News

Mississippi Advances Bill Against COVID Vaccine Mandates

Anyone in Mississippi could cite “a sincerely held religious objection” to avoid a public or private employer's COVID-19 vaccination mandate, under a bill that advanced Wednesday at the state Capitol.

MSU/MDAC Partnership, i.R.O.C.K. Grant and Marjorie Spruill Book Drive at USM

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson announced a promotional partnership between the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce and Mississippi State University on Monday, March 7.

Mississippi Moves Toward Reviving an Initiative Process

Mississippi legislators are working to revive a way for people to petition to put issues on the statewide ballot. This is happening months after the state Supreme Court found the state's old initiative process was invalid.

'Home Town' Stars Back Mississippi City's Tourism Tax Effort

The Mississippi House honored the stars of HGTV's “Home Town" at the state Capitol on Tuesday, and married couple Ben and Erin Napier used the visit to help lobby for a possible increase in a local tourism tax for their community.

Lumumba Apologizes for ‘Distraction’ over Dispute with City Council

One week after accusing Jackson City Council members of taking bribes in order to steer government contracts, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba walked back some of his rhetoric, in tone if not in content.

Hearing Set for Mississippi Inmate Who Sought Execution Date

A Mississippi judge will hold a hearing next month to determine if a death row inmate truly wants to request an execution date and if the inmate is mentally competent to waive appeals in the case.

Analysis: Mississippi Legislators Face Pocketbook Decisions

Mississippi legislators are supposed to make big decisions about the state's pocketbook in the next few weeks, setting a budget that exceeds $6 billion and deciding whether to approve tax cuts.

Republicans Approve ‘CRT’ Bill Despite Opposition From All Black House Members

For six hours on Thursday, Black Mississippi House representatives argued against a bill that would set limits on discussions of race in classrooms. Once their arguments wrapped up, though, the chamber approved the bill in a 75-43 vote, sending it to the governor’s desk with only white Republicans voting in favor.

Mississippi Teacher Pay Raise Bill Heading to Negotiations

Mississippi lawmakers will negotiate a final version of a bill to increase some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation.

‘Babies in the Hospital’: Mississippi Drastically Lags in Child and Pediatric Vaccinations

As COVID-19 continues its decline across Mississippi and the country, state health leadership warns that hospitals are still seeing pediatric patients, while vaccinations in children are lagging far behind the national average.

Mississippi Senate OKs Pay Bill 'By Teachers, for Teachers'

Mississippi senators acted quickly Wednesday to unanimously pass a teacher pay raise bill, sending it back to the House for possible debate within the next three weeks.

JSU Relaunches Institute for Social Justice and Race Relations, Jazz Festival and Camp Kesem at MSU

Jackson State University relaunched its Institute for Social Justice and Race Relations on Thursday, Feb. 24, in the College of Liberal Arts. The original institute opened in 2013, but a lack of funding halted programming four years later.

Mississippi County OKs Contracts for Emmett Till Statue

A Mississippi county has approved contracts for a sculptor to make and install a bronze statue of Emmett Till, the Black teenager whose 1955 lynching became a catalyst for the civil rights movement.

Mississippi Teacher Pay Survives Legislators' Political Spat

Proposals to increase some of the lowest teacher salaries in the U.S. were in danger Tuesday as Mississippi legislators engaged in a political showdown. Hours before a big deadline, Senate committees voted to keep the issue alive.

Economist: Federal Money Boosted Mississippi Income in 2020

Employment in Mississippi decreased during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but personal income in the state increased during that time because of federal payments that were intended to head off a steep decline in the national economy, an expert said Monday.

Mayor Lumumba Alleges City-Council Corruption Amid Garbage-Disposal Lawsuit

Amid an ongoing dispute between Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and the Jackson City Council over garbage-disposal contracts, the mayor said that he believes certain members of the council have accepted bribes.

Mississippi House Panel OKs Limits on Teaching About Race

A Mississippi House committee divided along lines of race and party Monday in advancing a bill that would limit how race can be discussed in classrooms.

Mississippi Remapping Diminishes Black Voices, NAACP Says

Mississippi legislators drew a congressional redistricting plan that diminished Black voters' influence in the state's three majority-white districts, attorneys for the NAACP and two other groups argue in federal court papers.

Mississippi Senate Passes Income Tax Cut Slashing $446 Million in Revenue

The Mississippi Senate approved legislation to reduce the state income tax by hundreds of millions of dollars Wednesday, despite caution from opponents who questioned the wisdom of doing so while education, roads and other public infrastructure remain critically underfunded.

Analysis: Legislative Deadline Will Whittle List of Issues

Mississippi legislators completed two big items several weeks ago when they adopted a congressional redistricting plan and enacted a medical marijuana law.

Mississippi Commemorates Wade-Ins That Integrated Beaches

A Mississippi historical marker provides information about the wade-ins of 1959, 1960 and 1963, which led to opening the beaches to all people.

'My Baby is Dead,' Mom Says in Call for End to Violence

A Mississippi woman says local officials need to take immediate steps end senseless violence like the drive-by shooting that killed her 6-year-old son while he was playing with friends at a city park in McComb.

City of Jackson To Resume Community Cleanup Program

Jackson’s Community Cleanup Program—meant to help support residents in clearing trash from their neighborhoods—is set to resume on the first weekend of March, after city officials put the program on hiatus last November.

Mississippi Senate Panel: Reduce Income Tax, Don't Erase It

“If lawmakers truly want Mississippi to be a place where people want to start families, small businesses, and where national corporations want to expand, it needs to prioritize investments that benefit all Mississippians over tax cuts that only benefit the wealthy."

Ellington