ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) – With football season approaching, teams across the country are preparing for game day, but here in the South, one of the biggest concerns for any athlete is the heat.

This year, temperatures in Cenla have consistently been in the 90s and above, creating a dangerous obstacle for teams to tackle.

KALB’s Julia Keller learned more about how to keep student-athletes hydrated and how to recognize the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

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Copyright 2024 KALB. All rights reserved.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A former Louisiana state trooper argues that the state government owes him more than $200,000 in attorneys fees he spent defending himself against criminal charges related to his time on the force.

Former Trooper Jacob Brown racked up a $210,813.40 legal fee after hiring lawyers to defend him, according to a complaint filed in the 19th Judicial District earlier this month.

According to the Associated Press (AP), Brown, who patrolled in north Louisiana, was involved in 23 use-of-force incident between 2015 and 2021. Nineteen of those incidents targeted Black people, the AP reported.

In one case involving the violent arrest of a Black motorist, Brown told fellow troopers “it warms my heart knowing we could educate that young man.”

In 2021, he resigned after being arrested for hitting a Black man 18 times in the head with a flashlight. Last year, a federal jury acquitted Brown of violating the civil rights of the man. The incident, captured on video, left the man with a broken jaw and ribs. Brown said the blows were used as “pain compliance” as he tried to detain the motorist, the AP reported.

A state charge brought against Brown in the 5th Judicial District tied to yet another matter was also dismissed, according to Brown’s lawsuit.

Attorney Russell Woodard Jr. represents Brown. In the lawsuit seeking reimbursement, Woodard cites state law which allows for law enforcement officers to collect reimbursement for attorney fees in criminal cases where the crime occurred while the suspect was working on behalf of the state and the incident did not end with a conviction.

The law also requires that the officer be “acting in good faith” at the time.

Brown attorney says his client was indeed acting in good faith during the incidents that landed him in court.

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Copyright 2024 WAFB. All rights reserved.

The number of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen’s in non-U.S. markets more than doubled from 500 to nearly 1,300 between 2017 and 2024, resulting in over $1 billion in international systemwide sales this year.

Recent expansions into New Zealand and Costa Rica helped fuel sales in international markets, Joshua Kobza, CEO of Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, explained during the RBI Quarter 2 2024 earnings call on August 8.

The unit in New Zealand is predicted to generate $6 million in annual sales, while the July 2024 opening in Costa Rica resulted in almost 1,800 transactions in the first day. In June, RBI finalized the acquisition of Popeyes China in order to expand into that market.

Popeyes is also expected to continue to see strong growth in the UK, India and France, as well as move into Kuwait and Bahrain through an agreement with Tanmiah Food Company.

“We’ve got some big markets that are starting to get to relevant scale,” said Kobza. “Places that I mentioned like Spain, the UK, India, those are starting to ramp up their development pace, but we’re opening some new markets as well. And I would say the results of those new markets have been really encouraging. So all that are kind of the projects that we’re working on for 2025.”

Look for future international expansion to come for the chicken foodservice brand, Kobza said.

“While Popeyes is having a lot of early success in many markets around the world, we know it can do so much more,” he added.

In other chicken foodservice news:

·        Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken added spicy wings to its menus, available in orders of six, 12 or 20.

·         Chick-fil-A is bringing back their Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich, now featuring a spicy option.