Jackson Free Press

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed the Google lawsuit against Attorney General Jim Hood.

The 5th Circuit struck down a lower court's injunction that prevented Attorney General Jim Hood from enforcing the administrative subpoena or bringing any civil or criminal action against Google “for making accessible third-party content to internet users.” The 5th Circuit said that Google's case against Hood should be remanded to the lower court and dismissed as well as the preliminary injunction removed.

The Court did not rule on the merits of Hood's subpoena, which sought "sought information on Google’s platforms, advertising practices, and knowledge of and efforts to police 'dangerous' or 'illegal' content such as prescription or illicit drug sales, drug abuse, credit card leaks, fraudulent identification documents, human trafficking, and copyright infringement."

AG Hood will hold a press conference today at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the lawsuit.

The JXN Trailblazers is a group dedicated to encouraging and promoting the building a multi-use trail from the Farmers' Market in downtown Jackson to the Lefleur's museum district centered at Lakeland Drive just east of I-55.

The NCAA finally released penalties on the University of Southern Mississippi men’s basketball program and former coaches, including Donnie Tyndall, who are receiving the most severe penalties with the program.

Tyndall, who was given a 10-year show-cause penalty, earned the worst one. The show-cause penalty for him runs from April 8, 2016, to April 7, 2026. A show-cause penalty means the punishment for Tyndall follows him to any other NCAA school that hires him, unless the school hiring him can "show-cause” (prove a good reason) why it shouldn’t be penalized for hiring Tyndall.

Dave Bliss, former Baylor University men’s basketball coach, is the only other coach to be hit with a 10-year show-cause penalty. Here is why Bliss was hit with his punishment.

The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions based the punishment on the fact that Tyndall acted unethically and failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance when he directed his staff to engage in academic misconduct. Tyndall was also accused of fabricating paperwork to justify payments to student-athletes.

The report from the NCAA says that Tyndall got members of his coaching staff to complete fake coursework for prospective players so they would be eligible to play as soon as they got on campus.

“The activity began within six weeks of the former head coach starting at the university, involved the majority of the former coach’s staff and involved approximately half of the prospects the university recruited during a two-year period,” the NCAA said in the report. “The former head coach directed two graduate assistants and a former assistant coach to travel to two-year colleges to complete coursework for prospects.”

Tyndall was also accused of paying players as well.

“One former high school coach mailed the money directly to the former head coach, who would then deliver the money to the student-athlete for university bills,” the report stated. It also said: “The former head coach also facilitated cash and prepaid credit card payments to two prospects from former coaches.”

While at USM from 2012 to 2014, Tyndall led the Golden Eagles to a 56-17 record and led the team to two NIT berths. While Tyndall was at Morehead State University in New York, the program was placed on two years probation due to activities by a booster.

Tyndall left USM for the University of Tennessee before the accusations of violations came out but was fired after the Volunteers administration found out the scope of his misdeeds. Currently Tyndall is an associate athletic director at NAIA school Tennessee Wesleyan College.

Direct from the NCAA report here is the penalties and corrective actions imposed by the panel which include:

A three-year probation period to run consecutive to the present probation period. The three-year period will begin on Jan. 30, 2017, and run through Jan. 29, 2020.

A two-year postseason ban for the men’s basketball team. The school will be credited for the self-imposed postseason bans during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 …

Rep. Joel Bomgar started the very successful company that still bears his name, although he no longer owns it. The CEO of Bomgar has now come out against House Bill 1523—a bill that the Republican representative supported. Here is Matt Dircks' full statement, verbatim:

Bomgar Corporation was founded in Mississippi 13 years ago, and we are extremely proud of the unwavering commitment to living Bomgar’s core values from our employees who work in our Ridgeland, Mississippi, office as well as our offices around the globe. That’s why I feel it’s important to state that Mississippi’s ‘religious freedom’ legislation, House Bill 1523, is inconsistent with the values and principles that are at the core of Bomgar’s culture.

At Bomgar, we strongly believe every individual has dignity and worth and the right to be treated equally. As Bomgar’s CEO, I’m personally disappointed in any legislation that does not provide equal treatment and rights for all, regardless of color, sex, race, religion, and sexual orientation. Bomgar embraces diversity, and the principles of equality and integrity are at the heart of everything we seek to accomplish and stand for as a company.

Bomgar opposes discrimination, and we respect, support, and welcome all current and future Bomgar employees and customers.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, asking her to review the House Bill 1523, file a lawsuit against Mississippi and declare the bill unconstitutional, which Gov. Bryant signed into law on Tuesday. Below is the press release and the letter reproduced in full.

“Today, I sent a letter to United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking her to examine Mississippi House Bill No. 1523, the so-called “religious freedom” act, and file suit against the State of Mississippi for the overreaching, unconstitutional, and blatantly discriminatory piece of legislation.”

“The discriminatory bill that the governor signed into law yesterday places a dark cloud over the State of Mississippi and will harm the state in business, industry, academics and reputation. I implore the Attorney General and the Department of Justice to act swiftly on my request and work to make sure justice and equality prevail.”

Letter text below:

April 6, 2016

The Honorable Loretta E. Lynch Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Lynch:

On April 5, 2016, Governor Phil Bryant of the State of Mississippi signed into law the so-called “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act.” This law purports to protect Mississippians from discrimination by government officials for practicing/observing their religious beliefs. A cursory review of MS House Bill No. 1523, reveals that this bill does no such thing: instead, it gives employers, business owners, and any other person or entity in Mississippi the explicit right to discriminate against anyone with a lifestyle they disagree with in the name of religion. Simply put, this is government-sanctioned discrimination.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents discrimination by government agencies that receive federal funds. Here, an entire state has sanctioned discrimination against an entire LGBT population in MS. Moreover, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination against an individual because they are associated with a person of a particular race, color, religion, sex or national origin. There are countless other laws and regulations on the books that prevent discrimination in one way or another. MS House Bill No. 1523 clearly violates all of those laws. Therefore, I strongly urge DOJ to institute a lawsuit to declare MS House Bill No. 1523 unconstitutional and in violation of the United States Constitution and the previously identified and other civil rights statutes, regulations and executive orders.

A copy of MS House Bill 1523 is enclosed. Again, I strongly urge DOJ, as soon as possible, to file a law suit and take any other appropriate action against the State of Mississippi to strike down this discriminatory law. If you have any questions, please contact Trey Baker, Counsel in my Washington, D.C., office at 202-225-5876 or at [email protected]. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Bennie G. Thompson Member of Congress

It's April 7, the first Thursday in April, which means Fondren's First Thursday is tonight.

Among the local vendors who will come out tonight and celebrate (including Jackson Free Press), other events are planned as well. The event begins at 3 p.m. today. At 7 p.m., teams can race down Duling Avenue in the Duling Dash. The teams, which are composed of two to three people wearing their wackiest clothes, have to compete in racing segments that include a shopping-cart push, toilet ride (you read that right) and a crab crawl. The winning team will receive, T-shirts, gift cards and other swag. Entry for the race is free. For teams who didn't get a chance to sign up before FFT, they will have a chance between 5 and 6:30 p.m.

The sixth annual Walk Against Traffick Jackson is also tonight. Those who want to participate can sign up at walkagainsttraffick.org or at FFT itself. The event's proceeds will support The Hard Place Community's work against child sex trafficking. The event is from 5 to 9 p.m. The starting point is in front of Fondren Corner (2906 N. State St.). Participants will walk around Fondren, and the event will consist of about 10 miles. Groups are encourage to have six to 10 walkers with an individual fundraising goal of $100. People can make the donations themselves, or they can ask sponsors to support them for $1 per mile for 10 miles.

The Hustlers will play at Duling Hall from 5 to 8 p.m., and the Patterson Blaylock Photography Gallery will have live music from 5 to 8 p.m., as well as art from Laurin Stennis. The JXN Escape Room will bring a mini escape room to the Pix/Capri Theater from 6 p.m. until.

FFT will also have free DIY T-shirt printing, an outdoor pop-up art gallery, crowd-participation art, a Sneaky Beans dance party, a grand opening of technology start-up incubator Mantle, a Fondren Plaza music festival, a Mississippi Museum of Art pop-up event, a Kidzone, Duling Market, free outdoor yoga, craft beer, cornhole, dogs, food trucks, restaurant specials and other things.

For more information, visit the Fondren's First Thursday Facebook page.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2016/apr/07/25289/