Latest news for May 18, 2013

• Powerball jackpot closing in on another record

  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A little more than a year after three tickets split a world-record lottery prize, the jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball drawing was nearing historic … Continue reading →

• Gauge of U.S. economy’s future health up in April

  WASHINGTON (AP) — A measure of the U.S. economy’s future health rose solidly in April, buoyed by a sharp rise in applications to build homes and a better job market. The Conference Board said Friday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.6 percent last month to …

• S.Korea says N. Korea fires 3 short-range missiles

  SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired three short-range guided missiles into its eastern waters on Saturday, a South Korean official said. It routinely tests such missiles, but the latest launches came during a period of tentative diplomacy aimed at easing tensions. The North fired two …

• Concerns raised about La. budget proposal

  The Legislature’s financial adviser offered lawmakers a litany of concerns about the state budget proposal Friday, including uncertain revenue and inadequate dollars. Acting Legislative Fiscal Officer John Carpenter told legislators that they need to worry about whether dollars will materialize and whether sufficient funding will exist for …

• Charter repeal on West Feliciana Police Jury agenda

  ST. FRANCISVILLE — A proposal to call an Oct. 19 election for a possible repeal of West Feliciana Parish’s home-rule charter created a firestorm of criticism when it appeared on the early agenda for Monday’s Police Jury meeting. Juror Lea Williams said the agenda …

• Carencro chief disputes allegations of police corruption

  LAFAYETTE — Carencro Police Chief Carlos Stout on Friday disputed a federal indictment that implies officers in his small department were paid to look the other way during illegal drug sales and prostitution at Desperado’s Gentlemen’s Cabaret. Stout said none of the officers …

• FEMA’s denial of Gustav cleanup funds reviewed

  SPRINGFIELD — The U.S. Inspector General’s Office has agreed to hear complaints from Livingston Parish officials over the lack of Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for most of the Hurricane Gustav cleanup. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, …

• Ascension considers getting into gas and water business

  GONZALES — Ascension Parish government officials, already trying to pull together the early pieces of a parishwide sewer system, also have been investigating the possibility of getting into the natural gas and water business. Parish President Tommy Martinez has been meeting with an economic development …

• Appeal denied in Chiquita Tate slaying

  The state’s highest court Friday let stand a Baker man’s manslaughter conviction and 40-year prison term in the 2009 stabbing death of his wife, lawyer Chiquita Tate, in her downtown Baton Rouge office. The Louisiana Supreme Court, without comment or dissent, denied Greg Harris’ appeal. “I’m …

• EBR law enforcement holds memorial for fallen officers

  They died in the line of duty, in ambushes and automobile accidents. They gave their lives serving a high-risk warrant, trying to save an undercover informant and pursuing a suspect. And on Friday, their brothers and sisters in East Baton Rouge Parish …

• BR rally protests proposal by Boy Scouts on gays

  Clasping three shirt hangers with three khaki Boy Scout shirts dangling off them in one hand and a sign in the other, a Walker man stood in the parking lot of the Pennington Boy Scouts of America Center on Friday afternoon to stand up for his morality.

• City services extended to undeveloped area of Scott

  SCOTT — The city is moving north. Work is expected to begin next month on a $1.2 million project to extend city water and sewer lines under Interstate 10 to serve undeveloped tracts north of the interstate, said Pat Logan, who oversees …

• Woman sentenced for transporting undocumented immigrants

  A Honduran woman with legal immigrant status was sentenced to two years probation Friday in Baton Rouge federal court after admitting that she illegally transported minivan loads of undocumented immigrants from Houston to Miami. Eight months of her probation must be served at …

• Police and Fire briefs for May 18, 2013

  Authorities arrested at least nine people suspected of driving while intoxicated in East Baton Rouge Parish — including Kenneth Briggs of Baton Rouge on a fourth-offense DWI — and booked them into Parish Prison between 2:30 p.m. …

• Fire at Prairieville business causes up to $80,000 in damage

  PRAIRIEVILLE ­— A fire that broke out late Friday morning caused an estimated $70,000 to $80,000 in damage to an Ascension Parish business but no injuries after flammable, spray-on material used to line the beds of pickup trucks caught fire. Fire Chief Mark Stewart of …

• Gonzales council criticized for pulling funds from kids’ park

  GONZALES — While the Gonzales City Council has balked at providing its full infrastructure commitment to Kidz Kove Discovery Park, the Ascension Parish Council has fulfilled its pledge. The Parish Council on Thursday approved a resolution providing $25,000 to Project Kidz Kove, the nonprofit group …

• Two Ascension drug busts net 3 arrests

  GONZALES — Ascension Parish sheriff’s deputies made three arrests this week in two separate drug busts on South Sammy Avenue near Gonzales. A traffic stop on Tuesday turned up a Prairieville man allegedly in possession of crack cocaine, while a Friday search warrant uncovered an …