A new AAA foundation student finds Louisiana ranks second in the country with the highest rate of fatal hit-and-run crashes per capita. Michael Farrar has more….

Cut 2 (29) “I’m Michael Farrar”

A domestic violence firearms bill cleared a House panel that further restricts possession of a gun by someone who is under a protective order. Currently it’s prohibited for an abuser to have a weapon, this bill prohibits among other things carrying a concealed weapon. Executive director of the Louisiana Coalition against Domestic Violence Mariah Wineski.

Cut 5  (09) “piece of mind”

The measure now moves to the full house.

Concerns are being raised about a House bill that includes an application for funding a Boy Scouts project, but did not include an application for a girl scouts project. Girl Scouts Louisiana East spokesperson Mary-Patricia Wray says neither project is guaranteed to be funded, but allowing both applications to be considered would send a message of equality.

Cut 12, 5 seconds, Boy Scouts

The Girl Scouts are seeking funding for a project that would prevent a lake in Tangipahoa from spilling into the Tangipahoa River.

A woman is under arrest for allegedly stealing a horse, and selling it for 1,000 dollars cash on the internet. 27-year-old Sarah Broussard of Scott was booked into the Lafayette Parish Jail on the charge of Theft of Property valued over 500 dollars. Ag Commisioner Mike Strain says the purchaser had no clue the horse was stolen.

Cut 9 (05) “the internet”

Domestic violence firearms bill cleared a house panel that further restricts possession of a gun by someone who is under a protective order. Currently its prohibited for an abuser to have a weapon, this bill prohibits among other things carrying a concealed weapon. Mariah Wineski is the executive director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Cut 3 (:12) “those numbers”

An invasive species of tree frogs has hopped the Gulf and is gaining a foothold in New Orleans. Jeff Palermo has more.

Cut 2 (29) I’m Jeff Palermo”

The House Education Committee passed a proposal that would require schools provide a 30 minute recess break to students. Currently schools must have 30 minutes of physical activity, which is covered in many districts by PE class. Houma Representative and sponsor Beryl Amedee says recess is crucial to a child’s educational development.

Cut 10 (06) “unstructured play”

A Senate Committee approved a bill that would allow families to put video cameras in the nursing home rooms of loved ones. The legislation was inspired by a Louisiana family who suspected a nursing home staff member was beating a family member in their room. Houma Senator Norby Chabert says the legislation is designed to keep the elderly safe.

Cut 14 (09) “real time”

Festival season is kicking off in Louisiana, with a busy schedule that’s bound to keep the Bayou State buzzing for months to come. This weekend may be the busiest, with huge celebrations in New Orleans and Lafayette. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is calling on folks to “staycation” in Louisiana with a trip to New Orleans this weekend. Jazz Fest is expected to bring in roughly 300-million dollars. Nungesser says thousands of tourists will be in the state and he hopes their visit will lead to more tourism…

Cut 6 (12) “in Louisiana”

Cuban tree frogs have moved into New Orleans, and are now threatening to muscle out the locals according to the US Geological Survey. The frogs are invasive, and are suspected to have hopped a ride to the Crescent City on palm trees imported from Florida. Ecologist Brad Glorioso

Cut 9 (10)  “in anything”

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The House Education Committee passed a proposal that would require schools provide a 30 minute recess break to students. Currently schools must have 30 minutes of physical activity, which is covered in many districts by PE class. But the legislation received opposition from the Louisiana Association of Principles, who raised concerns that it would cut back on classroom time. Executive Director Debra Schum says schools have other ways to get students active besides relying on recess

Cut 12 (12) “the classroom”

A Senate Committee approved a bill that would allow families to put video cameras in the nursing home rooms of loved ones. The legislation was inspired by a Louisiana family who suspected a nursing home staff member was beating a family member in their room. Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau expressed some concerns about the hacking vulnerability of live streamed cameras, but says ultimately the legislation is a win win for both residents, and nursing home owners.

Cut 16 (08) “what happened”

A Houma Representative’s bill which would require public schools provide 30 minutes of recess passed committee. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

Festival season is kicking off in Louisiana, with a busy schedule that’s bound to keep the Bayou State buzzing for months to come. This weekend may be the busiest, with huge celebrations in New Orleans and Lafayette. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is calling on folks to “staycation” in Louisiana with a trip to New Orleans this weekend.

The golf tournament is the Zurich Classic, in Avondale just south of New Orleans.

But New Orleans isn’t the only town throwing down this weekend. Lafayette is hosting the Festival International, and Nungesser says visitors will be treated to a multicultural cornucopia of talent

Cut 5  (08)  “in Lafayette”

Cuban tree frogs have moved into New Orleans, and are now threatening to muscle out the locals according to the US Geological Survey. The frogs are invasive, and are suspected to have hopped a ride to the Crescent City on palm trees imported from Florida. Ecologist Brad Glorioso says

It’s not just the local wildlife that’s at risk, Glorioso says they have a history of terrorizing homeowners.

Cut 8 (07)  “power outages”

A Senate Committee approved a bill that would allow families to put video cameras in the nursing home rooms of loved ones. The legislation was inspired by a Louisiana family who suspected a nursing home staff member was beating a family member in their room. Baton Rouge Senator Dan Claitor says after using cameras to watch his elderly father, he’s supportive of the idea to bring them into not just nursing homes, but assisted living facilities.

Cut 15 (05) “as well”

An invasive species of tree frogs has hopped the Gulf and is gaining a foothold in New Orleans. Jeff Palermo has more.

Cut 2 (29) I’m Jeff Palermo”

Festival season is kicking off in Louisiana, with a busy schedule that’s bound to keep the Bayou State buzzing for months to come. This weekend may be the busiest, with huge celebrations in New Orleans and Lafayette. Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser is calling on folks to “staycation” in Louisiana with a trip to New Orleans this weekend.

Cut 4  (06) “golf tournament” 

The House Education Committee passed a proposal that would require schools provide a 30 minute recess break to students. Currently schools must have 30 minutes of physical activity, which is covered in many districts by PE class.

But the legislation received opposition from the Louisiana Association of Principles, who raised concerns that it would cut back on classroom time. Executive Director Debra Schum says schools would struggle to accomplish this under current class time requirements.

Cut 11 (10) “a cost”

A Senate Committee approved a bill that would allow families to put video cameras in the nursing home rooms of loved ones. The legislation was inspired by a Louisiana family who suspected a nursing home staff member was beating a family member in their room. Houma Senator Norby Chabert says the legislation is designed to keep the elderly safe.

Cut 14 (09) “real time”

Flowers are in bloom, crawfish are boilin, the weather is just right, and Louisianans know, that means festival season. Michael Farrar has more.

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Michael Farrar”

Cuban tree frogs have moved into New Orleans, and are now threatening to muscle out the locals according to the US Geological Survey. The frogs are invasive, and are suspected to have hopped a ride to the Crescent City on palm trees imported from Florida. Ecologist Brad Glorioso says it’s a threat to the state amphibian, the green tree frog.

Cut 7 (08)  “other frogs”

The House Education Committee passed a proposal that would require schools provide a 30 minute recess break to students. Currently schools must have 30 minutes of physical activity, which is covered in many districts by PE class. Houma Representative and sponsor Beryl Amedee says recess is crucial to a child’s educational development.

Cut 10 (06) “unstructured play”

Louisiana ranks second in the nation with the highest rate of fatal hit-and-run crashes per capita, according to new research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The national study found that one hit-and-run crash occurs every minute on U.S. roads, andresulted in 2,049 deaths in 2016 – the highest number on record and a 60 percent increase since 2009.

The House Criminal Justice Committee approves a constitutional amendment that calls for all 12 members of a criminal jury to agree on the guilt or innocence of an accused person. Current law only requires 10. The debate digressed to a racial issue when an opponent, Calcasieu D.A. John Derosier, brushed off the notion that unanimous juries were racially driven.

Cut 6 (:12)  “what it is.”

The comment ignited a fiery back and forth with committee member Ted James.

But the bill’s author, New Orleans Senator J.P. Morrell, cited 180 year old documents to make his point why convictions in felony should be unanimous…

Cut 8 (:13) “official journal”

Louisiana and Oregon are the only two states without Unanimous jury requirements. The Senate has already approved the proposal and it will need a two-thirds vote on the House floor.

A Senate-approved bestiality bill that’s been grabbing headlines passed unanimously through a House committee. The bill would update bestiality laws, and codify them as only applying to acts between man and animal. Some opponents argue the bill is an attempt to protect homosexual behavior. The bill’s sponsor, New Orleans Senator JP Morrell.

Cut 9 (10) “about bestiality”

The state legislature is not willing to give voters in Tangipahoa Parish the opportunity to vote on whether they want a riverboat casino at a location near I-12.  Ponchatoula Representative Steve Pugh moved to table the bill, because there’s opposition from local senators…

Cut 5  (11) “as well”

The state legislature is not willing to give voters in Tangipahoa Parish the opportunity to vote on whether they want a riverboat casino at a location near I-12. DiamondJacks Casino and Resort in Bossier City is interested in moving its license to Tangipahoa. But religious leaders object. First Baptist Church of Hammond Pastor Jeff Robertson

Cut 3 (:10) “of it”

The House Criminal Justice Committee moved the unanimous jury bill out of committee and on to the house floor without objection. The bill calls for all 12 members of a criminal jury to agree on the guilt or innocence of an accused person. Current law only requires 10. The debate digressed to a racial issue when an opponent, Calcasieu D.A. John Derosier, brushed off the notion that unanimous jury’s were racially driven.

Cut 6 (:12)  “what it is.”

A 15 week abortion ban passes the Senate on a 31-3 vote. The bill mirrors a Mississippi law recently passed that has been halted by a federal judge. Shreveport Senator and Democrat John Milkovich:

Cut 14 (10) “frowning”

A teachers strike in Kentucky that led to increased funding for schools and higher pay is inspiring educator walkouts and work stoppages across the south. Louisiana Federation of Teachers is now polling its members to see what actions they would favor to address quality of life for teachers and students. LFT spokesperson Les Landon says it’s not just about winning a bigger paycheck.

Cut 10 (09) “to be”

Landon says they’ve already polled around 3,000 members, and will release a report in mid to late may with the results.

The Senate passed a bill 22-14 that would allow riverboat casinos to expand their operations on land. Louisiana is the only state that requires floating gambling halls to keep all gaming operations on water.

Opponets argue that an expansion of gaming would lead to more gambling addiction, but Metairie Senator Danny Martiny says gamblers will find a way to get their fix whether we legislate against it or not.

Cut 6 (11) “nothing”

The bill moves to the House.

The switch to make Louisiana juries come to unanimous decisions will face a tough test in the House Criminal Justice committee today. Currently only 10 out of twelve jurors have to agree if someone is guilty of a crime. A proposed constitutional amendment seeks to make all felony convictions unanimous. Christie Smith is the legislative liaison for the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys says if you compare Texas and Mississippi they both are getting their share of convictions with a standard of unanimous juries.

Cut 9 (10)  “that matter”

That House committee is made up of 10 Republicans, 8 Democrats, 1 independent.

A teachers strike in Kentucky that led to increased funding for schools and higher pay is inspiring educator walkouts and work stoppages across the south. Louisiana Federation of Teachers is now polling its members to see what actions they would favor to address quality of life for teachers and students. LFT spokesperson Les Landon says they’ve already polled around 3,000 members, and will release a report in mid to late May with the results.

Cut 12 (11) “strike”

A 15 week abortion ban passes the Senate on a 31-3 vote. The bill mirrors a Mississippi law recently passed that has been halted by a federal judge. Shreveport Senator and Democrat John Milkovich says he’s well aware his potential law will lead to an expensive court battle, but it’s a price he’s willing to pay.

Cut 13 (06)  “worth it”

A wave of teacher’s strikes is sweeping the south, and which has Louisiana Teacher’s Unions looking at their options. Matt Doyle has more.

Cut 3 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle”

The Senate passed a bill 22-14 that would allow riverboat casinos to expand their operations on land. Louisiana is the only state that requires floating gambling halls to keep all gaming operations on water. Metairie Senator Danny Martiny says the bill allows the riverboats to invest more into their properties, which will bring more tax dollars to the state…

Cut 5  (09)  “that money”

The switch to make Louisiana juries come to unanimous decisions will face a tough test in the House Criminal Justice committee today. Currently only 10 out of twelve jurors have to agree if someone is guilty of a crime. A proposed constitutional amendment seeks to make all felony convictions unanimous

The measure has already passed the Senate, despite concerns the proposal will make it more difficult to get convictions. . Christie Smith is the legislative liaison for the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, he says that’s not the case….

Cut 8 (08)  “or better”

A 15 week abortion ban passes the Senate on a 31-3 vote. The bill mirrors a Mississippi law recently passed that has been halted by a federal judge. Shreveport Senator and Democrat John Milkovich says he’s well aware his potential law will lead to an expensive court battle, but it’s a price he’s willing to pay.

Milkovich says abortions after 15 weeks are particularly difficult for potential mothers.

Cut 15 (10) “to pieces”

The bill moves to the House.