We may never know if the person who fired his gun into the BancorpSouth Arena parking lot in Tupelo, Mississippi at 2 a.m. Tuesday morning intended to hit the circus elephant traveling there while on tour with a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show. We may never know if the shooter, in the heat of the moment, mistook the elephant (Carol) for a much smaller human-sized human with whom he was having a personal conflict. We may never know what the elephant—an honor student, active in her church choir, well-liked and respected by her peers—was doing in the shadowy parking lot so late at night. (Probably just resting.)

Mississippi state Representative Jessica Upshaw was found dead Sunday morning at the home of another Mississippi politician, according to the Clarion Ledger. Simpson County Sheriff Kenneth Lewis said Upshaw died from a single gunshot wound to the head, though he noted it's too early in the investigation to know if the wound was self-inflicted or if foul play was involved.

Harry Weathersby Stamps' obituary began as most great obituaries do: "Harry Weathersby Stamps, ladies' man, foodie, natty dresser, and accomplished traveler, died on Saturday, March 9, 2013."

Ever since 22-year-old Lawrence Reed, pictured at left, was found driving—and subsequently crashing—33-year-old Marco McMillian's SUV on a highway in Tennessee last week, news outlets have been trying to piece together exactly how the two men knew each other. McMillian, an openly gay candidate for mayor in Clarksdale, Mississippi, was found dead near the Mississippi River after Reed pointed police to his body, prompting many to immediately presume McMillian's death was a hate crime (a black gay man being murdered by bigots in Mississippi wouldn't be much of a stretch). Yet as more details emerge, McMillian's killing seems to be less about a targeted hate attack and more about a relationship that soured.

Marco McMillian, the openly gay Mississippi mayoral candidate whose body was pulled from a Mississippi River levee last week, was mutilated either before or after his death, according to new information released by his family.

Marco McMillian, a 34-year-old mayoral candidate in Clarksdale, Miss., was found dead on a Mississippi River levee yesterday in what was most likely a homicide. His campaign said he was the first openly gay man to run as a viable candidate for public office in Mississippi.

Jessica Powell and her partner Crystal Craven were married recently in what is believed to be Jones County, Mississippi's first same-sex wedding.

13 years into the 21st century, President Lincoln is still abolishing slavery.

As those of us in the northeast recover from Nemo the giant snowstorm that hit this weekend, our Southern brethren are dealing with a massive storm of their own. Sunday evening a tornado touched down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, part of a wave of severe storms that passed through Mississippi and Louisiana. As you can see from the video above, the tornado was mammoth. Major damage was reported in Hattiesburg, which is the home of the University of Southern Mississipi. No injuries were reported on the university's campus, though CNN reports three injured in the region. We'll have updates as more information comes in.

The state of Mississippi ranks 50th in the average salary it pays its public school teachers. There's also, you know, the deep history of poverty and racism and deprivation. So perhaps it is no surprise that Mississippi's public schools are exceedingly quick to arrest students for the most trifling violations.

The only abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi came one step closer to closure today. Last year, the state passed an ordinance requiring all of the doctors working at the Jackson Women's Health Organization to have hospital admission privileges in order to continue operating. The deadline to comply with the order came earlier this week; only one of the four doctors currently employed at the clinic has admitting privileges.

If you're a dolphin (are you?), the Gulf of Mexico isn't exactly the place you want to be right now. The dolphins there are already dealing with a myriad of health issues stemming from the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and since June, a number of dolphins have washed ashore after having been killed and mutilated. The latest incident happened this past Friday, when researchers in Gulfport, Miss. found a dolphin whose lower jaw had been removed.

It wasn't every Ole Miss student who poured into the streets to burn Obama/Biden signs and shout racist epithets Tuesday night. Some were doing normal college things—sleeping, studying, getting stoned. Last night, it was those students' turn to take to the streets. Students gathered to hold a "We Are Mississippi" candlelit walk through the University of Mississippi campus in protest of Tuesday's protest.

Following President Obama's re-election last night, rational people (conservative and liberal alike) continued on with their lives, business as usual. But in Mississippi, this was not to be.

Fifty years ago, black man James Meredith matriculated at the University of Mississippi after a lengthy legal battle with school administrators and state politicians. The governor of Mississippi himself, Ross Barnett, chastised President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy's support of Meredith as "evil and illegal forces of tyranny." Thousands of soldiers were deployed to ensure Meredith's safe entry onto campus, which led to a riot that killed two and injured hundreds. In the end, despite all the anger and violence, Meredith entered classes at Ole Miss and graduated in 1963 with a degree in political science.

Uh oh. Haley Barbour is writing slash fic again! The ex-Mississippi governor, who is totally not racist, recently expressed his wish for New Jersey governor Chris Christie to poke the president of the United States, in the butt area:

A couple in Jackson, Mississippi were forced to relocate churches the day before their wedding after the pastor notified them that some church members were uncomfortable having a black couple married there.

Mississippi police are warning people to call the cops if a cop tries to pull them over, following two incidents in which motorists were shot while driving down rural highways in the early-morning hours.

For those of you who keep track of America's conservative family-values Republicans who are caught doing sexy gay things, here's a new name to add to your lists: Southaven, Mississippi mayor and failed Congressional candidate Greg Davis, who allegedly billed taxpayers $67 for purchases at a Canadian gay sex shop called Priape.

College sorority blackface Halloween party controversy news of the day: "The [University of Southern Mississippi] Dean of Students Office said the six women, all members of Phi Mu sorority, dressed in blackface to depict themselves as the Huxtable family from 'The Cosby Show,' as part of their participation in a 1980s-themed, off-campus costume party on Wednesday."