Just four days to go until Election Day. Despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans in early voting and limited polling showing Jamie Davis within striking distance of Julia Letlow, all online forecasters still have Louisiana solidly in Julia Letlow’s column. LSU Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeffrey Sadow says if Davis can come within a few points of victory, it would give the Louisiana Democratic Party a much-needed boost in morale.

Cut 9 (14)  “…but it did.”

The Louisiana Book Festival will be open in Baton Rouge tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Robert Wilson, the executive director of the Louisiana Center for the Book, says with the festival on Halloween, Wilson says the event is leaning into the holiday.

Cut 15 (06) “…bit of everything.”

The Board of Regents has learned there are four-billion dollars in deferred maintenance on Louisiana’s college campuses. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Several woods fires along Highway 10 in Vernon Parish have been contained. It took several fire departments working with the Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office and state and federal forestry resources to contain the fires. Investigators say the fires were caused by sparks from a garbage truck with two flat tires.

An advocacy group is calling for more standard vehicle safety features after a three-year-old girl is killed in a Carencro restaurant parking lot. Kace Kieschnick reports.

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”

Authorities in Natchitoches Parish are investigating after human skeletal remains were discovered yesterday near a dry creek bed in a remote wooded area near Ashland.  We’re told the remains are headed to the LSU Faces lab for forensic testing as investigators look at possible ties to an Ashland man missing since 2023.

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Democrats outnumbered Republicans in early voting in Louisiana by 16-thousand.  But there were also more than 93-thousand no-party voters casting early and absentee ballots and between now and next Tuesday, there will be additional absentee ballots coming in to round out the tally. LSU Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeffrey Sadow says how those ballots are marked is anyone’s guess.

Cut 8 (09) “…there than Democrats.”

The Louisiana Book Festival will be open in Baton Rouge tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Robert Wilson, the executive director of the Louisiana Center for the Book, says there will be more than 200 authors and presenters there for dozens of panels, programs and book signings. Wilson says writers have told him they enjoy the personal feeling of the Louisiana Book Festival.

Cut 14 (05) “…be talked at.”

Are early voting numbers a harbinger of things to come on Tuesday? Andrew Greenstein has some insight.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

A woman is dead in New Orleans East and police there are working to piece together what happened. The body of the victim was found last night just before 8:30 on Shindler Drive near Dwyer Road. We’re told the death is being investigated as a homicide.

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The death of a three-year-old girl in Carencro, has safety advocates calling for more vehicle safety features.  The little girl died when as she ran in front of a car in the parking lot of a restaurant.  Chloe Burke with the group Kids and Car Safety says vehicles need more camera views. And while many of them come equipped with braking that will automatically stop a vehicle when something’s in front of it, Burke says it’s not always effective.

Cut 5 (13) “…hour or lower.”

Four-billion dollars’ in repairs and maintenance is needed on Louisiana’s college campuses.  That’s according to a study conducted by a facility management consulting firm. Gordian has spent the last two years assessing the physical shape of Louisiana’s campus buildings. Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed says it’s a significant backlog.

Cut 10 (05) “…just significant challenges.”

The Board of Regents has learned there is $4 billion in deferred maintenance on Louisiana’s college campuses. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Early Voting numbers in Louisiana shows Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 16 thousand.  But LSU Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeffrey Sadow says that doesn’t  mean all those Democrats voted for all democrats.

Cut 7 (12) “…vote for Republicans.”

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An advocacy group is calling for more vehicle safety enhancements after a three-year-old girl is killed in a Carencro restaurant parking lot. Investigators say Ka’Mya J’Nae Williams ran out into the parking lot, and a woman who had just backed up ran her over as she drove forward. Chloe Burke with the group Kids and Car Safety says while backup cameras are certainly good, other camera views, including overhead views, ought to be standard as well.

Cut 4 (07) “…at every level.”

The Louisiana Book Festival will be open in Baton Rouge tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Robert Wilson, the executive director of the Louisiana Center for the Book, says it’s a free celebration of readers, writers and books in downtown Baton Rouge.

Cut 13 (12)  “…a fun day.”

An advocacy group is calling for more standard vehicle safety features after a three-year-old girl is killed in a Carencro restaurant parking lot. Kace Kieschnick reports.

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Kace Kieschnick.”

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Are the early voting numbers a harbinger of things to come on Tuesday? Andrew Greenstein has some insight.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

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The Board of Regents has learned there are four-billion dollars in deferred maintenance on Louisiana’s college campuses. Jeff Palermo has the story.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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An advocacy group is calling for additional vehicle safety enhancements after a three-year-old girl is killed in a Carencro restaurant parking lot. Investigators say Ka’Mya J’Nae Williams ran out into the parking lot, and a woman who had finished backing up ran her over as she was trying to drive forward and exit the property. Chloe Burke with the group Kids and Car Safety says while backup cameras, which have been mandatory standard equipment since 2018, is certainly good, other camera views, including overhead views, ought to be standard as well across all trim levels.

Cut 4 (07) “…at every level.”

Many vehicles come equipped with autonomous braking, which will stop a vehicle when something is in front of it. But Burke says it’s not always effective in certain situations.

Cut 5 (13) “…hour or lower.”

Burke says no amount of modern vehicle safety technology can substitute for good old fashioned parenting.

Cut 6 (12) “…physically holding them.”

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Are the early voting numbers a harbinger of things to come on Election Day? Not so much, says LSU Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeffrey Sadow. He says just because Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 16-thousand in early voting, that doesn’t exactly mean all those Democrats cast their ballots for Jamie Davis.

Cut 7 (12) “…vote for Republicans.”

There were also more than 93-thousand no-party voters casting early and absentee ballots, with additional absentee ballots coming in between now and next Tuesday to be added to that tally. Sadow says how those ballots are marked is anyone’s guess.

Cut 8 (09) “…there than Democrats.”

All that said, with the heavy Black voter turnout, and with the two publicly-released polls showing just four points separating Jamie Davis and Julia Letlow, Sadow says this will be a much closer election than originally forecast – and if Davis can come within a few points of victory, while that will not send him to Washington, it would give the Louisiana Democratic Party a morale boost.

Cut 9 (14)  “…but it did.”

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Four-billion dollars worth of repairs and maintenance is needed on Louisiana’s college campuses, according to a study conducted by a facility management consulting firm. Gordian has spent the last two years assessing the physical shape of Louisiana’s campus buildings. Higher Education Commissioner Kim Hunter Reed says it’s a significant backlog in deferred maintenance.

Cut 10 (05) “…just significant challenges.”

Reed says the previous estimate was a two-billion-dollar backlog. She says they can start reducing the backlog by getting rid of buildings that have outlived their usefulness.

Cut 11 (10) “…of those campuses.”

Reed says it will take an annual investment of 777-million dollars in state funding to eventually erase the backlog.

Cut 12 (07) “…work through it.”

Regents will be requesting over 702-million dollars in capital outlay funding for new and continuing projects for the fiscal year 2027-28.

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The Louisiana Book Festival will be open in Baton Rouge tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Robert Wilson, the executive director of the Louisiana Center for the Book, says it’s a free celebration of readers, writers and books in downtown Baton Rouge.

Cut 13 (12)  “…a fun day.”

Over 200 authors and presenters will be in attendance for dozens of panels, programs and book signings. Wilson says most panels end in a public Q-and-A, and you can chat more with the authors at their various tents. Wilson says writers have told him they enjoy the personal feeling of the Louisiana Book Festival.

Cut 14 (05) “…be talked at.”

With the festival on Halloween, Wilson says the event is leaning into the holiday.

Cut 15 (06) “…bit of everything.”

And he says he knows scary stuff isn’t for everyone, so there is also a large offering of history-related books and programming to celebrate America’s 250th birthday.

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Louisiana Tech visits South Alabama in a matchup between the two top teams in the Sun Belt West. The Jaguars have the league’s best rushing attack, but the Bulldogs rank first in total defense and rushing defense in conference play. Tech defensive lineman Justice Williams says they want to dominate offenses.

Cut 16 (16) “…that’s our goal.”

LA Tech running back Dylone Brooks is listed as doubtful to play, and defensive lineman Judd Rouyea is probable to make his first appearance since the LSU game. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.

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ULM will look to make it two wins in a row against a 2-and-5 Southern Miss team. Both defenses rank in the bottom two spots in the Sun Belt in yards and points allowed, but Warhawks coach Bryant Vincent says each has improved.

Cut 17 (17) “…leaps and bounds.”

ULM Defensive linemen Zyan Tremont and Tyrell Brown are both listed as questionable to return after missing last week’s game against Troy. Kickoff is at 2:30.

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Southeastern Louisiana will look to rebound from a loss to Stephen F. Austin last week against East Texas A&M tomorrow. East Texas has started four different quarterbacks this season, but Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo says he is not worried about not knowing which one to game plan for.

Cut 18 (14)  “…of the four.”

Kickoff is at 3 p.m.

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McNeese hosts Nicholls for homecoming at 2:00 tomorrow afternoon. Both teams are 3-and-5 and 2-and-3 in Southland play. Cowboys coach Matt Viator says his offense is talented but has problems to fix before they face a tough Colonels defense.

Cut 19 (12) “…win this game.”

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Former LSU star Angel Reese helped the Atlanta Dream force game seven of the WNBA Finals with an 80-69 win over the Valkyries yesterday. The WNBA Defensive Player of the Year had 15 points, 14 rebounds and six assists in the win, but she says the job is not finished.

Cut 20 (09) “…headspace right now.”

The winner-take-all game tips off at 7:00 tomorrow night.

Just five days to go before Election Day, and the Jamie Davis campaign is feeling a little more optimistic after early voting, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans at the polls by 16-thousand. There were more than 92-thousand no-party voters casting early and absentee ballots, and LSU New Orleans Political Science Professor Ed Chervenak says the big caveat is we don’t know HOW they voted.

Cut 3 (08) “…particular individuals voted.”

Chervenak’s colleague at LSU Shreveport, Jeffrey Sadow, says this will be a much closer election than originally forecast – and if Davis can come within a few points of victory, it would give the Louisiana Democratic Party a much-needed boost in morale.

Cut 9 (14)  “…but it did.”

A three-year-old girl is dead after being hit by a vehicle in a restaurant parking lot in Carencro. Investigators say Ka’Mya J’Nae Williams ran into the parking lot, and a driver ran her over while pulling forward to leave. They say alcohol was not a factor, and no charges are expected to be filed. Carencro Police Chief David Anderson says this incident has shaken the entire community to the core.

Cut 8 (09) “…obviously traumatized also.”

The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children is inviting parents with kids under five years old to participate in its annual Parent Poll to learn about their child care arrangements. LPIC Research Director Heather Cope says it’s added questions to this year’s survey to find out if parents are satisfied with the care their child is receiving or if they wish they had better options.

Cut 10 (08) “…afford.”

A three-year-old girl is dead after being hit in a restaurant parking lot. Investigators say Ka’Mya J’Nae Williams ran out into the parking lot, and a woman ran her over after she had finished backing up and was pulling forward to drive off. Carencro Police Chief David Anderson says the incident came after a Trunk-and-Treat that was held at the Walk-On’s.

Cut 7 (07) “…they participated at.”

The driver is not expected to face any charges.

The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children is calling on parents who have children under the age of five to participate in their annual poll to find out about their child care arrangements. Heather Cope oversees research at LPIC and she says the input parents and guardians give is critical to understanding the needs of Louisiana families.

Cut 9 (09)  “…child care.”

Just five days to go until Election Day, and we’re getting analysis on where the U.S. Senate race stands. Joe Gallinaro reports.

Cut 1 (32) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

We now know when the celebration of life for legendary LSU basketball coach Dale Brown will be held. It will be held on Wednesday, November 11th, at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center – the same building where he coached the Tigers for 25 years, including two Final Four appearances. Brown passed away last Friday at the age of 90.

President Donald Trump will hold a major tele-rally for Julia Letlow, the Republican candidate in the U-S Senate race. The virtual rally will take place Monday night, the night before election day. Black early voter participation has been strong, which is a good sign for the Democratic candidate Jamie Davis. LSU New Orleans Political Science Professor Ed Chervenak says Trump has all but ignored Louisiana’s Senate race until now…

Cut 5 (10) “…. where they are”

The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children is calling on parents who have children under the age of five to participate in their annual poll to find out about their childcare arrangements. Heather Cope oversees research at LPIC and says they want to know how much childcare costs for you…

Cut 11 (12) “…and resources”

Go to the Louisiana Institute for Children website to take the study.

The Carencro community is shaken to the core after a three-year-old girl is hit and killed in a restaurant parking lot. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

There is a chance we’ll see rain on Halloween which is Saturday. We are not looking at a complete washout as rainfall totals could range from a quarter to a half inch and forecasters say not everyone will see rain. The National Weather Service says we’ll see another chance of rain on Election Day as another front moves through.