Texas family reunited with lost dog 14 years later

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- A Texas family whose dog disappeared during an outside bathroom break 14 years ago were reunited with the now elderly canine thanks to a rescue group.

Aaron Webster said the Yorkshire terrier, Remington, disappeared from the fenced-in yard at his parents' house in 2006.

"We know he was stolen. Maybe a hawk grabbed him, and he got away. We'll never know," Webster told KTRK-TV.

Webster and his wife put up posters and searched for the dog for weeks, but they had no leads.

The family heard nothing about Remington until Feb. 1, 2020, when Webster received a call from Saving Hope, an animal rescue group in Fort Worth.

The rescue told Webster an elderly Yorkshire terrier had been found with a microchip bearing his contact information.

"This seems impossible," Webster told the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

Webster and one of his sons visited Saving Hope and it became clear that the animal was Remington. The dog was now blind in both eyes, was missing teeth, had matted fur and was underweight, but it was the long-lost pet.

Saving Hope said Remington was found on the street by a Fort Worth Animal Control officer. The dog had three microchips, indicating he had been living with other owners at various times, but the rescue decided to contact Webster because his information was on the first microchip implanted.

"If I could ask for anything, it would be to have 24 hours to talk to Remington about what happened in all that time. What happened when he disappeared? Who did he live with? I know he didn't spend 14 years on the street," Webster said. "But at the end, it wasn't good. He was abused, and he's skittish. He's starting to come around."

Webster said veterinarians said Remington is still healthy enough to have a decent quality of life, so his family has decided to welcome him back into their home.

"This dog has been through hell," Webster said. "But we felt like if we could bring him into our home and give him a peaceful existence for however much longer he has, he deserves that."

Ancient plant foods found in northern Australia

By Brooks Hays SCIENCE NEWS FEB. 17, 2020 


The Anbangbang rock shelter is the oldest in Australia. It is found at the base of the Arnhem Land escarpment in northern Australia. Photo by Warren Poole/Wikimedia Common

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Archaeologists have found ancient plant foods eaten some 65,000 years ago by early human populations in northern Australia.

The bits of plant food, preserved as charcoal in ancient cooking hearths, have offered scientists new insights into the diets of the indigenous Australians.

The charcoal bits were recovered from archaeological dig sites in Arnhem Land, a historical region of northern Australia occupied by indigenous groups for thousands of years. Within the charred morsels, scientists identified the remnants of 10 different plant foods, including several types of fruits and nuts, as well as roots, tubers and palm stem.

"Many of these plant foods required processing to make them edible and this evidence was complemented by grinding stone technology also used during early occupation at the site," University of Queensland archaeobotanist Anna Florin said in a news release.

RELATED Mud wasp nests used to date ancient Australian rock art

The latest findings, published Monday in the journal Nature Communications, suggest the earliest indigenous Australians possess extensive botanical knowledge, which helped them adapt to a variety of harsh terrains across the continent.

"They were able to guarantee access to carbohydrates, fat and even protein by applying this knowledge, as well as technological innovation and labor, to the gathering and processing of Australian plant foods," Florin said.

The ancient hearths were found at Madjedbebe, a sandstone rock shelter and Australia's oldest indigenous site.

RELATED Unusual carnivorous dinosaurs called noasaurids lived in Australia

"Madjedbebe continues to provide startling insights into the complex and dynamic lifestyle of the earliest Australian Aboriginal people," said Queensland University professor Chris Clarkson, who served as lead excavator on the most recent digs.

Scientists have previously discovered the world's oldest stone axes at Madjedbebe, 35,000 years old. Even older spearheads have been recovered, the oldest evidence of stone grinding technology outside Africa. Researchers have also previously found evidence of the use of ochre, as well as the earliest known use of reflective pigments.

"The site is an important cultural place to Mirarr people today who strive to protect their heritage from numerous threats, including mining," Florin said.

RELATED 7 billion-year-old stardust found in Australian meteorite

Airlines making little headway on climate change
By
Susanne Becken, Griffith University


Some airlines, including Qantas, are aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050. File Photo by Brent Winstone/Qantas/EPA-EFE

Feb. 17 (UPI) -- If you're a traveler who cares about reducing your carbon footprint, are some airlines better to fly with than others?

Several of the world's major airlines have announced plans to become "carbon neutral," while others are trying new aviation fuels. But are any of their climate initiatives making much difference?

Those were the questions we set out to answer a year ago, by analyzing what the world's largest 58 airlines -- which fly 70 percent of the total available seat-miles -- are doing to live up to their promises to cut their climate impact.

The good news? Some airlines are taking positive steps. The bad news? When you compare what's being done against the continued growth in emissions, even the best airlines are not doing anywhere near enough.

RELATED Delta unveils 10-year plan to become world's 1st carbon-neutral airline

Emissions still up

Our research found three-quarters of the world's biggest airlines showed improvements in carbon efficiency -- measured as carbon dioxide per available seat. But that's not the same as cutting emissions overall.

One good example was the Spanish flag carrier Iberia, which reduced emissions per seat by about 6 percent in 2017, but increased absolute emissions by 7 percent.

RELATED United Airlines extends grounding of Boeing 737 Max through Labor Day

For 2018, compared with 2017, the collective impact of all the climate measures being undertaken by the 58 biggest airlines amounted to an improvement of 1 percent. This falls short of the industry's goal of achieving a 1.5 percent increase in efficiency. And the improvements were more than wiped out by the industry's overall 5.2 percent annual increase in emissions.

This challenge is even clearer when you look slightly further back. Industry figures show global airlines produced 733 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions in 2014. Falling fares and more people around wanting to fly saw airline emissions rise 23 percent in just five years.

What are airlines doing?

RELATED KLM denies racism behind Korean-language sign

Airlines reported climate initiatives across 22 areas, with the most common involving fleet renewal, engine efficiency, weight reductions and flight path optimization. Examples in our paper include:

Singapore Airlines modified the Trent 900 engines on their A380 aircraft, saving 26,326 tons of CO₂ (equivalent to 0.24 percent of the airline's annual emissions); KLM's efforts to reduce weight on board led to a CO₂ reduction of 13,500 tons (0.05 percent of KLM's emissions). Etihad reports savings of 17,000 tons of CO₂ due to flight plan improvements (0.16 percent of its emissions).

Nineteen of the 58 large airlines I examined invest in alternative fuels. But the scale of their research and development programs, and use of alternative fuels, remains tiny.

As an example, for Earth Day 2018 Air Canada announced a 160-ton emissions saving from blending 230,000 liters of "biojet" fuel into 22 domestic flights. How much fuel was that? Not even enough to fill the more than 300,000-liter capacity of just one A380 plane.

Carbon neutral promises

Some airlines, including Qantas, are aiming to be carbon neutral by 2050. While that won't be easy, Qantas is at least starting with better climate reporting. It's one of only eight airlines addressing its carbon risk through the systematic Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures process.

About half of the major airlines engage in carbon offsetting, but only 13 provide information on measurable impacts. Theses include Air New Zealand, with its FlyNeutral program to help restore native forest in New Zealand.

That lack of detail means the integrity of many offset schemes is questionable. And even if properly managed, offsets still avoid the fact that we can't make deep carbon cuts if we keep flying at current rates.

What's needed

Our research shows major airlines' climate efforts are achieving nowhere near enough. To decrease aviation emissions, three major changes are urgently needed.

All airlines need to implement all measures across the 22 categories covered in our report to reap any possible gain in efficiency.

Far more research is needed to develop alternative aviation fuels that genuinely cut emissions. Given what we've seen so far, these are unlikely to be biofuels. E-fuels -- liquid fuels derived from carbon dioxide and hydrogen -- may provide such a solution, but there are challenges ahead, including high costs.

Governments can -- and some European countries do -- impose carbon taxes and then invest in lower carbon alternatives. They can also provide incentives to develop new fuels and alternative infrastructure, such as rail or electric planes for shorter trips.

How you can make a difference

Our research paper was released late last year, at a World Travel and Tourism Council event linked to the Madrid climate summit. Activist Greta Thunberg famously sailed around the world to be there, rather than flying.

Higher-income travelers from around the world have had a disproportionately large impact in driving up aviation emissions.

This means that all of us who are privileged enough to fly, for work or pleasure, have a role to play too, by reducing our flying (completely, or flying less) carbon offsetting for essential trips, only flying with airlines doing more to cut emissions.

To really make an impact, far more of us need to do all three.

Susanne Becken is a professor of sustainable tourism and director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism at Griffith University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Fear of Big Brother guides EU rules on AI

AFP / Tolga AKMENThe EU Commission's digital policy chief Margrethe Vestager compares facial recognition technology to the rise of CCTV security in city centres

Amid fears of a Big Brother-style society ruled by machines, the EU will urge authorities and companies to think hard before rolling out facial recognition technology.

But the bloc, which will make a much-anticipated announcement this week on the role of artificial intelligence (AI), will stop short of imposing an outright ban, a top official said.

On Wednesday, the European Commission will set the stage for European rules on the subject with innovation in the growing sector so far dominated by the US and China.

The commission, the EU's powerful regulator, is eager to answer the worries of European citizens about the rising importance of AI in their lives, amid reports from China of facial-recognition technology used to crack down on dissent.

"I find it truly really scary what I saw in Hong Kong," said the EU Commission's executive vice president on digital policy, Margrethe Vestager, who will spearhead the policy.

During a wave of anti-Beijing protests, she said, "People could get a message on the phone: 'We know you're there, maybe you should go home'. Not really supportive of the freedom to assemble, or to express yourself."

But instead of an outright ban or moratorium, which would require member state backing, Vestager told reporters in Brussels she would recommend that authorities and companies use caution.

"What we will say in the paper in a very lawyered up language is, let's pause and figure out if there are any... circumstances where facial recognition remotely should be authorised," she told reporters.

"Because if we do not pause, then it will... just be everywhere," she warned comparing it to the sudden rise of CCTV security in city centres.

Describing the spread of cameras, she said: "First you put up one, but then it has a blind angle and then you put up the other one... All of a sudden you have cameras everywhere."

Caution is also needed because the uses of facial recognition are wide-ranging -- from unlocking smartphones to capturing criminals -- and often inaccurate and in need of development.

- 'For real' -

The former Danish finance minister, who is also in charge of enforcing EU competition rules, underlined that AI was a vast subject and that any regulation should be mindful of not punishing smaller innovators, which would only benefit major players.

Big tech firms familiar to everyday users -- such as Facebook or Tencent -- are mainly from the United States or China. Europe meanwhile is seen as a leader on regulation, notably with rules on data privacy that have been widely replicated elsewhere.

But with AI, Vestager said Europe wanted to be a player and not just a sheriff.

And if Europe is to develop tech giants, it will probably be in business services and network infrastructure, and not mass market sites or social media.

"If you want to have a say about things that we consider risky then you should be able to do it yourself," she said.

Europe wants to be "sovereign" on AI and protect "the integrity of our grids, of our infrastructure of our research," she said.

But this was not against anyone, she insisted, amid talk of a high tech cold war between the US and China with Europe caught in the middle.

"It's about us, what we would like to be able to do."

Other proposals on Wednesday will include a push to make data centres more energy-efficient and be carbon neutral by 2030.

The EU will also offer a voluntary labelling scheme for companies that abide by EU rules and values on AI.

"We don't want to regulate anything that starts with A and ends with an I. That doesn't make any sense," Vestager said. "But where there is risk, it will be for real."

Indonesia military to blame for 2014 Papua killings: rights commission

AFP / ADEK BERRYActivists in Jakarta protest against the 2014 shootings of four teenagers in Indonesia's insurgency-wracked Papua province

Indonesia's military shot dead four students in the country's restive Papua region during 2014 protests and carried out "gross human rights violations", a commission investigating the uprising concluded Monday.

Komnas HAM issued its findings five years after the high-school students were gunned down in Paniai, a central area of insurgency-wracked Papua province, which shares a border with independent Papua New Guinea.

"This incident constitutes crimes against humanity," the commission's chief investigator Muhammad Choirul Anam told AFP in a statement Monday.

The military did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Komnas HAM said it had forwarded its dossier on the unrest to the country's attorney general for possible prosecution.

The probe was hampered by long delays due to attempts by unnamed individuals to hide evidence, the human rights commission said.

- 'Torture' -

Rank-and-file soldiers and their superiors should shoulder the blame for the deaths of the students, aged 17 and 18, as well as "torturing" another 21 demonstrating Papuans, it said, without elaborating.

The protests were sparked by the alleged beatings of other Papuan youths by the army. Security forces eventually opened fire on a crowd after demonstrators threw stones at a military office.

The commission interviewed two dozen witnesses, analysed documents and visited the scene to determine whether the military was involved in the deaths.

AFP / Indra Thamrin HattaPapua has seen several spasms of deadly violence in recent months

So far no-one has been charged.

Indonesia's military has been accused of committing atrocities against Papuan civilians during a decades-long rebel movement aimed at gaining independence for the province.

The Southeast Asian nation took control of mineral-rich Papua in the 1960s following a vote to stay within the archipelago that was widely viewed as rigged.

Papua has seen several spasms of deadly violence in recent months, including unrest partly linked to a fresh push for independence and ethnic tensions.

Ethnically Melanesian, most Papuans are Christians who have few cultural links to Muslim-majority Indonesia.

\ 

French MPs launch debate of controversial pensions overhaul

AFP / Alain JOCARDPension reform protesters at the Louvre museum with posters depicting President Emmanuel Macron as Britain's Margaret Thatcher, who famously took on British unions, with a sign saying "This time, we will win"

The battle over the French government's pension reform moved Monday from the streets to parliament, where opposition lawmakers have vowed to torpedo a plan that sparked weeks of strikes and protests.

Unions are up in arms over President Emmanuel Macron's bid to fuse France's 42 retirement schemes into a single system, which they say will force millions to work longer.

Public transport workers walked off the job for a month and a half in December and January in one of their biggest shows of strength in decades, causing travel misery for millions, particularly in the Paris area.

But a fresh strike and protests Monday caused only minor disruptions on the Paris metro, while regional trains ran as normal.

Opposition lawmakers are taking up the fight with a legislative guerrilla campaign, introducing 41,000 amendments in a bid to keep the government from passing the reform in two to three weeks as planned.

"We're going to make life hard for them, that's for sure," Jean-Luc Melenchon of the hard left France Unbowed party told BFM television.

AFP / Lionel BONAVENTUREPresident Emmanuel Macron's centrist party was thrown into turmoil after Benjamin Griveaux withdrew from the Paris mayor race over a sex video

"Macron will never recover from this attempt to destroy pensions," he said.

The government argues that the changes are necessary to make the system fairer for all, while also ending the deep deficits that have accumulated in recent years as more people live longer.

On Tuesday, it will open talks with unions on how to finance the system, but officials have warned that if no deal is reached, the retirement age will effectively be pushed pack by a few years from 62 currently.

- 'Fix the problems' -

The start of the debate comes as Macron's centrist party reels from a sex scandal that toppled its candidate for mayor of Paris in next month's municipal elections, Benjamin Griveaux.

Griveaux, a close Macron ally and former government spokesman, pulled out of the running over a leaked video showing a man presented as the 42-year-old politician masturbating.

To replace him, the government chose Health Minister Agnes Buzyn, one of the most prominent defenders of the pension reform, which will now be steered through parliament by her successor Olivier Veran.

"We have to fix the problems of our system," Veran told lawmakers, adding: "I'm 39 years old, and already I have contributed to four different pension regimes."

Macron's centrist Republic on the Move (LREM) party wants to get the bill through parliament before the municipal elections, which analysts say could be a crucial test for the party.

While it has a comfortable majority in parliament, some LREM lawmakers have suggested the legislation may have to be forced through by executive decree if the opposition tries to hold it up indefinitely.

But that could see the government accused of curtailing democratic debate on one of the most contentious issues of Macron's presidency.

- Private plans? -

The reforms sweep away dozens of separate pension schemes, some dating back hundreds of years, that offer early retirement and other benefits to public-sector workers as well as lawyers, physiotherapists and even Paris Opera employees.

Tens of thousands of people, including large numbers of teachers and doctors, took part in seven separate days of nationwide protests in December and January.

The government argues that the French, who retire earlier on average than most Europeans, need to work for longer to keep the system afloat, or else accept lower payouts.

Opponents say the plan will force people to invest in private US-style pension plans and have accused Macron, a former investment banker, of rolling out a red carpet to foreign asset managers like US investment giant BlackRock.

Last week, dozens of activists stormed BlackRock's Paris offices and spray-painted the walls and carpets with anticapitalist and environmental slogans -- the second such incident at the site since the pensions battle began.

BlackRock has denied trying to influence the reforms.

Armed gang steals toilet rolls in panic-buying Hong Kong

AFP / Philip FONGToilet roll has become hot property in Hong Kong thanks to panic-buying

A gang of knife-wielding men jumped a delivery driver in Hong Kong and stole hundreds of toilet rolls, police said Monday, in a city wracked by shortages caused by coronavirus panic-buying.

Toilet rolls have become hot property in the densely packed business hub, despite government assurances that supplies remain unaffected by the virus outbreak.

Supermarkets have found themselves unable to restock quickly enough, leading to sometimes lengthy queues and shelves wiped clean within moments of opening.

There has also been a run on staples such as rice and pasta, as well as hand sanitiser and other cleaning items.

Police said a truck driver was held up early Monday by three men outside a supermarket in Mong Kok, a working-class district with a history of "triad" organised crime gangs.

"A delivery man was threatened by three knife-wielding men who took toilet paper worth more than HK$1,000 ($130)," a police spokesman told AFP.

A police source told AFP the missing rolls were later recovered and two suspects were arrested on scene although it was not clear if they were directly involved in the armed robbery.

Footage from Now TV showed police investigators standing around multiple crates of toilet roll outside a Wellcome supermarket. One of the crates was only half stacked.

Hong Kongers reacted with a mixture of bafflement and merriment to the heist.

One woman passing by the scene of the crime who was interviewed by local TV station iCable quipped: "I'd steal face masks, but not toilet roll."

The city, which has 58 confirmed coronavirus cases, is currently experiencing a genuine shortage of face masks.

The hysteria that has swept through Hong Kong since the coronavirus outbreak exploded on mainland China is partly fuelled by the city's tragic recent history of confronting a deadly disease.

In 2003, some 299 Hong Kongers died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an outbreak that began on the mainland but was initially covered up by Beijing -- action that left a lasting legacy of distrust towards the authorities on public health issues.

The new coronavirus outbreak also comes at a time when the city's pro-Beijing leadership has historic low approval ratings after refusing to bow to months of angry pro-democracy protests last year.

Authorities have blamed online rumours for the panic-buying and say supplies of food and household goods remain stable.

But the panic-buying has itself created shortages in one of the world's most densely populated cities where supermarkets and pharmacies have limited floor space.

Photos posted online have shown some people proudly stuffing their cramped city apartments with packets of hoarded toilet rolls.

On Sunday, the head of the city's Consumer Council warned people not to stockpile toilet rolls in their flats as they were prone to mould in the notoriously humid climate.

She also reiterated that there were ample stocks of paper.

Supermarket chain Wellcome called Monday's robbery a "senseless act", and called on people not to bulk buy or hoard toilet roll.

"We want to emphasize that we have sufficient toilet roll supply to meet demand," it said in a statement. "The temporary shortage was caused by the sudden and unusual surge in demand."

Cirque du Soleil founder sells remaining stake

AFP/File / Mike LEYRALCirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte says he will still be involved creatively after selling his remaining stake in the global circus group

Guy Laliberte, a former stilt-walker who founded Canada's Cirque du Soleil more than three decades ago, announced Monday he had sold his remaining stake in the world's most famous circus troupe.

Laliberte -- whose eclectic CV includes stints as a fire-eater, professional poker player and a tourist on the International Space Station -- will retain his links to the Montreal-based troupe as a creative advisor.

But after selling most of his shares to Chinese and American investors in a $1.5 billion deal in 2015, he is now ceding his remaining 10 percent stake to Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), an institutional investment company.

"I will continue to be involved in the creative process for shows and, more importantly, in supporting and contributing to the reach of Quebec's entertainment industry through my other projects," Laliberte said in a statement.

Since then Laliberte has also been involved in a fledgling circus project called Lune Rouge (Red Moon) which combines acrobatics with a futuristic lights and laser show.

CDPQ, which manages several public pension plans in Canada's French-speaking Quebec province, said it would now own nearly 20 percent of the company but did not say how much it had paid for Laliberte's shares.

"We are happy to strengthen our presence among shareholders of Cirque du Soleil, an iconic entertainment brand with worldwide renown," CDPQ's chief executive Charles Emond said in a statement.

Cirque du Soleil began life as a troupe of street performers which performed in Quebec before Laliberte took them on tour in the mid 1980s and their show quickly gained a cult following.

After putting on their first shows outside Canada in the United States in 1997, they then branched out into Europe and then Asia. It has now has around 50 ongoing shows in countries around the world.

Landslide that swept big homes into Tennessee River is about to eat the road as well 

BY MARK PRICE FEBRUARY 17, 2020 

Hardin County Fire Department, Savannah Tennessee

on Sunday

Update 2-16-20, both homes have now collapsed from the landslide along the TN river near 4810 Glendale road . Glendale road will remain closed at least for now.

Landslide pulls large homes off bluff and into Tennessee River

Two large homes collapsed into the rain-swollen Tennessee River Saturday, and dramatic video shows the tumble was proceeded in one case by the eerie sound of cracking, snapping and sparks of electricity. BY HARDIN COUNTY FIRE DEPT.

The landslide that dragged two large homes into the rain-engorged Tennessee River over the weekend is not over, according to officials in Hardin County, about 100 miles east of Memphis.

“New video this morning of the landslide at 4810 Glendale Road (is) showing the road is also collapsing now,” the Hardin County Fire Department posted midday Monday on Facebook.

The department did not say if more homes are in danger, but the road remains closed as authorities await the seemingly inevitable.

Hardin County Fire Department, Savannah Tennessee

7 hours ago

2-17-20, new video this morning of the landslide at 4810 Glendale road showing the road is also collapsing now.
https://youtu.be/HzQk-8qZz0k

2-17-20 video of the 2 homes that collapsed and the ongoing land slide at 4810 Glendale road in Hardin county TN , the road is now collapsing also .

YOUTUBE.COM

2-17-20 updated land slide , Hardin County Tn

2-17-20 video of the 2 homes that collapsed and the ongoing land slide at 4810 Glendale road in Hardin county TN , the road is now collapsing also .

Multiple cracks have split the pavement right down the middle, and the dirt is already starting to fall away from the side of the road near the homes that collapsed.


The same video includes scenes of the aftermath of what happened over the weekend, when two multi-story homes and surrounding trees slid off the bluff. Both homes broke into pieces and scattered their contents across the hillside.

Only one home was occupied when a landslide became imminent, and the department reported on Facebook that the homeowners were evacuated about an hour before the first home fell.

The second two-story home tumbled mid-morning on Sunday, the department said.

A 20-second video shared by the fire department late Saturday showed the moment one of the homes fell into the river after dark.

Cracking and snapping boards are heard as the home’s green walls begin to shift. It then teeters off the bluff into the dark, as power lines send sparks into the night.


“Oh my God,” someone is heard saying in the background.

The names of the homeowners had not been released Monday.

The area is known as Chalk Bluff and it sits high above the Tennessee River, which has been flooded in recent days.

County officials reported late last week that the river was at flood stage, following days of heavy rain.

The fire department posted multiple videos Monday showing widespread flooding along rivers and creeks in the county.


The landslide that dragged two large homes into the Tennessee River is growing and could soon take the entire road into the flooded river, according to authorities in Hardin County. YOUTUBE VIDEO SCREENSHOT

Another Mississippi inmate dies; no signs of injuries

JACKSON, MISS.

A 42-year-old inmate has died in Mississippi, making him at least the 18th prisoner to die in the state's troubled prison system since late December, corrections officials said Sunday.

An officer serving breakfast on Sunday found David Lee May unresponsive in his cell at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Rankin County, the Mississippi Department of Corrections said. A department statement said officials tried to resuscitate the inmate, but he later was pronounced dead.

According to the news release, there were no obvious signs of injuries. May was living by himself in a cell. He had been sentenced in 2017 to life for two aggravated assaults.

An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death.

The death comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of Mississippi's troubled prisons system. The Justice Department announced Feb. 5 that its civil rights division was opening an investigation of Mississippi prisons after a string of inmate deaths.

At least 18 Mississippi inmates have died since late December. Most of them died at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, and many were killed during outbursts of violence that also left an undisclosed number of inmates injured.