Republican Mississippi governor ignores Medicaid expansion and focuses on jobs in State of the State
Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he intentionally avoided hot-button issues and political conflict in his State of the State speech Monday, instead calling for legislators to support economic development by funding roads, ports and bridges.
Mississippi might allow incarcerated people to sue prisons over transgender inmates
A bill before Mississippi lawmakers might allow incarcerated people to sue jails and prisons if they encounter inmates from the opposite sex, such as those who are transgender, in restrooms or changing areas.
Who has the power to sue Brett Favre over welfare money? One Mississippi Republican sues another
Mississippi’s Republican attorney general sued the Republican state auditor Thursday, saying the auditor is trying to usurp her authority over recovering interest on misspent welfare money from retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre — money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in the U.S.
US Supreme Court won’t hear lawsuit tied to contentious 2014 Senate race in Mississippi
The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that it will not consider a dispute over a lawsuit filed by the family of a Mississippi lawyer who took his own life after he was arrested and accused of providing information to people who snuck into a nursing home and photographed the ailing wife of a U.S. senator during a contentious election.
Mississippi seeing more teacher vacancies
Mississippi has 182 more teacher vacancies than last year, bringing the total number of openings to 2,775, according to survey results published Thursday by the state’s education department.
Mississippi lawmakers propose measures to oversee police
Mississippi lawmakers have introduced a bill that would increase oversight of law enforcement officers and give state authorities more power to punish misconduct after a series of scandals was uncovered across the state last year.
Inmates at Mississippi prison were exposed to dangerous chemicals, denied health care, lawsuit says
Inmates at a Mississippi prison were forced to mix raw cleaning chemicals without protective equipment, with one alleging she later contracted terminal cancer and was denied timely medical care, a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges.
Mississippi governor announces new law enforcement operation to curb crime in Jackson
Law enforcement officials have surged local, state and federal resources to Mississippi’s capital city for a new operation aimed at curbing violent crime, drug trafficking and other offenses, Gov. Tate Reeves announced Tuesday.
The first Black woman in the Mississippi Legislature now has her portrait in the state Capitol
Former Rep. Alyce Clarke was the first Black woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature, and now she is the first Black person — and first woman — to have a portrait on display in the state Capitol.
Republican lawmakers are backing dozens of bills targeting diversity efforts on campus and elsewhere
Diversity initiatives would be defunded or banned from universities and other public institutions under a slate of bills pending in Republican-led legislatures, with some lawmakers counting on the issue resonating with voters in this election year.
A Mississippi poultry plant is being sued by a woman whose 16-year-old son died working there
The mother of a 16-year-old who died in a workplace accident at a Mississippi poultry factory is suing the companies that hired and employed him, accusing them of failing to follow safety standards that could have prevented his death.
Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi elects its first woman and first Black person as bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi chose Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells as its new bishop Saturday, making her the first woman and first Black person elected to lead the church.
Ex-NFL quarterback Favre must finish repaying misspent welfare money, Mississippi auditor says
Mississippi’s state auditor filed court papers Monday renewing his call for Brett Favre to repay the state for welfare money that the auditor says was improperly spent on projects backed by the retired NFL quarterback.
Mississippi judge drops punishment of probation and book report for a child who urinated in public
A 10-year-old Black child who urinated near his mother’s car outside a Mississippi office building will no longer be required to serve probation and write a book report about Kobe Bryant, an attorney for the child’s family said Monday.
Can public money go to private schools? Mississippi Supreme Court hears arguments
Mississippi is violating its own constitution with a law that would put public money into infrastructure grants for private schools, attorneys for a public education advocacy group argued Tuesday to the state Supreme Court.
Mississippi Republican governor again calls for phasing out personal income tax in his budget plan
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is renewing his call for legislators to phase out the state’s personal income tax over several years, and he is asking them to spend more money on economic development, highways and the judiciary.
Prison gang leader in Mississippi gets 20 years for racketeering conspiracy
A leader of a nationwide prison gang operating in the Mississippi prisons was sentenced Thursday to 20 years behind bars for a racketeering conspiracy conviction, federal prosecutors announced.
Ellen Gilchrist, 1984 National Book Award winner for ‘Victory Over Japan,’ dies at 88
Ellen Gilchrist, a National Book Award winner whose short stories and novels drew on the complexities of people and places in the American South, has died.
Mississippi House passes bill to legalize online sports betting
The Mississippi House passed a bill Thursday that would legalize online sports betting, bringing the state one step closer to joining 29 other states that already allow the practice.
Mississippi could regulate insurers’ prior authorization for coverage of medical services
Mississippi senators voted Wednesday to set rules for how insurance companies decide whether to cover medical procedures or prescription drugs, a process known as prior authorization.