Rebel emblem removed

Mississippi lawmakers have voted to surrender the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag more than a century after white supremacist legislators adopted the design a generation after the South lost the Civil War. Spectators in the Capitol cheered and applauded after the votes in the House and Senate. Each chamber had broad bipartisan support for the historic decision. Republican Governor Tate Reeves has said he will sign the bill, and the state flag will lose its official status as soon as he does. That could happen in the next few days.