Entergy is proud to support programing on LP and greener practices that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental and sustainability initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations can be left with a cleaner planet.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth B, Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.

In Honolulu Cedar Chest, you feel like you've been sucked into it.

A nation grieving the loss of its children.

You know what you can make happen for somebody else.

God is gonna make happen for you.

So I felt like I won't lose blessing somebody else.

In New Orleans.

Mom finding her way around the formula.

Shortage That warm water is in place.

All you need now is a hurricane to move over.

You know that that turbocharged water and these storms get lost.

Hurricane season is among us.

What you need to know.

Hi, everyone.

I'm Care Saints here.

Andre Morrow is out today.

We start tonight's newscast with a recap of the evolved Texas school shooting.

National outlets now reporting that 19 children were killed and two teachers after an 18 year old with an AR 15 gun barricaded himself in a fourth grade classroom.

Since then, three children and three adults are still fighting for their lives in the hospital as authorities try to piece together the exact timeline of events.

Questions are now mounting about gun reform and school security.

President Joe Biden held a press conference addressing all of these topics.

I'd like to play some of that for you now.

As a nation we have to ask, when in God's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?

When in God's name, we do.

We all know in our gut needs to be done It's a 343,448 days.

Ten years since I stood up with a high school in Connecticut, a grade school in Connecticut, where another gunman massacred 26 people, including 21st graders at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Since then, there've been over 900 incidents of gunfire, as reported on school grounds.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Santa Fe High School in Texas, Oxford High School in Michigan.

The list goes on and on the list grows when you include mass shootings at places like movie theaters, houses of worship.

As we saw just ten days ago, two grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

I am sick and tired of it.

We have to act.

And don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage.

I spent my career as a senator and a vice president working to pass common sense gun laws.

We can and will prevent every tragedy, but we know they work and have positive impact when we pass the assault weapons ban.

Mass shootings went down when the law expired.

Mass shootings tripled.

The idea that an 18 year old kid can walk into a gun store and buy two assault weapons is just wrong.

What in God's name do you need to solve it for except to kill someone?

During running through the force with Kevlar vests on, for God's sake, it's just sick The gun manufacturers have spent two decades aggressively marketing assault weapons, which make them the most and largest profit.

For God's sake, we have to have the courage to stand up to the industry.

Here's what else I know most Americans support common sense laws, common sense gun laws.

I just got off my trip from Asia meeting with Asian leaders and I learned of this while I was on the aircraft.

What struck me on that 17 hour flight what struck me was these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in the world.

Why They have mental health problems.

They have domestic disputes in other countries.

They have people who are lost.

But these kinds of mass shootings never happened with the kind of frequency they happen in America.

Why Why are we willing to live with this carnage?

Why do we keep letting this happen?

We'll come back to this topic later on in our newscast.

But first, some good news.

Beth Courtney, our previous and longstanding CEO at LPI, was awarded the Daniel K Miller Award by PBS's president and CEO Paula Kruger.

This award recognizes managers in the public media system whose leadership, vision, courage and commitment to the mission of public media have inspired their colleagues and created a lasting impact in their communities.

Let's take a look at a few highlights from policy speech.

In 1984.

Beth became the first woman to lead a statewide public broadcasting network and later became the first female vice chair of the PBS board.

In addition to serving two terms on the PBS Board of Directors, Beth was appointed by President George W Bush to serve on the board of Directors for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

She also served as chairman of the board for the Association of Public Television Stations.

A puts the Organization of State Organization of State Broadcasting Executives.

Osbi and the National Educational Telecommunications Association.

Nita.

We all know her as a courageous and passionate advocate for public broadcasting and she will be truly missed in her retirement.

Speaking personally, Beth was a great inspiration to me when I first joined Public Media.

There were very few women in leadership roles.

That generation of women were so very important to my group of rising leaders, and Best never hesitated to offer her guidance.

All delivered with perfect candor and a very big smile.

And now the news making headlines across the state.

A bill to prevent government entities from requiring proof of COVID vaccination for entry into public places or private businesses died in the Senate committee on Wednesday.

Proponents of the bill said it was a good compromise because it kept the government oversight to a minimum while giving private businesses the freedom to impose their own restrictions.

But opponents insisted the bill go further and prevent businesses from enacting mandates at all.

While some argue that the bill would open the door for discrimination, Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E Lee Day haven't been formally observed in Louisiana for years.

But some lawmakers are pushing for them to be legally dissolved.

Representative Matthew Weller drafted House Bill 248, which made its way out of the Senate committee on Tuesday.

Opponents of the bill say that holidays preserve history, while proponents believe the bill celebrates the memory of slavery.

The Women and sports bill, which would keep transgender youth from playing sports with cisgendered girls, is now on the governor's desk.

The Senate gave final passage on Monday meaning Governor John Bel Edwards would have to sign or veto.

Last year, Edwards was vocal about his opposition and ultimately dismissed the legislation.

But following a failed override session, the bill reappeared this year with little comment from Edwards.

FEMA had a three day feedback period this week for a site to relocate Hurricane Ida survivors The community is called Colonia, located in Saint Charles Parish, and it could be the site for up to 75 group units.

FEMA says they need the housing for people left homeless after the hurricane.

Feedback was gathered concerning the project's draft environmental assessment.

20 jobs are coming to Acadia by way of rice.

Louisiana Economic Development Officials announced Wednesday.

That's Supreme Rice.

A rice milling company, is investing 16.2 million in facilities to make ready to eat products The company will build a facility to first cook the rice and merman tar and add a parboil, an already existing building at Crowley.

Construction is expected to start later on this year.

At the end of the month, and in preparation for hurricane season four of the world's top experts on hurricanes and extreme weather will hold a briefing from LSU for media.

Now, all four are from LSU, but right now we've got two of them in our studio, and they are Dr. Jill Trapani.

She's a hurricane expert.

And Dr. Barry Kime, he is the state climatologist.

It's fantastic to have you here right now because there's a lot to talk about.

And one of the things we want to talk about is the temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and the loop current with hurricane season upon us.

Why?

That's a big factor.

Who wants to take it first?

Go ahead.

I'll jump in there.

Yes.

So what they're finding right now is the loop current is is deflected a little further north than normal, which means that we're getting a larger intrusion of very warm water from the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico.

It sets us up for for the warm sea surface temperature across the Gulf.

And that's not not good timing right now with hurricane season starting.

So when a storm develops in the Gulf and you've already got that warmer temperature worse things can happen.

That's the fuel.

That's what that's what powers the storms, feeds all that energy into the hurricanes.

Not good news right now.

And one thing you guys have noticed is that this model looks very similar to the model in 2005, which is when Katrina, Rita, others were happening.

Yeah.

So that warm water is in place.

All you need now is a hurricane.

To move over that turbo charged water and these storms can blossom.

OK. And John, we've already had a little system that developed really not far from Grand Isle and then washed ashore in Alabama.

But but there were some forecasts that this would develop into something that's significant.

But I want to talk about the LSU study, which took place last fall.

And this is the first year now that it's being used because of the conditions in the Gulf of Mexico being different than the entire Atlantic basin.

It gives different forecasts more specific for us.

You were on that study.

Yes, absolutely.

So Paul Miller, Dr. Paul Miller and oceanography was the lead of that paper.

And what we found was that you could look at the temperature at about three and a half miles above the surface of the ocean into the middle troposphere, that first layer of the atmosphere, and relate that to the number of named storms we would see entering the Gulf of Mexico.

The Atlantic basin as a whole is usually what is predicted for it from, say, Colorado State and other larger areas.

But the Gulf of Mexico, as a sub basin, is a bit unique.

And because we have this influence of the of the loop current and some additional parameters that would make the storms in the Gulf maybe not match exactly what we would see in the Atlantic.

That's why the study happened was that we could focus on the Gulf.

OK, and that's where we are and we feel what happens coming off the Gulf.

And so the studies been done in May now.

Yes.

So current data.

Absolutely.

So this is brand new.

This is brand new.

And so the model itself relies on the the May prior to the start of the season.

And so we've run the models so far, but we do still have a handful of days left in the month of May.

And once that's done, that media briefing on the on the 31st will include the latest and greatest that has come out of that model for a prediction for the Gulf.

Are you expecting anything?

What do you think we're seeing?

We're thinking about four named storms based on what we see which holds with what Colorado State University put out because typically about a quarter of the storms that are predicted for the entire Atlantic basin end up making their way into the Gulf of Mexico and that's they predicted about 20 and so for it's pretty close to that quarter mark.

How does this help people prepare for the hurricane season better.

You know when you have years that lapse when you don't have many storms you it's not that you get complacent but it's just not on your mind.

Well, everywhere around south east and west Louisiana you look there's damage from the past two years.

A big, big storm.

So hurricanes are very much in the forefront of people's minds.

How does this information help them?

Prepare?

I think ultimately you might see a forecast for the entire Atlantic basin and it might allow you to more easily dismiss it.

Right, because you say, oh, well, I'm not part of the East Coast, I'm not part of Florida.

So you might think it's not relatable to you.

But this one specifically is related to the Gulf of Mexico.

And there's really not an exit path with, you know, within the Gulf of Mexico without hitting land first.

So I think the idea that the storms would actually enter the Gulf of Mexico is more specific for those coastal citizens.

They can take it with a little bit higher relate ability.

Right.

Thinking that this does impact me or the likelihood that it will impact me is much higher.

And so they might get more prepared early on instead of being caught off guard.

Yeah.

You know, this is Texas, all of Texas to Florida.

And we're right in the middle of it.

And I know that very is one of the things that concerns you the most, especially with the sea surface temperature.

Yeah.

Well, as Joe was mentioning, you know, when something gets into the Gulf, it's going to roll up on land somewhere.

Most likely we don't we don't get many what we call fish storms in the Gulf of Mexico.

It's not nearly as vast as the as the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean, rather.

And so and of course, in Louisiana, I can't emphasize this enough.

We always have to be prepared, no matter what the forecasts are telling us.

All it takes is one 1992 Hurricane Andrew, the first storm of the season deep into August.

OK, and look what it did to Florida and then eventually here in Louisiana.

So we always have to be prepared.

All right.

So we'll look forward to finding out what happens on the 31st from with all the data.

But to have you here first, it's fantastic.

I'm excited about that and it's good for everyone to know because you can't be too prepared.

That's correct.

Absolutely.

Thanks, guys.

Thanks very.

Much.

Appreciate it.

You've probably heard the stories of the baby formula shortage on a loop these past two weeks.

With parents struggling to find the appropriate kind for their kids.

One woman in New Orleans found herself in the same predicament two weeks ago, but she found a way around the shortage.

I sat down with Siobhan Landry as she gave me her strategy.

So my twins were born in December.

They were born preemies a lot earlier than we had planned.

So they were born at three and £4 for pass.

It was high tech, but they made it here safe.

So that was the most important thing.

Siobhan Landry's twins royalty in yellow and rain and blue, need a very special formula.

When they were born, they had digestive issues and couldn't drink just anything.

The formula that was chosen was specifically chosen for them.

We had to switch it one time and we finally found the formula that we needed that digest it well, that did well with them.

And so their digestive systems were very, you know, sensitive.

We couldn't keep switching or changing.

We don't have that luxury or option to do it.

But then this happened.

The shortage of baby formula has grown into a major challenge for parents all around the country.

In the earliest moments of the baby formula shortage.

The Landry's knew something was up.

Getting to the last container of Enfamil gently is was nerve racking.

The last straw that broke the camel's back for us was when my son, my husband and my son drove around for 6 hours from store to store to store, looking for milk and could not find any.

And at that point, I had to go on social media and get my friends to help me out.

OK, moms, what are we doing about this formula shortage?

My husband has been to travel stores looking for this formula.

The work paid off.

She found it.

Yes, a lot.

But through social media, Landrieu found other moms in her situation.

The shortage didn't stop in New Orleans.

It was nationwide, and it was hurting parents all over the country.

Other moms started saying, Hey, we don't need that kind, but we need this.

And if you're out and you see this kind, let me know and I'll be looking for your kid.

So now we're like switching, you know?

And then it went from just New Orleans to Baton Rouge, just like now and I was like, I'm in Maryland.

I have you.

OK, I'll ship it to you if you see it.

So I started getting shipments.

Landrieu created a network of parents supplying baby formula throughout the nation.

This is the milk bible I call it my little milk Bible.

This is my journal.

I have everything in here, all the moms.

Every time a mom reaches out to her on social media, Landrieu writes down their name, address and the type of formula they need.

Then she reaches out to pediatric clinics and other moms to see who has it.

Soon as I get another mom that reach out to me, I have to write it down and just stay organized.

Because it started growing rapidly.

And I was like, OK, guys, it's not just three or four of us.

It's a lot of us.

The community has people all over, so I keep everything in here.

So when I go to the post office, I use it.

I have the address.

I ship with 20 to 30 moms, DMing Landry for help.

She visits the post office and pediatric clinics multiple times a week, sometimes even shipping cans of her own formula.

But she says it's worth it.

If I could give them one or two cans just to help them out, hold them over until they find a new solution the same way I did, then that's a risk I would be willing to take because you know what you make happen for somebody else.

God is going make happen for you.

So I felt like I won't lose blessing somebody else, you know.

The U.S. received a shipment of £78,000 of baby formula from overseas on Monday, so it's the first of more shipments expected to be flown into the U.S. as the White House looks for more long term strategies to combat the shortage Many parents are finding themselves at a loss on how to have hard conversations with their kids about tragic events like this week's You've All Detects a shooting Here with me today is John OTS and Berger, a clinical psychologist.

He's here to discuss strategies for talking with your children about traumatic experiences.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Thank you for having me.

So, like I was saying, you know, you've already Texas shooting has really catapulted the nation into just this state of grief and shock.

And for parents, this is a really difficult time because you have to explain this to your kids.

So how do you start this conversation?

It's a great question.

And I think the first step in having a conversation with your child is actively listening to what they have to say.

And so they may have a lot of questions for you.

They may not you may say you see a difference in their behavior in terms of the way they're acting at home and maybe in terms of not wanting to go to school.

So the first step would be listening.

So is there an age limit on this conversation?

How young is too young?

There's really no age limit.

I think ages and stages are appropriate.

And what you're going to hear from an eight year old is very different than what you're going to hear from a 15 or 16 year old.

So younger children may ask questions that surround the idea of safety.

They may ask a lot of questions.

And so you have to be patient with them.

And what you want to do is, is a little bit of chunking, which means you give them a little bit of information at a time versus a teenager.

The conversations are going to be a lot more sophisticated too.

So whenever you're talking to a child, a young child, it's really important just to let them ask these questions as opposed to talking to a teenager.

Maybe you can give them a little bit more information.

Yeah, I think that's a good distinction.

You know, you want to listen to your younger children and you may have to guide them.

They may not have the words to ask the questions in that way.

And so it's a little bit different support in that way.

For older teenagers, it may be an idea of listening to.

Oftentimes they'll report anger and a lot of anxiety over this.

And actually, as a parent, how do you empower them and give them ways that they can be proactive in sort of moving through this anger and anxiety?

Are there any details that you need to leave out?

I think for younger kids, the specific details of of the tragedy you can probably leave out, you want to listen to them in terms of what they know about it.

I think a really important thing to remember is that if you have your TV turned to the news and there's this constant loop of information that's coming out about the tragedy, don't assume that your kids aren't listening.

That may greatly impact the way that they are experiencing anxiety and grief.

I'm not a parent, but that's something that I would be thinking about is how is what's on the TV constantly impacting those kids stuff?

So that brings me to my next question.

You know, kids are watching this stuff on TV.

What if they develop some sort of fear?

Maybe they feel like I don't want to go to school.

I'm scared.

Yeah, that may be the case, particularly for kids that are closer to the affected area where the tragedy happened.

So proximity plays a big part in this.

And so you really need to listen to that carefully.

School counselors are fantastic resources for kids that are struggling in terms of thinking about coming back to school.

School psychologist and administrators do a really wonderful job.

If parents have questions about safety, if they're concerned themselves.

Those are the people that they need to talk to.

And it sort of provides a team for their child to work with.

So speaking of parents, I mean, they're watching this, too.

What do they do if they're starting to struggle a little bit mentally with this type of information and they're worried about sending their kids to school?

Yeah, that is a real possibility again.

The closer a person is to the tragedy, the more that's probably going to happen.

Talking to school counselors, talking to administrators, talking to a therapist, a loved one, coaches, it's really important to reach out as an adult.

Talking to friends, getting feedback and talking about your anxiety will help.

But also going back to the school as a resource to get information that you feel supported by it.

So schools really do play a big role in this school, counselors and just really getting comfortable with bringing your kids and.

Yeah.

And I would say that the American School Counselors Association has a wonderful website that has a fantastic information about tips and things to do and how to have conversations with your kids, relate it to the tragedies.

So are there any other tips that you have for me that maybe parents or children can use to get through this really difficult time?

Yeah, I think the idea of really actively listening to your child having the courage to be imperfect, that means asking questions that you think may cause anxiety for your kid.

But being able to ask those questions and being able to comfort your child will be important over the days and weeks and in months to come.

So really just be gentle.

Don't overwhelm your children and just let them come to you with their questions.

Yeah, they can come to you, but it's certainly OK over time to say, hey, how are you doing?

Right.

Have you been thinking about this stuff lately?

What's going on with that?

All right.

Well, thank you again for joining us, Dr. Dobson Berger.

Thank you.

We all appreciate it.

And for more resources, you can head tips for parents online, which offers resources to help kids navigate tragic events.

Before you leave us, we'd like to in this broadcast with a tribute to the 19 children and two teachers of all elementary who were taken too soon We're sending our thoughts and prayers to all of those families.

And that's our show for this week.

Remember, you can watch anything, LPD, any time, wherever you are with our help TBS app.

You can catch LP News and Public Affairs shows, as well as other Louisiana programs you've come to enjoy over the years.

And please, like us on Facebook, Twitter, tick talk and Instagram from everyone here at LP.

I'm Care Saints here.

Until next time.

That's the state where it.

Entergy is proud to support programing on LP and greener practices that preserve Louisiana.

The goal of our environmental and sustainability initiatives really is to ensure that our kids and future generations can be left with a cleaner planet.

Additional support provided by the Fred Bea and Ruth B, Ziegler Foundation and the Ziegler Art Museum located in Jennings City Hall.

The museum focuses on emerging Louisiana artists and is an historical and cultural center for Southwest Louisiana and the Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

With support from viewers like you.