Mississippi State News

Mississippi sending election reminders to military

Thousands of Mississippi National Guard members are training for deployment. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is pushing to ensure they know when to vote in upcoming elections. His office is sending four thousand wallet-sized cards with voting deadline information to…

Statewide Testing Interruption

During statewide testing today, some Mississippi testing sites experienced intermittent connectivity at some point between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Online testing resumed and was fully functionally at approximately 10 a.m. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has provided guidance…

MDOT remembers fallen work zone employees

The Mississippi Department of Transportation held a ceremony yesterday at its administrative headquarters in downtown Jackson honoring employees who lost their lives in the line of duty. This week is named National Work Zone Awareness Week and MDOT is reminding…

Cindy Hyde-Smith sworn in today

Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith made history today when she was sworn into the Senate as the first woman to represent Mississippi in the chamber. It’s a milestone that strategists hope will propel the former agriculture commissioner and early President Donald Trump…

Ole Miss student diagnosed with Tuberculosis

Mississippi's state Health Department says it has diagnosed a student at the University of Mississippi with tuberculosis.   Health officials say they're trying to identify other students on the Oxford campus who may be exposed to infection and plan to…

Lineman electrocuted in Prentiss County

An Electric Power Association worker trying to restore power following a Tuesday night storm was electrocuted. The Prentiss County Electric Company lineman has been identified as Jamie Guin. He was electrocuted trying to restore power after a tree fell on…

Ban Extended On Abortion Law

A federal judge here in Mississippi has extended his temporary block on the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. The Mississippi Law Bans Abortion after 15 weeks. Governor Bryant signed it March 19th. The law took effect immediately,…

House Bill 1264 Killed Mississippi

Mississippi lawmakers are concluded their 2018 regular session Wednesday by killing a bill that would have set a prison sentence of up to 10 years for making terroristic threats. House Bill 12-64 defined them as threats of violence made with…

Chris McDaniel In Harrison County

Term limits, Obamacare and balancing the budget ... Just a few topics discussed by state Senator Chris McDaniel in South Mississippi Wednesday. McDaniel was the guest speaker at D’Iberville Business Club Meeting at the Scarlet Pearl Casino. He's recently been…

BP Oil Spill Money Mississippi Gulf Coast

The fate of more than 700 million dollars in BP damages money is still up in the air. A six-person committee of state house and senate members had a deadline of Monday at 8 pm to create a bill but…

Senator Thad Cochran says farewell

Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi has given a farewell speech in the U.S. Senate where he’s the longest-serving current member of Congress. The 80-year-old Cochran is retiring April 1st because of poor health. He says he’s “optimistic about the…

Farewell statement of U.S. Senator Thad Cochran

The U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) today issued his farewell statement to the Senate during time set aside by the Senate Majority Leader for Senators to recognize Cochran’s service. Cochran (R-Miss.) will retire from the Senate on Sunday, April. 1.…

Federal judge blocks Mississippi abortion law

Governor Phil Bryant is not happy about a federal judge’s decision to temporarily block a state law banning abortion after 15 weeks, the most restrictive abortion law in the United States. Bryant signed the law Monday and it took effect…

Governer Bryant will name Hyde-Smith to Senate vacancy

Three Mississippi Republicans tell The Associated Press that the state's governor will appoint Cindy Hyde-Smith to fill the Senate vacancy that will soon be created when veteran Sen. Thad Cochran retires. Hyde-Smith is the state's agriculture commissioner. She will be…

Governor Bryant will not appoint McDaniel

Governor Phil Bryant announced Thursday he will not be appointing state Senator Chris McDaniel to succeed long-time Republican Senator Thad Cochran. Governor Bryant said his decision to appoint a new U.S. senator will not be influenced by Republican lawmakers in…

Cigarette tax legislation is dead

An effort by Mississippi lawmakers to raise tobacco taxes is on its deathbed. Senate Bill 3048, which could have been used to raise taxes, is dead after the House Ways and Means Committee didn’t take it up before Tuesday’s deadline.…

Hosemann will not run for Secretary of State Office again

Today, Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said he is not running for his current office again. Hosemann, speaking to the Capitol Press Corp and Mississippi State University’s Stennis Institute of Government, said that after three terms in office he…

Mississippi State lottery: Senate Bill 2976

A longtime proponent of Mississippi setting up a state lottery is trying to pressure leaders of the legislature to move in that direction. Today, Rep. Alyce Clark successfully amended Senate Bill 2976 to say the state gaming commission wouldn’t get…

Senate makes strides towards stricter abortion laws

The Mississippi Senate moved one step closer yesterday to passing a law that would prevent women from getting abortions after they are 15 weeks pregnant. Currently Mississippi prohibits abortion after 20 weeks of conception unless the woman is in danger…

School staff firearm training bill passed

Schools across the state of Mississippi could be offering firearm training to staff in order to strengthen campus security under a bill passed by the Senate today. The plan proposed by Vicksburg Republican Senator Briggs Hopson would apply to public…