Zachariah Smith (left) and Colin Stough (right) – Photos from Smith and Stough’s Instagram
After back-to-back nights of performances and eliminations, America voted and the two young men from near Amory make the cut.
The last 48 hours has surely been a whirlwind for Colin Stough and Zachariah Smith, the two Mississippi performers from near Amory competing to be the next American Idol.
On Sunday night, both made the cut into the Top 10. Stough, 18, sang “Midnight Rider” by the Allman Brothers Band while Smith, 19, performed “Don’t Bring Me Down” by Electric Light Orchestra.
Then, 24 hours later, Stough and Smith took the stage again, this time delighting the judges – and the fans at home – with “It’s Been a While” by Staind and “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi, respectively.
The young men both advanced to the Top 7 based on the votes tallied from across the country which totaled over 20 million. However, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie used a save to keep another contestant in the competition – Oliver Steele – to close the show, rounding out the Top 8.
The Top 8 finalists are:
Colin Stough
Zachariah Smith
Megan Danielle
Haven Madison
Iam Tongi
Warren Peay
Wé Ani
Oliver Steele
Watch the performances from Mississippi’s Stough and Smith below.
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The Top 8 in American Idol will continue the competition on Sunday, May 7th at 7pm CT.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
No Republican lawmaker in the Mississippi House or Senate voted in favor of Medicaid expansion when legislative Democrats forced votes on the issue during the recently completed 2023 session.
But those votes do not necessarily mean the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature opposes opting into the policy that would provide health coverage for hundreds of thousands of poor, working Mississippians and revive rural hospitals that have been struggling to stay open.
Only a handful of lawmakers in both the House and Senate say they outright oppose Medicaid expansion, according to a Mississippi Today survey of legislators conducted during the 2023 legislative session.
Just 21 of the House members surveyed, or 18% of the House, said they outright opposed Medicaid expansion. And just 18 of the Senate members surveyed, or 38% of the Senate, said they outright opposed it.
In the House, 67 members — a voting majority — said they either supported Medicaid expansion or were undecided. Mississippi Today could not get answers from 32 representatives.
And in the Senate, 25 members — one vote shy of a voting majority — said they either supported Medicaid expansion or were undecided. Mississippi Today could not get answers from nine senators.
But among the lawmakers who said they opposed expansion or asked to be labeled as “undecided,” several went on to add that they were actually open to some version of expansion.
Several lawmakers who said they opposed expansion said they supported policies similar to those passed in states such as Arkansas, Kentucky or Indiana — all states that have passed versions of Medicaid expansion.
Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from DeSoto County who chairs the Senate Medicaid Committee, was among those. Other key legislative leaders fell in this camp.
“I am open to considering something like Indiana has done,” said Rep. Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, after asking to be labeled “undecided.”
“I’m against it other than I would consider something like in Kentucky or Indiana, where everyone’s got skin in the game,” said Rep. Kevin Horan, a Republican from Grenada who asked to be labeled “no.”
Mississippi is one of just 10 states that have resisted Medicaid expansion. Economists say the policy would bring $1.5 billion in new revenue annually while creating jobs, helping bolster the budgets of struggling hospitals and providing up to 300,000 poor, working Mississippians with health coverage.
The years-long resistance to expansion has come most directly from Republican leaders — namely Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn — who have likened the policy to socialism. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, has in the past indicated support for some version of expansion but hasn’t earnestly pushed legislation since he was elected in 2020.
And as poor Mississippians struggle to afford basic health care and dozens of the state’s rural hospitals struggle to keep their doors open, Mississippi voters appear resolutely behind expansion. An April poll from Mississippi Today/Siena College showed that 66% of Mississippians support Medicaid expansion. An earlier survey in January showed 80% of Mississippians favored expansion.
Several rank-and-file Republican lawmakers polled by Mississippi Today said they were open to expansion, and some shared they believed there was a greater willingness among Republicans to pass expansion than in previous years. All 57 Democratic lawmakers support expansion.
Still, there was no serious push by Republicans in the 2023 session to even debate expansion, let alone vote on it.
“I think people are a little more open-minded about it than they were,” said Rep. William Tracy Arnold, a Republican from Booneville who supports Medicaid expansion. “We have a substantial amount of revenue now. We have to help save our struggling hospitals, and this would not only be giving hospitals more funding, it would help the struggling, tax-paying citizen.”
“Years ago when I first ran, I was totally opposed to Medicaid expansion,” said Rep. Mark Tullos, a Republican from Raleigh. “But I’ve looked at it further, and looked at what Arkansas did, and I would support something similar to what Arkansas has, with coverage for low income working people. Being from rural Mississippi, hospitals play a large role in our community. For rural Mississippi we are going to have to do something.”
“I’m for giving the working people of Mississippi health coverage,” said Rep. Sam Creekmore, a Republican from New Albany. “I’m for giving the working people health coverage. It would save lives. It would keep people working and prevent medical issues down the road.”
“I am for health insurance for our working people in Mississippi,” said Rep. Jerry Turner, a Republican from Baldwyn. “I’m for a program that would have everybody have skin in the game.”
Dozens of other Republicans asked to be marked as “undecided” in Mississippi Today’s expansion database. Some of those indicated they were waiting on leadership to present some options, and others said they wouldn’t speak to any theoretical policy change without first seeing a bill.
“We need to have the conversation,” said Sen. Bart Williams, a Republican from Starkville. “We have a hospital crisis and we need to listen to any and all ideas.”
“Without knowing what a bill looks like, it is hard to say. But we have to do something to help our rural hospitals,” said Rep. Jon Lancaster, a Republican from Houston. “But I am concerned about the federal strings.”
“We need to have discussions about it,” said Rep. Nick Bain, a Republican from Corinth. “There are good parts to it and not so good.”
“The devil is in the details, where the money is coming from,” said Sen. Walter Michel, a Republican from Ridgeland. “I do want to help the hospitals, but I would have to see the bill.”
Still, several Republicans remain firmly opposed to expansion. And many of those opposed declined to expound on why they are opposed.
But Rep. Dana Criswell, R-Olive Branch, said: “It’s bad insurance, so there’s no reason to keep expanding it.”
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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
As candidates for state offices begin to make their campaign pitches to voters, a new Mississippi Today/Siena College poll shows that a vast majority of Mississippians across partisan and demographic lines still support expanding Medicaid access to the working poor.
The poll conducted on April 16-20 shows that 66% of Mississippians — including 82% of Democrats and 52% of Republicans — support “lawmakers voting to accept federal funds to expand Medicaid” coverage.
Only 22% of respondents said they were opposed to the policy, and 11% said they did not know enough information about the issue.
Editor’s note: Poll methodology and crosstabs can be found at the bottom of this story. Click here to read more about our partnership with Siena College Research Institute.
Despite repeated data showing Mississippians across the state support the policy, the state’s Republican leadership has consistently rejected expanding coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
The GOP-dominated leadership in the state Legislature earlier this year killed all efforts to expand the federal insurance program to more people and even cut off debate from Democratic lawmakers over the topic.
And the policy debate over expansion is already starting to form as a key wedge issue during the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Brandon Presley, the Democratic candidate for governor, has made expanding Medicaid a core component of his campaign and has repeatedly cast incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves as a hypocrite for espousing pro-life values and opting not to expand Medicaid.
“We’ve turned back billions of dollars in Mississippi,” he said in an April 19 press release. “Not because of policy. The only reason we’ve turned down federal dollars for health care in Mississippi is petty, partisan, cheap politics.”
Reeves, the Republican running for reelection, at a recent press conference doubled down on his stance that he is opposed to the policy, which he often derisively refers to as “Obamacare.”
“I have not changed my position on the expansion of Obamacare,” Reeves said. “Adding 300,000 additional people to welfare in our state is not the right path for Mississippi.”
Evidence shows that if state leaders would expand the insurance program to the working poor, it would economically benefit the state.
Mississippi’s state economist, employed by the state’s public university system, published a 2021 report concluding that if Mississippi put up the money for the 10% match, the benefits it received would more than cover the initial match.
“Based on our estimates of the costs and savings associated with Medicaid expansion, Mississippi could enter Medicaid expansion in 2022 and incur little to no additional expenditures for at least the first decade of expansion,” the report said.
Over one-third of Mississippi’s rural hospitals are at risk of immediate closure soon, according to a report, and some hospitals have recently shuttered critical patient services.
Given the financial struggle of rural hospitals, some voters are openly wondering if the crisis will have a ripple effect that trickles down into their communities.
Estella Cox-Williamson, a Grenada County resident who attended a recent campaign event for Presley, said access to health care in Grenada was one of her main issues she’s wanting statewide candidates to address this election cycle.
“Really, I just want a governor who will actually produce results this time,” she said. “And that includes health care.”
The Mississippi Today/Siena College Research Institute poll of 783 registered voters was conducted April 16-20 and has an overall margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points. Siena has an ‘A’ rating in FiveThirtyEight’s analysis of pollsters.
George Regional Health System (Photo from GRHS Facebook)
After Magnolia Tribune’s report that UMMC was departing MHA, George Regional Health System followed suit. More hospitals are expected do so in the days ahead.
On Friday, Magnolia Tribune reported that the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) terminated its membership in the Mississippi Hospital Association (MHA). In a letter, UMMC indicated it had lost confidence in MHA’s leadership.
The move came after MHA’s political action committee, Friends of Mississippi Hospitals voted to donate $250,000 to Democratic gubernatorial challenger Brandon Presley.
Neither letter from UMMC or George Regional indicated whether the PAC’s donation to Presley impacted their decision to terminate membership. Both hospitals declined to comment beyond what was written in the letters.
Further investigation has revealed other hospitals are prepared to resign their memberships, as early as this week.
The second shoe dropped on Monday afternoon. George Regional Health System in Lucedale, sent a similar letter to MHA terminating its membership in the organization, effective immediately.
In the letter, George Regional CEO Greg Havard notified Scott Christensen, MHA Chairman, and Tim Moore, MHA President and CEO, of the George and Greene County health system’s decision.
“This letter will serve as notice that George Regional Health System and it affiliates (George and Greene County Hospitals) do hereby terminate its membership in the Mississippi Hospital Association, effective immediately,” Havard writes. “This action is a result of a realization that the Mississippi Hospital Association’s current leadership is no longer able to effectively and productively represent George Regional Health System’s interest in various meaningful areas and in fact has become counterproductive.”
In addition to the $250,000 donation, MHA’s PAC voted to make a $100,000 donation to incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. The donations are the largest in the PAC’s history.
MHA is comprised of over 100 hospitals, healthcare systems, providers and networks that serve over 50,000 employees, as previously reported. MHA has been one of the most vocal advocates for Medicaid expansion in the state. Incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves (R) and outgoing Speaker Philip Gunn (R) both opposed expansion efforts. Both officials have voiced concern about the cost and efficacy of expansion over the years.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
In this geocolor image GOES-16 satellite image taken Thursday, Sep. 7, 2017, at 11:15 a.m. EDT, shows the eye of Hurricane Irma, center, just north of the island of Hispaniola, with Hurricane Katia, left, in the Gulf of Mexico, and Hurricane Jose, right, in the Atlantic Ocean. Irma, a fearsome Category 5 storm, cut a path of devastation across the northern Caribbean, leaving at least 10 dead and thousands homeless after destroying buildings and uprooting trees on a track Thursday that could lead to a catastrophic strike on Florida. (NOAA via AP)
Hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico officially begins on June 1 and runs through November.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves has declared this week, April 30 through May 6, as Hurricane Preparedness week across the state. State agencies such as the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), Department of Insurance, and Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), are all encouraging residents to prepare for the six months of potential bad weather.
Throughout its history, Mississippi has been victim to 14 hurricanes: five remained a Category 3 and one reached a Category 5, Hurricane Camille in 1969. The state continues to recover from Hurricane Ida that hit the last week of August and into September of 2021.
During Hurricane Ida three people were killed and 164 homes were damaged with six destroyed.
“Over the last few years, our state has confronted hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and more,” said Governor Reeves. “It is critical to have a plan before severe weather strikes. It can make the difference in keeping you and your family safe. I hope Hurricane Preparedness Week can help raise awareness about the upcoming hurricane season and encourage Mississippians to take the necessary steps to prepare.”
MEMA Director Stephen McCraney urged families not to wait for a tropical storm or hurricane to form in the Gulf before taking measures to prepare.
“While the State is prepared to respond to a hurricane, the first 72 hours are on you. That means you need at least 72 hours’ worth of food and water for each family member. Take time today to prepare yourself and your family for a storm,” said McCraney.
In order to prepare for a hurricane, MEMA recommends creating a fully stocked disaster supply kit with necessities like water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, and similar items.
MDOT also recommends having an evacuation plan in the event of a disaster. MDOT provides free travel resources including a 2023 Hurricane Evacuation Guide in several languages, and the MDOT Traffic mobile app.
The mobile app provides real-time traffic updates and push notifications in the event of a high traffic area or emergency.
“Hurricane season is quickly approaching, and as we know, hurricanes can have impacts both very early and very late in the season,” said Commissioner Tom King, Southern Transportation District. “This week is an opportunity to get a head start on hurricane preparation.”
Along with a disaster supply kit, the Department of Insurance recommends you take inventory of all important documents and include them in a “Go Bag.” These bags consist of documents like insurance and social security cards, cash, medications, a battery powered radio and at least a gallon of drinking water for every family member and pet.
Commissioner Mike Chaney also reminds residents to review their insurance coverage to ensure that they you’re familiar with the policy in the event there is damage to your person or your home. He said flood damage is not generally covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy and there is a 30-day waiting period if purchased through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
“Some insurance policies have a special deductible for losses caused by named storms. The insurer applies this deductible only when a named storm causes damage. This deductible is separate and different from the normal deductible in a homeowner’s policy,” said Chaney.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
One of my favorite reporting trips ever was touring around Noxubee County with then-freelance writer Torsheta Jackson in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because she grew up in East Mississippi county, over on the Alabama border, Torsheta was the tour guide, driving us around in her big truck I had to lift myself into. First, she showed me where she grew up in Shuqualak, the child of educators. Along the way, she pointed out slabs where industry, grocery stores and schools used to stand before her hometown became a shell of its former self over the decades after forced integration in 1970.
We walked around the ruins that now dominate the little downtown next to the railroad tracks and talked about poverty, neglect, white-flight cycles and disinvestment in the county settled by rich white planters—including Mississippi State University founder Stephen D. Lee’s family—and built by enslaved people. The county has always been majority-Black, but usually under white control, from newspapers, to industry, to local education decisions and resources. It was also the site of vicious white terrorism to keep it that way.
Downtown Shuqualak, journalist Torsheta Jackson’s hometown, is a “proverbial ghost town,” she reports, since large population losses, factory closures, school consolidation and even the dismantling of the historic building (the E.F. Nunn & Co. Building, 1870, near this abandoned building) to sell the parts. Photo by Donna Ladd
In the county seat of Macon, Torsheta showed me the county’s only remaining grocery store—white-owned and too expensive in a county where hunger is far too rampant, she said. She then took me to see the library with the gallows where they used to hang people right in the building in front of crowds on the front lawn, now marketed as a tourist attraction. We looked straight out the front window of the library at the tall Confederate statue standing in front of the courthouse across the street in the 82%-Black town. The Board of Supervisors voted in July 2020 to remove it; last I checked, it was still there as post-George Floyd anti-racism enthusiasm wanes.
JACKSON, Miss. – The State of Mississippi has been approved for direct housing assistance from FEMA to provide Transportable Temporary Housing Units (TTHUs) and other forms of housing for residents displaced due to the March 24th tornadoes. Roughly 250 survivors in the designated counties (Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola, and Sharkey) are currently eligible for direct housing assistance. FEMA personnel are calling qualified applicants regarding their eligibility and moving forward with the next steps of this temporary housing process.
“The state of Mississippi is in this for the long haul – we’re not going anywhere,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “We’ll continue to seek out every available resource to help these communities rebuild and get people back on their feet. FEMA and Samaritan’s Purse have been great partners throughout the recovery process. I’m incredibly thankful to all those around the country who have supported Mississippians in their moment of need.”
“This is a temporary housing solution while residents navigate the rebuild of their home. A long-term housing solution for survivors will take time and effort. Survivors are asked to be patient and consider all avenues when determining what will be best for each family moving forward,” says MEMA Executive Director Stephen McCraney.
Those who’ve already applied for FEMA assistance DO NOT need to apply again for Direct Housing Assistance. FEMA will contact the survivor if they are eligible for direct housing assistance. FEMA will NOT ask for any money. Residents who qualify for direct housing can live in the temporary housing units for up to 18 months.
Along with FEMA Direct Housing, Samaritan’s Purse is helping families in need through its mobile home replacement program. Eligible applicants must meet Samaritan’s Purse criteria, including that the homeowner must be a resident who owned their mobile home or a single-family home that was destroyed by the recent tornadoes and was uninsured or under-insured. The non-profit organization will conduct case management and work directly with survivors.
“Samaritan’s Purse is grateful to be able to help Mississippi families with long-term recovery by offering a mobile home replacement program. We are having these mobile homes specially built to be more durable than the standard. While we can’t make them stormproof, these mobile homes will be rated to withstand Wind Zone III. They will have stronger roofing and floor joists, 2” by 6“ studs with plywood walls, more durable flooring, tempered glass, additional tie-downs, and other enhancements. As we reach out to families, we want them to know that they are not alone—God loves them, and we want to help them get back on their feet after these devastating tornadoes,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse.
“We are extremely grateful to Samaritan’s Purse for assisting citizens with their housing needs. We cannot thank them enough. However, not every survivor will qualify for direct housing or meet Samaritan’s Purse criteria. We’ve identified a new task force to assist those residents and bridge the gap in recovery. These solutions won’t make the survivor whole, but it will get them in the right step in returning to normalcy,” says MEMA State Coordinating Officer Todd DeMuth.
The Mississippi Disaster Housing Task Force is here to help identify resources for those Mississippians who do not qualify for direct housing or Samaritan’s Purse mobile home replacement program. The MS Disaster Housing Task Force, representing a broad group of public and private, local, state, and federal stakeholders, is focused on helping disaster survivors move from temporary housing into permanent homes. Survivors can find a list of resources that are available to them here.
For questions regarding Samaritan’s Purse, call: 828-588-4663
For questions regarding FEMA Direct Housing Assistance, call: 800-621-3362 or check your application status online at disasterassistance.gov
For questions regarding The Mississippi Housing Task Force click here.
Crisler, a former Jackson City Council member who ran for mayor in 2009, pleaded not guilty to the charges during his appearance before Federal Magistrate Judge LaKeysha Greer Isaac Thursday, April 27. She released him on a $10,000 bond pending a July 12 trial.
The Hinds County Board of Supervisors appointed Crisler as the interim sheriff after former Sheriff Lee Vance died in 2021. He lost an election for the position later that year, and the same board appointed him to serve as the Henley-Young Juvenile Detention Center director, a position he later resigned from in February 2023 after filing to run for sheriff again.
“According to court documents, Crisler, 54, of Jackson, is charged with having solicited and accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for agreeing to pass information concerning criminal investigations to the person who paid the bribes,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in its press release announcing the indictments on April 27. “Crisler also allegedly agreed to protect a jailed family member of that person and agreed to award employment with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office to that person.”
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“These actions are alleged to have taken place during Crisler’s previous unsuccessful campaign for Hinds County Sheriff in 2021,” the press release continues. “The indictment also alleges that Crisler gave ammunition to a person he knew to be a convicted felon. It is against federal law for a public official to solicit or accept bribes. It is also against federal law to provide firearm ammunition to a known convicted felon.”
After his initial appearance, Crisler told reporters he has no plans to drop out of the race and is still set to face incumbent Tyree Jones in a Democratic primary on Aug. 8. He offered no further comments.
His lawyer, John Colette, told the press he was surprised at the
Michael Ramirez has won two Pulitzer Prizes, in 1994 and again in 2008, for his editorial cartoons. He is a senior editor and the editorial cartoonist for Investor’s Business Daily. He is formerly the editorial cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times, The Memphis Commercial Appeal, and a contributing cartoonist for USA Today. His work appears at Magnolia Tribune through a syndication agreement.
This article first appeared on the Magnolia Tribune and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
