Jackson Free Press

New York-based attorney Roberta Kaplan, who litigated and won the case to end Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage, sent a letter to Mississippi leaders regarding House Bill 1523 on Monday, Slate reported, saying she and her legal team at Paul, Weiss LLC had "serious concerns" about the bill violating a permanent injunction issued last July in the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant case.

The letter states that "the July 2015 injunction requires that Mississippi, in accordance with the dictates of the United States Constitution, treat any gay or lesbian couple that seeks to marry the same as any straight couple that seeks to do so." The letter was addressed to Gov. Phil Bryant, Attorney General Jim Hood and Judy Moulder at the State Registrar for Vital Records. Kaplan asks that they ensure that the 2015 injunction is complied with and that those state officers provide them with:

• notices for any individual who has filed recusal notices pursuant to HB 1523
• a full and complete explanation of all steps that each individual seeking recusal (or any person acting on behalf of that individual, including in a supervisory capacity) will take to ensure that gay and lesbian couples are not impeded or delayed when seeking to marry in the relevant county
• whether the individual seeking recusal intends to continue issuing marriage licenses to straight couples, while at the same time refusing to participate in issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples

Kaplan also asks Mississippi leaders to "agree to provide us with this same information in connection with any clerks who seek to recuse themselves in the future within one week after such information becomes available."

In her letter, Kaplan sets a deadline of May 2, 2016, for state officers to comply with their request "either in whole or in part, so we can be in a position to evaluate whether we will need to seek further relief from the Court."

It's graduation day for Jackson State University, and First Lady Michelle Obama will be the featured speaker for the commencement ceremony. 55,000 people are expected to attend, and with large numbers comes major traffic delays.

Below is a verbatim statement from The Fondren Renaissance welcoming the First Lady and warning residents of traffic delays:

*55,000 people are expected to attend Jackson State University‘s commencement on Saturday, a ticketed, not “general admission” event. First Lady Michelle Obama will be the featured speaker for the ceremony that begins at 3pm at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium.

As with any visitor of Mrs. Obama’s caliber, major traffic delays will begin on Saturday as early as 9am. (No streets will be affected on Friday).

Jackson Police Department District Commander James McGowan said by phone Lakeland Drive should not be affected but the interstate, from the airport to Woodrow Wilson (on to West Street) will be. Streets immediately surrounding the stadium will be blocked. This, he says, will not affect the streets of the historic Fondren business district. “If you have a business, you should have a captive audience to sell to Saturday as cars will be all over the neighborhood.”

One place they will NOT be allowed to park is Woodrow Wilson. McGowan says, “Vehicles will be towed if left parked along this route.”

It is believed the First Lady will speak shortly after 3pm and leave the stadium around 4pm. Street closures from earlier in the day will once again occur. Expect heavy traffic congestion most of Saturday. “In this area, no one should expect to get anywhere in any hurry on Saturday, period,” he noted.

A University of Mississippi Medical spokesman says hospital employees are advised to anticipate delays. “We don’t know how bad (delays) will be but we’re planning as best as we can. We are opening extra lots on campus to allow to them to park here instead of at the stadium.”

They also advise calling 911 in an emergency. “Persons experiencing a condition such as a heart attack, a severe laceration or other potentially life-threatening condition or obstetrical emergency on Saturday should not attempt to reach any of the three hospital emergency departments in a private vehicle if at all possible.”*

http://fondren.org/news/fondren-welcomes-first-lady-michelle-obama-to-jsu-commencement

News of music star Prince’s death rocked the world yesterday, and rightfully so, as an icon of the industry is now gone. Earlier in the day, however, reports were already coming in that former WWE star Chyna, whose real name was Joan Marie Laurer, had died.

Sadly, her death is too often a side of pro wrestling and her sudden exit from the business is still a major part of speculation between fans. Laurer’s went from the top of the wrestling world to working in adult films to posting rambling YouTube videos about vitamins and being a vegan.

At one time, Laurer was one of the biggest stars in the WWE. Then known as the WWF before a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund forced the name change. She rose to fame during the “Monday Night Wars” between the WWE and now defunct WCW.

Laurer, from Rochester, N.Y., began her professional wrestling career after working as a model and bodybuilder. She started, as most wrestlers do, on the independent circuit before meeting wrestlers Paul Levesque, better known as Triple H, and Shawn Hickenbottom, better known as Shawn Michaels.

Both Levesque and Hickenbottom were members of a group of wrestlers known backstage as “The Kliq” with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman.

Laurer’s trainer, “Killer Kowalski,” also introduced her to the son of WWE owner Vince McMahon. She chose to join the WWE over WCW and, according to Laurer, a chance to join the NWO, whose members included Nash and Hall.

When she joined the WWE, she was paired with Triple H and Michaels when the duo started their stable called D-generation X, but she mainly played the role of Triple H’s bodyguard. Laurer was also billed as the “Ninth Wonder of the World” because Andre the Giant was billed as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” She stayed with DX after Michaels left the company due to back problems.

During her time with DX, she and Triple H began to have a romantic relationship in their real lives outside the ring. This relationship would later be a factor in her decision to leave the company.

Laurer broke several barriers for women in professional wrestling. She often fought against male wrestlers, and she also scored victories over the likes of Chris Jericho, Triple H, Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle, all of whom went on to become world champions.

She became the first woman to compete in the “King of the Ring” Tournament and the “Royal Rumble.” She is also the only woman to win the Intercontinental Championship. Laurer and Triple H split on-screen in 1999, and a year later, the couple separated in real life, with Laurer claiming that he had cheated on her with Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter, before the two officially broke things off.

Triple H went on to later marry Stephanie and has since become an executive in the WWE. Laurer left the WWE in 2001, though both …

The first part of this story looked at NFL teams drafting quarterbacks from 1998 to 2007. This second one will look at quarterbacks drafted from 2008 to 2015 and some interesting numbers behind these draft picks.

Two quarterbacks were picked in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Matt Ryan, who the Atlanta Falcons selected first overall, is currently in the midst of a solid career. But he hasn’t had postseason success, which downgrades him, in my eyes.

The Baltimore Ravens picked quarterback Joe Flacco in the first round in 2008. He has a Super Bowl win but was able to overcome early struggles as a young player thanks to a dominant defense.

There is no question that Ryan and Flacco are franchise quarterbacks. The other 11 of the 13 quarterbacks drafted in 2008 didn’t amount to much. Chad Henne got some run in Miami, but he wasn’t the answer. Green Bay took Matt Flynn—no relation—in the seventh round, and he became the king at cashing in for performances in meaningless late-season games. Flynn signed big contracts but could never become “the man” when he left the Packers.

Three quarterbacks were drafted in the first round of the 2009 draft. All three have had slightly different careers.

Matthew Stafford, who the Detroit Lions drafted first overall, is a solid starter. He has some gunslinger in him, and the Lions haven’t been able to put things together around him enough to succeed at a high level—but he is a franchise quarterback.

Mark Sanchez, who the New York Jets drafted fifth overall, was supposed to be the answer for the club’s quarterback woes. Instead, Sanchez is known for his butt fumble and moving from New York to the Philadelphia Eagles to the Denver Broncos, where he currently is.

Sanchez had early success behind a great Jets defense but more recently has proved to be stopgap for teams looking for a franchise quarterback or a backup. He could have had success in 2016 with that dominant Denver defense.

Tampa Bay drafted Josh Freeman with the 17th overall pick, and it looked like he was going to become a longtime starter in the league. He had two solid seasons in his first four years, but the wheels came off at the start of the 2013 season, when he couldn’t complete a pass. Tampa Bay released him, and he signed with Minnesota.

Things didn’t go any better for Freeman in Minnesota and he was out of the league except for a guest spot in one game in 2015 for the quarterback injury that plagued Indianapolis Colts.

Eleven total quarterbacks were selected in the 2009 NFL Draft, and the rest had limited success. The Colts selected Curtis Painter in the seventh round, and he sat behind Peyton Manning until his neck injury forced him to miss the 2011 season. The Colts turned to Painter and went 2-14 in a disastrous season.

Sam Bradford was …