U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, Drug Enforcement Administration, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Joel K. Reece, and Madison County Sheriff Toby Trowbridge announce the culmination of a two year federal investigation targeting a major cocaine organization operating between Central Mississippi  and Los Angeles, California. Members of this organization were responsible for the importation into Mississippi from California of over 100 kilograms of cocaine in the last two years.

Of significance is the fact that this criminal organization routinely utilized drug couriers who traveled with kilogram quantities of cocaine aboard commercial airline flights from Los Angeles to Jackson.

On May 13, 2008, teams of state, local, and federal law enforcement officers arrested six defendants and executed seven search warrants at locations in the Jackson metropolitan area.

At the same time in a coordinated effort, Special Agents from the DEA Los Angeles Field Division executed six search warrants and arrested seven additional defendants in California. The arrests were the result of a joint investigation between the DEA and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. As a result of this multi state investigation over fifty kilograms of cocaine, three kilograms of heroin, three pounds of methamphetamine and approximately $126,000 in United States Currency have been seized. Also seized were thirteen vehicles and numerous firearms. Additional arrests/indictments are anticipated as this investigation continues.  

Arrested were from Jackson: Arlandia Fleming, Rodney Horne, Kendreal Thompson and Charles Taylor.

From Ridgeland: Shun Fleming and Jerome Wellington.

Governor Haley Barbour said Friday he will call Mississippi lawmakers to the State Capitol for a Special Session beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 21, to consider re-authorizing the Mississippi Department of Employment Security and other subjects.

"It is critical that the Mississippi Department of Employment Security be reauthorized," Governor Barbour said. MDES has been recognized as among the best in the nation at placing job applicants and its one-stop system has been praised as among the most efficient and effective in the nation.

"Failure to reauthorize would mean unemployed Mississippians can not receive their benefits; businesses will see their unemployment insurance tax rates multiply dramatically; the State will lose millions of dollars in federal grants; and our community colleges will see the loss of workforce investment dollars that are helping train Mississippians for new and higher-paying jobs," Governor Barbour said.

"It would be unthinkable for Mississippi’s employers to have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes or for beneficiaries to be denied services because MDES is hamstrung by a totally unrelated issue," Governor Barbour said.

Over the past four years Mississippi’s job-creating programs have resulted in a net gain of more than 60,000 new jobs, attributable at least in part to the solid successes at MDES.

Governor Barbour said filling a fiscal hole in the Mississippi Medicaid program will not be in the initial call because work on the best solution is continuing; it is anticipated that Medicaid will be added to the call next week.

"I’m grateful to the Medicaid Hospital Advisory Board, the Mississippi Hospital Association and the Division of Medicaid for their joint efforts to revise the methodology by which state match funds are generated so it is as beneficial and fair as possible to the state’s hospitals," Governor Barbour said.

Here are flooding reports from the National Weather Service as of 8:30 a.m:

-One lane on the southbound side of Highland Colony Parkway near Livingston Road is impassable closed after its covered by a foot of water.

-Roads in Belzoni and Rolling Fork are under water due to flash flooding.

-Streets are also flooded around Yazoo City.

-Emergency officials warn that rain is also causing drainage backups.  Storm debris left from the April 4th storms that hasn't been picked up is also floating into the drains causing them to back up.

To find out any watches or warnings for your area, click here .

Be sure to watch News Channel 12 at Noon for the latest on your Storm Team 12 forecast.

Top 10 Girl Names:

Emily

Isabella

Emma

Ava

Madison

Sophia

Olivia

Abigail

Hannah

Elizabeth

Top 10 Boy Names:

Jacob

Michael

Joshua

Matthew

Ethan

Daniel

Christopher

Anthony

William

Andrew

The National Retail Federation expects people to spend less on Mother's Day gifts in 2008 than in previous years.  Americans are expected to spend about $15 billion dollars for the holiday.

The owner of a local card and gift store says Mother's Day is usually a top-selling holiday for her shop--only behind Christmas and Valentine's Day. 

"We normally do a lot of gifts for Mother's Day normally.  In previous years, we've done a great job. But this year gifts were zero," Pat Singh, the owner of Kaye's Hallmark on Old Canton Road, said.

Singh says people bought mostly cards, but even card sales were down.

Restaurants are expected to take in more Mother's Day cash than any other business.  By three o'clock Sunday afternoon, there was still a long line of customers waiting to get into Barnhill's Restaurant.

"We wanted to take mom out to a special dinner and this is what she chose, so this is exactly where we came," Earl Yarbrough said.

The Yarbrough boys went all out for their mom, but it wasn't easy.  Gifts, cards, and the buffet at Barnhill's added up fast.  The restaurant is a full thirty miles from their home.

"I mean food and things are going up, but gas is what's getting astronomical," Yarbrough said. 

Since things are tight, the meal was a big surprise for mom.

"Well, I hadn't been out to eat in a long time.  It's been a while," Tonia Yarbrough said.

For the latest on possible severe weather in your area, click here.

     But many exhibitors are concerned that people attending the event will not be spending money because of the slumping economy.  

    "Because everything sold at a crafts show is something that the consumers really don’t need to have, like gas or rent," says J.W. Rushing. Rushing is from Grenada and sells handmade wooden toys.

    Meantime, Pat Barker from Tennessee has handmade quilts that go for as much as $320.

    She has a loyal following who patronize her as she travels to craft shows around the country

    Barker says they try to make quilts, "the way your grandmother used to do them, so I'm hoping they will buy them."

    Despite economic concerns, organizers say they expect the crowds to starting showing up for the flea market before sunrise Friday. 

Click here for more information on Pepsi Pops

Click here for more information on the Canton Flea Market

Officials have identified the person killed in a deadly plant explosion at Warren County paper mill.  More than a dozen others were injured.

28-year-old Marcus Broome from Bolton died of chest trauma in Saturday's explosion at the International Paper Mill.  It's located in Redwood on State Highway 3.  Officials with International Papter say a boiler exploded.  They're working to make sure the facility is secure before attempting to find out what caused the explosion.  Federal officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.

An International Paper spokesperson tells us maintenance crews are returning to work as normally scheduled.  Grief counselors will be on site throughout the week to give support.

17 contract workers were hurt.  The explosion happened during the start-up of one of the two boilers.  The mill was undergoing its annual maintenance outage and was in the process of starting back up.  International Paper says no employees have been seriously hurt at the mill in more than a year.  This is the first accident of its kind in the mill's 40-year history.

Emergency responders from across Mississippi are putting their skills to the test.

The latest drill involves a hurricane hitting the coast. In the drill, a fictional category five hurricane named Ulysses made landfall in Biloxi early Thursday morning around 2.

In the scenario, the responders reacted to the hurricane as if it was already six hours later since it hit.

Before hitting Biloxi, the fictional hurricane hit Miami, Florida.

The drill is designed to simulate what it would be like if federal resources were strained. The drill took place at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in Pearl.

So how are different agencies pulling together for the mock disaster?

The Mississippi Highway Patrol is discussing it's plan. The National Guard is working the phones, and people are typing away as the new map of the path of Hurricane Ulysses is coming off the printer. All of Mississippi's state agencies are preparing for what lies ahead.

"We need to be prepared for it because it is the most likely threat to the state is that of tropical storms and hurricanes," said MEMA Executive Director Mike Womack.

Womack said the biggest reason for the drill is to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

"This communication piece is exactly why we have these executive seminars so that state agency heads can understand what their roles are in a hurricane response," said Womack.

Along with the 15 emergency support functions MEMA has going, the 6 southern counties along the coast have their emergency operations centers fully activated.

"We wanted to test the actual computer software and radio and telephone networks in addition to everything else," said Womack.

So as this hurricane carves a path of destruction over Florida and Mississippi in this simulation, all agencies are on hand to get the proper authorities in place on time.

Womack said they will try to have the government out responding to the people as soon as possible but he urges everyone in the state to follow three things. First, be educated on where you live and what dangers you face. Second, have a plan ready in case a disaster were to strike. And last, have enough food, water, medication or whatever else it may be that you need in case the government is not able to get to you for a couple of days.

This year's drill was cut down to just one day because so many state agencies are still coping with tornado damage and flooding from April.

Jackson Police have an armed robbery suspect in custody.  Lawrence Epps turned himself in to authorities at Capitol and West Street Downtown.  He's accused of stealing $8,000 from the "Mississippi Public Employees Credit Union" on South West Street last Friday.

Investigators say Epps handed a teller a note that said he had a gun and wanted money.  Police say the teller gave him the cash and he ran out of the bank.  The 36-year-old is the former President of the Jackson Police Officers' Union.

A Canton mother is being bars. She is accused of killing her 3-year-old mother. The little girl died in April of 2004. Barbara Veal was arrested Monday afternoon. She is being held on a $1 million bond. Veal has been the prime suspect in her daughter's murder for four years. According to police, her former boyfriend came forward with incriminating evidence. He says he saw Veal punch the little girl. Samantha Stewart was taken to the hospital because she was vomiting. They couldn't save her. Authorities believe she was hit extremely hard in the stomach.

"Rushing out to buy a new TV is not the best advice.  I would save it or pay off debt," McAlpin said.

Financial advisor Chris McAlpin, of Financial Strategies Group, Inc., recommends using the money to pay credit card bills.  If you do not have debt, McAlpin recommends starting an emergency savings account.  The account should cover up to six months of expenses, in case of an emergency. 

But the government is counting on taxpayers to spend their rebate checks, and that spending could give the economy a much-needed boost.

Click here for the latest discount codes

Thousands of Americans are about to get some money from Uncle Sam.  The 1st round of the economic stimulus rebates go out Monday, April 28th to Americans who signed up for direct deposit on their tax return.  If you opted to have your rebate check mailed to you, the first of those will go out May 9th.

The IRS has developed a schedule for people to receive their checks based on the last two digits in their Social Security Number.  To find out when you could be seeing your rebate check, click here.

Single taxpayers could receive up to $600, while it could be up to $1200 for married taxpayers.  Additional money may also be given out for children.  You had to file a tax return for 2007 to be eligible for the money. About 130 million households are expected to receive the rebate checks.

The new comedy "Baby Mama" earns this weekend's top spot at the box office with more than $18 million dollars.  Saturday Night Live veterans Tina Fey and Amy Poehler star as an odd couple about surrogate motherhood.  Another comedy, "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," opened in second with $14.6 million.  Lionsgate's kung fu movie, "The Forbidden Kingdom," starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li fell from the top spot to third with more than $11 million.

Here's a look at the top 10 movies:

Grammy-winning singer Amy Winehouse is released by London police after a night in custody over assault accusations.  Two men claim she assaulted them at a London bar.  One says she head-butted a man trying to hail her a cab.  The other says she hit him when he got in her way as she was playing pool.  Winehouse's reps say she admits slapping one man.  After being questioned, she was released with a warning the incident stays on record.  It could be held against her if she does something similar to this again.

Every 30 seconds, a person is killed in a drunk driving accident.  Saturday night, Mothers Against Drunk Driving took time to remember those affected by alcohol related accidents.  MADD's held its annual candlelight vigil at the Liberty Baptist Church in Flowood. 

Deborah Brown with MADD's Victims Services says the ceremony is important to the families because its a way for the victims to always be remembered.

Madison and Rankin County District Attorney Michael Guest attended the vigil and says he hopes the ceremony shows the public the consequences of driving under the influence. 

"We hope by doing this that we can call attention to this problem and hopefully prevent people from getting behind the wheel after they've had too much which can cause the serious injury and death of other individuals," Guest said.

Guest said his office is working a case where a young girl and her mother were hurt in a drunk driving accident.  The girl was paralyzed by the waist down and her mother was seriously injured.

Deception: Thriller starring Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, and Michelle Williams.  A clean-cut accountant accidently finds his way into an underground sex club only to find himself implicated in major crime.

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay: Comedy with hit duo from 2004 hit Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.  The two find themselves accused of terrorism.

Ashlee Simpson announced her engagement to bass player Peter Wentz earlier this month.  Wentz is the bass player for Fall Out Boy. The couple has been dating since 2006.

Sky News television reports Grammy-winning artist Amy Winehouse has been arrested on suspicion of assault.  London's police say they arrested a 24-year-old woman but aren't naming her until she's been charged.

Step into a grocery store to buy any produce and you can feel the pinch on your wallet. But grocery stores have to increase the prices since they're having to pick up the tab for the packing and shipping of the produce. So now, some people are looking to shopping at farmer's markets where not only is the crop fresh, but it's cheaper as well.

Coming up tonight on News Channel 12 at 5 and 6, we talk to customers and farmers on why the fresh crop is their top choice.

    Thursday night Mississippi's ACLU met with members of "Concerned Citizens of Flora" to talk about concerns they have about possible racial profiling.

    The ACLU shared information about their legal rights and how to file a formal complaint if they believe they've been mistreated by law enforcement.

    Some residents in Flora and Canton accuse Sheriff Toby Trowbridge and his department of harassing blacks by conducting random traffic stops and roadblocks in predominantly black neighborhoods.

    Rosetta Harris is president of "Concerned Citizens."

    She wants to see all Madison County residents treated fairly. 

    "It's time for us to get up and do something we should have done a long time ago and one way or another Trowbridge will stop or Madison County will suffer, because we're gonna take whatever action we have to take."

    In May the ACLU plans to hold a similar meeting in Canton