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Mississippi Today has been recognized in multiple categories of the 2026 Society of Professional Journalists’ Green Eyeshade Awards, a prestigious annual competition that recognizes the best journalism in the Southeast.

The organization awarded Mississippi Today and The New York Times first place for Public Service in Written Journalism for the Abuse of Power: Beyond the Goon Squad series. The award honors work that informs communities, holds institutions accountable and makes a meaningful difference.

The 2026 awards consider work published in 2025 and are open to reporters and news organizations from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Mississippi Today won five other first place awards, as well as second and third place in several categories.

Here is a full list of awards:

First place, Public service journalism

Mukta Joshi, Jerry Mitchell, Brian Howey, Nate Rosenfield, Abuse of Power: Beyond the Goon Squad

First place, General news writing

Debbie Skipper and Mina Corpuz, The deadly cost of domestic violence

First place, Health and science reporting

Gwen Dilworth, Quick surgeries, scars and facelifts that fade: Complaints pile up about a Jackson plastic surgeon

First place, Sports photography

Vickie King, Soul City Cycling

First place, Digital audience engagement

Mississippi Today staff, The Black Box: Inside Mississippi’s opioid spending

First place, Short-form video reporting

Mississippi Today staff, Rankin County jail series

Second place, Breaking news reporting

Leonardo Bevilacqua and Mina Corpuz, Homecoming shootings

Second place, Digital newsletters

Katherine Lin, Alyssa Bass, Cherry Agarwal, Bethany Atkinson, Mississippi Marketplace

Third place, General news writing

Sophia Paffenroth, Eligible Mississippians often face barriers to Medicaid. Federal cuts will make access harder

Third place, Environmental reporting

Alex Rozier, Dire Forecast: A shifting climate in Mississippi

Third place, Photo essay

Vickie King and Eric Shelton, Culture essays

As Mississippians take precautions to protect themselves during the ongoing hurricane season, many will not be eligible for grants to strengthen their homes because of a typo that state lawmakers left in an appropriations bill.

During the session earlier this year, state officials celebrated after the Legislature finally approved a program to make homes more resilient to natural disasters, an effort that first began in 2007 in response to Hurricane Katrina two years earlier. The Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program, administered through the state Insurance Department, offers grants of up to $10,000 to build roofs designed to withstand strong winds and water damage.

While passing the measure this year, the Legislature also appropriated $15 million for the program in a separate bill. But in that House bill, lawmakers wrote that the $15 million was contingent on the passing of Senate Bill 2406, an unrelated measure dealing with roads and bridges, rather than Senate Bill 2409, the storm resilience bill. SB 2406 died in a Senate committee in February.

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who has advocated for the mitigation program for years, attributed the mistake to human error: “You got 2406 instead of 2409, that’s easy to do. If you look at a (keypad), the six is right above the nine.”

The Mississippi Insurance Department did secure other funding for the program, $2 million through the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association, more commonly known as the state wind pool. But not only is the amount $13 million less than what lawmakers initially pledged, but also only those living in the state’s three coastal counties are eligible for the wind pool funding. The $15 million would have been open to any home in the state, as long as it has wind insurance and is a primary residence.

Chaney said legislation often contains such errors that are corrected before taking law, but Gov. Tate Reeves did not allow lawmakers to fix this typo.

“When the governor signed the bill, he also said he wouldn’t allow the scrivener’s error to be corrected,” Chaney said. “I said, ‘Governor, you realize that we won’t have any money (for the program).’ (He said,) ‘You’ll figure it out.’ I didn’t argue with him. He’s the governor.”

When reached for comment, Reeves press secretary Shelby Wilcher pointed to the governor’s message when signing the errored bill, where he acknowledged the $15 million couldn’t be spent because SB 2406 died. Wilcher didn’t respond to a follow-up question about why the mistake wasn’t corrected.

Rep. John Read, a Republican from Gautier and chair of the House Appropriations A Committee, was the bill’s lead author. Read did not reply to a phone call from Mississippi Today.

Andy Case, the Insurance Department’s director of Property and Casualty Rating, said the department is confident the Legislature will fix the mistake in 2027 to restore the funding to the full $15 million.

“We haven’t heard from anyone who is in opposition to what we’re doing,” Case said. “We have every reason to believe this will be a major priority on day one when they meet (next session).”

Mississippi is one of the most vulnerable states in the country to climate change, a Mississippi Today project reported last year, and home mitigation funding was one of the main strategies experts highlighted to reduce the impacts of future natural disasters.

Last week, Reeves requested a federal disaster declaration to help the state recover from Tropical Storm Arthur, which damaged over 500 homes in Mississippi last month. If granted, it would mark the third declaration the state has received just over halfway through 2026.

Nearly four years after negotiations collapsed over a potential takeover of the long-struggling Greenwood Leflore Hospital by the University of Mississippi Medical Center, the state’s only academic medical center is set to assume operations of the Delta hospital on Aug. 1. 

A federal bankruptcy judge on July 16 approved a plan for the donation of the 25-bed public hospital, which is owned by the city of Greenwood and Leflore County, to UMMC.  At a Tuesday Greenwood City Council meeting, Gary Marchand, the hospital’s former interim CEO who became a consultant for the hospital’s board, called this the “last hurdle” to completing the transfer.

“As I speak here today, the university is on our campus,” Marchand said. “They’re making sure the IT — their clinical information systems — are up and running, the connectivity works, etc. We’re ready to switch over.” 

The Greenwood hospital has struggled financially for years, with its problems worsening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials have repeatedly warned it was near to closure. Its plight intensified in 2025 due to a dispute with the Mississippi Division of Medicaid over the repayment of debts the hospital owed. 

The hospital will be renamed UMMC Greenwood and will add to the university medical center’s existing services in the area, which include obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine and pediatrics clinics and an AirCare helicopter base. 

UMMC operates seven hospitals and 35 clinics. In addition to its main campus facilities in Jackson, UMMC has hospitals in Grenada, Holmes and Madison counties. 

“We look forward to serving the Greenwood community and surrounding areas as part of our commitment to providing the highest quality health care to the citizens of Mississippi,” Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for health affairs, said in a statement to Mississippi Today. 

UMMC declined to answer Mississippi Today’s questions about whether the takeover would result in service changes or layoffs. On Tuesday, Marchand said medical center staff are meeting with existing employees about available positions in Greenwood and its other hospital locations. 

The hospital has roughly 400 employees, according to documents filed in bankruptcy court. About 40 of these employees will be retained to complete the hospital’s business matters after Aug. 1.

Greenwood Leflore Hospital’s services, including the emergency room, operating room, skilled nursing care and cancer care, will continue uninterrupted when UMMC takes over, Marchand said. He said the Greenwood hospital expects to take approximately 18 months — and likely less — to wind down its corporate affairs before the entity is dissolved. 

UMMC will take on the hospital’s Medicaid liabilities and deferred maintenance responsibilities in the transaction, Marchand said Tuesday. A key sticking point in the 2022 talks between UMMC and the Greenwood hospital was the outstanding debts the hospital owed to Medicare and the funds necessary for deferred maintenance on hospital facilities, because UMMC did not want to be responsible for the costs after a transition.

“Greenwood Leflore Hospital will not have a dispute with Medicaid come August 1,” Marchand said.  

Several of the hospital’s properties are not included in the transfer, including its Itta Bena Clinic, which is scheduled to close at the end of July. Greenwood Leflore Hospital has operated the primary care clinic since 1997, serving the nearby town of Itta Bena’s more than 1,500 residents. 

Delta Health Center, a Mound Bayou-based federally qualified health center with 17 locations, is interested in reopening the clinic and rehiring its employees, Deputy CEO Neuaviska Braugher told city council members Tuesday. 

Greenwood City Council President Ronnie Stevenson said the city could not consider the possibility until after the transfer to UMMC is complete, noting that such an arrangement would need approval from the bankruptcy court judge. 

“I want to see the Itta Bena Clinic remain open,” he said. “Unfortunately, it will close July 31.” 

‘A long road’

Greenwood Leflore Hospital faced a litany of financial challenges over the past several years. Before the pandemic began, the hospital was losing $7 million to $9 million a year.

The pandemic only worsened the hospital’s precarious financial condition. To keep its doors open, the hospital shut down departments and clinics, went up for lease multiple times, drew down millions of dollars in credit, and pursued a more lucrative hospital designation. In 2023, the hospital suspended the use of 173 beds to control costs, according to an audit. 

The hospital’s financial challenges worsened in 2025. In June, the Division of Medicaid notified the hospital it would recoup $5.5 million in state-directed payments, or supplemental funds intended to offset low Medicaid reimbursement rates. The overpayments stemmed from the division’s calculations based on old data that did not reflect lower patient volumes after the hospital closed its labor and delivery and intensive care units in 2022.

The hospital and state agency reached an agreement to give both sides more time to negotiate a plan for the debt repayment in December as Marchand warned that the hospital was one day away from making its last payroll. 

But even with additional time, it was clear the hospital was in a dire financial situation, Marchand said. Hospital leaders approached three larger hospital systems about taking over operations of Greenwood Leflore. UMMC was the only interested party. 

In February, Greenwood Leflore Hospital signed a letter of intent to discuss the possibility of UMMC taking over its services, Mississippi Today reported. 

But the hospital’s conflict with Medicaid was not over. Recoupments were scheduled to resume in March, but hospital officials said they would likely force the facility to close. In response, a Hinds County chancery judge ordered Medicaid to temporarily stop collecting the money.

In April, the hospital laid off 86 staff members and closed clinics. Days later, it filed for bankruptcy, a move officials said would give it time to negotiate the transaction with UMMC. 

In June, the Hinds County chancery judge ordered the Mississippi Division of Medicaid to make a scheduled payment of roughly $2.4 million to Greenwood Leflore Hospital after the agency said it planned to withhold the funds. The Delta hospital argued that missing a payment would force it to close imminently and jeopardize its proposed agreement with UMMC. 

Inside the wood-paneled Greenwood City Council chambers Tuesday, Marchand was greeted with handshakes and kudos from attendees. One man in a brimmed hat reached out to shake his hand and offer congratulations. 

“It’s been a long road,” Marchand replied. 

Tropical Storm Bertha crawled into southern Louisiana on Wednesday, making landfall and packing strong winds far from its center after closing beaches from the Florida Panhandle to Mississippi.

The National Hurricane Center said Bertha made landfall in the afternoon in St. Bernard Parish, about 40 miles east of New Orleans. At landfall, the storm’s maximum sustained winds were around 45 mph.

The wind and storm surge were the main threats for the Deep South states. Parks and piers were closed up and down the coast, as were some low-lying roads. A tropical storm warning stretched from Alabama to Mississippi to Louisiana, including New Orleans where extreme heat was adding to misery.

READ MORE: Getting ready for the 2026 hurricane season

Tropical storm force winds were felt as much as 160 miles from the center of the storm, the National Hurricane Center said. A wind gust of 44 mph was recorded at New Orleans Lakefront Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

But the heaviest rains were staying offshore, reducing the risks of flooding, the center said.

The storm will weaken now that it’s reached land and is unlikely to leave behind widespread damage, Louisiana State Climatologist Jay Grymes said. The impact should be manageable for coastal communities, he said.

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called the forecast “encouraging” but also warned residents to be prepared for some flooding.

Storm surges up to 3 feet were possible in Louisiana and Alabama, forecasters said. Rain totals were forecast between 1 and 4 inches, with higher amounts possible in isolated areas.

Bertha is expected to maintain tropical storm intensity until it reaches the Texas coast on Thursday, the hurricane center said.

Elsewhere in the U.S., a line of storms on Tuesday generated reports of tornadoes stretching from Cincinnati to New Jersey. Torrential rains caused flash floods that swamped homes, washed out bridges and led to water rescues in West Virginia, authorities said.

Rare combination of tropical storm and heat warnings

Southern Louisiana was under tropical storm and extreme heat warnings for much of Wednesday — a rare double dose of suffering, the National Weather Service said.

It was the first time in at least two decades that’s happened in the area, the weather service said, citing records that date back to 2005.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic season

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.

Bertha could dump heavy rain on coastal areas of Mississippi that are still recovering from flooding brought by Arthur that destroyed and damaged homes.

Hurricane Fausto in the Pacific is far from land

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Wednesday. The hurricane was hundreds of miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.

It was forecast to gradually strengthen and the hurricane center said that ocean swells generated by Fausto were spreading along the Baja California coast and likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip tides.

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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.

7/22/2026: This article has been updated to show the storm has made landfall.

An independent pathologist said he could not rule out foul play in the death of Nolan Xavier Wells and urged further investigation is needed to answer multiple lingering questions, according to his autopsy released Wednesday.

Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr. wrote in his July 19 report released at a news conference in Chicago that he encountered multiple challenges when he examined the body of the 18-year-old, whose death has received national attention. 

Wells, who was Black, traveled by boat to Horn Island in the Gulf Coast with a mostly white group of friends on the Fourth of July. Video from that day showed a mostly white crowd on the barrier island. 

“For these reasons, this pathologist cannot rule out if any intervening, nonaccidental factors contributed to or caused the death of Nolan Wells,” said attorney Ben Crump, reading Mitchell’s report results during the news conference at the NAACP national convention in Chicago. 

“He said, based on examination of the body, he cannot rule out foul play. This is significant.”

Mitchell noted decomposition of the body made it difficult to tell whether there were bruises or abrasions on his skin. 

He also said he was unable to examine Wells’ airway and lungs for the presence of water and his stomach for its contents. Mitchell said he did not receive parts of Wells’ throat, leading him to say that he can’t rule out a neck injury as a contributor to Wells’ cause of death.

Mitchell performed the independent autopsy in Washington, paid for by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, whose organization has an initiative to provide free autopsies for people who died in custody of law enforcement, corrections officers or immigration officials. 

Monday, after Wells’ funeral, Crump said weather delayed the transport of Wells’ body for the independent autopsy. Mitchell also received the body nearly a week after the state had completed its autopsy. 

It is not known whether the independent autopsy findings match or contradict those determined by the state. 

The State Medical Examiner’s Office completed its autopsy July 7, but has not released the findings report because some test results including toxicology are still pending, Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr. said Tuesday. The state will provide the report to the local coroner’s office, but Lynd said release of results would have to come from the prosecutor’s office.

Neither Jackson County District Attorney Angel Myers McIlrath, who met with the family last week, nor a representative in her office responded to a request for comment.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department has provided limited information about its investigation and has not responded to Missisisppi Today’s requests for comment. Sheriff John Ledbetter has told ABC News he suspects Wells drowned, even though the investigation remains open. 

In suspected drowning deaths, it is important to confirm how a person entered the water. Mitchell said he wasn’t able to see the condition of Wells’ body closer to July 4, so he was unable to determine whether Wells was conscious or unconscious when he entered the water and whether he was forced in. 

Because of the amount of decomposition on the body, Mitchell conducted a number of additional examinations to rule out blunt force injuries.

He examined the tissue on the back of Wells’ neck and skull and found a 12 by 8 inch focal area and red discoloration. Mitchell said he couldn’t determine its cause and it could not have been observed during the state’s autopsy because the medical examiner didn’t dissect that area. 

Crump said he hopes the Mississippi medical examiner will give Mitchell the opportunity to see its photographs and observations about the condition of Wells’ body closer to when it was first pulled from the water. He said Mitchell’s findings should be included in the evidence presented to a grand jury. 

The release of the autopsy results comes days after Wells’ burial and funeral in Ocean Springs, which hundreds attended. 

During his eulogy for Wells, the Rev. Al Sharpton announced a $50,000 reward from his organization, the National Action Network, to anyone who could provide information leading to an arrest and conviction. Within a day, the reward amount grew to $125,000 through a match from filmmaker Tyler Perry, who also paid for Wells’ funeral service, and a pledge from NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who attended the funeral. 

Wells celebrated the Fourth of July with others by taking a boat to Horn Island, one of the Gulf Coast’s largest barrier islands where people are known to dock boats, wade in the water and walk on the white sand shore. Hundreds of people were on the island that day, according to photos and videos.

Wells was reported missing after he did not return to Ocean Springs. Investigators have said Wells told his friends he wanted to stay behind to talk with a woman and that he planned to get a ride off the island. Two days later, a U.S. park ranger found his body off the northwestern tip of Horn Island. 

Wednesday morning, Wells’ family, their attorney Crump released the preliminary autopsy results on the last day of the NAACP’s 117th national convention. 

Last weekend, the NAACP’s national board of directors adopted a resolution that offered condolences to Wells’ family and one that called on local, state and federal authorities including the U.S. Department of Justice to complete an in-depth and transparent review of how Wells “came to be left” on the island and what happened before his body was found. 

NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson, who lives in Mississippi, said at the press conference that narrative matters in Wells’ case because it seems that law enforcement has repeated what other people are saying instead of investigating for themselves. 

Wells’ mother Christine Wonsley said at the press conference Wednesday that since her son’s death, members of the public have degraded her family, called her racist and questioned fundraising efforts and her and her husband’s parenting. But she said the family is leaning into their faith, support of each other and support from the community. 

The family has asked for help from Crump, Sharpton, the NAACP and others because they haven’t received it from local authorities, she said. 

“It is our hope that our local authorities will do what they need to do,” Wonsley said, now that the preliminary autopsy results have been released.

Corey Wiggins, Tougaloo College’s new president, is committed to securing the school’s future.

He points to Tougaloo’s history as evidence that the school already embodies its mission of preparing students to become leaders and changemakers who are committed to serving a global community. 

The college was a hub for activism during the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, and its alumni include Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and civil rights activists Joyce Ladner and Anne Moody. 

Wiggins’ vision is to turn this mission into action. To do so, his main priorities are strengthening the school’s “internal core,” or how it operates and to focus on fundraising, building and strengthening academic programs, and supporting students, alumni, faculty and staff. Learning from the history of the historically Black college is key to that. 

“We do have a history. That history does not guarantee us a future,” he said.

Wiggins is coming in after years of controversy over the school’s leadership.

In 2022, former president Carmen Walters received a vote of no confidence from Tougaloo students, and a petition calling for her removal received over 1,500 signatures. She stepped down in 2023. 

In 2025, then-president Donzell Lee, along with the provost and the registrar at the time, all received votes of no-confidence from the faculty senate.

When asked how he would work to build relationships with faculty, staff, students and alumni, Wiggins said he is committed to presence and transparency. He said he expects to be held accountable and to hold stakeholders accountable in turn.

“The perception of history and past, I think, is what that is, but what I can speak to is, what does it look like, how we move forward collectively as a community?” he said.

In his first days as president, Wiggins has held events and meetings with faculty, staff and alumni, as well as a three-day enrollment event for current, prospective and undecided students.

He sees the issues facing higher education – enrollment, artificial intelligence and more – as opportunities rather than challenges.

“It’s about us as a college evolving and adapting to meet students where they are,” he said.

“And we can do that in a way that still involves and engages our history in the way of the college.”

The Tougaloo & You Enrollment Experience is one example of meeting learners where they are. Tables were set up in the Bennie G. Thompson Academic Center, with places for students to complete financial aid forms, submit applications and enroll in classes. Wiggins spent time talking to students and families, even posing for pictures. 

Wiggins said he is heavily shaped by his upbringing in rural Hazlehurst. His first experience at Tougaloo was when he took part in the school’s summer science program, the Richard McGinnis Summer Science and Engineering Program, as a teenager.

He earned his bachelor’s in biology from Alcorn State University, a master’s in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and a doctorate of philosophy in health promotion jointly from University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Alabama.

Wiggins served in a variety of roles before Tougaloo. He explained that he views all of his work through the same lens.

“How do we take systems, how do we work within the frameworks of institutions and make sure that they are working for people?” he said.

He was the federal co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority and executive director of the Mississippi State Conference NAACP and the HOPE Enterprise Cooperation. 

He also had academic and professional appointments at Jackson State University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

For him, everything goes back to fulfilling Tougaloo’s mission.

“The mission isn’t just something that we talk about,” he said.

“It is something we’re working each and every day to deliver on.”

The mobilization effort was swift once it became clear that Black Georgians stood to lose political representation.

LaTosha Brown and other voting rights advocates sprang into action after Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on May 13 called a special session to redraw the state’s congressional and legislative maps in ways that could erode Black voters’ ability to shape election outcomes.

“Ultimately, pain births new possibilities,” said Brown, the co-founder of Black Voters Matter. “What we’re experiencing right now are possibilities, and we have to shift from seeing ourselves just as citizens of this nation and start seeing ourselves as mothers of the new nation — we’re the architects.”

By the time lawmakers prepared to convene on June 17, tensions had reached a fever pitch. Hundreds gathered at the Georgia State Capitol carrying signs reading “Protect Black Voters” and “Reject Racist Redistricting,” among other things. Then, a few hours before the session was set to begin, Republican leaders scrapped their redistricting plans. They cited administrative challenges, while advocates hailed the outcome as proof that public scrutiny could shift the political landscape.

It was a rare win for Black Americans following the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 29 decision that weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and opened the door for Republican lawmakers across the South to erase heavily Black districts. Into this rapidly changing environment have stepped advocates determined to keep the country from further chipping away at voting rights.

Based in Atlanta and born in Selma, Alabama, Brown is a daughter of the South and carries with her the history of the region’s long and ongoing fight over the ballot.

While no single strategy will be a silver bullet, there’s been renewed focus on several fronts: state Voting Rights Acts to preserve protections on a more local level, youth-led movements to ramp up public pressure, and grassroots organizing to help voters navigate an increasingly fraught election system.

These efforts are meant to address the uncertainty plaguing many Black Americans not because they lack resolve, but because the scale of recent setbacks has left them concerned about what happens next.

Like Brown and others, Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore sees the fight as only just beginning. He has watched Maryland become part of the broader redistricting struggle — a crisis that he has described as “the greatest form of political redlining we’ve seen in generations” — though Democratic lawmakers’ attempts to redraw the state’s congressional map and counter Republican gains elsewhere have stalled.

“I look at what’s happening right now as the early innings of a much larger battle that we’re now engaging,” he told Capital B.

Passing state voting rights acts

Royce Duplessis could sense where things were headed.

In March, as the Supreme Court prepared to decide a case that advocates feared would further weaken the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Louisiana state senator and dozens of his colleagues introduced legislation to create a state Voting Rights Act, one that would maintain legal protections if the federal ones were walked back.

“We don’t know how the Supreme Court is going to rule, but that doesn’t take away our rights and responsibilities as a state to say where we stand,” Duplessis said. 

His bill died in committee. And weeks later, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that dramatically undercut the federal Voting Rights Act — the very possibility Duplessis had been anticipating.

Despite this setback, his effort illustrates one of the strategies gaining traction in the wake of the court’s decision: crafting state Voting Rights Acts. The logic of this legislation is straightforward. Since state laws aren’t tied to the fate of federal laws, states can develop their own safeguards if federal courts erode national protections, providing voters with additional ways to challenge racially discriminatory maps and election systems.

Ten states have already enacted their own Voting Rights Acts, according to tracking by many election law groups: New Jersey (2026), Maryland (2026), Colorado (2025), Minnesota (2024), Connecticut (2023), New York (2022), Virginia (2021), Oregon (2019), Washington (2018), and California (2002).

LISTEN: Rep. Summers: With U.S. Supreme Court likely to dismantle Voting Rights Act, Mississippi lawmakers push for state version

That number could rise in the near future. In June, the Delaware Senate passed the Delaware Voting Rights Act, after the state House did the same earlier that month. The bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Matt Meyer for his signature. Black Delawareans make up about a quarter of the state population, according to Census Bureau data.

Minnesota offers another glimpse of how quickly some states have responded to the weakening of federal voting rights protections. Lawmakers there approved a state Voting Rights Act after the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals severely limited who can sue under the federal Voting Rights Act.

Minnesota state Sen. Bobby Joe Champion, who helped to draft the legislation and has roots in former Jim Crow territories, said that Minnesota was responding to a need that the federal government had refused to satisfy.

“Usually,” he told Capital B in the days after the Minnesota Voting Rights Act was enacted, “you get rid of protections when there’s been improvement, when you can conclude that a particular need no longer exists. But that’s not the case. It’s not even close.”

Geography is the greatest obstacle to circulating this approach. The states where Black voting power faces the steepest hurdles are in the South — the very region where Republican lawmakers have shown little appetite for strengthening voting rights protections.

Still, advocates argue that state Voting Rights Acts represent one of the most promising paths forward in a post-April 29 world.

“At the LDF, we’re pushing for state Voting Rights Acts across the country,” Janai Nelson, the president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund, said hours after the Supreme Court’s decision. “We’ll use that tool where possible and be as aggressive as we can in trying to get them passed in even the most unlikely states — like Louisiana, Mississippi, and other states known for their rampant racial discrimination.”

Bolstering youth-led activism

In 1965, players in the American Football League boycotted the league’s All-Star Game after many of the Black players confronted racism in New Orleans. Ultimately, the league’s officials relocated the game to Houston, an outcome that illustrated the political power athletes possess when they join together.

That episode came to mind for Omar Wasow, a political scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, in the weeks after the NAACP called on Black athletes to reconsider playing at schools in the South, giving fresh attention to the potential of youth to influence politics.

“Athletes have leverage most activists can only dream of — attention, moral standing, and, in the South especially, a grip on a multibillion-dollar engine that schools and states can’t easily replace,” Wasow, whose research has focused on civil rights protests, told Capital B.

The NAACP has framed its campaign, “Out of Bounds,” in similar terms.

“Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue,” the NAACP said when announcing its boycott, adding, “Universities can’t actively recruit Black athletes without also advocating for their civil rights.”

NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson has described some universities in the South as attempting “to reinstitute a sharecropping reality.”

The strategy also mirrors a longer tradition of youth-led advocacy, Wasow said. During the 1963 Children’s Crusade in Birmingham, Alabama, more than 1,000 students skipped school to gather at 16th Street Baptist Church and challenge racial segregation. The images of officers setting police dogs on the children and turning fire hoses on them enraged observers, helping to galvanize federal support for the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

That advocacy is being revived in another way, too. This summer, the Southern Black Girls and Women’s Consortium launched its Joy and Justice Tour, an initiative focusing on Black girls and women and combining celebration with civic engagement across the South.

Wasow said that earlier youth-centered movements succeeded at least in part because they blended moral urgency with a clear, concrete objective, and athletes today have that same power to dramatize an injustice.

Whether the NAACP’s campaign will yield fruit — or prove replicable throughout the South — remains to be seen. Wasow cautioned that today’s advocates face a more complicated target than their predecessors.

“Birmingham and New Orleans had visible, immediate grievances and a feasible ask, while gerrymandering is structural and slow,” Wasow said. “The movement’s task is to connect the leverage — who plays where — to a demand concrete enough that withholding it can actually move a legislature or a court.”

Additionally, advocates ought to be prepared for resistance.

“They should expect counter-mobilization — the ‘keep politics out of sports’ backlash — so the tactics likely to be most persuasive are disciplined, nonviolent, and morally legible,” Wasow said.

For Calvin Joyner, an educator in Charleston, South Carolina, that challenge is precisely why this moment matters for young people, especially athletes.

“Right now is the perfect time for them to step up and really get involved in their communities,” he told Capital B. “A lot of what happens within our districts — within our towns, cities, and states — it ultimately affects them and their futures.”

Protecting every ballot

In the spring of 2024, more than 6,000 voters in Alabama’s brand-new, heavily Black congressional district received postcards incorrectly telling them that they resided in a different district. This happened right as they were about to vote in one of the most consequential contests in years.

Election officials explained the error as a software glitch and said that voters ultimately were allowed to cast the correct ballots. But to advocates, who drew attention to the issue and made sure that it was remedied, the episode was yet another reminder of how easily confusion and misinformation can serve as barriers to the franchise.

One of the most immediate responses to the Supreme Court’s April decision might also be the oldest one: help people to vote anyway. Unlike trying to pass legislation, this strategy doesn’t depend on sympathetic lawmakers and as a result can be replicated anywhere.

For Shayla Mitchell, who coordinates election-protection efforts in Alabama, this work means spending numerous hours helping voters to understand everything from where they can vote to what identification they need to cast a ballot to what they should do if something goes sideways at the polls. In May, she contributed to an in-person convening in downtown Montgomery, where attendees learned about supporting safe, fair, and peaceful elections in their communities.

“Local means vocal,” she told Capital B, underscoring the necessity of vigilant grassroots organizing and poll monitoring. “This is how we hold the line here.”

She noted that election issues aren’t always dramatic — such as a mob storming the U.S. Capitol. Sometimes, the issue is a ballot being misprinted, a polling site unexpectedly being moved, or a location not being accessible to voters with disabilities. But these seemingly small issues can have a major impact, she explained, especially if they discourage people from exercising their fundamental right to vote.

“These things deter voters from participating, and they’re things that can happen so quietly that people don’t understand the impact on the community,” Mitchell said.

Local poll monitoring might only grow in importance in the months ahead. The Trump administration announced earlier this year that it’s considering rolling back a federal election observer program. The program, created under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and launched the following year, sent some 1,000 federal observers to states with histories of racial discrimination in 2012. 

The administration didn’t respond to Capital B’s request for comment.

Victoria Wenger, counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, acknowledged the extreme limitations of relying on local organizations to fill the void.

“At the end of the day, there are never going to be enough resources within the nonpartisan, 501(c)(3), nonprofit space to truly match the need when it comes to protecting our elections,” she told Capital B.

Even so, she added, the stakes of elections are too great to make no effort to fill gaps.

“The clock expires on elections,” she said, explaining that once Election Day is over, opportunities to correct problems become far more limited. “There are no re-dos.”

Capital B is a local and national nonprofit news organization that produces in-depth journalism on topics of crucial importance to Black people across the country, such as politics, health, criminal justice, the environment, and rural issues.  

This story was completed with support from the Solutions Journalism Network.

Stuart Stevens for decades was one of the top Republican political strategists and he ran campaigns for dozens of congressional, senatorial, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns. But the Mississippi native left the party over President Trump and says, “There is no Republican party … it has turned into the pro-tariffs party.” Stevens says the GOP these days, “in many ways is to the left of the Democratic Party.” The author of the New York Times bestseller “It Was All a Lie” and numerous other books also gives his take on Mississippi’s upcoming midterm elections, how Sen. Roger Wicker is doing as armed services chair and even takes a couple of digs at former Ole Miss Coach Lane Kiffin.

California’s reading scores have been improving since the state invested billions in changing how students learn to read. In 2013, California ranked 47th nationally for fourth-grade reading skills. The state then introduced a new English language arts framework focusing on phonics and vocabulary. The biggest investment came in 2023 with $500 million for literacy coaches. However, a shortage of coaches is hindering progress. Some districts struggle to hire them, especially in rural areas. Despite challenges, schools like Tracy Elementary have seen significant improvements in reading scores by effectively using literacy coaches.

It’s not quite the “Mississippi Miracle,” but California’s reading scores have been inching upwards since the state poured billions into changing the way students learn to read. A shortage of literacy coaches, however, may be preventing students from improving even more.

In 2013, before California overhauled its literacy program in K-12 schools, the state ranked 47th nationally for fourth grade reading skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card. Only 27% of students scored “proficient” or “advanced” on the reading test, given every two years to students across the country.

The following year California released a new English language arts framework that encourages schools to focus on phonics, vocabulary and other nuts-and-bolts methods when teaching children to read. Phonics-based instruction won’t become mandatory until next year, but most schools have been gradually adopting the method.

Next came new curriculum materials, a dyslexia screener and updates to teacher credential programs. The state also expanded transitional kindergarten and implemented new guidelines for English learners.

But perhaps the biggest literacy investment came in 2023 with $500 million in grants set aside for schools to hire literacy coaches and take other steps to boost reading skills. The coaches – typically, former classroom teachers with extra training in reading – work directly with teachers to help them effectively teach children to read. Last year the state added $215 million, and the most recent budget includes an additional $350 million for literacy coaches.

Mississippi, whose reading scores went from 49th in the country in 2013 to 9th in 2024, partially credits the turnaround to literacy coaches and other teacher training tactics. Mississippi’s reading framework is similar to California’s, but Mississippi invested heavily in training teachers to implement it, while California rolled out its training program over several years.

Reading scores inch up

California’s reading scores have improved gradually – but significantly – since 2013. Last year, California ranked around the middle of the pack nationwide, with 13 states scoring higher and the rest scoring the same or lower. This happened at the same time that national scores began falling.

On statewide tests, the number of fourth graders reading at grade level jumped from 40% in 2014 to 46% last year. Before the pandemic, the percentage was close to 50%, dropped a few points when schools switched to remote learning, but has been inching back up since then.

Fourth grade is a key benchmark for literacy because by fifth grade, students need reading skills sufficient to understand other subjects such as history and science. Students who aren’t proficient readers by fourth grade are more likely to lag academically in other subjects. Studies have found that adults with low literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed, incarcerated or face other challenges.

Sarah Novicoff, a researcher at the Public Policy Institute of California, conducted a study that found that California’s literacy investments have paid off – with a caveat.

“They’ve absolutely had a positive impact,” Novicoff said. “But we have an opportunity to do an even better job.”

Novicoff found that nearly 60% of school districts used their grant money to hire literacy coaches to work with teachers, reading specialists to work directly with students, or otherwise arranged for teacher training related to literacy.

School districts that made those investments saw significant improvements in reading scores, including among English learners, she found. Results varied by district, but in general students scored 6 points higher on state tests within two years of the investments, she found. She expects the scores to rise further over time.

Some districts struggle to hire literacy coaches

But plenty of school districts hired no literacy coaches. Not because they didn’t want to, but because there were none to hire. In fact, 42% of districts said they had trouble hiring coaches.

“I’d love to hire a literacy coach,” said Patricia Gunderson, superintendent of the Lassen County Office of Education. “It’s great the state is offering the money, but we just can’t do it. We don’t have the capacity.”

In remote and rural parts of the state, finding literacy coaches has proved to be nearly impossible – and has hindered improvement, Novicoff found. For example, Lassen County, along the northern Nevada border, can barely find enough credentialed teachers, let alone education professionals with advanced specialty degrees. And even if schools could hire literacy coaches, they couldn’t find enough substitutes to fill in for teachers undergoing training.

But Lassen has been creative in finding ways to boost literacy. In 2023, for example, it held a weeklong summer training course for teachers, where teachers were paid to learn the new curriculum and the course didn’t interrupt the school year. Gunderson said it was a big success; state reading test scores jumped more than 7 percentage points, although still lag behind the state average.

In Siskiyou County, along the Oregon border, county superintendent Allan Carver said he welcomes the state’s investment in literacy coaches, but it’s created another problem: Teachers are opting to become literacy coaches, possibly because it’s less stressful or pays a bit more, leaving vacancies in the classroom.

“We work to solve one issue and further exacerbate the teacher shortage,” Carver said. “We have to develop the literacy coach pipeline before we simply allocate funds and expectations for training.”

In Baldwin Park, in the San Gabriel Valley, principal Laura Rodriguez said literacy coaches have been instrumental in turning around her school’s reading scores. Using state grant money, Tracy Elementary has added a literacy coach who works closely with the school’s teachers, aides and reading specialist.

The literacy coach, Claudia Barba, holds workshops for teachers and parents, trains the aides, assesses the students, analyzes data, and gives feedback to teachers. She’s also devised a literacy plan that looks closely at the causes for the low scores and specifically addresses the reasons.

“She is amazing,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve seen such a difference since we started this. It has changed our campus.”

Tracy Elementary, a Spanish-English dual immersion school, is mostly low-income. More than 30% of students are English learners. The literacy plan teaches children to read in Spanish first, then English, by focusing on vocabulary and phonics in both languages. By third grade, when the state first tests students’ reading skills, students are fairly fluent readers in both languages.

In just two years, after hiring the literacy coach, Tracy’s reading scores jumped more than 10 percentage points. Even English learners saw their scores significantly increase. Other metrics also improved: Chronic absenteeism dropped from 44% just after the pandemic to 11% last year. Math scores are increasing, too.

“Literacy is the key to everything. If a child can read, they can access knowledge. They start to enjoy school,” Rodriguez said. “They can get a better education.”

This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, meaning Mississippians should prepare now if they haven’t already. While the threat is the most prominent on the Coast, a hurricane or tropical storm has impacted most counties in the last 10 years, according to NOAA storm data.

In May, NOAA announced it was predicting a “below-normal” Atlantic hurricane season for 2026. Experts with the agency forecast between three and six total hurricanes and one and three major events, which are Category 3 (wind speeds over 110 miles per hour) and above. 

But NOAA also emphasized the uncertainty in predicting hurricane seasons and the importance of being prepared for the worst regardless of forecasts.

Click here to view NOAA’s hurricane tracker for the latest updates.

Resources:

• Preparing for hurricanes: For general tips on how to prepare – such as what to pack and how to stay alert – visit the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s online hurricane guide. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also has a guide on its website. 
• Evacuations: The Mississippi Department of Transportation’s Hurricane Preparedness Guide details evacuation routes and contraflow plans. 
• Floods: Use FEMA’s flood map tool to see what your risk is and if you live in a flood zone. 
• Shelters: For information on shelters, contact your county emergency director (their phone number can be found here). During storm events, MEMA will post addresses of active shelters on its website. The American Red Cross also helps manage shelters and can be reached through their chapters in Mississippi. 
• Home mitigation: Homeowners in the state’s three coastal counties (Hancock, Harrison and Jackson) who receive insurance policies from the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (also known as the “wind pool”) can apply for grants of up to $10,000 to fortify their houses against future storms. 

FAQ:

What supplies do I need?

Every family in the state should have a disaster supply kit, including non-perishable food (enough for three to seven days), water for drinking and sanitation (the rule of thumb is a gallon per day per person), flashlights, batteries, a first aid kit and medicine, MEMA says. Other important items include: 

• A list of emergency contacts
• Sanitary, toiletry and personal hygiene supplies
• Prescription medicine
• Cash
• Weather radio
• Copies of important documents such as IDs, bank statements, deeds, insurance policies and a weatherproof container to store them in. 

MEMA’s full emergency supply checklist is available here. FEMA has its own supply kit list here.

How do I prepare my home before a storm?

NOAA recommends the following steps to secure your home before a storm hits: Cover windows, trim tree limbs around your house, secure your door, put away loose outdoor items, and move your vehicle to a safe location if possible. 

What should I do if an evacuation order is issued?

It’s important to be prepared before an evacuation order is issued: Fill up your gas, have cash on hand, plan for a place to stay (whether with family, at a shelter or at a hotel) and review your local evacuation route. Make a plan for any pets you have ahead of time, as most shelters won’t allow them. 

When an evacuation is ordered, look for directions from your local officials. Refer to MDOT’s hurricane guide for evacuation routes (you can also download MDOT’s free mobile app for updates). Don’t rely on your phone’s GPS. 

In case of major storms, state officials may implement contraflow measures along Interstates 55 and 59 to assist evacuating residents in Louisiana. See MDOT’s hurricane guide for more information. 

The state recommends tuning into these FM public radio stations to stay alert:

• Biloxi – 90.3
• Bude – 88.9
• Meridian – 88.1
• Jackson – 91.3
• Greenwood – 90.9

How do I stay safe after a storm hits?

Nearly half of hurricane fatalities occur after the storm, according to NOAA. If you’ve evacuated, only return home when local officials say it’s safe to do so. Avoid floodwaters (including while driving), downed power lines and debris such as nails or broken glass. 

If you’ve lost power, officials recommend using a flashlight instead of a candle to avoid risk of fire or explosion. If you’re using a generator, do so safely: Do not use them indoors, in your garage or in any partly enclosed area. Keep generators at least 20 feet away from your home. 

If you smell gas or suspect a leak, open all windows and immediately leave your home. Notify the gas company or local authorities. 

I need shelter. Where should I go?

Each county has a full or part-time emergency management program appointed by the local government. For information on shelters, you should contact your county emergency director (their phone number can be found here).

During storm events, MEMA will post addresses of active shelters on its website. The American Red Cross also helps manage shelters and can be reached through their chapters in Mississippi. 

What is an “El Niño” and how does it impact hurricanes?

An “El Niño” and a “La Niña” are part of a global climate pattern that shifts every few years, where jet streams from the Pacific Ocean change direction and can affect the national weather outlook. 

During an El Niño – which we’re already seeing this year – the Pacific Ocean is warmer and sends wetter conditions to the Southeast. But the phenomenon is also linked to weaker hurricane conditions in the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA announced in June that an El Niño had developed and is poised to intensify. 

What do I do with my pets?

State officials recommend planning for pets’ safety well in advance. Many shelters and hotels don’t allow pets, so identify ahead of time where you can bring pets before a storm hits. Other preparations include microchipping your pets, keeping vaccination records on-hand, having your veterinarian’s contact information as well as enough food and water to last three to seven days. Click here for a full list of tips. 

How do I stay informed about incoming storms?

Residents have multiple ways to stay informed about incoming hurricanes or other storms:

• Ensure that your phone receives Wireless Emergency Alerts, which local authorities use to notify residents about extreme weather and other dangers. 
• Download the FEMA or MEMA mobile app.
• Buy a weather radio. Costs range from about $30 to $60 at large retail businesses like Walmart as well as sporting goods and hardware stores.
• Listen to or read local news providers. 

What is the difference between a tropical storm warning and a watch?

Officials issue a storm “watch” 48 hours ahead of a possible storm. A “warning” is issued 36 hours ahead of expected storm impacts. 

What about insurance?

Know what’s included in your insurance policies, especially homeowner’s insurance, to determine what is and isn’t protected. Flood insurance, for instance, is purchased separately. Policy holders can request an insurance “checkup” with their agent to ensure their policy covers the full cost of rebuilding their home. 

If your property received damage and you need to file a claim, the state recommends the following:

• Take photos or videos of the damage. 
• Keep all receipts for emergency repairs. 
• Talk to your insurance agent before making permanent repairs. 
• If you can’t stay at your home, make sure to keep on hand documents with your insurance information and a list of damaged property. 

See the Mississippi Department of Insurance’s post-disaster guide for more information. 

Do you have other questions? Share them with us here.