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☆ Rare American lion fossils discovered in Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The Oxford, Mississippi, resident would soon learn it was a fossilized jawbone from a giant American lion, a species that has been extinct for roughly 11,000 years. ”A rare American lion fossil has been discovered near the Mississippi River. Three days after Prewitt’s find, the Mississippi Fossil and Artifact Symposium & Exhibition hosted an event featuring previously discovered American lion fossils. The American lion stood 4 feet tall at the shoulders and measured 5 to 8 feet in length. Two American lion bone discoveries within a week or so is unbelievable, he said, calling it “just an incredibly rare fossil.”A growing American lion collectionPrewitt plans to donate the fossil he found to the museum in Jackson, which would make it the fourth addition to the institution’s collection of American lion bones, counting the addition of the newly found femur.

☆ Tornadoes reported as storms cause flooding, damage across the South
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The National Weather Service confirmed that tornadoes hit the ground in Mississippi on Tuesday evening and Alabama was in the forecast path of the storms during the overnight hours. The national Storm Prediction Center said in its storm outlook that affected cities could include New Orleans; Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee; and Birmingham, Alabama. Additional reports of property damage near Columbus were received by the Weather Service, according to Lance Perrilloux, a forecaster with the agency. Craig Ceecee, a meteorologist at Mississippi State University, peered out at “incredibly black” skies through the door of a tornado shelter in Starkville. The National Weather Service reported nearly 4 inches of snow on the ground at the airport by noon.

☆ Feds want a manager to oversee the troubled water system in Jackson, Mississippi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

— The federal government filed a proposal Tuesday to appoint a manager for the troubled water system in Mississippi’s capital city, which nearly collapsed in late summer and continues to struggle. The goal is to achieve long-term sustainability of the system and the city’s compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act and other laws. According to the agreement, that litigation will be put on hold for six months while all parties try to improve the water system. Edward “Ted” Henifin was appointed as interim third-party manager of the Jackson water system and Water Sewer Business Administration, the city’s water billing department. While there is much more work ahead, the Justice Department’s action marks a critical moment on the path to securing clean, safe water for Jackson residents.″Jackson has had water problems for decades.

☆ Brett Favre helped an experimental drug maker get $2M in welfare money. Experts doubt the drug can work.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

And he did more than evangelize, court records show — he successfully lobbied Mississippi state officials who granted the company $2.1 million in federal welfare money that was intended to help poor families. The payment was illegal, state officials allege in a lawsuit — part of a huge Mississippi welfare misspending scandal that has tarnished Favre’s reputation. Favre, who is being sued by Mississippi, has consistently said that he did not know the money he was seeking from the Mississippi Department of Human Services—the state welfare agency—was welfare money. Six people have been charged in what state and federal officials call a massive fraud scheme, including the former director of the state welfare agency, who is cooperating with the FBI and federal prosecutors. Favre is among 38 defendants in a civil lawsuit by the state seeking to recoup the welfare money, including the funds devoted to the volleyball facility and the unproven concussion drug.

Throughout the town’s setbacks, generations of locals have taken their first and last breaths at Greenwood Leflore Hospital. On Nov. 4, talks with a larger hospital in Jackson that local officials had hoped would take over Greenwood Leflore fell through. Leflore County Supervisor Board President Robert Collins said finances are already strained, but the county can most likely put up about $3.5 million for Greenwood Leflore. Dr. Roderick Givens, who treats cancer patients at the Greenwood Leflore Hospital, is working with other local leaders to keep the facility open. When Greenwood Leflore opened in 1906, it initially operated out of a mansion repurposed as a medical facility.

☆ Remaking the River That Remade L.A.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Michael Kimmelman | Photographs Adali Schell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +33 min

Remaking the River That Remade L.A.February 1938 was a wet month in Los Angeles. Reservoirs overflowed, dams topped out and floodwaters careered down Pacoima Wash and Tujunga Wash toward the Los Angeles River. The Los Angeles River was never a storybook river of the kind that, like the Hudson or the Seine, we associate with great cities. Among the naysayers is a venerable organization called Friends of the Los Angeles River, founded by the Texas-born poet and performance artist Lewis MacAdams. “With all the problems L.A. is facing,” he said, “even if it costs $50 billion to fix the river, we should just effing do it.”The headwaters of the Los Angeles River aren’t easy to find.

☆ Arson suspect arrested after 7 fires set across Mississippi's capital city
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

— Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with seven fires set across Mississippi’s capital city early Tuesday. At least two of the buildings set ablaze in Jackson were churches; one was burned to the ground. Another fire broke out on fences surrounding the baseball practice field at Jackson State University, a historically Black public university. We have about a third of our department on sites.”A fireman observes the remains of a burned Epiphany Lutheran Church in Jackson, Mississippi, on Nov. 8, 2022. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba addressed the fires at a Tuesday city council meeting.

☆ Midterm elections live updates: Pennsylvania races, New Hampshire Senate race too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brandy Zadrozny | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +109 min

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate and governor's races too early to call It is too early to call the Senate and gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedNew Hampshire Senate race too early to call The Senate race in New Hampshire is too early to call, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedPennsylvania Senate and governor races are too early to call After polls closed at 8 p.m. While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. According to the poll, 46% of voters said their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

By the end of Election Day, approximately 21,000 total interviews will be conducted. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said. Share this -Link copiedSunny weather in most battleground states on Election Day It’s a bright and sunny Election Day in many battleground states!

☆ Fires set on and near historically Black Jackson State University; arson suspected
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

— Authorities in Mississippi’s capital city are on the hunt for a suspected arsonist who set several fires early Tuesday morning on and near the campus of Jackson State University, a historically Black public college. News outlets reported at least seven overnight fires were confirmed by officials. Another one of the fires broke out on Jackson State University’s baseball field. This is a major occurrence,” Patrick Armon, assistant fire chief for the Jackson Fire Department, told WAPT-TV. We have about a third of our department on sites.”Firefighters respond to a fire near Jackson State University on Nov. 7, 2022.

☆ Debate on Police in Jackson, Miss., Adds Tension to City Divided by Water Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Cameron Mcwhirter | Photographs Timothy Ivy For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JACKSON, Miss.—As state and local officials in Mississippi’s capital continue fighting over responsibility for the breakdown that recently left most of the city without clean drinking water, tensions are rising over how to address rampant violent crime. Mississippi officials are planning to more than double the size of the police force that protects the Capitol and state office buildings to 170 officers by the end of next year. They gave the police force power to patrol a larger area of Jackson, which has one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the U.S. The Jackson Police Department, which has about 250 officers, will continue to oversee the remaining 92% of the city.

☆ Mississippi unveils Emmett Till statue near where white men kidnapped and killed Black teen decades earlier
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

“It’s beautiful to be here,” said Webster, attending the ceremony on a sunny afternoon during a visit with Mississippi relatives. In 2007, a Mississippi prosecutor presented evidence to a grand jury of Black and white Leflore County residents after investigators spent three years re-examining the killing. This year, a group searching the Leflore County Courthouse basement found an unserved 1955 arrest warrant for “Mrs. Roy Bryant.” In August, another Mississippi grand jury found insufficient evidence to indict Donham, causing consternation for Till relatives and activists. The Till statue in Greenwood will be watched by security cameras.

☆ NAACP says Jackson’s water problems are civil rights issue
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Brad Vest / Getty Images fileThe U.S. Justice Department is working to improve Jackson’s water system. There were warnings the Jackson water system was struggling before it failed. Tate Reeves, a Republican, has blamed Jackson’s water problems on mismanagement by city leaders. Reeves declared an emergency for the water system in late August and brought in out-of-state crews to help make repairs. Before the city’s latest water crisis, though, Reeves expressed his own opposition to state funding for Jackson water improvements, saying he wants to hold down Mississippi’s overall debt level.

“After years of neglect, Jackson’s water system finally reached a breaking point this summer, leaving tens of thousands of people without any running water for weeks. Lumumba said Monday that his administration intends to cooperate with federal officials. In late 2019, the state Health Department notified the EPA about concerns with the city’s water system. An inspection by the EPA raised alarms about problems, including not having enough properly credentialed staff members at the city’s water treatment plants. Mark Chalos, an attorney who filed the most recent class-action lawsuit, said many Jacksonians remain suspicious of the city’s water quality.

☆ Brett Favre told Mississippi governor he would not ‘take No for answer’ over volleyball stadium, court filing shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Phil Bryant on Sept. 4, 2019 about funding the volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi’s main campus in Hattiesburg. “Use of these funds (is) tightly controlled,” Bryant texted Favre on July 28, 2019, according to the filing. Favre also secured $3.2 million for a drug company in which he had invested, according to court records. Favre has also denied wrongdoing through his lawyer, who acknowledged that the ex-Packer has been interviewed by the FBI. He added that Favre behaved honorably and never knew the state grants he was seeking were from the federal welfare program.

A key figure in Mississippi’s welfare spending scandal has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges under an arrangement that signals he may be cooperating, according to court records. John Davis directed Mississippi’s welfare agency while it doled out millions of dollars in federal welfare money to projects investigators now say were improper, including a new volleyball facility requested by former NFL quarterback Brett Favre that benefited his daughter. Phil Bryant, who has consistently denied that he was aware that federal welfare money was being used for the projects, in violation of state and federal laws. Favre has also denied wrongdoing through his lawyer, who acknowledged that Favre has been interviewed by the FBI. There is no indication Favre is a target of the investigation, and he says he did not know the state grants came from federal welfare funds.

☆ Former Mississippi Human Services Director Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Welfare Scandal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Cameron Mcwhirter | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

John Davis, former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, sits with his defense attorney, Merrida Coxwell, right, in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday. The former head of Mississippi’s department handling welfare funds pleaded guilty Thursday to federal theft and wire-fraud conspiracy charges and multiple state charges relating to the misuse of millions of dollars in federal aid meant for poor families, according to court documents. John Davis, 54 years old, the executive director of the state’s Department of Human Services from 2016 to 2019, agreed in a plea deal filed with the court to fully cooperate with federal and state prosecutors as they continue probes into how the state department doled out tens of millions of federal dollars.

The welfare funds in question were part of the $86 million Mississippi is given each year by the federal government to lift families out of poverty. The state auditor uncovered $77 million in misspent welfare funds in February 2020. The text messages, which were part of a filing by New's attorney, do not establish that Favre knew the public funds discussed were welfare money. The newly released text messages indicate Bryant, a Republican, was much more involved in the project as governor than previously known. She would pay Favre $1.1 million in state funds directly and he would do a few radio ads.

One of two state agencies responsible for pushing out millions of dollars in federal infrastructure funds said it could be at least mid-to-late 2023 before any allocations roll out. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, a Democrat, has said the price tag to overhaul the city’s water infrastructure could balloon into the billions. This year, the Mississippi Legislature created a $450 million water infrastructure funding program with money the state received through the Congressional Covid relief package that passed in 2021. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is administering the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program. Sam Mozee, director of the Mississippi Urban Research Center at Jackson State University, says his team is tracking what happens with funding going forward.

The Mississippi state auditor said Favre never gave the speeches and demanded the money back, with interest. In an interview with the website Mississippi Today, Bryant said he never knew the grants came from welfare money. The former head of the state welfare agency, John Davis, has pleaded not guilty to state charges of bribery and conspiracy, and law enforcement officials say the investigations continue. Favre defended himself in a series of tweets last year against allegations from White, the state auditor, that he accepted state money for speeches he never intended to give. Marcus Dupree, a former college football star, also received $370,000 in welfare funds, which prosecutors say partly went to fund his horse ranch.

In cursive script, another vowed: “This is not the end.”Wednesday was the last day the Jackson Women’s Health Organization was legally allowed to perform abortions in Mississippi. Mississippi’s trigger law gave the Jackson Women’s Health Organization a 10-day window to continue operations after state Attorney General Lynn Fitch certified the Supreme Court’s ruling. Diane Derzis, owner of the Jackson Women's Health Organization, at a news conference on June 24. She fears that the fall of abortion rights, coupled with health care shortages in Mississippi’s poorest rural communities, will cost lives. “What we are is very grateful.”But he expressed doubt that Wednesday would be the final chapter in the fight over abortion rights in Mississippi — and the nation.

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