From the Wire

Appeals Court Upholds Firing of Ex-Chief of Aberdeen Schools The Mississippi Court of Appeals has upheld the firing of a former Aberdeen School District superintendent.
New Law Speeds Up Physician Licensing Across State Lines Out-of-state physicians could get licensed to practice in Mississippi more quickly, under a new law.
GOP Lawyer: Eaton Election Lawsuit Should Be DismissedLawyers for Republican leaders of the Mississippi House of Representatives say a lawsuit seeking to reinstate a Democratic representative should be dismissed.
Tom BensonSaints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson won a key legal round Monday in his fight to leave ownership of his NFL and NBA team to his wife, rather than his estranged daughter and grandchildren.
Bergdahl to be Court-Martialed Under New Commander-in-Chief Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who walked off his combat outpost in Afghanistan and spent five years in captivity, will be court-martialed under a new commander-in-chief.
IOC: 31 Caught in Retests of 2008 Beijing Olympic Samples In a major doping crackdown stretching back eight years, 31 athletes in six sports were caught in retesting of samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and other positive cases could emerge from the 2012 London Games, the IOC said Tuesday.
GOP Blocks Provision to Require Women to Register for Draft Buckling under conservative pressure, the Republican-led House Rules Committee pulled a legislative sleight of hand and stripped a provision from the annual defense policy bill that would have required women between the ages of 18 and 25 to sign up …
Scientists Head Out to Study Shell Spill in the Gulf Researchers are heading out to study the effects of a Shell leak of about 88,200 gallons of oil off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico, a scientist said on Monday.
Mississippi Senate Leader Burton Gets DUI Charge After Wreck The second-ranking leader of the Mississippi Senate has been charged with DUI after a one-vehicle wreck.
Desegregation Ruling Says Cleveland, Miss., Must Merge Schools A federal judge says Mississippi's Cleveland school district must merge its high schools and middle schools to achieve racial desegregation.
Supreme Court Punts Decision in Birth Control Dispute The Supreme Court rid itself Monday of a knotty dispute between faith-based groups and the Obama administration over birth control. The court asked lower courts to take another look at the issue in a search for a compromise.
Schools Offer Guidance on Transgender Issues From locker rooms and sex education classes to dress codes and overnight field trips, many U.S. public schools already are balancing the civil rights of transgender students with any concerns that classmates, parents and community members might have.
Bryant Signs Bill to Cut $415M in Business and Income TaxesGov. Phil Bryant has signed what may be the largest tax cut in Mississippi history.
Larger Share of Mississippi Third Graders Pass Reading Test A larger share of Mississippi third graders passed the state's reading test on the first try this year.
Miss. Bill Aims to Ban State Money to Planned Parenthood Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed a bill to ban Medicaid from spending money with any facility that performs elective abortions.