All results / Stories / Ashton Pittman
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Two Mississippi Congressmen Skip Vote on COVID-19 Emergency Response Bill
Two Republican Mississippi Congressmen, U.S. Reps. Steven Palazzo and Trent Kelly, did not show up for a vote on the #FamiliesFirst Coronavirus Response Act.
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'Do Not Go to Church': Three Forrest County Coronavirus Cases Bring Warnings
The Mississippi State Department of Health confirmed two more cases of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, in Mississippi this morning. All three known patients currently reside in Forrest County.
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'An Abortion Desert': Mississippi Women May Feel Effect of Louisiana Case
A Louisiana abortion law would turn the Bayou State into "an abortion desert" and would have strong ripple effects for women in Mississippi and other states across the country, opponents say. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the case Wednesday.
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The TANF Players
Since the last issue, a huge corruption scandal hit Mississippi with allegations of theft inside a State agency working with prominent Mississippians, Republican donors and former pro wrestlers. Here are the major accused players.
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GOP Wants to Override Jackson's Abortion Clinic 'Buffer Zone' Law
Jackson's medical facility "buffer zone" law, which minimizes protest activities in the immediate vicinity of the state's only abortion clinic, may be short-lived if a Republicans bill in the Mississippi Legislature becomes law.
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'Sprawling Conspiracy' Ensnares Voucher Beneficiaries, Republican Donors
At least two people who donated significant sums to Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves' campaign allegedly engaged in what the state's top elected official calls a "disgusting abuse of power."
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New Republican Legislator Resigns Under Pressure from Speaker Gunn
Mississippi House Rep. Ramona Blackledge, the Republican woman whom Jones County voters sent to Jackson to represent them in the Mississippi House of Representatives, is resigning just weeks into her term.
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Poll: Mississippians Back Medicaid Expansion, Hyde-Smith ‘Flailing’
"Given her flailing approval rating, it is no surprise that Senator Hyde-Smith is in an already tightening race with Mike Espy," Espy Campaign Manager Joe O'Hern said. "Whether it is Senator Hyde-Smith's disturbing comments about public hangings, her open support for voter suppression at the 'other' universities, her clear track record of hyper-partisanship in the Senate or her D.C. insider ambitions, these approval numbers are a clear sign that Mississippians are looking for change and are unhappy with Cindy Hyde-Smith as their senator."
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State's Payments to CoreCivic for Housing Inmates at Private Prison May Exceed Legal Limits
Mississippi's emergency contract with a private prison corporation to house 375 inmates could exceed legal limits even more than previously known.
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No Reconsideration for 15-Week Abortion Ban Ruling, 5th Circuit Tells Mississippi
A federal court decision that struck down Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban will stand for now.
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Physicians Push Back on Medical Marijuana Opposition in Mississippi
A number of state Mississippi physicians are pushing back after the State Board of Health decried a push to legalize medical marijuana.
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Mississippi U.S. Reps Face Challenges from the Left and the Right in 2020
A University of Mississippi law professor and self-described "Democratic socialist" is challenging her district's U.S. House representative, Republican Trent Kelly, in this year's election.
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Lawmaker Who Called for Lynching of Confederate Statue Foes Elevated
In 2017, Mississippi House Rep. Karl Oliver wrote that Louisiana leaders ought to be "LYNCHED" for removing Confederate monuments. On Jan. 8, House Speaker Philip Gunn made him vice chair of the powerful appropriations committee.
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MDOC Hits ‘Breaking Point’
Inmate deaths are not a new phenomenon in Mississippi. Some family members and activist organizations, like the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi, have pointed to a lack of funding to explain rising prison violence.
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Hyde-Smith, Wicker 'Gunning to End Roe': Ask High Court to Overturn
Mississippi's two U.S. senators, Republicans Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider overturning its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion nationwide.
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Mississippi Prison Deaths Follow Warnings of Meager Funding, Shortages
Three more Mississippi prisoners have died at the hands of other inmates in the six days since the Mississippi Department of Corrections initiated a statewide prison lockdown last Sunday, bringing the week's death toll to four.
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Hood Wants 15-week Abortion Ban Appeal Reconsidered by Full 5th Circuit
Mississippi wants a redo after a federal appeals court struck down its 2018 law that bans women from having abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood filed a motion asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to reconsider the law's constitutionality on Dec. 27.
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Hyde-Smith Bill Targets Medication Abortions with 'SAVE Moms and Babies Act'
U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith is joining other anti-abortion politicians who are increasingly prioritizing legislative efforts designed to restrict access to federally approved abortion medication.
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Abortion Inches Closer to Supreme Court
Earlier this year, Mississippi House Rep. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, told the Jackson Free Press that part of the goal of bills like the heartbeat bill and the 15-week ban is to get a case to the Supreme Court.
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'Evict Gangsterism': State Dems Praise Impeachment as GOP Backs Trump
President Donald Trump's "overt gangsterism" made his impeachment necessary, Mississippi Democrat Jacqueline Amos said in a statement the day after only one member of Mississippi's delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve articles of impeachment.