Category: news

Potential presidential candidate visits

Courtesy: Alex Thompson on X

Rahm Emanuel is looking at a run to be the Democratic nominee for president in 2028, and he spoke this week in Water Valley.

The former mayor of Chicago appeared with former state Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley at Wednesday’s event.

Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson shared some of what was said.

Emanuel himself posted on X Saturday some of his comments from the Water Valley appearance.

Thompson added Emanuel’s biggest applause from that event came when proposing a national ban on social media for children under the age of 16.

He referred to Instagram and TikTok as being “worse than tobacco.“

One final run

They turned out in Downtown Columbus to see something that will never happen again.

People packed into the basement of The Commercial Dispatch to watch an old printing press run one final time.

The newspaper will no longer be printed in Columbus after more than 100 years.

Instead, it will be printed at the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo before being shipped back to the Golden Triangle for delivery.

Publisher Peter Imes says the move made sense since it is tougher to find parts and people to work on the 70-year-old printing press, which the newspaper bought used in 1969.

Imes adds delivery times will not change and the paper will have more color on its pages.

However, the paper will now come in a single section instead of two.

You can listen to the entire interview with Imes below about the decision to outsource the printing of the Golden Triangle’s main newspaper.

More progress made after Amory tornado

Baseball and softball teams at Amory High School have been playing away games since the 2023 tornado destroyed their fields. However, significant progress has been made toward again allowing those teams to play their games at home.

Construction started earlier this year on new facilities at the original location of those ballfields — construction that was delayed because the city had to wait on federal approval so it could transfer the property to the school district.

The Monroe Journal reported earlier this month work on those ballfields is on schedule,

Baseball and softball seasons for the Panthers will start in February.

Meanwhile, something else will come out of the ground not far from the high school.

A fence now surrounds the property on Highway 25 where the Amory National Guard Armory once stood before the tornado destroyed it.

It appears work has started on the site where the National Guard has plans for its new home to be built.

That home is now being referred to as a readiness center instead of an armory, a move the military made with its facilities several years ago.

Can I get them with a Grand Slam?

Denny’s describes itself as America’s Diner, and the restaurant chain is introducing what it refers to as “the sweetest drip of the season.”

“In streetwear, ‘drip’ is the ultimate compliment,'” the company said in the first line of its news release, “and this National Maple Syrup Day (December 17), America’s Diner is bringing its signature golden drip from the plate to the pavement with the launch of Sticky Kicks – the first-ever sneakers made with real Denny’s syrup.”

“Sticky Kicks are impractical, unnecessary, and completely over the top, which is exactly why we love them,” said Ellie Doty, senior vice president and chief brand officer at Denny’s.

The restaurant chain announced a limited number of syrup-toting shoes will go on sale at 11 am next Wednesday at DinerDrip.com. Members of the Denny’s Rewards program will be able to buy them an hour earlier.

The Sticky Kicks will sell for $195 each. They come in adult men’s sizes 8-13.

Why he didn’t run

Paul Finebaum on “The Takeout with Major Garrett”

Sports talk show host Paul Finebaum made news a couple of months ago by revealing he was considering a run in Alabama for the U.S. Senate. One of the state’s two seats is coming open with Senator Tommy Tuberville deciding to run for governor. Finebaum decided against that run for political office, and he shared with Major Garrett of CBS News what got him to walk away from seeking a job in Washington.

Rare footage of Elvis coming to big screen

The man who made the last Elvis movie is releasing a movie next year with rare footage of the King of Rock ‘n Roll.

Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann is behind “EPIC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” which will be released in IMAX theaters February 20 before moving to other theaters one week later. A teaser of the film came out this week.

“EPiC features long-lost footage from Presley’s legendary Vegas residency in the 1970s, woven together with rare 16mm footage from Elvis on Tour and treasured 8mm film from the Graceland archive, along with rediscovered recordings of Elvis telling ‘his side of the story,” Sony Music said in a news release about the film.

The new Elvis movie made its debut in September at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Tennessee election brings back Mississippi memory

You may be aware of today’s special election for the U.S. House in Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District. It’s getting plenty of attention because the race between a Democrat and a Republican is believed to be much closer in a district that usually goes big for the GOP.

Chris Cillizza’s preview of this election included a look back by Decision Desk HQ of previous congressional special elections, and it included a huge upset locally in 2008 that got a lot of attention at the time. That’s when Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers, a Democrat, defeated Southaven Mayor Greg Davis, a Republican, for the U.S. House seat in North Mississippi. The seat in Mississippi’s First Congressional District came open when Representative Roger Wicker was selected to replace Senator Trent Lott, who had retired.

Even if the Democrat wins the special election in Tennessee, it still would not be as big of an upset as Childers defeating Davis 17 years ago to represent the region in Congress.