There are two ballot initiatives being voted on today that will give us an idea of the nation's political mood one year out from next year's elections. And both have far-reaching consequences. Here's what you need to know. 

The Mississippi Personhood Amendment

Tomorrow Mississippians could vote to outlaw almost all abortions and some forms of birth-control. Here is how the text of the ballot initiative  reads:

Should the term 'person' be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?

 The text is very simple, but the consequences could be immense. 

Not only would the Personhood Amendment outlaw all abortions, directly challenging Roe v. Wade, it might also outlaw certain drugs sold as birth-control that can act as abortifacients - that includes RU-486 and IUDs.The law would also require couples and their doctors to be responsible for maintaining the life of all embryos created during in vitro fertilization. 

Longtime pro-life groups like National Right to Life and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are very wary of this Personhood amendment, fearing that if it comes before the Supreme Court, a pro-Roe majority will rule that unborn children are not legal persons. A ruling like that could could jeopardize some pf the success pro-lifers have had in restricting access to abortion over the past two decades through mandatory waiting periods and parantal notification laws. 

Supporters of the Personhood Amendment have argued that the incremental approach of other pro-life groups is an insufficient response to the injustice of abortion. Instead they wish to confront Roe directly.  

Polling has been against the personhood amendment passing, but as the campaign draws to a close things have gotten very tight. Public Policy Polls says that 45 percent of voters now support it, 44 oppose it. 

The Ohio Public Unions Law

Over in Ohio, Governor John Kasich's reforms to public-sector unions are coming to a popular vote, it's called Senate Bill 5 (SB-5)

SB-5 would strip public sector unions of their ability to collectively bargain for their benefits, restricting them only to salary. 

It would require all public employees to contribute 15 percent to their health-insurnace premiums. 

Unlike other states that have tried to reform public pensions, the Ohio measure law does not exempt police, firefighters, or teachers.  

Proponents say the bill could save the state as much as $1.3 billion, mostly out of changes to scheduled pay-raises and the demand that public-sector employees contribute to their health premiums.  Opponents say this will weaken Ohio's middle-class. 

This bill is being hotly watched by national conservative groups who believe that breaking the power of public unions will weaken Democrat political operations for a generation, while saving tax payers billions. Kasich has gone further out on the limb than New Jersey's Chris Christie in taking on public-sector unions.

Polling on SB5 however suggests that Kasich is going to be harshly rebuked. Taxpayers may be angry at state spending, but they aren't willing to balance the books by cutting benefits for firefighters. 

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The controversial Mississippi Personhood Amendment was defeated 55-45 last night. But it was just as much a victory for traditional pro-life groups as it was for pro-choice ones.  

The Rev. Jimmy Porter, director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention’s Christian Action Commission, summed up the feeling of many pro-lifers who supported Mississippi's Personhood amendment. 

 “We mourn with heaven tonight over the loss of Initiative 26, which would have provided the hope of life for thousands of God’s unborn babies in Mississippi. Instead the unborn in Mississippi will continue to be led down on a path of destruction to horrible deaths both inside their mothers and in laboratories.”

But most pro-lifers are breathing a little easier tonight. 

The "Personhood" Amendment did not have the support of the major pro-life groups. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Episcopal and Methodist Churches refrained from supporting it. As did the National Right to Life Committee and Americans United For Life.

In fact going back to 2009, Mississippi's Catholic Bishop Joseph Latino didn't even want the issue to come up:

“I join with Catholic bishops in several other states in not endorsing personhood petitions to be circulated in our Catholic parishes. We have committed ourselves to working for a federal amendment and feel the push for a state amendment could ultimately harm our efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade.” 

Since the Supreme Court case Casey v. Planned Parenthood reaffirmed Roe, most pro-life activists have worked on a strategy of incrementaly restricting access to abortion, and chipping away carefully at the legal edges of Roe. The strategy has had undeniable success. They have restricted public funds from abortion through the Hyde Amendment and regulated clinics out of existence. They've added parental notification laws and waiting periods in some states. The success in lowering the incidence of abortion is undeniable. 

There is another group of Pro-lifers, most prominently represented by the American Life League, who support a "Personhood Now" approach to pro-life activism. They believe that instead of settling for small measures, pro-life activists should simply articulate the whole truth that abortion destroys the life of a human person. 

They argue that by directly challenging Roe in this way they can achieve all the pro-life movement's goals in just a few simple steps. 

But the incrementalists believe that this silver bullet approach accomplishes little while risking much. The head of Wisconsin Right to Life has made the case against "Personhood" Amendments. The reasons are as follows

• Personhood amendments may overturn existing laws restricting abortion, because states treat abortion and homicide as legally different actions. Abortion restrictions would have to be replaced with fetal-homicide laws. 
• Legal challenges to the Personhood amendment could result in the awarding of legal fees to Planned Parenthood
• If a Personhood Amendment was construed to ban abortion it may go to the Supreme Court which currently has a pro-Roe majority, one that might take the opportunuity to rule against the "personhood" of unborn children, and possibly reversing the incrementalists' legal gains. 

In other words, if you don't expect a good answer, don't ask the question. 

It's hard to imagine more fertile ground for a Personhood Amendment than Mississippi. That it was defeated there so resoundingly will discourage other pro-life activists from trying this silver-bullet approach again. 

What many are casting as a victory for a woman's right to choose may really be a victory for the persistent and successful mainstream pro-life movement. 

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After taking an electoral beating for more than two years, Democrats finally seem to be getting some of their mojo back just in time for the 2012 election.

Democrats scored major wins at polls across the country yesterday, giving the party a much-needed morale boost one year before voters decide Obama's reelection fate.

National Democratic leaders are touting Election Day 2011 results as a referendum on the conservative agenda that has gained a foothold since 2010. In reality, the significance of the results is probably more tempered — by the numbers, Republicans actually won the state legislative battle. 

But Democrats were emboldened by victories in several ballot initiatives and local races with national implications, with voters vindicating the party's agenda on major issues like collective bargaining, abortion, and immigration.

Here's a rundown of the key votes and issues:

• Ohio: Voters overwhelmingly rejected the state's new anti-union law, which stripped public-sector workers, including first responders, of almost all of their collective bargaining rights. The vote may not be a good indicator of Ohio's political winds — voters also approved a Tea Party initiative to repeal Obamacare — but it did prove that Big Labor can still deliver.
• Mississippi: A proposed "Personhood" amendment to the state's constitution was surprisingly defeated, delivering a big win to abortion-rights advocates. 
• Arizona: Republican State Senate President Russell Pearce, the architect of the the state's controversial immigration law, was ousted in Arizona's first-ever state senate recall.
• Maine: A vote to reinstate same-day voter registration, which traditionally benefits Democrats. The state's Republican legislature tried to scrap the provision earlier this year.
• Kentucky: Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear won a second term, handily defeating Republican state Senate President David Williams. While Beshear's win was expected — and likely won't do much to help Obama — it is an indication that Democrats are making inroads in the traditional Republican stronghold. 
• Mayoral Races: Democrats cruised to victory in several big-city mayoral races, ensuring that Obama's reelection campaign has powerful surrogates in key battleground states. In Charlotte, the site of the 2012 DNC convention, Democrat Anthony Foxx won in a landslide. Democrats also won mayoral races in Charleston, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pa.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Houston.

The one major loss for Democrats was in Virginia, where Republicans gained control of the State Senate — and the Congressional redistricting process.

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Ole Miss has dismissed leading scorer Dundrecous Nelson after he was charged with possessing drug paraphernalia, according to The Clarion-Ledger (via The Big Lead).

Police responded to the smell of marijuana coming from Nelson's apartment. No one answered an officer's knock on the front door, but right when he was leaving he saw a Domino's Pizza delivery guy. The policeman asked the delivery person what apartment he was going to. The pizza was headed Nelson's way.

Nelson then exited his home in order to get the pizza and attempted to quickly go back inside.

The officer confronted Nelson at that time. Upon finally entering the apartment the officer found eight roaches of marijuana made from cigarillos (small cigars that can be emptied and stuffed with the drug).

Ole Miss basketball coach Andy Kennedy called Nelson's dismissal "a shame."

Expect Nelson to order Papa John's from now on.

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With the Alabama and Mississippi primary just a  day away, Public Policy Polling released a poll with some startling results about the President's religion and evolution.

When Alabama Republicans were asked if they thought Barack Obama was a Christian, Muslim, or were unsure, just 14 percent said they thought Obama was a Christian. Of the rest, 45 percent said he was a Muslim, and 41 percent weren't sure. 

Mississippi voters shared similar views. 

Just 12 percent of voters said they believe Obama is a Christian, while 52 percent said he was a Muslim and 36 percent were unsure.

In both states a majority of Republican voters also said they don't believe in Evolution. In Alabama, 60 percent of Republicans said they don't believe in Evolution, and 66 percent of Mississippi voters doubt the theory. 

Currently the PPP has Newt Gingrich leading in Mississippi with 33 percent and Romney leading in Alabama with 31 percent. 

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Whoa! 

Super-PACs are doing almost all the work of political advertising in this campaign season. 

Greg Giroux of Bloomberg reports that these organizations which can take unlimited political donations, have been responsible for nearly every political ad in the two states having Republican primaries today. 

So-called Super-PACs supplied 91 percent of the 5,592 campaign ads that aired on broadcast television stations in the two states in the past month, according to data from New York- based Kantar Media’s CMAG, which tracks advertising.

That's a ton!

It's obvious at this point that Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, who both have trouble doing traditional fundraising, have been relying on the Super-PACs aligned with them.

But Romney is benefiting from the spending almost just as much:

Restore Our Future, a super-PAC backing Romney, aired ads 2,098 times in Alabama through March 11, compared with 279 spots from Romney’s campaign, according to CMAG.

Again- that's nearly a 9-1 ratio. 

We're really in a new political environment. 

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As voters in the Deep South prepared to head to the polls in Republican primaries this week, on-again-off-again frontrunner Mitt Romney has undergone a Southern makeover in an effort to overcome his obvious cultural disadvantages in the region.

A Mormon Yankee campaigning in Birmingham and Jackson, Romney has gone into full pander mode to win over Southern voters, dropping his 'g's and touting his new love of cheesy grits and catfish. The results have mostly been awkward, with Romney accidentally heckling NASCAR fans and asking guitarist Randy Owen of Alabama to play Lynard Skynard's "Sweet Home Alabama." 

But Romney's Southern outreach turned borderline creepy in Mobile, Ala., on Monday, when he started asking for hugs from his supporters — the female ones. 

“Please give us a big hug, that’s the girls,” Romney said, according to Politico. He added, “I’ve been getting hugs from the Southern girls…from 12, to well, a lot more than 12.”

The uncomfortable comments didn't end there. Romney proceeded to wish his audience a "fine Alabama good mornin'," despite the fact that driving rains had forced the crowd to cram underneath a restaurant awning. 

"Look at us in here," Romney said, remarking on the intimacy of the event. "We are all nice together, all nice and wet, you know, like a can of sardines."

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Gingrich is battling for his political life tonight as results start to trickle in from the Republican primaries in Alabama and Mississippi. 

Although it is difficult to see a path forward if Gingrich does not pull out a strong performance tonight, the former House Speaker reiterated Tuesday that he plans on staying in the race no matter what happens in Alabama and Mississippi.

Sources close to the campaign confirm that the candidate means what he says: The campaign will go on, they said, even in a worst-case scenario where Gingrich comes in third in both of tonight's contests. 

"We keep rolling," one source told Business Insider. "Flat tires and no engine, but we keep rolling." 

The Gingrich campaign is already laying the groundwork for the race going forward. In a characteristically dramatic memo sent to reporters a few hours before polls closed today, Gingrich's political directors argued that Romney does not have nearly enough delegates to win the nomination as the race approaches "halftime."

"With a steady 35% of delegates and no change in sight, the fact that Romney advisers have undoubtedly told him is that he can no longer force his nomination," the memo states. "Mathematically, the numbers are just not there. Instead, with 4 candidates remaining, the GOP nomination now moves into unchartered waters with history in the making." 

The memo goes on to say that "the sequencing and pace of the second half favors Newt." 

While the campaign doesn't provide a lot of evidence to back up this claim, the memo suggests that Gingrich's primary goal is denying Romney the 1,144 delegate majority he needs for an outright win. 

"With Rick and me together, we are really slowing him down, with some help frankly from Ron Paul," Gingrich told an Alabama radio show Tuesday. "The country is sort of saying, a majority is saying, `Not Romney.' The biggest bloc is saying Romney, but it's not a big enough bloc to be a majority. We now are beginning to think he will literally not be able to get the delegates to get the nomination."

The Santorum campaign laid out a similar strategy in their own memo to supporters on Monday. But that doesn't mean Santorum has accepted Gingrich as his ally. The former Pennsylvania Senator told Glenn Beck Tuesday that it "would be great if he [Gingrich] would get out of the race because clearly the vast majority of the votes that he is taking are coming from me." 

“Congressman Gingrich has really shown no ability to get votes outside of the State of Georgia and, you know, those primaries are all over.  All the states that border Georgia are now, as of today, will have had their primaries,” Santorum said. " And whether he does well or not, I don’t think it’s going to matter much." 

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Rick Santorum edged out his two main rivals Tuesday night, pulling out narrow wins over Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney in the Alabama and Mississippi Republican primaries 

According to final tallies from the Associated Press, Santorum took 35.5% of the vote in Alabama, with 98% of precincts reporting. Gingrich barely managed to eke out a second place win with 29.3%, followed by Romney with 29%. In Mississippi, Santorum won with 33%, followed by Gingrich with 31% and Romney with 30%, with 99% of the results counted. Ron Paul trailed far behind in both contests, finishing with 5% of the vote in Alabama and 4% in Mississippi.

The twin victories provide a huge boost for Santorum, solidifying his position as the leading Romney alternative as the race heads into the next round of nominating contests. 

Speaking to supporters in Louisiana Tuesday night, the former Pennsylvania Senator heralded the wins as a new comeback and called on conservatives to finally coalesce behind his candidacy. 

"We did it again!" Santorum told the crowd in Lafayette. "The time is now for conservatives to pull together." 

Santorum's new momentum — and Romney's inability to deliver Southern conservative votes — now virtually guarantee that the Republican primary will drag on through the spring. Although Romney's campaign sought to downplay Tuesday's results, the disappointing third-place finishes raise fresh questions about the former Massachusetts Governor's ability to appeal to the GOP base. 

To make matters worse for Romney, his campaign had made an aggressive final push in Alabama and Mississippi this week, outspending both Santorum and Gingrich. The candidate himself had seemed confident in the days leading up to the elections, adopting a Southern drawl and gushing over cheesy grits. On Monday, he even predicted that he would win Alabama. And in an interview Tuesday, Romney dismissed his rival, telling CNN that "Senator Santorum is at the desperate end of his campaign." 

It's a tactical blunder that could come back to haunt Romney in the upcoming contests. His campaign aides conceded Tuesday night that it will likely take another two months to lock up the delegates needed to win the Republican nomination. That gives Santorum and Gingrich plenty of time to keep proving that Romney's coronation may not be as inevitable as the political world once thought. 

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After disappointing performances in Tuesday's Deep South primaries, Mitt Romney managed to salvage the night with two much-needed consolation wins in Hawaii and American Samoa's Republican caucuses.

The pair of island victories won't do much to help Romney's Southern problems, but it does appear to offset Rick Santorum's delegate wins in the Alabama and Mississippi primaries. The final tallies aren't in yet, but it looks like Romney picked up at least 39 delegates, while Santorum gained at least 32. Newt Gingrich looks poised to get at least 24 delegates, and Ron Paul has picked up 1 so far.

The Romney campaign has seized this "winning" narrative, shifting its focus back to delegate math in the aftermath of his third-place losses. In a statement sent in lieu of an election speech last night, Romney emphasized that he will still win delegates from the tight races in Alabama and Mississippi:

"I am pleased that we will be increasing our delegate count in a very substantial way after tonight. Ann and I made a lot of new friends in Alabama and Mississippi and we look forward to campaigning in those states in the general election," Romney said in the statement. "With the delegates won tonight, we are even closer to the nomination. Ann and I would like to thank the people of Alabama and Mississippi. Because of their support, our campaign is on the move and ready to take on President Obama in the fall.”

But while the math is undoubtedly working in Romney's favor — he holds a sizable advantage over his three competitors — he still only has about a third of the 1,144 delegates he needs to win the nomination outright. Campaign officials told the New York Times Tuesday that it could take another two months to get to the threshold it needs to go into the Republican National Convention with the majority of delegates.

Romney's slow delegate accumulation may get him to the nomination in the end, but it does nothing to address the candidate's inability to appeal to the GOP's conservative base. In fact, Romney's delegate advantage is largely due to his success in densely-populated urban and suburban districts, which tend to lean Democratic in general elections.

As long as Romney fails to solve these problems and keeps losing states, his opponents have little incentive to drop out of the race — even if it means they are only in it to deny Romney an easy ride to Tampa. 

Here is a preliminary delegate count, based on the most recent reports. I will update later with my own assessment after district results are reported.  

Alabama (50 delegates)

Delegate Breakdown: 

21 Congressional delegates (3 per district), awarded to the candidate with a majority. If no candidate gets a majority, then the delegates are allocated proportionally to candidates with more than 20% of the vote.

26 state delegates, awarded by the same proportionality rules as the Congressional delegates. 

3 RNC delegates who are not bound to any candidate

Results: 

Santorum: 16 delegates 

Gingrich: 12 delegates 

Romney: 10 delegates

Paul: 0 delegates 

Unbound: 3 delegates 

Unallocated: 9 delegates

Mississippi (40 delegates) 

Delegate Breakdown: 

12 Congressional delegates (3 per district) allocated proportionally to candidates with more than 15% of the vote. Any candidate with a majority in a district gets all 3 of the delegates. 

15 state delegates awarded by the same proportionality rules as the Congressional delegates. 

3 RNC delegates who are not bound to any candidate

Results: 

Santorum: 13 delegates 

Gingrich: 12 delegates 

Romney: 12 delegates 

Paul: 0 delegates 

Unbound: 3 delegates 

Hawaii (20 delegates) 

Delegate Breakdown: 

6 Congressional delegates awarded proportionally based on the results of precinct caucuses

11 state delegates awarded proportionally based on the statewide caucus results

3 RNC delegates who are unbound to any candidate 

Results: 

Romney: 8 delegates

Santorum: 3 delegates 

Paul: 1 delegate 

Gingrich: 0 delegates 

Unbound: 3 delegates 

Unallocated: 5 delegates 

American Samoa (9 delegates) 

Delegate Breakdown:

6 delegates to the Republican National Convention are directly elected at the American Samoa Republican caucus. They are technically not bound to any candidate. 

3 RNC delegates who are unbound to any candidate. 

Results: 

Romney: 9 delegates 

Santorum: 0 delegates 

Gingrich: 0 delegates 

Paul: 0 delegates

Unbound: 0 delegates* 

*Although the delegates aren't legally bound to any candidate, the AP reports that Romney won the support of all 9 delegates, including the 3 unbound RNC delegates who agreed to support him after he won the six elected delegates. 

According to Business Insider's delegate tally, that puts the current tally of committed delegates at:

Romney: 395 

Santorum: 150 

Gingrich: 131

Paul: 24

Unbound: 246

Check back for more delegate count updates as the race goes on. 

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If you were running a race and at some point while you were leading by a long distance the second place runner got 1.35 percent closer to you, absolutely no one would notice. 

All that would be written down in the news accounts of the race is that you absolutely annihilated your competition. 

Unfortunately the political media isn't so honest about the races it covers. 

The media is telling you that last night was a BIG WIN for Rick Santorum, and a BIG LOSS for Mitt Romney. 

They say there is a "narrative" ( that means story) where Romney hasn't solved his "Evangelical problem" and "has problems in the South"?

This is a distraction. Let's talk votes and delegates.  

Total up all the votes from all the primaries and caucuses and it looks like this: 

Mitt Romney: 3,223,633 votes or (39.16%) of the votes cast. 

Rick Santorum: 2,075,781 votes. or (25.22%) of the votes cast. 

Mitt Romney has won almost 1.2 million more votes than Rick Santorum overall. How much did Rick Santorum gain on him last night?

39,119 votes. 

So in Rick Santorum's "big wins" he erased approximately 1.35 percent of Romney's lead in votes. That's it. And remember, four years ago Mike Huckabee won these state primaries, but no one for a second believed that he had a chance of taking the nomination away from John McCain. 

And Santorum fell further behind Romney in delegates last night, if you add the results from Hawaii and American Samoa. 

The final tallies aren't in yet, but it looks like Romney will pick up at least 39 delegates, while Santorum will gain at least 32. Newt Gingrich looks poised to get at least 24 delegates, and Ron Paul has picked up 1 so far

It is only going to get worse for Santorum. Next week there is a primary in Illinois. Santorum's campaign didn't have the resources and organization to qualify for all the delegates according to State House News Online: 

Santorum appointed just 44 of 54 delegates in the state. The other three candidates all have a full slate of 54 delegates.

Even if Santorum wins just a few more popular votes again, Mitt Romney is likely to win the delegates again.  

So let's go through a couple of typical media "takes" on the race. 

70 percent of voters in these Southern States voted against Mitt Romney.  

So what?  About 65 percent votes against Rick Santorum, and 68 percent against Newt Gingrich. That's the nature of a four way-race. 

Mitt Romney has a problem with some sub-group of the Republican party. It could hurt him in the general election. 

Four years ago we were told over and over again that Barack Obama had trouble with "working class white Democrats" because Hilary Clinton was winning them. Guess what, he still won. You might not be the first choice of every Republican in a group of Republicans, but against a Democrat most Republicans will vote for you. 

The next contest is the pivotal one. 

We've been saying this over and over again. Florida was the real test. Then Michigan was pivotal. Next Ohio was crucial on Super Tuesday. Two days ago Alabama and Mississippi were all important. Now it is Illinois. 

And yet, Romney's lead in votes and delegates keeps growing.

Get used to it: Romney is winning. 

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Mitt Romney's disappointing third-place finishes in Alabama and Mississippi last night are not that surprising, given that he was a Mormon Yankee trying to win over conservatives in the Deep South. 

What was surprising is just how badly Romney collapsed last night. Although the final results were close, exit polls show that he failed to appeal to voters across the demographic spectrum, including those who have been his most reliable supporters in past contests. 

In Mississippi and Alabama, Rick Santorum edged out Romney among voters earning between $100,000 and $200,000, a natural constituency for the former private equity executive. Santorum also won among college graduates, another group that has consistently turned out for Romney this year. (Romney did hold his advantage among voters with advanced degrees.)

To make matters worse, Romney struggled to hold on to older voters, a key Republican constituency that has so far been in his corner. The former Massachusetts Governor lost Mississippi's 65+ vote to Newt Gingrich, 39% to 35%, although he managed to carry that demographic in Alabama. 

These numbers — compounded with Romney's continued inability to appeal to Tea Partiers and evangelicals — illustrate the depth of Romney's trouble with the GOP's conservative Southern base, and indicate much bigger problems for the party should Romney win the nomination. It is difficult to imagine a winning electoral map for Republicans that doesn't rely on a decisive sweep of the South. 

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Turns out that in addition to Al Gore Jr. of Vice Presidential fame, there is Al Gore Sr. (his father), Al Gore III (his son), and yet another Al Gore Jr. (a possible distant relation), who won the Democratic Senate primary in Mississippi this past Tuesday, reports Grist Magazine Inc. 

While Als have never met, the Mississippi Al told the Sun Herald that they might be related, their ancestors having parted ways in the early 1800s with one group settling in Mississippi and the other in Tennessee.

The name and possible ancestry is not the only thing these two have in common, with Mississippi Al also taking on the global warming, an issue that is close to heart to our old Vice President. "As the earth becomes more arid, we need to find ways of creating energy that would supply our national needs and perhaps help replenish water and air," he told the League of Women Voters of Mississippi. 

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MARCH brought frenzied attention to Barack Obama's health law. The Supreme Court heard arguments over its constitutionality. Outside the court, supporters waved their neatly printed posters and tea-partiers waved their scrawled, angry ones. The ruckus centered on Mr Obama's mandate to buy insurance. America is the rare Western country without a universal insurance scheme. But, as a new study points out, a lack of insurance is only part of America's health problem.

On April 3rd the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic outfit, released a new report on health in America's counties. The report is part of a string of efforts to sort through the mounds of data on health and the factors that affect it. The jumble of information does not reveal a perfectly clear picture. But it begins to illuminate the particular nature of America's health and why it is so dismal.

America, it is often noted, spends more on health care yet has worse results than other rich countries. Its infant-mortality rate, for example, is double that of Sweden, Germany and France (to name only a few). A closer look reveals conflicting trends within America itself. A recent ranking of states' health, sponsored by the foundation of UnitedHealth, America's biggest insurer, was filled with contradictions. America is making good progress to reduce smoking and the toll of infectious disease, yet diabetes rates are climbing and tens of millions remain uninsured. The north-east is a picture of health compared with the South. Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are among the five healthiest states; Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana are the lowest. Resources vary wildly from one state to another. Massachusetts has 192 primary-care doctors for every 100,000 people; Idaho has just 78. Behavior is similarly spotty. In Florida whites are 30% more likely to smoke than blacks. In Minnesota the reverse is true.

The new report takes an even closer look, inspecting data for more than 3,000 counties. The authors, led by Bridget Booske Catlin of the University of Wisconsin, rank each state's counties according to health outcomes: premature death, poor mental and physical health and low birth weights for babies. Separately, they examine the factors that influence health, such as clinical care, income and behavior.

Wide gaps existed within each state. The five least-healthy counties generally had more than twice the teenage birth rate of the five healthiest counties, and more than twice the share of poor children. Within counties, factors seem to contradict one another. In Putnam, New York's healthiest county, 29% of adults are obese, compared with 28% in the Bronx, New York's least-healthy county. Putnam also has higher rates of binge drinking--21% compared with 14% in the Bronx. Yet the Bronx has lower education rates, eight times the rate of teen pregnancies and New York's highest concentration of fast-food restaurants. Lack of insurance, therefore, is only part of the puzzle.

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While bragging about his state's attempts to outlaw abortion on May 10, Mississippi state Rep. Bubba Carpenter (R) suggested that coat hanger abortions were fine because "you have to start somewhere."

Referencing the fact that poor women who could not afford to leave the state for the procedure, Carpenter claimed that self-induced abortions would be part of a broader process to end abortion for good.

Here is Carpenter, in his own words.

It’s going to be challenged, of course, in the Supreme Court and all — but literally, we stopped abortion in the state of Mississippi, legally, without having to– Roe vs. Wade. So we’ve done that. I was proud of it. The governor signed it into law. And of course, there you have the other side. They’re like, ‘Well, the poor pitiful women that can’t afford to go out of state are just going to start doing them at home with a coat hanger. That’s what we’ve learned over and over and over.’

But hey, you have to have moral values. You have to start somewhere, and that’s what we’ve decided to do. This became law and the governor signed it, and I think for one time, we were first in the nation in the state of Mississippi

There is also video of Carpenter's statement, courtesy of Rachel Maddow's blog.

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A judge threw a monkey wrench last night in Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant's plans to make his state "abortion-free."

In an order released late Sunday, a federal judge in Mississippi temporarily blocked a law aimed at shutting down the state's only remaining abortion clinic, The New York Times reported.

The law was set to go into effect Monday but has been delayed until the court can have a hearing on it July 11.

Under the law, abortion clinics would have had to employ doctors who had permission from local hospitals to admit patients, the Times reported.

The measure would have effectively shuttered the Jackson Women's Health Organization, whose doctors did not have such deals with local hospitals.

While the law's proponents said the measure was aimed at protecting the health of women, its critics reportedly said it would have forced women to drive hundreds of miles away for abortions.

DON'T MISS: 15 Mind-Blowing Salaries Pulled In By Corporate America's Top Lawyers >

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Police are investigating how a  man handcuffed in a police car for alleged marijuana possession wound up with a fatal bullet wound to the head.

Chavis Carter, 21 of Southaven, Miss., was being held in the back of police car Saturday night after police said they found marijuana and several plastic baggies on him during a traffic stop, ABC affiliate KAIT8 reported earlier this week.

Police reported hearing an unidentified noise from the back of the car. When they went to investigate police said they found Carter bloody with a gun lying nearby, ABC 24 reported Tuesday.

Police, who swear they searched Carter twice before restraining him in the back of the car, are claiming Carter committed suicide.

Officers say Carter was handcuffed behind his back.

But his family doesn't buy it.

"I don't believe this was an accident. I know my son. He's not suicidal. He wouldn't have taken his own life," Carter's dad Charles Douglas told ABC 24. "Under the circumstances they say this happened it's impossible."

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.

DON'T MISS: Colorado Shooting Suspect's Psychiatrist Warned The School Of His Behavior Weeks Earlier >

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Tropical depression Isaac is now pouring down over the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys, with threats of flash floods popping up in the region.

The National Hurricane Center has issued watches and warnings for parts of the Lousiana and Mississippi coastlines as the storm loses strength but continues to drench communities in the South.

Below, the full release. 

TROPICAL DEPRESSION ISAAC BRINGING HEAVY RAINFALL AND THE
THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING TO THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY
AND PORTIONS OF THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY...

SUMMARY OF 400 AM CDT...0900 UTC...INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...38.5N 93.0W
ABOUT 43 MILES...80 KM...WSW OF COLUMBIA MISSOURI.
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...25 MPH...40 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NE OR 52 DEGREES AT 3 MPH...5 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1004 MB...29.65 INCHES


WATCHES AND WARNINGS
--------------------
FLOOD AND FLASH FLOOD WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA.
COASTAL FLOOD WARNINGS AND FLOOD WARNINGS ARE IN EFFECT FOR
PORTIONS OF THE LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI COASTLINES.

FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...INCLUDING POSSIBLE WATCHES
AND WARNINGS...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE AT WWW.WEATHER.GOV.


DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK
------------------------------
AT 400 AM CDT...0900 UTC...THE CENTER OF ISAAC WAS LOCATED NEAR
LATITUDE 38.5 NORTH...AND LONGITUDE 93.0 WEST. THIS SYSTEM IS
EXPECTED TO MOVE EASTWARD ON SATURDAY EXITING THE MIDDLE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY AND CONTINUING INTO THE OHIO RIVER
VALLEY. 

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 25 MPH...40 KM/H...WITH HIGHER
GUSTS.

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 1004 MB...29.65 INCHES.


HAZARDS
-------
RAINFALL...STORM TOTALS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES OF RAIN...WITH LOCALIZED
AMOUNTS AS HIGH AS 8 INCHES...WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR MUCH OF THE
MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY EASTWARD INTO THE OHIO RIVER
VALLEY THROUGH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. BY MONDAY AND TUESDAY...HEAVY
RAINS WILL REACH THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS. WHILE THE ONGOING
DROUGHT WILL TEND TO KEEP THE THREAT FOR FLASH FLOODING DOWN
INITIALLY...VERY HEAVY RAINFALL OVER THE SAME AREAS WILL LEAD TO
AN INCREASING FLASH FLOOD THREAT OVER TIME.


RAINFALL TOTALS
---------------
SELECTED STORM TOTAL RAINFALL IN INCHES THROUGH 7 PM CDT

...ALABAMA...
WILMER 5 WNW                        17.63                     
DEES 3 N                            14.53                     
GRAND BAY 0.6 NW                    11.07                     
MOBILE/BATES FIELD                   9.85                     
GRAND BAY                            6.52                     
FAIRHOPE 2.3 N                       6.42                     
DAPHNE 1.8 ESE                       5.87                     
THEODORE 8.0 SSE                     5.12                     
POINT CLEAR 1.6 SSW                  5.04                     
DAWES                                4.73                     
SILVERHILL 0.9 SSE                   4.34                     

...ARKANSAS...
PINE BLUFF                           8.50                     
KINGSLAND                            6.95                     
STUTTGART MUNI ARPT                  6.32                     
FORDYCE                              6.10                     
ARKANSAS CITY CANAL 81               5.72                     
CONNERLY BAYOU                       5.70                     
HARDON LOCK & DAM                    5.53                     
STAR CITY                            5.39                     
EGYPT                                5.25                     
STEPROCK                             5.15                     
MONTICELLO 1.6 WNW                   5.09                     
WHITE HALL 4 NNW                     5.08                     
LITTLE ROCK 2.2 N                    3.13                     

...FLORIDA...
VERO BEACH 5.2 S                    16.60                     
ROYAL PALM BEACH 5.0 W              16.29                     
BOYNTON BEACH 1.9 NNW               14.41                     
GREENACRES                          13.10                     
PORT ST LUCIE 1.5 NE                13.04                     
WELLINGTON                          12.55                     
ABERDEEN 4.2 NNW                    12.41                     
THE ACREAGE                         12.29                     
LOXAHATCHEE WILDLIFE REFUGE         12.24                     
PALM CITY 4.0 SW                    11.69                     
WEST PALM BEACH INTL ARPT            8.64                     
MIAMI/OPA LOCKA                      6.64                     

...GEORGIA...
GUYTON 1.9 S                         5.60                     
BROOKLET 13.1 SE                     4.60                     
RINCON 1.2 NNW                       4.03                     
MONROE 5.6 NNE                       3.11                     
JESUP 7.1 N                          3.04                     
AUGUSTA/BUSH FIELD                   2.53                     
ALMA/BACON CO. ARPT                  2.49                     
SAVANNAH MUNI ARPT                   2.47                     
FORT STEWART/WRIGHT AAF              2.06                     
AUGUSTA/DANIEL FIELD                 1.95                     
MOODY AFB/VALDOSTA                   1.50                     

...ILLINOIS...
GREENVILLE                           5.63                     
HARDIN                               2.53                     
JACKSONVILLE                         2.47                     
CAHOKIA/ST LOUIS                     2.25                     
CENTRALIA MUNI ARPT                  2.17                     
MONTGOMERY                           2.07                     
PITTSFIELD                           2.06                     
CARBONDALE/MURPHYSBORO               2.02                     
SPRINGFIELD/CAPITAL ARPT             1.49                     
SCOTT AFB/BELLEVILLE                 1.08                     

...KANSAS...
OLATHE/JOHNSON CO INDUSTRIAL ARPT    2.16                     
LAWRENCE MUNI ARPT                   0.57                     

...LOUISIANA...
NEW ORLEANS                         20.08                     
BAPTIST                             13.94                     
RESERVE 0.5 SSE                     13.46                     
HOLDEN                              13.28                     
LIVINGSTON                          13.16                     
ABITA SPRINGS 1.9 NE                12.36                     
PORT VINCENT                        12.20                     
HAMMOND 2.3 WSW                     11.93                     
TERRYTOWN 3.3 S                     10.56                     
SLIDELL                             10.40                     

...MISSOURI...
KANSAS CITY MUNI ARPT                2.89                     
MT LEONARD                           2.84                     
WEST PLAINS                          2.29                     
INDEPENDENCE                         2.25                     
LESTERVILLE                          2.21                     
LEES SUMMIT MUNI ARPT                2.19                     
HAZELGREEN                           2.14                     
ST CHARLES                           2.13                     
WHITEMAN AFB/SEDALIA                 2.11                     
LITTON AGRI-SCI CNTR                 1.99                     
AVA 0.8 NNW                          1.92                     
COLUMBIA RGNL ARPT                   1.76                     
JOPLIN RGNL ARPT                     1.61                     
ST LOUIS/LAMBERT INTL ARPT           1.40                     

...MISSISSIPPI...
KILN 3.3 N                          17.04                     
COLUMBIA 3 W                        15.68                     
HATTIESBURG 5 SW                    13.45                     
PURVIS 2 N                          13.36                     
SAUCIER 1.7 NNE                     12.78                     
PICAYUNE 5.6 ENE                    12.17                     
DIAMONDHEAD 1.5 NE                  12.04                     
LONG BEACH 0.7 S                    11.95                     
PASCAGOULA 3 NE                     11.50                     
SUMRALL                             11.29                     
MONTICELLO                          11.00                     
KEESLER AFB/BILOXI                  10.17                     
JACKSON                              4.76                     

...NORTH CAROLINA...
WILMINGTON/NEW HANOVER CO. ARPT      4.07                     
JACKSONVILLE/ELLIS AIRPORT           1.50                     

...SOUTH CAROLINA...
MOUNT PLEASANT 5.5 NNE               9.08                     
PAWLEYS ISLAND 5.6 NNE               8.36                     
CHARLESTON 2.8 NE                    7.36                     
JOHNS ISLAND 9.0 SE                  6.44                     
MEGGETT 1.8 W                        4.85                     
BEAUFORT MCAS                        3.59                     
ROCK HILL-YORK CO. ARPT              2.89                     
DARLINGTON                           1.75                     

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The aftermath of Hurricane Isaac has washed ashore tens of thousands of dead "swamp rats," invasive species whose rotting corpses are now presenting a health hazard in Mississippi.

The drowned rodents, known as nutria, are a stark reminder of the effects of hurricanes on wildlife, which can range from mass death to — surprisingly enough — dolphin baby booms. In the case of the nutria, the drownings may be a blessing for the Gulf Coast, where the beaver-like creatures wreck havoc on native marsh vegetation.

The clean-up, though, is proving unpleasant.

"They're actually starting to swell up and bust," Hancock County Supervisor David Yarborough told local news station WLOX. "It smells really bad." [See Photos of the Nutria Washed Ashore]

Animals and hurricanes

Nutria aren't the only animals to suffer after hurricanes. A study of alligators in southwest Louisiana after Hurricane Rita hit in 2005 found that the reptiles were physically stressed a month after the initial storm surge inundated their marshy habitat. Blood tests on the gators showed elevated stress hormones as well as other signs of ill health, the researchers reported in February 2010 in the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology.

Research on Florida manatees has suggested that docile "sea cows" die more frequently during years with extreme storms, perhaps due to immediate causes like getting swept out to sea, or perhaps due to post-hurricane environmental changes such as cooling in coastal waters, according to a 2006 paper published in the journal Estuaries and Coasts. That study tracked a handful of manatees through the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and found that the animals tended to "ride out" the storms in place rather than attempt to avoid them. 

Other studies have found changes in fish populations right after hurricanes, as well as changes in phytoplankton, the algal basis of the ocean food chain, though these changes are short-lived. Sometimes, though, hurricane effects echo over long time periods. A 2010 study on bottlenose dolphins found that two years after Hurricane Katrina, the number of baby dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico suddenly skyrocketed. [Photos: World's Cutest Baby Animals]

Some of the jump could be explained by dolphin mamas getting pregnant sooner than usual after losing their previous calves in the storm, the researchers reported in the journal Marine Mammal Science. But the storm had another effect: It destroyed a significant chunk of the Gulf of Mexico fishing fleet. Fewer fishermen meant more food for dolphins and their young, the researchers concluded.

Nutria death zone

Mississippi's nutria population took a hit from Isaac. Sanitation workers have been cleaning up the carcasses with pitchforks and front-end loaders.

"Estimates are there will be over 20,000 carcasses, but that is unclear now," Robbie Wilbur, a spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, told LiveScience. "Eventually, the totals will be numerated in tons when they're all disposed."

The carcasses are being sent to the Pecan Grove landfill in Harrison County, Miss., Wilbur added.

"It's starting to get bad," said Mark Williams of the Department of Environmental Quality's Solid Waste Management branch. "It's heated up over the last two or three days, and of course that really expedites the degradation process."

Nutria are native to South America, but the rodents were brought to North America in the late 1800s and farmed for their fur. Escaped and released nutria established themselves in the marshes of the Gulf Coast, where they gnaw the roots of marsh plants, destroying the vegetal web that keeps the marshes from washing away.

Hurricane Isaac likely won't set Mississippi's nutria population back for long. Nutria can produce litters with as many as 13 babies, and they're capable of reproducing twice a year starting at as early as four months of age. Baby nutria begin supplementing their mother's milk with marsh vegetation within hours of birth.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas or LiveScience @livescience. We're also on Facebook & Google+. 

• In Images: Hurricane Isaac
• Image Gallery: Invasive Species
• The 10 Weirdest Animal Discoveries

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Tropical diseases, most of which you probably have never heard of, are running rampant in the poorest parts of the United States, a new article suggests.

The warm climate and high rates of people living in poverty means the American South — South Texas and the Gulf Coast states — is starting to mirror third world countries in rates of these "neglected tropical diseases."

These diseases include the mosquito transmitted dengue fever virus, parasitic infections like tapeworms, and bacterial and skin infections transmitted by sand flies.

California also has a problem with these types of parasites.

From The New York Times opinion piece by Tropical disease researcher Peter Hotez:

Among the more frightening is Chagas disease. Transmitted by a “kissing bug” that resembles a cockroach but with the ability to feed on human blood, it is a leading cause of heart failure and sudden death throughout Latin America. It is an especially virulent scourge among pregnant women, who can pass the disease on to their babies. Just last month, the first case of congenital Chagas disease in the United States was reported.

These are, most likely, the most important diseases you’ve never heard of.

These diseases are infecting mostly American poor and minorities: 2.8 million African-Americans were infected with toxocariasis and 300,000 or more people, mostly Hispanic Americans, with Chagas disease, the article reports. Diseases like this keep the poor in poverty, because they delay the mental development of children suffering from them.

He goes on to suggest ways in which we can rein in this epidemic. Read the article here.

See Also: 10 Parasites That Do Horrifying Things To People And Animals >

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