State
Miss. Income Down, Poverty Up
The Magnolia State has the lowest household median income, $36,919, according to the data released yesterday.
Hurricane
Help for Isaac Recovery Available
In the wake of Hurricane Isaac, counties in the Jackson metro area--Hinds, Rankin and Madison--are among the many areas under a federal-disaster declaration.
Hurricane
Climate Change: Real or Not?
In 2008—back when President Barack Obama was a candidate—then-Sen. Obama promised to take on global warming.
Books
"Wilderness" Book Signing at Lemuria
Lance Weller signs and reads from "Wilderness" Sept. 5 at Lemuria Books beginning at 5 p.m.
Politics
Where Voter ID Stands in Mississippi
After years of unsuccessfully trying to get the Mississippi Legislature to pass a voter ID law, last November, state conservatives put the issue of voter ID to the state's voters.
Crime
Is 'Forcible' Better than 'Legitimate'?
Unless you've been hiding from everything electronic this week, you've heard about Rep. Todd Akin, a six-term Republican from Missouri, making comments about rape last weekend.
Books
Brutal and Poetic
Author of numerous non-fiction books, award-winning author Peter Heller's first foray into fiction gives readers an unusual look at one possible future.
Politics
Defending Voter ID
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann vehemently defended the state's ability to provide free Ids for its as-yet approved Voter ID law, issuing a scathing retort July 26 to "The …
Politics
'Quagmire' of Voter ID
After Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's scathing retort yesterday to "The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification," the Brennan Center for Justice is standing by its conclusions.
UPDATED: Hosemann: Brennan Center 'Deceptive'
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann barely stopped short of calling the Brennan Center for Justice a pack of liars.
chickball
Hero of the Year: Shalotta Sharp
Shalotta Sharp brings 16 years of experience as a nurse and a passion for helping and healing to every aspect of her job with the Mississippi Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Cover
The Real Roots of Evil
"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak." —Audre …
Health Care
Medicaid: A Job Creator?
Mississippi hospitals worry about the rising cost of uncompensated care if the state declines to expand Medicaid to individuals who currently lack insurance.
Bryant Signs New 'Olivia Y' Agreement
This morning, Gov. Phil Bryant signed a modified settlement agreement recommitting to the state's previous commitment to protect Mississippi's foster children.
Health Care
Obamacare Ruling 'Imperfect'
Mississippians might not want to celebrate this morning's U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming President Barack Obama's health-care law just yet.
Person of the Day
Mississippi Folks
This morning's historic decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the majority of President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act means that millions of Mississippians will continue to enjoy …
Lowest Gas Prices in Jackson
Summer driving vacations may be a little more affordable now than they were a couple of weeks ago.
Cover
Ending the Silence
Bringing Rape and Sexual Assault out of Shame's Closet
Anthony Sowell had been out of prison about three years after serving 15 for attempted rape when he ran into Gladys Wade outside a neighborhood store in Cleveland, Ohio, on …
Intent to Ravish
Like so much of Mississippi culture, its laws concerning sex crimes harken back to a hypothetically more genteel time when ladies swooned and men did not use curse words in …
Does Jackson Need Another Rape-Crisis Center?
As the Jackson Free Press has done since 2004, on July 28, we will host our eighth annual Chick Ball to benefit the Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl.
A Heart for Survivors
In 2007, she began to feel unwell, she said. She was inexplicably losing weight, was feeling nauseous and had developed what she called a shiny, itchy spot on her left …
Mayor Refutes Business Challenges
In announcing their candidacies for mayor of Jackson, Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba and Ward 4 Councilman Frank Bluntson made changing the city's business practices front and center in their …
‘Where I Am, You May Not Harm'
Joan Chittister's voice fairly resonates with passion. Her broad smile belies a fierce intelligence and a barely disguised rage at injustice of any sort, especially over systemic injustices of poverty …
Empowering and Strengthening Kids
Operation Shoestring provides a safe place for children and parents in its west Jackson neighborhood, empowering them and strengthening the bonds of family and community.
Dance
Ballet's ‘Collage'
On Saturday, April 28, Ballet Mississippi presents "Collage" at the Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center. The performance is a compilation of ballet and music with works from eight composers and …
Support Arts in School
Ask for More Arts brings artists into classrooms to integrate arts with other subjects. In four years, AFMA has exposed thousands of students to creative writing, theater, song writing and …
Two Faces of Opera
Jackson hosts diverse operas from two different continents Saturday, April 21.
Family-Friendly Fest
Celebrate arts, music and community April 21, when St. Andrew's Episcopal School presents Arts on the Green.
Politics
Who Gets Hurt in Budget Cuts?
Poor children are much more likely to experience hunger than those who aren't poor (23 percent vs. 4 percent).
Come Together
Musician and Jackson State University student Andrew Dillon felt a hole in his heart growing during the induction ceremony for the university's new president, Carolyn Meyers, last Friday. That hole …
Raise Your Voice
Imam Ali Siddiqui is intimately familiar with the destructive nature of religious fundamentalism and the problems of immigration in the modern world. Born in 1944, his family fled their native …
The Magic of Jade
When I met Gerard Helferich last fall, he handed me a piece of jade. The dark green disk, carved in the shape of an ear, was about an inch and …
Grace and Humor
In my over-50 yoga class, I frequently see people frustrated by their inability to get a pose "right." I gently remind them that they're not 20-somethings any more and, usually, …
Mississippi Executed Hart Turner
Attorney General Jim Hood this morning argued successfully in a federal appeals court in New Orleans to lift a stay of execution for Edwin Hart Turner. At this point, without …
Court Orders Stay of Execution for Hart Turner
Press Release of James Craig (verbatim).
Read Is State Executing a Mentally Ill Man?
Is State Executing a Mentally Ill Man?
Hart Turner's mind seems to have broken Dec. 12, 1995. After two failed suicide attempts, a half-dozen stays in mental institutions and years of mental and physical abuse, Turner shot …
Questions for the Doc
When you go for a physical, be prepared to let your doctor know about any physical or emotional problems (like depression or anxiety) you may be having.
An Ill-Fitting Life
Jackson native Barrett Hathcock has given readers a small gem with his short-story collection, "The Portable Son". The stories read like a novel. Instead of unrelated snippets, protagonist Peter Gallatin's …
Rape Victim: Fix the System
A rape victim asked Gov. Haley Barbour why he was allowing her rapist out on furlough. His answer may surprise you. Or maybe not.
Stalking: It's No Joke
The night I finished the story of Adrienne Klasky's murder, I felt as if my safe, stable life had disappeared. Klasky's killer, Michael Graham, had stalked Adrienne for about three …
Green Stops Pardons; Barbour Explains, Sort of
Also see: JFP investigation of Barbour's 2008 Pardons of Domestic Killers
AG: Barbour ‘Abused' Office With Pardons
Update 8:26 p.m.: Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green has granted Attorney General Hood's injunction, saying, "There is a substantial likelihood of success ..." in the case of Hood's challenges …
Why Did He Do It?
This morning, in the wake of Haley Barbour's Pardongate, an old joke popped into my head.
Why does a dog lick his balls?
