Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour won't let calls from housing advocates and lawmakers deter his plans to divert $570 million of federal hurricane recovery funds from a housing program to the expansion of the Port of Gulfport. More...

Last weekend in Jackson, Miss., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference launched a modern-day "Poor People's Campaign," an initiative first envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. More...

Following protests from human rights and housing advocates, the Biloxi City Council voted unanimously this week to give FEMA trailer residents another six months to find permanent housing. More...

President Barack Obama decided to allow people still living in FEMA trailers to remain there while the federal government helps them find permanent housing, but the city of Biloxi, Miss. plans to kick them out. More...

As the debate rages over health care reform, a new study by a group of Harvard doctors found that several major health and life-insurance companies in both the United States and overseas have nearly $4.5 billion invested in tobacco stocks. More...

Today marks the first day of hurricane season, and much is being reported on preparations happening along the Gulf Coast to prepare for stormier weather. But Gulf Coast advocates have also been preparing another big push to shore up Congressional support for the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act. More...

In a matter of days, thousands in the Gulf Coast will face eviction from their FEMA trailers. Advocates are now calling on the federal government to intervene and extend the deadline, and uphold its promise to rebuild the Gulf Coast. More...

There's speculation that the Mississippi governor and former Republican National Committee chair may be considering a run for the White House. Do we really want the United States to be run like the most impoverished state in the nation? More...

Coming almost four years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a bipartisan bill was introduced this week in Congress to create more jobs and support sustainable rebuilding efforts in the region. More...

The land where the blues was born still suffers from them disproportionately. More...

These past few weeks have ushered in heated battles in state legislatures as lawmakers in Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas moved to go around their governors and accept federal stimulus unemployment aid. This month we're waiting for several of these fights to come to a head. More...

While immigrant rights advocates welcome the Obama administration's promise of comprehensive immigration reform, state and local authorities are stepping up efforts to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement identify, arrest and deport undocumented immigrants. More...

With Southern governors facing accusations of using federal stimulus money to score political points, community advocates in Mississippi are calling on Gov. Haley Barbour to stop playing partisan politics and to start helping the state's struggling residents. More...

Two Louisiana lawmakers are back in the spotlight: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal plans to reject even more federal stimulus funds, and Rep. Joseph Cao may break ranks with the Republican Party on Obama's budget. More...

Since President Obama lifted Bush-era restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, the fight against the practice has shifted to states including Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, reports Adam Thompson of the Progressive States Network. More...

Facing massive budget crises, states are beginning to move away from the "lock-'em-up" approach to crime. Is the South ready to make the shift? More...

In an effort to score political points, the governors of several Southern states threatened to refuse some or all of the stimulus money targeted to their states. Guest columnist Marc H. Morial explains why refusing stimulus funds is the political equivalent of cruel and unusual punishment for millions of people. More...

The federal trial for Jackson, Miss. Mayor Frank Melton began this week. Melton is accused of violating federal civil rights laws during crime-fighting sweeps with the city's mobile police unit. More...

A report released this month by the Sentencing Project highlights 17 states -- five of which are in the South -- that have enacted sentencing and corrections reforms in 2008. More...

While many of the Gulf states have some of the country's lowest levels of educational attainment, income, and life expectancy, Mississippi ranks last in the nation on overall human development. More...