Mississippi

Mississippi On Track To Become No. 1 State For New Coronavirus Cases Per Capita

6:53pm August 03, 2020

"We need to do something different," says Dr. LouAnn Woodward, who leads the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She says the state needs a mask mandate, but knows many people won't comply.

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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves removes his face mask during a COVID-19 news briefing Wednesday in Jackson.

'In A Fight For Our Lives': Mississippi Issues New Mask Order Amid COVID-19 Spike

7:28pm July 10, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Gov. Tate Reeves imposes the order in 13 counties, including those that are home to some of the state's most populous cities. It comes on the same day the state saw more than 1,000 new cases.

Two Mississippi state flags wave outside the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., in 2019. State lawmakers voted to retire the current flag, and Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves is expected to sign the measure.

Mississippi Black Lawmaker On Taking Down The Flag: A Symbol Of 'Hate And Not Love'

6:10pm June 29, 2020

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Mississippi state Sen. Derrick Simmons, a Democrat, after lawmakers in that state voted on Sunday to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.

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A woman walks her dog through the French Quarter in New Orleans as Tropical Storm Cristobal reaches the U.S., on Sunday.

Environment

Tropical Storm Cristobal Hits Louisiana, Mississippi Coasts

4:02pm June 07, 2020

by Austin Horn

Storm surge warnings have been issued for the southeast Louisiana coast as well as the Mississippi coast for Sunday, with Mississippi being the hardest hit so far.

Attendees at a January rally at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson called for the state to close the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, where a number of deaths have occurred.

National

After Inmate Deaths, Mississippi Faces Pressure To Reform Its Prisons

8:23am April 20, 2020

by Debbie Elliott

The state of Mississippi is the subject of lawsuits and a federal investigation following the deaths of more than 30 inmates in its prison system since late last year.

Damaged buildings and vehicles are seen in the aftermath of a tornado in Monroe, La., on Sunday, in this still image obtained from social media.

National

Easter Tornadoes Kill At Least 6, Cause Damage In Several Southern States

9:25am April 13, 2020

by Scott Neuman

Mississippi and Louisiana were hardest hit by the storms that were part of a band of severe weather stretching across the entire southeast of the country.

Medical professionals sanitize their facemasks prior to storing them away on March 23, 2020. They were preparing to collect specimens for coronavirus testing at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Miss.

National

Responses To Coronavirus Outbreak Vary Greatly In The American South

2:47pm March 26, 2020

by Debbie Elliott

As more states order residents to stay at home to combat spread of the coronavirus, Mississippi and Florida are taking a different approach.

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Jackson, Miss., residents use shovels to work their way through Pearl River floodwaters on Sunday.

National

Hundreds Of Homes Flooded In Mississippi As More Rain Is Expected

2:52pm February 18, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The Pearl River crested at 36.7 feet in Jackson, Miss. — lower than feared. Flooding also hit parts of Tennessee, where one official said, "It is a chess match we're playing with Mother Nature."

Special agents from the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor arrested John Davis, the former executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, on Wednesday. He and five others are accused of diverting millions of dollars from a family

National

Mississippi's Ex-Welfare Director, 5 Others Arrested Over 'Massive' Fraud

5:19pm February 06, 2020

by Bill Chappell

Authorities say a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme funneled money from a fund for needy families into personal expenses, including a stay at a luxury rehab center in California.

Hip-hop artist Mysonne, co-founder of the prisoner rights group United Freedom, speaks at a mass rally at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson in January to protest conditions in prisons where inmates have been killed in violent clashes.

National

DOJ To Investigate Mississippi Prisons After Spate Of Inmate Deaths

12:08pm February 06, 2020

by Scott Neuman

The Justice Department's civil rights division will examine conditions at four state prisons, including the oldest, Parchman, where a prison riot broke out on Dec. 29.