LRN AM Newscall December 29

Hundreds of National Guard troops are set to deploy to cities throughout Louisiana. Jeff Palermo reports.

Cut 1 (34) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Researchers at Tulane University are taking the lead on a vaccine to combat a little-known, potentially deadly bacterium. Jeanne Burns reports.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”

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LSU football’s 2025 season has mercifully come to an end with a loss in the Texas Bowl. Andrew Greenstein is at NRG Stadium in Houston.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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I hope you enjoyed the warm weather during the Christmas holiday, because you’ll be in for a rude awakening this week. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says the cold weather that we normally associate with Christmas is here now.

Cut 4 (09) “…Gulf Coast today.”

Winter in Louisiana is typically a three-month-long rollercoaster ride, with massive temperature swings, and so far this winter is no exception. Keim says the latest drop starts today.

Cut 5 (07) “…along the coast.”

Keim says you’ll really be in for a rude awakening as you leave your house to go to work tomorrow and Wednesday – assuming that you’re indeed going to work and are not taking the week off.

Cut 6 (08) “…I-10/I-12 corridor.”

Temperatures should return to the 70s this weekend, give or take depending on where in the state you are.

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As Louisiana gets set to ring in the new year, President Trump is deploying hundreds of National Guard troops to the state. Trump is acting on a request from Governor Landry, who talked about it on “The Will Cain Show” on the Fox News Channel.

Cut 7 (05) “…elsewhere around Louisiana.”

Landry said about 350 of those troops will be deployed to New Orleans, and they will stay beyond New Year’s and through Mardi Gras.

Cut 8 (07) “…we desperately need”

Whereas she had previously said that the deployment of the National Guard was a scare tactic meant to score political points, New Orleans Mayor-elect Helena Morena now says she appreciates the support by federal partners, having been assured that it’s designed strictly to increase public safety and comes at no cost to the city. Landry says the state is always ready to help President Trump with national security.

Cut 9 (09)  “…so much better.”

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Researchers at Tulane have taken the lead in developing a vaccine to protect against a little-known, yet potentially deadly tropical disease. Dr. Lisa Morici with the Tulane University School of Medicine says after ten years of development, she and her team have taken their meliodosis vaccine from discovery through pre-clinical testing to GMP manufacturing of drug substance.

Cut 10 (08) “…perhaps in Europe.”

Dr. Morici says while it is little-known, meliodosis could have an impact locally.

Cut 11 (06) “…U.S. Gulf Coast.”

Meliodosis is sometimes known as the great mimicker, since it can look like a lot of different illnesses. Morici says it can infect any part of the body, especially the lungs and the blood stream – and the effects could be dire.

Cut 12 (11) “…high fatality rate.”

Morici and her team’s findings are published in the journal “Nature Communications.”

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The Saints fell behind 13-0, but rallied to take the lead in the fourth quarter and went on to beat Tennessee 34-26 for their fourth win in a row. Coach Kellen Moore has orchestrated the team’s longest winning streak in five years, but Moore gives credit to the players…

Cut 13 (09)  “…really special.”

Sunday was a special victory for New Orleans, which improved to 6- 10. Defensive end Chase Young started the rally in the second quarter by stripping the ball away from Titans quarterback Cam Ward and returning the fumble 33 yards for a T-D. Young is playing at a high level, and so are the Saints…

Cut 14 (14) “…keep fighting.”

For the second straight week, rookie quarterback Tyler Shough threw for more than 300 yards as he threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns versus the Titans. Shough says the team was not down despite trailing by ten-points at half…

Cut 15 (13) “…great team win.”

The Saints conclude the regular season by visiting Atlanta and looking to finish with a 7-10 record.

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The 2025 LSU Tigers football season has mercifully come to an end. The Tigers ended what was for all intents and purposes a disappointing season with a 38-35 loss to the Houston Cougars in the Texas Bowl in Houston. What started with dreams of the College Football Playoff ended with a record of 7-and-6. Interim head coach Frank Wilson said he really wanted the win for his team, who had to deal with a lot this season.

Cut 16 (12) “…was love LSU.”

Early on, it looked very good for LSU, jumping out to a 14-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, including a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the game. But in front of a crowd of almost 64-thousand, most of whom were rooting for the locals, the Cougars came back to take a 21-14 lead at halftime. The score was tied at 28 midway through the 4th when Houston kicked a field goal, then scored a touchdown with less than two and a half minutes left to send most of the LSU crowd to the exits. LSU scored a late touchdown but could not recover the onside kick.

Michael Van Buren completed 16 out of 26 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns. He says he feels that he could lead the team going forward after being thrust into the starting role earlier than anyone had anticipated with the injury to Garrett Nussmeier.

Cut 17 (09)  “…see what happens.”

After the game, Wilson, who now leaves to become the running backs coach at Ole Miss, had a message for his team.

Cut 18 (09)  “…of the game.” 

LSU’s loss drops Louisiana teams to 0-and-3 in bowl games. Louisiana Tech is the Bayou State’s last hope on Tuesday in the Independence Bowl against Coastal Carolina.