Parks Senator Fred Mills will present his medical marijuana bill before the House Health and Welfare Committee today. Jeff Palermo reports…

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Republican Gubernatorial candidate Scott Angelle announces he’ll be touring north Louisiana beginning this week. Michelle Southern reports…:

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A football player for LSU is booked with felony domestic abuse for allegedly choking his fiance in the presence of children. Michelle Southern reports…:

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Parks Senator Fred Mills will present his medical marijuana bill before the House Health and Welfare Committee today. The measure cleared the full Senate on a 22-13 vote. He says medical marijuana has been legal in Louisiana since a law was passed back in 1991…

cut 4  (07)  “medical marijuana”

The bill would allow for the cultivation and dispensing of medical marijuana. A similar bill by Mills failed to pass committee last year. Mills says he’s worked with the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association to make the bill more acceptable to lawmakers. He says some changes included putting the Department of Agriculture in charge of growing medical marijuana and limiting the number of dispensing pharmacies in the state to ten…

Cut 5  (07)  “oil form”

The measure would also make medical marijuana available only in an oil form, not in its raw form where people would smoke it. Governor Bobby Jindal says he doesn’t see any glaring concerns with Mills’ bill…

Cut 6 (08)  “medical purpose”

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Republican Gubernatorial candidate Scott Angelle announces he’ll be touring north Louisiana beginning this week. According to a release, the tour will travel through 27 parishes meeting with local officials, business owners, educators and other residents. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says this is brilliant strategy…:

CUT 7 (10)  “tremendously”

Recent polls have shown the Public Service Commissioner Angelle trailing the other three major candidates Democratic Representative John Bel Edwards, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and the leader, US Senator David Vitter. Stockley says north Louisiana has always been a hot spot for Vitter…:

Cut 8  (08)  “Vitter’s base” 

Today Angelle will be in Madison and Tensas parishes hosting a meet-and-greet with over 150 sportsmen. In the release, Angelle says north Louisiana is crucial to the success of our state and voters there are looking for a governor who appreciates the vital role they play in our economy. Stockley says this tour indicates that he’s serious about this campaign…:

Cut 9 (04)  “this race”

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Former US Senator Mary Landrieu has found a new job. She’s been hired by the Washington DC lobbying firm Van Ness Feldman as a Senior Policy Advisor. Political analyst Clancy Dubos says it’s not a surprise for former Senators and US Representatives to accept these kind of jobs…

Cut 10 (10) “Capitol Hill”

The company says Landrieu will advise clients on various public policy and regulatory issues with an emphasis on energy, natural resources and infrastructure matters. Dubos says Landrieu’s career as a politician will help her out in her new occupation….

cut 11 (06) “administrative level”

Dubos says it’s likely Landrieu’s days in public office are over and this announcement signals a career change…

cut 12 (10)   “different career track”

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A football player for LSU is booked with felony domestic abuse for allegedly choking his fiance in the presence of children. East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s office Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks says the victim claims she and 22-year-old Jevonte Domond got into a huge argument when the incident took place…:

Cut 13 (10)  “consciousnesses”

Hicks says Domond was arrested for felony domestic abuse battery by strangulation with minor children present. She says the woman claimed she was strangled by Domond to the point of almost completely blacking out…:(Hicks says the woman’s injuries were consistent with her story and there was also a witness who corroborated the claim.)

Cut 14 (09) “her story”

Domond is a junior who transferred to LSU last summer and played in one game. He is a 6-foot-6 offensive tackle and weighs 310 pounds. A spokesman from the team says he has been suspended. Hicks says the suspect told detectives there was a dispute that started earlier in the day when the woman pulled a knife on him on threatened him…:

Cut 15  (07)  “to the incident”

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The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and the Allstate Sugar Bowl have put in a bid to host the College Football Playoff National Championship game in 2019 or 2020. New Orleans is already competing to host the Super Bowls in those same years. Jay Cicero, Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation President says it would be their hope to get both big games in the same year…:

Cut 16  (06)  “situation”

It’s being reported as many as 9 cities are bidding to host the big game between 2018-2020. Cicero says they’ve put together a great presentation and they know there will be many other potential host sites hoping to get the games…:

Cut 17 (09)  “is fierce”

New Orleans can’t bid on 2018 because The Big Easy is already going to host the National Semifinal game that year. Cicero says there will be site visits over the summer and the decision will be made mid-October. He says one of their main concerns is brand new stadiums, but a lot of those cities can’t offer all New Orleans has to offer…:

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Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. Eric Gill as more…

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Legislation to soften the penalties for those convicted multiple times for marijuana possession continue to make progress in the legislature. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Shrimp season opened just over a week ago and local shrimpers are seeing prices at the dock take a nose dive. One shrimper says he’s getting 55-cents per pound for his catch, compared to $2 a year ago. Clint Guidry, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, says there is one big factor contributing to the drop in price…

CUT 3 (05)  “over 50-percent”

Guidry says an increase in imported shrimp is the main cause of the price drop. He says there was a decrease in imports the last few years because of a disease problem with southeast Asian shrimp. Guidry says these falling prices have an adverse affect the entire industry…

CUT 4 (12)  “go out anymore”

The dramatic drop in the price of shrimp is making it difficult for fishermen to pay expenses, much less make a profit. Guidry is hopeful the federal government will step in and help curb the number of imports allowed in the US. He says there is one specific way consumers can help Louisiana shrimpers…

CUT 5 (06)  “working fishermen”

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Louisiana has some of the harshest marijuana possession penalties in the country, but two bills are moving through the legislature that seek to reduce prison times for repeat offenders. Similar efforts to reduce possession penalties failed in the past, but New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says this year, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association and the Louisiana District Attorney Association do not oppose the legislation

CUT 6 (10)  “moving forward”

The current maximum prison sentence for multiple marijuana possession offenders is 20-years, but Morrell’s which was approved by the Senate on Monday, reduces the mandatory jail time to eight years…

CUT 7 (10) “in jail”

The House has also approved a bill that reduces pot penalties. Morrell says his legislation is NOT an attempt to legalize marijuana for recreational use…

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Another round of severe weather rolled through Louisiana earlier today and State Climatologist Barry Keim says more rain is coming. He says rainfall is in the forecast for the next several days. Keim says there is at least a 50-percent chance of rain each day for the rest of the week…

CUT 9 (09)  “kind of patterns”

Keim says El Nino is the probable cause for these fronts slamming the state. He says the state has averaged about six inches of rain over the last month, but some isolated areas have gotten much more…

cut 10 (10) “above normal”

Keim says the Tangipahoa Parish town of Tickfaw has received 10.8 inches of rain over the last month, five inches above normal. He says because of a very unstable atmosphere, we could see more severe weather this week…

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A bill that would ban sex selection abortions in Louisiana stalls in a Senate Judiciary Committee. The proposal by Representative Lenar Whitney would penalize doctors who knowingly end a pregnancy because of sex preference of the baby. The Houma lawmaker has argued that this is a problem in Asian communities where there is a preference for boys…:

cut 12 (10)  “you should vote no”

The vote was 2-2 so the House approved measure will not go to the Senate floor for now. New Orleans Senator Karen Carter Peterson wasn’t happy Whitney implied that a “no” vote on her bill meant the lawmakers wanted to kill baby girls…:

cut 13 (13)  “sex selection”

Whitney says there is currently no evidence which suggests that abortions based on sex are a problem in Louisiana. Committee Chair New Orleans Senator JP Morrell says he couldn’t support the legislation without evidence that this is taking place in Louisiana…:

cut 14 (09) “timing of it”

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