Joshua Pounder, the coroner for DeSoto County in northwest Mississippi, wrote on his Facebook page Thursday night a breakdown of all causes of death in the county in July. He said he felt compelled to act because of the “many facebook google experts and politicians with politically driven agendas driven by money reporting information that is twisted and false to the public.” The post, which has since garnered nearly 3,000 shares, described what Pounder called an “average month in Desoto county,” despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic....

Governor Tate Reeves quietly signed the proclamation last week recognizing the state’s history as part of the Confederacy. The proclamation is the third of its kind signed by Reeves since taking office in 2020. While Reeves said his predecessors have signed similar proclamations for the last 30 years, it sparked familiar controversies. The proclamation was not posted to Reeves’ Twitter or Facebook accounts and his office did not issue a statement announcing it....

Mississippi Department of Health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that medical resources were under strain as the highly contagious variant of the disease gallops through the state. He said that there were now 13 hospitals in the state which had no ICU beds available, while there was only around a tenth of ICU beds were available in other hospitals. “We’re going to have a rough few weeks,” Dobbs told a media briefing on Tuesday, “Delta is hitting us very strongly....

“In an unbroken line dating to Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court’s abortion cases have established (and affirmed, and re-affirmed) a woman’s right to choose an abortion before viability,” wrote the appeals court judge. “States may regulate abortion procedures prior to viability so long as they do not impose an undue burden on the woman’s right but they may not ban abortions.” Several states have been enacting abortion laws that might spur challenges to Roe v....

Safety Jamal Peters will wear the No. 99 jersey to honor his late teammate, who was killed along with his father, in a car wreck Nov. 6. MORE: Week 11 picks | Five things to watch | BRADLEY: Unleash Dak Prescott Peters, who normally wears No. 12, has 17 tackles, two pass breakups and a sack this season. The team will wear stickers on their helmets to honor Joseph....

The Houston athletic director is expected to be named AD at Missouri, according to multiple reports. Rhoades is replacing Mike Alden, who is stepping down in August. He became the front-runner for the position after Ole Miss AD Ross Bjork reportedly decided not to pursue the opportunity. MORE: Top 10 program rankings | Boz is 50 | Top 25 quarterbacks for 2015 Rhoades hired basketball coach Kelvin Sampson in April 2014 and in December hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman as the Cougars’ football head coach....

“With this conversation, in the presence of the 117th House of Representatives, I concluded with a light-hearted pun in recognition of the record number of women who will be representing the American people in Congress during this term as well as in recognition of the first female Chaplain of the House of Representatives, whose service commenced this week,” Cleaver said in a statement given to Newsweek. Cleaver, a Methodist minister in his ninth congressional term, delivered the opening prayer on Sunday as the U....

Line: South Carolina -6.5, Total: 62 Line movement: The Wynn opened the Gamecocks as 7-point favorites, but moved the line down to -5.5 by Tuesday. Midweek, there’s a mix of 5.5s and 6s being dealt around Las Vegas. Visit our live odds page for up-to-date spreads and totals. Trends that matter: South Carolina is 6-1 ATS vs. teams with a winning record….South Carolina Is 23-1 SU in its last 24 at home…Mizzou is 7-3 ATS as a road dog since 2011....

Senator Manchin continues to be a barrier to the Democrats’ efforts to get rid of the rule that requires 60 votes to pass most legislation, in order to ease the passage of President Joe Biden’s agenda. With the upper house split 50-50, the West Virginia lawmaker appeared to quash his party’s hopes this week when he wrote in The Washington Post that the filibuster was “a critical tool” needed to protect “our democratic form of government....

In honor of the 2015 slug-off, Mitchell & Ness put together a cool interactive graphic of the longest home run hit in every MLB ballpark and layered the flight paths on top of the Reds’ ballpark. (Head to the Mitchell & Ness site to check out the entire thing.) MORE: Former HR Derby winners | All-Bust Team Of the eight participants on Monday night, only one — Prince Fielder — holds a stadium record for longest home run, blasting a 486-foot home run at Minute Maid Park in Houston, in April of 2011....

A two-time Dynamite Diamond Ring winner, MJF does not lack confidence. Working with veterans like FTR and Tully Blanchard, Shawn Spears, and the young, powerful Wardlow, The Pinnacle has taken over the company. Is there tension, however, between MJF and Wardlow? Regardless, MJF must focus all of his energy on the returning CM Punk in a feud pitting two of the best talkers against one another. What does MJF think about Punk, Wardlow, and himself?...

While the Red Devils appeared to wrap up a comfortable 3-0 victory on paper, Mourinho felt his side relaxed too much after going two goals up and insisted there is no time to gamble in any match United play, regardless of the scoreline. Man Utd 5/2 to win PL The manager’s comments could have been taken the wrong way by some players, but Mkhitaryan is in agreement with the Portuguese and highlighted the importance of full concentration for 90 minutes....

Dipoto was supposed to bring a radically different school of thought to the Mariners’ front office and lead the team to success. Cano, signed by predecessor Jack Zduriendcik, was supposed to spearhead a push for relevancy, backed by Felix Hernandez, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager. Two years isn’t a lot of time to turn a stumbling franchise, but Dipoto has had plenty of pieces to play with. He’s made trade after trade, waiver claim after waiver claim....

To close the net a little tighter, Pujols joined Hank Aaron as the only players to have 700 home runs and 3,000 hits, not to mention the only members of the 700 club to not have a 50-home run season in their careers. Pujols is already fourth all time on the MLB home run list, having passed Alex Rodriguez’s 696 career homers on Sept. 11. Given Pujols is retiring after this season, fourth will be where he ends up at the end of his career, as he won’t be catching Babe Ruth’s 714 before the year is out....

MLB is making strides to put baseball in front of as many viewers as possible — kind of. This season, with a new partnership between the league and Apple, select games will be available strictly on Apple TV+ in its “Friday Night Baseball” package. MORE: MLB blackout restrictions, explained Here’s what you need to know about the schedule for the upcoming games you can find exclusively on Apple+ TV:...

The pitching matchup of the night is a battle between All-Star lefties at AT&T Park in San Francisco with Madison Bumgarner a slim -117 favorite over Boston’s David Price. Both pitchers have been at their best lately with the Giants riding an eight game win streak behind Bumgarner (7-2, 2.02 ERA) while Price (7-2, 4.88) has a 2.62 ERA over his last five starts after being at 6.75 during his first seven....

Baseball’s all-time hits leader deserves “a fair, full hearing,” commissioner Rob Manfred said this week. Manfred made his comments during an interview with NBC News’ Chuck Todd for Sunday’s “Meet The Press.” MORE: Classic Pete Rose photos | Pedro Martinez says Rose should be in Hall | Investigator opposes reinstatement Manfred indicated Rose’s potential eligibility for the Baseball Hall of Fame might be tied to how he decides on Rose’s reinstatement....

Watch ChangeUp, a new MLB live whip-around show on DAZN Happy opening day! The long, cold winter has finally passed; the blanket of snow has lifted; the frozen tundra has thawed; and like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, baseball (and daily fantasy baseball) is back, baby! Now the question is – is that moist, green organic that our feet tread upon simply the springtime grass or giant stacks of cash just waiting to be frolicked in by savvy MLB DFS players?...