Top Stories – Page 96 – The Mississippi Link

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

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. […]

Nissan awards $500,000 to Canton public schools for needy students

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A $500,000 education grant announced Thursday by Nissan will strengthen academic support programs for elementary students who are not making sufficient progress in their school curriculum.

The $500,000 grant will be used by the Canton Public School District to employ two new academic interventionists who will provide targeted instruction and support to students needing the most intensive academic assistance.

Canton Public School Superintendent Dwight Luckett Sr. said, “We are elated with Nissan’s generous donation and continued support of educational opportunities for students in our community. For the district to reach its full potential, we are committed to working even harder to continue meeting the challenges before us. We can accomplish our mission much faster when community and business leaders like Nissan partner with us to offer hope, opportunity and inspiration to our students.” […]

US man in ricin case: ‘I love my country’

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Charges were dropped Tuesday against the man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama, Mississippi State Sen. Roger Wicker and a Mississippi judge Sadie Holland, while authorities searched at another man’s home in connection with the case.

The surprising move was announced in a brief document filed in federal court in Oxford hours after Paul Kevin Curtis was released from custody. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, which means they could be re-instated if prosecutors so choose.

Attorneys for Curtis have suggested he was framed, and an FBI agent testified in court this week that no evidence of ricin was found in searches of his home. At a news conference Tuesday, they declined to discuss whether they were told what new information the government had uncovered. […]

B.B. King Homecoming Festival set for July 3

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The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola said the annual homecoming festival in honor of their namesake and the legendary bluesman, B.B. King, is scheduled for July 3.

King, a Mississippi native, will be performing on Saturday, April 27, at a casino in Tunica. […]