Jackson Free Press

Auditors: Billions Squandered in Iraq

AP is reporting:

About $10 billion has been squandered by the U.S. government on Iraq reconstruction aid because of contractor overcharges and unsupported expenses, and federal investigators warned Thursday that significantly more taxpayer …

Melton Admits 'Failure' on Crime Issue

Download audio of Melton press conference on 12.30.08 (.wav, 15.42MB)

Voter ID Poised For 2011 Vote

Mississippians will vote next fall on a constitutional amendment to require photo identification at the polls. In a press conference this afternoon, Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann accepted petitions for …

Pallet Ping-Pong

Photos by Adam Lynch & Jaro Vacek

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton is continuing the war with A-1 Pallet Company this week, saying he will move ahead with the proposed demolition of the company despite a strengthened restraining …

Jerusha DeGroote Stephens

On July 1, Mississippi became the 44th state in the nation to license non-physician acupuncturists. This week, Jackson resident Jerusha DeGroote Stephens received the state's first acupuncture license. It's a …

Immigration Bill a Reality

Well, he signed it. Gov. Haley Barbour caved in to the screaming fury of conservative talk radio and the raging rant of phone calls and signed into law SB 2988, …

Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Sentence

My, isn't this predictable? One wonders what goodies Libby has in his safety-deposit box, eh?

Inside the Journey for Justice

I find myself sitting at the end of a pew, tape recorder in hand, admiring how the light shone through the stained glass windows on a sweltering day in Mississippi. …

Lonely Farewells on the Front Line of Coronavirus

For many Mississippians, coronavirus metrics are numbers on a screen. For the many health care workers who spoke to the Jackson Free Press, it is the cadence of their lives, …

Cap & Trade: The Fight Ahead

Today, the Obama administration's plan to reduce greenhouse emissions and lower America's dependence on fossil fuels will come under intense Congressional scrutiny. With more than 50 witnesses scheduled to provide …

Good, Bad, Bowls

The college football season is surging toward its conclusion. Over the final three weeks of the season, everything will fall into place. We'll discover if the SEC can go for …

U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Voter ID Regulations

A U.S. Supreme Court known for its anti-regulatory bent today voted 6-3 to uphold Indiana's voter-identification regulations, making Republicans happy and clearing the way for voter-ID laws in other states, …

Bill Minor: ‘I Hate to Be So Blunt'

Mississippi journalist and columnist Bill Minor spoke with Adam Lynch of the Jackson Free Press yesterday about his views on the prosecution of his son, Paul Minor, and discussed the …

Barbour Reaffirms Vow to Sue

In response to Attorney General Jim Hood's statement yesterday that his office needed additional time to assess the constitutionality of the health-care reform bill signed by President Barack Obama earlier …

Ceara Sturgis' Mother Speaks Out on Prom Cancellation

Veronica Rodriguez, the outspoken mother of Wesson Attendance Center student Ceara Sturgis, a lesbian, says that the Itawamba School District is mistreating senior Constance McMillen by cancelling the high school …

The Choice: Clinton and Obama Running for Different Reasons?

George Packer has a http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/28/080128fa_fact_packer ]compelling essay in The New Yorker this week about the motivations behind Obama and Clinton's run for the White House. It ends:

The Bachelors

Before we despair over new Bush Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, let's bear three things in mind...

Eureka! More on Immigration Rhetoric in NYT

This week, the New York Times published a story on the potential effects of immigration rhetoric, particularly the vitriolic denunciations of "illegal aliens," on presidential campaigns in 2008:

FCC Approves Media Cross-Ownership

Sure, you could try to maintain your CorporateDaily(TM) hegemony in a market like Jackson by locking up free distribution points in exclusive contracts. Or, you could turn to a variety …

Chertoff: Hurricane, Then Floods A ‘Surprise'

CNN is reporting:

Defending the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff argued Saturday that government planners did not predict such a disaster ever could occur. But in fact, …