Jackson Free Press

Lawsuit an Unusual Challenge to Gay Marriage Ban

A coalition of clergy members is challenging North Carolina's constitutional ban on gay marriage with an unusual approach in a federal lawsuit: They say it violates their religious freedom.

Hearing Delayed on Mississippi Power Kemper Costs

Upcoming hearings on whether Mississippi Power Co. should be able to get customers to pay for its Kemper County power plant have been postponed.

Miss. Governor Signs Mid-Pregnancy Abortion Ban

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Wednesday signed a bill to ban abortion starting at the midpoint of a full-term pregnancy.

Jackson Needs a Transparency Movement

Every time Jackson has a city election, the Jackson Free Press news team spends the last week or so following the money, trying to track down shadowy, unregistered or unreported, …

Party Switchers Cause Rifts

It might not contain all of the melodrama now playing out between Mississippi Republicans, but the Mississippi Democratic Party is having to deal with its own, smaller, civil war—and all …

Following the Money: More Shadowy Mayoral Backers Come to Light

Over the weekend, an unregistered political-action committee, Citizens for Decency, launched an all-out blitz with negative ads against Ward 6 Councilman Tony Yarber.

Republic Group Booked New Yarber Response Ads, Targets 'Historically Hostile' Districts

A "pro-business" politics firm has confirmed that it has placed all of Tony Yarber's TV ads this election cycle, including a number of ads tonight to respond to negative advertising …

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Mayoral Campaigns, PACs Spending Big on Ads, Some Secretly

With two young candidates who are relatively unknown to big parts of Jackson, the airwaves were expected to be a major battleground in the capital city's mayor's race.

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Middleman Addresses Citizens for Decency's 'Duck Lips' Attack Ad on Yarber

The man who placed the "attack ad" on Tony Yarber says Chokwe A. Lumumba had nothing to do with it.

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David Watkins Appeals Secretary of State Ruling Against Him

David Watkins has appealed a ruling that he violated state law in a bond money transfer from one development to another.

Top Contributors (Totals Before the April 15 filing deadline; updates at jfp.ms/mayormoney14)

The top contributors for both candidates in the Jackson mayoral runoff.

Mayor-elect Tony Yarber: Risk Leads to Reward

Mayoral hopeful Tony Yarber bounces from person to person, hugging matronly women, receiving firm handshakes of support from old men and listening as people talk about their connections to him.

Chaney Files Motion to Drop Flood Insurance Suit

The Mississippi Department of Insurance will drop a lawsuit filed in 2013 against the National Flood Insurance Program.

Sentencing Date Set in Miss. Poisoned Letters Case

A federal judge has set a May 14 sentencing date for a Mississippi man who pleaded guilty to making ricin and sending letters dusted with the poison to President Barack …

Documents Shed More Light on Lumumba Mural Removal

The city received "numerous, relevant telephone calls," related to a painted tribute to late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba before its removal a week ago.

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What You Need to Know About the Heartbleed Bug

Millions of passwords, credit card numbers and other personal information may be at risk as a result of a major breakdown in Internet security revealed earlier this week.

The Police State That Was Mississippi

One out of every four adult Americans now has a police record. Louisiana and Mississippi lead the nation in putting people behind bars.

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Bypass the Legislature on MAEP, Medicaid LGBT Rights

In the past six years alone, under a Republican-led Senate and, until 2012, a Democratic-led House of Representatives, MAEP has been shorted by more than $1 billion.

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Voters Could Decide School Funding

A newly formed group is taking a fresh tack on school funding, albeit one that first requires a lot of votes and a constitutional amendment to provide money for cash-strapped …

Medicare Database Reveals Top-Paid Doctors

Medicare paid a tiny group of doctors $3 million or more apiece in 2012. One got nearly $21 million.