Month: October 2013

News

Police say man who set himself on fire at National Mall has died

October 7, 2013 admin 0

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who set himself on fire on the National Mall in the nation’s capital has died of his injuries, District of Columbia police said Saturday.

Officer Araz Alali, a police spokesman, said the man died Friday night at a Washington hospital.

The man’s name and age were not immediately known, and his burns were so severe that authorities will need to use DNA and dental records to identify him, Alali said… […]

Business

Monroe based energy group hosts conference to help ethnic minorities

October 4, 2013 admin 0

The Mississippi Link Newswire

The American Energy Diversity Group is hosting the Ethnic Diversity Conference on Energy today and tomorrow (October 4-5) at the Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel, in Lake Charles, LA.

The objective of the Conference is to remove barriers that limit energy jobs and business opportunities among ethnic Minorities.
The energy group states that each year billions of dollars in the New Oil and Gas Energy Project is approved by Congressional and Senate Energy committees that continue to isolate members of ethnic diverse communities… […]

News

Woman asks Mississippi court to dismiss same-sex divorce case from California wedding

October 3, 2013 admin 2

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A woman is asking a Mississippi court to throw out a divorce petition filed by the wife she married in California, arguing that Mississippi can’t grant a divorce because it doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage.

Lauren Beth Czekala-Chatham and Dana Ann Melancon traveled to California to get married in 2008, but they lived together in Southaven, Miss. Czekala-Chatham still lives in Mississippi. Melancon lives in Arkansas.

Czekala-Chatham filed for divorce in north Mississippi’s DeSoto County Chancery Court… […]

Education

Analysis: Public left in dark about new state superintendent

October 3, 2013 admin 0

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — If you’d like to know a little something about Mississippi’s next superintendent of schools, Carey Wright, you should thank Des Moines, Iowa.

When Wright interviewed for the superintendent of that local school district in March, she and two other candidates met with members of the community and then gave speeches and brief interviews with the board that were recorded. That 20-minute recording is still online. It gives a much better insight into Wright’s background and professional views than the one-paragraph statement she issued through the Mississippi State Board of Education after it voted in a closed meeting last week to name Wright the leader of the Magnolia State’s 490,000 students and 148 school districts… […]

Education

Hinds County judge blocks state takeover of LeFlore County schools

October 2, 2013 admin 0

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd has blocked the state’s takeover of the Leflore County school district.

Kidd ruled Monday that the district is owed a formal hearing before the state can depose the current superintendent and school board.

The state has said it used another section of state law and no formal hearing was required before the governor declared a state of emergency. Gov. Phil Bryant declared an emergency in Leflore County Sept. 17, the same day Kidd first stepped in… […]

Buzz Report

Jackson man who helped video sexual assault of 4-year-old sentenced to 23 years in prison

October 2, 2013 admin 0

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — A man was sentenced Monday to more than 23 years in prison for a sexual assault on a 4-year-old girl and making a video of the attack with another man who was also convicted in the case.

Jemery Atral Hodges, 26, pleaded guilty in June to two counts. He was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Jackson.

The child’s mother wept, describing to the court the harm that came to her daughter… […]