2:30 PM LRN Newscast Oct 28

Southeast Louisiana is recovering from the fifth named storm to make landfall in the state this year, the near category three Hurricane Zeta. Power is out to 469-thousand customers in Louisiana, but Governor John Bel Edwards says the good news is preliminary estimates show it won’t be weeks before the lights come on for most customers.

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Hurricane Zeta was still a Category One storm when the center of the storm reached St. Tammany Parish.  Parish President Mike Cooper says that even though the storm had weakened by the time it got there, St. Tammany still felt some significant winds.

Cut 6 (12) “…trees down”

Zeta made landfall around 4pm Wednesday near Cocodrie, which is located in Terrebonne Parish. Lieutenant Brennan Matherne with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s office says the southern end of their parish took quite a big hit.

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There’s reported property damage in Golden Meadow and Leeville.

St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis says winds of 100-miles per hour were clocked at their emergency operations center in Chalmette.

Cut 8 (11) “..power lines”   (2x)

Due to the extensive damage in St Bernard, the Sheriff’s Office is imposing a strict curfew tonight from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. Friday

1:30 LRN Newscast October 29

Governor John Bel Edwards is once again surveying damage following a powerful hurricane that struck the state. Matt Doyle has more…
Cut 1 (32) “ I’m Matt Doyle”

The numerous power outages also mean traffic lights are not working. St. Tammany Parish President Mark Cooper says if you don’t have to drive anywhere, stay home…
cut 7 (07) “…power outages”

The Secretary of State’s Office says the total number of ballots that have already been cast for Tuesday’s election is 964-thousand. That’s an 81-percent increase from the early vote in 2016. JMC Analytics Pollster John Couvillon estimates an overall turnout of 73-percent for the presidential election. He disagrees with analysts who say early voting is indicative of total participation…
cut 26 (07) “….turnout”
Voter turnout for the 2016 presidential election was 68-percent in Louisiana.

Jacket weather has arrived in Louisiana. State Climatologist Barry Keim says after a chilly morning, high temperatures are struggling to get above 65-degrees today…
cut 14 (12) “….high temp” (2x)

1230 PM LRN News

Zeta slammed into Louisiana as an unexpectedly strong category two, near three hurricane and a near half million households in the state are still without power.

Most of the damage appears to be wind related but three breaches have been reported in the Burrito Levee in Grand Isle. CPRA is on the scene assessing the damage. Governor Edwards surveyed the damage by air this morning and says…

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1,940 National Guardsmen have been activated in support of emergency operations in the state.

Zeta ripped through the state at 25 miles an hour, maintaining category one strength as far inland as St. Tammany Parish. Parish President Mike Cooper says his residents took a beating…

Cut 6 (12) “…trees down”

An LSU-Health Sciences Center study shows more women in the state are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner due to Medicaid expansion. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”  (AM)

11:30 AM LRN Newscast Oct 29

Southeast Louisiana is recovering from the fifth named storm to make landfall in the state this year, the near category three Hurricane Zeta. Governor Edwards says unfortunately we are reporting the first storm-related death, a 55-year-old New Orleans man who died from electrocution due to a downed powerline.

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The only levee failures from Hurricane Zeta occurred in Grand Isle as the Category Two storm caused three breaches in what is known as the burrito levee, a large roll of plastic filled with sand. Jefferson Parish Emergency Preparedness Director Joseph Valiente says the breaches have led to flooding in the coastal town…

Cut 12 (12) “ .down there” 

The governor’s office says they have pumps trying to drain the water.

To say the Bayou State is experiencing weather extremes is an understatement, after a Category Two hurricane strikes the state, now we are experiencing much cooler temperatures in less than 24 hours. State Climatologist Barry Keim says it’s a very odd one-two punch.

Cut 13 (12) “…time of year”

469-thousand customers are without power according to the PSC and Entergy is hoping to have the majority restored for their customers by the weekend. Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardgili says a Category Two storm on average means 7 to 10 days without power. Entergy has 4,500 crew members working to bring the lights back on and hopefully, the worst-case projection won’t be true for most.

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1140 sports 10/29

LSU will play Auburn on the road on Saturday and freshman quarterback T.J. Finley might once again be leading the Tigers offense.  Starting quarterback Myles Brennan continues to deal with the abdominal injury that he suffered during LSU’s loss to Missouri.  Finley seems to have earned the trust of the team after his great performance against South Carolina where he threw for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding another touchdown on the ground.  Coach Ed Orgeron says that despite the Finley’s good numbers, his poise is what stood out the most.

Cut 20 (09)…”impressed with”

The New Orleans Saints continue to battle injuries of their own as a number of key players have gone down with injuries, including star receiver Michael Thomas, who has not played since week one.  Thomas and fellow Wide Receiver Emmanuel Sanders were both absent for last week’s contest against the panthers and have not yet returned to practice.  Thomas is suffering from a high ankle sprain while Sanders remains on the Covid-19 list after his positive test last week.  Both players are questionable for the Saints’ upcoming game against the Chicago bears.

UL-Lafayette is on the road again this Saturday against Texas State after traveling to UAB and snapping the Blazer’s 21 game home win streak a week ago.  The Ragin’ Cajuns are 4-1 on the season, but head coach Billy Napier says there is still room for improvement.

Cut 16 (23)…”next opportunity”

Louisiana Tech has released its men’s basketball schedule for the 2020-21 season.  The new schedule will consist of 27 games, including nine non-conference and 18 conference matchups.  The Bulldogs’ non-conference schedule includes a number of in-state opponents, including LSU and ULL.  Tech will host UT Arlington at home on Nov. 27 to open the season and also open conference play at home against Marshall on Dec 31.

10:30 AM LRN Newscast Oct 29

The PSC reports 469-thousand are without power in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Zeta which made landfall just after 4 PM yesterday near Cocodrie. Entergy spokesperson Brandon Scardgili says the immediate post-storm period can be dangerous and if you see any compromised electrical equipment keep your distance.

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In St Bernard Parish, Parish President Guy McInnis says winds of 100-miles per hour winds were clocked at their emergency operations as the Category Two hurricane swept over the area. McInnis says there were no serious injuries during the storm and he would like to keep it that way…

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Nearly one million early votes have been cast in Louisiana for the November 3rd Presidential Election. JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says the early vote was marginally more Democratic than in past years, showing an increase in Democratic enthusiasm relative to Republicans, but not substantially so.

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An LSU-Health Sciences Center Study shows more women in Louisiana are receiving breast cancer diagnoses and treatment because of Medicaid expansion. Lead Author Dr. Quyen (Quinn) Chu says they compared breast cancer rates before and after ACA expansion in 2016 and it’s led to a 27-percent increase in early-stage diagnosis.

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9:30 LRN Newscast October 29

Hurricane Zeta delivered a massive punch to southeast Louisiana. According to the Public Service Commission, 531-thousand customers are without power as there are hundreds of utility poles down and widespread wind damage. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis says winds of 100-miles per hour were clocked at their emergency operations center…
cut 8 (11) “….power lines” (2x)
Earlier this week the expectation was for Zeta to be a weak Category One hurricane when it made landfall in southeast Louisiana, instead, it nearly grew to a Cat 3 storm. State Climatologist Barry Keim says there was good reason to believe Zeta would be a tame system…
cut 11 (09) “…back down”
Zeta is responsible for one death in Louisiana. A New Orleans man died after touching a downed power line.

Nearly one million early votes have been cast in Louisiana for Tuesday’s Presidential Election. JMC Analytics pollster John Couvillon says between early voting and mail-in ballots 964,000 votes have been cast, shattering the 2016 record of 531,000…
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An LSU-Health Sciences Center study shows more women in the state are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner due to Medicaid expansion. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington”

8:30 LRN Newscast October 29

Hurricane Zeta roared ashore near Cocodrie, Louisiana yesterday afternoon packing maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour. Zeta was moving so fast it was able to maintain much of its strength as it crossed southeast Louisiana, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, uprooting trees, damaging property, and killing at least one person.

Early voting has wrapped up in Louisiana and nearly a million votes have been cast ahead of Tuesday’s election. Matt Doyle has the story.
Cut 1 (30) “ I’m Matt Doyle”

A forthcoming LSU Health Sciences Center study finds that the Medicaid expansion in 2016 resulted in many more women getting breast cancer screening which led to a 27-percent increase in the early-stage diagnosis of breast cancer. Lead author, Doctor Quyen Chu says Medicaid expansion also lowered the uninsured rate for the state below the national average of eight percent…
cut 8 (11) “…is 17.7 percent”

Getting back to Hurricane Zeta, many are surprised by how fast it was able to strengthen, climbing from a tropical storm to nearly a Category Three hurricane when it made landfall. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the truth is forecasters are not very good at predicting how powerful a system will become…
cut 10 (07) “…years”

7:30 LRN Newscast October 29

Hurricane Zeta steamrolled through southeast Louisiana yesterday destroying property and uprooting trees. Zeta is responsible for at least one death in Louisiana. A person was electrocuted in New Orleans’ Gert Town neighborhood. The Orleans Parish coroner says a 55-year-old male died as a result of electrocution from downed power lines.

48 hours ago forecasts projected Zeta would be at a category one, but when it made landfall near Cocodrie yesterday afternoon it was nearly a Cat 3. Matt Doyle on what happened…
Cut 3 (29) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

Hundreds of thousands are without power. Entergy is reporting more than 400-thousand outages and spokesperson Brandon Scardigli warns there could be prolonged outages…
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Scardigli says they have 45-hundred workers trying to restore power.

An LSU Health Sciences Center study finds more women in Louisiana are receiving breast cancer diagnoses sooner and better access to care and treatment since Medicaid was expanded in Louisiana in 2016…
cut 9 (08) “…impact lives”
That’s the lead author of the report, Quyen Chu, who says because of Medicaid expansion, 91-thousand women in Louisiana received breast cancer screenings, many for the first time. Eleven-hundred were diagnosed with breast cancer.

6:45 LRN Sportscast October 29

It looks like freshman TJ Finley will get another start at quarterback for the LSU Tigers on Saturday against Auburn. Coach Ed Orgeron says Myles Brennan continues to struggle to recover from his injury….
cut 19 (10) “….our second”
On the other side of the ball, defensive tackle Apu Ika is reportedly looking at entering the NCAA transfer portal. Ika’s playing time has declined this season in LSU’s four-three defense.

In football recruiting news…the nation’s number one safety, Sage Ryan of Lafayette Christian, has announced he will make his college decision on Saturday. LSU, Clemson and Alabama are his top three choices. 24-7 sports reports Ryan will likely commit to the Crimson Tide on Nick Saban’s 69th birthday.

St. Thomas Thomas More receiver Jack Beche has de-committed from Vanderbilt after receiving an offer from LSU.

Now that Hurricane Zeta is out of here, the Saints will continue preparations today for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears. The Bears are 5-and-2 and they’ve defended the pass well this season. Coach Sean Payton says Chicago has an excellent secondary…
cut 18 (16) ” and they are smart”
No precipitation in Sunday’s forecast, but highs will be in the 30s and it will be very windy inside Soldier Field.

The Saints top three wide receivers did not practice yesterday. Michael Thomas remains out and Coach Sean Payton did not provide an update on his injuries. Rookie Marquez Callaway missed yesterday’s practice with an ankle injury and Emmanuel Sanders remains on the reserve-COVID-19 list. Payton is not saying if Sanders can play Sunday.

The Bears best receiver and offensive playmaker Allen Robinson is questionable as he’s in concussion protocol.