Prosecutors spoke for the first time today after the manslaughter verdict was returned for the man who killed former Saints player Will Smith. Cardell Hayes was originally charged with second degree murder, but Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro says he understands why the jury downgraded the conviction…:
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Hayes was also charged with attempted manslaughter for the shooting and injuring of Smith’s wife Raquel.

Following the Republican sweep of federal runoff elections on Saturday, the GOP of Louisiana says this is proof that Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards’ election was a fluke. LA-GOP spokesman Jason Dore says Foster Campbell didn’t lose the US Senate race because he’s a Democrat, he lost because of ties to the governor…:
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Two polls find a majority of Louisianans believe President-elect Trump should repeal Obamacare and replace it with a new healthcare system. Emelie Gunn has more…
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The funeral of former NFL player and John Curtis Star Joe McKnight is underway in New Orleans. McKnight was gunned down in Jefferson Parish in an apparent road rage incident. Ronald Gasser is facing manslaughter charges in the incident.

Originally charged with second degree murder, the jury in the Cardell Hayes trial returned a verdict of manslaughter for killing former Saints star Will Smith. Hayes took the stand himself and Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino says his testimony wasn’t consistent with the facts which made his self-defense claims less credible…:
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Hayes faces up to 40 years in prison.

In the Saturday’s runoff election, Clay Higgins had a stunning victory over fellow Republican Scott Angelle in the 3rd Congressional District race. The so-called Cajun John Wayne says it’s a new day when a working class man is elected by support from his neighbors..:
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Now that Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy was elected U.S. Senator, he says he’ll work to solve Louisiana’s problems. Jeff Palermo has more…:
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The NBA has announced that John Legend will headline the All-Star Game halftime show on February 19th in the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. All-Star Game coverage begins at 7pm on TNT.

Cardell Hayes has been found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of former-Saints player Will Smith. Loyola law professor Dane Ciolino says it isn’t surprising the jury went for the manslaughter charge. He says the verdict is consistent with the evidence.

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Ciolino says Hayes could serve more than 20 years in prison.

Now that Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has been elected as U.S. Senator, he plans to tackle some of Louisiana’s problems in Washington D.C. Kennedy says it’s time for a change and the first thing he will fight for is additional relief for our flood victims.

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Kennedy says he will also fight to bring more jobs to Louisiana and fix the economy.

As expected, Republican state lawmaker Mike Johnson is the runaway winner in the 4th Congressional District race. The staunch conservative who replaces US Representative John Fleming says he looks forward to being a part of the real reform the Trump Administration is going to lead…:

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Johnson says our economy has been in shambles and every bit of change Mr. Trump says he’s going to bring needs to happen.

In the 3^rd District, Capt. Clay Higgins defeated Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle 56 to 44-percent. Higgins perhaps rode a wave of Donald Trump enthusiasm, as the man who has never held an elected office is heading to Washington to represent more than 760-thousand Louisianans.

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Higgins says his victory is proof that voters are tired of millionaire career politicians.

Cardell Hayes has been found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of former Saints star Will Smith. Former New Orleans running back Deuce McAllister was there when the verdict was read and says this was not a win for anybody…:
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Hayes was also found guilty of attempted manslaughter for shooting Smith’s wife during the April 9th road rage incident in New Orleans.

What does a dog do when it catches a car? Those are the words Capt. Clay Higgins used to open his acceptance speech after winning the 3rd Congressional District race. The former deputy with the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s office beat Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle 56 to 44-percent in Saturday’s election…:
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And as expected, Republican state lawmaker Mike Johnson was the runaway winner in the 4th Congressional District race.

Two polls find a majority of Louisianans believe President-elect Trump should repeal Obamacare and replace it with a new healthcare system. Emelie Gunn has more…:
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According to ESPN, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has agreed to become Florida Atlantic’s coach. Kiffin was being pursued by LSU to be offensive coordinator under head coach Ed Oregeron. But Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said last week that he was confident that Kiffin was ready to be a head coach again.

A jury did not accept Cardell Hayes’ claim that he shot former Saints star Will Smith in self defense as they voted 10-2 to convict him of manslaughter. He now faces up to 40 years in prison on the lesser charge. The jurors, who deliberated for 5 hours and 40 minutes, also voted to convict Hayes of attempted manslaughter for shooting Racquel Smith. The DA is slated to hold a news conference on the trial today.

Republicans have a stronger majority in the US Senate after Republican John Kennedy’s victory Saturday. Halen Doughty has more…:
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Two different polls show a majority of Louisiana residents agree with repealing the Affordable Care Act. Southern Media and Opinion Research found 56% of Louisianans surveyed believe President-elect Donald Trump should repeal Obamacare and replace it. But Pollster Bernie Pinsonat says 34% oppose the replacement…:
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Republican John Kennedy says, when serving in the US Senate, he plans to work to fix our suffering economy…:
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He also says it’s time for change and the first thing he’ll do is fight for additional relief for flood victims.

Saints fans are not happy today following New Orleans brutal 16-11 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday. Quarterback Drew Brees failed to throw for a touchdown for the second straight week and the Saints were only able to pick up 294 yards in the game.

Cardell Hayes has been found guilty of killing former Saints player Will Smith. A jury decided Sunday to convict Hayes of manslaughter instead of second degree murder and he now faces 40 years in prison at his sentencing February 17th. Deuce McAllister was a teammate of Smith’s and says this is an extremely painful time for widow Raquel and the entire family…:
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Hayes insisted he only fired because Smith was drunk, violent and grabbed a gun.

In the Saturday’s runoff election, Clay Higgins had a stunning victory over fellow Republican Scott Angelle in the 3rd Congressional District race. The so-called Cajun John Wayne garnered 56 percent of the vote over Angelle’s 44 percent based on unofficial results. The political newcomer replaces six term US Representative Charles Boustany who unsuccessfully ran for US Senate.

Louisianans believe President-elect Donald Trump should repeal and replace Obamacare, according to two separate surveys…:
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Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy is Louisiana’s new US Senator, and he says in addition to fighting for more flood relief for the state, will fight to bring more jobs here…:
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Kennedy’s victory gives the GOP a larger majority in the Senate, 52 Republicans to 48 Democrats.

The jury in the Will Smith trial has found the shooter guilty of manslaughter. Cardell Hayes could have been convicted of second-degree murder for the road rage killing of the popular former Saints player. Deuce McAllister was a teammate of Smith’s and says this is not a win for anyone…:
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Hayes faces up to 40 years in prison.

Now that Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy was elected U.S. Senator, he says he’ll work to solve Louisiana’s problems. Jeff Palermo has more…:
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John Kennedy’s victory in the US Senate race gives the GOP a larger majority, 52 republicans to 48 democrats in the upper chamber. ULM political science professor Dr. Joshua Stockley says this is an important win for Republicans, because it gives them a larger cushion to deal with issues as they arise in the Senate…:
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But he feels both parties can agree on things like infrastructure and reducing the national deficit.

But he says one of the close votes will be no doubt be on the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Two recent polls in Louisiana show people here would like to see President-elect Trump come up with a new healthcare plan. Pollster Ed Chervenak says the poll also found men are more interested in the complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act than women:
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The poll conducted by the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center found 66-percent of Louisianians support the repeal of Obamacare.

Cardell Hayes has been found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of former Saints star Will Smith. Former New Orleans running back Deuce McAllister was there when the verdict was read and says this was not a win for anybody…:
cut 4 (07) “really win”
Hayes was also found guilty of attempted manslaughter for shooting Smith’s wife during the April 9th road rage incident in New Orleans.

Now that Republican State Treasurer John Kennedy has been elected as U.S. Senator, he plans to tackle some of Louisiana’s problems in Washington D.C. Kennedy says it’s time for a change and the first thing he will fight for is additional relief for our flood victims..:
Cut 10 (06) “afford it”
Kennedy says he will also fight to bring more jobs to Louisiana.

Two different polls show a majority of Louisiana residents agree with repealing the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Pollster Ed Chervenak says in a telephone survey conducted by the University of New Orleans Survey Research Center, 66-percent of 776 people polled support the idea…:
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A poll by Southern Media and Opinion Research found 56-percent of Louisianans surveyed believe President-elect Trump should repeal Obamacare and replace it with a new healthcare plan.

And also in the end of Louisiana’s long election cycle this year, in addition to Republican John Kennedy winning the US Senate race, two other members of the GOP prevailed. In the two US House runoffs, state Representative Mike Johnson was elected to the 4th District, and in District 3, it was Clay Higgins, aka the Cajun John Wayne.

The Cardell Hayes trial is restarting this morning and many are wondering if he will take the stand in his defense. Hayes is accused of killing former Saints defensive end Will Smith in a road rage incident in April. Hayes’ attorneys are claiming he shot Smith in self defense because he was scared Smith was returning to his vehicle to get a gun. Saints Quarterback Drew Brees is in the courtroom next to Smith’s widow, Racquel, who took the stand yesterday and was shot in he leg that night by Hayes.

President-elect Donald Trump rallied in Baton Rouge to entourage Louisianians to get out and vote for U.S. Senate candidate Republican John Kennedy. The future president told supporters he needs Kennedy in Washington to help accomplish their agenda, including protecting our borders.
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Democrat Foster Campbell spent Friday meeting with reporters in Baton Rouge and then had campaign stops in Alexandria and Lake Charles.

The election cycle in Louisiana finally ends today and voter turnout is expected to be significantly lower than in the November primary. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says early voter turnout was much lower for the runoff than in the general election.
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He predicts turnout will be around 30-percent. The polls are open until 8 p.m.

Audio has been released of a phone conversation between 3rd Congressional District candidate Clay Higgins and his ex-wife, where Higgins suggests winning the election will help him pay child support. Higgins reportedly owes more than $100-thousand in child support to ex-wife Rosemary Rothkamm-Hambrice. UL- Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says Higgins’ personal issues that have been arising throughout the campaign are problems that the public can relate to.
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FEMA has refused Governor John Bel Edwards’ request to lower the state’s share of disaster response cost for the March flooding that affected the central and northern part of Louisiana down to 10-percent. The state is required to pay 10-percent of the response from the August flooding and 25-percent from the March flooding. Officials with the Edwards’ administration believe the floods should be grouped together because of the destruction.

President-elect Donald Trump laid out the agenda for his presidency during a speech in front of supporters in Baton Rouge. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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Voter turnout is expected to be low for today’s election. Secretary of State Tom Schedler urges everyone to get out and vote because there are 156 propositions across 44 parishes up for vote, and the US Senate race will be on the ballot statewide. He says even though many parishes only have one item on the ballot, some precincts still have heated races.

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The polls are open until 8 p.m.
Governor John Bel Edwards wants to develop a tax structure that’s fair, predictable and able to pay for state services as Louisiana is facing another year of budget problems. Earlier in the year the legislature approved 1.5 billion dollars in tax increases to help fill a huge budget gap when Edwards walked into office. But he says that wasn’t enough to stop cuts to government services and the people of Louisiana deserve more…
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