Immigration
Michael Watson Wants to Flag Citizen Status When Voters Register
If elected, Mississippi Sen. Michael Watson wants to use the secretary of state's office to run background checks on people when they register to vote—and flag people who may not …
Politics
GOP Gov Hopefuls: Expand Medicaid to Help ‘Working’ People; Reeves Abstains
A mostly white and conservative crowd at the Neshoba County Fair roared approval on Thursday as Republican candidates for governor pledged to bring the final piece of former President Barack …
Health Care
In Neshoba, Lieutenant Gov Candidates Duel, Detail (Some) Issue Stances
In Mississippi, lieutenant governors are powerful, with executive and legislative roles. They serve as the president of the Senate, which gives them significant leverage in choosing the committee chairs who …
Crime
Prison System 'Like Chattel Slavery': Activists Rally for Mississippi Reform
Behind the granite back of a high-perched Confederate soldier and a Mississippi state flag, a multi-racial crowd sang freedom songs as mothers held signs, pleading for help for their incarcerated …
Civil Rights
Till Marker Pic Shows 'Little Progress' in State, Lawmaker Says
When a trio of male students from the University of Mississippi posed with rifles next to a bullet-ridden Emmett Till memorial marker, they were representing an unfortunate truth about racism …
Development
Hood Calls Tech, Women's Opportunities 'The Hope for Our Future'
Right now, though, just over 30% of the state does not have access to high-speed broadband service at all and remains limited to relying on slower options, like dial-up, to …
Cover
GOP AG’s Race: A ‘Crusade’ Against Drugs
Mississippi Rep. Mark Baker, R-Brandon, is running on a “tough on crime” approach to drugs. Andy Taggart has a more balanced platform.
Cover
Vying for Mississippi Governor: The Issues Post-GOP Debate and Beyond
Find out where top candidates in the race for governor stand on issues like Medicaid expansion, private school vouchers, teacher pay, mental health, abortion rights, and more.
City & County
JPS Unveils 'Transformational' Plan for Public Schools
Jackson Public Schools now has a plan to "transform" education in Mississippi's capital city. City leaders say it will help ensure that all children in the district get a high-quality …
Gender
Hood: Governors Can’t Do Their Job and Follow the ‘Billy Graham Rule’
Republican candidates who say they cannot be alone with women who are not their wives are “ridiculous,” Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said in a fundraising email sent to supporters …
Politics
Black Woman Accuses Dem Leader of Ignoring Her Governor Run
Velesha P. Williams, an African American woman from Jackson who is running for the Democratic nomination for governor of Mississippi, says party Chairman Bobby Moak will not "respect or acknowledge" …
Development
Reeves' 'Ready to Work' Plan Caps Tuition for Some, Adds K-12 Coding
In front of a crowd of enthusiastic college educators, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves announced his plan to make Mississippi a "Ready to Work" state.
Immigration
'Horrified' Activists Rally Against Natchez Migrant Facility
Immigrants rights activists protested against the Trump administration's decision to open immigrant detention facilities in Mississippi outside the U.S. District Court court building in Jackson on July 12, 2019.
City & County
Lumumba Endorses Jody Owens for Hinds District Attorney
Jody Owens has "demonstrated a commitment" to making Jackson better, Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba said during a live WMPR 90.1 radio broadcast of Coffee and Conversations with Wanda Evers on …
City & County
What Mississippi Voters Want
We asked Mississippi voters which issues they want candidates to talk about. From potholes, to poverty, to higher teacher pay and help with college, here’s what they told us.
Crime
Will a Court Force Mississippi to Change on Mental Health?
In a 2017 report, ProPublica identified more than 100 cases in which Mississippians with mental illnesses were spending long periods in jail waiting for a bed or evaluation from the …
Civil Rights
Prison Breakouts a Result of 'Mass Incarceration,' Mississippi Orgs Say
Three prison inmates may not have escaped last week if not for Mississippi's "mass incarceration problem," a group of civil-rights organizations said in a press statement on Friday.
Civil Rights
Jackson Attorney to Represent Flowers in Possible Seventh Trial
A Jackson-area civil rights attorney is vowing to represent an African American man after a prosecutor accused of racial bias said he plans to try him a seventh time for …
Politics
ACLU Leader Steps Down to Focus on Attorney General Race
Jennifer Riley Collins, the Democratic candidate in Mississippi's race for attorney general, is now a full-time campaigner after she stepped down from her role as head of the American Civil …
Civil Rights
Joe Biden's Praise for Segregationists Spans Decades
As a liberal Democratic senator before segregationists switched to the GOP, Joe Biden's friendships extended to not only conservatives, but notorious racist Dixiecrats like former Sen. Strom Thurmond of South …
Politics
‘The Lady’ Who Hit Mississippi’s Glass Ceiling
For all of her success, Evelyn Gandy could not break Mississippi's highest glass ceiling; twice, she lost bids for governor against less-qualified men.
Abortion
Hood to Appeal Fetal 'Heartbeat' Law Ruling, Citing 'Duty'
On Friday, State Attorney General Jim Hood will appeal U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves ruling that struck down Mississippi's recently passed fetal "heartbeat" law to a higher court, …
Civil Rights
Supreme Court Strikes Curtis Flowers Murder Conviction, Citing Race
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the murder conviction of Curtis Flowers, an African American man whom prosecutors have tried six times for the same 1996 slayings of four people …
Business
Reeves' Kemper Bill Let Mississippi Power Shift $1 Billion to Customers
Mississippi Power's gambit to build a first-of-its kind "clean coal" plant in one of the poorest counties in Mississippi failed, but not before state ratepayers helped finance its construction to …
Abortion
Death Rates Rise for Mississippi Children and Teens
Mortality rates for Mississippi's teens and children have risen in the past nine years, a report that the Annie E. Casey Foundation published on Monday found.
Politics
Women's Group Honors Evelyn Gandy: 'A Giant in Mississippi Politics'
Jennifer Ingram Johnson was the featured speaker at a League of Women Voters luncheon meant to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to …
LGBT
The Fight for Family Goes On
After the Obergefell decision, Mississippi’s leaders "made sure to let us know we are still beneath the religious elite," Rev. Brandiilyne Mangum-Dear said. "We may have acquired marriage that day …
Politics
Black Voting Strength at Stake in Republican Request to 5th Circuit
Mississippi Republican leaders are fighting a court ruling that would increase black voting power in a gerrymandered state Senate district that meanders about 100 miles from Cleveland in the Mississippi …
State
Gipson: Officers Were 'Only Trying to Help' When They Shot His Father
Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson said he does not blame the officers involved in the shooting death of his father, Harry Gipson.
Politics
AG Candidates Praise 'Heartbeat Bill,' Anti-LGBT Laws, Tort Reform
About 50 people showed up at a venue that would seat 1,200 on Wednesday night to hear Republican candidates explain why voters should elect them as Mississippi's next attorney general—the …
Health Care
Mississippi Mental Health Lawsuit Poses Concerns for Civil Rights
As a mental-health lawsuit claiming a violation of the civil rights of mentally ill Mississippians moves forward, Joy Hogge has in mind "a young person" who never received the support …
Politics
Taggart 'Disappointed' That Fitch Plans to Skip AG Debates
Republican candidate for Mississippi attorney general Andy Taggart criticized one of his opponents, State Treasurer Lynn Fitch, in an open letter on Monday because she does not plan to attend …
Personhood
Southern ‘Defiance’: The Fight for Roe Rages in Mississippi
Earlier this month, Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, who sponsored an anti-abortion bill in Mississippi this year, told the Jackson Free Press that those laws are indeed intended to trigger a …
Politics
Top Mississippi Congressman Calls for Trump Impeachment
U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson, a top Democrat in Congress, is calling for House leaders to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
Cover
The Unwritten Story: The JFP Interview with Governor Hopeful Velesha P. Williams
For two hours, Velesha P. Williams shared her vision for moving Mississippi forward, and how she, a former U.S. Army officer who also spent years working at Jackson State University, …
City & County
Lumumba on Defense: JPD Rape Claims, Suicide a 'Human Tragedy'
Jackson Police Chief James Davis was four words into answering a press question about whether he had any regrets for his handling of sexual-assault allegations against an officer when Mayor …
LGBT
'Brazen Disregard for Trans Health': Trump Ends Protections
Transgender Americans will no longer be protected from health-care discrimination after the Trump administration rolled back an Obama-era health-care policy on Friday.
Personhood
As Mississippi Debates Abortion, Maternal Mortality Remains High
In Mississippi, pregnant women already die at higher rates than in most of the country, and the state is near the top in infant mortality.
Personhood
'I Am Pissed Off': Mississippians Rage Against Abortion Bans
Opponents of abortion bans nationwide held #StopTheBans rallies across the country on Tuesday.
Personhood
Mississippi Six-Week Abortion Ban 'Smacks of Defiance,' Federal Judge Says
U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Reeves did not rule on whether or not he will block Mississippi's six-week abortion ban in federal court today. He said he will issue a …
Business
Activists Warn Against 'World's Largest Pellet Mill' in Mississippi
Enviva says it will bring jobs and millions in revenue to an ailing local economy by building the world's largest wood pellet plant in George County, but environmental groups warn …
Civil Rights
Mississippi Republicans Vote Against LGBT Civil Rights Bill
U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo, a Republican who represents Mississippi's 4th District, hearkened back to some familiar hyperbole on Friday as he blasted the Democratic-controlled Congress for passing the Equality Act.
Education
Teachers Vent Frustrations and Share Ideas at Hughes Townhall
On the penultimate day of Mississippi's 2019 legislative session, state leadership dropped an amended version of an appropriations bill for state construction projects on lawmakers just 23 minutes before asking …
Politics
Mississippi Candidates Raise Millions in Race for Governor
Mississippi candidates vying to become the state's next governor raised millions of dollars in the first political fundraising quarter.
Business
Mississippians See Growth on Amazon, But Politicians Misstate Report
Amazon reported in a May 1 press statement that Mississippi retailers boasted the fastest year-over-year growth among Amazon retailers. State leaders seized on the news but misstated the case.
Politics
Waller Exceeds Fundraising Expectations in GOP Race
Republican Bill Waller raised more than half a million dollars in his first two months in the race for governor, his campaign announced in a press release on Tuesday.
National
Louisiana 'Heartbeat Bill' Relies on Mississippi Taxpayers' Legal Defense
The Louisiana Senate passed a six-week abortion ban modeled after the one Mississippi passed in March, but with one caveat: If the Louisiana one becomes law, it will not go …
Civil Rights
Mississippi School Discriminated to Avoid White Flight, Lawsuit Claims
Nearly 50 years after federal courts ordered Cleveland High School desegregated, the Delta high school remains embroiled in battles over desegregation.
Health Care
As Mississippi Evades Measles, Activists Want Vaccine Exemptions
Mississippians need not worry about developing measles after an infected Tennessee traveler exposed diners at a Hattiesburg fast food restaurant last month, the Mississippi State Department of Health says.
