On NBC’s Meet The Press Sunday, Governor Bobby Jindal was asked some questions about the religious freedom debate that’s created a national controversy in the past couple of weeks. The Louisiana bill from Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson, would permit private businesses to deny the same benefits to same-sex couples as other married couples based on a religious objection. Jindal says the question is about religious liberty…
CUT 4 (11) “held beliefs”

Facing charges that he drugged women in order to rape them, former New Orleans Saints star Darren Sharper entered a plea of not guilty today in US District court in New Orleans. In reality, it’s just a formality, since a magistrate judge cannot accept a guilty plea for a felony. Sharper has a multi-state pleas deal in the works for his crimes.
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Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne officially kicked off his campaign for Governor today. In his announcement, Dardenne said he’s already logged thousands of Louisiana miles in his current job, which he says will continue for his new one…:
cut 12 (08) “and Shreveport”
Dardenne says he’d work out of an existing state office in each location so it wouldn’t cost any more money.

A Louisiana State Trooper has been injured in a drunk driving stop in East Baton Rouge Parish on I-12 Sunday morning. The unidentified trooper was taking care of one drunk driving crash, when he was hit by another drunk driver, 24 year-old Magen Hall of Zachary. Trooper Dustin Dwight says these cases are unacceptable…
CUT 11 (10) Q: “Megen”

Governor Bobby Jindal made an appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press to talk about the religious freedom debate that’s created a national controversy. When asked, Jindal says this issue is about business owners that don’t want to have to choose between their religious beliefs and being able to operate their businesses…
CUT 3 (09) “those ceremonies”

It’s official, Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne is running for governor, as he announced today. In the campaign playing field, Dardenne has significantly less campaign cash on hand than fellow Republican front-runner US Senator David Vitter. But he says he’s OK with that…
CUT 14 (08) Q: ‘the best idea’
He says the first thing to tackle is to fix the huge state budget shortfall .
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According to the US Public Interest Research Group, federal data from 2014 indicates that over 1,800 bridges in Louisiana need repairs. The Federal Highway Administration lists these bridges in Louisiana as “structurally deficient”. Louisiana Department of Transportation spokesman Rodney Mallett says motorists should not be frightened by this designation…
CUT 6 (07) “for repairs”

State Police say one of their troopers was injured in a crash involving a drunk driver Sunday morning while investigating another DWI related accident in East Baton Rouge Parish. Trooper Dustin Dwight says the unidentified trooper had the first DWI suspect inside his vehicle parked on the side of I-12 and was finishing up the paperwork for that accident report…:
CUT 9 (06) “back of him”
That car was driven by 24-year-old Magen Hall of Zachary.

Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne officially kicked off his campaign for Governor today…:
CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

The man who founded the Catholic Diocese of Shreveport has passed away. Seventy-three year-old Bishop William Friend passed away at his home in Coral Springs, Florida. Friend founded the Shreveport Diosese in 1989 under Pope John Paull II, and remained bishop until his retirement, logging 47 years of active priesthood.
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On NBC’s “Meet the Press” yesterday, Governor Bobby Jindal discussed the Religious Freedom bills debates that has created some controversy in the past weeks. Jindal says forcing businesses to participate in a same-sex wedding ceremony, when they have a religious objection, is a Constitutional issue…
CUT 5 (06) “their religious beliefs”
Here in Louisiana, Bossier City Respresentative Mike Johnson has already filed a religious freedom bill for our state.

The Federal Highway Administration is showing a list of over 1,800 bridges in Louisiana are reportedly “structurally deficient”, as the state faces a $12 billion backlog in delayed road and bridge maintenance projects. DOTD spokesman Rodney Mallet…
CUT 8 (09) Q; “address those”
This could take some time, given the state budget crisis.

Governor Bobby Jindal was on NBC’s Meet the Press and spoke about the religious freedom debate that’s created a national controversy in recent weeks. Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson has filed a religious freedom bill in Louisiana. Jindal says there used to be a bi-partisan consensus in the US about religious liberty…:
CUT 4 (11) “held beliefs”
Jindal says he supports the defense of religious liberty.

Shreveport Police are looking for a 19-year-old man accused of firing a gun into a crowd gathered at a park, killing a 13-year-old boy. Witnesses told authorities that Antonious Cawthorne was asked to leave the park after pulling a gun during an argument. They say, as he was driving off, he stopped and fired into the crowd. Keandre Broadway was shot and died later at a local hospital. Cawthorne is wanted for second degree murder.

A US public interest research group says there are over 1800 bridges in Louisiana that need repairs. They are listed as being “structurally deficient” but Department of Transportation spokesman Rodney Mallett says that doesn’t mean bridges across the state have been neglected…:
CUT 7 (10) “replacement projects”
He says a “structurally deficient” designation doesn’t mean a bridge is unsafe it means it has at least one component that needs repair or replacement.

Even though it’s been common knowledge that Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne is running for governor, he made it official today. He says Louisiana is in horrible financial shape right now and he plans to go to work on budget matters from day one…:
CUT 13 (09) “to celebrate”
Dardenne says his office will work to end the practice of using one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses.

State Police say a trooper’s vehicle was hit by a drunk driver on the side of the interstate in East Baton Rouge Parish Easter morning while he was investigating another DWI crash. Trooper Dustin Dwight says the vehicle that slammed into the back of the cop car was driven by 24-year-old Magen Hall of Zachary…:
CUT 10 (09) “minor injuries”
Dwight says both the trooper and the first DWI offender were inside the fully marked Tahoe when it was hit.

Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne officially kicked off his campaign for Governor today. In his announcement, Dardenne said he’s traveled thousands of miles across Louisiana in his current job which is what he plans to do if he’s elected to be the next leader of the state…:
CUT 12 (08) “and Shreveport”
Dardenne says he’d work out of an existing state office in each location.

According to the United States Public Interest Research Group, federal data from 2014 indicates that over 1,800 bridges in Louisiana need repairs. Eric Gill reports…:
CUT 1 (30) “reporting”

Gas prices continue slowly going down as we get further into spring. The current statewide average for a gallon of regular is $2.19.

Governor Bobby Jindal made an appearance on NBC’s Meet The Press to talk about the religious freedom debate that’s created a national controversy in recent weeks. Bossier City Representative Mike Johnson has filed a religious freedom bill in Louisiana. Jindal says this issue is about business owners that don’t want to have to choose between their religious beliefs and being able to operate their businesses…:
CUT 3 (09) “those ceremonies”
Johnson’s proposed bill would permit private businesses to deny the same benefits to same-sex couples as other married couples based on a religious objection.

A 54-year-old man from Baton Rouge is booked with attempted murder charges after allegedly trying to set his ex girlfriend’s home on fire in Baker while she was inside. Cops say the woman reported 54-year-old Leper Lewis was angry because the couple had recently broken up. Lewis is charged with attempted first degree murder and attempted aggravated arson.

State police say one of their troopers was injured in a crash involving a drunk driver Sunday morning while investigating another DWI related accident in East Baton Rouge Parish. Trooper Dustin Dwight says the unidentified trooper had the first DWI suspect inside his vehicle parked on the side of I-12 and was finishing up the paperwork for that accident report…:
CUT 9 (06) “back of him”
That driver is 24-year-old Megan Hall of Zachary and Dwight says her BAC was nearly twice the legal limit. The first DWI suspect and the trooper suffered minor to moderate injuries.

According to the United States Public Interest Research Group, federal data from 2014 indicates that over 1,800 bridges in Louisiana need repairs. The Federal Highway Administration labels those bridges as “structurally deficient”. Louisiana Department of Transportation spokesman Rodney Mallett says motorists should not be frightened by this designation…:
CUT 6 (07) “for repairs”

A contentious legislative session has another hot button item to discuss. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
CUT 2 (30) “reporting”

State Police say one of their troopers was injured in a wreck involving a drunk driver Sunday morning in East Baton Rouge Parish. They say the cop was arresting someone for DWI on the side of I-12, when the fully marked State Police Tahoe was hit from behind by a vehicle. That driver, 24-year-old Magen Hall, registered a BAC of nearly twice the legal limit and was arrested. Both the trooper and the first DWI suspect suffered minor to moderate injuries.

Former New Orleans Saints star Darren Sharper is scheduled to be in court today in Louisiana. Sharper is accused of drugging women so he could rape them in four states and struck a “global” plea deal to address the charges in all jurisdictions. Legal analyst Chick Foret believes Sharper will definitely serve nine new years in jail, but the exact details of the multi state plea deal are not yet known…:
CUT 12 (10) “complicated plea bargain”
Sharper is scheduled to be in federal court today in New Orleans and state court tomorrow.

State Police say a crash in Iberia Parish claimed the life of Loreauville Mayor Albert Broussard. They two vehicles hit head-on when a truck entered the opposite lane of travel and struck the car Broussard was riding in. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Two others were hospitalized.