Ralph Abraham is the first gubernatorial candidate to receive an endorsement from a member of Louisiana’s Republican Congressional delegation. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
________________________________
A study shows Louisiana has the second highest rate of male on female murder in the nation. Matt Doyle has the story.
________________________________________
Clay Higgins is the first Republican from Louisiana’s House delegation to give an endorsement in the governor’s race. Higgins is backing fellow Congressman Ralph Abraham. U-L Lafayette Political Science Professor Pearson Cross says the endorsement comes after Republican candidate Eddie Rispone attacked Abraham in a campaign ad…
Cut 3 (08) “…towards other Republicans.”
The Republican Party has previously request there be no interparty attack ads as they feel attacks in the previous race cost the party the Governor’s Mansion. Cross says Rispone’s ad went directly against that.
Cut 4 (07) “…against Mr. Rispone.”
The endorsement could be the first of several from within the party toward Abraham as a result of Rispone’s ad. While Cross considers the ad a blunder for the third place polling candidate, he doesn’t expect Rispone to drop out as a result.
Cut 5 (09) “…bad money after good.”
Rispone’s ad questioned Abraham’s previous campaign promise to redirect his congressional salary toward charity, his criticism of Donald Trump prior to getting into the White House, and slammed Abraham for missing votes while on running for Governor.
_____________________________
Louisiana has the second-highest rate of women who were murdered by men in the country according to the Violence Policy Center.
VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand says there were a shocking number of these murders in the Bayou State in 2017, which is the latest year for which data is available from the FBI.
The national rate was 1.29 male on female murders per 100,000 in 2017. 10 percent of those victims were under the age of 18 in Louisiana, versus six percent nationally.
The study shows 67 percent of the victims were shot, and over 90 percent of the women knew their killers. Rand says most of the murderers were husbands, ex-husbands, or boyfriends.
56 percent of those murders were directly linked back to a domestic argument.
Alaska tops the rankings at nearly 4 murders per 100,000, and the rest of the top ten is comprised of rural and southern states. Rand says there’s a number of factors at play.
Rand says the best first step towards reducing these numbers would be proper funding for domestic violence shelters and organizations that provide support for women in abusive relationships.
_____________________
Saints QB Drew Brees is set to have surgery on his throwing hand today in Los Angeles and the team is preparing for a tough stretch of games without the man who’s captained their prolific offense.
Reports indicate the injury could take six weeks to fully heal, but Coach Sean Payton says any timeline is premature until after the procedure is done. That being said, it’s unlikely we’ll see Drew on IR.
Payton says he will not name a starting quarterback for this Sunday’s afternoon game against the Seahawks in Seattle. That means we could get a heavy dose of both Teddy Bridgewater and Taysom Hill.
This week’s game will be followed by a Sunday night home game against the Cowboys.
Many fans are concerned about seeing backup QB Teddy Bridgewater get extended snaps after the offense floundered against the Rams last Sunday, but Payton says it was just one game.
____________________________
Health experts issue a new set of science-based beverage recommendations for kids age 5 and under. Dr. Marie-Pierre St. Onge with the American Heart Association says in the first year of life, the recommendation is to not provide sugary beverages. Instead, rely on breast milk or formula.
Cut 12 (07) “…to maintain hydration.”
St. Onge says half of all two-to-five-year-olds consume sugary beverages daily which can increase the risk of poor health outcomes later in life.
Cut 13 (11) “…and proper growth.”
St. Onge says there is no shortage of notable organizations throwing support behind the recommendations.