9:30 LRN Newscast October 1

Congress has approved 28-billion dollars in disaster aid that Louisiana and other states will share. Louisiana plans to use its share of the money to help 2020 hurricane victims pay for repairs to their homes and businesses. Congressman Clay Higgins says the destruction left behind by Hurricane Ida led to the passage of this funding…
cut 12 (04) “…branch into action”
A funding formula will be used to determine how much Louisiana will receive, but Higgins doesn’t believe it will be enough.

Louisiana ranks fifth in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men. The Violence Policy Center says the Bayou State has ranked in the top 10 consistently since 2009. VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand says a common thread among the southern states in the top ten is access to guns.
Cut 7 (06) “…domestic violence.”
We’ve made it to October 1st and the National Hurricane Center is monitoring two tropical systems. Hurricane Sam and Tropical Storm Victor. Both are way out in the Atlantic, but state climatologist Barry Keim says Lousiana still remains susceptible to storms for the next month…
cut 15 (10) “…our guard down”
Louisiana was hit by two hurricanes last October, Delta and Zeta.

The Saints will finally get to play in the Ceasars Superdome this Sunday for the first time since Hurricane Ida. The game against the Giants also marks the first time the Black and Gold will get to play in front of a sold-out crowd in the Dome since January 2020. Defensive end Cam Jordan can’t wait…
cut 17 (13) “…used to that”
Kick-off is at noon.

8:30 LRN Newscast October 1

Board of Elementary and Secondary Education President Sandy Holloway calls Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley’s plan to allow parents to decide if their child should stay home if there was a possible COVID exposure, abrupt and inconsistent with what health officials recommend. Fellow BESE member Kira Orange Jones agrees…
cut 4 (11) “…important at this”
Some school systems are implementing this new parent choice option, while others are not changing their quarantine rules.

Congress has finally approved long-sought-after disaster recovery dollars to help 2020 storm victims rebuild. Louisiana and other states will share 28-billion dollars in disaster aid. Senator John Kennedy says the money is contained in a bill that avoids a government shutdown…
Cut 10 (06) “…just to Louisiana.”

Louisiana ranks 5th in the nation for most women murdered by men. Brooke Thorington has more on the rankings from the Violence Policy Center.
Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Officials have released the names of six nursing home patients who died in the evacuation to a warehouse in Tangipahoa Parish that was not equipped to handle over 800 residents during Hurricane Ida. They are identified as 59-year-old Sharon French, 52-year-old Timothy Porter, 77-year-old Thomas Becnel, 61-year-old Randolph Blankenship, 75-year-old Catherine Williams, and 84-year-old Donald Uzee.

7:30 LRN Newscast October 1

Several education officials are not happy with the new policy from the state department of education that would give local school systems the authority to allow parents to decide if their child should stay home if potentially exposed to COVID. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Member Kira Orange Jones says Superintendent Cade Brumley should have discussed this proposal with BESE first…
cut 5 (06) “…its impplications”
Some large school systems like Caddo, Bossier, and East Baton Rouge have decided not to change their quarantine rules, but there are school districts that will follow Brumley’s quarantine plan.

Louisiana and other states will share 28-billion dollars in natural disaster recovery dollars as a result of a funding bill approved by Congress. The money will be turned into grants to help Louisiana storm victims rebuild from last year’s hurricanes and a February winter storm. Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins voted for it, but…
cut 11 (07) “…back up”

An annual report from the Violence Policy Center ranks Louisiana fifth in the nation for the rate of women murdered by men. Just a few years ago, Louisiana ranked second, but V-P-C Legislative Director Kristen Rand says moving from second to fifth is not necessarily an improvement…
cut 9 (11) “….real improvements”
FBI stats also show that black women are twice as likely to be murdered by someone they know compared to white females.

It’s October first, but we know that Louisiana could still be impacted by a hurricane this month. Two hurricanes hit the state last year, Delta and Zeta….
cut 14 (07) “…month of October”
That’s State Climatologist Barry Keim, who says the good news is that there are no tropical threats to Louisiana or the Gulf of Mexico at this time.

6:45 LRN Sportscast

For the first time since January 2020, the Saints will play in front of a packed house inside the Superdome when they take on the New York Giants on Sunday. New Orleans defensive end Cam Jordan doesn’t know what to expect because it’s been so long since they’ve played in front of a sold-out Superdome
cut 17 (14) “…used to that”
We might have to get used to the idea of the Cincinnati Bengals being a good football team. Former LSU Tiger Joe Burrow rallied the Bengals back from a 14-0 nothing halftime deficit to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-21 on a last-second field goal. Burrow threw for 348 yards and two TDs.

High school football last night…Ouachita Christian over St. Frederick 25-7, Alexandria beat Winona, Mississippi 41-15 and Captain Shreve pounded Parkway 46-21.

LSU welcomes 22nd ranked Auburn into Tiger Stadium tomorrow night. It’s been since 1999 that Auburn has won in Baton Rouge, a 41-7 victory over the Tigers that night.

The Ragin Cajuns are looking for their sixth straight road victory in the Sun Belt on Saturday when visit South Alabama, who is off to a 3-0 start. The Jaguars have been stout on defense, allowing 55 rushing yards per game and the Jaguars are allowing only 15 points a game. U-L Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says South Alabama has always been a good defensive team…
cut 19 (19) “….on the tape”

ULM’s defense will have its hands full on Saturday trying to defend Grayson McCall and the Coastal Carolina offense. The 16th ranked Chanticleers have won 15 of their last 16.

Louisiana Tech is at 23rd ranked North Carolina State. The Wolfpack are coming off a double-overtime victory Clemson. N-C State held a struggling Clemson team to 214 yards of total offense.

6:30 LRN Newscast October 1

Louisiana and other states will share 28-billion dollars in disaster aid recovery dollars as a result of legislation approved by Congress that also averts a partial federal government shutdown. The money will turn into grants that can help 2020 hurricane victims rebuild their homes. Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins says it was a long battle to get this disaster relief money and the recovery mission is not over….
cut 13 (06) “./..for enhancements”
Higgins says the supplemental disaster aid bill falls at least a half-billion dollars short of what Governor Edwards requested.

It’s October 1st so there are two more months left in the hurricane season. The state was hit by two hurricanes last October, Delta and Zeta and State Climatologist Barry Keim says many Louisiana residents will remember Hurricane Juan in 1985…
cut 16 (10) “…of the month’

Some education officials are miffed about a new Department of Education policy giving parents a say in whether their kids get quarantined for possible COVID exposure. Kevin Gallagher has more.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Updated LRN AM Newscall october 1

Some education officials are miffed about a new Department of Education policy giving parents a say in whether their kids get quarantined for possible COVID exposure. Kevin Gallagher has more.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

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Louisiana ranks 5th in the nation for most women murdered by men. Brooke Thorington has more on the rankings from the Violence Policy Center.

Cut 2 (29) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.” 

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A stop-gap funding bill that includes nearly 29-billion-dollars for nationwide disaster relief wins passage on Capitol Hill, Senator John Kennedy and Congressman Clay Higgins say the disaster funding is far from what the Bayou State needs.  More from Dave Brannen.

Cut 3 (32)  “…I’m Dave Brannen.” 

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Some state education officials are unhappy with the idea of giving parents a say-so in whether their kid is quarantined after a possible COVID-19 exposure. State Education Superintendent Cade Brumley announced the voluntary policy this week, and New Orleans area BESE member Kira Orange Jones says she’s disappointed.

Cut 4 (11) “…important as this.”

Brumley’s directive states that school systems have a choice of whether or not they implement parental choice when dealing with possible virus exposure and quarantining kids. His concern was the huge number of kids missing school and classroom interaction with classmates. Ms. Jones, who represents District 2 on the Board of Elementary & Secondary Education says Brumley should have run his idea past her group first.

Cut 5 (06) “…its implications.”

Livingston, Ascension and West Baton Rouge school systems have decided to accept Brumley’s policy, and offer the parental choice of quarantine. East Baton Rouge, Caddo, and Bossier have already said they would pass and leave things as they are; making quarantine after possible COVID exposure mandatory. Jones says she’d like to talk with state health officials and medical experts about the policy.

Cut 6 (11) “…communities safe.”

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Louisiana ranks fifth in the nation in the rate of women murdered by men. The Violence Policy Center says the Bayou State has ranked in the top 10 consistently since 2009. VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand says a common thread among the southern states in the top ten is access to guns.

Cut 7 (11) “…domestic violence.”

Rand says the ranking states also have a lack of resources for domestic abuse victims in addition to not enough focus on assisting abuse victims.

Another frightening statistic for women in Louisiana is that they are twice as likely to be murdered during or right after pregnancy. Rand says these women are most likely to be killed by their intimate partners.

Cut 8 (08) “…about it.”

In 2016 and 2017 Louisiana ranked second among women murdered by men and the numbers used in the latest rankings are from 2019 and in 2018 ranked 5th as well. However, Rand says moving from second to fifth is not necessarily an improvement.

Cut 9 (11)  “…real improvements.”

The complication of FBI statistics also shows that black women are twice as likely to be murdered by someone they know compared to white females.

Rand urges lawmakers to adopt laws to enhance the enforcement of federal legislation to remove guns from those guilty of domestic abuse and to give women more resources to protect themselves from their abusers.

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Congress has finally approved long-sought-after disaster recovery dollars. Louisiana and other states will share 28-billion dollars in disaster aid.  Senator John Kennedy says the money is contained in a bill that avoids a government shutdown…

Cut 10 (06)  “…just to Louisiana.” 

No word on the exact dollar amount that will be allocated to Louisiana itself that has suffered through nearly a half-dozen hurricanes since last year, including Laura, and more recently Ida.

Congressman Clay Higgins says while voting for the supplemental disaster relief, he says it falls short of what the state needs from Washington.

Cut 11 (07) “…Louisiana back up.”

Higgins says it took one of Louisiana’s major cities to be hit by a storm like Ida to get a federal disaster recovery funding bill passed.

Cut 12 (08) “…branch into action.”

Higgins says the disaster recovery bill doesn’t go far enough, and he plans to battle on.

Cut 13 (06) “…for enchancements.”

Meantime, Congressman Mike Johnson issued a statement says the disaster relief bill provides a down payment on disaster funding and the legislation was a “haphazard, last-minute attempt to keep the government funded.”

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State Climatologist Barry Keim says while we’re on the back end of hurricane season it’s no time to let your guard down.  If history is any indication, we’re not out of the woods yet.

Cut 14 (07)  “…month of October.”

As for the worst hurricane to hit the state during October, It claimed some two thousand lives

Cut 15 (09)  “…at landfall.”

Most of the deaths occurred near Grand Isle from the hurricane that produced a 16-foot storm surge.

Keim says It’s happened before and potentially could happen again where a hurricane waits until the end of October to hit Louisiana. Take, for example, Hurricane Juan.

Cut  16 (10) “…of the month.”

Keim says the state has never been hit by a hurricane in November.

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For the first time since January 2020, the Saints will play in front of a packed house inside the Superdome when they take on the New York Giants. New Orleans defensive end Cam Jordan doesn’t know what to expect because it’s been so long since they’ve played in front ten of thousands of Who Dats.

Cut 17 (13) “…used to that.” 

Saints Running back Alvin Kamara says it should be an electric atmosphere when they kick off on Sunday…

Cut 18 (15)”…just ready”

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The Ragin Cajuns are looking for their sixth straight road victory in the Sun Belt on Saturday when they visit South Alabama, who is off to a 3-0 start. The Jaguars have been stout on defense, allowing 55 rushing yards per game and the Jaguars are allowing only 15 points a game. U-L Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says South Alabama has always been a good defensive team

Cut 19 (19)  “…the tape.” 

South Alabama has wins over Southern Miss, Bowling Green and Alcorn State. They enter this Sun Belt contest coming off a bye week. Napier says having an open week this early in the season can be good or bad

Cut 20 (14)  “…team is.” 

 

5:30 LRN Newscast Sept. 30

The Louisiana Health Department reported 872 new coronavirus cases today, it’s the lowest one-day total since early July. Ochsner Health Chief Medical Officer Doctor Robert Hart says the state is making good progress against COVID, but another surge is possible and vaccination rates will play a role…

Cut 12 (10) “..infected again.”  

 

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the number one complaint his office is getting is the often slow response of insurance adjusters assigned to assess property damage.

Cut 9 (08) “…did the inspection.” 

He says adjusters have up to 60 days to inspect a property.

 

Louisiana has received approval to extend DSNAP. Department of Children and Family Services Secretary Marketa Garner Walters says they understand the frustration among callers, and they are pleased they’ve received federal approval to extend call-in days.

Cut 6 (08) “…fourth week.” 

Phase three will end October 9th.  Of the 110-thousand calls so far seeking DSNAP assistance, almost 81-thousand have been approved.

 

Extinction happens and Robert Dobbs with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the ivory-billed woodpecker is among nearly two dozen birds, fish and other species that have now been declared extinct.

Cut 3 (05) “…Louisiana since 1944.”

Dobbs says the last confirmed siting of the ivory-billed woodpecker was in the Tensas River area in northeastern Louisiana.

16:45 LRN Sportscast

A report from the Advocate-Times Picuyane and Fox 8 TV in New Orleans says the Saints and Pelicans will be sold when owner Gayle Benson passes. Proceeds from the sale would go to local charities and team executives would make sure the new owner or owners would keep the Saints and Pelicans in New Orleans. Gayle Benson is 74 and has owned both franchises since 2018 after her husband Tom Benson died.

The Saints are getting ready for their Dome opener when they host the New York Giants on Sunday. Quarterback Jameis Winston is expecting a very loud environment….
Cut 19 (25) “…down here.”

A big weekend of football is coming up and Louisiana casinos and racetracks still can’t offer sports betting to their customers. Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns says Hurricane Ida has pushed back the application process and they want to make sure it’s done correctly to be fully compliant with state law…
cut 30 (10) “…it right”
Johns is not putting a timeline on when sports betting will be available.

LSU fans will be tuning in tonight when Joe Burrow and the Bengals take on Jacksonville. Rookie Trevor Lawrence will start at quarterback for the Jaguars. First time Burrow and Lawrence have faced off since the 2019 National title game. Former LSU Tiger and Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase was named NFL Rookie of the Month for September. After three games he leads all rookies in receiving yards and touchdowns, with four.

4:30 pm LRN Newscast Sept 30

Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also called DSNAP) benefits have been extended for folks impacted by Hurricane Ida. Marketa Garner Walters is with the state Department of Children & Family Services, who administer the federal assistance. She says very high call volume is the reason for starting another phase of applications on October 11th. Walters says please remember, DSNAP eligibility is a combination of one’s income and disaster-related expenses…:

CUT 07(11)      “…simply not”

Go to the DCFS website to know more.

Not seen in Louisiana since the 1940’s, the ivory-billed woodpecker has join 23 other species on the federal extinct list. State Wildlife & Fisheries spokesman Robert Dobbs…:

CUT 04(09)      “…have been confirmed”

 

The state Department of Health reports 872 new COVID-19 cases today; the lowest one-day total reported since early July. Hospitalizations are also lower than mid-summer numbers. Ochsner Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert Hart says that’s encouraging, but the chance of a fifth surge in cases depends on how many get the vaccine…:

CUT 12(10)      “…infected again”

Nearly 52% of Louisianans have received the COVID vaccine; that represents about 61% of those eligible to get the shots.

Baton Rouge Police arrest the mother of a two-year-old found dead this week in rural Mississippi. Investigators say Lanaya Cardwell grew angry with the toddler and hit her in the stomach and head. She later died on a sofa and Cardwell’s boyfriend disposed of the body. Both Cardwell and boyfriend Phillip Gardner face serious charges.

3:30 pm LRN Newscast Sept 30

Due to an overwhelming number of calls, disaster food stamp enrollment has been extended. Brooke Thorington has more….:

CUT 01(32)      “…Thorington”

The city of Shreveport wants Mardi Gras krewes to pay the overtime costs for SPD officers working parades. The city’s two biggest krewes say they simply cannot afford that. There’s talk of possibly moving the parades to Bossier City, or just not parading at all.

 

State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the number one complaint his office is getting is the often slow response of insurance adjusters assigned to assess property damage. He says adjusters have up to 60 days to inspect a property, and that failures to initiate a loss adjustment within that time can result in penalties. Donelon says the delays are puzzling when one considers the sheer number of adjusters working in the state…:

CUT 10(06)      “…to our market”

Filing a complaint of your own? Go to “ldi.la.gov”

Louisiana is making some progress in dealing with coronavirus. Fewer reported cases today than since early July, and fewer hospitalizations than we’ve seen since mid-July. Ochsner Health’s Chief Medical Officer Robert Hart says this current surge was worst of the four, and he hopes a possible fifth will be less severe…:

CUT 14(08)      “…fall and winter months.”