Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to come together on a new coronavirus relief aid package. The 600-dollar weekly unemployment benefit is set to end this week and GOP lawmakers would like to reduce that to 200-dollars a week…
cut 4 (05) “….after that”
That’s Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy. Democrats say they are willing to reduce the weekly unemployment benefit, but they have not indicated how much it should be reduced.

Louisiana Workfroce Commission Secretary Ava Dejoie says now is the time to look for work since it’s unknown what will happen with the weekly federal unemployment benefits. Dejoie says there are thousands of jobs listed on their Helping Individuals Reach Employment network…
cut 12 (09) “…salary”
Dejoie says go to louisiana-works-dot-net to see if there’s a job for you.

Four bars in Louisiana have had their licenses suspended because they failed to comply with the restrictions put in place by the governor to slow the spread of the coronavirus. State Fire Marshal Butch Browning…
cut 10 (12) “….those four licenses”
Meanwhile, Louisiana has moved to number one in the nation in per capita cases.

Louisiana Revenue Secretary Kimberly Robinson says 250-dollar one-time payments will go out this week to front-line workers who had to work during the governor’s stay at home order. Robinson says they’ve received 205-thousand applications and if you did not recieve a receipt of your application contact the department…
cut 16 (11) “…an email”
The application period at front-line-workers-dot-la-dot-gov closes October 31st.

Louisiana leads the nation in coronavirus cases per capita, but Governor Edwards says there is evidence cases are plateauing. Edwards says the number of coronavirus patients in the hospital has remained flat over the last week, which he says is a sign the mask mandate and the closure of bars is slowing the spread…
cut 8 (12) “…economy open”
At this time, there are no plans to add any other restrictions.

The Louisiana Revenue Department will begin sending out 250-dollar checks this week to those frontline workers who had to work when the governor’s stay-at-home order went into place. Secretary Kimberly Robinson says they’ve received 205-thousand applications, but not everyone who applied is eligible and they are still accepting applications at front-line-workers-dot-la-dot-gov…
cut 14 (12) “….made available”

The state has started cracking down on businesses that are not following COVID restrictions. Kevin Barnhart reports Alcohol Tobacco Control has suspended the permits of four bars…
cut 1 (28) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are working on a new coronavirus relief bill. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy says they are looking at trying to help restaurants…
cut 5 (10) “….restaurants”

The country’s second biggest teacher’s union threatens to back strikes in areas that are not doing enough to ensure school safety for teachers and students. That came from the American Federation of Teachers and their Louisiana Chapter President Larry Carter says in hotspots across Louisiana union members are actively discussing that as an option of last resort.

Cut 12 (09) “…schools.” 

The AFT earlier this month adopted a resolution backing the reopening of schools only in areas where the positivity rate for tests was under five percent. Over the past few weeks, the rate has hovered around ten percent but has recently dropped under eight percent.

The state reports 1125 cases today, the lowest new daily case count in three weeks, but Governor Edwards announces the state is now number one in per capita new cases though, even with today’s low count.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff deputies have charged two teens with the murder of a 53-year-old Lake Charles man found lying in the road last week. Sheriff Tony Mancuso says the kids did the murder with a weapon stolen right down the street from the shooting, and he’s asking area parents to keep better track of what their kids are up to…

Cut 4 (10)_ “tolerating this”

A 16-year-old and a 13-year-old have been charged in Bennet’s murder which happened at around 11:00 last Thursday night.

In an effort to stop runaway youth COVID transmission, the governor’s office releases a PSA featuring half a dozen young people describing the serious symptoms they had as a result of COVID-19. Those in the video discussed some of the misconceptions about how youth are allegedly “unaffected” by the virus.

Cut 7 (12) “…spread it”

The American Federation of Teachers threatens to back “safety strikes” in certain areas of the country if more is not done to assure the safety of teachers and students when they return to the classroom. Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter says striking is a last resort, but so far, they’re not convinced many schools are safe to open next month, and not happy about the lack of progress being made to do so.

Cut 14 (10) “…safe.”

Louisiana’s COVID-19 testing has hit another hurdle with the turnaround time on getting results.  Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says the timeliness makes the difference in stopping the spread versus just adding numbers to the stats.

Cut 10 (08) “…probably not useful.”

In an effort to stop youth COVID transmission, the governor’s office releases a PSA featuring half a dozen young people describing the serious symptoms they had as a result of COVID-19. Those in the video discuss some of the misconceptions about how youth are allegedly “unaffected” by the virus.
Cut 7 (12) “…spread it”
The PSA ends with the young folks imploring their friends to mask up.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff deputies have charged two teens with the murder of a 53-year-old Lake Charles man found lying in the road last week. Sheriff Tony Mancuso says they believe a 16-year-old used a stolen gun to shoot Anthony Bennett.

Cut 3 (10)  “…car burglary”  

A 16-year-old and a 13-year-old have been charged in Bennet’s murder.

The American Federation of Teachers says “safety strikes” are on the table if more is not done to ensure teacher and student safety before schools reopen. Matt Doyle spoke with the Louisiana Branch…

cut 2 (28) “I’m Matt Doyle.”  

Four bars are facing permit suspensions following noncompliance with Governor Edwards’ emergency order aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. The permits are for the Sand Dollar Tiki Bar in Grand Isle, Frosty Factory in Lake Charles, Pelican Pub in Gonzales, and Wo-de’s Chill Spot in Harvey. Hearings are set for August 5^th and 6^th.

Louisiana’s COVID-19 testing has hit another hurdle with the turnaround time on getting results.  Early in the pandemic, there was a lack of nasal swabs to conduct tests, but now Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says some labs are struggling with the supply chain for the reagents needed to get results.

Cut 9 (10) “…shorter turnaround times.”

In an effort to stop youth COVID transmission, the governor’s office releases a PSA featuring half a dozen young people describing the serious symptoms they had as a result of COVID-19.

Cut 6 (12) “…taste.”

Eighteen to 29-year-olds have the highest number of infections of any age group recorded by the state at 24-thousand, six thousand higher than the next highest age group.

Louisiana’s COVID-19 testing has hit another hurdle with the turnaround time and the supply chain for the reagents needed to get results. Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says the strain put onto the state’s testing capabilities could soon have an impact on who is eligible to be swabbed at community testing sites.

Cut 11 (11) “and drive-up sites.”

In an effort to stop youth COVID transmission, the governor’s office releases a PSA featuring half a dozen young people describing the serious symptoms they had as a result of COVID-19. The most recent wave of cases has been driven by community spread amongst young adults. The PSA ends with the young folks imploring their friends to mask up.

Cut 8 (12) “…down”

The American Federation of Teachers threatens to back “safety strikes” in certain areas of the country if more is not done to assure the safety of teachers and students when fall classes resume. Two weeks ago when we spoke with Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter he said safety strikes were not being considered, but Carter says since then the situation has deteriorated.

Cut 13 (10) “…community” 

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff deputies have charged two teens with the murder of a 53-year-old, Anthony Bennett of Lake Charles. Sheriff Tony Mancuso says the whole country is seeing these types of incidents, children committing violent crimes. The sheriff says there are parents who need to take back control of their kids.

Cut 5 (10)  “…discpline.”

A 16-and 13-year-old have been charged in the murder.

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff deputies have charged two teens, a 16-year-old and a 13-year-old, have been charged with the murder of a 53-year-old Lake Charles man found lying in the road last week. The murder happened at around 11:00 last Thursday night. Sheriff Tony Mancuso says this is an example on why parents need to be involved in teenagers’ lives.

Cut 4 (10)_ “tolerating this”

The American Federation of Teachers threatens to back “safety strikes” in certain areas of the country if more is not done to assure the safety of teachers and students when fall classes resume. Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter says in hotspots across Louisiana union members are having active conversations about potentially staging safety strikes.

Cut 12 (09) “…schools.” 

Extended wait times for COVID-19 testing results become the latest hiccup in the state’s fight against the coronavirus. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

The state reports 1125 cases today, the lowest new daily case count in three weeks. Fatalities rise by 26 to 3,700. Hospitalizations: 1,583, down 17. Baton Rouge now has more cases of COVID-19 than New Orleans. Governor Edwards will hold a coronavirus press briefing at 4pm this afternoon.

In an effort to stop runaway youth COVID transmission, the governor’s office releases a PSA featuring half a dozen young people describing the serious symptoms they had as a result of COVID-19. Those in the video discussed some of the misconceptions about how youth are allegedly “unaffected” by the virus.
Cut 7 (12) “…spread it”
The PSA ends with the young folks imploring their friends to mask up.

Louisiana’s COVID-19 testing has hit another hurdle with the turnaround time on getting results.  Early in the pandemic, there was a lack of nasal swabs to conduct tests, but now Assistant Health Secretary Dr. Alex Billioux says the timeliness in getting a result makes the difference in being useful data in stopping the spread and just adding numbers to the stats.
Cut 10 (08) “…probably not useful.”

The state reports 1125 cases today, the lowest new daily case count in three weeks. Deaths rise to 3,700.

The Main Street Recovery Program application process is now open and State Treasurer John Schroder encourages small business owners not to wait on their chance at up to 15,000 dollars…

Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle” 

Calcasieu Parish Sheriff deputies have charged two teens with the murder of a 53-year-old Lake Charles man found lying in the road last week. Sheriff Tony Mancuso says they believe a 16-year-old used a stolen gun to shoot Anthony Bennett.

Cut 3 (10)  “…car burglary”  

A 16-year-old and a 13-year-old have been charged in Bennet’s murder.

In an effort to stop runaway youth COVID transmission, the governor’s office releases a PSA featuring half a dozen young people describing the serious symptoms they had as a result of COVID-19.

Cut 6 (12) “…taste.”

Eighteen to 29-year-olds have the highest number of infections of any age group recorded by the Louisiana Health at 24-thousand, six thousand higher than the next highest age group.

400 new total jobs are headed to Lafayette after the city secures the new headquarters for Silicon Valley-based educational software company Schoolmint. Governor Edwards celebrated the announcement saying the headquarters alone will create 178 direct new jobs.

Cut 14 (10) “…indirect new jobs.”

The company will make a capital investment into new facilities at just over a half-million dollars.

Just a day after all New Orleans Willie’s Chicken Shack locations were shuttered for violating COVID health orders related to a New Orleans specific ban on to-go cups of alcohol the state announces that four bars have had their alcohol permits suspended for at least a week after they were found to be allowing patrons to stay and drink in doors. Currently statewide bars can only serve drinks to-go. The bars we based in Grand Isle, Lake Charles, Gonzales, and Harvey.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees can now apply for grant money through the Main Street Recovery Program. Eligible businesses can receive up to 15-thousand dollars in no-strings-attached cash. State Treasurer John Schroder says this is different from the PPP Loans handed out by the feds earlier in the pandemic…
Cut 8 (10) “…that back”
Applicants can be completed at Louisiana-main-street-dot-com.

The governor’s office is celebrating a big economic development win as education software company SchoolMint announces it’s moving its headquarters from San Francisco to Lafayette. Governor John Bel Edwards says this is further evidence of the state’s economic growth for the 21^st century.

Cut 13 (12) “…ecosystem for Louisiana.” 

SchoolMint’s decision will result in nearly 400 new jobs in the Lafayette area.

Imperial Health Urgent Care Center in Calcasieu Parish is the only healthcare facility in the state participating in a nationwide clinical trial for an experimental new COVID treatment. Doctor Jason Morris says they are working with a pharmaceutical company to see if monoclonal antibodies can kill the virus in an infected patient. Morris says if you go to an urgent care facility with COVID-like symptoms you’ll be given a quick test and if positive asked to join the trial. If you do…

Cut 10 (07) “…paitent.”

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says a rise in chronic conditions is putting more Louisiannians at risk for colorectal cancer. Doctor Jeremy Wigginton says early detection is key, and many times during colonoscopies, preventative measures can be taken during the screening.

Cut 6 (13) “…even becomes cancer.”