Almost two weeks after Bill Cassidy challenged Julia Letlow to three debates, she has yet to commit to any one of them. Joe Gallinaro reports.
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State Senators are demanding changes from the Department of Children and Family Services to prevent child abuse deaths. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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If you lie about serving in the military, you could end up behind bars. A bill making what’s known as stolen valor a crime in Louisiana cleared the Senate unanimously and now moves to the House. It’s sponsored by Caleb Kleinpeter of Port Allen and backed by Louisiana V-A Secretary Charlton Meginley, who told the Senate Judiciary C Committee that stolen valor is not a victimless crime.
While stolen valor is a federal offense, there is currently no stolen valor law in Louisiana. And Meginley says bringing a federal complaint against someone misrepresenting military service can be a waste of time.
Meginley says this is a way of protecting the integrity of the military service of Louisiana’s veterans, including himself.
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Depending on the severity, penalties range from small fines to five years in prison.
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Almost two weeks ago, Bill Cassidy challenged Julia Letlow to three debates ahead of the May 16th primary. So far, Letlow hasn’t committed to any one of them, only saying she cannot make the middle one in Baton Rouge due to her commitments in the House of Representatives. LSU Political Science Professor Robert Hogan says with Letlow being the endorsed candidate of President Trump, what she’s doing is not uncommon.
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Letlow, Cassidy and John Fleming have all put out polls that show them leading a three-candidate race. Hogan says overall, Fleming’s poll numbers are the weakest among the three, which may explain why he said he would debate Cassidy anytime, anywhere.
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Hogan says if the debates end up being a heads-up battle between Cassidy and Fleming, there’s one way that Letlow’s absence could hurt her.
That said, Hogan says since Letlow is Trump’s endorsed candidate, not as many people would tune in to the debates if she’s not on stage.
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State Senators are fed up and want solutions on how the Department of Children and Family Services can be more effective in preventing serious injuries or deaths after the state agency gets involved in child abuse cases. Baton Rouge Senator Regina Barrow says there have been 12 child deaths this year after 53 child deaths in 2025…
Barrow says many of these deaths could have been prevented, but D-C-F-S is not doing enough once they receive a child abuse report…
State lawmakers are seeking solutions from DCFS Secretary Rebecca Harris on how the agency can be more effective. Republican Shreveport Senator Thomas Pressly says the state legislature stands ready to assist…
Harris has led DCFS since August. She reorganized the child welfare division in October, which included moving supervisors into the field to work on cases and establishing a call center staff at DCFS. The secretary says there are other areas where they can improve…
Barrow has a bill to abolish the Department of Children and Family Services and Alexandria Senator Jay Luneau is so upset, he’s ready to vote for it…
Lawmakers have asked Harris to present a plan in two weeks on how to improve DCFS.
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A heartwarming homecoming at an elementary school in Lafayette Parish. With the help of the administrators of J. Wallace James Elementary School in Scott, Rick Domec (du-MECK) and Jonathan Brasseaux surprised their kids, who had not seen their dads for a year. The two Army soldiers hid in cardboard boxes as their sons lifted them in front of their classmates. Domec’s son, Andrew, was thinking it was something else inside that box.
Rick Domec says it’s always a welcome treat to return home following a deployment.