still over ten percent. Governor John Bel Edwards says the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has fallen below 18-hundred, but…

Cut 12 (09) “…delivery system” 

This weekend we will likely surpass the 8,000 total death mark from COVID-19.

New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades may be canceled but you can still catch a hint of carnival at City Park starting February 7^th. It’s Floats in the Oaks, a drive-through experience where floats from major parades will be displayed like they would the park’s famed Christmas decorations.  Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann came up with the idea and it caught fire once he put it on Facebook.

Cut 9 (12) “..went viral”

A controversial figure has joined the race for the 5^th Congressional District: a man who was convicted of murdering his 8-year-old stepson with the help of the child’s mother but is awaiting a retrial in the case. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Brooke Thorington”  

Broadcast legend Larry King is dead at 87. King made his name in New York but had a little known four-year stint in Shreveport where he did freelance writing, worked PR, and even was the broadcaster for the short-lived Shreveport Streamer, the World Football League time that set up shop in northwest Louisiana for a spell.

The state is highly likely to pass a grim pandemic milestone this weekend: over 8,000 COVID-19 related deaths. While we seem to be coming out of the third surge of the virus Governor Edwards warns it will take awhile for the number of new daily deaths to drop…

Cut 13 (07)“unacceptably high”

The state health department also reports that 314-thousand vaccine doses have been administered.

The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association warns the Biden Administration’s anti-oil opening salvo of executive orders is a blow to the industry. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim president Mike Moncla…

Cut 6 (12) “industry”

The Administration says the restrictions are vital to reduce the nation’s carbon output and avoid catastrophic levels of global temperature increases in the future.

A man who was convicted of murdering his eight year old stepson, but if awaiting a retrial due to a non-unanimous conviction is running for Congress in the 5^th district. Errol Victor Sr. a pastor from St. John the Baptist, is one of 13 candidates, but ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says even if he ends up winning he may not end up serving in office…

Cut 5  (11) “…Congressperson.” 

Victor is registered as a Republican and made national headlines in 2012 when he along with his wife, were captured and arrested in Georgia after being featured on “America’s Most Wanted”.

Legendary broadcaster and interviewer Larry King has passed away at the age of 87. Larry is most known for his career in the Big Apple but before taking the trip up north he worked in Shreveport from 71 to 75 as a freelance writer, PR person, and radio broadcaster for the Shreveport Steamer World Football League team.

Saints fans can feel it in the air: last Sunday’s loss to the Bucs was the end of an era that yielded one Championship ring and numerous playoff appearances. Unfortunately for the Saints with Drew Brees still unannounced but expected retirement and their cap woes next season could be brutual. Reports indicate the Saints could be as much as 109 million dollars over the cap right now. Despite that coach Sean Payton is optimistic they’ll be back in the playoffs even though a number of players are on expiring contracts…

Cut 17 (29) “…for the Saints” (cut down)

Payton expects next year’s QB is already on the roster, either free agent Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill.

ULM’s losing streak stretches to five in a row after falling 57-47 to Texas State. The Warhawks got a good performance out of guard Marco Morency who put up 18 points and six rebounds but saw the rest of the team fail to crack eight points. ULM and Texas State are back in action today at 4 PM.

Dominant win for the Cajuns over Arkansas State last night. UL Lafayette took down the Red Wolves 81-68 on a strong team effort that saw three players hit double-digit scoring. They continue the series today at 4 PM.

Tech’s three-game win streak came to an end last night 82-74 against UTEP despite a big game from forward Kenneth Lofton. Lofton put up 20 and 13. that series continues today at 7 PM.

Southeastern and Northwestern are at it today in Hammond at 4 PM.

The Pelicans look to salvage their season tonight at 7 PM against the 3 and 10 Timberwolves. It’s their last game of a brutal road stretch that saw them go 1 and five over their last six.

The state looks likely to surpass 8,000 total COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic this weekend. Governor Edwards says while we seem to be exiting this third wave of the pandemic unfortunately our currently high number of daily deaths will drag on for awhile longer…

Cut 13 (07)“unacceptably high”

The state health department also reports that 314-thousand vaccine doses have been administered.

A St. John The Baptist pastor who was convicted of murdering his eight year old stepson, but is awaiting a retrial due to a non-unanimous conviction, has signed up to run for Congress in the 5^th District. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says Errol Victor Sr. is legally allowed to run right now…

Cut 3 (12)  “…circumstances.”

Gas prices have risen from 37 dollars a barrel just before the Presidential election to 55 dollars a barrel today. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim president Mike Moncla says it’s an industry response to the Biden Admin’s oil-hostile policy…

Cut 7 (09) “..goes up.”

The Administration backs recent orders like revocation of the Keystone permit, saying reducing the nation’s carbon output is crucial to ensuring the world doesn’t suffer catastrophic global warming.

While there won’t be any Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans due to the Coronavirus pandemic, folks will be able to experience a drive-thru Mardi Gras event in New Orleans City Park. Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann says once he posted this idea on his Facebook page it gained a lot of traction.

Cut 9 (12) “..went viral”

The Biden Administration’s recent series of oil and gas restrictions and regulations has Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim president Mike Moncla concerned about the industry’s future…

Cut 6 (12) “industry”

The Administration says the moves are needed to begin the process of significantly lowering the nation’s carbon output which, along with the rest of the world’s participation, is the only way to avoid catastrophic global temperature increases.

The number of COVID patients in Louisiana hospitals has finally fallen below 18-hundred after setting a series of new daily high numbers earlier this month. Governor John Bel Edwards says that’s good news, but….

Cut 12 (09) “…delivery system” 

A controversial figure has joined the race for the 5^th Congressional District: a man once convicted of murdering an eight year old, but who is awaiting a retrial due to the US Supreme Court’s ruling that non-unanimous jury verdicts are unconstitutional. Errol Victor Sr. is a St. John The Baptist Parish pastor and ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says wonders if Victor truly wants to represent the state…

Cut 4 (10) “….who knows” 

Qualifying has wrapped up for the two March special elections. Alexandria Lawmaker Lance Harris announced that he will not be running for the 5^th again after taking second place in December, leaving frontrunner Julia Letlow without a major challenger.

In the 2^nd Congressional District Race the two early frontrunners appear to be New Orleans State Senators Karen Carter Peterson and Troy Carter. Peterson has secured an endorsement from star Democratic organizer Stacy Abrams while Carter won the backing of the seat’s former occupant, Cedric Richmond.

Governor John Bel Edwards says there are positive signs that Louisiana has plateaued in the latest COVID-19-surge but the state percent positivity rate remains over 10-percent. The state health department reported 1,937 new cases on Friday and 41 more deaths. Edwards says the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has fallen below 18-hundred, but…

Cut 12 (09) “…delivery system” 

A pastor from St. John the Baptist Parish Errol Victor Sr., who was previously convicted of murdering an eight year old and is awaiting a retrial, is signed up to run for the 5^th Congressional district. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says if voters elect Victor he’s not guaranteed to keep the job…

Cut 5  (11) “…Congressperson.” 

Two days into office and the Biden Administration is following through on campaign promises to roll back American oil production to fight global wamring via executive action. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim president Mike Moncla says these moves will end up hitting Louisianans in the wallet.

Cut 7 (09) “..goes up.”

November 2^nd, the day before the Presidential election, oil was 37 dollars a barrel. It is now 55 dollars a barrel.

With parades canceled for Mardi Gras another option to celebrate in New Orleans is The “Float in the Oaks” a drive-thru event taking place from February 4^th to the 14^th.  Attendees are encouraged to decorate their vehicles.  Delgado baseball coach Joe Scheurmann who came up with the idea says this allows people to celebrate just a bit differently.

Cut 10 (13) “…they go”

Two days into office and the Biden Administration is following through on campaign promises to roll back American oil production via executive action. Louisiana Oil and Gas Association interim president Mike Moncla says the industry is not happy…

Cut 6, 12 seconds, industry

Biden says these steps are crucial to reducing the nation’s carbon output and limiting catastrophic levels of global temperature increases.

A man once convicted of murder and currently in prison is on the ballot for the 5^th Congressional District special election race. Errol Victor Sr. remains in prison awaiting a retrial because of last year’s Supreme Court decision declaring non-unanimous convictions unconstitutional. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley…

Cut 3 (12)  “…circumstances.”

Crawfish harvests have been slow to start the year with pond temperatures still pretty cool but the season looks set to pick up steam shortly. Despite demand that will likely be lower than a non-pandemic season LSU Ag Center Crawfish Specialist Mark Shirley says temperature forecasts indicate a great harvest is awaiting us once we hit peak season in March and April.

Cut 15 (07)“…more.”

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins joins 33 other mayors in calling on President Biden to support sending Americans recurring checks through the end of the pandemic. Perkins says the US economy already didn’t work for half of all Americans and the pandemic has just exacerbated that, and this is a way to help folks out while stimulating the economy.

Cut 7 (09)  “..spend it.”

The group, which purchased a full-page ad in the Washington Post touting the idea, does not back a specific dollar amount for the checks.

Julia Letlow has officially qualified to run for the 5^th congressional district, which her late husband won in December before passing away due to Covid-19. 

Cut 1 (30) “ …I’m Taylor Sharp”  

Since hitting a peak all-time high of 2,069 COVID patients in Louisiana hospitals on January 8^th, numbers have since dropped significantly to only 1,800. Other signs that the state’s third wave is starting to subside include a quickly dropping positivity rate on new tests, now down statewide to 6.4 percent.

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne warns we will likely face hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts for the fiscal year beginning in July. Dardenne says it’s tough to see our budget get slammed by the pandemic considering just a year ago it had been stabilized.

Cut 11 (10) “..education”

The Revenue Estimating Conference adopted a forecast drop of 228 million dollars.

Former Baton Rouge news anchor Donna Britt passed away early Thursday morning after losing her battle with ALS.  Britt worked for the CBS affiliate, WAFB, from 1980 all the way until 2018 when the illness forced her to retire.  Britt’s husband Mark Ballard says she was preparing her LSU Journalism Hall of Fame acceptance speech just a few months ago.

Cut 13 (11)“to the event.”