Highway officials announce I-10 at the Louisiana-Texas state line will remain closed through Monday because of flood waters. The official detour is I-20. State Police Sergeant James Anderson advises against using LA 27 and LA 82 in Cameron Parish, because those routes are extremely congested.

A new LSU study finds that nearly two thirds of Louisiana residents think the state is heading in the wrong direction. That’s the most on record since the Louisiana Survey began tracking opinions in 2003.

There are many high schools displeased with the direction the LHSAA is heading, because of the public-private split in the postseason. Former Bobby Jindal staffer, Paul Rainwater, has sent out a letter to schools seeking their interest in starting another organization and holding their championship events at LSU….
cut 11 (07) “…out costs’
Rainwater says they need at least 60 schools to commit.

A north Louisiana lawmaker introduces the Pastor Protection Act which will be debated during the regular legislative session. Emelie Gunn has more…
voicer 2 (31) “…I’m Emelie Gunn”

Another bill worth watching in this session is a measure by New Orleans Senator Wesley Bishop which requires public schools to develop a plan to help students who are expecting or parenting a child in high school. Bishop says this legislation also seeks to reach out to males, who become fathers at an early age…
cut 6 (05) “…this particular challenge”

The one cent sales tax increase will go into effect April 1st as the bill has officially been signed by the governor. Experts say you might want to purchase big ticket items before then, but for the most part consumers probably won’t even notice the small increase. Gina Rachel, Treasurer for the Society of Louisiana CPAs,
says businesses will likely see the biggest impact…:
CUT 15 (09) “of time”

A New Orleans lawmaker files legislation that seeks to develop a plan to help out students who get pregnant or who parent children while they’re still in school. Senator Wesley Bishop says the ultimate goal is to keep these students from dropping out of school because of the demands of pregnancy and parenting:
CUT 5 (07) “to school”
He says the number one cause of females dropping out of high school is pregnancy.

The Texas Department of Transportation says they expect the closure of I-10 at the state line to remain closed in both directions until 6pm on Monday. The Sabine River has covered the road almost completely in some places. Governor John Bel Edwards will meet with the administrator of FEMA this morning to discuss flooding in Louisiana. Following the meeting, they will both hold a briefing to provide updates to the public.

Some schools in the LHSAA aren’t happy with certain mandates within the organization so they want to form their own called the Louisiana High School Sports Cooperative, or LHSSC. Paul Rainwater would be the Executive Director and he says it will take 60 schools’ commitments to form a new group, which would be open to both public and private schools. He says there is only an initial fee..:
Cut 10 (09) “annual basis”
Rainwater says the LHSSC could be in place for the 2016-2017 school year, if things go smoothly.

Consumers will soon be paying an extra penny of sales tax as the revenue raising bill was signed into law by Governor John Bel Edwards Thursday. But Treasurer for the Society of Louisiana CPAs Gina Rachel says this won’t make much of a dent in your day-to-day shopping bill…:
Cut 14 (06) “additional penny”
Medicine, gas and food for your home are excluded from the “clean” penny which begins April 1st.

A Bossier City lawmaker files a bill that wouldn’t require church leaders to take part in same sex weddings if it goes against their beliefs. Representative Mike Johnson says this legislation is needed to ensure protection from the government…:
Cut 8 (08) “belief”
He says this is aimed to prevent courts and public officials from trampling on the first amendment right of freedom of religion, like they’re seeing around the country.

New Orleans Senator Wesley Bishop is co-sponsoring a bill that would create a plan to better assist pregnant high school students. Halen Doughty has more..:
CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

The swelling Red River is now causing problems in Avoyelles Parish in Central Louisiana as some residents are seeing several inches of water creeping up to their homes with more on the way. Grant Parish officials also report that they are facing the worst disaster ever. The historic crest is also flooding Rapides. The Red is set to top out Sunday at 40.5 feet.

The governor has signed into law a bill that raises the state sales tax by a penny beginning April 1. Treasurer for the Society of Louisiana CPAs, Gina Rachel, says people who are planning to buy something big, you should do it before the higher tax takes effect…:
Cut 13 (08) “few dollars”
She says, for the most part, you probably won’t even notice the increase when making day-to-day purchases. Medicine, gas and food for your home are excluded from the “clean” penny.

New Orleans Senator Wesley Bishop has filed a bill that will develop a plan to better support students who are expecting or parenting a child while in high school. He says it would establish the Louisiana Expectant and Parenting Students Act…:
cut 4 (11) “to graduate”
SB353 will be heard in the Senate Education Committee.

A north Louisiana lawmaker introduces the Pastor Protection Act which will be debated during the regular legislative session. Emelie Gunn has more…:
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

Schools in the LHSAA are not satisfied with the current state of affairs in Louisiana, so Paul Rainwater and others are proposing a new option, the Louisiana High School Sports Cooperative. Rainwater says it will take 60 schools’ commitments to form a new organization, and they have extended the offer to schools throughout the state. Rainwater says, at the end of the day, it’s all for the kids…:
cut 12 (04) “all about”

The only school in Louisiana to make it to the NCAA tournament is coming back home. Southern University had one of their worst shooting games in the 59-55 loss to Holy Cross Thursday evening. Southern finished the season with a 22-13 record.

UL-Lafayette is still alive as the Cajuns hit 11 of their final 18 shots from 3-point range, pick up a 96-72 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association named LSU’s Ben Simmons its USBWA’s freshman of the year.

The New Orleans Saints announce they’ve re-signed backup quarterback Luke McCown to a two-year contract and free agent linebacker Nate Stupar to three years. In 2015, McCown played in 8 games with one start and completed 32-39 passes. Stupar played for the Falcons last season.

In the NBA, the Pelicans snapped a four game losing streak as New Orleans got the win over the Sacramento Kings 123-108.

Schools in the LHSAA are not satisfied with the current state of affairs in Louisiana, so Paul Rainwater and others are proposing a new option, the Louisiana High School Sports Cooperative, or LHSSC. Rainwater says it will take 60 schools’ commitments to form a new organization, which would be open to both public and private schools. He says this group would only have an initial fee:
Cut 10 (09) “annual basis”
Rainwater would be the Executive Director.

The LSU baseball team had an easy time at the Box last night against UNO, picking up a 9-4 win. The Tigers improve to 13-3 on the year and begin conference play on Friday against Alabama.

In Thibodaux, Nicholls State put forth tough effort over Southern as a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth lifted the Colonels to a 9-8 win over the Jags.

Grambling fell to Arkansas 3-2. UL-Lafayette trounced Northwestern State 10-1. ULM got a 12-4 win over McNeese State. Louisiana Tech beat Alcorn State 15-4.

The bill to raise the state’s sales tax by a penny has been signed into law by the governor, and it will take effect April 1. Jeff Palermo has more…
CUT 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

Governor John Bel Edwards will meet with the administrator of FEMA today to discuss recent severe weather and flooding in Louisiana. Following the meeting, they will both hold a briefing to provide updates to the public.

Interstate 10 at the Texas state line remains closed in both directions, according to State Police.

A religious organization or clergy member could refuse to participate in a same sex marriage under a bill being discussed in the current legislative session.
Author of the Pastor Protection Act, Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson, says the measure simply protects an individual’s religious belief…:
CUT 7 (11) “conscience”
Johnson expects this legislation to get a hearing within the next few weeks.

A teen from St. Martin Parish is facing multiple charges for allegedly bringing a gun onto a school campus then posting a picture of it to Snapchat. Deputies say 19-year-old Jacob Syon, who was not a student, entered St. Martinville High and took a picture for social media of him with the weapon on his waistband.

President Barack Obama nominated a new Supreme Court justice, Merrick Garland, but not all agree with this decision. Emelie Gunn has more…

CUT 1 (26)  “I’m Emelie Gunn”

The National Weather Service is concerned about potential flooding along two major rivers in the northern half of the state. Hydrologist C.S. Ross says all the rain that fell in northwest and northeast Louisiana is making its way down south.

CUT 3 (07)  “Ouachita River”

Ross says last week’s rain event produced almost 27 inches of rain near Monroe.

The Revenue Estimating Conference met today to get the exact figures on budget deficit for this and next fiscal year. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says Louisiana is now looking at about a $70 million dollar hole for this fiscal year that will have to be filled, which he says is higher than they first thought …:

cut 12 (09) “this shortfall”

Dardenne says there was slightly better news for the next fiscal year that begins July 1.

LSU President F. King Alexander tells the House Education Committee budget cuts are impacting enrollment, faculty and research. Alexander says the university has been receiving more money from the federal government than they have from the state. He says research funding originally for LSU is now going to universities in other states because we don’t invest in higher education.

CUT 6 (05) “institutions”

Higher education is facing a 27 million dollar cut in state funding this fiscal year but that number is expected to grow once a new round of cuts are announced.

The Revenue Estimating Conference is out with its projections for Louisiana’s budget deficits. Michelle Southern has the story…
voicer 2 (29) “…I’m Michelle Southern”

State lawmakers learned today the budget deficit for this fiscal year is nearly 70-million dollars, which is twice as high as what lawmakers hoped for when they approved hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes during the special session. That means more cuts to higher education and health care.

LSU System President F King Alexander was testifying in the House Education Committee when this news came down and says this is not good news for their students and the hospitals they help operate. Alexander says there was huge demand for their new medical center in New Orleans, but that’s not the case anymore with the talk of budget cuts…
cut 8 (08) “…medical field”
The budget deficit for next fiscal year now stands at 750-million dollars. The House is expected to begin hearings on next year’s budget next week.

Republican US Senator David Vitter doesn’t anticipate a hearing on President Barack Obama’s nominee for the US Supreme Court, Merrick Garland. Vitter is a member of the committee that would hold a hearing on Garland’s appointment, but he won’t go if there is a meeting…
cut 16 (08) “…a hearing”
Vitter believes the next President should choose the next Supreme Court justice.

Flooding in Livingston and Tangipahoa parishes will impact the strawberry crop this year. Whitney Wallace, with the LSU Ag Center, says we won’t know how much the berries were damaged until farmers go to harvest…:
CUT 9 (05) “production loss”
Wallace says the losses will vary from one field to another, based on the berries and how much rain fell. Some areas received over a foot of rain last week and a few strawberry fields were completely covered in water.

The Revenue Estimating Conference has pegged Louisiana’s budget shortfall at 70-million dollars, despite 300 million dollars in taxes being approved by lawmakers in the special session. Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne says that means painful cuts will be needed in the areas of higher education and health care, but the shortfall for next year is not as bad as previously predicted….
cut 13 (10) “…good news”
Lawmakers are expected to begin holding hearings on next fiscal year’s budget next week.

Interstate 10 at the Louisiana-Texas line remains closed as a result of flood waters from the Sabine River, which is covering the interstate on the Texas side. Louisiana State Troopers are encouraging residents to use either I-20 or US 190 as alternative routes to get into the Lone Star state.

Flooding is having an impact on the state’s strawberry crop. Areas in Livingston and Tangiaphoa Parish received over a foot of rain last week. But LSU AgCenter’s Whitney Wallace says the crop is NOT a total loss…
cut 11 (11) “….local farmers”
Some strawberry farmers say they’ve never had a whole field go under water until this year.

President Barack Obama nominated a new Supreme Court justice, Merrick Garland, but not all agree with this decision. Emelie Gunn has more…
voicer 1 (31) “…reporting”