Governor Edwards extends the state’s current Phase Two order and COVID health restrictions for another two weeks as Louisiana reports another 1,700 cases today, along with the highest level of hospitalizations since early May.

This spike in cases across most of the southern US has led the Southwestern Athletic Conference to call it quit on all sports, including football, for the fall. The current plan is to come back and play those seasons in an abridged form in the spring, but Grambling President Rick Gallot says the virus will dictate if football can be played

Cut 7 (09) “vaccine”

Southern University Athletics Director Roman Banks says the league is still deciding what the schedule will look like, but they know they’ll play Grambling and once a date is set, they’ll talk with Bayou Classic and New Orleans officials

Cut 9 (07) “…site.”

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 time for a prominent Democrat to get in the race.

Cut 3 (11)  “…race”  

Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins’ name has come up as a possible challenger.

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 Rescue workers had thought that it was going to be possible to recover the two bodies last week, but more hurdles got in the way that could have an impact on the current timeline too… weather.

Cut 12 (09) “…with bad weather.” 

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.

Forecasters are upgrading the chance of development for a tropical system that’s currently hovering over Cuba and making its way into the Gulf. State Climatologist Barry Keim says there’s a medium chance the system will develop into a tropical depression over the next five days. 

Cut 13 (06) “…Mexico.” 

The system is set to enter the Gulf of Mexico later today, move into the central Gulf tomorrow, and the northwestern Gulf Thursday and Friday.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has decided to postpone its fall sports season to the spring. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

Nearly 1,700 new COVID positive cases have been reported in Louisiana along with 19 new hospitalizations for people suffering from the virus. Over the past ten days the percentage positive of cases has averaged just under ten percent.

Qualifying for the November ballot begins at 8 AM tomorrow morning and as of now no Democrats with statewide name recognition have stepped up to challenge Republican Senator Bill Cassidy. Outgoing State Democratic Party Director Stephen Handwerk says we may see a last-second addition of a prominent Democrat if they feel those announced couldn’t run a competitive race.

Cut 3, 11 seconds, race

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

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has made the decision to move its fall sports, including football, to the spring. The SWAC is planning to have a seven-game football schedule but Grambling President Rick Gallot says the virus will dictate if football can be played

Cut 7 (09) “vaccine”

More than a third of Louisiana residents lack access to an adequate food source because of the pandemic unemployment rates. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart” 

185,000 Louisiana workers applied for the 250 dollar front line worker rebate in the first five days of the program, which was designed to send aid to about 200,000 total workers who were employed in healthcare, first response, and grocery stores during the early days of the pandemic.

Baton Rouge Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that killed a domestic violence suspect at his Tigerland apartment early Monday morning. The officers and the deceased have not been identified, but a portion of the body cam footage has been released.
Cut 13 (11) “…got a gun *bang*.” 
Four officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave. A K-9 officer injured in the gunfire is in stable condition.
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 was made to protect the health of their student-athletes
Cut 6 (10) “…deadly virus”
The SWAC is planning to have a seven-game football schedule that would include six conference contests and one nonconference game in the spring.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association predicts a 25-30 percent drop in restaurant revenue for 2020 due to the pandemic. LRA CEO Stan Harris says they projected 11 billion dollars for the year before the pandemic, generating over a billion dollars in state and local taxes. That’s no longer the case…
Cut 4 (06)_ “…operation.”
The National Restaurant Association is projecting a 240 billion dollar nationwide impact to revenue for 2020.

People who chose to mask up in New Orleans could be given a raffle ticket for a 10,000 dollar drawing. The project is being led by several city Mardi Gras Krewes, and Krewe of Red Beans founder Devin De Wulf says if they see you in the city being a responsible citizen and masking up…

Cut 12 (10) “…distance” 

The program started Monday and will continue until August 3^rd. The drawing will be held on August 4^th.

After receiving 40-thousand applications, the state has temporarily suspended a 24-million dollar program to provide rental assistance. State officials say 24-million dollars can only help 10-thousand households who are behind on their rent. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center director Cashuana Hill estimates it will take 500-million dollars to address the impending rental crisis…

cut 5 (07) “….enough”

No word on what the state is trying to do to get more funding.

The state House Speaker is encouraging his fellow Republicans not to sign a legislative petition in circulation that would revoke the Governor’s coronavirus pandemic state of emergency. Speaker Clay Shexnayder says the executive order is just one layer of mitigation efforts and it will not loosen up restrictions put in place by local governments.

Cut 10 (08) “…won’t do that.”

Governor John Bel Edwards spent his lunch hour today fasting and praying and he’ll do the same tomorrow and Wednesday. Edwards says he believes in the power of prayer and in the power of working together and being good neighbors to overcome COVID-19…

cut 8 (10) “….praying as well”

Edwards says he got the idea to pray and fast during lunch from a conference call with faith leaders. He encourages Louisiana residents to do the same.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical waves, but none of the disturbances are a serious threat to Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a weak low pressure area south of the Texas-Louisiana border has caught the attention of forecasters….

cut 12 (07) “…southwestern Louisiana”

Keim says there’s another disturbance way out in the Atlantic and the other is over Cuba and heading towards the Gulf of Mexico.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder is discouraging his fellow Republicans from supporting an effort spearheaded by Shreveport Republican Alan Seabaugh to revoke the Governor’s coronavirus pandemic state of emergency.  Schexnayder says the petition fixes nothing.
Cut 9 (10) “…all to that.”
Schexnayder adds the move could trigger overrides for ongoing executive orders tied to previous natural disasters and be a hurdle for the governor’s authority to tackle future events.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical waves….
Cut 14 (07) “…up about.”
That’s State Climatologist Barry Keim who says one of the tropical disturbances is in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and another one is north of Cuba. But the National Hurricane Center gives both systems a low chance of developing into a depression.

Governor John Bel Edwards says he’s using his lunchtime today, through Wednesday for prayer and fasting. Edwards says he got the idea for three days of fasting and prayer during a conference call with faith leaders…
Cut 7 (09) “other Louisianians”
Edwards is encouraging Louisiana residents to also fast and pray.

A 24 million dollar state program designed to provide rental assistance to low-income individuals has been temporarily suspended. The program had funding to help 10,000 families, but 40,000 applications were received. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Director Cashauna Hill says the mass interest in the rental assistance program is evidence of a budding crisis that is set to get much worse in the near future.
Cut 4 (12)_ “…home.”

A legislative petition aimed at ending the Governor’s public health emergency order, circulated by Shreveport Republican Alan Seabaugh is getting pushback from fellow GOPer, House Speaker Clay Schexnayder. The recently enacted statewide mask mandate has once again brought attention back to the petition.  Schexnayder says he understands the inconvenience of wearing masks, but…

Cut 11 (12) “…going to bed.”

Seabaugh called the Speaker’s response “fear-mongering”

A state rental assistance program is temporarily shut down after the program gets inundated with applications. The program had funding to help 10,000 families, but 40,000 applications were received. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Director Cashauna Hill…

Cut 3 (11)  “…need is.”  

The state’s COVID hospitalization numbers are back to where they were in early May as we crossed the 1,500 mark today, along with another 3,100 cases being reported. The caveat here is that officials say about half of the cases are from a two-month backlog. Governor John Bel Edwards says he’ll use his lunchtime today, tomorrow, and Wednesday for prayer and fasting. He’s encouraging Louisiana residents to do the same…

Cut 6 (11) “…passed on”

There’s a tropical disturbance over Cuba that’s heading towards the Gulf of Mexico.  State Climatologist Barry Keim says this disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms should get into the Gulf tomorrow.

Cut 13 (10) “…overly serious.” 

Attorney General Jeff Landry blasts the Governor’s support for social justice protests, saying they’ve sparked the recent wave of COVID cases. Edwards’ staff says there’s no evidence of that.

The state House Speaker is encouraging his fellow Republicans not to sign a legislative petition in circulation that would revoke the Governor’s coronavirus pandemic state of emergency. Speaker Clay Shexnayder says the executive order is just one layer of mitigation efforts and it will not loosen up restrictions put in place by local governments.

Cut 10 (08) “…won’t do that.”

The petition’s creator, Shreveport Republican Alan Seabaugh, called Shexnayder’s claims “fear-mongering”

There’s a tropical disturbance over Cuba and heading towards the Gulf of Mexico.  State Climatologist Barry Keim says this disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms should get into the Gulf tomorrow

Cut 13 (10) “…overly serious.” 

_____________________________

After less than a week the state has to temporarily suspend a rental assistance program designed to help 10,000 families after receiving over 40,000 applications. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Director Cashauna Hill the current mass interest in the rental assistance program is evidence of a budding crisis that is set to get much worse in the near future.

Cut 4 (12)_ “…home.”

Negotiations on potentially extending a portion of those benefits are beginning this week in Congress. Democrats want a full extension through the end of the year, Republicans are concerned about the program paying people more to remain unemployed than to work.

The state reports nearly 3,200 cases today, but with a big caveat, that just under half of them are backlogs from as long ago as May. 39 additional hospital beds have been taken up by COVID patients putting us up over 1,500 hospitalizations for the first time since May 5^th.

Governor John Bel Edwards says he’ll use his lunchtime today, tomorrow, and Wednesday for prayer and fasting. He’s encouraging Louisiana residents to do the same

Cut 6 (11) “…passed on”

The state reported 34 more deaths on Sunday to bring the state’s total to 3,433.

Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders are expected to discuss this week on a 5th coronavirus relief funding bill.  Senator John Kennedy says it’s unclear what this round of aid may look like, but he doubts it will be as broad as past COVID stimulus bills.

Cut 7 (08) “…bills.”

A CDC investigation into an incident in Missouri shows the effectiveness of masks. Health officials say two hairstylists tested positive for the coronavirus, but none of their 136 customers and co-workers got the virus, because everyone involved wore a mask. The hairstylists spent on average over 15 minutes within six feet of their customers, which is considered “close contact”, and would warrant a self-quarantine order. Louisiana Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billiouxsays it’s a remarkable discovery…

Cut 5 (04)  “…evidence.”

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is celebrating the tort reform legislation signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards that aims to lower auto insurance rates.  LABI President Steven Waguespack says the measure will lead to lower claims, lower settlements, and lower insurance rates for commercial drivers.

Cut 13 (11) “…solution in place.”