New Orleans Fire Chief Tim McConnell says one of the bodies that has been trapped in the Hard Rock Hotel collapse site is likely to be recovered by the end of the week and the other by the middle of next week. McConnell says the rubble is very delicate and potentially dangerous to recovery workers.

Cut 10 (13) “…that could change.”

It’s been ten months since the construction site partially collapsed, killing three.

Forecasters are upgrading the chance of development for a tropical system that’s currently hovering over Cuba and making its way into the Gulf. State Climatologist Barry Keim says there’s a medium chance the system will develop into a tropical depression over the next five days. 

Cut 13 (06) “…Mexico.” 

The system is set to enter the Gulf of Mexico later today, move into the central Gulf tomorrow, and the northwestern Gulf Thursday and Friday.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has decided to postpone its fall sports season to the spring. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

Nearly 1,700 new COVID positive cases have been reported in Louisiana along with 19 new hospitalizations for people suffering from the virus. Over the past ten days the percentage positive of cases has averaged just under ten percent.

Qualifying for the November ballot begins at 8 AM tomorrow morning and as of now no Democrats with statewide name recognition have stepped up to challenge Republican Senator Bill Cassidy. Outgoing State Democratic Party Director Stephen Handwerk says we may see a last-second addition of a prominent Democrat if they feel those announced couldn’t run a competitive race.

Cut 3, 11 seconds, race

Antoine Pierce, A Baton Rouge progressive activist, and Peter Wenstrup, a New Orleans teacher, are the only announced Democrats in the race so far.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference has made the decision to move its fall sports, including football, to the spring. The SWAC is planning to have a seven-game football schedule but Grambling President Rick Gallot says the virus will dictate if football can be played

Cut 7 (09) “vaccine”

More than a third of Louisiana residents lack access to an adequate food source because of the pandemic unemployment rates. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart” 

185,000 Louisiana workers applied for the 250 dollar front line worker rebate in the first five days of the program, which was designed to send aid to about 200,000 total workers who were employed in healthcare, first response, and grocery stores during the early days of the pandemic.

Baton Rouge Police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that killed a domestic violence suspect at his Tigerland apartment early Monday morning. The officers and the deceased have not been identified, but a portion of the body cam footage has been released.
Cut 13 (11) “…got a gun *bang*.” 
Four officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave. A K-9 officer injured in the gunfire is in stable condition.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference has made the decision to move its fall sports, including football, to the spring. Grambling President Rick Gallot says the decision was made to protect the health of their student-athletes
Cut 6 (10) “…deadly virus”
The SWAC is planning to have a seven-game football schedule that would include six conference contests and one nonconference game in the spring.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association predicts a 25-30 percent drop in restaurant revenue for 2020 due to the pandemic. LRA CEO Stan Harris says they projected 11 billion dollars for the year before the pandemic, generating over a billion dollars in state and local taxes. That’s no longer the case…
Cut 4 (06)_ “…operation.”
The National Restaurant Association is projecting a 240 billion dollar nationwide impact to revenue for 2020.

People who chose to mask up in New Orleans could be given a raffle ticket for a 10,000 dollar drawing. The project is being led by several city Mardi Gras Krewes, and Krewe of Red Beans founder Devin De Wulf says if they see you in the city being a responsible citizen and masking up…

Cut 12 (10) “…distance” 

The program started Monday and will continue until August 3^rd. The drawing will be held on August 4^th.

A new study finds more than one in three Louisiana residents lack access to an adequate food source and the coronavirus pandemic has made the problem of food insecurity worse. Center for Planning Excellence is behind the analysis and CEO Camille Manning-Broome says food insecurity has increased dramatically in New Orleans and Baton Rouge…
cut 8 (08) a humanitarian crisis”
The report says the number of Louisiana residents living in food insecure communities has increased by over 500-thousand since the pandemic began.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association predicts that 25-percent of the state’s restaurants will close as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions. Economist Loren Scott says much of that is linked to problems making rent…
cut 6 (08) “…right now”

People who choose to mask up in New Orleans could receive a raffle ticket for a 10,000 dollar drawing. The project is led by several Mardi Gras Krewes. Krewe of Red Beans founder Devin De Wulf says the idea was inspired by his time as a teacher, where he learned about the power of positive reinforcement.
Cut 10 (12) “prize.”
De Wulf says they started handing out raffle tickets yesterday and a drawing will be held on August 4th.

Friday Ellis will be sworn in as the new mayor of Monroe this afternoon. Ellis defeated longterm mayor Jamie Mayo in the July election 10 days ago.

Governor Edwards will hold a COVID-19 press briefing at 2:30. An announcement is expected on Phase 2, which is set to expire on Sunday.

A study from the Center for Planning Excellence finds one in three residents live in food-insecure communities. Center for Planning Excellence CEO Camille Manning-Broome says the number of Louisiana residents living in food insecure communities has increased by over 500-thousand since the pandemic began.
Cut 7 (13) “…of this pandemic.”
Manning-Broome says their report also finds that nearly half of newly food insecure communities are small towns and unincorporated rural areas.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association predicts a 25-30 percent drop in restaurant revenue for 2020. President Stan Harris says they projected 11 billion dollars in revenues for the year before the pandemic, generating over a billion dollars in state and local taxes. That’s no longer the case…
Cut 4 (06)_ “…operation.”

The investigation continues today in yesterday’s early morning fatal officer-involved shooting in Baton Rouge of a domestic violence suspect at an apartment complex in Tigerland. Chief Murphy Paul says the suspect had a weapon…
cut 14 (09) “….fired striking him”
The four officers involved have been placed on administrative leave and the suspect has been identified as 51-year-old Vincent Harris, who was wanted for an alleged machete attack on his girlfriend.

If you wear a mask in New Orleans, you could win 10-thousand dollars. Several Mardi Gras Krewes are handing out raffle tickets to people they see wearing a mask and one of the raffle tickets could be worth 10-thousand dollars. Krewe of Red Beans founder Devin De Wulf says they will focus on parts of the city that have been hit hard by the virus…
cut 11 (05) “…of the love”
The drawing will be held on August 4th.

A new study from the Center for Planning excellence finds that more than one in three Louisiana residents live in food-insecure communities due to COVID-19 and the number of Louisiana residents living in food insecure communities has increased by over 500-thousand since the pandemic began. Center for Planning Excellence CEO Camille Manning-Broome says more federal assistance is needed…
cut 9 (10) “….our food banks”
Expanded Federal unemployment benefits are set to expire July 31st if Congress doesn’t act.

Baton Rouge Police has released dramatic body camera video of yesterday’s fatal shooting of a domestic violence suspect in Tigerland…
cut 13 (11) “…bang”
The four officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave, while the suspect who was fatally shot has been identified as 51-year-old Vincent Harris, who was wanted for an alleged machete attack on his girlfriend.

Revenues are down for Louisiana restaurants. which could translate into hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for state and local governments. Matt Doyle has more.
Cut 1 (29) “I’m Matt Doyle.”

Southern and Grambling State will not play football in the fall. The SWAC has moved the football season to the spring, with preseason camp beginning in January. The plan is to play six conference games and each school would also have an option to play a non-conference contest. There’s also hope Grambling and Southern can hold the Bayou Classic in the spring.

More than a third of Louisiana residents lack access to an adequate food source because of the number of unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

About 280-thousand unemployed Louisiana residents are receiving expanded unemployment benefits from the federal government. The 600-dollar weekly supplements are set to expire on July 31st if Congress does not act. Governor Edwards holds a press conference today at 2:30. His Phase two order expires Sunday.

Baton Rouge Police have released some of the body cam video of yesterday’s morning’s fatal shooting of a domestic violence suspect at an apartment in Tigerland…
cut 30 (03) “…got a gun”
The video cuts off there. Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul says he spoke to the family of the man who died before releasing the video…
cut 15 (11) “…of public safety”
Police also released a screenshot from one of the body cameras where it appears the suspect is pointing a gun out of the door of the apartment.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association estimates that 25-percent of their restaurants will close this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Economist Doctor Loren Scott says the industry is vulnerable because demand is dictated by the public’s level of comfort in going out to eat…
cut 5 (09) “…..to it”

After receiving 40-thousand applications, the state has temporarily suspended a 24-million dollar program to provide rental assistance. State officials say 24-million dollars can only help 10-thousand households who are behind on their rent. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center director Cashuana Hill estimates it will take 500-million dollars to address the impending rental crisis…

cut 5 (07) “….enough”

No word on what the state is trying to do to get more funding.

The state House Speaker is encouraging his fellow Republicans not to sign a legislative petition in circulation that would revoke the Governor’s coronavirus pandemic state of emergency. Speaker Clay Shexnayder says the executive order is just one layer of mitigation efforts and it will not loosen up restrictions put in place by local governments.

Cut 10 (08) “…won’t do that.”

Governor John Bel Edwards spent his lunch hour today fasting and praying and he’ll do the same tomorrow and Wednesday. Edwards says he believes in the power of prayer and in the power of working together and being good neighbors to overcome COVID-19…

cut 8 (10) “….praying as well”

Edwards says he got the idea to pray and fast during lunch from a conference call with faith leaders. He encourages Louisiana residents to do the same.

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical waves, but none of the disturbances are a serious threat to Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says a weak low pressure area south of the Texas-Louisiana border has caught the attention of forecasters….

cut 12 (07) “…southwestern Louisiana”

Keim says there’s another disturbance way out in the Atlantic and the other is over Cuba and heading towards the Gulf of Mexico.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder is discouraging his fellow Republicans from supporting an effort spearheaded by Shreveport Republican Alan Seabaugh to revoke the Governor’s coronavirus pandemic state of emergency.  Schexnayder says the petition fixes nothing.
Cut 9 (10) “…all to that.”
Schexnayder adds the move could trigger overrides for ongoing executive orders tied to previous natural disasters and be a hurdle for the governor’s authority to tackle future events.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring three tropical waves….
Cut 14 (07) “…up about.”
That’s State Climatologist Barry Keim who says one of the tropical disturbances is in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and another one is north of Cuba. But the National Hurricane Center gives both systems a low chance of developing into a depression.

Governor John Bel Edwards says he’s using his lunchtime today, through Wednesday for prayer and fasting. Edwards says he got the idea for three days of fasting and prayer during a conference call with faith leaders…
Cut 7 (09) “other Louisianians”
Edwards is encouraging Louisiana residents to also fast and pray.

A 24 million dollar state program designed to provide rental assistance to low-income individuals has been temporarily suspended. The program had funding to help 10,000 families, but 40,000 applications were received. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Director Cashauna Hill says the mass interest in the rental assistance program is evidence of a budding crisis that is set to get much worse in the near future.
Cut 4 (12)_ “…home.”

A legislative petition aimed at ending the Governor’s public health emergency order, circulated by Shreveport Republican Alan Seabaugh is getting pushback from fellow GOPer, House Speaker Clay Schexnayder. The recently enacted statewide mask mandate has once again brought attention back to the petition.  Schexnayder says he understands the inconvenience of wearing masks, but…

Cut 11 (12) “…going to bed.”

Seabaugh called the Speaker’s response “fear-mongering”

A state rental assistance program is temporarily shut down after the program gets inundated with applications. The program had funding to help 10,000 families, but 40,000 applications were received. Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center Director Cashauna Hill…

Cut 3 (11)  “…need is.”  

The state’s COVID hospitalization numbers are back to where they were in early May as we crossed the 1,500 mark today, along with another 3,100 cases being reported. The caveat here is that officials say about half of the cases are from a two-month backlog. Governor John Bel Edwards says he’ll use his lunchtime today, tomorrow, and Wednesday for prayer and fasting. He’s encouraging Louisiana residents to do the same…

Cut 6 (11) “…passed on”

There’s a tropical disturbance over Cuba that’s heading towards the Gulf of Mexico.  State Climatologist Barry Keim says this disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms should get into the Gulf tomorrow.

Cut 13 (10) “…overly serious.” 

Attorney General Jeff Landry blasts the Governor’s support for social justice protests, saying they’ve sparked the recent wave of COVID cases. Edwards’ staff says there’s no evidence of that.