Vice President Mike Pence is in St. Landry Parish this hour meeting with religious leaders who suffered through the anguish of seeing three churches burned down by a suspected arsonist, who is now facing hate crime charges. Before Pence left, here’s what he said at the White House about the recent attacks on religious buildings…
cut 5 (11) “…churches in Louisiana”
Pence visited Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas, which burned down about a month ago.

Through the month of May, Louisiana residents can download the LA Wallet app and activate their license for free in an effort to get more people to use the service. OMV field administrator Paige Paxton says law enforcement will accept digital license as a valid I-D, but you should hang on to your physical I-D as well…
cut 14 (07) “…at that time”
Louisiana is the first state to allow the use of a smartphone app as a picture ID.

The flagship newspaper of New Orleans, The Times Picayune, has been purchased by their Baton Rouge rival, The Advocate. Matt Doyle talked with a veteran reporter about the merger…
cut 2 (30) I’m Matt Doyle”

The National Weather Service says two small tornadoes are responsible for the property damage that occurred yesterday in the DeSoto Parish towns of Mansfield and Stanley. There’s another chance for severe weather tomorrow for much of south Louisiana.

Legislation that would require Louisiana businesses to provide employees with paid leave to deal with family or medical issues cleared its first legislative hurdle. The Senate Labor committee approved the measure on a 4-to-1 vote after hearing about the benefits of the proposal. This new dad believes its a great idea.
Cut 9 (11) “…exception.“.
The revenue would create a fund within the Louisiana Workforce Commission to provide the temporary paid leave. The measure heads to Senate Finance next.
The LA Wallet app, which allows Louisiana drivers to present their license on their smartphone, is now free until the end of May. OMV field administrator Paige Paxton says the app is accepted at many locations in place of a traditional physical identification card.
Cut 13 (12) “…couple of elections.”
________________________________
New Orleans’ historic newspaper, The Times Picayune has been purchased by their Baton Rouge based rival, The Advocate.
The Picayune traces it’s roots back 182 years, and gained widespread acclaim for continuing to report on Hurricane Katrina online even as the paper’s building was surrounded by water.
The Advocate has published a daily paper in New Orleans since 2012, and the merger will use “brands and features of both publications” starting in June. Apcar thinks the new publication will feature the strengths of both of the previous papers.
Cut 7 (08) “…merger.”
Employees of the Picayune and it’s online service, Nola.com, have been given 60 days notice.

New Orleans’ historic newspaper, The Times Picayune has been purchased by their Baton Rouge based rival, The Advocate. Manship School Professor Len Apcar, a 40 years veteran journalist who’s worked at the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, says the merger will increase the quality of reporting in the Crescent City.
Cut 6 (08) “…years.”
The Advocate has published a daily paper in New Orleans since 2012, and the merger will use “brands and features of both publications” starting in June.
The LA Wallet app, which allows Louisiana drivers to present their license on their smartphone, is now free through May. OMV field administrator Paige Paxton.
Cut 12 (06) “…of their license.”
___________________
Vice President Mike Pence visits Mount Pleasant Baptist Church today, one of the three churches recently torched in St. Landry Parish. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Kevin Barnart”
LSU has been named one of America’s best value colleges by Forbes magazine. The publication ranked it the number one best value college in the state, fourth in the SEC, and the 69th best amoung all public colleges. Among public flagship universities, LSU ranks 20th.

Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Lafayette this afternoon and will visit Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, one of the three churches recently torched in St. Landry Parish. Pence will meet with community and church leaders. Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins believes the way law enforcement and the church community faced the situation stands out to the Vice President.
Cut 4 (10) “…horror was handled.”
Legislation that would require Louisiana businesses to provide employees with paid leave to deal with family or medical issues cleared its first legislative hurdle. The Senate Labor committee approved the measure on a 4-to-1 vote after hearing about the benefits of the proposal. This new dad believes its a great idea
Cut 9 (11) “…exception.“.

The measure heads to the Senate Finance, because it requires a small payroll tax to create a fund that would provide the temporary paid leave.

The loosening on regulations based on rules written following the 2010 BP oil spill may make the Gulf of Mexico more attractive to those looking to establish offshore rigs.  Tulane Energy Institute Professor Eric Smith says the new rules will reduce the number of times a rig has to open up a blowout preventer for inspection, as well as expands who can conduct the inspections when they take place.

Cut 8 (10) “…by federal inspectors.”

Ecologists are sounding the alarm about a huge increase in the number of dead dolphins being found off the coast of Mississippi, and are pinning the blame partly on the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway in March. But Institute for Marine Mammal Studies President Dr. Mody Solangi says it’s not just the Spillway at fault. In previous decades, the spillway’s opening wasn’t as devastating, but the Mississippi River has grown so polluted that dumping that water into the gulf is disastrous.

Cut 11 (11) “…used to.”

Vice President Mike Pence will visit this afternoon with leaders of the churches burned down by a suspected arsonist in St. Landry Parish. Speaking at a National Day of Prayer event at the White House, Pence said the world condems the recent attacks on religious buildings…
cut 5 (12) “….churches in Louisiana”
Governor Edwards and members of Louisiana’s Congressional delegation will join Pence for the visit.

Marine biologists are sounding an alarm over an increase in dolphin deaths off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi. President of the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, Doctor Moby Solangi, says pollution from the Mississippi River and fresh water getting into the Mississippi Sound are the two biggest factors and dolphins are not the only marine life impacted…
cut 12 (08) “….easily seen”

The Louisiana House approves a proposal that would extend the license of the state’s lone land-based casino for 30 years. House Speaker Taylor Barras says New Orleans Harrah’s casino’s minimum annual payment to the state would go from 60-million dollars to 65-million in 2022 and increase by two percent per year thereafter…
cut 14 (12) “…salary expenses”
The legislation still needs Senate approval.

The Trump Administration is giving oil and gas companies more flexibility in meeting safety requirements that were put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Tulane Energy Institute Professor Eric Smith says among those rules was a requirement to break down blowout preventers after every drilling program….
cut 7 (12) “….the blowout preventer”
Smith says the new rules will reduce the number of times a rig has to open up a blowout preventer for inspection.

Vice President Mike Pence visits Mount Pleasant Baptist Church today, one of the three churches recently torched in St. Landry Parish…
Cut 1 (33) “I’m Kevin Barnart”

It’s a challenging day for those who work at the Times-Picayune and NOLA.com. The Advocate has purchased the 182-year-old New Orleans-based newspaper. Those who work at the Times-Pic are facing a lay off and there’s no guarantee they’ll be rehired by the Advocate.

Ecologists are sounding the alarm about a huge increase in the number of dead dolphins off the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Institute for Marine Mammal Studies President Dr. Mody Solangi says 28 dead dolphins were found in April, 55 since January.
cut 10 (11) “….months”
Solangi says there are two possible causes, Mississippi River pollution and the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway sent fresh water into Lake Ponchatrain, which eventually makes its way into the Mississippi Sound.

The Trump administration has announced the easing of offshore drilling safety rules. Tulane Energy Institute Professor Eric Smith says rules put into place after the BP spill were overly harsh and now that they’ve been rolled back, the Gulf of Mexico is more appealing for energy companies…
cut 9 (09) “….unworkable”

Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Lafayette this afternoon and will visit Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, one of the three churches recently torched in St. Landry Parish. Pence will meet with community and church leaders. Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins…
Cut 4 (10) “…horror was handled.”
21-year-old Holden Matthews has been accused of setting the fires that burned down the churches. He faces arson and hate crime charges.

The Louisiana House has overwhemingly approved legislation that would ok a 30-year license extension for New Orleans Harrah’s casino, the state’s only land based gambling hall. In return for the lengthy extension, House Speaker Taylor Barras says Harrah’s will perform 325 million dollars in upgrades, including a new hotel…
Cut 13 (06) “…amenities”
The bill does not expand the gambling floor space for the facility and it still needs Senate approval.

Dolphins off the coast of Louisiana and Mississippi are dying in alarming numbers, and a marine biologist says Mississippi river pollution and freshwater from the opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway are largely to blame. Matt Doyle has more.
Voicer 3 (30) “I’m Matt Doyle”

The owners of the New Orleans Advocate newspaper are purchasing the Times-Picayune and its nola-dot-com website. The Advocate says they will publish a seven-day home delivered newspaper in New Orleans starting in June. Editors, writers and photographers at the Times-Picayune will be out of a job in 60 days, some of them could be re-hired by the Advocate.

Vice President Mike Pence arrives in Louisiana later today where he’ll visit with community and faith leaders impacted by the burning down of three black churches in St. Landry Parish. The churches have seen an outpouring of support with a GoFundMe page raising over $2 million in donations. Southwest Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins credits the church communities faith as their greatest resource, but says the churches can expect support on the federal level as well.
Cut 6 (11) “…as they rebuild.”

The full House supports a proposal to extend the license of Harrah’s New Orleans Casino for 30 years. House Speaker Taylor Barras says if the legislation passes Cesaers Entertainment would invest 325-million dollars to upgrade the casino and that includes a new hotel…
cut 15 (10) “…historically”
A similiar proposal died in the Senate last year.

Loosening of regulations set following the 2010 BP oil spill may lead to the Gulf of Mexico being more attractive for drilling….
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Kevin Barnhart”

The National Weather Service says two small tornadoes are responsible for the property damage that occurred yesterday in the DeSoto Parish towns of Mansfield and Stanley.