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JACKSON DEMS PICK LUMUMBA

Lumumba defeats Lee in Democratic primary runoff for Jackson mayor

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Jackson City Councilman Chokwe Lumumba has defeated businessman Jonathan Lee in the Democratic primary runoff for Jackson mayor.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that unofficial results show the 65-year-old Lumumba winning 55% of the vote Tuesday.

The Democratic nominee is expected to become mayor. No Republican is running, though independent candidates Francis Smith, Jr., Richard Williams, Jr., and Cornelius Griggs are on the June 4 general election ballot. The new term begins July 1.

Lumumba, an attorney and civil rights activist, was active in a black nationalist group decades ago. But he ran as a mainstream candidate who would represent all city voters.

In the May 7 Democratic primary, Lee placed first, Lumumba was second and current Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. finished third in a field of 11 candidates.

Jackson is Mississippi's largest city.

PUPPY MILL INVESTIGATION

Police: Dog breeder charged with animal cruelty

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Authorities say a Mississippi man has been charged with animal cruelty and surrendered 104 dogs, but the man denies mistreating the animals.

The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society of South Mississippi say in a news release that the dogs were in "horrible conditions" with some caged with dead animals at a "puppy mill" in Tylertown.

The Walthall County Sheriff's Department says 72-year-old James Thornhill was charged Tuesday with one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Thornhill said he was booked and released.

Thornhill tells The Associated Press he surrendered the dogs to the Humane Society Monday, but denies mistreating them.

He says one dog died while he was with his sick wife in the hospital and he hadn't had time to remove it from a pen.

MANNING-THE OTHER CASE

Judge denies Manning new trial in 1993 slayings

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A judge has denied Willie Jerome Manning's request for a new trial in the 1993 slayings of a 90-year-old woman and her 60-year-old daughter in Starkville.

Oktibbeha County Circuit Judge Lee Howard handed down his ruling Tuesday. Manning's attorney, Robert Mink, calls the ruling "astonishing" and says he'll appeal.

Manning had been set for lethal injection May 7 in a separate case - the 1992 slayings of 2 Mississippi State University students.

The state Supreme Court blocked the execution hours before it was scheduled. Justices didn't explain their action, but Manning had argued that DNA tests would prove him innocent.

Manning was convicted in 1996 in the slayings of Emmoline Jimmerson and her daughter Alberta Jordan. They were beaten and their throats slashed during a robbery attempt at their apartment.

BRANSTAD-VICKSBURG

Iowa gov to visit Civil War site in Mississippi

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Gov. Terry Branstad is heading to the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi later this week for a re-dedication of the Iowa State Memorial.

Branstad will participate in the re-dedication Saturday morning. He says he expects thousands of people to be there to commemorate Iowans who fought in the battles and siege of Vicksburg in 1862 and 1863.

More than 30,000 Iowa troops participated in the fighting. Branstad says he wants to show his appreciation and respect for that service.

Branstad and the Iowa General Assembly last year approved $320,000 in funding to restore the memorial. Dedicated in 1906, the Greek-Doric monument features white granite block columns and bronze panels telling the story of Iowa residents' service in the battles.

ADAMS-TREE FUNDS

Adams Co. to join in beautification program

NATCHEZ, Miss. (AP) - Adams County will use the money it got for cutting down trees at the former Belwood Country Club to plant more trees in downtown Natchez.

Board of supervisors President Darryl Grennell says there should be about $9,000 left over after the county does some projects.

The Natchez Democrat reports that the county got about $12,000 for the timber removed from the property.

Representatives of the Adams County Master Gardeners and the Community Alliance asked the supervisors for money to repair or cut tree wells and plant them with crepe myrtles around the city.

The project has cost $30,000, which includes private fundraising and $5,000 from the City of Natchez.

Grennell says he has no problem giving the remaining balance to the Master Gardeners.

ALCORN ROADS

Alcorn County settles road repairs for $247K

CORINTH, Miss. (AP) - The insurer for a transport company has paid $247,500 for damage to Alcorn County roads in 2011.

The board of supervisors accepted the settlement Monday for damage to Holly Church Road and Henson Road. Supervisors say the roads were damaged during a transport job by Burkhalter Rigging of Columbus.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports that the county had filed a claim for $290,000, the amount estimated by county engineer Cook Coggin that the road repairs would cost.

Supervisors had approved Burkhalter's transport through the county on July 14, 2011, of a 773,000-pound, 26-foot diameter steel pipe from Holly Springs to a steel fabricator at Yellow Creek port in Tishomingo County.

HOWELL APPEAL

Death row inmate loses post-conviction arguments

NEW ALBANY, Miss. (AP) - A judge has dismissed the post-conviction arguments of death row inmate Marlon Howell convicted in the 2001 slaying of a newspaper carrier.

In 2008, the Mississippi Supreme Court allowed Howell to pursue post-conviction arguments that challenged the testimony of a prosecutor's witness, on whether he was denied an attorney to be present at a line-up and whether his attorney should have done a better job.

Circuit Judge Samac Richardson denied Howell's arguments in a ruling issued Monday.

An inmate uses a post-conviction petition to argue he has found new evidence - or a possible constitutional issue - that could persuade a court to order a new trial.

Howell was convicted in the death of newspaper carrier David Pernell during a robbery.

IMMIGRANT WORKERS

Indian guest workers sue company in Miss., Texas

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Dozens of Indian guest workers are suing an Alabama-based marine and fabrication company, claiming it financially exploited them and forced them to live in squalid conditions after bringing them to work at Gulf Coast shipyards after Hurricane Katrina.

Three federal lawsuits backed by the Southern Poverty Law Center were filed Tuesday in Mississippi and Texas on behalf of 83 people who were recruited to work as welders and pipefitters for Signal International LLC after the 2005 storm.

The center filed a similar suit in New Orleans in 2008, but a judge refused to certify it as a class action. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also sued the company in 2011.

A Signal International lawyer said she hadn't seen the new lawsuits and declined to comment on their allegations.

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