The state is reporting nearly 34,000 of the 43,000 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Louisiana have recovered. Along with those figures the Department of Health also announced 6 new COVID deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 2,831, along with 234 new positive cases.

After a sharp decline in vaccinations, state health officials urge residents to get back on track with preventative healthcare. 

Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”  

Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome weighed in on the nationwide calls for policing policy changes this morning on Talk Louisiana, saying one major obstacle to reform efforts are the police unions. Broome says cops with traceable records of alarming behavior are often the ones victimizing their communities, and the unions can make it difficult to fire those bad apples…

Cut 8 (09) “…unequal.”

Broome has previously expressed frustration with the union’s resistance to implementing post-Alton Sterling police reforms.

The 2020 Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone is estimated to span 77-hundred miles this year, the seventh largest on record. LSU Marine Science Professor Nancy Rabalais says the problem has gotten worse in recent years due to heavy rains in the Midwest.

Cut 11 (08) “…overcome.”

The Louisiana Department of Health is reminding the public to catch up on the routine vaccinations that may have gone by the wayside due to the shelter in place order and closure of many medical offices.  State immunization director Dr. Frank Welch says skipping vaccines can have disastrous consequences in the future.

Cut 4 (09)_ “…something like that.”

State and federal data show a sharp drop in vaccine orders from January through April.

As protestors nationwide demand changes in policing policy, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome says the city’s police union has been an obstruction to reform within the department. Broome says they need greater flexibility to identify and remove bad cops from the department, and the union makes that difficult to do.

Cut 7 (08) “…here”

The 2020 dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is projected to be four times larger this year than the Hypoxia Action Plan goal established 19 years ago called for. LSU Marine Science Professor Nancy Rabalias says this year’s 7,769 square mile dead zone is roughly the size of New Hampshire.

Cut 9 (05) “…years.”

The dead zone stretches along the bottom of the continental shelf along Texas and Louisiana.

The state reports 234 new COVID-19 cases today, bringing the state’s total tally to 43,050. In the weekly update, nearly 34,000 of those cases are presumed to have recovered. Total fatalities: 2,831, up 6. Hospitalizations: 582, up 7. Ventilator usage: 71, down 3.

As protestors nationwide demand changes in policing policy Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome says the city’s police union has been an obstruction to reform within the department. Broome told Talk Louisiana that the union’s problem is that it protects bad apples…

Cut 6 (12) “…cops”

The Minneapolis City Council announced veto-proof support for moving ahead with dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department. Broome says they, as of now, have no plans of pursuing similar policy.

State immunization director Dr. Frank Welch says now that the stay at home order is over its time for you to go back to your doctor’s office and get your vaccinations.

Cut 3 (10)  “…get their vaccines.”  

Disaster food stamp assistance will not be activated for Cristobal as the state appears to have been let off pretty easy. That being said the Department of Children and Family Services is asking the public to pre-register for D-SNAP should we face a more damaging system later in the season. DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says D-SNAP helps people who have lost food as a result of a disaster.

Cut 10 (11) “…snap process”

Walters says go to www.dcfs.la.gov/dsnap to register.

It’s the first day on the new job for Louisiana’s new Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley who will oversee public schools following the departure of John White. The 39-year-old grew up in Sabine Parish and says this is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Cut 7 (10) “…way to go.”

The author of the tort reform bill that was passed in the regular session says they’ll have to fix an unintended error in the legislation during the current special session….
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart.”

Louisiana reported eleven more COVID-19 deaths yesterday to bring the statewide total to 2,825. The number of cases also went up by 330 to 42,816. But hospitalizations and patients needing ventilators continues to decline. The number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital is down to 575, 74 of them are on ventilators.

After making landfall near Grand Isle yesterday, Cristobal is now a tropical depression in northeast Louisiana. Cristobal brought street flooding, high winds and scattered power outages to southeast Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it made a little history, as its the second earliest named storm to make landfall in Louisiana…
cut 14 (12) “….Atchafalaya Basin”

Cristobal will not result in the need for disaster food stamps, but the Secretary for the Department of Children and Family Services, Marketa Garner Walters, says it’s still a good idea to pre-register, so you ready to receive them after a storm causes significant damage…
cut 12 (10) “…respond”
Go to D-C-F-S-dot-la-dot-gov, backslahs d-snap to register.

It’s the first day on the job for Cade Brumley, Louisiana’s new superintendent of education. Brumley says his goal is to produce more college-ready graduates and also improve the accessibility of pre-k education…
cut 8 (11) “….of third grade”
Brumley says the most immediate challenge is the upcoming school year as local school districts look to bring students back to the classroom.

The former director of the Loyola University school of mass communication in New Orleans, Sonya Duhe, no longer has a job at Arizona State because A-S-U learned of allegations made against Duhe involving racism and insensitivity towards students. Duhe was set to officially take the job at Arizona State July first. She was hired on March sixth. Duhe spent a decade at Loyola University.

The center of Tropical Storm Cristobal will move over northeast Louisiana this morning bringing more rain to the Bayou State. Some roads were flooded in southeast Louisiana as a result of storm surge. State Climatologist Barry Keim says dry air from the west helped create a lopsided tropical storm that didn’t produce a huge impact in Louisiana…
Cut 15 (12) “…northern side.”

Disaster food stamps will not be needed for this storm event, but the Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walkers is encouraging low to moderate-income households to register for disaster food stamps when there is a significant weather event…
cut 11 (09) “…underwater”
To register go to D-C-F-S-dot-la-dot-gov-backslash d-snap.

Cristobal is now a tropical depression after making landfall as a tropical storm near Grand Isle yesterday afternoon. Cristobal flooded a few roads, but the impacts to Louisiana were minimal. The center of the storm is currently 50-miles south-southeast of Monroe and heading north-northwest at 10-miles per hour.

Disaster food stamps are not needed for Cristobal, but state officials say eligible individuals should still register for this hurricane season. Matt Doyle has more…
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

It’s the first day on the job for Louisiana’s new Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley who will oversee public schools following the departure of John White. The 39-year-old grew up in Sabine Parish and says as a young kid he wanted to be an educator and this is the opportunity of a lifetime.
Cut 7 (10) “…way to go.”
Brumley most recently was at the helm of the Jefferson Parish school system.

A week ago, the regular legislative session ended and we are waiting to see if Governor John Bel Edwards will veto the tort reform bill that supporters say will lead to lower auto insurance rates. The bill’s author, River Ridge Senator, Kirk Talbot says the ongoing special session gives them a chance to make the legislation better…
cut 6 (07) “…want”
The Governor has yet to indicate if he will veto the legislation.

Tropical Storm Cristobal made landfall late yesterday afternoon near Grand Isle with maximum sustained winds at 50 miles per hour. State Climatologist Barry Keim says Cristobal produced a storm surge of six feet in St. Bernard Parish…
Cut 13 (11) “…right hand side”
More rainfall is expected today.

Disaster food stamp assistance is not needed for Cristobal, but the Department of Children and Family Services is still asking the public to pre-register for what is known as DSNAP assistance. DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says D-SNAP helps people who have lost food as a result of a disaster.
Cut 10 (11) “…snap process”
Walters says go to www.dcfs.la.gov/dsnap to register.

It’s the first day on the job for the state’s new superintendent of education, Cade Brumley. The 39-year-old says the long-range goals are to produce more college-ready graduates ready for college and providing quality pre-K education. Brumley acknowledges the most immediate challenge is the upcoming academic year and he’s considering several possibilities…
cut 9 (13) “….those two places”

ULM is investigating racially insensitive social media posts that were allegedly made by two of their faculty members. According to the Monroe News Star assistant nursing professor, Mary Holmes referred to former President Barack Obama as a monkey and biology instructor Dennis Bell used a racial slur on his Facebook page. ULM says it condemns the stunningly bigoted and racist language in social media posts by select faculty members.

After making landfall near Grand Isle yesterday, Cristobal is now a tropical depression near Natchez, Mississippi. Cristobal brought street flooding and high winds to southeast Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it goes down as the second earliest named storm to make landfall in Louisiana…
cut 14 (12) “….Atchafalaya Basin”

The special session continues in Baton Rouge this week. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says they need to pass legislation to fix a mistake in the tort reform bill aimed at lowering auto insurance rates, which passed in the regular session. Talbot says the bill has wording that would allow people who suffer minor injuries to collect huge settlements…
cut 4 (09) “..afford”
There’s a strong possibility the governor will veto the tort reform bill anyway.

Today is the first day on the job for Louisiana’s new superintendent of education, Cade Brumley…
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

Today is the first day on the job for Louisiana’s new superintendent of education, Cade Brumley…
Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

Tort reform supporters say they’ll use the special session to fix one unpopular aspect of a bill that passed in the regular session that aimed to lower auto insurance premiums. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the bill included some unfortunate wording that would allow people who suffered minor injuries to collect major settlements.
Cut 4 (09) “…afford.”

That one issue appears to have been a potential reason the legislation passed without a veto-proof majority. Governor Edwards is still considering whether he will veto it.

Public defenders say the COVID shutdown hammered their budgets and they are requesting 28 million dollars in state funds to fill the gaps. Public defender Meghan Garvey says by failing to properly fund public defenders, the state is failing to uphold its responsibility under the 6th amendment to provide zealous, competent counsel
Cut 8 (11) “…system.”
Lawmakers largely agreed with the need for the additional funding and will attempt to allocate more money as they work on the budget, which is up for debate in the House on Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Cristobal is in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and moving towards Lousiana’s coast. As of the 10 AM update from the National Hurricane Center, Cristobal was 345 miles south of the Mississippi River and heading north at 12 miles per hour. The National Hurricane Center is predicting a landfall near Morgan City on Sunday night.

A Storm Surge Warning is in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Tropical Storm force winds are expected late tonight along the northern Gulf coast from the central part of Louisiana’s coast to the western Florida Panhandle.

Inland tropical storm warnings are now in effect for all of southeast Louisiana. That means 25 to 35 mile per hour winds with gusts of up to 55-miles per hour near the center of the storm.

Cristobal is expected to maintain tropical storm strength as it moves over central Louisiana Monday morning. The center of the storm is expected to be near Little Rock, Arkansas by Monday night.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees made headlines again last night for his social media comments directed to the President. Donald Trump said on Friday that Brees should not have taken back his original stance on honoring the American flag and there should be no kneeling during the national anthem. Brees responded on Instagram by saying he now realizes this is not an issue about the American flag and it never was. Brees received a mountain of blacklash from several black athletes when he said Wednesday that he would never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag by kneeling during the national anthem. Even his own teammates were critical, including safety Malcom Jenkins. But Jenkins released this video since Brees made two apologies, one written and one on video…
cut 30 (11) “…big part of it”