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There Is NO EXCUSE For This!
WLBT got a tape of a mother severely abusing her child, and the mother is now in jail. Beating a child for ten minutes straight with a belt and a …
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All God's Children
One image won't leave my head since I finished my part of the cover story I wrote this issue with freelance writer Valerie Wells (starts here): A deputy with his …
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Public Meetings and Community Events
Hinds Community College Extended Registration, at all campuses. The Jackson Campus-Academic/Technical Center on Sunset Drive and the Nursing/Allied Health Center on Chadwick Drive will have registration through Wednesday, Jan. 20. …
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Biz Roundup
Promoting Magnolias and Museums
Each year, thousands of people gather in downtown Jackson to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The Hal's St. Paddy's Parade & Festival is always lively and full of colorful and bright …
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Viva La Cell Phone Cameras!
The controversy surrounding the video of Saddam Hussein's hanging holds a lesson for us here in Jackson. You'll notice that while the civilized world is outraged by the way Hussein …
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Immigration
Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Terminating'
Short of getting himself elected commander-in-chief or asking President Obama very nicely, Bryant is likely fighting a losing battle against these immigrant children.
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DHS Wants Training School Lawsuit Dropped
Last week, the Mississippi Department of Human Services filled a motion to dismiss a lawsuit, filed on behalf of eight teenage girls, who guards reportedly shackled, and in other instances …
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You Can't Teach an Alpha Dog New Tricks
When [Richard Dawkins] said that religious instruction is more harmful than "mild" child sexual abuse and was called out on it, he couldn't backtrack.
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The Guest Worker Gaffe
In my first immigration column on JackBlog -- a posting that unleashed a lengthy, and at times hateful, dialogue about immigration -- I had initially intended to discuss one aspect …
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Teens: How to Break Up Safely
Leaving a violent abuser can be the dangerous time for a victim; teens, too, get hurt when they try to break up.
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The Questioning Soul
What do you do when you're not sure? This question looms over New Stage Theater's production of John Patrick Shanley's 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning "Doubt," but don't expect any easy answers.
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Politics
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
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Biz Roundup
Fondren Renaissance, CARA, C Spire and Insurance
On Saturday, June 8th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Community Animal Rescue and Adoption Inc.— a nonprofit "no-kill" animal rescue group that cares for hundreds of abused, unwanted and …
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Person of the Day
Kenneth Vance
Kenneth Vance acknowledges the value of serving others. As an outreach worker for Grace House, a nonprofit organization that focuses on housing those in need, he is able to do …
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7 Admit Sham Marriages and Crime Reports in Immigration Scam
Tarunkumar and Sachin Patel wanted to find a way so that more of their friends and business associates from India could get permanent legal status to remain in the United …
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Speak Up to Live Longer?
Being far away from neighbors and businesses creates a feeling of isolation.
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City & County
SPLC Blasts Henley-Young Plan
After receiving a reprimand for its management of the Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center, Hinds County officials have come up with a solution to the ongoing legal problems, one that has …
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State
Lawsuit: Farm Hired White Immigrants Over Black US Laborers
Six Black farmworkers in Mississippi say in a new lawsuit that their former employer brought white laborers from South Africa to do the same jobs they were doing, and that …
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Another Former Wrestler is Dead
By bryanflynnNews 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 …
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Reality Check: State of the State
Gov. Haley Barbour laid out his agenda and policies, in many ways for the first time, when he gave his State of the State address on Jan. 26. Of course, …
