If the current track holds, the National Hurricane Center forecasts Hurricane Delta will be a Category Three storm when it hits the Louisiana coast on Friday.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 1 (32) “   I’m Kevin Barnhart”

________________________________

A bill goes before the House Education Committee today to address the suspension of a fourth grader for having a BB gun in his bedroom during virtual class. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington” 

__________________________________________

Mike Foster, Louisiana’s 53^rd governor, is being laid to rest today in his hometown of Franklin.  Kevin Barnhart spoke with former Governor Bobby Jindal about Foster’s legacy.

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”  

_______________________________

The National Hurricane Center is now anticipating Hurricane Delta will be a Category Three storm as it approaches the Bayou State on Friday. National Weather Service New Orleans Director Ben Schott says the impacts of Delta when it comes onshore will be significant

Cut 4 (12) “surge”

Delta will cross over the Yucatan today and Schott says once it gets past the peninsula, the forecast models should have a better idea of a potential landfall. Schott says forecasters do expect the storm to weaken as it approaches the Gulf Coast, but

Cut 5 (13) “…life threatening impacts”

Governor John Bel Edwards admits Delta is another difficult challenge for the state, but that should not prevent us from getting prepared

Cut 6 (13) “right now”

_______________________________

A bill addressing the suspension of a 4^th grader in Jefferson Parish for having a BB Gun in his bedroom during virtual class will be heard today in the House Education Committee. The author of the proposal, Jennings State Representative Troy Romero, wants to establish a separation between the classroom and home.

Cut 7 (12) “school environment”

Romero says in a school setting the school has full control of the environment, but in a virtual setting, which can include a private home, there are differences.

Cut 8 (11) “…that distinction”

And allow parents to appeal both a suspension or an expulsion of the student.

Originally in the case of the BB Gun in the home, Jefferson Parish School Board expelled the 4^th grader and later reduced it to a suspension. Romero believes they overreacted to the situation.

Cut 9 (09) “I’m concerned”

________________________

The Regeneron experimental monoclonal antibody treatment that was administered to President Trump following his COVID-19 diagnosis is actually being studied in Shreveport with clinical trials at Willis-Knighton Clinical Research.  Principle investigator Dr. Bocchini (Bo-keenee) says so far there is a lot of good evidence from the studies that it’s a safe approach.

Cut 10 (08) “…patients with COVID-19”

Bocchini says the idea is that the lab-grown antibodies are giving to a patient in an effort to combat the virus from continue to replicate within someone’s body.

The antibodies are administered intravenously.

Cut 11 (10) “…to take place.”

The treatment has been cited by experts as one of the most promising tools in combatting COVID-19.  Bocchini’s reaction to hearing the treatment was being administered President?

Cut 12 (09) “…to the hospital.”

______________________________________

Louisiana’s 53^rd governor, Mike Foster, is being laid to rest today in his hometown of Franklin.  Foster was at the helm of the state for two terms from 1996 through 2004.  Former Governor Bobby Jindal served in the Foster administration and remembers Foster as a down to earth guy.

Cut 13 (08) “…he came from.”

90-year-old Foster died Sunday.

Jindal says Foster was early to bed, early to rise.  If you tried to call him at the office of the Governor’s mansion too late in the afternoon, you could expect a wake-up call the next day.

Cut 14 (12) “…this is Mike.”

Jindal says he recently met with Foster when it became clear that he was nearing the end of his life.

Cut 15 (11) “…to lose weight.”

Private services will be held at his home, Oaklawn Manor, at 11 a.m. followed by a public graveside service at 12:30 p.m. at Franklin Cemetery, complete with a military send-off.
______________________________________

The Ragin Cajuns are back in the Top 25 AP and coaches polls, even though they didn’t play last Saturday. They come in at number 23 as they get ready for Saturday’s home game against Coastal Carolina. Coach Billy Napier says hopefully the ranking motivates his players to perform at a higher level

cut 16 (24) “…keep winning.”

Saturday is a matchup between two undefeated teams. Coastal Carolina leads the Sun Belt in scoring and they rank second in the league in total defense. Napier says Coastal has improved its personnel on defense…

cut 17 (20) “good job’

________________________________________________

A break out star on LSU’s defense this season has been junior college transfer Ali Gaye, who has emerged as the Tigers best pass rusher. Gaye transferred in from Garden City Community College and says coaching has allowed him to take his game to a different level

cut 18 (20) “.on me” 

Gaye leads the SEC in quarterback pressures through two games. Gaye says he didn’t think he would be a starter right away, but wants to be one of the defensive linemen in the country…

cut 19 (24) “.a temmate’

There were tense arguments in a House committee yesterday as members approved legislation that would strip state funding from municipalities or universities that cut police budgets by 10 percent or more. Matt Doyle covered it…

Cut 1 (30) “   I’m Matt Doyle”

________________________________

A House committee approves a resolution that would block the State Fire Marshal from enforcing COVID health codes on businesses. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

__________________________________________

The ninth hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season has formed with the intensification of Hurricane Delta and, once again, it appears to be heading for the Louisiana coast.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 3 (30)  “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”  

_______________________________

Lawmakers sparred in a House committee Monday over legislation that would potentially strip state funding from localities or universities that cut their police budgets by ten percent or more.

Alexandria Representative Lance Harris authored the bill. He says the “Defund the Police” movement risks the safety of more than just the people living in areas that cut police budgets…

Cut 4 (11) “safety”

The bill would require municipalities and schools to submit an annual report to the Joint Legislative Committee of the Budget detailing the status of their police budgets. Entities that cut more than ten percent of that budget must prove the cut would not have a “significant and harmful effect on public safety” or risk being ineligible for new capital outlay funding in the next fiscal year.

New Orleans representative Gary Carter says if cities feel it is right to move money from law enforcement to services like mental health in an effort to lower crime, they should be able to…

Cut 5 (10) “…Congress”

Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala says the state is already one of the most crime-ridden in the nation and cutting police budgets would exacerbate that.

Cut 6 (10) “for me”

Bastrop representative Frederick Jones says the bill is insulting to African Americans. He says while he disagrees with the “Defund” movement…

Cut 7 (11) “crying out”

The bill heads to the full House next.

_______________________________

A resolution that would suspend the State Fire Marshal’s ability to enforce COVID health guidelines on businesses clears a House committee.

House Republican Caucus Chair Blake Miguez says business owners should be free to make their own decisions about how, or if they should open given the current COVID risk level.

Cut 8 (11) “…businesses”

If passed the resolution would stay in place until the adjournment of the 2021 regular session.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry backs the resolution. Civil Division director Angelique Freel says the Legislature has not given the Fire Marshal the authority to shut down businesses for non-compliance.

Cut 9 (10) “in it”

Governor Edwards has tasked the Fire Marshal with COVID code enforcement, citing his broad authority during a declared public health emergency.

The committee vote was 12 to 5 in favor. One of those in dissent was New Orleans Representative Royce Duplessis who says the resolution infringes on the Governor’s constitutionally awarded public health authority.

Cut 10 (07) “…authority”

The resolution moves to the House floor where it is expected to pass much like a series of other bills did last week that targeted the Governor’s public health orders and powers.

________________________

Among the accomplishments being remembered about the late Mike Foster’s time as Governor is the establishment of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. LCTCS President Monty Sullivan says Foster’s stressed importance of the access to gaining skills for the workforce was clear.

Cut 11 (10) “…what drove him.”

90-year-old Foster passed away over the weekend.

Sullivan says prior to 1998, the state had four community colleges and one technical college. That has since grown to a system of twelve colleges.

Cut 12 (11) “…last 20+ years.”

The LCTCS is now in 53 parishes and Sullivan says the system is where it is today because of the vision of Foster. Prior to Foster, the opportunity was limited by geography to access to education in a way that puts people in jobs.

Cut 13 (07) “…two-year college education.”

______________________________________

Louisiana is once again bracing for the impact of another hurricane as Hurricane Delta approaches.  The storm is the ninth hurricane of the 2020 Atlantic season.  State climatologist Barry Keim says the storm is currently in the Caribbean and is expected to enter the Gulf on Wednesday morning.

Cut 14 (13) “…on Friday afternoon.”

Keim says conditions are extremely favorable for strengthening with very low wind shear and very warm sea surface temps.  The storm is expected to hit major hurricane status.

Cut 15 (11) “…hurricane at landfall.” 

Delta is forecast to have winds of 120 miles per hour in a couple of days.  If that forecast comes to fruition, it would become the strongest Greek named hurricane in the Atlantic on record, breaking the old record set in 2005 by Hurricane Beta, which had 115 mph max sustained winds.

Keim says if this track holds, this will be the fourth landfalling storm in Louisiana this season.

cut 16 (06) “…any single season.”

The only other years to have four landfalling storms are 2002 and 1923.

_______________________________________________

One-fourth of the NFL is complete and the Saints have a 2-and-2 record heading into a Monday night matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers are 1-3, but rookie quarterback Justin Hebert has played well. Coach Sean Payton on preparing for a quarterback they’ve never faced before…

cut 17 (20) “on tape’

In Sunday’s win over Detroit, the Saints got great contributions from their two running backs, Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray. The two combined for 202 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns. Murray on feeding off of Kamara

cut 18 (20) “.the field” 

______________________________________________________

LSU Quarterback Myles Brennan looked more comfortable in the pocket in Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt. Coach Ed Orgeron says they worked Brennan’s pocket presence prior to last Saturday’s game…

cut 19 (20) “.the money’

After giving up over 600 passing yards in the season-opening loss to Mississippi State, LSU held Vanderbilt to 113 passing yards. The 17th ranked Tigers are also getting back starting defensive tackle Glen Logan after a two-game suspension. Orgeron says he’s been practicing every day…

cut 20 (23) “..I’m excited”