KATC.com

Tagged News

• More to education bills than vouchers, tenure

  March 22, 2012 6:06 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Vouchers, charters and tenure are the buzz words in legislation coming up for debate in the House on Thursday but the details in the complicated bills are more far-reaching than the often-brief descriptions in news stories might indicate. If passed, they would continue an erosion... more »

• Jindals Honor Couple Married More Than 80 Years

  February 15, 2011 8:11 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The governor and his wife spent Valentine's Day honoring a couple they say is the longest married in the state. Ralph and Dorothy Richards, of Slidell, have been married for nearly 81 years, since Feb. 28, 1930. Gov. Bobby Jindal and first lady Supriya Jindal... more »

• UNO wins Navy contracts worth more than $800K

  October 14, 2010 11:06 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The University of New Orleans Department of Computer Science has been awarded three new research and development contracts worth more than $800,000 from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Systems Center New Orleans. The three contracts are for one year. The SPAWAR Systems Center is... more »

• Traffic Deaths Plummeted Across US to Lowest Levels in More Than Half A Century

  September 9, 2010 12:29 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Traffic deaths have plummeted across the United States to levels not seen in more than a half century, spurred by technology, more safety-conscious drivers and tougher enforcement of drunken driving laws. The Transportation Department said Thursday that traffic deaths fell 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the... more »

• State-Owned Fleet Cut By More Than 1,000 Vehicle

  August 24, 2010 5:54 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration has cut the state-owned vehicle fleet by more than 1,000 cars, trucks and vans over the last year. The administration says that's the lowest level since the 2003-04 fiscal year - but it's still short of an administration goal to trim... more »

• Vitter Reports More Than $5M Cash on Hand

  August 16, 2010 8:27 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - U.S. Sen. David Vitter reports having nearly $5.4 million in his campaign coffers in advance of this month's primary election. The Republican is seeking a second term in office. His campaign released its latest round of finance reports Monday, detailing activity from July 1 to... more »

• State Workers Charged With Theft of More than $50,000 in Food Stamp Benefits

  August 11, 2010 11:18 AM

  LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - A sixth defendant has pleaded guilty in the federal government's ongoing investigation into disaster food stamp fraud. Dorothy Reedom, who had worked for the Department of Social Services' Office of Family Support in St. Mary Parish, pleaded guilty Monday to theft of public money, property or... more »

• Dispersant is Less Toxic Than Oil Alone

  August 2, 2010 2:55 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - A new federal study of chemical dispersants used to break up oil in the Gulf of Mexico shows that when mixed with oil, the dispersant is less toxic to aquatic life than oil alone. The study also show that when mixed with oil, the dispersant used in... more »

• TOXIC VAPORS IN OIL CLEANUP AREAS AT 20-72 TIMES HIGHER THAN EPA RECCOMENDED LEVELS

  July 22, 2010 11:34 AM

  Gulf Oil Disaster Recovery Attorney Stuart Smith, representing commercial fishermen, environmental groups, public entities and businesses throughout the Gulf Coast states impacted by the DEEPWATER HORIZON catastrophe issued the following statement with toxicologist Dr. William Sawyer: "The EPA is showing toluene and benzene levels appearing 20 to 30 times... more »

• AG: Firms Other Than BP Could be Liable for Spill

  July 14, 2010 8:17 PM

  DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder has indicated that corporations other than BP could be held liable eventually for the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. eventually. Holder spoke at a news conference Wednesday at Dauphin Island on the Alabama coast after a meeting with... more »

• Corporations Other Than BP Could Be held Liable For Spill

  July 14, 2010 6:07 PM

  DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (AP) - Attorney General Eric Holder has indicated that corporations other than BP could be held liable eventually for the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. eventually. Holder spoke at a news conference Wednesday at Dauphin Island on the Alabama coast after a meeting with... more »

• Stephensville Woman Arrested For Allegedly Embezzling More Than $100,000

  July 13, 2010 6:38 PM

  On July 13, 2010, a former employee with the St. Martin Parish Water & Sewer District in Stephensville was booked into the St. Martin Parish Correctional Center for allegedly embezzling more than $100,000.00. Barbara Topham Vicknair, 60, of Morgan City was charged with 383 counts of Monetary Instrument Abuse,... more »

• Cleanup For The Spill Has Been Landlocked For More Than A Week

  July 5, 2010 4:27 PM

  PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (AP) - Across a wide stretch of the Gulf of Mexico, the cleanup of the region's worst-ever oil spill has been essentially landlocked for more than a week, leaving skimmers stuck close to shore. Last week, the faraway Hurricane Alex idled the skimming fleet off Alabama, Florida... more »

• Government Program Wasted More Than $100 Million Of Taxpayer Dollars

  July 1, 2010 12:53 PM

  MIAMI - A government program that's supposed to help impoverished families heat and cool their homes wasted more than $100 million of taxpayer dollars paying the electric bills of thousands of applicants who were dead, in prison or living in million-dollar mansions. The Department of Health and Human Services spent... more »

• Coastal Region Economically And Environmentally Will Take Months Rather Than Years To Restore

  June 30, 2010 12:55 PM

  JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - President Obama's point man overseeing the cleanup of the massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico expects a plan to restore the coastal region economically and environmentally will take months rather than years. U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says there are already numerous studies that... more »

• More Than 70 Pelicans to be Released in Georgia

  June 28, 2010 8:08 PM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says about 72 pelicans cleaned up from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be released on Tuesday in Georgia. It says they'll be flown from New Orleans International Airport to Brunswick Golden Isles Airport. From there, a caravan will... more »

• BP has paid less than 12 percent of claims

  June 18, 2010 1:42 PM

  WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Judiciary Committee says data it has collected shows that BP has paid less than 12 percent of claims submitted by people and businesses arising from the Gulf oil spill. The committee said in a statement Friday that only $71 million out of an estimated $600... more »

• More than 600,000 orders for iPhone 4s

  June 16, 2010 12:25 PM

  NEW YORK (AP) - Apple Inc. said Wednesday that it and its phone company partners took orders for more than 600,000 iPhone 4s in one day, the highest number it's ever seen, despite widespread problems getting orders through overwhelmed computer systems. The crush of orders sets the scene for long... more »

• Majority not unanimous vote needed for nonviolent offenders parole

  June 14, 2010 4:29 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The parole board's voting rules would be eased for certain nonviolent offenders who have participated in rehabilitative programs, under a bill that received final passage Monday with a 22-7 Senate vote. The proposal (House Bill 195) by Rep. Fred Mills, D-Parks, would allow those inmates... more »

• Palin More Pragmatic Than Friends & Foes Expect

  June 13, 2010 5:13 PM

  JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Sarah Palin the political pragmatist? Go figure. With a few surprising endorsements in recent Republican primaries, the self-styled rogue of GOP politics has reaped an angry response from some of her own supporters and a fresh round of speculation about her own presidential ambitions in 2012.... more »

• Deputy Booked With More Than 500 Charges

  June 13, 2010 4:15 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - An Assumption Parish sheriff's deputy was booked Saturday on hundreds of counts of evidence tampering, weapons violations and drug offenses. State Police said Louis Lambert, 47, was arrested Friday afternoon. He was booked at the Assumption Parish Jail. The arrest capped a three-month investigation into... more »

• More Than $180,000 Raised for Hospice Play Video

  June 6, 2010 11:37 PM

  It was a successful tel-event at the KATC studios and the Mall of Acadiana Sunday, raising well over $180,000 for Hospice of Acadiana. For five hours the hospice telethon aired on TV-3. Thirty-two prizes were given away throughout the event, including a football autographed by saint's quarterback, Drew Brees,... more »

• More Than $48 Million in Claims Paid

  June 6, 2010 2:40 PM

  PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - An official for BP PLC says the oil giant has paid 18,000 claims along the Gulf Coast totaling more than $48 million. Darryl Willis is the BP vice president overseeing the claims process. He said Sunday in Florida's Escambia County that the company has received 37,000... more »

• Bayou Country Superfest Drew More Than 85,000 People

  June 3, 2010 11:03 AM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Bayou Country Superfest organizers, sponsors and supporters have deemed the star-studded music festival a success, saying it drew more than 85,000 people to LSU's Tiger Stadium over the Memorial Day weekend. Superfest producer Quint Davis says the event will return next year, again over the... more »

• More Than $10 Million in Earmarks Added to Budget Bill

  May 30, 2010 3:25 PM

  BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - As they cut colleges and charity hospitals, budget-crafters in the House slipped in dollars for local festivals, cattle fences, playgrounds, museums, town fire stations and pages of pet projects in their districts back home. More than $10 million in legislative earmarks were quietly added to... more »

• BP Siphoning More Than a Fifth of the Oil Spewing

  May 17, 2010 11:29 AM

  NEW ORLEANS (AP) - BP said Monday it was siphoning more than a fifth of the oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, but worries escalated about the ooze reaching a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast. BP PLC chief... more »

• Education Superintendent Elected, Rather Than Appointed

  April 20, 2010 2:57 PM

  Baton Rouge, La. -(AP) A bid to make the state's education superintendent elected, rather than appointed, failed to win approval Tuesday in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee. Rep. Joe Harrison, R-Napoleonville, argued his bill (House Bill 1006) would let voters decide who should lead the state's education efforts and... more »