Louisiana is looking at a stormy weather today and tomorrow. Emelie Gunn has more on what we can expect…
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Former President Barack Obama communed the sentences of 330 federal inmates, with 23 of those in Louisiana. Michelle Southern has more…
Cut 2 (31) “I’m Michelle Southern”
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A shooting in Jefferson Parish has left an off-duty Westwego police officer and woman dead. Sheriff Newell Normand says 26-year-old Officer Michael Louviere was assisting a woman with an apparent car accident in Marrero Friday morning. He says that’s when a suspect fatally shot the woman and Louviere. Normand says they believe the woman had a relationship with the suspect, 32-year-old Sylvester Holt.
There’s a heavy police presence at Crescent City Connection Bridge as a man is threatening to jump. That man is believed to be Holt. Normand says this is a tough time for the city of Westwego.
Louviere leaves behind a wife and two children and recently celebrated a birthday. Normand also says the officer graduated in the top of his academy class. He says these tragic incidents are the things officers worry when they go to bed at night.
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Louisiana is looking at a wet and stormy weekend. State Climatologist Barry Keim says the Storm Prediction Center predicts a majority of Louisiana could see damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes today and tomorrow.
Keim says this system will create incredibly unstable conditions, as air moves up very rapidly from the surface, which could produce large hail stones.
Keim says the Storm Prediction Center has placed much of the state, including Alexandria, Lafayette and all of southeast Louisiana under an enhanced risk for severe weather for tonight and tomorrow…
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Hundreds of thousands of women are expected to gather in the nation’s capital one day after President Trump’s inauguration for the Women’s March on Washington. Alyssa Leader of West Monroe is one of those who will be in attendance. She says they hope to deliver a clear message to the new administration.
Leader says all of the men and women participating in the march are doing so for different reasons. She says some people are concerned about their immigration status, while others worry about losing their healthcare. She says as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, for her, this is personal.
The march begins at 10 a.m. near the Capitol and ends at 5 p.m. Leader says she’s looking forward to this opportunity to stand in solidarity with women and men from around the country. She says there are also marches scheduled in Baton Rouge and New Orleans…
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In his last days in office, former President Barack Obama approved sentence reductions for 330 federal inmates, 23 of those are from Louisiana. LSU New Orleans Public Health Criminologist Dr. Peter Scharf says these commutations were mostly drug related….
Three individuals had life sentences cut, like Benjamin Blount of Oakdale and Eric German of Haughton. LSU New Orleans Public Health Criminologist Doctor Peter Scharf says the president has the constitutional right to commune sentences, but he should explain why these individuals deserve shorter sentences
Scharf says there has been a nationwide push to stop issuing life sentences for non-violent drug offenses. He says while Obama supports criminal justice reform, he still needs to go public with an explanation.
cut 14 (11) “selection principle”
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West Monroe Police say a pizza delivery driver will not be charged after he fatally shot one of two men who attempted to steal his car. Detective Ray Spoon says two suspects ordered a pizza to be delivered to an abandoned house, robbed the delivery driver, and attempted to steal the victim’s vehicle.
Spoon says the crooks were unable to steal the delivery driver’s vehicle because it was a standard. He says the investigation is ongoing, as police are still searching for the second suspect. He says unfortunately, police see cases like this too often.
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