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Education
Voucher Program Helping Seg Schools Should Go, Education Advocates Say
On Valentine's Day, a voucher program that subsidizes private schools for special- needs children got the gift of four more years from the Mississippi Senate—even though many private schools in …
Politics
Mike Espy Boosts Young House Candidate With Endorsement, Data
Brandon Rue, president of a student organization at the University of Southern Mississippi called Common Causeto, plans to run as a Democrat for Mississippi House District 102, the state legislative …
Crime
Bryant: GOP Would've 'Hollered' If Obama Pushed Criminal Reform
"You're the only president that can do this," Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he privately told President Trump last year, as he urged the fellow Republican to support criminal-justice reform.
Politics
GOP Kills Tort Reform Amendment Requiring 'Reasonable' Safety Efforts
Businesses no longer would have to "take reasonable steps" to prevent violence on their premises after Republicans defeated a proposed amendment to a "tort-reform" bill working through the Mississippi Legislature, …
Politics
Democratic House Leader David Baria Won’t Seek Re-Election
Mississippi House Minority Leader David Baria will not seek re-election to his seat, the Bay St. Louis Democrat announced unexpectedly in a letter to supporters Friday afternoon.
Politics
'Take This Country Back': State Legislators Want Constitutional Convention
On Feb. 21, 2019, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Allen West asked state legislators to do something Americans have not done since the time when muskets and bayonets were commonplace—call …
Politics
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Plans 2020 Kickoff With High-Dollar Donors
Just months after winning the most closely contested U.S. Senate race in Mississippi since the 1980s, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith plans to kick off her 2020 re-election bid next month …
City & County
Voucher Bill Dies at Legislature, Possibly Ending Program Next Year
Mississippi's education voucher program, which subsidizes private-school tuition at the expense of public schools, could end next year after lawmakers allowed a bill to extend it to die in committee.
Politics
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves' 2003 Victory over Gary Anderson 'All About Race,' Critics Say
In his successful 2003 bid for state treasurer, critics accused current-Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves of running ads designed to remind voters that his Democratic opponent, Gary Anderson was black. …
Politics
Mississippi Holds Special Elections for Three House Seats Today
Mississippi voters in three state House districts head to the polls today to elect new representatives to fill vacant seats.
Education
Mississippi Teachers Unimpressed As House Ups Two-Year Pay Raise to $4,000
Mississippi teachers told the Jackson Free Press that they agreed with critics of the Legislature's $1,000 raise bill, and they had their own criticisms of even a $4,000 raise.
Politics
Ronnie Crudup Jr. Wins Special Election for South Jackson House Seat
Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn called Ronnie Crudup, Jr. Tuesday evening to congratulate him on his victory after voters in south Jackson elected the local activist to fill a vacated …
Civil Rights
Phil Bryant Praises White Officials for Evers Honor, Bashes Bennie Thompson
In the wake of a new federal law declaring civil-rights hero Medgar Evers' home a national monument, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant credited President Donald Trump and Mississippi's two white Republican …
Immigration
Sen. Roger Wicker Defies Trump With Vote Against National Emergency Order
At the Neshoba County Fair in August 2018, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker sought to assure a suspicious, conservative crowd of his allegiance to President Donald Trump's agenda.
Civil Rights
‘I Can’t Keep Calm’: Myrlie Evers-Williams ‘Incensed’ at Bryant, Hyde-Smith
Civil-rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams told a radio host Friday that she refused “sit down and be quiet” after Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant credited only President Donald Trump and the state’s …
Personhood
Legislative Update: Fetal Heartbeats, Teacher Pay, Tort Reform
Daniella Dismuke-Roja is an activist who is challenging laws that she believes threaten the rights of Mississippians. On March 14, she traveled to Jackson and joined a group of Democratic …
Cover
‘Why Can’t I Break That Barrier?’: The JFP Interview with AG Hopeful Jennifer Riley Collins
During our afternoon interview with Jennifer Riley Collins in downtown Jackson, she explained why she believes she is up to the momentous task of becoming the first African American woman …
Personhood
Gov. Bryant Signs Abortion Ban in Deadliest State for Babies
With Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves at his side, Republican Gov. Phil Bryant signed the nation's most restrictive abortion bill into law on Thursday morning.
Politics
Mississippi Senate Calls for Constitutional Convention, Raising Civil Rights Concerns
Civil-rights protections could be "rolled back" if Mississippi joins a conservative group's effort to amend the U.S. Constitution, a prominent civil-rights organization is warning.
Civil Rights
Voting Rights Act Denied Mississippi Its 'Sovereignty,' AG Candidate Says
At a Tupelo campaign stop on Monday, Mississippi State Rep. Mark Baker, a Republican candidate for attorney general, said the 1965 Voting Rights Act violated Mississippi's "sovereignty."
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