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Chicks We Love
Angela Brown attributes her passion for helping others in her community to seeing her grandmother, Binnie Green Adams, do the same for the town of Edwards, Miss., where Brown is …
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Answering a Need Not Being Met
Dorothy Day House is the only refuge for homeless families in Memphis, Tenn., the nation's poorest large metropolitan area.
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JFP Interviews
Archie: Poverty, Crime and the Middle Class
This year, David Archie is back on the campaign trail hoping that the votes—at least those that don't prove too apathetic—line up in his favor.
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Civil Rights
‘A Violent Takedown’ in Stonewall
One week after the death of Jonathan Sanders, a black man killed after a white police officer stopped him in the east Mississippi town of Stonewall, a clearer picture of …
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In Jonathan Sanders Killing, Stonewall 'Pleading for Patience'
Authorities are pleading for patience in a small Mississippi town as they investigate why a black man died following a physical encounter with a white police officer.
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Eva Jones started Butterflies by Grace Defined by Faith in response to two fatal domestic-violence …
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Biz Roundup
New Chef at Saltine, Hops for Hounds and SYF Scholarships
Jackson native Jesse Houston recently announced the addition of Andrew Allen as chef de cuisine at his restaurant, Saltine Oyster Bar.
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Music
Patrice Moncell
Mississippi music legend Patrice Moncell, 52, died the morning of Monday, July 13, following her hospitalization in Georgia three days earlier.
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Civil Rights
Attorneys Recount Events in Jonathan Sanders Death
Attorneys for the family of Jonathan Sanders, a black man killed last week after being stopped by a white Stonewall, Miss., police officer, recounted to the Jackson Free Press this …
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Iran Talks Hit Final Stage but Deal Remains Elusive
Disputes over attempts to probe Tehran's alleged work on nuclear weapons unexpectedly persisted Monday, diplomats said, threatening plans to wrap up an Iran nuclear deal by midnight — the latest …
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Iraq Begins Operation to Oust Islamic State Group from Anbar
The Iraqi government began a long-awaited, large-scale military operation Monday to dislodge Islamic State militants from the country's western Anbar province, a military spokesman announced.
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Greece Reaches Deal with Creditors, Avoids Euro Exit
After months of acrimony, Greece clinched a preliminary bailout agreement with its European creditors on Monday that will, if implemented, secure the country's place in the euro and help it …
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2 Yazoo County Judges Quit Doing Marriages All Together
By R.L. NaveMarriage—it's what brings us together.
That is, unless you live in Yazoo County and were planning on having a justice court judge officiate your ceremony.
Earlier this week, Judges Pam May and Bennie Warrington sent a letter to the board of supervisors saying they wanted to opt out of having to perform marriage ceremonies.
In a WJTV news report, Yazoo Supervisor Caleb Rivers presumed the letter was spurred by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing same-sex marriages across the country. Rivers said the board voted unanimously to let the judges stop doing any marriages at all.
It was only a matter of time. Not long after the SCOTUS at the end of June, state Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, suggested that the state get out of the business of marriage licenses. Up in Grenada County, a circuit clerk who was retiring anyway bowed out a few months early because she didn't want to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
"I believe you can do whatever you want to do in the privacy of your own home but as for Yazoo County we're just not going to allow it," Rivers, the supervisor, told WJTV's reporter.
Love birds looking to tie the knot in Yazoo County needn't fret, though.
Robert Coleman, the circuit clerk there, confirmed to the JFP that his office will still be issuing marriage licenses.
It'll just be up to couples to find someone—other than justice court judges—willing to perform the marriages.
http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2015/jul/10/22081/
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Jurors: Court Gunman's 3 Relatives Guilty of Cyberstalking
A federal jury on Friday found that the death of a woman shot by her former father-in-law at a Delaware courthouse in 2013 was the result of cyberstalking by the …
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House Bill Would Speed Drug Approvals, Boost Research
Urged on by the medical industry and patients' groups, the House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill that would speed federal approval of drugs and medical devices and boost biomedical research.
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Colleges in Cuba, US Build Ties as Diplomatic Tensions Ease
As the U.S. and Cuba mend ties, colleges in both countries are forming partnerships that once were heavily restricted.
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After 54 Years, Confederate Flag Removed from Statehouse
The Confederate flag was lowered from the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse on Friday, ending its 54-year presence there and marking a stunning political reversal in a state where …
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Civil Rights
NAACP: Gov. Bryant Should Show 'Moral Urgency' on State Flag Change
After South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill into law Thursday to bring down the Confederate flag outside the Statehouse—a move that seemed unthinkable only a month ago in …
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Person of the Day
Brian Dozier
Mississippi is full of small towns with major talent. That talent could be musical, literary or athletic in nature. Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier is one of those talents.
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Confederate Flag's Days are Numbered in South Carolina
More than 50 years after South Carolina raised a Confederate flag at its Statehouse to protest the civil rights movement, the state is getting ready to remove the rebel banner.
