Free Republic

OXFORD, Miss. (NewsNation) — The University of Mississippi on Thursday identified the two students who died Monday as freshman Aidan Hamilton and junior Robert Strang. The university said the families gave permission to release the names and asked for privacy as they grieve. Hamilton is from Englewood, Colo., while Strang is from Atlanta, according to the records. “We have been in touch with the families to offer our deepest sympathies and share university support and resources,” Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead said in a message to the campus community. The causes of both deaths remain under investigation. One...

The Associated Press should be ashamed. Just two days ago, they were the recipients of a Community Note after their X post conveniently omitted some important facts about the murder of Tasia Fortune.Fortune, of Jackson, Mississippi, was found hanging in a tree. Democrats and the media pretended Fortune's murder was a race-based lynching. It wasn't. On September 14, the AP itself reported that Jarques Ratliff, who was associated with Fortune, was arrested on September 11. Yet on September 21, the AP wrote on X that Fortune's death "stirred distressing memories of the grim history of lynchings across the U.S. South."Now...

Two University of Mississippi students were found dead Monday in separate incidents – and packaged kratom was found at both scenes, authorities said. The probe into the mysterious deaths is being led by the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics team, who said Tuesday the cases are not believed to be connected. “Law enforcement is currently conducting two separate death investigations. At this time, we have no confirmed evidence indicating that the two deaths are connected,” the agency said. Kratom, a herbal substance that acts as a stimulant in small doses and an opioid-like sedative in higher amounts, was found in both...

A Mississippi grand jury has decided not to indict in the unusual death of teen Nolan Wells, who vanished during a large Fourth of July party The 18-year-old’s death after going to Horn Island attracted national attention and his parents worried race could be a factor The state’s medical examiner and an outside expert said they believed “the cause and manner of Mr. Wells’ death is undetermined and that drowning is a diagnosis of exclusion” ================================================================= No one will be charged in the unusual death of Mississippi teen Nolan Wells, who vanished from a large Fourth of July party and...

Vibrio vulnificus, also known as “flesh-eating” bacteria, has now killed four people in Florida this year, according to the state’s Department of Health. The potentially deadly bacterium is frequently linked to eating raw or undercooked shellfish, especially oysters. Swimming in warm, brackish saltwater with open wounds is another way people can contract the infection. While it remains unclear how the latest victim contracted the infection, the most recent death was a resident of Broward County who was between the ages of 75 and 79, according to the most recent Florida Department of Health data. 21 Vibrio vulnificus infections have been...

Mississippi authorities have arrested a 51-year-old man on a murder charge after an official homicide ruling in the death of Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old Black mother of four found hanging from a tree behind an abandoned home last month. The arrest follows weeks of intense media attention and widespread online discussion regarding the circumstances surrounding Fortune’s death in a state with a historic legacy of racialized violence. But law enforcement officials confirmed that the suspect taken into custody is Jarques Ratliff, a Black Jackson resident who had a prior personal connection with Fortune.

The Atlantic hurricane season reaches its climatological peak this week, and AccuWeather meteorologist are monitoring just one area for potential development. VIDEO AT LINK.......... As the climatological peak of the Atlantic hurricane season arrives this week, tropical activity remains largely suppressed due to an unusually strong El Niño. The one exception is off the southeastern coast of the United States, where AccuWeather hurricane experts have highlighted an area with a low chance of tropical development into the middle of the month. "A slow-moving front will drift into the southeastern United States, leading to enhanced thunderstorm coverage. An area of tropical...

The Food and Drug Administration this week escalated a recall of 1.6 million cartons of eggs over potential salmonella contamination to its most serious classification. On Wednesday, the FDA designated the incident a "Class 1" recall, which the agency applies to product recalls "in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death." The eggs were first recalled on July 22 by North Manchester, Indiana-based Midwest Poultry Services because they could be contaminated with salmonella. The eggs were sold under various brand names at retailers...

The warnings were issued in Florida and Louisiana, where state officials have confirmed at total 23 cases so far. Health officials are urging Gulf Coast beach-goers to take precautions when entering the water during a summer surge of infections from a flesh-eating bacteria that has been attributed to seven deaths. The warnings were issued in Florida and Louisiana, where state officials have confirmed nine cases this year of Vibrio vulnificus infections, including five deaths, according to PBS.com. Louisiana reported an average of seven cases and one death, over the same period over the previous decade. Florida has reported at least...

Famed civil rights attorney >>>>> Ben Crump Crump also claimed that Wells’ body was found face down and fully clothed, despite photos from the day showing him wearing swimming trunks. Nolan Wells’ preliminary independent autopsy findings have been released after the teenager vanished following a Fourth of July boating trip in Mississippi. Wells, 18, had red discoloration to the back of his head, according to the autopsy performed by Dr. Roger Mitchell, President of the National Medical Association. However, his cause and manner of death were given as undetermined pending investigation, with the date of death also unknown.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was accused of putting on an accent during a Memphis rally last week, with critics on social media comparing her to former Vice President Kamala Harris. Ocasio-Cortez was speaking at a campaign rally in Memphis on Friday for progressive U.S. House candidate Justin Pearson, who currently serves as a Tennessee state representative. "We cannot afford to leave Tennessee behind," she said. "We cannot afford to leave Kentucky behind, Alabama behind, Mississippi behind, Georgia behind, South Carolina behind. There is no country where we are split apart." "About a month or two ago, we were in Montgomery,...

Two appearances by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this week have reignited criticism from conservatives as speculation continues over whether the New York Democrat could eventually seek the White House. The back-to-back moments quickly spread across social media, with critics questioning both her campaign style and her response to a question about the U.S. Senate. Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., first drew attention while campaigning in Tennessee for Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson, who is running for Congress in the state’s 9th District. Speaking at a get-out-the-vote event, Ocasio-Cortez urged supporters not to overlook traditionally Republican states. “We can’t afford to leave Tennessee behind, Kentucky...

A top Missouri prosecutor was booted for having an affair with an illegal migrant her office was probing for sex assault — and because she slept with two other men in glaring conflicts of interest, too, court papers allege. Disgraced Ray County Prosecutor Camille Johnston was yanked from her position Thursday when a judge signed off on Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway’s petition laying out a slew of misconduct allegations against her during her three and a half years in office, Hanaway announced. Johnston — an elected official who took office Jan. 1, 2023 — compromised the integrity of her...

Missouri Prosecutor Camille Johnston is in MAJOR trouble. Allegedly: • Had an intimate relationship with an undocumented immigrant whose sexual assault case her office was prosecuting. • Helped him evade arrest by driving him to Mississippi in 2023, gave him her car + title, and vacationed with him in Florida. • Never disclosed the relationship, never recused herself, and allegedly slow-walked the charges. PLUS: • Accused of a relationship with a criminal defense attorney whose clients she was prosecuting. • Accused of a relationship with a married domestic violence suspect (C.W.) — and firing an employee who confronted her about...

A Mississippi pastor recently ignited a firestorm after reportedly posting the names of church members on Facebook who had failed to pay their tithes. Whether the intention was accountability, encouragement, or frustration, the reaction was swift. Christians from across the theological spectrum condemned the move as public shaming rather than biblical shepherding. The controversy raises a much larger question than one pastor's judgment. It forces Christians to ask an uncomfortable but necessary question: Where is the line between teaching biblical stewardship and manipulating God's people?The Bible has much to say about generosity. Jesus spoke often about money because it reveals...

The challenge the entire industry faces is that in every single location, I don't care whether it's Michigan, West Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, if you announce you're doing a data center, all of a sudden you get a plethora of misinformation, like it's three times the size of Manhattan, it's so hot it's gonna melt a hole in the ground, the amount of water it's going to use, it's gonna suck the ocean dry. All of this stuff is just not true. I think as we get the real facts out, we'll turn this around. There seems to be an...

A teen murder suspect was found stomped to death in a Mississippi jail — with a harrowing video capturing him limp and bloodied on the floor. Mielun Butler, 18, was booked in the Hinds County Detention Center on July 1 on a murder charge for the fatal shooting of Melvin Edwards, 32, at the notoriously dangerous Pine Ridge Garden Apartments in Jackson last month. * * * he sheriff said he believed the teenager’s killing could be gang-related. “I think it’s no secret that some of the violence that we have been witnessing in our community has eventually spilled over...

US Capitol Police arrest an armed man at the North Barricade of the U.S. Capitol Building (screenshot via CNN) The US Capitol Police arrested an armed man on the US Capitol grounds on Monday. The US Capitol Police said in an alert that they were responding to “potential security concern at the North Barricade of the U.S. Capitol Building” and urged staff and other personnel to avoid the area. They later announced that they had arrested a man carrying a firearm, and an investigation remains ongoing. More from Fox: US Capitol Police Arrest Armed Man Video from the scene shows...

Nolan Wells demanded “Give me my freaking phone” in an argument filmed shortly before he went missing, his family’s lawyer Ben Crump claims. The 18-year-old college football player vanished during a Fourth of July boat trip with friends to Horn Island, Mississippi. His body was recovered Monday and positively identified as his remains the following day using dental records.

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) — The body of 18-year-old Nolan Xavier Wells was found in the water just off the northwestern tip of Horn Island Monday morning, according to Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter. Tuesday, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd confirmed to WLOX News that the body found was Wells, according to dental records. The cause and manner of death haven’t been released. Investigators told ABC News they suspect that Wells drowned, but they are continuing the investigation. An autopsy was performed Tuesday by the state medical examiner, but officials say it could take “a couple weeks” to receive results,...