Elderly man visiting from Missouri was beaten to death inside his hotel room, NOPD says

JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WVUE) - Two separate police pursuits ended in crashes in Jefferson Parish on Wednesday (Feb. 1). The first started on the Huey P. Long Bridge, where Causeway Police say they tried to pull over a speeding driver around 12 p.m. The driver fled and was struck by...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - NOPD is seeking the public’s help locating a man wanted for stealing a car from a parking lot using a flatbed truck. Police say on Jan. 15, around 10:40 p.m., a 2004 Lexus RX300 was stolen from a parking lot in the 1900 block of Gentilly Boulevard. Surveillance footage showed a suspect using a flatbed truck to steal the Lexus.

WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) - For 26 years, the murder of 82-year-old Opal Weil in St. Petersburg, Fla. has gone unsolved. But advancements in DNA testing have given investigators a new lead in the cold case that points to Waveland. Michael Lapniewski, Jr., 55, of Waveland, was arrested January 26, 2023...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A dog was rescued by New Orleans police and reunited with its owner. The NOPD says Luna was seen running in the street on the edge of the French Quarter at the intersection of Esplanade Avenue and N. Rampart Street. First District Detective Samantha Barker rescued...

SLIDELL, La. (WVUE) - The body of a man found alongside a road has been identified by St. Tammany Parish Coroner, according to police. The death was reported to the sheriff’s office early Monday morning. The St. Tammany Parish Corner’s Office said the body was identified as 57-year-old Chris E. Warren of Slidell. The body was found near Manzella Road near Slidell early Monday.

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said she’s encouraged by violent crime trends in the city. In a press conference on Wednesday (Feb. 1), Mayor Cantrell pointed to armed robberies, carjackings, and homicides, which she says are all trending down compared to January of last year. She says it’s a sign that things are moving in the right direction.

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The New Orleans City Council is considering increased penalties for businesses in an attempt to curb violent crime in the city. Council Vice President Helena Moreno presented a new law that would give the city and the chief of police the power to suspend the licenses of “chronic nuisance businesses that harbor violent and serious crime.”

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Just five days before Krewe du Vieux rolls through the Marigny and French Quarter, businesses along two bustling New Orleans corridors complained about a costly late decision cutting them out of Saturday’s parade route. Several businesses along lower Decatur Street and Frenchmen Street said they...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Owners of Kias and Hyundais are looking for alternative solutions to a chronic theft problem, popularized by a group of thieves on TikTok. In 2022, the New Orleans Police Department says 465 Hyundais manufactured between 2015-2021 and 389 Kias made between 2010-2021 were stolen. Police say the models all have mechanical-keyed ignitions and lack an engine immobilizer.

HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - Two Gulfport residents were sentenced to federal prison after it was found they had employed and housed people who were in the country illegally. Hui Weng, a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, a $10,000 fine and $5,100 in special assessments....

HANCOCK COUNTY, Miss. (WLOX) - Officials say a DNA test shows a Hancock County man fathered the 18-month-old child of his teenage victim. Now, Dan Charles Cochran Jr. is under arrest, charged with sexual battery and molestation. The investigation started earlier this month when deputies were called to speak with...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Attorneys for the four teens accused of carjacking and killing Linda Frickey had their two latest motions denied by an Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge on Monday (Jan. 30). Attorneys for John Honore, Briniyah Baker, Lenyra Theophile, and Mar’qel Curtis say their clients were too young...

AYNOR, S.C. (WMBF/Gray News) - A South Carolina woman says she got a little extra push to recently purchase a winning lottery ticket. WMBF reports that the woman was driving to work when she said something told her to turn into a food mart in the Aynor area on Highway 501.

ST. BERNARD PARISH (WVUE) - Saint Bernard Parish joins an effort to hold up a terminal project expected to create 17,000 jobs and add another $1 billion to Louisiana tax revenue. It’s joining a lawsuit challenging the massive “Port NOLA project” near Violet. The parish wants the...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - One of pop music’s most highly anticipated world tours will make its finale in New Orleans on Sept. 27. Singer and recording artist Beyonce will start the tour this summer on July 12 in Philadelphia and continue to stop in major cities like Chicago, New York, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, and more.

(KPLC) - Wild Cajun Meals, LLC is recalling over 18,000 pounds of frozen, fully cooked “Lady Jambalaya” jambalaya and gumbo products sold in retail stores in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. According to the USDA, the products were made in a facility that had not been federally inspected and...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A bill to fund incentives for insurance companies cleared a major hurdle in the legislature on Wednesday (Feb.1). After hours of questioning Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, the House voted 90 to 8 in favor of House Bill 1, which places $45 million into an incentive fund to help attract insurers to Louisiana.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WVUE) - A special legislative session got underway Monday (Jan. 30) at the state capitol on the Louisiana insurance crisis. And, right away, state lawmakers began pushing for safeguards to ensure quality insurance companies come into the state. The purpose of the session is to allow legislators...

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT/Gray News) – A single mother in North Carolina said winning the lottery came at just the right time. Natalie Carraway won a $200,000 prize while playing the Hot 5′s scratch-off game. The 46-year-old mother told anyone who listened that she would win the top prize,...

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Over the past week, some New Orleanians might have gotten a pamphlet from the city that recaps the achievements Mayor LaToya Cantrell was responsible for in 2022. The list includes $97 million invested into priority roadwork projects, removing more than 2,700 illegal guns from the streets...