All results / Stories / Arielle Dreher
Civil Rights
Private Prison Trial Starts Today Over Alleged Squalor, Rats, Deaths
Inmates housed at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility alleged squalor conditions, solitary confinement practices, lack of medical and mental health care, and an overall unsafe environment. Five years later, the …
LGBT
HB 1523 May Become Law This Week; Plaintiffs Asking Supreme Court to Hear Case
House Bill 1523, the law Gov. Phil Bryant signed that can allow Mississippians acting on their religious beliefs to discriminate against LGBT citizens, is set to become state law this …
Civil Rights
Lawsuit: Madison County Sheriff Targeting Black People with 'Top-Down Program'
Ten black Madison County residents joined the ACLU of Mississippi this morning to announce a new federal class-action lawsuit against Madison County and Sheriff Randall Tucker.
State
Early Years Network Set to Close by Year’s End
Meghan Gallagher, a mother of four who lives in Oxford, was disappointed to hear the news that a statewide network of early learning resource centers will close at the end …
Health Care
Coming into Its Own: ‘Obamacare’ Gets a Shakedown
Mississippians using the federal health marketplace, also known as "Obamacare, "will have fewer options than last year—largely due to United Healthcare's exit from the state's system, which takes effect Jan. …
City & County
Jacksonians Protest Medicaid Cuts in Congress, March on Senators' Offices
Melissa Cooper, seated in her wheelchair, held a pink sign this morning that read "Healthcare is a Human Right."
Politics
Legislator Funded by Koch Brothers, Big Money Tells Citizen to Leave State
A freshman legislator who won his seat with the help of the banking and real-estate industries, as well as Koch Industries and Empower Mississippi, this week told a concerned citizen …
LGBT
'Total Infringement': Governor Signs HB 1523 Over Protests of Business Leaders, Citizens
Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 1523 into law today, which will allow businesses, circuit clerks and medical professionals to recuse themselves from offering services based on a religious belief …
Civil Rights
Private Prison on Trial: Inmates at ‘Bleak’ Facility Tell Harrowing Stories
Merlin Hill was one of 19 inmates who testified during the five-week class-action trial against the Mississippi Department of Corrections for what they describe as appalling conditions at the privately …
City & County
Takeover or Not: Jackson Schools in Limbo
The afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 14, seemed to creep by slowly as Mississippi Board of Education members deliberated the future of Jackson Public Schools behind closed doors.
Politics
House Again Tries to Curb Dem Attorney General's Powers
The Mississippi attorney general, who is elected, could be subject to oversight from the governor, lieutenant governor and the secretary of state if Rep. Mark Baker, R-Brandon, gets his way.
Education
House Votes to Scrap MAEP, Rewrite Ed Formula By 12-Vote Margin
After four hours of debate and 17 rejected Democratic amendments, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted mainly along partisan lines to scrap the Mississippi Adequate Education Program in favor of …
Politics
Lawmakers Turn to Budgets; Re-Entry Reforms on Governor’s Desk
It's crunch time at the Mississippi Capitol. This week lawmakers will have to finalize the state budget, predominantly behind closed doors, before passing a slim fiscal-year 2019 budget.
Civil Rights
Running Out of Venues to Change the State Flag
From ballot initiatives to rallies, the Mississippi state flag has gained a lot of attention lately in-state and then nationally following the shootings in Charleston, S.C., a debate exacerbated by …
State
Firing Squads Out, But ‘Spice’ Regs, Execution Secrecy, Planned Parenthood Limits Headed to Governor
The state’s one Planned Parenthood clinic will lose Medicaid reimbursements if Gov. Phil Bryant signs a bill headed to his desk.
Development
Without Public Input, Mississippi to Spend $78,000 Per Job for Megasite, Shipyard
With little debate in committee or on the floor, the Mississippi House of Representatives cleared the way for $274 million in tax breaks to help two large-scale developments in the …
National
Dak Prescott on NFL Debut, Coach Garrett, Poise and That DUI Charge
In a few short months, Dak Prescott went from a hopeful National Football League draft pick to rookie quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys, with a strong possibility of seeing playing …
Education
Sex Education’s Last Chance in Mississippi?
Sex education in Mississippi could end, or be revamped, as soon as July this year, depending on legislators' actions between now and the end of the session.
LGBT
Fear Rules with Kim Davis Laws, Guns at Church
The deepest fears of some members of the Mississippi House of Representatives came out last week, as the chamber passed bills to fight terrorism, protect religious freedom and allow armed …
Politics
Secret Execution Team, Firing Squads, Restricted Media Included in House Bill
Death by firing squad could become an option for administering the death penalty if Senate Bill 2237, which passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives on Friday and held on …
