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Additional political leaders from Mississippi, the state with the nation’s highest COVID-19 fatality rate and one of the lowest vaccination rates, are joining the effort to halt President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.

On the heels of the announcement of Gov. Tate Reeves that he and Attorney General Lynn Fitch expect to file a lawsuit this week in opposition to the mandate, Mississippi’s two U.S. senators announced Wednesday their intent to challenge the mandate.

U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, both Republicans, announced they are joining other Senate Republicans in a little-known process, a Congressional Review Act challenge, to try to overturn the mandate.

The portion of the mandate Wicker and Hyde-Smith are opposing, according to their news release, requires companies with 100 or more employees to require a COVID-19 vaccine for their workers. The guidelines for the mandate are expected to be released this week, according to news reports. The guidelines for other portions of the Biden vaccine mandate, requiring vaccines for employees of companies with federal contracts, provide exceptions for people on religious grounds and for health issues.

“The United States is not China or some other tyrannical country,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement. “President Biden exceeded his authority in his rush to force the vaccines on the American people. I believe the COVID-19 vaccine saves lives, but I also trust the American people to make the best medical decision for themselves and their families at this point in the pandemic.”

For decades there have been multiple vaccine mandates in the country, including in Mississippi. Vaccines are mandated to enter public schools and universities. On the national level, the military for years has required vaccines and vaccines have been required for American citizens to travel to certain countries.

What may be at issue is whether a president can unilaterally impose vaccine mandates. The mandate on the private companies is being done under authority the executive branch of government has to impose rules and regulations to ensure worker safety.

“President Biden’s unconstitutional federal vaccine mandates are an extreme abuse of power that puts Americans’ livelihoods in the crosshairs,” Wicker said. “In addition, the mandate threatens to wreck the economy.

“A large percentage of American workers will simply leave the workforce rather than be told what to do by the federal government. This legislation would overturn the president’s mandate on private employers and protect millions of hardworking Americans from an intrusion on their personal liberty.”

The challenge Wicker referenced is being done under the Congressional Review Act, which requires federal agencies to submit their regulations to Congress for oversight. The act allows Congress to vote to repeal any regulation it opposes by a simple majority vote. But before that repeal can go into effect, it must be signed by the president. If the president vetoes the act of Congress, it takes a two-third vote of both chambers to override the veto.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Congressional Review Act has been successfully used 17 times – 16 of those during the administration of President Donald Trump to overturn rules enacted during the tenure of Barack Obama.

On the state level, Rep. Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, has called on Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session “to fight the Biden administration’s unconstitutional federal vaccine mandates and their plans to spy on American bank accounts.

“It may be a futile effort, but we must do everything we can to resist that which threatens freedom, liberty, and the Constitution.”

The post Wicker, Hyde-Smith join other Mississippi Republicans in opposing Biden vaccine mandate appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending that all children ages 5-11 get a low-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

CDC director Rochelle Walensky issued the recommendation on Tuesday, just hours after the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices supported the use of the  pediatric vaccine in a unanimous vote. 

“Together, with science leading the charge, we have taken another important step forward in our nation’s fight against the virus that causes COVID-19,” Walensky said. “We know millions of parents are eager to get their children vaccinated and with this decision, we now have recommended that about 28 million children receive a COVID-19 vaccine. As a mom, I encourage parents with questions to talk to their pediatrician, school nurse or local pharmacist to learn more about the vaccine and the importance of getting their children vaccinated.”

The pediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine is one-third the adult dose, but is still given in two doses, three weeks apart like the adult formulation. Pfizer says the lower dosage was chosen to minimize side effects and many hope this will assuage skeptical parents. 

Though this age group is now eligible to receive the shots, they won’t be widely available in Mississippi until next week at the earliest. On Sunday, 16 CVS pharmacies across the state will begin providing vaccinations for this age group. 

The Mississippi Department of Health pre-ordered 50,000 doses of the pediatric vaccine after the Food and Drug Administration approved it under an emergency use authorization on Oct. 29. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said that these doses and any further shipments will be distributed equitably to local partners and county health departments. 

“I think that there’s going to be broad availability for these vaccines for the parents that are interested in going ahead and getting their kids vaccinated right out of the gate,” Byers said. 

The federal government is shipping 15 million doses of the pediatric vaccine across the county this week, and President Joe Biden said that enough doses have been purchased to fully vaccinate every child in America. 

To date, 72,103 children ages 5-17 in Mississippi have contracted COVID-19 and six have died. Nationally, 1,997,660 children ages 5-11 have contracted COVID-19; 8,300 have been hospitalized and 172 have died, per CDC data. 

The post Children ages 5-11 are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. Shots will be widely available in Mississippi next week. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Rick and Tyler discuss all the latest developments in Mississippi’s high school and college football scene, as well as the Braves in the MLB World Series and the New Orleans Saints’ huge win over Tom Brady and the Bucs.

Stream all episodes here.

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When school lets out for the day, Operation Shoestring students are excited to get to Project Rise for reading circles, playtime, and homework help in addition to STEM clubs and arts-centered experiences. Based on his experiences in the Project Rise afterschool program, third-grader Tylen now can say that “doing math is fun for me. I love rounding numbers and seeing the patterns.” But  Project Rise isn’t just a fun place for kids to work on academic essentials. It’s also a pathway to address the education gaps and emotional trauma caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted low-income children of color from communities like the ones Operation Shoestring serves. 

Founded in 1968 in response to the struggles of the civil rights era, Operation Shoestring was born out of a desire by faith-based leaders to put their faith into action by uplifting children and families in the central Jackson community, especially in the areas of education, health, and economic self-sufficiency. Ever since then, they’ve provided year-round academic, social, and emotional support to children and families in these neighborhoods with the goal of empowering families to live self-determined, healthy, hopeful lives. Part of that work is Shoestring’s annual Conversation about Community event which will take place this year as a short series exploring what it will take to create a community that really values its children, and what we are all willing to do, individually and collectively, to make that happen.

The Conversation about Community’s purpose is to encourage Metro-Jackson residents to commit and recommit to creating an equitable community. Through a compelling and sometimes challenging conversation series, Operation Shoestring hopes to open up the dialogue about the state of children in the Metro-Jackson area. “All of Jackson’s children need supportive, nurturing, and joy-filled experiences from birth to adulthood in order to reach their full potential and for our community to thrive. The question is what are we willing to do individually and as a community to make that happen,” asks Robert Langford, Shoestring’s executive director. 

By improving the lives of kids in their community, Operation Shoestring aims to improve all of Jacksonians’ lives and thus build a better city. The premiere of the new Conversation about Community web series on November 3rd features a roundtable discussion moderated by Mississippi Today managing editor Kayleigh Skinner and with panelists Attorney Letita Johnson (JPS parent and board trustee), Dr. Michelle Owens (OB/GYN and faculty member, UMMC) and the Rev. Chuck Poole (senior pastor, Northminster Baptist Church).

In the series, community leaders will share their own ideas and experiences surrounding what a community that truly values children looks like and the barriers preventing our own city from reaching that goal. Operation Shoestring hopes that viewers will come away from the series with a clearer understanding of what it means to affirm and empower all children within their city and to also have tangible action steps to make this idea a reality. For example, panel participant Dr. Michelle Owens believes that “taking intentional steps like offering encouragement to a young person, talking to our friends about offering encouragement to young people, and challenging ourselves to reach out to people who may be different than us and letting them know they have value too” is a way to create a Jackson where all kids can thrive. Operation Shoestring and so many of our community members agree: it will take all of us to reach a day where all children are affirmed and supported. 

Operation Shoestring knows that supporting all of Jackson’s children means uplifting their families too. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, most of Shoestring’s families have reported experiencing higher levels of stress and increased feelings of isolation. That was also the case with Shoestring parent Shalonda Hannah. She and her son both felt increasingly alone as the months dragged on. For Hannah, the parent programs Operation Shoestring offered were a lifesaver. She said at the time that “being able to come out and be around other women, different age groups, different home styles, different lifestyles, this is a piece of heaven for me. It honestly is my safe space.” 

If every parent in Jackson can access safe spaces like Hannah can, Jackson can become what its many citizens believe it could one day be: a place where all families can thrive. As another Shoestring parent, Melishia Grayson-Brooks, says of our program: “For the most part, Jackson is a working-class city. School hours are not conducive to hours for working-class folks. If your kid is able to go to a program where they are being cared for, given snacks, and provided homework help, then it allows you to not struggle with having your kid at home by themselves.” Afterschool helps families, which helps their workplaces, employers, and employees, and which then helps everyone in our city have their afternoons and evenings run a little more smoothly. “I think afterschool is something that’s needed in our city. It’s something that should be accessible for everybody. It’s a natural response to the needs of the community,” observes Melishia. Operation Shoestring, and many others, believe that honest conversations focused on what it will take to meet the needs of our community’s children are the first step to achieving that goal. 

Find out more about what participants on the 2021 Conversation about Community panel think about children and their potential for success in our city by going to operationshoestring.org/cac and visiting our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages.

The post Conversation About Community 2021: Creating a City that Values Children appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The war between State Auditor Shad White and Brett Farve spilled over onto social media. I figured Shad would like a souvenir for his efforts.

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Gov. Tate Reeves, in a blistering social media post, said on Tuesday he and Republican Attorney General Lynn Fitch expect to file a lawsuit later this week challenging the vaccine mandate being imposed on certain businesses by President Joe Biden.

Reeves said the federal mandates “threaten every Mississippian’s individual liberties. They are nothing short of tyranny.”

Biden had said in September he intended to impose vaccine mandates on federal agencies, businesses with federal contracts and companies with more than 100 employees.

READ MORE: In a reversal, IHL requires employees be vaccinated by Dec. 8 to comply with federal order

The Biden administration released guidelines for federal contractors on Monday. The guidelines allow companies to make exceptions to the mandate for religious convictions and for those who might not take the vaccine because of health issues.

“Although the federal government has not followed through on a single threat, many institutions across the country have acted rashly out of fear of losing their federal funds,” Reeves said, apparently referring to the religious and health exceptions. “They should be reminded that the state of Mississippi will not be in the business of subsidizing or supporting institutions that fail to go out of their way to respect at least these basis human rights.”

Reeves continued: “Every Mississippi business, university and hospital should bend over backwards to accommodate and presume good will.”

Guidelines for private companies employing more than 100 people are expected later this week. That mandate will be based on provisions of law giving the federal government the authority to impose regulations to ensure worker safety.

To date, COVID-19 has killed 10,129 Mississippians, giving the state the highest death rate in the nation. Mississippi has one of the lowest vaccination rates in America, ranking 47th, though vaccines are free and widely available.

READ MORE: Reeves downplays Mississippi’s highest-in-nation COVID death rate

Earlier this summer Reeves said he did not believe governmental institutions could impose vaccine mandates. When it was pointed out to him that the state of Mississippi imposes vaccine mandates to enter public schools and universities, he refused to say whether he wanted to eliminate those. He later said he did not believe such mandates should be issued by executive order.

The courts in the past have upheld vaccine mandates, though those involved state and local governmental mandates.

Fitch, in her second year in office, has a history of filing lawsuits on national issues. Earlier this year she joined litigation trying to disenfranchise millions of voters in key battleground states in an effort to reverse the outcome of the presidential election. That lawsuit was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. She is currently involved in a lawsuit trying to reverse the constitutional right to an abortion.

The post Gov. Tate Reeves says he and attorney general will sue over Biden vaccine mandate appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Around 50 people, mostly clergy members representing various Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities, gathered in Jackson on Tuesday for a memorial service dedicated to Mississippi residents who have died from COVID-19. 

To date, COVID-19 has killed 10,129 Mississippians, giving the state the highest death rate in the nation. This is more Mississippians than were killed by cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and kidney disease combined in 2017. Mississippi has either the highest or second highest death rate in the nation for all these diseases.

The event was organized by Working Together Mississippi, an emerging statewide organization of various religious institutions and nonprofits. Several speakers said they are praying that the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and Mississippi is certainly in a much better position than it was a few months ago. 

The state’s 7-day average for new cases has decreased by more than 87% since the all-time peak seen in mid-August. Still, Mississippi has one of the lowest vaccination rates in America, ranking 47th, though vaccines are free and widely available. 

Ten reverends and bishops prayed over the crowd and reflected on the pain and loss caused by the pandemic.

“I bring you greetings of grace and peace. But I’m also here as a boy that misses his daddy,” said Rev. Hugh Hollowell, community pastor at Open Door Mennonite Church. 

Hollowell then told the story of his father, also named Hugh Hollowell, who was the director of emergency management for Marshall County. In October 2020 he was delivering personal protective equipment (PPE) to first responders on a Thursday, and then was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday. He died the following Tuesday. 

The pain of it, in addition to the normal pain that comes with losing a loved one, Hollowell said, is that his father was supposed to retire in June, but decided doing so in the middle of a pandemic would be unethical. 

“I know that that’s not a solitary story… we are collectively members of a horrible club that we didn’t ask to be part of,” Hollowell said. 

A moment of silence for the dead was held as the sound of church bells filled the air at noon. That period of reflection was nearly overwhelming for Rev. Heath Ferguson, director of pastoral care and faith relations at Mississippi Baptist Health System.

Ferguson leaned in and tried to think of all those he’s ministered to over the past 19 months. The thousands of COVID rooms he’s walked into, the hundreds he ministered to at their bedside as they lay dying. 

“They all came rushing in and it was a little too much,” Ferguson said. 

Ferguson encouraged attendees to honor the memories of those lost by caring for their neighbors. 

“Tend to the grieving, care for the caregivers, and make peace in this world. Let’s do that,” Ferguson said. 

The post Interfaith clergy members gather for COVID-19 day of mourning and remembrance appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Trials for Nancy New and her son Zach New for their alleged roles in the state’s sprawling welfare embezzlement scheme have been postponed to early 2022, more than two years after the first indictment was filed.

Nancy and Zach New were scheduled to appear at jury trials for both state and federal charges against them in early November. But all their trials have been postponed to early 2022.

At the state level, the News are accused of embezzling $2 million in TANF dollars, also known as cash assistance, through their nonprofit called Mississippi Community Education Center to their for-profit company, New Learning Resources. Documents were allegedly falsified to hide this accused theft.

They face state charges of two counts of conspiracy to embezzle, seven counts of embezzlement, two counts of making fraudulent statements, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and mail fraud. If convicted of all state charges, the News could each face up to 170 years in prison and $220,000 in fines. 

The accountant for the Mississippi Community Education Center recently pleaded guilty to embezzlement for her role in this scheme and has agreed to work with prosecutors. 

At the federal level, the News are accused of filing fraudulent claims with the Mississippi Department of Education to the tune of $4 million for special education scholarships and reimbursements on behalf of students who no longer or had never attended their schools, teachers who no longer worked at their schools, or claiming that teachers had higher certifications than they did. 

The News face federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, money transactions with unlawfully acquired funds, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted of all federal charges, the News could each face up to 218 years in prison and $5 million in fines.

The News requested a continuance of the state trial in early September, following the court’s rescheduling of the trial from October 4 to November 8 as a result of the spike in COVID-19 cases from the delta variant. Court filings show the News requested this continuance because of the close proximity of the new date for the federal trial (which had been scheduled to occur on November 10) and asked that the court maintain the previously established order of trials: federal first, state second. 

The state court rescheduled the trial for Feb. 7, 2022, at the Hinds County Courthouse.

Independently, the federal trial has also been rescheduled at the request of federal prosecutors, a move that was not opposed by the News. Prosecutors said they needed additional time to prepare or negotiate a plea. The federal trial has now been rescheduled to Jan. 3, 2022.

Nancy and Zach New have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

John Davis, the former director of the Department of Human Services (the state agency that administers TANF), was also indicted in this scheme. His trial was scheduled to take place on Nov. 1, 2021, but did not occur. Davis had also requested for his trial to be postponed from the Nov. 1 date at the end of September, saying they needed more time to prepare — a motion that was not opposed by the state.

No other additional information has been filed with the courts, and attorneys for Davis could not be reached on Tuesday.

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