Starting Monday those over 70 and an expanding group of healthcare workers will be eligible to receive a vaccine at one of about 100 pharmacies state-wide. The initial wave of doses will be limited, and you’ll have to have an appointment with that pharmacy to get a vaccine. State Health Officer Dr. Joe Kanter says that group also includes…

Cut 5 (06) “…health care services.”

Starting Monday roughly 900,000 Louisianans will be eligible for the vaccine total.

The 87th annual Sugar Bowl is tonight in New Orleans and it’s a much different event this year due to the pandemic. Sugar Bowl C-E-O Jeff Hundley says while the Sugar Bowl parade and other public events tied to the bowl game have been canceled, at least they are having a game this year…

Cut 14 (11) “…next year.” 

Hundley says a smaller Sugar Bowl means community donations will also be scaled back.

The Mayor of Lake Charles remains optimistic about recovery efforts despite enduring the 5^th strongest hurricane to hit the United States.  Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

Congressman-elect Luke Letlow’s funeral has been set for 2 PM Saturday in Monroe. The 41-year-old died Tuesday evening from complications related to COVID-19, a shocking development considering health officials say he had no underlying health conditions. Governor John Bel Edwards has ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff tomorrow for the funeral.

Nationwide healthcare providers are having trouble efficiently administering the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as they get it, and apparently, the story is no different here in Louisiana. The state’s top public health expert says Louisiana will have received more than 210-thousand vaccine doses by Saturday, but have only logged 45,000 official administrations of the vaccine. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter says starting the rollout during the holidays has been problematic but he remains encouraged…

Cut 4 (11) “…new year.” (chop down)

Starting Monday those over 70 and an expanded group of healthcare workers will be eligible for the vaccine.

The 87th annual Sugar Bowl is tonight in New Orleans and despite a 3,000 person attendance cap and no pre game festivities Sugar Bowl C-E-O Jeff Hundley says they’re looking forward to a great game between Ohio State and Clemson…

Cut 13 (15) “…more exciting.” (chop down)

Lake Charles is still bouncing back from the devastation of Hurricanes Laura and Delta, with a long year of work ahead of them. Mayor Nic Hunter says the federal response has been a mixed bag, and while FEMA has responded well with some things…

Cut 10 (09) “…housing.”

Those two hurricanes were just a few of the reasons why 2020 was the busiest year on record for the Louisiana National Guard. Gaurd spokesperson Noel Collins says their hurricane season was the busiest ever with relief efforts for Laura, Delta, and Zeta and preparations for Cristobal, Marco, Sally, and Beta. Collins says LANG assisted with 400 generator missions; distributed 5.7 million meals, 7.8 million liters of water, 1.4 million bags of ice, and 267-thousand tarps.

Cut 7 (11)  “…efforts.”

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is going slower than many expected. The state’s top public health expert says Louisiana will have received more than 210-thousand vaccine doses by Saturday. Over 45-thousand doses have been administered. State Health Officer Doctor Joe Kanter admits it’s a complex operation

Cut 3 (12)  “…doses.”  

There are currently 249-thousand people eligible to receive the vaccine and that group includes health care workers but starting Monday another 649-thousand will be eligible in group 1B.

The City of Lake Charles took a beating not once but twice with hurricanes in 2020. Mayor Nic Hunter says recovery efforts have come a long way in four months, however…

Cut 9 (09) “…recovered.”

2020 was the busiest year on record for the Louisiana National Guard with the pandemic, hurricanes, and a deployment of more than 2,000 guardsmen overseas. LANG spokesperson Noel Collins said since March, guardsmen have assisted with testing sites and food banks.

Cut 6 (06) “…of food.”

And distributed more than 56-million PPE items and 4,500 PPE delivery missions.

The 87th annual Sugar Bowl is tonight in New Orleans and it’s a much different event this year due to the pandemic. Ohio State and Clemson will play in the national semifinal game and Sugar Bowl C-E-O Jeff Hundley says only three-thousand fans will be in attendance and none of their other events will take place

Cut 12 (09) “…of town.”

Sugar Bowl kicks off 7PM tonight in New Orleans for its 87^th annual game. Ohio State and Clemson play in a revenge game for the Buckeyes who were denied last year by the Tigers. Sugar Bowl C-E-O Jeff Hundley…

Cut 13 (15) “…more exciting.”

Unfortunately due to the pandemic, all those fun pre-game activities down in New Orleans had to be canceled and only 3,000 fans will be allowed in to see the game in person.

LA Tech, ULM and the Cajuns all open up conference basketball play today. Tech’s looking strong on a three-game win streak sitting at 7 and 2 and takes on Marshall at 6:30 in Ruston. Monroe’s had a rough year so far and is riding a three-game losing streak into their home game against Arkansas State at 6 PM. After getting hammered by number two Baylor to start the season UL Lafayette has run up six wins in a row heading into their game today at home against Texas State.

After a record-tying six rushing touchdowns in an NFL game what will Saints running back Alvin Kamara do for an encore this Sunday when New Orleans closes out the regular season at Carolina? Kamara says he has not reflected much on his historic Christmas Day performance…

Cut 15 (15)“…accomplish”

Kamara is averaging a historic five yards a carry and 932 total rushing yards so far this year to go along with 756 yards through the air and 21 total touchdowns.

Despite seeing their leading man Brandon Ingram ejected in the 3^rd quarter the Pelicans rolled over the Thunder 113-80, putting them back above .500 on the year. It was a real team performance this time with Brandon Ingram out early and Zion Williamson limited due to foul trouble. Five other Pels besides the team’s big two put up double-digit points.

Condolences for Congressman-elect Luke Letlow poured into the state yesterday after news of his Tuesday evening death from COVID-19. Letlow was only 41 and won his runoff race less than a month ago. We spoke to him just prior to that win and he said he was looking forward to pushing Congress for the funds needed to take on one of the 5^th’s most pressing issues…

Cut 9 (09) “… the world.”

Letlow was set to be sworn-in Sunday.

Most of the state is under an enhanced severe weather threat today with chances for tornadoes and heavy winds and heavy rainfall. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the higher amounts of rainfall will be seen in Northwest Louisiana as opposed to Southeast Louisiana.

Cut 6 (12) “…through 2021.”

The showdown between Governor Edwards and House Republicans over his COVID restrictions topped a busy year in state political news. House Republicans uncovered a little known, and as of this year unused petition process that would allow only one chamber of the Legislature to override a gubernatorial emergency order. The constitutionality of the process was in question, and ultimately rejected by the courts. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says House Republicans’ biggest hurdle was that their Senate colleagues did not back their attempt…

Cut 12 (10) “…then”

Road travel was down 24 percent, air travel down 60 percent, and train travel down nearly 90 percent for Christmas by AAA spokesperson Don Redman says experts are growing confident that our travel numbers will rebound in 2021.

Cut 15 (10)“…going in.”

Outdoor New Year’s Eve plans aren’t looking so good as most of the state is under an enhanced severe weather threat for the final day of 2020. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a tropical cyclone will push bad weather across the state from Texas towards the Mississippi Delta…

Cut 5 (11) “…going on.”

Good news is the threat will be over by New Year’s Day.

State leaders are still in shock at the surprising COVID-related death of 41-year-old Congressman elect Luke Letlow, who won the 5^th district runoff just earlier this month. We spoke with Letlow just prior to his win and he spoke highly of his former boss and mentor, retiring Congressman Ralph Abraham, and said it was Abraham who pulled him back into public service in 2014 while he was working for a Denver energy company.

Cut 8 (09) “…up in Congress.”

The vitriolic battle between House Republicans and Governor Edwards over COVID restrictions was the top story in state politics for 2020. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross says Louisiana became just another battleground in a nationwide partisan battle that was playing out during the Presidential election…

Cut 11 (05) “…well.”

Road travel was down 24 percent for Christmas but that still means an estimated 81 million people traveled by car for the holiday. That’s not the same story for air travel, where AAA spokesperson Don Redman says only three million Americans traveled by air for the holidays, a whopping 60 percent decrease from last year.

Cut 14 (07) “…percent.” 

Governor Edwards will hold a 10 AM press conference today addressing concerns about the state’s slow rollout of vaccinations as national reports indicate just a fraction of all vaccines have actually been administered.

The Saints take on Carolina Sunday for the final game of the regular season. The team is a lock for the playoffs but is holding out hope that the dominos fall just right and the Packers lose their final game of the year to Bears and Seattle tops San Fran, along with a win over Teddy Bridgewater’s Panthers. The Saints have a rare opportunity to sweep the entire division this year with a win.

It’s another meeting with Bridgewater who had a perfect record during limited starts for the Saints last year. This year? Not so much. He’s tossed 15 TDs and nine picks in 14 games played for the Panthers on only 3557 yards passing but does sport a nifty 70 percent pass completion percentage.

The Pelicans continue their early-season tonight hoping to climb back over .500 against the struggling Oklahoma City Thunder. The pels took a brutal beating from Pheonix two nights ago but play a OKC team that’s basically cleaned house for a full-on rebuild and is not close to the same outfit that made the playoffs last year.

Jeff Palermo covered a thrilling end to the High School Football championships…

Most of Louisiana is under an enhanced severe weather threat for the final day of 2020. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a cyclone is expected to form along the Texas coast this morning and travel northward into Oklahoma bringing severe weather to the Bayou State.

Cut 4 (11) “…high wind.”

Temperatures will be cooler once the rain passes through with lows on New Year’s day in the mid-30s for North Louisiana and mid-40s to low 50s in the southern part of the state.

Despite calls from state and federal officials for folks to stay home for Christmas an estimated 81 million people still took to the roads, but AAA spokesperson Don Redman says road travel was down 24 percent from 2019’s record numbers. Locally…

Cut 13 (05) “…by car.”

It was a busy year in state politics but it’s clear the defining fight of 2020 was that between the Governor and House Republicans over COVID restrictions and the public health emergency. House Republicans attempted to override the Governor’s restrictions using a little known petition process but have been, so far, denied by the courts. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross…

Cut 10 (10) “…magnified.”

Baton Rouge Judge William Morvant rejected the effort, which was brought to court by Attorney General Jeff Landry, in November but last week was ordered by the State Supreme Court to revisit the case in 2021.

The state is still in shock over the surprising COVID-related death of 41-year-old Congressman-elect Luke Letlow Tuesday evening. LRN spoke with Letlow just before his December 5^th runoff victory…

Cut 7 (07)  “…hurricane.”