Concerns are being raised that at the current pace, another special session will needed after June 4^th to approve a budget that includes potentially hundreds of millions in tax revenue that is being considered to plug the 648-million dollar budget gap. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry pushed to override the governor’s veto of  the budget passed in the regular session.

Cut 3 (09) “right now”

But that motion failed to get a two-thirds vote.

A Lake Charles man is under arrest after allegedly tried to rape two elderly women in two separate incidents on Friday. Richard Barras was charged with one count of Attempted 1^stDegree Rape. Authorities say Barras is a parolee. Lake Charles Police Chief Don Dixon says he’s shocked that Barras allegedly committed the crime, because he doesn’t fit the profile.

cut 8 (10) “our radar”

LSU and Northwestern State are both headed to the Pacific Northwest as they are in the Corvallis Regional, hosted by third national seeded Oregon State. The Tigers will open the regional playing San Diego State. If LSU beats San Diego State, they’ll likely play Oregon State in a winner’s bracket game on Saturday. The Beavers have won 100 games over the last two seasons. Coach Paul Mainieri says they knew they’d face tough competition…

Cut 11 (13) “get there”

Southland Tournament champion Northwestern State is in an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2005. Coach Bobby Barbier’s team will face the number three national seed Oregon State on Friday night at 9:30….

Cut 12 (12) “competing in”

Concerns are being raised that at the current pace, another special session will needed after June 4^th to approve a budget that includes potentially hundreds of millions in tax revenue that is being considered to plug the 648-million dollar budget gap. New Orleans Representative Walt Leger was asked what would happen if a budget compromise is not found by July 1^st, and the next fiscal year starts without a spending plan. He said that’d mean a government shutdown.

Cut 6 (09)  “operating”

The Manning Passing Academy will host its first ever clinic and camp for girls. The Manning family has been running the premier football camp for high school boys for over two decades. Camp organizer Jeff Hawkins says he’s been fighting to get women involved in football and says recent results have been promising.

Cut 8 (12)      “…college football”  

LSU and Northwestern State are heading to the same NCAA Baseball Regional. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) ”  I’m Jeff Palermo” 

A State Police investigation has been opened into an officer involved shooting incident at a motel in Lafayette. Lafayette Police were called to the scene in due to a domestic disturbance alert. Officers allege that a man began to flee the scene on foot. During the chase shots were fired, and the suspect was injured and taken to a local hospital.

The Manning Passing Academy to host inaugural football camp for women in Thibodaux next month. Connor Ferrill has the story…

Cut 1 (27)  I”m Connor Ferrill“

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LSU and Northwestern State are heading to the same NCAA Baseball Regional. Jeff Palermo has the story…

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GOP House Caucus Chairman Lance Harris’s tax bill passes the House and is headed to the Senate. Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 3 (30) “Im Matt Doyle”

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If your home was damaged in the 2016 floods, there’s a July 20th deadline to complete a survey that starts the process for aid through the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program. Governor John Bel Edwards says there are a few ways flood victims can complete the survey

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Housing Assistance Centers in Lafayette, Hammond, Monroe and Baton Rouge are open during regular business hours to help individuals complete the survey. About 50-thousand homeowners have completed the survey. Edwards believes there are flood victims who haven’t, because they received S-B-A loans and are ineligible for the Restore Louisiana program, because it would be a duplication of benefits…

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Edwards says if Congress makes any changes to the regulations on who could be available for assistance through the federally-funded homeowner assistance program, flood victims will not be eligible if they haven’t filled out the survey…

Cut 6 (07) “July 20th”

Nearly 11-thousand eligible homeowners have been offered grant awards totaling 285-million dollars.

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The Manning Passing Academy will host its first ever clinic and camp for girls. The Manning family has been running the premier football camp for high school boys for over two decades. Camp organizer Jeff Hawkins says he the Manning family were inspired by a women’s football advocate in Utah…

Cut 7 (07)  “her efforts”

The first night will feature speakers discussing strategies in football, NCAA eligibility, and will wrap with inspirational speeches, while the second day focuses on field work. Hawkins has been fighting to get women involved in football and says recent results have been promising.

Cut 8 (12)      “…college football”  

Hawkins says the industry needs to be getting more young women in on the ground floor.

Cut 9 (11)  “right up”

The camp is open to girls between 8th and 12th grade and all women, June 25th and June 26th on the Nicholls State campus.

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LSU and Northwestern State are both headed to the Pacific Northwest as they are in the Corvallis Regional, hosted by third national seeded Oregon State. The Tigers will open the regional playing San Diego State. The Aztecs have won the Mountain West Conference five times in the last years, but LSU pitcher Zack Hess says after playing well in the SEC Tournament they are more confident than ever..

Cut 10 (12)   “going forward”

If LSU beats San Diego State, they’ll likely play Oregon State in a winner’s bracket game on Saturday. The Beavers have won 100 games over the last two seasons. Coach Paul Mainieri says they knew they’d face tough competition…

Cut 11 (13) “get there”

Southland Tournament champion Northwestern State is in an NCAA Regional for the first time since 2005. Coach Bobby Barbier’s team will face the number three national seed Oregon State on Friday night at 9:30….

Cut 12 (12) “competing in”

Barbier says it’s great LSU and Northwestern State are in the same regional…

Cut 13 (09)  “pretty neat” 

GOP House Caucus Chairman Lance Harris’s tax bill that raises 360 million dollars of the 648 million dollar budget shortfall passed the House after a weekend of deliberations that got the legislation 76 votes, 6 more than it needed to make it to Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs. Harris, who Friday said this tax bill is designed to cut government, celebrated the passage.

Cut 14, 9 seconds, opportunity

The bill renews a third of the expiring penny sales tax, and eliminates some sales tax breaks. Harris says that would require 126 million dollars in budget cuts, but Governor Edwards administration says the cuts would be much closer to 300 million.

Harris says over the weekend he heard from a lot of angry constituents who were concerned about the effects of the tax bill. The Alexandria Republican says that some of those responses gave him a second wind.

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On Friday Harris said the reduction in government spending was necessary due to a lagging state economy. Harris says the bill was a reflection of his values.

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The Governor’s office says Edwards has not decided whether or not he would veto the any budget that included those cuts if it made it to his desk.

While the Senate will now face the tax bill that’s on its way to the upper chamber, The Governor’s office is raising concerns that with a June 4^th deadline for the special session rapidly approaching, that no budget bill has yet been filed. Republicans have blamed this on Edwards’ budget veto in the regular session, but the governor says there’s no reason why that is preventing the legislature from bringing a budget again in the special session.

In response Republican Representative Cameron Henry attempted an override of the Governor’s veto of House Bill One from the regular session. After a contentious debate, the move failed 52-48. A veto override vote can be only be attempted one more time.

GOP House Caucus Chairman Lance Harris’ tax bill that would fill 360 of the state’s 648 million dollar budget shortfall is expected to come up for a vote today after falling seven votes short on Friday. The proposal would renew a third of the expiring penny sales tax, and eliminate some sales tax breaks. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says it won’t just be Republicans who are scrambling to build a consensus. The Democratic Black Caucus has been firmly against any renewal of the expiring penny sales tax. Pinsonat says to reach the 70 votes needed for any tax bill, the Black Caucus will have to be on board.

Cut 11 (11) “for something”

LSU and Northwestern State are in the same NCAA Baseball regional, the Corvallis Regional and the Demons will face number three national seed Oregon State, while the Tigers will take on San Diego State at 3 PM central time Friday.

the nation observes its 47^th federally recognized Memorial Day today. The tradition memorializes those who died while serving in the US Military. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs spokesperson Alex Juan is asking people to keep in mind what that means for Gold Star Families who have lost a loved one in service to the country.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to remind folks who are gearing up for some summer pool time that if you’re not careful, you can pick up a pretty nasty bug from a pool that hasn’t been treated properly. Chief of the CDC Health Swimming Program Michele Hlavsa. (Hill-lav-sa)

Cut 6 (07) “water playgrounds”

For those who have their own pools, Hlavsa says before bringing the family over for a summer swim and grill, you need to check your water.

GOP House Caucus Chairman Lance Harris’ tax bill that would fill 360 of the state’s 648 million dollar budget shortfall is expected to come up for a vote today after falling seven votes short on Friday. The proposal would renew a third of the expiring penny sales tax, and eliminate some sales tax breaks. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says Harris’ bill was a long shot to pass on Friday. He says at least now everyone knows where each legislator stands on this particular bill.

Cut 10 (11)   “against it”

An eleven-year-old girl was killed in a police chase in Opelousas on Sunday morning and authorities are looking for two men she was with prior to her death. The family of Bryla Bell say she snuck out of the home and got into a truck with two people inside. When Opelousas Police approached the vehicle, two men jumped out and the girl took the wheel of the vehicle and which eventually struck an embankment and she died.

The nation observes its 47^th federally recognized Memorial Day today. The tradition memorializes those who died while serving in the US Military. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs spokesperson Alex Juan says if you haven’t had a chance to honor one of them at a veteran’s cemetery, today is the day to do it.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to remind folks to keep those pools clean over the summer. Chief of the CDC Health Swimming Program Michele Hlavsa says for those who have their own pools, before bringing the family over for a summer swim and grill, you need to check your water and make sure it’s clean enough to swim in.

Cut 8 (12)  “test strips”

GOP House Caucus Chairman Lance Harris’ tax bill that would fill 360 of the state’s 648 million dollar budget shortfall is expected to come up for a vote today after falling seven votes short on Friday. The proposal would renew a third of the expiring penny sales tax, and eliminate some sales tax breaks. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat says the weekend gave lawmakers a chance to discuss options…

Cut 9 (10)  “now gone”

The nation observes its 47^th federally recognized Memorial Day today. The tradition memorializes those who died while serving in the US Military. Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs spokesperson Alex Juan is asking people to keep in mind what that means for Gold Star Families who have lost a loved one in service to the country.

Cut 3 (13) “the way”

11,000 Louisianans have died serving their country since our founding.

LSU and Northwestern State are heading to the same NCAA Baseball Regional. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) ”  I’m Jeff Palermo” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to remind folks who are gearing up for some summer pool time that if you’re not careful, you can pick up a pretty nasty bug from a pool that hasn’t been treated properly. Chief of the CDC Health Swimming Program Michele Hlavsa says theres one major problem area.

Cut 6 (07) “water playgrounds”

Law enforcement has an increased presence on roadways due to their Click it Or Ticket seatbelt awareness campaign over the Memorial Day weekend, to remind drivers about road safety. Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Spokesperson Mark Lambert says while an increase in tickets being issued is expected, that’s not really the goal of the campaign.

Cut 9 (10) “the behavior”
It’s also important to note that besides a legal requirement for drivers to buckle up, the law also includes front seat and back seat passengers to wear seat belts as well.

It took a long time for the LSU Tigers to beat a top ranked Florida baseball team in the SEC Tournament. The game started on Friday but rain delays kept that game going until thick fog rolled into the ballpark and halted play in the bottom of the 6th inning. At that time LSU had an impressive 10 to 0 lead on the scoreboard as a result of seven runs in the sixth inning last night. LSU resumed the game this morning and defeated Florida by adding another point for a final score of 11 to zero.

Sub-tropical storm Alberto is expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico by tonight. It’s currently located near the western tip of Cuba and is moving northward at 10 miles per hour. At that pace, the National Hurricane Center forecasters predict the path of the storm making landfall in the U.S. on Tuesday morning. However, Alberto is also affecting people’s outdoor Memorial Day weekend plans throughout the gulf coast due to increased rain possibilities from Louisiana to western Florida.

The Louisiana Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday starts today and lasts through tomorrow. The state tax holiday is designed to encourage people to stock up on things that can be helpful over the Hurricane season that begins on June first. Among those items are storm shutters, batteries, cell phone batteries, mobile phone chargers, flashlights, and portable radios. To see a complete list of tax holiday items go to the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s website.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Subtropical Storm Alberto has maximum sustained winds are 40 miles per hour is currently along the western tip of Cuba.  Alberto is moving north at 10 miles per hour and forecasters say it’s expected to enter the Gulf of Mexico by tonight. The storm is expected to make landfall in the U-S early Tuesday morning.  But long before Alberto arrives it is affecting weather from Louisiana to Florida and officials say people along the gulf coast should aware of the possibility of tropical cyclones.

Weather also affected the LSU Tigers pathway in the SEC Tournament. At midnight on Friday thick fog rolled into the ballpark and halted play in the bottom of the 6th inning with LSU far ahead on the scoreboard 10 to 0. The Tigers scored seven runs in the sixth inning on four hits last night.  LSU resumed play this morning increased its lead 11 to zero to beat the top ranked Florida baseball team.

The fiscal cliff is getting closer as the legislature narrowly voted down a GOP backed tax bill on Friday night.  Governor John Bel Edwards is pushing for a sales tax bill that generates more revenue and there are Republicans who are not for higher sales taxes. But PAR President Robert Travis Scott has grave concerns about the showdown over the state budget.

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Many lawmakers and Edwards administration officials are working over the Memorial Day holiday weekend to work on possible solutions that could get 70 votes in the House.  The legislature is set to officially resume their efforts on Monday afternoon.

Weekend drivers will notice more law enforcement on the roadways to encourage people to obey posted speed limits and wear seat belts.  Louisiana Highway Safety Commission spokesperson Mark Lambert says the holiday weekend would be a great time to start a potentially lifesaving behavior change.

Cut 11 (07) “second nature”

The effort will be in conjunction with Line to Line, where Louisiana and Mississippi officers have paired together to increase patrols on I-55.

The Memorial Day holiday weekend more people driving to getaway destinations. The increased traffic also has more law enforcement on roadways to encourage obeying posted speed limits and the use of seat belts around the clock. A recent report showed that drivers are less likely to wear a seatbelt when driving at night. Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Spokesperson Mark Lambert says darkness does not stop authorities from spotting and ticketing unbuckled drivers or passengers failing to wear seat belts.
Cut 10 (09) “belt law”
Surveys data lists 13 percent of drivers admitting to not using seatbelts.

The State Fire Marshal’s office continues to investigate the explosion at the Proctor and Gamble plant in Pineville claimed the life of a Jena man. The incident occurred early Thursday morning. Spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says the explosion was contained to the incident area.
Cut 6 (07) “equipment”

On Friday a GOP backed sales tax bill was voted down on the House floor, falling just seven votes short of passage. Governor John Bel Edwards in a statement that ‘My plan remains on the table to adequately fund all of these priorities and would still reduce the tax burden on the people of Louisiana by $400 million.”’  Robert Travis Scott of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana has been watching the legislature’s struggle. Scott has his doubts if the battle over the state budget crisis causes another special session.

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Lawmakers resume their efforts on Monday at 2 pm.

Fog and rain delayed the LSU Tigers from advancing to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. They were leading Florida 10-0 in the sixth inning last night when a thick fogged rolled in and halted play. The game will resume this morning and if LSU can get three outs in the seventh inning without Florida scoring, they will win by mercy rule.