There’s three hurricanes churning in the Atlantic Basin, and hurricane season is far from over. State climatologist Barry Keim says we’re not even halfway through the season, and we’re already off to a roaring start with 11 named storms so far.

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Cleco and Entergy are teaming up to build a new transmission line that can withstand hurricane force winds. Cleco spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says the companies are splitting the cost. She says Entergy expects to spend $65 million on 24 miles of the project in southeast Louisiana.

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The project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2018.

LSU graduates have higher early- and mid-career earnings than other grads, according to a new report. Jeff Palermo has more…

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High school students in Louisiana did not perform as well on the ACT compared to students in other states. The national average composite score was 21, while Louisiana averaged a 19.5. The Bayou State reportedly ranks 43^rd in the country for ACT test scores.

A recent report finds LSU graduates have higher early- and mid-career earnings than graduates of other Louisiana universities. President F. King Alexander notes many of the universities below LSU on the list charge higher tuition and have more student debt…:
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LSU grads have early career earnings of more than $52,000 and mid-career earnings of over $100,000.

There are currently three hurricanes churning in the Atlantic Basin. Cat-5 Irma is approaching Florida on the current track, Juan is far east of Irma, and Katia is a hurricane in the southwestern Gulf. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’ve already seen 11 named storms, and not even at peak of season
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The state Department of Transportation has started a major project on Arkansas Road in Ouachita Parish. DOTD Secretary Dr. Shawn Wilson says with a big boom in residents in West Monroe, there is a serious need for a wider road…:
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The project is expected to cost about 33-million dollars.

Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard says he’s paying back the $37,000 he used from his campaign account on gambling. He said he thinks the problem was a side effect to anti-Parkinson’s medication..:
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The Ethics Board will decide Friday what action to take against the Richard.

LSU graduates have higher early- and mid-career earnings than other grads, according to a new report…:
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Construction is underway in a joint effort by Cleco and Entergy on a new storm-hardened transmission line that will strengthen service reliability for customers. Cleco Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill…:
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Three hurricanes are churning in the Atlantic Basin. Hurricane Irma is barreling down on the Greater Antilles, Jose is trailing Irma in the central Atlantic, and Katia is now a hurricane in the southwestern Gulf. State climatologist Barry Keim says having three hurricanes simultaneously is definitely unusual, but it’s not unprecedented or record-breaking.
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He says we’ve already seen 11 named storms, and we haven’t reached the peak of the season.

LSU’s All-American pass rusher Arden Key practiced fully for the first time this fall yesterday. Head Coach Ed Orgeron said on his weekly talk show that Key has not been cleared to play, but he’s making progress and they’ll know more next week.

A recent report finds LSU graduates have higher early- and mid-career earnings than graduates of other Louisiana universities. Among the 50 flagship universities in the country, LSU ranks 21st in early career earnings and 18th for mid-career earnings. President F. King Alexander credits the hard work of the University for getting students ready for the workforce:
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In the SEC, LSU is third behind only Texas A&M and Florida for early career earnings.

Hurricane Irma has weakened slightly as of the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center, but is still an extremely dangerous Cat-5 storm. A Hurricane Watch has now been issued for southern Florida as Irma continues to travel west-northwest at 16 miles per hour. Top sustained winds are a ferocious 175 miles per hour, down from a peak of 185.

Cleco and Entergy are teaming up to increase reliability to customers in southeast Louisiana. Cleco Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says construction is already underway for a new storm-hardened transmission line from Gray to Patterson that can withstand winds of 150 miles per hour…:
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It’s expected the project will be completed by the fall of 2018.

The lovebug population has been in overdrive this year and experts say it’s because we had such a mild and wet summer. LSU-Shreveport Associate professor of Biological Sciences Beverly Burden says it’s true that lovebugs are bad for your car..:
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Burden expects the population to decline in the next 10 to 14 days.

A female sperm whale found dead on a sandbar just off of Grand Isle Beach was the third sperm whale found stranded along the coast of Louisiana within the past year. State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Mandy Tumlin says a necropsy of the animal helps to determine the cause of death:
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This latest sperm whale is one of five of the endangered species found in the northern Gulf of Mexico over the past year.

Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard says he’s paying back the $37,000 he used from his campaign account on gambling. He said he thinks the problem was a side effect to anti-Parkinson’s medication..:
Cut 15 (09) “it’s terrible”
The Ethics Board will decide Friday what action to take against the Richard.

Lovebugs are taking over the summer. Halen Doughty has more on why…:
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In addition to the dangerous, deadly Hurricane Irma, there are two other hurricanes currently churning. Jose is in the Atlantic, and is expected to turn more to the north later in the week from its current westward track, according to the National Hurricane Center. Katia, which is located in the western Gulf of Mexico, is forecast to turn southeastward in the next 24 hours and will move in the direction of Tampico, Mexico. Irma is moving north of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on a track that brings it through the Bahamas and near Florida over the next couple of day.

A state lawmaker is facing disciplinary action from the state ethics board after using campaign money to feed his gambling addiction. Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard says medication he was taking for Parkinson’s has been blamed for fueling others gambling addictions in a class action lawsuit:
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Between 2012 and 2015, Richard spent $37,000 from his campaign fund on gambling before getting off the drug a year ago.

If you’ve noticed more love bugs than normal this time of year, you can blame a mild and wet summer. LSU-Shreveport Associate professor of Biological Sciences Beverly Burden says while the lovebugs are a major nuisance..:
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She says they should be gone within a couple of weeks.

A female sperm whale has been found on Grand Isle, the third of the endangered species found on Louisiana beaches this year…:
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Rural parishes in Louisiana are struggling more than major cities to combat the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Linda Meredith is the research and development manager for the advocacy group HEROES. She says there’s only one treatment facility in the entire northeast corner of the state…:
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Tomorrow the Louisiana Board of Ethics will decide the fate of a state lawmaker who used campaign dollars to feed a gambling addiction…:
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Hurricane Irma has had winds of 185 miles per hour longer than any other storm in the history of the weather satellite era, according to Colorado State Meteorologist Phil Klotzbach. The storm is slated to approach southern Florida on Sunday. There are two other Hurricanes, Katia which is not expected to impact the US, and Jose which is far east of Irma.

A third sperm whale has been found stranded off the Louisiana coast. State Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologist Mandy Tumlin says they are working to determine the cause of the increase in dead animals washing onto Louisiana beaches…:
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She says an autopsy will soon be conducted on this mammal found beached on Grand Isle.

Rural parishes in Louisiana are struggling more than major cities to combat the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Linda Meredith is the research and development manager for the advocacy group HEROES. She says improvements are being seen in places like Baton Rouge and New Orleans, but that’s vastly different from the trend in northeast Louisiana..:
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Louisiana ranks first in the country for new HIV infections.

A state lawmaker is facing disciplinary action from the state ethics board after using campaign money to feed his gambling addiction. Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard says medication he took for Parkinson’s disease caused the sudden addiction in 2012, as he was not a compulsive gambler:
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The Ethics Board will decide Friday what action to take against the legislator.

Rural parishes in Louisiana are struggling more than major cities to combat the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Linda Meredith is the research and development manager for the advocacy group HEROES. She says rural regions account for 15 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases in the state…:
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Louisiana ranks first in the country for new HIV infections.

Many Louisianans have likely noticed a serious uptick in the amount of lovebugs we’re seeing. LSU-Shreveport Associate professor of Biological Sciences Beverly Burden says the relatively mild and wet summer can be to blame…:
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Burden expects the population to decline in the next 10 to 14 days.

Hurricane Irma remains at Cat-5 strength as its eye moves off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic early this morning. According to the latest National Hurricane Center track south Florida-Miami will begin to see hurricane conditions during the predawn hours of Sunday before the eye makes landfall as a category 4 storm.

The National Hurricane Center says the models still show Hurricane Irma shifting east and staying away from Louisiana, as the eye of the Category 5 storm is closing in on the Virgin Islands. Meteorologist David Zelinsky says the 5 day cone of probability currently shows Irma impacting Florida…

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With the region facing one natural disaster after another, Governor Edwards wants to end a provision that excludes disaster victims who applied for loans from the recovery grant program. His spokesperson Richard Carbo says FEMA almost insists that homeowners get an SBA loan but they don’t telling them what that means down the road.

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The TOPS Task Force met for the first time today to discuss the future of the scholarship program. Michelle Southern has more…

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Tomorrow the Louisiana Board of Ethics decides the fate of Thibodaux Representative Dee Richard, who gambled $37-thousand in campaign funds between 2012 and 2015. He says he was never a gambler before he started taking medication for Parkinson’s, and the drug was later linked to gambling addiction. He says he’s prepared to pay back the money, but he’d like to finish out the remaining two years of his last term.