President Barack Obama sent a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards today indicating that he is going to amend Louisiana’s disaster declaration to include that the federal government is now going to cover 90 percent of costs for disaster related flood relief. Mr. Obama said the federal government has spent more than $660 million to help the state in the aftermath of the floods.

Just over a month after the Blue Lives Matter law went into effect, a man has been arrested in New Orleans and charged with a hate crime against police officers. Police say 28-year-old Raul Delatoba was being booked on unrelated charges, when he used sexist and racial slurs against the arresting officers. Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana, Marjorie Esman, says the hate crime charge needs to go…:
cut 14 (10) “it too”
Those who support the Blue Lives Matter law say it was created to give DA’s another tool to provide law enforcement protection.

A 15-year-old girl was killed and her 12-year-old sister was seriously injured while helping their mother take out the garbage in Belle Rose. State Trooper Jesse LaGrange says the two girls were on the tailgate of their mother’s truck. He says the vehicle the kids were riding on was stopped on the highway and facing the wrong way when a truck was approaching…:
cut 12 (09) “riding on”
LaGrange says the teenager, Sydny Landry, suffered fatal injuries and her sister was airlifted to to a local hospital in serious condition.

Displaced flood victims who are having a hard time getting around new locations are being given a new navigation tool from DOTD. Spokesman Rodney Mallett says you can create an account at 511LA.org to personalize travel plans and you will be notified of traffic issues on your route…:
CUT 11 (10) “major thoroughfares”
He says they’ve partnered with WAZE to make this happen.

Four Louisiana Universities have been placed on the fiscal watch list by the Board of Regents. It has been determined that Southern University at New Orleans, LSU Health Shreveport, Grambling State and Southern University at Shreveport are all in poor financial standing. Higher Education Commissioner Joe Rallo explains why they put out this report…:
CUT 6 (11) “structural problems”
He says funding is an ongoing issue and so is enrollment.

The Department of Transportation announces upgrades to their 511 travel information system. Rodney Mallett with DOTD says motorists can now get personalized traffic updates by creating an account at 511LA.org and the system can alert of any traffic disruptions…:
CUT 9 (09) “your route”

Louisiana Strawberry farmers are once again dealing with the aftermath of a devastating flood. Halen Doughty has more…:
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

LSU Coach Les Miles is not saying whether running back Leonard Fournette has been practicing this week after taking a hit to his lower leg towards the end of the Wisconsin game. Miles did say on Monday that Fournette suffered a contusion.

We’re starting to hear more from the US Senate candidates as election day nears. Republican Congressman John Fleming launched a seven figure statewide TV ad, and Congressman Charles Boustany ads have been running. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says you can expect a big battle in the coming weeks…:
CUT 9 (06) “pay attention”
The election is November 8.

There may not be many FEMA mobile homes set up in Louisiana. Jeff Palermo explains why…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Customers could pay more for Louisiana strawberries in the coming months after fields were hammered by two historic floods this year. Heather Robertson and her husband own Johndales Farm in Ponchatoula. Robertson says because strawberries are a specialty crop, there’s not much financial assistance, and a lot of producers will not grow strawberries again…:
CUT 3 (10) “strawberry farmers”
Robertson says they’re trying to get their fields ready to plant by late September or early October, but there’s a lot that has to be done.

State Police say a teenager was killed and a 12-year-old seriously injured as they were on the tailgate of a vehicle involved in a two vehicle Assumption Parish crash. They say 38 Frannie Landry was taking out the trash in her vehicle on the road near her driveway and the two girls were riding on the tailgate to help out. An approaching vehicle could not avoid a collision and the two girls were ejected from the tailgate. The 15-year-old died and the 12-year-old is in serious condition at a hospital.

Governor John Bel Edwards is in Washington D.C. where he’s seeking $2 billion dollars from the federal government that will go towards helping flood victims repair their homes. The governor meets today with Congressional leaders and he’ll explain the level of damage the historic flood spread across 20-plus parishes…:
cut 11 (10) “in Louisiana”
The governor will also plans to discuss temporary and long-term housing recovery efforts with the secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

It doesn’t look like we’ll see a lot of FEMA mobile homes in Louisiana. Spokesman Tito Hernandez says the temporary housing is a last resort…:
CUT 13 (08) “that option”
And Hernandez says they talked to three-thousand families who qualified for a mobile home, but many of them were not interested.

Republican Congressman John Fleming begins airing television ads statewide for his U.S. Senate campaign. Emelie Gunn has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

First Lady Donna Edwards has been busy trying to help raise money for the Fund for Restoring Schools, which is collecting donations for flood impacted students and teachers. Edwards says many teachers lost everything…
cut 5 (10) “….purposes”

Governor John Bel Edwards is traveling to Washington, D.C., today to meet with federal officials about getting more assistance for Louisiana flood victims — specifically housing. He says he’s also asking for full funding for the Comite River Diversion Project, which could prevent disastrous flooding in the Baton Rouge area…:
cut 12 (08) “our businesses”

First Lady Donna Edwards is visiting schools in flood ravaged areas of south Louisiana to distribute school supplies. Edwards has teamed up with the Louisiana School Boards Association to collect thousands of dollars for kids and teachers. She says she will be at Greenbrier Elementary today…:
cut 4 (10) “the classroom”
To help out again, that GoFundMe account is called the LSBA Fund for Restoring Schools.

You’re probably starting to notice new ads for Republican Congressman John Fleming for the US Senate race. Republican Congressman Charles Boustany has also started running TV commercial and likely Treasurer John Kennedy will soon have ads running too. Jeremy Alford with LaPolitics.com says on the democratic side, there is a big war playing out on urban radio stations:
Cut 8 (09) “as well”
He says these ads are playing nice now, but people will really start to pay attention to this race once the Super PACS come in with negative spots.

It doesn’t look like we’ll see a lot of FEMA mobile homes in Louisiana. Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer, Tito Hernandez, says they are a last resort and of the 3,000 people that qualified for a manufactured housing unit were not interested…:
CUT 15 (08) “their lot”
He says the main focus now is getting aid to people and get them back in their homes.

Today, Governor John Bel Edwards meets with the President and members of Congress in Washington to discuss additional assistance for flood victims in Louisiana. Halen Doughty has more…:
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The Calcaisieu Parish Sheriff’s Office has identified the man who died following a police pursuit involving a stolen RV in Moss Bluff. They say 46-year-old Dennis Deville died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities say they were closing in on Deville when the man turned the wheel of the RV toward a deputy and struck him. Deville kept going and crashed. That’s when cops say they heard a gunshot from inside the RV.

FEMA says they are trying to exhaust every possibility to help flood victims before they choose the last resort manufactured home option. Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer, Tito Hernandez, says over 63-thousand flood victims have received FEMA assistance for rent or home repairs, and 24-hundred are currently in hotels. He says there have been problems with setting up the new mobile homes in someone’s yard…:
cut 14 (07) “housing units”
Hernandez says 28-thousand flood insurance claims have already paid $229 million for home repairs.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees will remain in the Black and Gold at least until the 2017 season. The contract extension pays him 44 million dollars. The future hall of famer remains one of the highest paid players in the game…:
CUT 18 (10) “they do”
The deal also gives the Saints 13-million dollars in salary cap relief, so the team can make additional roster moves this season.

Governor John Bel Edwards is taking his request for additional aid for flood victims to Washington D.C. today where he’s seeking an additional $2 billion dollars. The governor says he’ll also speak with Congressional leaders who returned from summer recess this week, so they understand the level of damage the historic flood spread across 20-plus parishes…:
cut 11 (10) “in Louisiana”
Edwards says his office now has a better understanding of the flood damage and an idea of how much money it will take to repair it all.

It doesn’t look like we’ll see a lot of FEMA mobile homes in Louisiana. Spokesman Tito Hernandez says the temporary housing is a last resort…:
CUT 13 (08) “that option”
Hernandez says over 63-thousand flood victims have received FEMA assistance for rent or home repairs, and 24-hundred are currently in hotels.

Republican Congressman John Fleming launches a seven figure statewide TV ad for the U.S. Senate race. Jeremy Alford of LaPolitics.com says Fleming is a U.S. Representative for north Louisiana who doesn’t have much name recognition outside of his district. But he says this TV spot gives Fleming the chance to introduce himself to voters and jump start his campaign…:
CUT 7 (11) “Kennedy”
Alford says TV and radio commercials are the best way to get the attention of voters.

AAA says we’re seeing the slow drop in gas prices following the Labor Day weekend as the summer driving season officially comes to an end. They also say the switch to the cheaper winter blend gasoline will likely mean prices will move even lower over the next several months. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular in Louisiana stands at $2.02 which is about three cents lower than the prior week.

Governor John Bel Edwards is traveling to Washington, D.C., today to meet with federal officials about getting more assistance for Louisiana flood victims. Edwards says they are asking for $2 billion to help flood victims rebuild their homes…:
Cut 10 (08) “housing piece”
Edwards says he plans to tell Obama administration officials that this is the most significant natural disaster since Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Meanwhile First Lady Donna Edwards is busy at home helping schools affected by the floods. She’s partnered with the Louisiana School Boards Association to collect over 16-thousand dollars with the GoFundMe account called “LSBA Fund for Restoring Schools.” She urges anyone who can to donate…:
Cut 6 (09) “in need”
Edwards says the donations not only go to students, but teachers as well.

There may not be many FEMA mobile homes set up in Louisiana. Jeff Palermo explains why…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Quarterback Drew Brees will remain the Saints signal caller through at least the 2017 season as a result of a contract extension that pays him 44-million dollars over the next two years. The 37-year-old future Hall of Famer was in the last year of his previous contract heading into this season.

NOAA researchers say climate change may have contributed to the flooding in south Louisiana. Michelle Southern reports…
voicer 1 (30) “…I’m Michelle Southern

Quarterback Drew Brees will remain the Saints signal caller through at least the 2017 season as a result of a contraction extension that will pay him 44-million dollars over the next two years. The contract also gives the Saints 13-million dollars in salary cap relief to make additional roster moves this year.

Mandeville Police have made a second arrest in connection with the alleged rape of a 78-year-old resident at the Beau Provence Memory Care facility. Officer Becky White says 55-year-old Julie Henry was the Associate Program Director and knew about the reported sexual assault….
cut 8 (05) “…of justice”
An attorney for Henry says she is innocent.

PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans is expanding to Vietnam. Chief Development Officer for Ballard Brands, PJ’s parent company, David Mesa, says this is their first international store. He says they chose to open in Vietnam because it is a very coffee rich country…:
cut 12 (10) “their culture”
Mesa says PJ’s Coffee is also looking at building shops in additional countries.

A team of government and university experts published a report that concluded climate change contributed to the weather event that produced more than 30 inches of rain in south Louisiana. But state climatologist Barry Keim says what happened last month is not enough to tell us anything about climate change.

Cut 11 (07) “so efficient”

But Keim says there are some consistencies between the massive rain event and climate change.

PJ’s Coffee is expanding internationally into Vietnam. Chief Development Officer for Ballard Brands, PJ’s parent company, David Mesa, says they are on the heels of launching a coffee house in Malaysia as well, and are excited to give other countries the chance to taste Louisiana coffee.

cut 14 (10)  “world wide”

Mesa says PJ’s Coffee currently has 85 shops in seven states throughout the U.S.

Mandeville Police have made another arrest in connection with the rape of a female resident at a memory care facility. Last week 58-year-old Jerry Kan was arrested for first degree rape of a 78-year-old resident at Beau Provence, and Officer Becky White says 55-year-old Julie Henry had evidence of the incident.

CUT 7 (05) “destroyed”

White says Henry also failed to report the rape after she was informed about it by the staff.

LSU football fans will not see Mike the Tiger out on the field during home games this season. Ginger Guttner with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine says Mike will stay in his habitat on game days because of health concerns after he was treated for cancer in June. But she says fans will still be able to see the live mascot.

CUT 3 (09)  “see him”

Guttner says the treatment appears to have been successful, but they are continuing to monitor him.