We had some camera issues that kept me from joining Uncle Henry on the Facebook Live feed this morning, but we touched on several stories:
Flu activity remains high across Mississippi, but things are easing up in a couple of our neighboring states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say Louisiana and Tennessee are now reporting only low levels of the flu, while Alabama, Arkansas and more than 20 other states are in the same boat as Mississippi with high levels.
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Family and friends are continuing to mourn the loss of a Pascagoula woman to deadly domestic violence. Members of the community joined with them early last night for a candlelight vigil and balloon release at Beach Park in remembrance of Brittany McCord. Police say she was shot to death by her estranged husband, Joquincy McCord, last Tuesday night at the Bandywood Apartments. He's charged with murdering her and pistol-whipping her 13-year-old son.
Tragedy on the Mississippi Coast with the death of two people, including a toddler, and the arrest of the man accused of killing them. The Harrison County sheriff says 20-year-old David Garcia and a two-year-old child were shot to death late Saturday night at a home in Saucier. Charged with first-degree murder and manslaughter is 34-year-old Billy Roberts who police say got into a physical altercation with Garcia at a Riceville Road home where their girlfriends and two children lived. No word on what prompted the deadly dispute.
A Hattiesburg man is facing multiple charges for a domestic-related shooting in the city early Saturday morning. Police arrested 42-year-old Maurice Harris after he allegedly fired shots into a car occupied by three people, including his ex-wife who he had been arguing with. Another woman in the car was hit in the leg by the gunfire. Harris is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of domestic violence/aggravated assault.
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Mississippi's lieutenant governor is feeling the heat from racist college yearbook photos associated with the fraternity he was a member of in the mid-90s. Republican Tate Reeves is now in the race for governor, but it's still to be determined what impact a picture of him with other members of Kappa Alpha Order at Millsaps College will have. His photo is part of a collage that shows other frat members wearing Confederate Army uniforms while waving a Confederate flag. Other frat pictures showed some members in black face. Reeves is not known to have been directly involved in any of the controversial photos, his spokeswoman only confirming that he did attend "costume formals and other parties."
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State retirees could soon be allowed to run for the Mississippi legislature without losing their benefits. An attorney general's opinion last year said they have that right, and tomorrow, the Public Employees Retirement System board will discuss whether to adopt the new regulation. It already allows retirees to be elected to local office but not the legislature. Tomorrow's meeting comes less than three weeks before the deadline for legislative candidates to qualify.
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Acting Secretary of Defense Pat Shanahan says America's 17-year war in Afghanistan may be coming to an end. Shanahan made an unannounced visit to the country today to meet with U.S. commanders and Afghan officials as the U.S. and the Taliban are in peace talks. The Taliban has so far refused to negotiate with the Afghan government and is demanding U.S. troops pull out of the country. Shanahan said the Trump administration is putting all options on the table when it comes to ending the war. Shanahan was due to meet with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani before leaving.
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An Indonesian truck driver is recovering from injuries after he followed Google Maps, straight off a cliff into a river. The man was hauling a load of rocks last month but wasn't sure how to get to their destination in Bali. He checked Google Maps and started off, not realizing the route suggested was for motorcycles, not trucks. By the time he thought about turning around, the road was too narrow, so he pressed on until his truck stalled and plunged into the river. People nearby were able to rescue the driver, who escaped with relatively mild injuries.