WLOX: “A Mississippi lawmaker has drafted a bill to remove the celebration of Robert E. Lee on the same day the state honors Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Representative Kabir Karriem of Columbus says Dr. King and his work for civil rights and equality deserve to be celebrated without the history of the Confederate General….

Political Wire: ““Former Louisiana Democratic Party leader Karen Carter Peterson, who resigned from the state Senate last year year citing depression and a gambling addiction — and later pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud — was sentenced on Wednesday to 22 months in prison,” the AP reports.”

MS Today: “New and Davis were hyping their ill-conceived welfare delivery model, Families First for Mississippi, which resulted in the theft or misspending of nearly $100 million. The pair would later plead guilty to several felonies after perpetuating what officials have called the largest public fraud scheme in state history. “Sometimes it just takes people…

Off the Kuff: “Progressive groups celebrated on the steps of City Hall Tuesday afternoon before delivering the boxes of signed petitions needed to get a measure in front of voters that would decriminalize both cannabis possession and abortion. Ananda Tomas, executive director of police reform group ACT 4 SA, told reporters that her group and…

WUNC: “North Carolina advocacy groups registered thousands of Latino voters in 2022 in a push to turn out the state’s fastest growing group of residents. They made calls. They used concerts, cultural events and Instagram posts to appeal to hard-to-reach young voters. Yet Latino registration and turnout rates, after increasing in the past two midterm…

NY Times: “In contrast, Mr. Gingrich said of his own speakership, which sought a revolt in the Republican Party and the way Washington does business, “We weren’t just grandstanders. We were purposeful.” He would be glad to show the current rebels how to do it, he said. “But anything that takes longer than waiting for…

Futurism: “The state of Louisiana just enacted a new porn access law requiring internet users to upload a digital version of a government-issued ID to some fairly sketchy third-party services to access popular adult websites like Pornhub. The law, according to its backers, seeks to protect children from premature porn exposure. But beyond the law’s overt data risks —…

FL Phoenix: “Two months after the Florida Democratic Party suffered one of its worst elections in modern history, Party Chair Manny Diaz announced on Monday that he was resigning from office. “After much reflection, I regret to inform you that I have chosen to retire as FDP Chair, effective immediately,” Diaz wrote in a five-page…

Political Wire: “CNN: “The dearth of nominees offered in southern states, notably where both U.S. senators are Republican, threatens to undercut Biden’s large-scale effort to counteract Trump’s effect on the federal judiciary, particularly to bolster civil rights and ensure voter protections.” “The Biden team’s well-documented diversification of the courts — nominees have been overwhelmingly women…

Tallahassee Democrat: “Florida has agreed to pay up to $1 million to two law firms to defend it following Gov. Ron DeSantis’ controversial decision last summer to relocate nearly 50 Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.  So far, the state has paid nearly $112,000 to the firms Consovoy McCarthy and Campbell Conroy & O’Neil to represent DeSantis…