• The Governor of Mississippi admitted he would backtrack on plans to partially end the state's coronavirus lockdown after seeing its largest single-day increase in both cases and deaths on Friday.
• Mississippi reported 397 new cases of coronavirus and 20 new deaths Friday, both of which were the highest daily numbers in the state. There have been 291 deaths from the virus in the state.
• Those figures prompted Governor Tate Reeves to pull back on plans to reopen non-essential businesses.
• More than 66,000 people have died, , and the virus has infected over 1.1 million in the US, which is now the global epicenter of COVID-19.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Governor of Mississippi said he would backtrack on plans to partially end the state's coronavirus lockdown after seeing its largest single-day increase in both cases and deaths on Friday.

Mississippi reported 397 new cases of coronavirus and 20 new deaths Friday, both of which were the highest daily numbers in the state since the virus first appeared there. By Saturday the number of new cases had fallen to 229, while there were 10 new deaths.

The spike in cases caused the state's governor, Tate Reeves, to pull back on plans to allow some non-essential retailers to reopen under strict guidelines for their operation.

"Things can change quickly. We have to stay flexible. Today, I was prepared to announce further reopenings. That was the plan and I was excited to get more of our people back to work,"Reeves said in a briefing Friday.

"This was a large enough change to make me take a step back," he said, referencing the large number of new cases. "I have come to the conclusion that I must hold on for now."

Mississippi, the US' poorest state on a GDP per capita basis, has reported 7,441 cases of COVID-19, and 291 deaths, the state's department of health says.

There have been some 1.1 million cases across the US, and around 66,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Mississippi was set to be one of a handful of states to begin easing lockdowns by reopening some non-essential businesses and allowing some workers to return to work.

Reeves had planned a so-called "safer at home" initiative, whereby non-essential retail businesses like clothing stores and bookstores could reopen, while following strict guidelines. Those guidelines included lowering capacity, practicing social distancing, and ensuring high levels of hygiene.

"The increase was a large enough change to make me take a step back, reexamine things and must hold on and reconsider at least over the weekend," Reeves said.

He stressed his desire, "not to recklessly put people in harm's way."

At a federal level, President Donald Trump has pushed for a reopening of some businesses after several weeks of lockdown, citing a desire to protect the US economy from the damage that a prolonged period of low activity would cause.

The president has frequently yo-yo-ed between pushing for a reopening at the behest of business leaders, and urging caution amid advice from public health officials.

Health officials warn that reopening the economy too quickly could lead to a second wave of new cases, much like was witnessed during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918.

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) warned this week that the most likely, and worst-case scenario going forward is a "one in which the first wave is followed by a larger wave in the fall or winter of 2020, and one or more smaller subsequent waves in 2021,"Business Insider' Aylin Woodward reported Saturday.

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• Mississippi misspent at least $94 million in federal welfare funds in ways that paid star NFL football players like Brett Favre, lobbyists, and pro wrestlers, according to a state audit released Monday.
• Shad White, the auditor, called it "the most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers"in a press release.
• At least $1.1 million went to Favre Enterprises for three events that the football player never attended, the report said. The player is not accused of wrongdoing.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The Mississippi state auditor released a searing report Monday that said the state misspent at least $94 million in federal welfare funds in ways that did virtually nothing to aid its poorest citizens over the course of three years.

The money from the program, known as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), flowed into the state. The 104-page report said it was later directed to two nonprofit groups that spent the funds on lobbyists, pro wrestlers, and speeches that were never given by Brett Favre, a famed NFL quarterback who lives in Mississippi.

Shad White, the auditor, called it "the most egregious misspending my staff have seen in their careers"in a press release.

"If there was a way to misspend money, it seems DHS leadership or their grantees thought of it and tried it," White said, referring to the state's Department of Human Services, which is in charge of managing the federal welfare money from TANF.

State officials marked $94 million as "questionable," indicating the federal funds were likely misspent or unable to be verified as used properly.

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Some of that spending included $1.1 million that went to Favre Enterprises for three appearances he never attended, the report said. About $3.1 million also went to companies managed by the family of Ted DiBiase, a former wrestler, for services that didn't end up helping the poor or were never completed. Neither of them are accused of wrongdoing in the report.

There were also at least two instances in which federal funds were used to buy tickets for college football games, according to the audit.

John Davis, the former head of the state agency, was arrested in February, according to The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Mississippi. He's accused of a massive embezzling scheme. 

TANF was created in 1996 to overhaul the federal welfare system, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The new block grants gave states more room to decide how federal money should be spent to aid low-income citizens, but critics say they have excessive leeway and don't have to justify their spending.

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• Walmart will remove the Mississippi flag from its stores for its use of a Confederate emblem, a spokesperson said. 
• Many organizations have called on lawmakers to remove the symbol from the flag. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Walmart will stop displaying the Mississippi state flag in stores over its use of a Confederate emblem. 

"We believe it's the right thing to do, and is consistent with Walmart's position to not sell merchandise with the confederate flag from stores and online sites, as part of our commitment to provide a welcoming and inclusive experience for all of our customers in the communities we serve," spokesperson Anne Hatfield told Business Insider in a statement. 

According to the Associated Press, the company will remove the flag while the state debates whether to change the design. 

Hatfield said it's common for stores to display their state flag. However, the flag's design has garnered attention and calls to have it redesigned amidst protests over racial justice. 

"Displaying state flags in our stores is a common practice nationwide. We know the design of the Mississippi state flag is being discussed by various stakeholders. While the issue continues to be discussed, we've made the decision to remove the Mississippi state flag from display in its current form from our stores," Hatfield said. 

The Confederate emblem was placed in the upper left corner of the flag in 1894 by White supremacists, according to the AP. It came after Black Americans gained some political power after reconstruction, and residents voted to keep the emblem on the flag in 2001. 

Protests began at the end of May following the death of George Floyd when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes as he became unresponsive. 

 The NCAA, the Southeastern Conference, and other business and religious organizations have called for Mississippi to redesign their flag to be more inclusive. 

The majority white and conservative-leaning Mississippi Baptist Convention advocated for the removal from the emblem from the flag. The convention said lawmakers have a "moral obligation" to remove the Confederate emblem because many people are"hurt and shamed" by it, the AP reported. 

"While some may see the current flag as a celebration of heritage, a significant portion of our state sees it as a relic of racism and a symbol of hatred," the Baptist group said in a statement to the AP. "The racial overtones of this flag's appearance make this discussion a moral issue."

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• Mississippi lawmakers are moving forward with an effort to remove the Confederate emblem from the state's flag.
• Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement on Saturday he will sign a bill to redesign the flag.
• "The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it," Reeves said.
• If the bill passes, Mississippi's legislature would form a nine-member commission to design a new flag without the Confederate symbol.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Mississippi's House of Representatives and Senate voted Saturday to move forward with a bill that would remove the Confederate emblem from the state's flag — and the governor indicated he supports the effort.

A nationwide reckoning over racism in recent weeks has sparked a flurry of efforts to remove Confederate iconography across the country, from statues of generals to versions of the battle flag. Mississippi's flag, which includes the Confederate symbol in its top left-hand corner, has been a prominent target for anti-racism activists.

Mississippi's House voted 85-34 on Saturday afternoon to suspend the chamber's rules and allow lawmakers to consider a bill on a potential new state flag, according to Reuters. Several hours later, the Senate voted 36-14 in favor of allowing lawmakers to change the flag, The Clarion-Ledger reported.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves vowed in a statement on Saturday to sign a bill creating a new state flag if lawmakers agree on one. 

"The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it," Reeves said. "If they send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it."

He added that unifying the state over such a divisive issue would be a challenge, but urged the state's residents "to heal our wounds, to forgive, to resolve that the page has been turned, to trust each other."

"The job before us it to bring the state together and I intend to work night and day to do it," Reeves continued. "It will be harder than recovering from tornadoes, harder than historic floods, harder than agency corruption, or prison riots or the coming hurricane season — even harder than battling the Coronavirus."

Saturday was not the first time Mississippi lawmakers have tried to change the flag. The state even held a referendum on the matter in 2001, but nearly 65% of residents voted to keep the current version.

Mississippi's flag is currently the only state flag to retain the Confederate emblem, according to The New York Times.

If this latest effort to change the flag succeeds, the Mississippi Legislature would form a nine-member commission to design a new flag, according to The Clarion-Ledger. The new flag would reportedly include the words, "In God We Trust," and voters would get to approve or reject the new design in November.

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• 10 much better names for the Army bases honoring Confederate generals

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• Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill on Tuesday to remove Confederate imagery from the state's flag.
• "Tonight, I am signing the bill to retire the 1894 Mississippi flag and begin the process of selecting a new one—emblazoned with the words 'In God We Trust,'" Reeves wrote on Facebook.
• Reeves' action comes after Mississippi's House and Senate voted on Sunday to retire the state flag and create a new one.
• According to the Associated Press, Mississippi's legislative bodies received bipartisan support to change their state flag — the last in the US to feature the Confederate battle flag.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill on Tuesday to remove Confederate imagery from the state's flag.

In a Facebook livestream on Tuesday, Reeves said it was "not a political moment," but rather a time to "put our divisions behind us."

"Tonight, I am signing the bill to retire the 1894 Mississippi flag and begin the process of selecting a new one—emblazoned with the words 'In God We Trust,'" Reeves wrote in a post alongside the livestream.

"This is not a political moment, it is a solemn occasion to come together as a Mississippi family, reconcile, and move forward together. Now, more than ever, we must lean on our faith, put our divisions behind us, and unite for a greater good."

Reeves' action comes after the Mississippi's House and Senate on Sunday voted to retire the state flag and create a new one, as widespread protests in recent weeks have brought systemic racism to the forefront of the US agenda.

According to Associated Press, Mississippi's legislative bodies received bipartisan support on Sunday afternoon to change their state flag — the last in the country to feature the Confederate battle flag. Voters will be able to approve the new design in this year's election, the AP said.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Reeves said discussions over changing the flag were "deadlocked for days." 

"The argument over the 1894 flag has become as divisive as the flag itself and it's time to end it," he wrote. 

The removal of the battle flag — a symbol associated with a secessionist army that fought to preserve slavery— from the state flag comes as recent protests have sparked a widespread effort to remove Confederate imagery, including statues of Confederate leaders and Confederate flags.

Mississippi held a referendum in 2001 to change its state flag, though nearly 65% of residents voted to keep the current flag.

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• Twenty-six Mississippi lawmakers tested positive for coronavirus, CNN reported.
• According to The Virginian-Pilot, 10 employees in the building have also tested positive. 
• Many lawmakers have not been wearing masks, and the floor of the legislature is also quite crowded and indoors.
• Health experts have agreed that masks are proven to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Some lawmakers in Mississippi have not been wearing masks while in the state Capitol, and 26 state legislators, about one-in-six of the state's lawmakers, tested positive for coronavirus, CNN reported. 

Earlier this week, WTVA reported that Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann tested positive for the coronavirus. House Speaker Philip Gunn also tested positive for COVID-19, the local outlet reported. According to CNN, neither Hosemann nor Gunn wore masks while visiting the governor's mansion last week. 

"We could have done more to prevent this," State Rep. Robert Johnson III, the Democratic leader of the state's House of Representatives, told CNN in a statement. 

"It seems it was all about some erroneous, dangerously promoted political stance. It's disgusting. Our governor refuses to order statewide mask requirements and our leadership decided not to require it at the Capitol."

According to The Virginian-Pilot, in June, lawmakers were crowded "shoulder-to-shoulder" in committee rooms, and in some cases even whispered in each others' ears without wearing masks. 

State officials told The Pilot that no one has been hospitalized. 

Mississippi has recorded over 34,600 coronavirus cases with more than 1,000 over the past day. The state also has over 1,200 deaths. 

Earlier this week, Gov. Tate Reeves said he and his daughters tested negative for the virus.

"Limited contact with the people who were diagnosed, but better safe than sorry! If someone you know gets the virus, get a test!" Reeves said in a tweet. 

According to The Pilot, at least an additional 10 people who work in the Capitol have also been diagnosed with COVID-19, and the number is expected to be higher.

"If you have been in contact with anyone in the Legislature, or if you have been in contact with any staff person that works at the Legislature, you need to get tested," Reeves said according to the outlet. 

Reeves mandated masks for 13 counties with a high rise of coronavirus cases, CNN reported

"Mississippi is in a fight for our lives," Reeves said. 

Rep. John Faulkner told The Pilot he consistently wore a mask but still ended up testing positive for the virus. Health experts have agreed that masks are proven to help reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission. 

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• A second year of flooding is threatening to ruin another year of crop harvests for farmers in the Mississippi River Delta, one of the poorest regions in the US.
• With the coronavirus already ravaging the region, farmers are now facing a second year without profits.
• Some farmers are urging the government to install water-clearing pumps in the Delta — a long-promised project that was scrapped in 2008.
• Farmers and local businesses say falling crop prices and low yields are adding to a pile of slow-moving crises.
• View more episodes of Business Insider Weekly on Facebook.

The southern Mississippi Delta is home to some of the most fertile farmland in the United States.

But not a single crop of soybeans, cotton, corn, or rice has been planted at many farms in the region — one of the poorest in the country.

For the second year in a row, widespread flooding has left hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland underwater, ruining entire harvests. And now, with their fields submerged, farmers are bracing for another year of no income.

For farmers in the Delta, it's a worst-case scenario playing out in real time.

"We had hopes that this year we would be able to get back to normal. Mother Nature had other plans," Victoria Darden, a farmer in Onward, Mississippi, said.

Business Insider Weekly visited Darden's farm in 2019, and revisited in the spring to see how the region is coping with a second year of destruction.

Flooding last year caused 12 deaths and $20 billion of damage.

The sight of submerged farmland has become depressingly routine since February of 2019, when heavy rains began swelling in the Mississippi River. The south Delta was hit especially hard — by May of that year, 548,000 acres were underwater, an area almost three times the size of New York City. The flooding caused 12 deaths and an estimated $20 billion in damages.

While the waters in some areas had receded by August, that wasn't the case for Victoria Darden and her father Randy — as much as 80% of their L&R Farm were still underwater by May of this year. 

"We're still just sitting here hoping and praying that we are able to get the water out of here and able to get a crop in, but we really just don't know," Victoria Darden said.

Flooding damage has cost each affected household an average of $42,000 through the end of last December, according to economists at Mississippi State University. Those losses are not expected to be covered by insurance or assistance programs, and they have continued to mount this year.

In a typical year, Randy Darden told Business Insider Weekly, his farm would produce $600,000 worth of crops. This year, the Valley Park Elevator, who the Dardens use as a distributor, is warning farmers might see returns of pennies on the dollar for their yields.

"If we get a crop in, the prices are very low now. And cost of production, it doesn't even pencil out to be a good break-even point," manager David Wansley said.

And there's much uncertainty even for farmers in the area who were able to plant. The current weak economy and low prices could leave crops to rot, and farmers with no profit at all. A similar scene is playing out throughout the country as farmers, including ones in Mississippi, are having to dump milk and smash eggs because of a decrease in demand.

"Corn's lower than it's been in decades. Same with soybeans and cotton," said Mackenzie Parker, loan manager of the Bank of Anguilla, which serves the south Delta region. "So if we do get something planted, the concern is, you know, what are we going to get for it?" 

The government has been slow to respond, leaving farmers to fend for themselves.

The last time the region experienced devastation so severe was what the Great Flood of 1927, which left 27,000 acres of land under 30 feet of water. 

As a response, the federal government began work on the Yazoo Backwater Project, building an extensive network of levees, dams, and waterways to control future rains. 

This time around, though, the levees and dams haven't been enough to stop the backwater. And the last unfinished component of the Yazoo Backwater Project — the installation of flood-control pumps — was scrapped in 2008, forcing farmers like Darden to pump water off their property with whatever equipment they have on hand.

With her fields underwater, Victoria Darden has spent the past year advocating for flood-control pumps.

She traveled to Florida to present her case to the EPA, arguing that the flooding has killed hundreds of deer and other native species. After months, she helped convince local environmental and conservation groups to support the project.

The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers are currently reconsidering the pumping stations, though if they're approved, they could still take years to complete.

The coronavirus is adding to the Delta's struggles.

Meanwhile, residents of the Delta are grappling with another crisis: the coronavirus. Mississippi is one of the biggest pandemic hotspots in the US, reporting more than 1,000 new cases of the virus each day for the past week. The outbreak is threatening the livelihoods of other workers in the region.

Even before the coronavirus forced businesses to close down, Tracy Harden, the owner of Chuck's Dairy Bar in Rolling Fork, was already burning through her savings to stay open throughout the yearlong floods. Suddenly, her typical stream of customers evaporated.

"You'd have farmers coming in and picking up 20 lunches. And when that went down to one lunch a day instead of 20 a day, it really affects your bottom line," she told Business Insider Weekly.

"I was talking with one the other day that told me, you know, if we don't get to plant this year, this is it for us. There's no coming back from this again. That's heartbreaking," she said. "For my little town, it just seems like one thing after another. We could really use a break."

The uncertainty is weighing heavily on farmers.

Things started looking up for Victoria and Randy in May, when they began to coax soybean plants out of a couple hundred acres that had dried out. And in June, much of the floodwaters finally receded. Now, most of their land is dry, and they have been able to plant all but 20% of their crops. 

But the uncertainty of the past two years is weighing heavily on them.

"When it rains, we all still get very nervous," Victoria Darden said. "It's like flashbacks, because we still don't have a solution to prevent this from happening. It can still happen. It could happen with this crop out here. It's very possible."

The Dardens still don't know if the water caused any long-term damage to their soil. And they still fear for the future of their family farm. 

"How do you go from having a job you do everyday for your whole life and suddenly you can't do that? What do you do with your spare time? How do you get through the day?" Victoria Darden said.

"Before I had this whole thing figured out. It's not figured out."

SEE ALSO: Flooding in Mississippi is devastating farmers in the worst disaster since 1927. See what it looks like on the ground.

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• As US schools begin reopening, dozens of students and school employees are testing positive for COVID-19.
• Hundreds of students and some teachers have been ordered to quarantine.
• Recent research suggests that children may spread the coronavirus as efficiently as adults. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Joel Barnes wanted schools to reopen in his Mississippi city. 

A retired teacher, Barnes knew that his own kids missed seeing their friends and learning in person. Their district in Corinth was taking precautions: 7th and 8th graders were to stay in a special wing of the high school, and there were virtual learning options, too.

So Barnes and his wife Lindsay decided to send their four children back.

"It's just one of those hard decisions," Barnes told Business Insider. "You're danged if you do, danged if you don't."

The kids — his youngest is in 2nd grade while his oldest is a high-school freshman — started school on July 27. By the end of the first week, the district announced that a high-school student had tested positive. Two more were diagnosed the following week. Then two more. Then a student at the middle school. And then an elementary school employee. 

"I did not expect it to go up so quickly — within a week and a half of school starting," Barnes said.

At least 115 students who had close contact with the sick people in the Corinth school district have been sent home to quarantine for 14 days, according to CNN. Barnes' 14-year-old son is one of them.

"I'm so angry," Lindsay Barnes said on Thursday. "We tried to pull him yesterday and the school wouldn't let us."

Corinth's experience does not stand alone. As schools across the US begin to reopen, several districts have already seen outbreaks of COVID-19.

In Georgia's Cherokee school district, three students have tested positive and a kindergarten class was sent home after a teacher displayed symptoms. A handful of employees at Louisiana's Jefferson Parish school district tested positive two days into their school year,  and at least six students in Kentucky tested positive after their first weeks back, too. Four school districts in Central Indiana, meanwhile, have identified at least seven cases since schools began reopening last week. 

Together, these small outbreaks highlight the risks of reopening schools while the US continues to report high daily case numbers. (The country's seven-day average still exceeds 50,000 new cases per day.) More than 80% of Americans live in a county where a school of 500 students or more would see at least one infection of COVID-19 within the first week of reopening, according to a recent New York Times analysis.

Evidence suggests children can spread coronavirus like adults

Although kids are less likely to get severe coronavirus cases, mounting evidence suggests they can spread the virus. Most children have the same amount of virus in their upper respiratory tracts as adults do, according to a research letter published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, and children under 5 may have between 10 and 100 times more virus than adults (though this doesn't necessarily mean they spread the virus more efficiently).

A study published last week found that US school closures from March to May reduced the weekly rate of new cases in the US by 62%.

According to a July survey, 60% of US parents— and 76% of parents of color — support schools' plans to delay reopening.

Although Barnes was initially part of the other 40%, the recent spike in cases has rattled his family.

His son reported that some of his high-school peers — and even his teachers — were wearing masks either improperly or not at all. Barnes said that lax approach to mask-wearing is reflected across Corinth. 

As of Thursday, his three younger children — all elementary-school-aged girls — were still going in. He doesn't blame the school district for the outbreak; he blames a lack of political leadership from officials in his state and the federal government. 

"With the way these cases have been handled at this point, I truly wish we'd kept our children home," Barnes said. 

SEE ALSO: School-aged kids may spread the coronavirus in homes more often than adults, a new study found

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• 54 million people in the US will face food insecurity in 2020, according to Feeding America.
• The hardest-hit groups are Black and Latino households, as well as low-income individuals. 
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Food insecurity is nothing new in the US, but the coronavirus pandemic has exasperated the problem.

Mass layoffs and furloughs have led to more Americans unsure about how they will put food on the table in the coming months. 

A pre-pandemic study by the USDA shows "37.2 million people, including 11.2 million children, did not have adequate access to nutritious food to live a healthy life." 

Based of data from that study, Feeding America estimates the number is " likely to grow by 17 million, including nearly seven million children."

These disparities are drawn between strong racial and economic divides. 

In the US, Latino residents are two times more likely to suffer from food inequality than their white counterparts; Black residents are two-and-a-half times more likely. 

This goes hand-in-hand with food deserts, which are more common in areas with a large Latino or Black population. 

"It's not new, even though with COVID-19 we've seen an increase in food insecurity overall, and it seems like people of color again are disproportionately impacted," Angela Odoms-Young, associate professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told Bloomberg. 

"Eight of the 10 counties with the highest food-insecurity rates are more than 60% Black," according to the Feeding America report. 

Jefferson County, Mississippi, and Issaquena County, Mississippi will experience the highest rates of food insecurity this year, at 34.2% and 33.9%, respectively. This comes after Issaquena County didn't report a single case of coronavirus until after May 1. 

Mississippi also has some of the lowest unemployment benefits in the US, at an average of $213 a week. 

There is also no sign of relief coming soon. The federal unemployment benefit of $600 a week lapsed at the end of July, and Congress has not yet signed a deal for a new stimulus package. 

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• A Nebraska school district just canceled classes until August 24 due to an outbreak among staff members, joining districts in Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama that canceled classes after similar outbreaks.
• That one Nebraska district pales in comparison to Mississippi— where 71 of 82 counties have already reported positive coronavirus cases within schools.
• In a Monday news conference, a Mississippi health official said 245 teachers and 199 students have tested positive, leading to 589 teachers and 2,035 students quarantining due to exposure.
• The dangers of widespread school reopenings are quickly becoming apparent. One Oklahoma student attended the first day of classes at an Oklahoma City high school after testing positive, the school district told parents on Friday. All those in contact with the student have been notified, and the student is quarantining again.
• The state of California plans to skirt contending with reopening in person. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Friday press conference that roughly 95% of that state's 6.2 million students will start the school year with distance learning due to the state's spike in coronavirus cases.
• Meanwhile, New York City, the country's largest school district, is set to welcome students back to the classroom in a hybrid model. Families have the option to opt out and continue remote learning at any time.
• As of a Monday tally, roughly 304,000 — or 30% — of New York City students plan to continue learning remotely this fall, per data from the city Department of Education. Asian Americans are leading the charge, with 47% having already opted to stay home versus about 27% of Black students and 23% of white students.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

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• More than 2,000 students and 500-plus teachers across Mississippi have been quarantined due to coronavirus exposure.
• Some schools reopened at the end of July and others at the start of August, but schools in eight counties only resumed in-person classes on Monday.
• Already, 199 students and 245 teachers have been infected across 71 counties, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said.
• Gov. Tate Reeves announced that the state is going to make it easier for teachers to get tested for coronavirus, even if they're asymptomatic, and provide emergency telehealth services for students covered by Medicaid.
• Reeves, who said he is "very interested in college football happening," told the state's residents to "keep doing what you're doing."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Schools across eight counties in Mississippi opened their doors to students and teachers on August 17. 

One day later, 2,035 students and 589 teachers were quarantined for two weeks after being exposed to the coronavirus, the local CBS affiliate WJTV reported. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said that 199 students and 245 teachers across 71 counties have been infected by COVID-19. 

That's a significant uptick from the caseload on August 14 when 39 counties of the state's 82 counties reported that 69 students and 109 teachers had tested positive for the disease, according to the Clarion-Ledger.

But Gov. Tate Reeves said at a news conference on Monday, "It doesn't mean they caught it there," referring to the infection, which has sickened over 73,200 people and killed at least 2,127 across Mississippi.

He also highlighted that he is "very interested in college football happening,"the Mississippi Free Press reported.

"So what I would say to you is, keep doing what you're doing. Wear a mask. Stay socially distanced. Do not get in large groups for social reasons," Reeves added.

Some Mississippi schools reopened in late July, followed by others in early August, but many have yet to resume in-person instruction. Reeves has received flak from critics who believe he allowed schools to reopen prematurely, the Clarion-Ledger said.

As schools continue to reopen, Reeves said that emergency telehealth services will be offered at public schools where students receive health insurance through Medicaid, the Mississippi Free Press reported.

"This will allow schools, even those without school nurses or school-based clinics, to access telehealth services," Reeves said. "A physician, a nurse practitioner, or physician assistant will be able to provide remote services in schools across the state." 

Reeves also unveiled a new policy aimed at making it easier for teachers to get coronavirus tests at state facilities, even if they aren't displaying any COVID-19 symptoms, the Clarion-Ledger said. A drive-thru site is available in Jackson and, Dobbs said, 16 new testing teams will make their way across health departments statewide to offer free testing to teachers.

Asymptomatic teachers — or those who aren't sure if they have been exposed as yet — need not quarantine while awaiting coronavirus test results, Dobbs added.

"We also know that testing can allow us to prevent the spread of the virus by immediately identifying and isolating known cases. As teachers return to the classroom, we want to make it simple for them to get access to testing," Reeves said, per the Mississippi Free Press.

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Five states voted to legalize marijuana in ballot measures during Tuesday's election, though the decisions might have little impact on people behind bars facing drug convictions. 

Marijuana legalization policy experts told Insider that the votes in New Jersey, Mississippi, Arizona, Montana, and South Dakota were a "huge step" toward national legalization, but said the laws don't do enough to help criminal justice reform.

"It doesn't make sense for people to be rotting in jail for crimes that are now legalized," Morgan Fox, media relations director at the National Cannabis Industry Association, told Insider.

Arizona, Montana, and New Jersey voted to legalize the recreational possession of marijuana by adults in Tuesday's election, while voters in Mississippi approved the legalization of medical marijuana. Voters in South Dakota, meanwhile, approved both medical and recreational use of marijuana.

With Tuesday's votes, 35 states and Washington, DC, have now passed or voted to pass medical marijuana access laws, while 15 and Washington, DC, have passed or voted to passed recreational marijuana access laws.

But in many states, there isn't an automatic process to expunge — or seal — prior marijuana convictions from a person's criminal record. Further, some states require inmates behind bars to file petitions for re-sentencings or dismissals of marijuana charges.

Getting a marijuana conviction expunged is difficult in many states where the drug is legalized

Sixty-seven percent of Americans polled by Pew Research last year said marijuana should be legalized, and while the legal marijuana industry could be a multi-billion dollar industry in the US, Insider reported last year that it's currently costing Americans billions of dollars annually through possession arrests, court cases, and incarceration rates.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports on its website that only five states — New Jersey, California, Illinois, New York, and Vermont — have an automatic expungement process, which allows people with prior marijuana convictions to have the charges sealed on their criminal record. Other states require people to petition the conviction in court.

Arizona and Montana provided language about expungement or re-sentencings in their ballot measures for Tuesday's election, both require petitioning.

Sarah Gersten, executive director and general counsel at the Last Prisoner Project, an organization dedicated to bringing restorative justice to the cannabis industry, told Insider that the process of getting re-sentenced or having a retroactive release is also difficult because of petition laws.

She said privacy laws create further barriers between inmates and re-sentencing and retroactive release programs, and petitions are made more difficult for inmates to understand through legal jargon, language barriers among inmates for which English is not their first language, and by a lack of finances among inmates that could help fund legal representation.

"If you're currently incarcerated, especially right now during the pandemic, there are so many restrictions on communication, on accessing this type of information," Gersten added. "It might be really, really difficult to know what you would be eligible for with this type of law."

New legalization laws could help communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests

While it could take a long time for prisoners charged with marijuana crimes to feel the impact of the new laws, Gersten and Fox said that legalizing marijuana can help prevent arrests in marginalized and minority areas.

They said states should use tax revenue from newly legal cannabis industries to provide capital and programs to people in communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana arrests so they can actually access the legal industry.

"The best way to address that is making sure there are low barriers to entry like low license fees, no license caps, which introduce competition in the license phase instead of the market where it belongs, and investing in community programs and providing resources," Fox said.

Federal laws still prohibit interstate commerce of marijuana, but Fox said that it will be interesting to watch how more rural states like South Dakota and Montana take on their marijuana market.

"There might be a lot of people that are very interested in getting into the cultivation side in all of these states, but it's limited in that they can only operate in that state market. It's limited to the consumer base," he said.

Ultimately, the legalization in five new states is a sign of what could come, Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, told Insider in a statement.

"Voters' actions last evening were an unequivocal rebuke to the longstanding policy of federal marijuana prohibition, and is an indication that marijuana legalization is far from a 'fringe' issue, but rather one that is now embraced by mainstream America," he said. "For over two decades, the public has spoken loudly and clearly. They favor ending the failed policies of marijuana prohibition and replacing it with a policy of legalization, regulation, taxation, and public education. Elected officials — at both the state and federal level — ought to be listening."

• Read more:
• All the states where marijuana is legal — and 5 more that just voted to legalize it
• The racist origins of marijuana prohibition
• Cannabis stocks drop as the possibility of a Republican Senate dims federal legalization hopes
• The ultimate guide to marijuana legalization: Here are all the states that passed cannabis reform, the key dates to know, and which stocks could benefit the most.

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A Republican lawmaker from Mississippi called for his state to "succeed" from the US and form its own country after President-elect Joe Biden won the election.

State Rep. Price Wallace called for the secession in a tweet that has since been deleted, according to the Mississippi Free Press.

"We need to succeed from the union and form our own country," he wrote on Saturday, presumably meaning "secede."

It's unclear how Mississippi would go about separating from the US or why Wallace deleted the tweet. He did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

But he is one of a number of Mississippi's leading Republicans to back President Donald Trump's efforts to discredit the results of last week's election.

Mississippi's attorney general on Monday joined a lawsuit alongside nine other Republican attorneys general in a legal action to challenge Pennsylvania's mail-in ballot extension.

"Courts don't write the laws, they interpret them, and what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did here was an egregious overreach that needs to be corrected so it doesn't become precedent," Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement to the Free Press.

Some Republican lawmakers in Mississippi, however, have applauded the historical significance of Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' win. Among them were state Reps. Jansen Owen and Kent McCarty.

"There's one woman standing on stage tonight as the Vice President-elect of our United States of America,"Owen wrote on Twitter. "Regardless of one's political ideology, this moment stands as a testament to our great nation."

McCarty also applauded the Biden-Harris win, saying people should "regardless of party" acknowledge the "historical significance of the daughter of immigrants becoming the VP of the United States."

• Read more:
• A day-by-day timeline of how Trump is blocking the kind of presidential transition he got from Biden and Obama
• Joe Biden could wipe out $50,000 of student debt without Congress. Here are 3 other areas he can help the struggling US economy even with a GOP-controlled Senate.
• Pompeo hasn't recognized Biden as president-elect but is about to travel to 7 countries that have
• Just like in 2008, Joe Biden is coming into the White House during an economic crisis. But we are in much better shape this time around.

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Buying a home in Mississippi

According to Zillow, the typical home value in Mississippi is lower than the typical value of $259,906 across the US. The typical home value in Mississippi is $131,774, and Zillow expects it to increase to $139,000 by September 2021.

First-time homebuyer programs in Mississippi

You may eligible for one or more of the following programs from the Mississippi Home Corporation:

• Smart Solution: Get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and receive a 3.5% loan for down payment assistance. The down payment loan will have the same interest rate as your mortgage, and you'll pay back the loan over 10 years.
• Housing Assistance for Teachers: The state will give you a $6,000 grant toward your mortgage costs if you're a public school teacher in certain counties and subject areas. You don't need to repay this grant.
• MRB 7: Borrow up to $7,000 for down payment assistance. You won't pay any interest, and you'll pay off the loan when you sell, refinance, or completely pay off your mortgage.
• Mortgage Credit Certificate: Claim 40% of the interest you pay on your mortgage on your federal taxes, up to $2,000 per year. You can combine the MCC program with the Mississippi Home Corporation's other assistance loans.

Historic mortgage rates for Mississippi

By looking at the average mortgage rates in Mississippi since 2010, you can see trends for 30-year fixed mortgages, 15-year fixed mortgages, and 5/1 adjustable mortgages:

Seeing how today's rates compare to historic Mississippi mortgage rates may help you decide whether you'd be getting a good deal by getting a mortgage or refinancing now.

30-year fixed mortgage rates

A 30-year fixed mortgage comes with a higher interest rate than a shorter-term fixed-rate mortgage. The 30-year fixed rates used to be higher than adjustable rates, but 30-year terms have become the better deal recently.

Your monthly payments on a 30-year term will be lower than on a shorter-term mortgage. You're spreading payments out over a longer period of time, so you'll pay less each month.

You'll pay more in interest in the long term with a 30-year term than you would for a 15-year mortgage, because a) the rate is higher, and b) you'll be paying interest for longer.

15-year fixed mortgage rates

The 15-year mortgage rates are lower than 30-year mortgage rates. Between the lower rates and paying off the loan in half the time, you'll pay less in the long run on a 15-year mortgage than on a longer term.

However, your monthly payments will be higher on a 15-year loan than on a 30-year loan. You're paying off the same principal amount in a shorter amount of time, so you'll pay more each month.

Adjustable mortgage rates

With an adjustable-rate loan, your rate stays the same for the first few years, then changes periodically. For example, your rate is locked in for the first five years on a 5/1 ARM, then your rate increases or decreases once per year.

ARM rates are at all-time lows right now, but a fixed-rate mortgage is still the better deal. The 30-year fixed rates are comparable to or lower than ARM rates. It could be in your best interest to lock in a low rate with a 30-year or 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rather than risk your rate increasing later with an ARM.

If you're considering an ARM, you should still ask your lender about what your individual rates would be if you chose a fixed-rate versus adjustable-rate mortgage.

Refinancing your mortgage in Mississippi

Mortgage refinance rates are at all-time lows right now, so it could be a good idea to switch your current mortgage for one with a better interest rate — especially if the new rate would be significantly lower.

You may decide to refinance with the same lender that gave you your initial mortgage, but it's not always the best idea. A different lender may offer you a better deal the second time around. Shop around for a company that will offer the best interest rate and charge relatively low fees.

How to get a low interest rate on your mortgage

Here are some tips for landing a good interest rate on your mortgage:

• Save more for a down payment. With a conventional loan, you may be able to put down as little as 3%. But lenders reward a higher down payment with a better interest rate. Mortgage rates should stay low for a while, so you may have time to save a bigger down payment.
• Increase your credit score. Many lenders require a minimum credit score of 620 to receive a mortgage. But you can land a better interest rate with a higher score. The most important factor for boosting your score is to pay all your bills on time.
• Lower your debt-to-income ratio. Your DTI is the amount you pay toward debts each month, divided by your gross monthly income. Most lenders want to see a DTI of 36% or less for a conventional mortgage, but a lower DTI can result in a lower rate. To improve your DTI, pay down debts or consider opportunities to increase your income.
• Choose a USDA or VA loan. If you're eligible, you might consider a USDA loan (for low-to-moderate income borrowers buying in a rural area) or a VA loan (for military families). These types of mortgages typically charge lower rates than FHA or conventional loans — and you don't need any money for a down payment.

Improving your financial situation and choosing the right type of mortgage for your needs can help you get the best interest rate possible.

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GOP lawmakers across the US are eyeing new restrictions on abortion in the new year, with the harshest proposals aiming to criminalize women who obtain abortions and the doctors who perform the procedure.

An Arizona bill proposed by Rep. Walt Blackman, a Republican representing Snowflake, would change Arizona law to add "an unborn child in the womb at any stage of development" as a person, allowing prosecutors to charge both the women who obtain an abortion with "homicide by abortion," according to a report from Arizona Central.

Blackman has previously espoused staunch anti-abortion views, saying in August that people who are pro-choice need to "spend some time in our Arizona penal system," according to the report. Under the proposal, women and their doctors could be charged with first-degree murder, a charge that carries the possibility of the death penalty.

Read more: The Biden administration may be historically diverse, but almost half of its staffers hold Ivy League degrees

The bill comes as a number of states consider anti-choice proposals that would place greater burdens on women who seek abortions. An Ohio law, signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine late last year, required fetal tissue be buried or cremated following an abortion.

In Indiana, a law signed by then-Gov. Mike Pence has finally gone into effect after a four-year legal battle with Planned Parenthood, the Tribune-Star reported. The law requires a mother to receive an ultrasound 18 hours before an abortion, which pro-choice advocates argued placed an undue burden on the person seeking an abortion.

A bill in Mississippi, also proposed by a Republican state lawmaker last week, similarly would charge women and a medical provider who provides an abortion with felony murder. As WREG reported, the state of Mississippi currently has just one abortion provider, located in the city of Jackson.

Under the Mississippi proposal, made by GOP state Rep. Dan Eubanks, an abortion provider would face a fine of up to $25,000 and could spend up to 10 years in prison for performing the procedure.

Republican lawmakers in New Hampshire have likewise made attempts to limit access to abortion in the state. One bill, proposed by Republican Rep. Beth Folsom, would prohibit abortion after 24 weeks of gestation. Another bill, proposed by GOP Rep. Walter Stapleton, would prohibit abortion "to terminate the life of a viable fetus," as the Concord Monitor reported.

South Carolina Republicans also put forth legislation to limit abortion, proposing a bill that would halt abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, an effort often called a "heartbeat bill." The South Carolina proposal does not include exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape or incest, according to The State.

Republicans in the Kansas House of Representatives last week took steps to amend the state constitution as part of their effort to overturn a 2019 decision from the state supreme court that found the Kansas Constitution granted women the right to abortion, the Kansas City Star reported.

SEE ALSO: From abortion care to LGBTQ rights, here's how Joe Biden is prepared to tear up Donald Trump's restrictive gender policies

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"The cause for heartbreak is still quite high," said Kristin Ford, the national communications director for NARAL Pro-Choice America. 

Pro-choice organizations and activists, like those at NARAL and its numerous affiliates across the US, are regrouping, facing a new administration after four years working under the confines of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, both of whom were vocally anti-choice during their four years in the White House. 

But the time is now for pro-choice advocates to get to work, Ford said. After years of running defense under Trump and his administration, advocates in support of protecting and strengthening access to abortion now find themselves playing offense.

With President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the White House and Democrats firmly in control of both chambers of Congress, pro-choice advocates say they're hopeful about the future.  

"Logistically, there's a lot of work afoot and just a ton of really important priorities," Ford told Insider. "The Biden-Harris administration really made their commitment clear on the campaign trail, and we're going to continue to remind them of that and be active partners in whatever we can to help make sure all that needs to happen does happen." 

Read more: Biden gets busy reversing Trump-era restrictions on gender and reproductive rights. His policies are even more progressive than past Democratic presidents.

Ford pointed toward the "global gag rule" also known as the "Mexico City policy," which was expanded under Trump and prevents foreign organizations from providing abortion services or counseling if they receive US funding. Biden is expected to reverse the rule in the coming days.

She also said activists were focused on eliminating Trump-era changes made to the Title X family planning program that cut federal funding from providers who offer or refer patients for abortion. Pro-choice activists also hope to relax restrictions on abortion medication, she said. The Supreme Court earlier in January upheld a rule the Trump administration sought to enforce, requiring women to appear in person to obtain abortion pills. The rule had been relaxed due to the pandemic.

State legislatures and conservative judges pose continued threats to abortion access under Biden 

There are some potential headwinds for the Biden administration going forward. Trump appointed more than 200 federal judges during his time in office, according to the Pew Research Center. And the Supreme Court now has a majority conservative bench after Trump appointed three justices during his time as president: Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and most recently, Amy Coney Barrett.

These changes could spell trouble for the pro-choice movement, Ford said, especially as GOP-controlled state legislatures mull over what she called "draconian" restrictions on abortion access with bills that could end up in court. There are already cases in the Supreme Court's pipeline for the current term.

In 2019, following Kavanaugh's appointment, Ford said members of the GOP in state legislatures across the US saw an opportunity to push anti-choice legislation.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks changes in abortion law, there were 58 new restrictions placed on abortions in 2019, but in the same year, 36 states took action to introduce abortion protections.

"For a long time, the anti-choice movement seemed to publicly adopt a more incrementalist approach and tried to have a more palatable face on their work, and the jig is really up," Ford said. The prominent voices in the anti-choice movement are pretty vocal and unified they want to outlaw abortion period no exceptions. No caveats."

Some, she noted, have also been in favor of restricting access to contraception, which she called an "extraordinarily out-of-the-mainstream position." 

Some states attempted to restrict abortion through measures more broadly aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. Several states last year enacted such measures declaring abortion procedures nonessential, according to a report from the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.

But 2021 has already seen a number of anti-choice bills appear across state legislatures. Bills proposed by lawmakers in Arizona and Mississippi, for example, would charge women and their doctors with murder if they carry out an abortion. Lawmakers in South Carolina have proposed what's commonly called a "heartbeat bill," which prohibits abortion after a fetal heartbeat is detected.

"It's really alarming the number of states that are not just trying to roll back access to abortion but are introducing these truly horrifying over-reaches into people's personal decision-making that carry criminal penalties," Ford said.

"You're talking about a scenario in which people are criminalized for the outcome of their pregnancy, and that's not just about abortion," she continued. "You can envision a scenario in which people are interrogated for a miscarriage or for experiencing pregnancy loss." 

Despite efforts to restrict abortion access, approximately 79% of Americans support access to abortion, at least in some circumstances, Gallup polling data from May 2020 shows.

Activists also hope Biden will help dismantle the Hyde Amendment

The Hyde Amendment, passed in 1976 — not long after the Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, "blocks federal funds from being used to pay for abortion outside of the exceptions for rape, incest, or if the pregnancy is determined to endanger the woman's life," according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The law prohibits Medicaid and other federal programs from providing funds for abortion care. In practice, the amendment disproportionately targets low-income women, women of color, and LGBTQ people, said Kelsey Ryland, co-director of the coverage campaign for All* Above All, an organization led by women of color that labels itself a "catalyst for abortion justice." 

"I think when we look at the double crisis of a pandemic and the call to racial justice in our country, we see that people who are impacted by the Hyde Amendment are the same folks who are at the center of these double crises," Ryland said, pointing toward the pandemic's adverse impacts on minority communities and the nationwide racial justice protests that grieved the public conscience last summer. "I think the pandemic has really exposed the inequity in our healthcare system."

For years, Biden supported the Hyde Amendment, but while campaigning for president in 2019, he wooed pro-choice activists by pledging to repeal it.

"If I believe health care is a right, as I do, I can no longer support an amendment that makes that right dependent on someone's zip code," Biden said.

His statement came July 7 that year, days after the former vice president had said he still supported the 1976 amendment, prompting an immediate backlash from his opponents in what was a heated race between Democrats for the party's nomination.

"I can't justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need and the ability to exercise their constitutionally protected right," Biden added, explaining his reversal on the Hyde Amendment.

At a press briefing on January 20, the first day of the Biden administration, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki avoided a reporter's question about Biden's plan for the amendment, reminding reporters instead that the new president was a "devout Catholic." 

Even if Biden does follow through with his campaign promise to oppose the amendment, activists still face hurdles from congressional Republicans, many of whom on Tuesday signed an open letter in support of the amendment.

"If the Biden administration truly wants to address racial inequity and make sure people can get the healthcare they need, we need them to end the Hyde Amendment and also increase access to medication abortion," Ryland said.

Biden is expected to announce executive orders pertaining to abortion on January 28. 

SEE ALSO: Biden gets busy reversing Trump-era restrictions on gender and reproductive rights. His policies are even more progressive than past Democratic presidents.

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As Americans navigate a COVID-19 vaccine rollout that looks wildly different from state to state, some are crossing state lines to get their shots.

Not all of these people are wealthy vaccine tourists looking to jump the line, and they're not just going to Florida. Although the Sunshine State has vaccinated the greatest number of out-of-staters (of the states that have data available), Pennsylvania's ratio of non-residents to residents getting vaccines is more than twice as high.

Some of these non-residents may be people who work outside of their home state, while others traveled to get vaccinated because they didn't qualify at home. It can be frustrating to watch vaccine rollout stall in your area while there are appointments available just over the border, one vaccine seeker told Insider.

The real source of confusion and driver of vaccine-related travel is inconsistency between states, former CDC director Tom Frieden said in a Resolve to Save Lives briefing.

"Although we do our healthcare by state, not only in the US but globally, we really have to reduce differences between areas," said Frieden, who is president and CEO of Resolve. "You'd really want criteria to be as consistent across the country as possible, and also for performance to be as consistent as possible."

Here are four states where differences in vaccine rollout have attracted out-of-staters.

Southern vaccine seekers are traveling to Mississippi

Vaccine seekers from Georgia and Louisiana are traveling to Mississippi to get their shots, according to local news and social media.

In the Facebook groups NOLA Vaccine Hunters and Georgia Vaccine Hunters, members have shared reports of successful trips to Mississippi. Many of the members qualify to get vaccinated there but wouldn't be eligible in their home states.

Christopher Doherty, a 31-year-old man living in Atlanta, told Insider he drove four hours to Mississippi to get his first Moderna shot earlier this month. As a type 1 diabetic, he qualified for Mississippi's current phase of rollout while Georgia has stalled in phase 1a+.

At the drive-thru clinic where he got vaccinated, Doherty confirmed his address and county in Georgia. Although Mississippi health officials have said their vaccine supply is reserved for people living and working in the state, Doherty said he didn't have any trouble getting his first shot there and was able to schedule his second.

The number of out-of-staters vaccinated in Mississippi was 6,777 as of February 8, Liz Sharlot, director of communications for the state health department, told Insider.

Florida was an early vaccine tourism destination

Florida was one of the first states to vaccinate adults aged 65 and older. Although other states have since expanded their eligibility criteria, the Sunshine State earned an early reputation as a destination for vaccine seekers.

Vaccine tourists from other states and countries flocked to Florida in January, until the state issued a public health advisory that requires people to show proof of full-time or part-time residency to get a shot. Still, a pair of New York real estate magnates, at least a dozen Argentinian corporate executives, and a popular Mexican TV host all got vaccinated in Florida before the rules changed.

Approximately 63,700 out-of-staters were at least partially vaccinated in Florida at the time of publication, making up nearly 3% of the state's total vaccinations, according to state data.

That total includes people who live in Florida part-time but have a primary residence somewhere else, the Florida Department of Health confirmed in an email to Insider.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has drawn a line between "snowbirds" who spend their winters in the state and so-called vaccine tourists. People with part-time residences in Florida are welcome to get vaccinated there, but DeSantis discouraged people from traveling to the state just to get their shots.

Pennsylvania does not require people to show proof of residency to get a vaccine

In Pennsylvania, you don't need proof of residency to get vaccinated — in fact, the state prohibits vaccine providers from requiring it.

"Because the federal government purchased the vaccine, anyone in a priority group should be allowed to receive it, regardless of their place of residency," Maggi Barton, deputy press secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, wrote in an email to Insider.

Pennsylvania has vaccinated a greater proportion of out-of-staters than Florida, despite being a lesser-known spot for vaccine seekers. At the time of publication, about 6.7% of people vaccinated in Pennsylvania were not residents of the state.

That's more than 53,000 out-of-staters at least partially vaccinated in Pennsylvania, according to state data. Many of those people could be healthcare workers and long-term care facility staff who live out of state but work in Pennsylvania, but the state is also offering vaccines to seniors and people with high-risk health conditions.

Arizona's governor requested more doses for part-time residents

Florida isn't the only state with a snowbird population. Arizona also sees some winter visitors who might need to get vaccinated in the state.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey told CNN earlier this month that he asked the Biden administration for 300,000 additional vaccine doses to accommodate the extra demand from visitors.

However, Arizona's vaccine data dashboard does not include a total number of out-of-staters vaccinated there, so it's hard to gauge how many snowbirds are really demanding vaccines. 

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Mississippi voted on Thursday to ban young transgender athletes from competing in women's sports at state schools and universities, The Associated Press reported.

The state's Senate, which is controlled by Republicans, passed the bill in a 34-9 vote with very little prior discussion, AP reported. 

The bill will now be voted on in the Mississippi House of Representatives, where Republicans also hold the majority.

Read more: 21 professional athletes who identify as LGBTQ

"I've had numerous coaches across the state call me and believe that they feel there's a need for a policy in Mississippi because they are beginning to have some concerns of having to deal with this," the bill's sponsor, Sen. Angela Hill, told her her colleagues before the vote, according to AP.

Mississippi is not the first state to pass legislation in relation to transgender rights this year.

Within the first two weeks of 2021, lawmakers in at least 14 states, including Montana and North Dakota, proposed bills that would restrict the freedoms of LGBTQ residents, according to LGBTQ advocacy group  Freedom For All Americans. Most of these bills impact young trans people in athletics.

Those in favor of the restrictions argue that having athletes who are born male compete among women gives them an unfair advantage. Meanwhile, those against them say restrictions are discriminatory, harmful, and transphobic.

"All this bill does is put transgender youth at risk of bullying, exclusion, and increased danger while discrimination and violence against transgender people is at a record high in this country," the Human Rights Campaign Mississippi's state director, Rob Hill said, according to CNN.

"If legislators would simply listen to medical experts and transgender athletes, they might know that transitioning for the sake of competitive advantage is simply unrealistic. So is the idea that transgender athletes even gain a supposed advantage in the first place," Hill added.

Last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order banning discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation in school sports, the workplace, and other settings.

"Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love," the order read.

In April last year, Idaho became the first state to ban trans athletes from competing in women's sports. The bill claimed that the benefits of natural testosterone cannot be diminished by hormone treatments and that having sex-specific teams promotes sex equality. 

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Texas on Tuesday became the largest state in the US to lift its mask mandate.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order set to end all COVID-19 restrictions on March 10. He tweeted that "Texas is OPEN 100%," and said "people and businesses don't need the state telling them how to operate."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Monday of a potential resurgence of coronavirus infections in the US, despite a dip in numbers of new cases nationally.

"At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained," Rochelle Walensky, the head of the CDC, said. "Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities."

Texas isn't the only place in the US easing restrictions. Mississippi, Louisiana, and Michigan, as well as Chicago and San Francisco, all made announcements to ease restrictions on Tuesday, though the details varied.

Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, and Mississippi have already waived mask-wearing restrictions, and Michigan has eased other lockdown restrictions. Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina have not enforced state-wide mask mandates throughout the pandemic.

In Florida and South Dakota, schools and businesses have been widely open for months.

More than 35 US states have kept their mask-wearing rules in place, albeit with variable enforcement.

Here is how some other states, as well as some cities, are easing their restrictions.

Chicago

Chicago announced Tuesday that hospitality, sports, and performance venues could increase to 50% capacity, up from 40%. The maximum number of people is 50, or 20 people for indoor fitness classes. Curfews were also extended. The changes were effective as of Tuesday.

San Francisco

Mayor London Breed of San Francisco said Tuesday that indoor dining, indoor fitness, museums, and movie theaters would be allowed to reopen Wednesday at limited capacity.

Louisiana

Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana said on Tuesday that starting Wednesday, businesses could operate at 75% capacity, except in indoor event halls, which were limited to 50% capacity at a maximum of 250 people.

Live music could also resume indoors. He said that the state's mask mandate would continue, and the new rules would remain in place for at least 28 days, until March 31.

Michigan

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan announced easing of restrictions on Tuesday, set to take effect on Friday.

Restaurants would be able to operate at 50% capacity — increased from 25% — and retail, entertainment, and sports facilities could open at increased capacity, she said. People can also visit a nursing home after a negative COVID-19 test.

Michigan has a state-wide mask-mandate, and Whitmer said mask-wearing, social distancing, and washing hands was "more important than ever."

Mississippi

Mississippi rescinded a state-wide mask order in September, but Gov. Tate Reeves of Mississippi said Tuesday that county-specific mandates would be lifted too. He also said that the only COVID-19 restrictions that would remain were a 50% cap on the number of people in indoor arenas, and that certain restrictions would remain in schools.

North Carolina

Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina eased restrictions starting February 26, lifting a curfew and allowing indoor venues to operate at limited capacity. There is still a mask mandate.

Arkansas

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on February 26 lifted capacity limits for bars, restaurants, gyms, and large venues. He said that the state's mask mandate would remain in place until March, provided the number of cases and hospitalizations were low.

Massachusetts

Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts said February 25 that restaurants could open at full capacity — albeit with social distancing and table size and time restrictions — starting Monday.

Other venues could open at 50% capacity, with no more than 500 people allowed inside. A state-wide mask mandate is still in place.

Washington

Gov. Jay Inslee lifted restrictions for five counties in the state on February 14, and allowed restaurants to open up at 25% capacity.

Montana

Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana terminated the state's mask mandate February 12.

Iowa

Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa lifted restrictions February 5. Iowans no longer have to wear face coverings in public. Businesses can have as many people as they want inside and don't have to abide social-distance guidelines.

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President Joe Biden on Wednesday called recent decisions in Texas and Mississippi to defy federal public health guidance and lift their face mask mandates "a big mistake" and a result of "Neanderthal thinking." 

On Tuesday, Texas became the largest state to end its state-wide mask mandate and Mississippi lifted its county-specific mask mandates after ending its state order in September. 

"I hope everyone's realized by now these masks make a difference," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office. "The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that in the meantime everything's fine, take off your mask -- forget it. It still matters." 

He added that it's "critical, critical, critical that they follow the science: wash your hands -- hot water, do it frequently -- wear a mask, and stay socially distanced. I know you all know that, I wish to heck some of our elected officials knew it."

Several states have loosened their COVID-19 mitigation policies in recent weeks and months. The Republican governors of Iowa, Montana, and North Dakota all ended their states' mask mandates earlier this year. While North Carolina, Michigan, Louisiana, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Chicago, and San Francisco have begun easing restrictions on indoor dining and other activities, they've kept their state-wide mask orders in place. 

Federal health officials are urging Americans to continue wearing masks in public, social distancing, and washing their hands. 

"At this level of cases, with variants spreading, we stand to completely lose the hard-earned ground we have gained," Rochelle Walensky, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said this week. "Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities."

SEE ALSO: Biden says the US will have enough vaccines for 'every adult in America' by the end of May

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