Mississippi

President Joe Biden early Sunday issued an emergency declaration for Mississippi, making federal funding available to Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe and Sharkey counties, the areas hardest hit Friday night by a deadly tornado that ripped through the Mississippi Delta, one of the poorest regions of the U.S.

At least 25 people were killed and dozens of others were injured in Mississippi as the massive storm ripped through several towns on its hour-long path. One man was killed after his trailer home flipped several times in Alabama.

ROLLING FORK, Miss. (AP) — A powerful tornado tore through rural Mississippi and Alabama on Friday night, killing at least seven people, destroying buildings and knocking out power as severe weather that produced hail the size of golf balls moved through several southern states and prompted authorities to warn some in its path that they were in a “life-threatening situation.”

ARKABUTLA, Miss. (AP) — A gunman authorities say killed six people in Mississippi busted into his ex-wife’s home and smashed her boyfriend in the head with the butt of a gun before shooting her in the head, her boyfriend told The Associated Press on Saturday.

ARKABUTLA, Miss. (AP) — A lone gunman killed six people including his ex-wife and stepfather Friday at multiple locations in a tiny rural community in northern Mississippi, the sheriff said, leaving investigators searching for clues to what motivated the rampage.

Armed with a shotgun and two handguns, 52-year-old Richard Dale Crum opened fire at about 11 a.m. and killed a man in the driver’s seat of a pickup truck parked outside a convenience store in Arkabutla, near the Tennessee state line, Tate County Sheriff Brad Lance said.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Brandon Presley, a Democrat in his fourth term as a Mississippi utilities regulator, announced Thursday that he is running for governor this year, saying he believes state government and the current Republican governor are disconnected from the needs of working people.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Residents in several towns across Louisiana and Mississippi took cover as tornado sirens blared late Tuesday, and forecasters warned of the threat of strong twisters capable of tracking long distances on the ground as a severe weather outbreak erupted in the Deep South.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department overreached in suing Mississippi over its mental health system, the state’s solicitor general has argued to a federal appeals court.

A Justice Department attorney countered that there’s ample precedent to show the department has the power to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A man who stole a plane and flew it over northern Mississippi after threatening to crash it into a Walmart faces charges of grand larceny and terroristic threats, authorities said Saturday.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s capital city was restoring running water to some homes and businesses Thursday, but many faucets remained dry or had only a trickle of water as crews worked to repair a flood-impaired water treatment plant.

Jackson leaders reported some overnight progress in refilling tanks at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant, the facility at the root of the latest water woes in Jackson.

Those among Jackson’s 150,000 residents who had running water again remained under a boil order that pre-dates the problems caused by flooding.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s capital city is grappling with multiple water problems — too much on the ground after heavy rainfall in the past week, and not enough safe water coming through the pipes for people to use.

Parts of Jackson were without running water Tuesday because flooding exacerbated longstanding problems in one of two water-treatment plants. The city of 150,000 had already been under a boil-water notice for a month because the Health Department found cloudy water that could cause digestive problems.