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City & County
City of Jackson Christmas Parade Rescheduled to Dec. 10 Due to Inclement Weather
Due to forecasted inclement weather, the City of Jackson’s annual Christmas Parade has been rescheduled from Saturday, Dec. 3, to Dec. 10 at noon.
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U.S. Justice Dept. Announces (More) Federal Prison Reforms
By adreherThe Department of Justice announced a series of reforms for federal prisons today. Reforms include building a school district within the system and improving the halfway houses that serve as re-entry homes for inmates in the system.
The DOJ also announced plans to improve programs for women in prison and provide inmates that are released with ID cards, free of charge. The reforms are a part of the department's intense focus on lowering recidivism rates across the country and rehabilitating former inmates. Earlier this year, the DOJ announced that they would phase out all contracts they had with private prisons due to the lowering number of inmates in the country as well as not finding real advantage in cost savings or enhanced services with private facilities.
There are two federal prisons in Mississippi: one in Yazoo City, and one in Natchez. The facility in Yazoo City is privately operated and run by the Corrections Corporation of America, or CCA, whose stocks soared after Donald Trump won the projected electoral college votes on Nov. 8.
President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions for attorney general could change some of these reforms, and Democrats fear what Sessions' prosecutorial reputation and Trump's promises for "law and order" on the campaign trail could mean for reforms made in the past eight years.
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Welcome Brian Stauffer to Jackson
By Todd StaufferIf you're driving around Jackson today, consider tuning in to Mix 98.7 for a special "telethon" program they're doing for Batson Children's Hospital.
And, when you do, listen closely to the new voice you're hearing at that remote alongside Shannon Steele -- that's Brian Stauffer, my (Todd Stauffer's) brother.
Brian's got 20+ years experience in radio, but this is the first time he and I have been in the same town doing media work. I'm excited to have him here and for Jackson to get to know him.
Wish him luck!
http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2016/dec/01/27257/
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Education
GOP Leaders: Invest in Early Education, Reading to Raise Graduation Rates
Tackling chronic absenteeism, providing early childhood education and improving third-grade reading would increase graduation rates in Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Mississippi Senate Education Committee said last night.
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Person of the Day
Evan Engram
Tight end Evan Engram is one of the few holdovers from the University of Mississippi's stellar recruiting class of 2013. He chose to return to school while the Rebels' better-known …
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Trump Will Face Tough Questions on Future of Nuclear Arsenal
For all the concerns raised in the presidential campaign about Donald Trump's fitness to command America's nuclear arsenal, the immediate questions he's likely to face as president aren't about launching …
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Protesters: Police Shooting May be Legal, but isn't Right
A prosecutor's decision to clear a Charlotte police officer in the killing of a black man left some African-American community leaders saying while the shooting may have been legal, it …
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Wisconsin First State to Start Presidential Election Recount
The first candidate-driven statewide recount of a presidential election in 16 years began Thursday in Wisconsin, a state that Donald Trump won by less than a percentage point over Hillary …
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UN Further Tightens North Korea Sanctions
The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to further tighten sanctions on North Korea following months of diplomatic wrangling over how best to respond to North Korea's latest nuclear test in …
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Trump's Cabinet: 'Draining the Swamp' or Diving Right In?
Donald Trump promised to "drain the swamp" in the nation's capital. Instead, he's diving right in.
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Trump Says He's Leaving Businesses to Avoid Conflicts
President-elect Donald Trump said Wednesday he's leaving his business empire to focus on being the nation's 45th president, declaring he can successfully avoid conflicts of interest between governing and profiting …
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The Slate
After Southern Miss welcomed quarterback Nick Mullens back from injury, the Golden Eagles won enough to be eligible for a bowl game. USM will play in a bowl for a …
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National
Why Hillary Clinton Lost
Neal Gabler and many of the anti-Trump post-election protesters are wrong when they issue a blanket indictment of all Trump voters, millions of whom voted out of an economic desperation …
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Public Streets Must Be Open to All Residents
Crime will not go away if we build gates or walls. It will only fester on the other side until we all start doing our part to actually prevent it.
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Civil Rights
My, My Mississippi
Mississippi is the soil of my soul. My childhood in Waynesboro gave me the foundation to grow into a decades-long career songwriter, producer, and collaborator with artists like Patti LaBelle, …
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City & County
JRA, City at Odds Over $1.5 Million Bill for Farish Street
Somebody has to pay back $1.5 million to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development since the Farish Street project stalled in 2014, but it is unclear whether the …
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City & County
Privatized Meters Forgoing Long-term Profit
The City of Jackson could lose a chunk of future earnings from parking meters and municipal fines in exchange for a steady, smaller burst of revenue for the next 10 …
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City & County
Lawmakers Address Blight, Praise God
The capital city's blight, mainly visible in hundreds of abandoned properties, was a priority for concerned citizens who met with the Hinds County delegation to plan legislation that will address …
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Editor's Note
I’m a Patriot, Not a ‘Libtard’
A Republican friend from Mississippi State, whom I haven't seen in decades, wrote on my Facebook page recently that he reads my work, and he actually finds me quite conservative …
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Mississippi Music of 2016 (So Far)
Over the years, I've done plenty of interviews with local Jackson acts and nationally known recording artists, and I've been surprised at how many of the same topics of conversation …
