State Trooper Jacob Brown of Rayville has been charged with one count of Aggravated Second-Degree Battery and Malfeasance in Office for allegedly using excessive and unjustifiable force during an arrest in Ouachita Parish in May of 2019. Trooper Michael Reichhardt says 30-year-old Brown was assisting the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s office…

Cut 10 (04) “…administrative investigation.”

A law office in Monroe has identified the victim as Aaron Bowman.

The hospitals are filling up and we’ve got another near 3,000 case day to report again in Louisiana, but in some good news vaccine rollout is imminent in Louisiana for frontline healthcare workers. The bad news is there are fears that some in the public will refuse to take it once publicly available. Governor Edwards says he hopes those folks change their mind but it won’t be mandatory, and…

Cut 6 (06) “…do it.”

We’re awaiting final emergency approval of the Pfizer vaccine from the FDA.

An AARP dashboard report indicates nursing homes in Louisiana face concerning trends. AARP State Director Denise Botcher says an adequate supply of medical-grade PPE is vital and with only 17-percent of facilities reporting a one-week supply, she fears the worst.

Cut 13 (11)“…PPE.”

In the past two weeks, six people have died in fires in Louisiana. While the causes remain undetermined, State Fire Marshal Spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue believes unsafe heating practices could be factors.

Cut 3 (12)  “…in your home.”

Last year 75 people in Louisiana died due to fires and another 70 lives have been claimed in 2020.

State Police Trooper Jacob Brown has been arrested for allegedly use of excessive and unjustifiable force during an encounter with a Black man in Ouachita Parish in May of 2019. Trooper Michael Reichhardt says a lawsuit filed by the victim in October started the investigation…

Cut 9 (09) “…at that time.”

A law office in Monroe has identified the victim as Aaron Bowman. They claim Bowman was dragged to the ground and beaten senselessly during the arrest.

It looks likely that we will be vaccinating frontline healthcare workers in Louisiana as early as early next week, but Governor Edwards warns it will take until at least late spring before the general public gets a shot at the vaccine…

Cut 8 (09) “…holds”

Edwards says stopping mitigation measures now would be like fumbling at the one yard line.

An AARP report from October to mid-November shows 476 new cases among nursing home staff in Louisiana and 17-percent have a PPE shortage. Jeff Palermo has the story…

cut 2 (31) …I’m Jeff Palermo.”  

We’re now just 11 COVID hospitalizations shy of the peak we hit in late July during the 2^nd wave. This third wave appears primed to blasted right back that as there are currently no signs that currently levels of spread of slowing down as the state reports another near 3,000 cases today.

Vaccine rollout is imminent in Louisiana but there are fears that many will refuse to take it once publicly available. Governor Edwards says he hopes those folks change their mind but it won’t be mandatory, and…

Cut 6 (06) “…do it.”

We’re awaiting final emergency approval of the Pfizer vaccine from the FDA. In the meantime, the state reported another nearly 3,000 COVID cases today.

Louisiana State Trooper Jacob Brown has been arrested for allegedly dragging a black man to the ground and beating him in May of 2019. Trooper Michael Reichhardt says the investigation began after the victim filed a lawsuit.

Cut 9 (09) “…at that time.

Brown’s been charged with one count of Aggravated Second Degree Battery and Malfeasance in Office.

In the past two weeks, six people have died in fires in Louisiana. While the causes remain undetermined, State Fire Marshal Spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue believes unsafe heating practices could be factors.

Cut 3 (12)  “…in your home.”

Last year 75 people in Louisiana died due to fires and another 70 lives have been claimed in 2020. The most recent deadly fire came last night in Lafayette. 20-year-old Brock Johnson perished in that fire that is still under investigation. Family members say they heard a loud boom, and then ran to Johnson’s room only to find it engulfed in flames.

A panel of medical experts have given their seal of approval of the Pfizer COVID vaccine to the FDA, clearing the way for the feds to grant emergency approval of the vaccine within the next 24 hours potentially. Governor Edwards says it is certainly possible that we could be vaccinating people in Louisiana by late Sunday.

The LSU football program has self-imposed a one-year bowl ban for this season in an effort to lessen the penalties it could receive from the NCAA for rules violations. 

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Taylor Sharp.”  

D.C. lawmakers are increasingly confident a new roughly 900-billion-dollar COVID relief bill will soon be passed after the two major parties disagreed parts of the bill.  Senator Bill Cassidy says an agreement is right around the corner.

Cut 11 (08) “…divides”

The only hangs are over whether the deal should include a stimulus check or boosted unemployment, and whether businesses should receive a liability shield against potential COVID lawsuits.

Two brothers wanted for the shooting death of a gas station clerk in Kenner were arrested in Memphis, Tennessee. Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser says they’ve been searching for 28-year-old Lamonte Loggins and 29-year-old Eric Rodgers since committing the cold-blooded killing on November 30th

Cut 12 (11) “..zero reasons.” 

Senator Bill Cassidy says lawmakers are narrowing down the framework of a new COVID relief bill but one big sticking point left is Republicans want businesses to be shielded from COVID-related lawsuits, and Democrats want to ensure if someone has a claim they have a right to sue.

Cut 9 (10) “…pandemic.”

Cassidy says a deal could be cut as soon as this afternoon.

28-year-old Lamonte Loggins and 29-year-old Eric Rodgers have been arrested in the shooting death of a Kenner gas station clerk. Kenner Police Chief Michael Glaser says Loggins is the suspected gunman and he’s already spent a good part of his life behind bars

Cut 14 (10) “…apprehended them.” 

The two were arrested in Tennessee.

The LSU football program has self-imposed a one-year bowl ban for this season in an effort to lessen the penalties it could receive from the NCAA for rules violations.  Taylor Sharp has the story.

Cut 1 (31) “ …I’m Taylor Sharp.”  

A planned capacity expansion for New Orleans Saints games has been put on hold as the state seeing an explosion in new COVID cases. The plan was to allow 15,000 people into the Dome for Sunday night’s game against the Chiefs, but the team will instead be at 3,000.

Statewide in the eight and a half months since our first COVID linked fatality, we’ve had enough COVID deaths to fill eight average flu seasons. Those numbers come from New Orleans-based data analyst Jeff Asher who says when extrapolating current rates out to 12 months COVID will likely rival cancer and heart disease deaths.

Cut 3 (09)  “…astounding.”

The average flu season was taken by averaging flu deaths every year between 2012 and 2016 which came out to 765.

Sixty percent of people questioned by a Pew Research Survey say they plan to get vaccinated for COVID. But for the other 40 percent can your employer require you to be inoculated? According to Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino in Louisiana the short answer is yes.

Cut 9 (07) “…to COVID.”

Rumors have swirled that LSU freshman Tight End Arik Gilbert would opting out of the remainder of the season, and head coach Ed Orgeron confirmed that Gilbert has left the team. Orgeron says he spoke with Gilbert yesterday

Cut 6 (11) “..transferring.”

Two are dead and three injured including a four-year-old after a shooting incident in Lacombe Tuesday. St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Captain Scott Lee says shortly after 10 AM yesterday deputies were called to the 28-thousand block of Palmer Drive…

Cut 12 (05) “…guns.” 

All four men were shot, two died, and two taken to the hospital. The child was inside the home when shot and is expected to make a full recovery.

Louisiana reports its single highest day number of new COVID cases since the pandemic began today with 4,339 new cases, none of them from a backlog. As of today Louisiana now has a statewide average of 10.7 percent positivity. In more bad news hospitals are rapidly filling up. In late July during the second wave we peaked at 1,600 COVID hospitalizations statewide, right now were at 1,537.

We’re starting to get a fuller picture of just how lethal this pandemic has been. New Orleans based data analyst Jeff Asher took a look at the numbers and found that between 2012 and 2016 an average of 765 people died of the flu every year. In just nine months we’re up to 6,684 COVID fatalities, and Asher says it’s likely the true number is even higher…

Cut 5  (10) “..reported.” 

Louisiana has the fifth-highest number of COVID fatalities per capita in the nation.

Forty percent of the American’s say they won’t be vaccinated for COVID… but can they lose their job over it?

cut 2 (30) …I’m Brooke Thorington.”  

Two are dead and three injured including a four-year-old after a shooting incident in Lacombe Tuesday. St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Captain Scott Lee says four people allegedly entered a home with guns, two of them were shot dead, two were injured…

Cut 13 (08) “…recovery.”

2020 high school football championship games will not be played in the Superdome this month, instead, the games have been moved to Northwestern State in Natchitoches. LHSAA Director Eddie Bonnie explained the move citing uncertainty surrounding what COVID restrictions in New Orleans might look like by the end of this month when the games were set to be played, and the inability for a potentially highly limited capacity to actually pay the cost of hosting games in the Dome. Instead, the games will be played over a four-day period starting December 27^th in Natchitoches, the first time outside the Dome since 2005 after Katrina.

LSU Freshman Tight End Arik Gilbert is considering opting out for the remainder of the season.  Tiger Rag Editor Ron Higgins says the program is a bit of a mess right now…

Cut 10 (13) “…himself.”

Ochsner Hospital for Children in New Orleans is one of 24 systems around the country participating in a Pfizer COVID vaccine trial in children as young as 12 years old. Ochsner Principal Investigator, Dr. Julia Garcia-Diaz, says a new vaccine must be tested on various age groups because the reactions and efficacy could be different.

Cut 12 (07) “..age group.” 

She says they hope to have enough data by June of next year.

An 89-year-old woman and her 58-year-old son died in a St. Martinville house fire that authorities believe may have been related to improper use of a space heater. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says it’s starting to get awful cold and if you are using a space heater you need to take the proper safety precautions.

Cut 4 (12)   “…of course”