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VATICAN CITY – Questions swirled Thursday about the origins of Pope Francis’ bombshell comments endorsing same-sex civil unions, with all evidence suggesting he made them in a 2019 interview that was never broadcast in its entirety. The Vatican refused to comment on whether it cut the remarks from its own broadcast or if the Mexican…

MINNEAPOLIS — According to court documents, a third-degree murder charge against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Perry Floyd Jr. has been dropped, but the higher second-degree murder charge remains, in addition to a second-degree manslaughter charge. Floyd was killed on May 25 while being arrested for allegedly passing a counterfeit…

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting on Thursday as more big companies report profits for the summer that weren’t as bad as Wall Street feared. The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in morning trading after erasing an earlier, small gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 80 points, or 0.3%, at 28,129,…

NEW ORLEANS – Four Loyola University students were held up by gunmen across the street from their college campus overnight. The attack happened Tuesday night in the area of Audubon Park. According to WWL-TV the group of students were approached by two men who pulled out guns and demanded their belongings.  The Tulane Police Department…

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope while being interviewed for the feature-length documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. The papal thumbs-up came midway through the film that delves into issues Francis cares about most, including the environment, poverty, migration, racial and income…

BATON ROUGE – The Capital Area Transit System (CATS) in Baton Rouge announced Wednesday that a change will be made to Bus Route 11. The organization says its Northside Circulator outbound will have a Wednesday detour until 6 p.m. and as a result, the stops listed below will be canceled: -1210 72nd at Pembroke St…

Hollywood is mourning the death of James Redford, a filmmaker and philanthropist who was also the son of award-winning actor Robert Redford and American Historian Lola Van Wagenen, CNN reports. Cindi Berger, publicist to Robert Redford, issued a statement on behalf of the actor, saying, “The grief is immeasurable with the loss of a child.…

BATON ROUGE – LSU says it’s looking into what happened over the weekend that led to a student being hospitalized. In a statement, a university spokesperson said it appeared the male student was taken to a hospital Monday morning after an incident off campus the previous evening. “We are aware of a student being brought…

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A World Series like no other opens Tuesday night with Clayton Kershaw’s Los Angeles Dodgers pursuing redemption, Kevin Kiermaier’s Tampa Bay Rays seeking acclaim and Major League Baseball relieved just to reach the championship of the pandemic-delayed season. Buzz figures to be dampened, with attendance down to about 11,000 in the…

BATON ROUGE – A child who allegedly took a stolen school bus on a joy ride earlier this month will fight the criminal charges levied against him. Attorneys representing the 11-year-old entered a not guilty plea during a virtual court hearing Monday morning.  The child was arrested Oct. 11 after a pursuit involving Baton Rouge…

ZACHARY – Criminals made off with a Norwood-based bait company’s trailer Sunday night, according to representatives with the Zachary Police Department.  In a Monday morning Facebook post, police asked the public to keep an eye out for the stolen trailer (pictured above), which is owned by a company called Nate’s Buck Bait.  Anyone with information…

ATLANTA (AP) — At 90 years old and living through a global pandemic, Hannah Carson knows time may be short. She wasted no time returning her absentee ballot for this year’s election. As soon as it arrived at her senior living community, she filled it out and sent it back to her local election office…

BATON ROUGE – Long lines were seen at polling sites on Saturday, because of the first weekend of early voting in Baton Rouge for the November 3rd presidential election. “Why did you decide to vote early this time? I didn’t want to get caught up in the crowds on November 3rd,” Betty Wilson said. The line at the Louisiana State…

Day two of early voting is underway, and in Livingston Parish folks say the early voting process is smooth sailing. “The biggest issue we’ve had if you want to call it that is that the line looks worse than it is. We can only fit so many people in the room with the voting machines,…

BATON ROUGE – Organizers of the annual Hollydays event hosted a virtual drawing for its Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge new car giveaway Saturday. Hollydays had to adjust to the ongoing COVID health crisis. The raffle winner was Patrick Tuck; The winning vehicle was a 2020 GLB 250 Mercedes Benz. “The Junior League of Baton Rouge…

BATON ROUGE – Former East Baton Rouge Parish school board member, Noel Hammatt, passed away Friday at Baton Rouge Hospice after battling with cancer. He served on the school board for board for almost 20 years. “It’s been three months since his Glioblastoma IV diagnosis. His ashes will be dispersed in two of his favorite…

DONALDSONVILLE – As a precaution, some parts of Donaldsonville are under a boil water advisory following a recent water main leak. Road construction caused a water main leak on Mississippi Street and while the leak has been repaired, officials urge locals to boil water before use as there is still a possibility that it was…

RAPIDES PARISH – Troopers from Louisiana State Police Troop E investigated a fatal crash Friday morning that took the life of a 35-year-old bicyclist. Authorities responded to the scene of the crash shortly after 11:30 a.m. on Highway 121 near Valentine Lake Road. Christopher Richey of Elmer was riding his bike northbound when he was…

BATON ROUGE – Authorities responded to a shooting involving a child in Zion City around 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15. Emergency crews were called to West Upland Avenue near Glen Oaks Middle School on reports of shots fired. Authorities say one child was shot and is critically injured. This is a developing story. Check…

GENEVA (AP) — The world’s largest randomized trial of COVID-19 treatments found “conclusive evidence” that remdesivir, a drug used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump when he fell ill, has little or no effect on severe cases, the U.N. health agency said Friday. The World Health Organization announced the long-awaited results of a six-month trial…

BATON ROUGE – Authorities were dispatched to a reported shooting that occurred on North Ardenwood Drive and resulted in at least one person’s death. The shooting took place shortly before 9:45 a.m., Friday (Oct. 16) at an apartment complex in the 1200 block of N. Ardenwood. At this time, the identities of the persons involved…

LUTCHER – Organizers have canceled St. James’ annual bonfire celebration but say they will still light fires along the levee on Christmas Eve. The Board of Directors of the Festival of Bonfires said in a statement Thursday that the celebration will not go on as planned due to COVID-19. Officials say restrictions limiting crowd sizes…