From the Wire | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

From the Wire

Subscribe

Tease photo Civil Rights

Judge: Is Court Proper Place for Mississippi Flag Debate?

A federal judge is ordering attorneys to file arguments over whether courts have standing to decide if Mississippi should remove the Confederate battle emblem that has been on the state …

Tease photo Politics

SUNSHINE WEEK: Top Mississippi Lawmakers: Email, Schedule Not for Public

Republican leaders in the Mississippi House and Senate have denied a request for email correspondence and information about their schedules, saying the state Public Records Act does not apply to …

Business

New Figures Show Mississippi Has Nation's Worst Jobless Rate

Mississippi's jobless rate is worst among the 50 states, dragged down in part by a low-growth state economy, according to U.S. Labor Department figures released Monday.

World

Iran Foreign Minister Denies Missile Test Breached UN Rules

Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that he had deliberately negotiated the wording of the latest United Nations resolution restraining his country's nuclear program to ensure that the test-firing of nuclear-capable …

National

Obama Administration Loosens Rules on Cuba Travel, Dollar

The Obama administration on Tuesday loosened rules on travel to Cuba and the Cuban government's use of the dollar, removing obstacles to closer ties between the two countries five days …

Politics

SUNSHINE WEEK: Even as Political Spending Explodes, Disclosure Remains Hazy

Politicians in Mississippi have used campaign money to pay for such things as a BMW, an RV and $800 cowboy boots.

Civil Rights

Ole Miss Adding Plaque with Context for Confederate Statue

A Confederate soldier statue that has stood for generations in a prominent spot on the University of Mississippi's Oxford campus will soon be accompanied by a plaque giving it historical …

Tease photo National

SUNSHINE WEEK: Top Mississippi Leaders Fail to Disclose Schedules, Emails

Lawmakers in every state have adopted laws requiring most government meetings and records to be open to the public. But in some states, lawmakers have exempted themselves from complying.

Crime

Officer Dead in Shooting Near Police Station; Answers Sought

Police and the public were seeking answers Monday after a gunman opened fire outside a police station in a Maryland suburb of the nation's capital, killing an officer in what …

State

Water Ebbing in North Louisiana, Rising at Mississippi Line

floodwaters began receding Monday in northwest Louisiana, emergency officials along Louisiana's southeastern border with Mississippi were watching the rise of the Pearl River amid widespread flooding that has damaged thousands …

National

House Benghazi Probe: Report by Summer, Factor for Clinton

Nearly two years after it was created, the House Benghazi Committee is plowing ahead, interviewing witnesses, reviewing documents and promising a final report "before summer" that is certain to have …

Tease photo Person of the Day

John David Pennebaker

Former state Rep. John David Pennebaker, who helped create Mississippi's comprehensive four-lane highway construction program in 1987, has died at 72.

National

Profiting From Probation: 'You Don't Criminalize Poverty'

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (AP) — When Steven Gibbs couldn't afford the fees demanded by the company supervising his probation, he wound up in jail. When Gibbs — who had been arrested …

Education

9 Operators Propose 14 New Charter Schools in Mississippi

Nine charter school operators say they're interested in opening 14 new charter schools in Mississippi.

National

Wounded Warrior Fires Execs Over Spending Accusations

The board of Wounded Warrior Project, one of the nation's largest veteran support groups, has fired two top officials amid news reports accusing the group of wasteful spending.