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Abortion
Planned Parenthood Bill Would Limit Cancer and STI Screening, Birth Control
Medicaid recipients seeking birth control, STI testing or cancer screenings at the state's only Planned Parenthood clinic might get cut off if a Senate bill, which passed yesterday and then …
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Person of the Day
Shandricka Sessom
Shandricka Sessom has been one of the bright spots for the Rebels this season as they have tried to rebuild their women's basketball program back to being a winner.
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Business
Legislators May Override Local Regulation of Uber, Taxi Drivers
Two taxi drivers are suing the City of Jackson over regulations that they say restrict their business, just as city leaders and state legislators work to push through new rules …
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Election Reform Bill, Including Early Voting, Passes Mississippi House
By adreherMississippi is one step closer to election reform after the House passed the 283-page election code bill this morning. The bill is the product of a committee formed by the secretary of state last year, which included lawmakers, circuit clerks and election commissioners from around the state. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann told the Stennis Capitol Press Forum in February that the reform is "well worth our efforts, and all of these changes are big parts of an interwoven election code that should be passed."
A similar election reform bill is still on the Senate calendar, but it would have to pass today to stay alive. The deadline for original action on either chamber floor for general bills is today. For bills that have been held on a motion to reconsider, the deadline is tomorrow.
Developing story ...
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Business
Pair of Taxi Drivers Sue Jackson, Say Regs Give Uber Unfair Advantage
Two taxicab drivers, one from Jackson and one from Star, filed suit against the City of Jackson for what they believe to be “anti-competitive, arbitrary and irrational regulations,” specifically accusing …
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Art
A Window into Modern Art
In one of modern artist Leon Kroll's most famous works, "Terminal Yards," plumes of smoke travel up into the air from a train yard. Snow blankets the tracks and ground. …
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Cover
Nowhere to Go: LGBT Youth on the Move, Without a Home
A 2015 Williams Institute survey of homeless-youth service providers found that the most widely selected reason for homelessness among LGBT youth (as reported to service providers) was "forced out of …
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Politics
Child Protection, Pro-Women Bills Pass Senate; House Roiled in Race Tension
Human trafficking, domestic-abuse and breastfeeding bills easily passed through the Mississippi Senate last week.
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Politics
Stayin’ Alive: House, Senate Education Bills to Watch
The webpages for Senate and House Education Committee legislation resemble a text-heavy graveyard of the bodies of bills snuffed out prematurely.
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City & County
Lead in Water Devastating to Children, Their Development, Their Futures
Concerns about lead poisoning in Jackson increased in recent weeks since the Mississippi Department of Health notified the city in January that it found lead in some of the city's …
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Rep. Jay Hughes Decries Transparency Double Standards for Charter Schools
By sierramannieRep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford, says his failed amendment to HB 1444 which would have required all educational institutions that receive state tax dollars – explicitly charter schools - to publicly disclose the name and salary of individual teachers, failed because it doesn't match the "Capitol's way" of ensuring transparency.
Hughes posted that his "version of transparency" failed 63-54.
Read Jay Hughes’s Facebook post here.
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Civil Rights
Dear Gov. Bryant: Stop Pandering to Racism
Leaders like Gov. Phil Bryant must stop holding white Mississippians down to the bigotry of low expectations for fellow white people.
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Civil Rights
Lawsuit to Change Mississippi Flag An ‘Uphill Battle,’ But Could Work
A black Mississippi lawyer suing Gov. Phil Bryant for flying the state flag could be successful if he can prove that the state's original intent for putting the Confederate battle …
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City & County
'Civil Emergency' Fails for Second Time
The second attempt at declaring a civil state of emergency failed at a special meeting of the city council Tuesday, March 1, with Ward 4 Councilman De'Keither Stamps as the …
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Updated: Visual Guide to Super Tuesday & Results
By Todd StaufferSuper Tuesday is here, with 865 pledged delegates up for grabs for the Democratic candidates and 595 available to the Republican candidates. Here's a visual guide to the states in play and the delegate counts.
Here's the Presidential Primary tracker, updated as results come in:
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Mississippi Senate Passes Execution Secrecy Bill
The names of employees and family members at an execution, as well as the pharmacy providing lethal drugs, would be kept secret under a bill Mississippi lawmakers are considering.
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Senate Passes Bill Merging Welfare, Medicaid, Rehab Agencies
Mississippi's departments of Human Services and Rehabilitation Services could be combined with its Medicaid agency under a legislative plan.
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City & County
City Works to Clarify Water Status: 'Not Deemed Unsafe,' But 'Flush the Tap'
Jackson Director of Public Works Kishia Powell spelled out precautionary measures people can and, in some cases, should take regarding the city's water.
