Visitation is today for the Lafayette Police officer killed while responding to an incident at a convenience store. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Emergency preparedness planners are gearing up for a possible hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. Michael Farrar has the story…
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An LSU researcher finds that a fish which can be found along the coast from Texas to Maine has reduced in size because of the rise of ocean temperatures. Emelie Gunn has more…
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Visitation is today at Our Savior’s Church for fallen Lafayette Police Officer Cpl. Michael Middlebrook who was killed during an exchange of gunfire at a convenience store last weekend. Police Chief Toby Aguillard says Middlebrook was born in Thibodeaux and had a stellar nine year career with Lafayette PD.
Middlebrook was allegedly shot by 28-year-old Ian Howard who is in jail without bond and charged with first degree murder. Aguillard says Governor John Bel Edwards presented Middlebrook with the Heart of Law Enforcement award for his charity on and off duty.
Middlebrook leaves behind a wife, a three year old child and two step daughters. Aguillard says Middlebrook cared about this community and he is an enormous loss to the department and leaves a void behind in Lafayette. He says when officers arrived on the scene when Middlebrook was shot, they kneeled in respect then took off in pursuit of the man who shot their brother.
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20 people have been arrested after an investigation into drug trafficking in Winn Parish. 11 of those individuals face federal charges and 10 will be brought up on state charges. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District Alexander Van Hook says the defendants facing federal charges are involved in a plan to distribute large amounts of methamphetamines in and around Winnfield.
They can also face fines up to 10 million dollars. Van Hook says the investigation began back in April of 2016. He says the one individual not yet arrested is Cristina Santos, who is thought to be the ringleader and authorities believe she is in the Los Angeles area and those facing federal charges have been indicted on 13 counts.
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Winn Parish Sheriff Cranford Jordan says these arrests came through the partnership of the FBI, State Police, Sheriff’s Department and the Department of Justice. He says the investigation began as a result of a lot of crime in the Winnfield area.
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Tropical Depression number 16 is along the Nicaragua coast, but it’s expected to keep heading north and be a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend. National Hurricane Specialist Robbie Berg says a landfall along the Gulf Coast is likely on Sunday….
Berg says there is a complex steering pattern that will guide the system towards the United States…
Berg says the developing storm will interact with land as it crawls along the Nicaraguan and Honduras coast, plus it may go over Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula…
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New research suggests an economically important fish is shrinking due to the rising temperatures of the ocean. LSU Boyd Professor Eugene Turner says the Menhaden (man-hayden), a small silver fish, make up half of the US commercial fish harvest by weight, and they have reduced in size by about 15 percent over the past 65 years. He says there is less oxygen in warmer water…:
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Turner says this trend is occurring with other sea life too, and the data shows a decline in annual eight and length among 3,4 and 5 year old fish…:
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Turner says Menhaden had a dockside value of about $129 million dollars in 2013, and that dollar amount will continue to go down the smaller the fish get. He says they don’t see the trend changing if the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans continue to warm…:
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After Saturday’s disappointing loss to Troy, LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron said a meeting occurred involving himself, athletic director Joe Alleva and the two coordinators. Oregeron says he and Alleva meet weekly and he thought it was good to bring in Dave Aranda and Matt Canada too…
The other news from the SEC coaches teleconference is that Jacoby Stevens is back on defense. Stevens was the nation’s top safety prospect for the Class of 2017 coming out of Tennessee, but the coaching staff decided to use him at wide receiver. This week, Stevens has been working the defensive backs and Orgeron says that’s where he’ll stay
ULM is a 6-point favorite heading into Saturday’s road game at Texas State. The Warhawks have won two in a row, while the Bobcats have lost four straight. Coach Matt Viator is not expecting an easy win in San Marcos
Louisiana Tech is at UAB on Saturday. Bulldogs Quarterback J’Mar Smith goes in as the one of the highest ranked QBS in Conference USA as he’s averaging 264 yards a game. Head Coach Skip Holtz likes how Smith is spreading the ball around to his receivers…
Holtz says he’s impressed with Blazers quarterback A-J Erdely who has five rushing touchdowns to go along with six passing touchdowns and just one interception…