EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | The Greenwood Commonwealth

U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate smiles, Aug. 19, 2022, in Jackson, Miss. Wingate ruled Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, that he will allow Mississippi officials to move forward with creating a state-run court in part of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson, over objections from the NAACP. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

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Judge allows new court in Mississippi's majority-Black capital, rejecting NAACP request to stop it
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Sun,12/31/23-9:07PM , 854 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that he will allow Mississippi officials to move forward with creating a state-run court in part of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson, over objections from the NAACP.
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Civil rights activist and Jackson resident Frank Figgers prepares to enter the Thad Cochran U.S. Courthouse in Jackson, Miss., Monday, May 22, 2023. Figgers opposes a Mississippi law that would create a court in part of Jackson with a judge and prosecutors who would be appointed rather than elected. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

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Battle over creating new court centers on equality in Mississippi's majority-Black capital city
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Mon,12/11/23-11:15PM , 369 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The constitutional right of equal treatment under the law is at the center of a monthslong legal fight over a state-run court in part of Mississippi's majority-Black capital city of Jackson.
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Dr. Michelle Owens, a maternal fetal medicine subspecialist, speaks on Feb. 22, 2023 at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Owens is one of the leaders of a committee that published a study Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, which showed that Black women were four times more likely to die of causes directly related to pregnancy than white women in the state in 2020. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Maternal mortality rate is much higher for Black women than white women in Mississippi, study says
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Thu,12/07/23-5:18PM , 363 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Black people make up about 38% of Mississippi's population, but a new study shows that Black women were four times more likely to die of causes directly related to pregnancy than white women in the state in 2020.
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Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, speaks with reporters, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, after a meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in Jackson, Miss. Hosemann says the Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature is watching economic trends as it considers how to set a state spending plan for the year that begins July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Mississippi's top lawmakers skip initial budget proposals because of disagreement with governor
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Wed,12/06/23-12:34PM , 330 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi legislators will begin their session next month without a broad outline from their leaders about how the state should spend money during the year that begins July 1.
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