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A Son's Thoughts on Willie Morris' 80th Birthday and the Egg Bowl
When Ole Miss beat Alabama last month, I immediately thought of my father. Although he was a graduate of the University of Texas and a proud Longhorn, Willie was still …
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Health Care
Mississippi Last In Vaccine Choice
While local sports enthusiasts rave that Mississippi is No. 1 in something other than obesity and teen pregnancy, the state has slid into first place in more than football in …
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State
Gov. Bryant’s Ring-Toss Budget
Like the stuffed birds that will make an appearance at Thanksgiving dinner this week, Gov. Phil Bryant has fattened up state spending in his latest executive budget recommendation.
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Editor's Note
My Only Egg Bowl Regret
David Rae Morris and I both really wish our dads were here to witness this magical season—one in which both teams have helped take a lot of glory away from …
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Angry Mexicans Protest Over 43 Missing Students
A largely peaceful march by tens of thousand demanding the return of 43 missing students ended in violence, as a small group of masked protesters battled police in Mexico City's …
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Florida State Shooter Went from Liked to Troubled
Florida State graduate Myron May seemed to change from a well-liked young attorney to would-be killer in a matter of months, stopped only by a fusillade of police bullets outside …
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Soaring Generic Drug Prices Draw Senate Scrutiny
Some low-cost generic drugs that have helped restrain health care costs for decades are seeing unexpected price spikes of up to 8,000 percent, prompting a backlash from patients, pharmacists and …
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Russia: North Korea Ready to Resume Nuclear Talks
North Korea says it's ready to resume international talks on its nuclear program, Russia's foreign minister said Thursday as Moscow sought to raise its profile in the international standoff over …
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Obama Plan Won't Grant Immigrants Federal Benefits
As many as 5 million people in the country illegally would be spared from deportation and made eligible for work permits but not entitled to federal benefits—including health care tax …
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Food
How Not to Cook on Turkey Day
The holiday season is a busy one for many people. If cooking a Thanksgiving feast isn't part of your plans, lots of local restaurants can help out. Call now.
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Stinker Quote of the Week: 'Important'
As one of the state's top law enforcement officials, Jim Hood probably has more power to clean up elections in Mississippi—which was recently named the nation's most corrupt—than anyone else …
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Editor's Note
Of Charles Barbour, TEDx Jackson and Decent Role Models
Simple facts about what built today's inequality are not discussed by people like Charles Barbour. They still use the same old-school scare tactics that should offend white voters because they …
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Stanford: Gun Carry Laws Linked To Increase in Violent Crime
By Todd StaufferSo you know that conventional wisdom that says the people are safer with a lot of guns around?
Turns out maybe not so much.
"The totality of the evidence based on educated judgments about the best statistical models suggests that right-to-carry laws are associated with substantially higher rates" of aggravated assault, rape, robbery and murder, said Donohue.
Earlier studies (including the frequently debated and arguably debunked work of John Lott) suggested that carry laws were correlating with lower incidents of violent crime; by extending the amount of time studied, however, the National Research Council poured cold water on the Lott theory, and now Stanford's new study sees things trending even further in the direction that kinda makes more sense -- more guns equals more violent crime, particularly assaults with a deadly weapon.
Of course, how much is open to interpretation, but the notion that more guns equals less violent crime seems to be put to bed by its own number crunching.
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Trooper Ambush Suspect Charged with Terrorism
Authorities have added terrorism charges against a man accused of ambushing a Pennsylvania State Police barracks and killing a trooper, and they say he told them he wanted to "wake …
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Roger Wicker to Lead NRSC, but For How Long?
By R.L. NaveU.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, the junior senator from Mississippi, will now be in charge of keeping the Republican's newly won majority in the upper chamber of Congress.
Senate Republicans, who will hold a majority for the first time since 2006, picked Wicker over Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada, the home state of the outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
“I am thankful for the confidence and the support of my colleagues,” Wicker said in a statement released Thursday from his office. “I intend to roll up my sleeves immediately to ensure that we have the resources available to preserve our Republican majority. This Senate Republican leadership team is ready to go to bat for the American people, and I am proud to be a part of it.”
The role of the NRSC came into play during the Republican Senate primary in Mississippi this year. A media-buying firm that placed racially charged ads for a pro-Thad Cochran super PAC, All Citizens for Mississippi, was also used by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Some members of the Republican party, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, cried foul arguing that the NRSC should remain neutral in primary contests. Cochran went on to defeat his opponent, state Sen. Chris McDaniel of Laurel, in a run off and went on to win a seventh term in the general election.
By all accounts, Wicker will have his work cut out for him to keep the Senate from slipping back into the hands of Democrats in 2016 when several Republican seats are up for grabs in states where President Obama has done well the past two cycles.
If Democrats field a strong presidential candidate who can excite the base, Wicker's chairmanship could be short-lived.
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Clinical Trials on Tap for Possible Ebola Vaccine
A top U.S. health official says long-anticipated clinical trials of a possible Ebola vaccine will start soon in West Africa, as the global response to the outbreak took on added …
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Banks Fined Billions for Rigging Currency Markets
Traders with nicknames like the "Three Musketeers" and the "A-Team" plotted over Internet chat rooms to manipulate currency markets for years, profiting at the expense of clients—and then congratulating themselves …
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Music
‘Everything Will Be Alright’ for Weezer
The first time I heard Weezer, the band was a musical guest on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."
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Have a Fashionable Winter
With a whole new season comes the constant question of the day: What am I going to wear?
