COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – City and county governments usually hold work sessions to work out issues and develop consensus before a regular meeting. Sometimes, however, they expose bigger gaps among members. Temperatures were hot and so were tempers at a work session for the Columbus City Council, as issues that have been simmering for weeks came close to boiling over….
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The United States Department of Veterans Affairs reports about 131,000 veterans are homeless, and 1.7 million face mental health needs. Behind the fun of Bingo and Karaoke nights, there is some serious business at American Legion Posts. The veterans’ organization helps those who have served connect the right dots to receive valuable services. WCBI met with…
BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – An investigation is underway after a body described by police as a fetus was found in Booneville. In all of his years in law enforcement, Booneville Police Chief Michael Ramey said Wednesday morning’s call was a first. “The Booneville police received a call from the water and sewer department about a possible sighting of a fetus…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Students at Mississippi State are graduating this weekend. Some have been together all through their college years, and some are even crossing the stage with friends from high school, but a trio of triplets have done it all together. Rees, Brantley Kate, and Davis Newton are triplets from Frisco Texas. Growing up, the trio did everything together,…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A man accused of shooting at three people, along with damaging vehicles and businesses was found not guilty. Demarcqueis Clark was facing aggravated assault, business, and malicious mischief charges. The charges stem from a December 2021 shooting in the parking lot of a shopping center behind the east Columbus McDonald’s. A Lowndes County jury deliberated the…
MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss. (WCBI) – Here is a graduation update from Mississippi State University. Storm patterns are pushing the ceremony back an hour and a half. So now, the morning graduation ceremony will start at 10 a.m. Friday, not 8:30. Leaders of the university are continuing to follow weather conditions for Friday and will provide updates when necessary. For 24/7…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State University, Toyota Mississippi, and Liquid Wire Inc. are teaming up to improve the workplace. The collaboration was announced Thursday at the MSU Athlete Engineering Summit as part of the project MSU’s interdisciplinary Athlete Engineering research group will work directly with the Northeast Mississippi auto-manufacturers to implement and assess Liquid Wire wearable technologies inside…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Overall, things are looking up in Lowndes County. That was the word from the president of the Board of Supervisors. Trip Hairston spoke to business and community leaders at Lion Hills Thursday afternoon about the county’s progress. The county has landed what is being touted as the state’s largest economic development deal with the agreement…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Caledonia teen was indicted after being accused of killing his mother’s fiancé, just hours after graduating high school. Justin Robert Coggins was indicted for manslaughter by a Lowndes County grand jury. The shooting happened on Richards Lane in May 2022. 33-year-old Dustin Hoffpauir died at the scene of the shooting. No court date has…
PICKENS COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An Alabama Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation landed a Pickens County man in jail. 59-year-old Roy Acker was charged with two counts of Facilitating Solicitation of Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Child. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency State Bureau of Investigation said this is an ongoing investigation. No details about the case were…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A Tupelo man was accused of making threats to a non-profit organization in the city. Wednesday, police were called to the Salvation Army on Carnation Street. Officers were told that someone had threatened to hurt several people and had also made threats to “shoot up” the agency. Police identified Willie Lynom as the suspect. Lynom was…
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Former Governor Phil Bryant gave notice he could sue a news organization. The former two-term Republican wanted an apology from Mississippi Today and some of its employees. Bryant claimed CEO Mary Margaret White made a “false” statement about him at a media conference back in February. The notice of intent letter also states an executive editor and…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A Starkville woman was accused of drowning her cat. Inecia Looby was charged with one count of aggravated animal cruelty. Oktibbeha County deputies were called to an apartment complex on Dawg Drive back on May 4. People that lived there found a cat wrapped in plastic in the breezeway of the complex. An autopsy was done…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Cross-country running is growing in popularity with all age groups, especially in middle and high school. That’s why a Tupelo businessman is taking time out from his day job to offer free workshops to help young runners get the edge. It’s late Monday afternoon and Jim Brown is leading young runners through a cross-country running clinic…
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – As vaping continues to rise in popularity among teens, the concern over easily concealed e-cigarettes has medical professionals concerned. Is it a pen or is it a vape? Is it a smart watch or is it a vape? Sounds silly to ask, but these are serious questions to think about when a child’s well-being is…
NEW HOPE, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s college signing season for many athletes across the viewing area. Some of those students will be continuing their athletic careers on the sidelines. Brileigh Glidewelll has been cheering since she was a little girl. She started in competitive cheer and then made her school’s squad. She said she knew once her high school career…
WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – West Point police are looking for a suspect involved in a drive-by shooting that injured a teenager. Surveillance video captured what is believed to be the suspect’s vehicle over the weekend. Police said the suspect pulled up next to the victim’s car at the intersection of Airport Road and U.S. Highway 45 Alternate and opened…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – UPDATE: Tupelo Police Department reports Kathryn Kennedy has been located safe. (05/15/2023) Tupelo police are asking for your help to find a missing woman. 34-year-old Kathryn Nicole Kennedy was last seen a week ago, Friday, May 5 at 3400 McCullough Boulevard in Tupelo. She is 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs around 155 pounds. She…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State hosted its second Athlete Engineering Summit at the Communiversity on Wednesday. Experts addressed human performance issues across different areas such as sports, military, industries, and medical applications. The panel kicked off its first discussion on ways different industries can learn from each other to become more efficient. “Most industries have already solved these…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Testimony continued in the trial for one of the men accused in a December 2021 shooting in the parking lot of an East Columbus shopping center. A jury was seated Tuesday in the case of Demarcqueis Clark. He is standing trial for three counts of Aggravated Assault with a Weapon, one count of Shooting into a…
ALABAMA (WCBI) – A car crash on an Alabama highway claimed the lives of five people. Four of them were from Lowndes County. The two-vehicle crash happened a little after 10 Wednesday morning on Interstate 59, northbound just south of Attalla in Etowah County, Alabama. A 2001 Chevy Malibu collided with a 2009 Toyota Tundra pick-up. The driver of the…
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Oktibbeha County deputies are investigating an early morning shooting. The gunfire happened at The Hangout apartments on Mary Lee Lane at about 1:50 a.m. Investigators told WCBI one person was injured. They have non-life-threatening wounds. Deputies believed there was a party at the complex and then an argument before the gunfire started. No arrest has…
LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Investigators released new information in the theft investigation from a car dealership. Latisha Smith is a former employee at Doc’s Toyota. Louisville police believed she took $250,000 from the business when it was located in Louisville. The investigation goes back to at least 2020 and there could be more money involved. Smith was also arrested in…
JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – A longtime Jackson area state lawmaker is facing a federal charge. Representative Earle Banks of Hinds County was charged with willfully making a false statement on a tax return. He was accused of failing to report more than $500,000 of income from a 2018 sale of real estate. Banks is scheduled to make a May 17…