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Tag: Mississippi

  • Ohio State gets top billing in opening College Football Playoff rankings; Indiana, Texas A&M next

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    The closest thing resembling drama for the first big reveal of this season’s College Football Playoff rankings hinged on which undefeated team would receive top billing.

    Answer: The defending champions at Ohio State.

    The Buckeyes took the top spot in the first set of 2025 rankings Tuesday night, followed by Indiana and Texas A&M.

    In choosing the two Big Ten teams ahead of Texas A&M, the 12-person committee appeared to give less weight to A&M’s tougher schedule and its 41-40 win over tenth-ranked Notre Dame and more to the way the Buckeyes and Hoosiers have mowed down opponents this year, with only two games between the two of them decided by less than 10 points.

    “I think statistically when we looked at A&M defensively, they’re just lower than both Ohio State and Indiana,” committee chair Mack Rhoades said. “We had to make a hard decision, and you’re trying to find separators, and that was a separator for us.”

    Another team with no losses, BYU of the Big 12, was ranked seventh.

    Nos. 4, 5 and 6 went to Southeastern Conference teams with one loss each — Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi. All of the top six came from either the Big Ten or SEC, a dose of business as usual despite a season that has been anything but predictable.

    This marked the first of six weekly rankings the committee will release this season, ending Dec. 7 when the final list will set the bracket for the second 12-team playoff in major college football history.

    That tournament begins Dec. 19-20 with four games on the campus of seeds No. 5-8. The top four seeds play winners of those games over the New Year holiday and the title game is set for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium outside Miami.

    Texas Tech was ranked eighth and Oregon came in at No. 9. Rounding out the top 12 were Notre Dame — the only team in the Top 25 not from a power conference — then Texas and Oklahoma.

    But if the bracket were set today, the Longhorns and Sooners would miss out,- bumped by No. 14 Virginia of the ACC and Memphis of the American. That’s thanks to a rule that places the five best-ranked conference champions into the bracket even if they’re not in the top 12.

    Memphis wasn’t among the committee’s top 25 but was still the highest ranked leader in a Group of Five conference.

    There is, of course, plenty of time for teams to make their cases, with four more weeks of the regular season, then a slate of conference title games set for the first weekend in December.

    “If we go back to last year, Arizona State wasn’t even in the rankings for our first two rankings,” Rhoades said of the Sun Devils, who won the Big 12 and made the field. “Again, to everybody out there, this is the first ranking and still a lot of ball left to be played.”

    The final tally in the top 12: The SEC has six teams, the Big Ten three, the Big 12 two, and the ACC none, with one independent.

    Among those still holding out hope are teams such as 16th-ranked Vanderbilt and 17th-ranked Georgia Tech, each of whom spent time in the AP top 10 this season thanks to upsets that turned college football upside down in September and October.

    The first-round matchups based on CFP rankings

    — No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia, winner vs. No. 4 Alabama. You can almost hear SEC commissioner Greg Sankey breaking his TV wondering how an unranked team is in here over one of his.

    — No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Ole Miss, winner vs. No. 3 Texas A&M. Virginia’s only Top 25 meeting this season was against Florida State, which does not resemble a Top 25 team now.

    — No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 BYU, winner vs. No. 2 Indiana. The Fighting Irish have to hope some of the teams immediately below them — like Texas and Oklahoma — do not put up impressive wins since they close with Navy, Pitt, Syracuse and Stanford.

    — No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Texas Tech, winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State. A Booster Bowl pitting teams backed by billionaires Phil Knight (Ducks) and Cody Campbell (Red Raiders).

    Tweaks in this year’s bracket

    The biggest change in the setup of this year’s bracket was eliminating the first-round bye for the four best conference champions. It would mean that Virginia, instead of jumping from a No. 14 ranking to a No. 3 seed, would be seeded 11th with a road game against Mississippi.

    Rhoades also spent time discussing Oregon, which is ranked sixth in the AP poll but ninth in the playoff rankings. The Ducks’ best win this year was a 20-point victory over Northwestern, while its double-overtime win at Penn State early in the season has become less impressive as last year’s semifinalist fell apart.

    “When we looked at and evaluated Oregon, we really looked at the quality of the team and how they looked on film,” Rhoades said.

    ___

    Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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  • Another escaped monkey fatally shot in Mississippi; 1 still missing after crash

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    A second monkey has been shot and killed and authorities said Tuesday that they were still searching for a third missing monkey a week after their escape from a truck that overturned on a Mississippi highway.

    Someone shot the monkey after seeing it cross the highway on Monday evening, about a mile from the scene of the Oct. 28 crash, Jasper County Sheriff Sheriff Randy Johnson said. Johnson said he was contacted by a person with the transport company who recovered the monkey after a civilian shot it.

    The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks confirmed Tuesday in a news release that one monkey was still unaccounted for after two of the escaped monkeys were “recovered deceased.” Officials have warned that people should not approach the Rhesus monkeys, saying they are known to be aggressive.

    Over the weekend, a woman who said she feared for the safety of her children shot and killed another escaped monkey after her 16-year-old son saw a monkey outside their home near Heidelberg. Jessica Bond Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned that the escaped monkeys carried diseases, so she shot it.

    This photo provided by Scotty Ray Boyd shows an overturned truck which had been transporting several monkeys, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Heidelberg, Miss.

    Scotty Ray Boyd / AP


    A truck carrying 21 monkeys overturned on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg last week and several monkeys escaped. Video from the scene showed monkeys and wooden crates in tall grass beside the interstate. Searchers in protective equipment were seen scouring nearby fields and woods for missing primates. Five monkeys were killed during the search and three were missing initially, officials said.

    The monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. Tulane has said it wasn’t transporting the monkeys and they do not belong to the university. The remaining 13 monkeys arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane.

    PreLabs, which describes itself on its website as a biomedical research support organization, said in a statement Monday that a vehicle transporting its non-human primates was involved in the crash and the animals were being lawfully transported to a licensed research facility. It stressed that the monkeys weren’t carrying any known diseases, but asked the public not to approach them as they were likely frightened and disoriented.

    “We are cooperating with authorities and reviewing all safety procedures to ensure the continued well-being of both the animals and the community,” PreLabs said.

    Mississippi Monkey Escape

    This photo provided by Scotty Ray Boyd shows an escaped monkey sitting in the grass Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Heidelberg, Miss.

    Scotty Ray Boyd / AP


    Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson also said the monkeys were not infectious, citing Tulane officials, despite the truck’s occupants previously warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring diseases. However, Johnson said the animals would still need to be “neutralized” because they were aggressive.

    “The primates in question were not carrying any diseases and had received recent checkups confirming that they were pathogen-free,” said Andrew Yawn, a spokesperson for Tulane, in a statement.

    The monkeys’ escape is the latest glimpse into the secretive industry of animal research and the processes that allow key details of what happened to be kept from the public. The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles from Mississippi’s state capital, Jackson.

    Rhesus monkeys, like the ones involved in this incident, have brown fur with red faces and ears, as well as notably expressive faces. They were first imported to the United States for biomedical research in laboratories in the 1970s, according to the New England Primate Conservancy, which has described the monkeys as “bold, extremely curious and adventurous.”

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  • Mississippi City Sues Utility Regulators After Fine for Failing to Address Power Grid Deficiencies

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    Holly Springs officials have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Mississippi Public Service Commission accusing the agency of exceeding its authority and for violating the city’s right to due process.

    The complaint, filed Thursday, comes less than two months since the PSC voted to impose daily fines of up to $12,500 against the city for failing to address deficiencies with its power system. The Holly Springs Utility Department, which serves about 12,000 customers across multiple counties, has struggled for years to maintain its power grid infrastructure and subsequently left customers with frequent electric outages.

    In September, just days before imposing the daily fines, the PSC held a hearing in New Albany to listen to the utility’s customers and to give city officials a chance to respond. After the session, the three-member commission voted unanimously to move forward with steps to place the utility into a receivership.

    But the commission, the new complaint alleges, overstepped its authority by interfering with the city’s contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Since 1935, Holly Springs has purchased and distributed electricity from TVA, a federal agency created under the New Deal to provide power to rural areas in the Southeast. Because TVA is a federal body, the lawsuit says, the PSC can’t “intrude upon” the city’s power agreement.

    TVA, though, has itself recently sued Holly Springs for multiple breaches of the contract. That lawsuit, filed in May, alleges the city took money from the utility department before ensuring the electric system was stable, among other financial mishaps. After a stay in the case, U.S. District Judge Debra Brown ordered the parties last week to show cause by Tuesday.

    The PSC didn’t allow the city an “opportunity to cure (its) alleged negligence,” Holly Springs’ lawsuit also claims. The city had elected a new mayor and brought on new counsel shortly before the September hearing.

    “As a result, the Plaintiff was unable to conduct a full review of the case file, identify relevant evidence, or prepare a complete presentation of its position,” the complaint says. “Proceeding under such circumstances deprived the Plaintiff of a meaningful opportunity to be heard, in violation of fundamental due process principles.”

    The PSC’s authority over the city’s utility department came from state legislation in 2024. Republican Sen. Neil Whaley of Potts Camp wrote the bill, which allows the PSC to investigate whether utility service for certain customers is “reasonably adequate.” The commission’s September hearing found Holly Springs fell short of that bar.

    The PSC told Mississippi Today on Monday that it has only issued one fine of $12,500 against the city so far. Kyle Jones, an attorney for the commission, said, while the city is subject to further fines as long as it provides inadequate service, the PSC would have to hold another hearing before it could actually impose more fines.

    Regarding next steps toward placing the utility under a receivership, the PSC said it would present its petition to a chancery court judge through the state attorney general’s office. The AG’s office did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

    This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • Mom shoots escaped monkey from Mississippi highway crash to protect her children

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    One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi highway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out of bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet away.Bond Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned that the escaped monkeys carried diseases so she fired her gun.“I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning but said the office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.Before Bond Ferguson had gone out the door, she had called the police and was told to keep an eye on the monkey. But she said she worried that if the monkey got away it would threaten children at another house.“If it attacked somebody’s kid, and I could have stopped it, that would be a lot on me,” said Bond Ferguson, a 35-year-old professional chef. “It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they are running around, and people have kids playing in their yards.”The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. In a statement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Of the 21 monkeys in the truck, 13 were found at the scene of the accident and arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane. Another five were killed in the hunt for them and three remained on the loose before Sunday.The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles from the state capital, Jackson.Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. Video recorded after the crash showed monkeys crawling through tall grass beside the interstate, where wooden crates labeled “live animals” were crumpled and strewn about.Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring various diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.The monkeys had recently received checkups confirming they were pathogen-free, Tulane said in a statement Wednesday.Rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive,” according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency’s conservation workers were working with sheriff’s officials in the search for the animals.The search comes about one year after 43 Rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research because an employee didn’t fully lock an enclosure. Employees from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, had set up traps to capture them.

    JASPER COUNTY, Miss. —

    One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi highway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.

    Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out of bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet away.

    Bond Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned that the escaped monkeys carried diseases so she fired her gun.

    “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”

    The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning but said the office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.

    Before Bond Ferguson had gone out the door, she had called the police and was told to keep an eye on the monkey. But she said she worried that if the monkey got away it would threaten children at another house.

    “If it attacked somebody’s kid, and I could have stopped it, that would be a lot on me,” said Bond Ferguson, a 35-year-old professional chef. “It’s kind of scary and dangerous that they are running around, and people have kids playing in their yards.”

    The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. In a statement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.

    A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Of the 21 monkeys in the truck, 13 were found at the scene of the accident and arrived at their original destination last week, according to Tulane. Another five were killed in the hunt for them and three remained on the loose before Sunday.

    The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles from the state capital, Jackson.

    Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. Video recorded after the crash showed monkeys crawling through tall grass beside the interstate, where wooden crates labeled “live animals” were crumpled and strewn about.

    Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring various diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.

    The monkeys had recently received checkups confirming they were pathogen-free, Tulane said in a statement Wednesday.

    Rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive,” according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency’s conservation workers were working with sheriff’s officials in the search for the animals.

    The search comes about one year after 43 Rhesus macaques escaped from a South Carolina compound that breeds them for medical research because an employee didn’t fully lock an enclosure. Employees from the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee, South Carolina, had set up traps to capture them.

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  • Mississippi woman kills escaped monkey, fearing for her children’s safety

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    One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.

    Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet away.

    Bond Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned about diseases that the escaped monkeys carried, so she fired her gun.

    “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”

    This photo provided by Scotty Ray Boyd shows an escaped monkey sitting in the grass Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025, in Heidelberg, Miss. (Scotty Ray Boyd via AP)

    Scotty Ray Boyd / AP


    The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning, but said the office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.

    The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. In a statement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.

    Rhesus macaque primates have brown fur with red faces and ears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces. They were imported to the United States in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories, according to the New England Primate Conservancy. Rhesus macaques are “bold, extremely curious and adventurous monkeys,” and the species is “highly adaptable to coexisting alongside humans,” the conservancy says.

    A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Authorities have said most of the 21 monkeys were killed. The sheriff’s department has said animal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined three monkeys had escaped.

    The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles from the state capital, Jackson.

    Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. Video recorded after the crash showed monkeys crawling through tall grass beside the interstate, where wooden crates labeled “live animals” were crumpled and strewn about.

    Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring various diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.

    “The primates in question were not carrying any diseases and had received recent checkups confirming that they were pathogen-free,” Tulane spokesperson Andrew Yawn said in another statement on Wednesday.

    About 10 years ago, three Rhesus macaques in the breeding colony of what was then known as the Tulane National Primate Research Center were euthanized after a “biosecurity breach,” federal inspectors wrote in a 2015 report. The breach involved at least one staff member failing to adhere to biosafety and infection control procedures, it said.

    The facility made changes in its procedures and retrained staff after that happened, according to the report from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    Rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive,” according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency’s conservation workers were working with sheriff’s officials in the search for the animals.

    In November 2024, 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an Alpha Genesis research facility in Beaufort County, South Carolina, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. They were all eventually safely captured. Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, told CBS News in November last year that a caretaker inadvertently failed to secure a door at the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam free.

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  • Mississippi Woman Kills Escaped Monkey Fearing for Her Children’s Safety

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    One of the monkeys that escaped last week after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway was shot and killed early Sunday by a woman who says she feared for the safety of her children.

    Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 feet (18 meters) away.

    Bond Ferguson said she and other residents had been warned about diseases that the escaped monkeys carried so she fired her gun.

    “I did what any other mother would do to protect her children,” Bond Ferguson, who has five children ranging in age from 4 to 16, told The Associated Press. “I shot at it and it just stood there, and I shot again, and he backed up and that’s when he fell.”

    The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a social media post that a homeowner had found one of the monkeys on their property Sunday morning but said the office didn’t have any details. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks took possession of the monkey, the sheriff’s office said.

    The Rhesus monkeys had been housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university. In a statement last week, Tulane said the monkeys do not belong to the university, and they were not being transported by the university.

    A truck carrying the monkeys overturned Tuesday on Interstate 59 north of Heidelberg. Authorities have said most of the 21 monkeys were killed. The sheriff’s department has said animal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined three monkeys had escaped.

    The Mississippi Highway Patrol has said it was investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the state capital, Jackson.

    Rhesus monkeys typically weigh about 16 pounds (7.2 kilograms) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. Video recorded after the crash showed monkeys crawling through tall grass beside the interstate, where wooden crates labeled “live animals” were crumpled and strewn about.

    Jasper County Sheriff Randy Johnson had said Tulane officials reported the monkeys were not infectious, despite initial reports by the truck’s occupants warning that the monkeys were dangerous and harboring various diseases. Nonetheless, Johnson said the monkeys still needed to be “neutralized” because of their aggressive nature.

    The monkeys had recently received checkups confirming they were pathogen-free, Tulane said in a statement Wednesday.

    About 10 years ago, three Rhesus macaques in the breeding colony of what was then known as the Tulane National Primate Research Center were euthanized after a “biosecurity breach,” federal inspectors wrote in a 2015 report. The breach involved at least one staff member failing to adhere to biosafety and infection control procedures, it said.

    The facility made changes in its procedures and retrained staff after that happened, according to the report from the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

    Rhesus macaques “are known to be aggressive,” according to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. It said the agency’s conservation workers were working with sheriff’s officials in the search for the animals.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • 2 Mississippi sheriffs and 12 officers charged in drug trafficking bribery scheme, officials say

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    By SOPHIE BATES

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Federal authorities on Thursday announced indictments against 20 people, including 14 current or former Mississippi Delta law enforcement officers, that allege the officers took bribes to provide safe passage to people they believed were drug traffickers.

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  • Erika Kirk delivers raw, faith-filled tribute to late husband at Ole Miss: ‘I slept on his side of the bed’

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    Erika Kirk walked onto the stage at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Wednesday night to a packed house for her first Turning Point USA campus appearance since the murder of her husband, Charlie Kirk.

    “It’s hard not to cry after watching,” she said of the video tribute that played before she took the microphone. “I haven’t seen that… that video since that day happened.”

    “Being on campus right now for me is a spiritual reclaiming of territory,” she said. “There is a lot of symbolism in today. It’s Wednesday, seven weeks. And the more that I am coming to grips with the permanency of this nightmare, the more that I am starting to realize and witness that the enemy, he doesn’t want you.”

    He wants your territory. He wants your influence. And I could just hear Charlie in my heart. I could hear him say, ‘Go reclaim that territory, babe. Go — the battles that God’s love conquers.’ And that’s why I’m here today,” she added.

    TURNING POINT USA ELECTS ERIKA KIRK AS NEW CEO, CHAIR OF THE BOARD FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

    Erika Kirk speaks during a “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour event at the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

    Erika thanked the students who filled the arena, many wearing ‘Freedom’ T-shirts like the one she wore at the podium. “You have no idea how helpful it is to have all of you in my life, because you help me feel even more deeply connected to my husband,” she told them.

    She recalled how Charlie made a point at every Turning Point USA event to stop and talk with student leaders. “He would ask you what your name is, what you’re studying, what issues are going on on campus,” she said. “He wanted you to know he was investing in you: into your chapter, into your school. That was a pulse point for him.”

    “Earn your voice,” she urged. “You are the courageous generation. That’s what you are. All of you, Gen Z, you are the courageous generation. Make him proud.”

    WHO IS ERIKA KIRK?: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATE CHARLIE KIRK’S WIDOW FROM THEIR LOVE STORY TO HIS LEGACY

    Erika Kirk speaks at Ole Miss TPUSA event

    Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, speaks during a Turning Point USA event where Vice President JD Vance also spoke at the University of Mississippi, in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

    “I lost my friend. I lost my best friend,” she said. “If you’re nervous about standing up for the truth, the murder of my husband puts into perspective all those fears. My husband never went with the flow. He believed the harder path was always the right one, because comfort doesn’t change the world.”

    She shared for the first time with the audience present that for weeks after Charlie’s murder she avoided their bedroom at home.

    “It took me a while to even just make it back into our bedroom,” she said. “I used to sprint from the opening door into the bathroom and sprint out. I was not ready to walk into our bedroom yet, and when I was finally able to sleep in our bed for the first time, I slept on his side of the bed.”

    ERIKA KIRK SAYS LATE HUSBAND’S DEATH SPARKED ‘REVIVAL’ AT ARIZONA MEMORIAL 

    Students in line to ask Vice President JD Vance questions during Ole Miss TPUSA event

    Attendees listen as Vice President JD Vance speaks during a “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour event at Ole Miss, in Oxford, Miss., Wednesday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

    From that spot, she said, she finally saw what Charlie saw every morning, the framed words on the wall: “They will be known by the boldness of their faith.”

    “He saw that every single morning he woke up,” Erika said. “I didn’t, because I was on the other side, facing the window. But from his side, that’s what he saw first.”

    On his desk, she added, were three questions Charlie had written out and asked himself each day: “What is something I can do for someone today? What is something I can do to add value to the world today? How can I honor God today?”

    “Those were his action points for courage,” Erika said. “Ask yourself those questions every day, and I promise you, you will get courage. What death amplifies even more is that you only get one life. So live like it matters.”

    “Love your family fearlessly. Love your spouse fearlessly. Love this country,” she said. “Defend her and serve our God. And don’t think that it’s someone else’s role to do it. You do it. You do it.” The audience broke into applause.

    “This moment can either be your breaking point or your wake-up call,” she said. “Essentially, your turning point.”

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    She then introduced Vice President JD Vance, a friend of her late husband, calling him someone who “understands the fight that we’re up against and can articulate that in a way that transcends race and background.”

    “There will never be another Charlie,” she said, “but I know he’d be proud to see us here tonight.”

    Jasmine Baehr is a Breaking News Writer for Fox News Digital, where she covers politics, the military, faith and culture.

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  • JD Vance, Erika Kirk speak at Turning Point USA event in Mississippi

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    Vice President JD Vance spoke at a Turning Point USA event alongside CEO Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, at Ole Miss on Wednesday. CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes has the details.

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  • The Turning Point is here, Ole Miss TPUSA creates ‘fire hazard’ with member capacity

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    On October 29th, students, faculty and others traveled to visit the oak-lined paths, red-brick halls, and campus Lyceum at the University of Mississippi to see Vice President JD Vance at a Turning Point USA event in honor of the organization’s co-founder, Charlie Kirk, alongside his widow, Erika Kirk.

    TPUSA chapter president at Ole Miss, Lesley Lachman, remarked that the university is “the forefront of what Turning Point USA chapters look like across the country.

    “This really is the point in history where people are motivated and want to get involved in politics and Gen Z is fired up and ready to go,” Lachman continued.

    NEWLY LAUNCHED TPUSA CHAPTER CAUSES UPROAR AT MICHIGAN HIGH SCHOOL BEFORE FIRST MEETING

    Ole Miss, also known as the University of Mississippi, expects an immense turn out of attendees for the TPUSA event featuring JD Vance and Erika Kirk.  (Fox News Digital )

    “The chapter has grown so significantly that every time we hold the chapter meeting, we hit capacity and it’s a fire hazard, which has been an interesting, wonderful problem to have,” the college junior said. 

    Citing a “complete surge in numbers” in the Ole Miss TPUSA chapter, which she said started at 200 people during the beginning of her presidency, and which has since grown to 1,500 students.  

    The law student said that “people want to be involved, and they want to be conservative.” 

    MASSIVE CROWDS LINE UP IN THE RAIN AT OLE MISS FOR TURNING POINT USA EVENT WITH VP VANCE, ERIKA KIRK

    line of people on left, college student on right

    Lesley Lachman, Ole Miss TPUSA chapter president, talks about the local student organization’s unprecedented growth before JD Vance and Erika Kirk’s appearance on campus. (Fox News Digital )

    “[Charlie Kirk’s] death has motivated people not only to get involved on social media, but also to get involved on campus,” she noted before mentioning the nonprofit’s newly minted CEO, Erika Kirk. 

    “Erika Kirk is a force. She’s a fighter. I think what she’s gone through is unbelievable,” Lachman shared. 

    “I think her motherly instincts really do give her the capability to be a wonderful leader, and I could see her growing this organization even bigger, especially with this big boom happening,” she mentioned. 

    TURNING POINT USA CHAPTER DENIED OFFICIAL STATUS BY LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS STUDENT GOVERNMENT

    ole miss logo

    Ole Miss, also known as the University of Mississippi, expects an immense turn out of attendees for the TPUSA event featuring JD Vance and Erika Kirk.  (Fox News Digital)

    There have been various reports from chapter presidents at different schools describing the same uptick in student involvement for the organization following Kirk’s passing on September 10th. 

    Despite growing support for the nonprofit across the nation, reports of hatred and acts of violence from TPUSA student members continue. 

    “I think the work we’ve done on campus is really beautiful, but really the bigger message of this is the turning point and the work is going to continue,” Lachman said. 

    CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

    Nikolas Lanum is a Video Editor for Fox News Digital.

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  • Dog named Rascal turns family’s kitchen remodel into odd rescue operation in MS

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    A firefighter drills into flooring.

    A firefighter drills into flooring.

    Photo from Harrison County Fire Rescue’s Facebook page

    Firefighters in Mississippi were presented with an odd request that had to do with a family remodeling their kitchen, and a missing dog.

    The family had been working on redoing their kitchen flooring over the weekend when they had to make an urgent request to the Harrison County Fire Rescue in Saucier.

    “HCFR responded to an interesting call for assistance this past Saturday night,” the rescue said in an Oct. 27 Facebook post.

    “HCFR B shift was called to a home for an animal rescue. The homeowner had been working on the flooring in the kitchen for a remodel. Their dog (Rascal) found his way under the house and fell into an old well.”

    Turns out, the pup had been in the small space for a few days, the department said.

    “The well was approximately 18” in diameter and 20 feet deep with a small void at the bottom,” the rescue said.

    “We were granted permission to break up the floor above the well opening. While the firefighters were working on the floor, the well was covered with a sheet of plywood to prevent falling debris from injuring Rascal.”

    Clearly, Rascal lived up to his mischievous name by finding the well in the first place. It took some time, but the department was able to save the day.

    “After clearing the debris, a rope with a loop was lowered to the bottom,” the post continued.

    “Rascal was coaxed out of the void with a few treats and after approximately 45 minutes, he was captured with the loop and pulled to the top of the opening where firefighters grabbed him and reunited him with his family!”

    Saucier is about a 90-mile drive northeast from New Orleans.

    Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    TJ Macias

    Fort Worth Star-Telegram

    TJ Macías is a Real-Time national sports reporter for McClatchy based out of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Formerly, TJ covered the Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers beat for numerous media outlets including 24/7 Sports and Mavs Maven (Sports Illustrated). Twitter: @TayloredSiren

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  • Monkeys escape after truck overturns on Mississippi highway, 1 still missing

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    Monkeys that were being transported Tuesday on a Mississippi highway escaped after the truck carrying them overturned, and all but one have since been killed, authorities said.

    The crash happened approximately 100 miles from the state capital of Jackson. It’s not clear what caused the truck to overturn. Video showed monkeys crawling through the tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.

    The Jasper County Sheriff’s Department said the rhesus monkeys were from Tulane University, and initially wrote in a post on Facebook that “they are aggressive to humans and they require PPE to handle.” It’s not clear how many monkeys were originally in the truck or how many were killed. The sheriff’s department later said the driver of the truck relayed that “the monkeys were dangerous and posed a threat to humans,” and that it took “appropriate actions after being given that information.”

    Rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16 pounds, are among the most medically studied animals on the planet. The escaped monkeys carry diseases but were not infectious, authorities said. They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.

    The monkeys “are provided to other research organizations to advance scientific discovery,” a Tulane University spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “The primates in question belong to another entity and are not infectious. We are actively collaborating with local authorities and will send a team of animal care experts to assist as needed.”

    Mississippi Wildlife and Fisheries is also on site, according to the sheriff’s department. It’s not clear who the monkeys belong to or where they were going.

    Rhesus macaque primates have brown fur with red faces and ears. They have close-cropped hair on their heads, which accentuates their very expressive faces. Rhesus macaques were imported to the United States in the 1970s for biomedical research in laboratories, according to the New England Primate Conservancy. Rhesus macaques are “bold, extremely curious and adventurous monkeys,” and the species is “highly adaptable to coexisting alongside humans,” the conservancy says.

    The sheriff’s department initially said the monkeys were carrying diseases, including herpes, but Tulane University said in a statement that the monkeys “are not infectious.” Law enforcement officials did not immediately respond to AP’s request for clarification.

    In November 2024, 43 rhesus macaque primates escaped from an Alpha Genesis research facility in Beaufort County, South Carolina, prompting warnings for nearby residents to secure their doors and windows. They were all eventually safely captured as of January. Greg Westergaard, CEO of Alpha Genesis, told CBS News in November last year that a caretaker inadvertently failed to secure a door at the enclosure, allowing the monkeys to roam free.

    Lucia I Suarez Sang

    contributed to this report.

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  • 5th Arrest Made in Connection With Shooting That Left 6 Dead in Mississippi, FBI Says

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    LELAND, Miss. (AP) — A fifth person has been arrested and charged with capital murder in a weekend shooting that left six dead and more than a dozen injured in a small Mississippi town, the FBI said.

    Terrogernal S. Martin, 33, was arrested Tuesday and received a $1 million cash bond, according to the FBI in Jackson. Additional arrests are pending, the agency said without elaborating.

    The arrest comes a day after the FBI announced that Teviyon L. Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, are charged with capital murder, while Latoya A. Powell, 44, is charged with attempted murder in the Friday night shooting.

    It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether any of the five people charged had an attorney who could comment on the charges.

    Washington County Coroner LaQuesha Watkins said four people died at the scene: Oreshama Johnson, 41, Calvin Plant, 19, Shelbyona Powell, 25, and Kaslyn Johnson, 18. She said the coroner’s office in Hinds County called to say another victim, 18-year-old Amos Brand Jr. had died from his injuries. Her office also got notice from the Shelby County medical examiner that JaMichael Jones, 34, had also died from his injuries.

    The shooting came as people celebrated homecoming weekend in downtown Leland, in the rural northwest Delta region, shortly after a high school football game. It was the deadliest of several shootings across Mississippi over the weekend. Other shootings were reported at two Mississippi universities on Saturday, as those schools celebrated their homecoming weekends.

    Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for Friday night’s shooting in Leland, but the FBI has said the gunfire appears to have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.”

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • 4 arrests made in connection with Mississippi mass shooting that left 6 dead, FBI says

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    Four people have been arrested in connection with a weekend shooting that left six dead and more than a dozen injured in a small Mississippi town, the FBI announced Monday.

    Teviyon L. Powell, 29; William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, have been charged with capital murder, while Latoya A. Powell, 44, has been charged with attempted murder in the mass shooting, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Jackson Field Office confirmed to CBS News.

    It was not immediately clear whether the suspects have attorneys. The Associated Press left a voicemail with the Washington County Public Defender’s Office asking if its attorneys are representing the defendants.

    “Other arrests are pending as this investigation continues,” the spokesperson said, urging anyone with information about the shooting in the rural northwest Delta region to report tips to the FBI.

    The shooting happened early Saturday morning. It came as people celebrated homecoming weekend in downtown Leland shortly after a high school football game, and was the deadliest of several shootings across Mississippi over the weekend.

    Gun violence reports in Mississippi

    Another shooting left two people dead at Heidelberg High School on Saturday. It also occurred during a homecoming game. Other shootings were reported at two Mississippi universities on Saturday as those schools celebrated their homecoming weekends.

    Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for Friday night’s shooting in Leland, but the FBI said the gunfire appears to have been “sparked by a disagreement among several individuals.”

    Four of the victims died at the scene, where abandoned shoes were left and blood stained the pavement of a downtown street the following day.

    Witness Camish Hopkins described seeing people wounded and bleeding and four people dead on the ground. “It was the most horrific scene I’d ever seen,” Hopkins told The AP.

    The shooting in Leland was the 14th mass killing in 2025, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database. The database tracks all homicides in the U.S. since 2006 in which four or more people were killed intentionally within a 24-hour period, not including any offender.

    Elsewhere, in the small town of Heidelberg on the east side of the state, the bodies of two people, including a pregnant woman, were found on a high school campus Friday night. That shooting happened the same evening Heidelberg High School played its homecoming football game, according to police and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves. Police have not said exactly when the gunfire occurred or how close it was to the stadium.

    An 18-year-old man was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and illegally having a gun on a school campus in the Heidelberg shooting, Jasper County Jail records show. 

    Heidelberg, a town of about 640 residents, is about 85 miles southeast of the state capital of Jackson.

    On Saturday evening, three people were also found with apparent gunshot wounds on the Alcorn State University campus in Claiborne County, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said. One of the victims died, the agency said. Police found the victims after a call reporting shots fired in the area of the industrial technology building. No arrests were announced.

    The shooting happened after a crowd of more than 7,000 watched Alcorn State defeat Lincoln University of Oakland, California, in the Mississippi school’s homecoming game Saturday afternoon.

    In Jackson, police responded around 7 p.m. Saturday to the tailgating area of Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, where Jackson State University hosted Alabama State University. A juvenile had been shot in the abdomen and was taken to a hospital, police said. No arrests were announced, and few other details about that shooting were immediately available.

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  • At least 6 killed in two separate shootings in Mississippi, officials say

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    At least six people were shot and killed at two separate shootings in Mississippi, authorities said Saturday.

    Four people were killed and at least 12 others were injured in a shooting early Saturday morning in Leland, Mississippi, local officials said. Two other people were killed, including an expectant mother, at a high school in Heidelberg, located about 200 miles away, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said.

    “Our state is praying for the victims and their families, as well as the entire Heidelberg and Leland communities,” Reeves said. “Those responsible will be brought to justice.”

    4 dead, 12 injured in Leland shooting

    Leland Mayor John Lee told CBS News the shooting happened around midnight, and four of the injured people were airlifted to local hospitals. There was no immediate information about their condition. 

    There are no suspects in custody and the investigation is ongoing.

    The shooting happened on a main street, Lee said. People were in town for Leland High School’s homecoming game, he said. The Leland School District website shows that Leland High School was set to play a homecoming game against Charleston High School.

    FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post on Saturday afternoon that the shooting occurred at a nightclub but didn’t provide additional details.

    2 shot and killed at Heidelberg homecoming game

    Gov. Reeves said authorities are also investigating a separate shooting in Heidelberg, where two people were killed.

    CBS affiliate WHLT reported that the shooting at Heidelberg High School also occurred during a homecoming game. A suspect was identified and taken into custody by law enforcement officials, according to Reeves.

    Leland is a small city in Washington County. It had a population of about 4,000, according to 2020 census data. Heidelberg is a small town in Jasper County with a population of just over 700 people.

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  • Mississippi homecoming turns deadly: 4 Killed, 12 Injured in downtown Leland shooting

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    NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

    At least four people are dead and 12 others were injured overnight in a shooting in Leland, Mississippi, at a downtown event taking place during Leland High School homecoming weekend, the city’s mayor told Fox News Digital on Saturday. 

    Leland Mayor John Lee said he had no information as to the identity of the shooter, who has not been located as of Saturday morning. He added that, “justice will be served.”

    This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

    Fox News Digital’s Sarah Taylor contributed to this report.

    Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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  • Judge Remains Undecided on Treatment Plan for Man Charged With Stalking Jennifer Aniston

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    LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge remained undecided Friday on the treatment and placement plan for a man charged with stalking Jennifer Aniston and ramming his car into the front gate of her home.

    Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, a 48-year-old from Mississippi, has pleaded not guilty to felony stalking and vandalism. But in May, Judge Maria Cavalluzzi found him not competent to stand trial after evaluations from two experts. At Friday’s hearing in a Los Angeles court dedicated to mental health cases, she heard arguments on Carwyle’s treatment and placement.

    Aniston’s lawyer, Blair Berk, spoke on her behalf for the first time, detailing two years of Carwyle’s harassment and stalking, including various failed attempts to make physical contact with the actor.

    Cavalluzzi said she leaned toward sending Carwyle to a mental health treatment alternative to imprisonment. She requested another hearing, scheduled for later this month, to hear from a mental health professional before making a final decision.

    Prosecutors and Aniston’s attorney will have a chance to weigh in, Cavalluzzi said.

    The judge acknowledged Aniston’s “very real” fear, but she said she can’t ignore the opinions of mental health professionals who have evaluated Carwyle and deemed him not a danger to society. The alternative treatment option offers community-based housing, treatment and support services as opposed to incarceration.


    Harassment started 2 years ago, prosecutors say

    Prosecutors alleged Carwyle had been harassing the “Friends” star with a flood of voicemail, email and social media messages for two years before driving his Chrysler PT Cruiser through the gate of her home in the wealthy Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles on May 5, “only feet away from where she was,” Berk said.

    Carwyle had a stated and “persistent delusion” to impregnate Aniston with three children, Berk said, and “there is simply no way to prevent him from carrying out his delusion if he walks out.”

    The prosecution expressed concern that if Carwyle were offered the treatment in Los Angeles, nothing would stop him “from traveling those few miles to Ms. Aniston,” Berk said.

    Berk and William Donovan, the deputy district attorney, argued Carwyle was a present danger to Aniston and those around her. Berk said he attempted to enter her property twice, but was turned away.

    Carwyle’s lawyer, Robert Krauss, said his client qualifies for alternative treatment, arguing that he hasn’t been convicted of violent crimes. Granting him alternative treatment, “is not like giving him a break or showing him leniency,” Krauss said. “Its just one thing and one thing only — and that is absolute, pure faithfulness of the law.”

    Krauss also referenced a report from the probation department, which recommended Carwyle be granted probation and 90 days in jail if convicted, much less than the over three years maximum sentence for his two charges. Carwyle has been in jail since May and, if convicted, could be let out with time served.


    Suspect says he won’t walk away from treatment

    Carwyle was present at the hearing and addressed questions from Cavalluzzi, saying he “wasn’t right in the head,” when asked about the text messages he sent Aniston. He said he has been taking medication, which is keeping him focused, and admitted his wrongdoing.

    When Cavalluzzi asked how she can be sure he won’t walk away from the treatment program — a stated concern from the prosecution — Carwyle responded, “You have my word.”

    Berk said Carwyle “traveled thousands of miles over a year ago “after sending thousands of messages” that reflected “his delusions and intentions to not just make contact with Ms. Aniston, but to commit criminal wrongs against her, sexual violence against her.” She added that Carwyle stressed in his messaging that he “would be unabated by doctors or others or FBI intervening.”

    Donovan argued that a state hospital is a “much safer, much more effective place for him to go,” and will offer the treatment Carwyle needs to address his delusions. The prosecution also argued there’s no evidence that Carwyle’s delusions toward Aniston have stopped, even with medication.

    Carwyle has been under involuntary medication for the past few months. Krauss said that Carwyle’s actions toward Aniston were “just the product of psychosis from someone who is unmedicated.” The government must keep its “promise of treatment rather than punishment and of rehabilitation rather than incarceration,” he said.

    The hearing was postponed several times in recent months as Carwyle at first objected to the incompetence finding and asked for an opinion, and both sides sought more time to examine the case.

    Carwyle remains jailed, but he is under a judge’s order not to contact or get near Aniston.

    Authorities said Aniston was home at the time of the gate crash, but he did not come into contact with her. A security guard stopped him in her driveway until police arrived. No one was injured.

    Carwyle also faces an aggravating circumstance of the threat of great bodily harm.

    Aniston became one of the biggest stars in television in her 10 years on NBC’s “Friends.” She won an Emmy Award for best lead actress in a comedy for the role, and she has been nominated for nine more. She currently stars in “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Sept. 2025

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  • 911 emergency lines down across Mississippi and Louisiana, authorities say

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    911 systems across Mississippi and Louisiana were down Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

    The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said AT&T was reporting damage to some of its fiber optic lines and that was affecting 911 services across the state. Across Louisiana, 911 phone lines are also down. The state’s most populous cities, including Baton Rouge and New Orleans, reported emergency system outages Thursday afternoon.

    By 4 p.m. local time, some parishes in Louisiana were reporting that 911 service had been restored, and Simmons said parts of Mississippi were slowly coming back online, although some problems remained.

    By a little after 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Karl Fasold, executive director of Orleans Communication District, told The Associated Press that New Orleans’ 911 system was “back to fully functional.”

    He said he was hearing that other parishes’ systems were also being restored following what he described as an “accidental fiber cut.”

    “We are assessing now as crews for AT&T are on the ground making repairs,” agency spokesperson Scott Simmons told The Associated Press. 

    Officials were notified a little after 1 p.m. local time Thursday afternoon that there were problems with the 911 calls, authorities said at a news conference. Officials said after 1:35 p.m., there was a major fiber cut that resulted in a 911 outage in most of Louisiana and Mississippi, and there was no indication it was malicious. A resolution is expected to come in the next few hours, they said.

    Law enforcement agencies across both states took to social media, urging people to call local phone numbers if they were experiencing an emergency. Those with non-emergency issues are discouraged from calling.

    Mike Steele, spokesperson for the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told AP that the agency “is standing by if there are any requests for and there have been no requests for local support from our parishes at this time.”

    “Nothing I’ve seen indicates a cyberattack,” Steele said.

    St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office also reported its 911 and non-emergency lines “are down,” according to a post on X.

    Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards said most parishes in the state are being affected by the outage.

    In southwest Louisiana, the Cameron Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness urged people using “cellular devices” to contact a local number for emergencies due to a “massive phone outage.” But the agency said that calls to 911 via a landline “will still go through.”

    Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office is one agency where its 911 line is still operational. The department said in a statement that it uses the “Next Generation 911” system, which is a “complete overhaul” of the current system, replacing “legacy copper wire technology.”

    In the meantime, residents in impacted areas are urged to call alternative emergency service numbers, posted by law enforcement on social media, as needed.

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  • Some red states are trying to take control of their blue cities

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    After 30 days, President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., has ended. But the use of federal troops in policing American cities could just be starting. 

    On Tuesday, the president said he was finalizing negotiations with a Republican-run state for a potential deployment. “We’re working it out with the governor of a certain state that would love us to be there, and the mayor of a certain city in that same state,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll announce it probably tomorrow.” While no location has been announced, the president’s next destination could be New Orleans, Louisiana, given that he floated the idea of deploying the National Guard to the city last week. 

    If this is the course of action that Trump decides to take, the National Guard will join ranks with Troop NOLA, a specialized police force established in 2024 by Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. Since its creation, the initiative has played a central role in Landry’s wider crime crackdown, making roughly 500 arrests, confiscating nearly 200 illegal firearms, and recovering over 50 stolen cars, according to Fox 8. The governor also used his emergency powers to deploy Troop NOLA officers to the French Quarter following a deadly attack on January 1, framing the move as necessary for law and order.

    This dynamic isn’t unique to Louisiana; several Republican-led states have similarly moved to expand state control into Democratic-run cities, often citing concerns over crime and public safety. In Mississippi, a similar pattern has taken shape. In recent years, the Capitol Police force in Jackson has undergone major expansion, growing to 148 officers—the Jackson Police Department has 258—and patrolling roughly 24 of the city’s 114 square miles. While The Washington Post reports that some city residents have welcomed this police presence, critics have maintained that heightened law enforcement has led to a spike in police abuses—including several high-profile cases in which Capitol Police officers have been charged with manslaughter and civil rights violations.

    In addition to boosting law enforcement presence, Mississippi’s state government has also taken steps to bypass local control over the judiciary by establishing a separate state-run court in Jackson. The court, which opened in January with over $730,000 in taxpayer dollars for FY 2025, will “adjudicate misdemeanor offenses and traffic citations investigated by the State Capitol Police,” reports the Clarion Ledger. It will also oversee initial felony offenses introduced by the Capitol Police. The prosecutor and judges of this court are appointed by state-level officials rather than through local elections. 

    Those who support the court have argued the move was necessary, in order “to address a spike in crime and Jackson’s court backlogs,” according to The Washington Post. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves called it “another major addition to ensuring law and order in our capital city.”

    But Mississippi and Louisiana aren’t alone. In Missouri, Georgia, and Indiana, Republican-led legislatures have moved to seize control of local policing and prosecutors—often targeting Democratic jurisdictions under the banner of crime control. Critics say it marks a broader shift from limiting government to consolidating it. And in many cases, they argue, this decision isn’t about improving governance but about maintaining political control.

    Whether Trump will enact a federal intervention in another U.S. city remains uncertain. Such a move would deepen a trend already underway in many Republican-led states—curbing local autonomy under the banner of public safety.

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  • Dozens of cargo containers fall off vessel at Port of Long Beach. Investigators search for answers

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    At least 50 shipping containers slipped off a vessel at the Port of Long Beach on Tuesday morning, leaving officials scrambling to determine what happened.

    Port spokesperson Art Marroquin said the ship, the Mississippi, was berthed at Terminal G just before 9 a.m. when the containers mysteriously fell overboard into the water.

    Marroquin and other port officials did not respond to questions about the ship. They confirmed, however, that no injuries were reported and all operations have been temporarily suspended as responders work to secure the containers.

    Port officials are in the preliminary stages of investigating what caused the incident.

    An online site dedicated to tracking ships says the Mississippi flies under a Portuguese flag and was last docked in China two weeks ago.

    The incident happened only four days after the port was named the Best West Coast seaport in North America for a seventh straight year by the trade publication Asia Cargo News.

    The port handles more than 9 million 20-foot containers per year from 2,000 vessels, moving one-fourth of all containers on the West Coast.

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    Andrew J. Campa

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