A statewide ban on kratom is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming reality. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

It’s been a historic season for LSU Shreveport and the Pilots can make more history today. If LSU S wins tonight, it will be their 57^th straight victory which will tie the all-time college win streak set by Howard College in Texas. LSU-S will play at 8:30 central time in Lewiston, Idaho.

The ULM School of Education earned an A+ rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its elementary math teacher preparation, one of only four Louisiana universities to achieve this distinction. This follows ULM’s prior A+ rating in Reading Foundations. School of Education Associate Director Dr. Shalanda Stanley

Cut 5 (10) “…student performance.”

She says the difference is shortening the gap between learning how and actually practicing with students getting hundreds of hours of field experience prior to full-time teaching.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action Day at the Capitol. Louisiana Government Relations Director for the ACS CAN Alice Kline says the rally was to advocate for increasing funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Cut 10 (10) “…so heavily.”

In the next hour, Governor Jeff Landry will hold a bill signing ceremony on tort reform legislation designed to help bring down auto insurance rates. Yesterday, the Louisiana House delivered Governor Jeff Landry a victory by approving a bill that would allow the insurance commissioner to reject rates without justification. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says the measure will push insurers out of the state.

The Louisiana House has approved a bill that makes it a crime to possess and distribute kratom. Covington Republican Peter Egan objected, he said the herbal substance can help treat chronic pain and mental health issues….

Cut 15 (13) “….that consumes it”

Despite Egan’s opposition the bill passed 87-6, sending it to the governor’s desk. During committee testimony, one family testified on how kratom drove their son to kill himself because the addiction is so bad.

There are more questions than answers when it comes to Sunday’s power outage that lasted several hours impacting nearly 100-thousand Louisianans. MISO, which is responsible for planning and coordinating generation and transmission of electricity, ordered a load shed after nuclear power plant shut down. Yvonne Capel Vickery is with the Alliance for Affordable Energy…

Cut 9 (13) “…how this happens”

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held a Cancer Action Day at the State Capitol. Louisiana Government Relations Director for the A-C-S CAN Alice Kline says they are urging legislators to sustain funding for the Louisiana Breast and Cervical Cancer Program and the Louisiana Tumor Registry…

Cut 12 (10) “…each year”

The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another massive outage like the one in New Orleans saw over the weekend. The weather in the New Orleans area Sunday was considerably warmer than forecast; and MISO was forced to order the blackouts to preserve energy.  Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis blamed the inaccurate forecasts on DOGE cuts. Alliance clean grid manager, Yvonne Vickery says it’s imperative that the National Weather Service be fully staffed.

Cut 8 (13) “…such as this.”

A ban on kratom in Louisiana is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming law. The State House voting to ban the supplement sometimes known as “gas station heroin.” The House vote on West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ bill was 86-to-6. Kenner Republican Debbie Villio says kratom is highly addictive and potentially fatal.

Cut 14 (11) “…bad, bad stuff.”

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The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action day at the Capitol to advocate for increase cancer funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.  Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

After more than a week of sifting through rubble, the State Fire Marshall’s Office has concluded its investigation of Fire that destroyed historic Nottoway Plantation.   Evidence collected has now been transferred to the A-T-F Crime Lab in Atlanta, Georgia, for analysis to determine the origin and cause of the fire that destroyed the 166 year old, 53-thousand square foot structure May 15^th.

A statewide ban on kratom is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming reality. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

The State Fire Marshall’s Office and ATF have wrapped up their investigation of the Fire that Destroyed historic Nottoway on May 15^th.  Evidence collected from the scene has been transferred to the A-T-F Crime Lab in Atlanta, Georgia, where it is currently undergoing analysis to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

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The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another massive outage like the one New Orleans experienced Sunday night. The alliance’s clean grid manager, Yvonne Cappel (cah-PELL)-Vickery, says MISO should not be the ones to blame; one factor behind the outage was poor transmission planning among the utilities.

Cut 7 (10) “…us in Louisiana.”

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action Day at the Capitol. Louisiana Government Relations Director for the ACS CAN Alice Kline says advocates met with lawmakers to stress the importance of investing tobacco tax revenue in initiatives to prevent youth tobacco use and help smokers quit.

Cut 11 (10) “…long-term Medicaid costs.”

The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another widespread blackout. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action Day at the Capitol. Louisiana Government Relations Director for the ACS CAN Alice Kline says the rally was to advocate for increased funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Cut 10 (10) “…so heavily.”

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A ban on kratom in Louisiana is now one signature from Governor Landry from becoming law. The State House has followed the Senate’s lead in overwhelmingly voting to ban the supplement sometimes known as “gas station heroin.” The House vote on West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ bill was 86-to-6. Kenner Republican Debbie Villio presented the bill in the House. She said kratom is cloaked in deception.

Cut 13 (08)  “…routinely do so.”

The ULM School of Education earned an A+ rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its elementary math teacher preparation, one of only four Louisiana universities to achieve this distinction.  School of Education Associate Director Dr. Shalanda Stanley says the NCTQ evaluated 17 programs, focusing on time dedicated to key math content and math pedagogy.

Cut 4 (11) “…very proud of it.”

The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another widespread blackout. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

____________________________________________

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action day at the Capitol to advocate for increase cancer funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.  Sean Richardson has more.

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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A statewide ban on kratom is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming reality. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

____________________________________________

The ULM School of Education earned an A+ rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality for its elementary math teacher preparation, one of only four Louisiana universities to achieve this distinction.  School of Education Associate Director Dr. Shalanda Stanley says the NCTQ evaluated 17 programs, focusing on time dedicated to key math content and math pedagogy.

Cut 4 (11) “…very proud of it.”

This follows ULM’s prior A+ rating in Reading Foundations. With 25-percent of Louisiana’s 4th graders lacking basic math skills, per the National Assessment of Education Progress, ULM’s rigorous, CAEP-accredited programs, led by Stanley, prepare teachers to address critical educational needs.

Cut 5 (10) “…student performance.”

Stanley says the difference is shortening the gap between learning how to do it and actually practicing implementation with students getting hundreds of hours of field experience prior to full-time teaching.

Cut 6 (12) “…are the students.”

________________________________________________________

The Alliance for Affordable Energy is urging the state and utility regulators to take steps to prevent another massive outage like the one New Orleans experienced Sunday night. The alliance’s clean grid manager, Yvonne Cappel (cah-PELL)-Vickery, says MISO should not be the ones to blame; one factor behind the outage was poor transmission planning among the utilities.

Cut 7 (10) “…us in Louisiana.”

The weather in the New Orleans area Sunday was considerably warmer than forecast; and as such, MISO was forced to order the blackouts to preserve energy. Earlier, Public Service Commissioner Davante Lewis blamed the DOGE cuts on the inaccurate forecasts. Cappel-Vickery says it’s imperative that the National Weather Service be fully staffed to prevent blackouts like this.

Cut 8 (13) “…such as this.”

Cappel-Vickery says accurate weather forecasting is essential for utility companies to determine how much load is necessary to meet the demand.

Cut 9 (09)  “…we have available.”

Cappel-Vickery is also urging regulators to continue to ask the hard questions in order to fully understand how this happened so that they can enact measures to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

________________________________________________________

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network held Cancer Action Day at the Capitol. Louisiana Government Relations Director for the ACS CAN Alice Kline says the rally was to advocate for increased funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

Cut 10 (10) “…so heavily.”

Kline says advocates met with lawmakers to stress the importance of investing tobacco tax revenue in initiatives to prevent youth tobacco use and help smokers quit.

Cut 11 (10) “…long-term Medicaid costs.”

Kline urged for sustained funding for the Louisiana Breast and Cervical Cancer Program and the Louisiana Tumor Registry to enhance early detection and reduce cancer burdens.

Cut 12 (10) “…each year.”

__________________________________________________________

A ban on kratom in Louisiana is now one signature from Governor Landry from becoming law. The State House has followed the Senate’s lead in overwhelmingly voting to ban the supplement sometimes known as “gas station heroin.” The House vote on West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ bill was 86-to-6. Kenner Republican Debbie Villio presented the bill in the House. She said kratom is cloaked in deception.

Cut 13 (08)  “…routinely do so.”

Villio says kratom is highly addictive and potentially fatal.

Cut 14 (11) “…bad, bad stuff.”

Covington Republican Peter Egan offered up an amendment that would have allowed the sale and use of only naturally-occurring kratom. That, along with another amendment, were voted down. Egan argued that more than six-percent of Louisiana’s population uses kratom.

Cut 15 (13) “…that consumes it.”

Egan says when used properly, naturally occurring kratom has its benefits.

Cut 16 (14) “…an addicted need.”

The Senate vote earlier this month was 26 to 11. Again, it now heads to Governor Landry’s desk for his signature.

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LSU Baseball is hosting its 28^th Regional this weekend and its first since 2023. Designated Hitter Ethan Frey from Rosepine was a freshman on that team and is excited to experience postseason baseball at the Box once again….

Cut 17 (12)  “…every game.”

The Tigers offense has looked better at the Box than on the road and Frey says that’s not a coincidence….

Cut 18 (18)  “…looks like so.”

Frey was a two-time state champion at Rosepine High and was on the 2023 LSU national championship team. The junior says losing in the Regional last year helped motivate him this year…

Cut 19 (15) “…season again.”

A ban on kratom in Louisiana is now one signature from Governor Landry away from becoming law. The House has followed the Senate’s lead in overwhelmingly voting to ban the supplement sometimes known as “gas station heroin.” The House vote on West Monroe Senator Jay Morris’ bill was 86-to-6. Kenner Republican Debbie Villio presented the bill in the House. She said kratom is cloaked in deception.

Cut 13 (08)  “…routinely do so.”

Covington Republican Peter Egan offered up an amendment that would have allowed the sale and use of only naturally-occurring kratom. That, along with another amendment, were voted down. Egan says when used properly, naturally occurring kratom has its benefits.

Cut 16 (14) “…an addicted need.”

The Senate vote earlier this month was 26 to 11. Once again, it now heads to Governor Landry’s desk for his signature.

One bill that’s not going to Governor Landry’s desk – not yet, at least – is one by Senator Blake Miguez that would ban ultra-processed foods from being served and sold in public schools. Lafayette Republican John Carlson presented the bill in the House and agreed to return it to the calendar for further discussion. On the House floor, Carlson said scientific research shows that these additives are harmful.

Cut 25 (17) “…in our schools.”

Once again, Carlson has returned the bill to the calendar for further discussion.

The warning from Louisiana State Police was swift and direct – if you help any of the ten escaped Orleans Parish Jail inmates in any way, you will be held accountable. Well, LSP was not messing around. So far, they have arrested 14 accomplices, including five people for helping Lenton Vanburen, who was captured in Baton Rouge yesterday. Currently, two of the ten escapees remain on the loose.

The Public Service Commission is looking for answers following Sunday’s massive blackout in southeast Louisiana, including New Orleans, which were ordered by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator. The outages were triggered when an Entergy nuclear plant unexpectedly went offline. Commissioner Eric Skrmetta says MISO would not go into further detail.

Cut 9 (10)  “…that you can’t tell me.”

Cleco says it will investigate the outage, and Entergy says they want to understand the directive from MISO.

Monroe tourism officials are remembering “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson, who passed away Sunday at the age of 79. “Duck Dynasty” aired on A-and-E for 11 years, but Sheila Snow with Discover Monroe-West Monroe says the show’s impact on the community has lasted a lot longer.

Cut 7 (09) “…their offerings there.”

The Speaker of the House gets high praise from one of his predecessors. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was on Mornings with Brian Haldane on LRN affiliate WBRP in Baton Rouge, and he said Speaker Mike Johnson has been a steady hand in a deeply divided Congress. Gingrich says Johnson did a magnificent job in getting President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” approved in the House.

Cut 4 (09) “…and doing this.”

The bill, however, faces an uncertain future in the Senate.