Free Republic

JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said Tuesday that he looks forward to quickly signing a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks, the midpoint of a full-term pregnancy. "This measure represents a great effort to protect the unborn in Mississippi," Bryant said in a statement after House Bill 1400 passed the House 91-20 and the Senate 41-10. The bill has exceptions. Abortion would still be allowed at or after 20 weeks if the woman faces death or permanent injury because of the pregnancy. It would also be allowed in cases of severe fetal abnormality.

The 1st Congressional District, the northernmost in the most culturally Southern state, has given the nation William Faulkner and Elvis Presley, and next Tuesday will have a special congressional election that will test the Republican hope that Barack Obama and his former pastor can be the basis of a Republican strategy to nationalize congressional races to the disadvantage of Democrats. A Senate seat also could be affected by the cascading consequences of Republican Sen. Trent Lott's December resignation. Republican Gov. Haley Barbour replaced him with 1st District Rep. Roger Wicker, who this November will be on the ballot seeking election...

Jerious Norwood backed up his coach's big talk. Norwood scored four touchdowns in his final game at Mississippi State, leading the host Bulldogs to a 35-14 victory against rival Mississippi on Saturday in the Egg Bowl. His big performance came after coach Sylvester Croom spiced up the rivalry when he said ''we're going to beat their butt,'' then stuck by those strong words in the days before the game. Norwood rushed for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries, and caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Mike Henig in leading the worst offense in the Southeastern Conference to 409...

The natural disaster that devastated New Orleans had been predicted for this below-sea-level city on the turbulent Gulf Cost for a hundred years or more. It was inevitable. The death toll is estimated to be in the thousands; the economic cost in the tens of billions. Now, we'll bury our dead, mourn their passing and begin the laborious process of cleanup and restoration. What else is there to do? The sights, sounds and smells emanating from New Orleans, the images of dead bodies floating in the water, the killing and looting, the throng of homeless fleeing the destruction and its...