Jackson Free Press

John Lewis Switches Support to Obama

The New York Times is reporting that the great civil rights leader John Lewis is saying he will cast his superdelegate vote for Barack Obama, rather than Hillary Rodham Clinton, …

Free At Last? Brewer May Go Free Friday

Two men who have served a combined 34 years behind bars for crimes they apparently did not commit may walk away free men on Friday, Feb. 15.

Sexist Media Depictions of Hillary Clinton?

We've had a side conversation going on this topic over on our Super Tuesday thread, and I don't want it to get lost. Would love to pick up that thread …

Show Up and Be Counted

This weekend, the Jackson Free Press is proud to be sponsoring the Gulf States Music Conference, a day of panel discussions and performances arranged by JFP columnist and Best of …

Legislative Update—Week 5: Medicaid, Jobs, Land

Legislative committees worked furiously this week during the run-up to the Feb. 19 deadline for House and Senate committees to act on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their …

Riding the Needle

"I think I will go out and beat an old lady to death tonight. I don't have anything to worry about if I get caught. I won't even have to …

Power APAC Builds

Every year, Power Academic and Performing Arts Complex, or APAC, and its staff and students partner with their adopters, the law firm of Watkins Ludlam Winter & Stennis, for a …

Local Businesswoman Gives to JSU

On behalf of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Educational Advancement Foundation, Jackson State University alumna Juanita Sims Doty added $5,000 to the Juanita Sims Doty Scholarship Fund for financially burdened students. …

Jayur Mehta

After leading me through the maze of bookshelves and cataloguing drawers and into his office in the downtown Charlotte Capers building, archeologist Jayur Mehta motioned me to sit down and …

Living in the Shadow of AIDS

Photos by Ronni Mott

The two-story wood house, white with red trim, sits squarely on a corner lot in Jackson. The grass on the lawn is January brown, the same as in the other …

Senate Votes for Telco Immunity in Wiretapping

Cochran and Wicker both voted "yea."

The Senate caved to the White House on immunity for telecommunications companies while overturning amendments that would have provided greater checks in the interest of civil liberties. Senator McCain voted …

Can You Get More Irrelevant Than This Guy?

Headline over at MSNBC: "Bush condemns noose displays President says displays 'have no place in America today.'" Thank you, Dubya Bush. Nice to see you go out on a limb …

Obama & McCain Win Virginia, Maryland

This about says it all, I guess, from The New York Times:

Hood Renews Call for Campaign Finance Reform

[verbatim statement] JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood—as he has done since 2004—is again calling on state lawmakers to reform campaign finance laws.

Nebraska Suspends Executions

The New York Times is reporting that the electric chair is "cruel and unusual punishment," suspending executions there until the state can find a more humane way to kill prisoners:

Why the Republican Party Is Tanking

You have to read this Orwellian speech by Veep Dick Cheney this week in which he proclaims that his borrow-and-spend government does not torture, respects the Constitution and "treats tax …

Poll: Obama Would Beat McCain; Hillary Would Tie

A Time magazine poll finds that, thanks to the independent vote, Barack Obama would beat John McCain head-to-head; Hillary Clinton would tie him. Per Time:

Man opens fire at city council meeting in Missouri

Six people, including the shooter, are now dead:

Creativity in Politics

Here are some current examples I find either to be inspiring, clever, or just plain silly:

It's amazing how a hot-as-fire political campaign can get the creative juices flowing. You get catchy slogans such as "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," or the viral video of a Bush/Kerry …

UPDATED: Suspect Arrested in 1992 Murder of Toddler

Updated with new information

[verbatim from AG's office] Jackson, MS-Attorney General Jim Hood today confirmed that an arrest has been made in the 16-year-old murder of a 3-year-old girl in Noxubee County. Albert Johnson …