Also part of the community outreach in the Pinebelt this weekend... A special supply drive and distribution, for pet owners affected by the storm damage. Southern Pines Animal Shelter received over 25 thousand dollars, worth pet supplies, courtesy of PetSmart…
A bill circulating in the Mississippi House authored by House Speaker Philip Gunn would place limits on state testing for students. House Bill 866 says students cannot be tested for longer than three days during the scheduled three-week testing window.…
Mississippi senators are looking to raise the bar for school superintendents but there's some hesitation for doing the same for school board members. The Senate approved a bill that would heighten requirements for superintendents, but recommitted a measure that would…
Mississippians from outside the area affected by that tornado are also chipping in to make life easier for the people of Hattiesburg. Multiple church organizations from Walthall County have been in Hattiesburg every weekend since the storm providing free lunches,…
The aftermath of a devastating tornado still plagues the cities of Hattiesburg and Petal. As News 25's Hank Davis reports. With thousands in need,one group from the Coast made a trip to lend a helping hand. The cleanup effort is…
The Mississippi Senate passes a bill that seeks to offer more transparency into state agencies. Senate Bill 22-75 would require annual reports of state departments, agencies, boards, commissions, and institutions be posted on the "Transparency Mississippi Website" that is maintained…
The to-go cup law has been in effect for several cities along the coast for a few months and soon the law may be extended to include other municipalities around the state. The bill which passed the senate Thursday would…
The state’s transportation system isn’t being kept up because it’s underfunded, leaving state roads and bridges crumbling. This is according to MDOT's Southern District Transportation Commissioner Tom King in a Hattiesburg press conference today. He stresses it’s going to take…
Bills that would have required employers to pay women equal pay for the same jobs as their male counterparts have died again. Members of the democratic caucus tried to maneuver the bill out of committee by suspending house rules. That…
Prosecutors across the state today are disappointed after a bill aimed to help combat gang violence dies in committee. The senate bill backed by Governor Bryant would have better defined what a gang is, created a separate crime for gang…
It could be weeks before Mississippians see any concrete proposals from state lawmakers on a new school funding formula, but legislators are coming out to say they will not require any districts to contribute additional property taxes. Private firm Ed-Build…
What is the future of funding for the Mississippi Department of Transportation? MDOT Transportation Commissioner Tom King addressed just that earlier today at a press conference in Hattiesburg. King said the serious lack of funding for roads in Mississippi is…
Right now domestic violence is not a cause for divorce in Mississippi, but that could change if a new bill makes it through the legislature A bill co-authored by Pascagoula Senator Brice Wiggins adding domestic violence as a thirteenth reason…
Coast lawmakers authored a number of bills in an attempt to keep BP Oil Spill Settlement Money on the coast. Only one survived the first bill killing deadline of the legislative session. The bill authored by Pascagoula Senator Brice Wiggins,…
The state’s house education committee has voted to give the state authority to remove the accreditation of any school district that violates state law or the Mississippi constitution. Opponents of House Bill 280 feel that the committee is looking to…
A Mississippi Delta School District has agreed to a settlement in a long-running desegregation lawsuit. Lawyer Jamie Jacks says the agreement was announced Monday evening at a Cleveland School Board meeting. The 35-hundred student district had originally sought to maintain…
If lawmakers are going to pass that bill along with others, they'll have to work quickly as the first real "Killing Deadline" of the legislative session quickly approaches. Tomorrow January 31 is the deadline for committees to pass out general…
Mississippi lawmakers are considering legislation that would allow judges to sentence non-violent offenders to a work detail. House Bill 916 would give a county or circuit judge the ability to sentence an offender to a joint county-state work program if…
The American Red Cross is in the midst of offering disaster relief for Hattiesburg after a tornado devastated portions of the city, but sometime Friday evening, someone broke into the charity's Hattiesburg office. The individual responsible for the burglary broke…
House Bill 2469, the Blue Lives Matter Bill, is on its way to the House and one step closer to becoming law. Today, News 25 reached out to the author of that bill Senator Sean Tindell of Gulfport. He says…
Vice President Mike Pence makes an historic appearance today. He becomes the first sitting vice president to ever address the 'March for Life' in the nation's capital. It’s the 44th annual march for anti-abortion advocates and it's underway right now.…
An associated press analysis finds nearly 80 percent of Mississippi School Districts would get more state money under Edbuild's school funding recommendations. The AP also reports the suggested formula would increase state spending by 75 million dollars overall and raise…
A few bills regarding abortion are being discussed in Mississippi Senate Committees. One bill would prohibit an abortion of a fetus with a detectable heartbeat except in a case of medical emergency. That measure would also make it legal to…
Two bills making their way through Jackson right now could lead to local Craft Brewers finally cracking open previously untapped potential. House Bill 13-22 and Senate Bill 26-13 would both allow craft breweries to sell their beer directly from their…