SOPHIE BATES

Director Ryan Coogler sits with a panel for a Q-and-A after a screening of Sinners in Clarksdale, Mississippi on Thursday, May 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
Ryan Coogler hosts ‘Sinners’ screening in Mississippi town where film is set
Director Ryan Coogler and other cast and crew members of the hit film “Sinners” visited Clarksdale, Mississippi, where the film is set, for a special screening.
 
Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves delivers his State of the State address to the Mississippi State Legislature, Feb. 26, 2024, at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Mississippi governor calling lawmakers into special session to seek a budget deal
Mississippi lawmakers are headed back to the state Capitol after failing to pass a budget plan during their regular session. It was the first time the legislature did not achieve a budget deal during regular session since 2010. Gov.
 
Family friend Trey Bridges, 16, climbs a mountain of tornado debris to help the Blansett family recover items not destroyed by Saturday's tornado, Sunday, March 16, 2025, in Tylertown, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Trump approves FEMA disaster relief for 8 states
Federal relief is on its way to eight states. President Donald Trump approved a series of major disaster declarations on Friday. Some states have been waiting for months.
 
Brian Lowery stands before what remains of his home, which was ripped apart by a tornado, in Tylertown, Miss., on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance
Mississippi’s request for federal disaster assistance is pending more than two months after 18 tornadoes ripped through the state.
 
Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor will move forward, court says
The Mississippi Supreme Court has rejected Mississippi Auditor Shad White’s request to dismiss a defamation lawsuit against him by former NFL quarterback Brett Favre.
 
Fishermen sue Mississippi over plan to lease oyster reefs
A group of fishermen are suing the state of Mississippi over its move to lease historically public oyster reefs.
 
This undated photo provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections shows death row inmate Richard Gerald Jordan. (Mississippi Department of Corrections via AP, File)
Mississippi sets an execution date for a man who’s been on death row since 1976
The Mississippi Supreme Court has scheduled the execution for the state’s longest-serving death row inmate for June 25. The court’s ruling Thursday comes after 78-year-old Richard Gerald Jordan had multiple appeals denied.
 
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba voices his opposition to Mississippi House Bill 1020, Jan. 31, 2023, during a protest at the Mississippi Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
Mayor of Mississippi’s capital city trailing in runoff election amid federal bribery indictment
The mayor of Mississippi’s capital city, who’s under indictment on federal bribery and conspiracy charges, is trailing his opponent in Tuesday’s Democratic primary runoff.
 
Transitioning teen cannot change name, Mississippi Supreme Court rules
The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that that a teen undergoing gender transition cannot change his name. The court’s justices voted 8-1 to affirm a decision by a Hinds County Chancery judge denying the teen’s name-change request.
 
Tiffany Emanuel holds her pet tortoise, Myrtle, in Kokomo, Miss., on Thursday, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Sophie Bates)
A beloved pet tortoise is reunited with its family weeks after disappearing in a Mississippi tornado
A beloved pet tortoise named Myrtle has been reunited with its family in Mississippi weeks after disappearing during a deadly tornado outbreak. Tiffany Emanuel and her family fled their rural home as a tornado hit on March 15.