President Trump says there will be no military retaliation in response to an Iranian rocket attack on US bases in Iraq. Matt Doyle has local reaction.
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After eight years as the state’s top education leader, John White informs the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that he’s stepping down in March. Jeff Palermo has the story…
cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”
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KingCakeSnob.com launches the fifth annual “Seal of Approval” ranking competition. Spokesperson Andrew Alexander says the biggest criteria when rating king cakes is presentation, flavor, freshness, and uniqueness.
Cut 3 (06) “… rise to the top.”
The 2019 competition featured 633 different king cakes from more than 160 bakeries. Alexander says there isn’t necessarily a pattern that is followed when it comes to the voters’ rankings of king cake.
Cut 4 (10) “…the winners circle.”
Last year’s competition saw nearly 3,500 king cake reviews on the website. Alexander says the competition is an excuse to put the New Year’s health resolutions on hold.
Voting runs through February 18th. Last year, Manny Randazzo won the top overall “Traditional” King Cake, while Caluda’s repeated as best “Filled” King Cake.
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President Trump says the US will not retaliate militarily against Iran for last night’s rocket attack targeting two US bases in Iraq. Congressman Garret Graves sees a de-escalation of tensions in the region that hit a boiling point after the US killing of a top Iranian Commander
The President says the missile attack will result in new sanctions on Iran.
Graves says it likely is not a coincidence that the barrage did not kill a single person. He says Iran likely calibrated the attack so as to not provoke a response from the US.
Iranian officials have stated that if the US does not retaliate, they will not escalate further, but Graves says that doesn’t mean the region will become much calmer.
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Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game is expected to be a financial winner for southeast Louisiana. Chief Marketing Officer for New Orleans & Company Mark Romig says thousands of visitors are expected…
LSU fans are expected to be the most prominent fan base in town, and Romig says they’ll show off why they are the best fans in the world.
Cut 10 (10) “…friends with them.”
Romig says those that are still looking for overnight accommodations in the Big Easy may be in luck in finding a place to stay.
Cut 11 (08) “…national championship brings.”
Romig expects the economic impact from the national championship game to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Louisiana Economic Development reports there was eight billion dollars in new capital investment in 2019 resulting in 12-thousand new jobs. L-E-D Secretary Don Pierson says they have been working to diversify the state’s economy with these new projects
Pierson says since the start of the Edwards administration, Louisiana has attracted more than 210 project wins…
Pierson says the big economic wins in 2019 include a new deal to keep CenturyLink’s headquarters in Monroe through 2025, a helicopter assembly plant locating in Lafayette and in St. Tammany Parish, Medline announced it will build an 800-thousand square foot distribution center