Mississippi
Fact Check: Is Mississippi planning to use dogs to detect pregnant women?
![Fact Check: Is Mississippi planning to use dogs to detect pregnant women? Fact Check: Is Mississippi planning to use dogs to detect pregnant women?](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2071009/sniffer-dog-mississippi-abortion.jpg)
As extra states roll again legal guidelines and introduce new restrictions on abortion rights, there’s a lot hypothesis concerning the depth of impression that the Supreme Courtroom’s overturning of Roe v. Wade might have.
The extent to which police or state authorities will have the ability to regulate cross-state abortions is beneath dialogue, though President Joe Biden lately commented it’s a case of when, not if.
The warmth of the dialog and the energy of feeling round these points could be a lightning rod for confusion and misinformation.
James Arthur Gekiere/Belga Magazine/AFP by way of Getty Photos
The Declare
A tweet despatched on July 1, 2022, from comic Chip Franklin claimed that Mississippi lawmakers have mentioned utilizing canines at airports to detect pregnant girls.
Mississippi legislators overtly focus on utilizing canines at airports to smell girls leaving the state.
The canines can inform if a girl is pregnant.
— Chip Franklin.com (@chipfranklin) July 1, 2022
The tweet, which has had greater than 40,000 engagements because it was posted, unfold shortly elsewhere on Twitter too.
The Mississippi GOP desires vagina sniffing canines at airports to examine girls leaving the state
How’s that for freedom? — THE SAD TRUTH (@SmnWeekly) July 2, 2022 Mississippi has canines sniffing out pregnant girls on the airport today. If any feminine or female-loving man or affordable human votes Republican ever once more, you deserve this… No, nobody deserves this. However you have been warned. Do higher.
— Vicki Ringer (@vickiringer) July 3, 2022
The Details
Mississippi is among the many 13 states which enacted set off legal guidelines after the Supreme Courtroom overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
It was additionally the state which sparked the Supreme Courtroom’s resolution after its Division of Well being state well being officer, Thomas Dobbs, appealed a U.S. District Courtroom conclusion that states couldn’t ban abortions earlier than the twenty fourth week of being pregnant.
In 2018, Mississippi enacted the “Gestational Age Act” into state legislation prohibiting abortions after the fifteenth week of being pregnant besides in circumstances of medical emergencies or fetal abnormalities.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, the state’s Legal professional Common Lynn Fitch licensed that abortions could be banned statewide, besides when the mom’s life is in peril or the being pregnant was the results of rape or incest. The modifications are set to turn out to be efficient later this week.
In line with Part 41-41-45 of the Mississippi Code, anybody “who purposefully, knowingly or recklessly performs or makes an attempt to carry out or induce an abortion” in Mississippi “shall be punished by imprisonment” for not lower than one yr and less than 10 years.
Nevertheless, whereas it now plans to legislate a number of the strictest abortion legal guidelines within the U.S., there seem to have been no public conversations amongst Mississippi legislatures concerning using canines to detect folks crossing state traces for an abortion, because the tweet suggests.
The one who wrote the tweet, Chip Franklin, is a comic and author, who repeatedly posts acerbic, left-wing tweets. That does not essentially imply the tweet was satire, as some customers claimed, however continues to be vital context when assessing the declare.
After being contacted for remark by Newsweek, Franklin mentioned in an emailed response that the declare originated from a Twitter areas dialogue of a Washington Submit report on the difficulty.
“[…]One in every of my followers mentioned that Mississippi and different states had been actively reviewing methods to maintain girls from leaving the state to get an abortion,” Franklin advised Newsweek.
“One listener mentioned Dr. Troy Majure, a veterinarian on the Animal Medical Middle of Jackson, responded to a query on a podcast that canines can detect COVID and prostate most cancers from smells in urine and different modifications in a single’s chemistry. I researched that and it’s correct.
“I admit that I do not know how they’d implement it, however with Ohio and different states demanding rape victims as younger as 10 carry to time period, and that rapists have visitation rights, it did not appear out of the query.”
The comic additionally claimed that A.G. Fitch has beforehand said to “stroll and speak podcasters” that the state might cease girls from leaving to get an abortion by “any means mandatory,” together with canines, although supposedly as an intimidation tactic relatively than for sniffing.
Newsweek discovered no reporting of such claims from Fitch, though she has lately issued an announcement supporting the choice to overturn Roe v. Wade, which mentioned partially that: “By returning the matter of abortion coverage to state legislatures, we enable a stunted debate on how we help girls to flourish.”
In response to a Newsweek remark request, Fitch’s workplace has dismissed the declare as false.
“I can state unequivocally that there have been no such conversations with stroll and speak podcasters or anybody else,” a spokesman for AG Fitch wrote in an e mail to Newsweek, mentioning that the supply of the declare is a comic.
Thus far we additionally discovered no document that Mississippi lawmakers have had any such dialog, notably because the state legislature adjourned Sine Die in April 2022. Nor did we discover any publicly out there data or statements detailing such plans beneath critical dialogue by the state legislature since then.
Newsweek has additionally contacted Republican State Rep. Joey Hood of the Mississippi Home of Representatives, and the Mississippi state legislature for remark.
In addition to the dearth of proof about such discussions happening, the very premises of this declare can be questionable. Whereas some articles declare that canines might be able to detect their proprietor’s being pregnant, because the scent might alter with hormonal modifications, in line with American Kennel Membership (AKC) that is principally based mostly on conjecture.
The AKC provides that canines may additionally react in a different way to their house owners’ pregnancies with some turning into protecting, fearful, affectionate, or detached, relying on the canine.
In any case, Newsweek couldn’t discover proof that this purported potential might be (or has been) harnessed by legislation enforcement to detect being pregnant in the identical means that canines are skilled to detect medication or explosives.
Though canines have been used to detect COVID-19, even when such a scheme for pregnant girls had been believable, canines would not have the ability to scent the intent of a pregnant passenger.
A canine alone couldn’t be used to find out whether or not somebody was leaving a state for an abortion, neither is it clear whether or not such a detection might be used as authorized grounds for detainment or as prosecutable proof, even earlier than contemplating the ethics.
The query of whether or not states will prohibit crossing state traces to get abortions can be nascent. Biden mentioned in June 2022 that his administration “goes to give attention to how they administer and whether or not or not they violate different legal guidelines, like deciding to not enable folks throughout state traces to get public well being providers.”
Throughout a digital assembly with Democratic governors on July 1, 2022, nevertheless, the president expressed his perception that folks will ultimately be arrested for doing so.
“If extremist governors attempt to block a girl from touring from her state that prohibits her from looking for medical assist she must a state that gives that care, the federal authorities will act to guard her bedrock rights via the legal professional basic’s workplace,” he mentioned.
Whereas the conversations and legislative modifications surrounding Roe v. Wade will proceed to unfurl over the approaching months and weeks, it seems there is no dependable proof but of Mississippi or some other state discussing such a scheme.
Nevertheless, because the state legislature is out of session, we might but see these plans attain the state’s Capitol when it resumes its legislative session subsequent yr.
The Ruling
![Fact Check - False](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/1718367/fact-check-false.png?w=250&f=37404362684959b2da7a9f43ebe1c669)
False.
There isn’t any agency scientific foundation for the notion that canines might be reliably used to detect a pregnant individual or how such a scheme could be carried out. In any case, Newsweek might discover no proof that such a scheme has been mentioned amongst Mississippi’s state legislators, notably because the state legislature is adjourned till 2023.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Truth Examine staff
![](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/np-logo.png)
Mississippi
‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations
![‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations ‘If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all’: Broadway in Jackson speaks out about possible show cancellations](https://gray-wlbt-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/3KMJQZPKGBHNRCT7NENQ3O72YY.png?auth=8e7e3183f489f41a63616389bdae4dd45efc187856d208138265c67183c736b4&width=1200&height=600&smart=true)
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – It’s been one month since Thalia Mara Hall closed its doors due to a mold outbreak.
Innovation Arts and Entertainment is the company responsible for bringing Broadway productions to Jackson.
Representatives from the company visited Jackson after hearing the building had been closed.
CEO Adam Epstein says the City of Jackson did not inform them of the news.
“We did not find out from anybody within the city. We found out by reading news clippings forwarded to us by other people in Jackson,” Epstein said.
Certified Industrial Hygienic Testing reported visible dirt, debris, and suspected mold growth on many surfaces.
Epstein fears this could change the possibility of bigger shows coming to the capital city.
“They’re going to skip over us because of this mess. We need to show as a community that Jackson cares about this valuable asset and that we demand our elected leaders to support and treat this really, incredibly valuable asset with the TLC it deserves,” he said.
Thalia Mara Hall is the only venue in the state that can host a Broadway production due to the technical needs and accommodations required.
“Touring theatrical shows. If they cannot play Thalia Hall, they cannot play in Mississippi at all,” he said.
Broadway in Jackson is not only a great source of entertainment in the city, but it’s also beneficial economically.
“Those other businesses don’t benefit. The city doesn’t earn tax revenue from events that we present. They don’t earn rental income from the events we present. They don’t earn facility fees from the events we present. This is a real tragedy. It’s unacceptable.”
The well-being of the potential audience is the company’s main priority.
“I will not risk our ticket buyers’ health and safety and comfort. Our shows can and will cancel before we’d ever put somebody in jeopardy. We’ve issued a 100% guarantee of a full refund if the venue is not given a clean bill of health,” Epstein said.
All shows will be canceled on a case-to-case basis.
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Mississippi
Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says
![Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says Tire failure suspected in deadly Mississippi bus crash, NTSB says](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2021/07/11/USAT/9631b18b-dce5-449d-a448-47f4b71a9b44-MS-01.png?auto=webp&crop=3954,2224,x823,y443&format=pjpg&width=1200)
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that killed seven and injured 36 people.
The deadly bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others early Saturday occurred after the vehicle experienced a tire failure, causing it to run off the road and overturn, officials and authorities said.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board, in coordination with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, are conducting a probe into Saturday’s crash that left seven people dead and another 36 people injured. The collision occurred at about 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Vicksburg, Mississippi, when the bus left the roadway and overturned.
The bus, which authorities described as a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus, traveled westbound when its left front tire failed, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference Sunday. The bus then moved onto an embankment and rolled over on its left side.
Inman added that investigators will be at the scene for at least another week and are looking into several factors of the crash, including the vehicle’s mechanical condition, motor carrier safety, the condition and experience of the driver, and environmental factors.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. Records show that in the 24 months before Saturday, the transit company’s vehicles were involved in one fatal crash, two injury collisions, and a crash requiring a tow truck.
The transit company has over 20 years of experience and provides trips between more than 100 destinations throughout Mexico and the United States, according to Autobuses Regiomontanos’ website.
“Everyone at the NTSB sends their expressions of sorrow for everything that the survivors and victims of this crash went through,” Inman said.
7 killed, 36 injured in bus crash
The bus carried a total of 41 passengers and two drivers, according to authorities. It was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas when the incident occurred.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to Master Sergeant Kervin K. Stewart with the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and another person died later at a hospital, Stewart said.
Another 36 people were transported to area hospitals.
Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said two victims killed in the crash were identified by their mother as a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, according to The New York Times. Authorities were working to identify the other victims.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
Mississippi
This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State
![This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State This drive showed where Mississippi State football offense can improve for Arizona State](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/authoring/authoring-images/2024/09/01/PNAS/75036945007-usatsi-24127468.jpg?auto=webp&crop=2927,1648,x0,y152&format=pjpg&width=1200)
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football’s offense had a high-flying Saturday in coach Jeff Lebby’s first game.
It scored touchdowns on six of its first nine drives — one of which was a one-play kneel down to end the first half — leaving Eastern Kentucky buried early and deep at Davis Wade Stadium. It was a 56-7 win for the Bulldogs, with them leading 35-0 at one point in the first half.
Baylor transfer Blake Shapen was superb at quarterback and numerous wide receivers such as Jordan Mosley, Kevin Coleman, Mario Craver Jr. and Creed Whittemore made big plays against EKU (0-1).
Even still, Lebby wasn’t completely satisfied with the performance.
“I think there was a whole lot of good,” Lebby said postgame. “Proud of our guys for their energy and their competitive spirit and toughness they played with, but there’s so many things to clean up. I think that’s the biggest takeaway is that you got a chance to go win the way we won, but we’re going to need to play better, play cleaner and that’s where we’re going to look forward to as we get back into it.”
Take Mississippi State’s third offensive drive as an example of where it can improve.
It was the Bulldogs first drive where they didn’t score points, even though it began at the MSU 46-yard line.
MSU (1-0) was penalized for an illegal formation on the first play of the drive, negating a 47-yard catch-and-run from Craver. Three plays later, after Shapen scrambled 12 yards for a first down, MSU was whistled for another illegal formation. Mississippi State then failed to convert on 4th-and-3 from the EKU 33-yard line.
Those were the only penalties committed by Mississippi State’s offense all night, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard of those types of MSU infractions. In the preseason, following Mississippi State’s first scrimmage that was closed to the public, Lebby noted that “non-playing penalties” were a work in progress.
Players have said that Lebby’s up-tempo pace has been an adjustment. Perhaps it’s one that’s still ongoing.
“Looking back at the game, we did a lot of good things, but there were a couple drives that we killed the drive,” Shapen said. “So, we can keep getting better. I think an emphasis for me is just to let everybody know that we haven’t arrived or anything. We got a lot more to prove, especially going in to play a good Arizona State team next week.”
MORE: Jeff Lebby says Mississippi State football didn’t put on a good enough show. Here’s how he’s wrong
Arizona State might be better than anticipated
MSU’s Week 2 game at Arizona State (9:30 p.m., ESPN) was always going to be its most challenging in the nonconference schedule, but it looks even more so now.
Arizona State routed Wyoming 48-7 on Saturday night. The Sun Devils were about a seven-point favorite entering the game in Tempe, and Wyoming, historically, is no cakewalk in the Group of 5. It was an impressive statement from second-year coach Kenny Dillingham after a 4-9 season in 2023.
The Sun Devils (1-0) scored two defensive touchdowns, forced three turnovers and held Wyoming (0-1) to 118 total yards of offense. Sixty-two of those yards came in the fourth quarter with the game already well decided.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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