Top Stories – Page 107 – The Mississippi Link

Alcorn student turns “stumbling blocks into stepping stones”

Rhonda Price’s road to graduation from Alcorn was not easy. But you will never guess that this smiling young lady with a beautiful singing voice had to overcome many obstacles and “turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones” to become one of the top students in the Department of Fine Arts, earn many awards and recognitions, and travel around the country with Alcorn State University’s Concert Choir performing and entertaining audiences of all ages.

A Detroit, Michigan native, Price came to Alcorn in 2004 as a freshman music performance major. She was happy to be here eagerly learning from her instructors, earning high grades, making friends and performing all over the state of Mississippi and across the nation.

“I was in my third year at Alcorn, when I got seriously sick,” shared Price. “I had to withdraw from school, go back to Detroit to have surgery and to be under the supervision of my dad.” […]

Noose hung at Meridian mayoral candidate’s office

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Someone hung a noose with a stuffed animal outside the office a Meridian mayoral candidate.

Meridian police tell WTOK-TV they found a hooded baby blanket with a stuffed dog’s head hanging by a noose Thursday morning. It was outside the insurance office of Percy Bland, a Democratic candidate for mayor. Bland is black.

The Meridian Police Department characterizes the incident as a hate crime and sent evidence to the FBI for analysis. […]

Most Miss. cities hold mayoral primaries Tuesday

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Most Mississippi cities are electing mayors this year, and party primaries Tuesday will narrow the fields of candidates.

Some of the toughest primaries will be in Jackson, Vicksburg and Madison, where incumbents are seeking re-election, and in Clarksdale, where the seat is open because the current mayor chose not to run.

Primary runoffs are May 21 and the general election is June 4. New four-year terms begin July 1. […]

Miss. AG: Test wouldn’t exonerate death row inmate

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Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says a new round of DNA testing on evidence collected against death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning would not exonerate him in the 1992 deaths of two students.

Manning, now 44, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the state penitentiary at Parchman.

“Any time there is legitimate, exculpatory evidence, capable of DNA testing, the state is prepared to conduct testing,” Hood said in a statement released late Friday. […]

Missing 6-year-old found, suspect charged

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The FBI confirmed that a 6-year-old girl from Scooba was found safe Wednesday afternoon after she was reported missing on April 30. The search for Jashayla Markayia Hopson ended around 1:25 p.m., on May 1 after Jashayla was located in Enterprise, Miss.

An Alabama woman has been charged with her kidnapping.

After she was found, Daniel McMullen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Mississippi, said the Jashayle was taken to Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian for observation. […]

1 killed, 1 injured in Bude gas station shooting

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One person is dead and another is recovering after being shot in Franklin County Thursday morning, WLBT reported.

According to Franklin County Sheriff James Newman, 54-year-old James William Wallace walked into the Gas Lane Shell station in Bude at the intersection of 184 and Highway 98 around 5:20 a.m.

Wallace then pulled out a small caliber handgun and fatally shot Bruce Anthony Lofton, 49, according to Newman. A second victim, 45-year-old Christopher Allen Shell, was shot in the arm. […]

10-year-old boy shot in the head while playing video game; brother charged

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Police said a 10-year-old boy was shot in the head last Monday night while playing a video game and his older brother has been charged in his death. Captain Bobby Stewart said Jerald Tucker Jr. died at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, two days after being shot at his residence in the 2900 block of Park Avenue in Vicksburg.

Stewart said several other people were in the house when Jerald was shot just before 10 p.m., including his older brother, 20-year-old Willie Willis and another man, 21-year-old Joshua Ryan Coffee.

“Jerald was sitting on a coffee table playing a video game,“ Stewart said. [And] according to statements by witnesses, Coffee and Willis were handling a small caliber weapon in the living room where Jerald was…and the weapon discharged striking the child in the back of the head.” […]

FBI: Traces of Ricin found at Tupelo busines

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During the FBI’s ongoing investigation into letters containing ricin addressed to President Barack Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and a Mississippi judicial official – Sadie Holland – evidence collected by the FBI from the former business, Tupelo Taekwondo Plus, located on Rankin Boulevard Ext. in Tupelo, Mississippi, tested positive for trace levels of ricin.

Because public safety is always the FBI’s first priority in any investigation, that location was immediately sealed off and appropriate public health authorities were notified. The FBI is now conducting further forensic examination for the purpose of identifying trace evidence, residues, and signatures of production that could provide evidence to support the investigation.

Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. Ricin poisoning can occur when the substance enters the body through ingestion, inhalation, or injection. To date, the FBI is not aware of any illness as a result of exposure to these letters. […]

Smithsonian Magazine names Cleveland one of ‘best small towns to visit’

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Smithsonian Magazine has named Cleveland, Miss., one of America’s 20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2013. Ranked No. 2, Cleveland joins municipalities like Gettysburg, Pa. (No. 1), St. Augustine, Fla. (No. 3), Baraboo, Wis. (No. 4) and Astoria, Ore. (No. 5).

“More than 21.3 million annual visitors to the state can attest to the artistic spirit, rich history and cultural uniqueness of small towns like Cleveland,” said Malcolm White, director of the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division. “What an honor for Cleveland to be recognized at the national level. From blues to fine arts, Cleveland showcases some of the best of our state’s heritage and talent.”

“We are very excited about this designation and appreciate the attention it is bringing to Cleveland and the surrounding area,” said Cheryl Line, Cleveland-Bolivar County Tourism Director. “We hope this recognition will bring more visitors to learn about the mystique of the Mississippi Delta.” […]

UMMC Pediatrician Hannah Gay named to Time Magazine’s Time 100

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TIME named HIV specialist Dr. Hannah Gay, UMMC associate professor of pediatrics, to the 2013 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In caring for a newborn infected with HIV in 2010, Gay followed an atypical treatment regimen and functionally cured the baby. She and her colleagues, Dr. Deborah Persaud, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center virologist, and University of Massachusetts Medical School immunologist Dr. Katherine Luzuriaga, who were also named to the TIME 100 list, presented the child’s case report in March at a scientific meeting in Atlanta. The report is the world’s first to describe an HIV functional cure in an infant.

Gay said she is honored and wants the recognition to highlight the efforts of physicians and scientists worldwide working in HIV prevention, care and research. […]