Jackson Free Press

There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them:

1. Mississippi State Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ellisville, received a $500,000 donation for his campaign for U.S. Senate thanks to GOP mega-donor Robert Mercer, the investor behind a firm that harvested the data of 50 million Facebook users during the 2016 election.
2. The Jackson City Council voted to hire a team of certified public accountants to perform a "forensic audit" to assess the financial status of the Jackson Zoo.
3. Mississippi leaders, including Gov. Phil Bryant, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy and U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, condemned efforts from a then-unknown perpetrator to send bombs to high-profile Democrats.
4. The Jackson City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to support the students of Forest Hill High School and ask for the band director to be reinstated after an Oct. 6 performance in Brookhaven.
5. Tammie Townsend's son was found hanging from a tree in Scott County in February. Rukia Lumumba is one of the Jackson lawyers taking on the case pro bono.
6. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy defended supporters of Republican opponent Chris McDaniel after incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's communications director described their behavior as "horrific."
7. Ward 6 Councilman Aaron Banks and Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes both authored items in support of the Forest Hill High School band for an Oct. 23 council meeting.
8. Jackson and Hattiesburg lead among Mississippi's nine largest cities in LGBT equality, the Human Rights Campaign says in a new report.
9. Candidates and political action committees are increasing advertising ahead of the crowded Nov. 6 special election for a U.S. Senate seat in Mississippi.
10. A tracker apparently working for the right-wing America Rising PAC impersonated a Jackson Free Press reporter at a campaign event, a campaign staffer for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Mike Espy says.

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