Second Amendment advocates urge Trump to leash ATF, pick pro-gun directorNone
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Clarke Reed , a Mississippi businessman who developed the Republican Party in his home state and across the South starting in the 1960s, died Sunday at his home in Greenville, Mississippi. He was 96. Reed was chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party from 1966 to 1976, beginning at a time when Democrats still dominated in the region. During the 1976 Republican National Convention, delegates were closely divided between President Gerald Ford and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan. Reed united the Mississippi delegation behind Ford — a move that created a decadeslong feud with William D. “Billy” Mounger, another wealthy businessman who was prominent in the Mississippi Republican Party. Reed recalled in a 2016 interview with The Associated Press that delegates faced considerable pressure. Movie stars visited Mississippi's 30 delegates to push for Reagan, and Betty Ford called on behalf of her husband. Reagan met twice with the Mississippi delegation — once with his proposed running mate, Pennsylvania Sen. Richard Schweiker — and once without, according Haley Barbour, who was executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party in 1976 and served as the state's governor from 2004 to 2012. “Everybody was coming to see us," Reed said. “These poor people had never seen this before, the average delegate.” Mississippi delegates were showing the stress at a meeting away from the convention floor in Kansas City, Reed said. “I looked out, and about half of them were crying," he said. Reed initially supported Reagan, but said he moved into the Ford camp because he thought Reagan made “a hell of a mistake” by choosing a more liberal northeastern running mate in a gambit to win support of the unpledged Pennsylvania delegation. “In my opinion, Reagan was the best president of my lifetime. I didn’t know that then,” Reed said in 2016. “And had he been elected with Schweiker, he might’ve gotten a bullet one inch over and Schweiker would’ve been president.” Ford won the party nomination during the convention, then lost the general election to Jimmy Carter, the Democratic former governor of Georgia. Reed was born in Alliance, Ohio, in 1928, and his family moved to Caruthersville, Missouri, when he was about six months old. He earned a business degree from the University of Missouri in 1950. He and Barthell Joseph, a friend he had met at a high school boarding school, founded an agriculture equipment business called Reed-Joseph International, which used technology to scare birds away from farms and airports. Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi said Monday that Reed was “a mentor, supporter and advisor to me for over 56 years." Wicker said he was 21 when Reed put him on the Republican Platform Committee in 1972. “There is no more significant figure in the development of the modern day Mississippi Republican Party than Clarke Reed,” Wicker wrote on social media. “Our state has lost a giant."
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers played like a team determined to do whatever's necessary to make the playoffs. Baker Mayfield and the offense purred, the defense tightened after yielding a touchdown just before halftime, and special teams stood out, too, in a 48-14 rout of the Carolina Panthers that kept the team's division and postseason hopes alive Sunday. Now, the Bucs (9-7) will see if they get some outside assistance in their bid to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season. “We're just trying to get to the playoffs,” coach Todd Bowles said, shrugging off a question about how Sunday's win ensured a winning record in the regular season. “If we can win next week and get a little help,” Bowles added, “that will mean a lot to me.” Tampa Bay's fifth win in the past six weeks nudged the first-place Bucs a half-game ahead of Atlanta for the best record in the NFC South, with the Falcons set to play on the road later Sunday night at Washington. Atlanta holds the tiebreaker in the division race and can end Tampa Bay's three-year reign as NFC South champions by beating the Commanders and winning again next week at home against the last-place Panthers (4-12). Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdowns without an interception for the Bucs, the only team in the NFC that's made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. “He really played a heck of a ball game intelligently,” Bowles said. “We didn't turn it over offensively. We were very good on third down. He controlled the ball, spread it around, got everybody touches.” Mayfield threw TD passes of 2 and 1 yards to Mike Evans, and Tampa Bay produced points on five straight first-half possessions to build a 27-7 lead. Jalen McMillan scored on receptions of 10 and 16 yards, linebacker J.J. Russell returned a blocked punt for a third-quarter TD and rookie Bucky Irving had another big game against Carolina with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries and four receptions for 77 yards. “Any time you give him that many opportunities, good things are going to happen,” Mayfield said of Irving. Irving went over 1,000 yards for the season (1,033) despite primarily being used as a backup to Rachaad White. The fourth-round draft pick ran for 152 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries against the NFL's 32nd-ranked run defense in Tampa Bay's 26-23 overtime win at Carolina on Dec. 1. Meanwhile, Mayfield improved to 4-0 against Carolina since his former team released him two years ago. He completed 27 of 32 passes without an interception. The Panthers played without leading rusher Chuba Hubbard, who was placed on injured reserve Saturday. Without him, the offense was almost totally dependent on quarterback Bryce Young, who tossed a pair of TD passes to Adam Thielen but was only 15 of 28 passing for 203 yards. The Bucs sacked Young five times and limited Carolina to 39 yards rushing. Thielen scored on receptions of 17 and 40 yards in the first half and finished with five catches for 110 yards. “We got outplayed. ... They were on fire today. They made it hard for us,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “We have one more opportunity to finish,” Canales added, “so we have to regroup and have the discipline to go right back to work and finish on our terms.” Evans had eight catches for 97 yards. He needs at least 85 yards receiving in next weekend's regular-season finale to tie Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's NFL record of 11 consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards receiving. The Buccaneers played without S Antoine Winfield Jr (knee), TE Cade Otton (knee) and WR Sterling Shepard (hamstring/foot), who were inactive. ... Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean left in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. Panthers: Close the season at Atlanta. Buccaneers: Host the New Orleans Saints. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflVolleyball Beats Virginia In Final Home Game Of 2024 Season
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Snowflake EVP Christian Kleinerman sells $2.7 million in stock
To some crime news and a WA man who allegedly had an hour’s worth of child exploitation videos on his phone will appear in court today. An AFP investigation began in November after the 24-year-old man arrived at Perth International Airport following a holiday in the Philippines. The man and his luggage were examined by Australian Border Force officers, who allegedly found 21 videos containing child abuse material on his phone. He was taken to Perth Watch House before being charged with one count of possessing child exploitation material and released on bail. The maximum penalty for the offence is seven years’ imprisonment. AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Andrea Coleman said the victims suffered each time images or videos of their abuse was viewed or downloaded “To those who wish to prop up this vile industry for their own gratification – the AFP and its partners will find you,” she said. ABF Acting Superintendent John Sweet said protecting the most vulnerable members of the community from the “abhorrent” industry would always be a priority. Here’s what’s making headlines today: It’s a top of 29 degrees today, with next week’s forecast looking well and truly like summer. Good morning all and welcome to this week’s last live blog! This morning, court reporter Rebecca Peppiatt has revealed The jury delivered a guilty verdict on Thursday afternoon, ending a trial that lasted several months. Politics reporter Hamish Hastie has written that Today, his 10 Things column was still there, but it was right next to a similar one written by Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti. And, in case you missed it yesterday, a Bunbury woman who was awarded more than a million dollars in damages after successfully claiming she had suffered injury as a result of eating hot chips laced with caustic soda, Stay with us as more news breaks.