Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion to start your day informed.
In Mississippi
1. Gas Prices Hold Steady for Mississippi Drivers
At an average of $2.96 per gallon, Mississippi drivers can purchase the least expensive gasoline in the country, edging out neighbors in Louisiana by 7 cents/gallon and neighbors in Arkansas by 10 cents/gallon. The highest price fuel in the country can be found in California, where residents pay $4.79/gallon.
Overall, prices for Mississippians have held steady in the last year, down a single penny year-over-year. Prices have fallen fairly dramatically, though, since reaching an all-time high of $4.53 in June of 2022.
2. Blessing of the Fleet
On Sunday, shrimpers in Biloxi participated in the annual Blessing of the Fleet. The tradition is in its 95th year at the start of shrimping season along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. St. Michael Catholic Church hosts the ceremony annually with a week of festivities that culminate with the naming of a Shrimp King and Queen. This year’s Shrimp King is Van Pham, a shrimper with more than 40 years experience. The Shrimp Queen for 2024 is Baylie Gollott-Ho.
A wreath was dropped to honor those who have died while fishing and Monsignor Dominick Fullam sprinkled the boats with holy water.
National News & Foreign Policy
1. Hurricane Beryl hits Texas, more than 750,000 without power
After carving a path of destruction through the Caribbean and Mexico, Hurricane Beryl reformed in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on the Texas coast southwest of Houston as a Category 1 hurricane around 4 a.m. Monday morning. Top sustained wind speeds were reported at 80 mph. CenterPoint Energy said the storm left 750,000 customers without power before daybreak. Officials have warned that the storm could cause flooding throughout the region.
2. France’s Snap Elections Yield More Chaos than Certainty
French President Emmanuel Macron had called for parliamentary “snap election” to provide France with a “moment of clarification.” But on Sunday, French voters failed to elect a majority government, splitting French Parliament between the left, center and right, and yielding more chaos in the European Union’s second-largest economy.
Many had expected Marie Le Pen’s National Rally party, often described as being “far right” or “nationalist,” to prevail in the election. While National Rally gained a considerable number of seats — 140 up from 89 in 2022 — it finished third overall and well short the 289 seats needed to claim a majority in French Parliament. The New Popular Front, a coalition of leftist organizations, finished first with 180 seats, ahead of Macron’s more centrist coalition, which finished with 160 seats.
Sports & Entertainment
1. Ocean Springs native named to MLB All-Star Team
Ocean Springs native Garrett Crochet has been named to the All-Star Game. The Chicago White Sox pitcher is 6-6 on the season, but that record does not tell the full story. Crochet leads the majors in strikeouts (146) and has maintained a 3.08 ERA in 19 starts.
Crochet is one of 32 first-time All-Stars named to this year’s game. The full All-Star roster can be seen here.
The 2024 MLB All-Star Game will be held on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Markets & Business
1. Market’s Record Setting Run Could Continue
The Dow Jones closed at 39,375 on Friday. The Nasdaq closed over 18,353. The S&P 500, the broadest of the indices closed over 5,567. All have been on record runs that stock market analysts do not anticipate stalling any time soon.
Analysts at Oppenheimer have raised their S&P 500 target for year end to 5,900, a roughly 6 percent gain from current levels. Analysts at RBC Capital Markets have raised their index target to 5,700. Markets have been driven to a degree by innovations around AI in recent months, as chip producer NVIDIA and others at the forefront of the technology have soared.
2. Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud tied to 737 Max crashes
Boeing will plead guilty to criminal fraud charges related to the manufacturing of the 737 Max, a plane involved in multiple fatal crashes. The deal is likely to include fines of up to $487.2 million. The Justice Department has asked the court reduce the fine by $243.6 million, the amount Boeing paid under a previous settlement agreement.
The felon label could impact Boeing’s ability to sell to the U.S. government under current law. According to CNBC, roughly 32 percent of Boeing’s $78 billion in revenue last year came from its defense, space and security unit that sells to the government.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Robert St. John takes us on a restaurant tour of his favorite places to eat in the Big Easy.
In a poll of national food critics I believe New Orleans would be listed among the top three food cities in America. To my taste— and I’ve eaten extensively in most of America’s top restaurant cities— New Orleans is number one. Period. No question. End of discussion.
I consider myself fortunate to have grown up 90 minutes away from this culinary mecca. As a restaurateur and part-time New Orleanian I’m blessed to have spent over six decades eating my way through the city, typically logging in more than 100 New Orleans restaurant meals annually.
For the past couple of decades, I’ve kept a journal of my restaurant visits in New Orleans. I also keep a to-do list of new restaurants I have yet to visit, and a separate list of restaurants I plan to re-visit. I typically field hundreds of requests for restaurant recommendations in New Orleans each year. There are a few dozen restaurants that aren’t on any to-do or re-visit list because they are places that I frequent on a regular basis. The following is that list.
MY FAVORITE BREAKFAST SPOT
LA BOULANGERIE
4600 Magazine St #1518, New Orleans, LA 70115 | laboulangerienola.com Almost every morning I’m in town, I drive from the Marigny to Uptown Magazine just west of Napoleon, because the croissants made at Donald Link’s bakery are worth the drive.
Other Breakfast Joints I Frequent:
Toast 1845 Gentilly Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70119 | toastneworleans.com There is a French Quarter location, but I like the one near the fairgrounds. I also like Willa Jean 611 O’Keefe Ave.
MY FAVORITE BRUNCH SPOT
PALADAR 511
511 Marigny St, New Orleans, LA 70117 | paladar511.com This is the place I eat brunch most often, and not just because it’s in our building. The huevos rancheros and the lemon-ricotta blueberry pancakes are stellar. I can never choose between the two, so I always order both. The Eggs Benedict is unique and loaded with corn and crabmeat. They offer a great dinner menu as well.
Other Brunches I Frequent:
Brennan’s 417 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | brennansneworleans.com Of the four old-line French Quarter institutions— Galitoire’s, Arnaud’s Antoine’s, and Brennan’s— I eat at the latter most often, and almost always for brunch. Ralph Brennan did the city a huge favor when he took over the reins several years back.
Commander’s Palace 1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130 | commanderspalace.com The old blue lady in the Garden District never disappoints and has been the launching pad for some of the nation’s most legendary chefs. Meg Bickford is currently under the toque and carrying that flame.
Gris Gris 1800 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | grisgrisnola.com Eric Cook is a hard-working, dedicated chef who has excellent touch when it comes to food and a keen eye in knowing what his guests want. The brunch is great, but so are lunch and dinner. It’s a great Monday spot, too. Cook also owns Saint John in the French Quarter, definitely worth a visit.
MY FAVORITE LUNCH
MERIL
424 Girod St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | bemeril.com I am a frequent lunch guest here, love the food and the interior murals are spectacular. The Lagasse’s know how to prepare fish, it’s in their blood.
This restaurant and this chef have been at the top of my list for more than three decades. Frank Brigtsen is the heir apparent to his longtime mentor, Paul Prudhomme. The Butternut Shrimp Bisque is one of the best soups I have ever tasted (second only to Paul Bocuse’s mushroom soup in Lyon). The seafood platter makes use of Warren LeRuth’s baked oyster recipe. I could seriously make a meal of the crawfish cornbread, and mashed potatoes, and often do. This is real New Orleans. Long live Frank Brigtsen.
Other dinner spots I frequent:
La Petit Grocery 4238 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115 | lapetitegrocery.com The birthplace of the Blue Crab Beignet. Chef Justin Devillier is certainly one of the city’s best.
Lilette 3637 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115 | liletterestaurant.com Also a perfect spot for lunch.
MY FAVORITE PLACE FOR FINE DINING
EMERIL’S
800 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, LA 70130 | emerilsrestaurant.com the newly re-envisioned Emeril’s is not only the best fine dining restaurant in the city. I believe it’s the best fine dining restaurant in the entire South. Twenty-one-year-old E.J. Lagasse is one of the most impressive chefs— of any age— I have known in my 43 years in this business. I wrote an entire column on my most recent experience. You can read that here.
OTHER FINE DINING I FREQUENT: August 301 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | restaurantaugust.com I love the room, the service is always impeccable, and it keeps getting better. The meal I enjoyed there a few weeks ago was the best— of many— I’ve ever eaten in that establishment.
Saint Germain 3054 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117 | saintgermainnola.com It’s not about the atmosphere, it’s about the food. The chefs at Saint Germaine have excellent “touch.” It’s a tough reservation to get. Partially because there are only 12 seats inside, but also because it is so good.
MY FAVORITE STEAKHOUSE
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DORIS METROPOLITAN
620 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | dorismetropolitan.com Their aged prime beef is excellent. Never misses.
OTHER STEAKHOUSES I FREQUENT: Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse 716 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | dickiebrennanssteakhouse.com Great steaks with Brennan family service. No matter which branch of the family one eats with, the service is stellar. It’s in their genes.
MY FAVORITE PO-BOY SHOP
DOMILISE’S
5240 Annunciation St, New Orleans, LA 70115 | domilisespoboys.com My go-to for po-boys for over 30 years.
OTHER PO-BOY SHOPS I FREQUENT: Parkway Bakery and Tavern 538 Hagan Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119 | parkwaypoorboys.com There’s always a line so schedule accordingly.
R&O Restaurant and Catering 216 Metairie-Hammond Hwy, Metairie, LA 70005 A great roast beef po-boy, and excellent fried seafood.
If there’s no line out of the door (rare) at the Acme in the Quarter dash in, be seated, order the best roast beef po-boy in town, and a dozen on the half shell with the hottest horseradish known to man. Excellent. I wrote it off as a tourist trap years ago, but it’s still legit.
MY FAVORITE SANDWICH
THE SAM AT STEIN’S DELI
2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | steinsdeli.com In years past I have driven from Hattiesburg, ordered this sandwich, eaten it, and driven home.
Other awesome and original sandwiches: Turkey & the Wolf 739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130 | turkeyandthewolf.com Mason Herford— my favorite Instagram follow— turned the sandwich world upside down in the most beautiful and hilarious way. The Collard Green Melt and Fried Bologna Sandwiches are, on one hand, everyman’s food, and on the other hand, brilliantly inspired.
The Deli Deluxe at Martin’s Wine Cellar is a close cousin to the Sam at Stein’s and has been a mainstay for decades.
MY FAVORITE APPETIZER
OYSTER BLT, GRIS GRIS
1800 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | grisgrisnola.com Perfection on a plate. Smoked pork belly, tomato jam, crispy fried oysters, and sugarcane vinegar with a touch of heat.
Other Favorite Appetizers: Shrimp and Tasso with Five-Pepper Jelly, Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130 | commanderspalace.com The first time I ate it I immediately ordered another before my entrée arrived.
MY FAVORITE ITALIAN
DOMENICA
123 Baronne St, New Orleans, LA 70112 | domenicarestaurant.com I spend 12 weeks a year working in Italy. Most of that time is spent in Tuscany. Chef Valeriano Chiella is from that region, and we are lucky that he has hung his chef’s hat over here for the past decade.
Other Italian restaurants I frequent: Gianna 700 Magazine St #101, New Orleans, LA 70130 | giannarestaurant.com
The Italian Barrel 1240 Decatur St, New Orleans, LA 70116 | theitalianbarrel.com
MY FAVORITE MEXICAN CUISINE
EL GATO NEGRO
French Quarter, Lakeview, and Gretna | elgatonegronola.com Get the wet-aged skirt steak any way they prepare it.
4600 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115 | thecompanyburger.com Everything I want in a burger joint.
(Note: Those who wait in line at Port of Call can get the same burger at Snug Harbor a few blocks away, without the wait)
MY FAVORITE THAI RESTAURANT
SUKHO THAI
2200 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70117 | sukhothai-nola.com My family eats a fair amount of Thai food. This place is always spot on.
MY FAVORITE CHINESE
MISS SHIRLEY’S
3009 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115 | missshirleyschineserestaurant.com I hate when I ask a server, “What’s good?” and the reply is, “It’s all good.” So, it pains me to say, with this recommendation, and in reference to their menu, it’s all good. It’s true.
MY FAVORITE OYSTER BAR
PASCAL’S MANALE
1838 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115 | pascalsmanale.com It’s an old-school stand-up oyster bar. The oysters are always cold and salty. My son and I go there for the raw oysters and always eat dinner somewhere else. He would probably tell you that Casamento’s is his favorite.
I also like eating oysters at Cooter Brown’s at the Riverbend (oysters always taste better in a dive bar).
MY FAVORITE ATMOSPHERE
SEAWORTHY
630 Carondelet St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | seaworthynola.com The designers did such a great job on all aspects of this interior. Nothing formal. I love it. Killer oyster selection, too.
MY OFF-THE-BEATEN-PATH FAVORITE
ROSEDALE
801 Rosedale Drive New Orleans, LA 70124 | rosedalerestaurant.com You have to be going there to get there, but this Susan Spicer restaurant almost feels as if it were 100% tailor made for me— very casual, comfortable, with great service and excellent food. The barbeque shrimp served there should be the gold standard for all others. The fried chicken thighs ARE perfect.
MY FAVORITE TACOS
GALAXIE TACOS
3060 St Claude Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117 | galaxietacos.com The barbacoa tacos here are spot on. The converted gas station vibe is perfect, and there’s almost always a place to park on the neutral ground of St. Claude.
OTHER TACO JOINTS: Val’s 4632 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115 | valsnola.com there must be something about tacos served in a converted gas station that appeals to me.
MY FAVORITE GUMBO
GRIS GRIS
1800 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | grisgrisnola.com Eric Cook is quickly becoming one of my top-five favorite chefs in the city. His gumbo is so good it’s where I take out-of-town guests who have never eaten that particular dish before.
OTHER GUMBOS I LIKE: Herbsaint 701 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130 | herbsaint.com
Station 6 105 Metairie-Hammond Hwy, Metairie, LA 70005 | station6nola.com
MY FAVORITE SOUP
SHRIMP AND SQUASH BISQUE: BRIGTSEN’S
723 Dante St, New Orleans, LA 70118 | brigtsens.com So good it’s worth mentioning twice in this list. I get a pint and take it home.
MY OFTEN-RECOMMENDED NOT-IN-ANOTHER-CATEGORY FAVORITES (THE LINK TRIFECTA)
All are solid and never disappoint.
Herbsaint 701 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130 | herbsaint.com
THE RESTAURANTS I TAKE MY VISITING EUROPEAN FRIENDS WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN TO NEW ORLEANS
BRENNAN’S
417 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130 | brennansneworleans.com To me this is the quintessential New Orleans dining experience. Galitoire’s, Arnaud’s Antoine’s certainly all represent the city well, but Ralph Brennan is one of the country’s great restaurateurs. Best to leave my guest’s restaurant fate in his hands.
OTHER RANDOM FAVORITES
Mandina’s 3800 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70119 | mandinasrestaurant.com the best red gravy in town. Also, the best spot for Monday lunch—Red Beans and Rice.
N7 1117 Montegut St, New Orleans, LA 70117 | n7nola.com cool outdoor area. Solid French-inspired cuisine.
Mosca’s 4137 US-90 West, Westwego, LA 70094 | moscasrestaurant.com No need to make decisions, get the Spaghetti Bordelaise and the Oysters Mosca and eat them together.
Central City BBQ 1201 S Rampart St, New Orleans, LA 70113 | centralcitybbq.com Great BBQ
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This Week’s Recipe: Pork Tenderloin Po-Boy
Delight your taste buds with this delicious Pork Tenderloin Po’ Boy, a perfect fusion of Southern charm and New Orleans creole flavors. This mouthwatering sandwich features tender, juicy pork, paired with a special chutney mayonaise.
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp Paprika 1 tsp brown Sugar 1 Tsp Kosher Salt 1 tsp Chili Powder 1 tsp Dry Mustard 1 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon 1 tsp Ground Coriander 1-2 Tbl Olive Oil 2 Pork Tenderloins, approximately one-pound each, cleaned and trimmed 6 8-inch French bread or Sourdough Roll, split down the middle 2 cups Green Leaf Lettuce, shredded 3 Roma Tomatoes, slice thinly ½ cup Red Onion, shaved paper thin 1 Recipe Chutney Mayonnaise
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the dry spices in a small mixing bowl, blend well.
Lightly brush the tenderloins with the olive oil and spread the dry spice mixture over the pork. Press the spice mixture firmly into the pork.
Prepare the grill and cook over direct medium heat until the pork is barely pink in the center, about 15-20 minutes (155 degrees). Turn the pork 2-3 times while cooking.
Remove the pork from the grill and allow to rest 5-10 minutes. While the pork is resting, grill the po boy bread for 1-2 minutes on each side.
Spread the chutney mayonnaise on the toasted bread. Slice the pork into one-eighth inch thick slices. Place several slices of pork on each roll and top with shredded lettuce, tomato and red onion.
… Who saved us and called us to a holy calling. – 2 Timothy 1:9
The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, “who saved us.” Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as people who are in a hopeful state and may ultimately be saved, but they are already saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon our dying bed and to be sung of in a future state above, but a matter to be obtained, received, promised, and enjoyed now.
The Christian is perfectly saved in God’s purpose; God has ordained him to salvation, and that purpose is complete. He is saved also as to the price that has been paid for him: “It is finished” was the cry of the Savior before He died. The believer is also perfectly saved in His covenant Head, for as he fell in Adam, so he lives in Christ.
This complete salvation is accompanied by a holy calling. Those whom the Savior saved upon the cross are in due time effectually called by the power of God the Holy Spirit to holiness: They leave their sins; they endeavor to be like Christ; they choose holiness, not out of any compulsion, but from the power of a new nature, which leads them to rejoice in holiness just as naturally as when previously they delighted in sin. God neither chose them nor called them because they were holy, but He called them that they might be holy, and holiness is the beauty produced by His workmanship in them.
The excellencies that we see in a believer are as much the work of God as the Atonement itself. In this way the fullness of the grace of God is beautifully displayed. Salvation must be of grace, because the Lord is the author of it: And what motive but grace could move Him to save the guilty? Salvation must be of grace because the Lord works in such a manner that our righteousness is forever excluded. Such is the believer’s privilege—a present salvation; such is the evidence that he is called to it—a holy life.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ended its term by ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, a decision that almost certainly means Donald Trump won’t stand trial before the November election. That closely watched ruling, which drew sharp dissent from the minority justices, was among a cluster of consequential opinions handed down in the court’s busy final few weeks.
Here’s a look at the major cases the court decided this year.
Presidential immunity
Ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution in a decision that extends the delay in Donald Trump’s trial in Washington on charges of election interference and all but rules out a trial before the November election. The justices returned the case to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who would preside over a trial. She must now sort out what is left of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of the former president.
Majority: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Dissent: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Insurrection clause
Ruled unanimously that states cannot invoke the post-Civil War “insurrection clause” to keep candidates for president and Congress off the ballot. The justices reversed a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court finding that former President Donald Trump, as part of his effort to overturn his election loss in 2020, intentionally organized and incited the crowd of supporters who violently attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
Concurring in judgment: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, Barrett
Jan. 6
Narrowed a federal obstruction charge that has been used against hundreds of people who took part in the violent assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as Trump. The court ruled in the case of a former Pennsylvania police officer and returned it to a lower court to determine if the obstruction charge, enacted in 2002 and meant to discourage tampering with documents sought in investigations, can be used against him. The decision also could have implications for Trump’s prosecution on election interference charges.
Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Jackson
Dissent: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan
Abortion pill
Unanimously threw out a legal challenge from anti-abortion doctors to the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and more recent decisions easing access to the medication, one of two pills used in medication abortions. The justices determined that the doctors did not have the legal right, or standing, to sue, reversing an appellate ruling that would have rolled back some FDA decisions that make mifepristone easier to obtain, including receiving the drug by mail, and allow it to be used for longer in pregnancy.
Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, Jackson
Chevron
Overturned a 40-year-old decision that has been cited thousands of times in federal court cases and used to uphold regulations on the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections. The court decision colloquially known as Chevron, long targeted by conservative and business interests, called on judges to defer to federal regulators when the words of a statute are not crystal clear. The Supreme Court held that judges, not regulators, should decide the meaning of federal laws.
Upheld a 1994 law intended to protect victims of domestic violence. The law prohibits people who are under domestic violence restraining orders from having guns. The 8-1 decision reversed an appellate ruling striking down the law based on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision expanding gun rights.
Majority: Roberts, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Thomas
Wealth tax
Upheld a tax on foreign income that was enacted by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Trump. By a 7-2 vote, the justices rejected an effort by conservative and business interests to strike down the tax as a violation of the Constitution, which might have doomed a much-discussed but never-enacted wealth tax on billionaires.
Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
Concurring in judgment: Barrett, Alito
Dissent: Thomas, Gorsuch
Redistricting
Preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district in a 6-3 decision, reversing a lower court ruling that found the state Legislature discriminated against Black voters. Dissenting liberal justices warned the court was insulating states from claims of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. State lawmakers moved 30,000 Black residents out of the district to strengthen Rep. Nancy Mace’s hold on it.
Struck down a ban on bump stocks, rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The 6-3 decision found that the Trump administration overstepped when it changed course from predecessors and banned bump stocks, which allow a rate of fire comparable to machine guns. In a dissent, liberal justices warned the decision could have “deadly consequences.”
Upheld the method of funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which does not depend on yearly appropriations from Congress. By a 7-2 vote, the court reversed a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the funding structure violated the Constitution.
Majority: Thomas, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Alito, Gorsuch
NRA and free speech
The court unanimously cleared the way for the National Rifle Association to sue a former New York state official. Backed in part by the Biden administration and represented by the ACLU, the gun-rights group said Maria Vullo pressured companies to blacklist it following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The opinion said the First Amendment prohibits government officials from using their power to punish or suppress speech.
Majority: Sotomayor, Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Purdue Pharma
By a 5-4 vote, rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have allocated billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic, but also provided a legal shield for members of the Sackler family who own the company. The settlement had been on hold since last summer after the Supreme Court agreed to weigh in.
Majority: Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan
Air pollution
Voted 5-4 to pause the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan while legal challenges continue, in response to a plea from energy-producing states and the steel industry.
Ruled 6-3 that people facing civil fraud complaints from the Securities and Exchange Commission have the right to a jury trial in federal court, rather than be limited to an in-house proceeding. The decision stripped the agency of a major tool in fighting securities fraud and could have far-reaching effects on other regulatory agencies.
Threw out a lawsuit by Republican-led states that claimed federal officials unconstitutionally coerced social media platforms to take down controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. The court voted 6-3 that the states and other parties had no legal right, or standing, to sue over their claim that the government leaned on the platforms to limit conservative points of view.
Majority: Barrett, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Jackson
Dissent: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
In a limited ruling, the court kept on hold social media laws in Texas and Florida that would limit how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. But the court’s majority recognized that the platforms are much like newspapers and have a constitutional right to make choices about what to include and exclude from their space. The cases will continue in federal appeals courts: One court had upheld the Texas’ law; another found the Florida law probably is unconstitutional.
Majority: Kagan, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Concurring in the judgment: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Emergency abortions
The Supreme Court cleared the way for Idaho hospitals to provide emergency abortions, for now. In a limited order, the court found it should not have gotten involved in the case over Idaho’s strict abortion ban so quickly. By a 6-3 vote it reinstated a lower court order that had allowed hospitals in the state to perform emergency abortions to protect a pregnant patient’s health.
Majority: Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Homelessness
The justices found that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places. The majority found such laws don’t violate the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking. The opinion overturned an appeals court ruling that applied to nine states in the West, including California, which is home to one-third of the nation’s homeless population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ended its term by ruling that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution, a decision that almost certainly means Donald Trump won’t stand trial before the November election. That closely watched ruling, which drew sharp dissent from the minority justices, was among a cluster of consequential opinions handed down in the court’s busy final few weeks.
Here’s a look at the major cases the court decided this year.
Presidential immunity
Ruled for the first time that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution in a decision that extends the delay in Donald Trump’s trial in Washington on charges of election interference and all but rules out a trial before the November election. The justices returned the case to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who would preside over a trial. She must now sort out what is left of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment of the former president.
Majority: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Dissent: Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson
Insurrection clause
Ruled unanimously that states cannot invoke the post-Civil War “insurrection clause” to keep candidates for president and Congress off the ballot. The justices reversed a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court finding that former President Donald Trump, as part of his effort to overturn his election loss in 2020, intentionally organized and incited the crowd of supporters who violently attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.
Concurring in judgment: Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson, Barrett
Jan. 6
Narrowed a federal obstruction charge that has been used against hundreds of people who took part in the violent assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as Trump. The court ruled in the case of a former Pennsylvania police officer and returned it to a lower court to determine if the obstruction charge, enacted in 2002 and meant to discourage tampering with documents sought in investigations, can be used against him. The decision also could have implications for Trump’s prosecution on election interference charges.
Majority: Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Jackson
Dissent: Barrett, Sotomayor, Kagan
Abortion pill
Unanimously threw out a legal challenge from anti-abortion doctors to the FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone in 2000 and more recent decisions easing access to the medication, one of two pills used in medication abortions. The justices determined that the doctors did not have the legal right, or standing, to sue, reversing an appellate ruling that would have rolled back some FDA decisions that make mifepristone easier to obtain, including receiving the drug by mail, and allow it to be used for longer in pregnancy.
Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, Jackson
Chevron
Overturned a 40-year-old decision that has been cited thousands of times in federal court cases and used to uphold regulations on the environment, public health, workplace safety and consumer protections. The court decision colloquially known as Chevron, long targeted by conservative and business interests, called on judges to defer to federal regulators when the words of a statute are not crystal clear. The Supreme Court held that judges, not regulators, should decide the meaning of federal laws.
Upheld a 1994 law intended to protect victims of domestic violence. The law prohibits people who are under domestic violence restraining orders from having guns. The 8-1 decision reversed an appellate ruling striking down the law based on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision expanding gun rights.
Majority: Roberts, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Thomas
Wealth tax
Upheld a tax on foreign income that was enacted by a Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by Trump. By a 7-2 vote, the justices rejected an effort by conservative and business interests to strike down the tax as a violation of the Constitution, which might have doomed a much-discussed but never-enacted wealth tax on billionaires.
Majority: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Jackson
Concurring in judgment: Barrett, Alito
Dissent: Thomas, Gorsuch
Redistricting
Preserved a Republican-held South Carolina congressional district in a 6-3 decision, reversing a lower court ruling that found the state Legislature discriminated against Black voters. Dissenting liberal justices warned the court was insulating states from claims of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. State lawmakers moved 30,000 Black residents out of the district to strengthen Rep. Nancy Mace’s hold on it.
Struck down a ban on bump stocks, rapid-fire gun accessories used in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The 6-3 decision found that the Trump administration overstepped when it changed course from predecessors and banned bump stocks, which allow a rate of fire comparable to machine guns. In a dissent, liberal justices warned the decision could have “deadly consequences.”
Upheld the method of funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which does not depend on yearly appropriations from Congress. By a 7-2 vote, the court reversed a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that found the funding structure violated the Constitution.
Majority: Thomas, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Alito, Gorsuch
NRA and free speech
The court unanimously cleared the way for the National Rifle Association to sue a former New York state official. Backed in part by the Biden administration and represented by the ACLU, the gun-rights group said Maria Vullo pressured companies to blacklist it following the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. The opinion said the First Amendment prohibits government officials from using their power to punish or suppress speech.
Majority: Sotomayor, Thomas, Roberts, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Purdue Pharma
By a 5-4 vote, rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have allocated billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic, but also provided a legal shield for members of the Sackler family who own the company. The settlement had been on hold since last summer after the Supreme Court agreed to weigh in.
Majority: Gorsuch, Thomas, Alito, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Kavanaugh, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan
Air pollution
Voted 5-4 to pause the Environmental Protection Agency’s air pollution-fighting “good neighbor” plan while legal challenges continue, in response to a plea from energy-producing states and the steel industry.
Ruled 6-3 that people facing civil fraud complaints from the Securities and Exchange Commission have the right to a jury trial in federal court, rather than be limited to an in-house proceeding. The decision stripped the agency of a major tool in fighting securities fraud and could have far-reaching effects on other regulatory agencies.
Threw out a lawsuit by Republican-led states that claimed federal officials unconstitutionally coerced social media platforms to take down controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security. The court voted 6-3 that the states and other parties had no legal right, or standing, to sue over their claim that the government leaned on the platforms to limit conservative points of view.
Majority: Barrett, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Jackson
Dissent: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
In a limited ruling, the court kept on hold social media laws in Texas and Florida that would limit how Facebook, TikTok, X, YouTube and other social media platforms regulate content posted by their users. But the court’s majority recognized that the platforms are much like newspapers and have a constitutional right to make choices about what to include and exclude from their space. The cases will continue in federal appeals courts: One court had upheld the Texas’ law; another found the Florida law probably is unconstitutional.
Majority: Kagan, Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Concurring in the judgment: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Emergency abortions
The Supreme Court cleared the way for Idaho hospitals to provide emergency abortions, for now. In a limited order, the court found it should not have gotten involved in the case over Idaho’s strict abortion ban so quickly. By a 6-3 vote it reinstated a lower court order that had allowed hospitals in the state to perform emergency abortions to protect a pregnant patient’s health.
Majority: Roberts, Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett, Jackson
Dissent: Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch
Homelessness
The justices found that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outside in public places. The majority found such laws don’t violate the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment when shelter space is lacking. The opinion overturned an appeals court ruling that applied to nine states in the West, including California, which is home to one-third of the nation’s homeless population.
A federal judge will hear arguments Tuesday on a lawsuit brought by the state and national Republican parties and the state Libertarian Party that seeks to bar Mississippi election workers from counting mail-in absentee ballots after the date of an election.
U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, a senior-status judge, set a hearing for Tuesday in Gulfport for arguments from both sides.
The plaintiffs argue that a 2020 state law allowing local election workers to process mail-in absentee ballots for up to five days after an election violates federal law because only Congress sets the timeframe for when votes can be processed.
The Mississippi law currently permits election workers to count mail-in votes if the ballots were postmarked by the election date.
The Republican parties, represented locally by former state GOP director Spencer Ritchie, argue that the five-day window should be suspended for federal elections because the statute dilutes the weight of ballots cast on Election Day and harms conservative candidates running for office.
The litigation marks a peculiar scenario where the national and state Republican parties have filed suit over a law passed by a GOP-dominated Legislature and signed into law by Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.
Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, is the state’s chief elections administrator and is now tasked with fighting his own party in court using attorneys from Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office.
Watson’s office, as well as two voting rights advocacy groups who have intervened in the litigation, argued in separate briefs that the federal suit should be dismissed because the political parties lack legal standing to bring the suit.
“The Mississippi statute does not harm the plaintiff individuals or political parties in any way,” Special Assistant Attorney General Rex Shannon III wrote in a pleading on behalf of Watson’s office. “It does not conflict with laws that set the election day for federal offices. And it does not impair the plaintiffs’ rights to vote or to stand for office under the First and/or Fourteenth Amendments.”
The Republican-majority state Senate earlier this year passed legislation to abolish the five-day window for processing the absentee ballots after Election Day, but it died in the House.
After the hearing, it’s unclear when Guirola would issue a ruling. The aggrieved party could appeal his order to the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, though a prompt resolution before the November election is vital.
The appellate process is lengthy and time consuming, and the November presidential and congressional election is quickly approaching. Mississippians can request an absentee ballot application starting September 6, and the earliest day they can vote by absentee is September 23, according to the secretary of state’s elections calendar.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Learn what the long-tenured economic developer and former Magnolia Tribune business columnist plans to do in retirement.
Phil Hardwick wears a coat of many colors. He started out as an FBI clerk, served in the Army on the White House security team, joined the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia, and then moved to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office as chief investigator.
After that, Hardwick, a Jackson native, joined the Mississippi Real Estate Commission, eventually serving as head of the agency. While there, he was instrumental in establishing the national certification program for real estate investigators.
That experience led to an appointment as the City of Jackson’s chief economic developer and a stint in economic development at Mississippi Valley Gas (now Atmos Energy) before landing at the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University.
A master multi-tasker, Hardwick also found time to teach at the Millsaps College Else School of Management for more than a quarter-century and pen more than 1,000 business columns, most recently for Magnolia Tribune. He has also authored several detective novels.
Magnolia Tribune sat down with Hardwick to ask about his career highlights, economic development challenges, and “re-retirement” plans.
What was the highlight of your career?
Being bestowed Life Membership in the Mississippi Economic Development Council in 2016. At the ceremony, I was honored to have my bosses in my economic development career share the moment, as well as my nominator, David Rumbarger, CEO/President of the Community Development Foundation in Tupelo, one of the premier economic developers in the state. Of course, my biggest supporter and friend (and wife), Carol Hardwick, was there.
Also, attending the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in the summer of 2004 as a Fannie Mae Foundation Fellow was what I would call “a mountaintop experience.” I still have acquaintances from that class.
What was your most rewarding experience?
My last full-time job was at Millsaps College as Director of Business Analysts at the Else School of Management. Each year, I had the pleasure of coordinating economic development activities of graduate students and businesses in Midtown Jackson.
By the way, Millsaps College has been a constant in my career. I received my MBA from there and taught as an adjunct instructor for over 25 years.
What are some challenges you experienced in economic development?
One of the biggest challenges in economic development is maintaining confidentiality when working on large projects. Elected officials, in particular, are anxious to know about projects that might be coming to their communities.
The other thing is simply balancing all the details that must be done, such as options, tax issues, incentives, and data gathering. On the flip side, economic development is a team sport, and every project involves a lot of people.
When a project finally comes to fruition, the economic developer is usually in the background. Mississippi is fortunate to have one of the best collections of economic development professionals in the country.
What’s one of the best things you learned in your economic development career?
When I joined Mississippi Valley Gas Company (now Atmos Energy), Matt Holleman, President & CEO, said that my title would be Vice President of Community & Economic Development instead of the more common VP of Economic & Community Development.
What he knew and what I learned was that community development comes first. Communities must be prepared for economic development.
What do you plan to do in “re-retirement”?
Carol and I now live in Georgia, where we moved to be closer to our grandchildren and family. I plan to stay actively involved in the community. I’m now serving as vice chair of the Canton Tourism Board. For recreation, I play on a couple of tennis teams. Carol and I continue to travel internationally at least once a year. I’m also working on a couple of novels.
So, family, community, tennis, travel, and writing keep me plenty busy.
Mississippi’s Crown Jewel of the Theatre, critics frequently compare Henley to Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor, two of the best storytellers the South has ever produced.
Jackson’s Beth Henley sprang to fame when her 1981 play Crimes of the Heart received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama even before its Broadway debut. She was thirty years old. At the time, no female playwright in the award’s 23-year history could lay claim to such a medal, and certainly not someone who had no string of previous productions to list on an impressive resume.
Who was this unknown?
Crimes of the Heart went on to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New American Play, garnered a Tony nomination, and gave Beth her first opportunity to turn her play into a film.
The movie version starred Diane Keaton, Sissy Spacek, and Jessica Lange and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. However, it was in the Golden Globe Awards that Sissy Spacek picked up the prestigious Best Actress trophy.
Crimes was not the only successful play that Beth translated to the big screen. The MissFirecracker Contest starring Holly Hunter was a hit in 1989.
Let’s say success could not have happened to a nicer person. Beth is funny, transparent, and insightful. No shallow person could create the complex personalities that inhabit her scripts. More than entertainment, Beth’s themes reveal poignant truths. Her stories linger in your mind after you have laughed yourself silly over the eccentricities of her well-drawn characters and shed a tear or two over their tragic situations. Those memories touch something indelible and enduring in all of us. Her plays resonate with heart and soul.
Beth has often been asked in an interview about her process. How does she come up with her themes and her characters? Without any pretense she says, “I never think about themes.” She never sets out to write something with an underlying message. And yet, she does.
She laughs as she says she never had an outline or a set pattern in coming up with her storylines.
“Chaos,” Beth says. Chaos is her method. Over many weeks of scribbling ideas in various notebooks here and there, an idea finally gels. She spends untold time searching for all those fragments here and there that have come together in her mind. Now where did she put all those pieces?
Critics frequently compare Beth to Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor, two of the best storytellers the South has ever produced. The self-deprecating scriptwriter laughed, saying, “I shudder to think what those two would think about such a comparison.”
Elizabeth Becker Henley was born on May 8, 1952, the second of four daughters. Her colorful parents, Charles, a judge and state senator, and Lydy, a beloved local actress, were larger-than-life personalities. The boisterous household these two created was a hotbed of artistic originality, nurturing their children’s extraordinary creativity.
Lydy’s frequent starring roles in New Stage theatre productions meant that her four daughters, from an early age, developed a keen appreciation for the collaborative arts that brought a play to life. The darkened theatre, the elaborate sets, the audience response, and the actors reacting to the audience were vivid, electric, and mesmerizing.
Beth and her sister, C.C., frequently ran lines with her mother at home. And it was a serious endeavor. Calling her mother the most significant influence on her life, Beth says, “One thing my mother gave me was the desire to take it [acting] seriously. It was important to do it well.” Lydy was adept at practicing what she preached. Beth recalls her mother pushing her cart through the neighborhood Jitney Jungle grocery once perfecting Laura Wingfield’s limp for her role in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.
A “shy child,” Beth describes herself as the one who “liked to sit in the corner and watch and listen as people talked. “I liked to hear their stories, and I could remember actual dialogue, the words and how they said them. I think it was just my nature to be quiet, and I think that habit comes in handy for a writer.”
Beth graduated from Murrah High School in 1970 and enrolled as a theatre student at Southern Methodist University. She began college intending to act but had second thoughts when she wrote her first play, Am I Blue, as a class assignment. Others, including her professors, discovered that the quiet, unassuming Beth was quite good at playwriting.
Lacking confidence and nerve, the future acclaimed American playwright and superstar used a pen name, Amy Peach, when she wrote Am I Blue in 1972. Performed on the SMU campus in 1974, it opened off-Broadway in 1981 after Crimes of the Heart catapulted Beth Henley to fame. It received positive reviews all around.
Suddenly, the plays she had struggled to get noticed were in demand.
The Civil Rights Movement was in its heyday during Beth’s high school and college career. Racial unrest and Vietnam protests dominated headlines and newscasts day after day for a Decade. Mississippi was the focus of negative coverage. As Beth, the listener and observer, absorbed the conversations and events of that time, she had conflicting emotions and more questions than answers. Though not insulated from the stories or the grainy pictures of political demonstrations and Klu Klux Klan hate-filled acts, Beth struggled to sort through the voices telling her what she was supposed to think. “It all made me very sad,” she said.
In the end, she did sort it out. Though subtle and more sorrowful than angry, her plays often carry a social justice reference with a “sad” slant in the storyline.
Although Beth’s later plays sometimes branched out from the Southern backdrops, dysfunctional families, and eccentric but endearing characters, some of her dark humor and tragic storylines were likely part of her visceral reactions to the shaking of her foundations in the 1960s and 1970s. Within her plays, she found a space where her fictional characters grapple with the questions that plagued her for so long. In the dialogues of often quirky weird people, she hammered home stark pictures of the place she called home, but she did so gracefully. The Bible calls this art “telling the truth in love,” and Beth, maybe without realizing it, does it well.
Beth’s playwriting has been consistent since that first iconic Pulitzer Prize in 1981. With at least 25 notable plays and more awards than there is space to name, Beth Henley remains one of the most respected and prolific contemporary American theatre dramatists.
For twenty-plus years, Beth served as the President’s Professional Theatre Arts chair on the faculty of Loyola Marymount University, one of the premier theatre programs in the country. She taught courses in Playwriting and The Creative Process. With a tender spot in her heart for her undergraduates, she remained closely attuned to that unique season of life when college freshmen and sophomores decide who they are and who they will become. Beth calls those vulnerable students “adorable,” and says her mission was always to connect with them, to teach and encourage them.
At the moment, Beth has three plays on her drawing board. The names are intriguing. Pay attention to the coming press. Myth Murder, Downstairs Neighbor, and The Unbuttoning promise to deliver the humor, pathos, and soul-searching storyline that we have come to expect from our Southern playwrights.
The best news is that Beth is coming home for the MS Book Festival in September. Follow www.MSBookFestival.com to get dates and times for Beth’s presentation.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi’s Crown Jewel of the Theatre, critics frequently compare Henley to Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor, two of the best storytellers the South has ever produced.
Jackson’s Beth Henley sprang to fame when her 1981 play Crimes of the Heart received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama even before its Broadway debut. She was thirty years old. At the time, no female playwright in the award’s 23-year history could lay claim to such a medal, and certainly not someone who had no string of previous productions to list on an impressive resume.
Who was this unknown?
Crimes of the Heart went on to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best New American Play, garnered a Tony nomination, and gave Beth her first opportunity to turn her play into a film.
The movie version starred Diane Keaton, Sissy Spacek, and Jessica Lange and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. However, it was in the Golden Globe Awards that Sissy Spacek picked up the prestigious Best Actress trophy.
Crimes was not the only successful play that Beth translated to the big screen. The MissFirecracker Contest starring Holly Hunter was a hit in 1989.
Let’s say success could not have happened to a nicer person. Beth is funny, transparent, and insightful. No shallow person could create the complex personalities that inhabit her scripts. More than entertainment, Beth’s themes reveal poignant truths. Her stories linger in your mind after you have laughed yourself silly over the eccentricities of her well-drawn characters and shed a tear or two over their tragic situations. Those memories touch something indelible and enduring in all of us. Her plays resonate with heart and soul.
Beth has often been asked in an interview about her process. How does she come up with her themes and her characters? Without any pretense she says, “I never think about themes.” She never sets out to write something with an underlying message. And yet, she does.
She laughs as she says she never had an outline or a set pattern in coming up with her storylines.
“Chaos,” Beth says. Chaos is her method. Over many weeks of scribbling ideas in various notebooks here and there, an idea finally gels. She spends untold time searching for all those fragments here and there that have come together in her mind. Now where did she put all those pieces?
Critics frequently compare Beth to Eudora Welty and Flannery O’Connor, two of the best storytellers the South has ever produced. The self-deprecating scriptwriter laughed, saying, “I shudder to think what those two would think about such a comparison.”
Elizabeth Becker Henley was born on May 8, 1952, the second of four daughters. Her colorful parents, Charles, a judge and state senator, and Lydy, a beloved local actress, were larger-than-life personalities. The boisterous household these two created was a hotbed of artistic originality, nurturing their children’s extraordinary creativity.
Lydy’s frequent starring roles in New Stage theatre productions meant that her four daughters, from an early age, developed a keen appreciation for the collaborative arts that brought a play to life. The darkened theatre, the elaborate sets, the audience response, and the actors reacting to the audience were vivid, electric, and mesmerizing.
Beth and her sister, C.C., frequently ran lines with her mother at home. And it was a serious endeavor. Calling her mother the most significant influence on her life, Beth says, “One thing my mother gave me was the desire to take it [acting] seriously. It was important to do it well.” Lydy was adept at practicing what she preached. Beth recalls her mother pushing her cart through the neighborhood Jitney Jungle grocery once perfecting Laura Wingfield’s limp for her role in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.
A “shy child,” Beth describes herself as the one who “liked to sit in the corner and watch and listen as people talked. “I liked to hear their stories, and I could remember actual dialogue, the words and how they said them. I think it was just my nature to be quiet, and I think that habit comes in handy for a writer.”
Beth graduated from Murrah High School in 1970 and enrolled as a theatre student at Southern Methodist University. She began college intending to act but had second thoughts when she wrote her first play, Am I Blue, as a class assignment. Others, including her professors, discovered that the quiet, unassuming Beth was quite good at playwriting.
Lacking confidence and nerve, the future acclaimed American playwright and superstar used a pen name, Amy Peach, when she wrote Am I Blue in 1972. Performed on the SMU campus in 1974, it opened off-Broadway in 1981 after Crimes of the Heart catapulted Beth Henley to fame. It received positive reviews all around.
Suddenly, the plays she had struggled to get noticed were in demand.
The Civil Rights Movement was in its heyday during Beth’s high school and college career. Racial unrest and Vietnam protests dominated headlines and newscasts day after day for a Decade. Mississippi was the focus of negative coverage. As Beth, the listener and observer, absorbed the conversations and events of that time, she had conflicting emotions and more questions than answers. Though not insulated from the stories or the grainy pictures of political demonstrations and Klu Klux Klan hate-filled acts, Beth struggled to sort through the voices telling her what she was supposed to think. “It all made me very sad,” she said.
In the end, she did sort it out. Though subtle and more sorrowful than angry, her plays often carry a social justice reference with a “sad” slant in the storyline.
Although Beth’s later plays sometimes branched out from the Southern backdrops, dysfunctional families, and eccentric but endearing characters, some of her dark humor and tragic storylines were likely part of her visceral reactions to the shaking of her foundations in the 1960s and 1970s. Within her plays, she found a space where her fictional characters grapple with the questions that plagued her for so long. In the dialogues of often quirky weird people, she hammered home stark pictures of the place she called home, but she did so gracefully. The Bible calls this art “telling the truth in love,” and Beth, maybe without realizing it, does it well.
Beth’s playwriting has been consistent since that first iconic Pulitzer Prize in 1981. With at least 25 notable plays and more awards than there is space to name, Beth Henley remains one of the most respected and prolific contemporary American theatre dramatists.
For twenty-plus years, Beth served as the President’s Professional Theatre Arts chair on the faculty of Loyola Marymount University, one of the premier theatre programs in the country. She taught courses in Playwriting and The Creative Process. With a tender spot in her heart for her undergraduates, she remained closely attuned to that unique season of life when college freshmen and sophomores decide who they are and who they will become. Beth calls those vulnerable students “adorable,” and says her mission was always to connect with them, to teach and encourage them.
At the moment, Beth has three plays on her drawing board. The names are intriguing. Pay attention to the coming press. Myth Murder, Downstairs Neighbor, and The Unbuttoning promise to deliver the humor, pathos, and soul-searching storyline that we have come to expect from our Southern playwrights.
The best news is that Beth is coming home for the MS Book Festival in September. Follow www.MSBookFestival.com to get dates and times for Beth’s presentation.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — To a defiant President Joe Biden, the 2024 election is up to the public — not the Democrats on Capitol Hill. But the chorus of Democratic voices calling for him to step aside is growing, from donors, strategists, lawmakers and their constituents who say he should bow out.
The party has not fallen in line behind him even after the events that were set up as part of a blitz to reset his imperiled campaign and show everyone he wasn’t too old to stay in the job or to do it another four years.
On Saturday, a fifth Democratic lawmaker said openly that Biden should not run again. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said that after what she saw and heard in the debate with Republican rival Donald Trump, and Biden’s “lack of a forceful response” afterward, he should step aside “and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”
Craig posted one of the Democrats’ key suburban wins in the 2018 midterms and could be a barometer for districts that were vital for Biden in 2020.
With the Democratic convention approaching and just four months to Election Day, neither camp in the party can much afford this internecine drama much longer. But it is bound to drag on until Biden steps aside or Democrats realize he won’t and learn to contain their concerns about the president’s chances against Trump.
There were signs party leaders realize the standoff needs to end. Some of the most senior lawmakers, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, were now publicly working to bring the party back to the president. Pelosi and Clyburn had both raised pointed questions about Biden in the aftermath of the debate.
“Biden is who our country needs,” Clyburn said late Friday after Biden’s interview with ABC aired.
On Saturday, Biden’s campaign said the president joined a biweekly meeting with all 10 of the campaign’s nation co-chairs to “discuss their shared commitment to winning the 2024 race.” Clyburn was among them.
But the silence from most other House Democrats on Saturday was notable, suggesting that lawmakers are not all being convinced by what they saw from the president. More House Democrats are likely to call for Biden to step aside when lawmakers return to Washington at the start of the week.
Biden had no public schedule Saturday, as he and aides stepped back from the fervor over the past few days. But the president will head out campaigning again on Sunday in Philadelphia, intent on putting the debate behind him. And this coming week, the U.S. is hosting the NATO summit and the president is to hold a news conference.
Vice President Kamala Harris campaigned Saturday in New Orleans, but she steered clear of questions about whether Biden should step away.
The president’s ABC interview on Friday night — billed as an effort to get the campaign back on track — stirred carefully worded expressions of disappointment from the party’s ranks, and worse from those who spoke anonymously. Ten days into the crisis moment of the Biden-Trump debate, Biden is dug in.
Even within the White House there were concerns the ABC interview wasn’t enough to turn the page.
Campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez has been texting lawmakers and administration officials are encouraging them not to go public with their concerns about the race and the president’s electability, according to a Democrat granted anonymity to discuss the situation.
Democrats are wrestling over what they see and hear from the president but are not at all certain about a path forward. They were particularly concerned that Biden suggested that even if he were to be defeated in a rematch with Trump, he would know that he gave it his all. That seemed an insufficient response.
“A lot can change in the next 72 to 96 hours, because that’s what happens nowadays,” Hawaii Gov. Mark Green said Saturday. “You know, four months is an eternity in today’s political world. I’m not worried about making sure we have a great ticket if the president chose some other road.”
But Green said he also wants to “respect the president and give him the time to make this decision. And if he decides to be our nominee, he’s it. And we’ll go all in against Mr. Trump because he doesn’t represent the right values for our people.”
As Biden’s camp encourages House lawmakers to give the president the chance to show what he can do, one Democratic aide said the Friday interview didn’t help and in fact made things worse. The aide expects more Democrats will likely be calling on Biden to step aside.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, without breaking with Biden at this point, are pulling together meetings with members in the next few days to discuss options. Many lawmakers are hearing from constituents at home and fielding questions. One senator was working to get others together to ask him to step aside.
Following the interview, a Democratic donor reported that many of the fellow donors he spoke with were furious, particularly because the president declined to acknowledge the effects of his aging. Many of those donors are seeking a change in leadership at the top of the ticket, said the person, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
“Completely ruling that out,” he told reporters at the rally.
Biden dismissed those who were calling for his ouster, instead saying he’d spoken with 20 lawmakers and they had all encouraged him to stay in the race.
Concern about Biden’s fitness for another four years has been persistent. In an August 2023 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, fully 77% of U.S. adults said Biden was too old to be effective for four more years. Not only did 89% of Republicans say that, but so did 69% of Democrats. His approval rating stands at 39% in the most recent AP-NORC poll.
Biden has dismissed the polling, citing as evidence his 2020 surge to the nomination and win over Trump, after initially faltering, and the 2022 midterm elections, when many expected Republicans would sweep but they didn’t, in part over the issue of abortion rights.
“I don’t buy that,” when he was reminded that he was behind in recent polls. “I don’t think anybody’s more qualified to be president or win this race than me.”
At times, Biden rambled during the interview, which ABC said aired in full and without edits. Asked how he might turn the race around, Biden argued that one key would be large and energetic rallies like the one he held Friday in Wisconsin. When reminded that Trump routinely draws larger crowds, the president laid into his opponent.
“Trump is a pathological liar,” Biden said, accusing Trump of bungling the federal response to the COVID pandemic and failing to create jobs. “You ever see something that Trump did that benefited someone else and not him?”
Republicans, though, are squarely behind their candidate, and support for Trump, who at 78 is three years younger than Biden, has been growing.
Miller and Mascaro reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti in Saugatuck, Michigan, Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Bill Barrow in New Orleans and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
