Federal Court Upholds Law Allowing Refusal Of Service To LGBT Couples

A law allowing business owner to deny service to LGBT couples was ruled enforceable in Mississippi by a federal court Thursday. The U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th circuit struck down a district court's injunction against the law , which now allows business owners to refuse to serve gay, lesbian, or transgender couples on grounds of religious objection and also permits clerks to refuse to issue marriage licenses to LGBT couples.

Navy Unmanned Certification Classes Begin at University of Southern Mississippi

Fifteen students began classes earlier this week at The University of Southern Mississippi, where they are expected to be the first class in the nation to earn a certification in Unmanned Maritime Systems . "This program gives us a chance to continually and rapidly train and certify our personnel to be the best in the world even before the race begins," stated Command, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Deputy Commander and Technical Director Dr. Bill Burnett.

Mississippi budget: ‘Mighty ugly’ cuts and no borrowing plan

Mississippi would spend less on public schools, have no new funds for transportation and face likely tuition hikes at state colleges and universities under a spending plan approved Saturday by lawmakers that cuts next year's budget by more than 4 percent compared to what was originally planned. The spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1, described as "mighty ugly" by House Speaker Pro Tem Greg Snowden, a Meridian Republican, could also mean program cuts and layoffs among state agencies.

Correction: Gov. Bryant to name Marshall Fisher Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner

Fisher served as executive director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics from 2005-2014, where he oversaw the state's largest methamphetamine bust and provided staff for Mississippi's first comprehensive intelligence center. Most recently, he served as state director for the Mississippi Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

Legislators file 22 state flag-related bills

In the state's bicentennial year, and a few months after two flag initiatives failed to receive enough signatures to make a statewide ballot, lawmakers have filed 22 bills offering to change, keep or let voters decide on the current state flag. Seven bills, all drafted by white Republicans, would support the current state flag and impose statutory punishments for governmental entities refusing to fly it.

Mississippi court OKs challenge to questioned execution drug

A Mississippi man sentenced to death for the murder of a community college student won consent from the state's highest court Thursday to challenge a lethal injection drug that's been blamed for botched executions and other problems around the country. The Mississippi Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision , said Charles Ray Crawford can use a federal civil rights law to pursue a lawsuit in state court over the use of the sedative midazolam in executions.

Slimantics: Quotable Mississippians

The best compliment you can pay to David Crews' "The Mississippi Book of Quotations," is the urge to wonder aloud, "Why didn't somebody think of this before?" After all, Mississippi has produced some of the finest writers in the English language as well as some of the world's greatest singer/songwriters. The paradox has long been noted: Mississippi, the least literate of states, has produced a disproportionate amount of great story-tellers.

Miss. fire chief: Blaze at African-American church was arson

Somebody set the fire that heavily damaged an African-American church that was also spray-painted with the phrase "Vote Trump," and an $11,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of whoever did it, a Mississippi fire chief said Wednesday. The FBI has opened a civil rights investigation of the Tuesday night fire at the 200-member Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, and Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons called the fire and graffiti a hate crime.

Police: 6 dead after buses collide in Baltimore

Transit workers in Philadelphia are hitting the picket lines Tuesday and commuters are scrambling to make alternate plans after the city's main transit agency and a union representing about 4,700 workers failed... Commuters scrambled Tuesday to find alternate ways to travel as transit workers in Philadelphia hit the picket lines after the city's main transit agency and a union representing about 4,700 workers failed to reach a... An explosion has shut down a pipeline that supplies gasoline to millions of people for the second time in less than two months, raising the specter of gas shortages and price increases.

State officials say voter fraud not an issue

Despite talk of fraud and rigged elections on the national level, Mississippi officials say voters should have confidence in the integrity of state elections. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the specter that if he loses the Nov. 8 election against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton it will be because of voter fraud or a rigged election.