Mississippi

• Plot to Assassinate Obama:
  Denver authorities announced they had arrested three people on drug and gun charges in connection with a possible plot to assassinate Obama during his speech accepting the nomination Thursday night. The US Attorney Generals office will hold a press conference this afternoon to discuss the "aggressive" inquiry into the case. It's not clear how detailed the plot was before the arrests.



• Hundreds Held in Immigration Raid:
  Another large-scale immigration raid, this time in Mississippi, led to 350 workers being detained. Numerous ICE agents infiltrated the Howard Industries factory and so far dozens of workers have been “identified, fingerprinted, interviewed, photographed and processed for removal from the US.” Immigrants' rights activists said, “It’s horrific what ICE is doing to these families and these communities.”
• Mystery Virus Hits India:
  A virus that started in one village in India has spread to 350 people and claimed 160 lives; 15 to 20 people are dying everyday. Doctors are unsure what the disease is, though possible causes lie everywhere in the piles of garbage and waterlogged roads. The villagers are getting desperate: “Everyone here is waiting for doctors to come and examine people; but they aren’t coming and we are counting our dead.”

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Three recent upsets in special elections for US House of Representative seats in the deep South, have Democrats rethinking their political fortunes in the region. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson famously said: "There goes the South for a generation" as he signed the Civil Rights Act. But recent and unlikely victories mean it might be time for the Democrats to draw a new map.

Alabama Pollster John Anzalone told the AP:

The Republican brand has taken a hit. When you have economic anxieties, the wedge issues that Republicans use just aren't that important. People aren't fat and happy now. They're worried.

This sounds like a more-nuanced incarnation of Barack Obama's bitter-gate comments.

Another factor helping the Democrats is the fact that candidates are not shy about embracing "values issues" co-opted by the Republicans. Southern voters find pro-life, pro-gun, and anti-gay marriage candidates, running on a Democratic ticket. What makes these candidates different from the Republicans? They do not accept Republican foreign or economic policy, nor do they carry George W. Bush's baggage.

Are the Spring's special election upsets a signal that the Democrats are going to widen their congressional majority this fall. If the incoming Democrats have a lot of red in their platform, what kind of majority will this be? Are Democrats giving up their core values, or finally understanding their constituency, and thus what it takes to win?

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When my mom alerted me to this baby giraffe born in Mississippi last Monday with weak ankles, I was intrigued. I loooove giraffes! The unnamed babe was born with a rare medical condition with weak flexor tendons in both hind legs. Zookeepers were monitoring her process over the last six days, bandaging her back ankles to help her stand up and to prevent abrasions and infections. Sadly, though, the tiny 87-pound calf died yesterday. Officials will perform a necropsy to determine the exact cause of death – see a couple more pictures when you read more

Both sides of the pond are facing a prison problem. In the US, states facing budget crises are now looking at an alternative to raising taxes — let's just say it's a lock-checking idea. They're letting prisoners go free well before their sentences are completed.

In a time of tough budget decisions and rising prison costs, a choice has to be made. Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington located group that supports fairer sentencing, said: “Do you want to build prisons or build colleges? If you’re a governor, it’s kind of come to that choice right now.”

To see how some states are compromising on containment, and what's happening in the UK, read more

Federal reporting of high-school graduation rates hide an embarrassing and depressing reality of the American education system. Only 70 percent of those who start ninth grade finish four years later.

Many states keep two statistics on hand. Mississippi for example, reports an 83 percent graduation rate to the federal government. The statistic used in the state, however, is 63 percent. California is another example. It reports 83 percent, but operates at home with a rate of 67 percent.

The New York Times explains that the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy has something to do with the high reporting and low completion rate. NCLB requires students to meet high standards on proficiency tests, but sets no national requirement for graduation rates. Schools actually have an incentive to persuade failing students to drop out, as the schools' averages on tests will then increase.

Are you surprised that the national graduation rate is only 70 percent? Should US states be focusing on making sure more students graduate, or rather concentrate on helping the proficient students make greater strides?

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CNN is now projecting that Barack Obama has won the primary in Mississippi. The Democrats award a proportionate amount of the delegates, but Obama will get the biggest wedge of that sweet peach pie. Polls indicated all day that Obama was ahead in the state, which hasn't voted for a Democratic candidate in a the general election in 32 years.

And congrats to laceykk23, the magnolia blossom who correctly named that last Democratic candidate in the comments!

• Reported moments ago, at least 16 people were killed when a nonmilitary bus was hit by a roadside bomb in southern Iraq. Twenty-two people were wounded in the bombing, which occurred on the Basra-Nasiriyah road just less than 300 miles south of Baghdad. This incident compounds with a violent day yesterday that saw eight US soldiers and an interpreter killed in two separate incidents in Diyala and Baghdad.



• Voters in Mississippi head to the polls today, the latest state to weigh in on the increasingly tight Democratic race. Polls show Barack Obama with an advantage in the state, which has 33 delegates up for grabs. Obama spent yesterday campaigning in the state, while Hillary Clinton focused her energy on Pennsylvania. That state has 158 delegates at stake in just over a month. Polls close in Mississippi at 7 p.m. EDT. Check back here for results later today.
• Consumer prices in China ballooned last month, the fastest pace of increase in more than 11 years, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics. Food prices were the biggest contributor, up 23.3 percent from the same month last year. Though China's heavy winter storms are partially to blame, the government has been issuing large amounts of Chinese currency every week and banks have been lending aggressively, creating a surge in circulating money. Leading economists believe the rapid money supply growth is the driving force behind the huge inflation.