New court documents show retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre texted the Mississippi governor in 2019 to ask about getting money from the state's welfare agency to build an indoor practice facility for the University of Southern Mississippi’s football team. The governor at the time, Republican Phil Bryant, texted back to tell Favre that federal money for children and low-income adults is “tightly controlled” and “improper use could result in violation of Federal Law.” This happened two years after the director of the state Department of Human Services committed welfare money to a volleyball arena that was Favre's pet project. Court documents were filed Friday by attorneys for the former governor.

Authorities and residents in Florida are keeping a cautious eye on Tropical Storm Ian as it rumbles through the Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center said Sunday it expects Ian to rapidly strengthen and become a major hurricane by Monday as it passes over Cuba. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a statewide emergency, expanding an order from Friday that had covered two dozen counties. He is urging Floridians to prepare for a storm that could lash large swaths of the state. Some residents have begun stocking up on supplies such as water, plywood and generators. President Joe Biden has also declared an emergency for the state.

Since Oregon residents voted in 2020 to decriminalize hard drugs and dedicate hundreds of millions of dollars to treatment, few people have requested the services and the state has been slow to channel the funds. Oregon still has among the highest addiction rates in the country. Fatal overdoses have increased almost 20% over the previous year, with over a thousand dead. Steve Allen, behavioral health director of the Oregon Health Authority, acknowledges that Oregon’s experiment has had a rocky start. But he says a milestone has been reached, with more than $302 million being sent to facilities across the state to help people get off drugs.