Latest Mississippi Headlines

All the headlines from our Mississippi Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Rains Continue to Swell Mississippi River, Force Evacuations

Apr 14 2008 // With a quarter million acres of farmland already under water and scores of residents forced from their homes, predictions now call for the Mississippi River to crest late this week at levels not seen since the 1973...

Mississippi Wind Pool Rate Reduction on the Horizon

Apr 11 2008 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner, Mike Chaney, approved an average 11 percent rate reduction request filed by the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association.The reductions will vary according to geographic zones and...

Mississippi Gov., Attorney General, Haggle over Product Liability

Apr 11 2008 // Gov. Haley Barbour’s conservative allies sided with him as the House tried, and failed, to override his veto of a bill that would’ve required the state attorney general to keep a list of toys with lead paint or...

State of Emergency Issued for 12 Mississippi Counties after Tornadoes

Apr 11 2008 // Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour declared a state of emergency for 12 Mississippi counties Monday after a severe weather system and tornadoes hit parts of Central Mississippi, including the Jackson Metro area on April...

Appeals Court Vacates $1 Million Award in Mississippi Katrina Case

Apr 10 2008 // A federal appeals court threw out a $1 million punitive damage award Monday to a Mississippi couple who sued the nation’s largest insurance company over Hurricane Katrina damage.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Mississippi: Insurer Wants Sisters to Pay for Providing Katrina Claims Records to Scruggs

Apr 10 2008 // State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. wants a federal judge to sanction two sisters who secretly copied Hurricane Katrina claims documents and gave them to a Mississippi lawyer whose clients were suing the company.Cori and...

Mississippi River Traffic Limited after 2 Accidents at Old Vicksburg Bridge

Apr 9 2008 // Towboats in single file slowly negotiated their line of barges past a Mississippi River bridge in Vicksburg Monday, a safety measure ordered after weekend accidents scattered barges in the swift current of the swollen...

Court Says Policy Excluded Mississippi Official’s Leak To Media

Apr 7 2008 // A federal appeals court has found that business exclusions in Allstate Insurance Co.s policies held by former Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics director Frank Melton meant the insurer was not bound to provide coverage for,...

Mississippi Katrina Litigator Scruggs asks Court to Dismiss Bar Complaint

Apr 3 2008 // Mississippi plaintiffs’ attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to dismiss a petition that seeks to take his license to practice.Scruggs filed his motion on March 28, 10...

Appeals Court: Insurance Policy Excluded Mississippi Official’s Actions

Mar 31 2008 // A federal appeals court has found that business exclusions in Allstate Insurance Company’s policies held by former Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics director Frank Melton meant the insurer was not bound to provide...

2,000 Katrina-Affected Mississippi Families Move from Trailers to Cottages

Mar 31 2008 // Thousands of Mississippians who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina have moved out of federally-provided travel trailers and mobile homes and into Mississippi Cottages, according to Gov. Haley BarbourThe 2,000th unit...

Mississippi High Court Suspends Judge Involved in Scruggs Case

Mar 31 2008 // The Mississippi Supreme Court suspended a prominent judge last week who is being investigated for his role in a dispute over fees involving attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs.The court sided with the Mississippi...

Flooding in Mississippi Affects Wildlife, Creates Driving Hazard

Mar 28 2008 // Authorities say drivers should use extra caution as the rising Mississippi River forces deer and other wildlife to seek higher ground.Many of the deer, opossums and armadillos could cross roads and create safety hazards...

Flooding Continues in Arkansas

Mar 26 2008 // Forecasters issued flash-flood warnings for parts of Arkansas’ prairie as the state’s largest water surge in a quarter-century continued its way downstream.Swollen by last week’s storms that devastated...

Mississippi Officials Say Flooding Conditions Ripe

Mar 25 2008 // Authorities are concerned flooding could become a problem in the coming weeks as the Mississippi River neared flood stage in Natchez, Miss., Sunday.Flood stage near Natchez is 48 feet above gauge zero. At 47 feet, water...

$200M Set Aside for Post-Katrina Coastal Recovery in Mississippi

Mar 25 2008 // Federal legislators joined Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour last week to announce that $200 million in federal funds is set aside for major recovery projects in Hancock County – ground zero for the destructive force of...

Famed Miss. Trial Attorney Scruggs Pleads Guilty to Trying to Bribe Judge

Mar 24 2008 // Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs used a mix of bare-knuckle tactics and country-lawyer charm to extract billion-dollar settlements from cigarette makers, asbestos companies and other big...

Mississippi Official Says Collapsed Trench Lacked Safety Devices

Mar 24 2008 // The Forrest County, Miss., coroner says no required safety devices were being used in a collapsed trench that killed three workers at the Hattiesburg-Forrest County Industrial Park.U.S. Occupational Safety and Health...

Mississippi Bar Asks Supreme Court to Pull Scruggs’s Law License

Mar 20 2008 // The Mississippi State Bar has filed a petition to disbar Oxford attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs.The petition was filed Tuesday with the Mississippi Supreme Court, which decides such matters. A similar...

Former Mississippi Attorney General to Help Defend Zach Scruggs

Mar 19 2008 // Former Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore notified court officials that he is helping defend Richard “Dickie” Scruggs’ son and law partner, Zach, against judicial bribery charges.As attorney general,...