The House Ways and Means Committee approves a proposal to up the state’s gasoline tax by 17 cents. Baton Rouge Representative Steve Carter says his bill would help fund a new Mississippi River Bridge to alleviate congestion on the Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge. He says Louisiana cannot continue to let our roads deteriorate.

Cut 13 (10) “unaddressed”

But Eunice Representative Phillip Devillier says this increase would make Louisiana’s gasoline tax the 9^th highest in the country. He says his constituents would gladly pay a little more in taxes if they actually saw construction on roadways.

Cut 16 (08) “have now”

The measure passed on a 9 to 7 vote now heads to the House floor.

Members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus are outraged the House approved a bill to protect confederate monuments. Chairman and New Orleans Representative Joseph Bouie says lawmakers have more important issues facing them.

Cut 4 (12) “our citizens”

The House voted 65 to 31 to advance the bill prohibiting the removal of military monuments.

A Slidell man is behind bars after allegedly beating his 7-week-old son to death. St. Tammany Sheriff Randy Smith says 25-year-old Anthony Dearmas was charged with first degree murder after Karter Smith was pronounced braindead at the hospital.

Cut 11 (08) “to live, folks”

Black lawmakers are fuming mad that the bill designed to protect Confederate monuments passed out of the full House. Supporters say they want to let voters decide if a statue in their city is a nuisance or not. But Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Joseph Bouie is calling on senators and the governor not to pass this bill…:
Cut 5 (08) “and legislator”

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office announces the arrest of a father accused of beating his 7 week old baby to death. 25-year-old Anthony Dearmas of Slidell is booked with first degree murder in the death of Karter Smith. Sheriff Randy Smith says Dearmas told detectives why he killed his child…:
Cut 12 (07) “sad excuse”
The parish coroner says Karter sustained 7 fractures to his skull and had bleeding inside his brain.

Today the full Senate is taking up criminal justice reform, and the governor announces a “compromise” package has been reached with District Attorneys’ and Sheriffs’. This is a major part of the Governor’s agenda this session as he wants to reduce the state’s prison population. He says changes have been made in the package to address concerns about certain violent crimes and habitual offender penalties. The negotiated plan would save the state $262 million dollars over 10 years.

Allergy season is particularly bad this year and experts blame the warmer than normal winter keeping the pollen around. Allergist Dr. Sanjay Kamboj (San-jay Kam-bozh) with the LSU Health Sciences Center advises people who get the symptoms of a runny nose or a post nasal drip to cover up when going outside by wearing a hat or a mask. He also recommends washing your face immediately when coming back inside to remove the pollen….:
Cut 9 (10) “the nose”

Louisiana’s Black Legislative Caucus believes white supremacy is behind legislation seeking to protect confederate monuments…:
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

An Allergist with the LSU Health Sciences Center says in all his years as a doctor, this is the worst allergy season he’s ever seen. Dr. Sanjay Kamboj (San-jay Kam-bozh) says there has been a 10 to 20-percent increase in the number of patients coming in with allergies problems…:
Cut 7 (07) “the office”
He blames the warm winter which never really burned off the pollen.

A Slidell man is facing first-degree murder charges after he allegedly beat his 7-week-old son to death. St. Tammany Sheriff Randy Smith says deputies responded to a call about an infant who was not breathing last Wednesday. He says after seeing the severe head injuries to Karter Smith, deputies questioned his father, 25-year-old Anthony Dearmas…:
Cut 10 (09) “the ground”
Smith says the infant was transported to a local hospital, where doctors later determined the 7-week-o ld was brain dead. Dearmas’ charges were upgraded to first degree murder and he was booked into the St. Tammany Parish jail.

The surging LSU baseball team hosts Northwestern State tonight. The 5th ranked Tigers have won eight of their last ten. Coach Paul Mainieri believes his team’s recent play has put them in position to be a national seed in the NCAA Tournament….
cut 19 (20) “….national seed”
Mainieri says there’s a chance Bryce Jordan can be available for post-season play. The former Barbe star took batting practice for the first time on Monday since tearing his ACL right before the start of the regular season. Jordan would have to be medically cleared.

Also tonight…28th ranked McNeese State hosts Houston, Southeastern Louisiana faces 17th ranked Southern Miss in Biloxi and UNO battles Tulane at Turchin Stadium.

Former Texas Tech wide receiver Jonathan Giles has announced that he will transfer to LSU. The six-foot, 195-pounder led the Red Raiders with 69 catches for 1,158 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore last year. He’ll have two years of eligibility after he sits out the 2017 season.

The Advocate newspaper reports running back Adrian Peterson could earn up to 12.5 million dollars if he plays well for the Saints over the next two years. The two-year deal with New Orleans includes incentives for reaching various benchmarks for rushing yards and touchdowns.

In other NFL news…former Cajuns wide receiver Al Riles has signed with the Colts, while ex UL Lafayette linebacker Otha Peters inks a deal with Seattle.

ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reports Louisiana Tech guard Jacobi Boykins has withdrawn from the NBA draft.

Tongiht is the NBA draft lottery, the Pelicans have a four-percent chance of receiving a top-three pick.

The bill to raise the gas tax 17 cents in Louisiana is being heard in the House Ways and Means Committee. Baton Rouge Representative Steve Carter says the additional revenue is needed for Louisiana’s infrastructure, but some lawmakers are concerned the money would not go towards improving highways. Carter promises that is exactly where the dollars would go:
CUT 25 (05) “the public”
But state Director of Americans for Prosperity John Kay says now is not the time to be raising taxes on Louisiana residents…:
CUT 26 (06) “few years”
The bill would also link the state’s gasoline tax to the Consumer Price Index.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office arrests a man for allegedly beating his 7-week-old son to death. 25-year-old Anthony Dearmas of Slidell is charged with first-degree murder. Authorities say Dearmas revealed that he had punched the baby off of a sofa and onto his head because he would not stop crying.

The Louisiana Black Caucus is livid after what they call an offensive vote to advance legislation aimed at protecting the state’s confederate monuments. Chairman, New Orleans Representative Joseph Bouie, says this bill is a Trojan horse designed to supersede the authority of local municipalities who have voted to remove such statues…:
Cut 3 (08) “white supremacy”
But Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody says his bill would allow the public to vote on which monuments to keep and which ones to remove.
Cut 6 (11) “people decide”
The measure is headed to the Senate side on a 65-31 vote.

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office says the situation this morning that caused a large police presence where it’s reported a subject barricaded himself in a cooler at a gas station has been resolved peacefully.

After hours of emotional debate, the full House approves a controversial bill aimed at protecting Louisiana’s confederate monuments. Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody’s bill would prohibit the removal of any military monument without a vote from the public. He says it’s only fair to let the people decide what they want to commemorate.

Cut 17 (07) “on this issue”

The measure faced steep opposition from the Black Caucus, but passed on a 65-31 vote.

In this hour, the House Ways and Means committee takes up a proposal to increase the state’s gasoline tax by 17 cents a gallon. But State Director of Americans for Prosperity John Kay says the tax hike would be higher than that because it’s tied to the consumer price index.

Cut 10 (07) “nine years”

Supporters of the bill say more revenue is needed to pay for better roads.

A 10-year-old Lafayette cold case closes with three arrests. Lafayette Police Cpl. Karl Ratcliff says three suspects fled Acadiana after the 2007 murder, but they were later identified through video evidence. He says the suspects were picked up in Alexandria and Shreveport.

Cut 12 (11) “separate charge”

Marcus Smith, Kendall Smith, and Edward Woods are all charged with second degree murder.

A 19-year-old is behind bars following a Mother’s Day shooting at a kickball game left one Homer man dead. Police say 19-year-old Quintarrious Rice is charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon ad discharging a firearm in a gun free zone, and more arrests are expected. This was reportedly one of two shootings in a park on Mother’s Day.

The full House spent two hours on a bill designed to protect Confederate monuments before approving it to the Senate. The debate was heated and emotional. New Orleans Representative Gary Carter says Germans don’t have statues of Hitler, and other places in the world tear down monuments to hate…:
Cut 15 (09) “of Sadaam”
But supporters say this is about preserving history. Members of the Black Caucus walked out after the bill was advanced and are holding a news conference at this hour to discuss what happened.

Criminal justice reform will be taken up on the Senate floor today. State Senator Danny Martiny says they are looking to change the laws to where they make more sense when it comes to the way crime is tried..:
Cut 5 (14) “out on parole”
These three bills are part of Governor Edwards legislative agenda.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office books a 39-year-old man for allegedly making threats against now-former deputies involved in the arrest of his son. They say Chris Verdin Sr. saw a video of his son being arrested by the deputies who were fired on Monday, and made threats of physical violence against them. Verdin Sr. is charged with one count of Cyberstalking and four counts of Failure to appear on other violations.

Three men have been arrested after the Lafayette Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit recently closed an almost 10-year-old homicide case. Cpl. Karl Ratcliff says 39-year-old Malcolm Davis was beaten to death in 2007 and they are glad that they were able to finally give the family closure with the arrests of those allegedly responsible:
Cut 13 (11) “everybody here”
Marcus Smith, Kendall Smith, and Edward Woods are booked with second degree murder.

The full House approves a controversial measure to protect Louisiana’s confederate monuments after two hours of heated debates….:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office is on the scene of an incident at a gas station in Vinton where apparently a man has barricaded himself inside the cooler.

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office is holding a news conference this morning to provide additional information on the arrest of a Slidell man who allegedly killed an infant.

A bill to raise the state’s gas tax for road improvements gets heard in the House Ways and Means committee today. In opposition is Director of Americans for Prosperity John Kay who says legislators raised taxes on Louisiana residents last year and this is not a good time for for another tax…:
Cut 9 (06) “few years”
But supporters say something has to be done to raise revenue for the state’s failing infrastructure.

The Lafayette Police Department says they’ve solved a 10-year-old cold case murder by arresting three north Louisiana men. Cpl. Karl Ratcliff says last December they re-opened the investigation into the brutal murder of 39-year-old Malcolm Davis, who was beaten to death at a gas station on August 10, 2007…:
Cut 11 (11) “physical altercation”
The three men face second-degree murder counts.

A proposal to raise the state’s gasoline tax to improve roads will be heard in the House Ways and Means committee today…:
Cut 2 (29) “I’m Don Molino”

The measure designed to protect military monuments in Louisiana advanced on the House floor after two hours of heated and emotional debate. The bill’s author, Shreveport Representative Thomas Carmody, says public art is meant to facilitate conversations about what the memorial is about..:
Cut 16 (08) “their country”
Black lawmakers walked out after the bill passed to the Senate on a 65 to 31 vote.

There are three bills slated to be taken up on the Senate floor today that deal with criminal justice reform. State Senator Danny Martiny has a measure that would allow consideration of parole for some offenders who meet specific requirements. He says this is about reducing the state’s prison population, not letting violent criminals out of jail…:
Cut 4 (10) “recidivism rate”
Governor Edwards is holding a news conference today to discuss progress in advancing his criminal justice reform agenda.

A bill that would end the need for most motorists to buy a Louisiana vehicle inspection sticker was defeated Monday in House Transportation over concerns it will lead to unsafe vehicles on the road. The measure would have replaced the brake tag process with a mail-in form. Rather than taking the car to a garage to be inspected, car owners would instead sign a form saying their car was road-worthy.

The full House approves a measure that would protect Louisiana’s military monuments. Black lawmakers vehemently opposed the measure that would prevent local municipalities from removing or altering any Confederate monuments without a public vote. New Orleans Representative Gary Carter:
Cut 14 (08) “my enslavement”
Supporters of the bill argue it protects Louisiana’s history. Members of the Black Caucus walked out of the House chamber when the bill passed on a 65 to 31 vote.

A proposal to increase the state gasoline tax by 17-cents is expected to finally receive a hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee today. Baton Rouge Representative Steve Carter says Louisiana has poor and congested roads, because the tax on a gallon of gasoline hasn’t increase in 20 years..:
Cut 7 (08) “area”
Opponents say residents have had taxes increased enough.

There are three bills slated to be taken up on the Senate floor today that deal with criminal justice reform. Jeff Palermo reports…:
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

President Donald Trump spoke at the Annual National Peace Officers’ Memorial service on Monday in Washington, saying his administration would look for was to reduce violence against police. He singled out the fallen Baton Rouge cops killed in an ambush last year, and acknowledged their family members.