Governor John Bel Edwards has announced the state will move to Phase 3 for the reopening of the economy and that should mean relaxed occupancy restrictions on restaurants. Louisiana Restaurant Association President Stan Harris says they are expecting an increase from 50% to 75% capacity.
Cut 4 (09)“ …more work hours.”
Edwards will provide more details about Phase 3 which will go into effect later today at a 2 PM press conference.

Governor Edwards is warning residents in the areas impacted by Hurricane Laura to be cautious with the heat. The state reports 28 storm-related deaths and many of those are linked to the intense temps. Edwards says those working in the sweltering conditions need to pace themselves.
Cut 13 (06) “…get in to.”

Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage” gives an inside look at President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus during the early stages of the pandemic. The book details how Mr. Trump knew of the seriousness of COVID-19, but told Americans it’s no worse than the seasonal flu. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy doesn’t think the book will hurt the President’s re-election chances…
cut 12 (11) “…loud”
Cassidy says the President has shown that he has taken the spread of coronavirus seriously by funding efforts to find a vaccine, shutting down the economy, and implementing a travel ban.

Louisiana will move to Phase Three tomorrow. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

The state reports 499 new COVID-19 cases today out of 10,557 new tests. The state has also surpassed more than 2 million total tests. Total fatalities: 4991, up by 21. Hospitalizations dip by 20 to 762… the lowest level since June.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring six different tropical disturbances today. There are two named storms in the middle of the Atlantic, a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico and another tropical wave could enter the gulf next week. State Climatologist Barry Keim says to have six have systems at one time is rare…

Cut 12 (09) “…right now”

Keim says the good news is that none of the tropical disturbances are a major threat to the U-S coastline…

Entergy has successfully restarted one of its power plants in Calcasieu Parish.  Entergy spokesperson David Freese says crews brought the plant online by repairing a  transmission line damaged by Hurricane Laura. While it is possible storm restoration workers may have wrapped up work near a location still without power, there is more work that is needed to get power restored.

Cut 7 (06) “…is a rebuild.”

Governor John Bel Edwards says the state is ready to move into the next phase of reopening and will do so tomorrow. Edwards says just because we’re moving into Phase Three doesn’t mean we’ve moved out of the public health emergency.

Cut 4 (11)“ …capita.” 

Further details about what Phase Three will look like, such as the status of bars, will be provided during a Friday afternoon news conference.

Entergy has successfully restarted one of its power plants in Calcasieu Parish.  Entergy spokesperson David Freese says crews brought the plant online by repairing a transmission line damaged by Hurricane Laura.

Cut 6 (11) “…couple thousands initially.”

Hurricane Laura propelled swarms of mosquitos into pastures, leading to scores of dead cows and horses across southwest Louisiana. Brooke Thorington has more…

cut 2 (30) “I’m Brooke Thorington”  

60-year-old Louisiana singer Archie Williams is in the finals of the NBC show America’s Got Talent. Williams was wrongfully convicted on rape and attempted murder charges and was incarcerated at Angola for 37 years. The Innocence Project aided in his exoneration and release in 2019.

Louisiana will enter the next phase of economic reopening tomorrow. Governor John Bel Edwards made the call earlier today saying that the state met the gating criteria to enter Phase Three and allow fewer restrictions on business occupancy and group sizes…

Cut 3 (10)  “…tomorrow.”  

Further details about what Phase Three will look like, such as the status of bars, will be provided during a Friday afternoon news conference.

The tropics are getting active with the National Hurricane Center currently monitoring six different disturbances today. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s not a surprise the tropics are super active…

Cut 14 (10) “…ridiculous” 

A tropical wave in the Gulf currently is being given low chances of development.

Entergy spokesperson David Freese says the company has restored power to nearly all of their customers outside of southwest Louisiana…

Cut 8 (13) “…can Cameron Parishes.”

The Louisiana Public Service Commission estimates 122-thousand customers are still without power two weeks after the storm. Over 87-percent of the customers in Calcasieu Parish are still without electricity.

Swarms of mosquitos terrorized livestock in southwest Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura, causing the deaths of horses, deer, and cows. Evangeline Parish Veterinarian Craig Fontenot says they’ve lost 40 to 60 head in their parish as a result, and the losses are expected to continue as the cows recover from the deadly horde…

Cut 11 (05) “…calves.”

In recent days parish governments have begun running mosquito planes over affected areas, making the problem less severe.

Governor John Bel Edwards says the state is ready to move into the next phase of reopening. Moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 means there will be fewer restrictions on the number of people that can gather and occupancy at businesses. But Edwards says the mask mandate will stay in effect in phase 3.

Cut 5 (12)  “…wear masks”

Further details about what Phase Three will look like, such as the status of bars, will be provided during a Friday afternoon news conference.

Entergy restarts one of its power plants in Calcasieu Parish.  Entergy spokesperson David Freese estimates around 13,000 storm restoration workers are on the ground.  While it is possible they have wrapped up work near a location still without power, there is more work that is needed to get power restored.

Cut 7 (06) “…is a rebuild.”

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring six different tropical disturbances today. There are two named storms in the middle of the Atlantic, a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico and another tropical wave could enter the gulf next week. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the good news is that none of the tropical disturbances are a major threat to the U-S coastline…

Cut 13 (11) “…wrenching”

The NHC gives the tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico a low chance of development.

Swarms of mosquitos terrorized livestock in southwest Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura, causing the deaths of horses, deer, and cows.  Reports indicate a large part of the swarm was pushed out of the marsh by Hurricane Laura. Evangeline Parish Veterinarian Craig Fontenot says that plus the rains that came after made a tough situation worse.

Cut 10 (10) “…we had.”

Louisiana will move to Phase Three tomorrow. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”  

60-year-old Louisiana singer Archie Williams is in the finals of America’s Got Talent. Judge Heidi Kulm said Archie, you’ve have had most of your life taken away from you, and I am not going to do it to now. Williams was wrongfully convicted on rape and attempted murder charges and was incarcerated at Angola for 37 years. The Innocence Project aided in his exoneration and release in 2019.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring six different tropical disturbances today. There are two named storms in the middle of the Atlantic, a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico and another tropical wave could enter the gulf next week. State Climatologist Barry Keim says to have six have systems at one time is rare…

Cut 12 (09) “…right now”

Swarms of mosquitos terrorized livestock in southwest Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Laura, causing the deaths of horses, deer, and cows. Evangeline Parish Veterinarian Craig Fontenot says the swarms were so thick that they could bite an animal to death, or worse.

Cut 9 (08) “…noses.”

The mosquitos swarming livestock can cause the animals to struggle to get enough oxygen as they struggle to remove the mosquitos and are slowly drained of blood.

Governor John Bel Edwards says the state is ready to move into the next phase of reopening. Edwards says just because we’re moving into Phase Three doesn’t mean we’ve moved out of the public health emergency.

Cut 4 (11)“ …capita.” 

Moving from Phase 2 to Phase 3 means there will be fewer restrictions on the number of people that can gather but the mask mandate remains in effect.

Entergy restarts one of its power plants in Calcasieu Parish.  Entergy spokesperson David Freese says crews brought the Calcasieu Plant online in part by sending power to the facility by way of a repaired transmission line damaged by Hurricane Laura.

Cut 6 (11) “…couple thousand initially.”

The high school football season will kick off October 1st and contact practices can begin today. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine says teams will play an eight-game regular season and playoffs. Bonine says turning the Friday Night Lights back on is huge for many communities…

cut 13 (11) “…of that”

All nine state championship games will be played in the Superdome December 26th to the 28th.

The state is reporting 499 additional COVID 19 cases today and 21 additional deaths.

Today marks the statistical peak of the 2020 hurricane season and it’s been one for the record books with 17 named storms. Three of the storms have made landfall in Louisiana starting with Tropical Storm Cristobal in June. State Climatologist Barry Keim…
cut 6 (09) “…Louisiana”
The National Hurricane Center is currently monitoring six systems, two of them are named storms in the Atlantic and there’s also a tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico that has a low chance of development.

Friday night lights are coming back on as the LHSAA announces an eight-game football season will kick-off October 1st through the third. Executive Director Eddie Bonine is confident they can pull the season off, but…
cut 14 (10) “….cases”
The prep classic will be held in the Superdome December 26th thru the 28th.

No football game for Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Baylor because of a COVID-19 outbreak within the Bulldogs team. Coach Skip Holtz says they’ve had 36 players test positive since Hurricane Laura. Holtz says if the infected players do not have any complications that show up on an EKG, that up to 30 of the 36 players could return in time to play their next scheduled game on September 19th against Southern Miss.
Cut 12 (12) “…now and then.”

The high school football season will kick off October 1^st and contact practices can resume today. Matt Doyle has the story.

Cut 3 (29)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

Dr Alex Billioux, the state’s public face of the pandemic response is leaving his job at the end of the month.  Billioux the assistant secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Health told his staff Wednesday he’s stepping down to spend more time with his family. Aly Neely, a spokesperson for the department said Billioux is resigning for personal reasons and he will be sorely missed.

Today is the statistical peak of the 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season and so far it’s been one for the record books. State Climatologist Barry Keim says we’ve seen a record-breaking 17 named storms so far this year…

Cut 4 (07)“ …a second” 

Prior to 2020 only 2005 ended with 27 named storms.

LSU is using wastewater samples to track the spread of coronavirus on campus.  COVID patients shed the virus in their fecal matter and testing wastewater from various points in a sewer system can see how many cases exist. Environmental engineering professor Dr. John Pardue says testing can be encouraged quickly upon detection at a certain location.

Cut 7 (09) “…samples next week.”

The science, known as sewer epidemiology, has been used in the Baton Rouge area for COVID tracking since June

High school football teams outside of New Orleans can begin contact practices today and an eight-game regular season is set to kick-off on October 1st, with the state championship games scheduled for December 26th to the 28th in the Superdome. LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine believes football can be safely played
Cut 15 (10) “…against you.”

It’s the statistical peak of the hurricane season and 17 named storms have formed a record for this point of the season. State Climatologist Barry Keim says back in June Tropical Storm Cristobal became the earliest C storm to ever form and the records kept falling from there…
cut 5 (08) “….ever had”

LSU researchers will use wastewater tests around dorms and on-campus apartments as a way to detect coronavirus hotspots before students show symptoms. Environmental Engineering Professor John Pardue says wastewater testing can tell the school how many people are shedding the virus or have the disease…
cut 8 (08) “….make an estimate”
Pardue says if there are elevated levels measured in the sewage, the school can conduct robust testing at a particular location.

Louisiana Tech Head Coach Skip Holtz blames Hurricane Laura for the outbreak in coronavirus cases with his football team. The Bulldogs game at Baylor on Saturday has been postponed. Holtz says it is a disappointing development since they were nearly COVID-free before the storm.
Cut 10 (12) “…wasn’t large enough.”