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Person of the Day
Hill Harper
Hill Harper is a jack-of-all-trades. As an actor, he is best known for his role on "CSI: New York" as Dr. Sheldon Hawkes, but he is also an activist, author …
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Hosemann Announces Cat Island Land Purchase
The state of Mississippi has bought 217 more acres of Cat Island to set aside for public use.
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Miss. Revenue Collections Down in April
Mississippi tax collections were $46 million, or 8.2 percent, below the estimate for the month of April.
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Oil Drilling Technology Leaps, Clean Energy Lags
Technology created an energy revolution over the past decade—just not the one we expected.
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Hagel: U.S. Rethinking Possibly Arming Syrian Rebels
The Obama administration is rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels who have been locked in a civil war with the Syrian regime for more than two years, Defense Secretary …
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Miss. Ricin-Letters Case Headed to Grand Jury
A dust mask that tested positive for ricin also contained DNA from a Mississippi man suspected of sending poison-laced letters to President Barack Obama and others, an FBI agent testified …
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Obama OK with Morning-After Pill Sales at Age 15
President Barack Obama said Thursday he was comfortable with his administration's decision to allow over-the-counter purchases of a morning-after pill for anyone 15 and older.
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Forest Service to States: Give Subsidies Back
The U.S. Forest Service is in the business of preventing fires, not starting them. Yet the agency set off alarms in Congress and state capitols across the West by citing …
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Bangladesh Official: Disaster Not 'Really Serious'
Bangladesh's finance minister downplayed the impact of last week's factory-building collapse on his country's garment industry, saying he didn't think it was "really serious" Friday, hours after the 500th body …
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Fresh Off Victory, NRA Holds Convention in Houston
Fresh off a huge victory over President Barack Obama on gun control, the message from the National Rifle Association is clear: The fight has just begun.
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Immigration
Billions Proposed for New Border Security. Where Would the Money Go?
Federal spending on border security is at an all-time high and it would get even higher under the Gang of Eight's new plan.
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Person of the Day
RIP, Orley Hood
I went up to the University of Mississippi Medical Center last week to visit my old pal, golf partner, fellow Braves and Saints lover, and much-admired writer, Orley Hood.
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Mississippi Denies Manning's Death Appeal
By R.L. NaveThe state of Mississippi is moving closer to carrying out the first execution of 2013.
The Mississippi State Supreme Court denied today Willie Jerome Manning's requests for a rehearing and a stay of execution. Manning wants DNA tests that were not available at the time of his conviction in the early 1990s. Manning received the death penalty for the December 1992 killings of two Mississippi State University students, Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler.
Manning has maintained his innocence. This Mississippi Innocence Project filed a brief in support of Manning. Innocence Projects usually don't get involved with cases that lack compelling evidence of innocence. Of the seven people Innocence Project helped exonerate, six of them were freed because their DNA was absent from the scene of the crime, the brief states.
In addition to the DNA request, Manning's attorney said one of the prosecution's jury-selection tactics in Manning's trial was discriminatory. Voisin said some candidates listed publications such as Jet and Ebony magazines on a jury questionnaire. Prosecutors dismissed some of the potentials because they read liberal publications.
In 2012, Mississippi tied with Arizona and Oklahoma for second-most executions carried out in the United States, with six in each state. Texas led the nation with 15 executions in 2012. Manning is scheduled to be executed May 7 at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman.
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Atheist Group Sues Rankin Schools Over Prayer Meet
A Mississippi high school forced students to attend on-campus programs where fellow students urged them to turn to Jesus for hope and eternal life, according to an atheist group that …
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Fed Keeps Stimulus, Says Taxes and Cuts Have Hurt
The Federal Reserve cautioned America's political leaders Wednesday that their policies are hurting the economy.
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Women's Groups Decry Appeal on Morning-After Pill
The Obama administration's decision to appeal a court order lifting age limits on purchasers of the morning-after pill set off a storm of criticism from reproductive rights groups, who denounced …
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Police, Politicians Push Surveillance Post-Boston
Police and politicians across the U.S. are pointing to the example of surveillance video that was used to help identify the Boston Marathon bombing suspects as a reason to get …
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Friends of Boston Bomb Suspect Charged
Hours before the Boston Marathon suspects allegedly gunned down a police officer, authorities say he exchanged a series of text messages with a friend who'd become suspicious.
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The Slate
Something you are going to hear a lot over the next few weeks: We haven’t seen a Triple Crown winner in horse racing in 35 years. Another phrase you will …
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Bryan's Rant
At Long Last
Finally, there will be a playoff in college football in 2014. No more wanting, wishing or hoping. The BCS is done after the 2013-14 season is completed.
