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☆ 10 states with America's worst infrastructure, and most to gain from billions in federal dollars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Scott Cohn | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

To evaluate each state's infrastructure, our Top States study considers not just roads, bridges, ports and airports. The state broadband office notes that it is the nation's ninth-largest allocation per capita. The state's power grid is among America's least reliable, according to U.S. Department of Energy data. The severe weather means power outages are frequent as well. Since then, the power outages have persisted, making Maine's grid among the worst in the nation.

Persons: Pete Buttigieg, Seth Martindale, Rusty, Dan Koeck, Doug Burgum, Biden, Mark Miller, Suzanne Kreiter, Jim Justice, Senators Joe Manchin, Shelley Moore Capito, Mississippi Brenda Gavin, Elnora Ross, Michael Democker, Robert Gauthier, We're, Lauren Owens Lambert, Logan —, stoplights, Brianna Soukup, Lance King Organizations: Companies, Business, CNBC, Infrastructure Law, Arkansas Turrell, Arkansas Broadband Office, Law, Arkansas Economic Development Corporation, North Dakota, Washington Post, Peace Garden State, U.S . Department of Energy, Power Company, Dakota Utilities, Montana Bison, Getty, Industrial, Rte, Boston Globe, Census, U.S . Department of Transportation, West Virginia, Gov, U.S, Senators, West Virginia Coal Association, Justice, Manchin, Virginia Economic, First Street Foundation, Hawaii, Los Angeles Times, Afp, Boston Regional Airport, Spirit Airlines, Orlando, Logan, JetBlue, White Mountain Cable, Portland Press, Portland Press Herald, Central Maine Power, Power, Energy Department, Maine Locations: States, Arkansas, Arkansas Turrell Arkansas, Turrell Arkansas, Underwood, Peace, North Dakota, Minnesota, Dakota, Buffalo, Yellowstone, Montana, Massachusetts, Canton, Bay State, Boston, Kanawha, Poca, West Virginia, Winfield, Putnam County, Mountain State, Virginia, Mississippi, Louin , Mississippi, Gulf, BroadbandNow, Lahaina , Hawaii, Maui, Lahaina, Western Maui, Hampshire, Hampton , New Hampshire, Manchester, New Hampshire, New England, Maine, Epsom , New Hampshire, Brighton, Woodford Street, Portland, Alaska, Dalton, Coldfoot , Alaska

Voters in Ohio will decide on enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, as well as legalizing recreational marijuana use. Will voters in Ohio back abortion rights? Beyond abortion, the most watched initiative will be, again, in Ohio, where voters will decide whether cannabis should be legalized for recreational use. That could put pressure on Congress to move forward legislation at least to ease restrictions on interstate banking for legal cannabis businesses. Texans will also decide whether to raise the mandatory retirement age of state judges to 79, from 75.

Persons: Biden’s, Donald J, Trump, Biden, Glenn Youngkin, Youngkin, Daniel Cameron, Andy Beshear, Steve Beshear, Beshear, Roe, Wade, Frank LaRose, Thomas E, Dobbs, Jackson, Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley, Presley’s, Brett Favre, Reeves, I’ve, Mr, Presley, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Warren of Organizations: New York Times, Democratic, Republican, State Senate, Republicans, —, Supreme, Affordable, Mississippi Public Service Commission, Texans, Liberal Locations: Ohio, Ohio , Kentucky, Virginia , Mississippi, Siena, Virginia, Kentucky, Richmond, Kansas, Mississippi, Dobbs v, Nettleton, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

☆ Election Day 2023 Voters to Offer Clues on Abortion Politics and 2024 in Off-Year Election Day
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Neil Vigdor | Sarah Baird | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Voters in Ohio will decide on enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution, as well as legalizing recreational marijuana use. Will voters in Ohio back abortion rights? Even in deeply Republican states like Kansas, voters have overwhelmingly supported abortion access. Beyond abortion, the most watched initiative will be, again, in Ohio, where voters will decide whether cannabis should be legalized for recreational use. If voters agree, Ohio would become the 24th state to legalize marijuana.

☆ How Democrat Brandon Presley could win the Mississippi governor's race and pull off one of the biggest political upsets of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Democratic nominee Brandon Presley has made the Mississippi gubernatorial contest a real race. While most voters in Mississippi may not care for national Democrats (including some Democrats), Presley has effectively presented himself as a different kind of Democrat. Black voters made up 29% of the statewide electorate that year and Biden won their vote 94%-5% over Trump. Presley has heavily courted Black voters, which has included visits to churches and the state's Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). AdvertisementAdvertisementStructural geographic disadvantages remain a lingering issue for Mississippi Democrats, but Presley has a real chance at overcoming that dynamic on Tuesday.

Persons: Brandon Presley, Presley, Tate Reeves, —, Ronnie Musgrove's, Jimmy Carter, he's, Elvis Presley, Reeves, Mason, Dixon, Brandon Bell, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden, Trump, Jim Hood underperformed, Mike, Hood, Georgia Presley, Jackson, Musgrove, Democrats —, Michael Parker, Parker Organizations: Democratic, GOP, Republican Gov, Service, Magnolia Tribune, Democrats, Mississippi electorate, AP, Trump, Black, Getty, Democratic Senate, Mississippi Democrat, Mississippi State University, Gwinnett, Mississippi Gov, Mississippi, Democrat, Mississippi House, Mississippi Democrats Locations: Mississippi, Brandon , Mississippi, Nettleton, Jackson , Mississippi, . Mississippi, Georgia, Atlanta, Cobb , DeKalb, Fulton County

The state hasn't wavered as a conservative stronghold in the modern era, and its last Democratic governor was denied a second term 20 years ago. A former mayor of tiny Nettleton, Presley is wrapping up his fourth term as a state utility regulator for northern Mississippi. One of the most famous Black Mississippi residents, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, recently joined him at a campaign event. Presley has raised more campaign cash than Reeves this year, and he's attracting larger and more diverse crowds than any Democrat running for Mississippi governor in a generation. Presley says the new method of electing a governor gives him a better chance than the old one.

Persons: Brandon Presley, Tate Reeves, “ They’re, ” Presley, murmurs, “, Elvis Presley, Reeves, Presley, Bennie Thompson, Morgan Freeman, Theresa Hall, ”, we’ll, ” Reeves, Sen, Chuck Younger, “ It’s, ” Younger, it’d, Bruce Springsteen, don’t, William Barber, Barber, —, Nick Bain, Medgar Evers, Vernon Dahmer, Fannie Lou Hamer, it's, Democrat Jim Hood, Joe Biden, Mike, Republican Sen, Cindy Hyde, Smith, Thad Cochran, Jim Crow, Eric Holder, Gwendolyn Gray Organizations: Democratic, Republican, U.S . Rep, Mississippi, Tate, Liberal, Black, Democratic Party, Poor, Waffle, Trump, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, Democratic National Convention, Democrats, Democrat, U.S . Senate, Mississippi voters, U.S, “, Tougaloo College Locations: NATCHEZ, Miss, Mississippi, Natchez, Jackson, Issaquena County, Los Angeles, Columbus, Alabama, U.S, Gulfport, Biloxi, “, Black, Atlantic City

☆ Jamie Foxx plays attorney Willie Gary in new movie "The Burial." Ex-clients say the real lawyer is a creep who screwed them out of millions.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

"The Burial" stars Jamie Foxx as real-life lawyer Willie Gary, who won a $500 million case in 1995. Elliott isn't the only ex-client of Willie Gary and his firm, Gary Williams Parenti Watson & Gary, to be angry about how she was treated. Lawyer Willie Gary poses for a selfie with a guest at a screening of "The Burial." Attorney Willie Gary and his client Don King speaking to the press in 2005. She has so far managed to seize $102,000 from an account the Gary firm had with Truist.

Persons: Jamie Foxx, Willie Gary, Gary —, —, Gary, Ernestine Elliott, Ford —, Elliott, Elliott isn't, Gary Williams Parenti Watson, Tommy Lee Jones, Luisa Esposito, Grant Halverson, Willie Gary's, Willie, couldn't, Jeremiah O'Keefe, O'Keefe, Loewen couldn't, Loewen, Gary Parenti, Don King, Jim McIsaac, Ford, schemed, he'd, Gary's cocounsels, Lawrence Fox, Fox, Bruce Green, Green, Gary didn't, Sharron Mangum, Mr, Mangum, Marietta Goodman, Coke, Jillian Nedd, Nedd, Ardria Clark, Tamesha Marshall, Pharr, Clark, Marshall, Ray Rogers, He's, leafleted, Rogers, Willie Lewis, Troy Fulks Jr, Fulks, Lewis, Esposito, she'd, didn't, Justice II, hasn't, Gary's, Debra Sweeting, it's, Sweeting, we're, Variety Organizations: Service, Disney, Nissan, Hollywood, reneging, Gary Parenti Facebook, Anheuser, Busch, Yorker, Group, New Yorker, Fordham, Cola, Coke, FBI, Gary, Florida Bar Association, Palm Beach Post, Florida Power, dimes, Finance Group, Wings, Justice, Boeing, Gary Foundation Locations: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, New York City, New York, Palm Beach, Flint , Michigan, disbursements

An election official hands a ballot to a voter at a polling station in Ridgeland, Mississippi, U.S., November 27, 2018. A spokesperson for the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King in reversing a lower-court judge's ruling. Circuit Judge Edith Jones, an appointee of former Republican President Ronald Reagan, was also on the panel and had dissented. Twelve of the 16 currently active judges on the court were appointed by Republicans.

Persons: Jonathan Bachman, Jonathan Youngwood, Lynn Fitch, James Dennis, Dennis, Carolyn Dineen King, Edith Jones, Ronald Reagan, Brendan Pierson, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Circuit, U.S ., Democratic, Republicans, Thomson Locations: Ridgeland , Mississippi, U.S, Mississippi's, Mississippi, U.S . Civil, New York

(AP) — The last Republican who lost a general election for Mississippi governor is endorsing the Democratic nominee in this year's race. “It’s a big deal for me as a former Republican member of Congress and as a former Republican nominee for governor to vote for a Democrat,” Parker said. Parker was the Republican nominee for governor in 1999, and lost a close race to Democrat Ronnie Musgrove, who was lieutenant governor. The 1999 governor's race had to be decided in the Mississippi House because neither Musgrove nor Parker fulfilled the two requirements to win the race, which also had two little-known candidates. Republicans have controlled the Mississippi House since 2012.

Persons: JACKSON, Brandon Presley's, Mike Parker, Presley, Tate Reeves, “, ” Parker, Brandon Presley, he’s, Brandon, ” Presley, Black, Parker, Ronnie Musgrove, Reeves, Clifton Carroll, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, ”, Donald Trump, Trump, Musgrove, Gwendolyn Gray, Republican Haley Barbour, Barbour, Republican Phil Bryant Organizations: Republican, Mississippi, Democratic, U.S . Rep, Gov, Democrat, Republicans, Democrats, GOP, U.S . House, Trump, Mississippi House Locations: Miss, Mississippi, Summit

REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File PhotoAug 4 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Friday ruled that Mississippi cannot strip the right to vote from thousands of convicts after they complete their sentences, calling that a "cruel and unusual punishment" that disproportionately affected Black people. Circuit Court of Appeals faulted a provision of Mississippi's state constitution that mandates lifetime disenfranchisement for people convicted of a set of crimes including murder, rape and theft. Siding with a group of convicts who sued in 2018 to regain their right to vote, U.S. Circuit Judge James Dennis wrote that the state's policy violated the U.S. Constitution's Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishments. Circuit Judge Carolyn Dineen King in reversing a lower-court judge's ruling.

Persons: Jonathan Bachman, James Dennis, Dennis, Carolyn Dineen King, Mississippians, Jonathan Youngwood, Lynn Fitch, disenfranchisement, Edith Jones, Ronald Reagan, Jones, Nate Raymond, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Circuit, U.S ., Washington , D.C, U.S, Democratic, Republican, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Ridgeland , Mississippi, U.S, Mississippi, New Orleans, U.S . Civil, Washington ,, Constitution's, Boston

☆ William H. Dilday Jr., First Black TV Station Manager in U.S., Dies at 85
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Clay Risen | More About Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

William H. Dilday Jr., a Boston TV executive who moved to Jackson, Miss., in 1972 to manage the city’s NBC affiliate, becoming the country’s first Black person to run a commercial television station, died on July 27 in Newton, Mass. His daughter Kenya Dilday said that he died at a hospital from complications after a fall. The inquiry came after eight years of litigation by the United Church of Christ and a group of Black citizens against the station, which was owned by a local insurance company. Like many TV stations in the Jim Crow-era South, WLBT had given scant coverage to the civil rights movement, or to the lives and concerns of Black Mississippians in general. It refused to use courtesy titles when interviewing Black people, and once cut off a segment with Thurgood Marshall, replacing it with a sign reading, “Sorry — Cable Trouble.”

Persons: William H, Dilday Jr, Kenya Dilday, Dilday, Jim Crow, WLBT, Thurgood Marshall, ” Organizations: Boston, NBC, United Church of Christ Locations: Jackson, Miss, Newton ,, WLBT, Mississippi’s

☆ US Supreme Court won't scrutinize Mississippi curb on voting by felons
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( John Kruzel | Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The state's felon disenfranchisement policy has been shown to have a disproportionate impact on Black Mississippians, nearly 29,000 of whom were disenfranchised between 1994 and 2017, according to court filings. Black Mississippians account for 36% of the state's voting age population but 59% of those who have been disfranchised for life due to a felony conviction. The 1890 version had removed crimes thought to be "white crimes" and added those thought to be "Black crimes," with the aim of discriminating against Black voters, according to court records. Eight crimes listed in the 1890 version of the provision - bribery, theft, arson, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, forgery, embezzlement and bigamy - remain as disqualifying offenses today. A key question in the case was whether the process of amending Mississippi's felon disenfranchisement provision purged the discriminatory intent behind the 1890 version and brought the law into compliance constitutional race-based voter protections.

Persons: Roy Harness, Kamal Karriem, Constitution's, Harness, Karriem, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Black, Constitution, Harness, The, Circuit, Thomson Locations: Civil, Mississippi, U.S, The New Orleans

☆ Residents of this state have the worst average credit score—see how you stack up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Read on to see the 10 states with the lowest average credit scores and what credit experts say you can do if you want to bring your score up. Credit scores generally run from 300 to 850, with scores over 750 considered "excellent." Plenty of Americans have some work to do on the credit score front. That's bad news for Mississippians, whose average credit score of 662 is the worst in the nation, according to a recent report from WalletHub , based on data from TransUnion. But being among the worst when it comes to credit scores is especially disappointing.

The civil rights organization alleged that the state’s rollout of federal dollars has favored whiter communities, even as Jackson has struggled to comply with state and federal guidelines meant to protect drinking water quality. The NAACP’s federal complaint raises concerns about a loan program overseen by the state Department of Health that distributes federal funding to communities to improve their water systems. Problems with water billing and collections have also resulted in Jackson missing out on sorely needed revenue that could go toward repairs. The EPA’s inquiry comes just days after the launch of a congressional investigation concerning the city’s water crisis. Reps. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., have asked Reeves to answer a series of questions about how the state has spent or plans to spend federal funds that can upgrade water systems in the state.

“After years of neglect, Jackson’s water system finally reached a breaking point this summer, leaving tens of thousands of people without any running water for weeks. Lumumba said Monday that his administration intends to cooperate with federal officials. In late 2019, the state Health Department notified the EPA about concerns with the city’s water system. An inspection by the EPA raised alarms about problems, including not having enough properly credentialed staff members at the city’s water treatment plants. Mark Chalos, an attorney who filed the most recent class-action lawsuit, said many Jacksonians remain suspicious of the city’s water quality.

The welfare funds in question were part of the $86 million Mississippi is given each year by the federal government to lift families out of poverty. The state auditor uncovered $77 million in misspent welfare funds in February 2020. The text messages, which were part of a filing by New's attorney, do not establish that Favre knew the public funds discussed were welfare money. The newly released text messages indicate Bryant, a Republican, was much more involved in the project as governor than previously known. She would pay Favre $1.1 million in state funds directly and he would do a few radio ads.

☆ Mississippi banned most abortions to be the 'safest state' for the unborn. Meanwhile, one in three Mississippi kids lives in poverty.
▼ + stars: | 2021-11-26 | by ( Sarah Fowler | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Mississippi lawmakers said the ban on most abortions after 15 weeks makes Mississippi 'the safest state in the country' for the unborn. "We've had so many state leaders who have talked about wanting Mississippi to be the safest state in the country for unborn babies. It's even higher for kids: one in three Mississippi children live in poverty. Each of the women has dedicated their life to helping Mississippi women and families. More than 100,000 Mississippi children should be eligible, but in 2019 – the most recent year for which there's data – just 20,900 benefited from the program.

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