The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s office is investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide and one of the victims is a juvenile. Sheriff Jason Ard says an adult male and female are also dead. They were found dead this morning at home on West Bates Road in Livingston Parish.

Hurricane Beryl, the first hurricane in what is expected to be a very busy season, is moving into the Caribbean as a Category 4 storm. LSU climatologist Barry Keim says Beryl has already set a record for the earliest Category 4 hurricane to form in a season. Most storms of this strength hurricane occur in August.

Cut 4 (06) “…rest of season.”

Keim says Beryl is likely to miss Louisiana. The National Hurricane Center expects it to make landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula sometime later this week.

After a unanimous vote, Dr. Wade Rousse (rhymes with moose) will serve as the next president of McNeese State University. Jeff Palermo has more.

Cut 2 (30)  “…I’m Jeff Palermo.” 

Ville Platte Farmer Richard Fontenot has been elected the 13^th president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau. Among the biggest issues Fontenot says the industry is facing is the lack of a current Farm Bill. He says farmers need that safety net to receive the financial lending they need to put their crops in.

Cut 10 (07) “…next spring.”

It is a scorcher outside as heat index values could go up to 115 degrees today. And then there is Hurricane Beryl a life threatening Category Four star that’s enter the Caribbean. Mel Bridges has more…
Cut 1 (28) …I’m Mel Bridges.”

The Livingston Parish Sheriff’s office is investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide and one of the victims is a juvenile. Sheriff Jason Ard says an adult male and female are also dead. They were found dead this morning at home in Hammond that’s located in Livingston Parish.

Ville Platte Farmer Richard Fontenot has been elected the 13th president of the Louisiana Farm Bureau. Fontenot, a rice, soybean, and crawfish farmer was elected Sunday at the organization’s 102nd convention. He says the honor is humbling.
Cut 9 (11) “…of words.”
Fontenot says pushing Congress to approve a new Farm Bill and workforce issues on the farm are some of the main issues he plans to address.

Today is the first day on the job for new McNeese State president Doctor Wade Rousse. The Lake Charles school is still rebuilding after Hurricane Laura in 2020
cut 8 (12) “…student experiences”
Rousse says reversing a 21-percent decline in enrollment over the last few years is another one of his goals.

Hurricane Beryl is a Category 4 storm as it moves into the Caribbean. LSU climatologist Barry Keim says Beryl is likely to miss Louisiana. The National Hurricane Center’s official forecast has Beryl hitting the Yucatan peninsula later this week, but Keim says there are a couple of models showing a turn towards the Gulf Coast.

Cut 5 (06)  “…(x2) problem.”

Whether Beryl threatens Louisiana or not, Keim encourages residents to start hurricane prepping if they haven’t already.

The personal finance website WalletHub has found Louisiana residents are least diligent with their credit. WalletHub’s Cassandra Happe says there is a large percentage of Louisiana adults who have collection agencies going after them for money that is past due…

Cut 8 (09) “…payment.”
The SEC officially welcomes Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference today, making it sixteen schools starting the 2024 season. Sean Richardson has the story.

Cut 2 (34)  “…I’m Sean Richardson.” 

Hurricane Beryl is a Category 4 storm as it moves into the Caribbean. Beryl is the first hurricane in what is expected to be a very busy season. LSU climatologist Barry Keim says this early start is due to factors such as abnormally warm sea surface temperatures.

Cut 3 (07) “…August.”

Whether Beryl threatens Louisiana or not, Keim encourages residents to start hurricane prepping if they haven’t already.

Among the new laws that go into effect today is one the Louisiana Department of Insurance says establishes a simple, clear timeline for when a claim should be paid. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the measure also gives insurance companies an additional 30 days to pay a claim following a natural disaster…

Cut 14 (12)  “…30 days.”
Talbot says this legislation seeks to reduce unnecessary litigation.

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause because of a new law approved by Louisiana lawmakers. New Orleans Democratic Representative Aimee Freeman says insurers opposed this new law…

Cut 5 (10) “…along the way.”
Freeman says there’s been more research on how to treat menopausal side effects and women deserve to have that coverage.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says one of the challenges of increasing their membership to 16 schools is football scheduling…

Cut 11 (12) “…finalized.”

Several new laws go into effect today and the Fair Claims Processing bill is one of them. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the new law establishes a simple, clear timeline for the claims process that makes it easier for policyholders and property insurers to understand when a claim should be paid.

Cut 13 (12)  “…clock starts.”
The law gives insurance companies 30 days for residential and 60 days for commercial.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says the NCAA’s best conference just got better…

Cut 12 (10) “…coming in.” 

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause. New Orleans Democrat Representative Aimee Freeman says she received bipartisan support. In committee, it was recommended that the requirement for private insurers be removed but when it reached the House floor, Republican Representative Peter Egan added it back in.

Cut 6 (12) “…Republican colleagues.”

A new survey from WalletHub shows Louisiana residents rank the worst in managing their debt and credit score. WalletHub Analyst Cassandra Happe (happy) says this is likely because Louisianians have high debt overall and may be unable to make payments…

Cut 7 (09) “…recently.”

The ranking for was the first quarter of the year.

Several state laws go into effect today including Senate Bill 323 which was a key tort reform measure approved in the regular session to help bring more private insurance companies to Louisiana…
cut 15 (11) “…policy”
That’s Senate Insurance Chairman Kirk Talbot who says Senate Bill 323 streamlines bad faith statues, clarifies the claims process and details the duties of good faith.

The personal finance website Wallethub says Louisiana residents are the least diligent with credit in the United States. Analyst Cassandra Happe says most of the responsibility to fix poor credit diligence falls on those who actually have it…
cut 9 (12) “….credit report”

The SEC officially welcomes Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference today, making it a 16 school league….
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

Today is the first day on the job as president of McNeese State for Doctor Wade Rousse. Rousse has served McNeese in various roles since 2019.

The LSU Board of Supervisors has given president Doctor William Tate a 25-thousand dollar raise and a three-year contract extension. The board can terminate Tate’s contract early, if they are not happy with his performance.

Several new laws go into effect today including one the Louisiana Department of Insurance says establishes a simple, clear timeline for when a claim should be paid. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says the measure also gives insurance companies an additional 30 days to pay a claim following a natural disaster…
cut 14 (12) “….30 days’
Talbot says this legislation seeks to reduce unnecessary litigation.

The personal finance website Wallethub has found Louisiana residents are least diligent with their credit. Wallethub’s Cassandra Happe says there is a large percentage of Louisiana adults who have collection agencies going after them for money that is past due…
cut 8 (09) “…payment”

Beginning August 1st both Medicaid and private insurers are required to cover for the care or treatment of menopause and perimenopause in Louisiana. New Orleans Democratic Representative Aimee Freeman says physicians asked her to author the bill because even though many of the medications they prescribe are generic they were often rejected by Medicaid.
Cut 4 (12) “…as needed.”
Medications to treat symptoms like hot flashes, bone loss, and night sweats will be covered, and patients won’t have to wait for prior approval from their insurer.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says one of the challenges of increasing their membership to 16 schools is football scheduling…
cut 11 (12) “…finalized”

Several new laws go into effect today and the Fair Claims Processing bill is one of them. River Ridge Senator Kirk Talbot says says the new law establishes a simple, clear timeline for the claims process that makes it easier for policyholders and property insurers to understand when a claim should be paid.
Cut 13 (12) “…clock starts.”
The law gives insurance companies 30 days for residential and 60 days for commercial from when the “proof of loss” statement was submitted to pay the claims, there’s a 30-day extension if the damage occurred from a storm that resulted in a state of emergency.

Texas and Oklahoma officially join the Southeastern Conference today. SEC Associate Commissioner Herb Vincent says the NCAA’s best conference just got better…
cut 12 (12) “…coming in”

Beginning next month treatments for menopause and perimenopause will be covered by insurance in Louisiana. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Richard Fontenot has been elected as the Louisiana Farm Bureau’s new president. He’s a fourth-generation rice, soybean and crawfish farmer in Evangeline Parish. Fontenot succeeds Jim Harper of Cheneyville. Fontenot has been a leader in the rice industry. He’s a past chairman of the Louisiana Rice Research Board.