EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS | The Greenwood Commonwealth

April Jackson stands outside her Jackson apartment and tells about the bureaucratic headaches she encountered as a single mother to collect a modest amount of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to help support her children who range in age from a few months to 13 years old. Funds from the program designed to help low-income families with children achieve economic self-sufficiency, were misspent and lawmakers are seeking to gain a better understanding of the welfare scandal. (By Rogelio Solis, Associated Press

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Welfare scandal sharpens contrasts in long-poor state
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Wed,01/04/23-2:00AM , 983 Reads
JACKSON — In Mississippi, where elected officials have a long history of praising self-sufficiency and condemning federal antipoverty programs, a welfare scandal has exposed how millions of dollars were diverted to the rich and powerful — including pro athletes — instead of helping some of the neediest people in the nation.
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Gunn modifies stance on tax reduction
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Wed,01/04/23-2:00AM , 875 Reads
JACKSON — Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn slightly modified his stance on tax reduction Tuesday as legislators opened their three-month session.
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House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, responds to a reporter's question following adjournment on the first day of the 2023 Legislature at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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Mississippi House leader modifies stance on tax reduction
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Tue,01/03/23-2:12PM , 278 Reads
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn slightly modified his stance on tax reduction Tuesday as legislators opened their three-month session.
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John Davis, former director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, confers with defense attorneys Merrida Coxwell, right, and Charles Mullins, left, in Jackson, Miss., on Sept. 22, 2022. Davis pleaded guilty to state and federal charges in a conspiracy to misspend tens of millions of dollars that were intended to help needy families in one of the poorest states in the U.S. as part of the largest public corruption case in Mississippi history. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

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Welfare scandal sharpens contrasts in long-poor Mississippi
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS - Associated Press
Tue,01/03/23-9:41AM , 1167 Reads
JACKSON, Miss.
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