58-year-old Geraldine Carmouche has been identified as the Mardi Gras reveler who died last night at a New Orleans parade, reportedly after attempting to run between the gap in a linked tandem float. New Orleans Councilwoman Kristian Palmer says it’s a terrible tragedy, but also a reminder to parade-goers about being safe.

Cut 10 (05) “…do that”

Nyx, an all-woman parade, is the largest in New Orleans.

The Board of Regents OKs a new policy allowing schools who let too many students who don’t meet admonitions criteria in to be hit with financial penalties. The changes provoked concern the Board was increasing enrollment standards. Higher Ed Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed says that misunderstanding was evident in an Advocate headline claiming standards were going up.

Cut 8 (05)“…standards”

Summerfield High School Principal Brian Biggs is in the Claiborne Parish jail after being arrested this morning at his home for multiple sex crimes.  State Police Trooper Brent Hardy says the investigation continues and urges parents to have a talk with their kids about Biggs.

Cut 14 (07) “…Louisiana State Police”

Summerfield High famously produced NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone.

The Louisiana Lottery says the lack of massive Powerball and Mega Million jackpots recently results in fewer dollars for education. Lottery spokesperson Kim Chopin says the lack of excitement around big multistate jackpots has offset the uptick in scratch-off ticket sales, which are up about 3.7 percent.

Cut 5 (12)  “…doing really well.”

The Louisiana Lottery is required to transfer at least 35 percent of its revenue to the state, much of which is used toward education.

The death of a woman last night at a New Orleans parade has sparked some calls for a safety overhaul of carnival season, but a New Orleans Councilwoman says that may not be feasible…

cut  2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

A school traffic guard is dead after being struck by a vehicle while directing traffic along Highway 20 near Chackbay Elementary School this morning. He’s been identified as 67-year-old Larry Boudreaux.

Summerfield High School Principal Brian Biggs is in the Claiborne Parish jail after being arrested this morning at his home for multiple sex crimes.  State Police Trooper Brent Hardy says the bond for 54-year-old Biggs is set at $1 million. The investigation began after authorities were notified of concerned parents after they accused Biggs of acting inappropriately with children on the internet.
Cut 13 (11) “…request inappropriate images.”
Summerfield High famously produced NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone.
The Louisiana Lottery says the lack of massive Powerball and Mega Million jackpots recently results in fewer dollars for education. Lottery spokesperson Kim Chopin says there is currently a rare, eight-month drought of multistate games rising into major jackpot territory. Chopin believes some players are waiting until those jackpots hit a certain level before participating.
Cut 4 (12) “…big large jackpots.”

Lottery contributions to the state treasury see a downturn due to a lack of big jackpots from multi-state games. Kevin Barnhart has the story.

Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart” 

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The death of a woman last night at a New Orleans parade has sparked some calls for a safety overhaul of carnival season, but a New Orleans Councilwoman says that may not be feasible…

cut  2 (30) “…I’m Matt Doyle”

___________________________

The Louisiana Lottery says the lack of massive Powerball and Mega Million jackpots recently results in fewer dollars for education. Lottery spokesperson Kim Chopin says from July to December they transferred about $42-million dollars to the state treasury.

Cut 3 (09)  “…of last year.”  

Chopin says there is currently a rare, eight-month drought of multistate games rising into major jackpot territory, which has had an impact on ticket sales. Chopin believes some players are waiting until those jackpots hit a certain level before participating.

Cut 4 (12) “…big large jackpots.”

Chopin says the lack of excitement around big multistate jackpots has offset the uptick in scratch-off ticket sales, which are up about 3.7 percent.

Cut 5 (12)  “…doing really well.”

The Louisiana Lottery is required to transfer at least 35 percent of its revenue to the state, much of which is used toward education.

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The Board of Regents approves a new policy that could result in financial penalties for universities that do not comply with minimum admissions requirements for incoming students. Higher Ed Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed says a school will be flagged for review if they allow too many students in, who do not meet requirements like minimum GPA, or ACT.

Cut 6 (12) “consider”

Specific penalties were not laid out, rather the policy notes they will be implemented to the degree the Board “deems appropriate”, “In accordance with the degree, repetition, and/or nature of the violation” per the AP.

LSU’s adoption of holistic admissions under former President Alexander saw the school push far past the limit of only allowing in four percent of incoming high school students to not meet ACT and GPA criteria, and Reed says…

Cut 7 (11) “…policy”

Alexander argued the policy is in place at 80 percent of other flagship universities and touted the results of freshmen classes admitted under it.

The changes provoked concern the Board was increasing enrollment standards. Reed says that misunderstanding was evident in an Advocate headline claiming standards were going up.

Cut 8 (05)“…standards”

She says LSU still has a minimum 25 ACT and 3.0 high school GPA requirement for admission.

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58-year-old Geraldine Carmouche was killed last night at a New Orleans parade after reportedly trying to pass between two floats, tripping, and being run over.

The incident has sparked some calls for new safety regulations to keep people away from floats, but New Orleans Councilwoman Kristian Palmer says it’s just not feasible.

Cut 9 (08) “…would take″

The incident happened roughly around 9 PM last night at the Nyx Parade. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing Carmouche try to hop between the gap in a linked tandem float.

Cut 10 (05) “…do that”

Nyx, an all-woman parade, is the largest in New Orleans with over 3,300 members and 88 floats. The incident occurred at float 21, and all floats behind that were routed back to the staging area.

The last time a person was killed by a float at a parade in New Orleans was 2008 as Endymion was entering the Superdome. Palmer says thankfully you almost never see this happen.

Cut 11 (10) “frequently”

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Summerfield High School Principal Brian Biggs is in the Claiborne Parish jail after being arrested this morning at his home for multiple sex crimes.  State Police Trooper Brent Hardy says the bond for 54-year-old Biggs is set at $1 million after being booked on a slew of charges.

Cut 12 (13) “… behavior with juveniles.”

Hardy says the investigation began after authorities were notified of concerned parents after they accused Biggs of acting inappropriately with their child on the internet.

Cut 13 (11) “…request inappropriate images.”

Hardy says the investigation continues and urges parents to have a talk with their kids about Biggs.

Cut 14 (07) “…Louisiana State Police”

Summerfield High famously produced NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone.

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58-year-old Geraldine Carmouche has been identified as the woman who was struck and killed by a moving float at the Nyx Parade in New Orleans last night. Police are calling it a horrible accident.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre says a school traffic guard was struck and killed by a vehicle while directing traffic on Highway 20 near Chackbay Elementary School this morning. He’s been identified as Larry Boudreaux, an Army Veteran.

Lottery contributions to the state treasury see a downturn due to a lack of big jackpots from multi-state games. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (31) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”
Summerfield High School Principal Brian Biggs is in the Claiborne Parish jail after being arrested this morning at his home for multiple sex crimes. State Police Trooper Brent Hardy says bond for the 54-year-old is set at $1 million after being booked on a slew of charges.
Cut 12 (13) “… behavior with juveniles.”
Hardy says the investigation began after authorities heard from concerned parents who accused Biggs of acting inappropriately with their child on the internet.

The Board of Regents has revised its minimum admission standards policy in reaction to LSU’s new holistic admission approach which has resulted in more students being accepted to the state’s flagship university…
cut 7 (11) “…policy”
That’s Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed who says the tougher admissions standards now call for campuses to be penalized.

58-year-old Geraldine Carmouche was killed last night at a New Orleans parade after reportedly trying to pass between two floats, tripping, and being run over. The incident has sparked some calls for new safety regulations, but New Orleans Councilwoman Kristian Palmer says it’s just not feasible.
Cut 9 (08) “…would take″
The last time a person was killed by a float at a New Orleans parade was 2008 as Endymion was entering the Superdome.

The lack of huge Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots means fewer dollars are going towards education. That’s according to Louisiana Lottery spokesperson Kim Chopin who says it’s been a while since a multi-state lottery has produced a jackpot over 400-million dollars. She says at least scratch-off ticket sales are up nearly four-percent…
cut 5 (12) “…really well”

The Board of Regents has approved a new policy that could result in financial penalties for universities that do not comply with minimum admissions requirements for incoming students. Higher Ed Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed says a school will be flagged for review if they allow too many students in, who do not meet requirements like minimum GPA, or ACT.
Cut 6 (12) “consider”
Reed says her staff worked on strengthening the policy for admission standards in response to LSU’s new holistic admission approach.

A float in last night’s Nyx Parade in New Orleans hit and killed a woman on Magazine Street. Witnesses say the woman stepped in between the front float and back float of a tandem float, was struck by the second float and died.

Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre says a school traffic guard has died after being struck by a vehicle in the northern area of the parish. State Police is investigating.

On his monthly call-in radio show Ask the Governor, Governor Edwards addressed the controversy over his decision not to include a specific teacher pay raise in his budget, saying he is confident teachers will ultimately receive another raise next year. Edwards hopes teachers will see a raise from the additional 39-million dollars he proposes for K-through-12 public schools.
Cut 10 (12) “…a pay raise.”
The Humane Society of Louisiana is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person who threw a dog food bag containing eight puppies from a bridge into Bayou Portage in St. Martin Parish on Sunday. Humane Society of Louisiana executive director Jeff Dorson says a nearby fisherman saw the man toss what appeared to be litter into the water…
cut 7 (12) “…in the sack.”
Dorson says the person behind the tossing could face up to eight felony counts, one for each pup.

The Louisiana Lottery says the lack of massive Powerball and Mega Million jackpots recently has resulted in fewer dollars for education. Lottery spokesperson Kim Chopin says from July to December they transferred about $42-million dollars to the state treasury.
Cut 3 (09) “…of last year.”
Chopin says many people will not buy lottery tickets until the jackpots hit 400-million dollars plus.

In New Orleans, mourners are placing flowers at the spot where a woman lost her life last night when a float in the Nyk parade ran over her. A preliminary report from the NOPD says the woman might have been reaching for beads. The Orleans Parish coroner has yet to release the victim’s name.

Teacher unions are upset Governor John Bel Edwards did not include a line item in his budget proposal that would direct the state legislature to give teachers a pay raise for a second consecutive year. On his monthly Ask the Governor Show, Edwards says his budget includes 39-million dollars for public schools and he’s hoping school systems will use some of that money to pay teachers more. Edwards also says he wanted to invest more into education, but the Revenue Estimating Conference has yet to approve an official revenue number for the upcoming budget.
Cut 12 (11) “… like.”

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality has added its first electric car to its vehicle fleet. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Brooke Thorington”

The Humane Society of Louisiana is asking for the public’s help in finding the person responsible for throwing a dog food bag that contained eight puppies into Bayou Portage from a bridge in St. Martin Parish. Jeff Dorson says the pups will be up for adoption from the Every Paw Animal Rescue in Evangeline Parish.
cut 9 (110 “…available for adoption.

A woman was killed during the Krewe of Nyx Parade last night in New Orleans after she was run over by a float. Witnesses say the woman was trying to cross in between a tandem float and she apparently tripped over the hitch connecting the two sections and fell to the ground before being caught under the back half of the float. Her identity has not been released.

Governor Edwards responded to the controversy over his decision not to include a specific teacher pay raise in his budget, saying he is confident there will ultimately be a raise in this year’s legislative session. Edwards says his plan to have teachers being paid the southern regional average by the end of the term hasn’t changed.

Cut 11 (10) “…to do”

Many teachers were shocked at the non-inclusion of a pay raise saying the Governor had broken a campaign promise.

Senator Bill Cassidy officially kicks off his run for a second term in Washington DC. Cassidy says he will continue to push for the use of fracking in the natural gas industry that has provided prosperity and helped improve air quality.  He adds under Trump’s economy, the US has become energy dominant.

Cut 14 (09 ) “…some place else ”

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality adds the first all-electric car to its vehicle fleet. DEQ’s first Electric Vehicle is a Chevy Bolt. DEQ Spokesperson Gregory Langley says the car offers an EPA-estimated 259 miles of range on a single charge, nearly 10-percent more than previous models. But most importantly it’s good for the environment.

Cut 5 (08)  “…generating electricity.”

In New Orleans, a woman was run over and killed by a float in the middle of the Krewe of Nyx parade Wednesday night. The accident happened near Magazine Street and Valence. Witnesses say the woman stepped in between the front float and back float of a tandem float, was struck by the second float and killed. The victim’s identity has not been released.

A teacher pay raise may not be in the budget right now, but Governor Edwards is confident educators will get an increase by the end of the session.

Cut 3 (31)  “…I’m Matt Doyle.”  

The Humane Society of Louisiana is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person who threw a bag containing eight puppies from a bridge into Bayou Portage in St. Martin Parish on Sunday.  Humane Society of Louisiana executive director Jeff Dorson says the person behind the tossing could face up to eight felony counts, one for each pup, with a fine of $5,000 to $25,000 and possible prison time of 1 to 10 years for each count.

Cut 8 (13) “…would be fatal.”

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality adds the first all-electric car to its vehicle fleet. DEQ’s first Electric Vehicle is a Chevrolet Bolt. DEQ Spokesperson Gregory Langley says they hope to add more EVs to the fleet but…

Cut 4 (10) “…great deal.”