News - KADN.com

State consider smoke ban at casinos and bars

mwesp — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:46:41 -0500

The debate on banning smoking in bars and casinos could heat up again this legislative session.

The state campaign for tobacco-free living is pushing lawmakers to add those establishments to the list of places Louisiana residents can't light up.

Supporters say the ban is intended to protect workers and customers from second-hand smoke.

Under the current state law, bars and casinos are exempt from having to provide a smoke-free environment for their employees.

Some bar owners say the ban is not a bad idea.

Fess Parker, TV's 'Davy Crockett,' dies at 85

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:34:44 -0500

LOS ANGELES – Fess Parker, a baby-boomer idol in the 1950s who launched a craze for coonskin caps as television's Davy Crockett, died Thursday of natural causes. He was 85.

Family spokeswoman Sao Anash said Parker, who was also TV's Daniel Boone and later a major California winemaker and developer, died at his Santa Ynez Valley home. His death comes on the 84th birthday of his wife of 50 years, Marcella.

Dems sweeten health bill, set showdown Sunday vote

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:34:42 -0500

WASHINGTON – Historic health care change in the balance, Democrats plowed fresh billions into insurance subsidies for consumers on Thursday and added a $250 rebate for seniors facing high prescription drugs, last-minute sweeteners to sweeping $940 billion legislation headed for a climactic weekend vote.

President Barack Obama scuttled an Asian trip in favor of last-minute lobbying at the White House on his signature issue, playing host to a procession of wavering Democrats.

Wal-Mart 'appalled' at racial incident

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:19:37 -0500

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A Walmart store announcement ordering black people to leave brought chagrin and apologies Wednesday from leaders of the company, which has built a fragile trust among minority communities.

A male voice came over the public-address system Sunday evening at a store in Washington Township, in southern New Jersey, and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now."

State Senator Hebert switches parties

mwesp — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:29:21 -0500

State Senator Troy Hebert of Jeanerette has officially switched his party affiliation from Democrat to independent.

This move makes Hebert the only non-party-affiliated member in the Senate.

Report: Sandra Bullock leaving husband

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:43:41 -0500

SEXY screen siren Sandra Bullock is set to leave her husband Jesse James amid rumors he cheated on her with a trampy tattoo model called Michelle.

The actress, 45, is “devastated” that James — whom she married in 2005 — has been having an affair for the past 11-months.

“Sandra is devastated,” a source close to the Oscar-winning star told OK! magazine.

“Jesse has tried to smooth things over with Sandra, but she’s still leaving him.”

James allegedly told his mistress that his marriage to Bullock was a sham.

Hacker disables more than 100 cars remotely

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:28:59 -0500

More than 100 drivers in Austin, Texas found their cars disabled or the horns honking out of control, after an intruder ran amok in a web-based vehicle-immobilization system normally used to get the attention of consumers delinquent in their auto payments.

Police with Austin’s High Tech Crime Unit on Wednesday arrested 20-year-old Omar Ramos-Lopez, a former Texas Auto Center employee who was laid off last month, and allegedly sought revenge by bricking the cars sold from the dealership’s four Austin-area lots.

Terror suspect 'Jihad Jane' pleads not guilty to all counts

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:58:39 -0500

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia-area woman authorities say dubbed herself "Jihad Jane" online pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court to a four-count indictment charging her in an overseas terrorist plot.

Colleen LaRose, 46, of Pennsburg, appeared in court wearing a green jumpsuit and corn rows in her blond hair. A May 3 trial date was set.

She was accused of conspiring with jihadist fighters and pledging to commit murder in the name of a Muslim holy war. Authorities say she wanted to kill a Swedish artist who had offended Muslims.

House Dems on track for vote on $940B health bill

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 10:43:46 -0500

WASHINGTON – House Democrats are pushing to the brink of passage a landmark, $940 billion health care overhaul bill that would simultaneously deliver on President Barack Obama's promise to expand coverage while slashing the deficit, a strategy aimed at attracting support from the party's fiscal conservatives.

State representative wants same grading systems

mwesp — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:21:19 -0500

A local state lawmaker is trying to make things simple for Louisiana's school system.

Lafayette's state Representative Rickey Hardy wants to introduce a bill to make all of the school's grading systems the same in the state.

Hardy believes a uniform system will eliminate much of the grading confusion.

The legislation session starts March 29.

US military: Goal still to capture bin Laden alive

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:28:35 -0500

WASHINGTON – The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Wednesday that it remains the goal of U.S. troops to capture Osama bin Laden alive and "bring him to justice."

The comment by Gen. Stanley McChrystal to reporters was in contrast to remarks made a day earlier by Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder told Congress that the chances of capturing bin Laden alive were "infinitesimal" because he would probably be killed by U.S. forces or by one of his own fighters.

2010-03-17T18:40:31-0500

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:40:38 -0500

The United States has big problems with broadband access, speed and cost, but the Federal Communications Commission's solutions may be too weak to have any lasting impact.

The FCC on Tuesday announced its proposal to bring affordable high-speed Internet access to all Americans. Many of the recommendations are subject to congressional approval and others are long-term goals that the FCC hopes to achieve.

Facebook becomes bigger hit than Google

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:40:35 -0500

Social networking website Facebook has capped a year of phenomenal growth by overtaking Google’s popularity among US internet users, with industry data showing it has scored more visits on its home page than the search engine.

In a sign that the web is becoming more sociable than searchable, research firm Hitwise said that the two sites accounted for 14 per cent of all US internet visits last week. Facebook’s home page recorded 7.07 per cent of traffic and Google’s 7.03 per cent.

Bankruptcy Is Blockbuster's only hope

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:52:34 -0500

Blockbuster's (BBI) warning that bankruptcy might be looming is a scare for investors who are worried about the value of their stock — but restructuring could ultimately be a smart move for the company.

The video rental store declared in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday that it might be forced to file Chapter 11 if cash flows don't improve and it is unable to restructure its debt. Blockbuster reportedly has about $1 billion in debt.

Tehran aiding al Qaeda links, Petraeus says

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:37:35 -0500

Iran is assisting al Qaeda by facilitating links between senior terrorist leaders and affiliate groups, the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East told Congress on Tuesday.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command, also said Iran's nuclear program is facing problems, and as a result, Tehran is not expected to emerge with a nuclear weapon this year.

Former teacher faces pornography charges

mwesp — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:58:31 -0500

OPELOUSAS - Larry Caillier II is set to stand trial May 17 on federal child pornography charges.

The former Opelousas High teacher had previously been indicted on charges of attempting to coerce a minor to engage in sexual acts.

Kucinich will support Obama health overhaul

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:22:33 -0500

WASHINGTON – Liberal Rep. Dennis Kucinich says he will support President Barack Obama's health care overhaul bill when the House considers it.

The Ohio Democrat opposed the bill when the House voted on it last year. But he has been lobbied hard by the president himself, as Democratic leaders try to corral the 216 House votes they need to approve the nearly $1 trillion package.

Kucinich announced his decision Wednesday. It's important because the vote will be close, and Democrats are scrounging for all the support they can get.

Hawaii considering law to ignore Obama 'birthers'

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:37:54 -0500

HONOLULU – Birthers beware: Hawaii may start ignoring your repeated requests for proof that President Barack Obama was born here.

As the state continues to receive e-mails seeking Obama's birth certificate, the state House Judiciary Committee heard a bill Tuesday permitting government officials to ignore people who won't give up.

Immigrants making a landmark shift

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:37:48 -0500

Los Angeles – US immigrant populations are spreading out, a study released Monday found.

New immigrants and their US-born descendants are expected to grow by 117 million by 2050, making up 82 percent of the US population growth over that period, and will “have important implications for housing demand at a time when aging baby boomers are expected to retire and leave the housing market,” the study predicts.

When tweets can make you a jailbird

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:58:33 -0500

WASHINGTON – Maxi Sopo was having so much fun "living in paradise" in Mexico that he posted about it on Facebook so all his friends could follow his adventures. Others were watching, too: A federal prosecutor in Seattle, where Sopo was wanted on bank fraud charges.

Tracking Sopo through his public "friends" list, the prosecutor found his address and had Mexican authorities arrest him. Instead of sipping pina coladas, Sopo is awaiting extradition to the U.S.

N.P. Moss learns fate Wednesday

mwesp — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:50:54 -0500

LAFAYETTE - N.P. Moss Middle School could soon know it's fate.

The Lafayette Parish School Board is set to decide Wednesday on a plan to open a new high school in August.

One proposal under consideration calls for converting N.P. Moss into a 4-year career and technical high school.

The idea of re-directing Moss students to other middle schools has drawn criticism from community leaders.

Another option under consideration would add a high school to the Moss campus, but maintain its middle school.

'Transformers' star slams Khloe Kardashian

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:25:41 -0500

In the April issue of GQ, the always candid Shia LaBeouf lets it be known that he's still bitter about the way the media handled his widely-publicized car crash in 2008. Although he was initially arrested in Los Angeles on a misdemeanor drunk driving charge, a couple of days later it was announced that Shia was not at fault in the accident, which left him with a severely injured left hand.

Hurricane experts meet in Baton Rouge

mwesp — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:25:31 -0500

BATON ROUGE - Hurricane experts across the country are meeting in Baton Rouge this week.

Up to 500 experts are expected to attend the Central Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Conference to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season.

Hurricane season begins June 1.

Dems consider non-direct health care vote

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:22:48 -0500

WASHINGTON – Days away from critical decisions on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, Republicans assailed Democratic plans to push the massive legislation through the House without a direct vote.

"Anyone who endorses this strategy will be forever remembered for trying to claim they didn't vote for something they did," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Tuesday. "It will go down as one of the most extraordinary legislative sleights of hand in history."

Some states risk losing big on census

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:49:44 -0500

More than 120 million U.S. census forms begin arriving Monday in mailboxes around the country, in the government's once-a-decade population count that will be used to divvy up congressional seats and more than $400 billion in federal aid. Fast-growing states in the South and the West could stand to lose the most because of lower-than-average mail participation rates in 2000 and higher shares of Hispanics and young adults, who are among the least likely to mail in their forms.

Did those $2.5 million Super Bowl ads work? Stay tuned.

Army changes basic training for first time in three decades

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:34:31 -0500

FORT JACKSON, S.C. – At 5 a.m. on the Army's largest training base, soldiers grunt through the kinds of stretches, body twists and bent-leg raises that might be seen in an "ab blaster" class at a suburban gym.

Adapting to battlefield experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army is revamping its basic training regimen for the first time in three decades by nixing five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and honing core muscles.

Tiger Woods making return at Masters

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:34:26 -0500

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - Tiger Woods will return to golf at the
Masters next month.

In a statement Tuesday, Woods said he will play at Augusta
National after a four-month hiatus because of a sex scandal.

The Masters begins on April 8.

Woods says that while he's returning to competition, he still
has a lot of work to do in this personal life.

.U.S. Census arrives today

mwesp — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:55:46 -0500

LAFAYETTE - The U.S. Census forms started to hit mailboxes across the nation today.

The count will be used to divvy up congressional seats and more than $400 billion in federal aid.

States in the south and west could lose the most because of higher population of Hispanics and young adults, who are least likely to fill out the form.

Man who secretly videotaped ESPN's Erin Andrews gets 30 months in prison

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:07:32 -0500

A Los Angeles federal judge today sentenced a Chicago businessman to 30 months in prison for secretly shooting video of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and and posting it on the Internet.

Michael David Barrett, 49, was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $7,366.

Barrett, 48, of Westmont, Ill., pleaded guilty to various charged in December, including having the intent to "harass or to cause substantial emotional distress" to Andrews. He admitted that he used the Internet to try to distribute his videos.

Guns in recent Pentagon attacks from unusual source

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:19:52 -0500

WASHINGTON – Two guns used in high-profile shootings this year at the Pentagon and a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the same unlikely place: the police and court system of Memphis, Tenn.

Law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that both guns were once seized in criminal cases in Memphis. The officials described how the weapons made their separate ways from an evidence vault to gun dealers and to the shooters.