East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. Beau Clark has released preliminary autopsy findings on the body of the 18-year-old LSU student who died in what the university had called a possible hazing incident at his fraternity. Clark says they did not find any internal or external signs of trauma on Maxwell Gruver:
CUT 3 (06) “the hospital”
His office will provide a comprehensive toxicology test which takes as long as four weeks to complete. LSU is investigating the tragic incident.

Republican House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says Governor Edwards wants to keep a temporary one-cent sales tax on the books, instead of reducing government spending….
cut 15 (09) “…cop out”
The extra penny on the sales tax is set to expire next summer. The governor’s office says they are seeking a bipartisan plan that does not raise revenue.

Fans on both sides of the aisle are excited about tomorrow’s SEC opener for LSU and Mississippi State in Starkville. Director of Tourism for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, Jennifer Prather, says SEC Nation will broadcast live from their tailgating spot The Junction on Saturday morning…:
Cut 7 (10) “to Saturday”
Kick-off is at 6 PM.

The Baton Rouge principal accused of locking a 5-year-old student in a closet for punishment has turned himself in to authorities. 31-year-old Shafeeq Deen was booked on charges of cruelty to a juvenile and false imprisonment.

TOPS for grown ups? The leader of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System likes the idea. Emelie Gunn has the story…:
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Governor John Bel Edwards is in Shreveport today for meetings with local elected officials and business leaders. The governor has held similar meetings around the state lately to discuss the state’s challenging budget situation, as Louisiana is facing a one-billion dollar deficit, because temporary taxes are set to expire in July.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith says Fire Chief Steve Krentel has been cleared in the murder of his wife Nanette who was found dead in a fire in July. The Corner officially ruled Nanette Krentel’s death as a homicide. Smith does not dispute the ruling, but he is concerned about the timing of the announcement, because there’s more to determine in this case…:
Cut 4 (11) “from the scene”
Smith says Steve Krentel was their initial primary person of interest, but he has been cleared.

Neville High School in Monroe has been named the most beautiful public high school in Louisiana by Architectural Digest. Dana Jefferson, Executive Director of the school’s Alumni Association, says the school has undergone many renovations to preserve the 86-year-old building…:
CUT 12 (06) “to come”
Architectural Digest recently chose one public high school from all 50 states.

St. Tammany Sheriff Randy Smith says a fire chief has been cleared his wife’s death. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System wants the state to pursue a scholarship program for adults so they can attend two year schools. Monty Sullivan likes the idea of a TOPS for grown folks.:
Cut 9 (12) “their families”

An arrest has been made in the murder of a St. Martin Parish woman who was eight months pregnant. Major Ginny Higgins says authorities arrested 32-year-old Toni Trimble Thomas and she is charged with one count of first degree murder and one count of first degree feticide. She says this is very unfortunate as the life of a baby and mother were lost…:
Cut 8 (10) “very sad”
A motive in the case has yet to be established.

Thibodaux Police arrest a 19-year-old on first offense DWI after she registered a .181% blood alcohol content. They say Amy Jernigan of Houma was released on a summons.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith says Fire Chief Steve Krentel has been cleared in the murder of his wife Nanette, who was found in a burned home with a gunshot wound to the head in July. Smith says Steve Krentel was their initial primary person of interest…:
Cut 3 (09) “from the beginning”
The St. Tammany Corner officially ruled Nanette Krentel’s death as a homicide.

An arrest has been made in the murder of a St. Martin Parish woman who was eight months pregnant. Major Ginny Higgins says authorities arrested 32-year-old Toni Trimble Thomas and she is charged with one count of first degree murder and one count of first degree feticide….:
Cut 6 (06) “continuing”
The suspect’s brother was the boyfriend of the victim, 24-year-old Ashley Nicole Meche. Investigators believe the boyfriend had nothing to do with this.

The general election for State Treasurer is a month away. Three Republican candidates are raising money. There’s also a Democrat and Libertarian on the ballot. Publisher of La-politics-dot-com, Jeremy Alford, says even though it’s a statewide race, the candidates have not raised a lot of money, so they’ll have to be creative…:
Cut 15 (09) “name recognition”
Early Voting begins September 30th.

The principal of a Baton Rouge charter school is accused of punishing a 5-year-old by locking her in a closet for punishment. Shafeeq Syid Shamsid-Deen, is listed as the principal of Laurel Oaks Charter School. He is wanted on counts of cruelty to a juvenile and false imprisonment, but Baton Rouge Police say he has yet to turn himself in and had not been booked. The school’s board has reportedly placed the principal on leave pending the results of its own investigation.

The general election for State Treasurer is a month away. Three Republican candidates are raising money. There’s also a Democrat and Libertarian on the ballot. Publisher of La-politics-dot-com, Jeremy Alford, says none of the candidates have enough money to run TV commercials statewide, which will lead to a low voter turnout on October 14th…:
Cut 14 (06) “less than 20-percent”
Early Voting begins September 30th.

Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo says the first LaSTEM Advisory Council meeting was successful. He says they are discussing ways to get more students to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math jobs, and a push to get more women into these careers…:
Cut 12 (09) “wage gap”
He says the council agrees STEM education needs to be a pipeline, starting in Kindergarten and continuing through high school.

Louisiana remains one of the most business-friendly states in the nation, ranking No. 5 in Area Development magazine’s annual Top States for Doing Business survey. Michael Farrar reports…:
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Michael Farrar”

The principal of a Baton Rouge charter school is accused of punishing a 5-year-old by locking her in a closet for punishment. Shafeeq Syid Shamsid-Deen, is listed as the principal of Laurel Oaks Charter School. He is wanted on counts of cruelty to a juvenile and false imprisonment, but Baton Rouge Police say he has yet to turn himself in and had not been booked.

Louisiana remains one of the most business-friendly states in the nation, ranking No. 5 in Area Development magazine’s annual Top States for Doing Business survey. LED Secretary Don Pierson says their FastStart workforce development program is very popular. He says with the help of post-secondary education institutions, these programs screen, select, and train the workforce
Cut 8 (10) “on day one”
He says this is a great third party endorsement they can reference to show that Louisiana is a great place to do business.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested after a video of a fight on LSU’s campus before last Saturday’s game went viral. Cops identified and arrested 18-year-old Casen Maggio who they believe is the one who punched another man with a cast on his arm. The victim broke several facial bones. Maggio was booked with aggravated battery.

Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo says the first LaSTEM Advisory Council meeting was successful in discussing how to increase the amount of students who will succeed in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. He says the council agrees STEM education needs to be a pipeline, starting in Kindergarten and continuing through high school…:
Cut 11 (10) “that occurred”
He says Louisiana need to catch up with neighboring states when it comes to STEM jobs.

The Oil and Gas Industry is helping with refinery recovery efforts in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. President of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association Chris John…:
Cut 5 (11) “our country”
Exxon Mobil led the way by donating 9.5 million dollars to the Red Cross and the United Way of Houston.

We’re exactly one month away from the general election for State Treasurer. Jeff Palermo reports the candidates are becoming more active…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The St. Martin Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the death of a pregnant woman who was found murdered this week. They say 32-year-old Toni Trimble Thomas of Breaux Bridge is booked with one count of second degree murder, and one count of second degree feticide. The suspect’s brother was the boyfriend of 24-year-old Ashley Nichol Meche who was stabbed to death at 8 months pregnant. Investigators believe the boyfriend had nothing to do with this.

Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo says the first LaSTEM Advisory Council meeting was successful in discussing how to increase the amount of students who will succeed in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Rallo says right now, if we don’t engage, Louisiana will not catch up with neighboring states when it comes to STEM jobs…:
Cut 10 (10) “meet that”
He says the council will meet once a month.

The Oil and Gas Industry is helping with recovery efforts in Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. President of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association Chris John says the storm knocked out about 12-percent of the refining capacity for the US. He says when times are tough, the oil and gas sector steps up to the plate…:
Cut 4 (06) “efforts”
He says they’re close to getting the Texas refineries all back online.

Louisiana remains one of the most business-friendly states in the nation, ranking No. 5 in Area Development magazine’s annual Top States for Doing Business survey. LED Secretary Don Pierson says this is a great third party endorsement they can reference to show that Louisiana is a great place to do business, for many reasons…:
Cut 7 (10) “in the nation”
This is the second year in a row the publication has ranked Louisiana No. 5.

The election for State Treasurer is a month away, and La-politics-dot-com Publisher, Jeremy Alford, says Columbia Senator Neil Riser has been the most active in television advertising so far..:
Cut 13 (09) “another commercial”
Alford says expect to hear more from the candidates in the coming weeks as Early Voting begins September 30th.

Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo says the first LaSTEM council meeting was a success. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

A charter school principal in Baton Rouge accused of locking a kindergartner in a broom closet has reportedly been suspended and now faces arrest on felony and misdemeanor charges.