Jackson Free Press

The Circus is in Town: 2013 Legislative Preview

Gov. Phil Bryant has big plans for the 2013 legislative session. For the past few months, he’s been busy selling his agenda.

How Clinton is Reducing Domestic Abuse

Tamra Morgan was the driving force behind putting a batterer's intervention program into the Clinton judicial system's toolkit. The program has significantly reduced domestic violence in the city.

Tarasa Brierly-Harp

Tarasa Brierly-Harp attended the Mississippi University for Women and has been teaching at Murrah for more than a decade.

A Kinder, Gentler Union

Picking on food stamps has long been a way to gather votes from people who don't bother to pay attention to who is poor and why (call them the 47-percenters).

Creativity Over Razzle-Dazzle

My favorite films of the past year are not the prettiest, but the ones where my perspective shifted in some way or where something new was added to the cinematic …

UN: Analysis Suggests 60,000-Plus Killed in Syria

At least 60,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war, with monthly casualty figures steadily increasing since the conflict began almost two years ago, according to a new analysis …

Political Brinksmanship Still Threatens U.S. Economy

Lawmakers managed to avoid driving the United States over the so-called fiscal cliff with a late-night vote Tuesday. But higher taxes and brinksmanship in Washington are likely to sap strength …

Brain Image Study: Fructose May Spur Overeating

This is your brain on sugar—for real. Scientists have used imaging tests to show for the first time that fructose, a sugar that saturates the American diet, can trigger brain …

Same-Sex Marriage Ceremonies Begin in Maryland

Same-sex couples in Maryland were greeted with cheers and noisemakers held over from New Year's Eve parties, as gay marriage became legal in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon …

AP Interview: Bryant Says Education Is Top Issue

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant said education dominates his 2013 legislative agenda, from merit pay for teachers to charter schools that will receive public funding but be free of some state …

Crisis Postponed: House Passes Senate 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill and Sends to Obama for Signature

WASHINGTON (AP) — Past its own New Year's deadline, a weary Congress sent President Barack Obama legislation to avoid a national "fiscal cliff" of middle class tax increases and spending …

All Politics is Local

THE MAYOR'S TELEPHONE TOWN HALL: A DIFFERENT KIND OF REALITY SHOW?

Farish: No Foundation, No Funding

The Farish Street entertainment district has been on metaphorical shaky ground for nearly three decades. In 2012, its developer says it was a literal lack of foundation that stopped the …

Watch Nights Mark Emancipation Proclamation 150th

As New Year's Day approached 150 years ago, all eyes were on President Abraham Lincoln in expectation of what he warned 100 days earlier would be coming—his final proclamation declaring …

GOP Governors Walk Balance Beam on Health Law

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who made a fortune as a health care executive, long opposed President Barack Obama's remake of the health insurance market.

Deal Reached for Stopping Spike in Milk Prices

The top leaders in both parties on the House and Senate Agriculture committees have agreed to a one-year extension of the 2008 farm bill that expired in October, a move …

Soldier Adjusts to Life at Home After Afghanistan

First Lt. Aaron Dunn deployed to Afghanistan in early March 2012. His 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was charged with engaging Taliban fighters in Kunar Province and mentoring …

Progress Seen in Last-Minute 'Fiscal Cliff' Talks

Working against a midnight deadline, negotiators for the White House and congressional Republicans narrowed their differences Monday on legislation to avert across-the-board tax increases.

Analysis: Miss. Judges See Raises with New Year

The new year marks the beginning of four years' of incremental salary increases for Mississippi judges—thanks to Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller Jr. for a novel funding method …

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.