A new study shows that the benefits of bariatric surgery go beyond just massive weight loss. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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A difficult search is underway for the remains of a teenager who authorities believe ended up in a landfill. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 2 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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A St. Tammany Parish youth pastor is behind bars in connection with a decades-old crime. Joe Gallinaro reports.

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

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Meta has announced it’s expanding its Richland Parish A-I data center to five gigawatts, becoming one of the largest data centers in the world. Work on the 32-hundred-acre site is underway; and the president of Meta, Dina Powell McCormick, says they anticipate the project will be completed in 2036.

Cut 4 (12) “…to move fast.”

An estimated 75-hundred construction workers are needed to build the Richland Parish data center project. Meta is willing to train many of the workers needed to construct this facility and other data centers for free. McCormick says anyone interested in getting trained for electrical, plumbing and fiber optics should look into Meta’s America’s Workforce Academy.

Cut 5 (11) “…data center site.”

Once the facility is constructed, it’s expected to employ one-thousand people. Governor Jeff Landry says this is the kind of job creation he talked about when he ran for office.

Cut 6 (12) “…those opportunities elsewhere.”

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A new study from LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center shows that bariatric surgery is not only safe and effective in helping morbidly obese people lose weight, but it’s also effective in improving obesity-related health conditions. Dr. Philip Schauer (“shower”), who led the study, says the study evaluated 76 patients between the ages of 10 and 25 who underwent bariatric surgery between January 2020 and March 2025, and an average loss of 30-percent body weight wasn’t the only positive outcome.

Cut 7 (13) “…60-percent improvement.”

Dr. Schauer says chronic obesity is a disease that begins early in life; and sometimes, surgery may be the one and only viable option in ensuring a patient’s long-term health.

Cut 8 (10) “…would be surgery.”

Schauer says as evidenced by this study, bariatric surgery is becoming a more widely accepted option for younger patients.

Cut 9 (10)  “…or bariatric surgery.”

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The search for the remains of a 15-year-old Baton Rouge boy is underway at the Baton Rouge North Landfill. Baton Rouge Police say 51-year-old Maurice Parms beat Je’Derrius Minnieweather to death and dumped his body in a trash can that was picked up during garbage collection. Minniweather’s grandmother, Jawanna Brooks, is looking for answers.

Cut 10 (07) “…his mom don’t.”

The FBI is helping with the search. Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp says investigators have narrowed the search area to about one acre, but there are massive amounts of debris to sift through.

Cut 11 (11) “…at a time.”

Parms has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of the teen. Arrest records say Minnieweather went to see a 16-year-old friend on June 5th. Investigators say he got into an argument with Parms over the way Parms was treating the girl. East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore says finding Minnieweather’s remains is crucial for two reasons.

Cut 12 (06) “…in this matter.”

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A St. Tammany Parish youth pastor is arrested for allegedly sexually abusing several children decades ago. 72-year-old David Mercer was wanted on a warrant issued out of Bossier Parish. Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Matthew Bertrand says Mercer was wanted for crimes committed between 1989 and 1995, while he had served as youth pastor at Cypress Baptist Church in Benton.

Cut 13 (08)  “…molestation of juveniles.”

Mercer was taken into custody Friday afternoon at a property owned by First Baptist Church of Folsom, where he was working as a youth pastor. Sergeant Bertrand says it’s baffling that Mercer has continued to serve as youth pastor all this time.

Cut 14 (10) “…a little concerning.”

Bertrand says while there are four alleged victims at this time, there are likely many more, and he wants them and anyone else with any information to come forward.

Cut 15 (08) “…know about it.”

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Jay Johnson and LSU brought in some big-time high school signees who chose to enroll at LSU over signing with an MLB team. Aledo, Texas, left-hander Lucas Nawrocki was Perfect Game’s number-50 high school prospect and pulled his name from the draft the night before it began. Glen West with On3-dot-com says he can have an immediate impact.

Cut 16 (16) “…from the start.”

Foxworth, Mississippi, right-handed pitcher Kolby Stringer ranked 110th in MLB’s draft prospect rankings. The 6-3, 205-pounder was not selected in the Major League draft and will head to Baton Rouge. West says he shot up draft boards late.

Cut 17 (13) “…bullpen next year.”

On the position player side, Perfect Game’s 28th-ranked high schooler Malachi Washington chose to go to school after being drafted at pick 528. 45th-ranked prep prospect Dominic Santarelli was picked 550th overall and announced his enrollment at LSU. West says this class is one Tiger fans may look back on as a program-changer.

Cut 18 (20) “…they’re that talented.”

Meta is doubling its AI data center in Richland Parish. Meta President and Vice Chairwoman Dina Powell McCormick says they now plan to spend as much as 50-billion dollars on the project and related infrastructure, up from the ten-billion it originally planned

Cut 3 (12) “…Richland Parish and beyond.”

The site will encompass more than 32-hundred acres, more than four times the size of New York City’s Central Park, and there are concerns that the massive size will increase electricity bills for area residents because of the amount of power needed to run one of these facilities. But Governor Landry says Meta and Entergy have come up with a plan for ratepayers not to bear the extra costs.

Cut 6 (12) “..infrastructure.”

Speaking of data centers under construction, the “help wanted” sign is out at the Hut 8 data center in West Feliciana Parish, and there will be a job fair tomorrow afternoon to fill scores of positions. Parish President Kenny Havard says the positions cover both immediate and future positions.

Cut 10 (06) “…15-hundred construction jobs.” 

The job fair will be from three to six tomorrow afternoon at West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville. 

A St. Tammany Parish youth pastor is arrested for allegedly sexually abusing several children decades ago. 72-year-old David Mercer was wanted on a warrant issued out of Bossier Parish. Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Matthew Bertrand says Mercer was wanted for crimes committed between 1989 and 1995, while he had served as youth pastor at Cypress Baptist Church in Benton.

Cut 13 (08)  “…molestation of juveniles.”

A St. Tammany Parish pastor was arrested for allegedly sexual abusing several children decades ago while serving at a church in Benton. 72-year-old David Mercer was taken into custody Friday afternoon at a property owned by First Baptist Church of Folsom, where he was working as a youth pastor. Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Matthew Bertrand says it’s baffling that Mercer has continued to serve as youth pastor all this time.

Cut 14 (10) “…a little concerning.”

It’s a wet start to the work week. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says some parts of Louisiana had six to seven inches of rain on Saturday alone, and that rainy pattern will continue today and tomorrow.

Cut 7 (11) “…the same area.”

Meta is committing another 50-billion dollars to its Richland Parish data center, expanding the campus to nearly ten million square feet and five gigawatts of IT capacity. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 1 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Three youths at the Swanson Center for Youth in Monroe escaped the facility Saturday morning and were brought back into custody Saturday night. Juvenile Justice Specialist Makayla D. Kelly was arrested and fired and in connection with the escape.

Meta is doubling its A-I data center in Richland Parish. Governor Landry says as artificial intelligence continues to accelerate worldwide, the infrastructure powering it is expanding to meet the growing demand. He says with this investment, Meta is establishing the Richland Parish Data Center as the cornerstone of its global infrastructure and it puts Louisiana in a great spot too.

Cut 4 (10) “…the world.”

It’s another wet start to the work week, with some areas getting around two inches of rain today and tomorrow. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says the prolonged rainfall raises the potential for certain major conditions, but other forms of severe weather are not expected for the time being.

Cut 8 (10) “…of weather conditions.”

If you need a job, the “help wanted” sign is out in West Feliciana Parish. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

A federal appellate court has thrown out a lawsuit that attempted to stop the construction of the nation’s first floating LNG terminal, to be located off southwest Louisiana. The plaintiffs in the case were calling for a new environmental and public review, but a three-judge panel found that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the petition to court.

Meta is doubling its AI data center in Richland Parish. President and Vice Chairman of Meta, Dina Powell McCormick, says they now plan to spend as much as 50-billion dollars on the project and related infrastructure, up from the ten billion it originally planned

Cut 3 (12) “…Richland Parish and beyond.”

There are concerns this massive AI data center in north Louisiana will increase electricity bills for residents, because of the amount of power it takes to run one of these facilities. But Governor Landry says Meta and Entergy have come up with a plan so ratepayers are not burdened with extra costs…

Cut 6 (12) “..infrastructure”

In the last segment, we told you about the expansion of the Meta A-I data center in Richland Parish. Construction is also underway on the Hut 8 data center in West Feliciana Parish. Parish president Kenny Havard says there is a job fair from three to six tomorrow afternoon at West Feliciana High in St. Francisville as they are looking for skilled technical workers, and the salaries are lucrative…

Cut 12  (07) “…dollars a year”

Havard says in the months since, those figures have actually gone up from there.

We are seeing a lot of rain on the western side of the state today and there’s a good chance for more rain tomorrow and then the state will start to dry out. LSU Health climatologist Barry Keim says that just means, it will be hot and humid when the rain goes away…

Cut 9 (10) “…be pretty oppressive”

Heat index values are expected to reach the triple digits later this week.

Meta is doubling its A-I data center in Richland Parish. Governor Landry says as artificial intelligence continues to accelerate worldwide, the infrastructure powering it is expanding to meet the growing demand. He says with this investment, Meta is establishing the Richland Parish Data Center as the cornerstone of its global infrastructure and it puts Louisiana in a great spot too.

Cut 4 (10) “…the world.”

It’s another wet start to the work week, with some areas getting around two inches of rain today and tomorrow. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says the prolonged rainfall raises the potential for certain major conditions, but other forms of severe weather are not expected for the time being.

Cut 8 (10) “…of weather conditions.”

The “help wanted” sign is out at the Hut 8 data center in West Feliciana Parish, and there will be a job fair tomorrow afternoon to fill scores of construction and permanent technical positions. Parish President Kenny Havard says the job fair will be from three to six tomorrow afternoon at West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville.

Cut 11 (10) “…involved in it.”

Thanks to a grant from the Louisiana Department of Health, up to six physician assistant students at LSU Health Shreveport will receive scholarships in exchange for a two to three year commitment at participating rural hospitals upon graduation. Dr. Sharon Dunn, the dean of the School of Health Professions and Sciences, says the longer the scholarship, the longer the hospital commitment will be. 

Cut 14 (11) “…August of 2029.”

Meta is doubling the size of its Richland Parish data center. The site will encompass more than 32-hunred acres, more than four times larger than New York City’s Central Park. Governor Jeff Landry says his administration has created an environment where companies can move quickly and build at scale..

Cut 5 (14) “…150 billion investment.”  (applause)

Meta now plans to spend as much as 50 billion dollars on the project.

The “help wanted” sign is out at the Hut 8 data center in West Feliciana Parish, and there will be a job fair tomorrow afternoon to fill scores of positions. Parish President Kenny Havard says the positions cover both immediate and future jobs.

Cut 10 (06) “…15-hundred construction jobs.”

Permanent jobs for skilled technical workers have average salaries between 130-thousand and 150-thousand dollars a year.

Three former LSU Tigers were taken on the opening day of the Major League Baseball Draft. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 22 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

On day two of the MLB draft yesterday, five LSU relievers went off the board. Grant Fontenot was picked by Kansas City in the tenth, Santiago Garcia went to Toronto in the 12th, Connor Benge was selected in the 13th by Miami, Gavin Guidry went in round 16 to the Mets and Cleveland picked Zac Cowan in the 19th.