Cheryl Mercedes
Baton Rouge, La.
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Cheryl Mercedes is a former WAFB anchor and investigative reporter. She left the station in 2018 to join KHOU in Houston, Texas.
The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) announced Tuesday, December 18 that the Louisiana Office of Public Health is investigating an outbreak of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections.
Photos obtained by the WAFB 9News Investigators raise questions about an engineer with the state’s Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) and whether he has too cozy of a relationship with a company that builds roads in Louisiana, including going with them on hunting and fishing trips.
Thirty-three Baton Rouge families will be spending Christmas wondering who murdered their loved one this year. BRPD Chief Murphy Paul says officers are working hard to close those cases, but they could really use some help from the public.
A woman who ran from police and U.S. marshals after being charged in a deadly motorcycle crash last week has surrendered. Ashley Seibers, 34, turned herself in at the Gonzales Police Department shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 19.
Former Gonzales Police Chief Pete Bourque died Sunday night. He was 84.
Crawfish are making an early appearance in the Baton Rouge metro area and they’re big and ready for sale.
Doctors are urging patients to add the flu shot to their “to do” list this holiday season. The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) made them available Thursday for free to make sure everyone is protected before winter.
Some residents in the City of Baker are frustrated after noticing their water bill suddenly went up last month. The city tacked on a small fee to make up for the hit their system took during the historic flooding of 2016, but not everyone is buying it.
Prominent Baton Rouge businessman, Jim Bernhard, has announced his company is willing to back the cost of building another bridge over the Mississippi River, but that traffic solution comes with a price that people in five parishes must be willing to pay.
Local experts in treating and preventing opioid abuse and addiction are putting together a battle plan to fight the epidemic. Doctors, police, social workers, and others have come up with some recommendations they believe will make an impact.
It’s an emergency surgery done at hospitals across the country daily, but when it’s done at sea, it brings on an entirely different set of challenges. A member of the U.S. Navy from the New Roads area learned that when he got sick at sea.
A lot of the signs the state put up on River Road in 2017 to raise cycling awareness along the road have been damaged or have disappeared. Cyclists say they play an important role in keeping them safe.
Governor John Bel Edwards called a news conference to alert Louisiana citizens about a crisis impacting the food supply of hundreds of thousands of people across the state. Food banks are running critically low. The governor has issued a statewide call to action to address the issue.
A former member of the LSU band has started an online petition to get the Golden Band from Tigerland to stop playing a specific song. The band played it repeatedly during overtime. Some fans describe it as “horrible, embarrassing, the worst sound known to man.”
The City of Gonzales could be on the brink of getting a new conference center. The mayor is asking voters to approve a 2 percent hotel sales tax to pay for it, but one local group claims it’s bad for business.
There are some things you should never feed your pets, like chocolate, for example. It can be toxic. But some of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes could also have dangerous side effects.
On Friday, students at Southern University got the chance to experience the impact of distracted driving.
There’s a huge renovation underway near downtown Baton Rouge that promises to bring non-stop entertainment to the center of the city. It’s happening inside what many people remember as “the old Entergy building” on Government Street near the railroad tracks.
Four teens have been arrested and more are being investigated for making alleged threats against middle and high schools across Louisiana. In the last 24 hours, law enforcement responded to calls in Ascension, Tangipahoa, St. Tammany, and Grant parishes.
The 9News Investigators have obtained video surveillance that shows a south Louisiana police chief punching a man outside of a bar, then throwing a woman to the ground. Now, that same chief in Golden Meadow is accused of trying to cover it up.
The company assigned to repair the Sunshine Bridge has a history of failing to meet deadlines on state highway construction contracts. Since 2012, Coastal Bridge Co. has fallen behind on 24 separate projects, netting late fees totaling more than $750,000.
In the last two weeks, four people have died in motorcycle crashes in the greater Baton Rouge area. Due to the deaths, a local group is ramping up its efforts to raise awareness.
The Sunshine Bridge closure has put sugarcane farmers in a real bind. It’s harvest season, and for some, transporting cane across the Mississippi River is costing them more than they anticipated.
The state legislative auditor could soon be on trial over comments he made to the news media. Local attorney, Jill Craft, claims Daryl Purpera smeared the images of two of her clients.
Some members of an LSU fraternity could be in hot water after a few Baton Rouge homeowners reported their Halloween decorations went missing. One homeowner says he found his at the Kappa Sigma Fraternity house; another says campus police found hers there too.
An old property tax is up for renewal in Ascension Parish. It has been on the books for 60 years, but parish leaders say since the August 2016 flood, it’s more important than ever.
Thursday, the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Board overturned Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul’s decision and reduced the punishment for an officer who violated department policy.
The closure of the Sunshine Bridge over the Mississippi River has resulted in schedule changes for some students and staff in the Ascension Parish School System (APSS). Leaders have come up with a plan they hope will lessen the impact.
The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal (LAOSFM) is investigating a deadly fire in Darrow, Louisiana.
David Bradley, 39, is wanted on the charge of second-degree battery for allegedly fracturing another man's skull during a fight outside of a Gonzales daiquiri shop on October 12, 2018.
A girls-only motorcycle club known as Caramel Curves is leaving its mark across the country. The bikers, who consist of riders from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, were recently featured on The Steve Harvey Show for their love of bikes and community service efforts.
Before the phones even started ringing, Governor John Bel Edwards says Louisiana was ready to roll. Several state and local agencies are in Florida now.
Ascension Parish has hired a private contractor to help its drainage crews address a backlog of hundreds of complaints from residents. Four crews are digging in different quadrants of the parish each day to tackle the workload.
Drugs, traffic tickets, and other crimes are increasing right along with growth in Ascension Parish. Two women, both Republican, are hoping to tackle those things and more should they be elected to replace a longtime, well-respected judge there. Judge Marilyn Lambert has announced she will be retiri
What was old is new again in Mid City. The historic neighborhood has a lot to offer and people are settling down there.
The Baton Rouge Fire Department is looking for new recruits with a passion for helping others.
Amenities such as a duck feeding station, a boat launch, and better parking at the City Park lakes just beneath I-10 could soon become a reality.
Senior citizens got up good and early Friday morning to get their hands on emergency preparedness kits they could use this hurricane season.
Middle school students in Ascension Parish are about to learn how to build things with the same commercial-grade machines engineers use every day. The new 3D printers are part of the school system’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum.
Some LSU fans are sounding off about how long it took them to get home from Tiger Stadium after the game against Louisiana Tech, and they aren’t the only ones. Uber and Lyft drivers say they’re also turning to LSU for better options.
Job hunters at Southern University’s career fair got some inspiration Wednesday in the form of an 11-year-old business owner.
Sherman Jackson, the chief of the Gonzales Police Department, is furious after a man with a criminal history was released from jail after being arrested for a hate crime last week.
Paramedics who work for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Baton Rouge have learned some new skills that are already helping them save more lives during emergencies.
It was an emotional day for teachers at Brusly High school, where Sylviane Finck Lozada taught foreign language.
Several teens and parents in Tangipahoa Parish are frustrated with a driver’s ed school that took their money then abruptly closed. The owners said the OMV shut down their school in retaliation for a heated dispute they had with two state employees.
Some deputies in Ascension Parish have found a new, more creative way to fight crime. It involves two wheels and the element of surprise.
The Southern University School of Engineering got a big boost from the Entergy Corporation and a little lagniappe from Governor John Bel Edwards.
Thirty volunteers from different backgrounds have signed up for an intense training program to help parents and community leaders help kids get a better handle on their health.
A new park, shops, and walkways that would give visitors a reason to come back is in the works for the City of Gonzales.
The threat of severe weather can be unsettling especially for children who have been through a hurricane or flood. Experts offer up info about the signs you should look for and how to help kids deal with that kind of anxiety.