YP Daily Roundup 9/1/21

Stay up-to-date on what’s in the news with the Y’all Politics Daily Roundup. 

YP – Ohio man heckles NBC reporter in Mississippi. Mississippi mainstream media blames Governor Reeves, Donald Trump.

It should never cease to amaze how much of the mainstream media, even in Mississippi’s media establishment, take every opportunity they can to collectively bash Mississippians and the state’s leaders, even in times of peril, but then complain because no one trusts them, people question their work, and generally dislike them unless you share their bias.

Take the incident on Monday when a white man in a white truck with Ohio plates pulls up near the beach on Highway 90 in Gulfport and rushes over to a NBC News crew reporting on the impact of Hurricane Ida, angrily shouting, “You’re going to report this accurately, right?”…

…Yet, without having all of the facts but armed with loads of hyperbole, the liberal mainstream media weaponized the incident and wasted no time at putting Mississippians in their crosshairs. They took to social media and their own platforms to blame the man’s actions on the state’s conservative political ideology, Governor Tate Reeves’ recent exposure and push back of the liberal media in Mississippi, and even former President Donald Trump’s refrain of “fake news.”

MEMA hotline for those needing assistance after Ida

Additional Resources: https://t.co/Tu6AauDFQO

— msema (@MSEMA) August 31, 2021

YP – PSC Commissioner Maxwell updates on power situation following Hurricane Ida

Southern District Public Service Commissioner Dane Maxwell joined Y’all Politics on Tuesday morning to give an update on the power situation in Mississippi following Hurricane Ida.

YP – Wicker gets clean bill of health after COVID

Senator Roger Wicker made a statement on Tuesday that he is “all clear” after testing positive for COVID-19 on August 19. After reporting that he had a clean bill of health, Wicker encouraged individuals to get the vaccine in order to prevent the spread of the virus and also minimize symptoms if contracted.

MSDH COVID-19 Reporting

Today MSDH is reporting 1,111 more cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, 48 deaths, and 170 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. State #covid19 totals: 436,722 cases, 8,409 deaths, and 1,162,099 persons fully vaccinated. Full information: https://t.co/YCv9xPyJDk pic.twitter.com/xbXj0MFiCs

— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) August 31, 2021

YP – States sue over Biden Administration’s school, work transgender guidance

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Knoxville seeking to stop orders that extend federal sex discrimination protections and expand guidance that would allow transgender persons access to female sports and bathrooms. Twenty states, including Mississippi, have joined in the lawsuit.

The argument against the Biden Administration’s guidance state that legal interpretations by the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are based on a misconstrued view of U.S. Supreme Court case law.

“With the stroke of a pen, the Biden-Harris Administration is tearing down all the advances we have made over decades for equality in girls’ sports,” Attorney General of Mississippi Lynn Fitch told Y’all Politics. “My colleagues and I will not stand by and let school-aged girls be a political pawn in the Administration’s power games.”

Governor Reeves appoints Hipp as Interim MDA Director

Today I appointed Laura Hipp as Interim Executive Director of @mdaworks. Laura has served as Chief Marketing Officer & a senior adviser at MDA since I took office. My confidence in her to execute my vision will lead to economic growth & continue Mississippi’s momentum. #MightyMS

— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) August 31, 2021

YP – Steven Utroska with AFP-MS discusses their 2021 Mississippi Legislature scorecard

Steven Utroska with the Mississippi chapter of Americans for Prosperity joined Y’all Politics on Tuesday to discuss the recent release of AFP’s legislative scorecard. Utroska said the goal of the scorecard is to make government more accountable to the people.

AFP rated Mississippi lawmakers on a variety of bills as it relates to their mission of lowering taxes, reducing the size of government, providing more economic opportunity and other factors. Utroska said of the 174 legislators, only 3 state Senators and 7 state Representatives received an A rating.

YP – U.S. Education Department to investigate 5 states over mask mandate bans

The U.S. Education Department said on Monday that it has opened civil rights investigations into Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa and Utah. These investigations will examine whether bans on indoor mask mandates discriminate against kids with disabilities.

The Department of Education argue that if students with disabilities do not feel safe returning to school because their peers would not be wearing masks, then the ban on indoor mask mandates would be found in violation of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and/or Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a press release that the Department heard from a multitude of parents from across the country, particularly parents of students with disabilities and with underlying medical conditions.

YP – Miss. Senators announce $6.6M in AIP grants for Mississippi airports

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde Smith announced that 9 Mississippi airports are to be awarded $6.6 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants. 

The funding will be awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for improving airfields in Mississippi. 

The FAA has funded over $766 million in grants across the United States in order to build safer, more sustainable and more accessible airports.