Doctor, GOP governor clash over private Medicaid discussion
Mississippi’s Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said in a private conversation that expanding Medicaid to people working low-wage jobs would be in the best interest of the state, but that he refuses to support the policy for political reasons, a former chancellor of the University of Mississippi said Thursday. Dr. Dan Jones is a physician who led the University of Mississippi Medical Center before serving as chancellor of the university from 2009 to 2015. During a news conference organized by Democratic state lawmakers on Thursday, Jones said that Reeves acknowledged in a private conversation with him in 2013 or 2014 that expanding Medicaid would benefit Mississippi's economy, and provide health care to more residents of a state bedeviled by poor health outcomes.
news.yahoo.comShock Mississippi poll has Elvis Presley cousin, a Democrat, within four points of upsetting GOP governor
A poll of registered Mississippi voters shows incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves narrowly leading Democratic challenger Brandon Presley by just four points in the upcoming gubernatorial election.
foxnews.com'Community is hurting,' mayor says after officer is killed
A police officer has been shot to death in the Mississippi Delta city where she grew up, and several other people were injured by gunfire. Greenville Police Department Detective Myiesha Stewart, 30, was killed Tuesday night as she and other officers responded to a call, according to Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell. “Our community is hurting,” Greenville Mayor Mayor Errick D. Simmons said Wednesday outside City Hall, where he was joined by law enforcement officers.
news.yahoo.comNAACP says Jackson's water problems are civil rights issue
The NAACP on Tuesday accused Mississippi of discriminating against Black residents by denying badly needed federal funds for drinking water infrastructure in Jackson and instead diverting money to largely-white communities that needed it less.
Jackson's water system at the mercy of spending rhetoric
Years before people in Jackson were recently left without running water for several days, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves claimed to have helped block money to fund water system repairs in the capital city. The city’s latest water troubles are far from its first, and they have stemmed from decaying infrastructure beyond one water treatment plant. As Reeves climbed Mississippi's political ladder, he cited his opposition to financially helping the capital as evidence of his fiscal conservatism.
news.yahoo.comMississippi Gov. Tate Reeves Makes Fun of Jackson As Water Crisis Continues
The Mississippi Governor said, “it’s a great day not to be in Jackson,” at a groundbreaking ceremony in Hattiesburg. Tate Reeves delivers a televised address before signing a bill retiring the last state flag with the Confederate battle emblem during a ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 30, 2020. Tate Reeves (Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/Pool/AFP (Getty ImagesBy Murjani RawlsAfter seven weeks, a boil notice has been lifted in Jackson, Mississippi, but there are still concerns about copper and lead levels within the water supply. Tate Reeves. It’s also, as always, a great day to not be in Jackson,” he said, according to local television station 16 WAPT News.
thewestsidegazette.comRacism seen as root of water crisis in Mississippi capital
Carey Wooten spent nearly seven weeks hunting for safe drinking water for herself, her two children and three dogs after clocking out each day as a Taco Bell manager, so Gov. Tate Reeves' announcement that the water is clean again in Mississippi's capital came as welcome news. While the state plans to stop handing out free bottled water at sites around the city Saturday night, the city said water pressure still hasn’t been fully restored, and state health officials said lead in some pipes remains so worrisome that pregnant women and young children should still use bottled water. Wooten said Friday that the liquid flowing into her kitchen sink still smells like sewage, but not as bad as before, and she's glad she won't have to run to distribution sites before their bottled water supplies run out each day.
news.yahoo.comJackson’s water system is failing and can’t produce enough water to fight fires or to flush toilets, Mississippi governor says
Until the system is fixed, there will not be reliable running water at scale, Reeves said. “All of this was with the prayer that we would have more time before their system ran to failure,” Reeves said. The mayor of Jackson also declared a water system emergency Monday, saying that “the flooding of the Pearl River … created problems with treating water at the O.B. The water crisis comes after record-setting rain resulted in the the Pearl River cresting and flooding streets. City officials earlier Monday said they were “cautiously optimistic” as the Pearl River appeared to be cresting without water spilling into residents’ homes, according to a spokesperson for the mayor.
thewestsidegazette.comJudge dismisses lawsuit over citizenship check for voting
A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit accusing Mississippi of using a discriminatory proof-of-citizenship requirement for some new voters under a law dating back to the Jim Crow era. The dismissal came weeks after the state repealed a 1924 law that required naturalized citizens, but not people born in the U.S., to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. A new law enacted in its place has also drawn opposition but is being grudgingly accepted by voting rights groups who say it ultimately should protect naturalized citizens from being incorrectly marked as noncitizens when they register to vote.
news.yahoo.com‘Did You Just Forget … All Those Black People We Shipped Over?’: Mississippi Governor Confuses Many When He Declares April Both Confederate Heritage Month and Genocide Awareness Month
The governor of Mississippi has declared April to be both Confederate Heritage Month and Genocide Awareness Month. Gov. Tate Reeves unpacked Genocide Awareness Month as a […]
news.yahoo.comMississippi governor signs largest teacher raise in years
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill Wednesday authorizing the largest pay raise in a generation for the state's public school teachers, long among the lowest-paid in the nation. Lawmakers and the Republican governor have said boosting the salaries could help Mississippi attract and retain classroom professionals. The average teacher salary in Mississippi during the 2019-20 academic year was $46,843, according to the Southern Regional Education Board.
news.yahoo.comA first: US Senate confirms transgender doctor for key post
Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on March 24, confirmed Levine to be assistant secretary of health. She becomes the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. (Caroline Brehman/Pool via AP, File)Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate has confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. She won confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate.