A Cold War MentalityBack in the summer of 1992, just months after the failed coup that led to the fall of communism and Boris Yeltsin's rise to leadership in a new post-Soviet Russia, I traveled with my late wife, Marilyn, to Moscow and …
Start Running Government Like a BusinessWhether from Donald Trump or the GOP supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature, we hear constantly that Republicans want to "run government like a business." The problem is that many of them don't appear to know how legitimate, forward-looking, smart businesses …
DA Smith: Going Too Far to Help Butler?The jury in the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has a lot to untangle, as the prosecution continues to present pieces of its case that the district attorney conspired to hinder the prosecution of Christopher Butler …
Beyond Blame: JPS Works to Avoid State Takeover of Local SchoolsAt the last Jackson Public Schools board meeting of the year, parents and community members crowded the board room in downtown Jackson, accidentally brushing knees together as they filled the seats. More people, smushed together in bulky coats, stood against …
Mississippi Lawmakers Vague on Tax Proposals for '17 SessionMississippi's Republican-led Legislature and GOP Gov. Phil Bryant enacted a substantial package of tax cuts during their 2016 session, with reductions phased in over several years. But leaders are vague about whether they will propose other tax changes during the …
Day 5: DA's Attorney Takes Stand ... for ProsecutionHinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith had the opportunity to ask his own attorney questions on the stand after the prosecution called Tupelo attorney Jim Waide as its latest witness during the fifth morning of testimony the Smith trial.
Trump Says He's Closing Foundation, but Democrats Want MorePresident-elect Donald Trump says he will dissolve his charitable foundation before taking office to avoid conflicts of interest. The Democratic Party says that's not enough and is calling for the billionaire businessman to put his assets in a blind trust.
Trumps Pick for Ambassador to Israel Sparks Hot DebateIf President-elect Donald Trump wanted to show he planned to obliterate President Barack Obama's approach to Israel, he might have found his man to deliver that message in David Friedman, his pick for U.S. ambassador.
Trump Says UN Just a Club for People to 'Have a Good Time'Days after the United Nations voted to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, Donald Trump questioned its effectiveness Monday, saying it's just a club for people to "have a good time."
10 Local Stories of the WeekThere'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.
Day 4 of DA Smith Trial All About Jail VisitsStaff from the Raymond detention center and criminal defendant Christopher's Butler's old attorney, Sanford Knott, dominated the much of day four of the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for conspiracy to hinder prosecution and aid or …
Facing Takeover, JPS Corrective Action Gains UrgencyAfter a first failed attempt at submitting a corrective action plan to get the district off probation, Jackson Public Schools made good on its second attempt.
Smith Trial: Defense Tries to Impugn InformantOn the fourth day of the trial against the Hinds County district attorney, his attorney tried to impugn the motives of a former employee-turned-informant, pressing him for more details on an alleged bribery conspiracy.
Trump: US Must 'Greatly Strengthen' Nuclear CapabilityPresident-elect Donald Trump on Thursday abruptly called for the United States to "greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability" until the rest of the world "comes to its senses" regarding nuclear weapons.
Deep Divide Stops Effort to Repeal North Carolina LGBT LawA supposedly bipartisan deal to repeal North Carolina's anti-LGBT law collapsed when both sides balked and started blaming each other, likely meaning their state will keep being shunned by corporations, entertainers and high-profile sporting events.
Conspiracies Grow in DA Smith TrialThere might be a bribery conspiracy in the Hinds County justice system, and even an admitted member of it said he did not know how "deep it goes."
Mississippi Church Member Charged in 'Vote Trump' ArsonA Mississippi man arrested in the burning of an African-American church that was spray-painted with the words "Vote Trump" is a member of the congregation, the church's bishop said.
Time to Do Away with the Electoral CollegeSeveral protesters stood in a line outside the Mississippi Capitol on Dec. 16 chanting "Brief the electors; send it to the House!" They were primarily protesting the Electoral College, the increasingly problematic way in which the United States has elected …
Campaign Finance, BP Money Bills Await LegislatorsThanks to BP, Mississippi has additional income to spend in the 2017 legislative session. The state received its first payment from BP from the 2010 oil-spill settlement last summer.
Saving Tax Dollars with Re-entry and RehabilitationFormer inmates could leave Mississippi prisons with dignity and be able to find jobs, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett told the Mississippi House Corrections Committee last week. The advocate of drug courts and re-entry programs for former inmates said some …
Informant: Butler Case ‘Became the Big Thing’ in DA’s OfficeIt all began in the P.F. Chang’s parking lot, a former assistant district attorney testified on Tuesday in the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for two counts of conspiracy and one count of aiding or assisting …
Informant Recorded DA Smith, Reported to FBI for MonthsFormer Hinds County Assistant District Attorney Ivon Johnson secretly taped District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith on several occasions over the last year, FBI Special Agent Robert Culpepper testified this morning during the trial against the county's top prosecutor for alleged …
Livingston Cellars, NewCare MD and Belhaven School of Science and MathematicsEvery season, wine and spirits store Livingston Cellars holds a wine-tasting event. For this season, Mitchell Earrey, the store's general manager and resident sommelier, planned a special New Year's Eve-themed event on Friday, Dec. 30.
Revolt Fizzles as Trump Easily Wins Electoral College VoteDespite weeks of lobbying and a day of protests, President-elect Donald Trump won all but two of the Electoral College votes he claimed on Election Day, ensuring he will become America's 45th president.
North Carolina's 'Bathroom Bill' Set on Fast Path to RepealNorth Carolina lawmakers appear poised to repeal a controversial law widely derided as the "bathroom bill" because it requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate in many public buildings.
Wisconsin's Walker Asks Trump for More Control Over RefugeesWisconsin Gov. Scott Walker asked President-elect Donald Trump in a letter delivered Tuesday to give his state more authority in determining how many refugees can come from countries with ties to terrorism.
Trump Blames Terrorists for Killings in Turkey, GermanyJumping ahead of investigators, President-elect Donald Trump is blaming Islamic terrorists for deadly violence in Turkey and Germany and vowing anew to eradicate their regional and global networks.
The jury in the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has a lot to untangle, as the prosecution continues to present pieces of its case that the district attorney conspired to hinder the prosecution of Christopher Butler …
At the last Jackson Public Schools board meeting of the year, parents and community members crowded the board room in downtown Jackson, accidentally brushing knees together as they filled the seats. More people, smushed together in bulky coats, stood against …
It will be a tough slog, but we need confidence and accountability in the Hinds criminal-justice system again.
Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith had the opportunity to ask his own attorney questions on the stand after the prosecution called Tupelo attorney Jim Waide as its latest witness during the fifth morning of testimony the Smith trial.
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.
Staff from the Raymond detention center and criminal defendant Christopher's Butler's old attorney, Sanford Knott, dominated the much of day four of the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for conspiracy to hinder prosecution and aid or …
After a first failed attempt at submitting a corrective action plan to get the district off probation, Jackson Public Schools made good on its second attempt.
On the fourth day of the trial against the Hinds County district attorney, his attorney tried to impugn the motives of a former employee-turned-informant, pressing him for more details on an alleged bribery conspiracy.
There might be a bribery conspiracy in the Hinds County justice system, and even an admitted member of it said he did not know how "deep it goes."
Thanks to BP, Mississippi has additional income to spend in the 2017 legislative session. The state received its first payment from BP from the 2010 oil-spill settlement last summer.
Former inmates could leave Mississippi prisons with dignity and be able to find jobs, U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett told the Mississippi House Corrections Committee last week. The advocate of drug courts and re-entry programs for former inmates said some …
Mississippi leaders may establish a new agency to ensure the quality of teachers and the programs that train them.
It all began in the P.F. Chang’s parking lot, a former assistant district attorney testified on Tuesday in the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith for two counts of conspiracy and one count of aiding or assisting …
Every season, wine and spirits store Livingston Cellars holds a wine-tasting event. For this season, Mitchell Earrey, the store's general manager and resident sommelier, planned a special New Year's Eve-themed event on Friday, Dec. 30.