Deep South Leads in Obesity

(NEWSER) - The Trust for America's Health has come out with its fourth annual report on obesity. And the losers are:

1. Mississippi
2. West Virginia
3. Alabama

Region could see 20 inches of rain

(NEWSER) - A tropical depression heading toward the Gulf Coast could soak the area in as much as 20 inches of rain, prompting concerns about flash floods in Louisiana, whose governor declared a state of emergency yesterday. What could become Tropical Storm Lee prompted warnings from Mississippi to Texas, the AP reports, with heavy rain expected over southern Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama through Sunday. More»

Mississippi leads way in rising obesity rates

(NEWSER) - Mississippi, take a bow, if you can manage it. You’re the most obese state in the union, with 34% of the population tipping the scales at an unhealthy weight, according to a new report. Alabama and West Virginia were right on Mississippi’s heels, and those three states also have the nation’s highest rates of diabetes and high blood pressure, according to Bloomberg . The South overall is in rough shape; the study refers to 644 counties across 15 Southern states as the “diabetes belt.” More»

Tornado devastates Tuscaloosa

(NEWSER) - A wave of tornado-spawning storms ripped through six states yesterday, killing at least 269 people and flattening buildings. Some 180 people died in Alabama alone, many of those in college-town Tuscaloosa, where a mile-wide tornado tore through the city's downtown, the AP reports. There were 33 casualties in Mississippi, 33 in Tennessee, 14 in Georgia, eight in Virginia, and one in Kentucky. More»

Tuscaloosa looks something like a war zone

(NEWSER) - With the death toll at 194 and climbing as a result of the violent storms that rampaged across the South, the governors of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi have declared states of emergency. A nuclear plant near Huntsville, Ala., lost power and was relying on diesel generators, reports the AP. Click through the gallery for a look at what the South woke up to this morning. More»