Jackson Free Press

Immigrant Supporters: Keep Jackson a 'Sanctuary City'

Supporters of immigrant rights turned out Tuesday night to urge the Jackson City Council to keep its Racial and Ethnic Profiling Ordinance in place, despite state and national efforts to …

Then-Ward 2 Councilman Chokwe Lumumba introduced an anti-racial profiling ordinance in 2010 that many say …

• February 23, 2017

Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance Executive Director Bill Chandler is concerned about the effect of President …

• February 22, 2017

GOP Leaders Renew Push to Block Lawsuit Over Election Spat

Mississippi House Republican leaders will appeal a court ruling in a dispute over an election that tied, went to a drawing of straws and was later flipped.

GOP Lawmakers Grope for Consensus on Remaking Health Law

Leading Republicans described some of their plans for remaking the nation's health care system to rank-and-file House members Thursday. Participants said conflict remained, and the details and timing of how …

Stop the Mental Health Politicking

Lawmakers should and could have addressed mental health-care reform in previous sessions as well as this session. It turns out that addressing the problem with secrecy and an assumption of …

In the Statehouse and the Courtroom, Mental Health is Embattled

Research in the psychology and psychiatry fields show little to no evidence that hospitals and residential treatment centers are effective in helping a person with mental-health needs.

Murder in the City: Deep Causes, Harmful Biases, Unexpected Solutions to Gun Violence

On the night of Thursday, Feb. 9, a group of twenty-something Jacksonians were hanging out in Westwood Apartments at 3150 Robinson Road playing dominoes. Suddenly, several men walked in pointing …

Mississippi Considers Firing Squad as Method of Execution

Mississippi lawmakers are advancing a proposal to add firing squad, electrocution and gas chamber as execution methods in case a court blocks the use of lethal injection drugs.

Republican House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson called House Bill 638 a response to …

• February 8, 2017

Sen. Chris McDaniel Trip Burns/File Photo

• February 8, 2017

DA Smith Wins on One Count, But Passes on 'Whistleblower' Bad Check Claims

The trial against Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen wound up on Feb. 7, even as the woman who landed him there remained conspicuously absent from the courtroom.

McDaniel, Fight for Better Education

Once again, a leading Mississippi politician has managed to anger and alienate women, attracting attention to a state with a huge education crisis, for all the wrong reasons.

Mayor Yarber, Socrates Garrett Address Contracting Dispute, 'Steering'

Mayor Tony Yarber and his administration recently became defendants in another sexual-harassment lawsuit, this time saddled with charges of steering city contracts to campaign supporters.

Gutting State Government? The Move to Free Up State Agencies

The majority of state employees could lose access to their employee appeals board and other human resources for the next three years if a bill to move most state agencies …

Allen Trial: Defense Rests After Making Case DJP Doesn’t Collect 'Taxes’

Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith spent the morning attempting to attack several aspects of Downtown Jackson Partners attorney Robert Gibbs, during the fifth day of testimony in the …

Gov. Bryant Closes Campaign Account, Starts 'Imagine Mississippi PAC'

Gov. Phil Bryant terminated his campaign-finance account on Jan. 31, disbursing the funds to other political committees, candidates and charitable organizations.

10 Local Stories of the Week

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.

Trump's Transportation Secretary Received $50k for Five-Minute Speech to Iranian Splinter Group

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An official in U.S. President Donald Trump's Cabinet and at least one of his advisers gave paid speeches for organizations linked to an Iranian …

Appeals Court Denies State Department's Request to Reinstate 'Muslim Ban'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court on Sunday denied the Justice Department's request for an immediate reinstatement of President Donald Trump's ban on accepting certain travelers and all refugees.