US Judge Orders Remap of a Mississippi State Senate DistrictA federal judge ruled Wednesday that one of Mississippi's 52 state Senate districts violates the Voting Rights Act because it does not give African-American voters an "equal opportunity" to elect a candidate of their choice.
Mississippi Advances Ban on Abortion After Fetal HeartbeatMississippi is working toward enacting one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, in a race with other states to push a legal challenge to the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court.
State May Block Naming Jackson Officers Involved in ShootingsThe public-transparency efforts of the City of Jackson in the last year may be for naught if legislation working through the Mississippi Legislature to protect identities of officers who shoot people becomes law.
Delinquent Water Customers Seeing Turn-offs As City Copes With DeficitsThis week the City of Jackson started making good on recent warnings with water shut-offs for approximately 20,000 customers who are late paying their water bills, many resulting from problems with the Siemens contract to improve billing for customers.
Budget Deal Allows Far Less Money than Trump Wanted for WallCongressional negotiators reached agreement to prevent a government shutdown and finance construction of new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, overcoming a late-stage hang-up over immigration enforcement issues that had threatened to scuttle the talks.
'Landowners' Tort Reform Bill Would Mean 'Safe Zones' for Crime, Critics SayMississippi senators delighted the business community last week when they passed a bill to cut down on lawsuits against property owners, but strong opposition remains among law enforcement, advocates for victims of domestic violence and lawyers.
Jackson Ups Water Shutoffs Amid Millions in Unpaid BillsOfficials in Mississippi's capital say they've increased water shutoffs for customers delinquent on bills from roughly 30 a day to 200 a day to address years of issues affecting the aging infrastructure.
Mississippi Sues Federal Government Over River FloodingThe state of Mississippi is suing the federal government for $25 million or more, claiming a dam that keeps the Mississippi River from changing course is harming state land.
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.
Fetal Heartbeat Ban 'A Direct Challenge to Roe,' Activists WarnAbortion-rights activists are warning that Mississippi's fetal-heartbeat bills, and others like them, are part of an effort to instigate a U.S. Supreme Court case that could overturn constitutional protections for reproductive rights.
House Seeks College Graduate Tax Breaks, but Could be CostlyMississippi could become the latest state to begin offering incentives to recent college graduates who remain in or move to the state, as lawmakers seek to stem the state's falling population.
US Judge Hears Arguments in Mississippi Redistricting CaseA federal judge heard arguments Wednesday about whether African-American voters in part of Mississippi have a chance to elect a candidate of their choice in a state Senate district with a slim black majority.
OPINION: Ralph Northam: No Second ChanceToday, if a politician is confronted with evidence of their racism, they simply apologize or attempt to deflect blame in order to stay in office, despite having demonstrated that they don't view all of their constituents as fully human or …
Behind the Badge: Two JPD Officers Who Shot Multiple People in JacksonAfter about a year of asking, the Jackson Free Press learned the names, current status and in eight out of nine cases, the details of officer-involved shootings since Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba took office in July 2017, promising transparency and …
#MSLeg: Broadband, Abortion, Prison ReformOn Jan. 31, legislators in the Mississippi House Education Committee advanced to the House floor a bill designed to help prepare schools for the worst: the possibility of gun violence.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Doing Good Things in JXNIn a 2008 study, researchers at Harvard University found that doing good deeds raises a person's level of happiness. Other studies have shown that happiness can create a positive feedback loop in your brain.
Mississippi Bill Would Ping Companies That Boycott IsraelMississippi lawmakers could ban the state from investing in companies that boycott Israel. The state House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday passed House Bill 761 , which would set the ban. The bill moves to the House for more work.
Jackson Cop Involved in 3 Shootings; Teen Shot 2 Times in Back, Family SaysOfficer Anthony Veasey was involved in three separate shootings in Jackson in 14 months since November 2017, including an exchange of gunfire that hit an 18-year-old two times in the back and five times in the leg, the teenager's family …
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that one of Mississippi's 52 state Senate districts violates the Voting Rights Act because it does not give African-American voters an "equal opportunity" to elect a candidate of their choice.
Mississippi is working toward enacting one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, in a race with other states to push a legal challenge to the more conservative U.S. Supreme Court.
Surrounded by cotton and Confederate flags, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves praised the Sons of Confederate Veterans at their national reunion in Vicksburg in July 2013.
Children younger than 18 would be banned from using tanning beds in Mississippi under a measure passed Wednesday by the state Senate.
The public-transparency efforts of the City of Jackson in the last year may be for naught if legislation working through the Mississippi Legislature to protect identities of officers who shoot people becomes law.
This week the City of Jackson started making good on recent warnings with water shut-offs for approximately 20,000 customers who are late paying their water bills, many resulting from problems with the Siemens contract to improve billing for customers.
Two top candidates for Mississippi governor say they have never worn blackface or costumes such as Ku Klux Klan uniforms.
The Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society will hold its 60th annual show at the Mississippi Trade Mart Feb. 23-24.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood "did all kinds of stupid things in college," but he is "sure" wearing blackface is not one of them, he told a crowd in Jackson on Monday.
Congressional negotiators reached agreement to prevent a government shutdown and finance construction of new barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, overcoming a late-stage hang-up over immigration enforcement issues that had threatened to scuttle the talks.
Mississippi senators delighted the business community last week when they passed a bill to cut down on lawsuits against property owners, but strong opposition remains among law enforcement, advocates for victims of domestic violence and lawyers.
Officials in Mississippi's capital say they've increased water shutoffs for customers delinquent on bills from roughly 30 a day to 200 a day to address years of issues affecting the aging infrastructure.
The state of Mississippi is suing the federal government for $25 million or more, claiming a dam that keeps the Mississippi River from changing course is harming state land.
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.
Mississippi senators are advancing a bill that would limit people's ability to sue property owners for injuries or other problems.
The Jackson Zoo likely will get a new operator, and one with no intentions to move the facility from its long-time home in west Jackson to eastern edge of Jackson.
The Center for Creative Leadership and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation recently named two Jackson State University professors, Robert Luckett and Byron Orey, as participants in the WKKF Community Leadership Network.
Abortion-rights activists are warning that Mississippi's fetal-heartbeat bills, and others like them, are part of an effort to instigate a U.S. Supreme Court case that could overturn constitutional protections for reproductive rights.
Mississippi could become the latest state to begin offering incentives to recent college graduates who remain in or move to the state, as lawmakers seek to stem the state's falling population.
A federal judge heard arguments Wednesday about whether African-American voters in part of Mississippi have a chance to elect a candidate of their choice in a state Senate district with a slim black majority.
Today, if a politician is confronted with evidence of their racism, they simply apologize or attempt to deflect blame in order to stay in office, despite having demonstrated that they don't view all of their constituents as fully human or …
Mississippi House Rep. Robert Foster is running for governor in the Republican primary, running against current Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican from Florence, Miss., among others.
After about a year of asking, the Jackson Free Press learned the names, current status and in eight out of nine cases, the details of officer-involved shootings since Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba took office in July 2017, promising transparency and …
On Jan. 31, legislators in the Mississippi House Education Committee advanced to the House floor a bill designed to help prepare schools for the worst: the possibility of gun violence.
In a 2008 study, researchers at Harvard University found that doing good deeds raises a person's level of happiness. Other studies have shown that happiness can create a positive feedback loop in your brain.
Mississippi lawmakers could ban the state from investing in companies that boycott Israel. The state House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday passed House Bill 761 , which would set the ban. The bill moves to the House for more work.
The "One Lake" proposal has hit another major hurdle. A report commissioned as part of the project's draft study has found the project poses serious public and environmental health risks.
Officer Anthony Veasey was involved in three separate shootings in Jackson in 14 months since November 2017, including an exchange of gunfire that hit an 18-year-old two times in the back and five times in the leg, the teenager's family …
Mississippi lawmakers won't allow police to resume seizing cash, guns and vehicles without going before a judge.