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• Iberia board gets mixed news on revenue front

  April 18, 2013 8:43 AM

  NEW IBERIA, La. (AP) - The Iberia Parish School Board held a slightly more optimistic view of its fiscal status than it did in February after reviewing revenue figures for March. The Advocate reports the school board was presented Wednesday with a side-by-side comparison of the months of March 2012... more »

• Universe ages 80M years; Big Bang gets clearer

  March 21, 2013 7:54 AM

  PARIS (AP) - New results from a look into the split second after the Big Bang indicate the universe is 80 million years older than previously thought but the core concepts of the cosmos - how it began, what it's made of and where it's going - seem to be... more »

• Tulane prof gets grant for meth ingredient study

  December 12, 2012 6:07 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Tulane University faculty member has received a grant to study the possible effects of placing more severe restrictions on an ingredient found in cold and sinus medications. The same ingredient is used to illegally produce methamphetamine. Keith Finlay, an assistant professor of economics at Tulane,... more »

• Arkansas man gets 50 years in child porn case

  November 7, 2012 6:42 AM

  ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) - A 60-year-old man has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for the production of child pornography. U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley says Daniel Eugene Burris, of Huntsville, Ark., was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell of Alexandria. In addition, Drell sentenced... more »

• Houston man gets prison for child porn possession

  November 2, 2012 3:56 AM

  LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) - A Coast Guard chief warrant officer who pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography has been sentenced to five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi in Lake Charles also on Thursday sentenced 50-year-old Michael Robert Gleason, of Houston, to 10 years of supervised release... more »

• Deville man gets probation in 'boxed body' case

  October 16, 2012 7:55 AM

  ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) - A state district judge has sentenced a Deville man to three years supervised probation for killing his male companion in 2007 and hiding the body in a box until it was found the following year. But Rapides Parish prosecutor Thomas Willson tells The Town Talk Monday... more »

• N.O. rapper gets prison in firearms case

  July 19, 2012 6:44 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A New Orleans rapper who pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a firearm and conspiring to obstruct justice has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Christopher Dorsey, known as "BG," also was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Helen Berrigan to three years of supervised release... more »

• Man Gets $124,715 in Damages for Arrest

  July 1, 2012 2:30 PM

  A 55-year-old Eunice man was awarded $124,715 in damages and related costs by a state judge who found that the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office and Eunice Police Department used excessive force when they arrested him in April 2009. The Advocate reports ( http://bit.ly/ONqvET ) that state District Judge Alonzo... more »

• Superdome gets FEMA grant

  June 22, 2012 6:21 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided the state with another $1 million for repairs to the Superdome to cover Hurricane Katrina-related damage. Superdome spokesman Eric Egan said that the funds, disbursed to the Louisiana Office of Facilities Planning and Control, were only recently approved for... more »

• Man gets prison for oil-spill fraud

  May 18, 2012 8:57 AM

  GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A 28-year-old Gulfport man has been sentenced to prison for 37 months and ordered to make restitution of $27,000 for fraud involving an oil-spill recovery claim. The Sun Herald reports Moses W. Keys was sentenced Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. also ordered three years... more »

• La. man gets prison in bankruptcy case

  April 19, 2012 6:51 AM

  LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A Maurice man who was convicted of concealing bankruptcy assets has been sentenced to more than two years in prison. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty in Lafayette on Tuesday sentenced 52-year-old Thad Corey Theall to 27 months in prison and ordered him to repay $50,000 to... more »

• La. woman gets prison for misusing patient data

  April 13, 2012 7:41 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Westwego woman has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for using patient information stolen from a New Orleans hospital for her personal gain. U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon on Thursday sentenced 26-year-old Sherrie Blair to 27 months in prison. Fallon sentenced Blair's... more »

• Ex-business owner gets prison sentence

  April 11, 2012 8:15 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The former owner of a now-defunct Baton Rouge debt-collection agency has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison in a case that caused combined losses of more than $430,000 at two banks. On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson also ordered 59-year-old William... more »

• Plaquemines Parish gets new airboat

  April 10, 2012 7:31 AM

  BELLE CHASSE, La. (AP) - Plaquemines Parish has bought an airboat with a federal grant received by the state homeland security office. The 18-foot-long airboat seats eight passengers. It has removable seats to carry generators in case of an emergency. Officials say the boat will be used for search and... more »

• Woman gets 50 years in dress shot shooting

  March 22, 2012 10:55 AM

  LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) - State District Judge Clayton Davis has sentenced a 27-year-old Lake Charles woman to 50 years in prison for the shooting of two dress shop employees in July. The American Press reports Sharonda Obey pleaded guilty in January to two counts of attempted first-degree murder. Police... more »

• Slidell man gets prison for punching postal worker

  March 22, 2012 9:13 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Slidell man has been sentenced to two years in prison for assaulting a postal worker. A federal judge in New Orleans also on Wednesday sentenced 28-year-old Tracy Tardiff to three years of supervised release following his prison term. Federal prosecutors say the postal worker was... more »

• Man gets prison for illegally buying assault rifle

  March 15, 2012 5:59 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A convicted felon who pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining an assault rifle at a Kenner gun show has been sentenced to more than four years in prison. Federal prosecutors say 23-year-old Kena James purchased the rifle in June at a gun show for 26-year-old Hilton Fluker,... more »

• Baton Rouge man gets life sentence

  March 14, 2012 10:38 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A 27-year-old Baton Rouge man has been sentenced to life in prison in the 2010 shooting death of a teenager. The Advocate reports Hennessy Richard Christof was convicted in December of second-degree murder in the May 2010 killing of 17-year-old Demarcus Woods. An East Baton... more »

• Shreveport Man Gets Life for Infant's Death

  February 14, 2012 10:10 AM

  SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - A 22-year-old Shreveport man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing his infant son. Grady Thornton was convicted last week of second-degree murder for the killing of his 3-month-old son, Terrell. The Times ( http://bit.ly/y20Pni ) reported that Thornton was sentenced Monday... more »

• ENO gets OK to buy power from new plant

  January 25, 2012 9:18 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Entergy New Orleans Inc. has received permission from the utility committee of the New Orleans City Council to purchase 20 percent of the power from a proposed $721 million generating unit at the Ninemile Point power plant. A final vote is required by the full council... more »

• Man gets 20 years in death of toddler

  January 6, 2012 10:39 AM

  DERIDDER, La. (AP) - A DeRidder man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the 2008 death of a toddler. Clarence Taylor pleaded guilty to manslaughter as part of an agreement with prosecutors. State District Judge C. Kerry Anderson sentenced Taylor Thursday. He had initially been charged with... more »

• Man gets 20 Years in Fatal Robbery

  September 9, 2011 7:21 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A 41-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the 2007 killing and robbery of a Folsom-area man at a Baton Rouge motel. Michael Gillam was charged with second-degree murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May to the Sept. 8, 2007,... more »

• Louisiana Man Gets 20 Years in Slaying

  May 20, 2011 8:09 AM

  GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A 73-year-old Louisiana man has been sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter in the fatal shooting of 42-year-old Sonya Nelson of Gulfport on July 13, 2009. A Harrison County jury deliberated about five hours Thursday and was unable to reach a verdict on an indicted charge... more »

• State Gets a New $77 Million Budget Problem

  May 19, 2011 6:17 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Any lawmakers' hopes that Louisiana's income picture would brighten have been dashed. The state income forecasting panel, called the Revenue Estimating Conference, instead dropped the state's forecast by $77 million this year. While the panel agreed Wednesday to leave next year's estimates alone, the drop... more »

• Man Gets 20 Years in 2 Beatings, Robberies

  May 13, 2011 9:00 AM

  LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) - A Lake Charles man who robbed and severely beat two men last year has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bryan Keith Pyle received two consecutive 10-year terms for his guilty pleas to two counts of second-degree robbery. He also was ordered Thursday to... more »

• Social Services Gets Poor Mark in Audit

  May 10, 2011 12:08 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The state Department of Social Services received a "D" grade for the way it policed programs under its jurisdiction in the last fiscal year, according to a legislative auditor's report released Monday. The report cited nine areas, in which auditors found poor financial controls in... more »

• La. Man Gets 17 Years in Prison for Child Porn

  May 6, 2011 7:19 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Houma man has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for downloading child pornography to his home computer. U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon also ordered 55-year-old Robert Kim Istre on Thursday to register as a sex offender following his prison term.... more »

• Louisiana Man Gets 115 Years for Shooting Officers

  February 1, 2011 8:20 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A 30-year-old Baton Rouge man has been sentenced to 115 years in prison for shooting and wounding two police officers after he led them on a car chase following a traffic stop in 2008. State District Judge Tony Marabella sentenced Christopher Joseph Johnson on Monday... more »

• Inmate Gets More Time for Prison Assault

  January 7, 2011 6:14 AM

  LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) - A prison inmate convicted of assaulting two correctional officers has been sentenced to an additional 95 months in prison. U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi also on Thursday ordered 34-year-old Howard Harris to serve three years of supervised released following his prison term. Harris, an inmate... more »

• Gambling board gets presentations on casino

  December 16, 2010 8:24 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Three companies applying for the state's last available riverboat casino license are proposing projects in Jefferson Parish and Lake Charles. The applicants made their presentations to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board on Thursday. Penn National Gaming Inc. is proposing a second casino in the New... more »

• Derrick Todd Lee Gets More Time for Appeal

  December 1, 2010 6:52 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Attorneys for alleged serial killer Derrick Todd Lee have until April 15 to prepare the latest appeal of his conviction and death sentence for a murder in 2002. State District Judge Richard Anderson told attorney Gary Clements that may be his last deadline. As he... more »

• Louisiana Courthouse Escapee gets Life in Prison

  November 3, 2010 8:12 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A 34-year-old man who was on his way to a habitual offender hearing last month when he escaped from deputies outside the Baton Rouge state courthouse has been sentenced to life in prison. Demond Cook of Baton Rouge, shackled and dressed in a prison jumpsuit,... more »

• NPR gets earful from listeners on Williams firing

  October 22, 2010 9:50 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - NPR and its public radio stations around the country got an earful from listeners and angry citizens in the middle of pledge season Friday over its firing of commentator Juan Williams, receiving thousands of complaints and scattered threats to withhold donations. Still, a number of major stations... more »

• Louisiana Man gets 5 years in Deputy Shootings

  October 19, 2010 9:55 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A 31-year-old Baton Rouge man has been sentenced to five years in prison shortly after pleading guilty to shooting two detectives when they tried to execute a search warrant at his home in 2008. Ellis Henry Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of aggravated... more »

• Gay community sends video message: It gets better

  October 7, 2010 9:52 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) - David Valdes Greenwood was 15 when he climbed to the highest arch of a bridge in his small Maine town and got ready to jump. It was 1982. He was distraught over a pastor's Sodom and Gomorrah sermon that his homosexuality would bring God's wrath down... more »

• Former NO housing CFO gets 46 months

  October 7, 2010 9:31 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former chief financial officer with the Housing Authority of New Orleans has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison. Elias Castellanos, who now lives in Prescott Valley, Ariz., pleaded guilty in September 2009 to embezzling $900,000 from the public housing agency. U.S. District... more »

• Times Square attempted Bomber gets Life Sentence

  October 5, 2010 10:42 AM

  NEW YORK (AP) - The man who plotted to kill Americans by driving a homemade car bomb into Times Square and leaving it to explode has been sentenced to life in prison. A judge gave Faisal Shahzad a mandatory life prison term at his sentencing Tuesday in Manhattan federal court.... more »

• Chevron Gets Permission to Drill Off UK Coast

  October 1, 2010 10:57 AM

  LONDON (AP) - Britain has granted Chevron Corp. permission to begin the first new deepwater drilling in the North Sea since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, brushing aside calls for a U.S.-style moratorium on off-shore drilling. The decision, confirmed on Friday, means that Chevron can begin drilling an exploratory... more »

• Ex-judge gets prison in bribery scheme

  September 9, 2010 9:32 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former state judge has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a bribery scheme to allow inmates to get out of jail without paying any bond money. Sixty-two-year-old Wayne Cresap, who sat in St. Bernard Parish, also was ordered Thursday to... more »

• National Lampoon CEO gets 45 months for conspiracy

  September 8, 2010 10:02 PM

  PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The former CEO of entertainment company National Lampoon Inc. has been sentenced in Philadelphia to nearly four years in prison in a stock price manipulation scheme. Federal prosecutors say 48-year-old Daniel Laikin plotted to artificially inflate the company's stock price by paying people to buy shares. They... more »

• Sheriff's Deputies Gets the Dealers and the Buyers

  August 28, 2010 4:17 PM

  COVINGTON, La. (AP) - The St. Tammany Parish Narcotics Task Force arrested two men and seized narcotics and money - then they got down to business. Officers arrested Alfred Treadwell and Jessie Brown at Treadwellpo house Wednesday, and found a variety of narcotics they say belonged to Treadwell. After taking... more »

• Man Gets Prison Time For Trafficking In Counterfeit Goods

  August 26, 2010 5:02 PM

  Shreveport, La.: Dwight Anthony Reed, 52, of Bossier City, La., owner of a retail store formerly located in Pierre Bossier Mall in Bossier City, La., was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for trafficking in counterfeit goods, United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced today. Reed was also sentenced... more »

• Ex-Gretna Council Member Gets 17 Years in Prison

  August 23, 2010 6:12 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A former Gretna city council member who was convicted of taking money for his support of zoning variances has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. In April, a federal jury convicted 48-year-old Jonathan Bolar of charges that included extortion, wire fraud and failing to file... more »

• Woman Gets House Arrest in Murder for Hire Case

  August 19, 2010 9:16 AM

  OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) - A 46-year-old Eunice woman has been sentenced to three years' house arrest after agreeing to plead no contest to charges of attempting to hire a hit man to kill her estranged husband and his new girlfriend. State District Judge Alonzo Harris, in handing down the sentence... more »

• Alabama grand jury gets drug case against Russell

  August 11, 2010 8:52 PM

  MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A judge sent the drug possession case against former Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell to a grand jury Wednesday despite testimony that the codeine drink found at Russell's home belonged to a longtime friend. District Judge Charles McKnight questioned the credibility of the testimony given by... more »

• Brubeck gets nod from another jazz great

  August 9, 2010 9:30 PM

  NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) - Jazz legend Dave Brubeck turns 90 on Dec. 6, but the birthday celebrations got off to an early start on the closing day of the CareFusion Newport Jazz Festival. With Wynton Marsalis' quintet playing "Happy Birthday" to a New Orleans beat, festival producer and founder George... more »

• Rosie O'Donnell gets daytime TV on Oprah's channel

  August 5, 2010 10:23 PM

  LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rosie O'Donnell is returning to daytime TV with a talk show on Oprah Winfrey's new network. Winfrey announced the show Thursday, calling O'Donnell a true original who brings passion to everything she does. O'Donnell hosted a syndicated series, "The Rosie O'Donnell Show" from 1996 to 2002... more »

• Tulane University Gets Funding For Malaria Research

  July 9, 2010 11:10 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Tulane University will receive approximately $11.2 million to establish an International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research for West and Central Africa. The funding comes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health. The university said in... more »

• Man Gets Life Terms in Death of Sons

  June 3, 2010 8:51 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A 32-year-old Baton Rouge man avoided a possible death sentence by admitting his guilt in the 2008 stabbing deaths of his two young sons. Clayton Lee Murphy Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder in exchange for two life sentences. State District... more »

• Man Gets Life for Fatal Abuse

  May 28, 2010 9:18 AM

  DERIDDER, La. (AP) - Jeffery Paul Denby has been sentenced to life in prison in the death of 18-month-old John Thomas Anthony Brewer. State District Court Judge Martha Ann O'Neal sentenced Denby on Thursday. A jury last week convicted Denby of first-degree murder. Denby told investigators that he spanked the... more »

• Inmate Gets Life Term in Slaying

  May 21, 2010 10:44 AM

  ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. (AP) - A state district judge has sentenced a Louisiana State Penitentiary inmate to life in prison in the death of another inmate. The Advocate reports 31-year-old Andre Leday acted as his own attorney in a March trial for the 2004 beating death of inmate Michael Bradford.... more »

• N.O. Man Gets 58 Years in Alexandria Carjacking

  May 13, 2010 9:37 AM

  ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) - A 29-year-old New Orleans man has been sentenced in Alexandria to a total of 58 years in prison for aggravated battery, robbery, carjacking, purse snatching and other charges arising from an incident last June. The Town Talk newspaper in Alexandria reports Thursday that Felton Hurst, who... more »

• Prairieville Man Gets 28 Years in Manslaughter Charge

  April 26, 2010 12:59 PM

  OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) - A 24-year-old Prairieville man has been sentenced to two concurrent 28-year jail terms after pleading guilty March 2 to two counts of manslaughter. Blake Cannon Reine was sentenced on Thursday. The Daily World reports the charges stemmed from a May 16 crash on La. Highway 182... more »

• Jeanerette Gets Federal Load To Fund Water Improvements

  December 29, 2009 3:16 PM

  JEANERETTE, La. (AP) - The city of Jeanerette is getting a federal loan for nearly $2.5 million to improve its water system. It's among nearly $117 million in stimulus grants and loans for water and environmental projects announced Tuesday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. They are part of the... more »