Us News & World Report’s list of best states ranks Louisiana dead last in the nation. Halen Doughty has more…
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A North Louisiana state House candidate is coming under fire over a blackface photo. Michelle Southern reports…:
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Tonight President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress, and even political experts don’t know what to expect. LSU political science professor Robert Hogan says this address will be unlike any we’ve seen in a while, as a Republican president will go before a GOP dominated Congress. But he says that doesn’t mean either chamber will fully support the President’s proposals.
Hogan says healthcare will be a big topic, as will the budget. He says typically presidents use this address as an opportunity to push their legislative agendas, including taxes and spending. He expects there to be more support from the GOP for Mr. Trump’s spending plan.
Hogan says it’s unclear whether Mr. Trump will offer an olive branch to ease tensions or go in for the attack. He says generally presidents deliver a well thought-out, rehearsed address that clearly outlines their priorities. But he say Mr. Trump is anything but predictable.
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Mardi Gras 2017 could go down as the warmest Fat Tuesday on record in the Bayou state. Forecaster with the National Weather Service in New Orleans, Phil Grigsby, says the current record was set back in 1917 at 83 degrees. He says temperatures could surpass that today…
Grigsby credits the warm temperatures throughout the carnival season to the lack of cold fronts in Louisiana so far this winter.
Grigsby says the coldest Mardi Gras on record was set at 30 degrees back in 1899. He says today’s weather is perfect for parade watching…
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Louisiana came in dead last on Us News & World Report’s new best states ranking. Analyst Lindsey Cook says Louisiana ranks near or at the bottom for the economy, government, crime, and opportunity. She says healthcare was one of their biggest weighted categories, and in that Louisiana did poorly across the board.
Cook says even with the recently expanded Medicaid program, health rankings like obesity won’t improve overnight. She says Louisiana ranks 39th for infrastructure and 42nd for transportation. She says education was also a big category, and the Bayou State came in at number 46.
Cook says Louisiana was knocked down on the list for its high incarceration and crime rates, as it came in last for corrections. But she says Louisiana did fare well in some areas.
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A picture has surfaced of Robbie Gatti, who is a white Republican running for a seat in the state legislature, wearing black face paint as part of a Tiger Woods costume. Gatti says this photo was taken 15 years ago during a church function when the golfing star was at the height of his career. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says the photo will certainly not help Gatti’s campaign…
Gatti claims the church held a fall festival and he was told to dress up as a famous person. Stockley says Gatti probably didn’t know what his political future would hold 15 years ago. But he says the Bossier City politician should’ve know better…
Gatti is one of four candidates running for the district 8 seat vacated by Mike Johnson. LSU Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeffery Sadow says 15 years ago, Gatti likely didn’t expect social media to blow up as it has today.
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The accused drunk driver in the Endymion parade crash is facing more and more charges and the victim count rises. Neilson Rizzuto has been charged with an additional 22 counts of negligent vehicular injury. Loyola law professor Dane Ciolino says that number could still go up because the victim count is up to 32.
The 25-year-old was originally booked on four charges, including two counts of negligent vehicular injury, hit and run causing serious injury, and careless operation. Ciolino expects Rizzuto to be sentenced to at least 10 years behind bars.
Ciolino says we can also expect a host of civil suits against Rizzuto to be filed by the victims.
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