Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill that requires businesses or government facilities open to the public to post a sign if they let transgender people use multi-person bathrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms associated with their gender identity. The Republican-dominated Legislature gave the bill final passage Thursday, sending it to GOP Gov. Bill Lee. The … Read more
A child has confessed to intentionally setting a dog on fire in north Mississippi, but authorities said the suspect can’t be charged. Buddy was found last week in Tate County with severe burns to his face and an extension cord wrapped around his neck. The Tate County Sheriff’s Office said it had a confession in … Read more
Tennessee lawmakers are trimming in half Gov. Bill Lee’s spending wish list items on restaurant and grocery store sales tax holidays, broadband expansion and local government grants, and planning instead to funnel $250 million into the state’s pension plan. Committees in the Republican-supermajority Legislature on Wednesday released their tweaks to the GOP governor’s spending plan. … Read more
Ohio maternal fetal medicine specialist Dr. Michael Cackovic says Republican-backed laws banning abortions at what they term the “first detectable fetal heartbeat” defy science. He says at the point where advanced ultrasound technology can detect a steady repetitive rhythm, the embryo isn’t yet a fetus and it doesn’t have a heart. The assertion by proponents … Read more
Almost two-thirds of Mississippi residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, state health officials said Wednesday. Still, overall numbers of inoculations are lagging in recent weeks — a reflection of a lack of buy-in on the vaccine from young people. More than 132,000 people in Mississippi were vaccinated … Read more
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis has announced a more than 11 billion dollar investment over six years to expand their research and patient treatment opportunities. St. Jude said it would be the largest strategic expansion in its 60 year history. The project includes building a new 500-million dollar outpatient clinic and a doctor’s … Read more
Meanwhile, in Horn Lake, the Repuiblican primary runoff races for alderman at-large were won Tuesday by David Young and Danny Klein. Young defeated incumbent Charlie Roberts by a mere 6 votes in the Ward 4 contest. Roberts was trying to win his fourth term on the board. Klein, meanwhile, beat Chad Engelke by a wide … Read more
A new alderman will join the Hernando board of mayor and aldermen in July. Ben Piper has won a runoff contest that was held Tuesday for the Ward 6 seat. Piper recived 245 votes to Ryan Diffee’s 228. Piper will replace incumbent alderman Jeff Hobbs., Piper said he looks forward to working with Mayor-elect Chip … Read more
Arson investigators are loking into three fires that took place over the course of about five hours in Memphis. All of the fires took place in vacant houses on Saturday. The first fire reported around 2am that day on Lexington Circle on the city’s north side. Then another fire at a vacant home near Henricks … Read more
Mississippi became more diverse during the past decade, but it is also one of only three states that lost population, according to 2020 Census numbers released Monday. The population loss was not large enough to cost Mississippi a congressional seat this time. The state dropped from five U.S. House seats to four after the 2000 … Read more