Spectators at the Mississippi Capitol broke into applause as lawmakers took the first steps toward erasing the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.

A group recommending a new Mississippi state flag has chosen five final designs — three with a magnolia blossom, one with a magnolia tree and one with a shield that has wavy lines representing ...

Mississippi’s House and Senate voted Sunday to retire the flag adopted in 1894. It's the last state flag that includes a Confederate symbol that many people condemn as racist.