TOPS recipients will be responsible for more than half of their spring tuition, and Governor John Bel Edwards said on his monthly call-in radio show that funding the program was a top priority for him in the last session…:
Cut 13 (07) “not to”
But House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry said the governor is to blame for the TOPS cut because he was more concerned about funding other services, like public-private hospitals.

The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is taking part in a summit in Baton Rouge today on criminal justice reform. LABI President Stephen Waguespack says the goal of the forum is to find ways to reduce Louisiana’s incarceration rate, which is the highest in the world per capita…:
CUT 7 (12) “of crime”

A Minnesota police officer has been charged with second degree manslaughter after shooting Philando Castile. That shooting happened the same week Alton Sterling was killed during a confrontation with two white police officers. Legal analyst Tim Meche says don’t expect the federal investigation into the Sterling case to be resolved anytime soon…:
cut 4 (10) “recused himself”
Back in October, U.S. Attorney Walt Green issued a statement that said the Sterling case is a priority and are taking their time to ensure no stone is left unturned.

Tomorrow, Gov. John Bel Edwards will participate in the Kids’ Chance Awareness Week Luncheon in Baton Rouge.

A New Orleans teacher admitted giving marijuana brownies to students, pleading guilty to two charges of distribution of pot to a student and two counts of obstruction of justice. Camille Breaux Brennan is set to be sentenced January 5th.

The critically injured East Baton Rouge Parish deputy shot in a July ambush has been moved to a state-of-the-art rehab hospital in Texas. Michelle Southern reports…

Cut 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

A New Orleans teacher pleads guilty to giving two students pot brownies. Police say they found out when a student became ill and a family member told the school Camille Brennan had given the student a brownie laced with marijuana. Brennan also confessed to asking the students to lie about it and destroying their written statements.

UNO and Northwestern State say they will cover the TOPS shortfall for students at their universities that have been told they’ll have to pay for 60-percent of their tuition next semester. Northwestern president Jim Henderson says many universities are doing what they can to help TOPS students.

Cut 8 (06) “of students”

Henderson says about 21-hundred students at NSU are on TOPS, which gives them more flexibility for payment options.

There’s been a lot of reaction on social media to the name change of New Orleans Triple-A baseball team. The New Orleans Zephyrs are now the New Orleans Baby Cakes and the team’s general manager Cookie Rojas is happy the new nickname has drawn a ton of interest.

Cut 14 (08) “been fantastic”

Rojas adds the King Cake with the baby inside helped them develop the new name.

Wounded East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Deputy Nick Tullier was transported to a rehab hospital in Texas. Tullier was one of several officers shot during the deadly police ambush in July. He spent nearly four months at Our Lady of the Lake. Chief Operating Officer Terrie Sterling
cut 30 (07) “…has been a journey”
Based on reports from the family, Tullier can move his toes and hands and open one of his eyes.

A state judge rules that the jury in the Cardell Hayes murder trial will be sequestered. Hayes is accused of killing former-Saints player Will Smith after a car accident on April 9th. Legal analyst Chick Foret says there will be a lot of media coverage and the judge wants to prevent any potential bias…:
Cut 9 (11) “the evidence”
The trial is set to begin December 5th.

A 23-year-old Baton Rouge mother has been arrested after her one-year-old daughter was accidentally shot in the face by her two-year-old son. Corporal L’ Jean McKneely says Crystal Kinchen was charged with second degree cruelty to a juvenile for leaving the children alone in the car. He says the infant is still hospitalized…
cut 5 (07) “….the best”
The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State plan to cover the TOPS shortfall for recipients next semester. Emelie Gunn has more…
CUT 1 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Deputy Nick Tullier, who was critically wounded in the attack on Baton Rouge Police, has been transferred to a rehab facility in Houston. Terry Sterling with Our Lady of the Lake says they considered it a privilege to take care of Tullier. She says he is leaving a world-class facility, but he will be in great hands in Houston.

Cut 23 (11) “going forward”

Tullier spent 120 days at Our Lady of the Lake.

The jury that will head Cardell Hayes murder trial will be sequestered, flowing a ruling by an Orleans parish criminal court judge. Legal analyst Chick Foret says juries aren’t often sequestered, but he expects this to be a highly publicized case. He says he’s not surprised by the ruling.

Cut 11 (09) “same ruling”

The trail is set to begin December 5.

The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State say they will cover the 60-percent of tuition TOPS students will be required to pay for next semester. NSU President Jim Henderson says they’ve identified some resources from donors to cover all of TOPS the way students were promised.

Cut 7 (10) “is sacrosanct”
Henderson says many universities are doing what they can to lessen the damage on students.

The Triple-A Minor League baseball team, The New Orleans Zephyrs, are now the Baby Cakes. General Manager Cookie Rojas says they took ideas from fans and focus groups to come up with a new nickname to liven up baseball in the Crescent City. He says the moment he heard the name, he knew this was it.

Cut 12 (10) “of endearment”

He adds the King Cake with the baby inside helped them develop the new name.

An Orleans Parish criminal court judge rules that the jury in the Cardell Hayes murder trial will be sequestered. Hayes is accused of killing Will Smith, a former-Saints defensive line. Legal analyst Chick Foret says this could change the makeup of the jury, because the jurors will have to be people who don’t have anywhere to be.
Cut 10 (08) “the jury”

Judge Camille Buras has ruled the jury will not have any contact with the outside world for the duration of the trial which is set to begin December 5th.

A mother is facing charges after an accidental shooting left an infant in critical condition. Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean McKneey says 23-year-old Crystal Kinchen left her two small kids in the car with a hand gun. He says Kinchen called 911 and drove to the hospital where detectives arrived shortly after.
Cut 4 (07) “investigation”

The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State say they will use other financial resources to cover the 60-percent of tuition TOPS students will be required to pay come January semester. NSU President Jim Henderson says the program promised to pay 100% of a recipients’ tuition and they intend to keep the promise.
Cut 6 (08) “that option”

There are mixed feelings on social media about the name change of the New Orleans Zephyrs to the Baby Cakes. General Manager of the Triple-A minor league baseball team, Cookie Rojas, says the baby inside of the king cake helped them come up with the name and they wanted to keep with the traditional colors of blue and gold but with a little spin.
Cut 13 (08) “to it”

A 23-year-old Baton Rouge mother has been arrested after her one-year-old daughter was accidentally shot in the face by her two-year-old son. B-R-P-D Corporal L’ Jean McKneely says Crystal Kinchen was charged with second degree cruelty to a juvenile for leaving the children alone in the car. He says the infant is still hospitalized…
cut 5 (07) “….the best”
McKneely says the car was parked at a strip mall at the time of the shooting and the children were alone in the vehicle.

UNO and Northwestern State say they will cover the TOPS shortfall for students at their universities that have been told they’ll have to pay for 60-percent of their tuition next semester. Incoming UL System president Jim Henderson says many universities are doing what they can can to help TOPS students…
cut 8 (06) “…of students”
The critically injured East Baton Rouge Parish deputy shot in a July ambush has been moved to a state-of-the-art rehab hospital in Texas. Michelle Southern reports…:
Cut 2 (28) “I’m Michelle Southern”

There’s been a lot of reaction on social media to the name change of New Orleans Triple-A baseball team. The New Orleans Zephyrs are now the New Orleans Baby Cakes and the team’s general manager Cookie Rojas is happy the new nickname has drawn a ton of interest….
cut 14 (08) “…been fantastic”

An Orleans Parish criminal court judge rules that the jury in the Cardell Hayes murder trial will be sequestered. Hayes is accused of killing former-Saints player Will Smith after a car accident on April 9th. Legal analyst Chick Foret says there will be a lot of media coverage of the trial, and the judge wants to prevent any potential bias…:
Cut 9 (11) “the evidence”
The trial is set to begin December 5th.

The critically injured East Baton Rouge Parish deputy shot in a July ambush has been moved to a state-of-the-art rehab hospital in Texas. Deputy Nick Tullier was one of six officers hit during the attack in Baton Rouge on July 17th that claimed the lives of three other cops. Wednesday morning, Tullier received a police escort to the airport in Baton Rouge where he was taken to TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston — one of the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals.

The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State plan to cover the TOPS shortfall for recipients next semester. Emelie Gunn has more…:
CUT 1 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

There has been lots of talk on social media about the name change of the Triple-A Minor League baseball team, The New Orleans Zephyrs to the Baby Cakes. Team General Manager Cookie Rojas says the reaction has been both positive and negative on social media. But he says he wants people to be passionate about minor league baseball…:
cut 14 (08) “been fantastic”

The University of New Orleans and Northwestern State say they will cover the 60-percent of tuition TOPS students will be required to pay for next semester. NSU President Jim Henderson says they’ve identified some resources from donors to cover all of TOPS the way students were promised:
CUT 7 (10) “is sacrosanct”
Henderson, who will become the U-L System President in January, says many universities are doing what they can to lessen the damage on students.

Officials with Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge say Deputy Nick Tullier has been discharged and is now at TIRR Memorial Hermann in Houston — one of the nation’s leading rehabilitation hospitals. Tullier was critically injured in the July ambush on officers that claimed the lives of three other cops. His family says TIRR is the next phase of his recovery.

Some lawmakers don’t agree with the Office of Motor Vehicles new policy of “no cash” as a form of payment. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 3 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Most of the reaction on social media to the new nickname of the Triple-A Minor League baseball team in New Orleans has been negative. They are now called the Baby Cakes instead of the Zephyrs.

An infant is in critical condition and a mother is facing charges following an accidental shooting in a vehicle. Baton Rouge Police Cpl. L’Jean McKneely says 23-year-old Crystal Kinchen of Baton Rouge left two small children unattended in a parked car.

Cut 3 (12) “the face”

McKneely says the mother has been charged with second degree cruelty to a juvenile.

For the first time ever, TOPS recipients are preparing to pay almost 60-percent of their spring tuition, which raises questions about the future of the program. House Appropriations Chairman Cameron Henry says TOPS needs to be a bigger priority in the next session, because last time there was a push to fund public-private hospitals.

Cut 8 (08) “11-percent”

Governor John Bel Edwards is expected to discuss TOPS on his call in radio show today at 2pm.

Some lawmakers are fuming over the Office of Motor Vehicles’ decision to no longer accept cash payments. OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain says not accepting cash saves the OMV 500-thousand dollars because it costs money to handle and securely transport the cash.

Cut 15 (08) “that cash”

Some state legislatures have requested that the Governor’s Office reverse the change because not everyone carries cash.

CSRA has just opened a new facility in Bossier City, which means more jobs coming to northwest Louisiana. LED Secretary Don Pierson says CSRA may not the household name like IBM, but it’s still a major IT company.

Cut 10 (10) “homeland security”

Pierson hopes the new integrated technology center will attract more IT giants to Louisiana.

TOPS recipients are preparing to pay nearly 60-percent of their tuition for the spring semester, and state leaders say they are committed to making sure that doesn’t happen again next year. Jeff Palermo has more…
CUT 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

TOPS is expected to be a topic on the governor’s monthly call-in show. The governor will take your calls on many of these same stations at 2 PM. Joining him in the studio will be the first lady, Donna Edwards.

Before the show, there’s a court hearing regarding the L-G-B-T executive order dispute between the governor and Attorney General Jeff Landry.

Some state lawmakers are upset the Office of Motor Vehicle is no longer accepting cash as a form of payment. OMV Commissioner Karen St. Germain says accepting cash has become a burden for OMV workers, because they are on the hook if they come up short. Jonesboro Senator Jim Fannin says this is not a valid reason for why the change was made…
cut 14 (11) “…the cash”

The I-T service company called C-S-R-A has moved into its new 96-hundred square foot facility at the National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson hopes this new high tech center will attract more cyber companies to Louisiana…
cut 12 (11) “….also security”
C-S-R-A already employs 400 individuals, but plan to increase its workforce to 800 by June 2018.