A new federal court order says a Mississippi city must allow construction of a mosque. A judge filed the order Monday, two months after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city on behalf of two Muslim men. The lawsuit said Horn Lake officials were motivated by anti-Muslim prejudice when the … Read more
One of Mississippi’s top legislative leaders said Tuesday that the state should provide health insurance for working people, but sharply rebuffed a question about expanding Medicaid. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said that instead of “talking about some nomenclature that’s three presidents ago,” lawmakers should be looking at how real people are being impacted by … Read more
Mississippi legislators began their three-month session Tuesday, and the mother of a man with chronic medical problems implored them to create a medical marijuana program, despite objections from Gov. Tate Reeves. The Republican governor has said a proposed program would allow access to large quantities of the drug. Creation of a medical marijuana program could … Read more
Mississippi legislators begin their three-month session on Tuesday with a clear idea of several issues that will come up for debate. One of the first orders of business will be adopting a plan to redraw the state’s four U.S. House districts, expanding the majority-Black 2nd District because it has lost population during the past decade. … Read more
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue rising rapidly in Mississippi as new cases proliferate. The state Health Department reported Monday that 695 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were hospitalized Sunday. That is up from 265 hospitalized two weeks earlier, on Dec. 19. The department also reported Monday that 17,525 new cases of the virus were confirmed … Read more
A Louisiana federal judge has ruled that President Joe Biden cannot require teachers in the Head Start early education program to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The decision hands a victory to 24 states that had sued the federal government. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty wrote Saturday that the Biden administration unlawfully bypassed Congress when ordering … Read more
The Tennessee Valley Authority claims a new solar power cooperative in West Tennessee is illegal, while supporters of the project accuse TVA of trying to maintain a monopoly. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the Jackson Sustainability Cooperative is asking the Tennessee Public Utilities Commission to either grant it a certificate to operate or … Read more
More than 1,000 acres have been added to southcentral Tennessee’s Bear Hollow Mountain Wildlife Managment Area, connecting two sections of the WMA that were previously divided. The Conservation Fund purchased the property in March 2021 to buy time for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to secure funds for its purchase. The property was officially transferred … Read more
Severe thunderstorms will be possible across parts of the Deep South as a new weather system moves into the region. A few tornadoes will be possible as storms develop Wednesday in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, the national Storm Prediction Center is forecasting. The area most at risk of severe weather includes Memphis and Nashville in … Read more
The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases over a five-day period. The department posted new numbers Monday, covering cases confirmed from Wednesday through Sunday. The state is seeing a significant increase in cases compared to just a few weeks ago. During the two weeks from Nov. 23 to … Read more