A dirt bike reported stolen in 2022 from Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, has been recovered in Natchez. On Sunday afternoon, an Adams County Sheriff’s deputy saw a 16‑year‑old turn onto private property off Daisy Street. After checking the VIN, deputies confirmed the 2007 Honda CRF150 was the stolen bike. The motorcycle was seized, and the 16‑year‑old and a parent were present at the time. The investigation is ongoing.
The Airerville Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana is equipping patrol vehicles with new technology designed to warn drivers of oncoming pursuits. The Pursuit Alert digital siren allows deputies to send notifications to drivers who have downloaded the free smartphone app. The system can also issue alerts for other situations, including missing children within a three‑mile radius.
National transmission rates of sexually transmitted diseases have fallen, including in Mississippi. Between 2019 and 2023, Mississippi’s STD transmission rate decreased by 22 percent. Despite the decline, the state remains among those with the highest infection rates nationwide. ValuePenguin reported that nearly 1 percent of Mississippi’s population is infected with an STD, the third‑highest rate in the country. The report cited high uninsured rates and the absence of Medicaid expansion as contributing factors. Affordable STD and HIV testing is available at every county health department.
A 12‑foot, 1,000‑pound great white shark has been tracked off Louisiana’s coast near the Chandeleur Islands east of New Orleans. Dr. Sean Powers of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama said that while great white sightings in the northern Gulf Coast are rare, they are not unprecedented. He noted that improved tracking technology and population recovery after decades of overfishing have increased the likelihood of detecting these sharks. OCEARCH, the organization tracking the shark known as Ernst, reported that it traveled south along the East Coast and entered the Gulf in mid‑November, covering an estimated 3,200 miles before reaching the northern Gulf Coast.
The Mississippi River at Natchez‑Vidalia is at 13.72 feet and falling.
