Over 100,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began as of today after the state reports another day over 2,000 cases, this time 2,300 people, at a positivity rate of 11 percent. Hospitalizations are on the rise as well, back to our early May level.

The status of high school sports in the fall is on the mind of many. Jeff Palermo reports the LHSAA does not have a plan yet, but they’ve reached one conclusion…

cut 2 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”  

The most prominent Democrat in the November Senate race against Bill Cassidy offic8ially filed his paperwork at the Secretary of State’s office in Baton Rouge today. Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins spoke to our reporter there, and said this when asked about where he stands on abortion.

Cut 5 (12)  “…within that snapshot.”

Ochsner plans to double its COVID testing capacity over the next six weeks in an effort to reduce test result wait times to 24 hours. Ochsner Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Hart says right now their patients are waiting up to four days for results, and the surge in demand for COVID tests that is creating the backlog is partially due to the increase in a-symptomatic patient testing, but…

Cut 14 (12) “…virus.”

Louisiana crosses the 100,000 total COVID positive test mark today after adding another 2,300 cases, but in some good news, we’re seeing the first single-digit increase of hospitalizations in over a week. 11 percent of all tests reported today were positive, above the ten percent problem level.

Ochsner plans to double its COVID testing capacity over the next six weeks in an effort to reduce test result wait times to 24 hours. Ochsner Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Hart says they’re currently running 2,500 to 3,000 tests a day, but its taking two to four days to get results back to patients.

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A tropical depression in the gulf that’s headed for Texas is expected to dump a lot of rain on south Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says  along with three to five inches of rain the system will bring a bit of a reprieve from the hot, still air we’ve experienced this past month.

Cut 7 (08) “right now”

Seven candidates for Louisiana’s 5^th Congressional District seat qualified on Wednesday. Kevin Barnhart recaps some of those that got on the ballot.

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Seven candidates for Louisiana’s 5^th Congressional District seat qualified on Wednesday, looking to fill the position currently held by Ralph Abraham who is not pursuing an additional term.  Republican Ouachita Police Juror Scotty Robinson announced his bid for the position last November and says the traits he has picked up in local government and constituent accessibility are what set him apart from his opponents.

Cut 8 (09) “…call me anytime.”

Alexandria Representative Lance Harris, also a Republican, says he sees a bunch of career politicians in DC and touts his balance of holding elected office and being a business owner as the reason voters should cast a ballot for him.

Cut 11 (09) “…and create jobs.”

The primary election is scheduled for November 3^rd.

Democratic Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins will challenge Republican Senator Bill Cassidy in the November 3rd election. Before he got into politics, Perkins served in the Army and is a former student body president at West Point and Harvard. Political analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Cassidy cannot underestimate Perkins.

Cut 4 (09)_ “…to campaign”

Perkins says Washington’s poor handling of the coronavirus outbreak persuaded him to jump into the Senate race.

A Remington Research Group poll commissioned by House Speaker Clay Schexnayder shows wide and bipartisan support for the Governor’s mask mandate and public health emergency declaration. 76 percent of those surveyed last weekend support a government mask mandate. UL Lafayette Poli Sci Professor Pearson Cross…

Cut 15 (08) “…result.” 

Democrats are lining up to take on Senator Bill Cassidy in November with a number of newly announced candidates saying they’ll file paperwork this week. Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins was the highlight, but Baton Rouge progressive activist Antoine Peirce, the first candidate to announce for the race, is also going to be on the ballot after filling in the paperwork today.

Cut 10 (12) “…cannabis.”

The National Hurricane Center is giving a tropical wave in the central Gulf of Mexico a high chance to develop into a tropical cyclone over the next two days. State Climatologist Barry Keim says this disturbance will have a more immediate impact on the state.

Cut 4 (11)_ “of Louisiana”

There’s also Tropical Storm Gonzalo in the Atlantic, which is expected to reach the Caribbean on Saturday.

Louisiana has added nearly 1,000 COVID hospitalizations since moving into Phase Two June 5th. Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says that’s concerning healthcare providers who are already dealing with an influx of patients who weren’t being treated during the stay at home order.

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We now have 1581 COVID hospitalizations, nearly triple our low point of 542 June 13^th.

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell files paperwork seeking a fourth term in the office representing northwest Louisiana. Campbell is one of the state’s longest-serving elected officials, first elected to the State Senate in 1975. Campbell says he wants to continue his work serving the working people of the state.

Cut 14 (11) “…them.”

The state reports 60 new COVID-19 fatalities today, the highest daily addition since May 1. Total statewide death toll: 3,558. The state also added another 2,800 cases and is on course to surpass 100,000 total cases tomorrow. 62,456 are presumed recovered.

Statewide COVID hospitalizations are nearly triple what they were at our low point on June 13^th. Matt Doyle reports healthcare providers are worried about hospital capacity again

cut 2 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”  

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins has announced he will run against Republican Senator Bill Cassidy in the November 3rd election. Perkins will officially qualify tomorrow. John Paul Bourgeois from Gretna was the first person to sign up to challenge Cassidy. Bourgeois is an epidemiologist and public health librarian. The Gretna resident says he’s running against Cassidy because he tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act…

Cut 9 (12) “…not acceptable.”

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell files paperwork seeking a fourth term in the office representing northwest Louisiana. The Louisiana Political Hall of Famer says if given another term he will continue to fight for more rural broadband access and against predatory utility practices.

Cut 15 (11) “…mind” 

Over 2,800 new COVID positive tests are being reported today along with a startling 54 person increase in COVID hospitalizations. The state is nearly back to where it was in late April when it comes to hospital bed usage, and several regions of Louisiana are now actively working to move ICU patients into less slammed areas. Some have called the recent concern over ballooning cases hysteria caused by higher overall testing but Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says that’s false, and the state now has an over ten percent positive rate for COVID tests.

Cut 13 (09) “…tested” 

We now have 1581 COVID hospitalizations, nearly triple our low point of 542 June 13^th.

The National Hurricane Center is giving a tropical wave in the central Gulf of Mexico a high chance to develop into a tropical cyclone over the next two days. State Climatologist Barry Keim…

Cut 3 (12)  “….of the tracking”  

The Democrats managed to find a big-name candidate to take on Senator Bill Cassidy after months of hand-wringing over a lack of candidates with fundraising appeal. Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins has announced he will run Perkins says he decided to run because America and Louisiana are at a crossroads

Cut 6 (10) “…head on”

Cassidy says he’s done a lot during his five years in the U-S Senate and plans to run on that record…

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Perkins gives Cassidy a major challenger from the Democratic Party, but Cassidy holds a huge fundraising advantage. John Paul Bourgeois of Gretna and Baton Rouge progressive activist Antoine Peirce also sighed up to run against the Senior Senator.

Louisiana reports 54 new COVID hospitalizations putting us at 1581 total, the highest mark since May 1^st. The nearly 2,800 new positive tests put us less than 700 cases away from breaking 100,000 total since the pandemic began, a number that almost certainly will be reached tomorrow.

Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says these numbers are alarming but starting next week they hope they will level off due to the Governor’s face mask and bar ban mandate. 

Cut 12 (09) “…systems” 

The National Hurricane Center is giving a tropical wave in the central Gulf of Mexico a high chance to develop into a tropical cyclone over the next two days.  State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s likely to head for Houston, but if this system continues to develop, we could see some high winds and storm surge along the coastline.

Cut 5 (11)  “for us”

Democrats are lining up to take on Senator Bill Cassidy in November with a number of newly announced candidates saying they’ll file paperwork this week. Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins was the highlight, but Paul Bourgeois from Gretna was the first person to sign up to challenge Cassidy. Bourgeois is an epidemiologist and public health librarian. The Gretna resident says he’s running against Cassidy because he tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act…

Cut 9 (12) “…not acceptable.”

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell files paperwork seeking a fourth term in the office representing northwest Louisiana. Campbell is one of the state’s longest-serving elected officials, first elected to the State Senate in 1975. Campbell says he wants to continue his work serving the working people of the state.

Cut 14 (11) “…them.”

Campbell has made several attempts to run for federal and statewide offices but has not been successful, his most recent effort a loss to now-Senator John Kennedy in 2016.

Louisiana has added over 900 COVID hospitalizations since moving into Phase Two June 5th. Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says that’s concerning healthcare providers who are already dealing with an influx of patients who weren’t being treated during the stay at home order.

Cut 11 (11) “hospital”

We now have 1527 COVID hospitalizations, nearly triple our low point of 542 June 13^th.

Coalition for Responsible Home Education Director Rachel Coleman says many parents are considering homeschooling for the fall with school life being uncertain. Coleman says if you’re considering homeschooling know you must have a caregiver who can be a full-time educator that can provide a curriculum of quality at least equal to that offered by public schools of the same grade.

Cut 13 (12) “…school” 

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins announces he’s running for U-S Senate, giving Republican Incumbent Bill Cassidy a major challenger for the November 3rd election. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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Qualifying for the November ballot begins at 8 AM tomorrow and as of now, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy does not face a major Democratic challenger, but Outgoing State Democratic Party Director Stephen Handwerk says we may be surprised by a prominent member of the party signing up this week due to the high level of energy in the party right now…

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Antoine Pierce, a Baton Rouge progressive activist, and New Orleans teacher Peter Wenstrup are the two announced Democrats so far.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has made the decision to move its fall sports, including football, to the spring. Grambling President Rick Gallot says the decision protects the health of their student-athletes

Cut 6 (10) “…deadly virus”

New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell says one of the bodies that has been trapped in the Hard Rock Hotel collapse site is likely to be recovered by the end of the week and the other by the middle of next week. McConnell says the rubble is very delicate and potentially dangerous to recovery workers.

Cut 10 (13) “…that could change.”

It’s been ten months since the construction site partially collapsed, killing three.

The National Hurricane Center has upgraded the chance of development for a tropical wave currently over western Cuba and making its way into the Gulf. State Climatologist Barry Keim says there’s a medium chance the disturbance will develop into a tropical depression over the next five days.

Cut 13 (06) “…Mexico.” 

Governor Edwards announces that the state will remain in Phase Two for at least another two weeks.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has made the decision to move its fall sports, including football, to the spring. Grambling President Rick Gallot says the decision protects the health of their student-athletes

Cut 6 (10) “…deadly virus”

The SWAC is planning to have a seven-game football.

Qualifying for the November ballot begins at 8 AM tomorrow and as of now, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy does not face a major Democratic challenger. Outgoing State Democratic Party Director Stephen Handwerk says there’s a lot of energy in the party right now. He noted more Democrats voted in the recent Presidential Primary than Republicans.

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New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell says one of the bodies that has been trapped in the Hard Rock Hotel collapse site is likely to be recovered by the end of the week and the other by the middle of next week. McConnell says the rubble is very delicate and potentially dangerous to recovery workers.

Cut 10 (13) “…that could change.”

It’s been ten months since the construction site partially collapsed, killing three.

The National Hurricane Center has upgraded the chance of development for a tropical wave currently over western Cuba and making its way into the Gulf. State Climatologist Barry Keim says there’s a medium chance the disturbance will develop into a tropical depression over the next five days.
Cut 13 (06) “…Mexico.” 
The system is set to move into the central Gulf tomorrow, and the northwestern Gulf Thursday and Friday.