Latest Mississippi Headlines
All the headlines from our Mississippi Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mississippi Withdrawing Lawsuit Over Flood Insurance Rates
Apr 17 2014 // Mississippi’s insurance regulator is withdrawing his lawsuit against the federal government after Congress voted to delay changes to the federal flood insurance program. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney...
Mississippi County, Atlantic Specialty in Claim Dispute on Burned Courthouse
Apr 13 2014 // A dispute over how much an insurance company owes Webster County for its burned courthouse has moved into federal court. The Webster County Board of Supervisors and Atlantic Specialty Insurance Co. have sued each other,...
Prisoner Entitled to Workers’ Compensation Benefits, Mississippi High Court Rules
Apr 8 2014 // A former utility worker who lost his hands when he was shocked by power lines can receive workers’ compensation, even though officials argued he tried to hurt himself to avoid a homicide investigation, the...
Mississippi Man Jailed for Filing False Insurance Claim
Apr 7 2014 // Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said a 28-year-old Pontotoc County man will serve at least a year in prison after filing an insurance claim for a nonexistent four-wheeler accident. He said in a news release that Eric...
Mississippi Sets Hurricane Deductible Rule
Apr 7 2014 // Mississippians will see uniform rules about when hurricane deductibles apply to their homeowners insurance under a law Gov. Phil Bryant signed last month. House Bill 756 requires Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney to rule...
Mississippi Biodiesel Plant Fire in January Ruled Accident
Apr 4 2014 // The state fire marshal’s has ruled as an accident the January fire and explosion at JNS Biofuels plant near New Albany. The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported the fire marshal found the likely cause of the...
Mississippi Governor to Sign Religious Practices Bill Opposed by Civil Rights, Gay Groups
Apr 3 2014 // Mississippi lawmakers on Tuesday passed the final version of a bill that says state and local governments cannot put a substantial burden on religious practices, a measure that sparked debate about possible discrimination...
Mississippi Extends Trade Secret Protections for Research
Apr 1 2014 // Mississippi lawmakers have extended trade-secret protections to universities and community colleges by exempting materials tied to any commercial, scientific or technical research from the state’s Open Records Act...
New Mississippi Law to Set Uniform Rules for Hurricane Deductibles
Mar 24 2014 // Mississippians will see uniform rules about when hurricane deductibles apply to their homeowners insurance under a law Gov. Phil Bryant signed last week. House Bill 756, sponsored by Biloxi Republican Scott DeLano,...
Mississippi Enacts First Statewide Building Code Law
Mar 19 2014 // Mississippi has enacted its first statewide building code that is designed to set construction guidelines to strengthen homes and other buildings from hurricane and other weather-related damage. Governor Phil Bryant signed...
State Farm Ordered to Pay $3M in Damages to Mississippi Katrina Whistleblowers
Mar 16 2014 // A federal judge has ordered State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. to pay legal fees and damages of $3 million in a whistleblower lawsuit after a jury found the insurer defrauded the government in a policyholder claim after...
Poll: Most Mississippians Support Ban on Texting While Driving for All Motorists
Mar 13 2014 // A new survey released this month says most Mississippians support tightening the state’s law on texting while driving. Currently Mississippi prohibits texting while driving for those with a learner’s permit or...
Mississippi City Looks for Ways to ‘Put Teeth’ in Fire Code
Mar 7 2014 // Oxford has had fire codes for decades, aimed at protecting businesses and citizens. However, there’s been no way to enforce the codes other than some nudging and prodding from the fire inspector. Now, Fire Chief Cary...
Mississippi Woman Must Repay $17K in Oil Spill Claims Fraud
Feb 28 2014 // A 32-year-old Gulfport woman has been ordered confined at home and must repay $17,000 in an oil spill fraud case. Sheila Wilbanks, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s Southern District office, told The Sun Herald...
Mississippi Lawmakers Move to Tighten Law on Texting While Driving
Feb 18 2014 // Mississippi could tighten its law against sending text messages while driving. The House passed House Bill 484 last Thursday. It would ban texting while driving for anyone 18 or younger. Current law bans it for any younger...
Mississippi Senate Backs Fine for Texting While Driving
Feb 7 2014 // The Mississippi Senate has voted to make texting a driving a crime _ but not much of one. Senate Bill 2434 says anyone caught sending a text message or checking a social media site while driving can be charged with...
Mississippi Court Hears If Exxon Liable for Land Depreciation Caused By Alligators
Feb 6 2014 // The Mississippi Supreme Court is refereeing a dispute between a Wilkinson County couple and ExxonMobil Corp. over an alleged alligator infestation. Justices heard oral arguments Tuesday. The dispute involves more than 80...
Judge Dismisses Kmart’s Mississippi Flood Damage Suit Against Kroger
Feb 4 2014 // A federal judge has dismissed Kmart Corp.’s lawsuit over flood damage to one of its stores in Corinth. U.S. District Judge Glen Davidson ruled that Kmart has insufficient evidence to support its arguments that the...
Canadian Oil Train Derails, Spills in Mississippi
Feb 2 2014 // A Canadian National Railway Co. train carrying fuel oil and other hazardous materials derailed and was leaking in southeast Mississippi on Friday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, officials said. No one was...
Mississippi Bills Seek More Insurance Company Cost Disclosure, Deductibles Regulation
Jan 31 2014 // Mississippi lawmakers could require insurers to disclose how much they collect in premiums and how much they pay in claims in each ZIP code under a bill advancing in the state legislature. House Bill 753 could spark more...
