Rain is moving into the state bringing in the chance for light snow north of I-20. Emelie Gunn has more…:
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Several stores are closing their doors for good in the coming months. LSU marketing professor Dan Rice says online shopping could be affecting these stores like Sears, Kmart, Macy’s and others..:
CUT 4 (09) “used to be”
The Limited is shutting down nationwide including all 5 stores in Louisiana.

A community forum is scheduled for tonight where Louisiana residents will have a chance to voice their concerns about repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement. Jeanie Donovan from Loyola’s Jesuit Social Research Institute will MC the event. She says over a half a million Louisianans will lose health insurance coverage if the Republican Congress repeals Obamacare…
cut 12 (10) “the state”
Newly elected US Senator John Kennedy has said, at least on the Senate side, he doesn’t believe that Congress will want to repeal Obamacare without having something else in place. The meeting begins at 6pm.

A fire on a platform in the Gulf of Mexico has been extinguished according to the US Coast Guard. They say there were no signs of pollution in the area of the rig owned by Houston-based Renaissance Offshore LLC. Four workers had to escape the flames into the water around 2:30am, but were rescued by a nearby vessel and no injuries were reported.

Quite a few stores in the Bayou State are closing their doors for good this year. Jeff Palermo has more…:
CUT 1 (29) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Precipitation is moving into Louisiana over the next 24 hours bringing in the possibility of light snow. Patrick Omundson with the National Weather Service in Shreveport says it could start midday tomorrow in north Louisiana…:
CUT 6 (09) “mid-evening”
He says south of I-20 can expect a sleet mix, but no freezing rain.

Louisiana has a real problem with train/vehicle fatalities and had the fourth most in 2015. That’s why the state Department of Transportation is launching a railroad safety campaign. Spokesperson Rodney Mallet says there is a certain stop a car should sit if a train is coming..:
CUT 13 (08) “the crossing”
He adds you should never try to beat a train that could take more than a mile to come to a stop.

According to the NFL, TV viewership fell an average of eight percent this season. On average, one-point-four million fewer people watched a game this year than in 2015.

There’s been a lot of talk heating up about ways to make New Orleans a safer place to live and visit and the Attorney General’s Office is joining the effort. AG Jeff Landry says the problem with increased police efforts are not limited to the French Quarter..:
CUT 11 (11) “residents safe”
Landry says his team of agents made 11 eleven arrests in New Orleans during the final quarter of 2016 and assisted NOPD in five other arrests.

So what are the chances we could see snow tomorrow. Jeff Palermo has more…
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The state has launched a railroad safety campaign. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says it includes law enforcement officers monitoring railroad intersections…:
cut 14 (08) “write tickets”
Based on the latest data from the Federal Railroad Administration, Louisiana was fourth in the nation for the number of highway-rail crossing fatalities in 2015.

Several stores are closing their doors for good in the coming months. Sears Holdings announces Kmart locations in Gonzales and Jefferson Parish, as well as Sears in Gretna and Cortana Mall in Baton Rouge will close by this April. LSU marketing professor Dan Rice says in Sears’ case, the company looked at places where there’s overlap.
Cut 3 (12) “in Louisiana”
The Limited is shutting down nationwide, meaning all 5 stores in Louisiana will lock their doors permanently this Saturday.

The Attorney General’s Office has started the hashtag campaign “Make New Orleans Safe Again” to reduce crime in the Crescent City after shootings increased by 25-percent last year. AG Jeff Landry blames Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s poor leadership for the uptick in crime. He says NOPD is under a federal consent decree that the mayor agreed to.

Cut 12 (11) “crime fighting policy”

Landry says with the help of NOPD, his Violent Crime Task Force made 16 total arrests in the last quarter of 2016. The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for a statement.

LSU police are investigating damage to the turf at Tiger Stadium. University Police say vandals broke into the stadium around 11:30 pm Tuesday and were inside until after midnight. LSU sports information director Michael Bonnette says the damage wasn’t major and it can be fixed.

The state has released its revised coastal restoration plan. Brann Haase with the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says the worst case scenario for the coast would be about 4-thousand square miles of land loss, if they did nothing.

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Haase says public meetings will be held around the state to gather input on the plan of action. The first meeting is scheduled for January 17 in Lake Charles.

A weather system is moving through the state today, bringing with it the possibility for winter precipitation north of I-20. State climatologist Barry Keim says the system should move through quickly, but once it passes, arctic air pushes in.

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Keim says there’s about a 20-percent chance of snow in north Louisiana.

We’re starting to hear the word snow in our forecasts, but State Climatologist Barry Keim says the chance for the white stuff in north Louisiana is about 20-30 percent…:
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He says this wintry precipitation could move along the I-20 corridor as early as tonight, persist through tomorrow and Friday night.

Louisiana ranked number 4 in the nation for the number of people killed by trains in 2015, with 13 deaths. That’s why DOTD launched the “Do Not Stop on the Tracks” campaign. DOTD spokesman Rodney Mallett says drivers have a responsibility to know the rules when approaching crossings, but for its part the state spent nearly 6 million dollars on railroad safety projects last year…:
Cut 15 (10) “do that”
They emphasize the message, do not stop on the tracks.

The state has released a revised coastal restoration plan. Bren Haase with Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says an important part of the idea addresses reducing storm surge damage along the coast…:
Cut 6 (11) “year 50”
He says roughly $18 billion has been secured to implement the 50-year plan, which would take $50 billion to fully fund it.

Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge was vandalized this week according to the LSU Police Department. They say nothing was permanently damaged, and they are in the process of investigating the incident. There is currently no information being given on the extent of the damage, suspect or motive. The field was covered by a tarp on Wednesday.

The US Coast Guard is responding to a report of a fire on an oil production platform about 80 miles south of Grand Isle. They say the blaze is now suppressed, but it is not yet entirely extinguished. Four people were rescued.

The state has released its revised coastal protection and restoration master plan that’s designed to reduce hurricane storm surge and restore Louisiana’s vanishing coastline. Bren Haase with the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority says the plan proposes 120 projects…:

cut 4 (10) “voluntary acquisitions”
Haase says roughly $18 billion has been secured to implement the 50-year plan, which would take $50 billion to fully fund it.

Officials are still working to determine what happened that caused a Gulf of Mexico oil platform south of Grand Isle to catch fire early this morning. Four people jumped from the rig into the water and were rescued by a nearby vessel. The last word from the US Coast Guard is that, while not yet extinguished, the blaze had been suppressed. No injuries were reported.

There’s been a lot of talk heating up about ways to make New Orleans a safer place to live and visit, at the Attorney General’s Office is joining the effort. AG Jeff Landry says the problem with increased police efforts are not limited to the French Quarter..:
CUT 11 (11) “residents safe”
His office has started a hashtag campaign “Make New Orleans Safe Again.”

Speaking of campaigns, DOTD says hashtag “Do Not Stop on the Tracks” . Emelie Gunn has more..:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

The US Coast Guard is responding to a report of a fire on an oil production platform about 80 miles south of Grand Isle. They say the blaze is now suppressed, but it is not yet entirely extinguished. Officials said there were four people aboard the platform who evacuated into the water and were rescued. There were no reported injuries. An oil spill responses organization has been dispatched to the scene.

Attorney General Jeff Landry is looking for a way to reduce crime in New Orleans. He says it will take a multidimensional approach because it doesn’t seem to make sense that lawlessness is twice as likely in The Big Easy than in Chicago…:
Cut 10 (09) “hundred thousand people”
He says his office has started a hashtag campaign called “Make New Orleans Safe Again.”

Louisiana has a real problem with train/vehicle fatalities and had the fourth most in 2015. That’s why the state Department of Transportation is launching a railroad safety campaign. Spokesperson Rodney Mallet says there is a certain stop a car should sit if a train is coming..:
CUT 13 (08) “the crossing”
He adds you should never try to beat a train that could take more than a mile to come to a stop.

So what are the chances we could see snow tomorrow. Jeff Palermo has more…:
Cut 2 (26) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

According to the US Coast Guard, four people were rescued from an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico after it caught fire early this morning. They say the burning platform is 80 miles south of Grand Isle. There are currently no injuries reported. We’ll have more on this as it develops.

The revised master plan for coastal restoration and protection in Louisiana has been released. Halen Doughty has more…:
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Precipitation moves into Louisiana tonight, and it could change to snow north of I-20. But State climatologist Barry Keim says the chance for wintry precipitation is not very high…:
CUT 7 (12) “central Louisiana”

The Louisiana Department of Transportation launches a railroad safety campaign. Based on the latest numbers from the Federal Railroad Administration, Louisiana was fourth in the nation for the number of highway-rail crossing fatalities in 2015. DOTD Spokesperson Rodney Mallett says law enforcement officers are monitoring numerous railroad intersections…:
cut 14 (08) “write tickets”

Auto jobs are coming to Shreveport as Glovis America announced plans to invest one million dollars to transform the former General Motors plant into a new inland distribution center. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says this is great news for Shreveport workers.

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A hiring date has not been set.

Drew Brees is getting into the donut business, as the Saints quarterback has partnered with Dunkin’ Donuts to open nearly 70 new locations in Louisiana. Marketing manager with Dunkin’ Donuts in Louisiana, Erin Sheeran, says fans can expect to see the QB in the stores.

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Locations in Chalmette, Kenner, and Gonzales are expected to open this year.

Water systems around the state are increasing fees this month to help with an uptick in inspections. Emelie Gunn has more…

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According to the National Weather Service, at least 8 tornadoes hit Louisiana Monday. The twisters damaged parts of Avoyelles, Beauregard, Evangeline, Rapides, and Tangipahoa parishes. The most powerful storm touched down in Beauregard Parish, with winds reaching 110 mph. Ten to 25 homes were damaged.

Water systems across Louisiana are increasing fees to help with increased state inspections. State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry says there’s always been a fee to pay for state inspections, but the legislature and governor agreed to increase the fee by another 75-cents per month starting this month, because health risks are getting higher…
Cut 6 (10) “be monitored”
Guidry hopes thyis will prevent another disaster like the poor drinking water currently in St. Joseph.

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says rates for Workers’ Compensation policies have fallen for a fourth year in a row. Donelon says a lower rate can help attract new businesses to the Bayou State and….
cut 16 (07) “….even cheaper”
He says rates have had a cumulative drop of 34-percent over the last 10 years.

Gas prices are once again on the rise, and GasBuddy.com predicts this year we will see the highest gas prices in three years. Senior petroleum analyst Gregg Laskoski says OPEC’s decision to cut production has led to the increase and advises motorists to look for the best deals, because prices vary even in the same city.
Cut 5 (10) “own market”

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees is joining the Dunkin’ Donuts team to open up 69 new donut shops in the state. Marketing manager with Dunkin’ Donuts in Louisiana, Erin Sheeran, says currently, the Bayou State has 5 locations in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. She expects Brees will be hands on when it comes to expanding the brand.
Cut 9 (09) “the business:
Sheeran says a few stores are set to open this year in Gonzales, Chalmette, and Kenner.