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July 15, 2024

Federal judge dismisses Trump classified documents case over concerns with prosecutor’s appointment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case of former President Donald Trump in Florida has dismissed the prosecution because of concerns over the appointment of the prosecutor who brought the case.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon granted the defense motion to dismiss the case on Monday.

Lawyers for Trump had argued that special counsel Jack Smith was illicitly appointed and that his office was improperly funded by the Justice Department.

A spokesperson for Smith and a lawyer for Trump didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

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For young Konnor Griffin, MLB Draft night could not have gone much better

State News

rick cleveland

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July 15, 2024

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For young Konnor Griffin, MLB Draft night could not have gone much better

Konnor Griffin (in grey suit) and his father, Kevin Griffin, embrace, while his mother, Kim Griffin (red dress), and girlfriend Dendy Hogan (seated at right) look on. The Pittsburgh Pirates had just made Konnor Griffin the ninth pick of the 2024 Major League Draft. Credit: Photo courtesy of Reed Hogan

First things first: Jackson Prep baseball phenom Konnor Griffin, 18 years young, will become approximately $7 million richer when he signs a Major League contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates one day soon.

The Pirates made Griffin, the national high school player of the year, the ninth pick of Sunday night’s MLB Draft about 55 minutes into the proceedings. It might have seemed more like three hours to those in attendance at a draft watch party at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. As the first eight drafted players, all college players, were announced, the tension mounted among the scores of Griffin’s family, friends, teammates and classmates in attendance. Konnor Griffin, dressed in a dapper grey suit, clasped and unclasped his hands while seemingly staring a hole through the TV screen. Kevin Griffin, his father, kept a stoic face, but his legs twitched, belying his nerves. Dendy Hogan, Konnor’s girlfriend, silently prayed.

Then at 6:55 p.m. came the news: The Pirates had picked Konnor Griffin, and the crowd thundered its approval in a startling, prolonged explosion of noise. Immediately, Konnor and Kevin Griffin stood and embraced. Behind them, Griffin’s Jackson Prep teammates hooted, hollered and high-fived, several in tears.

“I saw my name, but I couldn’t hear a word,” Konnor said, minutes later. “We’re recording it at home. I’ll hear it later.”

Dendy Hogan, girlfriend of Jackson Prep baseball star Konnor Griffin, said a silent prayer just before Griffin was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Credit: Reed Hogan

In the several minutes between virtually every earlier pick, the Griffin family retreated to a more private room for phone calls with agent, Joey Devine of Excel Sports. Sources told this reporter the Griffins turned down an offer from a team that drafted several notches above the Pirates because that team wanted him to sign for far less money than the slot value. Behind-the-scenes negotiation is common before and during the draft.

In the end, everyone in the building was thrilled. Griffin, as predicted, was the first high school player picked. And he was picked by what appears to be an up-and-coming Pirates team that has improved its record dramatically in 2024. The Pirates boast several outstanding young players, including Paul Skenes, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, who has instantly become one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Despite Konnor Griffin’s enormous talent, his path likely will take longer than Skenes’ meteoric rise. Skenes, 22, pitched three years of college baseball, the third for national champion LSU. Griffin, recently turned 18, reclassified from the Class of 2025 to 2024, completing four years of high school in just three years in order to fast-track his baseball career. He will need at least a couple years — maybe more — of minor league seasoning to make it to The Show. He is expected to begin his pro career at Bradenton, Fla., playing for the Pirates’ Class A Bradenton Marauders in the Florida State League. Griffin had signed to play college baseball at LSU, but Baton Rouge seems a highly unlikely destination now.

The best Mississippi comparison to Griffin in recent years is probably Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley, picked by the Braves in the first round (41st pick) as an 18-year-old in 2015. For the next four years Riley, who had signed to play college ball at Mississippi State, worked his way through the Braves’ farm system, step by step, until his promotion to the Major League team in 2019. He has since become a two-time National League All-Star.

The good news: Konnor Griffin already knows the lengthy task ahead — and relishes it.

“I’m ready to work,” he said. “I’m ready to do what it takes. This is the starting line. I’ve got a journey to the Big Leagues ahead of me.”

Konnor Griffin was all smiles for local and national TV cameras after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Credit: Photo courtesy of Reed Hogan

Sunday’s MLB Draft was a reward for many years of hard work, and nobody knows that better than Kevin Griffin, the father who pitched hundreds of hours of batting practice and hit countless ground balls and fly balls for his middle son to field. “That’s what makes this so special,” Kevin Griffin. “I know how hard Konnor has worked.”

As Kevin Griffin talked to reporters, the TV above him flashed the news that former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery was the No. 12 draft pick of the Boston Red Sox and is expected to sign a contract for the slot value bonus of $5.5 million.

When a reporter pointed that out to Kevin Griffin, he responded, “That’s just awesome. What does that tell you about Mississippi baseball, and the quality of baseball in the Jackson metro area? Two of the first 12 picks are from right here. It’s a tired act when people around the nation downplay the quality of competition in Mississippi.”

It really is, and with the No. 15 pick, the Seattle Mariners chose Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje. Surprisingly, State’s slugging outfielder Dakota Jordan, projected as a top 30 draft prospect, fell out of the first two rounds. The draft continues today with rounds 3-10. Rounds 11-20 will take place Tuesday.

Over the course of these three days, many dreams will be realized, others dashed. Konnor Griffin lived the first part of his dream Sunday night. He seems more than ready to pursue the second part sooner rather than later.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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The garden of Christ

Lifestyle

c.h. spurgeon

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July 15, 2024

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I came to my garden, my sister, my bride. – Song of Songs 5:1

The heart of the believer is Christ’s garden. He bought it with His precious blood, and He enters it and claims it as His own. A garden implies separation. It is not the open field; it is not a wilderness; it is walled around or hedged in. If only we could see the wall of separation between the church and the world made broader and stronger. It is sad to hear Christians saying, “Well, there is no harm in this; there is no harm in that,” and by this approach getting as near to the world as possible. Grace is at a low ebb in the soul that is always inquiring about how far it may go in worldly conformity.

A garden is a place of beauty; it far surpasses the wild uncultivated lands. The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ’s garden ought to produce the best flowers in all the world. Even the best is poor compared with what Christ deserves; let us not disappoint Him with withering and feeble plants. The rarest, richest, choicest lilies and roses ought to bloom in the place that Jesus calls His own.

The garden is a place of growth. The believer must not remain undeveloped, just mere buds and blossoms. We should grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Growth should be rapid where Jesus is the gardener and the Holy Spirit the dew from heaven.

A garden is a place of retirement. So the Lord Jesus Christ would have us reserve our souls as a place in which He can show Himself, in a way that He does not to the world. As Christians we should be far keener to keep our hearts closely shut up for Christ! We often worry and trouble ourselves, like Martha, with much serving, and like her we do not have the room for Christ that Mary had, and we do not sit at His feet as we ought. May the Lord grant the sweet showers of His grace to water His garden today.

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Damascus Road: Drug court changing lives, saving taxpayers ‘boatload of money’

State News

Mississippi Today

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July 15, 2024

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Damascus Road: Drug court changing lives, saving taxpayers ‘boatload of money’

By his own analysis, Michael Fisher, 39, just a few years ago was a “dope-selling, drug-addicted failure … homeless with a needle in my arm” who’d spent about half his life in jail, on probation or on parole. He had never even gotten a driver’s license or graduated high school.

After being arrested again Fisher was given a huge break — the opportunity to avoid more jail by entering Intervention Court, or “drug court.” He took it, because “it beat going to prison that day,” but he knew he wasn’t going to complete the program. He did the orientation, took one drug test, then bolted, and ignored a corrections caseworker’s pleas to return to the fold.

He was caught and locked up again.

But the Intervention Court caseworker after a couple of weeks sent word that if he reached out, asked for help, she might help him.

Fisher said his choice was clear, a few months in prison or rehab and working the program. Prison would have been a “shorter ride” and he would be out on parole. But he began what he calls his “road to Damascus” and knew doing more time was a road to nowhere. “I’m begging her for help,” he said.

“I’ve been to prison several times — like 12 years of it,” Fisher said. “And every time I came out worse than when I went in. It’s a negative environment, and negativity begets negativity … I had to break the cycle. I needed rehab. I needed drug court.”

On a recent day in Columbia, Fisher was one of 48 people celebrating graduation of Mississippi’s 15th Circuit Court District’s Intervention Court, before a crowd of hundreds of family and friends. Many, such as Fisher, gave testimonial — sobriety, families reunited, GEDs and community college degrees, jobs and career training — new lives after three years of working the program.

“I was wild as wild can get,” Fisher said. “I’m not that guy anymore … The Lord’s direction, mixed with my own determination and drug court’s expectations led me. Now, I’m a hardworking family man with goals and accomplishments. I’ve got a license, a GED — I never thought I’d get that. I’ve got a job, a vehicle, a home that I own. I’m not renting nothing, I own that. It feels good.

“It feels good.”

Circuit Judge Prentiss Harrell of the 15th District is a leading proponent of Intervention Court in Mississippi. He runs one of the most robust programs in the state, with 250 to 300 people typically enrolled. He reminded the hundreds of people in the audience that day of another benefit.

“It saves a boatload of money,” Harrell said. “I think it’s one of the most successful things we’ve done in the criminal justice system.”

Mississippi, like many other states, in the early to mid 1990s took a tough-on-crime stance, with lawmakers passing tougher laws and longer mandatory sentences including for drug crimes. But within a few years, taxpayers were being hit hard by this, with Mississippi’s prisons overflowing, deficits mounting and the state’s incarceration rates perennially among the highest in the nation — higher per capita than China’s.

“We’re still No. 2 (in incarceration rates nationwide),” Harrell said. “We’re a poor state. We can’t afford it.”

Now-U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett started the state’s first felony drug court in 1999 while he was serving as a state Circuit Court judge for Lincoln, Pike and Wathall counties. He had learned of a similar program in Texas. He started the program with no funding or statutory framework. He helped lobby lawmakers to provide money and supporting laws.

Now, there are 40 drug courts statewide, all 23 state circuit districts have a drug court, and there are now also juvenile, family, veterans and misdemeanor drug courts. Around 4,000 people now are typically enrolled in what has been called a “problem-solving court” and nearly 11,000 have graduated since its inception.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Randolph said the state’s savings from drug intervention courts in incarceration costs from 2006 through April of this year are approaching $1 billion. And over that time, participants have paid over $19 million in fines to counties and more than $24 million in court fees.

Randolph said the courts have averaged a recidivism rate of 2.9% compared to the Mississippi Department of Corrections’ recidivism rate of 35.4%. From 2006 through 2018, an MDOC report said, there were only 133 repeat offenders of the state’s 4,439 adult felony drug court graduates.

The program is credited with the drug-free births of 951 babies — another potential savings of hundreds of millions, Randolph said, significant since a federal Bureau of Justice study found each drug-free infant saves taxpayers an average of $750,000 in the first 18 years of life.

“When I talk to the Rotary clubs and Kiwanis clubs, I tell them, look, this is the best deal in government,” Randolph said. “They pay fines and fees and money back to the counties. We’re putting money back on the table, what other part of government does that? … Recidivism is low. They get into a decent job. They have to keep a job or go to Parchman. They’re learning trades … Some people still think this is a hug-a-thug program — Judge Starrett had to deal with that early on — but this is working. And there are very few families out there that haven’t had to deal with some kind of drug issues.”

The Legislature is appropriating about $9 million a year for intervention court, a drop in the bucket compared to the $432 million it’s spending on the state corrections system this year.

A successful drug court program is a group effort — a community effort — Judge Harrell recently explained. The graduation he oversaw in May was the result of efforts from the judiciary and prosecutors being willing to consider alternative sentencing, MDOC providing intensive supervision, the local Pearl River Community College providing education and job training, local business leaders being willing to hire the enrollees and local churches providing spiritual and emotional support and other resources.

But the lynchpin, Harrell, Randolph and others say, is someone wanting to turn their life around and being willing to work the program.

“It’s not a silver bullet,” Harrell said. He told the graduation crowd that in a recent busy docket call in one of his counties, he had two former graduates back before him as offenders and “it broke my heart.”

But seeing people apply themselves, stick to it and succeed makes up for such failures, and Harrell noted, “On Wednesday, I had a woman come up and hug my neck and told me she’s got a job as a manager now, a degree from a major school and she said, ‘I’m still clean’ … Five years ago, she was living in a car.”

Judge Prentiss Harrell congratulates a graduate during the 15th Circuit Intervention Court graduation at Woodlawn church in Columbia, Miss., Friday, May 31, 2024. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

Intervention Court is only for nonviolent drug offenders, per agreement of judge and prosecutors and screened by MDOC caseworkers. The program includes stringent monitoring and drug testing, life skills training and lasts at least two-and-a-half years — most often three. Some participants get rolled back for minor infractions, kicked out and sent to jail for major ones.

Besides broad requirements such as being employed or enrolled in school, paying fines and fees, obtaining a GED if not a high school graduate, circuit districts can tailor the programs.

The 15th Circuit’s program includes four phases. The requirement list for each phase is lengthy and includes measures such as months of sobriety, obtaining a sponsor, completing a resume and obtaining a drivers license and library card. The program even requires participants to come up with five-year life plans, complete problem solving training and even do book reports and other writing assignments.

Participants aren’t taken at their word on employment or school — they have to provide W-2 tax forms and pay stubs and proof of registration and grades.

Some drug courts across the state are more robust and successful than others, said state Rep. Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown, a former law enforcement officer who attended the 15th Circuit graduation along with a handful of other lawmakers. Morgan said he believes the success of drug courts hinges — besides offenders wanting to change their lives — on devoted judges such as Harrell supporting the programs. Morgan said he’d like to see the program grow more statewide.

“You’ve got to have somebody pushing the wagon,” Morgan said. “It’s a good program — a second chance instead of paying through the nose to send a lot of people to prison that should at least have the opportunity of a second chance … You see the benefits — we see the difference it makes in Marion County — of people going through this program, working and becoming better citizens instead of sitting in prison. It’s not for everybody, but there are a lot of folks who benefit, and probably a lot more who could benefit.”

Some have observed that it shouldn’t take arrests, felony plea deals and threat of long jail stints to provide such help to addicts. Mississippi’s addiction treatment, mental health services and health care system overall are woefully inadequate.

But drug intervention courts are a drop of success in a sea of shortcomings where Mississippi’s criminal justice and health care systems intersect.

The 15th Circuit drug court graduation, held at Woodlawn Church in Columbia on May 31, was a true celebration — something of a cross between a regular school graduation and a church revival.

Nearly all the graduates who gave testimonial gave as much weight to their newfound faith — several said they had been baptized while in the program — as they did to the judge and caseworkers, whom they frequently referred to as family.

Harrell said he believes in separation of church and state, and that the program does not push any religious requirements on participants. He said the move toward religion and faith among many in the program tends to happen organically as people straighten out their lives. Harrell said churches in his district have helped the program tremendously throughout the years, but that he’s also dealt with church communities that said they wanted to help, but then really “didn’t want to get their hands dirty.”

He recounts meeting with people from one large church in his district who said they wanted to help. He explained he needed mentors, but warned that these were people with addictions and, “they’ll call when they’re hurting or in trouble. Some of them are tattooed up. Some of them smoke. They may not use good English, or haven’t learned manners. They may lie to you.

“By the time I got through, I had no takers,” Harrell said.

When talking about drug court, Harrell often repeats the “this isn’t a silver bullet” or magical program refrain. He stresses that drug addiction is hard for anyone to beat.

“I liked Nancy Reagan,” Harrell said. “She was a sharp woman. But saying, ‘Just say no’ to a drug addict rings kind of hollow … It’s difficult for me to just get off Bluebell ice cream. Drug addiction is hard to break.”

The 2024 graduates had a lot to celebrate at the ceremony in Columbia: Eight children of graduates were born drug-free. Seven participants earned their GED. Six graduated with degrees from Pearl River Community College, and 30 received certification in trade/technical programs. They collectively performed over 150 hours of community service and paid $102,000 in court fines.

There were a couple of surprises: One graduate proposed marriage to his girlfriend. She accepted. Each graduate received an envelope along with their diploma. It was a gift of $500 each from the ceremony’s keynote speaker, billionaire businessman Thomas Duff, a big supporter of drug court whose companies in the area hire many people in the program.

Harrell said, “He asked if he could provide a modest gift. I’ll never be able to get a speaker next year.”

Interviewed weeks after the ceremony, Harrell said that so far, none of the graduates had wound up back before him in court.

Fisher in his graduation testimonial marveled at the good fortune his hard work — and the help of others — brought him and vowed not to return to his old path after he found his road to Damascus.

“Today I’m graduating, and I’ll be free for the first time since 2003,” Fisher said. “For the last 20 years I’ve either been in prison, on probation or on parole. And now I’m at the end of that road. But the end of this road is the beginning of another one. For me, it’ll be a better one.”

Graduates express excitement after receiving a gift from Thomas Duff during the 15th Circuit Intervention Court graduation at Woodlawn church in Columbia, Miss., Friday, May 31, 2024. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Former fire chief who died at Trump rally used his body to shield family from gunfire

State News

ron todt mark scolforo and kimberlee kruesi

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July 14, 2024

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Former fire chief who died at Trump rally used his body to shield family from gunfire

BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — The former fire chief who was killed at a Pennsylvania rally for Donald Trump spent his final moments diving down in front of his family, protecting them from the gunfire that rang out Saturday during an assassination attempt against the former president.

Corey Comperatore’s quick decision to use his body as a shield against the bullets flying toward his wife and daughter rang true to the close friends and neighbors who loved and respected the proud 50-year-old Trump supporter, noting that the Butler County resident was a “man of conviction.”

“He’s a literal hero. He shoved his family out of the way, and he got killed for them,” said Mike Morehouse, who lived next to Comperatore for the last eight years. “He’s a hero that I was happy to have as a neighbor.”

Comperatore died Saturday during an attempt to kill Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. At least two other people were injured: David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, according to the Pennsylvania State Police. Both were listed in stable condition as of Sunday.

As support for Comperatore’s family began to pour in from across the country, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden also extended their “deepest condolences.”

“He was a father. He was protecting his family from the bullets that were being fired and he lost his life, God love him,” said Biden, who added he was praying for the full recovery of the wounded.

Separately, Texas U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson said in a statement Sunday that his nephew was injured but “thankfully his injury was not serious.”

“My family was sitting in the front, near where the President was speaking,” Jackson said. “They heard shots ringing out — my nephew then realized he had blood on his neck and something had grazed and cut his neck. He was treated by the providers in the medical tent.”

The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue.

The former president was showing

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Rep. Bennie Thompson fires staffer after controversial posts over Trump attack

State News

caleb salers

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July 14, 2024

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Rep. Bennie Thompson fires staffer after controversial posts over Trump attack

Congressman Bennie Thompson has fired a staffer for controversial statements posted on social media following the assassination attempt on former U.S. president and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on Saturday.

Thompson, the Democratic U.S. Representative of Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district, has confirmed that Jacqueline Marsaw, a case manager and field director for the congressman, has been terminated from her position after taking to Facebook to share questionable rhetoric in the aftermath of the former president being shot at a Butler, Pa. rally.

On Saturday, the Mississippi GOP called for Marsaw’s firing, highlighting a now-deleted post from her Facebook that read, “I don’t condone violence but please get you some shooting lessons so you don’t miss next time ooops that wasn’t me talking.” Marsaw had also posted other controversial messages on the social media platform that have since been taken down.

While Thompson did not condemn or disavow the rhetoric espoused by Marsaw, he said, “I was made aware of a post made by a staff member and she is no longer in my employment.”

Thompson, who denounced the apparent assassination attempt on Trump, also faced scrutiny from the public on Saturday for legislation he introduced in April to strip the former president of Secret Service protection ahead of Trump being found guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor.

Trump and Thompson had been political foes long before the congressman’s legislation seeking to deny the former president Secret Service detail. Thompson was tabbed as the chairman of the House committee tasked with investigating Trump’s alleged role during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and maintained a stance that the former president was responsible for the events that occurred in Washington D.C. that day.

Officials have identified the shooter who attempted to take Trump’s life as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pa. Crooks was spotted on video atop a structure, believed to be a shed, roughly 300 feet from the rally, and was allegedly armed with an AR-style rifle. He was shot and killed by

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Bennie Thompson staffer fired after social media posts lamenting shooter’s aim in Trump assassination attempt

State News

Russ Latino, Empower MS

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July 14, 2024

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Bennie Thompson staffer fired after social media posts lamenting shooter’s aim in Trump assassination attempt

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS 2)

Moments after an attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump, a staff member in Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson’s office took to Facebook in a series of posts that expressed disappointment in the gunman’s aim, suggested Trump had gotten what he deserved, and raised questions about whether the shooting was “staged.”

Congressman Bennie Thompson told Fox News today, “I was made aware of a post made by a staff member and she is no longer in my employment.”

Magnolia Tribune was the first media outlet to capture and publish screenshots of the posts made by Jacqueline Marsaw, who listed her position with Congressman Thompson’s office as that of a case manager/field director. Shortly after Magnolia Tribune staff posted the screenshots, the post went viral, attracting nearly 4 million views.

Marsaw deleted the original posts and eventually her Facebook account.

A field director for Congressman @BennieGThompson (who headed the Jan. 6th Commission & recently proposed legislation to remove Trump’s Secret Service detail), wishing Trump’s assassin had better aim on social media. pic.twitter.com/vQTptynYBK

— Russ Latino (@RussLatino) July 14, 2024

Congressman Thompson has been one of former President Trump’s most outspoken critics, chairing the January 6th Committee that investigated Trump’s role in the Capitol riots and recommending criminal prosecution of the former President. In April, Thompson proposed the DISGRACED Act aimed at removing Trump’s Secret Service detail if he was sentenced to prison.

Thompson publicly stood in unity with politicians from across the aisle in condemning the assassination attempt on former President Trump:

Jacqueline Marsaw was not able to muster the same level of magnanimity as her boss.

In addition to the post suggesting that future assassination attempts should involve shooting lessons “so you don’t miss next time,” Marsaw included justification for the attempted assassination:

And a post suggesting the shooting was “staged”:

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Bennie Thompson staffer fired after social media posts lamenting shooter’s aim in Trump assassination attempt

State News

Russ Latino, Empower MS

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July 14, 2024

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This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune.

Congressman Bennie Thompson (D-MS 2)

Moments after an attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump, a staff member in Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson’s office took to Facebook in a series of posts that expressed disappointment in the gunman’s aim, suggested Trump had gotten what he deserved, and raised questions about whether the shooting was “staged.”

Congressman Bennie Thompson told Fox News today, “I was made aware of a post made by a staff member and she is no longer in my employment.”

Magnolia Tribune was the first media outlet to capture and publish screenshots of the posts made by Jacqueline Marsaw, who listed her position with Congressman Thompson’s office as that of a case manager/field director. Shortly after Magnolia Tribune staff posted the screenshots, the post went viral, attracting nearly 4 million views.

Marsaw deleted the original posts and eventually her Facebook account.

A field director for Congressman @BennieGThompson (who headed the Jan. 6th Commission & recently proposed legislation to remove Trump’s Secret Service detail), wishing Trump’s assassin had better aim on social media. pic.twitter.com/vQTptynYBK

— Russ Latino (@RussLatino) July 14, 2024

Congressman Thompson has been one of former President Trump’s most outspoken critics, chairing the January 6th Committee that investigated Trump’s role in the Capitol riots and recommending criminal prosecution of the former President. In April, Thompson proposed the DISGRACED Act aimed at removing Trump’s Secret Service detail if he was sentenced to prison.

Thompson publicly stood in unity with politicians from across the aisle in condemning the assassination attempt on former President Trump:

Jacqueline Marsaw was not able to muster the same level of magnanimity as her boss.

In addition to the post suggesting that future assassination attempts should involve shooting lessons “so you don’t miss next time,” Marsaw included justification for the attempted assassination:

And a post suggesting the shooting was “staged”:

This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Read original article by clicking here.

Main Street Pascagoula Director shares secrets of the model Designated Community

State News

lynne jeter

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July 14, 2024

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Main Street Pascagoula became an MMSA community in 2000, when Rebecca Davis was the director. Northrop took over the role last year when Davis retired.

Main Street Pascagoula has zero vacant buildings available in its Flagship District.

That staggering statistic represents a significant achievement for the one-person office that serves as a model Designated Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) community.

“We were in the process of working through some USDA (Rural Community Development Initiative) grants to bring in a consultant to develop a streamlined approach for a key property redevelopment game plan, and Pascagoula was approved,” said MMSA executive director Jim Miller. “Pascagoula called and said, ‘we don’t have one empty property in our downtown; give it to somebody else.’ I thought that was awesome, that Main Street Pascagoula had done a fantastic job of revitalizing their community.”

Main Street Pascagoula director Susannah Northrop explained: “We were sad because we were looking forward to that opportunity, but you apply for those grants a year in advance. At the time, we had properties that hadn’t been purchased or hadn’t begun any development, but now, every previously vacant building downtown has been purchased and is undergoing construction/renovations.”

Miller said Main Street Pascagoula has done “some very creative work” with the Pascagoula Redevelopment Authority concerning incentives to developers interested in redeveloping real estate, such as historic tax credits added in 2021.

Pascagoula, known for its antebellum architecture and rich 300-year history, has a population of 22,392. In 2023, its Main Street program attracted $12.5 million in private and public investment ($8.8 million private; $3.7 million public), launched eight (seven new and one expanded) businesses, created 22 new jobs, and logged 1,351 volunteer hours. Thirty-two downtown residential units were created, and two rehabilitation projects were completed.

Main Street Pascagoula became an MMSA community in 2000, when Rebecca Davis was the director. Northrop took over the role last year when Davis retired.

Already, Northrop has added an award-winning event, the New Year’s Eve Anchor Drop, to the busy lineup of eight annual festivals and events.

“We start out every year with our Krewe of Little Rascals Parade in February, and our St. Patty’s Party, a parade downtown and a bar crawl with live music,” said Northrop.

The Free Flowin’ Fest at Beach Park in May celebrates the Pascagoula “Singing” River, the largest free-flowing river in the U.S. (It stretches 80 miles and drains a watershed the size of Vermont.)

“We had our first Flagship Summer Market on June 15, (with) live music and arts and craft vendors, which encouraged downtown shopping and dining,” said Northrop. “Yesterday, we hosted a new event, Sip & Shop, where tickets were purchased through our website, and participating businesses offered 20 percent off storewide, plus there was a different wine sample at participating businesses with a collectible Flagship District wine glass. It also coincided with tax-free weekend in Mississippi (July 12-14).”

Festival Hispano, a fast-growing event held in September during Hispanic Heritage Month, drew nearly 5,000 people of all ethnicities last year.

The Goula Cruise, a 3-day event held at Beach Park during Cruisin’ the Coast in October, requires the highest number of volunteers. “The Goula Cruise is a hidden gem of Cruisin’ the Coast,” said Northrop. “Cruisers enjoy taking a break from the hot pavement and feeling the breeze under our beautiful live oak trees at Beach Park. There’s no other location like it on the coast.”

This year, during the Downtown for the Holidays celebration in December, which includes a Christmas parade and photos with Santa – and the Grinch!–, Main Street Pascagoula will host a Snow Village. “We thought it would be fun to bring a winter wonderland to our traditionally hot climate,” Northrop said.

On New Year’s Eve 2023, Main Street Pascagoula hosted the first Anchor Drop that drew nearly 7,500 attendees and won a 2024 MMSA award for Outstanding New Large Event. The anchor, locally crafted and featuring thousands of twinkling lights, dropped nearly 100 feet from City Centre at midnight.

“We had a light show, a local opening band and a headliner, and it was a really great event,” said Northrop. “We had a much larger crowd than we could have ever anticipated, which was great for our local businesses. We’re anticipating an even better turnout this year.”

Other Main Street Pascagoula entities winning MMSA awards in 2024: The Blind Butcher Shoppe for Outstanding New Business and Richard Chenoweth for Main Street Revitalization Champion.

“The Blind Butcher Shoppe isn’t just an average meat market,” read the MMSA awards script, of the business Justin and Brianne Mixon opened late last year in a redeveloped building. “It’s seen as a symbol of success and community revitalization.”

Chenoweth established Scranton’s Restaurant in 1982 in an historic 1920s building that once housed Pascagoula’s firehouse and city hall. Three years ago, Scranton’s became the city’s first building to add apartments above the restaurant. He also owns The Grand Magnolia Ballroom & Suites, a bed and breakfast and event venue, located in a home built in 1894.

“We love Mr. Richard,” said Northrop. “He invested in Pascagoula when many people didn’t see the potential.”

When she moved to Pascagoula four years ago, Northrop tried to rent an apartment above a downtown law firm. “It was the only option (downtown), and there were maybe 10 people on a waiting list in front of me. Now we have nearly 80 residential units in the Flagship District, and they’re all so nice,” she said.

The two-story Hotel Whiskey is the newest completed project downtown, with Uncle Joe’s Pizza and Wings located on the ground floor. Construction is anticipated to begin on the second phase within the next year or two, which will house retail on the ground floor. The hotel also features long-term rentals.

The Main Street community experienced a major blow in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina barreled through the coast on Aug. 29.

“The Mississippi Main Street Association brought in a grant team that came up with the concept of Anchor Square,” said Northrop. “FEMA cottages the city purchased were arranged in a square on a piece of property the city owned, and they served as hubs for startup businesses. Most of those businesses have expanded. Zeal Boutique now has four locations and a wonderful online presence.”

Northrop pointed out that Main Street Pascagoula “is fortunate to have a great group of industry leaders, organizations, and city officials who have been collectively working together to make this progress happen.”

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Mississippi Legends: Oprah Winfrey

Lifestyle

susan marquez

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July 14, 2024

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Born into poverty in Kosciusko, Oprah Winfrey managed to climb from her rural Mississippi roots to scale unimaginable heights.

Few people in the world are well-known by their first name. Madonna. Cher. Elvis. Beyonce.

And then there’s Oprah.

Born into poverty in Kosciusko, Oprah Winfrey managed to climb from her rural Mississippi roots to scale unimaginable heights throughout her remarkable career in broadcasting and beyond.

The media mogul now has an estimated net worth of $3 billion, according to a recent article in Forbes magazine. Her charismatic personality combined with her astute acumen in business reflects a personal wealth across various platforms. She is truly one of the richest personalities in today’s entertainment industry.

Her life may have started out on a rocky road, but Oprah managed to navigate obstacles in a way that benefitted her career.

Early Years

Winfrey was born on Janaury 29, 1954. Her mother, Vernita Lee, was 18 and unmarried. When Vernita moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to find work, she left young Oprah with her mother, Hattie Mae Lee, on a farm outside Kosciusko. Hattie Mae encouraged Oprah’s love of books, teaching the young girl to read by the time she was three. By the age of five, Oprah was reading the Bible and speaking at her grandmother’s church.

When Oprah was six years old, her grandmother became ill, so Oprah was sent to live with her mother and half-sister, Patricia, in a boarding house in the inner city in Milwaukee. Vernita cleaned houses and often relied on welfare to feed her girls.

After living for a year in Milwaukee, Oprah’s life was uprooted once again, and she was sent to live with her father, Vernon Winfrey, and his wife, Zelma in Nashville. The couple couldn’t have children of their own, so they were happy to have the precocious seven-year-old in their home. It was there that Oprah was able to experience having her own bedroom, and her parents continued the work started by Oprah’s grandmother, taking the young girl to the library and encouraging her education.

Vernon took Oprah back to Milwaukee to spend the summer her mother and her new son, Jeffery, after she finished the third grade. In the fall, Oprah wanted to stay with her mother and begin fourth grade in Milwaukee. She often babysat her step-brother, and spent time in front of the television, dreaming of becoming famous.

At the age of 14, Oprah moved back to Nashville after becoming pregnant due to rape by her cousin. She tried to hide her pregnancy from her father, but she went into labor in her seventh month. The baby, a boy, died two weeks later.

Her life got back on track when she was 16, something Oprah credits author Maya Angelou. She read Angelou’s book, When the Caged Bird Sings, over and over, saying later it validated her life.

Oprah concentrated on her studies and began working on public speaking seriously. She learned that talent could take her places, beginning when she won first prize a speaking competition at the local Elk’s Club in 1970. That opened doors she could never have imagined – she won a four year college scholarship.

The next few years helped determine the course of Oprah’s future. She went to Colorado as one of two representatives from Tennessee for the 1971 White House Conference on Youth. When she returned to Nashville, she was interviewed on WVOL radio about her experience. She was so enthusiastic that the station management asked her to represent the station in the Miss Fire Prevention Pageant, which she won.

Her first journalism experience came at the same radio station , where she was offered a part-time position reading the news. She was just 17 years old.

Oprah went on to study communication at Tennessee State University, and at age 18, she was crowned Miss Black Tennessee.

Television Career

Oprah began her television career in 1976 at Baltimore’s WJZ-TV as a news co-anchor. She held other on-air positions at the station for a few years before moving to Chicago in 1984 to host AM Chicago, a low-rated half-hour morning talk show. Within a few months the show was outperforming Phil Donahue’s popular show. Roger Ebert, who was the movie critic on the syndicated show At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, convinced Oprah to syndicate her talk show. The rest is history.

Oprah signed a syndication deal with King World Entertainment, one of the oldest and largest television syndication companies in the country.

The Oprah Winfrey Show became a hit in each market where it was broadcast. As a host, Oprah was dynamic and personable. As an interviewer she was curious and empathetic. As much a therapy session as an interview, Oprah had the ability to gain a guest’s trust, and in turn, the guests often revealed things they would never tell anyone else, much less in front of television cameras. Oprah also had the uncanny ability to make even the strongest personalities break down in tears, and that always makes for good TV.

The show ranged from tabloid topics to headier subjects including health issues, politics, and religion. She made regular guests like Dr. Oz, Rachel Ray, and Dr. Phil household names, with spin-off shows of their own.

Oprah stepped out of her role as host and into the role of actor in 1989 on television’s short-lived series The Women of Brewster Place. She launched her television network, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network in January 2011, and wrapped the series finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 25 the same year.

Film Career

Oprah was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of distraught housewife Sophia in The Color Purple (1985), directed by Steven Spielberg. She produced and starred in Beloved (1998), based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni Morrison.

Her production company, Harpo Productions (Harpo is Oprah spelled backwards), released a film adaptation of a 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005).

Oprah starred in The Butler in 2013, and voiced Gussie the goose in Charlotte’s Web (2006). She also did the voice of Judge Bumbleton in Bee Movie (2007) and Eudora in The Princess and the Frog (2010).

She was on camera again in the role of Mrs. Which in A Wrinkle in Time (2018), the film adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle’s novel by the same name.

Writing and Publishing

In the early 2000s Oprah launch O Magazine, which ceased publication in December 2020. For a few years she also published O at Home.

Oprah has written and co-authored several books, including the popular weight-loss book co-authored with her personal trainer, Bob Greene. Oprah’s Book Club selections are read by millions of readers around the world.

Her website, Oprah.com, is similar to her magazine, but on steroids. The site offers access to OWN programming, along with podcasts and newsletters. The Oprah’s Book Club selections are listed, and there are articles on topics including inspiration, food, home, and fashion.

Personal Life

At 70 years old, Oprah shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, she is busier than ever.

She has been with her partner, Steadman Graham, since 1986. The couple got engaged in 1992, but decided not to marry, saying their relationship is very non-traditional.

Philanthropy is important to Oprah, who abides by the “to whom much is given much is expected” philosophy. Places in Mississippi have benefitted from some of her philanthropy. I met her in early 1999 at a small reception in the home of Dr. Charles Beady, president of Piney Woods School in Rankin County. Oprah was a benefactor of that school for a few years before she opened a school for girls in Africa. She was in the state for a “homecoming” celebration in Kosciusko, and she wanted to visit Piney Woods to see where her money was going.

Over the years, her “Oprah’s Favorite Things” lists have made a huge difference for many of the companies featured, including Musee Bath Bombs, made in Canton, Mississippi, which made the list three years in a row. And from time to time, her television show audiences were gifted with products they never imagined. (Who can forget, “YOU get a car! And YOU get a car!”)

Oprah has an extensive real estate portfolio, estimated to be around $127 million. Her most recent purchase was 870 acres of land in Maui last year for a reported $6.6 million. Not bad from a kid born in rural Attala County, Mississippi.

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