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On this day in 1976
U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan, who first came to the forefront in the Watergate hearings, became the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address to the Democratic National Convention. In high school, she heard a career day speech by Edith Sampson, a black lawyer. Sampson’s words inspired her to become...
Democrat Ty Pinkins challenges Republican Sen. Wicker to Neshoba County Fair debate
Ty Pinkins, Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, has challenged his Republican opponent, incumbent U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, to a debate during the upcoming Neshoba County Fair. Pinkins, a Vicksburg resident, wrote Wicker a letter outlining that the fair has a storied tradition of political stump speeches and has hosted a few political debates, notably the 1995 gubernatorial debate between Republican Kirk Fordice and Democrat Dick Molpus.
After first publicized shutoff, JXN Water won’t say how many others have happened
JXN Water confirmed to station WLBT this week that it shut off drinking water for an apartment complex in the city that was late on paying its bills, but declined to tell Mississippi Today how many total accounts have been suspended so far. The third-party utility, which was established in...
Mississippi Stories: Dorlisa Hutton
In this sponsored episode of Mississippi Stories, Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with Dorlisa Hutton, Chief Operations Officer for SR1 College Preparatory and STEM Academy. The post Mississippi Stories: Dorlisa Hutton appeared first on Mississippi Today.
Auditor White paying Boston firm $2 million to find waste in state government
Auditor Shad White is paying a Massachusetts-based consulting group $2 million in public money with a directive to find at least $250 million in waste in state agencies. White believes the contract with Boston Consulting Group “will be the most important project our team completes during his tenure as state auditor,” said auditor’s office spokesman Jacob Walters in response to questions from Mississippi Today. “It will help guarantee that as much taxpayer money as possible goes to the things that matter to Mississippians — roads, bridges, teacher salaries, etc. — and not waste.”
Gallery: American Heart Association trains JPS staff in CPR and AED
JACKSON – The American Heart Association equipped Jackson Public Schools administrative staff with lifesaving CPR and AED skills through a training session on Tuesday at the Mississippi E-Center at Jackson State University. Trainers from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, an AHA-certified facility, led the session. The session was...
Federal judge weighs whether state absentee vote-counting law should be struck down before November
GULFPORT — A federal judge on Tuesday appeared undecided over whether he should strike down a Mississippi election law that allows election officials to process mail-in absentee ballots up to five days after an election. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola in Gulfport heard arguments from attorneys representing two political...
Podcast: Top Major League prospect Konnor Griffin and his dad, Belhaven softball coach Kevin Griffin, join.
At 18, Konnor Griffin prepares for biggest day of his life: MLB Draft Day. Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Rick Cleveland, a native of Hattiesburg and resident of Jackson, has been Mississippi Today’s sports columnist since 2016. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s in journalism, Rick has worked for the Monroe (La.) News Star World, Jackson Daily News and Clarion Ledger. He was sports editor of Hattiesburg American, executive director of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. His work as a syndicated columnist and celebrated sports writer has appeared in numerous magazines, periodicals and newspapers.
On this day in 1964
A group of Black men in Jonesboro, Louisiana, led by Earnest “Chilly Willy” Thomas and Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick, founded The Deacons for Defense and Justice to protect civil rights activists. The deacons, most of them veterans of the Korean War, World War II or both, began providing protection...
Marshall Ramsey: Exhausted
After the challenges of the pandemic, hospitals (and the men and women who work in them) are still struggling to recover. Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today’s Editor-At-Large. He’s also host of a weekly statewide radio program and a television program on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.
At 18, Konnor Griffin prepares for biggest day of his life: MLB Draft Day
Wondering how Konnor Griffin, the No. 1 high school baseball prospect in America, is feeling ahead of Sunday's Major League Draft Day? Columnist Rick Cleveland sat down with the 18-year-old phenom to discuss it all. The post At 18, Konnor Griffin prepares for biggest day of his life: MLB Draft Day appeared first on Mississippi Today.
See running total of how much money Mississippi is turning down by not expanding Medicaid
Mississippi would receive an additional $2.04 billion the first year Medicaid was expanded to provide health care coverage for the working poor, according to projections compiled in June by the state’s University Research Center. Based on that projection, Mississippi Today is unveiling a digital tracker that will run continuously...
On this day in 1905
Civil rights leader Myles Horton, whom some called “The Father of the Civil Rights Movement,” was born. Born to a poor family, he saw the value of organizing while working at a sawmill and similar jobs. As a teenager, he became involved in a strike for higher wages while working at a tomato factory.
Southern Miss to deploy students in 10-county region to confront ‘intense news desert’
Editor’s note: This article was written by Dominic Minadeo of the Center for Community News and is republished below with permission. Click here to read the story on the Center for Community News website. Starting next fall, The University of Southern Mississippi will roll out an expansive community journalism...
Mississippi hospitals see rising occupancy rates over last four years
Mississippi hospitals are fuller than they were four years ago, according to data collected by the federal government between March 2020 and April 2024. Hospitals with over 250 licensed beds saw a 7.6% increase in average annual occupancy rates, or the percentage of staffed beds filled with patients, from 73.1% in 2020 to 80.7% in 2024.
Interest on unprecedented amounts of federal cash keeps state budget afloat
Over the last 12 months, the state collected $7.7 billion in revenue, about $18.4 million or 0.24% more than was collected the previous fiscal year. If not for collecting $68.7 million or 84.4% more in interest earnings than the previous fiscal year, the state would have been in the rare situation of collecting less revenue than the previous year for only the sixth time since 1970.
On this day in 1876
The Hamburg Massacre took place in South Carolina after Black members of a militia marched on the Fourth of July. Two white farmers, temporarily obstructed from traveling through town, brought a formal complaint, demanding the disbandment of the militia. When the trial began, hundreds of armed white men known as “Red Shirts” descended on the small Black community, and militia members retreated to a warehouse they used as their armory. The attackers fired a cannon at the armory, eventually killing seven Black men: Allen Attaway, Jim Cook, Albert Nyniart, Nelder Parker, Moses Parks, David Phillips and Hampton Stephens. Also killed was Thomas McKie Meriwether, the white victim.
Podcast: State Sen. Hob Bryan says roads, drinking water more important than tax cuts
State Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, covers a wide array of issues facing the state during an interview with Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender. Bryan argues Mississippi’s ability to deal with major issues will be stymied if the personal income tax is eliminated as some politicians advocate.
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