Federal regulators have ordered Entergy to pay back customers in Louisiana and other states 135 million dollars for over charges. Spokesperson Lee Sabatini says tens of millions of dollars from that settlement are on their way to the Bayou State in the form of refunds.

Cut 10 (08) “…as well”

That average customer who uses 1,300 kilowatt hours a month will see about five bucks taken off their bill in the form of a fuel credit.

There have been three announcements of job losses for the city of Zachary in East Baton Rouge over the last week. Thompson Pipe Group will close its manufacturing plant, which will affect 120 employees. Georgia Pacific is laying off 650 workers at its Port Hudson paper mill and BASF will close a chemical plant in Zachary that employs 54. Governor Edwards says other Baton Rouge area employers are looking for workers…

Cut 7 (14) “…open there.”

Louisiana has completed the process of issuing February food stamps a couple of weeks early. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”  

A steel-covered walkway is being installed at the entrance of the state capitol to protect visitors from falling pieces of mortar from the 86-year-old building. Division of administration spokesperson Jacques Berry says  the state legislature will have to appropriate the 40 to 60-million dollars to repair the falling mortar, and in the meantime…

Cut 13 (07) “…like that.”

Louisiana and New Orleans Entergy customers will see a few bucks knocked off their bills for the next few months…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

A pedestrian is dead following a hit & run in St. Landry Parish. Shortly before 10PM last night, state police were notified of the crash that claimed the life of 51-year-old David Sonnier of Arnaudville.  It appears Sonnier was walking on or near LA 182 when he was struck by two vehicles, with both fleeing the scene. Troopers say it is unknown if impairment played a role at this time, but toxicology tests are pending.

A steel-covered walkway is being installed at the entrance of the state capitol to protect visitors from falling pieces of mortar from the 86-year-old building. Division of administration spokesperson Jacques Berry says the structural integrity of the capitol is good, unfortunately small pieces of the mortar are flaking off
Cut 12 (10)   “…again.”
According to Department of Children and Family Services, the 337,000 families that are receiving February benefits from the food stamps programs should have received them by now.  They arrived early due to the government shutdown. DCFS Deputy Assistant Secretary Sammy Guillory says it’s important for recipients to realize, these are not extra benefits.
Cut 15 (10) “…benefits in March.”

Guillory says new applications are being processed as usual in accordance with the agency’s normal standard until they are told otherwise.

There have been three announcements of job losses for the city of Zachary in East Baton Rouge over the last week. Thompson Pipe Group will close its manufacturing plant, which will affect 120 employees. Georgia Pacific is laying off 650 workers at its Port Hudson paper mill and BASF will close a chemical plant in Zachary that employs 54. Governor Edwards says the state can help impacted workers

Cut 6 (10) “…to work.”

IBM is hosting a career fair in Lafayette from 9 AM to 2 PM at South Louisiana Community College.

The coveted one-day tickets to see the Rolling Stones on May 2nd at Jazzfest in New Orleans have fans lined up down the street from the Superdome ticket office. Festival produce Quint Davis says that box office could be open past it’s normal closing time to accommodate.

Cut 9 (11) “…past five o’clock.″

Tickets are $185 plus fees.

Monroe Democratic Representative Katrina Jackson will speak tomorrow at the National March for Life Rally in Washington D.C. Jackson authored a 2014 law that required abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at a local hospital to operate. She’s joined in the Capital by 2,000 Louisiana highschool students from a range of different youth and church groups across the state. Jackson says she’ll be discussing the march, and her advocacy on pro-life issues this morning.

Cut 15 (11) “…young adults”

Alexandria Police have arrested a man, and slapped him with a slew of charges after he alleged disarmed an officer after being stopped for a traffic violation and then held a gun to that officers held while threatening to shoot them. Vernon Holden was allegedly violating traffic laws while on a bike, and was pulled over by police. Authorities say he resisted being tased, and then used that taser against the officer before drawing his weapon. After the altercation, Holden fled, and was later apprehended.

Governor Edwards, on Ask the Governor, says nearly 6,000 federal workers in the Bayou State are suffering without paychecks as the longest government shutdown in history drags on. He says its taking a toll on several different departments, even the Coast Guard at the Belle Chase Naval Air Station, and  he’s concerned that prolonging the shutdown could present safety risks to the public, as more and more vital programs close, or become understaffed.

Cut 12 (10) “…so forth.”

Monroe Democratic Representative Katrina Jackson will speak tomorrow at the National March for Life Rally in Washington D.C. Jackson admitted abortion is settled law, but highlighted legislative attempts, including her passage of the Unsafe Abortion Protection Act as reminders that through enough advocacy, opinions on president can change.

Cut 16 (09)  “…that area”

Jackson authored a 2014 law that required abortion clinics to have admitting privileges.

Rooting the Saints on in the Superdome will cost Who Dats a pretty penny. Connor Ferrill has the story.

Cut 1 (29) “I’m Connor Ferrill.”

Alexandria Police have arrested a man, and slapped him with a slew of charges after he alleged disarmed an officer after being stopped for a traffic violation and then held a gun to that officers held while threatening to shoot them. Vernon Holden was allegedly violating traffic laws while on a bike, and was pulled over by police. Authorities say he resisted being tased, and then used that taser against the officer before drawing his weapon. After the altercation, Holden fled, and was later apprehended.

Rooting the Saints on in the Superdome will cost Who Dats a pretty penny. Connor Ferrill has the story.

Cut 1 (29) “I’m Connor Ferrill.”

__________________________________

Today Lousiana residents get their first opportunity to buy tickets to see the Rolling Stones rock Jazz Fest this May.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

_______________________________

A Monroe Democrat is set to speak in front of the tens of thousands who will attend the 46th annual March for Life in DC. Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 3 (31) “I’m Matt Doyle”

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Fans wishing to get inside The Superdome for the NFC championship game will have to fork over several hundred dollars to get in according to StubHub. Head of Partnerships for the NFL at StubHub Akxhay  Khanna (AWK-shea CON-uh) says even nosebleed tickets will cost you some…

Cut 4 (06) “…range.” 

Ticket prices on the low end start at $285 dollars at StubHub.com

Khanna says some Saints fans are feeling confident and have already purchased Super Bowl tickets…

Cut 5 (09) “…make it through.”

Ticket scammers are also likely to be looking to make a buck and Attorney General Jeff Landry says if a ticket deal seems too good to be true it is…

Cut 6 (08) “…resellers.”

The Attorney General urges buyers to make sure the ticket seller belongs to the National Association of Ticket Brokers and they have guarantee policies on their websites for refunds in case the event is canceled or something goes wrong with the ticket. Landry says if you do have tickets to the game don’t be a showoff…

Cut 7 (06) “…dome.”

The coveted one-day tickets to see the Rolling Stones on May 2nd at Jazzfest in New Orleans go on sale exclusively for Louisiana residents today at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.  Fans were allowed to start lining up at midnight in anticipation of the 10am box office opening. Festival produce Quint Davis says he expects buyers from across the nation to snap up the online sales quickly, so this is a way for locals to get the first shot at buying tickets.

Cut 8 (12) “…to the public.”

Stones fans should be ready to shell out out $185 plus applicable fees per ticket.  Davis says he’s unsure just how big the crowd will be, so the box office could be open beyond the normal 5PM closing time.

Cut 9 (11) “…past five o’clock.″

Davis says fans shouldn’t be concerned about the parking situation.

Cut 10 (08) “…be free parking.”

While only the one day tickets for May 2nd will go on sale today, all other tickets including VIP packages, will go on sale to the public Friday morning.

______________________________

Governor John Bel Edwards says nearly 6,000 federal workers in the Bayou State are suffering without paychecks as the longest government shutdown in history drags on. He noted the toll it’s taking on several different departments, and even the Coast Guard at the Belle Chase Naval Air Station. Edwards says he sympathizes with their struggle.

Cut 11 (08) “…paid for”

Edwards says he’s concerned that prolonging the shutdown could present safety risks to the public, as more and more vital programs close, or become understaffed.

Cut 12 (10) “…so forth.”

The governor has asked the President to end the shutdown in a timely manner, and he says he hopes negotiations will quickly wrap up, and funding will be allocated for the next year.

Cut 13 (11) “…something out.”

Edwards made the comments on Ask the Governor, his monthly radio call in show.

_____________________________

Monroe Democratic Representative Katrina Jackson is set to speak tomorrow morning at the National March for Life Rally in Washington D.C. Jackson authored a 2014 bill that ultimately passed that required abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at a local hospital to operate. Jackson says their aim is the eventual reversal of the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion.

Cut 14 (10) “…women’s health.”

Tens of thousands are expected to be in attendance for the 46^th annual march.

She’s joined in the Capital by 2,000 Louisiana highschool students from a range of different youth and church groups across the state. Jackson says she’ll be discussing the march, and her advocacy on pro-life issues this morning.

Cut 15 (11) “…young adults”

Jackson admitted abortion is settled law, but highlighted legislative attempts, including her passage of the Unsafe Abortion Protection Act as reminders that through enough advocacy, opinions on president can change.

Cut 16 (09)  “…that area”

______________________________

40-year-old Saints Quarterback Drew Brees will go up against a Rams defense on Sunday in the NFC Championship game that’s led by their 71-year-old defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Brees says he knows Phillips likes to bring the heat…

 cut 17 (18)   “..all time” 

The Saints fell behind 14-0 last Sunday, before coming back for a 20-14 win over Philadelphia. Brees says a win like that gives them confidence they can pull out a victory when the tough gets going…

Cut 18 (13)   make it” 

The Saints return to practice today to get ready for Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Rams. There’s only a few Saints players still around from the 2009 Super Bowl team. Offensive Tackle Terron Armstead says he’s looking forward to playing his first NFC championship game and he doesn’t take this opportunity for granted…

Cut 18 (15)   to a win” 

The Saints are 3.5 point favorites to advance to the Super Bowl in Atlanta.

The Pelicans take on the Warriors tonight at 930 in San Francisco. New Orleans is 21-23 on the season, sitting 12^th in the West, while Golden State is 30-14, and 1^st in the West, riding a five game streak. It’s a tough matchup for the Pelicans, who have struggle on the road this year, at 6-17 in away games, against the team with the second best home record in the NBA.

The LSU Tigers Men’s basketball team took down the 18^th ranked Ole Miss Rebels 83-69 last night, thanks to a dominant second half that allowed the Purple and Gold to pull away after a deadlocked 31-31 first half. Guard Tremont Waters was outstanding, scoring 20 points, dishing out nine assists, and even nabbing four rebounds. Another performance worth noting was a big double double from Forward Kavell Bigby-Williams, who dropped 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Rebels guard Terence Davis had a strong game though, putting up 21 pints, and pulling down 10 boards. The Tigers are now 3 and 0 in conference play, and sit atop the SEC standings, while riding a six game win streak. For their next game, The Purple and Gold take on South Carolina on Saturday.

In action tonight you’ve got Southeastern Louisiana University taking on the Lamar Colonels at home. The lions are at the bottom of the Southland, 0-3 in conference play, and Lamar isn’t looking too much better, sitting second to last with a 1-3 conference record.

Three men have been arrested in connection with last week’s shooting death of Shreveport Police Officer Chateri Payne. Payne’s boyfriend and father of her young child, 26-year-old Treveon Anderson, claims he was home when he heard gunshots and ran outside to shoot at a suspect. But Police Chief Ben Raymond says evidence later debunked that story.
Cut 3 (07) “…an unknown suspect.”

For weeks we have seen gas prices on the decline but now they are heading back in the other direction. AAA Fuel Analyst Don Redman says even with the price of crude oil rising you shouldn’t expect any huge jumps in prices until the start of summer…

Cut 8 (11) “…gallon.”

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry says they are preparing to fight back against any attempts to raise revenue to fund the Governor’s proposed 1,000 dollar teacher, and 500 dollar school support personnel pay raise. President Stephen Waguespack, on AM Baton Rouge, says unnamed leaders have mentioned their support a pay raise tax.  Instead of a flat raise for all Bayou State teachers, Waguespack, the business lobbyist, supports utilizing the same amount of funds, or fewer, to reward teachers who he feels perform better than their peers.
Cut 11 (10) “…good thing”
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she was only kidding when she said  “Anybody but the Saints” when asked, who she would like to see in the Super Bowl.  Bottoms says it was a just a joke when she said she didn’t want the black and gold in the big game, but Saints have to understand where she’s coming from…

Cut 13 (12) “…come to Atlanta.”

Three men have been arrested in connection with last week’s shooting death of Shreveport Police Officer Chateri Payne.  Payne’s boyfriend and father of her young child, Trevon Anderson, claims he was home when he heard gunshots and ran outside to shoot at a suspect.  But Police Chief Ben Raymond says evidence later debunked that story.

Cut 3 (07) “…an unknown suspect.”

Postseason success for the Saints results in a victory for the local economy. President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation Jay Cicero says  if the Saints win Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl in Atlanta on February 3rd, he expects another big crowd for Super Bowl weekend in the Big Easy…

Cut 6 (06) “…the game.”

The Saints will host the Rams Sunday in the NFC Championship game, and their favored by 3.5 points.

Louisiana Family Forum is on the hunt for the longest married couples throughout the state.  For the last three years, a couple from Benton have locked in the title for being married the longest.  But that couple passed away in 2018, and another couple will be taking the distinction.  General council at LFF Kristie Cross says upon finding the top couple, LFF will plan a celebration around the duo.

Cut 12 (11) “…go to them.”

Cross says it’s an effort to encourage future generations to get married.

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing has been ranked the 10^th best nursing school in the nation by Nursing Schools Almanac, and 4^th among all public schools. The rankings surveyed 3,200 programs nationwide. Nursing Dean Demetrius Porche says they traditionally fare well in these rankings due to the wealth of programs available, and the success of their graduates.

Cut 13 (10) “…we have.”

Postseason success for the Saints results in a victory for the local economy. Connor Ferrill has the Story.

Cut 1 (31) “I’m Connor Ferrill.”

__________________________________

A Board of Regents report shows students who get into college with “academic exemptions” perform notably worse than students who do meet the minimum requirements for admission…

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

_______________________________

The Louisiana Family Forum says they are seeking out the best examples of lasting love with the longest marriages in the state in time for Valentine’s Day.  Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”

__________________________________

Postseason success for the Saints results in a victory for the local economy. President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation Jay Cicero says even retailers that do not sell Saints merchandise benefit from the Black and Gold, especially if they keep winning in the playoffs…

Cut 4 (12) “…than that.” 

The Saints will host the Rams Sunday in the NFC Championship game. Cicero says it’s hard to say how many Rams fans will show up in the Crescent City, but there will be plenty of Who Dats in the French Quarter, C-B-D and Warehouse district this weekend…

Cut 5 (12) “…weekend.”

Cicero says if the Saints win Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl in Atlanta on February 3rd, he expects another big crowd for Super Bowl weekend in the Big Easy…

Cut 6 (06) “…the game.”

__________________________________

A Board of Regents report shows students allowed into higher education through “academic exemptions” had noticeably lower college GPA and graduation rates. The report was spurred by LSU’s admission that they had doubled the number of exemption students allowed into the institution. Higher Ed Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed says most of the exemptions were in one category.

Cut 7 (06) “…requirement.”

Students at LSU need a 25 on the ACT to get in, while statewide universities like UL-Lafayette require a 23, and regional schools like Southeastern call for a 20.

Only 32 percent of those with exemptions in 2010-2011 graduated in six years, compared to half of those without exemptions, and their GPA’s averaged 2.0 while nonexempt students averaged 2.7, But Reed notes student athletes with exemptions performed much closer to the average due to their support networks.

Cut 8 (09) “…successful.”

Only two thirds of students with exemptions returned to college after their first year, compared to 82 percent of those without. Reed says many of those exempt are first generation college students, who need more support from the state in their academic careers.

Cut 9 (11) “…successful.″

In 2001 the Board mandated LSU only allow four percent of their admissions to be exemptions.

__________________________________

Louisiana Family Forum is on the hunt for the longest married couples throughout the state.  For the last three years, a couple from Benton have locked in the title for being married the longest.  But that couple passed away in 2018, and another couple will be taking the distinction.  General council at LFF Kristie Cross says it’s an effort to encourage future generations on marriage.

Cut 10 (08) “…thick and thin.”

Cross says the organization will be on the lookout through early February in an effort to make an official recognition on Valentine’s Day.  Here’s how the top ten looks.

Cut 11 (11) “…and 74 years.”

Cross says upon finding the top couple, LFF will plan a celebration around the duo.

Cut 12 (11) “…go to them.”

___________________________

LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing has been ranked the 10^th best nursing school in the nation by Nursing Schools Almanac, and 4^th among all public schools. The rankings surveyed 3,200 programs nationwide. Nursing Dean Demetrius Porche says they traditionally fare well in these rankings due to the wealth of programs available, and the success of their graduates.

Cut 13 (10) “…we have.”

Porche says the program is a vital piece of the Louisiana healthcare machine, and will grow even more important as the healthcare needs of the state increase over time.

Cut 14 (10) “…licensure.”

The Dean and Professor says it’s a proud moment for the venerable institution.

Cut 15 (11) “…within nursing”

____________________________

The Saints return to practice today to get ready for Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Rams. New Orleans running back Mark Ingram knows they are going up against a good team

Cut 16 (17)  “…good game”

The Rams feature one of the top running backs in the NFL in Todd Gurley. Linebacker A-J Klein says Gurley is a big, physical running back that’s hard to tackle…

 cut 17 (18)   “…match-ups.” 

There’s only a few Saints players still around from the 2009 Super Bowl team. Offensive Tackle Terron Armstead says he’s looking forward to playing his first NFC championship game and he doesn’t take this opportunity for granted…

Cut 18 (15)   to a win” 

The Rolling Stones and Katie Perry are two of the major headliners of the 50^th annual New Orleans Jazzfest, as the event’s musical lineup was released today.  Festival producer Quint Davis explains the undercard isn’t too bad either as it features some of the biggest names in music.

Cut 7 (11) “…Trombone Shorty.”
Tickets go on sale for Lousiana residents at the Superdome box office this Thursday.

When asked which teams she’d like to welcome to Atlanta for the Super Bowl, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says “Just anybody other than the Saints. If it can’t be the Falcons, then hey, as long as it’s not the Saints then I’m happy.” New Orleans Tourism and Marketing Corporation President Mark Romig says it’s all in good fun.

Cut 9 (11) “…Saints.″

Two trucking companies involved in the fatal Florida interstate crash that killed five Marksville children are being sued…

Cut 1 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Authorities have identified the 91-year-old man killed in a Union Parish house fire on Monday. Robert Jones of Marion and his two Labrador retrievers died in the blaze. State Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says they are still trying to determine the cause

Cut 12 (09)   “…wood burning stove.”