Gov. Phil Bryant screenshotted my tweet below—which touched on my investigation into welfare in the spring of 2019, at the fever pitch of the largest taxpayer theft in state history—and sent it to MDHS Director John Davis. “How is she figuring this?” he asked. #TheBackchannel
For every dollar Mississippi spends on basic cash assistance for poor families, the state leaves three dollars unspent, rolling over to the next year. It spends the most on “Work” — grants to training programs, work supports like transportation vouchers, etc. @MSTODAYnews
Mississippi Today is hiring reporters for a new desk, led by me, to cover the many inspiring, gut-wrenching, profound, absurd, delightful, layered, deeply human stories of my home, Jackson, MS. Please share! https://t.co/FquEJnxi8G
Imagine you're Nancy New, going down for the crime of the century, and you open @MSTODAYnews to read texts a retired QB sent to the governor about the very scheme sending you to prison...texts you realize the state has had for 2 years and you've never seen
https://t.co/5hIgh0jhCc
Officers took a look at the alleged kidnappers — a 330-pound retired NFL player and a longhaired pot grower from California — and “they just went haywire and thought they had something that they just didn’t have.” https://t.co/alOKh29WzN
Nancy New, key welfare scandal defendant, is offering new accounts in her defense -- such as the Christmas party where Gov. Bryant allegedly "got excited" that the CEO of a company he "had been funding" with welfare $ "offered him 'half the company.'" https://t.co/lxj39kgG52
So would an exercise program meet the new “reasonable person” standard?
“No,” one expert said, before pausing and then clarifying, “Whose definition of ‘reasonable’?”
Since TANF’s creation, states have spent billions on non-cash programs, some “with tenuous connections to a TANF purpose” – one generous way to describe the overarching Mississippi welfare scandal. New rules would require purchases to be “reasonable.” https://t.co/APjluRPkIS
Dang. The Uncertain Hour was a guiding light when I started really digging into the TANF story—a complicated, bureaucratic mess. We need to keep this kind of storytelling around.
Gutted to announce that after 6 amazing seasons Marketplace/APM is ending production of The Uncertain Hour. So proud of what we made. 🙏🙏for the ❤ you gave us, the stories & expertise you shared. Looking for new opps. Would love to find TUH a new home. Dreaming big. Meantime...
A welfare scandal defendant lost up to $30,000 —allegedly partially DHS funds — to an African gold bar scam. It would have taken a family of three 15 years to receive that much in the welfare check — which would have been impossible since the assistance maxes out at five years.
To me, Favre’s deposition Monday represents a new phase of the ongoing civil case, and the larger unfolding scandal, where after a relatively quiet few months, more information may be flowing again. More to come.
Attorneys interrogated Brett Favre for over eight hours at the Primerica insurance office in Hattiesburg Monday. He answered Qs in a civil case about the use of welfare funds for a volleyball stadium at his alma mater @southernmiss and a pharma company.
(video via @HPatriot)
To my knowledge, Bryant has not been questioned about why he did not produce years-worth of texts between himself and his former welfare director John Davis, many of which we obtained and published, even though he said he produced them all. https://t.co/AqPOFMn743