EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | The Greenwood Commonwealth

Parents with their children and medical professionals listen to testimony from people who want Mississippi to allow a religious exemption from the vaccination requirements for school attendance, during a legislative committee meeting on Jan. 24, 2018, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Under an order from a federal judge, the Mississippi State Department of Health is publishing information Saturday, July 15, 2023, about how people can apply for religious exemptions from childhood vaccinations. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

AP
premium content - for subscribers only
Click to subscribe

Mississippi, under judge's order, starts allowing religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Fri,07/14/23-12:18PM , 486 Reads
JACKSON, Miss.
READ MORE

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division speaks, June 1, 2023, in Jackson, Miss. On Wednesday, July 12, the Justice Department filed court papers challenging a Mississippi law that authorizes the appointment of some judges in Jackson and Hinds County, which are majority-Black. Most judges in Mississippi are elected, and Clarke said the appointment of judges discriminates against Black residents. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

AP
premium content - for subscribers only
Click to subscribe

Mississippi discriminates against Black residents with appointed judges, Justice Department says
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Wed,07/12/23-5:03PM , 703 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A new Mississippi law discriminates against residents of the majority-Black capital city of Jackson by requiring the appointment of some judges in a state where most judges are elected, the U.S. Justice Department said in court papers filed Wednesday.
READ MORE

registered content - login required to view
Click to register / login

Thousands taken off Medicaid
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Wed,07/12/23-2:00AM , 1242 Reads
JACKSON — Mississippi has removed more than 29,000 people from Medicaid as the program starts reviewing who is eligible to keep coverage now that the federal government has ended a pandemic public health emergency.
That is just over 3% of people who were enrolled in the state’s program in June.
READ MORE

Drew Snyder, executive director of the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, gives an agency update to members of the House Medicaid Committee at the state Capitol, Jan. 23, 2019, in Jackson, Miss. The division announced, Monday, July 10, 2023, that it has started removing thousands of people from the program after the end of a pandemic public health emergency. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

AP
registered content - login required to view
Click to register / login

Mississippi removes thousands of people from Medicaid as it examines post-pandemic eligibility
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Tue,07/11/23-4:20PM , 445 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has removed more than 29,000 people from Medicaid as the program starts reviewing who is eligible to keep coverage now that the federal government has ended a pandemic public health emergency.

That is just over 3% of people who were enrolled in the state's program in June.
READ MORE

Subscribe to EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS

The E-Edition

Weekend, February 28-01, 2026

Join Those Who Support Local News

Local news matters to Greenwood. It keeps the people informed and connected. It asks the questions they want answered. It elevates what’s good, and it exposes what’s not.

To do that work well takes skilled reporters and editors, as many as a community can support through advertising, subscriptions and philanthropy.

The Greenwood Commonwealth expanded its newsroom in 2025 by adding Gerard Edic as a reporter covering public safety and other stories of interest to the community.

His position is partially funded by a two-year grant from Report for America, a national nonprofit. Generous supporters in the community donated the matching funds in the first year. We are now raising funds for Year 2.

Will you join this effort with a tax-deductible contribution?

Donate