A Lafourche Parish man has been convicted of the 2020 drowning murder of his girlfriend. 47-year-old Travis Ourso was arrested shortly after the death of Dione Cheramie in Bayou Lafourche. Assistant D.A. Jason Chatagnier says the two argued after leaving a party and somehow wound up in the water. Ourso says he tried to save her but witnesses refuted that claim…:

CUT 06  (13)        “…was unresponsive.”

Convicted of 2^nd-degree murder, Ourso faces a mandatory life sentence.

Eleven Louisiana deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease during the 2022-23 hunting season. LDWF State Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jim LaCour says when the first one in January 2022 was detected, they implemented a control plan…:

CUT 08(11)      “…the future.”

The House Ways and Means approves legislation that would trim the state’s sales tax by two-tenths of a percent starting in July. Louisiana’s sales tax is currently 4.45 percent, but .45 percent will expire in July of 2025. Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala’s bill would reduce state tax revenues by 210-million dollars, but he argues this money is going away in 2025, so the state should begin to live without it..:

CUT 12(05)      “…already are.”

Bacala had a similar bill last year. It died in a Senate committee after it was approved by the House.

That same House committee approved legislation that would extend the state’s film tax credit program to 2035. The program which costs the state 180-million dollars every year is set to expire in 2025. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says the tax credits creates jobs…:

CUT 13(09)      “…community stronger.”

Both those bills now move to the House floor.

A Caddo Parish man has died after being trapped between his semi-truck and his barn, at his home Saturday. Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office spokesman Rod White says this was an unusual and unfortunate accident…:

CUT 03(12)      “…into a barn.”

White says the wife – who was driving the tractor – did not realize her husband had gotten out of the truck while she was pushing it with the tractor into the barn.

Eleven Louisiana deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease during the 2022-23 hunting season, which brings the total to 12. LDWF State Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jim LaCour says testing of deer continues, and you may think they’d want you to refrain from hunting deer, but he says quite the opposite..:

CUT 10(12)      “…to consume.”

A man died following an officer-involved shooting in Shreveport Sunday night. Police say he struggled with officers during a traffic stop and pulled a gun. The Caddo Parish Coroner’s Office identifies him as 33-year-old Joseph Dewayne Taylor. The matter is under State Police investigation.

Legislation to extend the state’s film tax incentive program from its current sunset date of 2025 to 2035 is heading to the House floor. Jeff Palermo has the story…:

CUT 02(31)      “…Palermo.”

A Lafourche Parish jury convicts a local man for the 2020 murder of his girlfriend. After a 4-day trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict for Travis Orso in the drowning death of Dionne Cheramie. Lafourche Parish Assistant D.A. Jason Chatagnier says an argument occurred before the couple drove away from a family gathering…:

CUT 05(10)      “…the bayou.”

Orso faces a sentence of life without parole when his enticing comes up in July.

The House Ways and Means approves legislation that would trim the state’s sales tax by two-tenths of a percent starting in July. Louisiana’s sales tax is currently 4.45 percent, but .45 percent will expire in July of 2025. Prairieville Representative Tony Bacala believes it would be a good idea to start phasing it out this year…:

CUT 11(09)      “…future.”

Bacala had a similar bill last year. It died in a Senate committee after it was approved by the House.

The House Ways and Means Committee approves legislation that would extend the state’s film tax credit program to 2035. The program which costs the state 180-million dollars every year is set to expire in 2025. Some say they credits yield little or no real return on investment, but Louisiana Film and Entertainment President Trey Burvant begs to differ…:

CUT 15(13)      “…film industry.”

The bill moves to the House floor for further debate.

Police in New Orleans say a man fell from the 45-story Plaza Tower building. Debris has been falling from the abandoned building but this is the first human fatality. Police want to know who the man was and why he was in – or ON – the building.

Baton Rouge native and media personality Don Lemon has been fired by CNN. No official reason has been given, but Lemon’s ratings have been in decline.

A Caddo Parish man died after being trapped between his semi-truck and his barn at his home Saturday. Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Rod White says the victim and his wife were moving the truck and the wife – who was driving the tractor – didn’t realize her husband had gotten out of the truck while she was pushing it and he got pinned.

Cut 4 (12)  “…the truck” 

The House Ways and Means Committee approves legislation to extend the state’s film tax credit program to 2035. The program which costs the state 180-million dollars every year is set to expire in 2025. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder’s legislation also calls for a graphic to be shown in the credits that lets viewers know where the movie was made.

Cut 14 (12)  “…tourists in.”

Since January of 2022, 12 cases of Chronic Wasting Disease have been detected in Louisiana, all from Tensas Parish. State Wildlife Veterinarian Jim LaCour says they implemented a control plan that included feeding and baiting bans to prevent the spread of the disease, free testing for hunters, and banning the export of deer central nervous tissue from the area.

Cut 9 (05) “…. the area.”

The plan was implemented in Tensas and portions of Franklin and Madison Parishes. They’ll continue testing when bow season starts in October.

A Louisiana woman has set a Guinness World Record for largest Afro of a living female. 47-year-old Aevin Dugas’ afro is five feet wide and it’s the third time she’s set a record in the last 13 years. She says it all started 24 years ago when she let her hair go natural…

Cut 11 (10)  “…came about.”

The House Ways and Means Committee approves legislation that would extend the state’s film tax credit program to 2035. The program which costs the state 150-million dollars every year is set to expire in 2025. House Speaker Clay Schexnayder says the credits create jobs.

Cut 13 (09) “…community stronger” 

Independent studies have shown that despite the jobs gained, the state loses money with this program.

Eleven Louisiana deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease during the 2022-23 hunting season, which brings the total to 12. All of the CWD cases have been in Tensas Parish. LDWF State Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jim LaCour says when the first one in January 2022 was detected, they implemented a control plan.

Cut 8 (11)  “…the future.” 

A Lafourche grand jury convicts 47-year-old Travis Orso of Golden Meadow in the 2020 drowning death of his girlfriend, Dione Cheramie. Teiko Foxx has more.

Cut 1 (29)  “…I’m Teiko Foxx”

New federal Bureau of Labor data shows Louisiana with record-high employment. Kevin Gallagher has more…:
Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

There were three fatal officer-involved shootings in Louisiana over the weekend. In Metairie, Jefferson Parish deputies shot a man who allegedly pointed a gun at them outside a home. In Pineville, police fatally shot a man during a domestic dispute call. In Shreveport, a man was fatally shot during a struggle with an officer during a traffic stop.

A Caddo Parish man died after being trapped between his semi-truck and his barn at his home Saturday. Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Rod White says this was an unusual and unfortunate accident.
Cut 3 (12) “…a barn.”
White says the wife did not realize her husband had gotten out of the truck while she was pushing it with a tractor.

This is the third week of the legislative session and proposed changes to the state’s abortion ban have yet to come up. Not only is there is a bill to provide exceptions for rape and incest, but there’s also legislation to clear up the language to get an abortion to treat miscarriages….
cut 15 (12) “….complications”
That’s Lift Louisiana Executive Director Michelle Erenberg.

Legislation to add exceptions for rape and incest to the state’s abortion ban has also prompted other legislation in this regular session. Lift Louisiana Executive Director Michelle Erenberg says House Bill would make it easier to get an abortion to treat miscarriages, mainly getting one doctor to sign off on the abortion instead of two….

Cut 13 (08) “…appropriate healthcare.” 

Legislation to allow individuals to be buried with the cremated remains of their pet is set to be heard in House Commerce today. It’s currently illegal to have the cremated remains of an animal inside a person’s coffin. Minden Representative Wayne McMahen says his legislation lets each cemetery decide if it’s permitted.

Cut 5 (11)   “…of pets.”.

New labor data shows Louisiana setting another record high. Louisiana Workforce Commission economist Emily DePalma the record-high is now 2-million, 30-thousand, 553 people working. The largest gains came in construction, mining, logging, private education, and health services…:

Cut 8 (08) “…New Orleans area.”

A Louisiana woman holds the Guinness record for the largest afro for the third time in 13 years. You’d think 47-year-old Aevin Dugas – of Reserve with a five-foot afro would be noticeable but she says she doesn’t wear it out often. Dugas says it takes a lot of adjustments when she does have it styled naturally.

Cut 12 (11)    “…daily basis” 

She says she hopes to inspire young girls that look like her to love everything about themselves.

At the state capitol today, a bill to make it legal to have your pet buried with you will be heard in House Commerce today.
Cut 1 (31) “I’m Brooke Thorington.”

We are waiting for more details on two separate fatal police officer shootings that took place yesterday. One of them occurred last night in Shreveport during a traffic stop, the other in Pineville, when officers responded to a domestic disturbance call. The identity of the individuals has not been released.

According to the Louisiana Workforce Commission, the number of people employed in Louisiana in March set a record, as the state added nearly 88-hundred jobs from the previous month. L-W-C economist Emily DePalma says the state’s unemployment rate remains below four-percent…
cut 9 (11) “…3.6 percent”
That’s the lowest rate for March in series history.

The third week of the regular session begins today and one bill that’s yet to be debated would change the penalties that could be imposed on medical providers who perform an abortion. Instead of prison time, it would be a fine. Lift Louisiana Executive Director Michelle Erenberg says physicians are fearful of what could happen if their medical judgement to end a pregnancy is questioned…
cut 14 (09) “….in prison”