Hurricane Beryl is a Category 4 storm as it moves into the Caribbean. Beryl is the first hurricane in what is expected to be a very busy season. LSU climatologist Barry Keim says this early start is due to factors such as abnormally warm sea surface temperatures.

Cut 3 (07) “…August.”

Whether Beryl threatens Louisiana or not, Keim encourages residents to start hurricane prepping if they haven’t already.

Among the new laws that go into effect today is one the Louisiana Department of Insurance says establishes a simple, clear timeline for when a claim should be paid. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the measure also gives insurance companies an additional 30 days to pay a claim following a natural disaster…

Cut 14 (12)  “…30 days.”
Talbot says this legislation seeks to reduce unnecessary litigation.

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause because of a new law approved by Louisiana lawmakers. New Orleans Democratic Representative Aimee Freeman says insurers opposed this new law…

Cut 5 (10) “…along the way.”
Freeman says there’s been more research on how to treat menopausal side effects and women deserve to have that coverage.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says one of the challenges of increasing their membership to 16 schools is football scheduling…

Cut 11 (12) “…finalized.”

Several new laws go into effect today and the Fair Claims Processing bill is one of them. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the new law establishes a simple, clear timeline for the claims process that makes it easier for policyholders and property insurers to understand when a claim should be paid.

Cut 13 (12)  “…clock starts.”
The law gives insurance companies 30 days for residential and 60 days for commercial.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says the NCAA’s best conference just got better…

Cut 12 (10) “…coming in.” 

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause. New Orleans Democrat Representative Aimee Freeman says she received bipartisan support. In committee, it was recommended that the requirement for private insurers be removed but when it reached the House floor, Republican Representative Peter Egan added it back in.

Cut 6 (12) “…Republican colleagues.”

A new survey from WalletHub shows Louisiana residents rank the worst in managing their debt and credit score. WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe (happy) says this is likely because Louisianians have high debt overall and may be unable to make payments…

Cut 7 (09) “…recently.”

The ranking for was the first quarter of the year.

Several state laws go into effect today including Senate Bill 323 which was a key tort reform measure approved in the regular session to help bring more private insurance companies to Louisiana…
cut 15 (11) “…policy”
That’s Senate Insurance Chairman Kirk Talbot who says Senate Bill 323 streamlines bad faith statues, clarifies the claims process and details the duties of good faith.

The personal finance website Wallethub says Louisiana residents are the least diligent with credit in the United States. Analyst Cassandra Happe says most of the responsibility to fix poor credit diligence falls on those who actually have it…
cut 9 (12) “….credit report”

The SEC officially welcomes Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference today, making it a 16 school league….
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

Today is the first day on the job as president of McNeese State for Doctor Wade Rousse. Rousse has served McNeese in various roles since 2019.

The LSU Board of Supervisors has given president Doctor William Tate a 25-thousand dollar raise and a three-year contract extension. The board can terminate Tate’s contract early, if they are not happy with his performance.

Several new laws go into effect today including one the Louisiana Department of Insurance says establishes a simple, clear timeline for when a claim should be paid. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the measure also gives insurance companies an additional 30 days to pay a claim following a natural disaster…
cut 14 (12) “….30 days’
Talbot says this legislation seeks to reduce unnecessary litigation.

The personal finance website Wallethub has found Louisiana residents are least diligent with their credit. Wallethub’s Cassandra Happe says there is a large percentage of Louisiana adults who have collection agencies going after them for money that is past due…
cut 8 (09) “…payment”

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause in Louisiana. New Orleans Democratic Representative Aimee Freeman says physicians asked her to author the bill because even though many of the medications they prescribe are generic they were often rejected by Medicaid.
Cut 4 (12) “…as needed.”
Medications to treat symptoms like hot flashes, bone loss, and night sweats will be covered, and patients won’t have to wait for prior approval from their insurer.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says one of the challenges of increasing their membership to 16 schools is football scheduling…
cut 11 (12) “…finalized”

Several new laws go into effect today and the Fair Claims Processing bill is one of them. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says says the new law establishes a simple, clear timeline for the claims process that makes it easier for policyholders and property insurers to understand when a claim should be paid.
Cut 13 (12) “…clock starts.”
The law gives insurance companies 30 days for residential and 60 days for commercial from when the “proof of loss” statement was submitted to pay the claims, there’s a 30-day extension if the damage occurred from a storm that resulted in a state of emergency.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says the NCAA’s best conference just got better…
cut 12 (12) “…coming in”

Beginning next month treatments for menopause and perimenopause will be covered by insurance in Louisiana. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Richard Fontenot has been elected as the Louisiana Farm Bureau’s new president. He’s a fourth-generation rice, soybean and crawfish farmer in Evangeline Parish. Fontenot succeeds Jim Harper of Cheneyville. Fontenot has been a leader in the rice industry. He’s a past chairman of the Louisiana Rice Research Board.

It’s July first and there are two named storms. Beryl is a Category Three hurricane as it moves into the Caribbean. Beryl is expected to hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula by the end of the week and end up as a tropical storm in the southern Gulf of Mexico. There’s also Tropical Storm Chris which is producing heavy rainfall and flooding over portions of Eastern Mexico.

Several new laws go into effect today and the Fair Claims Processing bill is one of them. Colleen Crain has more.
Cut 3 (31) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause as a result of a new law approved by Louisiana lawmakers. New Orleans Democratic Representative Aimee Freeman says insurers opposed this new law…
cut 5 (10) “…along the way”
Freeman says there’s been more research on how to treat menopausal side effects and women deserve to have that coverage.

Today Southeastern Conference officially welcomes Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC making it a 16 league team. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says Texas and O-U officially accepted invitations into the SEC in July of 2021, so the league has had plenty of time to prepare…
Cut 10 (08) “…teams.”

No more divisional play in football and baseball.

People across the country are still talking about Thursday night’s presidential debate campaign, and Americans with a wide array of feelings about the two likely presidential nominees. Tulane Associate Professor of Political Science Brian Brox says former President Trump delivered about what was expected from him…as for President Biden.

Cut 4 (11) “…campaign.”

New Orleans Democrat Representative Mandie Landry posted her thoughts about the presidential debate on social media. She says said even though she couldn’t watch it on TV and get the full impact she did watch it on her cellphone.

Cut 9 (12) “…just unfortunate.”

The next presidential debate will be in September.
————–

To safeguard the public and the state’s seafood industry, Congressman Troy Carter has introduced a foreign seafood bill with Congressman Clay Higgins. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (27)  “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

Hometown hero Alyson Habetz was introduced today as U-L Lafayette’s new head softball coach. Habetz had a Hall of Fame playing career as a Cajuns softball player and after a 25-year run as an assistant coach at Alabama, she’s back home at her alma mater

Cut 12 (11) “… wow.” 

The first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign season was last night, leaving Americans with a wide array of feelings about the two likely presidential nominees. Tulane Associate Professor of Political Science Brian Brox says former President Trump delivered about what was expected from him…

Cut 3 (09) “…rallies.”

New Orleans Democrat Representative Mandie Landry posted her thoughts about the presidential debate on social media. She says said Trump clearly came out on top in the debate, but says she wasn’t surprised either. As for talks about the Democratic Party possibly choosing a nominee other than Biden, Landry says she still believes the current administration is the better option.

Cut 11 (10) ” …post-COVID world.”

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Louisiana Congressmen Troy Carter and Clay Higgins have joined forces, introducing bipartisan legislation designed to protect Americans from contaminated seafood and protect domestic seafood producers.  The legislation empowers the  the FDA to close the loophole and destroy imports that don’t meet inspection standards.  Congressman Carter says this bipartisan bill demonstrates while he and Higgins might not agree philosophically on everything…

Cut 8 (10)  “…get things done.”

Speaking of getting things done, UL Lafayette’s new head coach says she’s ready to win.  Former U-L softball star Alyson Habets was introduced as the new head coach yesterday.  She led the Cajuns to the Women’s College World Series in 1993, but the team hasn’t been back to the tournament since 2014.  Habitz says she wants to get back there, and would like the team to stay together to make it happen.

Cut  14 (12) “..stay together.” 

People across the country are still talking about Thursday’s presidential debate. Mel Bridges has the details from Tulane Associate Professor of Political Science Brian Brox.

Cut 1 (31) …I’m Mel Bridges.”

Congressmen Troy Carter and Clay Higgins have introduced bipartisan legislation to protect Americans from contaminated seafood. He says He says the bill protects consumers and Louisiana Seafood farmers who are following the safety guidelines.

Cut 7 (08) “… the right thing.”  

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A secret indictment handed up by a Caddo Parish grand jury Thursday accuses a Shreveport man of manslaughter in the shooting death of a 12 year old in May. 32 year old Kelvin Boles was arrested by Shreveport police Friday. Boles is accused in the deadly shooting of Jaylen Coleman who was reportedly breaking into Boles’ car outside his home in the 8900 block of Hawthorne Drive on May 11.

A former U-L Lafayette softball hero is headed back home to lead the Cajuns as head coach. That announcement came yesterday. Alyson Habetz helped lead the Cajuns to the Women’s College World Series in 1993 and won a national championship in 2012 as Alabama’s associate head coach. She takes over a program that’s dominated the Sun Belt Conference but has not been to the W-C-W-S since 2014…

cut  13 (11) “…(applause).” 

People across the country are still talking about Thursday night’s presidential debate campaign, and Americans with a wide array of feelings about the two likely presidential nominees. Tulane Associate Professor of Political Science Brian Brox says former President Trump delivered about what was expected from him…as for President Biden.

Cut 4 (11) “…campaign.”

New Orleans Democrat Representative Mandie Landry posted her thoughts about the presidential debate on social media. She says said even though she couldn’t watch it on TV and get the full impact she did watch it on her cellphone.

Cut 9 (12) “…just unfortunate.”

The next presidential debate will be in September.
————————————————–
To safeguard the public and the state’s seafood industry, Congressman Troy Carter has introduced a foreign seafood bill with Congressman Clay Higgins. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (27)  “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 
Hometown hero Alyson Habetz was introduced today as U-L Lafayette’s new head softball coach. Habetz had a Hall of Fame playing career as a Cajuns softball player and after a 25-year run as an assistant coach at Alabama, she’s back home at her alma mater

Cut 12 (11) “… wow.”