Doctor, GOP governor clash over private Medicaid discussion
Mississippi’s Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said in a private conversation that expanding Medicaid to people working low-wage jobs would be in the best interest of the state, but that he refuses to support the policy for political reasons, a former chancellor of the University of Mississippi said Thursday. Dr. Dan Jones is a physician who led the University of Mississippi Medical Center before serving as chancellor of the university from 2009 to 2015. During a news conference organized by Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday, Jones said that Reeves acknowledged in a private conversation with him in 2013 or 2014 that expanding Medicaid would benefit Mississippi's economy, and provide health care to more residents of a state bedeviled by poor health outcomes.
news.yahoo.comDear Annie: Reflections for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Dear Readers: Wishing you all a very happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. “And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. “Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! “Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. “Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!
mlive.comWelfare scandal sharpens contrasts in long-poor Mississippi
In Mississippi, where elected officials have a long history of praising self-sufficiency and condemning federal antipoverty programs, a welfare scandal has exposed how millions of dollars were diverted to the rich and powerful — including pro athletes — instead of helping some of the neediest people in the nation. The misuse of welfare money rankles Nsombi Lambright-Haynes, executive director of One Voice, a nonprofit that works to help economically vulnerable communities in Mississippi. The state has ranked among the poorest in the U.S. for decades, but only a fraction of its federal welfare money has been going toward direct aid to families.
news.yahoo.comKiffin: Texas Tech player spit, possibly used racial slur
Mississippi coach Lane Kiffin said a Texas Tech player spit on one of his players and possibly used a racial slur Wednesday night in the Texas Bowl. A scrum between the teams came after Ole Miss' Dayton Wade fumbled early in the fourth quarter and Texas Tech recovered. There was pushing and shoving between players and Ole Miss player Jordan Watkins was given a personal foul penalty.
news.yahoo.comSouth cleans up from tornadoes as blizzards advance north
A storm system that spawned dozens of reported tornadoes from east Texas to the Florida Panhandle was all but done with the South on Thursday after killing at least three people and uprooting families across Louisiana, where some homes were blown into pieces.
Mississippi executes man for rape, murder of teen girl
A man who pleaded guilty to raping and killing a 16-year-old girl was put to death by lethal injection in Mississippi on Wednesday, becoming the second inmate executed in the state in 10 years. A coroner pronounced Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., 58, dead at 6:12 p.m. at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman. The manner of death had been the subject of Loden's final attempt to stave off the execution.
news.yahoo.comJudge allows Mississippi execution amid inmates’ lawsuit
A federal judge has ruled that he will not block Mississippi from carrying out with next week’s scheduled execution of an inmate who is suing the state over its use of three drugs for lethal injections. Thomas Edwin Loden Jr., 58, faces a Dec. 14 execution date, which was recently set by the Mississippi Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate handed down a ruling late Wednesday, saying Loden’s execution can happen even while the lawsuit is pending.
news.yahoo.comFavre asks to be dismissed from Mississippi welfare lawsuit
Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is asking to be removed from a civil lawsuit by the state of Mississippi that seeks to recover millions of dollars in misspent welfare money that was intended to help some of the poorest people in the U.S. An attorney for Favre filed papers Monday saying the Mississippi Department of Human Services “groundlessly and irresponsibly seeks to blame Favre for its own grossly improper and unlawful handling of welfare funds and its own failure to properly monitor...
Mamie Till depiction seen as tribute to Black female leaders
A new biopic about the mother of Emmett Till, the 14-year old Black boy whose lynching in Mississippi in 1955 catalyzed the U.S. civil rights movement, is being promoted as a tribute to Black women and Black mothers who are continuing her legacy and fight for justice, equality and equity.
NAACP says Jackson's water problems are civil rights issue
The NAACP on Tuesday accused Mississippi of discriminating against Black residents by denying badly needed federal funds for drinking water infrastructure in Jackson and instead diverting money to largely-white communities that needed it less.