A KFC franchise in Tupelo, Mississippi is in some hot water over the hiring and firing of 59 year-old Eunice Jasica. Once a former bus driver and department store security associate, Jasica fell on hard times becoming homeless in December 2012. She lost her job, home, and livelihood, and in efforts to get back on her feet, Jasica found housing at a nearby Salvation Army where she applied for employment eventually landing an offer earlier this month in food prep.

Her hopes of a new start however would quickly dwindle as franchise owner Chesley Ruff informed her upon arrival for duty she would not have employment with the fast food chain. “He told me to come back when I had an address and transportation,” notes Jasica. “But how am I supposed to get all that without a job?”

Why would the general manager offer employment to a homeless woman for the franchise owner to fire her? The Clarion-Ledge reports Ruff claimed he never extended employment though signed documents from the general manager prove otherwise.

Since the story broke, Ruff’s story has changed citing fear of commitment due to lack of proper housing and transportation. Then he altered his excuse yet again saying Jasica had no prior food prep experience and was “too elderly” to possibly perform necessary duties.

Perhaps Ruff would have been better off not saying anything at all? Do you think he has justified concerns, or has a wrongful termination suit on his hands?

While downing a bag of Tostitos tortilla chips and salsa, I saw the numbers came in for states with the highest obesity rates and…I continued eating. But cut me some slack, I’m eating grapes now. Anywho, all in all, Mississippi came out on top with the highest proportion of obese adults at 34.9 percent and Colorado had the least with a 20.7 percentage rate. This isn’t the first time the state has been put on the spot for its obesity rates, as it has claimed this title in the previous six years. If that wasn’t enough, it seems that that southern and Midwestern states took up most of the high obesity list, with 26 of the 30 states with the highest rates coming from both parts of the country. For instance, the top 10 states for obesity, to name a few, included Louisiana, Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, South Carolina, and even Texas and Kentucky tying for the tenth spot.

On top of that, while those with higher income were more likely to be obese, to be specific, women of lower income were more likely to be obese than women with a higher income, according to the CDC.

On the lower end of the spectrum, states with the lowest rates of obesity included (aside from Colorado), Hawaii, California, New York, New Jersey, and D.C. The study was done by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and was actually conducted over the phone. Jeffrey Lavi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health had this to say about the good news and the bad news that comes from the findings:

“The good news is that we have a growing body of evidence and approaches that we know can help reduce obesity, improve nutrition and increase physical activity based on making healthier choices easier for Americans. The bad news is we’re not investing anywhere near what we need to in order to bend the obesity curve and see the returns in terms of health and savings.”

According to the CDC, and from the Daily Mail, “the latest report on obesity-related medical bills, from 2011, found that in 2006 costs totaled $147 billion, the majority of which was spent treating diseases such as diabetes.”

Of course, this test was based around the whole body mass index calculations, which damn near make everyone out to be obese. But I think we all know when we’re teetering above having some extra curves on our frame and being unhealthy, even if we don’t want to admit it. Hopefully this study will push more people all over, not just in the most obese states, to do more in the way of eating healthier and making better decisions. That way the next time a study like this takes place, the rates for every state on the list will be a whole lot lower. Check out more of the findings and where your state stands at the Center for Disease Control‘s website.

A few of the most obese states:

1. Mississippi 34.9

2. Louisiana 33.4

3. West Virinia 32.4

4. Alabama 32.0

5. Michigan 31.3

6. Oklahoma 31.1

7. Arkansas 30.9

8. Indiana (tie) 30.8

8. South Carolina 30.8

10. Kentucky (tie) 30.4

10. Texas 30.4

And a few of the least obese states:

1. Colorado 20.7

2. Hawaii 21.8

3. Massachusetts 22.7

4. New Jersey (tie) 23.7

4. District of Columbia 23.7

5. California 23.8

6. Utah 24.4

7. New York (tie) 24.5

7. Connecticut 24.5

7. Nevada 24.5

Source: Gossiprocks.com

It might be 2012 most places in the nation, but at the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs in Mississippi, it’s about 1950-something. There, the predominantly white congregation objected to marrying a couple this month not because they weren’t members or didn’t do premarital counseling–simply “Because of the fact that we were black,” Charles Wilson told CNN Sunday night.

“Some of the members of the congregation had got upset and decided that no black couple would ever be married at that church. All we wanted to do in the eyes of God was to be man and wife in a church that we thought we felt loved. What was wrong with that?”

Apparently a lot in the church members’ eyes. At the last minute, Pastor Stan Weatherford asked the couple to move their wedding location on behalf of the congregation. As a compromise, he married the couple elsewhere.

“This was — had not — had never been done here before so it was setting a new (precedent) and there were those who reacted to that,” Weatherford told CNN affiliate WLBT. ”I didn’t want to have a controversy within the church, and I didn’t want a controversy to affect the wedding of Charles and Te’ Andrea. I wanted to make sure their wedding day was a special day.”

The wedding was still clearly affected. The couple had already sent out invitations listing the church as the place of the wedding so they had to redirect everyone to a new spot. Not to mention taking in the fact that the church which Te’Andrea had bee a part of for over a year was somehow accepting of having a black member but not marrying them. Hindsight being 20/20, some members of the church have now come forward to express regret over the protest of a supposed minority of people. Attendee Bob Mack told WLBT:

“I would say, ‘I’m sorry this happened and would you forgive the people who caused it? Because we’re gonna try to.’”

Charles isn’t so sure he’s ready to forgive what was his new church home’s transgressions though.

“If it was such a minority of people [who didn't want us to get married there], why didn’t the majority stand up and say, ‘In God’s house we don’t do this?’”

An excellent question I’m sure the members don’t have an answer to.

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• The Benefits Of Having A Bestie With A Boyfriend: 7 Relationship Tips To Learn From Your BFF
• Oldies But Goodies! A Few Of Our Favorite Back In The Day Boos
• Let’s Say Chuuurch! 8 “Holier Than Thou” Celebs…
• If It’s Broke, Fix It: Why Some Friendships Are Worth Sticking Out
• The Bottom Chick: Is This You?
• Where Are They Now? 9 Blue-Eyed Soul Singers We Used To Jam To

Source: GAdailynews.com

The purpose of a daycare center is for someone to watch children when their parents can’t, but workers at the Kiddie City Childcare Center in Vicksburg, MS, totally dropped the ball when a 9-year-old boy attacked  several young children for nearly a half hour and nobody even noticed.

Surveillance video captured the child punching one little girl multiple times; choking another, then patting her on the back as she cries; kicking one kid; and violently shaking yet another. Police released the footage after former daycare worker Sandra Trevillion was arrested and charged with two counts of contributing to the neglect of a minor for letting this behavior carry on.

“This 9-year-old child, he was allowed to pretty much run rough shot over that entire room for a period of 15 to 20 minutes,” Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong told KLTV. “All his actions went unnoticed.”

Jamie Williams,  a parent of one of the girls the boy attacked, was also arrested following the incident. He said his daughter came home for about a week with injuries, including a busted lip and a bite mark on her chin, and he was angered when daycare workers couldn’t give an explanation as to why his 1-year-old was repeatedly getting hurt. He ended up slapping a boy he thought was responsible for the injuries but it was the wrong child and Williams was later arrested and charged with simple assault.

“I understand why Jamie Williams would be upset. However, even if he had attacked the nine year-old he still would have been arrested and it would have been just as wrong as him attacking the six year-old,” Armstrong said.

Trevillion was being held on a $2,656 bond and police have interviewed the 9-year-old and his mother but it’s unclear whether he will face charges. His aunt, Vinia Dolley, tried to explain his behavior in an interview with WLBT.

“He['s] bad. He fight[s] but he don’t fight little babies,” she said. “He do[es] also have a problem. He take[s] medicine every day and he['s] just a normal child. I feel bad about him jumping on a two year-old baby, he 9 years old. He don’t fight his own 2-year-old brother like that or cousins.”

At the very least, children’s services needs to step in and see what type of environment this little boy has been exposed to that would make him behave so violently at this age.

Check out the disturbing video here. Do you think the boy should face charges?

Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Can An Artist Sell Sex and Still Have Their Music Taken Seriously?
• Ask a Very Smart Brotha: Are My Male Friends Keeping Me From Finding a Man?
• Thanks But No Thanks: Why I Refused To Be Her Bridesmaid
• How Ya Going? 9 of Our Favorite Celebs Of Trinidadian Descent (There’s Some Surprises!)
• An Open Letter to My Single Sistas: Being Single is Not a Curse, It’s A Gift
• UGH! 10 Things Men Do That Drive Women Nuts

Source: KLTV

Yes, you read that right. A Mississippi mom is being called a “little hero” after she botched her own son’s armed robbery attempt by grabbing his toy gun.

According to ABC News, 22-year-old Roy Mitchell, came to a D’s One Stop Food Mart with his mom, went inside the store, grabbed a bag of Doritos, then pointed his “gun” at the clerk demanding money, and the entire incident was caught on surveillance tape.

Before the clerk could hand anything over, Roy’s mom, who had come into the store behind him, grabbed the gun out of his hands! She apologized to the the clerk and told her that the gun was fake and that Roy was just playing around. She begged the clerk not to call the police and she pushed her son out of the store.

Of course, the clerk called 911 anyway and when police tracked them down 20 minutes later, they found the toy pistol still in the car.

They arrested Roy and now he is in jail being held on a $300,000 bond facing one charge of attempted robbery. As for his mother? Police assistant chief Chris Butts told ABC News that the young man’s mother was a ‘little hero’ for confiscating the gun.

He said: “If the clerk had a gun it could have been real messy.”

Not only did this man attempt to rob a gas station with a bogus gun, he did it in the vicinity of his mother. Who does that? Now, with his face all over the news, jail is probably the best place for him and his humiliation right now.

Although I think having to live with his mother after that incident would probably be a much harsher punishment.

What would you have done if that was your son?

Follow Alissa Henry on Twitter @AlissaInPink

More on Madame Noire!

• DY-NO-MITE!!! 8 Celebrities and the Roles That Typecast Them and Stunted Their Careers
• Why Won’t People Let Barack Obama Be Black?
• Do That Ish And Watch What Happens: 8 Things You Shouldn’t Do Without Consulting Your Husband
• Frank and His Odd Future: Why His Coming Out Is Cool, But Also Very Complicated
• Noire Naturals, Episode 3: Creating a Sophisticated Elegance
• Open Door Policy: The Truth About “Breaks” and Open Relationships
• Forget The Divorce Rate, I’m Still #TeamMarriage Because Other’s Failures Don’t Determine My Success

Source: www2.wjtv.com

If Ashley Dover would have applied her criminal genius in the classroom, she’d probably have a bright future ahead of her. Unfortunately for the Jackson State student that future just got a lot more bleak because she’s been busted running an elaborate credit card scheme from her dorm room.

Police arrested the 22-year-old and three of her friends who were apart of the scam after recovering a credit card making system in Dover’s dorm room which included the actual embossing and tipping machines. Like Dover, the accomplices, Olivia Ray, Tashanna Toler, and Kieariah Collins are all from Illinois, but Dover was the only student at the school. According to Detective Lloyd Coulter, the credit card fraud was quite professional.

“They put in a tipping machine which would overlay the card with whatever design they liked. Nascar, Regents Bank, Trustmark Bank, any of those things. We know right now 54 credit cards have been compromised. As of right now, only four victims have come forward. My understanding is they had an inside source at the bank that leaked out the information.”

More than $35,000 has been spent in metro businesses using at least four stolen credit card numbers reaching as far as North Carolina.  The girls used the money to buy electronics like iPads or gift cards which they sold for cash. Now the ladies are being held in the Rankin County Jail on 16 felonies charges of Identity Theft and Credit Card Fraud with a bond of $450,000 each. The U. S. Secret Service has also been contacted and is assisting in the investigation which means they might as well get comfortable.

Authorities are also reminding people to monitor their credit card statements and make sure no odd activity is present, considering there are 50 unidentified victims out there at this point.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• Dating Before Divorced! These Folks Just Couln’t Wait…
• Not So Famous Sisters of Famous Black Celebrities Part III
• LASH OUT! The 7 Best Mascaras For Lash Length – EDITOR PICKS
• Relationship Reflections: Things To Think About After The Breakup
• Oh No She Didn’t: Tyra Banks Fires Jay Manuel, Nigel Barker, and J.Alexander from ANTM
• Brooklyn Man Locked Up Nearly a Year for Rape Even Though Victim Recanted Story
• ‘Broke’: New Documentary Looks at How Pro Athletes (Foolishly) Lose All Their Money
• Is Church A Waste of Time?

A Mississippian with HIV/AIDS is almost twice as likely to die from the virus than the average American, and if you are an HIV-positive African-American in the state, the chances of dying are 10 times greater than a white resident.

An article on Salon.com charges that Mississippi not only has the highest new infection rate and greatest percentage of people living with HIV in the country, but also the least interest in helping them, particularly due to racist and homophobic attitudes. Representing only 37.5% of the population, African Americans make up 78% of new HIV infections in Mississippi. Out of a $4.9 million budget, the state only contributes $750,000 to HIV/AIDS programs and an abstinence-education statute bans any programs offering information about condoms to demonstrate how to use them. A lack of anti-discrimination laws also leaves infected individuals vulnerable to discriminatory employment and housing practices.

Advocates are hopeful that the state’s new STD/HIV director, Nicholas Mosca will bring about the necessary change to turn Mississippi’s HIV/AIDS statistics around, but what can a public health advocate do to change the bigoted attitudes underlying the lack of care for these patients?

Are you shocked at the HIV death rate among African Americans in Mississippi? What do you think the state can do to turn this issue around?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

More on Madame Noire!

• “Weave Wisdom” Episode 3: How To Maintain A Hair Weave
  
• Two New ‘Basketball Wives’ Added to Miami Season 4 Cast
  
• Post Breakup Tips to Reclaim Your Mind, Body and Soul
  
• The Questions He Hopes You Never Ask
• Evelyn Lozada and Ochocinco Spinoff Series Coming to VH1
• 9 Inconvenient Truths About Men and Cheating
• Are You in Love Or Lust? Check Out These Signs
  

(AP) – JACKSON, Miss. – Hattiesburg Mayor Johnny DuPree on Tuesday won the Democratic nomination for Mississippi governor, becoming the first black candidate in modern times to win a major-party nod for the state’s top job.  DuPree defeated Clarksdale attorney and developer Bill Luckett in a Democratic primary runoff.  DuPree, 57, advances to the Nov. 8 general election to face Republican Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, 56, of Brandon.  ”I’m just so proud of the fact that we had people who believed in us, believed in the message, believed in what we’re trying to accomplish. I’m so proud that people took a hold of that,” DuPree said in a phone interview from a Hattiesburg community center, where he celebrated with family and supporters.

Read More…

(New York Times) — No one disputes that James Craig Anderson, a middle-aged black family man with a quick wit and a demanding sense of style, was robbed, beaten and then run over by a group of white teenagers in a motel parking lot early one morning in June.  But as the case builds — charges against the young man accused of driving the Ford pickup that hit Mr. Anderson were raised to capital murder on Friday, and the F.B.I. is now involved — significant questions remain.  Was the killing of Mr. Anderson premeditated racial violence? An act indicative of a deep cultural divide?  Or was the behavior of Deryl Dedmon, the slight, blond teenager who could be facing the death penalty, simply an anomaly born of anger, alcohol and teenage stupidity, as some close to the case suggest?  Beyond those questions, many here are asking whether Mr. Anderson’s death will prompt a deeper discussion of race relations in a state that has struggled mightily to move beyond its past.

Read More…

 By Charlotte Young

James C. Anderson stood near his car on an early morning in June, unknowingly standing as a target for a group of excited, crazed teens on a mission.

He was ran over in a motel parking lot in Jackson, Mississippi and The NY Times reports that his death could have, at first, been connected to an accidental hit and run. But a motel security camera caught the incident on tape – CNN posted the video on its website on Sunday, prompting additional interest in the case.

Hinds County district attorney, Robert Shuler Smith, is sure that a group of white teenagers from a predominantly white town only 16 miles away, beat and killed Anderson, who was African American. One witness says they came to Jackson looking for African Americans to “mess with.”

“This is the first business that you get to coming off the highway, and so that was the first person that was out here and vulnerable,” Smith told CNN.

The district attorney says Anderson was standing near his car at a motel in Jackson at about 5 am on Sunday, June 26. Two carloads of teenagers then got off the Interstate and drove into the motel parking lot. Some jumped from the vehicles to beat Anderson and as he tripped around the parking lot, he was run over by a green Ford F250 pickup truck. A local hospital later pronounced Anderson dead.

One motel worker who witnessed the assault says one of them yelled “white power” after they beat the man. Others who saw it take place, said they heard a suspect laugh and brag about the incident. While two carloads of teens were involved, Deryl Dedmon, a skinny 18-year-old man with blond hair, was the driver of the vehicle that killed Anderson. He has been charged with murder and is in jail on an $800,000 bond. There were two teenage girls in the truck with him but police say they were not charged.

Another 18-year-old, John A Rice, was at first charged with murder but a judge reduced the charges to simple assault. He has been released on bail. This month a grand jury will hear the case and prosecutors will argue that it was a hate crime and a murder and that both teens should be convicted. Smith says that these teens “have a history of harassing white teens who had black friends or gay teens.”

Dedmon’s uncle Ray Dedmon says his nephew was a “good boy” who “probably got with the wrong crowd.” A Facebook page supports Rice’s case, with his friends arguing his innocence. His great-aunt says that he is neither “a racist or a murderer,” and that she is “sick of the race card.” But the case has Jackson residents and surrounding towns wondering how far the state has come in race relations. While Smith tells NY Times that “this does not happen very often,” he also says “it’s still highly segregated in most ways” with high racial tension in some groups.

“There’s no way to get around it,” he said. “It is what it is.”