Mississippi passes law banning abortion after 15 weeks

To continue reading this premium story, you need to become a member. Click below to take advantage of an exclusive offer for new members: FILE - In this June 30, 2015, file photo, Pam Miller, of Pro Life Mississippi, walks along the fence surrounding as she attempts to counsel a person entering the Jackson Women's Health Organization clinic near downtown Jackson, Miss.

Mississippi town to allow gay pride parade, reversing denial

Leaders of a Mississippi college town voted Tuesday to permit a gay pride parade, reversing a previous denial and moving to defuse a lawsuit alleging discrimination and free speech violations. Mayor Lynn Spruill broke a 3-3 tie to allow the parade to go forward, after an alderman who previously had opposed the parade abstained, saying the city needed to move past the dispute.

AP NewsBreak: Miss. Sen. Thad Cochran resigning April 1

Longtime Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi said Monday he will resign because of health problems - triggering what could be a chaotic special election to fill the seat he has held for a generation. Cochran, who turned 80 in December and has been in poor health, has been a sporadic presence on Capitol Hill in recent months.

Challenge announced against Mississippi’s Sen. Roger Wicker Source: AP

A tea party-backed state lawmaker who came close to unseating one of Mississippi's U.S. senators during a bitter 2014 race announced Wednesday that he will challenge the state's other U.S. Republican senator, Roger Wicker. Republican Chris McDaniel had hinted at the decision for days and made the announcement at an afternoon rally in his hometown of Ellisville.

Continue reading CBC Members Call Trump Presence at Museum Opening an Insult a ‘

When two members of the Congressional Black Caucus, longtime Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson and civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis , heard that President Donald Trump planned to attend the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum dedication ceremony, they both announced that they would forego the event. On December 7, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "We think it's unfortunate that these members of Congress wouldn't join the president in honoring the incredible sacrifice civil rights leaders made to right the injustices in our history.

With Trump, some African Americans to skip Mississippi event

Robert Daugherty, wrestles with a concrete mooring cover as he tries not to step into the muhly grass along the temporary covered walk way to the state's two newest museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 in Jackson, Miss. A temporary performance stage, a covered walk way, 2,500 seats are in the process of being built or arranged in the small plaza that rests in front of the two museums.

Mississippi woman seeks parental rights in same-sex divorce

Chris Strickland recalls the painful months without contact to her now six-year-old son, after she and her wife divorced, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017, in Pearl, Miss. Strickland, whose wife had a son through in-vitro fertilization and later divorced, is arguing before the Mississippi Supreme Court, that a lower court should be overruled and she should have legal status as a legal parent.

Justices reject appeal over Mississippi Confederate emblem

In this June 23, 2015, file photo, the Mississippi state flag is unfurled against the front of the Governor's Mansion in Jackson, Miss. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, Nov. 27, 2017, rejected an appeal from African-American attorney Carlos Moore who called the Confederate battle emblem on the Mississippi flag "an official endorsement of white supremacy."

Mississippi Anti-LGBT ‘Religious Freedom’ Law Takes Effect

A Mississippi law enabling sweeping anti-LGBT discrimination in the name of "religious freedom" took effect Tuesday as a result of a federal appeals court decision throwing out a legal challenge to the statute. The law, House Bill 1523, was signed by Gov. Phil Bryant last year in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage nationwide.

Nate marches across US East Coast, dumping heavy rains

Nate slogged its way across the U.S. East Coast on Monday, dumping heavy rains and bringing gusty winds to inland states as a tropical depression, a day after Hurricane Nate brought a burst of flooding and power outages to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Nate spared the region the kind of catastrophic damage left by a series of hurricanes that hit the southern U.S. and Caribbean in recent weeks.

New delay in Miss. law on objection to gay marriage

New court action has created a slight delay for a Mississippi law that, barring an intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court, will let government workers and business people cite their own religious objections to refuse services to gay couples. Opponents asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday to keep blocking the law, which has been on hold more than a year.

Court asks Mississippi governor to defend Confederate emblem

In this Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016 file photo, a state flag of Mississippi is unfurled by Sons of Confederate Veterans and other groups on the grounds of the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss. The U.S. Supreme Court is asking attorneys for Mississippi's governor to file arguments defending the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag.

Engineer: Inspectors to close many Mississippi wood bridges

Urging Mississippi lawmakers to provide more infrastructure funding, a county engineer warned Thursday that a stiffened federal inspection program could force repairs or the closure of hundreds of county bridges across the state in the next two years. Jeff Dungan, whose company is the county engineer for six south Mississippi counties, told the Senate Transportation Committee Thursday that federal inspectors are targeting more than 2,000 county bridges across the state with wood supports.

Push to strip Confederate emblem from Mississippi flag heats up

The Mississippi state flag, top, shares space with the bicentennial banner designed by the Mississippi Economic Council to recognize the state's bicentennial anniversary, outside the Governor's Mansion in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017. Mississippi lawmakers are renewing calls to change the state flag, which prominently features the Confederate emblem, after violence erupted during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend.

Getting women involved in local political process

Several local residents will represent Hancock County-area women at the "Ready to Run Mississippi" conference on Aug. 19 in Jackson. According to event host the Stennis Center, "Ready to Run is a non-partisan campaign training program to encourage women to run for elective office, position themselves for appointive office, work on a campaign, or get involved in public life in other ways.

Workers at Mississippi Nissan plant casting ballots on union

In this Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017 photo, a United Auto Workers member encourages employees to vote for the union at an entrance to the Nissan vehicle assembly plant in Canton, Miss. Voting started Thursday in Mississippi among 3,700 employees who are deciding whether the UAW union should bargain for them with Nissan Motor Co.

Federal grants to assist Oxford, Pontotoc County fire departments

U.S. Senator Thad Cochran announced nearly $700,000 in federal grants this week to help four departments in Mississippi, including AFG operations and safety grants for the Oxford Fire Department and the Troy-Woodland Volunteer Fire Department in Pontotoc County . "Well trained and equipped fire departments are important to ensure public safety.

FILE – In this Nov. 7, 2016 file photo, a ballot box is set for…

In this Nov. 7, 2016 file photo, a ballot box is set for residents to vote at midnight in Dixville Notch, N.H. A request for detailed information about every voter in the U.S. from President Donald Trump's voting commission is getting a rocky reception in the states. less FILE - In this Nov. 7, 2016 file photo, a ballot box is set for residents to vote at midnight in Dixville Notch, N.H. A request for detailed information about every voter in the U.S. from President Donald ... more OKLAHOMA CITY - A request for detailed information about every voter in the U.S. from President Donald Trump 's voting commission is getting a rocky reception in the states.