Sunrise

WCBI Sunrise crew featuring Eric Crosswhite, Tara Wheeler and Vanessa Alonso.

Coming up this morning....remainin g open for business... governor tate reeves warns mississippians, that the state will not endure another shut down.... and....reinforcing covid restrictions.... how columbus police are cracking down on those violating the city's mask mandate... i've got your first alert forecast.

Wcbi sunrise at 4:30 am starts right now.

Show open the number of new coronavirus cases in mississippi remains above 1,000.// the state department of health is reporting 1,263 new cases and no deaths.// there are currently 1,931 people being treated for the virus in mississippi hospitals.// in our area, lee county has the most new cases with 47.

// pontotoc has 34 and lafayette county has 23.

// there are a total of 166,194 cases of covid-19 in mississippi and 3,961 deaths.// governor tate reeves says mississippi will remain open for business.// reeves says mississippi small business owners cannot withstand another shutdown, like the one earlier this year as the coronavirus was starting to spread.// he says much more is known about the virus now, compared to earlier in the year, and an across the board economic shutdown will not happen in mississippi.// "even vice president biden has admitted he really doesn't have the authority, he says he's going to try and convince governors and mayors to do that, i'm just telling you he doesn't have a chance of convincing me, that that will be the best long term policy for our state.

We are going to try and work with whomever is in charge, in washington, do our part to do that, but i'm also going to be on the front lines of fighting, when they try and enact far left liberal policies , and do that nationwide, i'm going to be on the front line and say, you may can do this in far west, northeast, but not in our state."

The governor made his comments during an interview with wcbi's allie martin last week in jackson.// the choctaw health center has once again put out a call requesting donations of fabric masks that they can distribute among members of the choctaw tribe across the pearl river reservation and beyond.

// wcbi's stephen pimpo spoke with a public health expert about the need for mask donations.// "over the summer months, june, july, august, we were hit very hard with this virus in our cases."

The choctaw health center says the tribe is currently dealing with 30 active cases of covid-19 and has seen just over 13 percent of the population test positive for the virus.

One of the keys to keeping those numbers down?

"it's made some difference for us that people do embrace the need to wear a mask."

Director of public health services denise benn john says that throughout the pandemic, the health center has been giving out mask packs that include two handmade cloth masks, a thermometer and phone numbers for the choctaw health center.

Su: dating back to april, the choctaw health center says the community has donated over 5000 masks.

"a lot of our tribal members do utilize them and we're so glad that they know we have them available."

Now...they need their help again.

"we've run a little bit low.

I'd says we have about a boxful that's left."

The choctaw health center put out the call again on friday for more donations of cloth masks.

"adult sizes, sizes for youth, children.

Of course it's 2 and above and then we also have some sizes that are for teenagers."

With the pearl river reservation under a mask mandate...benn john says they want to make sure they continue have enough masks to provide for every member of every household in their community.

"we want to be a catalyst to assist those who may not be able to afford to pay for a mask.

In philadelphia...step hen pimpo...wcbi news for more information on how to donate or receive the masks...go to our website at wcbi dot com.// columbus police may be handing out citations soon to people and businesses who are not following the city's mask mandate.// two c-p-d officers per shift will be checking in with local business owners, as a reminder to everyone to wear masks while out and about in town.// most businesses have a posted notice to customers to wear a mask.

// police officers are touching base with merchants to help them stay in compliance with the city order.// we get calls throughout the day many times...hey this business isn't practicing mask safety to the standards of the city of columbus.

We come out, check it out.

Normally nine times out of ten we start with a warning, go from there.

If we have a certain problematic issue with certain businesses we can address it with citations, but we try to do warnings firsthand.

It's important mainly to keep this covid sickness from spreading to others.

It helps prevent that.

That's the biggest measure in preventing the spread of the covid.

Officers say merchants and customers are usually cooperative when they ask them to comply with the mask ordinance.// intro many small businesses are feeling the financial strain of the pandemic.// restaurants are among those looking for a lifeline.// courtney ann jackson explains.// pkg jeff good co-owns and operates bravo, broad street and sal and mookie's.

He says catering is what first started taking a hit in the spring before the shutdown.

Now--- "it's almost like deja vu all over again."

Good says they've come up with new options to boost takeout.

But...his three restaurants still have overhead in buildings designed for dine-in.

"we've lost 1/3 of our overall revenue between catering and dine in."

The paycheck protection program helped helped them get back on their feet with rehiring workers after the shutdown.

But looking forward--- "if i have to let my people go a second time...i don't know how we would re-gin this again" that's why he's urging congress to pass the restaurants act that would include targeted help for lcoal restaurant that really need it.

"do that and i think we can survive.

Don't do it, and i really don't know what's gonna happen."

But some restauranteurs are skeptical about getting that help.

"they continue to fiddle while restaurants burn."

Mitchell moore owns campbell's bakery and campbell's craft donuts.

"we realized we were not going to have a good december and it was time to close the madison location for good."

More specifically---they went from nearly 19,000 dollars worth of sales at the two bakery locations in the first week december of 2019 to just 7,700 last week.

"the best way to describe it is robbing from peter to pay paul.

There's a pot of money and bills that we have going out are greater than what that pot of money."

Moore is calling on the public to support local restaurants if they want them to survive while hoping that congress can find a meaningful way to help.

Wipe to wx summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our next cold front approaches us.

Most of the day friday looks to remain dry with a mix of sun & clouds, but showers are possible by the evening hours.

We'll likely see more rain chances friday night into the first half of the day on saturday.

High temperatures will remain in the 60s for friday and saturday.

Sunday-monday: cooler air will move in once saturday's rain exits.

Highs will be back into the low 50s for sunday and monday with morning lows close to freezing.

We'll see a few clouds on sunday before sunny skies return on monday.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app wcbi news app 120720-intro more arrests are made in connection to a string of car burglaries over the past week that spanned three different counties in northern mississippi.

// 120720-gfxvo ackerman police say jacob bell, leviticus bell are say jacob bell, leviticus bell are in custody in ackerman.

// ditris bell is in custody in webster county.

// and suspects dontavious lucious and quavantae lucious are in custody in starkville.

// police say all of the suspects are from the starkville area.

// the burglaries prompted a joint investigation by five different law enforcement agencies.

// enforcement agencies.

// the webster county sheriff's department says the first incident happened november 27th in a neighborhood on bland road.

// sheriff david gore says three others followed including two in the city of mathiston.

// about 12 to 15 guns, along with credit cards, tools and other valuables were taken.// the oktibbeha county sheriffs department says there have been between 7 and 8 vehicle burglaries during the past week, with both guns and cash being taken from unlocked cars.

// ackerman police reported similar robberies last week, saying suspects were checking for open doors between 3 and 5 a-m.

// anyone with information on these thefts is asked to contact local law enforcement.

// a 29-year-old man is air-lifted to a nearby hospital after an early morning shooting in starkville.

// sgt.

Brandon lovelady with the starkville police departments says the incident occurred on reed ridge circle around 4:43 yesterday morning.

// sources tell wcbi that the shooting happened outside of the home.

// no other injures have been reported, and no arrests have been made at this time.

// s-p-d is leading the investigation.

// anyone with any information is asked to contact starkville police at 662-323-4131 or golden triangle crimestoppers at 1-800-530-7151.// toss to break the bruce chamber of commerce is sponsoring a contest that encourages business owners to decorate their windows or storefronts for christmas.// each business that decorates for the holidays will be entered into a drawing for a free ad in the local newspaper.

Organizers say the chamber wanted to do something to brighten people's spirits and promote local shopping as 2020 draws to a close.

"it has been an unusual year, it has and plus, with all the christmas parades being cancelled, we want to give , a lot of kids take their families, they go and look at christmas lights around town, this just gives them something else to go look at " the contest is open until december 18th.

// a winner will be chosen on the 21st.

// the winning business has one year to use their free ad.

// santa has help again this year from deputies at the oktibbeha county sheriff's department.// sheriff steve gladney and the entire staff at the sheriff's department are asking people who live and work in the community to drop off new toys.

The drop off box is located just inside the lobby of the sheriff's department on washington street.

Now in its 5th year, sheriff gladney says the need is ever greater to help local families.

"we connected with different groups throughout the county and we kind of know some people that needed it.

And 2020 has been an unusual year, you know a lot of people out of work and lost their jobs and all that.

You know we want to make sure if there some people out there in the county or kids in the county that need something for christmas and need help that's what we're here for you know."

For more on how to donate, you can go to our website at wcbi dot com.

Wipe to wx coming up next we'll take a look at what's going on in weather...let's check in to see what's going on in the world of sports wx animation summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our next cold front approaches us.

Most of the day friday looks to remain dry with a mix of sun & clouds, but showers are possible by the evening hours.

We'll likely see more rain chances we'll likely see more rain chances friday night into the first half of the day on saturday.

High temperatures will remain in the 60s for friday and saturday.

Sunday-monday: cooler air will move in once saturday's rain exits.

Highs will be back into the low 50s for sunday and monday with morning lows close to freezing.

We'll see a few clouds on sunday before sunny skies return on monday.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app in his first season as the head coach of calhoun city& former nfl safety m.d.

Jennings led the wildcats to their first state championship appearance since 2016& not a bad first campaign..

His personal journey is a big reason for the success& and he fell in love with the process... jennings says: "the biggest thing was getting the kids to trust me.

Once they realized that i was going to try my best to put them in a position to be successful, and once i gained the trust of the kids, they started to understand and listen."

Jennings went to and played for calhoun city& continued his football career at arkansas state& signed with the green bay packers as an undrafted free agent..

???take nats???

He was in the nfl for five years& his background and underdog mentality is a big reason the wildcats had the year that they did wildcats had the year that they did jennings says: "i've been in a lot of great systems, have had a lot of great coaches and played with a lot of great players.

That's what i tell the kids all the time is that a lot of people don't understand the hard work and dedication that it takes off the field.

Preparing yourself mentally and physically and having your body ready to play at the highest level."

The 32-year old says his familiarity with his hometown helps him relate to his kids jennings says: "i understand those kids.

I grew up in the same neighborhood and school system.

I understand the things they did in the school system and off the field also.

Lee says: "he has a really good relationship with all of the guys.

He tells us what to do and he played at the highest level so you really want to listen to what he says."

Jennings says: "it really means a lot to be able to see these young kids turn into young men."

???

On cam tag???

Calhoun city fell short to taylorsville in the 2a state title game& we caught up with jennings afterwards... he said how proud he ???

On cam tag???

Calhoun city fell short to taylorsville in the 2a state title game& we caught up with jennings afterwards... he said how proud he was of his players& when we asked if they'd be back he said there was no doubt about it& after a week off... mississippi state football returns to davis wade stadium saturday.... the bulldogs will host auburn..

State is coming off the 31-24 loss to ole miss in the egg bowl... head coach mike leach praised freshman quarterback will rogers during his weekly press conference saying he looks much more polished... but freshmen have been the majority of the state depth chart recently..

Leach says it's the most freshmen he's had to play in a long time and it's brought challenges... leach says: it's been tough and inconsistent as far as who is available with a ll the tests and everything.

We have all these thresholds and have been below them the last two games.

We want to play and be out there.

I take comfort that no college athleteshave been hospitalized they've been hospitalized for other things but not for covid.

The ole miss rebels matchup with texas a&m has been postponed due to covid-19... the game will be reschedule only if there are any cancellations of other games scheduled for december 19th otherwise it will be declared a no- contest... three of lane kiffin's bunch were named semifinalists for national awards... matt corral for the davey o'brien award given annually to the nation's best qb... he's top 10 in almost every passing category... elijah moore is a finalist for the biletnikoff... that one given annual to the nation's best receiver... moore is number one in fbs in receptions with 86... he also is second in the country in receiving yards with just under 1200... new south carolina head football shane beamer was introduced by the gamecocks recently... while he'll be working most of the time in columbia... he has a close family connection in starkville mississippi beamer says: my family and inlaws steve and sandra gladney back in starkville mississippi they are sec through and through and the fact that their son in law is on the sec network is definitely the proudest moment of our marriage, i'm sure.

I hear them talking about paul finebaum and sec football and all that and im glad they let me marry their daughter.

Wx animation wx animation summary: we'll summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our chat and toss to break.

Tease sunrise.

3 shot open anchors chat go to sunrise question now to today's sunrise question now to today's sunrise question of the now to today's sunrise question of the morning...it's pretend to be a time traveler day...so we are asking...if you could travel back in time, which era would you visit and why?

Head over to our facebook page, wcbi-tv, and give us your response.

Bring in vanessa summary: we'll summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our next cold front approaches us.

Most of the day friday looks to remain dry with a mix of sun & clouds, but showers are possible by the evening hours.

We'll likely see more rain chances friday night into the first half of the day on saturday.

High temperatures will remain in the 60s for friday and saturday.

Sunday-monday: cooler air will move in once saturday's rain exits.

Highs will be back into the low 50s for sunday and monday with morning lows close to freezing.

We'll see a few clouds on sunday before sunny skies return on monday.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app the covid-19 the covid-19 vaccine rollout is getting underway in the u-k.

90-year-old grandmother margaret keenan was the first person to receive a vaccination this morning.

The effort makes britain the first country to distribute the pfizer-biontech vaccine.

People over 80, care home workers and front-line health care staff will be first to get it.

The vaccine is a two-shot series, with the second dose coming three weeks after the first.

Voofftop president trump is poised to sign an executive order ... prioritizing the u-s when it comes to distribution of a covid-19 vaccine.

Senior administration officials say he'll do so today ... during a vaccine summit at the white house.

The order is supposed to make sure shipments go to americans before people in other nations.

But, it's unclear how it will do that...especially since citizens in the u-k are already be vaccinated.

The executive order comes as vaccine-maker pfizer juggles its commitments to multiple countries.

Back home...the number of new coronavirus cases in mississippi remains above 1,000.

The state department of health is reporting 1,263 new cases and no deaths.

There are currently 1,931 people being treated for the virus in mississippi hospitals.

In our area, lee county has the most new cases with 47.

Pontotoc has 34 and lafayette county has 23.

There are a total of 166,194 cases of covid-19 in mississippi and 3,961 deaths.

Governor tate reeves says mississippi will remain open for business.

Reeves says mississippi small business owners cannot withstand another shutdown, like the one earlier this year as the coronavirus was starting to spread.

He says much more is known about the virus now, compared to earlier in the year, and an across the board economic shutdown will not happen in mississippi.

"even vice president biden has admitted he really doesn't have the authority, he says he's going to try and convince governors and mayors to do that, i'm just telling you he doesn't have a chance of convincing me, that that will be the best long term policy for our state.

We are going to try and work with whomever is in charge, in washington, do our part to do that, but i'm also going to be on the front lines of fighting, when they try and enact far left liberal policies , and do that nationwide, i'm going to be on the front line and say, you may can do this in far west, northeast, but not in our state."

The governor made his comments during an interview with wcbi's allie martin last week in jackson.

Shot desk and with many small businesses are feeling the financial strain of the pandemic....restaur ants are among those looking for a lifeline.

Courtney ann jackson explains.

Pkg jeff good co-owns and operates bravo, broad street and sal and mookie's.

He says catering is what first started taking a hit in the spring before the shutdown.

Now--- "it's almost like deja vu all over again."

Good says they've come up with new options to boost takeout.

But...his three restaurants still have overhead in buildings designed for dine-in.

"we've lost 1/3 of our overall revenue between catering and dine in."

The paycheck protection program helped helped them get back on their feet with rehiring workers after the shutdown.

But looking forward--- "if i have to let my people go a second time...i don't know how we would re-gin this again" that's why he's urging congress to pass the restaurants act that would include targeted help for lcoal restaurant that really need it.

"do that and i think we can survive.

Don't do it, and i really don't know what's gonna happen."

But some restauranteurs are skeptical about getting that help.

"they continue to fiddle while restaurants burn."

Mitchell moore owns campbell's bakery and campbell's craft donuts.

"we realized we were not going to have a good december and it was time to close the madison location for good."

More specifically---they went from nearly 19,000 dollars worth of sales at the two bakery locations in the first week december of 2019 to just 7,700 last week.

"the best way to describe it is robbing from peter to pay paul.

There's a pot of money and bills that we have going out are greater than what that pot of money."

Moore is calling on the public to support local restaurants if they want them to survive while hoping that congress can find a meaningful way to help.

Warning to columbus residents...police may be handing out citations soon to people and businesses who are not following the city's mask mandate.

Two c-p-d officers per shift will be checking in with local business owners, as a reminder to everyone to wear masks while out and about in town.

Most businesses havehave a posted a notice to customers to wear a mask.

Police officers are touching base with merchants to help them stay in compliance with the city order.

We get calls throughout the day many times...hey this business isn't practicing mask safety to the standards of the city of columbus.

We come out, check it out.

Normally nine times out of ten we start with a warning, go from there.

If we have a certain problematic issue with certain businesses we can address it with citations, but we try to do warnings firsthand.

It's important mainly to keep this covid sickness from spreading to others.

It helps prevent that.

That's the biggest measure in preventing the spread of the covid.

Officers say merchants and customers are usually cooperative when they ask them to comply with the mask ordinance.

Toss to break toaster a two percent tax is on the ballot in amory today.

The special election allows voters to decide if they want the additional tax on restaurant purchases and hotel stays.

The tourism tax proceeds are earmarked for the amory parks and recreation department needs, primarily field improvements.

The special election was planned for may 12th but was postponed due to the pandemic.

Senate bill 30-86 authorizes the city of amory to levy a tax upon the gross sales of hotel and motel room rentals along with restaurant sales.

If passed, proceeds of the tax will be dedicated solely for park and recreation.

A 60 percent majority is required to pass the tourism tax.

120720-toaster more arrests are made in connection to a string of car burglaries over the past week that spanned three different counties in northern mississippi.

120720-gfxvo ackerman police say jacob bell, leviticus bell are in custody in ackerman.

Ditris bell is in custody in webster county.

And suspects dontavious lucious and quavantae lucious are in custody in starkville.

Police say all of the suspects are from the starkville area.

The burglaries the burglaries prompted a joint investigation by five different law enforcement agencies.

The webster county sheriff's department says the first incident happened november 27th in a neighborhood on bland road.

Sheriff david gore says three others followed including two in the city of mathiston.

About 12 to 15 guns, along with credit cards, tools and other valuables were taken.

The oktibbeha county sheriffs department says there have been between 7 and 8 vehicle burglaries during the past week, with both guns and cash being taken from unlocked cars.

Ackerman police reported similar robberies last week, saying suspects were checking for open doors between 3 and 5 a-m.

Anyone with information on these thefts is asked to contact local law enforcement.

A 29-year-old man is air-lifted to a nearby hospital after an early morning shooting in starkville.

Sgt.

Brandon lovelady with the starkville police departments says the incident occurred on reed ridge circle around 4:43 yesterday morning.

Sources tell wcbi that the shooting happened outside of the home.

No other injures have been reported, and no arrests have been made at this time.

S-p-d is leading the investigation.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact starkville police at 662-323-4131 or golden triangle crimestoppers at 1-800-530-7151.

Toaster a sheriff's office in alabama has removed a social media post showing what's been dubbed "thugshots."

It's a picture of a christmas tree put up at the mobile county sheriff's office.

Except that it's been digitally altered, to show mugshots as ornaments.

Deputies also put up inmates' slippers on the top.

But backlash was quick to follow from a number of local groups, including the n- double-a-c-p.

It called the picture disrespectful - suggesting it can further damage the relations between law enforcement and communities.

According to media reports, the sheriff's office also received death threats - and threats that its building would be burned.

The sheriff's office now says the photo has been taken down.

In a statement, the office says no post is more important than the lives of its deputies - and their work.

Here's a live look from our skycam in ..../ coming up...vanessa's got the latest on our tuesday forecast.../ we'll be right back.../ wx open summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our next cold front approaches us.

Most of the day friday looks to remain dry with a mix of sun & clouds, but showers are possible by the evening hours.

We'll likely see more rain chances friday night into the first half of the day on saturday.

High temperatures will remain in the 60s for friday and saturday.

Sunday-monday: cooler air will move in once saturday's rain exits.

Highs will be back into the low 50s for sunday and monday with morning lows close to freezing.

We'll see a few clouds on sunday before sunny skies return on monday.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app move in once saturday's rain exits.

Highs will be back into the low 50s for sunday and monday with morning lows close to freezing.

We'll see a few clouds on sunday before sunny skies return on monday.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app in his first season as the head coach of calhoun city& former nfl safety m.d.

Jennings led the wildcats to their first state championship appearance since 2016& not a bad first campaign..

His personal journey is a big reason for the success& and he fell in love with the process... jennings says: "the biggest thing was getting the kids to trust me.

Once they realized that i was going to try my best to put them in a position to be successful, and once i gained the trust of the kids, they started to understand and listen."

Jennings went to and played for calhoun city& continued his football career at arkansas state& signed with the green bay packers as an undrafted free agent..

???take nats???

He was in the nfl for five years& his background and underdog mentality is a big reason the wildcats had the year that they did jennings says: "i've been in a lot of great systems, have had a lot of great coaches and played with a lot of great players.

That's what i tell the kids all the time is that a lot of people don't understand the hard work and dedication that it takes off the field.

Preparing yourself mentally and physically and having your body ready to play at the highest level."

The 32-year old says his familiarity with his hometown helps him relate to his kids jennings says: "i understand those kids.

I grew up in the same neighborhood and school system.

I understand the things they did in the school system and off the field also.

Lee says: "he has a really good relationship with all of the guys.

He tells us what to do and he played at the highest level so you really want to listen to what he says."

Jennings says: "it really means a lot to be able to see these young kids turn into young men."

???

On cam tag???

Calhoun city fell short to taylorsville in the 2a state title game& we caught up with jennings afterwards... he said how proud he was of his players& when we asked if they'd be back he said there was no doubt about it& after a week off... mississippi state football returns to davis wade stadium saturday.... the bulldogs will host auburn..

State is coming off the 31-24 loss to ole miss in the egg bowl... head coach mike leach praised freshman quarterback will rogers during his weekly press conference saying he looks much more polished... but freshmen have been the majority of the state depth chart recently..

Leach says it's the most freshmen he's had to play in a long time and it's brought challenges... leach says: it's been tough and inconsistent as far as who is available with a ll the tests and everything.

We have all these thresholds and have been below them the last two games.

We want to play and be out there.

I take comfort that no college athleteshave been hospitalized they've been hospitalized for other things but not for covid.

The ole miss rebels matchup with texas a&m has been postponed due to covid-19... the game will be reschedule only if there are any cancellations of other games scheduled for december 19th otherwise it will be declared a no- contest... three of lane kiffin's bunch were named semifinalists for national awards... matt corral for the davey o'brien award given annually to the nation's best qb... he's top 10 in almost every passing category... elijah moore is a finalist for the biletnikoff... that one given annual to the nation's best receiver... moore is number one in fbs in receptions with 86... he also is second in the country in receiving yards with just under 1200... new south carolina head football shane beamer was introduced by the gamecocks recently... while he'll be working most of the time in columbia... he has a close family connection in starkville mississippi beamer says: my family and inlaws steve and sandra gladney back in starkville mississippi they are sec through and through and the fact that their son in law is on the sec network is definitely the proudest moment of our marriage, i'm sure.

I hear them talking about paul finebaum and sec football and all that and im glad they let me marry their daughter.

Marry their daughter.

120820-2 shot chat from dancing in the streets -- to going for gold.

Breakdancing will be an olympic event, starting in 20-24.

120820-vo the international olympic committee executive board announced yesterday ... "breaking," as it's called ... will debut in paris.

It'll be the first dance sport at the olympics ... and organizers hope it will attract a younger audience.

The committee says skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing also will debut in 20-24.

Those were in the works for the tokyo games ... that were postponed due to the pandemic.

Shot chat bob dylan has sold his entire songwriting catalog... which encompasses more than 600 songs over six decades.

According to multiple reports, this sale to universal music publishing group marks a major shift for the singer and songwriter, who has controlled much of his own intellectual property.

The purchase price wasn't disclosed but the new york times says it's estimated at more than 3-hundred million dollars.

The 79-year-old has numerous famous tracks, including numerous famous tracks, including "the times they are a-changin'," "like a rolling stone" and "mr. tambourine man."

Earlier this year, he released his first track in eight years called a "murder most foul" about the assassination of president john f.

Kennedy.

In 2016, bob dylan was awarded the nobel prize in literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great american song tradition."

He's sold more than 125 million records and continues to perform worldwide.

Kentucky fried chicken is teaming up with lifetime for a comical cross-promotion starring mario lopez.

It's called "a recipe for seduction."

It features lopez in heavy makeup portraying k-f-c founder colonel harland sanders.

They're billing it as a 15-minute lifetime original mini-movie -- but of course, it's really just an extended, tongue- in-cheek commercial.

According to k-f-c, the film's includes themes of mystery, suspense, deception... and "fowl" play - with fowl spelled f-o- w-l.

"a recipe for seduction" premieres on lifetime this coming sunday at 11 a-m.

Anchors chat sunrise question bring in vanessa summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will chat and end show reentry shot desk today the united kingdom begins vaccinating the country with 800- thousand doses of the pfizer vaccine, becoming the first western country to start such a program.

90-year- old patient margaret keenan was the first patient today.

Here in the u-s the vaccine rollout could start later this week.

Cbs's debra alfarone has the latest.

They're calling it "v-day" in the united kingdom& "it's the beginning of the end of this pandemic."

Today the country kicks off a mass coronavirus immunization program.

"top of that priority list includes people in care homes, as well as the over 80s."

87-year-old doctor hari shukla is one of the first to get the vaccine.

"a big relief because it's not an ordinary crisis."

Here in the u-s, the food and drug administration may authorize the pfizer vaccine this week.

Today president trump hosts a white house summit to promote the rapid development of covid-19 vaccines.

"it's very transparent because the data upon which they base that decision will ultimately become totally public in a peer reviewed journal."

A report from the new york times says the trump administration passed up the opportunity to buy more doses of the pfizer vaccine beyond an initial 100 million.

The decision could delay the delivery of a second batch until june.

But the administration says the report is false...and points to five other candidates&includi ng moderna's, which the f-d-a could authorize later this month.

Kentucky / senate majority leader "operation warp speed seems poised to deliver vaccines on an historic, almost miraculous timetable."

On capitol hill lawmakers continue negotiating a coronavirus relief package.

New york / senate minority leader "it's going to take a sense of urgency now, mr. leader."

The 908-billion- dollar bill is held up on aid to state and local governments and business liability protections.

Shot tag shot tag congress is expected to pass a one-week extension to fund the government past saturday.

The hope is to attach a coronavirus relief package onto a larger bill that funds the government.

Toss to wx summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our next cold front approaches us.

The number of new coronavirus cases in mississippi remains above 1,000.

The state department of health is reporting 1,263 new cases and no deaths.

There are currently 1,931 people being treated for the virus in mississippi hospitals.

In our area, lee county has the most new cases with 47.

Pontotoc has 34 and lafayette county has 23.

There are a total of 166,194 cases of covid-19 in mississippi and 3,961 deaths.

Governor tate reeves says mississippi will remain open for business.

Reeves says mississippi small business owners cannot withstand another shutdown, like the one earlier this year as the coronavirus was starting to spread.

He says much more is known about the virus now, compared to earlier in the year, and an across the board economic shutdown will not happen in mississippi.

"even vice president biden has admitted he really doesn't have the authority, he says he's going to try and convince governors and mayors to do that, i'm just telling you he doesn't have a chance of convincing me, that that will be the best long term policy for our state.

We are going to try and work with whomever is in charge, in washington, do our part to do that, but i'm also going to be on the front lines of fighting, whenng, when they try and enact far left liberal policies , and do that nationwide, i'm going to be on the front line and say, you may can do this in far west, northeast, but not in our state."

The governor made his comments during an interview with wcbi's allie martin last week in jackson.

Desk the choctaw health center has once again put out a call requesting donations of fabric masks they can distribute to members of the choctaw tribe across the pearl river reservation and beyond.

The choctaw health center says the tribe is currently dealing with 30 active cases of covid-19 and has seen just over 13 percent of the population test positive for the virus.

Director of public health services denise benn john says throughout the pandemic, the health center has been giving out mask packs that include two handmade cloth masks, a thermometer and phone numbers for the choctaw health center.

She says they have had at least five thousand masks donated to them since april and many of the tribal members are using them.

She says they currently only have around 120 mask packs left and want to make sure they continue to have enough to meet the needs of the community.

Sot: "right now, we're just forward thinking.

We're not sure how long we're going to have to continue to wear masks, even with the vaccine that's coming for covid- 19, but we want to be prepared to continue to have these available to our tribal members."

The choctaw health center says the mississippi band of choctaw indians tribal council has previously donated fabric for the masks and almost a quarter of their donations have come from outside the state.

For more information on how to donate or receive the masks you can visit our website, wcbi dot com.

Santa has help again this year from deputies at the oktibbeha county sheriff's department.

Sheriff steve gladney and the entire staff at the sheriff's department are asking people who live and work in the community to drop off new toys.

The drop off box is located just inside the lobby of the sheriff's department on washington street.

Now in its 5th year, sheriff gladney says the need is ever greater to help local families.

"we connected with different groups throughout the county and we kind of know some people that needed it.

And 2020 has been an unusual year, you know a lot of people out of work and lost their jobs and all that.

You know we want to make sure if there some people out there in the county or kids in the county that need something for christmas and need help that's what we're here for you know."

For more on how to donate, you can go to our website at wcbi dot com.

Midday the bruce chamber of commerce is sponsoring a contest that encourages business owners to decorate their windows or storefronts for christmas.

Each business that decorates for the holidays will be entered into a drawing for a free ad in the local newspaper.

Organizers say the chamber wanted to do something to brighten people's spirits and promote local shopping as 2020 draws to a close.

"it has been an unusual year, it has and plus, with all the christmas parades being cancelled, we want to give , a lot of kids take their families, they go and look at christmas lights around town, this just gives them something else to go look at " the contest is open until december 18th.

A winner will be chosen on the 21st.

The winning business has one year to use their free ad.

Toss to break chat standup president elect joe biden is unveiling more history-making cabinet picks.

As the nation continues to grapple with the growing crisis that is the coronavirus pandemic... today, mr. biden will formally introduce some of his top health picks.

Debra alfarone has the latest.

Pkg cbs news has confirmed president elect joe biden plans to tap retired four star general lloyd austin as his defense secretary.

The 67- year-old former head of u.s. central command and military forces in iraq would become the first black man to lead the pentagon.

Biden's transition team also named key members of its health team& "the numbers are really stunning.

We can do something about it.

But that something right now is public health measures."

That health team includes: -- doctor anthony fauci who will stay on as chief medical adviser -- doctor vivek murthy as surgeon general, a post he held during the obama administration -- and doctor rochelle walensky, an infectious disease expert, to lead the centers for disease control.

And in another historic pick, california attorney general xavier becerra -- who would become the first latino health and human services secretary he tweeted: "as secretary of health and human services, i will build on our progress and ensure every american has access to quality, affordable health care-through this pandemic and beyond."

The n-double-a-c-p and other civil rights leaders are scheduled to meet with biden and vice president elect, kamala harris today, amid calls for even more diversity in the presidential cabinet.

Tag mr. biden told reporters yesterday in delaware that he plans to formally announce his choice to lead the defense department during an event friday in his hometown of wilmington.

But aides said late last night that the announcement may now happen sooner.

Standup biden may live up to his popular nickname on his inauguration day.

He earned the moniker "amtrak joe", for commuting on train between wilmington, delaware, and washington.

But now, sources say he may take the same route to his inauguration on january 20-th.

However, sources say that's just one of the options his inauguration team is considering - and it's not set in stone.

Biden started commuting on amtrak while he was a senator in 19-72.

The 90-minute trips continued on occasion after he became vice president.

And by now, he estimates that he took more than eight-thousand round trips - and covered more than two-million miles.

Coming up in just a bit...a legacy to remember.../ we look back on the day the world lost legendardy musician john lennon../ we'll be right back after this.../ wx open summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Friday-sunday: cloudy skies and rain chances will return to the region by friday and into the weekend as our next cold front approaches us.

Most of the day friday looks to remain dry with a mix of sun & clouds, but showers are possible by the evening hours.

We'll likely see more rain chances friday night into the first half of the day on saturday.

High temperatures will remain in the 60s for friday and saturday.

Sunday-monday: cooler air will move in once saturday's rain exits.

Highs will be back into the low 50s for sunday and monday with morning lows close to freezing.

We'll see a few clouds on sunday before sunny skies return on monday.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app shot chat legendary pilot chuck yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, is dead at the age of 97.

His wife victoria tweeted from yeager's verified twitter account that the world war two flying ace died just before nine last night.

Yeager overcame a poverty-stricken upbringing in west virginia to become one of the greatest pilots who ever lived.

He became a national celebrity thanks to "the right stuff" the non-fiction novel by tom wolfe and was played by sam shepard in the hit movie.

Yeager's 55 medals and his record- breaking x-one airplane are on display at the smithsonian national air and space museum.

Voofftop actress natalie desselle-reid died yesterday from colon cancer.

Her family announced in an instagram post..."it is with extremely heavy hearts that we share the loss of our beautiful natalie this morning from colon cancer."

Desselle-reid was known for her roles in "madea's big happy family," "b?a?p?s," and "def jam's how to be a player."

She played janie egins for three seasons on the television show "eve."

Desselle-reid was 53.

Shot chat today marks 40- years since one of the greatest tragedies to hit the music world: the death of john lennon.

Michael george looks back at that day and the legacy lennon leaves behind.

Fans of john lennon came together - at the memorial in central park known as "strawberry fields".

Some of these fans were also right here on that tragic night 40 years ago, when the beatles legend was gunned down outside his apartment at the age of 40.

Charles rosenay is a beatles expert who published a magazine about the band.

He says lennon was one of the most influential musicians of all time- but his death transcended music.

And even 40 years later& john lennon's legacy lives on.

Fans like mike eagen say his music and his message of peace are timeless.

Still inspiring millions...a generation after he left us.

In new york, michael george, cbs news.

The man convicted of killing john lennon, mark david chapman, remains behind bars in an upstate new york prison.

Toss to break anchors chat sunrise question anchors chat sunrise question tie vanessa in summary: we'll summary: we'll enjoy a nice stretch of weather for the next several days with highs back into the 60s for the middle of the week.

Our next chance of rain will be friday night into saturday before another round of cooler temperatures moves in.

Tuesday-thursday: we'll see lots of sunshine and clear blue skies through midweek.

Highs will remain in the 50s for tuesday, before warming back up into the 60s by wednesday and thursday as our winds will switch up to the sw.

Overnight lows in the 30s to lower 40s.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app toss to break coming up this