President Barack Obama – Page 11 – The Mississippi Link

Transcript: President Barack Obama’s 2013 inaugural address

Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional – what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” […]

Sharkey County native confirmed for key post

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The Mississippi Link Newswire
V. Lynn Evans of Memphis was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors. The confirmation was approved on January 1, 2013 before the close of the 112th Congress. Evans, a native of Anguilla, Mississippi (Sharkey County) is the daughter of Bettie Evans the late King T. Evans…. […]

Chaney says gov. hands control to feds

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Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is handing control of a state health insurance exchange over to the federal government by trying to block creation of a state-run exchange, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney told the governor in a letter.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter, and in it, Chaney tells Bryant, a fellow Republican, that the federal government will run an exchange in Mississippi if the state does not create its own.

“Phil, there is simply no legitimate reason to impede the development of a state-based exchange in this point in time,” Chaney wrote. […]

Slim chance of Medicaid expansion in Mississippi

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Mississippi lawmakers can expect to be pulled in opposite directions this year on a big-dollar question of whether to expand Medicaid.

Gov. Phil Bryant and fellow Republicans who lead the House and Senate say they oppose expansion because they believe the state can’t afford to put millions more dollars into the federal-state health insurance program for the needy.

On the other side, health advocates say Mississippi – one of the poorest states in the nation – can’t afford to turn down billions of federal dollars that would come with expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the federal health care law that President Barack Obama signed in 2010. Hospitals and other providers want lawmakers to consider the economic benefits that could come from an influx of money from Washington. […]

“Fiscal cliff” averted after deal clears House

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Congress has started its climb back up the “fiscal cliff.”

After House Republicans finally relented to the Senate’s “far from perfect” plan (as many members put it), the House Tuesday night passed the bill 257-167 with GOP and Democratic support.

The bill received 85 Republican votes, after GOP lawmakers huddled for hours Tuesday, wringing their hands over the lack of spending cuts in the bill. House leaders considered holding a vote on an amendment to add a $323 billion package of spending cuts, but the Democratic-led Senate said it wouldn’t accept an amended bill. Democrats, while also expressing concerns about the deal, largely supported the measure with just 16 voting against it.
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Headlines of 2012 mixed with sorrows, joy and uncertainties

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By Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Interim Managing Editor

Near top of the year, pulling at the heart strings of most Americans was news of the sudden death of pop icon Whitney Houston Feb. 11. She left behind daughter Bobbi Kristina. The star was found face down in a water-filled bathtub with drug paraphernalia nearby. The coroner’s initial report stated that she died of accidental drowning.

Forensic toxicologist Bruce Goldberger said the details about her blood from the toxicology report indicated she was “acutely intoxicated from cocaine” at the time of her death and was a “repeated cocaine user.” Traces of prescription medications were in her system, and blood tests indicated that she smoked marijuana within two weeks before her death…. […]

A final look at Headlines in 2012

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Stories that impacted Mississippians

Compiled by Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Interim Managing Editor
Over the past 19 years, The Mississippi Link has not missed a week of reporting on impactful events in the state and across the nation. The year 2012 in review shows a continuation of this commitment to bring to its readers the news and views that have shaped the lives of Mississippians and beyond. Out of 52 weeks of continuous publication, we now reflect on the top 20 headlines of 2012…. […]

President Obama is Time’s ‘Person of the Year’

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President Barack Obama has been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2012.

“We are in the midst of historic cultural and demographic changes, and Obama is both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America,” Time Editor Rick Stengel told NBC’s “Today” show, where he announced the selection on Wednesday. […]

Mississippi remembers victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School

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First memorial bell-ringing ceremony held at Jackson State University

Friday prayer vigils scheduled throughout city

Governor calls for moment of silence

By Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Interim Managing Editor

From the Governor’s office, the Mississippi Department of Education, Jackson Public Schools and Jackson State University, Mississippians expressed their sorrow and concern for the safety of all school children, after the Dec. 14 murder of 20 children and six adults by a lone gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Conn…. […]

If ‘fiscal cliff’ talks fail, teachers’ jobs, student aid, Head Start could at risk

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If budget talks fail and automatic spending cuts take hold, federal spending on education would be cut by about 8 percent across a broad range of programs, including money for special education, low-income students and schools near military bases, The Sun Herald reported.

Compounding the potential problem is that many states have been hammered by the recession and don’t have funds to cover the shortfall. The U.S. Department of Education reported that 80 percent of school districts in a recent poll said they would not have state or local funds to make up for the lost federal money. […]