Gaskin plans to roll out proposal for organizational changes
Mark Alexander Jr.’s original plan when he agreed in July to become Columbus’ interim chief operations officer was to work, for free, through Sept. 30.
Local legislators support medical marijuana effort
Golden Triangle lawmakers say they support the effort to pass legislation to begin a medical marijuana program.
Ink barely dry on budget as Mississippi starts new one
Less than three months into the current budget year, Mississippi legislators are starting to plan for the next one.
New tech installed at SOCSD helps with teaching through masks
Starkville High School student Peyton Willoughby sat in his 10th grade English class Thursday not worried about struggling to hear his teacher because of new technology installed in the classroom.
Man arrested for six counts of sexual battery of minors
A Starkville man is accused of sexually assaulting minors, one as young as 6 years old.
Mississippi negotiators reach proposal on medical marijuana
Mississippi House and Senate negotiators said Thursday that they have agreed on a proposed medical marijuana program. Leaders are expected to ask Republican Gov. Tate Reeves to call the Legislature into session to put the plan into law.
Social, emotional learning curriculum making impact at area schools
Social and Emotional Learning is more than a program: It’s a mindset, an atmosphere and how the people in the school take care of each other.
Mississippi AG seeks to end family lawsuit after dad’s death
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed papers Wednesday seeking to dismiss a lawsuit in a family feud over the care and finances of her 88-year-old father because he has died.
Louisiana state trooper charged in pummeling of Black man
A former Louisiana State Police trooper has been charged with a civil rights violation for pummeling a Black motorist 18 times with a flashlight — the first criminal case to emerge from federal investigations into troopers’ beatings of at least three Black men.
Tennessee grocery store attack: ‘He kept on shooting’
A gunman attacked a grocery store in an upscale Tennessee suburb on Thursday afternoon, killing one person and wounding 12 others before he was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the store, authorities said.
Inflation forces homebuilders to take it slow, raise prices
Even in the hottest U.S. housing market in more than a decade, new home construction has turned into a frustratingly uncertain and costly proposition for many homebuilders.
House Jan. 6 panel subpoenas Trump advisers, associates
A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has issued its first subpoenas, demanding records and testimony from four of former President Donald Trump’s close advisers and associates who were in contact with him before and during the attack.
Buckle up: Arizona Republicans to show 2020 recount results
Ten months after Donald Trump lost his 2020 reelection bid in Arizona, supporters hired by Arizona Senate Republicans were preparing to deliver the results of an unprecedented partisan election review that is the climax of a bizarre quest to find evidence supporting the former president’s false claim that he lost because of fraud.
EPA rule sharply limits HFCs, gases used as refrigerants
In what officials call a key step to combat climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency is sharply limiting domestic production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
CDC endorses COVID booster for millions of older Americans
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday endorsed booster shots for millions of older or otherwise vulnerable Americans, opening a major new phase in the U.S vaccination drive against COVID-19.
Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy creates rift with religious partners
Amid the Boy Scouts of America’s complex bankruptcy case, there is worsening friction between the BSA and the major religious groups that help it run thousands of scout units.
Ancient tablet acquired by Hobby Lobby going back to Iraq
A 3,500-year-old clay tablet discovered in the ruins of the library of an ancient Mesopotamian king, then looted from an Iraqi museum 30 years ago, is finally headed back to Iraq.
Famed cathedral names artist to replace Confederate windows
Washington National Cathedral announced Thursday it has chosen contemporary artist Kerry James Marshall, renowned for his wide-ranging works depicting African American life, to design new stained-glass windows with themes of racial justice that will replace a set with Confederate imagery that were removed in 2017.
COVID, virtual learning blamed for dramatically lower test scores
State test scores across the Golden Triangle decreased overall in 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning.
Mayor pushing for October vote on forensic audit
Mayor Keith Gaskin announced Wednesday he is moving closer to formally asking the city council to approve a forensic audit of city finances.
