Today the possibility of another legislative special session could become a reality. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (31) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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More than 2-thousand Louisianans are in Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life. Emelie Gunn has more…

Cut 2 (30) “I’m Emelie Gunn”

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President Donald Trump’s idea to impose a 20-percent tax on Mexican imports to pay for the border wall could have implications for the Bayou State. Jeff Palermo has more…

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A special session to rebalance the state’s budget could become more of a reality today. LaPolitics.com publisher Jeremy Alford anticipates the Edwards administration will present three options to the joint legislative budget on fixing a 304-million dollar shortfall.

cut 4  (12) “special session”

Alford says what the committee decides, will indicate whether or not another special session will be called before the regular session in April. He says if one is necessary, the Governor will likely call the legislature back in mid-February.

Cut 5  (11)  “million dollar deficit”

Many republican lawmakers are not in favor of using rainy day money to help solve the shortfall and prefer more cuts to state spending. Last year legislators approved 1.5 billion dollars in tax increases to solve a budget crisis. Alford says there has been some talk about increasing certain fees to raise more revenue this year.

Cut 6 (09) “some aren’t”

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Over 2-thousand Louisiana residents are in Washington D.C. along with hundreds of thousands of Americans for today’s annual March for Life. Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life Ben Clapper says there is a renewed sense of hope under a Trump administration.

CUT 7 (08)  “in America”‘

On Saturday, there will be a March for Life in Shreveport, where 5-thousand people are expected to be in attendance. Clapper says the majority of people in attendance from Louisiana are under 22-years-old.

Cut 8 (10) “among us”

Last week, hundreds of thousands participated in the Woman’s March on Washington, after the inauguration of President Trump. Clapper says the March for Life has been going on for 44 years.

Cut 9 (10)  “or unborn”

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A report from U-Haul finds that Louisiana’s population might have grown during 2016. The Bayou State came in at number eight U-Haul’s growth report, based on more truck rentals coming into the state than leaving. U-Haul North Louisiana president Warren Iles…

Cut 10 (11) “U-Haul trucks”

But Iles says that doesn’t necessarily mean the population is growing at the same rate trucks are arriving. He says the historic floods Louisiana endured last year could have impacted the numbers.

cut 11 (10) “bringing in items”

Iles says they’re opening more truck rental stores and self-storage rooms around the state. He says even if the population isn’t growing, business certainly is, which he says is good news for the state.

cut 12 (08) “last year”

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President Donald Trump is considering a 20-percent tax on Mexican imports to pay for a wall along the southern border, so what does that mean for Louisiana? LSU economist Loren Scott says if the tax is imposed, Mexico will likely up the price of their exports to the US, which means American consumers will foot the bill.

Cut 13 (10) “from Mexico”

Scott says that would be bad news for the economy because Mexico is America’s number two trading partner behind Canada. He says it’s also likely Mexico will impose a tax on products shipped from the U.S.

cut 14 (07) “natural gas here”

Scott says anytime a country engages in a trade war with another country, it’s bad for the economy at home. He says trade wars are one of the key reasons we entered the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Cut 15 (08) “by two-thirds”

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High school principals will vote today on a plan that would reduce the number of state football championships from nine to seven. The vote takes place at the LHSAA convention in Baton Rouge. Iowa (Eye-oh-way) prinicpal Mike Oakley says the proposal will also reduce the number of title games  in basketball, baseball and softball

Cut 16 (17) “strain on em”

There is no proposal in today’s meeting to reverse the expanded public-private school split that the association voted for last year. Oakley says by reducing the the number of classes and divisions, it should reduce the number of teams who receive a bye and create a more spirited postseason in the sports impacted by the split

Cut 17 (14)   “in January”

close friend of the fallen Westwego police officer is raising money for his family on a Go Fund Me Page. Halen Doughty has more…

CUT 1 (30) “I’m Halen Doughty”

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LSU basketball suffered its worst loss at home since 1963 and it appears Johnny Jones’ days as the head coach of the Tigers is over. Michelle Southern has more…

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The LSU men’s basketball team suffered a historic loss last night to Florida. It was the Tigers worst loss at home since 1963, as the Gators devoured the Tigers 106-71. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham believes Johnny Jones’ days are numbered as head coach….

Cut 3 (08) “are off”

Last night’s loss is also the fourth time in the season the Tigers have lost by at least 30 points. Worsham says Jones’ job is in danger and it would take a miracle for him to keep it. But he says athletic director Joe Alleva will likely not fire Jones midseason like he did with Les Miles.

cut 4  (11) “and coaches”

The Tigers are 9-10 overall, 1-7 in the SEC, and have lost six games in a row. Worsham says Jones has two more years left on his contract after this season…

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A Go Fund Me page has been set up for Michael Louviere (Lou-v-air), the Westwego police officer who was fatally shot in Marrero. Reese d’Aquin (DAH-can) is a lifelong friend of Louviere and professional film maker who established the page, which features a video of d’Aquin telling the world about his childhood friend. D’Aquin, who now lives in Florida, says he just wanted to do what he could to help.

Cut 6 (12) “heard of”

Louviere served his country as a Marine, completing a tour in Afghanistan. D’Aquin says the money raised on the page will benefit Louviere’s wife, Ashley, and two young children.  He says the page has already raised more than $50-thousand of the $300-thousand goal.

CUT 7 (11)  “leaves behind” 

D’Aquin says Louviere overcame the adversities in his life with love and joy. In that same sentiment, he ends the story on the Go Fund Me page with a plea for people to hug their loved ones, or better yet hug a stranger.

Cut 8 (12) “better place”

Donations to Louviere’s family can be made at GoFundMe.com/michael-louviere-an-american-hero.

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A team of LSU mechanical engineers are in California to test out a pod that can float inside a vacuum tube and travel 500 to 600 miles per hour. LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Assistant Professor and the team’s faculty adviser Aly-Mousaad Aly says the team is eager to see how fast the pod will actually travel.

Cut 9 (10)  “real world”

The Hyperloop team is one of 30 teams selected out of 1,000 to test out their prototype at a competition for a new high-speed transportation system on January 27^th– 29^th. Aly expects the LSU team will perform well in the competition…

Cut 10 (10) “the goal”

If the infrastructure was in place, the pod could travel from Baton Rouge to New Orleans in 10 minutes. Aly says the theory of an underground high speed transportation system might not be practical in Louisiana because of the wet soil, but is happy the students can put their skills to use.

cut 11 (12) “transportation”

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Former state Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham defended his spending practices before a panel of lawmakers who were discussing an audit that accuses Barham of misappropriating BP funds while in office. Barham admits LDWF made extraordinary and unusual purchases, like three metal shark boats…

cut 12 (11) “in Louisiana”

The audit says samples of fish taken after the oil spill sat for days and were not properly tested. But Barham says those samples were frozen and properly taken. He says the department was put in charge of bringing the seafood back into the market.

Cut 13 (10) “a fish“

The critical audit of LDWF’s spending practices looked at purchases made from 2010 to 2015, when Barham was secretary. Barham says suggestions that there were systemic problems couldn’t be further from the truth.

cut 14 (11) “safety program”

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A Carencro man is facing charges for disposing used oil into state waters. Greg Langley with the Department of Environmental Quality says 41-year-old Roshell Darjean changed the oil in an 18-wheeler and decided to pour between 5 and 10 gallons of oil into a ditch that drains into Bayou Carencro.

Cut 15 (12) “or both”

Langley says someone reported seeing oil coming from a storm drain, and hazmat teams were deployed to contain the substance. He says people performing maintenance on their vehicles can recycle used oil at most auto supply stores. He says not only is dumping oil illegal, it’s bad for the environment.

Cut 16  (10)  “drinking water”

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