Senate is committed to fully funding the TOPS scholarship program, despite budget troubles, according to President John Alario. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (28) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

The fourth and final Confederate monument in New Orleans is coming down, as crews are currently working to remove the statue of Robert E Lee. A crane is in place ready to take down the 16 foot tall statue of the Confederate general from its perch above St. Charles Avenue. Crowds are gathering around Lee Circle.

A bill that increases the training requirement for police officers to 400 hours is heading to the Senate floor. The measure by Baton Rouge Representative Ted James would also require officers to complete 20 additional hours of annual training, including learning about bias policing recognition.

Cut 14 (10) “those situations”

James filed the bill in response to the Alton Sterling shooting in Baton Rouge.

Safe Boating Week kicks off Saturday in Louisiana and runs through May 26. Adam Einck with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says their agents will be conducting more safety checks on waterways this week. He says it’s important to remember three things when out on the water.

Cut 3 (08) “working condition”

Louisiana has seen 9 boating fatalities so far this year.

The Senate Finance committee has started hearings on the proposed spending plan for next fiscal year. Senate President John Alario says the budget the House approved does not properly fund the Department of Children and Family Services….
cut 10 (08) “…supervised”
Alario says the House did not allocate 206-million dollars that’s available to spend and they may use some of that money to fill the budget gaps.

A bill heading to the Senate will require that police officers receive at least 400 hours of basic training and….
cut 13 (09) “…peace officers”
That’s Baton Rouge Representative Ted James, who wrote the bill in response to the police shooting of Alton Sterling. James says law enforcement is in support of the legislation.

Three people were killed when their vehicle split in half in Ascension Parish. Halen Doughty has the story…
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Safe Boating Week begins tomorrow. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spokesperson Adam Einck advises boaters to sign up for a free boating safety course on L-D-W-F’s website…
cut 5 (09) “….as well”
Louisiana recorded 24 boating fatalities in 2016 and this year nine people have died in boating accidents.

Three St. Amant young adults were found dead in an Ascension Parish bayou by a member of their own family. State Trooper Bryan Lee says they believe the crash occurred early Thursday morning but was not discovered until around midnight Thursday. He says when troopers arrived they discovered a grisly scene of the vehicle split in half by a tree.
Cut 7 (09) “in half”

The victims have been identified as Thomas Jones, Austin Kiernan, and Sydney Persac.

The Senate is committed to fully funding the TOPS program without changes, according to President John Alario. A House measure would raise the GPA requirement to 2.75 but Alario expects any changes will be unsuccessful in the Senate. He says too many students rely on TOPS.
Cut 11 (10) “for us”

The full House has approved a measure that would require higher training standards for police officers. The proposal by Baton Rouge Representative Ted James would require officers to receive at least 400 hours of basic POST training before entering the field.
Cut 12 (10) “the 400 hours”

Currently, crews in New Orleans are taking down the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. This is the fourth Confederate monument to be removed in the last few weeks. Mayor Mitch Landrieu is expected to speak on the topic this afternoon.

Here’s a look at commodities.

Senate President John Alario says the upper chamber is committed to fully funding the TOPS scholarship program. Alario says the budget plan approved by the House takes money away from the Department of Health to fully fund TOPS and they are taking a close look at that proposal.
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Alario also says the Senate also disagrees with a House bill to raise the minimum GPA in order to recieve the TOPS scholarship.

State Police say three young adults from St. Amant were killed when their vehicle veered off the road, went airborne, striking a tree and splitting in half. All three victims were found outside the vehicle. State Police Trooper Bryan Lee says there’s still a lot of questions…
cut 8 (09) “….a factor”
A family member of one of the victims found the dead bodies last night.

Crews are in the process of taking down the statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee. One of the most recognizable monuments in New Orleans. It’s the fourth Confederate-related statue to be removed in the last couple of weeks. Mayor Mitch Landrieu has called a press conference this afternoon to discuss this issue further.

A Senate-approved proposal to alter the state’s film tax credit program has the support of the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association. Halen Doughty has more…
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Three people were found dead in an Ascension Parish bayou by their own family member. State Trooper Bryan Lee says the family had not heard from 23-year-old Thomas Jones, 22-year-old Austin Kiernan, and 19-year-old Sydney Persac of St. Amant after they went out Wednesday night…
cut 6 (09) “…a canal”
Investigators do not know what led to the crash.

A House committee will consider legislation on Monday that reworks how the state hands out film tax credits. The bill allows the film tax credit program to expire in eight years. But President of the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association Robert Vosbein says industry leaders are not worried…
cut 11 (11) “…worth keeping”

Congressman Garret Graves calls the investigation into the connection between President Donald Trump and Russia during the election a total distraction. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Grand Isle will host a fishing rodeo featuring current and former Saints players tomorrow. Former Saints tackle Stan Brock says the public is welcome to participate in the speckled trout and redfish rodeo at Bridgeside Marina and each team will partner with a Saints legend…
cut 5 (09) “…called Butter”

The Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association supports proposed changes to the state’s film tax credit program. A Senate-approved measure would place a front-end cap on the program, as opposed to the back-end cap enacted in 2015. Association president Robert Vosbein says there’s even incentives to get producers outside of the Big Easy…:
Cut 12 (07) “in the state”
The bill was approved 33-3 in the Senate. Its next hearing will be in the House Ways and Means Committee.

Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves calls the investigation into the connection between President Donald Trump and Russia during the election a total distraction. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been hired to investigate. The President has called this a witch hunt, which Graves feels isn’t too far off the mark because past administrations weren’t treated this way…:
Cut 14 (08) “do our jobs”
Democrats believe if Mr. Trump asked the FBI not to investigate the alleged collusion with Russia it equates to obstruction of justice.

Elementary schools would be required to teach litter education under a bill headed to the Senate floor for final legislative passage. Lafayette Representative Stuart Bishop says it’s time to stop thanking Mississippi and Arkansas for ranking lower than us in trashing streets…:
Cut 9 (07) “embarrassing”

Former and current Saints players will participate in a weekend of fishing, shooting and entertainment at the Black and Gold Classic in Grand Isle. Former Saints tackle Stan Brock hosts the event and says today teams will participate in a private shooting event and tomorrow the fishing rodeo begins at 6 a.m. He says all the proceeds go to the Green Beret Foundation and All American Caliber, groups which support veterans:
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He says registration for the rodeo begins at 5:30am tomorrow and you can get all the details at blackandgoldclassic.com.

When it comes to claims that President Donald Trump teamed up with Russia to help sway the election, Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves says the constant back and forth on the issue is a distraction. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has been hired to investigate. Graves says he’s not going to prejudge whether Mueller is going to find anything…:
Cut 15 (10) “been substantiated”
Democrats believe if Mr. Trump asked the FBI not to investigate the alleged collusion with Russia it equates to obstruction of justice.

State Police say three people are dead in a tragic Ascension Parish crash that was discovered by a horrified family member. Investigators say they received a call just before midnight last night about a mangled vehicle that was located in a bayou, and its lifeless occupants surrounding the scene. They believe the trio was headed home in the early morning hours of Thursday, when the vehicle flew off the road and hit a tree, splitting the car in half and ejecting the occupants before landing in the bayou.

The statue of Robert E. Lee at Lee Circle in New Orleans will be gone after today. Mayor Mitch Landrieu will make remarks on the controversial Confederate monument matter this afternoon.

Louisiana is set to receive another $51 million in federal flood recovery aid. That’s according to US Senator Bill Cassidy, who says HUD is divvying up $163 million congress recently appropriated for disaster recovery.

The fishing rodeo season officially kicks off this weekend and there’s no shortage of events going on in Grand Isle. Former Saints star Stan Brock hosts Black & Gold Classic which benefits veterans and allows participants to mingle with current and former New Orleans players…:
CUT 26 (11) “current players”
He says registration for the rodeo begins at 5:30am tomorrow and you can get all the details at blackandgoldclassic.com.

New Orleans is going to take down the statue of General Robert E. Lee today which will complete the removal of four Confederate monuments the city council voted to remove. Unlike the other three, the prominent Lee Circle piece will be dismantled during the day and Mayor Mitch Landrieu is planning a speech on the controversial matter this afternoon.

Could the state finally be reaching a compromise with the film tax credit program? It appears so. A Senate-approved measure would place a front-end cap on the incentives, as opposed to the back-end cap enacted in 2015. Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association president Robert Vosbein says the measure also reserves 10 percent of the available credits for Louisiana filmmakers…:
Cut 10 (10) “the program”
The proposal will next be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee.

A measure to require litter prevention education in Kindergarten through 5th grade heads to the Senate floor for final legislative passage. Lafayette Representative Stuart Bishop told a Senate panel Louisiana has a serious litter problem that needs to be addressed…:
Cut 7 (10) “of litter”

The Black and Gold Classic Fishing Rodeo gets underway in Grand Isle today with the help of some former and current Saints players…:
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”