LRN AM Newscall November 5

The Louisiana secretary of state wants you to know that the state goes to great lengths to ensure the integrity of its elections. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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The race for Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District is a close one with Democrat Cleo Fields, Republican Elbert Guillory and three others vying for the redrawn congressional seat.

Cut 2 (31) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

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The Saints make a coaching change amid a seven-game losing streak. Colleen Crain reports.

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As you head to the polls today, be assured that the State of Louisiana goes to great lengths to ensure the integrity of the election. Secretary of State Nancy Landry says only certain people are allowed to handle the voting equipment.

Cut 4 (12) “…touch our equipment.”

And the voting equipment is sealed before the election to ensure that it is not tampered with ahead of time.

Cut 5 (09) “…before every election.”

And despite what certain people may try to lead you to believe, the voting machines are never connected to the internet. Landry reminds you that in the State of Louisiana, electioneering is not allowed within 600 feet of the polling place – the distance of two football fields – and as such, there is a dress code of sorts when you cast your ballot.

Cut 6 (14) “…before you vote.”

Polls will stay open until eight p-m; anyone still in line at that time will indeed be able to vote.

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Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District race has gained national attention after redistricting transformed it into a majority-Black district, with potential implications for the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives. The election on November 5 features five candidates vying for the seat: four Democrats – State Senator Cleo Fields, Political newcomer from Baton Rouge, Quentin Anderson, Wilken Jones, and Peter Williams, and Republican, Former State Senator Elbert Guillory. Political Analyst Bernie Pinsonat considers Cleo Fields, the frontrunner.

Cut 7 (11) “…cuts into him.”

With a majority-Democrat voter base in the redrawn district, a Democratic win is anticipated, which could shift the seat from Republican to Democratic control, but Pinsonat questions whether Quentin Anderson will take enough votes away to force a runoff…

Cut 8 (12) “…win in the primary.”

Republican, Elbert Guillory poses some threat to Fields, but Pinsonat says Guillory’s chance of beating Fields is very doubtful.

Cut 9 (12)  “…is highly unlikely.”

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Analysts say today could be a big day for Republicans, based on early voting totals. Louisiana’s early voting turnout set records for in-person voting, with almost a million ballots cast early. JMC Analytics highlighted a drop in Black voter participation, especially in East Baton Rouge Parish. Owner John Couvillon says in 2020, Black voters comprised 30% of early voters; in 2024, they make up only 25% — numbers that he says should bode well for Donald Trump.

Cut 10 (14) “…tomorrow night.”

A notable trend is the Republican advantage in early voting. Historically, early voting leaned Democratic, but this year, Republicans led all ten days, achieving a nine-point advantage. Louisiana’s Secretary of State reported that almost 850-thousand voters cast their ballots in person, with more than 103-thousand voting on the final day alone. Couvillon says we should have a pretty clear picture this evening of how Louisiana voted.

Cut 11 (15) “…in our state.”

Nationwide trends show a tighter race. Around 55 million have voted early in the U.S., with Democrats holding only a three-point lead—compared to a 14-point lead four years ago. Couvillon says he’s focused on two states…

Cut 12 (13) “…those two states.

 

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Dennis Allen is out, and Darren Rizzi is in. The special teams coordinator takes over as the Saints’ interim head coach after the team fired Allen amid a seven-game losing streak. Rizzi says this is not a day for celebration, and that everyone – not just Allen – is to blame.

Cut 13 (07)  “…that we’re in.”

Rizzi says everyone and everything will be evaluated, and changes will be coming.

Cut 14 (09) “…along the way.”

Saints Tight End Foster Moreau says it’s a shame that the team couldn’t win more for Dennis Allen.

Cut 15 (10) “…to be done.”

Rizzi will coach his first game for the Saints Sunday against the Falcons in the Superdome.

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The 14th-ranked LSU Tigers are gearing up to host 11th-ranked Alabama in what has been dubbed a playoff elimination game. Both teams have lost two games this season, and it’s expected that a three-loss team will not make the 12-team College Football Playoff. Coach Brian Kelly does not want his team to focus on the playoff implications of this game…

Cut 16 (20) “….best is needed” 

For LSU to be its best, it needs a balanced offense. The Tigers used the bye week to work on the rushing attack. LSU enters the game ranked 111th in the country in rush offense, averaging 115 yards a game. Kelly says it will take a team effort to get the ground game going…

Cut 17 (19) “…people miss.”

LSU will not have one of its starting offensive lineman for Saturday. Garrett Dellinger, who has started 25 games at left guard, will miss the game after undergoing tight rope surgery for a sprained ankle. The surgery will allow Dellinger to return the following week against Florida, but he’ll miss the Bama.

Redshirt freshman Paul Mubenga replaced Dellinger when he went down in the Texas A&M loss. Mubenga grew up in Africa before moving to Georgia in 2017. Kelly says Mubenga has picked up the game quickly and has spent the last year and a half on his technique

Cut 18 (21)   “…to do it”

5:30 LRN Newscast

The most closely watched race in tomorrow’s election will be that in the 6th district. Four Democrats and one Republican are vying for the seat in the newly-drawn majority-Black district. Elbert Guillory is the lone Republican running in the race; he says education is among his top priorities.

Cut 7 (09) “…an illiterate society.”

Cleo Fields, who’s widely seen as the overwhelming favorite, echoes Guillory’s sentiment.

Cut 4 (06) “…care about education.”

Another Democrat seeking the seat is Quentin Anderson, who says one of his top priorities is to boost the minimum wage, which hasn’t increased in 15 years.

Cut 5 (07) “…even more so.”

The other two Democrats on the ballot are Wilken Jones and Peter Williams.

After losing their seventh game in a row, the Saints have fired Head Coach Dennis Allen.

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Here we go again. Tropical Storm Rafael has formed in the Caribbean and is headed towards the Louisiana gulf coast. The system is expected to weaken or even dissipate before it reaches the coast. Still, LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says Saturday’s LSU game might get a little wet.

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4:45 LRN Sportscast

The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen today after 2.5 seasons. Allen leaves as the team is mired in a seven-game losing streak. Sunday’s loss to the lowly Carolina Panthers was the final straw. Former Saints running back and color analyst on the Saints Radio Network, Deuce McCallister, says Allen was not clicking with the team…

Cut 11 (08) “…over and over”

Most Saints fans are pleased with the decision to let Allen go. Saints tight end Foster Moreau says it’s a shame they couldn’t win more…

Cut 15 (10) “….had to be done”

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi will take over as the interim head coach. New Orleans hosts the Atlanta Falcons Sunday.

In the NBA, the Pelicans lost to the Atlanta Hawks last night 126 to 111 to fall to three and four. They host Portland tonight.

After a weekend off, the 14th ranked LSU Tigers are back on the practice field this afternoon as they’ll host 11th ranked Alabama on Saturday night at 6:30. Coach Brian Kelly confirmed today that starting guard Garrett Dellinger had ankle surgery and he’ll miss this Saturday’s game. Paul Mubenga will likely start in his place.

Southeastern Louisiana rallied late to beat Lamar in overtime 30 to 27. After starting 1-and-4, the Lions are now 5-and-5 and Coach Frank Scelfo says the FCS playoff selection should take notice…

Cut 20 (14) “..played.”

The Lions host Northwestern State this Saturday.

And the college basketball season tips off today…the Ragin Cajuns host Kent State as part of the Sun Belt-MAC challenge. The seventh ranked LSU Lady Tigers take on Eastern Kentucky. The Louisiana Tech women beat Nicholls earlier today 53 to 51.

4:30 PM Newscast Nov 4

Louisiana voters go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new Congressman in the newly drawn sixth district, which cuts a diagonal line through the state from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. It’s the state’s second majority-Black district. All five candidates for the seat are Black, including Democrats Quentin Anderson, Wilken Jones, Peter Williams and State Senator Cleo Fields and Republican Elbert Guillory. Anderson says one of his priorities is addressing crime that’s rampant in the two major cities in the district, saying that it goes beyond policing.

Cut 6 (10) “…nothing to lose.”

Guillory says he will work to keep American dollars in America and to cut down on foreign spending.

Cut 8 (15) “…food and medicine.”

Fields says one of his priorities is to increase the minimum wage.

Cut 3 (07) “…that they do.”

The Saints have fired head coach Dennis Allen as the team is mired in a seven-game losing streak. Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named interim head coach and Host of the Locked-On Saints Podcast Ross Jackson says that’s the right move…

Cut 10 (12) “…. your young players”

A tropical system that developed south of Jamaica is now Tropical storm Rafael and is moving northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says the National Hurricane Center’s official forecast has the storm approaching the Louisiana coast by the end of the week….

Cut 13 (06) “…intensity”

Too early to say what kind of impact Louisiana will see.

3:30 PM Newscast Nov 4

The U S Supreme Court agreed to hear Louisiana’s redistricting dispute today. The district lines have been in and out of the courts since they were redrawn after the 2020 Census. The most recent boundaries created 2 majority minority districts but were blocked by a district court as unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. Then in May the US Supreme Court put challenges on-hold saying the districts could be used for this election cycle.

Voters in the newly created majority minority 6th district will go to the polls to elect a new congressman tomorrow. All five candidates are black. Democrats Quentin Anderson, Wilken Jones, Peter Williams and State Senator Democrat Cleo Fields are running. Fields says early childhood education is one of his main priorities…

Cut 4 (06) “…care about education.”

The lone Republican Elbert Guillory cites education as one of his priorities as well…

Cut 7 (07) “…have to do better.”

The Saints have fired head coach Dennis Allen after the team suffered its seventh straight loss. Jeff Palermo has more…

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Tropical Depression 18 formed south of Jamaica and is now Tropical Storm Rafael. It’s moving northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. By mid-week, it may reach Category 1 hurricane status as it nears Cuba. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim…

Cut 12 (07) “…almost unheard of.”

2:30 PM Newscast Nov 4

After seven losses in a row, the Saints have fired Head Coach Dennis Allen. Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named interim head coach and if he does well for the rest of the season, he may be considered for the full-time head coaching position. On WWL Radio, former Saints running back Deuce McAllister says Allen was not clicking with the team.

Cut 11 (08) “…over and over.”

Allen ends his tenure with the Saints with a record of 18-25 in two and a half seasons, missing the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.

Tropical Depression 18 has formed south of Jamaica, and it’s expected to become Rafael as it moves northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. Southeast Louisiana is the cone of uncertainty. But the system is expected to weaken or hopefully even dissipate before reaching the coast. But LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says there’s the potential for rain and breezy conditions for Saturday night’s Bama-LSU game.

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The most closely watched federal race in the state is the one for the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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LRN PM Newscall November 4

The most closely watched federal race in the state is the one for the newly-redrawn 6th Congressional District. Andrew Greenstein reports.

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The Saints have fired head coach Dennis Allen after the team suffered its seventh straight loss. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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Louisiana voters will go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new Congressman in the newly drawn sixth district, which cuts a diagonal line through the state from Baton Rouge to Shreveport. It’s the state’s second majority-Black district. All five candidates for the seat are Black, including Democrats Cleo Fields and Quentin Anderson and Republican Elbert Guillory. Fields is a current state senator and served in Congress in the 1990s. Fields says one of his priorities is to increase the minimum wage.

Cut 3 (07) “…that they do.”

Fields says early childhood education will be another of his main priorities.

Cut 4 (06) “…care about education.”

Anderson has never previously held elected office. He echoed Fields’ call to boost the minimum wage.

Cut 5 (07) “…even more so.”

Anderson said another of his priorities is addressing crime that’s rampant in the two major cities in the district, saying that it goes beyond policing.

Cut 6 (10) “…nothing to lose.”

Guillory is the lone Republican running in the race and had previously served in both the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana Senate. He also said public safety is one of his top priorities, along with education.

Cut 7 (09) “…an illiterate society.”

Guillory also said he would work to keep American dollars in America and to cut down on foreign spending.

Cut 8 (15) “…food and medicine.”

The other two Democrats on the ballot are Wilken Jones and Peter Williams. The redrawing of the district by a federal judge’s order led to Republican incumbent Garret Graves declining to run for re-election.

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After their seventh straight loss, the Saints have fired Head Coach Dennis Allen. It comes one day after the Saints lost to the Panthers in Carolina, 23-22. Ross Jackson, the Saints’ beat writer for Louisiana Sports-dot-net, says the Saints needed to make, saying the team had many negative firsts yesterday.

Cut 9 (10)  “…in the NFL.”

Special Teams Coordinator Darren Rizzi has been named interim head coach, and Jackson says that’s the right move.

Cut 10 (12) “…your young players.”

Jackson says depending on how well Rizzi does in the final eight weeks of the season, he may be considered for the full-time head coaching position in the off-season. Other names Jackson mentioned include Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson and Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores. On WWL Radio, former Saints running back Deuce McAllister says Allen was not clicking with the team.

Cut 11 (08) “…over and over.”

Allen ends his tenure with the Saints with a record of 18-25 in two and a half seasons, missing the playoffs in 2022 and 203. 

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Tropical Depression 18 has formed south of Jamaica, and it’s expected to become Rafael as it moves northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. By mid-week, it may reach Category 1 hurricane status as it nears Cuba. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says a storm in November is rare…

Cut 12 (07) “…almost unheard of.”

However, its potential impact on the Gulf Coast remains uncertain. While the system could maintain strength as a tropical storm or low-end Category 1 hurricane, Keim says factors like drier air and wind shear in the Gulf of Mexico could weaken it upon entry.

Cut 13 (06)  “…increasing intensity.”

Southeast Louisiana is the cone of uncertainty. But the system is expected to weaken or might even dissipate before reaching the coast. But Keim says there’s the potential for rain and breezy conditions for Saturday night”s Bama-LSU game.

Cut 14 (07) “…play football.”

1:30 LRN Newscast

Election day is tomorrow and voters in the newly drawn Sixth Congressional District will be electing a new member to the U-S House of Representatives. Baton Rouge Senator Cleo Fields is considered the front-runner to represent the new majority-minority district. Fields says if elected, he’ll push to increase the minimum wage…

Cut 3 (07) “…that they do”

Fields previously served in Congress in the 1990s. Political newcomer Quentin Anderson of Baton Rouge is also running to represent the sixth district. Anderson echos Fields’ call for a higher minimum wage…

Cut 5 (07) “….even more so”

Two other Democrats are also running, Wilken Jones Junior and Peter Williams. They are political unknowns.  The lone Republican in the race is former state senator Elbert Guillory, who is hoping to force a runoff against one of Democratic candidates.

The Saints have fired head coach Dennis Allen. New Orleans lost its seventh straight yesterday, 23 to 22 to the lowly Carolina Panthers. Host of the Locked on Saints Podcast Ross Jackson says a move had to be made after losing to one of the worst teams in the NFL…

Cut 9 (10) “…in the NFL”

Allen ends his tenure with the Saints with a record of 18-25 in two and a half seasons, missing the playoffs in 2022 and 2023.

Tropical Depression 18 has formed south of Jamica and it’s expected to develop into a hurricane as it moves northwest towards the Gulf of Mexico. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says the National Hurricane Center’s official forecast has the storm approaching the Louisiana coast by the end of the week….

Cut 13 (06) “…intensity”

Too early to say what kind of impact Louisiana will see.

12:30 LRN Newscast

The Saints have fired head coach Dennis Allen after the team suffered its seventh straight loss. Jeff Palermo has more…

Cut 2 (33) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

Victims have been identified from a helicopter crash that happened in Iowa on Friday night. 50-year-old Jared Savant, his wife 35-year-old Tanya Savant, and their 2-year-old baby all of Kinder died in the crash. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched and stayed on the scene until the FAA arrived and began a preliminary investigation. No further information is available at this time.

Tropical Depression Eighteen, formerly a disturbance in the Caribbean, developed over the weekend with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph, moving north at 9 mph. It is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Rafael as it moves near Jamaica. By mid-week, it may reach Category 1 hurricane status as it nears Cuba. LSU Public Health Climatologist Barry Keim says a storm in November is rare…

Cut 12 (07) “…almost unheard of.”

Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge is conducting The Sweet Study involving the medication, Ozempic.  It’s designed to help women at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.Half the participants receive Ozempic during the study, and the other half get a placebo. It includes women from all over Louisiana. Those who pass a phone screening will visit Woman’s in Baton Rouge for in-person screening tests. If those tests and questions qualify her, Scientific Research Director, Dr. Elizabeth Sutton says the participant will come back for baseline testing then…

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e.”

11:40 LRN Sportscast

Cut 29 (05) “…stand up and fight”

That was Dennis Allen following the team’s seventh straight loss as they lost to Carolina 23 to 22 yesterday. This morning, Owner Gayle Benson made the decision to fire Allen in the middle of his third season as head coach. Host of the Locked on Saints Podcast, Ross Jackson, says yesterday’s embarrassing loss to the lowly Panthers was the final straw….

Cut 9 (10) “…in the NFL

Special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi takes over as the Saints interim head coach. Allen went 18 and 25 during his time as head coach in New Orleans.

The Pelicans lost last night, falling to the Atlanta Hawks 126 to 111. New Orleans is now 3-and-4 and will host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight.

Today is opening day for college basketball….Coach Kim Mulkey begins her fourth season as head coach of the Lady Tigers. Mulkey wants to push the ball up the court…

Cut 15 (19) “…that can do it’

LSU has three of the top players in the country, Aneesah Morrow, Flau’Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams. The 7th ranked Lady Tigers host Eastern Kentucky at 7 PM.

Also tonight…Louisiana Tech men’s basketball hosts LSU-Alexandria at 6:30. Bulldogs forward Daniel Batcho goes into the season as the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year.

McNeese tips off the season in Sioux Falls where the Cowboys will take on South Dakota State. The Bulldogs won 30 games last year and they are ranked tenth in the College Insider-dot-com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.